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Four hundred thousand people, he sud. who led the Hearst Government to believe on every platform in this Province that the I prohibitionista wnulrl- Inn-U" L-L"' .. - _,v....... u" Villllvllll "NUT-Y. "The Government wanted to know whether the temperance forces, rep- resented or misrepresented, as they very often are, by people who pose as their leaders, were sincere when they said they would stand behind any Government that would give them prohibition. Ive, wanted to know just how much sincerity there was in that, and how much public men could rely on the undertakings and promises of these people who pretended to be sincere in what they said. And we found without doubt how much we could rely upon them." Hearst Double-Crossed. When the Hearst Administration had gone to the people after passing the Ontario Temperance Act. said Premier Ferguson, it had deliberatn- 1y placed a referendum before the people on election day, In order that. the Government he sustained or dc- feated on the temperance issue. Hut although 793,000 people had voted on behalf of the O.T.A., only 390,000 voted to uphold Sir willfaru Hearst. {The government wanted to know Going back again to the Prohibi- tion Union, he remarked upon their decision to return home, not to edu- 'cate the. people in temperance. but ito get after the. members. He chur- >acterized it as an attempt at coor- icion, and declared that if coercion and autocracy were to be their policy they were getting cuter the wrong people. He would be glad to receive the assistance ot the dry forces in spreading temperance sentiment, and proposed himself to go up and down the country doing his part in it, but it must be suggestions that came from prohibitinnists, and not do- rounds. For the Ferguson Govern- ment, he said. had been placed there by the will of the people, and pro- posed to accept its responsibility A Pony of Promises. Speaking on the OKLA. issuv. Prev mier Ferguson declared the Liberal party to have been m party of prom- ises, but without pert: rmunce, in re- sect of temperance legislation. He reviewed the history of the Mowat Administration, which, he maid, had safeguarded with provisions its promises to bring in a prohibition law. He then challenged the pres- ent Liberal Leader, w. E. N. Sin- clair. K.C.. to state his position. Mr. tm1clair--Lilie a lot of other rumors my honorable friend hears. it is entirely unfounded, and no mesav sage reached here. All through his tenure ot omce, Premier Ferguson said, his effort had been to keep the great moral issue of temperance out of politics, and yet if the leaders of the prom» bitten forcos insisted in putting it there. ho would be quite content to accept a. challenge on that basis. He was content that the Government. should take full responsibility for ad- ministering a temperance law. and content that there should be no more plebiscites or referenda. No "Demands" Prom "Drys." Mr. Ferguson-Almost exactly the language used by Liberal leaders from time. lmmemorlal. I wonder if the rumor is correct that a message has been received from Ottawa that it would not he in the interests of the Federal Government to have the Liberal party in Ontario take a dis- tlnct stand? Mr. t9itue1atr---It the honorable Prime Minister will wait until the vote is polled he will have full in- formation. son characterized it as "hiding br- hind the hedge and driving the stil- etto into Sir William," and later, after references to It. J. Fleming. and "the Cincinnatus of Crown Hill" (ex-Premier Drury). who had vowed their adherence to prohibition, he added that these were two ot the men who in 1919 had "hit Sir Wil- liam over the heed with a black- jack." _ - "TTTRritttairttr the House and the country that while 800,000 prohibi- tionlsts had voted for the OKLA. m 191.9,".neurly half of them turnrd around and voted against Mr Wil- Ham Hearst. the man who had given them prohibition. Premier Form" ?.rohil8tion - 1.45 the. . Tan _ 9H3 T had turned Iovernment in ThurstAax', l Speaking trpecifictrlly of the mem- lbers of the Prohibition Union, many (of whom, he said. he knew and respectod, Mr, Ferguson asked 'what had that organization ever done 'to co-operate and help in the mat- iter of tompPrance advancement. Ho ghad told delegates waiting upon himself and the Attorney-General 'what he thought of the desertion ot 3511' William Hearst by the dry Marcos of tho Province. "Calls "Dr-yea" Intoleram. "t have no hesitation in saying here, bpcause I want it to get out to the people of the Province," said the Premier. "that prohibitiontsts should not make the outstanding feature of their organization intol- erance-intolerance of other people. brewery,'and if Mr. Fleming was to be true to hie trust he had to see to it that the estate multiplied as far as possible. How in the world could Mr. Fleming expect to win Bupport for the temperance cause under conditions like that? When he attempted to represent temper- ance sentiment, Mr. Ferguson thought. he ought to go out of the brewing' business. Tp Mr! Fleming, who had said he had no contttunce in the Premier. the Premier would retort that he,, in turn, had no confidence in Mr.,. Fleming. Mr. Fleming. he said. was t the exeruttor of the late Sir \Villium f Mackenzie, whose estate owned . Premier Ferguson said he noticed that n. J. Fleming. President of the prohibition organization, was mentioned at one time as the leader of thr, Liberals in Ontario, and that "even The Globe" had deemed him worthy. And, "along with Cincin- natus from Crown Hill, men who had vowed their sincerity toward the temperance cause lay for Sir Wil- liam Hearst and hit him over the head with a. black-Jack." Fleming and Brewery. Mr. Fertrutron---Men who are or- ganized in the cause of temperance. men who are not cranks upon the subject. men who believe there is some other method of Improving law besides the thumblcrew and the vise. men who believe you can strengthen the law and do it in some other way than hy increasing the penalties and flnett and sending people to prison. men who are pre- pared to go out into this Province and help educate public sentiment. who are prepared to help overtake the five years that the prohibition people have wasted and lost-that is the kind of men that sit behind me in this Legislature. "And what did they do when they got back to that convention? A Mr. Austen attempted to say in his re- port that. while he did not agree with the Government, he believed in the honesty of our purpose. And they choked that down his throat, made him withdraw it. They had not the tolerance to allow that man to express that view. Now, how tar do you think an organization that as- sumes that attitude is going to Suc.. ceed in impressing the public of this Province?" "Four hundred thousand people. solemnly pledged by their organiza- tion representatives. solemnly pledg- ed to stand hy the pioneer in pro- hibition. the man who took his pn- littcal life in his hands, inatead of standing by him, they stood behind the hedge and they drove, the stil- etto into him." (Loud Conaerva.. tive cheers.) Mr. McCautuand--And they would do it again. Mr. itaney--Prohibitionitus to a man! When J. A. McCaualand, Conser- vative member fer Southwest To- ronto, interposed during Mr. Fer-o glxsun'a remarks that the record of prohibitinnists an this famous elec- tion day was a "joke." Premier Fer. guson paused to agree. "But," he added. "it was a mighty serious joke for the man whom they misled. It was certainly the greatest political tragedy that ever happened in this Canada of ours. "it you are to have public men deal fairly," Mr. Ferguson added, amid loud Conservative thumping, "you must be honest with public men." - - _ khan-eh - toikGilinir" iii'e"riiiiriist,iscite diy- guaslons with the prohlbitlanfst and I venture w uumt mat the conduct of this recent convention, dominated as it was by R. J. Fleming and our perennial old friend. Rev. Ben Bpence---r venture to think that their activities and their methods during the recent convention have done more to give a setback to this great temperance movement than anything that has occurred in years In this Province." (Mr. Ferguswn proceeded to make cautttir tttort?rtro, in the rmepiinn given by the prohibition convention to the statement of Rr-v. it. ri. Knowles that they should wyft he. tore condemning the Attornr-y-Ge-n- eral. Remarking that Mr. Knowles was their guest, Mr. Ferguson 35km, "Wasn't that a splendid spirit of m;. orartce?" Thom, by resolution, mn- tinued the Premier, they'htri deck]. ed, not to go home and educate new- pie to temperance principr.us, hut in get after the members and "'oerce" them to their awn views. if autoc- racy and coercion were to be the pol- ivy of the Prohibitirm Union, Mr. Ferguson would tell them that thry were "after tho wrong people" in all sincerity he would ask the hm- perance people to dump: i114? point of View. Premier Ferguson proceeded tn declare that temperance sentiment was never so low in Ontario as it " today, and, while he had tried tr, keep it out of political. the Conservu- ttve party was, if necessary, pre- pared to deal with It in that way. He was content to have the Govern. ment take tull responsibility for dealing with the issue. and t'ontent that there should he no more Dlgbjscites or rcferenda. While he did not ask the 'emper- antic forces of Ontario to approve cf the amendment the Government pro- posed to bring in, he would appeal so them to give the Government vre'lit for honesty ot purpose. The (l-wvrn- ment, in a word, had reached thr . on- clusion that. unless something were done to ease the situation. "your whole tamper-ante legislation is going to he wiped out. The honorable 'mem- ber for East Wellington (Mr. Ram?!) smiles. It he had been there one: year longer it would have been Wino] out by new, because nothing has contributed so much to thc: disrespect for the law." Mr. Raney---We hard thar before. Mr. Ferguson-yes, and you will hear it again. It will ring in your ears as long as you live. . Mr. naney---1t Will ring from you Mr. Ferguson-Heli-ou set yar- melt up on a pedestal as a panama! for all men in temperance matters, and your methods did more to un- mrmine public sentiment and bring law into contempt than anything that has happened since 1816. Tempennce Sentiment Low. Mr. n all right Globe." from other journais, and from an utterance of the late Bishop Carman, who at that time criticized the Conservative leader. But Bishr; Carman, tour years later. had recant- ed his declaration of lack of tar). in the Prime Minister, and Mr. Ferguson believed that in three m- tour years temperance maple would, in like fashion, come to him and say that the proposed amendrrmnt um; done more to suppress illicit llqtz-w tram" than any other 210001.. Honesty of Purpose. In that connection he read an: the editorial page of "what I some times think is a moderate. mm newspaper. edited by .1 1evel-heaue Scotsman gone wrong w-lttirany. M otherwise pretty sane, The Turm' "When All Men Speak won of Y: Personally condemned by the P' tremlata. Premier Ferguson said. r was comforted by the scrimurnl h junction. "Woe unto you whon " men speak Well of you." He was tl the first Conservative Nader wr had been bitterly charged wl' breach of trust. and he went on I refer to almost exactly the ttatt charge having heen Involtod at tl late Sir James Whitney. A r who with ' rm to same ou the