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(^ -•♦-•- An Answer to the Annexationist Campaign Writer in the " Canada Farmer's Sun." official Organ of the Patrons of Indikstry of Ontario and Quebec. The Canada Farmer's Sun, official organ of the Patrons of Industry of On- tario and Quebec, is carrying on an energetic campaign on behalf of candidates of that Order who are seeking the suflFrages of the people for representation in *\- licit L-'iwislattire of Ontario. The Patrons have adopted a platform which 'Vta ic-vth tb;.ir claims to public confidence as a political party, and in the appeal now being Made, reliance is placed on the principles of the Order as presented in this platform, to merit and win the support of the electors at the polls. Tt is given in full herewith, as printed in the official organ : . ,. ;, \ THE PATRON PLATFORM. • (Adopted in London, September, 1891.) 1 . Maintenance of British connection. 2. The reBorvstion of the public lands for the actual settler. ^ 3. Purity of administration, and absohite independence of Parliament. : ' , 4. Rigid economy in every department <J. the public service. 5. Simplification of the laws, aod a general reduction in the machinery of the Gov- ernment. 6. The abolition of the Canadian Senate. 7. A system of civil service reform, that will give each county power to appoint or elect itU county officials paid by them, except county judges. 8. Tariff for revenue only, and so adjusted as to fall as far as possible upon the luxuries, and not upon the necessaries of life. 9. Reciprocal trade on fair and equitable terms between Canada and the world. 10. Effectual legislation that will protect labor, and the results of labor, from those combinations and monopolies which unduly enhance the price of the article produced by suoh combinations or monopolies. 11. Prohibition of t^e bonusing of railways by Government grants, as contrary to the public interest. 12. Preparation of the Dominion ^nd Provincial voters' lists by the municipal officers. 13. Conformity of electoral districts to county boundaries, as constituted for munici- pal purposes, as far as the principle of representation by population will allow. To the thoughtful elector who reads this platform the question will naturally occur : What has this got to do with the election of members to the Ontario Legislature 1 What are the issues raised by this platform against the policy and acts of the Liberal party, as exhibited in the record of the Ontario Grovern- ment for the last twenty-two years ? " If there is no important issue," he will say, " the Patrons cannot justify the action they are taking. They must show what the French call a raison d'etre, the reason for a thing's existence. What do they exist for, or stand for, in Ontario politics 1 It cannot be to supplant the Conservative Opposition, for that is not a prize which any political party will seek to win. It must be to supplant the Liberal Government. If so, what have they to complain of against Scattered, broken and forfeited bertha. t Berths in Rainy River Uistrict. 2 that Government f What are their grievances ? and what have they to oflfer the people of Ontario that is better than the Government of Sir Oliver Mowat has been giving us for over twenty years. Let me look at their platform again," the thoughtful elector would say. / '■ , ■•'" British Connection. " As to the first article, Liberals and Conservatives alike are in favor of maintaining the Briiish connection. The old political parties never made it an issue, and the Fatnms cannot make it one. I laugh at the suggestion of such a thing," the thoughtful elector will say. . The Public Lands. " As to the second article, that is good for the Dominion Government, which has been selling our domain to speculators and all sorts of wild-cat companies. Public lands for the actual settler has always been the policy and practice of the Ontario Government. Purity, Economy and Simplicity. ^ " The third, fourth and fifth articles," the thoughtful elector will go on to say, " are not Ontario issues at all, for these things the Ontario Government has observed. Its administration is clean, it has not spent a dollar for which the Province has not got full value, and there is no Province or State on this con- tinent with better or simpler laws, or in which the machinery of Government runs more smoothly. Our one-chamber system is the first of its kind in the his- tory of representative institutions, and our statutes are evidence of its sufficiency. As for the abolition of Senates (their sixth article), the Patrons must turn their guns towards Ottawa, and to the States of the .-American Union whence their chief campaign writer draws his parallels. ^ Local Office Appointments. "The seventh article, as I understand it," he would say, "is the only one that touches closely Ontario politics ; and it is not a matter of very serious poli- tics. The fact that there has been appointed a Royal Commission, on which Liberals, Conservatives and Patrons are represented, with one of the ablest judges of our Superior Courts as chairman, to enquire into the best me- thod of filling cerfain local offices and of paying for their services, shows that Sir Oliver Mowat's Government is not committed to any scheme. They are open to conviction, and like reasonable and reasoning meU' they will, no doubt, hie influenced by the Report of the Commission. A Government's duty is to act upon the best information ; and surely Patrons would not ask to have SherifiFs and Registrars appointed in the way their platform declares if full enquiry showed that it was not the best way. But seriously, whr.t sensible man would think of turning out an honest and capable administration on so small an issue as this seventh article of the platform ? " The Trade Question and Labor Laws. . " The eighth, ninth, and tenth articles belong to Dominion politics purely, excepting some aspects of the labor question ; and the cause of labor neyer had a better friend than the Government and the Legislature of Ontario. The Liberals at Ottawa were advocates of the policy professed by tlie Patrons many years before the Order had an existence in this country," the thoughtful elector would feel compelled to say. Aid to Railways. •' Then, as to the eleventh article," he would observe, " it was the farmers of Ontario themselves who by petitions and delegations urged the Government of this Province to aid the construction of railways, and surely no country ever got better returns for public money than from the bonuses granted by our Legis- « ped| cor Pre! supi genj / r- 3 I ' i^ lature. Villages have grown into towns and towns into populous cities as a result of that policy, and there is not a corner of the Province south of Lake Nipissing from which the farmer cannot now reach the chief market cities in less than half a day. But that work ie, finished, and for several years grants have been given almost without exception only to colonization railway through lands be- longing to the Province in the unorganized territory. At Ottawa, however, a different policy obtains, and I can understand Patrons in raising a strong voice against it. There it is a huge device to carry doubtful constituencies for the Government. , Voters' Lists and Electoral Districts. •' As for the twelfth and thirteenth articles — well, these also are aimed at the Dominion Government ; for that Government alone has taken the preparation of voters' lists out of the hands of municipal officers, and it alone has gerryman- dered the country by departing from county boundaries, in the carving out of electoral districts to strengthen their supporters at the polls. The Need of Stable Government. " And so I ask," the thoughtful elector would conclude, " where is the reason for a Patron party in these Provincial elections ? We don't want a weak Government in Ontario, but a strong one. Our aim should be to avoid conditions under which Governments may be overturned at the whim or caprice of factions^ as we see in France, where they have had thirty-three successive Governments in twenty-three years. I like the stability of British institutions ; but, with three or four parties in the Legislature, we should see plots, and schemes, and combinations, with frequent changes of Government, our valued system of Re- sponsible Government destroyed, and the people always living over a volcano. No sir," our thoughtful elector would say, " the Patrons are in this campaign without cause, and if they succeed in electing enough me .obers to hold the balance of power in the Ijegislature, we shall speedily see an end of good Government in Ontario. The fanners cannot afford to take that risk. As the great property ' class and the great producing class, their best interests lie in the preservation of strong and stable Government. That is of infinitely greater importance than the privilege of marking a ballot for a Registrar, a SheriflF or a Bailiff, once in four years, or at a greater interval. "One word more," the thoughtful elector might say : " I do not at all object to the fanners organizing as Patrons or Grangers, or under ';ny name. The solated lives which they lead on tlie farm makes it desirable that they should have organization of some kind, and places of gathering where tiiey may discuss questions of public interest as well as matters connected with their own occupa- tion. For these reasons I heartily approve of the Patrons' Order. But before this or any other order decides to enter the field of politics, it should be clear to its officers and members that they h.ave a good cause. V/jthout strong and suffi cient rea.sons for appeai'ing against one or other of the old political parties, there is certain risk of discrediting and disorganizing the Order, and so destroying its usefulness, if not its life." PATRONS' PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. But the Patrons are not content with a platform. They have a fully equip- ped party organizntion, with paid organizers going up and down the country commanding members of the Order to vote for Patron candidates, and a stand- ing mandate in the columns of their organ, over the signature of the Grand President, threatening the penalty of expulsion upon all Patrons who do not support Patron candidates. The Special Campaioner. \ The organ itself, unused to campaign methods, has called in the service of a gentleman who is described over his articles as " One of the Foremost Writers in * Scattered, broken and forfeited berths. t Berths in Rainy River iJistrict. Canada." He is an able writer, he wields a versatile pen, and writes as if he had a personal grievance to settle. This gentleman is in cloi^e touch with the editor, if he is not a member of the editor's stuff ; and if he was in the paj of the Government of the United States he could hardly be a more devoted ad- mirer of that country's institutions. He has, professedly, but one object in writing the series of campaign articles for the Canada Fanner's Sun. He desires good government for Canada, and all its Provinces^ and, credat judants, the '• Maintenance of British Connection ! " '•• ' Snuffing Out a Patkon. All readers of the organ do not seem to have pinned their faith to this new doctor of Patron principles ; but when Mr. Overholt of County Haldimand sent in an article in reply he was sneered at and jeered at by the editor, and told that he was but a lump of clay in the hands of some political potter — sign- ing his name to an article that some abler man had written. Mr. Patron Over- holt was therefore snuffed out ; but the light of " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada," continues to shine with the radiance of a sun-god. The Te8t of Fair Criticism. ^ It is the purpose of this naper to examine some of this great campaigner's statements, and see whether they wiH bear the test of a fair and sober criticism. If it shall appear that he has borne false witness against one or other of the governments and political parties against whom his attacks have been levelled, the Canada Farmer's Sun must share the responsibility of the offence with him. And it is no light matter for the organ of the Patrons to open its columns to a gentleman of the biases and predilections of " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada," that he may assail the political parties and the institutions of this country, and uphold by contrast the institutions of the United States. Patrons who honestly and sincerely adhere to the first article in the platform of their Order— and no doubt tiie vast majority if not all of them do — may be paidoned if they do not blindly follow such a guide, and if they seek to l< now the truth for themselves, in spite of the hearty endorsation of "One of the Foremost Writers in Canada " by the editor of the Canada Farmer's Sun. LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES. In the campaign articles for the Farmer's Sun, stress is laid on the assertion that the cost of Government is ignored by both the old parties, because both are interested in ignoring it ; and the writer puts the party politician's point of view in the form of the query, " What should we do for encouragement and rewards if the oflSces were thinned out ? " This is false ground at the start, as can be shown by the records of the two old parties in Canada, in the public documents; It is necessary to look to Ottawa for this comparison, because in Ontario we have not had a Conservative Government since the beginning of the Federal Union. Taking the time under Confederation, the Conservative party was in power from 1st July, 1867, to oth November, 1873, the Liberal party from the latter date to 17th October, 1878, and Uie Conservative party again from the latter date to the present time. ■'■■/(. - i Concerning Civil Government. Now, in the first fiscal year of Confederation, 1 867-8, the whole number of persons employed under the head of Civil Government, including Governors, Lieutenant-Governors, members of the Cabinet, officers, clerks, staff of the Geo- logical Survey, messengers, etc., was 283, and the total cost of the service for salaries and contingencies was $623,041.82. In the fiscal year 1873-4 the number of persons employed in Civil Govern- exp€ Ir was to %\ TJ year! it wl tions crea dowil Ir of M 052.i Sc crc ,; — »."t ' . ' / ment service had increased to 432, of whom 16 were appointees of the Liberal Oovernnient, and the cost for salaries and contingencies was $981,499.91. In the fiscal year 1878-9 the number in the service was 457, of whom 33 had been added during the year by the incoming Conservative Qovernment, and the cost for salaries and contingencies was $971,956.77. In the last fiscal year, 1892-3, the number in the service under the head of Civil Government was 853, and the cost for salaries and contingencies was 11,492,082.42. It will be seen therefore that in the first period of Conservative rule in Canada the number of persons in Civil Government service rose from 283 to 416 (at the change of Government in 1873 ), and the cost of salaries and contingencies from $623,041.82 to $981,499.91 ; that in the period of Liberal rule the number rose from 416 to 424 (at the change of Government in 1878), while the coat fell from $981,499.91 to $97i',956.77 ; and thatduring the second period of Conservative rule the number has risen from 424 to 853, and the cost from $971,956,77 to $1,492,082,42. These are statistics of the inside service, and do not include custom house, excise, post office and other officers, which belong to the outside service ; but it may be stated that there is some difficulty in classifying these services in the office of the Geological Survey. This statement presents the records of the Conservative and Liberal parties in Canada for twenty-six years of Confederation, and it proves, with the a))solute- ness of mathematical demonstration, that the assertion with which " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada " sets out in his task of edifyiug the electors of Ontario upon the two historic political parties of the country is wholly untrue. ' A Sample Illustration. If it was necessary to go into particulars, comparisons might be given which would astonish many of the younger generation of politicians ; but if any one cares to do so, he may refer to the speech made by Hon. Edward Blake at Tees- water, in September, 1877, when he showed up the record of the Department of Justice. An extract from that speech would be instructive and very much to the point in hand ; but suffice it to say that while, according to Mr. Blake's statement, the work of the Department had been dreadfully behind-hand down to the change of Government in 1873, with the cost for salaries and contingen- cies at more than $23,000, Mr. Blake was able, four years later, to carr)- oii the whole work, with the help of a smaller but more efficient staff, at a cost of $13,- 537, and no arrears in the office, although the work had meantime increased three-fold, as shown by the registered references and the volume of correspond- ence. Concerning Annual Expenditure. And what is true of the cost of Civil Government is equally true in the annual expenditure for all services, and in the increase of the public debt. In 1867-8 the expenditure of the Dominion, on account of Consolidated Fund, was $13,486,092.96, and in 1873-4 the Conservative Government had raised it to $23,316,316.75, an increase of $9,830,223.79. The Liberals went out of office within four months of the opening of the fiscal year 1878-9, and therefore were not responsible for its expenditure. For 1877-8 it was only $23,503,158.25, or an increase of $186,841.50, although the obliga- tions to which the Conservatives had committed the country in 1873 had in- creased the annual expenditure by $2,600,000. The saving was made by cutting down controllable expenditure. In 1892-3, with the Conservatives again in office for an uninter^;upted period of fifteen years, the expenditure on Consolidated Fund account was $36,814- 052.90. So then it is seen that in their first period the Conservative party in- creased the annual expenditure by $9,830,223.70, and in their second by $13,- / * Scattered, broken and forfeited bertliB. t Berths in Rainy River iJistrict. 6 310,894.65 ; whereas in the term of Liberal administration the incroatie of annual expenditure was only 8186,841.50. CONCEKNma THE PUBLIC DEBT. Concerning the public debt, there is this to be said : The net debt of Canada at the beginning of Confederation was $75,728,641.37, and at the end of the fiscal year 1873-4 it was $108,324,904.42. The Conservatives went out of office leaving works under contract and other obligations entered into to the amount of $96,000,000, so that every dollar of increase of debt to the end of the year 1877-8, when it was $140,362,069.91, WU8 forced upon the country and the Liberal Government of the time by con- struction of works undertaken by the Conservatives. And true to the instincts and the genius of that party (which is now using all its power and influence to gain a victory for Mr. Meredith in Ontario), the pub- lic debt has been steadily piled up since 1878, until at the close of the fiscal year 1892-3 it reaches the enormous sum of $241,681,039.61, with ah annual in- terest charge of $9,800,888.4^. A Dishonest Critic. " Yet, with such crushing facts as these to illustrate and illuminate the cliarac- ter of political parties, with which " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada " ought to be, and doubtless is familiar, he has the temerity to assert in the columns of the Canada Farmer'n Sun that both the old parties are alike bad ; and he forsooth of all men must write as a Patron to discuss the subject of the cost of government from the point of riew of the people who have to foot the bill ! Let him learn to be honest and loyal to our country and its institutions first, and then the farmers may hear him. ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES. Aiu)ther assertion of " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada," in his cam- paign articles for the Canada Farmer's Sun, often repeated and strongly empha- sized, is that the ideas of economy which prevail in Canada are in striking con- trast with those which obtain in the American Union, but especially in the several States of that Union. State and Municipal Government. • ^ '• It is worthy of note," the Farmer's Sun campaigner says, "that in the United States there is comparatively little complaint of the' cost of State, or, as we should say, of Provincial Government. Municipal Government in most cities is about as unsatisfactory as it well could be, though the amount of muni- cipal debt that may be contracted is usually strictly limited ; but the State Legislatures do their work efficiently, or at any rate with a praiseworthy economy. " It may l)e well to explain," he goes on to say, " how this comes alx)ut. First of all, each State is obliged to pay its own way out of its. own resources. Here in Canada, on the contrary, each Province draws an annual subsidy from the Federal treasury and, as experi«>nce has shown, it is a case of ' come easy, go etisy.' The State taxes, which are direct taxes, keep public attention riveted on the State finance, and any gross extravagance is punished by the eviction of the political party responsible. But with us, whose Provincial resources are derived in part from the Fedei-al chest, and in part from the melting of such assets as Crown lands and timber, the people have no particular incentive to watch their rulers closely ; and as a consequence we find most of the Provinces running behind every year, and, when they have reached the end of their tether, conspir- ing to secure better terms at Ottawa." And again, the campaigner says : " Economy in State expenditure is like- / of wise insured by constitutional amendments adopted for the most part since the halcyon time known as the * canal and railroad period,' when most of the Btateti then in existence spent a great deal more than they could afford. In like manner the constitutions of nearly all the States regulate and limit the amount of debt that may be incurred by municipalities, the result being that both State and Municipal indebtedness is lower on that side of the 1 ne than on this, where Provinces and Municipalities alike are free to be just as extravagant as their creditors will allow them to be." Tub Fokemost Writer Noduino. Taking up the last assertion first, it must be obvious that "One of the Fore- most Writers in Canada " was nodding when he made it, in so far as the niuni- cii/alities of Ontario are concerned. It is not the fact that they are free to be as extravagant as their creditors will allow them to be. They are obliged by the Municipal Act to provide enough money each year to pay all debts of principal or interest falliqg due within the year, and they are also restrained by the Act against assessing at a higher rate than two cents in the dollar, exclusive of school rates. This has been the law of Ontario for more than a (juarter of a century ; and it is this clause, not the will of their creditors, that puts a limit on the extravagance of municipalities. , A Comparison of Indebtedness. Nor is it true that the municipal indebtedness of the Province is very large. The net amount in 1890, being the gross debt less sinking fund and oth«r in- vestments, was $32,393,649, or $15.32 per head of the whole population. In the same year the net amount of municipal debts in the nine North Atlantic States — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- cut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania— was $405,5.72,083, rr $23.16 per head. The net amount of nmnicipal debts of the twelve North Central States— Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, MissourL North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas — was in the same year $184,219,923, or $20.80 per head. (See U. S. Census Bulletin No. 176, for 1890.) These two groups of States are the nearest to Ontario, and most like it in conditions, and therefor*? they have been selected for the comparison. The net debt of the municipalities of Ohio in that year (1890) Wtas $52,888,263, of Massachusetts $70,230,848, of New Jersey $42,990,338, of Pennsylvania $54,- 238,547, and of New York $187,348,163. In Ontario the net debt of township municipalities in 1890 was only $1,776,- 203, while that of the cities was $21,892,459, — Toronto, long under Conserva- tive control, heading the list with $12,768,521. As for the Province itself, it has no debt; it has a large surplus ; whereas the nine North Atlantic States in 1890 had an aggregate State debt of $25,140,357, and the twelve North Central States $41,656,112. The Casuist's Art. These official figures do not bear out the claim of " One of the Foremost Writ- ers in Canada," that " both State and Municipal indebtedness is lower on that side of the line than on this." But in the exercise of his gifts as a campaign writer for the Canada Farmer'g Sun, there are many instances to show that he is a proficient in the iirt of lump- ing many things together, and leading the reader to infer tJhat what is true in the general is true also in the particular. lie describes conditions at Ottawa and Quebec, and would have his Patron readers believe that they exist at To- ronto also. He pictures abhorrent practices in the politics of half a century or a century ago, and in a suggestive way, worthy of a prince of casuists, would have it understood that they have survived to our day, and are exercised in Ontario by Sir Oliver Mowat and the members of the Liberal party. ; ;^: ;■ 'f * Scattered, broken and forfeited berths. t Berths in Rainy River District. "COME EASY, GO EASY." But to return to what " Cne of the Foremost Writers of Canada" says on the subject of public expenditures here and in the United States : Is it true that the State Legislatures do their work with " praiseworthy economy," and that with us io Ontario it is a case of " Come easy, go easy," and that " the people have no particular incentive to watch their rulers closely?" We have the assertion of the Farvier''» Sun Foremost Writer for it, and he delights to in- stance Michigan and Indiana as evidence of it. The former of these States is as good as a Imnk to this ingenious campaigner, and he can draw at sight upon it for illustrations of cheap government. , Economies in Michioan. ». Where a Governt)r is paid $1,000 a year, an Attorney-General $800, a State Treasurer $1,000, and a Secretary of State $800, it is no wonder if a gifted writer can grow eloquent over extravagance in Ontario, where Cabinet Minis- ters are paid for their service at some rate not ridiculously below the salaries or earnings of business and professional men. But is it a desirable thing to cheapen the Local Governments of a Federal Union in the eyes of the people ? Is impecuniosity in the payment of service for the State a thing to be comaxended ? It is well-known that one of the great issues of the Civil War in the United States was the doctrine of state sovereignty. The people of the North asserted the sovereignty of the Federal Government, and, as often happens, they went to extremes with it, ' Their cause won, and ever since the State institutions have been fading in importance in the eyes of the people. The drift is noticeable, and the outlook is viewed with alarm by many of the best students of political af- fairs in the United States. They foresee that with State Government weakened and depreciated, an end must come to the Federal system ; and that with a cen- tral authority supreme at Washington, the break-up of the Union must follow with the sureness of fate. The Foremost Writer of the Farmer's Sun knows what would follow here if our Local Governments were blotted out. He knows that under a Legislative Union, sUch as the late Sir John Macdonald favored, the Dominion would crumble to pieces. Is that what he desires 1 If it is not, he cannot claim credit for much sagacity. The Fruits of Piiaiseworthy Economy. But is the State of Michigan an example worthy of imitation in the expendi- ture of public moneys f What are the fruits of its system of " praiseworthy economy " in the payment of a wages' scale — salaries would not be a fitting term to use — to its State officers. Michigan has an area of 59,000 square miles, ot* less than one-third of Ontario. Its expenditure last year was $3,470,000, against $3,9(»7,000 in Ontario, which includes $573,000 for public buildings. Its salaries for State officers were $300,- 000. This includes the payment to judges, which is not given separately. But it does not include various Commissions, Boards and Bureaus corresponding to similar services in Ontario under the head of Civil Government, to whom were paid more than $70,000. In Ontario the cost of Civil Government last year was $241,621. The penurious scale of wages paid to head officers of the State in Michigan does not result therefor in praiseworthy economy after all. It is not conceivable that it should, for men who respect and value themselves will not accept offices which the State, by its own act, has branded as contemptible. ' And so, with in- efficient men at the heads of departments there must be incompetence and mis- management in every branch of the public service. It minist the fol that tl I COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. It would be tiresome U» go into the detnib of coinpariHon between public ad- ministration in Ontario and States of the American Union, but the figures in the following table will doubtless satisfy the Patrons and farmers of Ontario that they will look in vain across the borders for their pattern or model in governmental affairs. They furnish a complete answer to the assertions of the Foremost Writer in the Canada Farmer'a iSun that in Ontario wehavet<M) many legislators, or that the rate of public expenditure is too high, if States of the American Union are to be taken as the standard. The statistics are from the last official reports, and those of Ontario are placed first for facility of comparison. 1 States v. Ontakio. No. of Area Population. Expenditure, lie^slatora. Hq. M. ti OnUrio 91 219,000 2,114,321 3,907,145 MaaaaobuMtti 280 8,315 2,238,943 12,660,967 Connecticut 273 4,990 746,268 2,361,967 New York 160 49,170 5,997,863 18,053,174 NewJerwjy 81 7,815 1,444,933 4772,745 Pennsylvania 254 45,215 5,258,014 13, . ' 065 Minnesota 150 83,365 1,301,826 4,1^. 407 WiiconBin 133 56,040 1,686,880 3,1*2:1,845 Michigan 132 58.916 2,093.889 3,470,451 Illinois 204 66 650 3,826,351 6,454.690 Indiana 150 36,350 2,192,401 6,71'. .660 Ohio 147 41,060 3,672,316 6,19o,229 Whence the Revenues Come. The revenues of those States are derived chiefly from taxes levied upon Real and Personal property, Collateral Inl. eritances, and Transportation, Insurance, Telegraph, Telephone, Oas. Mining, Electric and other Companies, Business Corporations and Banks. The taxation of Companies has proved to be a source of revenue as <{ood as a gold mine in several of the States, and in some cases enormous levies are made. The Transportation Companies of New York paid into the State Treasury last year $945,071.29,— the Manhattan Railway contributing $100,431, 71>, and the New York Central and Hudson River Railway $214,898.36. In Massachusetts the Corporations tax last year was $3,690,359.3", whereof steam and street Railway Companies paid $1,829,223.83, Telegraph and Tele- phone Companies $258,313.31, and Manufactories of metals and textile fabrics $499,638.83. The Saving Banks of the State, upon a levy of one-half of one per cent, on average deposits, paid to the Treasury last year $1,143,200.13, while the National Banks paid in $1,094,353.29. In Pennsylvania last year the National Banks paid to the State Treasury a levy of $532,306.53, Foreign Insurance Companies $463,252.59, business licenses $1,362,884.62, and corporations and limited partnerships $4,fi91,630..'")9, levied partly onstock and partly on gross receipts, — the Pennsylvania Railroad Company alone being taxed for $856,679.74. In New York the real and personal property tax paid to the State Treasury was $4,028,071.73, and the collateral inheritance, death tax or succession duties $3,071,687.09. In Massachusetts those two sources of revenue yielded $2,548,854.31, and in Pennsylvania $4,626,943.07. ' An Encouragement to Extravagance. With such sources to draw upon for revenues, is it any wonder that the public expenditures of the State Governments have grown to the enormous proportions ■.? ;-^ *'f - ' Scattered, broken and forfeited berths. + Berths in Rainy River District. 10 I shown by the foregoing table, as compared with Ontario t It is a veritable illus- tration of " come easy, go easy." The money goes back to the people again, it is true, just as it does in Ontario, some of it for schools, some for charities, some for the administration of justice, etc. But extravagance in public expenditure is always an evil, as the farmers of Ontario have been taught to v,ueir cost by the Government at Ottawa ; and neither " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada" nor the Canada Farmer's Sun is likely to persuade them that things could be better managed in Ontario than they are by borrowing a leaf from Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania or even Michigan. Our Cabinet syistera of Government is greatly to be preferred to the system which obtains so generally over the lakes, where, instead of responsible heads of Departments to direct affairs, the work is largely entrusted to • uncontrolled Commissions, Boards and Bureaus running on to infinity. In Massachusetts itself there Jire over forty Commissions doing administrative work. in Pennsylvania last year the cost of legislation was $575,639.11, as against $138,924.82 in Ontario ; in New York it was $795,037.16, and in Massachu- setts $348,807.66. Some Glaring Examples. There are many curious items in the public accounts of those States which would furnish food for reflection here if there was space to notice them. Among these may be observed in Pennsylvania the payment of fees to the Secretary of the Commonwealth "collected for his own use " of $12,332 in addition to his stated salary of $4,000, besides many exti-as, and of commissions to the Attorney- General " received for liis own use " oi $7,000 above his salary of $2,625. Then, too, there is Indiana, where the Attorney-General in addition to a salary of . $5,000, received last year in fees $15,81 1.87. The Foremost Writer would give his right hand were such items as these to be found in the Public Accounts of Ontario, under the name of Sir Oliver Mowat or any one of his colleagues. Yet the Canada Farmer's Sun gives the free use of its columns to this literary gentleman, so that he may exercise his brilliant gifts in persuading the Patrons of Ontario that it is their duty to join hands with him in Americanizing our institutions. COMPARISON WITH ONTAPtIO MUNICIPALITIES. It has been shown that in the case of State Governments in the United States direct taxation does not of itself ensure economy in the expenditure of public moneys. An enquiry into the finances of municipalities in Ontario will also show that it does not ensure economy here ; or perhaps it would be more correct to say, an economy of public moneys as careful as is exhibited in the finances of the Province For the purposes of this enquiry the Reports of the Bureau of Industries may be consulted, in particular, those of 1886 and 1893. >Statistics of taxation for municipalities of the Province are available for the twenty years, 1873-92, and complete statistics of receipts, expenditure, assets and liabilities for the five years, 1886-90. Municipal and Provincial Revenues. The following table gives the revenues of all municipalities levied by dii-ect tax on real and personal property and income, in the years 1873 and 189'.', for municipal and school purposes, and also the revenues of the Provincial Govern ni.ent from all sources for the same years : The Municipalities. The Province. 1873 $5,605,779 $2,961,616.31 ,j, •; , 1892 11,808,959 4,662,9'U.67 Increase $6,203,180 $1,701,406.26 — : — -rf/«^(» / , V 11 than t I The growth of the Province in this period of twenty years is indicated by the increase in the number of ratepayers, which, in 1873, was 360,712, and in 1892, 580,255, a gain of 61 per cent. The increase in the amount of direct taxes col- lected by the municipalities in the same period was 110| per cent., while the in- crease in the revenues of the Province was only f)7h per cent, or less than the increase of ratepayers. But while the revenues of the Province in 1892 were ;|4, 662,921. 57, the expenditure was only $4,068,257.39, leaving a surplus of nearly $600,000. Clearly, then, it has not been a case of " Come easy, go easy " in this com parison, in so far ps the Government of the Province is concerned ; and once more, the assumptions and reasonings of the Foremost Writer are shown to be at fault. Revenue and Expenditure. A more complete comparison is possible between the municipalities and the Province for the years 1886 and 1890, covering a period of five years. 1. As to revenue. The ordinary revenue of municipalities in the following table includes municipal and school taxes, licenses, fees, tolls, rents, tines, etc., and the revenue of the Province is from all sources — The Municipalities. The Province. •1886.' $10,0G0,:ill $3,148,660.01 1890 12,433,237 3,423,154.99 Increaae $2,372,920 $274,494.98 2. As to cost of government. In the next table civil government and legis- lation are grouped for the Province, and the various items of attendance at meet- ings, allowances, salaries, printing, cure of buildings, etc., for municipalities — the same services, as nearly as possible, for each. The Municipnlitieg. The Province. 1886 $1,761,361 $298,661.78 1890 2.35:5,245 341,039.74 Increase $591,884 $42,377.96 3. As to public works. These include, for the municipalities, roads, bridges, streets, parks, drainage works and construction of buildings and other works ; and for the Province, repairs and maintenance of public buildings a' d con- struction of colonization roads, public buildings and works, including the new Parliament ■ buildings, which in the last year is comparatively a large item. The Municipalities. The Province. 1886 $3,283,179 $490,640.41 1890 5,917,001 818,840.40 Increase $2,623,822 $328,199.99 4. As to total receipts and expenditure. These for the municipalities inchide several cross entries, such as payments from local to county municipalities, and the borrowing and refunding of moneys for current expenses ; but allowance being made for them, the actual increases are very nearly as shown. For the Province they are the totals as given in the public accounts. Receipts. The Municipalities. The Province. 1886 $20,277,307 $3,148 660.01 - 1&90 27,753,411 3,423,154.99 Increase $7,476,104 $274,494 98 Sxpfnditttret. 1886 $19,125,999 $3,181,449.69 1890 26,391,568 3,896 324.38 Increase $ifi2t)5,569 $714,874.69 m - : •■/■• X*r,; in ' Scattered, broken and forfeited berths. t Berths in Rainy River District. / 12 The increases of the municipalities are seen to be very much greater than those of the Province, although their revenue has been derived largely from direct taxes. But they have also been borrowing freely, and in the five years 1886-90 their debenture debt, less sinking fund and other investments (net debt), was increased by $8,683,090, or from $23,710,459 to $32,393,549 ; while their float- ing debt was increased by $2,913,564, or from $1,868,521 to $4,782,085. The Province is without debt ; it has a surplus of $6,135,480.49. Where the Proverb Fails. The Foremost Writer's proverb of " Come easy, go easy," is generally true ; but it does not apply to the Government of Ontario. That Government, it has been shown, has administered the finances of the Province with much greater economy than any State of the American Union, where the bulk of the revenues are derived from direct taxes. It has been more-economical than our own muni- cipalities, whose chief source of revenue is direct taxes also. The Government of Sir Oliver Mowat is therefore on this ground justly entitled to the confidence of the electors of the Province. The moneys and resources with which it has lieen entrusted have been carefully and prudently utilized ; and while aid has been generously given for education, the maintenance of public institutions, agriculture, hospitals and charities, railways and the construction of colonization roads and public buildings and works, it cannot with a shadow of good cause be alleged that either the money or the resources of the Province have been for any purpose wasted or improperly spent. The. world can be challenged to show a better Government. THE MESSAGE 10 THE FARMERS. " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada,'' in addressing the Patrons through the medium of the Canada Farmer's Suv, may be supposed to have a special message for the farmers of Ontario. His main object is, to show that the Liberal Government is not worthy of their confidence. A suificient answer is, what this Government has done for the cause of agriculture. The Government's Agricultural Record. It has created a Department of Agriculture with a successful farmer as Minister. It has spent $2,731,310 in connection with agriculture in 22 years. It has collected and published farm statistics for the past 1 2 years, and these statistics have established the pre-eminence of the Province on this continent as an agricultural country. It has established the Agricultural College and Experimental Farm. It has organized and assisted 87 Farmers' Institutes. It gives grants to 90 electoral district and 357 township and horticultural societies. From 1872 to 1893 it gave $1,336,793 for agricultural societies. It gave $20,550 in 1893 to twelve other associations organized for the benefit of farmers, chief of which are the Dairvmen's Associations. It has established a fund for loaning money to farmers on easy terms for tile- draining their lands, from which the farmers of the Province have drawn $1,057,- 454 87 in 21 years. It has sent out travelling dairies which have visited 669 placet^ in three years. It has started a special dairy school at Guelph at which 103 attended in the spring of 1894, and a special summer course for rural public school teachers at the Agricultural College. It provided for the display of agricultural products at the World's Fair, where in fruits, grain, live stock and cheese Ontario beat the world. y-t"»<f 13 It distributed 166,000 reports in 1893 and 1,200,000 bulletins in the past three years. ^ It will shortly establish experimental fruit farms. It manufactures at the Central Prison a high quality of binder twine, which is sold direct to the farmers at low prices. One thousand four hundred and thirty-four awards in agriculture were taken at the "World's Fair, out of a total of 1,685 for Canada, or 85 percent., — a most convincing proof of the usefulness of the Government's policy in encouraging agriculture to reach a higher standard. SOME MINOR ISSUES. The Canada Farmer's Sun has used its Foremost Writer in making attacks upon the Government of this Province on various other grounds, some of which may be noticed briefly. To all of them a complete answer could be given. :. . / .. Biennial Sessions. 1. As to Biennial Sessions. They are out of harmony with our system of Re- sponsible Government, which requires that Ministers should give the people and their representatives in the Legislature the best opportunities to judge of their administrative acts. The security of Provincial Rights in our Federal system also requires that the importance and dignity of the Local Legislature be main-' tained. In the United States, since the Civil war, the State Legislatures are slowly sinking into insignificance. Besides, it is to be understood that Patron policy on this issue was correctly voiced by the Patron representative in the Local Legislature, who voted last session against Mr. Meredith's motion in favor of Biennial Sessions. Appointments to Office. » 2. As to appointments to otfice. " One of the Foremost Writers in Canada," writing to the Patrons, would deny to any person who has served in the Legis- lature the right afterward to hold a public otfice. The fact that a man has been deemed worthy by the people to represent them in Parliament, is evidence of his ability to till a public position. He at least should not be proscribed, unless it can be shown that the practice has grown into an evil. Edward Blake once oflfered a resolution on the subject in the Local Legislature, but that was to pro- test against the appointment of a member, direct from his seat in the Legisla- ture to an office in his own constituency, and presumably upon his own advice. No case of that sort has occurred since, and out of a total of 307 members who have sat in the Ontario Legislature since 1872, only 42 have been appointed to office, or one in seven. The Fees Question. 3. As to payment by fees. Registrars, Sheriffs and Bailiffs are not performing a general service. They are not in the employment of the people as Cabinet Ministers and most other Government officers are. The men who buy and sell lands, or who have suits at court, are the ones who require the service of Regis- trars, Sheriffs and Bailiffs ; and it is those men, not the public, who should pay for the service. Doctors and lawyers are also paid by fees, and they as well as legal officers would doubtless prefer to be put on salary and draw their earnings from the municipal treasury. Possibly some plan different from the existing one may be devised and recommended by the Royal Commission now sitting ; but it s«ems to be just and reasonable that those who use the service of Regis- trars, Sheriffs and Bailiffs should pay for it. There are thousands of farmers in the Province who never require the offices of a Sheriff or Bailiff, and who never more than perhaps once in a lifetime get a title recorded in the office of a Registrar. Scattered, broken and forfeited berths. f Berths in Rainy River iJietrict. 14 The Chargb op Nepotism. 4. As to the charge of nepotism. The citizens of Ontario who know the eminent services of feir Oliver Mowat to the Province during the last forty years, and especially during the twenty-two years in which he has held the office of First Minister and Attorney -General, are not likely to share the feelings of "One of the Foremost Writers in Canada," in condemning the appointment of Sir Oliver's son to an office. The man who won tor Ontario half of her present teri'itory, a hundred thousand square miles, who by wise policy has developed her great natural re- sources, and who has successfully maintained her cause against encroachments of the Federal Government for nearly a quarter of a century, would be readily pardoned by the people of Ontario had he been guilty of the charge made in the Canada Fanwr's Sun. In Great Britain it is the custom to reward distinguished public servants with noble titles and rich gifts. Sir Oliver Mowat has been content to take the modest salary of his office as the only compensation for his many and valuable services t'^ his Province in the courts and elsewhere, although as a lawyer in private practice he might have earned double or treble the salary paid to him as Attorney-General. Tt is well known thac he is not wealthy, and that with the numerous calls .made upon one in his position, he can hope to save little out of his official salary. Yet he did not seek or claim for his son the office concerning which so much ungrateful criticism has been heard. His political friends urged and pressed the appointment upon the other mem- bers of the (xovernment at a time when the First Minister's health was not as robust as it is now, and when other circumstances seemed to make it necessary that provision should be made for his family. These are delicate matters to refer to, and Sir Oliver Mowat himself would be the last to let mention of them be made were he consulted on the subject. But "One of the Foremost Writers in Canada," in the Canada Farmer's Sun, and others elsewhere, have prostituted their talents in the effort to make the political and personal character of Sir Oliver Mowat odious, and it has become necessary to state the simple facts. There is not a Tory in the United Kingdom despicable enough to reproach Mr. Gladstone for giving to his son a seat in his own Cabinet. Nor is there a Liberal vile enough to taunt Lord Salisbury with giving high office and leadership of his party in the Commons to his gifted nephew, Mr. A. .J. Balfour. It has been reserved for the Canada Farmer's Sun and its chief political writer in the present election contest to strike such a blow at the Grand Old Man of Ontario. For his services as military leader within the four years preceding the Water- loo campaign, the British Government conferi'ed upon Sir Arthur Wellesley (Duke of Wellington) the sucessive dignities of baron, viscount, earl, marquis and duke ; and when the First Minister proposed to endow the dukedom with a sum of £300,000, the House of Commons under the guidance of the leaders of the Opposition raised it by acclamation to half a million— about $2,500,000. It was " the noblest gift that any subject had ever received," Wellington him- self said, when returning his thanks in person to the House for the honor. After the abolition of the Corn Laws in Great Britain, Richard Cobden, lead- er of the Anti-Corn Laws movement, was presented with a national testimonial of nearly eighty thousand pounds stei'ling. " He had undoubtedly sacrificed good chances of private prosperity for the interest of the community," biographer John Morley says, "and it would have been a painful and discreditable satire on human nature if he had b^en left in ruin, while everybody around him was thriving on the results of his unselfish devotion." The services of Oliver Mowat to his native Province during the last twenty- where if/rmm 15 two years will bear just comparison with those of Wellington or Cobden to tlie Mother Land. The ability and the earnestness with which he defended our rights to the disputed territory against the aggressions of the Dominion Govern- ment, and his final victory before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which established Ontario's rights over a region 100,000 square miles in extent, rich in timber and minerals, and containing extensive areas of fine farming land, are surely deserving of grateful recognition by the people of Ontario. Had he been a military commander, and had he won those vast and rich possessions by the power of the sword, there is no honor in the gift of the British Crown which he might not hope to have received for his reward. But he did not receive even a lawyer's fee. His great abilities as a lawyer and hi8*^atriotism as a statesman were freely given to the service' of his country ; and his only reward is the con- sciousness that he has the confidence of the -people. '\W^^ I THE OPINIONS OF PRINCIPAL GRANT. The opinions of Rev. Principal Grant, of Kingston, on the issues now before the electors of Ontario deserve to be well pondered by the farmers as well as by electors of every class. Principal Grant is a man of commanding force ; and, as an independent man, who in politics, as in other affairs, has the courage to follow his intellect, his judgment will have weight with all thoughtful, inde- pendent and patiiotic men. Here are the opinions of Rev. Principal Grant: The Man in Charge of the Strong Box. " The one point that our people everywhere must settle is this : Can we get admin- istrators who are determined that the commandment ' Thou shalt not steal ' must be observed ? Till that is settled, it is useless to talk about anything else. Provincial rights, school questions, tariff reform, British connection, canuls, cables, railways — what is the use of discussing these if we sink into being a nation of thieves ? That is what we must become if we tolerate stealing in high places, for what is done at the top is sure to permeate tr ..he bottom. Look at the revelations that we have had since 1891 — corruption in so many quarters that we wondered if there was a clean spot any- where ; the people of Quebec robbed that M. Pacaud and his friends might have the joy of exploiting what he termed a gold mine ! The people of all the Provinces robbed that the robbers might rule Canada ! A recent instance is enough to show how deep and wide-spread the roots of the malady are, and to show how hard it is for a Government to act, even with good intentions, unless supported by a healthy public opinion. Two worthy gentlemen were convicted and sentenced to gaol. Prison disagreed with them, and they were set free. One is about offering him- self as a candidate for Parliament : the other was taken from prison as a conquering hero. In Montreal, 'fine gentlemen received him at the railway station with cheers, took him to the Windsor and dined and wined him. He, in reply, said not a word about ill-health, but declared that the people would not allow the Government to keep him in prison any longer ! When convicts get such treatment, ordinary men will not be much disinclined to be classed among convicts. As we think of the saturnalia that must have existed for a long time before such a state of public morals could become possible, we are forced to ask what might have happened to the richest Province in the Dominion if any easy-going politician had had charge of its strong box. What plunder there was for a gang ! We have timber limits worth tens of millions ; we could stand a debt of twenty or thirty millions as easily as Quebec. A politician of easy virtue would have lavished these millions on heelers and hangers-on, who, in re- turn, would be enthusiastically voting him a god. Does not this thought throw some light on what we have escaped, and on what we owe to the man who has been in charge of our strong box for twenty-two years. Assuredly the revelations have had that effect upon me. Our money is mill ours, and our honor is safe. Thank Oud for It, and also let ns keep our powder dry— that is, keep a good seivant at his post. A man who will not read this lesson will not read anything. In one word, Ontario cannot afford to disiniss Sir Oliver Mowat." British Connection, " There is, however, another reason for voting for him that appeals to men who be- lieve that British connection is indispensable to the growth of Canadian nationality. • Scattered, broken and forfeited berths. t Berths in Rainy River District. i M Mr. Mowst wai slwajs loyal, bat in the iMt two or thre* jmn he hae t«ken a dedd^ pnUie stand that ha« oqct him lome followem, and that, in my opinion, should wfai for him tirioe a« many. His aooeplanoe of Jioncr from the Qaeen — and it is clear to me that, as a rule, politieians should neither seek nor refuse such honors— his Niagara speeeh, his diimiisal of an official who defied him on a point of duty inToUed in his office to the Orown, these things should not be forgotten. When D' Alton McCarthy . said, * Though Sir Oliver Mowat has lost Elgin Myers, he has gained Mr. McOarthy, ' a good many added individually, 'and me too.' In one word, those aen ,who are In flivor of Biitltli connootlon oannot afford to dlamlss Sir ' Ollwer Howat.'' P. P. A. Support op Mb. Mbbidith. *' I cannot help saying here that I wonder a little that Mr. Meredith does not speak out what he must feel with regard to the P. P.- A. He might lose Totes on this occa- sion by so doing, but he would gain in the long run. A brief ieniflre of office is not what such a man desires, but a permanent place jn the respect of his 'countrymen. Surely it is clear that there can be no such a thing as Oonsenratism in Canada, in any sense of the word, that is not based on a good understanding between our two great religious denominations. Coquetting with such an association, or even silently accept- ing its aid, must be fatal to him. It may be said that he is not coquetting. No, but the receiver is as bad as jthe thief. Such allies must have their price, and they are sure to act as h boomerang. I would tike to hear from both leaders a distinct repudia- tion and denunciation 'of any oi^anization that is based on the proscription of any class of our people on religious grounds. We need a union of all good men in Canada, and we dare not say to any man .that he must abandon the religion of his mother before he can be expected to be treated as a citizen. On this third grourfd, then, I say, we otinnot afford to dispense with the services of Sir Oliver nowat.** .^ IJ H UBWI II I I II M ill , IWUdmWMUWWUIMIWJ i F- ( if mm did win for sImt to ms it Niagam Ived in hia MoOarkhy MoOarthy, oce men ■miM Mr not speak 1 this oooa- Soe is not ant^men. da, in any two great tly aooept- No, bnfc d they are 3t repadia* ion of any in Canada, is mother grourfd, • of Sir / I •^vtvua tu xtNUUjf XblVOl' LflOtriCt.