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Peter Heenan, Labor member for Kenora-the farthest West Ontario constituency-confined his remarks to a. discussion of the needs and hopes of his own far-away riding, and, in- cidentaliy. evoked the applause of the House by asserting that he was not a "mrcssstrionist," but hoped by persuasion and argument to gel from older Ontario that to which the newer sections were, in his opinion. entitled. To impress more vividly upon the members the point of view of citizens of Ontario living 1,200 miles from the Capital, he detailed the history of northwestern Ontario from the before the days ot Confederation. He was quite sure, he said. that On- tario's far west would, have fared no worse-it could not have, he traid--- under Manitoban administration; he was bound to say, however, that it had received more consideration from the present 13overttmentSthG from any other. FREEBORN LAUDS POLICY There was even a little cross- floor sniping to enliven what is usu- ally a. dull day---that upon which the reply to the Address is moved and seconded. Hon. o. H. Fergu- Ion. Conservative Leader. started both skirmishes, scoring upon the Attorney-General in one, and faring not quite so well in another with the Premier. Labor Member Gives Thanks for Considerations and Asks for More With opening formalities auc- ceaafully disposed of. the Ontario Legislature swung into action at Queen's Park yesterday-not too strenuously. for the ftrtit day, but Just trot nicely under way} Hon. W. E. Haney had interrupt- ed Peter Keenan. the Labor mem- ber for Kenora, in his address, to bring out some point favorable to the Government in connection with the Backus deal. "Evidently," said Hon. Mr. Ferguson, from his seat. amid laughter, "the Attorney-Gen- eral is closer to Mr. Backus than is the member for Kenora." Then the Conservative Leader, upholding the rights of private members, ask- ed for "serious consideration" of the Premier's move to place Gov- ernment business on the order paper for each Monday. It was a. usurpa- tion ot rights, and improper. accord- ing to Hon. Mr. Ferguson. But Pre- mier Drury smilingly showed him where it had been done last session and even in the days when Hon. Mr. Ferguson occupied a seat on the. Treasury benches. Hon. Mr. Fer- guson said the authority sought was all right if it were not abused by the Government. Freeborn Is Eulogistic. J. W. Freeborn, U.F'.O. member for East Middlesex, started the oratorical. ball rolling in the House at 3.15 p.m. by moving the replv to the Address in a speech which lasted just 25 minutes. Mr. Free- born was brevity personified. He ably championed the agricultural in- dustry. voicing the demand of the farming fif'd"g1hr.,1t?itiotr legislation which would permit to Brow and prosper. The farmers of Ontario. he said. desired nothing in the way of paternal legislation. Then, de- voting a few brief words to each topic. he enumerated those enact- ments of the Drury Government which he considered were most in the interests of Ontario citizenship. and gave credit to the Government for its handling ot the Northern On- tario tire situation. and its policy of T. & N. o. extension. -e- Mr. Heenan discussed pulp and paper industry conditions in general ipd the Backus venture at Kpmra in MERELY PERSUADER, SAYS NEI HEENAN JANEJKRY 25, 1923: The Observer in Queen's Park 'the Backus'deal put tiiriiiii'ir by the Government was one of the best of its kind ever consummated. He showed! by statistics and correspond- ence how it had helped. Kenora. at a. time when the municipality we! threatened with bankruptcy. After all. he thought. the pulp resources of Ontario should not be made a. mere matter of Provincial revenues. but should be utilized to build up prosperous communities throughout the Province. In that connection he urged the Press to educate the pub- lic to the need of prohibiting ex- portation oCpulpwood for manufac- ture in the United States. In concluding. Mr. Heenan said that he personally was not going to be satisfied with tho meagre allow- ance of legislation heralded in thy Speech from the. Throne. ' F. w. Hay. Liberal Lpader, moved the adjournment. It is now taken for granted that the Government intends introducing at this session a measure ot pro- portional representation applicable to Toronto alone. This may be the only effort at redistribution With which the fifteenth Legislature will have to grapple. According to the best reports available the plan is to put into effect in this city the ,principle of the single transferable 'vote. The city, together with cer- ltain portions of East and West (York, may be divided into two big iconsiituencies, with six or seven {members selected by the single itransierable vote from each. "LEO. Not All Agreed. _ _. The mind ot the Government may not be entirely made up on this problem. It is known that many U.F'.O. members are not particular- ly favorable to the experiment be- ing tried in Toronto alone, but would go so tar as to apply it to every single-member constituency in the Province. These men evi- dently foresee both Drury and Morrison candidates running in the same ridings, one for broadening out and the other for the group isystem, and they figure U.F.0. lchances better in such cases under iproportional representation. How- iever, in the Conservative camp par- ;ticularly, the information is to the ietreer that Toronto alone will be affected, and enough of East and [West York attached to city rulings lo secure the defeat of Hon. George S. Henry and Dr. Forbes Godfrey. \Little else is being talked about by the followers of Hon. Howard Irer- guson, and preparations are being made to tight. "It the Government takes any step like that we shall be here un- til Thanksgiving," one prominent Conservative stated yesterday. and he added. that any principle ot pro- portional representation applicable to Toronto would have to be put through under closure. There is no provision in the Legislature rules of debate for closure, so that another fight would be put up, against the framing ot what all Op-. positions ca-ll "gag regulations." 'Already the Conservatives are men- tioning such terms as "robbery" in describing the transferable vote for Toronto. A Conservative Fight. The truiden of the furht will be tor the Conservatives. It is doubt-