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J It is to notto that men suggest absenting polls at tie next general in order that total role may reduced and In this way easier or the prohibitionists to obtain a majority when the vote is taken on the referendum in October The object of the object approved by many of wen In Province as by the re ligious pre to get preponderating of opinion on the irf pronation If the temperance men desire a for that will be effective instead of by the one toga vote- at the next general election they will object of tie Government a full rt pinion and at tame time discourage a form ox which to the least Justi fied on high leaving out of en- the Interest of the temperance cause It would be easy for and we have no Idea what its intention Is this by provid- lag that should the rote at the rWt general election be smaller than the vote cast in 1698 then the basis of the referendum should be the vote of have no idea the Government intend taking auch a coarse would be perfectly legitimate for it to do if there was any attempt to prevent the obtaining of a full erpreaaion of opinion by the method suggested in some quarter THE QUESTION Cot has to resent the report ox the Textbook That report laugh ed out of court his ridiculous advocacy of the Irish national readers unusual M attack upon the commission is also un derstood He had intended to make school books ft chief plank In the election of This plank was wide as the Province itself limits were so vague that true outlines could readily be concealed in cloud of glittering and plausible arguments But the report of the commission swept the plank from under him- General statements plausible conclusions Tenement accusations all fell away In the pre tence of the clearcut and Impartial decisions of the These decision said that the retail price of the school books were not excessive and should not be reduced to any lower prices and that both in the price and quality of these books tne public had nothing to complain of The Ontario method of authorization they also said has worked admirably and it would not be in the public in terest to abandon the system of royalty Moreover they added admirable of is obtainable in Ontario as cheaply as in England or toe United States and many instances at much less cost and the contracts for publication contain such provisions that there cannot be a monopoly The elections of are before him and Mr Whit ney once more collecting his planks He would re joice to unearth the old textbook plank but it lies buried under the commissions report It is natural then that he should pour out bis bitterness upon the commission He charges thatit was improperly ap pointed and improperly constituted And yet It was duly appointed by order in Council and in personnel It was unobjectionable Judge Morgan brought to the commission his legal and judicial training as well as his experience as a member of a similar in I860 Mr James Bain in addition to Ms ex perience as a commissioner In many similar investi gations gave to the commission his unsurpassed of books and their values Mr the third commissioner represented the practical wisdom of a lifelong publisher A better classified commission could not be devised- The fair ness or impartiality of commission could not to questioned Mr Whitney charges further that the was unfairly conducted It is true that the re presentatives of press were not admitted to its sessions The publishers of Toronto submitted their account book to the commission and revealed under oath the nature and extent of their business tions Was it unfair to exclude the press and the public The sittings themselves were not a secret to the Toronto press The proceedings were not hurried or incomplete Twentyone sessions were held and the counsel for the commissioners and publishers Messrs and were in their methods searching M impartial The witnesses were experts hi they should be in such technical matters as the making books Twenty witnesses were examined as to the cost of the textbooks Several of these wit nesses were members of the publishing houses con cerned In the Inquiry necessarily But they were examined by able counsel and under oath and their evidence was verified by a personal examination their account books Onehalf of the witnesses on the cost of the were representative of the printing publishing and papermaking firms of the in no wise connected with the publishing houses Interested in the inquiry Ten witnesses were exam- as to the system of royalty and onehalf of these represented editors and onehalf publisher university professors of English representatives of the four universities of Toronto gave evidence as to the quality of the textbooks What more could Mr Whitney ask Could it be that he resents the omission to call Col or himself as a Witness TV of prty wurfwe men who their country well and truly men who not bettay their positions of public trust for As a natural sequence of such disinterested and service on port of those who give their best bought and energy to problems lario is wbdged attained a proud position among her sister Provinces She is a pioneer leader in In method said intha of her heritage in i i A to their provincial history select their representaiiTes for another legislative term and through them the to conduct the affairs of government The opportunity important ballot thus expressed may for the continued prosperity and government of the Province Thus the Ross Government will place their record beore the people honorable it has been a record of strong men serving in administrative a record of progress a record- to which the high traditions of liberal government in the past have been fully maintained the voters of Ontario wiU say present Cabinet deserve continued on record alone Hut there is another and reason why they should be sustained at the polls the reason of te future- Never in the history of the Province creditable as that history has been has it been bo to retain a strong representative and ex perienced in power- having in view the of the immediate future has the fu ture looked so bright to Ontario on the lines of inter nal development and material prosperity- The Gov ernmental motto Build up Ontario calls for the best thought the best energies of the Premier and his Ministers and as men of proved experience in legislative and life they arc the beat qualified to still further add to the record the past Wbat of Ontarios future f With only onesixth of its area having passed from the possession of the Crown an empire in itself remains to be developed A hundred million acres remain in the Grown with what untold wealth and rossibilitiea of development who can predict New streams of settlement are pouring into the rich valleya of the Provincial new centres of civilization are springing up new markets are being prepared for And with this northward and westward expansion within Provincial boundaries the railways are extend ing lines of steel highways are being created to take the plae of the blared path through the forest natures rich reserve of is beginning to be utilized and the and church the twin adjuncts of springing up aide by side with the home of the pioneer Abie honest courage ous administrators still be needed to direct great energies and to assist In and the tfounda- now counties audacities We are undoubtedly on the eve of great in our natural resources before has Ontarios mineral wealth attracted so much attention of capital and expert mineral knowledge Much result for example from the deep interest recently shown in the district by A who has expressed himself as greatly pleased with the examinations there made on his behalf Scarce month passes but fresh Indications of mineral wealth are discovered Strong men are still needed to legis late wisely regarding this department of Provincial wealth We are moreover on the eve even greater de velopment in connection with the industry Another decade will see many new mills at work employing an army of men and attracting more to our northern regions Under the regulation requiring the manufacture of pulp within the Province and in view of our vast storehouses of the necessary for that purpose Ontario may soon become the great paper supply depot of Ameri ca if not of the world Able administration of this branch of activity will be called for The exploratory surveys of 1900 further revealed the Immense possibilities of new Ontario between the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway and James representing a vast region yet untrodden by other than a chance voysgeur or explorer It was found to contain extensive forests of and whit pine great natural playgrounds of lake and island and mighty rivera with almost beyond computation The area includes one Immense forest reserve and suitable areas for others Farseeing men are still necessary for the gradual utilization of all evidences of additional Provincial wealth The vision of Ontarios future is a vision for to day The men of the present generation are entitled to go in and take possession of this new northern do main and the outlook is one that may well thrill with its bright possibilities Inspiring as has been our years of growth the coming span of years of equal length will witness an enlargement and de velopment that warrants a high optimism Much de pends however on Governmental management on the upon whom will fall the task of safeguarding our rich heritage of with the problems of ex pansion with a statesmanlike breadth of view that will produce the beet results for the people Who then are best qualified for the important Men who have had no experience in depart mental administration or In drafting legislation to meet the need of the times- men who Indeed have opposed nearly every the exploitation and progress of the Province or men who have already served the Province faithfully and well who have in- many of the forward movements in recent years and are therefore best qualified to carry through to a satisfactory completion We have no fear of the result at the poll it will be a mandate to Premier Rosa colleagues Continue the good work build up Ontario sea that the Province retain its lead in this growing Dominion do not fti order to ascertain u fceei Sit to fully regarding Only the merest skeleton can bo limits of ft speech which over- two hoars in delivery fiiid no one interested in the question should fail read the arguments which appear elsewhere by which Premier supported bli He began by pointing out the progress that had been made under law towards goo aied- trend had been steadily in favor of greater- and greater restriction exempli fied by the licenses Inthe were but W1 In Jf every person There municipalities in Province today was not a single license which there was obey or not in which there was not a single shop license He compared the Provinces and drew the Btitistics setUe such a thingthai the most ProrincySn the Dominion The progress had been continuous In further restrictive measures had been oh toe stalotebook which ad resulted In the number of licenses being reduced by more than 150 Thehad a and further legislation in that direction would have been brought before the House but for the largerqueatlon raised by the Manitoba act it was a case where the greater eclipsed the lesser and it was deemed not advisable to proceed any further with license measures until they ascertained of yie people with respect to the greater measure- of restriction They had therefore determined to ascertain the feeling of the electorate with respect to measure Identical with the Manitoba act- Prohibition had never been a party question No party in the minion had ever adopted it as ft part of In determining- to submit it to tie people they were F views Are Far to In I nave expression to theli views oh the bill subroitted by the Pre- the ler Among the interviews given were the pur personally land for I wish to say I am greatly of tha pro- question in thft ieSlatre ved- It seems to me fair- minded prohibitionist should be satisfied and that temperance people who are not prohibitionists should be induced to sup port the bill presented the Premier Wednesday This- is the golden to have prohibition in the Pro vince of Ontario as far us the bill grants prohibition and there be a- united effort to record a large majority vote on of October Chancellor of Victoria said think it is the course the Government could have taken You cannot legislate against public opin ion Unlike the plebiscite the referen dum is on a definite measure It is for the temperance people now to work hard for their cause It Is ft big question and there is enough for all of us to do in time given Rev J P President of being charged with merely shirking and Methodist Conference said that that method was and from be- Early in last December he had communicated with Sir qUUiion giving- An Batter Than He Expected Rev Dr Suiherlsnd General- Kecre- of Missionary Society of the Church said The measure been presented in better shape than expected for it not only adopts- the Manitoba but tot only a majority vote of the people A woUilrdsmaiarity unreasonable if the- vere same- times- the general ilcfltidnHwoul would the people mnch and- exwirftf I have not gone into the detail of tW but It go to the people the Mani toba dot perhaps as a measure fta could expect- the As an result of this con- ONTARIO GOVERNMENT OF THE FUTURE Ontario is a fortunate Province in more respects than one In geographical situation the middle link in the chain of Promotes in conditions that produce strong types of men and ft wide range of tural products and largely of British extraction with the cream of other nationalities presented Ontario is entitled to her the member of the confederated family Kens fortunate has been the controlled her during the -Indeed- Alffa teal mi t j- BRINGING IN THE The handsome chamber in which the deliberation of the Provincial are held has seldom shown to better advantage than it did when the Premier got up to move the first reading of An act respecting the sale of intoxicating liquor in Province of Ontario a title ran Every seat was filled long before Mr Speaker took the chair standingroom was at a premium and were outside toget in On the floor a favor ed few had secured seats and almost trespassed on the space defined by the position of the bar lion Mr speech in introducing the act naturally divided itself into namely I tho position of the temperance the Province the necessity of ascertaining opinion a to It a defence of the referendum a mean Of doing ad and drawing the plebiscite ad a ISA srJWriI John admittedly the greateatconstltutional authority in the Dominion as to what Ms views were with respect to referendum Sir John had taken trouble to send an extended opinion the conclusion being that the referendum was not In consistent with sound constitutional British procedure Mr- Bourlnot quoted a number of high authorities in support of his own view and cited the principle in the new Australian constitution which provides for a reference to the popular vote whenever a deadlock ensues between the Senate The a favorable opinion Lord Salisbury on the referendum principle I believe said JUord Salisbury that nothing could oppose a bulwark to popular passion except an arrangement for deliber ateend careful reference of any matter In dispute to the votes of the people like the exist ing in ths United States and Switzerland- He also quoted of the referendum principle from Prof the eminent historian J St editor of The London Spectator Prances and other Mr Ross ahowed that he is not to bo frightened from considering any thing that promises political- improvement because someone for a temporary purpose calls bad names after It The referendum with regard to the class of was to apply it needed no defence because there were precedents for It on every hand precedents In the and in the Provinces and in the municipali ties so that it might be said that the bringing into operation of anything of the nature of a prohibitory law had invariably been done by a vote lie mentioned the instances where it employed In municipalities on money bylaws and- popular votes of various kinds For himself he had confidence in submitting such a measure as he now introduc ing to the calm judicial thought of tho people Coming to the question of what majority should be efficacious to make the measure law he was again able to appeal to a wealth of precedents He able to quote soch middleoftheroad prohibitionists as Senator for some years President of Alliance hud Sir Leonard in this regard The former speaking as a prohibUioniat In the Ben- ate was quite prepared to accept condition that prohibition should only bo made operative when It was shown that a large majority in Us favor Sir Leonard said in 1884 this majority should be of those voting The great weakness of the Scott act was that It could be put in operation by a mere majority of the votes He from Mr Fosters in the House of Commons that pr61ubitlon could only be successfully enforced when there was shown to be a preponderat ing and active the country in its favor and that tbe man who would attempt to enforce it under any condition would not be a true friend of prohibition Mr Ross recited what had been the fate of the and fecet acts something that ho one needs to be fold Mr the leader of the prohibitionists in the Dominion Parliament in a reso lution made there a few ago stipulated that prohibition should not be enforced unless a majority of the qualified electors voted for it In regard pledges given by Sir Oliver reminded them of the language of them There were two The first expressed Sir Oliver readiness to give prohibition If It were shown that they had power to stop the sale of liquor Ontario It was arguable that this measure which had run gauntlet of tho Council did not prohibit sale language of second that he would give Province a prohibitory law the powers that they were shown to have could only enable them to pass a measure which would fail to be effective from a tem perance standpoint These were the pledges which both Mr Hardy and himself had also subscribed to and which be was now carrying out by submitting a measure for the approval electors which- the highest authorities had decided was within the com petence of the Legislature If the elector stamped it with approval he further pledged himself to put it In operation Ho would rather gat an honest unbiassed opinion in this way than attempt to a political advantage as might be done He distin guished between a referendum and a plebiscite The latter was a vote on an abstract question the wa a vote on a practical measure terms of which were known and which would go Into operation when conditions attached to ginning and think the vote Mr asks for Is nothing but reasonable In fact it is better than I expected Favors tho Referendum Principal of Knox College said The temperance movement has for- a long time been tending towards pro hibition and the people have I think a right to pronounce upon it It can hardly be expected however that perfect measure can be presented to them at present The way is now Open for any complete measure such aa the Dominion could enact I am in favor of the referendum but if the ob ject of Government is to shirk re sponsibility I would join with the others in it On a matter which so deeply enters into the social and busi ness life of the they have a right to be specially consulted A plebi- on the abstract question of prohibi tion is not th same thing as a vote of the people on the actual measure now submitted There should be I think a strong majority a majority I should say of the possible voters or three- fifths of those actually Voting I should not like to see it smaller Mr ifaclarens View ONTARIOS GREAT ESTATE branch Provincial administra tion laof greater Importance than the Department of Crown Lands As the great department which has lujbught thirtyfive ralllbn in to the treasury confederation It his to do with vast territory in which a hundred million screws are posed of an in area possessing untold of natural re sources in tha soil the forest the min eral deposits and wealth and chaws of and lakes Invalu able- as waterways and The effective of snob a rich heritage demands best energies of a high typeof servant and the Province has been fortunate in securing the services of just such men in this of Governmental control men of the calibre and capacity of Stephen Rich- Scott T Pardee Is J it Gibson and the present J Davis who succeeded to the portfolio to October of The of the Hon Mr Davis were recognized on every hand resting they did- upon his own sue- business life his municipal career record of thirteen years as member for North York and Ma ad ministrative record as Provincial Although only two years have elapsed since Mr Da via became Com missioner be has already shown himself a worthy successor of a notable line of Provincial Crown lands administra tors One of his first steps was to familiarize himself with the vast domain over which he has control To that end he has personally Inspected the various agricultural lumbering and mining dis tricts In new Ontario from on the east to the Rainy River on the thus equipping himself with the firsthand knowledge indispensable to successful adminlstrsition of the ex tended and varied interests coming with in the purvlSw of his department The results of his administration are already apparent especially in connec tion with colonization Air Davis In instituted a bureau of Coloniza tion the work of which has more than justified its creation Commissioner has rendered the Province a valuable service in realizing growing- needs of our new north Tbe streams of set tlement guided into these fertile regions during the past two seasons far In excess of those of previous years Eighteen townships for example were opened in the dlstrictalone In order to accommodate the unprecedented rash to the new lands of that portion of Ontario while Thunder Bay and Rainy River sec tions also show a steady inflow of de sirable settlers The Commissioner carried out two successful nine timber sales That of December 1890 was rendered necessary by reason of the limits having been over run by fire The limits sold in September of were placed on the market partly with a view to ultimate opening up of- agricultural lands in to meet a bill introduced by him during the of in whih many were to the existing law The chief effected related to the royalty clause in act which was repealed thereby removing ail inequalities and lacing all mining properties on an equal matter of attracting and in way assisting greater development of the nickel and copper districts There was in a strong feeling on the part of the mining public that as great a degree refining of nickel and copper ores should be done in Canada as was practlonble clause was there- upon inserted in the act of 1000 pro viding that power should be reserved to the in Council to Impose certain license fee to be levied upon the raw ores or the partly treated products of the ores mentioned to he remitted however the fine were produced in the This of the new act has not been into force there being as jet no process in operation In Canada for complete refining of these or desire of Government is to bring the refining of nickel to as high a Debit as possible In our own country and result is being gradually achieved with out need of an enforcing law arid through the cooperation of the companies interested Reduction works bave been established at Sudbury by the treatment of the raw carried to a much higher point than to Formerly the matte left corttainlng from 35 per cent to per cent of metallic contents of nickel and copper now it is brought to which Is a long stride toward goal of complete refining in Canada A word should bo said as to the getlc way la which Bureau of Mines arranged its display at the recent Pan- American Exposition Three gold me data were awarded Ontario for general exhibit of economic ores and minerals maps and photographs of its mineral resources There were twenty other medals and awards No other Province or State approached Ontario in the number of awards or the general excellence of its exhibits J J the lonthat the referendum is quite consti tutional though It may not be quite In consonance with our part directly fixes responsibility upon the party in power Mr sid ru had been regarded It was held to bo in some quarters Again there were those who said it wis unconstitutional He did not hold with this view referen dum was quite constitutional but it perhaps answered to our party system Our party system fixed re sponsibility The party in power wero responsible to the people The refer endum might bo objected to on the score that It to lessen respon sibility That was to say the power could throw at any time though they been elected by the will for settlement arising through the people the burden of responsibility construction of Central off their shoulders and propose the referendum Asked if the referendum was a on the of the or lustrated a genuine desire to Hallway and because certain of the townships had been burned over and miners and were going in prices realized at these two sales were moat satisfactory showing an the will of the people Mr price per that has it was wholly a matter of the been twice exceeded In the whole kind of political spectacles through which of Provincial timber ssle3 since you looked at the motive Some said j confederation was an evasion others that It To Mr Davis is duo the credit of reasonable that the people Oreranging regulations into should be asked in a solemn manner making it legal to ranters on to declare their will for while Crown timber lauds where found had affirmed principle of and also on licensed timber lands and had voted for prohibition where limitholders do not make Dominion they had yet to vote application for a staff The Ontario the concrete question of system Is recognized as the best hit on for Province of Ontario Mr on continent Its chief features said ho recommended his copied in Quebec New Brims temperance friends not to oppose the wick and British Columbia and by referendum for that would be a Dominion In respect to western of strength which would all be lands still under the control of tho In the bringing forward Federal Government Tho United States largest possible veto on question Government has practically adopted the Ontario system In reference to Its public lands It may bo added that the timber regulations of the Crown Depart ment have been largely copied by other as well the Ontorlo should pin their faith to of licensing cullers who measure all a w of cast Some had timber cut on licensed lands on which The fallowing opinion was by Hon Llewelyn Powers Governor of Mains In to a gentleman In To ronto regarding the of prohibi tion la that State For more years prohibition of the liquor been the settled policy of the of Maine There is no that the desires to change Our peoplo are among the most gent of Union and are capable of appreciating of good or bad comes from prohibition and are decidedly the opinion that great good has result ed I doubt very much if it has had any great influence on the business In terests of the State but so far as It has affected them It has aided by tend ing to make the wageearners more tem perate and industrious I think has been of vice crime than would have been the case without pro- as in our State a large portion of the crimes are the result of the proper use of intoxicating liquors and I think that Is so everywhere I think It has diminished the con sumption very largely and will find proof of when you recall the efforts that are being constantly made by ilquor dealers to repeal the prohibitory Jaw Whether it has had more good than effect on the moral character of the citi zens is a matter of opinion I think on the whole Its effect has been for good though it has caused many persona to violate Ha provisions and many com munities look with too much complacency upon It open vior In trie small towns I mean rural towns and small villages the saloon and grog shop are among the things of the past In our larger villages and cities Intoxicating liquors are sold sometimes openly and often secretly though there many prose cutions of the parties engaged in the traffic Favored Majority Vote As to percentage of majority Mr had advocated that tern- said twothirds others bad asked for a majority showing per cent and Government lie now observed had asked or a majority of votes poll ed at tho last Provincial election lie had not had time to consider effect measurements the accounts for Crown dues are based The administration of the Crown Lands Department has been marked by a pre policy In regard to forest re serves The setting apart of the great fulled Mr Ross then dealt with tbe important question as to what majority would necessary to glvo effect to the bill They had considered the pre cedents which had had them but finally reached coocfuston that electoral lists on which the general election be held would be the lists to bo used at a special election taking plies on of October and that tho numberof votes cast at the general would be the upon which the majority would be calculated Illustrate If votes ar recorded- at the gen eral election it will votes at leas election of this upon temperance vote but reserve on January of not disturbed it He had was a notable event in departmental beep in favor of majority of ths votes history This reserve comprises an area cast ho knew well enough that nearly a million a half acres no Government which had been elected includes a great stretch of white on a bare majority could withstand the pine estimated three billion feet It force of a majority polled In favor of constitutes a vast natural park of prohibition There might bo certain wonderful beauty in which are to questions confined to small areas of be found the headwaters of several operation In regard to which you might demand a two- thirds vote but the ques tion affected the whole Province and a majority vote would found to streams It is the first area of virgin forest set apart in Province a forest reserve Incidentally it will form valuable fish and game preserve resistible Some prominent persons both it is satisfactory to the public to know clerical and lay had been calling for J that tho Government Is thus thoroughly twothirds and sixty per cent which he thought to very unwise It was like giving the temperance case away Ho would not commit himself to the new proposal of Govern ment that there should be a majority of the votes cast at last Provincial election compensation Mr j try has been no loss marked as said that It was absurd to Its bright- prospects for thoImpicdlate talk of It as the people In future The Commissioner is responsible had received forty years warning MA for two excellent regulations In this alive to importance of forestry and Reference should in fairness bo made io the manner in which department has dealt with industry which Is rapidly assuming large propor tions The recent growth Indus- connection the Increase of tho dues on spruce from to forty cents per cord with to further thought the enforcement of a prohibitory law would bo quite prac ticable Will Bring a Big Vote creases as public policy shall war rant and a provision that all J A Macdonald of cut on Crown lands In -the- Those who have devlnec must hereafter be the referendum and said It into- pulp or Us product unconstitutional and must In Canada Millions have already been the light of the Premier sspeech and invested- In whom 1HOISXiATlOX The public Is moderately familiar with evils that have arisen In connection with the building and operation of steam railways and tho thought has frequently been expressed that if we had the road to go over again would adopt very different methods Our mistakes have been somewhat numerous Chiefly for example we have to considerable ex tent allowed the absolute control of rates to slip out of our hands Even where we attempted to deal with rates on tho basis of tho amount invested have been frustrated by overbonding overcapitalization and their kindred evils Wo have seen tho cost of build ing unduly enhanced by the familiar construction company device One of the growing convictions of the time that public control of these corpora tions must be strengthened and we are- fretting in a mood to go to considerably for that purpose That is the position as to steam rail ways We are now the beginning of a new eraon era of electric railway building Would it not be well to nsk ourselves if our experiences with steam railways are to be of any use to us in warning us to avoid similar errors in dealing with the new form of transporta tion We do not form extravagant no tions of the great profits which may be reaped from the operation of electric railways It would not surprise us if It were shown that the profits were lemattcal and It might be that If rates for passengers and freights were now fixed they would be found too low to yield profits at nil To fix rates might therefore be inadvisable but what should bo dons Is that the absolute right to fix at any future time should be preserved Closely connected with this- Is the public right to know with certainty the actual amount of cap ital invested In these enterprises If this be regarded as an unwarranted In of private Interests the reply triAt they are not private interests In ths rest sene of the words These com- arc allowed to run over the pub c roads arc relieved from the cost of way and- to a law Extent of the cost of grading It h require that etna cost of construction and railways should be for the protection of the public Interest Tsriou enterprise would begrudge a handsome