§ MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty)I beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether all, and how many, settlers at Killarney, Manitoba, are now leaseholders under the Colonisation Board; and will he state for what term leases have been arranged, the acreage, rental, and the entire amount collected in respect of rent for the year 1897–8?
§ THE LORD ADVOCATE (Mr. A. GRAHAM MURRAY, Buteshire)Practically all the Killarney crofters are now leaseholders under the Colonisation Board. The leases cover eight annual payments, at the conclusion of which the leaseholders become proprietors of their lands. Each holding is 160 acres. The annual payments fixed in the leases vary in amount according to the existing liabilities of the lessee at the time of making the lease. The Colonisation Board has not yet received the Report of the last year, and it is not, therefore, known how much of the rental of 1897–8 has yet been paid, but the latest advices are not very satisfactory.