■,%. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MTS) 1.0 I.I 1.25 2.2 us lAO 12.0 U IIIIII.6 >f^i '^^V '^'v"' ^ O^M Photographic Sciences Corporation ■O' V <^^ ^<\ V % s^^ C\ .^^ 6^ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "F!N". Les cartes, planches, tableeux, etc., peuvent dtre filmte A dee taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand ^our dtre reproduit en un seul clich«, 11 est filmd A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nicessaire. Les diagrammes suivants iliustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^f t 4avU-^-cA TBCE ALLEGED " GE dR YM ANDER " BY MR. MOTVAT, IN 1874. Some slight attempt is being made by the friends of the present Government at Ottawa to palliate the iniquity of the recent Gerrymandering Bill, by a reference to the Redistribution Act passed in the Legislature of Ontario in 1874. Mr. Mowat it is said, gerrymandered Ontario then; why should Sir John not do the same now? Under these circumstances it may be well to call the attention of the electors to the actual character and scope of Mr. Mowat's measure, in order that it may be seen how little justification or excuse it affords for the present attempt to "hive the Grits," and practically disfranchise a large proportion of the Liberal party in this Province. At the session of the Legislature of Ontario held in November, 1874, Mr. Mowat introduced a Bill for the purpose of rearranging to some extent the representation of the Province in the Local House;, and of adding six additional members to tiie then existing number. In bringing in the measure iTp^ft^CTout that if the Province were divided equally into 88 constitutiencies -the number the bill proposed to fix— the population of each on the basis of the census of 1871 would be about 18,400. A large number of constituencies as they then stood contained less than this population, and m,my contained considerably more. To remove the most glaring of these inequalities and to place the representation of the Province upon a more equable footing, while at the same time pre- serving intact, as far as possible, municipal boundaries was declared to be the obiect of the Bill. . ■^ One of the seats was allotted to the District of Muskoka and Parry Sound, pre- viously unrepresented in the House, although sending a member to the House of Commons. Anothor was given to tlie newly-created County o* Dufferin, wbich consisted of the Townships of Mono (from Oardwell), Melancthon (from South Grey), Amaranth (from North Wellington), East Garafraxa and the town of Orangeville (from Centre Welling- ton), and Mulmur (from .South Simcoe). Population, 15,500. The electoral counties of Both well and Niagara were abolished, the latter being attached to the County of Idncoln, and of the former the Townships of Sombra, Dawn and Euphemia revarted to Lambton, and Camden, Zone, Orford and Howard to Kent. In the cases of both Niagara and Bothwell the Townships composing the electoral dis- tricts were restored to the counties to which they municipally belonced. The rearrangement of Bothwell increased the population of Lambton to 39,800, and of Kent to 39,G00. Each of these counties therefore received two members instead of one, as formerly. After deducting the Township of Melancthon from Grey (to form Dufferin) that county had a population of 57,300, entitling it to three members instead of two. It was therefore divided into North, East and South Ridings, and a member given to each. The County of Simcoe after losing the Township of Mulmur (to Dufferin), and Tecumseth (to Cardwell), contained a population of 49,156, with a large extent of country. Three members were allotted to this county. Essex, with a population of 32,697, was considered large enough for two members. It was therefore divided into North and South Ridings and a member allotted to each. Huron, with a population of 66,000, was entitled to increased representation. The county was therefore divided into East, West and South Ridings, each sending a member. Otlier constitutiencies whose boundaries were affected by the Bill were : Cardwell, from which was taken the Township of Mono (to form the County r Dufferin), and which received the Township of Tecumseth from Simcoe. The population of Cardwell was thus raised to 17,300. The deduction of Amaranth, East Garafraxa and Orangeville (for Dufferin) from Wellington left that county with a population of 57,309, and necessitated a rearraae- ment of its ^hree Ridings. The South Riding was consequently constituted of tlie Townsliips of Guelph and Puslinchand the town of Guelph, with a population of 18,105 • Centre Wellington of the Townships of Nichol, Pilkington, Erin, West Garafraxa and Luther, and the villages of Elora and Fergus, containing a population of 18,435; and North Wellington of Arthur, Minto, Maryborough and Peel, and the village of Mount Forest, with a population of 20,769. ^ North Victoria was made to include the Provisional County of Haliburton (for- merly included in Peterborough), and was increased in population from 10,956 to 13 167. After the transfer from Peterborough to Victoria of the Provisional County of Hali- ^ $ burton, the remaining townships in that county wore disposed of as follows : Otonabee, Douro, Asphodel, Dummer, Belmont, Methuen, Burleigh, Aii.struther and Chandos, with the village of Ashburnham, wont to tho East Riding, with a population of U,993 ; and South Monaghan, North Monaghan, Smith, Ennismore, Harvey, Galway and Cavenuish, with the town of Peterborough and village of Lakofield, to the West Riding ; popula- tion, 12,948. The Townships of Haga'^ty, Richards, Sherwood, Burns and Jones, spars(>ly settled, were detached from the North Riding of Renfrew and added to the South. From South Leeds, with a population of 20,716, were taken the Townships of Yonge Front and Rear of Yonge and Escott, with a population of 2,882, leaving South Leeds with 17,23i; these townships were added to Brookville with 10,47"), increasing its population to 13,937. East Northumberland received the whole of the village of Hastings, on the boun- dary between that Riding and County of Peterborough ; West York received Richmond Hill, on the line between West and East York ; North Lanark the whole of Carleton Place, on the border between North and South Lanark ; and South Bruce the whole of Lucknow between South Bruce and County of Huron. Those changes were made in accordance with that section of the Bill which provided that villages partly in one con- stituency and partly in another should in the future belong wholly to the one having the smaller population. Those counties which were given an additional member were divided as follows : Huron into East, West and South. « East Huron— Townships Howick, Grey, Morris, McKillop, and those parts of Hul- lett and Turnberry lying east of the gravel road, and the village of Brussels. Popula- tion, 21,976. West Huron— Townships Ashfield, Wawanosh (East and West), Colborne, and tho.se parts of HuUett and Turnberry lying west of the gravel road, and that portion of God- erich Township north of the cut line and Huron road ; the town of Godericli and villages of Clinton and Wingham. Population, 24,434. South Huron— Townships Tuckersmith, Usborne, Hay, Stephen and Stanley, Goderich south of cut line and Huron road, villages of Seaforth and Exeter. Popula- tion, 22,755. Lambton, which received from the abolished District of Bothwell the Townships of Sombra, Euphemia and Dawn, was divided into East and West. East Lambton — Townships Bosanquet, Warwick, Plympton, Brooke and Euphemia ; villages of Wyoming, Watford and Forest. Population, 19,289. West Lambton — Townships Sombra.. Diiwn, Moore, Enniskillon and Sarnia j towns Petrolia and Sarnia, and village of Oil Springs. Population, 19,608. Kent, to which was allotwd the Townships of Camden, Zone, Howard and Orford, from Bothwell, was divided into East and West. East Kent— Townships Zone, Catndon (witl. the gore thereof;, Ortord, Howard and Harwich; town of Botlnvoll ; villages of Blenheim and Dresden. Topulation, 19,/82. West Kent— Townsliips Romney, East Tilbury, Raleigh, Dover, East Dover, West Chatham, and town of Chatham. Population, 20,862. Grey, after losing Melancthon to Dufferin, was divided into North, East and South. South Grey was formed as for the Dominion House, of Bentwick, Glenelg, Nor- manby and Egremont, with a population of 18,622, The only change from the arrangement adopted by the Dominion House for the other two Ridings was that Holland and St. Vincent were interchanged, the former township being placed in the East Riding, and the latter in the North. East Grey then had a population of 18,425, and North Grey of 20,305. Essex was divided into North and South. North Essex— Townships of Tilbury West, Rochester, Maidstone, Sandwich East, Sandwich West ; towns of Windsor and Sandwich, and village of Belle River. Popula- tion 17,988. South Essex— Townships of Mersea, Gosiield, Colchester, Maiden, Anderdon, Pelee Island ; town of Amherstburgh, and village of Leamington. Population, 14,709. Simcoe was divided into East, West and South. East Simcoe— Townships of Tiny, Tay, Matchedash , Orillia, Medonte, Oro, and town of Orillia, Population, 15,000. West Simcoe— Townships of Vespra, Flos, Sunnidale, Nottawasaga, towns of Barrie and Collingwood, and village of Stayner. Population, 18,000. South Simcoe -Townships of Tossorontio, Essa, InnisHl, West Gwillimljury, and villages of Bradford and AUiston. Population, 15,437. Municipal Boundaries Not Disturbed. Th^^onlj^i^es in which municipal boundaries were disturbed were those connected ^'vith the formation of the new County of Dufferin. This county was formed in accord- ^ ance with the wishes of the people of that section of country, and the change was peti- ^ tioned for by every municipality which was made a part of it with the exception of the J Township of Mulmur. A*- two consecutive sessions previous to the passing of the Re- I distribution Act, bills were introduced for the purpo.se of setting apart this'coanty, but I action was postponed at the request of the Government, and it was only when the wishes 4, of the people were made clearly known, by petitions and otherwise, that the change was ««»ade, The County of Dufferin itself returned a Conservative member ; and the counties ii .5 ( / from which municipalitios were detached for its formation, while in 1871 returning 1 Independent, 2 Reform, and 5 Conservative members, in 1875, after the general elections of that jear^ returned 3 K,,.form and 7 Conservative members. Tlu're is therefore no ground for saying, eitlier with regard to Dufferin itself, o^ tlie counties from which itwa , formed, tliat that county was organized for political purposes. The Townsliip of Mono «,vas deducted from Cardwell to assist in the formation of Dufferin, and Cardwell was consequently left with only three townships and a population of 12,520. To compensate it for the loss of Mono, it was given the Township of Tecum- seth, which was detached from the County of Simcoe for this purpose. The population of Cardwell was thus increased to 17,248. Previous to tliese alterations, this district returned an Independent member, who generally voted with the Government; afterwards it sent a supporter of the Opposition. Ih^^ ^I?i:«-*!».e. only cases in which the bill interfered with municipal-limits ; all other re-arrangements were strictly within co'unty bou.idarie.«. The change in the first- named instance was made at the express wish of the people interested, ancUu the second, the alteration was absolutely necessary if the district receiving the township was to con- tinue to be represented in the House. Objection was taken to the interchange of the Townships of Holland and St. Vince'nt, and the placing of the latter in the East and the former in the North Riding of Grey.' It was shown, however, that the relations of these townships were more intimate with the Ridings to which they were attached than with those in which they were formerly sit- uated, and there is the additional fact that both the East and North Ridiiigs returned supporters of the Opposition. Of the "River" counties, South Leeds was the largest, with a population of 20,716, and Brockville the smallest, with 10,475. Two townships were therefore taken from the former and added to the latter, making a more equal distribution of the population. The only change in East Northumberland was that the ViHage of Hastings, part of which was previously in that constituency and part in Peterborough, was declared to be wholly in East Northumberland. Both before and after the change this constituency returned a supporter of the Government. The only change made in East and West York was, that the Village of Richmond Hill, formerly divided between the two Ridings, was declared to be entfrd^' v^ithm" the latter. Tlie political complexion of these constituencies was not affected by this altera- tion, as each returned a Government supporter both before and after the election of 1875. , . The only cliange in North and South Lanark was the placing of the Village of ^Ifi^'"*.-^^-''' '""'"^'^ •''^*'°''" ^^^ P^*'*^y "^ the North Riding and partly in the South, wholly within the former. Previously to this arrangement North Lanark returned a supporter of the (Jovernmont, afterwards it sent au Opposition member. Tlie represen- 6 tation of South Lanark was not altered, it continuing to return an adherent of the Opposition. The only change in South Bruco was tho placing of the Vill age oi^Lucknow , formerly divided between South Bruce and Huron, wholly within tho former constituency. Both bufore and after this change South Bruce sent a supporter of the Government to Parliament. ■ ■JSllililL^.'^Ji^ j*^^ bou nd^anes of 29 cons^tuenc[e.s, including two which it abol- -^2!!.li^lilir?> Some of tho ^all^'Were very trifling,' and Tn a number of instances consisted only in giving the whole of a village situated on the boundary between two •constituencies entirely to one or other of them. Municipal limits, with the exceptions above mentioned, were scrupulously adhered to, and constituencies were made as equal as possible in point of population without undertaking a general reconstruction of the Province and an indiscriminate overthrowing of municipal boundaries. The evils of such a.course were regarded as greater than its advantages, and no demand for its adop- tion was made in any part of the Province. The Political Results op the Bill, The following table shows the counties and constituencies affected by the bill, and thfeir political complexion beiore and after its passage : — In 1874 (before the Bill). In 1875 (afteu the Bill). '*.• ■fe- •2:'S 4J * CO '2 1 ^ ^ 1| Huron 2 . . . . Gibson, Bishop ... 3 • . 1 . . Gibson, Bishop, Ross. . . 1 . . Abolished. 1|.. McKellar, Coutts. . . 1 . . Pardee, Graham. 21 . . I'atterson, Wigle. li.. Flesher. 2 . . Hunter, Creighton, Lauder. 1 . . Clarke, Gow, McGowan. .... Miller. 1 . . McRae. 3 . . Kean, Long, Macdougall. Bothwell 1 . . . . McKellar '.'....'.'.'. . . . . . Dawson . 1 Kent 1 . Lauibton li. ... Pardee . . . 2 Essex l'. . . . Prince . 1 Mc.Manus 2.. Scott, Lauder 1 Cardwell Grey Wellington j 2'. Muskoka and Parry Sound . . . . ! North Victoria Sinicoe 1 Dufferin 1 . . 1 . 1 . . Clarke, Gow, McGowan 2 • ' 1 1 .. McRae 2 . . Ardagh, Ferguson East Peterboro' i|.. iifead :, . 1 . . Fairbairi L|. . Deacon . 1 Harrington 1 [ . . (liles L . . ' Fitzsimmoris 1 1 . . O'Sullivan. 1 . . Scott. 1 . . Deacon. . . . . Bonfield, 1 . . Preston. Cole West Peterboro' !■ . North Renfrew Si. nth Renfrew South Leeds Brockville ! . . Niagara j . . Lincoln 1 . East Northumberland ' 1 . . . . Richards I . . Rykert i . . Webb 1 . . . . Abolished. 1 . . Rykert. . . . . Ferris. . . . . Patterson, West York i 1 . . . Patterson 1 East York 1 1 . . . Crosby 1 North Lanark 1 . South Lanark ] South Bruce 1 . . . Caldwell , L . . Code . . Wells 1 1 . . Mostyn. 1 . . Code. . .. Wells. 14 1. a \^ >f the merly Both meat. abol- ances . two itions aqual f the Is of idop- In other words, the altered constituencies were represented in the Parliament of 1874 by 2 Independent, J4 Government and 13 Opposition members; in that of 1875, after the passing of the Bill, by 16 Government and 10 Opposition members, the Govern- ment thus gaining 2 votes and the Opposition 6! Nothing could show more plainly or conclusively that Mr. Mowat's Government was not prompted by political motives in the partial redistribution of 1874. On the cor.trary, a majority of the changes made resulted, and could not but result, disastrously to the Administration, and in giving increased representation to its opponents upon the floor of the House. and ider.