Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/652

This page needs to be proofread.

638 ONTAEIO appellate jurisdiction of judgments of the queen's bench, common pleas, and chancery courts. The queen's bench and common pleas each consist of a chief justice and two puisne judges, and have concurrently with each other general original jurisdiction in criminal cases and in civil cases at common law, and appellate jurisdiction of judgments of the county courts. The court of chancery consists of a chancellor and two vice chancellors, and has general ori- ginal jurisdiction in equity. The judges of the courts named are appointed by the governor general of the Dominion in council for life. A county judge is appointed by the lieutenant governor for each county or union of counties, who holds a county court with jurisdiction of certain civil actions not involving more than 50 or 100, according to the nature of the case; a court of general sessions, with juris- diction of offences not capital; and a surro- gate court, with probate powers. Each coun- ty or judicial district is divided into court divisions for division court purposes. These courts are held by a county judge or other magistrate, and make summary disposition of cases not involving more than 10 or 25 ac- cording to the nature of the suit. Ontario is represented in the Dominion parliament by 24 senators and 88 members of the house of com- mons. The balance in the provincial treasury on Jan. 1, 1874, was $277,948 05 ; receipts du- ring the following nine months, $2,413,228 89, including $1,333,569 42 subsidy from the Do- minion government ; amount withdrawn from special deposit, $1,253,380 92; total amount in treasury during the period, $3,944,557 86 ; total payments, $2,558,887 81 ; invested (special deposits), $1,200,000 ; balance in treasury Sept. 30, 1874, $185,670 05. The following were some of the more important items of expendi- ture: for the civil government, $117,244 49; legislation, $108,910 76 ; colonization roads, $52,804 15 ; administration of justice, $145,792 25 ; public buildings, $229,043 41 ; maintenance of public institutions, $198,166 91 ; agriculture, arts, &c., $74,356 24; immigration, $74,162 83 ; hospitals and charities, $43,020 ; education, $418,403 65 ; public works, $74,400 54. The charitable and correctional institutions con- trolled by or receiving aid from the province are placed under the supervision of a govern- ment inspector. The provincial institutions are the insane asylums at London and Toronto, the former having a custodial department for idiots and a department for the chronic in- sane ; the institution for the education of the deaf and dumb, at Belleville ; the institution for the education of the blind, at Brantford ; the central prison, at Toronto; and the pro- vincial reformatory for boys, at Penetangui- shene. The central prison, opened on June 1, 1874, is designed for the incarceration of per- sons convicted of the graver class of misde- meanors ; the labor of the prisoners is leased to the Canada car company. There is a peni- tentiary at Kingston under the control of the Dominion, in which convicted felons are incar- cerated; number of convicts at the close of 1873, 384. The Rockwood insane asylum at Kingston is under the control of the Dominion ; it is used for the custody of insane convicts, but the greater number of its inmates are not convicts, being insane persons received from Ontario and supported at the expense of that province. A provincial inebriate asylum was provided for by an act of 1873, and buildings are (1875) in course of construction at Hamil- ton. There are a few paying patients in the insane asylum and pupils in the deaf and dumb and blind institutions, but far the greater num- ber are supported at the public expense. The inspector in his last annual report recommends the establishment of a training school for idiots and an industrial reformatory for women. The statistics of the institutions controlled or aided by the province for the year ending Sept. 30, 1874, are as follows : INSTITUTIONS. Number in institu- tion du- ring year. Remain- ing at close of year. Amount expended by the province. Toronto insane asylum London insane asylum. .. . . 768 694 640 602 $80,217 60 81,896 11 Kingston insane asylum. . . Deaf and dumb institution. 403* 357* 190 52,195 00 32,276 42 Blind institution 101 22,581 08 Central prison 870 278 17,786 38 Provincial reformatory Common jails (38) 188 9,458 189 694 19,889 58 129,884 54t Hospitals (10) 8,587 862 29,080 00 Orphan asylums (11) Newsboys lodging house, 1,516 881 1 Toronto .... 125 14 I 18,940 00 Magdalen asylums (2). 195 792 100 272 Total 18,126 4525 $479,146 71 There were 21 insane convicts at the close of the year in the Kingston asylum, and 55 in- sane persons in jails. The number of persons receiving outdoor treatment or relief from the hospitals during the year was 9,184. The re- ceipts from the institutions under provincial control amounted to $37,448 15. The province has an excellent system of free public schools, under the general management of a chief super- intendent of education and three high school inspectors for the province, 77 public school inspectors in the different cities and towns, and counties or divisions of counties, and boards of trustees for the various school sections or dis- tricts. Besides these, which are unsectarian, there are Roman Catholic separate schools, which receive aid from the provincial treasury. The school law provides for the establishment and maintenance of three classes of superior schools, viz. : classical and English high schools for both sexes ; English high schools for both sexes ; and collegiate institutes, in which there shall be an average daily attendance of at least 60 boys in Greek and Latin. The public schools are open to all between the ages of 5 and 21

  • Number supported by the province.

t More than half this sum was paid by the counties.