Wf^-i 
 
 -..^v. 
 
 r-r- 
 
 -^^. " 
 
Political Pointers 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 r;-' ' ■ 
 
 HON. SIR RICHARD J. CARTWRIQHT 
 
 ^ rUniAter of Trade and . Commerce 
 
 CANADA 
 
 #S^y^;i&vv 
 
J 
 
 \ 
 
 ■•»* 
 
 jIATKJNAL U^Y 
 CANADA 
 
SIR RICKARD CARTWRIGHT 
 
 AT MASSEY MUSIC HALL 
 
 AUGUST 24TH 1899, 
 
 ">"' •li.'i- .' * ''. g/^« 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright on rising to speak was received with a 
 waving of handkerchiefs, huzzas and the singing of " He's a Jolly 
 Good Fellow," followed by three cheers and a tiger. Then an 
 enthusiastic young man on the platform shouted, " Everybody stand 
 up," and the whole audience rc«e and cheered again. This gave 
 rise to an interruption from the audience, someone shouting, " What 
 are you going to do with the sixty-nine millions ? " which elicited 
 from Sir Eichard the retort : " Mr. President, ladies and gentleman, 
 1 trust to be able to give the gentleman all satisfaction before I 
 conclude — that is to say, if he iS one of thr«e who is capable of 
 being satisfied. 
 
 Sir Richard then proceeded : — Mr. President, ladies and gentle- 
 men, I would be very insensible indeed if I were not deeply moved 
 by the reception you have been kind enough to bestow upon me, 
 and by the sight of the magnificent audience whom I see assembled 
 here to-night. I dm here to-night partly for the purpose of dis- 
 charging an old obligation to the club of which you are the Presi- 
 dent (The Cartwright Club of Parkdale), and partly because it has 
 appeared to me that now that the heat and smoke of the session 
 have vanished away it might be as well to take advantage of the 
 opportunity to place before the citizens of Toronto, and also before 
 tne people of Canada, some few simple facts which I think will tend 
 to mssipate certain needless alarms that our fnends the enemy 
 
/P— i^ ^ ^ f 
 
 ^^^ 2 
 
 appear to entertain as to tlie policy and proceedings of the present 
 Government, Mr. President, there is an old saying that onlookers, 
 at any rate if those onlookers know anything of the game, see more 
 than those who play. (Laughter.) Now, for a period of some three 
 years back I have myself been rather a badly crippled man, and in 
 consequence have been to a certain extent occupying the role of on- 
 looker. In that capacity two or three things have struck me rather 
 forcibly. First of all, the attitude of Her Majesty's loyal Opposition 
 at the present moment appearst o me, looking back on a period of 
 some thirty years, as a rather curious attitude for an Opposition to 
 tAksj. 
 
 No Policy* No Leaden 
 
 Our present Opposition have no policy, Mr. President. (Laugh- 
 ter.) Our present OpposHion have practically no leader, Mr. Presi- 
 dent. (Laughter and cheers.) It is not, to do him justice, that my 
 old acquaintance. Sir Charles Tupper is not vigorous enough. For 
 a man of his years I am bound to say that he displays wonderful 
 vigor — (hear, hear)— but, unhappily, Sir Charles Tupper appears to 
 have very little authority over his followers. Sir (Jharles is some- 
 times wiser than his followers ; but I have observed that whenever 
 he so far forgets himself as to show that he is more rational than 
 they he is promptly sat upon and turned down. (Laughter and 
 cheers.) Now, I have noticed also that Sir Charles Tupper brings 
 forT-T,rd one very grave and serious accusation against the >?resent 
 Go\ mment. Stripped of his numerous adjectives, boiled (Town to 
 the finest point. Sir Charles' chief charge against the Liberal leaders 
 of the present day is that they are as bad as he was himself. 
 (Laughter.) Now, gentlemen, I do not in the least degree desire 
 that you or anybody should underestimate the great gravity of that 
 accusation. (Laughter.) It is a very serious charge against us ; that 
 I frankly admit— (laughter)— but, being very serious, I venture to 
 say that it requires very strong corroborative evidence, and more than 
 Sir Charles' own testimony. Then, too, it is antecedently improb- 
 able, if I may say so. It may be. although I would be very sorry 
 to think it, it may be that the Liberal leaders are naturally as bad 
 as Sir Charles Tupper ; but, then, Mr. President, they have not had 
 ttie long practice. (Laughter.) The truth is that since Sir Charles 
 has assumed the ^ition he fills so well of leader of her Majesty's 
 loyal Op|)osition in which posi\<ion I wish him long life— (loud ana 
 Icmg-eontinued laughter)— for to my thinking the Liberal p^ty 
 
8 
 
 hftv© no better friend in CftOftda than Sir Chflries Ttlpper as leader 
 of the Opposition — (laughter)— I say it has occurred to me as an 
 onlooker that Sir Charles, like several other distinguished persons, 
 has a dual personality. When I listen to Sir Charles Tupper 
 thundering against extravagance and denouncing corruption, I can- 
 not but feel that I am listening to Sir Charles Jekyil, as leader of 
 Her Majesty's Opposition, and that Sir Charles Jekyil is virtuously 
 indignant and probably entirely oblivious of the very pretty pranks 
 which he, in his other capacity of Sir Charles Hyde, when Lord 
 High Commissioner and Minister of Railways and Canals, was m 
 the habit of perpetrating in time gone by. (Hear, hear and laugh- 
 ter.) One thing I do feel sure of : that it is greatly for the good of 
 Canada, and probably for the soul's health of Sir Charles Tupper, 
 that he riiould continue to fill the role of Sir Charles Jekyil, leader 
 of Her Majesty's Opposition. (Hear, hear and laughter.) Now, 
 gentlemen, there are a great many subjects, several of which have 
 been alluded to by my friend Mr. Archibald Campbell, member of 
 the House of CommorS, on which I could desire to address you to- 
 night; but I think I will probably best consult your wishes and 
 probably be of most service to some of you if I confine myself on 
 the present occasion to one subject, et any rate chiefly to one sub- 
 ject, and I do that partly because it is one of very great importance 
 to the people of Canada and partly because it is one upon which I 
 have been often quoted, and especially appetled to by the Opposi- 
 tion newspapers and the Opposition leaders in Parliament and out 
 of it 
 
 flharves of Extravasancet 
 
 They arc at the present moment terribly exercised over the 
 alleged reckless extravagances of the Liberal party, and the incon- 
 sistencies of the Liberals, myself particularly, in pardoning and 
 condoning those extravagances. I will recite briefly the charges 
 which they prefer against n^ They say that when the late Gov- 
 ernment went out of office their annual expenditure in 1896 was 
 $37,000,000, which is perfectly true, while we demand for the 
 services for the year 1900, $43,0000,000, which again is perfectly 
 true. They also say that we, in the year 1896, and before the year 
 1898, frequently declared that $38,000,000, or even $37,000,000, 
 under the then conditions of Canada, was more than the people 
 should be called upon to pay, which is also perfectly true, ^o^' ^ 
 desire to state once for all, that my position is this • That what the 
 
Liberal partv said in 1896, under the then existing conditions, was 
 perfectly right and true. What they propose to do in 1900, under 
 conditions which now exist, is likewise prudent and wise. (Ap- 
 plause,) That is the point that I propose to demonstrate to you 
 to-night. When I look back to the year 1896, and consider the 
 conditions under which Canada was then placed, I find it difficult 
 to realize that only six and thirty months have passed since that 
 time. There are occasions, and this is one of them, in which the 
 progress of a country in three years is as great as for the preceding 
 thirty years. Such a case occurs perhaps once in a generation or a 
 century, but has literally been carried out in Canada within the 
 last three years. (Applause.) I do not pretend to say that such a 
 state of afFairs was wholly and entirely because of the advent to 
 power of the Liberal party. But I do say that we would be worse 
 than fools if we did not see it, and worse than cowards if we did 
 not recognize and act upoh it. (Applause.) And I think I shall be 
 able to prove to you before I sit down that all these accusations 
 made against us of wasteful, wilful and reckless extravagance are 
 not only utterly misplaced in the mouths of those who bring the 
 charges but are of "ihemselves absolutely devoid of foundation. 
 
 A Retrospect* 
 
 Let me pause for a moment to recall to your minds what sort 
 of a position Canada was in three years ago. In 1896, when the 
 Liberal party objected, and with good cause, to the great expendi- 
 ture, I doubt if since Canada became a nation, if since the period of 
 Confederation, there ever was a time in which there was such need 
 of economy as there was in that year. We were confronted with a 
 tremendous deficit for 1896, our total volume of trade and com- 
 merce had fallen to a low ebb, and the population was scarcely 
 increasing at the rate of one of the oldest European kingdoms. 
 Further, as you know all of you, and particularly iJ you have had 
 anything to do with the business affairs of this Province, there was 
 scarcely a district in which land and. farm property was saleable. 
 I would have you to consider for one moment the alteration that 
 has taken place in this three years, because, as I said, I will give 
 you proof m Retail that when I alleged that the past three years 
 had done as much for the prosperity of Canada as the preceding 
 tiiirt^ years, I was not indulging in any exaggerated rhetorical 
 flourish, but was simply stating the actual facts as recorded in our 
 authentic and published records. Before I proceed to that, however, 
 I will juBt say on© word on another point as to which my words 
 
have been frequently quoted, namely, as to the C5orraption which in 
 former times I alleged was likely to take place from profuse 
 expenditures of public moneys. I have to say to you that I think 
 the statements I made have been justified up to the hilt. (Ap- 
 plause.) I am not going to dwell to-night on the policy of our 
 Sredecessora on the subject of extravagant expenditure, of Quebec 
 ocKs, of Ourran bridges, of Tay canals, of sul^idies to the St. John 
 and Temiscuata railways, and scores of others besides. I am willing 
 " enough to leave them alone. I am not going to refer to the iniqui- 
 ties of which Mr, McGreevy was made the confident and scapegoat, 
 for the last twenty years. I am willing to allow the dead past to 
 bury its dead, and do not desire to revive those matters again 
 beyond calling your attention to the fact that the development 
 which took place from 1891 outwards show superabundantly to 
 any who choose to examine the records for themselves how affairs 
 had been conducted from 1878 to 1896. 
 
 Comparatire Tests* 
 
 That record will show that I am amply justified in the fullest 
 detail, and if any of these gentlemen desire further information it 
 can be supplied as fully and minutely as even in those promised 
 documents in whidi the late Sir James Edgar based his indictment 
 of Sir A. Caron. But what I propose to do and what I prefer to do 
 to-night is not to revive all the old scandals but rather to explain 
 the actual facts of our position to friend and foe, here or elsewhere. 
 I propose to take three separate tests which I think" will commend 
 themselvegi to every business man in this country and this audience 
 and to every other person who has the interests of Canada at heart. 
 I propose to compare the actual expenditures of the two (Govern- 
 ments for the years 1895 and 1898, which is the last year for which 
 we have full and detailed records. And here I may tell you that I 
 utterly refuse to accept the statements of the expenditures in 1896 
 as being fair evidence of the expenditure of the people of Canada, 
 and for this reason : In 1896 the late Government and Mr. Foster 
 for reasons best known to themselves — (laughter)^-KX)oked our 
 accounts. They did great injury to the public service by reducing 
 the expenditures in various branches, not permanently, as was after- 
 wards shown, but for a temporary purpose. The motive was to 
 conceal the enormous deficit which would copfront them if they did 
 not curtail the ordinary expenditure in some fashion, and this was 
 how thev did it: First of allj the^^ refused to allow the militia to 
 be drilled, making it impossible for instruction to be carried out by 
 
refusing to give them any anntial pay. Now, as everyone knows, 
 that was a very serious step, a militia tindrilled is almost aa bad as 
 none at all, and the result of that false economy was to a great 
 extent to demoralize one-half of that force. Such an action might 
 have been justifiable under another condition. It might have been 
 wise and expedient for them to have reduced the militia force had 
 they undertaken the responsibility of that. There might, I say, 
 have been some excuse for them in taking such action. But as 
 every man who has had experience in mililia or public affairs knoiRS 
 you might as well wipe out your expenditure altogether as to reduce 
 it to the demoralization of r branch of the service. (Applause.) The 
 other expedient they followed was like unto it. As you know, we 
 have scattered about this Dominion an enormous number of public 
 works. Many of these are on the coast of the Atlantic, subjected 
 to the utmost severities of weather and storma If you neglect to 
 repair them you inevitably expose them to the risk of going to 
 utter wreck and ruin, rendering it necessary for ;jrour successor to 
 expend much larger sums in proportion for ordinary repairs than 
 would have been the case had they been properly looked after at 
 the right time. Well, the expenditure for this branch of the work 
 was cut down to the very bone, leaving greater charges for their 
 successors, and this was the other expedient to which Mr. Foster 
 had recourse for the purpose of producing a balance on the right 
 side. I refuse, theretore, to accept as correct the comparison of the 
 expenditure for 1896, but will take the cash expenditure for the 
 year 1^95, an average year of Conservative rule, and compare with 
 it our cash expenditure for 1898. That will be the first test by 
 which I will ask you to judge of the comparative prudence and 
 economy by which the affairs of Canada have been administered. 
 
 Eftimates Compared* 
 
 Then, sir. for a second test I will take Mr. Foster's estimates 
 for the year 1897, and I will compare those estimates with the esti- 
 mates which we have lately brought down for the year 1900, and I 
 will invite your serious attention to the results which will become 
 apparent to you; and for a third test I will apply what ia known 
 as the per capita test— that is to say, I will show how, measured by 
 the present population of Canada, our expenditure compares with 
 that incurred by our opponents. Now, sir, I think that with these 
 three tests there will be very little difiiculty indeed for anybody who 
 so desires to form an accurate opinion of the truth or the untruth 
 of the-chMges which have been preferred against us. And here I 
 
^ould like to ask my friends who are here present.or some of orr oppo- 
 nents who may be present, one or two of whom I have heard inquir- 
 ing a little while ago as what we were going to do with the fifty-eight 
 or fifty-nine millions that we are asking for the expenditure of 1900. 
 Sir, I would like to ask these gentlemen, I would like to ask any 
 man here, what they suppose is the total addition to the fixed 
 charges of Canada which will be made when our expenditures for 
 1900 are completed. Now, you are aware, you have all heard, that 
 we have run riot; that our expenditure is the most monstrous ever 
 known or ever heard of. You have all heard that no such outlay 
 waB ever contemplated, ever thought of, ever dreamt of by a Con- 
 servative Administration, as that to which we have committed our- 
 selves. Sir, how much, again I ask, do this audience suppose has 
 been added to the fixed charges of Canada between 1897 and 1900 ? 
 Do you suppose that a million has been added ? Do you suppose 
 that three-quarters of a million has been added ? Do you suppose 
 that half a million has been udded ? Is there no (gentleman here 
 who would like to venture a guess as to what the total addition in 
 those three years has been, basing the computation on the sum 
 demanded by Mr. Foster in his estimates of 1897, and on the same 
 demanded by Mr. Fielding for the estimates of 1900.* No man is 
 willing to offer a guess. Well, sir, perhaps our friends are prudent 
 Sir, I will tell you what the totiil addition made by this most 
 extravagant Government to the fixed charges of Canada has been 
 between the year 1897 and the year 1900, taking as the standard 
 Mr. Foster's ealoulations in the first year and Mr. Fielding's calcu- 
 lations in the last Ladies and gentlemen, it amounts to just 
 $65,000 — (loud cheers) — or, I believe., a little over one cent a head of 
 our population. (Renewed cheers.) I will add this for your further 
 information : that in tliose three years, if the information which 
 has been laid before us by our staticians is to be relied upon in the 
 ieagit, if the returns of our Immigration Department are to be relied 
 upon in the least, in 1897 the fixed charge for interest would have 
 amounted to 2.11 per head. In 1900, aUowing for $65,000 added, 
 the fixed charge will amount to $2 per head. (Cheers.) As I say, 
 you have heara from the Toronto Mail, you have heard from the 
 Montreal Gazette, you have heard from the Montreal Star and all 
 
 * The charge for interest is estimated by Mr. Foster in his 
 
 estimates for 1897 at $10,768,946 
 
 Mr. Fielding's estimate for 1900 is $10,824,687 
 
 Diffuram is vcaaHj $66»642 
 
the little dogs of the party — (laughter)— how vast and monstrous 
 our expenditures have oeen. They are horrified, they are appalled, 
 they are terror-stricken at the idea that over and above all that we 
 have demanded for ordinary expenditure we demand a matter of 
 six or seven millions on capital account for the purpose of com- 
 pleting our canal and railway expenditure, and that Wf. are actually 
 asking for six or seven millions more for the purpose of extending 
 railways in various parts of this country, notably, I may be allowed 
 to add, in those parts of Ontario which are known as New Ontario 
 and which are now in process of development. 
 
 A voice — How much is Quebec getting ? 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright— Quebec is getting for railw^ sub- 
 sidies, to the best of my recollection, a third part as much as Ontario 
 is getting. (Loud cheers.) And now, ladies and ^ntlemen, you 
 have heard, as I say, how large and monstrous these expenditures 
 were. Would it surprise you to learn that if you deduct the cross 
 entries caused by the expenditure on the Intercolonial Railway and 
 by the expenditure for the Yukon and of the sinking fund, tiiat is 
 to say, the amount of the sinking fund which we pay, and which 
 our predecessors did not pay, that ■ Mr. Foster's estimates for 1897 
 were almost exactly and identically equal to Mr. Fielding's for 
 1900, I shall give you the details presently. I would just make 
 one fmiiher remark. These estimates of Mr. Foster — wnich 1 will 
 give you, as I say, in a few minutes — were broughij down when ? 
 They Were brought down in the early part of 1896. Thev were 
 brought down under circumstances which, if ever, shoula have 
 imposed upon a Government the necessity of proceeding with 
 extreme prudence and caution. We had just closed 1896 with a 
 deficit of over $4,000,000. There was not the slightest doubt that 
 there had been, up to 1896, very little growth of our population 
 since the census of 1891. We had very heavy liabilities to meet, oi 
 which I note these papers that I have quoted take no notice what- 
 soever. The volume of our trade and commerce was very consider- 
 ably reduced, and altxjgether the outlook was as gloomy as it well 
 could be. Now, sir, under those conditions, uiese journalists 
 and those whom they represent would have had, had they so seen 
 fit, the most ample cause for the language which they use to-day. 
 They would have had very good ground indeed for complaiuing 
 13iat the late Government were throwing all wholesome restraint 
 to the winds ; that they were reckless ; that they were imprud^it ; 
 thaA ^ey were piling up liabilities which they saw no way to meet 
 
But I put it to you, was there one whimper then ; did they find 
 breath to condemn one single act of the late Government ? (Cheers.) 
 They are in hysterics now over the proposition which we maka 
 
 A Surplus of $5,000,000. 
 
 And under what circumstances are we makini; it ? Why, sir, 
 to-day, as against a deficit of four millions in 1896, we will have a 
 surplus of at least $5,000,000. (Cheers.) Our gross income for 
 
 1899 will be forty-six millions at least, as against thirty-four mil- 
 lions in 1895. Our population, according to the best eetimate that 
 
 .it is possible to make, is at least half a million more than it was in 
 1895.* (Cheers.) The volume of trade of our people, all tcld, had 
 risen well nigh one hundred millions since 1895. (Renewed cheers.) 
 The total income of our people, as far as it is possible to estimate it, 
 is held by those who are best entitled to form a judgment upon the 
 
 ?)int to be fully fifty millions a year more than it was in 1895. 
 et, gentlemen, the men who in 1896 could see nothing to condemn 
 on the part of the Conservative Government in bringing down the 
 enormous estimates which thej brought down, or were prepared to 
 bring down; now, under the circumstances that I have detailed, can 
 see nothing to excuse a Eeform Government for asking for an ex- 
 penditure, every penny of which, I believe, will prove to be thor- 
 oughly fruitful and beneficial to the people of Canada (Cheers.) 
 Now, gentlemen, I will give you the details of the statement which 
 I have just made. I have here beside me a very interesting little 
 
 •Note. — The relative population of 1895 and of 1900 is, of course, a matter 
 of estimate. But it ia well known that the alleged increase of population from 
 1881 to 1891 was scarcely 60,000 a year and that there was very grave reason to 
 believe that the census returns of 1891 fraudulently exaggerated the numbertOf 
 people. It is also known that the exodus continued more or leas up to 1896 and 
 that immigration to Canada during the years from 1891 to 1895 was very small 
 indeed. Sinoe 1896 all this has changed. Except possibly from some portions 
 of Quebec there has been no exodus. Large numbers of immigrants have come 
 to Uanada and remained hera. Above all, for the first time a strong counter 
 current has set in from the United States to Canada, and on the whole there is 
 a great concurrence of evidence to show that the population is increasing at the 
 rate of 100,000 to 126,000 a year, which after i^l is about the normal rate at 
 which it mi^ht be expected to increase, even without immigration, in a new 
 oot mtiy and is less than the rate of growth In former years in Canada or in the 
 tJitrit^ States. An addition of 500,000 people, therefore, between 1895 and 
 
 1900 is a very moderate computation, though it must be borne in mind that the 
 £Bind& Mamuitied in taking the census of 1B91 may considerably «£E^ tho 
 nomiaal reiolts of the census of 1901. 
 
10 
 
 document. As perhaps some of you are aware it is customary 
 always for a Government to bring down supplementary estimates, 
 and these supplementary estimates for many years back have 
 usually been of very considerable magnitude. Now, sir, in 1896, 1 
 appealed very frequently to Mr. F<Mter to lay his supplementary 
 estimates on the table, but I appealed in vain. It is quite true Mr. 
 Foster could not get his main estimates through, and therefore he 
 he had good technical pretext for refusing to bring his supplement- 
 ary estimates down, but we were perfectly aware that these supple- 
 mentary estimates were under consideration. Those things were 
 well known and well talked of in the corridors of Parliament. 
 They leaked out in a thousand ways. More than that, during the 
 elections of 1896 we found ourselves confronted on many hustings 
 by statements that the Conservative Government were prepared to 
 do this and that and t'other, and when the speakers were asked for 
 their authority they quoted the supplementary estimates which Mr. 
 Foster had been prepared to bring down. Wow, Sir, although Mr. 
 Foster would not lay his estimates on the table, these estimates had 
 been prepared. Unfortunately, a few copies remained extant. Still 
 .more unfortunately, one of these copies has fallen into my hands. 
 (Laughter.) I have also Mr. Foster's main estimates, which 
 amounted for the year 1897 to the sum of $38,357,648. 1 have 
 here Mr. Foster's supplementary estimates, which amounted to the 
 sum of $4,660,000. I have here Mr. Foster's statement that he 
 woul .1 require for capital expenditure the sum of $2,81 9,000. I have 
 here, too, the list of the railway subsidies which were brought down 
 to the tune of $2,772,000. I have here a list of the Prince Edward 
 Island Railway, peven branches, aggregating 127 miles, which from 
 past experience I am very sure under the management of Sir Charles 
 Tupper would never have been constructed for less than two and a 
 half milliona I have here also the statement that they were will- 
 ing to give to the Crow's Nest Railway $1,650,000 and lend it a 
 large sum besides, and I have likewise their own declaration that if 
 they could they would have added $750,000 a year to our expendi- 
 ture for a fast Atluitic service. 
 
 ConserrattTM Aiked $5Jl,0IKI,000. 
 
 Now, fiir,^if you will rem«jmber tiiat the cross enkiei^ to wlud^ 
 I alluded, for the Yukoa, for the Intercolonial Railway, iat tlie 
 ainidng fund—tdl <rf whioL mind you, go back into our fpoktto, 
 which cost the people of Canada nothing— when you recollect tiuit 
 
11 
 
 chese would mean three millions more for <iih]ch these gentlemen 
 were n©t called upon to provide, you will see that it you add 
 together the various sums which I have just given you Mr. Foster 
 and his friends were prepared in 1896 for the service of 1897, with 
 the additions which I have stated to you, to demand $53,490,000 
 for the public service. Deduct from Mr. Fielding's estimates those 
 threci items which I have mentioned and there is hardly a million 
 difference between what Mr. Fielding asks for with a surplus of 
 five million and what Mr. Foster asked for with a dencit of 
 four millions staring him in the face. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 A voice — So much for thirty yearo of robbery. 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright — I have another interesting fact to lay 
 before you, and that added to the other will suffice to show you 
 what admirable ground these gentlemen have for accusing the 
 
 E resent Government of wilful and wasteful extravagance. I have 
 ere comparative statements of the ordinary expenditure of Canada 
 for the years 1896 and 1898. Well, sir, I find that (passing over 
 what is known us the uncontrollable expenditure) in the year 1895 
 the late Government expended for the administratioo of justice 
 1765,000. We expended in 1898 $76j,00^, bcla^' an Increase of 
 about $10,000. I find under the head of civil government that in 
 1895 the latS Government expended $1,422,000. We expended 
 $1,399,000, or just $23,000 less. I find in the matter of fisheries 
 that they expended $443,000 ; we expended $441,000. I find in the 
 matter of immigration and quarantine that they expended in round 
 numbers about $300,000. We expended in round numbers $400,000, 
 or $100,000 more. I find for Indian expenses $955,000 in the one case 
 and $952,000 in oura I find 'for legislation that they expended 
 $941,000 and that we expended $729,000, being over $200,000 less. 
 I find for lighthouse, coast services, they emended $475,000 we 
 expended $474,000. I find for militia and oefence they expended 
 in 1895 $1,574,000; we expended $1,514,000. I find for the mounted 
 police that ther expended $646,000, and that we expended, includ- 
 ing an enormous expenditure in the Yukon, $865,000. I find for 
 ocean and river services thejr expended $205,000 ; we expended 
 $140,000. I find for penitentiaries they expended $449,000; we 
 expended $366,000. 1 find for public works — on which, be it 
 remembered, we F.re Hup^ed to be peculiarly extravagant^ or 
 rather Mr. Tarte is— that m 1895 they expended $1,742,000, and 
 that we expended $1,701,000. I find f<»' raihraysaad GaQaIft«h«>ge» 
 able to income they expended $252,000; we expended il9Oy03o. 
 
12 
 
 Those constitute, gentlemen, as you will see, the great bulk of whai 
 is known as controllable expenditures. 
 
 A voice — What about prohibition ? 
 
 Sir Richard OartTrright — That came in this year. (Cheers,) 
 Now, gentlerrsn, I want to point out to you what all this amounts 
 jeo. Remember we are charged with being a most extravagant 
 Government. We are charged with frittering away your money 
 ajQid getting no return for it 
 
 Expen^tnre Contrasted* 
 
 I want to contrast the actual expenditure in a year in which it 
 was tolembly honestly made, in 1896, with our expenditure in 1898 
 — three years later, be it remembered, with a much la^r popula- 
 tion to serve. They expended in 1895, $38,132,000. We exp^ided 
 in ISaS, $38,832,000, being an excess of $700,000. Now, ladies and 
 gentlemen, how was that incurred ? First of all is the sinking fund, 
 which, as everyone of you knows, goes directly out of one pocket 
 into the otiier. We expended 1367,000 more than they had 
 expended in 1896- For agricultural and subsidies for the purpose 
 Of promoting our trade we expended $105,000 more than they did. 
 For immigration we expended $65,000 more with very excellent 
 robults For the Yukon territory we expended $800,000, in round 
 iitanbers, and for railways and canals we expended $345,000 more 
 than our predecessors had done, having on our hands, as pointed out 
 to you, the extension of the Intercolonial Railway and other charges 
 of the kind. Those were our extra expenditures, amounting to 
 $1,672,000, a^inst, as you will observe, scarcely more than $700,- 
 000 excess.. But for tnat wo obtained extra receipts to the following 
 amounts :— From the Yukon, $1,100,000 ; for interest on investment 
 caused by the investment of the sinking fund, $177,000 ; for rail- 
 way receipts credited to the extension to Montreal, $282,000. So 
 tbftt of the $1,672,000 that we expended, we returned to the public 
 treasury, directly, the sum of $1,559,000, and if you choose to aednct 
 these various items on both sides you will see that in all other 
 respects we were performing the same services that these gentlemen 
 had performed in 1895, and that we were doing it collectively for 
 about a million less than they were doing in 1895. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 A voice.'-- What are you going to do about the prohibiiiQn vote? 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright. — I wonder if that is a matter of deep, 
 perscmal interest to my friend who int«nupted me t (Great 
 mughter.) Now, I have shown you as succinctly as I could— «id I 
 
18 
 
 mxiBt apologize to you for inflicting thi« rather lengthy array of 
 figures — I nave shown to yon, I think, reasonably, clearly and dis- 
 tinctly, two things : first of all, that in 1897 Mr. Foster came Jown 
 with propositions involving an expenditure equal to that demanded 
 by us for 1900, although the conditions of the country at that time 
 were undoubtedly such as should have called for /orreat care and 
 great prudence on his part. I have shown you in tne second place 
 that, service for service, the work for which they demanded ^8,- 
 132,000 in 1895 was performed in 1898 for about c million l^sa thMi 
 they found necessary. (Cheers.) I desire now to apply the other 
 and the last test, and that is the test of how this bears on the 
 population of the country. 
 
 i Taxation in Aelation to Popnlatlon. 
 
 I think I am correct in saying that no man who has watched 
 the movement of population will deny for one moment that up to 
 1896 our population had increased in a Very small degree, certainly 
 not more than it had done in the last years of the decade from 1881 
 to 1891. If that be so, onr total population in 1897 could by no 
 possibility have exceeded 5,100,000. From that time there is every 
 reason to believe that our population has been increasing ct least 
 double or treble as fast as it increased before 1896. No mjin who 
 has travelled much about this country, no man who has watched 
 the growth of our towns and cities, no man who has watched the 
 growth of the Northwest in particular but must a4mit that there 
 has been a very large influx of population in these last three years, 
 more than there was at any other previous time. Now,- sir, if you 
 apply that test you will find that in 1898 our population was cer- 
 
 ¥rlMiTIT1IMr-| 7 1 III. I ■TiHiuiiii. .. I III ... . I I 11 I ■ I ■! . rtmmmmmmma»tummmmimmammtmmmmamammt^0m»amKmmatmmmmmmmmmmmmK^mmmemmimammmmmmm 
 
 Note. — Increase of annual income. This is estimated at 
 50 millions gross. It is probable that between increased pro- 
 duction and rise in prices the gross increase of our farmers 
 alone has increased by that sum. Canadian "^exports in 1896 
 were barely 103 millions. In 1898 they had risen to 146 
 millions. This alone would show an increase of ^ross income 
 of 42 millions, and then the other additional sources of income. The 
 Klondyke in one sense is a thing apart, but yet it adds very con- 
 siderably in one way or other to the gross income of the people. 
 So do tne exploration and development of the various mines. So 
 do the additional freights earaed by Oanadiaa veisels and various 
 other matteis. 
 
taznly 300,000 or 400,000 more than it was in 1895, and that in 1900 
 
 it mil in aU probability be at least S00,000 more than it was in 1897. 
 
 A voice.— It oxight to be 25,000;000 at least (Applause.) 
 
 Canada's Creat Mistake. 
 
 Sir Richard— And in all human probability if the peo^^xO r* 
 Canada had not turned out honest and sagacious Alexander Mac- 
 kenzie jn 1878 it would have been on the high road to that fi<^ure. 
 
 (Loud cheers.) ^ ^ ,. , _ ,. 
 
 Sir, there is no more painful chapter of Oanadion history than 
 that revealed by the census returns from 1881 to 1891— throughout 
 the time, if you like, when the Conservative party had full oppor- 
 tunity of showing what it could do for C^anada. (Hear, hear.) What 
 did they do in that time ? Sir, during that interval about a mUion 
 of people who ought to have settled in Canada, either natives of 
 Canada or imm^ants who had come to Canada, fled fiom our 
 shores to take up their residence in the United States, and swell and 
 strfflogthen the resources of an alien power. (Cheers.) 
 
 A voio©— Why doesn't LaurJer enforce the alifia Jabar law I 
 
 Other voices—" Sib down 1" " Shut up !" 
 
 Sir Richard- Now I think the tide has turned ; I think there 
 is good ground for believing that the tide has turned, and turned 
 for good— (hear, hear)— that we will not again see the spectacle of 
 a million of Canadians expatriated, seeking emnloyment in the 
 United States, but that, on the other hand, from the northern and 
 northwestern States and largely from the sens of the very men who 
 left our country some years ago the tide of population is flowing 
 and rushing to' fill up these vacant territories of ours in the north- 
 west regions, and that in the course of a few years instead of as at 
 former times finding our population increasing at a smaller rate 
 than that of the oldest and most thickly settled European country 
 you will see we will resume the ratio of progress which prevailed 
 up to 1878. (Cheers.) 
 
 Becent Growth of Population* 
 
 However, sir, I was desirous of pointmg out to yoo that 
 measured by the influx of population — wnich is one of the fairest 
 ways that we can measure it — the expenditure of this country had 
 been a fair average when you remember that a large amoimt of our 
 so-called expenditure is purely and simply cross entnoik Thd 
 
15 
 
 ^wth of our popiilation has for more than kept pace with the 
 increased expenditure, such as it has been. And here let me say to 
 you that there are two ways in which economists and statesmen can 
 mcrease the progress of a country and diminish tLd burdens of a 
 people. If you choose, and if the circumstances warrant it, you may 
 succeed sometimes in reducing the expenditure to a considerable 
 extent, or yor may — which is the wiser and more patriotic, the 
 more manly and the better course — ^you may succeed in so increas- 
 ing the number of contributors to the revenue that the burden in 
 that way w?ll be far less than it would be even if you succeeded in 
 reducing the expenditure by a million or two. 
 
 Population Better than Panimony. 
 
 Surely it must be evident to every man who will give the 
 subject a second thought that it would be far better tor Canada to 
 have an expenditure of 40 or 42 millions a year to a population of 
 six or seven millions than to reduce the expenditure to 35 millions, 
 let us say, and retain our population of barely five millions here. 
 (Cheers.) But, sir, as we are on this question of population, let me 
 here say one thing, I have pointed out to you the extreme slowness 
 of the growth of Canada according to population from 1881 to 1891. 
 As probably most of you know, over whole Provinces of this Dom- 
 inion there was no increase a<< all, In the Province of Ontario our 
 increase was scarcely half of that which occurred between the years 
 1871 and 1881, and the same is true of the Province of Quebec 
 But, sir, wc have every reason to believe that, bad as the record of 
 the census was, that that census was cooked — that that census was 
 a fraudulent censua I was myself present in Parliament, and I 
 have here the record beside me, when Dr. Borden, the present Min- 
 ister of Militia, rose in his place and gave the Government the 
 names of fifty people in one smgle sub-division of Nova Scotia who 
 had been absent from that country and citizens of the United States 
 for periods ranging from five to twenty- one years. That was the 
 way, sir, in which those records were prepared, and if in the census 
 of 1881 and 1891 you find that the apparent growth is less than you 
 might reasonably expect ; if you find that the real number of the pop- 
 ulation is not what we have a right to expect it to be, not commen- 
 surate with the increase which we know now is taking place, you will 
 be fully justified, in view of the action of the Govemnent then in 
 view df the ftrct that they eotirdy and uttterly rdEused to taJo» any 
 vtowi whatever to inveetj«ate those ^oveu frauds when bseiu^t ^ 
 tbmr attm^on by a member of PerliamiHit 9a the floor oireaUt^ 
 
16 
 
 meni;, you will know, gentlameu, to what to attribute it. But I 
 rjy&elf have no doubt whatever that the same frauds that prevailed 
 in "tTcva Scotia prevailed extensively over other portions of this 
 Dominion. 
 
 Note.— Dr. F. W. Borden, M.P., for King's County, Nova Scotia, now 
 MiniBter of Militia, speaking in the Houae of Commons, as reported in The 
 Hansard of June 12th, 1894, said : — 
 
 " According to the census returns, the population of that county was 1,000 
 less in 1891 than in 1881. Now, it happened that a gentleman m my county 
 had some doubts whether the figures returned by the census as the population 
 of that county in 1891 were correct. He was satisfied that gross mis-statements 
 had been made in certain sections of the county, and he .took the trouble to 
 Investigate the matter by going around and callmg upon a number of families 
 and ascertaining who had been enumerated, and whether the persons returned ' 
 as being then residents of those localities were really so, or had emigrated. 
 Now, I have here the result, or a portion of the result, of that gentleman's in- 
 vestigations. I have a list of some fifty names, as to which I was asked to 
 ascertain whether they were on the list returned by the enumerators for King's 
 County or not. About a year and a half ago I saw the census commissioner here 
 with reference to those names, and asked to be allowed to see the lists. He said 
 he could not show me the list unless I took an oath that I would not divulge 
 anything I there saw. I said that would not meet my purpose. He «aid : " If 
 
 Sou will give me a list of the names, I will ascertain whether they are on the 
 st or not." I gave him the list of names which I have here, and in reply I 
 received from him a letter, dated 8th June, 1892, to this effect : 
 
 Ma. Bokden, 
 
 We find all the names you gave me excepting -Henry A. Pblmer, In Med- 
 ford, and Mrs. Peter Weaver, Blomidon. There are lots of Weavers, but not 
 * Peter.* She naay be down under her own christian name. 
 
 GEORGE JOHNSON. 
 
 So that out of the fifly ftames, or thereabouts, which I submitted, it turned out, 
 according to the evidence of the commissioner himself, that, forty-eight were on 
 the list. Now, I will submit a stateme" , showing where these people are who 
 were returned l^ the census enumerators in 1891 as residents of King's County 
 at that time. I have here a number of affidavits, which the gentleman to whom 
 I have already referred, Mr. Samuel J. Kerr, obtained with reference to these 
 names. I shall not now trouble the House by reading them, but I think the 
 question is of sufficient importance to justify me in devoting at least a few 
 moments to its discussion, becaus^^ the same kind of thwg has been (»rried on 
 
 fenerally throughout the Dominion the census returns are utterly worthless, 
 do not say that it has been confined to the last census. It may have been 
 carried on under former censuses, and, if so, it is absolutely necessary that the 
 Qovernment aiid the country should understand it, and that meaaures should be 
 taken before another census is taken to prevent any such fraudulent returns 
 being made in the future. In the first place, I find a family of six peoplfi of 
 the name of Morris, returatd as residwits el the Demiakn of OaMda, m tfi« 
 
 -i^ 
 
• ' '■--"- ' ■■ 17 - 
 
 Ootinty of Ei&g's who have been absent in the United States, one for Ax years, 
 another for niue y ean, another for two years, another for four years, another 
 four years, and another for two years. The next is a family of five, who have 
 been absent resptctlTely, one and a half years, seventeen years, seven years, 
 nine years and five years — absolutely residing in the United States, and never 
 coming home except for a short visit of one or two weeks in a year, and some 
 not coining back for years. The next is a family of six, living in the United 
 States. One absent ten years, married and settled in Washboume, Maine. 
 Another absent ton years, married and settled in Lubeck. Another absent four 
 years, married and settled in Boston, Massachusetts. Another absent three 
 years, married, living in Acton, Massachusetts. Another absent seven years, 
 married; settled in Ashmount, Massachusetts. Another absent four years, mar- 
 ried and settled in Brockton, Massachusetts ; of these, four are women and two 
 men. The next is a family of four, of which the first is a woman, absent 
 twenty-two years, resident of the United States. The next, absent seventeen 
 years, a resident of the United States. The next, absent eleven years, residing 
 in the United States, and the last, seven years, and resident in the United 
 States. The next is a fa^y of five. The first one. absent twelve years, mar- 
 ried to an American citizen, living in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. The next 
 living in Boston. The next in Boston. The next in Montana, and the next in 
 Hyde Park, Massachusetts. The next is a family of eight. The first one of 
 this family became a resident of the United States in 1878 ; another became a 
 resident of the United States in 1884 ; another in 1883 ; another in 1880 ; 
 another in 1883 ; another in 1885 ; another in 1889. The next family is com- 
 posed of four, the eldest is a daughter, a woman married, and who has a family 
 living in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The next has a family living in Carleton, 
 N.B. Of course, she wouU go into the census, but not in that section, and the 
 other two are living in New Brimswick. The next one, a gentleman named 
 Lumbard, living in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a doctor, practising four years, 
 and a naturalized American citizen. I have had the pleasure of being at bis 
 house in Dorchester. He is an American citizen, and was in the States four 
 years when the census was taken. The next is a family, two of which have 
 been six years in Marino, California, and the third seven years in Boston, Mass. 
 Another family of four, of which the first was absent thirteen years, a natural- 
 ized citizen, captain of an American vessel. The ndxt, absent five years, a 
 naturalized American citizen. The next, absent seven years, a herdsman, living 
 in the western States, and the last, absent four years, is a mate with his brother, 
 the first one to whom I alluded, who is a sea captain, and a naturalized American 
 citizen. Another family of three, living respectively in Massachusetts, Califor- 
 nia and Boston, and the next, a family of two, absent five yeara, one in Califor- 
 nia, and one in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts." 
 
 NoxB. — The late Government, though utterly xmable to refute or even deny 
 Dr. Borden's statements, not only refused to take any steps to correct these frauds, 
 but absolutely declined to assist or rather to penqit Dr. Borden to make any 
 further investigations, thereby making themselves, in the most marked manner, 
 accomplices in these outrageous frauds after the fact, even if they did not orig- 
 inally msti ;ate them. The exact extent cannot now be ascertained, but it is 
 evident that if Dr. Borden's case be a fair sample of what was going on else- 
 where the population of the Dominion was over-estimated in 1891 by very many 
 thousands. This, of course, will dimish by so much the apparent increases 
 whatever it may be in 1901. 
 
18 
 
 The BTatlonal Policy. 
 
 Voices— " What's the matter with the National Policy?" 
 "What about free trade?" 
 
 Sir Richard —What's the matter with the National Policy ? 
 Well, I think the citizens of Toronto from the year 1890 to 1896 
 could tell pretty well what was the matter with the National Policy. 
 (Laughter and cheers.) I don't think that during those six years 
 the growth of Toronto was as much as its citizens would desire. I 
 don't think that during those six years you had aa much building as 
 has gone on for the last six weeks in Toronto. (Hear, hear, and 
 great cheering.) And now, sir, I desire to say a few words about 
 the National Policy. Does the hon. gentleman want to know ? The 
 National PoHoy waa an admirable device to enable Peter to rob 
 Paul — (great laughter and cheering) — but it made no genuine in- 
 crease to the general national wealth. Some localities and some 
 individuals may have been benefitted by it, but the nation as a 
 whole did not— (hear, hear)— and the best proof of that is this : 
 that from 1881 to 1891, when it was in full swing, Canada never 
 grew so slowlv from the days that Canada was first settled till to- 
 day. CHear, near and cheers.) 
 
 Tlie National Hebt 
 
 Now, sir, I desire to say a little as to the question of the condition 
 of the National debt, and here is a most remarkable fact, to which I 
 call the attention of those enterprising journalists, that in all the 
 diatribes which have been levelled at us for increasing the national 
 debt, I have failed to find one single word, in Mail, in (Gazette or in 
 Star, alluding to the trifling fact that the late Government went 
 out of office leaving liabilities to the extent of sixteen millions un- 
 discharged behind them. (Hear, hear.) Sir, when we took office 
 the first thing we found was that in order to complete the canals 
 which they had in progress we would require twelve millions of 
 dollars at least, perhaps more. The next thing we found was that 
 in order to pay the railway subsidies which they had left undis- 
 charged four millions further would be required, and that, bear in 
 mind, takes no account whatever of the railway stibsidies that they 
 prop<Med to add in 1896, or of the expenditure for Prince Edwacd 
 Mand, which ^y lOso prwiosed to i^d, or, ^ %»t a»M*«, of^ ike 
 Crow's Nest. Now, here let me say that I never heard any Uhtral 
 leader^ and I ctrtainly myuAfl mwr pr»tmdfd, that tfa«(» wii» «i^ 
 
19 
 
 reason in a country like Canada for objecting to a reasonable ex- 
 penditure, always provided that that expenditure was useful and 
 fruitful. (Hear, hear.) What we object to — what we have alright 
 to object to—was piling tens and tens of millions of debt upon the 
 people and making them no return, (Hear, hear.) What we ob- 
 jected to, and what we had a right to object to, was that the whole 
 future of the old provinces should be mortgaged, as they were 
 mortgaged, for the Denefit of the younger provinces, and that the 
 lands from which we ought to have been recouped were practically 
 throwD away. 
 
 Klondike Admlnlgtration. 
 
 You want to know how the Liberal party have discharged 
 their trust in that respect ? (A voice — ^We do.) I invite you to 
 compare their conduct in respect of the administration of the 
 KJondike with the conduct of our predecessors with respect to the 
 administration of the northwest. In each case great possibilities 
 were open ; in each case a vast heritage was put at the disposal of 
 the people of Canada. We have taken the Y ukon in hand ; we 
 have expended largo sums in the Vukon ; but up to date the Yukon 
 has not cost the rest of the people of Canada one copper. (Hear, 
 hear.) dp to date all that has been expended in the Yukon has 
 been extracted from those carrying on mining operations in the 
 Yukon, most of them, be it remembered, aliens and foreigners'— 
 (hear hear)— who were justly entitled to contribute to the revenue 
 here. (Cheera) Now, as I have said, we always contended that 
 any expenditure should be made fruitfuL 
 
 Crow*s Blest Expenditure. 
 
 Let us take one case which has been much criticised, one case 
 to which my friend Mr. Campbell has alluded — that is, our expendi- 
 ture on the Crow's Nest Railway. For that we gave the Canadian 
 Pacific Railway a matter of $3,300,000 or thereabout. We exacted 
 from them divers concessions of great importance to the northwest, 
 of great importance to the manufacturers and artisans of Canada. 
 Now, sir, what has been done for the people of Canada ? Very 
 lately I had occasion to inquire of a gentleman very well conversant 
 with that whole country what the result of expending that money 
 in constructing the Crow's Nest Pass had been m the way of adding 
 ■wealth and value of the properties tiujreby developed; and niter 
 
caking some considerable time to examine it, he ^ve it to me as 
 hii opinion, and as a very conservative estimate which he supported 
 by very ample proof, that in all human probability the construction 
 of the Crow's jNest Railway under the Government sul^idy of 
 $8,300,000 had resulted in developing wealth to the extent of thirty 
 or forty millions in the region which was then opened. (Cheers.) 
 He went on to show — and this is of importance, ladies and gentle- 
 men, to all of you — by constructing that railway we had developed 
 industries from which at this present momert something like three 
 or four millions are being expended in wages and in the purchase 
 of necessaries for enterprises which could hy no possibility have 
 been developed unless this Crow's Nest Railway had been con- 
 structed ; and I have in my hand here very ample evidence that so 
 far as the revenues of Canada are concerned we at least have been 
 no losers, but, on the contrary, very great gainers, by the amount 
 which we sunk in that railway. 
 
 A Paying InTestment* 
 
 Our capital chai^ on this $3,300,000 amounts roughly to some 
 $80,000 or $90,000. Sir, the return that we get in added customs 
 duties, and in added excise duties is, in all human probability, a 
 matter of $600,000 or $600,000 a year from that source alone — 
 (cheers) — and probably in three or four years, or five at the utmost, 
 the added receipts to your customs and excise arising from the 
 construction oi that same railway will amply recoup you for every 
 farthing that has been spent. Now, I call that good political 
 economy. (Hear, hear.) I call that a wise expenditure. I say that 
 if I am able to spend $90,000 and put $500,000 or $600,000 a year 
 into the treasury I do a good thing for the people of Canada. 
 (Cheers.) I only wish it were possible for us to invest, not three 
 millions, but thirty millions of your money equally profitably, and 
 if I could I would do it to-morrow. (Hearty cheers.) Why, sir, 
 within three years the revenues of British Columbia, for customs 
 alone, have risen from about a million to two and a-quarter mil- 
 lions, and, although a large share of that is undoubtedly due to the 
 development of the Klondike, a very large share of it, as our customs 
 returns sufficiently show, is due to the expansion of Roasland and 
 the Kootenay country and the rest of the regions that have been 
 opened up by the Crow's Nest Pass. Why, sir, to-day the excise 
 revenue m Rossland and Nelson alone would more than pay the 
 interest on the capital that has been expended by us in constructing 
 
21 
 
 the Crow's Nest Pass ; and I only trust that the expenditure which 
 you are now about to undertake for the purpose of opening up New 
 Ontario and developing the Rainy River will prove half as useful 
 and half as good. (Cheers.) 
 
 Pmdeace and Kconomy* -ti 
 
 (Gentlemen, remember this, I do not for one moment desire or 
 pretend that all this is any excuse for extravagance or waste. On 
 the contrary, the greater the revenue the greater the occasion for 
 prudence and wise economy in laying it out ; but I do contend that 
 it is a justification for liberal expenditure for worthy objects. Sir, 
 if there were any one of you who found his income within three 
 years suddenly doubled, I think that that man would and should, and 
 that you would admit that he was perfectly justified in indulging in 
 some expendituies which would have been absurd for him to have 
 undertaken before. If a merchant's capital were suddenly doubled 
 he would be justified in undertaking ventures which would have 
 foolish in the extreme for him to have undertaken before. Now, 
 sir, in this connection of capital expenditure, I desire to call your 
 attention to' one or two somewhat significant facts, showing how far 
 the accusation is justified that the present Government has been 
 reckless in adding to the capital charges of this country. I have 
 here our capital expenditure for the years 1894 to 1899. In 189-t I 
 find that the late Government expended four and a half millions on 
 capital account. They added that to the net capital debt I find 
 that in 1895 they added $6,891,000 to our capital debt. In 1890 
 thev added $6,422,000 to our capital debt; and I find that in 1897, 
 under this Administration, we added in all 83,041,000 to the net 
 capital debt ; in 1898 we added to our national debt $2,417,000, of 
 which $930,000 was simply the discount of a 2 J percent, loan which 
 Mr. Fielding, negotiated in that year. I find that in 1899, the yeai 
 which is nowv closed, our total expenditure has been larger than 
 usual, but the total addition to our national debt will amount to one 
 million of dollars, and no more. (Cheers.) Now, gentlemen, if you 
 will deduct the diapount of the loan, which is in no respect the 
 increase of our capital debt, seeing that we obtained the loan at an 
 extremely low rate, you will find that in three years — 1897, 1898 
 and 1899 — the total addition we have made to our capital debt 
 amounts to $5,528,000, being aa nearly as possible one-third of the 
 amotmt which was added to the net capitd debt in 1894, 1895 and 
 1896. (Cheers.) 
 
CMuda's EnorraoiM Wealtlu 
 
 And here you may very fairly ask, if you see fit,Qraiited that this 
 country has increased enormously in the volume of its imports and 
 exports ; granted that it has increased for the time heing the annual 
 income of its citizens, what fair ground is there for believing that 
 these increases will be permanent ? And here, gentlemen, I admit 
 that, we must, to a certain extent, depend on estimate and calcula- 
 tion ; but, for my part, I believe that we have barely scratched the 
 enormous mineral deposits which Canada possesses. I think there 
 is every reason to believe that within the course of the next few 
 yeara the gross mineral products of Canada, of all sorts, from her 
 coal mines, iron mines, nickel {nines, gold and silver mines, will 
 likely equal something like one hundred millions of dollars, and I 
 need not point out to you what an enormous source of wealth, not 
 merely for the miner, not merely for the capitalist who invests his 
 property in mines, but for the Canadian manufacturer, for the 
 Canadian artisan, for the Canadian grower of produce which these 
 miners must consume, will bo found ia the extension and new 
 addition u> the wealth ot the country, even if it amount to but one- 
 half of the amount which I believe is fairly estimated and fairly 
 calculated for. 
 
 Canada's Trade B«ato American* 
 
 Then we have another and very great source of wealth which 
 up to the present moment we have hardly touched at rIL I allude 
 to the extraordinary amount of water-power which we possess along 
 the St Lawrence and its tributaries. Up to the present time we 
 have depended almost exclusively on coal as a motive power ; but 
 tiiere appeara to be very good reason for believing that the huge 
 water-ipower which Canada possess^ will shortly b^me a source 
 of pront and wealth to its citizens and ma»iufacturers equal to, and 
 possibly greater, than the wealth wh\eh we expect to extract from 
 oar mineral resources; and, gentlemen, it may interest you perhaps 
 to make a little comparison ror one moment between the volume of 
 trade of Oamida'andthe volume of trade In the United States. Sir, 
 it is not a matter which any Canadian, I think, need be cj^hamed of. 
 I ha're feoeived within the last few d^ys the details of the total 
 ▼dtifll^^Ji^feN^^^e Uiatid States for the year 1899. They 
 Mioaal to 11,224,000,000 of expotti, and $697,000,000 oTlmporti^ 
 
28 
 
 on which, be it remembered, a duty of $206,000,000 was ooUeeted. 
 Canada for the same year has a total trade of $319,600,000 ; so Uiat 
 Canada with a population of about 5,300,000 in 1899, as i^ainst the 
 United States, with a population of 73,500,000 by estimation in the 
 same period, has a total trade of $57.73 per head, as against a total 
 trade for the United States of $26.16 — (loud cheers)— 4he total 
 volume of our trade being thus somewliat more than double the 
 total volume of trade in the United States. (Applause.) In the 
 matter of exports Canada exports $25 worth of goods for every 
 man, woman and child in the country, as against $16.70 per head in 
 the United States. (Renewed applause.) In this x>nnection I may 
 observe that it is worth while noticing that the dutiable goods 
 imported into the United States in 1898 amounted to $396,844,966, 
 and the percentage of duty levied on those goods was 52. The per- 
 cen^e of goods imported into Canada amounts to a little over 28 
 per cent, very little more than one-half of the percentage imposed 
 m the United Statea That bears on a question which has been 
 brought forward, not infrequently, namely, the allegation that the 
 present tariff is a highly protective tariff. There is an easy method 
 of distinguishing between a high revenue and a high protective 
 tarifl. Ours is a high revenue tariff, it is true. But there never 
 was a protective tariff under which the imports increased as fast as 
 those of Canada have done in a single year. Look at the American 
 tariff and you will find that after the passage of the Dingley bill 
 American imprts fell from $750,000,000 to under $700,000,000. 
 Remember this, too, that in imposing the tariff it is quite possible 
 for you, under a high revenue tariff, to impose a higher auty on 
 American goods without prohibiting importation that you can 
 impose on British goods. (Applause.) American imports will bear 
 as a revenue tax a higher tariff than British goods will bear, for 
 reasons apparent to all, and if there was no other good reason, and 
 none other is wanted, forthe preference which we nave extended to 
 the mother country, th.-it should be sufficient. (lioud applause.) I 
 may add that it is a great mistake to suppose that the reduction of 
 taxes which has taken pl^ce in our preferential tariff is confined to 
 the goods imported from England. Bear this in mind, that you 
 compel the American manufacturer to reduce his prices to you in 
 proportion. It may be true, and it is true, that the volume of our 
 traoe with the United States has not greatly diminished, but the 
 volume of American profits has greatly diminished, uid in such oa(R» 
 Ui6 OM> i di»j> 99Af»sier very largely lienefite. (Applause.) 
 
24 
 
 Pertineiit 4|iiestloiis« 
 
 Now, I desire to address a question or two to our opponwits in 
 this hall or elsewhere. I would like to know why they have con- 
 sidered our proceedings so monstrous, why tL<3y have considered we 
 have been so extravagent, so careless, so indifferent as to increasing 
 the public debt, when they have carefully concealed from the people 
 the liabilities of over $16,000,000 which they had incurred, over 
 $20,000,000 in fact if I were to add the additional sums they pro- 
 posed to expend ? (Applause.) Why have they chosen to conceal 
 from the people of Canada the fact that for every dollar of the great 
 bulk of the additions we have, made to the expenditure from year 
 to year we have received an equal amount in cash and put it in the 
 treasury, including the amount we have spent on the Intercolonial 
 Kailway? Why have they chosen to conceal from you that a large 
 proportion of our increased expenditure consists simply of sums 
 expended in the Yukon for the preserving of law and good order, 
 every penny of which comes out of the pockets of the people there 
 and does not add to your burdens ? (Applause.) Why have they 
 concealed the fact that the Bxed charges now paid by the people of 
 Canada are scarcely more than $65,000 over the sum demanded by 
 Mr. Foster in 1897 ? Why have they seen fit to conceal the fact 
 that he asked for almost the same sum for lg9Y as Mr. Fielding 
 asks for 1900 ? Why are they so terror-striken at the idea of our 
 adding $6,000,000 of indebtedness to the capital amount of our debt, 
 and under $70,000 a year to our fixed charges, and why they had not 
 a word to say against the Government that preceded us in a like 
 space of time adding $16,000,000 to our debt? (Applause.) I 
 ipake no claim that the present Government is a perfect one ; that 
 it has not committed its errors and mistakes as all Governments 
 have done. There is much still to be done, but I take the position 
 broadly and say that for every new expenditure we have made you 
 have received an ample return. (Renewed applause.) Where we 
 have added one million to the public debt, ten millions haire been 
 added to the wealth of the people. Where we have added one 
 hundred thousand dollars to the annual fixed charges, we have 
 added five or six hundred thousand dollars to the annual income of 
 the people of Canada. (Long continued applause.) The general 
 development of the country is greater than it has ever been up to 
 tho "resent time. There has been no rash outlay committed, and 
 i a atl ibuman probability when the 1st of July, 1900, is reached the 
 debt per head of the population of Gamda. will be very con s ide rably 
 
25 
 
 Ifisa ilian m 1896 or 1897. Supposing we had adopted the other 
 ooarae. Suppose, for instance, we had allowed the Yukon to 
 r&mam without proper «)verament Disorder would hav3 reigned. 
 Dawson would be like Skaguay, the nest for every cufc-throat anH 
 ^scoundrel in the Yukon. But the way in whicl^ the Yukon Terri 
 tory, on the whole, has been administered is infinitely to the credit 
 of Canada and the present Administration. (Loud applause.) I 
 say, and I believe, that there is no intelligent American who would 
 not substantiate my assertion, that since we took possession of the 
 Yukon and established our government at Dawson there has been 
 less crime, robbery and murder at Dawson, with its population of 
 80,000 to 40,000, in one year than in Skaguay in a week. 
 
 The CJoTemmeiit's Enterprise. 
 
 ^ Sir, we might have taken no steps to promote immigration. 
 we might have taken no steps to develop British Columbia. We 
 might have taken no steps to extend the Intercolonial Eailway-— we 
 might have left its termmus in a ploughed field as we found it. We 
 might have given you no penny post. We might have taken ten 
 yean to finish your canals instead of completing them in three. 
 We might have done all those things, and possibly we might have 
 saved apparently a few hundred thousand dollars on your annual 
 expenditure. But had we done so your annual income would have 
 been many milhons less than it is to-day. Had we done so, the 
 wealth of the people of Canada would have been loss by tens and 
 tens of millions than it is to-day. Had we done so, the population 
 of Canada would have been less by several hundred of thousands 
 than it is to-day. Sir, to my mhad the best test of prosperity in 
 any country, and more particularly in a country like Canada, lies 
 m this fa<jt--i8 it a country where the people remain and seek their 
 fortunes in it ? Is it a country to which strangers from other lands 
 come to seek their fortunes, or is it a country from which the 
 natives fiyi Is it a country in which when yojj bring the people 
 to it you find it impossible to retain them ? What was the position 
 of Canada in the years from 1881 to 1891 ? 
 
 A voice — What about the bye-elections ? 
 
 Another voice— What about the Senate ? 
 
 Sir l^chard Cartwright— You may leave the Senate to Pro^- 
 denoe--(loud cheers)— which in its own good time will doubtless 
 t»ke thftt millatone from off the necks of ^e people. (Loud cheers 
 
and laughter.) Now, sir, as I have said, I cannot but think that 
 those among you who choose to study these questions intelli^ntly 
 and carefully, those among you who will remember that within the 
 last three years, as I have said, Canada has advanced by leaps and 
 bounds in a manner such as very few other countries have known-r- 
 that our population has increased, that our volume of trade has 
 increased, that our exports have increased, that our wealth has 
 increased, that our mineral resources have increased enormously, 
 that everything promises a reasonable continuance of prosperity if 
 we are only true to ourselves — will, I think, admit that I am fully 
 justified in saying to you that there is no cause for alarm because, 
 by reason of the cross entries that I have alluded to, your annual 
 expenditure appears to have been increased by two or three million 
 dollars. 
 
 How Trade has Grown. 
 
 And now here let me call your attention to one or two important 
 facta Sir, I said just now that I would show you that it was no 
 mere rhetorical flourish but a simple fact when I stated to you that 
 between 1896 and 1899 the trade of Canada had increased as much 
 in a period of three years as it had done before m thirty years. Sir, 
 I go back to the first year of Canadian Confederation, when we had 
 no Prince Edward Island, when we had no British Columbia, when 
 we had no Northwest Territories, and when we had no Manitoba, 
 and I find that in 1868 our total volume of trade was just $131,- 
 000.000. In 1895 our total volume of trade had increased to $224,-- 
 000,000, being an increase in that long interval of something like 
 $92,000,000. Since 1895 down to 1899 our total volume olc trade 
 has increased from $224,000,000 to $319,500,000, being an increase 
 of $95,000,000 in those three or four years, as compared with 
 an increase of $92,000,000 from 1868 to 1895. (Loud cheers.) I 
 call your attention also to the fact that the gross income of Canada 
 has mcreased from $34,000,000 in 1895 to $46,000,000 and better 
 in 1890. I call your attention to the fact that the income of Canada 
 has increased in all human probability — I mean the income of the 
 people collectively —by over $50,000,000 in that interval ; and, what 
 is perhaps more important than all, that whereas our population was 
 very nearly at a standstill it has increased something more than 
 100 per cent, faster within the last three years than it had done in 
 Ibe preceding period. 
 
 AToic&--*How mu^ did ihe debt increase ul thatj^Dte f 
 
27 
 
 " SirllichArd Cartwright— I am going to give jny friend a 
 Btatement which I see his political preceptors have for^ton to tell 
 him. (Laughter.) We inherited obligationB amountmg to $16,- 
 000,000 or §1 6,000,900 from our predecessors, and they were willing 
 to have added six or seven millions more. By 1899 we had 
 discharged those fifteen millions, and we have only sulded six millions 
 to the net capital debt of Canada. (Loud cheers.) Where we have 
 made any important new expenditure, as in the case of the Crow's 
 Nest ^Kailway, it has been, as I have pointed out to you, of a 
 thoroughly fruitful charactej:. More than that, by the reduction 
 which we have effected in the rate of interest, by which in all 
 probability we will be able to fund our debt at a rate of between 
 2^ and 3 per cent., we have m ade a provision which within the next 
 few years, during which time about $150,000,000 of our debt will 
 mature, will enable us to refund an indebtedness on which we are 
 now payiiig for interest and sinking fund at the rate of 4| per 
 cent, per annum at something between 2J and 3 per cent., thereby 
 saving b'^tween two and three millions to the public exchequer. 
 (Cheers.) - ■ 
 
 A voice — ^What is the debt of the country ? 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright— I will give my friend the figures if 
 he will allow me to -collect the memoranda I have here. The net 
 debt of the country was $265,000,000 on the Ist of July, as nearly 
 as it is possible to estimate. It is a large debt, and, as I have had 
 occasion to say before on the floor of Parliament, and I do not . 
 hesitate to repeat it here, if the people of Canada in 1878 had ^ 
 chosen to renew their confidence in honest and sagacious AlexMider 
 Mackenzie in all human probability everything we have done since 
 would have been done and done better, and the debt would have 
 been well under $200,000,000. 
 
 The Anen Labor Law. 
 
 A. Voice—Sir Richard, why does not Sir Wilfrid Laurier en- 
 force the Alien Labor Act ? 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright — Because, inasmuch as our predeces- 
 sors contrived to send a million of Canadians into exile in the 
 United Stated, and because at the i)resent moment a very great 
 number of our people at various points on the frontier ar« Seii^ 
 employed in the United States, we do not desire, on account of the 
 acts of one single United States official in a neighboring city. Mid 
 because two or three injudicious men choose to abuse the little brief 
 
28 
 
 anthority' they btive got, to deprive a great many C^tnadians of 
 valuable employment. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 A Voice (interrupting)— Why did you put the law on the 
 Statute Book ? 
 
 Sir Richard Cartwright — But if we find our leniency is abused 
 and that advantage is being taken to introduce foreign laborers 
 here to the injury of Canadian artisans, then we will assuredly 
 enforce the Alien Labor Act against anybody and everybody. 
 (Cheers.) • 
 
 Now, sir, I have pointed out to you that the apparent increase 
 of expenditure has been almost entirely due to cross entries, that is 
 to sav, to expenditures for which we received a full equivalent and 
 whicn in no respect add to the burdens of the people of Canada. 
 And while I am on that point I might say one word about one par- 
 ticular item in our estimates which has been made the subject of 
 very severe criticism-^that is, the large sum which my friend, Mr. 
 Tarte, found himself obliged to demand for the public service in the 
 matter of public works. 
 
 Expenditure on Public Worki. 
 
 Now, I want to call your attention to the fact that there are in 
 Canada at this moment an immense number of public works — ^prob- 
 ably 600 or 600 of various sorts ; that many of these are expoi^ to 
 constant dilapidation, and that they require to be carefully pre- 
 served and protected, unless we choose to incur at a very short date 
 a large expenditure for the purpose of restorinff them. More than 
 that, Mr. Tarte, when he came into office, besides finding that a 
 great many public works had been allowed to get into a condition 
 which called for urgent measures of repair. Mr. Tarte found, as I 
 can testify also, that in a very considerable number of counties from 
 one end of the Dominion to the other which had the misfortune to 
 return Liberals during the period from 1878 to 1896, no works at 
 all had been carried out, no matter-hosy urgent the wants of the 
 locality miglit have been, and that to a very great extent the public 
 works tuat had been previously constructed in them had been 
 allowed to go to rack and ruin. Mr. Tarte did as Mr. Mackenzie 
 had found himself compelled to do under somewhat similar cirenm- 
 stances — he determinect to remedy the injustice ttiat had been com- 
 mitted ; he determinec to repair the works which had been allowed 
 to go into disuse, and he demanded for that reason a rather imusu- 
 
29 - 
 
 ally large sum, it is true ; but let me recall to the minds of my elder 
 auditors the fact that under similar conditions with iax fewer pub- 
 lic works to maintain, while Mr. Tarte demanded a little more than 
 $3,000,000, Mr. Mackenzie found himself compelled in 1876 to ask 
 for $2,791,000 — a sum in proportion jio the number of public works 
 under his control at that time quite as large as the sum which Mr. 
 Tarte has demanded. 
 
 Wntatt Expenses Llgliter* 
 
 There is no reason whatever for expecting that after these 
 works have been put in proper repair and justice has been done to 
 these localities who were punished by the late Government for their 
 fidelity to Liberal principle, there is no reason whatever^) suppose 
 that ally unusual Or abnormal expenditure will be required for 
 public works; and, in any case, as I have said, it is fair to conclude 
 that while we have a full treasury there is good and fair ground 
 for making a reasonable expenditure for reasonable public purposes. 
 If they can show that this expenditure is extravagant or misplaced, 
 then, gentlemen, they will have very good ground for attac'kmg the 
 present Government; but it is noteworthy to observe that while 
 thev charge Mr. Tarte with &11 manner of extravagance they only 
 bacKed their opinion in the late Parliament to the extent of about 
 $32,000 for that was all that they voted to reduce his estimate by, 
 (Cheers.) More than that, I have told you our future obligations 
 by the end of the year 1900 are at present entirely insignificant 
 
 Cestly Senate OlMBtmclloiis. 
 
 ^ It is true that the conduct of the Senate, of which I do not 
 desire at present to speak too harshly — ^the unfortunate conduct of 
 the Senate in refusing to allow us to construct a railway communi* 
 cation between Glenora and Teslin did most undoubtedly gravely 
 embarrass the Government in their recent negotiations -mth the 
 United States, and will in its long result probably entail upon us a 
 very considerable expenditure for the purpose of opening communi- 
 cation through our own territory with our own country. But, bar 
 that, I know at this present moment of no large expenditure which 
 need be incurred by us, unless very clear and good ground is diown 
 for believing that it is in the public interest to do so. 
 
 X 
 
A Boslnem AdniniftnitiitB. 
 
 And now, si?, what else have we done ? Well, sir, we have 
 done this : over and above what we have done in the way of devel- 
 oping this country, what we have done in the way of promoting 
 trade, what we have done in the way of reducing taxation, we have 
 settled and successfully settled, one of those dangerous and burning 
 questions dividing religious denominations of one kind from r^- 
 ^ous denominations of another, dividing race from race, setting 
 Province against Province — we have settled that, and settled ^t so 
 successfully that I do not believe to-day in Manitoba that either 
 party takes the slightest notice of the former discussion and dispute 
 over the separate schools in that region. (Applause,) Then, sir, we 
 have done another thing, which, 1 think, all true Canadians will 
 agree with me is one that this Government has a right to be proud 
 of, which the people of Canada have a right to be proud ol We 
 have shown, sir, that we at any rate believed in the unity of the 
 empire, and we have done more in the way of developing a whole- 
 some Imperial sentiment between Great Britain and her colonies 
 than has oeen done by all the talk, all the bluster, all the jingoism, 
 with which this place and others have resounded for the last 
 twenty years. (Here, here, and great icheering.) When we give a 
 in)ecific preference to EngUsh manufacturers, then sir, we snowed 
 that the Liberals were prepared to do what Conservatives had only 
 been prepared to talk about. (Here, hear, and laughter and cheers). 
 We showed, sir, that we at any rate were prepared to recognize and 
 to deal fairly with the country which dealt fairly with us ; and we 
 have not heard the last word about- that yet, because I believe that 
 the example we have set is likely to be followed by every English 
 race, by every English colony, by every EnMish dependency from 
 one end of the inhaoited globe to the other. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) 
 And, sir, while these men ask us " Why did't you drive a huckster- 
 ing bar^un with England ? Why didn't you attempt to get a pre- 
 f erence in English mai>ket8 ? Why didn't you get them to impose 
 duties on the products of other races ? " 1 reply to that, sir, that 
 to all intents and purposes Canada and Canadian manufacturers 
 and Canadian products have to-day a real preference in the EInglish 
 market. I tell you that if Canadians choose to make & wii^ use of 
 the advantages whiuh we have procured for them, if Canadians will 
 send to Engluid goods as they ought to send, worthy of Canada, 
 goods such as we are able to send, goods which will command and 
 
retain the preference they now have in the English market, they 
 may make their own terms and command their own prices without 
 the need of any treaty or any agreement whatever, (Hear, hear, 
 and cheers.) 
 
 CaiMda In the Lead. 
 
 More than that, sir ; for the first time in her history, Canada 
 has asserted herself. Canada has become to all intents and pur- 
 poses a real factor in the British Empire. (Hear, hear.) When be- 
 lore was it heard that in conducting negotiations with the United 
 States, England permitted four Canadian plenipotentiaries to be 
 associated with one representative of England? (Hear, hear.) And 
 here let me say — and it is only justice to Sir Charles Tupper to say 
 that he has frankly admitted the fact — that I think the result of 
 those negotiations have proved to you that although we do, desire, 
 as we had a right to desire, to establish the most friendly relations 
 with the gr^t republic beside us ; yet, in the hands of the Liberal 
 Government and of the Liberal party you need never be afraid that 
 Canadian interests will be sacrificed or that Canadian honor will be 
 allowed to be set on one side in any negotiations with any power in 
 the world. (Qreat applause.) Sir, it may be that we have builded 
 better than we knew. I believe for my part that the example 
 which we have set is going to have, and that at no distant di^, 
 very great and importent reeults. I, for my part, hold with ilir, 
 Kipling, that when we took the step we did we set an example 
 which will riog from one end of the world to the other : — 
 
 ** We have proved ova faith in the heritage 
 
 By more than the word of the month, 
 Those that are wise may follow 
 
 When the world's war-trumpet blows, 
 But we, we are first in the battle, % 
 
 Said Our Lady of the Snows." 
 
 (liOud and prolonged cheering, the audience rising and waving 
 handkerchiefs.) 
 
 Additional copies of this pamphlet may be had from 
 
 ALBXANDBB SMITH, 34 Viotoria Street, Toronto, Ontaria 
 
 In orderinfit it will be euffloient to refer to pamphlet as Na 1.