\ -0' i\' \ w /C^CC-a /'w^-'T.^^^ • ^ v» PROVINCIAL POLITICS. /^ SPEECH BY THE HON. J. A. CHAPLEAU. Delivered at St. Laurent, in the Count?/ of Jacques Cartier, on the Qth September, 1883. The meeting at St. Laurent on Thursday was in many respects the most important that has been held in this province since Confederation, and it attracted an immense number of people, not only from the county of Jacques Cartier, but from the adjoining counties of Laval and Uochelaga and from the city. There were between five and six thousand persons present, at the lowest estimate, including a very large representation of public men. Among the gentlemen present were Hon Messrs Chapleau, Mousseau, Mercier, Beau- bien, Archambault, Wurtele, Boucher de la Bruere, W W Lyncb, Trudel, Jean Blanchet, Frudhomme, D A Boss, Bellerose, Laflamme, Marchand ; Messrs White, Girouard, Benoit, Tasse, Bergeron, McMaster, Labrosse, Daoust and Ouimet, M's P ; Messrs Lavallee, MarteJ, Bobiliard, McShane, Caron, Cassavant, Leduc, Nantel, Gaboury, Dofjardins, Archambault, M's P P ; Mefisra Tarte, LeBlanc, Tellier, Houde, Bi^sonand Champagne, former mem- bers of one or other of the parliaments, and Messrs Decarries, Bastien, Lareaa and Dionne, Quebec ; A T Beauchemin, St Hyacinthe ; Dr Desrosiers, Hyacinthe Char- lelM>is, — Charlebois, contractor, Quebec ; Andrew Dawes, Lachine ; Alfred Perry, Aid Boy, Aid Beaueolei , Aid Robert, Aid Gene- reux, A Christiu, F Ohriatin, — Brossart, Dr Filiatrault, Aid Beauchamp, G Drolet, J Bureau, — Angere, D Barry, P Davidson, R D McGibbon, Capt Labelle, F B McNamee, Jos Vincent, Gaspard Matbieu, — Lemay, Baptiste Emond. After some difficulty in the electing of a chairman, the meeting being about equally divided between Mr. Girouard, M.P , and Mr. Belanger, the mayor of the parish, it was agreed to proceed under the joint presidency of the Hon. Messrs. Chapleau and Mercier; and the time and order of speaking being fixed, the Secretary of State opened the balL The Hon. Mr. Chaplbau, on coming forward, was received with loud de- monstrations of applause. He said : — The first thing which has struck as strange and which may well surprise us all who are here to-day, is the aureole which surrounds the Conservative who has oome forward in this county as the opponent to the Hon. Prime Mfnister. I said aureole — I should rather have said rainbow, and the rainbow implies fair weather for poor mortals like Hon. Mr. Mousseau, for among the men of various shades of opinion that compose it, there are reds and blues and greens and yellows, not to speak of other tints. [Laughter.] There are reds (rouges) like Mr. Laflamme, blues like Mr. Bellerose, yellows like — (well it is a Roman color which might have pertained to Mr. Trudel before he quarrelled with the Vatican.) [Cheers.] There are cailles like Mr. Beaubien, and bigarres like Mr. Mercier, and greens like Mr. Descarries, What a group ! And their notes, they are as varied as their plu- magd. What a happy family. Gentlemen, some of you have a good memory. You can recall the letter that Mr. Laflamme wrote at the last election in the county ? What attitude did Mr. Mercier assume at that time? What figure did Mr. Descarries cut ? How, then, hab ihis strange revolution come about of which we see the effects ? Does Mr. Trudel talk religion with the ex- Minister of Justice or dees the latter ask for explanations on the congugal Syllabus ? Does Mr. Mercier speak of coalition with Mr. Bellerose ? Ho, but Mr. Bellerose tells the story of his late electoral mission to St. Hyacinthe. And Mr. Beaubien hears all that is going and — turns it to his own ad- vantage, wiiile he thinks of his lost speak- er's chair for which he has found a substi- tute at Lavigne's. Bather look at that dreamy brow : — Oh ! qui me donnera d'v sonde sa pens6e Lorsque le souvenir de sa grandeur pass6e. Beyient comme un rem.ords I'assailllr loin du bruit. [Cheers.] Why are they here, those friends of yesterday, those foes of to- morrow? Mr. Mousseau has not changed. Ue is the same Premier, with the same Government, with the same pro- gramme. Mr. Descarries, too, is the same that he ever was. He has learned nothing new ; he had nothing to forget. If the two candidates have not changed, who or what has produced the change in those who said ' yes ' yesterday and came to say ' no ' to- day ? This is the answer to the riddle — and it is as old as the story of disappointed poli- ticians. It is because Mr. Trudel is not a judge, in spite of his solicitation of Mr. Dansereau ; it is because Mr. Mercier is not a Minister, although he asked Mr. Mousseau to appoint him ; it is because Mr. Beaubien is not Speaker, although he asked — all the echoes around him ; because Mr. Laflamme is not a member, and he wants his next can- didature puffed up ; because Mr . Bellerose — no, he has not changed — he is what he always was, tiresome and dis- agreeable. [Cheers.] Do you think those gentlemen care about the can- didate tbat they have presented to you? Not the least in the world. Do you think they care about the electors ? Not much ! But, to come to the point, whether they have changed through interest or not, in good earnest or make-believe, for good reason or none at all, would that be sufficient to make you, free and honest electors, turn round like whirligigs ? Are you going to be two-iaced because those gentlemen have their spites to gratify ? They must, indeed, have a small opinion ot you if they think they can thus play at shuttlecock with the county. A Liberal said the other day that if Mr. Mer- cier took them for playthings, he must try his game elsewhere . That might do at St. Hyacinthe,tut it would not do here , [Cheers.] You have heard all those gentlemen. Have they given you a single solid reason for voting against the Uon. Mr. Mous- seau? Not one. Thoir speeches were full of insults to me and to Mr. Senecal, but apart from that there was no- thing in them. And they have made all this noise and fuss to induce you to vote for a man whom they do not like or respect them- selves, and whom they would still have you accept as the man of your taste and choice, the man whom you would select to maintain the high reputation of your country. Ah! gentlemen, you shall do what seems right to you, and I will be nothing the poorer afterwards; but, frankly and with all the; esteem and respect that 1 have for you, 1' would think very little of you in- deed if you lent yourselves to a dirty game like that. [Cheers] Yoa know tbat I never decline nor dislike a struggle, but what I like is a frank, sincere, in fact, a square fight. I respect my oppon- ents when they engage in those struggles, but low comf dy like that, fie, it is simply dicsgusting. ACCUSATIONS FOB REASONS. And what have they told you to make ycu accept their mannikin? That I was rich, that I had millions (ah ! if I had, I would lena some of them to purchase another can ■ didate than that one), that I had enriched myself at the expense of the province. Ancr who said so? Mr. Laflamme, the man ol the canal ; Mr. Mercier, the man of the tun- nel ; Mr. Bellerose, the man who sold his parliamentary stationary ; Mr. Trudel, who would have bartered his seat as a senator for I a judgeship in the Northwest, and finally Mr. Beaubien, who paid by building lota for the tracing which brought the railroad on to his farm, who sold to Mr. Senecal for the Government the land siirrounding the station at Mile Eud at three times the price of the land adjoining "his, who cauaed to be built the railway to the exhibition grounds, in order to add value to his pro- perty, who procured at the cost of the Government a Speaker's chair, cofetlng $120, under the pretext that the old one bad been soiled by Mr. Turcotte. At least, these small gentry should put in their attacks a little of the form that good elec- toral traditions have left us, but no : " Vile intriguer, liar, speculator, robber traiBcker in principles, shameless jobber, slave, manipulator of consciences, chief of the band of brigands, vampire, stealer of letters, Freemason, friend of cut-throats and assas- sins, friend of gaol-birds, hypocrite, plunderer, thief." That is a collection of mild terms which the journal of Mr. Senator Trudel has applied A t :i to me in the thirty or fcty numbers that 1 1 went over yesterday. Surely it is not in the j Senate that he learned that vocabnlary ; nor, \ perhaps, was it dutiag his trip to Parii^, for I I am sure that he was better behaved than i that at the Folies Bergeres. Could he, j by chance, like the innocent Vert- \ Vert, have made the passage Id ' bad company ? Guess, if you can [Laughter \ and cheers] For my part I know n beyond six millioa dollars for ttie entire road. [Oheors.] There \ are persons present here to-day who are as ; well aware of the fact as I am. Let me also \ tell you that the Pacific Railway Company would not have given more than seven mil- lions for the whole road. [Cheers.] Le': me, above all, tell you that if Mr. S_aecul had not made an offer which was methodical and reasoned out in all its details, we could not have met with a single offer exceeding six millions and a half. Let me tell you that the Paci- fic Bailway Company have also said and thought and still say and think [you can ask them if you like] that the Govern- ment obtained for this section of the road the full value, if not more. And still every one agreed in saying at that time that the road from Montreal to Ottawa was the only part of the line that was worth anything and would return profits, and that the other sec- tion, not being connected with the United States in winter, would hardly pay enough to grease the wheels of the engines and cars. Let me tell you that there is not a man of business, a railroad man of any importance, nor a capitalist, who has not said and would not say again, on his responsibility as a man of business, that the province has had the full value of its property in the fortunate bargains that I have bsen able to conclude . Let me tell you that the capitalists who were joined with Mr. Senecal in the Syndi- cate which bought the eastern section had really no confidence in the pecuniary suc- cess of their enterprise, and they invested their capital in it, in a great measure, from public spirit and, to some extent, because they believed in the lucky star of the man with whom they were associated. (Cheers . } Do you wish me to cite names ? I am not afraid to do so. I will mention the names of Mesrrs, James Gibb Ros...McGreevy, and Alphonsf^ Desjardins. These raen are still alive and can give their opinions. The expression of it If, indeed, contained in a letter I am going to read, the letter of a man whose great business experience can- not be doubted, and who is not likely to be suspected of partiality for Mr. Senecal. On the 3rd of April, 1882, Mr. M. H. Gault wrote to me as f illows : — '• MoNTBEAi, 3rd April, 1882. " My Dear Sir,— Now that the road has been divide!, and tlie most promising portion sold the Canadian Pacific Railway, I am in- diffrfreat whether I continue a member or not. Other gentlemen who had joined me in this purchase of the whole road have withdrawn their names, believing there is no money in the purchase of the Eastern section. (Signed.) " M. H. Gault." •' To Hon. J. A. Chapleau " I regret, gentlemen, to have to enter into these details from which the respect due to our public men should have saved me. But I promised to leave nothing unanswered and I have accomplished my task, painful though it has been. [Cheers.] But, it may be said, how did the Grand Trunk come to make the purchase of the Eastern section on such conditions ? Gentlemen, if there is in this crowd a man clever enough to explain the operations of railways and tne principles that rule them in their rivalries, in their wars, in their transactions with one another, I will tell him that his secret is worth millions, if he only turns it to account. Railroads j have been known to be sold at two cents in I the dollar one year, and in less than three I years, be worth twenty times that sum. Who j will not acknowledge that the Western sec- j tion would not have yielded the half of its ; value, if it had remained in the hands of the I Government after the construction of the j rival line of the Canada Atlantic ? And j what of that s^le to the Grand Trunk? ' What are its conditions? What is the margin of chance or hazard that i it includes ? That sale, if I have I been rightly informed, was only based I on a guarantee of debentures ot the company : selling, and of that guarantee, variable, as are I all railway funds — and the present time is i exceptional for such variations — could the i Government assume the risk of it on the transactions in which it was a party ? No, you, who are my opponents, know it quite well, and, if you were not actuated by bad faith, you would unite with me in recogniz- ing the facts. [Cheers.] It is so much the better, I say, a thousand times over, if a fel- 11 low-citizen, courageous in his enterprises and skilful in Lis calculations, succeeds in mak- ing a considerable fortune. I aff. proud of it, and you ought all to be glad to hear of such a thing. Even if it were a bitter entaiy, I would, for my parr, still re- joice in his proBperity. T: the days of ill fortune, that man shrank Irom no personal sacrifice to promote the triumph of the good cause. Those who are tearing him in pieces to-day would not; have even the temptation of power, if Mr. Seoecal had not been to the fore and helped us on to success. So much the better, then, if he has succeeded in his turn. And there is no right-thinking, honest man who does not share ia the senti- ment. [Cheer s , ] THE POLICY OF SELLING THE RAILWAY. I do not believe there is a single man who would deliberately and seriously put in question the wisdom of selling the road and of thus relieving the finances of so heavy a burden. It is well known that the leaders of the Conservative party at Ottawa, when consulted on tbat important act, gave it their ready adhesion. One can only laugh at the absurd pretension of the hair- splitting lawyer who cited articles of the Code to prove that an admiuistration could not sell that which it administered, when it was Parliament that gave its solemn sanc- tion to a contract in which, after all, the ad- ministrator was only one >f the sharehold- ers. There is no longer any intention of DISCUSSING THE PRICE. That is a question which was decided after long deliberation. It wab M. Joly's as well as M. Mereier's opinion that $8,000,000 reqresented the full value of the railway. Still, I cannot help say- ing that on the evening of the very day on which Mr. Senecal was to submit his can- tract to the Government, I made a final effort with Sir John to obtain the acquisition of the road by the Pacific Company. Perhaps I did not observe the ordinary rules of dis- cretion, but it was I who myself dictated the terms on which Mr. SenecHl and his syndi- cate ofi'ered to buy the road trom us, and with my permission Sir John communicated to the president of the Pftcific Company every one of its clauses and tbe ( onditions of sale. [Cheers.] I committed aa iDJustice towsi-ds those who alone of all the parties tender- dering had made a methodical study of their own offer The Allan- Rivard Syndicate never made the slightest calculation as to their tender. If any one reads the official correspondence, he will see that Mr. liivard only copied out the propos- als made to him by the Hon. Mr. Loranger andmyselt. It was the desire of us both (and that is how that syndicate originated) to effect a fusion of those two groups, and it was only when we saw the equivocal game that Sir Hugh Allan and Mr. Beaubien were playing in the matter that we thought proper to leave them to themselves. After that they were no longer in question, except in the underhand and deceitful intrigues of Mr. Beaubien in the house. MR MERCIER's POSITION. As for Mr. Mercier, he is obliged to have recourse to ridiculous evasions, saying that the Q-overnment obtained the consent of the House for the sale of the road under false pretences. But is it for Mr. Mercier to speak of such a thing as false pretences after trying to obtain power by giving bis tacit approbation to the whole transaction ? How, Mr. Mercier, do you expect that sensible people will believe when yen tell that absurd story which you imposed on your St. Hya- cinthe electors about your determination to attend the House only jast as your business would permit? Gentlemen, do you know what Mr. Mercier thinks of those who absent themeelve" from the Legislature during the Session? He will not deny that inl878, at a meeting held at St . Liboire in the county of Bagot, he denounced Mr. Mousseau, who had absented himself from the Session of the House of Commons to take part in the Pro- vinci'^l election because '< he had misunder- ' stood the obligations of his position by ab- '< staining at the end of the Session from " voting on about fifty questions," insisting upon the fact that " when one accepts the re- " presentation of a county, he is required, " according to the dictates of honor and of » his conscience," to represent his county « during tbe whole of the session, and to vote «' upon all questions which are submitted to " the Legislature." How do you expect to be believed when you, a party leader, excuse yourself in that way for declining to vote on a question of such vital importance to the Province ! You know that you would not deserve to be a leader, nor even a member, if your excuse were a sincere one. [Cheers.] Come, now ! By frank ! You were for the sale of the eastern as well as the western section of the road . As to the latter, you said so openly, n but as to the other, you only asserted under your breath. You approved of the sale of it entirely when you announced to the world that you were quitting politics. You were present at the discussion in Qaebec; you voted against the amendment of the mem- ber for Kamouraska blaming the Govern- ment on account of the manner it j had negotiated the sale, and you I told anyone that chose to hear you what you i thought of Mr. Beaabien's conduct in , the matter. [Cheers] You would have voied, you would even nave spoken against your leader, Mr. Joly (he was not your leader at the timej, as ycu did before on the question of the South Shore and tunnel and on the question of the salaries of Ministers if you had been asked. | [Cheers.] You never had a word to j say against the sale till the day when you 1 saw yoar illusions as to entering the Qaebec Cabinet disappearing. You were ready to approve of the whole policy and to defend it if Mr. Mousseau had invited you to form part of his Ministry. [Cheers.] Now that you are uU in all with those whom you de- spised eighteen months ago, your gift of the gab is at their service in denouncing a policy which you then though!- excellent. [Cheers.] THR CHARGE AGAINST MR MOUSSEAU. Seeing, moreover, that he could convince no one by the arguments which I hj^ve indicat- ed, Mr. M-3rcitir tries another plan. He seeks to prove taat tho ilous^eau G.^vern. ment executed the contract with culpable lack of wis iora, atid That they thereby en- riched some of thi-tir friends at the expense of the country. That is really the only point in the whole quflstiou ot the sale of the road that could be brought agt^inst the present Ministry, if the statements ot Mr. Mercier and his new allies were true. Un- fortunately for him, they are not true, as we will proceed to show. Mr. Morcier says: "Mr. ChapleAU traasfarred tc ir. Senecal and Company the balance of Q,uboec's millioa [$600,000] and the vala^ to the Q,uebec Gov- ernmeut of the Court-house wharves plus the $41)0,000 ot debentures which the municipality had alreadygivea to the Government and to pay Mr. McGreevy. For this cousideratloa the syndcate undertcoc the works that were to be done at ciuebec and notably tne displacement of the Prince Edw ird street road aad Ihi ex- cavation of the so called Princess Louise basin and over and above the four millions of the price of sal.^ he pro nised to pay an addi- tional sum of $5}0,')(Xi at the time of the deliv- ery of tne roads. Now, by an agreemeut made between the Moasseau Ministry and the siyn- dicate on the 21st of August, 1882, two months after the handing over of the road, the latter is relieved from undertaking those works, and from the payment of the $500,000. So that Mr. Mousseau, profiting by an unfor- tunate discretion, put the province to a loss of a considerable sum and the charge of costly works for which the contract had made the syndicate responsible. It is evident, there- fore, that Mr. Mousseau had only to let the law take its course and we should have been re- lieved of immense works and have received 3500,0X1 over and above the price." Just as many falsehoods in the above statement as there are lines. [Cheers] . Let us first clear ourselves ot the most odious charge of havir g thus altered the contract in order to enrich our friends. In the first place, Mr. Mousseau never altered the con- tract. All he did was to carry it out. [Cheers]. He had no discretion in the matter. The discretion had been left to the Qiebec corporation, which was allowed to make, within three months, arrangements with the Government for the settlement of their difficulties. As to that balance of the million, the Court House pro- perty, and especially the p Hi on of the city as shareholder in the pro^ rty of the road according to the rate of its subscription— this question was one of the gravflst nature and had occupied the attention of the Gov- ernment long before the contracts. The city of QQeb3c claimed that its subscription was riul!, and even demindod back the $100,000 which had already been paid, and refused to pay interest on the $250,00 which it had given to Mr. Joly's Government The latter had agreed to have the works on St. Andre street done and to extend ths road to th 5 jetty of the new hasiu (not to '■ excava- vate the so-called Frincess Louise basin," as the clever Mr. Mercier has it ) The Government had begun to get possession of the Court House, wharf grounds which they required for the railroad There was there nearly $600,000 worth of land, and, as Mr. Joly had paid $1 a foot for the court house property where the sta- tion was, the Corporation asked the same price lor the remainder. But it was the price at which Mr. Baillarge, the City Engi- neer, had valued it, and the city insisted on it. After a good deal of di cussion, before the session of 1882, 1 ended by oflfer- ing, in the name of the Government provided it were ratified by the Chamber, tc remit to the city the balance of its subscription aad to have the works, the displacement of the St. Edward street road efiected, and the extension to the j-)tty to the new basins effected, if the city on its part would give us the court house grounds and give up its right as shareholder in the road. The v^uebec journals of the time published those offers, which, however, the city refused to accept without modification . I threatened a lawsuit but it had no effect. I then told the Corporation that I would leave my offer open and that if lue Govern- ment sold the road they would also sell their claims against the city, which would then have to contest the matter with the Syndi- cate before the courts of law. It was at my proposal that the Syndicate accepted this situation which was, indeed, advantageous for them but which also freed us from the annoyance of a lawsuit against the Corpora- tion and the complications that would en- sue. The Syndicate gave $500,000, it is true, but it received $400,000 in Corporation bonds bearing 7 per cent, interest with the sinking fund. It executed works valued at , but we were obliged to guarantee the legal validity of our titles and with those titles it also received $600,000 worth of city debentures. The syndicate, it will be un- derstood, could not assume at its own risk the application of the law of 1875, prepared by the DeBoucherville Government by its Attorney- General, Mr. Angers. That law was to the effect that, when the road was able to pay over and above the expenses of working, five per cent, on the $3,000,000, the loan of which had been authorized by the commissioners in the said law, the balance over the five per cent, on the $3,000,000 should be divided among the municipalities that held shares in the road. Now Montreal had paid in bonus and was no longer a shareholder, and the other mu- nicipalities had been virtually ex- empted from the payment ot their suDHcriptions. And we sold the road for $8,000,000 on which it was to be presumed that five per cent, at least would be reallized above the expenses of working. The city of Quebec said ; the five per cent, on the five millions beyond the $3,000,000 of Commissioners, ought to be applied at least to the payment of interest on the debentures that will represent part or whole of our sub- scription. I look upon that pretention aa extraordinary, but it was specious, and it was, perhapp, on account ot that difficulty that the Hon. Mr. De Boucherville, when he was Prime Minister, expressed the opinion that it would be better to remit that subscrip- tion. Mr. Joly's Government had made a oan of $3,000,000 without modifying the law of 1875, and we followed his example in our loan of 1880. My object was to arrive at some settlement, end that which I proposed seemed to me to be just, and no one objected to it except the praporation itself, and as for that body I ex- elocted that its opposition would give way in the face of a lawsuit with a company in whose case political influences could have no effect. And that is what really happened. Re'id the debates (which, by the wav, are very incomplete) in the Hansard published by Mr. Desjardins, and you will see that Mr. Joly thought the City of Quebec had been too rigorously dealt with, while Mr. Robert- son claimed that that corporation had been treated too indulgently. The syndicate did not ask for the change, but, on the contrary, Mr. Senecal insisted on maintaining the clause by which he would have benefited, and I had to have it recorded in black and white that the 17th clause had been waived in order to prevent misunderstandings and opposition after the session . [Cheers . ] The Hon . Mr. Mousseau has only conclud- ed the arrangerrent which I had offered to the city of Quebec, and which the Legisla- ture would have left to its choice. I can well recall having often repeated before the House, while insisting on this point, that, since the city of Quebec had not accepted our offer, it did not deserve to be granted any more extended delay . The House im- posed this condition on us, and, considering all the difficulties of the question, it was, after all, perhaps, the bert course to adopt. There must be a lack of good faith with our opponents when they refuse to admit these indisput- able facts. It is true that M. Mercier has his excuse all cut and dry to-day — he was so seldom present at the debates of the House that session ! Very well, Mr. Mer- cier! If you cannot recollect your marked abstention in the diecussion and voting on the sale of the railroad and cannot give good reason for your indiflerence on those occasions, it does not improve the matter to say — what is not the case ! [Cheers . ] Here, then, is the sum of the charges against Mr. Mousseau, which are made an excuse by certain false Conservatives to justify their separation from their party, and cast as an element of division among our friends. Mr. Beaubien knows better than anyone else how utterly frivolous these charges are. He saw the ground slipping away during 14 the last session. Being unable to convince an intelligent Legislature, he sought to sow the seeds of defiance and jealous suspicion among the people. He ka<^w he might produce some effect bv provoking a demand for a general enquiry into the sale of the railway and into the accounts of every one who had anything to do with it. He knew that such an enquiry, made without any re- sponsibility on the part of the accuser, is not , in accordance with Parliameatary cus- tom, and that no government could permit it, except on the condition of the accuser accepting the^full responsibility for hip accu- sations. He counted upon their refusal to grant it for the purpose of dishonorably in- criminating Ministers, and creating in the public mind the impression that there were revelations of dishonesty to be concealed. Every one knows that there is a class of men who get up accusations in secret, who invent news for the purpose cf making mis- chief and putting mcney in their o wn pock- ets. Public men who respect themselves are wont to keep such gentory at a distance, not desiring to becomo the accomplices of their schemes, not wishing to become the tools of blackmailer?. Individuals of the class in question drwad the law courts and the well devised proc f ases that j ustice employs for the protection of citizens against vex- • atious prosecutions. They know that their interested testimony would not be admitted In court and that besides being baffled and put to shame, they would have to submit to expenses which are al- ways troublesome. They would, there- fore, prefer to appear before a self-styled commission of enquiry to try and make good their pretended claims, or rather, in truth, to prevent them coming to light, by being paid for the scandal which they have devised. We have had such enquiries before the House . The experience ot Mr. Prentice can hardlj , I think, have escaped the memory of Mr. Beaubien. Even he who at the time lent an ear to that trickster had to blush at his proceedings, and the House — I can in- voke the testimony of even my most violent antagonists — had only disdain and contempt for the accuser. There are still Prentices in the world ; but what surprises me is that there are members who call themselves fair-minded and who, nevertheless, can stoop to the use of such instruments. Not thus we are going to pre- serve the honorable traditions of British parliamentary usage which require that the political accuser should bring an explicit charge and stake either his reputation before the tribunals or his seat in Parliament. If any one knows of what is deserving of blame, let him out with it at once. If he knows of acts that tarnish the character of Ministers, either those now in office or their predecessors, let him formulate his charges, let bim state the sources of his information, ! let bim name his witnesses, and if they have i nothing to allege, let them hold their peace. : Vexation at the loss ot opportunities for gain, jealousy ot the success of others, the moau desire to rob one's neighbor of the good fortune which his talents may have won for hi 01, these are nor, reasond which should induce a Les^islaturd to make itself the echo of malevolent rumors and ridicu- lous stories. [Oheers.] THE CHABACTEK OF THE ACCCSATIOKS. As for you, Mr. Beaubien, everyone knows what you are. Strange it is that, unconci- ously to himself, a sort of subtile aura is ex- haled from the person that tells of what moral stuff a man is made. There is no need for conjecture ; no need of inquiry ; an instinct, which is infallible, tells us what he is. Even if you have not had close relations with a man, after we have been a few minu- tes in his company and seen him in his native guise, you can say with as much con- viction as truth : " He is frank and honest, -'■' or he is dark and false ; he is a man of larg | views or of limited horizon ; he is generoua or mean, leal-hearted or jealous minded. Oh, accusers, and I had almost said, oh ye en- vious-minded, you give forth your peculiai aroma ; you reveal yourselves even under the mask of public interest, you would bring condemnation on men who are better than yourselves. Read over your speeches or your articles, put yourselves, if you cai , in the place of listeners to your.^elves, and you can- not but perceive that your first word, ycur first line, your first e.ipiession of the feel- ing, gives the dominant note of your soul. When you ask for information, not daring to accuse yourself, your first word is : " Ask those gentlemen who are in the enjoyment of from a million and a quarter to a million and a half expended in the finest property in province," There we have the men of figures ! From a million and a quarter to a million and a half ! How many quime sous would that make ? says Mr. Louis Beaubien. (Laughter and cheers). Bead over your articles ; •' Those men wl ^ 1 / 15 drive in carriages at our expense ! Those men who wallow in luxury and in the eojoy- ments of millionaires — men who yesterday were not worth a cent and who to-day can purchase splendid properties and pay for them." Surh is the style of writing that characterizes those accusers. One would think that they were groaning be- neath the wounds inflicted by their own covetousnesp, by the reverses brought on by foolish speculations. Jbike Mr. Trudel, they would make fortunes by audacious ven- tures and risk therefor the futures of their families, the mf ans of their kindred and neighbors and their personal credit. Then they have seen all their hopes foundered in a single day, and the debria of the wreck- have they seen it? — included portions of their conscience aLd honor. But no, they have not seen it. They have only retained the hatred which the gambler feels when, as he returned home with empty pockets, after having left his last sou on the gamingtable. [Cheers] Do you think there is much difference between the successful aud the ruined gambler ? If there is any fault, it is with one party as well as the other, with this difference, that the ruined gambler loses his money and keeps his spite, and that spite is the cousin of despair and the parent of dark counssLs. Do you think that people are deceived, by your diatribes ? Do you not know that the public, ^~; who are good-natured and rejoice to see one I of themselves making his fortune, are aware \ that it is through spite and envy that you . speak as you do? But you reckoned that • among the multitude, naturally well dis- ' posed, there would still be some who in secret cherished envious thoughts The proneness to believe in evil rather than good, the unwholesome curiosity that is evey on the scent for scandals, are the faults of crowds as well as of individuals. It is on this distempered condition of certain persons that you caculated to obtain dupes. But, after all, you will not succeed. (Cheers). The people will understand, as the house understood, that the sacred domain of pri- vate life mu8t be respected, and what is more, you will be unmasked. You will be asked, as I ask you to-day, what are the deeds of which you accuse your opponents, what are he ottences that you lay to their charge, and, if you are not cowards and liars, you will at least declare (if you do not wish to reveal their names) that you have evidence and iaad witnesses to establish your accusa- tions. But you will not do that. You are tafraid of what is clear ; ©bscurity is your element and scandal your nourishment. You want something mysterious, something vague to excite and gratify that unwholesome curi- osity of which I was just speaking, and of which you avail to make dupes and victims. (Cheers.) THE QUESTION OP COALITION. 1 cannot close, gentlemen, without saying a word about this coalition about which the newspapers have told you so much d aring the last few monihfi, this coalition which Mr. Trudel and his friends call a treason, " a shameful sale of the Conservative party I " for the benefit of liberalism . " Once for all, and to put an end once for all to these malevolent statements, I declare to you that I have never desired a coalition. A coali- tion is a compromise between two political parties by which the respective programmes of those parties are modified for the purpose of adopting one programme acceptable to everybody. We had a notable example of this in the case of the programme of confederation. I urged union, conciliation ; but coalition, never. (Cheers.) To those who desired that I should disappear, Mr. Joly conseiiting to disappear also, for the purpose of making a new party, I always replied that I had under- taken to govern the province with my pro- gramme, and that I had no intentioa of com- mitting the task to others. I asked all men of good will to unite with me for the purpose of inaugurating a reign of union among us. This unioD, so necessary for us, a minority in the confederation, Sir George Cartier de- sired when he frankly offered an alliance to the leader of the Liberal party, Mr. Dorion ; the Liberal party itself appreciated the necessity for it, when it m&de that effort, ill-considered aud bungled if you will, but Ht the same time most sfgnificant, to unite all political opinions in one great political party, which they pompously christened by the graud uame '• National ' ; this union i had hoped for, when after the violent contests of what may be called •= the Letellier period,'" the people tired of these excited and violent struggles, sickened by the defeats and the victories of party, at the end of which it saw only impoverishment and ruin, — the people, I say, demanded with a loud voice, the reconciliation of its child- ren, the union of all the active forces of the nation for a common work, the good of the 16 province by the development of its material resourcep, and the enlargement of its politi- cal and moral influence in the confederation. {Cheers.) It was in response to this gene- ral sentiment that the Government of 1879, on the day following its foundation, threw out boldly at Levis its programme for the approbation of the public opinioE, its pro- gramme of "conciliation," of peace, ot a return to serious businesr^, and of tranquility and order." This pogramme, as unexpected in its an- nouncement as it was inwardly desired by the people, excited lively discussion. A few important Conservatives who had not been consulted in the selection of this programme, accepted it with defiance and attributed it to weakness. These had been the most violent combatants, striking without mercy and with- out intermission. The battle had teen violent, and, according to their view, victory should have been had without compromise, not even as to the choice of men. On the other hand, the vanquished of the day knew that the people whom they had galvanized during eighteen months with an exhausting labor had become tired of these ruinous contests. For the purpose of diverting public opinion they attempted to raise the clamor of ridicule. The repert>tainiug elections by acclamation in places where the Liberals should have made a fight. It is in this that we have found ourselves in complete disagreement with Mr. Mercier, and conse- quently we have refused to follow him." Mr. Mercier, you say now that you were not properly understood, that you were al- 11 V^• ways in accord with your friends, and t'lat they ill-judged you; that you wc** for the coalition which La Fatrie desired and not for the fusion which La I*atrie denounced when it said with Mr. Thibaudeau " Mr. Chaplau wishes conciliation, but on condition th»^ everyone accepts his opinion and follows him." You say, finally, Mr, Morcior, th:it you have never ceased to be faithful to your party leaders . You were not of that opinion when you stated in the House that you would not fol- low any line of conduct dictated by a politi- cal party ; that you had imposed upon your electors the condition that you should be free in your actions and in your political sympathies. You have, unfortunately, a bad memory. In an interview with a reporter of the Star in October, 1881, did you not make this confession : — •' Is it true, Mr. Wercier," asked the reporter, " that you have abandoned the eminent posi- tion which you occupy in tlie ranlcs of tlie Liberal party on account of the conduct of your own friends ?" " There is some truth in that statement." " They turned against you when you pro- posed to form a coalition, is it not true ?" " Yes, many among them." " Is it on that account that you are retir- ing?" " That is one of the causes of my retirement. What is tlie use of working patriotically for one's country when one's party renders one's efforts useless." Mr. David, the only really sincere man among you, translated your thoughts when he said in La Tribune of the 8th October, 1881:— " Our conclusion is that all those who are in favor of a coalition must accept Mr . CUapieau as First Minister. Their eflforts should be de- voted to the work of surrounding him by strong men possessing the public confidence." It is your friends, your newspapers, who thus excuse and accuse you. For myself, who know yeur opinion on the subject, I blame you for one thing — that is, not having to-day the frankness of your opinions at that time. Let us have no subterfuge, no quib- bling ; make the confession of your faith full and complete. Those who have blamed you, those who have ac cused "you will pardon you the more readily if yc; will only be frank. Ah, gen- tlemen, if I did not know the wonderful versa- tility of Mr. Mercier's talents; if I had not seen him at my side fighting the Liberals to the death inl862, and seen him afterwars- constittite himself their most ardent defen der ; if I had not seen him afterwards coming back timidly to his first love, to return adain B to his vomiting imprecations against those who had had his first vows, I woulgd be astonished to lead, not only the declarations of others on his account, but as well the re- cital of his own movements since the day when power placed in his soul ambition without limits, and in his heart an ardent tOirst to possess it. At this moment his dream is not changed, and each irksome awakening has caused to revive more intensely and more vividly the de- sire to see the dream continued. [Cheers.] Yes, if I did not know to the very depths the Mercier of to-day as I knew the Mercier of the past, I would be astonished to see him defend the contradictions of his political career with a supplenoss of argument that has only its equal in that of his own politi- cal conscience. But I know him ; I can go farther and say I have always had for him a leaning because I was his first master. 1 know him and 1 am not astonished. I then take courage and despair not ; I believe that he will yet return, and that his last loves will be those of his eartier days, so true is it that the first impression on a new vase rarely disappears and that the first flame can never be extinguished, as they £lng at the opera. But a truce to badinage ; the fault of Mr. Mercier is that he had not the courage of his convictions ; everyone would have applauded him if he had followed his own first movement. The fault of Mr. Trudel is that he desires to make impossible all idea of union between the public men of our Province. That is more than a fault ; it is a crime, for where, indeed, will these violent dissensions bring as. THB CONSEQr'CHOSS OF DIVISION. To what point are we drifting with these violent dissensions ? What point is the des- tination of everything that is divided ? Is it not ruin ? Or, is it not, at least, insigni- ficance. An eminent politician, an Italian Minister, wrote not long since that the great danger of constitutional governments among the Latin races was the crumbling away of opinions, the breaking up of parties. Every faction raises fresh difficulties, gives rise to tew discussions. Time is lost in expedients to destroy a faction or to absorb its existence which must be maintained at any price, and as each party is too weak on account of its in- ternal divisions, new compromises are neces- sary every day. Time passes, strength is lost in the effort to maintain equilibrium and the useful work of administration is ^ * -3 ... 18 ' ^ r -«v nullified. That is jnst what is happening inQaebec. And yet how many important questions are pressing themselyes on the attention of legislators and rulers 1 We hare hardly any share in the immense movement which is giong on to-day in Europe and America . Tho Northwest is on the way to pass us by. Oar old province has been mortgaged for tL "^ millions that are absorbed in the construction of the Pacific and westward immigration and we do not eve*:! think of profiting by tliat movement. Oar agriculture is not making even a tenth part of the progress that it ought to make. The last census has left us behind the other pro- vinces. Our forests are disappearing, and with them our natural wealth. Our mines continue hidden beneath the surface of the soil, and education is neglected and is too much dissociated from the material progress of the present. Colonization has a few heroic apostles amongst us, but that indi- ▼idual ^ort is not seconded as it ought to be. And why is there this stagnation ? Why this indifierence ? Why this division that is wasting our energies. We were al- ready divided into two parties, and even that was too much, for it was too personal, too bitter. But now the Conservative party is divided against itself, while the Liberal par- ty is almost as badly situated. Our British compatriots, not understanding these family quarrels, ksep aloot from us, and at the pre- sent moment form almost a distinct party in our province. How, then, can you ex- pect the Government, the Legislature, the press, to engage seriously in the elaboration of fruitful projects to develop our neglected resources. Why, we have hardly time to have our wounds dressed, our arms repaired, OUT ammunition renewed. As for the cler- gy, they, too, are the prey to profound dis- sensions, THB PABAMOUNT DUTT OF THB HOCB. What, then, is to be done? It is for all those who have any mission to instruct to give our position their serious reflection and to set to work without delay. No society can exist without submission to authority without in part surrendering its will to that of the general public. It ought to be well understood that it is no mere question of taste, or of self-love — it is a question of duty, £ question of sacrifice. It is necessary to have confidence in the powers that be, even if they are not all that we desire. Have not the Government satisfied the bishops on the question of education ? Have they not be- pfin a vigorous reform in the direction of the strictest economy 7 Let them, then, have full opportunity to set in order our provincial finances, of which the equilibrium has bf iU disturbed by judgments ad- verse to the Government's policy. Let them have the opportunity of making our provincial autonomy respected and if possible improved in the confederation to which we belong. These are some of the important tasks which claim every in- stant of the Cabinet's time and energy. French Canadians, look around you. Look at the other nationalities of the pro- vince. Do yeu not think that they, too, have differences among themselves? Only it is to be noted that they settle them quietly, and, no matter what is the regime under which they live, they know how to come to an understanding with it when their own interests are at stake. You aloo see them at the head of all our great industrial enterprises. My friend, do you not think that it is an anti- Canadian proceeding to attack one of our own people who has succeeded by energy and perseverance, as Mr. Senecal has been at- tacked, a man whose courage and enterprise have raised him to the position which he holds ? Do you not think that he would be an aid and a support to your undertakings, if you allowed him to give you the benefit of his wonderful business talents and rare activity. Away then at once with those who cause dissen- sions amongst yon, who would, if they could, ruin your best men. Away with those who are eaten up with envy and jealously and allow those who have proved them- selves to be men of business to labor for the prosperity of the country. (Cheers).