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Urging a reduction in road taxes, Mr. Robertson said: "The crying need of the people today is a more | equitable system of taxation, and no-- | wnhere is that more patent than in the various methods used to ob.ain money in the name of good roads. The citics and separatea towns build their lown roads, contribute to sub--areas, pay the usual license and gas tax, fand because they receive no aid they iallege an injustice. The county 'units pay the same gas and license "The Government," he said, "will no doubt point to the sum of $10,000,-- 000 spent on education, yet I want to point out that, largely because of regu-- lations by the department, a vicious grant system and the authority given School Inspectors, many School Boards and municipalities have been forced into an elaborate building scheme that is breaking their backs today. The total school debenture debt of the Province today is $86,551,000." Mr. Robortson declared a similar blea to that made by Argue Martin (Conservative, Hamilton West), in moving the adoption of the Address, that the Opposition would not in-- dulge in much criticism in this time of stress, had been put forward the preceding year. At that time, he said,. "we were inclined to listen, in the' belief that the Government really was seized with the gravity of the situ~| ation--but what do we find? The same reckless extravagance, the same disregard of the psople's money. their rights and opinions. Economy was| a word without intent or meaning, and it was not until late in 1931 that the Government suddenly realized what wa's apparent to every one else. "Fatherly Solicitude." | "Then, in a spasm of fatheriy | solicitude for the municipalities, we | see o of the Cabinet, Mr. Price and | Mr. Macaulay, imploring the minor municipalities to go slow and econo-- mize,"" he continued. "Their solic!-- tude was the joke of the season. They may have peen actuated by the belief that when the municipalities borrow : too freely the Provincial credit also is --impaired, but no matter which way : you turn you see evidence of their | folly, The latest evidence came when they floated the recent loan, | paying 6 per cent. interest--spend-- thrift folly and altogether unneces-- sary, besides setting a higher rate of interest for private loans. Simul-- ,t,aneously with the floating of the | Provincial loan my own town got Imoney for 5 per cent. "Why have county rates doubled within the last ten years?" he asked, stating that it was largely because of the increased cost of education, good roads, and administration of justice and old--age pensions. _ "It is a generally accopited fact that those who use the roads and those who benefit should pay, but the ques-- tion is: Are we paying on an equitable basis? Roughly, the assessment of the cities and separated towns is $2,-- 000,000,000, and the county units $1,-- 000,000,000. tax as the cities, and in addition 20 per cent. of the cost of Provincial hnighways and 50 per cent. of the cost of county roads, all feeders of the great centres of population, besides building their own local roa¢s, and they contend the burden is too great. Criticizing the erection of the ad-- dition to the East Block of the Par-- liament Buildings, Mr. Robortson said: "The sad part of it is that, un-- less it is rushed to completion soon, the Minister of Public Works will have done as many another has done-- built himself out of house and home. only to have somebody else move in and enjoy it." Road Tax Reduction Urged. in his new lieutenant. He thought that "much money would have been saved this Province and the mu-- nicipalities if School Boards had not been allowed to run wild because of lack of supervision in the building of schools and payment of building grants." "A reduction is made in the sal-- aries of the civil servants, only to be handed to the money interests of Toronto or to other financial insti-- tutions," Mr. Robertson went on. pressed the hope that the Highways Department would not suffer too greatly while the Premier is breaking Referring briefly to the question of Hydro, Mr. Robertson said that what was nreded was reduced horsepower cost to urban municipalities. "After that," he averred, "the situation will adjust itself." "Simply because the Government has a monsopoly is no raason for hav-- ing such highly paid officials and ex-- pensively overstaffed stores. Maybe I am prejudiced--because I would not soll the stuff in any form. The Government pleads for economy, yet in the administration of the Liquor Control Act we see the greatest ex-- ample of recklessness and favoritism existing in Ontario today." On the subject of the Liquor Con-- trol Act, Mr. Robertson said this was not the time to "take from the people $50,000,000 in hard cash for some-- thing not in the interest of economy but rather the reverse. The Govern-- ment enforcement officers," he said, "recognize the fact that the purchase of liquor is a vicious habit by can-- celling the permits held by people who apply for relief, and the same principle shculd apply to those who can afford to purchase liquor. Many business men today are working over-- time to make ends meet, yei we see three Commissioners in the employ of the Government drawing $40,000 a year to conduct a business that could be managed by one good executive. Liqueor System Denounced. ° Feb 19 "I Never Have Criticized Public Ownership, But What I Have Criticized Is Policy Which Has Made Hydro the Dis-- tributing System for Quebec Power Com-- panies," Says Mr. Hep-- burn in Statement OTTAWA, Feb. 18. -- "I have repeatedly stated that I am strongly in favor of public ownership," said Mitchell F. Hepburn, M.P., Liberal Lead-- er in Ontario, when asked to-- night if he had any comment to make on Premier Henry's latest attack on him. "The Premier of Ontario is simply throwing out another smoke screen," said Mr. Hepburn. DETAILED ANSWER IS BEING PREPARED "I never have criticized public ownership, but what I have critfcized is the policy which has made the Ontario Hydro the distributing system for Quebec power companies." Mr. Hepburn said his Mil-- ton speech, which Premier Henry assailed, was delivered eighteen months ago, and he did not remember offhand what he said at Milton. Only a synopsis of the Premier's speech was avail-- able in Ottawa tonight, and Mr. Hepburn declared he would reply to it in detail after he had read a full report of the speech. (By WILLIAM MARCHINGTON.) (Staff Correspondent of The Globe.)