33 .>V-' 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINES OF THE OTTA^VC^ 



KEGION. 



Mr. John Stewart. 



{Read 10th February, 1887.) 



The mineral ilisfciict of which Ottawa is the centre is a large one: 

 including the western part of Quebec Province and the eastern part of 

 the Province of Ontario. It is to this section especially that reference 

 is made, although the following remarks apply to the whole of the 

 provinces mentioned, t>nd as regaids the best interes+^s of the miner, 

 pi'ospector or explorer, the saying "good and bad everywhere," may be 

 put " bad and worse," and applied equally to them both. 



The development of the mines has an important connection with 

 the most complete knowledge of the minerals of only scientific interest; 

 and this reason, and that of the injustice done to one section of the 

 population, by those in power, are the apology offered for these remarks, 

 which may appear to some to have too much of a technical bearing. 



About two years ago, when some of these notes were made, there 

 appeared in the newspapers of almost all parts of Canada, articles and 

 correspondence under sundry headings, showing clearly that there is 

 something materially wrong with the mining interest of these provinces 

 as at present situated, that is, an individual ownership instead of Gov- 

 ernment holding the minerals for rental, or on lease. 



Some writers attribute the lack of mineral development, and the 

 stagnation of the whole industry (coal mining excepted) to the absence 

 of a Bureau of Mining Statistics, or to a neglect on the pai't of the 

 Geological Survey of Canada in not publishing report.s of the extent of 

 mining done each year. They saddle the Geological Survey with the 

 total neglect of the mining interests, and find i-elief in considering it 

 the "Scape Goat" in this case, and none try to arrive at a clear under- 

 standing of the position in which the mining interests of the provinces 

 stand at the present time. Were statistics collected by the Survey 

 they would tend to make more glaring the error in our laws as regards 

 mining lands, give the number and acreage of our mining land mon- 

 opolies, and show more clearly the error our Provincial Legislator 

 have fUllen into in selling the minerals with the surface soil to the 



