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LEGISLATURE i)f trliAiilii, WEDNESDAY, Nov. 17. The Sponker took tU chair at three o'dock. PETITIONS. The Ioliowing petitions were presented :- Mr. Cooktmrn--l?rtun the united Iowa. nhipc Council of Draper, McCsuley, Stephen- Ion, Ryde and Oakley, praying for a separa- tion of townshipl. Mr. Luton-Prom George 8ufftsl and others of Bag ham, praying for an Act to enable the Erie and Niagara meay to extend their Mr. McKellar-Worn the Erie out! Niagara Extension Railway Co., praying for an Act to amend their Act of incorporation. Mr. Smith (Kent)-li'rorn the Township Council of Eut Tilbury, praying for a oontir. mation of the present plan of lideroud. Mr. Rykert---hom the Ontario Peat Co, tor an Act of incorporation. Mr. Barts-From the Township Council of Tnmbnry, praying for . share ot the Im. provement Fund. Mr. McCall (Norfo1k)---Prom J amen Mocatfery and others. of the County of Nor- folk, praying that certain clause: of the School 3111 may not pus. Mr. Walrus-From the City Council of Toronto, praying that a committee of the Home may be granted to the Huron and Ontario Ship Canal Company. Mr. cook-Fun the Township Council of the united counties of Stormont, Dundn and GUngarry, praying for certain amendments In the Assessment Act. Mr. Wigle--Protn A. M. McCormick and othorl, of Point as Pelee, praying to be in- oorpouted under the name of the " Pelee Island Game Atsaootation." Mr. Carnegie-From W. II. Scott and when, of Pestertsorough, praying aid in tamur of the Peterborough and 1Uliburton Railway Co. Mr. Brurt---trom the County Council of Lincoln, praymg tor certain amendments in the School Act. Tho following petitions for the establish- mentgf an Ophthalmic Hospital were the pre- unte c-- By Mr. McGill, from the Township Coun- oil of Whitby; by Mr. Lyon, from the Toms. ship Council of Nopauee , by Mr. Boultor, from the Village Council of Stirling ' by Mr. Wallis, from the City Council of Toronto ', by Mr. Rykert, from the Town Council of St. Catharine ; by Mr. Monteith, from the Township Gounod of 8trattord; by Mr. Oliver, from the Town Conn ail of Ingersoll ; , Mr. MeDougull, from the Village Council 0 Arnpnor j. by Mr. Finlsyaon, from the Town Council of Pain. TORONTO HOUSE BUILDING A350. ClATION. Hon. Mr. CAMERON moved for leave to introduoe a Ihil, entitled " An Act to incor- ponte the Tytinto Home Building Associa- tie,", fieud, and referred to the Private Bill Committee.' --"ir_. ---v--vu w In"? db IlV'W" MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS. Mr. FITZSIMMONS introduced . Bill, entitled " All-Acute amend ca . 51 of 29 and S.0 Vick," ttithrd l'An Act Sdhl' muni- fel institution, of Upper Cnnodn (now On- 'aiiol." Pt WW" to Oriel of 'Hilxplain," Mr. FITZSIMMONS oaid u might simply ., that hia objmst we: to effect an alteratioit In "temnoe to "to election. ot Councillors in Athi" "d tolrmr, the electlon to which he tlsmsght ought to be for one you only. (le . 13:23. 111yru offer further expla- (Hui uar.rrii' wag"; 0 Indians f?? or on... at: the peu We ty ' P ?:le'g,rC'laed:,Xglli _ , , - "a. Ire, . a rule ifs.' ti; a this House be referred to the Standing Committee on Miscellaneous , Private Bills, with a View to reduce thorium. , , bar of eight clear days required to be given . before any Private Biiimaii be considered by iii laid Committee,to four days. The Committee " had held a sitting that morning. and it had y been decided that the old rule should still a" stead. ' Mr. BOYD-Just for the present. AttornerGerysral MACDONALD - Not ' exactly " The alteration, he thought, would not injure in any sense any of those , who ttt either bring' forward or support , Private . Is. The gentlemen who were iw l tore-ted more particularly in the matter were generally in favour of the change. Another meeting of the Committee would be held to. morrow, and he hoped that the alteration _ which was suggested would enable business to be transacted more satisfactorily, and i, without injustice or injury to any party. l The motion was carried. 1 ADDRESSES. 5 Mr. CURRIE moved an address for a return I showing the number ot addresses that have I been brought down since the first day of July, . 2867, and the names of members that moved for such addresses, with the total cost of t,2,?tg and preparing the same. (Applause rem the Ministerial benches ) nice, are diatranohiaed. Justice demands their ,dmiesion--Eqaity claims it. (Cheers ) Try them by any test you tht; whether by obedienceto law, respect or the institu- tions of the country, ssdueation, social posi- lioni ability and willingness to add to the pubic revenue, power to inoresse the national Weslth, and last, though not least. that heroic spirit that prompts to defence of home,[nltsr, and country; and, having tried them, pm have s body of men from whom it is ttapriets to withhold the frenchise. It mey not be out of place for s moment to lndicste the 1'tttt on which, when I bed the honour est session of addreasin the House, it seemed to me the claims ofg this class rested '--Fimt, on the genersl ground of Q'it',f,f,hi,r, and tsxstion; second, gut o iitnear, of which eduostion, the dis- oUrgs of the duties of citizens, and general good conduct, Were the test; thirdly, that come was es true a usage of nine to tU ',it,tu.ttcr.srtsiii,riitiai'iF. that this 018! Mr. BOY D then moved the second reading of the Income Franchise Act of 1869. In doing so, he spoke " follows :-It may be said that already during two sessions of this Legislature the fg1,"ft,','/, proposed, in this Bill was decided in e negative. My jaistifiot- tion for again intruding it upon the attention of the House is, that the disparity existing between those who possess the franchise and those to whomthe Bill refers is so glaring, the inequality so striking, and without reasons that are jutstifiable, that on every suitable occasion the opportunity should be seized and employed, so that by constitutional means, what seems anomalous be remedied. Hon. gentlemen may say that a matter of " much f,'tti,"tg1', " this should have been Initiated y the Government, and I will not say that it should not have been. Still, the Government not doing so, is not by any means to forbid a private or independent member of this House from venturing to take the matter in hand. On reference to the Journals ot the En lish House of Commons, I find that Mr. Locie King, member for East Surrey, on the 20th July, 1851, moved for leave to bring in a Bill granting a ten-pound occupation franchise in counties, and in resist Ing the motion thtGovernment of the day were defeated by a majority of forty-eight. And in Our old Canadian Parliament, Bills of equal Importance were introduced by private mem bers among which were several for the inde- iiiiliiiii, of Parliament. In my attempt to ring this subject before the House, it will be my object to show that the legislation pro- posed has claims for adaptation clear and tangible; that in its jotifieation it can be tnspiiorted by collateral reasons of not a little weight, and that it is entirely free from any: thing that can be called vicious as respects existing rights and interested is in no way Gan stone to the State. The enlargement of the f'k"n"lli,'l', asked is moderate-in no way extreme. The proposal limits it-as between voters and non -voters-in the same way that it already is limited as between the owners or occupiers of real estate. " Justice," says an eminent writer, " though it does not necessarily require that we should con- fer political functions on every one, does require that we should not capri- ciously, and without cause, withholdiromone what we give to another."--(uitl). The material facts of thecase are that many of our fellow subjects are ex cluded from the franchise: men who, in every sense, are qualified to use it, both intelligently and prudently; men who, owing to their position " boarders or lodgers, but who on their incomes pay direct Mr. BOYD ssid u would like to ask the hon. member whether it was right to ask, in connection with these returns, for the names of the hon. members moving for these ad. dresses. The addresses were called for by the whole House, and not by the single mem- ber. If it was wished to find out what the cost of these addresses were, there could be no objection; but to single out the nemes of hom members who asked for them, was, he thought, a very different matter. Mr. CURRIE believed that if any hon, members moved for returns, they were entitled to the benefit of their own acts. He did not suppose that there was any hon. member in the House who moved for any return who did not do so because of his anxiety to place before " constituents and the nation valuable infor- mation. All he wanted was that the con- Itituents of these hon. members might have on opportunity of comparing the cost with the advantages which were derived from these returns. (Laughton) The motion was then carried. UPPER CANADA COLLEGE. Mr. cHR1fyIlHil acquhyreed, and the motion ma postponed accordingly. INCOME FRANCHISE ACI'. Mr. CHRISTIE was about to move for a Select Committee to inquire into and report upon the endowment and utility of Upper Canada College, and its relation to the edu- cational system of the country, when Hon. Mr. CAMERON asked tint the mo. Hon should be deferred till to-morrow. if ', " . ___ -._, _.-. ru-w, N 111663 name Ot the objections urged against the proposed Inmate, and, in the second Platte, present a few general rensone why the measure iteelf should become law. Now, " to objections. I we are asked t--1. What good will tme mee- lure dot It will bring to bear upon our re- l preeentativee and the constituencies healthy inihssncee These will have to be meesured, ,', not so much by the numerical force of those who may be admitted to the franchise, as by their' intelligence, their opinions, end Weight of characzer. Popular zovernmem. ft. But it may be said-if this is so, why limit the franchise at all? Why not admit all to its exercise-sun" that here as well as in the United Kingdom, under existing _ circumstances there has has to be a system of graduation--. but circumstances, which, however, neither here nor there, are of such a nature as to forbid the entrance of those who pay a direct tax upon income, Then " to this swamping of other ttlaatreaa--about which, on an another occasion, We heard so much~this great calamity that is to be the means of unsettling the tenure of real pro- perty, this wicked thing that is to be instru- mental in banding class again" class, this thing sov'rle that the Provincial Secretary said last tsotn'on--"he would rather have universal suffrage than this measure," this thing that is to turn everything else upside down and make confusion more confounded I venture to affirm that in no tsonstitatsmsy-- city or country- could there be found a suf- ficient number of income men to elect one of themselve, nor would there be the least probability of their being able to sink every other matter, so that as a class they might all vote together, all vote one way. True, they might in cities very markedly give a tone to an election contest, which, it they had not the franchise, would never be felt; but to say or think that this would be a calamity, or wicked, bad, or re. volutionary, is altogether a mistake. Rather would it he a blessing than a curse. (Rear, hear). Not even in countries where they go further than we do in this matter is there this fancied rivalry as between classes, nor less respect forthe rightsof property. In coun- tries whose constitutions in many respects resemble our own the laws generally are " much revered as here, and in every sense general interests are as secure " sacred. In Australia, where manhood suffrage prevails, and vote by ballot, these did not prevent the export and import trade of the country to reach the sum of nearly dht0,000,000 sterling. There the laws are obeyed, rightly administered without the presence of asingle soldier being required to enforce them. Education receives attention, and elec- tions are conducted quietly. I merely refer to this to show that the mere fact of widening the basis of representation does not necessarily lead to daitgsr--tmsonai; or in respect to property, prosperity or security. In Victoria, one ot t e Australian Colonies, by law,a tized proportion of the land revenue is yearly appropriated to the purposes of im- migration. It has its system of Common Schools, its volunteer forms, and does not ask England for one shilling for defence. In the United States pr0pert is respected no less than in England. I? in England, where labour depends upon capital, changes could be made without jeopardizing that capital, what have we to fear in this country. where labour is so comparatively scarce? Then as to swamping property-holders, this is all a math. When it is well known that the ratio ot property-holders in this country, " com- pggd with England, is Lory much greater of the franchise confers. (fleas; hear ) Among those advantages may be ranked political intelligence, for the great interests of the country, on which they will be called to pass Judgment, --to give theiropittiou--wia induce consideration, beget refUstusa. The stimulus in this way given to healthy thought, including first the people individually, and next the people collectively, cannot be estimated. It is remarkable, yet not alto. gather tro-other things being equal--- that the possession of the franchise and increased intelligence are coincident. 2. It is objected that the classes referred to in the Bill are already represented in the Att. sembly as they need to be ; and that if they had the franchise-- in cities especially --other classes would be swamped. I hold, Sir, in mf'hand the "Act further to amend the law re ting to the representation of the people in England and Wales}? passed in 1867 '. also the Acts passed in 1868 "to amend the representation of the people in Scotland and Ireland"--" in those three Acts 1 tiad not only that existing franchises were limited,hut the introduction of new oaea--for instance the lodger framhiae--the effect of which has been to add most materially to the electors of the United Kingdom. W hence the need of this so material an addition to the voting power of that Kingdom? It was found, Sir, in the disputes between voters and non-voters exarting inequality. It was found in the genius of true representative govern ment, which requires that those who profess to represent the people shall make luvs for them because they have been chosen by the people to do so. And that by any means good and wholesome laws cannot be enacted on any other principle; but that the WR? of ,t,epretett1rtg,T.TnP.tstt, demands "we... m cunt-Iowan ropumr government derives its greatest strength from a just re- cognition of the classes for whom it proposes to egislste, and the extent to which those classes cooperate in the selection of the Le. gislature. We, however, by shutting these men out, virtually ignore their opinions They are spectators of, rather then partidr pants in, the public discussions taking plsce. The opinions which they form, as far as those opinions affect public thought," have no ode quate opportunity of giving shops to the pub. lic mind; and, inasmuch es politically they are of non-age-minors in politics! law,-Utheir opinions are not sought, nor are their conclu- sions deemed of any value; hence, it is no stretch of imagination to say, that the de- privation which ensues miy be viewed in s twofold light. The State loses the practi- cal benefit of their inlraemre, and they them- selves lose the advantages, which possession " AL, t___, If " _ - being in the minority, came t rovisionn War-g made for. their 2l%'lffl'a'lgt they could not be Benito be repreoonted ' and, titthlr, that there was nothing in the nelstion exist.- ing between the governed and the governing pptmrwhioh forbid-the extension of the fron- ohise to those who are amazed for income only. (Bear, hear.) Without "tempting " the moment to review the arguments used in whining these propositions, I shall en- dfavour, in the first' place, to meet some of ' " AL:--L1A__~ . .