[GILPIN] LAND GRANTS IN NOVA SCOTIA 127 



and over all the minerals reserved in lands granted prior to the Duke of 

 York's grant. 



Upon the completion of the surrender Chapter 2 of the Acts of 1858 

 came into force. It was intended to give certain mineral rights to those 

 receiving grants during the period of the Duke of York's lease, and to 

 define more clearly the extent of the reservations made in general terms 

 in grants passed prior to 1836. The Act did not apply to any minerals 

 not vested in the Crown by the surrender, or to any expressly reserved, 

 or granted, but to reservations in general terms or otherwise ambiguous. 



By virtue of the Act all grants prior to 1858, subject to the above 

 reservation, were to be construed to read, as if the Crown reserved gold, 

 silver, copper, lead, tin, iron, coal and precious stones, and the grantees 

 received all other minerals. 



The curious sight was thus presented of the Government of Nova 

 Scotia, fighting for years to remove the monopoly of the General Mining 

 Association, and, when successful, immediately inundating the people 

 with mineral rights. As a matter of fact, the grantees wanted only the 

 minerals useful for domestic purposes, such as clay, slate, stone, lime- 

 stone, etc., and as a matter of business all other minerals known or to be 

 discovered should have been retained for the future revenue of the 

 province. 



This reservation continued in force in all grants until 1892, when 

 the Crown reserved all minerals except limestone, gypsum and building 

 material. 



At the present day the procury of title to minerals, the property 

 of the owner of the land is attended with much difficulty. Loose occu- 

 pation, imperfect descriptions, non-division of property, squatters* 

 titles, etc., confront those charged with the task of searching titles for 

 would-be purchasers. Tt will be necessary for the Government to devise 

 legislation which, preserving equitably whatever mineral rights the 

 owner of the soil may be entitled to, will give to investors the security 

 of title enjoyed by those acquiring leases of Crown minerals. 



Cape Breton. 



In the fall of 1763 after the inclusion of the island of Cape Breton 

 in the Government of Nova Scotia, the project of its colonization was 

 taken up by the Lords of Trade. It was then uninhabited except by a 

 few traders and fishermen at Louisburg, Sydney and St. Peters, and by 

 small scattered fishing communities planted by the French. 



It was decided that first information should be submitted as to its 

 resources in the way of lumber, arable land and coal. Governor Parr 



