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

. . I _ V I' eeeggMeeelMr .--r - _ -4 ONTARIO LEGISLATURE. ----_---. THIRD PhttuhttEttT--F0lltml SESSION. i ------- Lsoxsnuivn Assnxnnr, Toronto, March s. , The Speaker took the chair at tt o'clock. . Prayers were road by Rev. Father Borgia. Mr. CROOKS introduced a Bill respecting the up- pliontlon of the Religious Institutions Act of the Church of England, which was tong. first time. GRANT OF INDEMNITY. Mr. CURRIE moved " That Mr. A. J .Grsnt. mem- tmrot this House far Glengnrry, be allowed his full sesvicunl allowance, his absence from the chamber in the ttret part of the soasiou having been occasion- od by illness." Carried. BliLLEVllilaE AND NORTH HASTINGS BAIL- STAY COMPANY. The Bill respecting the Boilerille and North Hastings Railwny C'otpmmr--Mr. Bell-m" re. {erred to Committee of the Whole, reported With certain amendments, road a third time, and pasted. THIRD READINGS. - . ', Tire following Bills were then road it third time l and passed c-.. Relating to the incorporation of the town of Ti - ton-2dr. Widdiald. "" To provide for the division or the towns-bi , t 1- cheater --3tr. Wiglc. l o Co To incorporate the city of t :ueiph..Mr, Music. For tho relief of the Barton and l lantord Company-Mr, Williams. ' Road l Respecting the water-works of the town of Gael I --Mr. Mastic. p h i To amend the Agriculture and Arte Act-Mr. I Watterwortb. ' Respecting printouts under the Municipal Loan . Fund scheme where indium are 'tttcrested-Nr. i Wood. T ', Forthe further investment of public money; in municipal drainage debenturssailir. Wood. . STEAM AND HEATING COMPANIES. The Bill respecting 'itcuin null Heating Companies -3". Mowat--wus referred to Committee of tin: ' Whole and reported tsith amendments. I Tio,' JURORS' ACT. 1 The notre. then went into Committee on the Bill _ ' to amend tho Jurors' Act-Mr. "only. . ' - Mr. HARDY said that he wished to moire some " minor amendments in the Bill. lie proposed to tix l the tirst meeting of the municipal selectors for the i ' 1st of October, and to allow the selection to be Inside ' without the formality of a cricr, dc. l, Mr. BEACON thought the qttamieation forjm'ors l, , s" ought to be made the nine in that for municipal " elections. f , Mr. HARDY acid that under tho prosent quaiiii- I _ cation n quantity ofmatvrial sttf1icientiy interior was 1 sent up as jurors, and if the qualification were low- 1 cred that ditticulty would be iutreaemi. Mr. DEACON sstd that the hon. Provincial Secre- l tary was making nmisfako in supposing that pro- , pony was a test of intelligence. llc contended that I settlers in syewitownshirttpeperts the assessment was , low, and who would be precluded by the Bill from acting as jurors. possessed just as much intelligence I as Jurors selected from older. townships. The change to it common qtutliiieatiou would, besides, be is very great convenience. It was something in l the nature of an insult to any that any voter qualified l to exercise the municipal franchise was not com- petent to serve on a petty jury. l Mr. HARDY said that the standard for jurors had i been very considerably lowered by tho Bill, and he I had not heard any complaint of any wrongs having i been done under the previous system, such [as his hon. friend had referred to. The only exigencies that could arise would be in tho newly settled dis- tricts, and it was not Judicious to snake special legislation to provide for such easel, as it was mort advisable to have it common standard. He thought that the adoption of the voters' list as as list of those qtuuiiittd to serve on a jury would open the wuy to the selection of an inferior class ot lurors, which was a thing to be carom": guarded against. Mr, BEACON staid that the Bill fixed n common quqlif1eati?n while under the old system the qttaliti- cation varied secording to the circumstances of every munieiptuitr, so that none were excluded from furnish"? jurors. He contended that in the new towusiips especially the possession of: certain amount of groper-t: was not an evidence of intelligence, as t o settlers there were slion an equal footing. Mr. SCOTT thought that it the Bill passed in its present shape, it would be one of the most unpopular measures that had ever emanated from the present Government. He pointed out that great injustice would be done to the more newly settled portions of the country by the exclusion from juries of the great majority o the. inhabitants. In his own county it the Bill became law it would exclude four or five townships altogether from furnishing jurors. - Mr. DEROCIIE sawed with the monks of the hon. member for West Peterborough as to the effect that the Bill would produce upon the selection ' otiurprs from new townships. He thought it was I undesirable to exclude jurors from those townships, _ as . visit to the county town had a most i beneBefal (street in giving them a knowledge of how the legal "airs of the county were carried om He thought that it would bu unwise to puss tho Bill in its present shape. and borcd that some compromise wou'd be arrived at whereby certain townships might lu, not wan for the purposes of the Act, in which the qusuiiitratiott should be nrrauged no M to cult the t'irc1trngiancrs ot the inhabitants. Mums said that in the Bill which he had _ introduced in: session ho had provided for ths anu- w"! pointed out by hon. gentlemen opposite thr, making the votore' list tho jury list. 0 his}. .also proposed to give absolute POW" ritrin ccrtnin limits to the towuhhip bonds in tho selection ofjumrs. He still ndhered to the Position he had then taken, that the county selectors should be done sway with altogether. but