a THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG _Saturday, July 24, 1926. ---- _ {Continued from Page 1.) | SYS returned to them in the form' '8 government cheque a poftion of | faxes they had paid into the pub- | isury? BD there was the » not reduced, her. iére were also reductions in the 8 tax and excise taxes. tax on re- postal rates--the return to ny postage. id to all this that accompanying | reductions in taxation has] a reduction in the fc debt and a balancing of the | onal budget over a series of together with an expansion of | and a favorable balance of] over. imports unparalleled in | peace-time history of the {Do- | fon and you have a record of ihe | istration of the country's fin-/| and business which has not/ equalled by any government in| This is a part of the record on | " which we make our appeal for their 'support to the electors of Canada. | 'We need not promise reductions in | : on---we have already given re-| ons; we need not promise pros-| 5 ty--eoveryone knows that pros-| Pp has returned and that, with | continuation of Liberal policies, | Prosperity bas come to stay No More Blue Ruin Talk. You were told by our Conserva- 'tive opponents at the last general elections that Canada was being ruin- gd under Liberal administration, 'our industries were going to "the wall and our people in increas- ng numbers were going to the Unit- gd States, that only an all-round in- : in the protective tariff could ive the si'iation. You heard an 0 of thi dolorous wail in the Mine Minister's speeéh on Tuesday night. Every representation of the d has been proven to be false. country has not been as pros- pus in years, nor the country's ness and finances in the splen- shape they are in to-day. Look you will, be it the returns of f railways, the deposits in our ts, the increase in the numbers amounts of insurance policies building permits, the increase employment, the increase in im- tion, the rapidly growing es of industry and trade--on side are evidences of the in- d prosperity which has come Canada during our years of office. Treaty With West Indies. Another important measure which saved from destruction through received the Royal Assent on 15th at the same time as the 'enactments was the recipro- trade treaty between Canada and British West Indies, Bermuda, h Guiana and British Hon- This Treaty, as Signed, ut i approved by Parliament, a be recalled, before the try at the last General Elec- Like the Commercial Treaty Australia--another sister Brit- gk Community--which treaty had en passed at the session of 1925, 'was denounced by Mf. Melighen "his followers as prejudicial to da's interests and trade. Once, paver, the election was over, the Indies Trade Treaty passed the of Commons, and the Senate, thout so much as a division. In- §, it passed with general com- fon from members of all So much for Tory denuncia- on the political platform! Royal Assent Denied. The Prime Minister would have country believe that for the t part the legislation of the ses- "which failed to be signed by | Governor-General is in all im- it features being put into ef- pf measures which had pas. both Houses, or were In the last pay and to which, dissolution in view, arrange- for the Royal Assent might ¢ have been made had Parlia- been properly prorogued as it have been, the most impori- a Bill for the purpoze of ti Ming in Canada a system of terth mortgage credit for farm- jown popularly as the "Rural s Bill; a Bill amending the Aét in an important particu- Bill to provide for the Re- of Soldiers' Settlament to provide a loan to the ne of Montreal, ! Civil Service but abolished | lly, there is the reduction = national | RT. HON. MACKENZIE KING OPENS LIBERAL CAMPAIGN ism was directed against features of the Tariff Board and the Mari- time Rights Commission, no formal wiception was taken in ahy motion proposed by the Leader of the Op- position, or by any of his following, either to the personnel, or to the du- ties and responsibilities of these two bodies, If public opinion as veiced by the Press of the country is a guage at all, it may be said that the Government's action as respects both {the Tariff Advisory Board and the Maritime Commission met with hearty -endorsation and commenda- tion. SO-CALLED "CENSURE" OF THE ADMINISTRATION, I come now to the concluding days of the session, and to the dis- solution of Parliament--first, the request for dissolution made by my- self as Prime Minister, and which was not granted by His Excellency the Governor-General, and next the request for dissolution made three days later by Mr. Meighen as Prime Minister and which was granted. Mr. Meighen and the membhers of his party would have the public be- lieve that the reason I sought dis- solution at the time I did was in or- der to avoid "a vote of censure" be- ing passed upon the administration because of certain facts disclosed be- fore a special committee of the House of Commons with respect to the administration of the Depart- ment of Customs, which committee was appointed in the opening days of the session and brought in its re- port as the session was drawing its proceedings to a close. To this as- sertion or allegation I give the most emphatic denial. Stevens' Amendment. First of all, may I be permitted to point out that the word "censure," or its equivalent in parliamentary terminology, neither appears in the Stevens' amendment nor in the re- port of the Special Committee which it, sought to amend, nor in any amendment or in any report. The Stevens' amendment uses the words "wholly indefensible" in reference to the alleged failure of myself and the goverament "to take prompt and effective remedial action" with respect to certain matters in the de- partment of Customs, and the words "utterly injustifiable'" in reference to one particular act of Mr. Boivin. These words have become enlarged upon and their..meaning exaggerat- ed in party controversy and public discussion into a *"'censure of the government," "a censure of the en- tire administration," involving its resignation. Mr. Meighen, speaking in this Auditorium on Tuesday of this week, sounding the keynote of his campaign, deliberately misquot- ed these words and misrepresented their meaning and signiffeance; he sald that "the House of Commons had declared" that the Prime Min- ister's refusal to remedy the evil was "absolutely incapable of defence." Those words will not be found any- where, except as coming from Mr. Meighen's lips, That "the House of Commons" --I again quote his words--"censured not only the past Minister of Customs, but the them Minister of Customs and the entire government for malfeasance of of- fice." With respect to these words as well, I repeat, they are to be found only in Mr. Meighen's own vocabulary. A vote of censure of an administration for malfeasance in office makes use of these terms in no unmistakable way; and no one knows that better than the present Prime Minister. Would Not Be Carried. Apart from this, however, at the time I advised His Excellency that a dissolution of parliament in my opinion necessary and inevitable, I had the hest reasons for believing that if I were to continue to lead the House, the portion of the Stevens' amendment which contained the words T have quoted would not be carried. Before Parliament adjourned on the night of Friday, June 25th, or rather in the early morning of June 36th, I personally showed to several members of the Progressive party a proposed amendment to Mr. Stev- en's motion. My object was to as- certain in advance of having the amendment presented whether or not, if moved, it would be accept-- able to them. That proposed amend- ment eliminated from the Stevens amendment" the clause which con- tained the words "wholly indefens- ible' and "utterly unjustitiable" and substituted in their stead a proposal to appoint a Royal Commission of three judges, one to be appointed by the Prime Minister, one by the Lead- sion. sufficient number on the Tuesday following voted against this very amendment when moved by Mr. Rin- enabling the Stevens amendment to be carried. ' Why Stevens' Amendment Carried: The 'reson of the change in atti- tude of certain members of the Pro- is easily explained. Members of the Progressive Party and for that matter, members of other parties as well, did not expect nor did they wish a-dissolution of parliament, They certainly did not wish'a dis- solution before the legislation which was in its final stages and in which they were specially interested had been assented to. Had I not resign- ed as Prime Minister, sufficient of their number were prepared to as- session. When I resigned and Mr. Meighen accept the office of Prime Winister, sufficient of their number ware equally prepared, so far as the measures referred to were concern- ed, to give him their support. It was a matter of getting through with the session and securing the emact- ment of the balance.of the legisla- tion and of avoiding, if possible, an- other early general election. It will be recalled that such was the tenour of a resolution which was carried at & caucus of the Progregsives held on the morning of Tuesday, June 29th, and which was placed in Mr. Forke's hands for his guidance in the in- terview which His Excellency the Governor-General had with Mr. Forke at noon that day. Progressive Support Explained. Precisely the same kind of situa- tion and attitude presented itself on June 30th with respect to the resolu tion moved by myself as Leader of the Opposition in amendment to the motion to go into Supply and which was moved immediately after the Stevens amendment and the report of the Customs Committee had beep disposed of. That amendment was as follows: /'That the Speaker do not now leave the Chair but that it be resolved that in the opinion of tris House the fiscal policy of the government as enunciat- ed by the present Prime Min- ister when leader of His Ma- jesty's opposition would prove detrimental to the country's continued prosperity and pre- judicial to national unity." That amendment, which was of the very essence of the difference between Mr. Meighen and all whose views on fiscal policy differed from his own, was opposed by enough of the Progressive Members from the Province of Alberta to cause it to be defeated by a majority of 7. In the debate on the budget, every one of these . gentlemen supported Mr. Robb's budget resolutions and vot- ed down the milk-and-water amend- ment moved from Mr. Meighen's side of the House and which result- ed in the Liberal government being sustained 2 its fiscal policies by a majority 13 in a division which was the largest, the most important and the most significant of the ses- Does any one suppose that conviction or principle on fiscal policy explains the vote cast on this amendment, or that the vote con- stituted an expression of confidence in Mr. Meighen's "temporary gov- ernment," as its members would have us believe? Certainly not. Some of those who voted against the amendment, contrary to their own beliefs and convictions on fiscal mat- tersfl did not hesitate to = declare {hat they did so because they believ- od-that to have supported the amend- ment would have meant the defeat of Mr. Meighen's temporary admin- istration which, in - the circum- stances, they conceived it their duty to support as a means of getting through what remained of the log- Islatiop of the session. - In making mention of these facts I am not seeking to pass judgment in any way, least of all to criticize adversely. 1 wish to make no com- ment whatever. I am seeking only to explain what may appeat a-very Strange JT caading. and to show that votes as recorded in the concluding days of the session were, in the case of some at least, not ex- pressive of any conviction upon the motions to which they were related, but were influenced by considera- tions wholly apart from the subject matter of the resolution. What . in this regard is true of the amend- ment with respect to fiscal policy is equally true of the Stevens' and other amendments moved after Mr. Meighen's "temporary" government came into office. fret, thereby causing its defeat, and | gressive group is not far to seek; it | sist me to carry on and through the | Ed | E y. | E wu ried on in a manner befitting the honor and dignity of Parliament, and satisfactorily to a close. accorded my administration through- ment no one else-could be found who to that end could form an admini- stration, and that dissolution at an early date was not only in the pub- lic interest but igevitable, and I so advised His Excellency. Who Was Most Entitled to Advice? When I advised His Excellsncy that in my opinion a dissolution of Parliament was necessary, my col- leagues and I enjoyed the confidence of the House of Commons, I had been Prime Minister throughout tne whale .of the session then near its close, and had been Prime Minister throughout the whole of the preced- ing parliament. For four years and a half, in a very dificult period of our country's history, I had held that high office and never once as Prime Minister had I encountered de- feat. 1 was in every particular en- titled to advise, and according to British practise, 1 was entitled, I believe, to have my advice accepted. When, not quite four days later, Mr. Meighen, as tHe léader of an- other political party, gave the same advice to His Excellency, and was E38 Hi si 5 8 f 8 8s z that only a declaration that an ap-| peal to the people would follow the: conclusion of the session; would en- | ablé its proceedings to be brought I felt that t which had been | ii With the suppor ithe House of Commons, that neither ion, matters had refiched | Mr. Meighen or any other member gut the Segal I was unable to carry | of the House could? If I was wrong, on with the regard which was due to | the responsibilities of a Prime Min- | » ister apo the proceedings of parlia- 'a half, and why did Mr. Meighen end FEE 1 Very Low Rates For this Wonderful Cruise KINGSTON PEOPLE! COME For a Wonderful BOAT TRIPHOLIDAY The Luzurious Steamer "RAPIDS KING" Makes delightful Cruises to Alexandria Bay via Rochester, Canal Bridge, Belleville, Kingston and return to Rochester via the same ports. \ Every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until September 4th, the palatial steamer "Rapids King" leaves Rochester for this wonderful cruise through the Bay of Quinte and the Thousand Islands to Alexan. dria Bay. Steamer leaves Rochester at 0 a.m. (Daylight Saving Time), and heads for the Canadian shore, passing through the Murray Canal and entering the beautiful Bay of Quinte. : Stop is made at 1.80 p.m. at Canal Bridge. Fourteen miles fur. ther on Belleville is reached at 2.50 pm. As evening approaches the steamer arrives at Kingston--the end of the Bay of Quinte--arriving at Kingston 7.50 p.m. Then on to the St. Lawrence River entrance and through the beau. tiful and picturesque Th Thousand Island Park, arriving at Alexandria Ad Isl ing Round Island and Bay, N. Y., at 10.85 pam. Steamer leaves Alexandria Bay the next morning at 7 a.m., making the return trip entirely by daylight. at 7.45 am. Return trip is made to Rochester on Wednesdays, days. On Sundays "layover" at Kingston for Church Services. Steamer arrives back in Kingston Fridays and Sun- of one hour and fifteen minutes is made For full information regarding rates, etc., apply J. P. HANLEY, C.8.L. AGENT, KINGSTON, ONT. CANADA STEAMSHIP LINES LIMITED try. Mr. Meighen possessed neither. The second question I should like to ask is whether ¥ was right or wrong in stating to His Excellency that if, as Prime Minister, I could not carry on in a manner befitting the honor and dignity of Parliament under conditions as they existed in why did Mr. Meighen's government not last Jonger than two days and the session in such a summary fash- fon, not even waiting to arrange for a formal prorogation? Relations With GovernorvGeneral. Mr. Meighen and the Conservative press are seeking, and would like to make it appear that the constitu- tional question which has'thus arisen is in reality an issue between His Excellency the Governor-General and myself. Nothing could be further from the truth. My personal rela- tions with Lord Byng from the mo- ment His Excellency invited me to form a Ministry to the moment he accepted my resignation as Prim Minister were of an exceptionally friendly character. My official re- lations with His Excellency were all that I could have desired them to be save in the difference of our concep- tion of the relations of Prim~ Min- ister and GovernoriGeneral as 1: came up in regard to the advice I tendered with respect to dissolution, and which opened up between us a very wide field of difference. We dif- fered honestly in opinion; there was no other difference. . 3 In his speech in this Auditorium Tuesday £ Ties: CECE ECE) LE = BB | = LIE] should be tried before resorting to another election. Holding this view and believing the prerogative of dis- solution was his to exercise, His Ex- cellency was unwilling at the time to grant a dissolution. I took the position which I have mentioned here tonight, that Mv. Meighen's chances to govern had all along been quite as good as my own, that throughout the session the House of Commons had consistently declined to give him its confidence, and I did not see how it could now be expected to give its confidence to any ministry he might attempt to form. That as to which political party had the right to govern, that Was a matter which, as I had pointed out after the last general elections, it was for parliament to decide, if parliament were in a position so to do; that when parliament ceased to be in a position to make a satisfac- torydecision as to which party should govern it was them for the people to dccide. In neither case, I maintain- ed, was it a duty or a responsibility of the Governor-General to make the decision. I stgted that in my humble opinion it was mot for the Crown or its representative to be concerned with the differences of political par- ties, and that the prerogative of dis- solution, like other prerogativesof the Crown, had come under British prac- tice to be exercised by the Sovereign on the advice of his Prime Minister. It was for the Crown's advisor to say whether or not dissolution was neces- sary and for the Crown's advisor to take the responsibility of the advice tendered. Once a dissolution was granted, the people would soon say whether in the circumstances the ad- vice tendered was or was not in ac- cord with their wishes. In.a word, the position I took was that in Can- ada, the relation of Prime Minister all essential respects as that of Prime CCC) nn NC lead, we have mccepted full resporg | sibility "for views which are diame Pail trically opposed as to what in y situation such as has arisen fis right constitutional position. In this Matter, it is through their support of the respective political parties that the people of Canada have now the opportunity to make their opin. ions and wishes known, J - SOME SYMPTOMS OF THIN BLOOD Everybody Should be Able to Recog- Anaemia, or lack stealthy disease and is often quite advanced before it is recognized, It is much easier to correct in its early stages, but if unchecked causes weak- ness, loss of weight, lack of vigor and ambition, Some symptoms of anaemia are loss of appetite, indigestion; head. achés, sleeplessness, shortness of breath after slight exertion, and of« ten extreme nervousness. If you have any or all of these sym treatment Pink Pills, of blood, is a an advertisement Williams' Pink Pills describing very much like my own. I to try them, and of 4 casq Minister to the King in Great Brit-! 4 SH ---- i The Issne- » may I say, is the position for hich I now stand and for which the Liberal Party in Canada stands. It not involve His Excellency in particular. prepa; to taken two boxes I health than I had en years. In view of what Dr, Pink Pills have done ¢ fully recommend weak, run-down :1 FE ¥y