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In making the motion, Mr, BLAKE said | be desirod vory shortly to. state the position | in which this matter was abt the commense-- ment ¢f this Parliament, and alzo the posi-- tion in which it now stood, For some years | before the new order of things hadl been in-- -- Stituted, the Lard Improvement Frnd bad been as:umed to be discontinued, although consice:rable treling, as was natural, had ox. | inted in the locahties interestsd touchin [ the injustice which the ssitlers concaives -- had been perpotrated upon thoim,. So far as he could find, no action hal heon taken by the old Legislaturo to remody that injustice. No doubt there existed at that time many diffculties in the way of remedyving the in-- justice, but when they met in that chamber to dizouss thoge affairs which concern them--« selves, be thought is his duty, as a repre-- scntsiive of the county most materially in-- | terested in this mattcr, at an carly stage to ) call the atteution of the House to it, As a besis of action, be therefore moved on the IGh Feb:ruary, 1868, for a return of the fund as it would have stood bad the order in Council discontinuing the fnnd not been " isszred. That returo fuvolved considerable lsbour and difliculty, and it was not brought down during that sersion, in Jacuary, 18€¢9, when ho calisd attention to this, the Government said the labour had becn very great, and that the re. tA rouch t P turn would bo brough down at once. | It was, however, neasly the close of the sos-- sion befors it was presented, at a time too late for any action to be taken on it, EHarly in the third cession, his hon. friesd from Hrurop, & cousty also cons dera\ly interested in the fund, enquired of tho Administration whethes they intended to psy over to the townships interested the amount of the fund, and as to the course to be parsued. 'The re. ply by the A'ty, General was that the trans-- actions relating to the fund bad been made with and by tho late Province of Canada, and tbat this Government had no funds out of which to mest the demands on a fuad which had been extivpsguished ten years previously ; and that it was a very ssrious matter to ask this Goversmeut to revive a fund which had been extinguished by the Governm:int under \ which it was created. When that answer wasmade it was cbvious that furbhor nrocressy wasmade it was ohy could only be masde degerdeat member textion of the Hous socmently introduce sequently introduc stating shortly the conclusions which, fairly to be drawmn these seitliers, the country, thoe iHouse, ard all particy would be satisfied with the investigation, The Committoo was atruck from both sides of the Houss,and was corsposed to a great extent of membors un-- interested or interested adversely in the question, -- After examining geveral wituosses and documents, areport was preseuted to ask the House, from which it appeared that at an carly day there had been set apart by the Governm:ent in reference to these counties, then almost unsettled, a certasin proportion of the purchaze money of Crown and School lazds E)r the purpose of public improve-- ments, that this order had been made widely known, and that settlers had been informed of its exictence by the Crown lands agents. The intcntion of the fund it was stated, was to erect bridges and roads, the absence of which constituted ome of the greatest hin« drarces to the scttlement of those districts. The inevitable resalt of the facts found by the committee and established by the evie dence, was that there was not aclaita for fa-- vour, rot a claim for kind consideration, but & claim to the jastice of the Crown,. (Hear, bear.) That is vas clearly madloe out that these scttiers were entifled, apon groands which, if the arrangement bhad been made ba-- tween private individuals, wou'd entitle them to assert theso claims in a court of law. Uxnder theso civcumstances, he proposed to the Houso to concur in tho report, but it was brought in so late, and thore was so much Enbl ic yinintixsg in hand,that it was not possi-- lo to place it in the hands of hon. gentlemen,. Heo consequer*tly adopted the suggestion of the bop, genticmen opposite, and abstained | | from pressing concurrence, -- He had felt it to | be his duty, at the earliest stage of this see. | ' slon, to atk the House to concur in the re--| port which had been placed in their hands. | Pe also added two further resolutions, in.. tended to inlicate what in the mind of | this House should be the consequences of . t { Mr, BLAKE said Em e +W d Muel en 9 the facts found by the commit.fei The peculiar cause of the third resolution was thke difficulty that besets every private mem-- ber in obtaining a grant from the public trea-- sury, It was not competent for him to pro. poso to the Housse to sagrese what money should be granted, and therefore he could enly propese abstract resolutions which would indicato the opizion of the House. So far as he bad endsavoured to trace out tho course of the question in this lHouse, it was simple justice that h> should add that his hon. frieed the Treasurer had from an carly Fuiod Fresaed the question, with that knowledse of which they all know he was cspsble, upon the attention of the arbitra-- tors, and upon the aitention of the Govern:. meut of Carada, and, as the arbitration award just handed in would probably show, with considerable success, (Hear) it was material to the interests of the Province that this qvestion shou'd be so pressed, for the reasoa that the funds out of which these sat. tlers soughs payment were to a considerable extent iecoived anterior to July, 1867, by the Sovernment of Canada, He believsd that it was scitled by the award of the arbi. trators that the arrears on echool lands, and the smount actvally paid, shouldl be set apart for the purposes of this fund, thus ad« mitiing the valicity of the clsim. The same view would nocossarily follow in reference to fuiure payments. In reference to the maerigi 10 tac ihis qvestion : reasonu that the payment of Crown lands sinco Jaly, 1867, there could be no difficulty, becauss theeo payments had -- been -- received by _ this Province. _ With _ regard to those payiments which hal besa recsived before, he was unahle to co--jastare what the position of the case wight be. 1. ecnclusion, ke believed that thore was such a general sense of justics in the psople of this country that theso claims would be estisfied equaliy as if any man amongs\ them would determine that any hosusst debt of his shoa'ld be prid. (Choers } MHon Mr. WOOD--After raferring to the remarks of the Attorney GCenuial, & luded to by Mr. Blake, and which ho said were foundid on tho asgumption that re-- forence was msde to that portion of the fund received by tho sats Provinece, aad th.i the matter badl rot at thait time been fally 2y * OtUict I ti*led +o 1563, thoat boe came to thke bad a claim upor mert for what it during the time ins for school ing JOr school ianus 10 $L24,000, &dtt (ULC Crown lands to $101,000, in all, to $225.000 He urged that it was a mestter peculiarly within the proviace of the Domision Gov-- eroming to teake hold of the question, but they failed to act, and he consequeatly ic« troduced the matter boforoe the Houre last seesion. -- Ho had never mado an apypsal more eamestly to the Government for any section earnestly to the Government for any sechion Lhanr ho did on behaif of those hardy settlers who had made what was @aimost a wildernoss into one of the finest parts of the Province. (Hear, hear.) Bs motion was defeated by a ruts of order, made by the Speasker vader influence brougat to bear upon bim and by a misconcention of what was law. (Hear,hear.) WhaSnoosiker alterwards adwitted that ho had (Hear, hear.) Bs motion was defeated by & ruts of order, made by the Speaker vader infiuence brousat to bear upon him and by a misconcention of what was law. (Hear,hear.) The Sposk» alterwards adwitted that ho had been in error. -- Determined not to be défeat-- ed by an erronsous ruling of the Szealor in #o rightcous a cause, hr{{mt a new notice 0a the paper and pressed tho Government until Sir Francis BHuwoks stated that the matter had been discussed in the Council, and that the decision arrived at was, that as the aroitrators would bave to deal with the Common School funod, and there{ore must necessarily sonsider that 0 3. etho Ayrocinet i1 settied theso l2 Hy carried out. BLAK B--( dear.) 10¢ Biy hs <a#} & by the Government--proceeded to bo Lad always been of the opinion, dG td UT&A °rs werg at uU! mat lazally en-- e saouth y ionestly and w#\ ferring to 'ERural, &.-- ich ho saidl u that re> ion of the 8, aat th.t A d OuUys 1 M+ C lby and disdeYmmffie--lE\Tm._F ment fund paid into the Common School | | fund between 186l and 1867, and must do. |* terminsg whether or not it shoold form pa--s | of the Common School fund, or should be | deducted from it, and go the credit of ! the Improvemsnt fand, /7}'1)13 Government | would follow the decision /of the arbitrators | with respect to the receipts from Crown lands; and be (Mr. Wood) was informed that &n order in council was prused that as the arbitrators decided with regard to the com-- mon school lands, go world the Governmept+4= decide with regafito the crown lands.~"As asimple mcember Of.that House, he hadl no authority to w any guch srrangemens, | but he j ¢/ that s--individusiliy he . would be content that it should be so. | One.--fourth of all moneya'received by the late Province sivecg 1861, on accornt of common shboollands and Crown lquds sold between 1853 'and 1861; all moregs' received by the Ontario Government from the first of July down to the present time; and all moneys that might Lereafter be received on account of these lands sold within the time mention-- ed, should be carried to the credit of the Upper Canada Lacnd Improvement Pund. As to the money coming from the Domizion, the Domwinion was bound to pay it over to this Province. The moneys frem common echcol and Crown lands received by the late Province were, as I havo stated, ©225,000, Provision, would be made in the estimates for prymont of the monoys rseceived on ac count of that fund by Ontsrio, amoanting jin all to perhaps between $£50,000 and $103,-- ©€0C; but the exact amount would be ascor-- | taincd before the House went into commit-- | tee of supply. The only rael matter of anv ¢ great public interest was--who shouls re. ceive credit for obtaining these funds and [ distributing the money amorg the settlers ? ' Tne Government never showed any oppesi-- tion that bhe was aware of to the doing of justice to these settlers. For his part he was willing to allow all zeal om the part of the hon. member for South Bruse; but he (Mr. Wood) must szy that at the last session of the Deminion Perliament, when he was taking steps in this very mat | ter, bhe was not supported by mem» bors represonting constituencies largely | iuteresbeg in the settlement of this question; as he thought ho should hwve . EKeen, But notwithstanding that he stood | almost alone, he made such an impression on the Dominion Government that it was obliged to yield. This cne thing was certain, . that somehow or another the whole House | at Ottawa looked to those who woers particu-- larly interested in the government of Ontario to assert and defend the rights of this Pro. vince, * Hon. J. S. MACDONALD--Tho Canada Central Railway, for examp'e. Hop. Mr. WOOD said the Attorney.Gen-- eral hod just rominded kim of the Canadsa Central Rail way. The members of ths Oa-- tario Government did not wish to deprive the Cansoa Central Railway of any right they possessed, but &EA not wisk khas Company to perpetuate rights to which they were not_ entitled. In regard to any credit to which he was en-- ticd he would say the records of that Heuse, if consuited, would show what he had éoze, both in his corrcspoadence, in his eforts in the committes of the public as-- counts, and in his motions and speeches in the Commons of Canada in refersace to this frrd, as well as his anxious efforts in this bohait befors tho arbibrators, _ He thoug . the country was aware of this and fally ap« prociated it, _ At all events success nal crowred his efforts, and he bad done ths best he could anud ho was content, and would leave others to pronounce jadgmeut, Thers nevor was any diliculty with th.t portion of the fund exolusively under tio control of this House, The difficulty was ith that portion of is, $225,000, in tie bhands of the Dowinion. _ That was the diili-- culty with which he had grappled, finst by appealing to the Governmens ay wébawa, | and, failing to get savisfaction from, it by bringing the subject beforse Paliament, to which the Government iteelf was subject, . and pressing the case before thas tribanal until a satisfactory adjustment was extorted from the Government in the manmer he had menticned,. -- As being coguate to this sub ject he might montion coveral other matters hs kad taken up and prossed upon the Gov-- ernment ard Parliament of Canada with the best results--particularly the Uppor Cangia Building Funs, in Whi.\\h_ be bad »frep 4 255. gemte BHAFEG 5 oceued in securing at leass 140.000 45 Ontari c neur & -- voa_ Ontario, and 1 pes cout. o1 UD-- warde of $11,000,000 for all tims t> coms. But he would not pursue this subjestfarthor, as it was not exactly relovant to tho sabject under consiGerstion, _____ _ _ _ t in roferancse to this ious efforts in this bors,. _ He thoug i/ f this and fally ap« svents sucesss hai % o w s on s 1X