^, '^^< '>^. ^Ti IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ ^ /- & ^ 1.0 I.I 2.5 120 1.8 1.25 |||.4 1 1.6 4 6" ► PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STR»' WIBSTIR.N.Y. M5S0 (716) S73-4303 *>:v^ t t ii C 8 I i a L ( if, i i) k 1 I r 1891 had anything to do with it? Has the increase of our national debt from $78,000,000 in 1871, to $237,000,000 or thereabouts in 1891 had anything to do with iti (Hear, hear.) Has our ex- penditure which is now out of all propor- tion to the wants and necessities of the country, anything to do with it 1 Has our national debt, which is out of all proportion to the necessities of a new country like Canada, anything to do with it 1 (Applause.) From the obser- vations of the Finance Minister one would conclude that he is of opinion that the increase of the national debt and the increase of the annual expenditure being good things, are in no way accountable for the deplorable results revealed by the census j .^turns. Sir, not only has our nat- ional debt and our annual expenditure in- creased out of all proportion to the wonts and necessities of the country, but if the national debt and the annual expenditure had been devoted to proper and legiti- mate purposes, one would have little ground of complaint. But, Sir, there is something more than a national debt and an annual expenditure. There has been mismanagement and maladministration, there has been peculation, there has been jobbery, there has been contract broking, there has been plundering, there has been Stealing from the Public Trea sury, and hon. gentlemen know it. (Great cheers.) It is useless for them to at- tempt to stop their ears and close their eyes. Nobody knows better than the Minister of Justice that the history of Canada for the last ten years is a history of Government by corruption, a history of fraud, a history ofipeculation, a his- tory of stealing, a history of contract broking and contract jobbing. (Ap- plause.) The'record is a long record, it is a black record; but as I believe, it is one of the main causes of the deplorable re- sults shown by the census returns. T shall venture to submit to Parliament, long and black as the list is, some facts which I think ought to convince even members of the Conservative party^ that the present condition of the countrv, and the decrease in the population of the country, are more attributable to the misgovernment and the mismanagement of our public affairs, and ti the lank corru))tion which has permeated every branch of the pub- lic service, than anything else during the last ten years. (Cheers.) Will the Minister of Finance or any other member of the Government deny that in ths con- struction of the Esquimau graving dock and the Quebec harbor improvement works, there was a clear steal from the public purse of this Dominion, of well on to one million of money, a large por- tion of which was • Grabbed by a Member of Parlia- ment, and some it is alleged by a Minister of the Crown. (Loud cheers.) Will any- body deny that it has been proven before the Parliament of Canada, and before the Committee of the Parliament of Canada, that in connection with the construction of the graving dock at Kingston there was a steal from the public purse of this Dominion of $190,000 1 (Cheers.) Mr. TUPPER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of order. The hon. gentle- man has now proceeded to discuss the evidence given before a Committee of this House previous to the reception of the report. I have no doubt that the subject will be discussed when the report is received, but until then it is out of order. Mr. LANDERKIN. Sit still and take your medicine like a man. Mr. CAMERON (Huron). The hon. gentleman knows that T am not discuss- ing what took place in the Committee. I even the the do not propose to toucli what took place in the Committee. Mr. AMYOT. On the question of order, I will say this, and it is very simple. We had a discussion this after- noon on evidence received in the Senate which has not yet been reported to this House ; and if I rise on the question of order, it is because I intend answering the allusions made to that enquete by the Minister of Finance. I suppose the principle laid down by the Government in this discussion will not be changed during the very discussion itself, when it is used by hon. gentlemen on this side. (Hear, hear.) Mr. TUPPER. That does not make the case any better. The hon. gentle- man may say that he proposes to violate the rule of order, but that does not put the hon. member for Huron in order. I raised the question, and it is for the Spaaker to decide. (Groans.) Mr. DEPUTY SPEAKER. I hope the hon. gentleman will not allude to any- thing which has passed in a Committee, but will try to confine himself as much as possible to the question before the House. Mr. CAMERON (Huron). I think I know the rules of the House as well as the Minister of Marine and Fisheries (Mr. Tupper), and when I transgress the rules I am willing to be called to order. I have a right to refer to a matter dis- cussed on the floor of Parliament and in the public press. I p Dinted out, in con- nection with the Kingston graving dock, that it was proved there was a clear steal in that matter from the public treasury of $190,000. (Applause.) J believe it will be proved, when the proper time comes, that, in connection with the con- struction of the Langevin block in this city, we have already paid $385,000 more than the contract price, and that before the end is reached we shall have paid $657,000 more than the contract price. (Hear, hear.) I know these are delicate subjects with hon. gentle- men opposite. I know they touch them on the raw, but they furnish the true reason why the population of this country has not grown. (Hear, hear. ) Am I out of order in drawing the attention of Parliament to the fact that, in the construction of the Tay Canal, constructed, as I believe it was, for the Benefit of the Postmaster General, there was a steal of at least a quarter of a million. Is it any wonder that, in the face of these things, we cannot retain our population, and that any immigrants we do receive flee from our country as if it were a plague-stricken spot ? (Applause.) Am I out of order in drawing the atten- tion of Parliament to the fact that you will find in the public press of this coun- try the statement that a Minister of the Crown secured from a public contractor $25,000 to bonus a newspaper, his own organ] (Cheers.) Am I out of order in saying that it is stated in the public press that the Minister's son-in-law raceived $3,000 for a newspaper he controlled ? The evidence taken and submitted to Parliament, and now in my desk, shows (hat the Department of the Interior is reeking with corruption. (Hear, hear.) The evidence taken before a Committee of this House, portions of which are sub- mitted to Parliament, all of which is pub- lished in the public press, shows that the Department of the Secretary of State, is A Sink of the Vilest Fraud. (A VOICE— That's Chapleau's De- partment.) We have one of the trusted employes of a Minister of the Crown peculating nearly $60,000 ; we have another em- ploy6 stealing, for it is nothing else but stealing, from the plundered treasury, sums varying from $1,000 to $5,000. 8 Where is Mr. Bronskill 1 Will the Min- ister tell us ? Will he tell us the where- abouts of Mr. Senecal? (Hear, hear.) Will he tell us the whereabouts of Uncle Thomas 1 Will he tell us the whereabouts of these men who have left their country for their country's good. (Great cheers.) These things are matters of notoriety ; they have been matters of notoriety for years. Rumours were abroad in Canada, rumours of them were abroad across the international boundary line, rumours of them were abroad in the mother country. Is it any wonder that with these extra ordinary facts publifhed abroad the tide of immigration should be very narrow and should remain here but a very short time? Everybody knows that the De- partment of the Postmaster General is notorious from one end of Canada to the other — so notorious that it has been the subject of discussion in the public press. (Great applause.) So notorious that it has been the object of denunciation from almost Every Pulpit in tlie Land. (Great applause.) The Postmaster Gen- eral, a Minister of the Crown, charged with these offences, remains silent and dumb. If these Ministers of the Crown had the instincts of men and statesmen, they would bring their slanderers, if slanderers they are, before the tribunals of the country. They would Tliere meet tlieir Accusers face to face and make them prove that the charges are true, or obherwifie stand convicted of uttering vile slanders in the public pre.ss. So far, the first step has not been taken ; so far these hon. gentle- men have done nothing to vindicate tlieir characters, if their characterscan be vin- dicated, (Hear, hear.) Is it not notorious 1 Am I out of order in drawing the atten- tion of Parliament to it ? Am I out of order in drawing attention to the fact that the Department of Public Works is noted, throughout the length and breadth of the country, as the very sink, the very cesspool, from the highest to the lowest, of gross jobbery? (True.) While the master takes his share of loot in solid silver plate, garnished with $22,000 cur- rent coin of the realm, the understrappers of the department get their share of the loot in pleasure yachts, brass dogs and diamonds, and their Family Groceries and Linen through one of the public departments, paid for out of the public purse. Is it any wonder that in this condition of affairs, known and notorious everywhere, we cannot retain in the country the im- migrants we do receive, or even the nat- ural increase in our own population 1 (Loud cheers.) Is it not known, was it not charged in Parliament years ago, that a member of this House received from the Government he was supporting a bonus for a railway which was practi- cally an insolvent concern, on the strength of which there was borrowed on the English market ninety thousand pounds sterling, not a farthing of which will ever be seen by the lenders 1 (Cheers.) That was notorious in the Canadian and the English press. Is it not notorious that a year and a half ago Parliament sub- stantially expelled a Conservative mem- ber of Parliament for public plunder] (Cries of " Rykert.") Is it not known that another Conservative member of Parliament was practically expelled this session for having been engaged in con- tract jobbing, and that, charged with public stealing, he is Now a FugitiTc from Justice ? (Applause.) Is it not known that this Government pledged itself to a wild-cat scheme called the Chignecto Ship Rail- 9 way, involving an expenditure of $3,000,- 000 or $4,000,000, pronounced by ex- perts to be useless if not almost iroprac- ticible ? Is it not known by everybody that the Minister of Finance, aye, the hen. member for Grey (Mr. Sproule), the future Minister of Agriculture, (laughter) has driven the Minister of Finance out of Parliament by his speech, and he has not been here for half an hour ] Is it not known that the Minister of Finance has been spending some $60,000 a year in bonusing vessels with the Tiew of develop- ing trade with the British West India Is- lands and the Spanish West India Islands, knowing all the time that the export trade of those Islands had fallen off 1337,000 from 1878 to 1889 ? I expect next to hear of the Minister of Finance gathering up his travelling traps, taking in hand his grip sack and rushing off to tho great republic of Liberia with the object of opening up trade relations with that important country. I commend the mission to him. I find that last year that republic exported to the United States 100 parrots, 25 snakes and 150 monkeys. (Great laughter.) Why does not the Minister of Finance set to work 1 5 secure that important trade 1 He may acquire in that way the distinction which he has long had in view, the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George, and I re- commend him to take with him one of his colleagues who has for some years had his longing eyes cast in that direct io*^, the Secretary of State. That hon. gentle- man has earned it noM\ (Hear, hear.) The disclosures of the department show that He is Eminently Qualified for that distinguished honor. (Applause.) Is it not known — was it not charged in Parliament six years ago — that three Ministers of the Crown, two of whom are still Ministers of the Crown, had secured from the Government enormous bonuses for railways in which they had, if not a controlling, at all events a large pecuni- ary interest ? That statement was scat- tered abroad from one end of the country, to the other. Is it not known that two other Ministers have been charged with dabbling in the public domain, and one of them charged by a Conserva- tive member of Parliament ? Is it not . known — I know it and everyone knows it — that by the criminal negligence, carelessness, and indifference of an in- competent and imbecile Government, the people in the North- West Territories were forced into rebellion at a cost to this country of eight millions of money, the loss of two hundred precious lives, the en- tailment upon the people of a long pension list, and the Decimation of the Homes of the Half-breeds in the North- West Territories ; and all that Canada got for it was the honour of having the Minister of War of this Dominion made a Knight of St. Michael and St. George, and the commander of the expedition also made a knight of the same order, with a bonus of $20,000 and the capture of Bremner's furs. (Great cheering.) Sir, is anyone surprised that this condition of things, existing and known to exist for the last ten years, known here and known else- where, known in Canada, known in the United States, known in England, not- withstanding what the Minister of Jus- tice and the Minister of Finance say, tho name of Canada should be to-day a by- word and a reproach, and that the tide of immigration from tlie mother country and the continent should have passed by Canada, and that we could not hold our own natural increase in this Dorhinion ? (Applause.) The public accounts will show you, and the report of the Auditor- General will show you that we have been spending, year in and year out, over $250,000 for contingencies, that we have 10 been spending $16,000 for telegrams, that we have been spending $50,000 for extra clerks, that we spent last year $219 For Luncheons for Ministers of the Crown Let them pay for their own luncheons. They are well enough paid for what they do. (Cheers.) Is it not known that we have been spending sums ranging from $180,000 to $200,- 000 to fee and Keep Alive tiie Subsidized Press v/f hon. gentlemen opposite ? They live, they move and they have their being almost entirely from these subsidies of the Government. (Hear, hear.) Will anyone tell me that without the enor- mous subvention that this Government hands over to the litMe d^jly published in Moncton it would live for 24 hours ? No one who knovrf; ai /thing about the paper, its proprictoi ihip and ?' necessi- ties would venture h: '^ay thai; i v\'"ld. We have been paying over i?I0O>'jCO to fee ConserT'ative lawyer? to ']u '."onserva tive work for a Cops': .iT?tiv^ i'cvrm- ment, and yet we hay-) a Miaister of Justice at our doors with a staff of em- ployes who ought to be able to do this work This condition of things is known to have existed for ten years, and I be- lieve that the shocking way in which our affairs have been managed during that time has done as much if net more to deprive us of our population than almost anything else that has happened. We now see tlie effect of the policy of hon. gentlemen. We feel it today, and we see it in the census returns which have been submitted to Parliament. Under these circumstances, would anyone be surprised that ^e vigorous, young, hale, hearty, intelligent, shrewd, level-headed Canadians will not live in a country which has Been Cursed for Twelve Year» with such a Government as this is, and with which, judging by the vote of the electors at the last election, they may be cursed for four years more. (Applause.) To a thoughtful man, to an honest Canadi^in desirous of the progress, the well-being and the prosperity of his country, the condition of affairs is serious and grave. It is practic- ally admitted that in every department of the public service we have corrup- tion the most appalling, we have waste the most shocking, and we have extra- vagance the most startling Uiat ever marked the pages of the history of any country in the known world. I have said that to thoughtful Canadians it is a matter of regret, but it is also a matter for reflection. To patriotic Canadians it is A Matter of Serious Enquiry whether or not there is a remedy for all these grievances and all these wrongs. There is one thing which is proved in my judgment beyond a perad venture, and that is that the trade policy which bon. gentlemen have kept on the Statute-book for twelve years has proved a complete and thorough failure. (Gre.it cheers.) The census returns show that your policy is one w^hich has not brought peace and prosperity to this great country of ours. It shows further, and it shows so plainly that he who runs may read, that you cannot, at the end of the nineteenth century, successfully adopt and cany out a (trade policyj obsolete in the mother country 50 years ago ; it shows that you cannot keep successfully in commercial and political slavery, free Canadians liv- ing in a free land; (applause). It shows further that every pledge, that every promise that you made to the people of Canada, when you introduced the National Policy, and every assurance you gave them subsequently to the introduction of 11 the National Policy, have been violated, grossly violated, by you. (Hear, hear.) Your late chief promised, on the intro- duction of the National Policy, that by putting on a substantial tariff we Could Encourage Every lu- diistry* whether agricultural, mining or manu- facturing. Your encouragement to the agrlculturiat3 of Canada, and especially of the Province of Ontario, is shown by the ft,ct that your policy has had the effect of depreciating the value of farm lands by at least '25 per cent.; your en- couragement to the agriculturists of the Dominion of Canadii, and notably in the Province of Ontario, is shown by the fact that of farms in that province, 75 per cent, are mortgaged. I know this stitement was made in Parliament be- fore, I know it was denied upon the floor of Parliament before^ and I propose to put the question beyond doubt by giving official information upon the subject. I hold in my hand a certificate from the registrar of one of the best counties in Western Ontario. The Mortgage Record. He selected three of the best townships in the county of which he is registrar, and at the beginning of this year he wrote the following letter : — Barhik, 25th Feb., 1891. •'Dear Sib, — Tt would not be possible for me to give you an exact or very reliable state- ment of the amount of mortgage indebtedness against lands in this county from tlie books of this office, as I have no means of knowing what has been paid on the mortgages. ' ' I have, therefore, not attempted such a statement, but merely send you a statement of the number of farm lots or parcels into which the tswnships arc divided (exclusive of towns or villages), together with the nundier and percentage that appear to be held u jdor mortgage. ♦' The mortgages range from |3C0 to $7,000 or $8,000 ; the probable average would be $1,000. ' The three townships you have selected are the richest and most prosperous in the three ridings of the county, and arc almost wholly settled and owned by resident farmers. " Yours truly, (Signed) " SAM, LOUNT. " County of Simcoe Reglstry Office, " Barrie, 25th Feb. 1891. " The books of this oflBce show: "(1) That the ( ownship of Tecumseh is divided into about 647 parcels or lots, as held under patents from the Crown. Of these 647 lots 4S2 are mortgaged and 215 are unencum- bered, or 67 per cent, mortgaged. " (2) That the Township of Nottawasaga is divided into about 62.3 patented parcels. Of these 490 are mortgaged and 133 are not mort- gaged, or 78 per cent, mortgaged. "(3) That the Township of Oro is divided into about 569 patented lots. Of these 399 are mortgaged and 170 are not mortgaged, or 70 per cent under mortgage. (Signed) SAM. LOUNT, " Registrar." I think that certificate, from an official, showing 'ibe condition of the farm lands in the Province of Ontario, ought to sat- isfy hon. gentlemen opposite, — I know it does the people of this country — that not a single promise, not a single pledge made to the people of Canada by the Govern- ment on the introduction of the National Policy, so far as the farmers are concerned, have been redeemed. Is it any wonder, then, that men should desire to get rid of their encumbered farms, and leave their old homesteads and seek other homes elsewhere? You did more than that; you deceived the people of this country in many ways, and I propose to prove that you deceived them in two or three ways. (Applause.) Your late chief said the moment that policy was adopted, the eflfect of which was to keep Canada for the Canadians, prosperity wotild return. How did you keep that promise to the Canadian people ? Do prosperity and pro- . gress reign in this country now '\ No, Sii*. The farmers of Canada, in their despair appealed not long ago to hon. gentlemea 12 opposite. Their appeals were unheeded ; hon. gentlemen who pledged themselves to do wonders for the Canadian farmer and the Canadian producer, turned a deaf ear to the appeals of the farmer. What tbe Farmers Say. The Central Farmers' Institute of On- tario passed the following resolution and memorialized the Dominion Crovernment to this effect : — "Whereas we consider the present high tariff is very injurious to the agricultural inter- ests, making what we buy proportionately dearer than the products we sell ; and whereas the present high tariff has given us to the com- liine system, by which competition is to a great extent prevented; and whereas tke agricul- tural interest is sutfering under serious depres- sion aud unable to bear the strain occasioned by tlie tariff and the combine system aforesaid, and as the agricultural interests represent the large majority of the population ; that, "Therefore, this, the Central Institute, do respectfully ask the Government to reduce the tariff on articles of prime necessity to the farmer, such as iron, steel, coal, cottons, wool- lens, rubbers, sugars corn and salt, to such an extent as to relieve the agricvlturist of the un- equal burden under which he is now laboring. " Your friendfcliip, your generosity, and your liberality to the farmers were shown in the reduction in the sugar duties, still leaving the farmer handicapped even in that respect. You kept your promise to the business men of this country, to the traders, when you promised them that the moment that policy was adopted pros- [)erity would return, by driving into bankruptcy more men during the eleven years of your policy than became insol- vent during the preceding twenty-two years. I have in my hand, certified as correc!', the report of Dunn, Wiman & Co., giving the number of insolvents, to- gether with the amount involved in every case for the last eleven years. It is im- portant reading for the House, and although figures are tiresome, I shall ven- ture to read the statement that has boon placed in my hands to the Parliament of my country : Years. Nx^mber. Amount. 1880 902 $7,449,063 1881 631 5,675,807 1882 787 8,587,000 1883 1,384 15,872,000 1884 .. 1,308 18,939,770 1885 1,247 8,743,049 1880 1,233 10,171,384 1887 ^ 1,366 16,070,595 1888 1,667 13,974,787 - 1889 1,747 14,528,884 1890 1,828 17,856,017 1891 (3 months) . 575 6,048,234 14,875 0143,916,590 Thus we see that in the last year, just before the general elections, and when lion, geutlemen opposite wei'e telling us from the stump, the platform, and the school house, that prosperity and pro- gress followed the introduction of the National Policy, the number of insol- vents had gone up to 1,828, and the capital involved to $17,856,000. For the first three months of this year the number had gone up to 575 and the capital invested to $(1,048,284, and taking the same ratio for tho remaining portion of the year the amount would have been $24,000,000. (Cheers.) Is it any won- der that in the face of these startling and extraordinary facts, Culled from Official Documents and placed in my hands by the authori- ties already mentioned, that ^he tide of immigration is not directed towards Canada and we have not been able to maintain our own natural growth ? Sir, the disclosure is shocking, it is startling, it is enough to make thoughtful men pause and consider. It i^hows clearly to hon. geutlemen oppointe that the National Policy has been a complete failure, that it has no friends in this country except the protected manufac- turers, that they have not been able to 13 tof bring about prosperity by the introduc- tion of the National Policy. If you want to retain Canada for the Canadians, if you want to encourage and increase the population, the tide of immigration, abol- ish your National Policy altogether, and carry out a broader, more liberal, and more comprehensive Commercial Policy than you have had iu force for the last twelve years. For five years you have been hoping against hope. The Minister of Finance, as anybody could see, has been whistling to keep his courage up. For five years you have been playing the part of the political bully and braggart, endeavoring to inspire your followers with the courage you did not feel your- selves. The census returns placed on the Table the other night ^ Leave You in a Hopeless Muddle, leave you in the mud, unable to extricate yourself. (Cheers.) Your late chief tol'i us not long b fore his death that "this policy of protection has been so successful that former hamlets were now large villages, villages towns, and towns were claiming to be cities." The moment the National Policy was introduced, you knew it then and you know now, people fied from the land. You know it now, you knew it then, that when the National Policy had been on the Statute-book for three years, people in tho far east and distant west were leaving Canada as if it were a plague-stricken country. The Port Huron Times, three years after the National Policy was introduced, pub- lished the following : " Some idea may be gained of the manner in which immigration to this country is in- creasing, by the fact that for the quarter end- ing 3l8t Dbcember, 1879, the tot*l number of immigrants entering thia port was 22,600, an increase of 15,284 over a corresponding period in 1837. Of this number 14,937 were males, and 7,633 were females. The number of chi'dren under five years of age was 1,808 females. The nativity of these immigrants wub as follows : England 480 Ireland 81 Scotland 58 Germany 163 Sweden 30 Norway 64 Denmark 60 France 102 Russia 17 Quebec and Ontario 21,336 Nova Scotia 157 New Brunswick 52 Of this number 176 were cabinet ma\iers, 741 carpenters, 2,8©4 farmers, 482farn labour- ers, 7,505 labourers and 134 shoema^'ers. Nearly all of these immigrants brought with them enough money to feive them a start in the new world to which they have come. " A Michigan paper published in Detroit said : /' The new tariff is discouraging the Canad- ians with their country, and they are flocking by thousands to this." A paper in Liverpool, N.S., said : "It is estimated that 260 farmers with theu' families left Liverpool a few days ago to take up land in Texas. Most of them were fairly provided with means." A. newspaper published in Prince Edward Island said : "It is estimated that over 300 people have left Snmmerside within the last" eight months, and only 7 new immigrants have come to it. The National Policy has not helped Prince Edward Island or Summerside so far." The moment your policy was introduced that was the result. It had not been in force for more than three years until the people were flocking from the country. They have continued to le.ive since — annually — by thousands, as is shown by tho rt turns placed on the Table of the House. I was glad to see some sign of feeling on the part of hon. gentlemen opposite when these returns reached the House. It is a sign of improvement, a satisfactory sign of the times to find hon. gentlemen on the Treasury benches touched by the terrible disclosures made in their own census returns. The jaded and faded face of the Minister of Finance after the census returns were placed on 14 the Table the other night, I can assure hon. gentlemen, challenged the sympathy of everv liiberal member on this side of the House. For the remainder of the session he could not maintaia a perpen- dicular for five minutes. Questions showered across the House at the hon. gentleman were answered by him from his comfortable seat on the Treasury benches. Haoilets have grown into vill- ages, villages into towns, towns into cities ! Have the, ^eally I Are these mere words used b> Sir John A. Mac- donald, or are thev realities? Let us consult the record and see who is right, and whether the statement made by Sir John Macdonald to his followers is shown by the census to be true. I find the following villages and towns, some of them in Nova Scotia and some in my own province, show a falling off in pop- ulation during the last ten years. Tfce first of these is Pictou, the shire town of the county represented by the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. Is it possible that there is a falling ofi" in population there ] Is that the town in whose inter- est the Government spent 12,000,000 or $3,000,000 to coatruct a railway to save a distance of 40 miles when it only saved 41 (Applause.) Yet the population of that town has fallen from 3,403 to 2,999. The list is as follows : 1881. 1891. Loss. Piotou 3,403 2,999 404 Dundas .S,709 3,546 163 Lauzon 3,550 3,55 1 5 St. Mary's 3,415 3,416 Napanee 3,600 .3,434 240 Strathroy 3,817 .3,316 511 Paris 3,173 .3,09i 79 Whitby ,3,140 2,70i> 355 Kincardine 2,876 2,631 245 Listowell 2,688 2,587 101 Thorold 2,456 2,273 183 Amlieratburg . . . . 2,672 2,279 393 Mitchell 2,284 2,101 183 Diinnville 1,808 1,776 32 Iberville 1,847 1,719 128 Port Perry 1,800 1,689 111 Harriston 1,772 1,689 85 Fergus 1,733 1,519 214 18S1. 1891. Lobs. Berthier 2,156 1,537 619 Cobourg 4,957 4,829 128 Goderich 4,556 3,839 717 St. John City.... 41,363 39,179 2,184 Charlottetown. . . 11,485 11,374 111 St. Catharines. . . 9,631 9,170 461 Three Rivers,... 8,670 8,334 3,36 L^vis 7,597 7,301 296 Fort Hope 5,581 5,042 539 In every one of these twenty-seven vil- lages and towns there has been a falling oflf in population. The natural increase is gone, immigration is gone, as well as a considerable portion of the population that they held in the year 1881. What is the cause of all this ? Will the hoa. gentleman point me to a single cause ex- cept the vicious commercial policy of hon. gentlemen opposite, as well as the still more vicious administration of the public affairs of this country by the Government for the lust ten years ? If the policy of hon. gentlemen opposite, and the administration of our public affairs by hon. gentlemen opposite has been ruinous to the hamlets and the \illages, and the towns, it has been Disastrous to the Rural Con- stituencies. (Applause.) I shall nob trouble the House with a long list of rural constitu- encies. I shall refer to three counties, formerly united counties, and I venture to say without fear ol successful contra- diction, that they are three of the best counties agriculturally in the wide Dom- inion of Canada ; three counties in which there is hardly a hundred acres of land that might be called waste land ; three counties in which the population is in- telligent, vigorous, active, thrifty, and industrious ; and in these three counties the condition of affairs is astonishing. Bruce, in 1881, had a population of 66,218, and in 1891, 64,604, being a loss of 614 ; Perth, in 1881, had a popu- lation of 48,146, and in 1891, 46,311, 15 Iseing a loss of 1,835 ; Huron, in 1881, had a population of 67,223 and in 1891, 58,172, being a loss of 9,051. This loss is a direct result, according to my bumble judgment, of the commercial policy of the Administration and their vicious management of our public affairs. The loss in these three counties alone, besides the loss of the natural increase and the loss of immigration, amounts to 11,500. In other words the Counties of Huron, Perth and Bruce, taking the natural in- crease at only 7 per cent, in ten years instead of 14 per cent, loses 12,641, and taking the immigration at 5 per cent, instead of 10 per cent., the loss is 9,029. We lose in immigration and in natural increase 21,670, and we lose, of the old population, 11,500, making a total loss of 33,170 in these three counties. Such are the effects of your maladministration of the public affairs of this country, such are the results of twelve years of a vicious trade policy, such are the results cf Twelve Years of Contract Jobbing stealing, peculation and robbery from the public treasury. (Greit cheers.) Sir, there is a sovereign remedy for all this. That sovereign remedy does not consist of annexation to the United States of America. (Applause.) It does not consist of commercial union with the United States of America. It does not consist of the independence of Canada. It is a much more speedy, a much more effectual, and a much more drastic remedy than any or all of these. The remedy I propose is : Remove the present incompetent Administration, dismiss the present thoroughly corrupt Government and replace it by men more pure and honest, and you will have an end to the days of boodling, corruption, fraud, con- tract jobbing, and forgery, and all the other crimes known to have been perpe- trated by this Government. (Great cheers.) Sir, there is only one man in all Canada who can do chis, and that one man is the leader of the Opposition. (Great Cheers.) A man strong and reso- lute in his convictions, honest and pure in his everyday life ; a man who to-day is the idol of the Canadian people; a man who to-day is encouraged by the masses and rejected only by the classes ; a man who in the country is supported by a powerful and unbroken army of promi- nent Liberals, and a man who in Parlia- ment is aided in the good work by as devoted and as united a band of men as ever followed a leader. The hon. gentle- man shall succeed, the hon. gentleman will succeed, the hon. gentleman must succeed, and to-night, the prayer of every honest Canadian is that success may soon crown his patriotic efforts. (Great 'Cheers.)