''P^ '.XT HOUSE OF COMMONS' MAY 2nd, 1894 ftotd's ®ag t entering upon a sul).ject likely \ to be of very great interest to the Honse. I j re'grot that this should i)e the case but I tliink I may assume tliat ir is. I 'have, how- ever, to ask that my fellow-members will j consiibH- tihis question without any part • bias whatever, because it is in no scuse a | party question. It has nothing whate vr''- '-o do ; with party politics, nnd should \)() eow I '. entirely uninfluenced by sucli considt at all. I hope, also, that the cmisidera the question will be approached by hon. b(>rs witliotit their being intlueucefi by sonal coiiSidoi-ations— by what the mover of the Bill may have said in the House upon various public questions, Avhieh pos- sibly may have created some little feeling against himself in the contests that have taken place here. T should deprecajte any such feeling existing towards me of a character calculated to prejudice any ohanice this Bill othei'wise might have. I remember, some years ago, when I was pro- moting ft Bill in this Honse. I approacluxl tJie gentleman who vvas tihen the first Can- adian of his day, and the leader of this House, and T ajsked him to be i?o kind as to allow no consideraition coonectyed with my heaving been in opposition to him to influ- ence this opinions or decision with regard to c I •i:"- that Bill, and that hon. gentleman said to me that he would be soiTy to have me or any otlier gentleman entertain so poor an opinion of his disinterestedness and his char- acter, as a man, to suppose that he would allow the fact that the mover or promoter of a Bill had been opposed to him politically, to have anj' influence whatever with him. I may say that the Bill succeeded. The hon. gentleman who let' the Government never interposed an objection, prompted by the consideration that I was a political op- l)onont, and through his kindness the Bill received in this House consideration on its merits. I ask the same treatment from my hon. friend opposite. I present this Bill upon its merits. I ask that it may be considered on its merits, and that my own position in the House or in the public may not, in any sense or degree, prejudice its chances of success. Many attacks have been made, I am sorry to say. in connection with the Bill, \ipon the rharactor of its promoter as a crank, a fana- tic, a saintly man. a Pm*itan, a self-righteous man. and so on. T am sorry to say that we all deserve to confess our sins, and look to a higher soiu*ce for forgiveness. Our highest aspirations often savour somewhat of earthly things : We hope, we resolve, wc aspire, we pray, And we think we moiuit the air on wings, Beyond tiie recall of sensual things, While our feet still cling to the heavy clay. I wish to claim, in connection witli this matter, no merit further than that of seelfing to serve my fellow-countrymen and of being governed by what I believe to be good intentions. I do not present the Bill because I think it reflects the opinions of one section more than another, but because its provisions will benefit the whole country. I believe it to be a public measure, con- ceived in Ihe highest interests of the people. I believe that, if passed, it will reflect credit on the House and be a blessing to the people. This is not u popularity yielding measure certainly ; but it will be a beneiicent mea- sure, in my humble opinion, if it passes. This Bill, Mr. Speaker, is based, of course, upon religious considerations. The sabbath was set apart in the first place to commemorate the creation of the world ; it was set apart by the Creator and hallowed by him. The only institutions that were transm'tted to posterity from the possessions of mai s first estate of innocence were the sabbatii and maiTiage, and when the time came to inaugurate a greater event than the creation of the world, when the time came to redeem man, the hallowed day was changed from the seventh day of the week to the first and re-established as a me- , morial of redemption. And thus it stands to- j day recognized by nearly all Christian \ churches— recognized by the Catholic church, recognized by almost every Protestant church — as the day set apart by Divinity to cele- brate that great event, the greatest of all events in human history. Now, Mr. Speaker, I propose to present this Bill not from the religious standpoint except incidentally. I propose to presenc this Bill and urge its claim upon the mem- bers of this House from a civil standpoint. I propose to present it as a civil meastu'e ; as a measure designed to secure for the people of this country their civil rights, and their religious rights as well, under the law. The aim of the Bill is not to prescribe reli- gious observances ; it will not Interfere with the belief or religious observance of the Ma- hommedan or the Jew, the Pagan or the infi- del. It will prescribe to no man what his re- ligious belief or his religious conduct or his religious observances shall be. It is designed to secure to all men certain civil rights ; it is designed to seciu-e to the labourer the right of rest on the first day of the week ; it is designed to secure the right to the Christian labourer to enjoy religious observ- ances or ordinances upon the first day of the week— and, unfortunately in many cases, unless the law steps in and protecte him in that right, it Is impossible for him to exercise it. The foundation for action in this Bill is, first, that the Bill is in the in- terest of liumau liberty, and sex)nd, that it is in harmony with divine law. Now, while we may not be callel upon to legislate with regard to religion and morality, while we may not make a man's religion or a man's standard in morals some- thing that will determine whether he shall be a member of this House or a member of any other body or not ; religion and morality, nevertheless, Mr. Speaker, have very much to do with the interests of the state. Greorge Washington, in his farewell address to the American people, used this remarkable lan- guage : Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indis- pensalile supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism wlio would labour to sub- vert these great pillars of human happiness. Now. the state, while it is not called upon to dictate what a man's religion shall be or what a man's religious observances shall be, ought not to sanction that which pro- motes irreligion and vice. No Christian state would be justified in doing that. The state is not justified in sanctioning and promoting obscene plays, the introduction of obscene literattu'e, gambling or vice of anj"^ kind. It is the proper function of the state to pro- hibit all those usages and practices ; it is the proper fimction of the state to refrain from that which promotes irreligion and vice ; and no civilized state, whether there be there a connection between church and state or not, would be performing its duty if it permitted any usage which promoted ir- religion or which created or increased vice. All human law rests upon the Decalogue : Thou Shalt not kill ; thou shalt not steal ; tliou Shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour ; thou shall not commit adul- lery— these a.e the foundations of civil law. And the Decal6gue, Mr. Speaker, is not of parital obligation— it is a symmetrical whole ; and the state cannot observe part of the Decalogue and disregard part of the Decalo- gue. If it gives heed to the sixth or the seventh or tlie eighth commandment, it must give heed also to the fourth, which is part of the symmetrical whole. Now, although there is no union of chiu-ch and state in this country, there is, nevertheless, some inti- mate connection between the civil institu- tiors of the country and religious obligations. No state can be entirely divorced in its laws and usages and constitutions from this obligation. St. Paul said with regard to the empire of Rome, "There is no power but s ^^^ ' *'^® powers that be are ordained of God.'' "By me kings reign and princes decree justice," said Solomon, in referring to Jehovah. Men cannot sever the con- nection that exists between religious ob- ligation and civil institutions, whether there is a union of church and state or not. Christianity has stamped its distinctive features upon the civilization of this century, upon its political institutions, ui)on its social institutions, upon its relirfoug institutions-the teaching of the great pro- phet of Nazareth leavens all phases nnd all functions of society; and the contrast that ex- ists between the civilization of the nine- teenth century and the civilization of Rome under Nero and Caligula is ent'rely due to the operation and influence and the formative 3 power of Christianity brought to bear upon the society of our age. So, Sir, we are boimd, in the consideration of this question, to give the requirements of the higher the di- vine law due consideration. We are lx)und to permit these requirements to have their due woiglit and to determine wliat bearing they have upon our civilization and to what extent we are meeting these requirements. As I have said, the state cannot dic- tate the creed, the mode of worship or the religious observances of the people. But just as truly the state should not promote in- fidelity, the state should not dishonour God's law. 11 is just as absolutely debarred if governed by correct principles from doing the one thing as it is from doing the other, if it properly discharges its duty. The state should protect the rights of conscience. The state should protect every citizen within Its bounds in the exercise of religious liljerty ; and I hold that the state may properly pro- vide such laws as public necessity and the public good require. I lay this foundation, because every princi- ple in this Bill is involved in it. I proceed next to the consideration of the question, Have we any precedents for the legislation that is pro- posed in this Bill ? Is this some new scheme hitherto imti-ied ? Is it a new theory that is propounded here for the first tiajo ? Is there any precedent for the action proposed in this Bill ? I answer, Yes, not only one precedent, but multitudes of precedents. A law of this kind was first put upon the Statute-booli in England in the reign of Edgar, in the year 958. Between that year and 1854, tiiere were thirty laws placed upon the Statute-book of Great Britain with re- gard to sabbath observance, more or less fstringent in their character, but all conced- ing the principle tliat the state could pro- perly legislate with regard to Lord's Day observance. Shortly before Queen Victoria's inauguration, a Royal Commission was ap- pointed to examine into the question of Sunday observance in England, to traverse the whole field of investigation, and report as to the character of such laws, to re- port as to the character of Sunday observ- ance, to report as to whether additional legislation was necesoary, to report whether legislation of this kind was justifiable. This commission was struck in the year 1832 ; it was a special commission, consisting of twenty-nine members, among whom were Sir Andrew Agnew, Sir Robert Peel, Sir Robert Inglis, Lord Yiscount Mor- peth, Lord Viscount Sandon and Sir Thomas Baring. Many celebrated men were members of this commission. The evi- dence taken before this commission fills some 200 pages. They proceeded to summon wttnesStes, medical men, em- ployers of labour, manufacturers, mer- chants, all classes of business men in Eng- land. They made an exhaustive examina- tion of all the questions be^irlng on this matter, and I shall make two or three ex- j c IJ tracts as indicating the character of their report. In their report, paragraph 23, the following language oodu-s :— In recommending a general revision anfl amend- ment of the lawB for the observance of the sabbath it should be observed that Sunday labour is gener- ally looked upon as a degradation, and it appears in evidence that in each trade, in proportion to its disregard for the Lord's Day, is the inmiorality of those engaged in it. Now, that statement, if you will pause a moment to consider it. Is pregnant with sug- gestive truths— that labom* done on that day is looked upon as a degradation, and that Sunday laboiu' promoter; immorality ; para- graph 24 declares : The workmen are aware, and the masters in many trades admit the fact, that were Sunday labour to cease, it would occasion no diminution of the weekly wages. I shall read one more extract from the re- port of the commission, and one extract from the evidence given before that com- mission. At paragraph 29 of the report, I read : The express commandment of the Almighty affords the plain and undoubted rule for man's obedience in this as in all other things ; and the only question therefore, is, in what particular cases should the sanctions and penalties of human laws 1)6 added to further and enforce this obedience to the divine commandment ; a question which should be approached with much seriousness of mind, when the obligations of legislators to pro- mote, by all suitable means, the glory of God, and the happiness of those committed to their charge, is duly weighed. These extracts correctly ndicate the char- acter of the report made upon this question by this commission in the year 1832 ; and I would just produce one item of evidence given before the commission by John Richard Farre, M.D. : The researches in physiology by the analogy of the working of Providence in nature, will estalDlish the truth of revelatiors, and consequently show that the divine commandment is not to l>e con- sidered as an arbitrary enactment, but as an appointment necessary to man. This is the posi- tion in which I would place it, as contradistin- guished from precept and legislation ; I would point out the sabbatical rest as necessary to man, and that the great enemies of the sablmth, and consequently the enemies of man, are all lalmrious exercises of the body or mind and dissipation, which force the circulation on that day in which it should repose ; s^-hilst relaxation from the ordinary cares of life, the enjoyment of this epose in the bosom of one's family, with the reh^'ious studies and duties which the day enjoins, not one of which, if rightly exercised, tends to abridge life, constitute the beneficial and appropriate service of the day. The student of nature, in becoming the student of Christ, will find in the principles of this doctrine and law, and in the practical appli- cation of them, the only and perfect science which proloags the present, and perfects the future life. So much for the report of this coimiiissjon. | and the chinacter of the evideiue srivon ho fore them, which led to their recoiiiineuda tion that the Sunday observance laws of England should be made more stringent. If we turn from Great Britain to the various colonies, we will find that scarcely one English colony is without some kind r)f an enactment with regard to the l.onls Day observunce. I believe there are only two of the forty -four American states thai liave not upon their Statute-books laws of a similar character. Precedents are abun?en pre-eminently a success. I shall proceed in a few moments to the citation of authorities on this question, which I trust A\ill liave some weiglit and influence with almost all members of this House, and especially with those hon. members who come from the province of Quebec. Before doing so. however, I may be permitted to say, or rather it may be necessary to say a few words witli respect to the change of the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week. I judge tliis is necessary from the fact that last yeai* one of the leading newspapers of this city contained an editorial, in which it combatted the posi- tion that the law with respect to sabbath res* had any application now, or if it had any application it referred to Saturday and not to the first day of the week, and an ! hon. friend, who sits behind me, took the same ground, that we were arguing for the enactment of a law requiring the observ- ance of a day for the observance of which ; there was no sanction or requirement in the I divine law. I do not think it is necessary to enter into an extended disquisition on this ; point. Suflice it to say that the Catholic i Church has accepted the first day of the week as the Lord's Day, and the Protestants ; have accepted it, with one or two trifling ' exceptions, and the change of the day is held to rest upon the example of the early Apos- i tolic Church. Recently a manual of worship of the early Christian Church was foimd in one of the Greek convents of Constan- tinople. That manual gave the order of worship among the early Christians and dealt with all the religious observ- ances, and it required explicit observ- ance of what is termed the Lord's Day of the Lord as a day of rest and religious ob- servance, when the people should be gather- ed together for the pm'pose of breaking bread. If we establish the fact thart the early Christian Church adopted that day, and if we refer to the further fact that the institutions of the Christian Church were fixed, not bj- chanoe, but by the ciireoUon of the Third Person iu the Godhead, th<' Holy Spirit (the apostles w«'re commamh'd to tarry at Jerusalem for that spirit till it came, and it was poiu^ed out upon tlicin at Pentecost), if we consider that Influeuet' directed the aiK>stles in laying the founda- tion of Christian institutious. wo have the fact that the selection of the tirst day of the week was by virtue of the intluencn and direction of the Holy Spirit, and thai the Catholic Church and all other chiu-ches that recognize that day are following tht> example of the Apostolic Church, and thnr the Apostolic Church was governed in its decision by the influence of that power that our Saviour promised to send to direct them and Instruct them and bring to mind and remembrance all things he had said unto them. Let these remarks sutfice for this branch of the question. With respect to the propriety of the choice of this day from a civil standpoint, of course for obvious reasons it Is necessary to have a uniform day. One body might observe Satur- day, another Friday and another tlie first day of the week, and the re^lt would be great confusion In civil employment. The lawyer at the bar might observe one day and the judge on the bench another ; the clerk in the store might observe one day and the customer another ; the locomotive engineer might wlsli to lay off on Saturday and the fireman on Sunday, and this would produce great con- fusion. So the necessity of enacting one day as the legal day of rest and thus fol- lowing the example of the Christian Church, Is apparent, and that should be the day of the week as laid down by the Christian Church. I wish, having shown that there are many precedents for a law of this kind— precedents in British legislation, precedents in colonial legislation, precedents in American legisla- tion, and I will show later that there have been precedents in recent days in Euro- pean legislation-— to refer to some of the authorities for the observance of this day, and I take Into accoimt the fact that I have many friends In the province of Quebec who are somewhat sceptical as to the pro- priety of legislating for the observance of this day, not that they do not recognize the day, not that their church does not recognize the day, but they have some doubt as to the propriety of this House of Commons Interfer- ing In this matter. I desire to refer to cer- tain Catholic authorities for the purpose not only of strengthening my position, but of in- fluencing the convictions of my fellow mem- bers who are Catholics. I take the liberty of reading what the Holy Father Pope Leo XIII. said about this matter of Sunday ob- servance in one or Lis deliverances to the chvu-ch of which he is the head. His Holi- ness said : The observance of tiie sacred day which was willed expressly by God from the first origin of man, is imperatively demanded by the alwolute and essential dependence of the creature upon the Creator. And this law, mark it well, my l>el<)ved, which at one and tlie same time so admirably pro- vides for the iionour of God, the spiritual needs and dignity of tiie man, and the temporal well-being of human life. This law, 've say, touches not only individuals, l)ut also people and nations, which owe to Divine Providence the enjoyment of every lienefit and iile an increase of prosperity and riches. Foolish and lying words ! They mean, on the contrary j to take away from the people the comforts, the con- solations and the benefits of .religion ; they wish to weaken in them the sentiment of faitli and love for heavenly blessings ; and they invoke upon the nations the most tremendous scourges of God, the just avenger of His outraged honour. These are the words of the head of the Catholic Church. These are weighty words, these are words of wisdom, these are words that every man, whether Catholic or Pro- testant. In this Dominion may well heod, these are words directly warranting the ac- tion proposed on this occasion, to ask by legislative enactment to some extent the honouring of this day for which His Holi- ness speaks. I have here expressions on the same line from His Eminence Cardinal Taschereau, from His Grace Arch Iris hop Fabre, from His Eminence Cardinal Mc- Closkey, ft-om Cardinal tJibbons, from Arch- bishop Ireland, from Archbishop Klordan, from Archbishop Goss, from Bishop Keene, of Richmond, Va., from tlie Bishop of Buffalo. All these Catholic prelates take exactly the sjime position (some of them In a more pronoimced way) that is taken by the head of their church. As to the Pro- testant clergy, it is imnecessary to quote from them ; it is only necessary to say that all are in favour of legislation that will secure a better observance of this day for the public benefit and for the clvU govern- ment of man. As for jurists. I might quote the language of l^ord Mansfield, the language of Sir Matthew Hale, the language of Black- stone, the language of Justice Field, the language of Judge Thurman, and I will quote an extract from Judge Kelly of Minne- tipolls. which is so pertinent to the case and is so recent that I will place It upon record now. Judge Kelly says : The Puritan tauglit and enforced a sirict, very strict observance of the sabbath-day. And he made that day the corner-stone of his political fabric. I an. aot a Puritan, nor a descendant of the Puritan. I am a Southern bom and Southern reared. By blootl, I am Irish, and by faith, Catho- lic. All the traditions of my life have been adverse to the Puritan and his teaching. But for all that, I thank God that the Pilgrim Fathers left Leyden 6 and landed at Plymouth, and that the impress of their presence and labours here have been left in the character of every Ameri'^an state. If, per- haps, they were in their ideas about the sabbath too severe, that very fact has made the impress more lasting. Tills is the language of a judge in one of the western statss, and an Irish Catholic. Then with regard to statesmen, I inife'^' quote the words of Disraeli, the words tf Gladstone, the words of Arg>-le, the wordt: of Bright, the words of Shaftesbury, ihe words of Washington, the words of Lincoln, of Garfield, of Harri.son, of our own states- men of Ontario Mowat— I am afraid I could not quote the. words of some gentlemen who are interrupting me on the other side of the House. As to labour organizations, I might quote the words of Henry George, of T. V. Powderly, of P. M, Arthur, of the American Federation of Labour. There is not a labour organization, I believe, upon this continent that has not placed upon record its desire for Sunday rest through resolutions passed by the order, and through the language of its recognized head. As to religious organizations I will quote from one only ; I will quote the following from the circular of the Third OathoUc Plenary Council, assembled at Balti- more : And the consequences of this desecration are as manifest as the desecration itself. The Lord's Day is the poor man's day of rest ; it has been taken from him, — and the laljouring classes area seething volcano of social discontent. The Lord's Day is the home day, drawing closer the sweet domestic ties, by giving the toiler a day with wife and children ; but it has l)een turned into a day of labour, — and hometiesare fast losing theirsweetness and their hold. The Lord's Day is the church day. strengthening and consecrating the bond of bro- therhood among all men, by their kneeling togetlier around the altars of the one Father in heaven ; ])ut men are drawn away from this blessed communion of saints,— and as a natural consequence they are lured into the counterfeit communion of socialism, and other wild and destructive systems. The Lord's Day is God's day, rendering ever nearer and more intimate the union between the creature and his Creator, and thus ennobling human life in all its relations ; and where this bond is weakened, an effort is made to cut man loose from (Jod entirely, and to leave him, according to the expression of St. Paul, " without God in this world." (Eph. ii. 12.) The profanation of the Lord's Day, whatever be its pretext, is a defrauding both of God and his crea- tures, and retribution is not slow. The case could not have been put in better form than in this circular of the third Catho- lic Plenary Council of Baltimore. Now, Mr. Speaker, there has been manifested a grow- ing discontent among the labourers of Europe and the labourers of America because of the exactions of capital, and because of the gra- dual loss of their privileges as regards the day of rest. These labourers have felt in- stinctively that the demands of corporations and employers that compel them to labour seven days out of seven, was trampling upon their just rights. Whether they had religious scruples or not, whether they believed in God or not, whether they believed that the Lord's Day was of divine origin or not ; these men have instinctively felt that as a civil right they were entitled to one day's rest out of the seven ; and this agitation has begun to produce fruit. There was formed in Geneva in 1861, the Sabbath Observance Federation. The operations of this federation at first attracted little attention and produced little results, but at the time of the holding of the World's Fair at Paris in 1889, atten- tion seems to have been called to this ques- tion by the example of the United States and of Great Britain with regard to their ex- hibits. These exhibits at the Paris exhibi- tion, as woU as the exhibits of all the British colonies, were closed on Sunday, and this waT an object lesson which seems to have produced a powerful effect on public senti- ment in Paris, to the extent, at least, of drawing alttention to this question. In con- nection with this fair, an International Con- gress of Weekly Rest was held at Paris under the authorization of the French Gov- ernment from 24th September to 27th Sep- tember, 1889. This national congress made recommendations with regard to Sunday rest by passing resolutions advising legislation with reference to this matter, and recom- mending the securing of Sunday rest to the labourer, by legislative enacitment. This in- ternational congress was followed by the Internationl Labour Congress which was convened by Emperor William II., of Ger- many, at Berlin, in March, 18C0, less than a ■ year after the congress at Paris. The lu- i ternational Labour Congress which sat from j 15th March to SQth March, also passed reso- I lutions in favour of Sunday rest. Here then I we have the resolutions of the International Congress of Weekly Rest at Paris in 1889, the resolution of the International Labour Congress, convened by the Emperor of Ger- many, at Berlin, 1890 ; and following these recommendations came fruits. Germany passed a law In 1891, and again in July, 1892, and in that law, the prosecut- ing of certain employments was prohibited on the Lord's Day, and clerks in all callings were only employed five hours on the Lord's Day, while work In mines, manufactories, workshops, tile shops, dockyards, and build- ing yards was prohibited. Austria passed laws of a similar character In 1884 and in 1885. Hungary passed a law of a similar character in 1891, and the association of newspaper editors and printers has main- tained a severe struggle to bring to an end the printing of newspapers on Sunday, with good prospect of success. Belgium passed a law in 1885, and the law was further amend- ed in 1889. By this law letter deUvery was curtailed more than one-half ; fifteen hundred freight trains were discontinued on Sunday, the freight depots were closed, post- men are free every Sunday, and the service performed by special persons, and various other provisions were made for securing Svm- day rest for employees, and so the principle of recognizing man's right to Sunday rest was recognized in Belgium, Denmark passed a law in 1891 which released 100,000 Sunday slaves from their labour on that day. Spain, the last country we would almost dream of in connection with Sunday rest-treform pass- ed a law in February, 1892, and under the provisions of that law, Sunday rest was made obligatory in every government estab- lishment in Spain, and Simday labour in all factories was prohibited for persons iiuder eighteen years of age. France passed a law on the 16th of February, 1892, and again on the 2nd of November, 1892, and by these laws contractors were pro- hibited from compelling labour upon Sun- day, women and children were secured their Sunday's rest, liud this provision of the law, curiously enough,— I wish to call the atten- tion of my h^n. friends to this fact- guaranteed women ; nd children one day's rest a woek— not the sabbath nor the Lord's Day, but simply one day's rest a week. The legislators did not dare to use the expression Sunday rest, as they were afraid to seem to make conces- sions to the Catholic party, who were de- manding this legislation, but they gave a law guaranteieing one day's rest a week ; and this indicates pretty clearly what the Catho- lic sentimient of France is with regard to the matter. The fact being that the Catholics have become ardent friends of the labour Sunday rest movement. Through the in- fluence of this movement the government has closed its freight depots on the railways after 10 a.m. Sunday, postal deliverers have been reduced one-half. Sunday fairs in many instances have been deferred till Mon- day, and in the French army Sunday is kejt strictly as a day of rest. Holland passed a law in 1889 dealing with the Simday rest question. Sunday work for women and children in factories is forbidden. A large proportion of Sunday freight trains have been discontinued. Postmen and telegraph employees are free on Sunday. Railway em- ployees have more or less Sunday rest. Elec- tions have been discontinued on Sunday, The civic guard does not drill that day, and no Sunday papers are issued. Italy is moving in the direction of a Sunday law, rmder tthe ad- vice of the Pope, and the influence of the Congress of Workingmen's Societies, and other leagues and organizations. A law is in course of preparation in Russia itself for securing a cessation of labour on the Lord's Day. Norway has a law in the same direc- tion. Swedfen has a similar law. In Switz- erland almost every canton has a Lord's Day law and prohibition of Sunday news- papers. Now, here are the fruits of tl s agitation in these continental countrit,'s where a feiw years ago there -"as scarcely a whisper of legislation with regard to Sun- day o»bservanoe. We have now such laws in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Be&gium, Denmark, Spain, France, Holland, Rus- sia, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland ; and surely Canada c never claim to be the moral leaders of ia cootlnent or a moral leader in any sense, if we lag behind in this matter, and refuse to place a law of the same character upor our Statute-book. This movement for sabbath reform is a movement, I repeat, specially in the interest of labour, and it is an interest in regard to which labour is beginning to awake. The labourers of all countries are realizing that they are being made slaves to the exactions of corporations and capitalists, and that unless the 1^!.- latures step in ana secure to them the rights they desire to maintain, they will continue to be slaves to Sunday labour. Last fall there was held at Chicago the most remarkable of all the 'jimday rest conventions or congress as yet held in the world— the Intel aational Congress on Sunday Rest, which met on the 27th of September, and remained in session three days. This congress was attended by leading statesmen, public men, journalists, jurists An hon. MEMBER. And priests. Mr. CHARLTON. Yes; priest and preachers: and Archbishop Ireland was one of the most active among them. Leading mpn were there from all sections of the civilized globe, and the expression of opinion with regard to this matter was of the most unmistakable char- acter. The arguments placed before the public through the medium of that Inter- national Sunday Rest Congress are unan- swerable, and to my mind ainong the best papers presented to that congress were those of Cardinal Gibbons and Archbishop Ireland. That international congress has given to this movement in the United States an impetus ihat will be sure to tell in the near futile. It is conceded on all hands that the rights of labour cannot 'be secured without the intervention of law ; it is conceded that the law must step in, or the labourer is power- less ; it has been shown that the advocacy of Sunday labour comes not from the men who perform the labour, but from the men who pocket the dividends, and who profit by trampling on the rights of the individual. It has been shown furthermore that the labom'er is not a free agent in this matter. He reaches home Saturday night too tired to continue to work, and too i)Oor to quit ; and he is compelled to work. With him it is not a free choice, but a choice between breaking his conscientious scruples and star- vation for himself and his family ; and un- less the law protects him in the right he desires to enjoy, he is powerless and at the mercy of those corporations who wls'n to coin money out of his life-blood, his suflferings and his loss, and by the deprivation of him- self and his family of every religious privi- lege and every natural right. Now, Sir, we have in all parts of the world at the present time labour 8 troubles and unrest ; we have to-day 200.000 miners on strike In the United States ; we have an army of disaffected men marching on to Washington ; we have bomb throwing In almost every capital of Europe ; we have society trembling on the verge of gi-eaJt social upheavals ; and we are all standing in dread of the changes that may speedily oome. Wnat is the matter ? Has all this trouble and unrest come because wo have been dealing with the disaffected dasse s on the basis of Christian privileges and Chris- tian usage ? Is it because we have paid heed to the Injunctions of the Teacher of Naza- reth, and have found that these injunctions have proved insufficient ? No, Sir ; it is be- cause we have disregarded those injunctions; it is because modern society disregards the principles of Christianity and the commands of its Founder ; and the remedy for all these difficulties lies in the application of Christian principles, which will malve better masters and better men. Unless tliese principles are oppliwl, these social upheavals will continue; and th3 first step to take in applying tliem is to recognize (iod's law. that the sabbath- day is TO be remembered and kept holy, and the labourer is to be seemed in the posses- sion of his right to enjoy that day as a day of rest. Now, Mr. Speaker, I come to the point where I propose to inquire, do these Sun- day laws that are proposed violate any of the true principles of human liberty ? It is claimed that they do. It is claimed that it is an unjust Interference with a man's natural right to say that he shall not be permitted to labour, that he shall not be permitted to employ labour, that he shall not be permitted to do just as he pleases with regard to such things. If a Sunday observance law is an infringement of any just and true principle of Imman liberty, then, of course, we cannot pass that law ; and the question is, is it ? With regard to this matter I Avish to refer to just tlu-ee au- thorities ; though I might refer to hundreds. I wish first to refer to Blackstone. who we all know is a very eminent Euglisli jurist, whose opinion on a legal or any otlier (pies- tion should command respect. With regard to the Sunday rest he says : It is of adiniral>le ser\ ice to a state, consiuered merely as a civil institution. Mr. Justice Field, of the United States Su- preme Cf opiision tliatit would tend to l)oth. Archbishop Ireland said in my hearing last September, at Ohiea.go, wah reference to this matter : I know well we eannot'ask the interfeieuce of the civil law for mere religion's sake. This cousidera- I tion is often urged against enactments of Sunday ; laws. But Sunday is more than a religious day. : Sunday is the safety of society, tlie safety of the ; nation. Sunday is the inheritance of tiiose who I are disinherited from the wealth of the world. Sunday is the day needed by the masses of our people. On this ground I appeal to our lawmakers i to aid us in preserving us it from (V'secration. \ Noble words these, carrying ct iction to every man who is open to coi'viction— words , pronounced by one of the highest ecclesi- : astical authorities on this continent, and ' one of the foremost and purest men in the world. We have, in these declarations by jurists and ecclesiastics, the foundation laid for the vindication and proof of the assertion that Sunday laws do not violate the prin- ciples of human liberty. In conclusion, in m-ging this branch of the subject, I may say that it is proper for this Legislature, or for any Legislature, to impose any degree o'f restraint necessary for the general welfare. All laws impose restraints. Laws against theft Impose restraint; laws against murder impose resti'aint ; laws against any crime imiKJse restraint. Any restraint it is neces- savy to impose for the purpose of securing !he public weal is a restraint which the law- niiilver has a right to impose, and if it can be shown tlmt this restraint with regard to Sabbath observance is a salutary one, cal- culated to benefit society, this Legislature has the right to impose it. I propose to inquire briefly into the ques- non : In what respect does a Sunday rest law promote the public interest"? And in what re- sjuHit is it necessary in the public interest? I answer that it is ne<'essary in many respects. It is necessary, tirst, as a sanitary regulation. We have the power to make quarantine re- irulations. We appoint health officers who inqtose restraints, who interfere with in- dividual liberties, and they have the right lo do so in the public interest. We have I lie right, as a sanitary regulation, to abate a nuisance of any kind, detrimental and j)rejudioial to liealth. We have the right lo regulate the hours of labour. We can p.iss a 10 or an 8 or a Ti-hour law; we cin regulate the hours of labour upon the grounds of a sanitary regulation. We can ins])(H't food ; we can pronibit the use of certain articles of focwl. We can exercise !lie most arbitrary powers in connection with food inspection, as a sanitary regula- (lon. We can order the destruction of In- fected clothing and diseased cattle. We can do anyihinii th:)t the public ?rood and safety li luire. And 1 ssiy that the Sabbath obft»ivt\nce iuw. as a sanitary regulation, is ill the puldic tuU>rest. With regard to its l)earing on the question, as a saniUjry nyridation, lot us see what the outcome of the «lelibe.rat!ons of the lloyal Commission, ai)poiuted in 18;!2, was : j Tills commisHJou took she testimony of medical j men as to the utility of Si;.i;ta;, rest in repairing I the waste of physical energy, 'i .ho imprea^^ion {produced liy tins testimony was proicund. All concurred in the opinion, fortified by experiment and experience, that the respite from toil one day in every seven was essential to man and V»east as a condition of the higjiest development. Other in- quiries as to economics and the interests of manu- facturers, operatives and of the people in general, led to the same conclusions. And for sixty years the laws unchanged, have continued to bless a great people. So I come to the couclusion that this law, as a sanitary regxiliation, is justiSM upon tht? ground of public necessity. In the next plac43, I come to the conclusion that this Sunday observance law does not vio- late the principles of human liberty, but, on the contrary, is necessary in the public inter- est, because it has a tendency to promote good morals and social, purity. Now, what rests upon the morals of the individual ? If there be no private virtue, how can you expect public virtn ? If there be no public virtue how can you expect stability in our institutions ? Is the state not interested in securing a condition of things that will pro- mote private virtue ? Will the state per- mit the unrestrained introduction of ob- scene literature ? Will it permit the placing before the public of obscene plays? Do we establish reformatories and houses of cor- rection ? What is our justification for our expenditure on these ? It is our wish to promote public virtue. We wish to re- claim those who have fallen ; we wish to promote the interests of the state, because there can be no public virtue without private virtue, no stability of human institutions without private virtue, and consequently a law which above ail others will promote good moRils and socisii purity is a law whicJi should pass. Permi* me in this connection to make two quotations from papers contained in the compilation of pro- ceedings of the International Sunday Uesr Oongres? at Chicago. " The Sunday Prob- lem ; its Present Day Aspects."' P'-e veution is always bet er than cm-e. A policy that will promote sf>oial virtue and pur!ty is a policy of prevention, the pre- vention of evils that result itom vicious courses. And in connection with this matter, one of the most eminent doctors of law. Dr. Butler, in his address at Chicago, said : The prat'ticaisolutum of these questions lias been readied by dealing with tiie Day of Rest as ati ac- cepted and essential part of tlse eskiblisheu orr^t . of Christian civilization, demanded by the physical, moral, and social needs of njen, and requiring the exercise of the power of the stnt*' to p.-vtect its citizens in its enjoyment, and to compel its observ- ance so far as may be necessary to that end, wholly aside from any attempt to enforce its religious observance. Cardinal Gibbons, In the same connection, said : How many social blessings are obtained by Mie due observance of the Fiord's Day? The insti tution of the Christian sabltath has contributed more to the peace and good order of nations than could be accomplished by standing armies and the best organized police force. Tlie officers of the law are a terror, indeed, to evil-doers, whom they arrest for overt acts ; while the ministers of reli- gion, by tiie lessons they inculcate, prevent crime by appealmg to the conscience, and promote peace iu the kingdom of the soul. A third reason for the enactment of such a law is that it gives higher education, and in that sense supplements the efforts made iu our public schools. The public take an interest in educational matters. It is felt to be a part of the duty of the Legislature of a state to see that the children under its care do not grow up in ignor- ance, and provisions are made for their education. These provisions are, in the main, for secular education. Now, a man may be a very highly educated man, and his education may only increase his powers for evil. The Sunday observ- ance law steps in and offers to supply the deficiency of secular education by giving to the child the. opportunity for that higher education which is ^ven in the cbm*ch and iu the Sunday-school, and by the religious instruction, which will not be given if the ]^ord"s Day is not observed, and will not be given thoroughly unless the state throws its influence on ttie side of right and upon the side of the observance of the Lord's Day. Now, intelligence is a good thintr. and the tear of God is just as good a chiii^,, and if the public school gives education in the line of intelligence and the higher education of which I speak is given in the church and Sunday-school the state Is doing its full duty, and only its full duty, if i*^ permits this higher education to sii qdement the educa- tion given in the common schools. Ill the fouith place an additional reason for enacting such a law as this is tlie fact that the law is calculated to secure the rights of conscience and religious liberty. Now, wo i,tof"Ss in this country to have religious liberty ; we profess to regard the rights of conscience. It would be considered an out- rageous thing if any law was placed upon the Statat«»-book which interfered with the free v^'Hcise by any citizen of his rights of conscience and religious liberty. There Is no member of this House but wo aid raise Ii!^ voice against such an outrageous enact- .:i-*nt. But, Sir, there arc scores of thou- sands of men in this Dominion, there are more than a million of men on this cowtinent who » annot oxiTcis*' their rights of conscience, Wliose r«»ligii>iis lilKM'ty is (i«'iiiod them, who are obliginl to work on the Ijord's Day, and have no remedy, and can have no remedy until the law steps in and protects them. And the object of this law is to give ilii>tit! men the rights of conscience and re- ligious liberty- not to say to them that they must go to church, not to say to them that their religions observances must be ac- cording to this rule or according to that ; but to say to them : You may go to church, 10 and the state will protect you in your right to go to church, the state will see to it that you shall go to church if you want to, and no human power shall prevent it. That is the object of this law— not to force religious observances upon the people, but to permit religious observances ; not to interfere with religious liberty and the rights of conscience, but to secure a religious liberty and the rights of conscience ; and, without this law, these rights cannot be secured ; without this law there must be thousands of men in this Dominion who cannot and will not ex- ercise these rights which we here hold they have a right to exercise, and in the exercise of which the law should protect them. At the Sunday Rest Congi-ess there was a gen- tleman of the name of Beach who was sent to the congress by the Pennsylvania Railway to read a paper. He went on. Sir, in a very plausible way to state that the roads were quite in favom* of diminishing Sunday labour as far as it was possible, but there were seasons of the year when there was great pressure on the roads, and there was such a thing as emergency freight. Here would be a steamer at New York going to sail on Tuesday, and some shipper away back in the western states had some freight he wanted to send by her, and, in order to get it there in time, they would have to send it over the road on Sun- day, and, consequently, it was necessary to do a very large amount of Sunday work. When I followed I showed that there was certain emergency work upon a farm : Here was a farmer with grain standing in the field, when it looked as if it might rain on Monday, and he felt the pressure of an emergency to put it in the barn the day before. But it was not held that he had the right to do so, and no Christian society would bear him out in the assertion that he had the right to do so. I was followed t>y Mr. L. S. Coffin, a member of the Iowa Railway Commissioners Board, who was at Chicago as the representative of the Brother- hood of Locomotive Engineers, the BrotJier- hood of Railway Trainmen, the Order of Railway Conductors and the Order of Rail- way Telegraphers, numbering in the aggre- gate 110.000 men. Mr. Coffin differed from Mr. Beach, and showed most conclusively that the statements made by that gentlemnn with regard to the railway companies would not hold water. He said there was no such thing as emergency freight, no such thing as perishable freight since the introduction of the refrigerator car system ; delay only in- volved the use of a little more ice. He showed that stock in the cars was ail the better for the rest on Sunday. If the railway was pressed with work in the fall it was a confession that tJiwe was a dearth of motive power, and. instwid of violating God's com- mand and compelling tJieir men to work on the Lord's Day, they had only to add one- sixth to their working force and one-sixth to their rolling stock to overcome the difficulty. He said ti»at it was the cupidity of the rail- way stockholders and of the management that disregarded the rights of labour and failed to provide sufficient working force and • roiling stock which deprived labour of its right to Sunday rest. The next reason, Mr. Speaker, why a Sun- day observance law is in the puWic interest, and a law that we ought to pass, and a law that every civilized state ought to pass, is that it secures good homes. Daniel Webster once truly said that the good home was the bulwark of the state. Now, a good home that graduates an hon- est, industrious, virtuous. God-fearing son as a voter, lies at the f. cmdation of the state's prosperity and permanence. The bad home that graduates the vicious man who has no reigard for God and no regard for morality, and no regard for principle, is doing its utmost to sap the foundation of the state. And, if a Sunday observance law is calculated to secure good homes, and it is generally poved that its practical operation is to promote that end, we need no other reason than that fact as a justification for the passing of such a law. Now, the state ought not to be indifferent to evil influences. I wish to read a short extract, which shows about how this compelling of men to work on the Sabbath is looked upon by the labour- er himself. This Mr. Coffin, to whom I have alluded, in speaking of this matter of men being compelled to work in the rail- way yards and on the train without being secured their Sunday rest spoke of a man in the city of Keokuk, in the state of Iowa, and he gave the language of that man when he was conversing with him and asking how often he had been in chtu-ch during the last five years. The man said : For five years I have lived at Keokuk ; for five years I have been every Sunday in the yards, mak- ing up trains and getting in cars, and for these five years I have not been inside of a church on Sunday. My wife, thinking that if I had to work it was her duty to stay at home and get me a good dinner, for those five years has not been inside of a churcl* on .Sunday,. My children ilo not go to Sunday school. And when I have l>een in the yard with those cars I have thouglit it over, and have come to this conclusion It is tlie almighty iloUar tliat everybody is after and they don't care a for us. Now, that was this man's process of reason- ing. The lack of a law securing to that man his Sunday's rest had kept him out of church, had kept his children out of chm'ch and Sunday-school, had kept his wife out of church for five years, and in conse- quence of this failure to protect them, tliey were existing and the children were grow- ing up in a condition of senil-heathenism. What kind of a Christian nation is it that turns a deaf enr to the cry of scores of thousands of people who ask simply that there shall be a law passed that will secure to them a right which G or four simple thinprs. It pro- T>os«'.s. in the Hrst placo— and perhaps some of my hon. friends will be shocked at a pro- posal so puritanical and alwurd — it proposes to put an end to tHie publication of Sunday newspapers in this Dominion. The provision l8 this : Whoever shall, on* the Lord's Daj', either as pro- prietor, publisher, or manager, engage in tlie print- ing, publication or delivery of a newspaper, journal or periodical, and whoever shall, on the Lord's Day, engage in the sale, distribution or circulation of any newspaper, journal or periodical, shall be deemed to Ihj guilty of an indictable offence. Now. I pointed out a abort time ago that Sunday newspapers are not published in Great Britain, they are not published in Switzerland, they are not publlsihed in Hol- land. An effort has been made, and the effoii: will probaibly prove successful, ito secure n law in Hungary by which their publication will be prohibited there. One of the American journalists, Mr. Bennett, of the New York ' Herald ' 1 be- lieve, spent a great sum in finding out that the British people would not tolerate a Sunday newspaper. The Sunday news- paper is an InstS'tutlon of modem dat«. I can well remember when the first Sunday newspaper was published in the United States. There are nearly 700 daily news- paper published on Sunday in tihe United States at present. One of the greatest Am- erican editors, Horace Greeley, denounced the Sunday newspaper as a social demon ; and so it is. Its Influence upooi the re- ligious and moral life of the United States is most disastrous. It tends to sap every good influence that exists in the country ; it bani.shes the Bible, it Imnishes religion? reading matter ; it banishes all solid litera- ture from the family. It begets a lower tone 'of sentiment. Triviality', superficiality, and immorality are the characteristics of the Sun- day newspaper. A man who reads the Sun- day newspaper Is a superficial and trivial being, to the limit of the Sunday paper's influence upon him. The. Sunday news- paper Is the sworn enemy of the aah- Imth, the avowed enemy of the sabbath. It makes no concealraeDt of its desire to break down the Bible. It defies and opposes the sabbath at every atep of its career. A newspaper in a city may not have the vohmtary choice whether it will issue a Sunday edlticm or not. If a newspai>er is is'^ued on Sunday, another newsimptT is com- p. lied to follow suit or fall l>ehind in the race of competition, and upon himdreds of publishers the necessity of publishing a Sun- day edition is forceers publish Simday editions. Under the old American sabbath which prevailed at the time of the Centennial Exhibition, that Exposition was not optm on the Lord's Day; at the time of the Paris Exhibition the exhibits of the United States were not open, nor were they at the Vienna Exhibi- tion; but we notice the influence of the Sun- day newspai)er in the intervening years by the fierce indignation displayed against the priiiciple of Sunday closing at the Chicago I^^xhlbitlon. We notice that every Sunday newspaper in the Inited States derided and belittled that sen 'ment of the thirty or forty millions of people who petitioned against the opening of the Exhibition on the Lord's Day, and we know the Influence of the Sunday newspaper in the United States has been most disastrous, most debasing, uiost demoralizing, and its existence in that country is a great evil The Sunday news- paper is the antl-christ of America ; Itself a violation of divine law, it is the enemy of all divine law ; and unless it is put down the Christian religion will be put down ; within its theatre of operations it is a ques- tion between Christian institutions and this engine of the devil. We propose to prohibit the publication of Sunday newspapers. We propose to foiiow the example of the mother land, an example of many hundred years, which has carried her over all her dlfllcultles. I wish now to refer to one or two authori- ties, contained in the International Sunday Rest Congress papers, with respect to the publication of Sunday newspapers in the United States. Mj' first authority is J. W. A. Stewart. D.D., and my second is His Imminence Cardinal Gibbons. Dr. Stewart says : In the name of all that is sacree drowned by the echo of the hammer and the dray ; when the Bible and the prayer-lwok will be supplanted by the newspaper and the magazine ; when the votaries of the theatre and the drinking saloons will outnumber worship- pers, and salutary thoughts of (Jod, of eternity, and of the st»ul will be checked by the cares of business and by the pleasure and dissipation of the world. I repeat that we do not want this American Institution In Canada. We do not want that conditl«m of things which has dragged the United States down from the position of 13 a nation ■which was once known for its re- gard for the sabbath to a nation which p«>r- mit^od its f^oat Columbian Exposition to be openeiJ on the Lord's Day, and is rapidly declining from the proud position it once occupied as a Christian, sabbath keeping nation. I repeat that we will act wisely if we follow the example of the mother land and prohibit the publication of the Sunday newspaper, and by prohibition of its publi- cation save the countiy from the attendant horde of evils that have attended lis intrin duction in the Unitetl States. It is sJiid by some that we have not the power to deal with this question, that we have not the power to deal with this ques- tion of overwhelming importance which threatens the religious and moral life of the nation. I do not believe it. I believe, as the Parlament of this Dominion, we have power to make a criminal offence of any act cailculatwl to injure this country. We have the right to make a criminal offence of theft, arson, murder and assault, and we have the right to make criminal a thing which is infinitely worse than all those acts in individual instiinces. I affirm that it is worse than any single case of murder— the consequences of p'lblishing S.mday newspapers are worse than those following a single case of murder, arson or theft. I tell this House that the conse- quences of the inti'oductlon of the system, looking at the experience of the United States and judging, not by theorizing, but by the actual results following this great outrage on (iod's law, are of a character so grave and serious that the Grovernment are warranted in dealing with this question. We have power over the introduction of obscene literature, we have power in the matter of copyright, we c/>ntrol the trans- mission of printed ma:tter through the mails; and is it to be said that the central power of this country, possessing power over copy- right, over the mails, over the importation of impure literatvu-e, is incapable of stretch- ing forth its hand and dealing with the greatest danger which threatens the people of this country? Why should we go for national rather than local control? Because we want to make Canada the moral leader of this continent. We want to set an ex- ample to the neighbouring nation and we desire to place ourselves right where that country is wrong. Let Canada take this course, let Canada grapple with this evil and take heed of the results which have fol- lowed it in the neighbouring nation, and, forewarned, let Canada place herself in a position where she will be forearmed. The second provision of the Bill is with respect to the closing of canals from six o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock on Sunday. A great many people think this is a surrender of principle, and that tiie canals should close dm-ing the twenty-four hours. However, thf provision will be one that will prevent the quiet and sanctity of the fibbath being interfered with so far as worship is conoferned. and is one that should be adopted, as this country does not want to place itself in the position of committing breaches of a divine law. Section 3 of the Bill is with respect to j railway traffic. This Bill lias been submittfd to ail the railway men of this country. In I 1890 letters were received from Mr. Van i Home and Sir Joseph, then Mr. Hickson, with respect to this Bill, and the manager of the Grand Trunk made certain suggestions which are embodied in it. I assume, and I have a perfect right to assume, that the Bill is satisfactory to the railway man- agers, because no protest has been re- ceived from any of them since 1890, and the Bill has been submitted every year since that^ time. 'J'ho provisions with re- i spect to railway traffic, I am sorry to say, ' are perhaps not of a very important nature. I The question was surrounded by tlifficulties. I It was found practically impossible to deal I with the question of through trains without i infficting serious consequences upon the rail- ways. Their business connections with the American roads render it necessary for them to conform in this matter to American usage to some extent ; at least, it is held that that is the case, and I presume it is correct. An hon. MEMBER. You are making a compromise. Mr. CHARLTON. My hon. friend says: it is a compromise of the principle. This is an attempt to seoiu'e all that is practicable in the line of the principle. We might easily fail in asking more than we can get. All great reforms are secured step by step and item by item, and if the choice is placed before us either o^* securing some- thing that is tangible and something that will lead to the securing of something more, I hold that it is prudent and proper that we should take a practical course and not stand on a theory that will wreck our at- tempts to do anything in the matter. Now, Mr. Speaker, this provision with regard to railway traffic goes as far as it is possible to go at the moment, by positive legisla- i tion, and it places before the United States and upon the United States, the responsi- bility of continuing the evil of through i freight traffic, by offering to them recipro- ! city in legislation upon this matter and de- claring our readiness to abate this part of the evU If the United States will render It I practical to do so by concurrent action. This is the provision : At 8ucli time as the laws of the United States shall make corres|)on')iiig provision, no through freiglib in transit from one point on the frontier of tlie United Htatcs to som-! other point on the said frontier, shall be allowed to pass over Cana- dian r()aple ? Sball we stop to consider these questions V Shall we n^alize tliat upon us devolves the responsibility of building for the future ? And shall we take into con- sideration this measure in the spirit in which we ought to cons.ider it ? Shall we con- sider that Gofl has not laid upon us an unreasonable demand, and never did ? He never made \ipon any hiuuau being an unreasonable deu)and. He never required of man anything that was not in man's in- terest. He never required of man anything that man would suffer by performing, and he requires of us, as a Legislature, attention to iliis matter in the light of oiu- responsibility lo him, in the light of our responsibility to tlie people of this country. He requires our attention to this with a due sense of the im- portance of this question and the responsi- bility that rests upon us. The wisdom of the infinite is a safe guide, and we can not ilospise the means which He has appointed to secure national wealth and prosperity, without invoking upon our own heads the dis- asters that will be sure to follow the dis- regard of His commands. For that reason I press this Bill, believing it is in the high- est interest of Canada, believing I am just- tied in urging its passage in the warmest manner. I present it to the kindly and ju- dicious consideration of every member of this House — the leader of this House, and every one of his followers and the gentle- men who sit in Opposition— and I ask that It may receive that consideration which the importance of the questions demands. ^ V*.. !-»•{* ^ > ■7>V ^ 1 "* ■^ < ,' ^ I. > 1 >" ^ "jtir^^^^K*.-