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It appears, however, that one or two of my remarks have formed the text of the inaugural address of Mr. W. D McPberson, the newly- elected president of the Young Men's Liberal Oonservative Association of this city. In his address Mr. McPberson takes issue with my statements that prudence, forethought and economy have prevailed in every branch of the administration, and at considerable length dwells upon what he con- siders to be the shortcomings of the Mowat Government, and by an ex- traordinary course of reasoning unknown to any system of logic either ancient or modern, and based upon ill digested, misstated and half-con- cealed facts, endeavors to persuade his hearers that the interests of the people of Ontario lie in placing in power his " revered leader," Mr. W. R. Meredith, supported by that section of the " party of progress" that linds shelter in the Local Legislature. The charges made against the Government by Mr. McPberson are not altogether new, nor are the facts and tigurcs entirely unknown to the reading public. A reference to the Empire's TQ\tOTi of Mr. Clancy's speech on the Provincial Budget of this year will show a wonderful similarity in Mr. Clancy's and Mr. McPherson's methods of dealing with Ontario politics. The same facts are given, the same words used, the same arrange- ment observed, the same mistakes made. Occasionally Mr. McPberson varies from Mr. Olancy in order to relieve the monotony, but substan- tially in all, and exactly in parts, one address is the reproduction of the ot^her. I propose, with the permission of this meeting, to state more fully the reasons which appear to justify the belief that the coming election will result in the return of the present Government. In stating these reasons I shall not preteua to originality, but shall simply follow in the footsteps of abler men who at various times have discussed proTinoiftl aflairs in support of the policy of the Mowat administration. j2-\^-5^ Thrbb Good Rbaboks. Let me at the outset set forth in three general propositions why the Mowat Government should be sustained. 1. Beeauat it is a Good Government, No jobs disgrace its long tenure of office. Its record is clean. It has discharged honestly the trust reposed in it by the people. 2. Because it i$ an Economical Government. The expenditure of moneys has been careful ; the resources of the Province have been husbanded ; the revenues safely guarded, and the burdens of the people have been lightened. 3. It i$ a Progressive Government. Legislation has kept pace with the progress of the people. Reforms have been introduced. Defects have been cured. Evils eradicated. Wrongs redressed. No people in the world are more law-abiding than those in Ontario, none feel the restraint of law so little. If these three propositions are justified by the facts, then we stand on solid ground. Any Government that fulfills these conditions is worthy of support. Let us look at some of the main features of Ontario's Government during the last twenty years, and in so doing refer wi.are necessary to the criticisms of Mr. McPherson. The various interests over which the Government exercises super- vision may be classified under the following heads : — Law, Finance, Education, Public Works, Grown Lands and Timber and Agriculture. Law. This department presided over by the Premier has met with but little hostile criticism. Under his able judicial management Ontario has advanced along the line of legal reform with rapid strides. From year to year the work of law improvement has gone on ; practice has been simplified ; litigation cheapened ; equitable doctrines have been enoourageid, and purely technical legal knowledge has given way to a greater degree of common sense m the administration of our laws. Ever eager to accept timely suggestions for the removal of legal diffi- culties the present head of the Government has given the people of Ontario twenty years' careful administration of justice, and has sought to reach, and equalize the conditions, of all classes of the community. The practical unanimity with which the management of his depart- ment has been received emphasizes its satisfactory character. FiNANOB. The financial administration of the Government has come in for con- siderable criticism by the Opposition, though no charge of any conse- quence has ever been preferr(>d, and no better method of managing the finances has been presented. Controlling under the authority of Parliament the receipts and expenditures of all provincial moneys the Treasury Department ocoupiea B an important place in the Government of the Prorinoe. The finances of the Province are In a Bound healthy condition, both absolutely and oomparatively. In I ef erring to our financial position, Mr. McPherson starts oat with the assertion that " We find the expenditure constantly increasing with the revenue decreasing, the debt piling up, and the Government sacri6cing the public domain." The charge of increasing expenditure is an empty one, unless it can be shewn that we are no£ getting value for our money. No one pretends for one moment that the expenditure of the Pro- vince in its present condition should remain at the same figure as it was in 1872. With an increasing population; an extended area of territory; a more thorough and efficient administration of Provincial affairs, an increase in expenditure is but the natural outcome of the changing and increasing needs of the people. The great question to be determined is whether the moneys are expended wisely. If it can be shewn that in every department no expenditure is incurred that cannot be defended on public grounds then the charge of over expenditure fails. Has Mr. McPherson shown the increased expenditure to be improper 1 Can he by any fair means point out wherein he would make any appreciable reduction ? If he can he is far in advance of his party, both in and out of the Jiegislature. The records show that from 1883 to 1892 out of a total expenditure of over $32,200,000 the Opposition objected to only $89,775 or $1 in $360. The expenditure for the different years of the present regime may have increased, but only in keeping with the growth of the Province. Nothing is proven whatever by lumping the expenditure from 1873 to 1883, and from 1883 to 1892 ; and. by com- paring them on general principles, draw the unwarranted inference that because the latter decade shews a greater increase than the former, therefore the expenditure is wrong. If such a comparison be correct in principle, then the Government of Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald must have been a disastrous one. In 1867 the Sandfield Macdonald Government expended on civil govern- ment, $18,219.17, but in 1668 increased the expenditure to the enor- mous figure of $90,959.62, nearly five times as much. Yet no one seriously charges the Sandfield Macdonald Government with extravagance, because of this fact. The cost of civil government ib increasing very slightly in comparison with the growth and develop- ment of the Province. So with all other items of expenditure. The increase, if any, is in perfect harmony with the increased needs. During the last ten years we have added Northwestern Ontario to this Province, enlargintj our area by 100,000 square miles. We have also increased in population about 200,000. Should not these facts be taken into consideration when discussing fairly the cost of Govern- ments 1 We must also remember that during the last 21 years, numerous new public institutions have been established and maintained — such as the (Central Prison, Mimico Asylum, Model Schools, Teachers' Institutes, A({ricultural College, Experimental Farm, etc., besides the creation of a National Park system, the Mining Bureau and many otherbranches all, of which have been endorsed by the people of Ontario. It is but neces- sary to point out a few of these facts to shew the absurdity of Mr. MoPherson's whole contention as to increased expenditure. The Rbvbkui. Then m to the revenue, tbo two great sources of revenue are the Dominion grant and the Crown Lands Department. Out of a total revenue of $4,662,921.67 for the year 1892 we received from the Dominion aubsidy and specino grant $1,196,872.80, and from the Crown Lands Department $2,252,972.27. The Dominion grant is unalterable at present The Orown Lands revenue varies, but has the satisfactory feature of being an increasing revenue. Mr. MoPaerson says that "at the present time the financial equilibrium depends in the affairs of this Province upon the frequent and enormous raids into our forest wealth." In other words, the timber sales held during the last 21 years have been, in Mr. MoPherson's eyes, a wrong ; in his opinion, the Qov- ernment should nr t have utilized the almost unlimited timber wealth of Ontario for the purpose of expending wisely the moneys derived therefrom in the interest of the whole people. Does Mr. McPherson suppose that any government would allow the vast timber stretches of this Province to remain simply because as time rolled on they might become more valuable 1 IDoes he not know that if timber were never used it would have no value whatever ? Does he not know that timber is needed for human wants as well as other natural pro- ducts 1 Does he charge the Government with giving away our timber wealth, or is he not aware that no more advantageous timber sales were ever made than those conducted in this Province during the last 21 years] Every stick of timber sold by the Ontario Government brings its full value. The Government have made no " raids upon our forest wealth ; " they have taken advantage of the opportunity, as they were bound to do, to dispose of timber berths at the best possible figure, and have applied the proceeds of these sales for the use of the whole Province. The policy of selling our timber has been in vogue since Confedera- tion, during which period we have sold 9,900 square miles of timber limits, 4,234 of which having been disposed of by the Mowat Govern- ment. The people have approved this policy, knowing that under the present system, sale by public auction, the highest price will be realized. The last sale, which took place in 1892, was one of the most successful, 633 square miles bringing $2,315,000, or an average of $3,657.18 per square mile. Compare this showing with the manner in which the Dominion Government has disposed of its timber limits, by parcelling them out to hungry followers at $5 per mile, and the policy of the Ontario Gov- ernment has its amplest vindication. Mr. McPherson says our public debt is piling up. This will be news to most of us who have been consoling ourselves with the fact that Ontario has no public debt. At page 176 of the Statistical Year Book for 1893, prepared by the Dominion Government, we have the provincial public debts set forth, but Ontario does not appear in the list. Quebec has a net debt of $15,564,447 ; Nova Scotia, $1,358,118 : New Brunswick, $1,894,092; Manitoba, $697,815; British Columbia, $620,844; Prince Edward Island, $185,000. With reference to Ontario [is the following : " T^^ Province of Ontario has sold. annuities to the extent of $1,432,519 to provide for railway expendi- ture, but these annuities are paid off by a 6xed term every year out of consolidated revenue, and, while a liability, do not stand on exactly th? aatne footing as oidinary public debt. The Province, however, has assets very largely in e:ftess of the above sum." 80 much for our public debt. Mr. MoPheraon's financial criticiim is of value largely because of the inaccuracies it contains. We are told that the "total railway grant in 1891 was 14,588,168." As the House voted only $3,622,427 for all purposes, Mr. McPhenon has evidently been following Mr. Clancy and consequently makes the same egregious mistake in the use of figures. The statement of the Provincial Treasurer, delivered on the 11th April, 1893, shows the sound financial condition of the Province — fronv 1867 to 1892, our total receipts were $74,768,294.75, our total expendi- ture 873,923,101.90— leaving a balance in favor of receipts of $845,195.85. In addition to this there is atill a surplus of assets over liabilities of $5,838,758.12. Such is the financial condition of Ontario. Eddcatiow. The educational system of Ontario is the proud boast of all our citizens. Ample in its provisions for the education of all classes ; liberal iti the course of instruction provided ; furnishing the most complete facilities for advance from the elementary to the higher ranks ; knowing no distinction whatever between the different sec- tions of the community ; it commands the united support of all oar people, and is admired throughout the world. Under the control of a Minister responsible to Parliament and to the people, the Educa- tional Department is annually giving unquestionable evidence of the efficiency of its management and of the improvement in the intellectual condition of our citizens. Year after year we are spending large sums of money in the development of brain, and certainly no money is better invested. The last Annual Report of the Minister of Educa- tion shows a steady improvement in educational matters throughout the Province. Mr. McPherson tells us that "in 1871 we had a Superintendent of Education, and the work of public instruction was never better performed. Now we have a Minister of Education, a Deputy-Minister of Education and clerks of clerks in the endless routine of idleness." This is refreshing from the chairman of the Toronto Board of School Trustees. The change from a Superintendent to a Minister of Education took place largely through the advice of the late Dr. Ryerson, who for years was the Superintendent of Education in this Province. As far back as 1868, Dr. Eyerson suggested the transfer of the Education Department to a responsible Minister, and again in 1871 wrote to the Government urging the adoption of his views in that direction. In 1876 the change was effected, and after 15 years of practical experience no one conversant with the system as at present conducted would think seriously of returning to the old state of affairs. To-day under the democratic principle we have an Education Department completely under the control of the people. We have raised the standard of ednoation throughout the Province. We have diminished tho number of inferior schooli, and are affording more suitable accommodation for onr largely-increaiing school population. Th9 reports from this Department indicate the steady advance we are making, and amply justify the Governiitent in the course they hare pursued. To say that the educational system is a huge political machinb is to ignore the fact that the administration of that part of the STttem in which politics might bo introduced is entirely in the hands of the school sections, and through them, the trustees. The presence of Mr. MoPherson as chairman of the Toronto Board of School Trustees is in itself a contradiction of his own statement. Then as to the '* Olerks of clerks in the endless routine of idleness," it is but necessary to refer to the last Report of the Minister of Educa- tion for the information that the " Clerka of Clerks " are twelve in number. Public Works. In his address Mr. MoPherson has little to say with reference to the Department of Public Works. That department, under the ablu management of the present Oomraiasioner Hince 18T4, has been faithfully administered. No job has ever been perpetrated upon the people ; no "figuring up" and "figuring down" has been permitted to allow enormous steals from the treasury through corrupt bargains with contractors. Immense sums of money have been expended in the construction and maintenance of public works throtighout the whole Province, and no single charge has ever been preferred against the Department. The bugaboo of the new Parliament Buildings has almost faded from our minds. No longer shall we hei\r of this plank of the Conservative platform. The buildings are complote and stand to-day a fitting tribute to the prudence, foresight and economy of the Department and the Government. Crown Lands and Timber. The task of supervising the Department of Crown Lands, with all its complexities and details, is not a light one. Against this Department theOpposition have for years concentrated their efforts hoping bo discover some evidence in support of their baseless charges. Mr. McPherson complains that the expenditure in this Department is increasing. He has not troubled himself with pointing out where the incroMe is not reasonable and right, but simply makes the bald state- ment that the expenditure has been growing, and consequently must be wrong. It may occur to students of (Ontario) politics that the territory over which the management of tL") Crown Lands Department extends has been considerably enlarged during ^he very yeesrs that Mr. McPherson complains of. It will also be remembered thai it was owing to the persistent offorts of his revered leader and his followers that the question of the disputed territory remained so long unsettled, and that if the policy of the Opposition in this Province had been successful the Ontario of to-day would have been 100,000 square miles less than it is. The vast timber, mineral and other resourses in which the new Ontario abounds, might have have passed to other hands in so far as the party repre- ■i^4|ed by Mr. McPherson is concerned. i We are told that the expenditure in 1883 in the Grown Land* Department " was 167,131 ; in 1892 it wai $131,732, an increase of 96 per cent." Why the year 1883 should be taken is unexplained, unless it be that the expenditure that year reached a comparatively low figure. If Mr. McPherson had been willing to treat the Department fairly one would have expected from him something more than the mare statement of increase. It was not impossible for him to shew wherein that incruase lay, and to satisfy any fair-minded person that the ordi- nary expenditure in the Crown Lands Department shows bat little variation from year to year. Let us take the two years giveu — viz., 1883 and 1892 : In 1883 we paid $67,131 We carried into 1 884 surveys 1 1,098 Add cost of Ottawa and Quebec 4.883 > Giving a total of $83,112 In 1892 we paid 131,863 Less one-half fire ranging to be repaid . . 13,961 Cullers fees 900 Total 117,012 Excess over $83,112 of $33,900. From this, however, are to be deducted cost of services in the new territory — finally acquired since 1883 — and new services performed in 1892. Services in the new territory — viz., sur- veys, timber and land agents' expenses and salaries and share of timber Hale — amounted to $15,756, reducing the excess to $18,144. New services, including one-half fire ranging, Oullers' Act refund, timber sale, new land agencies and fishery overseers, amounted to $26,065, thus showing that in 1892 we actually paid less for the same services in 1883 by $7,921. In addition to this we carried over and paid in 1892 for surveys for 1891 $3,700, so that the ordinary services in the Crown Lands Department for 1892 cost $11,621 less than in 1883. One might go on indefinitely, but this instance will suffice. The attention given of late years to the mining industry, the establish- ment of Government parks, the opening up of new townships for settle- ments and for license, besides the natural increase in the ordinary work of the Department, are all matters that would justify an increasing expenditure. The great wonder is that the cost of managing the Department has not increased far beyond the present figure. Mr. McPhersom'b Two Principlbs. Mr. McPherson says that two principles should be borne in mind in the administration of the Crown Lands Department. 1. " The need of conservation of lands which at present belong to the Province." As there are yet about 105 millions of acres yet undisposed of out of a total acreage of 126 millions, we can rest assured that the work of conservation has been going on for many years in Ontario. 2. " The re-foresting of portions from which timber has been taken, in order that there may be a continuous crop of timber from which a surplus and an increasing revenue could be received." This sounds quite reasonable. There ii no doabt that were W. R. Meredith and hii progreuivo follower! at the helm, a whole army of rt/orestera would be struggling over the hills and rocks of our northern country, developing iu a truly scientific manner the cause of forestry. But of course this would be only for a time. As under the new regime no timber would be sold, the science of reforesting would gradually come to an end, and with itn termination the $urplua and " increasing revenue " would disappear. The demon of direct taxation would confront us with all its terrors. The Crown Lands Department has been managed well. It is doing much to increase our knowledge of the resources of this great Province. No valid objection has been raised against it. From all attacks the Government has successfully defended itself, and no investigation has revealed any transaction of which it may be ashamed. Aqricdlturr. The Department of Agriculture, as re-organized by the Ontario Government in 1883, gave to the farmers of this Province a distinct recognition of the importance of thoir vast influence and merits. Occupying, as it does, a first place among the industries of Ontario, it was but natural that at the hands of the Government agriculture should receive the utmost consideration. Tbe success that has attended the establishment of this Department is but the logical outcome of the care and industry bestowed. Farming is a science. Tbe old ways are giving place to the new and improved methods of cultivation, as in every other department of life. The need of system and knowledge is felt, so in the tilling of the soil and the bringing to their greatest perfection the fruits thereof. The high position occupied by the farmers of Ontario, whenever they have been placed in competition with those of other countries, is largely due to the assistance rightly given by the Government. Yet Mr. McPherson says that " we have a Minister of Agriculture who has practically nothing to do and accordingly does little, a Depart- ment which could easily have been managed by one of the other Minis- ters, and should never have been created." If Mr. McPherson would only take the trouble to look over the reports of the Department of Agriculture, he would find that no idle time is spent by the Minister in the care of his Department. He would see that attention is being directed to every part of the Province, with a view of placing the agricultural interests on a sounder basis. He would find that the rapid progress which characterizes the management of agriculture in Ontario is not obtaioed by idlertess but by work. Reference is made to the Agricultural College at Guelph, and the charge of increased expense made. As usual the figures given are misleading and at times incorrect. From 1883 to 1892 the staff was increased by three and the salaries by $6,000, not very large for ten years' work. The Experimental Farm has been added since 1883 as well as the entire Dairy Department, including the travelling dairy, experimental work in dairying and special dairy school. The total cost of the College in 1883 was $58,056 including salaries, less $14,654 revenue, or making in all a net cost to the Province of $43,402. Mr. McPherson has added in an item of $12,000 which reaaivo »ggl»ng a truly juld be >ld, the frith itB )ar. berrora, B doing ovince. 1 itself, may be Ontario distinct merits, ttario, it e should ided the the care the new bment of g of the eof. ver they largely •iculture Depart- Minia- )ver the no idle |e would je, with (la. He igement rk. land the reot. I aalaries II as the rimental Salaries, rince of which ihould be charged to capital aooount, being expenditare incurred in building, etc. In 1892 the net ooit was $60,464, after allowing for a revenae of $19,035, and placing to capital account the sum of $27,000 expended in new buildings. The slight increase in expenditure during the last ten years b fully accounted for by the immense additions to the work of the OoUege. To day nearly all the students are from Ontario, and the capacity of the College in fully taxed to meet the attendance. The Liberal party do not agree with the assertion that the Depart- ment of Agri.iulture should never have been established. Reoognition of the rights of agriculture has been a leading plank of the Liberal platform, and the results of their efforts in stimulating the industry are of the most gratifying character. Provincial Srcretart's Dk? 'tmrht. Prominent among the mattern pertaining to tiui Department are the Inspection of Division Courts, Insurance, Ob rtoring of Joint Stock Companies, Auditing of Criminal Justice Vcooum^s and until lately the license system, besides the official corrc^undenre of Jib Proyinoe. The license system of the Province and its .uministration have CO' . ') for a good deal of unfavorable com met t uom the Opposition, and Mr. McPhet son has deemed it his duty i.o uiload the usual stereo- typed charges in that regard. To talk of it being a huge political machine bud used fc r the pur- pose of making every liquor dealer a mere teal, is simply a farce, 'iime and again have the Opposition been challenged to substantiate th