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5 ponjfié ~<o "nfe "coastituency he Dle' Jlast 'ditch in defence of provincial rignhts: thiw that the legislation proposed by how was it that when this question came nevea arter was clearly within the I'OWG';{]'3 up they found him running away ? Mr. gr.the legislatur@, and as it w"l fa'ilto:he Whitney had spoken of the votes of liquor by a large majority of the Dg';lp in(::e to dealers being bound to the government by country -- he declared his adher s aofne. an iron chain. They were bound to it by the hill. (Applause.) He had beer; Pu-- a golden chain. 'The credit of the im-- what struck by the two ines °b h%n provement that had taken place in this mert which had been adVfl;"ced";ig' T his country in respect to the drinking of in-- gentlemen opposite in deal ni I~ ainti#ed toxicating liquors and crime arising from neasure,. and he' was somewha C y o du-- the:--use and abuse of intoxicating liquors, Ilteo bear _ ine: _ minister ... O%: S 1 hon. gentléemen opposite claimed for the f. cauon and Mr. Guthrie make administration if only they were support-- the declarations practically of the same ers. They seemed to tkink that the ef-- _ | character which proceeded from their lips forts of the Reformers who had been yesterday. (Mr. Ross had declared that working in support of the temperance the bill, while purposing to abolish the principles had counted for nothing and retail liquor traffic, would drive that traf-- that ail the improvement was due to the | ' fic into the homes of the people. M!'~} governiment and the way they hadl £ Guthrie had said that from the legal as-- carried out their act. He entire--| > pect it was inconsistent. The minister | ly dissented -- from the -- proposition i of education was a member of the govern-- | that the liquor: license system had : \ ment which had introduced into the leg-- © been honestly and fairly carried out in the 'islature a measure proceeding precisely | interest of temperance and in the inter-- | upon the same lines as Mr. Marter's bill. | est of the country. He charged against \ He referred to the local option bill. The l hon,. gentlemen opposite that they had " provincial secretary in introducing that used the temperance people and the tem-- | bill had declared it to be one of the | perance question as a means by which -- mest important that he had ever had they had maintained themselves in pow-- charge of in the legislature, and vyet, er. They attempted to hold the temper-- ) though the government had claimed credit ance people and the liquor men at the for uat legislation, the minister of educa-- same time to support them in ofice. A | tior had got up in his place and denoune-- sworn statement was made by a whole-- ed it as an injury to the temperance sale liquor dealer that he had advised the causec. Ha was not there to attack the liquor sellers of Hamilton to support the | record of Mr. Ross in his private capa-- Mowat government because it was in the city as a temperance man, but it was his interest of the liquor traflic that the duty to call the attontion of the house to Mowat government should not be defeat-- the political record of Mr. Itoss ed. How could that be if the government , as a temperance _ reformer. Sixteen was administering the license law as it . . years ago a question analogous to that should be ? It was an open secret that | al which was being debated in the house the government had collected frOm,"QUO!'l and the country now was presented for dealers thousands of dollars, and he did the consideration of the house of commons not wonder that some hon. gentlemeni | of Canada. In 1877 Mr. Schultz had pro-- who saw the danger of the source of their | posed to the house a resoluton declar-- supplies being taken away from them \ ing that a prohibitory liquor law was the should fight to the last in resisting any | only effective remedy for the evil of in-- interference with the license system. temperance, and it was the duty of the | Mr. Meredith then produced an affidavit government to submit such a measure at made by John Cuthbert, the Toronto ex-- the earliest moment practicable. Practi-- | hotelkeeper, charging that he had been caliy that was what was pro-- | compelled to pay $100 to the Reform party ,| posed by Mr. Marter. "The | of the province. | position _ in the house -- of com-- Mr. Fraser--The same old story. mons was analogous to the position in Mr. Meredith--No, it is the same true | the legislature to--day. Mr. Ross was story, ((Laughter and applause.) the gentleman who on that occasion He then produced the marked checks was put forward by the government of | made by Mr. Cuthbert, which have al-- that day to meet that resolution. It | ready figured in print. It was all very was a case of history practically repeat-- '\ well for hon. gentlemen opposite to say ing itseif. Mr. Ross had moved an am-- that that was nothing--that it was mere-- endment declaring that whereas grave | ly an election subscription--but he would | doubts existed whether, under the pro-- ask the house if it was not an indecent | visions of the British North America act, thing for the men who were in office, con-- | the house had the power to say that in-- trolling the business of the province, to | toxicating liquor was a beverage; and send their emissaries round to bleed hotel-- ' + } whereas the house would not recede from keepers for the cause of the party. How | any declaration on the matter of -- a pro-- could the government in the light of such | hibitory liquor law, it was not expedient events carry out efficiently the liquor 're-- under the present circumstances to ex-- gulations, or pose as the friends of the press any opinion regarding the action temperance cause ? Mr. Meredith then | to be taken by the government on the read a letter from Mr. J. J. Lundy of Pe-- question. He told the people in 1877 that terboro', urging a tenant to vote right as | grave doubts existed, and he was tell-- it was in his own interests. If the law ' ing the people to--day , respecting the was administered honestly by the On-- jurisdiction of the legislature, that there tario government they would not be in-- ' was a vase about to be settled in _ the fAluenced 'by how a man voted, and hotel-- | court of appeal to determine this ques-- keepers or government contractors would | tion ; and he told the people that in | not feel that they were compelled to vote view of these circumstances it was inex-- straight in order to continue in business. | pedient that any legislation should be The license system, he repeated, was a adopted. He was playing again the huge machine by means of which the | game he played in 1877. He produced a hon. gentlemen opposite were holding | | witness to sustain his position, and in themselves in place and power in this ! this there was another parallel. Me country. In The Globe newspaper, which ' * citcd as a witness the attorney--general he read every day--(cries of "Hear, hear") of Ontario. In order to satisfy the house : --he noticed that a clergyman writing to that no unreasonable delay would result the naper on the vote they were taking by not putting this legislation on the on the prohibition question said that he paper at that session----this was fifteen was against the Marter bilt because the years ago--he stated that he had placed attorney--general had said there were con-- , himself in communication with the at-- stitutional doubts, and that when these | torney--general, who had charge of _ a were decided he would support a proposi-- case on behalf of the government _ of tion for provincial prohibition. Now, he Ontario. By this correspondence he as-- would call to the attention of the house certained that it was the intention _ to that the attorney--general had not pro-- open up the whole question of the juris-- mised to give prohibition if it were found diction of the provincial legislature, and to"be within their jurisdiction, All that learn whether the Dominion parliament the hon. gentlemen opposite had commit« or the local legislature had the control ted themselves to was that they "woul«, over the prohibition of the sale and man-- consider and decidoe then as e.\;pedlent.¥i ufacture of intoxicating liquor. So that And yet temperana: men like the mem * seventeen years ago the hon. sgentleman, | ber for North York expressed satisfaction who stood in an analagous position _ to | with this and thought the government / that occupied by Mr. Marter, had pre-- | was very magnanimous. He would ven-- cisely the same witnesses cited for the \ ture to predict that the temperance peo-- purpose of inducing a majority of _ the ple of the province would not be satisfied house to vote the motion down; and fif-- with such a doubtful attitude. teen years had, passed without any Taking up the question of the power of steps being taken. to. solve this 4mport-- the provinces to regulate the traffic, Mr. ant question. Was it not fair to ask Meredith pointed out that no one called | what reliance could be reposed in the in question the right of the province to promises of Mr. Ross' amendment ? He cut off shop licenses if they choose. i1f was somewhat astonished at the course then there was the right to abolish snog of the attorney--general in this matter, licenses, there was no reason in comom® _ and while not wishing to impute _ mo-- sense, or common law, which was found: \tives unworthy of a gentleman occupying ed on common sense, why they should the position he did, yet he had a right not have the right to say you shall not | to call attention to the fact that, while -- 4 sell by retail or in small quantities He on all provincial questions he was armed | CC quoted the case of Orillia v. Slavin, in to the teeth ard ready to fight to the C which judgment was given upholding the § A right to prohibit the sale of liquor in