.<-^^ ■■■■■■■WIIIIIWIIII»tWllltWIIW>WWIIWllWII»rillllllllllltW»llTIWftllttlWlltlilinf » lllllWllll WM IIIlltW>Wltlllllllt M IIIIIIIIIIII H I M III»^ .........................imj^......,.^if^i......i^^„ni^ff^^^...j....^^.^........^..........^i.^..y.......^.,^...................^... — -.—............>........ SPEECH ^"^ OF THE HON. GEORGE BROWN IN THE CANADIAN SENATE, MARCH 21 , 1878, ON The Public Finances of the Dominion. THE FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS or THE MACKENZIE AND MACDONALD GOVERNMENTS CONTRASTED. SENATOR MACPHERSON'S PAMPHLETS. HAiyilLTON PUBLIC LiBRARV PRINTED AT THE OFFICE OF THE GLOBE NEWSPAPER, 1878. i ^milll M II JM TI H WW?! UMUtMMHUUAiMI iiiiitiiiTfTW»»T«itww nH itiiiiii>i H iwiw n i n i m iT»ti»»f>ww n iiii nw < m w m »TfWPi?>i m »tii«iiii nmw iw»wwwwii m i m i m iinwiw MMMMMiHiMlM t i MR. BROWN'S SPEECH ON THE FINANCES OF CANADA. Ottawa, 21.st March, 1878. The order of the day having been called for resuming the debate on Mr. Macpherson's notice, " That he will call attention to the public "expenditure of the Dominion, especially that portion of it which is "largely within the control of the Administration, and will inquire of ''the Government how it is proposed to restore the equilibrium be- " tw^een income and expenditure." HON. GEORGE BROWN said :— I rise to make a few observations on the subject that has been brought under oi;r notice hy the Hon. Senator opposite (IMr. Macpherson), and which was inidev discussion when we adjourned last night. But, before proceeding to do so, I trust the Senate will bear with me for a moment while I say a few words in regard to the form in which this matter has been presented to us by the hon. Senator, and the peculiar character of the debate which has arisen from it. The notice given by the hon. gentleman was of a definite question to be put to the Secretary of State. Now, as the rules of the Senate do not debar discussion on initting a ques- tion to the Government, of which notice has been formally given, I take no exception to discussion having b en raised now. I think our rules should be amended on this point, but this is not the time to con- sider that. But what I do desire to call the special attention of the Senate to is the inconvenient and unjust use that has been made of this laxity of order on the present occasion. Under cover of this notice of a question that might have been put and answered in two minutes, the hon. gentleman rises to discharge a furious phillippio against the Administration ; rambles over the entire field of party politics ; drags in every conceivable or inconceivable matter that he supposes will serve his purpose of detraction ; indulges in errors and misstatements without end ; and fulminates wihl charges of waste and extravagance that have been again and again shown to be utterly groundlogs. Nay, the hon. gentleman venture I to go still further 4 than this — ho ventured to insinuate, without name, place, or date being given, \\4iat he must have known amounted to a charge of fraud on the part of the Administration — Mr. Macphersox- In what instance did I do that? Mr. Brown — The hon. gentleman did it more than once. "VVlien referring to the deficit on the Receipts and Expenditures of 1877, he tried to cast al)road the insinuation that the Public Accounts were not truly made up or the deficit would have been greater. He said that he had been told by somebofly or other that accounts were purposely kept back, so as to force a balance and lessen the dolicit of the year. He deplored the unreliability of Committees of the House of Com- mons, and hinted at a Royal Commission as the only mode of getting at the facts, j'^nd this onti'ageous insinuation he accompanied with the intimation that he could not vouch for tiie truth of the story he had been uttering, and would not be held res])onsi])le for it. In all my knowledge of Parliamentary discussion I have never knoivn so grave a cluirge preferred against the (lovern.nent of the day, without fact or pri)bal)ility to sustain it, and with so mean a loo|ihole of escape from responsibility coolly attaciied to it. And the hon. j^oiitleman in his statement was as reckless of the interests of liis counti'y as he was unjust to the Government. I am conhdent I am within bounds when I say that a hundred char^^es of greater or less magnitude wure dis- chirged or insinuated by the hon gentleman against the Administra- tion — one or two of them probably based on lacts as to which difterence of oi^inion might honestly exist, but the great m.ass of them utterly baseless. For example, only think of the hon gentleman bitterly as- sailing the Administratiim because, as he alleged, eveiy immigrant who arrived in 1875-() cost the country §2(5 05, when iu fact it was but $8 85 in that year, and $4 08 in 1870-7. Mr. Macpherson — My statement was strictly correct, and I shall prove it. Mr. Brown — The hon. gentleman may strive to escape by a play upon words — by pleading that he only meant the immii^rants arriving at Quebec — but this plea cannot be entertained. He well knew that 25,0;i3 immigrants arrived at all points in the Dominion in 1875-0, and what excuse can he pretend for placing the whole cost of this large number on the 7,00li of them who ariived via Quebec, and represent- ing the average cost per capita thus obtained as the average of the whole number? 1 heard distinctly that the hon gentleman said — we all heard it— and I defy him to find one 2)ei'son who heard him, or one person who has read his ijamjjhlet, who did not understand his charge to be that every innnigrant coming into the country in 1875-0 had taken $20.05 from the jjublic chest. Now, then, I ask the Senate, if it is reasonable, if it is just, if it is for the public benefit, that the members of the Government for the time being in this House, and indeed the whole of us — for we aie all interested in repplliiig unjust accusations against tho Governmentof otir country — should be ex[)ected to riseatthe moment and refute on the spot such a precious conglomeration as this, at the risk of piling blunder upon blunder and confusing the public mind ? We have been diacussing this niattei" for n number of tlaya^ and with ko boundluss a fiukl to range over, we may go on tUscussing for a month withtait getting nearer a solution than we are to-day. I can understand how the diseussion of two, or even three, points of public policy may bo c ndueted together prohtably in this Chamber — but I cannot, 1 confess, comprehend how a hundred points of detail that have never before been discii.>m- mittee, can be usefully considered together in open debate across the floor. The J)riti.sh ]iarliamentary system wisely provides that the con- trol of the details of money Bdls — that the jiower which makes and unmakes Ministries— shall rest with the popular branch of the Legis- lature. It does not admit of two Chambers ecjually powerful and pos- sibly discordant with each other. Two sei)arate bodies cannot speak the well understood wishes of the people, nnless they happen to be in harmony. The power of the purse-strings is, theiefore, most wisely lodged with the rej)resentalives of the ])eople. We are not elected by populai vote ; we are ai)jtointed by the Crown on the nomination of the Dominion Ciovernment of the day ; we are ai)pointed for life ; we can- not be removed except for cause ; our numbers cannot be increased except with our consent ; — practically we are directly responsible for our acts as legislators to our own consciences only. 1 ask the Senate then, if this Chamber is a fitting theatre for such wholesale railing discussions as the present I The Lower House has all the ai>piiance3 for rigid examination into the details of money expenditures — but we have not. Every shilling of i)ublic expenditure must be authorized before the money is paid — and for criticizing tiie Estimates closely and wisely the Commons have ample facilities that we do not possess. The Minister of Finance sits in the Lower House ; he is practically conver- sant with every transaction of the year ; he opens the Budget ; he frames and proposes all changes of tariff or taxation ; he discloses the financial policy of the Government ; anil he stands prepared to defend at any moment every feature of that policy. Then come the Committees of Ways and Means and of Supply, in which the estimates of the year and all proposals of revenue changes are over- hauled critically and severely for many days in succession, and ques- tions are put and answered on the moment on every doubtful point with a degree of freedom and plain speech that coubi hardly be sur- passed. And then, auain, at the opening of the following session the Public Accounts Committee is hard at work comparing the sums granted with the sums spent, narrowly criticizing every item, and gathering full information on evt-ry point for the coming debate on the Supply Bill. I ask the Senj,te if it is convenient that we should set up here rival Finance Ministers and Finance Com- mittees to control the action of the popular branch on such mat- ters ? 1 ask if it is not wandering beyond our province ? — if it will add either to the usefulness or the dignity of this House ? If I am rightly informed, this reckless raid into the territory of our neighbours is the first thing of the kind that has happened for many years ; and I respectfully submit for the consideration of the Senate whether it ought not to be the last. With these remarks I rtt'nni to the bill of comjiianit of the hon. gentleman oppohite. The hon. gentleman is full of compbdnts and btmentations. He don't like the present Ministry ; he has no faith in Cojiumittees of the Commons ; he has no faith in the Public Accounts ; he has no faith in anybody or anything. Tho whole world is ngee with him. Why, he actually started his speech the oHior evening with a wail of lamentation that his speeches and pamphlets had not been answered V)y anyone— had not been touched. Now, though I was not fortunate enough to bo present last session when the lion, gentleman began his attack, I rea^ot-np case a<^ainst the present (ioveriinient. One great fallacy — shall I call it a fallacy or a wicked nxisropresontation ? — underlies all the financial calcidations and accusations f>f the hon. gentleman. His entire fabric rests on the pretence that Sir John A. Macdonahl's CJovernment was respcmsible for the expenditure of the c(nnitry (tnly up to ',\()t]\ June, IHl'A, and that the present ( {overnment are responsible from that date. But what are the facts i Why that Sir John Macdonahl's Ciovernmeut was in office until November, IHT.'i, — that in Ajml, I871i, his (jovernment proposed andcarrioil the Supply Bill for the entire hnancial year commencing 1st July, 1H73, and eml- ing on J{()th June, 1H74 — that the Mackenzie Government took otiice late in that year, and had no choice but to carry out the lu-ogramme framed by their predece3.sor3 and ad«»pted by Parliament; and that before the elections were over and Parliament could be called again, the financial year was near its close. The pretence that the present Government is responsible for the expenditure of 1H73-4 is so i)re[)os- terous and mendacious that it i.s amazing any sane person could bo found to set it uj) for a moment. Why, then, is the hon. <{entleman so daring as to do this, and to cling to it, and re-assert it, in defiance of common .'sense ? Why, simidy because the Legislative and Executive action in 1H73-4 caused a complete revolution in the financial affairs of the Dominion. The Macdonald Government in that year capi)ed the climax of its reckless administration, and the country has ever since been weighed down by the pressure of the enormous responsibilities it left as a legacy to its successors. The Macdonald Government was formed in 1807 and controlled the public finances until 3()th June, 1874 ; let us see then how the annual public expenditures increased in their hands. They were : — In 18f)7-8 9i3,48(),092 In 18()8-9 14,0;J8,084 In 18()fl-70 \i,:i\,\r^o\) In 1870-71 ir>,()2:3,081 In 1871-2 17,r)80,4(;8 In 1872-3 li),174,(!47 ami In 1873-4 23,316,316 It will thus be seen, that in the four years from 1867-8 to 1870-1 the annual expenditure rose two millions of dollars ; that in the suc- ceeding two years it rose three millions and a half more ; but that in the next succeeding year — that of 1873-4, which the hon. Senator (Mr. Macpherson) so indecently seeks to fasten on the present Government — the annual expenditure went up at one jump the enormous additi- onal sum of $3,708,300. And to show clearly how this vast increase arose, and how entirely the late Government were responsible for it, I have taken from the Public Accounts, comparative lists of each item of expenditure in the years 1872-3 and 1873-4 respectively, and will now read them : — 8 1872-3 1873-4 Incr. Deer. Interest 5,209,205 5,724J3() 515,231 ClmrKOBof nmnagcment of debt.... 17^981 238,003 (m.0J2 SinkiiiK Fund 407,82() 513,920 10(i,0!)4 Discount exchanged 5,7()3 Sd.dSO 21,017 Sulmidics to rrovincos 2,921,39!) 3,752,757 831,3.-8 Civil (i.)vernnujnt 750,874 883.(185 1;}2,8II Admiri.stration of Justice 308,9t)f{ 459,037 (50.071 Police 49.81.'} 5().387 ().57» Venitentiaries 270,(;(il :{95,551 124,890 Legislation (514.187 781.048 l()9,5(il (ioological Survey ()4.()3l 97,824 ;{8,183 Art!*, Agriculture and Stati.stics. . . 10,()90 19,091 8,401 Census 57,7(!<) 39,470 18,006 Emigration and (juarantine 287,3()8 318,572 31,204 Marino Hospitals 48,150 ()(i,4()2 18,;512 Pensions 49,204 50,458 7,249 Superannuation 53,02(5 (54,442 11,41(5 .. Miktia 1,248,(;()3 077,37(i 271,287 PublicWorks 1,597,(514 1,82(5,001 228,387 Ocean and River Steam Service. . . 45(5,190 407,701 48,489 Lighthouses 480,375 537,057 5(5,(582 Fisheries 97,878 7(5.247 21,(531 Steamer Inspection 13,266 10,292 2,974 Insurance Inspection • Miscellaneous (53,849 102,160 3S,:ilI Indian (Jrants 63,777 146,6(58 82,291 Dominion Lands 237,(576 28;i,l(53 45,487 Dominion Forces, Manitoba 147,368 209,1(59 61,801 Mounted Police, N. W 199,159 199,1.59 N. W. Organization 12,2(52 12,2(52 boundary Survey, U.S 89,293 79,29:5 Boundary Survey, Ontario 2,430 2,4.30 Military Stores 144.906 144,006 Customs refunds former years. 69,330 69,330 Settlers' Relief, Manitoba Customs 567,7(56 658,299 90,533 Excise 171,705 206,935 35,230 Weights & Measures Inspection of Staples .,... Adulteration of food Culling Timber 69,692 82,886 13,894 Post-Offiee 1,067,866 1,387,270 319,404 Public Works 1,495,185 2,880,679 893,494 Minor Revenues 22,263 11.371 10892 Total $19,174,6*7 23,316,316 4,141,669, 373,369 I call the attention of the Senate to three facts that are established, by this comparison : — First, that out of the 39 items that con.stitute the entire exjjenditure of the year 1873-4, 33 of them were largely in- creased by ihe late Government beyond the sums paid for the same service the previous year ; second, that the increases on these thirty- three items came lo $4,141,219, and the'decreases on the remaining six items of expenditure to $373,369, showing the net increase of expen- diture in that one year to have been $3,768,300 ; and third, that the great mass of the increases were of such a character that they could not have been reduced by the incoming Administration. And as illus- 9 trative of tho stylo of nottxd of those lai'ge increasos, lot mc recall to the attention of tho House tho cnormouH creations of new offices and ad- (l.tions tf> existing salaries that were nuule by Sir John A. Macdonaltl's Government in tliat year— just before they were ejected from otlice, and while already in the throes of dissidntion. I hold in my hand tho (ttHcial rt'turn, and I find that iukUt these scandalous circumstances nf» fewer than (129 new appointments were made in the Dei)artmental ofHces alone, with salaries attached to them of .^:J22,!)43 per annum ; and that additions were made in the same manner to the salaries of I,;i81 employees in t,ho same Departments, amounting to f ir)2,;ir)0 per annum. Tho annual burden involved in these 2,010 transactions amounted to the eiionnous sum of .i!!l7r),2;i{) per annum, or the annual interest on more than ton millions of iloUars ! Hero is tho official return :— ' Department. Appoint- Increases. Total. ments. No. Amt. No. Amt. No. Anit. Oovernor-Oenciars Office .. — Nd. 3 350 3 350 PrivyCouncil 1 700 6 820 7 1,520 Secretary of State 9 4,(ifl0 9 l.^'w'O 18 fi,340 Publio Works 28 2\,r>U\ 171 1!),074 10!) 40,ti20 .lustico 75 77,800 11 l,7(»0 8() 70,5(iO Interior 10 14,070 25 r>.OlO 44 19,080 Customs Ill 58,076 63() 07,185 747 125,2(;2 Militia 6 5,(i00 IS 2,jilll,()85 should have been spent, and he says the hxte Government never expected it to cost over ^50,000 a year. Well, it did not cost more than that in 187(5-77. The hon. gen. tlero^Mi omitted to state that the sum named inclmled the entire cost of gas inspection as well as of weights and measures ; and that over §50,- 000 of fees were received last year. Mr. Macpherson — I stated that. Mr. Brown — Well, that left the entire cost of the measure just what was anticipated by its authors. The hon. gentleman was a mem- ber of this Hov.se when the Bill passed. His friends were completely supreme in both Houses then. Did he object to its passage ] Mr. Macpherson— I did not. Mr. Brown — Why then does the hon. gentleman complain so fiercely against that which he himself and his own friends did ? Is it because their successors did not at once cast it overboard without trial or attempt to amend its imperfections 1 16 Mr. Macpheeson — The question is, What Government pUt it into operation ] Mr. Brown — I apprehend it was Mr. Brunei who put it into operr,- tion. The hon. gentleman's next objection is to tlie item of $4,003 for the prevention of adulteration of food. He says ho cannot see the use of it ; but I fancy that no cme who takes the trosed, while the 2>resent tinancialstiingency exists, that the 40,000 n)ilitiamen shiill be divided into two bodies, and one- half drilleil yearly in idternate order. We all, I am sure, earnestly desire that the militia force of the Donunion shall l)e maintained in full elliciency ; but in such times as the present how can this tem- porary modification of the jiractice l)e made just subject of indignant complaint, es]»ecially from the mouths of such ardent economists as the hon! gentlemen opposite i The next item in the hon. senator's bill of comi)laint was tlu; reduction of ^192, (542 cm Manitoba land sur- veys. " \Vh;it "duction," the hon. gentleman exclaims, "is there in that J You lia\e reduced the snrveys by that amount — is that economy ? You will stop them next year altogether — will that, too, be a saving ? And if any one is entitled to credit, to wIkjui should it go but to those that drove tlie Government to it I" Ah, it is ao hard to please the hon. gentleman ! If you don't retrench he abuses ycAi, and if you do retrench ho is worse than ever. The next item is one aboixt which the hon. gentleman raised a terrible hullabaloo — the item of Departmental Telegraphing. He reail from the Public Accounts the statement that the co.st of this service in 187^3-4 (the hist of the Macdtmald Government) was but $20,925, while in the tirst year of the jiresent Government it was Si8,507. And how excited the honourable gentleman did become about it, to be sure ! \Vell, this did appear to me a very large sum, and so I dropped into the Finance Department and asked sin explanation of it from one of the othcers of the Depart- ment. He went at once and looked into the matter, and 1 am sure the hon. gentleman will be relieved and delighte'*t'el raiJH bought for llio Pacific Hailway, as wo all know, were not all want»'