96 



CANADA, DOMINION OF. 



Religion!* Statistics. During 1895 a table was 

 prepared by the Dominion statistician showing the 

 religious classification of the people of Canada. 

 Based upon the most recent figures and estimates, 

 il shows 046,050 adherents of the Church of Eng- 

 land, 84?,?<)5 Methodists. 755,326 Presbyterians, 

 ;i()::.s:!<) Baptists. 1,992.017 Roman Catholics, and 

 2ss.-j:!i! of other beliefs. By provinces these figures 

 indicate a Roman Catholic percentage of 20 in 

 British Columbia, 13 in Manitoba, 36 in New 

 Brunswick, 27 in Nova Scotia, 43 in Prince Ed- 

 ward Island, 18 in the Territories, and 87 in Que- 

 bec. 



Prohibition. During the parliamentary session 

 of February, 1896, Mr. Flint introduced a motion 

 " that in the opinion of this house the manufac- 

 ture, importation, and sale of intoxicating liquors, 

 except for medicinal, sacramental, and mechanical 

 purposes, should be prohibited by law." After de- 

 bate, the motion was indirectly voted down by 56 

 to 47 in a very small house and upon a resolution 

 to adjourn. More important than this perfunctory 

 discussion was the decision by the Judicial Commit- 

 tee of the Imperial Privy Council, announced on 

 May 10 following, to the effect that the province of 

 Ontario had the right to enact local prohibition 

 under the Federal Constitution, but that the prov- 

 ince can neither stop the manufacture of liquor for 

 sale outside of its boundaries nor trench on the 

 right of the Federal Government to govern the im- 



B)rtation of liquor into the several provinces of the 

 ominion. Consequently, to all intents and pur- 

 poses, it throws the responsibility of legislation in 

 this matter directly upon the latter Government. 

 The new Premier has promised a plebiscite vote 

 upon the subject. 



Criminal Statistics. For the year ending June 

 30, 1895, there were 7,730 charges for indictable 

 offenses an increase of 129 over 1894 and out of 

 that number 2,154 were acquitted and 20 detained 

 for lunacy. The number convicted was 5,474, or 

 10-86 per 10,000 inhabitants, against 10'50 in the 

 previous year. There were 740 offenders under six- 

 teen years of age, and 14 per cent, were unable to 

 read or write. In the use of liquors 53 per cent, 

 were moderate and 33 per cent, immoderate. There 

 were 11,558 cases of drunkenness recorded. 



Trade and Commerce. The exports of Canada 

 for the year ending June 30, 1896, show an increase 

 of $7,000.000 over the preceding year, and include 

 the produce of the mine, $8,401,860 ; produce of 

 the fisheries, $11,275,732 ; produce of the forest, 

 $27,255,420 ; animals and their produce and agri- 

 cultural products generally, $37,586,635 ; and manu- 

 factures, $10,0:38.7:55. Miscellaneous items amount 

 to $553,790, and with an export of $4.695,029 worth 

 of coin and bullion the total of $118,140.504 is 

 reached. Of the total imports of $110,587,713 the 

 dutiable goods amounted to $67,250,775, or nearly 

 $9,000,01)0 more than in 1895, and the free goods to 

 $38,111.74:;. or $4,000.000 less than in the preceding 

 year. Coin and bullion importations showed an in- 

 crease and amounted to x5.225,195. The trade of 

 Canada therefore as a whole increased over 1895 by 

 $11,888,884, Great Britain and the United States 

 were the chief contributors to this trade, and while 

 the. exports of minerals, fish, and lumber went 

 largely to the republic, those of a^i'ieu]' ire \vnit 

 almost i-ntirely to Kngland. Of the imports the 

 following were the chief dutiable articles, and in 

 many lines an increased trade, with the States is 

 noticeable : Breadstuff's, * 1 .955.546 ; bituminous 

 coal. $3,383,961 ; cotton and manufactures of, $4 - 

 <;ir,,s::j; f a , l( . y <r () ods, $1.1506.222: glassware, $1,- 

 095,930; iron and steel and manufactures of. $8,- 

 422,7."):',: i i manufactures of. * 1. 255,862 ; 



oils, etc., $1,433,012 ; 'silk and manufactures of, 



$2,551,247 ; sugar, $4,752,303 ; woolens and manu- 

 factures of, $8,721,289. Some of these imports, 

 such as iron and steel, are about equally divided 

 between the two countries mentioned, while others, 

 like silk and woolens, come almost entirely from 

 England. 



Militia and Defense. Immediately following 

 the Venezuelan scare arrangements were made for 

 rearming the Canadian militia, and $3,000,000 was 

 voted by Parliament for that purpose. Col. Lake, 

 an officer experienced in both the imperial and 

 Canadian services, was sent to England to discuss 

 with experts and the commander in chief the best 

 means of carrying out this purpose. At the close 

 of 1896 the new arms were being distributed and 

 increased efficiency is indicated in many directions. 

 The parliamentary vote for 1896-'97 was also in- 

 creased in its current amounts for militia purposes, 

 while Major-Gen. Gascoigne, the new commander 

 of the militia, announced that " the platform of my 

 programme is going to be musketry." This is being 

 carried out in the drills as well as in the rearming 

 of the troops. The Royal Military College at 

 Kingston is also being reorganized. 



Railways. The whole business of the Grand 

 Trunk system has been revolutionized under the 

 management of Sir Charles Rivers- Wilson, the new 

 president. In 1895 the passenger traffic showed a 

 decrease of 105,748 in numbers and of $138,000 in 

 amount, while the mail and express earnings showed 

 a decrease and the working expenses were 70'84 per 

 cent, of the receipts. Upon the whole the report 

 indicated a better condition in the Canadian line 

 than upon its American branches. During 1896 

 the returns showed a decided improvement in many 

 ways. 



The Canadian Pacific Railway, which controls 

 6.174 miles in Canada, compared with the Grand 

 Trunk's 3,161 miles, reported for 1895 gross earn- 

 ings of $18,941,036 and working expenses of $11,- 

 460,085. Its annual statement shows the cost of 

 the road to have been $174.281,173 ; the value of its 

 equipment to be $18,386,933 ; the value of its Pa- 

 cific steamers, etc., to be $3.504,403 ; acquired se- 

 curities amount to nearly $23,000.000 ; and with 

 miscellaneous securities and $3,956,000 cash in 

 banks the total assets are $235,812,286. excluding 

 the value of 17,347,000 acres of land. The liabili- 

 ties consist of $42,353,000 in stock, $48,088,000 in 

 mortgage bonds, $18,424,000 in land-grant bonds, 

 and various smaller sums. The railway statistics 

 of Canada as a whole show $894,640,559 invested in 

 railways at the close of the fiscal year 1895 and 

 . 15,977 miles in operation. During the year 13,987,- 

 580 passengers were carried and 21,524,421 tons of 

 freight, while the total earnings amounted to $46,- 

 785,487 and the working expenses to $32,749,669 

 a general reduction from the figures of 1894. Dur- 

 ing the session of 1895 several subsidies were 

 granted and many others were paid as part of pre- 

 vious annual grants to small railways in different 

 parts of the country, the total being $1,123,949, or 

 slightly more than in the succeeding year. 



Canals. The Canadian canal system and water- 

 way from the head of Lake Superior to the Atlan- 

 tic Ocean was completed in 1895 by the opening of 

 the Sault-Ste.-Marie Canal on the Canadian side. 

 The system has cost between sixty and seventy mil- 

 lions, but is not yet deepened sufficiently to admit 

 very large vessels through the whole course. The 

 traffic is not heavy, amounting in 1894 to 2,942,715 

 tons of freight, 142,124 passengers, and $288,129 in 

 .tolls. The tonnage of the Canadian vessels was 3,048,- 

 904 and of the United States vessels 1.012,027. The 

 total revenue collected in 1894 was $387,421 and in 

 1895 f $340.861, while the expenditure on construc- 

 tion, repairs, and maintenance was $3,198,048 in 



