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ROWSELL AND THOMl'SON, PMNTERS, TOBONTO. u i^ '?i, si CROWN LANDS DEPARTMENT. 7> His Excellency the Eaul of Elgin and Kincardine, K.2\i Govcrnor-Gciicrdli S^-c. 4'C, ^c Jfay it please your Excellency : The management of the Crown Lands )epartment, and of the Crown Lands themselves, .brming a subject not second in importance to any other, to the people of Canada, will, I trust, be considered a sufficient apology for a person who has had abundant opportunities for observa- tion, offering for vour Excellencv*s notice such remarks as occur to him, relative to the causes which hitherto operated, and also as to those vvhicli at present do cjpcrate, against the possi- bilitv of their beinff mannjifed in the most advan- tageous way, and suggesting that, which in his opinion is required to ensure, as far as possible, their better management for the future. First, then: The principal evils complained of I in former times (or rather since the year 18^27,)* * Before the year 1827, or before the plan of selling Instead of [making free grants of Crown Lands was adopted, there was but one land office, the Surveyor-General's; and apparently it had [been well, when that plan was adopted, if in this office (with the [addition of an extra clerk or two, if found necessary) the sales had [been ordered to be effected, instead of creating a new estab- llishment. :. V originated, it appears to mc, in the attempt to conduct the land business of the country under two separate and distinct, independent, heads ; in two separate offices (the Surveyor Generafs, and Crowp Commissioner's) ; and with two seja- rate sets of clerks. This plan not only was unavoidably attended with great extra expense, but it also led — throu^i the accumulation of clerks beyond the number there was full employment for (and who wer? frequently appointed without reference to qualifi cation) — to a spirit of idleness and carelessness \ which, together with the necessity foi* constant reference from one office to the other, led to the great delays and frequent mistakes which were so often complained of. This system, however, about two years ago, was given up, and the offices again combined, and placed under one head, very properly ; but un- fortunately, simultaneously with the reform of this evil, another and not less serious one, in its effi3cts, was adopted — I mean the connecting the office with politics, by requiring that its head should hold a seat in the Assembly. The superintendence of so large an establish- ment as the Crown Lands Office, in which I be* lieve at least a dozen clerks are employed, and at which the most important business of the councry is transacted, certainly would require (to do it justice, and to ensure the business being properly attended to) that the whole time and the undi- ni ill iw attempt to ntry under , heads ; in GeneraTs, 1 two seja- iy attended i — throu^i lie numbo* who wen ; to qualifi relessness j 11* constant led to the vhich were ears ago, |bined, and ; but un- Ireform of me, in its fctinf^ the its head istablish- lich I he- lved, and Is of the lire (to do properly lie undi. VI given \ attention of its head should I but this of course is impossible, while that head lis expected to attend from day to day for several Imonths in the year to legislative duties; duties in particular, which from their peculiar nature, would, in addition to occupying so great a pro- 1 portion of his time, tend also so to disturb his attention as to render it hardly possible for him, even when in the oifice, to give to the office busi- iness that cool consideration which it should '§always nave. If in reply to this argument it should be an- wered, that the difficulty complained of is obvi- ted by a deputy being appointed, or allowed to ct in the office, fcr the commissioner, I will at present observe, that it is unreasonable to expect, from various considerations, which to a little reflection will appear obvious, that the duties of this office could be manafjcd so enersre- itically, or to so much advantage, under any gentleman known to be only a deputy, as under the recognized and responsible head. I would say then, that with a view to having the business of the Crown Lands Department man- ged in a way most to the good of the public, the nterests of the Crown, and the credit of the overnment, the office should be perfectly sepa- ated from politics, and that its head, instead of eing required to have a seat in the Assembly, hould, by virtue of his office, be excluded from aving such seat ; and in my opinion, for similar 6 reasons, it would be better that ho should not even have a seat at the Council Board. It would, of course, be very important, that the person at the head should be possessed of that particular kind of knowledge or informa- tion, and also of that particular kind of taste, which, while they would make his duties less arduous to himself, would at the same time give promise of their being fulfilled to the greatest general good. It certainly should be considered his duty personally, and with proper care and industry, to examine into the management of the different parts of the office service, and to allot to the several gentlemen employed as clerks, those par- ticular parts of the office duty for which their various talents, respectively, best fitted them — making a distinction between a spirit of zeal and activity manifested in the discharge of those duties, and the manifestation of the opposite spirit ; the want of which distinction being made hitherto (and which want it is fnir to attribute to the frequent absence of the head) has always j been strongly felt by those gentlemen of the De- partment, who were conscientiously desirous of promoting the proper discharge of the office business. With a view to saving frequent interruptions from visitors on business, particularly from the mem- bers of Assembly during the parliamentary session, and the consequent increased liability to mistakes 1: t b o o t] h ii tl m should not rtant, that ossessed of )r informa- d of taste, duties less ic time give he greatest 1 his duty d industry, he different allot to the , those par- kvhich their ted them — irit of zeal rjre of those le opposite )eing made o attribute has always j of the De- '' desirous of ■ the office iptionsfrom;^ the mem- tar V session, t to mistakes * being made at any of the desks, through such interruptions, I would allot one particular room for the reception of such visitors, and name one or two clerks, whose duty it should be to answer their questions, or furnish the information they desired. Although it may appear late in the day to seek reformation in the manatjcincnt of this De- partment, since a great proportion of the Crown Lands have already, in one wav or other, been disposed of; still when it is considered that in this part of the country alone, that is, northwardly and westwardlv from Toronto to Lake Huron, w there remain about two millions of acres of sup- posed good lands, unappropriated, besides the various smaller tracts, tit for settlement, up the Ottawa, &c , &c., it would well pay even yet to make such changes with reference to the manage- ment of the office-, as would ensure, as far as pos- sible, the judicious, honest, and economical man- agement of those Lands. And I even further hope, that the present will be found a favourable time for making such judicious changes, as I believe the gentleman now at the head proposes of his own accord to retire, leaving the office open, and affi)rding an opportunity for making the fresh appointment on a fresh plan ; but should he not be desirous of retiring, or should he be induced to remain, there can be but little doubt, that such a change as suggested would perfectly meet his approbation. ma 8 Should it be objected, that upon the plan of responsible government, it >vould be impossible to separate this office from politics, or argued that according to that plan, it is either necessary or expedient, that the head of the department should have a seat in the Assembly, there is not a pre- cedent wanting, I believe (in the instance of the headship of the Board of Works, before the recent changes in that Board,) for a deviation from that rule; but whether there has been al- ready any instance of deviation or not, it must strike any calm and disinterested observer, that whatever the plan of responsible government* re- quires with regard to the management of this office, the good of the country at large, and the interests of the Crown, both require, that the whole time and the undivided attention, as I before ob- served, of an active, enlightened and industrious head, should be given to the object of managing it, as correctly as possible; nor can I for a moment doubt, that the representatives of the country — shortly to be in parliament assomblod — would readily vote tor any change which would seem likely to promote that object. i * All of uB admitting that the most practical responsibility, or the feeling of responsibility most certain to be productive of practical good, is that which is felt by the individual to the Source of all power — I yet would not by any means be understood to make light of the idea of public officers' being held accountable to human authority for their conduct in office. 1 9 le plan of impossible rgued that iccssary or cnt should not a pre- [istanco of before the I deviation IS been al- t, it must LTvcr, that iment* re- ?nt of this c, and the t the whole before ob- idustrious managing I for a cs of the embled — ich would In offering the foregoing observations, I do so From a conscientious belief in their correctness ; id with no other motive than to be instrumental in promoting the public good. I have the honour to be, Your Excellency's humble, and obedient Servant, C. RANKIN. m J'oronto, May 20, 1847. I bility, or the of practical Source of all d to make le to human '»:*iK..^. ■