.0^. \^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (WT-3) i P^ ^/. / i/.x fA LO I.I ■^■28 IL25 nil 1.4 - 6" 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 m j^,. /a / v~^ (?>% ^ s^. '^'^ //a nl_ _x rnuiugrapruc Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 iV ■^^ \\ '\. (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la darnlAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely Included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many framea as required. The following diagrama illuatrata the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiimis A des taux da rMuction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film6 A partir da Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en baa, an pranant le nombre d'imagas n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suSvants illuatrant la mithoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 I m^ ■us m SPEECH /m. G. W. W. DAWSON, M.P. ON THEBUDGET X \ I OTTAWA, THURSDAY, 25th FEB RT3AR Y. 1896 IP Mr. DAWSON. Mr. Speaker, I regret very much that I cannot congratulate the hon. gentleman who has just taken his seat (Mr. Smith, Ontario) on his references to men on this side of the House. He has rehashed seme very old arguments, and repeated some very old assertions in support of the so-called "National Policy. The hon. gentle- man also has given to the House sheets of skilfully compiled statistics, so skilfully compiled as to give reason to believe that they were made to order and are being sup- plied I'reely to all speakers on the other si^le of the House. The hon. gentleman rang the praises of the Canadian Pacific Railway and predicted bright days for the North-west, and said that we would soon begin to realize from the sales of lands there. 1 believe that had the Canadian Pacific Railway followed the route adopted by the Liberal Ocvcrn- ment instead of traversing the most barren portion of the Territories, we would have reallTied Immense returns from the sale of lands in the North-west. The hon. gentle- man made a very unfair comparison of the debt of Canada with the debts of the Australian colonies. He was not jair enough to inform the House that tho«e colonies have spent immenge sums in the SnTctirm of railways. They have spent $450,000,000 in this »'ay ; the government own 13.000 miles of railway, and this in- vestment which adds enormously to the debt of the colony yields a dividend of sS pe? cent per annum. The hon gentle- Sn failed to tell the House thnt the Aus- gSan cnlonies own the telegraph lines and extensive Irrlgfltlon works, and have erect- ^ and own such public toulldinp. as cour h^iises and school houses, which nre built in Ontario by the municipalities The hon, m uuitttiw .^.,T ^^ ^^^ wniijo nf tho home geulieuia.Il U.". trii ---xi i»!-. market, and almost immediately afterwards admitted the great need of enlarged mar- kets. In beautiful language he advised us to cultivate the markets of England which are seeking our surplus products, rather than the markets In the United Stal. a country which is our chief competitor In the English market. He contended it would not benefit the people of Canada to enter the markets of the United States, btit if it Is not any benefit to us, If that market Is not the market we would like to possess, how Is ft that in spite of our tariff laws millions In value of our products find their way Into that market every year ? How Is It that the McKlnley Bill, harsh as it was, and Intended to absolutely exclude our products, failed in its object ? Even In th° face of that Bill, millions of dollars worth of Canadian farm products entered the United Stales, and were sold there In competition with the products of the Amerl- can farmers. NO PARMER IN THE CABINET. The hon. gentleman (Mr. Smith) spoke of our lumbering Industry, and quoted from the speech of the Lieutenant-Gov- ernor at the opening of the Ontario legis- lature. He (Mr. Smlfh) told us, that the market for lumber was dull in the United States, and. Immediately after, he -ave us the reason, namely, the stagnation ' trade that has prevailed m that country du? ing the past year. Well, Sir, the condition of trade there is rapidly Improving, and soon our lumbermen will find the market of the J United States attain Its normal condition, «^ and become, as It has been for years pasy' the very best market we have In the worK . /■ for the products of our forests. Althougn \ ■■/! fsaa . "&[ b .1^21 ^P«>TC«P« the speech of our hon. friend (Mr. Smith) was bndly Impregnated with the virus of protection, yet I believe, that the Premier of this country would have done better to have selected hlra as Minister of Agriculture than the learned doctor who now occupies that position. AVe have sixteen Ministers In this present Government, but not one of them is a farmer. The great agricultural class, for whon hon. gentlemen opposite say so much has been done, has not a single repre- sentative in the Cabinet. This Government have no faith whatever in the Intelligence, the brains, the knowledge, and the fair deal- ing of the agricultural classes. They do not wish to trust one of them with a portfolio in that great Cabinet— great in number, if nothing else. I regret that the Minister of Agriculture is not in his place in the House. I am sorry that he is forced for his health's sake to submit to the " remedial acts " of his medical advisers across the sea. However, I hope that, before the end of the session, he will be here to develop to us his wonderful designs for the betterment of the agricultur- al classes. RIVERS AND STREAMS ACT, Well, Sir, my hon. friend from Ontario (Mr. Smith) stands by his party and by their policy. That I cannot do,, and I will give the reasons for my dissent. Just as briefly as I can. In the first place, I am proud to belong to the Liberal party. I look upon It as the people's party, the distinguishing fea- ture of which is now, and always has been, a well-founded and deeply-rooted trust of the people. I believe that the Liberal party has done much foi th*- people of Canada. It was they who fought, year In and year out, the battle of responsible government ; it was they who, in the past, fought against the Family Compact, which is to-day so closely imitated by hon. gentlemen opposite. It was they who fought against that combination, which was determined to rule this country, with or without the consent of the people. The Liberal party has always waged unceasing warfare against tyranny In any form. The Liberals, who have ruled the province of Ontario for the last twenty-four years, have placed on the statute-book of that province legislation defining the rights of labour and protecting labour against the tyranny of capital. It was they who passed laws defining the relations of landlord and tenant, and designed to protect the tenant from the extortion of the landlord. It was the Liberal party of Ontario who passed laws defining the relations of master and servant, and to protect the servant against wrong and Injustice on the part of the em- ployer. Sir, this party, of which I am a very humble member, has incessantly waged war against class legislation in every shape and form. It was the Liberals who overthrew a species of class legislation by their Rivers and Streams Act. Certain of our lumber- men in this. country assumed rights which they were not willing to accord to others. Some years ago, some of our lumbermen In the province of Ontario claimed the ex- clusive control of ihe streams dow i which they floated t'leir logs and timber. In the rear of my constituency, the timber limits happened at that time to be owned by a man who made this claim. There were settlers there who owned . large quantities of pine, cedar, hemlock, ash, basswood. and other timbers, all marketable and all valuable. The man who owned the limits and controlled the streams, would not purchase a stick of this timber, and neither would he allow any one else to enter his limits to purchase it. I have myself seei vast quantities of valu- able timber, logged up and burned out of the way. Thousands of dollars worth were lost to the 3ettlers, thus bringing them, in the years of their early struggles, to the verge of deep distress. Well, Sir, at last a lumber- man ventured up into that country and took out some logs, and promptly the courts were invoked, and an injunction issued to restrain him from using the streams. The Libeials, then In power In the province of Ontario, 1 am happy to say, placed on the statute-books a law called the Rivers and Streams Act, which declared the streams to be free and open to all, on payment of reasonable slid- age dues. This was a piece of legislation Thich aimed at class privilege, and so it was promptly disallowed by this Govern- ment. It was passed again, and again dis- allowed ; passed again, and only allowed to become law when the highest court of the realm declared that the Liberals in the pro- vince of Ontario were right, and that* hence- forth these streams should remain free and open to all, and that the settlers were at liberty to dispose of their timber to whom they chose. Sir, the Liberal party denies the right to grant to any man advantages in the matter of trade over his fellows. They wage war against trusts, monopolies and com- bines. These, Sir, are some of le reasons why I am proud to belong to .le Liberal party. And I was never prouder to be en- rolled as a member of that perty than I was on the 20th June, 1893, when I saw gathered In the largest building in this city of Ot- taw^a thousands of earnest men, come from the east and the west, from, the prairies of the North-west, from the provinces by the sea, and from all parts of Ontario and Que- bec ; men selected by the rank and file of the great Liberal party to represent them In the largest convention that was ever held iu the Dominion of Canada. Sir, when I saw these earnest men, come here to discuss the Issues or the day, to discuss the best means of governing this great country of ours ; then indeed my heart swelled with pride that I belonged to a« party which could ga- ther together an assemblage of men so re- presentative and so creditable to their coun- try. .11111,1 HI )M III miiiimH^^mmtim'iimmmmimmmmim mmm lb' I would ask my hon. friends opposite : Whan hnve they dared to call a convention of the rank and file of their party ? Never once have they dared to Issue the call ; never once have the great Liberal-Conservative party been summoned to meet their leaders in a convention in any city In the land. The Gove-ament here are self-appointed dicta- tors, and not the chosen leaders of their party They name the leaders, they dictate the policy, and, after the manner of the old family compact, they simply command their followers throughout the country to obey. What are the results ? The people think for themselves, and to-day vv.. ftnd that great Conservative party divided and spilt into factions, some following one leader, some foll4»wJug another, and many in open re- bellion against all leaders. We see the Cabinet itseil unable to hold together. S.r, contrast the condition of the Conservative party with that of the Liberal party to-day. United to a man, enthusiastically loyal to their leader, we stand undaunted before all the forces that the Conservatives are able to array against us. THE GREAT LIBERAL CONVENTION. Well Sir, this convention assembled, and what for ? Was it to adopt a platform ready-made for them ? By no means. No lender of the Liberal party ever yet ex- pected an unthinking, unreasoning follow- ing or obedience from his followers in the country, l^iberals are members of their party, each one in his own right havinsr his own position in it. This convention was called by the desire of our leader, who was chosen by the representatives of the party in this House, -^ho at last yielded to the urgent, unanimous and enthusias- tic demand of his colleagues, and ac- cepted the leadership of the Liberals, with all its responsibilities. And, Sir, when I heard the ringing cheers, the tumultuous applause with which his name was greeted by that convention, I knew that he was hailed as the leader of the Lib- erals of Canada, from the Pacific to the Avlantlc. He called that convention to- gether to take counsel with them as to the best platform to be adopted by the Liberals of (Canada. As usual, the convention them- selves appointed a committee on resolutions, and In due course that committee reported to the convention ten resolutions altogether. These are to-day the planks composing the platform of the Liberal party. There are familiar features in every one of these plankft The Liberal party did not depart one Jot or tittle from the principles we hnve been advocating for many years in this country. Sir, it was said at that ccn- veution that its members were grave and sober enough to be er liundrtvl iiounds, and the people of Can- ada would save on the amount of sugar which they consume each year no less a sum than $1,920,000 This amount we are compelled to pay every year for the sugar supplied to us by our refiners more than the same quantity would cost us laid down by the English re- finers, freight paid. Not a dollar of this sum finds its way into the treasury of the country, every dollar finds its way into the pockets of this one combine. This is a bonus, or a subsidy, to an Industry giving employment to only some 1.900 men, and paying out in wages about $700,000 a year. tmtmmmmm KipiHiHHPi We pay them $1,900,000 as a bonus, and they return to the people, In the form of wages i^ld their men, $700,000 a year. DIRHCT TAXATION BY THE 8UOAR BARONS. This Is a very considerably tax ; figur- ing It out, it /luouuts to about 40 cents per head of our population. Now In Ontario, we consume our full share of sugar, and I believe that our share of this tribute, or tax. or bon"«, or whatever vou may call It, amounts to $800,000 eacr. ftud every year. This one Industry tnkes ?rom the pockets of the people of Ontnrlo a sum larger than the amount spent annual- iv by the province In maintaining the whole of our provincial Institutions. We have seven asylums maintained by the nroviucial government, providing iiomes and Sriest of treatment for 5,454 patients. We have two reformatories, one central prison one institute for the blind and one inBtltute for the deaf and dumb ; and the total cost of the maintenance of all these institutions ?8 \Z than the amount which Ib extorted from the people of our province by this one monopoly, the sugar reflners. There are hon. gentlemen In this House w?o went into every constituency In the province of Ontario and urged the peo- ple to hurl from power the Mowat Admlnls- fmt on. because, as they alleged, a few eggs ft lltth^ Jam. some pickles and some catsup were usS per head In some of these public rstftutl^/more than they thouKM ought to liave been consumed by one healthy man Th£ was one of the argnments urged against the Mowat Adralnlsiratlon. Yet ?Se same gentlemen stand up session after session and back up and endorse a tariff wlS eSes one industry to w^ng from the neorle of that province a larger sum t an is paid to maintain the whole of its nS lie institutions, including the jam the e"S tl" pickles and the catsup which they said, had been consumed Into too large *^ We^'have a magnificent school system In thT proSe of Ontario. Liberal grants of money are made to the poorer schools, so fS education may be placed within the roach of all the children In the Province^ n every township and every county. Well this subsidy amounts to rather more than «imnno a vear In excc-i pt the sum spent JHSaJlon including the"^ grants to public and separate schools, to our High schorls aSd collSfate Institutes, maintained so niat h?Kher education may be placed within the reSch of all. Including the cost of schools Tf pracTlcJl science, teachers' Institutes and mechanics' Institutes, and the cost and maintenance of normal °»oBnltM. Human nature is the same with all men, and while legisla- tion gives manufacturers advantages and ' uables them to charge high prices, they win c«»rtaiuly avail tliemselves of the oppor- tunity. 1 do not blame manufacturers for tnelr extortion one half as much as I blame the people for permitting them the privi- lege which they enjoy and whicli they have abused. Sir, I believe that there is no more true statement In the first i)lank of our I)Iatform than that " it has oppressed tho niasHes to the enrichment of the few." To-day In every city in our land you will find men out of work, healthy, able, honest, sober and industrious men asking v^tmploy- inent which they cannot obtain. Not only In our cities, but In our country places there are men who would be glad to do any kind of honest labour, but they find It lm[)osslble to get It. Why is this V It was said by hon. gentlemen opposite that we would never have any unemployed In this happy coun- try when once the National Policy had sunk its roots deep In this Dominion. During eighteen years the Notional Policy has had an opportunity to sink its roots deep, but to-day There are more unemployed in Can- ada than at any period in our country's historj'. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES UNDER UDW TARIFF. I do not believe a reformation of the tariff would destroy our infant industries. It was said last session by the Minister of Railways and Canals that the adoption of the Liberal tariff policy meant that " the whole n\anufacturing class would be swept away at one blow," and "with the same blow the capital invested in manufacturing would be swept out of existence." I am afraid the Minister has no faith In Can- adians. He has forgotten that from 1871 to 1881 under a revenue tariff, during the regime of the Liberal Administration, when times were said to be so hard, when the manufacturers had no special protection, the capital invested in our industries increased 103 per cent. From 1881 to 1J91, with our magnificent National Policy in existence, with protection afforded to our manufacturers, the Increase was only 107 per cent. Here Is a picture of the condition of our manufacturing industries under a low taVlff, as described by Sir Leonard Tilley in his budget speech In' 1879, as will be found in " Hansard." Alluding to the budget speech which the hon. gentleman delivered in 1873, he said : In 1873 I could point with satisfaction to the various manufacturing industries that were In operation throughout the length and breadth of the Dominion — remuneration to the men who had Invested their capital In them and giving employment to tens of thousands. This statement was made at a time when the lowest tariff ever known In Canada pre- vail ieu. BXPORT OF MANUFACTURBJD OOODB. Sir, after eighteen years of protection, ■our exports of inanufnctured gootlH make : a very pitiful showing. The Trade and i Navfgatlou Returns give for the year ending 30th June last, |7.7fl8,875 as the value ofrtho exports of manufactured gcotlH. | From this I think it Is but fair to deduct household effects, effects of settlers tleolng from this tariff, the amount tielug |0!>1,735 ; lee. $4,825 ; rngs, ^(KJ.HtO, or altogether, 9,1,- 0(K),379, leaving a balance of $(J,TOH,'tO*l I re[)res(>nting the total exports. This sum j Incliiies brick, extract of hemlock bark, ! charcoal, leather and wood njanufactures i which are In no sense or way benetlted by I protection, the total being !p2,700,000. Do- ; ducting this sum froni the amount of manu- 1 factures exported leaves $4,000,000 as the I value of the exports of manufactures during last year, that Is* to say, of exports I In any way benefited by protection, j Contrast that with the export of Indus- i tries which are In no sense protected, j Of the products of our mines, we exported j abroad $7,000,000 worth ; of our fisheries, ! over $t0.f)f)0.000 worth ; of our forests I almost $24,000,000 worth ; and from our | farms, more than $.50,000,000 worth. And add to those, the amo'mt short returned from Inland ports, three and one-third million dollars, and we find that our unprotected Industries shipped out of Can- adn. .^a^.OOO.OOO worth l.;st year, against $4,000,000 worth of manufactured goods ex- ported during the same period. FREE BREAKFAST TABLE. We are told It has been a most auspicious feature In this policy of the Government, the National Policy that v,'e have In this country an Institution unknown in any other country, namely, a free breakfast table. Well, Sir, In spite of what hon. gentlemen opposite con- tend, there are not a few articles which generally appear on our breakfast tables, and which are taxed. I will read you a few of them, and give you the tax which is actually paid by the people, before these commodities find a place on the breakfast table : Baklug powder and soda .... $ 18,337 Yeast 10,183 Mustard 13,688 Spices 17,878 Rice 143,399 Tapioca and arrowroot 6,583 Currants 56,283 Pigs 13,526 Prunes 27,082 Dates 7,688 Raisins 119,549 Tea (indirect Importation) 6,132 Coffee 7,580 Molasses e8,606 Salt 5,872 Cocoa and chocolate 28,645 Dishes 151,225 T^-UI^ .xl....^ 1 O AAA tlt-'JC vutict J i-rjWV MaoAronl and vermioAlH I 3,403 Rice and hko, flour and sato 3,675 Oranges, h lona and llmea 91,8tO Sugar, raw uad reRncd, to Slit Dec, '96 71U.343 Total 11,529,517 Altogether, there is a tax upon our break- fast table of $1,529,517. jiald Into the tren- siUT, and, in addition to that, there la $1,900,(M)0 of the unearned profits extorted from US by the sugar refiners, making a total taxation on our breakfast table sup- ItlicH, of over three and a half million dol- lars a ear. Now, Sir, If we are ooniten* with a very simple breakfast Indeed, and confine it to porridge, ham, potatoes, bread and milk. It would still not be able to escape taxation, because we would be obliged to pay duty on salt for our porridge, and mus- tard for our ham, and our dishes and cut- lery are already taxed. Sir, there is no free breakfast table in Canada. We have a tax on soda and yeast, mustard and rice, tapi- oca and currants, figs and raisins, dates and prunes, cocoa and salt, cutlery and dishes, tea and coffee, molasses and sugar. But why should we complain ? In the ftsc list of Imports, I find we can tal^ into this country, sand and roots free oi duty, saw- dust and grass, free of duty, horse hair and Ice, free of duty, leeches and crude bon(^, free of duty. Let us not complain. The hungry may be fed, we have a free break- fast table, for are not leeches and crude l)onos admitted free ? Sir, we have a tax on machinery and tcols, on axes and saws, on scythes and hoes, on forks and spades, on nails and bolts, on glass and oil, on carpets and furniture, on sewing machines and stove'', o.a ropes and iron, on hardware and pumps. All these are taxed, but still we ought to bo comforted, because rags are admitted free. Sir, we are taxed to death in this country, and Avhen we die, our friends are taxed on the coffin to con- tain our bones. But if we flee from the op- pression of this poor man's tariff, and happen to die abroad, we can be brought back into this counti'y without any taxation on our friends, for skeletons are admitted duty free. SHRINKAGE IN LAND VALUES. The National Policy has decreased ihe valuo of farm and other landed property. So this plank No. 1 of the lilberal platform declares. The decrease in the value of farm lands has been admitted on all sides in this House. The hon. member for Centre Toronto (Mr. Cockburn) declared that he believed that the depression of the value of farm lands was not less than 25 per cent. [ believe that there are hon. gentlemen lu this House who know by their own knowl- edge and sad experience, that the deprecia- tion in the value of farm lands In Canada Is not less than 35 per cent. Why Is it tliat t' ore should be such a decrease in the value nf nDTlpnltnrfll Iflnrls ? Thi&^ conr(trv is. first 10 |i of all, an agricultural country. The cost of living has been increased by the tariff, the cost of production of the crop has been Increased by the tariff, the cost of the work- ing expenses of the farm has been increas- ed by the tarift, but the tariff has failed, and completely failed to increase the price at which the farmer's crop can be sold. But, Sir, the depreciation in value has not been confined to agricultural lands only. Our cities depend for their prosperity on the prosperity of the agricultural classes When the agriculturists of Canada are not prosperous, our cities cannot be prosperous. Under the impetus of the promises made for tlie National Policy, our cities grew apace. The city of Toronto expanded over the adjoining country ; new streets were opened up ; large building operations were entered on in t'le fond belief that the re- quirements of the country would equal wJiat Toronto so enlarged would be able to supply. Alas for Toronto and the people r/ho invested their money during the boom period, these expectations wc'e not realiz- ed, and po, last fall we fouuQ a newspaper with page after page, not less than thirty- two columns of advertisements of lands offered for sale in the city of Toronto for unpaid taxes. Not less than 1.248 parcels of property were offered under the auction- eer's hammer, for unpaid taxes. So much had the land depreciated that the arrears of taxation were allowed to roll up for two or three years, until the city was forced to sell the land to realize the taxation upon the lots. SLAVERY AND PROTECTION. Sir. this tariff has robbed us of our liberty. It is almost as bad as slavery. What is the difference be- tween slavery and protection ? Very slight, Indeed. Slavery is a system under which I am deprived of my right to choose a market for my labour, under which I am robbed of my wages, under which ray muscles and brains are used to benefit my owner, and under which my life is spent in toil to add to his wealth. Now, wliat is protection ? It is a system under which I am fettered In the choice of a market for the products of ray labour, under whicli I may not exchange the fruits of my labour where I choose, and under whlcli I have got to exchange them by such channels as are provided for me by those who have enacted this iniquitous law, called protec- tion. I am robbed of a portion of my wages to swell the extortionate profits of those who have combined to compel me to pay this tribute to them. Slavery and pro- tection are designed by selfish men to bene- fit and to enrich the classes at the expense Protection has oppressed the masses to the enrichment of the few. Sir, it Is said by hon. gentlemen opposite that this is not so, that we have no people of great wealth In this Dominion, but that the wealth is distri- buted evenly among all the people of the country. I give In evidence against these hon. gentlemen, the words of the late Hon. Sir .John Abbott, who, in speaking in the Senate, 1891, said in the debate on the sal- ary of Judges : 1 remember when a man could live In this coun- try for one-half the amounf, he could live on Qow ; when the fortunes wnlch judges in tha attempt to maintain their social ranlc had to compete with, were not one-tenth nor one-bund- reth part of what they are now. It is not so long ago when the sight of a millionaire would have attracted crowds in the streets. Now there Is not a town in the country where you could not and men who are several times millionaires. Where did these men get their millions ? Prom the pockets of the people. Who are these millionaires ? They are the sugar re- flnere, the cordage manufacturers, the cot- ton men, the tobacco manufacturers, the owners of distilleries, and the owners of other protected industries. These are the men who have become millionaires with whom the judges can no longer compete in the attempt to maintain their social position in the land. Under protec- tion, these men have only to sit still, many of them, and wealth will fiow in upon them without any effort on their part. Some of them to-day would outrival Solomon In all his glory, and yet they toil not, neither do they spin. THE TARIFF REVISION OF 1894. Sir, the Finance Minister declares that the very object of a protective tariff in its initial stages is to give a vant- age ground. He says : The object of a protective tariff In Its initial stages is to give a vantage ground, and In giving it I franln. Tliese men control the rjovernment of Can- ada ; thoy are the masters of the Govern- ment of Canada. I quote from the report of J. .T. Ca.ssidy, secretcry of the Manufac- turers' Association, read at the annual meet- ing of the association held in Toronto on Wednesday, Fel)ruary 28th. 1895— that was after the "so-called tariff revision. He re- viewed the political events since last meet- ing ; commended the efforts of the Premier " to open up new avenues of trade, parti- cularly for our niannfacturera " ; approved of his" Austi-alian trip and the appointment of ,T. S. I>arkp as commissioner to that coun- try, and of Hon. W. B. Ives's succession to tlie portfolio of Trade and Commerce. He continues : It is gratifying to know that under the newly organized Government the interests of Canadian manufacturers will receive the best consideration. • * With tne of the best friends the manufacturers ever had in the Government as Premier, with Mr, Foster still in charge of the Finance' Department, and with Mr. Ives as Min- ister of Trade aud Commerce, mauufacturers should experience a feeling of th-? utmost secu- rity and confldence. Tn nreordance with the usage of this association previous to your last meeting the tarlit com- mittee of the association, in the discharge of their duly, entered upon a close and careful examination of all matters brought before It by nembera of the association relating to the tariff. The situation at that time was critical. An ex- citement, amounting to a furore, had been worked up by the enemies of protection and some who had previously declared t'aemselves staunch ad- herents of the National Policy weakened. It was evident, however, that some changes in the tariff were imperative, anc" that If they were not Inaugurated by the friends of protection the Government could, not survive, and that the enemies of protection would come Into power. It was under these circumstances that the tariff committee entered upon their labours, the result of which was the embodiment of their views in a communication to the Finance Minis- ter, which elicited from him a kindly letter, In which he alluded to it as a well-prepared brief, in which all the matters therein discussed hail been done full justice. Perhaps it might be going too far to even surmise the effect these recommendations of your tariff committee to the Minister, may have had in the final arrangement of the tariff ; but it is but an act of justice to ♦he committee to (' iect attention to the large number of changes that hive been made in the tariff along the lines suggested in the recommendations and that in many instances the language used in both is substantially identical. This is particularly noticeable as regards the iron schedule, the duties upon textiles, the duties upon drugs, chemicals, alcoholic preparations, &o., as well as upon an extended list of miscellaneous articles, and larse and moat important additions to the list of noa- dutiable articles. It is also to be noticed that in many instanced where the recommendations suggested that no changes be made in the duties upon articles I therein enumerated no changes were made. • • I The association has just reason for congratu- I latlng itself upon the influence it possesses in i assisting to mould public opinion in the matter of ! affording tariff protection to our manufacturing i industries, and in shaping the laws of the coun- try in comformity thereto. 1 Why, Sir, this Manufacturers' Association are boastful of their power. They believe, j and I am not disposed to disagree with that ] belief, that they have this Government under I their thumb— that, in fact, this Manufactu- ! rers' Association sent the Government here to enact such laws as they might dictate. The secretary adds : The brief as prepared by the seiretary waa presented to the Minister, Hon. Mr. Foster, at Ottawa, on 26th February, 1894, the receipt of which was acknowledged by him as hereinbefore alluded tn. He winds up as follows, addressing the mem- bers of tlie association : The fortress of protection does not totter to its fall, as its enemies declare, because you and such as you sustain it. There will be no collapse as ihese enemies predict. ••*••♦♦ In Sir Mackenzie Bowell we have a man at the head of our national affairs who is a sturdy and devoted adherent to our existing system, and who will hold his way steadily in the course he loug since helped to mark out We on tills side of the House are disposed f;f» think that lie will hold his course ateadily in other directions as well, in spite of cer- tain of his followers In the Cabinet and in this House. I 12 m — and, aci an association and as individuals, no doubt your best and most earnest support will be Klven to his Government as long as the Gov- ernment adhere to the principle of tariff protec- tion to Canadian manufacturing industries. Now, Sir, the Government must take warn- ing. Tliere is a covert tlireat in this pro- mise. They will give the Government their unalterable allegiance and .help Just so long as they are willing to adhere to the prin- ciples of tariff protection to the industries whiclj this association represents. Mr. R. W. Elliott, past president of the association, read a paper, In which the following para- fei'sph appears : In every electoral contest In which the prin- ciple df the National Policy Is Involved, every member of the Canadian Manufacturers' Associ- ation will fight for the right. That is, the right of monopoly, the right to talce unearned a portion of another man's wealth— rights worthy of the dark ages, when micht wiis riffht. of tlie times of the old bar- ons along the rivers of Germany, or of the chieftains in Scotland in ancient times, wlien it was considered r)},^ht to take by force tri- bute from all passing traders. We have, he said, in the past, and It Is to be hoped we -will In the future, devote any small surphu of our membership fees to spreading the truth by means of campaign literature and campaign speeches. We have seen some samples of the campaign literature which the Manufacturers' Asso- ciation spread during an election contest. They generally take the form of $2, $3 and $r. bills. This is the kind of literature they usually spread, and I have not a doubt but that they will, in the future, devote any small surplus from the fees of their associa- tion to the circulation of such literature. THE SINEWS OF WAR ! tatives of this association met the old chief- tain in the famous red parlour and talked with him over the issues of the day, and de- cided on the amount of boodle that would be necessary to enable him to carry the different constituencies in the coming cam- paign. The " Manufacturer " winds up with this declaration : Sir John and his party could never have at- tained to power without the active assistance of the manufacturers of Canada. PROTECTION HAS CHECKED IMMIGRATION. Mr. Speaker, I have just a word or two more to say on this plank Number one, and then I am done with that plank : It has checked immigration. It has caused great loss of population. I admit this with a great deal of sadness, because there can be nothing more deplor- able than loss of population in a country like Gatiada. Sir, when we speak of the exodus under the National Policy, during the ten years from 1881 to 1891, the retort is made, that there was an exodus under tlie Mackenzie Administration. Well, so there was, but, probably, that exodus did not ex- ceed 32.000 souls a year. The utmost charge was, that 42,000 people left Canada every year during the Mackenzie Administration. The Mackenzie Government was roundly de- nounced for this exodus. The Oppo- \ sition of tliat day declared that it must be ; stopped, that some desperate remedy must I be resorted to to stop this frightful exodus of our young people. In Sir John Macdon- ald's celebrated resolution— his famous Na- tional Policy declaration— he said ; The National Policy will retain in Canada thousands of our fellow-countrymen now obliged to expatriate tliemsolvefe In search of employ- ment denied them at Lome. Now, the Canadian Manufacturers' Associ- I ation objects to the personnel of this House. ! They do not think that there are enougli ! manufacturers here. Although the revision i of the tariff was admittedly made on the | lines suggested by them, even to the extent ! of adopting their language, so that there would not be even a verba) difference be- tween the tariff as passed by this House and that proposed by the association, they are not satisfied. They find that there are not sufficient manufacturers in this House. Under date of 19th July, 1895, the " Canadian Manufacturer " complains bitterly, that there are not more manufacturers here. It says : While the manufacturers were compelled to produce the sinews of war In the ever recurring fights to establish and maintain the policy, they were elbowed aside to make room for profes- sional politicians, as has been repeatedly sh'..wu In those pages. The sinews of war—here is a confession, an admission of what occurred— and which we only tlii then surmised— when the represen- Sir, the people endorsed this policy. By 1881 it had got fairly under way, by 1881 it was pretty fairly planted in the country, and by 1891 we looked for the results, and I can well imagine the sickening sense of dis- appointment felt by hon. gentlemen oppo- site, as well as the deep regret felt by hon. f'entlemen on this side, when they found the census revealing the fact that the pro- phecies of hon. gentlemen opposite of a great increase of population had dismally failed. LOSS OF POPULATION. In figuring up the loss of population during those ten years, I will spare the feelings of hon. gentlemen opposite as much as I can. and estimate the natural Increase of population at 14 per cent, instead of 20 per cent, which, I believe, would be a population so vigorous as ours. Well, esti- mating the natural increase in the ten years from 1881 to 1891 at 14 per cent, it amounted 13 to 605,000. During these same ten years, there were brought into this country 886,000 Immigrants, according to the reports of the Department of Agriculture. These immi- grants would naturally have increased also, but, making no allowance for their natural increase, and simply adding the 886,000 to the natural increase of 605,000 in our own population, we sliou ui have had an increase of population, in these ten years, of at least 1,491,000. But, as a matter of fact, we found, by actual count, that our population had Increased only 504,000, showing that 987,000 people had left Canada during these ten years, or well upon 100,000 souls per year, as against 42,000 per year, which was the most extreme estimate of the exodus during the Mackenzie regime. It is diflacult, I admit, to determine accurately the natural increase of any country, but we know that the total increase for the ten years was only 504,000, and we know that the immigrants who came In numbered 886,000. So that, leaving out the natural increase, whatever it might be, and deducting simply the total incnnise in population of 504,000 from the total immigration of 886,000 in those ten years, ana we flud we have lost by the ex- odus 382,000 of that immigration, besides the natural increase, whatever it might he. NEW BKUNSWICK. Sir Leonard Tilley, who ably advocated the National Policy, thought that it would spe- cially benefit the maritime provinces, and in particular his own province of New Bruns- wick. How It must have wrung his heart, when the census returns; showed that the whole increase in the population of New Brunswick was 63 souls between 1881 and 3891, under the National Policy, and this de- spite the fact that during that time railways had been constructed in all parts of the pro- vince and new country opened up, the coun- try developed ?n many parts that were unde- veloped before, and yet the whole increase was only 63 souls, against 5,639 between 1871 and 1881. Sir, there is one city in New Brunswick whose population Increased be- tween 1871 and 1881 and also between 1881 and 1891. Deducting the population of Moncton from the total population of the province, we find this to be the fact, that the increase, outside of Moucton, from 1871 to 1881 was 32,207, and that the decrease in the population of the province, outside of Moncton, from 1881 to 1891 was" 3,703 souls. The National Policy drove out every immi- grant thai arrived seeking a home in New Brunswick, expatriated every soul of her natural increase, and drove with them 3,703 of a population besides. There is not one of our expatriated sons who does not yearn to return to this country, who would not hall with delight the day when a better fiscal with the hope that he will be abl-^ x earn his daily bread here, so that he may in in that ever-memorable phrase of the late chieftain, who 3a Id : " A British subject I was bom, and a British subject I will die." PROTECTION MORE DISASTROUS THAN WAR. During these fatal ten years we had done much to open up Canada. We developed the North-west by the construction of main and branch lines pretty well through all the North-west, and we should have an increase of population there by hundreds of thou- sands, aye, by millions, according to the prophecies of hon. gentlemen opposite. Yet the increase has amounted to a little less than the population in one of our largest cities in Ontario. Sir, in the older provinces of Ontario and Qiebec and the maritime provlncep, there ate vast areas of waf ? lands awaiting settlement. We have spent vast sums on railway enterprises, opening up the newer portions, and we had every reason to expect a large Increase in popula- tion in the older provinces. As a matter of fact, the increase from 1881 to 1891 was about 8 per cent. From 1800 to 1870, the Southern States were devastated by he most destructive war the world has ever seen, hundreds of thousands of her sons were killed in battle, millions of acres of fertile lands were laid waste and the country left In ruins, yet we find Jhat, in spite of all that disaster, the Increase of population dur- ing these ten years was 14 per cent against 8 per cent in our provinces of Ontario, Quebec and the maritime provinces. The efl!ect of this tragedy called the National Policy was worse than that of the sword In the southern states. Though war-swept and famine stricken, they Increased their popu- lation at a rate almost double that of these provinces of ours. Is it to be wondered at, then, that the Liberals denounce the policy that has brought our fair counti-y to a pass such as this, when she fails to hold our own people here, but instead drives them forth together with those who come seeking a home amongst us in this new land. Why do they persist in this policy ? They say that it is to build up manufacturing in- dustries. Sir, no one more earnestly desires to see the manufacturing Industries of Can- ada prosperous than I do. The pluck, the energy, the perseverance necessary to es- tablish and carry on one of our industries entitle those engaged In it to consideration ; they deserve to have a fair and adequate profit. But is it wise to Induce production beyond the power of the people to consume ? It is said that the capacity of manufac- turers has doubled ; and yet tir population In all Canada has increase only 12 per cent. Tarifl" restrictions seem to have had this effect— they have made It Impossible for our manufacturers to produce at such prices as will enable ilieui to roinujHud a market iu fureiKU countries. The exports of our manu- factured goods is about $4,000,000, as I 14 have shown— about enough to supply 100,- 000 people ; not more than pnough to supply the number of people wh are annually driven out of our country during this reign of terror, as I may call It, of the National Policy. In the name of the manuf a ctu'-ers as well as the farmers, I say : Stop the exodus. The home market is the best for the manufacturers as It is the best for the farmers. Why drive the people away and force our manufacturers to send their goods abroad to ovorcome the tariff barriers of other countries and seek a market among our very people who have been driven oat by this 'policy ? ^, ^ The hon. member for Plctou says that we shall increase now in population, because our country has been more fully developed ; railway enterprise hae opened up onr country and, therefore, we may look for a large increase in the popula- tion In the next ten years. Bat the country was more developed between 1881 and 1891 than between 1871 and 1881 ; and yet t find that the increase in population . in that de- cade. In 1871-1881, was 18 per cent against only 12 per cent in the decade, 1881-18 »1. Sir. the mother countrj is alarmed at our failure to attract population here, at our failure to find homes for their sons seeking them in the new world. It wrings her heart to find her eldest daughter, Canada, turning away tens of thousands of her OTvn children as well as tens of thousands from the nr^ther country seeking homes amongst us. forcing them to take wp residence under the Stars and Stripes and to spend their energy In building up a nation that is alien to ours. The St. James " Gazette," commenting en the results of the census, said : While America is flUed up and brimming over and increasing Its population by millions, Can- ada, If not exactly stationary, Is increasing very slowly Indeed. It had been commonly supposed that with the great boom In the North-west, Canada sh ild have shown an increase of at least two millions or three mllllcns during the last decade, and would be well on Us way to something like the population of a second-rate European state ; but all such hopes have been dashed by the census. The Increase of popula- tion spills over the border and fills up the Northern and Western States. Tnc men who were born In Canada and should become cltlzuns of the Empire grow and die under the Stars and Stripes. Whether we like It or not, Canada Is not dolnb well, and has not been doing well for some time past. And, Sir, it never can do well until we cease paralyzing the country's energies with the virus of protection. Under the Stars and Stripes nearly a million of our compatriots are living. They are mv^n who hunger for the old home here In Canada ; they love Can- ada with a greater love than that they have for their new home under the Stars and Stripes. What class of men go there ? On nne npcasion the hon. member for Plctou de- clared thet none went across the line ex- cept craven Crlts. I know not what their poll- tics were, but this I know, whether Grit or Tory, cravens they are not. Nobly have ! they held their own In the land of their I adoption. You will find their names first i in trade, at the head of vast corporations I engaged In transportation, and taking the 1 lead In directing great banking inslitnf ons and other financial undertakings In the land ! which is now their home. ! A million of them have gone. Including our I immigrants, not infants or little children, but stalwart young men and young women, ' educated and equipped ready for .he battle of life. I would like the Minister of Finance to iigure out the money lost, through this exodus, to the people of Canada. Take the cosl of educating our sons and daughters who are sent Into the United States when adults grown. I think that he will find that at a very low estimate the cost of educating the people who have fled from Canada and taken up their abode in the United States well nigh equal In amount to our national Our population ought to have increased by leaps and bounds. Never in the history of Canada were such large expeulltures made upon public enterprises as between 1881 and 1891. According to the Yea '--Book the Canadian reople, through the Govern- ment and private corporations spent in rail- way construction alone over $400,000,000. Millions more were spent In canals and other public works. Building operations In the cities were the means of circulating tens of millions more. But in spite of all this we find that the exodus continued, and our people departed at the rate of a hund- red thousand a year to help build up a foreign nation. And so we denounce the tariff of hon. gentlemen opposite, because It has checked Immigration and caused a great loss of population. COMMERCE NOT BEING DEVELOPED. We denounce that policy because It has Impeded commerce, or rather it has failad to develop commerce with the nations of the world. Our imports for consumption last year amounted to $105,2.')2.521. Out- side of Great Britain and the United States, we buy very little from the nations of the world. From the United States we bought more than half of our Imports, or a total of $.54,63'x 521. From Great Britain and her colonies, we bought $3.3.808.042, or a total for these two of $88,443,163. From all the rest of, the world outside we purchased $10,809,348. There are only four "atlons of the world that sold us over a million dol- lars worth of goods each :— Germany, from which we purchased $4,794,159 ; Spanish West Indies, $3,531,292; France. $2 5«!5.174. and Japan. $1.507 5.58. or a total from these four of $12,478,183 ; leaving a balance of $4,331,105 to ropreaent our total import trade with all thfe world outside of the countries UHiued. We sold, of the produce of C-anada, $102,- 828,351. Britain and her colonies took $62,- 15 3bly have I of their imes first rporatlons aklug the islltut'.ons Q the land luding our children, ag women, ihe battle )f Finance rough this Take the daughters ates when [1 And that eduf-atlng anada and ted States ir national increased he history peu'litures I between Yen '"-Book e Govern- pnt in rall- K)0.000,000. mals and pratlons in circulating plte of all inued. and of a hund- lild up a ounce the :e, because caused a 3L0PBD. luse It has has fail3d le nations Dnsumption 2.521. Out- Ited States, Ions of the we bought r a total of and her or a total From a1\ ! purchased our "ations million dol- aaany, from I ; Spanish , $2 5«!5.174, from these balance of mport trade le countries nadn, $102,- s took $62,- 021,793. The United States tooK |35,603.773. All the countries on the earth besides took $5,202,785 of such goods as we had to jell. Now, of foreign nations, only one purchased from us over a million dollars' worth, and that is the Spanish West Indies, to whom we sold $1,407,400. Australasia sold us, al- together, $113,000 worth of goods, and we sold In Australasia $414,924, made up as follows :— Manufactured goods, $230,665 ; products of the forest, $94,840 ; products of the fisheries, $83,601 ; agricultural products, $5,804 ; animals and their products, $5. To secure this trifling trade with Australia we have subsidized a line of steamers to cost $122,000 a year. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN. Sir. we denounce this tariff because it discWmlnates against Great Britain. Hon. gentlemen opposite deny this, but the facts are against them. The Trade and Navi- gation Returns prove beyond all doubt that there Is an actual discrimination against British trade. Loyal people were urged to support the National Policy because It would increase our trade with Great Britain. Here are the very words of Sir Leonard Tilley, when making his first National Policy Bud- get speech, in 1879 : Forming a part of that great country — a coun- try that receives our natural products without any taxation, everything we have to send her — apart from our national feelings, I think this House will not object If, In the propositions be- fore me, the duties touch more heavily the Im- ports from foreign countries than from our fatherland. Sir, it has had the very opposite effect. Eng- land takes free all the goods we choose to send her, the products of our fisheries, of our forests, of our mines, and of our farms— everything free of duty. Everything that is sent to the United States is heavily taxed, more heavily taxed during the last few years than formerly. This so-called patri- otic policy, yoa might naturally expect, would produce a vast increase in the whole volume of our export and import trade with Great Britain. Now, as a matter of fact, I find that our trade with Great Britain, ex- ports and imports, from 1873 to 1878. amounted to $51 •.0,000,000, an annual average, when the Liberals were in power, of $93,500,- 000. Our total trade, export end Import, with the United States during the same period, was $490,000,000. in round numbers, an annual average of about 80 millions. Our trade with Great Britain exceeded our trade with the United States by $13,500,000 a year. Then came the National Policy, and what do we find ? The last fourteen years, under the National Policy, our aggregate trade with Great Britain, exports and imports, has been 1.295 millions, an annual average of gno KAA oo(\ n vpn.r- p.howlnff a shrinkage of one miilion a year. Our average aggregate trade for the last fourteen years was one million dollars a year, less with Great Britain than it was during the five years of the Mackenzie regime. During the same four- teen years our trade with the United States was 1,290 mlllionn, an average of $92,140,000, almost equal to that of Great Britain, and an Increase of over 12 million dollars above what it was during the Mackenzie Adpiin- istration. This anti-British, unpatriotic Na- tional Policy caused a shrinkage In our trade with Great Brifain, where no barriers exist against free trade, and produced an increase of trade with the United States, in spite of theli- heavy protection barriers. Sir, there is another striking proof of the anti-British character of this National Po- licy, and it will be found in the total im- ports for consumption. From 1873 to 1878, under Liberal rule and a low tariff, our trade with Great Britain amounted to $310,- 000,000, an average of $52,000,000 a year. During the same period our traae with the United States aggregated $299,000,000, or an average of about $50,000,000 a year. Dur- ing the last fourteen years our trade 'with Great Britain has averaged $42,500,000, or $9,500,0'H,' less than our average trade dur- ing the M*- kenzle Administration. Our trade with the United States averages over 51 millions, or a miilion a year more than it averaged during the Mackenzie Ad- ministration. Now, Sir, our Imports from England bene- fit her. It Is no special benefit to England to send her our goods ; she has the whole world to draw upon, and it is not one jot to the profit of the people of England to sell her our goods. But she makes a profit on what she sells to us, and she has a right, therefore, to expect from a patriotic policy, that it win Increase her export trade with us. Yet we find that, under this policy, ex- ports from Great Britain have diminished to the extent of $9,500,00, and have Increas- ed from the United States, her great com- mercial rival. Now, let me quote further from Sir Leonard Tilley, when speaking In 1879: In the Imposition of the duties we are now about to ask the House to Impose, It may be said we will receive from the Imports from for- eign countries a larger portion of the $2,000,000 we require than we will receive from the mother country. I believe such will bo the effect. But such was not the effect. The amount of duty levied on goods coming from Great Britain, that is, on the whole volume of our trade of last year wis 22% per cent ; the duties levied on goods Imported from the United States amounted to 12% per cent, being a discrlminaitlon In the whole volume of our trade of 10 per cent. In the Trade and Navigation Returns we find that our Im- ports from Great Brltpln, of dutiable goods ontered for consumption, In the year ending mth June last, amounted to $28,311,911. on I In the same year we imported from the United States, of dutiable goods, to the value m of $25,795,538, on which we collected in dut} $6,897,395.04. In other words, SOVa per cen was levied upon dutiable goods Importe from Great Britain, and only 26% per cen were levied on the dutiable goods importe: from the United States, a straight discrimin- ation of 3% per cent, a heavier discrimina- tion than we have had in any year before, and this occurred in the year after the hon. gentleman had revised the tariff. UNFAIR TREATMENT OF GREAT BRITAIN. Sir, this is not treating Great Britain fairly. We sold her, the produce of Canada. $57,913,564 worth, and purchased, of duti able and non-dutiable goods, $31,131,737. Besides, to balance the account, we took from her, in cash, $26,771,827. Contrast this with our trade with the United States. We purchased there of dutiable and non- dutiable goods to the value of $54,634,521, and sold them of our produce to the value of $35,603,773, and paid them $19,030,748 in cash to balance the account. Sir, the fact of this discrimination has been pointed out in this House, year after year, by hon. gentlemen on this side, but the Government have turned a deaf ear. They revised the tariff, and the discrimination was shai'per than ever. The people in Eng- land long since saw and objected to the ef- fect of the tariff policy of hon. gentlemen opposite, as is shown in a speech delivered on the floor of the House of Commons, on 27th April, 1888, when the then Minister of Finance, now the Secretary of State, said : When we took up this question of fostering our native industries, mr.ny parties m England attacked ma In reference to it and asked : What do you mean by turning your back upon the EnplJsh free trado policy and taking up the United States protective policy ? And, Sir, it has been recognized by thinking men outside thi» House. Principal Grant, in an admirable paper, written by him in November, 1894, says : We must get into the British or American system. At present we are copying tha United States, and without intending it, discriminating against our beat customers. Let us take the other tack now. The British system Is right. Si , it has been recognized, as I said, by Liberals in this House, and they have sought to set it right. The hon. member for Queen's, P.E.I. ((Mr. Davies), in April, 1892, moved this resolution : Inasmuch as Great Britain admits the pro- ducts of Canada into her ports free of duty, this House Is of the opinion that the present scale of duties exacted on goods mainly imported from Great Britain, should be reduced. This was a practical recognition of what was due to the motherland. Sir, I care nothing for the wiudy declarations of lo.valty which are bOirieiiUies tttMVCi rrom our iricuus uypu site. I believe in it when I see its fruits in practical works. When I see these hon. gen- tlemen discriminate against England and re- cuse to adopt such a resolution as was sub- mitted by my hon. friend from Queen's (Mr. IJavies), then I may be allowed to say that [ am somewhat skeptical of the depth, quality and extent of their loyality. This motion was voted down by hon. gentlemen •pposlte. But they proposed another resolu- tion, a very unselflsh one they thought It submitted by the hon. member for North Bruce, as follows :— That If and when the Parliament of Great Briiain and Ireland admits Canadian products to the markets of the United Kingdom upon more favourable terms than it accords to the products of foretjiU countries, the Parliament of Canada will be prepared to accord corresponding advan- tages by a reduction in the duties it imposes upon British manufactured goods. Every Conservative supported this resolu- tion, and it was carried ; and if my memory serves me, they rose and sang " God Save the Queen," England admits all our goods free. We will not reduce the tarifiC unless she goes further, and taxes the bread of her workmen imported from other lands. When she not or.ly admits our goods free, but >;ives them preferential treatment, then what ? Admit her goods free ? Not a bit of It. We will be prepared to yield and sub- mit to reducing the duties on British goods so as to place them on a par with importa- tions from the United States. Sir, I believe it would have been well for our trade and well for our relations with the motherland had the resolution of my hon. friend from Queen's been adopted, and reductions in the duties made so as to wipe out the reproach whicli rests upon the people of Canada, as seen in our Trade and Navigation Returns, that we undoubtedly discriminate in our tariff against importations from the mother country. DECRYING ENGLAND. Sir, it has been lately the fashion for hon. gentlemen opposite to decry Eng- land. The hon. member for Pictou (Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper), then Minister of Marine and Fisheries, made use of most re- markable language. I desire to call the attention of the House to it once again, for we should never forget the words used. Speaking of England he said : Driven from the civilized markets of the world, steadily and every year finding their output to those markets decreasing, they spend millions on their navy, and millions on their army, to force their wares, and their gjodt., and their merchandise into the uncivilized markets of the world. This fashion so set by the hon. gentleman has been followed by his friends in the House and their press outside. It is no un- «f iirvrtn the asriculturists o* that coun- try. But, Sir, if the English farmer cannot live on the price obtainable for his pro- I ducts in England, what is to become of I the farmers of Canada who have to look i to the English market in which to sell t aeir : goods. With our long winter, with our many disabilities, T7ith the cost of the transporta- tion of products to that great market in I England, we have to compete with the Eng- I lish farmer, and if the British farmer is unable to live, how can the Canadian far- J mer live .xnd contend with these disadvan- ! tages. I I do not think that hon. gentlemen I opposite will be able to show that the small i far" «irs— those holding a comparatively I speaking, small number of acres of land I in England— are in a distressed condition. Where the farmers work their own land, t with the help of their sons, they are not I sutfering in anything like the degree the 1 large landholders are who conduct their i operations by the employment of hired I labour. The agricultural distress in Eng- i land is caused by the use at hired labour 1 and by high rents. There is at present an agitation in Bng- j land for protection, in the shape of duties I on agricultural produce, and hon. gen- j tlemen opposite seem disposed to back i up that agitation. What would be the i effect of protection, so-called, to the dis- i tressed agriculturists of England ? It ! would simply increase the value of land and consequently increase the rent the owner of the land would exact from the tenant who works the soil. It is the landowners and ' not the f*" aiers who are at the bottom of I this agitation for the protection of agri- i culture in England. In proof of that, 1 I will read to the House what was said by the Right Hon. Henry Chaplin, member of Parliament, on the 27th of February, 1891. He said : One effect ^C such duties (duties on produce) j was und-'-otedly to very materially enhance the price of land, and thus to Increase its value. The Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain is on record as saying : The owners of property, the men who have privileges to maintain, would be glad to entrap you from the right path, by raising the cry of Fair Trade, under which they cover their de- mand " protected Industry," and In connection with v/hich they would tax the food of the peo- ple In order to raise the rent of the landlord. That is the object of those who are at the back of the agitation for granting relief to the distressed agriculturists in England. The object is to raise the rent of the landlord. YET PROTECTIONISTS ARE LOYAL. Why do hon. gentlemen opposite decry the motherland ? Why do they discriminate against her trade ? Are they not loyal ? Sir, I believe tliey are loyal. I believe, in spite of tlieir abuse of England, in spite of their discrimination against her trade, that deep down in their hearts there is a senti- )ecome of 'e to look > sell t ieir our many ransporta- tiiarket in I the Eng- farmer is idlnn far- disadvan- gentlemen the small paratively (S of land condition. )wn land, y are not egree the luct their of hired 8 in Eng- 'ed labour n in Eng- of duties bon. gen- to back i be the I the dis- id ? It '. land and owner of mant who liners and bottom of of agri- )f that, 1 s said by . member February, m produce) nhance the 1 value. lain in on who have 1 to entrap the cry of • their de- connectlon of the peo- landlord. are at the ? relief to land. The landlord. .OYAL. decry the scriminate lot loyal ? jelieve, in n spite of trade, that Is a senti- 19 meut of loyalty aa fervent and as strong as that which swells the hearts of the Lib- erals of Canada. Should danger menace the Empire, and an enemy Invade our land, I know that there is not a man on the other side of the House who would not take his place side by side with the Liberals, and manfully tight for the Empire, and man- fully defend our homes. There is not one but would mingle his blood with that of the Liberals In stem defence of our country's flag and all that it implies. The flag, that emblem of our liberties which we on this side deem to be too oacred an emblem to be dragged In the mud of political strife. 2.— BNLARaBD MARKETS— RECIPROCITY. That, having regard to the prosperity of Can- ada and the United States as adjoining coun- tries, -with many mutual Interests, it Is desirable that there should be the most friendly relations and broad and liberal trade Intercourse between them ; , , . . , That the Interests alike of the Dominion and of the Empire would be materially advanced by the establishing of such relations ; That the period of the old reciprocity treaty ■was one of marked prosperity to the British North American colonies ; That the pretext under which the Government appealed to the country In 1891 respecting nego- tiations for a treaty with the United States was misleading and dishonest and intendad to de- ceive the electorate ; . ^.^ That no sincere effort has beell made by them to obtain a treaty, but that, on the contrary, It Is menlfest that the present Government, con- trolled as they are by monopolies and combines, are not desirous of securing such a treaty ; That the flist step towards obtaining the end in view, is to place a party in power who are sincerely desirous of promoting a treaty on terms honourable to both Countries ; That a fair and liberal reciprocity treaty would develop the great natural resources of Canada, would enormously Increase the trade and com- merce between the two countries, would tend to encourage friendly relations between the two peoples, would remove many causes which have In the past provoked Irritation and trouble to the governments of both countries, and would promote those kindly relations between the Em- pire and the republic which afford the best guar- antee for peace and prosperity ; That the Liberal party Is prepared to enter Into negotiatlrna with a view to obtaining such a treaty, including a well-considered list of manufactured articles, and wo are satisfied that any treaty so arranged will receive the assent of Her Majesty's Government, wlttont whoso ap- proval no treaty can be made. Sir the natural resources of Canada are very great, and all we lack to properly de- velop them are +hree things : Men, money, and markets, .under the National Policy, men have been driven out by tens of thou- sands. Money has been absorbed by a few, and I am sorry to say that some of those who have succeeded in absorbing much of the money of the people of 9^,'^*^£f have seen lit to iliTesx a, yOriiuu, ui i~s.r.i., G W W D-21^ of tl'ftlr surplus wealth in the United State-,:., In preference to investing it in the development of our latent resources in Canada. Markets are required. The Chinese pol- icy of isolation, resulting In national stag- nation, must be set aside. Our vast min- eral wealth Is useless to us for lack of men and money, and markets, to develop It. Our natural wealth, until developed, is as useless to us as a bag of gold would be to a shipwrecked mariner on a desert island. THE HOME MARKET. These hon. gentleman say that we need not worry, because we have a vast home mar- ket, not perhaps for minerals, but at least for agricultural products. I will give them a few figures in regard to the home market. A home market for agri- cultural products ? Let me tell hon. gentle- men that, recording to census bulletin No. 18, which they can consult, 735,207 men are engaged in agriculture in Canada ; 320,001 people altogether are engaged in manufac- turing and mechanical pursuits. Sir, we had Industries before the National Policy was thought of, but after eighteen years of It, let us see what success the census bulletins reveal. We have 320.001 oper- atives In qur manufacturing industries. F'rom this number, I shall have to ask per- mission to count off those whom the Na- tional Policy in no way benefits. Car- penters, coopers. Joiners, boat-builders, and saw-mill men, number 67,000. Brick-mak- ers, masons, painters and plasterers, num- ber 2(>,000. Machinists and blacksmiths number 28,000. Milliners and dressmakers, shoemakers, harnessmakers, tailors and tanners number 70,000. Bakers, butchers, millers, butter and cheese makers, num- ber 20,000. Bookbinders and printers num- ber 9,000. These who are in no way in- debted to the National Policy," directly or indirectly, number 220,000 of our Industrial population, leaving 100,000 who are in some degree benefited by protection. These 160,- 000 include all who work in factories, re- fineries, breweries and distilleries, and some thousands who are put down in the tables as " others." We will suppose that not a soul worked In these Industries before, and that the National Policy could claim the whole of them. The National Policy home market, then, would be limited to 100,000 people, and we have 735,000 farmers to supply them. We have the products of seven farms to supply one operative. Sir, there are not 100,000 operatives to-day, directly or indirectly, benefited by protection. 1 will give you a list of the establishments that may be more or less benefited b r pro- tection, ard the number of persons, male and female, employed In them. If there are othei-s, let us have their names. They i are as follows :— I 20 •if i ^^^^H^ ■■' ^^^^^^H* ' I^B^^ ^^^^^Hli j^^^^^H^i ^H I^^Hi B IH ^^^^^^^Bli^ 1 Agricultural Implements 3,850 Cotton operatives 6,053 Woollen operatives 4,241 Mill and factory operatives (textile) 8,876 Iron and steel workers 2,804 Machinists »,672 Moulders 4,070 Tool and cutlery makers 964 Wire workers 283 Sugar reflnories 1,700 Rope and cordage operatives 412 Oil well employees 344 Starch works employees 62 " Manufacturers and olTlcials " 6,169 Total 44,446 If hon. gentlemen can add to these, I wish they would ; but take it at 100,000, and ad- mit the al)surd contention that not one of these could have received employment hi this country but for the National Policy, and that Is the utmost extent that can be claim- ed for the National Policy home market— 100,000 for 7;J5,lK>0 farmers to supply. CAUSE OP DISSOLUTION IN 1891. Well, we would suppose from the speeches of hon. gentlemen opposite, from the speech of the hon. gentltman who last sat down, (Mr. Smith, Ontario), that they never advo- cated or desired reciprocity with the United States in any shape, manner, or form. Why, the last Parliament was prematurely dissolved and an election held to secure the people's endoi nation of the Government's stand in favour of reciprocity. Clearly dur- ing the session of 1890, the Govornraent had no idea of a general election before 1892. They refused in that year to revise the list of voters, and stated that it was not their intention to have general elections before the natural death of Parliament in the year 1892. Here are the words of the then Secre- tary of State (Hon. Mr. Ghapleau) : But is there no other leason why that revision should not take place ? We have not yet reached the end of tills Parliament. According to law this Parliament will cease in the beginning of 1892. If in July, 1891, the census shows that the - presentation must be changed, it will become necessary to have new elections soon after the census, and those elections should take place at the beginning of 1892, by the natural death of this Parliament according to the constitution. There Is no reason to doubt that a revision be- ginning in 1891 could be satisfactorily made, and would be raad ' for the evjutuallty of elections in 1892. Tlie lists were not revised, but the election was held on the 5th March, 1891. What reason was feiveu for this change in the plan of the Government ? What reason did they give for deciding to hold tht. elections a year before the data fixed by the constitution ? Immediately atfer dissoluion, the follow- ing announcemen^ was pullished by author- ity in the Government press! : It will naturally be tasked T^hat are the reasons which have induced the Government to appeal to the coiintry at. the present time. It is understood that the Dominion Government have, through Her Majesty's Government, made certain pro- posals to the United States ,"ur negotiations look- ing to the extension of her commerce with that country. TQe proposals have been submitted to the President for his conslderfitlon and the Cana- dian Government Is of the opinion ttat If th» negotiations are to result In a treaty, which must be ratified by the Parliament of Canalrt, n IB exponent that the Government should be able to deal with a Parliament fresh from the people rather than with a moribund Houst;. Sir, they were so red hot for reciprocity that they wanted a brand new Parliament elect* ed *at once, so that this golden opportunity would not be let slip. And during the cam- pnign, at Toronto, Sir John Macdonald put himself on record as follows :— The Government are appealing to the people to grant them authority to send a delegate to Washington to negotiate trade relations with the United States. On Ihe some day at the same meeting, Sir .Tohn Thompson said : The Government would endeavour to obtain reciprocity with the United States along the line of the reciprocity treaty which prevailed from 18,54 to 1856. This further statement, dictated by the head of the Government, was published with regard to the alleged negotiations for reci- procity : Moreover, these propositions were invited and suggested by the Washington outhoritles. Com- missioners from Canada and Great Britain will I start for Washii gton on 4th March, the date of I the opening of tie new Congress. The result of I the Canadian eiections will be known on the , »;^h March, the day the commissioners will reach ■ r'ashington. In order that this commission may ^hve no uncertain sound the Government has de- elded to appeal to the people and ask for Judg- ment on these proposals to the Washington au- thorities. On these lines, Sir, the elections were run, that is they were so run wherever recipro- city was found to be a winning card. Bills were published, calling meetings in the in- terests of the Government candidate in Carleton, N.B., headed : Vote for Vince and Reciprocity. If you want reciprocity, support the Govern- ment. The Government have been approached by the Washington authorities ; they aie in a position to get this boon for the farmers of Canada, and if you desire it you must sup- port them. This was the language with which hon. gentlemen opposite, all through the country, approached the agricultural constituencies. Unfortunately, however, it timed out that the United States Govern- ment had not Invited a conference, had made no overtures whatever to the Govern- ment here ; and Mr. Blaine found it neces- sary to write Sir Julian Paunoefote, the British Ambassador at Washington, under date of 1st April, 1891 : I deem it important, since the matter has been for some weeks open to public remark, to have It settlod that, the conference was not Initiated by me, but, on the contrary, that the private arrangement of which I spoke was but a modifi- cation of your proposal, and in no sense an 21 original auggestlon from the government of the United States. Shortly after the elections, the hon. Secre- tary of State (Sir aiiarles Tupper), then High Commissioner of Canada, who had visited Wivahington, wrote to Sir John Mae- donald, after his return, as follows :— I told Mr. Blaine that I wished at the outset to recognize the correctn-jso of bis statement contained in his letter to Sir Julian Pauncefote, which I had seen, In reference to the initiation of the negotiations regarding reciprocity and trade relations between the two countries. THE WASHINGTON NEGOTIATIONS. Well, our delegates went there. Sir John Thompson. Sir Mackenzie Bowell and the Minister of Finance (Mr. Foster) conferred with the Hon. Jas. G. Blaine respecting trade relations between Canada and the United States. Let me give you a quotation from a memo, prepared by Mr. Blaine and sent to the President of the United States, piving a summary of what occurred at that conference. He said : At this conferenoe the commissioners stated they were authorized by the Canadian Govern- ment to propose the renewal of the reciprocity treaty of 1854, with such modlflcatlois and ex- tensions as the altered circumstances of both countries and their respective Interests might seem to require. In atiswer to an inquiry the commissioners stated that the modifications or extensions contemplated in the schedule of ar- ticles should be confined to natural products and should not embrace manufactured articles. The commissioners were Informed that the government of the United • States would not bo prepared to renew the treaty of 1854, nor to agre4 upon any commercial reciprocity which should be confined to natural products alone. Well, these delegates from the Dominion Government went to negotiate a treaty of reciprocity in natural products and failed. Now hon. gentlemen opposite assure us that a treaty would ruin us. The hon. member for South Ontario (Mr. Smith) declared that such a treaty would do our farmers no good because of the similarity of the products, and that the politician who advocated such a policy was deliberately deluding the public. I ask the hon. member for South Ontario what he has to say to these negotiators, the First Minister (Sir Mackenzie Bowell) and the Minister of Finance (Mr. Foster), who went to Washington to try and obtain a renewal of the reciprocity treaty of 1854 ? Reciprocity In barley, wheat, flsh, lumber, cattle, butter, cheese and all other natural products. Does he say that these hon. gen- tlemen were dellbera;tely deluding the agri- culturists of Canada ? If he makes that charge against them, I must leave him to their tender mercies. I'he hon. member for North Grey (Mr. Massou) said, in this debate, that he feared a. deluge of American farm pro- ducts. If the duties were removed. Well. Sir, when the market iu the UuIieU States for our barley was lost to us, that hon. gentleman sturdily advocated the cultivation of two-rowed barley for the English market. Some of our farmers did attempt to cultivate two-rowed l»rley, to their sorrow, loss and keen regret. These hon. gentlemen say that American products Amerlffin farm truck, American hogs and cattle would displace ours In the Canadian market, ; a the event of a reciprocity treaty being made. The«e hon. gentlemen forget that the farmers of Canada beat all the world at the World's Fair In the very heart of the United States. In 1891 the Government tliought that our farmers had nothing to fear Having since then seen Canada's great exhibit at that World's Fair, I wonder that there Is any member of this House who doubts the ability of the Canadian farmer to hold his own la compe'^ltlon with the far- mers of any country Ir the world, and cer- tainly with those of the United States. Let them open their markets to us, with their teeming millions In the great cities almost at our doors— in Buffalo, Cleveland. Detroit, Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Washington— and let us see what share we shall have In competition for these mar- kets with the farmers of the United States. VALUE OF AMERICAN MARKET. Hon. gentlemen opposite failed to get a treaty, and now they say the American mar- ket is not of much account, anyhow. Well, Sir, if the American market is of no account to the Canadian farmer, the tariff legislation of the United States cannot have affected our exports to it. Let us see. In 1890, the United States tariff was much lower than It was a couple of years later, after the ad- option of the McKinley BUI, Let me read you a table, showing the effect upon our exports to the United States In a few leading articles of farm products, of the Increased duties under the McKinley BUI : COMPARISON OF EXPORT OF FARM PRO- DUCTS, 1890 AND 1893. Name of Articles. Horses . . Cattle ... Poultry . Eggs . . . Wool Plax Barley . . Split peas Hay .... Malt . . . . Potatoes . Rye 1890. 1.887,895 104,623 105,612 1,793,104 235,436 175,563 4,582,562 74,215 922,797 149,310 308,915 113,320 10,453.353 1893. 1,123,339 11,032 52,114 324,355 228,030 124,082 638,271 4,214 854,958 19 259,176 3,302 3,624,892 Of these twelve leading articles, our ship- ments fell from three to one. Our exports of cattle, poultry, malt and rye were practi- caiij' WipCCl Gut. V>ur CAyurts ui tr^ss r-rii •_•-• one-Sixth of what they had been. Of barley we exported only one bushel where formerly I 22 we exported «eTen. They simply rnised the barriers against ub, and luuniHlliitely we lout two-tlilrd8 of our trade. But, In spite of these barriers agaln^it us, a large lunonnt of oup farm produce continued to flud Its way into that market. And that, I thluk, con- clusively j)roveB the value of that market to us ? Gentlemen - oposite tell us, that substi- tutes can be found tot this market else- where, perhaps on the coast of Africa, per- haps in Java, perhaps In Iceland or In Terra del Fuego— anywhere except in the great cities of the country right at our door. I have said that the McKlnley Bill was meant to be prohibitory. And, when I say that our exports to the United States, in many Hues, under the McKlnley Bill, largely exceeded our exports to all the world be- sides, it must surely prove to hon. gentle- men that that market Is of some Importance to us. Let me give you a list of articles of export, the produce of Canada, showing what amount of each was sent to the United States, and what to all other countries of the world besides : Articles or claHsificatiun of exiKirts the produce of Canada. Products of the mine . . Products of the forest Fresh water flsb and salt water flsh, fresh Horses Swine Sheep Poultry Bones Hides Sheep pelts Wool Flax Berries Fruit, N.E.S Barley Beans Hay Straw Maple sugar Trees, shrubs and plants. Potatoes Vegetables Other articles Fertilizers Furs (dresaed) Grindstones Gypsum Household effects Lime Barrels Household furniture Wood pulp Other manufactures Bullion 18!)3. U n i t (1 d States. $ 4,756.280 13,859.960 1,287,822 1.123,339 130.093 1,088.814 52.114 58.444 385,246 66,939 228.030 124.082 96.104 24.646 638.271 351.058 854.958 25,117 48,174 11.969 259,176 105,836 27,096 7.706 6,664 24.754 27,091 1,246.085 97,898 10.631 123.872 424.25.'? 249.752 _ 309,459 $28,132,233 1893. All other Countries. $ 573.610 12,499,950 4,642 337.818 15.997 159,041 9,013 10,282 7,122 16 281 115 1,114 306,084 4,624 697,914 932 1,477 232 162.782 10.404 1,577 2,103 948 2,366 37,081 8,207 6,297 50,749 . 1,640 117,727 $14,932,145 Well, Sir. the McKlnley tariff Ig no more. Hovr soon It will be relmposed, no one knows. The Wilson Bill, even as amended, gives aonio relief, but the burden is ■till very great. I THE AUSTRALIAN MARKHT. Now, for a moment let us examine i (he relative value of the United States and the Australian markets. In spite I of tariff restrictions, we sold natural prodmta to the United States last year to I the value of .$32,r)00,()00, consisting of the ^ following products : Of the mines, $fl,271,- I 397 ; of the fisheries, $3,026,171 ; of the for- est, $12,482,969 ; of the farm, $7,423,171 ; altogether, of uatural protlucts sent Into the United States, $32,502,707. Now, our exports of natural products to Australia were as follows :— Products of the mine, nothing ; products of the fisheries, .$83,010; products of the forest, ;?94,.S10 ; agricul- tural products, $5,804 ; animals and their products. $5 ; altogether, $184,2.'»0 worth of uatural products found their way to the Australlau market. Sir, I have no desire to belittle the Australian mra-ket. What we desire Is an outlet for our natural pro- ducts ; but I think that a subsidy of $122.- 000 a year is rather too high a price to pay for a market consuming only $184,000 worth of such product.s. Why, Sir, we have to-day yards full of young beef cattle, but no market. We are barred out from the United States by their quarantine re- gulations. We have cheese and butter for sale by the million pounds. Of animals and tlieir products, of all sorts, the Aus- tralian market took from us, last year, just $5 worth. Why, Sir, If next year our friends opposite are able to induce the Aus- tralians to purchase from us $10 worth of animals and their pioducts, you will hear omtors all over this country declaring that our trade with Australia In this line has Increased 100 per cent., If they can Induce the Australians to purchase from us $25 wortli of animals or their products, we shall hear hon. gentlemen opposite proclaim- fng the startling fact that our trade with .Australia In animals and their products has increased 500 por cent. And this would be a triumph for the National Policy, this would be the Justification for the enormous sum which we pay to develop 1 ; t oarVet. Why, Sir, when the Australian .5t leg... tea were here, they told us that < i: r I ad inil- lions of sheep, they hud vas i ' of .,at- tle ; that they could send dhlp-loads of mat- ton, countless tons of beef, an illimitable number of pounds of butter and cheese to our Canadian market. Now, let me say that my opinion is that the farmers of Can- ada do not object to Australian beef, or Australian mutton, or Australian butter, or Australian cheese, coming here In the natural courp • of trade, but what they ob- ject to Is being compelled to pay a large subsidy to a steamship line as an induce- ment to these people to send these cheap products here. While belncr frtmnoll^fl v- der the tariff, to pay exhorbitant'prices for the commodities which they use in their 23 rl Cm farming operations, handicapped, aa they > «'nnadlnn Pacific Rfitlway 7" the SauU are by h&» taxation for the benefit of Ste. Marie. They propose to build Ave more Jlmblnes. they object to being bled to pay bridges, one at Montreal, one near Brock- thl8 TibBldy '0 a BteaoiBhlp llnr to induce , rllle. one at Kingston, one at Niagara , and AuHtn iSn" 10 dr >p S our market their -mother at Windsor, all for the punH.«e of ThmlAyTroa^^^S u.utton and their bounty- overcoming these natural barners They fed butier and cheese. lu spite of restrlc have bored a tunnel under the St. Clair tfdns the United States bouSht of us last River, and they propose to )>ure another v..>ir'is<) times more of our natural products to accommodate the trafttc and pas»t>nger« Umi. Au8trX,Tdl2jS) times more uf our , going to and fro between these two coun- farm products than wo sold In Australia. trle^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ NATURAL BAHHIBRS OVBRCOMB— TARIFF i to trade with the United States ? In years BARRIERS MAINTAINB3D. jq come, people will marvel when they read I believe. Sir, that an honest effort should of men spending mllllonH of dollars to over- be made by this Government to pro- come the natural barriers to trade, and cure a treaty with the United States, then spending their energ es lu advocating and I belle?e If that effort were made, a a war of tariffs whose sole posslole object t' 'atv could be negotiated which would Is to prevent trade. greatly extend our trade. The people of Well. Sir. Canada Is Interested In many re- CaSi Sre to trade as freely as possible : clproclty treaties now. Unfortunately, many w'th tie united States. We have been do- ! of the countries In whose trade she Is Inter- Sk and are dolm?. all that men can do to ested, are so remote that the treaty Is of ovi'rwme the natural barriers that exist 1 very slight benefit to ««. T.et me give you bItmeTth«^J two countries. Why. Sir. our ! a list of such treaties con ta nlng th-> names ciSat'sts have built seven bridges across j of the countries with which Grea^ Britain tff rivers that flow between us-the ! has reciprocal treaties of commerce, Victoria, the Lachlne. and the Canada ; lu which Canada Is Interested, with the Atlantic over the St. Lawrence ; the date of the treaty, and the value of Cana- Suspenslon the Cantilever and the In- 1 dtan natural products exported to each ternatlonal over the Nlagnm ; and ^he country la the year 1894-95 : NvMKsof cmntries with which (ireat l5ritaiiUu« reciprocal treaties of commoceiu which Cauala i^ interestcl with .late of treaty and value of Cana.Uan natural products exported to eacli counti y m 1894-95. 185!) 1851 1885 1884 1892 1826 1855 1S75 1885 18-J5 610,080 ! 1.321.603 ' 1.031,683 24 Sixteen purchase not a dollar's worth of our natural products. 3ir, these countries are all thousands of miles away, too far to be of any benefit to us. New York city alone would absorb more of our farm products In a week than the whole of these countries absorbed last year. British statesmanship has ; been able to secure reciprocity treaties ! with Russia, Germany, France, Spain, ! Venezuela, with every one of the otlier twenty-nine countries I have read ; but our statesmen ait here and weakly declare that it is beyond their ability to negotiate a ; treaty with our cousins in the United States. Let them ylve way to men wlio can, i to men of courage and faith in Canada. : men who will not hide affrighted behind tlieir w-retched tariff wall, fearing an Innndatiou of cheap goods, men who believe that Can- adians are qualified to try conclusions with any people outside of this Dominion, men who know that oiir Canadian people can hold their own in a fair field without favour with our American rivals. There are other reciprocity treaties which have been negotiated by Great Bri- tain, namely, treaties with Egypt, Equa- dor, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, Paraguay, Roumama, Salvador, Servia and Zanzibar. In these treaties we have no Interest whatever To those countries we sold of the products o ' the forest and flshei'ies and manufactures the value of $99,020. but not a dollor of farm products^ last year. Sir, there are some timid souls who fe.ar a trade treaty in any shape or form. Hon. gentlemen opposite seem to thinli .^uch a treaty, in some unaccount- able way would menace your liberties, and they are afraid to enter into reciprocal trea- ties with any country ia the world. Such stick in the mud patriots are out of place In this age of progress. England is aot afraid, that little tiny nation ventures into every sea, and it has negotiated 40 treaties with foreign nations alien in tongue and creed. Although they have those treaties no one in England deems for a moment that they are a menace to Britain, that there is any menace to her or her institutions hirls- ing in those treaties. " The incapables," as they call each other, who have so long usurped the place of statesmen on the treasury benches here, knowing thr'.r inability to negotiate a treaty with the TTnited States, think to club that country into granting a treaty. They de- termined on "a reciprocity of tariffs" with cur neighbours with the absurd belief that If they waged a tariff war with a nation of 05.000,000. tlint Mould tend to procure for this country eventually reciprocity of trade. To pursue this policy of endeavouring to force them into granting us a treaty is the only means that occurs to them of ensi ring ultimately a trade treaty with the United States. Hon. gentlemen opposite say that it Is necessary to maintain our high tariff In or- der that we shall have 3ome vantage ground from which to negotiate a treaty. They for- get that England, a free trade country, has l)een successful in negotiating 40 treaties, al- though she gives absolute free trade. It is anything for an excuse to continue protec- tion. A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY MISSED. There Avas one golden opportunity missed not long since by the Government of the day, the chance of a lifetime was allowed by them to slip by and be lost by tlieir apathy, or perhaps by the inca- pacity of their Vdministration. The Wil- .sou Bill passeil the House of Represen- tatives on 1st February, 1894, and it pro- videu that mica, i?on ore, bituminous coal and coke should be free. There was uo help given to the advocates of the Wilson Bill, no encouragement to help the Bill on its way through the Senate. Nothing was done by our administrators ; they sat idly here and allowed the bill to be amended in the Sen- ate, as follows :— A tax of 2C per cent was put on mica ; a tax of 15 per cent was put on coke, and bituminous coal and Iron ore were taxed 40 per cent per ton. Sir, the Wilson Bill provided for a duty of 10 cents a bushel on potatoes and 25 per cent on barely. But as amended this Bill raised the duty on potatoes to 15 cents a bushel, and on barley to 30 per cent. The folloAving were free under the Wilson Bill, as originally drafted, and as it passed the House of Representatives : Beef, mutton, pork, hams, bacon, lai'd, cheese, eggs, apples fereen and dried). At present we have 3 cents a dozen duty on eggs, 1 cent a pound on lard, 4 cents a pound on cheese, and 20 per cent on the other articles I have named. Sir, if this Government had secured for us the American market for even these arti- cles, I believe that an immense trade would have resulted. In the case of mica, $1 is taken out by tlie Amerlcin tax collector from evei-y .$5 worth sent to the United States. We have a vast quantity of mica In different parts of this country seeking a market and finding none, or not a sufH- elent market in Canada ; the natural mar- Icet has been found in tlie United States, and it is forced now to cross that tariff liarrier, and to pay for the privilege $1 out of every $5 worth s^ut. IRON ORE. For iron ore the United States is our natural market. Even if we had all the smelting and iron works that were prophesied by bon. gentlemen opposite, we would not be able to consume one tithe of tlie ore we have ready to offer for siilp ill tbe province of Ontario alone^ I can remember when tlie vast deposits of iron ore in the county which I have the honour to represent were being work- 25 ed, giving employment to hundreds of men in and around the pits. Prospectors were tramping all over that county finding large deposits, with a view to their future development. We were just on the eve of a great mineral development there. Rail- ways were projected, and other works in connection with this industry of mining undertaken, but then the Americans put on a duty of 75 cents a ton, and that simply wiped us out. The mines shut down, and have not since re-opened. In 1894 the Wil- son Bill restored ore to the free list, and if our statesmen had only succeeded in keeping it there, what a development there would have been in the mining indus- tries in Ontario. The BiU, as amended, puts 40 cents a ton on iron ore, and we have no certainty whatever that that duty will not be increased to 75 cents once more. COAL. It was the object of Mr. Wilson to help the manufacturers in the eastern portion of the United States, and he put bituminous coal on the free list to enable them to import it from the province of Nova Scotia. There is an enormous consumption of coal on the east- ern coast of the United Stntea. and had Mr. Wilson succeeded in working his Bill tUrnugh both Houses of Congress it would have re- sulted in an enormous increase of trade for the coal miners of Nova Scotin. and the output of the mines there would have in- creased four-fold. What effort was made by hon. gentlemen opposite to assist Mr. Wilson in this Bill; what offer did they make to the American government as an iuduce- mout to admit our coal free of duty into the United Stntes ? Sir, they sat here idle and allowed tins opportunity to slip by. To-da.v 40 (^i-nts per ton is the tax on our coal going into the United States, and it may at any moment be increased to 75 cents. They "made no effort in the matter. FARM PRODUCTS. They allowed Wll'^on's proposal of 10 cents 'a bushel on potatoes to be increased to 15 cents : only 5 cents of nn increase, but this means a' tax to be paid by the far- mers of Canada of from $10 to $15 per acre on the crop which they grow, des- tined for the American market. Beef, mut- ton, pork, liams, bacon, lard, apples. Mil might have had free entry into the United States It wns so proposed by Mr. Wilson. What effort did this Government miikP t^ help him to get that Bill throuah the Senate? As a result of their Inactivity, as a re- sult of their apathy, there is to-day a tax of 20 per cent on these articles. If hon. gentlemen opposite say that we can sell none of those commodities in tlie American mar- ket, mv answer is: let tnese mrinicis :•<• open and let us try. There is no innrkf^ in the world more particular about its food supply, and none more dainty as to quality than the market which we find in the great cities K>: the United States, where the far- mers in the western part of Ontario have at their doors a population nearly equal to that of the cities of England. Sir, I believe that the products raised upon our farms would admirably suit the American market. The flavours of our Canadian meats is so well known that they are recognized fully in the English market, and according to the observations of hon. gentlemen opposite— and I believe in this they assert the truth— to-day our hams and l)acon are rapidly displacing the products of other countries in the British market. If thev are of such exquisite flavour as to suit this market, they will also suit the Ameri- can market, and I believe their quality will ensure a large demand and consumption there. Eggs are taxed 3 cents a dozen going into the United States. We know what that means. We know that in 1S90, when eggs were on the free list, we sent to the United States more than $1,750,000 worth. Cheese is now taxed 4 cents a pound. Hon. gentle- men opposite declare that we would have no market whatever in the United States for cheese. In that I differ, and differ profound- ly, from these hon. gentlemen. The exhibit made at the World's Fair proved the superi- ority of the Canadian cheese, in flavour and in make, over any thing produced in the United States. The Americans are as fond of good cheese as are Englishmen, and the known ouality of Canadian cheese would ensure a large consumption for it In their country if their markets were available to us. Mr. Wilson desired to put these articles on the free list without any condition whatever. But the Govern- ment sat here quietly and planned a subsidy for an Australian line to enable us to send $5,809 worth of our farm pro- ducts to that country ; less tlian a small corner grocery would handle in a month. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. Sir, the Wilson Bill proposed to admit free of duty ploughs, harrows, harvesters, reap- ers, agricultural drills and planters, mowers, horse rakes, cultivators and threshing pia- rhines. IMie new tariff as (inally passed put I h se articles on the free list, but provides : That all articles mentioned In this paragraph If Imported from a country which places an im- port duty oa like articles Imported from the United States, shall be subject to the duties ex- isting prior to the passage of this Act. Thus the TiloKinley tariff on these articles was allowed to remain. Our manufacturers, nven duty free their raw material, their ron and steel, would and could command a i„,.™s s:h!>!'o of this market, We have — con- troverting tlie statements of hon. gentlemen opposite— the evidence of such practical 26 19' manufacturers as Mr. F. T. Frost, of Smith's Falls, and Mr. F. T. Lavole, both manufac- turers of agricultural implements, both anxi- ous to try conclusions with the Americans in their own market. Our manufacturers are not cowards, n6r are they all by any means corrupt. Many of them have pluck enough to pit their energy, their brains and their skill against the Americans. They want fair play, a fair field and no favour. FRIENDLY RELATIONS DESIRED. Sir, we believe that a liberal trade Inter- course would promote these friendly rela- tions between the Empire and the Republic which affords the best guarantee for peace. Now, Sir, it is my opinion that were it not for her colonies, England need never be- come involved in war. Her possessions in Africa adjoin those of France and Germany, and if she is ever involved in war with either of these nations, it will be on account of some dispute respecting these possessions. With Russia she need never have a dispute except with reference to questions affecting India. With the United States war would be absurd except in defence of her first- born colony, Canada. Lying side by side as we do, there are many opportunities for mis- chief-makers to stir up strife between these two countries— strife which might culminate in that most appalling of all disasters. a war between Great Britain and the United States. Sir, I believe it to be the most solemn duty of every man in Canada to do his utmost to remove every possible cause of friction or irritation between these two countries. It is his duty to cultivate the most friendly relations, and I believe that a war of tariffs Is the last possible way of promoting peace between us. Sir, I firmly believe that a fair and liberal reciprocity ar- rangement between Canada and the United States would tend more than anything else to cement these friendly relations that it Is our duty to encourage. Sir, I believe it to be the very essence of loyalty for us to advo- cate such a treaty, and it seems to me it ought not to require any very high degree of statesmanship to procure it. Sir, if we do our part, the day may not be so distant when the dream of men who know England to be something more than a mere nation of trad- ers will be realized, and the great republic will stand side by side with Great Britain to advance the civilization of the world. A great statesman he will be who will bring about an alliance between these two great Anglo-Saxon nations— not a political union, for that is not desirable, but an alliance born of a treaty of peace. The Right Hon. A. J. Balfour spoke wisely, at Bristol, recently, when he said : He felt that England and the United States SnGUid Tt'^ni XiiyoCCUCI , CS,wii til it.rr v t" •• —•••••■** ••; — - promote and extend the Anglo-Saxon Ideas of liberty. If, he declared, Great Britain was In alliance with the United States, she could fulfil the duties Providence had entrusted to her, and need not fear a foreign foe or international di- visions. And what more natural than that they should be friends and allies, each working out her own destiny in her own way, but Joining together as promoters of the peace of the world ? English statesmen are not alone In desiring this alUanf-e. Everywhere in the United States we n find earnest men who think the time has come to bury the hatchet and bring about a permanent treaty*of peace between these countries. The wish of many an earnest American heart is expressed by one of their poets. They wish to see the flag of England and the stars and gl^ipes- the Old Glory flag, so dear to ail Americans— side by side' for the progress of the nations and the liberty of mankind. These words of one of their poets find an echo in British hearts : Where Is the flag of England ? It waves the throne above, Where a woman reigns by the grace of God And a people's boundless love ; Of all the rulers earth now owns. However the world may brag, Not one so calm and so true Is seen As the woman, the mother, the gracious Queen Enrobed by England's flag. Where Is the flag of England ? It floats on every sea. Borne by the hands of the bravest men • And waving o'er the free ; « It leads the way to the battlefield, And the armies never lag, For somehow or other they seem to know England has conquered every foe, Led on by that wondrous flag. Where Is the flag of England ? Not yet where yst 'twill be, Conjuncted with " old glory " grand, The emblem of tho free ; The Stars and Stripes, the Union Jack These two shall be unfurled For progress, liberty and right, And England's fame, Columbia's might. Shall help and bless the world. 3.-PURITY OF ADMINISTRATION— CONDEMN CORRUPTION. That the convention deplores the gross cor- ruption In the management and expenditure of public moneys which for years past has existed under the rule of the Conservative party, and the revelations of which by the different parlia- mentary committees of Inquiry have brought dis- grace upon the fair name of Canada. The Government which profited politically by these expenditures of public moneys of which the people have been defrauded, and which, neverthe- less, have never punished the guilty parties, must be held responsible for the wrongdoing. We arraign the Government for retaining In ofllce a Minister of the Crown, proved to have accepted very large contributions of money for election purposes from the funds of a railway company, which, while paying the politlca? contributions to him, a member of the Government, with one hand, was receiving Government subsidies with the other. 27 The conduct of the Minister and the approval I intere. t ^t Government c^m^^^ in ^he estimation of the world and deserve the severe condemnation of the people. Well Sir, I would not torture the feelings of hou. ' gentlemen opposite by any extended allusion to their delinquencies of the past, if it were not that they have promised oO launch into a very large expenditure. The Order paper to-day contains a notice that the Minister of Finance will ask the House to sanction a vote of $3,000,000 for important worljs of defence. Well, Sir, I do not believe it would be safe to entrust this expenditure in their hands. Circumstances might be too strong for them. There are too many con- tractors in the counti-y to whom they are under obligations of different Isinds. Ihese men know too much, and have the hon. gentlemen opposite in their power. 1 think it would be better for them to step down and out _,before they undertake this large expenditure. They dare not offend these contractors, who know so much of the Inner workings of their party. These men must be kept quiet at all hazards. They might tell \yhat they know, and bring disaster to the party from which it would never recover in the teeth of a general election. Sir, it is our di^ to save hon. gentlemen from their friends, bv relieving them of power and giving them a rest in the cool shades of opposition so that they may free themselves from their taskmasters, the contractors of this country. QUEBEC HARBOUR WORKS SCANDALS. Larkin, Connolly & Co., of which firm Mr. Murphy was a member. Mr. Valin, once a member of Parliament, gave this evidence before the Committee on Privileges and Elections : I applied again to Mr. McGreevy and to Mr. Murphy. Mr. Murphy told me : "We have placed all that Is necessary In Mr. McGreevy s hands and we have advised hira to help you especially ; apply to him and you will get some. Then, having applied to Mr. McGreevy, he said to me, the elections in the county of Quebec are costing heavily. The Ministers are costing us very heavily and I have no more money to give you. Caron is always after me and I cannot satisfy him with money. We have Sir Hector at Three Rivers, and besides, other counties. The official list of expenditure for party purposes in 1887 was published and shovy- ed that $112,700 was drawn out and paid on the written order cf the hon. Postmaster General (Sir Adolphe Caron) and the hon. member for Three Rivers (Sir Hector Lange- vln They had control of this fund, and they distributed It according to a plan care- fully prepared before the elections began. It was clearly proven in the courts tMt Larkin, Connolly & Co. had paid $170,000 to purchase the favour of the Government and ensure the acceptance of their con- tract. The hon. Ministers claim that the Government ought not to be held ac- countable because they were not per- sonally interested in the money, because they only received it from these con- tractors to spend in the interests of the party. Sir, this outrage against pop- ular government Is offered by these hon. gentlemen as an excuse for their conduct. How dull their moral perception must be when they consider this as an excuse for their course. They say : We did not spend it on ourselves, but on our friends to ensure their election. And they offer this as an excuse for their conduct. They used the money to tempt men, made poor by their bungling administration, to sell the birth- right our fathers died to win— the right ta vote, the right of self-government. Sir, those of us who sat here through the session of 1891, inquiring into the Govern- ment expenditure on public works know perfectly well the truth of the first para- graph in this plank No. 3 of the Liberal Satform We remember well the investiga- tion into the Quebec Harboiir works, when it was shown that Larkin, Connolly ^ Co. baceed a profit on those works of $953,97o. It was proven that Robert H. McGreevy was givln an interest In the ptoflta of this con- cern although he did not put a doUaii into ?he capltaL It was proven that he was given that interest simply for the purpose of secu^ ing f^e interest of his brother, then and now thi m'^mber for Quebec West, and of secur- ine nirough hlmTthe interest and influence of tne then Minister of Public Works Well | - -'4^^;-;-^";^ "^Mch makes'me doubtful Sir, although he did not Put a dollar mto t^eGov^^^^^ the capital of the firm, it was «hown that wuemei^ ^ y ^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ich they Robert H. McGreevy drev^ from the profits , Penoi"»« Pridky. It Is on record that of that .work, $187,800 as his share It was J^^ *« ^^.^j^"^,^ i^ the city of St. John, a proven that this firm cont'rmuted to the rep^ niece of pwrty for the Intercolonial, in tile fund of Che party -^70,447 and tbat this P^ece or pr p y ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ money was used n the ^^^f'^^^J^J^^^l. l^ove that fts value was $93,401, and It was 1887 and 1891. Sir, the ^^^f • ™J^^^°^^„;°^ alsessed by the city assesors at $66,000 ; S£i^\^2n,r.rbe",ptrb; ^IJ^ \ 'rSt ^ S^i^n^^aoir Adam,. HARRIS LAND JOB. Well, there are other little transactions of 28 P. ' f then a mtmber of the House, auJ a sup- porter of the Government. On 13th May. 1892, he said In this House : You are to-ntght committing a public crime. You are trying to force an expenditure upon t)he people you cannot justify. Th-jre Is no evidence to justify this legislature in passing $200,000 for the purchase of this property. No Grit, no Tory, high or low, from the richest to the poorest, could say that $200,000 was the actual price paid by common law, prudence or justice. It Is simply a lob. It stands unparalleled In the history of purchases. I am quite clear that this property had been purchased for threa times its value, beyond all question. In spite of that protest, $200,000 was paid. Sir, the Government -arent into a little improvement on a small river in the pro- vince of Quebec, and built what is now known to fame as the Lictle Rapids lock. They estimated the cost of this work at $44,000. Well, they have oaid In cash, up to date, of this work, the sum of $200,000, and there are claims pending amounting to $61,000. The contractor was Mr. W. J. Poupore. He got this contract without tenders, there is no traffic now upon the canal, the lock is not being used, the work is entirely useless, and Mr. Poupore is Gov- ernment canadidate in the county of Pontia-c. The Langevln block cost, in extras, as much as the whole original estimate. The St. Charles branch of the Intercoiou- lal was estimated to cost $136,000. Before the Government got through with it, they had spent on tlie work, $1,723,000, and there are claims against the Government amount- ing to $37,719 more. This railway is four- teen miles long, and runs out from Point L6vls. The Galops channel in the tic. Lawrence is another evidence of the incapacity of this Administration, if not of their corruption . There was a contract let for the improve- ment of this channel in 1879 by the Secre- tarv of State, then Minister of Railways and Canals (Sir Charles Tupper). It was let to Mr. Denis O'Brien for $239,750, four- teen-foot navigation. O'Brien withdrew and Davis & Sons got the contract at an advance. They got it at $306,600. They assigned to Gilbert & Son, who were sub- sequently required to make it to 17-foot navigation. Their contract bound them to complete this work l)y 1881. It WJis re- ported to be complete in 1888, and was taken over by the department, and the de- partmental report states that the channel Is open for navigation. 200 feet wide, 3,300 feet long, straight, and from 16% to 17 foot navigation. In 1894, the Minister of Rail- ways said it was not being used, that $446,- 500 had been spent upon it and that there wore claims against the department amount- ing to $130,000 more In connection with this work, besides tho rbousauds of du.liurrs «ptut in surveys, &c. And to-day the old Routh channel is still being preferred to this straight, deep, wide Galops channel, which has cost the country so dear. THE CURRAN BRIDGES. Sir, the latest evidence of Incapacity, If not corruption, that we have In the Depart- ment of Railways and Canals, is in con- nection with the construction of a public work, of which a few people in this country may have heard— the Curran Bridge, in the city of Montreal. It was decided to construct two bridges there, at Wellington Street, one for road traffic and apother for the Grand Trunk Railway to cross thQ Lachine Canal. This work has resulted in the loss of some hundreds of tliousands of dollors to the peo- ple. Parliament was told that the total cost would be $170,000, and that this was cf u- sldered to be an excess estimate. Parlia- ment was later told that an additional sum of .$40,000 would be required for a 20-foot navigation. This raised the highest esti- mate made by hon. gentlemen opposite themselves to $210,000. The amount which they have actually paid to date is $394.- 000. and there are about $60,000 still un- paid. The superstructure of these works was built by contract at a contract price ; the work on' the substructure— the piers, &c., — wab done by days' labour, by men fur- nished by Ml-. St. Louis ; and in the investi- gation, it was shown that Mr. St. Louis said he gave $1,1500 to the legal partner of 'the Hon. Mr. Ouimet, the Minister of Public Works, for the Vaudreuil election. These facts you will fi ' at pa-je 344 of the blue- booic containiii the evidence before the commission. >fter some $14,000 had been paid to St. i.ouis, Mr. Schreiher the chief engineer became suspicious that all was not right and on the 25th April, he wrote to the Minister as follows :— Dear Mr. Haggart,— As I mentioned to you, I was not a little startled upon receiving from Mr. Parent the ijay-rolls and accounts for the month of Maroh in connection with the "Welling- ton Street bridges, which summed up an enor- mou;= sum. • * ♦ * * Mr. Parent explains that the excess of expenditure Is due to the large amount of ice which had to toe cut up and carried away ; to the frozen condition of the excavation, to the breaking away of the coffer- dam on two occasions, to the solid frozen condi- tion of the crib and other obstructions which had to be removed, and, as I understand him to say, to political interference. The Minister should have immediately order- ed an investigation, and in the meantime, have stopped all payments to St. Louis. But he did not. On the 10th of May the ch'ef engineer wrote again to the Minister urging that a commission of inquiry should l>e issued. On the 11th May, the day after this letter was written, $8,393 was paid to this man suspected o' fraud. On the 17th of May a commission of inquiry was issued on tlie grounds that frauds had been commiiled. On the 27th May, ten days after the issue of that commission $86,000 was paid over, 29 anel, which i. iclty, If not he Depart- is in cop- 3f a public :hls country idge, In the to construct I Street, one ' the Grand !hine Canal. OSS of some i to the peo- le total cost is was cf u- ite. Parlla- lltlonal sum or a 20-foot ila-hest cstl- en opposite lount which Lte is $394.- 000 still un- these worlis tract price ; le piers, &c., )y men fur- the investi- t. Louis said rtner of 'the r of Public !tlon. These of the blue- nce before ^14,000 had nhreiber the is that all h April, he s :— loned to you, eceivlng from ounts for the 1 the Welling- 1 up an enor- Mr. Parent ture la due to I to DB cut up indltion of the of the coffer- ; frozen condi- ona which had id him to say, liately order- e meantime, St. Louis. •f May the the Minister [Quiry should day after this paid to tills 17th of May ssuod on the 1 commilted. ter the issue IS paid over, and on the 6th June, $39,000 more was paid o? a total of $105,000 paid to this man after ] a committee of Investigation had l>een ap- nointed by the Government to examine into these stupendous frauds. Sir. there is no a business man in all Canada who would be ffuUty of such utter mismanagement of Ws owniffalrs. The cause of the enormous amount which the pay-rolls an^ a<^^^"i^f^/^^ March totalled up is said by Mr. Parent to be the removal of ice and frozen earth and other obstructions, all of which was includ- ed in the original estimate of cost,-fl^nd hP adds, "political Interference." This " political Interference " has cost the coun- try thus far $184,000 and, accordmg to the Judgment recently given will cost it some $60,000 n.ore. Sir, we wilMeave the countiT to judL-e whether or not these losses are due to the incapacity of the Minister The court of inquiry and the Committee of Public Accounts between them showed the followlnr facts :-that the Government paid to contractor St. Louis : $4 a day for a foreman. $6 a day for a foreman for night or overtime $8 a day for a foreman on Sunday. ?13 a day for a foreman on Sunday overtime. $5 a day" for team. $10 a day for team on Suna&,y. $2.50 a day 'or derrick. $3 75 a day for derrick for overtime. $7.50 a day for derrick for overtime on Sunday. As an hon. gentleman remarked it must have been a very sensitive and religiously inclined derrick to require three days pay for one day's work or. Sunday : St Louis put on all the men he wished and ^Vere ^'ret^OO men on the works at one time. There were many idle. No Government timekeeper. No regular count. No Government foreman. No Government supervision. No Governmeut record of men or materials. No Government classification of labour. Unskilled labour was paid for as skilled labour. There was no public tenders for timber. Inferior timber was supplied. ,„„,„„ Carters' delivery- tickets for I'^mber are m Using. There were no checks as to quality of timber and lumber supplied. Large quantities are missing. New timber was burnt as firewood, carted away '"'Government teams had io haul lumber that, the contractor was to deliver. $39 896 was raid for $6,000 worth of stone- ''"$16"7^i5 was paid for $3,000 worth of stonecut- tlne on another part of the work. sf one was hauled by team 20 miles along the raUway running from the quarry to ^he ^of/-^^^ The Government was warned all along of tne frauds but allowed them to continue, and paid ^'^Ue^the work was%ompleted the Government i-i'i^.?..i°?.?*f!ll''.rJ.'i:rtKovernmentpald St! "louIs" a balance of $105,000 for wages on au account that the chief engineer discredited anfl. would not certify to. ,_„„„ The coramlHBlon unanimously reported Incom- petence, extravagance and fraud. The people's money was lost. No one has been held responsible. Sir wherever the probe has been applied, since 18' tl. it has drawn forth corruption, and yet so dead Is the conscience of noii. gentlemen opposite that they immediately whitewashed tho culprits whan proven guilty of these political crimes. Of one of them who was proven guilty, this statement was made, that if his skirts were not quite clean, they were clean enough to ensure his protection in this House. Hir I do not think It Is safe to entrust hon gentlemen opposite with the expenditure of vast sums of money. They have not proven themselves to be good trustees. They must be turned out, boodling must be stopped. Even if they have the, will, they have lost the power to stop this reign of corruption. They must give way to men who are de- termined to put down wrong-doing and the waste of the people's money, men -v\'ho be- lieve that wrong-doing in public aflfaii-s Is as indefensible as wrong-doing in private concerns. 4 —DEMANDS STRICTEST ECONOMY— DE- CREASED EXPENDITURE. We cannot but view with alarm the large Increase of the public debt and of the con- trollable annual expenditure of the Dominion and the consequent undue taxaUon of the people under the governments that have been contlnu- ouslv m power since 1878, and we demand the strictest economy in the administration cf the government of the country. PROMISES OP REDUCTION. Sir, in 1878. the net debt was $140,3^,- 069 91 ; in 1881 It had risen to $15o,395,780. Sir' Leonard Tilley, in delivering his Bud- get speech in 1882, declared that it would be necessary still turther to Increase this debt to provide for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and certain public works. He said that $48,000,000 would \>« jequired for these purposes, and that the debt would then be $203,379,680. He promised distinctly that there would be thereafter no further inSease of the public debt, but that In- stead, the debt would be rapidly decreased He even gave us the particulars of that decrease, and stated that there would be a s\n-plus in 1882 of $4 500.000; another In 1883 of $3,000,000 ; and a surplus of $1,000,- 000 a year for the next seven years all of which "would be applied to the reduction of our debt. He promised to provide a sink- ing fund amounting to $1,500,000 a year, and stated that by 1890 the surplus and the sinking fund wuuld together reduce the net debt to $175,000,000. He went f«f«?«^' ^nd declared that between 1882 and 1890, 75 million acres of our Crown lands in the """i»,_„^^ TO'ft'.ild be sold at an average- 30 price of $1 Rn acre, and that this sum of $75,000,000 would all be applied towards the reduction of our debt. Here are his words : Then our debt would only be £.bout ?100,000,- 000 Instead of $175,000,000, or less than ?20 per bead. In 1890, the net debt was $237,500,000 or nearly $49 per head. It has long passed the $50 limit. Speaking during the same de- bate, the present Secretary of State (Sir Charles Tupper) endorsed Sir Leonard Tilley's calculation. Let me recall to the House the very words he uttered : When the great Canadian Pacific Railway Is completed and every dollar of expenditure is provided for, Including canal expenditure and everything else, the debt will only be $203,000,- 000, and the surpluses with the sinking funds up to 1890 will bring the debt down to ?175,000,- 000. He also said Sir Leonard TlUey's calculation to realize $75,000,000 by sale of lands in the North-west, was beyond question. Said he : " No hon. gentleman, I am sure, wPi venture to dispute it." Had any doubting Thomas dared to rise in the House and dispute the hon. gentleman, the finger of scorn would bave been pointed at him, and he would have been charged Avith disloyalty to his country for having doubted their ability to dispose of 75 million acres of land during those eight years. Alas for the hon. gentleman's cal- culations. This mighty prophet declared that the net debt of Canada would be re^ duced down to 100 million dollars, after that gi-eat national work had been provided for, but, Sir, we find the debt was $237,500,000 in 1890. This sagacious statesman, this far-see- ing man, this political prophet is the Aaron whom the despairing Israelites opposite hope will lead them out of the wilderness in which they have been wandering these five .rears without a leader. Why, Sir, they cannot get out of the wilderness. The elections will soon be on, and they c&nno*^ cross that Jordan. Every man of them will die in the wilderness, save two, Caleb and .Toshua, of the old guard. These two will cross alive ; because, Sir, they have visited the promised land laid out before them li this platform of the Liberal party, and they have returned to their friends with a true report. But our friends opposite have not believed that report, and hence they must surely die, politically, when these elections take place. MAGNITUDE OF NET PUB'-JC DEBT. Instead of being reduced, our debt has gone on increasing, and on 30th June last it amounted to $253,074,927. This is an enor- mous sum. Hon. gentlemen, surely, cannot be alive to its magnitude, or they would not so merrily roll it up. Let ma help them to realii^e it — »inii iier^ let nie say i lim sorry that the Minister of Agriculture is not pre- sent, because I have a little proposition to make to him. We coin no gold In Canada. If we were called upon to pay our national debt in coin, it must be paid off in silver. It would require 7,000 tons. If these were loaded on railway cars, there being 20 tons in each car, the train would be two miles and a half long. Our foreign creditors, I do not think, would want our silver, at all events not in sn h vast quantities, they might prefer to tak ■ cattle or grain. So the hon. Minister might extend the scope of the Government farms and begin to raise cattle and grain to pay off the national indebtedness. Our cred- itors might prefer to take payment in cattle alone. He would require to raise 10,000,000 head at present prices. This is a large num- ber. Sir, the Minister of Agriculture, with his limited knowledge of agriculture, may never have seen a herd so vast as this— neither have I. But I will, if possible, help liim to realize how vast this herd would be. We will imagine that he has these cattle ready for market. I find it would require a field containing 5,000 acres to hold them, and they would be packed pretty closely then. We will suppose the Minister stationed at the gate of the field to let the cattle out, one by one, to water, and we will suppose that six seconds were occupied in each animal passing through. The Minister would re- quire to remain there ten hours a day for five years before the last unhappy beast got out for a drink. Supposing he had them ready to march to market and had them arranged in procession, eight abreast. He would have a procession which would reach from Vancouver to Halifax, and for hun- dreds of miles beyond. We will suppose, however, that our credi- tors prefer wheat, and will take iii at GO cents per bushel. When the Minister of Agriculture had produced enough wheat to pay our net debt, and had it loaded in cars, 20 tons in each, and the cars formed into a train— that train would reach fi"om Van- couver to Halifax, and five or six hundred miles beyond. INCREASE UNDER MACKENZIE. The member for South Ontario (M •. Smith) I dwelt vigorously on the increase of the i national debt under the Mackenzie regime. It is quite true that the debt increased dur- ing those five years. The increase In 1874 was $8,476,502 ; in 1875, $7,083,413 ; 1876, $8,543,136 ; 1877, $8,083,794 ; 1878, $7,126,- 670, or, altogether, .$40,513,608. Why this increase ? Every dollar was required to fulfil obligations entered into by the pre- ceding Government, to which the honour of the country was pledged. They had to be carried out, and they were carried out wisely and well, and without scandal. What were those engagements ? 1 will give the House the words of Sir Leonard Tilley in 1873. He saiii * We are entering upon new and increased en- gagements involving a very large sum of money. 31 We are entering upon work— we have already done so-which will require a large Increase of our d^^bt • ♦ ♦ • We have $10,000,- 000 to spend on the Intercolonial Railway. W< have S30,000.000 for the Canadian Pacific Railway and the canal system which has been accepted by the Government will involve an expend ture of S^O 000 000 These are Berloua mutters Inas- much 'as 'they add $60,000,000 to oar existing debt. They had already entered on the work la connection with the Intercolonial Railway, the Canadian Pacific Railway and the canal eystetn which had been accepted, and it was In carrying out those worlis that the Mac- kenzie Government added to the national debt ; but they spent upon them only forty miUions and a half, instead of sixty millions, which Sir Leonard Tilley said those works would add to the national debt. DEFICITS UNDER MACKENZIE. Hon. gentlemen opposite deplored the deficit that occurred during the Mackenzie Admini- stration ; they called that an era of deficits. The Secretary of State has expressed strong opinions on deficits generally. His opinion was uttered in 1878. Speaking in reply to the then Finance Minister, he said ■ What does he (Sir Richard Cartwrlght) tell the House? He tells the House =0^ that he does not propose to submit any m-^asure hy which this great calamity, this great . disaster, this ruin to the credit of the country, shall be averted, al- though he shows that .n the 10th »« this month (February, 1878), he has a deficit of $617,610. This may not have been a blue-ruin speech on the part of the hon. gentleman, but cer- tainly it was red ruin— disaster, calamity and i-uin to the credit of the country. The hon. gentleman thus described the deficit, whicli amounted to $617,010. We are aware that he possesses a very large v-x-abulary. but what has he to say of a deficit of $4,154,000 which the Public Accounts showed occurred last -ear ? In that era of deficits, covering 1876, 1877 and 1878. we find that they aggre- gated $4,489,000, about equal to the single deficit which occurred last year. Let it oe remtmbered, also, that those deficits iinder the Mackenzie Administration occurred un- der a low tariff, and were caused by lo89 of revenue, owing largely to the shrink- age in value of goods imported. The de- ficits under the Pi'<^«ent Government oc- cur under high duties, under duties levied largely in the form of specific duties, a sys tern which, it was said, would for ever re- 'Z.anj chance of future Jef^^l'^g^ ^^« customs receipts fell from $14.3xo,19/ m 5873-74 to $12,900,000 in 1879, a deci;ease of SI 4() 000. Why this falling ofl' ? We have heard inu'«h of the hard times during the Mackenzie Administration and it was snid that the volume of imports was largelv diminished at that time. Nothing of K^rt .occurred.^^ The v^olnme ofjmports Sed ''and "^Sr-in '1878 ^ anT 1879, as many yards of cloth, as much haid- ware and cutlery, as much clothing and food, per hef d, as in 1873. _ The loss of revenue and consequent deficit Is no evi- dence whatever of hard times prevailing during that period. It was owing to iha great decrease in the value of the com- modities being imported In ^"pnort of this. I will give as my evidence, the wotds of Sir Leonard Tilley, who, speaking !u 1879, in support of the policy of specific duties, said : It Is estobllshed by comparative statements that the goods imported into the Dominion have decreased In value to the exte. i; of from 33% per cent to 40 per cent since 1873. To leave no one in doubt as to the effect of this shrinkage in value on the revenue, he explains : Twenty-five per cent in value will not now bring more than 15 per cent did In 1873. And he gives as an example, the value of cloth. He says : In 1873 100 yards of cloth at $1 a yard would produce $15 of revenue. The same cloth Is worth GO cents per yard now (1878), and it would re- quire a tariff of 25 per cent to produce the same amount of revenue. And he adds : The volume of importa has not been diminished. DEBT AND EXPENDITURE INCREASING FOUR TIMES FASTER THAN OUR POPULATION. The increase of our dt^t Is out of all pro- , portion to the increase of population. If our debt had increased only in the ratio of the increase of population, there would not be so much cause for alarm, but. Sir, from 1881 to 1891, our population increased 11 -Ob per cent, saj 12 per cent, while our taxa- tion, by customs, increased 27 per cent, our expenditure increased 42 per cent, and our debt increased 53 per cent. Sir, there was a large increase of controllable ex- penditure. The population from 1878 to 1895 increased, I believe, about 25 per cent —I think that is a fair statement of the In- crease of the population between 1878 and 1895. During this period the following in- creases in our expenditure occurred :— The expenditure in Civil Government increased 70 per cent ; the expenditure on Public Works (departmental) increased 85 per cent ; the expenditure on Mounted Police in- creased 90 per cent; the expenditure on Excise increased 100 per cent ; the expendi- i tuie on Indians increased 140 per cent ; I the expenditure on Arts, Agriculture and sm- 1 tistics Increased 150 per cent ; the expendi- ture on Militia and Defence increased 150 per cent ; the expenditure on Superannua- tion Increased 150 per cent ; the expendi- ture on Quarantine increased 280 per cent ; the expenditure on Fisheries increased 400 per cent ; and the exyeudituiu on cus 32 North-west TerrltorJea Government Increas- cent. I will give the Items, ns follows, nnd cfl 1.r>()0 per cent. Sir, the population in- hon. (gentleman can figure out the por- creased, during this period, only 25 per centages for themselves :— EXPENDITURE, CONSOLIDATED FUND, 1878 AND 1805. 1878. Interest on Public Dolit Charges on the DeV)t, Proniiuinn, &c. Administration of Justice. Arts, Agriculture and .Statistics Civil Government Fisheries Immigration Indi Legislation Mail a'ld Steamship Subsidies. Post Office Militia and Z^efcnee Mounted Police North-west Government IVmitentiaries Public Works Public Works (Departmental). Superann\iation Customs Administration , Excise Expenditure Railways and Canals Totals 7,048,88.3 18!l,5<>6 .'>64,fl20 i»:i,3(J5 82H,3«!) ! 13, 262 1,54,351 421,503 018,035 257.634 1,724,938 018,136 334,748 18,19!) .308,101 997,409 97,123 10fi,588 714,527 215,024 2,.375,438 1895. Increane. 10,400,294 278,949 755,082 210,740 1,422,227 443,822 195,052 955,403 941,670 513,208 3,593,047 1,574,013 040,125 303,020 449,599 1,742,310 151,098 265,385 917,03'^ 471,804 3,704,120 17,774,089 ' 30,009,638 .3,417,411 89,383 190,762 124,375 ,598,858 350,500 41,301 5.33,900 323,5.35 255,734 1,808.709 955,877 311,377 285,427 141,498 744,847 54,575 158,797 203,105 250,840 1,328,088 12,235,549 These items totalled, In 1878, $17,774,089, and in 1805 they amounted to $30,009,038, an increase of $12,235,549, or over 60 per cent increase. The total expenditure on . Consolidated Fund amounted to $23,503,158 in 1878, and to $38,182,005 in 1895, an in crease of $14,628,847, or about 60 per cent increase in these eighteen years ; while the population only increased 25 per cent. THE SUPERANNUATION FUND. I have said the Superannuation expen- diture increased from $106,588 in 1878 to $265,385 in 1895. The Superannuation Act was passed in 1871 when Sir Francis Hincks was Minister of Finance in the Gov- ernment of Sir John A. Macdonald. Its ob- jects were to keep back a portion of the salaries of all civil servants, to form a fund out of which allowances would be made to members of the Civil Service who were dis- abled by ill-health or incapacitated by old age, and were placed on the retired list. This Act provided that 4 per cent of all salaries of $600, and over, should be kept back, and that 2% per cent of all salaries under $600 should be re- tained. Had these percentages remained at that, with careful management and honest administration, the fund might have been self-sustalnlp? ; but, some few years later, when Sir Leonard Tilley was Finance Min- ister, the amount which the Civil Servants were required to pay was cut in half. Those receiving $600 salary, and over, paid 2 per cent of their salaries into the fund, and those receiving under $600 paid 1^4 pei" cent. But, Sir, while their contributions t(J the fund was cut in two, their claims upon that fund remained rs they were uefore. 1 Very soon after this change was made, the i !i mount paid oat to civil servants who had i been retired and ceased to render any ser- i vice whatever to the country, exceeded, I largely, the amount which they paid in each I and every year, and last year, the amount i which was paid in by the civil servants ' was $63,274.88, but the amount of pensions ! paid out was $265,385.77. The people of ; this country paid the difference, amounting , to $202,110.89. Sir, the following is a state- 1 ment of the amounts which were paid into ' the fund each year since 1871, and the \ amount paid out in superannuation allow- ances during the same period : SUPERANNUATION FUND. Receipts. $ cts. 49,470 50 53,213 80 Expenditure % cts. 12,880 49 38,842 81 Year. 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 Reoelpta. I cts. 54,757 30 34,620 18 36,678 71 38,476 00 40.890 26 41,856 62 41,969 20 Bxpenditure of service and the total amount paid oat to date : 1880 43,531 80 logi 44,995 80 ' ■ 46,426 39 46,372 03 51,882 21 52,701 33 57,075 43 62,600 96 62,945 72 63,031 46 61,513 05 62,824 60 63,862 79 64,433 27 63,974 67 63,274 88 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1883 1894 1895 1 $ cts. 63,026 12 64,442 84 71,371 85 101,627 16 lCi,826 99 106,588 91 113.531 63 116,391 75 147,362 10 100,319 95 186,236 67 192,692 70 203,636 21 200,655 25 202,285 85 212,743 72 218,933 65 241,784 66 241,110 49 253,679 88 263,710 15 262,302 00 265,385 77 Paid In. Drew out. F. A. Hlmsworth Lindsay Russell .. J. B. Cherrlmau .. O. W. Wickateed . John Kldd J, M. Passon . W. R. Mingaye . J. Leaslle J. P. Rubldge ... ) 316 832 1,120 1,088 517 362 1.216 660 48 117,950 18,B98 19,369 21,418 21,895 26,180 30,572 32,247 31,679 Altogether these nine members of the Civil Service, now retired, paid In $6,048 and have drawn out up to date, $210,798. They have drawn out 37 times more than the amount they paid Into the fund while they were in the service. Sir, during this period the expenditure was $4 036 349.60, and the amount paid in $l,iSUA- Ss 96; a difference of $2,733,380.64, which represents the loss to the country m connec- tion with this fund. During this period of tweuty-flve years, for every dollar pald in three dollars has been paid out, and the difference between the receipts and the ex- penditure is growing greater every year For the last five years the difference is as one dollar paid in to four dollars paid out. Sir, this fund Is not fair to the Civil Servce. If a civil servant continues m the service until death, his heirs receive nothing whatever for the amount of money he has paid In. If, however, he is superannuated, he then begins to J^aw from this fund whatever sum he may be entitled to under the statute. Sir, the Civil Service is not very arduous. He must be a very sick man indeed who cannot discharge ?he duties demanded of him, and lie must be very old Indeed when he is ScfpaciLted by old age to discharge Sosfdulies. Sir, this fund ^ n;'f e an excuse by the Government for getting rid of civil servants whenever th-y choose When a Dlace is wanted for some chosen follower Sr f rleni then the fund Is charged with the superannuation of some "leml^er of the Civil Service to prov.de a place for him. Many of these civ 1 servants have been superanuu- ntPrt when voung in years and strong in Jeluh?heyarf living yet, and I hope they wm Tone continue to live as happy benefl- Z^ldT^t ?hrs f^nd. I have no desire to see r^h ffi fhf c?u^nV?B lepdP V?K S??ices of men so strong and healthy as Jholemen must be to have lived so long TUr mU^a^r Tmple cases^ show- \ J"\S amount paid in during the time G W W D-8 lUJ ' THE SYSTEM ABTJSHD. Men in good health are superannuated against their will, against their earnest pro- testation that they are not suffering from ill-health and are not Incapacitated by old age simply to make room for political simoorters. A case occurred not long since which lllustrateB the methods by which this is brought about I refer to the retirement of Mr. Vankoughnet, who was superannuated In 1893 at the age of fifty six years and while in perfectly good health and declaring himself to be sound in body and mind. The sole reason given by the Government for superannuating him was that his health was not good, that he had no longer the vigour of intellect once his, and tiiat he was unfit to discharge the duties of his office ; but it is known that their real reason for getting rid of him was to provide a position for Mr. Hayter Reed. Sir the true reason for the superannuation of Mr Vankoughnet Is acknowledged by the Minister. It was this, that he should make place for Mr. Hayter Reed. Taerefore, he was superannuated, and is now drawing $2,112 a year, doing nothing for it, out en- joying it in England, in perfect health and Vigour of intellect. There ar<^ a few other abuses of the super- annuation system, and I will allude to one or two, with your kind permission. One was in connection with Mr. Dansereau, a leading Conservative of the city of Montreal. Mr Dansereau desired the postmastership of Montreal, and Mr. Lamothe, who was post- master at that time, was superannuated ac- cordingly. This happened on 1st February, 1891 just on the eve of the general election. Well Mr. Lamothe had friends whom it was desirable to keep quiet, so eight years were added to his term of service, and he was sup- perannuated on a pension of $2,000 a year, 34 and Mr. Dansereau was made postmastor at a salary of $4,000 a year. So that theP^ two gentlemen receive out of the puDUC cheBt no less a sum than $6,000 a year. Mr. Robert WaUace was postmaster at Victoria, B.C. He strenuously resisted being Bupernnnuated. His health was all right and his Intellect likewise, but, unfortunately for him, his place was wanted for Mr. ShaKe- speare, then a member of this House. To quiet Mr. Wallace, eight years were added to his length of service, and he was duly sup- erannuated. After the eight years were ad- ded, ho was only then entitled to draw .$912 a year This was.considered too little to quiet Mr Wallace, and so Parliament is asked every session to vote $?.40 more to his super- annuation allowance, making It $1,150 a year which he receives, while Mr. Shakespeare Is made postmaster at Victoria at a salary of $2,000 a year. ,,, i There are many similar cases, but I wm ! only mention one more, the case of Mr. John; Tilton, Deputy Minister of Fisheries who | was superannuated .when only ' fl"y-flX« I years old, and who was also In the enjoy- 1 ment of vigorous health and sound Intel- Ipct He was pensioned, I suppose, on the gi^und that he was sick, feeble, or Incapa- 1 cltated on account of old age, and this | strong, healthy, vigorous man, ia the prime , of life, now receives $l,oaO per year and does j nothing In return. J These are some of the reasons why we condemn the superannuation eyftem of hon eentlemen opposite. I do not intend to go fntothS details of ever, item of the expend - ture of this Government. I have promised to be brief, and I Intend to be brief. I have Bhown that the total ^^^^^^^^IZlfmOim ernment has increased well upon $15,000,(.)00 r year since 1878, and that the Increase of our expenditure is over 60 per cent, against an increase in population, in these tfme eighteen years, of only 25 per cent. No ?ne who cares to think at all, will say hat this is safe or wise, and no one will believe that it Is not possible to effect large savings in this expenditure. No one in the country will deny that this must be done. So much for plank No. 4 of our platform. r -FOR HESPONSIBLB GOVBRNMBNT.-IN- DEPENDENCB OF PARLIAMENT. That the convention regrets that l>y^the action of XiBters and their sipporters In P^j"™*- m one ca86 in which serious charges were mada . against a Minister of the Crown. investigaUon was altogether refused, while in another case • the charges preferred were ^Ue'-ed and then re- ferred to a commission appointed HPon the ad- vice of the Ministry, contrary to the well set- Iled Practice of Parliament and this convention "^Z? it is the ancient and undoubted right of the House of Commons to Inquire into all mat- ters of public expenditure, and Into all charges nV J«nnnduct In office against Ministers of the Crown, and the reierence ol bUcu .^attc.o vj roval commissions created upon the advice of Ihe accSls at variance with the due respon- sibility of Ministers to the House of CommoM, and tend, to weaken the authority of the HoUM over the Executive Government, and this con ventlou afflrms that the powers of ,the PeoPle « representatives 'n this regard should on all fit- ting occasions bo upheld. There can be no mistaking the meaning of this olank 'n our platform. No admlnlstra- ion that intends to do right with the peo- pie's money, will fear to have the r acts in- vestigated in the full light of parliamentary iuaulry. The House of Commons la more than a mere echo of the Ministers of the I'rown. We are supposed to be in the enjoy- ment of responsible government here. The Slnisters can be ^^^^' 'l""^^- ,,^,f^'SZ I opposite choose, responsible to this House for their conduct. We are the representa- t vea of the people, their chosen trustees and t is througla us in this Parliament that the people of this country are governed and gov- ern It is our duty, then, to determine the 'Scy of the Administration. But this com- raittee of Parliament, this Government, slt- I ting behind closed doors, frames a policy, and then demands that we support It with- out question. A policy once adopted. Its ad- ministration is to be without Qnes ion No I member of this House must dare to rise In his place and attack the administration or de- ' Sand an investigation. If he does the investl- Sn 19 simply refused. The Government fJrget that they are not the dictators but the servants of the people, and accountable to them through their representatives here. They must give an account of their steward- BhlD to the people. If It be demanded. To shirk an open investigation leaves on the mind an ugly suspicion concerning the pe^sS. cha^d."^ The Ministers I should imagine would court open and above-board Inquiry Into all their acts. If they are In- nocent, they should be glad to make the fact man; f est to the people of Canada. 6 -THE LAND FOR THE SBTTLER-NOT FOR THE SPECULATOR. That in the c pinion of this convention the sales of public lands of the Dominion should be to actual settlers only, ard not to «Peculators, up- on reasonable terms of settlement and In such areas as can be reasonably occupied and culti- vated by the settler. Sir, I know something of what this country owes to the actual settler. I have Hyed foi many vears among them. I know all their struggles and their hardships, and I know the heroism they display in overcoming all the drawbacks. Incident to the life of the pioneer. There is no finer province in the Dominion than Ontario ; no state in the union can compare with it. And it was the early pioneers who made it what it is. Theirs were the lusty blows that transform- ed this wilderness into the smiling fertile farms that occupy our land. The wHder- I ness areas of our great west now contain the bulk ot our undeveiupea uaxurai ro- I sources. Immense wealth awaits there tne 35 advent of the settler. That land can only t)e made val^i^ble by the labour of the plo- j ueer. These men alone can lay broad and i deep the fouudations of our nations' great- | ness and wealth. The land grabber and the speculator are the natural enemies of the settler. Sir, it Is a sin against him | and against the nation to allow those land | speculators In the North-west to stand be- | tween him and the land he wants, j As matters stand to-day we find settlers tak- ing up homesteads In the North-west where every altem,''.te section Is held either by a railway company or by the Hudson's Bay Company. And there are these settlers all alone awaiting the coming of neighbours who are able to purchase these alternate lots. In other townships the settler llnds the whole of the lands ow 'ed by speculators called colonization societies. The few settlers who first go Into these townships purchase their lands on reason- able terms. But after a few have gone In, the price of land Is raised. This discourages further settlement, and so the pioneer finds himself tolling on. alone, out in the prairie "splendidly Isolated," surrounded with land which would make homes for many more. If only that land was made available to the actual settler, awaiting the coming of neighbours to help him by co- operation to build roads, support schools and maintain churches. Lonely, deprived of the society of his fellows, his children growing up without schools, he grows des- pondent ; and many of our settlers in the North-west with Its magnificent soil and splendid climate and with promise of great things to come, nevertheless, write home to friends In the old land so despondently as to dlseournge further immigration. The land should be sold to the actual i settler only and not to the ipeeulator, and then settlement would be rapid and continu- j ous. The colonization schemes of this Gov- 1 ernment In 1882 actually retarded the settle- 1 ment of the North-west. Under the Order i in Council of that year some 2,295 townships < were sold on terms of credit to these colo- i nizatlon societies as they were called. But >. they were found to discourage settlement : rather than to encourage It, and, to-day, j the country Is suffering from the results of , that mistaken policy. In 1882 a motion de- i daring the land policy of the Liberals to be the land for the actual settler und not for the speculator was moved in this House and was defeated on a straight party vote. Again on the 7th of June, 1894, a similar motion was moved and again it was defeat- ed by the Government majority. Sir, it would be wiser far to encourage dense and continuous settlement, and not to spread our population over vast areas where co-opera- tion amongst the settlers is practically Im- possible. The practice of granting large w^^vc. «f land to railway companies that have built branch lines as feeders lo lUe S line is not in the public Interest. Let 1 the people upon these lands, and f «/ 7^^ settle the country gradually, and these teea ?rg would speedily be constructed to carnj the traffic cheated by the people who had ione iS on the land. Sir, the railway oom- KeirtS reaUze on the hinds, sell them out fo those who apply first. '^P^r^ji^^f !,,K2 them up and hold them for higher prices and in this way retard «ct««"»«° „./" ^gJ end the railway company suffers Injury by keening the people out of the country. In iS t£e MlilatL of the Interior declared that 44,000,()<)0 acres were held by tne ran way companies. MISMANAQHMB3NT AND L083. mnin to be a., 1 to the reduction of the mibUc debt 'i Dominion lands cost, up fo^the S'jaly, 894, *5,288 995 and h^ re- ceipts from land sales «P,to that time were «i «49 905 Instead of having a profit or KSS. th. --r^^"^?c'tu"al?oL'^^"o"the Ion lands resulted in an actual lose to xne treasury of $3,328,000. THE TIMBER POLICY. T.e ttabcr policy »'^^\"' ^ «°7Th"h \ Government, at a nominal ground rent of $5 peTsquare mile. It was shown by the r^ turns that 850 square miles of timber naa been allotted to seventeen members of this House some of whom are still here. lOe scaSl which followed the e^P«f ^«^^S of these deals resulted In driving J. C. RyKePt ' from public life. Altogether some 1,600 i=«us-trf J^^^^?^l i=^s^^^sri?sstS should be adopled. This l^^omU>ny.^^^- Fpftted bv the Government majority. Later, fn 1891 the Liberals here again con- demned the policy of the Government in this respect when the hon. member for North Norfolk (Mr. Charlton) moved that fhe?e limits should be disposed of by public niiction This also was defeated. Sir, Sder the Ontario system of selling timber Smits we find that in 1892 a bonus averag- ng fe,657.18 per square mile was received That sale was of 633 square miles and on that the government received a_bonus^ ^a eratuity. oue uiijint cau it, ^i f~:f"vC i«" $1,000,000 more than the cost of the Parlla- 86 ment buildings of Toronto. The Bame num- ber of square nalles sold unde" the Dominion plan would have brought f3,165. So the ac- count would stand thus :~-Doralnlon method, receipts, $a,lHr> ; proviucial Bovernment method, $2,135,000, for the same area of land. Then again the aJomlnlon timber lands were sold subject to dues of 75 cents per thousand feet, board measure. Pro- vlncal timber limits were sold subject to the dues, amounting to $1.25 per thou- sand feet board m.^sure. Some of those limits have fallen back Into the hands of the Ooverninent, because of the utter fail- ure of the Government In attracting settlers to the North-west, and so providing a mar- ket for the timber which they had hoped to cut on those limits. 7 —OPPOSE THE DOMINION FRANCHISE ACT, "favour the provincial FRANCHISE. That the Franchlae Act alnco its Introduction has caused the Dominion treasury over a million of dol!:...: bcBldes entailing a heavy expenditure to both political parties ; That each revision Involves an additional ex- penditure of a further quarter of a million ; That this expenditure has prevented an annual revision, as originally Intended, in the absence of which young voters entitled to the franchise have, in numerous instances, been prevented from exercising their natural rights ; prlved of the right to say what Govern- ment shall be In power, of the right to fouderan, IE tl.ey feel so disposed, the actions of the Qovevnment which Is In power. In the election of ISOl It '« estimated that between fiO.OOo' and 70,000 young men were disfranchised under that Act. The Keneral .'lections which will now soon occur will be held on lists which were revised In 1894. Sir It Is In the highest degree Importnnt to 'hon. gentlemen opposite not to allow the young men of Canada to vote. I believe that If they enfranchised the young men of Canada, they v-iuld arise iind hurl from power the men who have so long betrayed the Interests of this country. The lilberals gave the most determined op- position to this Franchise Act In 1885. aiid throughout the longest session ever held In this building, they fought against that Act • and were It not for the stand they then' took, great ns are the IniaiHtlos now existing In that Act. still greater Iniquities wmild be found in It. Sir, this ex- pensive Act, this unworkable Act, resulting In defective lists, was put upon the^ statute- book of this country In direct defiance of the convictions of many hon. gentlemen op- posite. I am sure that many of thcTn have always been sincerely sorry that Jbat sta- tute ever found Its way among the laws terclslng their natural rignts , »., ,- nf Aiir conntrv That It has failed to secure uniformity, which <^\<*";_^^".'{:pi^ men. I believe the late Sir was the principal reason assigned for Its Intro- 1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^Z' one. and we know that ^"ThaTA has produced gross abuses by partisan I he earnestly desired Its abolition, and^ revising barristers appointed by the Government turn, practically, to^the^franchlse^or^tne^ pro ;rces^' I wnrread what he saM In June. 1894, when he Introduced his Bill . Thl question upon ^hK^^ ^o much difference has arisen In the past as to the basis of the to the provincial francn.se. , franchise shall be adJuBtedb ,^^^^ ^he^ran^ ., nhiao of the several provinces. ... _ Sir, there are but few hon. gentlemen op- 1 S^ltg number of differences which exist between ii._ u^ ,ii„„....nr. -.iruu lid In niiT lipfir+v ., ■_..-i <..«T.nhtao,D nTid thfl Domimon iran- of the day ; ^ ^, That its provisions are less liberal than those already existing In many provinces of the Domin- ion, and that, in the opinion of this convention, the Act should be repealed, and we should revert to the provincial franchise. poslte who disagree with us In our hearty condemnation of this Franchise Act, If they would speak 'he. secret of their souls. It is weary work to revise the lists under this Act, and it is costly work, as hon. gentle- men on both sides well know. Sir, the National Policy and the gerry- mander, plus human devices, saved the Gov- ernment from defeat In 1882. But the pop- ular conscience was aroused against the ger- rymander, and people began to question the wisdom of the National Policy, and in 1885 the Government began to fear de- feat in the general elections which they knew must take place in 1887. So to be sure of victory, in spite of the will of the people. It occurred to them to prepare their own lists, to appoint officials of their own, so as to make these lists in such a way as to limit as much as possible the right to vote to their own political friends. This was the object of their Franch se Act of i.oap. The elections nre now held on lists sometimes two, sometimes three, years oi-'. There are thousands of young men whose names do not appear upon the lists upon which the elections are held. They are de- tbe%?o^cial franchises and the pominlon fran- chise as establi'.hed by our own Act, are so few as not to be worth the contest and the expenses which are Involved In keeping them up. and the rdoptlon of a general system which will apply both to the local and Dominion legislatures, has recommendations as regards simplicity and facili- ties for economy, which cannot exist under a dual system such as we have been keeping up for the past few years. ^ , ■ v« Also It is obviously one of the most desirable features in connection with any system ol fran- chise, and to my mind an essential feature, that the .^vstem to be adopted will be such that it can be put into operation every year. That was Sir John Thompson's view, but Ills Bill never passed. The hon. gentlemen who now form the present Administration, prefer the present law ; they were opposed to the changes suggested by Sir John Thompson, and they are to-day In favour of the Franchise Act, knowing it to be m their Interest. - . _ . ...nn, mTjrn /-lTnTJT>VM- A Mr)mn — C-OTTNTY '°' ^UNDARIBs'sHoijLD BE PRESERVED. That by the Gerrymander Acts, the electoral divisions for the return of members to the House . 37 ot Oommont hav« bwn lo in»d« m to Pf'^^t • fair oxprwiilon of the opinion of th« co"«»t'T " the general eleotlona. and to aacur. to the party DOW in power a atrength out of all Proportion greater than the number of electora •uPPO'Vh,! them would warrant. To put an end to t* • abuse, to make the Houae of Couimons a lasr exponent of public opinion, and to Preaerve the historic continuity of counties, It Is d««lrabl« that In the formation of electoral divisions, county bounJartes should be preserved, "•*,*»>« in no case parts of different counties should be put In one electoral division, air the trerrymander occurred Bomewhu.t fu^'thlB wfyT under th. BritlBh North America Act the province of Q "«»««* entitled to send Blxty-tlve memberH to thlB House. The population of Quebec when divided by slxtv-tive, gives the unj* f/ [f: presentatlon, the number of Persons tntlUcd to send a representative here. The population of each province, jjlvlded by the unit gives the number of members that each province is entitled to send to this Parliament \/hfin the census is taken, it will show that some f ov^cefc have grown in regard to population more than others, and thus arises the necesH ity of a 1 "distribution of the seats The proper method of doing this would be to adhere to the county boundaries, and when it is necessary to Increase the representation of ft orovlnce, to do It by sub-dividing some ?ou^n^;,ke4plng within the county bound- ary lines, and, at the eamf time, keeping as close as possible to the unit The plan edopted by hon. gentlemen oppo- site openly and above-board, Is to arrange ?he constituencies so as to Increase their Phances at the polls. Take a strong Liberal coSStv surrounded by weak Conservative SXtftueSs. The ^Liberal county -aj have a few townships with Conservative malorftles and the Conservative counties Sav have a few townships with Liberal SoritS. The Conservative townships S-e detoched from the Liberal county and dfstribSeramong, perhaps several Conser^ A, ^+1^0 ThP Liberal townships (;..*rprnment carved up constltnenHei, r^ gar^Herof county boundaries or community '^^thrJedlstrlbutlon of 1882 «»e Govern, nient departed radically from the Principle, laid down by their chieftain Si^j^'b^^^: Sir John A. Macdonald said : With respect to the rural co?«tlt"«f«^'?!;^^^ Ontario should be represented, and If ij Moomes farie enough, divide It into ridings ; that prin- otofe Ts carried out In the suggestions • ' but It U obvious that there Is a great advantage In having counties elect men whom they know, our municipal system gives an admirable oppor- tunity to constituencies to select men 'or their deserts We all know the process which haPPUy K^s on In western Ontario. A young ma" »°.VH® Sty commences his public »|fby being elect- cA hv the neighbours who know him lo mo township councfl If he shows himself possessed rrdmSiratlve ability he la made a^-je or .loniifv rAnve of bis township. He oecomon • member of the county council, and as his experl. e fee increases and his character and ability be- come known, he U Belected by his PeoP « "^^^^'^ representative In Parliament It »8, I thmk^ a erand system that the people of Canada snouia nave the opportunity of choosing for Pomical SromoUon ?he men la ^hon. theV have ^o^t con^ fldence and of whose abilities they are luiy Msured All that great advantage Is lost by cuttlngoff a portion of two separate counties aiid addlng\hem together for electoral P«rposes only. Those portions so cut off have no oo?»f ""^ »?,*«T: oat • thev do not meet together and they have no common teeung, except that once »n Ave year, they go to the polls in their own township to vote fo? a man who may be known In one section In/ not In another This tends toward the Intro- ^^^^nXl ^^ rthans °^u'cS distrlbutea amou«, Per^ps several Conser^ r^/^^J^a^lLSctr ^r So Vh^: as much vative counties. The Liberal townships apy Per«°°*iro„j^ny point of view, It Is advisable I?e detached from the Conservative counties, i ^^P**fo\°ntes should refuse men whom they do and added to the Liberal county. This is «iat ^"^^^^^^ ^^^^ the representation Is n- what is cal ed " hiving the Grits," and by ""e^sSt should be by subdividing the counties the deal the chances of the Government in i^^ rtdltgs. seveml counties are increased. This has ..._.._- .„ ^„„ ..n+ipmen several counties are increaBt-a. j~^-<= contributed enormously to the maintenance of the Government in office. If we add up the votes cast for the Gov- ernment candidates in the province of On^ tario, allowing for the maJoFi*i^« ^^ .^^JL constituencies at the gfP/'f ^ «1^^"°°',S* ing Government candidates ^y acclama tlon, and allowing where any triangular contest occurred the same Government ma- lonty as was obtained In the preceding Son we find very little difference in the voting strength of the two parties, even after the bl-electlons ; yet so beautifully does the i-t„L„„S;" ^Xvi that the Government is able'to'count fifty-six followers as agaia«t thlrtv-slx Opposition members from this provfn?e To bring about this result, the I commend these views to hon. gentlemen opposite. 9 -THE SBNATB DBFEOTIVB-AMBND THE ». inci o CONSTITUTION. The present constitution of the Senate Is in- consistent with the federal principle in our qvstem of government, and is In other respecw defective al It makes the Senate Independent of the people and uncontrolled by the Public opin- ion nf the country, and should be so amended as lo bring It into harmony with the principles of popular government. The pxnerience of twenty-eight years hasde- ^.°® i^?!!!f°K;f ih« Canadian Senate, under thrnresent mode of appointment, is an ut- teriy useless, though very expensive, part of 38 «iir lejrislative machinery. It Is an utter S-^nate are made by t»^e ^rowu. * know that they are made by the partyjn ti,o » fJlohG " newspaper, we were able to 2Lv?he effects of prohibition 'n the dlffer- ont Dordonrof the United States, where It was'la^ The one fact whlch^was^^ clearly S'S «XK5.S« SFsiSfSSS ™ ^T'^^ade ara reward forparty services, fnd ^?e given to candidates because they ^;?e'blen defeated in contesting some con^ r'-"^^Lt?he\raVdes'ln ?S"Sa"e Z fll^^^ hv the party °n power from among S SJity frWs. and that, to-day the their pavty xnc , ^.„„f.apntative body, STa^'opuSr desire for this reform was nSfessary to its successful enforcement and S?e such desire was lacking, prohibition Sf fouSd to be a mlso- ett«^*«Jgend a supporter of Parliamentary term to sena ^^ ^^^ ^p. tbe Government tban a mem position. ,. ^„„„ tell in favour •« tbe "^AU tbese tbings tell i ^ ^^ Government candidate, au ^^ ^^^^^ to say tbat ^^^f^^.^nes carried away by that men are at times ^^^ ^.^^ q. such arguments. ioeu, , ^^^^^^ de- ment bave tbe gang skiuea ^^^ ^^^ vices, to «f .J^Je'Sd S ^^PP^'f ""S Secretary of State, ana j^^nufacturers of tbe surplus fees of t^^ ^^^ campaign Association ^'.^b "Iceiy eug promise literature consisting of sonae ^^^ ^^ to pay $2 $5 o[„£ted iSrat^'^e the gang Andwltbthisillustrateau througb proceeds to get In Its bj^ the byways and the u^| ^^ the townshlps-the .afreets ana ^^ towns. TO bold a nding ^^sy for creased majority sboum » ^,eeQ i^Tfrlends the enemy -^^^^^^ by-elections ? their record i^ .tbe rt constltu- Since JanuaiT If - ^^S^g'ted. Two of these encies bave beeu contestea. ^^ ^^^ were Liberal constituencies ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ South Middlesex, ^^'^^^^.^^d Mr. Armstrong, deatb of our esteemed trlend Mr ^^^^^^^ Returned our stnlwait irien x ^^^^^^ with an increased ma|onty.^^^^^ ^^^ stltuency was ^J^^^JJ^^^' ^e all regretted, ^pnth of a friend wbom wc ^ ^ our ?he Hon. F«ix GeoMon. H retu ^^^ friend, the V^''^^^\^^\^r:ite the appeals county (Mr. Geoffrion^. de^I ^^ ^^^^ ^^ec- of the Minister of ^^Yo%ote to forget their tors wben tbey ( ame to voie ^^^ ISy but f -;r SiVblmi both t^^^^^^^ S'^.thev rr*f.^^i*S Con^Svatives. Of tnenclcs bad t>e«^° ^^Jipg Vcceeded In l^old- f|«l5SriSrtr^bt-lntbese LIBERAL VICTORIES. L-Islet, wbere my bo^ fn-^^f.-.^t^S put up 8Ucb^*„^^JL could equal; and Country besides ^^^f^X ^ost bitter op- against all odds-agalnst tne ^^^ ^ position and frantic offorts to ^ ^^ ^^^ a punishment for the reve ^ op- , political wrong-doing of bon^S ^^ ^g^^^ ^^^ lEfs?edTbtt Sn^tuS^yVm the Govern- ' ntdreull, in spite of ^t Louis, mone^^ in spite of the ^^^^^te for Provencber, In i" «P"^ ^fJ^SoSTor General's appeal to spite of the Solicitor^ ^^^^ the farmers to /ememoer Montreal- 191- ,^„ .rntfvwav of the great North- Winnipeg, tbe gateway oi ^^^ ^^^^.g west, rthe centte of its u ^^^ ^^^^^^^ which in the election or ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^. a supporter of tbe Gover ^^^^ ^^. ioritv of 509, spurned tne v^"v j^^^^ £ate?n the by-election af elected my ^^^^ friend wbo now represents WiP^^ ^9 Martin) with tbe bands^^emj^^^^ ^^ ^j^, Autigonish. Y^Spraler Sir John Thomp- death of the late ^^^^^^ J^\,eals made to son, resisted tbe patbetic JPy^^^^, ^f liis the electors to return a ^ i^ unhappily to finish out the term wb^cn ^^ did not survive to compiexe, ^^^^.^^^n ?o endorse the conduct and^a^^^ ^^ ?5o^^:mrbon.TrJ^nd;Mr. ^Mclsaac) wltb a -otr^ilM^^^ Government, the Governm^i ^^ 326 248 being changed to a maj against them. conservative ma- JacQues Cartier, wltb a ^^°^^^^,i^es bad, ,rity of 276, where the i.^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ja.cu"^"' ■;;"-- ,„ a.v,g QonserviiLivco , im-itv of 276, where tne v^u mem- ^^^- X ,„viorP the Government Montreal Centre wber| the ^^^^ ^^ ^ had a niajority of 1214,^^^^y^^^^^y^ majority of -^36. , J- na-^ Dominion, with great centre of trade ot tn^^ ,^^ ^^. Ss vast commercial invests a^^^ ^ mense manufacturing concern ^^,(.i,,,ed, ^ the Government ottbo day ^^^^^^ ' by electing my ^ll^^,^^ Vould bave no (Mr. McShane), tbat they ^ ^^jent ^ore of the ^vrong-dolng of thls^u ^^^^^^^_ 41 ag- IB In acles 'arte) this aud er op- im as f the m op- 91, he overn- noney, vVorks, tier, in )eal to bome itreal— t-ned a nember ority of t North- energy, elected r a ma- ant can- nay hon. jeg (Mr. of 429. by the , Thomp- made to r of his mhapplly refused aistration 1 to this ,c) with a ;nt of the ijority of :y of 226 mtive ma- ^tives had, late roem- ames than •oiled up a L,000, went aajority of lovernment lost by a ;uency, the liuion, -with md its im- irent against id decliu-ed, »nt member lid have no Government be adminis- utry. ers and Professional men^ all Jolnhigtog^^^^^ er in pronouncing througn J-"^ i""' „„t condemnation of the present Government. THE "MAIL" AND SIR CHARLES TUPPER, BART. 1 V n liiro hpfore I conclude to say a ^ Y''"^*^^ S,nt the hon. Secretary of Jss- word more about "\« """• mK„t bon. gen- . 1 •. resisted the pleadings of both 1 state (Sir Charles Tuppei). That '^ ^^^^ fhK will long be remembered by him. The hon. Secretary of State proceeded ^^^* Huron pi^ved the Govern, ^.t^ dread of the V^l^^S writs we^e issued and ness. , Atter ostentatiously assuming the cba-ct-^of an impart al l^^^^l^^^^%l,^on\mhe.fis^Aov to The hon. secretary of State proceeded . man people ^and^^tbe.^^ f-rs'Xcks o^ smmmmmfWMm Son terms which he felt so humiliating. , Canadian Liberals U. the Brmsh^P^^ ^^ What do hon. friends opposite intend to do | sp^racy to„«tn5ted „f tg- ^f maTfaf Jg vvuaL uu <„tonfl to imitate Mr. Uiaa- „„„.,.,„ ^„a the nature of hia au"_f»;.'". ^ „„win o hon. tnenas oppu»»>-^ T \1(^ Pind- •> r»n tiipv Intend to imitate Mr. Ulaa- '^''"^ \ ?'^t« hit They will hold on to ^^"°^ ■«« lon^ as ihey cL Here we are in power as long as tney ^"■"- . ^. jq our ihvArt BritlsQ insiii.ui,i"".= "— , service. The appomtinent of such a ma ? S n tlT^y bans 'on to offloe one ^^o. -™ --Vi"-^,,, .„: Neither have I. ' Certainly the long Wapj^ ^^co w ^^^ be returned to Pf^f.^- ^^^^ ^^d purer 1 fax the other day. To disarm tuem, have a return to brighter days ^"<^ ^^^r 1 there said : and wiser administration and a sounaci tne ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^jj fiS?al system. Th« les^ns of the ^^^J That the --^ o^,-,V:,\ive of politics, are elections are u^^^^^f ^^J^eJnment that 1 {-.^al fo'lhe heart's core. S Jii n^ Ve? f^Z^l^J-^^^ ffi Sir, the Liberal P-^^ -eds ^^^^^^^^^ v^ ■«-rr TT7 T\ d. U VV TT ■^' ^ 42 REASONS W!fY THE GOVERNMENT MUST GO. There may possibly be remaining In this House a few who are not yet convinced that ?a Government is not entitled to the confl- dence of the Canadian people, and I shall therefore put on record a few reasons why tSf protectionist party is no »o"^«%^„°t flf to thf confidence of the electors of Canae it has squandered the public lanas ; in tu?Nonh-vest by lavish and unnecessary; lmn4 to railway corporations, having granted fatWs way up to April last 44.242.298 acres , which is twice the quantity of land at present iiTidAr cultivation in the Dominion. ., "t-Becausfit has squandered public moneys In worthless investments made to serve the pur- ; poses of friends, such as the Tay Canal, wh cb cost $476,128 and last year yielded revenue to the : T-Beoause'i't has superannuated civil servants In the prime of life to make places for its own ■ retafners, and has brought the ^^"Pf '■a?""\^^°^ ^ service to that point when the receipts last >ear were $63,274, and the payments $2(>5,3Sb. 7 -Because it has copied the worst features of American political rascality in the infamous Gerrymander Act of 1882. issf;" it 8 —Because by the " Franchise Act of 1886 u oeased to permit the provincial lists to be used lox^ Dominion elections, and adopted an expensive partisan scheme for making Dominion Ust^s with newer to perpetrate gross outrages ; and Has given the country but one revision on an average lach three years, costing In each instance o^er $250,000, besides the vast expense in money ana , time the people are put to simply to secure th^ most cherished right of a British subject- | the right to vote. , . ! 9— Because it went to the country at the last general election under false pretenses, profess- ing to be on the point of securing a reciprocity treaty with the United States, when no negotia- ! tions were iu progress and no prospect of securing ^ such a treaty existed. '"lO -Because it has distributed 25,000 square i miles of timber limits among its friends and supporters regardless of value and without con- sideration. , , ^ ^ *1 „ 4„^o 11 —Because It has utterly destroyed the Inde- pendence of Parliament and secured the support, of a slavish majority by gifts to members and their friends of timber limits, railway subsidies and other favours. 12— Because it makes no attempt to secure purity of administration, but on the contrary is ' governing the country by the most shameless and corrupt methods. o «,.„,.« 13 —Because It is not an economical Govern- ment but Is responsible for a system of extrava- gance and waste In every department. 14.— Because, when the country is staggering under a burden of debt and taxation no effort is made to reduce the debt or diminish the ex- ^Ts'^-Because the tariff Is not adjusted for the purpose of securing the revenue necessary for the economical administration of public affairs in the easiest way for the people, but on the contraiy is made the weapon of rings and combines through the operation of which they exclude foreign goo s and secure the power to charge exorbitant pricya for their own wares. 16 —Because the promises made on belialf of the National Policy were foundatlonless and false. It has neither checked the exodus, nor given a home market for our farm products, nor in- creased the price of such products, nor secured prosperity for the country. , .^ ^ 17 —Because the extravagance of the Govern- ment obliged the country to face a deficit of over $1,210,000 in 1893-94, followed by the largest deficit save one since confederation, namely, $4,153,875 for the year 1894-95. , „ „„ IS —Because the burled secrets of peculations, frauds and maladministration In the various de- partments should be exposed to the light of day, and the accounts and records should be Investi- gated by men who are not Interested in concealing Octets 19.— Because Canada Is nearly at a standstill and her people are disheartened. Her prejent rulers are incompetent, and their policy worse than a failure. We want new men, new methods, and the policy of the Liberals. 20.— Because parliamentary inquiry Into grave charges made against members of the Government in the Caron case was refused, the character and allegations of said charges changed by the Gov- ernment to suit its own purpose, and the emas- culated indictment thus prepared referred to a commission chosen by Itself before which ac- quittal was foreordained. 2i._Beoause their policy has led to the sched- uling of Canadian cattle in Great Britain and the quarantining of Canadian cattle in the United States. It would be well for Canada if the electors will consider carefully these reasons, and when the time comes, prove their love for their suffering country and mark their ballots against the protectionist candidates. HON. EDWARD BLAKE'S LETTER. Hon. gentlemen opposite have often quoted certain passages from a celebrated letter by the Hon. Edward Blake to the electors of West Durham. Let me read a few other passages from the same letter : The Canadian Conservative policy has failed to ■ accomplish the predictions of its Promoters. ' Its real tendency has been, a9 toretold twelve ' years ago, towards disintegration and annexation, instead of consolidation and the maintenance of that British connection of which they claim to be the special guardians. „„„„*„ It has left us with a small population, a scanty immigration and a North-west empty still ; with enormous additions to our public debt and yearly charge, an extravagant system of expenditure, and an unjust and oppressive tariff : with limited markets for our needs, whether to buy or to sell. and all the host of evils (greatly intensified by our special condition) thence arising ; with trade diverted from Its natural Into forced, and, tbere- i 43 i fore, less profitable channels, and with unfriendly relations and frowning tarlft walls, ever more and more estranging us from the mighty BngiJsn speaking nation to the south, our neighbours and relations, with whom we ought to be, as It was promised that it should be, living in generous amity and liberal Intercourse. Worse, far worse It has left us with lowered standards of public trlrtue and a death-like apathy m public opinion ; with racial, religious and pro- vincial animosities rather inflamed than soothed ; with a subservient Parliament, an autocracic Ex- ecutive, debauched constituencies and corrupted and corrupting classes ; with lessened self-reli- ance and increased dependence on the public chest and on legislative aids, and possessed with- all by a boastful jingo spirit far enough removed from true manliness, loudly proclaiming unreal conditions and exaggerated sentiments, while ac- tual facts and genuine opinions are suppressed. It has left UL with our hands tied, our future compromised, and in such a plight that, whether we stand or move, we must run some risks which else we might have either declined or encountered with greater promise of success. Yet let us never despair of our country ! It is a goodly land ; endowed with great recuperative powers and vast resources as yet almost unde- veloped ; inhabited by populations moral and re- ligious, sober and industrious, virtuous and thrifty, capable and instructed— the descendants of a choice immigration, of men of mark and courage, energy and enterprise, in the breasts of whose children still should glow the sparks of those ancestral fires. THE LIBERAL LEADER. Sir, it is a goodly land, this country of ours. Vast are her resources. Noble axe her sons. And, Sir, In my estimation. and, I believe, in tlie estimation of all his followers, the first of them all is ou',- noble leader, the leader of the Opposition. A certain portion of the press in the province of Ontario supporting hon. gentlemen oppo- site, speali of our leader as "the French Mr Laurier." Not contemptuously, I do not accuse them of that, for I do not be- lieve there is a man in all Canada so dead to all that is noble as to feel less than ad- miration for a character so unsullied, a mind E-d broad, a heart so generous as that of the hon. leader of Her Mrjesty's loyal Op- position. But why then speak of him as " the French Mr. Laurier." Do they intend this as a warning to the people of Ontario, and if so, against what ? Is there a man so ignorant of the past that he can doubt^the loyalty of the French-Canadians, both Rouge and Bleu ? Who doubted the loy- alty of Sir George B. Cartier, Sir John A. Macdonald's friend and fellow-worker, co- leader with him of the Conservative party, practically Joint Premier with Iiim of ^he Dominion of Canada ? Who doubted the loyalty of Dorion, or Tach6, Lafontalne, Paplneau, or our own beloved colleague in this House, the late F611x Geotfrlon ? French Canadians, without number, have their names written in the history of our country, whose every act and word pro- claimed them loyal to the core. Do they think we have forgotten the story of our country ? Do we not know how nobly French Canadians stood by old England In the days of her danger and refused to join the colonies in their revolt ? Had they done so, who will say what might have been ? The fate of England, 3o far as this continent was concerned, was in their hands. Had they yielded then, the Stars and Stripes might to-day be waving from the gulf to the pole. In 1812, when the young republic, In Its youthful self-confldence, invaded our country, where were the French Cana- dians ? At Chautea-JTuay, many of them, standing shoulder to shoulder with the English to resist the invasion and retain aloft the good old Union Jack. And they did it, too. Later, when we were threatened with Invasion, in 1866, the French Canadians stood ready to go out and resist the invader. Once more, in 188o, they sprang to arms and sternly fought to maintain intact this broad Dominion from sea to sea. , ^ -,. „ Never once have the French Canadians faltered in their duty as subjects of the Crown. Sir, the flag of our country is safe In French Canadian hands. They win keep It unsullied, unless, indeed, to dye it a deeper red, ag oft before, with their hearts' warm blood shed in Its defence. Our leader haJ3 sat in this House for many years. He has travelled from one end of +his country to the other, and never yet has any one dared to question his unswerv- ing loyalty to his country and his Queen. I believe that under his wise rule, racial and religious animosities will speedily dis- appear, that men will learn to love and re- spect each other although they may bend the knee In reverent worship at different altars. Though different in race, all will join banc" in hand in mutual trust and confidence to build up a united Canada, loyally determined to make her, in fact, as well as in name, the brightest gem in Britain's crown. True to Canada and loyal to the Empire, they have helped to build, we can well allow Frenchmen, while re- joicing in the Institutions of this land of free men, to dwell in loving memory upon the glories of France. The German's great heart will swell when he thinks of the loved ones far away in the old home in the fatherland. He will tell his children gather- ed around his knees of the wars his fathers fought to make his country great. The Icelander, proud of his new home on the prairies of the west, surrounded by such comforts as his industry has won, will still yearn for the ice-olad hills his fathers loved so well. Albion's sons, proud of their coun- try's greatness, oft thinking of the hills and dales, of the stately homes of old Eng- land, will strive to make Canada well worthy her proud relationship to that greatest and noblest of lands. Sir, my own countrymen's hearts will 44 hunger for another sight of the dear old Bmerald Isle, ever first In the affection of her absent sons ; yet none more true than they to the. land of their adoption, none more loyal to her best Interests, none more anxious to see her worthy of her place In England's Empire. Se forgot, And never brought to mind, ■ We'll drink a cup o' klndnesa yet, For thn days of Auld Lang Syne. Sir, under the rule of the hon. member for Quebec Bast, the mora? law will be applied to our public life. Pair dealing between man and man will obtain. Cotton combines and sugar trusts will cease to oppress us ; Curran Bridges and Tay Canals will become dark memories of other .days ; a united government, true and loyal to Its chief, will rule. Sir, do what they may, this Parlia- ment cannot live for ever. Soon the elec- tions must be held, and when they are over, bur beloved leader will take his place as leader of the Government of Canada. The day after the elections, I can imagine the hon. gentlemen who now occupy the Treas- ury benches, thinking, when too late, of their past misdeeds, of their mutual distrusts and jealousies, sitting around the Council board and mournfully singing : Ship us somewhere east of Suez, Where the best is like the worst, Where there ain't no Ten Commandments, Tay canals, combines or trusts. I I \,'' tDOUQlAS LibRAuy LORNf PIERCE queeN's uNiveusiiy^ AT kiNQSXrON Presented by A. a. Russell, May 1979 kiNQSTON ONTARIO CANADA 1