518 



ONTARIO. 



that by which the Fenian raid veterans of 18G5 

 and 1870 were recognized, as well as those of 

 1866. 



Good Beads. The good-roads legislation of the 

 session was a prominent feature. On Feb. 15 the 

 Hon. Frank R. Latchford, Commissioner of Pub- 

 lic Works, was attending a convention called at 

 Ottawa to discuss the general question under the 

 auspices of the county council of Carleton. He 

 said the Ontario Government had $1,000,000 

 of actual cash in the bank, and was prepared 

 to grant financial aid to this amount toward the 

 construction of good roads as soon as the munici- 

 palities had decided whether the county councils 

 or the township councils should expend the 

 money. On March 1 the Premier introduced a 

 measure entitled " An Act for the improvement of 

 the public highways," which provided that the 

 sum of $1.000.000 be set apart, to be paid out of 

 the consolidated revenue of the province, for the 

 improvement of its public roads. There were 

 clauses including an arrangement for abolishing 

 toll-gates and buying improved road-making ma- 

 chinery. The measure passed without opposition 

 on April 11. There was, of course, some criticism 

 in a general way from the Opposition. It was 

 pointed out that the townships of Ontario had ex- 

 pended the following sums upon road building and 

 repairing during a period of ten years: 1889, 

 $685,371; 1890, $779,028; 1891, $755,323; 1892, 

 $743,651; 1893, $806,781; 1894, $796,755; 1895, 

 $639,241; 1896, $702,212; 1897, $706,091; 1898, 

 $772,947. 



Hallways. The most important legislation of 

 the session was that connected with railway mat- 

 ters. On Jan. 16 the county council of Peter- 

 borough passed a memorial to the Lieutenant- 

 Governor in Council, asking that aid be given to 

 the Norwood and Apsley Railway Company, 

 which proposed to open up a fertile and hitherto 

 inaccessible region in the northeastern part of the 

 country. Such a policy, it was said, would bene- 

 fit 250,000 acres of Crown lands, develop a large 

 mineral district rich in corundum and mica, and 

 encourage tourist traffic through a country emi- 

 nently suited for such purposes. The company 

 was duly incorporated by an act that passed on 

 March 29, and the final announcement of subsi- 

 dies gave it $3,000 a mile for 25 miles. Similar 

 subsidies granted toward the end of the session 

 included the Bracebridge and Trading Lake Rail- 

 way of $3,000 a mile for 16 miles; the Bruce Mines 

 and Algoma Railway, $3,000 a mile for 13 miles; 

 the Port Arthur and St. Joseph Railway, $2,000 

 a mile for 30 miles; the Grand Trunk Railway, 

 $10,000 for the construction of a spur line from 

 Burk's Falls to the Magnetewan river; and a 

 railway in Oso and Lanark townships, $3,000 a 

 mile for 25 miles. 



TlXe Premier, on April 2, introduced a measure 

 in the Legislature granting to the Manitoulin and 

 North Shore Railway Company 2,542,000 acres for 

 the construction of 285 miles of railway with ter- 

 minus at Meaford and Sudbury, and branches 

 connecting Meaford with Owen Sound and Wiar- 

 ton with Tobermory. Ice-boats were to be run 

 in winter between Manitoulin island and Tober- 

 mory, and a general ferry service costing $30,000 

 to be established ; the Grand Trunk and Canadian 

 Pacific Railways were to have equal running 

 rights over the road; and Mr. F. H. Clergue, the 

 capitalist of Sault Ste. Marie, owner of the char- 

 ter, promised to place 1,000 settlers on the lands 

 annually for ten years, and to construct a smelter 

 on the line of the railway with a 300-ton capacity 

 a day. Mr. Clergue, or the company, agreed to 

 give the province full control over its passenger 



and freight rates, and to grant running powers on 

 fair terms over its lines to any other road. The 

 line was to be completed by June, 1906. Mr. 

 Whitney, in behalf of the Opposition, concurred 

 in the second reading, and the measure passed 

 unanimously to final reading on April 11. 



New Ontario Development. This subject 

 was much discussed, partly on account of political 

 considerations, partly because of actual material 

 progress. The result of explorations under Govern- 

 ment auspices, the mineral development of Michi- 

 picoten, the progress of the Clergue industries 

 at Sault Ste. Marie, the encouragement afforded 

 by the pulp- wood demands, and the conditions of 

 projected railway schemes, all tended to keep this 

 northern part of the province well in the public 

 mind. On March 6, 1901, a large deputation 

 waited upon the Hon. Mr. Sifton at Ottawa, and 

 asked the Minister of the Interior for a grant of 

 $100,000 annually to encourage immigration to 

 this part of the country. Sir L. H. Davies, Min- 

 ister of Fisheries, was then waited upon and asked 

 to establish a fish-hatchery for Lake Superior. 

 He referred the matter to the Superintendent of 

 Hatcheries. The Minister of Agriculture was 

 asked for quarantine stations at Port Arthur and 

 Fort William, while the Ministers of Public 

 Works and Railways were requested to deepen 

 the St. Lawrence to 21 feet, so that vessels from 

 Halifax and St. John might ascend to Fort 

 William without difficulty. The construction of 

 breakwaters and the carrying out of dredging 

 operations at Port Arthur and Fort William were 

 also urged. They also wanted ice-breaking boats 

 on Lake Superior, and a subsidy to an interpro- 

 vincia"! line of steamers. 



On March 11 the same deputation waited on the 

 Ontario Government and asked for aid to bridges 

 and colonization roads, aid for certain railways, 

 increased representation, prolongation of the 

 shooting season, and more system in looking 

 after immigrants for New Ontario. 



Education. The Hon. Richard Harcourt, Min- 

 ister of Education, published his annual report in 

 February. The following summary of conditions 

 are shown by it: School population (1899), 586,- 

 350; public-school registration, 429,227; number 

 of public schools, 5,654; average attendance in 

 public schools, 243,325; Roman Catholic separate 

 schools, 352; average attendance in separate 

 schools, 25,767; Protestant separate schools, 218; 

 average attendance in Protestant separate schools, 

 216; number of kindergartens, 119; average kin- 

 dergarten attendance, 4,701 ; number of night- 

 schools, 16; average attendance at night-schools, 

 262; number of high schools and collegiate in- 

 stitutes, 130; pupils in high schools, 22,460; 

 amount expended for public schoolhouses, $322,- 

 403; total amount expended on public schools, 

 $4,020,048; total expended on high schools, $722,- 

 239. 



There was an increase during the year of 67 in 

 the number of public schools, a decrease of $23,- 

 185 in the amount expended upon them, and a 

 decrease of 4,455 in the average attendance. The 

 Roman Catholic separate schools showed an in- 

 crease of 7 in number and 129 in average attend- 

 ance; high schools showed a decrease of 3 in the 

 number of teachers and 841 in attendance. 



Crown Lands and Forests. The Hon. E. J. 

 Davis, Commissioner of Crown Lands, made his 

 report public early in the year. The area sold in 

 1900 was 65,996 acres, having a total value of 

 $91,837, and on account of these and previous 

 sales there was collected $68,861. Crown lands 

 for mining were leased to the extent of 27,835 

 acres, and the rental received for these and pre- 



