1G4 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



It may seem from the above that the number of men whose connection with 

 the scheme has been severed, is unduly large. However, it has been found that a 

 ^ood number of men have found themselves physically incapable of doing the 

 necessary work involved in the clearing of land. Two hundred and fifty-five 

 men Avho had applied to enter the scheme have at various times been requested 

 to report for examination and have failed to respond. 



This scheme of Land Settlement is unique in character and affords a practical 

 demonstration of the colony plan of settlement, a subject which has been freely 

 discussed but apparently never before thoroughly developed. 



In addition it affords a practical demonstration of the agricultural possibilities 

 of the Great Clay Belt, especially that portion of this splendid territory lying 

 -adjacent to the National Transcontinental Railway. 



It will be appreciated that in a scheme of such magnitude as promises to 

 he the case in this instance, changes of considerable consequence will have 

 to be made from time to time. The men now at Kapuskasing will, of course, 

 be settled in accordance with the terms laid down in the literature pertaining 

 to the original scheme, but it is quite possible that it might be advisable to send 

 future parties of men into the North under slightly different conditions. One 

 of the objects which the Department has in view is to mitigate the loneliness 

 of pioneer life, and the colony plan of settlement is succeeding very nicely in 

 this respect. Again, the scheme places the settler in a comfortable home with a 

 clearing of some size, which also acts as a fire guard, within a comparatively 

 short time from the date of his arrival in the North. The settler also has the 

 use of horses, implements, etc., as soon as needed. 



It is hoped that in the near future it will be possible to take care of appli- 

 cants more quickly than is possible at the present time. The greatly increased 

 .<;ost of labour and supplies of every description during the past few years has 

 operated greatly against the scheme from a financial point of view. These difficul- 

 ties will no doubt right themselves in a certain measure wdth the coming of 

 peace, but undoubtedly the high rate of wages prevailing has had a tendency 

 to make the scheme somewhat less attractive and more difficult to operate, than 

 would have been the case under normal conditions. 



In conclusion, mention might be made of the services of the late Colony 

 Superintendent, Major Thos. L. Kennedy, of Dixie, Ont., also of Lieutenant-Colonel 

 Robert Innes, late Director of Soldiers' Land Settlement, who is now with the 

 Soldiers' Settlement Board, Ottawa. The work of settlement has been greatly 

 assisted by the construction of colonization roads throughout the Township of 

 O'Brien, under the supervision of Mr. C. H. Fullerton, Superintendent Coloniza- 

 tion Roads. 



H. M. RoBBiNs, 



Acting Deputy Minister Lands and Forests. 

 Toronto, October 31st, 1918. 



