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March 16 pursued, decided on that which was | | Mr. Roebuck might suggest, said best for the people, regardless of ! Mr. Conant, that even had Ontario political or other considerations." ' been unsuccessful be{ore the Privy _ Council the legislation passed in Blames Conservatives. _ 1937, "protected us against the con-- Surely, said Mr. Conant, there _ sequences." 1 could be no doubt as to who "got "I will not deal with that legisla-- us into this trouble in the first * mm «s4ncacstuke place,"" and the alarming extent of ; tion," he added. "It was ingenious it. _ Conservative Administrations, but of doubtful value. The Power from 1926 to 1931, were the persons | Commission Declaratory Act of 1937 responsible for the whole problem, | was an endeavor to clarify the law and it was, he said, of such a _' by providing that no action could mpopmspnesiue :mture and so }s{orious that it woulda | bei br;ught against the Hydro--Elec-- * * 1ave "ruined Hydro" and placed a | tric Power Commission of Ontari Advnseti Pren:ner .§o Sef'fle to tremendous burden on the tax-- without the consent of the Attorngv? Avoid Lihgahon R.sk. payers of Ontario. So, he added, it General. The Ontario Court of Ap-- was no wonder that the Opposition peal unanimously held that that He Tells HOUSQ was now futilely endeavoring to for-- act had no effect of the Beauhar-- get the past, and to hide its dis-- nois litigation then pending. The comfiture under a barrage of ac--| | Power Commission Act, 1937, was an UPHOLDS SETTLEMENT _ susation that Mr. Hepburn, during| | attempt to exempt the Hydro assets the election, had enunciated a| |from any judgment or execution. en policy at variance with what hel That it was directed to the pend-- Attornev--General Conant yester-- had actually had in mind. | ing Beauharnois litigation is evi-- aay absolved Premier Hepburn of The hostility of former }I_vdm' 'dlet;ceddby tge tf,ACt t:'mt iit. was pro-- °. g 6e EtsM LR * en ® * _ claimed an rought into effect ; :ia.f"::\"',:";'"po'l'i"_\?";f 'E:"l"; :"' ;r'i. Commissioner Roebuck toward the | on the very date the judgment in f vincial election ('simpai:r.. As late Peiy ; Roioiiie, Wwase apparenty l'.he Beauharnois appeal was de-- as December, the Prime Minister, -- P28°4, Mr. Conant asserted, on the | livered. seid Mr. Conant, was still unalter. {a¢t that "instead of gambling on "I express no opinion as to whe-- iY opposed to a'ny S ettiement with tho. outcome of a lawsuit, the ther or not that legislation might ménh"m" ind deternmuned _ to Government adopted the sound, ior might not have been effective," tight the c6mpan\-'s litigation to the fafe And sane course and settletj | he said. "If it had not been effect-- end. "bitter or sweet as it might [he matfer on reasonable terms. "V"' an adverse judgment could be" And that attitude might have m the final analysis, the last re. probably have been defeated by y#A continued indefinitely, the Attorney-- gv!lmng Fone of the Government. of | | | voving all the Hydro assets to the Ceneral added. but for the fact that _ OCIN® ®Xtricated from the "alarm--| | Province. I, for one. would hesitate he and Dr. T. H. Hogg. Hydro Chair-- | itsar S2 M raulr of ho' , dla[ Te |before advising any such expe-- man, had undertaken to "gang up" tself, 85' a result of the DOV:'GV liti / dient. I doube very much whether on the head of the Government and gatmnl. a_\.hhe n eo cou i ue | the people of this Province want Torce his hani. ?\2:);8nf':u'copqr?r:.'thg?u::;}e.al B:: their Gow;rngne;m{t :10 avoid }:hepobli- oob 5 a | & ess > + gations of the Hydro or the Prov-- Hn;\z'ght:yndlos\:;mrt I uid io :e';?uge 0s "a singis Judes of supports0 |ince, judicially determined, by any the Prime Minister into a settle=| | Thaquas of our Supre ©Court" who _ | SUch tactics, which savor rather too ment." he informed the Legislature. ) @q* Judicated upon it. And if the | mUuCh _ of _ -- fraudulent Spragtises "I should explain that from my i Peal were In supoe d the Judges | 2€ainst which this House from time study of the whole situation and "?';;':, }3,";",,(? s""irl ';1 d ': 'P':'p'f':é to time legislated in the case of the terms that were proposed, I had | The decision of the sik Judges of | individuals and corporations." come very definitely to the conclu-- the gup;,mp Court. -- Tangles With Opposition. | sion that in the interests of the * * | ' people of this Province it was ftll:" Feared Consequences. iwi'fll:e 'httt%'g;%'fi?g:mln tsal'lgele(}' b that all these matters shou f | P 1 o evera h:"P:nttrled than that litigation It / ar Sr;pat""")' 'fchdiTa"ter:h:: l occasions during his review of the | should continue with the very great _ Wron';t Came to deciding whether ||°22! aspects of the power situation | uncertainty and the grave risks in-- n' P overs canl\. is tiatedgand sub. | 35 he, Ssaw it. _ The most violent | voived. While, of course. I have no |mimad by Hvard Chairman Ho objection to his line of argument knowledge as to Dr. Hogg's ap-- m"'i by Y r°d atll;mBn hgg- was raised when both Opposition proach to the Premier, I do recall shou dlitie aclcepte e (::. ed :au tahr' Leader Macaulay and Mr. Roebuck that I went over the matter with ;°§s C gat i. matters of preat ang! |Charged that a leiter from RA%. the Premier and expressed to him rivy (i)unc .tma ;rsdot gt!;eataken Robertson, Hydro Counsel in the the very grave doubt I entertained 15" ous ",'(}'0" tqnce ad to be litigation, and suggesting, in effect, as to the success of the Beauharnois nto mnf: eradons that Hydro would be wiser to effect litigation. and that settlement on . | _ "What." he asked the House, a settlement with the company than the terms available was certainly | "would any sound business .?rganln' carry the case to the Privy Council, preferable to continuation of the | tion do in such a situation? Would was dated in January of this year-- litigation. Regardless of whose per.. _ |i gamble its very existence on &A _ long after the new Quebec contracts suasion prevailed, however, the Pre.: Court decision? At the very best,| | had been negotiated and agreed to. mier did finally accede to our views| tigation is alwa,\'s'unce.rtain and; E "'That letter wasn't any reason with the result that the proposals| hazardous and the litigation in this| irgr the settlement," Mr. Macaulay were approved. The formal and de-- case was dangerous in the extreme | ;glhed_. "Mr. Robertson was just tailed agreements following these Ar.d it must be 'apparent from th@! lokay]ng what had already been proposals were thereafter prepared ('Ol(! 'far!s that if the BPEUhBPHO'Si done." j and are now before the House." decision were adverse to the Hydro| "He had told_ me before his Shoulders Any Blame Commission, the whole Hydro sgruc-, views," said Mr. Conant. mho C * ture would be seriously imperilled.| | "But you haven't them in writ-- Surely, said he, there could be!' jts reserves depleted, increased rates! | ing," My, Macaulay threw back. no reasonable doubt ir the mind of jnevitable and a curtailment in the | Mr. Roebuck interjected some-- any llnpre.lUdlf'Pd Pfl"On.. \'leW?ng whole domestic and industrial "ff: |'h|ng about a letter "in November," ~. the matter without political bias, of the Province would be certain. 'and such cross--chamber confusion ' and from what he had revealed, as There was reasonable doubt, he ) developed that Premier. Hepburn f to the genuineness of the Premier's added, as to what would have hap-- !appealed to the Speaker to stop position throughout. Some things pened had the Beauharnois litiga-- "this madhouse," and from then on had been said in the House, and tion beenm continued and been un-- ensure that the Attorney--General some statements had been made in _ Qymcessful. And even if it had been was free from interruptions. Pro-- the press, he declared, CensUrINS / Cy,oessful, he said, what would have |ceeding, Mr. Conant launched a Mr. Hepburn for his course. been Ontario's position? "Well," he glowing tribute to Dr. Hogg, claim-- "If there is to be any blame at-- said, "we would have been freed ing that Hydro was "lucky" to have tached to any person for the mak--| from the Beauharnois load of 250« |such an outstanding engineer| _ ing of these settlements," he con--| 00G horsepower. But on the other directing its policjes, and suggesting 3 tinued, "perhaps I am the one to| hand, reserves would have been that the Opposition exhibited iittle| _ blame in the sense or to the extent| completely exhausted by 194. Re-- chivalry in attacking a man (Dr. 3 that I may have persuaded the| gardless of any international com-- Hogg) while he was on a sick bed| _ Premier and my colleagues to AU--) plication and on any possible basis with a serious heart ailment. |~ l thorize them. Well, I will gladly| of reckoning, it would have been im-- | Mr. Conant spoke in part as fol--| accept any blame, because I ami possible to develop any of our avail-- ,lows: | convinced that these settlements| able power resources by that time. Ready to Accept Blame. | are in the best interests of all the| So that in 1940, we would have h:'d So much has been said and will people of this Province, on all the| a power shortage in reality. Th® | propapty yet be said on this sub-- facts, on all the law and under all| finnorable Member for Bellwoods ject, that one must be very opti-- the circumstances. I am confident,| (Mr. Roebuck) may make speeches mistic, if he hopes to add anything too, that on the facts and the fig--=" as often and as long as he likes in of value or importance. But as my ures, and on their merits, these / an endeavor to justify such A POS!--| | name has been brought into the l r t is not i settlements will result in credit and _ tjon. But this Gov ern;nen in 'that discussion in this House and in the acclaim rather than biame. And I going to put the Province in t lad press, I feel that I should explain unreservedly invoke all the credit . position If it had done so, it wou my position and my views. ecclaim for my honorable -- nave deserved and certainly would and the a itself the critl-- From the way in which I. have leader, the Premier. On him, above have brought upon its € been mentioned, it would appear the responsibility and| c(sm and censure of all the people. all others, b thet I am the villain in the piece. den rested, and it was he, _ and not merely that of the member I the bur bers of Even if that is so, there is nothing who, in the face of great difficul--| for Bellwoods and the members sinister about my views or my con-- ties, no matter what course was| the Opposition. i duet and if I am to be blamed for nR : ~ | these Hydro settlements, I_ wllll