ONTARIO. 



years, the sawmilling business of the province, on 

 the other hand, has received a powerful stimulus. 

 Many existing mills have been enlarged, idle ones 

 have resumed work, and new mills have been built 

 and equipped to meet the demand for sawed lum- 

 ber. In pursuance of the policy of encouraging the 

 development of industries for which the circum- 

 stances of the province are specially adapted, an 

 order in Council has been passed that pulp wood 

 cut on Crown lands should be manufactured in 

 Canada. A measure confirming this order in Coun- 

 cil will be laid before you. 



" The desirability of preserving the forests in 

 districts not adapted for agriculture, so as to con- 

 stitute a permanent source of timber supply, has 

 been fully recognized in connection with the ad- 

 ministration of the Crown domain; accordingly, 

 districts capable of being reforested are being set 

 apart as forest reserves. 



" The healthy condition of the mining industry 

 is shown by the growth of revenue from sales and 

 rents of mining lands, the increase of investments 

 in mining enterprises, and a larger output from 

 mines and mining works. 



" The agricultural condition of the province is 

 much more favorable than it has been for many 

 years. The great improvement in the quality of 

 all dairy produce has increased the popularity of 

 our butter and cheese in the British market, and 

 has consequently stimulated this branch of indus- 

 try. Our fruit interests are also increasing in 

 importance and value, as the exports of our or- 

 chards for the last year make manifest. The at- 

 tendance at the Agricultural College has reached 

 the highest limit yet attained, and it will be neces- 

 sary to provide additional accommodation if the 

 attendance continues to increase as it has during 

 the last few years. 



" It is to be noted with regret that the increas- 

 ing numbers of insane tax the accommodation of 

 our asylums beyond their capacity. Notwithstand- 

 ing the liberal provision already made and the 

 large expenditure incurred in carrying on these 

 services, it becomes imperative that increased ac- 

 commodation be provided. . 



" Measures will be submitted for the improve- 

 ment of public highways, the drainage of swamp 

 lands, the encouragement of cold-storage stations 

 in rural districts, and the colonization of those por- 

 tions of northern Ontario best adapted for agricul- 

 tural purposes. Your attention will be invited to 

 bills respecting the revenue, elections, education, 

 and mining, and also to a measure for a compre- 

 hensive exploration of the district between the 

 main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway and 

 Hudson's Bay, in order that more accurate in- 

 formation may be obtained as to its timber and 

 its suitability for farming. 



" Your attention is invited to the present rela- 

 tive jurisdiction of the courts of the province and 

 of their respective judges, and to the suggestions 

 of experience for further promoting the efficient, 

 prompt, and inexpensive administration of justice 

 throughout the province." 



On Feb. 19 Mr. Whitney led in an onslaught 

 upon the Government, which may be summarized 

 in the following words, giving the Conservative 

 platform as well as denouncing the Government 

 policy: 



" The Government has confessed itself unable 

 to deal with financial questions when it appointed 

 a commission to investigate the financial condition 

 of the province. The Government acted indecently 

 in appointing John Hoskin, a Government official, 

 to the commission. 



" If the Government is saving money, why not 

 apply it to the removal of the direct tax'ation 



under which the artisan, laborer, and farmer are 

 living? 



" Cold storage and transportation are subjects 

 which should properly be considered by the Do- 

 minion Government. 



" The Government regulations on nickel will 

 discourage the development of that metal, and will 

 make the monopoly of the Canadian Copper Com- 

 pany still more powerful. 



" No grant should be given to any railroad 

 company without a provision that in the future, 

 when the company arrived at a paying basis, the 

 grant should be returned. 



" The question of the Government ownership of 

 public franchises should be carefully considered. 



" A member of the Government should not be 

 at the head of corporations which will gain or 

 lose by Government action, and members of Par- 

 liament should be debarred. 



" A consultative committee should be appointed 

 to assist the Minister of Education, such commit- 

 tee to be chosen from high school, public school, 

 and separate school teachers. 



" The University of Toronto should practically 

 be divorced from the province. 



" The pulp-wood policy will strangle the pulp- 

 wood industry. 



" The West Elgin Commission is a farce. The 

 people demanded a judicial committee to inquire 

 into the irregularities in all the constituencies. 



" Let the Premier dissolve the house and go to 

 the country for a decision." 



Mr. Ross, in his reply, defended the appointment 

 of a finance commission, on the ground that the 

 worst should be known, and declared that Mr. 

 Hoskin's appointment was admirable despite the 

 fact of his being a Liberal in politics; declared 

 that under existing conditions of export many of 

 the small products of the farmer went to wa*te 

 or yielded hardly any profit, while butter and 

 cheese were often spoiled for lack of cold-storage 

 facilities, which he proposed to provide upon a 

 pattern that had proved successful in Australia 

 and New Zealand. Regarding nickel, he declared 

 the policy of the Government to be one of encour- 

 aging the local manufacture of the raw material. 

 Large areas of valuable nickel still remained de- 

 spite the grants to the Canada Copper Company. 

 " Ontario's products for Ontario's sons will be (im- 

 policy," said the Premier, as he promised a rebate 

 or bounty on every pound of ore refined in the 

 province. In regard to railways, he purposed to 

 introduce legislation by which settlers on the col- 

 onization lands of Ontario, as well as their stork 

 and effects, should be carried free. He denied to 

 a great extent the party corruption alleged by 

 his opponents, deprecated the charges made against 

 the Education Department, and opposed the pla 

 proposed by Mr. Whitney. The two speeches 

 which followed may be summarized as inclinliiiL 1 

 the whole political discussion on both sides dur 

 ing the succeeding session. The first was deliv 

 ered by Mr. G. F. Marter, a leader of the O)>]>i> 

 sition, and included the following proposals ami 

 remarks : 



" The Opposition is willing to co-operate will 

 the Government in an effort to stamp out bribery 

 The election law should have the following pro- 

 visions: (a) Deputy returning officers and pol 

 clerks must live in "divisions for which they ad 

 (h) deputy returning officers should announce on 

 nomination day the deputies; (f) deputy return- 

 ing officers and clerks should be in attendance 

 half an hour before the polls, to count and exam- 

 ine the blank ballots: (</) deputies should be forced 

 to issue warrants when called by agents, and con- 

 stables should detain such men until warrants 





