NEW BRUNSWICK. 



417 



fice. The Speaker of the House of Assembly was 

 Hon. C. W. Robinson. The Legislature was opened 

 on March 6 by the newly appointed Lieutenant- 

 Governor and former Senator, the Hon. Jabez 13. 

 Snowball, with a speech from the throne, of which 

 the following are the significant portions: 



" The death, at the hands of an assassin, of the 

 President of the neighboring republic, with which 

 this province has such intimate business and 

 social relations, evoked a deep feeling of sym- 

 pathy, and the Government, desiring to voice the 

 sentiments of the people, extended to the United 

 States Government, through his Excellency the 

 Governor-General, an expression of the profound 

 sorrow which we felt in common with all civilized 

 nations, at the lamentable and tragic event. 



" I am happy to be able to congratulate you 

 upon the prosperous condition of business and the 

 success which is attending the efforts of our people 

 in the various pursuits in which they are engaged. 

 The continued and rapid development of the 

 dairying industries of the province, as shown by 

 the increase in the production and exports of 

 cheese and butter by the large numbers of cheese 

 factories and creameries which have been estab- 

 lished under the liberal encouragement afforded 

 by the Government, is most gratifying. Being 

 satisfied that there is reason to hope for indefinite 

 expansion in this direction, my Government will, 

 with your approval, continue the same vigorous 

 policy as hitherto. 



" The building of improved roller flour-mills has 

 given considerable impetus to the growth of wheat 

 and has resulted in saving to our people large 

 sums of money which would otherwise be sent 

 out of the province for flour. I am sure that you 

 will be gratified to know that the finanaial as- 

 sistance which you authorized for the erection of 

 these mills has already been productive of such 

 good results, and that you will approve of this 

 policy being continued, so that all parts of the 

 country may receive the benefit of Government 

 assistance in this direction. 



" Consequent upon legislation passed at the last 

 session to provide for the development of the coal 

 areas of Queens and Sunbury, the railway to the 

 coal-fields is now under construction, and it will 

 not be long before the line from Chipman to Fred- 

 ericton will be completed. 



" The rapid development of the Canadian winter 

 business through the port of St. John is most 

 gratifying. The aid granted some years ago by 

 the province toward the building of wharves and 

 an elevator at that port, and the extremely liberal 

 expenditure on the part of the city, have pro- 

 duced results which can not but prove of perma- 

 nent benefit, not alone to the city of St. John, but 

 to the whole province and to the Dominion as 

 well, which is interested in having Canadian busi- 

 ness carried on through Canadian ports. 



"It affords me pleasure to inform you that 

 since you last convened the Dominion Govern- 

 ment has paid to the province the amount of the 

 eastern extension award, with the exception of a 

 small portion which has been withheld pending 

 an arrangement being made between the two 

 governments in respect to a claim regarding cer- 

 tain land taken as part of the right of way for 

 the railway out of which the claim arose. 



" By the recent judgment of the Judicial Com- 

 mittee of the Privy Council, it has been decided 

 that the fisheries within the territorial limits of 

 the provinces belong to the provinces, and in the 

 opinion of my Government it follows that the 

 imount of the Halifax award should have been 

 paid to the province and not to the Dominion. 

 My Government will press for payment to this 

 VOL. XLII. 27 A 



province of the portion of the award to which it 

 is properly entitled. 



" The unsatisfactory condition of the -branch 

 railways in the province, connecting with the 

 Intercolonial, is such as to call for serious con- 

 sideration. These railways have been constructed 

 largely by means of Dominion and provincial sub- 

 sidies, and are not giving that accommodation 

 to the public which was anticipated when their 

 construction was provided for. If some arrange- 

 ment could be made by which these roads could 

 be worked as a part of the Intercolonial system, 

 it would be greatly to the public advantage, and 

 there is reason to believe that they would be- 

 come valuable feeders of the trunk line. You will 

 be invited to consider whether the Dominion 

 authorities might not properly be urged to make 

 arrangements for their operation upon a fair and 

 equitable basis. 



" Bills to amend the public health act, pro- 

 viding, among other things, for the compulsory 

 vaccination of children attending school ; to amend 

 the law regarding investments by trustees; a 

 workman's compensation for injuries act; a bill 

 to provide a forest reservation ; a bill to provide for 

 the importation of horses; and other measures of 

 importance will be submitted to you." 



The House adjourned on April 10 after con- 

 sidering 88 bills and passing several measures of 

 purely local importance and effect. The address 

 in reply was moved on March 7 by Ora P. King, 

 who had recently been elected from Kings 

 County to support the Government, and was 

 seconded by Dr. Ruddick, who had won an elec- 

 tion in St. John County also as a Government 

 supporter. The Opposition leader, J. Douglas 

 Hazen, spoke at length and was followed by the 

 Premier. 



Kings County Election. The chief political 

 event of the year was the contest in this county 

 between Mr. King, the Government candidate, and 

 Mr. Sproul, the Opposition candidate. Attorney- 

 General Pugsley, under date of Feb. 10, issued a 

 manifesto to the electors of the county, defend- 

 ing himself from the charges made in the previous 

 year as to his non-prosecution of the men who 

 were believed, or proved, to have manipulated and 

 forged the electoral lists at Rothesay in that 

 county. He pointed to his instant action in coun- 

 termanding the writ for the election as soon as it 

 was found something was wrong, and in present- 

 ing legislation to the House voiding the bogus lists 

 and providing against any repetition of the offense 

 by heavy penalties. He referred to the recent dis- 

 covery of oil-fields in the province ; to the general 

 prosperity of the people; to the Government's 

 policy of building small connecting railways so as 

 to develop the vast deposits of coal existing in 

 Queens and Sunbury Counties; to their investiga- 

 tion of the province's coal resources and arrange- 

 ments with the Intercolonial and Canadian Pacific 

 Railway companies for the purchase of a certain 

 yearly quantity. Mr. Pugsley said he was urging 

 upon the provincial and Dominion governments 

 the great desirability of building a railway from 

 St. John, up through the fertile St. John river 

 valley, to Edmundston. He pointed out how the 

 Government had won the Eastern Extension Rail- 

 way award of $275,000 from the Dominion, and 

 were now expending it upon construction of 

 bridges and repairs of public works; and how their 

 policy of protest concerning the control of pro- 

 vincial fisheries by the Dominion authorities had 

 been practically recognized. 



Douglas Hazen, in behalf of the Opposition, 

 replied to this document in a speech of great length 

 delivered at Kingston on Feb. 15. He first handled 





