NEW BRUNSWICK. 



NEWFOUNDLAND. 



539 



the sale of provincial 3-per-cent. bonds issued in 

 February, 1898. to redeem outstanding debentures 

 then maturing, was most satisfactory, demon- 

 strating, as it did, the very excellent standing of 

 the province in financial circles. Since then my 

 Government has effected the sale of 3-per-cent. 

 bonds at par. A measure will be submitted to 

 you giving authority to redeem from time to time, 

 as they mature, bonds bearing a rate of interest 

 above 3 per cent, by other bonds to be issued at 

 a rate not exceeding 3 per cent." 



J. D. Hazen, Q. C., was elected leader of the 

 Opposition, and George F. Hill Speaker of the 

 House. Mr. Hazen announced the Conservative 

 provincial policy as follows: Secret ballot in pro- 

 vincial elections; tender and public competition 

 for Government contracts; independence of the 

 Auditor General, as at Ottawa; abolition of the 

 office of Solicitor General; decreased number of 

 members in the House, with single-member con- 

 stituencies; special steps for the preservation of 

 forests. 



On April 12 a debate took place on the ques- 

 tion of woman suffrage, and Premier Emmerson 

 introduced the following resolution, which was 

 lost by a vote of 7 to 34: 



" Resolved, That in the opinion of this House 

 the time is now ripe for the enactment of a law 

 providing that the rights of citizenship shall not 

 be denied or abridged on account of sex, but that 

 full franchise shall be granted to the women of 

 this province on the same terms as to the men." 



A few days later an Opposition motion in favor 

 of an absolutely secret ballot was voted down, 

 and on April 24 a resolution asking the Domin- 

 ion Government to assume control of the Cana- 

 dian Eastern Railway and incorporate it with 

 the Intercolonial was carried unanimously. The 

 Government also introduced useful legislation re- 

 garding provincial fairs and agricultural matters 

 generally. But the legislation effected, as a whole, 

 was not of material importance. 



Finances. On April 13 L. J. Tweedie, pro- 

 vincial Treasurer, reviewed the finances of the 

 preceding year, and the following extracts may 

 be given from his speech: 



" The largest item of receipt, of course, was the 

 Dominion subsidies, which last year amounted to 

 $483,510.36. Territorial revenue came next. It 

 was hard to estimate this item, owing to the 

 uncertainty of the lumber cut, or the amount 

 derived from the annual sale of licenses. Last 

 year he had estimated for territorial revenue, 

 including stumpage and sales of licenses, mining 

 receipts and game returns, $155,000, whereas the 

 amount actually returned was $155,959.63. The 

 same observation might be made in regard to fees 

 in the provincial Secretary's office, which vary 

 greatly from year to year. The succession duties 

 of course depend upon the number of deaths and 

 the value of the estates. Last year the Govern- 

 ment estimated something more than they got 

 from this source, because several estates were 

 included which had not yet been settled for. 



" In his estimate of income last year he had 

 predicted a balance over the expenditure of 

 $6,038.52. He regretted that that had not been 

 verified on account of a shortage of revenue and 

 some other expenditures, which he would explain 

 in detail. The fact was that there had been about 

 $14,000 of overexpenditure. A great deal of crit- 

 icism was often made upon the fact that over- 

 expenditures were made, but, as he had already 

 said, it was not possible to estimate some of these 

 items closely, and an overexpenditure was no 

 more evidence of mismanagement than an under- 

 expenditure would be. Last year the territorial 



revenue had fallen short of the expectation by 

 $3,040.37. The revision of Hie stal.ut.nH had cost 

 $1,479.48, or $2,052 less than Hie estimate. Un- 

 foreseen expenses, placed at $2,000, hud amounted 

 to $1,032.25. The total expenditure h;u] heen for 

 the year $727,049.75, as contrasted with HIP esti- 

 mate of $712,991.98, an excess of $14,057.77." 



Commerce and Navigation. The decline in 

 the registered tonnage of the province continued 

 during 1898, the drop being more than 14,000 tons. 

 The comparative statement of vessels and ton- 

 nage for 1897-'98 shows that in the former year 

 the number was 913 and the tonnage 104.02H, 

 while in the latter the figures were 903 and 89,97(5 

 respectively. The loss in St. John vessels dur- 

 ing the year, from the standpoint of value, was 

 much greater than usual. The total value was 

 $305,000, compared with $171,000 in 1897, $118,420 

 in 1896, and $1(32,050 in 1895. The vessels lost 

 in 1898 numbered 25, of 9,771 tons, against 16 

 vessels, of 9,466 tons, in 1897, 23 vessels, of 6,748 

 tons, in 1896, and 15 vessels, of 10,150 tons, in 

 1895. 



The exports from the port of St. John for 1898 

 were valued at $6,830,429, against $6,256,659 in 

 1897. The imports were $3,333,446, against $3,- 

 444,338. Of the exports, products of the forest 

 were nearly $3,000,000, and agricultural products 

 $2,318,000. 



Education. On June 30, 1898, there were 

 1,778 public schools in the province, with 1,864 

 teachers, 63,333 pupils, and an average attendance 

 of 38,874. The grammar-school pupils were only 

 657, and those at the normal school 281. The 

 Education Department's receipts from Govern- 

 ment grant were $188,104; from municipalities, 

 $90,807; from district assessments, $230,000; a 

 total of $508,911. The expenditure for the year 

 was $483,829. 



NEWFOUNDLAND, a North American Brit- 

 ish colony; area, 42,200 square miles; population, 

 210,000. Capital, St. John's. 



Legislation. The legislative work of the Par- 

 liament in the session of 1899 comprised several 

 useful and important enactments, bearing mainly 

 on the industrial activities connected with the set- 

 tlement of lands along the railway, mining, pulp 

 making, lumbering, etc. One of the most impor- 

 tant of these is an act relating to Crown lands. 

 It deals with mining, the establishment of pulp 

 mills, and the survey of lands, and is a marked 

 improvement on previous acts. It provides that 

 lands hereafter applied for shall be surveyed with- 

 in a year and all fees be paid, and that lands 

 already applied for shall be surveyed within two 

 years. For the establishment of pulp mills it 

 declares that the Governor in Council may grant, 

 after one month's notice in the Royal Gazette, 

 license to cut timber over not less than 5 nor 

 more than 150 square miles, the licensee to pay 

 a premium of $5 a mile and an annual rental 

 of $3 a mile. The licensee must further expend 

 $20,000 on buildings and machinery. The licensee 

 is not to exclude any person from cutting wood 

 on the land for the bona fide purposes of the 

 fisheries. In regard to mining grants, it provides 

 that the applicant must mark distinctly the place 

 he applies for. The extent of the square of land 

 applied for shall not be more than 320 acres. Upon 

 the payment of $10 -the person filing the notice 

 shall receive a lease good for one year, and, if 

 he wishes it, shall then, on payment of. $20, re- 

 ceive a lease for ninety-nine years, subject to a 

 rental of $20 for the first year, $30 a year for 

 the next five years, $50 a year for the next five 

 years, and $100 a year for the remainder of the 

 term. A lessee may, if he chooses, commute rent 



