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PRINTERS ANJ> PURLISHKHJ?. speech: on the 15UDG-ET iiY Tiir HON. L. RCJGGLEhi OHUIIOH, 7 V arsiirer of the Province, of Quebi'c, DELIVERED IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, QUEBEC, 1ST Deckmijer, 1876. (Reported Jur " .Montreal (liizelli\') The Hon. Mi. Uiiuhch on rising was re- Tscivcd with applause. Hu said : — Mr. Spci'.lier, conformiibly to tho provisions of tilt) J4th soi.tion of tlv- Brltisli Nurtli .Amurican Act (18ti7), I lii'g to present a message fioiu Ills K-toullency tiiu Ailnii'iis- trator, KiKniJ by himself and if.iusniitiing the supplorauntury f.stiniates for li.e i urreni year, and thu ordinary c-itiin:iti^K fur the fin- anci.il year eiKiinj,' tin- liOtU of June, 1878. The Treasury Ueparlinent Act, section 24, i-u- joins that ".i.s soon a^i practicubli;, after tlie close of each fiscal vear, th.rn shall lie pre- jrared in the Treasury Uepaitnuiit, for sub- mission to the Le^;islature at its nixt session, a stuleinent of tlie public accounts for sui h year, shoiviiig clearly and fully the several reVBUUes and expenditures of the Province for the J ear, the state of the consolidated revenue fund, and of all tru^t and special funds under the tnanuj^emeut of the Piovin- cial Government, and all matters retjuisite to explain the tinanei.il transactions and posi- tion of the Province during and at the close ot BUeli year. This has been done, and the publio accounts are now in the bauds of the Diemliers. Section 26 further prescribes that all estima a submitted to the Legisla- ture shall bo for the services, coining in course of payment during the hscal year, or during such other term as such estimates may expressly purport to cover. This I liave also done. And iiow, sir, the motion which I hold in my baud, and to which I respectfully Hsk thj assent of this House, is '■ th^it you, Mr. Speaker, do now leave the chair, and that the House form itself into Com- mittee of 'Supply. " The pres. utyear has not been untventful, and the incomnig one is of especial interest and iiuporiance ; and in ask- ing the indulgent attention of this House (which I believe is nevi'r refused to a per. .son for tht first time filling the place I occu- py) I liope to lay before you iu a clear and e.Kplieit niimner the receipts of the I'r-asury for the tiscal year which terminated on the ;iOth of .luiie last, and at the same time to recount the expeii 'iture fer the same period, and shew the relation which the one hears to th'^ other. This will shew to wh it extent and by whit means we have met the obli- gations of the past. In doing this I shall have to speak, of disa|ipoliitrae.nts which led in sonii! instances to diminished revenue, and of unexpected ri'eeipts (so iii speak) which added to it, and I shall finally have to strike the b dance bciweeii the one and the otUer so tliat you may see at a glance whether our liiiancfs are on a healthy and sound basiao; not.. I shall thou have to draw under your notice the supjiliMueiiiary estimates rendered neces.sary to complete unhnished works for which the appropriations have either lapsed or been found inad'qnate, and ask your as- sent to tiiem ; and finally I shall invite you to look wiih me into the future whilst 1 fore- cast the probable revenue and expenditure i for the ap|)roac!.ing ti.scal year. To do this I successfully presupposes a certain amount of knowledge on my part and a certain amount j of attention and forbearance on yours. INCOME OK TUB PKOVINCK. Mr. Speaker, let me first speak of the reve- nue received during the past fis( al year. It was estimitid tl at it would be $2,185,49.5 ; it realized $2,340,151. But iu this are included the new tiix -s imposed last year iifter the es- timate was made, and which were not, of course, inclu, irts, and an early judgment is antici- pated. It is hoped and expected that the resuH will bofavoiable; for this year is, of all years, the most trying one upon the re- sources of the Province. We are in the very inidiit of all our great undertakings -. we have spent largely of the means we have provided for them ; in a short time they will be fin- ished, and atfording a revenue, either direct- Iv, as in the case of the Uovernment Roadi, or indirectly, as in the case of the subsidized one;?, by the development of trade, inter- .-'ourse and industries ; and the failure in an important item of revenue would be most undesirable and unfortunate. I can only repeat the hope I have expressed that we will be spared the necessity of replacing this impost by some other, for I cannot hold out the hope that the amount col- lected by it can be dispensed with. The Law Fee Kuud yielded $5,715, and the Building and Juy Fund $15,946 : but this Building and Jury Fund does not yield any- thmg like the amount it should yield, and really the question of this fund and the cog- nate question of the tost of adminiijtration of justice in this Province is one of growing seriousness and importance. When it is re- collected that we are now spending upon the administration of justice, includiiig therein police and reformatories, $514,834 per an- num, and when we reflect that this expendi- ture has increased since 1868 by $2()3,397, and since 1872 by $156,245, or equal in the last four years to an increase of between 40 and 50 per cent., and when we consider that, in the more f.ivored sist r Province of Onta- rio, f illy one-half of the burthen of this ser- vice is borne by the county municipalitieg. and that whilst ve upend $514,831 they Hpend unly $'233,420 per annum uui of their cooHolidiited revenue (I quoto from their e8timate8) — that the auiouut toatributud by ug repreauntH very nearly twenty-five per cent, of our gross annual revenue, and, with the interest of our debt, one-huif of the whole, or nearly so, we begin to see the ue- ceggity of relieving the Qovbrnment of a por- tion uf this burthen, and of putting a Hmull Mhare, at least, of its augmenting expenses upon the municipalities. What would be thouj^ht if Knglund proposed to spend nine- teem millions n'l'rling per annum on the udmi'iistiatiou of justice out of onlinary re>euue ? I repeat, the question is a serious one, and must soou take a pro- minent place in the consideration of the ways and moans of this I'rovinte. Tavern licenses proiluced $210,417. As the House has probably heard, I proposj to sub- mit a projet for the oonsolidalion of the liicense Law. I hope iho efl'ect of this law will be to g'vo increased elliciency to this branch of the public service, make more clear and simple the duties of the adminis- trators of the law, and add snmewhat. loo, I hope, to the lievenue. Some questions iif- fecting our power in tiiis House to deal with some of the questions inciUentul to the work- ing out of the law have arisen, but care has b.-en taken in framing the measure, and I trust the objectionable points have been met and provided for — I refer, of course, to the avoidance of trenching upon the attril'Utes of tha Federal Parliament in rcjrulatinfj trade and commerce. The fund arising from this class of imposts has v< ry considerably aug- mented under the legislation of last sessic^n, and tue estimates for the next fiscal year will shew that I confidently rely upon a still fur- ther increase. Marriage licenses gave us $6,630, a iimaller sum than was estimated ; educational receipts, ^5,635 ; Publ'c Works revenue, $3,240 ; Montreal Court House, ex- clusive of stamps, $3,66G ; the Official Guzette, $2&,255 ; fees on private bills, $2,423, and the House of Correction at Montreal, $14,848. Under the head of i'odce, we have re- ceived from the city of Quebec, $21,- 087; from Levis, $4,946; from Sil- lerv, $666, or a total of $26,700. This police service, too, is u growing expen- diture, and must bo diminished. We have spent upon the Provincial Police, as a branch of the Police service in the last fiscal year, $69,883. We anticipated the current year, if nothing had 1 een done to curtail it, that it would not be less thin $71,436. We, ther( - fore, decided upon reducing it. Our esti- mates are for $51,436, or a reduction of $20,- 000. To carry out this reduction one of two things must happen : — Between now and next 1st of July either Quebec must agree to pay more ;>er ca/)i7a for the men, or the city must provide its own police, and we will re- tain 15 ur 20 men for revenue and detective serrice, and discharge the balance. It is in- tolerable that the but den can go on iDcreas- ing as it hag done, or even remain at what it is in view of the other calls upon the Provin- cial S'jrvice. For instance, we cannot continue to deny an increased grant to common school education in order that wo may furnish the citixens of Quebec with a police force at less than cost, nor do I think or wish to insinuate that the citizens, of Quebec ask or expect it. Hut I merely wish to show the impuitance of some change Our interest account shows we have re- ceived $124,871 on the proceeJs of the bonds, $58,0tJ7 on speciahle()OHits,and $2,831 from the loan to the proprietors of the Beau- port Asylum, making a gross total of $185,- 770 for the year. Miscellaneous revenue yielded as follows : St. John's Asylum, Muni- cipal Loan Fund, fines, gale of stiitutes, elec tions and casual revenue, $4,561 ; refunds, $8,234. Total receipts for the ye;jr, $2,340,15163. We had in hand, in ( ish, on 30th June, 187.'), $3,644 382, which two itemg make a total of $5,»8.!,533,94. THE VBAR'S EXl'SNDITCRK. I come now to the expenditure of the tisctl year, ending 30th June last. We have spent upon the public debt, for interest, charges of management and sinking fund, $254,461 ; on legislation, $200,420 ; Civil Government, $153,307 ; Justice, Police, Reformatories and Prison Inspection, $514,834. On Puiilic In- struction, Literary and Scientific Institutions, Arts and Manufactures, $351,180; Agricul- ture, Immigration, Uepatriement and (joloni- zation $189,900 ; on Public Works and build- ings, including the purchase of the Woikman property, St. Uabriel street, Montreal, $149,- 387. For chaiities, including the Lunatic As)^ I urns. Reformatories and Indiistrial SSchools, $214,464; Crown lands, including registra- tion service, $148,520 ; (fficial Gatette, $lt>,. 117 ; miscellaneous services, $3d,455. ^Ua- diies, nuchas Tanneries Land Investiiratiou and suit, help to distressed settlers onthe La- brador coast, in the Mi gdaleii Islands, and in Cinnborne township, Philadelphia Exbil ition' Municipalities Fund, licenses, stamps, etc., marriage licenses, and payment to Messrs. Robertson and Fleming on tri at — total, $37,- 394. We have loaued to the Sisters of Provi- dence $60,000, making a grand total under this heading of expenditure of $2,325,506, to which must be added the amounts paid by the sherilTs and col lei tors of revei u : out of their collections, $29 543 — making an ag- giegate of payments, ixclusire of the sums (aid to railways, of $2,355,050. There would appear at flisi sight a deficit of about $15,000 on the trans- actions of the year ; but it will be ob- served that, among the items of expenditure are two which do not properly come under the head of ordinary outlay, inasmuch hS one, $16,000, is disbursed for the purchase of a building in St. Uiibiiel street, Montrea1,and the other, $60,000. is a loan to the Sisters of ^wmssM^^smi^sMs^zsmssxx^m^n^^B^^i^^mxm Proviilonco, Itntli iti-iiM Mrn of tli • iintiiiiMif MS'iU, or a:M Hum« cltNuly cImiki'iiIiIo to (iipitiil uiriiiirit. lint, l<>'.siili'N ihi'K" expondiliiroH, wu liavi' ni'idn iiiynii'iilH to niilwiiMi to tlio uxti'iil. of 561,517,- 80O, coii-l t ilinir nil ngurc'Kito oC tli>i. biirsomoiiti*, an piT Ktiitciin-iit Hi'Vi'll (if tlii' Tunlio AciouiitH, of $;t,S7J,H:)n, to whi, h iid,! thi) winiiiifs miUtntiiiiiiLr on 3iilh .liiiii', IHTTi, $:i8, T. '5, iiivl •.•,(! hiivi! >: loliil of $:) 'jol.f'Td, from wliich Hii,' to im di iliiitcil onihtuidiiiLf wiinaiils on :i()lli Juni', 187i;, ri'iicliiny; '?:!!•,- 059, wliidi i-i'iiriHi ntrt II Kiiin iniliidi d in tlui previous items <.'f outlay. The total rr. c;<-ipts durlii:{ till! yiiiir, with the biiliinii- in thu 'rrciiMiiry on 30 h J^ini', 187'), iimounted to $5,(184, ri,s:i (U. The toliil pnym-'iits, ini Indint; the piililic delit,, in- vcMtinent.i and ruilwayn, rnv hed S:l,8G2, 517, whirh haves in the Treasury f 2,1 22,- OIG on SOih Juno last. This amount was depo^iti'd in tho various hanks as set forth in (h;tail in Statement No. 2 of the I'lih- lic Accounts. We had received as Judicial Dopo its, altdgothir, since the Act creating; that Kuml ( ame into force, Mnrch, 1872, inclu'lint; int'rest up to the liOtli June, lH7ri, $1,982,>'87, w'lilst wo liad paid out, includ- in^ chiirRO< tosaniodate, $1,813,554, leaving a balance in our hand' Oi $li>;),:):(3, wlii< h Is deposited in thu several hank.s as before stated — No. 13 of the Public Accounts. IlKSULT AND 8DRPLUS. To resume the transactions (,f the year, wo have reci (ved $2,340,151, and our expen- diiiKc his been $2,355,u5'>, fiom which, however is to lie deducted ?!7(i,0l)0, expilldrd on capital account, leaving a Imlanie of ordi- nary expenditure of i;2,279,,00(^, if retaiJi- ed, but, if disbanded, will, of ciiurHe, produce iioihiiig; casual n venue, $1,300 ;jiil for fe- males, Moiitreiil, .*i.r.'.,000. This last is a Mini ilii 1 by .Montreal as its contribution towards the erei lion of ihisstriK tore T'le municipal loan fund l.< expicted toyi' ld$IO,ooo, i hope we shall collect eVi'U more from this source, ailhoiigli I am bound to siy that hift year the res|)onse from the niunii ipaliiies wis almost. nil. Intri-est, $50, 000, making a grand total cf $-.301,779.12. In geiurnl terms I niay say till! isiimales of the revi niie have hei n baseil upon the revenue of the tirst four moi.ihs of tho present fiscal year and tho reports of the otticurs engaged in its collec- tion. KSTIMATBD KXCENDITl-'HF, Iconic now to the cstirniited ciiricnt ex pendilureof the same year. Under the head of 1 gi-latioii comes the Legislativj (,'ouncil, including indemnity to members, mileage, salaries and contingent expenses, which we sit down $11,000 ; Legislative Assembly, fo. similar Hervices, $100,100 ; i'arliamcntary Library, $3,0((0 ; expeiiai s of elections, $5,000 ; Clerk of tho Crown in Chancery, salary and ordinary (ontingeiicies, $800 ; printing, bindiiiL; and di^iriluting tho laws, $3 300 ; law clerk, salaries of ofli c, $3,000 ; contingencies, cuinpiis ng si ssiunal ch rki-, $800 ; making on the whole, under this head, legi:-l/ition, a total of $107,200. Uinler the head of Civil (lovernmeiit — public depavt- ments, salaiies and contingent ies, $1(53,195. The items niak ng up this eniount are con- tained in the printed statiniiiit accom- panying th" chtiuiates. Ailr.iiiihtration of Ju>tiie, proper, $414,370; police, $51,430. This is the item as to which 1 have already given certain explanations. Ru- formatoiies, Montreal and Sherbrooke, $50,- 000; prison inspection, $3,700; making an aggregiito for Justice, of $519,506 — an increase of hetwi en $1,000 and $5,000 over the actual expenditure of the previous year, and assuminga reduction in the police ixpen- iliture, as already stated, of $20,000. Next I shall take Publie Instnict'on : Superior educa- tion iiroper, $71,000; lli«h Schoids, (jiiobi c and Montreal, $2,470 ; compensation to K. C. institutions for grants to the High iSihools, $t,y40; Common Schools, $155,000 ; Rehool.s in poor inunicipalilies, $8,1100 ; Normal Sihools, $40,000 ; salaries of Schoid Inspec- tors, $30,000 ; books for prizes, $4,000,— an increase of $500 over laht year ; Journal iii h'ciiicatioti,, $2,400 ; Superannuated Teachers' Fund, $8,000— this is an addition of $l,400to the sum voted lart year, and is but a very paltry contribution by the state towards the relief of an indigent jlass of public servants, who, duri.ig their years of active life, have been very por.ily paid for their services ren- dered tho Stale (■ heers) ; Schools for the Deaf and Dumb, $12,000 ; depot of books, maps, globus, etc., in the Public In- ftruution DcpnrtnHUt, $15,000, Tliin !g h rifW ^tutit ulto);i'lli< ., iiikI in iiittiidtd to iTi'iile II htorr-lioUMc, whi'iRi' w IkhjIs limy 1»' KUpplii'd with lU'ct'HMiry iiKiiUHniKl ii|<|iaiatiis uf u iiiiirorin iliuriictcr, anil lit juiiiH bflow (ho iiresi'iit. 'I'liiN in, I li(lu'V(|ii Hii<'f;ehtiou of ihu Cumiuitti) 8 of I'lililic Iijhiiuc tioii. Tlic'Ku itcniH ((iDibincd tuako ii tutitl iil' $:tr)8,H10. 'J'lie Litciary and Siitiitific liiRli- tutiunti would rt'ciive tln' name grants us liiht yenr, tliu only new ( hch being !j:i, 500 towiinlM (hu I'HtublixLint'nt of an IIIUHlrati-d Journal of AKritullure,f 1,200 towardH llie Aurkultiiral School at UiLhii'ond, jpromistd lat-i year hut accidi'iilally oiuittcd, and iJil.ddO for i\\v \vU orinaiy School at Moiitrial, [.rnvidid l(-jturi» wiTo K'vtii in Frtiiih ns wtll an i'l Kn^;li^h, and that it lontilbute to tin- ./ow /ail oj Ayri- euUurf nrticli'S on vtt<;rinmv sul'i<'tts. All tht'HU vott'H niaiU' a fjroKH fdia! ■r Ihosf «r- vicc'Bof$162,lC0. I'liblit WorkKiiiid buildings, runts, inKUriiiitf, repairs, tti'.. ijiri.VOl ; iiisjut- tion and sinvi ys, $4,000 I'.iidgo ai ross the Ottawa at ('iiliiim I hdand, pro', idiil tin; towii- 8liip in wliiili suc'i; bridge is KiUiiif.-xl furnish a sum sulHcient to coinplit^ it (a re-vote), $l,0;iO. 'I'owards the railway bridge over the St. Maurice, suitable fur vehicles, or recon- structing that over the same strciim at Three llivers, under certaiu cunditioTis, $15,000 — (a revote). Cliargeuble to iUiilding and Jury Fund, rents of Court lluuses and Jails, $527. Insurance of Court Houses and Jails, J:i,:')00 : repairs to thdn, $l',t,yi0 ; Jail for Kemales, Montreal, for 'xtnis, f 500 ; ' onaventure Court House and Jail, to heightiu wall, $1,000, making a total ofS«8,228 for publii works and buddings, iharg able to ordinary fxpunililure. I'nder the head ofchiiiities conn Heauport, llcpclulaga and the other Lunatic AHvluni Mt St Ferdinand de Halifnx, $l80,0u0; some $12 500 b'ss (ban the c-iti- niaKcd expenditure of the current year. We propose to look inores'rictly to theadmissii;ii of patients, in order that their friends sb(>uld contribute, when jiossible, the cost or a por- tion of the cost of their keep, wiih a view to reduce present outlay, lielniont Iletreat, Inebriate Asylum, receives $700 ; Murine and Immigrant Hospital, Quebec, $2,606 ; Lying- in-Hoi-pital, in care of the Ladies of the Good Shepherd, Quebec, $2,013. This is no new grant, but is made up of what wag formerly given to the Marine Hospital and Ilo-'pice di la Ualernite, Quebec ; K formatory Schools, ?8,140; Industiial, $7,000; miscellaneous charities, as per list in estimat'S, $10,600 — total, $241,120 Thus it will be feen that while the Province o; Quebec, with a more limiteil income than On- ario, spends $241,120 tn charities, Ou- tario spends but $50,696. 'i'he question here naturally arises, whether the course of Ontario, in largely making such charities a local burden, or our system of imposing their maintenance upon the public chest, is the wiser. Miscellaneous and unforeseen expenses, $20,000. Under the head of col- lection, mniing( ni< nt rikI other (hnrgra r>u nvmue, we have the hdlowiiig ; Muijicipali- lieh(uiid,C. S. L.(!,,c«p. 110, $5,000; MirveyH through Crown lands, $16,(00 ; gem ral t xpen- ncy iu consequtnuo of ini.Tfami of the number of xnea at Sherbrookn and Point Lev 8 ; Icisofaccoutri-mentR, etc.atthe Blont- calm Ward flre. Under the h«ail of Public Work ■ and buildings, rents, iDRiirances, n-ptfitB to public bulldiii(,'8, balance of last year's appropriations unexpended on 30th June last, but required now, $5,458 ; inoeaaed in- surance on Court Houses and Jails rendered necessary, $250 ; repairs of court houses and jails, balance of appropriation unexpended on 30th Juno last, and needeil to complete works begun or contratted for, $7,628; j dl for females, Montreal, amount of a;ipr()priation left on oOlhJune last and reqiu red to pay (be expendtur" made <- bcinu made u:uler the contiact, $25,115; Bonaventure courthouse and jail, balance of ap|)ropriat!on on oOth June la! t wanted to I'onipleto the jailor'k- hou.se, $93(J50; Philadeli)hia K.\hibition, $1,200, the $1,000 already voted being insuf- ficient; ngistration service, to meet dtficitn- cy of appropriation and to be charged to ca- pital ac count, $50,000. Total supplementary estimatrs, $1 16,489. A vote of $(i7,486 will also bo rtciiiired to cover special warrants for exnenditures already made belonging to the fiscal year ending 30ih June, 1876, as will be feen by reference to the public accounts statement No. 11, page 102. CAPITAL AND ORDINARY EXPSNDITCRR. The hon. member for Sherbrooke as long ago as 1872, in the financial expoxe of that year, drew under *be notice of the then members of this House the practice which pri-vailed of [ aying for public woiks of a permanent ( hHrac- ter, out cC annual revenue and he pointed out the distinction which should be drawn between them and those annual items of ex- penditure which had to be regularly provided for. He said "permanent works when once completed are completed foiever and entail no Annual expense for the sAme purpose tfaerfafcer,' and he inst^inced the sums there- tofore spent upon Court Houses and Gaols and gaol walls, speci&l grants made for special objects, and certain payments to railways by way of capital amounts or capitalized si'.bsi- diee instead of annual grants, the expendi- tnre on the Reformatory of St. Vincent de Pan] and other works of a permHoent kind, and he concluded that such expenditure pro- perly belonged to, and ought to be charged to, the Consolidated Revenus Fund, and he forther added that that course would be ad- opted as soon as the "rovince was in a posi- tion to open such an account, and hi con- clnied his remarks on this head by saying that "' in estimating and judging of our an- nu'il rrceipts and expenditure it is quite legi- timate not to put down as a dtScit in our re- venue as a^inst our disbursements, charges for works of a permanent character, not tntailing annual expenditure." And again last year, on a similar oc- caeion, when retetang to two items in the estimated expenditure of the then current year, viz., $16,000 for the Workman property in Montreul and $)00,000 fcr departmental buildings, he said that although he placed these items in the estimates so as to have them voted, yet that they should not be charged against the revenue of the year, but to capital account, and paid for out of the balance in the Ti usury and not out of the fact, his perspicacity and iin to predict in 1874 that icy the surplus would pro- d upon year by year, but ur means in Hallways was year u revenue ; ii forasight enabled ; by our llnilway jki baoly be encroacb he said investing < better fur the Province than lending it to the Banks. Now, Mr. Speaker, I entirely oiucido in the lemariis of that hon. gentleman on those occasions, and 1 have accordingly pla/^ed, as hon. members will see, in the euj - plemeiitury and in the annual estiniat.s, cer- tain items as chaigeablc agiiinst capital account . in other words, I have distinguished between those itenirt pinperly chargeable to current e.xpenditure luid those cliiirgeable to capital acc<;init. These items arnoimt this year to $;^(>l,000. and consist of, 1st, the items in the sini|>lenientary estimates of $50,000 forR' gistnition service and $100,000 for the same service in the annual estimates, making a totil of $150,000. And in connection with these items I de«ir«« to explain that, wo havi^ decided upon adopting a mere speeuy and more ecoiiOmical method of jojipleting thir ser- vice thar heretofore existed. It was found by experience that doing this service by cadastral bureaux cost ou an averag-j $2.15 for each descripiiou, whereas, by the system adopted elsewhere than iuthecou tios where bureaux have been established, the avt rage cost has been from one dollar to one dollar and twenty-five cents, a saving of nearly fifty p jr cent And assuming that in the seignorial portions of the Province there romuin 441 parishes and incorporated villages to be cad- astre, and that there are m each 400 par- cels or lofi>, there would remain 176,400 de- scriptions to make, which, at the cost of $3.15 each would amount to $363,384, whereas, under tb« other system estimating the cost at the higher figure of $1.25, and not the lower of $1, would amount to only $220,500, and thus will be effected p saving of $142,- 884. Moreover, whilst since the inaugura- tion of the bureaux in 1836 to 30th June, 1875, only 77,686 lots had been completed; by adopting this new system, wa will be ablo to complete this important provincial work: in about two years, whilst under the old sys- tem it wculd take fifteen or twenty years to do this. To effect thij great saving requires a large present outlay, but once done it will not require to be done again in this generation, and come" consequently under the class of works, which I am agreed with my hon, friend the member for Shurbrooke, in saying should be charged to capital ac- count. The next item in the sam<' account is an item of $80,000, for the construction of t)ie JacqueR Cartier Normal Hchiiol ; tliiH sum, by a resolution of the House, if I remem- ber corrHctly, ii was ordered might bo paid out of tbe funds available in the TreRsury, but it was arranged should by repaid back out of the proceeds of the present Jacques Cartier Normal School property on Notre Dame streut i;^ Montreal when sold. Tlio Legisla- ture has long since authorized this to be done, but. it has been delayed for several reasonp ; first, because the valun of real estate in Aiontreal has not yet completely recover- ed from the dep-«8sion of tbe past two years; secondly, because until very lately, no site liad been definitely fixed upon to erect the new buildings ; and thirdly, because until the new ones are erected, unlesf the value of property recovers itself, it is convenient to keep them for th_' use of the school- instead of sellincr th.'ni and paying rent elsewhire pending the erection of Ihc new ones. I liopo tht; recovery in values and the completion of the new buildings will come about the same time ; but of course we will not delay the one for tbe other, but proceed ue.-ct spring vigorously witii the works. The next item is princi- imlly a revote, it amounts to X'09,000, and is for the construction of the Di^partmental buildings, Ion':; since determined upon, and respecting which some progress is being made. There can bo no doubt about the propriety of charging this amount to capita! account as ray predecessor intended doing, and I may add that when tbe'je buildings "ire completed We will save considerably in re^ts '.nd a gre.it deal more in the item of repairs and insuratces, as the new buildings will require none of the former, and h'^ insurable at a much lower rate. And, finally, there is the item of $75,000 for the Quebec Court House. This item is for tbe reasons above given charged to capitbl account, has been determined upon only on the st ongest representations of the bar, the preRS and he public, that tbe present buildings are quite inadequate, and in fact unhealthy t>nd in erery way unfit. The annu)^! iois occasioned by the outlay will be, in ^art at least, met by a fund which it is proposed to create for that pui pose, to be calleid the Quebec Court House Fund, to be made up by a tax on legal proceedings m this district. Another item in the supplementary estimates is $1,200 to cover the deficiency in the vote oi' $4,000 towardi assisting exhibitors at the Philadel- phia Exhibition. THR PHILADRLPHIA KXRIBITION. I had not the pleasure and advantage, Mr. Speaker, of visiting that erand industrial .-ixposicion of the productions of th« nations of the earth, and hence I cannot speak of the part taken by Quebec ; but, from all I can gather, she t.„)ic a rank, if not worthy of her prent natural resources, at least one •ivhich indicated that in the not distant future she would find a place even amoDgst older nationj — one, too, not unworthy of the great peoples from which her children sprung, and that " tbe few acres of snow " will yet be the heritsge of a people destined to mould acd control in no mean measure the future of this continent (hear, hear). I Mr. Stevenson says :— In the departments in which the Province of Quebec competed tiiere was a total number of awards given of 482, of which number we have taken 11 V. The nuraberof medi^ls awarded by the Amer- iv:an Commissioner to exhibitors from this Province was 63, and by the liritish Judges r)4, making a total of .M7 mtdals for th.'.. Province. The total number of awards re. ceived by Canada from the American Com- misfion is 401, tliis does not include pri/.es for horses, cattle, sheep and swine, as all the awards on these classes have not yet been made known. The Province of Quebec did not exhibit in the class of cheese and dairy products, and the exiiibition of grain instead of being made by individual exhibitors was made in one exhibit by the t;ounciI of Agri- culture. No dogs were exhibited by our Province, (for which Ontario received four awards) nor did wo scarcely go into the live stock Exhibition, as we only entered two horses for competition. Then deducting 56 prizes for horses, &c., and 67 prizes for cheese and grain, the number of prizes awarded to the Dominion for machinery, manufactures and arts is 278. In these latter Quebec did compete, and the nurijber of awards taken by her is S3, about one-quarter of the whole number given. Prizes were also awarded by the Canadian Government, the awards in this case being made by the British Judges. There were 342 prizes in all, 138 of these being for live stock, m which our Province did not compete, thus leaving 204, and of these 204, 54 were taken by Quebec, being more than one-quarter of the whole number. Thus, as I have saio, in th^ departments in which Quebec competed tnere was a total of 482 awards, of which wo have taken U7. The result is in every way creditable to the Prov- ince. (Choers). THE PROVINCIAL RAILWAY. Last December, on the eve of that fegfival which brought tidings of ■■ peace on nsrth and goodwill amcngst men," this Legislature ^separated, ha» ng solemnly resolred upoaan undertaking of such magnitude and import- ance that it was felt by all to be anatioual one. It confided to the Executive tbe task of carrying out, as I have said, a bold tnd comprehensive national policy, the advent, it was hopeu, of great future prosperity and development, I refer of course to the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway. You had laid deep and wide the foundation of this work, had defined its character and range, and i,ad prescribed the machinery by which it was to be done. You bad provided a portion of the means Knd you had directed ifilAl^riMMki^S^ L-,A.-ti '"= -- " • 10 how the lalance whii.h wonid be wanted be. fore the in xt niteting of Ihn Lcgishiluru was to be rained, and a part of my purpose is in- cidentally to hbow yim bow far nnd in ivliat manner we liave carried ont your inBlruetioiiH. It will, perhaps, assist honorable mi nibi rs in the compri'hi-n icn of what will follow if I recall the situation as it existed at that periopily disposed of, whilst its aecompl'sh- ment testifies to the intejiigence and energy of the Cotnniissioners. Had this duty l)een (heonly one assigned to «he Commissioners they would have found ample employment; but biyond and besides was the enterprise it- self wliieh had to be ))ros"euti(I. It was for thet-, then and there, to c Msiiier " the situa- tion," to take a fidl, broad grasp of ihe en- terprise, to map out and define what had to be done, but to be wary and discreet as to the manner . H 1 '^2-'53n-£'3 "i^^ O MB-K-i ."t rit '~' etc: ' ? = =-=»=» O 1 «c:;:q=iE5 -1 c ►1 'A 9 ;;;;;:&?;; 2, :::::: T B . : 5 ; : ; i ; i S": ; ■ -ji ■ * ■ S) w > Oi o' w — W^l£ 111 CO -3- 3 _ 90 ^- s: a. — X cc V. - 1 i 1 Cn S:- - .= 3 c;i % i y 'p o 5| o' -I O:- *^ ,ta "1 "^ T <— ii* '^-1 3& 1:3 -• artSS^iMS^^jr tl c ■--"■w ^ ts c Cfl K^ S-o* &i ? ^3 sg ,^ "Tj s? -1 s;-s-«?-'gs»S2 3 — oc >: — aa ~ - 1 X w T) -t ....'?' •1 ?> o 1 ■•5 1 2 1 • 1 3 1 ? |BalaT loe to l)f expended on West- ei u Seeli< ni % ,210,110 4U. QrKBKr, 2.3rd November, 'H7i). 11 STATEMENT INDICATINO THE PROPOUTION OK WOKK COMI-LKrED AND MATEIUAI.S DK- LiVEKED ON THE EAST bECTION TO THE IS'^ NOVEMBER, 1870. o 3 ?^ to 3 a" n . a'- « 3 ^ .3 ■» fto : o » ; .; e » • • ill 'Hi SB 9 a <« * .T^ ?> tj »^ &3 § 1 rl 3 ►g — 00 ■* oo =^§ •■I "to ;o "1 ^ fv^' Cfl (w CO kO o 35. o ^5> ?r^ ^^ jU~J S£.a CO ' ► '^ - . -"* ?o cats) 1-^ ^P-S £; en 5*S ^ ! 3 i S' r; >; :>i C: 3> 5 G S3 r CO T biO^ ^ ^ -I X tC i» ^ •c •3 "1 •o ■^ n p § 1 o o 3 Bala K Itala tifi- to l)e pxpeiided on the inlerii S.'olioii $2,534 tic(^ lo be ox|)i'iid"d on whole nterpriso 3,783 EiiEc, ilrd November, 1876. 225.77 ,.tW 19 YlIK .lACQI K.S OAHTIKR HANK. Having pot thuR fur in the events of the jiiist year 1 naturiilly come to (lie transactions be- tween tlie JacqneK Caitier Hank and the Go- vernment. Ivnowinir tlie ext 'nsive (Iriilinirs between our contractor. Mr. Mactloniihl, and the Hanli, and knowing ttiat npon tlie resuit of hii< settlement with n.s would (ie|)end not alone his tinancial standing, liiit also (let( r- mine prol)iibly the future careir of the Hank, and its capacity to meet its obligations to- wards the (j.ivi-rtiment, and also 'owards the general public, 1 (Inferred takieg any action respecting our deiH^sits till such time as the CoiX'inis.sioners had determined wliat balance was payable under the new contract with Macdoiiald to him (Macdonal.i; for work al- ready done, and .intil the law otiicers of tlie Grown, after fhe.y had obtained free access to the archives of the com- pany and full knowledge of all its enpHgements, would declare and decidrf what were the legal oMi%Mli(.n8 between the Pro- vince and the Dan-.- with regi.d to the claim put forward by the Bank for Boint; ;;600,000 of bonds of the oli! comi)any as transfiree of th'e claims of Macdonald for such boi'.ds ; and connijcted with the solution of this problem were several oth.ers, which naturally forced themselves upon our attention, and which we Bought to accomplish. Tht y were : Int. To secure an early completion of the enterpri.se, and this under (he contract which we had made with Macdonald and submitted .'o (he House. 2n(I. To save, if possible, the Jacques Car- tier Bank from suspension and liquidation. 3. To iAve our deposit in the Bank of $800,000. 4. To secure the payment of the Bura.s due to the sub-contractors along the line, aL '. the claims of persons holding lieus. It is true that the Qovernmeut might have eliminated some of these considerations, for it might have refused, 1. To recognize any li- ability or responsibility towards those who urged that it was its duty to save the Bank if possible. 2. It might I.ave assumed the same attitude towards the creditors of Mac- Donald & Co. 3. It might, so far as ite own deposits were concerned, have said : we rely upon the as.stts of the Bank, the double li- ability clause of the banking Act against shareholders and the collateral security which had been taken. 4. And so far as the claim of the .Jacques Cartier Bank for btmds was concerned, and the claims of t'le creditors of MacUonuld k Co., it might have said to the Bank : Liquidate your claimB in a court of law and obtain a judgment of distribulion,or in some other way establish your rank and priority, and we will pay conformably to such ranking; and we might even have aone further and said to the contractor, unless you go on and complete the work the Oov- erntuent will avail itself of its power under the con(ract and take up and complete the work at yonr cost, risk and peril. But to such suggestions it could properly be objected, ) That tlie Government, as the piincipal cre- ditor of the Bank, was as much as any other LTCui tor interested in preventing it from going into licjuidation. 2. Tliat as a guardian and lirotector of (he public interests it was iiound, if in its power, (o avert a cilamity which would bring ruin and dcBolation to many a hearth and leave huudiedb of widows and orphans without su.'-tenance. Nor was our course quite disinterested ; for it might ever, happen that if the bank went into liquidation, the 8car.;ity of money and the depression in values «as so great that the assets of (he bank world not — or only after the lapse of a consid rable (ime — meet its liabilities, and (his the more so as it was only after the discussion of the assets of the' bank that the collateral security was avail- able. And even if such an attempt were made as to put (he hank into liquidilion, an awkward legal qu-stion would arise whether th" bank as transferee ofMiDonald & Co.'s right to » piyment in bonds for work done for 'ho old Company (Hud which liy Com- pany's engineer and the Govern ment engin- eer report amounted to $1,000,000, on which only somo $800,000 had been paid, miebtnot ( aiMii VJ, \t<. wt ap a claim to coapcn8at«, pro tanio, the «naonnt of tho aRgignmfnt of bonds viz., $f 00,000 Btjainst the claim of the Government for the amount of itH deposits ; and besides, if the Govcrnrat'nt were to resist or refuse payment till the claims of sub-contractors were liquidated regularly in a court of justice, all the calamities 1 have referred to would meanwhile inevitably occur, vi/. : Tho bank would have to go into liquidation ; tho con- tractor «onld not no on with the work ; the sub-contractors along the line and the people to whom they were indebt- ed would sufl'er very ge-Terely. liesides, as a mere question of integrity and common honesty, the Province, as assignee of the Company, had got from the contractor, by the shewing of its own engineer (Mr. Light) a property which had honestly cost $1,600,000, and under its agreement with McDonald was only paying for this property $1,300,000, a fact wlnrh, while it accounted for McDonald's inability to meet his obliga- tions towards the Bank and the sub-contrac- tors and the holders of liens (workmen), at the same time created at least an equitable and moral obligation to i)rotect those whose labor or siibstanoe had created it, whilst taking over the work. In a word, it was un- becoming for the Province to enrich itself at ihe expense of t'leso p-ople without giving gome consideration to their claims. THE ARRANUEMSNT KFKBCTEn. Under these circumstances a proposition ■wms made which it was claimed would meet ■i'.l the circumstances of the case, nameij, l8t, to save the bank ; 2nd, repay sub-con- tnMJtors and laborers ; 3rd, enable the con- tractor to go on with his work and complete it. Thig was to be effected as follows: — Tho Bank would throw off to McDonald the accumulated arrears of interest and would five him until 1st November, 1877, to pay tjbe balance of their claim not then provided for, and would relieve the Province from any liability under transfer of bonds by McDooald Jt Co., provided the Government would pay it or give credit to the Bank on -account of its indebtedness to the Province for $200,000, and provided further the FroTince would undertake that it would pay unto tho Bank for McDonald another and ftirther sum of $200,000 without interest M tjie work progressed on the road (or, if not ^mpleted then, on the first of November, 1877). And, as a pait of the scheme, tne Commissioners suggested that we should apply $300,000 of the balance coming to the contractor towards piying off gub->'ontractor8 and those holding liens, and which should be enough for the purpose, and as security to the Province for these advances (over what was coming to McDonald under his new contract) and its assumed liability towards the Back, McDonald would give real estate security to tho extent of $100,000, and personal security by the same perrons as those be gave the Federal Government for his contract on the Intercolonial Railway, and for the reimbi^ise- ment of the Government for any advances made him under his agreement, and for the final completion of his job. This proposition was accepted and carried into effeit. Its result was thnt the Qcvernment paid or be- .amo responsihle for $700,000, and had as Hgaini-t this in its hands $.')00,0U0 (I speak in round numbers) of McDonald's money, security on real estate valued at over $135,- 000 for $100,000, and the personal security above alluded to ; and,m<)reover,it was further stipulated thnt the Huhedule under which monthly payments were to be made should be amended, and the balance of work to be done, and valued at $2,307,000 sho'ild be monied oi'.t or paid for as if the amount were only $2,000,000, or in other wohIk, as if a drawback of IG per cent were stipu- lated for iu the progress estimates. Thus, in a word, the Province risked $100,- 000, and has against it the personal se- curity, and the above drawback as fast as it accumulates. 1 may state fur- ther that th'To is now in the hands of the Government an accumulated draw- back from the contractor amount- ing to $175,314.15, which almost meets the amount advanced to the bank in the first in- stance. Tho quesiion to bo determined, if question there be, is whether under all the circumstances of the case this prm^eeding on the part of the Executive wasa judici«>us one, and I confidently belijve that on this point there cannot be two opinions. The failure of the Jacques Cartier Bank — the buspension of the work lor at least some months, with its attendant loss of interest on expenditure made, and the corresponding loss of tho use of the road when it ought to he completed and reali: 14 cCRSorof Mr. Potter, it is hopflesRforits propri- etary to expt'ct anythinf^like a fciir return (or its capital, till the latter lin8 been reduced; leasee! lines lield at unprofitable rates surren- dered, ai,d uon-payini? braneiies disposed of or closed up. And not then till ttie ruinous competition with more favored lines is stopped, and the joad run first in the interests of a local tradj combined with a throuKh one, so far as this is consistent with the rivalry it has to meet. (Hear, hear.) But the third class I have in- dicated wery those who chose to pretend and assert that the Province was unable to meet the new bu thens it was taking? upon it, that it was already heavily burthened with debt, and that its natural resources were almost nothing, and that in short it was on the hiffh road to bankruptcy. Now, to tiiose persons. if any there be, who make such assertions in good faith, or who honestly believe them when put forward by others, 1 wo ild ask them to look at our revenue nine years ago, at the inauguiiition of Confederation, and the revenue at the present time. Then it was $1,53.'5,836.66, the last fiscal year whs $2,340,- 151.63. I would ask them to remark that this revenue, as I have before said, fur one-naif of its amount is collected without any ex- pense whatever, that it is fixed and certain, that any debt which we have contracted has always been honorably met to the hour, that the money r>presented by the debt has been, or IS being spent in remunerative public works, and in the opening up and develop- ment of the Province, that the proportion which it bears to tiie population and re- sources of the Province is extremely light as com^jared with other l!riti^h Colonies. That the rate of inter ?st payable on the debt is com))arntively not high — and that a (com- parison of tli(; fiiianeial position of the i'ro- vince with that of any other of the Colonies and States which have borrowed money in England is certainly not to our prejudice. I have h'ard it stati'd that as an integral I)art of tlie Dominion, the Province o( Que- bec is responsible for its shdie of the Dom- inion dibt. This is true, but it is equally true thai the ]iaymeiit of the interest and principal ot that debt is in no sense a charge or burthen upon the revenues of (he Pro- vince. Others have said, but the mimici- cipal oriianizitions like the citiis of Mon- treal and Quebec h:ivi! debts and they form a latof the I'rovinee of Quebec. To (his I reply true, but these di-bts have no more to do with our rivenui's than have (he miinici- cipal debts of London or Liverpo()| with ttic revenues of Great Britain, (Hear, hear) — Hut to the last Class of croakers who speak of the Province as being wi iiout ri'sourees, I have no patience to reply further than to say, come and 8''e (or yourselves liie grand valley of (he St Lawience, (he Ji'chelieu, (he si, Francis, the St. Maurice, the Ottawa, the Sagucnay. Ascend any or all of thise, look at the vast domain comprising 13'),not!,(ino of acres of land which belongs to this Province ; look at its Koil and its forest wealth ; examine beneath the soil of th-; valley of the Chau- diere for gold, the St Lawrence for iron, the Ottawa for plnmbngo, the phosphates and iron. Consider that this Province is the gateway to the Dominion and the illimitable wi'st ; look at the progress which has been made since say 1841, see how united, prosper- ous and contented arc her people, look how religion and education go hand in hand, re- flect upon the thrift, the integrity and the in- dustry of her people, consider that to Lower Canada and her voi/ai/fur sons has been given the boa>t to have giv<'n a name and to have ex - pJored the country lying betweoc the great West and the Rocky Mountains on the one side and Hudson's Hay on the other, rnd then say whether a (ew millions of debt, contract- ed to gi\e this widely scattered people close and intimate daily connection and communi- cation, can ever embarniS'* such » people, or thnt their creditors can have one moment's anxious care for the safety of their inveHt.- men(s. (Loud cheers.) TIIK I'ROVl.NCIAL ASSETS. It is generally known that an interview took place at Ottawa in October last between the Hon. Mr. Mowat, Premier of Ontario, and the Hon. Mr. Crooks, Treasurer of that Prov- ince, on the oned upon, to which botli jiarlies would consent, and upon which such a discussion i duld be based ; that if engiigcd in without such prcli- miaary agreement, that it would only end in party advocaiing bis own views, and each that we ujiglit bo rather drawn apart than toi;ether from nueh discussions ; but lliat if we hvl a iirinciple and a com- petent authority to apply it wtien we coudl III t, that there was a certainty that theobject Kuiglit to be accomplished would be brought about. After several conferences it was found that in the face of the award (whu h I may nny is manifestly one-sided and unjiist) it was d'lhuult to accomplish any settlement, and it was, therefore, determined that ener- getic measurts should be at once taken to have the validity of the award reme Court. \Vd (b-clined, iiut expressed our readiness to lay it before the I'rivy Council in lOngland, audit wan then agn-cd that this should be done, that tho factums or petitions should be made up and the cases submitted as soon as •."unveniently could be done, it being under- «tood that probably little could be done before the end of the session of this and the Ontario Liition ol the Pro- vince of Uuebec is. We can easily know and tell what we owe and what our obligations and res[)onsibililiea are, but we can never know nor say precisely what our mei.n.s to meet them are till wo can tix u value upon these assets ami know what |)roportii)n of them belongs to us. 1 cannot close this subject, however, without bearing testimony to tho frankness, courtesy, and good teeling which wu met not alone from the representatives of Ontario when at Otti:- wa, but to the general courtesy of the Domin- ion Ministers, with whom we were brouglit in contact, (Hear, hear.) I hid almost forgut- leu to explain thit we had an interview with the .Minister of Finance for the Uominiou relative to soi.ie undivided funds in the bands of the Dominion and belonging conjointly to us and Ontario, and upon whiib we thought we were entitleil to claim interest. I refer to the price of library and some other funds, and I h.'iv'o th^i pleasure to state that I gathena from the lemarks of the Hon. Finance Minister tliat he was not op- posed toou' views, and was inclined to con- sider our [iretensions favoiably. (Hear, hear.) And now us to TUB HAILWAY I'OLIUV OK THIS VEAi.. 1 tliiidi to consider thi.s matter intelligently and to arrive at wiseconclusion.-<, it woidt. Jerome branch, beyond 8t. Jerome, $68,400 ; the extension west of Aylmer of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway ; the Quebec and Lake Bt. John, $570,000; the Quebec Frontier (lap8td),$187,500 ; the Missist^quoi and Black River Valley, $150,000, also lapsed; and the Bay of Chiilcurs, $243, 659. These amounts are givt n not as showing the full amount of cash subsidy, but the amount of subsi'iy after deduction of the five per cent, discount on th« debentures, except in the case of the Quebec Frontier aud MissiBtquol and Black River Railways, when the toto^ amouuta are mentioned, and the Que- bec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway, now a Government work. To meet those amounts, and the Imlanca of the cost of constructing the Q., M., O and Railway, wo have the ditferent municipal subsidies towards thatpoition of the obliga- tions iu which is contained the Provincial railway scheme, viz.: the balance of the Quebec and Montreal grants, amounting to $1,501,355.38. and the amounts due by the municipaliticB along the line of the road, amonnting to $459,000 ; the sum of $3,398,- 422 in cash in the treasury, being unexpend- ed balance of the two louns, and wo have, besides, in the treasury the sura of $650,000, being the balance of accumulated savings in the treasury on special deposit, and the ordinary cash deposited in banks in open account, of $40,140 and finally we have the right to issue $3,- 000,000 bunds given the commissioners by the Q. M. 0. O. Railway Act of lust session ; and lastly conies the question how we can best use these means to carry out the purposes for which they were giver. There are now upon the statute book in full force subsidies to more than a thousand miles of railway. Some of these road-j have made more, others less progress ; some have not gone beyond the mere organization of i ho companies un- der their charters ; othtrs have partly or wholly completed their surveys, others have done some of the 'vork of construction, but not enough to comply with the Act granting a subsidy, and are not likely to ; but as their charters have not yet expired they have droita acquis, which must meantin.'i be respected. Others have complied with t le Acts so as to prevent their subsidies from lapsing, and finally others have made very considerable progress toward completing the projected enterprises. Now, to deal with such varied interests and rights is the duty of this House. We have in our hands a sum of money, borrowed with the intention of paying subsidies on roada not yet fairly begun ; that sum of money meantime has been loaned to the different banks ; is it wie to leave it there whilst we authorize Commissioners to borrow, or borrow ourselves, more tocomplote Provincial en- terprises — in other words, is it wise to be a lender while we are yet a borrower. Why should we send the Comniissioners rnto the market to borrow at, or perhaps below, the par value of tneir securiiit s, and at six per cent, interest, when we are lending money at five ? If we should not, can there bo any objection to conso idate all these funds, and authoriise the Executive to use such por- tion of the funds as are now in ita hands, and are not wanted or likely to be wanted for some years, toward the com- pletion of the ProvJRcial Railway ? I respect- fully suggest that there is not, and thia con- Bolidatiou and authority is a prominent feature 17 of the projected Consolidated Rail tray Fund which we propoHe to create, and to pay out of sach fund the different subriidies an they art) earned, and to use any sums of mone} ot now immedittUly n quired for the payment of subsidies intheccntitructionof the Provincial line, always carefully rttoininK an ample sum forallcontinKent demands. We consider this a wiser course than to allow the Commis- sioners, in the present state of the mouey market, to insue the bonds authorized i)y the Act of laHt seKsion, which could probably only be disposed of ut a couHi'lerablc discount and beariuK a higher rate A interest than a Province of the limited debt and ample re- sources like ours nhould pay for tho construc- tion 01 an enterprise belonging to itself, and which will have to bo, or, lit least, which it is intended will Iw, met, if not out of the earn- ings of the road, then out of the Consolidated Kund. It is expected the line will be running and yieldiiiK revenue witnin twelve months, and it is intended that this revenue, over and above whhi is wanted for working expensfs, and the inten-st of any bonds (guaranteed by the Province shall tall into and lorni part of the new fund. And it maj even happen if the sub- sidized roads, other than the Levis li Kenne- bec, the Quebec Central, International, Wa- terloo & Magog, bouth Eastern, Montreal, Boston A Portland, St. Lawrence & L»ke Champlain, and perhaps some < thers which I have mentioned do not go on, that we will be able to complete our load without borrow- ing the whole of this amount or even without issuing any more bonds whatsoever. On the other hand, we may and probably will have to raise money on the bonds, but if we are obliged to do bo, they will in our hands, and with a guarantee that the interest and principal will l)e punctually paid, c mmand a higher price if negotiated by the Province than if negotiated by irresponsible commis- sioners. In the next place, is it right or wise to retain in our bands the whole of the balances of money granted to such roads as have made great progress and are now arrested by the stagnation of trade, the tightnetig of the money market and the timidity of capitalists, and leave the partial- ly completed sections of these roads to be worked at great risk to the safety of the gen- oral public and great loss to the companies ? (if by modifying the manner of paying these sutMtidies we might aid them). I again sug- gest that it is not; that it is our duty to mod'fy the terms under which they draw iheir subsidies and to advance to these companies oat of their subsidies a sum of money which will enable them to put in good running and working order the completed portions of their roads (say an advance of $1,000 per mile over and above the $4,000 which they have received or may be now entitled to re- ceive), and a further sum of raoi^ey out of the total balance of subsidv ^vhich they have bad accorded to them for f.ny furthfr porti.^n of their road, which they may complete here- after, In such manner and to such extend that no such advance will leave in the handa of the Executive a su' less than $2,000 per m' hereafter to be paid on the poitioa of suv... road as shall remain thereaftet' to be complited, and that no more than six thou- sand dollars should have been advanced or. any one mile of new road. Thus, take the Levis and Kennebec of 90 miles, with a subsidy of $3G0,000. If it has 40 miles completed under the present law, it would be entitled to $160,000, and would have to receive $200,000 on the balance when built. Under the present proposal, they would get, so soon as their road had »een put in a thoroughly safe state for further service, $40,000 for the 40 miles done, and if they completed the next section, say of 20 miles, they would be entitled to $100,000 over such portion or $5,000 per mile, leaving $60,000 in the hands of the Government for the balance of their road to the Province line. It is also proposed to amend the tirfit section ot the Act of lust Bession, Chapter 3, respecting subsidies ?n money made to cer- tuiu railways in such manner as to enable any such guarantee of interest as is therein authorized to be made to be made, at any rate not exceeding six per cent, per annum, in place of limiting it, as it is now limited, to tive ; but of course, in such case, the gua- rantee would extend over a shorter period of time. It is further intended to amend the second section in such a manner as to allow any such company at any time before the completion of their enterprise to return to the Treasurer any payment of subsidy re- ceived by it, and to receive a like guarantee for any such portion of the subsidy returned. The object of these changes is to give to the companies every possible facility in availing themselves of the legislation of last session, and to make it more elastic, and, we hope, more effectatious. This is the policy of relief of the Government for the Levis and Kenne- bec, Quebec Ceutral and International rail- way Compatiies, and will form a ieat- ure in the proposed railway subsi- dies amendment bill or whatever title may be given to such bill. I know this U very much short of the oxpuotations of the promoters of these enterprises, but the words of wisdom of my predecessor yet linger in my ears when he said in his budget speech in 1874 dealing with these vrry railways : — " I cannot be a party to incurring liabilities to such an extent as to inteifere with the effici- ency of the public service or requiring addi- tional burthens to be placed upon the peo- ple ;" this, he added with a plaintivenesi that was almost touching, "is my bounden duty, au'l one which I feel, being intrusted to my hands, must be performed even at the sacritice, it may be of my personal feelings, or the feelings of some of my friends." I am sure it \iHl afford my honorable friend great satisfaction to know that thes* sacred sentiments of duty are re- 18 •pectt'd by hiH HUi;cuHHor. 8u niiiuh for till! liiilwiiy.-i which wo proiii'Ho to aid i>y niu(lilyii)^ tliidy. That is to say, wo hhall snhmit a project to thu [iC^islaturo tlict in order toaiTorila sontliern outlet for iho tralllc of the Q M.u! & O. U'lilwiy, if tho Monlreal, Kogton and Portland Uiiilway will tiko nna- snren to hring their load down to Longinnil and enter into rnnnin^; arrangements l>y which passen>;ers and freight can bo passed over the two roads respectively at /m rata faros and rates, and increaso of their subsidy to $4,000 per inilo from honguenil to tho Province lino, a distance of Ot miles ; and further, wo ivill ank of this Legislature to biing up the subsidii^s of tho »Vaterloo and Mai;( g and the St. Lin roads to $1,000 per niiloj potting theiu on a footing of ecpiality with roa is of their cla^s This will increaso the d> bt of the I'rovince by a kuih about equal to the amount which falls into tho treasury by tho lapsing of subsidy of the Que- bec trolilier road, wiiiih asyi'U will recollect is $187,500. Uspecting tlio Missi.-ciuoi and Hlack Kiver V.illey Raiiioad, it nniht content itself with an e.\tensi( n of tho lime for en- abling it to comply with tho Ai t granting it a subsidy. It really has niiido coniuiciid able progress, but for the present at bast wo oiinnot ricommend more. Tho objo^ t which tho Government has sought to acjomplish in iu' r asiug the subsidies to these roads was as I have said, to put them on equal terms with roads of their class ; next as they were milking very great efforts to carry out their w>.rks to assist them in doing so ; and third- ly, by way of [he I^lontreal, Itoston and Port. ■ land to have an exit independent of the Grand Truiik from Montreal, ly way of West Farn- hain, over the Vi rmont Ci-ntral arid the Waterloo and Magog, to Shcrbrooke, thence by the Internaiional to tin; I'rovince line, and thenco by the Consolidated European and North Am ;rican to St. .John, thus saving a dis- tance of two hundred miles in the distance between Montreal and Halifax, and three hundred between Montreal and St. John, ns compared with the Intercolonial railway, and 1.^0 miles hetwoon Quebec and H ilifax, and 2:!') hutweeii Quebec and St. .bihu. l''ourtbly, by aiding tin; St. Lin to add a feeder to tho Norlh Shore lload. Ue- speiting tho t^uebix' Ki'iitii-r Uaiirnad wo do not teid thai it is our duty to extend the delay for its completion, as it has done noth- ing f.ir itself wo don't foci calbd upon to aid it; we liavi^ twice extended the tini'- for it to avail itself of its subsidy without result, and sie no reason why t.'iat money should not ho iii-ed to aid the tbrco other roads to take a position equal to other loads of their elas.-', iienco the policy we have adopted ; I have now done, it will be seen we have not yielded to the clamor which soight to persuade us to increase the subsidies to cer- tain roads by sacriluing the rights .if others, nor have we recklessly add' d to the public burthens by increasing the subsidii s to roads which have already i$l,0l)O per mile, convinc- ed that our present debt is as much as we ought to bear till such time as our revenue is increased either by the returns of our Provin- cial roads or by some other means, and our credit made firmer abroad by the discovery that it is Rellishness, malice or envy, or ignorance, which bads those wiio dc tract from and di fame the credit of our Province to act as thoy do and say what they say. With my preilecessor, I can truly say 1 don't expect that this sibenie will bo sali.-factory to all, but it has this merit that it commends itself to the mature jililgmi'Ut of those who are responsilile for it : who, moreover, an^ responsible to- wards the country for what they may propose to do, and who are responsible to posterity for the lengths to whiili they may go in seeking to promote a policy which, originat- ing in wisdom and pa*-iotism, has perhaps been pushed further than tho n sources of the promoters and surplus means at the disposal of Iho Government would justify. I>o that as it may, in all and for all I have said I \ claim thu calm, nnseltish judgment of the members of this House, and the constitueu- j cies outside of it, and if we have not done all ; we ought to h'lve done, or if we have 1 (lone more than we propeily could or should have done, we aoide the judgment and remain firm in tho conviction of the faithfulness and integrity of our purposeand intentions. Mr. Sjoiker, in your hands I , place my motion, and if I may be permitted ; to say so, in the hands of tho House the res- ponsibility of accepting or lejecting the po- licy of the Government. Tho lion, gentle- man resumed bis seat amid loud applause. MinMita ^iiBiliiiiiMiiiMiia n MH