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676 Scotia and New Brunswick. The judges of the courts of Quebec, where there is a million of French-speaking people, must be selected from the bar of that province. The judges of the superior courts hold office during good behavior, but are removable by the governor general on address of both houses of parliament. The salaries, allowances, and pensions of the judges of the courts, except the probate courts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, are fixed by the parliament of Canada. Parliament has authority to establish a general court of appeal, of which the powers will be similar to the supreme court of the United States. At present the Dominion government has to pronounce on the constitutionality of acts of the provincial legislatures, before exercising the authority to disallow them. The Dominion assumed the debts of the several provinces to the amount of $62,500,000; and the residue of the debt of Canada above that amount, not less than $10,500,000, was assumed by the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, in proportions to be determined by arbitration. Disagreement arising on the results of the arbitration, the question has been (1873) appealed to the privy council in England. Nova Scotia became liable for whatever amount its debts was in excess of $4,000,000, and New Brunswick for whatever sum its debt might exceed $7,000,000. The Dominion obtained the customs and excise revenues, and agreed to pay each province an annual subsidy of 80 cents per head of the population, besides a fixed yearly sum for the support of its government: Ontario $80,000, Quebec $70,000, Nova Scotia $60,000, New Brunswick $50,000. This subsidy, and the lands, minerals, and forests, constitute the actual sources of the provincial revenues; but to them they can, if necessary, add the resort to direct taxation. There is a disposition on the part of the smaller provinces to complain of this fiscal arrangement. To Nova Scotia an additional amount has since been granted. New Brunswick is entitled to receive, in addition to the above amount, $63,000 a year for ten years. To the existing Dominion debt is to be added $25,000,000 or $30,000,000 for the intercolonial railway to connect Halifax with Quebec, sections of which were built many years ago, and the remainder is now in course of construction, and the Pacific railway, the construction of which was one of the conditions of the accession of British Columbia to the union. The contract for this road has been let, government giving $30,000,000 in money and 50,000,000 acres of land in aid of its construction. The imperial government guarantees a loan of $12,000,000 for the same purpose. In the division of assets, the Dominion took the canals, harbors, lighthouses, public vessels, river and lake improvements, debts due by railway companies (few of them of any value), military roads, custom houses and public buildings, except those required for the provincial governments,

ordnance property, armories, drill sheds, munitions of war, and lands set apart for general purposes; leaving to the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, conjointly, lunatic asylums, normal schools, some court houses in Quebec, law society buildings, Ontario consolidated loan fund (to which many millions of hopelessly bad debts were due by municipalities), Quebec fire loan fund, educational endowments, and other things of a local nature. The imperial parliament guaranteed a loan of £3,000,000 sterling to build the intercolonial railway, by which means the amount was obtained at four per cent. The loan is repayable by a sinking fund, at the rate of one per cent. per annum.—The revenue for the year ending June 30, 1871, was $19,329,560, of which more than one half, $11,841,104, was derived from customs; excise, the next largest item, producing $3,259,944. The income from public works, including canals and railways, was $1,146,240; interest on investments, $554,388; prison labor, $124,817. The remainder is made up of a number of small items, not one of which reaches $100,000. At the same date, the outstanding public debt, payable in London, was $75,811,162. It consists of 5 and 6 per cent. securities, and those covered by the imperial guarantee, and bearing a much lower rate. Portions of this debt fall due at various times up to the year 1903. The largest amount that will fall due at one time, $32,707,095, matures in 1885. The length of railroads in operation is 3,250 m., to which will soon be added 500 m. additional of the intercolonial; and the estimated length of the Pacific is 2,700 m. The telegraph lines are fully 30,000 m. In 1871 there were 420 newspapers and other periodicals published in Canada. Of these 255 were issued in Ontario, of which 24 were daily, 2 tri-weekly, 1 semi-weekly, 195 weekly, 6 semi-monthly, 25 monthly, 1 quarterly, and 1 yearly; 96 in Quebec, of which 12 were daily, 11 tri-weekly, 8 semi-weekly, 51 weekly, 3 semi-monthly, and 11 monthly; 37 in Nova Scotia, of which 3 were daily, 6 tri-weekly, 23 weekly, and 5 monthly; 34 in New Brunswick, of which 3 were daily, 2 tri-weekly, 1 semi-weekly, 24 weekly, 3 monthly, and 1 quarterly.—Canada no longer supplies wooden vessels to Europe, but she yearly builds a large number of ships for home use. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1872, the total number built was 414, aggregating 114,065 tons; of these 37 were steamers, with 6,408 tons. The number built and registered from 1858 to 1872 inclusive was: