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

maus Lo. sare o CCCVH, -- ENCY were very well known in 1863. They were very well known in 1864, when the Quebec resoln-- tions, which are the foundntion of the British _ North America Act, were passod. They were equally well known when the British North America Act itself was(;mssed. They were all well known then, and did not come to our knowledge recently, Now, continued the Attorney--General, it had been stated by hon, gentlemen on the other side that there were more Roman Catholics sup-- porting the Government that the aggregato ma. jority of the Government all over the country, The fiou. gentleman who had mado this con-- tention <Mr. H. E. Clarke) had put that aggre-- gate |majority at five thousand--he (tho At-- lorney--General) did not know on what grounds «ind had then assorted that the num ber of Ro-- man Catholies who voted for the Government was considerably larger than five thousand. But the hon. gontleman should remember that whatever ~ voto was received -- from the _ IKoman Catholics _ was spread _ al} over the country, and did not come from any particular constituencies, The Govern-- ment had a large majority in many oonstityu* encies without the Roman Catholic voto, and their majority was simply swelled by that vole; and again in 'other places the Conservatives were so strong that the proportion of the Itoman Catholie yote onast for the Liberal party on 2. oC _ goj__ 200 concéerned, In one of my spoechesr have shown that it is regarded as being as much a religious duty as the sacra-- meonts. We don't -]ympalhlso with them, and we don't take that view ; but it is a well--known fact that it is as I have said. We know all avout their _ doe-- trines when the Separate School Act was passed in the old Province of Canada,. They were very well known in 1863. They were very well known in 1864, when the Quebec resoln-- rlomes. wiltheth miis Whim Pacuca Alce o CHIOC O h payment to each member of the of lnfil.nncn appointed for the exami-- of cullers or mmensurers of saw logs cut $ the lands of the Crown, as remuneration _ _fur his services, a sum not oxcecdlu;fi four dol-- lars per day, while actually empioyed as such _ examiner. |__"* Also, that from and after the 30th of April, 1889, the patentee, his heirs or nssigns, of land located or sold under the Free Grants and --| Homestead Act, after the 5th day of March, | 1380, shall be entitled to be g:)ld out of the Con-- '| solidated Revenue of the Province, on all pine | trees cut on such land subsequent to the 30th day of April next after the date of the patent, and upon which dues have been collected by the Crown, the sum of 33 cents on each 1,000 feet board mensure of saw logs, and $4 on cach 1,000 cubic feet of square or waney timber." The resolutions passed without discussion. | THE SEPARATE SCHOOL DEBATE. | Tho Attorney--General thon rose, amid the applause of the House,to resume the debate on the Separate School Bils before the House. He bogan by alluding to the extreme delicacy of the question that was under consideration,. It related to malters on which Roman Cathno'lics and Protestants both felt greatly interested, and their sympathics did not rur tozether. 'The members of this Houso were very largely 1 beionging to one of these two denominations. In a House of ninety members there were but eight ttoman Catholics--all the other members were Protestants. It was the more necessary therefore that, whon matters of interest on which they were divided in this way in their sympathios cume to be considered, they ' should be considered with the greatost possi-- bie care, in order that the members of the | Mouse might not misleadu themselves as to the | proper courso to take. Now, almost every speech that had been made from the otheor side of the Honse was an appeal to the Protestant sentiment of the country anud to theanti--Roman Catholic sen:iment of the country, 'The hon. o oi e Oe EeVE Oe ' obedience in such matters to their priests and how far those doctrines were in conformity with their conduct. It was a well--known fact that educational matters were pronounced by *° + anthorities of the Church of Rome to ba lters of religion, as he _ understood It, as much as the sacramoents .themselves were, and theso pronouncements had beon made from time to time in times past. They were not new, There was no new expression by that Church or the subject made recently, 'l'{m view the authorities had lately been ex-- pressing they had always maintained. That was known to be thedogma of the Roman Catholic Church when the Separate School Act was passed in 1863, Mr. Meredich--Did they then cdemand this obedience, and say it was a religious duty ? The Atiorney--General--Yes, so far as their own peorlo were concerned. In one of my speeches I have shown that it is regnrded na member for London had disclaimed one or two things, in which he was not followed by other members on his side of the House. Mr. Mere-- dith had disclaimed any intention of support-- ing a demand for the nbolition of Separate Scifxools. but ho was not followed in this by all his friends on is own side of the House nor by all his followers in the country. Mr. Meredith also disclaimed the view urgod in this House by others that it was the part of the Govern-- ment to do nothing that would increase the effi-- clency of Separate Schools, Onformer occasions | Mr. Meredith had been very digtinct in ex-- ' pressing his opinion that Separate Schools were entitled to have overything done for them that would increase their etliciency. Hoe had said something similar now. But not so with some of his fullowers. The Government had been found fault with becauso it had endeca:-- vored to increase their eflicieney. It had been | contended that nothing should be done in that -- direction, _ But whilst on these two points referred to Mr. Meredith had acted as ho had mentioned, he had by no means kept from makin@ the same sort of appeal as his friends in the House and outside were making every aay,. Mr, Meredith had read extracts from observations made by various Roman Catholic papers, in which they ciaimed deférence and obedience to their pricsts and Bishops on the 'mn. of the laity, and had insisted that the jishops sympathised with this Well, that was a matlter on which the sentiments of these Bishops were not the sentiments of the Protestants on the Government side of the House any more than they were those of the Protestants on the Conservative side of the Houso, 'They related to a matter for Roman Uatholics themselves to consider. _ It was for them to decide what amount of obedience they owed to their J)riestu and Bishops and what amount of obedience they would show them in this matter. 'l'lw'r made no provision whereby the Bishops could exercise any authority of this nuture, In the eyes of the law no Bishop or priest had arty more power than a layman, It was for the Roman Catholics to consider how far the docirines of their Church required Toundution of the British were passod. They were when :lho }%lritish Nort{ll u{,mase & They were a nd did not come to our O0U ves | con ! hey ion ly. Cx-- (s,3 3. " C , [ 3C floman Catholic population of Canada -- amounted _ at _ tha last _ census 10. nearly two millions. the Protestants being about two and a half millions, All this Itoman Catholic population would protest against such a change in the law. Ana what could bo said in favor of such a changet The Imporial Parliament would inquire how it came ufmlu that such a provision came to exist in tho Act, Well, what were the facts i The Constitution of the Dominion had been framed with the concurrence of both Upper and Lowor Canada--both Ontario and Quebec, and of the other Proviaces who had become part of the Dominion at Confedecration, What were the relative positions of OUntario and Quebec at this time t Quebec, though with a smaller population than Untario and with loss woealth, and without being possessed of other gtdynnt_agu that Ontario possessed. vet it C s StZure of Ontario were to ask for a change of this kind ? They would go --befuore the Im-- perial Parliament asking for this change in the Act, and the great Province of Quebec would be found in opposition to them,. And noi only would Quebec be epposing them, but they wouldfhave also the protest aud opposition o1 the whole of the Roman Catholic population of the Dominion. The Roman Catholic population of Canada -- amounted _ at _ tha last _ census 10 nearly two millions. the Protestants being about two and a half millions, All this Homan Catholia nansj223, _ [UAAOHT, . AH the suppo®s O PAB00°"""_ 0 ca nat ana Oof the couniry, too. Thero was nxnone .of these amendments but had the appr tion of hon, wentlemen opposite, not one that was opposed by them ; and the _ approbation _ of the country was as strong as that of the House. He did not remomber a single objection urged out-- alde tho House egainst these amendinents until tho recent agitation had commenced. There had been noune, so far as he had seon, in the nowspapers, or, so far as he had heard, by theo clergy or the laity of the Province, or even by the Orange Associations of Ontario, None of them had said anything in opposition to the amondments, So extreme had boeen the cars of the Government to confine its enactments on this subject within limits that would be generally approved of by the Protestants of the Province, that theso amendments had beon almost every where approved by Protestants. Kow, if the only mallers that had arisen in this House eapecially affeciing _ Roman Catholies -- were -- matters . that tud been approved of by everybody at the time, he could certainly say no cause of substantial difforonce had arisen between Protestants and Roman Catholies, One consequence of the groat power of the Government in the House and of the great propondcrance of the I'rotest: ant supportels of tho Government was that serious quescions of difference between them in which Protestants would be found on ouo. sideo and Roman Catholics on the other, had not boen brought up in the Logislature and had not boen by any body asked to bo b;'uught. up. Now, Mr. M. £. Clarke bhad tried to make oul'. that because the Government had only----as he said--Ilve thousand of a majority in the eniire voie, and a Roman Catholie vote that was larger than five thousund, there-- foro the Government was kept in' power by the Roman Catholic vote. But in the same way it might be urged that be-- canse the Government 'l'md a vote of tive thou-- sand, und a good muany more ,in thefdenomina-- tion to which Mr. Clarke himself belonged--th Methodist denomination--therefore _ the (.m\f ernment was kept in power by the Methodist rote. The same with regard to the l'rcal;ylc:-'i:': vote. -- Because the Government had more thlll: 5.000 votres amoug the Presbyterians, argnuin nlong the lines of the hon. ge ntloman, it mi rh'i be urged that the Government owm; its or' tion to the Presbyterians. And so with r id to the Bapti n »r Congr onalints 8y 10 ptists and the Congregationalists, S also, he believed, with regiud to tha Gerim vore. -- He betieved 5,00) votes were east for l'l.xn Government by the German settlers and it hn p k d their descendnnts ; and so, according to M 3 they kept the Gov ent (n Mr, Clarke, y kept the Government in power '"But t truth is," insisted the All()l'll"\'-";'l.lc ml M P we have the support of all the o de i introng and of all nationalicies and ;nll?':_;l:ul lmlllinn!im'm iu\l]m Lrovinge." (Applause,) sses of yeopld _ Now, as to the question PR HTH '.\1-1».'1'-": Schools, cun(iula«(&{ :.3.: \r']L"'."m" '?f iien --had fouud some (u':c'a:'. 'wlil\;a'.l'ulal;! ing hon. re no sumcliku;l?}w'-l{"l onposite, though they had us been very cautious s oCHCes Lliore Y¥ in theic refer-- ereto. 'The leader of the Opposiii ;V"-'i apparently not very clear the U d egLHIOM, put LiGught. That porim ear on the question, duy, ho might go il\'f'or }i's' one duy, or some me School? should A. ¢ he abolition of Separ-- arise. But Mr. "Urcd" llk_mu slate of things such hesitation :""" it x'8s followers had no Now, what did u.() "l;"f prepared already. Schools mean ? \'UL, abolition of Separate Separate M lumlq,'b t an uabsolute abolition of if the laws on the :r(i;'ll-m{ nolady (hosilit Linkt to--morrow 5"!'-'\!';1[.: 5 '}llt, book were repealed ed. They would slill. e 100ls would be aboiish= SUEKECSE Thoit b.oin 'LUI_HIIIUU. N\m«.nly would changke of the lm"b 'lnh-r{erml with, The abolition of the St-p'".";'uld' not invelve the | simply secure the "iu"d" Schools, but would lioman Catholic to 1 '. r"""l of Lhe Jieé ht of & of the two 's-l "'l assessed for whichever leave him t thoule oo o Atbbods sand Public School 0 16 bo wlx.\sscuur(l for _ the send his children as : woll m,hf he _ did . not _School to which he did se uls for (he Separate would simply be in .lsun his children. He did the case stand inxr'(:r 'fur both, Now, how of Separate Schools t JLU.O"CO to fhe abolition nobody disputed the fac was well understood-- Legisiature . hiad ; act--that the Provincial T'-'h.u'ulc Schools. '?l! llhh-ulpnrfr iro spould ass such : & I1 the Legislature sho pass such an Act, it could be (lisullu\\'c:lunl:t _ SE a e P Oe mmR my en mt Legislature had not the power to abolish Separate Schools if the Legisliature should pass such an Act, it could bo disallowed at Uitawa, and oven if it were not disal.owed at Ottawa, it would be invalid. Even the Do-- minion Parliament had no right under the Con-- stitution to abolish Separate Schools. There was no doubt that these were the actual facis, The contrary was not to be argued. _ 'I he abo-- lition of "the Neparate _ Schools _ could only be _ nccompushed by _ the Im-- perial Parliament, und it was perfectly certain that the lmperial Parliament would not abolish Separate Schools. 1t must appear certain to any man acquainted with politics that there was no chance of inducing the im-- perial Parliament :o repeal thut clause in the British North America Act that gunranteed these schools, What would take place if the l.'ogis_lu_lurq of Ontario were to ask for a chana Wbo be considered. If thore was any serious and substantial question betweon the Roman Catholics ind the Protestants the Roman Catholics might have been ox;l)ecwd to be found all on one side ; and if there had been no such union it was because no such question had arisen, TheGovernment had passed gev-- eral amendments to the Separaio School law which, ut the time of their passage, had had the support of both sides of the House and of L8 TL cc_ luas nA¥ nna Af theso Meseeeentte CC ult at @ll, Then there was | ansidered. If thore was ; P