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Mt. I may say more of that?!" 'When I come to speak of the estimate! Mr the current yew. Fewer Liquor Licenses. From liquor licenses we reee'ved Itrtt year $276,786. The previous year the receipt was 8289.391. Ag I have here- tofore outed on several occasions. this "Millikan is to be expected. Fewer licenses and lessening revenue must go tmrtrther. There were 212 fewer licenses issued last year than there were five Years ago. (Hear, hear.) The number of licenses issued during the last ttve years is as follows: 1893-4. 3.276: 1894-5. 3,151; 1895-6. 3,132; 1898-7, 3,096: 1837-8. 3,064. Our license law amendments of 1897. which became operative on the lst of May last, still further restricted the number of livemes in so far as the number depends on the basis of population, with the result that during 1898 the number ot licenses was lessened by about 100. (Cheers.) The I law of 1897 does not come fully into operation until May 1 of this year. It will cut oft at least fifty licenses this year. (Hear. hear.) ' As I have said. we received last year from liquor licenses $276,786. For the same year the Province of Quebec re- ceived $540,496. During the last flve years the Province of Quebec has re- ceived from these licenses $2,783,864, and this Province during the same period has received 31,348,755. For the five years in question we have given back to the municipalities of the Province out of license revenues $1,344,951. (Ap- plause.) Quebec has retained all the revenue for the uses of the Province. and has not given any part of It to the municipalities. But little interest seems to be taken in regard to our local op- tion law. During last year votes were taken in only six muttlelnalltiea. In three cases ineffectual attempts were made to repeal by-laws. The net re- sult of the six votes was a reduction of two licenses. These bv-laws are now in panties. Hon. gentlemen have not failed to observe that the number of commit- ments for drunkenness to the county jails is growing noticeably less year by Year. Last year the number was 1.707, while in 1888. only ten years ago. it was 4.797. The number of commit- ments for drunkenness, and the tic- ures I give are taken from the Sta- tistioal Year Book of Canada for 1897. which is one of the omeia1 reports at the Dominion Government. for the year 1893 was 3,787; for the year 1894 was 3.267: for the year 1896 was 3,132; for the year 1896 was 2.624, and for the year 1897 was 2.465. No other Province in the whole Dominion presents so tav- orabie a report. (Cheers.) In this Province there was in 1897 one conviction for every 909 of our papilla! tion: in Quebec one for every 407; in Nova Scotia one for every 381; in New Brunswick one for every 262; in Man- itoha one for every T27, and in British Columbia one for every 239. The num- ber of convictions therefore in Ontario is less than half that In any one of the other Provinces. (Cheers.) Brew- ers and distillery last year to the num- ber of seventy took out licenses and paid therefor the sum of $17,600. operation in seventeen munici- An Excellent Record. . s" - 'sV'v" "T _ ' From succession 'duties we received In 1898 8206.186. Strictly speaking, the amount is somewhat less. since in the case of one estate the solicitors Instead of fyling the usual bond made a cash deposit. and it ls possible that this deposit, when we reach a final settle- ment. may exceed the exactly ascertain- ed duty. We have received altogether from succession dutles since 1892, the year of our first receipt, $1,073,832, every dollar of which has been ap'plied, as the statute directs, to purposes of nubile charity. This large sum has been re- ceived from 435 estates. In no other way, Mr. Speaker, could we have with ess irritation or adverse-criticism add.. ed such a large sum to our rcvenuels. Under our legislation those Day "l '0 are most able to pay. (Cheers.) Jur act pusvtcctly conforms to tile Ace',,'.-. omlc axiom in matters r-t,rei,s',ityy', a! t enue of "equality of' sax-rulin. hsti'cd gin " . en it ilnwrses S b' ' h ' Pty/it) IIJ\1'1,1(1+hnqp 11mm whom: shoul- equality by those upon whose EnouL-. ders it so fairly rests. - An analysis of the receipts ot 1598; will, I know, greatly interest hon. mem- , here. It clearly proves that our not is most moderate and that its ex- ' emptlons are most liberal; otherwise it could not happen that in a dozen or more rich counties during the course of g a whole year it. did not. touch a single ', estate. Of last year's receipt, estates! in the County of York (for the most; part Toronto) gave, the largest weld," viz., $00,472, or almost one-half of the!' whole yiar's vecoipt. These estates in E Toronto alone paid each over $21,000.! The County of Wellington contributed l the next largest sum, viz., $21,000, and l the County of Carleton gave the third t largest contribution. via., $19,251. Three i of the counties, therefore, contributedl more than three-fourths of the receipts' of the whole Province for the year 1898. I CT, 1633 than Luau UL :vu- v.4 , T we neod to sell them this year it will be for a still less amount than thet of 27