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CowST 
 
 «* mmm . 
 
 House of Commons Mtbnits* 
 
 SliCONl) SI".SSI0\-SI'VHNTI1 rAKM.WIF.NT. 
 
 SPEKCH OF MR. MILLS, M.P., 
 
 III 
 
 ON 
 
 DUTIES OF ELECTION OFFICIALS. 
 
 FKIDAY, MARCH 4tii, 1802. 
 
 DUTIKS OF KLKCTIOX ()] TiriALS. 
 
 Mr. MIIJ.s (liotliw.'l!) iiiovtd : 
 
 Tlint it is tlir iin(liiul)t(,'cl riKlit and duly nl' llic JIoiisc (if 
 Commons to see thiit tlio rotiiriiinfr otiiccrs and otlior 
 officials wild havo duties iinposfd u|ioii llicin in llie cluc- 
 tion of ineniluTs to tliis House, act witli pcrlV'Ct lairncss 
 towards the vnrioiis candidates, and to hold such relnru- 
 iiiff oflicers ami ollu'.' nHUdals to the strict disidiarpie ol' 
 their duties; andthis ' -ni:^!' further aflirrus that the trial 
 of clecti(Ui |ietitioii« by the C(Mirts does not lessen the 
 autliority of the House over siudi officials, nor take away 
 tlie necessity for its supervision. 
 
 Ho .said: Mr. .Spiiiker, I ),'iive noliie yi'slcrday, 
 with the iis.sent of tlu' h'iidcr of thi- Uousf, tliat I 
 wotihl today make a motion in icfciencf to the 
 dutif.s of this House in relation to the tdections 
 which may hv from time to tinukiudd. Tin; motion 
 whifli I now ))roj)()SL' alliiiMs tliat it is tlie nndoulit- 
 eil ligiit of tlie liousc of Connnons to sec that the 
 returinng otiiccrs and other (dlicials \\ ho havcdntics 
 imposed \i|ion tlicni in the (dcction of nicmlicrs to 
 the House, shonhl act with perfect fairness to the 
 various ■'ainlidates, ami to hohl such returning 
 olficers and other fdlicials to tlie strict discharge of 
 their duties. 'I"he motion also says : '•This House 
 further allirms that the trial of 'election pttitions 
 liy the cinirts cloes imt lessen the authority of the 
 House over such ollicials, nor takeaway the ncccs- 
 .sily for its su))ervision." I tiiink. Sir, that the 
 doctiini! laid down ni this motion is too clear to 
 admit of couti-over.sy. 'j'lu; House is the Judge of 
 its own rights ami privileges, aud it is also its 
 duty, as the tepreseutati\e Itody of the nation, 
 to see that tliose who hecoine memhers of the 
 House, tlo .so in accordance with the jjrovisious 
 of the law of the land. I ilo not say, .Sir, 
 that it is always necessary that this super- 
 vision should ex])ross itself actively ; it i.s sulli- 
 cient that it potentially exists, called into act- 
 ivity only when there is some aluise, some dis- 
 regard of duty, some misconduct or malfeasance in 
 ofhce on the part of ollicials who are iei|tiired to 
 discharge duties in the way presi'i'ilied hy tin; law 
 of the laml. The suhit'ct is an important one, 
 heeause e\'ery depaiture from |)erfect fairness in 
 the discharge of duties liy an olHcial may affect 
 the results which ought to he iiccoiujilished by the 
 
 exerci.ic of tlu' ch'ctive franchise. The effect of 
 such unfairiu^ss may alter' the represeutiitioli in 
 I'arliauu'nt ; ami in so far as it accom]ilishcs this 
 end, tiie intluencc and re.'-pe<'t which this House 
 should command in the countiy will he sc iously 
 wcakciu'd. It must not he forgotten that inuler 
 ou, .system of parliaiuentary government the 
 ailministration is always an interested pai'ty. Hut 
 tiieie is one marked ditference lictween our system 
 aud that which exists in Kugland. that here the 
 .Ministry as an iuteresteil party have it within 
 their power to exercisi; an amount of influence, 
 ami to exei'cise that intluencc in an undue way, 
 which is not open to an Administration in the 
 I'uitcd Kingdom. I .say, .Sir, that this power in 
 refeieiicc to idectious, wiiich is jjosse.s.sed hy the 
 Ministers jiere in a larger degree than it is 
 posscs.sed hy Ministers in tlu^ United Kingdom, 
 re(|uiics on the ])ait of this House even a more 
 active vigilance tiian is called for hy the duties that 
 devolve upon the House of ( onunons in the United 
 Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, the Clerk of 
 the Crown in Chaneery. wlu'ii lie receives tlie 
 warrant of the .'speaker, is iei|uired to issue the 
 writ to an oliiccr appoiutcil hy the law, a perma- 
 iient othcial of the House, for the ])u rpo.se of having 
 an election in a particular district. It is not o])en 
 to the Administration to interfere. The power of 
 Ministers over tiic Clerk of the Crown in Chaneery, 
 their |)o\\c'r to interfere with him in the ilischarge 
 id' his duties, so t'.ir as the law is concerned, i.s there 
 no greater than the power of other meinhers of 
 the House of Commons, lint. Sir, that is not the 
 <.'ase here. A few years ago, an .-Vet was passed in 
 this House repealing the law which named certain 
 ollicials as ]ici mancnt ollicers of the House for the 
 purjiose of ludding eli'ctiiuis. .So long as that law 
 continued on the Statute-hook, it was open to the 
 Clerk of I he Crowii in Chancery in Canada to dis- 
 charge the duty in prci'iscly the same way that the 
 Clerk of the Crown in Chancery i.i the United 
 Kingi hull discharges his duty. Ihit, Sir, hy the repeal 
 of that law, the relation hctween the .-Vilministra- 
 tioii and tiieClerk of theCrownint 'hancery was very 
 .seriously interfered with. 'J'he Administration was 
 given a control over that officer in the rlisrha^ge 
 
of hix iiliiciiil (lutit^.s wliicli is iiltogt'tlifi' uiikiuiwii 
 to tlie livw ill t\\v Uiiiteil Kiiigiliiiii. Tlii' ifsiiit of i 
 thiH is timt oiu! of tiu! piirtifH intL-rf.slt'il in every ! 
 coiitcHt tlmt tiikuM pliicf |niN.seHHi'NHii tmiliu' iiifhu'iR'i' i 
 in tiiiit cniitL'st. Tilt' Clerk of the Crown in Chun- , 
 eery eimnot issue tiie writ, lie eiinnot eonforni to I 
 the warrant issued Ity the Speaker, until tlu- , 
 Administration nuike known to him wliom they 
 have aj)i)ointed iis returning ollieer for the purpose \ 
 of lioIdinK tlie eh'ct- i ; and so, however desirouH 
 he may lie to d, ^'e his duty, in eonforinity j 
 
 ■witli tlu' sjiirit ail., .iitention of tiie Act, his ijood ' 
 iiilciitioiis in that lespect are frustrated ; iiis ! 
 ahiiity to ooiiforin to tiie re(|uiremeiits of tlie law 
 are rendered nuj,'atory, so long as the Adminis- 
 tration choose to refrain from a|>pointiiig an 
 officer to liold the election. That being the case, 
 it is of the first ci)iise(|uencc tliat i'arliament should ! 
 watch carefully every step taken in every election | 
 which is heing held in any j) rtion of this 
 Dominion. We s'imetimos hear it said here that 
 parties arc dispo.seil to live and to die Hritish 
 subjects. I am not going to discu.ss the (|uestion 
 of dying, because I suppose mo.st lion, geutleiueii 
 like to stay where they are acipiainted ; and so, 1 
 suppose, they have no jiarticular an.viety to end 
 tht'ir days in any liurrie<i manner. IJut, .Sir, I 
 may .say that tho.se who are anxious to live as 
 British subjects in Canada ought to be anxious 
 . to maintain the spirit and ^irinciples of liritish 
 institutions ; and it is not maintaiiiiiig the s]iirit 
 and principles of liritish iiarliaiiieiitary government 
 to jiut it in the power of an Adiniiiistration to ex- 
 ercise an undue iutiueiice through the iustruiuen- 
 talities which are employed in holding a ])ar:li.neii- 
 tary election. The ( Jovernment, I say, are alwiys 
 a party to every election contest that takes place ; 
 and ill the election contest to which I am about to 
 refer, the one which has recently taken place in 
 I^oiidon, a Minister of the Crown was one of the 
 candidates. That Minister of the Crown was also 
 a party to ailvising His Kxcelleney who the return- 
 ing otHcer and the various deputy retnrniug ufticers, 
 within the constituency, shoulil be. Hon geiitle- 
 nitii will see, then, that the relation between one 
 candidate and all the officials ei.ijiloyed holding the 
 election is quite different from the relation between 
 the other candidate and tho.se officials. So, where 
 these large powers are given to an Administration, 
 it is of all the more cons(!(iuence to see that the 
 parties who are appointed for the purpose of hold- 
 ing an election strictly conform to the law. I 
 say. Sir, that Parliament always has the power to 
 protect itself ; and the appointment of an election 
 court, ffir the purpose of trying controverted elec- 
 tions, does not at all derogate from the power that 
 is inherent in the House of Coninions. So far as a 
 Jiarticular class of matters are concerned, it may 
 lie important that the House should abstain from 
 taking any action where the courts are called upon 
 actively to interfere and to adjudicate in reference 
 to litigated matters. That the original authority 
 and right of Parliament is not derogated from by 
 the substitution of a court of justice for a commit- 
 tee of the House in the trial of controverted elec- 
 tions, was admitted in a discussion that took place 
 in this House .some years ago. In that discussion, 
 Mr. Blake said : 
 
 " Ho would be very sorry to believe that the House had 
 been deprived, by the position of the Controverted Eleo- 
 tiong Act, of'its power over returning officers and deputy 
 returning officers — of its power to investigate complaints 
 
 made iigaiiiHt then:, and to punish thom foi- improper oon- 
 
 duet." 
 
 And Sir John .Macdonald, in ii|)viiking in tlio sivnie 
 
 debate, .said : 
 
 " He wn.s glitd tliu liiiii. member did not propose to nsk 
 the Iliiiise t« ciinsider the points raised in tfio petition 
 when llio election case wiis before another tribunal ; at 
 the Hiimo time it was not to bo supposed that the House 
 had iibandonedits riglit toenntrol.eensuroandif need be, 
 punish, returning and dopu'y returning officerH," 
 
 .So that, so far as the power of Parliament is con- 
 cerned, there can lie no (|Uestioii that the power 
 does exist, that this House has inherently in itself 
 the ]iower to supervise the otiicials it emjiloys to 
 hold elections in any constituencies ; and while in 
 some t^a.ses it may not Ix! necessary to intervene, it 
 is always projier to observe, so that, when there is a 
 serious abu.se of authority, when there is an abuse 
 of oliice, this Hou.se may u.se the jiowerwitli which 
 it is vested in the public interest for the purpose of 
 jirotc(^ting the rights of parties which are affected 
 when the power i^aii lie more iwiiivenientlyexerciseil 
 by this House than by any other tribunal or party. 
 This is obvious for this reason. Let me sn]i|io.s(!, for 
 instance^ that the returning otliccr should return to 
 this House a jiarty who had received a minority <if 
 votes, a party who is an alien, a jiarty whfi is 
 a felon, and no objeciioii had been filed in the case, 
 no action had been taken in the case clearly the 
 House is not in such a helpless ]iositioii that it could 
 not jiurify itself and protect the rights of the 
 electors of the country against any intrusion or 
 abuse of that kind. The returning nlticer may 
 commit a fiaud upon the Hou.se, he may return a 
 candiilate having a minority of votes, and surely it 
 is open to this House to call on the (-lerk »if the 
 Crown in Chancery an<l it has been done again 
 and again to proiluce the return made and to 
 insist upon an amendment of the return in accord- 
 ance V ith the facts. If there be any (|nestion of 
 law, if there be anv (piestion of litigation between 
 the parties, if no reference is made to the courts 
 for adjudication, it is open to this House to pro- 
 tect it.self againstabuse and against any per.son who 
 has no I'iglit to sit here now, just as much as it was 
 in the formci' history of Parliament. As a rule the 
 c<iurts have to considci' (piestioiis of law and fact, 
 and the conclusions of the law from the facts so 
 stated and jiroved, liut, where the (|ue8tion is 
 merely one of arithmetic ami nothing more, I 
 think it is clear that the ob.servations ina<le by 
 Lord Esher in an important ca.se — the Bangor 
 case which was tiied three or four years ago— 
 are strictly applicable, and it wouhl be a, 
 neglect of duty for the House to refuse to do jus- 
 tice in the matter and to compel the parties to 
 have recourse to exjiensive legislation. I do not 
 mean, by the res<ilution I have proposed, that this 
 i Hfiuse shall exercise a meddlesome oversight, 
 i that it shall u.se the power with which it 
 ; is vested, where the emjiloyment of such power 
 j is unnecessary, lint x say that, whenever it 
 1 becomes clear that a wrong is about to be done, 
 j that authority is about to be abused, that the 
 pai'tieswho arj entrusted with the <lischaige of im- 
 jiortaiiV duties are failing in tliei" duty, the fact 
 I that this House is not in<liffe.'ent to what is being 
 done, tli.xt it is exercising a supervision over its 
 ' officers, is calculated to ha\ ja very important and 
 ' salutary effect, aiid \, hen that supervision is exer- 
 I cised with fairness and moderation, lam certain that 
 I such abuses asexisted in the Province of NewBruns- 
 
 '^'^'i^ 
 
 i 
 
 ^i s'. 
 
8 
 
 •v' 
 
 
 H 
 
 wick u few jieai'H ago, in the uaHe of an election tothic 
 Koiiwc, arc not likely to lie very fre((iii'iit, aii<l this 
 lloiiHe will he Haveil troulile, luiil the pliliiic will l>e 
 Kjiveil Heandiil, if tiiin lloiiNe iiolilw it« ollieeiM to a 
 . wtriet res|)oiinihility. I iiiii aMHeitiiig i\o mole tliiiii 
 this, that it in the fluty of tie otiii cih of the House 
 to ohey the law. It is ohvious that no clcpait uient 
 of (Jovernnuait couM he salisfautoiily ailuiiuistered 
 if every (litlenjliee helwceu ii super ioiotiitiT and an 
 inferior oIlieiT had to he litigated upon and decided 
 hy a j\idieial tiihuiial rather than hy a clccision 
 of the su])erior otiieer, and therefore I say 
 that, where it is olivious to the eoinnion sense 
 an<l to the sense of fairness of ('veiy mem- 
 ber of this House that a wronjj; is heinj; done, 
 the House would he derelict in its iluty to the 
 e(Uintry if it failed to exereise tin; power witii 
 which it is vested and to insist upi iiri^'ht lieinj; done. 
 Yesterday thi^ House eonsidcred another liraneli 
 of this suhject, Imt to-day 1 willajiain refer lirietly 
 to the i|uestion as to w iio are the electors, who are 
 the ))aities who aie found upon the voters' list or 
 who should lie on that list when the election was 
 held, the voters' list as put in the hands of the 
 deputy returuinj,' otHeers, and how xotes shouhl he 
 taken, how the enumeration should lake place, 
 and how, in any matter of controversy in regaid to 
 the enuineiation, it is to Ik^ disposed of. 'riicseare 
 the (piestions which 1 projiosc to ask the Mouse 
 to-day to consider and discuss. IJy section .SO of 
 the Klectoral Franchise .\ct, it will he seen that 
 there were tw ■ classes of persons entiticil to vote 
 at elections, those pcn'.sons aliout whose right to go 
 on the list there was no controvei'sy, and those 
 persons ahout whom theie were appeals |)cnding. 
 Of this second ciass, there are three special classes 
 (ir.st, those retained on the list not withslaniling an 
 application to have them striuk otl; tli'.'n tiiose who 
 are said to he struck oil hy tiie revising otlicer 
 against whose decision an a])peal is hail to 
 the c()\inty judge ; and the third class is those 
 who have ap))lied to lie put on the list and 
 whom the revising otlicer has refused to put 
 on the list. As I lutdeistood th(! Minister of 
 ilustice yesterday, we agreed that the Hrst class 
 should he on the list, that is, the rt^vising oliicer 
 having refused to strike them off, thi^y should 
 remain there. We also agreed that the third class, 
 tho.se the I'evising otlicei' refused to jiut on, could 
 not he on the list ; hut we ditl'ered as to the second 
 class, those the revising otlicei' had struck otf 
 the list hut in legar'd to whom an a|)|)esil is urade. 
 1 understand the Minister- of .lustiie to maintain 
 that those voters, notwithstaniliiig the fact that 
 they ar-e stru'^k otl', ar'c still on the list. I dissent 
 from that opinion. I think thor'e arc two of three 
 suh-classes oH' the list, and that they are noted 
 when the list is r'e(iuii'ed for' the pur-])ose of election. 
 Hut if the law was in other respects complied wiih, 
 thei-e would henopr-actieal nriscliief, perhaps, aiisinc 
 fi'om the adoption of one or' the other of these coi 
 tentions. I am informed that in some instances, 
 in the city of London, in the recent election, certain 
 ])artits wiiose names wer'e on the listiMul who wer'e 
 the Hulijects of appeal, instead of taking the oath X 
 that they are I'eijuir'ed to take uirder the statute, 
 took the ordinary oath of electors who are not 
 the suhjectf of a])peal, and it was conteirded tiiat 
 h(!cause theii' names were so ])rinted ir])on the 
 list, they had a r'ight to vote u|)on the or'diirai'v 
 oath being administered. I mention this .>s one of 
 
 the nristakeM that uroHe, and that is likely to 
 arise where thei'e i« no proper' distinction made 
 between irairres that ar'e on the list as of right, and 
 those that ar'e orr that list as a irratter- of contro- 
 \ei'sy. The .'t'Jnd section i^f this .Vet with leferenec 
 to Voters' lists, shows ' (w the Act is to be uiriler- 
 stood and interpreted. It can never be accurately or 
 properly interpreted by looking at each inilividual 
 section and irirdertaking to construe that accordirrg 
 to the strict giamrrratical imjinrt of the words. In 
 both Chapter'."! iirrd Chapter' 8 of these CoirsolrMated 
 Statirtes, we mirst look at the whole .Vet, con- 
 sider every ]ir'ovision of each of the.se Acts, and 8o 
 , construe theirr tiiat they may all stanil together, 
 and best carry out the iirterrtion of Parliament. 
 , Section .'t.H shows that the class that is strirek ort' 
 ■ the voters' lists irirder' section .'1(1, have seven days 
 , within w hich to appeal fr'orn the decisi(nr of the 
 i'e\ ising ollici'r' to the county jirdge, arrd tire reason 
 of such a time la'irrg given for' tiiat apjreid is to 
 allow therrr beinu restored to the list. Until that 
 r'estor'ation takes place it seems to me that they do 
 not stan<l upoir the list. Then, if we look at section 
 .")() of Chapter H, we Iirrd the same limitatioir orr the 
 proceedirrgs befor'e the di pirty ret\rr'ning officer's iir 
 , making the count of the votes that have beiMr polled. 
 Tile first part of that sectioir ))rovide.s : 
 
 " rruiiiecliiitol.v utter the close of the pott, the <loputy 
 rt'turriliip ollieer shall, in the i)ri'.''eiici' of lli« poll rOerK 
 and rill' cllllliililll('^', or tln'iraUL'iil.-;— and if the candidiitos 
 , .aid tlieir iiirent." (.r loiy of tlierri are iibsciil, llieri in the 
 \ nrcscMiec of ."ucli, if iiii.v, of them lis are present, and of at 
 least tlir'ee ek'ctor.s, — open the ballot l)o.\ and pi'ooeed to 
 coniit the nirrnbiT of vote.i Kiven for eaeli cimdidati' : and 
 in ."0 doinp he sliiill reject all ballot paper.* which have 
 iiot hi I'll .sii pill led b.v (ho deputy relurriiiiK oflicers, all 
 tliose by which vote." have been (tiveii for more candidates 
 than are to he elccled, and all tho.^e upon which there is 
 any writiiiR or murk by wliidi the voter can be identified, 
 otlicr tlieii the niiiiib'.'rintr by tlic deputy retiirniiiK ollicor 
 in the eases lieroinbefore [irovided for.'' 
 
 Then the second section provides : 
 
 " The otlierballot papers being counted, and a listkopt 
 (if the iniinbei- of voles (.'iveii t<i each candidate, and of 
 the luuiiber of rejected ballot piiiici';', all the ballot papers 
 indicatiiucthe votes given for each candiihite respectively, 
 e.xeept as in tliis section is hereinafter provided, shall he 
 Iiut into separiitc envelopes." 
 
 Now, the exception from that "as hereinafter pro- 
 vided " refers to the jiarticular class of votes that 
 are in appeal. The third sub-section reads as 
 I follows : — 
 
 "The deputy relurniiiK otlicer shall also, in counting 
 the biillots, place in l\\i separate envelopes or imrccls, 
 the two classes of ballot papers of persons whose right to 
 have their names registered upon the list of voters and to 
 ; vote at such elections, and of persons the exclusion of 
 whose names from the said list as voters, are respectively 
 the subjects of undecided appeal." 
 
 Ami it further provides : 
 
 ! " He shall keep a list of ea-b of the said classes of bal- 
 [ lots." 
 
 What is the meaning of " keeping a list of each 
 
 class '! " Why, Sir, as we .see before the use of these 
 I wiirds, that he shall ''"""..crate each class, not that 
 
 he shall confuse them indiscriminately by enunier- 
 j ating them together, but that he shall enumerate 
 I each class tif ballot-, those about which there is a 
 '. controvei'.sy or disp'.ite as to the rights of the parties 
 I to vote, and those about wlio.se right to vote there 
 
 is no dispute. Now, when ve look at the .'>8th 
 j section we find this eiriiiieration of the two classes 
 i of voters separately and distinctly, still furthei' 
 j emphasized. Section .">S says : 
 
 ^ 
 

 till' t'i'tiiniiiiK ollii't'i iiiiiHt M(lil u|i tlmsi' voIck uml 
 
 liiilMt ilcclai'i' till' I'liMilliliitr liii\ iii|>! a iiKijiinty 
 
 I'lci'tril. \\ itliollt ri'frl'i'lU'i' to tlli' iliHtillrtinll tliiil 
 
 hits lici'ii iiiikIi- lii'fiiri'. Iiiit it' y<>ii irml all llic 
 
 |l^ovl^'il>ll.■^ lit till' Art I'fliitiiif; In till' iliitirs i(f till' 
 
 I'l-tiiniili^ iillircr, it l>rrimir.s iirititi'tly (ilixiiin.i tliiit 
 
 till' cliMtiiiitiiiii iniiilr i» iiiti'iiiU'il to Kr kept «liii'tly 
 
 in vii'M. liiiMii'iliatrly iit'ti'i', in .si'i'timi (i'J uii'l I 
 
 hIiiiII 'iiili'iivoiii' til iimki' this miittiT clu„i' ymi 
 
 will »w tliiit it llu' Imlli t liiix is lost, if any of the 
 
 lialliit lio\(;s ai'i! not I't'tlirnoil at tlu' a|i|ii)intril 
 
 tinii', he may |iiiMt|ioni' ai'tion ami wait until a 
 
 .siilisi'i|iii'iit ilay. Ami so in siKtioiilKt |iiii\isioii is 
 
 I iiiaili' lor tin' loss i)f liallot lio\rs. Itiil it is iin|ior 
 
 I taut to rt'ail in I'liniii'itiiin with this tlii' |iro\ision 
 
 ! of till' law of last yi'iii'. It aiiu'iiils si'ition ti'J, and 
 
 'it |)io\iiU'H as follows as ivjianls tlu' ri'liiining 
 
 ollii'ur ; 
 
 I " In Clint" H'ly (lepiity rctiiriiiiiK offloer has not iliily 
 oiii'loscil in Mio l,:illi)t box t!ii' siiiil stiiti'inriit of tlio 
 
 { li:il|i>t |iii|>i'r< I'liiMiii'il l>.v liiiii IIS ri'i|iiiri'il l>y lliin Act, i>r 
 if I'lir any otiirr ciiii.-ic tlif sitiil ii'tiiriiiiin ntlici'r I'liiinot at 
 
 ! till' iliiy and limir iipiHiinti'il by him lor lliiit piiipiiso 
 nsuiTtiiin tin' I'Xiii't niinihi'r of villi's nivon furi'iicli ciiii- 
 
 j diiiiiti', till' i'i'liirMi;iK ntlii'iT iniiy tlii'ii'iiixni inljuiMn In a 
 I'litiii'i' ilay mill Iniiir llie said siiiiiiiiiiiK.i>l> Hit' niiiiint'i' of 
 TDlt's (rivi'ii fur riioli (Niiiilidiili', iinilsd fnnii tiniii tn tinio, 
 
 ! siiL'li ailjiiiirMiiii'iil or ailjournmoiit.i nut inline aiTKriKiite 
 
 jiapt'i's an- to lit' kt'pt si'iiarati'ly. ai.' to l.i' sralt'il i '" ''^''''"^ '"" """•^'■" 
 np in st'parati' piuka;,'t's. tlii' lontinls of thi'se i 'I'lii'ii' tlu' iluty of the I't'tni nim' olliiiT in rcf^anl to 
 j)ai;ka),'cs ari' to III' i-airfnlly iiotril upon tin- hack I loiiiitini; tlir voti-s is si't oiil ; uinl I riaini that 
 of till- I'livoloiK's, anil tlii'V ail' to hi' plaii'il in thi' . lookiiii,' at what the law inti'inls with icspoi't to 
 hallot lioNt's, ami till' hallot hiixi's aiv to lit' ii'tniiii'il j llii'st' voti's that are to lie snhjeet to appeal, that 
 
 "'riiiMli'imlv iiiliiniinir hIVh'it .-hall iiiiikr mil n itate- 
 nmnt nf tin' aci'i'lilt'd liiilhit iiiiin'r.'',iif till' iiiiiiiliiTiil viiten 
 Kivi'ii to eai'h I'liiiiliih.te, ut the hiilliil (iiipeis I'liiiiiti'il, 
 wlileli were ilopimilt'il hy porsmiM wIimm' riitlil tn lie reifH- 
 tereil on tlio liHt iif voter," anil to vote." 
 
 That is one elass 
 
 — "anil by pi-r-oiiH the i'xihi''ii)ii of wIiom' iihiiu'H from 
 tlio list of voler.i iippenreil by llie said M"! In lie the siili- 
 juetH of iiiidt'eiik'd appeal as aforeriaiil." 
 Here the i-'iinierations of these two elasses of 
 voters are still to lie kept ilistinet hy the ilepnty 
 retnrniiiK ollirer. If 've reail this seelion with the 
 worils that are intemleil to he supplied. « hiili is the 
 snhjeet of the lirst predieate. and which also is 
 • he inipiieil snhiei-t of the seeond predieate, it 
 woulil read as follows : 
 
 ■ Tlio deputy rt'tnniinx otlieer .■•liiill innke out a stiile- 
 nient of the lU'eepted biiijol papers, of the iiiiinber of 
 votes triveti to einh I'liiididiito, of the bnllol papers 
 eoiiliti'd wliii'li were depiisili'd bv persons wliose riulit to 
 be ri'Kislert'd on llie list of voters iiii'l lo vole and of llie 
 number of vote.s niveii to eiii'li eaiididale by persons the 
 exeliisioii of whose names from the list of voters ap- 
 peared, Ac." 
 
 ') that there are two distimt eiininerations, the 
 
 iinnieration of those whose ri;:ht to xole is nmlis 
 
 pnted, and another ennineration of tliose who.se 
 
 light to vote is a matter of appeal : <inil these 
 
 with theni to the retiirnino ollieer. Now. I ask 
 this i|iiestion at thi.s |ioint. for the purpose of fur- 
 ther showing what ednstnietioii must he put upon 
 those provisions of the law w hirli relate to the dis- 
 clmrgo of duties liy the retnrnilig otiieer hini.self. 
 If the returning otliter was to eoiint those liallots 
 imliscriniinately, if lie was to confuse the hallots of 
 these two classes, which the ilepnty retnrring 
 officer is roi|iiired to keep seiiarate. and w hicl. he 
 is instructed in the clearest ]iossilile manner to 
 kee]) separate, fo' what purpose would separation 
 he made V If the returning otliccr wlis not ealleil 
 uj)on to keep tliem separate and to inike separate 
 iidditioiis of tiiose two dillerent classes of voteis, 
 those about whose votes theie is no dispute, and 
 those that are the snhjeet of contention, why 
 should the ile|)uty returning otliccr he leiprred to 
 keep tlieiii separate'.' If they Were to lie added 
 together, then those provisions ]iointino mit with 
 such minuteness and detail the duties of the de|)uty 
 returning otlicer w oiild lie altogether w ithont mean- 
 ing, they would lie nugatory, they would ha\e no 
 force, they would he perfectly aimless. accom|ilish- 
 ing nothing, sinnily provisions altogether without 
 object. I do not so understand thcstalnle. I think 
 they are to lie kept separate for a speciHc purpose. 
 They yre to be ke|)t se|iaiate because there are to 
 be separate additions made by the retiiriiing ollieer 
 as well as by the deputy returning ollieer. The 
 next provision of the Act to which I w ish to call 
 the attention of the House is section ."ill. This 
 section provides that the returning olli; er at the 
 close (,>f the polls, after having receivcl all the 
 ballot boxes, shall proceed to open them in the 
 presence of the election clerk, tlie canilidates, or 
 their represeutati\ es, if present, or of at least three 
 electors, and .so on : and that the candidate who 
 has on counti.ig uj) the votes a majority of the 
 votes, shall be then declared elected. If you weie 
 to read that section by itself you would say that 
 
 I'ight to I'l'inain on the list must In; decided before 
 a |)ropei' return can be made ; and it is perfectly 
 clear fl'om that provision that the returning 
 o'licer is not in a )iosition to sum up the votes as 
 r;;ipiired by the law , as amended last session, until 
 the ipiestion as to the right of those |)artii's whose 
 \oles are in appeal is decided. Let us further look 
 ■'t tile jirovisions of the Act on this subject. Hy 
 seetMi;i .'t,'! of the lOlectoral Franchise .\ct, it is 
 io;ivideil thai the juilge shall, upon receiving 
 the ;;,iid not ice of appeal, and copy of the decision 
 a)iiiealed from, apjioint aconveiii-jnt time and place 
 for the hearing of the appeal. What is meant by his 
 appointing a ciilivenielit time and place'' Does it 
 ni'/aii an indetiiiite time, a time that you cannot at 
 the moment the appointment takes place asceitaiiiY 
 1 do not think .so. I hold that it is clear from the 
 pi'ovisions of this statute that this cannot be the 
 case. The judge considered these matters in 
 November last. Certain lase.s were taken befoi'e 
 him on appeal. Me dealt with those cases. Me 
 decided that he would not hear any evidence 
 anew, that he would not make any investigation for 
 hiniscU, tha* he woiibl tak ' the evidence as it had 
 lieen taken by the re\ isili'i ollicel' and the report 
 of that otlicer, and then decide as to the I'ights o1' 
 thejiarties tr go on the list and remain tller(^ 
 That Was the course he pursued in dealing with, I 
 think, thirty cases. With respect to those parties 
 who had been put upon the list at the preliminary 
 revision orat a preliniiiiary stage of theproceediugs, 
 and about whom notice has been given that those 
 names should be struck out on the ground that 
 the parties were not iiualilied, the revising otlicer 
 was inclined to hold, in fact lie did hold, that the 
 worils " not c|Ualitied " were not a sutlicient desig- 
 n.ition of the objection to the names of tho.se ])ar- 
 ties going on the list. In the meant iine an appeal 
 was had to the County Court judge from that deci- 
 sion, and the judge ex]iressed himself as follows : — 
 
 r 
 
 r 
 

 r 
 
 "Itliink tlin iidlico wuh invii'iiil iiiidor tliu Act. I do 
 not uiili'r iiitti nil iii'iiili'iiiii* di^ciiHsion as to wlictlii'r it 
 wax null iiiid void I lliiiik nil tliiil I am n'qiiirod to du 
 is to ilotiTiuiiu' wlicthor it wim a valid < r invalid iiotioc, 
 and I Hay it wan invalid, and my reason lor iIiiih ili'iddiiiK 
 in that no kioiiiiiIh aro Hlatud liy tlicin wli,v llu; man's 
 naino fliniilii In- ri-movivl, ami tliiix it \* invalid under llio 
 Act. Ho I'ar ac tin- rest of tlio aiipeal in |irt'.'<ontp<I lor my 
 contidcratioii, I am of opinion tliat under tlio|<3rd Hei^tiun 
 my power id eonlinecl to the aetion of the reviHintt otiieer 
 witli tho lint ; that i.1 to siiy, aH to tliu pro|ier admicHion of 
 iiameH nr exelu.Hion id' Ihuni, heiiiK a:i to somethiiiK whieh I 
 is or hIkiiiIiI he in the lint or which oimht not to he in it. | 
 It ia not Raiil that there is an appeal t<i the county jiidtfe | 
 aa to the proeee<linKS(d'thc rt'vi.sinKollicurwhich would uc 
 a eompridiensivi term such an is iisud in section LI). I 
 connidcr that \ have no authority to interfere .vitli t!iu I 
 action <d' tho rcv'KinK otficer in amenilinir or ailjiMiriiiiiK 
 the court to a future tliiu'. Whatever may he the im- 
 portance of my ruling as to the iiuestimi whether the no- 
 tice ill gucstion is iiisiinicicnt or invalid and null and 
 void, 118 lam pressed to decide,! ilo so, and rule as I have 
 (laid, that it is invaliil under I lie Act, and so far the appeal 
 in siistaiiieil, hot in respi'ct to my aiilhorily to interfere 
 with tlic revising otlicer'n power to order amendment or 
 to adjourn Iho court 1 do not ciilerlaiii the appeal " 
 
 N<)\K, Mr. Speakfr, tiio tovisiiij,' oliirur, (iiimi tiiiit 
 niliiij^ of tin.' lyillity jiiilgc, letiised to proi'ccMl. 
 Mt! luul iicljoiiini'il liis comt to ii fiitiiic day aiui 
 III" luul givoii till' imitifs Icavn to aiiiciid tiieii 
 lioiicf, Imt after tliis (h'li.sioii hi' icfuHCMl to juo- 
 coed. 'Mic County Coiut jndgf liiiiisulf adiiiits 
 lluit lie liad not tlic powi'r to dcu with this inies- 
 tioii of proci'diii'c, tliat lu^ iiad no iiiithoiity under 
 the Act to fxpiess an o|iiiiion on tlic .snliject or to 
 adjudicate on it, and the ,sii!.;i!ct wiim taken ln'foie 
 tile ( oiiit of (^iR'cH « IJcncii. An application w UK 
 there made f.ir a writ of inunilainiis to compel the 
 fevisirg otKeer to proceed and to diselmrge IiIh 
 duty, wliieli writ wan granted. The c'ecisioii i.f 
 the whole court was tliis : tliat tiie notice was 
 HutHcieMt ; tliey di.ssented from the view takeii liy 
 the county ju( ge ; they held " not (pialitied " was 
 a sullieient iiii'.ice. Kvery "ne of tlie.se ])ef.soiis 
 were on tlie vi ter.s" lists for .some (pialiticution or 
 ol.iv,!', and certainly ■" not <|iialilied " meiini not 
 i|Ualifieil iiitlie chaiaeter in which they were entered 
 on the li.st. The Court oft^ueen's iSeneh tln!,'efoi'e 
 ludd in the first place that the notice wassutJicient, 
 and in the second nlace that no appeal is given liy 
 the Act tothecoiin.y j"''gcfr<ini tiierevising olHcer's 
 decision. Therefore, that the proceedings hefore 
 the County (V/Uit judge were co/yr/// iioiijiii/lri , and 
 8otlie.se ])roeeedings heiiig nugatory were set aside. 
 'I'lie revising oHicer acting iijion the decision of the 
 Court of (.Queen's lienoh, proceeded to ad,iidicate 
 upon these names, and 'J"2S of tiieiii, all the names 
 that are in controversy, were struck off the voters' 
 lists. Tliat wastliei'ecision, altlioiigh they tiie suli- 
 .se(|ueiitly printed on the list. There can he no dis- 
 liute whatever that the decision wasthat they should 
 lie .struck off. Now, there was un appeal .roin that 
 decision of the Court of t^ueen's Mciicii to v he Court 
 of Appeals, ,111(1 the Court of Appeals held tliat as 
 the rev ising oliicer had acted upon the writ and 
 obeyed the command of the court, that there was 
 nothing hefore the court to decide, and that they 
 were not called upon to .suy whether the Court of 
 (Queen's Bench had tlie powi r to order the I'evising 
 orticer to proceed or not. He had .icted ; he 
 could not iecall what lie had ilone, he could not 
 undo w hat ho had iloiie, and the validity of his 
 act would not at all he .•ifi'ecteil hy the ipiestioii ! 
 v.hether the Court of (Queen's IJencli possessed ! 
 this power, or whether it did not. U'.it the Court of | 
 Appeals held tlie notice was sulticient. And so the | 
 
 mutter at(M)(l. Now, .Sir, in the lirst place, 
 when the iip|ilieiition was made to the Court 
 of Queen's KimicIi and the revising oliicer pro- 
 ceeded with the work of revising the list, an 
 appeal was hail ; an application w.is made in the 
 meantime to the county judge to consider hy wi y 
 of appeal the decision of the revising ollic-'r in 
 reference .ii tlu'se names. The county judge sai'l : 
 I will not adjuili(!ate u|ion the matter at present, 1 
 will postpone the coiisideralion of the s.iliject until 
 there is a decision hy the Court of Appeals. There 
 was a decision liy the Coiiit of Appeals, and then 
 an appeal was had from the decision of the Court 
 of Ap|>eaU to the ,Su]iremt! Court of Canada, and 
 when tin; second aiiplicatioii was made the County 
 Court said : I will not adjiiilieate until there ia ii 
 decision hy the Si premt^ Court, anil so there luw 
 la^en no time and no plaiM: lixeil to this day for 
 the' consideration of these appeals. I wish to call 
 the attention of the House, in the first jilaee, to 
 this matter. It seems to me, from looking at the 
 provisions of the Act, that it is only when iKpiestion 
 of merit is involved, a (piestion of^tlie right of the 
 party as a voter to lie on the voters' lists, that there 
 is an appeal f-om the decision of (!'e revisingoHicer 
 to the ( oi'.nty Court judge. On a ineie matter of 
 procedun' since the revising otHci r is not hound 
 to conform to the ordinary rules of a court of 
 justice, liiit is given a greater latitude to enalile 
 hini to make his proceedings effective, in view of 
 the ahsence of knowledgt^ of the law hy the voters 
 that in that matter he is acting in acconhiiice 
 with his discretion, and a matter of discretion can- 
 not he a matter of ap)>eal. It is not iireteiided — 
 or at all events it has not heen jiretelided that 
 these jiersons had any right to he on the list, or 
 that tliey were in any .sense(|ualified hy law to vote. 
 Thai was not the contention ; the contention was 
 that the notice to strike oH'liad not heen sufficiently 
 delinite, and that contention the Court of Appeals 
 and the Court of (Queen's Bench both held was an 
 erroneous view. The re\ising otfieer jiroceeded ; 
 he heard the evidence so far as there was evidence 
 to submit, and the names of the.se per.sons were 
 struck off' the roll. Now, if we look at section 04 
 which ))roviiles for a recount under certain circnin- 
 stances, among other things w liic'h are provided for 
 is this : 
 
 "That any person voting at such election, whoso 
 name was included on any list of voters used at such elec- 
 tion, or whoso name was excluded from any such list, and 
 wliose right to have his nr lo so included on the said list, 
 or the exclusion of whoso name from such list, as the case 
 may be, appeared hy such list to be the subject of an 
 appeal pcndniR and undecided under the provisions of the 
 Electoral Franchise Act, and that judgment has been 
 rendered on sucli appeal deciding tliat such person w«s 
 not entitled to have his name so registered upon said 
 list, or that tho name of such person was properly ex- 
 cluded therefrom, as the case may be." 
 
 \ow, that is one class of persons, that is one ground 
 upon which a recount hy tlie County Court 
 judge may he .sought, hut I ask the attention of 
 the House to subsection 2 of this section, wliiuh 
 reads as follows : — 
 
 "If any such appeal in respect of any person whose 
 name is entered on the poll book as having voted at such 
 election if not decided before the expiration of the said 
 four day.) allowed for the making of an application for a 
 recount, the time for the making of such application for a 
 recount on the ground of the result of the decision of any 
 such appeal shall be extemled for and until the expira- 
 tioi. of six days after the decision of any such appeal." 
 
 It is not stated that the rccojuit shall be postponed ; 
 
lint llie MUti'iiifiit in lluit iliftiiiif for iimkiiiK «iiili 
 ii|)|>li(.'iiti<m for u icidiiiit a|i|ili<ii*.i<)ii Inwhofur 
 why, to tlu-iuilj{f Hlmll l>c poHtpoiitil imlilllu' 
 t!\|>inttioii ot Mix ilajH iil'li r tlii' ilfciNioii ot the 
 iipjK'iil. I woulil liki' to know liow it i^ powHJMf 
 for tli«" rt'tiiriiing oilid i to inakf a rt'tiii ii ilininji 
 that iiuriocl of tiinr, whih' the 'iiii'Htion of appciil is 
 umii-ciiU"!. It ts pfiffctly ticar thai tho pally 
 
 h.VM nix (hiyH iiftt-r the nppfaJH aif (h'ciiU'il t akf 
 
 thih application. Now , it it wi-ri^ poMniliU- fof tin; 
 tctniiiini, olliocr to injikf hiw ictmn hrforu that 
 pi'iiod of liini', th'Mi it in pcifi'ctly o)(\ iouH liiiit in- 
 han not tiionix ihiy« toniaki-the application, that 
 
 he wonlii not havi-any lime, on tliiH ^'ifnnid. t nkc 
 
 tliu apiilication. lit' iinn<H inakf the appliiation 
 aftor tlif ii'tnrn is made ; and it in clear an noon 
 day, that nndcr iIuhc proviNionH, the rclnrnini,' 
 olHccr iH estopped from making a return nntll tin se 
 appeals are decided. I callyonr attention fnrther. 
 Sir, to tile fac't tint the two classes of voters nnder 
 Hei!tion (iH are to he kept distinct. The retnrning 
 ortieer is to enumerate nnder one cI.ihs those who 
 are entitled to vote, to whom iioexception is taken, 
 and he nnist make a separate list for those who.se 
 ca.ses are in appeal. Now, these twodasses cannot 
 Im^ fu.sed together in one enumeration, until this 
 (juestion of appeal isileeiiled ; aniltlial appeal in not 
 to lie exercised in such a way as to taki' from the 
 i>arty aggrieved his riglit to make the application. 
 He is not forced to make his application at 
 tince. It is not an application which after 
 it is made is to he postjioned. It is this fact 
 which is kept clearly in view hy this suh-section, 
 that until six days elapse after the.se appeals are 
 disposeil of, the returning otlicer cannot make a 
 return. And why should he ? Wiiat right "'.us he to 
 do so? .Suppose 4<KI or TidO names were im])ro])erly 
 put on the list, and were made a suliject of appeal 
 just on the eve of an election, is it jiossilili' that it 
 could he seriously argucil that this House ! as dis- 
 charged its duty in so incom|ietent a way, that it 
 has .so far failed to make provision for the pro|ier 
 expre.ssion of jiidilic opinion, that tliese ■ otes could 
 he counted hefore it slioidd he finally determined 
 whether the names ought to he on tlie voters' list 
 or not V It ia clearly the intention of the law that 
 s'ection ()(t shall not lie read hy itself. It must he 
 read in connection with what follows. It is not 
 that sole section which decides what art! the duties 
 of the returning oHicer. His duties are liniiced and 
 exjdained further hy section (il ; they are also 
 limited liy section (i'2, where, if a hallot hox is 
 missing, an adjournnieiit is provided for, notwith- 
 standing the clear and jxisitive declarations of 
 .section ()() ; they are Turiher limited hy .section O.S ; 
 and they are lii.dted hy the aineiuliricnt of lust 
 year, which •■'■.iws tiiat the votes cannot he counted 
 until it is k.iown whether those per.sons are really 
 entitled to he so counted or not. In conformity 
 witli ti'.io coiiscruction cf the law, you have thi.'s 
 provision of section M : 
 
 " If any such iippeal in rcfpect of any porson wliost' 
 itiiinc is entered on the noil book ii." luivirift voted at such 
 election is not decided belorc the expiration of the said 
 I'rur day.'* allowed for the uiiiking of an iippli('ati(ai for 
 » recount, the time for themiikiiigof .«ueh apiiliciilion for 
 a recount on the ground of the residt oftliedeci.''iiin of any 
 appeal shall be extended for and until the expiration of 
 six days after the decision of any such appeal." 
 
 \yiiy, Sir, if you were to ])ut any other construc- 
 tion on the Act, yon would leave a party in an im- 
 portant case without a remedy, except hy the active 
 
 interfei'ence of this House to protect itself against 
 a K"oMM wrong. I do ,iot think we are called uimiii 
 to put such a narrow construition on the .Act. \\o 
 must read all |»arts of the Act togtdher ; we miiHt 
 look at its Hiiirit and at the intention of I'urliu- 
 meiit as discloNed in the Act ; ami it is clt-ar, in 
 view <if these provisions for a recount, that thi* 
 retiiridiig otlicer cannot make a return until it ih 
 decided wliither those paiticM who have \(ited,and 
 whose names are in appeal, weie nr were not 
 j entitled uinler the law to have the elective fran- 
 I chise. Now. Sir. let me read some circumslalieuH 
 I coniU'cted with the declaration. Mi. I'ritchard iit 
 the returning otlicer in the cjty of London. Mr. 
 I'ritchard, when asked todelay making hisi|e( hirii- 
 tioii in accordance with the amendment of tlielaw 
 of last year, said : 
 
 " 1 have no lie.-ilation or diiiiht in ilie matter. The 
 (lueflioii of tiie uiidreiiled appi-iiU in in the haiid.s of tliu 
 Court of Appeal, and I have iiolhiiiK to do with it " 
 Why, .Sir, he had everything to do with it. Then 
 yr. Magee, the counsel for .\lr. Hyman, said : 
 
 "I would call your attention to llm words id' suh-nce- 
 tion 2 fd'seclion t)2, and if for any oilier <'»u8e, the ."iiid 
 returning ntlii-er cannot at the day and hour iippoinled by 
 him hir that purpose aiicerlaiii the exact number of voles, 
 Ac, ho may tliereuiion adjourn to a future <lay." 
 Now, the iiumher of votes was not aseertaiiiahle, 
 liecaiise those parties' right to vote was a sulijt'ct 
 .-till pemling. The returning otlicer opened liallot 
 liox numlier one and declared 1'A votes polled fur 
 Mr. Calling and !M) tor .Mr. Hyniaii. Then Mr. 
 Mage»' said : 
 
 " I call your attention to (lie fact that there are six 
 of tliest' ballots cast for t'lc lion. .Mr, Carliiig which were 
 deposited by persons w .o.«e right to be registered is dis- 
 puted." 
 
 It seems that instead of the ditferent ehisses of hal- 
 lots heiiig kept separates as provideil for hy .section 
 '>H, they were mingled together, Mr. I'ritchard, 
 the returning otlicer, said : 
 
 " I may as vyell state here that I have nothing to do 
 with tlie question of the undecided appeals, i shall simply 
 take the voles that are recorded for Mr. (,'arliiig and for 
 Mr, Ilyman." 
 
 Now, .Sir, that is the (niestioii of first importance 
 that tliis House is called upon to consider : Hail he 
 nothing to do with it'; Had he a right to |)idceod 
 to sum up the good and the i|nestioned votes 
 together'; I think it is clear from the provisions 
 of the Act, that he had not to do it, that he had 
 no ])ower or right to make a return until that 
 (|Uestion was decided. If he made a return, it is 
 (juite clear that it could only lie a special 'eturii — 
 a return stating that there were so many votes 
 polled for Mr. Carling and so many foi'Mr. Hyman 
 ahout which tiierc was no (|Uestion, and that there 
 were sii many for .Mr. Carling and so many for Mi'. 
 Hyman which were under appeal. I»iit I think, 
 looking at the |)rovisionH of the .-Xi^t of last year, 
 that it is (|uite clear that no return of any sort 
 <iught to he made ; no iH^turn such as the law con- 
 templates can he made until it is decided whether 
 these votes are t<i he struck oH' the list of those 
 untitled to vote, or whether they are to remain. 
 Until that takes place it is not possilile to say with 
 alisolute certainty who has the majority of legi'.l 
 votes cast at an election, 1 am not going to dis- 
 cuss this suhject further. I have hronght this 
 matter to the attention of the House, an<l 
 have called its attention to the important (pies- 
 tioii of the necessity <if insisting that all 
 
 J- 
 
 
 ^m 
 
otlii'frM uliiill rMiifiirtii to tlif liiw miiiI iliHchurup 
 llu'ir iliilit'M ill II fiiir iiml iiiipiii'tiiil iiiiuiiu'r. I uiii 
 iiif(ii'iiii'(l liy ti'l(').'r;uii tliitt tilt! county J'kIk*' '■'"* 
 today tlic oiH^Htiiiii of the umlfi'iiltMl ii|i|il'iiIh licfori" 
 |# liiiii, ami, alll'ioiiKli in tlii' lutti'i part of Xom'IiiIdt 
 
 oi- tin? faily part of Dccrnilicr lie iiili'il that lit- 
 woiilil not lalit- iiny cn iijcncc m lu'ii appciilH weir 
 niiiilitliy the Ri'fonn ( 'oinniittt't-, Inii woiili! niniply 
 iluciiUi the i|U('.stioii on tlic (■viiU^ni't' hh reportcil hy 
 the ri'viMint; otliitT, iii'VciiliflcuM to day ii dilU'iiMit 
 iiiU' Ih to lit' loloplcci in ffganl to the otIuM' 
 Hiili'. I hope that niiiy pi'ovf to h,' an iiiitoiiinltMl 
 Htiitt'iiiunl, oi', if il iHtnic, that His llononr may 
 nuviiiMiilt.'i' liiH ilctt'i'iiiination anil may act upon the 
 wiini! rule throiif^hont. I think that t\w import- 
 
 «)TTAWA ! 
 
 I'nntrd liy H. R Dawson, 
 
 I'rintcr to tlu' <^n<'<'n'» Mo«t Kxct'lhsnt Miiji-Mty. 
 
 1889.