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Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are 'ilmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illus^trated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont l>» couverture en papier est imprimi§e s^ nt filmds en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte una empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par oj)ulation. They have come from the Ottawa on the east, and from the St. (.'liiir on the west. I see before me men of all nationalities, of all religious d- nominations, and of all occupations. There are merchants, farmers, mc- clianics, professional men, woiJvingmon, — old men who have done good work, and young men who are following in their footsteps and will soon take their jilrtces. " AVe have hero Liberals of all classes, — those who did not think with tlic rest of the party during the Dominion election,- but who with regard to matters before us now are of one mind with all Liberals, — and I congratulate yon upon the great promise that is before you, as I have no doubt that the le.iult of the Convention vt'ill be an impoi-tant one in the history of tho Province." THE LIBEKAL PLATFORM. 4 Sucli a large assembly of rcpresentativo men eould not fail to rt-flcct the sentiments of the Liberal party on subjects of public policy, and with resjHJct to the Government itself. Thsy came from the people, and were of the people. They spoke the voice of tho whole party as men having autliority, -commis- sioned by the party to speak its voice on men and alfairs. Upon all Provincial questions of tho past eleven years, upon the conduct and the gonoral policy of the Government, and upon issues now agitating the country, this great Convention has placed its opinions on record, crystallized into resolutions that convey no uncertain sound. The principles embodied in those resolutions are tho principles upon which the Liberal party and its representatives in tho Legislature are pledged to conduct the business of the State, and to maintain inviolate the rights of Bclf-governraent to a free people. And thorfore it is fitting, when asking tht electors of Ontario once again to renew tho trust they committed to the Lib- erals eleven years ago, that the platform of tho Convention should have a foremost place. 3. i •.-., :. f4f:^H-}- • M •. ;. ' ■ t '-. . .1'. J t} RESOLUTIONS OF THE CONVENTION. FIDELITY TO LIBERAL PRINCIPLES. 1. That this Convention of the Reformers of Oiitario recognize with j)i i«i« and pleasure the fidelity to Liberal principles which has been evinced througli a long series of administrative and legislative acts by the Reform (lovern ments and Legislatures of the Province for the past eleven years, and deems ii to be the bounden duty of all true Liberals to strengthen to the uttermost the hands of the Hon. Oliver Mowat, our worthy leader, and his colleagues, at this critical period in our Provincial history. •• . • PROVINCIAL RI^fHTS. 2. That by the British North America Act the Provincial Legislature* have exclusive powers of legislation on subjects placed by that Act within theii* jurisdiction ; that the power of disallowance by the Federal Government should be exercised only when such legislation is beyond the constitutional jurisdic- tion of the Province, or antagonistic to Dominion interests ; that the Rivers and Streams Act, which dealt with subjects left by the constitution to the ex- clusive jurisdiction of the Legislature of Ontario, was in no manner illegal, «nconstitutional, or antagonistic to Dominion interests ; that the repeated dis- I^Uowance of the Act was, therefore, in the opinion of this Convention, * violation of our Provincial autonomy, and an attack upon the fundamental principle of local self-government provided by the Confederation Act and secured mainly by the earnest, consistent and long-continued efforts of the Reform party ; and that the action of our Government and Legislature in asserting and vindicating our Provincial constitutional rights, demands the approval and support of every patriotic citizen. TERRITORIAL RIGHTS. 3. That this Province came into Confederation with the territory which formerly belonged to Upper Canada; that the extent of that territory on the north and west was at that time undetermined, but was in the month of August, 1878, finally determined by the unanimous award of able arbitrators of the highest distinction, appointed on a competent reference by the respective Governments of the Dominion and this Proviuce under an agreement, to which the good faith and honor of both were pledged, that the award should be final and conclusive ; that this award was accepted by the Government of thia Province as in honor bound but was repudiated by the Government of the Dominion ; that such repudiation is, in the opinion of this Convention, a violation of public law and national faith, and an indefensible denial on the part of the Federal authorities of the jusu claims *and territorial rights of thia xrovince ; and that the manly and persistent assertion by the Government of Ontario of thoae claims and those riglits, and their demand for the immediate ovvnenthip and government of the awarded territory; deaierve the support and co-operation not only of the Liberal party, but of every citizen of the Province. THE FEDERAL UNION. .4. That this Convention earnestly desires that the boyds which unites the Provinces of Canada may be strengthened by the development of a feeling of affection for and pride in the Federal Union which connects them, and believes that such sentiments will be best promoted by the maintenance of the Federal principles of the Union, the full recognition of the rights of each Province to control all matters which are placed under its exclusive power, and the adop- tion of the principles of justice and fair play in the adjustment of all questioa-* arising between the Dominion and the Provinces. s THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE. 5. That this Convention rejoices in the successful operation of those ex- tensions of the franchise which have from time to time been placed in the statute book, records its opinion that a further extension should form a plank in the platform of the Reform ;>arty at the ensuing elections ; and expresses its hope that the popular voice will endoi-se the proposal, and will return a Liberal majority authorized to accomplish this reform. J THE LEGISLATIVE RECORD. ■ ** 6. That this Convention expresses its gratification that under the auspices ^of the Reform Gbvernraent of Ontario, our election laws have been greatly improved ; that valuable reforms have been effected in the laws relating to leal and personal property ; that our municipal and school laws have been Ixnuch improved ; that the Statute Law of the Province has been revised and consolidated ; tK \t great and radical reforms in the procedurie and practice of f^our Courts, tending to the promotion of simplicity, economy, and expedition in the administration of justice, have been nuccessfully accomplished ; thai irompt means have invariably been taken to establish such administrfttion in '^▼ery outlying district of the Province, contemporaneous with settlement ; :and that justice has been administered throughout the Province with purity I and uprightness. % RAILWAY AND MUNICIPAL AID. l 7. That this Convention desires to record its gratification that the Reform LOoTcrnments anr^ Legislatures triumphantly solved the difficult problems fj>resented by the Municipal Loan Fund and the best means of applying to -profitable ends a portion of the surplus in the Treasury ; that the municipal loan fund debts Avere successfully settled upon an equitable basis; that largo sums out of the surplus have been returned to the people under conditions requiring their expenditure for objects of great public utility ; and that a judicious system of railway aid has given to the Province 2,200 miles of new J-' railway, and in this way gi'eatly assisted the development of our agricidtural f'and commercial industries, and promoted the general advancement of ilia I' Province. \4\' SI. financi fidelitj Oover propos and p the 01 the p( the m vinco theTi Jnud ti taken the ei tions, the ti of ma Farm establ rejoJc thor J ctui withi Ontai bv as of o\ Indul cann< at lai Higl and of tl com] be II the* THR PROVINCIAL FINANCES. m h 8. Tlmt in the opinion of this Convention the management of the Provincial finances by the Liberal Governments of the Province has evidenced their fidelity to the Reform principles of progress and economy ; that whilst these Governments have not hesitated as responsible stewards of the public funds to propose such expenditures as the public good required, they have been careful and provident in their administration ; and that it is a proud fact that whilst the ordinary business of administmtion has been carried on, the education (rf the people assisted, the vicious and afflicted cared for, burdens lifted off the municipalities, all our industries encouraged, and the progress of the Pro- vince in every way and on every side advanced, a large surplus still remains in the Treasury of the Province. THE AGPJCULTURAL INTERESTS. 0. That this Convention recognizes with satisfaction the vigoruus, judicious, iiud timely stops which, under the lleform Governments of Ontario, have been laken to render assistance in the development of our agricultural industry, by the encouragement given to Agricultural, Horticultural, and kindred Associa- tions, by the continued drainage of our low lying lands, by the initiation of the tile drainage sclieme, by the satisfactory adjustment of the vexed question of market fees, by the expansion of the Agricultural College and Experimental Farm, by the invaluable labours of the Agricultural Commission, and by the establishment of the Agricultural branch of the Bureau of Industries ; and rejoices to observe that the Government is contemplating other plans for fur- ther promoting the agricultural interests of the Province. COMMERCE AND MANUFACTUPvES. ' * 10. .That this Convention rejoices in all healthy expansion of the manu- ^cturing and mercantile interests of the Province ; is pleased to know that within the range of their constitutional powers, the Reform Governments of Ontario have encouraged those industries, by aiding the building of railways, by assisting to give at home and foreign exhibitions the fullest possible display of our manufactured products, and for providing through the Bureau of Industries a faithftil record of the state of the manufacturing industries, which cannot fail to be of substantial benefit to such industries, and to the Province at large. ' -^ OUPi SCHOOL SYSTEM. 11. That the progress and development of every part of our Public and High School svstem during the past eleven years, in the more thorough train- ing, classification, and examination of teachers, the more efficient inspection and classification of schools, and the complete remodelling and great advance of the work of secondary education, are matters for congratulation ; that the complications and difficulties which necessarily surround such a subject are to be met, as they have b(H'U met, Ijv vigilantly watching over the working of the system, with a view to bueh cliangoo in detail as from time to time experi» ■dce inay ahov^ to he iweeemry [ by * dufi regard to the i-easonable winho/ and Ibelings of tho various RectioDB of the community ; and by the application to fhe utmost extent, coneistent with efHcioncyj of tho principle of local control •ver local afiaira. , .« :r01lEST AND TIMBER INTERESTS. ' l-2< That tho manner in which the Forest and Timber interests of the Ihrovincc have been guarded and managed by the Reform ABsociations and liBgislaturos, the saieguanis thr jwn around these interests by the provisions which require public competition as the condition of license, tho cautioOi fkill, and judgment which have bcoii displayed by the Executive in detormin* lag when sales of liceneos shall take place, and the care and integrity displayed ID the sale and management of our Crown lands, are subjects of just pride to Ike Liberal party, and of national congratulation to every inhabitant of the province. FREE GRANTS AND IMMIGRATION. 13. This Convention, while looking with pleasure on the growth of tlJB Canadian North- West, and recognizing the drain of late years on o\ir popula- tion and resouci'es towards that and other fields, yet views with satisfaction the great development of the newer districts of our acknowledged territory dnring the last eleven years, under the liberal system of free grants from the Crown ;. and rejoices that, 1 ' a judicious expenditure on colonization roads and internal improvements, 'so many of our sons, together with the people ol j#ther countries, have, notwithstanding great attractions elsewhere, found homes vithin our borders ; and trusts that the immigration policy of the Ontario CfOvemment will, in the present circumstances, continue to be one of vigorous effort to 8ccurc lai'gc additions to our agricultural population. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. CiraucG tely a tions in transfo] that th ever sii ity in t of the ( thatth tiou of may be Local I of the ] by the vincial i IV indepei as requ discrin^ the Stf tlie spe to actii public! the affl educat edncat 14. That this Convention views with approval and satisfaction the vigoro •nd successful manner in which the Reform Governments of Ontario Imve promptly met every public requirement for the restraint and correction oi ilia ^ious, as well as the care of the afflicted and unfortunate portions of our population, by the ei'ection of such buildings as were needed, and by the suc- cessful maintenance and manr:gement, on the latest curative, sanitary, and humane methods, of our various penal and charitable institutions. MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS. 15. That the Reform party, the parent of the system of local institutions' VDunioipal liberties, and generally of the principles of self-government, reaflirms» •fter an experience of more than forty year?, the value of those institutions, •nd will in the future, as it has done in the past, guard, cherish, and develop them by all means in its power. THE LIQUOR LICENSE SYSTEM. 16.^ That this Convention views with gratitude the great improvements twhi*'h have, under Reform Crovernments, been made in the laws alfecting teni- «4 ve tn ecoT [otioi e o.n are pri the R< carry < the Li Ijorf and :atiou to control H of the ions and 'ovisions ctiutioni eiorinin- liflplayed prido to It of tllQ Ciranue; pi oteats in the strongest way against any of the retrograde ch.tngef t«Iy advocated, such as extending the hours of selling, lessening the t«!jtrio« iions in the number of licenses, creating vested interests in licenses, and r«- trannforring to Municipal Councils the re8|)oniiibility of issuing licenses ; belierot that the general interpretation of the Constitution, acted on in all the Provinces ever sineo Confedeiation, has been that the Provincial Legislatures have author* !ty in the matter, and that such interpi*etation is in accordance with the spirit of the (constitution ; considers that it is for the best interests of the Dominion that the Local Legislature should have such authority ; deprecates any asaump« tiou of power by tlie Parliament of the Dominion in this regard, beyond wlial may be needed for passing a general law as to prohibition ; declares that ths Local Legislatures can best interpret and give eti'ect to the feelings and wishei of the jieoplo in each Province as to the license system ; and insists that actios by the Parliament of the Dominion would be an undue interferetwe with Pro« vincial rights, and detiimental to the cause of order and sobriety. hof tljpil * popula- tisfaction territory from the on roads people of nd homes ) Ontario vigorous i THE KECORD AND THE PLATFORM. 3 vigoroi lario have on (M ilia ns of our Y the suc- tary, and va th 17. Tliat the principles of local control over local affairs ; of parliamentary independence and purity of elections ; of legislative and adraiuistrativo reform as required by the development anrl progress of the Province ; of the wise and discriminating extension of the franchise ; of the judicious encourngcment by the State of all our agricultural, mercantile, and manufacturing industries ; of the speedy settlement of our unoccupied territory by free grants of homesteads to actual settlei-s, and the active encouragement of pro})er immigration ; of public competition for jiublic property and public works ; of Provincial care of the afflicted and unfortunate portions of the population; of a free primary education for the whole people and the reasonable encouragement of higher education ; of the maintenance in their integrity of our municipal institutions; economy and retrenchment in our financial afi'aira consistent with the pro- motion of progress and the develo])ment of all tlio resotircos of the Province, and e eircouragoment by every legitimate means of all moral and social refoims, are principles M'hich the Liberal party have always maintained ; and so long as the Eeform Governments of Ontario in the future, as in the past, uphold and carry out those principles, thfy shall receive Jthe hearty and united fcupiK)rt of the Liberal party "ifi this Pi-ovinco. ititutions' reafllrms) }titutionS| d develop ovementa 2ting teni- 8 SELF-GOVERNMENT. In the Convention of 1844 the question of self-govcmment took precedence of ill others. By Hon. Robert Baldwin, William Hume Blake, R. B. Sullivan, (Bkettington Connor, George Brown, Joseph C. Morri8roved to be the fact, and if the i)rincipl ' of self-government have l)oen violated. That party has proved faithful to its traditions as the parent of local institutions, and — ia the language of the Convention of 1883 — ** will in future, as it has done in the pa.it| guard, cherish, and develop them by all means in its power." PRINCIPLES or THE LIBERAL CREED. Mr. BLAKE — "Remembering the great leading principles of our political creed ; remembering ihe victories which Reformers have achieved in the past ; remembering the issues u\^m Ahich they are bent at present ; looking onward to the aspirations foi; the i'uture— we may well believe that it is right and fitting for us as citizens of this free Province to gather together and consult in the spirit in which these deliberations have I ' u entcrec into upon those things which are for the best interests ot the State. Some arti los of that creed have long ago been conceded — so far conceded that o>. •n.siV)ly at UftAt no man speaks against them, and so far conceded as to have become t^^i' comm<.n i»roperty and inheritance of free men in all free countries. ' " Wi A'e must uv ver forget that it was to the exerticas of those who have gone before us tiiese l«enefit** are due. The great principles of liberty and equality, of the riglif to law md order. >f respect for public freedom and for private right, the great print pie of < 'cn, free education for the entire community, the free exercise ol every phase and description of religious thought or opinion, the great principle of local selt-government by municipal institutions, — the Liberal pai'ty is the parent of alL We are p^oud of our municipal institutions, because in their direct action they tend to the 1" st work being done for the localities within which the action takes place by the me 1 of the locality, and because they form the great schools and nurseries in whicV .ire made plain those principles of self-government which we delight in, and tht irther perfecti'U of which we look for. (Cheers.) ' These are ].rinciples — the noble inheritance of past action, of sufiering, ol a- ..mplishment, We J>v>a8t of these. These are principles which in times past L lonners huvt laboreil for, have worked for, and toiled for. (Cheers.) This is t^ responsibility under which each individual citizen in a self-governing commun* 10 Ity lies, whether ha shirk it or no— the responsibility of, within his sphere and t< the extent of his usefulness ami powei', exerting all these powers for th«^ promotioi of right, and dealing with tliat influence and tliat power and vote as a public truat lIota^) a private right to be exercised for prejudice or to be sold lor pelf. (Applause.)' •^Jlon. Edwrird Blike at th: Liberal Convention. the Te has th ment ] using : were a veto p tagoni than £ agreed aJlowe interej Connn HOxME RULE FOR ONTARIO. It House for th: tAiat tl ^*^ere the C That by the Biitish North America Act the Provincial LegislatO i Iiave exclusive powers of legislation on subjects placed by that Ac** vithin their jurisdiction : that the power of disallowance by the FederaJ Legisl Government should be exercised only when such legislation is beyon Hie constitutional jurisdiction of the Province, or antagonistic to Domi fflion interests: that the Eivers and Streams Act, which dealt wit subjects left by the constitution to the exclusive jurisdiction of th( Legislature of Ontario, was in no manner illegal, unconstitutional, o antagonistic to Dominion interests : that the repeated disallowance o the Act was, therefore, in the opinion of this Convention, a violation o our Provincial autonomy, and an attack upon the fundamental principl «f local self-government provided by the Confederation Act, and secure uainly by the earnest, consistent, and long-continued efforts of i^Jfp^^' Beform party : and that the action of our Government and LegislatifriE ^^''^'" pi asserting and viudiqalixig our Provincial constitutional lights demands the approval and support o^ every patriotic citizen. — Resoluiion of th Liberal Conventiini, ISSS, 1 13 sham and an a shiiir respon Legishj deoifii wheth they of the power as one c A SOUND AND PATRIOTIC POSITION. B T Fodcrf day OA and s The resolution quoted above places before the people the sound and patrioti< trollin position of the Liberal party on the question of the constitutional rights of th< *^^^ Province. It is ^he position which the Reform party has always occupied. Theii platform as enunciated by the Convention of 1859 contained amongst other thingi J^^^V^ » demand that local affairs should be placed under local control. And the Conven Jegtslr iion of 1867 rejoiced that it had been done. For that demand, after years of con 7^ : (ititutional struggle, was granted on the confederation of the Provinces in 1867, anc '^^ ^" hy the Act of confederation the principle was supposed to have been made for evei inviolate. Under the 92nd section of that Act power is given to each Provincia tie^slature exclv^ivdy to make laws m regard to certain specified matters, amongs which artt " property and civil ri^Hhts wit&n the Province. This principal of " loca ^qj-q control over local amun^" the rignt to make laws regarding all matters placed b] the coiuttitution within our jurisdiction is the charter of our Provincial libertiei^ ere and promotioi iblic tnisfcl Ippluuse.n u the very corner atone of confederation. It is true that the Doininiuu Gorty. Under ■ome prior decisions, some of the Courts h^ld that they were. IMPORTANCE OF THE ACT. It then became necessary to assert anew the intention of the Act of 1849, and declare that no man by making improvements at some points towards the mouth ©f the stream could stop all the lumber further up from being brought down. The public revenue is largely derived from the timber of the Province. If siich a con- tention wei^e allowed^ the public revenue ivould he decreased by hundreds of thoxii- mnds annually, and eveiy lumberman with limits toward s the mouth of a stream tf would virtually confiscate all the lumber on the head waters of that stream. TheiJ, public interests demanded legislation, and the Rivers and Streams Bill was ^ passed. It was declared that all such streams were, as they had always been sup- posed to be, public and not private property, and provided for reasonable tolls, according to the custom of the lumbering trade for a score of years, to pay for such improvements as any lumberman might have made on such streams. A PURELY PROVINCIAL QUESTION. Such an Act, dealing strictly with "property and civil ri/jhts in the Province" was beyond all qxiestion 'within Provincial jurisdiction. And it was neither illegal, unconstitutional nor antagonistic to Dominion interests. Yet it was disallowed by the Dominion Government. And the flimsy pretext was that under it private property was expropriated without adequate compensation. Even if it tvere, the place to a^iply for the remedy wu^ tJie Local Legislature, and the proper persons to five tJie remedy tvere the people who elect tluit legislature. But the pretext w; untrue. The compensation was ample — was the usual one according to the prac tice of lumbei men for quarter of a century. For the first time in our history the Do)ninion Government dared to interfere in legislation aflecting our own local afiaii's, dared to violate the principle for wJiich tJie Reform party so long contended — of local con^^^rol over local aflaii-s — and by u high-handed exercise of the preroga- tive of disallowance druck a bUno at our Provincial llhcrlies and at the very hey^ atone of Confederation itMlf. Will the people of Ontario tamely submit to such encroachments on our constitutional rights ? Will they basely f.urrender tliat for which they or their fathers struggled for many long years to gain 1 LOCAL CONTROL OVER J^OCAL AFFAIRS. MR. BLAIvE. — It a-as the promise of local control over local affai/rs that caused Ihe people of Ontario to accept the schmc of Cotifcderation, and it is by that alone as a sjchemo or policy that we can expect oflectivoly to manage so vast a tenitory in- habited by so sparse a populution as that with whose government the people of Canada are charged. You have an enormous area of territory ; you have men of dift'erent eurttoms and habits; you havodift'ereutindnstries to develop, diirerent modes of life and subsistence, and you have separate Provinces, whi«h have had a separate exis- tence for many years. Do you suppose that \v«i are ciiiuble at Ottawa, as Govem- lucut or Legislature, of d^>aling with those thiiigs a lese im- en. At Under 149, and mouth n. The 1 a con- of thou- Btream t' Thejl 3ill was Ben sup- )le tolls, foi' such Province," er illegal, llowed by it private tverc, the oersom to stext waiyi^^f^ the prac5^^% story the own local !ontended ? prcroga- very hey- t to such L* that for ta^ caused b alone as critory in- of Canada f diffcvenfc iles of life irate exis- ,s Govem- ictorily to the people of the various localities as the people of the variuus localities can handle them for themselves I It is out of the question. There was a time when there was no diileroncc on this subject. Early in the history of Confederation the Minister of Justice, who was also First Minister, Sir John Macdonald himself, laid down rule? for general action, which rules, though I do not subscribe to every word and phrase in tnem, did in a p^neral sense answer the view which has been accepted by the people of the country. The Conservative party of that time was in accord with those views and they were until recently ; but the Conservative party is a very obediorit party. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) It might reiterate the boast of the gentleman who said that if anybody could turn a curve of a comer quicker than he could he would like to see him. {Laughter. ) And when the opponunity arose of reverting to the original notions which the gentleman I have mentioned, held as to the meaning of our Constitution — notions I mean in favor of a legislative as against a federative union — when the opportunity arose in which he thought capital might be made by the resurrection of these notions, dead and buried as we thought they w^ere, he was equal to the occasion, and he took another ground ; his party follow* cd him ; and to-day we have in the House of Commons a changed body of men whose attitudes on this subject wo do hot know because they have not spoken upon it as yet. DUTY OF THE PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE. iVe have a body of men in the Provincial Legislature — not very large, not very important, but still representatives of the Conservatives of Ontario — who are for the view latterly taken by Sir John, ond against that taken by him in those earlier and better days of his upon this question. Now, I am not saying that be- cause they are members of the Provincial ijegislatAire they ou»ht to take a different view from that which they would take were they memliers of the Legislatui'e of Can- ada, but I am saying thai it is the boundtn duty of the Provincial Legialcture io ivatch carefuUy any infriiufemcnt upon Provincial rights. If you do not find caution, watch- fulness, alarm, a disposition to ineet and to resist aggression there, I ode where unll you find it ? Will you find it with the aggressors, with those whose overshadow- ing power and authority leads them to go farther and embrace everything upon which they can place their grasp ] Surely not. It is the Provinci£*l Legislature whom naturally and necessarily you must look to, to see at any rate the reasonable Provincial position asserted. Now, gentlemen, I say that upon this question the issue for the peo])le of Ontario is this. You supposed that you had the right on certain large matters affecting you only to elect legislators and pass laws accoi'ding- to your own views as to what was for the public interest, and you supposed that those laws when passed if they did not affect the general interests of the Dominion, but were within your exclusive legislative jurisdiction, and did not touch upon those other subjects, would be valid, binding, and effective laws, subject to repeal and amendment if you at any subsequent election should decide that they were defective or injurious. (Hear, hear.) The question is whether you will preserve to yourselves that right of passing, and as you please repealing and modifying those classes of laws, or whether you will deliberately agree tliat you will not fight to discharge that duty, but that >ou require somebody over you who will do it better than you will. If you are prepared to say that you so little trust yourselves, tliat you would be disposed to accept as a grand vetoer, sitting some- where on a throne, this infallible and pcifect man whom I have conjectured for a moment, 1 should humbly differ with you, and sliould tell you that you had made a inistake. WHO ARE THE VETOERS ? *' But lolio are they that profesa to act the part of vdoers of yow Ugislationf FF7u> are the. owners aiid jwopri'tftwa of tlie voto powei\ and who set iJiemsdvcs above 14 ^11 i ' Vie rtn>e,ral »tn$t oflhepeopU of Ontario t Who are those who set thooiselve? above Ihtf detcrmiaation of the leading minda of the people of Ontario freely elected bj )-our!)eIve8 to aay what measures the public interests require I Are they perfect men I (Laughter). Are they infallible men ? Are they nc*- rather men of like passions tvith ouraelvea — only a little more bo ? (Great laughter, and a voice, *' They go it hlind.") Are you disposed to say you wiu appoint some five or six gentlemen, in- hitbitants of Ontario, to revise vour legislation, ana to decide whether what you have koliberately decided to be for tne public interest is so or not, to say whether it shall t-eumin law or be blotted out of the statute book ? But that is not alL Hiese men ure not all from Ontario, they are not most of them from Ontario. They number, I Itelicvc, some fifteen now, and a minority of them are from the Province of On- laii(». Now, I do not object to the fact that they come from other Provinces, bvt vlnfl [ say is tliat the peojple of each Province, and those who are ccnversant with ths inoi'cments of thought and action in each Province are best fitted to decide what is for mw fmrticuhr interest, and that the circumstance that these gentemen form a body re- pi-eseuting all the Provinces is in itself a disqualification for tlieir being invested ivitii this special power. HOW DO THEY DECIDE ? ** You know how your Legislature decides your public affairs, and you know tliiit ♦he determination as to whether or not a oarticular measure is in the interest of the country or not is only arrived at after open deliberation and 'debate, at which any of you may be present who desire, and of which all of you are made aware by means of the press. But the thirteen infallible and perfect men, whom the Conservatives propose to set over us to determine whether our laws shall be waste paper or not — liow do they reach their conclusions ? Do they reach theui in public after discuss- ing and setting forth the reasons which animate them? iVb; they arrive at them in a cluxmhcr vnth locked doors, in a little room where I myself sat for a couple of years, and where no one can hear the reasons which they give for their action. In fact, an oath is sworn that they will not divulge their reasons, and that the advice given then will not be made public. There is an old rule, which is not based upon any legal technicality, but upon princiijles of justice, which recommends itself to freemen, viz., that before you decide a cause you shall hear both sides, and Sir John hiinsell" laid down the rule that in case objection was taken to any local legis- lation the Provincial Government shoultl be notified in order that they might have an opportunity of giving their reasons for passing the law and vindicate its cori-ect- ness. That was a just and a.sound thing. But in this particular case which has raised the question, no such notice was given, no s^ich oppoiiunity ivas afforded, bvt ths man ivho complained of Ihc law put into the Pnvy Council his statement of what had 'occurred, his reasons and his arguments, and loithont calling upon the Load Govern- ment for their views or ex2>lanations, these infallible thirteen ovemded your law and turned it into waste papers Tlie question is whether ice are to retain, our Provincial liheiiies or not. (Hear, hear). That is the question to which I hope and believe the people of Ontario will not hesitate to answer * Yes.'" — Hon. Edward iUuke at the Jjiberal Convention, 1883. AN ISSUE OF SURPASSING MOMENT. Mr. MOW AT. — " We have another great issue — one of surpassing moment. It af . fects the whole population, the whole Province. It was the question of the Ottawa Government disallowing our k»CHl legislation. The policy of the Ottawa (government in this respect changes our whole position as a member of Confederation. The Mlitsue of Confederation was based on the idea that there i^as being effected a m 7, V Irfect Bions (go it IhaTB (shall men iber, On. ., hxtt ]h ths wtr re- ested 15 broad division of legislative power. The Act of Confederation declares on a vaiu ty of subjects that they should oe under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Legislature., There is the power of disallowance vested in His Excellency the Governor-General, just as there is in Her Majesty the Queen in regard to the legislation of all the colonies and of the Dominion. TJiat power is one, however, which in recent times is admittedly exercised only ivJien tM legislation objected to ia beyond the poacr of the colony to pass, and there may be some other cases in which disallowance is still exercised by Her Majesty, but instances are so few that it is difficult to say what they are. The mere fact that the Colonial law is opposed to thrt of G'leat Biitain is not a reason why it shonld be disallowed. Take our custom duties.* Of course they were contrary to the policy of Great Britain, and the Queen had the power of disallowing them, but she has not, recognizing the right of the colony to deal with such matters, even though the method of dealing with them may bo antagonistic to the interests of the Empire in the view of the Government of the day. (Hear, hear.) What is the Ottawa Government doing? They have dis- allowed the Rivers and Streams Act, an Act confessedly within our powers beyond all manner of doubt. The reason why it is disallowed is because the Dominion Government say its provisions are unjust. THE PEOPLE OF ONTARIO ARE THE JUDGES. (< Noiv ve say that isfoi' the people of Ontario themsehes to say. (Loud clieers.) It is for tJmii to judge of the jiistice of tlie measure. That was the view of all parties until recently. That was the view taken by Sir John Macdonald and expressed in official documents in our possession. It was the position he took in a celebrated de- bate in the House of Commons. He declared then that if at Ottawa any question should be decided as to the j«istness of an Act of a Provincial Legislature such a course would make all Provincial legislation " a sham," and the observation was a just one. He pointed out that the effect would be that no Act would be exempt from disallow- ance at Ottawa. At that time he pointed out with great earnestness and accuracy, that such a construction of the constitutional rule was most injurious and objection- ■y]^^^ able. No party doubted that. But that uxis aU changed noWj and we are told that wa ■pB- have not that pow^r of legislation tve thought we had, and tdiich we iwnt int(^. ^ Confederation to secure ; and if we thought we had not the ritrht to pass a single, | law unless it was subject to it being said at Ottawa that in the belief or alleged belief of the members of the Cabinet that law worked an injustice to some one, we would not have entered inta Confederation. (Cheers.) They may say any law ia unjust. It is a matter on which there may be a difference of opinion, But there is no doubt we have that right of legislation it was intended we should have. You who have studied the history of this country know the reason why the representa- tives of Upper Canada were in favour of Confederation was because it was found that in the Parliament bills affecting Upper Canada only and supported by the ma- jority of Upper Canadians were voted down by a Lower Canadian majority, wid one of the great objects kept in view by the authors of Confederation was the prevention of this state of things. THE OLD EVIL BROUGHT BACK. '' In the records of the Reform Association of 1859 you will find a long list of measures disposed of in this way which shows that the then existing system was not working well (hear hear), and that there should be some remedy. One great com- plaint was that Upper Canadians could not get for th^emselves the legislation thej|r wanted. We went into Confederation as a cure. We find, however, the old evi| brought backj and we are told that every b^U the Legislature of this Province vtoig ;i 16 pass, after being fully dtsouflaed in the light of day and ventilated by public discua- Biou and through the press, may be disallowed by the Ottawa Government as they choose. The great evil we supposed had been corrected by the Confederate Act i$ still rifcj and we are no more free than before — as much under the heel of others tis when this complai/nt ivas first made. I do not think that a soitnd constnt m ' 3 17 THE ONTARIO BOUNDARIES. tfJi 5 m That this Province came into Oonfoderation with the territory which formerly belonged to Upper Canada ; tnat the extent of that territory on the north and west was at chat time undetermined, but was, in the month of August, 1878, finally determined by the unanimous Award of able Arbitrators of the highest distinction, appointed on a con)petent reference by the respective Governments of the Dominion and this Province under an agreement, to which the good faith and honour of both were pledged, that the Award should be final and con- clusive : that this Award was accepted by the Government of this Province as in honouv bound, but was. repudiated by the Government of the Dominion ; that such repudiation is, in the opinion of the Conven- tion, a violation of public law and national faith, and an indefensible denial on the part of the Federal authorities of the just claims and territorial rights of this Province ; and that the manly and persistent assertion by the Government of Ontario of those claims and those rights, and their demand for the immediate ownership and government of ^be awarded territory, deserve the support and co-operation not only of the Liberal party, but of every citizen of the Province. — BesohUion of th/> Liberal Convention, 1883. This resolution sets forth all the important facts in the Bomidary question. There was a large area of territory in dispute, and the two Governinents agreed to refer their respective claims to the decision of three Arbitrators. Evidence was collected, cases were prepared, and able counsel were engaged. The Arbitrators were distinguished men. They weighed t\e evidence. They heard the arguments of counsel. They made a unanimous Aivard. The Government of Ontario accepted that Award in good faith, and the Legislature passed an Act to ratify it. The Government of the Dominion ignored it lor thiec years, and then repudiated it — regardless alike of national honour and good faith, and of the' terms of a solemn agreement between the two Governments. But to the citizens of Ontario there is more in the Boundaries dispute than the maintenance of national honour. The territory is one hundred thousand square miles in extent, and it is rich in stores of forest and mineral wealth ; and, as was stated by A. M. Ross, M.P.P., in moving the resolution, it is of importance to us as a Province, and to every man in his own municipality and locality. "It is the policy of Mr. Mowat," Mr. Ross said, "when a surplus has accu- mulated in the Treasury that it be given back to the people to be expended in local improvements of various kinds. The value of the timber of the new territory will form another large surplus to be distributed amongst the people, and even on that ground they should resent the attempt made by the enemies of their Province t<» wiett it from them." 18 r * HALF OUR TERRITORY AT STAKE. Mr. MOW AT — " The elections which are now appro&ching are not to bu decided upon oitlinary grounds, or in reference to ordinary issues. The material question will not be in regard to acts of adminstration or of legislation on the part of the present Ontario Qovernment Indeed there is very little even preteudeu to be said against these acts ; but there are matters which the electors have to consider of much higher moment than the issues which were before them on the two previous occa- sions. You have now not to consider the particular acts of the Government, but half your territory is at stake ! (Hear, hear. ) At the elections which are now soon to be held you will liavo to take that course which will secure to you half your Province ! (Loud cheers.) "It is no bold thing to say that the disputed territoiy is yours ; that it be- longs to the Province. It is no new claim we are setting up to-day. Until the settlement w^ith the Hudson Bay Company, until a release was obtained by the Do« minion Government of their claims, no one in all Canada doubted, no one ever dis- puted that I know of, that this territory wh'cli is now disputed belonged to Upper Canada. As a part of that Province grants were made and justice was administer- ed in that territory ; our courts held jurisdiction there, and our Government in- sisted that they had jurisdiction there likewise. And who were those who made this admission ? Why, our great opponent now. Sir John Macdonald, was one. (Hear, hear. ) Sir Alexander Campbell was another of them. " We are told privately — the newspapers do not state it, but we are told pri- vately by friends of the Government — that the difficulty in giving effect to the Award, in permitting Ontario to incorporate this portion of her territory, arises from objections made to it from the other Provinces. But they do not tell you that the representatives of those other Provides were amongst those who before 1872 were as strong as anybody in asserting that all that territory belonged to Upper Canada ! Sir George Cartier, the trusted and chosen and esteemed leader of the Lower Canadians, was one of these. He joined in the declaration that the evidence in support of the contention tliat that tenitory was onrs was so clear that no one who made an impartial investigation of the evidence could doubt that it belonged to Upper Canada. Lower Canadians who were members of the Government took that view, and there were representatives from the Maritime Provinces after Confedera- tion who also took that view. " You will see, ih irefore, that when Ontario insisted that that territory was hers she was insisting on no new claim. She is merely insisting that that old ad- mission shall be still acted upon ; that as all her statesmen and peo]ne up to the period I have mentioned insisted that the territory was ours, so should the Government still contiij^ue to do ; so should the Parliament of Cana^la still continue to do. THE BASIS OF OUR CLAIMS. " But it is well that you should know exactly the grounds upon which our claim to the territory rests. It has been investigated by the ablest men in Upper Canada. We have never had in this Province a Chief Justice who possessed in a larger degree the confidence of the profession and the people than Chief Justice Draper. He was one of the most able, painstaking, and learned of the judges, and we have on record his opinion, deliberately given — after having been engaged in the study of ilxio c^uostion for many months, and after being employed specially on be- half of the Government of Canada — we have on record his opinion that the disputed territory extended at least as far as the ao'bitrators have given to us. You have, there* fore, a judicial opinion of the highed tkuthority in favour of insisting on our awardwl boundaries. H'.' m n u » « '' Then the matter was left t(» arbitratioa, and you had a iinauimous award — and from whom t You had another Chief Juitice investigating the ca«e — a Chief Justice standing hieh, and deservedly so, in public estimation — I lefer to Justice Harrison ; not a Liberal, but a ConservatiTe, and a personal friend of Sir John Macdonald himself. He came to the conclusion which you will find embodied in the award ; his judgment was that the awarded boundaries were the correct ones. You have also the opinion, after a like investigation, of one of the most eminent men in his line — Sir Edwartl Thornton — who was British Ambassador at WaBlungton and now is the British Ambassador at St. Petersburg ; a man of the highest qualifica- tions for an investigation of that kind. He came to the same conclusion as had been arrived at by Justice Draper and Justice Harrison, and so many of our statesmen and legislators previously. Sir Francis Hincks was the arbitrator chosen on that occasion on behalf of the Dominion ; he also investigated the "evidence in detail, and he arrived at the same conclusion. Now, it is perfectly idle to say, or for any one to pretend, that an award which accorded with the deliberate and well consider- ed opinion of such men as these havi any other foundation than the right of Upper Canada to its own boundaries. We have the right to these bouridaries, tvehmfethe atoard in our favor, and m repreaenHwj the people of Ontario we have stood by thess boundaries, and we mean to stand by thera. (Cheers.) SETTLEMENT BY ARBITRATION. ''It in now said that in entering upon an arbitration, in agreeing to leave the subject to those eminent men for decision, the Dominion Government ' transcended * its powers. That is the expression made use of in a despatch of the Dominion Government of about a year ago. It is certainly very strange that that discovery was never made until then ; it is very strange that the men who proclaim that opinion now kept it concealed in their own bitasts while the investigation was going on, when the reference took place, while the evidence was being collected, and when the arbitrators were appointed. It is very strange that year after year, while the sessions of Parliament were taking place, and something or other said about tlie reference, and the arbitration, and the boundaries of the country, that they should never have discovered that the Executive in entering upon that refer- ence was ' trauscendmg ' its powers. It is very strange that when the Govem- meni of the day asked for a vote of $15,000 for the purpose of defraying the expenses of that arbitration, no such statement was made. They sent forth no warning to the Province that the arbitration wouUl be nugatory and of no value. That statement is only made ichcnwehave succeeded in establishing our riyht to tht territory I Well, now, it is by means of an award that questions of this very kind are usually settled by Governments, and it is contrary to all modern precedent among civilized nations that after a matter has been left to arbitrators in good faith objection should be taken to fulfilling their award. (Cheers.) Our Govern- ment and Parliament have taken a course utterly withnnt precedent amonrj civilized nations, and we have been doing our best under these circumstances to maintain the rights of our Province. REFERENCE TO THE PRIYY COUNCIL. ** Lately the suggestion has been made that this matter should be left to the Privy Council. That proposition has to some persons a look of equity and reason, which, however, is on the surface only. In the first place, I may observe that there has been no offer on the part of the Dominion Govemnient of such a kind that it is possible for us to accept, or even to consider. If I were to accede to a proposal to leave the question to the Privy Council, not only would I be acceding to that 20 wliich it was unjust to demand, not onlv would I be putting this Province to an expense to which it ought not to be subjected, but I would be really enabling tht DotHtntOH Government to delay ind^nitely any settlement at all t (Hear, hear.) " Any lawyer knows that in order to bring a matter before the Privy Council every step in the process has to be consented to by all the parties to the case. In this instance t)ie proposal was, that besides the matters before tlie arbitrators any additional documentary evidence nii^ht be brought in. See how this would work. I prepare my list of documentary evidence and send it to Ottawa and Manitoba, as the consent of both the Ottawa and Manitoba Governments is necessary before another step can be taken, and they have an absolute discretion to delay just as long as they like in saying whether that list is acceptable or not. They, too, have the right to put in any documents in the matter, and delay just as long as they like in dcying so. A case has to be prepared for the Privy Council, and they may again delay as long as they wish. If I prepare one, they may delay as long as they like to say whether they approve of it or not, or in making any suggestions as to the same. " Before we could go to ths Privy Council there are many steps to be taken, but, briefly, all these require the consent of those two Governments, and not only their passive but their active consent, as we have no means of compelling such con- sent. We have no means of preventing delay, and you see what the consequences would be. It does not require a gi'eat deal of wisdom to see that it would bo a pretty long time before the ease would come up for decision. (Hear, hear.) Observe, while all this is going on the Dominion Government is still in possesshn of the territory, and the development of the countr%i is kept back. While all this is going on our timber is being destroyed and a hostiie population is occupying it, the only settlers being trespassers and squatters. There is, every year whicli passes, an enormous loss to this Province, and the longer the delay 13, of course the greater is the loss. A GAME OF DELAY. " We know what Sir John Macdonald's object is, and I have good cause for im- puting to the Dominion Government a disposition to delay this matter. It took then three years and a half to answer our proposals about the settlement of tliis matter. We were sending despatch after despatch, and the only answer we got was that they had been received, and that the matter would be duly considered ! (Laughter.) They now say that it should be left to the Privy Council. They know that the consent of Manitoba is now necessary to make such a reference of any consequence at all. " The Dominion Government themselves brought Manitoba into the question by passing an Act by which the concurrence of that Province would be necessary to any such step. While they pretend to be pressing for a reference to the Privy Council they nave never got the consent of Manitoba, or eveii ascertaiue*! whether Manitoba would give its consent, notwithstanding that the Parliament of that Province has beei> in session since the passing of Mr. Plumb's resolution regarding c reference to the Council. ^ » " All these things demonstrate that there is no reality in their proposals. " It is said that Sir John Macdonald is a pretty astute man, and I have no doubt he is, but I felt that, acting for the Province of OntiU'io, it was my duty to take care that the great man did not get the better of me in tliis matter. (Cheers •nd laughter.) If I had at once blindly consented to the proposal without any con- ditions, or ithout the conditions which ought to accompany such a proposal, t f liaving the matter left to the Privy Coiuicil, then i would have allowed myself to be caught by Sir John Macdonald. (Laughter.) He has not caught me yet, and 2 don't think he will. (Applause.) ^ It *4 ** 21 ^ NECESSITY FOR POSSESSION. " Now , it Ih of the utiuoBt importance to get nndisputeil possession of the territory at the earliest possible moment in order to the development of the country ; in order that we may see after the settlement and manageniont of the lands, and that we may prevent our forest wealth from being wasted and squandered, as they are now being. (Applause.) It is a disgrace to a civilized country that a teriitory of 100,000 8(^uare miles should be without any settled laws and government, M-hioh is the condition of things in this disputed territory. It might be worth our while to consent to refer this matter to the Privy Council // then will allow vh to have umlis- puUd poHsesition of it, arul if they will allow ua the undinputed right to hyislatc for it in the memtime. These things are necessary, and 1 am not afraid of their delay if they will consent to this, and I should be then quite willing to give them any re- ference they choose. (Applause.) I know we hnve a righteous cau^e, and I have no fear of the resultis of anotner enquiiy ; but / don't want the territorxj to ht itripped within the next ten years, wliich our opponents could easily accomplish within that time, if they live so long. (Applause. ) A CLEAR EXPRESSION OF OPINION CALLED FOR. "Now, what I want is this : I want an unmistakably clear expression of opinion from the people of Ontario as to whether they ai'e in favour of the policy of the GoveiT.inent of Ontario with respect to this territory, or the policy of the Dominion Government. (Cheers.) There was a time when it seemed as if the plain wishes of the people of Upper Canada were known ; there was a time when it seemed very plain what was the judgment of Upper Canada in reference to this territory. In the House of Assembly the representatives of the people of all parties for two successive years united, with the single exception of one member, in declaring that tliis award settled our rights, and calling upon the Government to maintain our rights. Then it could be seen that Ontar;'o was an unit in this matter. This was a time when the Government had a right to speak for Ontario as an unit, and in- sist upon the Award being recogniised. (Applause.) " This time has now passed — and why ? because our opponents have abandoned Ont&rio ; they have abandoned the just claims of their own Province, and taken a brief from the other side. They are now insisting that the Dominion Government is right, and the Boundary Award is incorrect, and that we should commence anew the litigfitiou. And as a further reason why we should do this they say that the peoplo of Ontario spoke with reference to this territory. We have had the Do- ininioii elections ; and there were very important issues at these elections about which our people were not agreed. I was then desirous of having these Provincial questions discussed at those elections, for I thought, personall^r, that the people might very well be asked to express their opinion on the Provincial issues. The people thought differently, and I cannot biame them for it. The majority were of opinion that the protective policjr was of more importance, and acted accordingly. " But what has the Dominion Government since claimed that the elections proved ? They claim that the verdict of the people was against the Local Govem- ncnt, aud that they had given a verdict in favour of the Dominion Government npon the matter of the Boundary Award, and that the people of Ontario were in favour of giving it up. Now, I want a clear and unmistakable expression of €])inion that they are for keeping this territory — (applause) — that they demand this territory. I want them to say that the verdict in the Dominion elections had nothing to do with these Provincial questions, and I have no fear of the vei'dict of the people not being iu accordance willi Provincial rights and Provincial interests. (Cheei-s.) 22 '' When I have obtained that verdict — as I hare no doubt I tliall do — I waul it to be an intimation to the Dominion Government, Mr. Monetioau. and tk« reprettentatives of the other Provinces that Ontario does demand this territory, an4 that it should be awarded to us at the earliest possible inonicnt. Why, we shoidd bo reduced to one of the smallest Provinces in the Dominion if we acceded to their demands. It ia for you to say what you want in this matter. (ApplauHe.) '' It is not often that the people have to deal with such a <{U(.>8tion ns thi^. It is not often that the people have to deal with a question involving half their territory, and decide whether it shall be 100,000 or 200,(H)0 sciuare miles. But yuu have that issue before you now, and the power of deciding it. That is a trust which you will b# bouiul to exercise your opinion on, and wliich you will detcrinino, f ant sure, in tho interests of the whole country. [Applause.) THE VALUE OF THE TERRITORY. " I have not alluded to the value of the territory. It matters not wliat th« value of the territory is ; but if it is of such little value as it ia falsely said from time to time to be, how is it that the other Provinces and the Dominion Oovom- ment are so determined that we are not to have it ? There is no difficulty in settlinf it if 8ir John is willing to settle. It requires only an Act of theirs to remove all controversy in the matter. If the property is of so little value, it is certainly extraordinary that we cannot get that little from them. If the good faith of tbtt Government is to be redeemed, then there will be no difficulty in settling all the matters in dispute." (Applause.) — Hon. Mr. Mowat at the Libcrcd Convention. THE ARBITRATORS AND THEIR WORK. Mr. MACKENZIE. — "It was during my own adminiHtval ion of affairs that the Arbitrators were appointed. We Hi-st apwintcd Judge Wihnot, from >' wBiunswick, who unfortunately died before the Bo:ird met. Then we appointed S Francis Hincks in his place. I nominated him as being a man in every way tiAoroughly capable of appreciating the position and deciding upon the merits of the case submitted. He recei\"Btl no instructions except to find the true boundaries, and he received all the pap)ers and books that were in our possession. *'Sir John Macdonald has claimed that there was not sufHcient time given the Arbitrators to discuss the question and ascertain the moril-s of the dispute. 1 can only say that Sir Edivard Thornton, the other arbitrator agreed U])on, liad all the books and papers in his possession for over two years, that Chief Justice Hurrisoii had all tlie papei-s for at least six or eight months, and that Sir Francis Hincks alsrt had all the documents in the case for some months. The Arbitrators had studied the question before coming to Ottawa, and you will ?ee, therefore, how imfuir it was to state that they had no time or opportunity to make up their minds or to search out the true state of the case, but that they came to Ottawa, Bta3cd there three days, and on the third day gave their judgment, after hearing incompetent lawyers. " I have only to say, as to the legal gentlemtu engaged in the case, that we employetl the present Judge Armour, who was engaged for a year or more m .study- ing the question on behalf of the Dominion, and all his researches weie placed at the disposal of the Commission through Mr. MacMahon, whom we selected to succeed Mr. Armour as our counsel, along with Mr. Monk, of Montreal. .Since I left office the present Administration have paid Judge Armour for his services the Bum of $2,000, yet they say there was no pro2>er legal representation of the case before the Arbitrators. (Hear, hear.) " The position we have to take to-day is that this arbitration was entered upon with the solemn and deliberate intention of abiding by the Award to i)c matio by M I» 23 » > « thoic thrftc Ai'bitrutoiM, or, tw it wwi exproNSiMl in our Oitiers in Council, tlwt it •bouI«aine plea. They would surrender territory equal to the present Pro- vince of Ontario because, forsootn, if they went to the Privy Council perhaps they could got iuore. They try to make the people and the House believe that they are ■inccre in this plea, but the answer is plain : 'If you are sincere, tell your new allies — the men who call your hjcal conventions and run them, tho men whom you follow — to give us the territory covered by the Award, and we will appeal to litigation if necessai-y to get the r«!st' (Hear, hear, and cheers.) " If Sir John Macdonald, as they aver, looks at the matter from that point of view, why dile are one upon the boundary question, as they are also upon that of their right to legislate upon their own local affairs." — Hon. A. S. Hardy at the Liberal Conventiotx, AN UNFAITHFUL AND PARTISAN OPPOSITION. Mr, BLAKE. — "Upon the Boundary Award the people of Ontario are prac- tically united. They have repeated in their Legislature in two successive sessions that the Award is right, that Ontario expected the Dominion Government to take the necessary steps in order that it may be finally settled upon that basis. Theni was a time, as a poet has said of ancieUt Kome, When none were for the party, When all were for the State, •nd we found the gentlemen in the Opposition standing to record their opinions— though they acknowledged it was against their f re lings — advprsely to the Government at Ottawa on this matter. But after two years ini re determined action was decide a series of resolutions uras adaptetl by the House declaring : (1) " That this Hoase believes itr to be of the highest importance to the interests of this Province, and to the securing of the peace, order, and good government of the said northerly and westerly parts of Ontario, that the rights of this Province r*s determined aiid declared by the award of the arbitrators appointed by the concur- rent agreement and action of the Governments of Canada and Ontario should be Srraly; maintained ;" and (2) **That this House will at all times give its cordial support to the assertion by the Government of Ontario of the just claims and rights of this Province, and to all necessary or proper measures to vindicate such just claims and rights, and to sustain the award of the arbitrators by which the northerly and westerly boundaries of this Province have been determined." EVSRY MEMBER OF THE OPPOSITION YjOTED FOR THl: SF. Rf;SOLUTIONS ! {Se6 Journals for 1880, p. IGO). In the session of 1881 another series of resolutions was adopted by the House oii the same subject, declaring : (1) " That the omission of the Government and Parliament of Canada to con- firm the Award is attended with great inconvenience, has the effect of retanliug settlement and municip d organization, embariusses the administration of the laws, and interferes wiih the preservation of the peace, the maintenance of order, and the establishment of good government in the northerly and north-westerly parts of the Province of Ontario ;" and (£.) " That it is the duty of the Government of Ontario to assert and maintain the just claims and rights of the Province as determined by the award of the arbi- trators ; and this House hereby re-affirms its determination to give its coi-dial support to the Government of Ontario in any steps it may be necessary to take to sustain the Award, and to assert and maintain the just claims and rights of the Proviuco as thereby determined." Every member of the Opposition, with one solitary kxcfptio-, voted FOR these Resolutions ! {See Jonrnah for 1881, p. 150.) * , In the session of 1882, after twice publicly pleil^ing themselves to sustain the award of the arbitrators, the members of the Opposition turned round in a body and abandoned the award ; and in the session of 1883 they have by fomial resolu- tion declared that the whole matter should be referred for decision to the Privy Council of England. It is little wonder that the leader of the Opposition, in reflecting upon this record, should be led to confess : " It will be said that I and the Oppositioh I LEAD have proved TRAITORS TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF 0nT.\RI0, AND FALSK TO OUR TRIE position AS HER REPRESENTATIVES !" " YeSf the electors of Ontario will say^ tlMt describes the situntio^n txa.ctly ; and im will tale good care that men ipho have praved themselves trai-tors to our best interests in Opposition xrill not gtt a chance of proving tJietns«lve« still greater traitors in th« G ;* ^^^1 CI emmer *»» ■ n CONFIDENCE IN MR. MOWAT. '^i If That this Convention of the Reformers of Ontario recognizes with pride and pleasure the fidelity to Liberal principles which hayo been evinced through a long series of administrative and legislative acts by the Reform Governments and Legislatures of the Province for the last eleven years, and deem it to be the bounden duty of all true Liberals to strengthen to the uttermost the hands of the Hon. Oliver Mowat, our worthy leaJder, and his colleagues, at this critical period in our Provincial history. — Resolution of the Liberal Conven* iion,188J. The following address was presented to Hon. Mr. Mowat at the Reform Ccii* ▼cntion, 1883 : . To the Honorahh Oliver Mowat, Q.G., M.PP., LL.D., Her Majesf}/s Attorney- General for Ontario, andPremierofthe Province . Sir, — This large and thoroughly representative Convention of the Reformers «f Ontario has sought the earliest opportunity of tendering you an expression of their earnest esteem and unwavering confidence. Ever since your entiy into public and Parliamentary life, now more tBan twenty-five years ago, you have filled a prominent place in Canadian history ; and daring that long period neither the malignity of dikeated opponents nor the bitter- ness of a partisan press has dared to breathe a charge against your integrity or your honor. In the earlier years of your public life you stood in the front r^ik of those who did battle for the rights of Upper Canada ; and in these latter days you are our chosen leader in the struggle for Provincial Bights. As you succeeded once in achieving your purpose, not by rending asunder, but by assisting to lay the founda- tions of a greater Canada, so we believe that you will again strengthen our Federal ■ystem by showing the sister Provinces that Ontario is the first to resist encroach* ments upon Provincial rights — ^be they legislative or be they territorial. If tne Bench lost one of its most useful occupants when you yielded to a call of duty and again ventured upon the troubled sea of politics, the statute books «f Ontario for the last ten years are unanswerable evidence of how great ha« been the country's gain. Possessing the uniform confidence of the Legislature, you have led its members stciidily forward in the path of law reform, and have also prepared for their consideration measures of practical value wherever there were improvements to bo made or abuses to be corrected. When it is considered how closely the social happiness and the material prosperity of the people are identified with the subjects of Provincial legislative authority, it is manifestly of tlie high- est importance to the whole community that services such as yours should bd both recognized and sustained. While the administration of Provincial finances by your Government has been charactorized by prudence and economy, there has been no failure on their part to promote by jivlicious exi>en'litare all projects of undoubted public luofulncss or necessity. 2S Unceasing and Mpeciat exerlioua appear to hare Men made by yourself and yuu? eolIeajg^efl,to encourage and develop in every way the great agricultural interests of (Ontario, und V"^ ^' gi'^^^fyf^S^'* l^^^^^^'^ftt these efforts have been crowned with signal success. This address would fail to express our true sentiments were we not to refer to some of those personal qualities for which you are distinguished. Intellectual power alone will not attract and retain a political following;;. You combine with it a rare faculty of winning the confidence and regard of ail with whom you coma in contact. No one can say that you refuse to give weight either to the advice of friends or to the arguments of opponents. Without abandoning your o\\ti con- victions you can take a broad and statesmanlike view of contrary opinions, and even honest prejudices receive from you a generous toleration. You are about to appeal, for the third time, to the people who make and unmake their rulers in this free country. Your first appeal was successful ; in your second a still greater measure of public confidence was given to you ; and in the recent bye-elections there was undoubted evidence that this confidence is increasing. In the approaching general election you may rely upon a united and enthusiastic support from the entire Liberal party, and there is much to indicate that there are numbers in every constituency who will rise superior to party ties and still assist in retaining you in power. That you may be long sparod to direct the. aff iir.< of your native Province, and that health arid happiness may attend you, are the heartfelt jvishea of the Reform Convention of 1883. WHY MUST MOWAT"aO?" Mr. ROSS — "The cry has gone forth from the Opposition campthat Mowat must go ; buti bvlieve that the thoughtful, sober minded electors of Ontario will be inclin- ed, as I am, to enquire Why must Mowat go ? Is it because of the financial adminis- tration of his Government 1 I ask the electors of this Province to consider the fact that they have still a surplus of five million dollars in the Treasury, after millions of dollars have been expended on railways, on schools, on public institutions, on public works, »and on. colonization roads. I ask them to consider another fact — and that is, thai the suspicion of scandal has not attached to the expenditure of a single dollar of that money. (Cheers. ) In face of these facts are you willing that Mowat shall go ? (Cries of " No, no. ") I believe the electors of Ontario will answer ** No." "Is it, then, because of the legislation which the Mowat Government has passed that it* must go V The answer, is, that in almost every matter of importance affecting the welfare of the people the Government has legislated wisely and well. It has placed on the statute book nieasures regarding municipal institutions, public schools, drainage, public institutions, law and equity. And when the ques- tion is asked, ' What amendments have the Opposition proposed to that legisla- tion ?' The ans^ver is ' None.' Is this a record which would justify you in seconding the cry that * Mowat must go ?' " " Andther question will occu to the electors, and that is, if Mowat must go, whom are you going to put in his place ? Is it Mr. Oscar Wilde Morris / That would be too utterly utter! (Laughter.) Mr. William Rightabout Meredith ? That would hardly do, for without reference to the intellectual capacity of these gentlemen, I believe the people of Ontario want men to govern them who are in accord with their own sentinients, and the ruling sentiment in Ontario at this junc- ture is that Provincial rights must be maintained." ((J\xecv<.) - George W. Koss^ ALP., at the Libcrui Cunnjutiou. M 29 . ^^1 \ ^ •M " WILL KNOW THE REASON, WHY r.. Mr. BLAKE— 'M rejoioe to kiiow thai the call of our friend who has just adi« dres.sed you (Mr. Mowat) has beenanswered in such as'piritvand that from all qualv ters of this Province — from points hvindreds of miles distant — inen have come to tak« part in the deliberations of this body. It is all the more honour to him, because they are representative men — the leaders of the thought of their party — and they have come together at an important juncture in the affairs of their Province. This gather- ing reminds me of what happened many years ago in a coimty in old England, when theie were more arbitrary times than now, and wheii the conduct of a leading man demanded, not that he ' must go,' but that he must die. Then the cry of the Coniish men was : " And shall Trelawny die ? And shall Trelawny die ? . Then thirty thousand Cornish men • Shall know the reason why." (Applause.) Arul so does the Reform party of Ontario answer the insulting taunt that ' Mowat must go ! ' " — Hon. Edward Blake at the Liberal Convention. A GOVERNMENT FOR THE PEOPLE. go'- Mr. RYAN ~ " The Mail has started the cry that * Mowat must (laughter) — and the cry has been echoed by the minor Tory leaders in the preas and on the platform, but this magnificent gathering is an answer to that cry — an answer so emphatic, so unmistakable, that it will carry consternation into the ranks of the enemy, and foreshadow the result of the contest upon which we will shortly enter. (Cheers.) I am aware, and so is everyone present who knows anything of the history of public affairs in this Province, that the present Administration \a one that deserves the fullest confidence of those for whom it was formed— tho democracy of this country. " I believe I am tolerably familiar with the affairs of those countries of the world that are constitutionally governed, and I doubt if there can be foimd any- where a Government which more fully and more deservedly possesses the confidence of the sovereign body— the people — than [^does the Government of the flonorable Oliver Mowat. (Loud cheers.) "Questions of great pith and moment are 'now before the people of this Province ; and I feel persuaded that the electors will give no uncertain sound as to their appreciation of a Government against whom no breath of scandal has been uttered, against whom not the slightest charge of jobbery or corruption has been brought, and from whose supporters there has never gone forth any such cry as ' Send me another ten thousand.' " — (Loud cheers.) — Aid. Peter liyan at the Liberal Convention^ PREPARE FOR THE CONTEST. Mr. MOWAT—" We have been discussing the great questions at iss\ie in th!s country just now ; they have been set before you over and over again ; your mincU are full of them. Yon see thu are strong men, ©very one of you, in ytur f r 30 )^l oWh localities. Every one of you can do mi^lity work in the approacliing electionf, and I call upon you to do that vrork. (Loud cheen, and cries of ' We wilL') **Itis th« cidhptHtf affeeting Hit tnoat important iiUeretU of the country. You we the aoldiera in that battU^ and I eaii on you to st-and firm. (Chtcrs. ) Every man of you ha8 a duty toperfi>rn\j and let everyone feel U to he his duty from this time wntU ^^ion day to do ail that man can for Hie object we have in vieWf viz. , to secure thos6 rights which your love for your cmintrtf maka ymi ana;toi(« alxmt now. (Hear, hear.) Whatever you can doy it m tfte houndtn duty of every. man of you to do it, and I know that you will. (Oieers.) "Kind words witu regard to mj'^self have been said from this platform and expressed in the resolutions, while kinder sounds still I have heard from this audience. They have excited the most grateful feelings in my mind and in the minds of my colleagues. You have plac^ upon us a fresh obligation, a greatly increased obligation to do our duty. It now remains for you to do yours — (cheers) —and Reformers when they see their duty have never yet failed to perform it. ** In an ordinary election it is <][uite sufficient that you shoidd return the Government (of your choice by a majority that will enable them to carry their measures ; but the present contest is one of a peculiar character. It is the Dominica against Ontario, and your objects cannot be accomplished unless you ^ve us a large amount of moral strength in the contest. We want not merely a majority of votes in the Assembly, but that moral strength which the general voice of the people, which a large majority gives, and which it alone gives. ''Wherever you now have a Reform member, you must ewoll hie majority At the next eleoticm. (Cheers.) Where you have a cloee constituency which is BOW represented by a Beformer, 3rou must see to it that it shall be represented by a Beformer after the next election. rity th is Qted tory hlch ach- ter- lays ireelf wiU T 81 Out\ space in iJtis pamj^iletwUl permit of but a ehovt resum^ of the undoubted fads avMainvfig the unanswerable positions taken up in a few of the 'remaining resolutions. Thai we now proceed to give : 4.-THE FEDERAL UNION. « Tlie Federal Union of the Provinces vtm the result of Reform agitation car- ried on for many years against a system under which Upper Canada was mled by a Lower Canadian majority, aided by a minority in this Province. Local Belf-|;overnment was the end and aim <^ Confederation ; without it the federal ■ystem would never have been adopted and could never have been carried out. Th^ charge that the Reform party'are theenemies oi the Union is untrue in itself and untrue to our history. Its enemies are those who seek to wrest from the* provinces that full control in local matters which the Confederation Act conferred upon them, and without which thoy would never have entered the Union 6. THE LEGISLATrV'E RECORD. Mr. Mowat's ever present desire that justice should be administered cheaply and eiliciently naturally made him, on re-entering public life in 1872, a law re- former. His experience at the Bar and on the Bench enabled him to become a law reformer of the most thorough type. Wherever the law was weak he strenffthcned it; wherever it wiis unjust he amended it. Besides the voluminous public and private acts passed by him' the great work of revising the Statutes of Ontario was accomplished in 1877, while in 1881 he succeedcni perfectly in his self-imposed task of revolutionizing the Superior Courts, simplifying the practice, shortening the procedure, and lightening the cost of litigation. His legislation has been fair to all alike. He has known no race, creetl, or colour. He has striven to elevate the condition of bis fellow-men, and secure to them all the privileges of citizenship. His career as a hard-working Attorney-General and law reformer is without parallel on this continent. 8. THE PROVINCIAL FINANCES. These are in a most healthy condition. During the last eleven years not only has the Government carried out on its regular legisJativ© and executive functions, btit it lias distributed to the people over $25,000,000' To assist the education of the people it has given $4,344,558.08 ; to assist the counties to administer justice it has given $1,397,050.76. ; to assist the vicious and afflicted which otherwise would have been cared for by private or municipal benevolence, it has contriljuted $4,481,602.94 ; whilst to build the institutions in which to acconnrtodato them it has spent $2,836,838.01. To encourage the great agricultural industry there has been spent $1,063,794.22, and in adding half a niillion acres to the Province there has been used $639,402.07. In building roads opening up the newer lands there has been spent $1,079,211.34 ; and in getting settlers to fill them there has been used $725,- 030.44. To wipe out a Municipal Loan Debt of $12,000,000, some $3,389,828.84 was paid the unindebted municipalities toward building roads, gaols, schools and hundreds of other local improvements ; and in assisting the building of 26 railways extending like a network through the Province, there has been distributed $3,362,- 970.57. And yet there is a surplus of $4,825,586 in the Treasunr. And no charge of corruption has yet been made in the vast expenditure of all these mont^ys. All has been spent wisely, judiciously and economically, There is no other Province in the Dominion, and no State in the American Union, that can show so gi-and a record in it financial department. 32 I > 12. TIMBER INTERESTS. IThese interests have been managed with great skill and ;n'eat inte^Tity. During the last ten years there have been sold of the public lands 774,033 acres, or an average of over 77,000 acres per annum. During the same time there have been issued 3,830 timber licenses, covering 15,612 .vincifles ho has so aealously laaintained in the past.