CHAP. XIII. REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE. - PUBLIC OFFICES, ETC. THE revenue of Lower Canada amounts to about 140,000l., exclusive of an allowance for duties to Upper Canada. It arises principally from impost duties on articles of luxury, and partly from his Majesty's rents, which consist of the droit de quint, depending in amount on the frequency and value of the mutation of fiefs; of the rents of the King's posts at Saguenay, Port Neuf, &c., and let as stations for the fur trade; of the rents of the royal forges at St. Maurice; of the monies arising from the Jesuits' estates, &c. The public accounts for the year 1829 produced the following statement: The gross receipts of duties, &c., without any deduction Outstanding on bonds Salaries, commissions, &c. Drawbacks £172,091 224 £19,021 1 6 8,774 17 10 403 15 0 £28,199 14 4 Net income paid into the Province Treasury £143,891 7 104 Further expenses of collection and repay £109,294 1 104 Net available income of the province for the year 1829 The increase over last year is £15,194 5s. 3d. In 1807, the gross revenue amounted to only 31,000l. In 1829, the House of Assembly voted 35,000l. for the improvement of roads alone. The revenue is appropriated by the legislature to the payment of the civil list, the execution of public works, to the encouragement of education, agriculture, trade, &c.* The principal officers of government are the governor-general, lieutenant-governor, chief-justice of Canada and of Quebec; chief-justice of Montreal, six puisne judges, judge of Three Rivers, provincial judge of Gaspè, provincial judge of St. Francis, attorney-general, solicitor-general, judge of the court of vice-admiralty, receiver-general, provincial secretary and registrar, civil secretary to the governor, auditor-general of accounts, inspector-general of accounts, surveyor-general, the officers of the Executive and Legislative Councils and House of Assembly; French translator to the governor, printers to the government, masters and clerks in chancery, inspector-general of the King's domain, and clerk of the land roll, auditor of land patents; grand voyers of the province, or chief inspectors of roads, &c., one for each district; postmaster-general, inspector-general of the King's domain, commissioner for the sale and management of crown lands, superintendent of emigrants and settlers in the Canadas; commissioner of roads throughout the province, commissioners for the improvement of internal navigation, commissioner for the erection and repairing of public buildings, commissioners for exploring the country, and commissioners for the management of the Je * This appropriation, and the expenses of the civil government for 1832, will appear in the general summary, at the end of this volume. suits' estates. There are also various municipal officers in the towns. The postmaster-general is paid by his own department. Several offices have been abolished, and pensions given to those who held them. The roads in Canada along the St. Lawrence were first opened through the seigniories by the censitaires or habitans, each of whom still repairs the road crossing his own farm. The erecting bridges, and opening new roads in difficult parts of the province, have been either accomplished, or the inhabitants assisted, by numerous grants of money voted by the legislature, and placed under the management of special commissioners. * There are scarcely any public burdens; no taxes, nor poor laws. Whenever cases of distress occur, relief is afforded by benevolent contribution. 1 The militia laws are much the same as in Nova Scotia, and the Canadians are ever ready to observe them. Their officers are chiefly Canadians; and the habitans, who are drilled in their own language, attend to their orders without dispute or hesitation. In 1828, the total strength of the militia of Lower Canada consisted of 81,649 men liable to march in case of invasion; divided into sixty-two battalions, and commanded by 2434 officers. There are also four companies of cavalry troops, and two battalions of volunteers, which, added to the militia, makes the effective force of the province about 85,000. The whole force is now about 92,000.* The staff of the militia consists of the governor-general as commanderin-chief, three aides-de-camp, eight lieutenant-colonels, four majors, adjutant-general, deputy-adjutant-general, assistant adjutant-general, paymaster-general, quartermaster-general, judge-advocate-general, superintendent-general of hospitals, and surgeon-general. * The seigniories being laid out in concessions, parallel roads divide these, along which are the houses of the habitans, and the road in front of which is repaired by the respective censitaires. Particular roads communicating from one range of concessions to another are repaired by the public, who are benefited by such roads. The Indian department of Lower Canada consists of a chief superintendent, under superintendent, resident agent and secretaries, four residents, one clerk, four interpreters, one schoolmaster, and four missionaries. The naval department of Lower Canada is almost too trifling to notice, and consists of a small establishment at Isle aux Noix, on the Richelieu, near Lake Champlain, where there are a captain and lieutenant superintending. There are also stationed in Lower Canada the greater part of three regiments of foot, two companies of artillery, and two companies of royal engineers. The several departments connected with the army are, the military secretary's office, which has an assistant military secretary, and four clerks; the quartermaster-general's department, the officers of which are, the deputy-quarter-master-general and two clerks; the governor and lieutenant-governor of the garrison at Quebec; the town-majors of Quebec and Montreal; a foot-adjutant and commandant at Isle aux Noix; a foot-adjutant at Côteau du Lac; a commandant at Quebec, at Montreal, and St. Helen's. The royal engineer department, stationed in Lower Canada has a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, two captains, two lieutenants, an assistant engineer, twelve clerks of the works, three overseers, two master smiths, a master carpenter, a master mason, and a foreman of labourers. * See statistics of Lower Canada at the end of this book. The ordnance department has two ordnance storekeepers, two deputies, and eight clerks; and the barrack department has a barrack-master at each of the garrisons at Quebec, Three Rivers, Montreal, Côteau du Lac, William Henry, Chambly, Laprairie, and Isle aux Noix. The commissariat department is superintended by a commissary-general, under whom there are a deputy-commissary-general, assistant commissary-general, eighteen deputy-assistant commissary-generals, and four treasury clerks; and in the department of commissary of accounts, there are one deputy commissary-general, one assistant commissary-general, three deputy-assistant commissary-generals, and one clerk. The medical department consists of a deputyinspector of hospitals, an apothecary to the forces, two staff-surgeons, two hospital-assistants, a medical attendant, and purveyor's clerk. The post-office department is under the same regulations as in England. The general post-office of Quebec is superintended by the deputy-postmastergeneral of British North America; and there are sixty-two post-offices established for the convenience of the inhabitants in various parts of Lower Canada, and sixty-four in Upper Canada. This department, however, is far from being so satisfactorily regulated as in the United States; and it forms a subject of complaint both in Upper and Lower Canada, which |