Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1892-05-27, Page 4• 4 -t THE HURON EXPOSITOR. NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. MIrThe figure between the parenthesis after each Ilse denotes the page of the paper on which the , advertisement will be found. Bargain Sale—Mullett & Jackson (6) Wbat Makee it so Popular ?-1.. Y. Fear. (5) Farm for Sale—Win. Allan. (6) Thank You—W. G. Glenn. (6) Farm for Sale—Mrs. E. Ferguson. (5) Wool—James Beattie. (8) Black and Green Teae—J. McIntosh. (8) tke pun txpooitor. SEAFORTH, FRIDAY, May 27, 1892., Are They -Unnecessarily Ob- _ structing Public Business ? Judging from the reports, there were lively times in Parliament last week. Our worthy legislators had, at. least, one all night sitting, and there was much &mini- monious discussion. The eause of this trouble was the estimates for the Publio Works Department. Among the items which the House were asked to vote, were grants of various amounts for post -offices and other public buildings in different parts of the Dorniniou. The opposition maintain- ed that these grants are unnecessary ; that they are not made in the public interests and that they are simply bribes to the con- stituencies which have returned supporters of the Government and thst as such they should not be passed ; moreover, that the system of granting money in this way is wrong and should be discontinued and is also contrary to the spirit of a resolution which was unanimously adopted by the House two sessions ago. This resolution stated that in undertaking to make appro- priations for public buildings and other public works, regard should be had to the revenue derived from those places, and that the localities in which the largest amount of revenue were collected were the localities in which public buildings should be first constructed. As a sample of the grants being made, and which the Opposition so persistently oppose, we have only space to give the following : Lapraire is a small vil- lage in the Province of Quebec. The piece has a population of 1,200 and the entire re- ceipts of the post -office. there last year amounted to but $413.16: The population of the place, also, is decreasing and the office receipts ere year by year growing smaller. Yet the Government propose erecting a new post -office building there which Will cost $16,000, and which will entail an annual outlay for interest and maintenance, in the neighborhood of $1,400. This is only !learn- t , ple of many similar grants, and this is the sort of thing the Opposition arP fighting against. For opposing these grants so per- sistently the Government press are busily engaged in abusing the Opposition in insult- ing terms. These papers accuse them of wasting the time of the House and causing unnecessary expense to the country, and ao on. In fact so severe are the Government papers on the Opposition, that those who read only these papers can scarcely come to any other conclusion than that the leaders of the Liberal 'party -are monsters of iniquity, and the rank and file nonsensical ninnies. However, as many of our readers have not an opportunity of perusing the official reports of the debates in Parliament, and have to form their conclusions from the partizan reports of the discussions as published in the papers on either side, we give the Hansard report of the speeches of the leaders on this ques- tion. We ask our readers to. peruse these speeches carefully and to judge for them- selves which side is right. It is scarcely necessary to say that, notwithetanding all the discussion, the Government majority voted the items and would probably have done so had they been five times as unjusti- &Tale. This is one of the beauties of blind, unreasoning partizanship as it prevails in Canada. The following are the extracts from Han- sard : Mu. GUIMET, Minister of Public Works. —The amount we expect to spend on that building is $16,000. The building is now under contract, and it is expected that it will be completed before the end of the year. MR. FLINT.—What are the receipts of that office ? MR. OITIMET.—They are not very -large. The statement I have here is $433.16. I am sorry I do not possess the eloquence of the leader of the Opposition, because if I did I might expatiate on the merits of Laprairie and the glories of that historical place,which is really a landmark on the shores of the St. Lawrence, and likely to become in the near future a suburb of Montreal. Certainly, all good Canadians from Lower Canada will be glad that this old historical village of La - prairie is to be adorned with a monument in the shape of a public building which will show that the Government has a proper esteem for that place. MR. FOsTER, Minister of Finance.—I rise to suggest that probably the committee is of the opinion that honorable members have discussed the item at sufficient length to pass it. I would be sorry to break in on any fair discussion, but I want to call attention to the fact that we have been engaged near- ly two hours on this item. We on this side of the House have been taunted with being silent. I should like honorable gentlemen who mske that taunt to consider for a mo- ment what are the cla.sses of arguments ad- dressed to us. It is not to be supposed that we are to go into campaign speeches, and re- fute all charges made from the beginning of the world, politically speaking, up to the preaent time on every item that comes up in the estimates. Is it to be supeosed that members of the Government, or even sup- porters of the Government, are bound in duty to arise and eepel with indignation and warmth, and with more or leas length, as- sertions which are Chiefly remarkable for the hard language and the unfounded nature of the statements which are preferred ? Such, for instance, as when an honorable gentleman to -night declared that when a vote of Parliament was passed for -a public building and that became an Act of Parliament and the t law of the country and the money was` expended ; that it was simply putting the Minister's arm into the treasury up to the armpits for lout ; and as when another hon. gentleman, or per- haps the same, charged one of the members of the Government with hatching a con- spiracy, and so on through all the different charges which are made. Now that is hard language ; it is a perversion of English, and it does no harm to anyone, except to the persons who make it and to the party in whose behalf it ie made. I for one do not consider it my duty to arise on every oc- casion and repel these general election charges. Another hon. gentleman was sur- prised that we sat here so still. Well, we did sit still for a certain portion of the time th&t this discussion, if it may be called snob, hen been going on ; and we sat still out of sheer astoniehment that when hon. gentle- men speak as far away from the subject as one pole is from the 'other, and bring in all kinds of irrelevant arguments and person- al castigation' of gentlemen from whom they differ, yet from the leader of the Opposition down to the humblest member, there seem• ed to be nothing but approval at that apectacli. Certainly the leader of the Op- position and his supporters are as respon- sible to a certain extent for good order and the good aonduct of business as are the members of the Government or those who sit on this side of the House, and I • think we ought not to turn this House—I am not reading a lecture to-night—we ought not to turn this House, for any long period at least, into a show of the kind which was so much applauded about 15 or 20.minutes ago. The item under discussion has been before the House previous to this. Is it a new *issue or an old issue ? Hon. gentlemen op- posite say that there has not been a fair principle observed in this post -office appro- priation ; that the town is small, so it is ; that the revenue is- small, no --one doubts that ; that it is possible that on a financial basis there is very little return for it, I ad- mit that. I am not going to say that these arguments are not true. Again there comes up another argument that a year or two ago a resolution was adopted unanimously by the House, and that that resolution said what ? Not what a great many gentlemen opposite say that it said, but it said simply : That where post offices or public buildings were being erected and appropriations made for them regard should be had to the revenue and population of the place, But it did not say that sole regard should be had for that. I quite agree with the proposition, but let me point to the fact tbat hon. gentlemen look, and look in vain, for a single appro- priation for a new public building in the items which are before the House.' They cannot find one new item. Every one of the appropriations whioh are here are made in pursuance of votes that have been taken already in the House, and for works that have been begun so far as to be brought be- fore this House and to receive the vote of the House. There is not a single new ap- propriation for a new building in the esti- mates now before Perliament. This present estimate started two years ago, when a vote was given for it. It was thoroughly dis- cussed last year in the House, and after a thorough discussion in which the same argu- ments were gone over as have been gone over to -night, the House passed the vote and the contract is let, and the building is partly constructed, and yet in the face of facts of that kind, we are kept here for hours dis- cussing this matter. If this were a new poet office building, and under similar cir- cumstances an appropriation was asked for it, hon. gentlemen would be perfectly right —they are in their right, of course, now— but they would he perfectly right from my point of view in causing all the discussion about it that they thought proper. This, however, is an issue which has been discuss• ed before and which has been settled, and the Government is pledged—I think no person would care to break it at this time —to carry it out, and it will be carried out, and we propose to carry the vote. But here we are kept through all hours of the night and through all hours this morning upon an item or two, discussing matters which have been thoroughly discussed before. I simply recall this state of things to the House and ask whether there has not been a reasonable discussion already upon an issue which has really been settled before, and whether it is not beat that we should proceed to busi- ness and pass this item. When new appro- priations are brought before this House for new public works, let them be discussed as to the principle upon which they are based and upon which the appropriation is asked. I do think it would be better for us all if instead of every time that an item is brought up, it should be discussed fairly and fully rather than that hon. gentlemen should go into a series of election and stump charges and speeches. It would be better I say that we should devote ourselves more especially to the item in hand, and be reasonable in our methods of discussion. MR. LAURIER.—The hon. geotleman, as well as his colleague, is quite at liberty to talk or not to talk upon this or any other matter. That is a subject on which I have no opinion to offer, and he is the best judge as to whether he should speak or not speak. Upon the present occasion, however, I must tell him very candidly that if he did not speak I interpreted his silence as simply meanibg that he had no argument to offer at all in answer to the charges which were made from this side of the House. The hon. gentleman says that this it a case which has been settled a year ago ; no, this case has not been settled, and that is the reason why it is discussed with so much in- tensity on this side of the House. It is very true that last year these items were voted, but I deny that because a vote was carried last year the question was settled. It is because bon. gentlemen -on that side of the House will not say that they will not cease to do as they have been doing, that they will not cease to violate a principle which they adopted on the ffoor of this House two years ago ; it is because they will not say that they will adhere to that doctrine, as laid down id the resolution I referred to, that we are forced to discuss this matter again and again. There are no new items, I admit, on the present occasion, but this is asking an appropriation to con- tinue the vicious policy enacted last year. Why are we debating it ? It is simply be- cause we cannot obtain the recognition of that principle which has been adopted by Parliament unless we impress it on the House and the country by repeated discus- sion. Let the hon. gentleman stand up and say that these appropriations will be hence- forth made in the spirit of the resolution which was adopted two years ago, and then the discussion will cease at once. MR. FOSTER.—Is the discussion going on until I do that ? Mr. LAURIER.—I am afraid it will go on for some time unlese we impress the country that we are in the right and the Govern- ment are in the wrong. Mr. FOSTER.—You are a long time impress- ing the country. MR. LAGRIER.—That may be, but after all there may be some time or other when the measure will overflow, and it cannot overflow until we show by repeated discus- sion the wrong there has been done. Has any argument been offered by the members of the Government either this year or last to support this vote ; what justification has ever been made on the fleor of this House to show on what principle a post office should be erected in a place which has a population of 1,200 and a gross revenue of $432 a year ? If the hon. gentleman can stand up and give any argument to justify asking Parliament to vote such an appro- priation, I say the discussion will cease at once. But no argument- has been offered, and the appropriation -has been voted by Parliament for no other reason than that the Government have a large majority over the Opposition in this House. Sic volo sic jubeo, stet pro ratione voluntas e that is the only reason that has been given torParlia- meat, and under such circumstances, so long as the Government will not adhere to the resolution votad two years ago in fa- vor of having such appropriations made under a certain rule, they must be pre- pared to have such discussions as are now going on. SIR RICHARD CARTwRIGHT. —I may add this. The hon. gentleman appears to allege that because the vote for this building was made two years ago,therefore th e G o vern men t were bound to go on with it ; and the hon. Minister of Public Works took the same position. Yet, a few hours ago we had under consideration the case of Lunen - berg post office, for which a vote was taken in 1887, and for five years, because that constituency was represented by a gentle- man in opposition to the Government, they allowed the vote to lapse and took no steps whatever to give effect to it. Now, it is due simply to such gross abuses of their power as this that these several items have been discussed as pertinaciously as they have been lest night and to -night. It is because the Government are not bringing forward arguments tol justify these votes. If the Government, either in the shape of the Minister of Public Works, the Minister of Justice or the Minister of Fin- anoe, will give US now any reasonable argu- ment why the village of Le,prairie,with 1,200 population, a village whioh has not increas- ed one single soul in twenty years, bat which is rather smaller to -day than it was twenty years ago, should have a public building, and why $16,000 of the public money ehould be wasted and squandered in this way, then there would be no disposi- tion whatever to dispute this vote. But it is simply as a protest against this most im- proper and unjust expenditure, deliberately made, net for the public good, lent for party purposes -of a most improper sort, not be- cause there is any just ground for erecting a post office building in Laprairie, but because it is necessary to bribe tha electors of that town, that we insist on calling public atten- tion to the matter. A Roland for an Oliver. A few days ago, in its report of the dis- cussions in Parliament, the Toronto- Empire made the following statement : " During a rather stormy period of the all- night session Sir Richard Cartwright had been using some very abusive language, Which led to the following reply from Mr. Foster : "Now, as to the reptile fund. My hon. friend is very fond of bringing up the reptile fund. Some of these days he will get enough of that reptile fund in this House, and if no one else does it; I propose to take tbe matter in hand myself. I say to him, and I would say to his leader if he were here, that gentlemen are sitting on these benches to -day, and the number that you have is made up of men who are in their seats and, voting on that side because they were bought into their places with stolen money. The great Reform party, that para- gon of virtue that stands up here night after night thanking Heaven they are not as other men ; the great Reform party have not got the commien honesty to pay back into the depleted funds of Quebec the sums of money which they acknowledge to have been stolen from the public funds." The prolonged cheers from the Government benches which greeted this outburst were like so many stabs at the Opposition ; they sat there like whipped curs, not one venturing to raise his voice. ' This is a very nice little yarn, and it is almost a pity to spoildt. Those who depend upon the Empire for their political informa- tion would' naturally come to the conclusion that Mr. Foster is a perfect terror, who can make the Grits cower and shiver by the sound of his voice, asdthe above extract is a fair sample of the Empire's daily utterances. It is fortunate, however, that there is an official report of the discussions in Parlia- ment so that the misrepresentations of the Empire and others of its ilk can be met and exposed. By referring to the report of this discussion in Hansard, we find that instead of the Opposition sitting " like whipped cura " under Mr. Foster's strictures and " not one venturing to raise his voice," Mr. Foster got fully more than he gave. Mr. Casey, of West Elgin, replied to Mr. Foster, and the following extract, taken from the Hansard report, will show (Jur readers how little confidence is to be placed in the state- ments of the Empire. Mr. Casey said : " In regard to the speech of the Minister of Finance, no course of conduct could be more cowardly, could be more indecent, could be more in contravention of ordinary parliamentary Inlet, than for a member to get up and make bold assertions across the floor of the House that members on this side were eleeted by means of stolen money, when he dare not make his statement on his responsibility as a member and demand an enquiry into the facts. When we have charges to make against that side of the House, we make them on our responsibili- ties as members. We demand an enquiry before proper tribunals, and they vote them down. They will have no enquiry .at all un- less they draw the indictments themselves and appoint their own judges. It is very easy for the Finance Minister, knowing that he has a majority at his back, knowing that he is sheltered from all euquiry, to make ac- cusations which he knows to be unfounded against members on this side of the House. He dare not make those accusations in the way in which they havebeen made from this side. He adopts the cowardly plan of get- ting behind a stone wall- or a stone fence, and throws mud across the floor: I challenge tbe Finance Minister,' who did so much mud -throwing tenight, to have an enquiry into the policy of the Gov- ernment on these matters, to have a detailed examination into all these items, and I chal- lenge him tceprove his offensive and indec- ent insinuations, for they are such unless they are backed up with the motion which should follow. Let us have a full and free enquiry as to the standing of members on both sides. and see who sit here as represend tatives of stolen money, whether himself and hie colleagues or members on this side of the Let the honorable gentleman show himself to be a man or a mouse, and let him back up his assertions in the consti- tutional manner. THE Toronto Globe is just now publishing a very interesting continued story, an instal- ment of which has appeered in each daily issue for the past two weeks. The story is profusely illustrated. Unfortunately for the creditof the country, however, it cannot be olassed among the works of fiction. It is not only founded on fact, but conveys a very true picture of political life in the sister Province of Quebec. The story delineates the manner in which the elections in that Province were conducted in 1887 and the illustrations are fac similes of the written orders and receipts of Sir Adolphe Caron, Sir Hector Langevin and other prominent politicians of the Province on the treasurer of the boodle fund, Mr. Thomas McGreevy. A peculiarity of these orders is, that in nearly every case, the orders asked for money for " legal expenses," but another peculiarity is, that the amount shown to have been expended in each constituency is ten times the amount certified to by the elec- tion agent as having been expended for legal expenses, thus showing that the use of the term " legal expenses " was simply a blind. An -other peculiarity is the fact that, while Sir Hector Langevin swore before the Privileges and Elections Committee last session that he had not received one cent of aid , from the election fund -for use in his own constituency, the vouchers show that he received several thousand dollars, enough to make about $600 for every vote recorded in his favor, thus making it appear very like as if the old man had ccimmitted perjury to save his former colleagues from exposure. Where all this money came from has not yet been clearly shown, but that will likely come yet, The general supposition is that dt bas been filtered from the public treasury, subsidized railways and Government con- tractors being the instrutnents used in the perpetratien of the robbery. If all the other constituencies in Quebec) fared the same as those that have already been brought before the public, the Conservative party must have expended over a million and a half of dollen in that Phovince almie during that election. What it cost to carry the whole Dominion may be judged from that. North Perth. North Perth has done the right thing by Mr. Grieve. It elected him ou Thursday of -last week by an increased majority. Mr. Grieve, it will be remembered, was unseated 'on an appeal to the Supreme Court. The Government threw their wholeforce against him in this election, but it was all to no avail, the electors stood by hint most nobly, and it is to be hoped that he will be allowed to retain peaceable possession of his seat for the remainder of this parliamentary term. The following is a statement of the votes cast : Sorimgeeur. Grieve. 906 911 416 387 61 59 273 362 463 387 Stratford Mornington Milverton Listowel 228 Logan 343 Elms 458 Ellice 342 2754, 2842 2754 Majority for Grieve 88 A CONsERvATIvE, writing to the Mail in condemnation of the policy of the Dominion Government, granting large BUM of money for the erection of Post Office and other buildings where no such. buildings are "re- quired, and the expenditure is not justified by the tevenue returned by these offices, says : It is no surprise that no Government mem- ber feels equal to the task of supporting the appropriation by argument. It would be absurd to attempt it. If the Govern- ment does not mend its ways, but continues to perpetrate such preposterous jobs as this, they need not be surprised if they are de- feated at the next general election, even If many persons hitherto Conservative, have to swallow the bitter pill of supporting Sir Richard Cartwright in order to attain that end. If a greater number of Conservatives would talk straight to their Parliamentary representatives in this way, we would soon have more honest expenditure by our Do- minion authorities. ENGLAND'S " Grand Old Mae," in a recent address, made . the following statement : He said : " They speak sometimes of the greed of competition, but the greed of com- petition is not to be compared avith the greed of the monopolist. The greedy competitor at least thares his gains with the public ; but the greed of the monopolist is the greed of the robber." There never ,was a truer utterance, as the people of the United States have found out and, the people of Canada are just commencing to learp. The best thing to stop the operations of this robber is competition, and good, healthy competition can only be had under free trade. oseeesesaimemeseti THAT mammoth combinatiom the Harris - Massey Implement" Manufacturing Company, is gradually spreading out,and is swallowing up everything in the shape of competition that falls in its way. It has even invaded our own county, its latest meuthful being the Verity Plow Works, of Exeter. Mr. L. M. Jones, the mandager of the poncern, was in Brantford the other day, and while there was interviewed by it representative of the Expositor of that city. In reference to the Verity Works he was asked : " What about the Verity Plow Works ? Has Brantford any chance of getting them ?" To which he, replied : " As to that I cannot say positively. We have acquired a large interest in them but the concern will maintain an independent organization. The -matter is deserving the attention of your council." A LADY subacriber sends the Stratford Beacon the following paragraph from a New South Wales journal, an opinion of those who have tried Free Trade : " The Free Trade party has, according to Mr. McMillan, saved the people of New South Wales at least £3,000,000 during the past four years." When a small colony like New South Wales can save fifteen million dollars in four years by the adoption of Free Trade, what could not Canada save by the same policy ? This Is a point which the people should ponder. If the farmers of Canada wish to help themselves they should vote only for those representatives in Parliament who will pledge themselves to support Free Trade, no matter by which party it is brought for- ward. If, however, they prefer filling the pockets of the monopolists at their oath ex- pense, then they should continue on as a majority have been doing for several years, voting for candidates who support the N.P. THE Woodstock Sentinel -Review says : " By the way, the Sentinel -Review has just now a number of prospective libel suits lying around loose somewhere. It is rather pleasant to reflect that under its present management in seventeen years it has had to defend only one suit, and that about as frivolous and groundless as those it has re- cently been threatened with." This is a •very good record, but THE EXPOSITOR can beat it. This paper has been under its present management nearly twenty-two years and it has not yet had to defend alibel suit. It has had a good many threatened but a straightforward course and a stiff upper lip set them at rest. HER Majesty, the Queen, has signalized her seventy-third birthday by conferring titles upon several prominent men, both in this country and at home. Among those - upon whom the title of knighthood has been conferred, we notice the namea of Hon. Mr. Abbott, Premier of the Dominion, and Hon. Oliver Mowat, Premier of Ontario, so that, hereafter, Ontario's '''Grand Old Man " will be known as " Sir Oliver." We under- stand, also, that Mr. Mowat, on the advice of his colleagues, has decided to accept the honor. The ecceptieg or ,declining of it is, of course, largely a matter of taste. We are sure of this, however, that it would have been. vestly mtore in acoordance with the feelings of a great majority of the Lib- erals of Ontario had Mr. Mowat seen his way clear to respectfully decline the preffer- ed honor. It cannot possibly add anything to the esteem and confidence in which he is held by the people of Ontario, and, after all, in view of the promiscuous distributien of such titles in this country and the way in which they have been tarnished by' the beeners of them, it is, indeed, a doebtful honor to have the " Sir " handle te an otherwise honorable and untarnished "tame. On the whole, Mr. Mowat would have raised himself in the estimation of those whose good opinion is worth anything, had hp fol- lowed the example of Hon. George Brown and Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, and de- clined the empty title. l pIR Alexander Campbell, Lieuteeant- Governor of Ontario, died at Government House, Toronto, on Tuesday last. He has been ill for over three months ; parelysis beteg the meet. He was an Englishman by birth, and was 71 years of age. He has been connected with Canadian politics for a great many years, and although a person of lite special ability, he succeeded in keeping well to the front. He had nearly completed hie Aim of five years. It is reported that Mi. George A. Kirkpatrick, of Kingston, will probably be the next incumbent a the Gcivernment HOUSe. WE are glad to notice that so influential a journal as the Montreal Witness is a strong advocate of compulsory voting: It says : A law making voting compulsory would be a boon and a joy to honest statesmen and those opposed to political corruption. It would be a nuisance to a large class of , peo- ple who have " no time for politics " unless they have an axe to grind. To induce such people to vote the Government has become a egular axe -grinding institution which is ee dy to grind for any man who is willing to vote or contribute to a fund which the Min- iseers distribute among the constituencies to bribe the voters. If everybody coeld be compelled to take the trouble to go to the polls, there would be very few who would have any conscientious scruples against cast- ing a vote for one or other of the candidates, but for the sake of the consciences of the few a provieion allowing the casting I of a blank ballot shOuld be a part of a compul- sory Voting act. , R. ERASTUS WIMAN, who is chiefly known in Canada as the able advocate of Cemmercial reciprocity between this country and the United States, has a good head And he uses hie ability as well as his wealth for the geod of his fellows. One of hislatest schemes in this direction is the furnishing of hOrnes on Staten Island near New York, to persons of moderate means on paymeets of $18 per month, through the aid of the build- inie association and life insurance plan. He says: The weak point which the building -loan aseoeiation movement seemed to posseis was thnt, in the event of the death of the eume- eatner, the inability of the widow and chil- dren to keep up the instalments and interest dee on the mortgage held by the assoctation imperiled the loss of the home. My plan is, through the Travelers' Life Insurance Com- peny, to insure the life of the wage -garner foe the unpaid instalments he paying a sniall monthly premium into t'he assoctation with his instalments, which prem- ium gradually diminishes as these instalmente extenguish the debt. Ifi the father lives, he pays for —the home. If, alas ! he dies, the widow and children have the home because the insur- ance company pays immediately the onpaid instalments and thus liquidates the mort- gage. So, whether living or dying the family are in possession of the home I T)1E DOMINION PARLIAMENT (By Our Special Correspondent.) OrrAwA, May 23rd, 1892. The Government still delay in bringing down their important measures, and the business of the session is not,therefore,being advanced at all rapidly. The Minieterial press talk of the Opposition obstructing busi- ness, but if the Government desire to make headway why do they not go on with the Rp-distribution Bill, and one or two other important measures still hanging fire ? They centent themselves with simply asking the Opposition to vote funds to them, and if this, always a slow work, is made still slow- ee by the tactics of the Government they will deceive nobody by trying to threw the blame on the Opposition. For instance, an all-night sitting on Thursday nighe was ceused by the attempt of the Government to, obtain votes for the erection of post - offices and other public buildings in email, obscure villages where their erection is not at all justifiable. In one instance they pro- posed a vote of $16,000 for a post -Office at Laprairie, the annual revenue from which only amounts to $433. Even the Govern- ment's own supperters could find nothing in this to defend, but, on the contrary, one of their friends in the front benches, Colonel O'Brien, said that he agreed entirely with the Opposition in condemning this expendi- ture. Let the public judge then if the Op- pOsition were pot justified, in fact if it was not their duty? to use every effort within their power to draw the attention ef the ccuntry to such iniquitous jobbery, in the hepe that public opinion would compel the Government to desist in bribing the constitu- ensceiemseinefththise re oa ennneesr i n this all-night'e sit- ting, which lasted for 18 hours, were very spicy. Mr. Mulock insinuated thet the Government supporters were machines and the Minister of Militia retorted by calling t e Opposition,a. pack of dogs. One honor - a , le gentlemao told the other that he had wind on his stomach. Between three and four o'clock Me. Devlin took the floor, but the uproar from the Ministerial b9I1C4S was S9 great that he was compelled to appeal to the Chair for 0 hearing. Colonel Denison, ap Equal Righter, was in the Chair at the time, and as Mr. Devlin was speaking in E'rench, the Cheirman could not understand him so Mr. Devlin changed his sepeech into English, but again the cat -calls, desk slam- ming, and all the various interruptions with which the Helm is so familiar, from the Ministerial benphes, were renewed.' At four o'clock in the morning Sir Richard Cart- svright asked the Minister of Finance to postpone further discussion on the Farnham post -office until' concurrence. But the Fi- nance Minister refused, and Sir Richard Gooly replied, ", Very well, then, we will go on with the discussion," an announcement which the Tories greeted with an indescrib- able confusion cif whistling, yells, and shouts of all kinds. The discussion went on, being, enlivened by occaeional songs from the Min- isterial membere It was rather awkward for Liberal members who were criticising public expenditure in the public interests to be interrupted y the popular melodies from the other aide o the House, but theY; took it' in good part and, afterismilingly awaiting uetil the song ceased, resumed their Elpeech -tct where it had been broken off. The climax of farce was reached shortly after six o'clock when Mr. Haggett walhed into the Chamber and was greeted by "Nearer My God To rhee," from his supporters. Dr. Landerkin rose near seven o'clock and was greeted with " For he's a Jolly Good Fellow." As soon as silence was restored the doctor expressed regret at -the absence of the Minister of Jus- tice for he did not like to talk to " junior members of the Cabinet." Those members who had gone away early the previous night now began to turn up, and joined in the fray. Mr. Laurier and Sir John Thompson arrived back into the House between eight and nine o'clock, and, after consultation, an agreement was come to that the discussion on the Farnham post -office should be con- tinued upon other items, and the Farnham item was. passed and the House adjourned at ten o'clock in the morning, The Royal Commission to investigate" the charges preferred in the House by the Minim - ter of Militia against the Postmaster -General is to be composed of Judges Routhier and Tait. Judge Routhier is a friend of Sir Adolphe Caron, and Judge Tait was, when raised to the Benoh, a partner of Premier Abbott's. The approval of the House to this Commission has to be asked and it will probably give rise to a discussion. It is said that Mr. Fitzpatrick, who defended Mr. Thomae;MoGreevy last session, will act as opunsel for Sir Adolphe Caron in this Matter. , The Civil Service Commission has made ies report. The Commissioners are of opi- nion that the service is overcrowded beyond anything which the Government requires or v!' Lich the country can stand. , They make a number of recommendations, none of them of a revolutionary character. They propose tie increase the maximum salaries of Deputy Ministers and to decrease the maximum sal- aries of first-class clerks. They propose a permanent Civil Service Commission which will supervise the various public services and discharge a number of important duties. They call attention brethe system of erect- . publid buildings in, small places where they are not needed, and recommend that an& buildings be erected only where the revenue justifies it. This entirely vindicates the position taken by the Opposition in the House. They approve of the superannua- tion system. It is yeti' uolikely that this elaborate report, coveting several thousand pages, is worth tbe paper it is printed on, "(lit is very unlikely that anything will ever come of it. There was a division in the House of Com- mons on a Divorce Bill passed by the Senate, granting a decree to Remington Meade, a physician who resided in the Northwest Territories. The peculiar feature of this case is the fact that Dr. Meade married his wife twice, once secretly and two and a half years after publicly. The justice of the bill was cballenged, as it was asserted that the ground for the divorce was not established by the evidence, but the House passed it by 02 to 3-1. All the French and Catholic. members of the House always vote against Divorce bills and the leader of the House, Sir John Thompson, found himself, for once, in the minority. A rather rare instance of the remorse of a Judge was given in a case brought up by Mr. Armstrong, who demanded of the Min- ister of ustice to know why one Edward Wilson, & convict, had been released from the Kingston Penitentiary. This man was sentenced in the county of Essex, Ontario, to 20 years, for setting fire to a farmer's buildings. This was commuted to seven years, and with good conduct the convict's sentence only lasted five years, Immediate- ly on his release he returned to Essex and again burned down the same farmer's build- ings, the farmer and his family only escap- ing with their lives. Sir John Thompson explained that the matter had been taken up upon the receipt of a letter from Sir Adam Wilson, the Chief Justice who had ,tried the convict, and who wrote that he re- gretted the heavy sentence that he had im- posed upon him. This led to the Minister of Justice recommending a commutation of ehe sentence after full enquiry. Fully half the time of the House last week was taken up in considering the Criminal Code, a measure chiefly of interest only to lawyers. One section, however, provides for the imprisonment of anyone who pub- lishes false news affecting either private or public interests, and this Mr. Davies de- nounced as an outrageous clause which should be struck out. It was allowed to stand, however, for further consideration, but may be dropped, A motion by Mr. Charlton for a Prohibi- tion Plebiscite was, after discussion, with- drawn on the advipe of Mr. Laurier, who believed that until the Royal Commission on Prohibition had reported, the House should take no further action on this subject. Two new membets were introduced last week, Mr. W. F. Maclean, Conservative member for East York, and Mr. Lowell, Lib- eral member for Welland. Mr. Laurier will have the pleasure this week of introducing another supporter in the person of Mr. Grieves re-elected for North Perth by an increase'd majority. A sensation in Military circles has been created by the arrest of Captain Bliss, of the Ottawa Field Battery, on orders from head- quarters, charged with returning -false pay- Iists to the Department of Militia, the occa- "ion being the turn out of the _Battery at the Iiipening of Parliament. Captain Bliss is a Civil Servant, and the son-in-law of the Minister of Inland Revenue. , Mr. Robert Watson, the able young mem- ber for Marquette Manitoba, is about to en- ter the Greenway 'Cabinet and must conse- quently resign his seat in the House. Sena- tor Bolton, who was appointed as a Conser- vative to the Senate by Sir John Macdonald, tells me that he will resign hie seat and stand S8 an Independent. He will advocate out and out free trade. The annual meeting of the Royal SoCi.ety of Canada will be held here on the 30th inst. Papers will be read by prominent scientists and literateurs throughout the Dominion, but the programme appears to be about as prosy as usual. There will be a new election in L'Assomp- tion on June 7th, to fill the vacancy created by the unseating of Mr. Gauthier, the Liber- al member. Divorce petitions are already coming in for next session, Saturday's Gazette contain- ing the notice of the first application. This time it is the woman who is the applicant. Mr. C. E. Clark haa been appointed Su- perintendent of Stationery in the House of Commons. Dr. Sproule, the member for East Grey, proposes to abolish Hansard, and has given notice of a resolution to that effect. It will share the fate of similar resolutions in the past. News of the Week. LITES LOST.—It is said that 1,200 lives were lost by the great storm on the island of Mauritius. THE EXTREME PENALTY.—The execution of Deeming, the Australian wife murderer, took place last Monday morning at ten o'clock. A QUEER STEAL.—Elenry Varrell, a runa- way from Barnum'a eircus, is under arrest at Chicago for stealing a cage of lions. KILLED THEIR KIN(:.—The natives of the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific ocean, have risen against their kin* and killed him, and a state of anarchy now prevails in the groep. SIX HUNDRED YEARs OLD.—In excavat- ing some ancient Aztec ruins in the direction of Chaco canon, NeW Mexico, Gov. Prince has unearthed twenty Stone idols of different type from any before discovered. They are believed to te at least 600 years old, A FOLDING BED INVENTION.—Charles W. Pratt, of Muskegon, Michigan, has been offered $25,000 for the patent on his inven- tion of an improved felding bed, but he re- MAY 27, 1892. fused the offer and will build a factory at his home. A LIFE 8ENTENCE.—Perry, the train roe ber, was sentenced to 49 years and 3 months' imprisonment in Auburn State prison. THE EPWORTH LEAGUE. —At the recent Methodist Epistler,' conference held at Omaha, a report was presented which stated - that the Epworth League had at present 4,000 local lee_gues with 400,000 members. A JOCEEV KILLED.—An English jock? named Hall, attached to the Rothschil stable, fell from his horse during a race and was trampled to death. DISASTROUS Coimmenee—Lon. Owens, en- :gineer, was killed and a property lois of $40,000 was caused by a collision on the " Chicago, Milwankee and St. Paul railroad on Friday at Preston, Iowa. ton, expect to leave Florida fin. their home in Clinton this week. ter plow works, home amalgamated with the fourth son of Mr. G. Diehl, formerly of Massey -Harris Company, of Toronto. Williams' property in Clinton. This is one of the finest in that town, and the price paid was $900 cash. there last week from- inflammation of the To—rerist Blair/ Manitoba, and formerly of Lueknow, died lun—gOn Saturday, May 7th, Fred Diehl, Clinton, died iat his father's residence in —Mr. John Scruton has purchased Do —Mr. A. HH. urMaonnninNg oatnedsv.eife, of Clini —W. FL Verity -de Company, of the Exe. —Mr. Robert Copeland, of Pilot Mound, who lately retired from the . public school staff of teachers in Goderich, was presented with a neatly worded ad. dress and a handsome present, by her fel- lMowe—lvteWinahePhileeenrsinilanygitnogn, son of Mr. Wm. Pen - ball, the other evening, nington, of Goderich, fell on a piece of glass inflicting a deep gash in his leg, —Mr. B. S. Cook has sold the-Pyke farm, just east of Gorrie, to Mr. John Clegg, of Fordwich . Possession is to be given in the fall. The farm comprises 47e acres and brought $2,600. —Mr. George -Glasgow, of Clinton, has disposed of his gents furnishing stock, in that town, to Messrs. Plumsteel and Gib - binge, and expecte soon to leave, in the pursuit of business and fortune, for Dakota. —Wm. Heaman a former resident of Exeter, and second" son of the late Wm. Ileaman, of Stephen township, died at lfie residence in London on Friday, leth inst. Consumption was the cause of death. He leaves a wife and two little sons. —On Friday, the 13th inst., &boat six o'clock, the fire alarm waa sounded in Zan. ich, and it was discovered that the roof of the engine house was on fire. It was put out, however, before much damage wss done. —While riding on a wagon at Mr. Inglis', on the 17th concession of Howick, on Mon— day last week, Mr. Richard Graham had the misfortune to fall off the vehicle in such a manner as to seriously injure hie back, so that he may be laid up for some time. —At nine o'clock on Monday morning of last week, death claimed a victim in the per- son of Mrs. Cyrus Horton, of Lakelet, who had been ill since the evening previous. Be- sides her husband she leaves two little chil- dren, the youngest only a few hours old. —About as fine a bunch of cattle as ever left the neighborhood of Clinton were those delivered by Mr. D. A. Forrester, on Wed- nesday, last week, to Mr. S. Smith. There were twenty-four head, and they averaged 1,445 pounds, which is a pretty good average. —On Sunday afternoon last Daniel Mc- Kay, jr., and Wm. Costie, of Goderich, were out driving, and while making a sharp curve near the cannon the buggy upset, throwing them out. The horse then bolted. The rig was badly damaged, but the youths got off with a few bruiees and a bad scare. —Mrs. Francis Clegg, of the 15th conces- sion of Howick, passed away -somewhat sud- denly on Saturday the 14thInst. Deceased had been in excellent health up to almost the time of her death. She leaves a family of several small children, one of whom was but a few hours old, —On Wednesday, la,st week, while two children belonging to Mr. Andrew Diehl, of Zurich, where playing in the yard, the youngest one accidentally struck the eldest boy, about six years of age, in the eye, which beemed cause great pain, so by ex- amining closely the doctor declared the eye useless, and likely to be lost altogether. David Mahood met with a serious accident while working in Dick's mill, Ford- wich, Tuesday morning of last week. He was removing a board from the circular saw when by some means his left hand came in contact with the teeth and in a twinkling the thumb and two of hie fingers were taken off and a third finger bad- ly —t°Ornn. Saturday morning, 14th inst., Mrs. Aaron Martin, of the 4th concession of Howick, passed to her long home. For some time deceased had been a sufferer from cancer, and had undergone one or two oper- ations, with the hope of effecting a cure but all medical skill was in vain. Deceased' was forty-five years of ege, and waa a most high-- ly respected resident of the 'neighborhood. —On Sunday, Jane 5th, Rev. Mr. Mc- Lean, of Blyth, will preach- anniversary services both morning and evening in St. Andrew's Church, Bayfield, and on Mon- day, June 6th, there will be a tea -meeting in the Town Hall, at which a good enter- tainment and plenty of eatables will be pro- vid—edde A. londay of last week, Mr. Samuel Nay, of Lakelet, met With a serious accident which will lay him up for some time to come. He was assisting to place the bind- ing -pole on a, load of hay when it broke, precipitating him to the floor, The fall was a heavy one and he sustained serious bruises besides having both his arms broken at the wrists. —The Toronto World publishes the de- tails of a scheme for handling Ontario flour that was worked by a Nova Scotian, who expected that both the millers and himself would make a good thing out of it. He suc- ceeded in getting about $1,000 commission and then lit out. According to the World, Kelly's mill, Blyth, and the Zurich mill were among those that Were taken in. —An accident happened to a young son of Mr. Thomas Noble, of Hullett, one day last week, whereby he bad a miraculous escape frorn instant death. Hie father was picking stones, using a team and wagon, the child was playing about the wagon when the horses moved, catching him under the wheel and almost crushing the life out of him, —On Monday morning,- last week, while William, son of Mr. David Riehard, of Exeter, was engaged putting the harness on a horse belonging to Mr. John Hunter, of Usborne, the animal bit off a portion of one of his ears and dropped it on the floor. The horse was never considered cross, and the reason assigned for this occurrence is unknown. The injured part has been properly cared, for by medical skill. —The Wingham Advance, of last week, tells of the following transaction made by a cattle dealer of that vicinity : " A Morris cattle buyer, living not far from Wingham, purchased six steers from a farmer residing in Turnberry township, the bovines being brought into town on Saturday to be weigh- ed, the bargain being that they were to stand six hours to allow of shrinkage. The buyer not wishing to wait so long, or think- ing to get the start of the farmer, offered to have them weighed immediately if he would throw off 25 pounds per head ; this was out of the question with the fanner, who in turn said he would take $300 for the lot and give the buyers back $L The purcbaser wouldn't do it, The buyer brought other schemes to bear upon the seller, but they MAY 27, were of no avail, twimase m_visadst,u pbutthew viz : to throw oil and the cattle we time several perss beard of the case jithoawt itthewbouuerldert,lirt4 $300 offer had los1 laughed at him. three pounds phh were standiugi —The anniverei with the Prenby were held on Sabi withstanding the congregatione eesi evening to listen discourses by le who -conducted t evening the wren elisnteinsgelheocotiu.reNvo —Mr. John HI a spelling match LI purchased three V The school was CMaarrt ey r Tt 000wi: sseenedo captains. Mary third. Mr. Barn school at midsumi school. —On Sunday, sTiaeynloerf dined° watiekb.m with a tumor eih of troubles thet demise was not was -a resident () long time and friendships which ethause yedeaerswpiasdeldpil sympathy for th community. —On Saturday the township of C from the grist mil passing down the his spirited. horse took fright, and ran off the street T. Smiley's prope the fence, lee.ving dononethseavoetaheirewsids horses and the h few places, —On Wednesdi R. W. Kneel:Me Ripley, and form Bella, eldest thug of the 8th concese in the bonds of sm the bride)! parent Chesley, assisted Walton. The lor ary McGavin, ladies being neati. ww remwr eh:1:r ea. :rat lots Mr. Wm. Moorm btornid,eLs been app burg Railroad No which include the Atlantic, the Sou Opaguslyer wbuitrhg,:tacind -Street, Boston. an upward tendee prising that be B Cfalecytefr" Itiless it: ()fill selves part and pi which country isi sible just what t cream of ourporei mainder. The Religi The Della -tale Dominion has religions of the the figures for ti Perth as dividei districts Population, Brussels, and town, Turnberry townshipe. Baptists ROM= Catholio Church of Engla Methodists — Presbytetians All others Population, 2( and Clinton tow West Wawatto Goderich. Baptists _ Roman Catholic Church of Enea Methodists — Presbyterians All others Population, 11 town, Bayfield Knipp, Stanley; Baptists.. . — . Roman Catholle Church of Engh Methodista Presbyterians All others t Stratford cite village, Morni Ellice township Baptists Roman Catholl Church of Eng Methodists Presbyterians All others — Population, and Mitthell Fullerton, Rib Baptiste Roman Cathol Church of Ensl Methodists Presbyterians. All others .,.. sal Lessons 'READ SEFORE ENDEA-voR, Christ took nature and g surroundinge. rows, the vine, natural objeci Teaeher with enforce spirit thus teaching rest attettiom the multitude heesion of spt ly listlees and Second, to pre hearts of the the truth force. In the have Christ u lesson. Ther learn from tivi dicate a few o lesson is, tb clothes the e fills them witl toil on their e hag to prov children, witi part. Secooe flowers the perishable na flowers are ab in all ereatior