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Mi.ACoBJ-vo-sr, Univeriitj/ CoUegt, Toronto, WITH AN INTRODUCTION By W. J. ASHLEY. M.A., Jfrofutor ofPolitii^l EeontMnp and ConHitutional Hittory, Late Fellow of Lincoln CoUege, Oxford. TORONTO : PRINTED BY WARWICK & RONS, <$8 aww 70 FRONT ST. WBST, 1889. B:tft#^>:i« kit-.-'P,,*? &-Mi5 i TORONTO UNIVERSITY STUDIES W. J. ASHLEY. Editor. FIRST SERIES. No. I. THE ONTARIO TOWNSHIP BTT J. ImI. l/C C E "V O "2" , Universily ColUge, Toronto, WITH AN - INTRODUCTION By W. J. ASHLEY, M. A., Professor of Political Economii ami Constitutional History, Late Fellow of Lineohi Colhye, Oxford. T^^rmi N- it-i^ /rill " ^'J ^j, . .. TORONTO : PRINTED BY WARWICK 8c SONS, 68 and 70 FRONT ST. W£3T, 188Q. TABLE OF CONTENTS. VAC K. Introductiun by the Editor , The Ontario Townihip — Section I.— Introduction .. II.— Local Government under t^uarter SessionH and Town MoetinKs 15 HI.— Local Government under Diitrict Councils .jg I v.— The Present System ,,(. v.— The Townsliip Officials an J their Duties ■^•^ VI.— The County Council and its relation to the Townships .{o VII. —Conclusion ,., ,, , „ • ■ •** INTRODUCTION. Nothing is raore .striicing in the ii\tellectuai history of our own time, nothing more full of hope, than the growing interest exoited by Political Science. It matters but little whether it is called by that name, or divided into its various elements, History, Economics, Administration, Public Finance, and the like. In Germany, in France, above all in the United States, an amount and a kind of attention altogether now are now being given to the problems of political society. Two ideas underlie the movement. The first is that the State, with all its con- stituent parts and all its activity, can be studied in the same spirit as the biolo- gist brings to the observation of the animal organism, or the mathematician to the manipulation of numbers, /. c, with absolute impartiality, with a complete suppression of all other motive than the ascertainment of truth. The second is that knowledge thus ac(iuired by scientific observation and analysis will be of practical use. It were too early to pronounce judgment on the work which scholars influ- enced by these ideas have as yet been able to perform. A tree is known by its fruit.s, but it must be given time to grow- before the fruits are looked for. If they have done no more than impress anew on many men just entering what is called practical life, the homely duty of trying to see facts as the)' re'.lly are, without bias of personal or party interest, they have done much. I believe it will be found in the sequel that they have done far more than this. Meanwhile a word of explai'ation is called for by this present publication, and may remove some misconceptions. As in the special department of Political Economy, so in the wider subject, Political Science, which includes it, it is a mistake to suppose that there is in existence a body of simple principles, which can be found in the books of certain great masters, and need only to be applied to real life. Economists and philosophers .and historians and lawyers in the past have indeed given us many valuable reflexions and wide-reaching generalizations, which may very fittingly be made the basis of the academic study of Political Science. Yet these reflexions and generalizations do but furnish us with a beginning, a .starting point, for further development. This development must, for some time to come, take the direction of the discovery by the methods of history, of statistica and observa- tion,* of the main facts of the political and economic world around us. The most •wr"* proBHing duty, in truth, of the atudent of Political Science i8,for the prenent, the vise collection of material. Fortunately thin task requires no very high intellectual powers ; it needs chiefly industry and honesty. This in often not understood ; and enquiries of the kind I have indicated are often spoken of with too much praise on the one side, or with too great depreciation on the other. The former mistake is perhaps most likely to bo found among those who huvo themselves been engaged in this sort of "original research." There is indeed plenty of opportunity in it for a man to shew a high degree of ability ; but still what is really needed is chiefly intoUigunt drudgery. Before we can begin to hazard large speculations on any particular subject, the whole field must tirst have been surveyed in this unam- bitious fashion. The one great fault of so much of the thooriscing of the present century is that it has been too hasty, too scantily Ibrtifiod by knowledge. On the other hand, I have heard it said, " What id the use of a man's giving two or three months to working through the charters of this or that particular city, reading mayors' messages and treasurers' statements, and interviewing dozens of citizens, in order only to produce a " monograph," which no one will ever pay any attention to except a handful of similar enthusiasts ?" But if Political Science is to mean anything more than a literary amusement, it must deal with the actual everyday affairs of the world, sordid and distasteful as those afl'airs may often be. That "monograph" by itself might be of little use ; but lot us get twenty such works on twenty such cities, and we may bo able to advance a step further. Comparison will probably bring out common features ; eliminating special dis- turbing forces we may be able to arrive at the common source of certain evils ; and the variations may enable us to see what is the more hopeful direction in which to look for reform. Surely no one will deny that if wo can obtain results such as these, the labor of the special investigations will not have been thrown away. Even with so little as has been done already, let any one read the chapters on Local Government in Mr. Bryce's American Commonwealth, and he will see how impossible it would have been to write them without the pre- liminary study of the field by the group of writers associated with the Johns Hopkins University. It is time, I think, that enquiries of this kind were entered upon for Canada and Ontario. Upon all the subjects of vital importance for the future of c)ur Domin- ion, — our system of local government, the condition of our cities, our industrial and commercial policy, the condition of our agriculture, — on these and every other, our first need is for more knowledge. ■> In working with my class at Canadian Constitutional History, I became awaru that one of my pupils, Mr. J. M. McEvoy, posseHsod tv more than usual knowledge of the practical working of the township system ; and that the occu- pation of township officers by his father and grandfather during a long period of years had given him, as it wore, an hereditary interest in the subjuct. I sug- gested that it might bo useful if be would attonjpt to sketch tho history and working of the township system in the district h« know best, as a contribution to the early constitutional history of Ontorio; as a help to the solution of tho difficulties yet remaining in local government; and as an indication to those out- side Canada, interested in popular self-government, of a system of administration in some of its features oltogethor unique. Mr. McEvoy Hpent his' vacation in perusing the early documents of the old Lon Ion iftrict, in consulting venerable seniors who could tell him of tho state of tilings fifty or sixty 3ears ago, and in the study of the statute book ; and tho result is now laid before the reader. Mr. McEvoy, with a wise limitation of his field, begins wi^h tho Act of 1793 empowering the inhabitants of town.ships to elect certain officers. ■ Of late years a considerable literature has grown up concerning the New England township, of which the Ontarian township is indii-ectly the descendant. It has been traced back to the primitive Oerman self-governing "mark-community," which is .sup- po?5ed to have suffered the degradatior. of suf)iection to manorial lonls, but in the freer air of the New World to have reappeared again in all its old democratic liberty. Unfbrtunatel)' the very existence of the tree mark-community has recently been disputed, and with much shew of reason. It is safer to say that the early colonists of New England took with them the local institutions with which they were familiar"at home ; but that a more democratic spirit was infused into them by the circumstances of their new life, and by the character of their religion, * Whatever its origin, the town-meeting of New England played a mo.st important part in the education of the people in .self-government. There all the ([ualified male inhabitants met together, and discussed and decided a wide range of matters of local concern. Why was this system not introduced in its entirety into Canada ? It is frequently supposed that the reason was that the Briti.sh Government, taught by the experience of the rcvt>lted colonies, feared the town- meeting as a school of independence. It is true tuat town meetings were sup- * The best brief comparison of the local institutions t»f England in the seventeenth cen- tury with those of the American colonies, will be found in Dr. Channing's Essay on Toioii and County (rdvernment in the EnglUh Cdonies of North America in Johns Hopkins University Stud- ies, 2nd Series. As to the "reproduction of primitive Teutonic life" nee an admirable though one-sided article in the New York Nation for October 3, 1889 : "The Puritans invented little or nothing ; they were neither wiser nor more notional than their kindred in England ; and above all, they intended to live by English laws and customs as closely as possible." 8 pressed in Nova Scotia in 1770, the very year that Boston town-meeting under the guidance of Samuel Adams was leading all the other "towns" of Massachu- setts in opposition to the government of King George. This mtty, accordingly, have been one of the reasons Avhy the local government established in Upper Caniida took the shape it did. But there is another and still more important reason, that has liitherto been overlooked. It is that it was not the example of New England that was directly before the eyes of the first settlers in Upper Canada, but the example of the neighboring state of New York. It was from thence that most of the U. E. Loyalists came. * Indeed, an old settler writing in 1816 expre.ssly describes the system of government establi.shed in 1791 and the 3'fcars immediately following, as "a constitution similar, to tliat they [the old settlers] had lost during the rebellion in the Province of New York." + Now the township has never occupied the same position in New York and the middle states of the Union as in the more northern states. It was not there the original basis of local government ; the county was that ; but it had been intro- duced by New England influence : so that the middle states presented a com- promise between the township system of the north nnd the count}' system of the south. I The legislative powers of the town-meeting, for instance, seem to have been very limited, and practically its chief work was tlie election of town- ship officers. § From 1703, indeed, there w.'us a county-board composed of the Supervisors (the chief officers of the townships, like the Ontarian Reeves,) which had the power of levying taxes, and I shall i-eturn to this very shortly ; but the justices, nominated by the Governor, still possessed considerable power of control. Mr. McEvoy tells us of the friction occasioned in Ontario by the justices' authority over the repair of roads ; but they had somewhat the same power in New York ; thus '• in several counties a single justice of the peace might, whenever he thought fit, order the ovei-seei's to repair any road within his district." || ' . . This last example suggests a further remark. Even the authority of the justices in Quarter Sessions in Ontario is probably to be tsxplainod at least as much by Amei'ican tradition as by imitation of England. *^ Thus in Massa- chusetts itself, wl^ere the town-meeting was .strongest, the justices in General or Qu per I * Tliis is clear on glancing over the accounts of the moat notable settlers in Dr. Cannilfa Hettlement of Ujijx'r Gonnfa, Chupn. !.>-ll. The three towilsliips first surv eyed, for inntiince, were entirely occupied by men from New York ; Fbid chap. 4i>. t jhid 159. ' J-. ; I See this idea clearly worked out by Brj'ce, American Commonwealth, chap. 48. § Howard, Local Constitntional HUtory of the U. «Si. i. Ill ; cf. 107. il Ibid .392-3. ^ Dr. Bourlnot seems to ascribe it entirely to the latter cause ; LoccU Governmenl in Ca>iarfa, 37, in Johns Hopkins Studies, 5th Series. • Quarter Sessions continued to levy a county rate to the end of the colonial period, * and even to exercise the rif^ht of disallowing town by-la v^s. f The position of tho township and town-meeting in Ontario is still further illustrated by the analogy presented to us in the history of the American North- west [now forming the states of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin]. In both cases the township was at first a mere territorial division lor the purpose of surveying the land, and partitioning it among settlors ; in Upper Canada this work began in I7H1, and was carried on morf vigoroiisly from 17M3 by a Sur- veyor-Oeneral who had actually been doing precisel}^ similar work in the colonies north of Virginia, ij: In the American Northwest the work was set on foot by the Ordinance of 1785. But while in Upper Canada this merely geographical division became the unit for local administration, with its meeting for the election of officers, as early as 1793, the Northwest Territory waited till 1H02 for an institution of precisely the same limited powers. {;; And in the Northwe.'it at first, as in Upper Canada, a wide administrative authority was exercised by the justices in Quarter Sessions. j| Of the more recent period treated by Mr. McEvuy, it is not necessary here r,o .say much. The .system established in 1849 seems to be similar in all e.s.sentials to the .so-called "compromise" plan or "township-county system" of New York and some of the Northwestern states, \Vith its county board composed of tnwn- .ship supervisors. How far the one was consciously borrowed from the other, or how far both wore the independent outcome of the sanit! needs, would ie(|uire some little research to determine. The name Ttccvc for tho presiding officer of the township council is pei;uliar, as far as I know, to Canada, aiid was ])0ssibly the result of the revived interest in early English institutions .hat mai'ked the period. It may be noticed that Kemblo's Saxonn in Englnnd, with its chapier «n the Gerefa, had appeared in the preceding year. The most important difi'er- encc between the Ontarian and the American " CDUiproniise " system .seems to lie in the circumstance that in Ontario all the powers of" tiie town-meeting, except the election of certain officers, have been transferred by law to the township council. But, this contrast is diminished by two facts in the ])ractical workiiig oX the two systems ; first that in several of the Ajuerican .-.tates the legislative activity of the town-meeting is in reality but small, owing to the withdrawal, as in Ontario, of incorporated villages from the township ; *" anil secondly the sery * Howard, :U0-1. t lhi,l[YM. + Cannift", chap. 16, . • • ' ^ § Howard, 144. J! Ibid, 423-4. They sooji h)st, liuwcvor, in the Northwest the [lowor of k-vving taxes, *[ Howard, 166; l^eiiUH IjochI (TDwrnment in Michiijitu amy the North tredf 15, iit.JohiiH Hopkins University Studies, Ist Series. ^ m^mmmm lUlMUl'iLWf"! "y. .y 10 remarkable survival of the town-meeting in Ontario, in spite of statutes, and its real influence over the actions of the council. Mr. McEvoy's essay is particularly useful in calling our attention to this striking instance of the strength of custom. In issuing the fi"st essay of what, it is lioped, nifiy bo a series, the editor has only this to remark in conclusion. He cannot hope that all the statements in every essay will be faultlessly accurate, and that bias of some sort or other will not occasionally show itself. But it will at any rate be the desire and effort of the editor, and those who will work with him, to see facts in the dry light of impartiality, and to use language untingod b}' passion. And should any reader notice a palpable blunder, he will be floing a kindness if he will communicate with the editor. W. J. Ashley. 1 THE ONTARIO TOAYNSHIP. Section 1. — Introduction. It is customary to say that Ontario is divided into counties, and that these counties are stihdivided into townships. It would be nearer the truth to say that Ontario is liivided into townships, and that these townships are grouped into counties. Tlie province >vrw parly divided into four large districts, in each of which there were already a certain iiiiiuber of settlers with improved lands marked off into townships. As new lands were ivHjaired for settlers, additional pieces of land were " laid out " into townships. In this " laying out " or surveying of new lands (or a township, there was no intention of dividing a district into so many equal parts ; all that was aimed at was to lay out the land in such a manner as to secure a township of ordinary .size, lying adjacent to those already surveyed. Tht'se townships, as then "bounded ' by the surveyors, have ever since remained the same, though, for purposes of government, they have be<:«n grouped in several ways, of which the present arrangement in counties is but one. Thf^ (irst grouping, that of 1788, was into the Western, Home, Midland and Eastern Districts ; with the growth of popula- tion, however, it was found necessary to make a roailjustment in 1798 ; and the old town- .ships, with such new ones as had more recently been settled, were arranged in eight districts, a much reduced territory being included in each of the four distri(;ts known by tiie old names, to which were now added the districts of Johnstown, Newcastle, Niagara, and London. To these were added at a later date (lore, Bathurst and Ottawa. It was during the time of this latter grouping of townships that the townships of which I shall more particularly speak, were .st'ti,led. During this period the " county," though in name it existed, (Simcoe having divided the pi^ovince into nineteen counties), was not a reality to the ordinary inhabitant ; nor did it become so until after the district administration had been replaced by county corporations. Tlie average township contains about .">0,000 acres. ITow wide, however, the differences ot a-'^a are, may be illustrated by the county of Middlesex, where the largest township contains !S8,U58 acres of which tlie " e(nia]ized assessment valuation '' is §5,4*19,382, and the smallest township 23,4GS acres of which the equalized assessment valuation is .~^l)^)0,■22O. Townships are usually roughly quadrilateral in tjliaf)e, but are by no means always siuares or parallelograms. The condition of the land at the timo the town^dup was Hurveye(l,and the chronological order(in reference to surrounding townships) in which it was .surveyed, determine its shape. Owing to irregularities in shape, arising from these and "ther causes, the length and breadth of townships varies from six to tifteen Tniles. It is inuusing to read the rules issued by the early Provincial Land .Survi^yors to their Jej)iiti(;8 in regard to the surveying of townships ; an attempt was matle at regularity, even precision, by the government, while the work was really being carried on in a rough and ready fashion in accordance with the wishes of the people and the exigencies of the times. On the arrival of Governor >Simcoe in Upper Canada he at once a{)plied to Lord Horchester for information concerning the allotment of Crown Lands. He was supplied with the names of live deputy land surveyors, who had been occupied in laying out lands for =ettlement. The way in which land was actually being taken up by settlers at this time, was as follows : The settler applied to the " Land Board," (composed generally of throe commissioners appointed by the government in each art of the county system. The stops l>y which a town, in some cases, becomes separated from \he county, 01 reaches the dignity of a city and is thereupon altogether removed from the county .system, need not be dwelt upon hero. In nearly every township there are lands surveyed as village lots (by some priva>« iiulividual who thinks it will be a profitable thing to do with his farm) and a plitn of the curvey registered in the registry ottice of the county. Hero a popuhition of two or three hundred may be living, and the land thus surveyed is constantly called a village by tho inhabitants. Moreover, for convenience in township assessment and in transference of titles, it is called an " unincorporated village ;" but so far as local government is con- I'crned it is, until otlieially cut oft' from its township, simply a part of certain lots in a .jf rtain concession of that township. The further discussion of this subject will be divided into three parts : The first part will consist of a description and comment upon our local government under the old town meeting and (piarter sessions system, established by tho Act of 1703, intituled "An Act to provide for the nomination and appointment <>f pari/i/i tind town officers." The second part will hi' similarly devoted to tho system of local administration in which the district council is tho important feature, introduced by Mr. Harrison's Act of 1841 ; and the third part will consist of an account and criticism of our present system of local i;overnmcnt, established in 1849 by the Municipal Act, which has been copiously aiuended and reconstructed but not altered in essential principles. The facts now to be narrated have been learned from observation of the actual work- ing of local government, and from tho records of local government, in tho townshij).s in tlie vicinity of the City of London, and I do not wish to imply" that my account will be 1 (pmlly true of all parts of this province. But as the general frarao-work of local i^overnment is uniform throughout the province, what is true of any one district will |-robably be apprAximutely true of most Ontario townships. Section ;?. — Local Government under Quarter Sessions and Toum Mcetinys. As tho Act of 1793 is not of convenient access it may be well to i|Uoto here its most auportant provisions : — " I. It shall be lawful after tho passing of this Act for any two of His Majesty's "justices of the peace, acting within the division in wliich any parish, township, ■• reputed township or place may be, to issue tlieir warrant, givin::; eight days prevjous '• notice to the con8t«.ble of such parisii, township, reputed township or place, author- " izing him, on a day to be fixed by the said justices in the present year, and on the " lirst Monday in March, (amended to the first Momlay in January, 51 Geo. III.) in ' every ensuing year, tc assemble the inhabitant householders, paying, or liable to pay to • any publie assessmer.t or rate of such parish, township, reputed township or place, in '• the parish church oi chapel, or in some convenient place within the said parish, forthe • rmrpose of choosing and nominating the hereinafter mentioned town or parish officers. ' pariah or town clerk, assessor, collector, overseers of highways, pound-keepers, and two ' town wardens." V. The overseers of highw-sys "are hereby authorized and required ... to " view and deter 'uine upon the lieight and aujlcienci/ of any fence within their respective 16 " towuihip . . . , conforniubhj to any remluliona Hint may b)-. agreed upon by thfi »aid ** inhabitants at $uch meeting." This Act, under the authority t>f which our local government wan originally etttablished, recognizna that there are certain parts of a nation's administration which must, if any degree of excellency ia to lie attained, lie left to the management of local ofBcora ; and nut only was this recognized, but a system of local administration had already been arrived at with otKcers whose duties and modes of appointment were under- Htood by the people. From this point, wo have ourselves worked out a aj'steni of local self-govern ment. at once enlightened, free, and eflicient ; and 1 shall attempt to trace the growth of this system through its more important stiigea. It must not be supposed that it was from any idf^a of the justice or litness of self- governmenv., that in this Act some shadow of self-control was given to the people in their local affairs. The idea of self-government was not then a dominant one among the governed any nidre than among those who ruled. The whole system was conceived in a spirit of expediency ; the scheme wus a convenient one for the state of the country, and the people understood how to work it, many of them having knowledge of a similar system in their native places. Wh< ii it was inaugurated ii was perhaps thought by the great majority to be the be,st that could be devised, ft eventually proved itself, however, far too narrow to meet the dniiands of a rapidly developing people. Our system of government was at this time highly centralized, but ever since the passing of this Act, there has b, en in Ontario an almost continuous relaxing of power and responsibility into the hands of tln^ people themselves ; self-government has l>een slowly becoming a matter of reality, and in no part of our polity has this shifting of the seat of power from the few to the many been more marked than in our local administration. The township is the unit to which much of this centralized power and authority ha.s steadily, though slowly, filtered down ; and whihf it has ahvayn been the (smallest unit of self government, it has also been that in which the people have most directly participated in the work of government. The quality and quantity of power, which was jntended to be j)ut into the hands of the people assembled in " town meeting " or the general assembly of the township, may be seen by the very tirst words of the Act of 1703, " Whereas it is rocjuired for the mniyi- " tenance of good order and the regular e.c.cutwn of the laws that proper persons should be " appointed to superintend the observance thereof.'' From this it is very evident that it was not intended to entrust to the people assembled in their several townships any inde- peniient [lOwer of regulating their local atlairs. They were merely to appoint otiicera to carry out the orders transmitted to them by the central government. The only matter on which the town-meeting was given any discretionary power by the Act of 1793 was the regulation of the height of fences ; to this was added by an Act of the following year the determination of the conditions under which cattle, horses, sheep and swine should be allowed to run at large. But one cannot examine the records and appre township is iidily, though f government, n the work of the hands of nvnsliip, may for the main- ons should be '^ident that it ps any inde- nt olKcers to only matter >f 1793 was ihe following p and swine id appreciate need that it of Ontario, 'lere been no owers which be exercised ious to meet put in their might 1)6 the rs and exer- of strongly ant. When 1 men were istration. ithorize Town The first town meeting for the Township of Westminister, held under the authority of this Act seems to have been held in 1H17. The first patent for land in Westminster, would appear to have been issued about 1812, the patent-book not giving the exact date. There had, however, probably been town meetings in the township pn-viuus to 1817, or something very similar, because in the record of the meetings of 1M7, it is called the " annual town meeting." All the business of the township (or the ensuing year was transact^^d at this meeting. The records show that it (ronaJKtcd in choosing and up|)ointing one town i Icrk, two aHHcsMors, one collector, two town waidens and two pound-keepers. These were to perform duties assigned them by the i'roviiieial (Government, and thnt government at that tiine was but litth' influenced i>y the populiirly elected Ansembly. The one semblance of self government whown in the record of the year's burtiness is written at the l)ottom of the list of names of the men appointed to the above otKces. ' • " Voted thiit the height of fences for the year shall be four feet six inches high ; the tour under rails shall not be more than four inches apart.' " Voted that hogs shall lie free for the year 1817." By this was meant that hogs should be allowed to rtin on the public hi^'hways of the townships, every man being rtquired to protect hi« crop against his nciglibor's hogs and other live stock with such a fence as above described. Here is the record of all the municipal business done for the Township of Westmin- ster for the year 1817, written on less than a sheet of note puper. Local government through the lucdium of townships was indeed meagre. The right to assess and collect tux from one's self, when one has no voice in deciding what shuU ',e the atiiount of that tax or in what way it shall be expended, is not a very desirable one. Ko.ids were much needed, but many soon began to feel that the people in the vicinity of the ruad knew better than the government at Toronto what amount of statute labor was necessary in their particular neighborhood. Ijet me show as nearly as possible, from the information I have been able to obtain, in what manner the several olhccrs executed their duty and in what that duty consistoil. The first duty ot the toinn clerk was to keep the minutes of the town meeting and to transmit the same to hi.s successor in ottice. He had also to make a list of all persons in the paijish uf «very ia misnomer. The value to be assigned to each acre, horse, cow, etc., was determined l>y provincial statute. All that the a,sses8or did was to forward to the Clerk of the Peace a list of the property owners and a description of their property, showing in what it consisted. This list was called an "Assessment Roll " and from it the Cli rk of the Peace proceeded to make the " Collectors' Roll." In this his ottice was merely mechanical. Besides the general tax, two special rates may be mentioned, which were levied in accordance with provincial statute by the quarter sessions. Of these, one, to provide a salary for the members of the Provincial Assembly, was first imposed in 1803 and continued to be levied till 1840 ; the other, which waa fixed by law at one eighth of a penny on each acre, was for Che building and maintenance of asylums for the insane, and this went on as a separate tax till 1857. 2 (O. T.) Ifi The greaur part of the direct taxen, hovrever, won iniposnd by the magiiitratRH in (|uart(ach diHtrict, and soiniHimM ordered special rateH for townihips and partH of townahipH, for purpo^oH of local lidminiy- tratioii. In uccordancn with the ordt^rn received from the <|uarter seuionn, tlie (7|«rk of tlie Pfuce wrote in the collector'H roll opposite each man's name an amount of tax in propoi'tion with the value assigned l)y statute to the list of property the assfssor had returned him as owning. The roll wu then put into the hands of the lullecfor, who proci«ded to collect from the people the a^uount of money set opposite their respective poHseueions. From thin it is oamly seen, so far as asseHsors and colloctorH were conoerned, that although they were appoinUd by the townshipd in town meeting, they were appointed to execute the orders of an authority over which neither township nor town ine«>ting had the slightest control. ThuH the to\vn8hi|> oxerciHed no power whatever in the matter of taxation, and the "town meeting system" was little more than an arrangement by which the jfmern- ment could levy and collect their rates from the people with the least expense. But it did a great deal more than this — it educated the people The vimrntfrM of hier ol' men wlio were obliged to perform the work he ordered, but he was supposed to arrange this work in the manner most advantageous to the neighbor- hood. This the overseer generally did, but not always. If any overseer misused his power, at the following town meeting he was tiikf^n to task, the matter was discussed by the men of the neighborhood and if it was thought that the overseer had dis tributed the work to specially beneiit himself or some friend, he was displaced and a new man elected to the office. This punishment no pathmostcr de-iired to provoke. The oftice freed him from the p( rformance of his own statute labor, but this was not a greater consideration than tlie loss of importance and the discredit that followed disndssal for such a reason. Another duty of the pathmasters at this time was to decide whether any fence, con- cerning which there was a dispute, was or was not up to the standard reijuiied by the •• town law " as " voted " at the last town meeting. These di.ipiites arose when anv live stock broke down a man's fence and destroyed his crop. In such a case the man who owned the crop would call the pathniaster to decide, first whether the fence was up to the standard ; and secondly, if the fence were found to be satisfactory, what \t'a8 the extent of the damage, as for that amount the osvner of the cattle was responsible to the man suffering the loss. In 1834 the duties ol the pathmasters as to fences were transferred to officers known as fence vtewern, whom the Legislature ordered to bo elected in each town meeting. The need for fence viewers arose from the fact that disputes were constantly arising about " line fences," i. e., the fences which separated one man's land from the farm lying adjacent to it. When one settler had fenced his farm on four sides, the next settler came and by fencing hig farm on three sides and joining bis fence to that o his neighbor he was quite as well off as the first settler, although be had done onl three-quarters as much work. It became the province of the fence viewers to say win 19 amnnnt thf* n«'w man Hhould piiy for hoinf; allowed to uoo hiH nnighhor's fnnuo. Thf^y alio were to Rottlo HiH|>ut('H a)>out drainage. Thesn otHcera are now appointed hy tlio tnwnnhip^ council, ftn«l havt^ power to decidi) diBputen concerning foncnn, Imt havo no uuthority con- darning (irainago. They have n«ver actfd ningiy, throe forming ii full y the f(«nce \ lewers. Of course all this proceeding was siiliject to reversal in a higher court, but tills i.M the manner in which it was and is actually done. The pathmaster or fence viewers were called to the scene of destruction by the party injun-d and wore paiil for their troublo by the man owning thv cattle if it was decided that the liestruction wa.s owing to the viciou-Hiiess of the cattle, and by the owner of the crop if it wa.s ilecided that it was owing lo the insutKciency of the fence. Totru wanhnii were annually appointed in Westruini.ster Townshiff, but throvaI, and the dork wrote down the lianu?. The man was practically installed in his oflii'-e by this rude process." There can, however, be discerned throughout the period prior to 1841 a gradual improvement in orderliness at the meetings as well as a slight improvement in the practical results of their deliberations. The questions which most agitated the minds of our rural legislators were whether live stock should be allowed to run at large, and what consti- tuted a lawful fence. The opinion that everything except swine and vicious animals should be free commoners prevailed during this period. There was then much unfenced and unoccupied land which afiorded pasturage for a large number of cattle, horses and so ■he«p ; it waH tht'ntfort) durirg that periwl well worth the trout>l() of securely fnnoinf( the littlti land und^r urop, in order tu malcu available tho great extent of niifimci^d paHture. There waH much (liMUURMion as to whether Hwine Nhould be free coiiiDioners. Tht^re is a ■eason of the ynar when awine will actually fatten in our foroNta ; so that there was a Htrotig ooononiio reason for permitting even them to run at large during the autumn i^ontliH, when the large area of woodland Htill unfenced was strewn with nuts from various trees, An uttem (it was made to frame the " Town Laws " so that advantage might be taken of ihese niunths of ph-nty without leaving tiie highways exposed to tht* destructive rootinj,' of the hogs during the whole-summer. This, however, waH a failure. The swine did nearly as inu8e rules if tlie> saw that a change would be an improvement. It was the conception of law that wa.s fostered in the men of Ontario by their town meetings which led in a l.irgo uieasure to the estal)li8hmont of responsible government in the Province. To persons who to day see the extensive and intricate work done by our County and Township <'ouncilB, the question will at once arise, "How was this work done under the town-meeting system 1 " This question admits of no short answer. A large proportion of the work was not done at all. The Provincial Legislature did some of it, the great trunk roads having been luiilt by coiinnL-ssioners appointed and paid by the Provincial Govern- ment. But the ranjor part of the administration of local aflairs was in the hands of the magistrates in Quarter Sessions. A full and careful study of the " orders '' of the different District Courts of t^uarter Sessions would, 1 believe, do very much to explain and justify the irritation which was so prevalent during the time that these courts exercised their taxing and regulating authority. The Court of Quarter Sessions was composed of the magis- trates of the district The London district consisted of some thirty-two townships which may be rou<^lily described as those now constituting the counties of Middlesex, Oxford, Huron, Elgin, Brant and Norfolk. All parts of these counties were not, of course, then settljpd, but over their territory the Quarter Sessions of London district exercised authority. At some of the sessions of this court 1 find that twenty-three magistrates were present, but the usual numh>-r present was from six to eleven. They appointed a chairman from among theniselves who was pretty regular in his attendance. The court met always four and sometimes five times a year. Of their wide judicial powers I shall say nothing, but pass at once to discuss their administrative and taxing authority. In the minutes of this court for the London district, is an order directing the district treiisvirer, whom th,e court appointed, to keep his accounts of disbursements under these four heads : " Expente of Jucdcation ;" " Expense of Roads ;" " Expense of Gaol and Public Works ;" and " Miscellaneous Expense." This shadows forth the nature of the public business over which they exercised control. They levied whatever amount they , litit largeHt public I- valuable as aking power, [)\v laws were itageouH that ibted right to It was the votings which Province. r Couiity and one under the proportion of e great trunk [icial Oovern- handn of the r the ditrerent nd justify the their taxing of tho magis- Hhipd which SOX, Oxford, course, then led authority. were present, airman from always four nothing, but g the district under these of Gaol and nature of the iver amount n connection le whole tax on on local ed from the irer through the medium of the tf)wnHhip aHueHNor and collector, as alreaily expluiiied. The aHHeHor reported in hiaroll the amount nf property in tho towiiHhip ; proviiuial sialuteH duteriuitii'd how much this property was to Im! valued at, and the district (Quarter SeHHioiis ordered how much money was needed by tho district for public purposes, and "Htruck the rate" in the |)uunil necessary to raise that amount. The records of this court show no KJiadow ot' unfiiirnesH; but tiie men, who Itiiow tho wiiyxof doing buHiuess there, ant many of thi-m iotid in cnmplainlH of arrogance iiixl partiality. If any part of a road became vtTy bad, a petition praying their wor-bips in grant a hiim of money for the repairing of such road, was cir<:ulated and signed by the inbaliiiants of the ii(:ii;hborhood whore tho road was Hitiiated. Honietimcs this petition was gianted, some- tiim.s ignored. If tlio intereNti^d pirties had a friend among the magihtratiH, the < liances of n ceivitig a grant for tin- imprnvemeiit of the road were very much enlianceil, liut if iionf of the magislraltis hiip|)t)ited to bo iiitercHted in any of tho petitioiierH, tlif likelilmfKl of their receiving a grant was so much the lews. When a tn'in roail was netnled a petition of twelve freeholderH, residing in the vicinity where the road was re(|uired, wus laid Imfore II district surveyor of liighways, an olHcer appointed by their worMhi|)3. This oHioT I xamin(!il the neighborbowl and laid out the road, pn'senting his plan of tin' road together with his report at the next nieeting of the court. If no local proprietor obji'iled, the magistrates ordered tho .eport and plan to be registered, and declared • the road "eHtablished." If, however, the road was (jatried throitgh priMite properly, the owner of which was ilissatisfied with tho compensivtion otl'ered to liiin, it .imy was sworn to find what "damage " the owner of such property should receive ; and liktv wise if any disputes arose as to whether the surveyor had ordercid the highway to be I oiistructed in the proper place, a jury decided the matter and their wt)r.shi|)s ordered the road to be ohtablished according to the verdict of the jury. 'I'iiis Keeins to have been |)erfe<.'tly just anil satisfactory ; but when it came to tho actual building of the romlH tho people found it- very dillicult to obtain a fair and jtidiciouH iliHtrilmtion of the public money. Indeed, a fair and judicious distribution of the finni.s it was imposHibIc for the 111,'igiHt rates to iiitvktt. Their worwliips did not and could not know the inunense tetritory iDUiposiiig the district well enough to act with proper discretion in every c;ise. It was (|uite customary therefore, when improvement in the highway was needed, for the iicophf of the neighborhood to make tho re,])air by voluntary contribution^, preferring this to iiniler- goiii;, the ordeal necessary to extract tho money from the juslicea. It niUHt be remeni- liered, however, that in order to give liberally, the magistrates would have b»ien obliged to tax heavily. This they did not and could not do, as the people woidd nevei have entrusted them with the handling of any greater turn of public money than was positively neces-sary. Tlio pittance of tax paid by eacli man at that time was not paid with half the good will ihiii twenty times the amount is now paid. The statute labor was, of course, always applied to the roads ; and at this early time it was very otKcient, much voluntary work being d'iiic over ;ind above the requirement of the statute There was a special rate of one- ei.:hth of a penny in the ponml levied on absentee lands, the proceeds nf which -.vcre to 111' applied to the improvement of tho roiids ; each township being entitled tn receivi' from the district treasurer all the money paid in it as absentee ttvx, the niomsy to be a[)plied to the improvement of its own roads. Each magistrat'i by this means would liave th" absentee tax for at least one township under his control and might with this . .supplement the statute labor. They often issued an order directing some " pathiiiaster" 'o hiive all the work in his " beat" expended at some certain place. RenHMobering who the pathmasters were, how they were apiiointed and to whom responsible, such inter- ference was likely to be very annoying, especially if it was tbouglit that especial beiiclit would be derived by some magistrate or his triend from such a disposition of the work. All the public funds available for the building of roads and biidges in six counties were in the hands of these eight or ten men appointed for life by the Govern- ment. In the matter of roads and bridges they were indifferent and incompetent ; they neither knew the needs of the district nor were they sntHciently anxious to supply them to ntake them oflBcers at all fitted to open up a new country. In th'e matter of the gaol and other public works the court was also invested with largo authority. They pro- cured plans and estimates for the building of a gaol and court house, of what dimensions mmm M- I I ; ■1 1- •■ i I i if 22 they deoiiied tit, erected these buildings and ordered the people to pay whatever expense had been incurred in the process. Their worships also ordered wimt fare the prisoners Hhoiild got, and contracted for the sujiply of provisions ; they ordered what fees the district officers should receive ; they had control of public eiiarity and occasionally voted a pittance for the relief of an unfortunate pauper. They exercised the right of grantinji; or withholding the authoiity to solemnize marriage, ministers of any but the English church being allowed to perform this ceremony only after much trouble and annoy- ance. Hesides this large statutory authority they might venture on almost any stretch of power and no person was willing or able to make question of their actions. A body of p\iblic officers with siu.h large and unrostrictevl powers, would now be considered by the iKJople somewhat d.mgerous even were its members annually subject to popular election. The magistrate.'*, however, who exercised these enormous powe»s in quarter sessions were appointees of the government, who often had very meagre qualilications to recommend them for public office. They were frequently old army officers with pen.sions, almost always men of suffi(.'ient income from some source to render them indili'erent to, and independent of the hiirdships and wants of the average hard working settler. Canada was perhaps nearer having an aristocratic class at that time than she has over been since ; these men had not cnongh in common with the great majority of the settlers to make them wise and considerate local administrators ; many of them were very ignorant and others were addicted to the vices I'ommon to unemployed men. Their incompetence Jind arrogance were not so mucli noticed, nor indeed was there so much of it during the earlier period of their existence ; the people had then but little to ask from local adminis- tration, but when they began to deitumd active and progressive local government tliese men were at once found a hinderance. The people desired large improvements, but, the magistrate.s being what they were, they dared not or would not trust them with the nece.ssary funds for doing the work. From " The Seventh Report on Grievances" printed by order of the Housh of Assembly in 1835, we find that many of witnesses who had recently appeared b(\fore a Committee of the House had been examined on this subject. *4.i2. '' Are men chosen to fill the commission of the peace and the offices of the district who have been long resident in it or are strangers more generally pruferred ? — Latterly strangers. 4'^'^. " Are the justices of the peace resident in your county chosen exclu.sively from one party of politic*, or indiscriminately from respectable men entertaining various political opinions 1 — They are principally half-pay officers and strangers ; I mean the later appointments. 43.5. " Do you think the Lieutenant Clovernors of themselves possess sufficient know- ledge of the inhal)itants of the several districts to enable them to select judicious persons as justices of the peace? — I should rathin' think not. .'564. " A very large sum of money collected by direct taxation is annually entrusted to the m.agistratfs, they being irresponsible to the people either directly or indirectly, wovdd it not be more in accordance with the genius of the constitution if these moneys were placed under • ;- control of persons appointed by the (pialitied electors'? — I think the monies would ..c l>etter managed under the control of persons appointed by the qualified electors." it should indeed be mentioned that some v/itnesses an.swered these questions in a sense exactly contrary to the answers here quoted. It was a generally received opinion, however, that the magistrates had mo.st of tliem at this time become branches of that much maligned party known as the " Family Compact," which hud fixed its roots so deeply in the hnart of the Central Government that it was able through its power of appointing magistrates and other functionaries to exercise a surveillance over the minute details of local admin istration. To say that every magistrate was a tool of the ruling official cliijue would perhaps be too much, but this much at least is certain tlie Family Compact did not hesi- tate to dismiss magistrates who became active in advocating responsible government. The nuaibera refer to the numl>er of tlie question in the Seventli Kefxirt. In dismissing this section of my subject ] u)uat say by way of recapitulation : that tho town meeting and quarter session systom of local government was origimvlly conceived with perfectly li()ne8t and good intent ; iliat us long as it was honestly adniinisteri'd liy the central autliority it was tolerably cflicienl, although the statutory valuntion of the assessment list often led to injustice : its viciousnc ss lay not in the theory "f the syhteni if honestly administered, but in its extreme liability to mal administration ; and this mal-administration made its appearancf> just as soon as the country was sutliLicntly developed to make it protitable. This, however, was not altogether the outionio of the local organization itself ; our whole civil pjlicy was such as to encourage its abuse. The entire administration of the country was in a clogged state. From the highest i-xecutive boily to th lowest, the people were not willing to entrust their money to the men who were in authority, and through whose agency must be carried out whatever public improvements h,»d to be made. The town-meeting during this period was of great H<:rvice, not only as a |ilace where political thought was fostered, but also us a means of conminnica- 'ion where eacli farmer learned that tlie other men of hi^ tdwnshij) wt-re "f tlio .sami' mind as hiiuHclf concerning the administration of yiublic aH'air.^. It was in tiiis geneiid discon- ti'nt and desire for a niore progressive state of things, that ''the n^bellion of I^lI{7-8" I'onsisted. The body of citizens who took up arms was vvry small conijiaied with the rumbcr who would have done so, had they not lioped for a .spei dy refinni without recourse to violence, and had they not considered it a sacred duty to " be subject to the powers that be." WKile the rebfilion is to be deplored fur some reasdus, we inu.st on the whole look ui)on those who sufleied in that strife as martyrs to the great cause of responsible government, the fruits of which we have ever since enjoyed. Previoiis to this time our iociii government was paternal, since then it has been respon.sible. Section 'i. — Local (inrennh' nf iindpr IHnfrirt Couifih. The outcome of the struggle which had been going on for years, and wiiiili cul- minated in the rel)ellion was, so far as local government is concerned, the establislnm-nt of tlir- district councils throughout the province. Owing to the pressure brought to liear on the t Colonial Otftce at the time of the rel>ellion, Lord Durham was appointed by the Imperial Parliament to inquire into the questions involved in the Canadian troubles. Nothing can be more certain than that this astute statesman .saw plainly that the whole mind of the populace was lient on having, and really needed a new system of local '_'ovcrn- imnt. The olil system under which every tax and every oHice was at the will nf the Governor and Council or iheir npptiintees, was thoroughly worn ojit and rejected. "Lord Iturham's Report" on this part of his immense subject is still a storeliousstablished throughout theProvinceof lJppe*Cati.ida, i;id to these councils was transferred the administrative authority Cormeily exercised l»y the :n''gistrates in quart(>r sessions, besides other specifically named powers. Kach council ^vas to consist of men chosen by the assessed inhabitants at their annual town meetings, Up to this time the voting at these nu'etings had been by show of hands or by ".stMnding vote." Now that it was necessary to elect men to perform such important duties as devolved upon a district councillor, this rough mode had to be abandoned. A poll book was henceforwarut where there were less, only one; every township having the right to lie repie- sented by at least one councillor. For, some time after the inauguration of these councils, the districts were composed ot the same townsliips as JUider the (|uarter sessions systeui. The town-meeting continued to exercise its old powers of electing otlicers 24 for the township, and making town-laws, as well as the adcUcl function of electing the district councillors. From this it will he seen that the aHairs of the township went on much in the smne way as under the previous system ; the on'y difr>M-enc{^ l)einj» that the men who administered the district ttfairs were now responsihle to the people, whereas they had hel'on; l)e(!n irresponsihh!. Altliongh there was a j^reat chanjje in the spirit in which local admiiiistration was carried on, there wns no important change in the plan of loi-al government ; a new set of men weie elnfttd to work the old machinery, and they proved themselves ciipahle of turning it to bettyr account than their predecessora, the magistrates, had done. * . k Ijuring the eight yearii that these councils were in existence throughout the province, the council of the London district passed one hundred ind sixty-fovu' hy-laws, dealing with many suhjectH. This was a vast change from the old state of afl'air.-*. It must however, be remembered that «!very by-law of eacli district was laid before the Governor in Council, and might be vetoed by him. This power of veto was, however, vt ry sparingly used, as far as the London district was concerned. To one who has lived only ii\ a country and an age where the spirit of democracy seems to permeate the very soil, it is almost provoking to s^'e i,he reluctant pii-ce-meal manner in which all central autliority seems to relax its grasp oji powf.-r, and to grant to the people them.selves what now seem their plainest rights. Even in this Act, estalilishing in some ways wide democratic municipal ijistitutions, the <;ov<'rnment could not lind it in its paternal heart to leave in the hands of the district council, the jieople's repri.sentatives, chosen tri-annually under a wide franchise in open town-meetings, the power to choose their own permanent olhcers. Tht; warden wms appointed by the dovernor in Council. This was done perhaps in indtation of th(^ Provincial (lovernment which received its (Gover- nor from the hands of the IJriti.sh authoritit-s ; l)Ut the re.sei\iiig to the (Jovernor in ("ouncil of the rigiit to appoint a district clerk, a district survryor and a > appointment of these otlicers been at once ent lusted to the council. The nien who were chosen by town meetings as district councillors were the best tlie townships jit^'orded. Th<'y were practical men who took hold of the work of openitig up the townships much more vigorously than their predece.ssors, the magistrates in quarter sessions, had done. They knew the state of nearly every road and every bridge in the district. If any elector needed improvennMits in his neighborhood, he went to the district councillor represe«t,iug his township and stated his needs, and recjuesled the councillor to come and examine the situation. Any district councillor who was not o'nliging in thus listening to the petitions of the elci-tors was not likely to be re-elected. In this way^ by the combined knowledge of the councillors, the needs of the district at any particular 25 I of electing iwnBhip went ■-S beinjn; that opie, wliereas the spirit in 1 t]w plan of •ry, and tliey et'i'ssors, the tin; province, dealing with [, however, be . Council, and i.stul, as far as if denioeracy it piece nioal d to t;rant to , estiililisliing not lind it in are.sentatives, ver to clioose )r ill ( 'ouiicil. led its (lover- tJoveruor in ict litasurer, (? i-an be no d treiisiirer, eir constant favors must ther reiisonsi till' sjiirit of r on tlie purl tt) their own opi. '.s ubililv idii of tiieir t foundation. Iness IS the >>plc in tiieir Uion to this for fear that ' detriniental •oteii throuch iild iitlicialH y t'le district cor« betm at • the best the f openinn up •s in ((uarfer )rid'^e in the o the district comipillor to <;in;^ in thus In this way, y particular time were pretty well understood. Their authority extended over all public worka •vhii li, in their jndjjinent, were for the good of the distri'-t, and of whicli the estimated cost was not niort; than .€30(». If the estimated cost was move than that, plans and i's.imates of the work must be submitted to the board of public works, the estimates j I'i'iug made by the district surveyor, who owed his appointment indirectly to the Provin- lial government. Indeed, fill works of importance weie examined and repected upon by this oili 'ir before the council took any definite steps. Th.ey pass'd by-laws raising what'n'rH iiiiil.s were necessary to meet the expense incurred in administering the affairs of tho district. This money was generally levied on the old plan, in whicii the asHessora Mppointed at town meetings transnntted to the district oHicers a list of the property • w ntd in each township, the provincial governmiMit determining by statute at how much ■11 s propffty should lie valued :.tlie district council, however, instead of the magistrates, i;.M iiled what rate in the pound upon the total assessment was lUicessary to supply funds h' 'igh for jiidilic purposes. Tlie collector of each township still received his roll 111 which CHi'li inhabitant was charged with his share of the necessary tax as apportioned ' y this method. The (irst by-law for raising money in the London district did, indeed, i '^y a tax of one penny on each acre of ta.xable land in the di.strict; this, however, was t \ .eptional, the other method being m'ore geiu^r.dly followed. The injiisticti tlone to nomo '(•.,rts of the district by the government assigtiing by stiitute a value to ea.'h jiiece of taxable property can be well illustrated in the county of Middlesex. The county council tliiTc " equal!/." the as.sessment" by estimating tlic average value of rhe bind per acre i hrough each township. These men are enlightened and cap.ible uien with much better t":icdities fo** deteriinniivj: the value of land than the g iverninen' hn'l at the time they iH.ssed this statute, and they in 1.S81 estimuteil the land in Caradoc; towiiship to lie "oi'th an average of S'Jl an acre, and that in Westminster township an average of !?50. \.' cording to the old system, they would lioth have been v.du(;d alike, ai>d would each . ive puid the Same tax_ per acre. The meetings of the council for the London district w«re held four times a year in 'l.e city of Lundin. Tlie.se nieetii;gs w<>re orderly and busine.ss-like, and th{)ecified the duties ami the salaries ot the tiistrijt clerk and the district treasurer and the mode of obtaiiiing n.Muey from the treasurer, /.'■., fin the authoiity of :i, by-law of the council ; levied , ta.x of one penny in the pouuil on all as.sessment ui tin; district; imposed a ■ le on mendu-rs absenting themselves from tht; council (it must be noticed that the It embers at first received no salary) ; regulated |irison supply, in which was included saiaties of prison stall' and prison di( t ; provided mone.y for the "administration of lu-tice expense''; prescribed tin; maimer of perfortiiing the statute labor; and provided lothirg for indigent persons on leaving gaol. This inilicdtes pretty dearly the scope of .iilidrs over which the council's authority extended. They did, however, delerndne other inatters, which may be here indicated. In IH-Ki a by-law vvms parsed creating se\en ^ lioiil districts in dilfi rent townships, and proviilnig for the assessment of the iiduibitants in an amount suHicient to build sjhool hou.scs m cacii of thesi' districts. This tax was not a distiict tax, liut levied on the inhabitants of the sevi ral school districts or sections, eiii'h section receiving for its sole and only use the wliolc amount paid to the collector by the iidiabitanis of the section less the cost of collection. In 1814 a by law was passed appointing a superintendent of common schools for the district, and a superintendent of common .schools for each township. In the same year a, bylaw was passed levying a tax of C^O "for the maintenance of one model school for the jieriod of !i;e yt ar from the establishment of the same" In the same year, 18 II, a by-law was passed raising an amount eijual to the provincial grant (i.f!., ll,24r) Ss. ;Jd.) for the iiiiiintenance of public schools. This levy wr« ivjiportioni'd not among the school sections out among the townsliips, Westmin.ster paying for example IKJ.S t" this tax. The district council ordered the proportion in which it should l)e collected fron' the several townships. A by law was also passed enabling each school section to raise money to pay their public school teacher. It is evident that education was at this time naarinciples tho same as the first, and whatever good can be derived from a study of it will b«! obUiined by examining it in its present state. Any detail<>d account of the Municijial Act, even as it now stands, is unnecessary ; every one \*ho will may read its enactments ; my pro- vince is to show how and by whom these prtper law.s are tuade actual r(;alitits. The baekVione of local government in ( Jntario to-d.»y is the township council. This coun- cil consists of five memlwrs, each of whom iimst be a resident in the township of the ful! ime of twenty-one years, a subject of Hi •• Majesty th«: Queen, and a freeholder of township jiro- perty to the value of i?IOi), or a leas( holder to the value of 88(t0, in both case.s over and above all liabiliiiis. Thes(! Ii\e memi rs have eijual votes on all (piestiona coming before the council. .\t the introduction of the pnnsent nmnicipal system in 184'.). they were all elected to an eijually honuraiile position by the people, that of couiu;illor ; and when the five councillors first met they appointed from among theuuselves a rej;.ve ami as many deputy-reeves as they were entitled to by law. Tndeee elected by the direct vote of the electors ■I IT riiH nuinlcr of (loputy-recves u townHhip is entitled to is ordered by provincial statute, iiid dcteriuiiied in the follo\vinf» iniinn«T. When the iisseHBnient roll oontainn more than live hundred Tianics, one of the four iii('tnV)ers of tlii' council, who have not hetMi clcctod rci've, is elnctnd deputy reevi^ ; and V. lien the asscssMii'iit roll oontains one tliousaud nauiea, one of the three still r^-tnaining iui'iiilurs is fleiUed a deputy-reeve (y this inenns a pojiulous township has a reeve iindtwoor three deputy leeves in the county council, while a sninll township is represt^nted l>y a reevti only : the i<-eveH iiid depuiy-recvcs ate Ijoth county and township otlicers, while the councillors are town- -iiil> otli.;cr8 only. The tiist step in our local yovernnient is to elect this township council. Karly in I Jtcenilier of each \ eai' till" clerk of each township causes larg(^ posters to he exhil)ited ; liroii^dumt his townsliip reinindinj^ the electors that they aie retMi for the nomination of oandiilates for th<^ s<:venil otiices : reeve, deputy-reeve and councillors. Order is at once ob-ierved, and after a few minuti^s o? modest sileace Mr. A nominates and Air. B seconds the nomination of Mr. for the olHco of rawe. Mr. 1) noniinaU s and Mr. K seconds the nomination of Mr. F for the office of councillor. In this way the nominations continue for one hour or until ail who dt;sire nomination liave Ueen nominated. l'.-*naliy many more are nominated til in really intend to stiiid for election. It is a custom in mimy town>.hips to nominate ovoiy mdn who has any grievance' to l.iy before the electors as to the conduct of the retirinii; council and idso every man who has any proposal to make in regard to munii'ipal matti-rs. (H coiirso it is not nec(!ssary that an elector be nominated in order that he may secure a li'-arin;^ li- iin his lellow electors at this meeting, but it secures a hearing in an orderly way and thuse who arc nominated are generally piven precedence in inaking the after ne eting s|iei'.'li''s. \h the time draws near to one o'clock the clerk informs the eleistors that tin' opportunity for mHlung nouiinatiohs will close sharply at one o'clock. The whole hour is never reipiired for the purpose ot making nominations, but no otht r business is ever entered upon until the full hour has Expired, when the clerk declares the noniinutions closed and leav(;s the clia'r. This ends the part of the meeting enjoined hy statute, but so fur from any elector leaving the hall at this junctur(> it is only now tliat the re.jl inte-rfs" I)ei;in8. A chairman (the clerk being generally rccall<-.l co the chair) ischuscn. Many electors who did not choose to sit out the dull rjutine buKirie. s hour o'' nomination now take tlieir .seats in the hall. The chairman ca Is th • meeting to order and briefly sNtti's the order in which lu- shall call upon those present to discuss the municipal affairs of the township. Out of courtesy the members of the council of the current year will be heard first ; then those who have been nominated during the hour Just passed will be cilled in t-.hf orih'r of tluur nomination ; and finally an opportunity will he given to any (Sector present to speak. Tlie reeve, who is just finishing his year ot' oflicf', on 'xdng called states to the electors, in a phiin way, the work done dnriug the last year in the county council. If there has been a raising or lowering of the county rate he explains why this WiS. ILi tries to show that in all his procerdings in tin- coiinl)' council lie has acted wisely and fur the interest of his township. He may also enter into a discussion of tiie busiues.-i done in tie' town ship council, but this is generally left for the councillors to discuss. If there be any imp irtaiit work peinling or any larg.- on and gives a similar out line of his actions in the county council. If he and the reeve have ditrered on questions discussed in the county council he tries to justify his own course in the eyes of the electors. Where there lias arisen a difference of opinion upon an important matter between a reeve and lii'< deputy it is a part of the morality of municip.+l pjlitics that the deputy should make this question an issue at the next election and oppose the reeve. The electors then decide between them. In this wfiy warm discussions (!iisue, in which quite eloquent speeclnvsare sometimes made. The councillors are then called in succesion and each gives his account of the work done by the council during the year. If a difference has arisen on any question during this time, each councillor expounds the view he took of it, and tries to convince the electors that this was the proper position to take. In this way, by the time the tivi; members of the retiring council have spoken, nearly every item of business of any impoitance to the electors will have lieen pre- sented to them. Then the men who have been just nominated, some of wh ,mi were probably defeat^ed at the last election, and have consequently been watching the minutes of the county and township councils for an opportunity to criticize the council- lors, are called upon. They discuss the issues which have come before the county and 29 township oouncilfl. The spprches of those rifw nspirantH are genorally of a fault-finding liiiractfir ; the office of councillor Iteinj^ ritiior a thaiikU38S one. Most of tho wlactors siiMii to feel that they do a favor to the man to whom they j^ivc their sutlrai^e, and that if any man serves wisely and well, h« sinipiv does his duty, is paid for it. and deserves nothing more, ^f, on the other hand, any councillor has blundered or been derelict in hi^^ duty, especia ly in a township affair, he will certainly he ,.ie was demanded on the (|uestion " Whether any live stock should In- permitted to run it large on the highways. ' The vote was almost unanimotis a-jairist this practice. Tliia voting, of course, gave no legal force to the opinion expressed, but it led the township iouncii to pass the. by-law necessary to proliibit the custom. At the town meeting lor Westminster Township, last year, the o»sibility of conducting the election devolves upon the 'tie to^vnship clerk, who in this capacity i.s called the letuniing otKeer. He, in the first p, ice, makes the voters' list, talking the names as returned on tlie assessment roll. If anv ■ lector's name is wronafully omitted, or improperly entered, he or another elector for hiiu may appeal to the Court of Revision, which is tho townsliip oounc-i! ; and if not satisfied with their decision he may again appeal to the county judge ; Iioth of which courts have power to insert names or strike them otl". Krom the voters' list thus revi.ied, the clerk makes for each polling-place a poll-book, which consists in a list of the names of tho.se who have tlic right to vote at each particular polling-place, and a Ijrief de.scription of tin; property III wliich they found their claim to vote. It is hi.s duty to procure •)allot boxes and a room in which the voting for each poliing-divi.sion may be carried on ; he lia.s die ballot- pipers printed, and before the election day, distributes to the deputy-returning officers iiiiilot-boxes, ballot papers, and all the things necessary for conducting the voting. Kach ;,( ar before the council retire, they appoint a d'puty-returning otUcer for each polling- place in the township. It i.s the duty of the deputy returning otHc( r to supervi.se the H tual voting ; he may, however, secure a poll clerk to a.ssist him. IJoth are sworn to honesty in the conducting of the voting, and to secrecy as to how any man voted, sli )uld liny by chance learn. Each candidate is entit-led to have, and gemsraliy has, in each |,oi ling-place, at the deputy-returning olHcers' d'sk, a .scrutineer, {.«,, a man wh(jse busi- ness it is to see that the candidate wliom he repre.sents is dealt with fairly. He has, liowever, no authority, the deputy-returning otiicer being entindy free to act according to in.-; own judgment : the scrutineers may rai.se objections ; if the deputy-returning olticer uviT-rules the objection, the only redre.s.s is in protextiii'j the election. 'I'hcre are always se\ cral scrutineers present at each poliing-jilace, so that the business of voting is closely watched. If any man should attempt to vote who had not fulfilled the required conditions I'or being an elector, some scrutineer would challengt^ hia vote. The elector woukl be asked to take an oath that he had satisfied the conditions in question ; if lie took tho alh, the deputy returning officer wouM give him a ballot paper and receive his vote ; if ill' refused to take the oath, he would receive no iiallot-piper. All scrutineers take a solemn declaration of secrecy concerning anything that may hapi)en tending to show for vjiich candidate any elector has voted. There may also be a constable appointed to lintain order at the polling-place. It should be mentioned that all these officers, as veil as the candidates for office, cast their votes like all other electors, and that they are 'hosen from the farmers and ordinary citizens. ^ . ! i II i-S hi ;^il i I 30 While all this official preparation for receiving the votes of the electors is being made, the electofM themselves since town meeting have not been idle. If there in a keen contest, meetings are held tit the dillerent school houses throughout the tt^wnship. Here the opposing candidates lur their oratory and instruct the electors in municipal matters. Every old councillor is sure to he plied with numerous "whysf and wherefores'!" hy the electors. As a consequence, any ono who will tniuhlo to eii(|uire, will find the ordinary elector well versed in the affairs of his township. Sucli public nieetiiitjti during the week betweei; nomination and eltiction are, however, l)y no means the iiniversul rule. In the township of Lobo such meetings an- ct)inmon ; in ( 'anidoc, tlit'v have occasionrtlly tnken place, but most townships with which 1 am ac(juuintcd are satisfied with the discussions ' on town meeting day. Dominion and provincial politics are ranily introduccil in these ra<;f'tings ; never by a wise l;atidi(lati\ The constituencie.H are, howev«!r, so nmall that nearly every candidate wh:, is anxious can, either personally or by some of his friend.<, get into communication with every elector whose vole then; is any ciiance of securing, and it is in this private way that party poliiics are wormed into municipal elections No man's politics are ever urged in public us a rea-son for supporting hiiu in a muni- cipal contest ; still there has been a strong vein of party feeling' in the township elections of which I have had knowledge, especially in the cases of the neves and deputy-reeeves. Then- are several reasons for this. The waiden of the county \& chosen annually by the county council; the county council is looked upon us a school of which aspirants for parliamentary honors should be graduates. Tlie wardenship is often the stepping stone from which a seat in parliament is obtained ; "whichever party has a plurality in the county council, almost invariably elect a waiden of their own political creed. There is also considerable political finding shown in the county council's choice of jiermanent othcers, which adds to the propagan dism of party politics in muincipal elecsyons. In the townships with which 1 am ac(piainted there is a tendency in each party to try and secure a majority in the township council, so that an as.sessor of the right party n)ay be appointed. The as.se.^sor can, if he choose, be careful tu place all the available names of his own party on the assessment roll, while he puts the names of the other party on the roll only when from "reasonable inquiry," or in consequence of a demand ou their behalf, he has knowledge of their right to be on. t)f coui se therti ate many fjcisons of both parties, whose names are never on the roll as actual ratepayers, but only as wage-earn er.s, f.irmer'a sons, etc. ; and it is among these that the assessor can, while not being derelict in his duty towards any party, still V)e of service to his own party by an assiduity in securing names over and above that recjuired by his oath of olHce. It must be; remembered in this connection that the voters' lists for parliamentary elections are based upon the township assessment roll. The fact of not being entered on the assessment roll does not deprive any man of his vote, for he may have his name put on the voters' list at the Court of Revision. This, however, requires attention by some per.son, an attention which is often not given at the right moment, so that the vote is lost ; whereas if these names are looked after closely by the township assessor when making his annual round all trouble is avoided. Forces more potent than political allegiance, however, are also at work in determining wliich way an elector will cast his vote. Honesty, neij,diborliness and ability are points that weigh with the average voter when ho is privately approached for his suffrage in a municipal elec- tion. He will vote for a man residing in his own quarter of the township, othei- things being nearly equal ; but he demands honesty in the public business, and a fair ability in the execution of the same. There is too a strong tendency to re-elect a man who has been faithful in his duty and has shown an aptitude for public business. The electorate is, how- ever, unmerciful to any dishonesty or blundering, if it is brought to light; and brought to light it almost certainly will be, under the present system when so many of the electors take so constant an interest in the proceedings of the council. For this reason, dishonesty is almost unknown in the dealings of the township councils. T)uring fifteen of the last twenty years the reeveship of Caradoc township has been held by three men who occupied it for four, five, and seven years each. When we lemeraber that almost every man is expected to serve five or six years in the council before he is elected reeve, and that he 81 ro irt a kuen hip. Here |)al matters. rf'sl" by the 111' ordinary \f^ t\n'. we«k lie. In the nally tnken ; (lisousHions je assessment " reasonable >f their right lire never on '. ; and it is ris any party, id above that it the voters' 11. The fact i vote, for he his, however, at the right or closely by ded. Forces ig which way it weigh with niciiial eloc- oiher things lir ability in who h;is been urate is, how- and brought f the electors dishonesty is 16 last twenty o occupied it every man is and that he is often elected and re-elected to the reeveship for five or six years more, we at onoe .sf(i that the electors appreciuto experience as well as ability. After this week of public diKtusaion and private electioneering, the electors betako- thi^inselves to the polling place. The deputy-returning officer, before any votefl arc oust, empties the ballot-box before the eyes of the j)ollclerk, the scrutineers, and Huch i^lcctors as ha])pcn to Vje in tlie V>uilding ; he then closes, locks, and puts his se i1 iii>on it. The elector, when entering the polling-place, sees about him cards illustrating the manuer of marking the ballot ; as he approaches the deputy-returning otlicer, the poll-ltook is I oiiHultod ; if his niuue is found tliere, the deputy-returning olKcer asks if there are any olijt ctions against his being given a ballot ; if no scrutiiicer objects, he is given the ballot and retires to a privatt? apartment to mark it, aftei the deputy-returning officer has < \|)iained to him how this should be done ; if, however, his vote be chalhnged ho must ■ ke the oath before it can bo received. If any elector from blindness or other cause i> unable to mark his ballot, it is marked as lie directs, by the depiity-reiurninij officer, in ilir presence of the scmtineers, the elector being first rc(juired to sign by "his mark" a df'claration ol his inability to read. There are usually not more than two or three \ olers unable to reail at each polling place, /. e, out )ider a new election. There are strict laws prohibiting bribery, but there is seldom any need for"thcir enforcement. T'he township council holds its tir.st meeting on a diy €a|>|)jiuteJ by provincial statute ; ifter which they adjourn to any day convenient for them.ielvcs. There are from twelve ''J fifteen meetings during the year, meeting's being mOnth y anle-is some uuexpocted I iisine.ss arise needing immcdiite attent;ioii ; in which case thu reevi;, through the clerk, uotities the members of the council that a speoiii im;eting-will be hekl for soin.i special fuirpose. * The regular meetings are now held in tho town hall. At the introduction of i\\ ■ present system in 1849, there were very few townships who had town halls, and in ' aradoc for several years the meetings were ludd in a hotel. Shortly after the inaugura tioii of the present system of local government, however, mist towiiship'^ built town ball* lutiioiently lar:;e to acconimoflatt! tho electors on tuwn mi'eting (Uy and for othor public meetings in which the township as a whole is interested. It is often used for a crystal palace " at the township fair ; political meetings are hold in it ; nominations, elec- '.ions, conventions, public lectures and occasionally divine service. 13esides these uses, which are generally thought to be of a sufficiently public character to warrant the council ill lending the hall free of charge, it is often rented for balls, concorts and "variety shows." All meetings of the council, wherever held, are open to the public. These meetings are, however, not largely attended by the people ; none except the unoccupied attend unless they have business with the council. It is a rare thing for a meml^r of the council to )ie absent from a regular meeting. Any member repeatedly absenting himself would find great difficulty in justifying such a course in the eyes of the electors at the annual town I ! ssm^ meeting. Th« ppople in att<>ndance on the council arf iil wayH ordnrly and rPHpeotful ; if anv uitiztm approach ttiM cjunril lioaril to hear th«>ir (lelilKfrations or to truiiHaot Itusineas with them, lit- invariably un<;ov«rs liin hmd. Whoii tho ooiincil j^oirH into MtmMiou, lh« ftvi- inonilxirH of \\w aniiuM and th« oinrk H«at tliHiuHi-ivos at a siiiull taMi'. Tim n-v.! V»y virtUK of liiu otKi^n is chairman, and oppoHiU' him Hitx iIim ch'rk, who Uy virtue of hiH oflicf is 8»'cretHry of the moctin^, but has no voico in t,ho ijelilwralions, alt,hou;(ii IiIh uilvicf in oft«forH llio coumil. HuhincsK iH iranHicU'd Ity means of V)y-law8 and rt-solutions. Kvory rHsoiiition in wrilt<'in (nliowinj^ in most r.&HfH tlu' aignaturo of tin* mover and gecondtr) and laid upon the tal>li*. Tln^ reitvi- rcadK tli<> roHolution and if no discnssion irises (hwlans tho reaolutioa " (;arri«d.' Thci diHcusMions are never long or loud. The mover and seconder of any resolution need tho support of only one other member of tho eoinuil in order to carry it, hh three form a majority. In ([uestiotis involving nnn h patronage or lial»le to create mia-h feeling the councillors ofttin divide two on each side and thus oblige the reeve to hIiow his colors and brave the ill-will of one side or the other. These written re.solutions are taken poswession of by tho cleik, wlio enters tlieiii in the minute book. The more important actions, however, taken by the council are embodied in by-laws, whidi are riad in open couiuil a (irst. second and third time, and passed if supported by a majority. If any citizen has a grievence, the abatement of which is in the power of the council, ho generally sees aoine member of the council privately, explains the nature of his trouble, and leaves it in the hands of this councillor to brin;^ his case before the council, where citizens are almost always Jiwardtid even handed Justice. There are, however, at every meet ing of council, men who dt^mand something of the council in open session. 'I'h- memi)er^^ always accord a respectful hearing to any citizen who talks reasonably in su(iport of anj claim he may mak_,' members of tho council, but one of their numOer is appointed by tlui whole council to act in each ease. The actual work of tli.- township is performed at the ordi-r and to the satisfaction of tho township council, and they app )int, pay and dismiss the men who do the work. TheS" s(!rvants of the townsldp council may be divided into two classes : Those whose appointineiiD to oHic is permanent viz.. tin clerk, the treasurer and the surveyor ; and those whfwe appointment to otllce is annual, viz., the as8cs.sor, the collector, the pathma-ters, the fence viewers and the sheep valuator-* The council, as occasion denuvnds, appoint outsiders to take charge of particular pieces of public work if they ihink it more convenient or expedient than appointing one of tliem selves. There are townships where members of the council serve gratuitously ; mo.st town ships, however, pay their councillors from •"i'l.r)*) to ^^2 r>0 for euch day's stTvice in council The amount i.s fixed by the council itself, and therefore v.iries in diHeront townsliip-i ' and soo that they are kspt in a state of gootl repair. He is not expected to go purpo.sely to e.xamint! any part of the high way (unless he be 8(uit for by a pathinaster, in which case he would probably be paid by the township) ; but it is supposed that a councillor will know the reiiuirements of hin own neighborhootl, and that if any part of the road neetl repair, he will hnuj. the fact to the notice of the council at an early date. If a bridge suddenly gives wrt\ the pathniaater in whose beat the bridge is situated, at once puts up barriers or signals to prevent men or horses from being injured by attecuptiiig to cross through inadvertency or during the night. If the breach be but slight, tho pathmaster may hire some person to repair it, and run the risk of recovering the outlay from the council , or he may order some of the persons owing " statute labor " in his " beat " to do the work and doduct thv tiint'' thus oRciipied frniii their annual lalmr duos. If, however, the lirt'Hch involvH nn ••xpi'nso of two dollani or more, (he puthniiiHter or some citizen will |in)t)ii>)ly report it to the neartHt (•duiieillor. The conncillor at once "lets a job" (if repairiiiK the l>ridj{o or imlwn the palhnniHter to have it repHire.l, Of course, ill doitiK this he inuurR the risk of tiot heinj; supported hy the council ; and in cane I liiri^e expense (^15 or J?"JU) \h likely to be incurred, he will consult the reeve and [lerhapH 801II ! one other member of the council before he dr)eB much more than inspect the pluce. It la customary, in ('aradoc townHhip, for the council to give each of it> iiii'iiiberH control of SIOD annually, to \w expended in his neit{hborhoo'l in ciisch of thia kind ; this, however, is not. a common plan. In cases of eiuer^i-ncy the councillor is nften oblijjcd to let the work by private bargain, liut Huch casi-s are not numerous ; iiinst bridficH «re seen to be worn out before they b(>come actually impissable, iind the council piilcrH by res(j|utioii that a "job shull be let" to repnir the siime, appointin;; by th« •sdlution a commissionor, who is often a member of the (•otin<;il, to let and supi-rinteiid lie work Jobs lire let thus ; the coininissioner posts up notices to the ellcctthitt he will l''t a >h of bridge building, grading, gravellint;, ditching, or whutever tbr' work may b»', :it I (tertam time and place, the place usually twing where tlm woi k is re(piiredto bi' rione. A' the time and place mentioned in th(i notice there will gather a crowd of m<»i< desiring 1 do the work. The commissioner explains what must !)•• don'", and the man who ofl'ers til do it for the least money is usually employed. When the wurk i.-< done, the (vxiirnis dinner certifies to the council that the work ha.s been Lompleted to his satisfaction ami also how much he agreed to pay the man employed. When the council meets at the end of the til .nth all cases of emergency as well as all cases regularly let by commissioner ^ are dealt ^iih. If the council are satisfied that the work has been satisfaetorily performed and 'I It the price is fair, they issu^ orders on the township treasurer for tlie amounts. In tuc townships, contrary to city, and even town experience. thi.'< way of bidlding and (•■pairing the public highways works well, and secures to the public i;moiI value for their I'oney. Th(^ commissioners an! never paid extravai,' mtly. The council always appoints • man living near the place requiring lepiration, who can consei|uetii|y atlbrd to "let" Old " pass" a "job " on the highway for very little reinuneration. lie does not consider lin time worth more than two dollars a day, and does not octupy himself for a whole day II. siiporintending any ordinary piece of work. The tritiing iol)s, costini; two or three I'lllars each, are let V)y some councillor or pathmaster, who scirceiy ever makes any charge r or his trouble. Men opposite whose property the road is in need of a bridge or ditch, vill often offer to superintend tin? work for nothing, if the council will vote the funds necessary for the improvement. The whole system of slight and urgent rejiairs proceeds HI the principle that the coimcil will always pay for work actually needed and actually jiciformed on the roads, V>ut that the liurdeii of proof lies with the man undertaking to make s>.?ch improvement, who must show that there was an urgi-nt anrl immediate need of i''])air, and that the work don(f was worth the amount deinandetl. The men who do all riiia work are the ordinary farmers, farmer's sons and Uborer.'^ of the township. Having thu8 looked at some of the matters over which the council keeps direct •ontrul, let us now pass on to some of those things which are done indirectly through otlicers who are responsible to the council and appointed and paid by it. Section ft. — Thfi Towruhip Officinh and (heir Duties. 1. The townshi)) cfurk's duties are numerous : he is secretary of the township, he keeps ■ill the townishif) records, and he is the only otticial source of any inforuiation concerning the uolions of the council. Particulars conceining every birth, death and marriage must be registered with him within thirty days of the date thereof. He has theoretically no voice whatever in public business, but a capable man in that otiice does very much to steady the working of the whole municipal machine. There is a complaint abroad at present that the clerk has too much influence with the councils of some townships. There 13, however, little danger from that source. The tendency of the clerk's influence ig to moderate the action of men who come to the council for the first time. New members 3'(O.T.) 11 I'- I ii I. i :( .J. ^— sa Mw often anibitioua to radically change the coarse of aflTaini; but tho warning; ami «x|>erienc« of a fllerk whu Khh known every action of the council )or yearn has a wholoMine and cou- ■ervative tendency, leading every councillor to inquire more carefully into the prubabU results of the change he thinks of proponing. The clerk has an advantage even over old members of the council in this matter, because one councillor is often afrahl of yielding to the atlvice of his fellow lost he should be conMidered as a nonenity in the council, completely inlluenced by the other members, while ho listens to the clerk because th« lattei' is not int«'<k any particular stej). The councillors them- selves will of course try to justify their every act, but they are not liHtened to with the attention that i» given the clerk who has nothing to gain or lose by tho transaction. The clerk, assessor and reeve act as a committee to go through the assesRment roll and decide upon the men of the township who are iinulitied to serve au jurors ut the high court of justice for the county. The clerk also makes out the "road list" for the jHithmasters, consisting of a list of nien'f names and the number of days each man muitt work on the road. When the time for doing the work^ which is iH'foie the (irst day of August in each year, has expired, these liMts are returned tu the clerk ahowiiig how much work each man in the township haH done ; if any |)erHon refii»eH to perform his statute labor, the pathniaster i.^ay have him Hummoned before the nearest magiutrate and fined or even irapriMoned, nor does this remove the obligation to do the work. Huch a proceeding ih, however, very rare ; it ih more common to " return the work " to the clerk as " not performed " ; whereupon the clerk adds such an amount to the taxo.s of tho negligent citizen OS is (jonsidered by tho coiineil a fair commutation for the Horvioe. Most persona, how- ever, perform their labor. The clerk is a Hort ot depoaitory for infonimtioji conceriiiiig inunioip;tl niattera, and is continually viaited by the ratepayrra who have disputea to aottle about their tax, their line fences, their a ater-coiiraea, their im[)ouii(led cattle aiul other buaineaa. Ho has, of cburse, no power in theao matters ; but he jwinta out tho way in which redress must be Bought, and, if he ia a acnsiblo man, he often saves a good deal of trouble and expense. Another duty of the township clt^rk ia the making up of the collector's roll. Tlieie are three principal ratea county, townsliip and achooi r:»tes -which go to make up the total amount of tax levied by the township oiflciala, and here will be a convenient placo to explain by whom and in what manner the amount of these difftsrent rates i.s determined, and by what authority the clerk entera a certain amount of tax in the collector's roll against each asaeaaed person. Firat, the amount of the count// tux is determined by the county council. That council makes an eatinmte of the expense which will be incurred by the county duriixg the ensuing year, and divides the payment of this expense among the several municipalities conatituting the county in a ratio which it considers proportionate to the cash value of the total property in each township — a sum known as " the equalised valuation." In estimating the value of a township the value asaigned it by the townahip aaseaaor ijoes for very little. For tjxiunple, the township of Adelaide is assessed by the townahip assessor as being worth iSHlMiOT'i, by tho council as being worth $1,103,500 ; the township of C'lifidoc is aaid by the asse.saor to be worth .$1,-28,- 617, by the council 1^1,300,539. The county council therefore ia responsiblo to the electors for determining the amount of this tax, although it iaassesac'd and collected by tho township council. Secondly, the amount of tax needetl for tovvmhip expenditure is deter- mined by the township council, who levy the same through their officers, tho aaaessor and the collector. Thirdly, the amount of tax needed for school purposes ia determined by the trustees of each school section. Every township is divided into achooi sections, and the ratepayers in each section elect three school trustees from their number. These are elected to hold oHice for throe years, and one truatee's term of office expires each year. There must be an "annual school meeting" held in every school house in the townHhip for thn purpoae of cliooting a trustee, na well bm to hour the auditors' report of tho laat ynar'n nxpeniieii and miopt thn sanin, to appoint auditoni for th(> next year, and in ilJHoiMR any matter touching Rchool work or expenio. The truHtoea elected at this meeting have onntrol of all hqIiouI expense, engagement of teacher, building of nohool hf)Uso, buying play groundn for hoIiooI children, and every item of lociil expense iticurred liy the Hohool's exiHtence. They estimate the amount needed (in iiddition to the pro- vincial grant) to pay the expenne of the school for each year and make a reiiinsition to the townsliif) council to collect that amount from the ratepayers of the section. ThiH the council does for each section, and the trustees present their order and receive from the towtmhip treasurer whutever they have requested to Iw raised. Thin it is the trustees who are responHibln fur determining the amount of this tax, although it is levied by by-law of the township council. 2. The coHertor receives his roll from the clerk, goes from house to house and demands the amount of tax set opposite the name of each uccu|)ant or owner of [iroperty. lie j^ives security to the council by bond of himself and others that he will pay the township treasurer or bank to his credit all the money Tollected by him as tax. This office is no longer proHtable or necessary in township administriition. The collectors say that they do not receive niore tlian ten pur cent. — some say tive — of the t.ix when they thus vi^it the ratepayers, riiey leave their notices of the miiountH due, and appoint a day on which thev may bn found at the hamlet where the council usually meets. The people come to them :i rhe place appointed, or to tlieir homos, and there pny their tax. In case the lax is not paid ! any piece of land, if there be any personal property on it, it is the duty of the colleuto nuize and sell eiiougli to pay the tax due, together with the exiMiises of seizure and « li There are only three or four cases of this in an ordinary township each year ; ano ii those cases it requires an extra journey for the purpose, the work could be done equally well by any other otficer. If the treasurer were ordered to notify each ratepayer by circular of the amount of bis tux and the date on which it must be paid, they could bring their tax to an appointed place, tvs in fact the majority of them already do. At present the people pay the collector for collecting the tax, and do the collecting themselves. Let the treasurer be invested with all the authority of the collector, but not required to demand the tax except by writing. If a ratepayer does not attend to the notice lot him pay for any additional expense occurred in collecting money from him. This would effect a saving of many hundred dollars to the province each year. .3. The (Mnessor'a duty is to gb from bouse to house throughout the township, and, after enquiry and observation, to write in his roll the name of each citizen occupying or owning taxable property, together with his estimate of its "actual cash value, as it would l)e appraised in fiayment of a just debt from a solvent debtor." In this way he obtains much useful statistical information, and it might be well to }{ive here some idea of the kind of facts collected by him and written in the roll he returns to the clerk. Opposite each man's name is a description of his land, i.e., the number of the " concession " in which it is situated, number of '* lot " or " sub-lot " the number of acres of arable or woodland, of marsh, swamp or waste land, total area of land, value of each piece of real property, value of taxable personal propcty, amount of taxable income, number of days statute labor, school section to which each belongs, numV)er of dogs, cattle, sheep, hogs, horses, number of acres of orchard and garden, and number of acres of fall wheat ; the number of persons in the family, their religious denomination, the num- ber of deaths or births, if any, during the year, and whether these have been registered with the township clerk or not. Much of this information is -necessary to enable the clerk to intelligently perform his duties, but so far as local government is concerned the one point to be remembered is that the assessor puts what valuation he thinks just upon each piece of property in the township, and that upon this valuation all direct taxes are levied. There is, however, an appeal from the assessor's appraisement. If any citizen deem his assessment too high or his neighbor's assessment too low, or thinks that there i.4 any such error in the description of his property or name as may endanger his vote, he may appeal to the '* Court of Revision." This court meets every year before the assessment „ 8(5 w: I I i I 1 1 'I toll is finally adopted. The township cotmcil conntitute the court, and the clerk is secretary, and luakeb any alterations in the roll that may be ordered by the court, after having heard sworn testimony touching the points put in issue by the appeal. If any citizen is not satisfied with the decision of thi.s court he may appeal to the County Jud;,'e. There are yearly nunierou.s appeals as to the description of property, but not many appeals concerning the valuation. Throughout this account of the assessor's duty I have used the term " taxable property." It might be well to explain what is considered taxable property. Roughly speaking, it may be said that all property in land is taxable which is not held foi' educa- tional, benevolent or religious purposes, or which is not the property of the municiprtlity, as the roads, market square, public square, town hall, jail, court house, etc. The parsonage and two acres of land therewith belonging to the contfregation or trustees of any church is exempt from taxation. All the personal property, except household furniture, of every citizen above the net value of 8100 is taxable unless the owner be in debt for the same or unless the chrtttels are in transitu. The assessing of personalty in the townships I am acquainted with has degenerated into something almost farcical. A farmer with $1,200 or $1,500 worth of personal property, such as farming stock, horses, cattle, implements, etc., will usually be assessed at about S200.* "Taxable income" is a very small item in the townships, there being r.'^xt to no jjerson having an income falling within the meaning of the statute '1-i^g in country places. This probably explains why no attempt has as yet been made to remove the obvious injustice done the man who invests his capital in taxable proper :y as compared with the man who invests his capital in obtaining a profession. The man with capital invested in property pays tax on bis whole capital, while the man with a professional income pays tax on the income only and nothing on the capitid invested in order to insure that income. In theory all income is taxable, other than the following : Personal earnings if not more than $700, the tirst .S400 of any salary less than $1,008, a minister's salary up to $1,000, and income arising from capital invested in taxable property, as in the case of a farmer or merchant. The assessor has no means, or uses no means, of ascertaining the amount of any man's income other than his own statement. The whole system of as.sessipg income is in sad need of improvement. In spite of all these defects, however, the mode of assess- ment, as it now stands, fairly efficient in distributing the burden of taxation evenly over the yarious inhabitants of the township, and on the whole, therefore, it is to be commended. In addition, however, to the criticism already offered in regard to some minor points, there is one evil which -bove all other? ought to be remedied. In most townships, although the assessor is formally sworn to assess at the "actual cash value," it is a notorious fact that from one-half to two-thirds of the cash value^is all that the property is actually assessed at. If it were only once made evident to the inhabitants that high assessment did not mean high taxes this evil would be easily removed. There are obvious reasons for wishing the assessment of each lot in the township to represent something like its cash value, while there is no reason whatever why the assessment should be placed at an amount not at all in keeping with the value of the property. When the assessor has finished his work he deposits his roll with the clerk, who, of course, has constantly to refer to it in performing his duties. 4. The office of tavninhi/) cnginner is one of late creation, the duties attached to it being formerly assigned to " fence viewers." The necessity for the office arises from the circumstance that drainage, in order to be effective, "must often be carried through the property of several persons, and that these persons are often unable to agree what part of the work of constructing and maintaining the drain shall be borne by each of them. The drainage law I's based on the assumption that any person owning wet land has the right to drain that land, and that he consequently has a right to construct a drain through his neighbor's property if necessary to secure an outlet, the neighbor being obliged to pay tor any advantage the drain may be to him. When, however, there are more than five land *[Mr. McEvoy's criticism applies to the condition of tbinf^s down to 1888. But by the Act, 51 Vict. «. 29, an e.xemption was made of "all horses, cattle, sheep and iiwine, which are owned or held by any owner or tenant of any farm, and wlien such owner or tenant is carrying on the general business of farming or grazing." His criticism is retained because the que«tion is by no means settled.— En.] :\7 owners affected by any proposed drainage, a majority of them must ac(iuie8ce in the pro- posal, or else a resolution of the township council must be secured in that behalf bf tore the engineer can be required to perform his ottice. When k casf of this kind iirises, the man wishing to drain his land notifies all the persons whose land will bn allected that a meeting of those interested will be held for the purpose of agri^«'ing where the ditch shall be made, and how much of the work shall l»f; done by each interesipd party. If they arrive at a satisfactory understanding, they draw up uu greement, sign it and tile it with the township clerk, whereupon the terms of the ag L-ment become binding upon the future owners of the land. If, however, they Jo not agree, the person wishing the drain may tile with the clerk a requisition asking that the township engineer be sf'iit to the place to riecide what is ju.st umler the circumstances. The clerk notifies the cngimer who appoints a day on which he will attend at the place requiring the drain, and after having heanl sworn testimony, if any be oflVred or if he deem it expedient to demand it, lie proceeds to "layout'' the recjuiied drain, if in his opinion it will be beni licial. Within a month after this, he hies with thi^ townslii)) ch^rk un award and a " profile," s< tting forth the jilace where the ditch shall be made, its dimensiuns and imy other orders such as the distance of removing the earth from the bank, etc., together with his estimate of the proportion of the work whicli should be performed hy eajh of the interested parlies. The clerk tiotifies the owners of all lands afT'ected t»y the awaid that an award bun been filed, whereupon t'le interested parties may demaml copies of the same : tijey generally, however, content tht-mselve.^ with reading' the orij^inal f>,t the clerk's otHce. if any person is dissatisfied with the award he may appeal to the County Judge who has authority to alter any part of the same. This law causes some diHsatisfactioii atni>i)g the people at present, but will in the end recommend it.'^cjlt'to all reasonable persons. It is (questionable, however, whether the saving clause which has l)een added, requiring a majority of the interested parties or a resolution of the township council, is more calculated to pi-event or to cause inju.stice. I dn not imagine that a re.solution of the council could be pmciired if a majority of the interested partiet; could not Ik- procured, so that the tnan who is high up the stream or watercoui.'^e is to a consitlerable extent placed at the mercy of those below him. There is, of course, a danger of some man requiring drainage wliich is en tirely disproportionate to any gnod to be received, if a niajoi ity ot interested parties is not required, but this evil is. I think, of less importance than the opp(.site. There is another way in which more extensive drainage is ol)tained in the township. If the majority of the own(>rs of any large tract of land wish to ha\e the'same drained th(»y may petition the township council to tliat etlccit, w Jiereupon tiie council may oider the engineei lo make an examination of tlio district and report upon theaanie, estimating the cost of constructing proper means of drainage and tiie pto|ioition of l«inetli each owner of land will receive fi-(jni their con.stiuctior The council may then, if they see tit, prepare a bylaw providing for the exe(;nuf)n of the work and for borrowing on the credit of the township (l)y means of debentures, not to run tuorethan twenty years nor to pay k'ss than four per cent, per annum interest,) sutticient funds to pay all e.vpt.nse incurred. The redemption of these debentures is piovided foi' by levying on each pu:ci' of land f )r each year during tiie currency nf the debentures a .sum proportionate to the i»eiieiit it received and anivunting in the total to the cost of construction witli interest upon the same. As above intimated the engineer decides primarily what proportion each pieco of land shall pay, but from his assessment an ap|iejil lies to the council acting as a " t'ouit of Revision." Each person interested is either served with a cupy of the bylaw or it is pidjlished at length in some local newspaper before the Court of Hevision is JieM, so that he has ample opportunity to disj)ute the assessment if it be wrong. When the council finally pass the bydaw an appeal lies to the County , fudge, not oiily for a read justment of the proportions e-ach interested party slnill ()a\, but al.so for the quashing of the by law cib iuitio. These debentures are bought l)y the Provincial (Jovernment, if, as is generally the case, the municipality so desires ; they are, however, sometimes bought by tlie farmers in the township. Tlie construction of drainage is let by tender, the parties who pay for the work often doing it themselves and thus n ceivuig th -ir own money back. Drainage costing from a few hundreds up to three and four thousand dol- i—.^-^T 1 lars are conHtructed in this method, and the majority of the people are Batisried with it as an economical way of proourinj» tho l;irt,'(' drains which most towiiship)s reqiiiie. 5. The jutt/i/iiniitfirs or iimr»e.fri> of hiffhu-ftiiH »t\\\ perform th« same duties as under the town meeting and quarter session system, altliotigli thf-y are now iippointed hy tho township council. To the old obligations have l)een added some trifling specific duties, such as cutting tho thistles and Oiher noxious weeds growing on the loiidside; and in some tiownsliipa tliey have the power of ordering the fanners to cut, before the peed ripens, all noxious weeds growing upon th^-ir farms, and if they neglect to do this, tn summon them before a m.igistrate and have them fined. They still "warn out" those who owe statute labor, and overseas the performance of the san)e ; they exerci.se a cfisual vigilimee over the roads in their respective beats, in order that no part shall be allowed to become bad enough to render the council liable for damages should any accident occur through defect in the road. No direct responsibility devolves upon tlie pathma8t«>r, tlie council alone are liable. TIih council, howev(>r, require their servant to keep them advised of the state of his charge. In most townships every two to four miles of road have a pathmaster. Statute labor, in advanced townships iit least, is now a failure. Thtjre was a time when it was a success, because everyone was anxious to get a pa.ssable road and couaecjueMtly did much honest work whil« serving his quota of days. Now, however, ir the advanced townshijis all roads aie passable, many of tliem gooil ; if they are not reasonaiiiy good the couticil at ouce orders that they be put in a properstate of repair. Tlie result is that men wn) not anxious about the road, knowing it will b(^ kept in repair whether they work or play; so that the men who go out to perform statute labor often idle through the time and do as little as possible ; whereas under the old circumstances if the road were not made pass- able by the statute labur, the very men who were bound to perform this laVior would have been forced to repair it by voluntary contributions, or else to put up with impassable ways as they would not trust in the hands of the magistrates sulhcient money to repair the roads. Tlie change in circum.stances demands a change in system. In all townsliiiis commutation at the rate of one dollar for each day's work is already optional vvilh the person owing the labor ; in some townships it is fixed as low as seventy-live cents, Coui- ' mutation should now in many district,- be w\i le compulsory, Tlu; township council is the proper body for this power to be vested in. and not the r.egislature as has been sug- gested by some. The provmce is not, as a whole, ripe for such a measure; but there are niany townships whose ro'.ids would be belter maintained than they now are, if the whole statute labor system were abolished and commutation maile compulsory at fifty cents a day and the money expended liy commissioners. If the sum were fixed at s-iventy five cents or one dollar there would V)e no need for any further townsiiip rate so far as roads would be concerned. [ do not think tlicre are many township councils who would dare to take such a step all at once, but if the matter wert fairly discussed at the town meetings it would soon nuet the approval of all, especially if it were made evident that it would hp.ve the effect of lowt ritiii the present rate. I wuuld not have the commutation money collected as it now is l>y the patlnnastt^r, but by the same method and ttie same time as other rates. l{oad beats and paihrtiasters might be retained, but the pathmaster sljould become a commissioner for spending money iu.stead of a "foreniiin" on tint road. Hy this measure we would indeed loae the \y>rk now done bj' men between tlie ages of twenty-one and sixty who have ntulher home, property nor income. This, however, would be a benefit instead of a loss. It is true that everyone should have some tax imposed upon him to remind liim that he is a citizen ; nevertheless it would be wise to abolish the obligatio!» to perform statute lal)or in tho case of these laborers, it is a real grievance to our laboring men ; they are perhaps hired in a neigh borhood for the six summer months, and one day the pathmaster comes along and says yon must woik on the road on such and such a day ; of course ihey \\a\ e not used the road at all and feel under no obligation, except compulsion, to perform the work. The conse- quence is that they complain loudly of the injustice ; and none of the property owners try to justify the law which requires these men to increase the value of property in which they have no interest l»y improving the road ivdjoniing it In their railings they are wont to cite the freedom of the neighboring Republic •' where men are not taxed for 39 with it as breathing God's air." There is very little material gain fi-oni the work thPBe men do ; but there is seriouH damage done by the dissatisfaction it creates among not only them, but among the whole Canadian youth, who hear them make out an apparently go'Kl ease, one at least which very few attempt to assail. It would be wise and would tend to decrease the migration of this I'lass of men to the United StateH, if tlu» part, at leant, of the statute labor were entirely remitted. It must not l»e forgotten that all tht^se la)>urers pay a largo indirect lax to the country by way of customs and excise ; thiH, I think, uhould free them from further charge.* 6. In fvery township not having a by-law directing otherwise, every man whose slieep are damaged by dogs while within an enclosure, is fufitled to demand from the council two-thirds of the value of such sheep as have been injtirt'd. There is, by provincial statute, a tax of one dollar on every dog and two dollars on every bitch. This money constitutes a fund out whii-h claims are paid. The party owning the Hhi!<>p may make lii.'i claim at any time within three months alter the date of tliistrates in (]uarter sebsions, under th>- lirst. .sy.stein, au'l by the district c.iuiicil under the second sy.^teiii, lia.s been divid.ii biaweeti the township conn -lis ami tlu' county council in each county under the third, or present system. It will have been noticed thai no iiccount is given of any action of the township lonncils ioncaii, us H»ft fortii in I'n.fi'.^ntir .NmiUh' ll'iU'l Li'ii.^lntiun fur lUi Amftii'-nii Sl.ih. Aaier. Keen. AHsna IV, No. ;i. Hy i-Diinty :iuthu>-itie> and Hiipjiorted l)v ciuntv funds; (2) connectinif roads, iiiaMiix«d ai.d partly supported by tliu cDitiity ; (^t) iecal mudri, wholly uianatcitd iviid Mupiiorted hy tliu lowiidhip. Kuu altto thu rumarkd uf Profoasor I'uttun in Pvlitieal Hcivnee Quarterly, IV. 520. — Kn.] rr^ i u 40 I i| !i the county council, which is entirely eoinpoHcd, as already <'xplaiiuil, of the roevoK and deputy- reeves of the townnhips, villagos ai)d towns toiii| riHJnjf the county. This council meets regularly four times a year. Several county councils in tlu- province have us many aa fifty nienilwrs, the theory V)ein8! l''"t about every fdur hundred assesHt'd ptrsons Bhall have one reprcaeutative in the countj' council. Kacli icssion of this conm-il laRts about one week. The uiembera are paid from 5^1. .'')0 to S.'J.UO per dny, ejicli council re(:(ulating the salary of its own members. The warden, whom thiy elect, is by virtue of his office chairman. Most county councils mi)del tlieir "rules of procedure' after those used in " parliamentary practice." Their busine.-.s is transacted by luinns of by- laws and resolutions, liy laws are used in cases where some permanent interest is involved, while resolutions are thoujjht .suHici(>nt for ordering the payment of contractors and casual servants of the council. The members arc a very intelligei.t and capiible set of men, and display much wisdom and enterprise in the iiianaf»enient of the atlUir.s which fall within their authority. They term a very necessary and u.seful administrative body : and wc have no sympnthy whatever with the feeling, whiili is perhaps gaining ground in the province, that county councils should be abolished. There are now and firoliably iiUvays will be many matters and institutions needed lor local tonveiiience which are of s-uidi a nature as wiil not admit of their buijig a(l>iiini8tere cijually liad poliry to put ih- .se things in the hands nf the Provincial (Jovernment, the niemb'rs of whioh woidd rarely have any intimate knowbidge of these institutions. An\one who is a.t all acquainted with the matters of local administration that constantly arise in the present state oC nnr devfjopiiunt will recognize the force ^d with the present, county administration. It si^ems a po-itive nei;ijs.sitv that the membership of the council be reduced. It has been proposed to divide the larger v'.'.unties, but this would only increase the evil. A division of counties would mean a muitiplioalion cii ih. total expense for county administr.aion in the Province as a whole There is pirhans, no county in the I'roviiue whose county Jail or poorhou.-ic or other county institution is too large to lie manage.d with economy. On the contrary, most of the counties ci.uiid manage larger institutions with a \ery slight additional e\pense. A gaolti, slieritl", clerk, and treasurer, and a poorhouse, courthouae, jail and county Ijuildings, with their stafl of attendants and oliicials. niust be maintained liy every county ; if we mulliply the counties wo multiply the expense connected with these olliccrs and institutions. JMoreover, a con- staiit hacking ami carving of territory is most undesirable. It ruins all local loyalty and emulation, both very useful and desirable. The present .system of electing the county councillors seems to atlbid no means whereby a reduction in their numbers can be etl'ected. It would be very unsoutid policy to retain .i \ iilage as part of a town- ship after it had reached a population of seven hundred and lifty soids, because the needs of such a jiopulation are so dissimilar to the needs of a townsliip population Sidewalk.s, gas light, fire-engines and water-supply are the public local ijuesti uis which inteie.st such a Jiopulation, while these matters never occur to tlie farming populatioii occupsing the ordinary township. Separate existence as a village and separate representation in the county council under our present system go together ; so that to make it neces- sary for a village to have a larger ptjpulation liefore it can obtain the right to return a member to the county council is not practicable, because this would re(|uire these villagcB to lie retained as a part of a township until they had a population beyond all reasonable bounds. There seems to be a settled belief that it is necessary that each township, town and village should elect a member or members of the county council to represent that |)articular municipality. Many think that the present wav of utilizing the township machinery to levy the county tax imperatively demands this. The 41 present mode of " ei^ualizing the aasessment " or deciding how much of the county tax each inuiiicipality shall pay, is the due act perforiueil by the county council which gtvns a strong color to this belief ; apart from this function it matters little what municipality a man comeH from, so long as he is a good public olficer. If it is thought that a council elected in the manner I shall propose would not be as likely to do Justice among the several munici- palities as the reeved of the townships, towns and villages would, let those reeves form a body to be called together by the county clerk merely for the purpose of equalizing the assess- ment once every five years ; even now no great change is made in the proportions paid by the different municipalities during that space of time. There are, f think, good reasons for discarding the present mode of electing county councillors, even if the system did not lead to an unduly large ijouncii. Under the present system each meml)er feels himself in duty bound to act for the interest of his own to vn- ship, even though it should be to the loss of the other parts of the county. All the members have equal votes. They do imt by any means represent equal interesta. In 1881, in the County uf Middlesex, the totiil equalized asses.suiont of towns and villages was •^1,.')'J7,001 ; the owner.s of this pro[ierty were represented la the county council by twelve vot(!s. wliilff the Township of Nissouri, with an equalized assessment of •51,584,000, wa.s represented by only two votes. The total equalized assessment of all the townships was 8l*'J, 078, liOl, th 3 owners of whicii were represented by thirty seven votes. That is to say, in order to have a representative in the county council a township must be assessed for $G23,7 tr), while a village or town need only \n- assessed for .$1,12,000. ft is not a fair partnership ; because the township pays .•?() tax and the village pays .^l, while the village hua an ('(pial voice with tlie township in levyia;^ and expending the ."$7. It seem to me that 111*^11 with such unequal interests at stake are not in the best possible circumstances for " e(}Uiiliziii^ the assi.'ssanent," " striking tlie county rate, ' and " mak- ing the county estimates. ' They are not placed in eireutiistanc.es which are con- ducive to fair liealias; bf?twecii thr^ several municipalities, especially when each man is elected and feels liiaiself in duty bound to gel all In' can for his own aiuaicipality. There is another point which rlcsi-rves luention. There is no ailmiaistrative body in our whole svatem about; the actions of which the average ehvtor knows su lii.tle as he does of the cfi'inty council. T\v county Muncil is not l)rju^'ht proiniii'Muly before the pe )plo; and altlioui»h no '• crookt^d " work may have be.in done, it is in my o|»iniou ipiit • possible under the present system for great extravagance to tie indulged in. la order to l>ring the observation of county tmsincss hoaie to the electors it would be well to ehi'.t a cuimti/ council iadi'i>''nd<-nt nf tk» township '■oinicU. Li't the electors of each municipality nomi- nate candidat'-s for county councillors at their township nominations, and let the town- ship clerks return these nominations to the jounty ch^rk, who shall l)e orderetl to prepire ballots contuiaiag the names of all t;ht' candidates iiotainated througiiout thr county, .lud Sf.-nd whatever nainber of lhe.se la.w be needi-d to each tuwasaip clerk liufore (flection iliy. When the elect.ors come to vote tor their township councillors let thcai also vote t'or tlieir Candidates for county councillors. Ijet a statement ot this voti; in tes constitute the county comK-il. Uy this lueaiis every metut)e.r would repn-se.at not any parlicidar township, liut the whole oouuty . and the laeiiibi'rs w)rs would .seek inforiiiatioa upon which to ilctcrmin : f >r whioh candidates they should vote , whereas they now vote for a mm f'.'.)m regard to his action as a township councillor, with very little enquiry into his condu t at the county council. 4 (O.T.) 42 Section 7. — Conclunion. I 5, There are many things for which our municipal system is to be commended. Bryce, in hifl book on " The American Constitution " says, in speaking of the different systems of local government there discussed, that " the town or township with its popular primary assembly is admittedly the best. It is the cheapest &v.d the most efficient ; it is the most educative to the citizens who take part in it. The towi; meeting has been not only the source but the school of democracy. The action of so .mnali a unit needs to be supple- mented, however, ... by that of the county, and in this respect the mixed system ... is deemed to have borne its part in forming a perfect type." This praiae, coming as it does from so high an authority, although not spoken of uh, ciin, wo think, be fairly appropriated by us. We have, we claim, much of the advantage of town meeting without its disadvantages. We have the meeting, we liave the diHcussion, wo decide on the larger questions, and we elect m^n to carry out the " popular primary " wish, and n.oreover these men do carry out this wish. Of our system it can be truly said it is cheap, elFicieut and popular. Its influence upon the people is good ; it enlightens them and If ads them to take an interest in higher politics, while the first and simple principles upon which it is conducted supplies them with a criterion by which to measure all political conduct. Higher politics in their turn react upon towubhip politics. This has been much con- demned and perhaps wrongfully. Bryce has said in the book before mentioned, " In America party loyalty and party organization have been hitherto so perfect that anyone put forward by the party will get the party vote, if his character is good iind his 'record,' as they call it, unstainec'." This statement has some force wliere he ni.ikes it, that is, in accounting for the kind of men who are able to command a lari^e vote for the presidency of the United States ; but in local affairs there is distinctly another side to the question, and one which to some extent may counterbalance the evil pointed out by him. I am convinced that if it were not that "party loyalty and party organization" are so much fostered here, our local institutions would be much worse administered. Good and able men would not interest themselves in township or county polity did not the careful and honest discharge of the duties there imposed open an entrance into Provincial and Domin- ion politics. There is not a class of capable men on this continent who are either willing or financially able to administer the affairs of the township or the county for the little honor that attaches to such offices. Men do these things hem for the reward thciy promise either directly or indirectly ; and there is no greater inducement that we can hold out than the hope of rising high in the estimation of party and country. All, of course, can not rise to great importance, liut all can indulge the hope of rising, and in this hope dis- charge onerous public duties which would otherwise be neglected The party enthusiasm which spreads through our whole system of government is almo.-. iioces.sary : and while in the higher and fewer offices it may detract from our chances of securing good men, in the meaner and much more numerous ofHces it certainly calls out talent and ability which would not otherwise be reached. The party enthnsiasm which is engendered in the higher offices lends an interest and a charm to the lower offices. National politics intro- duced into township and county elections, says Bryce, " make it more difficult for good citizens outside the class of professional politicians to find their way into county (and township) administration." Here, we do not divide the inhabitants into "good citizens" and " professional politicians." We in Ontario are all of one party or the other ; we do not look upon parties as a calamity or party men as swindlers. In no township that \ know, would it be possible to get together a council of five competent men unless some of them were men of strong party feelings and convictions?. ndecl. Bryce, ent aystems of pillar primary it is the most not only the to be supple- niixecl system praise, coming link, lie fairly Beting without 3 on the larger and n.oreovtr :licap, elRcieut leads them to ipon which it tical conduct. Kn much con- ditioned, " In that anyone rl his * record,' it, that is, in lie presidency the question, y him. I am ' are so much cod and able iH careful and il and Dorain- either willing for the little I they promise ' can hold out :>{ course, can this hope dia- by enthusiasm : and while in d men, in the ability which idered in the politics intro- icult for good county (and 2;ood citizens '' other ; we do wnship that I n unless some f '\ mm I ■ tmmi* mitimiiiimiiStm pom CT.'g73'BT?T-ierK Hi I 11 / ummmxtfrnatssamffiSS^^ MMMMMmMa«w«iWMWNiMlMM< MM»''W