splendid work in the remoter parts of the 

 province. A clause in the programme before the 

 Parliament provides additional expenditure for 

 promoting the health of those suffering from 

 mental disorder or defect. 



The situation in general in Nova Scotia at the 

 present time is encouraging, with assurance of 

 steady progress and prosperity. The province 

 made good headway against the handicap of the 

 economic upheaval it suffered in common with 

 the remainder of the country, and having 

 weathered the storm in good shape, has the 

 courage and energy to make successful headway 

 in the calmer waters ahead. 



Sidelights on Western Canada 



The more or less monotonous proceedings of 

 the Grand Trunk Arbitration Board, sitting late- 

 ly in Montreal in connection with the valuation 

 and acquirement of the Grand Trunk and 

 Grand Trunk Pacific Railways by the Canadian 

 Government, were enlivened last week by the 

 examination of Col. J. S. Dennis, of the Canadian 

 Pacific Railway. Called as a witness to the 

 history of the Canadian West, Col. Dennis who 

 perhaps has a wider and more personal knowledge 

 of its^ growth and development than any other 

 man told an interesting story covering a period 

 of nearly fifty years. 



During the course of over one day's session, 

 the witness, replying to direct questions, des- 

 cribed graphically the changes that have taken 

 place in that great Western territory from the 

 time when a young man, in 1872, he first went 

 West in the employ of the Department of the 

 Interior until the present day its early settle- 

 ment and struggles, the method of land survey, 

 first transportation lines, its agricultural begin- 

 nings, commercial extensions, mineral resources, 

 etc. showing by tabulated statements and 

 maps the steady increase that has resulted 

 during the period under discussion, and, under 

 cross-examination, giving his opinion of the 

 future that lies before it. 



A very great deal of information was elicited 

 from Col. Dennis during this examination, which 

 was frequently interrupted by questions inter- 

 jected by members of the Board. 



Col. Dennis then went on to tell of the 

 development of the West. He gave figures 

 showing the increase in population for various 

 periods ; the growth of bank clearings at principal 

 points; the increase in elevator capacity; the 

 total land acreage and the acreage under culti- 

 vation; the land tributary to existing railway; 

 lines avaliable for settlement; the suitability of 

 land for settlement; the growth of the railways; 

 a description of the Peace River country; the 

 amount of grain produced; the value of a settler 

 to the railroads and country; irrigation develop- 

 ment and extension; mineral output and the 

 prospect of the Alberta oilfields. 



Before cross-examination by the Government 

 counsel, and after a brief description of the 

 proposed work of the Western Canada Coloni- 

 zation Company, the witness was asked to give 

 his opinion of the outlook for future development 

 of Western Canada. 



The Outlook for the Future 



"Very briefly, then," said Col. Dennis, "my opinion 

 with regard to the development of the Western Prairie 

 Provinces is conditioned on one fact only. We have, as 

 I have shown, at the present time, thirty-two million 

 acres of land being cultivated and made productive. We 

 have adjacent to the railway lines that serve that present 

 productive area, an area equally large that is absolutely 

 unproductive. If in the near future we can make this 

 thirty-three million acres of land that lie within fifteen 

 miles of existing railway, productive of settlement, it is 

 a fair estimate that it will more than double the pro- 

 ductiveness of the country, because, if the thirty-two 

 million acres that we now have under cultivation produces 

 the traffic we have at present, the colonization of the 

 additional thirty-three million acres will produce a great 

 deal more than a similar amount." 



"Now," he continued, "whether we can colonize it 

 or not depends upon the Government. If the Government, 

 in view of the present railway situation, are going to 

 impose restrictions with regard to colonization, of course 

 that means a lengthened time within which development 

 can be carried out. Assuming, as is suggested, that we 

 have the door open to the character of colonization which 

 brought about the settlement of the thirty-two million 

 acres and the development of that country frtom what it 

 was forty-nine years ago to what it is to-day, which resulted 

 wholly and solely from the settlement of the country 

 there was not anything else which brought about this 

 development my opinion is that a very rapid develop- 

 ment can be produced within the next few years, and the 

 future of the Grand Trunk Pacific absolutely depends 

 upon it. 



"To sum up, I will say that if all interests take hold 

 of the matter intelligently and aggressively and the 

 Government will consider the interests of the National 

 Railways and not bar the door, it is my opinion we should 

 have a very marked movement of people to Western 

 Canada; in fact, I will be disappointed if our immigration 

 does not double within the next five years." 



Pulp and Paper Industry in Quebec 



As the forests of other countries have reached 

 the stages of rapid depletion or complete exhaus- 

 tion, the call upon Canada to supply raw material 

 for the paper mills has become louder and more 

 insistent, and this has resulted, in the past few 

 years, in a tremendous expansion of Canada's 

 pulp and paper industry, which has now come 

 to assume second place in value of production 

 among Canadian industrial activities and indi- 

 cates a further development to yet greater 

 proportions. 



Though every province of the Dominion 

 contains supplies of the raw material necessary 

 for the supply of paper, Quebec has secured the 

 first place in the pulp and paper industry, and 

 leads the provinces of the Dominion in the value 

 of production and the capital invested. Quebec 

 has a forest area of 130,000,000 acres, some 

 5,000,000 acres of which are in private hands, 

 45,000,000 acres under license to timber men, 



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