DOMINION OF CANADA. 



219 



Stringent regulations have been put in force 

 to preserve them, but they have been ineffect- 

 ual to stay the falling off. These limit the 

 fishing season to eighty days in the year, and 

 prohibit the capture of lobsters under eight 

 inches in length. The product of the lobster- 

 fisheries in 1880 was 2,000,000 cans. 



The exports of coal from the Nova Scotia 

 mines have not increased in the last three years. 

 The number of tons exported are given in the 

 trade returns as 185,443 in 1877-'78, 134,017 

 in 1878-'79, and 132,796 in 1879-'80. The ex- 

 ports from British Columbia for the same years 

 show a progressive increase, having been 145,- 

 542 tons in 1877-'78, 173.789 in 1878-79, and 

 204,525 in 1879-'80. The prices at which the 

 British Columbian coal is exported are much 

 higher than those paid for the Nova Scotian 

 product, the value of the exports from the for- 

 mer province in 1879-'80 being given as $700,- 

 142, and that of the latter's exports for the 

 year as $238,390. 



The rate of interest in Canada twenty years 

 ago ranged all the way from 10 to 20 per cent 

 per annum. Down to 1876, 9 per cent was 

 always procurable on mortgages. In 1877 the 

 usual rate came to be 8| or 8 per cent. In the 

 winter of 1880-'81 the demand for loans on 

 first-class property grew less, and money at the 

 same time more plentiful, so that the prevail-' 

 ing rate sank to 7 per cent and even lower. 

 Banks have ceased to pay interest on deposits. 

 Good township or county loans can be placed 

 at 6 per cent, and the 5 per cent Dominion 

 bonds have risen above par. 



From the statistics of crime for the year 

 1879 it appears that the convictions for crimes 

 against the person were 3,084 in Ontario, be- 

 ing one in 520 inhabitants according to the 

 census of 1871 ; 1,070, or one in 1,114 inhabit- 

 ants, in Quebec ; 270 in Nova Scotia, or one 

 in 1,390 ; and 260 in New Brunswick, or one 

 in 1,098. The larger ratio in Ontario is owing 

 to the greater number of foreign-born inhabit- 

 ants in that province, since the number of con- 

 victions among the native-born were only 676, 

 against 668 in Quebec, and 183 in New Bruns- 

 wick. Of 10 persons tried for murder in On- 

 tario 4 were acquitted, while out of 18 persons 

 brought to trial in Quebec 16 were acquitted. 

 The convictions for crimes of persons reported 

 as well-educated in the Dominion were not 

 more than one seventh as numerous as among 

 the class of the totally illiterate. Out of 2,590 

 criminals convicted of the graver offenses 

 against the person and against property, 1,106 

 were married, 42 widowed, and 1,452 single. 

 Out of 1,670 convicts, 902 were set down as 

 moderate drinkers and 768 as intemperate. 



The prohibition movement in Canada is gain- 

 ing in force annually, and there are signs of a 

 strong and wide-spread agitation in immediate 

 prospect. The Scott Permissive Act has been 

 adopted in a number of counties, and the re- 

 sults attained are prompting others to take ad- 

 vantage of it for the suppression of intemper- 



ance. Steps have been taken for a vote in 

 some of the cities on the application of this 

 act. The act was passed in 1878. The next 

 year it was tested in the courts, and declared to 

 be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of 

 New Brunswick. The Government assumed 

 the case, and carried it into the Supreme Court 

 of Appeals of the Dominion, which reversed the 

 decision and declared the Canada Temperance 

 Act to have been within the constitutional 

 powers of Parliament. The liquor interest did 

 not let it rest there, but carried the question 

 before the Judicial Committee of the Privy 

 Council of Great Britain, which tribunal has 

 not yet passed upon the case. The Dominion 

 Government have not taken steps to defend 

 the act before the Privy Council. The Scott 

 act has been adopted by five sixths of the coun- 

 ties and cities of Canada. 



The military spirit, as evinced in the training 

 and parading of militia corps, has been more 

 rife of late in Canada than in former years. 

 The active militia of the Dominion are report- 

 ed as 37,576 men, of which Ontario has 16,801, 

 Quebec 12,251, New Brunswick 2,590, Nova 

 Scotia 3,946, Manitoba and Northwest Terri- 

 tories 576, British Columbia 303, and Prince 

 Edward Island 712. 



The report of the Post-Office Savings-Bank 

 for the fiscal year 1881 shows a great growth 

 in the popularity of the institution. The 

 deposits were $4,175,042, being nearly double 

 those of any previous year, while the with- 

 drawals were $2,072,289, but little above the 

 usual amount. At the close of the year there 

 were39,605 accounts open,representing$6,208,- 

 226.77, or an average of $156.75 per account. 

 This average is higher than it has ever been be- 

 fore. The nearest approach to it was $147.04 

 in 1872. The interest paid out to depositors 

 in the year was $184,904.81. The total sum 

 received by the bank since its establishment 

 in 1868 is $27,097,124, the total amount with- 

 drawn $19,852,043, and the sum invested at 

 depositors' request in Dominion stock, $2,431,- 

 900. The bank continues to pay 4 per cent 

 interest on deposits, while many of the loan 

 societies have reduced their rate to 3 per cent. 

 This fact, and the increased prosperity of the 

 people, account for the increase in the bank's 

 business. 



The extent of the emigration to the United 

 States has been the subject of many questions 

 and comments. The accuracy of the returns 

 of immigration made by the United States 

 customs officers, especially at Port Huron, as 

 indicating the actual extent of the settlement 

 of Canadians in the United States, has been 

 doubted, perhaps not without reason. The 

 Canadian Government instituted an investiga- 

 tion into the movement. The officers of the 

 railroad companies were questioned regarding 

 the number of tickets sold, which, though af- 

 fording results more agreeable to their wishes, 

 was a still less reliable statistical method. The 

 census returns did not afford the data for solv- 



