c A OP' THK HON. ADAM CROOKS, TKEASUHKK OF TIIK I'KOVIXCE OF OXTARIO, DKLIVKRKD ON THE 21st FEBRUARY, IST-S, IN THE ^egislatibe l^sstmHo of Ontario, ON MOVING THE HOUSE INTO COMiMITTEE OF SUPPLY. RFl'ORTKD BY H. KINLOCH. Coronto : PRINTED BY HUNTER, R(JSE & CO., 80 AND 88 KING STREET. VI 1873. ' 11/ SP'EIGCH OF THE 1 \ ."^ -. '■ HON. ADAM CROOKS, TREASURER OP THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, DELIVERED ON THE 21st FEBRUARY, 1873, IN THE ^ '„ • ■ ■ < ■ ■ - ^ ^_ ■ , ■ ■ ON MOVING THE HOUSE INTO COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. REPORTED BY H. KINLOCH. Corjonto : PRINTED BY HUNTER, ROSE & CO., 86 AND 88 KING STREET. 1873. FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THE HON. ADAM CROOKS. Legislative Assembly, Toronto, Friday, 21si Feby., 1873. Hon. Mr. Crooks said : — Mr. Speaker, In moving that you do leave the Chair, in order that this House may resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole, for consideration of a supply to be granted to Her Majesty, it becomes my duty to make the customary statement in reference to the financial affairs of the Province. In proceeding to make that state- ment, I may first direct the attention of hon. members to the circum- stance that they have before them in full detail all the accounts relating to the occurrences of the past year. For the year ending 31st Decem- ber, 1872, hon. members of this House have for fully a fortnight been in possession of all the public accounts, involving the minutest details and every item of public expenditure under its proper head. I may also remind hon. members, that this is the second occasion on which, during the sitting of the Legislature, hon. members have been placed in this position of having before them, v/hile the House is in session, and while called upon to vote the supplies for the coming yeai — the second occasion on which they have been furnished with the public accounts in this full and complete shape. My immediate predecessor in the oflSce of treasurer, was able during the session of 1871-2, to place the public accounts in this same full and complete shape before the House then in session, in the month of January, 1872 ; and in the first week of Febru- ary, 1873, I found myself able to discharge the same duty. On pre- vious occasions the House was furnished, not with the public accounts as they were subsequently printed, because formerly the public accounts in detail were not printed and published until during the recess which in- tervened between the then session and the foiiowing session, and all that was submitted to the House during its sitting was an abstract rather FINANCIAL STATEMENT. than a full statement of the accounts of the preceding year. This is the fonn in which for the year ending 31st December, 1870, the public accounts were submitted for the consideration of the Legislature. It is a small pamphlet consisting of twenty-four pages : while the public ac- counts now submitted consist of upwavds of one hundred and fifty pages ; and the only details which were contained in that statement of the pub- lic accounts were in reference to the contingencies of the several De- partments of the Government. In other respects all details were omi' ^^d from this statement, which was made up in the following form : — First, the receipts and expenditure for the ten months ending 31st of October, and then a similar statement for the two remaining months ending 31st of December. Now, I allude to these circumstances in order to show hon. members that during former sessions the Legislature has not had the opportunity of considering the public accounts of the previous year, before being called upon to vote the supplies for the coming year, and was not in possession of the details in the manner I have mentioned. I refer to this for the purpose of enabling hon. members to justify me when charged with any apparent delay in bringing down the accounts for last year. Hon. members can conceive the amount of labour which is involved ^.fter the close of the year on the 31st of Decem- ber, before all the public accounts can be properly balanced and drawn up in detail, sent to the printer, the printing revised, and the accounts placed before hon. members in a correct shape. The delay of five weeks after the 31st of December in preparing the public accounts to submit to this House, I think can only be spoken of as a short delay ; and that the delay is more than reasonable cannot be imputed to me or to my Department. Again, as to the assembling of the Committee to whom the public accounts are referred, I may say that that Committee was convened as soon as suited tb^ convenience of hon. members com- posing it, and they have been engaged now for seven or eight days in a careful examination of these accounts. They will have the fullest op- portunity during this session of examining in the most exact manner, and of submitting to the closest scmtiny, every item of expenditure. With these preliminary remarks, I may proceed to discuss more im- mediately the financial position of the Province of Ontario, as it was on the 31st December, 1872. In calling the attention of hon.' members to this, it will be desirable that I should remind the House of the cor- rect position in which the Province of Ontario financially stands, and ^* PTNANCrAL STATEMENT. l' B before stating that position in as concise a forra as possible, I may here mention that this information has been mainly drawn from the statements of one of my predecessors — the Hon. Member for South Brant — which will always form most valuable records in the depart- ment over which I now preside. In the financial statements to which I refer, the hon. member, while Treasurer of the Province, has placed on record most valuable information not so much in regard to our ordi- nary receipts and expenditure, as in regard to that with respect to which it is difficult to find in any intelligible form correct information. I mean the true position of the Province in respect to its relations to the former Province of Canada, and the Dominion Government. I have examined the statements which have been made during the years 1868, 1869, 1870 and 1871 by the hon. member for South Brant. I have also had the benefit of the statement made by my immediate predeces- sor, the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, in February of last year ; and from these statements I have obtained information of a valuable kind which I propose to communicate to the House, and which will enable hon. mem- bers to understand the correct position of the Province. I may also mention in connection with these sources of information that there was a further document, which emanated from the hon. member for South Brant, of an exhaustive and valuable character, namely, his final argument before the arbitrators for determining the relative positions of Ontario and Quebec in connection with their share of the excess of debt, and in regard to certain trust funds and assets of the former Province of Canada. That argument is the main source from which we can derive any correct notion of our true position in con- nection with that question, and I may say that the hon. member for South Brant deserves from this Province the largest amount of praise to be paid to him for the exceedingly exhaustive manner in which he took up, on behalf of this Province of Ontario, the examination of the important questions which came before the arbitrators ; and if one were to compare the terms of the award pronounced with the arguments of the hon. member for South Brant, he must come to the conclusion that, in the main, the arguments of my hon. friend prevailed even to the very figures on which the hon. member argued with regard to this Province. (Applause.) In calling the attention of this House to the statement which I propose to make, I may assume some important particulars in which the member for South Brant claimed certain allowance3 for this Pro- 9f- FINANCIAL STATEMENT. vince, and which allowances were acquiesced in by the arbitrators. And further it appears to rae that considering all the circumstances bearing on the position which the member for South Brant took in connection with that important question, involving as it did very large items of money, it would be difficult to say that his position was not a sound one in principle ; and whatever may become of this question, and whatever attention may be required to be paid to it, I know no one who is in a position to lend more valuable aid to the cause of this Province than that lion, member. (Hear, hear.) In now submitting my statement to the House, I propose asking the House to go through the same or a similar course of instruction,which I myself was obliged to go through when first I took charge of the Depart- ment. As I have had that charge for only a few months in connection with other labours, I have not yet been able to master as fully as I would have desired all the questions of importance which require to be attended to. The first point I wished to arrive at and be instructed upon was, how does the Province of Ontario in truth stand ? It is claimed for it that it has, and it undoubtedly has, a large amount in a state of invest- ment, a large amount saved out of revenue, and a large amount invested in public undertakings ; but the point of vital interest is, when there is a settlement of the debt with which this Province is chargeable in con- nection w til the "Id Province, what is our correct position 1 Under the British I\ '">. Americi Act of 1867, there is a stipulated amount of the public debt o^ (J mr/la to be assumed by the Government of the Domi- nion. That amount is $62,500,000, and for the amount of debt above that sixty-two-and-a-haif millions, the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec are jointly liable in such proportions as were to be subsequently determined by arbitration. Upon a rough estimate it has been assumed, and it was assumed by the arbitrators, that the sum of $10,500,000 would be that excess of debt — in other words, that the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec were bound, under the British North America Act, to assume between them that amount of debt, the in- terest on which r/as to stand against the Provinces — in other words, the interest on the excess of debt due by Ontario and Quebec was to be a charge against the amount payable by the Dominion to each of these Provinces, so that while we in theory are to receive something like $1,200,000 from the Dominion, there stands against us, as a first charge upon that sum, the amount of interest to be payable by the Province of FVfAJSQl^ STATEMENT. f Ontario, on its share of the excess of debt. Various sums have been assumed in regard to the excess of debt, but periiaps it may be desirable to assume, at least for the present, that the amount in reference to which the accounts of the Dominion with this Province are now being carried on is correct. The assumption, so far as the Dominion is concerned, is that the excess is $10,500,000, and Ontario is assumed to be charged with five-ninths of that and Quebec with four-ninths, so that there would be a sum of $5,833,333 as the debt which upon this basis stands against this Province ; and although the principal of this debt may not be pay- able except at our option, and although the principal represents only the basis of an annual charge against us, it is still a perpetual charge, while on the other hand the charge against Quebec is based upon a sum of upwards of four millions and-a-half. It will, however, be satisfactory to hon. members to understand, that this ten millions is only an assumed amount. In previous discussions that have taken place in this Legislature, the former leader of the Government, the Hon. S'and- field Macdonald, took occasion emphatically to say that this was merely an assumed amount, and the then Hon. Treasurer coincided in that view. The hon. member for South Brant, in his financial statement of December, 1868, mentioned that this excess of debt was subject to a large reduction, which, he claimed, amounted to upwards of four millions of dollars, and he claimed these deductions on what appear to me to be accurate data. Hon. members will find the figures in the state- ment of the hon. member of December, 1868, where he shows conclu- sively that as between the Dominion of Canada and the public debt of the former Province of Canada, that public debt should be de- creased by three large items — one a claim against the Great Western Railway Company of Canada ; another against the Grand Trunk Com- pany, (not at all in connection with that large amount, nearly twenty ' •"'illions, which was represented by the transactions of previous years, but in respect of equipment mortgages,) and also, a claim against the Northern Railway. The then Hon. Treasurer argued fairly that these three large items were assets of the former Province of Canada and should be collected, and the amounts when paid placed to the credit, and in reduc- tion of the debt, of ohe former Province of Canada. But I go further and say, that we may claim in reduction of that debt every amount which can be fairly recovered from the Grand Trunk and Northern Railway Companies, for which those companies are debtors to the former Pro- 8 FINANCIAL STATEMENT. vince of Canada. In regard to the Northern Railway, although its debt has been postponed, and money raised with a view to place the under- taking in an efficient position, yet there is value enough in that road to enable me to consider that any a,dvance made in former years to the Northern Railway need not be entirely lost. In other words, I think that in the Northern Railway Company of Canada, there is something in the way of a valuable asset for the reduction of the debt of the former Province of Canada. So in regard to the Grand Trunk Company, in respect to the large advance of fifteen millions and upwards made to that company ; although the interest upon that is postponed, it will be come a first lien upon the undertaking, and in connection with any new arrangement to place the company in a more satisfactory position, we at all events, as representing that large amount, which represents so much of the public debt of the old Province, are entitled to be considered, and whatever is to be finally done in regard to this large Grand Trunk debt, tkis Province and the Province of Quebec are interested in it to a very large extent indeed. Hon. members will be pleased further to learn, that as against this assumed amount which we may be in debt to the Dominion, we have these special funds, of the value of which there can be no question, to fall back upon. We have the Upper Canada Grammar School Fund, amounting to $312,769.04, which is a living fund which yields us annually five per cent, interest ; secondly, the Upper Canada Building Fund, 11,472,391.41, nearly a million and- a-half, also- a living fund, which gives us interest at six per cent. We have also our five-ninths share of the Common School Fund, Quebec being entitled to the other four-ninths, our share amounting to $914,246. This too is a living fund, so that we have nearly three millions of specific funds to deduct and set off" as against what may appear to be finally the debt which we may owe to the Dominion. But further, we are entitled besides to the Municipalities Fund, respecting an asset of $302,533.56, the Upper Canada Improvement Fund $124,685.18, and we also have our share of the value of the library belonging to the former Province of Canada, amounting to $125,541, which makes an addition to the three millions of upwards of half-a-million. Further, amongst the joint assets which, under the British North America Act, were declared to be the property of Quebec and Ontario jointly, and under the distribution which the arbitrators made of these joint assets, we have this very large amount as the share of Ontario — ^an amount nominally footing up to FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 9 nearly seven millions of dollars — namely, the debt from the Upper Canada Building Fund, amounting to $36,800 ; the Law Society of Upper Canada Debentures account, amounting to $156,015 ; the Municipal Loan Fund Indebtedness, amounting to $6,792,136 ; the Agriaultural Society of Upper Canada debt, $4,000 ; and the University Permanent Fund, $1,220 — making in gross, $6,990,171 from these joint assets ; so that assuming that this Municipal Loan Fund debt is to be dealt with during the coming Legislature Mr. Rykert — The coming Legislature 1 Hon. Mr. Crooks — I mean during the present Session. Assuming that this matter is to be dealt with during the present Session, we are in a position to claim that on the final adjustment of our accounts with the Dominion of Canada, a small sum, at least not a large sum, will stand against us Sif, our share of the excess of debt. It is scarcely necessary to assume to arrive at the amount until it can be absolutely determined what was the correct amount of the debt of the Province of Canada on the 30th of June, 1867. Such then being relatively our position v/ith reference to our debts and assets, I come next to invite the attention of hon. gentlemen to a con- sideration of the sources from which we derive our income. Our income is attributable to sources which to a certain extent are fixed, or at all events sufficiently reliable or permanent as to make light the duty of any Treasurer who is called upon to submit for the consideration of this House a vote of ways and means, and not to call from him the display of any particular financial inventive ability. Most Ministers who are charged with the finances of a country are called upon annually to consider a financial policy which will result in the return of such ways and means as will be sufficient to meet the contemplated expenditures of the country ; but in this Province the Treasurer has no opportunity for the exercise of any such ability. He cannot even go as high as the pre- sent English Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he assumed to invent as a prolific source of revenue, a tax upon the sale of matches. Even in such small items as matches, the person in this Province holding the posi- tion of Treasurer cannot exercise any ingenuity in looking about him for a measure of increasing his revenue, by a new imposition upon the public. Our position in that respect is a very limited one, and except with regard to the matters of licenses and stamps on legal documents, it is beyoni the authority of this Legislature or of the Finance Minister 10 FINANCIAL STATEMENT in charge of the affairs of the Province, to look around for new sources from which to make a revenue— all the sources of incomr which I havo to mention are definite. The first source which can form the basis of a correct annual estimate is that portion of our income which comes from Dominion sources. Hon. gentlemen will recollect that from Dominion sources we are entitled to two payments — one a specific payment of $80,000 a year, and another the subsidy; based on the population of 1861, amounting to |1, 116,872. These two amounts together result in our itjceiving $1,196,872 ; but as against that the Dominion assumes to charge us with five per cent, interest on the assumed portion of the excess of the public debt which T have mentioned — namely, $291,666. But these three special funds which I have named — the Upper Canada Grammar School Fund, the Upper Canada Building Fund, and the Com- mon School Fund — are still retained by the Dominion, and they pay us on these funds interest at the rates which I have mentioned, and that results in our being able to call upon the Dominion to pay us annually an additional sum of $149,694, so, as the net result of our arrangements with the Dominion Government, we can rightfully demand them to pay us $1,054,900 a year. Then we have what is called the Consolidated Eevenue Fund, the most prolific source from which the Province derives its income under this fund, being in connection with the Department presided over by my lion, friend on my right (Commissioner of Crown Lands). That Department may be looked upon, under the able manage- ment of my hon. friend — under an improved management, as this House and the country are fairly able to ascribe to him — to furnish nearly a million of dollars. The Crown and Grammar School Lands may be looked upon as producing annually $150,000 ; Woods and Forests, $800,000. I will give hon. members the exact figures, but I am speaking now of our pro- bable income — what the House and country may look upon as its ordi- nary income, having regard to the sources from which it proceeds. The next item is $50,000 for Mining Lands, which together with the items before mentioned, makes a million of dollars from the Crown Lands Department. The next item is the Municipal Loan Fund debt— an item which must disappear in time. This is an item which has given a considerable amount of revenue, and which the hon. member for Brant estimated should return $200,000 a year; but which last year gave us only $70,000, and which I have put down as $50,000. Then the next item is interest on investments, $200,000, but of course this amount FINANCIAL STATEMENT. IT cannot be regarded as permanent, for if the amount invested is dimi- nished by payments in regard to the Railway Aid Fund, and the pro- posed distribution amongst the municipaUties, that source of u. come will also in future years disappear. I take credit for it as a source of income for this year, to the extent of $200,000, as a sum which may be pro- perly estimated. For Licenses, I put down $60,000 ; the actual amounts received are greater. Casual revenue I estimate at $20,000 ; Algoma taxes, $6,000 ; Law stamps, less than one-half the amount received Ift.it year, allowance being made for a reduction, $40,000 ; Education Depart- ment, $45,000 ; and Public Institutions, $20,000 ; making from what is called the Consolidated Revenue Fund, $1,441,000. Then there is a third source from which provincial income arises, and that is called the open accounts, involving the Municipalities Fund, $80,000 ; Common School Lands, $70,000 ; Marriage Licenses, $35,000 ; together $185,000, and making $2,680,000 of probable income for the year. In regard to two of these sources of supply, the Municipalities Fund and the Com- mon School Fund, they are simply introduced as a set-off against expen- diture of similar amounts shown on the other side. These amounts are paid into the Department, to be paid out during the year. In order that the House may understand whether the amount which I have estimated may be looked upon as a reliable and normal amount to be received in any given year, I may ask the House to refer to the amounts estimated for in each year from 1868 down to the present time. Now in 1868 the amount estimated by the hon. member for South Brant was $2,202,068. The amount estimated for 1870 was $2,710,518. For 1871 the estimate was $2,660,538, and Mr. Mackenzie's estimate for 1872 was $2,624,064. I merely ask hon. members to draw the deduc- tion from these figures that the normal income of this Province may be safely placed at two millions and a-half, even having regard to deduc- tions which will arise in the future. Having given hon. gentlemen the approximate estimates for the years I have mentioned, I will give them the actual receipts for the same years in order that they may test by the actual results the correctness of the inference which I have asked them to draw in regard to the income of future years. In 1869 the actual income, after paying the Dominion the inter- est on the excess of debt, was $2,333,512, while the estimated receipts were less than that amount. In 1870 the amount received was $2,209, 029, falling short of the estimate by nearly half a million, the deficit axis- 12 , FINANCIAL STATEMENT. itig from the receipts in the Crown Lands Department being below what they were estimated at. In 1871 the receipts were $2,333,179, while the estimated receipts were taken at |2,6G0,538, a falling off of up- wards of ^300,000 from the estimates; while in 1872, the year just closed, the actual receipts were $3,060,749 as contrasted with the esti- mate of $2,624,000. Mr. Rykert, — The receipts included the timber sale. Hon. Mr. Crooks, — In regard to the actual receipts from woods and forests in 1871 and 1872 there is this difference. In 1871 the amount received was $24^,983, while in 1872 the amount was $973,239, showing a difference of :;5720,000. (Hear hear.) Well, now, with regard to the sale I may mention to hon. gentlemen that less than half of the receipts which arose from the sale of the limits on the north shore of Lake Huron are brought into the accounts of last year, and that a large portion of the amounts received from that source will appear in the ac- counts of the present year. Mr. Rykert, — lue notes are included in the sale. Hon. Mr. Crooks, — No, none whatever. I am speaking of actual cash received. The amounts received from the woods and forests branch of the Crown Lands Department for 1872 involve nothing but actual cash placed to the credit of the Treasury Department. In mak- ing payments on account of Crown Lands, payments are made at the nearest points and into the most available banks, and these are then transferred to the creflit of the Treasurer's account, so that when I speak of this $973,000 being received from the woods and forests branch of the Department, I wish hon. gentlemen to understand that less than $300,- 000 of the proceeds of the sale are included in that amount. Mr. Rykert, — What is the exact amount 1 Hon. Mr. Crooks (after consultation with Mr. Scott),- I beg hon. gentlemen to excii i me. I tind that I have been unwittingly led into an error with regard vo the receipts in 1871 from this source, the public accounts for 1871 being erroneous. In the public accounts for 1871, statement one shows as the amount received from woods and forests $246,983, the amount of the figure which I gave. The Crown Lands sales are credited with $403,463. Now it appears that these credits have been here transposed, as my hon. friend the Commissioner has pointed out to me, and the receipts from woods and forests should be the latter FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 1$ figure. Of course it was impossible for me to do more than state to the House the information as it was there giveo me. Mr, Rykert, — The hon. gentleman surely does not rely upon the printed accounts in making his estimates. I can point out many errors in them. Hon. Mr. Crooks, — Probably, only typographical errors. Hon. gen tlemen will thoroughly understand that in this large amount received from the woods and forests branch, less than a moiety of the results of the sale is included, and hon. members will see that less than a moiety is included when I mention this circumstance, that I was enabled in January 1873 to add $600,000 to the amounts already invested — in other words, the Trea- surer in the first month of this year had so much of actual cash at his cre- dit over and above the demands made upon him on account of the Rail- way Subsidy Fund and other demands, both current and as against capital, that he was enabled to add the sum of $600,000 to the amount of his investments since the 31st December 1872. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Rykert, — You were to tell us the amount received from the sale. Hon Mr. Crooks, — All that information will be given to honourable gentlemen at the proper time and \\4th the proper explanations. What I wished honourable gentlemen to understand was the comparison between the amounts received and the amounts estimated to be received. Another guide which honourable members may take as to our expendi- ture with reference to our total income may be found by a comparison of the estimates of each year with the actual expenditure in these years ; and honourable members will be gratified, on reading that comparison, to find that in every instance there has been a less amount expended than was estimated, and that, in some years, a considerable diflFereiice exists between the amount expended and that which was asked from the Legislature. In 1872, there was unexpended of the amount appro- priated upwards of half a million of dollars — in other words, the expen- diture undertaken by the Government last year was less by $500,000 than the amount which the Legislature authorised to be expended. Hon. Mr. Cameron, — To make that statement of any value, we ought to know the particular items which go to make up the difference. Mr. Crooks,— First of all I will give the gross results, which honour- able gentlemen may find by turning to the statement commencing on page 146 and closing on page 149 of the public accounts of this year. FINANCIAL STATEMENT. They will find that the total amount of the appropriation for 1872 was ^2,312,633, while the amount actually expended was $1,847,956, leav- ing unexpended $540,817. Then if honourable members will refer to the year 1871, they will find that there was the large sum of three-quar- ters of a million unexpended for that yuar under the appropriation. The appropriation for 1871 vas nearl;^ $2,600,009, che exact figures are $2,581,560, while tte amount expended was $^ ,816,866. In 1870, the amount unexpended of the appropriatioi . was $450,383; in 1869, $179,305. So that in none of those years has the actual expenditure reached the sum of two millions of dollars. Now, my honourable friend has asked me to point out with respect to what particular service the amount appropriated remained unexpended. Well, in all of these unex- pended amounts, the public works as a rule involve the larger item. In 1872, the public works involve nearly $300,000, and so again in 1871. In both 1871 and 1872 the amounts unexpended of the public works appropriation involve as much as $300,000, but on several other items were amounts expended less than the estimates. Now, I will ask honoura})le gentlemen to follow me in arriving at a comparison between the actual position of the Province with reference to its assets on the 31st of December, 1872, and its position at that period of the preceding year. I ask them to see the improvement that has taken place in the position of the Province during the year just closed. On reference to the public accounts of 1872, honourable mem- bers will find that on the 31st December, 1871, the Province had in a state of investment the sum of $3,637,979 ; it had cash in the bank, $172,985 ; and up to that period, 31st December, 1871, it had expended on the creation of property of value to the Province— in other words, in erecting public works and buildings which are of the nature of perma- nent improvements which would give to that extent an addition to the value of the works and buildings owned by the Province the sum of $1,208,662. In other words, it had invested in Public Works, im- provements and buildings $1,208,662, apart from expenditure which disappears as it is being expended, and which has no corporeal repre- sentative, although it has added to the progress of the country and to the wollbeing of its inhabitants; but in the shape of visible representation in respect to Provincial expenditure since 1867, we have the large sura I have mentioned, and which being added to the cash in hand and cash invested, amounts to$5,019,627— in other words, the Province FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 16 could then clearly claim to own property and value in cash investments to the amount of over five millions. Now, take the Slst December, 1872, and see the position of the Province in this particular. The amount under investment has increased upwards of $600,000, being, on the 31 st December, 1872, $4,297,979, the details of which honourable members will find by reference to the public accounts of 1872, statement 11, page 24. The cash in the bank amounted to $352,991. Hon. Mr. Cameron, — That is, cash in the Bank, unproductive. Hon. Mr. Crooks, — Yes, which was there to be drawn on or chequed against. Of course it was made productive afterwards, when, as I have stated, I invested $600,000 in January, and a portion of this amount of $352,991 was included in that investment. Besides the ex- penditure on Public Works which I have mentioned, up to ihe 31st December, 1871, there was a large additional amount expended in 1872, $226,764, making the Public Works up to that year amount to a sum altogether of $1,475,427. In addition to that, $372,786 was paid in connection with the Railway Fund. Hon. members will understand that the amount which the Legislature thought fit to appropriate last ses- sion and the previous session in aid of railways, has been carried by me to a distinct and separate fund ; in other words, the Legislature having appropriated $1,900,000 for a specific purpose, I have carried that to a specific account, called the Railway Fund Account, and from this fund sums are from time to time drawn. Hon. Mr. Cameron,— Have you invested the money of that fund 1 Hon. Mr. Crooks,— The only way in which the amount represented in that fund may be considered as being invested, is by considering the portion of the amount now invested which may be called upon to answer the demands on the Railway Fund as the fund in which this Railway Aid Fund is invested. Hon. Mr. Cameron,— What I want to understand is, do you con- sider this Railway Fund of $1,900,000 as invested, and the interest accruing therefrom going to swell the amount of the fund ? Hon. Mr. Crooks,— We are not bound by the Act to add interest to the fund. Hon. Mr. Cameron,— Then there was no necessity for a special ac- count. It might have been as well kept in the Consolidated Revenue Fund ? Hon. Mr. Crooks,— Except to make it a distinct fund. In connec- 15 FINANCIAL STATEMENT. tion with this account, hon. gentlemen will see that $372,786 of the re- ceipts or incoming of last year w \8 applied to meet drafts on this fund. The position oi the Province was $1,479,556 better on the Slst of December, 1872, than it was on the Slst of December, 1871. I think that hon. members will not say that that is not a fair financial begin- ning for a government which, for the first time for a long number of years, has been under the control of gentlemen belonging to the paity of Reform. Hon. Mr. Cameron, — The saving has been effected out of the expenditure on public buildings, and the receipts from the sale of Crown timber. Hon. Mr. Crooks, — The comparison is neverthelesss such as I have made This Province has improved in its resources nearly a million and-a-half in one year alone. My hon. friends will see further that in connection with the financial operations of the government, we have made two moves entiiely to the advantage of the country — two important moves, the first of which was in removing the funds of the Proviiice from a banking institution which is in no sense identified with the business interests of Ontario — an institution which on more than one occasion has declared under the control of its president and great financial manager, that Upper Canada as a banking field was unworthy of its attention. We have taken our public account from an Institution which was entirely opposed to making this Province the field of its own financial operations, and trans- ferred it to the hands of Banks which are entirely Ontario Banks, whose capital is owned by our neighbours and our friends, whose head- offices are here in this City, and whose whole financial ability is devoted to the advancement of the Province. (Hear, hear.) We have trans- ferred what is equivalent to a million-and-a-half of dollars to provincial Banks, which are now using it in developing the resources of Ontario, instead of its being used in foreign financial centres for the purpose of swelling the enormous profits of a banking institution which to pU intents and purposes is foreign to the Province. Then we have made another improvement. We insisted that these cash balances left in the different banking institutions should yield us at least five per cent., as these amounts at these banks could be safely anu securely used by thetn at a profit which would be reasonable over the five per cent, which they should pay to us. (Hear, hear.) In these FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 17 two respects it appears to me that the financial policy of my predeces- sor, tli.9 Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, was certainly a success, and entirely in the right direction, having regard to the best interests of the Province of Ontario. If hon. gentlemen will take the invested fund which I have men- tioned, and deduct from that the balance still payable in connection with this Railway Fund, they will see that we would still have a funded balance of 12,670,765, and we have in investment $4,297,000. I am afraid that I am wearying hon. members with this statement ; but it was necessary that I should go through this same course with a view of informing myself on all these points, so indispensable to a know- ledge of the financial position of the country, Mr. Rykert,— Will the hon. gentleman state the balance on lihe first day of January after giving credit to the Railway Fund for $200,000 ? Hon. Mr. Crooks, — As I understand the hon. gentleman, he wishes to understand what would be the position of the Province with refer- ence to its invested assets, presuming that there had been deducted therefrom all the amount to the credit of the Railway Fund — assuming that during the present year the demands upon the Railway Fund would be sufficient to exhaust it. There would then be $1,627,214 to be provided for out of our invested assets. Mr. Rykert,— That includes the $100,000 of last year. Hon. Mr. Crooks, — Yes. So that we still have in investment $2,670,765, which is a perfectly clear asset, except so far as that it is subject to certain promises in connection with this scheme of distribu- tion. If my honourable friends will now allow me, I Mill proceed to what more immediately concerns them, that is what I estimate will be the re- ceipts or income for 1873. I propose to give honourable members what 1 take as the basis of the estimated receipts for the current year. Hon- ourable members will recollect the amount of cash in hand ; I take that as it stands, $352,991. I take next as a cash receipt, the interest on investments, at $200,000, a figure which will probably be found to be under the mark. So that I take as cash $552,991. Then I come next to the Crown Lands Department, and I look to the Department to fur- nish the Province with an income of not less than $1,050,000. 2 18 FINANCIAL STATEMENT. Hon. Mr. Eiciiards,— Be kind enough to state the details of that item. lion. Mr. Crooks,— The details have been furnished me by my hon- ourable friend the Commissioner for Crown Lands, and amount to $1,285,700 less than last year's receipts, but, in order to be safe, I have taken the lesser amount which I have stated. Hon. Mr Richards,— Let us have the details. Hon. Mr. Crooks,— The first item is Crown Lands, $190,000; the next is Clergy Lands, $120,000. Hon. Mr. Richards,— That is a special fund. Hon. Mr. Crooks,— Yes, in this item a special fund is involved, and that is the reason for my taking the amount which I mention. Then, the next is Common School Lands, $80,000 ; Grammar School Fund' $10 000 ; and Woods and Forests, $800,000. Hon. Mr. Richards,-! would like to hear the details of that, please. Hon. Mr. Crooks,— I will give my honourable friend the figures ; but if he will allow me, I will first go on with this tabular statement. Min- ing lands, $50,000— the actual receipts for last year were $68,000 and upwards. From Woods and Forests the receipts last year were upwards of $900,000. From casual and small fees, $700 ; and amount in sus- pense, $35,000. Hon. Mr. CAMER0N,-That may amount to a charge the other way Hon. Mr. Crooks,-No, that always results in a revenue, and is looked upon as a yearly item of receipts by the Crown Lands Depart- ment. I next proceed to casual revenue. Hon. Mr. RiCHARDS,-The honourable gentleman was going to ex- plam how he derived the $800,000 from Woods and Forests Hon. Mr. CE00KS,-The Commissioner has just told me ihat it is to be derived from notes from the sale of limits-the balance still due since autumn— and dues $500,000. ,1, !™« ^1 <=^"™«'-™y. ««ely the dues are going to be more than tliat atter the sale of so many limits made. Hon. Mr. ScoTT,_They will not be worked the first year. Hon. Mr. Crooks.-I think the estimate is very low, but we propose to keep under rather than over the amount to be re- ZTZy, f T "^»f ;^^™»« sources I anticipate $32,000-an amount under that estunated last year. That includes $4,000 from fines and for- FINANCIAL STATEMENT. Jg feitiires ; $2,500 from fees received in Secretary's Office ; $10,000 for advertising in the Ontario Gazette ; $1,500 from the sale of our statutes and journals ;| and $4,000 from the fees on private bills. The next item is for tavern and shop licenses, $70,000— wliich is also less than was re- ceived last year, and I hope that, under a more vigilant system of in- spection, this amount will be increased. Next I take taxes from the District of Algoma, $6,000. For law stamps, I only take credit for $40,000 ; presuming that this burden on the country will bo relieved by one-half. The Education Department is fixed at $50,000, made up from items furnished by the Chief Superintendent. The next item is Public Institutions. After making allowances for that which appears to be consistent with the wish of the Legislature, that the children of persons unable to pay in connection with the Deaf and Dumb and BUnd Insti- tutions shall be allowed to go tjiere at the expense of the country, I look for a return of $24,500. From Dominion sources, inclusive of $35,000 for marriage licenses, I look for $1,089,900. I have taken a less amount than the Honourable Commissioner of Crown Lands has furnished me with as the probable receipts from the Municipalities Fund, Clergy Re- serve Lands, and Common School Lands. Hon. Mr. Cameron,— Then it is not intended to take any steps for abolishing that source of revenue this year ? Hon. Mr. Crooks,— I am merely putting these down as a per contra charge. In the estimates it will be found that two of the items there are for the Municipalities Fund and Laud Improvement Fund, and that this is merely a per contra account, a matter of bookkeeping. These funds are received on the one hand and disbursed on the other, merely passing through the Treasurer's department. I have taken them among the re- ceipts that they may be a set-off to the charges against revenue. I have taken $185,000 as the revenue from these sources— a less amount, as I have said, than the Commissioner has furnished me with as the probable revenue, so that the gross probable receipts for 1873 will equal $3,089, 401.75. (Applause.) Now honourable members will be desirous to know^what amount is to be expended in connection with the necessary services of the Province during the year 1873. In the estimates of expenditure for the year 1873 which have been brought down, my honourable friends will see that the sum total, as it is termed, amounts to $2,771,028, in which sum honourable gentlemen will find that nearly $270,000 is in- tO FINANCIAL STATEMENT. eluded in connection with the Miinicipalitioa Fund and the Land Im- provement Fund, and $80,074 in connection witli the expenditure of last year, which requires to be covered by a vote of this House — making over $360,000 to represent these three items. In examining the estimates, honourable gentlemen will find, having regard to the figures I have al- ready given to them, that as compared with last year they are in excess of them, although of course, as far as last year is concerned, it is pro- perly chargeable with the $80,074 mentioned. This would make a reduction in our estimated expenditure, and, correctly speaking, the amount to be provided for this year, including the Municipalities and Improvement Fund, is $2,690,994 ; and the amount of last year's expend- iture should bo $2,392,000. The sum I have mentioned for this year would bo $2,690,994; the figure representing the total of 1871 was $2, 690,000 ; so that there is not a very grefit difference between the esti- mates of this year and those of 71 — a difference of about $200,000. My honourable friends will desire that I should point out specifically the dif- ference between the amounts asked for this year, and those asked for last year in reference to the particular heads of the Provincial service. I have made a tabular statement which I will run over as it will not in- volve much time, and my honourable friends will see at a glance in what particular departments and as to what particular services there has been a larger amount asked for this year, than was asked for last year. Under the head of Civil Government, ^irst page, honourable gentlemen will find that the excess is $18,095. The amount asked for Legislation is less this yeaa' than it was last year by $9,540. The amount asked for in cornection with Colonization Roads exceeds by $66,594 the amount voted last year. On referring to page five of the pamphlet containing the estimates, it will be found, Mr. Speaker, that there is given in detail, each particular road in respect to which this vote of $146,300 is to be asked. It would appear from that, that the Hon. Commissioner of Crown Lands, with, whom this particular expenditure rests, has carefully consi- dered the wants of the various sections of the Province, and from the different works of this character, with reference to which he asks certain expenditures, that he proposes as far as can be done during the current year to push back these communications, these Colonization Roads, with a view of advancing the settlement into every portion of the back coun- try. He has divided the Province into three sections, which he terms the north, the west, and the east sections; the east and the west sections FINANCIAL STATEMENT. SI beiiig separated by the Hastings Road, and the north section comprising the Algoma District, which has, in truth, during the last year become a now acquisition to our country. Until last year the whole region north of Lake Superior was almost a wilderness, and except in so far as the Dawson exploration party had assumed to establish a small village at Thunder Bay, that region was almost destitute of inhabitants. There were a few light-house keepers there, one of whom in 1871, from mere isolation, was found dead of starvation. Not having had any mode of communicating with his fellow-beings, he was found dead from actual want. That wiis the condition of the Lake Superior region in 1871. In 1872 an immense activity has been induced in consequence of the success that has attende