the larger Secondary schools. The annual Report of the Department of Education for the year ending Dec. 31, 1910, showed the following facts: Number of Pupils registered Number of Teachers employed (Male 621; Female 2.153). Grade of Teachers:-1st-class, 273; 2nd-class, 1,452; 3rd-class, $454,618 1,551 2,227 1,430 76,427 2,774 The University of Manitoba question was again conspicuous. The Minister of Education (Mr. Coldwell) stated in the Legislature on Mch. 1 that from his experience in travelling through the Province he did not think the people would accept direct taxation for a State University when they wouldn't accept it for the elementary education of their own children. "The question around which the whole matter pivots is as to which will bring the greatest good to the greatest number. Ninety-five per cent. of the people of Manitoba have neither secondary nor university education. The money spent in education by Manitoba works out $3.50 per head of the population for elementary education, $2.50 for secondary education and for each student of Manitoba University $65.00. This latter amount is quite enough at present for higher education." A similar position was taken by W. Molloy (Lib.) on Mch. 3rd: "I am going to fight the proposal to the very last ditch. To recommend to this Legislature that a monopolistic State University should be established in the Province of Manitoba is an outrageous proposition and one which the people of Manitoba should not entertain for a moment." The question had now been agitated for some years and was really brought to a head by Wesley College-an affiliated institution of Manitoba University -asking for degree-conferring powers which, it was contended, would involve the break-up of the existing loose and unorganized University system into a number of small denominational universities. The Provincial institution was not yet fully formed or organized though associated with it were seven affiliated and successful Colleges Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Church of England, Pharmacy, Medical and Agricultural. It was governed by a Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor and Council and during 1911 was authorized to appoint a President; it possessed an endowment of 150,000 acres, 23 professors, lecturers, etc., and had many of the essential elements of a great University. The students in attendance, 1911-12, totalled 744 of whom 360 were in Arts, 51 in Engineering, 144 in Medicine, 38 in Law, 30 in It Agriculture, 11 "Special," and 110 in Extension Courses. had, however, neither a suitable State endowment, like Toronto, nor immense private contributions like McGill. Hence the persistent efforts to make it a State University along lines similar to that of Toronto, or of California, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and other American States. A public meeting was held on Jan. 30 to protest against degree-conferring powers being given any of the affiliated Colleges. Rev. Canon Murray pointed out that the Provinces to the West were founding great Provincial Universities with full Governmental support. "These are still in their infancy but they have all the machinery needed to keep pace with their growth. The movement in the East is toward the same end. If we divide our degree-conferring powers and have no central University that can compare with these others, we will find that the flower of our youth will gradually pass from us to the East or to the West." Dr. H. H. Chown declared that no one Denomination could ever have anything better than "a crippled, limping institution, utterly inadequate to the educational needs of the Province." The only solution, to him, was a single University with full Government support. Wesley College, on the other hand, claimed that it wanted a federalized institution like that of Toronto and had no thought of exercising the degree-conferring power "provided that amendments to the University Act should place the College in a fair position to carry out the purposes for which it was founded." At the University Convocation on May 12, Archbishop Matheson presided as Chancellor and various Honorary and graduation degrees were conferred. On the same date the Council decided to lay out and beautify the new site recently donated in Tuxedo Park and $20,000 was voted for the purpose. A report was presented by Dr. J. R. Jones as to the deputation which two weeks before had waited upon the Government with a view to secure, if possible, a declaration of the latter's policy in regard to the University and a grant of $10,000 in aid of its work; and to see if it were not possible to adjust some of the points of misunderstanding which had arisen in the past. Nothing, however, was promised as Mr. Coldwell remained firm in his policy of first aiding popular education. Other incidents in Educational matters were the statement of Rev. Dr. Sparling on June 19th that Wesley College had received subscriptions of $183,000 toward the quarter-million Endowment it was seeking; the effort of Brandon (Baptist) College to obtain degree-conferring powers and the deputation which waited upon Mr. Roblin and his Government to that end on Jan. 3rd; the retirement in June of Dr. A. P. McDiarmid, President and founder of Brandon College, from his position; the declaration of the Presbyterian Synod of Manitoba (Nov. 16) in support of the attitude of Manitoba College which favoured the creation of a Provincial University. To this end Resolutions were passed approving a Provincial University which should give instruction over the whole field of University education; inviting the Provincial Government and the Provincial University to assume the responsibility of providing instruction in Arts subjects; asking, meanwhile, for increased interest in and support of the College itself; deploring the granting of University powers to any other body than the Provincial University. Resources It was a year of great progress in this Province. The new Census showed an increase in population since 1901 from 91,279 to 492,432 or 439 per cent. the greatest advance of any part of Canada. Immigrants continued to pour into the region and for the year ending Mch. 31st the destination of 40,763 immigrants was given as Saskatchewan; of these over 25,000 were well-to-do farmers from the United States. In Building permits the chief centres grew greatly-Regina from $2,416,288 in 1910 to $5,088,110 in 1911, Saskatoon from $2,817,771 to $4,920,000, Moose Jaw and Prince Albert from $1,733,565 to $3,396,981. Between 1906 and 1911 Regina increased in population 1,243 per cent. and Saskatoon 10,521 per cent. In 1904 Regina's assessment had been 214 millions and in 1911 $34,840,000. During the fiscal year 1910-11, 25,227 homesteads were taken up but vast quantities of good land still remained available for settlement. From an agricultural point of view the year 1911 was an extraordinary one. As the Provincial Department in its final Report for the year said: "A late spring, a month of bright warm weather following seeding and making growth phenomenal, then cold and showery, with high winds damaging heavy stands and retarding the ripening process until much had been caught either by early frosts or affected by rust. Notwithstanding all these unfavourable conditions the harvest has been a record one. While the grade is low an enormous quantity has been threshed and Saskatchewan now holds the premier place amongst the Provinces of the Dominion and States of the Union for both the quality and quantity of its wheat." Other conditions were exceptional. The prices for lower grades showed an advance on previous years so that farmers who had been able to get a considerable percentage of their crop shipped out did much better than they at first anticipated. The inability of the Railway companies to expeditiously handle the immense crop intensified for a time the unsatisfactory state of affairs in this respect. There was a large demand from Great Britain for all grades under No. 2 Northern and the consequent demand for Atlantic vessel space occasioned an increase in the through rate from Fort William to British ports of from 14 cents to 21 cents per bushel or nine cents from the Atlantic seaboard. As a result of these conditions changes were made in the grades of wheat-the Grain Standard Board lowering grades No. 4, 5, and 6. As in Manitoba there was a decrease in autumn ploughing. The grain inspected from points in Saskatchewan for the period of Sept. 1st to Dec. 31st was 44,827,875 bushels and, according to C. C. Castle, Dominion Warehouse Commissioner, 100 new grain elevators were erected in the Province during 1911 with an increased capacity of 2,999,000 bushels-the total number in the Province being 1,009 with a capacity of 29,439,000 bushels or nearly equal to the combined figures of Manitoba and Alberta. The total grain production of the year was 212,710,363 bushels, according to Provincial statistics, while in the United States the next great grain-growing community was Illinois with 166,022,000 bushels. The horses in the Province in 1911 numbered 574,972 or an increase of 22,000 in the year; the milch cows and other cattle 777,502 or an increase of 26,000; the sheep 125,072 or a decrease of 39,000; the swine 333,218 or an increase of 4,000; poultry 4,643,838 or an increase of 17,000. Of the four great crops the Provincial statistics gave wheat in 1911 as grown on 5,232,248 acres and yielding 96,796,588 bushels or 18 50 bushels per acre and 24 million more than in 1910; oats 2,192,806 acres, yielding 98,676,270 bushels, or 45 bushels to the acre and 35 millions more than in 1910; barley 244,993 acres, yielding 6,859,804 bushels, or 28 bushels to the acre and one million more than in 1910; flax 932,408 acres, yielding 10,377,701 bushels, or 11.13 bushels to the acre and 7 million more than in 1910. The Dominion statistics of production and values were as follows: There was enough farm help for spring and winter work though an enormous lack of labour for the harvesting season and the men were apt to need experience. Their wages ran from $259 to $333 per year or from $29.95 to $39.40 per month while servant girls received from $12.50 to $18.70 per month. Land values went up an average of 25 per cent. and the average price of improved land ran from $20.00 to $27.00 and for unimproved from $15.00 to $23.00 per acre. The Dairy branch of the Department of Agriculture had centralized and aided the co-operative Creamery work of the Province during the past four years and the product increased from 220,282 lbs. of butter in 1908 to 462,216 lbs. in 1910 and 702,801 lbs. in 1911 while the num ber of farmers supplying cream rose from 553 to 1,596 in the four years. Winter dairying also came into operation and was found satisfactory. This co-operative idea found expression in various directions and was widely discussed during 1911 while the principle itself was put into operation as to the grain trade and the elevators by Legislative enactment. The Farmers' organizations embodied the chief public interest of the year and perhaps rivalled the Legislature in serious debate. The Agricultural Societies Convention was held at Regina on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. F. Hedley Auld, Superintendent of Institutes and Fairs, reported 406 meetings of these Societies in the year, 74 Exhibitions, $56,100 given in prizes and 50 Seed Fairs. A. F. Mantle, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, spoke on "homebuilding" and farm work, flax production, the value of Alfalfa, and kindred subjects; Hon. W. R. Motherwell, Minister of Agriculture, G. H. Barr, W. H. Fairfield, Dr. Rutherford of the College of Agriculture, and other authorities on agricultural topics also spoke. The Hon. Walter Scott, in welcoming the gathering to the capital, spoke for the Government and almost his first words were on Reciprocity-the all-pervading topic of the year—“ the greatest measure of a favourable character affecting the Dominion which has been brought up for actual discussion since the time of Confederation." He then reviewed conditions generally. The Government grants to agricultural societies in 1905 totalled $11,000; in 1910 they were over $46,000. In the former year 3,742 labourers were secured for harvest purposes by the Department of Agriculture and in 1910, 10,647; Educational meetings along agricultural lines had increased from 50 to 200. Mr. Motherwell in his address pointed out that while Reciprocity would help the farmer yet the addition of five bushels per acre to his production-by care and skill in farming-would mean many more millions to the Province than even the trade policy could bring. A number of Resolutions, chiefly of a local agricultural nature, were passed. The Women's Institutes, or as they decided to call themselves, the Home-Makers Clubs, had a number of representatives in Regina at the same time who met separately and dealt with special questions. The Saskatchewan Grain Growers Association met in its 10th annual Convention at Regina on Feb. 7-8 with 450 delegates present of whom a large number were young men. President F. W. Gates, of Fillmore, presided and addresses of welcome were given by Mayor P. McAra and Mr. Premier Scott. The latter, in speaking, approved the idea of teaching a book-keeping system for farming purposes; concurred in the general proposal to give railway connection to newly settled districts; would make no promises as to a special tax on unoccupied land but looked on the proposal with some favour; thought that the Hail Companies |