THE OMINECA MINER, ‘SATURDAY, JUNE 3, 1916. The Omineca Miner PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY AT HAZELTON,. THE CENTER OF THE ’ Great OmmNeCA DISTRICT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. A. R. Macdonald, Publisher and Proprietor. | SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada and British Possessions, Two Dollars a year; Foreign, Three Dollars a year, - . ADVERTISING RATES: Display, $2.50 per inch per month; Reading Notices, 20 cents per line for each insertion... Legal notices inserted at B, C. Gazette rates. VoL. Vv. = SaTurDay, JUNE 3, 1916. No. 40 ALL SOLDIERS MAY VOTE No British Columbian now with the colors, whether still in the province, stationed with any-.corps anywhere in Canada or the world, in England or the front, will be deprived of his right of the franchise at the coming provincial elections. By the terms of a bill introduced in the legislature by Premier Bowser the necessary machinery for taking the votes of the men who have enlisted is provided. The short title of the bill i is the “Military Forces Voting Act.” _It provides that every male British subject serving in the. military forces of Canada or in any corps attached thereto, raised for service in the present war, who has fesided in any electoral district in the _provinee for not less than one month,or who resided in the province for six months immediately preceding the date on which he left the province for the purpose of enlisting and within such six months resided in any ‘electoral district for not less than one month, shall be entitled to vote. Immediately candidates are nominated in the various ridings, the names, addresses, and description of such candidates will be cabled to the agent-generat at London, who will have the necessary ballot papers printed and name presiding officers for the holding of | it. a poll at each military camp, at each hospital or convalescent home ip England where British Columbia men on service are stationed. For men in Canada and Bermuda the Heutenant - governor-in- zouncil will appoiné the presiding officers to take the vote. in the case of the men actually within the fighting zones, the practicability or otherwise ‘of taking the vote will be passed upon by the war office, and, if found practieable, arrangements will be made by the agent-general. - Each man applying for a ballot paper, upon taking the declara- ation accompanying it, will be allowed to cast a ballot in respect of the electoral district in which he, upon the facts disclosed in the affidavit, is entitled to vote. There will be no question of whether the man was on the voters’ list. The presiding officers will seal up the ballots and return them to the agent-general. In order that every soldier may have an opportunity of voting, the present elections act is now amended ‘by a bill, whereby the customary period between nomination day and election day will be extended six weeks. At the end of six weeks, which will be the date of election day in this province, the poll will close so far as the candidates are concerned. - As regards the prohibition and woman suffrage referenda, the time for the soldiers’ vote (for those otttside the province) will be extended to the end of the year. As soon as the votes ‘are counted at London hy the agent- ‘general in London, he will cable the results and they ‘will be made public. Similar returns will be received from various camps elsewhere in Canada or Bermuda, where men entitled to vote have done 8, 2... ” - There will be scratineers for the oldiers’ vote, ‘two appointed by the government and two by the leader of the opposition, as well as two by .Whatever other political pavty desires it, one of such scrutineers to officiate at London and one at Victoria. The ballet papers will be forwarded by the agent-general. - Premier. Bowser said he did not consider it necessary to justify the government for its action in bringing down the measure. The soldier, not only in ‘the province, but. elsewhere on service, should ‘be assured of his right bov vote. Those in the province would riot : bé asked to go-to the expense ' ‘of. going back to” their electoral districts, but would be permitted to vote wherever they might. be stationed. There will be-no question of whether: the soldier i ig on the voters’, list, : -.He.will be entitled to ‘vote’ ‘go. long as “he has enlisted and i is in uniform, ’ That wae the premier believed, to be the proper stand to take", In’ the ‘working ‘out of ‘the, details of: the plan t the sovernmeit endeavored to be as fair, ag possible without reference to political, ‘color. - The sole deaire was that no sdldier desiring to vote ahould ‘be precluded from, doing 80, ’ ‘No effort’ tas. been ‘spared’ ‘to ‘make the ‘voting: process - ag ‘bimple: as possible; with, the: one idea of], ‘permitting: the_ ‘Boldier’- the untramméled right to “vote (AB isl): conselence dictates, BEEF CATTLE * ~ AND ECONOMY “Big Falling Of In Beef Cattle’? is. avery significant heading on page 108 of the Agri- cultural War Book for 1916... On page 91 there is this paragraph of equal significance: ‘It is in the interests of the Empire that everything possible should ‘be done to foster the Canadian live stock industry. In Canada the number of cattle is about 6,000,000, besides 2,000,000 sheep-—a total which, having re- gard to the population of the Dominion, does not at present leave a very large margin for ex- port. With the probability of preferential trade in food within the Empire, there are great pos- sibilities in the expansion of Canadian live stock production.” There was once an English bishop who, being called upon to, preach a sermon in aid of an! orphan asylum for boys and girls, pointed to the children arranged in full sight of the congregation, and, saying ““They’re there’’, left the pulpit. The quotation of the two foregoing paragraphs should in like manner almost -be suffi- cient to indicate to Canadians the opportunity and duty that lies before them.' There is,however, go much matter of similar import and pointing in the same direc- tion in the book: that it is well worth while to look further into _ As to the falling off, the statistics show that the decrease in beef cattle during the years extending from 1910 to 1914 totalled 992,662, or 7,388 fewer|- thdén a million, or upwards of 23 per cent. .Meantime, the popula- tion increased and people went on eating as much beef as ever, The decline in numbers of cattle | for the Great Northern “terior oe by provinces was: Nova Scotia, 31,920; New Brunswick, 11,133; Ontario, 658,919; Manitoba, 62,999; Alberta, 293,005; British Colam- bia, 6,149, Against these de- creases there has to be reckoned an increase of 26,681 in Quebec, of 43,272 in Saskatchewan, and of 8,400 in Prince Edward Island. It will be noticed that the decline was in the: provinces -nearest to the United States and -where packers are most in evidence.. Two morals are to be gathered from the foregoing figures con- sidered in conjunction with ex- isting conditions. One is that we must produce more, and the other that we must eat less beef, that is if we have any desire to take rank as. overseas exporters of live stock or live stock prod- ucts of any importance. . To ac- complish the one farmers. will need to ‘pay additional. attention to thejr. breeding cows and prize them to.'a. greater. extent than official. returna would imply they have been doing. -In connection with the othe, it will be‘ neces- sary for people.to cultivate and eat more field and garden produce, a3 well.gs'to be more. thrifty. in their treatment of. ‘scraps and seemingly waste pieces, such as bones, ‘skin and-fat.’. — They will] need, so the War Book suggests, to produce all:‘they can; to bay aa little as. possible; to réplace | meat by mall ,cheege, peng, beans, ‘Jand lentils; to’ use more veget- ables and to. at, more: fruit, .. [ STUART J Je MARTIN | _ Erovinedad Aseayer . HAZELTON . ; : The Distributing Point | * we Prospectors, Miners, Landseekers, Surveyors and Sportsmen will find the merchants of Ha-. | zelton prepared to meet ‘every requirement —in outfitand supplies, Hav- ing been engaged for many years in outfitting : partiesfor the Northem, 7 Interior, Hazelton busi- hess men are qualified to give valuable advice | and assistance to new- comers. : . . mo Hazelton j is situated at. the confluence of the | Bulkley and’ Skeena.: -Tivers, a mile and a ~ . quarter from Hazelton ~ station on the Grand Trunk Pacific railway, --Enguies, may. be. ad-