REFORMED CHURCHES. 



Legislature had voted the funds. As an example 

 of the deferring of the collections, many Crown 

 lands items were cited which should have been 

 credited to 1897, and were credited to 1898. *or 

 the year ending in June, 1896, the receipts of that 

 department were $1,045,310; for the year 1 

 $1,087,042; while for 1897 they were only $8/9,- 

 893. On the other hand, for the first six months 

 of the fiscal year 1897 the Crown lands receipts 



were $448,940, while for the same period of the 

 previous year they were only $194,339. This year 

 the first six months produced $515,727, from 



which must be deducted $135,000 for the sales of 

 lumber, which left the ordinary revenue $390 

 The speaker charged the Government with having 

 tried to prevent the payment of some of the lia- 

 bilities incurred in 1897, and quoted various 

 claims, making a total of unforeseen expenditure 

 of $628,790, which the present Government would 

 be obliged to pay. In comparing receipts and ex- 

 penditures for the years 1890 and 1898. Mr. At- 

 water said that in every department, except Pub- 

 lic Works, the expenditure had been increased, 

 and that an examination of the accounts showed 

 that, though the Government started with a clean 

 sheet at the beginning of 1897-'98, and a balance 

 of uncollected revenues, there was really a defi- 

 cit of $239,230.75. Mr. Atwater closed by mov- 

 ing a long five-clause resolution to the effect that 

 the House had already to vote the supplies, but 

 regretted that the Government had, between May 

 25 and June 30, 1898, issued special warrants for 

 the amount of $281,628, and protesting against 

 any expenditure by such warrants. This was, of 

 course, voted down. 



Shipping and Fisheries. The tonnage of 

 vessels calling at the ports of Quebec and Mont- 

 real, etc., increased somewhat in the year. Brit- 

 ish tonnage rose from 2,319,092 in 1897 to 2,577.- 

 989 tons, but purely Canadian tonnage decreased 

 from 88,512 to 77,312 tons, and foreign tonnage 

 from 255,633 to 205,403. The product of the 8ea 

 fisheries of the province was valued at $1,737,011 

 in 1897. The fishing bounties paid in 1897 were 

 $32,157, and since 1882 had amounted to $494,- 

 396. The number of fishermen thus engaged and 

 receiving the bounty was 7,688, and the value of 

 the vessels w r as $583,403. The fish exports from 

 the province in 1898 were valued at $485,135. 



Railways. The Report of the Hon. Mr. Duffy, 

 Commissioner of Public Works, showed the 

 length of railways in Quebec, at the close of the 

 year 1897-98, to be 3,377 miles, of which 2,802 

 miles were constructed after July 1, 1867, the date 

 of confederation. During the past twelve 

 months the province had paid in aid of railway 

 construction $185,285, as follows: To the Quebec, 

 Montmorency and Charlevoix Company, $15,191; 



to the East Richelieu Valley, $50,000; and to the 

 Great Northern, $120,000. There was also paid. 

 in conversion of land subsidies, $20,090, bring 

 $9,555 to the Baie des Chaleurs, $11,375 to the 

 Montreal and Lake Maskinonge, and $5,1(50 to 

 the Great Northern. There remained to be paid 

 on the same account $9,573, being $773 to tin- 

 Hereford, $7,356 to the Great Northern, and $1,- 

 443 to the Baie des Chaleurs. Since confed. -ra- 

 tion (1867) the province had paid for the ((in- 

 struction of, or in aid of railways $15,993,000, 

 and by the legislation of the past ten years was 

 under* obligation to pay $900,000 more. 



Education. In 1898 the report of the depart- 

 ment showed in the schools 01 the province 304,- 

 197 pupils, of whom 250,069 professed French as 

 their mother tongue, and 47.528 English. They 

 .were cared for in 5,784 schoolhouses, 5,096 of 

 which were wooden, 393 brick, and 295 stone. In 

 regard to the schools, the leading features of their 

 work were thus summarized : 



INSTITUTIONS. 



Elementary School*. 



Number of schools 



Pupils 



Average attendance 



Male lay teachers 



Female lay teachers 



Average salary, male teachers 



Average salary, female teachers 



Mn.1,1 School* and Academiet. 



Number of model schools 



Pupils 



Number of academies 



Pupils 



Grand total of pupils 



Average attendance 



Male lay teachers 



Female lay teachers 



Male religious teachers 



Female religious teachers 



Average salary, male lav teachers 



Average salary, female lay teachers 



4,274 



176.081 



66 

 4,287 



481 



;:,. I.YI 



127 



,610 



m 



27,678 



20,071 



58 



1,088 



ts 



58 



4.466 



8.H45 



7.017 



78 



228 



7 



S824 



tooi 



Compared with 1897, these figun - -Omw.d in- 

 creases of 06 in Roman Catholic and 14 in Protes- 

 tant elementary schools; of 0.916 in the total at- 

 tendance at Roman Catholic schools; of 3,07" in 

 the average attendance at Roman Catholic 

 schools and 119 at Protestant elementary -rlmoU. 

 and of 6 in the number of Roman Catholic and 4 

 in the number of Protestant model schools. There 

 were decreases of 11 in Roman Catholic and 1 in 

 the number of Protestant academies. There were 

 increases, also, in the number of lay teach* -i -. 

 both Protestant and Catholic in the elementary 

 schools, but a falling off of 21 in the number of 

 male lay teachers in Roman Catholic academic 

 and model schools. 



R 



REFORMED CHURCHES. I. Reformed 

 Church in America. The Board of Home Mis- 

 sions of this Church reported to the General 

 Synod that it had received $83,870, or $829 less 

 than in the previous year. In that year a legacy 

 of $15,000 had saved it from distressing debt, 

 and a legacy of $10,000 had done the same for 

 the past year; and the debt of $4.947 in the for- 

 mer year had been reduced to $3,226. The sum of 

 $120,000 was mentioned as the amount it was de- 

 sired to raise for the coming year. The Woman's 

 Executive Committee had received $23,166, $3,- 

 052 more than in the previous year, of which 



$17,781 went into the general fund and" $5.3*4 to 

 the Indian work. Permission \\;is granted to the 

 board by the General Synod to secure an amend- 

 ment to its charter allowing its missionaries to 

 engage more directly in evangelistic work when 

 the establishing of churches seems doubtful. 



The General Synod authorized the apportion- 

 ment of the sum of $12,000 among the classes for 

 the general fund of the Board of Education. 



The investments of the Disabled Mini 

 fund were returned as amounting to $03.293. and 

 the resources for the year to $8.940. The expendi- 

 tures had been $6,097. 



