IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) % // \ FA CTS FOR THE TIMES. li. ..T ' ' J , RECORD OF LIBERAL ADMINISTRATION ri YLo^w the Joly Ministry Governed the Province. — The V Financial Question.— Liberal Scandals.— The Joly Policy. — The Rail^vay Question. The Chapleau Policy. ,,v THE FINANCIAL QUESTION. The circumstances which led to the formation of the Joly Administration are too fresh in the minds of the people to refjuire any reference to them now, and in dealing with the sijecial feature of its policy which we propose to refer to to- day, we shall not in any way allude to those circumstances. Mr. Joly tO' -k office upon the declaration that he would make expenditures and revenue meet without having recourse to any new sources of revenue. That was the promise upon which he appealed to the people, and it was in consequence of that promise, and from a willingness to afford him an oppor- tunity of fulfilling it, that he succeeded in carrying thirty-one out of tlie sixty-five constituencies, in May of last year. He has been in office for twenty months, certainly a sufficient time to enable him to fulfil his promise if he was able to do so. Has he fulfilled it? Tliat, it seems to us, is an important question at a time when the peoi^le are asked to reject the new Ministers because of their success in defeating the Joly Government. There is a question which may be refer- red to briefly before we enter upon the financial question, viz : the extent of re- sponsibility which attaches to each party for the position in which the Province finds itself. We are wont to hear about the embarrassments which have been brought upon the Province in consequence of the policy of the former Conservative Government. It is a sufficient answer to this charge to point out that with the single exception of the objection to as- suming the North Shore railways, the policy of previous administrations was all sanctioned by the Liberal party in op- position, under the lead of Mr. Joly. No single grant by way of subsidy to any rail- way met with opposition. Indeed, so far from opposition being offered, the Kouges sought to embarrass the Governmout by complahiing that they were not sufficient- ly liberal in their dealing with the sub- sidized lines. The policy of aiding rail- ways was not a party policy, but a patriotic one, which not only received its strongest support from Mr. .Joly and his friends, but which, if their motions in the Legisla- ture had not been defeated, woukl have been greatly extended. In so far, there- fore, as. the present financial embarrass- ment arises from the grants by way of suljsidy to railway companies, including the grants to the North Shore Eailway Companies, the Liberals are as responsible for it as their opi)onents. Only ui)on the policy of assuming the North Shore liailways, and completing them as Government works, on the fail- ure of the companies, was issue joined by the two parties, and the Liberals may claim that financial embarrassment would have been avoided had the Government refused to take over the roads. That is true, but it is also true that in tha' ise the Province would not have had the great advantage of these railways, the advances alreatly made by the Government and the municipalities woidd have been absolute- ly lost, and we should have had simply the ruins of a half finished railway to show for the expenditure. The Conservatives may fairly, therefore, claim that their pohcy was in the interests of the country. If there was any doubt upon this point, how- ever, Mr. Joly himself has removed it. The roads were still unfinished when he //^ r- Fyofzx /3,l:« $ 14I,r)(X) Civil (iovornment 157,710 157,9(fc> AdmlnLstration of Justice . 3!H),770 375,932 Police 14.400 ll,r>>> Reformatories 57,060 5(>,30() Inspection. 2,723 5,500 Public Instruction 353,035 320,210 Literary and 8clentlflc In- stitutions 8,680 8,ir)0 Arts and Manufactures 10.000 10,000 Agriculture Gt,087 70,000 Immigration and Repatria- tion 14,800 5,000 Colonization ']H,4M 4.5,f)00 Public Works and Build'gs . 1!M).0(18 2.58,886 liUnatic Asylums 210,542 180,000 Chari ties 60,677 m,'£H) Miscellaneous 26,084 15,000 Pension Fund 6,081 1,950 Heed Grain Loan. 7,700 Charges on Revenue 187,319 188,401 Interest and Sinking Fund. 727,097 683,181 $2,685,340 $2,595,661 Although these figures .show a nominal decrease in the estimated expenditure of the present year as comi^ared with the actual expenditure of last, there are some features of the tables which show that not much dependence is to be placed upon them. For instance, in one item of interest and sinking fund on the public debt wo have an apparent decrease of $43,916. But the debt has not lessened; on the contrary, it is quite clear that th^. works which the Government have actu- ally undertaken cannot be completed without increasing it. It is true that the interest on temporary loans, amounting last year to $95,594.76, has been, as to the difierence in the rate, saved by the payment of the loans from the proceeds of the permanent loan since effected. But inasmucli as the works actually undertaken or promised by Mr. Joly will involve another loan of at least two million^', if not three, to say nothing of the new financial method of borrowing money to i)ay interest, it is quite clear that there will be no decrease in the amounts of this claim when the public accounts are made up. The difference between Mr. Bachand'.s estimates and the actual expenditures to wliich wo have ref> ■niif»ht possil)ly temporize, aronsod such n feeling in his constituency that he was compelled to write his letter of indignant Tej)udiation of being other than aCojiser- vative and an opponent of the .loly (lov- crnment. After his election he was in communication with the loader of the ■Opposition, and three hours before he TOted himself into the chair, as the nominee of Mr. Joly, he was still a de- clared opponent of the Ciovernment. And by means of the vote thus purchaseil, and not by means of poj^ular support, the re- sult of the elections, Mr. Joly kept him- self in office. The attempt to establish an analogy between the case of this miser- able culprit Turcotte, and that of the gentlemen who recently voted against and defeated Mr. Joly, is utterly futile. No one pretends to say that a man being elect- ed as a friend of a (rovernment, is bound during the Parliament to sus- tain that (lovernment irrespective of what its policy might be. To hold that view would be to destroy altogether the whole theory of responsible government. Oentlemen elected to support a Govern- ment, must give that Government such support as will enable them to fully de- velop their policy; but if that policy, when developed, is not in accordance with their view of the public jnterest, or if the Government fails in carrying out Its programme, they are not only ab- solved A*om any obligation to support it, but are bound as honest men to oppose it. That is an essential feature of the theory of our system of Government, which is that Ministers are continuously dependent for their continuance in office upon the confidence — based upon an in- telligent appreciation of public policy — of the people's representatives. So, a gentleman elected to oppose a Govern- ment, either because of the disapproval on the part of his constituents of its past policy, or of the manner in which it ob- tained office, is bound in honour to use his vote to defeat that Government, when the opportunity to give it occurs, even if, afterwards, he should, as he may, give to its measures, or to such of them as he approves, a general support. This distinction is so plain that no one, who is not dishonestly interested in misrepresent- ing the case, can fail to see it. The lat- ter was Mr. Turcotte's case. There was no doubt about the constituency of Tliree Elvers being against the Government. There was no doubt about his having ob- tained his election upon the solenui as- surance that he shar»'oople, as oxpi'cssod at the elections. That was Mr. .loly's initial stop. It was a shamelessly corrupt one, and it paved the way for others to which we will refer. THE ASBESTOS LAND JoB. The conduct of the Government in connection with lot 27 in the Townsliip of Thotford, is an illustration of the kind of " honest and piu'o'' Ciovernment we have been living under for the last twenty months in tlie Province of Quebec. We give the facts of the case as stated l)y the Commissioner of Crown i^inds himself A Mr. Johnston, of the Township of Thetford, had, in tho fall of 1 S77, i)ur- chased lot 27, as an agricultural lot, at thirty cents an acre. Subsequently a Mr. Sinister, an American, called upon Mr. I^ngelier as Commissioner of Crown Lands, informed him that the lot contained valu- able deposits of asbestos, and was in fact not an agricultural lot, as understood by the rules of the Department, and urged that it should bo put up at public auction along with other lands about to be sold, and that he was prepared to bid liberally upon it. Mr. I^ngelier, upon these repre- sentations, cancelled tho sale to Johnston, and advdftised it to he sold by public auction at Quebec on the 5th ,Iune. On that day the Americans, who wished to purchase the lot, wont to Quebec to attend tlie sale, and were astonished to learn that it had been withdrawn. The reasons for the withdrawal were thus stated by Mr. Langelier in the House of Assembly : — "In the meantime a number of residents of Megantic, including the Rev. Mr. Ball, Presby- terian Minister, called on hlra (Mr. Langelier), to express their indignation at the cancellation of the sale to the Johnstons. The member for Megantic also protested against this injustice in mvor of an American speculator to two set- tlers. Convinced of these representations he withdrew the lot from public sale, and the de- posits of asbestos on it. He made the Messrs. Johnston pay the amount chargeable to settlers for land containing mineral deposits, $1 per acre, deducting their previous payment of .30c." That Mr. Johnston's neighbours, includ- ing his minister, were opposed to the can- cellation of the lot is quite likely ; but we presume it will hardly be urged that that was a good reason for its withdrawal. The 6 lot was oithor a luiiioral lot or it was not. If it was, tlion tlio n^asons which iruhu-od Mr. Latigfilior to canr(>l tho Halo to .John- ston, and aro.sontationH of the Kov AFr. Rail and his noi^hhorH. If it was not, then tho sale should have boon confirmocl os an agricultural lot at thirty conts an j'.>'ro. It was n<^)t conHrin<'d. Mr. L'ln^olior by his own actdoolared it to be .1 niin !ral lr)t, and havin<^ done so, ho loft hinisoll" without the shaer mile, knowing that ho was giving the inventor forty- seven dollars per mile for an article that he had heen anx- ions to dispose of for thirty liu'in>i tli«> l(jrks, aii»l to perform tho work for-^.i peruiilo. Thus Mai'kiiy pocketed $17 ii mile for a luit lock ho had ollen'd for ^iJO per mile, and th<^ (Government, in addition to this (worhitant j)riee, had to assume an additional expense of fl;! a mile for placing the nut-locks, the total cost biung thus fOO p(U' mile. WIIKKK TIH'; MONKY WKNT TO. A Committco of enquiry into this trans- action was ask(Ml for in tho Assembly and refused by tho (iovornmont, l)ut tho Legis- lative Coimcil. taking cognizance of the matter, appoint(Ml a special committee to ascertain the truth of the charges made against the Ministry. On August liTth a meeting of this Conmiittee was held, at which C/'ol. F. C. Farijana being sworn, deposed as follows : — I mot Dr. McKay on a')th July at Ottawa, ami convtM'Kcd with hltn at tho UuhsoI Mouse on this nut-lock quoMtion for about half an hour. He told nie he had made a very good transaction, but that he had made nothing up to the pre- sent, as he was obliged to divide a (iortaln amount between members of tho (jovernment. He would, however, bo all right in the future. Ho said the nmount he had to divide was be- tween iji4,(H)() and $i"),(K)o, and that it was to be used for election purposes. il. Did ho mention tlie names of tlioso mem- bers of tho Government? A. Dr. Mo Kay told mo that ho divided tho money between Mr. Langelier and Mr. 8tarnos for election purpose. There being two Langeliers in the House I do not know wiilch lio meant. Dr. McKay men- tioned Mr. liangelier and Mr. Starnes in regard to another transaction wltli Mr. Mcliroevy for building a portion of the road. Dr. McKay, a few weeks before tho electlons,told me he could get my claims settled if I gave him $3,000 (or election purposes to support tho Government. The $5,000 were to bo taken out of my contract claim. I told him it was useless, as I had writ- ten to Mr. Joly and had received a reply which obliged me to go to court. Q,. What was tho amount of your claim ? A. $28,000 against Mr. McGreovy; but I claimed ft against tlie Government under clause 9, by which the Government were responsible to me as a sub-contractor. On the Government re- plying that I should go to law, I dropped every- thing with the Government ; and entered pro- ceedings against Mr. McGreevy. Q. The Government was to pay you in full, and Dr. McKay was to get $5,000 ? A. Yos. Q. Did he tell you to whom, the money would go ? A. Ho said that was none of my business, but in a friendly way ofTered to get the claim settled for $4,000. Ho told me if I had told him before, he could have had it settled without loss of time or trouble. That testimony remains unimpeached. Although every effort was made to sub- poena Dr. Mackay, in order that he might give his own version of the transaction, he could not be found, having been spirit- ed away from Quebec to prevent the ex- posures his evidence woultl necessarily nuike. WHAT MACKAV WAS TAID. In August last, tlireo months after Hon. Afr. Starnes had given out the contract, Mackay had deliv((r(>(l to the (lovernment only$i,')0() worth of jiut-locks and not more than thirteen mih's of the railway had be(>n fmished with them, yet at that tiuK^ no less a sum than $ I (),')()() had been paid l)y tho (lovornment to Mackay, of whi(!h, according to the evidence, $;'),(XX) was paid back l)y Mackay to assist the liiberal candidates in the elections in June. Mr. Mac Evvan, cashier of the Union Baid<, deposed that lie had advanced Mackay $"),()00 on tlie strength of the fol- lowing letter : — (ii'KnKC, May 27, 1S79. To P. M vrEwAN, Esq.. C!iishier Union Bank of Iiowor ('anada: Siu,— Dr. Ma<-ka\ being, as I understand, de- .■■irous of aiJplying to you for an advance to en- able him to carry out his contract with the CJovcrnmcnt for tlie placing of "nut-locks" on th(! North Shore Railway, I undertake at his request to retain from the moneys coming to him under the said contract the sum of (^'i.OCK)) five thousand dollars, to be applied tf)wards tho payment of any advance which tho Bank may think proper to make to him. 1 remain yours truly, H. RTARNES, Commissioner ad interim. Tn addition to this amount, Mr. Ed. Moreau, Secretary of the Railway Depart- ment, deposed that he had paid Dr. Mac- kay $5,()()() in rlune by a cheque signed by Hon. Mr. Joly, and later he had paid him a furtlier sum of $500. We add the evi- dence of Mr. A. L. Light, who deposed : — " I am Government Engineer on the Eastern Division of the North Shore Railway between Quebec and Montreal ; I know Dr. Mackay's nut-locks ; I am not aware that a contract was made by the Government with Dr. Mackay on account of his nut-locks to bo placed on the road in May last ; I don't know personally if these nut-locks were put on the road since May last on my division between Quebec and Mont- real ; if anything of the kind had happened, I think I would have known it; no report was made to me ; section men may have consider- ed it their duty not to report, and I do not know anything of it : as a general rule any- thing important concerning my section is re- ported or should be reported to me ; in May last I have not been consulted about that nut- lock contract by the Government ; I have not seen one nutrlock put on the road In my section in May last or since." Such is the history of this scandalous job. It is as glaring a piece of corruption as ever disgraced a Government in this or any other country, a direct sale of a pub- lic contract for election purposes. No link is missing in the chain of evidence ; the record is complete and unimpeach k ( 8 I \ iihlc, nn, $25,()(M) being paid in cash, anothei'$2."),(HM) on the 1st November, 1S74, and the bal- ance, $28(),(X)(), in ten years from the said 1st of November, with interest at seven per cent., payable annually. The property was divided into three parcels-, numbered in the official i)ljin 147,ir)2 and 14S, tho first containing 5,980 feet, the second Ii0,()54 feet, and the third fjf)2 arpents, or 24,2«)2,.'5()2 feet, and to secure the jiayment of the balance unpaid, the hypothec op vendor's privilege resulting from the sale,, was limited as follows: — First, to the sum of six ccMits per superficial scjuare ibot 12 upon the lots 147 and 152, and upon that portion of the lot 148, extend- ing to a depth of two arpents from the highway or turnpike road; sec- ondly, to the sum of five cents per superficial square foot upon this por- tion of the lot No. 148, lying between the distance of two arpents, and four ar- pents from the said highway or turnpike road ; thirdly, to the sum of four cents per superficial square foot upon the por- tion of said lot. No. 148, lying between the distance of four arpents, and six ar- pents from the said highway or turnpike rpad ; fourthly, to the sum of three cents per superficial square foot upon the por- tion of the said lot No. 148, lying between the distance of six arpents, and eight ar- pents from the said highway, and the sum of one and a half cents per superficial square foot upon the rest of said lot No. 148. The purchasers had the right at any time, within ten years, to make pay- ments of not less than f 1(),0()(), and on such payments being made, vendors agreed to release such portion of the estate, as purchaser might choose within the hypothec. Thus it will be seen that the highest price paid for any portion of this property — the favorite portion of it — amounted only to six cents a foot, that is, the purchasers had a right at any time to obtain posses- sion of the very best part by the payment of that price. The average price paid for the whole property was a fraction over one and one-third cents per foot. That was the price paid for this property in 1874, when, as every one knows, pro- perty in the vicinity of Montreal was bringing fabulous and speculatiye prices. In 1876, the Railway Commissioners had occasion to purchase the right of way through the property, having obtained 1,134,000 feet of this land, for which they paid $53,154.80, or an average of a shade over 4'^c. afoot. Property generally contin- ued to go down in price until 1878, when bottom prices may be said to have been reached, and yet in spite of tLI^ reduction in the value of the land, Mr. Joly paid for 1,140,556 feet the enormous sum of $141, 375.02 or an average of over 12 4-10 cents a foot. The purchase made by Mr. Joly was as follows : — 1,074,446 feet at 12 cents, . 38,870 " " 25 " 27,240 " •' 10 " $128,033.52 9,717.50 2,724.(X) 1,140,556 ' $141,375.02 Thns while the railway commissioners were able to purchase 1,134,000 feet for §53,154.S0 In 1876, Mr. Joly has paid the same vendors In IH7H, property having. In the meantime, decreased In valne, the enormous sum of 9141,375 for 1,140,356 feet of adjacent property. In other words, while the commissioners arranged for this property at four and two-thirds cents per foot, Mr. Joly has ac- tually paid an average of twelve and four- tenths of a cent a foot for practically the same land. Or, while in 1 874 the vendors had the power to obtain the choicest corner of the land at six cents, Mr. Joly has paid now as high as twenty-five cents. It is true that the price of the property was fixed by arbitration, but the arbitrators were all strong partizans of the Government and intimate friends of Mr. Stames, who was deeply interested in effecting a good sale. If this were even not so, no one is bound by an award which bears injustice, if not fraud, upon the very face of it. The idea of property which had been purchased when values were inflated at less than two cents a foot, the right of way through which had been purchased two years afterwards at 4'| cent.^ a foot, which had been offered to the former Government at seven cents a foot, being paid for at a period of the greatest depression, when the land was worth comparative- ly little — at over twelve cents a foot — is simply preposterous. The result of these transactions to the gentlemen who purchased the land was eminently satisfactory. They purchased this pro- perty, as we have seen, in the days of wildest speculation, for $330,000. They have, in consequence of this happy hit, already received for parts of it, assuming the sales to private parties to be bona Jide, the handsome sum of $243,938, and they still retain 21,482,420 square feet,out of the 24,362,362 square feet contained in the original purchase I And the country has lost, taking into account the real values of this property, from $75,000 to $100,0(K), simply from the accident that Mr. Starnes happened to be a Minister with a pliant chieftain willing to sacrifice public interests for the advantage of him and his friends. THE NORMAL SCHOOL FURNITURE JOB. Another instance of the reck- lessness of the late Government was what our readers will recollect as the e ) ' 13 «9 * Jacques Cartier Normal School contract job. Attention was called to tlie matter by Mr. Taillon, on the 1st of August, while the House was in Committee of Supply. The contract had been given to one Berger at $18,3()(), although it was proved beyond cavil that Mr. I^vigne had offered to do the work for $10,()(X) or $8,30() less. Mr. Lavigne was, moreover, informed by the Premier that the con- tract could not be awarded without a pre- vious advertisement for tenders, yet, sub- sequently, without anything of the kind, it was given to the above men- tioned contrator for the sum named. In the investigation, at which the witnesses were examhied un- der oath, Mr. Lavigne testified that in June and July, 1878, he went over the building, measured the rooms, and got thereby, as well as from the specifications, a thorough itlca of what was wanted. He then offered to do the work for $10,000, and ho exi^ected to make a handsome profit out of that. He had done similar work for the' Catholic Academy, and had a cai)ital idea of what was wanted, and what it would cost. However, in the in- terviews he had with Mr. Joly, ho was told that the Government would not like to spend any sum over $1,000 without ad- vertising for tenders. Notwithstanding this assertion, made to him in all appar- ent honesty by the late Premier, he was not a little astonished and disappointed to learn that the job — in more senses than one — had been awarded, without tend- ers, to Mr. Berger, who was only a joiner, for the nice little sum of $8,300 more than he, expecting to have a fair profit, had previously asked. It also came out in the evidence that the si)ecification on which Berger worked proved to be a dujjlicate of that on which Lavigne had based his offer. Mr. Lavigue's testimony on this point, as on all otliers, was corro- borated by that of the Abbe Verreault, the Priiicii)al of the Jac(|ues Cartier Nor- mal School, who stated that he had hand- ed one specification to Ljivigne and the other to Berger, both being exactly alike. The charge was, therefore, fully jiroven in the face of the House and of the country at large, while Mr. Joly and his Govern- ment had been nauseating with their loud and perpetual professions of hon- esty and economy, and Mr. Marchand was stricken dumb, and did not even at- tempt to excuse himself. Let us recapit- ulate the simple facts of this case as brought out in the evidence before the Public Accounts Committee, the Govern- ment having refused a special committee ; (1). Last year L'Abbe Verrault, the Princijial of the Jacques Cartier Normal School with the assistance of the (Jovern- ment Arcliitect, prepared specifications for the furniture of the new building, and duplicates were given to Mr. Ljivigno and Mr. Berger respectively, the former being one of the best known cabinet makers, the other a carpenter and joiner. (2). In July, 1878, Mr. Lavigne went to Quebec, saw Messrs. Joly and Marchand, and offered to do the work for $10,0(.)0 or $12,000, the latter sum including the altar, balustrade, etc., for the chapel. The answer was that no contract exceed- ing $1,(MX) in amount could be given with- out tender. (3.) Mr. I^avigne saw Mr. Joly again in Montreal in the beginning of Autumn, and renewed the offer. He was referreci to Mr. Marchand who, the Premier said, was specially charged with the matter. (4.) Mr. Lavigne subsefjuently met Mr. Langelier, the treasurer, on the Quebec steamer, showed him his plans, and re- newed the offer. He received for answer that the furniture was too exi)ensive, and that the Government coukl not afford to pay so much. (5.) In January last Mr. Lavigne saw Mr. Marchand in Montreal, and once more renewed the offtM'. He was then told that he (^Marchand) would have to consult the political lVien .angements '' have been made. In lae first place, so far as Montreal was concerned, it is well known that the strong ground of opposition in the city to the payment of any money was that the line instead of being brought in direct by tlie houi de Vule route, was diverted by the way of Terrebonne. When Mr. -Joly took office, instead of stopping all works upon the Terrebonne section west of Maskinonge, until he had made a full in(|uiry into the matter, he permitted work to go on, thus increasing the difficulties of reverting to the bout de Visle route in the event of the Engineer's deciding it to be the bettor one. Then he induced Mr. Walter Shanly to make a report upon the subject, the result of which was that the decision of his prede- cessors in office, which had formed throughout the elections the special battle-cry against them, was confirmed, and we have Mr. Joly to-day claiming special merit upon the ground that he has pressed forward the work by that route. His arrangement with the City of Montreal was simply an abandon- ment of the claim which the Government had upon the city, because $50,0(X) which they were to give him would be more than swallowed up in the work of bringing the railway to a point not "^ " w way contem- plated in the original agreement. Thart undoubtedly is an easy way to settle dis- putes with the city. As to other places the cases are still more extraordinary. The City of Quebec, for instance, owed $790,000 on account of its railway subscription. Mr. Joly had occasion to purchase some land from the city for the use of the railway, the amount agreed upon being $120,000 ; but as Quebec was indebted to the Government in a very much larger sum than that, it is quite clear that they should simply have been credited with the amount in the general settlement. Instead of that, however, what do we find ? That Mr. Joly, in his anxiety to be poj^ular with the municipalities and to ai)pear to have the knack of settling things in a more excel- lent way than his pi-edecessors, deliber- ately ignored altogether the indebtedness of the city of Quebec to the Government on account of the railway and paid to them in cash for this land, less a debt on another account of some $40,(XX). That is a kind of " amicable settlement " which we fancy the public at large will not con- sider entitles Mr. Joly to any special 16 merit on the part of the people. The re suit has. been not to lessen the embarrass- ments of the country, but to increase them. Although the railway to-day is built and running according to Mr. Joly's own contention ; although, in fact, he was arranging to take it over from the contractor as a completed work, the city of Quebec still owes on account of its subscription $6()(),0(X), which might at least have been reduced by the $80,00() paid in cash out of the public treasury had Mr. Joly thought more of the interest of the Province and less of his own per- sonal popularity among his surroundings in the ancient capital. The other important place where there was a difficulty was the city of Three liivers. The Government was entitled to receive from the city $10(),()(X) when the Piles Bi-anch was completed. The Piles Branch was completed the moment the connection was made between the city of Three Rivers and Grand Piles, and yet, what do we find Mr. Joly doing in his effort at " amicable settlement ?" In order to get half the sub- scription, $50,(X)U, and that in bonds of the city and not in cash, he un- dertook without the authority of the Legislature to complete the loop line, upon which he has already expended $90,- (XX), and which, before its completion, will involve another expenditure of probably $50,000 more. So that, as a matter of fact, Mr. Joly might have made the city of Three Rivers a present of its subscrip- tion of $100,0(X) to the railway and still have saved $40,000 to the Province had he simply done nothing. That, again, is a kind of " amicable settlement" for which the public at laige will hardly be prepared to give him credit. The County of Otta- wa is another of the counties concerned. It is being to-day sued by the Government for $200,1)00 subscription, not a cent of which has been paid. No approach even to an " amicable settlement " has been made with that important munici- pality, while as to other and smaller subscriptions they stand exact- ly in the same position in which they stood when Mr. Joly took office, not one dollar having bean collected from them. We ask the electors of the Province of Quebec in all sincerity whether this re- cord is one which entitles Mr. Joly to claim, in so fonnal a document as a Speech from the Throne,that he has " sue- " ceeded in effecting an amicable settle- " ment of the most imi)ortant claims " against the municipalities pledged to- " the building of the Montreal, Ottawa & " Occidental Railway." THE POLICY OF THE NEW GOVERN- MENT. We have to-day the policy of the New Administration, and we are quite certain- that if at the end of twenty months their record shows equal failures with those of Mr. Joly they will be entitled to the same condemnation which has so justly come upon him. Uijon this point, how- ever, we have no fears, as we believe the (jovernment sincere in the declaration of its policy, and amply able to carry it out.. Here it is : — I. Financial Reform. (a). Sale of the North Shore Railway to the Federal Government. (6). To press the just claims of the Province on the Dominion. (c). To liquidate the Municipal Loan Fund. . , , .^ (d). Reduction of expenses. II. Development of our Be* sources. (a). Encouragement of manufacture of beet sugar. (6) Encouragement of the manufacture of cheese. (c). Encouragement of phosphate min- ing. (tZ). Revision of general mining laws. " (e). Attention to education. This is no clap-trap general promise, but a statesmanlike expose of a wise and prudent policy, and it must be remem- bered that the Cabinet is composed of men able to carry it out. No one can doubt the financial ability of the Hon. Joseph Robertson, who is no novice in the art of administering well the public finances, and the other members of the Government are all men of unblemished reputation, high character and great ability. With this well-devised policy and the guarantee for its performance afforded by the personnel of the Government, the suc- cess of the Administration must be re- garded as certain. 1 rfe