566 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



principal sources of revenue are the Dominion 

 subsidy and interest, and the raining royal- 

 ties ; the former amounting in 1886 to $432,- 

 884.13, and the latter to $127,149.97. 



Mining. The following is the estimated min- 

 eral production of Nova Scotia in 1886 : Gold, 

 23,362 ounces; iron-ore, 44,388 tons; manga- 

 nese-ore, 427 tons ; harytes, 230 tons ; anti- 

 mony, 645 tons; coal raised, 1,502,611 tons; 

 gypsum, 123,753 tons; building-stone, 8,000 

 tons; coke made, 31,604 tons; limestone, 20,- 

 265 tons ; grindstones, etc.. 1,600 tons. 



Legislation. The Legislature met on March 

 10, 1887, and the House of Assembly elected 

 Mr. M. J. Power, Speaker. The Hon. Mr. 

 Fielding, Premier, moved the following reso- 

 lutions : 



That the Province of Nova Scotia was on the first 

 day of July, 1867, made a member of the Canadian 

 Confederation with the consent of the Provincial 

 Legislature, but against the well-understood wishes of 

 the people ; 



That the consummation of the act of union, without 

 the approval of the people of Nova Scotia, was a grave 

 wrong, which produced widespread discontent and 

 marred the future of the Dominion ; 



That previous to the union of the provinces, the 

 Province of Nova Scotia was in a most nealthy finan- 

 cial condition ; 



That by the terms of the union the chief sources of 

 revenue were transferred to the Federal Government : 



That strong objections were taken at the time of 

 the union to the financial terras thereof, relating to 

 the Province of Nova Scotia, as being wholly inade- 

 quate to meet the requirements of the various serv- 

 ices left under the management of the Provincial 

 Legislature ; 



That an appeal was made to the Imperial Govern- 

 ment and Parliament for a repeal of the union, as far 

 as it related to this province ; 



That while they refused to assent to such repeal, 

 until a further trial of the union was had, the Im- 

 perial Government, in the Colonial Secretary's dis- 

 patch of the 10th of June, 1868, to Lord Monck, re- 

 quested that the Government and Parliament of 

 Canada would modify any arrangement respecting 

 taxation, or respecting: the regulation of trade and 

 fisheries, which might prejudice the interests of 

 Nova Scotia ; 



That the request of the Imperial Government has 

 never been fully complied with by the Government 

 and Parliament of Canada ; 



That after many years' experience under the union 

 successive governments in Nova Scotia found that 

 the objections which were urged against the terms of 

 union at the beginning applied with greater force 

 than in the first year of the union, and that the feel- 

 ing of discontent with regard to the financial arrange- 

 ment was more general and more deeply fixed than 

 before ; 



That urgent representations on this subject were 

 from time to time made to the Government of the 

 Dominion by the governments of Nova Scotia, repre- 

 senting all shades of political opinion ; 



That in the year 1884 a joint address of the two 

 branches of the Legislature was unanimously adopted 

 and forwarded to his Excellency the Governor-Gen- 

 eral, setting forth the absolute necessity of larger 

 allowances to the province from the Federal treasurv ; 



That the advisers of his Excellency, after long d"e- 

 lay, replied to the said address in a dispatch dated 



December 18, 1885, which was laid before the Legis- 

 lature in the session of 1886, in which dispatch the 

 claims of the province were rejected; 



That the two branches of the Legislature in 1886 

 reaffirmed their declarations of 1884, as respects the 

 disadvantages under which the province labored ; 



That on the 10th day of May, 1886, on the motion 

 of the leader of the Govenvment, the House of Assem- 

 bly adopted a series of resolutions in favor of the 

 withdrawal of the maritime provinces from the Cana- 

 dian Confederation and the formation of a maritime 

 union, or, in event of such changes being found im- 



Eracticable, the withdrawal of the Province of Nova 

 cotia alone, and inviting an expression of the opinion 

 of the people on such proposed change at the general 

 elections then approaching ; 



That the general election, which took place on the 

 15th day of June, 1886, resulted in the return of a 

 large majority of members in support of the Govern- 

 ment's policy ; 



That, while the representatives of the people of 

 Nova Scotia in the Provincial Parliament were thus 

 favorable to the policy of separation from the Do- 

 minion of Canada, a majority of the representatives 

 of the province in the Federal House of Commons 

 were known to be opposed to such policy ; 



That the importance of having the representatives 

 of the province in the two Parliaments in harmony 

 on this question was generally recognized ; 



That on the 22d of February, 1887, a general elec- 

 tion for the Parliament of Canada was held through- 

 out the Dominion^ affording the people of Nova Scotia 

 an opportunity of electing memoers of the House of 

 Commons in sympathy with the views of the majority 

 of the representatives in the House of Assembly ; 



That at the said general election for the House of 

 Commons in February } 1887, the Province of Nova 

 Scotia returned a majo'rity of members opposed to the 

 policy of separation irom the Dominion ; 



That in view of such recent action by the people of 

 the province, an application to the Imperial Govern- 

 ment and Parliament for the release of Nova Scotia 

 from the Canadian Confederation could not be favor- 

 ably received by the Imperial authorities, and it is at 

 present inexpedient to make such application ; 



That this house strongly reaffirms the declaration 

 of the last house, that Nova Scotia suffers great dis- 

 advantages in the union, and declares its opinion that 

 unless a material change takes place in financial affairs 

 and commercial relations, whereby the position of the 

 province is improved, the discontent in Nova Scotia 

 will continue and increase, and it will be necessary to 

 again submit the question of separation from Canada 

 to the people of this province for their decision. 



Dr. McKay moved an amendment, which 

 was negatived by 5 to 25. The Premier's reso- 

 lutions were adopted by 24 to 8. On motion 

 of the Premier, the House of Assembly adopted 

 resolutions in favor of the abolition of the 

 Legislative Council, asking for a conference by 

 committee with the Upper House on the sub- 

 ject. The Legislative Council declined the 

 conference. 



An act was passed conferring the right to 

 vote at civil and municipal elections upon 

 widows and spinsters having the same property 

 qualification as men that have the right to 

 vote; also upon married women who hold 

 property under the Married-Women's Property 

 Act of 1884, whose husbands are not qualified 

 to vote. 



