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196 "i'GGri"iGiiifiBlaBl 'i ", liiiN5GTiia "wow 'ot Provincial expenditure had been) reached. and that unless great care was I exercised they would hasten on the' day ot direct taxation. During righteen long years, continued Mr. wnitney, the . Government had gone on allowing the expenditure to exceed the revenue and laying the foundation of the. present unfortunate ttnameial position of tho Province. The statement made' by hon. gentlemen, including the hon: Treasurer. and made with straight faced. too, that the peo- ple taxed did not object to it. was moat amusing-the most amusing statement. in tact. thathad ever been made in the House. The facts were that none at- fected by the tax were pleased, His hon. friend. the Premier. had hardly shown his natal courage in declining to admit that it was direc't'taxatlon. it he still declined to admit that. then he "a: in a positlotrwhere he was bound to admit that it was either direct or :ilieml taxation.. He ventured to pre- idict that it the, present Government §l1eial power for two or three years ilongir the scheme-would be supple- lmented by additional taxation. Pro- : sided, that the (jowrn-mont remained in goon-er tor an ittdetinite period. it was mossible that nominee and window tax gwould be impoéed. It the finances of Who valm-e- lwere properly administ- l tered. it thesexi8yyittute was kept with- xin the sevenueiithei) there would be no lneed for new 1taxktion. He charged ithat the Premier had on the. public platform aoousid the Opposition of be- 'ing in favor or.rdireset taxation. in fact {had asked the ttge, to believe that the i0pposition werx, pursuing a course to which he 19?ete'1ltest had aM along been ,GDDosed. vPttdifrit"p2r had also assured the people th they should not have direct taxutlom. At the time of the bye-elections. 1lte rGovei-nment must _ have had the present proposals in mind, :but they had (id dared to suggest them, I knowing full w ll that by so doing they would have ruined their chances of win- lning a single bye-election. He conclud- ied by moving the six months' hoist. ed In 1880. . Tome them an opportun- ity so to dq he read tpeAthorial ggain Sc far I am free to ~Slay that the ap- proval expressed by these deputations in regard to our. proposals exceeded my .tuxyectations--it. wasAquite unexpected. Hon. Mr. Ross ohsetwed---Notwith- standing the déclarations of my hon. friend to the contrary. I believe the people of Ontario are well suttitrfled with the tax bills. (Opposition "Oh, ohs.") l believe that both the revenue bills have been received with more satisfac- tion than any Government could ex- pect. having regard to the general dis- like on the part of most people to pay taxes of any kind whatsoever. The Government received with great pleas- ure-l should call it pleasure, for we were anxious to ascertain public opin- ion in regard to tho mMter--deputa- tmns of almost every class of the com- munity. bankers. insurance Presidents and Managers, Managers of loan com- panies. brewers, hotelkeepers. Almost every interest affected by the two bills submitted to this House were repre- sented at various times by their lead- ing _men_before the Government, and Hon. Mr. Ross' Speech. to this Province: and any Government that is not 'itrryJtr,ethto respond to that genera-.1 public opinion. even if the re- 'vonys involves additional taxes, does rrt rightly understand tlo progressive sentiment of the people of Ontario. My hon. friend playa agood deal upon the Words "d)rect ir),tiittv1o,','i,"i, How are these words genera y understood. and v.hat meaning "hag'tieretororo been at- tached to them 7 I had heard expressed on the. Conservative platform since 1' (tutored public life in 1872---indtred, before I entered public life ct all - expressed by my Conservative oppcnettttr-that if tr,, Liberal party were entrusted with now- er direct taxation Would be inevit- able; and what was then explained, arnl trrphptittrln as many words, was that there' would have to be an additional column in the assessment roll, that the tax collector when he went around to collect the ordinary taxes from the farmer would find a column in his roll imposing so many mills on the ioliar or so much taxes upon the lands of the people of this.country. That was the form of direct taxation which it was said. would be the inevitable result of the administration of the Liberal party. That was the form in which direct taxation has been understood, and that has been to a. great extent tr J form 'or' the incidence given to the term of direct taxation by my hon. friend. Now, as there seems to be some doubt as to the words which were used 0y my hon. friend in connection with this subject in the debate on the first read- ing of the bill, let me quote what the} hon. gentleman said: "They, had sir.r. ply to consider the fact that owing to the actions. and in many respects the non-action, ot hon. gentleman oppo- site with regard to;the financial in- stitutions, they .hatkvaatrived, in this free Province/at a stage and rendition when almost the hearthstone's and the win- doWs and chimneys were to be tax- ,edv" T I Mr. Whitney-Hear, hear. Mr. Ross (quoting further): "To-day by the confession not hon. gentlemen opposite they were face to face and struggling: with dirth taxation." Here yourhave the f6rni~9tfditect taxation specified. Not a 5331 'otdirect taxation upon capital. or' _ companies, or the' tinanciaf 1ttstitutiqpg..tt Ihr, dountvy but a form of dtt'eitaxation coming Government, Partretifuri.v a Government that uses the public funds economically and properly. with as much money as nmy be nwessary to obtain. the highest degree of efficiency in every institution; under "the contttyr of thd Government, 1 both as to the curl! mwlce and to pub-i Ha institutions. Nay. more; I bent-veg the people of this country are willing toi rntrusl us with a reasonable amount or. money for the ftttnre development of some amiiiarti'itiiiir 1111th eminently proper. Many of! these suggestions the Government accepted." The bill was a complicated one, Involving a great many considerations. but trem tirtst to last there was na, protest. against the reasonableness or prbj'n-iety of the gen- eral principles of taxation involved in either of these bills, nor was there any Protest against the scheme of taxation tor the purpose of enabling the Gov- ernment to secure the necessary rev- enue for carrying on the affairs of this Provinde. Notwithstanding what my Lon. friend has %sid, the people of the Province are prepaajed to supply any Government, portion ariy a Government that uses the public funds economically nun .ssosws.s-T-. ___eq, _