APRIL 5, 1875. 1081
GOVERNMENT LANDS IN THE NORTH-WEST.
Mr. ARCHIBALD hoped the House
would permit him to ask a question, although no notice had been given, namely, whether
any steps had been taken to prevent speculations in land on the line of the Pacific
Railway in the Province of Manitoba and the North- West, and also whether the Hudson
Bay Company had any lands along the route of the railway.
Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE—The only
steps the Government have taken in connection with the Government lands is to pass
an Order in Council prohibiting the sale or pre-emption of any lands on the line of
the railway until the Government have time to consider the question of the final disposal
of those lands in connection with the contracts; and that Order in Council embraces
the entire route from Rat Portage westward to Fort Pelly. The Government thought it
desirable that a very careful examination of the country should be had in the first
place in order to ascertain where a town might be located,
or where lands might be advantageously
reserved, and to take such measures as would effectually prevent any land speculators
from taking advantage of the location of the railway to the detriment of the public.
With respect to the latter question, my hon. friend will find from the language of
the treaty with the Hudson Bay Company that they have one-twentieth of the land reserved
to them, and that they are entitled in the Saskatchewan country to choose land on
the north side in preference to the south side in certain places that they desire
it. We have considered the position they occupy relative to the Government with their
lands. It is impossible that we can interfere with the rights they have under the
agreement made and sanctioned by Parliament, but the Government have been considering
and will consider further during the recess whether it is not desirable in these quarters,
at least, to endeavor to extinguish the rights of the company to any of the lands.
Mr. PLUMB was glad to hear from the hon. the First Minister that the Government proposed to
withdraw their land from sale, and that a full examination had been made. He hoped
that when such examination had been completed the land would be put up for competition
of which ample notice would be given—so that every one would have an opportunity of
competing for the lands.
Hon. Mr. MITCHELL asked for explanations of the expression of the hon. the Premier in regard to extinguishing
the claims of the Hudson Bay Company to the North-West lands.
Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE—We cannot of course force the land from the company ; but I have already taken the
ground that it is extremely inconvenient to have a company the proprietors of a very
large extent of land in the North-West, and if Parliament could make an arrangement
for Canada to become the sole proprietors of the soil in that country, it would be
of advantage. The question was one for Parliament to consider.
Sir JOHN MACDONALD said that while on the one hand, great dissatisfaction had been expressed at companies
owning immense tracts of country, as was seen in the case of the Canada Land Company
; on the other hand, it should be remembered that the Hudson's Bay Company,
1082 HOUSE OF COMMONS.
were a powerful body in England with large political influence and might become Emigration
Agents for the settlement of the country.
Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE said that all those points would have to be considered by the Government, but the
tendency of public opinion in Canada was wholly against land companies controlling
very large portions of the public domain. He thought at the time the arrangement was
negotiated with the Hudson's Bay Company, as he thought now, that it was not desirable
that such a state of affairs should exist. It would be for the Government to consider
whether any such advantage as the right hon. member for Kingston had suggested would
be likely to accrue from the company owning large tracts of land in the North-West,
and the Government would consider the propriety of submitting a measure dealing with
the subject to Parliament at its next session.
Sir JOHN MACDONALD asked for
explanations as to the arrangement with the Hudson's Bay Company in regard to the
taxation of land.
Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE said the company were liable to taxation after they had taken possession of the land.
The Government must first survey the land, and then the company must take them up,
after which the land become subject to taxation, but only to such taxation as was
imposed on lands owned by other proprietors.
Mr. D. A. SMITH remarked that one of the provisions of the deed of surrender expressly set forth
that the Hudson's Bay Company's land should not be liable to any exceptional taxation.
The question then dropped.
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