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Toroitto'e Power Scheme. t Mr. Crawford moved the second read- The Estimates. l ing of the City of Toronto bill, giving I At the evening session a number of. cities of over 100,000 power to purchase, iprivate bills were advanced a stage in transmit and distribute electrical energy I committee. and attention was then paid i; r heat, light and. power. . l, to the estimates, and a large number of Prcmivr Row said this was certainly _'etppropriations were passed, including the most heroic departure from ordin. 3.5160000 toward the new building for ary municipal procedure that had yet 11]", S'ehool of Practical Science. Con- hem proposed. It was proposed that i,siidoratsie discussion took place in re- the city should purchase a site at Nia- lgard to the Items for ugrieulture, but, gar-.1 Falls on which to erect machinery In" items Were challenged. The House and plant for the generation of elec. l indjourned at 11 o'clock. , tricity, and also establish a system of I, ' . trvusuriscirn from there to Toronto. The scheme was a gigantic one, which would _ irvi.lve the expenditure of $3,000,000 or f $4.1'1Nt.0(l0. It wuw a raster enterprise. thm any of a similar kind ever under- taken before. 1': rhaps Toronto was capable of undertaking that enterprise, sea-inf; the energy and capacity of her Aldermen. Yet it made one pause in ai- Renting to legislation involving so much I money. The scheme also meant tulle sale lot energy to municipalities along the 'linc. llc noticed no consideration for vowtcd right" or for rivals to this great enterpriic. That could be taken up at la later one. He would not say that (the Government would take ground :azairht municipal ownership either of gclectrical power or other utilities. He Idid not know yet how far he would commit himself to municipal ownership. The Province had advanced along the line of public ownership to the extent of planning a railway. while the Domin- ion already owned the lntcrcolonial. In Great Britain the competent manage- ment of public utilities had been suc- ,cessful. The present was a very large iquestion, and might well be loft for the careful consideration of the Municipal .('ommittee. _ A Large Proposition. Mr. Pattullo (North Oxford), while a belicn-r in public ownership. regarded this an the largcit proposition of the [kind we had yet had. The plan, if car- ried out. would affect all the munici- palities of tilt Province. and would bene- tit Toronto at the expense of the rest by attracting industries here from other . plavr's. He thought an investigation by a commiw'ion would be a proper prelim-i inary ~tep. 5 Mr. ('rau ford contended that the pro-, po'ition wa< not too big for Toronto. lf the power would attract ont~ide in- 'tllutr'im to Toronto. why would it not .attract, them to Niagara? The city did Inot want a monopoly, but only wished to ~ecnre the cheapest possible power. 3 Hon. Mr. Stratton thought the quea-l tion mould be left to the ratepayers tol decide. Mr. 1'orueallvn waa oppoaed to the hill. I I The bill Wits' given its ~ccond reading.' l