3TO 



MANITOBA. 



Opposition leader, declared himself to be the first 

 prominent politician in the province to promise 

 the Prohibitionists (in 1899) all they asked, and 

 the first also to be turned down because of that 



B>sition. The whole thing was a party question, 

 e personally intended to go out and vote in 

 favor of the enforcement of the act. Would the 

 temperance people, for chagrin or vengeance, 

 allow it to go out to Canada and the world that 

 they did not want their own act? 



The Premier's personal opinion of the liquor 

 act of 1900 was expressed in a letter which was 

 made public: " It is no prohibition bill whatever; 

 it is simply a bill providing for free whisky with- 

 out any control by the Government, which any 

 man in the province can get at any hour and 

 in all quantities that he desires. That being the 

 fact, I do not think the indorsement or otherwise 

 of the act is justification for classing a man a 

 Prohibitionist or otherwise." 



Meanwhile, the Dominion Alliance, on Dec. 26, 

 1901, had petitioned the Governor-General and 

 the Lieutenant-Governor, asking them to disal- 

 low the act on the ground that the reference to 

 the people would be subversive of the principles 

 of representative and responsible government and 

 injurious to the dignity and prerogative of the 

 Crown, if not ultra vires of the British North 

 America act. The Hon. Mr. McFadden, in a re- 

 port to the Lieutenant-Governor on March 27, 

 mentioned the fact of the measure's passing 

 unanimously, and concluded that the questions 

 involved were wholly within the constitutional 

 rights of the province. On April 2, 1902, the 

 vote was taken, and it resulted in the distinct 

 defeat of the measure. The official statement of 

 May 5 showed 73,897 entitled to vote, 38,071 

 actually voting, 22,464 voting against the act, 

 and 15,607 for it. 



Agriculture. The prosperity of the province, 

 as shown in its agricultural production of 1901 

 and 1902, was phenomenal. In the former year 

 its farmers sold 50,502,085 bushels of wheat at 

 $25,251,042; 27,796,688 bushels of oats, $7,505,078; 

 6,536,155 bushels of barley, $2,287,304; 266,420 

 bushels of flax, $319,704; 62,261 bushels of rye, 

 $24,904; 16,349 bushels of peas, $9,809; 4,797,433 

 bushels of potatoes, $1,199,358; 2,925,362 bush- 

 els of roots, $292,536 ; 5,208,740 pounds of butter, 

 $837,964; 1,039,392 pounds of cheese, 88,348 ; poul- 

 try and eggs, $250,000; cattle (44,500), $1,052,000; 

 hogs (25,000), $250,000 a total of $39,368,051. 



According to an official bulletin issued at Win- 

 nipeg on Dec. 12, 1901, the area under wheat had 

 been 2,011,835 acres; the average yield per acre 

 was 25 bushels. Under oats there was an area 

 of 689,951 acres, with an average yield of 40 

 bushels. Under barley the area was 191,009 

 acres, with an average yield of 34 bushels. In 

 flax, rye, and peas the total production was 345,- 

 030 bushels and the acreage 24,564. The total 

 grain-crop of the province with its 35,000 farmers 

 was 85,179,858 bushels. In potatoes there was an 

 acreage of 24,429 and an average yield of 196 

 bushels to the acre. In roots the area under crop 

 was 10,214 acres and the average yield 286 bush- 

 els. In 1901 the farmers of the province sold 

 77,220 turkeys, 33,940 geese, and 306,365 chickens. 

 They erected new buildings to the value of 

 $1,434,880, and broke in 149,305 acres of new 

 land for the crop of 1902. 



Dairying was described in the bulletin as stead- 

 ily increasing, and lists were given of 28 cream- 

 eries and 37 cheese factories in the province. Of 

 provincial lands available for sale at prices 

 ranging from $2.50 to $6.50 an acre, there were 

 in the beginning of 1902 about 2.000,000 acres. 



The final bulletin for the year of the provincial 

 Government was issued on Dec. 6, and gave the 

 following statistics: Wheat area in crop, 2,039,- 

 940 acres; average yield, 26 bushels; total yield, 

 53,077,267 bushels. Oats, area in crop, 725,060 

 acres; average yield, 47.5 bushels; total vield, 

 34,478,160 bushels. Barley, area in crop, 32*9,790 

 acres; average yield, 35.9 bushels; total yield, 

 11,848,422 bushels. Flax, area in crop, 41,200 

 acres; average yield, 13.7 bushels; total yield, 

 564,440 bushels. Rye, area in crop, 2,559 acres; 

 average yield, 19.5 bushels; total yield, 49,900 

 bushels. Peas, area in crop, 1,596 acres; average 

 yield, 21.4 bushels; total yield, 34,154 bushels. 

 Potatoes, acres, 22,005; bushels, 159; total bush- 

 els, 3,459,325. Roots, acres, 12,175; bushels, 265; 

 total yield, 3,240,995 bushels. The total grain- 

 crop of the province was 100,052,343 bushels. The 

 poultry disposed of by farmers included turkeys, 

 83,905; geese, 34,270; chickens, 363,020. The land 

 prepared for the crop of 1903 included breaking, 

 151,395 acres; fallowing, 563,730 acres*; fall plow- 

 ing, 1,015,870 acres. The total area prepared for 

 the crop of 1903 was 1,730,995 acres. 



Provincial Boundaries. This subject was 

 much discussed in connection with the claims 

 of the Northwest Territories for provincial status 

 and the consequent possibility of fixing boundary- 

 lines. In the Manitoba Legislature a resolution 

 was presented by the Premier on Feb. 28, 1902, 

 and unanimously passed. It declares: 



" (1) That this House is of the opinion that 

 it is desirable, both in the interests and for the 

 welfare of the province of Manitoba and the 

 Northwest Territories, that the area of the for- 

 mer should be increased by an extension of bound- 

 aries so as to embrace and include a portion 

 of the districts of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan, 

 and northward to Hudson Bay. (2) That a com- 

 mittee consisting of 'such members of this House 

 as comprise the Executive and Messrs. Greenway, 

 Mickle, and Burrows be appointed to make all 

 due inquiries into all and singular the best means 

 of bringing about the said object, and to ascer- 

 tain the most favorable terms and conditions 

 upon which the boundaries of the province may 

 be so extended." 



The Grain Act. A measure passed the Par- 

 liament of Canada this year and had its second 

 reading in the Commons on May 7, dealing with 

 important regulations regarding warehouses and 

 station platforms, etc. It varied little in its final 

 form from the bill as originally drawn by Mr. 

 Sifton after consultation with the western Lib- 

 eral members. The measure provided that buy- 

 ers must receive all six standard grades; this win 

 designed to meet a difficulty that farmers met 

 with at a few points last season, when buyers re- 

 fused to make room for the best grades of wheat. 

 As to flat warehouses, there could be as many at 

 any station as the commissioner thought neces- 

 sary, and the railways would be obliged to fur- 

 nish locations on a siding for all approved by 

 the commissioner. Railways must within thirty 

 days erect a suitable loading platform at any 

 station, upon a petition from 10 farmers resident 

 within 20 miles. There was to be no charge for 

 the use of such loading platform; and wheie 

 there was no loading platform the railways were 

 to furnish cars for direct loading. 



Provincial Lands. On Feb. 4, 1902, the re- 

 port of the department showed land sales of $150,- 

 286; deferred payments of $46,284 principal and 

 $17,074 interest; and miscellaneous receipts of 

 $6.992. In the year 161,786 acres had been sold 

 for $482,289. The prices ranged from $2 to $8 

 and averaged $2.99 an acre. There was an in- 



