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Saturdavg, March 6 th Former -- Attorney--General Protests Against Utterances of Hon. J. R. Cooke Former Attorney--General Rancy and Premier Ferguson furnished mild excitement for the Legislature at the quiet Friday afternoon session 'yesterday, when they dispuied the results and the inferences to be drawn from the action of the Drury Government in 1921 in greatly re-- ducing the business assesment on distilleries in Ontario. Mr. Raney arose to a question of privilege before the orders, protest-- ing against the insinuations which he said were contained in the speech of "Hon. J. K. Cooke, in the Legislature the night before. Mr. Cooke had said that through the action of : the Attorney-- General in relieving dGistilleries of ; their huge business asssessment, at least one distillery output has in-- creased from 250,000 gallons to 6,000,000 gallons. Disclaims 'Responsibility. "Every sentence in those two statements is--I am not going to employ an impolite word--untrue, and the Minister who made the speech last night knew the facts perhaps better than anybody else." Mr, Raney proceeded to say that the responsibility for lowering busi-- ness assessments on distilleries was | divided between the Ferguson and Drury Governments, and he stated that so far as these distilleries had, he presumed, represented that they were making industrial alcohol, ho believed the reduction had been rightly granted. Mr. Raney asked if the Premier thought Mr. Cooke's statements were true, and the Premier replied, "*Yes, of course. What other con-- struction could be placed upon it?" Several Conservatives applauded. Mr. Raney--I see there are three other men in the House who think so also. Tnhereupon a score of Conserva-- tives thumped their desks in sup-- port of the Premier's statement. Assisted Distilleries. Mr. Ferguson--It enabled the dis-- tilleries to carry on, although my honorable friend professes to be against the use of alcohol. Mr. Raney--But not in the radia-- tor of your car,. Mr. Ferguson--Well, you enabled them to carry on surreptitiously, and you enabled the Dominion Gov-- ernment to increase the business of these people and enable them to carry on. Mr. Cooke was not saying, you did wrong, but he was saying for one who occupies the position you assume to, that this was incon-- R sistent on your part. | In the next moment Premier Fer-- 'guson read a letter from the Mayor of Sault Ste. Marie in which the Mayor denied that he had issued instructions to the police not to en-- force the O.T.A. Mr. Raney protest-- ed that he had not said he had, but had merely read an ariicle from The Globe reporting Council's pro-- cedure.