Lands, of which an entirely separate account is kept. For the Departmental year which ended on the 31st October last, the gross revenue from the public domain amounted to $629,450.20.

Total revenue for fiscal year 1887-88, including timber, minerals, grazing lands, &c., $540,605.74.

PATENTS.

The number of letters patent issued by the Department in each year since 1874, and the number of those issued in each year which have since been cancelled, is shown by the following statement

It will be observed that there is a large falling off in the number of patents issued for last year as compared with the preceding year. This is accounted for chiefly by the fact that under the amendment to the Territories Real Property Act, passed during the last session of Parliament, the notification to the Registrar from the Minister of the Interior that the lands described therein have been granted to any Railway Company entitled to Dominion Lands under the authority of an Act of Parliament shall be accepted by the Registrar as if such notification were letters patent in favor of such Company. The same Act provides that the notification to the Hudson's Bay Company by the Minister of the Interior, under the provisions of Sub-section 7 of Section 22 of the Dominion Lands Act, of the survey and confirmation of the survey of any township or part of a township, shall be accepted by the Registrar as equivalent to letters patent in favor of the company, for the lands to which they are entitled in such townships or parts of townships under the provisions of the Dominion Lands Act. These notifications usually cover considerable areas of land, and the labour incident to passing the Crown title to these areas has been materially lessened by the operation of the amendment alluded to.

GRAIN CROP.

Almost up to the day when harvesting commenced, the appearance of the grain crops throughout Manitoba and the Territories was excellent, but about the middle of August a frost came which undoubtedly did a good deal of damage. It is difficult to estimate with accuracy the total amount of grain harvested last year, or the proportion which was damaged by the frost. The quantity which has been handled by railways up to the present is not a reliable indication of the whole product of the season. The harvest was late to commence with, and the export would necessarily be much less up to the close of the month of December than for the corresponding period last year; besides which many farmers held their grain while the prices were rising, and now that prices are lower they are not inclined to sell. The Winnipeg Board of Trade, a body which has perhaps the best possible means of coming to a correct conclusion in a matter of this kind, estimates the loss by frost in Manitoba to have been about twenty per cent. of the whole crop. Assuming this to be the case, the injury by frost would be about counterbalanced by the increase over 1887 of the area under cultivation, so that, as far as Manitoba is concerned, the crop figures would be about the same as for 1881.

In the North-West Territories, as you are personally aware, the people never had better crops, and there was practically no damage done by frost.

TIMBER, MINERAL AND GRAZING LANDS.

The revenue from the above sources during the past year amounted to $121,747.89, an increase as compared with 1887 of $332.37. The timber dues are in excess of those of 1887 by $12,046, being for this year $91,853.89. Of the revenue for timber, $25,567.51 was derived from bonuses, ground rents and royalties on timber cut from lands in the railway belt in British Columbia, being an increase of $10.426.04 over the previous year.

Grazing lands show a decrease as compared with 1887, of $13,328.27, but the dues received for hay, $3,369.57, exceeded the amount received the previous year by $1,573.07.

The receipts from minerals other than coal were $430.75. The amount received from sales of coal lands was $74,700, being an increase of $67,050 over the previous year. The total area of coal lands sold up to date is 12,078 acres, and the total sum received therefor is $124,508.82.

PRICE OF LUMBER.

Following is a comparative statement of the average prices of lumber within the several Crown Timber Agencies for the last four years, which, it will be observed, have been very much reduced within that time. This is very important to settlers:

The Crown Timber Agent at Winnipeg reports that fuel continues to sell at about the figures given in his last annual report, viz..—

Cordwood on car at Winnipeg, $3.25 to $4.50 per cord; at Portage la Prairie, $2.25 to $3.00; and the large shipments of cordwood from Dakota to Winnipeg will have a tendency to lower the price of that commodity at the latter place. American anthracite coal is offered at Winnipeg on the cars at $3.50 per ton, and native (soft) coal is $7.50 per ton.

LIVE STOCK IN THE TERRITORIES.

The number of cattle, horses and sheep in the North-West Territories, according to the latest information, is as follows:

During the spring of 1888 a number of Crofters emigrated from the West Highlands and Islands of Scotland, chiefly from the Islands of Lewis and Harris, and settled near Pelican Lake in Manitoba. These people are the first colonists who have

settled in this country under the scheme of emigration which has been inaugurated by the Imperial Government. Under this scheme provision is made for an advance of £120 to each family, which is to be repaid in twelve years, and which is secured by a lien on the homestead of the settler.

It was thought desirable that the Crofters should be settled as closely together as possible, and this was also their own wish; but although there is a large area of land available for settlement in Manitoba and the Territories, difficulty was experienced in obtaining within the requisite time a suitable tract, near enough to railway communication, and at the same time of sufficient extent to accommodate so large a number of people in a compact settlement. The Canada North-West Land Company, however, were willing to relinquish certain of their lands for home steading by these settlers and to accept other lands elsewhere, so that it was found possible to settle the Crofters comparatively close to one another.

The Pelican Lake District, in which they are located, is in a fine farming country, well watered and fairly well wooded. It is within 15 miles of a railway, and near a good market. When I visited the settlement, in September last, in company with Mr. Duncan McIntyre and Mr. R. B. Angus, directors of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, Mr. Hamilton, the Land Commissioner of the same Company, and Mr. William Whyte, Superintendent of the Western Division of the Canadian Pacific Railway, I found that many of the men were absent from their own homes, working for the neighbouring farmers, and I ascertained that they were generally in receipt of good wages, ranging from $15 to $30 a month with board and lodging; but from those who were at home, and from the families of those absent, full information was obtained as to what had been done for them, and as to their prospects for the future. They had arrived too late in the spring to do anything that season beyond preparing the land for next year's crops, but that drawback was largely compensated for by their being placed in a fairly well settled country, where there was a demand for labour at remunerative prices. In this way they had time and opportunity to obtain some practical acquaintance with the system of farming best suited for that region, which ought to be of great value to them in next year's work. With but two exceptions those with whom I came in contact expressed themselves as satisfied with what had been done for them, with the land on which they were settled and its locality, and with the prospects for success and comfort in the near future to all of them who were frugal and industrious. The two exceptions were young men from Skye, who would only give a qualified approval of the country, saying: "The land is good enough, but there is just as good land in Scotland if the poor people could only get it."

Many of the settlers not only had land broken for next year, but had secured sufficient hay to feed their live stock during the winter. Those to whom advances had been made had each been supplied with a yoke of oxen, a cow, a waggon, harness, a plough, a stove, and various necessary tools, which having been purchased in large quantities were obtained by the Crofters at much lower rates than ordinary. The houses were found to be fairly comfortable, ranging from 12 by 16 feet to 12 by 22 feet.

When the present circumstances and prospects of these people are contrasted with their former position in Scotland, it will, I think, appear that they have every reason to be satisfied with the change.

It was at one time feared, and a report went abroad to that effect, that the Crofters would suffer during the winter, owing to their being unable to lay in a proper supply of provisions; but inquiry was made personally by Mr. H. H. Smith, Commissioner of Dominion Lands, as to the true condition of affairs, and it was found that none of these people were in actual need, most of them having a supply on hand, while those families who have young men and women to assist them by their wages have a fair amount of money; and, further, the storekeepers with whom the Crofters deal had undertaken to give them credit for what goods they required to carry them through the winter, so that there does not appear to be any substantial grounds for apprehending any want among them during this season.

SCHOOL LANDS SALES IN MANITOBA.

At the request of the Government of Manitoba, a number of school sections in that Province were offered for sale by public auction in January and February, 1888, in the manner and on the terms prescribed by clause 25 of the Dominion Lands Act. The sales were held at five different points, viz. at Manitou, Winni peg, Portage la Prairie, Brandon and Minnedosa, the dates being respectively the 10th, 17th, 24th and the 31st of January, and the 7th of February. 19,986.30 acres were disposed of for the sum of $140,189.12. The first instalment of this (one-fifth), including a few cases where payment was made in full, amounted to $33,715.77, and was paid in cash. The balance will become due in four successive annual instalments, bearing interest at 6 per cent. The average price per acre realized was $7, the maximum price $16.10, and the minimum $5.

In addition to the sum before mentioned, $2,158.96 has been received on account of instalments due on former sales, making the total receipts for the year $35,874.73. It may be observed that this was the first year in which any general sale of school lands was held, only a few isolated sections having been offered in former years.

SCHOOL LANDS IN THE NORTH-WEST TERRITORIES.

No general sale of school lands has yet been held in the Territories, it being considered advisable, in the interest of the school endowment, to wait until these lands shall have attained a higher market value. Upon the recommendation, however, of the Board of Education for the Territories, and in compliance with several applications, school Section 29, Township 24, Range 10 west of the 5th meridian, situated in the anthracite coal region, was offered for sale by public auction on the 22nd of March, 1888. The section was put up in two blocks divided by the Bow River at an upset price of $20 per acre. The amount realized by the sale was $30,496, the portion to the south of the river fetching $70.50 per acre, and that to the north of the river $20.05. The first instalment amounted to $6,099.20.

MINERALS IN THE RAILWAY BELT

The ownership of the precious metals in the Railway Belt in British Columbia, which has been in dispute between the Government of Canada and the Government