QUEBEC (cont.) grants made since 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 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 Minerals Ownership Remarks Apparently 1891 before the exclusive right of digging for and raising coal and other minerals was considered to be vested in the owner of the surface, but (except in cases where the owner had a right to mine without payment of royalty) he had to obtain a license from the Crown before digging, to be granted subject to the payment of such royalties as the Governor in Council might think fit (surface mines not exceeding 2 ft. thick not being subject to royalties1) (Consolidated Statutes of New Brunswick, 1877, ch. 18, ss. 4 to 7); but by the "General Mining Act" Statutes of New Brunswick (1891) c. 16, as amended in 1892 and 1893, it is declared that in all cases in which mines and minerals have been excepted and reserved to the Crown, such 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 The same remarks apply as in the case of Manitoba (see p. 258 ante). |