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Tnpp«r wid : Golonal Prior, and ladiee *tid gentle- men : Before Mkinfc yoa to indalge me with yoar patienoe while I endeavor to die- casi' some of the pabllo qaeetiona that have been preiented to yon from this platform, I deaire, if $oa will pardon me, to thank yon one and »U of the good oitlzena of the pro* vince of Britiah Coluiiibia, and part Ion larly of the oity of Victoria, for the kindly and cordial welcome that haa been extended to me on thia my 6rat visit to your province. I cefer to that not beoanae of any claim of my own mer.c or recognition at ycur handa, bnt I aimpty mention it aa one of the many. Whether they come from the £a«t of thia Canadian Dominion, whether they come from any quarter of oat land, or indeed whe- ther they come from any part of the Qaeen'a dominiona, it has been the aniveraal experi- ence. And the only welcome that I know that can approach or be compared in cor- dialitty or warmth to that which I have re- oeivisd, I venture to aay ia found in a prov- ince that ia in many particulars similar to youi own, thct ia my native proviocn, and I am glad to aay the native province of inanjr of yoa in thia hall, and many who are in the proviaui of Britiah Columbia. The experience of a roan traveraiog the Britiah Nortlli American h«lf of this great oonticent may va/y with the man, but you have bad but one confession practically from all who have Addressed you, and I nerd not dwell on thut, but simply aay that I with all the othen have been filled with wonder, aar- prlae and admiration. And I do lielieve that it ia not merely for the benefit of the individual that a jonrney aorou thia con- tinent and to thia oity ahould be taken, bat I believe that by a journey of that kind, and an experience ancb aa mine haa been, a man may feel aa he never before felt In this country, that he ia a citizen of no meiui country. (Applause.) And riding throuuh this province, correaponding aa it doea in ao many partioulara with that province on the Atlantic, it not only receivea the admira- tion of visitora but ia becoming every day more and better known throughout the civilized world. Now, ladiea and gentlemen, aome people «ay that we are on the eve of a general elec- tion. ' And aome people think that poll- tioiana auch aa I, or thoae better, or those wcae, are moat anxious to make their beat bow before you and aay their tale aa '(rell as they poaaibly can. I may to aome extent not have the entire oonfidenoe of thia meet- ing. But if yoF will allow me to make a aimple and childlike oonfeasion, I will begin my remarks to-night by telling yoa that I do not know when a general election ia to take place ; thckt I have never heard the queation discussed in the cabinet of the Dominion at Ottawa ; but that I have heard from those who oppose the government of the day at Ottawa, tnoae who do not at preaent adviae the Governor- Oenerai on thoae queationa, that an election la to take plaoe, that the time is fixed, and that thoDgh the day ia not oertain the month ia to be Febraary next. I, however, am abaolotfily in the dark npon that point. Bat whether the eleotion oome in Febraary or whether it oome two yeara from this date, later or aooner, yon will not find an intelli- gent man who haa travelled aoroaa thia con- tinent who will tell yoa that the Liberal- Conaervativea on Che Atlantic are in the alighteat degree diaturbed aa to when that day ahall be. ( ^pplanae ) I came to thia province not with any idea that I can make ' a vote ; I hope that I can leave thia prov. inoa withoct. having loat a vote that woold otherwiae be given to the Liberkl-Conaervativea. I came to thia Erovinoe e.t thia aeaaon of the year baoaaae I eiieved it to be my daty to oome. And I have been more than gratified by the wel- come to which I have alluded. And I have alao had the great pleaanre of receiving aa- aiatanoe at every hand in regard to the qaea- tiona which, for aome time, at any rate, no matter what yonr politioa may be, maat be aettled and maat be adjaated by the govern- ment of the day. And it would b« a aorry time for the Conaervative party, and if you will allow me to aay ao, a aorry time for the province of Britiah Columbia and the apirit of Britiah fair play in thia part of Eer Majea- ty'a domain, if thegovernment that ianow led by Sir John Thompaon could not obtain in any part of Canada at leaat a reapectful hearing. I enter upon the diacuaaion to- night with certain feara on aome poiata, but no fear whatever on another. I enter npon the diacuaaion of queationa that intereat yon, and with the aolution of which the government of the day of which I am a member ia charged, with the fear that I ahall not preaent them properly, or that I cannot do adeqnate joatice to them, or to you ; but I have at the preaent moment not the alighteat. degree of fear that I will not re- ceive at yonr hand* the aame oonrteay that haa been ahewn to me at every repreaenta- iive gathering that I have already met in the city of Viotorta, and that I will receive at your handa that attention and indulgence that ia extended to men occupying my po- aition, in any part of the Dominion of Can- ada. Mr. Lanrier waa received with open arma in thia city. I am glad of it. It waa doe to him ; it w^a due to the poaition that he holda. He haa oharma of many kindi, and he holda a poaition that at all timea ahould win for him at the leaat courteay and kindly treatment. And I believe that it ia omy right he ahould be treatod well in that poaition ; for when you lee him again I firmly believe he will b; holding It atiU. (App)auae.; I take it that Mr. Lanrier ahould t>e forgiven much 1 1 think that aym- pathy might well be extended to him. Hia road has been heavy, hia political career che. kered, and I think that, after all ia aaid and done, conaiderins that when at the laat peneral election he waa advocating a policy apparently aanguine of ita aucoeaa, and apparently firmly convinced that it waa the one policy for the happineaa and the well being of every man in Canada, and conaidering that, when he aaw you, after that general electipn, he had nob one word to aay about that policy, that he waa entitlod to your aympathy aa well aa your indulgence. What did you hear from Mr. Laurier from thia platform ? What did any taan at any of the eighty meetinga that he addreaaed in the province of Mani- toba and the No.rthweat Territoriea and in thii province hear ? Whatever they heard, I aay to-night that no reporter ever noted that he had one word to aay, good, bad or indifferent, for the policy upon |vhioh all your fortunea hung in the balance at the laat general electiou — the policy of contin- ental free trade. Did he tell yon anything of the policy of unreatrioted reciprocity ? Did he tell you that under that poucy and that policy alone oonld you hope for a development of your fiaheriea, of your wealth in minerala, of your agricultural reaourcei ? Did he tell you that by the policy of unreatrioted reciprocity every horse woald have $10 more in value put upon him ; that the ianda in our ooun- try, far and near, would jamp at once until the value waa inotsthXid by $50 an acre ? He told yon not a ayllabls of that ; and yet thoae worda are atill ringing in my eara. I heard them asasion after aeasion ; I heard them from the atump ; I heard all thoae promiaea at the laat general election in the EMt. And to hia credit, and to your credit, ladiea and gentlemen of thia part of Canada, he never repeated one aingle argument of that character which he put before the peo- ple at the laat general eleotion. But they are on the eve of a great trial. It ia true they have put away on the ahelf thoae policiea and promiaea of old timea, and they have endeavored to dazzleb your eyea and my eyea with aomething entirely new, and it haa at leaat the charm of aovelty. The policy, I underatand, in tbia city haa been diacusaed recently ; and ^8 a Conservative yon will pardon n:e tor having been amuaed to find that after that eloquent charmer haa visited you and left you, hia faithful foUowera here in conclave aaaembled only a night or two ago were dia- ousaing and endeavoring to aaoertain what it really meant. (Applanae. Volcea: No) I t^ I Soihe oiif. aayi No. More than one B%y8 No to-nlgb/ii ; and I wi»h to God that No wim qorr>«st. I wiah we oould meet in the open a polioy aa olear out and defined as the policy that has been supported by the people of this onnntry slnoe 1878. (Applauae.) Good or bad, that policy had been handling there, so that any- one who runs may read Bit oan any man aerioualy tell yon that there ia an element of definitenesa or that there is anythinf; plain in connectiou with a policy that ib denned in one breath to be a policy of free trade ; that in another breath is a policy of free trade m near as may be ; in another breath, a policy of freer trade ; in another breath, free trade as they have it in England, and then with a conclusion that though that is the policy it ia only an ideal ; that after the next) general election, as Mr. Laurier told you from the platform, he could not promise you tree trade, but that he would keep it as the goal? (Hear, hear.) When is it to be rvaohed ? Can anyone here tell me 7 I have come thousands of miles, and if I can find that secret and have it revealed to me in the city of Victoria then I will not have oome this distance in vain. No man on the Atlantic coast oan rjead that riddle. No men in any city in the Eastern Provinces is yet able to te!l me what the tariff is to be if the Liberals triumph at the next elec- tion. And, with all respect I say it, there is no man in this hall —there is no man in this city — that can rise up and tell me what the tariff is to be if Mr. Laurier wins the most complete triumph at the next general election. (Applause.) What does tariff for revenue only mean ? I oan fancy some man telling me (A voice : No boodle ) Now, are we going to discuss trade or boodle ! I oan discuss both, and I have some- thing to 8»y about both (applause) ; but let us stick to the sub j ct. Don't try to evade ; if you want to incerrupc me give me an ~ intelligent interruption, give n-e a straight answer. When I ask yon what Ukriff for revenue only is, for the credit of the oity give me some other answer than it means *Vnc boodle." Make something plainer than that. I am not here to advo- cate every section of the tariff as it stands ; I am here, as every member of the cabinet to which I belong stands, in any part of Canada, ready to defend it in the whole, to justify at any cost the principle that under- lies it ; but anxious always to improve it, as parliament haa been improving it, accord- ing to the changing of times and changing of oircumstanoer But it hnn aome merit, ladiea and ftentlomen Still I leave the whole conaideration, as I must leave it, in your hands when my voice stops. From 1878 until now you have always known what the policy of the Liberal- Conservatives was as '.;o the tariff, and be it good or bad, as free men, be yon Liberals or Conservatives, you ought to know definitely and exactly what will be the policy that is to take, its place. Our friando beat about the bush ; you ask, and they will tell you, " That is all very well ; but it is unfair to ask us in the opposition to define the direct policy," Uof Air ? What is there unfair about it T Upon the solioitaticn of business men are they afraid to define their policy on the question of prohibition ? Are they afraid to define their policy on the question of school laws ? Are they afraid to define their policy on the question of snbiidies to railways? Are they afraid to define their policy on the question of subsidies to steamship lines ? Are they afraid to discuss their policy on navigation and the feasibility of ' tion of one of the grandest rivers on the f «oe of the globe — though it happens to be in oar own country ? Are they afraid to give their opinion on the hundred and one ques- tions that meet the speaker and must be de* oided every session ? You know as well aa I do that on all those other questions they have taken their stand, right or wrong ; and on this quest'^n of trade they have had op- portunity alter opportunity, as reforms have been proposed, as ohangei. have been suggested, to define exactly and in terms, what the lines will be that they will go upon. But while our friends are anxious to fish, to angle for the votes of the free traders who come to iiettle in our midst from the free trude nation, from the mother land, while they are anxious as politicians to draw all these fiah to their nets, they find othera here whose experience in this country has made them opposed to free trade, and they must reckon with them also. And what do yon find happens on the eve of every general election ? I give yon my experience ; yon have your own ; compare it, if you please. I went into parliament in 1882 I have been there sirci, and I have been engaged in several general elections. I have heard loudmouthed and ranting free traders in the house of parliament. I have met them in different parts of the country. But I tell yoo that the voice of the free trader is low just as the time comes when he haa to ask for the vote of the psople of this oonntry and answer the question, " Are you in favor of protection to native industries or are you not ?" Go back to the days of Blake if you like ; read his address in 1882 ; read his speech at Mal- vern ; read his speech In the face of the manufacturers of Montreal : and it yen can 176511 4 find uiy pro«|MM)t of fne tr^de in thoM nt- taruioea yoo wUl find what no other mtn hM •m foand. Bat yoa will find this oonfeaaion on meeting the mutufMS tarere. After telling them that owing to the yile Kovemment end the extraveganoe of the Toriea, eo Urge a earn of money has to be obtained from theee people every year that free trade U impoeeible ; that I36.000,- 000, as he pat it at MaWem— let it be 936,- 000.000 or $38,000,000 now— it ia no better in that reapeot —had to be raiaed by hook or by erook tto oarry on the affaire of the Dom* Inion of Canada every year ; and that a« aa that waa eo— the neoeaaitie;! of revenoe Ixting eaoh — free trade in thia coontry waa impoaaible, and the manafactarera had therefore nothing to fear. Would the manufaotnrera have nothing to fear, think yoa, if they ooald believe that theae argO' menta that are pat before yoa in eirqaent term*, in magniloqaent terroa, were founded upon any eerioan determination ? But we will come a little later on to that. I merely call your attention to thia faot, that aa an election oomee about at the varioue perioda 'you have the ante-mortem depoaftion of the Liberal party, ao to apeak, that "they didn'e know it waa loaded," that *' they didn't mean what they atated aa to free trade, and that the votea of the eleotora, could be got irre- apc'Otive of that coniideration." We have had all that einoe 1S78 ; you know that aa well aa I do. Bat atill Mr. Laurier, I kaow, honeatly beiievea that the victory ii nearer than ever — and we know it uust be nearer than ever — it could not be farther away. I never knew a day when the Lib- eral party wbut into a light ao utterly deati- tute of material and reaouroea aa at the pre- ■enb. He may be very confident ; but I make the prediction tliac the result will be very similar to the experience of one of our city awelli, who when he took a tour into the oooDtry and had heard of the far famed ferocity of the little Jersey ball aod waa ourious to aecertaio what that ferocity amounted to, started off, and when he oame to the field where the bull was, said : "la this the little ball which everyone b ao afraid of ?" They aaid " That is the little ball ;" and he aaid, " It is a very small bnast ; do you miod my going u^er to him to take a look at bitu ?" "0, certainly not." "I would like to throw that little ball into the next fie Id "; and the farmer said he had not the alighteat objection to his tackling the little bull. 8o he weot into the yard and took the bull by 4ihe horns, and the result was that after forty-eight hours, when he was returning to consciousness, he opened his eyes and aaid, "How far did I throw that bull?" (Great laughter and applauae ) I think after the generul election Mr. Laurier will Im aaking bow far he threw , that bull. (Laughter.) If there ia anything the Britiaher likes, or a man bom onder the fiag, it ia fair play. Now thta, a gentleman in thia audience suggested som^tuing atraut boodle. And ib is an offensive term, I anppose. At any rata he has b^ard one side ; let me give him for a few momenta the other side. Mr. Laurier in this oity and elaewhere on that tour, where he made eighty apeeches, as I under- itand, deaoendedintc this line of argument. Now, I may be misinformed, I have it only second-hand of course— that after ingratiat- ing himself with all the audiences — (A voices Give us your policy. ) My dear »>r, my r Hoy is written on the wall. (Appivuse.) cannot oouvinoe any Britisher that my folioy is l>etter than it is. At this late day stand only by it. But I am going to have some fun, if you will al- low me, with your policy (Applause ) Now, tliat is what I am informed of the modus operandi ; and I may be wrong. Bub after ingratiating himself in his most win- ning and oharmins manner, with all the audiences, Mr. Laarier after getting a sort of reputation of being a very fair-minded man, struck the very foulest blow, straight l>e- low the belt, as I think, into the honor and character of his opponents, who were thou- sands uf miles away from him. I would be glad to know that it was not ao ; bat after I get through referring to some of his references I fancy no man will sav that charge of Mr. Laarier did nob affect the honor of every man in the Domin- ion cabinet. And I am chiming at the hands of thia audienoe —as I would at the hands of any audience of my fellowooantty- men — that they should hear two sides of the question before they form their oooolusions. (Applause ) Now then, time will not per- mit me to go into every subject of boodle, of scandal, of slander — slander, that foulest whelp of sin — this evening Bot the disioc- tion of one of his charges I will ask you to make now. I will ask you to form conol i- sions, not from his charges but from the factu that go either to support or to refute them. Now, Mr. Laurier ould not have made a more serious charge than he m«de on this platform or in this city. It aff oted the honor of every member of the cabinet at Obtawa. It affected your dearest rights. And I say, as a Canadian, that if there waa a word of truth in one of his charges to which I am going to refer, yon would not be men — you not be worthy of your citizen* ■hip, you would not be worth living— if yon did not rite up en maeee and m one man hnrl that government. Liberal or Cooierva- tive, from power. There oonld not be a worse (CAodal antrgevted than the one to whioh 1 refer. What waa it ? He charged that for politioal reaioni the Miniater of Juitioe, the Attorney-General of Canada, had reoommendftd to Hie Ezoellenoy the re- lease of two prinnera from gaol. And I aay that the man that will do that, the man that for politioal reaaona will give liberty where liberty ahoald not be given to oon- victa, ia a man who wonid not atop at any other infringement of the righta of oitizana, or at the releaae of other priaoners, or ondne inoaroeration of other priaonera. There oould not be a foaler blot on jaitioe than what waa contained in the obarge that MoGreevy and Connolly were granted their release from j»il for politioal reaa >na on the recommendatiun of the Attorney General and the Prime Miniater of this oountry. And I say that if thia oharge were made in England againat a miniater it would not be firat heard from a publio platform or the atump ; but yon would hear of it in aentenoea from the months of leadera of publio opinion in par- liament, that on a oertaln day important state doonment were to be laid on the table ot the house and a aerioue debate was to be oballpngod, where the ministers would bo put upon their defence, and on that debate would hang the fate, as it should do, of any government. I exaggerate this in no way. It was held up to you as some- th^ig to consider before yon oast your votes at the next general eleotion. Now, I am here to prove and establish that a meaner or more cowardly calumny never fell from the lipa of man, whethur he waa silver-tongued or whether he was baser -tongned. 1 am abrut to put yon in a plea of " not gnllty " to that high crime and misdemeanor. (Applause.) I tkm here to tell you that down to thia day, whilo theae prisoners —these convicts — were released, do man in parliament ever asked tc see the papers ; no man in pailiament ever challenged debate by formal resolution. But it was left to the leader of a great par- ty to travel thousands of miles from his op- ponents and utter slanders behind their backs in order to walk over their mined reputations — their slandered oharaoters — to place and power. What are the facts ? I will give you the facta. The facta are these : MoOreevy and Connolly were proaeouted. The opponents of the government who wef e unfair aaid : " Thia proaeoution will be a farce ; the pro- qeoution cannot go on beoauae the govern- ment know that MoGreevy holds in bis pos Msalon secrets thai woold shake the gov- ernment to the very base. The proseoutioo will be a farce and end in nothing " What followed 7 The ablest counsel in the Lib- eral party in the province of Ontario waa retained by Hit John Thompson ; the whole of the case lor the crown was put into hi« hands without bia bsing in the alighteat de- gree inflaenoed by any oouaiderationa. Ha was inatruoted to prosecute these priaonera ohargftd with the orime that they were charged with at the hands of the Premier, to the very utmost ; and yet Mr L%urier said in thia city that if it had not been that the prosecution wf s under the obarge ' of Sir Oliver Mowat there would have been no conviction. Compare this with what he said at Ootawa when asked for an explanation of these al- legations. He said then that Sir Oliver Mowav secured the , oonvioiion, and Sir Oliver Mowat knows that he never (vas con- sulted in connection with 'ibe case, and he never dreamed of it or interfered with it in the slightest degree, except that he retained Mr. Kerr, a respectable and eminent counsel, to assist Mr. Odler so as to acthorize the use of the namo of the Attorney General oi Ontario in the prosecution as waa necessary. But the offioara of the Dominion inaugurated the thinj ; the ohief of police of the Dominion government was the active man, under the instru nions of the Dominion counsel, that brought into court evidence of the men that had tried to run to Chicago in one cise and Buffalo in another ; but by these means they wore brought back, and evidence was given lead- ing to their conviction, and they were sen- tenced by the court to be confined in gaol for a term of years. The facta in conneotion with the release of these priaonera by Sir John Thompaon were auoh that had they been preaented to the Home Secretary cf Great Britain he would have carried out the same oourse. If Sir John Thompson had valued his politioal standing or political exigencies more than his personal honor or the honor of his gov- ernment, he might h<^ve been prompted to advise his government not to release these men. (Applause.) But the. Conservative party waa strong enongh to do right. (Cheers.) Sir John Thompson recom- mended jusb the course thafe precedence has established, whioh was the release of these men. (L^nghtef.) Some one laughs. Lot me read the certificates upon which the release of these men wt3 made. In Ottawa as in other places there is a jail physician whose duty it is to advise upon the health of prisoners. The physicians in the prison in which these men were oanfined were C. 6 R. Chnroh, one of the oldMt pbytioUni In the oil y of Ottawa, and aootbar doctor, a leading man in hi* profeaaion, Dr. W righb. Thla la their oerttflo*tfl npon wbiob tbe re- leaae waa made : " To Hia Exoellenoy tbe Goveroor-Oen* errl :— The Queen veraua Thontaa McGreevy and Nioholaa K. Connolly— The anderalKn- ed baa the honor to oall attention to tbe oer- tifioateaof Dr. C B. Cbaroh, F.R U 8 E , attending phyaician to the Carleton County jail, with rfgard to the oonditioD of health of tbe priaonera above named. Dr. Cbaroh atated under date January the 3rd : Daring tbe paat tivrt or aix weeks, in my capacity aa j«ll aorfteon, Thomaa Mc(jlreevy and Nioholaa K. Con- ' noliy have been under my profetaion»l oare a« inmatea of tbe common jail of tbe county of Carleton ; each priaoner ia in a moat mia- erable oondit'on of health." (Laughter. ) Sir Charlea Tapper— That waa fanny per- bapa to you ; it waa not funny to either Connolly or McGreevy. The next aentenoe ifl perhaps more hnmoroua atill " Connolly ia nufferinft from kidney trouble of an aggravated form ; both Mc- Greevy and Connolly auffar from insomnia, while McGreevy ia auffering from inflamma- tion of the middle ear. I oonalder that further confinement in each caae would be placing life in jeopardy, and that their releaae from imprfaoDment ia tbe only meana of averting diaaater." (Laogbter ) Sir Charlea Tupper— I am glad that tbe climate out here enablea anob men to langb at each forma of diaeaae. '* Oo February 23rd Dr. Cbaroh wrote to tbe anderaigned aa followa : " In a former ooronmnioation I called your attention to tbe grave condition of health in tbe oaaea of Mesara. McGreevy and Connolly, confined in the common jail of the county of Carleton, and adviaed their releaae from impriaonment aa tbe only meana of effective reatoration of their health." (Laughter.) Sir Charlea f upper— All thia pain bad laated for a month. Now I think there abould be inoreasud laughter. " Their condition baa not improved, bnti in apite of medical care hau in each inatanoe become more au-iatiafaotory. I wonid strongly urge their immediate releaae. Under these oircumstances the anderaigned reapeotfully reoommeLda that the prisonera be releaaed, •• (8d.) John S. D. Thhompson. <* Miniater of Jaitioe." ** In view' of the above medioal report which haa been subsequently corroborated by Dr. Wright, I approve. "(Sd.) Abzboekk." •• Ottawa, Feb. 28, 18941. " To the Honorable the Minister ofJualire. *' Sir,— I examined Meaara. McGreevy and Coanolly to-day in the common jail of the county of Carleton, and am prepared to corroborate the atatementa of Dr. Church, the j<{, but has been enabled to foater and encr u.^age railway and other tranaportation facilitiea in every portion of the Dominion, and on the aeaa aa well, and theae are all obargea upon the revenue, in addition to the one charge that waa Itaelt to bring ua to ruin. It ia, therefore, fair for me to aay that the national policy has given to the government of tbia country greater powera and greater etreifgth than ite oppon- enta predicted. In the first place it waa to bring no revenue. It waa to be a trammel on commerce. Haa your oommercedwindledT We were to be ruined by the National Polioy lizteen yeara ago. It la a proud poaibion to defend that polioy to-day. Need I apply to atatiatica, to the exper- ience of indlvldoala T No { bnt to the re-' oorda of that polioy ; to the Conaervative party whioh haa been atrengthened in ever/ part of Canada. I wlii ^'^ to the money markjta of the world ; I will go to the hot bed of free trade, to the heart of the Brltlah Empire and to the men of the beat bnalneea experience that the world haa aeen. What ia the anawer ? That the policy haa been auob that oar credit la now to be compared with the credit of the atrongeat nationa of the world. (Obeera.) We have aaked the governmenta of Aua- tralla to aend their repreaentatlve men into our midat. We have aaked the ooloniea of South Aftioa to aend their repreaentr^*va men, and the mother country haa lent Lord Jeraey, to a trade conferenoe held in the capital of tbia young country. And It muat have been a matter of pride to ivery true Canadian to hear the opinlona of tbia man (Lord Jeraey) in referenee to the prog- reaa of tbia young country. You have but to refer to the blue-book to aee it : that the manner in whioh tbia country waa governed, ever ainoe 1887, if you like, haa been wiae and that expendlturea have been judicionaly made. Sir Charlea Tupper, oontinning to diaonaa the financial condition of the Dominioh and the judicious way in whioh its affaira had been adminiatered, aald : I have re- ferred to banking men and financial men, now let me give you the opinion of Lord Ripon, colonial aecretary, delivered at a publio meeting held in the city of London laat year. In diacuaalns the expenditure! made in tbia oonntry Lord Ripon referred to the growth of our credit, Dominion 3J^ per centa aelling at 103;|, and aaid : " I put tbia queation to tbia aaaembly. What better evidence could there be that your expendl- turea have been wiae, and have been to the benefit of your oonntry." (Cheera.) I come from a part of tbia oonntry where wa have had to fight for our political Uvea in connection with a large part of that (C. PR) expenditure. My friend Mr. Fraaer of Quyaboro uaed to aak my opponenta to atrike me down beoauae the Liberal- Conaervative leadera bad tried to impoaa a heavy obligat'on i>' the E«atern rnun- tiea for the aolo b< i.. the Western pro- vinoea, out of whu ' i -■' ndllcrea the people in my oountiea ^<3r«^ >^uui they were to re- ceive no benef t. Bar , H ;;)heae old diffianl- tiea and prejaiii. ~ - 1 } dying out in the Eut, au'^ I aay. < ->.! .elp the Conserva- tive party, and Go - nelp the country, if after all we have had to do in order to carry on these public works there should be any of tbia feeling shown In that part of the country whioh more than once enabled the 9 Goaa«rT»U7« parfey to o*rry oat that polioy whioh hM won th« aapport and good opinion of the liitcr ooloniei in every part of tha*BritUh Empire. (Cheen.) With reipeot to Mr. Laurier I would quoM him m a wltneea of the irooeH of the National Polioy. L&oh at • *-~X the ooun- try4i credit ie in Mpito of th•^ nral oppo- ■ition, and eee it also in tha j«timony 7 give from hU own llpi. I w >ii 'd have paid that K^ntleman'a exper'*b to Viotoria to have that atatomeut tr> ^ ilm. vutugh^or ) In the East we have been goln^' tbr-u^h a fight that threatened to drive ono province Into opp >iltion against the <'"iter prnvtnoea. Mr. Laurler has a certain nutrber of lien- tenants. Mr. Fielding Is ^u able lleaten- ant. He ia the Premier of Novm Hoptia and presided at the liiberal oonveiitlon held i*^ Ottawa in 18&3. Mr Jones is another lieutenant ; he was a oolleagne of the I-^te Mr. Mackeozie. Then there is Mr. Davies, of the Maritime Provinces, another lieuten- ant. I would like to let you iiave a little insight into something which I claiu: ibowa more than anything else the splendid results of the National Polioy. All these gentlemen whom £ have named have joined not merely to set province against province, but to break up confederation by stirring up jealousy and ill will. Their contention In every campaign down to the present time has been that the money raised by the National Polioy has h"ien aqaandertd in the Far \N est to the detriment of the people by the Atlantic seaboard. Mr. Fielding wroto to the London Standard that the Cinadian Qovernment was squandering money in the Far West. Mr. Jones, who calls himself a Canadian by act oi parliament, preached much the same doctrine in 1888. Mr. Davlea In 1893, only one year ago, in reforriog to the time when Prince Edward Island joined the confederation, referred to it aa " the time when we unfortunately joined confederation." But Mr. Laurier has recently visited this country, for whioh tne Oonservative party was willing to risk its political life in bringing it Into federation. After sixteen years of the National Polioy, he said in Vic- toria that ** the time had come when the country realized that Canadian citizenship was worth living for, or dying f jr, if need be." (Tremendous cheering What better testimony could I give ? We had to dght in other provinoes to make that Canadian oiti- zanship worth living for, worth dying for. (Cheers, ) We have endeavored to put down race prejudices. Thank Qod we have nearly lived them down. (Cheers ) I believe we are now strong enough to stamp them out. (Cheers. ) A Voice— What about the post office ? Sir Charles Topper— If the Liberals had been In power, and had acted to this pro- vince the same as they did between the years 1874-8, no Liberal would he asking such a question. They did not go in for post offices at all in those rlays. They had not the money. (Laughter ) My friend Mr. Laurler has made the stateiiient that, in order to bring about free trade and lower taxation, there would be a polioy of re- trenchment, and whether in Victoria or ncc, he has nuW there would be a reduction of from three to four million dollpra in the expenditure. I wish to ask these bnsinesa men here tonight how they can reooncilo this statement with the statements made In other parts of the Dominion ? He ban sug- gested that further improvements should be made here. He referred to public works at anntb^r point and suggested tbivt further Improvements ahould be made there. He is bound to a scheme to . '■a- neot Prinoe Edward Island with the mainland by m<o any interest. (Cheers.) We are trying, as we have always endeavored to do, to give the native industries a chance to develop, and in that we are doing what every other nation under God's sua has done, including the Mother Country. (Cheers) There never was a country that became a nation without some ■nch policy. (Cheers ) Let me prove my assertion that we have not been a party for high tariff or excessive taxation. These re- sults are interesting, if the oalotMationa are not, and they ^ill show yon whether or not we have enormously increased the taxation. Our friends have been iu the habit of tell- ing you that the taxer have rnn up from twenty-three millions to thirty eight mil- lions. No well informed L'beral in the world would take me into his confidence and tell me in private that he believes in it, but that is what they say. Now there are taxes, and there is revenue that is not taxes. Take the post cffioe for instance ; there is a revenue from that that can in no way be termed taxes. There is a servioe rendered and a char g;e made for it, and no one will or can call teat taxas. There are the receipts for the excise, the fines, the public railways, re- ceipts from various sources, And in no coun- try in the world that I know of aire they termed taxes. They are, as I said, returns for work done or services rendered. In 1894 we raised altogether $37,393,373, and in 1875 $23 713.071 Now, according to Mr. Laurier, that shows a direct increase in the taxes of no less than thirteen millions of dollars. They say that is a terrible increase. Follow me for a moment and you will see that it is nothing of the kind. The customs receipts in 1875 were $15,351,011 instead of $23,000,000 as our friends would have you believe, and in 1894 the revenue from the customs was $19,198,546. This is an increase of three millions instead of thirteen millions as our friends would tell you. This is a long period of years, from 1875 to 1894, and the extiees of expgnditure, I should again remind you, has been made up of the receipts from post offices, public railways, excise and the like. The population of Canada at the lowest estimate in 1875 was four millions, and in 1894, at the very lowest estimate, it was five millions. Are not those fair figures to take? The double extremes? The taxa- tion by the customs in 1875 was in round numbers fifteen millions and in 1894 uine- teeu millions, or in other words the taxa- tion by the customs in 1875 was $3 84 per head and in 1894 the taxation was also $3 84 per head. I have given my figures in the light of day. I have made my calcula- tions, and it shows a remarkable result, and you can bear it in mind when you are told by Mr. Laurier and his party how terribly high the taxation is and that we have in- creased it so wonderfully. But this is not the only way in which a similar result is shown. Take another test and .T am done. Taking the imports in 1850, 1860 and 1870, if you take the amount of duty collected from the various imposts on trade, datiable and non-dutiable articles, yon will find that the MiliiillliHIl 13 rata in 1850 wm 14^ per oent ; in 1860, it WM 13 per oent. mad in 1870 was 13 per oen>!. At the end n of no mean country. (Cheers ) Speaking in this oitj Mr. Lauriar said that the time had come when Canadians realize that Canadian aitizenship was worth living for and worth dying for if need be, and that is exactly the sentiment that wo as Cana- dians have been developing and stimulating, and if yon wish to see oocsummate'l many schemes that in the past have done most good to the country, if you wish to see con- summated the nndert>«king8 that mean for this western half of our great country the increase of wealth and prosperity ; if after havi;]g developed onr canal system and cur great railwaysystem, our great lines of cceaa steamships now to Australasia and the Far £ast — and we hope soon to have another great line upon the Atlantic — then I say that is the sentiment that roust rule, that one and all we feel that indeed CanudUn citizenship is worth living for and dying for if need l>e. And then I say that the great Lioeral-Conservative party of Canada will again triumph as it has triumphed in the past, and in that triumph the country will have at least the same reason for congratu- lation that lias won for it already encomiums such as I have referred to, and which, in time, will bring this Canadian sentiment to that pitch when the people will inuist on having their ideal defendi d by both the Liberal '*nd Conservative parties, aud will give tb jm pluck, above all things faith in the cou-^try and a determination that, conne what may — one party or the other l>ein(i dominant for the time being— the Canadian nationality must and shall be maintained. (Cheers and continued applause ) Aid. Wilson— I would like to call the at- tention of the Commissioner of Marine and Fisheries to a public meeting that was called in this city last month on the post office question. (Applause ) Mr. Chairman, might I direct the hon. gentleman's atten- tion to the fact that at a mass meeting, at which there were present all the leading ciMzens of Victoria of all parties, not only the Conservative party but the Liberal party, and the diaonssfon of that question resolved itself into a resolution demanding the reinstatement of the post office em- ployes who had left on account of what they considered a serious grievance, and which, Mr. Chairman, <*very citizen of this city believed wUh them that they had a serious grievance, namely, that they should be df^prived of the money justly due them and which rras voted for them. Why did these post < ffioe officials not get the money that was voted for them ? (Ap- plause ) The other question relates to the department of which he is the head. He has told us to-night of large subsidies being given to steamships. I would like to ask why these sto^mships of which they talk are allowed to pa^ by this city, only anchoring outside the wharf, and not coming in here, as they should by right ? (Applause ) An- other question is more directly in connec- tion with the uon. gentleman's department, and that is why the large steamer, the San Pedro, is allowed to li<3 outside the harbor, giving every one that passes by an adver- tisoment that the entrance to our harbor is rocky and dangerous. I would aek why there is not a light on that place and why that steamer— I refer to the San Pedro — is allowed to remain there? (Applause ) 14 Sir Charlea Tapper replied : I have a pretty good memory; I think there were three qaeations. A Voice— Rata !—«nd other interrnption. Sir Charles — Perhapa I am ({oiofl; to an- swer this qaeation, or perhaps my friend, the individnai who interrupted me, is ambitions. (Loud laughter.) Ad I understand, my in* terrogator want« to know why the post offioe olerka do not get certain money that was voted to them, and in this question he pats the case, as far as my knowledge is concerned, inotHrreotly. I say no money was voted for the post office offioials in the city of Victoria that has not been paid to them. Salaries are fixed and settled for offioiala of the post office as well as for offi- cials in other offices of ' ^ goverament, and a certain amount, calk a " provisional al- lowanoeV" was placed by Parliament at the diepoaal of the government of Canada for the purpoae which the vote impliea, viz : provis- ional allowances. A claim was made by others thasi the post office offioials at Victoria for a share of the allowance. While the subject was under consideration the post office clei'ka and carriers who claimed they had right to that money went out on strike, that is they refused to do thsir duty. (Load cries of No, no, they did not strike.) I say they went cot on strike and refused to do their daty. ( ftlore intertuption) I am answering this qaestlon to the bast of my ability. Ooher gentlemen can speak if they wiah, bat for the time being I have the platform at your request. (Applaaae.) Theae men went out on strike. They de- serted their posts. They refused to do their duty. After that, th 3 government of which I am a member panLshed these meu for neglect of duty. (Hisses from thej[allery.) For SQch neglect of duty as that, to long as I am a member of the government of Can- ada, the government will mete out proper Eunishnient V, nether the neglect of duty e in the oity of Victoria, in Halifax or in St. John. (Applause and hisses.) We are not in Bissia, thank Qai, bat we are in Canada w here every man has liberty of speaking what he thinka (applanae), and when, to avoid thi hiaaea of the populace, the government is afraid to enforce ita rulea and regalationa and to maintain diacipline, then the government of which I am a mem- ber will give their aeata to other and better men. (Applanae.) Now, then, aomething more than merely the qaeation waa pat to me, and I will pat something more than merely the answer. I say that thoae men were puniabed for breach of diBoipline, neglect of duty, jast as every other man in the government's employ may expect to be punished if he takes the law into his own hands. Had those men re< mained at their posts, the Postmaster Geo* eral had arranged that they should be paid from July last, when the money I have re- ferred to was placed at the disposal of the government, and aa he was about to give the order, he having been abaent (deriaive laughter from the gallery and certain Grita). There ia no necesaity for thia ; yon are the jadges ; yon may condemn me if you like, but in civilized countries they hear men and condemn them after- wards. (Applause ) I say, that to the beat of my knowledge that decision was abont to be given to be carried out through the ordi- nary deputy head of the department when newsjof the strike reached Ottawa, and the oonclusion waa first to dismiss the men abso- lutely. That waa my opinion of what our duty to the country required na to do : but, after discussion, it was brought to the notice of myself and my^ colleagues that there were pecaliar circumstances here, and that in view of the extraordinary expression of sympathy from those who were first and immediately affected, tho citizjns of Vic- toria, for you can understand th«t yoar bnsiness was touched rather than the busi- ness o( the Dominion, and it was in defer- ence to thia that the government decided not to diamiaa theae men, but to pay to all who had not gonr" on atrike their fall allowance from the 1st of July, and to tako the strikers back and pay them the allowance frovn December 1. When I reached Victorir . diBoasRed this subject again with Mesars. Earle and Prior. I need not tell you how fully they shared in the feeling in this part of the country, and 1 need not tell you that they had pressed in the strongest manner possible the claima of theae men, but that their viewa were not adopted ia, perhaps, for the same reason that I.did not aee fit to adopt their auggeationn to me in reapect to the department for whioli I am peraonally reanj^naible. Bat just aa I have found oon- aiderable light in thia city on other mattera, jnat aa I have found their argumenta anp- ported Btrongly by the friendly diaonaaiona at cloaetquartera, ao in thia poat office busi- ness, and while I am not seeking, as it would be cowardly to seek, your good opin- ions, the infoi .!*tlon I obtained in this oity has shown me that there is a good deal in connection with this case that, if known at Ol'-tawa, might alter the government's opinion. I may say that whatever the result may be, I am satisfied that the subject will bear further investigation, and I have en- deavored to get Messrs. Earle and Prior to hold their opinions on this subject until I can induce the Postmaster-Generalto lay thia 16 ■abjeot) before the Premier Sir John S. D. Thompaon, who ia aoon to be on hia way to Ottawa, and then you will obtain from him, and before the next general eleotiona too, a decided and deoiaive anawer onefway or the other. Every friend of thoae men in thia city, every fair-minded man in the pro- vince, will under auoh oiroumatanoea aua- pend hia judgment. For the othera I do not care. (Applauae ) Now aa to why certain ocean ateamera do not call here. To a large extent thia qnea* tion ia very much like the one which faoea the government on the Eaatern aide, be- tween the rival porta of Si. John and Hali- fax, one on the Atlantic, the other on the Bay of Fandy. They aie oloae together ; there ia rivalry between them, and in con- nection with the propoaed faat Atlantic line of ateamahipa the government might have been called upon to deal with the queation, and would then have bad to decide between one port or the other. The government took the other conrae ; they took the buai- neaa oourae, the aenaible oourae, and they took it before the next general eleotiona ao that the people may determine whether they did right or did wrong. If you inaiat apon a line of ateamera coming to any par- ticular port or porta of Canada to the ex- tent "that yon allow the government to con- trol the movementa of the ahipa and the ac- tion ot the ateamahip companiea in ^that re* apeot, juat to that extent will you weaken the ohanoei of getting the proper people to handle the buaineus, or in face to get a line at all. Make your buaineaa arrangementa aa buaineaa men and )'3t the rivalriea of poai- tion and of buaineaa ad jaat themaelvea. Yon may call that< cowardly if you like ; I call it buaineaa. So long aa these vesaela call at a Canadian port, we cannot deoide what that port ahall be. Then aa to the third queation, the San Pedro. That waa a valuable veaael. Some men had their all inveated in her ; aome men have acme valuable property there now, and to ahow that there haa been no abandonment on the part of" the ownera thoae who are intereated are maintaining at their private expenae a light on that wreck ahown nightly, according to the information of my officera here. My department haa not been anxioua to ruthleaaly interfere and blow up and deatroy that wreck, but in order that we may not be negligent, w« have already on hand, and I would like thia to be remembered, the neoeaeary cable and neueaaary apparatua for putting an electric light upon that point to warn away other veaaela aa aoon as thoae whoae private pro- Eerty ia now at atake have given up the ope of aalving anything out of the wreck. (Loud applause. ) A vote of thanka moved *'y Hon. Theo- dore Davie, aeoonded by Thomaa Earle, M.P., brought the meeting to a cloae. -PUBLISHED BY THE- Victoria Liberal-Conservative Association, ■VIOTORIj^l, B. C-