DIVORCES.

1389. Gemmill on divorce says: "The primary meaning of 'Divorce' is separation. As used in the British North American Act it means dissolution of the bonds of matrimony-the separation by law of husband and wife and under the power given to 'make laws in relation to marriage and divorce,' the Parliament of Canada has since exercised itself in passing numerous acts for the dissolution of marriage. Perhaps, as has been observed, it was conceived that the power to do so would be delegated by Parliament to a court or courts constituted for the purpose, as had been done some few years before in England. But the Parliament of Canada has not seen fit to do so, and the legislative results have been special acts for divorce in individual cases; following the course of the Imperial Parliament before the passing of the Divorce Court Act.”

In Canada, under the Union Act, 1867, divorce is one of the subjects assigned to the Federal Parliament. As, however, some of the provinces had established divorce courts before Confederation, they have been permitted to continue the jurisdiction which was conferred upon their courts. These provinces are: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia. A divorce court was first established in Nova Scotia in 1739. It consisted of the Governor or Commander-in-Chief and the members of the Executive Council. By Act (1866) the Judge in Equity became Judge Ordinary of the court. One of the assistant judges of the Supreme Court is now at the head of this court. The court has jurisdiction to declare any marriage null and void for impotency, adultery, cruelty or kindred within the prohibited degrees.

In New Brunswick a divorce court was established in 1791, and consisted of the Governor and five members of the Executive Council. In 1835 a judge of the Supreme Court was added, and in 1860 a Court of Divorce and Matrimonial Causes was created.

Prince Edward Island, in 1836, received a Court of Divorce, composed of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

British Columbia exercises the power of granting divorces under an ordinance passed in 1867, after the union of the two Colonies of Vancouver Island and the Mainland, which enacted that the civil and criminal laws of England, as they existed on the 19th November, 1858, were in force in all parts of British Columbia.

In Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the North-west Territories divorce can only be obtained by legislation-an Act of the Parliament of Canada being necessary. The rules of the Senate touching divorce require the production of such evidence in support of the application for relief as would be deemed sufficient in a court of law; in other respects the matter is dealt with as for an ordinary private Act of Parliament.

1390. The following are the statistics of divorce, as given in the public records :

* In British Columbia, in addition to the divorce, two judicial separations have been granted, one in 1892 and one in 1893.

This table shows that 211 divorces have been granted, of which 54 were by the Dominion Parliament and 157 by the several provincial courts. Prince Edward Island courts have not granted a single divorce in the 27 years. The general figures give an average of eight divorces a year for the whole of Canada.

The provinces which have courts of divorce have absloutely and relatively to population very many more divorces than the provinces which depend upon Parliament for divorces. With respect to the Province of Quebec, the comparatively small number of divorces must be attributed to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church there. The large number in the Province of Nova Scotia is probably due to the fact that the cost of fees established many years ago is so small that the poorest in the land are not prevented from seeking relief in the courts.

1391. The 211 divorces were granted in 119 cases where the husband was petitioner for relief, and in 92 cases where the wife was petitioner.

1392. The following table gives the divorces by provinces and sex :

Male petitioners predominated in Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia. Females are one more than males in Nova Scotia, and both sexes are on an equality in Quebec.

1393. By far the largest proportion of the divorces granted by the Dominion Parliament, and by the several provincial courts of divorce, were granted for adultery.

1394. Statement giving the number of divorces granted in each of the following countries:

In the United States the Commissioner of Labour published a report on marriage and divorce for the years 1867 to 1886. From this report it appears that 9,937 divorces were granted in the United States in 1867 and 25,535 for 1886, an increase of nearly 157 per cent in 20 years. The population probably increased about 60 per cent in the same period.

The following statement gives the number of divorces granted in the States named in 1893 :

1395. The Dominion Archives were first established in 1872 owing to a numerously signed petition presented to Parliament in 1871 praying that steps be taken to collect and arrange the materials relating to the history of the country. On a joint report from the Senate and Commons, Parliament assigned to the Minister of Agriculture the performance of this important work.

A general statement of the work done appeared in the Year-Book for 1893.

The Archivist in his report for 1895 states that transcripts of the State papers in London continue to be received. The calendar of the papers presented in the 1895 report includes papers respecting New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Hudson Bay.

INDIANS.

1396. A comparison of the figures published in 1892, 1893, 1894 and 1895 will disclose an apparent decrease in Canada's Indian population, in 1893 amounting to 9,488 souls, and an increase of 5,048 in 1895 over 1894. Closer examination will show that of the decrease given in 1893, 9,341 have been taken from British Columbia, and it may be explained that the reduction is entirely attributable to the correction of former approximate estimates, rendered possible by improved facilities for ascertaining facts. It appears, therefore, that the population has about reached the stationary limit even among the Indians of Manitoba and the North-west Territories. Considering the comparatively short time that has elapsed since many of these Indians began to abandon their natural manner of life, the extent to which they have intermarried, the great difficulty in getting them to submit to the treatment and care required to cope with the various diseases which have accompanied the invasion of civilization, it may be assumed that we have arrived at a "survival of the fittest" and that hereafter a slight increase of population may be expected. This has shown itself in 1895, a

comparison of the Indian population in the older provinces in the last year and the previous year giving an increase of 460.

1397. The Indians are provided with schools, common, boarding and industrial. In all of these there are 291 distributed as follows: 81 in Ontario, 20 in Quebec, 8 in Nova Scotia, 5 in New Brunswick, 1 in Prince Edward Island, 29 in British Columbia, 54 in Manitoba and 80 in the North-west Territories. Besides these there are 13 Indian schools outside

of the treaty limits.

The total number of pupils on the rolls and the average daily attendance are given at 8,175 and 4,819 respectively, and are distributed as follows:—

1398. These figures indicate that the average attendance is 58.59 per cent of the total number on the rolls. This is better than the attendance of white children in the schools of Ontario, where the average daily attendance is 55.5 per cent of the number on the rolls.