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"Both of these vacant seats had formerly been represented by mem- bers who opposed the Government. and the effect ot holding them vacant was to give the Administration a nu- merical majority in the House, where otherwise it would have been without a majority. The case where a. Government deliberately keeps seats vacant in the House for its own political advantage is very different from the case where no possible ad- vantage can come to a Government, throng); not holding 1rv-eieetioriE "It is well known," said Premier Ferguson, "that it is not unusual tor seats in the Legislature to remain vacant throughout a session. When the House met on Feb. 14, 1922, there were two vacant seats owing to the deaths of the members for Russell and tor Southeast Toronto, Seat 'A.' One of these vacancies occurred early in December, and the Speaker was notified of it on Dee. 21, 1921. There was ample time before the meeting of the House to have had the necessary by-elections to till these seats. Moreover. the clauses ot the Legislative Assembly Act forbidding a by-election during the session do not apply to vacancies caused by death. Yet the House sat through the session of 1922 with these two seats vacant, and no by-eleotion was held until Oct. M, 1922', nearly a year after the seats were opened. Reverses Charges. an explanation of the Government's attitude respecting the "unlucky 'seven," the Premier's reply failed to draw the comment expected of it. In fact. Mr. Haney confined his criticism to the cynical utterances: "Interesting argument!" and "Real publicity!" The rest ot the House "i/rnpthintr, Aimed directly, it was apparent, at Hon. W. E. Haney. who, since the session began, has been pressing for Premier Ferguson supplemented his statement with remarks to the effect that there had been but one complaint from the seven constitu- encies involved, and that this particu- lar grievance had been filed by a Conservative riging. Received in Silence. ---it felt-1n accordance with the best precedents. had had the ap- proval of the public in the course it has pursued. and that it could not have done otherwise in the general interest. guson, in the Legislature yesterday. defended at length the Govern- ment's stand with regard to the seven vacant seats in the House, con- tending that the Government, in not bringing on breleetions. had acted In a Belated reply to insistent Op- position interrogation, Premier Fer- guson, in the Legislature vans-"Mn" MEMBERS LISTEN . IN STOIC SILENCE concentration on Federal! Affairs; Weather Condi.. tions and Magnanimity of Government Are Among Premier', Ex- planations for ' Disfran- chisement of Seven Riding: In a belated TURMOIL A7 OTTA WA IS GIVEN AS REASON FOR VACANT SEATS ues d am. March 1M "Another consideration is the de- sirability ot not encroaching upon the time necessary for preparation for the session. A Campaign just before the session would tie up pub- lic business at an inopportune time. As is well known, the law forbids the issue ot a writ foe an election when the Legislature is sitting. ex- cept under very exceptional circum- stances. The object of this law is to avoid political conflict in the Provinces while the House is in ses- sion, and obviously this is a salu- tary principle which could not have been respected had the'G0vernment determined to fill all the vacant seats. "It must be remembered also, that the result of the by-electione could not affect the standing of the Gov- ernment in the House or in the) Province, but, on the contrary, the Government'a chances of improving! its position by holding the bY-elec-l tions were as five to two in its fa-; vor. because five of the seats were Opposition seats which might be won, whereas only two of the seats; were previously Government tseats."', "The Government had in mind, also, the fact that there was no public demand at that time for the by-elections. It is true that some of the ridings could have been opened without inconvenience to any one, but among these tidings are the ones that were formerly represent- ed by supporters of the Government. It was felt that to hold the elections in these ridings and to defer them in others which had formerly been rep- resented by the Opposition would' bear upon the face of it the appear- znce of discrimination, and that the Government ought to forego any advantage it might receive from bringing on the elections that were possible, so that the appearance of unfairness might be avoided. There were other considerations involved. One of these is the recognized prin- ciple ot holding by-elections simulo taneously where possible, when there are a number of vacancies. This, principle could not have been ob-a served had the Government dew cidcd to bring on the by-eiections.' Would Tie Up Business. I "Moreover, the season at the year had become so advanced that in some parts of the vacant constitu- encies it would be physically im- possible for electors to reach the polls or even to be advised. without great expense and risk, that an elec- tion was in progress. The result of holding elections under such circum- stances would be practically to dis- franchise many electors thus affect- ed. Besides this, there is the gen- eral consensus of opinion that elec- tion campaigns in the winter season should be avoided as being not only inconvenient to the public, but as affording an opportunity for irregu- larities which could be guarded against under ordinary conditions. A turmoil, and that it was undesirable to bring on by-elections which were not likelv to receive proper atten- tion from the electorate, but would serve only to add to the general con- fusion. Weather Reasons: 'un uctooer last five members of the Assembly resigned their seats for the purpose of taking part in the Federal general election as camii-; dates. At that time the country' was plunged into the most strenuous', campaign of, this generation. re-; suiting subsequently in a prolonged: political crisis through the determi- nation of the Government to remain in office. Under these circum- stances. it was felt that it would be impossible to obtain an expression of opinion on Provincial issues. ob- ucured as they were by the political;