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

wound up the debate in a short but spirit-- ed reply to the arguments and assertions which had come across the floor. When | the division was taken the house by a | vote of 54 to 33 decided in favor of the | amendment submitted by Mr. Ross ana iuguiusl Mr. Marter's bill. The result will ! be the taking of a plebiscite on the quesg-- tion of prohibition and the submission to the proper judicial triounal 0n 1, a& case to determine the jurisdiction of 'lh" legislature to deal lfinally with the liquor -- traffic. ' The following bills were introduced and read a tirst time :-- [ > Mr. Bronson--Respecting houses of re-- | fuge for females. Mr. Bishop--To amend the act to im-- pose the tax on dogs. Mr.Baifour, for Mr.. Conmee--To amend the railway law of Ontgrio to provide pro-- per qualifications 'for railway engineers, conauctors and brakemen. Mr. Balfour--To amend the municipal | act. | Sir Oliver Mowat--For the relief of loan i companies incorporated out of Ontario ; also respecting polling places in the elec-- toral district of Algoma West ; also as to costs in appeals in prosecutions. | Mr. Evanturel--Io amend the municipal | act. ' THE DEBATE RESUMEp. | The debate upon the motion for the sec-- | ond -- reading of Mr. Marter's -- bill . and the amendments proposed by Mr. Balfour and Mr. Ross thwr:-m,, was resumed | by Mr. Whitney. He said that the proposition embodied in Mr, Marter's bill was -- a plain one and should have been met in a fair | spirit. If anyone had attempted to shirk | his responsibilities it was not a member | of the opposition. Mr. Balfour, instead | : of addressing himself to a discussion of the bill on its merits, had given ounces of I merit and tons of abuse of people 300 * | miles away If they had done wrong ' was that any reason they (hon. gentlemen ' opposite) should do likewise ? Mr. Ross l had leaped into the arena, t':u'l',\'m;:' the ~] banner of those who opposed anything like local option, and he took a side oppo-- , site to tnat which he had been .'ul\m-.u-l ing for a generation. Sir Oliver Mowat j was not carrying out his duty to the peo-- # ple of this country that devolved upon | him as the leader of the ;T'u\'rx'mnf'.nt and keeper of the conscience of the leg L\l;uuArv. The people of the province would be satis-- ' fled with no shirking of the issue suach as | was proposed in Mr. Ross' amendmen t Mr. Whitney condemned the administra-- ' tion of the license system and said that | the government were harnessed to it by a chain of iron. ' There was a considerable pause and | the speaker asked if the question \v:mid '.."",»\_' be put." After the lapse of a '.-"i""t.- or more Mr. Meredith arose 11!1'! besaun to spcak when the applause '." his followers had died away. He -"i"'! that the house had presented to it one of the most extraordinary spectacl 8. that had ever been witnessed in the history of constitutional government. -- The peo-- ple of the country had been very much moved on the question which was en-- saging the present attention of the leg-- ii-' iture. A large portion of them h'.m Dy an almost unanimous voice ll,"'Ll.""'f ih"'!l' judgment to be that if it was within the competence of the house it Sh\'\l'lll !'.T"" ceed as far as it could in the '1"""""'" | of the prohibition of the liquor traflic. | The leader of the house had made a de-- | claration that it was not clear that Y'l | house had the jurisdiction which Mr. | Marter desired that it should exercise, and he had given an assurance to those gen-- :tl.-mi-n who had laid their views lr"'l*"" | him that he was himself in favor of the ,])TZ.\'.\'H!J' of a prohibitory liquor law, and | that if the jurisdiction of the house I";y- | m nb n | mitted he \-\':1:". as " :.l.\- Ih-" ";;(4,:\'.1."1'-111l1:;::' ) ' ) h ) | \ | was concerned, prepared to go a ; { t { { ' | i f ) s Yet when Mr. l L L 14 l lJ | as the house would go. o fowL'I 4 L l' 1J 1 14 * | Marter asked the house to )':lss)t}nl.\lll.»w | MHslati an« hough the debate had been oo M s | '11-:1;1;:""')"«nX'l"lSlthu'n 3 o'clock yesterday the | Two giants of debate, Sir Oliver Mowat | ';um;'-n.x_y-;:«-n',rnl remained -- dumb. 'I"h" ' and (Mr. Mocredith, delivered themselves i attorney--general had very little respect for 1 of their views on the temperance mn'n'-'; the j't-l&!l'.'.(l'lkl.ut" 1}1';"xm'-.lnll]r;-rsln 1;1"" U'l'\{ A P se or > dgment o e ople samag e m fensely interested House m,_]i :]lly..\'l'('upl'x'xlxthv"\\'Jlll]wn he refrained from ;,:'i\"' day. Both the leaders spoke with m',llul ing the reasons that hbad brought him 1..' force in upholding the opposing conten-- | the conclusion which he had arrived ,:ll'| tions, but the attorney--general had uul He (Mr. Meredith) did not ir.unnd' to give his side the advantage <of a strong case, a silent vote to ::!w!(x-r himself ,,'.WI".',':' " P k n_ es ¥¥e o we the position that might be taken. Though buttressed by the most unassailable ar-- pronouncing upon the amendment | guments and irrefutable authorities. Add-- of Mr. Ross in the negative he ' ed to this was the wreight given to | might leave the position ' in doubt | his words by his great knowledge of con-- | A that he occupied. He nad I'I'.n lHU'l_{'\l'v""';_ stitutional questions in the successful tha bill before the house. The party pLt -- ; T o [ which he had the honor to be a membet solution of which he has taken such a : had not adopted it as a part of its policy. prominent part in the past. Mr. Tait | [ but as a representative of the peopnle :v:n.l] 6