dM^cdJ THE COAL DEAL SPEECH OK C. H. CAHAN, M. P. P., I.V THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. .ruuuaiy -Jftlh, 1S!I3. Hon. Mr. Fikldini! moved the second reading of the bill for the further encouragement of coal mining. The motion being seoonded. Mr. CAiiAN.said, liefore themotionfor the second reading of this bill pasaos. I would wish to direct the attentionof the house to a number of matteis that I rcgaril aa very important, because this bill deals with the coal mines of the province in a manner that is novel and without precedent. It is a measure that I regard as the most impor- tant pro))ahly ever submitted to this legis- lature since the days when the Confeder- ation act was sul)mitted in the ol.l Nova Scotia legislature. I am tolerably well ac()uainted '.yith the political history of the pr^/ince during the last twenty years, and I do not know of a single measure that has been considered by parliament or submitted to tiie considera- tion of the people of Nova Scotia which has so important a bearing upon the large industrial and commercial intenfsts of the province, or which must so largely atVect the vital interests of every inhabitant of Nova Scotia at the present time; and which must, if this bill passes the legis- lature, continuo!to afl'ect th<:sj intescats . according to the pledge which, 1,'iio l(;g>isla ture gives in the act itself, not tor ninety- nine years, but possibly foi one h;iii,drc(' and nineteen years hereafter. , • , . . ' . In introducing the iieasure ihe pro- vincial secretary facetiously referred to the fact tlat the commissioner of mines, in all probability would not be in his place to consider the (juestion of the extending or non- extending of this lease, when the lease of ninety-nine years shall have elapsed. I am sure that however much we may difler from the hon. com- missioner of mines in party strife, we wish that he may be spared for nuiny years to come. 15ut, nevertheless, the expression of the lion, provincial secre- tary leads us to consider the fact that we are to (lay not legislating for the present ceneration, but for one, two, three, or four generations yet unborn. Therefore, when considering a matter of this import- ance, which vitally interests the whole province especially and the maritime pro- vinces, gencally, and I do not know but what I might say the Oominion at large, I feel that 1 have scarcely confidence enough in my own powers of expression, and in my own abilities to present the case against this measure as I think it ought to be presented this afternoon to the people of this province, and to the people of the whole Dominion. The provincial secretary referred to the fact, that the coal irade of the province was most important, and in that we all agree with him. He suggested that it was wise and expedient that the government ijt lodny; and tlje ,lr:g«lature supporting fihot |'^o"(\rtii.H'«t,8ho|.iid give every possible ' encouragenletit to the introduction of ci\uijal, ill order tl\ft<. thi'J industry might be developed -aiid '.expanded, and that the prA»ineo >rH^rit receive the fruits, obtained from the bowels of the earth, which Pro- vidence had given us for c. heritage. We should lake every possible advantage of the f»cti, that we have in the province of 53068 [J \ 1^ dd Nova Scotia, tlie only coal beds on the North Atlautio coast, wiiich are Ixjiiud to be for years and centuries to come, the foundation of a great industry; not merely in the production of coal, but of all other industries that must depend upon the fact that they have local supplies of fuel near at hand. Let me turn your minds back to the years 1857 and 1858 in this legislature, when the moat eminent public incu that this province produced were discussing the (|uestiou of tlie repeal or abt'0{,'iitiou of the special privileges given by the lease from the crown to the Duke of \'()rk and Albany, when the passions of men were stirred in this province, as thoy seldom have been before, until it became almost a (|uestion of the repeal of the lonneclion with the mother country by the pnoplc rising in mad rebellion in this province, unless the home goveitiinent would con- ciliate them by. bringing pressure to bear to have the leases revoked or rejiurchased, in order that the crown us repre- sented by her majesty's advisers in Nova Scotia might regain control over the mineral wealth f:f the province, r^et me recall the day the Hnal act passiMl which gave a renewed term to the old mining association for twenty-eight years, by whicii a certain portion of the revenues of the province were expended to i)uy off the lessees, an act which even at that day was fought against by McT^elan, William ■S'oung, .Joseph Howe, and other men who were giants in deiiate, on the ground, as they declared, that having once got free from, or having once had the op- portunity of getting free from the mono- poly so long enjoyed by the association, it was unwise to renew their lease even for the term of twenty- eight years. I5ul, that measure passed. The old lessees were bought oil". Against the proles.t of the wisest men in the jirovince, the association then received a lease for twenty-eight years with the oj)tion of re- newal under certain conditions. The stiuggle was terminated and wcenter- ed upon a period of lart'C and ample devel- opment of the coal industry, Ourdovd optnent has not been as rapid, it is 1 1 ur, . •-' that of some states of the American union, but, nevertheless, it has been large. Tlie areas, especially in recent years, liayq lipen profitably mined, ivni'. th-ise wIkJi havv; iii- vested their capitrl h;!.vr fn.iii tinlo \(.) time secured a fair return for the oncigy, skill and capitaF ii2>'0?',r(» li\ollcfttbat whereas in the teii ve.\-s in-for*? tiie feii- tury began, wo bad during those Vbole ten years only .50,000 tons of coal mined, and in the next ten years 70,000 tons, in the third ten years we hail 90,000 f tiniiw i tm l. B. Q. HO.OOO in the fourtii. Then when the old lease was alirogated, and the monopoly broken up, and the mines thrown open to otheni, so thivl our own people could take up leases and eini)loy capital and skill in tlieir deviilopmeiit, the production in the first t(^n years grew to 840,000 tons; in the next ten years it grew to 1,.")00, 000 tons; in the next ten years to •2,400,000 tons; then to .1,000,000 tons, then to 7,000,000 tons, then to 14,000,000 tons. This advance has been rapid and fairly profitable, and the industi'ies of the whole province have been developed gradually, owing to the fact that ill this province we had coal which could be cheaply and prolitably mined — a store house laid up by nature for us and for our cluldren for centuries. Talrofitable employment of mining maehincrj'. We do not sot our- .selves in any way in the path of progress, but, we do now ask the legislature and the people to consider whether capital brought in under the conditions proposed, whotlier skill and labor expended under the con- ditions now im|)osed upon it, wliether these are conditions which are jii.st to the general interests of the jirovince, whether the profit wliicli the jirovincc will receive from the introduction of these methods and this (tapital will be sullioiont to out weight the serious disadvantagoD under whicii the province will have been placed. 1 find, for instain(!, that in the county of Cape Urotoii we have three-fourths of the mining arcaw of the province, or there- aliouts. J find that it is the only coal on .tid*^ \»-*tcr pu the Atlantic coast; that it is flow l'(i.r. ; dtiveloprd ra))idly and more profili'biy '"luin before; that whereas in 187!) 'Jfi.'l.OOO tons of coal h:id been mined ir th.i'. c.),intv,an(l, in fact, in the whole Is- laniLirCnpe Hietoii.in li! years the product increased to OS'2,000 tons. That increase is due to tlie fact that new markets were openeil up along the St. Lawrence river, "i"^ J''"' the miners were enabled to senil R. their coal to the citiea and towns of Que- beu, securing a complete monopoly of the r.oft coal trade of tnut province. I find from the returns of the coal landed into the different customs districts of Quebec, that it amounted in ISill to ohS.OOO tons. This was purchased from this province by the sea, while of American coal not a ton is reported an imported. There was a lit- tle Scotch and Welsh coal brought out in ballast, but apart from tliis the whole pro- vincefof (^>uebei;, so far as its soft coal supply is concerned, depended upon the min(;s ol Nova Scotia, and particularly upon those in C'apa Breton. It had been said by the lion, provincial secretary that the coal production had not extended relatively to the total consump- tion of the whole Dominion. The reiison is simply this, that while we had the whole province of l^'uebec under our control, the canals were not of sufficient depth to permit transportation up the great lakes so as to command the coal trade boyonil in that ])oi-tion of the cotmtry. We find that although we have had it officially an- nounced that the deepening of these great canals, which has been going on rapidly, shall be completed in three years, that within three years this larger territory may be made to contribute to the exten- sion of our coal trade, yet that now an un- precedented policy is brought forward by the government of this province. It is necessary, thcrefoie, that wc should care- fully consider what this policy is and the conditions under which it is introduced. Front the time that the Duke of \ ork and Albany's lease expired in l.S.'),S down to the l.SSJ), there had been but one policy pur- sued with regard to t^^e development of the coal areas of this province. When the old monopoly was broken up men naturally took every precaution against another such monopoly being created. In order there- fore to prevent the aggregation of areas under one individual or company, it wna Jjrovided that only one ry the consent of the govenimcnl, and secondly, that the lessee was compelled to engage, not in colorable working but in actual bona fide working of the areas, and the lease was subject to forfeiture any time within twenty years supposing this latter con- dition should be violated by the les.sce. In view of the position in which the mining interests of the province are placed I re- gard these „wo conditions, to which I have referred, as the two great bulwarks for the protection of the mines of the pro- vince iigainst monopoly, when these mines should, as they must, sooner or later, be biougl't into competition with the capital and skill and intrigue connected with min- ing investments— and operations in the republic to the south of us. In IS89 the Nova Scotia government in- troduced a new policy. A measure was introduced by the hon. commissioner of works and mines, for the first time since the monopoly of the duke of York and Albany was broken up, making it possible for the lessee by paying $40 for a new lease, to lock that lease up for the full term and refuse to conduct ooerations in the mining areas covered by it. I do not know the motive of the government in promoting the measure of 1889; but I know that the result was to place in the hands of men, who had been holding leases over a long term of years, the power, on paying forty dollars a year for a S([uare mile in area, to monopolise thcun- worked areas, so that if they should purchase the other mines they might lock up every mine in i\ova Scotia under the present condi- tion of affairs, and even without the passing of the measure before the house. The hon. provincial secretary stated that h(! was not giving by the bill before the house any greater facility tor monopoly than existed under the present law of the province, but I a.sk this house to remem- ber that monopoly was not possible under the Jaw of the province as it existed pre- vious to IS8!(. There were no conditions on the statute book until 1889, which p irmitted the lo(;king up of these mining areas, and permitted speculators to take hold of them and tie them up for twenty years againstall possibility of development. We find now that lessees have the privilege of saying "we will not work the mines whicls we iiave leased for twenty years " Wc lind that other persons, for purely speculative purposes, are coming i?) and paying these lessees ten, twenty, or thirty thousand dollars for tlie purpose of holding leases which will enable them )jy paying forty dollars a year rental, to seal up the mines of Nova Scotia until such time as they may sell 4 their leases for speculative purposes or for purposes of real development. Th«M'ofore, I asK you to remember that if w. are to- day placed at a disadvantage in coming to a consideration of this great ((uestion, it is owing to the fact that the government pluced these conditions upon the mining interests of the country, and that they did , in 1889, and again last year, make it possible for those lessees, who so desire, to | come in and obtain under these statutes unprecedented rights and privileges, and thus create a perfect monopoly of the coal mining indust»'V in Nova Scotiii. THere is another phase of the coal trade to which 1 wish to call your attention. The province has secured its share of tlie St. Lawrence trade: and has at the present day fairly monopolized the Quebec mar- ket. We will in three years have an open- ing of fourteen feet of clear water through the Lawrence canals, enabling us to take advantage of the Ontario market, but now a policy is proposed under tliis bill which will make it possible for wealthy speculators to lock up the mines of Nova Scotia for !)9 years. There are in the United States two or three large coal monopolies or coal com- bines which control almost the entire coal trade of the northern, eastern and some of the southern state^i. We have a gigan- tic monopoly created in Pennsylvania known as the "Reading Coal and Kail- way System" which con':rols a number of associated railway and ccal companies, and has under its grasp at the present time about four-fifths of the coul mining areas of that state. Tiiere are other coal com- bines in Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and in other portions of the Uuited States, and we find that these United States monopolies completely control the coal trade of Ontario with its two million.s of people as well as the coal trade of New England and the Northern States. They have invested millions and are prepared to invest more in preserving and main- taining that great monopoly. Hut they have lately been greatly agitated because a strong fight has recently been waged against them, in spite of their liberal use of lobbying funds, and in spite of the fact that they have made use of their money to corrupt the courts of the United States. These American combines found that at the last election tliere was carried a policy in tiie United States which was favorii))Ii' or supposed to be fav- orable to the free admission of raw mater- ial. The coal monopolists of the United States began to realise that, if they kept up the price of coal there, they might be threatened with competition from the coal mines of Nova Scotia; and, if you look at the situation licrc, and at the possibilities whiitli are now before this province, even before the introduction of this bill, it seems to me that in the face of the gigan- tic attempt that has been made to control the product of coal, in the face of the most gigantic and most selfish monopoly that was ever forced upon the United States people, it was the duty of this government, not to assist such % monopoly, but, I submit, that the whole strength of this legislature and the whole power of this government should ha\^ been exerted to sweep away such conditions as were imposed by the act of 1880, and to declare, "We shall not tolerate such a monopoly in Nova Scotia. We will sweep away the conditions im- posed by the act of 1889, so that it will not be possible for any coal monopoly, either American or Canadian, to control the great coal producing regions of the province of Nova Scotia." But, instead of taking such a course as that, we find that this government at its last session introduced into their mining lawt- a clause which enabled them to enter into negotiations with parties, granting new leases and conferring special privileges, and throwing away, first, every safeguard in respect to areas; secondly, every safeguard as to the obliga- tion of lessees to actively work the coal areas; thirdly, every safeguard in regard to provincial taxation; and fourthly, throwing away every safeguard witti re- speot to the imposition of royaltj'— and to enter into negotiations witli any company or persons who might undertake to con- duet coal mining operations in the pro- vince on a larger scale, by the investment of large capital, or by the jjayment of lar- ger royalty. They undertook to grant a lease on such terms and condi- tions as the government might deem expedient, with regard to those four things — area, tenure, taxation, royal- ty. We opposed that measure at the time, because we nit that in thus breaking down safeguards, which in times past where thrown around the issuing o* leases, it was placing too much control in the government to allow it to go behind tlie back of the legislature anv pro- {lurtionately almut out! Iial[ nf one liiiiKlied and twenty thicu llioiisi'-iid iloUars, ur sixty oMo tlumsaiid live liiiiidiod dollai'h, and ill thirty ycira liciiuc a propoilidiiato {j'liaraiitt'.u ot out; iialt' of tliu hittur isiiin, und ill forty years liciicn a proporlionutc giiaraitce of only about tiftcen thousand dolhirs. And yet after that time hud passetl there would atill he lifty years more durinj{ whieh the lease would run'.' If one hundred and twenty three thou- sand dollars is aauliicient guarantee on an output on one million tons of coal in (lie county of Cape I'lreton, would it he a suf- licient guarantee in ten years hence in view of a perspective output of two million tons? Would that guarantee be sutiicicnt in twenty years hence with regard to a jirospective output of four million tons' Or in forty years hence with a jjcrspeetive output of eight million tons'; And yet, when forty years have passed away, these men to whom the coal interests of the province are to be given to day, will still have a lease running some sixty- nineyears more. Then unless the government of that day intervene, this lease wiil not expire for 111) years; and, during all that period, there is absolutely no guarantee for the efl'ective working of these mines. I do not believe that $112.3,000 is a siitiioirnt guarantee for the working of the mines even at the present day, but when you eome to consider the output of 40 years hence, that sum is a mere bauble. liut that is the only guarantee the company ofTer to the government'.' On the other hand, Mr. Whitney asks for many valuable privileges from the government. It was surpn.sing to hear the hon. provincial secretary state how many things Mr. Whitney wanted. The hon. provincial secretary stated that Mr. Whitney was willing to give two and a half cents per ton more royalty than had ever been paid before, and the hon. proviii- cialsecretary made use of that circumstance to show that the increase of last year from seven and a half to ten cents per ton, in violation of contract.-i then outstanding with lessees, had r.ot unsettled the confidence of investors or prevented cnpital from coming here. But the situation last year was that the lessees of the mines had entered into a contract that they should mine their coal for a '20 years term but pay seven and a half cents royalty; and this government refused to stand by their contract, and broke faith with the lessees and increased the royalty to ten cjnts a ton. As to the morality of that transaction, I do not think there can be any doubt in the public nnnd t>f the province oi' Dominion. Did it not unsettle the contiden :e of the invest- ing jjublic'.' Was it not telling all capital- islti ahroiid and at home that cheir mining investments were not safe under the pro- .sent government of Xova Scotia so long as the exigent:ie.s of the provincial treasury were pressing; The very fact that in order to induce Mr. Whitney to come here it re(|uired, in the opinion of the govern- me:it, that every possible invasion of of Mr. Whitney's privileges should be guarded against, and the fact that the lease to hin> is practically irrevocable for 9!) years, show that extraordinary induce- ments were necessary to cause capitalists to come here and invest their money. I say that if these extraordinaiy induce- ments were necessary, they were made necessary by the government of the province last year, when it broke faith with those who had invested their money ill the working of the mines, and who possessed rights which were outstanding by virtue of a contract with the govern- ment. Hut let us consider another point. We are told that a large amount of capital is to be invested in this enterprise. We are told that the company intend to take their lease of IM) years, and having organized under a provincial charter, plice bonds and debentures upon the market for about six anil a half millions dollars. With this money they are to engage. in large mining operations, in the purchase and construction of steam boats and in railway operations in the province of Nova Scotia, I ask you to look through the contract, as it is placed before us, and say whether there is a guarantee from first to last that Mr. Whitney will do any one of these things ".' The province la bound hand and foot for ninety-nine years, but is there any guarantee that these gentlemen build a mile of railway in Cape Breton? They simply ask whether the provincial secretary will subsidize a road. That <|uese lease, and having mortgaged their fran- chiacR, use the money for other purposes as they may deem expedient. Look at the contract carefully, and what does it mean? The ninety-nine years lease which these men come here and secure is a valuable one; it is a security upon which bankers will be willing to ad- vance money. It represents ^2, 500,000 worth of property in Cipo IJretoa, and another $4,000,000 which is the present value of the franchises that the govern- ment are giving the company. The i)ro- vincial secretary undertakes to give this company a franchise which they can dis- pose of for iiiitj, 500,000, without any guar- antee on the part of the company that they will invest the money, either in steamers or railways or in mining enter- prises. The hon. gentleman feels uneasy and the man who stands in the position in which he does to- day, and does not feel uneasy, must owe his freedom to the fact that he ]jos- seases neither intelligence nor conscienc>J. The man who would undertake to give away a franchise such as this, which this company may bond, as they can in this case, in the American market, should feel very uneasy. They can invest $2,500,000 in buying up mines and put the other $4,000,000 in their pockets, and there is no guarantee by which the government can compel its investment in this province in developing our coal areas. Hon. Mr. Fiei.dinc!: They must be a smart company. Mr. Caiiax: I think they are a smart company. Much smarter than the gov- ernment which has made this bargain with them. Hon. Mr. Longlky: The hon. gentleman is not smart enough to gf^t the government under his control. Mr. Cahan: If the government under- take to carry out this contract with the company it will not make much dill'crence who controls the government as Mr. Whit- ney and his successors will certainly be iL a position to control it. I iitik tiic house to consider the fact that the legislature might as well have given Mr. Whitney a guurunicn of the interest oil .'5!(i,."iOO,000 as to liave given him out- right a fraiichiae wliich may be mortgaged for that sum. Mr. Wiiilncy may be hon- tHt, and lliose who uro associated with him may l)e honest people, but having secured for nothing franchises whiili Ihey can mortgage for .six millions and a half dol- lars, would it l)e surprising if they used the larger portion oi' it in operations out- Hide of the island of (Jape Brettm'.' Is there a guarantee that they will spend any portion of the money in developing the tiape Hrcton coal mines? I do not think so. (ientlemen have spoken of a larger de- velopment of the trade up the St. Law- rence. But that trade has at present reached its highest possible point, because with the complete control of the consump- tion in the provinces of <,)aebec already in our hands lo further development in that direction is possible, until three years hence when the canals shall have been openei. They speak of ohe development of the trade of South America. There are millions of dollars invested in Alabama, Virginia and Maryland, where coal can be raised cheaper even than in Cipe Breton. It is only necessary to open up the side of the hill and to allow the coal lo run out on cars while an endless chain carries the empty cars back. These coal fields are a thousand miles nearer South America, than those of Cape Breton, but if we take the total United States export to Brazil, the Argentine, Uraguay, Paraguay, Peru, and the other South American States, with their large populations and at least two cities of at least half a million, we find that the American mines, with all the advant- ages enumerated, exported there last year just 20,000 tons. A magnificent prospect this for the development of our trade in that direction in competition with the United States! Then take the West Indies, this large market to which these gentlemen will send out coal, according to the statements in the newspapers! What is the fact about this trade? Take the whole West Indies, in some of the islands in which the United States have the advantage of preferential tarifTs, and out of the production in the United States in 1891 of 140,000,000 tons of coal, there was exported to the West Indies only 468,000 tons. I think that is sufficient to show that these gentlemen do not anticipate any large development of our trade there. Neither do they I anticipate any large immediate develop- j ment in the upper provinces or in the I New England States. I understand from ? the rcmaika of the provincial secretary that these gentlemen are looking to the American market as likely to afford a large market for our coal, in the event of the tariff barriers being taken down. I do not care to repeat personal informa- tion, but 1 may say that I was asked by t\. » gentlemen interested in this com- pany to be the bearer of a .mes- sage to the Dominion government, that they did not want the tariff barrier taken down, and that they did not, for the pre- sent at least, look to the United States, as a protitablo market for the develop- ment ot our coal trade. The hon. provincial secretary, in in- troduciug this measure the other day, called attention to the fact that no res trictions had been imposed on this com- pany except in regard to rentals und royalty and confining this particular lease to the county of Cape Breton. The hon. gentle- man added that if Mr. Whitney and his associates should hereafter undertake to secure an absolute monopoly in this pro- vince and he were in the legislature, he would undertake to restrict the operation of the franchise which Mr. Whitney and his associates have secured. He has con- ferred upon Mr. Whitney and his asso- ciates a franchise on which they will go into the market, and the very fact that it is unrestricted and permanent in its terms will enable them to find purchasers for their bonds. And yet the hon. gentleman says thai if these men use the full privi- leges conferred upon them, he will under- take to curtail that franchise and to restrict their rights by virtue of which they are going to the public and asking for the investment of money. Hon. Mr. Fieldino — No. Mr. Cahan — Well, th<5 hon. gentleman has stated that Mr. Whitney and his asso- ciates are allowed by the terms of this lease to undertake these operations with- out restrictions, and they may have a lease of the coal areas of Cape Breton for 110 years, the rights under which they can mortgage for that period. While the hon. gentleman says that to the public, he cornea here and whispers in the legislative hall that if that company undertake to exer- cise the franchise he has given them, they will be destroyed. The hon. member may be deceitfol enough, or dishonest enough, or treacherous enough to do so — I do not mean to say that there was any corrupt intention on his part — but 1 do say that when the hon. gentleman at one moment says to the world that this company may exercise its franchise without limitation and at another moment comes here and states that if the com- pany ever dare to exercise their full privileges he would restrict and destroy them, he is thereby taking a position whicli is dishonest and dcceitfid so far as the public are concerned, and treacherous 80 far as Mr. Whitney and his associates are concerned. Lot us consider what are likely to he the extent and scope of the operations of this company. The hon, member for An- tigonish asked me a moment ago aa to whether this company are likely to close up the coal mines of the province. That is a fair question and I will give him a frank answer. We find that in the United States there is a large association known as the Reading Railway and Coal system. It controls nearly all the an- thracite areas in the United States. It controls a district which put forth more bituminous coal than two or three other of the coal producing states together. It is an association that is in combination with the Pennsylvania railway, the Reading railway, the Lehigh railway, the Delaware and Lackawanna railway, the New York Central railway, the West Shore railway, the Boston and Maine railway, the New York, Ontario and Western, the Delaware and Hudaon railway, and in agreement with the Jersey Central railway. These companies control the coal output of Pennsylvania, which is the greatest coal producing state in the whole of the United States. The nature of this con- trol will be appreciated by hon. members of this house if they will take the trouble to read the evidence given before the com- bines committee at Ottawa some few years ago. These men have formed a combination which enables them to im- pose any price they please on anthracite coal in any part of North America. Let us see how it works in Toronto! A western member of the combine com- mittee goes to Toronto and says to the local organization there, you must come in with us. We refuse to sell coal to any one who keeps out of the com- bination. The result is that every coal dealer is obliged to become a member of the association. Instances were given in evidence at the investigation at Ottawa of coal dealers who had undertaken to buy coal outside of the combination, and had found it impossible. By the effortc of the combine the tenders upon civic and gov- ernment contracts, in Toronto and else- where, became nothing more than a mere farce, inasmuch as the combine had pre- arranged who was to receive the contract. One gentlemen gave evidence before the committ«e that, although the price had been fixed by the combine .in relation to a certain tender, he had put in a lower tender, and the result was that when they 10 found it out they fined him a thousand dollars, and ho could noi secure sntlicient coal to carry out his contract, and was fi- nancially crippled in consequence. This combine has exerted an enormous influ- ence at Washington and throughout the several states. Tlie investigation into their operations a short time ago startled the whole community for a time, but very little has been done since to check them. They appear to have corrupted every arm that was raised to smite them, and the re- sult to-day is that they are the largest, greediest and most grinding monopoly to be found in the M'hole United States of America. I have now before me a copy of a judgment of Chancellor McGill, de- livered a few days ago w!ien this combine were endeavoring to asso- ciate themselves with the Jersey Central railway company. His lordship says: "To say that these conditions do not tend to a disastrous monopoly in coal would be an insult to intelligence. It is possible that such a monopoly may be used, as the defendants suggest, to introduce econo- mies and cheapen coal, but it does violence to our knowledge of human nature to ex- pect such a result." In conclusion, the chancellor said "The commodities in which these companies deal is a necessary of life in the State of New Jersey. If once a complete monopoly be established by combination, whether that be through lease or by co-operation, the promoters of it and shareholders in it may have whatever price their cupidity sug- gests." The disaster which will follow," he says, "cannot be measured It will per- meate the entire community, furnaces, forges, factories and homes, leaving in its trail murmurs of discontent with a gov- ernment which will tolerate it and all the other evil effects of it operation." The governor of Pennsylvania reviews the condition that prevails in that state showing that a consolidated monopoly has been erected there which threatens the public interests, and he invites the legis- lature to do something to free the public from this combination. Again at the recent opening of the legislature in the state of New York Governor Flower thus deals with the same question, as it has arisen in that state. He says: "This combination differs from similar organizations in cer- tain respects which make competition absolutely impossible. So far as is now known practically all the anthracite coal in the world is contained in three counties in Pennsylvania, and 85 per cent, of the entire traffic is controlled by the coal com- bination. The consumers are at the mercy ot the oombination. It can raise the ))rice of anthracite coal as high as it can find purchasers. The price has increased 75 cents a ton within a year. The only apparent limit to their extortion is the re- fusal of the people to l)uy." Such is the condition of affairs which under this monopoly has been created in the United States. Tills monopoly controls a large part of the bituminous coal consumption of the province of Ontario, and, if the deal between the Baltimore and Ohio road is completed, it will control all the coal which finds its way to the seaboard and to the (^reat Lakes. It is a monopoly which can keep up prices, and defy com- petition. I believe, after a careful exam- ination of the question, taking into con- sideration the large powers conferred upon this company, which enable it to monopo- lize all the coal and iron in this province, that the consequences mu.st be disastrous. With open competition on the Great Lakes witnin three years, with the possibility of the tariff being taken down thus giving us free access to the New England states, what was more natural than these United States coal barons should cast their eyes upon the coal fields of Nova Scotia? Hav- ing ut off all competition in the United S'u! '8, what was more natural than that th-._, should wish to secure the coal and iron mines of this province? What do I find that makes me look at this matter with some suspicion? The Reading Asso- ciation has finally made.arrantrements to control the railway service to New P]ng- land. The president of the Reading com- pany has been able by association with railway men in Montreal to obtain control of the Boston and Maine, and the Maine Central railways, so that at a recent meeting Mr. McLeod, of the Reading system, was elected president of the Bos- ton and Maine and the Maine Cential. Then they have obtained control of the Nbw York and New England road. When I had an investigation made by mon witii large financial interests in New York as to whether these men were putting their hand upon Cape Breton to monopolize its coal, the reply was that financial men were watching the matter with great interest and that it would be worth half a million on Wall street to know whether Mr. MoLeod was laying his hand upon our areas. Hon. Mr. Lonoley— I would tell them for half the money. Mr, Cahan — You do not know and they do not know who is behind the scenes in this matter. All that is known in that some one is putting up securities with Kidder, Peabody & Co., for the cash ad- vanoes which have been made. 11 Hon. Mr. Fieldinu— I do not know it. Mr. Cahan — Then the hon. gentleman does not know as much as he should. I know ihat Kidder, Peabody & Co. have made .idvances on securities and I believe the bank of Nova Scotia ia acting as their agent here. When the hon. gentleman puts con.idence in Kidder, I'eabody it Co. HO do I. Kidder, I'eabody & Co. have nothing to fear. They have fared very well, but those who are behind them will fare better. I do not doubt that it ia a splendid financial transaction for them, but I doubt very much whether it is so for the province of Nova Scotia. The Mont- real men who are interested are so interested because they do not want competition against them. They wish to protect themselves and the companies they represent, and they are going into this deal for that pur- pose. But I notice that the Montreal men interested are the men who, with Mr. McLeod, own a controlling interest in the Boston and Maine road. 1 notice that they were able to elect two directors to that road, and that another director was a brother of the Mr. Whitney to whom this lease is given. They are the men who stand in intimate relations in financial transactions with the Reading system men. They are men who would not hesitate to advance capital for the purpose of getting the coal mines of Nova Scotia in their own hands. Well, gentlemen, in order to fathom the purpose of Mr. Whitney and his asso- ciates, i ask your attention to another phase of tiie subject. The hon. provincial secretwry said that while this company could secure a 99 years' lease for all mining areas in the county of Cape Breton, there was no safeguard which would prevent the company operating in outside counties. Kven if there was no otlier franchises given this company it would be possible for the company, while having th's 90 years' lease, to go to speculators who hold other mining areas and buy them up and hold these for 20 years at least. That they are able to do this is duo to the en- abling clause of the legislation which was passed in 1889 and which should be re- pealed. In endeavoring to ascertain what enor- mous powers this corporation have you must look not only at the lease which is now given them, but at clause 156 of the act of last session, which enables the government to grant a 99 years lease cover- ing all the areas of the province as they have now done in the county of Cape Breton. Moreover, this important fact must not bo overlooked that these gentlemen are prepared to operate under a charter that was received from this legislature at its last session. Let us examine the charter under which the company propose to goto wort- The act of incorporation is some- what novel, and there is one clause in particular enabling alien corporations to hold stock that 1 have been unable to find in any other act placed on the statute book under similar circumstances. 2. The objectK of the company shall be an folio w.s: (al To mine, quarry, wor'it, mill and pre- pare for safe by any process, und to carry, sell and dual in coal, coke, ironstone, copper and copper ores, inanganose and other minerals, clays or mineral subatui.\(;— No, I said that they were bad; but 1 said there was no monopoly here. Mr. Caiian — The hon. gentleman used the words, "what I wish to suggest is that there may be good combines as well as bad ones." Hon. Mr. Fielding — But not "monopo- lies." Mr. Cahan — There is not much differ- ence when they are in the condition that the mining corporations of this province are to-day. I siy that monopolies and combines as you find them in various countries, are to be kept within certain linuts, and that their operations must bo caiefully circumscribed. I speak not only for myself, but for the best conservative opinion in tho province when I say that, while the conservative p.irty is com- mitted to the sound policy of tariff pro- tection, the one thing that causes alarm and uneasiness to those who support that policy in this country to-day, is that the men who have made use of that policy to place their business upon a stalile basis, show II disposition now to make use of it to grind down the common people of the country. Hon. Mr. FiET.mNfi — Names. Mr. Caiian— The hon. gentleman will no*" be allowed to interrupt me now. I mean to state my own position with re- ference to this fjueation, and I repeat that the one thing that makes the people, that makes the democracy of this pro- vince uneasy to-day, is the fact that monopolies and combin<;s, some of them covering the whole of tlie United States and Canada, are showing a disposition to make use of a sound policy to aggrandize themselves. The one tiling that we of the liberal conservative party ga\e oi. oppo- nents creditfor was that, if thesemonopolies and combines made use of the sound policy of tariff protection for the purposes of extortion, when the time came to say to them in the name of the people of the ^ country "thus far shalt thou go and no further," we thought that wo had the whole liberal party of Nova Scotia, or the great majority of it at our back, and that has been one powerful factor which has effectually helped to keep these people within bounds. But what do we find to- day, the leader of the liberal party coming forward in this province, and proposing a Bjheme which will place a monopoly upon the coal and iron interest of this province, — a monopoly with regard to which every other monopoly in Canada would not bear comparison, but a monopoly nevertheless which has secured, and which seems likely to secure all the legislation that it deems necessary, and a monopoly which, from the day this company organizes and takes advantage of the bill before the house, will be able, in spite of all that the people can do to prevent it, to make and unmake administrations, and to reduce the coal and iron industries of this country to the condition in which they have been placed in the state of Penn- sylvania during the past ten or fifteen years. Therefore the question is one that cannot be ridiculed; it is a question that cannot be laughed down in Nova Scotia to-day. And therefore I ask this legisla- ture, in view of the objections to which I ha vecttUed attention — whet,her--in view of tho fact that without restrictioii or gua- I'antee the Whitney company can obtain u lease for 90 years of the coal areas of Cape Breton and then proceed without restriction to take upevery other miningindustry,and then begin to operate our railways and tele- graphs, and then by the exercise of the political influence which they will exercise, and which they do exercise when you rind venal politicians, and a corrupted electo- rate — they will not obtain whatever they want, until nothing will put a stop to their absorptions out a rebellion or insurrection in this country. What will they do when they have accomplished their purpose? Will they shut up the mines? The question is whether it will be in their own interest to do so. That depends upon their ultimate motives and purposes and upon a thousand and one financial considerations which are operating in their minds to-day It de- pends solely upon financial considerations and not upon any consideration for the coal niines orforthepublicinterests of Nova Scotia. It may be in their interest to close up our mines, or it may l>e in their interest to give a certain development to them. But you say here is the guarantee of $12.3,- 000, or if you take the interest on the bonds in addition, here is a guarantee of .?.')! 2,000 a year wlii;h the company must pay whether the mines are worked or not. But suppose tliey pool their interests with tho Reading company. Suppose they come to an under.ttamling, as they are bound to do if the i.u'iff is taken down? 14 By simply producing sufficient coivl t.o supply the demand for local consumption in Nova Scotia, New Brunswicii and Prince Edward's Island, it will be quite possible for this company, controlling the market and without competition, by raiaing 900,()0C or a million tons of coal, by restricting their operations to this market and by adding fifty cents a ton to the price of coal, to raise §300,000 additional, sufficient to more than pay the interest on the bonds, in addition to the royalty payable to the crown. By the simple expedient of raisiig the price to the consumers GO cents they can wipe otl' all their obligations and conduct their operations upon a profitable basis. By raising the price one dollar a ton, us they could do without competition, tlu^y could not only make the eame profit which can be made under the present conditions, but they could pay the interest upon their bonds, the royalties, and the rentals, an;entleinen say that this is not so? Let them take the figures and look at them, nnd they will find that there is nothing to prevent it. In the charter or lease that is given the companj', everything is given them that enables them to enter into combination with the friends with whom they are al- ready acquainted, apd already operating, and within '24 hours an agreement with regard to the division of vlie territory would place the maritime provinces com- plet^ely under their control. I have said that no restriction has hecn placed upon the company except the pay- ment of rental and royalty, and I called attention to the fast that the company when in operation may by agreement with corporations across the border monopolize the trade of the maritime provinces. I showed that if they put up the price of coal there was no possibility of competition from outside. I discussed this matter with men in Montreal who are interested in the Springhill mine and in the Durnimond mine, and I found that these men look with the greatest possible aiarm upon the formation of this company, with its unprecedented franchises and the capital that it may obtain. These men say, and they do not hesitate to saj' that they cannot stand the threatencrl competition, with a company organized as this com- pany is; and they say, rather than sacrifice their interests and have their stock de- preciated, they will be compelled to protect their capital by selling out to this (jompany or enter into combination with them. As commercial men they must do this, and when this is done, if this com- pany gives the Reading company control of the trade that we have with Quebec, and if they .abandon the trade with New- foundland, or with New England, or with South America, the combination has still a sure thing, because it has still a million people in these maritime provinces who will be completely at its mercy for it is very evident that with regard to the price of coal there is no safeguard whatever. The mines arc now vested in the crown and are under the control of the legisla- ture. What will the sum yielded by 12.1 cents a ton royalty be worth to us fifty or seventy years from now? If we look back- ward we see that civilization has been revolutionized within the present century. Our commerce and trade have completely changed. And yet this governmcut is pro- posing legislation for the purpose of placing under the control of a combination, such as I have described, every manufacturing in- dustry in the maritime provinces for a century to come, placing them under the power of a combination such as that which oppresses the people of the United States. When the national policy was introduced, which hon. gentle- men have commended because of son; a ad- vantages which resulted to this province, the people of this province voted for that policy, and they have since then supported it because they felt that we had here cheap raw materials, which, sooner or Inter, when the continent was developed, when we had millions of people in the North- west, when wp had this country settled as the western states are settled, we had here under the control of the crown mines of wealth which no power could take from us, illimitable areas of coal and iron which we could completely control, which would enter as raw materials into the up building of our industries until we became the manufacturing centre for the west. We had confidence and the whole of Canada had confidence that this legisla- ture would not give up complete control for a century of the mining areas of Cape Breton, which constitute tlirae-fourths of the mining areas of the province, unless to the federal government, so that these mines might remain for all time to come as store- houses for supplies to ensure our industrial suprema<\y. But now we find that, instead of looking to the future, and instead of having regard to thesex ital considerations, these men have entered into an agreement 'y which they have, at one stroke of the pen, placed three-fourllis of our coal areas under the control of a foreign syndicate. The government confesses its inability 15 at the present time to so modify the law as to restrict the operations of the com- pany in the direction of 'donopoly. There is DO restriction proposed by the govern- ment whidi would have the effect of pre- venting Mr. Whitney and his associates from talking hold of every coal mine and every iron working industry in this province. The result of this measure pro- posed by the government may be to in- troduce into this province a combina- tion which, instead of placing the people of Nova Scotia in the en- joyment of coal at moderate prices, will grind down the people under a dollar tax levied by the coal barons. What in comparison with that is two and one-half per cent additional royalty? VViiat in comparison with tlie extortion of a mil- linns of dollars from the consumers of Ea.ttern Canada is the mere guarantee of $1'J;?,000 a year for royalty? What is the mere rental of thirty dollars a year for a coal area when weighed in the balance with tiie whole industrial future of these maritime provinces? If the peojjle of this province fully realize the nature and scope of tliis niea- surcf binding generations yet unborn, thoy will rise in indignation and demand that this monopoly shall be 8we))t out of exist- ence. We are face to face with conditions that portenil the greatest possible evil to this province. Afr. \Vhitne3' and IiIh present associates may act justly and may use their large powers legally, and may carry out for a time their promises, hut what guarantee is there that the suc- cessors of Mr. Whitney will not use to the fuUeiit extent the enormous privileges conferred on them by this lease? Kven when it was proposed years ago to make the duration of a lease 28 years the proposition was denounced in the most glowing terms by the able statesmen of that day, who de- clared that it was improvident, unwise and vicious legislation to bind even a generation beyond their own by a contract such as the one then before the house, though it contained far greater safeguards than does the one we are now discussing, which is irrevocable, except by a gross breach of faith on the pait of the govern- ment. Such legislation is fraught with tremendous dittlcultics and dangers and may place the people of this province under a grinding monopoly of the most obnoxious cha.acter. No such franchise was ever conferred by any British legisla- lature before, and I ask ohis legislature to pause and consider, before tlie;- accede to the wishes of Mr. Whitney and his associ- ates and confirm the meahure before the liouae. Hon. Mr. LiiN(ii,i-;v moved the adjourn- ment of the debate. The debate was adjourned accordingly.