SPEECH ON THE BUDGET UY THE . ' ^ k HOiN. F. LANGELIER, TREASURER OF THE PROyiHCE OF QUEBEC rELIVERED IN THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, QUEBEC, 22nd July, 1870. lieportcd for Morniug ChronirJc. L ^AUJ^. .3-~Ki. _»_a!i..'. i ju'.» J — k ' 1879. The RDIfH ami LORN PL PIKRCP: COLLECTION 0/ CANADIANA ^cctis Umvcrsity at Kingston PROVINCIAL LEaiSLATURE. Fourth Parliament— Second Session. LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY. Quebec, 22rid July, 1879. The House met at 3 p.m. After routine, and the introduction oT a number of IJills, Hon. F. LANCrELIER presented a messag-e from the Lieutenant-Governor transmitting the Estimates for tht: current year, wliich was read, the members standini^. . THE BUDGET SPEECH. lion. Mr. LANGrELIEIl said, on rising to move that the Speaker do leave the chair and that the House do form itself into Committee of Supply, it was his duty, in accord- ance with the custom to inform the House of the linancial position of the Province, to give to them on account of the linancial operations, the iigures of which they had in their hands, and to make known to them the expenditure the Government asked the authority of the House to make, and the manner in which they intend to provide the moans. That task was comparatively easy before the Province entered into the course of extraordinary expenditures by engaging itself in undertaking to build at its own expense a great network of railroads, and by promising subsidies to another network still more considerable. The Treasurer had hitherto only to make known that there was certain expenses always the same as to their nature, though increas- ing ill amount and revimucs more lliaii sufricieiit to mc^ot thein, and iiicreasiuc^ from oiio yoar to another. To-day ho Ibund himself in the prcsenc'^ of very i^ivat difTicnltii^s, of which some were persomilly his own, l)ut others -^t'erred to a state of thini^s for which neither he nor the present (rovernment were rosponsihle. Owinir to the death of his himented predecessor ho found himself called to the head of the Treasury Department without hein<^ previously pre- pared for it by years of ])atient study and experience in the iinancial atfairs of the rrovince, and without l)ein'^ able to profit by the complete and precise information he would have been able to furnish him. Lut one dilliculty he met with and which any one else must also have encountered this year, but which never previously occurred in this I*rovince, lay in the fact that ho was o})lifred to render an account of two fiscal years, the last year of their predeces- sors and the first of tht^ i)resent Government. 11' that con- stituted an additional dilliculty and imposed double work upon him it was an undoubted advantai^o to the House, because they had an opportunity of comparing at a glance and without much trouble the two administrations and the two systems upon which the electors had to pronounce on 1st May, 1878. "Were the electors right in condemning the preceding administration and A'oting that the affairs of the Province be left in the hands of those to whom the Lieu- tenant-Governor had confided th'_^m on the 8th March, 1878 ; That was the question on which he hoped every member would be able to pronounce when he had finished his remarks. In the first place he Avoidd make known the operations of the fiscal year ended 30th June, 1878 ; then that of the year expiring 301 h June, 1879 ; then he would explain the expenses the Government expected to meet during the year commencing 1st July instant, and the manner in which they proposed to meet them ; lastly he would make known the engagements of the rrovince and the manner in which they proposed to meet them, 6 RAILWAY KXPEXDITU IIS. To ])(} porfoctly umlor.^toocl he woukl puL on ono sido uU the exp:Mises oiitered into to pay for the works on the North Shore U:iih'0:iJs, and ihe snl).sidie> to thoSoulIi Shore roads, wliicli lie woukl deal with separately, biv^-inninof with the year 1.S7T-T8. By r^Terrin^• to pai^es 7 and 8 oi' the ru])lic Aecounts, which have been in the hands oi" the members for the past Ibrtiiigh}, it will be seen thai the receipts were S:2.02a3-24 1!) and the p.iyment.s 2.711,827 43 leavin::^ a delicit of !$(JS5,;303 24 Those ii<.i,'iires show the receipts and payments. In order to know what has been the expenditure th(»y must refer to the Public Accounts and find out for each account, in which liscal year the expenditure has been made, as by the law which reunilates the Public Accounrs only those payments made that year can be entered in them without regard to the date of the item so paid. The result of the last liscal year of tlie late Government was a delicit of $035,508.21. Lut it will be said, no doubt, tliat their predecessors ought not to be held responsible for the whole of the expen- diture of that year Avhen they ceased to administer the aflhirs of the Province on the 8th March, four months before the end of that year. It must be admitted, however, that they are certainly responsible for the first eight months, then the statement of accounts on the ISth December, nearlv f>ix months after the commencement shows : — Recepts i"? 803,350.04 Payments 1,413,930.03 • Deficit C^010,370.09 When that statement was laid before the House the honorable member ibr Pontiac pretended that it did not give a true klea of the position of the Province because IhtTi' wiTi' cortai:i oxponsps, such as those lor colonization roads, charitahlo institutions, &c., \vhich did not occur unnin in the other six months, and which ought to be set iij^-ainsi certain receipts ol' tlie last six months, such as the subsidy oi' the Province. That \vas true, but he should have added also that it would be necessary to pay durin'j^ these last six months expenses wliich would not only balance l)ut would exceed the receipts; such as the expiMises lor interest and sinking fund i)aya])le the 1st May, six months' grant to the common schools, to lunatic asylums ;ind relormatories, and the work to be done on ]>u!)lic l)uildings, ike. This Avas so much the case that on the 1st May, 1878, the receipts were !Sil,752,400.1»7 and expenditure 2,510,400.-18 leavinga deficit of !$;7:)8,0GS.rjl It could not 1)0 pretended that this Government was res- ponsible lor this enormous dehcit, because at the date on which it exist'jd the present administration had only paid the trifle of ^7,000.79 for the elections of May, 1878, that is to say, for an expense for w^liich it could be held respon- sible ; all the rest had been paid to meet ol)ligations to which we were completely strangers. In iaci if the House wotild examine statement No, 2, submitted last year by his predecessor, pages 13 and 15 of the pamphlet containing the various statements, it would see that from the Sth March, 1878, a good number of appro- priations were already exhausted. Of all the expenses paid before the 1st July, 1878, the only ones for which the present administration could be held responsi1)le were the following : • Expenditure caused on account of the generalelectionsofthelstMay, 1878.i5i 28,219.73 Cost of the second session of the sum- mer 11,874.37 $ 40,094.10 If this .sum \va.s tlodiKtod from tho clolicit of s085,')0:J.-_'4 There would still ivmuin ^045,400.14 as the amount of tho diTicit which would have existed if the preceding" administnitiou had remained in power. IL would not be without interest to compare this r"suU willi that which the honorable member for Pontiac considered himself warranted in promising the House in b's lUulgt't of 31st December, ISTO. II*^ then estimated liic re- ceipts at if;2,r)01,77!'.l'J and the expenditure 2,:):i2,0-(J.Ci> thus promising a surplus of $ u'.>,T;jo.l- The honorable gentleman, therefore, was out in his cal- culation by $085,102.20. He did not charge it as a crime on the part of the honora])le memljer that ho committed such an enormous error. But it warrants me in telling him and his friends that if my regretted colleague "was deceived in his forecast, neither the member for Pontiac nor the other side of the House can reproach him for it. The Honorable Mr. Bachaud had only been a short time in olfice, a largo portion of which w'as absorbed in the elections and prepa- rations for the session, and consequently he was obliged to take, without detailed enquiry, the information which his predecessor had given. On the other hand, the honoral)le member for Pontiac, having been over two years in the Government when he made his budget, had all the time necessary to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the resources and obligations of the Province and to know the precise receipts and expenditure of the following year. No dou])t the honorable members w\'re curious to knov/ on wJiat precise points this error, almost incredilde, was committed in the estimates for the iiscal year 1877-78. He (Mr. Langelier) must say it was made in regard both to tlie receipts and expenditure. It w^ould be too minute to go 8 into all the details, and lij would theroforo iudicute only the principal items. RECEIPTS. Crown Lands estimated ^ollMo.OO Actual receipts 400,80G.OO Terror 81<57,507.0O Stamps estimated $218,000.00 Actual receipts 204,205.00 Error 8 13,795.00 Municipal Loan Fiuid estimut-.'d § 40,000.00 Actual receii)ts 00,000.00 Error i^ 40.000,00 Licenses estimated !j;)275, 000.00 Actual receipts 202,707.00 Error ^ 72,203.00 On these four items alom; there was therefore an error in the estimates of ;^203,5n5.00 EXPENSES. Legislation estimated ii-!; 107,200.00 Actual expenditure 218,587.00 Error $51,387.00 In order to be just he must acknowledge that as to the §40,094 expenses of the elections in May, 1878, and of the June session that year, that the honorable member for Tontiac could not foresee them, but allow^ing fur that, there still remained an error of over $11,000.00 on that item of li'gisliitiou alone in uiuier-Pstinialiui!: il.s yo.-l. (hoiigli it was an item, neverthelesji, which could be detoriained in advance with precision. Civil Government estimated ^\(\i]^OOOM Actual expenditure 175,708.00 Knor $ 12,708.00 Administration of Justice estimated... $-n4,.*370.00 Actual expenditure 422,024.00 Error $ 8,204.00 Reformatories estimaled $ nO.OOO.OO Actual expenditure 74,500.00 Error s) 24,500.00 Public Instruction estimated ^358,810.00 Actual expenditure 370,201.00 Error $ 17,451.00 Public Imilding-s estimated $100,000.00 Expended 127,000.00 • Error -9 27,000.00 On these three items of expenditure, there was therefore an error of $00,000.00 in under-estimating the expenditure. In other words, in the four items of receipts and the three items of expenditure which lie had mentioned the then member for Pontiac had made a mistake of $380,505, i. e. almost $400,000.00. So much for the receipts and expenditure of the Conso- lidated Fund. For railroads there has been paid out duriusf the same year, both for works on the Northern roads and for subsidies to the Southern roads, $2,010,504.82. o 10 Tin-: PAST YKAll. He would now hasten to come to the year that has just closed and lor which the present (Jlovernment is respon- sible. It had been said in the Opposition jn'css that he had purposely delayed i')laeing before the public the state- ment he had to make of the past fiscal year, because he feared the ';ad ellect which it might have on the Verchcres election. The following correspondence which ho had exchanged with the Auditor of the Province would show Upon what foundations of truth reposed the assertions of the Conservative press. It would be remembered that a few days ago he had read to the House an extract from the rarliamentary correspondence of La Minerve. As the cor- respondent pretended having gone through the whole of the Treasury I3epartment and to have obtained therein information which enabled him to contradict him in what he had asserted in the House, he had communicated with Mr. Drolet. The following letter from this gentlemen did not need commenting upon. QuEUEC, IGlh July, 1879. Hon. F. Laxcelier, Treasurer of the Province of Quebec. Sin, — 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the following letter, which you sent me yesterday : CrASPArvD DkOLET, Auditor of the Province* Mv Deak, Mr. Drolet,— I enclose to you an extract from the Parliamentary correspondence of La Miner ve. As it is your duly to prepare the l'u])lic Accounts and the s::atenu'nts of receipts and expenditure to ])e submitted to the Houses, please do me the iavor of replying to the fol- lowing questions : - 1. Is it true that at the time to which the said corret,pon- dence refers, i. e., the middle of /a.s'^ week, nothing ivas being' prepared for the House in the Department ? 11 2. Is it true that towards tho same date, ikere was not a single extra c/cr/c, or ropi/in'j^.cfcrh, and that nut one of the old employees irns cn'^d-.^e i in preparing the Accounts ? 3. Is it true that tho correspondLMit o[ La Miner ve made a tour of the Dcparlmcut to see what was taking- place in it ? 4. Is it true that the Govern'uoi' is not desirous of sub' miltin';^ the Accounts ? 5. Is it not true that two weeks Ijelbre the opening of the session, I livive orders to prv'pare a sl.itement of the receipts and of the expenditure ? 6. Is it possible to give at the pr.\sent lini^ a more com- plete statement of the public accounts than the one which I am causing to be prepared i 7. How much time would it require, using the utmost possible expedition, to pr;>parv:i and cause to b* printed the public accounts i'or the past fiscal year in th-^ ordinary form ? Yours truly, F. Langelier, Treasurer, P. of Q, and to answer : J. At the date referred to in the correspondence, i. c. the middle of last week, the statement of the receipts and expen- diture of the fiscal year ending oOth June last was in course of preparation. 2. At the date mentioned, there were in the Department two supernumerary clerks. I was myself actively engaged in preparing tho statement above-mentioned. 3. I am not aware that any corresiiondent of La Mintrve made a tour of the Department to see what was going on or for any other reason. 12 4. You have over shown me the desire you had of sub- mittini^ the accounts, and 1 have no reason to bolieve that the Government ever hud tht} intention of withholdinq- them. 5. About two weeks 1)L^fore the openinii; of the session you ^avo orders to have a statemenit of the receipts and expenditure prepared. G. It is impossible to i^-ive at present a more detailed statement of the Public Accounts than the one which you have caused to be prepared. 7. We have not yet received and will not receive for several weeks to come, from the different offices at the seat of Crovernment and from the outside oflices, the necessary returns to prepare the Public Accounts of the past fiscal year in the ordinary form. According to the last act to provide for the better rendering of the Public Accounts of the Dominion, the Minister of Finance is only to submit the accounts to the House of Commons on or before the 81st day of January following the end of the fiscal year if the Parliament is then in session, and if it is not, then a week after the Meetino: of Parliament. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, Gaspard Drolet, Auditor for the Province. The House will now see whether he had deceived it, and it could at the same time stio-matize the conduct of the correspondent of La Minerve as he well deserved it. No, he had never had the intention of refusing to the House the accounts for the past fiscal year, and he had no interest either in keeping them back. FULFILLED PROIMISES. He Avould have wished on the contrary to have been able to place them before the intelligent electors of Vercheres ; I ' ■ ■ •' T 13 for ho was sure they would hav»» h^lp^^d to swoll the majo- rity, already a rospoctablo on \ of his honorahlo friend whoso arrival thoy had wolcomod yesterday with ancla- matioii. It is in fact suliicieiit to cast an eye on them to iiiid the proof that the present administration bas i'ulilHed the pron-rammo which it had causod to bo read on the very' day when its members were sworn in. It would ]>o remem- bered that the preceding- administration had declared that it could not moot the expenses of the Province without imposing ta^es amountinL^ to ^>200,000.00. And even with these $200,000.00 of taxes, the estimates of the receipts and expenditure of the honorable member for Pontiac, in his hnancial statement of 31st Januiry, 1878, foreshadowed a deficit of $15,052.00 for th » year which lias just closed. Unless they, the present Ministry, accused the honorable member of ii^-norancj with reofard to the position of the Province or of having- knou'ing'ly decivod the House, they must have necessarily thought that these $200,000.00 alone were wanting to re-establish the cfjuilibrium between tlie receipts and the expenditure of the Province. And they had promised to renounco these taxes and to supplant them by economies sufficient to fill their place. Had they realized these economies ? The accounts which the honorable members held in their hands were a triumphant answer to this question. Leaving aside for the time being, the right being reserved to recur to the point, the expenses in con- nection with the x^ublic debt and the railways, expenses which Dcithor the present G-overnmentnor its predecessors could control in any perceptible manner, the following result was reached : To administer the affairs of the Province during the last year they were in power, the predecessors of the present Government had spent $2,229,165.51 The present Groyernment had spent for the same purposes 1,958,213.50 Economized by the present administration $ 270,921.95 14 Hq did not, moreover, hesitate in saying that were it not for the irreparable loss they had met with in the person of Mr. Bachand, whom death had called away as he was about to put into execution the policy the details whereof ho had been maturinj?' for years past, they might have reali'/ed an additional economy of at least $50,000.00. The receipts for the past year, excep- ting those from the railroads, amounted to '$•2,604,554.06 Antl Government expenses x">roper... 1,958,243.56 Leaving a surplus of $ 646,310.50 It was useless to give the details of these receipts. They were to be found in the iirst statement in the hands of the honorable members. With the exception of one item to which he would have occasion to refer, these receipts did not call for any explanation. It was sufficient ro read their enumeration to see that they were not within the control of the Government. But it would not be uninteresting to look over the principal items, out of which have been ecq^ nomized the $270,000.00 spoken of a while ago. ECONOMY. Legislative Council, Year 1877-78 $49,600.00 Year 1878-79 33,808.25 Economy $15,791.75 Legislative Assembly. Year 1877-78 $128,490.00 Year 1878-79 93,859.87 Economy $34,630.13 15 Civil Adm inistration. Year 1877-78 $175,708.21 Year 1878-79 150,413.30 Economy $l?,2iU.82 A/lniinistraliun of Justice, including' District 3Iagisl rates. Year 1877-78 $422,024.77 Year 1878-79 399,790.00 Economy $22,834.77 Police. Year 1877-78 $38,457.10 Year 1878-79 14,450.20 Economy $24,000.90 Works and public buildings chargeable to the Revenue. Year 1877-78 $88,077.48 Year 1878-79., 53,530.05 Economy $35,140.83. So much for expenses of administration proper. If from this they now passed to the expenses connected with the railroads, they would find that during the past fiscal year there had been paid for interest, sinking and expenses incidental to the public debt, the enormous sum of $728,- 221.43. There had been expended, moreover, for the working of the railroad from Montreal to Ottawa $141,- 979.27, making the total current expenditure... $870,200.70 It was true that from this amount had to be deducted the receipts of our railroad 172,921.90 Leaving a deficit of $097,288.74 IG If they took togothor the receipts and current expendi- ture afj "well of the railroads and of the ordinary adminis- tration they \vould iind the following result : . Ordinary expenditure .$1,05 8,2 13. 50 Kail way expense s 870/200.70 Total $2,828,444.20 Ordinary receipts $2,004,554.00 Kailway receipts 180,281.50 Total $2,784,885.02 Loaviiig* a deficit of $43,008.04 on all the operations of the year. But it would be said to him that out of the $2,004,554.00 of the receipts of the Consolidated Fund, there were $500,- 000.00 drawn from the Federal G-ovcrnment on account of a claim. Were he desirous of following the system of his predecessors, he would haA'e the perfect right of considering this sum as part /the I'evenue for the year. It constitutes a revenue quite as well as the payments made on account of the Crown Lands, which amount to more than $70' %- 000.00 since 1807 ; quite as ■svell as the bonuses on the cuttino: of timber to the amount of several hundreds of thousands of dollars ; quite as well aa the duties on timber- cutting, amounting to a couple of millions ; quite as well as the price of sale of the Ileformatory of St. Vincent de Paul to the Dominion Government amounting to more thaii $100,000.00 ; (julte as well as the insurance on Vaa Court House of Quebec amounting to $40,000.00, and a large number of other receipts of this kind amounting to several hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the proof that the honorable member for Pontiac was not desirous of departing from the custom of his predecessors, is that he (the speaker) saw amongst his estimate of receipts for the year which had just opened $108,000.00 to come from the municipal n loan fiiiul, and he did not say a word in his j-tatomont to indicate that he did not consider that amount as an ordinary source of revenue, at a time when lie, nevertheless, took the precaution of enumerating- all the expenses chargeable to capital account, among which expenses he went so f.ir as to include the construction of safi'ty vaults for a fev Court Houses. But the speaker would admit that these sii^jOO, 000.00 were not an ordinary item of revenue. On the other hand, it would also be admitted that the expenses in connection with the public debt were not ordinary ones, the greater part being for money employed in the construction of the Northern railroads which are not yet terminated ; hcj had therefore the right to charge them to capital account, and then the position was still more advantageous. There is, moreover, another reason for which onr adversaries have not the right to object to our making use of these $500,- 000.00 this year. Mr. Bachand took the estimates of receipts of the member for Pontiac as being correct, and he could not do otherwise. Now in those estimates there are $300,000.00 reckoned in excess. On the other hand, there was another error of $240,000.00 in the estimates of the member for Pontiac concerning the pul)lic debt, i. e., relatively to an item about which he was considered as not having been mistaken, and on which no saving was to be ellected. Therefore, in assuming as correct on these points, as Mr. Bachand had to do, the estimates of the honoral^le member for Pontiac, the present Government succeeded, e\ en without those $500,- 000.00, to bring about an cquilibriiim, within $3,000.00 between the receipts and expenditure of the year, including even the load imposed on the public debt caused by the railways. Before quilting this part of his subject, ho would make two more ob rvations. Had the Government held its pro- mises with regard to the expenses of administration ? There was a simple way of making sure of this. It would 3 18 be romomberer' Uiat during Ihc ck'bato on last year's budget, thoy had several times declared that they were desirous of reducing the ordinary expeiulitures to the ligure tliey amounted to in 1874, and they had f^aid Ihat they thought thoy would be able to promise this result. The expenses for 1874 had reached... si, 0.5 2, 1G.^\00 Tliis year's expenses 1,!).38,24'{.00 Dillerence in favor of 1874 0,075.00 Or in other words, they had kej^t in tlie appointed limits but for the amount of i:;0,000.00. But it was not without intero.'-t to ask ourselves Avhat would have ])een the result of the past iiscal year liad the gentlemen on the other side of the House remained in ofiice. It would be gendering them more than justice to suppose that they would not, in the expenses of adminis- tratioji, have exceeded the amount of their last iiscal year. For during the ten years that they have been in power, they have eonlinualiy increased the ordinary expenses. From $1,188,000.00 to which they amounted in 1868, they had brought them to $2,229,000.00 in 1878, making an increase of ;;?1,041,0C0.00, /. e. of more than .$100,000.00 per annum. And it has to be remarked that in his statement o'" January, 1878, the honorable member for Pontiac did not speak of reducing the expenses ; he was desirous of meeting them by imposing taxes to the amount of $200,- 000.00. The expenditure vrould have therefore been as follows : — Administration expenses $2,220,000.00 Expenses in connection ^vitli tlie public debt 728,000.00 $2,057,000.00 The ceipts would have been as follov.'s : — Ordinary receipts $2,104,000.00 Taxes 200,000.00 $2,-304,000.00 19 To resume : Tohil oxixMulitiiro .$2,0:)T.000.0O Total rccoipls 'j,:50 4,000.00 $i].3-'},000.00 As wil! 1>' seen thei-flVoin, tlus';» ipfLMitlcin.^u w ith ^'200,- O'LO.OO oi' taxes would liavo tormiiKit.^d the liscal yoar with a doilcit of noai'iy ^;?70'\000 Oi». 1[.^ \\'.ndoOO,000.00 recrived IVoni the Federal (lovi'i'iim 'iiL ; Tor those irentleiiit^]!, having* Mamed the Government lor au act ol'mal-adminiistration in drawing- this amount which did not bear interest, would not have touched it. lie would not eitlier speak of the receipts and exp(Miditure incidental to the working- of tlie railwiiy from Montreal to Ottawa. For the.ye gfentleman, having made it a crime for the Government to have taken possession of this road, would no doubt have allowed Mr. Macdonald to pocket the ii|!41,000.00 of net rev«mue whicli the Government h:id drawn from it. To sum up, whilst the pref-ent Goverji- raent's Budget showed an insignilicant deficit of sj? 43,000.00. its predecessors would have had to confess to a dclieit of ^700,000.00 notwithstanding- th-ir ii^20O.O00.O0 of new taxes. THE THREE :vriLLIOX LOAN". To conclude what he had to say about the past fiscal year, he would ndd a few words about the $3,000,000.00 loan contracted in February. It had been pretended that in making this loan, they had violated a promise made by the speaker's predecessor in his financial statement. lie had this statement in his hand and no such prondse was therein to be found. Here were the words of Mr. Bachand : — " It is the intention of the Government to make an effort to avoid making a new loan ; but it will be a difficult thing, and I do not guarantee that this effort vnll succeed^ \Ve found it impossible, as indeed Mr. Bachand had expressed 20 tho foar it would ha. This loon of $3,000,000.00 formod part of tho amoTuits considered iiicessary to conipleto Iho works of the Government railroads. In order to he con- vinced thereof, one has but to read the last report of the Commissioners, (Documents of the 1st session of 1878, No, 11, p. 15.) ^loreover, it must not be fori»'otttn that the honora])le member for Ponliae had already borrowed .^oOO,- 000 00 on account of these three millions, and had secured for himself another loan tor half a million by the same treaty. Moreover, he had promised the Jjank of Montreal the necrotiaiionof the loan. To utilize the resources spoken of by Mr. Ijuehand, it would have taken him considerable time and the strenj^'th which sickness deprived him of On the other hand, the works were i)ro^ressins with an extraordinary rapidity. Tlie honorable Premier was desi- rous of openini;- communications between Quebec and Montreal as rapidly as possi])le, lie consequently pushed on the works with a rapidity unknown until then. One can iudi»-e of this when it is said that work was accom- plished for the amount of two millions. L"t it be added moreover that during" that same time the Southern railways were getting subsidies amounting to over !j400,000.00. It will thus bo understood that such large payments having to be made within a few months, it was necessary to have recourse to a loan. Previous to the session $500,000.00 were borrowed of the Bank of^Iontreal. A few days after the session another temporary loan of 8500,000.00 was nego- tiated with the Montreal Savings' Bank. To be brief, by the month of February a sum of more than i^2,000,000.00 had been thus borrowed. It had to be reimbursed and tho works on the railway had to be paid. The Government tiok advantage of a moment of monclary plethora on the New York market to place out tho loan for ^3,000,000.00, The result was a most fortunate one. The bonds w^ere sold at 95 Ji, i. e., ^ per cent, better than the 187-4 loan. More- over, the Bank of Montreal, which took the bonds at this ligure on behalf of the syndicate which it had formed, aban- 21 donod its claim to Iho commission to wliich it was ontitlod for lU'ii^oliating tho loan by virtue of the treaty entered into with it l)y the honorable member for Tontiac. JieckoniJi'^ tiiis commission at 1 per cent, this brimrs the rate of the loan to 0(),',, or l.'i per cent better than the rate realized in 1871 bv the honorable member for Sherbrooke, at a time when wo were not yet owini^ anything' and when we still had more than a million in hand, whilst at the time of the hist loan, the. Province had a deiieit of .sG8.j,000.00 and was under engaL^n-meiits to the amount of more than thirteen millions. One would, no doui>i, come and quote the loan contracted in 187t) by the honorable member for Pontiac and which was broui^ht out at par. But the speaker would not be tellinq; anybody anythinc:^ new if he told tliem that this loan had never been considered a serious financial opera- tion. It is moreover a well-known fact that the Merchants' ]>ank lost a quarter of a millibn over it. For what reason did it take the boiuls of the Province at so hii^h a rate ? The serious embarrassment in which it found itself, added to the liict that the instalments on the loan were extended over several months, whilst the bonds were delivered at once, mi^ht cause people to expect that the bank, desirous of ijj'etting for itself valuable securities which could be realized immediately, did not fear courting a loss of S!2o0,- 000.00. So much the worse for the shareholders of the bank, and so much the better for the Province. He would now come to the fiscal year begun on the 1st instant. The receipts will be as follows: — • Dominion of Canada $1,529,712.12 Ontario 85,0(0.00 Crown Lands 470,000.00 Stamps 200,000.00 Licenses 200,000.00 > 22 Furs of oflipprs of juslico oiitsidn of . Stamps !=!lO,000.00 IiuilJiiii; iiJid Jury Fund 40,000.00 Juslici? (UoviMiuc) 2,000.00 Court llouso, Montreal 4,800.00 Qui'l>oc Fire Lo:in 1<)/)00.00 lii»L';istnition Si'rvice • 1,210.00 I'iuo.s and p:Mialtiv\s (Achniui.slration oCJu.stire) 200.00 Finos in conncctii>n ^vith Liccnstvs... 2,000.00 Li'uiishitioii 500.00 Oijirinl Gazctifj .'',8,200.00 AVork.s aiul rul)lic Buildinus, Ko- venuo 1,0."j2.r)0 Casual Itovonuo... 1,200.00 Municipal Loan Fund 200,000.00 Jvailvvays 200,000.00 Intoroitt 20,000.00 $i\OG;3,874.G2 SOME EXPLAXATION.S. It would bo well, he thought, to give a few explanations concerning the principal items of receipts. In the first place, with regard to the $1,. 530, 000. 00 which they reckoned upon receiving from the Dominion, this is what the amount was composed of : Subsidies and Special Funds !. $1,014,712.00 This is the amount which has always been received since 1874, i. e., since the putting into force of the Statute of 1873, by which the Dominion assumed the excess of the debt of Quebec and Ontario. There are $500,000 00 which they calculated to draw^ on account of the $1,340,000.00, which have already been made mention of in this House. If the honorable members would just cast their eyes over this account, they would see that it was composed of credit 28 balances witliholU from 18(>7 to 1874 on our Mi})siily and of amounts received for us hy the D<^niiiiion. The de])tor side is composed of payments whicli the Dominion pretends havini^ made on our l)»'half Several of these pa\m<'nts olfer cause for contestation and shall be contested at tiie time of the linal settlement of accounts wliich is to take place between the Trovince and tiu^ Dominion in the course of this year. One will observe that thesie si.>Oo,0()0.00 are not all which is duo to th«» Province under tliis head ; })ut it is the amount ^vhich it is expected will b* recMV«'d this year. Lastly there are in(tluded in the >7 from the Common School fund. The Province's share of these collections amounted to more than 8300,000.00 accordini,^ to the Trea^^urer for Ontario himself According to the award of the arbitrator.^!, Ontario had to pay the whole unto the Dominion, which then paid this Province tlie interest thereon. This decision of the av])itrators was, to say the least, singular, for the Common School Funds do not form part of the assets which they had to divide. IjuI whether Ontario pays the Province this amount in a direct way or pjiys it to the Dominion the Province still receive, interest on it. The amount of 835,000.00 which they reckoned to receive from Ontario was for accumulated interest on these $300,- 000.00. They had already this year received 825,000.00 on account of this interest, but he thought the total amount must be at least ."^(30,000.00. The amount collected since 18G7, i. e. during about 10 years, exceeds 8300,000.00, which makes an average of 810,000.00 per annum. The amount of 800,000.00, for all this interest, seemed conse(|uently to him to be rather under the real amount than in excess of it. lie was unable to give the exact amount for they had not yet received from Ontario the complete account of the receipts of the Common School Fund for every six months, to enable them to calculate for every six months the interest on tho balance to their credit. 24 "With regard to the Crown Lauds, the amount is estimated at $50,000.00 in excess of last year. He hardly reckoned on an increase of the revenue from the forests. The lumber trade in England and the United Slates seemed to be improving considerably. The stocks Vv'hich had been accu- mulating in the principal ports of England, and which had caused lumber merchants to curtail their pro- duction are running out. But he feared that the new fiscal policy of the Dominion, by preventing foreign countries from selling us their products as formerly, would prevent them thereby buying our wood. But he reckoned on an increase in the collections of arrears on the lands. Under this head more than half a million was due the Province. They should collect as least $50,000.00 more than last year from this source. It would not do to accustom debtors to the Crown to the idea that they would never have to pay. lie could understand that duriim- the ilrst five or six vears of their settling, settlers could not pay their dues, and he believed that it would be beneficial to adopt, as a rule, the giving them live years time before asking them to pay any- thing. But settlers who have been 10, 15 and 20 years on their land, must be in a position to pay for them, when especially one takes into consideration the low, nay, even ridiculous (igarcs at which tliey are sold to them. With regard to the stamps and licenses the amount barely exceeds last year's collections, and he hoped that these collections would be larger this year ; on the licenses, on account of the chances about to be introduced in the License Law ; on the stamps by reason of the active sur- A'eillance to be exercised by the inspectors of stamp ofRc;:s. He had put down $200,000 00 as to be collected from the Municipal Loan Fund. They proposed to settle this fund during the course of the year, and as it comprised more than two millions of cajntal alone, it was probable that they would collect more than the estimated amount. "With regard to the Government railways, he might have put 25 down the receipts at more than .^200,000. 00, for they could ii-et !ii22o, 000.00 for rental, when the Hull bridj^e would be completed, i. e. in DecembiM-. ]jut as Ihere miuht be some delay in the productive workinu' ol' the road, he would only v:dne Ihe receipts at >«200,00().00, /. r. ^vithout rcckcning the ir-dll ])vidLve. The only other item calliuLr I'orth any remarks was the one representing- the (Quebec Fire Loan. The House knows that the (]uestion of this loan 'v\ as Jinally settled by granting* certain ])urnt()ut j^eople a complete cancellation of their indebtedness, to others a reduction of 80 per cent, and others a reducti(jn oi -10 per cent. No remission is uranted to purchasers of ])roperties hypothecated for debentures of the loan, except when tliey considered it impossible to collect the amount due. The amount of the loan ])eing' settled, they proposed to cause the balance due on the loan to be collected during the course of the year. They might therefore depend on a collection of at least $10,000.00. NEXT year's EXrEXDITURE. H>' would now pass on to the expenditure for next year. The iirst and the largest item \Mfis the one relating to the public debt, $683,181.73. This is an enormous amount, but it does not lie within the power of the Government to reduce it. It will be observed that it is $45,000.00 less than last year. This was in the first place due to the fact that they paid during the course of last year a part of the sink- ing fund which ou^i'lit to have been paid the previous year ; then the interest had been reduced to 5 per cent from the 7 per cent which were being paid on the temporary loans contracted by the honorable member for Pontiac. lie estimated the expenses of the Legislative Council at $34,000.00. This was $1,000.00 more than last year and he hoped that the appropriation will not all be spent. 26 He estimated the expenses of the Logislittivo Assembly at $95,000.00. This was $1,200.00 more than last year, bL^canse the present ses&ion was C'oin^^" to l;e longer and more expensive than the precedint^" one. The salaries and eontinit'ent ex})ensos of the departments were estimated at ;,s 15 1,005.00. There was much less than last year for contingencies and much more for salaries, lie explained this diilorence as follows : the contingent expenses were reduced ])y nearly >)10,500.00 and the salaries increased ])y a similar amount, because several supernumeraries paid out of th(» contingent expenses and who were defacto per- manently employed, will be made really permanent oflicials. The Administration ofJusiice is set down at §375,932.00 ; tills is ii? 24,000.00 le,-;s then what was spent last year. This reduction is Juslilied by the fact that they had paid for District Magistrates mucli more than they would have to pay this year, inasmuch as (hey had had to pay a part of their annual salary to those who had been suppressed. One would notice an amount of ^5,500.00 for tlie in.spec- tion of publii'. oUices. This included the salaries of the two inspectors, !;'v3,400.00, and their travelling expenses. lie had allowed a considerable amount for there expenses, b 'Cause the Government had resolved to cause the inspec- tion of public oITicials to be made in a careful manner, and this inspection had this year produced the most satisfactory results. The House would notice that only iil5,000.00 arc set down for the inspection of schools and not for the salaries of the school inspectors. The Government will in a few days submit a bill that will explain this amount. Instead of i)aying it away in salaries, it Avill l^e employed in pre- miums to be given to ilie schools kept the be;st in each countv. ^ r There is an ilom for .^1,800.00 for the Council of rul)lic Instraciion. This is to pay for the travelling expenses of the members of that Council, ■\vhich expenses had so far been taken from th(^ contingent amount of the Education Department, It will be noticed that tliere is a considerable reduction in the foreseen expenses for lunatic asylums- They hop3 to realize this saving- by the operation of the law which they had sulnnitted to the House. The reduction will bear on the total number of the innmtes, and especially on the number of those left at the expense of the Province. It is only fair that those who can pay for their sojourn in an asylum should not allow tlie Province to pay for their maintenance. The Government asks the House for a larger amount than last year for surveying purposes. The sum of $10,- 000.00 asked for last year covered all the demands for surveying made last year by the Crown Lands Department before the session. But the session had hardly closed when an unforeseen aiul con3idcrable colonization movement took place at Quebec and Montreal. To meet the demands of the settlers, the Government w^as obliged to spend $10,- 000.00 more than the amount voted. As the same move- ment is repeating itself this year, the Government has thought fit to ask for an amount e<[\Vd\ that spent during the past fiscal year. For the cadastres, they would ask $52,000.00, With that amount they hoped to make out the cadastrage of nearly all that part of the Province that was formerly divided into seigniories. The last item which calls forth for some remarks is that of !'|;28,000.00 to refund the taxes paid by insurance compa- nies and brewers. The former of these taxes was declared illegal by a judgment of the Privy Council rendered against the Province itself. This judgment has only caused to be realized what had been foreshadowed by the Opposition .,••••' 28 • . i ^vhell this lax was proposed by Iho preceding' administra- tion. Tlie amount collected during the existence of the tax was ii^80,000.00. But he had reason to believe from inlbr- mation worthy of credence that they would not even have to refund the sum of $25,000.00 which was claimed, Several Insurance Companies had o.slvcdthe Government to refund them in a lump amount the taxes they had paid on their transactions. Eut as the majority had made those insuring with them i:)ay the tax, they had no right to claim any reimbursement. At any rate, it would only bo done on production of the cancelled .stamps and this would consi- derably reduce the amount to be reimbursed. One of the best insurance managers of Montrvnil had written to the speaker a few months ago that he had had great trouble \\\ collecting $2,000.00 w )rth of these stamps. The foreseen Qperations for the current llscal year are summed up as follows : Receipts $2,9G5,874.G2 Payments 2,595,661.24 Surplus $ 370,213.38 Now, how were they to meet the extraordinary expenses of the nextliscal year? He washed to speak of the expenses for railways, and of the reimbursement of temporary loans, The following were these expenses : Iieimburscmcnt of the loan for $500,000.00 . 270,000.00 Payment of subsidies ..... 300,000.00 Payment of works on Government • ^ railroads 750,000.00 $1,820,000.00 The followinc: were the resources which they could dispose of : "n "^rp^-v.'^wm t * < 29 Amount deposited in bank for rail- ^vays >"i50T,000.00 Balance of municipal sul).scnx)tions.. 097,000,00 Bonds of the City of Quebec 257,000.00 Three Rivers... 50,000.00 $1,901,000.00 There was consequently sufliciont if these resources could be realized. The only one which might be doubtful con- sisted in the municipal subscriptioiis. But now that the railway was about to be comi^leted, it would bo doing an injustice to these municipalities to suppose that they would not pay their subscriptions. And they had all the less reason to do them such an injustice, as those with whom the Government had to deal with during- the past year had shown themselves well disposed, when they saw that the Government wished to deal frankly and honestly with them. The speaker concluded thus :— "^dr. Speaker, I regret having detained the House so long, but I was desirous of showing that we are not afraid of showing what we have done and what we intend to do. I now propose that you do leave the chair, and that th(3 House do resolve itself into a Committee of Supply. At G.15 the honorable gentleman resumed his seat amid loud applause, after a brilliant speech of three hours duration. The House then took recess. r>