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WEDNESDAY, MAY 17 > _ D its Hi + * & ' rury Admits His New Hydro--radial Bl"! ® & ; May Not Lend Itself to Provmce-wnde{ | o 99 e _ | System of Railways"--Claims New Mea-- # ® % i sure Provides for Safer Financing of | ® e _ e % Projects--Gives Autonomy to Municipali-- 2 # @ +# e ties in Operation of Lines | Provided the municipalities along the route of the proposed Port Credit, Hamilton & St. Catharines Radial Railway revote favorably on the project, the Drury Government will carry out its inherited obligation to guarantee the bonds of the Commis-- sion, and will exempt that railway from the provisions of the new Hydro--radial Bill. Premier Drury made this announce-- > ment in the Legislature last night in moving the second reading . of his new measure. [ In an addres.s 0? more th.an | strangle the building of these rail-- an hour's duration in the Legis-- ways, nor trying to formulate a pol-- icy as to this kind of traction. He lature yesterday afternoon, the referred in pessing to the question 1 s of the electrification of the branch $ Prerpler_contl:asted the' a"ege_d= lines of steam roads, and said he be-- 'merits of his amending bill, "exfd g'at might be ddf};'e- aid I :. Mr. Drury reviewe e conditions with the alleged defects of the . regarding radials that had confront-- ca the Government when it came act of 1914, and concl»u(.ied that | into pbower in 1918. e said ns the Hydro muniCIpa]itieS' | Government found that all the trend * ' of clreumstances, as regards the pol-- whatever their already ex-- | icy then existing, pointed, not to local ) Smd +. railways, but to the creation of a pressed opinions, did not really\ Province--wide system. The Govern-- want to be "tied hand and foot" | ment, he said, did not believe that} «43 i L G_ | a Province--wide radial system, com-- 't(.) af} 1rrespon§1ble Comml§"] 'ing into competition with Govern--| . * s1on. He admitted that his | lment-owned steam roads. and with | / act would not admit of a Pro-\ highways, was a sound policy. vince--wide system of radials,| Gives Too Much Power. | : but it would, he maintained, en-- | ' 'rhet otlg a.c}tI (gy whicht tihe Il;r?gnwt:; Air io hy mean e Hydro -- electric Ra | able the municipalities to serve Rot of 1914), he said, was / signed | their local needs on a sound fin-- to 'facilitate ' such a . project He| : j i j P quoted section 6, whic gives co the f' anc!al and a feasible Operatlng Hydro -- eclectric Power Commission | 4b8518. | the power to increase the issue of' \ _ Two Toronto members, A. C. Lewis X | bonds on behalf of municipalities.! 'and Joseph Thompson, spoke in op-- He thought that was a dangerous ' position to the Premier's bill, both power. He also quoted section 11, 'of them demanding to know from \ which required that the corporations | | whence came the demand for legis-- should deposit with the Hygdro Com-- 'lation amending that which the _ _| mission the necessary debentures, municipalities themselves had asked and such further debentures, on the|! -- for and approved in 1914. _ Mr. request of the commission, as might _ > Thompson agreed with the Premier |\ be desirable to carry out extensions in his declaration that it was an ex--| \ and improvements of railroads, and cellent bill, but he would qualify it | > it was not necessary to obt,a,ti)n lthe' with the additional words--"to killl -- assent of the electors for any DY-- SY{ | radials.'" for further improvemen'fs. | Edgar Watson, U.F.O. member for * '"'The -- municipalities," . he said, North Victoria, moved the adjourn-- "once they voted on this project, de-- |. ment of the debate on the bill. livered themselves, tied hand and foot, into the hands of an irrespons-- Can Build Own Radials? ible commisslon, so far as they were Right at the start fif his;x :pgetih \concerned." Premier Drury said he wished 1O plrace the Government on record as 5 Provinqe-wide scheme. 3 not wishing to hamper the munici-- ' The evidence, he continued, bore palities in any way in the construc-- 'out the statement made, that the tion and operation of railways to . project was not & project of local| serve their local needs. The bill was electric railways built and run to 'tdeslgned to give the municipalities 'meet the local requlre-ments--wand full and free opportunity to co--oper-- 'that was their true function--but a ' ate with each other in any way for o Province--wide, ambitious scheme of | the building of electric railways. \publicly_ owned electric -- railways 'The Government wWaS not trying to 'that had to come into competition f : \with steam roade.