NORTHWEST TERRITORIES OP CANADA. 



NOVA SCOTIA. 



569 



phase of the question without violating the prin- 

 ciple underlying the ordinance. 



" The question of the supply of water for gen- 

 eral purposes in certain parts of the territories 

 is one to which considerable attention has been 

 given by my Government. The work carried on 

 by the Public Works Department during the past 

 season in seeking to establish the extent of the 

 disabilities in this respect under which those parts 

 of the country labor has met with gratifying re- 

 sults, and has shown that the difficulty hitherto 

 deemed almost insurmountable is one that in 

 nearly every instance can be removed. You will 

 be asked to provide the necessary means for 

 extending this work and prosecuting it with 

 vigor. 



" The initiatory work of the Department of 

 Agriculture has already been attended with a 

 considerable amount of success. A number of 

 stock owners in various parts of the territories 

 are availing themselves of the opportunity to im- 

 prove their herds by the introduction of thor- 

 oughbred animals under the supervision of the 

 department, and arrangements have been com- 

 pleted, under the authority given at the last 

 session of the Legislative Assembly, for the op- 

 eration this year of an experimental station near 

 Calgary, at which demonstrations of the agri- 

 cultural possibilities under local conditions will 

 be afforded. Arrangements for the establishment 

 of similar stations in other parts of the terri- 

 tories are receiving attention." 



William Eakin was elected Speaker, and the 

 Executive Council or Ministry as now constituted 

 consisted of F. W T . G. Haultain, Attorney-General ; 

 J. H. Ross, Treasurer and Commissioner of Public 

 Works; and G. H. V. Bulyea, Commissioner of 

 Agriculture and Provincial Secretary. At the 

 close of the session, after sundry lively debates, 

 the following measures, among others, were as- 

 sented to by the Lieutenant Governor in the 

 Queen's name: 



To amend an ordinance respecting the Legisla- 

 tive Assembly. 



To amend an ordinance respecting elections. 



To amend an ordinance making regulations with 

 respect to coal mines. 



To declare and amend the law of partnership. 



To amend an ordinance respecting agricultural 

 societies. 



An ordinance respecting the winding up of joint- 

 stock companies. 



An ordinance respecting agricultural societies. 



To amend an ordinance respecting municipali- 

 ties. 



To amend an ordinance respecting villages. 



To amend an ordinance respecting local im- 

 provement. 



To amend an ordinance respecting irrigation 

 districts. 



An ordinance respecting the inspection of stock. 



An ordinance to protect horse breeders. 



To amend an ordinance for the protection of 

 game. 



To amend an ordinance respecting insane per- 

 sons. 



Finances. The sums granted to the Lieuten- 

 ant Governor for the financial year ending Dec. 

 31, 189, and the purposes for which they were 

 granted, were as follow: Civil government, $43,- 

 826.77; legislation, $30,125; administration of jus- 

 tice, $9,950; public works, $136,000; education, 

 $158,000; agriculture and statistics, $16,650; hos- 

 pitals, charities, and public health, $8,750; mis- 

 cellaneous services, $10,323.96. The total amount 

 was $413,625.73. To defray the expenses of legis- 

 lation, maintenance of public institutions, salaries 



of the officers of the Government and public serv- 

 ice, and for all other expenditures of the Gov- 

 ernment from Jan. 1, 1900, until the final passage 

 of the estimates of expenditure for the financial 

 year 1900, the sum of $00,000 was also voted. 



Education. According to the annual report 

 of the Council of Public Instruction, 42(> organ- 

 ized school districts were in operation in 1H9H. 

 The registered number of children of all ages 

 was 16,754, with a daily attendance of 8,826. The 

 average period all schools were open during the 

 year was one hundred and fifty-nine days. The 

 teachers numbered 483. The average cost of edu- 

 cating each child was $18.45 per annum. Twenty- 

 eight new school buildings were erected, at a total 

 cost of $19,964.60, which in most instances was 

 raised by debentures, although a few buildings 

 were erected by voluntary contributions of money 

 and labor. The grounds around several build- 

 ings were inclosed, wells were dug, stables and 

 sheds added, and extensive alterations and im- 

 provements made. The aggregate cost of build- 

 ings and improvements was $29,740. New furni- 

 ture was added at a cost of $5,933.32. The sum 

 of $3,522.60 was spent on school apparatus, in- 

 cluding libraries. 



Agriculture. In the year 2,942 homestead 

 entries were made in the Northwest Territories. 

 The Canadian Pacific Company land sales showed 

 an enormous increase over previous years. In 

 1897 199,481 acres were disposed of in the West, 

 67,000 of which were in Assiniboia and Alberta, 

 while in 1898 the sales reached the area of 348,627, 

 of which about 160,000 were in Assiniboia and 

 Alberta. It is estimated that about one sixth of 

 the purchasers settled in the country within the 

 year. The arrivals at Winnipeg showed an in- 

 crease of about 175 per cent, over the previous 

 year's figures. According to the report of the 

 Department of Agriculture for the year, the pro- 

 duction of wheat was 5,542,478 bushels and the 

 acreage 307,580; oats, 3,040,307 bushels, acreage 

 105,077; and barky, 449,512 bushels, 17,092 acres. 

 The total acreage was 429,749. 



NOVA SCOTIA, an eastern province of the 

 Dominion of Canada; area, 20,907 square miles; 

 population in 1891, 450,396. Capital, Halifax. 



Government and Politics. The second ses- 

 sion of the thirty-second Legislature of the prov- 

 ince met on Feb. 2, 1899, and was opened by 

 I.ieut.-Gov. M. B. Daly with the usual ceremony 

 and a speech from the throne, of which the fol- 

 lowing are extracts: 



" The past year may be fairly spoken of as one 

 of general prosperity throughout the Dominion, 

 and it must be a gratification to us to know 

 that in our own province a fair degree of success 

 rewarded the industry of our people in their vari- 

 ous fields of labor. During the past year the 

 sales of coal from the mines of the province show 

 an increase, and are the largest on record. This 

 increase has continued since the close of the fiscal 

 year, necessitating the working of our collieries 

 during the winter months, which is a matter of 

 the greatest importance to our coal-mining popu- 

 lation. This satisfactory condition of affairs is 

 owing to an increased demand and to the fact 

 that a large quantity of our coal is being mined 

 to make coke and gas. 



" The operations of our gold mines also shows 

 an increase, the productions of gold last year 

 being the largest yet recorded. Gold mining in 

 Nova Scotia is now for the most part conducted 

 by companies, which, working with modern ap- 

 pliances, have as a rule made profitable returns. 

 The preparations for opening new mines promise 

 still larger productions in the present year. You 



