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-TTW 
 
 
 THE ONTABIO BOUNDABIEI!. 
 
 A Conspiracy to Despoil the Province of Half 
 
 its Territory. 
 
 If 
 
 Sir John SCaodoaald'i OroOktd Beeovd on the Subjsot-Qusbae 
 TorioM hstxnt Affftlnit Ontario— Btpudiatioa of a Soleaa 
 Award— ▲ Qneition of Ctood Tftlth and PaUio Sonor. 
 
 There are higher consideTations inrolved in the Ontario Boundary 
 question than the territory in dispute between the Province and the 
 Dominion, and declared to be part of the Province by the unanimous 
 award of the arbitrators to whom the dispute was referred for settle- 
 ment. The honor and good faith of the Dominion are higher consider' 
 ations, and both are at stake ; the permanency and future well-being 
 of the Union are of greater consequence, and both are in jeopardy. 
 
 Sir John Macdoitald and his Tory adherents have done their part, 
 fio far as any act of theirs could do so, they have committed the Do- 
 niinion to a policy of dishonor. They have by resolution of Parlia- 
 ment repudiated a solemn award ; it is now the people's turn to 
 repudiate thera. They have broken faith with one of the Provinces 
 of the Union by violating a compact made and ratified as between one 
 nation and another ; it is now the ppople's turn to declare by an em- 
 phatic voice and vote that it has no faith in them. The time has come 
 to wipe oiit the stain of a shameless act by punishing the authors of It 
 
 The facts of the Boundary question, as they are set forth in the 
 following narrative, show how utterly unworthy of public confidence 
 Sir Jo)iii Macdonald and his Tory supporters in the late Parliament 
 are. They have done what they could to humiliate the country, and 
 to trample its honor in the dust The people can redress that great 
 wrong, and the leaders of the Liberal party have confidence that ther 
 will. 
 
 AN OLD CLAZM TO TSWUTOBT. 
 
 It is well known that Old Canada always disputed the pretension! 
 of the Hu<<son's Buy Company to right of ownership in the North- 
 West Territories. The people of the United Provinces alwavs main- 
 tained that they were the successors of France in the North- West, and 
 ,in the country north of the water-shed to Hudson's Bay. Upon thia 
 and other grounds the North- West Company contesited the claims of 
 2. the^ Hudson's Biy Company, and continued to do so until the dispute 
 ^ was settled by their partnership. | 
 
 f ^ 7 TBI OmUTION BAI8BD AOAIN. 
 
 As the territories lay far beyond the limits of settlemaut in Upper 
 Canada, the que-ition was not again raised until the time arrived for 
 considering the renewal of the lease granted to the Company in 1838. 
 
This was late in 1856, when the Secretary of the Colonies infonned the 
 Governor-General of Canada that Her Majesty's Government had 
 determined on bringing the whole subject under the investifi;ation of 
 a Committee ot the House of Commons ; and His Excellency was in- 
 etructcd to consider, with the advice of his Council, the question 
 whether it might be desirable to send witnesMes to appear before the 
 Committee, or in any other manner to cause the views of his Govern- 
 ment and the interests of Canada to be represented there. 
 
 CANADA'S CLAIMS ASSXRTXD. 
 
 In reply to the Colonial Secretary's despatch, a minute of Council 
 was transmitted, stating amongst other things that " the general feeling 
 here is strongly that the tvestem boundary of Canada extends to the 
 Pacific Ocean ; that the Committee of Council wer*^ most anxious that 
 Cana<lian interests should be properly represented before the proposed 
 Committee of the House ; that situated as Canada was, she necessarily 
 had an immediate interest in every portion of British North America ^ 
 and that the question of jurisdiction and title claimed by the Hudson's 
 Bay Company was to her of paramount importance. The Canadian 
 Prime Minister of that time, it may be remarked, was Mr. John A. 
 Macdonald. 
 
 THX LXBIXTS NORTH AND WEST. 
 
 In the same year (1867) an official paper was prepared by the 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, claiming that the westerly boundary of 
 the Province extended as far as British territory not otherwise organ- 
 ized would carry it, u^hich would be to the Pacific; O' , if limited at all, 
 it would be by the first waters of the Mississippi, Vitiich a due west line 
 from the Lake of the Woods intersected, which would be the White 
 Earth River. With respect to the northerly boundary, the Commis- 
 sioner pointed out as the only possible conclusion that Canada wa& 
 either bounded in that direction by a few isolated posts on the shore 
 of Hudson's Bay, or else that the Company's territory was a myth, 
 and conse({uently that Canada had n^ particular limit in that direction, 
 
 CANADA'S SPECIAL AGENT TO ENGLAND. 
 
 In response to the Colonial Secretary's invitation, the Government 
 sent Hon. Chief Justice Draper as a special agent to represent Cana- 
 dian interests bef<»re the House of Commons Committee. He wa» 
 examined before the Committee, and gave evidence against the claims 
 of the Company. Afterwards Justice Draper reported to the Canadian 
 Government, and gave as his opinion that Canada had a clear right, 
 under the Act of 1774 and the proclamation of 1791, to the whole 
 countrj' as far west as the line of the Mississippi, and to a considerable 
 distance north of the water-shed ; and he recommended that the 
 opinion of thf Judicial Committee of the Privy Council should be ob- 
 tained upun the merits of the dispute. 
 
 AN ABORTIVE MOVE. 
 
 In August, 1858, a joint aildress of both Houses was forwarded 
 to the Queen, in which it was stated that, in the opinion of Parliament, 
 Canada had a right to claim, as forming part of her territory, a consider- 
 able portion of the country then held oy the Hudson's Bay Company, 
 and that a settlement of the boundary line was immediately required. 
 The law officers of the Crown were consulted on the subject oy the 
 Colonial Secretary during the previous year, and they expressed the 
 Opinion that, while a decision of {the Judicial Committee of the Privy 
 
 I 
 
/ 
 
 Council might \ye \iseful in showinfi; what were the merits of the prc^ 
 tensiona of the respective parties, it could have no binding effect, and 
 that an Act of the Imperial Parliament would be necessary to finally 
 settle the question. But the Company, though strongly urged thereto 
 by the Secretary, refused to be parties to a reference which would raise 
 any question as to the validity of their charter, and no issue was 
 reache<l. Sir John Macdonald, from inattention to the subject, seems 
 to have fallen of late into the error of supposing that the Queen, upon 
 the advice of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, could give a 
 decision binding on every body, which of course it could not. 
 
 A COBfPKOBUSX SXTTLXHKNT ADVISBD. 
 
 The time of the Judicial Committee is so largely taken up with 
 the consideration of '".dicial questions referred to them by appeal, that 
 the propriety of inviting a report upon the matter in dispute between 
 the Canadian Government and the Hudson's Bay Company was felt to 
 be more than doubtful. The question was complicated, the evidence 
 was voluminous, and it was feared that a long time must elapse before 
 a decision could be had. Accordingly, in 1865, the Canadian Ministers, 
 in a report made to the Governor-General, expressed the opinion that 
 it would be in the interest of the country to grant to the Company a 
 moderate compensation rather than submit to the evils of delay conse-- 
 <|uent upon a reference to the Committee ; but no action wab taken upon* 
 the report. 
 
 stua asskbtino Canada's biohts. 
 
 After Confederation the claims to the territory made by the old 
 Province of Canada continued to be made by the Dominion Govern- 
 ment, Sir John Macdonald being Prime Minister. In the hrst session 
 of Parliament a joint address was presented to Her Majesty by the 
 House of Commons and Senate, praying that she would be graciously 
 pleased to unite Rupert's Land and the North- Western Territory to 
 the Dominion. So little value did Sir John Macdonald then place 
 upon the title of the Company that he urged the transfer of the whole 
 country to Canada, leaving the Company no right, except the right of 
 asserting their title in the best way tney could in the Canadian courts. 
 "And what," he asked, "would their title be worth the moment it was 
 known that the country belonged to Canada, and that the Canadian 
 Government and Canadian courts had jurisdiction there, and that the 
 chief protection of the Hudson's Bay Company and the value of their 
 property, namely, their exclusive right of trading in those regions, was 
 gone forever ? The Company would only be too glad that the country 
 should be handed over to Canada, and would be ready to enter into any 
 reasonable arrangement." He failed to get the territory handed over 
 to Canada on those terras, but he succeeded in incurring the ill-will of 
 the Company's agents, and of the settlers in the North- West, and in 
 stirring up a rebellion which cost the country more than a million of 
 dollars. 
 
 SQUATTXHS ON THK 80II.. 
 
 In October, 1868, Sir George Cartier and the Hon. Wm. Mac- 
 dougall proceeded to England to press the views of the Government on 
 the Colonial Secretary. In their correspondence with the Colonial 
 Office the rights of Canada were asserted in strong terms. Referring 
 to a road between Lake of the Woods and Fort Garry, on Red River 
 upon which the Dominion Government had expended $20,000 in 1868^ 
 Sir George Cartier and Mr. Macdougall said there uku no doubt that it. 
 
lay within the limits of Canada ; ami, concerning the extent of the 
 Province, they declared in the snnie letter to the Secretary that " No 
 impartial investigator of the evi<lence in the carte can doubt that it ex- 
 tended to and included the cttuutry between Luke of the Woods and 
 Ked River." The Government of Canada, they .*-aid, denied and had 
 always denied the pretensions of the Company to "any right of soil 
 beyond that of wpiatters " in the territory through which the Lake of 
 the Woods and Fort Garry road wa^^ being constructed . 
 
 THE COMPANY'S CLAIM GIVEN UP. 
 
 So strong were the grounds on which the contention of the Cana- 
 dian Government rested that the Kudson'.s Hay Company, composed of 
 Bome of the shrewdest business men of England, and acting under advice 
 of the ablest counsel, gave up their claim to 1,300,000 square miles of 
 territory in consideration of being allowed to retain 12,000 8(iuare 
 miles of it, and of receiving £;iOO,tK)0 sterling— about one-fifth ol the 
 .sum j)aid by the United States for the comparatively barren regioii of 
 Alaska, of less than one-fourth the area. The company feared that the 
 legal boundaries of Ontario, if submitted to an impartial tribunal, 
 would be held to include the bulk of territory which Canadian Minis- 
 ters claimed for it ; hence the small sum for which they agreed to 
 release their interest. 
 
 ADMITTED INTO THE UNION. 
 
 Rupert's Land and the North- West Territory were admitted into 
 the Union by an Imperial Order-in-Council, dated 2:ird June, 1870, 
 subject to the provisions of the British North America Act. The 
 Order-in-Council did not and could not take away any part of Ontario's 
 territory, for the B. N. A. Act specifically declares that the territory 
 "which formerly ctmstituted the Province of Upper Canada shall con- 
 stitute the Province of Ontario." There is, therefore, no doubt what- 
 ever that the boundaries of Ontario to the north and west are the old 
 boundaries of Upper Canada. 
 
 A NEW DEPARTURE. 
 
 It has been shown that up to the time of the admission of the 
 North-West into the Union the successive Governments of which Sir 
 John Macdonald was leader maintained for Upper Canada (the Ontario 
 of Confederation) limits far to the west and to the north of tho.se which 
 his Government is willing to allow her. But, within the brief period of 
 two years after the bargain with the Hudson Bay Company was con- 
 cluded, the views of Sir John Macdonald and his fellow-ministers under- 
 went a great and suddeii change ; a new departure was taken, and they 
 sought to grasp from the Province a territory many thousand scpiare 
 miles in extent, a part of which the Company had never claimed under 
 its charter. Some steps had been taken for defining the boundary in 
 1871, and Commissioners had been named by the Local and Federal 
 Governments to locate the line. Nothing further was done that year, 
 and before its close a new Administration was formed in the Province 
 with Mr. Blake at its head. Then 
 
 THE POLICY OF HOSTILITY 
 
 towards Ontario began to develop itself. Sir John Macdonald was bent 
 on breaking down the Liberal Government of the Province if he could, 
 and from that day to the present he has shown himself to be the un- 
 ceasing enemy of Ontario and its rights. On the 6th of January, 1872, 
 the new Government a.sked that a draft of the instructions to the 
 Dooiinion Commissioner be transmitted for consideration. The request 
 
ft 
 
 was complied witli on the 14th of Miirch, and then it became known 
 that tlie Dominion Qovenimentin8isted on a line drawn due north from 
 the junction of th»^ Ohio and MissisHipju livt-rs as the westerly bound- 
 ary, and on the height of land dividing the waters which flow into 
 Hutlson'fl Bay From those emptying into the valley of the great lakes as 
 the northerly boundary of the Province. The Ontario Government 
 declined to accept those limits, claiming that the boundary line waH 
 very diflerent from the one defined by the Dominion Government's 
 instructions, and its Commissioner was instructed to abstain from any 
 further action under his conunission. A conventional or compromise 
 boundary proposed by the Provincial Government met with no re- 
 sponse — Sir John Macdonald apparently ttn<,'etiing the fact that the 
 Government of which he was a member was prepared to make a com- 
 promise with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1865. 
 
 SUOaXSTION AND COUSTHK SUOOX3TIOM. 
 
 In a memorandum of 1st May, Sir John M icdou dd suggested that 
 the (lovernment of Ontaiio be invited to concur in the statement of a 
 case for immediate reference to the Ju<licial Committee of the Privy 
 Council of England, with a view to settle the boundaries by a judg- 
 ment or decision of that tribunal. On Slst May the Ontario Govern- 
 ment in reply stated that the settlement of the ipiestion depended upon 
 numerous facts, the evidence as to many of which was procurable only 
 in America, and the collection of which wouhl involve the expendi- 
 ture of much time. They therefore recommen'levl asa counter suggestion 
 that, should the Government of Canada decline to negotiate for a con 
 ventional line, the more satisfactory way of settling the question would 
 be by reference to a Commission sitting on this side of the Atlantic. 
 On November 7th the proposition of the Dominion Government for a 
 refertnice to her Majesty in Council was renewed, but no further nego- 
 tiations took place until the accession of Mr. Mackenzie to office. 
 
 THX ARBITRATION. 
 
 In 1874 both Governments agreed to leave the question to arbitra- 
 tion, and to accept the award as final and conclusive. Ex-( Jovernor Wil- 
 mot, of New Brunswick, waschosenfor the Dominion, and Chief Justice 
 Richards for Ontario — Sir Edward Thornton, the British Ambassador 
 at Wjishinyton, being accepted by the two Governments as third arbi- 
 trator. Information was from time to time given to Parliament and 
 the Legislature with, respect to the progress of arrangements for this 
 reference, and the policy of fixing the boundaries by arbitration was 
 never (luestioned. Sir John Macdonald once, in the debate on the 
 North-West Territories Bill in 1875, expressed regret that the matter 
 had not been referred to the i^rivy Coumil, but added that the arbi- 
 trators " would be acceptable, he was satisfied, to the country, as they 
 were to himself." The sura of ^15,000 was also voted by Parliament 
 for defraying the expenses of the arbitration, and no ([uestion was 
 raised or objection made. The death of one arbitrator and the resigna- 
 tion of another was followed by the appointment of Sir Francis Hincks 
 for the Dominion, and Chief Justice Harrison for Ontario. Both ap- 
 pointments were confirmed by Ordevs-in-Council, and it was again de- 
 clared that the determination of the three referees should be final and 
 conclusive ; and by the Order-in-Council of 1874, each Gacemment 
 agreed icith the other for concurrent action in obtaining such legislation 
 as might be necessary for giving binding effect to the conclusions tfr- 
 rived at. 
 
6 
 
 THK AWARD OF THX AKBITBATOBft; 
 
 From 1874 to 1878 both Goveminents wereocctipitid in making an 
 exhaustive collection of all the «locumentH, facts and evidence bearing 
 upon the controversy, all of which were printed for the purpose of the 
 Arbitration. Counsel for the two Govemnienta were heanl by the 
 arbitratf)rM, and on August 3rd, 1878, n unanimouH award wcu delivered, 
 deUrmxninij and dtscidimj what are and shall be. the northerly a,*d 
 %ve»lerly boundaries of Ontario. The westerly boundary was tleclared 
 to be a lino drawn due north from the most north-westerly angle of 
 Lake of the Woods, and the northerly boundary the southern shore of 
 JauoH' Bay, the Albany River, and the English River. It gave to the 
 Province on the westerly wide the least favorable limit that on the facts 
 and evidence was possible, as was demonstrated by », mass of evidence 
 which there appears no danger of ever seeing overcome. 
 
 The Government of Ontario accepted tlie award, not because it 
 assigned to the Provinceall that was claimed on its behalf, but because, 
 consistently with good faith and public honor, neither party to the 
 arbitration could refuse to abide by the decision. 
 
 BBILLY-SHALLYINO. 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie's Administration was defeated at the general elec- 
 tions of September, 1878 — less than two months after the l)oundary 
 award was made — and a few weeks later Sir John Macdonald formed a 
 new Administration. One of his first acts as Minister of the Interior 
 was to publish a map in which the boundaries of Ontario were laid 
 <iown as fixed by the award ; but the old hostility soon manifested itself 
 •afresh, and, backed by Sir Hector Langevin and the phalan.x of Quebec 
 Tories, the Premier found courage to pursue towards the Liberal Gov- 
 •«rnment of Ontario a policy of studied contempt. At least c^ight 
 •despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor of that Province, bearing 
 •on the award and urging the necessity of action being taken by 
 tihe Dominion Government in the interests of law and order in the 
 tiisputed territory, were 
 
 TREATED WITH UNMANNERLY NEGLECT. 
 
 Their receipt was formally acknowledged, but no answer was made nor 
 further notice taken of any of them. It made no difference that law 
 was being set at defiance in the territory, .tliat crime went unpunished, 
 that drunkenness and immorality prevailed, that ])ul)lic lands were 
 being robbed of their timber, or that there was no security for life or 
 property. For three years Sir John Macdonald and his colleagues 
 refused to have any dealings with the Government of Ontario on the 
 subject. A ninth despatch was sent on the 31st December of last year, 
 And on the 12th January this year the Legislature of the Province 
 met. The debate on the address opened out a discussion of the whole 
 situation and all the circumstances, and then the Tory Premier of the 
 Dominion discovered that he could pursue a policy of silent contempt 
 aio longer. He was forced to show his colors openly, and in the light 
 \)i day. 
 
 REPUDIATION OFFICIALLY DECLARED. 
 
 A reply to the despatch ol 31 at December was sent on the 27th 
 January, and the Government and people of Ontario were infonned 
 officially, what had been evident for some time, that the Dominion 
 Government had determined, in violation of good faith and public 
 honor, to re'pudiate the award. This course had been indicated by the 
 
 
kg an 
 
 ^ring 
 
 the 
 
 the 
 
 \ered, 
 
 a,*d 
 
 fared 
 
 [loof 
 
 lie of 
 
 the 
 
 [facts 
 
 ience 
 
 
 conduct of the (lovcruinent in the Ression of 1880, in consenting to a 
 Purliuiuentary (*ouunittoe fur the prnfeiuied object of inciuirinK into 
 und ruuorting upon all inatterH connected with the Ontario boundaries. 
 No new or material evidence was obtained by the committee, but by a 
 party vote the opinion was expressed in its report that the awanl did 
 not de8cril)e the true boundaries of Ontario, ana that it incluJe<i within 
 that Province territory to which, the Committee asHertcd, the Province 
 was not entitled. 
 
 ENIJkROZNO MANITOBA. 
 
 This action was followed up in the session of 1881 by a Govem- 
 inenk muaaure enlarging the boundaries of Manitoba. Sir Alexander 
 Oampbell, when intruaucing the Bill in the Senate, plainly aiiiruied 
 that the intentiim was* to give to that Province the whole tract of 
 country eastward as far a.s the meridional line claimed by the Dominion 
 Government to be the westerly limit of Ontario, embracing a temtory 
 iJ9,()0<) stpiare miles in extent, which hail been declared to be part of 
 <Jntario by the award of the arbitmtors. In the Iloube of (Commons 
 Sir John Macdonald avowed as an object of the Bill that it would 
 *' compel" the Government of Ontario not to insist on the awarded 
 boundaries, and he assured the House that the (jlovernment of that 
 Province would " come to terms <[uiokly enough when they ttnd they 
 must do so." This undertaking to "bulldoze" Ontario was of a piece 
 with the undertaking to " bulldoze " the Hudson's Bay Company ten or 
 twelve years i)reviously. 
 
 ALLBOED RBASONS FOR REJECTING THE AWARD. 
 
 The alleged reasons of the Dominion Governnient for rejecting the 
 awanl are, that the reference to arbitration " transcended the power 
 of the Government of the day ;" that the matter should be " consid- 
 ered rigidly as one of law ;" and that His Excellency's present advisers 
 were opposed to *' disposing of the question by arbitration," con- 
 ceiving that mode to be " inexpedient and lacking in legal authority," 
 It is a sufficient answer to those objections to say that the reference 
 was made with the knowledge of the Dominion Parliament ; that the 
 Dominion Parliament not only made no objection, but in 1878 voted 
 ^15, (XK) to pay the expenses of the arbitration without a word of dis- 
 sent ; and that both Governments concerned pledged their good faith 
 to a settlement of the question procured in this way. A further an- 
 swer is, that arbitration is the usual way of settling such disputes, and 
 that it is a reasonable way. The bounilary between Canada and New 
 Brunswick was settled by arbitration ; so also was the San Juan dis- 
 
 Jute. Sir John Macdonald himself was a party to referring the San 
 uan question. Even now he proposes, after repudiating tiie award 
 of one set of arbitrators, to refer the dispute to another set — to some 
 " eminent English legal functionary," or to the Judicial Committee of 
 the Privy Council, neither of which couM give a decision in any way 
 more binding than the one already given. 
 
 THE TRUE LEGAL LIMITS DECLARED. 
 
 But it is said the award established a conventional line instead of 
 A legal one. That is not true. All the evidence was considered and 
 the arguments of counsel heard. The arbitrators were appointed to 
 find the true legal limits of the Province, and their award declares that 
 they found it. They did not give advice, but they •prommnced a decision. 
 On what pretence, then, of reason or justice can a demand be made for 
 re-opening the case ? If the Government of Canada do not feel them. 
 
•elyes in honor and good faith hound hy the award which has nlrea<ly 
 been made, Ontario han no reason to suppi-.t that they would not 
 qxAte as rtudily repudiate any mbiyfqueut deciswn. 
 
 ATTITUDE OP THB QUIBXC TORIES. 
 
 Sir Hector Langevin has put hia foot on the award bt'cause he 
 profeflKes to fear that it would give Ontario too ^rt'at Btrongth in the 
 Confederation, which would incn'ane with the developiuunt of itM terri- 
 tory. His real motive i» a desire to break down the Liberal dovtm- 
 nient of Ontario, and so euHure the contiimance of Tory misrule in 
 the Dominion. lie and his Tory follounnif hare ivjlneneed the press of 
 their Province to create a feeling against the award and to cnj dmrn as 
 h-aitors the Qiiehe.c Liberals who voted ayainst re.-opening the. Imandary 
 $ase and breaking faith with one of the I'rovinret of the Union. It i» 
 hatred and jealousy of Liberal progress in Ontaiio that prompts the 
 hostility of Quebec Tories to the award, and Ontario Tories, obedient 
 to the crack of Sir John Macdonald's whip, have joined hands in repu- 
 diating it by their votes on Mr. Plumb's motion to re-opeu the case and 
 to refer it to another tribunal. 
 
 IS ONTARIO TOO LARGE T 
 
 But is Ontario too large, as the Quebec Tories profess to fear ( 
 Whatever was her extent as the Province of Upper Canada, that is her 
 extent now, and she is entitled to her full measure of territory, be it 
 great or small. She has never shown a disposition to be unjust to other 
 Provinces of the Union, or to rule by the right of the strongest. How 
 doss she compare in area with the other Provinces I The diagrams on 
 the folded sheet annexed will illustrate at a glance their relative extent^ 
 and will show that Ontario, with all the territory given by the award, i» 
 still pmaller than Quebec or British Columbia. The estimates of tim- 
 ber in the district have been given in public documents published 
 under the anthority of both Governments, and they have not been 
 challenged. 
 
 The loss of the territory in dispute, it will be seen, would reduce 
 the area of Ontario to 100,000 square miles. Why should the area of 
 ihat Province be reduced to less than half the area of Quebec !f or to len 
 ihan one-third the area of British Colnvibia ? Or why should tJie area of 
 Ontario be reduced, and that of Manitoba extended, until Manitoba shall 
 have an area one-half greater than Ontario ? Can Sir Hector Langevin 
 and the Quebec Tories, who say that Ontario would be too large, an- 
 swer these questions I • 
 
 • THE QUESTION AS A POLITICAL ISSUE. 
 
 Liberals, fair-minded men, honorable men, and true Canadians in 
 all Provinces of the Dominion, have a vital interest in maintaining the 
 eause of Ontario in the present struggle. The independence, it not 
 the very existence, of the Local Governments is at staice. If they are 
 to be crushed out on any pretence by an adverse political party in 
 office at Ottawa, what guarantee is there for the maintenance of self- 
 government and provincial rights ? What guarantee is there for the 
 preservation of Home Rule in the Provinces i To tolerate such conduct 
 on the part of the Dominion Government is not only to place a premium 
 on public dishonor, but to prepare the way for the disruption and dia- 
 memberment of the Union. Were any independent State to pursue 
 Ae course towards another which the Government of Canada ha» 
 
— w 
 
ONTARIO AND THE DISF 
 
 Oiifaslo iindcr tho award . lOJ.oflO ^qiinro miles, or 12G,000,000 acres 
 
 willioiit the dispiitoti territory lOO.OOO square milos, or 04,000.000 acres 
 
 Manitoba as eiilarjred by part of the dlspufed terrilory 150.000 square miie?, or OO.OOO.OOO seres 
 Manitoba without any of the disputed territory . • 115.000 square miles, or 73,<;»O.O00 acres 
 
 Hn<^bce 210,000 square miles, or 134.400,000 acres 
 
 Repudiation of the award deprives Ontario of the re- 
 gion north of the iioigiht of land, which goes to 
 
 no other ProTliice 02,000 square miles, or 89,GSO,000 acres 
 
 And adds to Manitoba 35.000 square miles, or 22,400.000 acres 
 
 Amount of innibcr In district added to Manitoba 20,000,000.000 feet 
 
 Value of this lumber to Untario $125,000,000 
 
 Loss per head to the people of Ontario from timber alone ^ qk 
 
 Total loss to each ratepayer uot less than •• S3G0 
 
 An annnal tax forercr on each taxpayer of ^ Ig 
 
 
 COMPARATIVE SIZES OF THI 
 
 BRITISH COLUMBIA. 
 
 Ana 400,000 Square Miles. 
 Or ase.OOO.OOO Acr«s. 
 
 QUEBEC. 
 
 Are* 210,000 Square HUM, 
 Or 134.400,000 Aorti. 
 
 ONTARIO, 
 
 ■MU8 TH8 AWABD. 
 
 ATM 100.000 84. 
 MUea. 
 
 Or 04,000,000 Aors 
 
 The above " squares,'* based upon a scald of 100,000 square miles to the Inch, show at a glance the relati 
 Province of Ontario, with and without the disputed territory ; and lastly of the Province of Manitoba, as enlarged (v 
 
 ifii 
 
E DISPUTED^TERRITORY 
 
 OF THE LARGER PROVINCES. 
 
 ONTARIO, 
 
 ■M08 TH8 AWABD. 
 
 ATM 100,000 Bq. 
 MUM, 
 
 Or 04.000,000 Aon 
 
 ONTARIO, 
 
 WITH TUK AWABD. 
 
 Am* 107,000 Square MUm, 
 
 Or 126.000,000 AorM. 
 
 MANITOBA, 
 
 WITHOUT nisrvTKD 
 
 TKBIIITOHY. 
 
 Are* 116,000 Square 
 Miles. 
 
 Or 7S,600,OOOAorei>. 
 
 MANITOBA. 
 
 WITH 0>TAniO TEH 
 TOUT. 
 
 Area 150.000 Square 
 Milsa, j 
 
 Or 00,000,000 Aorea 
 
 9W at a glance the relative sizes of the four Provinces of British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba; of th« 
 >f Manitoba, as »ntar2ecl (without disputed territory), and with the disputed territory, . ' Vv*H g^|j||^r*«ai^' fj 
 
r 
 
! 
 
 9 
 
 adopted towards the Province of Ontario, it would be held guilty of a 
 tro^s breach of faith — of dishonorable conduct which would lead to an 
 immediate discontinuance of all diplomatic relations. 
 
 AS AN ONTARIO XSSUB, 
 
 the Boundary question concerns every man within its borders. It is 
 not merely whether that Province shall be ruled by one party or 
 another, but whether she shall be despoiled of half her territory — of a 
 •ountry rich in mineral and forest wealth, which may be to her Covem- 
 ment a source of revenue for all time. That is a large consideration 
 to pay for the doubtful gain of defeating Mr. Mowat's Government, 
 and gra'ifying the hatred of Sir John Macdonald and his Quebec 
 allies. Every OiiUirio man who voted for Mr. Plumb^s wotion should he a 
 marked man in his constituency; he should be regarded as an enemy 
 •f his Province, and he should receive at the hanas of the people an 
 •neray's reward. 
 
 f 
 
 , 
 
10 
 
 PROVINCIAL RIGHTS. 
 
 The Tory Grovernment's Attempt to Destroy 
 Home Kule in Canada. 
 
 [Disallowance of the Rivers and Streams Bill— Sir John 
 
 Maodonald's Former Opinions on Interference 
 
 with Provincial Legislation— Tory 
 
 Hostility to Ontario. 
 
 The fullest liberty of action by the Provinces, within their true 
 constitutional limits, is the only safety of the federal system in Canada. 
 The British North America Act of 1867 was a solemn compact, under 
 which local control over local affairs was guaranteed. Under that Act 
 the Dominion Government has no just right to interfere with the con- 
 stitutional legislation of the Provinces any more than a Local Govern- 
 ment would have to interfere with the legislation of a municipal 
 council. 
 
 When the question of Confederation was under discussion, the 
 necessity of allowing the fullest liberty of action to the Provinces 
 within their own jurisdiction was frequently pointed out, and no sooner 
 had we entered upon a trial of the new system than the propriety of 
 defining the grounds which would justify interference with local legis- 
 lation became apparent. 
 
 SIR JOHN MACDONALD'S VIEW IN 1868. 
 
 On the 8th of January, 1868, Sir John Macdonald prepared a State 
 paper in which he dealt with the question of disallowance as follows : 
 
 "In deciding whether any Act of a Provincial Legislature should be 
 disallowed or sanctioned, the Government must not only consider whether 
 it aifects the interest of the whole Dominion or not, but also whether it be 
 unconstitutional; whether it exceeds the jurisdiction conferred on the 
 Local Legislature, and, in cases where the jurisdiction is concurrent, 
 whether it clashes with the legislation of the general Parliament. 
 
 "As it is of importance that the course, of local legislation shotdd be 
 interfered with as little as possible, and the power of disallowance exercised 
 with great caution, and only in cases where the law and general interests 
 of the Dominion imperatively^demand it, the undersigned recommends thai 
 the following course be pursued : 
 
 "That on the receipt by your Excellency of the Acts passed in any 
 Province, they be referred to the Minister of Justice for report, and that 
 he, with all convenient speed, do report as to those Acts which he considers 
 free from objection of any kind, and, if such report be approved by Your 
 Excellency in Council, that such approval be forthwith communicated to 
 the Provincial Government. 
 
11 
 
 TS. 
 
 ?troy 
 
 r John 
 
 36 
 
 ;heir true 
 Canada, 
 let, under 
 that Act 
 I the con- 
 1 Govem- 
 tnunicipal 
 
 ssion, the 
 Provinces 
 no sooner 
 )priety of 
 )cal legis- 
 
 d a State 
 follows : 
 should be 
 r whether 
 ther it be 
 d on the 
 ncurrent, 
 
 should be 
 exercised 
 
 interests 
 ends that 
 
 Jd in any 
 and that 
 considers 
 by Your 
 icated to 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 " That h| make a separate report or separate reporta on those Acts 
 which he may consider : 
 
 *' 1. Aa being altogether illegal or unconstitutional. 
 
 "2. As being illegal or unconstitutional only in part. 
 
 " n. In cases of concurrent jurisdiction, as clashing with the legisla- 
 tion of the general Parliament. 
 
 "4. As atfecting the interests of the Dominion generally. And that 
 in such report or reports he gives his reasons for his opinions." 
 
 Here we have a clear exposition of the grounds on which local 
 legislation was to be disallowed. On this basis the federal system was 
 to be reared ; provincial rights were to be preserved ; and within their 
 own jurisdiction the various Local Legislatures were to be absolutely 
 free from all interference. Sir John Macdonald himself contended for 
 the same principle in 1872, when the question of disallowing the New 
 Brunswick School Bill came before him. His contention was then, as 
 it had been in 1868, that provincial rights were sacredly guarded by the 
 Constitution, and must not be invaded by the Executive. 
 
 SIB JOHN MACDONALD'S VIEW IN 1872. 
 
 Speaking in the House of Commons on this question, he said : 
 
 " The Provinces have their rights, and the question was not whether 
 this House thought a Local Legislature was right or wrong. But the 
 •whole question for this House to consider, whenever such a question as this 
 "was brought up, was that they should say at once that they had no right 
 to interfere so long as the different Provincial Legislatures acted within the 
 bounds of the authority which the Constitution gave them. (Hear, hear.) 
 There was this fixed principle— that every Provincial Legislature should 
 feel that, when it was legislating, it was legislating in the reality and not 
 in the sham. If they did not know and feel that the measures they were 
 arguing, discussing, and amendin -, and modifying to suit their own people 
 would become law, it was all sham, and the ft deral system was gone for- 
 ever. If this House undertook the great responsibility of interfering with 
 the local laws, they must be prepared to discuss the justice or injustice of 
 every law passed by every Provincial Legislature — (hear, hear) — and this 
 Legislature, instead of being, as now, the General Court of Parliament for 
 the decision of great Dominion questions, would be simply a Court of Ap- 
 peal to try whether the Provincial Legislatures were right or wrong in the 
 conclusions to which they came. (Hear, hear.) If this House was pre- 
 pared to take that course and adopt tliat principle, then the Government 
 of the day, while it would have much more responsibility, would also have 
 much more powrr ; for, besides conducting and administering the affairs of 
 the whole Dominion as one great country, it '"'ould also have the power, the 
 authority and the control of a majority over every Bill, every Act, every con- 
 clusion, every institution, every right of every Province in Canada." 
 
 With this view of Provincial authority the Liberal party agreed, 
 and on this view Sir John Macdonald acted in every instance, from 
 Confederation down to the disallowance of the Streams Bill. 
 
 HISTORY OF THE STREAMS BILL. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1881, the Ontario Legislature passed " An 
 Act for protecting the Public Interests in Rivers, Streams, and 
 Creeks." 
 
 Section 1 of this Act provided that ' ' So far as the Legislature of 
 Ontario has authority so to enact, all persons shall, subject to the pro- 
 visions in this Act contained, have, and are hereby declared always to 
 have had, during the spring, summer and autumn freshets, the right 
 to, and may float and transmit saw logs and all other timber of every 
 
12 
 
 kind, and all rafts and crafts, down all rivers, creeks and streams in re- 
 aped of which the Leyislxtn^e of Ontario has auChority to gwe this power." 
 
 Section 2 provided that any person may use all rivers, creeks and 
 Btreains on which improvements had been made, for floating timber 
 during the spring, summer and autumn freshets, " subject to the pay- 
 ment to the person who has made snch improvements of reasonable tolls." 
 
 Section 3 applied the above provisions alike to patented and un- 
 patented lands. 
 
 Section 4 provided that *' the Lieutenant-Governor in Council 
 may fix the amounts which any person entitled to tolls under this Act 
 shall be at liberty to charge on the saw logs and different kinds of 
 timber rafts or crafts, and may from time to tune vary the same ; and 
 the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, in fixing such tolls, shall have re- 
 >jard to and take into consideration the original cost of such constnic- 
 tioHS and iviprovcmoits, tlie amount required to maintain the same and 
 to cover interest vpon the original cost, as well as such other matters o-» 
 under uU the circuni stances m ly to the Lieutenant-Governor in Council 
 »eemjnstund equitable." 
 
 Section 5 applied the above provisions of the Act to improvements 
 roflde or hereafter to be made. 
 
 Section 6 provided that any person making improvements was to 
 h. ri a lien npon logs or timber pacing thr igh the improvements, for 
 his tolls. 
 
 Section 8 provided that the person who had the right to collect tolls 
 should also have the right to make rules for passing the timber through or 
 over his works subject to the approval of the Governor in Council. 
 
 THE ACT JUST AND EQUAL. 
 
 In looking at the various sections of this Act, the following points 
 are worthy of notice. 
 
 1. From section 1 it is quite clear that the Act applies to all 
 streams alike — and that the privilege of floating logs, etc. , down those 
 streams is open to all persons alike, subject, of course, to the pro- 
 visions of the Act. 
 
 2. By section 2 it is declared that the mere construction of works 
 on a stream to facilitate the passage of logs, etc. , does not give to the 
 person constructing such works an exclusive right to the use of the 
 stream. In other words, the stream is regarded by law as a public 
 highway, improvements on which do not exclude the public from the 
 right to use it. 
 
 3. That while the construction of works to improve the floatability 
 of streams does not give the party so improving them an exclusive 
 right to their use, it debars all otliers from using such works without 
 paying for the privilege. 
 
 4. That the tolls to be paid for using such streams are to be 
 regulated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, and in fixing such 
 tolls he is to take into consideration the cost of building and main- 
 taining the works, the interest on the outlay, and such other matters 
 as may be thought just to all parties. 
 
 5. That the logs floated through such improvements may be held 
 as security for the payment of all such charges. 
 
 6. That rules may be made by the person owning the works for 
 regulating the passage of logs, so that one man's timber may not in- 
 terfere with the free movement of another man's ; such regulations being 
 flubject to the approval of the Lieutenant-Governor in Council. 
 
 Tl 
 
 would 
 
 stream 
 
 from 1 
 
 stream 
 
 The re 
 
 forests 
 
 per-on 
 
 at all, 
 
 ments, 
 
 rovenv 
 
 by a «1 
 limits 
 one of 
 river i 
 other, 
 the uui 
 He wa 
 refuse( 
 to the 
 was be 
 lature 
 to use 
 only vv 
 
 I 
 
 He is 
 
 coun.«c 
 how m 
 how ni 
 Bill 111 
 of Jus 
 assenti 
 Sir Jo! 
 before 
 Court 
 —the 
 the dii 
 >< 
 
 of one 
 doubtf 
 it dev( 
 in flagi 
 as in t 
 the Ac 
 ing re1 
 down 
 
 I 
 
 be set 
 1. Th 
 and 3 
 
 f 
 
13 
 
 mis in re- 
 is power." 
 •eeks and 
 g timber 
 the pay- 
 ible tolls." 
 and un- 
 
 Council 
 
 this Act 
 
 kinds of 
 
 no ; and 
 
 have re- 
 
 constmc- 
 
 Kiine. and 
 
 afters as 
 
 Council 
 
 vements 
 
 3 was to 
 nts, for 
 
 llect tolls 
 ough or 
 icil. 
 
 g points 
 
 s to all 
 ^n those 
 he pro- 
 
 f works 
 2 to the 
 ! of the 
 I public 
 om the 
 
 tability 
 elusive 
 without 
 
 to be 
 ig such 
 
 main- 
 latters 
 
 >e held 
 
 •ks for 
 lot in- 
 being 
 
 A RKA80NABXJB ACT. 
 
 The justice of stich an Act must be apparent to every person. It 
 would be monstrous to permit any man, taking possession of a 
 «tr«am and building works to improve its float«bility, to shut out 
 from 1 ie markets of the world all owners of timber limits lying up the 
 stream. The people of Ontario have direct interest in such legislation. 
 The revenue which goes into the Provincial treasury from woods and 
 forests amounts to over half a million dollars annually. To allow any 
 per.-on to shut out lumber that must reach the market, if it reaches it 
 at all, through streams on which some other person has made improve- 
 ments, would be to deprive the Province of a portion of its legitimate 
 revenue and the public of a most important right. 
 
 NXCKSSITY FOB THX ACT. 
 
 The necessity for such an Act in the public interest was first shown 
 hy a difficulty existing between two lumbernien owning large timber 
 limits on the Mississippi — a tributary of the Ottawa. It seems that 
 one of them, Peter McLaren, had made certain improvements on this 
 rival- for his own benetit and at his own cost. H. C. Caldwell, the 
 other, owned limits above McLaren, and in order to get his tiiiiuor to 
 the uiarket it was absoluti ly necessary to pass through McLaren's slides. 
 He was willing to pay for the use of McLaren's improvements, but was 
 refused leave ; and lest he should proceed to use them, McLaren applied 
 to the Court of Chancery for an injunction to restrain him. The case 
 was before the Courts when the Streams Bill passed the Ontario Legis- 
 lature. Under the Act Caldwell or any one else would have the right 
 to use McLaren's im]irovements by paying for the use ol" them. The 
 only way McLaren could prevent this just privilege was to secure 
 
 THE DISALLOWANCE OF THE BILL. 
 
 He is a well known and influential supporter of Sir John's ; his 
 counsel also was a prominent member of the party ; and no matter 
 how much the public, as well as Caldwell, might be inconvenienced, or 
 how nuich the revenue of Ontario might suffer, the disallowance of the 
 Bill must be secured. Accordingly McLaren petitioned the Minister 
 of Justice, and on the l7th of May, six weeks after the Bill had been 
 assented to — without giving notice to the Government of Ontario, as 
 Sir John Macdoiiald declared in 1868 should be done and as had always 
 before been done, and without waiting for the pending decision of the 
 Court of Appeal, given on July 8 following against McLaren's claims 
 — the Minister of Justice, the Hon. James Macdonald, recommended 
 the disallowance of the Bill in the following terms : 
 
 " I think the power of the Local Legislature to take away the rights 
 of one man and vest them in auother, as is done by this Act, is exceedingly 
 doubtful ; but assuming that such a right does in strictness exist, I think 
 it devolves upon the Government to see that such powers are not exercised 
 in flagrant violations of private rights and national justice, especially when, 
 as in this case, in addition to iuterierius.' with the private rights alluded to, 
 the Act overrides a decision of a court of competeut jurisdiction by declar- 
 ing retrospectively that the law always was and is different from that laid 
 down by the Court." 
 
 THE BEASONS E2CAMINED. 
 
 In looking closely at the decision of the Minister of Justice, it will 
 be seen that he based his disallowance of the Bill on three grounds : 
 1. That it interfered with private rights ; 2. That it was retrospective ; 
 and 3. That it set aside a judgment of the Court. In regard to the 
 
\ 
 
 u 
 
 first ground it must be said that interference with private riehts was 
 never set up before by the Government as a reuson for disallowance.. 
 By the British North America Act, " property and civil rights" are 
 excluHively within the jurisdiction of the Local Legislature, and it was 
 never pretended that such an interference «va8 any ground for dis- 
 allowing a Provincial Act. Speaking on the subject of provincial rights, 
 Mr. Todd, in his valuable work on " Parliamentary Government in 
 the Colonies," says : 
 
 "It was the intention of the Imperial Government (in passing the 
 British North America Act) to guard from invasion all rights and powers 
 exclusively conferred upon the provmcial authorities, and to proviae that 
 the reserved right of interference therewith by the Dominion Executive or 
 Parliament should not be exercised in the interest of any political party, or 
 so as to impair the principle of local self-government. " 
 
 Besides, during the last fifteen years, scores of Bills were passed 
 interfering with private rights, none of which were disallowed. A few 
 of these may be mentioned. 
 
 A QUSBXC ACT WHICH INTBRFKBKD WITH PUIVATE BIGHTS. 
 
 A Bill passed by the Legislature of Quebec respecting the Union 
 St. Jacques Society, Montreal, provided for the enforced commutation 
 of the existing rights of two widow ladies, who, at the time it was 
 passed, were annuitants of the society, and compelled them to take 
 such a sum in lieu of their annuity as was, in the opinion of the Local 
 Legislature, just. This Bill was sanctioned by Sir John Macdonald, 
 notwithstanding its interference with private rights. 
 
 AN ONTARIO ACT WHICH INTERFKRKD WITH PBIVATK I<;IOHTS. 
 
 The Hon. George Goodhue, by his will, provided that his property 
 should be divided in a particular way. Trustees were appointed to 
 carry out the conditions and trusts of the will. The children were 
 dissatisfied with the will, and by an agreement between themselves 
 made other disposition of the estate ; in fact, made a new will for Mr. 
 Goodhue. They applied to the Local Legislature for an Act to con- 
 firm such disposition. The Bill was protested against, as an extra- 
 ordinary and unexampled interference with private rights, by one of 
 the trustees on the ground that it was retrospective, that it created a new 
 will, that it took the property out of the hands of one class of persons 
 and gave it to another, and that it dealt with the property of minors 
 outside the Dominion of Canada. The Local Legislature passed the 
 Bill. The Lieutenant-Governor sanctioned it, but seemed to invite its 
 disallowance by the Dominion Government, speaking of it in his de- 
 spatch " as very objectionable, and forming a dangerous precedent." 
 The trustees petitioned the Dominion Government to disa low it, but 
 Sir John Macdona' i, to whom, as Minister of Justice, the Bill was re- 
 ferred, reported that, " as it is within the competence of the Pro- 
 vincial Legislature," it should be left to its operation. 
 
 THE ONTARIO ACT THAT INTKRFERKD WITH MUNICIPAL 
 RIGHTS AND PROPERTY. 
 
 Acting under the authority of a timber license received from the 
 Government of the late Sandtield Macdonald, the same Peter McLaren 
 whose case is now under consideration proceeded to cut down tim- 
 ber on the road allowances in his limit. An action was begun 
 t^ainst him by the municipal corporations interested, on the ground 
 that the road allowances were their private property. Judgment was 
 
 ( u 
 
15 
 
 given in their favour by the Court of Common Pleaa, on the ground 
 that the Local Government had no right to grant a license to cut 
 timber on property that did not belong to it. The case was carried to 
 the Ctiurt of Appeal, but, while pending, the Local Legislature, under 
 the direction of the late Sandtield Macd<jnald, and at the instigation 
 of McLaren, passed an Act, one of the sections of which reads as 
 follows ; 
 
 "Every Government road allowance included in any timber license 
 heretofore granted shall be deemed to be and to have been unn-auted 
 lands." 
 
 Here was property that belonged to a municipality leased by the 
 Government to a private individual, and, wliile the case was pending 
 before the Courts, the Legislature passes an Act transferring tne pro- 
 perty from the municipalities, to which it was held by the Courts to 
 belong, to this same Peter McLaren. The second section provided : 
 
 "The licensee shall be deemed to have and to have had all rights in the 
 trees, timber, lumber thereon, or cut thereon, as if the same were cut on 
 any patented land of the Crown." 
 
 That was an Act which was retrospective in its operation, which 
 directly interfered with private rights, which took property from 
 one person and vested it in another without compensation, and which 
 overruled the laws of the land, the rights of private parties, and the 
 judgment of the Court. The Corporation of the County of Frontenac 
 petitioned against the Act, but Sir John Macdonald allowed it with 
 all its objectionable features. In his memorandum to Council on this 
 Bill he said : 
 
 "As it is clearly within the competence of the Local Legislature, the 
 undersigned reccommcnds that it be left to its operation." 
 
 THK NKW BRUNSWICK SCHOOL BILL. 
 
 Again, by an Act passed by the Legislature of New Brunswick in 
 1871, the Roman Catholic population of that Province felt that their 
 rights were encroached upon by being required to contribute fcr the 
 maintenance of a system of education in regard to which they had 
 conscientious scruples. Looking at the matter purely from a consti- 
 tutional stand-point, Sir John Macdonald said on the 20th January, 
 1872: 
 
 " The Provincial Legislatures have exclusive powers to make laws in 
 relation to education. ... It may be that the Act in question may net 
 unfavorably on the Catholics or on other religious denominations, and if 
 so, it 18 for such religious bodies to appeal to the Provincial Legislature, 
 which has the sole power to grant redress. . . . 
 
 "The sole matter which presented itself to the Government was 
 whether, according to the British North America Act of 1867, the Legisla- 
 ture of New Brunswick had exceeded its powers. As the officer primarily 
 responsible on such subjects, he could only say that he had taken uniform 
 care to interfere in no way whatever with any Act passed by any of the 
 Provincial Legislatures if they were within the scope of their jurisdiction. 
 There were only two cases, in his opinion, in whiah the Government of 
 the Dominion was ji\|tified in advising the disallowance of local Acts. 
 First, if the Act was unconstitutional, and there had been an excess of 
 
 i'urisdiotion ; and, second, if it was injurious to the interests of the whole 
 )ominion. 
 
 "In the case of measures not coming within either of these categories, 
 the Government would be unwarranted in interfering with local legislation 
 
16 
 
 " In the preaent oase there was not a doubt that the New Brunswick 
 Legislature had acted within its jurisdiction, and that the Act was con- 
 titutionally legal, and cotild not l)e impugned on that ground. 
 
 " On the second ground which he had muntionea in which he con- 
 sidered the Dominion Government could interfere, it could not be held that 
 the Act in any way prejudicially atl'ected the whole Dominion, becuuHu it 
 was a law settling the commoa school syatom of the Province of Now 
 Brunswick alone. 
 
 " The Government of the Dominion could not act, and they would 
 have been guilty of a vitdent breach of the constitution if, because they 
 held a different opinion, they should set up their judgment agaiunt the 
 solemn decision of a Province in a matter entirely within the control of 
 
 that Province." 
 
 PROVINCIAL RIGHTS INVADED. 
 
 It is quite clear that the disallowance of the "Streams Bill," m it 
 is usually called, was a great outrage upon the right of the Province* 
 to self-government : 
 
 1. Because the Bill was admittedly within the competence of th« 
 Provincial Legislature. 
 
 2. It did not " take one man's property and give it to another " in 
 the sense alleged of confiscating McLaien's property ; on tlie contrary, 
 it provided compensation based on the value of the improvemenli 
 made, the cost of maintaining such work, the interest upon the 
 investment, and all other just considerations. 
 
 3. Even if the Bill had been an invasion of private rights, it was 
 not competent for the Dominion Government to disallow it, on the 
 basis laid down by Sir John Macdonald himself, and accortling to the 
 many precedents of the Department of Justice during the last fifteen 
 years. 
 
 4. Although the Act had interfered with the decision of a court 
 of competent jurisdiction, yet that circumstance would not bring it 
 within the class of cases stated by Sir John Macdonald in 1808, as 
 those in regard to which the prerogative of disallowance should be 
 exercised. But since the disallowance the Court of Appeal has reversed 
 the judgment of the Court of Chancery, and held that McLaren never 
 had any ri^iht to the iise of the streau), except such as was given to the 
 whole world. The judgment of the Court of Appeal contains th« 
 following statement : 
 
 " Having reached the conclusion that all streams are by public au- 
 thority dedicated as highways to at least the extent essential to the defence 
 in this action, I have only further to remark that when the oVwtruction 
 which stood in the way of the enjoyment of the legal right is removed, 
 when the traveller by land, or lumberer seeking to float his lumber down a 
 stream, finds the highway unobstructed, he is at liberty, in my judgment, 
 to make use of it without inquiring by whom, or with what motive, the 
 way has been made practicable/ He finds the rock on the road allowance 
 blasted, or the chasm that crossed it bridged, and he pursues his jouruer 
 along the highway thus improved ; or he finds that the freshet covers aU 
 obstacles with a sufficient depth of water, and he fioats his locrs down the 
 highway thus made useful. It may be in appearance and perhaps in reality 
 rather hard on the man at whose expense what was a highway only in leg>u 
 contemplation becomes one fit for profitable use, that ^e has to allow others 
 to share in the advantage without contributing to the cost. That is, how- 
 ever, a matter for his own consideration when he makes the'improvement." 
 
 WKRB LIKK BILLS DISALLOWED BY LIBERALS 7 
 
 But it is sanl that during the Liberal Administration, like bills 
 were disallowed, and that the Liberal party have no vigj^ to complaia