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The Miller-Proulx amendment stat: that "This House regrets that the Go - eminent, notwithstanding increasing revenues, had failed to afford relief to the local municipalities by assuming the total cost of construction and main- tenance of Provincial highways." Decline to Follow Leader. ---------------. Dissects Budget. Government and . I Mr. Sinclair then started in to pull Libera apart the Monteith Budget. The Pro- Groups Vote Solidly vincial Treasurer, he said, had, accor- With P . I 'ding to a newspaper headline, claimed t ro r e, . that the taxpayers' burden was eased d N S; ttttJett Sp it by $5,000,000. at how was this done? an o . . Reference had en made to a reduc- . t . issenting on tion ot $i00,000 . in poolroom taxes. Main M anon 1t,isxt.al1ttuf2Sla?i,yas,,,,tAr,y1e: as unitedly against it. The Progres- sive group presented the only broken battle-front. three members, Christo- pher Gardiner. East Kent; W. G. Medd. North Huron, and P. G. Sandy, North Victoria, declining to follow their Leader. J. G. Lethbridge. in opposing the amendment. This was no surprise, however. as it had been reported earlier in the day that certain group members could not see eye to eye with their Leader's attitude that the amendment, in suggesting future exemption of mu- nicipalities from contribution to the "Prtfvintials." was not providing a "square deal" for s!!,'tfrttogti,g which already have "sunk" a at of money in this type of road. The Liberal group voted solidly for it, and the Government benchers just FINANCIAL CRITICISM "1', BY LIBERAL LEADER n The Ontario Legislature dropped tho curtain on its Budget debate at 11.15 o'clock last night, rejecting the Miller- Proulx amendment by a recorded Wy, of 67 to 16, and adopting, on the sam' division, the main motion of Provii- cial Treasurer Monteith that the Hon" resolve itself into Committee of Supp.: to consider the estimates. BUDGET DEBATE ENDS; MILLER AMENDMENT IS DEFEATED, 67 TO 16 Farquhar Oliver, sole U.F.O. member in the House atthe division, got a big hand from Government supporters, when he voted their way on the amend- ment. Progressives Surprise. What did come as a surprise, how- ever. was the lack of team play ex- hibited by the Progressive group when they permitted the main motion to slide through on the first division with- out dissent. While "split" on the amendment, they were prepared to a man. it is said, to oppose the, motion. The closing day of the debate was, 'Revenue nas Dean mereaseu. sum featured by an all-around, and etree- the Liberal Leader, "but this revenue is tive criticism of the Government's [ulnothing more than taxation. So what nancial affairs by Liberal Leader Sin-'15 there to rejoice over. It means that Clair; Mr. Lethbridge's temporary itaxation in 1927 is $21,850,000 over that "arm-in-arming" with the Government of 1923. There is an increase of 64 per against the Liberal highways construe- cent. in tour years. How can the people tion amendment; and the appearance rejoice even if the Treasurer does?" of Hon. William Finlayson, Minister of Hon. Mr Henry protested that the Land and Forests, as a deputy for pm. increased revenue was the sign of bet- mier Ferguson. ter business ajnd prosperity in the land. ' ' ., Hon. Mr. Pr ce pointed out that in- Homuth s ' About-Face. creased expenditures referred to by Mr. At the outset of his remarks Mr. Sinc1a1r Involve Sinclair "went after" Karl Hunnith,.0harges. onservative member for South Water- loo, for the. latter's "about-tace" stand No Cause tor I on old-age pensions. Mr. Homuth con- On the questit tended he had not voted against the Mr. Sinclair sa principle of old-age pensions. Mr. Sin- for rejoicing Ot Clair submitted that his amendment 8118011 Govern: asked the very thing for which 1,700 tenure of office constituents had appealed, and he only t'pr,000,00tl would leave it to those constituents to tour years undei tell Mr. Homuth at the next election it increased " who was right and who was wrong. ..e.elett,ett,'n,, a., ... -- . - --- -.-e%Br, e n "add," isiiiieve me, they will " - Mr. Homuth. ' said debate was, 'Revenue has been increased," said ' and "fee. the Liberal Leader, "but this revenue is rnment's "ri.2il'h'ii'.i. more than taxation. So what Leader sm.ds there to rejoice over. It means that 't"eitisot'i'r'i'r/texht?y in 1927 is $21,850,000 over that Government of P2.3. There is an increase of 64 per . . u...... 7'..." A-.- 6k- nnAH'n vinclal Treasurer, he said, had, accor- ding to a newspaper headline, claimed that the taxpaycrs' burden was eased by $5.000,000. But how was this done? Reference had been made to a reduc- tion ot $i00,000 in poolroom taxes. This, said Mr. Sinclair. was a Provin- cial tax on operators only. The masses had not benefited. And, moreover, the tax had been abolished in 1925. Dr. Hon. Mr Henry protested that the increased revenue was the sign of bet- ter business and prosperity in the land. Hon. Mr. Price pointed out that in- creased expenditures referred to by Mr. Sinclair involved increases in interest charges. No Cause tor Reioieing. . The Provincial Treasurer, Mr. Sin- clair noted, was proud of his surplus of $359,223. But, said he. though the financial authorities ot the Ferguson Government had from year to year been saying that deficits were to be changed to surpluses by the reduction of expen- ditures, this 1927 surplus had not been obtained by cutting down expenses. The 1924 Budget showed expenditures as $49,305,439, and now they were $55,- 957,001. or an Increase of $6,650,000. A similar comparison showed that revenue in 1923 was $34,110,212 and now $55,- 957,001. or an increase ot approximately $21,850,000. A - - __ .. "This," said the Liberal Leader, "is a long way from the $5,000,000 that the Provincial Treasurer claims as easing the burden of taxation. But he goes further. He says the burden is lighten- ed by $2,300,000 on account of money not spent. He is taking credit for a burden that was never imposed. And he claims further that $339,000 was saved on better interest rates. Everybody knows that interest rates were formerly high, and are now low." That $5,000,000 easing of burden, Mr. Sinclair declared, was imaginary relief. The true facts, he went on, were shown in examination of the depart- ments whose revenue is taxation. And such a census, he said, showed that in 1927 there was $4,161,751 more tax- ation than in 1926, the taxation being $28,406,603 in 1926. and $32,568,354 in 1927. On the question of the Provincial debt Mr. Sinclair said there was no cause for rejoicing on the part of the Per- guson Government that during its tenure of office the debt has increased only t'pt,000,000, while in the previous tour years under the Drury Government it increased $193,000,000. The latter Administration had had special de- velopments to make, from which people were now getting the benefits. Since 1923, he said, there had been no rea- son for the debt to grow fast. There had been no big capital outlays. Expenses Not Cut. no sooner had the ballots been locked up than a permit tax was added. so that there was far from a $2,000,000 saving for the taxpayers "Long Way From $5,000,000." Thére was a reduction of $350,000 in race-track taxation. but this benefited eo.r.!y?anitl an_d_ n9t_the public generally. Then, Mr. Sinclair weht" Li, 't'GieGii's' a reduction of $2,000,000 in automobile taxation as "an election bribe." But It had been said. Mr. Sinclair con- tinued, that there was a reduction of many thousands of dollars in luxury tax. But this particular item of tax- ation (carbonated drinks) had been abolished in 1926. The Treasurer now collected a luxury tax of $282,467, and could not claim any credit for the other saving as against 1927. Monteith could claim no credit for that reduction. .V\ In this connection, Mr. Sinclair said that money required could be saved by abolishing the Civil Service Commission, which was purely a patronage affair, costing $tL112.73 annually. It could be saved by eliminating big legal fees, {such as J. Earle Lawson. $5,605; Ci. H. lelmer, $4,040: F. H. Keefer, $5.617; ', Andrew T. Thompson, $3,800; J. R. L. Starr, $7,927; McGregor Young, $5,500; Tilley-Johnston, $5,000; I. P. Hellmuth, "5,000; Hearst & Hearst, $6,664. It i. could be saved by cutting down the com- , bined salaries of the Strong Man and ibis Liquor Board aides from $40,000 i to $15,000. will balance." 1 Touching briefly on the question of (the development ot the St. Lawrence, ', he mentioned the fact that E. C. Graves l (Conservative, St. Catharines) had but l recently appealed to the Prime Minister 3 to get on with the work. In Mr. Sin- clair's opinion, Mr. Ferguson's silence 3 can no longer be accepted by the peo- ', ple. i Speaking directly to the Miller amendment. which famrs total relief of counties from contribution to Pro- rintual highways. Mr. Sinclair said the "time for it" had come. The burden, he said. should be borne by the Prov- , ince. Gasoline might have to bo taxed xmore. Busses and trucks more, too. At any rate, he said, the farmers or "We are going," he said, "to be down $5,000,000 on succession duties. But we are going to make it up this war. Gasoline tax increase, $1,097,058.28, or $10,070,585.70 more money spent by our people in driving cars. and $7,000,000 out of liquor control, or $50,000,000 spent by the people ot Ontario for liquor. q _ "Por what this oosierninint nu done," said Mr. Sinclair, "the debt has grown fast enough." Only Real Assets. ' Mr. Sinclair also advocated the ap- pointment of a purchasing agent whose duty would be to check purchases in all Government departments. T'.iiriirrnGirini1es with your car, and dunk lots of liquor. Then the Budget "That is to say, $60,000,000 spent on luxuries by the people is going fo. make us prosperous. It is a new doctrine. It never did work. - And of all the oovernmcnt's boasted assets, the T. & N. o. Railway and the Hydro were the only real assets worth what they cost. "At this figure." said Mr. Sinclair, "they would still be able to keep the stream flowing. They are selling a commodity which sells itself and it does not need to be 'pushed' on the people. I think their salaries should be in keep- ing with their efforts." Urges Purchasing Agent. Mr. Sinclair said that the Govern- ment had. more for which to be thank- ful in regard to the present financial condition of the Province than for which to take credit. While a $359,000 surplus had been recorded during the past year, when the Treasurer had esti- mated it at $156,000 only, receipts had exceeded the estimatecin that connec- tion by $2,725.000, and expenditures had exceeded their estimate by $2,593,- 500. It didn't look to him like very good financing. "Nowadays," said he, "departments appear to. buy apythigg they str.." - _ 'in conclusidn, Mr. Sinclair pointed to the $177,000 surplus estimated for this year. Mr. Sinclair said that the Govern- ment was "putting ott the evil day" in its debt retirement plan. as long as it could. He said that the Provincial Treasury owed the "eheap money" it had borrowed to the Federal Govern- ment's policy of tax reduction. By re- lieving taxation the King Government had made possible more money. "Election Bribe" Mr. Sinclair scored the Ferguson Gov- ernment's amusement tax reduction as an "election bribe," which had been delayed almost a year in going into effect in order that the Treasury could get the last scrap ot revenue out of it. Ontario could not pay it, and it had to be shifted. How n Could Be Saved. - "When he speaks next in the House," he said, "he must announce some pol- icy for the people." - - -___ I G