432 



NORTHWEST TERRITORIES OP CANADA. 



Provincial Autonomy. This question of ob- 

 taining greater powers and larger revenues from 

 the Dominion was the central subject of the year's 

 discussion. The Assembly had passed resolutions 

 in 1900; Messrs. Haultain and Ross had visited 

 Ottawa the same year, and again in 1901; an 

 elaborate statement of the whole case had been 

 made by the Territorial Premier to Sir W. Lau- 

 rier under date of Dec. 7, 1901 ; and a bill had been 

 submitted to the Ottawa Government embodying 

 the Territorial demands and requirements. The 

 proposal was to form the four districts of Assini- 

 boia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Athabasca 

 into a province of the Dominion, under the terms 

 of the British North America act, with 4 

 members of the Senate and 10 in the Commons; 

 with the same local constitution, powers, and 

 rights as the other provinces; with the control of 

 its Crown lands; and with subsidies of $50,000 for 

 legislative purposes and $200,000 at the rate of 80 

 cents a head of its population; and interest at 5 

 per cent, on all lands granted for settlement by 

 the Dominion Government within the bounds of 

 the new province. Under date of March 27, 1902, 

 the Hon. Clifford Sifton, Minister of the Interior 

 at Ottawa, wrote Mr. Haultain as follows : " It 

 is the view of the Government that it will not be 

 Avise at the present time to pass legislation form- 

 ing the Northwest Territories into a province or 

 provinces. Some of the reasons leading to this 

 view may be found in the fact that the increase 

 in the population now taking place will, in a short 

 time, alter the conditions to be dealt with very 

 materially; and that there is a considerable di- 

 vergence of opinion respecting the question wheth- 

 er there should be one province only or more than 

 one province. Holding this view, therefore, it will 

 not be necessary for me to discuss the details of 

 the draft bill which you presented as embodying 

 your views." In his reply, dated April 2, the Ter- 

 ritorial Premier concluded a vigorous protest in 

 the following terms: "We can not but regret 

 that the Government has not been able to recog- 

 nize the urgent necessity for the change that has 

 been asked, and can only trust that, as you have 

 denied us the opportunity of helping ourselves, 

 you will be at least impressed with the necessity 

 and the duty, which is now yours, of meeting the 

 pressing necessities of these rapidly developing 

 Territories. While we may, in your opinion, 

 without inconvenience, mark time constitution- 

 ally, we can not do without the transportation fa- 

 cilities, the roads, the bridges, the schools, and 

 the other improvements which our rapidly grow- 

 ing population imperatively requires, and at once. 

 Whether we are made into a province or not, our 

 financial necessities are just as real, and in con- 

 clusion I can only trust that when the question 

 of an increase to our subsidy is receiving con- 

 sideration more weight will be given to our rep- 

 resentations in that respect than has been given 

 to our requests for constitutional changes." 



General Elections. The Territorial Assembly 

 was dissolved on April 25, nominations took place 

 on May 10, and the elections on May 21. Messrs. 

 A. E. de Rosenroll, A. B. Gillis, R. S. Lake, G. H. 

 V. Bulyea, and A. D. Mclntyre, all Government 

 supporters, were elected without opposition. Fif- 

 teen Independents were nominated, and only 10 

 straight Opposition candidates. In Calgary J. J. 

 Young, editor of the Calgary Herald, simply 

 asked a free hand in the coming Legislature. 

 He was elected by a good majority. The general 

 result was the choice of 23 Government supporters, 

 4 Opposition candidates, and 5 Independents. 



Public Works. The report of this department 

 in the Territorial Government revealed a heavy 



amount of work during the year, and a considera- 

 ble development in the country. The sum of 

 $258,000 was voted for public works needed in 

 1901. At the close of the year $236,574 was spent, 

 and the outstanding contracts and works pro- 

 vided for, but not yet paid, would eat up the re- 

 mainder. The amount expended in public works 

 for 1902 was more than $60,000 in excess of the 

 year before. Mr. A. L. Sifton pointed out that 

 this increased sum did not keep pace with the in- 

 creased necessities of the department, and of the 

 works required only the most pressing were per- 

 formed. Had all the works been undertaken that 

 were actually necessary, an expenditure of $350,- 

 000 would have been required. 



In the Territories there were 32 coal-mines in 

 operation, and by the returns filed the output 

 was shown to be 331,907 tons of bituminous coal 

 and 14,742 tons of anthracite, or a total output of 

 346,649 tons. This was an increase of 25,370 tons 

 over the previous year. 



During the year $8,300 was collected as depart- 

 mental revenue. This was almost the only branch 

 of the department that showed a decrease, which 

 was owing to the fact that in the 1900 reve- 

 nue was included a refund of $10,000 made by the 

 Dominion Government for amounts expended in 

 improving the Peace river road, and a $2,000 re- 

 fund of expenditure on the bridge over Belly river 

 at Standoff. The expenditure for the administra- 

 tion of the department was $12,571. In the sur- 

 vey branch there were 9 employees. Instruc- 

 tions for 230 surveys were issued, 187 of which 

 were completed before the season was over. In 

 the year 750 cases for right of way of roads were 

 settled. The usual schedule of road surveys 

 made during the year was appended to the report. 

 The department now owned 1,300 bridges, and 

 $33,082 was spent last year in repairing them. 

 Wooden structures, as they are worn out, were 

 being replaced by steel ones. In all, 113 were 

 built last year, at a cost of $69,296. 



In irrigation work the report gave the following 

 particulars: Number of canals and ditches con- 

 structed, 169; length of constructed canals and 

 ditches, 469 miles ; number of water-rights record- 

 ed for canals and ditches not yet completed, 14; 

 number of acres susceptible for irrigation from 

 constructed canals and ditches, 614,684; number 

 of water-rights recorded for domestic power and 

 other purposes, 127. 



Immigration. The year 1902 will be remarka- 

 ble in the Territories as well as in Manitoba for 

 the beginning of a wave of emigration from the 

 United States. Slow settlement had been going 

 on for years in different regions of the country, 

 but now it had become a rush. In the southeast- 

 ern section nearly all the new arrivals were de- 

 scribed as brought from Iowa and Minnesota. 

 The Canadian- American Land Company acquired 

 125,000 acres of Canadian Pacific Railroad lands, 

 and strenuously endeavored to sell their holdings. 

 Another aid to settlement was a combination of 

 Iowa bankers, who purchased 40,000 acres for the 

 same purpose. Conservative estimates placed the 

 total increase at 50,000 persons in the south, at 

 Edmonton and Calgary, around Lethbridge and 

 Wetaskiwan, and among the Mormons of Cards- 

 ton. Speaking of his first trip in three years 

 through this country, Sir W. C. Van Home made 

 the following statement in Montreal on Sept. 30, 

 1902: "The homestead lands immediately along 

 the railway-tracks have been taken up, but you 

 must remember that the territory is enormous, 

 and that when all the homestead lands are taken 

 up the population will be numbered by millions 

 and the railway mileage will be increased tenfold. 



