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Michigan lumbermen, that reportai} § |hearing. _ My secretary asked them ; applied to the Government to enter or | whether if reporters came they should | + 20 that the interview was different from be admitted, or whether they desired | any other interview with the Govern-- reporters, and they said they thoughtl \ ment, and we have hundreds of the not. I will ask my hon. friend from every year, } South Norfolk to stand up and te)l' A Committee Offered. | P Shy arpoment oreword was usen I challenge them and offer them &' that had not been publicly used as an committee and let them have full argument at the public meeting, or choice--it will not be a partisan com-- whether any reporters were excluded | mittee--whether there was in any sense by the knowledge of the Government. I a secret conference between the Gov-- It is ungenerous and unmanly to make | ernment, as is alleged, and the Michi-- the charge. It even ueserves.stronger | | gan lumbermen. _ (Applause.) -- Why, terms, because reporters always receive sir, there were 30 people amongst those | courtesy at the hands of the Govern-- present. The hon. member for South ment, whether friend or foe, and the Norfolk and his brother, Mr. John | paper that ventures to make such a Charlton, M.P., introduced that dele-- charge in the face of that deserves no gation. I have no doubt Mr. Charl-- further consideration at the hands of | ton will rise in his place before this the Government or at the bhands of | debate closes and emphasize what I anybody, when it knows better--when | have told you to--night. -- Those news-- their own reporter will not come for-! papers who made this statement were ward and say that he spoke to any newspapers whose reporters made no member of the Government who would | application to any member of the Gov-- | not admit him. (Applause.) | ernment, who did not let any member | :r: th}c_e] Government know they were in What the Government Said. | e ouse, who made no intimation a p whatever of their desire to be present | | Mfigtig%:inglfe;é?or:ngs "t':\seggoeee}-}xf at the int('r\'ie"'. The interview was ment. 'I'hpy asked that the Govern-- in the morning, when very few re--| ment should not impose the manufac-- porters are present unless there is some turing condition, and they argued on unusually important interview to take other things on which the Government place. I will put my hon. friends to | had no legal power. We did not take f the test of a committee. I will go not | the lumbermen's vfew However, we merely as far as my hon. friends--those | did not impose it for the present year who make the charge--will go. I will | though the delegation were not told that give the opportunity--I will drag them[ we would not do so. That conclusion Lefore the committee and let them say was not reached ur{til some days af-- what they have to say under outh., terward. The season was past ; it was (Applause.) Two or three, or nearly on Sept. 7 and they had not sent in all, the members of the Government | their provisions and supplies; they were present on that occasion. _A let-- | | could not go on until they had learned ter was written shortly after that to | 'whether the manufacturing provision say that there was no secret confer-- would be enforced this year. 'i'hpy as ence. _I will venture to say that not | business men were entitled to know it one word was uttered at that confer-- They were ready and waiting to go in, ence that had not been already re-- as they had done every year. They had peated at the mecting of lumbermen a right to ask the Government what some .days previous, when 30 or 40 they intended to do. We were bound were present. The public arguments as business men, dealing with business | were used just as those used by Mr. men with Iarge'capitui, to at least let | Bertram, Mr. Beott, Mr. Waldie and | them know what our decision would be, l 1 others. _ These men's interview was that they might act accordingly. They f threée times as long as that with the ' Michigan lumbermen, and there was no sald that if the manufacturing clause fecret interview with them. _ They was insisted upon this year they woull'd [ came and uttered their requests i oied i e toune " y hos, Snd ' public. matter in the courts. * read from a paper that they were pleas-- The Michigan Lumbermen. ed with our decision to er{IhDI;)Y O!:"li b ans, w % u eir goc The members of the Michigan dele-- fifiga?y',l?r'gfiggu"efuxf ("a¥1adn. §" am gation came in a public way, present-- glad that they were pleased in that. Ing their arguments openly and above They did not seem very pleased. What f board. . Besides, the members of this they said to us was that they were delegation claimed that they were the . in & position to resist us in view bf the very men who down in Washington had action of the United States Government been fighting for a dollar duty on lum-- in relation to the alien Iwbor law and | ber.' They, with their association, had the legisiation regarding lumber. They strained their abilities to the utmost were told that we would insist up-- to preserve the duty upon lumber at on that and that the regulation would one dollar, and one dolliar only. There be passed. These were the statements were _ Democrats _ and Republicans that were given. If any gentlieman is | among them. They were ali honorable | in a position to contradict them he can | '» men, most of whom I had met while 'have his committee to examine into it. | I --was Commissioner of Crown Lands. (Applause.) i Again I repeat, I have no hesitation {m s?ryitnhz that ]If reporters had asked | The Debate Continued. me ey could be present I would | | os ontinue | have consulted the delegation, as I do | 'thgoé@l?;?g.hggggk}:;nfo: u(;'n\:'(t;r((:isnét an ; ;(lmde\ ery Aoccaalnn. If the delegation l |hour. He devoted most of his time to } tlf(, not wished it they would not have | \a criticism of the school book question, ! | been admitted. The Councit chamber \quoting figures which, he claimed, | :)'f :'l')[:-e;enttlz: ;:'Of;t impn'fi]ant, l{uxinoss' 'showed that the Irish school readers ¢ | s done, e delegatin | y s made no objection to reporters fi;'l:n; | were sold at prices much less than the