PRESS RELEASE


MINT ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER DISTRIBUTION

Middlefield High Income Trust ("MINT") is pleased to announce that a distribution of $0.20 per trust unit will be payable on January 15, 1998 to unitholders of record on December 31, 1997. This distribution includes approximately $0.13 per trust unit from distributions received by MINT and approximately $0.07 per trust unit from realized capital gains.

Unitholders of MINT can acquire additional units by participating in the Automatic Distribution Reinvestment Plan. The Plan enables unitholders to reinvest their quarterly distributions in additional units of MINT thereby achieving the benefit of compounding returns. In order to take advantage of the Plan on the upcoming distribution, unitholders should contact their investment advisor or the undersigned prior to January 15, 1998.

MINT trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "MID.IR".

For further information contact:


W. Garth Jestley
Director
Middlefield Group
(416) 362-0714

December 18, 1997