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PLAN OF EXPENDITURE LOCKING ()f MOTORS IN DEVELOPING NORTH WHILE LEFT STANDING STRONGLY DEFENDED NOT TO BE ENFORCED Hon. William Finlayson Re.. Meant to Take Weapon From plies to Criticism by Criminal, Says Attor- C. G. Fletcher ney-General RESOLUTION WITHDRAWN BILL An Opposition resolution, urging the House's disapproval ot the Government system of expending moneys under the Northern and Northwestern Ontario Development Act, was withdrawn yes- terday Dy its sponsor, Charles G. Flet- cher. Liberal member tor South Essex, after Hon. William Finlayson, whose Department of Lands and Forests was directly concerned, had strongly argued that the present system had been tn vogue for sixteen years. that not a single dollar had "gone astray" in that time. and that while the "estimates" system as urged by Mr. Fletcher was "a simple thing" in Older Ontario, it could not possibly be applied to de- velopment in the North. The Resolution. "1"FGCirrihe opinion of this House, the development .orNo..rtlitTn Ontario. Mr. Fletcher's resolution was word- ed as follows: _ _ - ... --___--- is of vital interest to all the people of the Province, and that moneys granted by this House from time to time under the Northern and Northwestern Ontario Development Act should be used only after appropriations, therefrom have been approved by the House in esti- mates. showing the work proposed to be done in each district, the estimated cost thereot. and the relation of the proposed work in each district to the general scheme of the Itverynt,ih'i, awn-Lava uv..-...- -- ..V_ e, - Speaking to his motion. Mr. Fletcher first contended that the system of just voting a cold, unestimated $5,000,000 made possible a growing of the Northern Ontario development fund beyond the necessity of use At one time there had been some $3,000,000 in the fund. Then came a vote of $5,000,000 more, bringing the total up to far more than was originally considered. q ' H In the second place, said he, this passing of $5,000,000 in "bulk" was not following the Parliamentary procedure of estimates. Sees Too Much Latitude. . The present handling of moneys for work in the North, he emphasized, al- lowed a great deal of latitude. "It might be possible." he suggested, "tor the department to bring pressure to bear in an election campaign, in view of the fact that so much labor is em- ployed. to have their employees vote for the Government candidate." The Minister's Reply. Mr. Finlayson. in reply, said that every year tor a good many years a similar resolution had been before the House. Since 1912 the present system of doing business had been in oper- ation. Last year, at the request of the Leader of the Opposition, he had undertaken to supply for the Benefit ot the Legislature more details regarding the various expenditures on Northern and Northwestern development. These details, he said, appeared now in the public accounts. Mr. Finlayson spoke at length of the dimculties encountered in Northern development work. No one knew when a road might be needed. No one could tell what obstacles might be encounter- ed in the building of that road. He cited contingency after contingency which his department unexpectedly had to face, and in connection with which no estimate could possibly have been made. hciau'. The proposal of the Ontario Govern- ment to empower cities to require locks on. and the locking of, all motor ve- tmoles left standing was withdrawn in (the Legislature yesterday afternoon by Elton. George S. Henry, Minister of Public Works and Highways. Iprotest was raised to this particular lproposal. One objection was that it Gould atiect several thousand users , of the old-time cars which had no lock- ting devices as required. Another was '. that it might result in some cities pass- 'ing "loeking" by-laws while others did not, and was therefore "checkerboard legislation" that would perhaps work a hardship on the motoring public. It was also suggested that the proposal. It enacted. might have some effect on insurance claims in the case of cars being Stolen. l To Cheek Criminals. This legislative suggestion was bodied in a but introduced recently to amend the Highway Traffic Act. When the measure came before the House in committee yesterday some vigorous Attorney-General Price declared that the proposal was really an attempt to "take away a weapon from the crimi- nal." Many a Judge. said he, deplored the tact that cars were left unlocked on the streets, and that crooks found it easy to steal a car as an aid in some crime. He admitted that there were many things that could be said against the project, but emphasized that it was aimed to "make it harder for the criminal." 7 d . Members suggested that perhaps "public opinion" was not Just "ripe" tor such a move. "Perhaps," Hon. Mr. Henry finally agreed. "we might withdraw it for this year and give it more careful thought for a year hence.':_ - . .. m . A clause was added demanding that motorists passing safety zones travel at 'a rate that will not endanger pedes- trians, and restraining motorists from passing such zones at more than ten miles an hour. _ .. . u , Northern Ontario is, so to speak, the land of the "swallow." l Speaking in the Legislature yester- day concerning his department's de- velopment of that section of the Prov- ince. Hon. William Finlayson, Minister of Lands and Forests, stressed the difficulties experienced in road build- ing, and related the actual story of how an automobile, crossing a par- ticularly soggy piece of new road last war. had sunk mnmletely trom sight. This bill also generally prohibits the use of spotlights fixed on a car above the height of the headlights. It pro- rides that any additional lights be used below the level " the headlights with rays pointing to the right and seventy- five feet ahead. Legislation Advanced. Six bills were given third reading. and ten passed Committee of the House. Aurelien Belanger's (Liberal, Russell) bill to amend the Theatres and Cine- matographs Act was one of tour given second reading. Hon. George S. Henry, . Acting Leader of the Government, in the absence of Premier Ferguson, had no opposition to state. While the :neas- . ure might require some "dressing up" in committee. the Government, he said, ' approved of its principle. q . Railway Cars and Automobiles . . Disappear m Northern Muskeg IS WITHDRAWN is, so to speak, the Hon. William Finlayson, Minister of Lands and Forests, had the hearts of his Legislature audience "Nt-a-patting" yesterday after- noon. He had been talking about Northern Ontario-its wonders and its posi0ilities-and had expressed the belief that every person should "go up and see for himself" be- fore criticizing Government policy ot expenditure with regard to de- velopment ot this 'part of the Province "I sincerely trust," said he, "that some way will he found this sum- mer to take the Legislature on a triirup there." There were no "Hoomhs," for House rules and regulations won't permit them, but from one section of the Opposition benches an en- thusiastic "see everything that's possible" member piped a faint: "Attaboy, Bill!" nothing. Whole stretches of track on the C.P.R..' the C.N.R. and the T. & ND. have been known, at times, according to Mr. Finlayson. to go the way of the automobile. The C.P.R.. for instance, was compelled. bccausc of muskeg. he said, to rebuild one ssction of its road ten times. And 20 or 30 cars have been known to vanish at T'-' gulp from 613 -Mother Earth, 'Uttahoy, Bill f " - Home "sw, allow ! " he said. But that is a more