1<)(!8 DEPARTMENT OF LANDS, FORESTS' AND MINES vii. 



laid out a townsite at the junction point, and offered lots for sale A great 

 many lots were purchased by parties for business purposes, and it is expected 

 that a town of considerable importance will immediately spring up there. 

 The building of the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway, the construc- 

 tion of the Transcontinental and the creation of a townplot there, caused 

 population to flow in, and it became necessary to provide for those who 

 desired to settle. This was done by opening a number of townships along 

 side the lines of the Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway and the 

 Transcontinental, and the establishment of Crown Lands Agencies at the 

 towns of Matheson and Cochrane. The nucleus of a strong settlement has 

 already been formed at Cochrane, and with the large population that will 

 flow in for railway construction purposes good markets will be created for 

 everything that can be grown, and the success of those who engage in farm- 

 ing pursuits there would seem to be assured. When the whole "Clay Belt" 

 is opened from east to west by the construction of the Transcontinental and 

 other railways, there is every reason to believe that that region will become 

 one of. the best agricultural regions of the Province. The townships open 

 for sale in that locality now are Lamarche, Brower, Clute, and Glackmeyer, 

 which are attached to the Cochrane Agency, and the townships of Bowman, 

 Hislop, Benoit and "Walker, which are attached to the Matheson Agency. 

 Other townships will be added to these Agencies from time to time as neces- 

 sity arises. 



Free Grants. 



The following townships were added to the Free Grant list during the 

 past year : Airy and Murchison, in the District of Nipissing ; Mutrie, in the 

 Rainy River District; Burns, in the County of Renfrew; Capreol, in the 

 District of Sudbury, and Aberdeen, Galbraith and Lefroy in the District of 

 Algoma. 2,110 persons were located for 297,543 acres of land, and 384 

 people purchased 14,480 acres under the Free Grant Regulations. 1,089 

 patents were issued for locations on which the settlement duties had been 

 completed. The number of locations is the largest in the history of the 

 Department since Confederation, except one year when there were five more 

 locations only than have been made this year. There are now 231 townships 

 on the Free Grant list. The Department has been endeavoring to see that 

 only land suitable for farming purposes is sold or located. It has established 

 a system of inspection of all lots applied for, so as to.be satisfied that there 

 is a sufficient proportion of good land to warrant the belief that the lots 

 ore being taken for farming purposes. Tender the legislation of last Ses- 

 sion, inspections have ben made as applied for, and, if the circumstances 

 warranted it, the minerals have been released, and also small quantities of 

 pine timber, where the lands were not covered by timber license. 



Military Grants. 



Four hundred and eight ]\rilitarv Certificates were issued during the 

 vear. This brings the total number of certificates granted under 1 Ed. VIT., 

 Cap. 6, to 13,958. Location certificates issued previous to this year were 

 confirmed to the extent of 350. Altogether, 1,100 new locations were made 

 during the year, bringing the number of -locations under the Act up to 

 fi.845. 625 Military Certificates have been surrendered to the Crown for the 

 $50 each commutation money, making a total of 3,050 disposed of in this wav. 

 Patents have been issued for TOO military grants, making a total of 2,005 

 patents issued to date. Where military grants have been taken subject to 



