THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO.

EXTENT AND GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.

Ontario embraces an area of nearly two hundred thousand square miles, about eighty thousand more than the United Kingdom. It extends from east to west nearly eleven hundred miles, and from north to south seven hundred miles. Its southern border, Essex County, on the shores of Lake Erie, is traversed by the 42nd parallel, and its northern, at James Bay (forming the southern extremity of Hudson's Bay) by the 52nd, so that it lies within the same degrees of latitude as Michigan, New York, and the New England States, as well as the greater portion of the most fertile countries in Europe. The International boundary line, dividing Canada from the United States, which runs through the River St. Lawrence and the great chain of lakes, Ontario, Erie, Huron and Superior, forms the southern and southwestern boundary of the Province; on the west lies the Province of Manitoba; on the north the District of Keewatin and James' Bay, and northeasterly the Ottawa River divides it from Quebec, the latter Province forming the eastern boundary.

It is bountifully supplied with water throughout its whole extent; patches of swamp land are numerous in nearly every district, but they are usually of small dimensions, and the "cedar swamp," though little fitted for the purposes of agriculture, is exceedingly valuable to a neighbourhood on account of the durability of its timber, and its special adaptability for the making of shingles, posts, fence-rails, paving-blocks, etc., etc. But nowhere is there an arid district, or one in which an abundant water-supply cannot be readily procured, both for man and beast. Besides innumerable lakes, rivers, creeks and streamlets, springs abound in many localities, and everywhere under the soil pure, wholesome water can be "struck" at distances varying from fourteen to forty feet, so that sinking a well, which is frequently a necessity for an isolated household, is very seldom attended with much trouble or great expense.

NATURAL WEALTH.

Redeemed, as the cultivated portion of the Province has been, from the primeval forest, it is needless to say that its vast wealth of timber is still one of its most valuable heritages, capable of furnishing an abundant

supply, both for home consumption and for every probable demand that commerce can make upon it, for centuries to come. Though much has been added, of late years, to the general knowledge of the subject, the great region which is considered to be the main depository of nature's most liberal gifts in mineral wealth is as yet almost unexplored, and only known as to its general external features. But enough is already established to show that the Lake Superior district is enormously rich in iron, silver, copper and other minerals, and now that the Canadian Pacific Railway is running through that country an early development of the mining industry is sure to follow. In the Ottawa region, in addition to the metals already mentioned, there have been considerable finds of gold, while the quarrying of plaster of paris, or gypsum, and marble of excellent quality, are both profitable industries. In the southern district, near Lake Huron, are the famous oil springs, from which petroleum is obtained in immense quantities. Since the discovery of oil in the County of Lambton in 1860, the petroleum industry has developed into great proportions, leading to the rise of towns and villages, and supporting a population of about 10,000. Further to the north are prolific salt wells, which send forth an abundant supply of brine, the salt obtained from which forms a large item in the commerce of that section of the Province. The salt district occupies an area of about twelve hundred square miles, embracing almost the whole of the County of Huron and considerable portions of Bruce and Lambton. Near the lake coast there are no fewer than six successive beds of salt, separated by thin layers of rock, and having an aggregate thickness of over 120 feet. A diamond drill boring, made at Goderich, to a depth of 1,517 feet, went through six beds-the first at 1,028 feet and the last at 1,385 feet-having an aggregate thickness of 126 feet. The harbours of Goderich and Kincardine, on Lake Huron, afford excellent shipping facilities, and all the wells have convenient railway accommodation. Wells of natural gas have been struck in various localities between the St. Clair River and Collingwood on the Georgian Bay. There are also considerable areas of peat beds in several parts of the Province; the rivers and lakes are well supplied with fish and the forests with game. But the great and abounding element of Ontario's natural wealth is in its soil, and to it and its products it is desired to direct the attention of intending emigrants.

THE ORGANIZED AND UNORGANIZED PARTS OF THE PROVINCE.

Before speaking of the agricultural capabilities of Ontario it seems proper to make a brief reference to its government and institutions, so

that the emigrant may form some idea how much, or rather how little, of old world manners and ways that are desirable to preserve, he will have to part with should he make Ontario his future home. This Province is the most populous and wealthy in the Dominion. Though the newest of all the old Provinces, it has made much more rapid progress than any of the others. Its settlements, extending first along the banks of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Rivers and the shores of the great lakes, have been gradually pushing backward towards the north and west, so that now as far north as (and including) the County of Renfrew on the east and the County of Bruce on the west-from the Ottawa River to Lake Huron on a line about midway between the 45th and 46th parallel-forms one solid and compact settlement, with Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the River St. Lawrence for its southern boundary. In this are included the whole of the forty-two counties comprising what may be termed the completely and permanently organized portion of the Province, within which almost all the acquired wealth and nearly the entire population are concentrated, and in which there is neither a barren spot nor a single township that is not partially occupied. This, though a small part of the territory embraced within the geographical boundaries of the Province (as the reader will perceive by examining the accompanying map) is really what is ordinarily spoken of as "Ontario;" but though the county divisions have not yet been pushed further north and west into Muskoka, Parry Sound, Nipissing, Algoma, Thunder Bay and Rainy River Districts, (called the unorganized parts of the Province, because county divisions are not yet established) into which the main part (geographically speaking) of the Province is divided, still the judicial, educational and municipal institutions are carried along with the advance of settlement into these districts, and the inhabitants have also their representatives in the Dominion Parliament and Provincial Legislative Assembly, so that the general institutions of the Province are established in them as in the older localities, in so far as they are fitted for their introduction. At the last census, taken in April, 1881, the population of the Province was 1,923,228, and is at present estimated at about two millions and a half.

PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS OF

GOVERNMENT.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

The Provincial Government has exclusive jurisdiction in questions relating to property and civil rights, education, municipal government, and all other matters of local concern, as distinguished from those of a general character which are under the control of the Dominion or Federal Government at Ottawa. It comprises an Executive, and a Legislative Assembly, forming together what is called the Legislature (or Parliament) for the making, amending or repealing of the laws, having the same powers over the matters assigned to it, and conducting its business with the same forms and under similar rules as the Parliament of Canada, or the Imperial Parliament. The Lieutenant-Governor (representing the Queen, in whose name he sanctions the Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly) is advised by an Executive Council composed of seven members, who form the Cabinet and preside over the seven departments, into which the Administration is divided, viz.: Law; Finance; Agriculture; Education; Public Works; Crown Lands, and Provincial Secretary. The Ministers hold seats in the Legislative Assembly and administer affairs so long only as they retain the confidence of the people's representatives, precisely after the manner, and following the very forms of British parliamentary government; but altogether unfettered by any hereditary branch as in Great Britain, or by a nominated Senate as in the Dominion. The Legislative Assembly holds annual sessions and is re-elected every four years (unless sooner dissolved) under a manhood suffrage law giving a vote to every man above the age of twenty-one years, who is a British subject by birth or naturalization, and is not a pauper, nor undergoing sentence for crime.

THE JUDICIAL AND MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS.

The organized portion of the Province (already described) is divided into forty-two counties and these into townships (answering to English or Scotch "parishes," and usually about ten or twelve miles square). The counties have their Judges, Registrars (of Deeds), Sheriffs and County Councils. The County Judge also holds Division (i.e., Small Debt) Courts, in the several Divisions into which his county is divided, several times during the year, and a semi-annual Court of Assize is held at the