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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1935-07-25, Page 3THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE THURSDAY, JULY 3*5111, 1085 The Late Jos. Harvey To whom much credit is due for the early work of the Horticultural Society Jos. Senior' ■President of the Exeter Old Boys &, Girls Association, who unfortunately is at present under the weather. This ipicture was taken many years ago. ■Premier Hepburn AnnouncesT emper ance Act Appeal To Concede Force of Canada Tem­ perance Act in Peel, Huron and Perth, he says, Would be “to • Abdicate PawerH of Legislature” Sale of Beer and Wine Dependent on Result Premier Hepburn recently an­ nounced recently from Queen’s Park that he intended to fight the Canada Temperance Act. A Privy Council appeal, or what­ ever step1 may be necessary to assert Provincial control over liquoV, is proposed by the Premier. His pur­ pose, he says, is to assert the right of ‘Ontario to deal with its liquor problem. ■ 'The Premier announced and de-, fended his decision in a 1,000-word ty.pe-written statement—one of his very infrequent formal releases. It follows three weeks after the Ottawa Supreme Court decision, which stat­ ed that dry Temperance Act was law in Peel, Perth and Huron Couuties. Temperance forces have claimed that the decision made the beverage aiGoms, which continued to operate, infractors of the law, and it was ru­ mored at Queen’s Park on Wednes­ day last that some specific legal tangles led to the Government pro­nouncement'! The Late John W. Taylor Founder of Ross-Taylor Co, and several times Reeve of Exeter The.Late John hliiir Woollen Manufacturer “If this decision is to go unchal­ lenged,’’ the Premier admitted in his statement, “the practical result will be that all authorities for the sale of beer and wine in these coun­ ties must be revoked.’’ Provincial Rights The premier makes Provincial rights the major basis of his argu­ ment. If the Dominion can pass liquor laws for Ontario, he says, there seems no reason why it cannot usurp all powers given to the Prov­ ince. The Temperance Act itself is ex­ amined and the Premier points out defects in that it requires a 50 per cent, majority in a plebiscite and in its county-wide scope. It does not say anything about liquor advertis­ ing, importation, or sale to minors, he claims, and there is no machinery for its enforcement. Further, the Premier holds that the Liquor Con­ trol Act is probably not in force in counties under t'he Canada Temper­ ance Act. “I am convinced that the people of Ontario desire a system off liquor contrdl,’’ he says, “as opposed to the unworkable system of prohibition, Which was given a thorough trial.” Premier’s Statement The Premier’s statement follows: “By a majority of three to two the Supreme Court of Ontario of Canada on a reference submitted to it by the Govenpr-in~Council, has decided that the Canada Temperance Act is now in force in the Counties of Peel, Perth and Huron. If this decision is to go unchallenged, the practical result will be that all authorities for the sale of beer an'd wine in those counties must be revoked. “The Supreme Court, in reaching its decision, considered a very nar­ row point, namely, whether or not the Canada Temperance Act was leg­ islation more restrictive than the' Liquor Control Act, and the inci­ dental question of whether the Can­ ada Temperance Act was restored in the counties automatically, or by order of the Governor-in-Council. “Tlhe answers given to these ques­ tions do not dispose of the real point raised by this Province, and the Judges Of the Supreme Court refus­ ed to deal with that point. Unconstitutional. “On behalf of t'he Province it was contended that under the B.N.A. Act the Canada Temperance Act is an interference with Provincial rights, and is therefore unconstitutional leg­ islation. It is quite obvious to everyone that the sale or control of liquor is a matter that must be handled by the Province, and at is hardly arguable that any Dominion legislation on the subject could prove satisfactory. “The problem seems to me to be inherently one of a local and private nature, and therefore a matter to be dealt with by the Province with­ out any interference from the Do­ minion. “It is to assert the right of the Province to deal with the liquet problems that I propose appealing this decision to the Privy Council, or taking whatever other steps may be necessary to assert Provincial control ever this matter. " “To calmly concere that the Do­ minion has the right to pass liquor legislation for the Province of On­ tario is virtually to abdicate the powers of the Provincial Legislation, and if the Dominion Government can encroach in this regard there seems to be no reason why it cannot grad­ ually usurp the powers given to the Province under the Act of Confed­ eration. “Apart altogether from the. ex­ tremely important constitutional point involved, there is also the practical question as to whether the Canada Temperance Act is workable and satisfactory, and a brief history o\that act may be helpful. ‘TBetween 187 8 and 18(85, twenty- six counties voted thmeselves under the Canada Temperance Act. By 18 89 every one of those twenty-six counties had abandoned the Act. In 1890 the Province .of Ontario passed its own local option law, which,, with certain amendments, has been in ef­ fect ever since, and is now part and parcel of the Liquor 'Control Act. “Under this legislation, any mu­ nicipality can prohibit the sale olf liquor within its confines and dur­ ing the thirty-five years in which the Provincal law lhas been in operation, 3 77 municipalities have elected to come under it. Three-Fiftlis Majority “Many have been under it for over thirty years. About five-eighths of the area of the Province and one- third of its population is now dry under the Provincial law. Over 50 per cent, of the areas of Peel, Huron and Perth are now dry under the Provincial Act. “Experience has shown that a con­ dition oif prohibition is not enforce­ able unless it is supported by a sub­ stantial majority of public opinion, and, for that reason, the Liquor Con­ trol Act requires a three-fifths ma­ jority to make a municipality dry. In the same way, a three-fifths ma­ jority is necessary to change a mu­ nicipality from dry to wet. “Under the Canada Temperance Act a unit was a county, and not a municipality, with the ’result that a bare majority in the county might impose its will upon persons living under different conditions and in a part of the county perhaps many miles away. It may be that in some counties seme parts went prohibitive legislation, and other parts want the controlled sale provided for by the Liquor Control Act. “Under the Liquor Control Act the local municipality is the unit, and each such municipality is en­ titled to. judge the kind of liquor leg­ islation it feels is best suited to the desires of its citizens. * Enforcement Question “There is also the question of en­ forcement io£ liquor legislation. The Liquor Control Act in enforced by Provincial and local police, and abuses are promptly checked. There is no machinery at all for the en­ forcement of the Canada Temperance Act. “This Government, has observed and will continue to observe, the wishes of the people of the Pr ivince. In those parts of the counties affect­ ed where there has been a vote un­ der Ontario legislation, and where the electors have expressed their op­ position to the sale of liquor or beer and wine, no> stores have been estab­ lished and no authorities given. “That policy the Government will continue to pursue. It !&• my firm op inion that we cannot have in the Province of Ontario tw > conflicting statutes dealing with the- liquor ques­ tion, and I intend tn assert consist­ ently the exclusive right of the. Prov­ ince to deal with this subject, ■which seems to me to be one peculiarly be-j longing to it. “I am onvinced that the people of Ontario desire a system of liquor control, as opposed to the unwork­ able system cf prohibition, which was given a thorough trial. The Canada Temperance Act. is not. even adequate prohibition legislation. It) (lias nothing to- say as to the use nr1 consumption of liquor but merely restricts the actual sale of liquor within the affected counties. Provincial Rights Threatened “It does not prohibit the im­ portation of liquor into dry territory nor has it anything to say about ad­ vertising liquor, or the sale thereof to minors', or the control of drunk­ enness, or the restriction of drinking in public places." “It is probable that the two, acts are not both operative and that the Liquor Control Act is not in force in places where the Canada Temper­ ance Act applies, and to have this act in force in some few places throughout the Province can only lead bo confusion and a thoroughly unsatisfactory condition. “The Federal Government has long recognized tacitly the exclusive right of the Province to enact liquor leg­ islation. I repeat that the struggle fr Provincial rights 'has been too slow and expensive to relinquish any of them. “This decision threatens not only the Provincial control of liquor and the .revenue derived from that con­ trol, but also the right to the Prov­ ince to give to> its citizens that kind of legislation which is designed to bring about temperate conditions un­ der Government supervision and con­ trol, as against this obsolete Feder­ al enactment. For that reason it must be challenged.” The Late Mrs. John White Wife of the Founder of the Exeter Times The Late George Saanwell Prominent Merchant A Few Words to You About the C.N.R. during 1934 the average number of persons employed by Canadian National Railways was 74,774, and the wages paid them came to almost one hundred million dollars.' This represented, both as to number employed and amount of payroll, an advance over 1933, and practically the whole increase in personnel was due to re-employment of those whose services had previously been dispensed with owing to lack of business. The average mileage of road operated in 1934 was 23,676 miles, making Canadian National Railways the largest single railway system in the Western Hemisphere. In 1934 the total freight transported by Canadian National Railways amounted to 44,719,477 tons, an increase of eighteen per cent over the previous year. The average haul of freight was 326 miles. The value of this freight is not ascertainable, but it must run into many hundred millions of dollars, and, comprising all kinds of necessities and luxuries, contributed to the welfare and happiness of every man, woman and child in the Dominion. Canadian National Railways carried over 10,000,000 passengers during 1934; This was also an increase over 1933. These paid in fares $16,331,299; or an average of $1.62 per passenger with an average journey of seventy-one and three-quarter miles. ' These figures, without embellishment or amplification, show the vastness of the public services rendered by Canadian National Railways. The system is conducted on as economical a scale as is consistent with the highest standards of railway operation. The improvement in business in 1934 over the previous year enabled more people to be employed : ; ; more wages to be paid . . ; more service to be rendered. Also, more money was available to be spent among Canadian producers and Canadian merchants. A continuation of this improvement in our business will carry on and enlarge these good results ; . . the whole country will benefit. This year Canadian National Railways is co-operating in an extensive way in the national movement to diminish unemployment and to restore industrial activity ; ; ; to help banish the depression and bring better times for everyone. Canadian National Railways feels justified in asking for your co-operation: A greater use by Canadian citizens of the facilities offered by this system — transportation, express, telegraphs, hotels — will materially help not only us, but all Canada ; s ; and you will receive full value for every dollar spent. This picture will remind many of the days when lawn bowling was popular in Exeter. It shows the Merner trophy won by W. W. Taman, R. G. Seldon, J. A. Stewart and W. D. Clarke.. A Heneall rink was runner-up, wnprising Fred Btish, Geo. Case, -----and D. McDonald. During the present Summer season the C.N.R. is providing special fares and excursions between points throughout Canada. These are exceptional travel bargains. The nearest C.N.R. agent will be glad to give full particulars.