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surveyors were Messrs. P. V. du Tremblay, T. C. Brownjohn, J. A. Kirk, N. R. Free man and I. Traynor.

To the parties under Messrs. McAree and Driscoll devolved the more important survey operations and the examination of survey contracts. The sub-parties did the minor corrections, and were mainly engaged in removing river lot posts where it was deemed advisable to do away with this mode of sub-division and to revert to the regular sectional survey.

In June, 1887, a certain number of Mormons came overland from Utah, and settled in Township 3, Range 25, west of the 4th Initial Meridian. Mr. Dennis had occasion to go there during the summer, and being the first officer of the Department to visit the colony, he considered the subject of sufficient importance to report upon it. He describes them as very industrious and intelligent people, and states that, considering the short time they have been in the country, they have made wonderful progress.

OFFICE WORK.

This consists of the examination of the returns of survey, making or copying plans, calculations and compilations of various kinds, printing of plans, &c. Part of this is the direct outcome of the surveys made during the year, and would disappear entirely were the surveys to cease. The other part is connected with and increases in the same proportion as the general business of the Department. It is due to this cause that, notwithstanding the gradual decrease in field work of the last four years, there has been no perceptible decrease in our office work. The correspondence consisted of:

Letters received.............

Letters sent...............................

1,111
1,520

The accounts examined and payments made were:-Accounts examined and passed, 232; amount of above accounts, $196,333.06; requisitions issued, 416; cheques forwarded, 914.

The following is a short synopsis of work performed in the draughting room :
Number of plans received with corresponding field notes:-

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Number of plans examined.................

Plans plotted from field notes......

Proofs examined.................................

Statutory declarations received..............

New plans compiled from returns of different surveyors..

Plans completed for printing........

Progress sketches of surveys received and filed.........
Copies of township plans made by hand.........

Miscellaneous plans, sketches and diagrams made....
Miscellaneous tracings..........

Reduced copies of township plans, mile to an inch.

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A map of the New Westminster District, B.C., was compiled and printed on a scale of 21 miles to an inch.

A map of the railway belt in British Columbia on a scale of 6 miles to an inch was also prepared and printed.

A schedule of lands surveyed was prepared for notification to the Hudson's Bay Company.

In addition to the above, a considerable amount of work which cannot easily be classified, was performed, including the copying of field notes and reports, preparing contracts and instructions for surveyors, with the sketches accompanying them, descriptions of parcels of land for paterts, &c.

A small map of Canada, for the use of this office, has been compiled and printed. It is drawn on a peculiar projection which is free from distortion and permits direct measurement on the map of distances, directions or areas.

In the lithographic office the work has been as follows:

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The number of copies of each edition being very limited, generally from 50 to 100, only hand presses are used: Considering that most of the plans and maps are printed in four and five colors, the number of prints made shows that the men's time has been well occupied.

The use of photography on the surveys and for copying, enlarging or reducing plans, necessitated the employment of a photographer: Mr. H. N. Topley was selected. It was thought that he would have ample time to do what was required, but it was soon found that the work far exceeded our anticipations. It is sufficient to say that during the few months he has been employed, he developed over six hundred negatives and made about the same number of prints, besides miscellaneous work. Part of this was for the Geological Survey. The want of proper quarters has been a serious drawback, but as we are soon to move into new quarters, it was not considered advisable to incur the expense of fitting up a place for a few months only.

BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF DOMINION LAND SURVEYORS.

The Board has suffered a loss in the person of the late Surveyor General, Mr. Lindsay Russell, who resigned his membership on account of ill health. To Mr. Russell is, in a great measure, due the present efficiency of the Board, and more especially the creation of the Dominion Topographical Surveyors' examination. Having been connected with the surveys of Dominion Lands since their inception, Mr. Russell was better able than anyone else to judge of the qualifications required in a Dominion Land Surveyor, and the loss of his services will be seriously felt. He was replaced by Mr. O. J. Klotz, Dominion Topographical Surveyor, of Preston, Ontario.

It having come to the knowledge of the Board that the Board of Examiners of Land Surveyors for the Province of Quebec had for some years ceased to reciprocate the privilege conceded to Provincial Land Surveyors by clause 109 of the Dominion Lands Act, of receiving a commission as Dominion Land Surveyor without being subjected to any examination except as regards the survey laws of the Dominion, the Board, as directed by the said clause, has ceased to grant this privilege to Land Surveyors of the Province of Quebec.

Meetings of the Board of Surveyors were held at Ottawa in February and August, 1887.

The following gentlemen having passed the requisite examinations were granted commissions as Dominion Land Surveyors :

Examined at Ottawa:

A. Driscoll, Aylmer, Que.
J. W. Tyrrell, Weston, Ont.
H. Irwin, Montreal, Que.

H. M. Burwell, London, Ont.

J. D. A. Fitzpatrick, St. Ambroise de Kildare, Que.

J. B. Saint Cyr, Ste. Anne de la Pérade, Que.

A. Saint Cyr, Ste. Anne de la Pérade, Que.

Examined at Winnipeg before Mr A. H. Whitcher, a member of the Board :—

J. H. Brownlee, Winnipeg, Man.

J. A. Cadenhead, Morris, Man.

Examined at New Westminister before me:

J. Strathern, Vancouver, B. C.

J. McKenzie, New Westminster, B. C.

Preliminary certificates were granted to :

J. H. Antliff, Montreal, Que.

C. Byng Hall, Ottawa, Ont.

Mr. L. B. Stewart, D. L. S., of Banff, Alberta, passed the prescribed examination and received a commission as Dominion Topographical Surveyor.

The correspondence of the Board of Examiners amounted to:

Letters received..............

Letters sent.........

APPENDICES.

241

820

The following documents are appended :

1. Schedule showing Dominion Land Surveyors employed during the year. 2. Reports of the Chief Inspector of Surveys, and the Inspector of Surveys, and the Surveyors in charge of parties.

3. Examination papers of the Board of Examiners for Dominion Land Surveyors.

I have the honor to be Sir,

Your obedient servant,

E. DEVILLE,

Surveyor General.

SCHEDULE showing Dominion Land Surveyors employed during the Year ending 31st October, 1887.

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Bélanger, P. R. A.... L'Islet, Que..

Bray, Edgar............ Oakville, Ont..

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Brandon, Man..........
Delta, Ont

Brownlee J. H........
Beatty, Walter.
Boivin, E.......................................... Bagotville, Que.......
Ottawa, Ont............

Bigger, C. A.....

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Description of Survey.

Sub-division of Townships in the vicinity of the Columbia
River, B.O.

Survey of block outlines between Lakes Winnipeg and
Manitoba.

Survey of outlines near Lake Dauphin.
Sub-division of Township 24, in Range 18, and part of Town-
ship 24, in Range 16, west of the Principal Meridian.
Sub-division of Township 51, in Range 24; Townships 53, in
Ranges 25, 26 and 27, west of the 3rd Initial Meridian.
Sub-division of Townships 29, 30 and part of 31, in Range 4,
west of the 5th Initial Meridian.

Portage du Fort, Que Sub-division of Townships 29, 30 and 31, in Range 3, west of

the 5th Initial Meridian.

Ottawa, Ont............ Sub-division of Townships in New Westminster District, B.O.
Belleville, Ont Topographical survey of the Rocky Mountains.

Winnipeg, Man........ Survey of Main Street, Winnipeg.
Montmagny, Que...... Exploration survey, Lake Winnipegoosis.
Hull, Que...

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DuTremblay, P. V.... Ste. Anne de la Pé

Sub-division of Township 14, in Range 10, and Township 13,
in Range 11, east of the Principal Meridian.
Supervision of inspection and correction of surveys.
Inspection and correction of surveys.

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rade, Que....

(Sub-party)

Brownjohn, T. C......

Granby, Ont

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Kirk, J. A

Stratford, Ont

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Freeman, N. R....

Milton, N.S

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Traynor,

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Fawcett, Thos.........

Dundalk, Ont...........
Gravenhurst, Ont.

...

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Sub-division of Townships, Kamloops District, B.C., south of Thompson River.

Sub-division of Townships 13 and 14, in Range 11, east of the Principal Meridian.

Sub-division of Townships, Kamloops District, B.C., north of Thompson River.

Survey of Trails, McLeod to Blackfoot Crossing, and the Trail running along the Bow River, near Calgary. Preston, Ont............Longitude determinations. Battleford, N.W.T.... Sub-division of Township 43, in Range 15, and Townships 46, in Ranges 15 and 16, west of the 3rd Initial Meridian Walkerton, Ont......Survey of Mounted Police Reserves. Sub-division of Townships, Spellamacheen District. B.C. Topographical survey of the Rocky Mountains. Sub-division of fractional Townships 23 and 24, in Ranges 5 and 6; fractional Townships 15 and 16, in Range 5, east of the Principal Meridian. Sub-division of Townships 5 and 6, Range 25; Township 5, in Range 26; east Township 7, in Range 25; south Township 4, Range 29, west of the 4th Initial Meridian and parts of Townships 4, 5 and 6, in Range 1, west of the 5th Initial Meridian.

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No. 2.

REPORT OF W. F. KING, CHIEF INSPECTOR OF SURVEYS.

DETERMINATION OF LATITUDES AND LONGITUDES.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

TECHNICAL BRANCH,

OTTAWA, 31st December, 1887.

SIB, I have the honor to submit my report upon the astronomical work per formed during the past season, in continuance of the system of telegraphic longitude determinations inaugurated in 1885. The observers on this work were Mr. Ōtto J. Klotz and myself.

At the beginning of the season some delay occurred through the necessity of procuring a chronometer to replace one of those used last year, which had been taken by Mr. Ogilvie on his exploratory expedition. On this account we were unable to leave Ottawa for Winnipeg before the 23rd May, thus losing much time in a season of the year very favorable for observations.

Our observatory at Winnipeg is situated on the east side of Main street a short distance north of the C. P. R. track. It has been connected with the Dominion Lands Surveys by a triangulation from one of the stations of the Special Survey triangulation of 1874.

At this point Mr. Klotz and I set up our instruments side by side and observed daring two nights for the difference of our "personal equations.'

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During the season the differences of longitude from Winnipeg of Wapella, Port Arthur, and Kalmar, all on the C. P. R. main line were determined; Mr. Klotz Occupying these stations in succession, while I remained at Winnipeg to take the oorresponding observations there.

After the completion of the Kalmar observations Mr. Klotz returned to Winnipeg where further observations for personal equation on the 9th, 10th and 12th October completed our season's work, the approach of cold weather rendering it inadvisable to continue work requiring the utmost available precision.

I then went to Kamloops, British Columbia, to carry out a programme of lunar observations as previously arranged with Mr. Ogilvie, to enable him to get as accurately as possible the longitude of some point on the Yukon River upon which to tie his survey.

I have but lately returned from Kamloops, and have not had time to work out many of my observations, and but few results can therefore be given.

I shall now describe the methods and instruments used in this work, first saying a few words on the theory of longitude determinations.

The difference of longitude of two places is the angle between their meridian planes. The uniform revolution of the earth about its axis at the rate of 360° in 24 hours, or 15° in one hour, gives an accurate measure of this angle, the difference of longitude between two places being equal to the difference of their local times.

To determine then this difference of longitude, there must be an observer at each place, provided with a chronometer, and an instrument with which he can determine its error on local time; and secondly, means must be provided by which the chronometers can be compared.

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