to cancel the plan of any block or subdivision, to close streets and lanes, and to dispose of the lands as acreage or farm lands.

Power is given municipal councils to sell, lease, or otherwise deal with forfeited lands without the approval of the Minister, and the Minister of Municipal Affairs is given equally wide powers to deal with forfeited lands in improvement districts. The object of this is to have the lands sold and get them back on the tax roll as soon as possible.

An Act Respecting Subdivisions and Other Property is also of importance. Under the Act the Commissioner was given power, upon notice to all parties interested, to determine to what amount taxes in arrears might be reduced and what amount or percentage should be paid from time to time and the time of such payment, and in case of default to transfer the title to the municipality, subject to any and all encumbrances. The amendment gives him power to transfer the title free from all encum

brances.

The Municipality Finances Commission Act, which takes the place of an Act to Ameliorate the Financial Conditions of Municipalities, which has been repealed, gives a commissioner or commissioners power, at the request of the Minister, or of any municipality, or of the holders of onefourth in value of the amount of the bonded indebtedness of any municipality, to investigate the financial affairs of the municipality, to consult with the representatives of the debenture holders and other creditors and any class or classes of ratepayers, and to recommend some scheme for the equitable settlement of the financial affairs of the municipality.

Every recommendation shall become effective and binding upon all parties interested therein or affected thereby upon obtaining the consent of the holders of three-fifths in value of the amount of the bonded indebtedness of the municipality, and upon the same being approved by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

The Lieutenant-Governor in Council is empowered to dismiss any council failing to discharge any financial liability of the municipality, and to appoint an administrator of its affairs, with all the powers of a council and its appointed and elected officers.

Another Act affecting financial interests generally is an amendment to the Judicature Ordinance, the Judicature Act and the Land Titles Act. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court or a judge, the judgment or order of the Court in any action brought upon a mortgage of land shall provide that the amount adjudged or ordered to be paid by the defendant shall be realized in the first instance pro tanto by a sale of the land mortgaged; provided that the Court or a judge may for good cause shown permit the plaintiff by order to realize the amount of his claim out of any other property of the defendant, and the Court may make an order of injunction or order for the appointment of a receiver in the action for the purpose of preventing the disposal by the defendant or by any person to whom he has transferred his property under circumstances giving ground for the suspicion that he has done so with the intent to defeat, hinder, delay, prejudice, or defraud his creditors or any of them, of any or all of his property pending the result of realization of the property mortgaged, and may vary, amend, or cancel such order or orders from time to time as may seem just, or may order foreclosure instead of sale in proper case.

The plaintiff in any action heretofore taken on a mortgage of land may apply to the Court or a judge for any order that might be obtained by a plaintiff in any such action hereafter taken. Provision is also made for

the registration of a certificate of judgment in an action which shall have the same force and effect as the receipt by the registrar of a copy of a writ of execution issued on a judgment, provided that the defendant may apply to the Court or a judge for an order releasing lands or any portion thereof other than the mortgaged lands from the effect of the said certificate, and the Court may make such order upon such terms as shall be just.

The Workmen's Compensation Act amendments do away with the maximum compensation of $2,500 where death or total disability results from an injury, and provides for increased payments in many other cases. Any employer engaged in any industry which does not come within the scope of the Act may have all his employees brought within the provisions of the Act upon certain conditions.

The liquor question is dealt with by the following resolution passed by the Legislature in conformity with the requirements of the Canada Temperance Act for the taking of a plebiscite :

That this Legislative Assembly requests that votes of the electors in all the electoral districts of the Province may be taken for or against the following prohibition, that is to say: That the importation and the bringing of intoxicating liquors into such Province may be forbidden.'

The Liquor Export Act is amended as follows: No person shall within the Province of Alberta have, expose, or keep liquor for export sale, unless such liquor is kept in a bonded liquor warehouse located in an incorporated city in the Province.

Any person having quantities of liquor formerly held under the Liquor Export Act shall be allowed thirty days after the passing of this Act in which to dispose of the stocks which they have on hand.

Any person who violates any of the provisions of the Act or any regulation made thereunder shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty of not less than $500 nor more than $2,000 and costs, and in default of payment to imprisonment for not less than three months nor more than six months with hard labour.

In any prosecution under the Act or regulations the burden shall be on the accused of proving that the premises on which he is doing business are premises in which he is entitled to carry on such business, and of proving that the provisions of this Act or any regulations thereunder with the violation of which he is charged have been duly complied with.

3. BRITISH COLUMBIA.

[Contributed by H. G. GARRETT, ESQ., Registrar of Joint Stock Companies.] Acts passed-114: Public-105; Private-9.

Adoption of Children.-By c. 2 adoption of a child is made legal and binding with the sanction of the Court and the consent of the parents, the minor if over 12 years of age, and other parties according to circumstances. The effect of adoption under the Act is that the natural parents are replaced for all purposes by the parent by adoption and the minor takes his or her name. As regards inheritance and succession to property an adopted child becomes the heir of the new parent, but does not lose his rights of inheritance from his natural parents; and provision is made for the case of an adopted child dying intestate. A record of the orders

made by the Court will be kept by the Provincial Secretary, who is also authorized to issue a certificate of adoption equivalent to an order of Court when a child has been previously adopted under an agreement.

Animals.-C. 5 prohibits the running at large of swine, stallions, and bulls, except in districts defined by the Executive Council, while c. 16 authorizes the Crown to take possession of and care for horses, cattle, etc., abandoned or neglected by their owners and confers a lien for the charges incurred.

Bailment.-C. IOI gives warehousemen storing goods a lien for their charges and disbursements, and power to enforce by sale at public auction. Any surplus must be paid into the Supreme Court Registry.

Companies.-C. 14 revises the provisions of the Companies Act relating to companies with objects restricted to mining, and authorizes them to issue shares at a discount.

Co-operation.-C. 19 consolidates the legislation relating to cooperative associations and provides a simple, elastic, and up-to-date Act, which does not adhere too closely to the somewhat rigid, traditional principles of co-operative enterprise. The procedure and regulation are assimilated to the Companies Act.

C. 3 amends the Agricultural Act, 1915, with the same object and simplifies the position of Farmers' and Women's Institutes, to which an annual per capita grant may be made by the Government.

In this connection too may be mentioned the Societies Act (c. 83), which repeals various old Acts and offers a wider scope for incorporation, Societies may be formed to promote almost any purpose for which organization and joint endeavour is required. But under this Act no society can trade, have a capital, or pay a dividend, and the interest of a member is not transferable.

Education.-C. 82 specifically provides for a Department of Education under a Minister so entitled, the Provincial Secretary having hitherto administered the law relating to public schools. Provincial grants-in-aid are made dependent on the regular employment of dental surgeons and nurses in connection with schools, and School Trustees are empowered to provide for the examination and treatment of children's teeth. Kindergarten classes for children between four and six years of age may be maintained by school authorities. The expenses of conveying children to and from school may be defrayed by the Trustees in a rural school district. Provision is made for the establishment of "community rural school districts," applicable to persons living in a settlement under communal or tribal conditions. All teachers are required to hold a certificate of qualification issued by the Department.

C. 86 authorizes the establishment of a Subnormal Boys' School" with a view to industrial training and moral reclamation. The Medical Superintendent in charge of mental hospitals is the officer in charge. Boys may be transferred to the school from prison or from the custody of a children's aid society.

Elections.-C. 27 is a new Provincial Elections Act, which starts with a clean slate by cancelling all existing lists of voters and providing machinery for compiling new lists. The Act does not in the main depart from established principles, but contains various novel features. Voters (which includes women) must be adult British subjects, natural-born or naturalized, and residents of the Province for six months and in an electoral district for one month before an election, and duly registered as

voters. Orientals, persons convicted of crime, whose sentence has not expired, and "deserters" as defined are disqualified. Rules for determining residence are laid down. The Executive Council appoints a Registrar of Voters for each electoral district and Deputies as necessary. A Court of Revision sits in May each year, and at other times if so ordered. The names of voters who did not exercise their franchise at any election must be struck off at the next revision. A voter on the list for more than one electoral district is prohibited from voting.

When an election is proclaimed, the Executive Council appoints returning Officers and Clerks and determines the polling divisions. Election Day is the same in all districts, being the twenty-first day after the day fixed for the nomination of candidates, which is itself fixed by the Proclamation. Candidates must be nominated in writing by two registered voters and the nomination assented to by the candidate and by at least ten other registered voters; but no money deposit is required. Candidates may in writing appoint election agents, who are disqualified as voters if paid. The conduct of an election and the preparations for it are carried out by the Returning Officer subject to the Act. The Presiding Officer at each polling division is furnished with the original affidavits made by voters seeking to be put on the list, so that in case of dispute a comparison of handwriting can be made, and before casting his vote the voter must sign his name in a book. When a voter is absent from his proper polling division or his electoral district on the day of the election, he may on making the prescribed affidavit cast his ballot at the point he happens to be. Absentee votes are placed in separate envelopes and in due course dispatched to the Returning Officer of the district where such voter is registered, the declaration of final results being thus technically liable to be delayed until sufficient time has elapsed for all such votes to reach their proper destinations. A report is made by each Returning Officer to the Provincial Secretary, and finally all records and documents sent to him, and after one year they may be destroyed. Recounts may be made before a County Court judge only when a majority is under fifty.

Personation, bribery, riotous conduct, treating, and so forth are all dealt with. All payments on behalf of a candidate must be made through an authorized agent, and within thirty-five days after the result of an election is declared a statement of all election expenses and claims must be forwarded to the Deputy Provincial Secretary by every candidate, and the expenses authorized are set forth in the Act. The expenses of any political party must likewise be returned. Contributions by corporations, etc., can be unlawful. Provision is made for election petitions to unseat and for their trial, and for inquiry by the Legislative Assembly into any charge of corrupt practices.

Finance. The Government is authorized to borrow, by c. 49, $2,000,000 for purposes of the Land Settlement Act, the Soldiers' Land Act, and the Water Act; by c. 50, $3,000,000 for the purposes of the British Columbia University; by c. 51, $5,000,000 for construction of highways; by c. 52, $4,000,000 to continue the construction and equipment of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway; and by c. 53, $4,800,000 for refunding purposes connected with that railway.

Food.-C. 23 requires every person operating a creamery or dairy to be licensed, provides for inspection, and authorizes the Inspectors to close premises not kept in a proper condition.

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Forests.-C. 44 enacts various amendments designed for the protection and development of the timber resources of the Province.

Game.-C. 30 enacts a number of amendments to the existing law for the preservation of game and the regulation of the periods, etc., during which game may be taken. Fur-traders and taxidermists are required to be licensed.

Highways.-C. 32 changes the rule of the road from the English rule to the rule, which prevails almost throughout North America, of driving on the right-hand side of a road, but dates are set for the legislation to come into force. The same Act classifies highways as primary, secondary, and local-that is, main channels of traffic, roads of lesser importance, and mere streets; and provides for their cost and maintenance by the Goverment and municipalities in certain proportions.

Insurance.-C. 35 legalizes insurance on the lives of infants within the limits set forth and also by minors over sixteen on their own lives. Licences.-C. 48 requires every person engaged in the business of selling real estate to be licensed and imposes a small annual fee. Any complaint of wrongful or dishonest dealing on the part of a licensee may be investigated by an Inspector appointed by the Executive Council and a licence may be revoked. An appeal to the Court is provided.

Mines.-C. 59 repeals and re-enacts provisions as to Crown leases of placer mining claims.

Motors.-C. 62 is a revised Act for the regulation and taxation of motor-vehicles. Owners and dealers must register their motors, which must carry a plate showing the licence number. Visitors to the Province are also required to register. Chauffeurs must be licensed, but a minor under seventeen is not allowed to drive a car without the permit specified in the Act. Persons driving any motor-vehicles are to take all reasonable precautions to prevent accidents to horses, to stop when overtaking a street-car, not to exceed a speed limit of fifteen miles per hour in a city, town, or village, or thirty miles elsewhere, and to stop when an accident occurs and give notice of it to the police. The speed limit does not apply to fire departments. Traffic rules relating to weight of loads, etc., must be complied with. Heavy penalties are imposed for violation of the Act, and licences are endorsed after a conviction and may be cancelled. An owner is responsible for violations committed by any person entrusted with his car, and offenders may be arrested without warrant by the police. The Superintendent of Provincial Police administers the Act, and municipal authorities are given certain powers to pass additional by-laws to regulate such traffic. $10 is payable for first registration and an annual fee according to the number of taxation units, the minimum being $15 and a unit calculated by adding the value of the motor-vehicle in dollars to the weight in pounds. A dealer pays a minimum fee of $50.

Municipalities.-C. 63 contains numerous amendments to the Municipal Act. Women and clergymen are given the right to hold office as Mayor, etc. Powers to establish golf-courses, swimming-baths, etc., are conferred and the securities for investment of sinking funds enlarged. The definition of owner for the purposes of qualification to vote on a money by-law is extended to include his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, or any agent for the assessed owner. The assessment roll for the previous year may be adopted by the Council, with such alterations as may be necessary, and the minimum tax is fixed at $1. Lands sold at a tax sale prior to 1919 are made irredeemable and titles thereto confirmed. Taxes