IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4 ,.<' mp. 1.0 I.I 1.25 ^" IM " iitt ' 114 IIM 12.0 1.4 III 1.6 Va

r treats most thoroughly of the question of liberalism and this is what he teaches : • " Above all let us diapel an ambiguity. " The adjective Liberal and the substantive Liberolism are undefiued, indeterminate expressions. They thereby give rise to a confusion of ideas, become powerful wea; ons of combat and a idvorable means of propagating error. He who seeks for truth mist first of all remuve all sources of ambiguity and misunderstanding. " Liberalism has two meanings : the one good, the other bad. In the first it is synonymous with being the friend of true liberty and not of license. From this I point of view, we are all Liberals ; no one likes to serve. Thus the word Liberal would mean defender and propagator of the true liberty, civil and political, of a ■■■ 4 ; n II 1 1 " people without infringing on any right. This is a good and is being a Liberal of " the olden time " At N° 255 continues this autlior " we have said that Liberalism may be " taken in two senses : one good, the other bad; now we may go further, specify " and say that it may be divided in^o Liberalism, purely civil and into religious " Liberalism. " In a sense purely civil and apart from religious considerations, we call *• Liberal a person who is a lover of the civil and political liberty of his people and " who seeks for it by means in themselves honest. He is consequently in favor of " civil equality and political liberty, saving all rights legitimately acquired," The remarkable work from which I have borrowed- these quotations and which I have brought with me from Rome, was submitted by the Roman Congre- gations to the examination of the Jesuit Father Sangtiinetti, a professor of canon law of high authority, and that illustrious Doctor approved of it in its entirety. I do not know of the existence in our Province, at least among the followers of the present G :)vernm3nt, of any other Libaralism than the civil or political Liberalism of which Mgr Cavagnis declares himself an adherent. We are therefore grossly slandered when we are accused of religious Liberalism, of that Liberalism which is condemned by the Church. To such slanderers I would recall the condemnation pronounced against them by the great Pope, Leo XIII, in his Encyclical Immortale Dei: " But, says the Supreme Poiitiif, if it concerns purely political questions, the " better forms of government, this or that system of civil administration, honest " differences of opinion aie permitted. Justice will not therefore allow it that men " whose piety is otherwise well known and who are fully disposed to accept " willingly tha decisions of th? Holy See, should hi accused as if guilty of a crime " because they may differ upon the points in question. It would be still a greater " injustice to suspect their faith or to accuse them of betraying it, as we have had " occasion more than once to regret." There is in these words a valuable lesson upon which our opponents should meditate and which shields us from the attacks which are prompted by their bad faith alone. And moreover I must declare that whilst favorable to political Liboralism modenite aud coufined within the limits laid down hy the Doctors whom I have just citeil, we respect and will know how to defend, if negd be, those conservative prin- ciples which are necessary for the tranquillity of the State and the happi'iess of lUmilios, and we energetically repudiate all those dangerous di)ctriuo.^ which threat- en sc'il order, convulse conscience and society, expel God from the aclnjols anl only begot 'uipious and revolutionary men, I have often said and f will agaii rspeat it to night, with the fall assent of the Liberals who now surrttund ine : that tha victory of tha l-tth of Ojtobir, 18S6, --' lot a Libjral victory, but a N'atioaal victory, and that tha present Govern- mciit, iho legitini.ite couiequenoo of th.it victory, lias been, is still and shiU, as long as I remain its leader, bj a N'atioaal Goveraaiant, relying with couii lyuc^. upon thv honest men ot both parties, viudic;iting the honor of the rioviuce and defending its interests, healing the wounds inilicted on it by previous governments, forgjt- ting the fratricidal contests of the past and seeking for the support of all men of good will, without distinction of lace, party or religious belief, in order to cou- soUdate our institutions and to prepare our country for the realization of the grand destiny which th3 near future opens out to our people. RACE PREJUDIGBS. The enemies of the National party predicted in 1886 that our tri- iirnjih would- be the ruin of the English speaking element ; if they wure to be balieved, we were, on attaining povvjr, to abolish thj Fi-otestant religion, to inter- dict the use of tlie English langiaga in the public schools, the Legislature and Courts of Justice, drive all th) E:iglish out of this Province and confiscate their property just as was done in tho past to th'j Acadians ; th.^rc wjre som>, indeed, who went so far as to believe thit wj were to dethrone th3 Queen of Euglani and to make war upon the King of Prussia. These good souls must now be reassured ; we have now been in power more than a year and none of those dreadfal things have happened, think Heaven ! 8 Queen Victoria is still upon tbia throne of England and not a single Nation- alist, to my knowledge, has yet conspired with her European enemies to dethrone her. Thu King of Prussia is denti, I admit, but 1 beg of yon to believe that the Nationalists of thi.* Provinoe are not at all to blame for an event which is a subject of mourning to tho German race all over the world. The English language is still spoken, with talent and success, in the Legis- lature and Courts of Juslic-e ; Protestant churches aiid Irotestajit schools^ are still open ; iu their churches distinguished ministers still eloquently preach the doctrines vhich constitute their religious belief, aud in the schools Protestant children still learn to venerate the fnith of their fathers aud to love the glorious Queen who has reigned over us for the last fifty years, enshrined in the affectioms of 200 millions of subjects. We have here to-night seated around this table distinguished men of dilfereut races and creeds^ who have come from all parts of Canada to testify by their presence to the intelligent harmony which reigns in our midst and to the desire wliich wu all cherish to live in peace on this free soil of America, forgetful of the sanguinary battles of the past, and laboring, shoulder to shoulder, to create a great Canadian nationality. It has been reproached against me that when forming .my Government, I dit not give a portfolio to an English Protestant; those who thus reproach rae are the very men who so well succeeded iu fomenting pre- judices, in the hearth of their coreligionists, as to persuade the electors of the Eastern Townships not to send a single member from their midst to support us in Parliament and those uf Montreal West to reject the only Liberal Protestant whom the metropolis was in the habit of returning to Parliament. Under such circumstances, we may well, it seems to me, characterize as hyi ocriticai and iraudulent the joiemiads of certain Protestant newspapers, whose owners were more depressed by the losc of iiatronage of which our succiiss deprived them than grieved at the pretended injustice done to those of their r*;e. For it must not be forgotten that tho gentlemen of the Gazette, for instancei are more attached to their jobs than to their Prutestant faith and that they wfluld| willingly saci-ifice Luther, Calvin and even WilUam of Orange in return for the fat' contracts which Messrs Eo^s and Taillon were wont so gtmerously to award them. < Let Protestants therefore relieve their minds : the Messrs White, of the Gazette, 9 arc the only Protostants whom our Govcrnmont hiis as yet sacrificed and wo do not jjrojKDse to sacrifice any others. We desire on the contrary to continue to accord justice to all ; we found that it was not just that th(^ Protestant Chaplains of Prisons an 1 Asylums should hiivc a smaller stipend than that granb'd to (^'atholic Chap- lains, th(>refore we ptit an end to thi! injustice which the Tory Governments had long continued to connnit in that respect; we considered that we should keep faith with Trotestants ai with Catholics, and for that purpose the National Governaient returned to his Lordship, Piishop Bond, that distingui«hed man whom all respect' and to his associates, for the purpose of founding a Protestant Asylum, ihe Leduc Tarm, which had be«n ]>romispd but which was never given to them by our Tory predecessors. That property was originally viiued ut $10,000, ai^ wo paid over that sum as wo had been authorized so to do by the Legislature ; but now that my friend and late colleague, Mr. McShane, has succeeded in obtaining $18,000 for it, we propose to hand over the difference to His Lordshi[), Bishop Bond, and his associates, and tluis cooperate with them in the pliilanthropical work which they wish to carry out. And if up to this, circumstances hav<.' prevented Protestants from occupying a satisfactory position in the Government, I may be allowed to say that those cir- cumstances have changed and we will soon be enabled to render in this res- pect full justice to the English people of the Province, as we have already done in other respects each time that the occasion offered. THK llilSlI CATHOLICS. A recent and regrettable incident, which entailed U])on me the loss of a col- league whom I much esteem and who still remains my friend, despite all that may be said, may have caused my Irish Catholic fellow citizens to fear that their rights might be sacrificed in the future. This feeling is easily undeis-tood, but not warranted. I am the friend of the Irihh Catholics, and always ready in the future a« iu the past to see that their rights shall be respected. I defended them in the Legislature, when M. Taillon, in his subserviency to Sir John, was betraying then ; I gave them their share of ministerial fiivors, wj:ile ^e Tories systematically ignored them ; 1 was the first to grant them a i 10 real representative in the Government of the Province; and if cireumstancea have modified their position for the present, T have reason to beheve that before long they wil] «gain assume in the councils of the nation the place of which the voluntary resigaation of Mr. McShane has temporarily deprived tliem. The Irish Catholics ! we are thuir natural allies as the Tories are their aa- tuial enemies, and in that grand old laud of their forefathers, it is enough that an Irish Catholic should become a Tory to be denounced as a traitor. THK NATIONAL CONSERVATIVES. V. l\\ - i Our opponents bear us a most particular iutercst and, in their kindly soli- citude, they loudly proclaim that divisions reigu in our ranks, that the National Conservatives desire to abandon us, or that the Liberals waut to get rid of them. All this is pure lictiou ; the Liberals respect the National Conaervativef* and the most perfect harmony reigns between all the members of the Ministry. We have the greatest esteem tor the Honorable Messrs. Garueau and Duhamel, the two distinguished leaders in the Cabinet of that valiant band of Conservatives, who, hearkening onlj'' to the call of patriotism, broke all the ties of party and tendered us their hand in 1886, pledging themselves to work with u? for the redemption of the Province. They have kept their work and we shall keep ours : th(*y bore th« burden of the day, and it was but right that they should enjoy the reward : they have been loyal to us, and we have been and will remain loyal to them. They have rights as wc have rights; now, as it is the first duty of the leader of apolitical party to iHispect the rights of all, the National Couservatives have nothing to fear, I will see that their rights shall be respected. THE INTEiaTvOVlNCIAL CONFERENCE The first article of the National programme, promulg.ited in 1886, was " the vigorous maintenance of the principle of Provincial autonomy against all infringements, direct or indirect. " In order to follow up this article of our programme, we look the initiative tv)warps the holding of the Interproviacial Conference, which iva last autumn in ^^ars^i^-sw 11 the city of Quebec. Of the seven Provinces forming the Confederation, five were represented and I am happy to deelare that the most cordial harmony constantly prevailed among the delegates. The understanding was complete ; all the resolutions relating to tho proposed amendments to the Constitution were unanimously passed. These resolutions "were ratified by large majorities in the Legislative Assemblies of OuUirio and Nova Scotia and ahnost unanimously by that of New Brunswick ; they will be ratified by the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and by the Legislature of Manitoba, so that we can affirm without fear of contradiction th.it the labors of tlie Conference are approved by the immense majority of the Canadian people. The total population of Canada in 4,324,810 souls ;now, the five Provinces whose delegates have accepted the resolutions of the Conference, repiesent 4,110,014 of that total. • GENERAL OBSERVATIONS !l Before entering into details concerning the labors of the Conference, permit me to call your attention to one fact which deserves to be noted. Wlien the National party was founded, it was contended that its existence would arouse against the Province of Quebec religious and national prejudices throughout the other parts of the Confederation ; we were taunted with isolating our Province and thus exposing it to the loss of all the influence, which it had and should have under the political system governing us since 18G7. Well, gentlemen, I would now ask you : what about this isolation of the Trovince of Quebec ? where is it to be seen ? where are those religious and national prejudices which were to arise in the other Provinces from the formation of our National Party ? Look at the labors of the Quebec Conference, examine its results and tell me, was there ever a time when our Province was more respected by the other sections of the Confederation ? Cast your eyes over the list of delegate^* who attended the Conference, called by the National Government of Quebec, and, tell me if the formation of the party which carried that Government into power really had as a result to arouse against us in the other provinces prejudices (tf race or religion ? Tell me has our Province ever enjoyed greater prestige, more iaiiuence ? We proclaimed our rights as men of spirit, and our conduct his been 12 * a}^proved of and seconded by all true men, by all the real friends of Federal institutions in Canada. If comparisons were not odious, as says the proverb, I could easily show a contrast between the position we occupy in Canada under the National regime and that which we occupied under the administrations which have preceded us. The Engli«h speaking population is too jealous of its ii.dependence and of its liberty, not to despise'meu who would" be t^o craven as to allow them- selves to be crushed by usurpation or tyranny, and not to sympathize with us who have acted as citizens, proudly and energetically vindicating our rights. All the delegates, distinguished men every one of them, departed full of admiration and enthusiasm for our Province find its people. Most of them were accompanied by their wives and with these ladies they met the elite of our society in those sympathetic sj^cial gatliojings to which the farmer, the mechanic, the merchant and the professional man were invited, po that the delegates had an opportunity of meeting the various classes of our society and of admiring their intelligence and politeness, and returned to their homes with a high and correct idea of our province, of its resources and its future. CONTRADICTIONS OF THE TORY PRESS ^ It is an amusing pastime to read all that the Tory Press has published about the Conference. They commenced by representing if as a pic-nic, an unimpor- tant meetings a business which could only result in the discomfiture of those who had organized it. The more audacious did not hesitate to say that the Ministers from the other Provinces would not accept our invitation and would decline coming to Quebec. Then were our worthy Blues in glee and jul)ilation ! But our invitation was cordially accejited by the Governments of all the great Provinces and then the jubilation of the Bleus sensibly diminished. To keep up a little countenance, they fell back upon the uselessness of such a step; but deception was again in .store fur them: the Boards of Tiade of Toronto, Montreal^and Quebec, composed of business men who are the mosc in- fluentialand wealthy men of those great commercial citiei, addressed the Conference, 'Wlf^B'BBBmSfi" 13 . even before its first meetihg to obftiin through it the assimilation of the laws respecting the liquidation of insolvent estates. This alone was a manifest proof of the usefulness of the Conference and completely demolished the silly carpings of the Bleu press. • Crushed once more on this score, these gentlemen gave up their sneering tones to throw themselves into wild outburst of fury, and on the very day of the meeting of the Conference, with the tact and delicacy, of which I leave to it the full responsibility and merit, the Montreal Gazette designated under the name of [liter pro oincud Conspiracy a meeting of delegates from, the Governments of the five great Provinces of Canada. This way sim|ily diappointment gone mad. And yet its discomfiture was still not complete, for the newspaper, which then called us conspirators little dreamed that fifteen days later, it would be com- pellefl to approve the greater portion of the result of that conspiracy. Indeed, on the 11th of November, the Oazettc was obliged to eat its own words and to admit that the work of tlie Conference had been useful and fuitfal, after having previous- ly represented it as a ridiculous pic-nic. Allow me to quote its own words ; " Nevertheless, " it says, ' it has dealt with certain questions within the legitimate scope of a Provincia' Conference, such iis the abolition of Legislative Councils, the confirmation of the powers exercised by the Legislatuies since Con- federation and in regard to which doubts have arisen, and the question of the boundaries of Ontario and Quebec. These a.ie all important questions upon which the' Legislature, at the instigation of the Conference, cm pertinently pronounce and witli respect to which there may be advantageous legislation for the people." if we did conspire, at all events, it nius*-. be frankly admitted that we con- spired for the good of the people ; even the Gazette has confessed this. JUit let us continue the quotation : " Many of the resolutions '' relate to matters remotely connected with the " principles of the constitution and the free working of the Federal system, and as to " which an agreement can easily be reached withcJUt disturbing the foundations of the I U " Federation. In this class, it seems to us, fall ihe resolutions bearing on the subject ** of the appointment of magistrates by the provincial authorities, the receipt by the " provinces of fees paid on legal proceedings in the provincial courts, the power af " lieutenant-governors to issue commissions to hold courts, the abolition of Legis- " lative Councils and the ownership of Indian lands by the provinces in which " they are situate, although this last question may be settled possibly' by appeal to " the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council by a decision laased on the B. N. A, " act. The power of pardon of persons convicted of an offence against provincial " laws is now exercised by the Provincial authorities, but if any doubt as to the " jurisdiction exists, it may well be removed, and the desirability of determining " and establishing the boundaries of Ontario and Quebec will be generally recog- •• nized." " These are all subjects, albeit of no grave moment, that may be advanta- " geously settled by mutual agreement between the Federal and Provincial " authorities, without disturbing the fundamental principles of the constitution, " impairing the proper jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada, or displacing the '* machine) y of government." There can be no doubt, and iu this we agree with the Gazette, that many of theso questions might be settled by an understanding between the Federal Gov- ernment and the Provinces ; but as the Federal Government has always refused to come to such understanding, we were constrained to adopt means to attain our ends without its concurrence. Allow me to quote also the testimony of anotlier Tory newspaper, one of the most hostile and unjust towards us; I refer to the " Star. " This is what it said on the 10th of November last, in publishing the resolutions of the CoLference : •' They deal with subjects of great importance and are worthy the careful " consideration of every public man and evjry journalist of the Dominion. Many "ofthe conclusions arrived at by the Conference will provoke controversy, bui " there are some of its suggestions which will meet with the hearty approval of the " great majority of thinking men. The principal matters treated of in the resolu- " tions are disallowance, the constitution of the Senate and provincial subsidies. " The establishment of a tribunal to pronounce upon the constitutionality of la w.s 16 " enacted by the Federal Parliament and the Local Legislaturea would, we think, " have the effect of making the wheels of the Confederation machine run more " smoothly ; such a tribunal would prevent many bitter and irritating disputes, " and would settle such as might arise, speedily and effectually. " This reluctaut testimony amply atones for the attacks on us which the calling of the Conference had evoked, even before its object and the character of its work were known. When journals like the Gazette and Star, the known organs of what is most unjust in the English Tory party, are obliged to pay such an liomage to our work, it must be admitted that the work of that Conference must have been useful, fruitful and of a great advantage to the country. There are only three points on which these journals are not willing to adopt the conclusions arrived at by the Conference ; these are the resolutions regarding the Senate, the power of disavowal, and the readjustmeiit of the Federal Subsidies. I ^ THE SENATE, As to the Senate, we simply ask that half of that body be appointed by the Provinces respectively and the other half by the Federal Government, but only for a limited term. Such a system would secure to the Provinces a certain measure of protoctiou against the encroachments of the Federal power and would Iree that Chamber of the partisan character which distinguishes it as at present constituted. I can hardly see why the Bleus should oppose such a reform; in 1864 when the constitution of the old Legislative Council was modified, the Tory Pre^s pronounced in favor of an analogous system, but one that M'as more radical in cha- racter. Thus, the Montreal Gazette, which was then as now the organ of the mo.^jt tanatical section of the Tory party, desired that the Legislative Councillors should bo elected by the Municipal Councils, that is, it desired that the compo.sition of the Legislative Council should be absolutely outside of the control of the Crown. The resolutions of the Conferet ce do not most certainly go that fur, and if the Gazette couli be logical, it cannot do otherwise than approve what we propose. It 1 ! 16 THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL The resolution relating to the Legislative Council reproduce the idea which I expressed on many previous occasions, more especially in 1883. I declared in the House that on principle 1 was favorable to the abolition of the Council, bnt that such a reform should not be effected until it was demanded by the people. That is precisely what is proposed by the Conference and if tliat amemlment be adopted, the constitution of ihe Council will not be changed or its abolition effected except in accordance witli au address from the Legislative Assembly, supported by at lea.-;t Uvo thirds of the people's representatives. The resolution of the^ Conference, it must not bo forgotten, is permissive, not imperative, and conse- quently notliing obliges the Government or the L'^gi.slative Assembly to take any action in the matter, at lea.>:t for the present. VETO POWER As the aim of ihe Conf-Tencc was to find mert^s to maintain intact tlu; provincial antonomy, we naturally were concerned about the powor of disavowing provincial laws, a power so unjustly exercised for the last few years by the Federal Government. Carried away by party spirit and the mania for centralization, the Ottawa Government, on many occasions too well known to need special mention here, has interfered with the action of the Provincial Legislatures, and encroached upon the domain of their jurisdiction, by disavowing laws passed by these Le- gislatures, though fully within the soope of their attributes, or by legislatiugjon m ;t ters within the province of the Local Legislatures. It is undoubtedly true that on many points, for instance, the License Law, the Privy Council has checkei.1 those encroachments and has decided in favor of the Provinces ; but during all these law proceedings the Local Governments have lost considerable revenue, and it must therefore be apparent to all men of sense that it is a matter of the greatest im- portance to put an end to a state of things, which is so prejudicial to every interest and so dangerous to provincial automony. lu order to mislead public opinion and to prejudice it against the work of the Conference, the a^eanin|^of the resglutiona relating to diaayowala hag H 17 been grossly misrepresented. All that we ask is that the power of disavowing provincial laws shall belong exclusively to ihe Imperial Government, as is the case, with laws passed by the Federal Parliament and as was done before Confederation with laws passed by the Parliament of Canada, This is the only way to protect thf Provinces against the arbitrary interference of the Federal Government with the right which they have to legislate as they please on matters within the sphere of their jurisdiction, and which right they never intended to yield up to the Federal authorities when their Legislatures were created, • Moreover, it must not be forgotten that now we are only concerned with the right of veto to be exercised for the purpose oT protecting the general interests of the Empire or of the Dominion, and not in the least with cases under Provincial laws which would be ultra vires or outside of tlie jurisdiction of the Legislatures. These cases, which are the most important, the most numerous, and which interest us the most, are, by another resolution, submitted to the decision of the Courts.' There could not be any serious question of leaving any longer this righfc'of veto to the central power. Simple common sense teaches us, that, on this point, the Federal compact contains a fundamental error. The Provinces and the Dominion are two contracting parties in this compact, and each of them has its rights and duties, and should, if not desirous of .violating the very basis of the contract, remain within the limits of its attributes. Now, who should decide if one of the parties is violating the articles of the contract ? Surely it must be a third party and not one of the parties themselves. And yet to-day it is the Dominion which decides without appeal that the Provinces have violated the compact, and the Provinces have no means of reaching tlie Dominion, if it has been guilty of usurpation of power. Evidently this system is too absurd and too unjust to be any longer tolerated. It is said that this power of disavowalis exercised in England upon the report of a third class clerk in the Colonial office. It may be so ; but, in that case, tlie Federal authorities, whose laws are thus imperilled, are in duty bound to complain. Do they make any cotnpaittl' f No ! they are therefore content. Is tlifire then anything astonishing in the fact that the Provinces should demand a >:fl ?li u 18 change from a system under which they suffer to one under which the Dominion does not suffer ? Moreover the right of disavowal is at the mercy of party interests and is subject to pressure of political passions, which are always unjust, because they are petty and narrow', in a colony. In England, the exercise of this power is above all small and contemptible considerations and follows the slow, but dignifieil ordeal of European questions. I may add that any question of religion, race or education, affecting or which might affect the rights of the French or Catholic minority, will be decided with more justice in London, even by aJ^Tory Ministry, than at Ottawa, by *n Orange Ministry. One would be inclined to think that the Tories, who [irettutl to entertain the greatest respect foi the Imperial [authorities, would have g'adly hailed this rt'solution?, which is in reality^the greatest^proof of esteem an 1 confidence in the Imperial Government, The opposite has"occurred : the very nion who have been ever proclaiming their loyalty from the house top, ia season tuid out of season, made it a crime on our part that we gave this mark of confidence to the Govern- ment of the Queen. We can from this form an opinion of the vttlue of the much vaunicd loyaH.y of these gentlemun. "VVh.^u il may St-rve the interests of their party, tliey swear by the uuihurity of Her Majesty's Government, as they did in the matter of the New-Brunswick school question ; but when their party interests are in any way opposed thereto, they do not hesitate in the least to throw th(^ Queen overboard and to represent hor Ministers as fanatics, unjust, dangerous men, at whose hands French Canadians and Catholics need expect no justice, in fine, men who only seek for a propitious occasion to dispoil us of our politic liberties, conquered at the point of the sword. It was the same men, or rather th« adherents of the same party, who, in 1849, under pretext of loyalty, made an attempt on the life of Lord Elgin, burned down the Parliament House and signed o manifesto in favor of the annexation of Canada to the United States. PROVINCIAL SUBSIDY . The most important of the resolutions of the Conference is that which refera the readjustment of provincial subsidies. It is also the. part which has provoked r Dominion its and is ause they power is it dignified ffecting or be decided wa, by «« 19 the most bitter criticisms on the part of the Bleu press. The inspirers of that press are so accustomed to regard Ihe Federal Treasury, as their treasury, as a thing bol'origing to themselves, to the exclusion of all others, that they consider as a theft aud a sacrilege any attempt to make the people participate in the treasures wliich constantly pour into the coffers of the Government at Ottawa. And after all, what is it that we ask ? We ask, aud rightly, T think, that of the twenty tive or twenty aix millions of taxes received by the Federal Government, it should grant to the i)rovinces sufficient to m-jintain their local institutions without obliging them to have recourse to direct taxation, which would give their death blow to the Provincial Legislatures and would be an iiTesistible and fatal step towards Legis- lative Union. entertain hailed ihis 3nce in the have been t of season, he Govern- f the much sts of their they did in ity interests ) throw the t, dangerous justice, in our politic T rather th« y, made an and signed Here is what we ask : The subsidies guaranteed to the Provinces by the Confederation Act are of two kinds : the spccitic subsidy for the maintenance of the Government and the Lt^gislature and the per capita subsidy, based on the figure of the population as established by the census of 1861, for the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and : for the other provinces, on a figure detoruiined by statute. All the change we I propose is to triple the specific subsidy and to base the per capita subsidy on the 'figure of the population, not of 1861, but as established by each decennial census. ^or the province of Quebec, this change would be equivalent to an increase of $047,968.80, calculating on the basis of the census of 1881 and at 80 cents per |liead for the per capita subsidy. Calculated on the same basis as for the other pro- jvinccs, the increase of the specific subsidy, for the maintenance of the Go vern- |mcnt and Legislature, would only amount to $140,000 a year for our Province ; Hit, owing to the necessity imposed on us to print our public documents in both languages, which occasions an increased expenditure that does not exist in the ;)thcr provinces, we insisted on getting $10,000 more and succeeded in doing b, so '.hit instead of obtaining under this head an augmentation of the subsidy liilv to the extent of $14=0,000, like Ontario, we shall have $150,000. RESULTS OF THIS AUGMENTATION which refer* H y ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ gentlemen, that with this increase of the Dominion as provoked «v,,;|y ^h? fi uncial position of the province will be perfectly assured for tha ij> 20 future and tliat with this new contingent of permanent receipts, we will be enabh d through the liberal encouragfrmeut ot education, ugriculture, colonization and public works, to give to the progress of the province a frcth impetus calculated to uphold the rank wo should occupy and to secure the influence we shoi. id wield in the Confederation. The maintenance of our Provincial institutions will be permanently secured and we shall have no reason^ to fear a Legislative Union, which might bring on it:, train many grave embarrassments for our provincial finances, or direct taxation. It is here tliat lies the gi'eatest danger to our local institutions and it is to avert this daugcr that we demand a readjustment of the Federal subsidy and our iudepen- dence in money matters, " FINAL AliRANGEMENT To give to all the Provinces a guarantee that the compact shall never b^' violated and that no parts of Confederation shall obtain special advantages to the detriment of others, and especially to secure Provincial autonomy obove all ai - tempt against it by means of special subsidies, we have enacted a resolution de- claring " the amounts so to be paid and granted yearly by the Dominion to the Provinces respectively to be declared by Imperial 'enactment to be final and abso- lute, and not wHhin the power of the. Federal Parliament to alter, add to, or vary. ' With such a law passed by the Imperial Parliament, we have nothing to fear for provincial autonony ; the moment that our financial position shall be secured in a stable manner, in accordan«e with the legitimate wants or exigencies of the local legislatures, there shall no longer be any serious danger for the relative independance of the provinces, which, thus assured of a sufficient revenue, will easily fmd the means to defend themselves against the encroachments of the fedeviii power. This is well understood by the partisans of federal centralisation andjegis- lative union ; this also explains why they so fiuiously oppose themselves to tlie readjustment of the federal subsidy, they will readily admit that the actual reve- nues of the Provinces are not sufficient for the legitimate wants of the Provinces ; but in place of agreeing to remedy this insufficiency by calling upon the Federal 21 Treasury, they demand that the Provincial Governments should impose direct taxation. The Montreal Gazette has formulated this programme in full terms (ivery time that there was a question of the readjustment of the subsidy. Listen tu what it said in 1883, whon a proposition had been submitted to the Legislature of Quebec by the Mousseau Government : " What, it seems to us, the Quebec Government ought to do, if econouiies sufficient to restore an equilibrium between revenue and expenditure cannot be effected, is to divest itself of some of the charges now devolving on it and place them upon the municipalities, as has been done in Ontario. A larger proportion of the cost of the adminisration of justice, of education and of the maintenance of charities and asylums should be defrayed by the municipalities. Sooner or later, that i)olicy must of necessity be adopted, and the sooner the better for all concerned." Is that clear enough ? There, gentlemen, there is the whole policy of the tories to improve the position of our Provincial Governments, now become untenable. Direct taxation ! and nothing but direct taxation ! Bring them back to power and they will apply that favorite remedy, curing all ills and easing all purses. This draconian policy, ' tliey have already tapplied it to the Province of Quebec ; they have imposed a tax \\\)0\\ exfdhitSy Q. iox upon commercial corporations ; they wished to impose their notorious tax upon deeds and contracts, and tliey would probably have levied laoro taxes, if the national movement had not expelled them from power. Well, on our part, we. Liberals, will not have this direct taxation ; we scorn this panacea of Blue politics and before we come to that, we will make use of every means which wise statesmanship can suggest. With what grace could we go, for instance, and extort each year a few dollars of a direct tax from the far- mer, when it is generally acknowledged that in place of giving, he must receive from the Government, in order to enable him to introduce, into his agricultural of)erations, the improvements now rendered necessary by the competition with the farmers of other Provinces and other countries ? *• What chance will we have of bringing to the country a sound and profi- table immigration, if we were obliged to show to the emigrants the bugbear of n i ■ill li 22 direct taxation, which has already driven him from his own country ? And our worthy workingmen, who can hardly supply the wants of their families, what would they say, or rather what wouM they do, if tlie tax gatherer were to attempt bru- tally to snatch from them as a direct tax a part of their earnings i What would they do ? It is unfortunalty easy enough to answer : they would emigrate to the United States. We must do the very opposite ! make living easy and cheap, that is true statesmanship ! now especially when political troubles, revolutions and wars drive the honest Uud peaceful farmer out of old Europe ! now when the closing of ma- nufactures in the NeW England States force our brethevn in the United , States to regret their absent country and to long to return. No ! we shall have no direct taxation, no new imposts. Fortunately, wc are not of that school of politics so much thought of by the Tories ; before having recourse to such extreme measures, we will take all possible means which common sense and patriotism suggest to us, to avoid such a misfortune, and it is for that reason that we wish to compel the Federal Treasury to return to the Provinces part of that which we have conceded to them and which we require. You will now permit me to examine with you the position which I occupy ■with regard to this readj ustment of the federal subsidy. On this point, the Blue Doctors are much divided. Some claim that I have sacrified the interest of my Province, whilst others accuse me of having organiztjd the pillage of the other Provinces for the benefit of Quebec. As you see, this is a grave case and that you may see what we must think of the whole matter, let me lay before you the text itself of the accusations made against me by both parties . of the Blue camp. Let us in the first place consider those who tax me with treason towards our Province. . The Montreal Gasette says that " the resolution adopted by the Conference '• was evidently drawn up by the Ontario delagates, seeing that it does not propose " in the division of the subsidy any change as wished by Mr Mercier." The Courrier de St. Hyacinthe goes further; " This means in plain 33 " Kfeiich, this paper orios out in a prophotic spirit, thit tho fnmTicial cliauge.s " which will be made by Mr. Mcrcior'a Couvention shall be so malo for the proht "of Ontario and not of Quebec, wWch has received its sharo of th« favors of tha '' Ottawa Governiiiont. " As you see, it is dear: I have cast myself with a trajt an " strongly against Mr. Mercier. The subject seems to be a very Ij^d one upon whieh " to attack Mr. Mercier who, in this matter, seems disposed to second with all hi-, " strength the action of the .Mousseau government. " We see with pleasure the Herald taking sides with Mr. Mercier and re- " fating the objections raised by the Gazette against the views expressed by tin' " meniber for St Hyaciuthe, on a subject upon which there should be no diffcreuet! " of opinion in the Province of Quebec. " For, supjiosing that the subsidies should be increased all along the liui , " what will be the result for the country of this distribution of funds ? A part of 25 " the surplus, coining from excise and oustomg dues, which are paid the consumors, " that is by everybody,]will be indirectly reimbursed to the contributors. Would not " this be one of the best methods of diminishing the public burdens, because " with the money so obtained, the Local Governments will be enabled to establish " an equilibrium in their respective budgets, all of them more or less heavily burd- " ened, with the exception of that of Ontario. As stated l:y the Herald, the " Ottawa Government pretends that it is anxious to diminish the taxation " bearing down upon the people. Well, the population of this Province is " 1 hreatened with direct taxation, and by an increase of the federal subsidy this ' calamity may be averted, without changing in anything the fiscal policy of the " party in power. " Nothing serious can be opposed to this view. We therefore trust that it " will prevail in the Executive Council and in the Parliament of Ottawa. We " have already made the remark that the United States before the war have given in " this respect a good example which ought to be followed in the inteiests of all the " Provinces and for the welfare of Confederation itself. " When these opinions were written, the Monde was as much Tory as it is to-day, but it had at least intervals of intelligence and patriotism, during which it vi'as willing to render justice, even to a political opponent. I regret that now 1 fiin deprived of the pleasure of paying it the same compliment. At all events, tliese contraciictions of tiro Blue politicians, their petty civil wars, prove that in justice and equity we. aie right in demauding a readjustment of the Federal subsidy. That is enough for us, and for my part, I concern myself very little with those ridiculous criticisms or with insults inspired by disappoint- ment and party exigencies. At all events, I claim for the National Government the honor of having first taken the initiative towards serious" and practical means of putting an end to the policy of centralization pursued by the Federal Government and to maintain the independence of the Legislature, and of having so far carried that movement, as to cast consternation among all the enemies of provincial rights and among the partisans, secret and open, of Legislative Union. This is already a success of ^'hieh we may well be proud. 26 IMPERIAL FEDERATION This is another project of the Tories aiined at destroying the self-govein. ment of the Provinces and to force us in a disguised form into Legislative Union. I. need not tell yon that in Canada, it is Sir John A. Mucdonald who is the soul and inspirator of this anti- provincial movement. Seeing the Provinces organizing thijm.^elves to resist the encroachments of the Federal authorities, he wish to thwart their efforts by shifting the question to another ground. Thoroughly convinced that popular sentiment here is op[ osed to him,- he would destroy that seutimont by associating with himself in his projects the most iufiueucial pubhc men of England, For, mark my words, it is in England that we must seek the centre of action where are prepared the plans which are destined to rob us of the institutions whi(' . we so justly cherish. The partisans of Imperial Federation are becoming bolder every day They have just proclaimed their sentiments in a striking manner and they have succeeded in making of their dream a question of actual pohtic?, through the no. mination of the new Governor-General, who is an avowed advocate of Imperial Fe- deration. In fact, Lord Stanley has given it to be understood that he comes to Canada with the fixed intention and the firm determination to secure the triumph of that cause. That is to say, that he is con ing here like Lord Durham in 1839, to complete the work of national destruction begun by the author of the famous report, which is so well known to all. And, La Mhierve, the French organ of the Tories, compleasantly reproduces the utterances of Lord Stanley in favor of Imperia Federation and seems to welcome him, especially because of the opinions expressed by him on that subject. The fiat has thus gone forth, and all the French and English Tories must be in favor Imperial Federation, The situation is serious ; w^e are confronted with the greatest danger to which our political organization has ever yet been exposed ; w^e are to have a regime forced upon us, of which the consequences for us cannot be other than most disastrous. Down to the present, we have drawn our life from the colonia system ; now, we are to be compelled to assume, against our will, the responsibilities and perils of a sovereign State, which will not be our own— to 1 1 2T expose ourselves to the vicissitudes of peace and of war between the great powers of tlie world, and to the rigorous exigencies of military service as it is practised in Europe ; we are to be saddled with a political system w^hich, by means of the drafti may scatter our sons from the ice of the Poles to the burning sands of the Sahara, an odious system that will condemn us to pay tribute of blood and money and tear from pur arms the young manhood, who are the hope of our country and th,e consolation of our old age, lo force them into distant and bloody wars which we can neither prevent nor stop. We, Liberals and National Conservatives, are deciciedly, energetically op- posed to this change and the National party of the Province of Quebec does not want it. We will fight with all our strength against this machiavellian project, and if its pro:not3rs ever succeed in imposing it upon us, it will only be by force and by guile. CONVERSION OF THE FLOATING DEBT One of the articles of the programme upon which we ran the elections of October, 1886, promised " the immediate adoption of energetic and practical means to improve the financial situation of the Province." We have realized this portion of our programme, by converting the floating debt, into consolidated debt, we have raised the credit of. the Province in addition to relieving the budget of a considerable sum, by reducing the rate of interest on a good for portion of that debt, which was contracted by our predecessors. When we came into power, the amount of that debt, or the sum total of the debt then due and of the liabilities maturing at comparatively early date, came to more than three and a half millions, without counting the four millions of contested claims, which we ri.'fused to recognize, but of/Which unfortunately we will be obliged to pay a large amount. We could not count on the ordinary revenues of the province to discharge this enormous burthen of liabilities, as for several years the balance sheet of our ordinary operations had shown deficits rinniing up into more than a million of dollar?. It is very true that the Treasurer of the Ross Government had announced a surplus of receipts for the year 1886-7 ; tttt on the other hand, it must be believed that this prediction was only a work r i V mi 2S . , of iraagination or an electoral trap, since the net result of that fiscal year is summed up in a deficit of over three hundred thousand dollars. There was therefore no other adequate resource left but that of a loan, to enable us to honor the obligations of the Province and, to that end, the Legislature authorized us to borrow three millions and a half at a rate of interest iioj, exceeding 4 per cent, for the purpose of paying off the debts or of carrying out the obligations contracted by our prodecessors. There has been a good deal of talk about this loan, and, after all, its history is very simple. Very naturally, we asked for tenders in order to secure for the Proviiic« the be aefits of competition. The lowest tender received was that of Mr. James M. N'.ison, of New- York, who offered to take our bonds at 94% firm and at 3|%iut<> rest. This tender was accepted in preference to the others, because it was much more avantageous, and my honorable friend, the Treasurer of the Province, placed himself in communication with Mr. Nelson, to conclude the transaction. On the IGth August, a contract was passed stipulating that Mr. Nelson should take tlie bonds on the terms. I have just mentioned, and to guarantee the execution of this contract, he should deposit to the credit of the Government, in the Chemical Bank, at New- York, three milh'ons and a half in securities of the United States Government or of the City of New- York, and this, before the 23rd August, with .the privilege, to the Government, to take possession of these securities, in the event of the $3,290,000, proceed;} of the loan at 94 %, rot being paid in cash upon delivery of the bonds of the Province. For reasons which I will specify in a few moments, Mr. Nelson wtis unable to execute this contract and on the 3rd September, another was entered into, .stipulutir g the same terms as to the price of the bonds, but substituting for the one previously iigreed upon, a deposit of $100,000 in money, which was to be forfeited to the Government, if Mr. Nelson failed to pay over the price of the bonds within the ten days following the notice of the deposit of the debenture with the Chemical Bank. Th^se statements fully bear out the correctness of the declaration which I made lasttall at the (Javallo Hall. At that date, the contract existed as I havo — «■•■ r«r»iMriiiniii! 29 affumed, and, if it was not carried out, it was because the stipulated deposit was not made ; and that deposit was not made because the bargain was too favo- rable for the Province and because Mr. Nelson was not in a position to carry it out We took every precaution that could be desired to do business seriously and safely ; we insisted upon a heavy deposit, much too heavy, especially in the first instance, and, if the affair did not succeed, it was not due to any fault of ours but to circumstances with which it, is right the public should be made acquainted. The carrying out of a bargain, so favorable to the Province, was prevented by three principal facts : 1" The almost sudden deaths of Messrs. Ross ami Cossitt, two of the wealthiest members of the Syndicate represented by Mr. Nelson, deaths which broke up the SyuJicate ami rendered it impossible for it to meet its engngements • 2° The sudden and unforeseen order issued by the Government of the United States to insurance companies, requiring them to substitute Federal bonds for the securities then forming their deposits, which occasioned an unnexpected rise in the qsiotation of those bonds and put at a premium all securities of the American Government ; 3" The regrettable and malicious intervention of certain institutions and Political personages, hostile to the Governmenf, who did all in their power to place obstacles on our way and to thwart the success of our negotiations. No stone was left unturned by the Bleus to try to defeat our negotiations at New- York : depreciating the Province, representing in a ialse light the nature of our negotiations, treating us as dishonest and incapable, asserting that the loan was not needed and would be repudiated by the people, &c., such Mere some of the delicate and patriotic means to \vhich our adversaries had recourse against us on that occasion. Each time wo went to New- York, the Bleu papers proclaimed that we had met with a fresh rebuff and not only mocked and turned us into ridicule, but insulted those with whom we were negotiating. Our adversaries even went so far as to have us followed to New- York, where a spy wasjset upon o;ir movements, and tiicy caused to hi published fanciful reports of our doings in order to alarm public opinion and to turn the American capitalists against us. i'i I s ^11 'i I . I 30 To throw the enemies of the province off the scent and to defeat their disloyal manoeuvres, we allowed it to go uncontradicted that we had resumed negotiations at New- York, and while a certain personage well known in political spheres was patriotically giving himself a world of needless trouble to wreck our pretended attempts and was having it proclaimed through the Blue press that we were on the high road to be skinned by a Wall street Jew, we were secretly and swiftly making excellent arrangements with a powerful French institution, the Credit Lyonnais, and I left abruptly for Europe to complete those arrange- J ments. The doctors had advised me to go to Florida snd I was [about to leave for that place, when the rumors of war and the alarming reports touching the health of the Emperor and Crown Prince of Germany, induced me to take myself the contract to London, to have it ratified there without delay by the authorities of the Credit Lyonnais, to settle with them certain objections which their agent liad reserved to them the right to make and the solution of which might be very difli- cult, if not impossible, through the medium of correspondence. I cabled my honorable colleague, M. Garneau, who had retained his passage at Havre, to wait for me in London, as I desired to avail myself of his knowledge, experience and business relations, in the settlement of so important a questiun. By leaving suddenly and secretly, I made it impossible for the enemies of the Province to further hurt us, and while the personage, of whom I have already spoken, was scouring the streets of New York in search of my pretended Jtw "Solomon, " as he was dubbed by the " Monde", and to ascertain my movements and proceedings, I was crossing the ocean to] London where, within four days after my arrival, Mr. Garneau and myself closed the negotiations and placed our loan beyond the danger of the fluctuations which the death of the Emperor of Germany and ensuing complications were soon to produce on the market. Eight days afterwards, Mr. Shehyn received his first million, and on the first of tho pre'-ot^t th. he drew the balance, the three millions and a half being now V .C'sr «,f ■^=.c : odit in the banks of the Province. I ma; cukiclude these details by stating that the services of Hon. Mr. Gar- neau were very valuable to me in London and that 1 was delighted with the loyal sx mi and honorable conduct of the Credit Lyonnais throughout the whole business, from beginning to end. DETAILS OF THK LOAN We, thus, sold our bonds to the Credit Lyonnais, one of the most respec- inble and powerful monetary institutions in the world. Our securities were taken at 99 and at 4 per cent interest. The ordinary charges, expenses of issue, stamps &c.. reduced the proceeds to $3,377,500.00 payable in American gold, at New- York, which is equivalent to 96| per 100. This is by far the most advantageous transaction which the Province of Quebec has ever yet concluded. Our four 5 per cent loans only produced an average of 97.19 per 100 or S97.19 per SIOO. Our operation produced the same result, less 60 cents per hundred dollars, although the rate of interest was a fifth lower. To show a return equal to ours, our predecessors should have obtained from their Sper cents about $115.00 per $100.00 ; but, instead of that, they only 2ot $97.19. • ■ nence aiui Here, it seems to me, is an advantage which is not to be despised, and yet ih« Rleus are not content ! But, why are they so exacting to-day, while they were fortnerly so easily satisfied, when their friends were commitLiag 3uch enormous fiiimciil blunders that we are now forced to convert their debts in order to save the Province from the consequences of their ruinous operations ? COMPARISON WITH THE LOAN OF 1880 Now, to be more precise, let us compare our loan Avith that of 1880, nego- tiated in France by the Chapleau Government and represented by the Bleus as the most magnificent of financial operations. That loan bears interest at 4^ per cent and was for $4,275,853.34. It only produced $3,772,717.00, or 88.23 per 100, that is Mr. Chapleau issued bonds of the Province to the amount of $4,275,853, and he received $503,136.00 less than the Province will have to re-imburse. In oth?r wo^d^, Mr. Chapleau paid a J per Il ' m'.i ■1 "< M 32 eent of interest more than we are paying and yet obtained from his loan $8,27 per $100 loss than wo obtained for ours. Taking the relative par values of currencies, the proceeds of the Chapleau loan ia equivalent to a par loan at 5.20 per 100 and ours to one at 4.20 per 100, which makes a difference of one fifth to our advantage. Let us see what these dilTerences represent in favor of onr transaction ! At 88.2:5, the yield of the Chapleau loan, ours would only have reali/id $3,08^,050, while in reality it hf's produced $3,377,500.00. We have therefore gained for the province $289,450.00 on the proceeds of the loan. At 4| per 100, the rate paid by the Chttpleau Government, the interest on our loan would amount to $157,500 per annum, while, in point of fact, we are ouly paying $140,000. We have therefore gained on the rate of interest $17,500 a year, which makes $700,000 for the 40 years the luan has to run. Let us now put these figures together and we get the following result : Gained on the interest $700,000.00 Gained on the capital 289,450.00 Total gain $989,450.00 Our operation is therefore more advantageous by $989,450.00 to the Province than tliat of the Chapleau Government. It will be admitted that thi,9 is a sum worth picking up. Nevertheless, the Bleu press lauded the Chapleau Government's loan to the skies. Here is what La Minerve said of it : "We are now in a position to show that these reports are absolutely fdlse and that the French loan, at the late oftured and accepted, has been an excellent financial or oration. "The province pays an annuity of 6 per cent, or 5 per cent for interest and 1 per cent for sinking fund, on a sum of £800,000 and the bankers with whom ojtr Province has done business have paid, iu f.ancs, a sum which, according to tl.e relative value of the moneys, represents exactly 98 per cent of tixe sum of £800,000 mmmm 33 3 loan to the I " It will thus be seen that, under every aspect, tlie negotiation of the loan [at Paris has been a good stroke of business, without taking into account the indirect results which we have a right to expect from it. " Tt should not be forgotten either that the loan oould not have been efft'Ctf.'d in London at 98 before it had been accepted in Paris. It was solely the action of tlie Parisian bankers which induced .the agents on the other side of the Channel to make their offer. » " Another piece of information which we can give our readers and which cannot fail to inspire confidence in this financial operation of the Quebec Government, is thatall the loan has been taken at 9Sh, 99, 99^ and 100, that is to say, tliat the whole of it has been taken up above the rate of issue." Now, in the first place, let us note the fdsity of the Bleu organ's affirmation. Tlio Government did not obtain 98 per cent of the loan^in question ; we know at present tlie truth on this head and the public documents establish that the real iigure was 88.23. The amount of the issue was $4,275,853.34; that issue only produced $3,772,717.00, so that the Province lost $503,136, which reduces the proceeds of the operation to the figure* I have just mentioned. But, if the transaction of the Chapleau Government was such an excellent lluancial operation, as stated by La Minerve, liow comes it that our loan, which will yield nearly a million more to the Province, is to-day cried down by the Bleus as a bad bargain ? I ask you, gentlemen, if it is possible to carry nonsense or impudence further. An English newspaper of this city, which claims to be a commercial paper, has asked " why the Ministers have disposed of Quebec 4 per cents, at 9t)A when the city of Toronto 4 per cent debentures command 99 1 and the City of Montreal debentures within a fraction of par, when Dominion 3| per cents are quoted in London at 103, cand the Colony of Victoria sells £1,500,000 of 4 per cents at 108 ? " In the first place, we have >ot sold at 96^ but at 99. This difference is important and we beg our adversaries to make a note of it. n ^ III ^1 31 Then, to this captious question of the Montreal Gazette, I might reply bd another question. In 1885, Sir Leonard Tilley placed £4,000,000 sterliijg of Canad 4 per cents, on the London marlo-t and only got for them 101.08 ; at the same clat(| the Victoria 4 per cents wei'e quoted at from 102 to 104 on the same London inarJ ket : why did the Ottawa Ministers thus dispose of their 4 per cents at tuooij three points under the price commanded hy the Victoria 4 per cents ? Let those gentlemen reply ! Moreover, as regards the colony of Victoria, there is no possible paralul tJ be drawn, I regret to say, between its credit and that of Quebec in the niuiie]| market. Apart fix m the fact that that Colony has already effected three lar loans at 4 per eent, and that its credit was solidly established at that rate, whilal ours was not, its resources and its re venues are infinitely greater than ours, witlioui taking into account that its budget for the live years from 1883 to 1888 yhows a surl plus of $2,271,738.96 of receipts, while ours reveals nothing but deficit:^, aggregating over a million of dollars, for the smme space of time. 01 the £33,119,164 steilin| representing the total debt of Victorin, in June last, £25,404,847, or more lhai| three fourths, have been spent in building railways which are the property of tl: Government and which brought to it during the fiscal year 1886-87 a net revemi^ of £1,088,945, or nearly enough to pay the interest on its whole debt, whicli ir.^ tercst amounted in 1887 to £1,272,591. According to the Statistical Ahstradim 1886, published by the Government of Canada, the revenue of Victoria is equal tJ $140.45 per head and that of our province only to $2.20. Where is the man of sense who will pretend for a minute that a ProvincI whose revenue is represented only by $2.20 per head, can borrow on the 3ame| terms as a quasi independent colony, whose revenue exceeds $140 per head ? Naturally, the same reasoning applies to the cities of Montreal and Toronto,] whose sources of revenue are more elastic than those of the Quebec Governnuintj But Rven the city of Toronto did not succeed as well as we did in placing itil 4 per cents. It is perfe«tly true that it put them on the market at 99 |^ ; bat II have it from a most reliable source that it did not realize, at least for its own beiiefit,| more than 95 or 95|, whilst we obtained 96^."^ But, even supposing that we 4id not effect our loan on tke same terms m 35 the opulent and proaperous colony of Victoria or the cities of Montreal and Toronto, what does it signify ? The great question is to ascertain whether we got the worth of onr bonds. The securities of a government, like all other merchandize, sell for wluit they are worth in the market ; now, what were the bonds of the Province of Qiitht'C worth in London when our loan was issued ? On the 3rd January, our 5 per cents were quoted at from 111 to 11 .'>, giving an average of 112. Now, at 112, 5 \vx cents are equivalent to [lar at 4.25 per cent interest. On the same date, onr 4| per cents were quoted at from 105 to 107, giving an average of 106. l!iit, 4?,, jer rwils at 106 ore equivalent to 4.25 jer cent at par. lastly, 4 jer eeiits at 96i- which is the figure we obtained from the Credit Lyonnais, are equi- valent to about 4.16 % at par, that is to say, tliat we effected our loan on terms whicii give a larger return than the current value of the bonds of the other loans of the I'rovince, when the operation took place, though it is well known that, to negotiate n^iw bonds, it is necessary that they should present advantages over the previous issues, as otherwise nobody would have an interest in purchasing the new j^ei'iiritios'. These considerations, which must strike all business men, clearly show Ihiii our transaction was an advantageous one for the province and that we got for our bunds not only the full amount, but even more than the full amount of their current value. The paper of Mr. White, a future Finance Minister, it appears, has re- iuodchod us for having sold the whole loan to the Credit Lyonnais. If my memorv be good, that paper did not make the same reproacli in 187" to Hon. Mr. Church, when he sold the whole of his loan to the Merchants" Ilaiik, hi 1883, Mr. Wurtele sold the last £500,000 sterling of the loan of 1882 to the Bank of Montreal and yet the Gazette did not breathe a word on the subject. With what grace, then, does it assail us because we did the same thing in 1888 ? If tho competition was advantageous in 1888, it shomld have been equally so in 187G, 1880 and 1883. Why did not the Gazette claim it to be then as it claims it to be now I Moreover, we created the competition by calling for tenders, which was ,me terms m I i 36 not done in the case of the loan of 1880, that was sold directly and privately toMr.j Ctthen, of Antwerp, s It is also a charge against us that, after taking the loan at 06 i, the Credit- Lyonnais placed it on ihe market or caused it to be quoted at 101} or 4] morel than the price paid by it. But it has been forgotten that these 4 J do notl represent the real profit, seeing that the Credit Lyonnais bonglit firm and paid all the expenses of issue, of exchange, of stamps, etc., which expenses represonte over 2 %. Further, on referring to Burdetfs Offi^clal Inielligence, I note that in 18.S3th^ Bank of Montreal placed on the London market, at 107, the £500,000 of the 5 p. loan of 1882 which Mr. Wurtele had sold to it at 100. The Gazette and other Blea papers, whicli are making a great outcry because the Credit Lyonnais appears have made an honest profit, had not a v jrd of blame, when the Bank of Muntrei realized 7% absolutely in the same way. Lastly, the Gazette seems to be • very much put about because iMessn Heidelbach, Ickelheiraer & Co., bankers, of New Yoik, appear to have been luixel up with the negotiation of our loan. Yet, it had not a word to say wlujii th^ same bankers were mixed up with the loan of 1880 ; and I beg you to believe md when I state that, if they cost the province something in 1880, they cost it noihina in 1888, as we have not paid them a single cent. Gentlemen, these remarks will give you a correct notion of the value uf lh| criticisms which have been made of our loan, and 1 do not hesitate to say it is iii| contestably the best financial transaction which has ever been effected for the proi vinee of Quebec. And yet we were in an exceptionally difficult position. Over and above tEJ discredit resulting from the bad state in which were the finances of the ] rovinc when we undertook their management, we had to stem the current, or, if yon ])refeB undo the quotations established by our predecessors. After having first borrowed i 5 % and at a considerable discount, these gentlemen had come down to 4| % in 1S80, bj sacrificing under the guise of a discount $503,581, and finally !fed been forced t« coiiij back to 5 % in 1883 ; they had proceeded by half points, whilst we had to lo^vel t e rate by a full point, to arrive at one bound at 4 56, a rate which they never sucj 37 Iceeded in obtaining. It was reserved for my honorable friend, the Treaaurer of the [Vrovinco, whose "X[)erience, skill and honor in buainoss matters have earned for Ihim the highest reputation, it was reserved, 1 say, for the Hon. Mr, Shehyn, to (place the Province of Quebec among the countries having the highest rank [in tlio liuaiioial and .business world. In presence of such a result, we have the Iri^ht to proclaim that wo have again built up the credit of the country and to claim jthe cooperation of all fellow citizens who do ii t allow themselves to be blinded by [paity spirit. ^ This success is the more remarkable that the Standard, one of the great iLoii'lon dailies, at the time of the issuing of our loan, contended that it could not be tloatod on the terms proposed and we would he compelled to accept less favorable jcoiiJitions, if we wished to see it subscribed for on the English market. T must moreover say that in France we had a most favorable anl sympt^- hctic reee]>tion ; we were treated as brothers and were given all the advantages [\vhich good will and the most sincere cordiality could afford. REDUCTION OF EXPfcNSES. Wti have also endeavored in another way to retrieve the financial situation. Ueli.ive lessened the expenses and increased the revenues. For the financial year endiiiu oil Ihe 30th of June last, the expenditure amounted to $3,283,097.78; jfjrilie current year, we have only asked for .^3,000,829. 60, or $282,868.78 less |tliari thi; expenses paid under the budget of the Ross Government, We have effected relatively large reductions in the staff of the public ser- jvice, either in dispensing with certain employees, or in not replacing others who have llial or in having their duties performed by other officers, without additional salary. |Tlius, \Ir. Schiller, clerk of the peace at Montreal, who was in receipt of a salary of P'othoisand four hundred dollars, was not repklced. The duties of Mr. Huot, IClerk of the Crown in Chancery, have been entrusted to the Clerk of the Legislative lAssembly, Mr. Delorme, M'ho will receive but a small additional indemnity for fehe increase of work which he will hwe to perform. Th? suecessor of Mr. La- Ichaine, who was in receipt of $1,400.00 per annum as Inspector of Cadastres, 38 receives but from six to eight hundred dollars, which makes so much saved. Mr. Richard, v^ho had a salary of $1,400.00, was not replaced, nor Mr Fortin, who was in receipt of $1,200,00 . The same was done with regaid to several other officCT^, deceased, resigned or dismissed and I can affirm on the whole that we have, effected considerable and important economies, not as considerable as we might have desired, but as considerable as circumstances permitted. I could multiply instances of economy effected by the National Govtrnmeut; but those which I have just mentioned clearly show that we have not failed to put our programme into practice every time that opportunity offered. We will do more, as soon as the settlenifent of other more important and more pressing matters will permit U8 to modify the organizaticn of tlie civil service and to carry out all there- forms of which it is susceptible, . ^ OLD PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS. When we took oftice, the Province had on its hands a property which \\\h costing it an annual rent of S4,444 and returning nothing : 1 allude to th- v)id Parliament Pniildings. In looking up matters connected with this property, wc were informed that the proprietors of the rent in qv.-tion, basing their pretension on the interpretation of tliedaw on the subject, were .^.aming an augmentation of the rent and arrears to a considerable amount, th tt is to say, all the diffcreuce between the Halifax pound currency ;tnd i\ni pound sterling, making .$055.45 a year and $19,109.20 for the twenty years elapsed snice Confederation, As we could make no profitable use of the property, the rent being too high, and as we desired to avoid the difficulty resulting froin the claim just mentioned, we handed back the property to the Ottawa Government. As coiui^u- sation, we gave them up at the same time the Sewell property, w^iich wa,. bn.:^- ing us in nothing and threaten* d even to become a source of expense, and we also transferred to them tiio proceeds of the insurance on the old Parliranent Buildings, which were destroyed by lire in 1883. By this transaction, we freed ourselves from a perpetual rent represented by a capital of about $100,000, as well as from, a claim involving nearly $20,000, '^''I'^ntU^^^'"^. ^Ot'^ «^^niint t but OUT nrvtion will .-ilso (»n)ba])lv favor the cirrvin!?^ 30 out of projects contributing to the development and oinl)ellisliment of onr old Provincial capit d. THE TAX ON COMMERCIAL COKPOKATIONS. Til 1(S82, the Cliapleau Government imposed a special and direct tax on Batiks, Insurance Companies, P-ail ways and, othei bodies. The corporations con- cerned refused to pay and a great number ,of suits were taken out and pleaded before the Courts, incurring considerable costs which had already, oti our coming into power, reached a sura of neaily $50,000. These suits, carried in ap'")'nl to th^ Privy Council, in England, hid been suspended in 188G, the ye.ir of the general elections : it is easy to surmise the reason. It was 6m' daty to bring th3 ;n;iLLor to an end ; we therefore, as early as the month of A[)ril, instructed Mr. Gsof- friou to go to England and to press the suits with all despatch. Mr. Geoff rion bril- liantly succeeded and secured judgment in favor of the Government. The collection of the tax was speedily made, and at the present moment WL' liMvu received more than half a miUion of dollars from that source. Corporation* which, after that final judgment, refused to pay, have been sued and must pay, lor they can no longer escape condemnation. We apply this law, because it is the law; but we believe th it, in its application, it indicts certain injustices which will soon be made to disappear, as well in the interest of the companies as ''1 tiiai of the Province. And if our plans with reference to the readjustment of tlic It.deral subsidy, as accepted by the Interprovincial Conference, succeed, aa ^'^e have reason to hope, the Treasury of the Province will then be in a favorable enough condition to permit the Government to consider the opportunity of doing away alto- gedicr with this tax. CROWN LANDS -I A - Up to this, we were principally concerned about increasing the re /euue ; ThaulcB to the changes which we have nuide in the rcgulotions respectiril(> Voods and furests, we have increased by almost $50,000.00 per annum the receipts >_ rising j from ground rents and by $100,000 those arising from timber dues, i^/e *have t * organized a system of inspection which will enable us to prevent the frauds thufc ^m Hi 40 were formerly committed in the cutting of lumber on the Crown Lands and which caused every year a loss to the Treasury of considerable sums of money. We have in our possession the jjroof that in several sections of the Province, lumber merchants, the favorites of former Governments, have plundered hundreds of square miles of our finest forests. For the few thousand dollars which these gentlemen were wont to subscribe to the electoral fund or other assistance of the same nature, which they would give to the Government, preceding Ministries handed over to them to despoil the finest domains of the State. Thanks to the measures taken by us, these depredations will be no longer committed, or at auj rate, the pillagers w^cll be denounced and severely punished. We shall deal with the lumber thieves as we do with the colonization money thieves. LICENSE LA.WS. We have devoted particular attention to the faithful observance of the License Laws, and the consequence of the reforms which we have therein eft'c(;ied will be seen in the very perceptible increase of tlie revenue coming from that source and in the more severe enforcing of the law. We will not stop there; we propose to submit to Parliament, at its next session, important amendments to the License Law, whose application will result in considerably diminishing tlie sale of intoxicuUiig liquors and in punishing those who are guilty of violating the la\v. We have every reason to believe that the religious and civil authorities and temperance sociiuos to which these amendments will be shortly submitted, will be fully satisfied with our exertions on behalf of tlie great and holy cause of temperance. THE EQUILIHKIUM 0¥ THE FINANCES RESTORED. We have also hroiight to a successful issue several matters which are not without importance, and, thanks to a firm and vigorous policy, as well in resi^ect of economy in the expenditure as under the head of the collection of the revenues, we have put an etid to the reign of deficits and inaugurated that of surplusfi^ the figure of which this year will be very considerable. 41 CODIFICATION. Another work'which we have terminated and which should entitle us to the gratitude of the public, is the Codification of the Statutes. This work, begun in 1876, had been dragging on for the last twelve years. In taking charge of ihe Crown Law department, I resolved to put an end to these delays, which were occasioning considerable expense ; I procured from the Legislature the necessary authority to push on the work with energy ; I devoted to it my summer holidays, and to* night I have the satisfaction of being able to announce to you that the proclamation putting in force the Revised Statutes of the Province of Quebec will be out in a few days. I was enabled to bring this work to a close, thanks to the valuable and intelligent assistance I received from several distinguished colleagues, chosen without distinction of party, amongst members of the legal profession who gave us the benefit of their experience and their. knowledge and have thus linked their names with the greatest legislative work of the province. THE ASYLUMS COMMISSION. The long disputed question of the lunatic asylums will also shortly receive a defiuite solution.. In order to arrive at an acceptable result, we appointed a Commission for the purpose of suggesting the changes whicli should be made in the laws governing these institutions. This Commission, composed of men represent- ing nearly all shades of opinion and offering all the guarantees necessary from the standpoint of principles and knowledge, have collicted all tlie information desirable with regard to our lunatic asylums and the mode of treatment therein pi^sued ; they have visited the asylums of th'i province of Ontario, which are managed by men of the highest competency, together with certain institutions of the Ignited States, which are considered the best managed, and I have every reason^to believe that the report of this Commission will give us the necessary data ior a wise and prudent legislation of a nature to satisfy all the interested parties. AGRICULTURAL COMMISSION. According to the unanimous recommendation of the Legislative 42 Assembly at lis last session, we iustniated a Commission to enquire into the means to be taken to improve our agricultural institutions and to reform, as far as possible, our .system of cultivation. We considered it our duty to name without regard to political color as members of that (Joramission all the members of our Legislature competent to furnish us with ust-ful information. For that purpose, we chose all the members who were , agriculturists by occupation and who possessed a practical knowledge uf agriculture, even tliose who were hostile to the Government. When it is ^>. question of matters of such importance, so intimately connected with the progress of the country, political ties and party considerations ought to be set aside. The report- of that Commission is now ready ; it is a most important report, and i am sure, will commend itself to the serious attention of the friends of agriculture. This report does honor to the intelligence and devotion of the members of tliut Commission, who under the presidency of Mr Bernatchez, member for Mont- magny, have rendered a real service to the country. The Commission specially visited our three agricultural schools and also a certain number of the most remarka])le farms of the Trovinct ; the members went to Guelph to see with their own eyes the magnificent agricultural college of Ontario, and they have jirepared a report which M'ill enable the Government to give a practical solution to that most important question, the improvement of agri- cultural (Hlucation and of iigriculture itself in our Province. COURT HOUSES N a Wf h.ivecoai[)!eN:hl ihe Couil House at-Qiiebec, and, on the -ilsL Decem- biM- las!, it was op(Mied to !he pub'ic. This edifice has cost an I'lionnous sum, but is very slalely ;ind i;.oiifoi'l;il)le. We are now going to devote our attention to tlie Montreal Court House, for rhu ealurgenii'ut of whirb we got a vote of $-200,000 Ui.^t session. Energetic and iiiflueiilial representations have been made looking to giving Montreal an edifice worthy of the great commercial metroj>olis and to be built on the old site of the Ghalean liamozay, opposite Iho City Hali. It ih- claimed that the actual Court House and the extensive piece of ground sin rounding it can be soid to advantage and the proceeds would cover a large proportion of the cost of the *^^^- .43 newstiTiciure. We are going to sUidy the question and consult the Bench and the Bar and come promptly to a decision favorable to ihe general interest. , , In ihe meanwhile, I ain happy to be able to state that the now organiza- tion of Ihe Court Honse generally gives satisfaction to the pnblic and that, thanks to the energy and suyiervision of the higher officials, the receipts are rapidly increasing, those of llio last six montlis exceeding by $13,581 those of the corresponding six months of the previous year. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE To give effect to the recommendations of the Commission and to the law of last session on the subject, it is our intention shortly to tjstablish a special Ministry of Agriculture and Colonization, and the Minister who will take charge of this new department, will be named before the 15th May next, the date fixed for the meeting of the Legislature. THE NATIONAL TROGRAMME REALIZED As you see, notwithstanding the illness which kept me away from the public business during several months, we have faithfully carried out our pro- gramme, as far as circumstances permitted, thanks to the industry and assiduity of my colleagues in the Ministry. ♦ PROCEDURE LAWS The length and extraordinary araount of co-sts in lawsuits require amend- ments to the laws of procedure. We will endeavor to comply with this universal desire by simplifying the procedure in the Courts especiiilly in commercial matters and by diminishing the expenses of litigation. I sent sometime ago a circular to judges, advocates and to ail whom I consider capable of giving information or of making suggestions upon the subject. As a general rule, it elicited replies and I liave received very valuable sugges- 44 W' ■'W^ Legislature, at the same time requesting it to adopt measures likely to attain the end so muph desired by all. As a first result, we will subnnt, I hope, a temporary, measure which will greatly simplify the collection of commercial claims, considerably diminish the delays and cobt of proceedings, and wliich, whilst we are waiting for a final reform which is being prepared and which will touch upon the judicial y organization itself, will afford general satisfaction to business men and to litigants throughout the Province. tol:. ga-tes and bridges. The requirements of business and the necessity of obtaining easy co.iimuni- cations will demand, before locgjthot a serious study should be made of the advisa- bility of abolishing, in our Pi ^:r- - jl' charges on roads and bridges, which form real obstacles to free travei, so necessary to the progress of a country. The solution of this gre- ; {jr»^blem <•'■> difficult now, may become possible when our finances will permit it, thanks t / ' >, .• .:djustment of the Federal subsidy which the Interprovincial Conference has recommended. • ' COMMON SCHOOL FUND. I hope we will soon settle, and iu a final way, the accounts now pending be- teen our Province and that of Ontario witli regard to the common scliool fund. Had it not been my poor state of health, which compelled me to absent myself from the country for several raonth.'^, tliat settlement would probably have been terminat- ed before this, as wo closed that which wc had against the city of Montreal, by which we received $125,000. Put the matter is only deferred, and before many months the Province will be in possession oi' what is due to it from that quarter. We have already received $100,000 on account; the Legislature of Ontario during its last session, has passed a law to provide for a final setlement, and there is now going on a correspondence between thr two Governments with a view to ■■1 45 a definite understandiig as to the appointment of Arbitrators, who are to decide finally this important question which has been pending for over thirty years, THE QUEBEC FRONTIER. We propose to give special attention to the question of the Quebec Frontier, and the Interprovincial Conference has already pronounced itself on the subject in favor of Quebec. All the explorations hitherto made clearly establish that the territory situated to the north of the Province of Quebec comprises vast extents of lands capable of colonization and varied sources of wealth. The lumber, mines and fisheries would offer an extensive field for industry, principally in the territory comprised between Lake Mistassini, James' Bay and Lake Abbitibi. All this country has been explored or visited by Father Albanel, of the so- ciety of Jesus, one of the members of that illustrious Order, which has contri- buted so much to spread the light of the Gospel and the benefits of civilization in all parts of the world. Father Albanel went through in 1672 to Hudson's Bay, by pass- ing by way of I^ake St. John and Lake Mistassini, and this is what he wrote to his superiors from the shores of that great inland sea : " They have been quite mistaken who have thought that the climate is inhospitable either because of the great cold, ice and snow, or because of the absence of lumber suitable for building or firewood. They have not seen those vast and dense forests, those, fine plains and grand prairies which border . the rivers, ij^ numerous places covered with ali kinds of grasses suitable for the pasturage of cattle; I can allfirm that on the fifteenth of June there were wild roses in bloom and fully as sweet smelling as at Quebec; the seascn there even seemed to be more advanced, and the air was mild and agreeable. There was no night, tlic evening twilight being scarcely ended when the dawn began to herald the rising sun." This region, revealed to the Avoild by one of the illustrious sons of Loyola, belongs to our Province. The accuracy of the information regarding it furnished by Father Albanel, has been confirmed by several English explorers, by Ellis and Robson, among others, and more recently by Dr Bell, tne of the most eminent mem- bers of the Geological Survey of Canada. Like Father Albanel, Dr Bell asserts that 46 this region comprises great tracts adapted to profitable cultivation, immense forests suitable lor working, different minerals of value, notably spathic iron deposits of inexhaustible richness. » This territory belongs to us ; the decision obtained from the Privy Council in 1884 by my honorable friend, the Premier of Ontario, relative to the Northern boundary of that province settles also, at least in principle, the (juestion for the p>rovince of Quebec. We propose to take advantage of this decision to add to our province a larger area tlian its actual superficies, that is to say, about 300,000 square miles. I have already brought up the question in the Quebec Legislature, in 1885, and a committee was named and instructed to study it ; we intend to profit by the work of that committee as well as by the Privy Council's decision, to have the question settled in a filial manner and in conformity with the rights and interests of the province. The province of Quebec is the rightful owner of the vast territory in question and is going to claim it, NSW RAILWAY SUBSIDIES The railway policy inaugurated by our predecessors in 1882, and in 1886, being incomplete and unfair, should be abandoned or completed. It was our own opinion that it involved too many interests and created too many vested rights to allow of its being abandoned without danger to the Province and without ruining certain com- panies. We have therefore decided to complete that policy, and in view of the additional resources placed at our disposal, to supply the omissions in it and to repair the injustices which it committed. W^e shall endeavor to do justice to a]i righteous claims, without placing too heavy a burthen on the'public treasury and, above all, without requiring new sacrifices from the taxpayers. We hope that our policy, on this head, will meet with the approval of all right-thinking men and largely contribute to the true progress of the country. Jesuits' estates The final settlement of the question of the Jesuits' Estates has been fre- quently demanded by the religious authority : during the last twenty year^ ou ^ .!IW )f / g wtffffl■ ^ ^a ,47 predecessors, who had on several occasions proiiiiaed to effect the settlement, never did so for reasons quite easily understood. We believe that t lie time has come to finish with this eternal question and we have decided to take it up and attempt to give it a practical solution ailculated to remove serious causes of uneasiness. We are nut deceiving ourselves as to the number and importance of tlie difficulties which the solution of this question presents ; Init we think that public opinion demands that, by an equitable arrangement with the interested parties, the permanent causes of trouble which the actual state of things has entailed should be remcj^yed. As yet, nothing has been decided as to the mode of settlement, except that the principle of the restitution has been abandoned by those concerned and that of a reasonable compensation substituted for it. In the meantimei we intend to ,- proceed to the sale of the ground of the old Jesuits' College at Quebec, which, as every one knows, has been for years past in a condition to disgrace a civilized city. Hon. Mr. Chapleau, we are assured, offered in, 1880 to pay the religious authorities. $100,000 for this ground, but the offer was not accepted, for reasons which will l)e divulged later.^ We are happy to be able to announce that there is no longer any ob- jection to the sale of this ground and that we are going to effect it shortly. The proceeds will be considered a special deposit in the hands of the Government, who will collect the interest until the final settlement. 1l is needless to say that this settlement cannot be nuide without according to the Protestant minority of the pro- vince a legitimate compensation, proportioned to their share of sacrifice in this connection. CONVERSION OF THE FUNDED DEBT. ^ _ I availed myself of my trip to Europe and of the good dispositions which 1 met with in regard to the Province, to open business relations with two of the largest monetary institutions x3f France: the Credit Lyonnais and the Banque de Paris et des Pays Bas. After hearing the report which I made to them of my projects, these two institutions signified their willingness to undertake the conver- . 48 • 8ion of the funded debt of the province, for the purpose of reducing and rendering uniform the rate of interest. The first question put to me was a question of law : I was asked if this conversion was legally possible ? I submitted the question to eminent lawyers ot Paris and it will shortly be submitted to some of the first lawyers of London. 1 liave no doubt about the answer which those jurisconsults will give ; I have already in my possession the result of a preliminary study which ;^ives a favorable solution to the problem. There is a precedent ; the Empire of Brazil effected two years ago, in France, and with all desirable success, the conversion of its debt, which was precisely in circumstances idohtical with our own, from a legal and pecuniary poiu^ of view. Moreover itisaprinciple of international law that delays aie ulway supposed to be in favor of the debtor and the latter can always free himself by paying by anlicipation the amount of his debt. This principle is laid down by article 1091 of our Code, which is but the reproduction of the Code Napoleon. This article says that " the term is always presumed to be stipulated in favor of the debtor, unless it results from the stipulation or the circumstances that it has also been argrccd upon in favor of the creditor ? This is also the doctrine held by all the political economists who have writteii upon the matter and it has been put in • practice by many of the Governments of Europe, llambaud, in his work Du Placement des Capitaux, clearly lays down the doctrine : " The right possessed by the State, says he, to reduce the interest upon its debts, by offering to its holders the reimbursement of the cipital, if they re- fuse to convert it, is formally sanctiom;d by article 1911 of the Civil Code under the terms of which all perpetual constituted rents are essentially redeemable, the parties only having the right to stipulate that the payment shall not take place before ten years. It is in consequence of this right that England successively con- verted its debt from five per cents to four per cents, and then to three per cents. In France, we have had successively the conversions of 1825, 1852 and 1862." 49 Mt. Leroy-Beaulieii, member of the Institute and professor of political economy at the Goll^go de France, where he succeeded to the chair of Mr. Emilo Chevalier, lays down the same doctrine. This is what I find in his Precis d'econo^ mie polUiqae, published this very year : " There is however one circumstance which from time to time comes to the " help of the State a?id which enables its statesmen to effect tlie conversion of the ♦* public debts. We have seen that the rate of interest has in general a tendency to •' lower itself in prosperous countries. Moreowr, most nations borrow especially " in moments of crisis, when the rate of interest is high, during or after great wars. " France, for instance, on the morrow of its disasters, in 1871 and 1872, issued " 5 'i^ loan at 81 or 82 francs, so that for 81 or 82 francs the subscriber secured for " himself a revenue of 5 francs, which represented in reality about six per cent " interest upon his investment. A few years afterwards, prosperity being " reestablished, the State could find money at 4 or 4 J % interest. Taking advantage " of this favorable circumstance, it could again apply to its creditors and propose " to pay them back, at 100 francs, that is at par, or to reduce the interest to 4| or 4 " per cent. Such a transaction is perfeefly legitimate. This conversion is an option " offered to the creditor between reimbursement of his debt and a diminishing of " interest. It resembles what would be done by a private individual, who having " borrowed during hard times, 1,000 francs at 5 or 6 per cent interest, and seeing *' good times returning, would offer to his creditor to return to him the 1000 francs " unless he would consent to no longer require more than 4 or 4| per cent. The " right of conversion depends, moreover, in France, upon that provision of our law " which establishes that, except when otherwise stipulated, every perpetual rent • " ahail be xeimbursable in consideration of the payment of twenty times the " amount of the interest. "States are bound, in the interest of their citizens, to have recourse to these " conversions, every time that their credit has sufficiently improved to permit of " such transactions. It was in that way that the United States of America acted, " when they successively converted almost all their debt, so much ao that they '• now pay no more. than 3 per cent interest, in place of 6 per cent which was the> " original rate at which they borrowed.". i III i Hi! ■1 I I 50 England at this vory inoinent is engaged in efiectiug the conversion of JE16U,000,UUU sterling of its i)ubhc debt. The project laid before Parliament by the CliuneeJlur of the Exchequer, Sir Henry Goschen, applies to three classes of thiee per cents; the consols the reduced three per cents and the new three jjor cents. The hoKlMs of the last mentioned funds, which are redeemable since 1874, "will have the alternative of conversion or of reimbursement ; if they do not make known their dissent within a certain delay, at the Bank of England or the Bank of Ireland, they will receive in i^turn for their old three per cents others of an eijual amount, for the issue of which the Chancellor is now seeking aulliorit from I'arliument. These new bonds will bear interest at '3% for the year endin;,' the 6th of April 1889, at2J % for the fourteen years ending on the 5th of April 190;{ and after that, at 2^ %. The bill stipulates that these bonds cannot be re- deemed before 35 years, that is before the 5th of April 1923. Naturally they who- will not accc pt this conversion will be reimbursed at par. As to the consols and the reduced 3 per cents, the holders of these funds, who accept of conversion, will receive a dividend of 15 shillings per £100, payable before the 5th of April next. To hasten the conversion of these bonds, there will be granted a premium or bonus of 5 shillings per £100, to every holder wh* returns theui to the GovernmeuL for conversion. A.S you see, the project of Sir Henry Goschen is the final conversion of 150 or 155 million pounds sterling from 3 56 to 2 1 ^. This transaction will greatly favor the one which we have in view and for which 1 have made the preliminary arrangements during ray trip in Europe. No ticae could be more favorable for the execution of our plan. It is a business matter which concerns the best interests of the Province, a matter upon which both. parties should be in accord, where there cannot reasonably be any question of ^^olitical divisions, and I trust that the opponents of the Government will have enough of patriotism to cooperate with us in the accomplishment of an undertaking which is incontestably so advantageous to the country. It simply is a question of reducing the expenses of the Province by from $200,000 to $250,000 per annum, on interest account alone, according to the conditions under which the conver- Bion will be made. We will be enabled to dtvote that sum to forwarding the pro- gress of the country ; this reduction of our expenditure will allow us to give a 61 wonderful impetus to the three great principles of the progress of a country, education, agriculture and colonization. The negotiations which we have begun involve the conversion of all our consolidated debt to a uniform and much lower rate than we are now paying. The Croil't Lyonnais and the Banque de Paris et das Pays-Bas, two of the most powerful Dioucliiry institutions of Europe, are disposed to^undertake the operation, which will evidently be favored by the conversion of the English consols, of which I have I just spoken. The greater number of English and other capitalists wil3 perhaps believe it to be to their advantage to take our 3 J per cents in preference to the 2J per cents of the Imperial Government, in order to gain one per cent upon theinvest- ineiit>, and to increase by that much their income. We wish to take advantage of thi9 exceptional circumstance and for this purpose we rely upon the loyal coo- peration of all the true friends of the Province. Our consolidated debt, including the last loan, is $22,354,353, 34: a reduction of 1 ^ on the amount of interest payable on that sum represents $223,543,53, which will be so much the less we will have Jo pay annually on interest account. And I have every reason to think that the reduction will reach a quartci- of a million aud oven more, for there is no reason to prevent us from trying :^f aud even 3 J per cents, especially if the Legislature, hearkening to the voice of patriotism, vote for this measure as a measure of urgency and unanimously as it will be their duty, so as to give an additional strength to the negotiations which the Government will carry on in Europe. I am glad to have this occasion to pay a public tribute of gratitude to Mr Diibail, the able Consul General of France in Canada, ,who largely contributed to the success already obtained in the matter and who has generously volunteered his valuable aBsistauce in the future negotiations, like a true friend of tho province. CONCLUSION I must ask your pardon, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, for having inflictod so long a speech on you ; my excuse, if I can be allowed to offer one, lies iu the importance and multiplicity of the questions I have had to treat and in th« necessity under which I have been placed by the circumstances to give explanations ; on a large number of subjects that have of late keenly interested public opinion. V In concludiBg, Ipt me call upon ypu, Liberals and National Conservatives to close your ranks and to unite like brothers for the defence of the common e^iise. That cause is grand, noble and generous ; you \^11 have to defend it m Kochelaga, Missisquoi, Shefiford, Laval and Maskinong^. Rally then like men of spirit around the national banner and ensure its triumph, together with that of the sacred causQ of tiie country. Donaervativea the common I defend it in en like men er with that