self, and place before the House and the | disappointed in Mr. DORION's taking the country the real facts in relation to his position of Chief Justice. If he had acappointment. The other change that has accepted instead, after duly weightaken place since then was simply the ing his abilities and disabilities, the retirement of Mr. Ross from the position Chief Justiceship of the Superior of Minister of Militia, and upon his Court, he would have been of much more resignation I offered that post to the value than as Chief Justice of Lower present member for Digby, which offer he Canada. After his long experience in has accepted. That did not involve any Canada, he had shown that he never paid change in any way whatever in the policy any attention to criminal law, and never or in the opinions of the Administration. sufficient attention to commercial law. In I shall be glad if anything further is the Superior Court he would have distingrequired that can fairly be asked, to offer uished himself much better than as chief to hon. gentlemen opposite and the of a criminal court. Still, he did not say House the very fullest information that it that Mr. DORION, with his abilities and is proper to give. legal and logical mind, would not make a good Chief Justice, and do credit to the position he filled. He thought the explanations with regard to the hon. member for South Bruce were not satisfactory, and he would tell the reason why. It was a matter of very grave importance when a member of Parliament entered an administration, and it was of no less importance when he retired from it. Indeed, the latter was of even graver importance. If the private affairs of a member of Parliament prevent him from accepting office, no one has a right to question the matter. That rests between his friends and party, and himself, but when an hon. gentleman accepts office, it is a matter of very grave consideration to him, and for which he should be held responsible when he retires. After having put his hand to the plough, there should be good reasons for letting it go. Now, there was a peculiarity in this case, and he spoke with a sincere desire that this question should be considered from a constitutional of poft view, and without any reference to individuals, but simply to principle. This House would remember, and the country knew that the hon. member for South Bruce, when he entered the Government, very greatly strengthened it. The character he had in the House and the country entitled him to a high position, and he could have selected for himself any position in the Government, except, of course, the leadership, which was in the hands of the GovERNOR GENERAL. The hon. gentleman did give strength to the Cabinet, and, on the strength of a MACKENZIE-BLAKE administration the Government went to the country, and he verily believed that a considerable proportion of the numerical strength and support of this Government was gained

Right Hon. Sir JOHN MACDONALD said with reference to the Hon. Mr. DORION, the present Chief Justice of Lower Canada, he could only say he deeply regretted that there should be, even in appearance, a want of ingenuousness in his statement to this House. At the time he (SIR JOHN) ventured in this House to state what was the very general impression, he did not do it until after hearing from many sources that Mr. DORION was about to take the position of Chief Justice, and that he was only waiting, as he had a right to wait, until the close of the session before retiring from the Government. He (SIR JOHN) had heard that friends from Montreal had come to Ottawa to press upon Mr. DORION to accept it, and that while he did not announce to them that he was going to take a judicial appointment, it was generally understood he was going to accept the position referred to. Hon gentlemen would remember that he (SIR JOHN) said, in answer to Mr. DORION's statement, that he did not contemplate accepting a judicial appointment, that the Gazette would show within a fortnight or three weeks whether the report was correct or not. And so it did, for the appointment was gazetted very soon after the close of the session, showing that if the change was not in contemplation when he (SIR JOHN) spoke, it was immediately afterward. However, after the statement just made, he had nothing more to say. Hon. Mr. DORION was a gentleman who had always held a high position and a high character in Canada, and he had no doubt would keep it, but while he regarded him as an ornament to the bench of Lower Canada, he was bound, in all candour, to say he was Hon. Mr. Mackenzie.

by the announcement that the name of the hon. member for South Bruce was included in the administration. If there were any private reasons that would induce him to leave the Government so speedily after the elections, those reasons, it would seem, ought to have been sufficient to prevent him from entering it. But it was really not fair to appeal to the people with one Administration-with one leading man in it, with one man whose name would give confidence to the country and strength to the Government-and, when the elections are over, and the object of taking that leading man into the Cabinet apparently has been obtained, to drop him. It was a sort of false pretence-he spoke in no way offensively-that the Administration which went to the people was not the same which met Parliament in this House. Everyone knew what lawyers termed the principle of "selling by sample." The Administration goes to the country and asks-“Will you buy this article. Here is an excellent article, and one of the strongest claims of this cloth to the good housewife is that there is a strong fibre in it, coming all the way from South Bruce ?" And when the people of this country, believing this to be a good kind of cloth, that would stand sun and wind or anything else—when they found that fibre drawn from it immediately after purchasing, it seemed as the hon. member for South Bruce would observe-that the Government had been guilty of selling under false pretences, and the people would say, "Here we have had pawned off upon us the old brown stuff." Now, he thought the hon. gentleman for South Bruce ought not to have lent himself to this deception. Under the principle of constitutional law, as in private law, a bargain of that kind was not a fair one; but he would say no more upon that point. Then, with regard to the change in Nova Scotia, he could only congratulate the House on getting the services of the hon. member for Digby. He had no doubt the hon. gentleman's previous warlike experience would be of service. He had no doubt the hon. gentleman had accepted office with the greatest diffidence, in view of the great abilities of his predecessor. Right Hon. Sir JOHN MACDONALD However, the hon. gentleman's experience-But what about the false pretenses? and capacity would, no doubt, enable him to distinguish himself as much as his predecessor, the former Minister of Militia. Right Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald.

It certainly was a great compliment to the hon. gentleman from Digby that he should be selected to enter the Administration. He (Sir JOHN) did'think that there might have been found among the hon. members from Nova Scotia one who would be fitted to fill the office of Minister of Militiaone possessing abilities equal to the late Minister, and almost equal to the present Minister. But the hon. leader of the Government did not appear to think so, and evidently was of the impression that he had selected all the standards and left all the culls when he formed his Cabinet, and that he must go to fresh fields and pastures new for another Minister of Militia. He (Sir JOHN) congratulated the hon. gentleman from Digby, and had no doubt that under him the Militia force would grow and increase in efficiency and numbers he hoped not too much in expense. By the way, he noticed by the Bill introduced by the hon. Minister of Militia that Major Generals were to be of considerable importance. He directed the attention of the hon. member for Cheateauguay to this feature of the Bill, and he would like to ask him whether he thought the relations of Canada with the nations of the world were in such a condition as to require Major Generals in larger force. He had no further remarks to make on this point, but really he thought, in all seriousness, it would be well that there should be a full discussion upon the fact of the hon. member for South Bruce having accepted a position in the Government, holding office without a portfolio, and being a confidential adviser before the elections, and immediately after the elections retiring from the Government.

Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE said the observations of the hon. gentleman scarcely called for any reply, nor were they intended to evoke any reply. With reference to the connection of the hon. member for South Bruce with the Government, he might say that it was not unnatural for an Administration to strengthen themselves as far as possible, especially against such a formidable combination as they had been obliged to face.

Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE-There is no false pretenses in the matter on our side. If the hon. gentleman is judging from

a sample, I fear it is from a sample that some of them were already in the on the other side. hands of members.

Hon. Mr. MITCHELL said the Premier had accepted the position in which the Right Hon. member for Kingston had placed him—that the object of taking the hon. member for South Bruce into the Government was to strengthen it for the purpose of facing the electors. Now, the morality of such a thing was questionable. Hon. Mr. BLAKE said the House would, no doubt, be disposed to listen to two such worthy exponents of public morality as the hon. members for Kingston and Northumberland. He (Mr. BLAKE) had been accused of being something like a legal fraud. All he had to say was that when he went to the country with his friends, he addressed a great many of his fellow-countrymen, and he acquainted them at an early day—and among them his own constituents—with the fact, which was public property so far as such a thing could fairly be public property, that his connection with the Administration, from circumstances beyond his own control, was of a temporary character. He did not permit, them, so far as his utterances could prevent it, to entertain the idea that he had joined the Administration under circumstances which enabled him to continue any time with them.

INTERNAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HOUSE.

DRILL SHED AT TORONTO.

Mr. WILKES inquired whether the Government purposed to place in the Estimates a sum of money sufficient to erect a suitable armoury and drill-shed for the use of the volunteer force in the City of Toronto, the Corporation having set apart a site for such building.

Hon. Mr. VAIL said the matter was commanding the consideration of the Government. Providing a Drill Shed and Armouries involved considerable expense, and on this ground it would probably be a few days before he would be able to give his hon. friend the necessary information.

Message be sent to the Senate, requesting that their Honours will unite with this House in the formation of a Joint Committee of both Houses, on the subject of printing.-Carried.

Mr. SPEAKER read a message from Mr. ROSS (Middlesex) moved, That a HIS EXCELLENCY the GOVERNOR GENERAL, signed by his own hand, announcing the appointment of the Hon. ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, Minister of Public Works, thé Hon. TELESPHORE FOURNIER, Minister of Justice, the Hon. ISAAC BURPEE, Minister of Customs, the Hon. THOMAS COFFIN, Receiver-General, and Mr. SPEAKER, as Commissioners for the Internal Economy of the House of Commons and for other

PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.

Mr. YOUNG moved, That the Public Accounts for the Dominion of Canada, for the year ending 30th June, 1874, and the statement of unforeseen expenses, be referred to the Select Standing Committee on Public Accounts.-Carried.

RAILWAY ACT.

Mr. OLIVER moved for leave to introduce a Bill intituled "An Act to amend the General Railway Act." He explained that this Bill was similar to the

one he introduced last session on the same subject, and stated that when it was printed he would fully explain it, if any explanations were then desired.

Right Hon, Sir JOHN A, MACDON- | the subject. The Dominion Parliament, ALD observed that if they waited till the Bill was printed for explanations, they would then, in all probability, be unnecessary, as no doubt the Bill would be framed in a sufficiently perspicuous manner as to explain itself. It would be better to explain briefly its provisions now, so that the House might be prepared to deal with it when it came up for a second reading.

Public Accounts and Mr. WooD substitut- Hon. D. A. MACDONALD-It is the ed therefor. Messrs. IRVING, YOUNG, intention of the Government to establish D. A. MACDONALD, DEVLIN, CIMON, free delivery, with the exception of two and DESJARDINS were added to the or three of the smallest cities of the Committee on Banking and Com- Dominion. merce. Messrs. WILKES, OUIMET and CARON were added to the Committee on Public Accounts; and Messrs. PLUMB and SHIBLEY to the Committee on Railways and Telegraphs.