MANITOBA, PROVINCE OF. 



publican Congressmen were elected. The Leg- 

 islature consists of 27 Republicans and 4 oppo- 

 sition in the Senate, and 122 Republicans and 

 29 Opposition in the House. 



MANITOBA, PROVINCE OF. The Provincial 

 Cabinet underwent reconstruction in Septem- 

 ber of 1886. The Premier and Provincial Treas- 

 urer, Mr. Norquay, was appointed Railway 

 Commissioner under an act passed at the last 

 session of the Legislature. Mr. La Riviere 

 was appointed Provincial Treasurer, and Dr. 

 Harrison succeeded the latter as Minister of 

 Statistics and Health. Mr. C. P. Brown be- 

 came Provincial Secretary, and Dr. Wilson 

 Minister of Public Works. At the general 

 elections, which took place on December 9, 

 the Norquay government (Conservative) was 

 sustained, but by a reduced majority. 



The exports of the province of Manitoba for 

 the fiscal year ending June 30, 1885, amounted 

 to $1,083,528, the whole going to Great Brit- 

 ain and the United States, $895,402 to the 

 former and $188,126 to the latter country. 

 The bulk of the exports consisted of animals 

 and their products. 



Legislation. At the session of 1886 many 

 bills, including some important measures, were 

 passed. Among them were acts providing 

 for a redistribution of seats, giving increased 

 representation to the western part of the 

 province, extending the franchise, and intro- 

 ducing vote by ballot. A resolution was 

 passed recognizing the propriety of the monop- 

 oly clause in the charter of the Canadian Pa- 

 cific Railway, as essential to obtaining the 

 construction of the line, but expressing the 

 opinion that on the opening of the line from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific steps should be 

 taken by the Dominion Parliament to secure 

 from the company a relinquishment of the 

 monopoly privilege. A subsidy of $1,000,000 

 in 4-per-cent. Manitoba debentures, offered 

 by resolution of the Legislature at its previous 

 session, on the completion of a railway from 

 Hudson Bay to a point on the Canadian Pa- 

 cific Railway, not having been accepted, a se- 

 lect committee was appointed on the subject. 

 An arrangement was then made with the 

 Winnipeg and Hudson Bay Railway and 

 Steamship Company, and ratified by the Leg- 

 islature for the province to guarantee the 

 interest at 4 per cent, per annum for twenty- 

 five years on bonds of the road to the extent 

 of $4,500,000, to become payable on the com- 

 pletion of the road. 



A very important measure was carried, 

 consolidating the laws relating to municipal 

 corporations. The bill was drafted by three 

 commissioners appointed by order in Council 

 in 1885. Special consideration is given to the 

 judicial district boards. These boards, one for 

 each of the three judicial districts into which 

 the province is divided, were created primarily 

 to collect and disburse the expenses in connec- 

 tion with the erection and maintenance of 

 court-houses and jails, and the administration 



MAKYLAND. 



523 



of justice. Hitherto the boards have also 

 had the responsibility of collecting arrears of 

 taxes for local municipalities and towns, and 

 of the sale of land for arrears of taxes. The 

 act provides for the performance of these 

 latter duties by the officers of the municipali- 

 ties, and for the appointment of a provincial 

 officer, to be called the Municipal Commis- 

 sioner, to control the collection and disburse- 

 ment of the expenses of the administration of 

 justice. Taxation of personal property in local 

 municipalities is abolished, and the right of 

 municipalities to collect taxes is barred after 

 five years from the time of their levy. A 

 practice has extensively prevailed among land- 

 owners of allowing their lands to go to sale 

 for arrears of taxes, and then buying the lands 

 in for less than the amount of the taxes. To 

 stop this practice the municipalities are author- 

 ized to buy the lands unless the full amount 

 of the taxes due is bid. The period of redemp- 

 tion of lands sold for arrears of taxes is re- 

 duced from two years to one year. Several 

 places with very small populations are re- 

 ported as having been .incorporated as towns ; 

 incorporation having been sought by land- 

 owners in order to enable them to dispose of 

 their lands as town property. Some of these 

 so-called towns are overburdened with debt, 

 and some have neglected to elect councils or 

 make provision for their liabilities. Provision 

 is made in the act to prevent the incorporation 

 of such places in future. 



On a motion being made to express approv- 

 al of Mr. Gladstone's Irish home-rule policy, 

 the Legislative Assembly passed an amendment 

 to the effect that " while some modification 

 may be required in the form of government 

 under which Ireland has been in the past and 

 is now ruled, this House is not possessed of 

 sufficient information in order to express any 

 definite opinion on that important question ; 

 and further, that this Legislature has full con- 

 fidence that the Imperial Parliament will en- 

 act such legislation as will be in the best inter- 

 ests of that portion of the empire, and remove 

 the causes of discontent existing there." 



MARYLAND. State Government. The follow- 

 ing were the State officers during the year: 

 Governor, Henry Lloyd, Democrat; Secretary 

 of State, Robert B. Milligan; Attorney-Gen- 

 eral, Charles B. Roberts ; Comptroller, J. Frank 

 Turner; Treasurer, John S. Gittings; Tax Com- 

 missioner, Levin Woolford; Insurance Com- 

 missioner, Jesse K. Hines; Commissioner of 

 the Land-Office, J. Thomas Scharf ; Commis- 

 ers of Labor Statistics, Thomas 0. Weeks ; Sec- 

 retary of the Board of Education, M. A. New- 

 ell. Court of Appeals : Chief Judge, Richard 

 H. Alvey ; Associate Judges, L. T. H. Irving, 

 John M. Robinson, George Yellott, Oliver Mil- 

 ler, John Ritchie, Frederick Stone, and Will- 

 iam S. Bryan. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature met on 

 the 6th of January, and adjourned on the 5th 

 of April. Arthur P. Gorman, Democrat, was 



