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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 A partir de I'angle sup6riour gauche, de gauche A droite. et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 He /if ADMINISTRATION hi OF I'.NDKK IHK .'M ( MOWAT GOVERNMENT. / \ Eleven Years of Efficient and Economical Management. FEBRUARY, 1883. CROWN LANDS DEPARTMENT. The Crowu Lands Department is the great revenuti-produoing branch of the Orovemment, and, with theexu3ptionof the amount received as subsidy from the Dominion, provides the largest part of the annual income of the Province. The duties of the Department, instead of decreasing, are year hy year growing greater and more complex. They nomprisc the sale and management of the Crown, Clergy and School lauds still undisposed of ; ttie locating of settlers in the Free Grant districts ; the surveying of new townships from time to time, as they are required for settlement or the purposes of the timber trade ; the construction of Colonization roads and bridges in the new and sparsely settled portions of the Province where the settlers are as yet unable to assume the burden of such works ; the super- ^'ision of the vast area over which licenses to cut timber have been granted tsuch supervision becoming much more difficult year by year as settlement increases) ; the collection of Government charges and dues leviable upon 3uoh timber ; and the settlement of the multifarious and often complicated questions which of necessity arise in the course of transactions covering so large a territory. The following figures and statements show the very decided increase in the work now performed by the Department, as com- pared with the years 1868-71 — an increase which explains and far more than justifies any small additional expenditure which has occurred. TOTAL LETTERS RBOI8TEBBD. 18d8-7i (annual average) 16,156 1872-82 " " 18,847 Increase, 24 per cent. SALES. Sales, 1868-71 (annual average) 59,400 acres. '* 1872-82 " " 80,000 " Increase, 35 per cent . liCttera regiritered, endorsed on papers, and noted on laud rolls : 1868-71 (annual average) 8,660 1872-82 '• " 11,504 Increase, 33 per cent. 4 COLONIZATION RO/lDS. Number of miles constructed, 186S-7I '^^'^ It " " 1872 82 1,854) Aveiivjje miml>er of miles per annum, 1868-71 5S •• " 1872-S2 1()H Increase, 21 7 per cent. ROADS KEPAIKKIJ. Miles of road repaired, 1868-71 . 441 •« •« •' 1872-82 3,617 Average number of miles repaired per annum, 1868-71 HO • • «« '• " «' 1872-82 329 Increase, 200 per cent. BKIDGKS BUILT. Number of bridges built, 1868-71 18 or 4 per annum. •' 1872-82 154*'14 *' " NoTK. — The bridges built during the former period averaged an aggre gate length per year of 668 feet, and during the latter, an aggregate length per year of 1,082 feet, or an increase of 1,314 feet of bridging per annum. COERESPONDKNOK. The correspondeuca in connection with the Colonization Roads branch has also very materially increased, as the following figures show : Average number of letters received, 1868-71 • 474 " " 1872-82 1,466 Increase, 200 per cent. Average number of letters written, 1868-71 276 1872-82 717 Increase, 160 per cent. KXPBNDITUBK ON ROADS. The expenditure on Colonization roads and bridges since 1872 has beeu large, amounting to no lessa sum than $1,084,211. The effect, in developing and promoting settlement in the newer portions of the Province, has beeu confessedly great. That, in addition, the money has been well an* I Rconomically spent is proven by the following figures : Daring the period 1868-71 the average number of miles of road built per year was 53, and of road repaired 110, the average annual cost being $44,500, while from 1872 to 1882 the average per year was 168 miles of road built and 329 miles of road repaired at an average annual cost of f08, - rtCA. In other words, during the latter period as compared with the tormer, there were three times as much road liuilt and three times us much road repaired per year, at an average annual cost of little more than double the amount expended in the former period. COLONIZATION ROADS IN MUSKOKA. Muskoka ai.'^ Parry Sound being one of the best known sections of the Free Grant country, it may be interesting to know what was done in the way of building and repairing Colonization roads an NUMBER OF LOCATEES. The number of persons located from 1868 to end of 1871, less can- cellations, was 2,7l»':^ From 1868 to end of 1882 the number was : 10,0<;i RECAPITULATION. The increase of acreage of Free Grants in actual occu- pation in 1882 over 1871, was 1,^37,6^1 acrcK The number of locations actually occupied in 1882 over 1871, was 7,292 The number of townships surveyed in 1882 over those surveyed up to end of 1871, was 09 A PARTIAL EXPLANATION. This progress in the settlement of our new and free grant territoiy will be considered most encouraging and satisfactory by every fair-mindet! person, when it is remembered that for the last few years the North- West Territory has overshadowed every other field for immigration. That the unsettled districts of our Province hp ve been ab'e to compete so success- fully with the rich prairie country of the North- West, may to some extent be explained and accounted for by the fact that the intending settler has not been hamperec^, in selecting hia lot and making his location, by unwise regulations, and by his finding locked up in the hands of companies and s|ieculator8 the lands that should have been left open and free for bona fide settlement. WORK CONNECTED WITH FREE GRANTS. It may be pointed out that the amount of work and expense connected with the giving away of land under the Free Grants Act is fully as great as, if not greater than, that which attends the disposal of it by sale. When a man buys a lot, all that the Department has to do is simply to carry out the sale and receive the money when paid in by the purchaser ; wherea* in tho OMe of a free grant, affidavits have to be made in proper form, and examined by the Department, before tlie intending looatee can ' a located for the lot ; then the Department has to see that the regulations as to set* tlement duties, etc., are duly performed ; and finally, at tho expiratioi\ of the term, it has to receive and pass upon fresh affidavits made by the locatee and at least two others, respecting tho due fulfilment of all condi- tions of the grant, before the Department is in a position to issue a p.'itent for the lot. In addition, applications for the cancelling of locations ari> frequently and constantly being made on account of the settlement dutier not having been performed, when the Department is obliged to examine in each case the evidence upon which such cancellation is asked, anc decide upon it. It will thus be seen that every location is the subjec: of no small amount of work and attention on the part of the Department . SUCCKSS IN ADMINISTERING THE DEPARTMENT. It is perhaps unnecessary to enter upon a defence of the manner in which the Crown Lands Department has been administered since a Reform Government came into power, as no serious attempt has been made to impugn that administration in any way. The steady flow of settlers into the newer districts of the Province, notwithstanding tho inducements offered by other portions of the Dominion, the advances made in develop- ing the re8')urce8 — agricultural, miueral and forest— of those districts, and the accurate and satisfactory way in which the large and increasing revenue derived from the timber trade is collected, are but instances which ieitiiy to the honest and capable manner in which the adminis> trafcion of the Department has been conducted ever since it was entrusted to the present Government. CONTRACT SYSTEM vs. OVERSEERS. One of the petty, unfounded accusations which have been made against the Department is, that the system adopted in the construction and repair of Colonization roads is erroneous and extravagant, and that instead of having the work performed under the supervision of ov erseers appointed by the Department, it should be let by contract to the lowest bidder. Those who urge this course cannot have given the ma tter the consideration to which it IS entitled, and cannot be conversant with the character of the work to be done, or with the difficulties which experience has shown to be inseparable from the building or repairing of roads under the contract system in the newer portions of the Province. The first cost oi .-m ordinary Colonization road averages from $200 to $250 per mile. The Department, feeling that it would be relieved of a good deal of responsi- bility if these roads could safely be built by contract, made an attempt in former years to have the work done in this way. Tenders were asked for in the usual manner, and it was invariably found that large numbers of persons offered to do the work, many of whom were totally unacquaintei of experienced inspectoi's, whose duty it was to report to the Department from time to time upon the progress and performance of the work. SALE OF TIMBER LIBIITS. A very successful sale of timber limits in the Districts of Muskokaand I'arry Sound, adjacent for the most pairt to the waters of French River and l.ake Nipissing, was held by the Department on 6th December, 1881. It was found that in the interest of the public revenue, as well as of the set- tlers who had taken up lands in some unlicensed townships in the seotiou uamed, it was necessary to deal with the pine within the territory before it became jeopardized by the clearing of the land and the fires raised in process thereof. In this way timber of th^ finest quality is often cut down and Applied to uses for which inferior lumber would be suitable, the result beini; a depreciation of the value of Ihe timber limits before they are brought into market, and a consequent loss to the revenue, without being of any advantage to the settler. ft ^' 10 ABXA PLACBD UNDER LICBNSZ. Thb it;iritory placed under license at the sale oonsitited of the towu- ihips of Mowat, Blair, MoOoukey, Hardy, Patterson, Mills, Sinclair, Bethune, Proudfoot, Gurd, Machar, Strong, Joly, Laurier, Pringle, Lount, Nipiaaing and Himsworth, and covered an area of 1,379 square miles These townships were placed under license simply because large numbers of settiers were going in upon the lands, and the timber would have been destroyed by fire and otherwise ; the only way to prevent such a waste x>f the natural resources of the country, and to secure the timber for revenue purpoMli, was to place the territory under license, as before stated. And as it WM necessary to place these few townships under license fur the reasons given above, it would have been inexcusable negligence on the part of the Ciovemment not to take advantage of the favorable condition of the market existing at the time the sale was made. PROCKED8 OF THX SALB. The prices obtained at the sale were beyond precedent. The total "bonus paid was $733,675.25, or an average bonus per square mile of 1532, aiid this without taking into account the ground rent of 92 por square mile, which of itself produces an annual revenue of $2,700, and without taking in''^ account, either, the Government dues of 75 cents per thousand feet board measure, and $3.00 per thousand feet cubic measure, leviable upon the timber when cut. The proceeds of this sale, as compared with former sales of timber limits, are most satisfactory, and it is gratifying to know that the entire amount bid as bonus has been promptiy paid in ttocording to the terms of sale. ONLY THB BIOBT TO CUT THK TIMBBR SOLD. It is to be observed that, as has been previously stated, what was sold WAS only the right to cut the pine timber upon the territory, and that the timber when cut will be subject to the Government charges mentioned abovf . ' In this way a large sum will be paid into the re .-enue anna«Uy as a result of the sale. No right or title whatever in the land was oonVvyed to the purchasers at the sale, and the licenses issued to th^^ are atriotly under the control of the Legislature and the Department. AN OPPOBTUNX TZMX. The time selected for the sale was extremely opportune ; parties en- gaged in Itambering had just closed .^ successful season's bnsineM, and having the means were prepared to invest in limits A» a oonaequence, the attendance was large and the bidding spirited. ' II AN ABSURD CHARGE. An absurd charge of inconsistency has been attempted to be fastened upon the Government in connection with this sale of timber limits, inai^- mnch as they should, it ii said, have previously intimated their intention of making the sale to the Legislature, and obtained the consent of the latter thereto. Now, apart from the fact that there is nothing in the statute-book requiring such a course, it has always been the contention ot the Reform party, that the interests of the country demand that the responsibility for ordinary administrative acts should not be removed from the Government and placed upon the Legislature. To the Government are entrusted matters of routine and administration, and the true policy is to hold the members thereof individually and collectively respon- sible for the proper performance of such duties, not to deprive them of the power of taking action. This principle, so far as the disposal of timber limits is concerned, was embodied in a resolution moved by Hon. E. B. Wood in the session of 1873, to the effect that the berths or limits nhould " be offered fur sale by public auction at the upset price . . . at such, time and place, and upon such conditions, and by such otiiccr, as the Com- missioner of Crown Lands shall direct by public notice for that purpose ' (Jour. Ont. Ass., 1873, p. 142). This resolution was earned, not only by means of the votes of members supporting the Government, but also by the aid of a large majority of the members on the other side of the House — including Messrs. Cameron, Meredith, Lauder, Deacon, and Merrick — only four of the Opposition, in fact, recording their votes against it. The course of the Government in thie matter has been thoroughly conftistent, and strictly in the interest of the Province. THE SBTTLBR'S INTBRK8T IN THE TIMBER. At the late session of the Legislature a resolution was introduced by Mr. Boulter with regard to the Free Grant and Timber policy of the Gov- ernment, advocating a return to the principles of the Free Grant Aot of 1868. The hon. gentleman claimed that the old law, which was altered by the amendment of 1880, was more in the .interest of the settler than the present one. Hon. Mr. Pardee, Commissioner of Crown Lands, in reply pointed out that the reverse was tite case. Mr Pardee said : Neither the hon. member who had moved a vote of want of confidence, nor the gentleman who had moved a resolution on this subject at the Conservative Convention, had assigned a single reason show- ing that the change made in 1880, with regard to the timber, was not in the interests of the country, or, in other words, of the settlers. If there was a question to which the Government had devoted the most careful attention, and upon which they had consulted those best entitled to speak on the subject, it was this question of how to secure the settler sufficient pine at the end of the five years to answer his local purposes. The hon. member for North Grey had truly admitted that under the old ^' .^' 12 Hyatem the settler who was too poor duriug the five years to put up other than the cheapest kind of log buildings, found when he was ready to put up pine buildings that he had not the lumber with which to build them. (Hear, hear.) After mature consideration the Government had concluded that the only remedy was to make the settler and the lumber- man jointly interested in the preservation of the pine, so that the lumber- man had no interest in denuding the country of its pine vithiii the five years. Under the old system the lumberman's interest was to take care to strip off every tree, if possible, so that there was no pine to pass to the settler under the patent. Mr. Boulter : They would have the small trees. Mr. Pardke said that, on the contrary, after the lumber began to be valuable they would not leave any timber on the land, and settlers used to come to the Depai-tment asking that some more equitable means might be devised whereby, when the patent was issued, some pine would be left^ upon the lot. He had had the opportunity recently of visiting a county more largely affected by this change.than any other section of the country, and he had found that the people generally were well satisfied with the oper- ation of the law, and satisfied that the present system was much better than the old one. In fact, no better evidence could be given of the satisfaction with which the people regarded the change than the fact that his honor- able friend the member for Muskoka (Mr. liettes) had been elected by nearly 500 majority. (Cheers.) TIMBER FOR LOCAL MILLS. Referring to tlie supi^ly of timber for local saw mills, Mr. Pardee also sai