QUEBEC (cont.)

grants made since
1880 for agricul-
tural purposes,
in the Crown
(but owners have
preferential rights
to work mines
on payment of
additional sums
as before men-
tioned), and in
case of any grant
made as a mining
location, in the
owner of surface.
The Lieutenant-
Governor
Council has power
to claim royalty
due to the Crown
on any land, but
only within five
years from the
date of aliena-
tion, such royalty
not to exceed 3
per cent. of the
value of the
mineralextracted
after deducting
the cost of the
extraction.'

in

Remarks

Under the Mining Act of 1880 (as amended in 1892) searches may be made for mines upon unoccupied public lands without license, or prospecting licenses may be obtained, and all lands supposed to contain mines or ores belonging to the Crown may be acquired from the Commissioners of Crown lands by purchase, or be occupied and worked under a mining

AMERICA (NORTH)-continued.

QUEBEC.

license. Mining concessions are not, as a rule, to exceed 400 acres in extent, and are obtained on payment of such sums as are mentioned in the table above, or at higher prices if sold by public auction, and mining lands are only to be sold on the express condition that the purchaser shall commence bonâ fide the mining of the minerals within two years, and shall, during such period, spend a sum of not less than $500 if for superior metals, and of not less than $200 if for inferior metals, and the patents are only to be issued on proof that such conditions have been fulfilled. Licenses may be obtained to explore for mines (with power afterwards, subject to the preferential rights of the owner of the surface, to purchase) either on public or on private lands where the mining rights belong to the Crown, and every person is prohibited from mining either upon public or private lands where the mining rights belong to the Crown, without having purchased the same, or obtained a mining license costing $5, and an annual rental of $1 per acre renewable on the same terms. In the case of private lands, the owner is entitled to the preference to work, or to compensation for the land required and damages, and no buildings or inclosures must be entered upon without the consent of the owner. Mining licenses cannot, as a rule, be issued for an extent of over 200 acres. Each applicant for a license to mine on public lands may stake out a claim, and must register his claim. Discoverers of new mines on public lands may obtain licenses free for a year. Licenses costing $5 must be taken out for the erection of crushing machinery or mills. The Act of 1892, divided into 165 sections, contains many minute provisions as to mining which cannot be set out in detail here.

R

MANITOBA.

Ownership

Remarks

In surface-owner The early Dominion
where grants Land Acts provided
have been made that no reservation of
in fee simple gold, silver, iron, cop-
without reserva- per, or other mines or
tion, as was the minerals should be in-
case before the serted in any patent
year 1880.
from the Crown grant-
ing any portion of the
Dominion lands (Sta-
tutes of Canada, 35th
Vict. 1872, c. 23).1
The public lands in
this Province are, as a
rule, administered by
the Federal Govern-
ment, but some lands
have been granted to
the Province which
are administered under
the provisions of "The
Provincial Lands Act"
(Revised Stat. of Man.
1891, c. 120).

1 This Act applied exclusively to the lands included in Manitoba and the NorthWest Territories. The same provision was repeated in the Dominion Lands Act of 1879, but has disappeared from the later Dominion Land Acts; and dealings with lands containing minerals are now regulated by the subsisting Dominion Lands Act (Revised Stat. of Can. 1886, c. 54), and the Regulations thereunder (see pages 251 and 252 ante).

AMERICA (NORTH)-continued.

NEW BRUNSWICK.

Name

The only productive seam of coal worked at present is a surface one, 22 inches thick, said to produce an excellent steam coal, and is believed to extend over an area of at least 600 square miles.-(" Canada," 1889.)

The Act of 1891 amended as above contains powers of dealing with gold and silver mines and other mines held by the Government for the benefit of the Province by lease or license similar to those enacted by the Legislature of Nova Scotia (see next page). The Governor in Council has power to defer the payment of royalty for ten years from the date of the lease; and the Municipal Council of any county in the Province may exempt from taxation all plant, machinery, works, buildings, or improvements used or erected for mining purposes for a period not exceeding 20 years (Stat. of N. S. 1893, 56 Vict. Nos. 10 and 11).

TERRITORIES Petroleum where grants
Gold, &c. made before 1880.

The same remarks apply as in the case of Manitoba (see p. 258 ante).