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Mr _ CAMERON said the remarks of the hon. Premicr showed that the nogotiations bad been conducted in a slip shod manner. In all important matters betwoen the two Goverrments the communications should bo in writivg, so that the House would be in a pesition to know wnat the Government were dolng in regard to their interest, Occasion: ally, no doubt,there must be communications of a verbal character, but on such an impor-- tart queetion as that under discussion they should assume a more formal shaps. Dur-- ing the first Parliament, when Mr. Sandfield Macdconald was in power, the then leader of the Opposition was constantly at-- tecking the Government for not having brought to a conclusion a difficult question then exhtlni between Ontarlo and Quebsc, and yet the hon, gentlemen now in office had, after a long lease of power, failed to ascom-- plish this comparatively trifling matter, though in itself of great importance, The inotion was past ed, Mr, MACDOUCGALL then further moved for a return of the "memoranda or reports of the Commissioners and ex'urtl who have 'from time to time been employed to exam-- ine and ug:t to the Government on the subject of raid boundaries, Mr, MOWAT said the hon, member had spcken strongly of the importance of the in formation which the reports might contain being communicated to the House and the country. As the matter stood Mr, MOWAT pointed out that the hon, member had directed his remarks, not to tha moticn submitted, but to a second motion he bad placed on the notice paper, There was no corrcspondence to Lring down ; what the bon, member desired, no doubt, was caples of the reports, . tim' lavece s stem was to be carried into effact to snprint ancother arbitratoy At all «yon* , no giogress bad teen made with the arbil;: tion up to the prescnt time, ana the whole boundary questlon was now within the scope of the House. If the Act of last sos-- slon was found to be an improper one the Horse had the power to repgalit and to in-- struct the Government in relation to that subject, which was so important to evory copstituercy in the Province. The first point was to obtain the most complete ia. formation which the Government possessed in regard to the boundary question, which was a public %ueltion in which the whole Province should be taken into the confidence of tke Administration, The Government had no right to I¢ islate behind the back of the peoplge and wi.hout the knowledge and consentof the House on such an important subject, and it was in that view that hon, members required the information | atked for in his motion, He trustsd there | wcul;'. be no de'lny, and no reasons of State -- centicman . appor.'mem and 1% wou's ana i\ wou tratics 81 8 !r",',.r;fwf; no qi0grcds ion up t «_ _ _ RAT Pad not been proceeded with. | As one of the gentlemen appointed arbitratora | had recently 'inen appointed to a very hi;h | judicial position, which, according to lde | teims of his ccmmission, disqualified hir, from pertorming any other duty to the pU'\¥e, he (Mr. M accoags1l) apprehended that 4 hou. | mowiklssmace mss o ulC e W t : evelhaingntP uit indPivel A Aadrbricans and called arbitrators, and that decision, when so given, was to be confirm=1 by the Dominion Parliament, if they chose to con-- firm it, withcut any reference whataver to the Legislature of this Province, To him that appearcd to be an irregular, unconstitu-- tional, and dangerons proceeding, as the arbitration had not been prooesged with. s one of the scontiomen ammainksd . 1 1. 73 it members cf the (iovernment He undery, stocd that a gentleman long connected with the Press of this country, and one who had studied its carly history, had also boen employed to examine into the boundary question, and had prepared an equall «laborate report, which had been printedl, I{ was the duty of the Government to give the House the benefit of that informaticn, for it was the onstodian of the rights and privi« leges of the Province as a Province, The Hcouse was called upon last sesslon tolegislate upon the subject, and the Actpassed handed over to the flcmhion Parliament the power --as far as any Act of the Provincial Legis« lature could §!ve porrer--to finally degar. mine and a the boundaries of this Pro-- vince on the west and rorth,. It was true that the decision of the Dominion Parlia-- ment was to be preceded by aun adjadication of Jthe 't,b:ee ge'gtlemen who were appciatsd Bsc Uz qi c Se ECut d79%, AAUKk 'an w ad ceased, by> reason of hig mew ment, to be ome of thy arbitr;tors scu'd hecome necessar®, if the arl;. S sls w uns e e ind > on Bd ¥r, MACDOUGALL acquiesced in the proposed changes, P uzh 0 00 CCC RCCATIVHTE CHAGL the question arising concerning the morth and west boundsries of the Provircs should be determined by roference to arbitration. It stated that -- certain arbitrators -- had been choser, and _ that it was arranged 'with thetwo gentlemen «u: chosen that they should choose a third arbiviieior not & resi dent in Canada, An arrangemen« was made between the two Governments that the arbl-- traticn should be suvject to the anppry~«1 of the Parliament of Canada as well as the Legig. lature of Ontario. 'The Act contains a clause that this LegisJature consents that the Par. liament of Canada may declaze, not auy bot ndaries®, but that the fiyarticuhr bounda-- rics that the arbitrators fixed should be the boundaies. _ It also declared that that Act slould not go into -- effect until the Lisntenant--Governor had issued his pro-- clamation; the object of that being tha; both Gover:ments should be bound by the arbi-- tration. He entertained no doubt that the -- arbitration would be entirely legal and con-- ititut'oral, The people of Ontario would have as much cocfidence in the soundness of the juc'~ment of the gentlemen chosen arbi. | trators ss in that of the Privy Council, , a«hich ocnsisted of learned judges not known | ir tlis country, and of varle% abllity. A | further measure would be introduced during | the sesaicn, when thesubjcct would nodoubt be l fully discussed. _ He suggested that the mo-- ticn should be altered by omitting the word | "'memoranda " substituting the word "per-- | zons' for "Commirsioners or exports," and adding at the close the words '""'and which I a e not alrcady in the posscssion of this § ciun 209 The motlon, as amended, was passed, y UL €. WOR TT 2NECCO WHCGH iN iA W uO the Province adgpting: that course likewise The bon. member was in error when he said they had given the Dominjon CGovernment | the authority to settle the mattor of bouad> aries between them, The Dominion Govern-- ment were only in the position ia which the Ontario Government werein that respoost The subject had been loft to arbitrators, and both Governments would be bound by their award An Act passed by the Imperial Parliament providedp.f.or questions of bounfaries boing settled, and for that purpose the })1minion Parliament, with the assent of the Provincial Legislatures, might make any change in the boundaries that they thought proper. The Act of last sesslon recited that subject to the appuTw:l' 'of the Parliament of Canada and tha Laentstemal.~ ce c ailnoercr WO KiR the Le%al;tu;;- o'f-'(')';;;io, agreed by the respective G; Wt utonfiinmitnPadin® A/iico Bsb e ts sc drasd ca kss ts iss th d d t 3 nations submitted to arbitrators difficultics in regard to boundaries, -- There was no ob. jection in principle any more than in law to iiun, ifit cxisted, would bave been raised. But there was rot the slightest ground for the objection ; the Aot was perfectly consti-- tutionsl, and it would be usfortunate if it were not so, _It was most desirable that dif. ferences shculd be scttled by arbitration, if by no other way, It was, of course,a mat» tor for the deciston of the House as to how urportant quesiions fnvolving difficultles should be settled. 'They were constautly submitting to srbitration various matters in which the Province was concerned, and even })uvions to this session there were reasons or not communicating the contents of those 6portl, which were first suggested by the pposition side of the House, but in which he ectirely concurred, The question of the lggatt'.lemem: of the boundaries of the Province ad been mentioned during every session since he had been a member of the Legisla-- ture, and on a previous occasion, when some-- thing was said about the settlement, i\ was suggested by the membsr for South Leeds *hat until the case of the Dominion was in as forward a state as was that of Ontario it might not be desirable that the case for On-- tario should be spread out bsfore the world, but that the matter might be delayed until the Proviace:and the Vomirion cculd exchange cases, That sugp«stion zeemed to be approved by other members of the Opposition, for no contrary opinion was «xpre:sed, and it was in accordance with his own views. But since last session the Gov-- ernments had exchanged cases; the Dom'inion Government possessed copies of the reports referred to, and there was not the slightest objection to the House being put in possss-- sion of them,. The hon. member for South Simece appeared to consider that the Act of lsat scwsim was one which the Hou e hsd no right to pass, That was oze of the discoveries which the hon. mcem)<rkad madie No constitutional or other objection was offered when the m--a-- sw e was before the House for discussion, ard as there were as good constitutional law-- yers in atterdanceas the hon. member for South Simcoe, ary such constitutional objec-- Ontario, it had been ective Governments that § concerning the north