The duties of the Registrar's office are as follows: - 1. The engrossing of Patents of Indian Lands and Ordnance Lands, and of all commissions issued under the great seal and the Privy seal. 2. The registration at length of such patents and commissions, as also of Patents of inventions and of other documents. 3. Preparing copies of Patents, Commissions or other documents already registered; 4. The preparation of Indexes and of copies of documents required by Parliament, by the Council, bi other departments and by individuals. 5. The safe keeping and classification of the archives. 6. Preparing copies of records transmitted by other departments to that of the Secretary of State for the purpose.

The branch charged with the affairs of the Indian Lands has the management of the affairs, lands and funds of the Indians. I have instructed the Deputy Superintendent to prepare for me a report of the affairs of his branch, together with tabular statements as complete as possible to give an exact idea of the situation of the Indian Tribes, of the extent of their domain, of the funds belonging to them, and of their income and expenditure. This Report follows that which I now have the honor to present, and is as complete as it could be made. Your Excellency will perceive that most of the tribes, have a sufficient income, but that those of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have no means of acquiring the education necessary to enable them hereafter to share the blessings of civilization. It would, in my own opinion, be expedient to grant the sum of $1000 to each of the two Provinces to procure for them this advantage.

The experience which I have gained since I took in hand the superintendence of the affairs of the Indians has convinced me that the time has come for facilitating the enfranchisement of a great number of those Indians who, by their education and knowledge of business, their intelligence and their good conduct, are as well qualified as the whites to enjoy civil rights, and to be released from a state of tutelage. For this reason, I propose, with Your Excellency's sanction, to submit to Parliament a measure which would attain that object, and would be more easily carried into effect than the present law respecting the Indian tribes of the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

The fourth branch of my Department, is that of the Ordnance Lands. The head of that branch has forwarded tome a report which I had instructed him to prepare, and which will explain to Your Excellency the present condition of those lands; the amount which they have produced, and the actual revenue arising from them. It will show you that this revenue has been more than doubled in twelve years, without taking into account that a large portion of them is now occupied, either by the military authorities or the,militia, for the purposes of defence, or by public institutions, for other purposes of general interest, among which may be mentioned the site of the present Parliament House and Departmental Buildings. This Report is annexed to the present one.

Before concluding, I ought to add that the officers of my Department and more particularly the under Secretary of State and the heads of branches have fulfilled their duties with zeal, assiduity and exactness.

The whole is respectfully submitted.

Department of Secretary of State of Canada,
Ottawa, 10th April, 1869.