The Ontario Scrapbook Hansard

Ontario Scrapbook Hansard, 26 Feb 1879, p. 2

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e " eeeeme 8 es e j S ow Pm ooo e Nt s B ;',,' * 7 P / 4.' ere C mope .,» & ,': );I?~ .';j- ntitled it to a fuller representation in the rely that the peopie of the older districts |-- "re ue i iegislaturethan it badat present. Manitoba, | were anxious for the development of the it with its population of 10,000, had a Local | country, and though Algoma had but onte © > s Legislature of twenty--five members, or | representarive in the House ll'l'" interests | _ / e ® bne to every 400 of population; British * would be guarded mo"_ carefully. BR \ n «3 . Columbia, with a population of 15,000, Mr. SCOTT sympathized very much with l P ' returned twenty--five mémbers, or ong for the motion of his bon,. tlfii:ltll(li from s'};: s 3 j every 600 people ; Prince Edward Island, goma, but was of opmnoul u}d be rep:le e 7 > n with a population of 90,000, returned thirty tation in tlfe Housp shou e reduce members, or one to 3,000 of a population ; rather than increased. {Ig was not. averse y _ while Algoma, with a populatiqn of 27,000, to giving Algoma an additional meinber in | 55 was only represented by one member in this the next Parliament, but thought such ac-- | ./ woe egislature, Candidates for election in tion ouzht to follow a readjustment of the | se s district had to travel west to the Lake representation of the entire Provirce. | M 3 4 of the Woods, and thence to James' Bay on A comparison had been made in an earlier | > the north, a distance of i,500 miles, and to part of the session between the representa-- | ascertain the views of electors it was neces-- tion of Ontario and that of some of the | sary to travel thousands ot miles. 'There States of the Union, but a fairer comparison | ) were large tracts of valuable territory there, would be one between this Province and | and capable of supportimg several millions Phe Mot}mr Country, 'I'he'rcpresentatipn | fpeople, waiting to bedeveloped. Manitouilin in Ontario was one member in 30,000, while | glr:nd was akso a district ot great capu= in Great Britain it was one in 50,000. He | ; : bilities, and was even now progressing in took the same ground that the Hon. ] p 5 f rommon with the rest of Algoma with Attorney--General had taken, that an ad-- | 3 great rapidity. F «en years ago it wasl ditional member was not necessary to the g Almost an unbro: n wilderness, peoplefi preservation of the intcrests of Algoma, *E by two or three hundred people ; now it Mir, MILLER said that it was a favourite | . *FXPNE + rontained a population of 7,900, and some position with some hon,. members in the § o farms as good as would be found in any House that all the meinbers were especially E ' part of the Province, 'Fhere were in Al-- represcntatives of Algoma, and he sup. eXE goma cight agrioultural socxctl(?s, and be. posed |they would _ also -- include | in: fween thirty and forty organized school | their constituencies Muskoka and Parry § T sections, with an assessed value of school | Sound. If they wercreally in earnest in their f « property of over $1,000,000. _ A district | position, he would hand over to the Hon. ld 1 es progressing so rapidly as Algoma was do-- | Attorney--General and the hon, member for \ig Ing was deserving of y !:u-;.wr representa-- ; | West Peterboro' upwards of a hundred un. 1 6 o3 tion than it bad, _ Within the I{nst.« four ' answered letters which he had received | n' . > > * ! years there had been three elecliong, and | from his constituents relative to their in-- | w $ j if the change he proposed wore not' "!"".10 terest, Mention had been made of the late ' j now, but postpoucd l!!f)!'.l after the gongral member for Algoma, and he (Mr. Miller) I f eliections, thert Would bo thi%o more within knew that Mr. Dawson was in favour of [ the next three yonrs, greatly to the incon-- making Algoma a separate Province. He | venience of the people. He trusted the Gov. | (Mr. Miller) was thorougly in accord with a \ * ernment would take the matter into con«» | those positions, and he would be prepared f I sideration, and introduce a measure into to advocate the detaching of Muskoka and the House to divide Algoma into two elec. Parry Sound from Ontario, and uniting -- ( . toral divisions, each of which would be five theim to Algoma to form a new Province. | '< hundred miles long and five hundred miles Mr. MEREDITH--That would be seces-- 1 | i ' T wide. A district capable of being "'""td" 9. sion. ' i iniporg inine houe. (ohsers} . _--_ _ Mr. MILLER said it was, but he contend-- F\ members to the House, (Cheers. *' | ed that the outlying districts had never re-- i f Mr, MOWAT said he was suro Lhz}t every ceived justice at the hands of the Legisla-- [ j Es hon. member of the House hearlily con-- ture, _ Large revenues were derived from 1 r curred in the remarks of his hon. friend for them and distributed at a per capite rate j | Algoma with regard to the importance of among the people of the older parts of the ; i that district, Covering, as it did, an arca Province, while the districts from which § ' I almost as large as all the rest of Ontario, if they were drawn were left entirely unde.-- A4 > § it were represented in proportion to 1ts sizc, veloped. He had advocated the construc-- F pl io. E. it would have 83 members on the fleor of s tion of a railroad from the terminus of the a P it $ * the House, and he had no doubt the day Northern Railway to Algoma, but that LE k ul would come when their representation scheme and other schemes for the opening 1 : é would be something in that proportion, for h up of the new settlements bad been strong-- h B .i c inee, its population, development, and wealth ly opposed by leading men in Ontario. The ; | would increase more rapidly hereafter than Province of Quebec was before them _ i e | it had yet done. With regard to in the way of developing the outer _ (tlxe question of additional -- represen. portions of their territory, and the build. L P ME --.~ | tation, it was one which the Govern-- ing of the North Shore Railway would ' is #9""> \ ment could hardly enter into at present. secure to her a very large portion of the e | It was not well to make frequent changes trade that might have talien to Ontario e mt in the, representation, Only ome change had she adopted a policy of pushing for. t es | had been made since Confederation, and i6 ward railroads into the Muskoka and Parry ] hasep > | was the policy of the Government not to Souna districts, He felt his inabtlity to | make further |changes if they were at all lay the claims of his constituency before " C avoidable until the next census,which came the House; with the same force as if it were I \ k on before very long, when a new arrange-- represented by six members instead of one, ' 3e ment of the representation would be made as but the sense he had of the importance of | . o was deemed advisable. 'The new bounda-- the new districts was his sole excuse for | k ries of this district required ratification by troubling the House so often. He argued 3 P the Dominion Parliament before the terri-- that the representation in the British 4Bs, ~ tory could be divided by the Province House of Commons showed that the prin-- Ma. (li of Ontario into different electoral districts. ciple was recognized there that the rural j A But every hon. member in the House was _ | population was entitied to a larger repre. $ 3 specially interested in the new addition to sertation according to their population | € the Province, and felt an interest in it than the cities, and the portions of the ; $ second only to that felt by each in the country more densely peopled. New dis. constituency in which he lived, or which tricts should be represented upon _ a : ' he represented, and in this sense it might | different basis than representation by § f be said that all represented _ Algoma, | population, and he would point to the | P 9 (Hear, hear.) _ There was no doubt then ) cases of British Columbia and Mani-- | p i.i that the affairs ofthe district would not | toba as a: proof that it had never ' i > suffer for want ot careful and intercsted been _ carried _ out. He -- prophesied K¥xer: supervision, 'There could be no doubt that that the number of members would y the Province had been entitled to the ad-- not be reduced while the Province i. 2 ditional _ territory which she required, remained as it was, and showed that the w3 that the Dominion Parliament would grant giving of an additional member each to | whatever legislation was wanfed to provide | Muskoka, Parry Sound, and Algoma would tor the administration of the affairs of the | increase the cost of legislation only by new district, 'The grant had been made about $1,400 or $1,500. It was not right . as the result of an arbitration to whicn botlt& that when a surpius of $4,000,000 or $5,000,. w partiss had submitted the case, It wou 000 was lying in the treasury so little §3 be as discreditable for the Dominion to should be done for the parts of the Pro-- attempt to evade the rcs_ult_ as for one bt'ats virce in process of settlement. Sir Hugh i k to fail to keep a contract with another, an AMan had said in a speech at Peterboro' 4 there was no reason whatever tosuppose that that the grain trade of the great North-- _".-(3 the Dominion would not recognize the West must flow over that road. A road ol right of Ontario to hold the new territory. was now _being built down through Ren-- Algoma might rely upon the 11_0"50. _a"d frew, and ,if it were not tapped the great his hon. triend its representative might trado would flow past Untario, England '

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