H Financial STATEMENT OF THE Hon.R'.HARCOURT (l Treasuf«!f of the Province of Ontario 'i'^'i 1899 . '^■: ■^•iiAit,-'— ..-■ ^. FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF THK Hon. R. Harcourt TREASURER OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO. DELIVERED ON THE NINTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1899. IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO, ON MOVING THE HOUSE INTO COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY. TORONTO : WARWICK ERO'3 & RUTTER, Pbinters, Etc., f>8 & 70 Front St. West. 1899. FINANCIAL STATEMENT OP HON. R. HARCOURT Legislative Assembly, Toronto, 9th February, 1899. There are verj manifest reasons, Mr. Speaker, why I need not discuss the finances of the Province at any great length on the present occasion. For weeks prior to the last general election, from one end of the Pro- vince to the other, our linances were minutely discussed from a thousand platforms. The newspapers of the Province, reaching each day tens of thousands of readers, joined in the discussion and gave valuable space and much in- telligent attention to the sanxe subject. Ordinarily a lull follows a general election and these much discussed topics, no matter how interesting or important they maybe, are, between sessions at any rate, kept in the background. But, Mr. Speaker, recent political happenings have been (juite excep- tional, and far from ordinary. We have not experienced the usual lull in political discussion. A special sessicm of the House has been held since the general election of March last, and following the special session we have had nine by-elections in dilFerent parts of the Province, and the earnest discussion of these party issues has therefore been ceaseless and continuous up to the present moment. The discussion ;has been prolonged, thorough and exhaustive. The case has gone to the jui-y and a verdict has been given. The sovereign people, after fullest inquiry and investigation have pro- nounced upon it. The Government confidently expected a favorable verdict, and has not been disappointed. Further, Mr. Sjieaker, as I have said in no less than nine of our most important counties there has been a comjdete re-hearing of the case, there has been a second trial, so to speak, all the evidence has been gone over in minutest detail a second time, the arguments have been repeated, 4 and a sectind verdict rendered confiriiiiiig that given on the Ist of Marci>. I !ill)idc to these f'lCts, Sir, in these general terms simply and only a.s giving a good reason why I should not be expected to speak at any grejit length this afternoon. As usual, Mr. Sjjeaker, I will first refer to the receipts of the Province for the year 1898, and speak briefly of our leading sources of revenue in the order of their relative importance. RECEIPTS, 1898. Subsidy $1,116,872 SO Spkcific Grant 80,000 00 .51,196,872 80 Interest on Capital held, and Debts due by the Dominion to Onfario $272,414 48 Interest on Investments 31,646 37 304,060 85 Crown Lands Department :— Crown Lands $42,602 87 Rent re Crown Lands 63,944 60 Railway Lands .53 99 Clergy Land 1 2,507 03 Common School Lands 9,535 27 Grammar School Lands 576 32 University Lands 8,191 81 Woods and Forests 981,186 45 Mining Licenses 3,223 85 Miscellaneous 708 62 Refunds 51 85 1,112,582 16 Algoma Taxes 4,133 27 Law Stamps 57,283 OS Licenses 276,76128 Education Department 59,573 34 Sale of Lands p Toronto, L. A 42,290 00 Public Institutions Revenue :— Toronto Lunatic Asylum 39,866 84 Mimico " 3,194 70 London " 12,622 12 Hamilton " 10,135 77 Kingston *' 3,679 79 Brookville " 3,700 80 Orillia " 3,240 32 5 Reformatory for Females . 1,(580 27 " Boys 669 3a Blind Institute 198 84 Deaf and Dumb Institute 125 00 Central Pr.s m Industries 15,000 00 94,113 28 Casual Revbnck :— Provincial Secretary's Department 28,339 41 Provincial Registrar's Branch 94 26 Registrar General's Branch 346 03 Fines, etc 3,189 63 Insurance CompiNnies' Fees and Assessments 17,804 50 Loan Companies -fees 10,549 50 Public Officers' Surplus Fees (57 Vict., Cap. 9, and R. S. O., Cap. 50) 13,307 68 Fees— Local Masters of Titles 4,096 62 Shooting Licenses 7,754 36 Fisheries Department-Fees 986 00 Circus Licenses 1,475 00 Official Gazette 9,838 86 Private Bills 1,200 25 Statutes 4,272 56 Agriculture and Arts Association 800 00 Ground Rent, old Agricultural Hall site 2,500 00 County of York, re Expenses Master of Land Titles' Office 2,640 12 City of Toronto, re Expenses Master of Land Titles' Office 2,490 07 Sale of B. N. A. Acts 635 25 Refunds 100 87 Incidentals 9 45 Sale Land Titles Acts 30 55 Removal of Patients to Asylums 3,909 22 Privileges Algonquin and Rondeiu Parks 19S 88 116,568 96 Succession Duties 206,185 59 Drainage Works Assessments 8,121 32 $3,478,545 93 Drainage Debentures 29,849 59 " Tile 10,53167 Sale ok Annuities 128,41 7 00 Agricultural College, Refund Cap. Acct 8 90 §3,647,353 09 6 Our total receipts for 1898 amounted to ^3,647,353, In December, 1897, when auld receive $3,313,372. We have, therefore, an excess of i-eceipts over the estimates amountinir to ^333,981. In 1897 we also had an excess of actual over estimated receij)ts amounting to $722,(»87. In 1896 the excels was ^192,000. This constantly recurring large excess of actual over estimated receipts helps to explain the delusion my Hon. friend from South Lanark delights to indulge in when he from time to time gleefully announces that we are to have a large deficit in some particular year. My hon. friend invariably quotes for the purposes of calculation the estimated receipt instead of the actual receipt, although no one knows better than he that the latter invariably exceeds the former by hundreds of thousands of dollars. My hon. friend attenuates the figures of one period and ex})ands those of another period. We need not wonder, there- fore, that his compai'isons are invariably fallacious. Recent occurrences in provincial politics, to which I need not more definitely allude, amply prove that the electors and the public generally do not take my hon. friend very seriously. The delusion seems to please my hon. friend ; it deceives no one, and therefore I need not further refer to it. I will, Mr. Speaker, now very l)riefly refer tt) some of our most import- ant receipts. The amount of the annual subsidy received from the Dominion Govern- ment of course remains the same as heretofore. Interest Receipts. We received under the head of interest in 1898, $304,083. The corres- ponding receipt the year before was $247,435. In ^896 it was 1260,544. This large interest receipt each year is composed almost exclusively of three items, viz., interest on capitsil sums due us from the Dominion, interest on our special deposits in the banks, and interest on our drainage debentures. In 1898 we received ^i;,730 as interest on our bank deposits, $13,631 interest on our drainage loans, and $272,414 interest received from the Dominion Government on the moneys it holds in trust for us. In 1897 we received from the Dominion as interest $212,414 ; in 1896, $214,r28 ; in 1895, $262,274. In 1894 we received $310,020. This last named sum represents the exact amount of interest due us each year on (1) the Common School Fund, (2) our three Trust Funds, that is to say the Upper Canada Gram- 7 mar Schonl Fund, tlu> Upper Canada Building Fund, the Land Improve- ment Fund and (3) the capital sum of ,<^2,H48,248 placed t(. our credit l).v the Dominion Act 47 Vict. chap. IV. Prior to 1894, for each ,,f four years in succes.sion, the rovuid sum of 6300,000 was sent to us from the Finance Department at Ottawa as an approximate payment. In 1897 I explained to the House the variations in the amount of these receipts in recent years. It is very important to observe that the Finance Department at Ottawa, in remitting to us these half-yearly pavments of interest, takes into account the fact that in the open unsettled account between che Province and the Dominion there is a balance due the Dominion. A deduction, approximate as to amount, is made from our interest receipt because of this unadjusted balance. We received in 1898 as Crown Lands Revenue the large sum of Sl,- 112,582. '"his receipt is $162,000 beyond our estimate. Our average Crown Lands' receipt from 1867 to 189" inclusive, is $949,521, so that the receipt for 1898 is considerably abo ? the ^jverage. We received last year from woods and forests, $981,186 ; as rent from mining lands, $63,945 ; from sale oi Crown Lands, $42,603. These are the largest items in our Crown Lands' receipt. I a^ay say more of thip receipt when T come to speak about the estimates for the current year. License Receipts. From liquor licenses we received last year 8276,786. The previous year the receipt was $289,391. As I have heretofore stated on several occasions, this shrinkage is to be expected. Fewer licenses and lessening revenues must go together. There were 212 fewer licenses issued last year than there were five years ago. The number of licenses issued during the last five years is as follows : 1893-4 3,276 1894-5 3,151 1895-6 3,132 1896-7 3.096 1897-8 3,064 Our License Law amendments of 1897, which became operative on the 1st of May last, still further restricted the number of licenses in so far as the number depends on the basis of population, with the result that during 1898 the number of licenses was lessened by about 100. The law of 1897 does not come fully into operation until May 1st of this year. It will cut ott'at least 50 licenses this year. 8 As 1 havo sHid, wo received last year from liquor licenses $270,786. For the same year the Province of Quebec received $540,496. During the last five years the Province of Quebec has received from these licenses $2,783,804, and this Province during the same period has received $1,348,755. For the five years in (juestion we have given back to the municipalities of the Province out of license reserves $1,344,851. Quebec has retained all the revenue for the uses of the Province, and has not given any j -wt of it to the raunioiijalities. But little interest seems to be taken in regard to our Local Option law. During last year votes were taken in only six municipalities. In three cases ineffectual attempts were made to repeal by-laws. The net result of the six votes was a reduction of two licenses. These by- laws are now in operation in seventeen municipalities. Hon. gentlemen have not failed to observe that the number of commit- ments foi drunkenness t(j the county goals is growing noticeably less year by year. Last year the number was 1,707, while in 1888, only ten years ago it was 4,797. The number of commitments for drunkeiuiesi, and the figures I give are taken from the Statistical yeir book of Canada for 1897, which is one of the official reports of the Dominion Government : For the year 1893 it was 3,787. " " 1894 " ;.3|267! " 1895 " 3,132. " " 1896 " 2,624. And for 1897 " 2,465. No other Province in the whole Dominion presents so favorable a report. In this Province there was, in 1897, t)ne conviction for every 909 of our population. In Quebec one for every 407. " Nova Scotia " " ggi, " New Brunswick " " 262. " Manitoba •' " 337, And in British Columbia " " 239. The number of convictions therefore in Ontario is less than one-half that in any one of the other Provinces. Brewers and distillers last year to the number of seventy took out licenses and paid therefor the sum of $17,500. From succession duties we received in 1898 $206,185. Strictly speaking, the amount is somewhat less, since in the case of one estate the solicitors, instead of tiling the usual bond made a cash deposit, and it is po.^sible that this deposit, when we reach a tinal settlement, may exceed the exactly ascertained duty. 9 Succession Duties. We have received altogether from succession duties since 1892, the year of our first receipt, $1,078,832, every doHar of which has been api)lied as the statute directs, to purposes for public charity. This large sum has been received from 435 esbites. In no ocher way, Mr. Speaker, could we have, with less irritation or adverse criticism, added such a large sum to our revenues, lender our legislation those pay who are uKjst able to pay. ( )ur Act j)erfectly conforms to the economic axiom in mai ^rs of raising revenue of "equality of sacrifice," so that the light burder. it imposes is shared in equally by those upon whose shoulders it so f.irly i-ests. An analysis of the receipt of 1898 will, I know, greatly interest Hon. members. Our Surrogate C.iurts in J898 passed upon no fewer than 4,526 estates. Of this large number only sixty-eight, or one out of fifty-two, were found to be liable to duty. For every one estate which paid duty the whole Province over, fifty-one escaped. Since July 1892, the total number of estates adjudicated upon was 29,643 and only 435 of them have paid duty. In 16 out of 44 counties and districts not a single estate was adjudged to be dutiable. In each of ten other counties there was but one estate reported as dutiable. In the old and prosperous Counties of Essex, Haldimand, Peterboro', Simcoe, Victoria and Pri' ice Edward, there were altogether 503 estates probated or administered and not one of them paid duty. In the County of York incUiding Toronto seventeen estates, in Went- worth including Hamilton eight estates and in Carlton including Ottawa six estates in each case contrilnitod to our revenue. In the large and prosperous County of Simcoe 150 estates in all were passed upon by the Surrogate Court in 1898 and not one of them is dutiable. This of itself clearly proves that our Act is most moderate, and that its exemptions are most liberal, otherwise it could not happen that in a dozen or more rich counties, during the course of a whole year, it did not touch a single estate. Of last yewr's receipt, estates in the County of York (for the most part Toronto) gave the largest yield, viz., f 90,472, or almost one-half of the whole year's receipt. Three estates in Toronto alone paid each over $21,000. The County of Wellington contributed the next largest sum, viz., $21,- 000, and the County of Carlton gave the third largest contribution, viz., S19,251. 10 Three of the counties therefore contributed more than three-fourths of the receipts of the whole Province for the year 1898. Estates in the County of York (including Toronto) have altogether since our Act was passed paid 8385,047 or more than one-third of all our receipts from the whole Province. The next largest receipt is from the County of Carleton (includincr Ottawa) aggregating $255,739. ° Then comes Oxford which has paid us S52, 357 and then Wellington with its contribution of $43,976, and next in order VVentworth with $39,427. The counties ot York and Carleton including Toronto and Ottawa have paid §207,740 more than all the rest of the Province taken together. Two estates, one in Ottawa and one in Toronto have paid nearly one- fourth of all our receipts since 1892. Several of our counties and electoral districts have paid absolutely nothing since the Act came into force. An analysis of our succession duties receipts for 1898 discloses the further interesting fact that in the great majority of cases, seven out of eight it IS collateral heirs only who pay duty. Direct heirs pay but rarely (in only fifteen eases in 1898) and only where the estates are very large. Seventy-three per cent, of the whole contribution from direct heirs came from four estates. Sale of Annuities. We sold annuities last year receiving for them $128,417. Our first sale of annuities was in 1884. Although authorized by statute to sell them every year we were able in 1888, 1889, 1890, also in 1893 and 1894 to make special expenditures, railway aid expenditures included without selling them. This receipt of $128,417 is a special receipt and the money was used t^n Court Clerks 'no"3 than pay for the work of departmental inspection. Our Inspector's DepartnuMit is, thetefore, more than self-sustaining, and the same remark applies, and with greater force, to our Insurance Depart- ment. It car.not be said of these departments that their receipts are really expenditures masquerading under the guise of receipts. The Insurance Department Revenue is now drawn from two sources* viz : From corpor-rtions transacting business under The Ontario Insurance Act, and from corporations working under The Loan Corporations Act. All fees under these Acts are paid directly to the Treasury Department, which issues duplicate receipts which are fyled with the Insurance De- partment. Under The Ontario Insurance Act we received last year 817,825.00, and $10,503.00 under The Loan Corporations Act. Our total receipts for 1898 were, I repeat, $3,647,358, being less than the preceding year's total by $492,494. . Our Crown Lands' receipt last year was $496,703 less than that of the previous year. Our deficiency, therefore, in last year's total receipts compared with that of the previous year is more than accounted for by the falling ofi" in our Crown Lands' receipt. Our receipt from mining lands last year was considerably less than that of the pre\ious year. On the other hand our total receipts for the year were larger than those of either of the years 1894, 1895, or 1896. Expenditures. I will now, Mr. Speaker, refer very hurriedly to the expenditures of the Province for 1898. EXPENDITURE 1898. Civil Government .§252,988 94 LegiBlation 165,189 41 Administration of Justice 436 276 95 Education 736,998 97 Publ c Ins*-' cions Maintenance 815,744 69 ImmigratioL t'.IOS 60 Agriculture 206,688 82 Hospitals and Charities ] 84 402 57 Repairs and Maintenance 79 78I qI PuW'j Buildings 98[l2i oi Public Works 22 297 77 13 Colonization Roads 107. 454 29 Charges Crown Lands 162,395 35 Refunds 30,526 57 Statutes Consolidated 43,851 16 Miscellaneous 218,302 78 $3,567,128 89 Drainage Debentures 4, 362 72 (tile) 5^400 00 Railway Aid Certificates 125,649 50 Annuity '• 100,050 00 Stationery Office, purchase over distribution .... 490 27 83,803,081 38 14 Our total expenditures for the year amounted to $3,802,fMl 00, and ex- ceeded that of the previous year by only $.S5,2H5.()0. We spent last year on Revision of the Statutes ^3,851.00. The holding of the general elections last year involved an expenditure of 889,668.00. Omitting, then, these two very special items, the one occurring only once in ten years, and the other once in four years, our expenditures for 1898 were not only considerably less than those of 1897, but tliey were also less than those of any year since 1889, a period of eight years. This last decennial revision and consolidation of the statutes, to which I have just referred, the desirability and necessity of which no one ever pretends to <|uestion, cost the Province altogether 376,936.00. The bulk of the work was done and paid for in the years 1897 and 1898. The previous consolidation, that of ten years ago, cost somewhat more, viz.: ^79,941.00. Our expenditure for Agriculture and Arts last year exceeded that of any previous year by the considerable sum of $15,000.00. We spent for this i)urpose $37,465.00 more than we did live years ago, and $67,984.00 more than we did ten years ago. It is very evident, Mr. Speaker, that this Legislature is anxious to do everything in its power to foster and encourage this, our most important industry. When at work in this Chamber, witli a sense of full responsibility rest- ing on our shoulders, we deliberately, after debate, inquiry and discus- sion, increase our appropriations for Agriculture year by year, almost by leaps and bounds, and the same remarks are equally true of our grants for Education, and yet some of us, Mr. Speaker, Avhen outside of this House, ignoring details or particulars, forgetful of our respon-sibility, loudly Complain of increased expenditures. Take these increased expenditures one by one, item by item, discuss them fairly and it will be invariably found that the growth of the Prov- ince generally, the opening up and settling of its new districts and the development of all our resources, the keeping pace with modern require- ments and new conditions inexorably demand them. In our case, not in all cases it is true, increased expenditures have run parallel with growth, enterprise and prosperity. Which of our grants in aid of education will we cut off or decrease ? Is it proposed to lessen the yearly vote in aid of Poor Schools, or that in aid of Public Schools or of High Schools i In what direction are we to cut down the grants we give to Agricultural Societies or Associations^ Our critics do not answer. They are content to deal in vague and gen- eral statements. 15 OVER-EXPENDITLRE IN AuKICULTCRE AND PJnCOATlON We over-expended, as Hon. Gentlemen will notice, last year under the head of Agriculture nearly $4,()00. The Minister in charge of that Department will nut find it difficult to exi)lain and juaiify this over-expenditure. Indeed, Sir, I fear that he may, as is his custom, ask for still more liberal aid for purposes of Agri- culture. He would have been able to have kept well within the ai)propriation if he had not found it absolutely necessary to expend the large sum f)f $19,- 289.00 in his attempts to check the pest known to nurserymen as tlie San Jose scale. Hon. Members will doubtless during the session review with some detail our expenrlitures under this head, and therefore in my general sur- vey I need not at present say more about them. An over-expenditure also appears under the head of Educaticm. About one-fifth oi all our expenditures is devoted to the work of aiding our schools and increasing their usefulness. Last year's expenditure was the largest as yet in the history of the Prov- ince. We spent $15 (»00. 00 more than we did the previous year, $73,- 000.00 more than we did five years ago, and S15G,0(X).00 more than we did ten years ago. A very considerable increase, Mr. Speaker, illustrat- ing once again the fact thut the growing needs of a growing Province de- maiid from time to time increased expenditures. A comparatively new item, first appearing in 1892, and a large one, too. is that providing for the grant we give for the Public School Leaving Examinations, amounting last year to $15,091.00, School inspection alone cost us .^53,280.00, and every thoughtful man nowadays couples together inspection and etticient service. Our Normal Schools cost us last year $4P,00O.0O and our High Schools $106,000.00. With us the important work of secondary education is not left to vol- untary effort, as it is in England. In this regard we resemble Germany rather than Eugland, and all parties in England are today agreed that something must be done to make the work of secondary educatioxi more systematic and effective. The aim of secondary education cannot be dissociated from scientific pursuits in their practical effects on tr/,de and commerce and valuable, practical mechanical inventions. In Germany the work of the schools and the expansion of commerce are considered as cognate questions. No argument is needed, Mr. Speaker, to fortify us in our resolve that we must not by meagre grants stint the work of our High Schools. 1() SUI'ERANMATED TEArHEKS. No less than nine per cent, of all the money we spend for purposes of education consists of payments to suporannuntod teachers. These payments in 1898 amounted to $(i4,.'!52. This is the largest amount we have paid as yet during any one yofti'- The first payment to superannuated teachers was made in 1867, the am-.unt being $4,000. In 1872 it had more than doubled, being 811,945. In 1877, it reached $35,484. In 1882, it had increased to $51,000. In 1887, it had further grown to $58,295. In 1892, $(53,750 was recjuired to meet the payments, and last year high water was renched and the payment was $64,352. Altogether, these pay- ments since 1867, in the aggregate, amount to the very large sum of $1,376,697. This is one of several similar legacies which the Sandfield-Macdonald Government be(jueathed to his successors. The number of worthy, worn-out teachers thus receiving superannua- tion allovv^ance is now 420. The list includes the names of 62 women and 358 men. The age of the youngest on the list is forty-three, while that )f the juldest is ninety-three. There are thirty-one of them over eighty years of age, and forty-two between the ages of seventy-five and eighty. There are 7 of them between 40 and 45 years of age. 13 34 " 48 97 74 74 42 and 31 over 80 years of age. Out of the total number, viz., 420, forty-two reside in the county of York, twenty-nine in Wellington, twenty-three in Simcoe and Mu?koka, twenty in Middlesex, fifteen in Wentworth, fifteen in Waterloo and the same number in Huron, fourteen in Leeds and a like number in Carleton, eleven in Northumberland and eleven in Lanark, ten each in Frontenac and Durham, and in smaller numbers nearly all our counties are repre- sented. In Toronto alone, thirty-four of them reside. The list of those entitled to the allowance, Hon. Gentlemen will remem- ber, will be gradually diminished, inasmuch as this Legislature in 1891 45 50 50 65 55 60 60 65 65 70 70 75 75 80 17 enacted tliat thf ••ovisions touching.: 8U^)0i"imuiHtio;, should not be held to apply to any persons who, prior to 1871, had ceased to be engaged in teaching and had not, prior to March, 1885, contributed to the Fund. Public Institutions. We spent last year to maintain our public institutions, $815,745. This very largo sum represents more than twenty-one per cent, of our total expenditures for the year. In 1888, ten years ago, the total expenditures for this purpose amounted to $721,602. In 1883, five years previously, the full amount expended was $648,995, while in 1878 it was only $482,466. So vast an increase in twenty years, amounting as it does to $333,279 a year, demands more than ordinary attention. The bare fact that the maintenance of these institutions consumes almost one-quarter of all our expenditures compels me to speak at some length concerning them. The daily average of the number of our insane cared for by the Pro- vince in our seven insane asylums has been steadily increasing. For example, In 1878, the numl er was 2,006 In 1883, - 2',878 Jnl888, " 3,241 In 1894, " 4,334 In 1895, " 4,557 In 1896. " 4 709 In 1897, " 4,867 In 1898, " 5,004 This increase, it will l)e observed, is at the rate of 150 a year. A l)are statement of the fact demands serious and thoughtful attention. Official returns of other countries disclose a like steady increase similarly alarming. For example, the lunatic population of the State of Wisconsin has been increasing at the rate of 149 a year, that of the State of Pennsylvania at the rate ot 652 a year, and that of New York State at the rate of 668 a year. This increase of necessity involves a rapidly growing public expenditure for this purpose. The number of the insane f)r each 1,000 of the population in Ontario is 2.11 ; in Pennsylvania, 2.25 ; in ^'ew York State, 2.42, and in li,nff- land, 3.20. ° Our per capita cost of maintenance is surprisingly low. In 1890 it was $1?5.71 per patient, per year ; in 1897, it was $126.28, and last year it was lower still, viz., $126.19. 2 18 Our weekly per capita cost last year was $2A'.i ; in rennsylvaiiia it wa» ^3.57 ; in New York ^3.75, and in Wisconsin $4.54. The House will be glad to learn that we continue to manage these in- stitutions more economically tlian they do elsewhere. As an illustration let me point to the Pennsylvania State institutions. They are five in number and contain 6,800 inmates. The per capita cost of maintenance in them last year was $185.64 per year, or §59.45 per patient per year in excess of ours. These live Pennsylvania institutions are located at Harrisburg, Danville, Nurristown, Warren and Dixiiiount. If their cost of maintenance had been as 1- w aa ours, the Pennsylvania institut'ons would have saved last year on maintenance account alone the large sum of 834(5,950. If we had spent per patient last year as large a sum as was spent in Pennsylvania our expenditures would have been larger than they were by the considerable sum of $«297,487. If the State of Wisconsin had maintained its Stute jiatients at as low a cost as ours were maintained it would hive saved in (jue year, viz., 1896, the large sum of $107,040. The ratepayers of the State of New York paid direct taxes in 1890 for the care of its insane to the amount of $3,057,057, and in 1897, the latest year of which 1 have the returns, they paid nearly Ave millions of dollars. The ratepayers of Pennsylvania similarly paid for the same purpose $1,196,491. The ratepayers of Wisconsin were dii'octly taxed for this purpose to the amount of $636,649. Our ratepayers are completely rel'eved from the burden, the Province assuming it altogether. Hon. Gentlemen will, therefore, gladly agree with me that our ofticials have admirably succeeded in keejiing down expenses and in reducing the per capita cost for maintenance of thei"'"iates of our various institutions. The figures I have already given by way of comparison and illustmtion prove beyond all doubt that much credit is due to our officials in this con- nection. As I have previously shown, this increased per capita cost in exactly similar institutions in the United States and elsewhere is due among other things to the fact that they employ a larger staff of officials accord- ing to the number of patients cared for, and that they pay them larger salaries. For example, let us again take the Pennsylvania Hospitals (they prefer the word "hospital" to our word " asylum ") to which I have already alluded, and compare them in these two particulars with our own. In Pennsylvania they have on an average an attendant for everj' nine 19 pati-'iits. In tliis Province we havn an attendant for every twelve patients. They have, tlierefore, the number of patients being consid- ered, no fewer than 139 more otiicials of this one class tlian we have. The same ratio api»Iies approximately to the other classes of ofticiala. The ninnber of attendants is still laryer in Wisconsin and in New York. In the former there is on an average an attendant for every eight patients, and in the latter one for every seven patients. The mfdical superintendents in Pennsylvania, a^ well aa the account- ants, stewards, engineers, carpenters and attendants all receive appreci- ably larger salaries than we pay in this Province. The same remark ap- plies also to Wisconsin and New York. Aside from the fact that higher salaries are paid in New York, Penn- sylvania and Wisc(msin, and I refer to these States because I have been gi v ing the House some comparisons with them, and that they have a larger staff of officials, there is a prominent feature in connection with their manage- ment of the insane which we have not found it either necessary or j»ru dent to adopt. Comparative Cost of Maintenance. There is a State Board of Control in Wisconsin exercising supervisory control over all the State charitable and penal institutions, consisting of five members, each of whom receives S2,000 a year and expenses. The Secretary of this Board receives also $2,000 a year, a head clerk receives $1,200 and two assistants $720 aye-u- each. There is a similar Boaid or Commission in New Yi rk State, consist- ing of five members and eight clerks, all salaried. This Commission costs the State about $30,000 a year. Our corresponding work of supervision and control is done as thoroughly and as well as that of any of these States and at, comparatively speaking, a trifling expense. Our capital expenditures alone in connection with these institutions have been enormous. Our opponents, including all my honorable friends opposite, have, since I last addressed this House, been addressing audiences throughoutthe coun- try, and in their speeches they have pretended to explain our exact financial condition. Is it not surprising, Mr. Speaker, that on these occasions they never allude to the man'festand very pertinent fact that the Province has from year to year been making very large permanent investments out of its yearly revenues in erecting public buildings, the usefulness and imme- diate necessity of which no one at any time seeks to deny ? Hon. gentlemen (.pposite take special pains to state that we collect large revenues from our forests, but they religiously conceal the fact I 20 that the aiuns thus collected have been exi)en(led in providing acconnno- dation for our atHieted classes and in maintaining them from year to year, and in this way relieving the municipalities of what would other- wise 1)0 a V ry serious burden. My hon. friends know well that these large expenditures have been made solely in the public interests, thit they have been wholly unavoidable, and they do not pretend to name single institution which to-day could be dispensed with. Capital Exi'enditi'Ke. There has been expended, Sir, on capital account for buildings alone for the insane and idiotic since the Mowat (iovernment Hrst assumed ottice ^3,104,616. I am not now including the buildings erected for the blind or for the deaf and dumb. We have expended during the last ten years for these buildings «ll,850,013. These amounts would be increased by #204,191 if I were to include the cost since 1873 of the buildings at Brantford, where the blind are car«d for and taught, and those at Belleville, where similar provision is made for the deaf and dumb. We have spent on capital account at Brant ford and Belleville during the last ten years $83,507. We must a'.so remember, Mr. Speaker, that, altogether apart from the bare erection of new buildings, we have in recent years made not a few considerable improvements, structural and otherwise, which have involved a considerable outlay. I will hurriedly give some illustrations, and will confine myself in each case to the last five years. The electric light plant at Mimico, including engines, boilers, etc., has cost us $8,790. At the same institution, for an intake pipe stretching out under the lake and a duplicate pump in connection with our water supply, we spent $4,640. At Brockville the provision we have made for sewage disposal has entailed a heavy outlay, and in order to make adeijuate provision for wa'er supply at this institution we have found it necessary to spend nearly $10,000. We have put in entirely new flooring at the north building, London, (three storeys,) at a cost of $4,800, and on new metallic ceilings in the same building, to replace the old falling ceilings, we have spent $1,050. At Hamilton we have altered the dining-rooms to great advantage in every way, securing additional room, increased comfort, light, etc., at a cost of $4,000. At this institution the expense in connection with wator supply, fire protection, etc., has been considerable. 21 Siinilaily, on water supply at Kingston, including new boihirs, wo havo spent $2,000, and at considerable outlay we have provided for sewage disposal and drainage. We desire to make from time to time further similar alterations and imprttvements which would necessitate increased expenditures outside of ordinary maintenance charges. For exami)le, better hospital facilities are much needed at the Queen street asylum, and at London. Tl»e Hamilton and Kingston institutions having couunodious and well-eciuipped hospitals apart from the other Imildings are favored in this regard. Each one of our asylums should have its separate hospital, wita all modern appliances and eciuipments. A new hospital at Queen Street and one at London, to accommodate say tifty patients each, would cost at least $60 000 ($30,000 each). A chapel and recreation room are needed at Brockville. The useful part such a room i)lays in a well-egain demanding our immediate attention. I must ask the House this very ses- sion for a grant which will enable us to finish the attics of our Brockville cottages. We can in this way make room for, say, sixty new admissions. During the year we must consider and decide how best to provide for still further accommodation. Future Asylum Need??. If it were not our i)olicy to be rigidly careful as to all our expenditures we could readily add largely to our annual asylum expenditures, and m ways and directions which everyone would approve of, if we had unlimited means at our disposal. 22 I will at presfint give one or two illustrations only. We have not made as yet any special provision for epileptic patients. Tlie dividino; line be- tween epilepsy and insanity, as experts inform us, is very narrow. In New York, for example, what is called an epileptic colony was opened three years ago, and it has accommodation now for 350 patients. It is universally admitted that this class of unfortunates should not be confined in poor houses and asylums. They require special care, atten- tion, and treatment. Regular and constant employment, out-of-doors work on farm or garden, is what they specially need. With suitable surroundings and proper care their sad condition canbegi-eatly ameliorated. Having a large fertile farm, their cost of maintenance would be very light. It has been confidently stated that there are more than 100,000 epi- leptics in the United States. Beyond any question we have hundreds of them in this Province who would be greatly benefitted if we were able to provide for them as their special needs demand. Our Institutions have fewer nurses and attendants, the number of in- mates being ci nsidered, than similar institutions elsewhere. Our Super- intendents perform their duties intelligently, zealously, and well. They are of the opinion that an increased staff — I am speaking of nurses, guards, and attendants — ^would be a distinct advantage. In some of the best of the Institutions in the United States they have comfortable homes, located on the asylum premises, but apart from the other buildings, for the nurses when not on duty. No one Avill ([uestion the desirability of making special provision for epileptics, for the employ- ment of more nurses and attendants, or for building commodious and cheerful homes for the nurses and attendants, if we had unlimited means at our disposal. State Care Versus County Homes. The pressing need to which I have referred, of proving additional ac- commodation for our insane at a very early date, remembering that we have within the last ten years erected three new buildings at such consid- erable cost, naturally suggests the enquiry as to whether there is any other system of carin for the insane more economical than ours, whether as regards building accommodation or mere ordinarj' maintenance from day to day. Exactly the same difficulties and problems have presented themselves in other countries, and have led to the same inquiry. The problem im- portant everywhere is of special importance to this Legislature, inasmuch as wiiile we assume the whole burden of caring for the insane, it is in al- most every other country borne wholly or in part by the municipalities. 23 The States of New York and California seem to be the only States in the Union in which the total coat of niaintaii.ing the insane falls upon the State at large. 1 do not know whether Hon. Members have reflected on the fact that very many of the inmates of our asylums are aged ])eople, comparatively speaking quite harmless, their affliction being largely that of mere senile decay, and but little else. The orticial records disclose the fact that 282 deaths occurred last year in the seven Institutions of which I have been speaking. < )f thes(! 282 no fewer than 51 were over 00 years of age, 32 were over 70 years of age, and 16 over 80 years of age. Of our present inmates (numbering mory than 5,000), 003 are over 00 yeara of age. 245 do 70 do 44 do 80 do and 1 is '^ver 97 years of age. At first blush it might be argued that many of those old patients, if placed togPitlier in cheaply constructed cot*ages, could be maintained at a much lower cost than at present, since they would require but little care or supervision. Or again, it might be argUL i that our asylums are not the most suitable places for them, that they could be as well cared for in county homes and at considerably less expense. The Wisconsin System. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, such a system is in vcjgue in Wisconsin. This State, it will be remembered, has ab"ut the same population as our Prov- ince. It has two State Hospitals for the insane, acconnnodating 5(X) and 600 patients respectively. It also has at Milwaukee a county hospital for the insane, which is partly a State and partly a County institution. For nearly 20 years there lias been in operation in Wisconsin a system of caring for the insane, the leading and most conspicuous feature of which is an oft'er on the part of the State to pay to coui'.ties or localities $1.50 per week to meet expenses in connection with the care of each indigent insane person, who may be cared for in the County Home or Asylum of such county or locality. It is claimed for this system that it has worked out successfully and that the cost of maintenance has been greatly reduced. Twenty-three counties out of .seventy in the State, accepting the ofter, have built county asylums, and iiundreds of the quiet chronic insane have been transferred to them from the State Asylums. The weekly cost of main- tenance at the county institutions has been less than one-half of that at the State Asylums. 24 The counties to which the inma'es of the State institutions belong pay to the State $1.50 per week for their maintenance, and provide for the clothing of the patients as well. It is claimed for the county institutions that unulation between the counties leads to gor)d results, that it is a desirable thing to have the patients near their friends, that the pecuniary advantage is considerable, that while incurable and acute cases should remain in the State asylums, the county institutions are more suitable for the (piiet, harmless and chronic insane. The State of Petmsylvania as recently copied this Wisconsin system, and its legislation providing for it has l>een also favorably receiveii. On the other hand, the Wisconsin sybtem is vigorously condemned as retrograde and unsatisfactory by not a few expert alienists whose great reputatit)ii entitles their opinions to the very highest respect. In support of their views it is contended, for example, that the extremely low price at which patients are supported in the county asylums of itself proves that they are not pi'operly cared for. Moreover it is a fact that in these county asylums what is called "curative treatment," which includes medical care, as well as the aumse- ment and entertainment of the patients, is not even attempted. In other words, the inmates of them are not even supposed to be under treatment, nor ia it pretended to give them that constant care and supervisieni which the State institutions so successfully give. Further, it is alleged that the county institutions in very important details, such as making the rooms and corridors bright and cheerful, in wall decorations, in so furnishing the dining rooms as to make them cosy and inviting, are altogether lacking. It is said that the rooms and corri- dors are bare and cheerless, that the dining rooms are uninviting and depressing. The county institutions do not provide for thorough daily medical inspection, and it is said that to keep down expenses the number of at- tendants is so reduced that the patients are neglected and, it is feared, not infre(piently subjected to abuse. These defects we would regard as[fatal to any system. It does not require much thought to come to the conclusion that a good and wise system of caring for the helpless and insane demands, first of all, close, constant and etiicient State su-)ervision. There appears to ])e a noticeable lack of this in the County system. A fundamental idea in the oire of the mentally afliicted is what is called "the hospital idea," and this means that the inmates should be treated as sutferers from disease. The hospital idea has no place whatever in the county system. 25 All things considered, Mr. Speaker, 1 am fully convinced that we could not with either profit or advantage depart from our present system. The mixed system, part State institutions, part County institutions, of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, even if we could make a change, would not I am sure be an improvement. Under the county system less individual care is given to the patients, the treatment generally is less humane. They do not receive that indi- vidual daily care, inspection and medical supervision which they receive in this Province. We cannot even think of giving up the curative feature of our institutions, nor in the interests of broad humanity could we aflford to relinguish or even relax state control and authority over them. The rights of the insane, as to person and property, are so sacred as to con- stantly demand the most vigilant State supervision. It must be remembered further, that under the mixed system of the two States I have named, the cost of maintenance considerably exceeds ours. No financial advantage therefore would accrue from such a change. I may say here, Mr. Speaker, by way of parenthesis, that the number of the idiotic in our institutions is about one-seventh that of the number of the insane. COMPAKISONS WITH QuEBEO. Another statement or two in connection with these institutions, the merciful and beneficial work of which from day to day, cannot be over- estimated, and T will pass on to another subject. We spent last year for the maintenance of our asylums $626,141. The Province of Quebec spent only $295,000. During the last five years the cost of maintenance in Ontario has been $2,993,5IS9. During the same period the cost to the Province of Quebec has been $1,454,875 a difference of $1,539,114 or $307,821 a year. The whole system of public institutions in the Province of Quebec, as regards their maintenance is altogether different from ours. The Quebec Government has no reformatory, prisons or lunatic asylums, and does not maintain public institutions in the sense in which we main- tain them. The grants of uKmey in Quebec representing the cost of maintenance of lunatics as well as of the reformatories, so far as the Province is concerned, is paid each year to religious or other organized corporations under contracts. As I have already said, this Province has expended over $3,000,OC() in erecting asylums for the insane. The Province of Quebec has never expended any money for this purpose. It has never erected a single building either for asylum or reformatory purposes. 26 The Protestant Asylum for the Insane at Montreal belojigs to a private corporation. The various Roman Catholic hospitals and asylums in Que- bec are owned by the Sisters of Charity. The Government has contracts with the proprietors of all these insti- tutions under which a fixed annual sum per head is paid quarterly for njaintenance of the inmates. These contracts contain stipulations, as to the fdod, clothing and medical attendance to be supplied to the patients. Reformatory schools are attached to some of the convents. The Government pays for the maintenance of the youthful offenders and collects from the municipalities from which they are sent one-half of the cost of their maintenance. Of the 5,0(X) patients in our asylums only 770 contribute anything towards their support. < >f these paying patients 264 are in Toronto Asylum, 149 at London, 144 at Hamilton, and the rest are found in almost equal numbers in the other four institutions. We received on account of their maintenance from these paying patients last year ^75,805. Vt my suggestion, Mr. Speaker, hon. members were invited during the recess to visit the institutions of which I have been speaking, that they might pereonally examine their working, and directly obtain fi'om the Superintendents and other officials that full information which can be best obtained by personal inspection. Several hon. members availed themselves of the invitation, and I hope that during the coming recess they will in greater numbers repeat the visit. I have, Mr. Speaker, detained the House a considerable time over this one matter of the maintenance of our asylums. Our expenditures in this one direction have" been so large, aggregating $2,993,989 in the last five years alone, that I feel amply justified in doing so. Our total expenditure for this purpose since Sir Oliver Mowat first became Premier has been no less than $10,760,229, or about ten per cent, of all the expenditures of every kind of the Province. Aside from the matter of expense, the whole subject is one of such vast iniportance that 1 feel fully warran.'-ed in asking the House to give it most careful and patient consideration. Hon. gentlemen will observe that we have kept our expenditures for the year within the main appropriations for Civil Government, Adminis- tration of Judtice, Public Buildings and Public Works, -— •^— - Special Expenditures. — Our Miscellaneous Expenditure, though kept within the vote of the House, is the largest of any year since Confederation. It amounted to 27 $218,000, but of this sum no less than $99,000 was spent in connection with the general elections held during the year, the contested elections and voters' lists revision. These same three items in 1894 amounted to ^88,944. As in all former years, hon. Members will notice very special expendi- tu s in 1898, such as $5, 000 granted in relief of suflferera through forest fires in the Counties of Prescott and Russell, and $2,500 in relief of sufferers through a like cause in New Westminster, British Columbia. There was an over-expenditure in connection with Legislation, chiefly due to two items, viz., stationery, printing and binding, and indemnity to Members. The holding of an extra session of the House in August last of course partly accounts for this over-expenditure. I earnestly hope, Mr. Speaker, that the Printing Committee will seri- ously attempt to lessen the expense of printing and binding. I have always thought that the number of returns ordered to be printed can be safely reduced, that many of our reports can be condensed without taking from their value, and that a smaller edition of them will suffice. The cost of printing and binding of eight of our reports alone was no less than $14,240. The report of the Agricultural College cost $3,673, and the Report upon Loan Corporations, $2,775. The Live Stock Report cost $1,827, and the Fruit Growers' Report, $1,869. Altogether the printing and binding of the Agricultural Department cost $18,986. The Public Accounts for the year in the hands of hon. Members, printed with considerably more detail than ever heretofore, give such full particu- lars concerning our expenditures that no further explanation is at this time necessary. We commenced the past year with a credit cash balance amounting to $605,849. Our total revenue for the yoar was $3,647,353. We expended altogether during the year $3,803,081, so that we drew on our cash balance during the year to the extent of $155,728. Estimating for the year we kept in mind of course the pleasing fact that we had this cash balance exceeding $600,000 on which in case of emergency we might draw. Favorable Cash Balance at End of the Year. It must be very gratifying to the whole House to know that we closed the year with a ci-edit cash balance in our banks amounting to $450,121. It is very satisfactory to learn, that although more than thirty years have passed since Confederation, having made most liberal provision for 28 the varied and increasing deniandK of a gi-owing Province, having exten- sively aided railways and public works, having erected public buildings commensurate with all our needs and at great cost, we are able to announce that we begin the year 1899 with a credit cash balance in our banks amounting to no lejs than §450,121. Review carefully, Mr. Speaker, the financial transactions of these inter- vening thirty years and you will agree with me that they constitute a brilliant record, one to be proud of, a record a parallel to .vhich, all things considered, Hon. gentlemen opjwsite cannot point, search when or where they will. ASSETS OF THE PROVINCE. 1.— Direct Invkstments :— Drainage, debentures invested Slet Dec, 1898 8115,683 96 Tile, " " " " .... 120.728 64 Drainage Works— Municipal amounts 77,388 09 ?313,700 69 2.— Capital Held and Debts Duk by the Dominios TO Ontario, Bearing Interest .— U. C. Grammar School Fund (2 Vict., Cap. 10) $312,769 04 U. 0. BuUding Fund (18 Sect. Act, 1854) 1,472,391 41 Land Improvement Fund (see Award) 124.685 18 The Capital Under Act, 1884 ( Award '93) ... . §2, 848,289 52 Less estimated balance due the Dominion 2,000, OCO 00 848,289 52 _, „ ^ 82,758,135 16 Common School Fund :— Collections by the late Province of Canada, held by the Dominion, pursuant to the award of 1870 81,520,950 24 Collections bv Ontario during the years 1867-1896 inclusive, paid over to the Dominion in 1889, 1890 and 1897, after deducting Land Improvement Fund and 6 per cent, for collection. 1,000,420 86 S2, 521, 371 10 Ontario's share according to population, 1891 1,479,656 10 9 o « 4,237,791 25 3.— Bank Balances : Current Accounts $271,722 48 Special Accounts 178,398 77 '" '- 450,12125 $5,001,613 1» 29 LIA.BILTTIES OF THE PROVINCE AT PRESENT PAYABLE. 1.— Balance Due to Mcnicipalitiks re Surplus Distribution . . . Sl,291 30 2.— Land Improvement Fund :— Balance c'ue to Municipalities under 45 Vict., Cap. 3, and 49 Vict., Cap. 6 «3,256 57 Balance due to Municipalities under 54 Vict., Cap. 9 2,77164 3.— Quebec's Share of Collections by Ontario on Ac- count OF Common School Lands in 1397-98 :— Collections on lands sold between the 11 th June, 1853, and 6th March, 1861 $17,145 68 Less 6 per cent, cost of management . 1,028 74 6,028 21 S16,116 94 Less one-quarter for Land Improvement Fund 4.029 23 Collections on lands sold since 6th March, 1865 §3,141 14 Less 6 per cent, cost of management. . 188 47 12,087 71 2,952 67 $15,040 m Quebec's proportion according to population, 1891 6,213 99 Total .«113,533 50 Surplui of Ast^ets after deducting Liabilities presently payable. $4,988, 079 69 The schedule of assets and liabilities does not vary much from that of last year. Our investments in drainage debentures have been reduced by 853,000, and the next item, the Common School Fund, part of it I u;ean, changes the other way (that is. in our favor) to the amount of 838,000. This last change is due to the fact that the Common School collections up to 1897 have been paid over to the Dominion. As I have already explained, our credit cash balance has been dimin ished during the year to the amount of $155,72^. 30 Liabilities. The liabilities side of this schedule has been narrowed down to $13,533, the variation from last year being due to our paying into the Common School Fund the collections we have made from 1890 to 1890 inclusive. Leaving out of consideration our future railway obligations, the present value of which is shewn in the Public Accounts, it will be seen that our surplus of assets at the end of the year over all our liabilities amounted to .$4,988,079. (Loud applause.) Now that the elections are over, Mr. Speaker, nearly over I naean, I know that my Hon. friends ojjposite without a single exception placing the high financial credit of the Province above all considerations of mere party advantage, will receive this very favorable announcement with unfeigned pleasure and delight. 1899— Forecast. Thus far, Mr. Speaker, I have been referring to the jiast year and to our present position. A word as to the current year, as to our estimates for this year, and as to our hopes of being able to supplement our revenues to a considerable extent. Our expenditure estimates for the year it will be seen by a reference to the schedule in the hands of hon. Membei-s amount to ^3,409,567. These estimates have been carefully framed with a view to curtailment wherever possible. We estimate that our receipts for the year will reach $3,201,987. 31 ESTIMATED RECEIPTS, 1899. Subsidy §1,196,872 80 iDterest on Capital held, and debts due by the Dominion to Ontario §272,414 48 Interest on Investments 25,000 00 London Kingston Hamilton Mimico Brock ville Orillia Crown Lands Depabtmbnt— Crown Lands 115,000 00 Clergry Lands 2,500 00 Common School Lands 10,000 00 Grammar School Lands 500 00 Woods and Forests (575,000 00 Pdblic Institutions— Toronto Lunatic Asylum 40,000 00 16,000 00 4,000 00 12,000 00 3,500 00 3,800 00 3,500 00 Reformatory for Females 1,700 CO " Boys 700 00 Central Prison 22,000 00 297,414 48 803,000 00 106,200 00 Education Department 60,000 00 Casual Revenue 125,000 00 Succession Duties 220,000 00 Tavern and Brewers' Licensea . 272,000 00 Law Stamps 60,000 00 Algoma Taxes 4,500 00 Fisheries 35,000 CO Assessments, Drainage Works 16,000 00 " Insurance Companies 3,000 00 '• Removal of Patients 4,000 00 Total $3,201,987 28 82 This amount I expect t.. receive from the usual ordinary Bources of revenue of previous years. I hope that, we will be able to supplement this amount, to the extent ot any deHciency which may arise owing to reduced Crown Lands receipts, from sources to be indicated in a day or tivo, when a measure in- this specific ])urpose will be introduced. I estimate that we will receive $803,000 from Crown Lands. This is ,i»u.ut 8150,000 less than our average reoeipt since Confederation. Hon. gentlemen will notice that my estimate as to other sources of revenue does not vary much from last year. Our actual recei^-ts last year it will be remembered exceeded my estimate by $334,000. A mere glance at our cash balance at the close of each year, say for six years past, proves that we have provided ery deliberately and very satis- factorily for the needs of each succeeding year. We have provided not only for ordinary every day needs, but for ex- traordinary and special needs as well. We had at the close of 1893 no less than $1,000,010 of a credit cash balance. At the close of the following year it was reduced to $610,674. But in 1894 we spent on public buildings ahme $403,023. Of this sum we spent $197,829 on the Brockville Asylum Cottages, and on other buildings $205,194. We had the cash in the banks, the buildings were needed, and as indi- viduals or private corporations would do under like circumstances, we drew on our cash reserves, erected the needed buildings, and thus met a press- ing public want, and at the same time added to our permanent assets. And so on from year to year we drew on our cash reserve to meet this or that pressing public need. We invest, to use other words, some of our cash in hand in meeting this or that much needed Provincial want. At the end of 1897 we had a credit cash balance of $606,850 and at the end of last yeai it was reduced to 8450, 121. The credit cash balance from time to time varies, but we invariably have new permanent assets in its stead. This last named credit balance of $460,000 with our average ordinary rfeveuues, would more than meet our wants for the current year 1899. S3 New Rkvenues Provided For. We have therefore up to the present time hud no occasion for looking about us in order to provide for increased rtivenues. We are now face to face, however, for the first time with revenue condi- tions Huch as heretofore have not existed in the history of the Province. Next to our Dominion subsidy our main source of revenue is thai from our Crown lands and forests. Our much-debated policy touching the lumber question has met with universal approval. Rather than even think of receding from the safe vantage ground we occupy, that of preserving for our own people the cutting of our logs, we prefer to face the possibility of a largely decreased revenue from our timber and make provision for meeting the deficiency in some other way. Our Crown Land revenues this year may be considerably below the normal or average yield. To meet this year's expenditures we would, keeping in mind the fact that we have a cash balance of $450,000 on which to draw, need to receive at least the average yearly yield of Crown Lands' revenue, The present existing conditions surrounding our lumber trade, with our restrictions as to manufacture, make it impossible for us to expect this average yield, and therefore, Mr. Speaker, as announced in the Speech from the Throne, we purpose introducing legislation this session which will, we believe, appreciably increase our revenues. We could readily have lessened our expenditures by curtailing the grants we have given from year to year in relief of the municipalities. For example, our grants for education and agriculture in 1898 exceeded those of 1893 by $110,594. By keeping these two grants alone at the level of 1893 and not increasing them year by year as we have done, we would have saved in five years $322,498. But the saving would have been at the expense of the School Boards and Agricultural Societies of the Province. And there have been similar increases in our grants for other services. In the last few years we have increased our grants in aid to the extent of at least $250,000 a year. Had these grants remained stationary we would have had three or four times as large a credit cash balance as we had at the close of last year. Our policy is not to increase the amount of cash wo have in hand but to relieve as belt we can the municipalities of the Province. We do this by undertaking work which otherwise would fall on them. Municipal relief, and not increasing our cash in hand, has been our constant policy. 3 34 We secured additional revenue for all time to come by passing The Succession Duties Act in 1892. I have already shown that this Act has been received with almost universal ai)i)roval and that it has year by year yielded a rich return. In our attempt to increase our revenues this session, we hope to be able to do so with the minimum of irritation and thvj maximum of good results. If this House continues to demand increased votes for education, for agriculture and other services ; if the large measure of relief we have lieretofore given to the municipalities is to continue to grow in the future as it has grown in the past ; then Sir, even aside from the question of a probably lessened revenue from our woods and forests growing out of the restrictions we have placed on the manufacture of our logs, it would still be wise and prudent to anticipate any possible lack of equilibrium which might arise hereafter between our receipts and expenditures by making safe and immediate provision for additional re'enue. We hope Mi. Speaker, to make suitable provision during the session, in a fair and equitable way, to meet any emergency which may possibly arise. I move, Mr. Speaker, that you do now leave the Chair. n5 Appendix. Statkmbnt showing am6unt8 piyable annually for CertificatcB is