The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

name of the mover and seconder, 'The name of the hon, member for West 'Foronto had been placed on the paper as the mover, but he evidently would have nothing to do with it, for the name of the present mover was substituted. It was a piece of cut work placed in his hana to b¢ done mechanically, with no power on his part to alter or amend it. _ Me (the speaker) woudered it the mover knew what it was about, or whether the seconder had any ridca of what was in it, (Hear, hear, and laughter.) He thought he had provyen beyond all ques-- tion that the member for South Simcoe until the motion was placed in his hands did not know what he was going to move, and that many of those who had formerly approved of the increasos did not know that they were golng to condemu their own ac-- tion, If that amendment carried, hon. gentlemen opposito would be guilty of on it the one senutence, " Dishonoured for party purposes," (Loud cheers.}y He did not feel physically able to discuss this matter further, Me should like to have said a little in the direction of pointing out to the thinking people of this country, who very rightly had been complaining ot bard times, of stringency in the money and labour markets, and of the dearth of industry in the Province of Ontario, what the action of this Government bad been in mitigating the suffering and poverty so far as it haut gone. He should like to have pointed out that it had been the wise management of public affairs by this Gov-- ernment, and their extension of the rail way systeim of Uniario to more than double what it was at the time of Confederation, and that during this very time of depression--(hear, hear)--that enabled our peoplo to bear the depression, He should like to have pointed out to what extent trade and industry were stimulated by their expondituro of fully one hundred millions within tho last seven or eight years in aid of railway enterprise, He should like to havo shown how every dollar of that expenditure must have penctiated to alimost every part of the Province, and that if the times had been stringent, the chances were a thousand to one that they would have been by fur more stringeut it they had not taken the surplus and dis-- tributed it in the way they had done. He should like to have pointed out that they bad greatly aided the people in bearing this depression by distributing money to the municipalities; and if it could be truly said that wo in Oniario had felt the depression less than any othor country on this continenit--(hear, hear)-- it was because for several years the Ontario Government had been taking from the sur-- plus tunds of the Province, and had distri-- buted it among the people, stimulating public worksand improvements, the erection otf school houses and other public buildings, and the coustruction of colonization roads and bridges, and inducing the municipali-- ties themseives to spend millions of doilars in addition, He should like to have shown that by their drainage legislation they had induced the farmers of the Province to make improvements and to spend money in draining _ their _ lauds, 'The _ clam-- our of people, iwhou times were hard, and when the pinch was at the door, had always been that tho Government oi the day should invest money in public works, _ Well, the preseut Government could claim that they bhad done that to the last doliar that it was wise to spend-- (choers)--and on that ground this Goveru ment deserved to be sustained by the people _ of Ontario, irrespoctive of purty lines--(hear, -- hear)--because they had refused to do what had been con» stantly urged by hon. gentlemen opposite and their newspapers--viz., to close up their cotfers and to refuse torclieve the dis-- tress of the people, (Cheers.) When hon, gentlemen found it to be a popular ery, they had not scrupled to talk & greas deal about relieving the dis-- tress; but when _ any measure of crodit was due to the Government of On-- tario for the work they were doing, their bharangues were directed to make the peo-- an act of political treachery the like ot which was not kuown in the history of any political party in this country, (Loud cheers,) lfthey proposed to rally around their new leader with his new departure in political dishonesty, let them do so ; let them send up thoeir flag to the masthead; _ let them -- nail it there so --firmly that it could not be hauled down again, and let them inscribe clared in the face of the Houss that the Government had had no intention of in« creasing the salaries of Ministers, and would not have done so had not tue proposal been forced -- upon -- them, (Cheers,p In _ re-- gard to the other ground of -- accusation that the hon. member for Bast Grey brought against them, he recopynized to the fullest tho principle that the usterauces of aceredited party leaders, if unrepudiated by their followers, were bindiug upon the party, But there was nothiug in the speech maae by Mr. Blaike on the oceasion he had reterred to which indicated that it was a plack in the party platiorm that membeis oi the Government had not as privie citi-- zeus a right to take part in Dominion clec-- tious, -- And if they woere to have a fair idea ol the positrion otf Mr. lilake at that time, they must bcoar in mind that while he was from his place in -- this Mouse, as Premior ot Outario, anuouncing the policy of his Government, ho was at the same time a member of the House of Com-- mons,. And he was announcing the policy of his Government, not for some fulure dare, but a policy that was to biud him and thein {rom that timoe forward, Mr. FAASER--The abolition of dual representation would not do away with the rights of Ministers as privuie citizens. Ihne proposal to do away with dual repre. sontation _ was -- based _ upon particuilar reasons, no one of them being that a mem-- ber of the Local Government should uot put himself right before the people as to Dominion affairs, When Mr. Biske an-- nounced that policy he cnununciated it in re-- lation to his then position. Did anybody belicve that Mr. Blake intended to give up his place in the Mouse ot Commons, or to forego his right to discuss Do-- minion aflairs there? He did mot in-- tend to do any such thing, and his words would not bear such a construction. o read from Mr. Blake's speech of the 22nd of Deceimber, 1871, to show that while he pelieved that the toverument of the Province shoula be absoluloly independent of that of the Dominion, the members of the former wore not to be debarred from taking part in elections rolating to Domin-- ion matters, His words were, ©As citizens of Canada, as members of the Lecgislavure of Canada, those of us who, like myself, hoid such a position, are bound to fullii our auty towardsCanrada," Mr. Blake expressly resery-- incrcaked," 'And thg--Attochoy--Gonersi i"- clared in the face of the Housse that ?T: plo of the Province belicve that the surpius funds of the Province shouid be locked up and the expenditure cut down in order that a larger surplus still might be piled up. -- Whatever the Government had spent, they had spent wigely and well, and for the good of _ the people _ themselves? (Cheers,) 'Fhey had helped the peo. ple, and they ought to be _ gus-- tained by the people in turn, (Loud cheers.) A good deal had been said by the member for Kast Grey upon the fact that thoe mem-- bers of the Government bad" taken part in the late Dominion elections, He bad at. tacked their action upon two grounds, viz., that the increase in the Ministers' salaries was only given upon the assumption that they would give their whole time to the ad. ministration of the aftairs of the Province, and that it had always beena plank in their platform not to intertere in Dominion elec. tions. -- He denied both statements, with-- out qualification or reserve, (Cheers.) lis wouldnotdiscusswhetherthearguments used by the members of the Ontario Government in the late controversy woere right or wrong. The issues yet remaimed to be tried, and they were no more legitimate subjects of discussion in thrs House than the route of the proposed Pacific Railway, or any other matlter relagting to purgly Dominion affairs, But he wished to say that there was unothing in the debate when the increase of salaries was given to the members of ths Govern-- moent, as reporled at the time in either of the leading papers, that warranted the asg~ sertion of the member for East Grey that a pledge was givem,or required by this House, that the undivided time of the Ministers should be given to the Public Departments. It was not contended that the Ministers had neglected their dutics either before or after that increase, and in the reports of the de. bute it woulid be found that the then Treasurer, now the Minister otf Education, had. ®aid that the Ministers were prepared to give all the time that was necessary to pubtic aftairg, even if their salaries Were not Mr, MEREDITH--Ho was proposing the abulition of dual representation.