12 REPORT OF THE No. 7 



Military Grants 



These grants were confined to veterans of 1866 and those of the South 

 African war, the total number receiving certificates entitling each recipient to 

 160 acres free being 13,998. Of these approximately 1,000 are still outstanding 

 and as the time in which to locate land has long since passed, the only trans- 

 actions are those where the certificates are accepted a script and applied on 

 land to the face value of eighty dollars each, or surrendered to the Crown for a 

 cash consideration of fifty dollars. Only one such certificate was surrendered 

 throughout the fiscal year just closed and the clerical work in connection with 

 this service has been limited to checking up old locations and making searches 

 in respect of ownership. 



A general resume of the operations in this field of land administration was 

 given for reference purposes in the Minister's preface to last year's detailed report. 



Great War Veterans 



Though sympathetic encouragement was directed to the returned soldiers 

 of the Great War to the extent of permitting each to take free for settlement 

 purposes 160 acres in any section regularly opened for farming, comparatively 

 few took advantage of the opportunity and generally speaking the success 

 attained has not been very outstanding, as is indicated by the figures for the 

 year, there being but 38 locations while 59 individual holdings were cancelled. 



Patents 



Over 200 more instruments were issued than during the year 1928. These 

 comprise in number 2,156 and include those covering grants of lands for agri- 

 cultural, mining, park, summer resort, sand and gravel, water power and other 

 purposes. The work in this office is of a dual character covering the engrossing 

 of mining documents as well as those particularly relating to lands and forests. 

 For details see Appendix No. 14, 



Communications 



Exclusive of the Minister's office, the Provincial Land Tax Branch, and 

 the Forestry Branch, over 55,000 letters or communications were received and 

 nearly 48,000 sent out of which sixty percent, reached the general public, the 

 remainder the outside service. (See Appendix 15). 



Provincial Parks 



Increasing interest is being manifested in the beauties and attractions of 

 our great national playgrounds. Ontario is especially and profusely endowed 

 by nature in this respect. 



Algonquin Park in the Ottawa and Muskoka River watersheds offers an 

 inviting field for lovers of solitude, students of nature, scientific investigators, 

 forest scholars and seekers after health and summer or winter sports. 



The Department of Lands and Forests that administers the parks of the 

 Province has its headquarters for Algonquin Park on Cache Lake, on the 

 Canadian National Railways, formerly the Canada Atlantic. The buildings 

 consist of. the Superintendent's house and office, Rangers' boarding house, 

 work shops, boathouse and other necessary structures including a concrete 



