or at the rate of 27,400 per month. Besides and beyond the proclaimed gold fields there are numberless workings, more or less remunerative.

By the provisions of the Otago Gold Fields Regulations passed in 1862, every holder of a "miner's right" is entitled to occupy for residence and cultivation half an acre of ground on payment of a single fee of 5s. This protects the occupant against all comers, unless the ground proves to be auriferous, in which case compensation for actual damage and loss must be made to the occupier by the miner before he is allowed to take possession. Agricultural leases of 10 acres are also granted, subject to a yearly rent of 5s. an acre.

Eleven townships (exclusive of one in course of formation at Mount Ida) have been established in the gold fields, of which Queenstown is the most important.

CANADA.

PROVINCE OF QUEBEC.

On the 15th August 1864 the sale of lands in gold mining divisions was resumed for actual settlement at previous rates, subject to proof that no gold mining is going on thereon. The price is to be raised to $2 per acre if the land is afterwards mined for gold. The operations in gold mining have hitherto been principally carried on in the Chaudière division, in alluvial diggings on the river Gilbert, in the Seigniory of Rigaud, Vaudreuil (De Léry). About 50 men were at work there at the date of the last report,June 1866. The gold extracted is estimated to have been:

In the summer of 1863, $40,000 to..
In the month of June 1864..

Year ending June 1865, $140,000 to

$50,000 5,000 150,000

Since 1865 no statistics have been published; but it is thought that not more than $100,000 has been taken out, the great excitement respecting quartz mines having caused a lull in the alluvial operations.

Very little has been done in the St. Francis district beyond preparatory operations.

The gold mining branch of the Crown Lands Department is under the management of Mr. F. T. Judah, Ottawa.

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Gold was known to exist in Queen Charlotte's Island in 1850, and in April 1856 Governor Douglas reported to the Secretary of State that considerable quantities of gold had been found in the Upper Columbia River. It was subsequently discovered in its natural state of deposit in the districts of Fraser River and of Thompson's River, commonly known as the Quaatlan, Couteau, and Shuswap countries. Rich and extensive gold fields were in the summer of 1865 discovered in that portion of the Columbia River known as the "Big Bend," lying between 51° and 520 North Latitude.

NOVA SCOTIA.

The following is an extract of a Report from H. G. Pineo, Esq., the Immigration Agent, dated Halifax, 18th February 1864:

"There has been a gradual and successful development of the mineral resources of the province. The prosperity of the Eda mines has materially increased, and those engaged in them have come to expect large or, at all events, profitable returns of gold, almost as a matter of course, and they are very rarely disappointed. The gold produced in 1865, as reported to the Commissioner of Mines and Minerals, averages 8s. 6d. sterling per day for every man employed.'

Mr. Pineo adds, in January 1867: "The gold mining in 1866 has produced rather less than in 1865, in consequence of the prevalence of very wet weather during the summer, which retarded the sinking of shafts and all surface work. The gold produced averages $2.14 or 88. 7d. sterling per head per day for every man employed."

No later information has been received from the Colony respecting mining operations.

CHARGES ON LAND AND EXPENSES OF CLEARING. CANADA, Province of Quebec.-The cost of clearing waste lands is stated at about $16 (or about 31. 68. 8d. sterling) per acre; the expense is, however, greater in the remote and unsettled districts, in consequence of the difficulty of procuring labourers. The only charge on land is a tax which seldom exceeds 1d. per acre on cultivated lands, and three eighths of a penny currency on wild lands.

Province of Ontario.-The cost of clearing wild lands is about from 12 to 14 dollars per acre. The expense is, however, greater in the remote districts, in consequence of the difficulty of procuring labourers; but this work is generally done by contract. The only charge on land is a tax which seldom exceeds 1d. per acre. It is applied to local improve. ments alone, in which the person taxed has a direct interest.

NEW BRUNSWICK.-The average cost of cutting and clearing off the trees, leaving the stumps standing, is from 31. to 41. currency (27. 14s. to 31. 128. sterling) per acre. The proper season to commence clearing the land is the month of June. All underbrush should be cut down, and this is in some cases done with a scythe; but the small trees require an axe. The large trees should then be felled, leaving a stump of two or three feet above the ground. The branches should be cut off before setting the fire, and such trees as may be of value for fencing or other purposes removed. The timber thus levelled should be spread as evenly as convenient over the ground, in order that the fire may consume the whole. proper time for setting the fire is any dry day in August or September. Such logs as remain after the burnings should be piled in heaps and consumed. The ashes should then be scattered over the land. when it will be ready for planting. The tax on a good farm of 100 acres with houses, barns, and stock, is about 4s. 4d. sterling. The poll tax in the country districts is about 3d. sterling.

The

NOVA SCOTIA. Woodland can be chopped, rolled, and burned for about 31. per acre. As a general rule the first crop pays for such clearing. There is a moderate county tax upon all real and personal estate, the proceeds of which are applied to the county expenses.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.-The clearing expenses vary from 21. to 4l. per acre, according to the growth of the wood upon the land. The only charges are those made from time to time by local assessment. There is a tax imposed by the local legislature of 98. 2d. currency on every 100 acres of wilderness land, and 68. 8d. currency on every 100 acres of improved land in the possession of individuals, 11 Vict. cap.7., and 24 Vict. cap. 35 (29th April 1861) This tax in 1854 amounted to 4,921. currency, and in 1863 to 4,569l. It is applied to free education.

NEWFOUNDLAND.-Land may be cleared by the ordinary mode at a cost of about 51. per acre, or if the stones are thoroughly removed, at from 61. to 61. 10s. per acre.

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.-The land generally requires little or no clearing. Fences are seldom required. Lands already granted are liable to a road tax, which, however, is not levied regularly, and cannot exceed one penny in the pound in any year.

NEW SOUTH WALES. No useful information can be given, there being no fixed process where clearing is required, and the cost being dependent on the process, and the timber, if any, to be cleared.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.-There is much good land, with little or no timber, and much more, free from underwood, with timber only in such quantity as is useful and desirable for fencing, fuel, and country purposes. The expense of ordinary fencing is from 3s. to 4s. per rod.

QUEENSLAND.-The average cost of cutting down and burning off the trees, leaving the stumps of those over two feet in diameter, is 47. per acre in the low lands, where the timber is thicker than in the upland. Trees of smaller growth are usually "grubbed " out by digging around the roots till they can be easily overturned by the weight of the branches, and then the roots are drawn out of the ground. The roots of the larger trees are left two or three seasons, and then got rid of by an easy and simple process called" steaming." After the first expense of clearing this further process may be well omitted for several years. In many localities, especially on the lands best suited for wheat, there is little timber, and the expense of clearing is very much less. Generally there is enough timber of the best description for fencing, having the double advantage of being very durable and being easily split.

NOTICE ON COLONIAL LAND PRIVILEGES TO NAVAL AND MILITARY OFFICERS.

(To take effect from the 1st October 1870.) This notice is issued by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, for the information of officers wishing to retire from Her Majesty's Naval or Military service for the purpose of settling in those Colonies which offer privileges to that class of settlers in the acquisition of Crown lands.

1. Colonies which offer Privileges.

The only Colonies which now offer land privileges to naval and military officers are British Columbia, Natal, and Western Australia.

2. Officers entitled to Privileges.

The officers to whom such privileges are offered are: (a) naval officers of the military branch of all grades not lower than that of sub-lieutenants; (b) military officers of all grades not lower than that of subalterns of 7 years' standing; (c) regimental staff officers; and (d) medical officers of both services of not less than 5 years' standing.

3. Officers not entitled to Privileges.

The officers not entitled to land privileges are naval and military chaplains, commissariat officers, subalterns under 7 years' standing, medical officers of less than 5 years' standing, midshipmen, cadets, warrant officers of every description, officers of any of the civil branches of the Navy or Army; and, lastly, officers who have ceased for the space of three calendar months to belong to Her Majesty's service, and have not obtained the memorandum of rank and service herein after mentioned.

4. Nature and extent of Privileges.

In British Columbia a certain quantity of land is granted in lieu of remission of purchase money. In the other above-named Colonies, land must be purchased under the Land Regulations for the time being in force in the Colony, and a certain amount These of the purchase money is then remitted. allowances are regulated by the rank and length of service of the officer as shown in the following scales, viz. :

0

0 10 £2 0

0

0

In British Columbia:

1 10 0

- 0 10 0 £4 0 0

NEW ZEALAND.-Fern-land, 10s. to 17. 10s. ; woodland, 31. to 10l., according to the size of the timber. This does not include the breaking-up of the soil.

In Newfoundland, Natal, Ceylon, and Western Australia:

Although these scales refer only to military officers, they apply also to naval officers, who will receive allowances corresponding with their relative rank to officers in the army as prescribed in Her Majesty's Order in Council of 11th June

1863.

5. Memorandum of Rank and Service.

Any officer desirous of availing himself of these privileges must obtain a memorandum, if a naval man from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and if a military man from the office of the General Commander in Chief, specifying his rank, length of service, and date of retirement. This document will not be issued more than once to the same officer, and it must, within one year from the date of the officer's retirement, be presented to the Governor of one of the above-named Colonies, otherwise the officer will not be entitled to any land privileges in the Colony. No document from the office of the Secretary of State is necessary.

6. Location Ticket.

As the sole object of the regulations is to encourage the bona fide settlement of naval and military officers in the Colony, an officer, on presentation of his memorandum of rank and service to the Governor, will receive in the first instance a location ticket only, for the land which in British Columbia he may obtain, or which in either of the other Colonies he may have purchased to the extent of his remission money.

7. Crown Grant.

At the expiration of two years from the date of such location ticket the officer will receive in exchange for it a Crown Grant, provided he can show to the satisfaction of the Governor, but not otherwise, that he is a bonâ fide settler in the Colony, and has not only continuously resided therein since the receipt of his location ticket, but that he has resided on the land described in it for such length of time, and made substantial and permanent improvements thereon of such description and value, as the Governor may have prescribed in any general notice published by his authority in the Government Gazette of the Colony.

[N.B. The term of residence and the extent of improvements at present required are as follows:

In British Columbia, that the officer or his family shall reside continuously on the land for two years, and build a house and make improvements.

In Natal that the officer shall reside on the land

for not less than six months in each of the two years since he received his location ticket,-that he shall build a house and farm buildings to the satisfaction of the Surveyor General, and cultivate or stock his land in such a manner as may be certified by the Surveyor General to show a bonâ fide intention to continue in the beneficial occupation of the land, or to have imparted to it an enhanced saleable value.

In Western Australia, that the officer shall reside on the land for at least half the two years he is required to reside in the Colony, and has made substantial and useful improvements to the extent of 10s. an acre, such residence and improvements to be certified by the resident magistrate of the district.]

8. Lapse of Claim of Crown Grant not applied for in

time.

If application should not be made for a Crown grant in exchange for the location ticket within a twelvemonth from the expiration of the two years for which it was issued, the officer's claim will be considered as extinguished, and the land will absolutely revert to the Crown.

9. Land not transferable until Grant issued. No transfer of the land will be allowed or be valid until a Crown Grant thereof has been obtained.

10. Provision in case of Death.

But if an officer has obtained a memorandum of rank and service, and dies before he can obtain a location ticket, the Governor of the Colony is authorized to make the memorandum available as he may think proper in favour of a child or children or other nearest representative of the deceased, who will then become entitled to the same rights and be subject to the same conditions as attached to the deceased. In case an officer dies after the location ticket has been obtained, the land to which it refers will be granted to his legal representative.

11. Permanence of the Regulations cannot be

guaranteed.

As the land regulations in the above-named Colonies are liable at any time to be altered, Her Majesty's Government cannot guarantee the permanence of these regulations, nor can the amount of remission in purchase money made to officers be increased on account of any increased value which may at any time be set upon the Crown lands in the Colony.