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There are six queries. all on the one issue. and all making an impli- l cation which might have been avoided had tho Government included the Beauharnols matter in the judicial investigation. The present situation only confirms the attitude of this paper. some time ago. that. the thw- ernment from its own standpoint would have Men wise to have held a wide open inquiry, let the chips {all where they The" (From an Editorial in the Border! Cities Star.; Ontario has an excellent Govern- ment and it deserves well of the people. It is conducting the affairs of the Province, during these trying, days. in a manner that deserves com-' mendation. We must say. however.' that we believe its handling of the Hydro charges has been anything but} wise. For months the Government backed away from the idea of an in- vestigation of Hydro, as demanded by its opponents. For a time there was talk of an inquiry by a special com- mittee of the Legislature. One of the party's chief organs even announced that this had been decided upon. Finally. announcement was made of the appointment of a one-man Royal Commission to conduct a limited probe, only two matters being given to the Ccmmissioner for review. Natu- rally. the' limitations placed on the inquiry have caused a fresh st:~rm of dimpproval. a stcrm that the Pre- mier evidently believed he could squelch by his fiery attack on Mr. Hepburn in the Legislature this week. What is wrong? Why the anxiety? Why the commotion" Why the agi- tated alarm over investigation? What are Premier Henry and his Govern- ment determinm'i to conceal? Of what are they afraid? From a purely political standpomt we cannot help but regard Mr. Henry's handling of this situation as quite unfortunate. The Government's apparent refusal to be 100 per cent. frank with the people has aroused public suspicion in a remarkable way and has only served to intensify a once small agitation against the Ad- ministration. This agitation will not he queued by the throwing of Gov- ernment trrielrtagaintst the, agitators, particularly by accusing them ot be- ing unfriendly to Hydro. . great risk and legal responsibility. But this will not deter the Opposition from asking questions. And that is a. legitimate method in political strategy. As an instance. The To- Mnto Globe winds up a front-page editorial this morning with the fol- lowing: (From an Editorial in the St. Cath- arines Standard.) The cause of the Government. by failure to include the Beauhamois issue in the Hydro inquiry. will sur. fer by inferences which will be drawn. There has been no direct charge against any one connected with the Government or Hydro that any part of the money young Aird said he received was given as a bribe, or otherwise. in snruring thn contract for power from the, Quebec intcrests. It is quite certain that no public man will venture, with the evidence at hand, to make a charge against any one. and could only do so at Before the matter proceeds any fur- ther, betore it becomes any more in- volved. we believe that Mr. Henry would do well to give more thought to the situation and to meet it by the only course that will satisfy public opinion, namely, a wide open investi- gation of any phase of the Hydro situ- ation that any citizen ot Ontario may desire to bring forward. Nothing less than this will do. The Globe has published extracts from numerous Ontario newspapers of all political complexion, deploring the bitter opposition of Premier Henry toward in.. vestigatian of the Aird payment of $125,000 in connection with the Beauharnois- Hydro contract for 250.000 horsepower. These papers have not changed their views. Herelvith are reproduced a fem additional comments, in order that the Prime Minister may see, before the Royal Commission assumes its duties, the public opinion he has created, and which he must face in the future if he continues to insist on restricting the inquiry. Fe b. 2 A; 'i-C,'.",""-",,:"-""""'."'"','.',-"""'""","-:,"""'""'""",", i. For Premier Henry to Face 'i' G--.-- -.__._.. _-___... -..- That failure will create fresh m- picion that something decicbdly - color is being kept out of sight. Many people hoped that the head at tho Government would advancoam- ssnable explanation of why it wan not considered necessary or desirable to hare that transaction probed by Mr. Justice Middleton. (From an Editorial in the Peter'bor- cugh Examiner.) What is. worrying thousands at friends of Hydro is the ever-growing cloud ct suspicion that is enveloping the public ownership Granulation. and that is not being dissipated by the att_itude. adppted by the Government. Premier Hiuuts 'failureito' iieilic Tai, thaAIrd paygnqnt Ntditmppointimr. If this payment was honorable, and manifestly in the public interest, and one that would be universally ap- plauded by the people ct Ontario, Premier Henry ought to be the first to let the details be known. His con- troversy with Mr. Hepburn is appar- ently a desperate rffort to subordi- nate the main issue. The latter can be depended upcn to defend his own speeches, and that is no concern of the electors of Ontario. It is, howcver, a matter of supreme interest that the transactions of the Ontario Hydro Commission should be indisputably re- moved tram all suspicion. If the ac- ceptance of $125,000 by Aird. as al- leged in the evidence given at Ottawa, for securing a contract with the Hydro, was a master stroke of fin- ancial acumen, and one that, when the facts are fully known will win universal commendation. then by all means let the whole truth be pub- lished. _ Two of these questions, the second and third, have been referred to the Middleton Commission for in- quiry, but tor some reason, well known to himself and to the members of his Government, Premier Henry has been unbending in his refusal to expose the Beauharnois payment to the scrutiny of a judicial tribunal. It is utterly impossible for the people of Ontario, at least those ct them who are independent in the formation of their opinions, and in their views of public affairs, not to ask why it is that Premier Henry is so determined to keep the lid on this transaction. The heat developed in the Legislature in the course ot the discussion on the part of the Premier is a clear indica- tion that he is Titfe,fly, sensitive on this matter, and his re usal to submit this controversial question to the Mid- dieton Commission is, to say the least, a tactical blunder. (From an Editorial in the Brantford Expositor.) In speaking of "Hydro-Electric" he wondered if it represented private ownership. public ownership or politi- cal ownership. While he didn't know if there was anything wrong with Hydro, he felt certain that were Sir James Whitney and Sir Adam Beck to "return to earth" today they would likely walk into the "Hydro Temple," down on University Avenue. and remark: "My "Would you like me to answer that?" put in Premier Henry. "I'm speaking now," rammed Mr. Murray. Mr. Murray appeared in various roles. he said-as a sen ct one of the oldest Renirew pioneers: as an old baseball catcher; as an ex-railway- man: as a lumberman. and as a full- fledged M.P.P. Speaking in the ver- nacular of these several professions. he ccnvulsed the House and galleries at times with his references. but al- ways predominant in the varied notes he sounded was his determinatinn to go "agin' the Government" because of its handling of the trans-Canada unemployment relief project; its af- filiation with the present Tory Ad- ministration at Ottawa, and its pol- icy cf ulspensing patrcnage--espe- cially in Renfrcw. Transformation of Hydro. Mr. Murray said briskly that ho understood that M. J. O'Brien had "put it over" the Government in stl'v. ing the Madawaska power properties. Opposition members shook their heads, but Mr. Murray went on: "Well, M. J. is a smart fellow. and drives a hard bargain. He wouldnt need any bunco man like John Aird to help him. If the Hydro isn't go- ing to develop the Madamka, as it is talked now, I would like to know why." Power Sent to Toronto. The main regrettable thing about Hydro administration. he averted. was that Chats Fall-s 1rcnver-"just next door" to Renfrew Countyw should be sent right past them to, Toronto, and that Toronto power: users shank! be required to pay only: half the rates that the tlir?ii's:irii'sl Taking exception to sarcastic ref- erences of the Government supportcls to the Liberal leadership, Mr. Mur- ray recalled, in baseball vernacular. that Mr. Hepburn may have made some errors, because any one who "works fast and covers a lot of grognd': ls apt to make errors. As the "Pepper Martin" of Pro- vincial politics. Mr. Hepburn was des- tined. the speaker submitted, to show the Tories "how to hit." house has been a house of service. Have you made it}; lierrpt thieves?" _Arnprior., for instance, are now paying tor service. "But." he said, while the Conserva- tives jeered. "show me the ball player who doesn't make any mistakes. and I'll Show you a dead one." the transportation to Toronto of power that should be used "at home"; and that the Hydro-now that it had acquired the Madawaska pow-er prop- erti1s--apparcnuy did not know what, to do with them. for rumors were about that it did not intend to develop them. . With a blunt, directneSS that his Irish wit cften failed to mask, Thomas P. Murray, Liberal member for South Renfrew, took the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission and the Henry Government to task in the Legislature last night, charging that the people of his county had suffer- ed more from Hydro's "sins of omiz- sicn and transmission" than any one else in the Province; that industries had been lost to his section through LOSS OF INDUSTRIES CHARGED T0 HYDRO SHAFTS 0F IRISH WIT South Renfrew Liberal Says County Has Suffered From Commission's Policies