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Msrch 21. 1890. The House eat only until six o'clock or a lew minutes later, although an ell-evening iessiou had been expected all week. The lime was priucipsliy taken up by e discus. lion in Committee on Mr. Drydeu'e bill to protect sheep from dogs. The bill seemed rather too hunl on the dogs in some of its nlsuses. and was much discussed and slightly tmeuded. An interesting discunsion took plece on a resolution by Mr. Gereon in lever of el'rovinciel system of free text. books. The Minister of Education did not lisupprove the idea of free text-book. in municipalities, but thought the Provincial scheme proposed by Mr. Usrson too large. and the resolution was withdrawn. FHttiT "unites. The following bills were introduced and reed A first time ..- To amend the Municipal Act - Mr. Meacimm. The Question of Free Text- Books Discussed- Mr. Ross Thinks It Altogether Too Tremendous tn. GARSON'S PRMrWclhl/MlliNlil, m. Dryden! Dog But-The City or Londcn Bill to be Taken Up Next Week - Important. Meeting of the Public Account. Oom- an"... THE UPPER CANADA CENTENNIAL THE ASSEMBLY. lower, in some cases as 15w " No cents per month. The books supplied averaged between TO mu] 80 cents per held of the pupils. In some of the United Staten a. Iynum prevailed by which cities and town. I - Tho hon. Irnister of Education snidhe had hem pleased to hour the remarks of the member tor Lmevlu. There was machinery, he pointed out, under the present law, by which tlchool liuurds could furnish free textbooks to the pupils and swing the Trustees the right to Impose a tax on the pupils not exceeding tweuty cents each per month. Twocitic,s had availed themselves oi this priviivges--llnmilton and Brandon]. He did not know of any other place. Hannilton had axinptwl the system a good many your: ago and it had been found to work very tmtisfactirrily there. The fees imposed on the pupils do not in any case oxceed twenty cents pvt month, 3nd In the case ofthe lower forms it_goel "if! Per' F __ -e ---M- 'A-n-I nu: -_Aq"M'ktu objected to going on with it that afternoon, but said it could come up any day next week, Monday, if Mr. Meredith wished. Mr. Meredith thought Monday a bad day, and Wednes- day was suggested, and this is tho day on which it will probably be taken. THIRD READING. The following bill was read a third time and paused '.-- Erna: CANADA CENTENNIAL. Mr. Morin asked as follows ..--Hm, the Government decided on any, and if so, what form or mode of celebrating. during the your 1892, tho centennial of the opening of the First Parliament of Upper Condo at Niagara? If no celebration has been decid- ed on. is it the intention of the Government to take the matter into consideration , The Attorney-General replied that the Government had not decided upon any such celebration, but he admitted that person- ally he should very much like to see tho event in question suitably commemorated. FREE Tsar-nooks. Mr. Garson moved, " That in the opinion of this House the time has arrived when the Goverumeut should seriously consider the advisability of tarnishing school booksfree to the pupils of the Common Schools in the Pro. Vince." It had, he said, often been assert- ed that the Public School system of this country, as compared with other countries, particularly the United States, was a good one, but there were some points in. which, in his opinion, it was susceptible of improvement, as these figures Would show. There was in this country a school population oi bli,000, and the average attendance at the schools Was 228,000. The total attendance at the schools, taking short periods with long, was 401,000. When they considered the fact that the population was 615,000 sad the average attendance 228,000, or something like 35 per cent., there wss a state of ail'airs which could not exist without some reason. There was a large proportion of the school population to whom the expense of provid- ing school books was a very serious matter, and often, rather than that it should be incurred, the children were kept at home. In his opinion children ought to he provided with school text-books at the beginning of the term, and the result would be a. isr better attendance. There was another point to which he wished to direct attention. Agreat many of the children took their exercises home written on wrapping paper, and be could not regard that as a desirable state of things. Uhil. dren who wrote exercises on wrapping pdpcr today would he apt when they grew up to write their letters upon wrapping paper. It spread a spirit of careless- ness 'amongnt the rising generation. The people. he contended, were not getting too much education. There was too much ignorance to be found in spite of all that was already done for education. If the peonleoi Ontario ware to make the most of their oppurlun ties and to achieve the future that seemed to be before them, it could only he done by the Government withholding from the people none of the educational advantages that were given in any other country. Tce whole question resolved itself into one oi dollars and cents, and surclv, he contended, it could not be urged with any show of reason that the Province of Ontario could not adord to do this. The countries that Ontario had to compete with in many instances furnished free text-hooks, and if Ontario would keep pace with them it Hurst-dorm same. . , ' - i _.-- v", v. uvlluull was on we order paper, but was not called. Mr. Meredith wanted it called, and the Attorney-Genera "Id"-..'l -- . _ - Réspecting the commitment of peraons of tender years. tttia chasm: Railik, A". mar.