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Admittedly pledged to the maxi-- mum co--operation In the prosecu-- tion of Ontario's war effort, Premier Mepburn and Opposition Leader Drew, at the formal opening of the Legislature yesterday, both regret-- ted that the Canadian people as a whole did not appear to be taking the "life--and--death struggle" seri-- ously enough, and indirectly implied that the Ottawa leadership of Right Hon. Mackenzie King was respon-- sit_)le for this lack of public con-- sciousness. FEAR PEOPLE NOTAROUSED TQ TOP PITCH "So far as the leader of the Cana-- dian Government is concerned," de-- clared Mr. Hepburn, "I have not yet been able to provoke him into an open quarrel, although I have tried to de so with great dexterity on fre-- quent occasions." "Dropped Umbrella." Premier Chamberlain could under no cirecumstances be considered "a sabre--rattler," said Mr. Hepburn, and yet he had "dropped his um-- brelia" in the face of the present emergenw, as every one realized. The war ahead would be "a . long and brutal one," and every possible co--operation between Canada and the Empire was essential, he sug-- gested, to the victory that Britishers desired and demanded. "My only regret is that the Pre-- mier has not succeeded in arousing the Prime Minister of Canada,." Colonel Drew subsequently com-- mented upon the Premier's admis-- sion, "and I can only wish him bet-- ter luck next time." "But what does concern us." he added, "is that the press in Great Britain does not feel restrained to criticize where it feels criticism is due." Colonel Drew observed that the time had arrived "for vigorous ac-- tion and plain speaking." The ques-- tion of who was right and who was wrong in the recent Cabinet shake-- up in Britain did not concern On-- tario, he said. In the coming spring, but three months away--as Lord Lothian, British Ambassador to Washington, had so recently warned--Germany, he believed, would launch an attack by land and sea and air, "in the most terrific military adventure the world has ever seen." "I, for one," he stressed, "will apologize at any time this ses for urging, where responsibilit SLAP OTTAW A Hepburn, Drew Say Realization War to Be Grim Is Needed ~will not session Ibility is The scene was a particularly pleasing one, inasmuch as the Chamber has been freshly re-- carpeted in rose plush, and a Royal blue--remindful of their Majesties' visit of last May--has been added to the galleries' pews. There were no hitches, and the moment the Vice--Regal party had quit the place, Premier HMepburn and his Minis-- ters had thrown the business of their first full wartime session into first gear. Odd'y enough, the first bit of legislation given first read-- ing--introduced by Attorney--Gen-- eral Conant--will, when enacted, ex-- empt all ranks of the Air Force from jury duty. Land and sea forces of Canada are now similarly exempt-- There was little fuss to the 15-- minute formal opening conducted by Hon. Albert Matthews, the Licu-- tenant--Governor, and his staff. The long--traditional guard of honor was reviewed by the Vice--Regal party at the front entrance of the Parliament Buildings, but saluting guns--due to wartime restrictions-- were conspicuously absent. The Speech from the Throne, longer than customary, and stressing, in particular, the war effort moves of the Province since last September, was presented by Mr. Matthews to an audience of legislators and faith-- ful galleryites. prise. There was nothing pre-- arranged about it, the two leaders said afterward. Col. Fred Fraser MHunter, St. Patrick, speaking over a breastful of war decorations and medals, climaxed the brief but signi-- ficant debate in this regard by em-- phasizing that every man would have some role to play in the struggle nefore it ended, and that in a few days' time (he has, at 62, just passed his medical tests A--1) he hoped to take his place, "in some minor capacity," alongside Sol-- diers Croll and Campbell. Injection of the matter of Can-- ada's war effort into the Legisla-- ture scene came as a complete sur-- The incident developed when Mr. HMepburn rose for the primary pur-- pose of paying tribute to uniformed Private David Croll of tne Essex Scottish, a former Cabinet colleague, on three--day leave from his unit to participate in the opening delibera-- tions of the present session. "May God protect him in his fight for King and country," said the Pre-- mier, and linked with him in the plea Licutenant Colin A. Campbell, Minister of Public Works. Unable to attend because of a severe atiack of influenza, Lieutenant Campbelli wrote his regrets to the Assembly from a sickbed in Grace Hespital. The Premier and the Opposition Leader agreed that--as Prime Min-- ister Chamberlain had indicated-- "dark days lie ahead,." and t; t the two present enlistments from the Legislature membership represented but the beginning of constant in-- roads. It would not be very long, the Premier feared, before the House membership would lose many more familiar faces. Private Croll's applauded claim that he was doing his duty simply as he saw it drew from Colonel Drew subsequently the remark that everything possible should be done by the military authorities to ensure that men en deavoring to enlist not be kept wait-- ing in long and tiring queues before recruiting stations, as had been instanced in the past. Comes as Surprise. placed, that they awake to the dan-- ger of an attack which may threaten not only this country but civiliza-- tion itself. I do urge that the people realize that it is not patriotic to be silent in the face of incompetence " Much remained to be done in Can-- ada, he said, and every one had to do his part in the present crisis. ANUVARY 1| "Since the outbreak of the war my Ministers have pursued a vigor-- ous policy, within the scope per-- mitted to them by the British North America Act." the Licutenant--Gov-- ernor read to the House. "Immedi-- ate steps were taken to secure ade-- quate finances which, due to a suc cession of balanced budgets, .were immediately available at a favorable rate of interest. A policy of the strictest economy was laid down and "In the industrial field a special committee has been set up within the Department of Labor, to co-- operate with employers engaged in the manufacture of war materials. All applications for overtime per-- mits are dealt with by the commit-- tee and, in many instances, employ-- ers have been persuaded to em-- ploy a second and even a third shift, with the result that more people have been put to work and relief rolls reduced. All civilian employees required in Ontario by the Department of National Defense will be obtained through our em-- ployment service and close contact is being maintained with all firms manufacturing war supplies, in an. effort to provide them with the skilled labor that is needed. In this connection the training schools that have been established for air-- craft mechanics, welders and mach-- ine shop work will be of particular value. A marked improvement in a virtual holiday on capital expen-- diture was declared. Except where absolutely essential, capital com-- mitments will be reserved for the postwar period, when they will be most needed. The Province placed immediately at the disposal of the Dominion Government all its re-- sources. The new hospital at St. Thomas has been turned over to the Royal Canadian Air Force, and Pro-- vincial highway engineers and the forestry patrol service have been engaged on Dominion projects. I am particularly proud of the way in which Ontario once again demon-- strated its loyalty. Men enlisting overtaxed the capacity of the re-- cruiting stations, and contributions to the Canadian Red Cross Society exceeded the amount asked for. ed. A second bill, which in itself would indicate that war or no war, hard times are still here, extended for another year the terms of the Mortgagors' and Purchasers' Relief Act. A throw--back to more peace-- ful and happier moments was re-- flected in the reading by Speaker James H. Clark of King George's reply to the message of good--will presented him by the Province when in Toronto last spring. No Capital Expenditures. f "It is apparent that economic war-- fare will be a vital factor in the present conflict, and it is gratifying to know that the field crops in On-- tario during the past year were above normal, with a consequent increase of live stock on the farms. A recent agreement calls for the de-- livery of 5,000,000 pounds of Cana-- dian bacon weekly to the British Government, and it is confidently expected that Ontario production will be increased to supply half of this total. With this end in view the Department of Agriculture is en-- deavoring to secure a maximum crop of feed grains. At present we have an ample supply of excellent seed grain which, with better methods of cultivation, should produce an in-- creased yield per acre. There has been a much greater demand re-- cently for assistance in combating animal diseases, and the willingness of stock ow'hners to co--operate is a promising feature of the broader plans now being laid. A better understanding has also developed beiween organized fruit producers and processors. A War Committee Set Up.