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fat 1« ch The work of the Department of Education was also dwelt upon by the Opposition Leader. He felt that there was too much work loaded on the head of that department, and that the Government expected 100 much from one man. One of tne Government speakers had referred to ~the Conservative Government providing cheaper school books. But while the Government was patting itself on the back on that account he pointed out that the »price of text--books had increased within the last year. "I am not saying that that is the fault of the department, but the fact remains that school books are dearer, and some people say they are not as good as they were previous to the war, and they were somewhat dearer. I have no doubt the new Minister of Educa-- tion will remedy that kind of thing," he said, and the members smiled.. i a sfi o1 50.4 24 B 11400 000. is icindvdatedints Auter Wretsir P lsnt whi The Liberal Leader said that he did not intend to make any attack on the department, as he was more interested in what the program was going to be for the future than in the mistakes of the past. While both sides had made mistakes in not doing what they should for tech-- nical education, those things were bygores. "Let us press farther ahead fo: the furtherance of what we believe to be for the good of this country,'""* urged Mr. -- Proudfoot. While mention khad been made of an act to deal with truancy, he urged that it go far enough. While non-- attendance at school was not bad in most rural parts, it was a serious question in large urban centres. Con-- solidated schools, he said, would be a boon in almost all townships throughcut the western part of the Province. "It would be in the inter-- ests of childrer and of education at large," he declared. The Consolidatea School. The only objection was that of the expense and the trouble of get-- ting the children to schools. In sunr.mer motors would provide easy conveyance, but he admitted the difficulty. would be greater in the winter. However, again it was only a mattir of experse ."After all, it is the children we have got to depend upon. They will in a few years be guiding the destinies of this coun-- try, so it behooves us to see that they are go.ng forward and that they are given the best advantages that can be given to them. He urged that the consolidated school scheme be carried out as far as ever was possible, and suggested that . the townships be given the privilege of providing for that type of school if they saw fit. Thus, if the Province was urable to put the system into practise all at once, the townships could do so. Mr. Proudfoot felt that too much time was taken up with classical education to the injury of the edu-- cation which is of more practical use in Ontario, "Why should we not have in this country a degree of commerce?" he asked. "We might have a faculty of commerce in the universities." The only business training a person gets in attending univers'ties is what is absorbed in the oth«r courses. ' While he did not intend Alsonasine e oA uoi m zse si t ty assessment matters until the report of the special committee was re-- ceived, Mr. Proudfoot urged -- that that report should be strongly -- in favor of the exemption of buildings to as great an extent as possible from taxation. Municipalities should be given local option on the matter. All were satisfied with the work in m | KFeriPracn i neesl 65c oi sa e C & 05 (2ci0 q006 AAFO IELGCUCECE, All were satisfied with the work the Hydro was doing, he said, and it was a question when the various undertakings would be completed. It would he interesting to know, too, how much the various works carried on under the head of Hydro would cost. He urged that the power be got to the people as soon as pos-- sible, and came out strongly in favor latters until the report al committee was re-- Proudfp-ot urged -- that ~of the equalization of rates to different municipalities. Some c 'lying places were severely hay capped because of the high r; charged to them. Another Liberal Plank Adopted. The sins of omission in the Speech : from the Throne, rather than those of commission, were rather severely criticized by the Opposition Leader.l He was surprised not to have found mention of extensive works to be done in Northern Ontario. He had thought New Ontario was the Gov-- ernment's '"baby," and he thought that as far as possible suitable immi-- grants should be secured for that section of the Province. He was also surprised at the omission in . the Speech of mention of work on colon-- ization roads. The -- Liberal Leader had some quiet fun at the Government's ex. pense when . he commended the Prime Minister and his supporters for adopting the Opposition plank and providing that women could sit in the House. * _ Hewever. Sir William went on to qualify this statement. While there had been no increase in so far as public school text--books were con-- cerned, the prices of two books had igone up. -- A new Latin, which he 'said was much imnroved,. and. had 512 pages instead nf 398. cost. ten cents more than the former book.. A new text--book on chemistry, with 297 pages, was ten cents higher, too. ; "Instead of complaining of increased costs, my 'honorable friend should have been complimenting the De-- partment of Education on the way in which it kept down the cost of books when everything else was ad-- T. & N. O. to James Bay. It was a question which had been in the pub-- lic eye for a great many years. He was also surprised that there had been no mention of the much--talk-- ed--of medical bill in the Speech, and also of proportional representa-- tion, which he had urged for many years. While the latter had not been mentioned, he assured the Gov-- ernment that he intended to reintro-- duce his bill, and he hoped that some day it would be adopted by the Administration, just as had other measures proposed by the Opposi-- tion. Mr. Proudfoot urged that the Gov-- ernment give careful,consideration to the desirability of extending the The Liberal Leader said that he had expected that changes in the Election Act would have been fore-- shadowed. A new list was required for the next general election, and he was of the opinion that it would be well to revert to the old system in vogue at the last election. While he was not fulTy acquainted _ with the success or failure of the system in use in the by--elections, he did know it was a very costly system. In conclusion, Mr. Proudfoot as-- sured the Governmenit that he and his supporters would stand behind the, Administration in all measures having as their purpose the welfare and good of the country, Hon. G. Howard Ferguson inter-- rupted at this criticism of his de-- partment to say that the money had been provided continuously for that work. The Prime Minister spoke at great length on the various phases of the war. He welcomed home those members of the House who had served overseas, and pointed out tHat others still remain abroad. Sir William spoke of the effects of the war on Canada and declared . that there should be no peace that would not impose upon Germany just pun-- ishment for all her crimes. He also made feeling reference to the mem-- bers who --had passed away since last the House met. Hearst and School Books. Dealing with some of the points raised by the Opnposition Leader, Sir William touched first on the increas-- ed cost of text--books. after assuring the House that Hon. Dr. Cody would be able to bear un under the big program of the devartment. Text-- books were the only thing in Ontario, that had not increased in price, he -- said. Food, --cloth= ing, furniture and almost every commodity had gone up 25, 50 and 100 per cent. '"Perhaps nothmg_ has increased more than the cost of paper, yet the cost of text--books had not been increased to the parents of the Province,'" he said. ; e out-- handi-- rates the