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this Commission since their appointment) the sum of $2,824,700. These moneys were expende and liabilities incurred for the immediate support and maintenance of families deprived of their breadwinners, the maintenance of emergency hospitals and shelters, for medial supplies and attendance, burial of the dead, construction of temporary houses and for various other forms of relief regarded as properly constituting a first charge on the general relief funds.

6. It is assumed by your Commissioners that there will be required for like purposes extending over the remainder of the calendar year a further sum of $1,175,300, or in all a sum of $4,000,000. This estimate does not take into account permanent repairs to damaged property nor the restoration of buildings or compensation for the destruction of other property.

7. There are various other funds which have not come into the hands of your Commissioners for administration, but which were appropriated by various organizations, associations and private donors for specific purposes. These contributions will assist in the general work of relief more especially in view of the efforts of your Commissioners toward co-ordination in the administration of these special funds with the general fund in order to avoid overlapping. But the general fund is not to any great extent affected by these special funds, with the notable exception, however, of the fund contributed by the residents of the State of Massachusetts, amounting approximately to the sum of $500,000. This fund is administered by a committee of that state and a Halifax sub-committee, and if to be devoted, it is understood, to the refurnishing of homes the contents of which were destroyed by the disaster. Your Commissioners' labours in restoring these homes will therefore be materially aided by the work of this special organization.
There is also a special fund contributed for the relief of those blinded or whose eyesight is in danger of becoming seriously impaired, and certain moneys sent to the general relief fund have been earmarked also for this purpose.
In preparing this report the existence of these funds and of all others which have not and will not come to the hands of your Commission for administration have been taken into account.

8. Your Commissioners have taken as efficient steps as have been practicable during the period which has elapsed since their appointments to ascertain the amount of the material loss to those whose property has been destroyed or damaged and to that end immediately after their appointment they constituted a competent Board of Appraisal, one of the members of which, at the suggestion of your Commissioners, was named by the Fire Insurance Underwriters. This Board has recently furnished to your Commissioners a preliminary appraisement, which is necessarily in the nature of a careful estimate rather than a complete survey.
Your Commissioners are satisfied, however, that the figures submitted by this Board are sufficiently liberal to provide for the reasonable indemnification of all the losers for all direct and substantial loss which has been suffered.

9. This appraisement which includes damaged property in the whole affected district -- the City of Halifax, Town of Dartmouth, and portions of the surrounding Minicipals districts -- is as follows: --
Dwelling houses destroyed and damaged ................ $ 6,476,000
Contents .................................................................................. 3,330,000
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$ 9,806,000

Schools .................................................................................... 342,000
Churches ................................................................................. 1,090,000
Charitable and other public institutions .................... 222,000
Business properties and merchandise ........................ 1,041,000
Municipal and public buildings ..................................... 105,000
Manufacturing plants and "specials" ........................... 3,420,000
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$ 16,026,000


The estimates of the damages to churches and manufacturing plants had been in part made by other appraisers before the appointment of the Board of Appraisal and owing to the importance of the prompt submission of this report these estimates were considered by the Board to be sufficiently correct for the present purposes but your Commissioners have satisfied themselves that the losses in respect of these two classes of property will be found to be considerably less than the amount indicated by these estimates and they feel safe in stating that the direct material loss occasioned by the disaster to the classes of property covered by the appraisement is not likely to exceed the sum of $15,000,000.