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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 e /6 ""D 55 F 4 IP^A^OTS ■'V .11 FOR THE Co ' >" '■**■■ ELECTORS THE PROVINCIAL FINANCES AS s. -A-IDIMIiasriSTEIlEID BY THE jor-ir AND GHAPLEAO GOVERMNTS. (fct) :, ;»!■)'■• /'v :■■• r PROVINCIAL FINANCES. "■■ RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES— THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERN- * MENT— ECONOMIES EFFECTED— THE RAILWAY EXPENDITURE— ,. COMPARISON WITH ONTARIO— THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE. There is no branch of the administrative work of the Government so little understood as that of the Provincial finances. Popular opinion has come to regard the finances as in a hopelssly involved condition. Calumny has been unstintingly employed by the op- ponents of the Conservative Ministry to depose them in the affections and confidence of the people, and wanton misrepresentation of the true condition of affairs has been so freely indulged in, that the most wild and exaggerated notions of the financial condition of the Province are found to per- vade the minds of a large portion of the people. Now, in examining the finan- cial administration since Confederation, two or three very important considerations have to be regarded, in order to arrive at a just conclusion as to the care and skill exercised | tion of railways, colonization, the opening by the several Ministries placed in office. In | up of new settlements, &c., must be taken the fourteen years which have elapsed since fully into consideration. — •■ THH ORDINARY EXPENDITURE. The following is a statement of the ordinary or controllable expenditure of the Government at different periods since 1873 : — Confederation, the Province of Quebec has made very material progress in all that re- lates to the commercial prosperity and moral welfare of the people. A network of railways has been spread over the whole Province, an immense tract of country, previously practic- ally unknown, has been opened to settle- ment, its resources developed, and a large trade with it promoted. Large expenditures have been madeiu the construction of coloni- zation roads, in the extension of the school system, the administration of justice, and the promotion of immigration. When, there- fore, the expenditures of the Government to-d%y are csntrasted with the expenditure at the time of Confederation, the vast ad- vantages which have been given to the peo- ple of this Province, through the construc- LeKlslation Civil Government Justice Police •• Reformatories Education Agricultural Sooletles ColonlEation Public Works and Buildings Charities Registration Crown Lands Public and Jury Fund and Licenses . Immigration Miscellaneous Total $1,731,750 78 1873 $103,591 10 135,106 74 311,884 07 47,546 12 86,860 33 308,447 in 53,248 00 129,291 3i 92,604 05 103.299 85 18,202 00 124.300 16 20,660 65 40,681 25 66,141 97 1877 $167,969 21 165,273 91 404,728 01 06,030 1 9 40,659 92 850,730 V 61,044 15 90,956 14 205,563 77 240,748 16 169,078 82 27,234 13 -2<),064 40 05,390 48 $2,106,071 20 1879 $153,135 88 167,710 06 309,790 00 14,460 26 52,697 69 361,7 2 56 04,087 03 :W,439 10 190,068 79 271,220 46 152,753 01 20,516 45 14,800 00 88,583 23 $1,988,883 42 1880 $185,719 83 159,958 91 864,350 04 14,566 09 50,352 97 846,110 00 66,ft32 18 33,927 54 200,696 18 272,086 61 144,718 66 31,208 29 10,1,32 70 08,016 29 $1,081,260 aa 4 The above statement shows that while there has beeu ati apparent iuurease of $250.- 000 in the ordinary expenditure in 1880 as compared with 1873, there has been effected since 1877, a decrease of $125,700 in the annual expenditure. But it will be noticed that the expenditure on account of legisla- tion in 1880 reached the unprecedented !y large sum of $185,719.83, against an expen- diture of $1 53,1 35.88 in 1879. This increase was due to the fact that in the year 1880 two sessions of Parliament were held, one in Oc- tober when the Joly Administration was de- feated and another in the early summer of the year, and in order, therefore, to arrive at a correct estimate of the expenditure in 1881, the sum of $30,000 representing the expense of the extra session has to be deducted from the expenditure on account of legislation. With that deduction made, it will be found that the expenditure in the first year of the Chapleau Government administration was only^l,051,S50.3S, against $1 »88,- S^3.4SB in the year in which the Joly Gov- ernment was in power. It is to be remem- bered, moreover, that the Chapleau Ministry having assumed office after four months of the fiscal year 1880 had expired were unable to effect in that year the economies which have since been made. But the sav- ing of $37,624.20 which was made by the government affords the strongest testimony to the care with which the finances of the Province have been administered by them. BOW THK ECONOMY WAS EFFECTED. A comparison of the expenditure by the Chapleau and Joly Governments shows the following economies to have been made by the Conservative Ministry : — Adminittration qf Juatice. Bxpenditure, 1879 $390,790 00 1880 884,35000 Eoovoaay $95,440.00 Reformatories, Expenditure, 1879 $ 62,507 69 '• 1R80 50,35297 ■ciO(B*Bi7 •8,a44.7a Fducatum. Expenditure, 187!) .$361 ,722 56 '• 1880 345.110 00 Beonomy 916,613.56 Crown Lands Adminittration. Expenditure. 1S79 $152,753 91 1880 144,718 66 Eeonomy • 8,035.85 Let it be remembered that these econo- mies were all made after the Joly Govern- ment had been fifteen months in ofiice, and after that Government had effected every saving which was possible to them; yet the Chapleau Administration succeeded in still further reducing the annual expenditure #37,624.80. THE PUBLIC DEBT. If the ordinary expenditures have increased only $250,000 per annum since 1873, in which year there was a surplus of $278,940.- 20, it will be asked how the deficits of the past three years have arisen. They have been caused wholly by the large charge for interest upon the public debt imposed by the construction of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa & Occidental Bailway, and the liberal subsidies to other railways in the Province. This interest charged has been as follows : — 1875 $154,666.66 1876 254,461.11 18T7 407,176.01 1878 482,661.92 1879 727,097.02 1880 576,754.77 Now the whole difficuly in which the financial position of the Province has become involved has been created by this large annual charge upon the revenue for the payment of interest upon the Public Debt, and the question arises has that charge been incurred wisely and for a useful pur. pose? We venture to think that there are not a dozen men in the Province who would give a negative answer to the question. The capital outlay which has created this drain upon the Revenue, has given the Province a magnificent line of railway upon the north shore of the St. Lawrence, connecting the cities of Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa; it vt I n* 4tl C! has afforded railway communication with the chief citieH uf the Province to an important district, and a large population previously isolated, and retarded in their growth ; it vSs developed the splendid mineral and Hgricultuial resources of the coun- try lying to the nortli of the St. Lawrence and of the Ottawa district, as they never could have been otherwise de- veloped, and it has directly beuefitted every man in the Province by cheapcuiug and ex- pediting the means of communication be- tween the principal cities and towns ot Que- bec. With the aid of the Government sub- sidies to other railways, theue arteries of com- merce have been enabled to be completed, and the advantaged they have conferred upon the Province have been of the most positive and substantial character. So that it may reasonably be maintained that if the Government could not receive directly back into its cofi'eis one single dollar of tlie expenditure made upon the railways of the province, there has still been obtained for the people such vast benefits as to fully justify the outlay upon this source. But the money which has been thus expended is by no means lost. The Government railway has cost the province about $13,000,000. The road is now in excellent condition, and the outlay for construction may be considered at an end. The receipts of the railway since the opening of the current fiscal year show that it has at the present time a gross earning capacity ot about $1,000,000, and taking the working expenses at 65 per cent^ the net profits, on the basis of the present business, will reach $350,000. And the traffic ot the railway is yet in its infancy. With the con- struction of the Pontiae Branch, the opening of the Pacific Railway, and the development of the traffic along the line of the Govern- ment railway and its feeders, the receipts cannot fuil to be very largely augmented, and the net revenue — that is to say, the income— of the province from the road correspondingly increased. When, there- fore, the Hon. Mr. Chapleau declares that his Government, will not entertain an offer for the purchase of the railway of a less amount than $8,000,000, he bases his figures merelv upon the value of the road upon the basis of its present business, and not upon the greater value which the increase of traffic in the next few years must give to it. TherQ is an excellent prospect that the Government will receive such an offer, and by that means be enabled to reduce the public debt more than one-half, and the annual charge for in- terest and sinking fund by more than $400,- 000. The public debt is now $14,750,000, of which some $13,000,000 is represented by the outlay on the Provincial railway. So that, as has been stated, the whole debt of the Province represents an expenditure upon public works of great utility, and which have promoted in an important degree the prosperity of the Province and the welfare of its people. THE BEVBMTE. The ordinary revenue of the Government at different periods since Confederation has been as follows : — 1869. 1873. 1877. 1879. 1880. Dominion Subsidy Crown Lauds l.aw Stamps.. 1 nlfLtid Kovenue.. $ 979,801 71 390,614 22 li;4,532 80 88,920 15 26,674 29 14,600 88 $ 8CO,000 00 578,002 60 106.54' 1 25 122,487 88 1:^,770 46 9,533 15 110,000 00 69,072 27 40,000 00 13,465 56 41,400 00 14.950 4:^ $1,014,712 12 617,463 80 197,981 32 228,138 82 17 410 41 6,704 47 $1,014,712 12 422,739 26 lf0,865 17 213,862 76 60,989 62 $1,014,712 12 4^6,262 02 173,547 41 188,441 75 Building and Jury Fund Rilnntit.lon 21,841 68 .-,t. VI nppnf, dfi Pjiul Provincial PollfiG 46,950 57 147 59 I UBurance Q,uebec Court House iv(iintpimi,l Lttnn Fund 1,1(57 30 243,166 20 . 84,606 77 tnt.nrpHi. on dpnoKitfi 11,882 66 , 47,118 85 35,977 47 14,426 36 Otflcial Gazette. 39,822 04 MiHo(>llii,ueouH $1,617,026 21 59,126 87 $1,920,231 55 79,711 02 $2,307,301 78 126,809 87 $1,966,266 14 72,542 06 $1,889,200 87 67,575 89 $1,676,162 08 $1,999,942 ^7 $2,433,111 65 $2,088,797 19 $1,966,776 76 6 The following is a statement of the total expenditure, less interest on public debt, and the total revenue, less balance carried for- ward from the preceding year :— Expenditure. Revenue. 1868 $1,381,91149 $1,676,152 08 1870 1,584,14506 1.663,236 36 1871 1,641,479 04 1651,287 09 1872...:..- 1,726,685 28 1,746.469 54 1878 1,721,002 37 1,999942 57 1874 1,987,772 04 2,041,174 71 1875 2i,019,634 40 2,335,15112 1876 2,100,588 89 2,340,15163 J877 2,106,97129 2.433,11165 1878 2,229,16561 2,026,324 19 1879 1,988,88342 2,038,797 19 1880 1,981,25922 1,956,776 76 It will be seen by this statement that in two years only since Confederation has the ordinary expenditure exceeded the revenue) and in one of these the exotss was caused by the fact of two sessions of Parliament being held during the year. The care with which the finances have been managed by the pre- sent Government is attested by the fact that their expenditure in 1880 was only $13,500 more than in 1874, and was $278,OOC less than the ordinary expenditure in 1878. TBI QUKSTION OF DIRECT TAXATION. An effort is being made by the opponents of the Government to make it appear that un- less a change of Ministry is efifected, and a policy of retrenchment adopted, direct taxa- tion of the people will be the only recourse of the Government in order to maintain the credit of the Province. Let us see how the case stands. The ordinary expenditure, tak- ing 1880 as a fair basis, is $1,950,000, to which has to be added $776,000 for interest on the public debt and sinking fund, making a total expenditure for the current year of some $2,726,000. That is a definite fixed obligation whi ch the Govern, ment has to naeet. Now the revenue in 1880 amounted to $1,956,000. In that year not a dollar was obtained from the Q., M., 0. & O. Railway ; this year the road yields a net revenue of $300,000 which will be added to the gross receipts of the Government. Then in 1880 the revenue from Crown Lands was $436,000 ; this year it will reach, we are told by the Premier, $700,000, a gain of $261,- 000, which goes to swell the gross revenue. The revenue from mines will be $100,000, and the revenue from licenses has increased some $50,000. The position of the finances this year will therefore be thus : — EXPENDITURE, $2,726,000. Revenue 1880 $1 ,956,000 Increase Crown Lands 264,000 Q,., M., O. &0. Railway 300,000 Mines 100,000 Increase Licenses, 50,000 Total Revenue $2,670,000 In this calculation no estimate of the pro- bable receipts from the Municipal Loan Fund is made, although the Treasurer anti- cipates this year a revenue of $200,000 from that source, the outstanding indebtedness of the municipalities amounting to $4,138,867 on June 30th, 1880, and should the Govern- ment succeed in disposing of the railway for $8,000,000, there will be an increased revenue of $100,000 on that account. So that, leav- ing out of the calculation, all uncertain re- ceipts, it is found that the revenue will equalize the expenditure, while there is a good prospect that a surplus will be obtain- ed in the year now current. THE QUESTION OF DEFICITS. •''^" Some very substantial progress has been made by the present Government towards wiping out the deficits of the past few years. In 1878 the account stood thus i — Total expenditure $2,711,827 48 Less chargeable to capital. Normal School r. 1145,16132 Departmental Buildings. . 127,000 OO 172,151 32 Total $2,539,676 11 Revenue 2,026 , 324 19 Deflelt 1878 9S13,3S1 9S In 1879 the position of the revenue and expenditure was as follows : Total expenditure $2,715,980.44 Less chargeable to capital :— Normal school $ 22,588.14 Dep'tm'tal buildings . ■ 114,000.00 136,688.14 Total .$2,679,442.80 Revenue 2,049,414.11 ncfleii iS7» dssotoas J» J t *.,■* In 1880 the account stood as follows : — Total ex t. enditure $2,558,013.99 Less chargeable to capital :— Repayment stamp col- lections $43,230.89 No r mal .school 20.530.87 Departmental build- ings 132,142.65 195,904.41 Total $2,362,109.58 Revenue 1,066,518.47 Deficit 1S80 9395,561 11 It should be stated that no payment was made on account of the Sinking Fund in 1880, and if $110,000 is added on this account the deficit of the year will be $505,561 11, against $530,028.19 in the year 1879. It may be stated that while the revenue for 1880 was somewhat lesr than anticipated the expenditure was actually loss by $30,000 than that estimated by the Joly Government and for which they obtained the sanction of the Legislature. THE FRENCH LOAN. One of the most beneficial acts of the Chapleau Administration was the negotia- tion of a loan of $4,000,000 in the French market. By establishing the credit of the Province of Quebec in the Paris market, the Government freed itself from the necessity of accepting such a price for the bonds ot the province as London financiers might be disposed to pay, created a new competition for our bonds, and opened up a new interest abroad in the affairs of the pro- vince. The loan was placed at most satisfactory terms . The amount placed at the credit of the Quebec Government in Paris was 19,773,656 francs, being the pro- duct of £800,000 stg less 2 per cent dis- count, or £784,000 stg at 25.215 francs per £1 stg, the legal par standard of value — This credit realized on this side the net amount of $3,773,669.71, and to make a comparison between this loan and a hypo- thetical one floated in England at same rate, 98 net, we must ascertain what the latter would give in Canadiau currency. Acooid- ing to ruling rates of Exchange last summer, the Government could not have sold its Lon- don exchange at more than $4.81 per £1 sterling, and £784,000 sterling at $4.81 would give but $3,771,040, which deducted from $3,773,669, the result of the Paris loan, shows a difference in favor of the latter of $2,600. The French loan, besides being a profitable transaction, had, as we have said, incidental advantages of great im portance, in its being the means of direct- ing the attention of French capitalists to Canada, and in also showing the bankers of Lombard street that we are not dependent on them alone for the capital necessary to prosecute our great public works — a fact which will be serviceable to us in future financial transactions. The question has been asked by some Liberal speak- ers, what has become of the proceeds of the ^loan ? Even Mr. Joly, who poses as a fair-minded man, by asking the question in his recent speech in Montreal, endeavorec^ to create the iippression that the proceeds ot the loan had been in some man- ner improperly used by the Government, and that no information on the subject could be obtained. The fact is that Hon. Mr. Bobertson, in his budget speech last session gave in detail the disposition of the money. This is what the Treasurer stated in the Legislature : " We have dis- posed of the loan as follows : To pay New York loan made by the late Government $500,000 00 To repay consolidated revenue fund for monies heretofore pail towards railways 332,631 63 To pay loan to Bank of Montreal made by late Government 270,000 00 To payment of debts contracted for railway purposes before the loan was effected 786,683 11 raid to contractor of Q, O M dc U railway 1,229.389 22 Paid subsidies to other railways, ,. 216,466 40 Total of $3,385,170 36 Leaving a balance in the hands of the Government of $437,546 87 THE PROVINCIAL RAILWAYS. Since Confederation a magnificent system of railways has been established with the aid of the Government in the Province, and there is not a man in the country to-day, if he had his choice, who would say that he f would not prefer paying extra taxation to pay interest to sinking fund on the railway debt, than to have no railways and no taxa> tion. The following are some of the rail- ways referred to : Ml'es Paid by Mllestobe built. Gov't, completed Levis & Kennebec . . 48^ |^17,5J0 4«i St. Francis & Inter- national 66 368,7H0 14 Quebec Central 100 473,750 completed 8outh Eastern (divi- sion uorth . 140 497,007 do. Montreal, Portland & Boston. 47J 179,582 8i \Vaterloo& Magog.. 22? 86,450 20i Missisqnol & Block River Valley 101-10 43,842 45 19-100 8t. Lawrence & Cbampiain Junc- tion 62 57-100 250,280 37 48-100 Quebec <& Lake St John'fi 20 137,651 130 Laurentlen 15 60,000 completed Frontier Railway for aurvevs 6,027 St. Jerome branches for surveys 8,150 BaiedeChxleurs 12,840 Making so far paid out in subsidies. . . $2,386,^11 This shows about 527J miles completed of railways subsidized by the Government and in operation daily in the several counties traversed by them, and about by estimation 300 miles to be built of roads partly com- pleted and which have a claim fot Govern- ment aid under the acts of the Legislature. These roads built and partly built must have cost about $18,000 to $20,000, per mile for construction, rolling stock, etc , and in fact the Government actually furnished a very small proportion of the costs of these roads. Then we have the Government railway and branches which have cost the province about $13,000,000 also completed, the main li;ie between Quebec fend Montreal being 17<), and from tSt. Martin Junction to Alymer 113 miles, and for the Piles and iSt. Jerome branches, forming a total of 330 miles. In all since ten years there have been built 857 miles of railway, more or less, equipped with stations, siding, rolling stock, mtichino shops, etc. COMPARISON WITH ONTARIO. A good many people are fond of contrast- ing the position of the province of Ontario, under a Liberal administration, with that of the province of Quebec, under a Conserva- tive administration. The comparison, al- though an unfair one, need not be shirked by the supporters of the Quebec Government. Take, for instance, the department of civil government, or that of legislation. In On tario there is one common language, while in this province we have two languages spoken by the people, and, as a consequence, all the printing of the Legislature has to be done in both languages, entAiling double the expense ot the work in Ontario. So with the department of civil government, the cost of administration is greatly enhanced by the use of two languages. Yet it is found that the cost of Civil Government in Ontario in 1880 reached $173,732.67, against $159,958. - 91 in Quebec, an excess of $13,773 76 in the former Province. Then again in the cost of the Administratit-n of Justice. In Ontario the municipalities defray a considerable part of the expenditure, while in Quebec the whole expense devolves upon the local Government, the Ontario Government hav- ing expended in 1880 $100,000 less for the administration of justice, than did the Gov- ernment of Quebec, although the latter has a smaller territory and smaller population to deal with. In respect to the aid granted to railway enterprises, also, the comparison is largely in favor of Quebec, this Province having granted subsidies to the amount of $2,350,000 to railways, exclusive of the Q., M., O. & O. road, while Ontario has given from the Provincial Treasury a sum only slightly in c.tccss of $2,000,000. Take another instance. Between 1871 and 1878, a period of eight years, the ordinary expendi- ture of the Province of Ontario increased from $1,173,598 to $2,109,916 or 80 per cent, while from 1873 to 1880, a like period of eight years, the ordinary expenditure of the Province of Quebec, increased only from $1,731,750 78 to $1,961,259 22 or 14 per cent. These instances will serve to show that the ti nances of this Province have been admin- istered quite as economically as those of Ontario, whose financial position is held up by some as a model for us.