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Mn o e uns "';'""""""'""'1'-531'7@:"- ONTARIO LEGISLATURE, mm en es emmeuen I FHIRD PARLIAMENT--FOURTH SESSION, enomnnnennriti@mmsemememmemen Lxaisratty® AssraBLy, | Toronto, 12th Feb., 18 79. _ | The Speaker took the chair at 3 o'clock, ' Prayers wore read by Rev. J. B, Silcox. ' PETITIONS®. | The following petitions were present--| td :-- 3 / By Mr. Bell--From the Whitby, Port Perry, and Lindsay Railway Company, that no exclusive powers be granted to the Vic= toria Railway Co. By Mr. Grange--From the Village Coun:-- til of Bath, for certain amendments to the Municipal Act respecting the en{forcement wf statute labour. By Mr. Grange--Seven Orange petitions. y HREPORTS3 OF COMMITTEES, . Mr. FRASER prosented report No. 8 of the Comunittec on Private Bills, which was pdopted. t _ Mr. CROOKS presented the sixth report of the Committee on Railways, which was Rdoptod. p Mr. DEROCHE prosented the secound re. * port of the Committes on Printing, which was adopted . MUNICIPAL ACT. Mr, GRANGE submitted a Bill providing amendments to the Municipal Act, which pas vead a first timo. THE PUBLIC ACCOUNT3, Mr. CREIGHTON moved That in the opinion of this House it would be in the public interest to have the Public"Accounts and 'Departmontal Reports printed as soon as possible after the expiratior, of the year to which they relate, and to havo the same cireulated immediately upon being printed, whether the House shall be in session mt such time or not; and that it bo an instruction to tho Committee on Printing to consider and roport on the beet method of accomplishing this end, ' Mr. CREIGHTON said it would be re» | membered that last session he bad moved a | somewhat similar motion, but had with-- . drae >1in the belief that the Public Ac-- gou;,, Would be brought down before the tlose of {» > $¢8®sion, but they had not been. This subject haa been alluded to previously kn the dehbates of this sesston, and he was 'glad that the question was being agitated. t was a strange thing for the Government to plead that it was impossible to get down the Pullic Accounts earlier than in former _ years, 'Those for 1871 had been brought down on the 21st January, 1872, those for 1872 on tue 6th February in the following year, The accounts otf 1876 had e been brought down on the 15th January, 1878, and those tor 1877 were submitted to the House only a few days ago, It was recessuy that some system should be mdopted to do away with this delay, In every scssion there was submitted a state-- | moent of receipts and expenditure of the year before, which showed that the books had been made up and the totals arrived at, = and all that was then necessary was a mero srork of copying. Me was pleased that the Ministry proposed taking some action in the maiter, but they did not scem ko be vory decided as to what that action should be. It was spoken of to thange the date of the financial year, but this would not be advisable, for there was no guarantce that the time of mecting © the House would not be changed, He be-- liecved that the month of January was the] most inconveniecnt month for members to meet, because the municipal clections and the mectings of the Towuship and County Councils, and of the horticultural and other socicties, were held in that month. If the accounts could not be got ready by the cend ol the session, they i might be in the _ hands. of the members before the following meeting of the House. 'They would then be prepared to discuss them intelligently, for it was im-- possible for any hon. gentlemman to give full ' attention to the mass of documeuts placed on their desks, Furthe:, the people of the | country would be able to read them over, [ nnd the members ot the press would have | them for comment and criticism. 'This | motion covered other documents, such as | the education report, . which was not gen-- erally published until" more than a year after L