vi Preface. 



obtained from any of the land agents. lIomesteaderB in the first year of icttlemcnt 

 ar« entitled to free permits to cut a specitied quantity of timber for their own use 

 only, upon pnyment of an office fee of 25 cents. 



It muNt be distinctly understood that the land regulations are subject to varia- 

 tion from time to time. iSettlers should take care to obtain from the Ian' agent, 

 when making their entry, an explanation of the actual rej^nlations in force at that 

 time, and the clause of the Act umler which the entry is made endorsed upon the 

 receipt, so that no question or difficulty may then or thereafter arise. 



hiittsh Columbia. — In this province any British subject who is the head of 

 a family, a widow, or a single man over 18 years, or an alien proposing to become 

 a British subject, may acquire the right from the Provincial Government to pre- 

 empt not more than 160 acres of Crown lands west of the Cascade Bange, and 320 

 acres in the east of the province. The price is 4s, 2d. an acre, payable by four 

 annual instalments. The conditions are — (1) Personal residence of the settler, or 

 his family or agent ; (2) improvements to be made of the value of lOs. t>d. an acre. 

 Lands from 160 to G40 acres may also be bought at from $ 1 to $5 an acre, ac- 

 ording to class, without conditions of residence or improvements. 



The Esquimau and Nanaimo Railway Syndicate have not yet fully arranged 

 the terms upon which they Avill dispose of their unoccupied lands. They own 

 about 1,500,000 acres, but they are much broken up by rock and mountains. 



The land belonfjing to the Dominion Government lies within the " Railway 

 Belt, "a tract 20 mile." wide on each side of the line, which begins near the seA-board, 

 runs through the New Westminster district, and up the Fraaer Valley to Lytton ; 

 thence it runs up the Thompson liiver valley, jwist Kamloops and through Eagle 

 Pa», across the northern part of Kootenay district to the eastern frontier of 

 British Columbia. The country is laid out in townships in the same way as 

 in Manitoba and the North-West Territories. The lands may be purchased at a 

 price not less than $5 (4)1) per acre — free from settlement conditions, no snle, 

 except in special cases, to exceed 640 acres to any one person. The lands may be 

 '• homesteaded " in certain proclaimed districts by settlers who intend to reside on 

 them. A regifctration fee of $10 (£2) is charged at the time of application. Six 

 months is allowed in which to take possession, and at the end of three years, on 

 proof of continuous residence of not less than six months annually and cultivation, 

 he acquires a patent on payment of $1 per acre for the land. In case of illness, or 

 of necpssar,' absence from the homestead during the three years, additional time will 

 be granted to the settler to conform to the (xovernment regulations. Any person 

 after 12 months' residence on his homestead, and cultivation of 30 acres, may obtain 

 a patent on payment of $2.50 (lOs.) per acre. These conditions api,'y to agri- 

 cultural lands. 



In addition to the free-grant lands available in Manitoba 

 Lands fo^ and the North- West Territories, several companies have 

 Sale. large blocks of laad which they o^t'er for disposal at 



reasonable rates, from $2.50 up to SIO per acre. Among 

 others, tlie Canadian Pacific Eailway Company (Land Commissioner, 

 Mr. L. A. Hamilton, Winnipeg) has about 14 millions of acres; 

 and the Hudson Bay Company (Chief Commissioner, Mr. C. C. 

 Chipman, Winnipeg) has also a considerable area. The same 

 remark applies to the Canada North-West Land Company (Land 

 Commissioner, Mr. AY. B. Scarth, Winnipeg) and the Manitoba and 

 North- Western Eailway Company ; and there are several other com- 

 panies, including the Land Corporation of Canada. The Alberta Coal 

 and Eailway Company also own nearly half a million acres of land in 

 the district of Alberta. The prices of these lands vary according to 

 position, but in most cases the terms of purchase are easy, and 

 arranged in annual instalments, spread jver a number of years. 

 Mr. E. Seeman, c/o The Manitoba and North- Western Eailway 

 Company, Winnipeg, has purchased about 80,000 acres of land from 



