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CANADA, DOMINION OP. 



Eight constitutional amendments were proposed 

 by the General Assembly, and submitted to vote 

 at this election. They were: 



To exempt from taxation buildings used solely 

 and exclusively for religious worship and the land 

 on which they are built. 



To assure the perpetuity of Stanford University, 

 which is believed to be in danger either from de- 

 fects in the original law or the deeds of gift, and 

 to enable it to receive property by legacy and to 

 hold property outside the State of California, and 

 to authorize the Legislature by special act to ex- 

 empt the property of the university from State 

 taxation and the Palo Alto farm and the personal 

 property from county and municipal taxation 

 upon condition that tuition be made absolutely 

 free to residents of California. The amendment 

 itself makes no exemption of taxation, and the 

 Legislature could pass no such law which could 

 not be repealed. The funds of the university are 

 now invested in United States bonds and so pay 

 no taxes. 



To exempt from taxation the property of the 

 Lick School of Mechanical Arts on condition that 

 the trustees make annual reports to the Governor. 



To exempt from taxation all bonds hereafter 

 issued by the State or any political subdivision 

 or district thereof. 



To make possible the enactment of a primary 

 election law. 



To make the salaries of superior judges payable 

 entirely by the State, instead of half by the coun- 

 ties, as now; to provide for the appointment of 

 as many salaried stenographers as there are supe- 

 rior judges; and to make salaries of supreme 

 judges payable monthly. 



To permit Vallejo and San Francisco to pay 

 certain indebtedness. 



To make changes in the judicial system, the 

 principal one of which is the creation of three 

 new appellate courts, in order to relieve the Su- 

 preme Court, the decisions of the courts of appeal 

 being made final in the majority of cases. 



The total vote for presidential electors was 303,- 

 793, compared with 296,503 in 1896. Of this, the 

 Republican candidates received 164,755; the Demo- 

 cratic, 124,985; the Prohibitionist, 5,024 a Repub- 

 lican majority of 34,746. 



Semicentennial. The fiftieth anniversary of 

 the admission of California to the Union was cele- 

 brated Sept. 9-12. 



Saturday and Sunday yacht races and regattas 

 were held on the bay. Saturday night there was 

 a magnificent naval parade on the water front, in 

 which the battle ship Iowa and the Naval Reserve 

 steamship Marion and a large fleet of tugs, 

 launches, and other craft participated, and in 

 which the big four-masted sailing vessel May Flint 

 took an involuntary part by colliding with the 

 Iowa and other vessels at anchor and then plun- 

 ging to the bottom of the harbor, where she now 

 lies. On Sunday afternoon Claus Spreckels's gift 

 of a grand band stand at Golden Gate Park was 

 one of the features of the day. Monday the great- 

 est parade ever witnessed in San Francisco passed 

 over the principal streets, and on Tuesday the 

 festivities closed with a variety of special features. 

 The celebration attracted visitors by the tens of 

 thousands. The city was smothered in bunting, 

 and the street decorations and illuminations were 

 never before equaled in the city. 



CANADA, DOMINION OF. Legislation 

 and Politics. The history of Canada in 1900 in- 

 cludes two all-absorbing issues the South African 

 war nnd the general elections. Public sentiment 

 was deeply and continuously stirred by the former; 

 legislation and politics were greatly affected by 



the latter. The Parliament met in its last session 

 at Ottawa, Feb. 1, and was opened by the Earl of 

 Minto as Governor General. The Government of 

 Sir Wilfrid Laurier was practically unchanged 

 from its composition of the preceding year, and 

 was composed of himself as President of the Coun- 

 cil ; Sir Richard Cartwright, Minister of Trade and 

 Commerce; Hon. R. W. Scott, Secretary of State; 

 Hon. David Mills, Minister of Justice; Sir L. H. 

 Da vies, Minister of Marine and Fisheries; Hon. 

 F. W. Borden, Minister of Militia and Defense; 

 Hon. William Mulock, Postmaster-General; Hon. 

 S. A. Fisher, Minister of Agriculture; Hon. J. 

 Israel Tarte, Minister of Public Works; Hon. R. R. 

 Dobell, minister without portfolio; Hon. W. S. 

 Fielding, Minister of Finance; Hon. A. G. Blair, 

 Minister of Railways and Canals; Hon. Clifford 

 Sifton, Minister of the Interior; Hon. W. Paterson, 

 Minister of Customs; Sir H. Joly de Lotbiniere, 

 Minister of Inland Revenue; Hon. James Suther- 

 land, minister without portfolio. Later in the year 

 Sir Henri Joly retired to take the lieutenant gov- 

 ernorship of British Columbia, and was succeeded 

 by Hon. M. E. Bernier. 



Lord Minto's speech from the throne, describing 

 the general situation and outlining the ministerial 

 programme for the session, contained these pas- 

 sages : 



" Hostilities having unfortunately broken out, 

 during the recess, between Great Britain and the 

 South African Republic, it appeared to my minis- 

 ters expedient to anticipate the action of Parlia- 

 ment by equipping and forwarding two contin- 

 gents of volunteers to the seat of war as a practical 

 evidence of profound devotion and loyalty of the 

 entire people of Canada to the sovereign and in- 

 stitutions of the British Empire. In addition to 

 the contingents sent by the Government, another 

 Canadian force is being organized and dispatched 

 at the personal expense of the High Commissioner 

 of Canada. I have been instructed to convey to 

 you her Majesty's high appreciation of the loyalty 

 and patriotism thus displayed, which, following the 

 preference under the present tariff to articles of 

 British manufacture, has had the happiest effect in 

 cementing and intensifying the cordial relations 

 subsisting between Canada and the mother coun- 

 try. A bill will be submitted for your approval, 

 making provision for the cost of equipping and 

 paying the Canadian contingents. 



" The measures which have been taken from 

 time to time to facilitate the safe transportation 

 of foodstuffs to European markets have resulted 

 in a large increase in the exportation of several 

 important articles of produce, and it may become 

 necessary in the interest of this very important 

 branch of industry to require a more careful in- 

 spection than has been customary, for the purpose 

 of maintaining that high standard of excellence 

 heretofore secured, and which is absolutely indis- , 

 pensable if the people of Canada are to increase 

 their large and profitable trade with other coun- 

 tries in these commodities. 



" I am glad to observe that the returns from 

 the Post Office Department afford good ground for 

 believing that the temporary loss of revenue 

 caused by the great reduction recently made in 

 the letter postage will speedily be made good by 

 the increased correspondence consequent thereon. 



"Negotiations are now in progress with several 

 of our sister colonies in the West Indies which it 

 is hoped may result in increasing and developing 

 our trade with those islands, and possibly with 

 certain portions of the adjacent continent of South 

 America. 



" It gives me great pleasure to observe that, in 

 pursuance of a policy which was defined at the 



