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----'"'""""'_"""'--"""_I 7 m e Wiintetsrecmcrcer becmaaricrmeeny #,® # # # Opposition Still Whittling | Away at the Surplus. 9 MR. MARTER'S _ EFFORT. ' He Revives a Number of. Old Seandals. MR. GIBSON'S EFFECTIVE REPLY Parliament Bulldings, Dec. 16, 1897. Mr. Middleton of Hamilton presented to the Legislature to--day a batch of pe-- titions from Toronto, Hamilton and St. Catharines business men for legislation against the departmental store. He followed this up by introducing a bill / to authorize city or town Councils to impose a special tax upon any depart-- mental store carrying on more than three distinct classes of business. The tax may be uniform in respect to each | additional distinct class of business, | or it may be graded in such a manner' as may seem proper. The by--law to be effective must be carried by a two--thirds vote of the Council.:© This is a renewal of the fight against the departmental store which was begun last session, but which met with poor success. Mining Legislation. Mr. Gibson introduced a bill to amend" the mining law. The measure does not ; change any provisions of the mining | law which have been already subjecbedi to discussion; it simply affects those clauses not coming under the general heading of mining divisions. The bill has been framed in view of the experi-- ences of the Bureau of Mining during the last two or three months in the--dis--