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SPEECHES
OF
HON. MESSRS. WHITE, THOMPSON and FIWTER,
t
1 fWZ
!
Th(.' follnwinfr is a Vfrbatiin rejKirt of the
sppeclu'S at the great li' rral-''i'iisiTvative
demoii-^tration, at the drill shed, Halifax, on
Thursday nipht:
ThomaM E. Kenny, president of th
liberal-conservative association,
siinied t'
chair iimmptlv at ".liO, called the meeting tij
order, ;in(l s;ud: The members of the lilieral-
eonservative ass'jciation of this city and
county, under wlii.se ausjiices this niagniti-
cent nierting has been convened, have done
me the honor of asking nie to jn'eside to-
night. It is always a pleasure to ine, to
comply as far as in my i«i\ver lies with the
wishes of the members of this association,
because I believe they an' animated by an
earnest <lesire to promote the cause of good
governmi'Ut and to advance the pvospi.Tity o'
this city, this province and our ji.Uid
Dominion generally. I have to congratulate
the meniliers of the association U[Kjn the
presence of the ladies at our meeting. The
ladies are ever foremost in every good work
and their ^lresence here to-night adds a
charm and imparts a grace and dignity to
our proceedings. (api>lause). I know
that all the gentlemen whom 1 see
before ine have not the happiness
of being members of our association. I
detect the faces of some friends who tielong
to the other {xhtical camp. I trust we are
none the h-ss friendly hecaus e we agree to
differ politi'-ally. But there is one point on
which I know a Halifax audience will always
be found unanimous, and that is in extend-
ing a hearty welcome to the ladies. (Ap-
plause. ) This morni-ig I met a frietui of
mine wlio stopjied a moment, to ask lue if it
was true that I was to preside here this even-
ing, and when I replied in the afiirniative he
remarked, with that candour which our in-
timacy warrante<l, that he thought my time
was so fuL^ occupied with my business en-
gagenients^hat I iiad better mind my own
Dusineaa and leave such gatherings as the
present to the politicians. My friend is not
<m the platfonUj but he may be within the
sound of my voice, and I would Bay to him
in ans— erto his reniark of this morning, that
to my mind the great jmblic (pifstions of
I the dayim which we are to be addressed this
j L-veniiig, concern in an especial maunrr ohe
' biwini'ss men of the country;— and i.iiat in
fact thi- more Lirgely a man is ingaj.'rd in
,(.omni<rce, the more dei'ply h" i-^ interested
ir. these vital ((uestions. (Applausi'.) I
c-nsidir, therefore, that I am minding my
own business when I come to a inei"ing like
thi.s, v.herel shall have an opiHirtunity of
hearing .some of the ablest men of "the
Dominion propound their views ujion the
most important cpiestions connecti'd with
trade, coini'i>Tci.' and finance and the general
l>olicy of tlie governnu'iit of the t >untry.
No man listening to ine shares nH)r>' fullv
than 1 do that feeling of reiuctanco v.-h;ch
I Ic'li've comes over most liu.->ine.-- men
, when they a-.; asked to tike part in a iiublic
I meeting. 1 assure you that nothing rmt a
sense of duty ever induces me to do so. But
1 Consider it to 'oethe bonnden duty of every
man who has anything at stake in the coun-
try to endeavor to inform hinise on the
great [Hilitical questions of the da\ 'id to be
ever ready, in a projjer, tem|)erate manner,
to su{)[iort that policy and that party which
he lieheves will best promote the welfare of
our common country. No greater 'iiistakc
can b<' made by individuals (U' by com-
munities than to imagine tiiat they are not
concerned in the imjitics of the day. On
questions of general policy we must exjiect
to find differences of opinion. The proverb
says: "Many men, iiiany minds." These
differences are the logical consequences of
the free institutions under which wo live,
and every gtKid c'tizen is i)repared to accord
to his fel'ow citizens the greatest latitude
in such matters — the same measure of liljerty
of thought and action which he claims for
hiniself. Whilst I recognize fully the
existence of these differenc<'H of opinion and
the.se duties of citizenship, 1 must candidly
say that I have no patience with the men
who are ever traducing their own coun-
try, decrying and belittling the land we live in
and extollin(?forsifni countries, (loud applause)
'*
3
!
I caw not how ir :ch we may (iiffer with
eac-li otluT (111 ijufstidiiK irf party |Militi;,'H, but
I coiiti'iid that Wf MhimUl all unit.- in in-
culcatinjf auiungst our fellow ciiuutryuica a
)<jvc and », piidf of country, without which
wc can iii'vrr bfcoiiic a truly ^jrtat in'oplc, or
fulfil the jiroud ilcs'lny winch nature han
evidi'iitly inttiidcd for um. Tlic first
coiKiitioM of individual success is coiitidence
in onexelf .♦ All that we refjuire to ensure
our national mtccess is contidenee in iurs( Ives.
■yVe have a coui'try of which w.' may he
justly proud, l)lesse<i by providi' i, e with
gi-e;u natural advantajres. Let us take
care that we are worthy of it. .On re-
turniiiff to Halifax on ' Sunday last I
was dilijjhteil t') hiar that our j^ikkI city was
to be lavi,r( (1 by the visit of our quests of thi.s
evening, and I think wv are ah umler obliga-
tions to the members of this assoi-i; Jons for
giving- us Ml oiiiKjrtui.ity of listt iiinjr to
gentlemen of such iiromiiieuce and reco^'iiized
af)ilitie-i as ilo;.. Mes.srs. White, l-'oster and
Thompson. J tiave never had the pleasure of
listeumg t'i .Messrs. W hi t-e or Foster as public
speakers; but their iianii and fame have
preceeded theiii, tiiid ) feel assiireil that at
the close of the meetiiit,', whether agreeing'
with or dirteiiiig from the views announced
by tliese gentlemen, all u i^ admit that w.
nave had a great intellectual feast. 1 miw
have the' pleasure (.)f cjlling ii|>oii our fellow
citizen an(l i-e]ir(/si-ntative m the cabinet, the
Hon. ^Ir. Thumpsun, minister of justice.
'*
Hon. . Mr. Thompson,
who was receii-eil w-itli great cheering, said :
Mr. Chairm.'ui, I>;idies and ( ientlemeii, —
I aiu periVccly con.-cious that in this great,
audii nee, i lue-teulhs of those whom I snj
before me must make the same stutem, nt
that ;. ou, Mr. Chaiiiuan have made, that,
.you have' never >et had the pleasure of hear-
ing tue voices of niy two colleagues who
have come to address you this evining, and
inasm .c^h as I know what has draun you all
togftiiei is chcifly U hear these gentle-
men decu-^s the princi[)al ijUestious -on-
nected with the [lolitics of Canada, which
ilitert St the |M-opie of tiiewide Doiiiiiiioii,
from one end of it t(» the oth'-r — rather than
to hear my more familiar voice, 1 am about
to nuike a statement which 1 am sure will
elicit ■,']i' appi'ov'il of the whole audience,
and thit siatenienl is that the remarks which
I shall ihake at the opening of the iinx'eed-
ings ti'is ev.uing shall be exceedingly brief,
in ord. 1 that tin- gi-eater part of the evening
may li given to my two colleagues, Mr,
White :oul Mr. Fostex, whom ] know you so
niuoh d. .-lie to hear.
Mr. <,'h:! riuan, I am sorry tr say that an
attemor has lieeu made to create a I'liisunder-
.standi.ig as to the reasons why we are here.
An ato iiij.t lias been made to create an im-
pression in Haiifa.x that we had come down
here ujM.n a mission of di.scord and en-
mity. The imjiression has b<'en sought
to l)o ci'' ated that we art here to-night
to abuse ,,n opponents and to increase and
embitter the hostilities of public life, which
are geu'i'iily bitter enough without fuel
h^iu^ «,<.iueu io wiie iiames, and au impres-
sion has gone ahroad that we are We to
Htiniu'ate to increiwed dccivity the
spirit of party zeaj, I have no
hesitation in saying, sir, that these
are erroneous impressiouH, .anrt I state that
the reason we are liere is thu -ince the clotte
of the \itAt session of parliament, at various
mwtings throughout this country, through-
out Ontario, t^uebec and tile maritime pro-
vinces, statements have been made and argu-
ment;: have been put before the peofiie by
vvl'.icli not only the jwlicy of the Dominion
• niveriiment has been u.s.-ailed in all its great
liarticidars, but the a<lmiiiisti'ation of the
particular parts of the(iovernment have been
»ss;'ile(l and statements have JM-eii made '
derogatory to the chariK'ter and honor of the
public men who c(.mi!i.se the Dominiim (iov-
tj-nnient and wlio are sup|,ortin„' it in parlia-
mee.t. Sir, ue are here to-iught, and we
have been at the other meetings, which
have preceded this, for the pur-
pose of meeting these statements as fully as
they can be mit in the bmits of a meeting cf
this kinil and for tlu! purpo.se of ailmitting U.>
you and other portions of tin; electorate of
Canada that we are resiHjnsiL-le to you for
the policy on which the government is
conducting puWic affairs, and not
only that but tiiat we a.re b«)mid
to satisfy your conscience.-* and judg-
ment, as part of the elect(,rato of Canada, as
to the honesty and fairness with which public
matters are conducted. We admit >ir that
the government is upon its trial, as a govern-
ment must always ln>, and upon its liefence,
and it is for the purpose of making that
defence u|K-n the leading ipiestions of the day,
and not for the mere purpose of personal
attack upon our opponents that we apiiear
before.-. Haiifa.x audience this evening. And
sir lam sure- (litfeieiit as undoubtedly the
opinicjiis of tile per.s(,iis composiiiar this as
well as t .ftrv large gathering must
be, thac there is hce as there should bo
eveiywhere else a determination tliat
men who aie ujion their def.nco, and
who have a scUement to submit to the judg-
ment of the electors, will be given fair play
and a full and courteous hearing.
Now 1 have said sir, that I do not intend
to take any consideralile portion of the time
allotted to us this evening; and in fulfilment
of that promise I i>ro|«)8e to address to you
a few reniark.s, before I conclude, upon only
one of the several subjects which may be
ojK'n for discussion to-night. And I
take up that subject siinidy for the
reasoii that addressing an audience in a
Maritime I'rovince like tnis, I feel it
incumbent as a matter of duty upon any mai?
in my position to make a full and candid
statement up<in that queution. I allude to
the question which has recently Ijeen drawn
into party lines,— the question of enlarged
triwle relations with the United States. It
has been staUd recently, and stated I am
inclined to think for party purjioses, that the
Dominion government is opposed to increased
tra<le relations with the Umted States in the
line of what is known as reciprocity. That
statement I have no hesitation iu giving here
uiion myrtwnonRibilit.y aa oneowiniyanari::-:^-
lar duty to this community, an unequivocal
(k-tiial. Th<' fact is, that niiii.c lM\(\ wli.ti tlir
r»-ci|)r'<Mty ti. ;ity, wlii(;li «:ih Nxikid iii^m liy
our i>.'(i|.lr with li tfii-iit dial nf t;nor, was
al)r<«.it.-(l, th.Tc liiis li.Mii II, , |iaitv:uiil 111!
K"Vtrniiuiit in tlii.scotinliy that was iii.fa^or-
alilt^ to 11 ri'Ufwal uf this triaty w iih f he
l'r.it»M StatiM on fair anil huuonilih' t^iin.s.
In l^titi, \,hin thf tiiaty was abrn(,'ati d, Sir
John A. Macddnald wa.- at tlic hiiwl of the
g<>vfrni!i«->!t .'f the provincCDf Canada, and
in conjiiuc-tioii with ri'|irfsinia*i\r.s of rlif
maufilMf |irn .nc•l•.^, and as (■arnl■^tly ii-s th'-
repristiit;i'i WM of thr Jiiaritiiiif f.rnviiK "s
couki ilo, he l)cnt his cmiiriis m
tliH dii'M-tiiin '.f uhtainiiif,' a rcufw;sl of that
treaty. Hut thi- olitainin^,' of a ri'iu'wal of
that tn-aty thi^n was a matter of iniijossibi-
lity l)'vaii-.r thr fj(jv(TiinifMt of the liiitiil
(States hiul set itself to ahrotfatc that ri-aty
onci-fipraH. Jn l.H<i.s llie .(U.stii u .::uir- Ix -
fore the house of i.-iiniinons of (/anada.
■Sir Joiin A. .Maaii.nahl (a|i|.lause) and liis
friends Wen' still in pnwtT and in framini^
thf tarilf which was thin ad(.|iteil in view of
new trade relations with the I'nited States a
clause wius inserted which held out an invita-
tion to that Country to enlarge traiie rela-
tions with this country ii; tliese tc-rins, that a
larpe nuiulii'r i.f tl.e produets of both
countries niij,'ht Ix^ interchaUi,'ed free en
eitliir sidi'. l^.ut Itie I'niteil States ^'overu-
inent were unwilling to enter into such an
arrautreiiient. Xow, sir, it is made a chaix*'
airain-t Us tliat we have not tVjiced u|i(.n
our nei„'h)ii)rs the adoption of a new treatv,
and th;it we liave not been pressing forwanl
nei,'otiati'_ins in that direction. We have
expressed eontiuuously since ISCiS, as we
thendid n;, tijat provision, — tothej^iivirnnient
and people ,ii the I'nited States otir wilJiu;^-
ness to inter into jirojier trade relations
with tlieni. And when a proposition was ',
niade in ISiiS.by Mr. J)ori<in a member of tlie |
l'"reneh liiieral wing in the house
of commoiks, that we slumld do '
mere than this, — that we should
do more than seemed consistent with I
tlie adxanta^'e and honor of Canada, tliat ue j
should declare by resolution in parliament I
our de.^ire for a. reciprocity- treaty, auii that'
liarliame"t should command the <,'overuni('nt !
of the country to enter into nejrotiations witli
the I'nited States fiiraiii'W treaty, it was j
felt liy the iiublic men of Canada Dn both'
siiles t'lat th.it iiro|">rtion was not only in-!
consi7,t'Ut with the nonor of the country Imt ;
witli its m^iti'rial advantage, and that resolu- '
til. n v. as voted d(;wn in the house of com- I
luoRs, not liy any mere party vote, for if |
yon lool. it tlii' jiul>lie record to-day you will '
find thai tliose who voted a'.^ainst it were not i
solely tin' mem.:>ers of thecouservativeyovern- '
ment and party, but side by side with them ■
such men as Mr. I'.lake. .Mr. .Mills, .Mr. .%!.•«•
ken/ie and .Mr.(,!artwiight,- so that L think I i
am right in saying that the record of both jiar- [
ties is consistent ujxin that (juestion, that in ;
so far as a declaration of an opiniv)n in favo.- ]
of increased trade relations with that country '
.•T witli any other is concerned, we have ex- ;
presse<l from then till now our willingness to
enter into the.se negotiations, and that it has
been deemed desirable by fxjth jxJitical {)a»--
ties that there we should rest. (Applause).
In l'»7», \> 1:<:I1 oUi- ..pLiod'-ni's Ae.-e in p.liV^r,
a ste|i w.i, mail • that was deei::e,! de-uable.
The late Mr. (iei.rgr- Hrow.i iniluced liit
friends. Who Were in the .Miukeu/ie gov rn
iiieni.to t.ike lery active nteps in the din clioi)
ol negotiations for a re(ipro<.ity tre.My. }[e
went to W'a.^hington to entii int.) net-otia
tious tliere, and came back deelariiig that «.a
a result of Ins iiwiuiries, everything Wiut ri[K.
for the Meg..tiatioii of a new lieuli, and hi
returned to the I'nited States armed
with large (Hiwer to euier into in goliation.s
for a triit\. 1'lns lir-t attempt in advance of
the mere expre.ssion of wdlinginNS to i tit"i
into a new ti^-ary wasatten<lid v.ith luie'iit-
abli failure. It was an attempt uoi.e.tiy
niade without tlie sluwi.iw of a d.iuot, bat au-
attempt made. 1 have reii.son to believe
iiganist the better judgment .if .Mr. .Mac
k( iiiie. It not only fadeil ill accuinpUshing
anything but it brought ridicule on tliose who
Were [iressiug torw.vd tlies" le'gotiati.jiis.
The result was liiat in 1S7,S, when .Mr. .M;ic-
keiizie wa,s asked in th<- liou.~e < f cominon.s
whether he Would renew the e'.Forts to obt.iiu
a ri'iiprocity treaty, liis scaieuiciit made
th"re, .1- leader i-f the iib.'r.-l party,
was that he Wouid ii.,; not'.iig alter
what had taken jilace unti! t!i' tirst
stei) had lietn taken by the go', n niie 'it of
the I'nited Sta.tes.» Now, vir, if we have
not au.v lai„'>- coiKHiercial reliitiijn.s with the
I iot( d Sti'.tes it is not tiecause t!ie govern-
ment of tlie day is unwilling to i.nt.r into
enlarged commercial relations witli that,
country or any other country, for I have
no hesitation in saying here responsilile, as I
am for every word I utter in that rr'g;'.i(l,
that every member of Sir John .\. .Mao-
donald's government to-day, from the leader
of the goveriinieut himself down to the
.youngest iiiemlier of the g.ivermneut, is in
favor of any fair and honor. liile riiiprocity
treaty witli'the Liuted States. If we have
not obtained such a treaty the reason i.-«
that according to the old proverb
it takes two tt) make a bargain. There i-s
one individual in this country who lai. ly
conceived the original idea that it does not
tak- two to make a bargain and that indi-
vidual, in the Free Press othce at (.(ttawa, in
theabsiiliite dearth of nlialile iiews wh'cli
he could telegraiih abro;iiI. undertook to get
up a n'cipiiicity treaty himself, and this
treat.v he drew up all from his own ivonder-
ful brain by patching together the V\"asl,ing-
ton tri at\ and the reciprocity treaty, and he
started this oi.t {i.s being a draft trea'_. ■. Iiieh
V. as presse.1 by the ^ove •uneiit of tin i nited
Stat. -s for th- cousideratioii af the goiern-
iriei.t of ( 'an.ida; and the most remarkable
thing of it all was that out of .sympathy for
his secession friends in Nova Scotia he
declared that this treaty, iiianufacturort
by himself ten minutes before, had
bc.'n pressed by the imperial government out
of consideiatioii for the re|ieal and secession
movement. It was ni.t only exceedingly in-
gi'uious and kind to make the treaty, biit it
was very kind and generous to rememljer hi»
friends down here by the .sea. (Laughter.)
But I regret to say that negotiations have
not so far a<lvancecl by any means, and that
that young man ia still considerably ahead
i
•of thf- .iiji'. Sir, v(' ft'< ' it iiur (l\ity to (If
iiciiiic < VI ry.sliert^ a Kt;,t<ini it "o iiiislca<l
■-iig t<) thf puhlic iriiiid, .>h uiitruc, and ti)
Htate as I Mil ImhiiuI to t-tiiti', that tlif-
document rf'fi-iTcd to wmm iin utter furt^iTV,
and tliiil 11(1 iii'iiotiatiiins wi-rf mi fiKit wliicli
would justify any ,<iicti •^latcuK'nts 'im
that iKi^'K.s treaty conta-imd. It v. its
iwi'e saiv tlii;t we slioiild deny it,
not only Ixeausi' it was calci'lated
to iiiisii ad tlie piihlic mind in ar. iiniKirta;it
<|iiestioii, lull |iriiic-i|ially lieiraiise ttie X' ntie-
nmu who coMMct^d tile In-, ■ lia\iiii? found
it sucli easy wo. k.trieci his hand ii.-\tii|K,ii an
oiMer la e,,iiiuMl, and we liave not oul\- hud a
liojCiis treaty, a.s one foreed MJioii us liy tie'
iinpenal iroiernin nt oni of eonsifleratioii foi-
the i-e|,eui sentinieiit n, Xcva Seotiii, Imt v ••
have M.-tialiy liaii jaraded before our lead-
ers a lioL,-iis order in f.uucil in u inch it is re-
I.reseriLe^l that the Dominion (i;o\ernni'_'nt is
hos'iletothe terms of >;!i;li a tri'aty, iMid
unwilling' that s;icli a treaty sho.ihl
tie adopt, .d and oti[Kised to it on tlie j,-'oiim 1
rliat ii -..a- in L'onflict with the line-: ■* rhe
nation..! ixihry. [ ui>ed hanlly tel|\, i.
Mr. ( 'hairman, who are soiiieuiiat faniifiMr
with t!ie ii-nn^ of sncli doeuinents tin* Ih-
sii].jiosni order in counei; is a fraud ai.d a
forj^'ery from th<' Ivi-i-miiicr v. the eriij, hut
tho.^e wfio ;ire not sM well uciiuaiiiti-d with
(locniiients of tlvit kind -v ho are no' so
familiar v.ith (lie ^o^I!■^ and exjire.sions con-
tained in iueh (ioiuiiviits, mifjht sMpiKise
■from leiuliuK that lioj^us n-atv ;.nd allep'd
-irdevin tMiir.cil. not only that a treaty \vf-,s
jiroposed liy tlie •foverninent of the Tuited
States, )iut tliat the Dominion j;o\ernnient
had deliberately refused to fro on with such
a. iiro|Misition. I am heretonipht to triie the
statements ooncerniili^ the slleffJii iirojiosals
of the govennient of tlie Unite\i States in
this ivj.'^ard an unequ! vocal denial. I repeat
the stati-ment which 1 ni;ide in the befnn-
nilifl of ;riy remarks this eMiiiiif!-, that e^ery
memt.er of Sir John A. Ma'donahl's y-ov-
ernnieiit, from Sir John .v. .Macdonald liim-
Sflf down to the youn;.resi member, is i;i
favor of :on honornblereeiiirocitv in-aty with
thel^uited Mates. Hut we say t^iat after the
•avowed v. illimrness of this govwrnnent, as
e.xpressed in the customs act, to pive reci-
procity and after th<' avowed willinencss ex-
■pressed tiiroiiirh Mr. (ii-ori,i' lirowu, when .i
■draft tieaty was projNi^ivi for the adoption of
the r^i*' d States |>,.<.|)!e, and afti r the con-
•ces>i.,ii that was maiV' last y<ar, ulieii for the
pv.rpoM' of obtainins? negotiations we threw
o|«-n for six moiitlis freely the wliole fisheries
of the Country, - after all tlieir efforts have
been spurned, we sry just in the language of
Mr. Macljeni'.ie in b-^rs that the f'lst step and
the first ovi-rnire musTcoiue from tlie I'nited
States. (?.p]!:v.ise',; for, while we are still
willing to 'iiale any fair arrangement
with our neighViors i-,i that coiintr>,
we are not willing to go down
utifin our kneeaand say that we are unable to
live without it. There is, sir, a section of tliv
fieople of this country which is doing all it
can to frustrate and destroy the "ad.ijition of
•such a tre.ity. They are the jieople who are
<X)ntimialIy declaring to the I'nited States
that »-■' >li.all he starving if we (lou't get a
reciiinicity treaty. Tliey arc the i»op1e
who are continually saviiiK to the I'nitud
States: If jou hold out longer you will have
st,irv(<l us intoainiexation, hold outalitt'e
longer and till' Mer»' desire for a rjtiprocity
treaty will lireak uj) the union of the pro-
vince,.;. P'lese an- the jH'oplc who are
tiiii-'ering .iviprocity and ini|>rove<'. tTad«
relations with the Initisl Staten, andmakinif
it more dittii'ult and more »)X|>enHivf
to the best interests of Caniula when-
ever the time conies to negotiate for
enlarged trade relaiions. These are the
[xople who .ire frurtr.itmg to-day the |)OH.sibi-
lities of such ,.ade relations, and putting in
the way of suoh reciprocity treaty the only
oplKisit: m wh::lj comes fr,,m this .side of the.
i's; ((^leer. > \i.\v. sir. 1 have thus ex-
pressi'd au opinion on a ipiestion which I
know vitally concerns the jieople of the
maritJme provinces, the sentiments which I
entertain ii|kiii that question, and having
donesoat gieafei-liTigth tiian I Hrst intemletl,
I siiiUl keep tlie promise with which I starti-*!
and leave tlje r'-st of the evening to mv
friend . and colleagtie-.. who 1 Know you will
not only hear with faiiiess and courtesy, but
A ith a great deal (,f mtrrei<t and sati-sfaction.
(I'rolongi-d applaure.)
said it was now his
Hon. Mr. White to-
White,
with prolonged ap-
The cha'nnaii It n
jileasant duty to ask tin
■jddreKS the vi.eet'ng.
Hon. ifv.
o.i ri'.uig was i-'ceivrd
pliilise. ) ie sa,d .
Mr. chairman, ladif- and gentlemen: I
can assure .you that I fee! very deeply in
debted to your kindness in coming out in
such large numlier.s to night for the purpose
of h"ariiig discussed the ijoHtical (piestions
that are of interest to us all. Since the close
of the last session of parliament, both sides of
politic-:, as represented b.y their public men,
have! n holding meltings for this purjiose
in dit; ,nt partsof the I (ominioniln tliewest.
th;' leader of t'ieop|sisition, Mr. lUa,ke,(afew
cheers) doing his duty in that respect, has
been holding a number of meetings to discuss
public (piestions and other public men have
been following the sjime exanipLo. The
Uight Hon. Sir .lohn .V. Macilonald, (tre-
nii'iidous clu eringi. the veteran chieftain of
th;' coiiservati\e party and the leading
.-talesman of this great Uominion, (renewed
cheeringi, in spite of his agi', and notwith-
striding th" fact that he. had just rccoverc-i
from a serious illness, felt it his duty to visit
the jieople in different parts of Ontario and
declaif the views which he holds, and the
policy which he l.o-lieves to lie best adapted
to secure the prosjierity of the co'intry, and
the imlicy which, if [KTMiittcl. he will eon-
tir.ue to cari'V out f-T the interests of the
Pomiuion of Cauada. We have hafl the
pleasure of hi. ing with lis in the west the
Hon. Mr. Thompson, the latest addition to
the cal.iiiu t from this province, (applause)
and lh(> Hon. .Mr. Foster, the latest .addition
to the caVunet from the province of New
Brunswick. We ha-, e had the pleasure of
having them present with us at our vneetingx
in t!if wPHt, and tlipy MURjfi'^tid, ni.t unfairly
a.M I lliink, til vt Hii.ni' nf ns who r< iir<-.iMt
niii-^lihifiicii'M 'M Ontario nIiomM rctimi tlif
cotiipliiiicnt liy (ii>cii.--Mij(,' liifor-' ymi rim »•
tioHH that lire of coiniiion int. rr-t to n^ ivll.
In il linK lhi4 w.' r.<v.;,'ni/c til.' iml tlnst uc
an |Hii|i!c .;f.inc Doii.inioii, W.- r.cojfni/.
tl>c fju^t that <|M<'<ti.)ii-< which :irc of
int.r.Mt in th<' Wf<t ^y,- of ii|u;il intcr-
fst hiTf, and that (|n<stiiins whiih art- .f
intdr. -.t h.rc urf ,if i']ual inlcn^t in the
wi-ht. We r.-d.^ni?.' the f;u:t to., that puhlic
Hicn fi-oin ((ii-h |irn iniT visitinp tli.- ..th.rs
.111.1 haviii),' till' (i|.|. irtiinity of convi-r.-iny-
uifh their l.u.sinc-n nii-n will I..- all llif 'i.-tt.r
htt.'d in (t.iii-i.l.riiik,' iii.:t^ur.-. of |iuliUo
IH.hi'v to adopt such a^ will l..' for the Ken' 'it
of til.' wliolc hoiiiiuion. Mc ooIl.;iKU(', ih.-
li.in. nmiist.-r of ju--tic.', ha-i said that wc
■.tan. It.) winic ('\t.'iit ii[i.>n our dcf.ncf.
That M ahv.-iy, the |m^itioii .,f k'ov nimcnts.
I'hf o|.|)(.sitioii arc th.' aftai-hini,' party. I<'..r
a (MTi'id of tiv,' yc.irs w.- had t!i.' ca-i'y time
of .K:.-iipying the p.witi.iii of attack, jiiid wi>
•\vere al.lc to arraiLTii tic othiT political i'art\-
for th.' inann.'r in v, lii.'h tli. " ailinini^ti'ieJl
the affairs of tlc' oiintry. Jt'irin^' that tim.-
w.-.IhI it HO siicc-^sfiilly tliat, thoUKh tli.-y
ha.l l...ri out of oftic.' for tu 'nty y. ars so tiir
xs all Canaxla was oiioenied, and f.ir s.'Veii
'jr eijfht year.'* so far as th.' iK.iiiinion wjvs
CDiic.'niei!, wh.'H the tiuii' came Sir.l.ilni A.
Mai-donalil was r.'turn.-d t'. p<iwe: by th-
.)\. ruh.'lniiii;,' majority liy which lie was siis-
taineii. Ayaiii in lS7s' we w.-nt to th.'
hustintrs to ili'feii.l th.' ^'..vi'nim.nt a'.,'ainst
tlie attacks mad.' upon if. atid a;rain w.' w. r.'
sustaini'd. Then canii' the .''"ti.ins of ISJsi'
aii.l a'-'-ain the ji.-opl.' ..f (' ha\in<r hail
four years .'Xiieri. nee .if th.' . .luiial policy
and marl.e.l its capal.ility f.ir promiitin^' the
gnat iiidusti'iai g-rout'i .if the country
resolv.'il to continue tli.ir c.iiiti.lenc.' in th.'
Kii- (rnui.'iit a.nil retunii-d them aj^'ain to
imwer l.y a majority within two or thr..' of
li. in^- a> yri'at as that in l.-iT'"*. Since that
time the polic\- of attack an.l defence has
lieeii troiiif; .in. \\'e h;i>. .' hail by -ejections
ami. ih..ii'.di it i^ saitl that L'oVernments
iH'^'in to di.' as ,s.Min as they betrii to live,
and in the nature of things they must ItKise
son.e of th.'ir streu'^'th an.l in'iimlaritv, we
havi' the iiuparall.'l.'il fact that to-diiy we
sta
if Uh
tiin«'
■■k I
that
tliat
1!.it,
two stron;,'er than \n' .iid .'it tin
elections .if ISSL', Now ] tlii
niay say that a recid of
ki.id justifies us in I'.li.'vin:,'
\v.' h.'ive the culdidi'iic'.' of the l-.-ople.
recently, .mr o]ipon.'nts ha've atlopted a
dilf.'i'ent nieth'id of attack. It is not so
much in r.-fen-nce to th.' policy w.; iiui-sn.' or
the results ,)f that polie , . Here anil there
a public man, who has stroutrir than his
n.'iM-hbors the strength . if his convictions, will
attack th.' national policy, but as a ^remral
thiiii.- till' imlicy nowailojiti'd by our p.ilitical
opiioneiits, is a polity, of perso'ial atttick.- a
IKilicy of wha.t I ventur.' m charact.rize as
shvn.l.'r.- f.ir tile jmriKis*' of drajcPTin^' il.nvn
tin- cli:'.r;u^t.rs of memli.'i> of the trovernuient
and nicniliers of parliament who supjiort
them.
You, ^ir. Chairman, in oii-ning-, r.-fern-.l
to the fact tliatit waa to the i-utaxest of bu-.i-
iies'f men ♦^1) be coiiocrTii.' in rc<rf.Td tfi paf)iic
atfair-i. That ii a stat.'iii. nt which mu-tl(o
accepted .i, wi^.'anij on.' which, if it wiT^
acte.l up.in. Would iinproveth.' tme 'if public-
.iiscu'sitiii., ami the condition of th.' .siuntr.-;
but if thi'i'oliey r.ci'iitly adopt.'.l ii: ( 'aua.li'
:'.li.l wh'cli char;« t.ri/.ed tin- di.sc'i^.^ion-' .if
th.' la«t si'..-iori of (virliament, i:i t.ibe the
policy wtiii:h is t'.i charact.Tize the di.i
laissioti of public iiuestinns in th" futur.', i' i*
culculate.l todriv.- out of public lif.' llie best
men in 'he cmntry and to d.'K'ra.!.' public
lifi' t.i t!l.' li'Vel of 1.1. Ti who subsist U|Kjn
niiTc slaniliT ai'.l \ iluperatiop.
-My c.illi'at,aii' has told y.iu that w.- are not
here for tli. pnrpos.' of attiickiut* our oppon
ents. Wi' hav.' .'>!re;Mly ad.lr.'ssed eight
ni.'etint;s this is thi' ninth an.l I can
ap]..'al to th.is<- who were presi-nt of UitK
(lartics to lie.ar lue out in saying,' that our
object was, not to elevate ours. Ivi's by t lu
ilepr'-ciatioii of our op|ionents, but to show
our friends who have supported ns in the
past, that tli.-re is nothing,' in the charges
made ai,'a,iii-.l us to justify a withdrawal of
their supi oir. If tliev are ciininci .1 of that,
th. ri'cor.l of thi' futiiri' mav b.' left in our
k. .pint-', '.vith tlie ;vs .inan.e th.it it v\ill b.' c,
re.-. .I'd which v.iU correspon.i with that of the
pa~t.
The duty w ith w hicii 1 ha\e b. . n particul-
arly charp'il this .'Vi'iiiuK' is to de.d w itl.
-olue .if th.'se tiuestious ii; relation to which
these attacks hale been liliule upon us.
Vr\' hai e bt'.'ii att:ick.'d in relation to our
dealinj,' with tlic Can.'idian Tacitic: radway
<r nipany;wc weri'ch;.r;;e'l in New Uruiiswick
with havinj.' act.-d t.iwur.i tliat company in a
nianiier unwoithy of j_'overnnii nt by grant
in;,' th.'in subsidies and by loaim;):,'- then:
tnoiiev luiil then c.>nii4'oniisinjj the matter
by taking tivo-thlrds of the amount in full
payment. J,.'t me lioint out what ha- been
th.'pi'licy of the pivi-rniuMit in relation to
the K'real."st imblic work iindeitaken by any
so. I'rnnieut in this cMuntry, — I mii,dit almost
say by any ^'ovenimtnt in the w.irld. In tin
y. ar b^i.sl, ( hud the pririle(,''c in company
with the Hon. Mr. Ttlh'y, tli.'U tinanc.
niinister of the I,>ominion, of attcniHn;,' soiiu
iii.-.'tinKs ill the west^'n counties of Nova
Scotia andin the Island of Prince Edw.ird;
aX tl'.at time w.-' were discussing the cimtract
then just entered into lietweenthe i,'ovi'rn'
mint of th.' day and the com)ia;\y. The con
tr:ict hiul l_«'en lU'rai.trned by the oiipi^itiim a.)
ini|iriide'it. It w.is dec'lar'':! thT,t wc
luwl eiit.n-ed into an an-.mg. nu-at which was
calculated to sink th-.- company int.. ruin and
bankruptcy, - an ari'an^'.'ni.iit wiiich would
nor, in its nature, triV'.-' us the enteriirise w't-
.lesired.but which would enibarra(<s tin- finan-
ces ami imi'i'ile th'.' progress of the countr>- in
ri'larion to other Works. We had ajrreed to
trive .*L>."i,(K)(i,(KK) and i'),0<Ml,00(» acres of land
as ^uhsi.lies for tli.' ..-onstructi.in of tlii' mad.
It was cliar;ied recently ;i+'aiii.st S'.r .folin A.
Macdonald tliat he hr..! made ,).redictions in
r(_';,'aiil to th;s money, which had n.it b.'en
fultiUed. The iirnliction '.vas th.U we w. mid
receive frc'm the sale of lands in the North-
west enou],'h to recoup us the twenty-tive
niilliuns of money, and because that money
has not now foiuid it« way ixito tiia
1
*
tr'jatiiry, he Ih rlmrift'il with hftviiiR dcci-iviKl
|<iirliiuii> lit mill tlic ii>iM|pjiny. I vi niiiif t.i
say, kiKm iujf .-iijiiii-tlmi^f of wimt 1 H|M'iik,tliiit
befdff iiKiiiy year-' that jTcdiclii'ii «ill \»-
fuUv rciilizi'il Hinl tli.it tlif sitl<' I'f tlif Idnds
efthi' Xcirtliwrnt uill riturii to till' jfovcrn-
Uiciit a sum (Mniiv iildit to tli>' uioticy ^fruiit.
That ciuiiioi li. (Iniif ilia day or ivi-ii m a
year or tui). It in a (im stioii,:illii-il w itii the
Bfttli'!in-!it and di'\i lo|.!iii'iit of the I'OMiitry,
which iiiwt tal<i' tiii.c to mx-oiripli^li, Init
that it will 1h' aocoiii|ilinlii<l in the t-oiir-ic of
a £»•»■ yi-ars no om- can imw fcrt- a iih imiit
have any n asonalilc doutit.
Hnt what wrrc thi- pi-cdiiaions of the
t)I)I«i«itioii'r They tohl the ]hc)|i1c that we
Were f,'i^iii>; cnoii^rh iiioiu-y to the conipanv
to hnild till- iiiMiiie section of the mad, irrrs-
Jiective of the land jrrant alto^'i ther, and
that the co!ii|iany would take that iKoicy
and liiiild that s.ction throinfh tl..' open
Country which was easy of construction; but
that, when tin y imi.ic to the difHcult nections,
they would .declare that they could not go
on. We were told ihat we had made the
contract in such away that the company
could liui!<l a tliinsy road, the standard taken
Ivin^r tlie I'nioii I'acidc when first construct-
«!. We w. i-e tolrl that the company v ould
goon -^o iis to make the most moiiev pos-
silih out of the contract and wciuM then
throw the whole tuint,' on the company, while
we Would have an incoinjilete n^ad at a
greater cost tliaii if the pivernnient went to
work and liuilt the road thi'niselves, in tin'
first instance. These were the preilictions
made by the opiKisition. Wiiat has been the
result, ladi' s and jrentlemen? No soop' r was
the cnnti'.c-r sii^uid than the line north of
Lake*uperior was comnienceil.and the work
went on with u r.vpi.lity unheard of even in
this Country of rapid railway construction.
The comp.iuy honestly endeavored to fulfil
their contrr^ct in i'.s .■ntirely and .'acrificed
their American associates, who in all prolial-
ility believed the statements of the opposition,
ami sup|K -eil that tlie road would be a tribu
tary to the American system in which they
were interested. The c(."npany went on
with till- work continuously until 1SK4, win n
they came to p:vrliami-nt and confessed that
they had not the means to go on any lonu'er.
The .\iuerican market was closed to them,
and tin' Kui.,'lish market wa.* closed to thciii
so that they could not sell their stock, and
they were obi i>;i.il to ask for a hian of i?;iO,-
OOOJX'lO. Had you been in the house at that
time, an<l heard the discussions which took
place, you would have hi'ard the chorous of
jubilation w liich went up from theo]iposition.
They fancie<l that tliey saw the fulfillment of
their own evil prediction.^. They saw disas-
ter ahead for tile com]iany and for the country
and they were elate<) at the prospect.
But the ^jovernment, realizing the importance
of not allowiiifr the road to stJ>p,conseiited to
give th<- loan of .*:!0,00(t,(MK1 asked for taking
as security therefor die railway, the termi-
nal facilities, the stean-hips on the lakes
and everithinc in fact that the coniji.anv
owned. N\'e su).|«)s';d then that the company
would go on. but iiext sssion they came back
again with the declaration that though we
had loaned them this .^,000,000 they still
founi'. theinselven eml VTasKP*! n,u(\ ui.iibUj to
goon, and they .isked us to |x'rmit tlnin to
issue !!<:{,'i,(NM»,();)») of Uinds. ami to take itaO,-
(HK»,(HHI of the Ixmds tut securitv for that
amount of the debt, and the land grant •■
seciiritv for *10,()(KI.()00, and they awked u» to
1 them ?:"i,(HK),(Kl() more. The op(iositi(>n
eie saw iiroof of all tha', the\ liail predicted
nd Ihi'V felt that thev would Ik- able to go
11^
toihecountr, with a de^b^rafion that would
secure .lur defeat. Hut the government still
felt that the completion of the railway was
tssential to the prosiwrity of the country and
the developnunt of the Northwest, and they
conseiitwl to change the conditionH of the
security and give the campany the
S.\(HM),'(K)(I asked for for oni' year. Hav-
ing done ho they skid to the company to ge
on. That was a bold |«)licy for any govern-
ment to adopt, but it W!is a (Kilicy charac-
teristic of this government wliicii recogliiM«
above all things that the countrv mu.st be
developi'd anil its resourceM ma<le the mi«t
of. AV hat has been the result? What hail
been the reward ? 7 ask yi'U to say whether
the trovernment, looking at the result, is not
I'lititled to your contiileiice and suPlxirt.
(.Vpjilausi-.) It assumed great risks but it
di(l It for the giMHl of the Country and with
the contidence that they would be justified
by the result. Wlieii the mo.iev advanced
to the conipanv was re|iaid, the hopes of tlj
opposition went down immediatelv. .M thong
this .•s,'{(),(HH).0(K), one dollar of w hich we were
never to .see, was not due until b'^'.H, last
year the company said to the government
that iT tiiey would take .s;20,(H)(),(K)«) cash for
the bonds and land at t':.l.."iO an iK-re for tlie
other >?10,(KH»,tKI0, they would repay the loan
and take the iiositiim of an ordinary private
cor[Kiration, which, having entered into an
obligation totlie government, had fuUilled it
and was discharged.
Of this money, -which in 1SH4 every mem-
ber of the ooiiositi<m tolil us we would never
see a dol lar of , t his .■?H."., 0J<), (KK) wh ich i n 1 HS.'-) we
were told was simplv an additional eift to
the Canada I'acitic railwny, -.«L'r),0<_K).0<IO in
solid cash has been ]iaid back, as to $.\0<)0,000
of it, ten months before it was due, as to
?iL'0,(KM),000 of it. live years before it wasclue.
Wi- have the lands given luick, to us at .SI. 50
so that the whole of these loivns h:>.ve beon
repaid intti the jmblic trea.sury. Now sir,
there is one point in regard to that bargain
m relation to which we have Ih'cii at!.:u.'ked.
It has been said that we have comproieised
with thecom|>any by taking ]iayment of two-
thirds instead of the full amount of the
loan. It has been said by om^ gentle-
men that tliey are our own lands
a id by others that they are worth-
less. Well, as to the first statement, they
are not our own lauds, for the simple reason
that they formed part of the land subsidy
that we gave to the company; and they, hav-
ing constructed the railway, were as entitled
to the land as to the numey subsidy. Then
as to the otlier charge about the land being
worthless, look back at the discussions when
this transaction was entered into. How
your fears were sought to be excited by state-
ments of the value of these lauds! The
lowest figure placed upon them was tw
dollarx an ivfTP. Maiiv nif'TnlxTH of thn
oii'MiHitiiiii fitiiiiatcil tliiiii iiH lii)fh in hvi'
<^<lIlar^ uii Mif. Mr. Charlton, a Ulii ral
iiH'iiilM'r wild U.kcH (Ti'.it inftif-it in this
milijrct, aid wtid in K'H'ially ciinMiflirtd liy
hlH |iiirty I'll aiitlidrity ii|kmi tlic »iili-
JKc.t, tiiiMli' u most iiitiTi'stiiik,' s|i<i(li in
which \\'- n>y<wril the nhitjons of thr Ann ri-
c»uniil«ay i'oi>(iaiiiin ovrriuml grunts aiiii
h<i cann- to the n>nohi.»ioii tiiat thcMr himls in
the Northwi'nt wire worth tisr dollarK an
acre. If at that tinu', wlirii that |Hirtionof
the cimnlry wius prarlic ■•.lly a lianiii wait'',
ahiKwt .-hilt out from any sfttlcnifnt :i' all,
if at lliu till!'- till' lanil-( wi-ri' worth •■- (K) an
ttcre. Hiiri-ly afliT th'' railway wai ouilt and
the country dc'Vi'Io|.i'<i liy thi' <'on.-'truiTiori ol
a line alf'irdin),'i'ii.<y <viniiniini('atioii,the land^
are.worth si :><» an at;rp. (Clii'irR) Then. win ii
this contnu;t wa.s let, one of the chartfe^ made
wa»4 that we were lockini^ u|> an enormous
area of that Northwest, that we were |ilac-
illK no less than •.•r.,(KM»,(KH) lUTes of lanil
under (lie iron lieii of a yi'eat monoiioly, and
mens' minds wereaskeil to reuTt lo tlie tenant
HVstein e\i,stine' in Ireland, and it was alleL,'.d
that the coli(Ulioll of the settlers in the
Northvsest would Im' infinitely worse, U-cause
we Were ^,dvinjj these lands .o he thus dis-
posed of. 1 reiieiiilier a trreat spi reh
delivered l.y .Mr. IllMke (slijfht I'heers) in .Mon-
treal when he placed a lar'„'e tiKi|i hefore him,
^rhich had a (,'reat hlot on it, as iiidie:'.tiii(,' w hat
waH to lie placed in the hands of this
coriKiratioM, and 1 remeiiilier the speecli in
rfiily to this when .Sir Charles Tupper (loud
and prolont,'ed cheerini;) [loiiitoij,' to tlUs Mot
on the map. said : " i.,ar^'- it is I admit, hut
double the si/e of it and then you have tli>'
land suh-idy that .Mr. .Mackenzie was piiii^r
togi\e." (Clii'ers.) Well if it was an iiiiurv
to the North-West to jilace l.'."),(KM(,'-
000 acres of land under this corpi.ra-
tion, surely w-e are entitled to some cri'dit
that wi'liitve redie ed the area tiy one fourth,
and taki-n hack tlcditfererice at a prii'e about
one half below what it was estimated to be
worth when these ^'entleinen were objictini,'
to the Contract in ISSL'. Now v\hat has been
the result of our dealing with this cor|Kii-a-
tion? jViid what lias been the result to the
country'.' \Vc ntered in b'^?! into a com-
pact with I itish Columbia that we
would build a i -ilway from the I'aciHc coast,
connecting wit li the .system of railways in
Canada, in ten yi'.ars. That was ]iait of the
compact. It was i>recisely the satie- as that
entered into at the time of confi-d. 'ration
that wo should build the Intercolonial in
order to connect these eastern jirovince with
the west. As wf Were attacked at that tiiut- in
the we-t, when undeitakin^r the constniction
of the lutercoloniid tU,\'.ii here, .so we are
attacked in connection w ith the railway in
the Northwest, coii-triicled for a similar pur-
{lOKe, that pur|Kise bein^ the unitinif by an
iron band .OK well as by the sentinieut of a
common |Kilitical ambition, ,ind a common
coniiii'icial interest, the whole of this jn-eat
country. Now that was the biu'xain whicli
wo made at tliat time. It was stated to In-
a Viari^'aiu that no one could carry out.
It was leuounced as the mad scheme of a
mad gjvernmout One gentleman declared
that the British empire with all it', resonrwn
could Mot siii'ci...d III con-triictiii(( that rail
way within the time whirh wi -pts ified-
Itilt what has ha|.|ieii. d '/ I >ou n to 1.S7K,
altaoii),'|i the Miu'l.in/I'' )k'on''1 niient rec.i((-
ni/."d till' obligation of blllldi^^,' the road by
the passage of an act for its coii-tniclion ami
althoin^'h they expended -oiiirSr_'.iMI0,"<H( with
construction and some three millions and a
half in connection with siirv e\ i, v 1 1 in IM7H
there was not a sin^fle mile oi that railway
o|>«'n for traltic or over which a rarriakre luul
ever pas,-.e(l. Then, in ;.'<■■*<•, we uin .ablet<
( nter into this contract. W'li.it ha- is'curre<i
since then'/ On the ."ifh No\.. l.s.s."), with
the last Kpike driven and the road
complete, although h,' have lost
nearly six years of the tiini', the road is com-
pleted within four vears of the time a(,Teed
iiiMiii in the ori^'inal ontract, and the honor
of the country vindicated as well as its
mati'rial prosperity advaneed. What more
has happeiieil"/ We have this road not a
Himsy, inferior road, but by thi' testimony
of experienced men fr'Uiithe I 'iiited States
and KiiK'land, one of the bc-t, if n<>t
the Very best, road upon this North
•Vmerican continent, a road which has al
ready liecoiue .-o im|iortant a factor between
the West and Ka-t that I find railway jour-
nals.siich as the "Uaiiway .\^"'"for instance,
calling u|Hin .\niericans to endea'or to pre-
vent tlieas.''gressive policv ot the C,i,indinm f^
detrimental to .\meneaii intere-:t. (Ap-
plau.se.) What more have we':' We hoped
that by the construction of this roiul
we Would pet the .\siatic trade, and lean
remember, when .Sir Chas. Tu|iper, in one of
his speeche- in rarliaiiient upon this subject,
refern il to the jios-ibility of t'lat trad* beiiiff
developed, his opponents lauRlied at him, —
their hiiest sneers Were employed at his sug-
gestion of the |iossibilit,y of such a
trade. What have we to-day? With-
in a few months three miilions of
IKiunds of tea from China and .lapau have
pas-eiiover the Canadian i'acihc railuay into
the markets on tiiis side, and we have tins
tj-ade at a period f.ir in a.hance of the time
when some of us have hojied for r What
wore have we? We lia\e [ilaced Kngland
in a (Hisition of iii''ependeiice of foreign
countries in relation to her ini'ans of trans-
port between till great centres of
civih/.ation, and v 1 ourselves to-day
in jiosition in wliici, .n; have new relatioius
with the mother country,- not simply bound
by a tie of devotion on one side, and duty on
the otiur— not liy the .sentimental tie of loy-
alty, but Ixnind to her by ties of niaterial
intere.-t, becoming a great factor in the
greatness of our gi ■ .<t mother country in her
IHisition in the world. (Cheers). And
what mi.ir.- have we aecomiilished? We
have secured the construction through
Ontario and t^hiebec of competing lines with
the(;rand Trunk giving to everyone the
benefit of oiii) tt tive rates. And we have
secured tliH in that waT.for this could not Ixt
done Init f' T the e\i.stence of a corporation
strong enough to undertake the completion
of th ' Or' Ige across the St. Lawrenci^
and the construction of a Sli"rt Line
connecting Moutre:d with th.e port of
Halifax in Riimrurr, thim K'^>'<ff «■
whiit liiui l>efM fur ■«> limx a time enir <li niri .
(Chr-rs). Wi- haw m<;iiri<i rtl.it long wliich
iiiiy Cuiiafliiin initftit U' proud nf.
A.kI wli»f in till- K">''''">''>it iliiiiii? t<ii|»y'*
My fri<'iHl, til. hoii. ininiHtt r lif iiiHtii:<-, lui.^
J>i-it rcffrroil t.. thu rcclimicity "i"'"*'"'"- '
niTi ti.'iy, no frir ax I liiii oiiicrriii'l.tliiit for Hix
^♦■.lI•1 I iktl(Mi>tf-i] ific iiift'iiti^Hiir Mif N.'ilion.ii
lioiinl <if tr.v\i- III thf I'liit. i| Sl.itcH to |>rih>
till' (lUi'Mtiiin of fic,. noii.rociU rrlati..ii-
tifwiiii till' I'nitid Stat<'H and < 'uiiada, ami
tliat I uin just n't aiixioiiM ait our iiwut ciiiiu >t
oii|HiiiiMit 11 for a fair r«ci|iro<ity arraii^fc
niiiit with the I 'fit.'d States.. (( 'h.-tT^).
r.iit ut" do not h-taiiil with our aniin folded,
lia\iii({ it to iiKie ixeidi nt to K'i^'' us tr;ule.
On the eoiitrary the ^''^'minint have liad
VI ithin the la^t tew nioiitim a L,'entlcniiiu ot
inf1ueiic<! and of larp' eoinnirreial e\|.euenei
- a K<'itl'inaii who ii not ecjuiietted with the
matter for iiiei-e political rea»in:<, for he \^ an
o|i|>oneiit of the |iie.-int t,'overniniiit travel-
liiiK thronirh Canada, iiieetintf our niercliant.H
nnd (jetting' infornui'ioii, ai.d he (jock to
Anstni'ia our --ister colony f<,r the iiurpoxe of
e<tatili?<liint; trade relationn, no ;vs to lirin^f
alioiit a Hystern if trade which will he of K'l'c'at
«dvaiit:i(fR to oothcoiinti-ieH, :ind in thi' devi-
lo|iineutof which trade the Uaii.idian Pacific
railway will hi' a most inipoi t.iiit factor.
NV hat iiiore Y Sir (leorK*' Stephen has j^one
to Kiij^daad for tile puri>.i!-e of luakin)^
iirraiufenieiit^ for a fast line of >teainers, a
line that will he the pe( rs of the (.'uiianhr.s,
and tin; (Jtlier irreat steanistiipM that are tne
niai'vel of tliis .at,'e, and a line that will run
to H.ilifax ill v\ inter and Montnal in summer
We have, I helieve.the promise troui the Sal-
isl'ury (;')verninent for a >ulisidy to a similar
line of steainirs on the I'acitic co.vst, so that
we shall have, as a re.-.ult of the coii.<truction
<.f till! Pacific railway, tr.ide development tin-
coiisei|uencesof which even the most optim-
istic have no idea. And that has i,eiii
the result of the policy of this (jroveriinient
in oorinixition with a policy which formed
the strongest L,Toun<l of att.ick upon them in
Iiarliainent, an<l in the opiMisitioii jiri-^^s of
this country. \ow, what wd lun e done in
Connection with the Pacific railway and the
liuildin-? of that railway has drawn attention
to matters in the Northwe.vtsti-rritories, and
has trivwii an opiHirtunity to some people to
make very mrious diartres ajjainst the j^'ov-
erninent in n fjaid to the administration of
affairs in these territories!. Vou here in
Halifax, aHiiiuih a^ people in any other part
of the Doni'uion, have an interest in the
<levelopinent of that country, and in the
honest adtiiinistr.ati'in of everything eon-
tiei ted with that territory and I vm
sure, therefore, that yv.i will not consider it
unintrrestim,' if I venture to answi r some cjf
the charges in relation to the manner in
which we have administered affairs in that
part of the country. Duringthelast sessi.m of
liarliament and ii|)on the [ilatforni since that
time w« have been charged with using our
relations with the Nortliwcst for the purjKise
of corrupting' memliers who support us in
t]\e house of commons. It hius been aiil
that there in hardly a member who is not at
influfiic*" n( fitvont which he hMrf«<>ivei|
from the piveri iient in rmn ction with th«
Northwest t^Tritoriex. Now, if theiH< charRefl
w.r- true, I Would say iipdoulitt'dly tna*
much as you Would have to reffn t h.'vviiiif tD
|iirt with your old friends, it would Im> your
duty tx) find < "lers to u<lminiKt«r the aff»ira
of the country, lint we art here for the
I ur|sise of Kuhniittiinf to you an answer to
the>.e (liarKes and, having' Kiihuiitted the.,
.iiiswi r, we HtiiK-al to your fairness to via-
dieate the cliara*:ter of your punlic men by
lefiisin^^ to (five eredeiue to such char^feij.
Now, vi hat are th« chartfe»' First it is «.iid
that wi. ha" e (sen di^-trilmtiny tiiiilsr limita
to nil iidieis of the hoiisi of coimiKins and to
t'iend- out-ide tlie ^jouse of coiimi ms, and
next that we have Im'i II k'ivingoial areas ard
•-'ra/inj; lejises to memUer-i <if the house i4
eori'moii'i and friend-, outside, and have
irjiani/.ii a Imtfe system of corruntion f<«
no other purisise than to lirils- cer-
i.in people. Let me Jfi^e you tie isiliex'
m relation to timls r resources. The if,
.' sources are not jarffe. I am sorry tu
say that so far as territory is concerned thej-fi
is coiiipaiatiiely little tiiiilsr. It is to !«
found -kirtiujf nortions of the territory in
little l.lulf-., hut there are no (Treat tr:u''' i
timlier such .is presail in jiortion^ of C^ciiec,^
Ontario and New P>iunswick, where iha
tinilK'r has heeii of such value to ousini W
and commerce as well x^ to the tr'-asury ol
thePrmince. These small areas, th( . • e ire,
have to lie husl landed. One of the diific ci-
ties first was that people t;i njf to the North-
west territories found it exc.'edingly ditficult
to ffet for a rea.sonalile price timlieT to Imild
theu- houses, and lioth ^,'overnnients there-
fore, and nit the pr eiit Kovernment alone,
deei.;ed it (iroisr to adopt a plan hy which
they would secure the developu' lit of timlier
interests, in such away as to give the people
lunitn'r at lower prices than liefore. The
policy adopted was this : timlxT areas were
divided into fifty scpiaii' mile areas, and if
any of you xc'tlemen wanted areas you
iiKvde application to the minister of the
interioi ; ainl having made your applicUion,
if the district was one in which we were
giving licenses, an order in council was
piwssed authorizing the minister to issue a
license. So .soon as that order v.'as pas.sed
you had to pay an advance rental of your
hundred and fifty doll.i.rs; then yon liad to
prfxjure a survey of that territory. You
were then ohlii^ed to send in your notes of
■urvey and have tliern
finally you had to
up and having done
you Were in a |sisition
cut timlsr. There were
applications made, a- at that time there was a
Usjm in the Northwest and [leople thought
that fortunes could very easily be made
there. For timl^T licenses alone there were
over two thousand application, but of these
only five hundred wt re recogiiizt^d by the
passage of orders in council a thori'.ing the
minister to issue licenses, and in rela*^ion to
these only one hundred and seven applicante
ever obtained licenses. Itut what has Ixsen
tlie rsBults in other reai^ects? The depart-
ciiiifimied, and
put a mill
all this thea
to go on and
no doulit many
10
people not Ichp than ?20,000, roprPBrnting ad-
vance rental iiaid liy in-<iplt- wild never K"'
licensen afterwards and were never ^ in a
pomtii'n t(i eiit one stick uf timber. Well, if
thpn happened til tie two (ir more aiiplieants
for the same herth, the 'loliey > as t<i write
to the applieants askiuvr whai terms Uiev
were willintr 'ii give, and we have received
an l)Oniis froi,! these |iei,|ile, not one of wh<im
ever went any further than this step, the
sum of *'_'!, ()»K) so that no less than utMnit
$41,0<tO -Aas paid into the public treasury
from p'^v-oiis who, 1 suj .mse after further
minui ejejuirv, never w ut anv further and
never got the licenses. N'ow there was not
ve'-v much corruption at any rate in t.iking
such money uniler ..\ieh conditions. A\ ell it
is said that we gave iffese limits to melii-
lx;rs of p;irlianieiit imjiroiierly. I say, sir.
that there are but twoniembers of iiarliameiil
that ever received licenses one of them,
Mr. Hugh Sutherland, a supp<irter of
thf oppositioi., and the otlier, Mr.
M. }i. llickenson, a pentleman thirty
years in the lumber liusines'^, who simply
transferi-ed his oj^eiations to thi- North-west
as of Ci'urse he liad a perfi ct riclit to do.
Now that is the whole ri'cord of the alnise of
the timber limits. lUit from ihe charges
circulated one would hnagine tiiat we kept
these tir'ibtr limits in pigeon holes carefully
folded up, (laughter) and that whenever a
Laemb(r of I'arliameut exhibited a disj.osi-
tion to \ote agi:inst ns we simply said to
hi "Now, shi't your eyes and oinu your
mouth and we will give you this sweat plum
of a timber limit and you will vote for us
alwi-ys," !!ut I tell you" ladies iaid gentle-
men no man has ever received a license for a
timber limit except under con<litions open to
the World and only two numbers of parlia-
ment have ever received licenses one
being a liiieral and the other a conser-
vative. Then they tell us we have given
jTrazing hases to memtiers of jiarliament.
What we have done is this -South-west of
Alberta Is th ■ best gra/.ing territory* on the'
rtitlneiit. This is udmitted by Americana
who hav(^ <lriven tleir cattle across frotn
Montana to .MlKTta for the imriKise of tak-
ing advantage of tin- better feed. Th<'
government were in tins jHisition. There
were these lands but there was a difference of
opinion as to whetlier they were g(Kid for
ordinary settlement or not. Settlenuiit must
be slow, and the government therefore ma^le
lip their minds to endeavor to develop<' the
rwources w.' ha<i. They adojited tlie plan of
giving grazing leases of 1<K>,(KM) acres to any
one wlio might Im- willing to jiay two cents an
acre for t lie land, who wotdd in addition
engage to jilace <in the land one head of
cattle for each ten ae" -i and who wotild
further accept the le:',»e on tlie condition that
it was subject to cancellation, if the govern-
ment so desired on giving two years notice,
and the land ohould tlien lie open to settle-
men' We have received *'.«i,0<KI by way of
rental for grazing leases gianted in tins wny-
»nd on the contrivcts let tliis year for tlie
snpplying of nitat for a perioil of tliroe yejtrs
iui ^uv irir,;;r:crT: i:'.:;;^':", ' -j-_-i:: ;■:-.: — : --imt vv-
expcnditure for the sau;.- puriHise for the
three previous ye^ra, we have ttfected a sav-
ing of $12.'5,000. (.\pt)lause.) Thii! in the
result cif having the cattle graz-
ing on otir owii lands and of
inducing parties to come in and do business
in our own territory. Sun Ij tliis policy i.s
not to be condemne<\ but to be comnienued.
''ave w.- u>ed tliese hases tor politi.ial
purposes? T don't know of a single 'uember
of parliament who has any in' -rest <lirect or
indirect in them. 1 shoiiUl exempt from this
statement Senator Cochrane. As a matter of
fact the ovtrwhelniining majority of h-ase.s
are held by Aniei-ieans who were formerly
engagnd in tlu- gra/.in.g business in Montana,
in N\'a-hiiigton Tenitory and othei places in
the rnit:d States who have dri I'en their
cattle over to oin- lands, because they find
better grazing territory tiiere than that
which tliey have left. As to the coal areas,
whv any one can go in and buy coal areas if
he is willing to pay #!(• an acre for the land
and survey it. We have nceived .■?4."i,(t(M) in
jiayment for coal areas; biu as the rt suit, we
(laVe given to the settlers of tl'e Northwest
coal for fte'l a! almost one-thiril the ]irico
they paiil for fuel bi fore the seams were
opened ti]i, ami have solved what was for-
merly a very serious i>robh-ni. Then in re-
reference to colonization companies.
Ladies and gentlemen, what has been the
result in reference to these companies? \\ e
desired, viewing the results of a similar
policy on the other side of the line, to
secure the co-operation of jrivate capital
and enterprise in the settlement of t!ie
country, and we therehire invited {lersons to
enti r into contracts for the settlement of
jiaiticular tracts of cinmtry, Thev were
refpnred to jiay 82.00 an acre for the land in
advance', an<l to settle so many jKrsons upon
it, and when thi.-< was done they were to
receive a rebate which •vould give them land
at ■'?1.00 an acr<\ We have secured from
these companies .?7r.O, L'."i3. Tin- con:panies
liave ■xpeiided t'.SOT.lW.' in bringing settlers
in, and, as the nsult, we have settlements
otf the line of railway which would other-
wise never have been there. It has been said
that we dill this to corrupt membeis of par-
liament. Only ten members of parliament
.altogeth'T were c<irtHirators in these compa-
nies and of these five were liberals and five
were liberal-conservatives: and one libeial,
who was prosiTlent of a comiiany, was Mr.
Mackenzie, the premier <if the late govern-
ment (laughter and applause), and another,
Mr. Scott, was a member of Mr.
Mackenzie's government. After having
ungratefuly driven their former lead(*r
from the iMisition he ocmiiiied. it is uki
bad that the op]H)sition should now charge
that he has beei.subjectid to these corrupting
inlluences! liut, they say, you have been
guilty of such conduct as to create a rebel-
lion in till No.-thwest territories. You are
responsible for the riln Uion which broke out
th'T" bicause of your conduct and your
delay in connection with the half-breed
claims. This is so important and so serious
a charge and relates to a matter of so great
interest that vou will panlo.i me if with
^,, ... ..!:•:..;! i" ,.»...!:;!7i the nature of thcHS
claims aid how the government have dealt
with them. I" the first place, then, whe
11
the territory wan taken over, there wa» in the
country ii l;ir>,'e niiiiihir of oriK'nuil Sfttlern,
French and Scotch halt i'V eils, and the j^kv-
ernrnent felt that, ln'cause of their Indian
liliMxland the Indian side of their cliarivcter,
thev were entitled to soiiie rec<i]|fnition and
had a claim to have their Indian title ex-
tintfuishcd. 1 iiin Hpeakiiig of Mani-
toba. The i^'ovcrnnient wibh thin oliject
instructed <;overn(,T Arehi!)al<l to make
an I'mme ration of the lialf-brc ■ i Man-
itoba with reference to the siirlemeiit of
their claims and the K>'\erninent |)asse<l an
af.'t in 1S71, to <h'terniine how these chiim>
were to be <\tin),'uished. Wlien Mr. M;lc-
kcnzio came into ]io\ver, he aiijHjinted
Matthew K van and .Mr, Meaj::her, of King-
ston to make a further enumeration. Then'
enumeraticpii, when made, dilTepil from that
of (Jovernor .Vrelnliald. They found a much
smaller nnniber tif h;;lf -breeds, and a further
act was then |iassed setting apart 1, 40i),OllO
acres of land for the extinclionof the lialf-
brec<l tith'. T)ur experience sinc<', and there
has scarcely bein a year within which thesi'
claims have not. Ix en coining forward for
eettlenient. sh(,ws tJiatthe enumeration made
by (Jovernor .Vrchibiiid wa,< the more correct
and if it had been ndliered to it would liave
removed the whole dilliculty within t.vo or
tliree years, instead of leasing the claims to
dragon. There is no trouble in Manitoba,
but the lialf-breeds who obtained land or
scrip in Maniliiba, sold it and moved west
into the territories. They went chiefly to
the pt.int where the rebellion broke out, on
the banks of the So\ith .SaskatcheuMu, 2.X)
miles north of the Canadian I'aci.'ic railway.
It is important to bear the fact in mind, that
the reb'llion broke out at that jmiut
and at that point onl>, and if I can shew
that the half-breeds who .setth'd there liad no
claims on the government, I think you wil
agree that they were the last who should
have ristu against th" government of the
cointry. \Ve had (wtitiens from v;i-ious
parts of uhe Northwest, on the sul)j ct of the
llalf-breed cl.",ims. The deuartnient of the
interior nx'eived many of them. A N 'W
Brunswick j)aper says I ojuittc' to iH>int out
tliat from l.'s7S down to l.S.S."i. petition after
petition was hanthd in and they were not
recognized. If the writer had gone ftu-ther
back andiKiinted out that the petitions began
to Come in in ]r<73, and coutinned to come in
during the whole time that Mr. .Mackenzie
was in olfice, ye' nothing was done, he would
have staged the fact more accurately. .Mr.
^blcken/.ie in vitw of the |H'titions a|ii>olnfed
Matthew Ryan a stipenthary iiiagistr.ite, to
investigate the clauns of th. llalf-breeds,
and I will read you a letter from Matthew
Ryan, or a ])ortion of it, to show tiie in-
structions he received, and what he con-
sidercvl necessary to be done. (Mr. White
here read an extract from l{yan's letter in
which he .said it would be necessary for him
to go to vvhire the half brec il< wire, in order
to nivestigate th( ir claims,) Now that was
Mr. Ryan's letter to the minister, ami a very
reasonable letter J on will say, it W!Vh if the
minister was was really desirous of settling
iht -e ciaim.-*, iH-u |mi\voi^ iioiint-ii in
a poHiliun tu justify l.ia attack
uixin hi.^ successor!". What his .ipinion WM
is shown by the memorandum written by
Mr. .Mills, ."vcross tlie margin of tlie the let-
ter "If tlu'se half-breeds have ( laiins they
will have t-o h«)k after them themselves. It
is not necessary to hunt them ui). " That
was the manner in which Mr. Mill's thought
the half-bri'eds of the Northwest, could be
treated. — .Mr. Ryan ..ot withstanding, thought
it was important to make some effort. He
went to <.^'.Vp|»lle for this puri)Oso and hav-
ing incurred some e\|)i-nse, sent a bill for
.■?7r>.(H» to .Mr. .Mills for payment. Mr. Mills
was indignant, lb' refu-eil to pay the ex-
pensis incurred and the .'*7-">.<H) was not paid
to Mr. Ryan imtil after Sir .lolin A. Mac-
donald came into office. Now I havc^ pointed
out to you, ladies and gentkunen, that the
rebi-llion liroke out at this particular spot
when; these people went to settle as ordinary
settlers. There were a number of petitions
ri ceived from that place. Let me give you
what they were. First ihere was jx'tition
from (ialiriel Dumont and 4.") others asking
for the extinction of tlieir claims. It a]J-
peared that IM't out of the -i't who signed thi»
petition had already reci'iveil land or .-.crip in
Manitoba, and couseiiuently hail no Indian
title to extinguish. Anotlier petition
was from St. Louis de Langevui. It
was signed by ',V2 persons of whom
'2i had already received and sold their
scrip in Manitoba and had no title. A third
was from St. Laurent and bore tlie signa-
tures of 7'^ persons of whom tiO hiwl already
had tlieir title extinguished. This was the
case with regard to the three petitions I have
mentioned; and X think you will agree that
there was no ground for rebellion in tn„t tor-
ritory on account i>i the refusal of the gov-
ernment to give scrip for the extinctio.i of a
'itie which had already been extinguished
efore the people setting up the claim went
tliere.
But it will bi^ said that there were
freat delays. I say that this p.aper to which
have just referri'ii speaks of an incident
which I my.->elf have mentioned on almost
every pl.atform, that tli«' government in the
jommi-sioii which it afterwards sent out, and
through the medium of that comiiii.ssiuii. had
- ttled the claiiii- of between 1, ■»()() and 2,00O
half breeds, and the question is at once
asked how is it if there w»-re no claims of
that kind that there has been >)uch a largj
number of claims settled. Well, sir, tiiere.
were a large class of these people who did
not rebel, those vvh;) lived at Kdinonton and
St. .\lbert. .\iid what was the record of
these men during the rebellion? I know ot
no liner regiment not even exci'ptiiig the
rieible regiment, you sent from Halifax,
(ainilau'^e) no liner company was organized
to (issert the autluu'ity of the law and main-
tain the integritv of the llominion than this
company of half br-'eds under captain De St.
(ieorge. So far from reb«'!ling against the
DoininJon liiey rallied in its defence whea
rebellion reared its heivd.
Now there were gyeat ditferenc;.j of
ipinion in the North-west as to the
best way to settle this question of
Liii' iadli^ll Lliiel. A ou M.ivt; iiearUg
I have no doubt, that the government had
It
reoeived petitions from His Orace ArchViishf^p
Tache and the North-west council, ami tliat
the govcniment turned deaf i art- to thet^e
imiHirtant authorities. There ii no one
more entitled to 8]>eak on tl'e North-wei't
than His Grace Arcnl)i>ihni) Tac'.;-, who went
there an a niis.-tionary carrying jieace to its
people andhi»slab<ire<lthere ever since witiian
earnestness a. :d devotion that does Innigieat
credit. (A[)i)laufi« ). Hut what was liis re-
oominendation? He reconinw-nded that ^ve
should set aside twelve reserves in the North
west tenitory, and jilace there these half-
breeds, gi\ ing 1(!0 acres to eac'h and oblitring
them to ri main there, ai.d also that this land
should be inalienable and untaxable, in-
volving an entail, which 1 believe with all
res|)ect to his grace, would be a serious in-
jury to the country and to these jteojile. The
government could not have accepted it. {f
it had accej'ted it, I venture to say, that we
would have been attacked everywhere for
having ])laced an entail on these tweUe re-
serves. l?nt what (lid tlii' Northw(.~t council
propose? The very first resolution passed by
the couiicil was, tliat it would be inexpi-dient
to set aside reserves for tlie half-l'ree'K at
all, .so that we cnild not have accptiw the
recoir'inendation of eitln r without goincr
directly counter to the otlier. Tin- council
recommended that these half-bree<ls should
be given no negotialle scrip, but that they
aho\il(l pet non-negotiable criii for ItiO acres
and be obliged to settle there, and live tliere
for three years ami perform certai.. settle-
ment duties and after they liad done these
tilings, they sho\ild livi' there for srmie years
more. The effi'Ct of that would lie to [ilace
the half-breeds, who had special clain;.-, in a
worse ])ositiun than the white settlers.
Any .-ettler can pay his ten dollar fee
select the land, live there, cultivate fifteen
acres and then he is entitled to his ]jatent, so
that tiie jiroportion wouM if .accepted restdt
in placing,' the lialf 'ireeds in an inferior
position. The government could not have
accepted either of these pn posals. The
result -f the .scrip system iiad not been such
as to justify repetition. It has b^en re-
peated it is true because there has not been
any otlier reastmable way, but if there had
been tlwre is no iloubt it
better to have adc^pted
That delay complained of
in consequence of a confli
connuendatious of the b
would have been
that other way.
t)]eref.)re occurre<l
•'. lietween tlie ro-
■^t authorities on
the Northv.est in relation to this (piestion.
Notwithstanding that, the gov 'nnient in
18**.'' apjXiiiited Mr. Ijind.-ay Russell to go up
to make incpiiiies into this matter. He was
eminently httni fm- the work, understruidiii;.'-
ae he did tlie Cre<', l-"rench. and Eng^i.^h lan-
fpiages and tlie government ma'le up their
minds that no titter man could be apiKiinted.
Unfortunately, Mr. K\is->el! fell and brolie
his leg and was confined to li < hou^e .and \\n-
luckiiy the acciilcnt was so serious th.it he
has never been al)le to resume oilicial life
since tlien. In January, lf<S.">, a resohition
was adopted appointing a commission a id
we have the testimonj' of Father And e
that '>e had received information that a cone
mission iiau i.ieeii np|K)uite<.i u mvesii^Mte
tbese claim?, the itiiorniation L^eijig received
a fortnight before any overt act of rebellion
of .-iny kind tixjk phice. So that you -will
see that in relation to the scrip the policy of
t!iH government shows tliat they were anxioun
to settle the claims of tlie.se people. But it
is said we refused to give them the surveys
that they w.anted. Mr. Laurier one of the
leaders of the opjiosition ni.ide ono of his*
liest speeches in parliament in an effort to
prove that he would have been justified in
taking up his musket and shooting down the
Volunteers Ix'cause we did not give these
suvvevs. Now, but let me exjilaiH^
the whole North-west territory is .surveyea
under authority of act of parliament ou
what is known as the "reciangular princiiile,''
that is to sav by tlie scpiare mile. The
half-lireeds of Manitol)a wiio were there
before tile surveys commence claimed that
th<' same system wliich prevails in the pro-
vince of (,!uelMc slioulil be adopted *here, so
that they should get the river fronts, and
have a narrow strip of land running back in
some cases to three or four miles. The (KiUoy
of the gove'rnment in this respect has alv. aya
been the sauie, j»nd it is tliis : Wherever there
have been settlers in advame of surveys the
surveys should take place on the river princi-
ple, but wliere they came on the hands after
til'' surveys were made, they sliould go on in
just the same ti rms as other settlers, but we
gave the half-breeds this other cimeession
tliiit wii'-n they did not g^t their lands in
this way they shouM take th' ni by what is
called "legal sub-di\ ision." That instead of
getting a Mjiiare quarter section they siiould
lie enabled to (li\ide tlie section into
four parts, extending well back and having a
river frontage'. T!ie\ hiul the o|)iHirtunit\ of
gettiie.C their lan<l in that way had they
chosen to do .so and we find that in resj)ect
to coiices.sions they had gre.at ad vantaj.re!»
over the ordinary white settlers that went
into that country, who were oliliged to take
the hands surveyed by the authori'v of tha
Ijarliameiit of Canada.
A checker-board giees .-vjic-fect i>icture for
illustration. It is called the rectangular
.system, the dark blocks being the odd
.secLions..and the white blotks being the even
sections. The-e half-breeds in .Manitoba and
the North-west whire they hai)]iened to be
living on the hanks of rivers were anxious to
obtain the river lot iirinciple, giving an al-
most iimtintunu frontage. I?ut the policy
<'f lK)tli goV{rnm 'iits was this, tiiat where a
survey, )r found the land already occupied by
haif-breed sepiatters, living .'is they almost
Ojwa\s did he should give th.eni his survey
on the river lot prini'iple, if th(\v desiri^l it
:iU'l that principle prevails tlieri^ to a iarge
t'xtent. Hut where he went and where
they c;ini(^ on th(! land after the sur-
vey was made where there w.as fmly
one or two settlers he was to adojit the
same principle as he adopted everywhere
else.. These p<'nple lad gone on there, after
surveys •.■/ere ni;ule on tie- rectangular prin-
ciple, the same .as h:ui been carried out every
w!iere,and they asked the government to send
surveyors and change th(^ whole systeni of
surveys because they preferred the other
svstem. Im'ow liiat is liie wiioie ground ul
thoir complaint.
18
Tlie g.>vprninpnt declined to Agree
to it and rightly ho, because if thf-y
did it fur tJie liulf-oret-ds tht y could not re-
fuse to do it for otIiiTN, and it
would mfan that peoide could thereafter
denmnd any kind of surv y which
they considered 'nost serviceaMe. The
government naid we cannot apree to Hurvey
the land, but if you desire to get your
patents uiKin the h d iirincii)le of B>ib-
divi>ionH we will agree to it, that is to o,v^,
we would divide the section into four paral-
lel lines nmniiif; back into the whole section.
That has Inen offered to them and hiut been
oiie'i to them since and at this moment is
'jeing carried out n the district of St. Ixiuis,
and yet the government is accn.sed of teing
recrei^it to its trust. Then it is said that we
refused tin m their patents. Well, if there
i.s one charge more than another that the
government is not open to it is this very
charge. In 1SS3, two years Viefore the rebel-
lion, the g<jvernment sent Mr. (irauvrean,
down into the district for the purjiose of
explaining to the jH'ople the necessity of
making entries for the land in order that they
might get their patents. In |.HS4, Mr. Duck,
the agent for Albert went there and got F'ather
Anc!ie t^> transfer them in some instances.
He states in his letter that he discovered
th.it thei'i were perscms at work among the
half-breeds to induce them not to make
the entry in order to force tVii govenniic-nt
to adopt the system of surveys. But the
government did everything they could do to
protect these I'eople in the possession of
and as tliey would not have heen protect) d
had lliey lieen originally without surveys and
urged them to take every reasoiuibh- pre-
cautMii to g-et their jiatents, and yet we are
charged witli refusing patents to them.' Why
only tins year 1 received fiom .some solicitors
at Alliert a petition from seventy->ix half-
breeds that they might have still another
year as a concession. I gave them other
priv ihges and I took the trouble to write
not oniy to the solicitors but to each one it
those whose name was on th(> petition. point-
ing out to them that white settlers who did
not make entry within three months were
liabl" to have the lands forfeittl, and,
urging them to piTtect themselves and
(jiving them the year tlii>y wanted. .-Vnd
finally we are told that we gave away their
lands to the colonization ctmipany, but in
answer to tiiat we have only ti) say what I
saiii on other platforms and in parliament,
that I clialleiige any one to produce one
sin^'le cavi^ of a settler in the >'orth-.v t
territories who has been dis[.oKress(d of an
acre "f land uihiii which he has setth^d or to
which lie \\».i had even .1 coloraole claim.
(Cheers). But you will say the re!>el-
lion did break out. How did it
break ou; Well, the story of the reliellion
is one of tlie most extraordinary itist.Mices of
the (lower of a b;id man over a coiumunity.
1.10U1.S Kiel wa:» .srul for. (The num.- of
Kiel was .eceived with ciieer.s from <ine end
of the building. I l>o tlittse genth'iuen chee
the n.'Hue of Kiel ': I can understand them
cheering the names nt their own leaders
(icfcU^iii/i ), out luia^.- iia** ^.I'liic ii^ n 'in-tiy
pa^itt when the uaiuc of lAjaia Kiel < . elicit
cheers in a j andience of this kind. (Lond
aiiplau.se.) 1 say he was Rent for. What for?
He was sent for, as apjjears by the testimony
A-liich some of them have since given,
because they wanted a reiiresentative m the
Northwest cfiuncil, and tney thought they
could elect him there, and that his ability
would 1«,' of some value to them. When he
got there he had his old gri.dge against the
government. He believed he had a claim
against the government. As you know, \<v
ti ■ testimony given at Regina, he was wi..-
ing to sell out that claim lor thirty-five
thousand dollars, and that pos.sibly he might
have sold it for five thousand dollars. When
he was asked — ''Wliat is to become of thfl
claims of the half-b eeds tiis answer was—
"The half-breeds,— that is me. Settle with
me and you will hear nothing
more, and 1 will leave the country.^
But what had he to do. He had first to
turn these half-lireeds against their cleigy
and missionaries, who had been their tein-
IK>ral as well as spintual advisers. He had to
appeal to tli? suptTstition of the.se potir peo[)le
to turn them against their clergy, and when he
had done that he then brought them under this
new religion of his— and concerning all these
tliines the sworn testimony of the people
themselves will be submitti ! to parliament
--he sent out scouts to teii them to come
int(j the baptism into the new faith of his
secretary Jackson and to bring their guns
with them, in order to fire a sa'ute. He then
told them when they assembled. that the gov-
ernment were sending five hundred mounted
IHjlice to devastate their territory, torture
them, and drive them from the country, ana
under the iiiHuence of this new religion, he
managed to bring about that collision
at Duck Lake which was the first
overt act and thus committed them
to the rebellion. Am I rigl-.t? Why,
on that point I will read you from authority
which every one will accejit. I read from a
j fernion deliver! (i by Bishijj) trraniUn in the
: church of St. Kfiche. (The sjioaker here
I quoted rem;' l-s of Bisho;- (traudm, sho\>ing
j the attemp't tn spread the new religion and
i the imprisoniiient of four jiriests, six religious
j and si>!T;e lay brothers, sentinels being placed
] at tliei<- dcKirs to pnvent iiitercc;i;rsej. So
that you W'll see that Kiel with all the power
I he liad over these peo|ih;, so far from being
I able to induce them to rebel on account of
eliiims. was obliged to tirn th<m again.st
'heir missionaries and commit cruelties
against th-n misj-ionaries ..nd in that way
]. revoke retnilion, which would result to his
advantage by the government being com-
pelhd t<i accede to his wishes. It was a
system of Uiaking blackmail out of the blrK)d
and homes, and happiness of our unfortunate
people whf) had become his dupes, and the
man who can stand upon anj- platfoiin and
palliate such a proceeding as th.T un-
worthy of his position as a Canailia and
deserves the execration of ail fair-n.':idt^
men. (Cheers and applause). Mr. Chair-
n;an, lin'ies, and gentlemen, I fear
1 have detained you t(Hi long. (Cries
of go on). I feel deeply _ grateful
to you for \oui kimi atiention. 1 iiis etior-
mous audience ia evidence of the fact thav
u
the iieople of Halifax feel a deep interest m
the difacussion of public queHti"i is, common to
the whole Dominion. I f tly hoi)e that
that condition of things ni.iy long last, and 1
sincerely believe that a fair consideration of
the policy of the government and its con-
duct in the past, and of the manner in vhicli
it haf> managed piibhr affairs, and its policy
in the fut\ire will ensure for i«^ that measure
of support which the jH.'ople of Cai ada have
given to it on two occawions at general elec-
tion.,, and in by-elections since it has been in
power.
I thank you again ladies and gentlemen
for your kind attention. (Prolonged ap-
plause).
The chairman said that this wp,s the first
occasion on which the people of Halifax hiwl
had the [ileasure of hearing the Hon. Mr.
White. He hart now to call uiKjn the n.
Mr. Foster to addnss the meeting.
Hon. Mr. Foster
(who was received with applause) id, Mr.
Chairman, L.vliis and (ientlemen— If I had
be.'n of a nervous temperament or hr.d had
less expiTicnce than I have have had, I
should hav(! be<.-n wmewhat frigliten^d as
the course of events gradiially drew what
has b(!en called the "variety combination"
down to the great city of Halifax. I wovdd
naturally woiifier, in the light of recent
events, whether or not it would turn otit
that the people of the city of Halifax, 'f
they came together at all to hear us, wo;
evince the least particle of interest in hear-
ing discussed iiue-tions concerning the
UonLiniou of Canada and by Canadian min-
i.sters of the crown. 1 would wonder
whether it wimld turn out that a people,
advise<l diligently and persistently, if not
alily, to giv(! the ministers a wide be'th
would assemble at all to hear tliem, or
wiiether they would take the advice of
another ojiiMisition paper that it would be r
wise aivl projier thing to break up the
m»'etinp id not hear the speakers at
all. If I had had less experience,
T might have been filled with
fear and trembling, but the moment
1 came into tliis hall .and looked uj)on this
sea of intilhufiit faces, I would liave known
'ieiice of Canadians wh
they were filled with gratitude and Joy, and
jubilation in the prospect of a ntiir return to
the comfortable U-nches of {wwer and
patronage. (Laughter.) When we ascer-
tain tlie reawjn for tliis joy and
jubilation, ve find that its rests
upoij three things. Certain elections have
taken place. One in a county known as
Haldimand, in Ontario; another in Chambly,
in (Quebec; and a mi)re general election
recently in C^uebec. These<are the bases
wlience have sjirung this joy and liope. this
triumphant juliilation. It is well for the
great conservative iiarty, and it is well for
the ])eoi)le of Canada to look at the bases of
this hope for a momi'nt and a.sk what these
bases are, and see v^-hether the foundations
are solid or not. Haldimand has sj^iken !
An.' it has been said by or.ators on public
platforms in New IJrunswiek, within the
past three weeks, and on other platforms
throughout the 1 »ou inion, and it is a stock
argument of the opposition pre.ss, that tlie
vote in Haldimand indicates what will be the
vote throughout Ontario. Why, l)less you,
Haldimand has been spe.aking ever since 1S(;7.
It then sent a liberal to parliament with a
majority of 307. In ISi'S it sent a liberal to
parliament by acclamation. In 1S74 it again
retiirned a liberal by acclamation. In 1S78
it returned a liberal to parhanr-nt by a
majority of 1«!S. In 1882 it returned aiK^ther
liberal by I'JO majority. The other day it
sent another liber.al u]) with the
largely increased majority of 11.'"). Hence
this jubilation. The "Dutch have taken
Holland— Haldimiind has spoken, and the
opiK)sition say thi.t they are comimr back to
rule. Give Haldiiiiancl two or th-ee more
trials and the opposition majority will l)e-
come a minoritj', and anotlier party
will go u[) to rule.' (Laughter and applause.)
But, it n said, as Chamblv speaks so will
speak (^uel>ec. The patriot who called njKin
his audience to listen to the voice of
Chamblv, or any other liberal, I do not fear
to state," should be the last to throw uji his
eai> and shout at the prospect of coming
into poo-er because of the issue which re-
sulted in the selection of the candidate re-
turned by Chivmbly. I liave heard it
claimed that the liberal party were a party
of free traders, that so they were born and
breil and grew up, and so would they die;
1 I have always been led to believe that if
worse than
nivself amou),' igi auilieii..,t .,1 v^.., .......»>. -.. -, u » i
v,-ould listen to the discussion of imblic (|ues- | there was anvthmg they hated
tions in a cUiri, fair and manly spirit. (.Vp-jsin it was protect!., n .ami the national
plause.) T have all faith i:i time to set right
MTuiig jidgments, to correct wnmg inqire"
sioiis, to rigtit things
to aid nature and tlie
in building up a gi-
'vhich are urong, and
'esources she has giv<'n
■at and a progressive
and
the
country under C.inadian skies and a Cana-
dian f'-g. (.Vpplause.) NN'ithin the past fe\v
weeks, Ml-, 1 miglitfay months, a new
more jubilant note has been added to
opl«isilion evangel. This note li;-,-' been (ine
of hojie and promise— of promise soon to he
fulfilled that the party cou'-tituthig the o])-
position in the country to-day and who hav
Ix'en in th.at iiosiiion so m.any weary years,
lirik^iiii^ it.^ *».'4r»^ ."„;",;; :;;rj:;r-- }/Lii;;r, " "^^^ -■"
be relieved. Thev saw a star in the Last,
or the West I will not say which, and
IH)licy, wliich they claimed to lie denioraliz-
ing and ruinous and burdensome to the
country, and that if tliey IkmI their way they
would "tread it in the dust and elevate the
st.andard of free trade. Would you belii've it?
The lil>era1- .tre shouting themselves hoarse
because ('liambly has < lected Mr. I're-
fontaine who avows himself to be .an out and
out protectionist. If there is one thing that
the liberals claim more than another it is
that they are the party of purity. They
St t their faces like flint against aii^ sorts of
corruption. They i»ev<'r bril)e. They never
make use of any sinister influences. They
v.iiver 'jrrt ^ir:nie !!:'rst>!?s OUt oi '»ffic*:' for the
sake of putting some otlier persons in. Yet,
will you believe it, the Montreal Witness a
16
paper which the St. John T«l(> . aph, an |
afttliority \i\Km all niattcrK (f doctrine in
connection with the ojiiiosition, classes as r
liberal paiier— What did the Montreal
Witness say? It said that Mr. Prefouteine
who was elected pit sident of the young
lilxralK, was a very i)oor choice for a party
t'lat put forward i)\irity as one of its principal
planks. It said that Mr. Prefontaine at one
time t<x)k a hribe of SL.'iOO and that if the
young liberals were true to their professions
they would never take such a man to be
tlieir president. That , is the man just
elected in Cliambly ami the li!)eral party are
shuiiting themselves hoarse over the event.
Twenty-four Engli;-ih liberals .ecorded their
votes in favor nf the proiKisition that
Thf, government did right in letting the
law take its course on that aich
traitor, Louis Rii 1. It makes a man
wonder A-hat idea some iieople have ot
cor.sisteucy when men, who sttKid up in par-
liament and voted in favor of the govern-
ment on that issue, are the very men *^o be
jubilant because Chambly hiv* sjxiken. When
Mr. Prefontaine a.^ked for the votes of the
electors ;)f Chambly he did so on one issue.
He I 'resented himself to them as the instru-
ment they should select to avenge thenjselve*
for the murder of Louis Kiel on the hang
men at Ottawa. Mr. Davies and the party
with which he is a.ssociated show their con-
sistency when they glory in the victory of
Chambly as the re.iult of which Mr. Prefon-
tain was elected, for they are the very men
who declared that the government did right
in allowing the law to take its course. They
are the men who said the law should be car-
ried out. and who voted to sustain the govern-
ment on that ground, and yet tliey rejoice at
the election ot a man wliose only platform is
to avenge the muriler of Kiel on the hang-
men at Ottawa. Knowing this, what can the
HupiK-ters of tilt party say other than that
huwever nuich they love the party they are
a.shamed that it should climb into injwer
over such an abnegation of all the principles
whicli should govern a great party?
Well they say that a great liVjeral victory
has Vieen gained in Quebec. (Faint cheers). I
want .-ou to cheer it. I would like to he.ar a
great cheer f'om you. It is stated bv papers
here that a great liberal victory ria.s l)een
gaini'd m Quebec. LiV)eral i)apers maintain
that they always iiglit for principles. A
great liberal victory was gained there, and
then fore a great liberal principle must have
underlaid thi i ■ victory. What was the
principle? L< > them explain them.selves.
What does that same Montreal Witness say,
the day after the battle when it was thought
that the Quebec government was sweijt out
of existence by that cry adopted by Mr.
Mercier.
"As v.-o predicted some time ago the opposi-
tion prii-ty has 8we])t the province by means
of the Rie! cry. In-everr oonatitucncy. French
and FngUsh, this has" been tlio dominating
cause."
L'El'^teur said a few days before the
election:
at Reg:1na. It U the advance gTiard of tha
murderers with whom you are to deal on
Tuesday."
That 18 the great liberal principle that ha*
been enunciat«'d. (cheers ana laughter.)
What said L'Etendard on the eve of the
election.
■■I'atriots
the solemn
in going
oath you
lo 1 no iMiiia i-eiiieniue
took on
"To-morrow everj cltlr.en is called on toper-
form a supreme duty— upon the vote will
depend the future of our race. To the polla
then and vole like Christians and soldiers."
What said La Patrie, the organ of that
great liberal party, standing upon that great
liberal issue in the city of Montreal. It says:
"On the ICih November our young Canadian
nationality ruccived the baptism or l)lood. It
received it at tlu hands of the hangmen. Sir
John A. Macdonald officiated as high priest.
.V Ficnch Canadian .dotis, a noble man paid
with his blood fc the necessity of cement luif
the anti-Freneh political party. Our escut-
cheon received a stain whiinonly the tears of
tlie province can wash out; but we will not bo
stru<k down, let us work, let us become
strong, let us be Canadians."
The day after the V)attle when it thought it
had the victory it broke out in these words
"The s' niggle is over and the province may
breathe free'y. It nas lived under the sorry
hanjCman regime, now we will have the na-
tional regime. The province of Quebec felt
the blow it received on the 16th of November.
What a revenge we have had."
Now gentlemen that is the issue which vas
put stpiarelj t. th;, electors in the province
of Quebec, • i that issue the battl.' was
fought, and on such a bloody and unworthy
issue as that tlie great liberal party are will-
ing to take their stand and count that as a
great liberal victory. They are welcome to
all such victories, (.\pplacise.) But I tell
you my honest conviction is that like the
prairie fires that sweep up and burn all Ijefore
them, but in an nour their '.-lit hag
passed away, and out of the burnt earth
comes forth sweet nutrition and abundance,
so this prejudice may be taken advantage of an
unscrupulous men for the moment, and they
may snatch a seeming victory, but the reaction
shall come, they shall reap but blackness and
ash. s while the freshness and glory of a
better and nobler principle shall succeed.
(Applause). But some one may .sav "Ah,
y.)U are the incendiary yourself. You are
coniing down here liefore a Halifa:. audience,
and you are raising the cry of race and
religion, and trying to shield your govern-
ment under this cry. (Cheers from one end
of the building). Yes, cheer that, — I would
like you t(j cheer it. (Laughter.) By these
cheers \ ou say that it is a bad thing to raise
the cry of race and religion. (Applause.)
It is a bad thing, — I agree with you. But
who raised it first. I api)eal to the average
intelligence of the average man in this
country if this is not true, that up to the
Kith of Nf-vember, that fatal dav in Novem
iH'r, and every day lietween ttje time that
Riel was caught and pat in prison,
to that day, I ask you if this is not true
without the shadow of a doubt that the
v.'hiile l!l>eral uartv in the Oominion of
7hT\'!iihnt I Canada trained" every gun and oj^ned every
'^\ombriaSr.To aTng'^'lhat blo^y outrage I battery and brought every pound of its ammu-
10
nition— to do whftt? To open ont in indignant
remonsitraMce againHt a governint-nt which
would let Kiel go with his life. (ApplauKf).
Was it so or was it not? Lt-t uie take th«
testimony from the iiuiuths of the party and
the organs i>f the partv, and I dnfy imy man
in this audiiiice to pick out one single half
dozen of those newspapers which did not
Work upon this plan m accordance with the
samples from the journals I quote to you.
Before the executinn, when they thouglit tha*^
Sir .Fohn A. Macdonald would >ield
to the domination of the Frei; h ai -d
let Kiel g.?, what did they say ?
"The verdict and the sentence in the Kiel
trial were the natural ones and if interfer-
ence or delay in the Ciirrying out of the
righteous seut'-nce l)e allowed it will denum-
strate the extent of the Hleti influence over
Sir John and the Dominion. "-- From the St.
Thoma-J Journal, a leading liljtral paiier in
Ontario.
"If over a mr.n deserved hanging it is Ricl.
and handed he would most assured];- be did
be not luippen lo be a Kreiuh Ciitliolic. Of
that tiicrc is not a sliadow of a doubt."
That was stated in another liberal paper.
Anil again:
"\Vlii"\ a land is ruled by a man who to
save himself from political deuth will go so
far as to ii.inl.m HP enemy of tin; bLateand a
slaughterer of o>ir yourif^ vulnuleers. I lien it
is, time for that land and that eiiurilry to
consii' ..- lo what deijlhssueh a prime minister
can sink and liow far ho should bo allowet'
to go."
Where dues that come from? Ttie Nova
Scotia, I'ictou News. (Cheers and laughter).
"Sir .lolin knows enough to k'cp himself in
accoiil with the French element of Qtii^bee,
without which h > now refuses to aceedi' to
thj punisliment of the arch-traitor. Verily
civilization doe.s away with justice."
That is from an exponent of the liberal
party in tlie Nort..west.
"N'ot to hang such a villain Lsunpanlonahle.
The demauii in Ontario isiiol a erv for venge-
ance, but a demaiKl ^imply to let the law Lake
its course on a notorious malefactor."
That is from a grit paper in Ontario.
"It has come to a pretty pass indeed, when
a red-haii.ied rebel can thus snap his lingers
at the law. '— [I'ort Hope (juide.
And here Comes the journal nf the Hon.
David .Mills, till- philosopher friend and guide
of the opposition party, (Laugliter) thiough
all its lonely wanderings in tli(^ outside
wilderness, (I.,au;(hter.) Kver and anon in
sight of ilie promised land Ijvit with no
fru'ndly hand extended. (Laughter.) Mr.
Mills says, —
"The question still remains why shotdd
Quebec do for Kiel wliat it iKiver would do
for the KiiKlish. Irish or Seoti^h. Why slioidd
it overlook the murders of men and women,
etc.. etc."
That, gentlemen, is a fair sample of the
utterances of of the great liberal organs
batteries unmasked ready to l>elch forth
against the government wliich would not
follow their views on the morrow. They
waked up on th« mominpf following, nibbed
their eyes and thereafter found no word too
hot against the government which
hanged a pot)r inoffensive half-mad fellow
outjn the North-we-t. (Cheers and laugh-
ter). Yes, sir, there is the great lil»Tal
plank, and to-day having failed in all posi-
tive principle and jKilicy and having failed
in all negativecriticism, they clasp the Kegina
scaffold .and hand over Imud'ho]* to climb
into jKiwer by that unworthy means. (-Ap-
plause). I say to you all that if I were a
liljeral in n. ine, a,s I am in fact, I would
prove my lit)eralism by 'standing out
from that shaky bog ufxm the solid
principle that there .hoidd be common law
and ecpial justice for every man in this
(Mumtry of whatever creed, race or nation-
ality. (Ijoud applause).
But, sir, after having left4.his subject let
me invite yiur attention to wli.at ought to be
the true source of your criticism u[K)n the
political parties of this country.
The people coinixi-iing this audience have too
intelligent countenances t<.> l)e led away by
iiere catch cries. One says, "he is a lii)eral,
I will tight him," and another, "he is a tory,
I will hght liim," but the man who g(K's by
mere catch cri>s is 100 years iK'hind the
times. Victoiiesare won and battles are .
f( 'light, and the causes at issue are laid away
in the C'»nieteries of na.ions. To-day we
divide im tariff principles, and the methods
of lulmiuistration of the government. Th"se
issues are v hat intellit^eiit [H^ojile decide
\\\*m, and they vote for ttie man or the (Kirty
wliich presents the best principles for th''ir
acceiitanoe. If we are to judge intelligently,
so as to give our votes between the two great
I)arties, wliich at present exist in the Domin-
ion, we can find no better test than this, not
to judge a tree by the color of its h'aves or
the size of its limbs, but by the fruit it bears.
So I ask you to scan the records of tin.' two
parties since confederation, and su)>lMirt the
party which presents the best record. What is
the record of the liberal-conservative party?
Its very birth rose out of the confedi-ration
of the provinces, and to-day we would ii.ive
had no union if it had not been for the idea
of confederation which was carried into
etfect by its leaders. Th.at • me thing you
may iiut down to the reci of the party.
Previously the jiroviiic, . were d-sjointed
with different tariffs and not united with any
( iieness of aim or community of |rar|«ise.
The liberal-conservative lea<lers conceived
tlie idea of uniting them and of building up
a country with a common policy, a eoin-
mon sentiment and a common citizi r^ship.
After the jirovinces were united in name
there remained the greater work of uniting
them in fact, as they were united on paper,
and I am prepared to affirm tli(! statement
that if you examine the reconl of the liberal-
conservative party you will not find .in in-
stant during which it has wavered
in its purfK)se for the consolidation and
unification of the different parts of the Do-
minion. There is no repeal part; among the
i ; v., .r:!.! -conservatives. ( ADi'lause), There
>rivy councillors among ttv
are no imni, no _
liberal conser. a. ive party forgetful of their
oaths of office, who will stand up and say
17
that if tlicy ]\:v\ ham on tluf hanks of thi'
.Sa!<K;it(lii V, !iri, tlii'V wouUi have Mlmt ficiu ii
the \(ilniiti'ii-< will) went thir«'f(ir the pur
()<)-ii' iif i>r('s<Tviii^f the inttyrity of thr IKi-
miiiicm. Tlii'ir n'cnnl ,^ a-s ol.ar an thi- H\in-
lip'it. I.yiiiK far ajiart fniin lacli iitlicr litiw
could til.' pripv iiici'.-< U' juiiird, Init liy tiavinsf
V( ins .■uvl arti-vii's su|i|>lie(l, trit-at litiis of
coiiiiiiiiiiicati"!! tiy A\ati'r anil rail. I clial-
If'iitji' i_'oii*iailiitlnTi iif til" asst-rtinn, that the
TfiMrd (if the (onsiTvativr jiaity liii-' tit'in
whipjly and 1 . tsisti-ntly in fa\iir of litiildint;
these cliaiinels ot eoniliinnieatiim and the
development to the (.Teatest exlt'nt of differ-
ent jiarts oi tl.e i)oininion. The railAay
jKjlicy uhi'h has heeii adverted to to-iiitrht
whieh han le-- i!tcd in the 'mildin;; of the
Canada racific railway, aw well as local rail-
ways conneeted with it, .'ittests that. The
huildint'of the liitei;-,,lonial railway attetts
that. Yi.ii say tUat Mr. .Mackenzie 'milt
part of it. \'es. lint when you f,'et a liheral
orator on the floor of tlie house .and tax
hini with the mori'ase of debt he will sav
"true there was an increase in the debt, btit
you )ire]iared the (ilans and we are not to be
found fault with for it." This e.xjil.anation
exonerates them from the acens.ation that
there was any time in their history u hen they
prooosed to do any ^rn-at work. (Lau^chter).
The liberal-conservative iiarty have madi'
permani'ii' the tariff jiolicy of the country.
They have made it so stronj^ that to-day
when a lili'ial orator eet. u]) and speaks of
tf.riff rt'form he avers his iiatred of iirotection
and his belief in free trade, Init he concludes
bj- -raying "we cannot give you free trade if
we get in." If asked w'hy, his rejily
is that the frovernnient have to raise
.1 large revenue, as if a free trade
country cciuld not raise a large revenue: as if
Great Ihitain did not raise ^^ILSU for every
head of population, while we raise only S<i. Sit.
This is the hyjiocritical g.arb under which the
lib, ral orators -eek to escape the logic of
arg\iment. If they wish to make this a free
trade c<iimtry they can have an income tax;
they cm impose taxes on the house a man
own-, or liU the tea he drinks, while we give
hi:n his tea free. Jf these men were as honest
in their opiniuns .is they are hmd in the
expressii n of them, they would not only say
they believe in fn-e trade, but they would
carr\ it out. So imicli .'or the record rif the
liberal Cfniservative p.arty. Now view for a
moment the record of the lib-ral jiarty, and
first their rei. mi from 1S78 to 1S7S. They
went into piwer with a majority iif 00 to
70, and they came out with a mir irity. Oid
the peojilc of the l>omiuion jud'.re wronclv, or
were there faults to be found with the admin-
istratinn which, having been exiled from
[Kiwer for L'O years, was promjitly given
another peril id fit exile. The\ came into iiower
with a surjihis of Sl,(i;}S.S2"2. Thev went
out wit h a dehcit of .Sl.'.tOft.tKK), The*- came
in with a revenu.' ..f •■<1.'4.(KM).000. and thev
reduced it to >!i;i3,.'0<1,(X1(*. Thev ci; ^ in with
a trade amounting to .■<'217,r)00.(K)O and the
trade of the country went down to .*iriM,400. -
000. There was an adver.se balance of trade
against t!i ■ cnuitrv every yeai of .'*21.(KM1.-
If any nii., nt i.s audience can put his
finger Ujion a sinudegreat act for tlieadvjince
iiieiit of the iMViitry p.assed and put into
opej-ation tiy tie Mackeii/.ii' fuva iinient
from H74 tn 1H7'.I, 1 would like him to
mention it. .lu.st try and hunt it ii|i and you
will have a longer search than the
N.oinan in the New T(Mtament had for the
lost piece of silver. What has been
tie result si'xe the jiresent gov-
I 1 mieiit came into power? The
revenue has increased from »!L' l,(«>0,000 to
.'<:(2.(HHMI<M>. The trade has g.'owii from
.■<l."iH,(H»(),0<)0 to .«l!l!l,()00,(>"0- \Ve have re-
duced the adverse vearlv balance of trade from
.■^•.'l,(KH),0(VI to .■^'li'i.lKMVCKHl. The liusiness
failures which a\era.(red .^L'C.MHI.tKHI h.ivede-
cr.ascd to .'ill.O<Ml.(HXI. The post office
sa.viutrs baiiK de|io-irs, which fell off to the
extent of .*tli:i,(KJ(). ha\e increa-ed .*lL',:«(i,-
• ioii. Contrast these records aie' s.iy whether
it is not true, that the liberal-ciai-irvative
party has these points which should com-
mend it to the people. It started with a
faith in the future of the country uliliOi ha,s
never wa\ereil. It was will ini' to la> itself
out liy tempting the future, to make proi/ress
a certainty. l'>ut more than faith isre(|uired
of statesmen. They need. be>ide, the
ability to iilan. Loiik at the .ilans and
policy of the liberal-conservative gov-
eriniieul for the establishment of industries
and the extension of trade, and I ask
whether this ability to plan has
not been .a cliar;vcteristic of the govern-
ment. It has also had the boldness to
execute its iilaur-. With faith in the future
of the country, with the ability to plan for
the de\e!opment of that future and the
bo!d:i' -s to execute and rarrv out th(> plans
so formed thf government has liuilt up a
record noon which it conJdeutly ap]ieals to
the jieoi.le of Canada.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is poor policy
when an .army have been struggliu'T so long
in bi'ttleand|atlast have crowni'd tln-ir efforts
with succi-ss, and have taken the citadel,
to iiiiiiiediately invite their enemies to take
their place and to tell their .army to go out-
side. No, if these men niakinsr uji the liberal
conservative party have established these
works and jKiiicies, and cairied them out
successfully, while you liave' enjoyed the
fruits of that success, do not make the nii.s-
take of jiutting in jiower other men than
those who liave sym]iathies with those jilans
and jHilieies, and who will keep them
sacred for yoii and for your children.
I.\]iplause.) liut it might be said. — yes, but
you have piled nil an enoiiuous debt on this
country.
Now, just five n.lnutes on th.at ovies-
tion. I w.ant to ask how much
is th.at delit: The ^biriiing Chronicle
and Kecorder would proliablv sav: The debt
of the Dominion is .'<»M1.(KHI.(KICI. Some of
them are cuter than others, a.-d tliev will
say it is nearly S.'«)0,(KK),tH)(l, >o that if you
catch them m the e.x.act amount th."y will
have some little ground to save theni.selves.
I am here to state that the gro.-s debt is not
anywhere near three hundre'd millions of
dollars, and that on the 1st d.av of .Inly, 1S8.5,
t!-.-. .-.--.- .-^..:- .'}^\.^ .--.? tt-.- lli-.iv.-.T-.i; .r. ".f Cr..:-:,*ida
was in round tigui.is §2(i-t,oOO,000. Now there
18
a wide difffrencf iH-tween the ftmo\ints,
and ymi would tliiiik w> if tli<- <litt'in nee " nt
into Vdiir iKK'ki'ts Uimtrlitt-r): and you \vould
think ^(1 all thi- more if it Imd to oo.iie out of
your |K)cket.-i. (Kfnfwed laiitflitcr. ) There
>H IK) need (if (rivini; your country
a worwp luinie than it hIiod' ' liavi propeilv
— there is no honest patri. -in in eudeavor-
inarto overloiul thecnuntry « ith an iirui^'in iry
debt, heca\ise it does n it liel|i it outside.
The prorts debt wan .*'JC,4.(XH),(KM) in .Inly,
IHHT). I seewoine one in the luidience Hniilinu
as if to say "Yes. hut that is .-i year asro.
You liave heen iiilintr it uji since then." H'lt
I say that on the :«)th dav of September,
1SK<;, *he (cross (h'bt was ^'renter than it was
in July, 1SK\ by no more than .*(1(HI,0*K1, tlii.t
is to sav, to-dav in ro\ind numbers the trross
deJit is .*'_'(;4.000,(MH). Hut that is not half th ■
truth. Wlien vou want to find the tin.mcial
standinfT of a man you woidd not say that he
owes so iiiueli and that he is therefore
in a bad way, out yoii would say he owes
so much, ' and he owns so much,
and the lialauce would show his jsis-
ition. Now be as honest with the country as
you would be with the man (chee,'s.). Find
"out how nuich the assets of the country
are, and vou will find that on the
1st of .Tulv. l.^^X-"), the asset^s _vere
g;(;K.(HXl.0(")O in round numbers. "Yes,". said
a K«''itleiuan in controversy with me on the
subject. "b>it what are tln.'se ass( ts worth?
There IS the Intercolonial railway -that is
one of them: try and sell it. There are your
canals.- take them and auction them otf."
He led iieo)ile to believe that that was what
was meant when we talked about i.ssets. It
is not. Thi'se .ire permanent assets, but the
8tW,()(K),()00 do not inchide any of the p\iblic
works of Caiuida. Oh, but you may say
tl, (..;,. .•5,;s,0(X>,()00 do not briufc auythiuf in.
Don't thev'.' Don't you wish you had all
thev broutcht inV (I.aujfliter.) In 1.S.H,") the
assets of the Dominion of Canada bnmpht in
S3.'."'2 for every hundred dollars of thi-m,
while for every hundred dollars of our public
debt we pay ^S.SO. Tliat is to say, the assets
are worth more dollar for dollar than each
dollar of the i>ublic debt, and in ISS.-) twn
and one half millions of dollars of interest
accrued uiKm our assets.
Now- do the next thing and from that
(yross debt subtract ^ur available assets,
SC^^.(>0O,(K)O from the .«<-_>i;t,nO().(M)<), and you
have remaininsj: .•slIH'i.OoO.tHH),— a louij way
from even »('(Wi/ SSOO.tMtO.tKW. Hut if you
po awav with the idea tliat the *l!ir,,()00,0(K)
ha.s been rolled u]> by the ^ do-
minion trovernment, vou arewTous. l-or of
that s1!M;.0<)0,000 the sum of .•i;lO(!,(H)0,Ot)0
was owinsr or would to-day be owing by
the provinces, .and is simply taken from the
provinces and handlei' at a less rate of
interest. (.Vpiihvise.) So that if you sub-
tract .SlOfi.OOO.tXM) from -SliHl.CMXl.OOO you Ret
the real debt rolled np for the actual pur
iK)sesof the 1 )ominion-S'.Kt.(H«>.(KX).
development i f its resources, the earriape of
its traile lid the buildintr u]! of this country,
do vou think that al' this is ni>t worth the
>!<.H).(H)(>,(MH) that have been rolled up? .Mow
I have said this much and 1 want to say one
thing more. You hear every day some one
.saying: "Oh, this country -it is Ix-inff
crushed down bv a load of taxation the vi-
talitv is being crusliel out of it \<y tin- bur-
den of debt piled up t>y these libeinl-couser-
vatives. ' and the complaining ones trv to
].ersuadi' people that tlie\> are actually I'lyak-
iii" their ooiies by carrviiig this load. Now,
what i- the burden of dibt? It is the inter-
est that von have to pav to carry It. %Ve do
not pay the ?<:«)<), (HM I. (XK) or the SV.h;,(MH).()00.
We do not pav all tliat pr.neii-al. If a
man owes a debt of !*.")<>0 in tliree -ears
at five ]ier cent, he must Jiay the interest for
three vears. and then the principal, but a
coun»rv is not! so situated. All a country
h.as to do is to keep its credit gipod. and when
that loan matures put out a new loan .at a
less rate of interest. -Ml that you have to
think aluiut is the interest that vou have to
|iav for carrying the debt. In 1n7|I, Mr.
Mack'-nzie went out of power, fnd t len, of
c iiirse, iliere was no debt crushiu'-T d>\ni up
on your shoulders! Take tie nuinbei; of i.eo-
plelivim.' in CJanada in 1H7'.' and di\ide that
number into the interest on the debt ;ind_ you
will hiid th:'t the burden was exactly si. 59
)>er head of the jKipulation. Then the con-
servative government came in, and tlie
was jiiled up .and i>iled up. and w.
the amount of interest ] aid in ISS.^. and
by the number of people living in Can.ada
aiid you "ill id that the interest burden is
exactly-^l.-^l.-thesame ,as it was in lS7;i,and
not one cent more (ajiplause.l Now that is
either true or not true. If it is not true let
somebo<lv disjirove it. But I state on the
authority of the public accounts, on the
ivuthorit'v of the finance minister, on my own
resiHinsibility, that lo-day the burden of
interest is e.actl, tW same, calculated in
that way, as it was in IST'.l— and not one cent
greater.' Now that dis]Kises of thnt biibb'\
1 have been referreil to a.s a bubble also
daughter) and vou can float the two tou'ether.
1 think I know- which will be the least p.ala-
talile to some of our friends. But I must
conclude, (cries of "go on.") An hone.st
man would s.av, "well vou have srot the bet-
ter . if me on th.-it debt questi. .u, but ( .ue cannot
d.nv that while we spent .*1 1 ,(KM(,(HXt in ISIi.H,
w" now sjieiid .•i:U.(MK>,(HH) in IS.s.^i. 1 do not
deny it. 1 would be sorry to belong to .i jiarty
which held on to power through the argii-
iiient th.at from ISIW to 1S8.\ with .all this
'country and Hs resources, there had been
1 no increase in the e\iienditur(> of the coun-
\ try year bv ve.ar. For what wi -dd that
; prove? A )iarty that was station.-wy, '■'"'■ct-
i ing no public works, no w.aterwaysth
'canals or rivers, increasing nothnifj
service of the countrv,— -that wnulil be a
debt
take
divide
•ough
for the
And
]i.artv which could show you a stationary
if vou know that the Intercolonial railway ; expenditure, and a stationary or <lecreasmR
CO"*- us 830 000 000, the C.an.ada : country, as well as a st,atu)n.ary / \pi
Pacific railway some .?.57.O0O,000 and 1 Does not every man
i-nditure.
know that progress
. ._ cao :i(iO 0"".— I is re.ilized oiilv in proi"irtion, as great-
need no'rrefer 'to the other' imblic works } er expenditures are ni.ade; ir a
allover this Doininioawhich are used for the [man will live m an i
ilized
19
stiitf, lie n<<<l nut fni|ilnv a tailor
ami ilixi Hut nil fl to Ijf larticuliir an to
what 111- v.iar.i. Hut if lif cones to civili/.a-
lion In iiiu-t jray tailors" I. ills. (CliecrH aTid
laiiK'lit" r. ) If a town wantH a sanitary Ky«t<n.
UU'\ ollii-v r -cc-.-ary wTvifi'. itcaii only ak,T<-c
to li:iM lliis»' tiling" in l>ro|><irtion an it ha."
imr':iM(l i'x)icii(liluri'. Tliink of yonr I'du-
«-atiorKil iii'titiitions, if you will have col-
lt-^;i-> and put your Ixjy^ and K'rlH in tlicni
you UiU'-t jiut your hands in your (xicki-tn
anil incrt-atiH your cxpt-n-fM. Aiwl it is cx-
ucllv >o with a c.rintry. Tin- i)ouiinion of
Cauaila, coinuicncing' with fi-w jn lilic
Works now Ixia^ts of pnlilic works that an-
till- priili- of i-vi-ry triii- Canadian and tht- ad-
miration of all (.-ountrii's. (Applau^i-.) It
wi'uld Ih' a standing' di-'^'rat'i- to a iiolitii-al
party to n-niain stationr.ry and not undi-rtaki-
imlilic work.s in order to niaki- tin- (-ni|'tv
idl«- Ixiast that it had ki-pi at a stati-
onary fi).'ur(' the puhlie exi>i m'iture. (Ap-
plause.) Look at the extent of si-a coast, the
mult i plying; services of the country, tlie de-
V(-lopniint of its i-esources and rnnipare thi-
t'X| I udituri-s, and I leave it to honest, fiiir-
miiided nn-n wliether they %yill condemn the
g-ovi mini nt l»-<-a\ise it has increased the ex-
penditure. To lie fair, yo,i must come down
to particulars, and show what expi-nditun-s
could have lieen avoidt-d while the coiuitry
would still have been as well
olV; hut tlie oo|iosition simply hold
out the fact that the exm-nditures
have increased, and artrue that, then
fore, the J.', ivi-i-nment has liei-n extravatcant.
So much then in reference to expenditures. I
inten<li-d to refer to the rinestion of recipro-
city, hut my colleaffue has dealt with tiiat
Fil'jectso fully and so fairly and honestly
that all I have to s.ay is that 1 endorse his
sentiments and believe them tube entirely
true. The dilference between the lilieral
party, under Mr. Mackenzie, and the liberal-
conser\ative I'arty is this, thiit tlm
liberal I'aity tried to ^'et recipro-
city .and, havinu failed, folde<l their
arms and made no elfort to build up the in-
dustries of our own country, so as te train
sdnie coni|jensati<m within our own borli-rs;
whereas the liberal-conservative|)arty. having,'
trieil am! failed lofr-t n ciprocitv.determii.ed
to turn their attcTition to our own country,
ami to devise a i«ilicy for ihis Canaiia of ours
\vhich would develop inter-proviuci:i' trade
am! build uji lines of comuninicatiou, -• that
wealth might .-iccumulate. That is the ditfer-
cnce between the liberal and th" liberal-con-
servative parties, and it redounds to the
everlxstinjr credit of thelibcral-conserv.xtives.
1 had intended to speak of the tishery
question. The great heritage of the tisheries
we are inclined sometimes to think is not
thought much of in the ♦est. I can dissiiiate
that opinion. From conversations with iieo-
ple i-vi-nas far west as I'ritish Columbia, I
am in a ixjsition to say that throughotit Cana-
da but one. sentimf-nt prevails in the uiinds ,^;id
breasts of every one except annexationists
like the editor of the St. John Clnlie, viz.:
that the tisheries are our nat\iral and riphtful
heritage. If the Tnited States, in a friendly
Kidt'K, we are w dlingr an cousins, H«'parated by
an im.iginiry line, to enter into an
arrangement with them; but if they
ivish Ui take eviTthing and (five
nothing in return, Canivfla stands on the
treaty of ]S1K, (loud che«-rs(. It has l«'en
stated by papers on the opimsition side, and
I would lie the last to impugn their veracity,
that ord<-rs have In-en given that the crtiisers
should not enforce the treaty rights of our
fishermen against those of the United StatPH.
I appeal to you and to the consul general
of the Initi-d States who sits near ine,
whether the cruisers have not lu-en a little
of a bother to the United States fisher-
men. Hut what 1 want to sav
is this that the statements i have refern-d
to are unreliable and untnie. The orders
given t<i the crusiers were to carry out the
provisions of the treaty of ISIH, according to
our laws .and powers and r.n important
variation of those instruc-tions han ever since
tiei-n issued. The cruisers have been on
their beats, and they iiave protected the fish-
ing grounds, considering the extent of the
coast, as well as im.ssible. and I have to .say
that if the sanie state of affairs i-xists next
year the governmi-nt of Canada, supported
by the governi^ii-nt of (Jreat Hritain, will put
on H'.ore -jruisers if necessary.
In conclusion. I thank you kindly for the
magnificent n-cejition you have given to
members of the government coming to you
from a distance, and also to your own 1 onored
member from this i.rovince. 1 onlv want to
say one wurd more and that will be in the
shape of an appeal to the young men in this
atid'ence, and, through them, to the young
men of the Dominion of Canada.
Young men ftiU of hone and who
like to IfHik otit -with faith in the pro-
mises of the future, y^iunir men who believe
in growth and progress and not in "^he disin-
integration of this country of ours, which has
come up like a young giant, and has grown
in strength to the .adiriiration of the whole
World, — I aii)ii-al to such young men when
rebellion is apologized for and ch.amiiioned,
when scandal is made the gosjiel by which
it is .sought to bring an influence to bt ir on
the [leople which will oust from office the
party now in power, and when annexation-
ists hoist their colors and ask yyu to come
under them; when such thing'" ix-cur T ask
you to get up on the heights of faith and pro-
gress, and rally around the flag upon which
is inscribed loyalty to the Dominion and
the integrity of tiie great British Empire the
world over.
Mr. M. B. Daly, M. P.
said th.at the memliers of the con.servaaive
liarty in Halifax owed the visitors who had
addressed them this e\ening, a debt of grati-
tude for the manner in which they had pre
sented the iilatform of the jiarty. Those in
the audience who had suii]iorted Mr. Stairs
and himself in the reiiresentation of the city
would feel not only that t'.e sj^^^kers had
done credit to their' represencatives, but that
they had vindicated the action of the majority
of the electors in returning Mr. Stairs and
/
arrangement as will be of advantage to both [ exiwess the thanks which he as a represent*
so
tWo of tliP )i«>iiplp of Halifax, i\iwl of fhi' con- ' ttit-y woulil !«• ;il.l.' to ricdiM t.b'' iro.-riim.'nt
iMTVMtiv.- |i:iitvfi It t.. !..■ du.' to til.- ilniimii.'ii a fair mil iiii|>.trtiiil |i|il«iii'iit. I'luMf was
liifinU-i' who 'ii:ul •■.(lilri'S^.d tlii> mc liiiK t'li^ liimli iiion- tliut iiii/lit lir «aiil on •" iialf of
1 th>' trovcriinitnl :iii<l h'- lio|i< d that Mi 1 >ailv
i and liiinst'lf woiilil shortl\, thoiijfh m a 'iimi;!i
evrnniK.
Mr. J. F. Stairs, M. P.,
cl«'"iriil Biinplv to r<i>*at what liad Inin
sail! liy hi-* colh-a^iif in trnd'-rin;; thanks to
thi' B|ifal<iTs iif th'- I'Vi-ninK for tiic honor
aii'i iili-u-^iiic- thi-y had ronft-rn-d ii|Min ttif
i»-o|.h' of llalita\ and ihiir njirri-cntativi'S.
Hi' waxrinn- tiiatno oii>-, lilicral orconK<-rsa
tivc, had faihd to !«• (ilcaK.d with thi-
addn ■■-I'M dclivi-ri-d. Hi- tni^tt-d thiit
all pn'Mcnt would con^Kh-r the n-
cord of the ffovfrnni'-nt a:< iiri-s.-ntiMl to
thfiu ^u that, \v)ii-ii thi- ipro|).r tiiii'- came
nianm-r. havr an o|)|»irfimity of
■ clfL-tor- an<l advoc-atin^,' thfir
if thanki
1, -H fiirciM.
niirtin^r t!
own caii-o'.
Thi- <-hiiirniaii thru I'nt th<- vott
which wan i-arric-d cinaniinoiHly.
In ol-wint: hi- conLrratulatcd tlu' (-iti/. n-i on
till- <-liarai-li-r of tin- li tinnr and thi- i-'imkI
ordi-r pn-it-rv.-d. Tin' iin-'-tin-,' clo^.-d with
thvi-f roUfiii^' I'hi'iT.-i for t.lii- iiui-i-n a'ld thiri-
nior«- for tin- ch; ■•■man.
SPEi CH OF HON. MR. THOMPSON AT ST. JOHN.
Mlt. fllAlKMAN, I.AIUI-:, AMI CKVn.KMr.N :
I am •■MTidint-'Iy olili^'t-il to yon for tin-
cordial way in which you liavi- rfct-i\t-d tlj<-
mention of my nann- hy tin- chairman, and I
cannot inlp thinki it,' that in -^i inc rc.-^pi' [■< a
cordial rfcij-iion at the lianiN of the lieo|ile
in .St. .li.hii is i>ne that 1 had not a full ri;/hl
to expect.
It is true that in iny nvn lir'>\ ince w(f have
always been taiicht tolielieve that the (leoplt-
of the provinee of New r.run>uiek were moi^e
nearly relateil to us than the pec,|^,le_nf any nf
the other provinces of Panada. We h.'o'ed
uiKm them as our cousins before the luiion of
tlie provinces tiKik place at all, and we have
In-en t:iui.'lit to believe since, by . -. . rv ejii<ode
in pulilic affairs, t.hat our intere-t^ lie side liv
.side with theirs, and that we .■we in every re-
ipect peiiple iif aconinum country, wiiatever
differences n. ay divide UN froni the peoiile of
the provinces in the W(-st. But, sir, v.lun I
recently visited jiLu'es in the ;irovince of On-
tario, as lia.s been intimated to \iiu by tin-
Hon. Mr. White, and when I toi.lc part there
<>n several occa-ions in the discn-^sion of pub-
lic affairs, I have been ri jieatedly told liy the
o]ijiosition press that this Xova.Scotian ought
not to hav 'been at large at all— that his coun-
try had gone out of the union, that hiifcouii-
try liad declared that Nova .Scotia istlie
place for Niiva Scotians, and tn., . tlie Nova
Hcotian ministers ought to be sent home by
the first and. fastest train. (liaught.-r.l
Well, 1 had hardly crossed over the border
line between Nova Scotia and New I'lrunswick
when I was gratified by receiving a paper
published in your city by which any ah.m
that 1 might liave had was entirely dispelled.
1 found in a recent i-sue of the St. John <!h:hi
the report of an interview which tonic place
with my friend, the jiremier of the liK-al go-
vernmeiit, who has the rejieal question in
charge and the repeal contract on hand -
:-, ' ' - ■ 17.. ' i t 1 — --' .1 ti\
note that not^A-ithstandmg in the month of
June we were all sujjixjsed to have shaken
hands witii ynu and bidden you i
e\,r, and had got rid of the iron
poti^iii which w.is s'ippi
Kid 1 .\ e fur
leei .'f des-
to lie upon •ur
III eks since confederation : that notwithstalid-
iii',' all that, r.-jii-al has been put off and I can
Mill go at larg-. We wi-re led to suppo-e in
Nova Scotia when tlie local electi'.ns took
j.lace, iiof.vith.-tanding that the local t-lecrions
liad nothing to d-> with federal ipu-stionn,
notwithstanding that the local govei-umcnt
had nothing to do v.ith the i|uestion of con-
federation, n:itwithslaiiding that the local
giiveniinent were iicceptiug ofiice unde: the
constitution and no; against the elln^titution
-^We were led to believe in Nova Scotia that
some gnat demonstration in favor of disrup-
tion of the U!iion would take place inum di-
ately- some denion-.ti-.-ition in which tlie Brit-
ish gr ernnient -woidd be called to interim',
.'i.ndi that Nova Scotia, sailing. mv of the union
and standing alone, would enter into a treaty
with the I'l'lied Stati-> (irices would go up
and money tlov. in am! everything go mernly
and happily. Ibit wliat will be the le: ling of
surprie .-iinong our iieople when thev rend
what Premier Fielding has stati'd in that in-
terview. He says : " l^efon we raise the
(|Uef:ion of -eparation for Nova Scotia alone,
we nuist endeavor to secure the co-op' -ration
of New Bruns-.vick anil l*. K. Island." We
though.t he lia-:l raised the ijuestion and had
asked tlie people Vi vote on It on the l,"itli of
June. We were told we would be happier
than before vihen we stoiKl alone, and im\v it
aiijiears we an- to ii^luce yon and I'rin.--' Kd-
waivl Inland to come -mt'too. Mr. Fielding
go-s on to say, "This of course will take
time." Of course it will, and probably agood
deal of time too, And th" statement is made
a little further on that the public men in New
Brunswick and \\ K. f. an- altoL'ether too
timid on this (piestion. That .-iiipears from
the circumstanc. tint when the invitation
vv:i.^..-vei: tiiXew Brunswick ;>;!d P. K. I-boul
to join in till- repeal agitation, the liberals of
the two provinceH politely clecliue<l. M'.
SI
FielilillK Kix"" on t(i Biiy : " T)ii- imblir liirii
there are iiiiikIom tlie i(iie!.ti<p|i, liiit I do not
Ullin' lliat n.-. li rule tliey ure lllJ^tlI^■. They
are iiitliirHllv aixl |in>|H'ily i^iiilioiix, aii'l do
lint llki til ll»Mtlly OcJlnililt till IllHi'lveK t<p hi
iiii|Mii-fiiiit ik Htip ut the ii<lviK.;u;y of re|«al.
liut il, ii>. I ImIIi'M'. thi- |iii)|p|e ure f<ir re|»Ml,
|iulilie men uill have tu fnlluw ur make way
fur nthi r« » hi 1 will eiirreclly reprrneiil | ml. lie
<i|. tiii.ii. " Si we are rtt!|l lini;i riiiic 'iM 'lie
Ixiriler^ nf tlii-t < i>nle<!eratl>>ii we are still
yiiiir iiei(;lil«irH, ami we intend to remain wi.
U U| [ears that we are Ui reiiiaiu tin n until
Mr. !■ il idiiiK lan re-u.^'ani/.e vuur |nililie im n
iir remove (ro:n their |p|a(.-eH tlie leaders ot' his
own party in these twn (iiovinces. Am lon^f
as I am |ieiniitted to he still with you and
still a fillnw ■iLiintrymaii, as I avow, 1 ho|ie
to lie -lor mail) year.- lo umne (aiijilaiise)
vvhile 1 have that opjiortunity, 1 feel it iiieuin-
tieiit ii|Hin me tiiavail my sell of the invitation
of the lil»'i»l-eonservat,ive asmieiatioii h'-re to
fonie with my eiillea>,'iieH liefure yiiu and ^^ive
un ivccouiit. Ill the trust rejuised in us as mem-
tiers ul thi' Koveriiinent of Canada.
It has hi.eii I'oneetly Htated in the [irens
tliat we hale a iluty to lierform here, that
prave cohiiilaints ha'.e lieen made a|.'aiiist
thep'veriiment ut ( 'auadaand that in appear-
in/liefore \iiu to-iusjfht .veaie to some ex-
tent Uiion our trial. 1 have no ohjeetioii
whatever as one memlier of the ^fuveriiinent
to meet tii|l_\ any of the charj^es which have
In-eii hiuu^fht a|,'aiiist ii.s fur mahulmii.istra-
tion, and 1 intend to talvc I'ii bome uf those
charge- in det.iil and to nhow that they are
utterly haseles- ami grouui'less I
<_*neiitthe most |iiumineiit eharjfe.s made
is iliat the ijovirnnieiii has heen extravajjunt
III lelation to the civil .-erviee, and statements
have lifen recently niaile in the press hi.n-
mid in otliei- parts of the provinces to the
effect that in regard to superauuatioii of the
pulilic sen ants we hav wdfully abu.sed the
|H)Wers which parliam«'nt conferred ujion us
for the purjKise of liestowiiitj pensionn uoon
fa\oi ites and for the pnrjuise of disjiensmg
with the services of men who -,veie iwile lo
continue the di-chaive of their pnhlic duties,
and that tiese individuals liave drawn enor-
iiioiis aiijoiints from the puhlic treasury. It
Is proper 1 should discuss it liefore you, for
tlii.s reason especially, that wirtle the leader
of the oppor ifion had In en iittccking us year
after year and from mi etiiig to uniting n;;d
app'.di.ig lo tlie people on the iilatforia of
his own proviiictMiii tpf qu .-stion of the day,
alniu.-' ".he onl) sfateUKUt of (Hilicy wlii()i he
has ihrowe un' is thai in' uoiild, if pla, id in
power, iiitrudi.ce a radical change as reg;irds
the Huperaiiuation of pul/iic servants. It i.s
somewhat remarkalile, and 1 ninst metitioii
here at the out.-ec, that duriiiij the five year.s
wlieii he had an opportunity of doing .so,
vrhen he wa.' hacked liy a majority of 70 or
HO in the hou.se if commons, he did not intro
diice this measure of reform and that he ha.s
uot pro(Kise<l it to parliament since. ((Jheers.)
He charges tluit we hi ve abused the sy.steni
of superannuation and that we have extrava-
gantly administered that branch of the public
gervice. One of the principal liberal organs
ot this country came out witti the statement
th»t public othcials have received enonuoua
Kiim.i of uioney fruiii thiii "frvice,
KtateUienTwas reiK'Uteil in the prei
and thai
|>'Utei| in the press of ttli*
city. .SiHiii aftirwards particulars weie given
in a detaileil stuteinent which shows that »
nuiiiUr of |>ersoii.s who are naiiiiil have
drawn out of the public treasury ;>^;i;tl,rti"ii(,
while II.' y have ointrihut.i'd tu the xuiKraiiu-
ivtiun fund less than i|>|il,(N)il. .Now, sir, in
eonnectiuii u itli th.it i har^e of abu^e of the
HUp<'ranu.(lion fuml. 1 havi to say that of
the indiv idiials who have draw ii that Tf.i;sl,000
the othci rs who were suix'ranuaLed ij> .'>u'ssr».
I'dake and .Maii.eii/ie ilr.w .'¥l.Vi..i<KI ui that;
money. I.Xpplause.) So that while through
the press we are t:al!i d upon to meet tlio
statement that we havi- enabled a lew indivi-
duals tu draw .-f.'<,11.lMH», we are able tu .shiiW
llu't iiiuri- than hall' that e.\(H'ndituri resulted
fruin the five years rule uf uur u|,jii,iients,
while the uther half i.s to be pliu:i . to the
account of upwarils of ten years a Liberal-
Conservative rule. (.\|iplause. I
Jjet us take Uli miothe- item of tin- civil
service. It has been stated that we havi' been
guilty of e.-.travagances in aiUling lu the
number uf pubhc servants, and tlmt when
■Mr. .M;u'ken/,ie went out ot otiice in IS'^H
till re Wire but -l.sO civil-servants, there were
in ls.s."i, l,lNO. In other words, that means
that we have increasei! by n-aiiy seven
hundred the stalf of the civil servant^. Now,
what will yon think when 1 tell jou that in
order to make that comparison our friends of
the opiMisit ion press have taken fovthe year
\r^7^ simply the regular civil service staff,
while they have taken fur the year lN.S."i, not>
only the regular stafi but every man in tlui
employ of thi' governiiient— engineers, fore-
men of works and the like in urdi'r tu make
an unfavorabli'Cumparison between the years.
if you take, however, the list "f the regular
organized stalf of the civil service in ISfvV
and cunijian it with tfte staff 1S7.'^, yuu will
find that the charge against us is i xai;gerated
to till- ext.<'iit u," ;Vi.) per.sons. (.VjijilauM'. ) Or
in titliei winds, that there were 17.-* con-
nected with the staff in 1S7S, -1,S() in b^7'.> and
in l.s.So there is nut the increase they .say of
7(10, but hss than loO, to [ierfo.ni all the
largely increased duties which the di", elop-
meiit of our public service' and its evti'Usion
fi'oiu the one end of C iiiacla to the utiur has
thrown uiKin the staff.
Let nie take up for a few inoments a state-
ment which has been made very freuuently,
that we have increased the iiurdeii:. uf the
people by the extravagance of our iiianage-
mi'Til. ;':ii! that We have increased euoi'niously
the del>t of this euuuiry. I lulirit i hat we
have increased th'.' liabilities of (Janada.
iii.t, sir, let uie ask you if when these pro-
vinces were confederated any oni' ot the four
vvuiild have been willing to enter the union if
they had understood tliat the public worka
would not be extended, no new works devel-
oped, nor commerce developed, nor our
fisheries protected?
Why, sir, our people knew it was impos-
sible to go on without increasing tl." debt.
For more than a quarter of a century we had
the best men in these two provinces strug-
gling in vaiii 'o complete the I. C. Kailway ;
and one ot the pledges made by our t:rethren
in the western provinces was that tiris great
I
22
wirk xhiiMlil Iw c<>in|iJi't<-d f^r th<' di-Ti'lup-
lui'iit iif iiur iMiiiLiiH n •', umi h.«.ii uttiT oni-
fi'<lfrittiiin wan ■ iili I'll iiiti. lint tjixk wiw
HOC<>lll|i|l><llI'll. rimt lll'I'CHHillill'll .ill IIKTI-H'O'*!
(•xiK'iiililiii'c III 111"' I Ml I lilt: wiiiii' liiiil tin' ml
(li'ht, uliiL'li IH til <l»y yl'.Mi.lllNl.tNIII, huM in
rrnii~i il Tll.tl.lXXt.tKX) -.iiiiti ihr uiiiwii -.wui oiii
Hlllllllltttt il.
Ti) wli.i., fxUiit Jiff w>' r»-s|i..nHilili' tor tlmt 't
Our i)|iiKP!iriit« wi'if in ("iwi !■ Iin<' vniin, anil
ill tliln livr jiNiiH tlii'V iii(,n;i-'i il llir |iiililir
livht of ('iiliiicln .TllKl.tHXI.fHH); lli.y llicr>ii*(l
it lij' n lui)," r -^iiiii lliikii iIkiI, lull til ki'.'p my
UI'XUIIK III rli'.'il I ^\\ii\\ ^I'l'.iK nt I'lHinil Illllll-
l»rt, itihl «!■ ;ii( I'lJincd It -aiiiM' .""NO,!*" .IHMI.
This slimvM that thi- \ta''ly iiii;ii ii-i- nf ililit
uiiiiir th'iii «ii.i .■?s,ih"iO,(HN», ului.' uiiihr the
liri'urnt it<liiiiiii.-<ti;itii>ii thf rati- nt iiicna-i-
«aH liiit Willi'- .'«."', ■i<K),(HK) a y.ai-. |4iit Irt Iiii-
i.'allyiiiii' alti'ntiiiii tdiiiiiut th"' rir('\uii->taiici's
tliat imr ii|i|Hini'iiti lean mn nt si^jlit alt"-
ffftlii-r III iiiakiii({ thin i liaix'' ai,Miii>.t lis, uikI
that i:< that in im-nasintf thf iniii '..ti-diw-s 'it
C'ana<la liy •■<s<l,tHMI,lHJ<l, wr ha\<' tak.ii «-'7,^
ridd.lHH) 111. Ill th. |iiiiviia-i s anil liavii trails
ftTii'il that sum t(i thf liabilities nf Caiiaila,
so that iiistrail iif i\|»ihIui|.' that •'JL'".")"", ■
000 ui' liavi' siiii|ily tiaiistii ml tinMi mn' .sidi-
ti) till' other a ilelit already existiiij; anil
whiih li.id to he met l)\ the m ry s.une |ieo|ile.
It «e take that •:i-.'7,-"i«<l,(NNiiri,ni the."<H>.-
0(K»,<HK»«e lind we have iiu.reaMil the delit
in ujiuarils i.t Iniirteen years hut .SV_',;"i(KI,-
0(H) or .Sf,.'iW),(HK) per year a.s at,'ain>t .•*,•<, (HH),-
000 a year, the anionnt of increase hy the
^Mackenzie government. (Aplilause. )
Now let UK consider fur a few mnliients
what We have to show iH against that increase
in the pulilic ilelit of L'anada, We have in
the tirst place relieved the province to the
extent of ■■<L'7,.">lHI,<IOO over and aliove the
(lehts with which they eiiteri d into confedi -
ration, and we have inililic ivnrUs wliicli
represent s.">."i,0(K>,lHH) nioie thin is repre.seiit-
fd by the entire increii.-e in ihi pulili'- del>t.
(Applau.se.)
\Ve have a statement made 1)\- Sir Richard
Cartwright in L's?"', that the whole delit a.s it
then stoiKl liad lieen incurred for leifitiinate
Inisincsfi of pulilic utility. Surely cljat in a
witne.s.s who is worthy of iK-ing cited \>y uis
against the claims of hi.s jiarty now. If it is
true that the public debt a.s he spoke of it in
187^ represented public works of great
Utility, it is doubly true now, for over *li has
oeen exiKiideil now for every •'*1 of the in-
creatie since then.
Let me now ask you to consider how this
burden fails uihiii the jieople?
The greater part of the increase has iM'en
since i.s7!t- because the principal (xjrtion has
been in connection with the ('. P. U. and the
North-west, ami a large jiart of the increa.sed
allowances to the provinces has taken place
since lfi7\). Then, sir, U'arin^ the fact in
niiiid that the debt has been more , gely in-
creased since l«7'.l, the burtleu which falls
upon the jieople of Canada by rea«m of the
payments of the interest has not increased
one cent jjer hc'wl aliove what it was in lb.9.
rrv„ f-;_-* :.^ fhs-t. this: delit v.':i.H inr^Tirr:^ for
works of public utility, that the credit of
Caa»d» has risen with the progrese of
('Anwla, that wi- liave \<r
loans and Uirniw iiiiiiie\
under in tter conditions .i. .
iK'ople ot < 'amula pav but ^1
interMHt on the pulillf debt,
paying in IH7'.i, (applaune i
l!ie I
redit of ( 'atKula f 1
n able 1*1 negotiate
kl louer rates and
. . that to day tli«
I'.l (n-r he:Ml for
just Bs we wen."
'I'll! fact that
■ y f..-.iny by far
than it was in I^Tli, iiitwitli-i.iiidnig
c reused burdilH tThlt have iliVohiil II
the in-
ll|Mlll us,
must lie a matter of gratitieation to us all.
( .Vpplau.-e. I I.IH1K at the ni.ittei in aiinthir
view. In 1.S7'.I it would ha\e taken m> whim
aiiil three moiiths riieimeof the l)oiuiiiion
to have evtillgUlshed the pub'le ili lit as lliell
evisting. Today, iiolw ilh-t.inding th-- in-
crease and by virtue of the ^u t that our
priis|Mrity ha.s inereas<d, th.it our commerce
iiaM incri ii-ed and that we have ioiise,|,ieiitly
an increa-ed nMiiue, le.-.s tdaii six y ars
liVenue IS suttil-iellt to extillgli:sll the debt,
(.\pplause. ) .So measured \>: that w.iv, we
would be ill lie to pay It to-d.i\ more (|uickly
than We could have (lone in I^V', I.Vpplause.)
We were told that we ought to bi con-
di nilied because we have increased the
expenditure of the eountrv . 1 avow we have
done so anil 1 claim that the increase wan
calle<l for. I.,et nie taki' in this coniie<tion
ihe stati'liieiit made on one of the pl.itfnrms
by till- premier of Nova Scotiii. Me stated
that Sir Leonard Tillj-v hiul declared lietorc
confederation that >'l'.7."i per In :id i 'iglit to li«'
amplv sutheieiit to condui't tin att.ors of this
111 ill! in ion hir the next twenty -Ine years, and
that notwithstanding onlv a few years ha<i
elapsed, the ex|HMiditure had goni- up to .■<,S,
but he ad'h'd, th;.t the incn use is d;ie to Tory
extravagance. Now inasmuch as over one
dollar per heiul of the increase was ilieurred
duniig the Mii,ckeii/.ie regime from 's7;< to
1S7.>, can itbe said tliat the increase iswlmlly
due to the parts now in power? < '-oi any
ni.ui with reason say that the go\eriinii;nt is
culpable for having increased the (lublic ex-
|ienditire when we consider what t!ie growth
and exp.ansioii of the country from tin one
end to the other has Ix'en since that time';
hi lx*u this country spre*! over an ex-
panse of ■tli7 sipiare miles, while *o-day itH
territory coiiipri.ses ;<,.-i<X),000 -ipiare miles,
(1..<J11(. app' ise.) The ci.uleileiatioii of
Caniwla in lHt)7 contained a |xipuliition of
3,000, (HK) iK'ople, while to-dav Caniula stands
with over ."),(K)0,0<H). In lKti7 the n ■■ iiue of
the united provinces was J^biiH' ii, »iii-l
to-day we h..ve a revenut of $;t'.(MHi lKt> In
18117 the foreign commerce of (' i ; I • > liS
•■SiiaL'HW.OOO, to-day it has rea<;h« 1 ■?fo 'aM),-
(KX). Tak:> the |>oi,tal service. That is one
immediately connected with everyone in the
country. We have had since 1877, ;f,."iO<t new
[Kjst oflices, and we ar<' carrying ti4,000,000
mure letters and imst cards than we did in
18117. Our mail carriages are traversing eleveil
million miles more of the roadway than they
did in l''tl7. We send through the post office
.'i4,0(X),0<)0 mor" new.sjiaiiers than they did in
1807, yet our ti ends of the o]iiKisition tell us
that we are exct'eding culjiable becau.se we
do not carry on public affairs at the rate of
expenditure per heati of 18t)7. I sh<juld like
Vim. wheii thi~e SM^ji-'Ie come ^>efore v'.'U fiC*
cuaing us of increatfing the exi>euditure, to
aak them, do you propoe© to go back to the
t
i8
\
fat
Mpi'mlitnn- for puWic »»<rvion« which Mtii-
tini tint I'.niiitry in lH»i7?"
Wr liHH' U'j'ii iiicniuiing tlw niniilx'r of
ii|{litli<ii'"<* i^'vinj{ jiriitti tu.ii »,.il iKniiitii'x In
tilt' li.'<h<'iii Hiiil It iri iiiiii<iHHil>|c tliut thiH
cxiuld lilt Ih' iluiif if wt' go liiu'k to tli«* ('X|>«'ii
ditiii'i' of lHi7 Now tliH fwt is tliut iiihl> ui
of till' lilinlrll of till' |H'0|ilt> U'lllK y*..')4)
licotl of tilt' |>o|>ulution it IX only #.'>. 10
UM ^lm^ilil^ wliat tlw incri'ivw- han In.
Why, ill this UTditt r\|ian»<' of territory, with
itti Kll'Ut Jilllllil' MITVU'i'rt t'Xtrllllllltf III I'VtTV
(liri'i'lioii III Ih7M, wIh'Ii our friiiids tisiK
otlici', till- liiiiilcii ii|»iii till' |u o|il.' uiiK .'^ l.^!7
IH'r IhikI, jikI It is oiilv ^Ti.-JO imw. Tin rt-
fori', tor till' i^i'iit ii<lv:iii('i' ( 'iiiiitda has niiuh'
ill till' iii(riit>ii' lit III r ooiMiiu'rcr, ami 'lir
t^Ki^ntit: ili vi'lopL.tUt of her piililic works,
which liii.c I'liciti'd tlin attiiition of thi'
World, thii incn-asfd liiirdcu sinei' wi- took
iiHict^ in 1h7X, in hut .>l.o;i \ht hfiid and
that is not making any allowaiici' for
the inoni'V wi' havi' sent to thi' |>io\iiic'ial
trfaMiiri' - f^i rclii'Vi' thf \it< vincrs of thi'
Imrdrus whii li fill U|siii thim. ( Applausi'.)
Now as aiiothiT Irft, li't iiii' call .>oui allt n-
tioiitothi' way in which thi' Imrdiiis hav
Im'CII ini|Kisi'd liy till' |iri
U'causi' if WI' liavi' niiwif
Jitxin till' |ii'o|ili', vn' ought to III' ciiiidinini'd.
Ttit' fiiuinii' luiiiistiT made tlii' stattniint,
which h:i^ nut Ui'ii i-hallrugi'd, although
listcnr't to hy till' aii'.c-t critics, that wc Ikuc
since our accession to otlict' in 1H7S incrca-cd
the revi iiue liy taxation o;i that chtss of goods
which can most ea ily pay the incieaceil
burdens, and that we have .mt increased the
burdens ii|ioti the working [S'lple by placing
dutii - iiiHiii those htapIcH which enter into
their living expenses. On .'-.IkH and velvets
We have r.ii-.ed '^lljO.OOO, on spirits and wines
$(W-',U<MI, "■
omit tiie^e articles tif luxiiij' \m- have i.iily
Inci'eaM d : ' ta.-itf by about three-nnarters
of one per cent. (-Viiplauw:.)
Dr. Untchinaon — What alxiut coal and
flour ?
Hon. Mr. Thompson — The coal and flour
tax do not iiicreasf the burdens of the peoiilc.
The coid used hen.! in chiefly frcun Nova
Scotia and docH not pay duty, and the
American is decreaKeil in price in consequence
Ci the coni|)etition ..used bv Nova Scotia
coal. The price of flour is not as much ti/-ihiy
as it was befoie the fiour dutiea were
'mfKised and doi s not increa.se the
burdens of the [leoplo of CiMada one
cent [xr head. I can a.s8ure you, however,
the policy whinh placed the duty on American
coal hail given employment to thousands of
operatives in the I'ri.vince of Nova Scotia-
(rpplause) — has eiiiioled thou.sand9 of my
fellow countrymen to ejirn their bread in their
own country by the I uour of their own hands
which they could n t do under the rule of
Mr. Mackuiizib. I am able to tell him aho
»e the people Ontario will tell you that
even where the Nova Scotia coal cannot be
carried in consequence of the difficulty of
freighting, and the American coal comes in,
the American coal is lower in price now than
take iti place if the price is increased.
Now, air, X haveiaid lo much opon flnaioikl
queitii.ni and the hour i< no l»te (I'rie* of
" go on, go on "I hill baving antwered thetc
chargei made unfairly aKainiit the admioiitra-
tion :<( Ihit (lay, I proceed in cluaing to oall
viiiir aMi'iiIiou to lino other point. We ar«
naouaeil of kI li'Uipiing to get a verdict from
the people of inn li i>imply bccauae we bav«
dune our duty in neciitiiig a grviit criminal
in the Nnrthwont — the stntvueni i' untrue.
You have hunrd to-ilay on your own plHtlorui
the uceouiit the llmi. .Minister of the Interior
haH reiiilereil to you of i .n lii^l' noc in nspeol
to tho trouhlo Ml the .N'ortliv* nt. Von have
heanl hIiio the lion. Minifiter of .Marine and
Kinheries justify hiii niiiinigi'munt ol hig
department. We are ready In like iiiaDner in
every place to ileleo'l the oonilni't uf the
governiiierit upon every i|uestioii and it ig
utterly untrue that we wifli to ratili the vote
and retain ptililic conliilence lieeuust^ we have
executed a criuiiial, hut let me call I lo atien'-
tion of the pcoelc of this and the m :.;olioring
province and especially tho liln'ral.i to the
|ii lioy presieiited hy thn oppo.siti'iii to-day.
l.ct me call your attention to the tact that
int goM'rniiieiit, i while we do not claim your verdict on any
till 111 bear hard i ""^'i J?round, the party opfioFcd to in are en-
deavouring to make political capital out of
the fact that wo performed our duly in carry-
ing the law into execution. (Applause.) At
the time when Keil was elected to p irli.uiient,
and when ho was expelled tluTi irmn. bin
conduct was necessarily brought ■' '.iil' notice
of the houso of commons by the per-ona who
claimed he was not lit to ropros. .11 any portion
of the Canadian people, an<) then the lion,
Kilward lilake cliecreii to the echo in ilie houso
the statement that he (Heil) oughi not to be
alllowcd to ;ake his seat in 'he house of com-
a
6P
jewellerv J!lo(i,(HHl, and if you ,noiis ot ..aiunlM because he had ciinnitted
foul anu d'oniiible munler." Years pas.-cd by
sir, and whc:; Keil had committed a greater
ofl'ence, this same gentleman turns around and
say it is only a political o'l'ence, that lie was
a harmless iuuatie, and should not suiter tho
penally of the law.
lie got into power ir. Ontario by denouncing
Ileil's crime as toul and damnable, yet when
the same crime has been repeated, attended by
circum.stances of u character ten fold more
attroeious. lie attempts to get into power by
declaring that we are to be censured for execu-
ting a lunatic. I see by the report of his speech
that he puts his argument on the ground that
a persou who has been twice i:i lunatio
asylums must be alwaysre gurded as of doubtful
sanity. liut, sir, what was the statement of
the gentlemen in whose charge he had been on
those occasions? It was tiuit ho had simply
taken refuge there for the purpose of avoiding
retributive justice and ' lie etl'ects of indig-
nation at his antrocious conduct. To prov?
that those officials were not duped, I will read
the certificate of one of the medical men in
charge, certificates which Mr. lilaku has care-
fully omitted to read, but the truth of which
be never attempted to contradict. Here ii
the certificate.
"I the undersigned physician of the asylam
after the entrance of Louii Kiel into the
24
MVlunl t)troei/ed»h»t with him insanity wmi kfyuote tliat the oi)poKitli)n Ih soiindiuf,'. Sir
gimdUted. TLe t«aggeratioii ..I tan dots nM | wlicu ill.- vutorj was won bv M-. i'r.h.nteine
?j<jh. and BO much beyond whiit \,e gcnorully ; coiiKiatulat-on.scamen<jtoiily from Mr. KUgar
remark in subjects afflicted v.tli real insanity , -Mr. Hlalcc« acljutant-gen.ral but al« from
that with a piiysioian aocustoined to treat such ' Mr. Dumas, Ru-1 s ex-adjutant g<'ueral vve
««, there would be no room for douU. i have n^W.t to appoa t,, your uurne^s au.l your
tpTn .m^k ngTh. observation to hitn that I wa. ] judgin.ut, an. 1 a.k you to con.,.l.r wh. her
"^r" * ; ^ ^^ f oiif cmr diitv and v. hethnr we
not to be taken i'lr his du|)o h.-oun jessed to me
in effect tbut ne was shamming insanity, and
the evidence that 1 was right in my surmise
aad that his conlcssion wiis really sincere, is
that on all occasions, and they were many, 1
have been alone conversing with him, ho has
always talked in a mann'.r absolutely lucid and
BBne upon all a'ld every subject with which he
has eutcriaiLcd me.
(!?gd.) F. X. Pkrraii.t, M. D.,
Asylum ot Longo Pointe.
I» it iiiir wlicQ these ccrtitic-.tes were
read in ii:irli;iuient and never uJiswerud
they should not liavo bo.-ii r.-ft-rn-d to iii thf
siieeclios ill ulneli .\lr. iSlak.- argnt-.'^ the in-
anity of thau criminal and his irresjiousihil
ity "r " -Bui llii' ( Ircturs i)f l^ifluc; are askwl
to vote-noT that Kiel was a haniilcss luna-
tic, but that li'- was a imirih riKl patriot, and
they are so asked liy ti'e allies of Mr. J'dak.',
who dtciai-ed tluit Kiel had coiiiiuittcd a foul
and dauiuaiile ni.ird.-r. lion. Mr. Foster
read to you a few niouients ago, some utter-
M\c<'* of' the opposition press. Jiut the rts-
poiif iliility 111' the oplM>sitiun does not depend
on the uttevanoes of their pir-s (done. \Ve
know tluiv when the election cam.' on in
Chambly, the lirutenaut of Mr. lilakH, I
refer now to Mr. Laurier, whii 's the s| okes-
weTiave not fhme oiir duty and whether we
should be comleined for doiiig it. The victory
at Chan bly has furnished still more proof to
the peo|)leo{ this country that what we did in
seeing th.' law enforced was right, for we
tliink tliftt v.hen the lives of people stand in
jeopardy neither liberals or conservatives can
1 afford to let the agitators of these trowbles go
j free ; but we find the opposition receiving
1 fronitJarnut, th.^ s»;cretary of Kie'sci.nu*l, a
I message congtaulatiug them on tlieir victory
i and saving that "Kiel lead is more powerful
i that Kiel alive. "
I We fortueately have no sucii record as that
j to sh.jw. It has yet to be made :.ppear in any
; portion of the Dominion that the hberal-eon-
servati\e Jiarty lias en.leavored to set race
ajrainst race or creed against cried. The f.dse
i accusatiori has lit*n luiwle tliat we did so sim-
i ply b.T-ause we had all.iwed dii' law to take
! its cour-te. Let any man whatevei; his eieed
j or race may !«•, ask himself in going over the
! record of our party whether we have in s<'Iect-
' iiig lepris.iiitatives hi ti».' cal>in.'t or in the
I distributlouof liublicpatromvebeeiiae'M.ited
I 'oy .(ue.-itions of either clasr., creed ov race.
! lApplau.-e.) Let him ask t^i be p.jinted to
any instance in any provinc- of Canada t. i-day
wii.Te any man lias been exchnled from the
c.ibinet be'caus.' hi' is I'higlish, Irish, Scotch,
reier no\i lo ,wi. i_,u.iii.t., ...... .. - ,-..-.. , ... ■ .,
man oi Mr. lilake in the I'rovince of l^iebec | Irench, I'rotestant, or Catliolie
-^stucxl on the |ilatforiii, and leiterat.-d the I And that which I claim iii
stut.'iiient that ic he lia.i had the opiKirtunity
he would have been glail to have been found 1 platform or any platti^irrn i
sill -iliii ring Ins iitie to assist the rebels on reference also to the distnbii
the banks of the Saskatchewan.
We ha'i Mr. I'.lake standing uii in I'arha-
nient and saying that tlie snows of the
North-w.-st were dyed with the blood of one
of his kinsmen, and we have the man wiio
sits close l>y his side apiiealing to the people
of (.Quebec, asking them to place hini in
jKiWer, while he .says he would have siiot
down the men who fought for tlie safety and
honor of the flag of our country. (Loud ap-
plause). It is ri ]>orted in the press that .Mr.
Alowatt in Ids speecli at Ottawa the other
day said that the government having hang.-d
Kiel the peo|.le would hang th governiiMnt.
In his revi.sed s|)eecli the reaileis of the trie
PreM wotild see nothing of this for he had it
oareluliv eliininatid: but ii y >: .-ui tlii!
speech of Hon. Kdwanl (Make y.>i >viU tind
that for the purpose of niakinj, * little jok»'
he quotes Mr. .\lo,mt's woiiis and adds that
he wouKl commute the sentence to banish
ment from oHice. This shows that he dn
it, and thev may try to get out of it
catn.ot, for there is Mr. Hlakes statement
before them.. The mere fact of tli.-ir press
having uttered what they did when Mr.
Prefontain was el.'Cted in ('liambly. that re-
venge should be executed against the (lovern-
ment for the cxecatlou of a criiiunal, shows the
(.Vpplau.se.)
And that which I claim in referi'iiee to
rei'i-eseutation, I can fairly claim en this
ilatform or any platfi^irm in Cr.nada, in
" tion V? public
patronage or the exercis.' .'f any I't vvev of
govenuiient. Then, sir, if wliat I have said
lie true as regards th.- provinc- of <iuel*c,
how is it with reference to my own \,revince,
which 1 yet think one of tlie hrightust spota
in thul>oiniui> 11 V (Cheers.)
L.t me ask those wh.u are cliami^n.ning the
cause of secession there, or th::t. "f annexa-
tion here, who are using the nam" of SIdv.ard
P.lake to conjure by, if they are willing to
i accept th-- supiKirt of tiiose whose watch-
j word is, '• Rr.iL i>r..\ri is mi»i:e eowERFVL tua:.-
Kn-:i. .M.ivK :'' The jxilicy ot the oppo.sition
I is diff event in .-aeli pn-vitiee. It is see-s,iion
in iSova S.;iitia, ri-ciprixity in New F.runs-
wiek, re-.i-nge in t>uebec, and slaivl- :■ in
' ( bitario.
I 1 thank you lery much for the i.atient
manner in which vou have listii.i d to me,
I and I am i xceediiiglv indebted to you, but it
..,w- is Is-eause I know I Have taxed yor.r [.atierice,
say and in closing 1 would say that I have found
but ' throughe.it Canada wherever 1 have g' ne, an
honest desire .-xpress.-^! from bitli si'ies to
hear the fullest discussion of these public
questi.MH of the day, ami 1 declare to you
that i feel th.it our ijarty and n- iKiliey v.m
triniuph wherever free and fair discussion
takes place. (Cheers.)