624: 



ONTARIO. 



OREGON. 



beans, 1,292,098 bushels; hay and clover. 2,280,240 

 tons. 



The live stock on the farms, July 1, 1896, included 

 624,749 horses, a decrease of over 20.000. There 

 were 2,181,958 cattle and 1,849,84!) sheep. The 

 hogs numbered 1.269,031. The yield of full wheat 

 per acre was 17 bushels, and that of spring wheat 

 13 bushels. Barley gave 27 bushels to the acre. 

 oats 34, rye 15, peas 21, and beans 17. During the 

 year ending June 30, 1896, there was a membership 

 in the Ontario fanners' institutes of 12,384, against 

 10,819 in the preceding year. The Government 

 grant to these institutes varied from $50 to s75. 

 There is a Dairy Commissioner, and in 1895 a dairy 

 school was erected in Kingston as a branch of the 

 local School of Mining and Agriculture. Ontario 

 still makes the bulk of the ,$15.000,000 worth of 

 cheese sent to England. Three years ago only 

 about $600,000 worth went from the whole Dominion. 



Mining. During 1896 Ontario as well as Brit- 

 ish Columbia rejoiced in wide discoveries and a con- 

 siderable development of gold. At the end of 1895 

 there were 8 gold mines in operation, witli 237 men 

 employed, a total production valued at .$50,281, and 

 wages'paid amounting to $56,2:>4. Other minerals 

 showed a much larger value and product. Building 

 stone was valued at $438,000, cement at si5!.i;r. 

 lime at $280,000, drain tiles and brick at *S62.00(), 

 sewer pipe at $133,159, poultry at $10S.()OH. salt at 

 $188,101, nickel at 404,861, copper at si U0.9 13, nat- 

 ural gas at $282,98(5, and petroleum in various forms 

 at $2,177,334. There was a total mineral product 

 valued at $5,170.138, employing 5,383 laborers and 

 paying $1,571.651 in wages. The gold fields exist 

 in the County of Hastings in eastern Ontario; in 

 Algoma and not far from the great Huronian belt 

 of copper and nickel ; on the north shore of Lake 

 Superior and throughout a vast stretch of territory 

 along the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake on 

 the Minnesota boundary, to the far Keewatin bound- 

 ary a tract of at least 2,000 square miles. Into 

 this latter section prospectors and speculators and 

 miners are crowding. Iron is found in large quan- 

 tities in northern Ontario, platinum has lately been 

 discovered on the north shore of Lake Huron, and 

 corundum in Hastings County. 



Education. The Ontario school system is under 

 the control of a Minister of Education, instead of 

 the superintendents, who have the nonpartisan 

 management of other provincial systems. The 

 public schools are undenominational, but separate 

 Roman Catholic schools are allowed by law and are 

 given a certain proportion of the taxes. In 1894 there 

 were 5,977 public schools and 328 separate schools, 

 with an average attendance of 268,364 pupils in the 

 one case and of 23,328 in the other. There were 

 2,795 male teachers and 6.029 female in the public 

 schools, and 133 males and 581 females in the sepa- 

 rate schools. The former had receipts amounting 

 to $4,972,507 and expenditures of $4,248,131, and 

 the latter receipts of $392,393 and expenses amount- 

 ing to $337,307. 



Toronto University, which is at the head of the 

 higher educational system of the province, shows 

 an estimated revenue for 1895-'96 of $120,452. which 

 will leave a deficit in meeting the estimated ex- 

 penditure of $125,000. During the year a careful 

 revision was made in the legislation connected with 

 the schools, and changes made in various details 

 connected with the high and public schools. One 

 provision defines more explicitly the moral super- 

 vision and duties of teachers. They are required 

 to " inculcate, by precept and example, respect for 

 religion and the principles of Christian morality, 

 and the highest regard for truth, justice, love of 

 country, humanity, benevolence, sobriety, industry, 

 frugality, purity, temperance, and all other virtues." 



Miscellaneous. During the year. 2.735 yearly 



tavern licenses were issued, against 2,841 in 1894, 

 and the total of all licenses was 3.205, against 3,317 

 the year before. The revenue was $10,000 less, 

 while the total collection for fines as well as licenses 

 was $623.717, against $649,173 in the previous year. 



The private subscriptions for asylums, orphans" 

 homes, etc., exceeded those of 1894 by S24.000. 

 There were 4,484 inmates, against 3,639 in the pre- 

 ceding year. 



The area of Crown lands sold during 1895 was 

 35,209 acres, valued at 37.213. Mineral lands were 

 leased to the extent of 13,969 acres, and a total of 

 S26.106 was collected therefrom. 



The Society for the Protection of Neglected and 

 Dependent Children did good work during t lie- 

 year, and was mainly supported by the local gov- 

 ernment, 115 such children being placed in homes 

 under the action of this society. 



ORE(iOX, a Pacific coast State, admitted to the 

 Union Feb. 14, 1859; area, 96.030 square miles. 

 The population was 13,294 in 1S50: 52.465 in 1S60; 

 90.923 in 1870; 174,768 in 1880; 313.767 in 1890. 

 15y the State census of 1895 it was 362.762. Capital, 

 Salem. 



Government. The following were the State offi- 

 cers in ISiHi: Governor, William P. Lord: Secretary 

 of State, Harrison H. Kim-aid ; Treasurer, Philip 

 !\Iei-chau : Attorney-General, C. M. Idleman: Ad- 

 jutant-General, B. B. Tattle; Superintendent of 

 Instruction, George M. Irwin all Republicans: 

 Fish and Game Protector, H. I). McGuire: Chief 

 Justice of the Supreme Court, Robert S. Bean ; As- 

 sociate Justices, Frank A. Moore, Charles E. Wol- 

 verton all Republicans. 



Finances. The total valuation in 1896. upon 

 which the levy for 1897 is based, was $1 42.449.se ], 

 as returned by the county boards. The State board 

 raised it to $152,033.666. When the exemptions 

 were deducted the net total of taxable property 

 was estimated to be $143,345,967. Many of the 

 county valuations were largely increased. In Marion 

 County, personal property was raised 30 per cent., 

 including money, notes, and accounts. The ques- 

 tion was raised whether the board had power to 

 raise the valuation of money. This was explained 

 by the fact that the county assessors made no sepa- 

 rate classification ; hence the only thing to do was 

 to raise all personal property together. Notice has 

 been given that the county will not pay the levy on 

 the increased valuation except by mandate of court. 



Education. The biennial report of the State 

 Superintendent shows the following summaries for 

 the two vears : 



The value of school property is $2.988,312. In 

 1896 $123,428 was paid for schoolhouses. The 

 amount of State funds apportioned in August was 

 $136,104, making a per capita of $1.05. 



The appropriations for the Weston Normal School 

 by the last Legislature were $1,200 for maintenance 

 and $4,000 for improvements; at the end of the 

 year a deficiency of $1,754 was reported. 



The Monmouth Normal School graduated a class 

 of 44 in June. The appropriation for this school 

 was $18,000, and the deficit from the preceding bi- 

 ennium $8,526. 



There were about 16 graduates of the normal 

 school at Ellensburg in June, besides about 20 in 

 a short teacher's course. 



