Judiciary.— The judiciary of the province consists of appeal (King's Bench), superior, circuit and district courts. The Superior Court and King's Bench judges are appointed by the governor-general in council. Appeal can be had from superior courts to King's Bench, and from King's Bench to the Supreme Court of Canada presided over by a chief justice and five associ ate judges. Final appeal, except in criminal cases, lies, by leave, to the judicial committee of the Privy Council of England. Police magis trates and pstiees of the peace, appointed by the provincial government,. also have their place in the administration of justice.
Crown Lands.—The crown lands of the province not yet settled form an area of nearly 200,000,000 acres, of which about 75,000,000 are available for settlement and 7,000,000 acres have been surveyed, and are controlled by the government and administered by the minister of crown lands. They are sold at from 20 to 60 cents an acre, and the purchaser is required to take possession of the land within six months of the date of the sale, to occupy it during two years, and to fulfil various other obligations stipulated in the deed of sate.
Population.-- The ...ulation of the prov ince in 1911 was 201 ,232 (1916 estimate 2,309,427), almost equally divided into rural and urban, and giving an average density of 5.69 persons per square mile. Roman Catho lics comprise 86 per cent of the population, which is 80.5 per cent French and 19.5 per cent English speaking. Of the French-speaking wage-earners, 36 per cent are engaged in agri culture and 24 per cent in manufacturing and mechanical industries. The numerous churches, colleges and convents of the province attest at every turn the wealth and power of the Church, and the tourist finds the whole land practically parceled out among its faithful, as far as concerns the nomenclature of the settle ments and villages.
Twenty miles east of the city of Quebec, on the banks of the Saint Lawrence, is the church of Sainte Anne de Beaupre, more particularly known as La Bonne Sainte Anne, who for two centuries has won fame in Canada for miracu lous cures. This historic place rests on a little plateau under the shelter of a lofty mountain of the Laurentides, and consists of a straggling street of wooden houses, with steep roofs and projecting eaves. Here one will see, on the fête of Sainte Anne and at other fixed times, a mass of people from every part of Canada, as well as from the United States. A handsome gray stone church attests the faith of the thou sands who in past years have offered their sup plications at the shrine of La Bonne Sainte Anne. Piles of crutches are deposited in every available corner, as so many votive offerings from the countless cripples who have been cured or relieved. The relic through which all the
cures are said to be effective consists of a part of the finger-bone of Sainte Anne, which was sent in 1668 by the Chapter of Carcassone to Monseignefir de Laval.
The Country Life.— The situation of many of the villages of Quebec is exceedingly pic turesque when they nestle in some nook by the side of the river or bay, or overlook from some hill a noble panorama of land and water. The spire of the stone church rises generally from the midst of the houses, always making the most conspicuous object in the surrounding landscape. The houses are, for the most part, built of wood. The roofs are often curved with projecting eaves, which afford a sort oi veranda, under which the family sit in summer evenings. Some of the more pretentious struc tures, especially the inns, have balconies run ning across the upper story. Many of the barns and outhouses have thatched roofs, which are never seen in any other part of Canada. The interiors are very plainly fur nished, in many cases with chairs and tables of native manufacture. A high iron stove is i the most important feature of every dwelling in a country where the cold of winter is so extreme. Whitewash is freely used inside and outside, and there is, on the whole, an air of cleanliness and comfort in the humblest cottage. No class of the population of Canada is more orderly or less disposed to crime. Early mar riages have always been encouraged by the priests, and large families are the rule in the villages. The temperate habits of the people make them valuable employees in mills and manufactories of all kinds, and until a recent period there was a steady exodus from the province to the manufacturing towns of New England. A large proportion of the men em ployed in the lumbering industry of Canada is also drawn from the province of Quebec. In commercial and financial enterprises, however, the French Canadians cannot compete with their fellow citizens of British origin, who practically control the great commercial undertakings and banking institutions of Quebec, especially in Montreal. But they are remarkably progressing in that line. Nor, as a rule, could they compare formerly with the English population as agri culturists. But they have largely improved their methods of farming, and they have estab lished in every parish, butter and cheese fac tories. The French population also had less enterprise and less disposition to innovations. But they do adopt new machines and improved agricultural implements like the people of the other provinces of Canada.