NEW BRUNSWICK. 



491 



M: llltrNSMK'K. 'I'll,- Hon. Sir S. I, 

 Tilley, C. 15., K.c. M.<;., in November. completed 

 hi-, scxcnth year as Lieutenant-Governor of 

 I In' province. The Kxccutive Council al piv>- 

 nit consists of lion. A. (i. Blair, Attoniey-den- 

 cnil and Premier; Hon. .lames .Mitchell', 1'ro- 

 \incial Secretary ami Receiver-General; lion. 

 11. i;. Emmerson. Chief Commiaeioner of Pub- 

 lic Works; lion. Lemuel J. Tweed ie, Surveyor- 

 (iencral : lion. Ambrose I). Richard. Solicitor- 

 general*; Hon. Cliarlcs II. La Hillois and Hon. 

 11. A. Council, without ollices. 



An event of considerable importance in the 

 constitutional history of the province occurred 

 in September, when the Lieut c mint-Governor 

 l>\ proclamation dissolved the House of Assem- 

 bly, by which, under the provisions of the act 

 passed liy the Legislature in the session of 1891, 

 the Legislative Council, or second branch of the 

 Legislature, ceased to exist. The legislative 

 powers hereafter will be vested in the Lieuten- 

 ant-(iovenior and Legislative Assembly. A 

 general election was held in October, and the 

 constituencies returned a large majority in favor 

 of the Administration, notwithstanding the Gov- 

 ernment sustained a serious reverse in the de- 

 feat of the Attorney-General, with 3 of his col- 

 leagues and supporters in the County of York. 

 The Solicitor-General was also defeated. With- 

 in a month the Attorney-General was elected 

 for another constituency (Queens), the member 

 elect having resigned to create a vacancy. 



Finances. The statement of the Receiver- 

 General shows that the receipts of the year, 

 closed Dec. 31, 1892, were $834,602.73, and the 

 payments $828,482.97. The balance at debit of 

 the account, $90,338.56 in 1891, is reduced to 

 $84,218.80 in 1892. The receipts were obtained 

 from the following sources of revenue : Domin- 

 ion subsidies, $483,581.68 ; Crown lands, $128,- 

 :J1 !.'(): taxes, $22,410.82; interest, $4,756.26; 

 proceeds of bonds floated for public works, $147,- 

 690 ; claim against the Maritime Bank, in liqui- 

 dation, $34,243.74; other sources, $13,600.63. 

 The payments were made for the following serv- 

 ices : Administration of justice, $13,292.85 ; en- 

 couragement of agriculture, $16,670.89; educa- 

 tion, $175,918.13 ; interest on the provincial debt, 

 $106,910.84 ; invested in sinking funds. $8,500 ; 

 care of the insane, $48,000 ; Legislature and ad- 

 ministration of the Government, $94,844.55; 

 public health, $6,367.91 ; construction and re- 

 pairs of public works, $347,749.78; miscellane- 

 ous, 10,228.02. The gross debt of the province 

 was $2,728,716.79 ; the assets, $561,288.03. Of 

 the gross debt, $2,583,500 is represented by pro- 

 vincial bonds afloat at an average interest of 

 4'65 per cent. ; and there were issued to provide 

 for subsidies to provincial railways $1,908,500; 

 construction of public bridges, $400,000; impor- 

 tation of horses for breeding, $30,000 ; over-e^c- 

 penditure on current revenue account, $250,000. 

 The balance of the debt represents : Interest 

 coupons not presented for payment at close of 

 year. $18,316.25; guarantee deposit, Independ- 

 ent Order of Foresters, $20,000 ; balance at debit 

 of current revenue account, $84,218.80; balance 



* Since the close of 1892 the Hon. A. D. Richard, hav- 

 ing been defeated in the election in October, has re- 

 sitrned the office of Solicitor-General, and Hon. N. 8. 

 White has been appointed thereto. 



due to provincial departments at close ol 

 $22,681.74. The assets are made up of amount 

 due from the Dominion Government. $581,185.72, 

 yielding 5 per cent, interest, sinking funds, 

 yielding 4 j>er cent, interest, $27,595.84; agri- 

 cultural department for sales of stock, $2,506.47. 

 The province owns over 7,000,000 acres of land. 

 Legislature. The local Legislature WMOOD* 

 venea for its twenty-ninth session since the con- 

 federation of the British North A -m -ricnii prov- 

 ince-, tins l>eing the third session of the House of 

 Assembly elected in March, 1890. The session 

 was one of unusual interest, through the action 

 of the Lieutenant-Governor on a question of re- 

 sponsible government, and important legislation 

 affecting the fiscal policy of tne province. Tin- 

 leader of the Opposition, with 11 of his followers, 

 presented to the Lieutenant-Governor a memo- 

 rial containing 18 specific charges of corruption 

 and fraudulent administration against the At- 

 torney-General and other members of the Ex- 

 ecutive Council, and requesting the appointment 

 of a court of royal commission, composed of 

 one or more of the judges of the Supreme Court 

 of the province, to investigate and report upon 

 the charges ; the commission to have full power 

 and authority to compel the attendance of wit- 

 nesses and the production of papers and books, 

 and to examine witnesses on oath. The memo- 

 rialists alleged their full belief in the truth of 

 the charges, and their opinion that an impar- 

 tial investigation could not be obtained before a 

 committee of the Assembly, of whom a majority 

 were supporters of the Government. The Lieu- 

 tenant-Governor submitted the memorial, with 

 the following reply, to the Legislature : 



SIR : The Lieutenant-Governor was on Thursday 

 last, the 81st ult., at noon, handed a communication 

 from you, accompanied by a memorial, bearing the 

 signatures of vourself and other member* of the 

 Legislature reflecting upon the conduct of his Gov- 

 ernment and members thereof, and reo^uestinir that a 

 royal commission be appointed to investigate the mat- 

 ters therein alleged. 



The Lieutenant-Governor would remind the me- 

 morialists that the usual parliamentary xxnirse in 

 such eases is for a member of Parliament, in his 

 place in the House, to formulate his charges, .-tatinu 

 at the same time that he is credibly informed and ! 

 lieves he con establish the sumo by satisfactory evi- 

 dence, and to ask for the appointment <>(' a s'pecial 

 committee to investigate the same, or it* reference to 

 a standing committee for that purpose. 



The Lieutenant-Governor can not recall to memory 

 a single case where a commission such us has been 

 asked for was granted when these preliminary stops 

 were not taken, or where evidence warranting such a 

 course hod not been submitted to, or brought out be- 

 fore a parliamentary committee. 



In tne present case ir.ot'tlic 1 s charges made by 

 the memorialists have not been formulated by any 

 member in the Legislature, and the memorial is im- 

 aceompanicd by any statement of the nature ot the 

 evidence upon whie'h the memorialists rely in sup- 

 port of their accusations. 



In addition to the specific charges made, it is re 

 quested "that anv other churircs that may be duly 

 submitted to uia commission tor in\ estimation, ana 

 the tacts and circumstances preceding, accompany- 

 ing, causing, and following the payments, contract*, 

 and agreements and arraiiirements that may be there- 

 in alleged respectively, and into all the fact* and cir 

 cumstaiu . > which ore of a nature to make known by 

 what svstem, proceeding, or method, by what inter- 

 mediaries and conditions, contracts, subsidies, prao- 



