1901-02-11

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE.

The PRIME MINISTER (Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier) moved :: That the Order for the consideration cf the motion for an Address to His Excellency the Governor General, in reply to his Speech at the opening of the session, have precedence over all other business except introduction of Bills, until disposed of.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

Mr.  A. B.@: INGRAM (East Elgin) moved for leave to introduce Bill (No. 2) to amend the Dominion Elections Act, 1900.


The PRIME MINISTER (Sir Wilfrid Laurier).: Explain.


Mr. INGRAM.: I may say that it is in respect to perfecting the ballot.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to, and Bill read tile first time.

Mr.  J. A. C.@: MADORE (Hoehelaga) (translation) moved for leave to introduce a Bill (No. 3) respecting money-lenders.


The PRIME MINISTER (Sir Wilfrid Laurier).: Explain.


Mr. MADOKE.: (Translation.) As the Bill is not yet printed, I would ask to be allowed to postpone my explanations until the Bill comes up for its second reading.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to, and Bill read the first time.

[Stage Direction]
The House proceeded to the consideration of His Excellency's speec)i at the opening of the session.
Mr. HUGH GUTHRIE (South Wellington).: Mr. Speaker, I beg to move that an humble address be presented to His Excellency the Governor General of Canada in reply to the Speech from the Throne, and in rising to perform this important duty, permit me to say, at the outset, that 1 am deeply sensible of the high honour which has been conferred upon me in my selection for the important task. I am also well aware of the difficulties which beset my path, and I would ask, Sir, with great respect, that the House would view my shortcomings with that lenience which in times past it has bestowed upon hon. members under similar circumstances. My inexperience will, perhaps, appear the greater, and I trust, on that account, your indulgence will be the less restricted, when i inform you that the past two or three days have furnished the only opportunity which I have ever had, even as a mere spectator, of witnessing the deliberations of this House ; so that my request is by no means a formal one, but by all means a most sincere one, when I ask you to bear with me for a short time whie I endeavour humbly to discharge the honourable duty which has been cast upon me. Hon. members will agree at the outset, when I remark that parliament has met upon the present occasion under circumstances, which, while they are both solemn and momentous, are likewise without parallel in the history and experience of the House. We have now embarked upon the first session of a new parliament, in the first year of a new century, and in the first year of the reign of a new sovereign. While these are conditions which render the present session more or less unique, there are other conditions which render it more than ordinarily impressive. During the brief period which intervened between the autumn dissolution and the meeting of the present House, an event of world-wide magnitude and importance has transpired in the British Empire in the death of our late Sovereign Lady the Queen, and the consequent demise of the Crown upon her illustrious son and successor His Majesty King Edward VII. It would be utterly impossible for me to add anything to the eloquent and finished tributes which have already been paid in this House to the memory of our late Queen,
tributes which so fully and so appropriately express not only the sentiments of the House, but likewise the sentiments of the whole country. Permit me only to remark in this respect, that the long and glorious reign which has just been brought to a close will for many years to come form a particularly bright spot in British history to which Canadians will look with the greatest veneration and gratitude. It was the reign that gave Canada national birth ; the reign which raised her from a position of comparative colonial obscurity to the high position she occupies to-day in British history. It was the reign which not only gave us a constitution, but which moulded and construed our constitution and rendered it the almost perfect system of government it is to-day. It is gratifying to our pride to know that our Canadian constitution has been veiy largely adopted as a model for the federation into one great British territory at the other side of the globe. To the people of the Australian Commonwealth the people of Canada extend most hearty greeting and most cordial congratulation.
Her late Majesty acceded to the Throne through a long line of noble ancestors, a line to which her own reign has added untold dignity and splendour. And, while we mourn her loss, yet we can rejoice that she has left us a strong line of her own royal blood and descent who, by God's grace we pay, may long be spared to reign over us.


Some hon. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.


Hugh Guthrie: It will be gratifying intelligence to the people of this country to learn that Canada has at this most^ opportune time extended to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall and York an invitation to visit this country on his return from his contemplated visit to the Australian Commonwealth. His Royal Highness has been graciously pleased to accept that Invitation, and all Canadians, without distinction, will prepare to give a loyal and a fitting welcome to that noble prince not only on account of his exalted station as heir-apparent to the British Throne ; not only on his own account, but because he is the son of our reigning sovereign and the grandson of our late Queen whose death all Canada yet so bitterly mourns.
However, Sir. we must turn from the past with its glorious and vast achievements. with its triumphs and its mournings -our duty lies before us. Full well we know that this busy world throbs on careless of the coming and going of sovereigns. We must prepare to wrestle with the problems of the present and provide for the future. From a material point of view the speech from the Throne furnishes many substantial grounds for congratulation upon the excellent position which Canada occupies at the present time. It is very pleasing to know the vast strides which in recent



'23 COMMONS

[Stage Direction]
years have been made towards colonization and towards the fuller development of our varied resources. It is most satisfactory also to know that almost every branch of industry in tills country is to-day flourishing-. I have before me recently comiiiled figures relative to the trade of this Dominion which would furnish a most interesting theme did time permit me to discuss them, but I shall refrain from doing so as hon. members will be able to see these figures in the departmental returns. However, Sir, common every-day experience in the business world will establish far more clearly than statistics or returns would ever prove, that the golden era of prosperity in tins country, which dawned shortly after this administration attained power-
Some hon. MEMBERS: Oh.


Some hon. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.


Hugh Guthrie: Every day experience in the business world proves that the golden era of prosperity shows up to the present time no apparent sign of diminution, but on the contrary, Canadians may look forward to even vaster and more profitable commercial operations in the future than they have enjoyed in the past. I am well aware, Sir, that it is a vexed question as to what precise degree of credit the administration of the day is entitled to for the very happy surroundings which we now see on all sides. I do not know that any useful purpose can be served by an examination of the facts with the view of ascertaining just what the legitimate claims of the government are in that respect. I assume, Sir, that the government itself rests content with the knowledge, not only that its fiscal policy has received the approval of the great bulk of the community, but likewise with the knowledge that it must have received a considerable degree of approval even in the estimation of those who seem-iugly opposed it. It was approved at least to this extent : that its opponents did not see fit to offer any well defined alternative policy of their own but rather contented themselves with a desultory and indefinite sort of criticism of the general and detailed policy of the administration. I am well aware that I would enter upon highly contentions ground if I were to attempt a discussion of these much-debated subjects. However, I believe I may be permitted to remark in passing, that no matter how marked may be the division of opinion upon the government's rightful dues in these respects, upon another phase of the question, there is a singular unanimity of opinion in Canada, and that is, that if the course of those who are opposed to the policy of the government has in any degree whatever contributed to the general prosperity, it is in a degree so minute as to be quite imperceptible.


Hugh Guthrie: I believe, Mr. Speaker, that it is a well recognized fact that there is a certain peculiar spirit of generosity which frequently pervades the mind of the victor in the hour of his victory, and I think the hon. members on this side of the House will be generous enough and candid enough to acknowledge the many, grave difficulties which involved their opponents and against which their opponents were compelled to contend, not only in the recent general election, but likewise in the general election of 1896. We will remember that in 1896 our opponents were a government battling against adversity and in 1900 they were an opposition battling against prosperity. While there was a marked similarity in the difficulties of the two situations, there was a marked dissimilarity in the conditions under which they were forced to contend. I am satisfied that neither of these difficult positions-neither that of 1896 nor that of 1900-was the result of deliberate choice, these were rather the result of what I might term the admixture of fault and of misfortune. It was largely fault In 1896, and it was largely misfortune in 1900 which compelled hon. gentlemen opposite to labour under those unfavourable conditions. At this distance of time we have probably grown more candid than we were immediately after the event and I think it will now be readily assented to on all hands, that if the prevailing commercial distress in Canada for two or three years prior to 1896 was not wholly the result, it was very largely the result of the misdirected efforts of the Conservative administration of that day. And though we may not as readily admit it to-day, I believe that in two or three years, when we have grown more candid, we will admit that the very marked prosperity in Canada to-day, if not entirely, is very largely the result of the well-directed efforts of the administration of this day. Of lion, members opposite one might be permitted to say that their difficulty as a government in 1898 was to excuse adversity, while their difficulty as an opposition in 1900 was to explain away prosperity : and in order to achieve this end with as little injury as possible to the credit of the government of 1896 and to allow as little credit as possible to the government of 1900, they boldly proclaimed to the people that these very wide-apart conditions of commerce in this country were not the result of the acts or omission of any government, but were entirely the result of the prevailing trade conditions throughout the world. Their argument in a reduced form was simply this, that depression throughout the world renders Canadian success impossible, and commercial prosperity throughout the world renders depression in this country impossible. Now, Sir, while that argument might be applied to some countries, it is, in my humble opinion in the case of Canada, a thoroughly fallacious and

perhaps pernicious one, and one not likely to inspire any very great confidence in the future of the country.
I do not offer these remarks, Sir, in any spirit of unkind criticism, nor with the idea of exciting discussion upon them; hut I oiler them more as a prelude to a statement which I would now venture to make. Whether it has arisen from the course of hon. gentlemen opposite, whether, perhaps, in some degree it may have arisen from the course of hon. gentlemen on this side of the House during their somewhat prolonged training as an opposition, or whether it arises entirely from other causes, there is in Canada an opinion of some prevalence which I think should be discouraged; that is, that trade conditions in this country are almost entirely dominated or controlled by trade conditions throughout the world-that the world's prosperity is necessary to ensure Canadian success, and that world-wide trade depression will involve this country in calamity as surely as night follows day. Now, Sir, I for one most emphatically dissent from a proposition involving such a wholesale admission that the trade conditions of this country are so entirely dependent upon foreign conditions. While it would be unreasonable to argue that we can pursue the even tenor of our way in peace and plenty, absolutely indifferent to or independent of external conditions, what I do maintain is this, that Canada should be far less dependent upon external conditions than almost any other nation in the world. Be the world's distress as marked as it may be, that is no conclusive reason why with reasonably progressive and able government, Canada should not at all times and under all circumstances enjoy a very fair measure of prosperity, and no period of prolonged or marked distress at all. I do not believe we shall ever go seriously behind the proud record which has been established in the last few years. Certain it is that without the very grossest mismanagement and incapacity, Canada will never be relegated to that humiliating, that melancholy condition through which Canadians made so gallant a struggle for two or three years prior to 1896.
I do not make these remarks in any spirit of idle boasting. I believe the position is well backed up by the facts. I feel that we occupy a position of superior advantage to that of other commercial nations, and superior advantage to that of our chief trade competitor, the United States. Hon. members know far better than I do the facts and reasons that go to prove the truth of this assertion. I can only mention a few of them, and discuss them most superficially.
In the first place, we are a very new and young country. National youth may involve some disabilities; but it has compensating advantages, and Canada's youth is by no
means the least of her advantages. We have an intelligent and educated population, and a population capable of great adaptability ; and that is a great thing in a country offering such a diversity of opportunity as Canada offers.
Then, Sir, a more important reason is that we have untold natural wealth. The natural wealth of this country is its reserve capital, a capital which has hardly yet been drawn upon at all-resources, not piled in impossible situations, not stored under impossible conditions, but for the most part ready for the hand of man. Take not only the fact that we have these resources, but consider the nature of the resources. Look at the natural products of the country, look at all the products of the country, if you will, and what will strike one who examines the trade reports is the very great proportion of our total trade which is made up of that class of commerce which the world deems necessaries, and the relatively small proportion of our trade which is made up of that class of commerce which the world calls luxuries. Older countries claiming greater refinement and larger riches, go into the production of luxuries to a far greater extent than a new country does; and in a moment of world-wide depression that country which produces luxuries is the country first to suffer, while the country which produces the prime necessaries of life, as Canada does in abundance, will be the last country in the world to feel the depression. There will never be a time, Sir, when the people do not want bread, meat, and the other food products which this country offers. There will never be a time when the commercial requirements of the age will not demand iron, steel, timber, fuel and the like articles of prime necessity which Canada can supply in abundance.
Then, Sir, as another reason why we occupy so essentially good a position, consider the natural advantages of the country. Take the great waterways extending from the very heart of the country to the seaboard; improved, it is true, by artificial means involving great expenditure, but now forming a reasonably complete system from the centre of the country to the Atlantic ocean. If there is one thing which the government of the day, and perhaps parliament, may take credit for, it is the manner in which they have viewed the question of transportation in recent years. I do not think anything has been done in recent years that has been more appreciated by the people of Canada than the wise expenditure which has taken place in bettering the transportation facilities of this country. The man who ten years ago would predict that raw fruit grown in Canada would be exhibited in Europe and carry off many of the leading prizes there, would have been looked upon as an idle dreamer: yet. Sir, in this first year of the new century, that is an accomplished fact; and that fact alone

opens up boundless possibilities for the future trade of this country.
These are some of the reasons why I claim that Canada occupies a position of pre-eminent advantage. I know that it may be said that all I have advanced may be advanced equally on behalf of our great trade competitor, the United States. It may be said that they have an intelligent people, great resources and great waterways, that they produce an abundance of the necessaries of life, and still that country does suffer from periods of marked depression- why not Canada ? Well, Sir, while a few years ago that might be an argument, almost a conclusive argument, against us, the relative position has since become changed and no longer can it be seriously advanced. There was, a few years ago, some degree of parallel, but we have reached a point when there is no longer any parallel between the two situations. We have now, I maintain, a position of far greater advantage than that enjoyed by the United States. It took us a long time to recognize that we had such a position and to appreciate it, but now that we have given due recognition to the fact, each succeeding year will magnify that advantage. Just so long as Great Britain continues to be the great commercial centre of the world, just so long as she continues the dominant factor in the money markets of the world, just so long as we find in her one of the great consuming, powers -the great publishing and distributing power in the world's commerce-and just so long as we maintain our present trade relations with the mother land, Canada is bound to enjoy a pre-eminent advantage over her chief trade competitor.
We have always been a part of the British Empire, relatively speaking, for a century and a half at least, we have been a part of that system, but the bond between the mother land and the colony has been, for the greater part, one of sentiment. It was one which afforded us sentimental gratification, it is true. We were delighted that we were British subjects, living under British rule, enjoying British institutions, but beyond that sentimental gratification, tiie bond was a very vague and visionary affair. Well, Mr. Speaker, we still enjoy that sentimental gratification and have increased it a hundredfold, but we have today besides a still stronger bond-the material bond of commercial advantage.
Now, if you will permit me I will for a moment go back a little to advert briefly to what many of us, myself included, looked upon as a sort of crisis in the affairs of this country. I refer to that period of time when the United States adopted towards Canada what many looked upon as a distinctly hostile tariff. I think it was in 1891 that the McKinley tariff was first put in force, and while I have no doubt that there is a uniform opinion in Canada to-day that the ideal trade condition both for


Hugh Guthrie: Canada and the United States would be a very large measure ol' reciprocal trade, there seems to be just as uniform an opinion, on tlm other side of the line, that the proper policy for that country is a high protective system. When the McKinley tariff was first put in force, there were many Canadians who considered that something like a staggering blow had been dealt to a large part of the commerce of this country. But, I do not think that, at this period of time, any one would say that the adoption of that high tariff was an evil unmixed with a large element of blessing. If it did nothing else, it made us more independent and put us on our resources and our mettle. Nevertheless, the fact remains that when that tariff did come into operation it seriously disorganized and disarranged a large portion of the trade of this country by cutting it off from the market where it had been profitably disposed of for many years. But our people, during that crisis in our history, showed their adaptability to circumstances and their readiness to meet new conditions. They said :	If we cannot send our horses and
barley and hay and other products to the United States, where we have been sending them for years, we will find new markets for them. There was then a Conservative government in power. In my humble opinion and belief, if ever an opportunity was offered in the history of this country for the display of some of those qualities of statesmanship, the possession of which that government was never tired of boasting and proclaiming to the country, that opportunity came to them shortly after the McKinley tariff went into operation in 1891. The whole cry of our people then was for new markets. The cry was a loud and prolonged one. But, whether due to the fact that the administration of that day turned an absolutely deaf ear to the appeal, or that they did not realize the necessities of the situation, or whether long years of power had rendered them careless and had imbued them with the idea that they had themselves become one of the fixed institutions of the country-whatever was the cause, certain it is they calmly rested on their oars, and year after year pursued the Micawber policy of ' waiting for something to turn up.' During all that time did the cry continue. Divine providence had done its part in giving us uniformly abundant harvests, but still the cry went up for new markets. In 1896 the elections came on, and that cry had its effect, and the government of that day was relieved from further duty and a new order of things established.
It was a bold stroke-and if we may judge by results it was a wise stroke taken by the incoming administration in the first few months of its tenure of office, when it adopted what has now become the settled trade policy of this country so far as the mother land is concerned. The administration seemed to cut away from all the old

moorings, and gave a preference to tlie mother country upon tlie principle of giving a little in order to gain a little, and the principle has worked well. I am free to say that I was one of those whose ignorance and inexperience did not enable them to see just what the effect of that movement was going to he. There were many others in the country like me, but I think I may claim credit to myself, that I have risen superior to many of those who thought with me, because now I do realize what some of them do not yet admit, how advantageously that policy has operated in our behalf. I submit that if any impartial man will take up the
the mother land has increased in the last two or three years, he cannot fail to come to the conclusion that the preference to the mother land has been a direct moving power in the increase of our export trade. I know it is said that the increase is largely in food products, and that there is no increase to any great extent in the ordinary manufacturing output of tlie country. But, we must not forget that the latter trade is as yet only in its infancy; and if we can compete with the United States in food products in the mother land, there is no reason why we cannot. with equal success, compete with them in other products, because we can meet them both in price and quality.
I know also that not very long ago it was held by some of the leading men of this country that the ideal position for Canada to occupy was that of a sort of vast emporium for the supply of raw material to the world. There were men who considered that that position would be infinitely more beneficial to us than any other. But that is an exploded idea to-day. All modern efforts, all modern energy, ijoint in the opposite direction.


Some hon. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.


Hugh Guthrie: I am glad to see hon. members opposite have at last come to agree with this side of the House. The opinion is now generally held that it is better for this country to export flour than wheat, lumber than logs, manufactured paper than pulp.


Some hon. MEMBERS: Hear, hear.


Hugh Guthrie: And with the advantages which the present administration has given for the sale and distribution of these articles in the mother land, our position of ! vantage will be more fully maintained in this country in the future than ever it was or could have been in the past. I trust that very soon it will be demonstrated in Canada that it is more profitable to export dressed beef than live animals. I believe that I may claim the honour of representing a portion of the great stock centre in the Dominion, the county of Wellington. The stock industry is not a ioeal industry in any sense of the
term. There is no industry in the country,
I believe, which is more general in its effects than stock-raising. I think the time has come when parliament might fairly be asked to take some action to put that trade upon a basis of a dead-meat trade rather than upon a basis of a live-animal trade, which it is as no\v pursued. It has been demonstrated conclusively in the United States that there is more money in the dressed-meat trade, notwithstanding the trilling difference in price between the two qualities in the British market. Under the system of slaughtering these animals here there are compensating advantages which more than make up for the little loss in price on the other side of the water. Canadians will get the employment and the wage; and besides, all those portions of the animal which, up to this time, have been looked upon in this country as merely refuse and offal, material of no value, when treated by modern processes, can be transformed into profitable commercial commodities. Besides, there is a vast saving in freight, whether you estimate it by cubic spa.ee or by actual weight. To demonstrate the point clearly, let me take the case of the hide. The hide now goes to the old country on the live animal. It is stripped by British labour. Many of these hides come back to our tanneries and are manufactured into leather ; and of these, a great proportion go back to the British market. They make three distinct trips across the Atlantic ocean, whereas one trip would suffice if the animals were slaughtered here. It is gratifying to know that the government of the province of Ontario is taking steps in this direction. And, as the | matter "is so general in its application, I think parliament might well be asked to do something to establish that trade in this country on a substantial basis.
Now, I have occupied fully the time I intended to occupy. But there is one subject touched upon in the Speech which I crave leave to refer to in a few sentences. Otherwise, I should be guilty of a most glaring omission. If there is one thing from which j we in Canada do not suffer, it is lack of pride. Canadians are a proud people-proud of their country and proud of their countrymen. We believe that the men who are bred in the northern half of the North Am-erical continent are second to no race of men in the world. We know that in the native Canadian you will find a stout heart in a strong body, surmounted by an intelligent head. We have known this for a long time ; but it has now been demonstrated to the whole world by the magnificent manner in which the Canadian soldiers acquitted themselves during the terrible conflict in South Africa. Their powers of endurance under most difficult circumstances, their valour and steadiness on the field of battle, their willingness and their intelligence have all been attested by officers high in the Imperial service. To say that Canada is proud of

these South African soldiers is to put it in a very mild way. Day after day, this whole country watched their career with critical eye ; and day after day we became prouder and more proud of these soldiers. When they embarked for South Africa, they took with them the honour of the country. It was pure and unspotted when. committed to their charge. Through all their difficulties, through all their trials and privations, they have maintained it unsullied and inviolate ; and on their return to this country, they have brought it back with them if possible more pure-certainly more beloved, more highly prized than ever it was before.
Mr. Speaker, this is the opening year of the new century. The census will be taken this year. It will not only be a numbering of the people, but it will likewise be a measure of our national wealth and progress. Canadians look forward with the utmost confidence to the story the census will have to tell. We know that this country has grown in the last few years. We know that it has grown to the north and to the east and to the west; and we are proud and thankful to know that the growth to the south of our international boundary line, which found so much favour a few years ago, has been stopped-we trust once and for ever. As between Canada and the United States, the movement of population is entirely satisfactory to this country. Surely, Sir, in this first year of the twentieth century, with all present conditions so satisfactory, without a cloud on the horizon of the future, Canadians may feel that they are within measurable distance of the realization of their dearest hope in seeing this country among the most splendid, most prosperous, most enlightened nations of the world.


Mr. CHARLES MARCXL (Bonaventure).: (Translation.) Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise to second the motion, moved in such felicitous language by my hon. colleague and friend, the hon. member for South Wellington (Mr. Guthrie). Sensible as I am of the honour that has been conferred upon me, still I regret that some other member, more qualified than I am to perform this duty properly, was not selected. No doubt, the choice thus made was prompted by friendship, and I here offer the right hon. gentleman my heartfelt thanks. Had I consulted but my own wishes, I-would have declined the great honour thus conferred upon me. But the electors of the constituency to whom I am indebted for the honour of sitting in this House have a right to expect from me the sacrifice of my own preferences to their interests. And it is in the name of the constituency which sent me here to represent them ; it is as the mouthpiece of my constituents, that I wish to address the House.
I am happy, Sir, to avail myself of this opportunity to tender you my warmest eon-Mr. GUTHRIE.
gratulations on the exalted position which you occupy as Speaker of this House, as also for the honour which has been conferred upon you when called to preside over our proceedings. That honour, which you fully deserved, reflects on the constituency of Rouville, which you so creditably represent here ; it reflects also on the province of Quebec, and on the whole French 'Canadian race.
It is not my intention to go at any length into all the matters dwelt upon with such marked ability and in such choice language by my hon. friend (Mr. Guthrie). But I shall content myself with playing a more modest part, by merely referring to the salient features of the speech from the Throne.
We have met, Sir, under exceptional circumstances. We have met here in the first days of a new century, at the beginning of a new reign and at the opening of a new parliament. We stand on the threshold of the reign of Edward VII., who succeeds the most illustrious woman the world ever produced. We, the members from the province of Quebec, cannot forget that it was under the rule of the illustrious Queen upon whom the grave has just closed that Great Britain put into execution the treaty which had been sealed by the blood of heroes upon the Plains of Abraham. We cannot forget that it was under her reign that constitutional government and the full exercise of our political rights were secured to us. We are grateful and proud that one of our fellow-countrymen should now occupy the position filled by the French governors of old. We are also grateful for being allowed the use of our mother-tongue, on the floor of this House and in Die administration of justice in this country, under the aegis of the British Crown. We are equally proud to see a man of our race and nationality occupying in the old Quebec basilica the pew occupied by the French governors under the old regime. And in return for those liberties, our fellow-countrymen have invariably showed their devotion and loyalty to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and they feel that they owe her a debt of eternal gratitude for the rank which Canada now occupies among the nations of the world. My hon. friend (Mr. Guthrie) has referred to the second paragraph of the speech from the Throne, in which allusion is made to the return of our soldiers from South Africa. A remarkable coincidence which deserves to be mentioned in this connection is that one of the last public acts of Her Majesty the Queen was an audience granted to a group of our fellow-countrymen, who were returning from South Africa with the laurels of victory. That matter of the contingents sent to South Africa has been exhaustively debated, and I think it is now a settled question. But I thank heaven that we, French Canadians, should have had at Paardeberg and upon other battlefields, representatives of our

nationality. I am proud that on that memorable occasion, as upon several other occasions, our fellow-countrymen gave such a good account of themselves and furnished a fresh proof of their loyalty to the British Crown. Some people, who are unacquainted with the province of Quebec, and are unaware that gratitude is one of the moral characteristics of our race, are still inquiring whether the French Canadians are really loyal to the British Crown. That is now a question of the past. French Canadians are as loyal to the British Crown as their fathers were in 1776 and 1812, when, in a supreme effort, they spared the Union Jack the fate meted out to the flag adorned with fleurs-de-lis, which had to cross the sea again. Our fellow-countrymen have upheld the British flag in this country. And as to us, the young generation of to-day, we mean also to uphold the same flag. Still, were I allowed to offer a suggestion, en passant, I would ask to simplify the Dominion flag. As it is now, it bears the arms of seven provinces. It is too complicated and too hard to popularize. I would suggest that the Canadian flag, instead of having the Canadian coat-of-arms on the red field, should bear simply a maple leaf, as a type and symbol of a united Canada.
We are given to understand in the address that Canada may be favoured, next summer, with the visit of the Duke of Cornwall and York. It is within the recollection of several members of this House with what enthusiasm the Prince of Wales in 1860 was received at Halifax, Quebec, Montreal and elsewhere. Canada will feel proud and happy, and, in a particular manner, the people of the province of Quebec, I have no doubt, will be delighted to tender the royal visitor just as enthusiastic and as loyal a reception as that accorded his illustrious father.
And in this connection, Sir, there is a point to which, for my own part, I wish to draw attention. And I think I am voicing the general opinion of the House, when I say that we should be glad that His Royal Highness, on his return trip from Australia, should be accompanied to Canada by the right hon. Prime Minister (Sir Wilfrid Laurier), who is expected to go and attend the celebration of the opening of the great Australian Commonwealth. Should the right hon. premier consent to visit that country, I need not say that he will just as creditably represent Canada upon that occasion and reflect as much honour on our country, as he has already done, when upon former occasions representing us in Great Britain, in France, and in the United States.
I shall not dwell at any length upon the visit of His Excellency the Governor General to Dawson City, as a review of all the facts connected with it would involve too lengthy developments.
Let it suffice to say that the country, in general, is satisfied with the organization of
the Yukon territory and with its administration by the government. Canadians, who but a few years ago, fancied that the Yukon was the limit of civilization, have fortunately been undeceived, as we are now told that a French Canadian, no longer satisfied with going to the Yukon, is about to undertake the task of hoisting the Union Jack on the North Pole. Such an achievement would certainly redound to the credit of Canada, provided it were undertaken with the energy, patience and necessary resources to make it a success.
Now, X come to another clause in the address, that which makes mention of the [DOT]Universal Exposition in Paris, and of the prominent place occupied by Canada. There is ample matter for congratulation in the excellent display made by Canada, and in the number of awards won by our country; and we have reason to believe that our natural resources will be better appreciated as they come to be better known. It was undoubtedly no small matter of wonderment to France to see such a display of natural products and such evidences of marked progress, coming from a country referred to by Voltaire in the last century, as ' a few acres of snow.' For the triumph which has been achieved in Paris we are indebted to the hon. Minister of Public Works (Mr. Tarte) and the hon. Minister of Agriculture (Mr. Fisher), who have spared no efforts to make our exhibit a success.. It is gratifying to know that one of the results of that great industrial competition will be the removal of such obstacles as now bar the way to the full development of our trade with France. We hope in the near future to see that commercial intercourse increase by leaps and bounds.
The next subject touched upon in the address is the improvement of the St. Lawrence route, that great thoroughfare of our country. If Canada wishes to successfully compete with the United States, on the peaceful ground of trade, there is no other way open to us but in improving more and more the St. Lawrence route, and making it the great thoroughfare Providence intended it to be. It is gratifying for the country to know that the hon. Minister of Public Works (Mr. Tarte) is devoting all his energies to the achievement of that task. Much has already been done, but much remains to be done. The St. Lawrence route is at present threatened so far as the insurance rates are concerned, and attempts are being made to deprive it of the natural advantages bestowed upon it by Providence. I am confident that the government will spare no efforts to secure to that route the control and supremacy it has a natural right to.
In a short paragraph of the speech, reference is made in a very modest way to the increase in the general volume of trade and revenue. True, there was no necessity for the government to expatiate on the position of the country. For, no man can plead



Ignorance of the present state of prosperity of Canada, and no one is ignorant of it but the man who wilfully closes his eyes to the light. That prosperity is so manifest from the Atlantic to the Pacific that no man in his sober senses would dare deny it.
We are promised new legislation on various matters, and among other measures which will be brought down is one for the better supervision of the export trade in food products. The hon. member for South Wellington (Mr. Guthrie) has shown with his wonted eloquence that there was room for improvement in that direction.
The speech from the Throne further alludes to the post office, and here I may say that in the county which I represent, the mail service has undergone substantial improvements, as it has, no doubt, in all other parts of the country.
No man, I am sure, will begrudge the hon. Postmaster General (Mr. Mulock) the praise he is entitled to for the creditable way in which he has administered his department these four years past.
The present position of Canada is excellent. Since the right hon. Prime Minister and his colleagues have been called to the head of affairs, truly astonishing results have been achieved. In the first place among those achievements let me mention religious peace and harmony restored to the country. We have undertaken the task of harmonizing the different classes and nationalities in this country, and of fostering those common sentiments and aspirations which go to the building of a great nation, and we have succeeded therein. Within the last five years, our trade has increased by leaps and bounds; and the growth of affairs has been simply phenomenal, and to-day Canada stands in the eyes of the world, in the front rank. If we only go on progressing at the same rate for the next twenty-five years, those among us who will then be spared will witness a wonderful growth of the country. We are on the high road of prosperity and let us hope that nothing will impede our course.
I now wish to conclude my remarks in the language of the majority of this House. As I have the honour of representing here a constituency one-third of whose electors are English-speaking, I think it proper to windup my speech in English, so as to be understood by the majority of this House.
Mr. Speaker, representing as I do the county of Bonaventure, one-third of whose population is English-speaking, I think it fit and proper to conclude my remarks in the language of the majority of the hon. members of this House. I was desirous to say a few words in the English language, but I was also anxious to keep up the tradition that has prevailed in this House, and therefore, I began my remarks in the French language. We have met, Sir, under exceptional circumstances. The death of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the accession


Charles Marcil: of her son, and the beginning of a new reign with the beginning of a new century, synchronising with the opening of a new parliament-all these things, Sir, are of a nature to break the routine of ordinary openings of parliament. I am glad to be able to declare on the floor of this House that in no part of this Dominion was there more heartfelt sorrow, more genuine grief, felt at the death of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, than among the French-speaking people of the province of Quebec. And, Sir, the reason is plain. The French Canadians of the province of Quebec and their fathers saw realized under the reign of Her Majesty and put into execution the treaty which had been sealed by the blood of heroes upon the Plains of Abraham. It was under the reign of Her Majesty the Queen that constitutional government was secured to Canada ; it was under her reign that constitutional government was developed, that confederation was brought about, and that justice was extended to all classes and to all nationalities. French Canadians are among the first to honour her memory, and to be grateful to her for having been to some extent instrumental in bringing about the happy condition of things which now exists in this country.
Sir, I represent a county where, I believe, the race problem has been solved. This may seem somewhat extraordinary to some of the hon. members of this House. The county of Bonaventure adjoins the province of New Brunswick ; it is peopled by Acadians, by descendants of the United Empire Loyalists, by Irishmen, Scotchmen and Frenchmen. The majority of the people speak both languages. I have gone through three election campaigns in that county, and I never heard the race cry raised in any shape or form. One of my predecessors in the representation of that county, and one who will be remembered by some of the older members of this House, was the late lamented Mr. Fauvel, a French Huguenot, who represented the county of Bonaventure by the almost unanimous will of the people of all classes and of all nationalities. They have elected me, a French Canadian, to the House of Commons, and they have sent an Englishspeaking citizen to the legislature in Quebec. Those, Sir, are conditions which I should like to see prevail throughout this Dominion. We are now upon the threshold of a new century. If I were to venture to address a word of counsel to the present generation of Canadians who have taken no part in the strife and discord of former times, and who, I know, have no other desire but to see this country happy and prosperous, I would ask them, Mr. Speaker, to pledge themselves now, at the beginning of this parliament, to do their utmost to bring about good-will and a better feeling among all classes of our people. I would like, Mr. Speaker, to appeal to every friend of Bri-

tain in this House, and to every friend of j Canada, to imitate the example of our departed sovereign, who was to a large degree instrumental in cementing together the various parts of the empire. I would appeal to those friends of Britain and to those friends of Canada to lay aside past dissensions, and to join hand in hand in building up on this continent a great and prosperous nation. Many of our dissensions in Canada have had their origin in Europe, dissensions which have existed for centuries between France and England ; and 1 think I may say that we ourselves have done not a little during the reign of Queen Victoria to bring about a better understanding between France and England. After France and England had been fighting under Bonaparte for nearly twenty years in various parts of Europe, she through her ministers, secured an alliance between England and France, and for the first time' we saw the cross of St. George and the tri-colour of France floating side by side in the battlefields of the Crimea. Sir, this is a lesson in itself which should be an example to us in this House, which should be an example to every true lover of Canada.
There has been some talk of difficulty between France and England, and there will probably be more ; but let us hope that the dissensions of Europe will be confined to Europe so far as we are concerned. We French Canadians are descendants of France, it is true, but France to us is no more than a remembrance. We are children of the soil of Canada ; we have never known any other country than this ; this is the country to which we are attached, this is the country in which our fathers lie sleeping, and this is the country in which we ourselves shall sleep.
Mr. Speaker, Her Majesty the Queen, but a little more than a year before her death, performed an act which had a deep meaning, and at a moment which rendered it all the more significant. On a stormy night the British ship, the Drummond Castle, was shipwrecked upon the rocks in the British channel, off the coast of Brittany. A gun was fired, the only gun, I hope, that will ever be fired between France and England. The alarm was given, the French peasants rushed forward to the rescue of the British people who were being shipwrecked in that dark night, saving those who could be saved, and burying those on the morrow who had to be buried. The Queen covered the breasts of those poor peasants with medals which are worn to-day in Brittany in remembrance of her name and of her active mercy. Sir, let us all be imbued with that spirit in Canada, and for my part I ask for no greater honour than this, that later on, if I live long enough, I may he able to tell my children that X first sat in the parliament of Canada which became historical as the parliament of peacemakers.
2i


Mr. B. L. BOUDEN (Halifax).: Mr. Speaker, I have to congratulate most heartily both the mover (Mr. Guthrie) and the seconder (Mr. Marcil) on the very excellent manner in which they have addressed the House on this occasion. I was not able to follow as well as I could have desired the portion of the address of the seconder, which was given in his own beautiful language; but if X may judge of that by what he spoke in my own language, I am sure I cannot compliment him too highly on the sentiments which he expressed and the manner in which he expressed them. So far as the race problem, to which he has referred, is concerned, I may say to him, that in the province from which I come, that race problem has been a matter of the past for years. We never even think of it to mention it, and I trust with him that it will become so much a thing of the past in Canada that it will not be necessary even for any hon. gentleman, rising in this House, to suggest that there is such a thing in Canada as a race problem, if there be one to-day. With respect to what has been very eloquently said by the hon. mover of this address, I desire also to congratulate him particularly, because he is, as I understand, a member of the profession to which I have the honour to belong. His speech to-day showed a great grasp of public matters, and I am sure that he, as well as the seconder of the address, will be a very great addition to the debating power of this House. I cannot altogether agree with some of the things which the mover said, and he did not make some of his points altogether clear to me, but possibly I may learn his views more fully at some future stage of this session. He referred to the fact that prosperity dawned upon this country shortly after the present administration came into power. It was a striking tribute to this administration, that not only did prosperity dawn, but that it should have dawned so shortly after this administration came into power, and it is a still more striking tribute to this administration, although the hon. gentleman did not dwell upon it, that the advent of this administration into power brought prosperity to all the world. Of course, I do not know that all hon. gentlemen on the other side of the House are in accord with the views which were expressed by the hon. gentleman in respect to that. There is a gentleman sitting in this House, a gentleman who has held an honoured position in this House for a great many years, and who has been recognized'as a very high authority in trade matters. Possibly it may be that there is no hon. gentleman on the other side of the House who is better qualified to speak as to the causes of that prosperity than the hon. gentleman to whom I refer, the hon. member for North Norfolk (Mr. Charlton). That hon. gentleman, in an address which he lately placed before this country, did

not seem to take exactly the view which the hon. member for South Wellington took in the remarks which he so forcibly placed before the House. The view of the hon. member for North Norfolk was this, and possibly there may be some small modicum of truth as well as of common sense In the view which he expressed :
The government was fortunate In assuming office just at the beginning of a period of prosperity, which not only applies to us, but to all commercial nations, and which it is well to realize has been due to the blessings of Providence, and to causes beyond the control of the Canadian government.
I do not know that I have anything to suggest in answer to what the hon. gentleman has said, beyond the words which have fallen so aptly from the hon. member for North Norfolk in regard to that matter. The hon. gentleman also referred to some opportunity which had fallen to the lot of the Conservative party when in power, and of which that party had not seen fit to avail itself. I understood him to rejoice that the present administration had taken some step which has corrected the mistake of the late administration, and has resulted in a marked increase of our trade with the mother country. I did not clearly gather from the hon. gentleman just what step of the present administration he referred to. Possibly when the right hon. gentleman (Sir Wilfrid Laurier) comes to deal with this matter he may be able to supply that omission. As a matter of fact, we know very well what the policy of this government has been with respect to that, and we know what result, if it can be called a result, that policy has produced. If it be possible for this administration to so control trade matters as the hon. gentleman would have us think, how does it happen that this administration has been so remiss in its duty as to permit the imports of this country from Great Britain to rise from $33,000,000 to no more than $37,000,000 in the three years they have been in power, while during the same peridd the imports from the United States rose from $59,000,000 to $93,000,000 ? If these are matters which can be effectively dealt with by measures placed before the House, by Acts of the parliament of Canada, and if it be true that these are altogether independent of trade conditions throughout the world, it strikes me that the administration of this country is highly remiss in not having corrected that most unfortunate condition of affairs during the past few years.
Now, my hon. friend spoke also of the misfortune of the Liberal-Conservative party in struggling against prosperity in" 1900. My hon. friend will permit me to say that the Liberal-Conservative party has no record of struggling against prosperity in this country. The Liberal-Conservative party, from 1896 down to the present time, Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).
has been prepared to concede, and all those who have been qualified to speak for it have always conceded, the prosperity of this country and have been thankful for it. It is true that the Conservative party has taken the ground that the prosperity is not due to any change of administration. It is true that the Conservative party has taken the ground, as it still takes the ground, that the prosperity may in no small measure be due to the policy which was advocated through good report and through evil report, and was maintained by the Liberal-Conservative party for eighteen years. I would remark, in passing, with respect to the depression in trade matters, which was referred to by my hon. friend, that with what he said in regard to the resources of Canada, and the possibility of Canada facing a depression more successfully than other portions of the world, I am inclined to agree, in some measure at least, but I desire to remind him and the House of what, I think, he has forgotten, that during the administration of the great party which I have the honour to lead in this House, a depression which prevailed throughout all the world was felt by Canada much less than by any other portion of the world, and much less certainly than by the great country to the south of us, although that country may claim to have resources as great, and possibly more varied, than even the great and varied resources of Canada.
Now, with respect to the other remarks which were so eloquently made by my hon. friend, I do not know that I need refer to them, at any length at least. It has been claimed by the right hon. gentleman, I think, who leads the government, that this is a business administration. I shall endeavour to claim for the opposition in this House that we shall be a business opposition, and, therefore, I do not propose to discuss, except so far as necessary, matters which have been referred to in the speech. With respect to one matter, I desire to say a word or two, and that is a matter which has been referred to so eloquently by the hon. member for South Wellington. I mean the part which has been taken by our Canadian citizen soldiers in fighting the battles of the empire beyond the seas. I believe, Sir, that Canada has every right to be proud of the way in which its men have acquitted themselves. We knew when they left us that they would be brave and true, and we hoped that they would be fortunate. They have fulfilled all these conditions. The opportunity came to them more than once in South Africa, and the opportunity never came to them when they were found wanting. They received the commendation of their superior officers on every occasion on which they were called upon to play a prominent part, and it is well not only for Canada, but for the world to know what Canada and the outlying nations of the empire are capable of doing in that respect.

I would especially like to refer In this connection to the welcome which the Canadian contingents received upon their arrival in my native city of Halifax. It was a day which will long be remembered by those who were in Halifax on that occasion, and ' I listened with great pleasure to Lt.-Col Pelletier, a compatriot to the hon. seconder of the Address (Mr. Marcil), who as chief in command of the first contingent returned thanks for the reception which was tendered to his regiment. Let me say* further, Sir, that Canada is bound to see that those who fought for her and for the empire, and who because of wounds or disease are unable to earn a livelihood, are not left forgotten and unprotected. I regret that some mention was not made of this matter in the Speech from the Throne, and I trust that this omission was rather by inadvertence than by intent. I do not believe that the government of Canada intend to neglect to deal with this matter, especially in view of' the fact that the hon. the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Sir Richard Cartwright) used these words in the House last session :
I beg to tell that hon. gentleman that when Canada sends her sons to the front, Canada becomes responsible, and will know how to redeem that responsibility to the widows and the orphans of the brave men who may fall in that struggle.
We do uot propose to shift that duty on to the shoulders of any insurance company, and I may remind the House that with the full concurrence of his Council, my right hon. friend ward and care of every honest-minded Canadian.
Further on the hon. gentleman (Sir Richard Cartwright) said :
Sir, I have no fear that the Canadian people will shrink from that duty. I say that the government have chosen the right way, and I say again that the brave men in the^ front may have no fear if it should please Providence that they should remain on the soil of South Africa, that their widows and little ones will not be the wards and the care of the state, and the ward and care of every honest-minded Canadian. I
I have quoted this language because it expresses in more suitable terms than I could do, the views I entertain in regard to this subject, and I trust that the right hon. gentleman may be able to assure the House that the government will deal with this question before the session is over. As to the volunteers who have returned and who are able in some measure to perform the duties of life but who are handicapped in the struggle of life by reason of wounds or disease, provision should be made for them also. Again, the families of those who have fallen have in many cases been deprived of their bread winners, and while it is true that in some cases a provision has been made through the insurance which Sir Charles Tupper announced to the House last year,


Robert Laird Borden: yet that does not cover all the necessity and it is most desirable that the government should make some further provision. \
I regret also that no mention was made in the Speech from the Throne of the present position of negotiations-if any negotiations are pending-with respect to the fast Atlantic service. Upon that question both parties in parliament are united. The government undertook to deal with it in 1897 and we had reports from the hon. Minister of Trade and Commerce, from the hon. member for Quebec (Mr. Dobell, and from the right hon. gentleman during the session of 1897 and 1898, but since 1898 we have heard very little about the fast Atlantic service. The government have practically confessed that up to the present time their efforts have been an utter failure, but that is no reason why negotiations should terminate altogether, and so I trust that the Prime Minister will be able to assure us that the matter is still engaging the attention of the government.
Another subject which is not referred to in the Speech from the Throne is the present position of the negotiations which were entered into with the great republic to the south. About two years ago the Joint High Commission met and after several adjournments it finally, some eighteen months ago, ceased further negotiations and the House and the country are entirely in the dark now as to whether that commission proposes to resume, or whether it has absolutely abandoned its functions. It is the right of the House and the country to know from the right hon. gentleman to-day whether or not these negotiations are likely to be resumed at an early date. If they are not to be resumed we should like to know in what position is the Alaskan boundary question. It was intimated that that question stood in the way of adjustment, and if the question is to be dealt with (as was suggested on one occasion) apart from the Joint High Commission altogether, we would like to know what the policy of the government is with regard to that question so far as they are able to control it.
As to the proposed visit of the Duke of Cornwall and York to Canada, I may say, Mr. Speaker, that we on this side of the House shall hail it with loyalty and devotion. The Duke of Cornwall and York is no stranger in my own province, for when he was serving as midshipman in the Royal Navy he spent several months in the city of Halifax and many pleasant recollections of him remain in that city. There is no part of Canada where he will be hailed more warmly and loyally than in that city by the sea. I shall not, Mr. Speaker, trespass on the time of the House further than to express the hope that the right hon. the Prime Minister will give us such information on the matters which I have referred

to, as lie thinks'it is proper for the House to receive.


The PRIME MINISTER (Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier).: Mr. Speaker, it is to me more than the usual pleasure


Robert Laird Borden: If the right hon. gentleman will permit me, I understood that the hon. member for Dundas (Mr. Broder) desires to say one word.


Mr. ANDREW BRODER (Dundas).: Mr. Speaker, I wish to refer to a matter which I would be considered derelict in my duty if I failed to refer to in the discussion on the address in reply to the speech from the Throne. Without saying anything with regard to the general treatment which the Canadian government may extend to the volunteers who went from Canada to serve in South Africa, and to the families of the men who lost their lives there, I wish to refer particularly- to the case of Trooper Mulloy, the blind trooper. I may say that he is a native of my county, that he grew up there, that his friends reside there, and I deem it my duty to urge his case upon the consideration of the government. I think we have precedents following the rebellion of 1885, when grants were made to individuals whose circumstances were peculiar; and I believe the country will endorse my suggestion that something ought to be done for this young man. There is no doubt that the personal efforts and sacrifices made by the young man who went to South Africa have reflected glory on every Canadian citizen, and I believe the Canadian government and the Canadian people will willingly extend to those young men the treatment they deserve. There are circumstances connected with this young man's case which will justify the government in doing something for him on a basis altogether different from that on which others may be treated;1 and I only wish to bring his case to the attention of the right hon. leader of the government so that it may not be overlooked.


The PRIME MINISTER.: Mr. Speaker, it is to me more than the usual pleasure of such an occasion to extend my hearty congratulations to the hon. gentlemen who have placed in your hands the motion now before us. My hon. friend from the south riding of Wellington (Mr. Guthrie), has once more exemplified on the floor of this House to-day the truth of the saying that blood will tell. The older members of this House perhaps remember that once upon a time, some twenty-four years ago, the reply to the speech from the Throne was moved in this House by a gentleman of the name of Guthrie, who also represented the south riding of Wellington, and who, in the course of a too short parliamentary career, left on this House a deep impression for ability and character-an impression which, after the lapse of twenty years, is renewed in this Mr. BORDEN (Halifax).
House by a son of his, who shows that he is indeed a true chip of the old block.
With regard to my hon. friend from Bona-venture (Mr. Marcil), those who have had the pleasure of his acquaintance in his native province were aware that he was an eminent member of an eminent profession. He has been a journalist all his life. But they were aware also that he was perhaps still more gifted as an orator than as a writer; and the address which he has delivered to us to-day is a revelation to those who did not know him, while to those who had the pleasure of his acquaintance it is a fulfilment of everything they anticipated from him.
My hon. friend the leader of the opposition has paid to those two hon. gentlemen a due meed of praise, and in this, I beg to say, that I agree entirely with everything he said.
Let me say in passing that whilst my hon. friend was paying to the mover and seconder of the address the very just praise they deserve, he also paid a well-deserved compliment to the province which he has the honour to represent in this House, the province of Nova Scotia, when he stated that the racial problem no longer existed in that province. It is a pleasure to me to bear witness to the good feeling which prevails in the province of Nova Scotia; and if there is any spot in Canada where you never hear the inquiry what a man's creed or race may be, it is in that blessed province. In that respect Nova Scotia is a worthy example to all the other provinces of the Dominion.
I certainly have no fault to find with the manner in which my hon. friend has addressed the House on this occasion. That he was not altogether pleased with the remarks of my hon. friend the mover of the address is not perhaps a matter of surprise. My hon. friend, however, failed to understand the reference and the points which were made by the mover of the address. If my hon. friend was so unfortunate, I am sure he did not do himself justice. He did not exercise his well known legal acumen, for the meaning of those references was not far to seek. Eor instance, my hon. friend the leader of the opposition did not know what my hbn. friend the mover of the address meant when he said that in 1891 nothing had been done by the late government to remedy the condition of things which then existed, and that afterwards, when the new administration came into office, it was prompt to take advantage of the situation and apply a remedy. My hon. friend the leader of the opposition said that he did not understand what had been done by the administration. Well, Sir, the answer is very obvious. Whereas in 1891 the late administration did nothing at all, when our trade was taken away from us by the legislation of the United States Congress in the McKinley Bill, in 1897 the present administration were not slow, when they found that the American market was closed to us, to open a new

market in Great Britain. That is the answer.
Some lion. MEMBERS. Oh, oh.
The FlilME MINISTER. I see that my hon. friends on the other side do not yet appreciate the answer. Well, Sir, I would like to hear hon. gentlemen opposite say whether they are in favour of, or against the preferential tariff. That is the question I would like them to answer at this moment. We have recently gone through a very severe campaign in which, so far as I know, everything was discussed by hon. gentlemen opposite; but when they came to discuss the question of the preferential tariff, they were neither for nor against it.


Mr. MACLEAN.: I am against a onesided one.


The PRIME MINISTER.: There is one man on that side of the House who is against it. I understand that my kpn. friend had some aspirations for the leadership, and perhaps that is the reason why he is not in favour of the preferential tariff. Perhaps his views were not acceptable to his followers. He has given his explanation why he is sitting in the particular seat he now occupies.
My hon. friend the leader of the opposition also referred to some opinions which had been expressed by the hon. member for North Norfolk (Mr. Charlton), as to the causes of the prosperity of this country. My hon. friend from North Norfolk is able at all times to take care of himself, and it would not do for me to offer any explanation of his words. I rely upon him. to do so at the proper time. But while my hon. friend was able to quote the opinion expressed by my hon. friend from North Norfolk, he did not favour the House with any opinion of his own on this question; and I may say that we would be more interested to know the opinion of my hon. friend than the opinion of my hon. friend from North Norfolk since he has expressed it. However, we are at the opening of the session, and perhaps at some other time my hon. friend will take the House into his confidence, and will tell us. as frankly as my hon. friend from East York has done, what he thinks of the preferential tariff. My hon. friend from East York, a stalwart of the stalwarts, says ; ' I am against the preferential tariff.'
will remember that there never was a day when we were not challenged to bring on the elections. We were dared to dissolve parliament, we were told that we had lost the confidence of the country and that as soon as we would dissolve the House and appeal to the country we would be swept out of existence. Well we took these gentlemen at their word, parliament was dissolved, the day of the battle came, but the result was far different from what these hon. gentlemen expected. I shall not speak on that point at any length, but I may be permitted to quote the language which the late Mr. Disraeli used on a somewhat similar occasion. He was speaking of the position of the government of Lord Derby, not after a general election, but after a vote of parliament, and this is how he characterized it:
It was like a convulsion of nature rather than anv ordinary transaction of human life. I can only liken it to one of those earthquakes which take place in Calabria or Peru. There was a rumbling murmur, a groan, a shriek, a sound of distant thunder. No one knew whether it came from the top or the bottom of the House. There was a rent, a Assure in the ground, and hen a village disappeared; then a tall tower oppled down; and the whole opposition benches

This is a true picture of the last election, but as my hon. friend did not allude to it,
I will not discuss it any further.
My hon. friend wanted to have information on some three or four different matters. First of all he wanted to know the intention of the government with regard to pensions to the wounded soldiers who were disabled in South Africa, and afterwards rr.y hon. friend from Dundas (Mr. Broder) wanted to know what would be done for one of those heroes in particular. My hon. friend the leader of the. opposition seemed to think that the omission to refer to this matter in the speech from the Throne was due to inadvertence. No, Sir, it was an intended omission, and this is the reason. We do not know exactly in what position we stand at present with regard to the imperial authorities in this matter. My hon. friend knows that in the despatch sent last October, and on which we acted, the British authorities announced that they themselves -would deal with this subject, and I would again call the attention of my hon. friend to that despatch in which he will find his answer. It went on


William Findlay Maclean: No, no-a one-sided preferential tariff.


The PRIME MINISTER.: There are some things which my hon. friend the leader of the opposition might have discussed which he did not discuss. My hon. friend never referred, for instance, to the late elections; and in this respect his speech of this afternoon is in marked contrast to the speeches which we heard during the last session and the previous session. Why, during last session, everybody who was in this House
to say :
The condition of pay, pensions, transport, &c.: Whilst noting the generous offer of the government of New Zealand to furnish pay in addition to transport, Lord Lansdowne is of opinion that the same conditions should be applied in the ease of each colony, namely, every colonial force should be landed at the port of debarkation in South Africa fully equipped at the cost of the colonial government or other body furnishing the force; the Imperial government to provide from that date pay at Imperial rates, supplies and ammunition, and to defray the cost of trans-

port back to the colony when the services of the force are no longer required. Wound pensions and compassionate allowances to be paid py the Imperial government at Imperial rates.
Now, it is perhaps doubtful if the pensions which will be paid by the Imperial government will be adequate to meet the views entertained by the Canadian government, but it is meet and proper that we should know exactly where we stand with regard to the action to be taken by the Imperial authorities ; and then if in our opinion-and I may say that I doubt, tak-Cling the measure of pensions on the other ;side, if the pensions to be granted by the / Imperial authorities will be adequate, in I our view, to what should be done to those who have risked their lives in South Africa -if in our view the pensions to be granted I by the Imperial authorities are not suffi-I cient, according to what I might call the Canadian standard, I have no doubt that this parliament will be well disposed to supplement them by an extra grant. That is the reason why no mention was made of ^this. in the speech from the. Throne.
My lion. friend wanted information upon the fast Atlantic service. I am sorry to say that upon that subject I have none to give. The conditions are not yet so favourable in England that we can undertake to have that service at an early day. But in all probability, as the war is now drawing to a close, normal conditions of trade will be resumed, and then the time will be appropriate to take up that question of a fast Atlantic service, to which both parties in this country are committed.
With regard to the Joint High Commission, the condition is just the same to-day as when we last separated. That commission has not been dissolved, it is still in existence, and we intend at the earliest possible moment to resume negotiations. But my hon. friend is aware that the conditions were not favourable to the resumption of negotiations when we separated. First of all, we had the general election on hand ourselves, and there was also one on the other side of the line, and pending the result. it was impossible to resume negotiations. But when this session has closed and the American Congress has terminated its sittings, I have no reason to doubt that we shall be able to resume negotiations and bring them, I hope, to a satisfactory conclusion.
I shall not touch upon all the topics which have been discussed, for instance, the Alaskan boundary, concerning which I am sorry to say I have no hope of arriving at a settlement further than I had on the former occasion. The Americans have taken such an attitude and such a course, and we have also taken such an attitude, that it seems almost impossible to reconcile the two opposite views. If I were not a member of the commission myself. I would feel more inclined to speak freely, but without ven-


Sir WILFRID LAURIER.: turing to criticise the position taken by the American commissioners, I may say that we can hope that if we cannot reach an honourable settlement of the question between ourselves, we may at least effect an honourable compromise. Between two such countries as the United States on the one hand and Canada and Great Britain on the other, I am sure there is no difficulty that cannot be settled by an honourable compromise or arbitration. If we cannot ourselves arrive at an agreement, certainly we can agree to call in a third party, a friendly power, to arbitrate. In the meantime, we have taken a step which was important to take in a matter of great moment. At any moment, there might be discoveries of gold in that district, and we know from the character of the men who risked their lives in the search for gold, that unless we knew exactly where the gold might be found, whether in the territory of Canada or the United States, great complications might result unless there was a settled boundary. Consequently we have agreed on a provisional boundary, which will serve as a boundary so long as the question remains unsettled, and that provisional boundary has been settled by the geographers' of the two countries. In a short time I will be able to lay on the table the report on the commission. But for the present we have a provisional boundary, by which the two countries have agreed to abide, and according to which the rights of the two countries are to be settled in the meantime.


Robert Laird Borden: Is the temporary boundary in the nature of a compromise between the two boundaries which are respectfully contended for, or is it nearer the one than the other ?


The PRIME MINISTER.: It is in the nature of a compromise between the respective positions taken by the two parties. But, I may say, this was not the idea which inspired us when we agreed to lay out the boundary on the ground. Perhaps the main idea which we had in our mind and which guided us was to fix the boundary at a place where it would be more convenient for the trade on the Dalton trail and also on the Lynn canal, which is the part most frequented. I think I have answered all the questions put to me by my hon. friends. Following the example of the hon. leader of the opposition (Mr. Borden), I shall not enter into any contentious matter now. I may say that I shall be glad, when the hon. gentleman exposes the policy of his party, to consider it more critically. At the present time I have only to say to hon. gentlemen opposite in conclusion, that our policy will be the same as for the last four years-a policy which received such ample endorsation by the people of Canada on the 7th of November.
Motion (Mr. Guthrie) agreed to.


The PRIME MINISTER moved:: That the said address be engrossed and to be presented to His Excellency the Governor General by such members of the House as are of the hon. the Privy Council.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

The PRIME MINISTER (Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier) moved :: That Peter Macdonald, Esquire, member representing the electoral district of East Huron, be appointed Chairman of Committees of the Whole House.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

The MINISTER OF FINANCE (Hon. Mr. Fielding) moved :: That this House will, to-morrow, resolve itself into a committee to consider of a Supply to be granted to His Majesty.


Robert Laird Borden: I would like to ask the Minister of Finance (Hon. Mr. Fielding) when he expects to bring the estimates down ?


The MINISTER OF FINANCE.: Very shortly.


Robert Laird Borden: And may I ask when we are to expect the Auditor General's Report ?


The MINISTER OF FINANCE.: I am afraid I shall have to make further inquiry on that point. We are pressing it forward by all possible means, but at my last inquiry the document was not complete. I shall be able to tell my hon. friend (Mr. Borden) at the next sitting.


Robert Laird Borden: With the indulgence of the House, I would like to ask whether the hon. gentleman (Hon. Mr. Fielding) suggests that we should go into supply before the Auditor General's Report is down. I think it would be very inconvenient to do so-I can hardly see, at present, how it will be possible to do so. Perhaps the hon. gentleman will be able to give us to-morrow the date when we may expect the Auditor General's Report.


The MINISTER OF FINANCE.: I will do my best to give the hon. gentleman a statement to-morrow. Meantime, the formal steps with respect to supply, taken at the first of the session, are being taken ; and, within a day or two, we will let the hon. gentleman know what further steps will be taken.


Mr. N. CLARKE WALLACE (West York).: I would like to ask the Prime Minister (the Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier) in what
state the departmental reports are. The lateness of these reports last year delayed the business of the House for months. It is inconvenient, in fact it is impossible, to properly discuss the estimates and to reach conclusions with regard to the matters that come before us, until we have these reports. If these reports come before the House at an early day, it will be a gratification to us on this side to assist the government to put through the business of the House as promptly as possible.


The MINISTER OF FINANCE.: My hon. friend (Mr. Wallace) will find no cause of complaint on that score.
Motion (Hon. Mr. Fielding) agreed to.



WAYS AND MEANS.

["The hon. gentleman is just as well aware as I am that Mr. FIELDING.\nthe report of the Auditor General is not at all under the control of the government. The government is not at all answerable for the delay of the Auditor General's Report. With regard to the report of the Minister of Customs, the House I am sure will learn with regret that the Minister of Customs has been called away from Ottawa by sickness in his family. But he will be here to-morrow, I hope.\nOn motion of the Prime Minister, the House adjourned at 5.15 p.m.", 'Tuesday, February 12, 1901.']
The MINISTER OF FINANCE (Hon. Mr. Fielding) moved:: That this House will, to-morrow, resolve itself into a committee to consider of the Ways and Means for raising a Supply to be granted to His Majesty.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

[Stage Direction]
The MINISTER OF FINANCE (Hon. Mr. Fielding) presented a Message from His Excellency the Governor General.
Mr. SPEAKER read the Message, as follows:-
Minto.
The Governor General transmits to the House of Commons, estimates of sums required for the service of the Dominion for the year ending June 30, 1902, and in accordance with the provisions of the British North America Act, 1867, the Governor General recommends these estimates to the House of Commons.
Government House,
Ottawa, February 11, 1901.
The MINISTER OF FINANCE moved :: That the Message of His Excellency and the estimates be referred to the Committee of Supply.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

[Stage Direction]
The public accounts for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900.-Hon. Mr. Fielding.
The report of the Post Office Department for the year ending June 30, 1900.-Hon. Mr. Mulock.
The report of the Department of the Interior for the year ending June 30, 1900.- Hon. Mr. Sifton.
The report of the Department of Indian Affairs for the year ending June 30, 1900, -Hon. Mr. Sifton.
[Stage Direction]
The report of the Department of Agriculture for the year ending October 31, 1900.- Hon. Mr. Fisher.
The report of the Department of Public Works for the year ending June 30, 1900.- Hon. Mr. Tarte.
The report of the Department of Inland Eevenue for the year ending June 30, 1900. -Hon. Mr. Bernier.
Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries for the year ending June 30, 1900. -Hon. Mr. Fielding, for Sir Louis Davies.
Statement of all bonds or securities entered in the Department of the Secretary of State of Canada since last return, February 6, 1900.-Rt. Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
Mr. J. CLANCY (Bothwell).: After this little theatrical display perhaps we may receive some information as to when the Auditor General's Report will be down. The most important returns are still left to be brought down, the Auditor General's Report and the Trade and Navigation Returns. Perhaps the Prime Minister will give us some information about that ?


The PRIME MINISTER.: I should certainly endeavour to gratify the rather fastidious curiosity of my hon. friend (Mr. Clancy). I should suppose he would have enough reading for one night at least. Tomorrow, perhaps, I may be able, after conference with the Auditor General, to tell him when this report may be expected. I move that the House do now adjourn.


Robert Laird Borden: Before we adjourn, I merely desire to say to the right hon. gentleman that we on this side of the House are delighted at the effect of the admonitions we had to give to the right hon. gentleman and his colleagues last year, when we had to wait for these reports lor weeks, and even months, in some cases. The promptitude with which most of them have been brought down this year is very gratifying.


Nathaniel Clarke Wallace: With these exceptions, that the reports of the Minister of Customs (Mr. Paterson), and the Minister of Trade and Commerce (Sir Richard Cartwright), which are so necessary for the discussion of the commercial affairs of the country, are not brought down, and we have no information as to when they will be down. As to the Auditor General's Report, the law of the land compels It to be brought down within fourteen days of the opening of parliament. That law was flagrantly violated by the government at all the previous sessions. I hope the government will realize the fact that they are amenable to the law as well as other citizens of this country, and that they are required to obey the law with respect to the Auditor General's Report.


The PRIME MINISTER.: The hon. gentleman is just as well aware as I am that Mr. FIELDING.
the report of the Auditor General is not at all under the control of the government. The government is not at all answerable for the delay of the Auditor General's Report. With regard to the report of the Minister of Customs, the House I am sure will learn with regret that the Minister of Customs has been called away from Ottawa by sickness in his family. But he will be here to-morrow, I hope.
On motion of the Prime Minister, the House adjourned at 5.15 p.m.

Tuesday, February 12, 1901.