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 <^ «^- '-^^ '-v ?Tr<:^-::.:-T-2n2r--;?' 
 
 THE 
 
 DEMANDS OF THE NORTH-WEST! 
 
 -A. SPEECH 
 
 DBLIYBRSD IN THE 
 
 HOUSE OF COMMONS, 
 
 ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUABY 27th, 1889, 
 
 BY 
 
 Mr. N. F. DAVIN, M.P. 
 
 Mr. DAVIN moved for : 
 
 OopieB of all memorUds addresied to the Qorernmeiit by the LeffisU" 
 tiTe Assembly of the Korth-West Territories which sat recently at 
 Regina. 
 
 He said : In making this motion I desire to oocapy the 
 time of the House for a few moments, and that the Hoase 
 listen, not to my words, bat to the voice of what, without a 
 figure of speech, may be properly called a New World. 
 It has been opened up by you, and it is under your charge. 
 It is some six years since that greater Canada was opened 
 up by a railway, a railway which not merely opens up that 
 great territory, but constitutes a highway for the world. 
 It is a railway which will always be connected with the 
 name of the right hon. gentleman, and had he nothing else 
 upon which his fame might rest, that railway would secure 
 his memory. It is a railway that realises the dreams of 
 great and enthusiastic men. Laohine, near Montreal, 
 marks the object of one, and the English Franklin aimed at 
 doing, and gave his life in trying to do, what this great 
 work has accomplished for the world. Now, Sir, six years 
 ago I witnessed the opening of the first North- West Council, 
 not the first North- West Council held in the Territory, but 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 

 199441 
 
 the first held at Begina. That council was crude, bat in 
 the succeeding years it did good work and laid the founda- 
 tion of our educational and municipal systems, and our 
 criminal and civil jurisprudence. At that time Brandon, 
 which is now a flourishing city, whence we got one of our 
 ablest members of this House, the hon. member for Selkirk 
 (Mr. Daly) — at that time Brandon was crude, and 1 re- 
 member that my hon. friend welcomed us to a tent club. 
 Earlier than that time, a little over six years ago, Calvary 
 had no ezibtence—it was merely Fort Calgary; Medicine 
 Hat had no existence, Moose Jaw had no existence, 
 and none of the flourishing little towns that stretch 
 across the prairie now, had any existence. The 
 prairie itself was practically virgin oi the plough. Now 
 it produces millions of bushels of grain, and we ex- 
 ported such quantities of grain the year before last, as to 
 almost embarrass the Canadian Pacific Railway. Not only 
 so, but coal mines have come into existence, sawmills, flour 
 mills, cheese factorios, dairies. Eanohing and horse raising 
 are carried on to a very large extent, and the day is at 
 hand when we shall have smelting and reducing works 
 there, and there is no reason why, at this moment, we 
 should not have tanneries flourishing in Eegina, Moose 
 Jaw and Calgary. Every year at Calgary yon have 10,000 
 hides, and 3,000 sheep-skins, so tanning could be carried 
 forward successfully. The council has, within a short time, 
 owing to the action of Parliament last year, grown into a 
 Legislative Assembly. That Assembly sat last year, and I 
 am only echoing the language of persons who visited it from 
 the east, when it was in session, in stating that that As- 
 sembly need not fear comparison with any Provincial As- 
 sembly in the Dominion in the personnel of its members, 
 in their intelligence, and in the zeal with which they give 
 themselves to legislation. During that time the Minister of 
 Interior presided over the destinies of that oeuntry, and took 
 a deep interest in its welfare, and it is due to him to say, 
 that the educational progress we have made has been largely 
 due to the great interest he took in education in the Terri- 
 tories. I ask without fear the attention of members of this 
 House for that portion of the Dominion, because I 
 think this House is now sensible that in that vast and 
 fertile region we have the solution of the difficulty in the 
 way of Canada becoming one day, however distant, a self- 
 contained nation. As regards the settlers who are in that 
 prairie region, I will say this for them, that there are not 
 in the whole Empire men more calculated by reason of 
 their intelligence, morality and business qualities to lay tho 
 
8 
 
 fonndations of a great and prosperous oommanity. They 
 are all energetio, most of them are reading men, some are 
 onltared men, and there is no doubt whatever, that the free 
 and independent bearing which charaoterises the men in 
 the North- West is due in part, possibly wholly, to their 
 free surroundings. It may be that even the associations of 
 the North- Went have some influence on them. The assooia- 
 tions connected with the North- West are of the most 
 inspiring kind, for though a new land, it is a land which 
 has historical associations of which people can never read 
 or think of without enthusiasm. Some 159 years ago Pierre 
 Gauthier de Yarennes traversed those very regions, and 
 Forts Da Pas, Fort du Grande Hapide, at the Kapids of the 
 Saskatchewan, Fort La Gorne, and other places familiar to 
 North- West travellers, are among their footmarks that are 
 living yet. That prairie region alone contains 123,000 square 
 miles, reaching up from the arid plateau of the Missouri to the 
 forests of the Saskatchewan and stretching away from Mani- 
 toba to the foot of the Hocky Mountains. That whole region 
 maybe described as one vast wheat mine. There can be no 
 doubt in the mind of any man who knows that country 
 that it is destined to be the great wheat-producing region 
 of the future. My hon. friends from Hamilton visited the 
 country last year. Both of them went north and south and 
 saw what sort of a country was there. The correspondent of 
 the EmpirCf Professor Dawson, visited the country, and pro- 
 bably some hon. members have read his letters about the 
 country ; but my hon. friends from Hamilton, with visitors 
 from Ontario, at an earlier period, saw with wonder 
 the extraordinary crops produced. It is not merely, 
 as I have already stated, a wheat-producing country. We 
 have farmers in every part of the North- West who are also 
 engaged in stock raising, [f you go north of Kegina or 
 Moose Jaw, you will find farmers who came in there with- 
 out $100, as they will tell you, owning herds with 
 nearly their whole homestead cultivated. In the Qu'Appelle 
 valley you will find several herds increasing at an almost 
 mathematical ratio every year, and horse ranching south of 
 Eegina is most successful. I have here a pamphlet just 
 issued by the Regina board of trade. I will not trouble the 
 House with the details contained in this pamphlet. 
 
 Mr. MITCHELL. Bead it. 
 
 Mr. DAVIN. I will not read it, even though that desire 
 be expressed by the Third Party without a single dissenting 
 voice, but I will give the House some idea of the character 
 of the pamphlet. On page 13, there is the testimony of 
 
Bebert Green, who oame to the country withoat very maoh 
 money, and who is now a proHperous man. He eays : 
 
 ''Thiiyear (1888) I hftd eight J acres cropped ai follows: Wheat— 
 39 aoreSi yielding 30 bushels per acre, which will grade No. 1. Oats— 
 48 acres, yielding 60 bashels per acre, first-class quality and weighing 
 42 lbs. per bushel. Potatoes (Early Rose)— 3 acres, yielding 360 
 bushels per acre. The binding of the grain averaged 3 lbs. of binding 
 twine per acre. I have also a garden consisting ot one acre of land on 
 which I raised cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, beets, mangolds, tc, 
 which for size and quality may be equalled out not excelled in any 
 agricultural district in the world." 
 
 Then there is the testimony of Charles Martin to the same 
 effect. Then there is the testimony of Walter Simpson, 
 who spoke in a like manner. Adam Traynor, who spoke in 
 a aimilar strain, said : 
 
 " I broke 100 acres here in 1886 with a gang plow drawn by four to 
 seven oxen, the dryest season we have had since the place was settled, 
 aud backset 70 acres of the same, besides doing what other work I 
 had to do. Oool days I broke 3^ acres per day, but my average during 
 the month of June was aboat 3 acres per day : in backsetting about soven 
 to eightiacheadeep, with six to seven oxen,! averaged about 2| acres per 
 day. on half mile furrows. I have my homestead all broke but about 
 three-quarters of an acre where my bouse and granary stand, and nearly 
 finished backsetting.*' 
 
 He goes on to give like testimony to the fraitfalness of the 
 soil. J. W. Reynolds, eighteen miles north of Eegina, ad- 
 vises young men to go to the country. He says : 
 
 " Tes ; I like the conntrv, climate good, health ditto ; going to have 
 school house right on my farm ; Regina and Long Lake Railway mm 
 across corner of mv land. Have oxen, ten head of cattle, farm imple- 
 ments, good fram house. Jnst threshed, wheat gone over thirty bushels 
 to the acre, No- 1 hard at that, and no frost. I think this is the country 
 for good practical farmers, woald like to see every half section taken 
 up, and have no hesitation in advising energetic young men to come 
 here." 
 
 Neil Martin gives similar testimony. Then we have the 
 testimony of a Orofter, Donald McFayden, a hardy Scotch* 
 man of 57 years, who makes the following statement : 
 
 '* I came to the Regina district on July 16th, 1887. I am located on 
 Section 34, Township 20, Range 19. I havn a wife and five children ; 
 built a good log house 19x16 last year : put in ten acres this spring on 
 breaking ; it is a beautiful crop. We have a good school house and a 
 Scotch minister in onr midst. When I landed in the country from Soot- 
 land I had no money. I like the country well, have good health, and I 
 can in good conscience advise all in my native country who are not 
 doing well to come to this country. All the Crofters in this section are 
 doing well and like the country very much." 
 
 James Bole tells us : 
 
 " This year, 1888, 1 had 105 acres under crop (eighty acres wheat, 
 twenty oats and five barley, potatoes and rye). The wheat on new land 
 yielded thirty-five bushels to the acre, and took four lbs. of binding 
 twine per acre. The oats were the finest 1 ever saw, Mahding nearly 
 fire feet high all over the field, and yielded eighty bosheli to the 
 
ftore, — tbia was fourteea aorei on old land, part of which waa oropp«d 
 three yeAn and part fire yean in saooession. I bad liz acres of oats 
 harrowtsd in on Btnbble totthout ploughing. This if a style of farming 
 I do not approve of, but the sprinfi^ was very Inie and I tb lOe^bt I wonla 
 try it and ^row ffreen toddor if nothia^^ elere, but to my sarpriBP it came 
 on as thick and looked aa well as any of the crop in the dictrict : the 
 field is not yet threshed, but I feel con6dent the six acres vrill yield 600 
 bashels. Mr. Ira Morgan, president of '-.he Ontario >;;ricultaral and 
 Arts Association, who saw this Held while standing, and Mr- McDonald, 
 editor Mark Lane Express, who saw it in the sheaf, can testify to the 
 correctness of this statement. My wheat this year grades No I hard, 
 and I have already sold 600 bushels to Regina dealers from $1.06 to 
 fl.ll per bushel. 
 
 " At the present time I have sevon harses ani a small start in 
 thoroughbred cattle ; seven hogs ready forporkby Ohristmas. a biader, 
 sulky plough, two hand ploughs, two waggons, sleighs, harness, a 
 small house, comfortable stable, good well of water, and everything 
 else necessary, all of which are paid for or at least provided for, and 
 will have at least a thousand dollars additional to further improve the 
 farm, enlarge the house and stables, and provide comforts which pioneer 
 dava did not afford. 
 
 ''Oonsidnring that I am now past 60 years of age, and that I started 
 without capital (having lost my farm in Ontario by endorsing and sub- 
 sequent bnsiness f^iilure), I ihiok I can with cle^r conscience advise 
 every man of sober habits and a determination to succeed to come to 
 this countrv. Farming is pleasant, and to every man who knawa his 
 business and attends to it, IS profitable. No forests to cut down, no 
 draining, no taxe?, as nature bas given us good roads, everything a man 
 could desire is here for the man who desires to use tbem." 
 
 Djncan Mclntyre, 
 Himilar testimony. 
 
 John Mclntyre, a brother of Mr. 
 
 who hart a very lar^^o fiirm, given ^ 
 
 ThoraaM Barton, an Engliwhrnan whone farm I have visited 
 myself, corroborates this. Mr. Burton's farm is certainly 
 one of the mosl interesting places that one could visit, 
 because it is a piece of England transferred to the wilds of 
 the west. He hun h cottage bu! ied in flowers, and it is hard, 
 when sitting in his parlor and looking at the wealth of 
 flowors uround you, to realise that you are in a cottage 
 which was laised there five or six years ago when all was 
 a wilderness arouvid. Mr. Barton t*ays: 
 
 '* This year I invpsted in a threshing machine, and for the past month 
 have beeu threshing in the district, and ^ "laa testify to tlje great pro- 
 ductiveness cf the toil. Have just got ihrough at Mr. Henry Fiaher'a 
 farm, where we threshed over 8,000 bushela of grain. Wheat is yield- 
 ing all the way from 22 to 42 bushels to the acre, and oats from 60 to 
 90, and in a few cases, on my own farm, for example, over 100. I find 
 Regina a good market lor all kinds of farm produce, grain, butter, eggs, 
 pork, and fat cattle always find ready sale. As to how I hke the 
 country, I say first-class. If a man works hard, and is a good manager, 
 he will ger rich Quicker farmiog than in any other country in the world 
 that I know anything about. All b anche.^ of farming can be carried on, 
 dairyinjr, cattle raising, wheat growing. Lnrge areas of land can 
 be put under cultivation in a abort time, and there is plenty of pasture 
 to start as big a herd of cattle as a man likes. Don't think I have any 
 more to say, unless I might add that this appears to me to be the right 
 country for good, hard working men, who are living in the old country 
 
from hand to mouth. To all inch I say, sell all yoo hare and oome out 
 here and itart over again. If you are not a practical farmer, you will 
 loon learn, if you are willing to learn and willinff to work. Hoping, 
 gentlemen, you will sncoeed in getting ui more neigbbori.' ' 
 
 So, Sir, I coald mention case after case. There is a gentle- 
 man here at present, Mr. Carss, who was a Carleton farmer 
 well known in this district, and he is now one of the most 
 successful men in the whole North- West. He has a largo 
 herd, farms extensively, and has probably made some 
 $20,000 in the North- West He is here at the present 
 moment, speaking to his friends in Carleton and giving 
 them some idea of the Land of Promise where he himself 
 has succeeded so well. A moment ago I spoke about the 
 schools in the North West, and I shall now refer to them 
 again. This House will be glad to know that in that new 
 region opened up six years ago we have 167 schools at the 
 
 E resent time ; the teachers are carefully examined, they 
 ave to have certificates just as your teachers have here ; 
 and as I have visited many of the schools I can bear testi- 
 mony to their great efficiency. I would like to impress on 
 the Government, and especially on the Minister of the In- 
 terior, that I really think a step might be taken further in 
 the matter of education and something done in the way of 
 having a high school at some central place. The children 
 that went to our ordinary schools six years. ago have now 
 grown beyond the teachers, and we ought to have a high 
 school for them. I spoke to you a moment ago about that 
 Assembly which has charge of so important a part of our 
 interests. It has very wide powers now and it is gliding into 
 responsible government. That Assembly passed a number 
 of memorials which it desired should be brought before this 
 House. I do not intend to occupy your time at any great 
 length, and I will rapidly describe what tho^e memorials are. 
 The first relates to a subject which need not be impressed 
 upon any hon. member: it is the necessity of opening up as 
 rapidly as possible the Saskatchewan dii^trict by railway 
 communication. I believe the Government have done 
 their part in this matter and that we shall soon have a 
 railway opening up the Saskatchewan territory. It is a 
 district of the North- West which is, if anything, more 
 attractive than even our prairies along the line, because it 
 is varied with hill and forest and stream, and the House 
 will easily understand what an attractive place for immi- 
 gration it will be when a railway gives facilities for the 
 ingrcMS of immigrants and for the egresd of the crops and 
 products which they grow. Of course, at the present mo- 
 ment there is no encouragement to settlers to grow crops, 
 
beoauso, if they ^row them, they have no market within 
 reach. The next memorial rolatee to what are called 
 the loyal half-breeds. I do not know maoh aboat the 
 subject myself, but my hon. friend from Saskatchewan (Mr. 
 Macdowall) will be belter acquainted with the partioQlars. 
 It is contended that there wore some loyal half-breeds 
 who suffered losses, and, notwithstanding their loyalty, their 
 losses have not been recouped. The Asiiembly now pray 
 that His Excellency will be authorisod to have such steps 
 taken as will cause a reconsidoration of the whole subject 
 of the claims of half-breeds for losses duriuji^ the rebel- 
 lion, with a view to cornponsato tho<ie who proved them- 
 selves to have been loyal, with such amounts as may 
 be shown to be equal to their losses. The next memorial 
 relates to providing seed grain for any person in a part of 
 the North- West Territories whose crops may have failed. 
 In the district with which I am connected there have been 
 no failures whatever, and I am not aware of any failure in 
 crops along the line. But I suppose there must have been 
 failure in some districts, or this resolution would not have 
 been passed by the Assembly. I come now to a resolution 
 which deals with a burning question in the North- 
 West, that is the liquor question. Ever since I went 
 in there that question has created great restlcesness, 
 and I think myself it has created unreasonable restless- 
 ness when we remember that no man went into 
 the territory without knowing that it was a prohibitory 
 territory. Every man that went there knew that prohibi* 
 tion obtained, and as I have often said to some of my 
 friends who grumbled very loudly on this subject, it was 
 one on which they had no right to grumble about, because 
 they knew it was a prohibitory territory when they went 
 in there. Notwithstanding this, however, the question has 
 created a great deal of feeling. The settlers somehow seem 
 to think it hard that they had to ask a permit from anyone, 
 and I have heard men, because they were refused a permit, 
 talk as though they had good grounds for flat rebellion . I 
 will say this in. passing : The hon. gentleman who is Minis- 
 ter of Interior, and who had the administering of that 
 permit system, had one of the most difficult tasks to per- 
 form that any man could undertake. No one course would 
 please everybody, and to do one's duty in refusing a permit 
 to men who ought not to get it was sure to mako enemies. 
 I always sympathised with the hon. gentleman in the difficult 
 task he had to perform in dealing with that permit system. 
 Now, here is the position at present. The lour per cent, 
 beer has been admitted wholesale by a special permit. It is 
 
 i 
 
Dot strong enoogh for Rome people, and it is too strong for 
 others; the consequence is that there is a great desire to 
 have this question settled, both on the part of those in favor 
 of high license and on the part of those strictly temperance 
 people who would like to see prohibition established, even 
 unqualified by permit. There is a great deal to be said in 
 favor of settling this question rapidly. In the first place, 
 we <'un grow in the North- Wosl ihe finest barley that ever 
 rewittiJod farmer's toil, and beer and whinkey are both 
 broight in from outside. Over 7,000 gallons of whiskey 
 waa brought in la^t year by permit, yielding a revenue of 
 over S3,ti( from iiermits ; and yet the amount of whiskey 
 brou>^ht in contraband from Montana Oolonoi Horchmer 
 will tell yon, is simply incalculable. Parties bring it in, 
 cache it two miles from the town, and on moonlight nights 
 go out and bring it in in small quantities. In this way a 
 large amount of money is being sent out of the territory, 
 while beer is being brought in and drunk which we could 
 manufacture there. Again, wo had manufactories of what 
 is called Moose Jaw beer, a kind of beer made from hops, 
 without malt in it. The four per cent, beer coming from 
 Winnipeg has shut all these up. Mr. Allen, the son of 
 a Toronto brewer, had $10,000 or $12,000 invested in a 
 brewery at Moose Jaw, and this man has been ruined by 
 this four per cent, beer coming in. Now, what is to be done ? 
 There is a great desire on the part of many people for a 
 plebiscite, but a plebiscite is not known to the British con« 
 Btitution, and it might be a doubtful way of settling this 
 matter. Let me tell you that Mr. Bliss, who is at the head 
 of one of the temperance organisations, visited the North< 
 West List summer, and stopped at Medicine Hat, Calgary, 
 and other places ; and after returning to Winnipeg he issued 
 a pronuncJamento in which he said that it was of vitnl im- 
 ))ortance that the liquor question should be settled in the 
 Noil h-West Territory, and that the morals of the com- 
 munity required that it should be settled — how ? By pro- 
 hibition ? No, but by high license. This Mr. Bliss will, 
 no doubt, be known to my hon. friend from Norfolk. The 
 Legislative At^sembly proposed themselves to take the 
 opinion of the people on the subject, and to pay the cost of 
 doing so out of their own funds ; but the judges whom they 
 consulte(^ told them that would be ultra vires. Then they 
 passed this resolution : 
 
 " That, in the opinion of thia Assembly, a vote of the Territories on 
 the qaestion of license vs. prohibition should immediately be taken. 
 
 " That in the event of provision fur the taking of sach vote not being 
 made by the Dominion authorities at the next Session of the Dominion 
 
ParliAinrnt, it ii the opinion of thli u»rmblT tbftt powers similar to 
 t'iOM enjoyed by proTisloni under ibe BritiiD Nortb Americaa Act in 
 reipeo*. to the liqaor queatiou ibould forthwith be granted." 
 
 Of oourso, if the power were granted before they ooald 
 legislate, one of two thingH Hhould be done. They should 
 not be allowed to une the power antil after their term ex- 
 pired and they went to the country, or a dJHNolution should 
 take place, in order that they might go to the country, and 
 have the qnestion decided at the polls. That would, no 
 doubt, be a oonstitational courHe ; and, a^ we have practi- 
 oally manhood suffrage in the Territories, such a vote would 
 effect the hurne purpose as a plebiscite The next resolution 
 deals with a matter of the greatest possible moment to the 
 Territories, immigration, aud makes sugge^stions : 
 
 " Tonr Oommittee would further recommend that a sum of $5,000 
 be Yoted from the general revenue fund of the Territories, and that this 
 House, by every means at its disposal, press upon the Dominion Govern- 
 meat the adviiabiiity of granting us the som of $10,000 ; both of said 
 sums to be used for immigration purposes. With such sums at the dis- 
 posal of this House, your Oommittee are of the opinion that greater 
 results would be had, both to the Dominion as a whole, and to these 
 Territories in particular, than can be had by the expenditure of a like 
 sum under the general immigration S( hemes of the Dominion. We 
 would suggest that two permanent oiliciali, selected by this House, be 
 located in Great Britain ; also that four agents be appointed by this 
 House, one being from each of the Dominion electoral districts, who 
 shall be located for a period of three months at four of the principal 
 
 Eoints in Eastern Canada and the United States, as, say, Montreal, Que- 
 ec, Toronto and Chicago. We would further suggest that several 
 pamphlets be prepared, giving a tall description of the various localities 
 suitable for settlement within these vast Territories, believing, as we 
 do, that it is impossible in a single pamphlet to do justice to the varied 
 natural resources of our Terriiorie?. We would report that we have 
 made an estimate of the probable cost of the scheme. We propose, as 
 follows : — 
 
 Salaries. 
 
 Two permanent of!icials in Great Britain, at $100 per 
 
 month, each .... $3,400 
 
 Four mf'n located in Eastern Canada and Chicago, 
 
 three months, at $100 per month 1,200 
 
 Travelling Expentea. 
 
 Two officials in Great Britain, at $5 per day, each... 3,600 
 
 Four agents in Eastern Canada, at$5 per day, each. 1,800 
 
 OflSce expenses ~ 3,000 
 
 Preparing and printing pamphlets 4,000 
 
 Total il6,000 
 
 The Government will perceive that thoy propose to give 
 out of their own revenue $5,000, if $10,000 is given for the 
 same purpose by the Dominion. Now, Sir, 1 cannot help 
 thinking that greater benefits vrouid result if the Local 
 Government bad to deal with this matter, and not the 
 Dominion. The Department of Agriculture will necessarily 
 
10 
 
 deal veiy generally with the question of immigration ; but 
 if we had local agents oontroiled by the Advisory Board 
 in Eegina, their aotion would be focnssed in certain 
 channels, and the immigrants' attention would be directed, 
 not to the North-West in a vague way, but to particular 
 parts of the North- West having special attractions, and 
 they would be put on board the train at Halifax and sent 
 on to these destinations. The next resolution relates to 
 half-breeds : 
 
 " The Assembly recommends tbat grantiDg of scrip to half-breeds of 
 Manitoba and the North-West Territories be extended to such half- 
 breed heads of families and their children who, on the 15th daj of July, 
 1870, were resident of non-ceded territory, and who hare since morel 
 to either Manitoba or the North-West Territories." 
 
 " The Assembly would further recommend that half-breeds residing 
 in the North-West Territories on the 20th April, 1886, who were other- 
 wise entitled to scrip, but who failed to comply with the conditions of 
 the Order in Oouncit of the 20th April, 1886, be granted scrip notwith- 
 standing such Order in Oouncil. As under the Half-breed Cfommiseion 
 of the 20th of March, 1886, the Indian title, in so far as the half-breeds 
 are concerned, only extends to these born prior to the I6th July, 1870, 
 and as a nutnber have been born to parents coming under the said com*^ 
 mision of 1886, who, in the opinion of this Assembly, have equal rights 
 to those already dealt with, this Assembly would draw the attention of 
 the Dominion Government te the fact and urge that steps be taken to 
 finally end all half-breed claims. This Assembly would also urge the 
 appointment of judges of the North-West Territories as permanent com- 
 missioners, to adjust and investigate baU-breed claims, as the system of 
 the fiying commission is very unsatisfactory to th^ people and unneces- 
 sarily expensive to the Government." 
 
 Now, I would state this argument to the House. Under 
 the Manitoba Act of 1870, 1,400,000 acres of land were set 
 apart for half-breed children* These did not extend out- 
 side of Manitoba. Therefore, the primitive contract made 
 between the Government and the half-breeds did not ex- 
 tend outside of Manitoba, or to any other half-breeds or 
 bands of half-breeds. We acknowledge the Indian title in 
 the half-breed ; we acknowledge that he has the Indian title. 
 When we come to extinguish the Indian title with a band 
 of Indians, what do we do ? We make a treaty with them. 
 We do not insist that Treaty six shall do for what we after- 
 wards call Treaty seven. We do not insist that a treaty 
 with the Blackieet will do for a treaty with the Crees, bat 
 we act, as do sensible men in ordinary life ; we deal frankly 
 with the persons with whom we have to deal, in regard to 
 the interests they control. Those half-breeds in the North- 
 West were not in Manitoba at the time the Manitoba Act 
 was passed, and the arrangement made to extinguish the 
 Indian title in Manitoba. As we took no stops — and 
 it was our fault that we took none — to extinguiph the title 
 in 1870 of the half-breeds in the North-West, and did noth- 
 
 
11 
 
 ing in 1885, how can we say to the half-breeds in the 
 North-Weet in 18? 5 : Now, we are going to deal with you as 
 though yon had been dealt with already in 1870 in Mani- 
 toba. I could never eee the reason which would justify 
 that position being taken, and I am perfectly certain 
 the matter has only to be brought to the attention of Par- 
 liament and the Government to lead them to do what is 
 statesmanlike and proper — to lead them to deal with the 
 half-breeds to-day who were not in Manitoba and were not 
 dealt with at that time, on the footing of the present, 
 and on the same principle on which was based the 
 settlement with the half-breeds in Manitoba, and give to the 
 children that exist to-day what was given to the children 
 in 1870. As a fact, the name of every half breed child born 
 in the country, up to the 20th April, 1885, is on record in 
 the Department of the Interior, so that it is not necessary 
 to do more than look into the affidavits. Then comes the 
 third resolution in regard to the question of scrip : 
 
 "Tbftt the Dominion Government be requested to grant scrip to all 
 those acting during the Xorth-West rebellion aa scouts under the Police 
 Act." 
 
 I am happy to state that this matter of scrip, which has so 
 often occupied our attention, is on the way to be satisfac- 
 torily settled by the Government. The next resolution re- 
 lates to a body of men which is a credit to Canada. 
 No Canadian visits the North-West without feeling 
 proud of the Mouuted Police. We have had English gen- 
 eral officers visiting the North-West, and they looked 
 with envy on that body of 1,100 men, each one of 
 whom would be a model for a statue. These men 
 who took part in putting down the reb'^llion, fought, 
 when they had the opportunity, as gallantly as did the 
 volunteers. They endured hardship, they did everything 
 they had an opportunity of doing, and all they complain of 
 is that they did not get more opportunity ; and if they 
 had had more opportunity, I believe we might have brought 
 the rebellion to a close more rapidly and not less gloriously. 
 Many of these policemen endured hardships, and it is no 
 new thing for them to endure hardships. Their whole life, 
 especially in the winter, is one of oontinuoas strain, and 
 there is no soldier's life as trying as the life of the Mounted 
 Police, in the winter, up in the North- West. The Assembly 
 passed this resolution : 
 
 " We would beg leave, respectfully, to point out that in great measure 
 the services of this force were insuflSciently appreciated ia Canada, that 
 the arguments advanced against their receiving such awards are, in our 
 opinion, to a great extent, fallacious, and that we are confident such a 
 
13 
 
 bestowal will be hailed throughout the North- West as a satisfaotioa, 
 and as an act of justice." 
 
 What they ask for is the same award of scrip as has been 
 conferreci on other corps, but I can tell yon that many of 
 the mounted police have told me they cared very little for 
 scrip, bat that certainly, as they had borne the brant and 
 heat of the day as well as others, they would like to have 
 it ; bat they should also have a medal. Then comes a reso- 
 lution with regard to the main trails. I do not expect to 
 be able to clear up the mystery of the main trails and to 
 unlighten Parliament on this recondite subject. The trails 
 are from Macleod to Calgary, from Calgary to Edmonton 
 and Athabasc a Landing, from Swift Current to Battleford, 
 and from Qu'Appelle to Prince Albert. These trails will 
 require for some time to be kept in good order, and the 
 Assembly reports: 
 
 " The condition of some of these trails at certain seasons of the year 
 has proTcd to be dangerous to life and property, and communication 
 between the diflbi'ent settlements made most difficult and supplies 
 not only rendered much dearer but in fact almost impossible to obtain. 
 Such a condition of affairs is a most important elemeut in retarding 
 settlement and the proper development of the Territories, and as the 
 funds at the disposal of the Territorial Government are insufficient to 
 make tbe necesbary improvements and we consider the Dominion Qov- 
 ernment especially interested in those trails, we would therefore urge 
 that the Dominion Government appropriate a special sum to be ezpen- 
 ded on the following trails : From Macleod to Calgary. From Calgary 
 to Edmonton and Athabasca Landing. From Swift Current to Battle- 
 ford. FromQu'Appelle to Prince Albert." 
 
 Now I come to a great question in the North- West. The 
 resolution is very long but very important, which the 
 council has passed, and I will ask the attention of hon. 
 members while I read. It is as follows : — That it is desir- 
 able, in the interest of the settlers and of the settlement in 
 the Territories, that the time of payment tor preemption in 
 arrears should be extended five years from the 1st of 
 January, i889, without interest, and on condition that 
 homesteaders remain on and continuously cultivate their 
 homesteads during that period : 
 
 "That it would be only just to those who entered the landa in the 
 Territories, during the operation of the Act permitting second home- 
 steading, that the right to second bomesteading should in all cases 
 be extended to them, provided they have continuously cultivated their 
 first homesteads. 
 
 '' That in tbe year 1885 a regalatiou was in force whereby persons en- 
 tering for cancelled lands could secure only eighty acres for a home- 
 stead, and eighty acres as a pre-emption, and as this regulation was 
 acknowledged to be unw'oe and unjust by its withdrawal, settlers in 
 such a disadvantageous pi/sition bhuuld be allowed the same rights and 
 privileges as other dona ^itf settlers, by being granted a full quarter 
 section as a homestead." 
 
18 
 
 The 
 the 
 
 bOD. 
 
 desir* 
 )nt in 
 ion in 
 at of 
 that 
 their 
 
 ia the 
 
 home- 
 
 caaeB 
 
 )d their 
 
 The Aseemblj does not seem to be aware that in 1887 the 
 late Minister of the Interior did away with the eighty acre 
 homesteads and the eighty aore preemptions. What they 
 do pray for, and what many oontend should be done, is that 
 those who have got the eighty acres homestead, and the 
 eighty acres pre-emption, and have paid for the eighty 
 acres preemption, should have the money returned, but 
 since 1887 there have been no eighty acre pre-emptions or 
 homesteads, the smallest being 160 acres. 
 
 " That, whereas in the years 1884, 1885 and 1886 persons entering for 
 lands that had been cancelled, were char^^ed, in addition to an extra fee 
 for inspection, besides yalue for improvements that had been made, also 
 an additional price for pre-emptions, varying from 26 cents to $1 per 
 acre, which additional price was demanded at the time of making entry ; 
 
 " And, whereas there was no good reason, in the greater ralne of 
 snch lande, for the additional charge per acre ; 
 
 '* Therefore, the prices of snch pre-emptions should be reduced to the 
 prices charged for uncancelled lands in the same districts ; and moneys 
 paid thereon should be applied to the payment of such pre-emptions at 
 tho said reduced price. 
 
 "That, whereas it has been preyed that, for the luccess of the settler. 
 
 it is necessary for him to enga'ge in both grain and stock raising, and 
 it has been demonstrated that for this purpose the settler requires not 
 less than 320 acres of land ; 
 
 " And whereas from the fact that many settlers have been unable to 
 pay for their pre-emptions, it has been shown that the prices for pre- 
 emptions have been placed at too high a figure, thus practically deprivine 
 many homesteaders of the benefit of pre-emptions, which are essential 
 for success in mixed farming ; 
 
 " That, in oases where pre-emptions have been cancelled dnring the 
 past three years, because settlers were unable to pay for the same, tnese 
 lands shonld not be held open for homesteading until the whole matter 
 regarding pre-emptions has been farther considered. 
 
 " Therefore, it is advisable that the prices of pre-emptions be reduced 
 to the following figures, viz. : For lands within twenty miles of an oper- 
 ated railway, two aollars per acre, and for lands at a greater distance 
 from an operated railway, one dollar per acre. 
 
 " That, in the interests of the Territories, specially of the prairie 
 districts, it is desirable that every possible encouragement should be 
 given to tree-culture ; 
 
 " Therefore, it is desirable that arrangements should be made, whereby 
 tree planting, with continued and successful cultivatioo, should w 
 permitted to stand in the place of grain cultivation, acre for acre, as 
 fulfilment of homestead duties ; 
 
 '* That, in paying for pre-emption, tree planting be allowed to count 
 at the rate of five cents for each tree planted by the settlers and found 
 growing on their homestead or pre-emption for two years next preceding 
 snch payment. 
 
 " Tnat the present system of having odd-numbered sections withdrawn 
 for homesteading is pernicious ; tha^ *J- is an injury to settlers, inasmuch 
 as, preventing close settlement, it throws additional burdens on them 
 for carrying on schools and for necessary improvements. 
 
 " Above all, because the settlement of the land is of more value, and 
 will bring more revenue into the Treasury, than the possible sale of 
 iandstbus withheld from settlement will, and because the throwing open 
 ot these sections for homesteading would be farther inducement for 
 emigrants to come to these ^rritories, seeing they wonld then be ^able 
 to enjoy the advantages of close neighborhood to other settlers. 
 
14 
 
 " That, shoald it be foond neoeasary in fatare to withhold public lands 
 from bomesteading for railway purposes, it would be well to proTide 
 that alternate quarter-seotions be granted instead of alternate sections. 
 
 "Therefore, it is advisable that arrangements be made, where pos- 
 sible, to throw open all odd-numbered sections for bomesteading, seeing 
 that this would be in the true interests of the Territories, and also there- 
 fore of the Dominion. 
 
 " That, as the large portion of the Dominion lands is in the Terri- 
 tories, it is most desirable, in the interest of the settler, the Territories 
 and the Dominion, that a Dominion Land Board should be established 
 at some central and convenient point in the Territories. 
 
 ' < That His Honor the Lieutenant Governor will be pleased to transmit 
 a memorial embodying this report to the proper authorities at Ottawat 
 for the consideration of His Excellency the Governor General in 
 Council. " 
 
 I have troubled the House with reading this long document 
 to them, but it is so important, and deals with matters which 
 are so important for the settlers, that I may be excused. 
 Eemember, it is the voice of an Assembly elected by a suf- 
 frage practically extending to every man over twenty*one 
 years of age in the North- West Territories, and, as you 
 have really the administration of our affairs in your hands, 
 it is only right and proper that I should bring the views of 
 these people before you. One of the main questions dealt 
 with there is the second bomesteading, and that question 
 has two aspects. The first aspect la this : Men who come 
 in under the Dominion Lands Act of 1883 came in with the 
 right under that Act, when they got their patent, to get a 
 second homestead. In 1886, on the 2nd of June, assent was 
 given to an Act which took away this light that these people 
 came in under. I consider that it was a most monstrous 
 thing to do. It must have been done thoughtlessly, but it 
 was a monstrous thing to do. In 1887, when I came down 
 here, I put a little Bill on the paper, making some amend- 
 ments to the Dominion Lands Act, and, amongst others, 
 this relating to the second homestead. We saw my late 
 lamented friend, the Hon. Thomas White, several 
 times on that subject, my colleagues, the hon. member for 
 Saskatchewan (Mr. Macdowall), the hon. member for 
 Alberta CMr. Davis), and the late member for Eastern 
 Assiniboia (Mr. Perley), who has gone to another place. 
 
 An hon. MEMBER. Carried. 
 
 Mr.DAVIN. Who says "Carried?" I hope there is 
 not a gentleman in this House, either on the Beform or the 
 Conservative side, who is so little aware of what his duties 
 in this House are, and of what his duties as a member of 
 Parliament are, as to hesitate to give whatever time is 
 necessary to that great territory which you administer 
 here. We saw the Hon. Thomas White several times, 
 
 
15 
 
 and we pressed, or rather I think I pressed, this question 
 of the second homesteading on him. I rather think both 
 my hon. friends differed with me on that, as well as the 
 hon. gentleman who was theo the member for Eastern As- 
 siniboia. I may say here, in passing, if the House will ex* 
 cuse a personal word, that, when I have had to speak on 
 this subject of the second homesteading before my con- 
 stituents, I have stated on the platform what I 
 say now, that my colleagues differed with me on 
 this question of a second homestead, but I never 
 introduced the subject without paying a tribnte to the 
 efficiency and the zeal of my colleagues, which I could not 
 do here in their presence, because one can speak with more 
 energy and enthusiasm behind the back of another than 
 before his face. But, thereupon, some of those gentlemen 
 who are always bent upon doing kind things and represent- 
 ing one exactly as one is, some newspaper would say that I 
 hi^ attacked my colleagues. This House is aware that it is 
 not my custom to attack any man behind his back, especially 
 men who are my personal friends. Well, these gentlemen 
 differed with me. However, I talked several times with the 
 Hon. Thomas White about it, and I made an argument on 
 going into committee on this Bill, just before we went to 
 dinner, which I think irrefragable, and I call the attention of 
 the Government to it now because it is an argument that 
 cannot be got over. Under our legislation of 1886, men 
 who never were entitled to a second homestead morally, 
 that is to say, men who came into the country before such 
 a thing as a second homestead was heard c>f, could get a 
 second homestead, but not one man except those who came 
 in during the eight days between the 25th May and 2nd June, 
 who came in with that motive, could get a second homestead. 
 I say that wa!3 a reductio ad absurdum of the position taken 
 by the Government ; and my hon. friend, as you will see 
 by the Hansard, rose up, after I sat down, and he said : ** I 
 have listened with great interest to the speech of the hon. 
 gentleman, but he has not convinced me." However, I 
 went over to him, I knew he was a journalist, and I knew 
 very well that he would agree that such a thing as that 
 would affect the public mind. I said to him : " Have 
 you considered that argument ? " He said : " I have, 
 and I see the full force of it." Then I said : " You are 
 going to act on it ? " He said : " I do not think I can.'' 
 Now I am not going to repeat the conversation that 
 further took place between us ; but he said : " I cannot 
 act on it." Well, I got a little mad, that is to say, I got 
 a little aggravated ; it is very seldom that I get mad, but 
 
]< 
 
 when I do, it is merely a righteous indignation. I 
 came over to my plaoe, and after thinking for a 
 time, I went over to him again and I said : " Weil, look 
 here, you have been very good to us, you have done nearly 
 everything that could have been done by your department. 
 You have got rid of that eighty acres, and that forty mile 
 limit for uncancelled homesteads. Yon have done all that 
 you could for us. J^fow put that on one year and I will be 
 satisfied for the present, and we will let the Bill slide through 
 the committee, making a few amendooents." I knew he 
 would. " Well," he said, " I will risk it," and it was put on, 
 as you will have seen. Of course, I may point out to you 
 that the hon. gentleman admitted the principle for that 
 year. He put in it on from 1886 to 1887, as you will find 
 it in the Act passed in that year. I said, *' Put it on one 
 year, and make that 1887, instead of 1886, and we will be 
 satisfied for the present." The reason that I did that was this : 
 halt a loaf was better than no bread. That would enable all 
 that came in in 1884, all that were entitled to second home- 
 steads that year, 1887, to get them. No man that came in 
 in 1886 could get a second homestead that year. I said to 
 him, moreover, that nearly all our people came in in 1884. 
 I did not know, until I went back to the Territories, that a 
 large number had come in in 1886 and 1886. Now, Sir, that 
 is one part of the second homesteading. There is another 
 side to it. We have what are called cancelled homesteads, 
 that is to say, a man comes and enters for a first home- 
 stead. He does not fulfil the conditions. There are certain 
 conditions as to residence, six months' residence each, con* 
 ditions as to the building of a house, and conditions as to 
 cultivation. If he does not fulfil these, if it be shown clearly 
 that he has neglected these, the commissioner in Winnipeg 
 will most properly give directions to have the homestead 
 cancelled. The rale passed by the land board about these 
 cancelled homesteads was this, that no man entitled to a 
 second homeste;id could second homestead a cancelled 
 homestead unless within forty miles of his original homestead. 
 Well, as a large number of speculators had gone in in 1882 
 and 1883, as a large amount of land was cancelled, this was 
 a very bad arrangement, because it prevented the man who 
 was in the country from going and taking up a desirable 
 spot that had been taken up by these land graobors, and it 
 allowed the man just coming into the country to 
 take it up. Well, Mr. White agreed that that should 
 be reduced to six miles; and after the land board 
 had met it was arranged that a man could seoond- 
 homestead a cancelled homestead within six miles. Now, 
 
If 
 
 Sir, what we say is this : What is the virtare of this six 
 miles ? The oiiginal idea, no donht, in the minds of those 
 who declared that you ooald not homestead a cancelled 
 homestead, except it were forty miles distant from the 
 original homestead — I have no donbt that the original idea 
 was this : if we allowthem to second-homestead a cancelled 
 homestead near their original homestead, they will get some 
 friend to homestead a desirable location, then leave it, and 
 then they will go by-and-by and second- homestead it. I 
 believe that the danger of that sort of thing was never as 
 great as was expected. Nearly all the ideas, or a priori 
 specalations, of politicians as to what woald happen in 
 regard to the North- West, have turned out to be ground- 
 less. One of the speculations about this second homesteading 
 was this : that Ontario farmers would go in and homestead, 
 would build a house, would cultivate the place, and then 
 Englishmen, or Irishmen, or Scotchmen, would come in and 
 buy their holdings, and they would gooflf and second-home- 
 stead. Well, of course, that was a poor idea, because 
 it would give you a perambulating settlement. I may say 
 here that the very moment that fact was brought to my 
 attention in 1883 — it was in the autumn of 1883 when I first 
 saw this second-homestead policy — I raised my voice against 
 it, and protested against it. I saw that it was a dangerous 
 policy, and I condemned it as a bad policy. But I say that the 
 fact of its being a bad policy does not always relieve you 
 from your obligation that you entered into, which obligation 
 yon must carry out.even though it is under a bad policy. Now, 
 Sir, it is not a good thing to drink champagne, for instance. 
 If yon drink enough of it, and drink it often enough, it 
 will tear your liver to pieces. But if a man who is fond 
 of champagne were to order some from Mr. Bate, and theuj 
 when Mr. Bate sent the bill, he were to sit down and write 
 to him and say : " Dear Sir, drinking champagne is a mis- 
 take ; it is bad for the liver ; it is not conductive to general 
 health ; I have given ap drinking champagne and as a mat- 
 ter of principle I won't pay your bill." Why, what would 
 Mr. Bate say to him? He would say, " You are under 
 obligation to pay, and I will hold you to it." Well, I will 
 not trouble the House with the letters, but I have letters 
 here from a number of these men who say they came in 
 here having before their eyes pamphlets in which this 
 very North- West Act of 1883 was quoted; they came 
 in here with that promise of a second homestead playing 
 on their wills, and what did they find ? Why, they 
 had scarcely fulfilled the conditions for getting a second 
 homestead-^three years it takes; on the 25th of May 
 2 
 
18 
 
 the olante was put in and it requires three years 
 to perfect the oonditions to get a seoond homestead; 
 and on the 2nd June, 1886, the second homcBtead was done 
 away with. They, of course, point out what a very unjust 
 thing it is. You see how irritating it is to those who came 
 in, in 1884, 1885 and 1886. The men who came in from the 
 26th May, 1883, or before, up to the 2nd June, 1884, could 
 go, owing to the change that my hon. friend the late Min- 
 ister of Interior made, and get a second homestead. The 
 principle has been acknowledged. But men who came in in 
 1885 and lb86, with this same Act on the statute-book, 
 cannot get a second homestead, because as I tell you, the 
 amendment that I was able to effect in 1887 only wflnt the 
 one year. Last yenr I did not bring it up, for a lamentable 
 reason — because we had lost the man who haa been such an 
 ornament to this House. It may be said — I know that 
 argaments of this kind are sometimes used — that this wa» 
 permissive. I will say this for the late Minister, that he 
 never attempted to pioos that objection ; but I will call the 
 attention of the Minister of Interior to the argument on 
 that head. The 37th clause of the Dominion Lands Act, 
 1883, reads as follows : — 
 
 " Anj peisoQ who haa obtained a homeiiead patent after two years' 
 residence, or a certificate countersigned by the Commissioner of Dom- 
 inion Lands, as in the next preceding clause mentioned, with the addi- 
 tional statement that there has been three years' residence, may obtain 
 another homestead and pre-emption entry. " 
 
 Of course it would be quite unworthy of a Government to 
 rest anything on that word " may " ; but if anybody at- 
 tempted to do so, what have we? We have that declared 
 by the statute to be a right, so that any difficulty on that 
 head is entirely removed. If we look at section 2, chapter 
 54 of the Ee vised Statutes, we find that pre-emption entry 
 means : 
 
 " The entering on the books of a local agent for a preferential claim 
 to acquire by purchase, in connection with the homestead, and on be- 
 coming entitled to the patent for the homestead, a quarter section, or 
 part of a quarter section of land adjoining such homestead ; and existing 
 pre-emption right means the right of obtaining, and right to such 
 quarter section '' 
 
 If we turn to section 3, what do we find ? It is declared 
 with regard to pre-emptions : 
 
 " And further, such person shall forfeit his homestead and pre-emption 
 right." 
 
 So that in one part of the Act, in regard to a matter where 
 it is said he may obtain pre-emption, we have it declared 
 that that is a right, fiui mark the language of section 43 : 
 
19 
 
 " No person who has obtained a homestead patent or a certificate 
 coantersigned by the Oommissioner of Dominion Lands or a member of 
 the Dominion Lands Board, as in the next preceding olanse mentioned, 
 shall be entitled to obtain another homestead entry ; but nothing con- 
 tained in this clause shall take away the rtyAfof any person who, be- 
 fore the and day of June, 1886, had received such certificate or recom- 
 mendation for a patent." 
 
 So that the Aot oi 1686, in so many words, declares that it 
 was taking away, not a poHsibility of getting a second 
 homestead at the discretion of the Minister, but taking 
 away a right which it acknowledges in express terms. It 
 is hardly necessary to * ^ke up the time of the House with 
 the second branch of tbe second homestead question, be- 
 cause the Minister can deal with that administratively. 
 But I will say this, as I have pointed out before, that I can 
 see no advantage and no magic in the six-mile limit, and I 
 
 Snnted out, when I had the honor of an interview with the 
 inister of Interior when I first came down, that one of the 
 best settlers north of Pense, Joseph Young, who has cul- 
 tivated every acre of his homestead and pre«emption 
 cnltivatable, has next to him a cancelled homestead, but he 
 cannot enter on it. It would be a very desirable thing for 
 him if he could do so, for he has two stalwart sons and a 
 family, and he is one of our best farmers. Hu came into the 
 country with nothing and he is a well-to-do man to-day, and in 
 no year, not even in 1886, did he fail to have a crop; he has had 
 a crop every year, bat he is a ttioroughpacad farmer and is a 
 first-rate man. He cannot, however, homestead that can- 
 celled homestead adjoining his own, and what is the use of 
 his going away ? He is forty-five years old and does 
 not want to go away six miles. But that, I repeat, 
 is a matter which can be dealt with administratively, and 
 so I will not trouble the House further with it beyond 
 calling attention to a petition I have here which was pres- 
 ented to the Minister. It was sent to him by a large num- 
 ber of agricultural societies, urging this question of second 
 homesteading, and also urging that time be give for pay- 
 ment of pre-emptions. I will say this, as I said to the 
 farmers, that I think there is no need of their being very 
 anxious about their being allowed time. So far as my 
 experience of the department goes, no bona-fide farmer has 
 ever been pressed for his pre-emption payment if he could 
 show that he was going along in a oona-fide manner. I 
 have always found that Mr. Smith, and the department here, 
 the moment they were satisfied that the man was a h(ma 
 fide settler, were willing to agree to any reasonable represent- 
 ations made, provided the matter was all right. So I never 
 felt nervous in regard to that matter. I will only add this 
 
20 
 
 ilirther, that tba farmers around Moose Jaw and elsewhere 
 are very aDzious they nhoald be given five years in whioh 
 to pay for their pre-emptions. I will make a farther com- 
 ment on this resolution, beoaose there is one clause in it 
 with which I do not agree. It reads : 
 
 "Should it bb foand necesearj in the future to withhold public lands 
 from homesteAding for railway purposea, it should be provided that 
 alternate quarter sections be granted instead of alternate sectioni." 
 
 In the same resolution it is stated : 
 
 '' It has been proved that for the success of the settler it is necessary 
 for him to engage in both stock raising and grain, and it has been de- 
 monstrated that for this purpose a settler requires not less than 320 
 acres. " 
 
 So one part of the resolution is, inadvertently, contrary to 
 the other. In one part it says that 320 acres are necessary, 
 and in aLOther part it states that alternate quarter sections 
 should be given to the railway. I have here a long commu- 
 nication that I received this mornirg from the agricultural 
 society of Moose Jaw, referring to this part of the resolution 
 and strongly condemning it,strongly emphasising this view, 
 that they require to summer lallow, to go into mixed 
 farming, and that farmers cannot raise crops profitably in 
 the North- West unless thoy summer fallow. Part of the 
 land has to be fallowed this year while crops are 
 raised on another part, and crops should be grown 
 this year on land which was summer fallowed last year. 
 If you do not adopt that you will not farm successfully, and 
 that is the way Mr. Young, to whom I referred a moment 
 ago, iarms. 1 want to say one word about the last part of 
 that resolution, which asks for the establishment of a 
 Dominion Lands Office in the Territories. This, I think, is 
 a very important matter,and I may point out that the right 
 hon. gentleman, in his report of 1882, declares it necessary 
 to establish in the North- West a land board. However, 
 when it was decided to establish this land board, instead of 
 placing it in the North-West it was established at Winnipeg, 
 in Manitoba. I think it would be a very wise thing to do 
 what the Legislative Assembly suggests, and to move that 
 land board to the North- West. At the present moment 
 you are getting an enormous revenue from the North-West. 
 This year I see gladly, by the report of the Minister of 
 Interior, the revenue of the Department of the Interior is 
 $540,b05. No doubt some of that comes from Manitoba, 
 but the main portion of it undoubtedly comes from the 
 North-West Territory, and as the principal business of the 
 land board will be done in the North- West Territory, I 
 jbelieye that if it were established at Segina, instead of at 
 
21 
 
 WiDDipeg, it would be a great improvement. The last 
 resolation of these gentlemen deals with the question of 
 responsible government. It says : 
 
 " That there ii no permanent responiible body whose basineis it ii to 
 prepare legislation for the consideration of this Assembly, and in conse- 
 qaence its legislative functions cannot be satisfactorily performed. For 
 instance, the Assembly has had^to present an bumble address to His 
 Honor the Lieutenant Governor, praving that he may be pleased to 
 appoint a Oommitte j to draft during toe recess certain meabures deemed 
 advisable by the As lembly ; measures which it should be the duty of 
 Legislative Governjient to submit That on these and other accounts 
 the Assembly believes the present svstem to be unsatisfactory. That, 
 therefore, the Assembly recommends to His Excellency the Qovernor 
 General in Oonnoil that full responsible government should be given 
 to the Territories with the other powers, in addition to those already 
 possessed by the Assembly." 
 
 And a farther resolution : 
 
 " That the amount annually voted by the Dominion Parliament for 
 the eipensei of government, ftc. in the North- West Territories, should 
 ha given in the form of a definite grant instead of a rate which lapses 
 at the end of the fiscal year for which it is voted ; 
 
 *' That the said grant should be placed at the disposal and subject to 
 the vote of the North- West Legislative Assembly ; 
 
 " That although the North- West Territories have not been admitted 
 into Confederation as a Province, yet they consider that the fact of 
 their paying; taxes to the Federal Treasury, under the same laws, rules 
 and regulations and provisions as the people of other parts of Canada, 
 and having been called upon to exercise the functions of local self- 
 government by the Parliament of Canada, they are entitled to receive 
 a return on the amount paid by them into the Federal Treasury of a 
 sum similar to that received by the various Provinces comprising the 
 Canadian Confederation ; 
 
 " That they consider that a greater proportion of taxation per head 
 is paid by the people of the North- West Territories than by the people 
 of any other part of Canada; 
 
 " That the cost of administrating the Gorernment of the North-West 
 Territories is much larger in proportion to the population than in any 
 other part of Canada by reason of the greater area and more widely 
 scattered settlements ; 
 
 " That the maintenance and improvement of main trails in the Terri- 
 tories should be the subject of special consideration at the hands of the 
 Federal Parliament; 
 
 '* That inasmuch as the lands, timber and minerals of the North- West 
 Territories are held for sale by the Federal Government, which deprives 
 the North- West Government of any revenue from these sources, and 
 the Provinces of Confederation , with the exception of Manitoba, having 
 revenues from said sources; 
 
 (( Therefore your committee are stronglv of opinion that a largely in- 
 creased grant should be given to the Noith-West Territories for expenses 
 of North- West Government, construction of roads and bridges, the im- 
 prorement of main trails, and other public improvements.' ' 
 
 The House will be glad to know, sir, that the Advisory 
 Board has worked wonderfally^ well. Although I do not 
 think any more than do those gentlemen, or the mem- 
 bers of the Assembly, that that board is as efieotive 
 a machine of government as complete responsible 
 
government would be, yet, Sir, I had an opportnity 
 of observing the oharaber daring its session and I will 
 say this, that the Advisory Board und the admirable manner 
 in' which Governor Boyul fell in with the idea of making it 
 a sliding Hcule to rosponsibie government worked admir* 
 ably and gave a now oharaoter altogether to the absembly 
 as compared with the council. In the North- West Coonoil, 
 as my friend tbe Minister of Interior will remember, they 
 discuMsed mutters more like men in committee, bat with the 
 Advihory Board thoy at oiico lull in with the parliamentary 
 practice, and the intoiiigence displayed by the gentlemen 
 who are now members of that assembly and the capacity 
 which they showed in their conduct of the proceedings, 
 are fraught with the best promise for the fatare of that 
 country. I wish to call the attention of the House for one 
 moment to what might bo called our claims on the Federal 
 Government. Many gentlemen in this House and else- 
 where think that we are always asking for something, and 
 that we are, in fact, asking for too much. They think 
 wo are unreasonable in the North-West, while the fact is 
 that we are entitled to a great deal more than we get. 
 
 Mr. SCBIYEB. Yoa are astonished at your own modera- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. DAVIN. My friend on the right says *' we are 
 astonished at our own moderation," and i have no objection 
 to accept his language. The old council of 1887 petitioned 
 for responsible government and the memorial set forth: 
 That by the census of 1885 the population of the North- 
 West Territories was 28,000, larger by 11,000 than that of 
 Manitoba when she was admitted into Confederation. The 
 population bus much inoroased since that census, as eviden- 
 ced from the new electoral districts erected. Manitoba v/sjr 
 erected into a Province in 1870, and as we see in 33 Vic, 
 cap» 3, sec. 25, she received $30,000 in support of govern- 
 ment, 80 cents per head of the population, which was esti- 
 mated at 17,000, and the salaries of the Lieutenant 
 Governor, judges, charges in respect to customs, postal, 
 fisheries, militia, geological, penitentiary department, and 
 so on, were all paid by the Federal Treasury. In 1882, 
 according to 45 Vic, cap. 5, when the population of Mani- 
 toba, according to the census of 1881, was 69,954, that 
 Province was allowed 80 cents per head on 150,000 souls, 
 indemnity for want of public lands of $45,000 ] and in 1870, 
 because the Province was not in debt, 5 per cent, 
 on $472,000, making altogether $238,000. By 48-49 
 Yic, cap. 50, she got swamp lands and 150^000 
 
acres for a university and the indemnity for 
 want of pablio lands inoreasoii tu S 100,000. Now 
 I ask the attention of the Uouho to thiH argument. It 
 is an argument of proportion, nnch an argament as we all 
 have made when learning the rule of throe 8t school. If 
 Manitoba, in 1882, with a oomhuh population ot 65,954, was 
 allowed 80 oents a head uu u pof)ulation of 150,000^ 
 then the North- West, four years aftor, it wah declared 
 by the cenHUH of 18>*6, to have a p)pulation of 28,000, 
 must be entitled to HO oentH a head on about 80,00() people. 
 But take the ratio adopted attor one year, and we are 
 entitled to 80 contH a head on 70,000, or 35fi,000 ; for gov- 
 ernment, 150,000; and for wantofou'* public landw, $15,000* 
 Then, if Manitoba with a population ot 17,000, not having 
 any debt, was entitled to 6 per cent, on ^472,000, the 
 North-West Territories, with a cennun population of 28,000, 
 would be entitled to 6 per cent, on $774,000, or $38,700 ; and 
 as we have moro land than Mnnitoba, our gross revenue 
 should amount to $23:^700. Wo should aletu tmve 150,000 
 acres of land for a university, and money for our own 
 lunatic asylum, as well as Manitoba, Now, Sir, the tone 
 taken towards that western couniry is a tone which I 
 believe will liOt be often taken in this House alter hon. 
 gentlemen come to see what iis claiuis are ; beoaano at the 
 present minute we must regard that western country as 
 composed of Manitoba, the Nurth-West Territories and 
 British Columbia, all west of the great lakes; and what do 
 yon find? If you compare the amount that western 
 oountry pays in customs duties with the amouLt paid by 
 an old Province like Nova Scotia or New Brunswick, you 
 will find that it pays m«re, and the paper which was put 
 into my hands a few days ago by the Inland Hevenae 
 Department shows that we drink a great deal more beer 
 per head west of the great lakes, and pay a great deal more 
 of inland revenue than the two Provinces of Nova Scotia 
 and New Brunswick put together. 
 
 An hon. MEMBER. It is a bad sign. 
 
 Mr. DAVIN. It may be a bad sign, but it shows that 
 the people there are a very prosperous people, and can 
 afford to spend a good deal of money on the four articles of 
 beer, wine, tobacco and whiskey. I find also that the 
 banking business done, taking into account discounts, the 
 amount of capital invested, and all the details of banking, 
 shows well for the western country. Now, my right hon. 
 friend, in reply to a question, told me a few days ago that 
 he did not intend to bring in a Bill this year giving^ full 
 
14 
 
 responsible government to the Territories ; but, in passing, 
 I wieh to say that when that Bill is brought in, or probably 
 it might be done now, a large portion of territory should be 
 given to the Local Government to bo used by it for subsidiz- 
 ing branoh lines of railway. I am not fond, as this House 
 knows, of drawing comparisons with what is done in the 
 United States; but I may state that when they organise a 
 territory in the United States, they pay oat of the Federal 
 treasury all the expenses that we do, they give the territories 
 the school lands and the swamp lands, as we have done in the 
 case of Manitoba ; but they do more than that. When Minne- 
 sota, Wyoming, Dakota and Montana were organised, each of 
 these Territories got a large extent of territory for subsi- 
 dising branch lines. Minnesota, with 83,000 square miles 
 (Assiuiboia has 93,000 square miles), received land for sub- 
 sidising 1,800 miles of railway, and with the swamps, started 
 in Tiossession of one-third of the Territory, What does that 
 policy enable these Territories to do? It gives them, while 
 young, that nutriment and vital force, without which any- 
 thing young cannot thrive. As the right hon. the Prime 
 Minister is now acting Minister of Eailways, I should like 
 to call his attention to this fact. At this hour the Govern- 
 ment of Minnesota receives an income of $600,000 a year, 3 
 per cent, on the gross earnings of the lines of railway that 
 it chartered and subsidised since 1849, when it was organ- 
 ised. But it may be said : " Ah, but those Territories were 
 very populous. Not at all. la 1849, when Minnesota was 
 organised, it had only a population of 6,000, and the 
 aggregate population of all the four Territories at th«^ respec- 
 tive dates of their organisation did not equal by five or 
 six thousand the population of the North- West today. That 
 is a point which I submit as well worthy of the considera- 
 tion of the Government, because I think we may err on the 
 side of keeping the strings too much in our hands 
 here at Ottawa, and not giving sufficient scope for the young 
 giant, for which I plead here to-day, to develop his limbs. 
 Now, it will be said to us, no doubt, you have got the 
 Mounted Police. So we have, and we are very glad to have 
 ihem ; but elsewhere you have batteries, militia, and mili- 
 tary schools, and we pay for thoee just as well as you pay 
 for the Mounted Police ; and before you know where you 
 are, 1 believe in the next five years, you will find 
 we shall have a population in those Territories which 
 will be subscribing to your military schools, and 
 batteries, and militia just as much as yon are sub- 
 scribing to the North West Mounted Police. And re- 
 member that in any case the cost of defence would 
 
 ' 
 
26 
 
 )a6BiDg, 
 robably 
 lould be 
 ubsidiz' 
 
 House 
 
 in tbe 
 ;aniee a 
 Federal 
 pritories 
 le in the 
 
 Minne- 
 , each of 
 or subsi- 
 re miles 
 
 for 8ub- 
 I, started 
 does that 
 m, while 
 lioh any- 
 le Prime 
 oald like 
 
 Govern- 
 a year, 3 
 way that 
 as organ- 
 ries were 
 esota was 
 
 and the 
 lie respec- 
 t)y five or 
 lay. That 
 QODsidera* 
 )rr on the 
 lar hands 
 the young 
 tiis limbs. 
 ve got the 
 ad to have 
 
 and mlli- 
 iB you pay 
 vhere you 
 
 will find 
 ■ies which 
 ools, and 
 
 are sub- 
 
 And re- 
 
 Doe would 
 
 fall on the Federal Government ; so that you cannot fairly 
 make anything of our having the Mounted Police. The 
 feeling amongst the people, aLd especially amongst the 
 members of this assembly, who now represent the people, 
 is in favor of full responsible government. Now, I am not 
 going to use the rhetorical language we sometimes hear in 
 this House, and which I always regret to hear, used by men 
 who should speak with tbe balance and restraint of states- 
 men. 
 
 Mr. McCarthy. Hear, hear. 
 
 Mr. DAVIN. My hon. friend from Simcoe says " hear, 
 hear," but if he was rightly reported in a speech that he 
 made not far from here, he himself fell into this same 
 rhetorical exaggeration. We sometimes hear it said in this 
 House, that we are not free unless we have the right to 
 make our own treaties. My hon. friend was reported as 
 having said that we were not 'free unless we were repre- 
 sented in the Imperial Parliament, and took up our full 
 share of Imperial responsibility. Of course when the noun 
 " freedom " or the adjective " free " is used in this manner, 
 it is used in a purely rhetorical sense and not in the broad 
 signification, in which constitutional writers use it. 
 When people speak properly of being free, what they mean 
 is that their liberty cannot be interfered with, without their 
 being tried before their peers, that they are not taxed with- 
 out representation. The various ingredients of civil liberty 
 that we are familiar with, we have in the North- West, but 
 I do not think we hare all the advantages that you have 
 here. We suffer there from some disabilities that you 
 do not suffer from, but I regard our position as a free 
 and liberal condition. Every man can there speak the 
 thing he will. I believe the Noith-West Territories will 
 develop at a rapid rate. I see by the report of the Min- 
 ister of Interior that a far larger number of homesteads 
 were taken up last year than the year before. In 1886, 
 294,960 acres in homesteads were taken up ; in 1^87, 
 319,500 ; in 1888, 420,333. From that you see the pro- 
 gressive rate of increase at which homesteads have been 
 taken up. Now, with the crop we had last year and the 
 report of that crop going all over the world — for we have 
 had visits from men from every part of the world — I believe 
 you will find that next year, instead of 420,000 acres being 
 taken up, that number will be greatly increased. 1 believe 
 that certainly *? 00,000 or 800,000 acres in homesteads will 
 be taken up, and the increase will go on at the same 
 rate. There are many documents to which I might 
 3 
 
26 
 
 refer to show the progress made by the North- West. 
 I have not said one word about what the committee of 
 Senator Schultz, now Lieutenant Governor, showed we 
 possessed in the Mackenzie Eiver Basin ; and in the present 
 report of the Interior Department, I see that Mr. Burgess 
 refers in glowing terms to the Yukon Siver district. Take 
 the report of two years back in which there is an account 
 given of the Yukon Biver, and you will find that men make 
 as much as $500 a day mining gold in that district. They 
 have made ^300 and $360, and some $500 in one day. I do 
 not say that happened as a general thing, but still it shows 
 the value of that region. In the North- West Territories we 
 have a large area of prairie land, most fertile and most 
 abundant in its yield ; we have gold, iron, coal, all the fruits 
 of the earth, the forest, and the finest cattle raising country 
 in the world. I say that there is the place that the means 
 will be found to make this country a great and contented 
 nation. I always regret when, in regard to this country, 
 anything like sectional feeling, arising from race or religion 
 or from any other source, is developed ; and it is a great 
 consolation to me to know that up in the North-West, we 
 are freer than in any other part of Canada from those pre- 
 judices of race and religion which are really more inimical 
 to our progress than anything else. I desire to cee this 
 great Canada of ours peopled with French, English, Scotch, 
 Irish, Germans — and in the North-West we ha^e Germans 
 whose settlements are perfect wonders as evidences of 
 what can be done by thrift and energy — I desire to see all 
 these elements moulded into one nation. What I hope to see 
 and what we ought to aim at — French, English, Irish and 
 Scotch— and it will come some day, is to have a United 
 Canada with a Canadian race inhabiting it, and I should 
 like very much to say a few words especially to my 
 French Canadian friends about the North West. 
 
 Some hon. MEMBERS : Enfrangais. 
 
 Mr. DAVIN. If the House will bear with me, since 
 some of my French Canadian friends desire it, I will 
 say a few words to them in their language, though I do 
 BO with a great deal of diffidence. 
 
 Je pretends, M. I'Drateur, qu'il est du devoir des Ecossais, 
 des Irlandais, des Franyais et des Anglais de se fusionner 
 pour former ici une race canadienne. Nous formerons ainsi 
 nne race plus grande que oelle des AUemands, plus grande 
 que celle desCeltes, plus grande que celle des Anglo-Saxons ; 
 une race qui r^unira au jugement, k I'abn^^ation, & la disci- 
 pline, & la sinc6rit6 du Saxon, la yivaoitd d'esprit, le gofit 
 
21 
 
 des arts, le g^nie, Tardear, la pnissanoe ordatrioe da Celte. 
 J'espdre que nous verrons cette race se developper en gran- 
 deur h^ro'iqne et recevoir da Nord-Oaest une inspiration de 
 ponvoirs magnifiqaes. 
 
 Je me bornerai a dire en ce moment aax Canadiens- 
 Franyais dMmiter rezemple de lears peres dont lea faits et 
 gestea dans le passd aa Nord-Oaest son! dignes d'ane admi- 
 ration ep^oiale. Connaissons-noas noas-memes, rendons-noos 
 compte de notre position, et prenona les moyens de fonder 
 ioi ane nation oanadienne. Et, M. I'Orateur, lorsqae viendra 
 le joar oh noas aurons dans le Nord-Oaest ane population 
 plus considerable que dans les provinces d'Ont<ario et de 
 Quebec, lorsque le Nord-Oaest comptera au dela de 10,000,- 
 000 d'habitants, nous pourrons braver les contempteurs, 
 les insulteurs et les intrigants, et peut-etre adresser auz 
 Wiman et autres les mots magnifiques qui s'dchappent de 
 r6me du Cid quand il apprend que Chimene peut devenir le 
 priz de sa valeur :— 
 
 " Bst-il qnelqu'ennemi qu'^ present je ne dompte ? 
 ParaisseE MavarroiB, Maares et Oastillans, 
 Et tout ce que I'Bspagne a nourri de yaillaQts. 
 UniBBez-ToaB eoBemble, et faiteB ane ann6e, 
 Ponr combattre m& main de la iorte animde. 
 Joignez touB tob efforts contre an espoir si donz ; 
 Poar en venir k boat, o'est trop pen qae de Yoas." 
 
 What I have been saying in French, I can repeat in 
 English in a word or two. I was emphasising the fact, that 
 we should make ourselves here a patriotic people, and that 
 instead of trying to emphasise the angles of difference that 
 divide us, we should try to pare away the angles, so that 
 by-and-by we might become one Canadian people, because 
 we have the fi' est country in the world, and, when we 
 have a larger population, with sentiments such as I have 
 indicated pervading them, there is no power in the world 
 that could affect us, but we could stand four square against 
 all the blasts that blow. That is the best free translation 
 that I can give of the magnificent words that Oorneille puts 
 in the month of the did. 
 
 A. SENBOAL, Superintendent of Printing.