the North-west in particular." No similar meeting of delegates took place again until November, 1874, when Canada, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were represented. The particular object of this conference would appear to have been the discussion of some means by which might be obviated the waste of strength and expense and the divided counsels, amounting in some cases to actual conflict, which separate and individual action on the part of the provinces had promoted to an extent injuriously affecting the minds of intending immigrantsThe resolutions arrived at by this conference re-affirmed the principle that the control and direction of all matters connected with the promotion of immigration should be vested in the Government of Canada, and provided that independent agencies for any of the provinces should be discontinued-provincial representation, if resorted to at all, to be in the form of special or sub-agents, who should be subject to the direction and instructions of the Government of Canada. At the same conference also the system of partial payments by the Dominion Government in reduction of the rates of ocean passage, which has since been abandoned, was agreed upon; and certain additional facilities were provided for the distribution by the London office of information respecting the several provinces. The provisions of clauses 10 and 11 of the agreement of that year were as follows:—

"10. The London office shall be accessible to, and a place of reference for, all persons from any of the provinces.

"11. The provinces shall respectively contribute towards the increased office expenses in London, arising from the proposed arrangements, the annual sums following:

"In case the two last named provinces unite in appointing one sub-agent, their join contribution shall be $1,500;

"And in case British Columbia and Prince Edward Island choose also to avail themselves of the Canadian office in London, each shall pay to the Dominion Government such sum as may be agreed upon with the Minister of Agriculture.”

As none of the provinces had ever made any contribution of the kind men. tioned, and the agreement generally, in so far as it related to the provinces, had never been carried out by them in good faith, I recommended that the agencies at London, Hamilton, Toronto, Kingston, Prescott, Port Arthur and Ottawa in Ontario; Sher. brooke in Quebec, and Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia, should be closed up.

An Order in Council was passed on the 28th May last sanctioning this action, and the agencies mentioned were closed at the end of the fiscal year 1891-92. An intimation that these offices were about to be abolished was conveyed to the respec. tive provinces, with an assurance that the Government of Canada will continue to promote immigration into all the provinces and co-operate with the several provincial Governments in any scheme which might be agreed upon as beneficial to the Provinces and the Dominion.

Since then you have yourself communicated directly with the provincial autho. rities in the same sense.

As to the second question, one of the objects of the Government in transferring the control and management of immigration to the Department of the Interior was to permit of the consolidation under one department and one set of officers of the expenditure and energy formerly devoted to the settlement of the North-west by

two departments and two sets of officers. The first step in this direction was taken by placing the general supervision of immigration work in the North-west in the hands of the Commissioner of Dominion Lands. To carry this step to its legitimate conclusion the immigration agencies in the North-west, as such, were abolished, and every agent of Dominion lands was formally and specially appointed immigration agent for the land district of which he is the chief officer. The one service which the immigration agent can render to the incoming settler beyond attending to his personal comfort from the time he leaves his starting point until he reaches his destination in Canada, is to assist him in finding land or employment, as his circumstances may call for. He can only assist him in obtaining land through the agency of the land office. As to employment, each agent of Dominion lands can and does now keep an employment register, as the immigration agent at Winnipeg had hitherto done. It is obvious that both kinds of service indicated can be rendered to the incoming settler with greater efficiency and economy if rendered by the same set of officials.

As to the third subject, the collection of immigration statistics would appear to have been the chief work performed by the immigration agencies in Ontario and Quebec, except the reception and distribution of newly-arrived immigrants, which is the legitimate business of the provinces. For the purpose of obtaining information upon which to base these statistics, however, the staff which had been employed was altogether too small to ensure reliability.

In reporting on this point, I took the liberty of pointing out that bearing in mind the numerous avenues of travel to and from this country, and the long frontier line between Canada and the United States, the cost of collecting reliable statistics of this kind would be wholly out of proportion to their usefulness, and it would be better to abandon the system altogether. The census of the older provinces is taken every ten years, and statutory provision is made for numbering the people of the North-west still more frequently, if desired. The Department of the Interior had for the past year kept a perfect record of the nationality of all persons who obtained homestead entries on the public lands in Manitoba and the North-west, with the number of souls in each family. This record is being continued, and the information it contains somewhat amplified. The various railway companies have readily assisted in this work by furnishing the Government with the same information in regard to those who become actual settlers upon their lands, and the steamship companies have continued, as in the past, to furnish information regarding the nationality, destination and number of the passengers whom they carry across the Atlantic. These steamship returns are, under the existing system, checked at the port of debarkation by our immigration agents, and so far as the North-west is concerned, a further check is made at Winnipeg, where these people all report in order that they may obtain the bonuses which are provided for by the Order in Coucil of the 27th September, 1890. It was further submitted that even if people coming into Canada could be enumerated, there is no means of ascertaining how long they remain; and that the Government should rest satisfied with the information indi. cated as to those who become settlers on homesteads-the decennial enumeration being the one on which after all they have to depend for definite information upon this question..

The saving in salaries of Canadian agencies this year compared with the amount paid in 1891-92 will be about $20,000.

On the other hand, it has been possible to make what is hoped will be found better provision for the care of immigrants from the time they land at Quebec until they reach their final destination. The services of the officials who were employed in the Department of Agriculture in accompanying parties of immigrants from the steamboat landing to their destination in the Eastern Provinces have been continued, and arrangements have been made by which every train carrying passengers for points west of Lake Superior will each day be met by an officer, who will board the cars in the morning and travel with the immigrants until he meets the corresponding east-bound train. Officers engaged in this work are stationed at Halifax (during the winter and early spring), Quebec, Montreal, North Bay, Port Arthur and Winnipeg, so that every day during the time occupied by the journey the immigrants will have the benefit of the supervision and advice of a Government officer whose special duty it is to see that they are comfortable, well cared for, and protected from all forms of imposition to which strangers in a strange land are more or less subject. The greatest care has been exercised in selecting for this duty tried and trustworthy men, specially qualified for the somewhat difficult duties assigned to them; and the railway authorities afford them every facility for the efficient performance of those duties. Arrangements have further been made that the department will be notified in advance by the steamship companies of the dates when parties of foreign immigrants are expected, so that they may be met at the port of debarkation by officials speaking their own language, who will accompany them either the whole or a part of the way to the North-west, as may be found necessary, and that land guides may be in readiness to assist them in finding homesteads on arrival at their destination.

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT ON EMIGRATION.

The report on emigration of the High Commissioner, Sir Charles Tupper, and the reports for the year 1892 of the various emigration agents in Great Britain and Ireland, will be printed separately. We will thus have a volume which will form a valuable addition to our immigration literature, and it is proposed that a supply of extra copies shall be printed and distributed to inquirers and others, chiefly through the High Commissioner's office.

As considerable attention has been drawn to the subject by the report of the Inspector of Penitentiaries, I desire to bring to your notice what is said in the High Commissioner's report about juvenile emigration.

The widespread diffusion in the older lands of information about Canada, referred to in the report of the High Commissioner, is, I think, a subject for congratulation, and must be productive of much good to this country. It is very gratifying also to find from the letters embodied in this report from the Tenant Farmers' Delegates, who visited Canada in 1890, that these gentlemen still do us good service, and keep up their interest in the country.

Some such scheme as that referred to in Sir Charles Tupper's report for making it practicable for persons of small means already in the country to assist in bringing out their friends and relatives, has, as you know, been formulated, and is receiving consideration; and the necessary steps to convey the effect of what he says about the Imperial Institute to the various local Governments have been taken.

INSPECTION OF PAUPER CHILDREN.

I think it may be of some consequence in this relation to publish the following extract from the report of the Local Government Board of London, England, for 1891-92, in reference to the inspection of pauper children emigrated to this country:

"Since the issue of our last report we have received through the Colonial Office further reports made by immigration officers of the Canadian Department of Agriculture respecting visits made by them to the homes of children who were sent out to Canada by boards of guardians with our approval. These reports related to 479 such children, seven of whom could not, however, be traced by the immigration officers. We are glad to find that, with few exceptions, the reports are of a satisfactory nature. The children are reported to be generally contented and well cared for, and the greater number of their homes to be free from objection. Though in many cases reference is made to faults in the character, disposition or habits of the children, there appear to have been comparatively few instances where the fosterparents have expressed an intention to part with them in consequence. The reports show that in some of the cases the children and their foster-parents have become greatly attached to each other; and that in others the foster-parents take an unselfish and parental interest in the present and future welfare of the children committed to their keeping. There are somewhat fewer cases than formerly in which children are said to have been adopted; but it is apparent, both from the present and former reports, that the system of adoption does not, in Canada, necessarily imply that the foster-parent accepts once for all the care of a child as his own. With regard to five homes only the reports are not favourable, and in two of these the children are stated to have been not well used and not well treated or sufficiently fed. The immigration officers have reported unfavourably upon the bodily or mental condition of eight of the children, and one of those children has been returned to England as insane. These reports show incidentally that for the most part children are placed out on the understanding that they will be boarded, clothed and educated until they attain the age of 15 years, after which time they are paid wages at the rate of $3 or $4 per month. They also show that the homes in Canada connected with the various emigration societies are of great assistance in connection with the welfare and supervision of the children. Children who are dissatisfied, ill, or in unsatisfactory homes, appear to be frequently received back into these homes, whence they are again placed out after having received further training or medical treatment, as may be necessary.

"We have caused copies of the reports to be sent to the several boards of guardians responsible for the emigration of the children, and have requested fuller information as regards such cases as appeared to us to require explanation."

THE SEASON'S IMMIGRATION.

The immigration during the year 1892 has shown an increase which, considering the influence exerted by the cholera epidemic, is very satisfactory. The collection of statistics of immigration having been discontinued throughout Canada, except at a few points, as already explained, the comparative tables hitherto published have, as a necessary consequence, been abandoned; but it may not be out of place to draw attention to the figures obtained from the agencies of the department at Halifax, Quebec and Montreal. The arrivals at these three ports were in round numbers 52,000. These people comprised 28,000 who declared their intention of settling in Canada, while the majority of the remainder were avowedly en route to the United States. Manitoba, the North-west and British Columbia claimed 12,000 for their share, and a very interesting check was established as regards this movement of immigrants by making a comparison between the number reported by the immigration agents and the tickets issued by the Canadian Pacific and the Grand

Trunk Railway companies. The total number of "souls" bound for Manitoba, the North-west and British Columbia during the first six months of 1892 was 7,252; while the tickets issued for the same period by the two companies represent 5,468 adults. These tickets, being for "adults," have to be converted into "souls," and this is done by adding one-third to the number of tickets issued, which makes the total of "souls" 7,291. Then, again, the number passing Port Arthur was reported by the agent at that point as being 7,320. Taking into consideration the inevitable overlapping of returns at the beginning and ending of the term, the extremely close approximation of the figures is remarkable, and must be considered a conclusive proof that the information obtained by the immigration agents is thoroughly correct. About 7,000 cabin passengers are included in the arrivals, but it has been found to be impossible, except as to a few landing at Halifax, to ascertain their ultimate destinations with any degree of certainty. The various agents of the department report favourably of the class of immigrants during the year, and that as a rule they have been well provided with funds. Those seeking employment have been placed without difficulty, and the demand for female domestic servants has been greatly in excess of the supply.

DEPARTMENTAL CHANGES.

I regret to have to record the death on the 12th of June last of Mr. Arthur Bristowe, who was employed in the Land Patents Branch.

A death occurred also in the outside service, namely that of Mr. J. R. Davidson, a clerk in the Dominion lands office at Brandon, who died on the 25th of July last.

By Order in Council of the 16th April last the administration of the immigration work of the department west of Lake Superior was placed under the control of the Commissioner of Dominion lands at Winnipeg, subject to such instructions as might be given to him from time to time by the Minister of the Interior.

By Order in Council of the 17th of May, 1892, Mr. Patrick Doyle, assistant immigration agent at Quebec, was appointed agent in the place of Mr. Lawrence Stafford, deceased. The office of assistant agent in the Quebec agency was discontinued, and Mr. D. J. Power, a temporary clerk, was appointed as a clerk in the Quebec immigration office, with a salary of $1,000 per annum, to be paid from the sum voted for the salary of an assistant agent. Mr. Power, I am sorry to say, died on the 15th August last.

DOMINION LANDS-HOMESTEAD ENTRIES AND SALES.

The following is a comparative statement of the homestead entries and sales which have been made at the several agencies of the department during the years 1891 and 1892: