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The narrative of Stanley's exp<*dition to Equatorial Africa, and his magnificent exploration
of the Congo— one of the grandest achievements of modern limes — is publish*^ by J. B. .Magi;rn
in one handsome volume, illustrated with 147 t:n<jravings from photographs and sketches, and
ten splendid maps. It also contains two portraits of Mr. Stanley.

The story of this Iirave man's adventures, the travels accomplished, the perils through which
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and graphic style, reads like a romance of the old adventurous times, and no one who takes up
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For deep dramatic interest there is nothing in the whole range of modem travel equalling the
Hcenes here described.

We regret, therefore, to learn that an attempt is being made to impose upon the public a spu-
rious wokk, purporting to be a complete history of Stanley's achievements and explorations.
It is a ^rbled and incomplete story, made up from letters necessarily im^rfect and fragmentary.
Com|>ared with the book the letters in the Herald are a mere prospectus. Many most interest-
ing details were oi^itted wMch appear in Mr. Stanley's book, and which are necessary to the
complete unden>tanding en the great work he has accomplished. To protect the interests of Can-
adian readeis, we deem it proper to warn the public against attempts to palm off upon them .
this garbled and spurious narrative of his explorations. The only genuine and complete account
of Stanley's achievements, written by himself, entitled

"THROUGH THE DARK CONTINENT"

is copyrighted and puUished by f. B. Magurn, Toronto, by special arrangement with the
Author : and whoever buys any. other will waste his money and obtit hiWIlTf ~"* o^ the genuine
book, which English critics prononnce the most fascinating book of travel which has Uwn pro-
duced in modem times. ACIl! NTH WANTISD in every township in Canada.

RO.

POLITICAL POINTS

AND

PENCILLINGS.

d best
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Being Selections From Various Addresses

Delivered by

cploration
Magurn
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igh which

wn fluent

takes up

ailing the

lie a spu-
brations.
nen tary.
interest-
ry to the
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>on them .
> account

with the
! genuine
leen pro-

HON. ALEX. MACKENZIE,

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'^'

TORONTO r.

PRINTED AT "GRIP" OFFICE, 30 ADELAIDE STREET.

1878.

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i 1

POLITICAL POINTS

PENCILLINGS.

FEEL somewhat as Paul felt when he was per-
mitted to speak for himself, because I believe (as
he believed) that I am at least before an upright
judge ; and I am quite sure that the words I
address to you, and which are addressed generally to the people of
Canada, will find a hearty response among a vast majority of the
people of this country. I know full well how difficult a task the
Premier of this country has to perform.

We have a country vast in extent, vast in its territorial magni-
tude, vast in respect to its sectional views, and its diversity of creed
and race ; and it is 2( task which any statesman may feel great
difficulty in accomplishing, to harmonize all those interests, and
bring a genuine feeling of union to bear upon the prosperity of
the country which ha has to govern. Under the most favourable
circumstances any one would feel necessitated to ask occassionally
not merely the indulgence but the forbearance of friend and foe
alike in a country like this.
But since the day that
my colleagues and I assum-
ed the reins of office, we
have been met with one
continuous strain of coarse
and systematic abuse. But
I am not very much sur-
prised at that, for I re-
collect very well the events
which were developed in
the earlier days of the his-
tory of this country.

I was astonished, however, to find that Dr. Tupper, a few even-
ings ago, in pronouncing the highest eulogiums upon his leader, Sir
John Macdonald, called that hon. gentleman the well-known cham-
pion of civil and religious liberty. Why, sir, in the presence of many

tuo

THE TOBY ENGINE.

I'OMTICAL POINTS

grcy-halred men, the hon. gentleman must have appeared as the
personification of the tyrant — as the sum and aggregate of civil and
ecclesiastical bigotry and sectional domination. Who does not
remember when the hon. gentleman was one of those who battled,
not for the religious equality that was spoken of, but for religious
inequality ? Who does not remember our early struggles forty
years ago, when we strove to wrcs the public domain from the
hands of one denomination ? Who does not recollect when Presby-
terian and Methodist clorgymen were sent to gaol because they
dared to perform the ceremony of marriige ? The hon. gentleman,
who is now introduced to the public of Canada for the first time as
the champion of civil and religious liberty, was one of the defenders
of that system ; one of those who strove to perpetuate in our
country the dominancy of a creed if not of a race. I spent my
earliest days in the political agitation incident to these struggles ;
my first political meetings were held in behalf of that cause which
has been f-idiculed by one of its principal opponents being charac-
terized as its champion.

Well do I remember the struggle we had in those days for our
rights, aiitl how at last, in December, 1847, we succeeded in electing
that noble man, Robert Baldwin, with a band of Reformers strong
enough to place him in a position to become First Minister of the
day, and settle once for all the question of religious equality, in
spite of the opposition .of Sir John and his party. I know that in
a young country like this, passing affairs rapidly shape themselves
into history, public events recede fast from view, and the vast
majority of those whom I now address l>ad no part in the struggle
to which I have referred. But I refer to it now merely to say this:
that the Reformers of this country will remember — those who were
riot alive at that time by reading, and those who were alive by
having been in the midst of these events — with gratitude that it
was the leaders of the great Reform party who first gave perfect
civil and religious rights to the people of Canada.

You will all remember that in 1867 Sir John Macdonald, Mr.
Howland, Mr. William Macdougall, and a few other choice spirits
.were making a tour through the country, telling the people there
was no further occasion for continuing the lines which had separated
the two political parties in the past, and asking them to join in a

grand union of parties having only
one purpose in view — that of gov-
erning the country wisely and well.
So, cried they, let us cast aside
our late designations of Tory and
Grit, and let us use them no more
for ever. Well, sir, a small propor-
tion, probably about five per cent
♦• UNION AND pRoaBRss." of the wholc electorate, believed in

AND PENCILLINGS.

'SENT AltOlT UIS BUSINESS."'

this profession, but it soon turned out that these no-party professions
were used simply to obtain a temporary majority by what vvc may
very fairly term a catch vote. I knew at the time that it was
utterly impossible for these men to carry out their jjrofcssions of
no-party ai.egiance with which theycame before the public.

No sooner were the elections
over than the mi.serable represen-
tative — the only representative at
the time — of the Liberal party in
the Cabinet war sent about his
business on the pretext of bcin^'
made Lieutenant - Governor of
Manitoba, and the Cabinet became
a purely Conservative one : for
Alexander Morris, one of the most
decided Conservatives in Canada, the present Lieutenant-Governor
of Manitoba, was selected to fill Mr. Macdougall's place as the
representative in the Cabinet of the Liberal party at that time.
In 1&72, as soon as they managed to get a term of administration,
the union and progress principle was cast adrift, and they hoisted
the party flag again, and their 5ole aim and object became apparent.

That object was not, as they had falsely alleged in 1867, to secure
the perfection of our system of governmen' but simply to endeavour
to get and keep themselves in power. 1 -leir sole object in coming
before the country now is to oust the present Administration and
put themselves in their places.

And what has been their course this year, and indeed for the last
two years f It has been one of uniform contemptible denunciation
of their oppone«<«, with no object in view, without any principle at
stake, but siniply an endeavour, first, to unite all the Conservative
party together ; and, secondly, to detach, if they can, some of my
supporters in Parliament or in the country, so as to enable them to
reach oflfice.

In the first place, I shall say regarding Dr. Tupper what I heard
of a good old Methodist saying about a sermon which he had the
good fortune to hear preached many times by a certain preacher —
"Bless the Lord, this is the sixteenth time I've heard it, and it just
seems to me the same old sermon, neither better nor worse." I
don't, however, object to a thing because it is repeated, and,
indeed, it is a matter of perfect indifference to us whether Dr.
Tupper repeats his speeches sixteen or twenty times.

I have simply to deal with his statement of facts — yes, facts we
will call them, for Sir John Macdonald carefully avowed his opinion
on the platform that everything Er. Tupper stated was a fact.

I believe he is the only man in th » Dominion who could have
ventured on such a statement.

Last year in addressing an audience in my own county, I told

POLITICAL POINTS

OUT OF DOORS.

IN THS aovg»

them I should challenge Sir John Macdonald on the floor of Parlia-
ment to make good his statements regarding me. I lost no time in
fulfilling the promise I made, for I repeated the offer the very first
day that the House met. I gave the challenge three several times,
but to this hour he has never taken it up. He allowed the whole ses-
sion to pass, and never made a single attempt to prove his statements.
I offered him a committee and every facility for the examination
of witnesses on oath, but the
oflfer was not accepted, and
now the same stale slanders
are being repeated from coun-
ty to county as if they had
been established by sworn
evidence. Dr. Tupper states
them as facts, and Sir John
vouches for their correctness.
I suppose I can only reiterate
my challenge to these gentle-
men to bring them upon the
floor of Parliament.

I have been very much amused at the way in which the hon.
gentlemen and his colleagues refer to the events of 1873, and to the
circumstances which were proved on oath by their own statements
as to the bribing of the electors in the elections of 1872, and the
receipt of $360,000 of Sir Hugh Allan's money for the direct pur-
pose of corrupting the electorate of this country. Why, sir, Dr.
Tupper cooly talks of this as a misrepresentation, a mere misunder-
standing, and Sir John says he was defeated because of the circula-
tion of foul slanders against his fair fame.

True, Dr. Tupper says in one speech that Sir Hugh Allan gave a
handsome subscription to the election fund, and Sir John received
it in the same spirit. That is the way in which the affair is spoken
of.

We have Sir Hugh Allan's own sworn evidence in which he states
that he cared nothing for either of the political factions struggling
for the mastery in this country, but he thought that Sir John Mac-
donald and Sir George Cartier were the men he should deal with,
so he courted them assiduously and made a handsome subscription
to their election fund. And now we are told that it was all a mis-
take, and that Sir John Macdonald was ejected from office because
of foul slanders. I hear some one in the audience say that that
story is worn out. I don't think it is. It will never be worn out
while Canada has a history ; and it will be a black day for this
country if it is ever worn out.

^ Not that I attach any importance to it as an electioneering ele-
ment; not that I meant to refer to it at all of my ownaccord, had
not these men, after committing a great public crime, attempted

AND PENCILLTNGS.

IT WILL NOT nRST.

to justify it in the light of dayat the
present moment. If they will not let it
rest, if that shocking political crime is
to be resurrected by the same men
who perpetrated it, we shall certainly
examine the skeleton and trace its
history.

When we assumed office we did so
when a black cloud was hanging over
the country, one which obscured the
fair fame of Canada in the sight of
•every civilized nation, and was watched alike by the people of
England and tl;e United States as belonging peculiarly to the
people of Canada. It rested with the new Administration to
dispel that cloud, and induce the people of the United States and
Europe to believe that all the public men of Canada were not
tainted with the same sordid and corrupt motives which led to the
commission of that great crime.

We had to contend with other difficulties at the time. The hon.
gentleman claims for himself, in one of his recent speeches, that
while he reigned peace, prosperity, and loyalty prevailed all over
the Dominion. Why, sir, when we came into office we found a
rebellion at Red River barely quelled ; we were in pursuit of the
men whom the unanimous voice of Canada had branded as mur-
derers, and to whom Sir John •mMOT.t.oB--,

will .«. /• I "tttiniMnii"' . J

Macdonald gave $4,000 of the
public money to enable them
to escape. Then he attacked
Mr. Blake and myself because
we offered a reward for their
apprehension in the Legisla-
ture of Ontatrio, and said that
it was our fault that Riel es-
caped, and he *Only wished to
God he could catch him." I
don't wonder a great deal that
the people up in the North-
west rose up in insurrection at the treatment they received. What
did this " champion of civil and religious liberty " do on that par-
ticular occasion }

He sent out Mr. William Macdougall with a ready-made Cabinet
to take possession, as if they had been the conquerers of the land,
without asking the people what their opinions were as to the mode
or nature of the authority unc'er which they were to be placed. The
people, not very unnaturally, objected to being presented with this
ready-made Cabinet ; and though Mr. Macdougall got within sight
jof the lend, he was never able to put his foot on it.

jrOHN A. CATOHINO RIBt.

)

POLITICAL POINTS

Instead of the country being at rest, it was in a state of turmoil ;
instead of these men being entitled to be classed as super-loyal^
they imbrued the counti-y not merely in financial difficulties, but in
political difficulties of the gravest possible character ; Instead
of seeking to open up the North-west, they oppose it. When we
came into office we found these great questions unsettled. We were
obliged to maintain a regiment of soldiers in Manitoba to keep the
people quiet. In the east there was a strong feeling of discontent.
There were everywhere indications of a war of races and interests.
And we had not merely to deal with all those difficult questions,
but we had to punish the guilty, and at the same time to do it in
such a manner as would show to those who had taken the part of these
men in the North-west that we were not doing it for the purpose of
indicating a hostility to either their race or creed.

All these matters had to be dealt with by the incoming Govern-
ment ; and when we consider that along with these difficulties we
had to contend with the effects of these men's great political crime
in its bearing on our financial position, immigration, and otherwise,
to .speak to the rest of the world and maintain the fair fame of
•Canada, I think I can claim that we pursued as moderate a course
as it was possible to do, and that our success has been beyond our
expectations.

Why, sirs, the Conservatives supposed in 1873 ^^^^ we were
quite incapable of governing this country at all ; they said we could
not be in office three months. It was only Conservatives who were
entitled to gover.n this country — only they who were capable of
governing it. '

But when they found that we were passing through session after
session with almost undiminished strength and activity, they began
to think that something must be done, as the time for a general
election was approaching, and charges must be made if they could
not be found ; and that was the origin of the infamous charge about
the steel rails, which, like most of the others, was insinuated rather
than made.

In fact there never was a direct charge made except in one case,
and that was that I had given information in advance to a relative
of my own regarding the tariff on tubing.

I prosecuted on the instant he publishers of the newspaper who
made that charge, and the result was the granting of a rule for the
issue of a criminal information for libel, and the subsequent receipt
of the following letter :,; ^, i,, ,, ,/ !••-.;•

'•: iV '■ l.!i 1? / .'•' t: ■ Sarnia, June 4, 1878.
" EJon, Alexander Mackenzie : — • •

" Sir, — In our newspaper, the Weekly Canadian, we published two editorials, one of
which ydu read as charging you with having informed Messrs C. Mackenzie & Co., in
advance of the announcement to Parliament, that it was the intention of your Government
to propose a duty on iron tubing, and the other containing a charge that you had located
the terminus of the Canada Pacific Railway at Fort William, on the KaministiquiS River.

AND PENXILLINGS.

OI?

instead of at Prince Arthur's Landing, because you were interested in lands at the fornur
place. When we published these articles we believed from infurmatiuu that we had
received that the statements were true. Subsequent cr;quiry has, howevei, satisfieil us
beyond any doubt that our information was inaccurate, and that the charges already refer,
red to were untrue. We very much regret their publication, and hereby tender yoa this
apology.

, , ,- ,^ "S. A. MacVicar,

, , ■. " Rob r. Mc Adams."

If the good and generous Dr. Tupper is anxious to make a direct
and specific charge against me on that matter, or on others of the
kind, let him just imitate the conduct of those pubHshers, and 1 e sluiU
promptly be afforded the very same opportunity of proving tiicm.
I then stated, as I do now, that the Government acted entircl)- in
the public interest ; that they had no purpose to serve either for
themselves or for any one of their friends or neighbours. From the
day we took office to the present hour there has been nothing of
the kind upon which any one of our opponents can lay his finger ;
we challenge the fullest investigation, either before a Court of Jus-
tice or a Parliamentary Committee. It was alleged that a brother
of my own was a partner of one of the parties who had tendered for
a contract for some of these steel rails. Now, even
if that had been true, there was no harm in that.
A brother or any other relative has just iis good
a right to tender for a public contract as any one
else, provided the tender is fair, square and open. In this ca-se pub-
lic notice was given, and a large nuinber of tenders were received.
The lowest was accepted in every instance ; but I state as a matter
of fact that it was a deliberate falsehood to assert fliat any brother,
relation or connection of mine, had any 'n^jrest or share in a con-
tract, or an agency for a contract, or any.h.ng else of the kind. I
challenge them to take a Committee and have witnesses examined
on oath to find whether or not I am speaking the ti*uth.

I merely say in relation to the prosecution of this great work, the
Pacific Railway, that with all the industry we could exhibit, and
every exertion that we could make to push that work, it has taken
us all our time to have 1 5,000 tons of rails carried into the Province
of Manitoba. We have fifty miles laid with rails, and we expect in
the course of three months to have 1 30 miles more ready for the
rails. We have used 1 1,000 or 12,000 tons of these rails in finishing
the laying of steel rails on the Intercolonial, which was required in
the public service. Dr. Tupper told us a few days ago that he was
going to carry the war into Africa. Well, I shall anticipate him a
little in that respect, and carry the war some little distance into
his Africa.

It may be interesting that we should give you a little information
about the manner in which rails were bought by the late Adminic-
tratioft. We have never bought a single ton except by public ten-
der ; we have never on any occasion allowed a single person con-^

POLITICAL POINTS

Wlnto JO o*^^. ,

^AT PKKCJSntUB

rxt/aus.natsrn

THB NKW WAT AND THK 0U>.

nected with the Government to
profit one dollar by any of these
transactions. Now, in the last
few months these gentlemen
were in office they purchased
no less than 6,000 tons of steel
rails through a brother-in-law
of a Minister, who got two and
one-half per cent, for his share.
He presented false invoices,
which revealed on examination
that he had got not merely his pereentage, but had charged nearly
£ I a ton more than he had paid for them to the manufacturers.
We commenced an action in order to recover the amount of differ-
ence between what he had paid and what he had charged the
Government, and a judgment was recorded in our favour, and
against this brother-in-law of the then Minister, for ;^4,ooo sterling.
Another suit is now pending, and there is no doubt that we shall
recover a further sum of ;^5,ooo on these transaction^, which took
place just before we went into office.

They paid for rails when they were delivered on the Intercolonial
an average of $85 53, the rails being of the very same quality as we
bought a few months afterwards for $54 60 delivered in Montreal.
In fact, we were receiving on the Intercolonial rails for which they
had paid $95 at the very time that we Were making a contract at
$54 delivered in Montreal. And yet these are*the men who presunae
to come forward in the light of day and accuse us of impropriety in
connection with this matter. They say that rails are much cheaper
now. No doubt they afre somewnat cheaper, and no doubt had we
foreseen that they were to be cheaper, we would have bought 10,000
or 15,000 tons less — not any more than that, because it was abso-
lutely necessary that we should have the rails at that time, and the
quantity I have named would .fully represent the whole saving we
could have effected. But if we were blameable at all, it was simply
because we exercised a wise foresight in endeavouring to secure for
the public the advantages of what we honestly believed to be the
lowest prices we cculd obtain. If we had taken their plan, and
employed a near connection of a member of the Government, and
allowed him to pay what prices he pleased, and then after allowipg
him two and a half per cent, commission, had given him a hand-
some advance on first cost, we should certainly have destrved. the;
execration of the public. This was what was done by our accusers.
I don't believe there are five hundred Reforipers in the'country^I
don't believe thexe is one — who would justify a transaction of that
'sort if perpetrated by those whom he 'had helped to place in j^owcr.
jv. I now propose to show you what depend.ence is to be placed^ on
'any of the so-called statements of facts which Dr. Tupper gives

4 .^

AND PENCILLINGS.

TUK HITHBTCUKU.

forth to the country. That hon. gentle-
man* gravely assured you that his
Government had only appointed twenty-
two Custom-house officers in Prince
Edward Island, while the present Admin-
istration had appointed sixty-five. Now,
what would you say, what would any one
say, when I tell you — and Dr. Tupper
must have known it when he made the
statement — that, at the time we came into
oflfice there were seventy of these officers
in Prince Edward Island, and 1 have the
entire list here to show who they were.

We were told that when they took

office they found the statute book a blank

^1 ^■i'* .^^••^^ - — no Acts on Its pages except the Imperial

<^ I Baa. ~*^i ^^^ — ^"^ ^^^^ every Act of Parliament

connected with the Dominion was intro-
duced and carried by Sir John and his
colleagues. Many of these Acts, he says,
were factiously and strenuously opposed
by the Opposition. He says further that
we have been three years in office, and
that we have repealed none of them, and that we are still running
the machine on the Acts of the late Government ; the legislation of
the present Administration had eitherbeen copied from old legislation
or consisted in the passage of Bills which thelate Government had
prepared. I venture to say that the late Government did not leave
a single Act of any kind ready prepared, and that we have repealed
— some in whole, others in part — not less than 50 or 60 measures
which they placed on the statute book.

Yet he says he originated all the legislation in the Dominion !
I venture the assertion — and I challenge contradiction by him or
any one else — that Sir John Macdonald never did since the first day
he was in Parliament introduce any measure for the organization,
or even the completion, of some great reform. Among all the
Bills he'introduced into the Federal Parliament, you will look in
vain to find anything else than re-enactments of the old Canadian
Statutes regarding criminal law and other matters of that sort,
with some amendments, chiefly from the English Statutes ; while if
you look over ours, you will find that we have given earnest and
close attention to reforms that v/ere required.

He said at one meeting last year — he does not venture it this
year, however — that this Government had merely taken his Supreme
Court Act, made some few changes in it for the worse, and then
passed it ipto law. It so happens that he never had a. Supreme
Court Bill of his own. It is true he took $500 without the authority

POLI "ICAL POINTS

of Parliament and paid it to Judge Strong to draw up a Bill, which
he did, and no doubt it was a very excellent one in its way. But it
is not our Supreme Court Bill ; and even if wef had taken it, wc
surely had as good a right to copy Judge Strong's Bill as Sir John
had, seeing that the public paid for it.

Sir John Macdonald and Dr. Tupper say we have dealt with
very few matters in the way of legislation.

I should like these gentlemen to point out some measures upon
which we failed to legislate which we advocated as proper subjects
for legislation while we were in Opposition. We have attended to
every measure which we proposed to attend to when we came into
office ; we have prepared a thorough Election Law, ana a complete
Extradition Act ; we have put the Controverted Election Law in
proper shape, and so on through a score or two of other important
public measures.

He takes credit for being the originator of Confederation. Why,
on the 14th of Kpril, 1864, he recorded his vote to the effect that
there were no constitutional changes needed. Dr. Tupper now tells
us that at that time the people of Canada were standing e^^ing in
each other's faces, ready to leap at each other's throats. A 'terrible
state of affairs truly ! I was in public life at the time, and I Mver
knew of this horrible condition of things until I heard of it from
him. I do know that on the 14th of April, 1864^ Sir John
Macdonald voted that there were no constitutional changes needed,
and that on the very next day his Government was defeated, and
then he saw changes were needed. Why did he so suddenly dis-
cover the necessity of constitutional changes ?

It was because Mr. George
Brown, the leader of the Liberal
party, said, "Gentlemen, you may
keep your places in the Govern •
ment if you like. We have a
majority in Parliament ; we have
defeated you ; but we are willing
to let you remain in your places
if you only give us the constitu-
tional changes that you said
yesterday were not needeu." Sir
John and his friends saw the ne-
cessity for constitutional changes '
with astonishing rapidity — in fact,
they would have given an unlim-
ited number of changes if they
were only allowed to remain in
power. ' I have known him and
his followers to do worse things thb httmblb bbbvant. 'H

than that ■• .■ ..,,.,■■ ,.. .... 'O

'.m:

tt't \

3i,n

AND PENCILLINGS.

TOBY ABGUHENTS.

I have b^en long enough in public life in Canada to know that
when Lord Elgin, one of the noblest and best of our Governors —
took a manly course in sustaining his constitutional advisers, these
gentlemen hoisted the black flag at Brockville, their mob in London

pelted him with rotten eggs, and in Montreal
they burned the Parliament Buildings. We
might have known in 1864, when we defeated
them, that something of the same sort would
be done again, and Mr. George Brown told
them, " Don't be afraid ; you will get your
places. We want our principles carried out
m the Government, and if you are willing to
be our tools in that, as you have been in
everything else in the legislation of the
country, we would vote to sustain you in
place and power." They did it ; and Sir
John Macdonald, in violation of his declaration the day before that
no constitutional changes were needed, determined to carry out
those changes known as Confederation. Now he says he did it all.
He must surely suppose that people are losing their memories ;
that the whole history 01 the past was blotted out on the ist of July,
1867 ; that on that day not only was Confederation inaugurated,
but everything else swept away which could bring to the memories
of any one the events that transpired a few years before. Such are
the men who constitute Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition ; such are
they who will constitute Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition after the
next general election in this country.

It has been insinuated that I have used the public patronage of
the Crown in one or two instances either to benefit strong political
supporters or friends of those who are my supporters.

You are aware that amongst those cognizant of the great Pacific
Scandal iniquity, Mr. A. B. Foster, a Senator, was supposed to
know a great deal about it. It was known that he condemned the
transaction, and that he was a railway contractor, engaged exten-
sively in this branch of business, and it is now alleged that the
Government gave him the contract for the Geogian Bay branch as
a particular favour, to enabl ■ him to recover his shattered fortunes.
It is also alleged that we agreed to lend him a certain quantity of
rails, and that these have not been paid for or returned. Now, with
regard to the first allegation, I may say that the contract for the
Georgian Bay branch of the Pacific Railway was duly advertised in
the public press. Mr. Munson was the lowest tenderer ; but he
assigned his contract to Mr. Foster, whom we accepted as the assignee
of the lowest tenderer. At the same time we granted a subsidy of
$12,000 per mile for 120 miles of the Canada Central Railway, ex-
tending from the vicinity of Douglas towards Georgian Bay, the
eastern terminus of the section for which Mr. Munson had ten-

l«OLITICAL POINTS

dered. It was evident that the surveys of the Canada Central
Company could be made more cheaply and better if the same
party had the contract for both roads, as a connection had to be
made. The Canada Central Company gave their contract to Mr.
Foster, who, as I have stated, had the contract from us for the 85
miles which we were to build. The country proved to be much
more difficult in the way of railway construction than Mr. Foster
had anticipated at the time he took the contract ; and he asked
for a revision of the terms of the contract, which the Government
were unwilling to grant.

But when we lound that he was not likely to proceed with the
work as expeditiously as we could desire, we determined to cancel
the contract and pay back the money deposited, paying him such
an amount for the work he had performed as might be certified by
the engineer as earned in the prosecution 01 the surveys as far as
they could be made available by the Government in finishing the
surveys. This is what is characteri zed as a gross wrong. What is
there wrong about it ? The contract was fairly awarded. It was
fairly annulled, and we undoubtedly had the power to annul it ;
and for that matter, our predecessors annulled many a contract.
We just as certainly had the power to pay back the money and
release the security, and we did so believing that it was m the
public interest to do it, Tliey say that we paid him $40 000 or
$50,000 for surveys. We paid exactly what Mr. Sandford Fleming
certified in his formal statement that they were worth And Mi.
Slianly, a well-known engineer, and strong Conservative, says he^
were worth $8,000 or $10,000 more. This is all
before the public, and yet it has been made the
foundation of gross and repeated misrepresenta-
tions.

Then we come to the lending of 100 tons of steel rails, and the
taking by the Canada Central Company of 127 tons additictfial.
These rails were owned by the Company, Government having a lien
on them for advances. The entire value of the rails was $8,172,
and they were covered by a security of $30,000 :r^ railway bonds
These rails were wanted to finish the road to Pembroke last tall,
when it was of the utmost importance to the trade of the country
that the road should be completed to that point. The Government
did what any individual member of the community might do — that
is — lend anything for a time to a neighbor in order to complete a
work of that kind which he had in hand. I will, however, in this
particular, again cite Dr. Tupper against himself.

In 1872 that gentleman and his associates lent, not $8,000 worth
of rails which involved no outlay, but they lent to the Ottawa Gas
Company $io,ooo in cash, without the authority of Parliament^
without any authority, good, bad, or indifferent, and that cash has
not all been paid back yet It was very wicked in us to lend lOQ

rOSTCR 'SCANDAL

AND PENCILLINGS.

tons of iron rails which were not being used, though we had only a
lien upon them, but it was perfectly right and proper for him to dip
his hands in the public purse and take out $10,000 without any
authority whatever.

I have to call your attention to another case, that of the Goderich
harbour. They say we passed over a political opponent to give it
to a politica. friend. Now. sir, I never knew one of the parties,
never heard of one of the parties, till the tenders came before us.
But we followed the usual practice m the Department : that when
the chief engineer reports against giving a contract to a particular
person foi the reasons assigned, we vhen take the next lowest ten-
der, unless we assume the responsibility of differing ^rom our profes-
sional adviser.

With regard to Mi. Tolton, the chief engineer, Mr. Page — who,
by the way, is not an officer of my own appointment, who has been
in the Department half a lifetime, a man known for his probity and
uprightuebs as well as for nis great ability as an engineer — reported
tO'the Department that Mr. Tolton was not a person who would be
Cjualiiicd in his opinion, to carry out the work ; that one of his
sureties was a person who had given a great deal of trouble to the
Department in another contract; and he advised us to give it
to the next lowest. He stated, furthermore, that it would be
impossible for Mi, Tolton to execute the work at the prices named
in his tender.

The next lowest were not the persons who ultimately got the*
contract, but a Mr. Ellis, whose tender was about $212,000. He
was assigned the contract, but declined to proceed, so we passed on
to the next, as is the usual practice. The next was the firm of
Moere & Co., who obtained the work, and if we made any error in
givinp them the contract, we committed that error in the public
interest. I have yet to learn it was an error ; it
may have been one ; we do not pretend to be
infallible. At all events, we did precisely in that
case what has been the recognized practice of this
Department to an extent that would amaze you.

In 1870 the late Government let altogether 52 contracts, and of
these 32 were accepted as being the lowest, and 20 rejected for
reasons of the Government and not of the contractors ; so that in
the first year quoted they rejected 20 of the bona fide lowest tenders
presented to them. The total amount contracted for that year was^
$9,135,430, of which the lowest tenderers got $2,455,325, or about
one-fourth oi the whole reached the parties who tendered lowest.
In 1 87 1 there were let altogether 75 contracts, and of these 58 wete^
assigned to the lowest tenderers. The tota^ amount of money
expended on these contracts was $4,027207 ihe lowest tenders
representing $1,765,656, or consideratly less tha? one-half In 1872
there weic 'j'j contracts let, and of tnese 50 or nearly two-thirJi,.

i >

POLITICAL POINTS

were given to the lowest tenderers. Of the amounts of the con-
tracts, nearly one half, or $846,540 out of $1,695,313, was embraced
in the lowest tenders. In 1873 there were 76 contracts let, of which
53 of the lowest were accepted. The total amount of the contracts
that year was $5,969,802, and the amount represented by lowest
tenderers was $1,978,351, or about one-third.

Now we come to the first year the present Government were in
oflRce, in which 90 contracts were let. Of these 70 were accepted
as being the lowest. You can see at once how the proportion in-
creases. The total amount of money expended by these contracts
was $5,500,335, of which the lowest tenders represented considerably
more thaii one-half, or $2,987,047. In the year 1875, when we had
the new system in complete operation — and I will explain it pres-
ently — there were altogether 73 contracts let, and of these not less
than 69 were awarded to the lowest tenderers. The total amount
of money represented by the contracts that year was $9,269,766,
and the aggregate of lowest tenderers was $9,097,265, or almost the
whole amount. Then in 1876, the last year of which I have a
record, there were altogether 30 contracts, 25 of which were let to
the lowest tenderers. The total amount for that year was $4,665 ,562,
while the lowest tenders represented a sum of $4,297,550, or very
nearly the entire amount. Yet in the face of this record, which
these gentlemen had before them, they come forward and make
these scandalous statements throughout the country. I challenge
them to produce a particle of evidence in support of the accusations
they are making. I give these few facts regarding public tenders
in order to show that this Government have adopted the most
scrupulous and exact means in order to reach bona fide contractors.

What was the custom when we went into office } Tenders were
advertised for. Five. or six men banded together; Smith would
make his tender $10,000 above Jones, and Robinson would make
his $20,000 higher than Smith, and Johnson his $30,000 higher than
Robinson, and so on. When the tenders came to be known, the
two or three who were lowest would retire in succession, and they
would divide among them the one which was accepted.

You will find also that previous to my time the tenders were gen-
erally opened by the Minister. I conceived it to be my duty never
to open a tender. That is attended to by my two principal officers,
who, after opening the tenders, mark them with the letters of the
alphabet, but not with the names of the persons tendering. Then
the circumstances are considered, aud so far as it is possible the
contract is awarded to the lowest. I never open a single tender,
because I desire to come to the consideration of the matter without
a particle of knowledge of who the parties are who tender until it
has been decided who should get the contract. ?>i>f}l r; xo

Nay, more ; in order to stpp this system of jobbiiig in public
•contracts, I decided that we would receive no tenders ualess the .

AND PENULLlNliS.

t
HI

7AT
J BS

Tni&BTiicrm

parties deposited $i,ooo, or some certain amount, in cash, and if
that tender was the lowest we did' not permit the parties to with-
draw without forfeiting the deposit. That never was done before.
And what has been the result of our system } We havf; at the
present moment 228 miles of railway under contract from Lake
Superior to the Red River, the largest portion of which is through
a country never before trod by the foot of man, except the Indians,
the Hudson Bay hunters, and our own engineers. There are loS
miles on the one end from Seikirk to Keewatin, and 116 on the
other from Thunder Bay westward, and we will have the whole fin-
ished next year, at as nearly as possible, one-half of the rate per
mile at which the Intercolonial Railway was built. 1

Another evil which we corrected with regard to contracts was the

practice of trading in securities of one
kind and another. I decided to accept
nothing in the way of surety with-
out a ileposit of money, or bank stock
or mortgages which would be accepted
by any commercial company, to the
extent of five per cent, on the amount
of the tender. This condition is ex-
acted before the contractor is allowed
to proceed with his work. The result
of these reforms is that we have now
the most complete contract system in
the world — and it is one which, as
you can see operates to the advantage
<pf the public, instead of being a mere means of fattening contract-
ors of a particular class, or a political instrument in the hands of
the Administration.

I have been charged with being a party to the valuation of land
at Lake Superior to an amount very much in excess of what this
land was worth. Well, it js perfectly well known that the Minister
never values land — at least he should not do so, and I never did,
though I may give you an instance in which a Minister did value
certain lands. The truth is simply this. In regard to the Pacific
Railway, Mr. Sandford Fleming, the Chief Engineer, determined
that the location of the terminus should be on the Kaministiquia
River, which falls into Thunder Bay about three or four miles from
the present village of Prince Arthur's Landing. I entirely approved
of the selection made. It is a river about 100 yards wide, with
deep water for vessels that navigate the lakes, and we can build
wharves there at a tenth part of the expense at any place else.

We have paid about$5o,ooo for the right of way or
tie proprietary on the banks of this river of over one
hundred acres of land, covering much of the town,
plot, and over two miles of the banks of the river.,

XHB TORY CONTBACTUB, ItEFORE TUE

"HARD TJVV.i ."

POLITICAL POINTS

When land has to be purchased for public purposes, as for the
canals or railways, we appoint two men, who are believed to be
noted for their uprightness, intelligence, and special qualifications,
to value such lands. If the parties owning the property accept
their valuations, we pay the money: if they don't, then the case
goes before the Dominion arbitrators, who take evidence in the
matter.

Now, whom did we appoint on the Kaministiquia ? I wrote to
my friend Hon. Mr. Pardee, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and
asked him to give me the name of a surveyor well acquainted with
the Kaministiquia district, and who knew the value of the lands.
He named Mr. Wilson, a well-known surveyor — a Conservative —
as one who could be fairly entrusted with the valuation of this pro-
perty. I named as the other Mr. Robert Reid, of London, well
known in that city for half a lifetime as one of the most upright
business men that lives in broad Canada to-day. These gentlemen
valued the land, so far as it has been valued — for there are some
yet remaining — and I have no doubt that they did the duty as
faithfully as any men could discharge it. But even if they did not
discharge the work properly, am I to be charged with fraud or with
favouring certain individuals .-*

Dr. Tupper told an admiring crowd that we paid more for the
right of way on the Kaministiquia for that one hundred acres than
his Government had paid for the right of way for eighty miles on
the Intercolonial Railway from Halifax to Sackville, or some other
district — I forget the precise locality named. I may tell you that
we can sell half of the land at Kaministiquia for more than we
paid for the whole of it.

There is little land on the Intercolonial at the place referred to
worth anything, and no one would take it as a gift if he were obliged
to live on it. I replied to Dr Tupper in the House of Commons
that his colleague, Mr. Peter Mitchell,
late Minister of Marine, got $16,000
for two acres of land on the Miram-
ichi River. In the whole valley of
that river there is a population of not
more than ten or fifteen thousand
people, and these are nearly all in the
towns of Chatham and Newcastle.
They wanted, or pretended to want, a
place where they might have a deep
water wharf to which vessels of large
draught might be brought; and Peter
Mitchell, the Minister, applied to Peter
Mitchell the owner of the land, to purchase it for that purpose, and
agreed to pay $16,000 for it. The land has never been used to this
day but for occasional services.

" PBTXB'S PBMOE.

AM) rLNCIl,MNC;S.

You have seen the accusation that I have been spending a great
deal of money on the Fort Francis locks. Those not intimate with
the geographical description of the country from Fort William to
Selkirk will understand that my plan, as developed in my election
speech at Sarnia, and my plan now in rega.d to the Pacific Railway,
was, that it was impossible to carry out the bargain which the late
Government improvidently and improperly made with British Col-
umbia — made apparently with no other object than to be in a posi-
tion to let enormous contracts and get enormous sums from the
contractors wherewith to corrupt the public of this country. Our
object was to keep that promise as far as it could be kept consist-
ently with our means, but we had determined that upon no account
should we tax the bulk of the Dominion for the mere benefit of ten
or fifteen thousand people on the Pacific coast. They were the
trustees of the public, as v,e were, and my idea was this — that wc
should begin at Fort William, at which point there is excellent
water navigation during seven or eight months of the year, as soon
as possible, without waiting for the completion of the surveys west;
that from there we should build in as straight a line as possible to
the crossing point of the Winnipeg River at Rat Portage (now
Keewatin) ; that we should build as much on the west end as would
bring us from Selkirk, on Red River, to the waters of the Lake of
the Woods at Keewatin, and on the east end as much as would take
us to the summit waters of Lac des Mille Lacs, or possibly Sheban-
dowan Lake. We have found that we can build the road between
Selkirk and Fort William, the distance supposed to have been 432
miles, but which is not more than 408 miles by the surveyed line.
We have contracts going on which will enable us to have the road
from Selkirk to Winnipeg River (iio miles) by the end of next
season; and we have contracts to English River — 116 miles — from
Fort William westward. At a distance of about 70 miles we reach
the waters of Lac des Mille Lacs. When we reach these two points
west and east we have only a few portages — L think six in all — the
longest three miles, the others very short, which we can overcome
by cheap tramways for some years, and then we get into Rainy
Lake. From the east end of that lake to where the railway touches
the Lake of the Woods at Keewatin, we have well on to two hun
dred miles of clear navigation with one lock to Fort Francis.

We therefore took a vote of Parliament and proceeded to build
one large deep lock with a lift of about 23 feet to overcome the ob-
stacles. We ask where is the charged impropriety ? Did we give
the contract improperly to any person ? The whole wrong about it
■** 1.-... is, according to these gentlemen, that we did the

work b)' days' labour instead of by contract. We
did this for the reason that it was an exceedingly
difficult part of the country to obtain any infor-
mation about for contractors, and that it was very desirable to pro-

P0T,rricAi- pciNvs

cced as soon as possible The late Government undertook to build
two steamers in this very country oy contract, but owing t < insup-
erable difficulties the contractors aDondoned the work, and the
Government had to finish it themselves by day labour.

In 1868, the first year of Confederation, there was expende ^. by
the then Government, on public works, exclusive of railways, $815,
310 85 ; 1869, $670,163 65 ; 1870, $2,1 s8,237 58 , 1871, $3,389,923;
1872, $6,215,649 ; 1873, $6,775,161 41. In 1874, our first year, $5,
573,048 93 ; 1875, $6,600,362 09; 1876, $6,033,^78, the estimate fur
the current year which closes on Saturday, $6,792,500. We thus
have for the years we have been in office an average of the enor-
mous amount of six millions; while their average was considerably
under three millions for their six years. This shows the manner in
which the finances of the country have been handled ; the manner
in which the Public Works Department have spent the vast sums
of money entrusted to our care ; and I can only say that while we
are bound to exercise rigid economy, we are bound to carry forward
the works required in the development of a new country like ours,
where we cannot stand still — where difficulties are constantly crop-
pinjlj up which a wise and patriotic Government must see and
provide for.

Of that character are many of the works upon which have been
expended large amounts of money during the last few years. We
had to provide housing for 400 North-western Mounted Police ; we
had to erect Government buildings for the Police and for the main-
tainence of peace and order. This has cost a very large amount of
money, and yet in our last financial year we expended half a mil-
lion less than our predecessors did in their last financial year,
though they had not these difficulties to deal with.

I may say that while we have been compel-
led to borrow money to carry out the obliga-
tions entered into by our predecessors, the
result of Mr. Cartwright's management of his
loans has been that while the rate of interest
/ 7i "' i g j Ki jjyyi during the seven years of their administration,
^'l^-^^i^^mlfi upo" the public debt, was 5.43^, or nearly
" (5/^) five and a half per cent.j under his ad-

ministration of financial affairs it has fallen to
4,97, or something under five per cent.

At some of their recent meetings, Sir John
spoke with a great deal of knowledge, and a
great deal of violence, of certain of my col-
leagues. He assails Mr. Laflamme in the
coarsest and most vituperative style, and asserts that he was niixed
up in some job about the Lachine Canal. That is, tp,^i^ the g^|l|p-
est Saxon, a gross falsehood from top to bottom. He nevernad
anything to do with a job, or anything of the sort, in connec^i^n

' BUNOUNO.'

AND PENCILLINGS.

with the canal. He was guilty, as many Conservative gentlemen
were guilty, of owning some land through which the canal had to
pass, and he had the good taste never even to speak to me, when
he was a private member, about the valuation of this land. Valua-
tors were appointed to go and value the land according to the best
of their judgment.

No one has presumed to assail the valuation of the land, which
was conducted by Mr. Darling, an old-time Conservative, and Mr.
Valois, a respectable French gentleman of Mon-
treal. But because Mr. Laflamme had the
misfortune to own some land on the canal, for
which the valuators allowed less than one-half
what it cost him, they asserted that he was trying to impose on the
Government. They started this story and got it retailed in their
newspapers, and then they began to speak of it as the "Canal Job,"
just as they did about the so-called "Goderich Harbour Job," when
there was not a single particle of jobbery or dishonesty in it —
not the shadow of moral wrong.

Sir John has also at some of his meetings assailed the Government
because, as he says, they violated the independence of Parliament Act.
You know the circumstances connected with Mr. Anglin's affair. It
was not a contract, but simply the printing of certain documerts
sent him by the Postmaster-General. When we came to know it
we at once said, ' No doubt it is wrong that anything should be
done with a member of Parliament that could be said to be of the
nature of a contract," and we immediately stopped it. That was a
a year and o half ago. Nothing was said
about it in I076; they waited until last
session, though it was all over a year
before.

It is now known that Mr. Mackenzie
Bowell, who made the attack on Mr.
Anglin, had been guilty of exactly the
same thing himself with the late and the
present Administration. He received
in the course of a few years well on to
$r,ooo, while sitting as a member of
Parliament supporting Sir John's Ad-
ministration.

Another accusation Sir John Macdonald made is this: — "Gentle-
men there is not a more shameless system of bribery than that
which has been carried on by the present Government, whether it
be by buying up men by giving them contracts as in British Col-
umbia, or by buying them up by office as in Prince Edward. In
every Province you will find the most unblushing system of cor-
ruption directed against the representatives of the people. It is bad
enough to buy a vote, but when the Government sets to work

^ vios. w,tonfc-r« yj

8ATAN BEPROVINO SIN.

POLITICAL POINTS

deliberately to corrupt the whole representative body, to seduce the
representatives of the people from their duty by offering them
inducements, there is a blow struck at the very basis of representa-
tive institutions — and that blow has been struck by the present
Government."

No language could be too strong to denounce such a statement
as this. I recollect reading an incident related of a man who was
known to be a very profane swearer. He was taking a load of
pumpkins up a long hill, when some boys came up from behind, took
out the tailboard of the waggon, his horses sprung forward, and he
looked back to see all his pumpkins rolling down the hill. He sat
speechless, and the boys said, " Why don't you swear } " " I can't ;
why no language can do justice to the occasion." No language, I
say, can be put in the mouth of a man to denounce so shameless a
piece of political profligacy — to denounce such a speech as that
from a gentleman in his high position — a statement so scandalous
in its conception, so infamous in its utterance. Let him name a
member or a man who, as he says, was bought by the giving of a
contract. ■ ! , - ,

L FUNEBAL FBOCESSIOM.

I observe that some of the Tory newspapers are objecting to Mr.
Mowat and myself appearing together on the same platform, on the
ground that I myself among other Reformers objected in by-gone
years to the Government of Ontario being controlled by the
Government of the Dominion. I don't take back a single word of
those I uttered on that subject. But, sir, it is far different now
We don't interfere with Mr. Mowat's legislation or administration,
and I am quite certain he does not interfere with ours.

It will be an evil day for the Dominion and the Province when
the Federal Government seeks to interfere with the autonomy of the
Provinces. It is much better in every way, better in the general
interest, that each should pursue its own particular line and attend
to its own affairs, just as the municipal bodies of Ontario are prac-
tically uncontrolled in any way by the Government of that Province,

AND PENCILLINGS.

whoever may be in power. It is one of those things upon which
we may be allowed to congratulate ourselves at such a meeting as
the present, that our system of government, from our school sections
upward to the Federal Government, is one of the most artistically
correct in the world.

Another of these accusations against my Administration is, that
although I had declaimed loudly for years against any coalition, I
took the first occasion to form a coalition myself. There could not
be anything further from the truth in many respects. A coalition
Government means a Government formed by parties of opposite
political views on some subjects, which they have agreed either to
ignore or destroy by their joint action. Sir, in the Government I
formed we were all united — united upon every question of public
policy that could come before us. We were united in the first place,
in condemning the late Administration; we were united in con-
demning the transactions which caused their political death, and
upon the ques*^ions which we proposed, if our Administration sur-
vived, to submit for the consideration of Parliament immediately
afterwards. This being the case, there remained no real ground of
attack on that score; but, merely because Mr. Cart.v right and Mr.
Scott in previous years had been associated with the other political
party, they accuse us of having formed a coalition. Not only did
the gentlemen to whom I have alluded leave the other party and join
the great Liberal party of Canada, but hundreds and thousands of
others left the party which dishonoured their country, brouj^ht shame
and reproach upon the very name of Conservative, and forfeited —
it was at one time supposed for ever — the good opinion of those
acting in political accord with them in previous years.

' /.

THE ONLY MEN FIT TO aOYEBN.

It Is quite true they decry us. They tell people everywhere that
I am a signal failure; that Mr. Cartwright is a blunderer; that Mr.

'24

POLITICAL POINTS

'.)iw.

1* 9%

10 n

Blake is no lawyer and no statesman ; tiiat he is somewhat of a Chan-
cery practitioner, but nothing more, and that there is nothing what-
ever in the Administration which could justify them in assuming the
ro/e of political leaders in any country. I shall leave the apprecia-
tion of our respective abilities to a discerning public, believing that
they will estimate each of us at our proper weight. But there is one
remarkable feature about the speeches of these gentlemen. They
all agree thus far: to wit, Sir John says a thing, Dr. Tupper swears
to it, and William Macdougall comes afterwards and gives a certifi-
cate of correctness to both of them. Of course I admit at once Mr.
William Macdougall's capability of giving a certificate for anything
under the sun. But assuming this to be all correct about our lack of
ability, our want of political wisdom and of intellectual and financial
power, how in the world is it that in the course of a few years the
gentlemen whom I lead, and I myself as the
leader of the party, have succeeded in placing these
men in a minority ?

What can be the abilities, what can be the power,
financial or otherwise, of a set of men who were
defeated and are kept out of power by such ninnies
as we are ? If wc are so bad how very bad must
they be. But I know the whole secret. Your
average Tory is never content, in schoo) section, in
township, in county, or in city, in Provincial Par-
liament, or in Dominion Parliament, unless he is
fattening on the sweets of office. I know what that
party can endure, what sacrifices they can make
for the sake of shewing what they call their true
patriotism. They are willing to sink any principle,
no matter how precious it may be to them — and
we all know how precious all principles are to the
Conservatives. • ,, i^ ■ ^■,^:j "

There is nothing in their profession or the doc-
trines which they hold that they are not willing to
sink in order that the country may have the ines-
timable benefit of their services as a Government,
It surely ought to make every Canadian proud to
feel that there is a political party who are actuated
by motives so pure and patriotic as to be willing,
for the country's sake, to forget anything and
everything that they hav-e ever done in order to ue
in a position to serve the people. I scarcely think
it would be fair in us to take advantage of patriot-
ism so pure as that ; it would be too hard to ask
THH TOBY IDOL, thcm to makc such a wonderful sacrifice on the
altar of their country, as a whole stock in trade of Tory principles
and professions. No ! We should rather say to then\ " You 1 ave

r^r

AND PENCILLINGS.

»5

[hat
ke

rue
le,
nd
he

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les-

Int,

led

lue

)t-

les

suffered enough for your country — for any sake don't feel called
upon to do any more in that line ; go in peace, and the country
will foi^ive you." But supposing they were again to assume the
reins of power — what will they do ? We have a fair right to ask
this question, and to look to the antecedents of those who aspire to
the Government of this country. Now, I admit that if they went
through the country opposing some of the measures or the policy of
the Government, endeavouring to convince the people that we are
entirely wrong in our policy — and an honest policy, if a wrong one,
may be as bad for the country as a dishonest one — then I say that
they would be occupying at least a good position, however suc-
cessful or unsuccessful they might be in proving their statements.

A good deal has been said of late regarding the commercial de-
pression which has existed over the country for the last two or three
years ; and in that respect the Liberal party has undoubtedly been
most unfortunate. We came into power at the moment that
Mr. Tilley, the finance Ministci of
the late Government, had announc-
ed his belief that the importations
of the country could not be kept up,
and that more taxation would be
necessary next session.

We came in at the time when
our moneyed institutions were feel-
ing the strain imposed by the ina-
bility of dealers to sell their lumber
and manufactured goods, and by
the general want of prosperity
which prevailed alike in Great
Britain and the United States
And we had to contend witli
these and other difficulties. Some
people appear to think that the
Administration had some object to
serve in producing a depression ; but it must be very obvious that
not only our prosperity as individuals, but js a Gov-ernment. is
bound up in the prosperity of the country, and that we are bound
by our interest as well as by our duty to do all in our power to
promote that prosperity. When our manufacturers made a demand
for more protection, it was in vain that we pointed out the fact that
in the United States, where protection was adopted as a principle,
the result was that prices were much higher, money was much
scarcer, and labour worse paid than in Canada, It was in vain that
we pointed to the interests of our working classes, as they are
called ; though the truth is we are all working men in this country ;
we have all to live more or less by the exercise of our industry.

But on behalf of the great mass of our working population we

"ODB 8TBU0QLINC. INUUSTRIEB.

POLITICAL POINTS

pointed out that according to the official statistics in the United
States the prices of labour rose from i860, when their protective
system began, to 1873, when an agitation of a decided character
sprang up against it, exactly sixty per cent. ; that is to say, a man
who received $1 before received $1 60 then, while the prices of com-
modities entering into household consumption rose 92 per cent ; so
that the working man who has to buy his clothes, his food, his tea,
and everything required by himself and his family, would have to
pay 32 per cent, more than the increase in the price of his labour.
In other words he was a loser to that extent. We found at Phila-
delphia last year that we could hire all the men we wanted in that
great city for 90 cents to $1 10 greenbacks per day, while at Ottawa
we had to pay $1 25 in gold to our workmen. But the manufactu-
rers many of whom were our own political friends, were under the
impression that a system of protection would not only benefit them,
but the farmers as well, by opening up a home market for agricul-
tural produce.

Well, sir, it is an utter delusion. It is utterly impossible that the
prices for farm products can be raised here except by a rise in the
markets of the old world, and these are controlled by England. I
remember making a tour in the Western States a few years ago, just
before I assumed office. I not only made a tour on the railway,
but 1 drove a good deal across the country. I found on inquiry
among the farmers of Iowa that while we were getting $1 15 in gold
for our wheat, they were, getting 87 cciits in greenbacks ; and in
the matter of cattle we were getting nearly 40 per cent, more than
they were, on account of the long transportation. They found these
rates so unprofitable that they almost ceased production. At the
same time I met a clergyman who came from that country every
year to visit his friends in London, and he could pay his pa.ssage
both ways and have something over on the difference between the
cost of a suit of broadcloth in Canada and in Iowa. I found that
every agricultural machine was about 50 per cent, higher there than
here, and with regard to boots and shoes and many other articles
the same was true. I tell you this system of protection for protec-
tion's sake is a fallacy and a mistake, and the effect it would have
upon such of you as are farmers would be that you would get
nothing mo' '^ for your produce, and you would pay perhaps 50 per
cent, more for everything you have to buy. I have to appeal to the
great farming community of this country. I have to appeal to the
manufacturers as well. I pointed out to them a year ago, when

- they came to me, that it was quite possible we could benefit them
by excluding all other manufactures of the kind manufactured by
themselves, thereby enabling them to charge their own prices; and
when they say that they would still be able to sell at their old prices,

^ one naturally asks "If you can, why do you ask for protection.-'" ,7
A great trade has sprung up lately in exporting cattle to Eng-

b
t]
tl
tl
IV
fa
si
a(
C

AND PENCILLINGS.

lave
get
per
the
the

;hen

Ihem
by
and

fices^

Eng-

land, that being the determining market as to the price of beef as
well as of grain. A large number of farmers, distillers, and brewers
are importing young and lean cattle from the Western States and
then exporting them, A large amount of corn is being imported,
and it would confer no appreciable benefit on our firmers to have a
duty on that article, while it would have the effect of stopping a
great and lucrative trade. I will give you an illustration which is
taken from the experience of my friend Mr, Rymal, who is himself
a farmer. He took fifty or sixty bushels of barley to the Hamilton
market and sold it at $1,50 per bushel. (I assume a price). He
bought the same quantity of corn for some fifty cents per bushel.
He took the same number of bushels of corn back as of the barley
he had brought to market. He had from it food for his cattle and
had some .$20 in cash besides. That is an illustration from which
you will see plainly what would be the effect of protection upon
the agricultural interest, and what is the effect of allowing our
farmers to buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest,

I have heard a great many remedies proposed by a great many
quacks for the welfare of the body politic, but I did not think we
should be told at this time of day that the true royal road to wealth
and prosperity for Canada is to lay more taxes on the people — that

we can grow rich by taking money
out of one pocket and putting it in
the other — that it was wise and
statesmanlike to pass laws which,
while they apparently doubled wages,
were steadily trebling the prices of
the articles for which these wages
were exchanged — that we should
depart from the policy of the British
Empire, for which we profess to have
such a feeling of loyalty — that we
should go back on the policy of
Bright and Cobden, of Gladstone
and Peel, and of every man of ability
and intelligence throughout the
boundaries of Great Britain, and that we should be invited to do
this — by whom ,? By men who impertinently arrogate to themselves
the right to speak as if they were the only loyal men in Canada —
the only ones having a true regard for the well-being of Her
Majesty and the Empire of which she is the head. I say the mere
fact that we should now be asked to believe such a creed is a curious
sign of the times, and a proposition which certainly will not be
acceded to by any considerable part of the intelligent electors of
Canada,

Nothing would give me greater pleasure or satisfaction than that
I should be able to make everybody rich by protection, provided

yUAi KERY,

POLITICAL POINTS

! ! 11

nobody hau to pay for it. But it will occur'to you, and to every
one who considers the subject, that it is utter nonsense to talk of
finding a royal road to wealth.

Wealth is only obtainable by industry, and we are not such fools
as to sell peas or any other articles to the United States if we can
sell it for a higher price in England. Our produce will naturally
go to where the highest price prevails. Prince Edward Island sells
all her oats to England We send a good deal to the United States.
We send a large quantity of peas to the United States, as well as
our surplus wheat, though Dr. Tupper says we do not grow enough
wheat for our own consumption. While I do not admit the accur-
acy of that, suppose we do not, what would happen } We should
be compelled to buy some flour and wheat in a foreign market, and
he thinks it would be a great benefit for us if we were compelled to
buy some for our own consumpiton and pay taxes for it when we
got it. That is his logic. Look at the matter as you please, you
will find that the only true road to national wealth for the farmer,
the mechanic, or the manufacturer, is to remove all restrictions from
trade that it is possible to remove.

I am old enough to remember the time when the great' anti-corn-
law agitation was carried on in England T have heard George
Thompson and his compeers, Cobden and his friends, at meetings,
denouncing these corn laws, which imposed a duty on wheat and
other grain though they could not raise enough for their own main-
tenance, and I remember that the farmers were almost rioting in
some di.stricts, believing it would be ruinous to them if the duty
were abolished. The fact is that they became very much more
prosperous since than they had been before. At that time the
average rent in England and Scotland, if not in Ireland, was about
£2 sterling, and when I was in the old country in 1875, I found that
the same farms rented for £t, ; and farm servants who had formerly
been receiving ;^io or £12 sterling and board, were now receiving
from ;^20 to ;624 and board, and their houses were very much
improved.

In fact, when the protection was removed, the whole agricultural
interest seemed to bound forward into a state of greater pros-
perity, which affected landlord and tenant alike. If we are true
patriots, we have to work, not for the benefit of one class, but for
\hf. 'V efit of the entire interests of the country which we have in
o\ nds. ''.nd it would be an evil day for Canada if the attention
< . fi-r tavrners were diverted from its proper functions by their en-
( :avo»/nng to make money by vainly obtaining a duty in the shape
of . 7vV. - ;on to cereals. It could not be done except in the single
article ot corn. As regards the manufacturers, as I have already
told them, they might for a moment get a higher price after the
duties were increased, but the effect would certainly be to introduce
disorder and disorganization into our whole trade system.

AND PENCILLINGS.

rue
for
in
ion
en-
ipe
gle
idy
the
uce
I

You have now a 17 J per cent, tariff for rqverfue purposes, and if
we impose more you will get a higher price for your boots and shoes,
machines, &c. But we must have a revenue, and as we could not
raise it on a higher tariff, you would be obliged to pay property taxes
or a poll-tax to make up the deficiency. There would be nothing left
for us but to appomt an assessor to go round and make a direct levy
on the people, and that is something which, I fancy, none of you
would like to see. Apart altogether from the question of its wisdom
as a fiscal policy, I am sure I have only to mention it to show that
it would be neither palatable nor convenient to you that such a sys-
tem should prevail for raising a revenue. I am aware that in some
counties certain gentlemen are very fond of calling themselves the
farmers' friends. Dr. Orton proposes protection as a panacea for
all the ills that farmers' flesh is heir to, and I remember once giving
great offence to that gentleman by saying that I thought he knew a
good deal more about calomel than he did of what was good for the
intcicst of the farmers. I am afraid these self-styled farmers' friends
are rather suspicious gentlemen, and that they fancy that our farm-
ers are a very simple lot of people. They are like the demagogue
out West, who appealed to the sympathies of the farmers because,
as he said, he was a farmer himself, his father was a farmer, and so
was his grandfather. "In fact," he said, "I might .say I was brought
up between the rows of corn," when some irreverent fellow in the
crowd shouted out, " A pumpkin, by thunder ! " I don't want to
call a.jy one names, but I'm half inclined to think that those
gentlemen, who so loudly proclaim themselves as par excellence the
farmers' friends, will be found, if you only probe them, to be but
very sorry specimens of a certain kind of vegetable. I think you
will see that, to put it mildly, this remedy of theirs has a very sus-
picious look about it. They say, "Don't the Americans put so
many cents a bushel on our wheat } Why not put as much on
theirs?" I say "Yes, by all mean.s, if you can only get it." I am will-
ing to tax the Americans as much as you piea.se, if you can only col-
lect the tax after it is imposed. We tried it once, and the result was
that a number of loads of wheat came in before the change in the
tariff was known, but after that tiiey avoided our shores, sent their
wheat to England through other channels, or in bond, and so
the entire amount we collected in about a year and a quarter was
only about $120,000, and the next year we would have got nothing.
Our canal traffic would be injured, and the mills which are built all
along the frontier for the milling of United States wheat would be
left idle. A miller asked me at Newmarket why we didn't give the
same protection to flour that we gave to other manufactures, and I
said: "Simply because it would be of no use to you. Your ilom is
sent to England, or any other place where it can be sold, at \ \

Now, suppose a duty were imposed that would enable you to go
to the Lower Provinces (where they raise no grain worth mentioning,

3<^

rOLTTICAL POINTS

I;:

and no wheat) it could only be got in this way. The fishermen in
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island have a
considerable trade with Portland, Boston and other towns in the
United States. They sell their fish and bring back flour, generally
as ballast, carrying it for lo or 15 cents per barrel. If we were to
impose a duty of 25 or 50 cents on flour it would destroy these
people's trade in time, which amounts to perhaps 40,000 or 50,000
barrels per year. To the extent of that duty on the flour which
goes by Boston and New York our millers might get the advantage
and no more, and that, if spread over the millers of this country,
would afford them perhaps one-ninth of a cent per barrel on the
flour made in Canada." But even if it did afford them more, how
can you go to work and tax the people's bread in the Lower Pro-
vinces unless you allow them to tax something elsewhere ?

They tried last year to carry a tax on coal. I asked a manufac-
turer in Goderich, who is not a political friend of mine, how much
he could get coal delivered for at his establishment. He said $3
per ton ; but if he had to take his coal from Nova Scotia he could
not get it delivered below $7 per ton. Yet it was proposed that the
great province of Ontario should tax itself, injure its manufactures,
and starve out the people in our cities who use coal, by imposing
a duty on that article.

As soon as you begin a system of •'fv6ftVffoi''<'^'X!'' ""^
protection for protection's sake, ever)'-
body must be protected, and then the
country will be so much the worse off
by the cost of doing the work of collec-
tion. Whatever policy is adopted in
these matters, it should be one which
effects all persons alike, and does equal
justice to all classes of the community,
whether farmers, mechanics, or manu-
facturers. But there is another phase
to this question. I have said to the
manufacturers, " Gentlemen, if you are
determined to have protection as a sys-
tem, that system must extend over all.
There are mechanics coming in thou-
sands from England to Canada and
the United States, and if you are to
have protection on the articles you make, we must have protection
for our labour. We must not lower the price of wages while we
raise the price of your manufactures. You must go to the very
foundation, and protect our labourers as well as others."

If you mean by a protective system that you are to restrict our
trade, that we are to live by ourselves without commercial inter-
course with the outer world, then I can understand what these

A PLKASANT FBOOBAMME.

AND PENCILLING;

3»;

bse

gentlemen mean when they speak of Canada for the Canadian .. >
They might as well say that that well known gentleman Mr; Rob^it
inson Crusoe kept the Island of Juan Fernandez for himself. In
fact, the very idea of protection is embodied in Robinson Crusoe
building his own house, and with a knife made out of bone whittling i
a weed out of which he made cloth, and with needles of bone stitch'< n
ing it into articles of clothing. That was protection to home in^ -

dustries with a vengeance ; and >
most undoubtedly Robinson
Crusoe was the leader of the ;
Protectionist party of the Island .
of Juan Fernandez at that time. .
Let any one of our protectionist
friends of this day and genera
tion, who are so fond of impos-
sible theories, go and live on an
island, as Mr. Crusoe did, and
thus practice what they so ar
dently preach. I not only be-
lieve in having Canada for the
Canadians, but the Uuited
States, /South America, the

BOBINSOM CBDSOE SPBPHTSED AT HIS OWN -ixj , f .jV J U "

West Inetjes, and our share ox

FOOT PRINT. -J , A, vf .1 r- 1 A i !•

_. ^_ --.-' the European and Australian
trade. By the exertions of the present Administration we have
managed during the last year, by a judicious exhibition of what
Canadian industry can do under a revenue tariff, to show
the people of Australia that we can make better agricultural imple-
ments, carriages, edge tools, and other articles, and build better
ships than they can : and within the first sfix months after the
Exhibition closed we had exported nearly half a million dollar.'^
worth of our goods to that region. But these gentlemen want uii
to use all those ships ourselves ; they Insist on us, Canadians, con-
suming all -the Canadians make ; they will not allow us to sell
unless we can find a nation so foolish as to buy our goods on our
terms and sell theirs on our terms also.

Now, if you examine in detail Dr. Tupper's and Sir John';;
speeches on this subject, you will all notice that whatever they call
themselves they do not commit themselves to anything whate\'^er
I defy any man to read Sir John's resolutions or his speeches and
say whether he has not left himself ample room to reifuse to put on
a single cent of additional taxation if he does not find it conve-
nient to do so — while the whole gist of Dr. Tupper's speeches wa?,
that their 15 per cent, ad valorem duty was as good as our 17 ]4 per
cent., and if he got back to office he would prove, tio doubt, that it ^
was better to have his r$ per cent, than to retain our miserable 17%-
Our crinie i^ a carious one. We have absolutely refused to dedjtrc

M^Wf ^■■ir^-"'"^"

POLITICAL POINTS

that black shall henceforth be white, or that if you subtract one
from two, you will have three remaining, that being, I think, a
pretty fair representation of the theory that by the imposition of
additional taxation you will make the people richer. We have
refused to suspend the ordinary laws and operations of nature pro
bofio publico ; nay, more, we doubt the wisdom of attempting to do
so by statutory enactment. I do not deny that if these gentlemen
could show that we have that power, we should be held seriously
blameworthy for so refusing ; I only venture to insinuate that if we
are unable to deliver men from the consequences of misfortunes,
more or less brought about by their own acts, we in doing so only
act in conformity to the ordinary rules which have hitherto been
been applied by Divine providence to the government of the world.
I know of no Government on earth that can possibly deliver a free
country from the consequences of its own follies and misfortunes
without the active co-operation of the people themselves. We may
deplore the existence of these consequences and try to alleviate
them ; but the remedy lies in the hands of the people composing
the community from one end of the country to the other.

As regards the charge of incompetency and extravagance, more
particularly in the administration of the public finances, I desire to
call your attention to a few plain facts, which you will find on
record in the public accounts of this country, which cannot be de-
nied, which cannot be gainsaid, and which in themselves will serve
as a sufficient defence of this Ministry, not perhaps in all points to
the people of Canada, but at any rate in comparison with the ad-
ministration of those gentlemen who brought the charge. And
recollect that If in the course of this discussion I appear to deal not
so much with the absolute merits of the question as with a compar-
ison between our acts and those of the gentlemen who preceded us,

AND PENCIL!. INC)'-;.

1 do it for this reason : from one end of Canada to another these
men have pursued a most peculiar and extraordinary course. They
do not come forward and say : The present Government have made
mistakes ; they have committed errors, and therefore we ask you to
turn them out ; but they come forward and say : These men are
far worse than we were, and your only salvation is to turn out that
incompetent crew headed by Mackenzie, and put in power gentle-
men who were unfortunate enough to be turned out for no better
reason than because they inadvertently accepted the too extavagant
liberality of Sir Hugh Allan.

If you take the cost of administering the Government during
the year 1867 — the first year of Confederation — and compare it
with the sum which had been attained when we came into office,
you will find that in these six years the late Administration had
increased the sum total of the public expenditure from $13,500,
000 in roundnumbers in 1867 to $23,316,000 in 1873-4 — that is
to say, these frugal, economical, wise statesmen has added nearly
ten millions of dollars to the total annual expenditure of the
people of Canada within a period of six or seven years. Nay,
more, they had incurred certain additional liabilities which require
a further annual outlay of very nearly three millions — that is to
say, they had added practically as nearly as might be thirteen
millions of dollars, or absolutely doubled the public expenditure
within about six years ; whereas we, on the ist of July last, when
the public accounts are completed, will be found, unless the
reports which have so far reached us turn out to be seriously in
error, to have only exceeded the sum we found being expended
on entering office by from three to four hundred thousand dollars,
and that, too, though we had to provide for these three additional
millions, and discharge a great variety of public services which
did not exist at the time we assumed office. Now, I ask you
to consider the result. This Administration In three years have
added the sum of three or four hundred thousand dollars to the
gross annual expenditure, for the purpose, as I have shown, of
defraying the expense of certain public works which were placet
under contract by these men before we took office, while our oppo-
nents had on their own showing added practically thirteen millions,
or say even ten millions ; and say, if you think the adding of $300,
000 to the annual expenditure was a proof of the grossest extrava-
gance on our part, while for these gentlemen to add thirteen millions
is proof in them of wise and far-seeing statesmanship. But I am
informed that some of these worthies — presuming on the imagined
ignorance of their countrymen — have had the audacity to say that
because we took office in the latter part of 1873, we were therefore
fairly and justly responsible for two-thirds of the expenditure (A
that year, which, as I dare say you all know, exceeded the expendi-
ture of 1873-3, by about four millions of dollars. Now, I think that

♦

POLITICAL POINTS

UiOratTRSON'B tmXE TBIOE.

this audience, or any other audience
in Canada, or any man who under-
stands the very first rudiments of our
Parliamentary Government, will only
require to be reminded that the ex-
penditure of 1873-4 was based upon
the estimates brought dovVn by Mr.
Tilley in 1873 ; that it was further
carried cut under contracts made by
these gentlemen, and in virtue of
measures they had placed in the
statute book, to see at once how
utterly false such an assertion would
be. 13ut lest there might be some
here who might fail tc appreciate the
force of that circumstance, I will
briefly recite the chief items of which
that so-called increase was composed
and I will leave it to any intelligent
maq in C^inada — whether a supporter of the Opposition or of the
Ministry — to say for himself whether this Government could be held
responsible in any shape or way for one jot or tittle of that addi^^fonal
expenditure. Of these four millions the first and by far the largest
item is $820,000,^ which was added to the interest on the public debt
by the assumption of the debt of the Provinces, and by paying the
;Sum of $150,000 to the Province of New Brunswick, which sum of
$150,000 is to this day the sole and only benefit — or rather the
iprivilege of paying that money is the sole and only benefit — which
has resulted from that wise treaty formed by Sir John Macdonald
jand his English colleagues at V/ashington. It is a great privilege
-trqly. Let us prize it as it deserves, as the one and only advantage
which has as yet accrued to any part of this Dominion from the
treaty-making. talent of "our own illustrious chieftain, our own be-
loved John A." Only, I trust you will remember that we were
;Strongly opposed to that grant, because we felt, whatever might be
'Said for part of that proposal, Canada was in no position at that
time to be generous to the Provinces which composed it at the ex-
pense of risking the inability to fulfil our own existing obligations.
We opposed it tooth and nail, and it was carried over our heads by
Sir John and his supporters; and now, because we came into office
before the first year in which payment fell due had expired, we are
^to be held responsible for two-thirds of that $820,000 which these
gentlemen voted in our very teeth! So also by the admission of
Prince Edward Island under a treaty arranged by them the sum of
«j$5oo,opp was added to the gross annual expenditure of Canada.
By the loan which Mr. Tilley contracted the sum of $250,000 (rep-
resenting the first half-yearly payment of interest and sinking-fund

AND PENCILLINGS.

lege

tage

the

be-

ex-
lons.
s by
>ffice

are
hese
n of
n of
ad a.
rep-
ifund

ha J

on that loan) was added to the interest on onr debt. The cost of
the Mounted Police — a sum of $200,000 — was charged to the ex-
penditure of that yearr, and that does not represent fairly, by any
means, the whole sum that should have been charged to this item
for 1873-4. Then there was for treaties with Indians, $100,000, an
expenditure of which I do not complain. Then they increased the
indemnity to members, and made additions to the Civil Service am-
ounting to $350,000, and all this was done by statute. They had
Airther increased the expenditure in the Post-office Department
about $300,000, and had added a great variety of miscellaneous ex-
penses, which I do not recite in detail, amounting to about $850,000.
Now they had in this way, chiefly by Acts placed on the statute
book by themselves, by Acts over which we had no control, by Acts
we had continually opposed, added over four millions over which we
heither did nor could possibly have exercised any supervision.

Let me give you a few more figures: — When we came into office
iwe found that they were paying on the average for coal $3 73; we
are now paying $1 77 }4- They were paying out at that time for
ordinary bar iron $431; we are now paying $ i 80. They were paying
for cut nails on the average $5 32 per keg, we are paying $2 80; for
clout nails $15 per hundred weight, we are paying $7; for pressc<J
nails $12 75, we are paying $6 87; for wrought spikes $5 50, we
have made several contracts lately for $2 75. They were paying
ior oak lumber $58 50; we are now paying $39 50; for cut iron spikes
$5 21, we are paying $2 65; for white oak $60, wc are paying $29;
for car wheels $18, we are gettng them for $u 75; for steel tire
.wheels $52 50, we are paying $37 50; for spring steel 18 cents per
pound, we get them now for six cents. For white lead the figures
are respectivey 8^ cents and 8 cents; for iron castings $4 25 and
$2 28 ; for kerosene oil 34c and 15c; for raw linseed oil 87 j^c and 57)^ ;
rfbr boiled oil 95c and 621^0; for spindle oil 56^c and 40c; for
turpentine 30c and 25c; for tallow loc and 8c; sheet iron $6 75 and
$2 70 ; for Hayter's spiral springs 23 66 and $8 35. I wish to say
fflurther that everything that could be obtained by contract the pres-
ent Government has obtained by contract. At present we have all
x>ur printing done by contract, and for the edification of any printers
.who may be here I will give you a few figures. For some blank
forms which we required we are now paying $1.15, while in the last
-year of the late Administration they had paid to different parties
ithe following prices : — $5, $7, $8, and $10. For another set of blank
forms we now pay $1 50; they paid as follows: — $4 50, $5, $$,
$6 50, $8, $9, $10, and $13 50. For another form we are paying
1^13 20; they paid to one firm for the same form $6 50, to others
4io, $12, $15, and $16 respectively. For another form we are pay-
ing $3 25 ; they paid $6, $7 50, $10, $11 50, $12, $12 60, $15 29.
.There is still another for which we pay $2 75, while they pai<i for
it $60 and $70. For another the figures were $1 35 *nd ,$9

POLITICAL POINTS

*' SHOVEIiliINQ ODT THE CASH.'

respectively. Another costs us
$3 80, while they paid $12 and
$30. For another we pay $1,
and they paid $6 and $7, It was
a very much easier thing for our
predecessors to show their capac-
ity for shovelling out the public
moneys in this wholesale fashion
than it is for us to be constantly
quarreling with contractors in
order to get the work done at the
lowest possible figures, and giv-
ing out nearly all our contracts
to those who are our political
opponents. I think however that
the few facts I have stated will
have had a reasonable amount of

make it tolerably clear that we
success in administering your affairs.

We have a great country to govern, and we have no doubt
great measures to deal with in the near future. We have half a
continent in the Far West under our control, to be filled up with
people. Few countries have a more magnificent destiny before
them than have the people of Canada. We have to vindicate the
rights of the people of British origin, owning allegiance to Britain's
Queen, and believing our system of responsible government is more
democratical, more like true liberty, than the boasted Republicanism
of the United States. We have it in our mission to vindicate that
system of Government ; to carry it over the whole of this con-
tinent, and carry with it as we will, as we have in the prairies of the
Far West, equal rights and ample justice even to the red aborigines
of the country of which we have taken possession.

Let us not falter under thf;se circumstances ; let us devote oar-
selves to principles ; let us defend policies. If our policy is not
right, let our Conservative friends announce a clear and definite
policy ; let thera disown their old leaders and disavow their acts ;
let them adopt some name hv which we may know them, and if
their policy is the best by al means adopt it, and let me and my
colleagues go. This countrj is large enough and its people intelli-
gent enough to furnish men capable of governing the country if
both the Government and the Opposition were swept from their
places. But if you consider that we have to the best of our power,
and witli^ a fair measure of success, carried out a policy which you
have already stamped with your approval, all I can say is that we
shall continue to devote our earnest and careful attention to the
promotion of the interest of the farming community, which is a
large and important one in this country, as well as of all the other
classes that go to make up our population.

Li>

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