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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. rata o )elure. 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 '?«' ON THE ADDRESS, Mr. Davin on the Trade Question^ — The Member for Wes Assiniboia Makes a Powerful Speech on the Government's Shortcomings — The Result of the Old National Policy — The Grit Application Thereof. K?^ The following is the full text of Mr. Dav^n's speech on the Addrees in reply to the Speech fron the Throne: Mr. Speaker, I rise to express the opinion of one coming from the North- west Territories in regard to the Speech from the Throne; si also rise to say something of the grand political situation in this House and in the country as suggested by the Speech from the Throne and illustrated by the debate. Sir, the debate thus .far is the most extraordinary debate which, I believe, has ever taken place on an Address in any Parliament Sir, from this side of the House two powerful arraignments of the Government's position have been ^made; but from th@ Ministerial bencnes, although the two foremost men on that side of the House have spoken,, the replies have taken the character of playful badin- age, as though the right Uon. gentle- man who weare now Grand Cross of SL Michael and St George, the Min- ' later of Trade and Commerce, thought that the people ot tJanada took no stock whatever in the charges made by hon. gentlemen from this side of the House, or else thought that to those charges there was no answer possible, and that therefore the best way to cover up was' by trying to make a Joke and then sitting down, in the vain hope — vain assuredly it is — that the people of Canada, or, at least, the Liberals of Canada, would be taken in by a policy so obvious as that Now, Sir, it has been a very peculiar de bate, and I want to call attention to one of its pecularities. We have had several comparisons. The Prime Min- ister compared the leader of the Oppo> sttion to a very famous character in classical poetry. Now, my right hon. friend will excuse me if I tell him that there is no such character In Homer or in Shakespeare a» Thers'tes. but there is Thersites (Laughter and cheers.) My hon. friend throws ba4;k his head. My hon. friend is eloquent in two languages, and it is therefore excuaable,when speaking in the tongue that was originally loreign to him, but in which he is now a master of ex- pression, that he should oocasionaJIy mispronounce a word. But he knows as well as I do that in academic halls he was guilty of an unpardonable of- fence in making the 1 ;»hort in Ther- sites. However, it was a very extra- ordinary and inapt comparison, be- cause Thersites is a low ill-shaped railer against the great men of Greece in the Trojan war. The ex-Minister of Finance com- pared the Minister of Marine and Fisheries to Ajax. And in the play of Troilius and Cressida Thersites rails at Ajax and rails even at Achilles^ but this is to be noted that in nearly ev- erything he said of Ajax, all who knew /anything of Ajax would agree with him. Hon. members have all been in the oompai*ative line in this debate. My hon. friend who leads the Opposition compared the right hon. gentleman to Prince Maurice de Tal- leyrand, and I leave that where it is. The Prime Minister compared the Finance Minister to Alexander of Maoe- don. I wish I had a spiritualistio iiiiita mum imm m M ON THE ADDRESS. telephone and could transmit the com- pliment to the great leader of armies wherever he may be. (Laughter.) Then the ex-Finanoe Minister com- pared — ^I am bound to say that when comparisons come from this side of the Houise and I do not agree with thiem, I am prepared to express my opinion — compared, not I thinlc very appropriately, the Prime Minister to Nebuchadnezzar. I do not recognize the appropriateness of the compari- son of the leader of the Opposition to Thersites any more tham that made by the Minister of Trade and Commerce when he compared the leader of the Opposition, not to an individual, but to the whole body of the Israelites of of Egypt spoiling the Egyptians and then going out into the wilderness to search for gold. But they did not go to search for gold; they went into the wilderness to go to the promised land and were fed on manna in the meanwhile. If the hon. member for Cape Breton (Sir 'Charles Tupper) is now in the wilderness, he is as certain to go to the promised land as were the children of Israel, although to do it would not take forty years. (Cheers.) Let me say, as I am speaking of the forms of these speeches, that the Min- ister of Trade and . Commerce — I am sorry he is not in his place — for a man of hia experience in Parliament, for a n^an of his social culture, was guilty of one of the most extraordi- nary parliamentary crimes that has been ever committed. What was that? I deprecate, unless under extreme ne- cessity, bringing the name of His Ex- cellency into debate in this House. But what did the Minister of Trade and Commerce do? He actually made ai reference, which I have here — it would be unbelievable if I could not refer to it— in order, as he thought, to make a point. Because the leader of the Opposition brought before the House certain utterances of His Excellency — the Minister of Trade and Commerce actually suggested that my honorable friend should not have done what no doubt he' thought was his duty. And why? Not because it was wrong, not because it was an unpar- liamentary proceeding, but because he was the recipient of a tribute from their Excellencies on an interesting occasion. This is what the Minister of Trade and Commerce said at the close of his suggestion that it was the Tory party that burnt down the Parliament buildings: "If I am not altogether mistaken "in recalling a certain interesting oc- "caaion, not so very long ago, in this "city, among the many costly tributes "which were tendered to the hon. "gentleman, not the least costly, not "the least elegant, was one present- "ed by the exalted personage referred "to. Therefore, I i»fer that the hon. "gentleman is not so implacable ad he "seems." What the hon. gentleman means to suggest is that the acceptance of a present or gift from a man occupy- ing an august position, by a man oc- cupying one of the highest positions in the Colonial Empire of Britain would be something in the nature of a bribe, a bribe for silence or for ex- pressed flattery. It is one of the most scandalous things that ever took place in Canada, and it is especially scandalous coming from a man of the years and authority and occupying the position of Minister of Trade and Commerce. (Cheers.) The right hon, gentleman (Sir Wil- frid Laurier) used a phrase which I believed has been unjustly dealt with on this side of the House and even by his own colleagues. I ^ftlieve in- justice has been done to him. The right hon. gentleman said trfat when the historian sat down to Write of Canada he would take the years 1867 and 1897; and I must say the hon. member for York fell into what I deemed an error. He fell into this in- terpretation of the remark of the Pre- mier, that what he meant waa this, that the historian would be troubled exceedingly by the wonderful events that occurred in the summer of 1896 and he would have nothing to say respecting all the events that* passed during the previous thirty years, but he would»write a history of the coun- try from 1897 on; and the Minister of "♦ -'I ^;» f ' w'"»!ri^%i; '!)' -'/{< ♦ ^ ^ fl V ^> ON THE ADDRESS. / Trade and Commerce actually flouted the idea, scouted the idea, drew him- self up and put on the the most in- dignant countenance, and it is a coun- tenance which from long practice can look fierce. and indignant to an ex- treme degree, and he said, in effect: do you suppose the historian would bother himeelf with the events of the last thirty years? What I fancy the right hon. Prime Minister, and he will correct me if I am wrong, intended was that 1867 was the beginning of an epoch -.and as that year was the beginning of an epoch so 1897 was the beginning of an epoch too. That is a. rational statement on the face of, it, and it is not open to the laughter that would greet a proposition thai the historian would not note what had taken place for thirty years. What was the note of 1867 and the note of those thirty years? National expansion. Who were the men who gave the keynote at that time? They were Macdonald, Tupper, Cartler, George Brown and D'Arcy McGee. Those powerful minds, some of whom remained with us until lately, and one leading name still adorns this House. (Cheers.) I repeat, what was the note of those thirty years? It was national expan- sion, the national expansion of Can- ada. And in the hands of the Con- servative party, what was done? Pro- vince after province was added to the confederation; the Canadian Pacific railway was built, the canals were enlarged and deepened, the Northwest was acquired, and at last, Canada was rounded into the proportion of a na- tion, so that when the Prime Minister went over to represent us in England at the Jubilee, he represented not a mere colony like New South Wales or Victoria, but he represented seven colonies, and a vast territory of con- tinental proportions, a galaxy of col- onies, he represented a country that w^as bound to take pre-eminence • and to take national bulk in the eyes of the Empire and the world. And what did it? It was the note of na- tional expansion and the men whose inspiration that note was; some of these men are sleeping in their peace- ful graves, but their names live for ever, and one of them though sleep- ing in his long home in the Kingston graveyard, lives by his name and his thoughts, so that today we can say of him as the poet of Albrecht Durer, and which has been translated by Longfellow, who may be thus parod- ied: "Dead he is not, but departed; "Because the truly great man never "dies." A Change of Government. Well, Sir, in 18V3 a change took place. The Government was not beat- en, but Sir John Macdonald resigned, and why? It was because he and his Government had made a contract with Sir Hugh Allan and the charge against Sir John was, that he sold the con- tract. It was supposed to have been an extravagant bargain, but at this day Liberals and Conservatives, and all thoughtful men know that so far from being an extravagant bar- gain, there is not an engineer of au- thority you can speak to who will not say: Neither-' Sir Hugh Allan or any com- pany could have built the road on the terms that were made with him; and as for selling the charter, that charge has been long since exploded. What happened then? Well, as may be seen in this country to-day, as was seen in 1896, and as has been seen all through our history, the Conservative party is much more sensitive in regard to the character of its public men than tlie Liberal party. Some hon. members on the Minister- ial benches:— "Oh." Mr. Davin. Yes, it is true, and there is a reason for it. That 'reason I need not refer to in a detailed analysis, but if you go into the past history of both parties you know very well that not merely did the genius of rule and the instinct of Government belong to the Conservative party, out from one rea- son or another they had within them more of the light of culture than had the Liberal party. Liberal cries of: "Oh." Mr. Davin. That is no reproacb to Y ON THB ADDBBSS. the Liberal party; they eould not help it probably, (laughter), but any way it is a fact Now, Sir, 'the result ct that charge made In 1873 was that It created a furore throughout all Can- ada, and ConBervatives that never cast a Orlt vote in their lives, voted Grit in 1874 when Mr. Mackenzie went to the country. And some, of those elec- tors who came back in Sep- tember, 1878, to put the Conservative party in power, and many of their children and their re- latives voted again against the Con- servatives in 1896. They voted against the Conservatives last election not en- tirely because of /the school question, for tbey were dissatisfied about other matters as well, but amongst us in the Northwest Territories and in Mani- toba, the language of my right hon. friend (Sir Wi'frid Laurler), the lan- guage that he used from Hal- ifax to Vancouver, the' language that the used in the Windsor Hotel at Montreal, when the banquetting room was placarded with "Death to protection," and every possible motto that could indicate that protection was a curse to the i country, the lan- guage of the right hon. gentleman at Sohmer Park, and at Winnipeg where he declared: "Protection was slavery as bad as African slavery in the South," and he would rescue us; all that had something to do with changing Conservative votes into Liberal votes. Then the right hon. gentleman came to Moosomin, and dwelt iupon the dreadful iniquity of the tax on farming implements frcm which he would re- lieve us; at Regina the same silver voice declared that he would leave no tax on implements, and at Moose Jaw when he asked what the freight rates were, he said it was a dreadful thing, and he was going to sweep away the freight rates. Thence he went to British Columbia, and where- ever he went he 'Just said the thing that at that moment would please the p^ple, and many of the people be- lieved him. Does the right hon. gentleman sup- I^QBO for one moment that the people of the cotmtry did not ;takei him ser- ieusly? They did take him seriously. They voted for him and they said: We will take your note of hand. But now that he has been in power twen- ty months, and in his third session, they say: We^want you «to redeem your notes, we have had enough of the sunny ways, do you suppose that your promises aoid lyour pledges are to be regarded as mere barren brambles in these sunny ways? In this year of 1897 our counttry'has had national ex- pansion; we are over five millions of people and the credit of Canada stands as high to-day almost as that of the mother country in the money markets of the world. The portals of time are thrown open. Are these gentle- men, who are now clothed with power, who have the priestly garments of the time on, in whose hands fate has put the wand of office; 'arei they able to pronounce the shibboleth which en- titles them to enter these portals? The portals of timef^are thrown open to admit the new era, and do these hon. gentlemen know the word that will ^entitle them to enter? Sir, the note of these thirty years was national expansion, but the note of 1897, and for the immediate future which lies beyond, is Colonial equal- ity in Imperial Union. (Loud cheers.) Can these gentlemen opposite pro- nounce the word? They feel the breeze and power of the time in their garments, and they look down the road that 'should be taken, but it is with a haggard and restless and un- familiar eye, and they are afraid to tread the path that fate calls on this country to take. (Renewed cheers.) I say that the note of this time is Colonial equality in 'Imperial Union, and when the right hon. gentleman went to England he should have sounded that note; we expected him to sound it. He did not represent the Liberals alone — and we know from . the member for Centre Toronto (Mr. Bertram) that there are Liberals who are preferential trade men — but he represented Conservatives as well; and from the language that we, and I in my humble way used in this House, when he was about to start, to the V M '^^^ ! i '■i. '?A:. m |V \} ^ ON THB ADDRB88. best of our power we gave him a Qod- speed and declared our confidence In him as a man fit to repreeent nn in England. But the right hon. gentle- man apparently did not kitow; some extraordinary spell was on him, the language that he used In Montreal, and in Toronto, and In St. Johns, was forgotten; there was some malison on blm, mo that one co\ild apply to him the words of the great modern poet: .^^y "How could the light 'that lit youi for ' "a space "Fall through sick weakness of a "broken will "To the dead cold damnation of dis- "grace?" Now, Mr. Speaker, I want to call the attention of the House for one moment to (what is not in the Speech, and which we Western membeps have a right to expect I see the Minister of the Interior' (Mr. Sifton) has left the Chamber. When he heard me mention the word Mooeomin, I saw he took to his 'heels, because I man- age to make even him hear me when I speak on Northwest matters. Mr. Bennett He has gone to read Dan Rose's book. Mr. Davin. Dan Rose's book? Do you suppose that is what is in his mind now? No. He silently dreams of the golden crop 'that is to come to him from Klondyke arrangements. Dan Rose's book forsooth! it is but the narrow-neckad clams that give appetite to the feast that is before him. Now, Sir, the hon. Minister of the Interior told us at Moosomin that he was opposed to the National Pol- icy. He denounced the National Pol- icy; he condemned it. Sir, the Na- tional IPolicy is there to-day. It was a pleasant thing to me as an old Tor- ontonian to 'see the face of the mem- ber for Centre Toronto (Mr. Bertram), but, Sir, It was of ill-omen to the far- mers of this country to see the Address moved in this House by a leading manufacturer, and to hear that hon. ,. 1 (, gentleman assure us that the manufac- 1 turers need not be afraid — ^that though fbr a time they had no confidence In the (libeTals, yet now they knew the IdberalSt and they knew they could 'b have confidence in them. (Hear, hear.) What does that mean? It means tlhat he knew tliat the Govern- ment were not going tc carry out their pledges to the farmers. But of still worse somen was it jwhen the Prime Minister brought a certificate of char- acter—to whom? The Prime Minister has been held up to us In the West as the good Samaritan who was to heal our ills, the liberator who was to free us from slavery, and to break the chains of protection on our ankles^ and the gyves on our wrists, put there by the trusts ^nd (combines of the manufacturers; and to whom does the Prime Minister fly for a certificate of character? To Mr. ^Oumey, who is not only a great mai^ufacturer, but the head of the greatest trust on this «on- tinent, the stove trust (Hear, hear.) It is very like a man who has posed as a saint going to the master of the in- fernal regions '.for a certificate of his purity. (Cheers and laughter.) Well, Sir, we expected to see some evidence in the speech that we would get tarifll reform. We expected to see something about coal oil; we expected to see an announcement from the Minlsterlof the Interior that we would have a Bill bearing on Dominion. lands» which would get rid of the odd sec- tions in the I Northwest Territories, which also the hon. gentleman prom- ised us at Moosomin. We expected to see something about the Hudson's Bay Railway. But not one of these things is to be found in the Speech. New, is it a wrong thing to hold pub- lic men to their pledges? I am sorry the hon. Minist^ of Trade and Com- merce (Sir Richard Cartwright) is not here, but I am going to quote him. Sir Charies Hibb«it Tupper. Where did he go? Mr. Davin. Oh, I think he thought that I might deal with him. The Kib- ist^ of Trade and Commerce < is not here to hear It, but the country's ear is open, and to-morrow morning the country will hear what the hon. gen- tleman said. On page 183 of a pam- phlet of speeches published in 1878, Mr. Cartwright, as he then, was «Bid: i MM w ON TH£> ADDBEiSS. Mr. /Wood (Hamilton). Why go back so far as that? Mr. Davin. Are they afraid of their utterances Mr. Speaker? This Is a statement >of a general truth that I am going to quote, and I ask the at- tention of my hon. friend from Hamil- to It: "I aay that It Is our duty to stamp "the mark of public reprobation, as I "do, on men who have proved out of "their own mouths thus false to the "high trusts you committed to their "hands." Well, Mr. Speaker, Is it necessary for me to quote the promises made by the Prime Mlnlsterfto reduce the tariff to take the duty off coal; to take the duty off coal oil \>r to greatly reduce it; to relieve the agriculturists as re- gards Implements? It is not neces- sary; they are well known; and to re- fer to them and point to this speech is to make the greatest possible con- demnation of /the Prime Minister and his colleagues. But, Sir, I am not going to content myself with that. I will not go so far back as 1878. I have something very Intersting here. If you examine, as I have lately done, the tariff as it wa^ in 1881, you will find that within a fraction it is very much the same as the tariff of ; to-day. The tariff of to-day, in regard to many things a poor man buys, is higher than that of 1881. Now, I ask your attention to this language, referring to the tariff of 1881: "The N. P. Imposed a rate of duties "that largely increases the cost of "sugar, that increases the cost of "stoves and hardware, that increases "the cost of ploughs and all agrlcul- "tural implements, that makes cottons "and woollens dearer than would have "been the case under the previous "tariff, and- that benefits a few indi- 'viduals at the expense of the masses. "To show, for Instances, how the Can- "adlan farmer is made "to pay for his "whistle" 'by the present tariff, " This is as true of this tariff as of the tariff of which it was written: " ^we may adopt an ll^stratlon of "a day's work and life on a farm. "which cannot be questiouo.i ^n the "ground of accuracy. The taxaior "starting to his work has a shoe put "on his horse with nails taxed 41 per "ceht, with a hammer taxed 40 per "cent, cuts a stick with a knife taxed "27 1-2 per cent, hitches his horse to "a plough taxed 30 per cent, "with "chains taxed 27 1-2 -per cent. He "returns to his home at night and lays "his weary limbs on a sheet taxed 30 "per cent, and covers himself with "a blanket that has paid 70 per cent "He rises in the morning, puts on hfs "humble flanne\ shirt taxed 60 per "cent, shoes taxed 30 per cent, hat "taxed 30 per cent, reads a chapter "from his Bible taxed 7 per cent " I believe that tax is now off. I re- member that it was said of a lawyer who used to drive a very hard bill, that before he sat down to write it he said his prayers. " — and kneels to his God on a cheap "carpet taxed 30 per cent He sits "down to breakfast: eats from a plate "taxed 40 per cent, with knife and "fork taxed 30 per cent, drinks his "cup of coffee or tea sweetened with "sugar taxed 45 per cent, seasons his "food with salt taxed 35 per cent, "pepper 35 per cent, or spice 35 per cent. He looks around upon his wife "and children, all taxed in the same "way—" Now, mark this, and I call the atten- tion of the First Minister to it— " — takes a chew of tobacco taxed "100 per cent—" Well, tobacco is higher now; I sup- pose it is taxed 125 per cent. " — and if he Indulges in a cigar he "has first to pay a tax of 120 per cent, "and then he is expected to thank "John A. that he lives under the freest "Government under heaven." What we would write down now is that he is expected to thank Sir Wil- frid Laurier that he lives under a Government^that keeps everyone of its pledges. Now, as bearing on that topic, let me show you this illustration, and I may tell you that it is one which has created some feeling throughout .1 1 7 ON THB ADDRBSS. t /, the Northwest Territories. There Is not a shop In the Territories where tobacco Is sold, in which the man in- side the counter does not say to th« purchaser: Which will you have? This Is the* Conservative plug, and here Is the Liberal plug. I now show you, Mr. Speaker, a specimen of each plug and can anyone be surprised that the customer should say; Olve me the Cftnservatlve plug for that is a solid plug. Yes, Mr. Speaker, it Is, and just compare it with the other — the Liberal plug. Well, there is the same difference between th* Liberal policy and the Conservative policy. The Conservative policy Is solid and sound and what it professes to be, but the Liberal policy is just as that Liberal plug of tobacco — too light, and the people will not have it. Neither will they long stand the light weight which these gentlemen are now deal- ing out to them. Let me read further from this, which was the campaign sheet of the Liberal party In 1882. It is headed "Taxes" — and mark you, Mr. Speaker, the present Government have kept the tariff about the same as it was In 1881, which they then so vigorously denounced, as you will see by this pamphlet Here is what I find at the very start in this pamphlet: "Taxes. — Sir John, by hiSiNatlonal "Policy, committed himself to the pol- "icy of levying taxes on grain and "coal." Well, we can likewise say that Sir Wilfrid Laurler, by retaining that same tariff today, has commited him- self to the policy of levying taxes on grain and coal. Then the pamphlet goes on: "Such a tax has raised the price of "every ton of coal the poor man has "to buy." Why, we know It has, especially we the Northwest where fuel Is dear and scarce; and these hon. gentle- men opposite have consequently not kept their promise to the poor man, when, by their tariff, they retain this tax. I further read: "The tax on coal has also Increase .1 "the cost of production. An Increase "in the cost of production reduces "the profits of mantttacturera^a r»- "ductlon of their profits lowers the "rate of the workingmar'" wages. It "at the same time raises the price of "fuel to the workingman, as the tkx "on wheat has raised the price of Us "bread. Sir John's policy, then, weak- "ens home manufactures, lowers the "rate of wages, and increases the cost "of living." Well, that is the language in which the Liberal party denounced a tarift which was practically the same as the tariff we now have. (Cheers.) We know what they have done about cot- ton. They condemned, when in Oppo« sitlon, in the strongest possible man- ner, the tariff on cotton, and yet they have, when in office, raised the duty on the poor man's cotton. In view of 'these circumstances, is it to be sup- posed that the farmers of the North- west, or the farmers of this country generally, can be content? How can they be content when they find that promise after promise has been be- lled? We were promised in the North- west, and we took great stock in the promise, that the expenditure would be lowered. But what nas taken place? ' The expenditure has been raised by $1,400,000. I shall not give you all the items, but only those that Most concerns us in the Territories. I must again express my regret at not seeing the hon. Minister of the Inter- ior (Mr. Sifton) in his place, because I intend bringing something before the House which interests him, and which, if he will not answer here, he will have to answer later 'oefore Can- ada. He promised to reduce the ex- penditure in the management of the Indian Department, and he took away from Regina the Indian Commission- er's Office, on the pretence that he would thereby lower the expendi- . ture. He aiso dismissed men whole- sale from the Indian Department on the same pretence. But what are the facts? At this moment, in 1897, the cost of running the Indian Depart- ment is $17,000 higher than it was in 1896. How is he going to get over that? I would like to have him here to explain, but I suppose he will, if* I may quote one of the figures used ^^™^ ^ OM tan ADDRBfiS. Sr the right hon. First MinlBter, hide ■ head in the sand like the ostrich, and kick out at the stars, at gods, and men, vainly supposing that such tactics will save, him from popular reprobation. (Laughter and cheers). Let me take one or two other items. The interest on the debt has been in- creased by 1143,000; the cost of the militia haa/been increased 1630.000, and the Mountiad Police— what do you think has been done with regard to that ? The policy which the Govern- ment hsfl adopted with regard to the Mounted Police leaves the Northwest Territories at this moment in great peril. The ranchers out there are in great excitement because the word has gone out to take the Mounted Police from Fort Macleod and Calgary up to the Klondyke. The policy of re- ducing the Mounted Police has had the effect of alarming the people of th« Northwest, and left the Govern- ment, too, when (they wanted men for the Klondyke, in a tight and difficult place. They reduced 'the Mounted Po- lice, one of the finest forces in the Em- pire, by 160 menjand how much do you suppose they saved? They save fast 16,000. They ought to have saved |150,000, because their calcula- tion was that each man cost |1,000. But instead lof saving |800 or $1,000 per man, they saved only |6,000 alto- gether, and reduced the force by 150 men. But I must hark back again to the turiff, because I see the hon. member for Winnipeg (Mr. Jameson) has come in, and I Iwish to remind the House that that' hon. gentleman ex- pressed his disappointment with his d'wn Government* last summer, and should like to hear what he has to tey here on the same subject. They had a meeting in Winnipeg, at which the hon. gentleman attended, and at Irhitih he told a doleful tale He told them that when; he and his f ellow- Ltbends from the West tried to get a fednction on Implements they found tbat It was not they, the representat- ives of the farming provinces, who I bad the ear of the, 'Government, but Mr. Frost ahd the other Implement makers. (Cries of "hear, hear" ,and "Oh" from the Opposition.) I ,want to «all the attention especi- ally of the hon. Minister of Trade and Commerce (Sir Richard Cartwright) to the fact thatlthe expenditure has been greatly increased, and that con- sequently in this respect neither have the Government kept their word. I want to show what is said by some of their own supporters on that point. You will Temember,Sir,that the "Glean- er," which is a supporter of the Gov- ernment, called attention to the strong utterances of Jthe Minister of Trade and Commerce in favor of keepi^"' down expenditure. The "Gleaner' then showed what the ex- penditure was; it showed that the ex- penditure had increased to $4,000,000. and quoting the strong language of the Minister of Trade and Commerce, it denounced him for not carrying out his pledges especially in the absence of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The "Gleaner" did more than that It went over the con- duct of the Liberal party and condemn- ed that party. There cannot be the least doubt that whether we look at the expenditure or at the way we hiave been treated in the matter of tariff, or whether we take promise after promise, not a syllable of any of the promises made in Opposition has been Implemented by hon. gen- tlemen in office. (Opposition cheers.) Take another promise that was giv- en us — the maintenance of the purity of Parliament. Why Sir, has there ev- er been such a scandalous violation of the independence of Parliament as was witnessed in this House in the conduct of Langelier? To make the position of judge a football of party exigencies was bad enough, for it was calculated to lower the character and dignity of the judicial office, but to take the Lieutenant Governor's posi- tion and treat it in the same way was, I hold, derogatory to the dignity of the Crown. Again, these gentlemen were going to give us purity of admin- istration. Why, Sir, you cannot speak of it without laughing. I do not see th« minister of Publio Works (Mr. Tarte) in his place, that apostle of purity, the J[ i ON THB ADDBBBB. ,an,d I gentleman who declared that Qreen- bhields was a man and a brother be- cause he gave 930.0U0 to buy a« paper for the Minister's son. (laughter) the gentleman who does not see anythlnv shameful in what, when he was tie- fore the court in the Qrenier maii#r, he declared on oath he had douu, a gentleman who, I uelleve, does not know the comicience of the Liberal party. The conscience of the bulk "• the Liberal party is sound. An Hon. Member— Hear, hear. Mr. Davin— I am glad to hear tha* cheer. There may be gentlemen look ing for positions who are as Langelier was here, who have their letters ir their pockets amd who, by-and-by, 1' they are not met, will shake those let ters in the face of the Prime Mlnlste*^ and make him toe the mark. Bu^ though there may be such men, I say that the heart and the conBcience o* the Liberal party thrpughout Canada are sound, and they are outraged b^ the fearful spectacle presented evo f. since Ithe Government came into pow •) er. (Hear, hear) From the momen- it took office until the present time the Qovrrnuicnt has gone from ba<< to worse, sinking deeper and deeper in ring after ring that smells with piscatorial effluvium. (Laughter an*' cheers.) And now we have this Klob dyke deal as it is called. When th» Liberal party waa in power before ^l\ Just as now, they began to grow cor rupt. And not only that, they began to have differences among themselves. But, Sir, no act of corruption of lb'? old Liberal Government, not the Fos- ter affair, not the Neebing Hotel, not even the Steel Rails amounted to any- thing compared with the Drummoml deal, the Crow's Nest Pass deal, and now this gigantip Klondyke affair. This last has all the appearance of an enormous trust of which the Government are a part. You cannot look at it for a moment without seeing that there are millions in it for more than one. (Hear, hear.1 With the money In this Klondyko deal they can buy up the whole coun-* try from Halifax to Vancouver. (Hear, hear.) It is an .attempt to raise money to cover past indebtedness in the late election— you see I know something about our affairs. It in intended to put haif a million here, and half a million there, and half a million elsewherv:— I do not know for whom, but there is more than one "boy," you may be perfectly certain in this. It is intended to make * corruption fund for the n&xt general election. Mr. Bennett— How much for ITari^y? Mr. Davin— And something, I sup- pose, for Hardy. (Laughter.) But let me say, Sir, with some experience an a politician, that you cannot win a'l election with money alone. The Prime Minister. (Sir Wilfrid Laurier). Hear, hear. Mr. Davin — My right hon. friend (Sir Wilfrid Laurier) laughsu He knows right well that you cannot win an election with money alone, for all the money that Mercier gave him for New Brunswick and elsewhere did not enable him to win that election of 1891. (Cheers.) I have Just said thtrt differences arose in the Liberal partf when it was previously in office. But they were nothing to those of the present time, just as the corruption of the party when it was in power is nothing to the corruption of tf 3 present time. But let me say that ft probably does not come home as close to the right hon. gentleman, as 1^ would have come to' the leader in Mac- kenzie's time. As I understand it, the right hon. gentleman has adopted what Is called the English Cabinet system, a system that the late Sir John Macdonald haned to latterly though for the greater part of his ministerial life Sir John carried on Government as the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Sir Richard Cart- wright) said once, Government by or- der of Council, that is to say, be kept a string on his Ministers, he kept a certain check upon them, and in that way he kept things pretty straight But the present Premier follows the system that prevails in England. He holds a Minister res- ponsible for his. department, and then wm 10 ON THE! ADDBBSS. says to the cou;itry: This man is in charge of this department, he is re- sponsible, and the Prime Minister gives him a free hand. What is the result? He has taken in, for instance, the Minister of Railways (Mr. Blair) with ten years' reputation for corrup- tion in New Brunswick, such as no Provincial Minister ever had, and he has given him a d€partment in which he may plunge his arms, not up to the elbows merely, but up to the shoulders in the public treasury. (Opposition cheers.) Although the hands of the Prime Minister may be clean, though he may have in regard to these things •the poor virtue of clean Angers, yet mofraJly before the people of Canada he is responsible for what these people do. There is the Minister jof the Interior with energy very useful to his friends, but whose rashness and Inexperience have been strikingly il- lustrated in Indian afCairs and the Klondyke. (Cheers.) We were taunt- ed, he had the audacity to taunt us here with divisions amongst our- selves. This from a party, the wing of whose army '-fwhich is /strongest and on which the Prime Minister most leans is honeycombed with interne- cine jealosies and torn to pieces with Internecine strife. (Hear, hear.) Let me read a picture by a great hand of what has been going on in Quebec. This is from a paper which I am sure will be an authority with every man in this House. The article is headed: "A Bundle of Sticks," and this is the picture it gives of the Liberal party in Quebbc. An hon. Member — ^What paper? Mr. Davin— The "Star"," an indepen- dent paper. This is what it says: "When there were rumors the other "day of war between Norway and "Sweden, we could not help feeling "a pang of pity for his unhappy Ma- "jesty, the King of Sweden and Nor- "way. It must be a painful thing for "a monarch to have to declare war "against a brother monarch; but it "must be particularly painful when, "the other monarch is himself. The "only sovereign who could act in this "duiU catwcity gracefully is the Qer- "man Emperor. He is about the bnly "great general who could successfully "lead a cavalry charge against him- "self, and at the same time form him- "self into a hollowsquare to receive 'the charge. "But we have something like this "anomalous state of affairs in the "present condition of the great Lib- "eral party of this province. What "is the Liberal party of this province "if not the party of Tarte, Prefon- "taine and Beausoleil, the party of "Stephsus, Guerln, Rainvllle and Bick-' "erdike? This Is the party that has "not only proclaimed war against it- "self, but is prosecuting the war most "vigorously. The elements of unioa "are by no means lacking, for we have "Tarte and Beausoleil marching to- "gether shoulder to shoulder in a "punitive expedition against Prefon- "taine. If Prefontaine is to be Mayor, "then Tarte and Beausoleil will know "the reason whf'. Mr. Prefontaine is "threatened with an expensive cam- "palgn, when, but for his Liberal "friends, he might have had an elec- "tion by acclamation. But this does "not prevent his forming an offensive "alliance with Mr. Tarte for the pur- "pose of ousting Mr. Beausoleil from "the representation of the Bast Ward. "And although Mr. Bi^usoleil will "have to fight like the doughty war- "rior he is to save his own seat, it "does not prevent him joining heart- "lly with Mr. Prefontaine in the "siege of the Hon. Joseph Israel Tarte "in the Department of Public Works. (Laughter.) "It requires a war map to follow all "the complications of this most intcr- "eeting fight in detail. But, the of- "fensive alliances may be briefly "summed up as follows: Ta^ce and "Beausoleil against "Prefontaine; Pre- "fontaine and Beausoleil against "Tarte; Tarte and Prefontaine against "Beausoleil. Was anything ever like "It out of comic opera? The only "hope of an early termination of this "most complicated warfare seems to "be in the intervention of some.f riend- "ly powers. When Rainville and "George Washington Stephens get V. 1 OK THB AODRBSS. 11 V. "through pummelling each other at "Quebec, and Blckerdlke and Guerln "win allow one another to get iu>> they "may be able to Interefere effectively. "Meanwhile, It is awfully embarraes- "ing for Tarte, Prefontalne and Beau- "soleil. When any two of them meet, ••they do not know whether to frater- "nize or "shoot at sight," and their "distressed commander-in-chief. Sir "Wilfrid Laurler, hasn't the least idea "where he is at." I (Great laughter and cheers.) Now, Sir, that is a good picture of the state of things in Quebec, given by an artist on the spot; and yet we are told by the hon. gentleman who is Minister of Trade and Commei^ that there were great dissensions amongst this party. The Minister of Trade sug- gests that there were skeletons amongts us. Well, Sir, thei-e may be a skeleton in our party; I should think it a very odd thing if a large party could be found without a soli- tary skeleton. But, Sir, on that side of the House, be<»use we know it well — there is a whole dissecting-room; (laughter and cheers) and I have not the least doubt that if we can get at the facts, and probe them prop- erly — take this Klondyke business- Why, if we can probe that, and probe it well, we will find that not merely have they a whole dissectlng-room,but in that one particular deal a charnel- house of corruption. (Cheers and laughter.) Mr. Speaker— I would like to draw the hon. gentleman's attention to the fact that he has been, on two or three occasions somewhat unparliamentary in using so freely the term "corrup- tion." It is not a term which, I think, can be bandied across the House with reference to individual members at all. I find it stated in Denison's and Brand's decisions that: "An hon. member having spoken of "another hon. member as having been " "detected In the grossest practice of "corruption" is called upon to with- " draw the word." Mr. Davin— "Detected." Mr.Speakep— "Detected" or "guilty," it is 6xactl7)ftlie samei thing. The hon. gentleman certainly would not accuse an hon. member of being guilty unless he supposed he had been detected. So I see no difference in the cases. I hope the hon. gentleman will have some regard to that rule. Mr. Davin— I agree with your rul- ing, Mr. Speaker. May I ask }«ju, Mr. Speaker, as a favor to show me how I have offended against that ruling? Mr. Speaker — The hon. gentleman has thrown charges of corruption across the House this afternoon on several occasions. The hon. gentleman accused the Minister of Hallways of having been for ten years, I think he said, a notorious corruptionist in New Brunswick — or words almost to that effect. That is < quite out of or- der. Had I drawn the attentiov. of the hon. gentleman to it at the time, as I probably should have done. I would have required him to with- draw them. Mr. Davin — Of course, if I have said anything unparliamentary, I desire to' withdraw it I wisn to bow entirely to your ruling,but do I understand that it is wrong to say that if we could probe this Klondyke matter thorough- ly we would find ourselves in a char- nel-house of corruption? Is that un parliamentary? Mr. Speaker — If the hon. gentleman referred to any individual member of the House as being guilty of corrup- tion he would be out of order. Gen- eral terms like /that might be admln- sible, but I am speaking of their ap- plication to individual members. Mr. Davin — Now, I am going to read the words of a former leader of yours, and a former leader of the Prime Minister, words that will apply to that Klondyke affair, fit it pat.I have doubt that they will be received with the respect that they 'deserve. I hope that it is not unparliamentary to say that there is about that Klondyke mat- ter a strong piscatorial effluvium. (Much Laughter,) Mr. Speaker. — Of course, I do not think it is at all unparliamentary for the hon. gentleman to endeavor to fly over the heads of the House. Mr. B^vin.— I assure you, Mr.Spea- y VP ^^mm !HM,''. 12 ON THE ADDBBSa ker, that I do not want to fly over their heads, I want to reach their hearts if I can. I am aiming as far as I can, to produce in some repent- ance, and I am also seeking for 'others enlightenment My aim. Sir, is to make converts in this House, and con- verts outside; and I may tell you, Mr. Speaker, that within the last twelve mouths, and I am sure you will be glad to know it. my missionary efforts in seeking to bring people out of pol- itical darkness into political light, have been most successful. (Cheers.) Now, one of the things I tobject to in that Klondyke business, is its secrecy, I say there is no /reason for making a secret contract. I condemn also the policy of hurrying it on also on the eve of the meeting of parliament.slgn- Ing a contract when you could have either delayed- it for a week, or else called Parliament to meet three or four weeks earlier, and lay it before Parliament I object to having Par- liament dethroned. I object to having Parliniment deprivea of its functions and supervision and scrutiny, and I object moat strenuously to the mono- poly. I object most strenuously to the tremendous price paid, 125,000 acres per mile, 25,000 acres instinct with gold, pregnant with gold, for building a railway that 'will not be able to do the work. Mark me, the railway that has been described by the Minister of Railways, will not be able to do the work that is necessary to be done over that country. Now, listen to what the Hon. Edward Blake said, and it will fit pat to this affair: "They pride themselves on the Pac- "iflc Coast contract" I do not know that we could with cy, and do a lot of boxing in antici- pation of the fight that was to take place three or four days ahead. I know that there are timid men on this side. (Laughter.) I know that the hon. member for York (Mr. Fos- ter) is a man of some timidity (laugh- ter), and of course the timidity of the leader of the Opposition is well known, the timidity of the old war- horse of Cumberland is notorious. (Laughter.) I know well that it was calculated to frighten them; but I may tell you, Mr. Speaker — and I have no doubt the House- on both sides will hear this with gratification — I have spoken since with the leader of the Opposition, with the member for York, and with the late Minister of Railways, and I find that although their nerves were slightly disturbed for a time, they are now convalescent and in a normal condition. (Laugh- ter.) Well, this is the language of Edward Blake: "I condemn that bargain as im- "proper, being made in sfcret, without "public tender, contrary to the exist- "ing policy of the people and of Par- "liament, and opposed to the provis- "ions of the law. "I condemn it as extravagant, since "the enterprise will cost us $60,000,000 "and 25,000,000 acres of the choicest "lands, while the road is to belong to "the company, which will realize the "cost of its part of the work out of its "land and money subsidies. "I condemn it as outrageous, in con- "ferring on the company a practical "monopoly, for twenty years, of the "trade of our Northwest Territories, "and large privileges and exemptions, "very valuable to them and still more "detrimental to the public. "I condemn It as indefensible, being "consummated in the face of a ten- "der to perform the same obligations "for $3,000,000 less money, for 3,000,000 "acres less land, without the monopoly "of trade, without the exemptiors "from taxation, and on other condi- "tiona "thOB( Wh the V Blake demn, (cheei oppoB not ei reepo: name Oppo! pers you here that yer a che conn( have aid this ■'"T"'TW"I|PIP In antlci- s to take ahead. I xuen on tnow that (Mr, Fos- ■y (laugh- tuidity of t is well old war- lotorious. at it was i; but I nd I have >th sides cation— I leader of niber for niBter of although disturbed valescent (Laugh- uaee of as im- . without lie exist- of Par- > provls- at. since 0,000,000 choicest &long to ■llze the lit ot Its in con- ractical of the rttories, iptions, 11 more >, being a ten- nations 000,000 nopoly tptiors oondi- "tions much more favorable than "those of the contract" Why, Mr. Speaker, I condemn on the very grounds stated by Hon. Mr. Blake ,and the country will also con- demn, that Klondyke contract, (cheers), and I tell hon. gentlemen opposite that a policy of silence will not enable them to escape from their reeponslbility (Renewed cheers.) The name of my leader, the leader of the Opposition, was connected by the pa- pers with this Klondyke matter, and you will remember. Sir, it was stated here by the leader of the Opposition that he had telegraphed to his law- yer to sue "La Presse" for making a charge against him as having been connected with the transaction. I have here a letter written by Mr. Don- ald Macmaster, Q. C, in respect to this matter. It is as follows: " 'La Presse' says it loyally accepts "your statement made in the House, "and expresses regret for having said "what it did." So that "La Presse" has apologized for the charge made against Sir Charles Tupper, and that sweeps to the winds the assertion that Sir Charles was in any way connected with that Klondyke deal, (Cheers.) Mr. Britton— Where is the contradic- tion from the "World?" Mr. Davin— The "World" did not make any charge; it merely made a suggestion. The hon. member for East York (Mr. Maclean) is a cautious man and an experienced journalist. He may tremble on the threshold, but he does not rush in where angels fear to tread. In connection \frith a boast made by the Minister of Trade and Commerce, which was referred to here today. I want to call attention to some of his own words. Today he saw the right hon. Premier and one of his colleagues introduce one of the victors at the by-elections. We had in that extraordinary reply, delivered by the Minister of Trade and Com- merce, a statement that the victories at the by-elections were evidences of popular confidence of the party in the country. I have here a speech deliv- «r«cl bjr tito Minister ot Trade and Commerce in 1892, and there is in it a paragraph, headed "Unexampled Successes," and it has references alto^ gether to by-electiona What did he then say? He stated that the success of the Government in the by-eicctiona is no indication whatever of the feel- ing tKroughout the country, because, he says, what is perfectly true in Can- ada, that the advantages of the Gov- ernment in the by-elections are so great that fighting the Government is equivalent to meeting a man who is playing with loaded dice. Sir Charles Tupper— Whose speech was that? Mr. Daviur— It was delivered by the present Minister of Trade and Com- merce. He said: "Yet, nevertheless, with all th*"IB)!'.M,",.iV!(,iJ(^i,Wi,*V^!^^ 16 ON THB ADDRBSS. pool and his '^utterance In London. I have here his speech made In St. Johns in the Province of Quebec, in July 7th« 1896. He said: "Today your principal market is the "British market It is possible for us "to make an arrangement by which "England will give us market for all "our products if we give something "like (reciprocity to certain British "products. I am for that policy." There is preferential trade with England for you, but mark what he says in the next paragraph: "We dm be on good terms with ev- "erybody.and that is the thing we have "set before us. If we establish good "relations with the United States, we "may perhaps have the benefit of the "re-opening of the negotiations.and the "renewal of the treaty of reciprocity. Here in the same breath, in two contiguous paragrapns of his speech the Prime Minister declares he is for preferential trade and for unrestricted reciprocity. Tlje contradictions that have been pointed out by the leader of the Opposition' (Sir Charles Tupper) and by my hon. friend from York (Mr. Foster) are thrown in the shade com- pletely by this contradiction made in the same speech, (cheers) and it ex- plains what otherwise is almost inex- plicable: the extraordinPTy 'contra- dictions 'j^hich arise in tne utterances of the Prime Minister. I have studied the right hon. gentleman and analysed him carefully, and I believe these con- tradictions arise from the fact that he has not thought aown to rock-bot- tom the great political questions of the day, and founded principles there- on. Thei'e is no stability of principles there and his amiable facile nature leads him to say pleasant words on all occasions. Of course, that is very nice, but it is not desirable in a leader of a party, or for a politician,speaking on great questions. I really fear that if my right', hon. friend had to address an audience of rats, he would say to them that he took a great interest in rodents, that they were the most In- teresting of quadrupeds, and he would not mind taklDfi: them into his con- fidence and. assuring them that he himself liad a penchant for chQeee. (Laughter and cheers.) The right hon. gentleman quoted from Mr. Chamberlain, i and very curi- ously enough the quotation showed that Mr. Chamberlain was at one with himself, as he spoke in xjondon. He said 'in London that he was in favor of a revenue tariff, and that a revenue tariff and preferential trade would go well together.Mr.Chamberlain,in the quotation which the right hon. gentle- man made from his speech, said that there would have to be a modification of the tariffs of the colonies, and it would have to go in the direction of a rev enue tariff; and we all agree that there would have had to be a modification. Now, the Minister of Trade and Commerce declared that there was a great difliftulty la bringing about a de- nunciat'on of the treaties. The hon. gentleman is either trying to bam- boozle this House and this country, .or he is grossly ignorant of the state of opinion in England at that time. The movement had been in existence in England for years. My hon. friend from North Bruce (Mr. Mc- Neill) not only found a strong feeling existing in England in favor of pre- ferential trade, but he helped to in- crease it, and he knows very well that that feeling existed not merely among the statesmen of England, but amongst the farmers and merchants all over the country. There was a go- ing-out toward preferential trade; (Hear, hear,) and our charge against the Prime Minister is not that he killed the movemer ,. — because I do not believe that he could kill it — but that he dazed and staggered it for the time being. He hit it a deadly blow, but I do not believe he knocked the life out of it. Now, Lord Salisbury has been quoted and Mr. Chamberlain has been quoted; but I am going to quote to you not only what Lord Salisbury said, but what the Right Hon. Arthur Balfour said in re^gard to that subject, and it is very important. I am not only going to show you what Mr. Bal- four said, but what was taking place all over England, of which these gen- tlemen seem perfectly Ignpnuit. On 1 ► ; « ■, f \f% ipRPPP ^•^ ON THB ADDBBSS. 17 . c k the eve of the Jubilee there was hard- ly a nook in England where, in me- chanics' institutes, and in various lit- tle literary societies this question of preferential trade was not discussed. I have here a report of one of those meetings— that of the South Wilts Chamber of Agriculture, which took place at Bath. At that meeting a Mr. J. W. Titt made a long argument in favor of preferential trade, and quoted the Right Hon. Arthur, among others, as follows: "Should the colonies desire to adopt "the policy of a customs union, and "the treaties between Great Britain "and Belgium and the ZoUverein inter- "pose obstacles in the way of the real- "ization of such a desire, it would be "the duty of Her Majesty's Govern- "ment to consider how to remove "those treaty restrictions and to shape "their course accordingly." You see that the Right Hon. Arthur Balfour regards preferential trade and the denunciation of those treaties as correlative — as bearing something the same relation to each other as a plate does to the meat you eat off it, (Hear, hear), and for any one of these hon. gentlemen to say: If we had asked for preferential trade, we would not have got the denunciation of th>^ treaties, is something like a man who is invited to dinner saying, "I will eat your meat, but I will not have your piate," or, " Iwill take your plate, but I will be hanged if I will eat your meat," and then coming back and say- ing, "I got the plate, but I didn't get the meat; if I had asked for both the plate and the meat, 1 would not have got either," (Cheers.) Here is Mr. Arthur Balfour saying that the 'tw^o things are correlative, and that one of the reasons for de- nouncing these treaties was, that they stood in the way of preferential trad& Now, Mr. Speaker, does any man who listens to it, believe for a moment that there is anything in the state- ment 'that it was difficult at that time to get these treaties denounced. Why Sir, for years many people were try- ing to get them denounced, and they were in this position. If you travel through an Alpine . country^through the Valley of Chamouni, for instance — you will see an avalanche above you, and the ligament that holds it has been worn away so much thaf'a girl going through the valley and shout- ing or singing will so shake the aval- anche that Ithe ligament which holds it gives way andjthe avalanche com- es down. That was precisely the po- sition in Iwhici^ thesie, trealties stood. The ligament t|iat held them had been long wearing away. (Cheers.) Here% is the quotation this man makes from Mr. Chamberlain: "The colonists have with the mother "country a common origin, ai com- "mon language, a common literature, "a common love of liberty and law, "common principles to assert and "common interests to maintain." Then he quotes /the Earl of Rosebery, who is a charming and refined man, but I never thought that he was the figure for Romeo when he waa made the leader of 'the Liberal party. Though he has recently given utter- ance to some things that I did not like on this subject, here is what hu said in the quotation to which I refer: "It is, as I believe, impossible for "you to maintain in the long run your present loose relaWcns to your coloni- "es, and preserve those colonies as "pant of the Empire. I wish to say "that on the grounds of commercial "interests alone this question is wor- "thy of the consideration of our great "commercial communities." Then he quoted ithe Marquis of Sails- bury as far back as 1887. The ques- tion, which by 'the mere word of the Premier was swept away, was dis- cussed as far back as 1887! And here is what the Marquis of Salisbury said in regard to it at that time: "The Marquis of Salisbury, in a let- "ter dated April 5, 1887, in reply to a "correspondent, stated that 'he did not "imagine that differential duties In "favor of our colonies, whaitever might "be said for or agalnat them, can be "properly described In the term "pro- "tection." Showing in what direction his mind was going. This writer also quoted wm^ 18 ONv THSM AODRBSS; a lo&g> article fr6m the- Ban Francisco "NewB-Letber," wlilcte wliowed how im- portant ' this scheme of preferential trade .was, and what a dangerous thing it was to the power of the United StKtee. It said that it would make an imperial United States of Great Britain, and give it an ampli- tude of power such as it never had before. And, Mr. Speaker, con- nected with this question is the question of defence, on whieh let me say one word. Why, Sir, any contri- bution which these colonies will liave to make, by-and-by, towards the de- fense of the Empire will be a mere flea-bite. The same fleet will be needed fofr Imperial defense that is necessary for England to maintain at the present time. Then, Sir, at th© meeting I speak of this resolution was proposed: "That in the opinion of 'this cham- "ber— the Chamber of Agriculture of "Wiltshire— the commercial federation "of Great Britain with all her coion- "ies and possessions on a trade basis, "giving preferential treatment to all "within the Empire, is of the most "supreme importance." Mr. John Hall seconded thatv He said. he would never forgiye himself if he allowed the moticm , to pass without seconding it, and, if lEngland wanted to keep hep colonies shQ, must i have something more than, sentiment to bind them to her.. The Bight Hon. gentleman says, he, knew the heart of John iBull. Why, bene is John Bull himself — the farmers themselves — ta^ng.. Here we are at the heart of. Johft, Bull, ,.in,. the great County of Wiltshire, and ;What the people there Bay is. that they: want something pore than mere sentiment, to bind the. col- oniea to the Mother countr. ., Lord Folkestone was present and suppqrted the re8QUition„ and Mr. Carpenter said: "HOi.Jhad alwayft nbecn opposed to "protectioxu but he. should support the > "reaolw^on,. in favor &t> the federation "ot the Empire.'-' What happened? The resolution waa .pa0fl»d! at that meetUng* unaimoua- Sir > Charles > Tuppep^Whdn . wasu that? Mr. Davln-'-On the jcrve of the Jubl> lee. It fwas lan I important event, and only one of many. It was held on May 22ndv 18&6. That was the state of opinion all over England when the Right Hon. First Minister went across. England was then prepared for ' the very thing the right hon. graitleman subsequently declared for at London. I am not going to repeat m detail what happened, because we all know it My right hon^ friend went to Liverpool, the Duke of Devonshire held out to him his hand, for preferential trade, and my right hon. friend put it rhet- orically and scornfully aside. He said Canada did not want it, that what Canada gave was a free gift. At that time he had not made those speeches, the burden of which was. 'delenda est Carthago,' those speeohs. which were'; all for the denunciation of >the treaties, because, when he went to London and. was interviewed, he told the "Chroni- cle" man; We sf^y those , treaties do not apply. So that on hiS: visit tei London during the Jubilee, that knot which hei declared Alexander of Mace-, don had cut. he, the maater of Alex-, ander ofi;Macedon,..who is now, before . us, then said did not exist, .(Cheers.) A change .afterwards ,, came, over the . spirit of his dream., but. only .when all the harm had been done. He went to Toronto on his return,i and. . attended the banquet of the, Board .of Trade in that city, and. there, where of course they were all pi^^erentlal trade men, he did what he alwaya does, and what illustra/tes my analysis . of the right hon. geutlcriMu-n-the only analysis creditable to him that I have been able to make of his, character. . Wherever he happens to .be, he> wants ./to say something pleaaanH; i so that, although he had in England declared in Englamd. accepted . the Cobden Club medal„ and the en-.. - coniums of Lord Farrer,. who in pres- enting 'the medal .laid stress on the opinions., dear., to, ithe Cobden . Club— although he , had done all. this, what . did. he say atrToronlta? H^ paid: » ^li m mm >. - - - -:»-. ON l^HE ADDRESS. 19 •\5 *) "lit " was said he should have de- "monded preferential trade from "Great Britain as well as the getting "rid of the obstructive treaties, but "if he had aslced for both he woulu "have received neither. He had ap- "pealed, not to John Bull th>i man of "business, but the man of big heart. "One step had been gained, the step "that first had to be gained, and if he "had attempted more, it would ha\e "meant failure. The way was clear "now to preferential trade, i so soon a^ "Great Britain was ready to grant it" Why, we have the proof that not only were the statesmen of Great Britain ready to grant it, but that England herself, the great heart of John Bull, was beating for this preferential trade. (Cheers.) But what does the hon. gentleman tell us when he comes b'aclc? He comes back 'and tells the Board of Trade at Toronto that while he was the guest of these men, while accepting tha«t Cobden medal; |(rhile enjoying their sumptuous hos- pitality, all his statements, his state- ment tliat Canada wanted nothing in return whatever, were all a piece of sly diplomacy, a piece of dexterous perfldy. (Cheers.) It pains me — and I say it unaffectedly — to find a First Minister of Canada playing such a role. We have had during this deuate, some very 'extraordinary and very strong literary comparisons. For in- stance ,the leader of the Opposition has been compared to the scurrilous and unsightly Thersites. Now, when we take the course of the right hon. gentleman on this preferential trade question, there is a comparison that suggests itself, and I do not make it in any offensive sense. If you take T*e career of Milton's* Satan, after he meets his followers in Pandemonium, and follow it from that out, you will find a most extraordinary similarity between it and the course of the right hon. gentleman. Satan's account to his followers of his exploits in 'dup- licity, as recorded in "Paradise Lost," bears a remarkable similarity to my .right hon. friend's account of his do- ings on the other side. I sup pose that, in all their read* ings, hon. gentlemen may have read the best known comedy of Foote. It is a ...comedy that was borrowed from the Freilch, . and the humor of it consists in this, that the hero gets himself, by reckless statements, into scrape after scrape; but still his con- fidence in his extraordinary resources, his imaginative power of concocting, is so great that he never doubts for one minute that he can lie himself out of any scrape that he gets Into. Well, he was a feather-brained man of fash- ion; but you will remember that when the grand divan of demons takes place ,as recorded in "Paradise Lost," Satan stands before them and de- clares he Is going to deliver them out of hell, and that he will alone first explore the way. He meets Death and Sin, and, true to his policy, flat- ters them. Then he visits the country of Chaos and Old Night, and promises to reduce the new created world to darkness, which promise he has, of course, no intention of keeping. Then he meets the Angel of the Sun, to whom he represents himself as what he is not in order to gain certaih information, and then he transforms himself completely, and is found at the ear of Eve whispering suggestions to her. In the assumed character of the Serpent, he assures her that he has eaten the forbidden fruit him- self, which he has not, and that if she will eat of it, she will become a god, which he knows she will not. Then, when brought before Michael and charged with his unlawful intru- sion into Paradise, he first says that his object was to fly from pain. When taunted with being the first to fly from pain he replies that that was not his reason, but that his object was to avoid hazarding his armies in uhtrod ways, and first spy out hi&se^lf the new created world. Now, mark the way Milton, the ' great Puritan poet, makes the Archangel Michael reply: "To say and straight unsay, pretend- ing first "Wise to fiy pain, professing next the "spy, "Argues no leader, but a llaf traced." (Cheers), / ii iiiiiii ^w 20 ON THE ADDRESS. ■«)f : f' Satan then returns to Pandemonium and boasta of what he has done, but In the midst of his boasting, his pro- fessions are belied by the degrading transformation which takes place, when he and all his followers are sud- denly changed from angelic forms in- to hissing serpents. The leader is transformed into a serpent and his followers take' his form, and looking at the kind of speeches we have lis- tened to fcom the Minister of Com- merce ana the hon, member from Centre Toronto (Mr. Bertram), it would seem as if these {gentlemen had assumed the ^arb of dissimulation. adopted by their leader and propose to rival him in duplicity. Now this is a most serious thing. Before quoting Mr. Chamberlain's last speech let me clinch this matter about the professions of free trade. I have here a dispatch from Montreal dated 30th November, which says that the "Star's" London cable says: That the Cobden Club is quite satisfied with the position of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. And this is the character they give him, a character that may be very useful to him, but I shall be glad to know how it will be received by the gentl.emen who listened to his silver eloquence at the Board of Trade ban- quet at Toronto: "In view, of the adverse comments "made in Canada and elsewhere on the "fiscal policy of the dominion Govern- "ment, the committea think it right "to state that they have reason to be "satisfied that the present Administra- "tion at Ottawa is inspired by a gen- "uine desire to advance on the lines "of free exchange so 'far and aa rapidly "as possible, consistently with prudeat "regard forslthe difficulties created by "the long ruJe of a high and compre- "hensive protective system." Here, as late as November, the Cob- den Club states t&at it was quite sat- isfied with the Prime Minister; and from this and from his utterance of last night, notwithstanding what his supporter from Toronto Centre said, be must be held to be opposed to preferential trade. (Hear, hear.) Still farther tp clinch this inatter, I have here the last speech made by Mr. Chamberlain. Take this In conjunc- tion with that of the Right Hon. Ar- thur Balfour and, with those of the Right Hon. Gentleman (Sir Wilfrid Laurier) himself, and with those of Lord Salisbury also, made before the Jubilee. As late as January, 1898, Mr. Chamberlain, speaking at Liver- pool, declared in favor of closer union with the colonies. Speaking of the Jubilee, he said: "It was the growth of an over- "mastering and a universal desire in "favor of closer union." You will observe that. Sir. Of course as has been shown by what other hon. gentlemen have quoted in this House, and as I have further es- tablished by the opinions of these Wiltshire farmers, they were ready, in the glow and heat of that Jubilee period to do more than meet us half- way if we had reached the hand to th^m. Mr. Chamberlain further says: "It is not for us to take the inltla- "tlve. We would rather follow the "lead; but what I think I have al- "ready accomplished is to convince "them that wherever they llve,however "far their home may be from the cen- "tre and from the mother land, we, "at any rate, are prepared to meet "them more than half-way In any pro- "posal they may make to us (cheers), "In any desire which they may express "for their closer union (cheers); and^ "gentlemen, it will come (hear, hear), "if not In our day, then In that of our "successors." Later on he says: "But In whatever way it may be 'presented to us, we shall not be d^ "terred either by the economic pedan- "trles or the selfishness which is a "virtue with' some politicians from "giving favorable consideration to "any proposals which our brethren "across the seas may make to us. "And in such a consideration, I for "one—" I ask your attention to that — "-Hlo not believe the English people "will keep a strict account of profit "and loss." (Cheers). So that today the semtimeiit Is pre- k ON THE ADDBBSS. 21 r»t clsely the same as it was. And now, harking back to what I said before, the note throughout the British Em- pire at this moment is a note of col- onial equality in the Imperial Union, and the men we have on the Treas- ury benches of Canada today cannot sound that note. The Minister of Trade and Com- merce (Sir Richard Cartwrlght) at- tempted to reply to this statement made by the ex-Minister of Finance (Mr. Foster) as to the effect of this tariff in discriminating against Eng- land. Why, Sir, the returns show it. The "Sun," of Toronto, pointed out what was shown by these late returns in reducing the imports from Eng- land. Is not that sufficient to show discrimination against England and to show that this so-called preferen- tial clause gives no preference to the mother country? But I have a curi- ous testimony on the same subject. I have here the "Iron Age," a journal published in the United States. And what did it say of the tariff as soon as it was passed: "The new tariff, therefore, cannot "be properly described as one discrim- "inating against the United States. A "further examination of it and of the "attitude of the Government will com- "pletely free it from any suspicion of "being anti-American. It is not too "much to say, indeed, that it shows "a strongly pro-American bent. First "of all, there is the offer of recip- "rocity. Next, there is the treatment "of American products in the general "tariff.' As to this offer of reciprocity the "Sun," which I have already quoted, says that whatever the Ministers may say, their object is not to have a pref- erence with England, but to have a preference with the United States. And the Toronto "World," which has been referred to here, had articles a 8ho!t-t time ag declaring that the Min- isters were looking to Washington., And here we have this American pa- per saying that the tariff has a pro- American bent: "Of all the changes made in the gen- "eral tariff, the most sweeping were "those made in the duties on Iron "and steel and the manufaotures "thereof. Large slices were taken off "most of the old duties, and some of "the most important articles, such As "mining machinery and — next year — "barbed wire were put on the free list. "What foreign country will receiye "most, if not all the advantage of "this? Clearly the United States. It "is true Britain gets her goods in^ at "a rate of duty now 12 1-2 per cent, "and next year 25 per cent, less than "the general rate, but nobody sup- "poses, the Government least of all, "that she can ship iron and steel "go 1b a mlBtake to have titles In Canada. That wa» a pledge to these people that he would not take the title. There was no aecesslty for It, such as may sometimes lead to a change of political opinion. This was a matter entirely within my right hon.. friend's own will; and yet the shoes were not old that carried him to Renfrew when he took a title and became a right hon.; then he goes over to Paris and' takes a Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. Why, Sir, It is one of the most extraordinary things in his ex- traordinary career. It may be e-Jd of him as was once said of a Roman Em- peror, that if he had not reigned, everybody would have said he could have reigned magnifi- cently. After my right hon. friend became Prime Minister In twenty short months, say in twa years, judging him by his utterances ptior to the election of 1896, and his utter- ances since, he has gone through the "whole compass, boxed every point of that compass; m that the quadrature of Laurlerian opinion is one of the most difficult things that was aver at- tempted; you might as well attempt to square a solar parallax. (Cheers.) I see my 'hon. friend the Minister of Trade and Commerce has come in and I would like to call his attention to some things that I have sad; even at the risk of repeating myself. I wish then to say to the Minister of Trade and Commerce that Inlhls absence I have read that fine utterance of his In a speech made in 1878, in which he said, but in more eloquent words than I can use, that nothing was juster than that an engineer should be hoisit with his own petard; In which he said that nothing I was juster than to gibbet men with their own utterances; to com- pare tJtieir performances with their utterances, and to show them up to the i people (of Canada. I have also quoted that hon. gentleman's state- • roents in regard ito economy, and I have shown that their economy has taken the form of adding |1,400,000 to our expenses. I have quoted the hon. gentleman's utterance in regard to purity, and although I cannot say that there Is an utter cuirupUon, I may say, to put It in a still more meta- phorical way, that the people of Can- ada are not in a mood to-day to be- lieve that thero is very much purity on those benches. I have also called atlention to the fact that this great veteran of parliamentary life, this master of parliamentary fence, this master of all> the arts 'of Parliament, of ail the weapons in the whole arm- oury of parliamentary debate, that when he rose to reply to the ex-Fin-^ ancL Minister and to the leader of the Opposition who had made the greatest indictment that Jiad ever been goade against a Government, all he could say was that, in metaphorical lan- guage, the leader 'of the Opposition was a liar, that if tbe hon. gentleman had lived 1900 years ago Sapphlra would have preferred him to Ananias. I see that the hon. gentlen^an is great- ly amused at his own joke. Does the hon. gentleman think, however, that with such gingerbread as that the peo- ple will be satisfied? Does the hon. gentleman suppose that when the peo- ple see this Queen's Speech they will be satisfied ^ith such a meagi'e bill of fare when they supposed there was going to be a substantial banquet? Does the hon. gentleman suppose that < the Liberal party that he educated up to believe In purity, to believe in econ- omy, to believe In crushing corrup- tion in every form, tojbelieve con- tractors were dangerous persons to entrust with power — does he believe that the people will be satisfied wiith what we now see taking place? I want to call the hon. gentleman'.s at- tention to what is said about contrci.ti^ in the speech from which I have al- ready quoted. I hinted that this bus- iness was— and in ueslgnating It I suppose I shall have to refer to some- one entirely outside of this House — in its complexion and construction that of an enormous trust. Here Is what the Minister of Trade and Com- merce said as to .the 'sources of supply for a Government that wants to be corrupt : "The Red Parlor, alias the protec- "tive manufacturers (of which the 24 ON THfi ADDRESS. "hon. member for Toronto stands a "dlstLnsuished ornament, and Mr. Gur- "ney is powerful in the stove trust), "all of whom were expected to contri- "bute,in proportion to the advantages "they received, "Next in order comes the contrac- "itors on public works. Here there is "every opportunity for.a corrupt gov- "emment, and the evidence given be- _ "fore the committee of the House last "session show it 'was made the most "of." * I ask the attention of the House par- ticularly to this statement in view of thfe Klondyke deal: "The Minister practically holds al- "most every contractor at. his mercy, "and except in the case of a dispute "and of some party turning Queens "evidence, detection is a very difficult "matter." Look at the Klondyke matter. I read the contract yesterday. It is '.vithin the power of Ithe Government to a how the company to make Enormous earn- ings under any circumstances, but a mere turn of the^ hand on the part of the Government cfould put millions in their pocket. What does this mean on the eve of an election, when a party can go to these men and say that the party requires ?200,000 or ?300,000? Of course it will be forthcoming. That is what the Minister of Trade and Commerce meant by this reference. As the hon. gentleman has now como to his seat, I will again revert to the tariff. The hon. gentleman said in thatispeech: "This state of things is due to a "fiscal system which has turned a "considerable percentage of the most "active business men into legalized "robbers, how much to steady I and "systematic debauchery of the subsid- "Ized press, and how much to the "spectacle of direct, continuous and "organized corruption with which "every politlcan Is only too familiar." "Legalized robbers" is the phrase that the Minister applies to manufacturers, and it must be remembered that those manufacturers are to-day as well pro- tected as when he made that speech. (Heftf, hear.) Mr. Foster. Better. Mr. Davin. The member for Centre Toronto (Mr. Bertram) says that they are better protected, and that they have confidence. And so what hopej have the farmers of the Northwest Territories of I having those promises implemented, when the Minister of Trade and Commerce refuses to ans- wer the appeals of; his own party and the appeals of the Independent press? The hon. gentleman must have read what the "Star" said of him~that he is the last plank to which the pure Liberals of this country were cling- ing. That journal declared that he is the last hope of the pure Liberals to save them from the boodling element. How is the hon. gentleman doing it? In a weak and ineffective way he de- fends the Klondyke deal, and hon. gentlemen opposite, knowing well that he is a powerful man and a man of experience and knowledge, awaited his statement in response to the cheers that greeted him the'other night. They were cheers from the Liberal ranks that the hon. gentleman did not re- ceive in other days. They marked the lingering hope that there was still one sound plank in the Government, which would stand fast in putting down boodlers in contracts entered upon by the Government^ and the "Star" appealed to hinf, and the best element of the Liberal party appealed to him, but I am sorry to say there is no sign that the hon. gentleman is going to rise to the opportunity af- forded him. i I have here a paragraph written by Mr. Willison, from London, and which appeared in the "Globe" on October 23rd, 1897. Mr. Willison wrote, prais- ing the right hon. the Prime Minister: "But while ornate and ;eloquent, it "was soon found that his head was in "thorough command of his tongue, "and that he could not be stampedei^ "by any organized demonstration Of "cheering or led into by-paths by the "seductive luring of even the Duke "of Devonshire or Mr. Chamberia'n." What was the seductive luring of the Duke of Devonshire and Mr. Chamber- lain but the candid and broad offer f t Mi 'A' V urn MM m J "IIIPWIII.. ON THIn ADDRESS. 26 >> \ 1 » ^ of preferential trade? So we Iiave It stumped and driven home that as re- gards Canada obtaining preferential trade, although the Prime Minister found on visiting England that not merely the statesmen, but the farmers wesre prepared to accord It, he cast It aside and came back and declared it •was all a piece of flippery, a piece of diplomacy. (Cheers.) Of course we cannot take stock In it, none what- ever. In regard to this matter I do not think it is necessary to say anything further, for if ever there was a nail driven home, that nail has been driven home. I spoke about promises not being kept. One of the promises is a very interesting one ^t the present mom- ent, for it seems to be thalt one of our institutions in the future is to be the hon. member for North Wellington (Mr. McMuUen). One of the promises made was this, [that the Government would not spend money on expensive buil(flngs in small piaoea. But what did we see last session? We saw— and probably this is the explanation why the hon. gentleman is coming up to reign at the palace at Regina— the hon. member voting with twenty Tor- ies against the present Government. On concurrence he moved a resolu- tion in 'regard to public buildings and was supported by nineteen members. Including the hon. member for Went- worth (Mr. Bain), and some other good Liberals. Thus we had the hon. gentleman voting against his party, and I rather think he planned to make things unpleasant for the Gov- ernment 'just as Mr. Langeller had done; and as Mr. LangeHei* was hoist- ed on the bench, so the hon. member for Wellington is going to be a figure- head for the Noithwest vessel, now breasting its future, for it htis jus been launched into practically res- ponsible government, and I suppose this appointment will be made par- tially because the hon. gentleman planned to make it unpleasant for his friends. There was another promise that has not been kept It was a promise in regard to votes for rail- ways. That promise has not been kept, but there is not a proinise made by the party now in power that has been kept. We are entering on a now era. Although we are entering on" a new era, who are the real leaders of the country? The Conservatives. One epoch is . ever the child of another. The epoch that has gone before this epoch of 'thirty years, the epoch of national expansion, was the natural father of this epoch of Colonial equal- ity and Imperial Union, and yet we hear from the Government nothing but a faltering cry. But throughout the Dominion of Canada that note is strong, and that note will receive ex- pression, and when the first opportun- ity occurs the people of the country will overthrow this Government, which stands with its pledges violat- ed,its honor stained, its record lowered in the dust by its own conduct for these twenty months. That Govern- ment, Sir will at the first opportunity, melt away like in the rays of the sun in early spring a mockery King of Snow. (Loud and prolonged Opposi- tion cheers.) mgygl^