The hon. characterized by prudence, good taste, and pathy with the Catholics. moderation. He (Mr. SMITH) could also member for Terrebonne expressed himself bear testimony to the extreme moderation in favor of sectarian schools; he (Mr. which had been characteristic of the SMITH) had no hesitation in saying hcn, member when, for many years, they that he was not in favor of had been associated in the Parliament of them. What would his hon. friend say New Brunswick. But while admitting if the rights secured to the Catholics of all this, he could not help regretting Ontario under the Constitution were proextremely that one of the representatives posed to be interfered with? He would of his own Province, one of his own col- certainly resist any such attempt, and he leagues, should feel called upon to ask this could tell his hon. friend that in that respect Parliament to strike down with ruthless they would both be found voting together hand one of the bulwarks of the Constitu- to support the Constitution, although in tion of our Dominion, and deprive the regard to separate schools their convictions people of the rights which were accorded were entirely opposite. He could tell his them under it. If an hon. gentleman hon, friend that, while entertaining the from anywhere outside of the Province very greatest respect for him, he thought had attempted such a thing, he could the policy he was pursuing a dangerous understand it. The power of regulating one. Suppose, as an example, that his her own educational laws was one secured his hon. friend's policy in regard to the to New Brunswick by the compact of criminals of the North-West had preConfederation, it was one she possessed vailed, the result would have been that fully and completely before; and yet his RIEL would to-day have been wandering hon. friend, in the name of religion, in the an outcast upon the face of the earth, name of those whom he asserted to be instead of being merely deprived of his persecuted, proposed that this House should rights for five years. He stated on bedo that which would be ignoring all Pro- half of the Protestants of New Brunswick vincial rights. Did not the Constitution and on behalf of some of the Catholics too, reserve rights for all the people-rights that they claimed the preservation of the for the Catholics as well as rights for the Constitution in its integrity. They were Protestants? Why, then, did his hon. a proud and spirited people, and would friend talk of the rights of the Catholics stand by their rights. They felt that the and ignore those of the Protestants? If Province of Ontario was great and powerthe motion of his hon. friend were ful, and being powerful they felt the utcarried, and if it rectified what most assurance that she (Ontario) would his hon. friend believed to be a | permit no injustice to be done to them. The wrong in New Brunswick, would proposition of his hon. friend to ask the it not open the way to greater wrongs Imperial Parliament to pass a School than that it righted? he would set a pre- Law for New Brunswick was absolutely cedent which was just as dangerous to the preposterous, and no result could come of existing rights and liberties of Roman it. The Legislature of New Brunswick Catholics throughout the Dominion as it was just now looking to this Parliament, was to those of the Protestants of New having the utmost confidence that their Brunswick. On behalf of the 200,000 rights would be respected. Protestants of New Brunswick, be entered his humble protest against the proposed interference with their rights. He was proud to say that he looked around this House and saw many of his Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen who admitted the justice of sustaining the rights and privileges of the Province of New Brunswick, who fully appreciated the danger of destroying the integrity of the Constitution, and who had independence enough to declare their sentiments before this House. He was himself no bigot, and had never been. He had the fullest sym-Blair, Hon. J. A. Smith. The members were then (at 11-20) called in. The House divided on the amendment to the amendment, which was carried on the following division :— Archibald, YEAS: Killam, Langlois, Macdonald (Cornwall), Macdonald (Glengarry), Macdougall (Elgin), Coffin, Pouliot, Wallace (Norfolk), White, Wright (Ottawa), Mr. MASSON regretted that the name of the venerated Bishop of St. John should have been dragged into this debate to influence the vote of members of this House. He might say he did not believe the hon. gentleman who had done so was authorized to say what he did state. The hon. member had entirely misunderstood the Bishop of St. John, and if he (Mr. MASSON) had wished to be as indiscreet as the hon. member, he might make a statement which would place the matter in an entirely different light. Right Hon. Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD hoped Mr. SPEAKER would place on record his reasons for ruling the amendment offered by the hon. member for Joliette out of order. A division was then taken on the Premier's amendment as amended, with the following result :— YEAS: Huntington, Irving, Jetté, Jodoin, Jones, (Halifax), Kerr, Caron, Cheval, Church, Cimon, Colby, Costigan, Coupal, Cuthbert, Mr. Massen. Mr. BABY moved in amendment that all the words after "that" in the said amendment be struck out, and the following substituted :— "That this House regrets that the position of the Roman Catholic minority in the Province of New Brunswick, with regard to their educational rights, is such as to cause uneasiness to a large portion of HER MAJESTY'S subjects in the Dominion; that this House is of opinion that any legislation. which will restore harmony among persons professing different religions, and remove any feeling of uneasiness now existing among any portion of HER MAJESTY'S subjects is greatly to be desired; that by resolutions passed by the House of Commons on the 30th May, 1872, it was regretted that the School Act recently passed in New Brunswick was unsatisfactory to a portion of the inhabitants of that Province and hoped that it would be so modified as to remove any just ground of discontent; that this House re-affirms the spirit of said resolutions and regrets that the priviliges enjoyed at the time of the Union, by the Roman Catholics of New Brunswick, in respect of religious education in the Common Schools were not secured to them by the British North America Act; that therefore an humble Address be presented to HER MAJESTY the QUEEN embodying these resolutions and praying that she may be pleased to take such steps as will lead to the legislation necessary to secure to the Roman Catholic minority of New Brunswick the same rights, privileges and advantages with respect to schools and the same exemption from taxation for the support. of public or common schools as are now respectively enjoyed and possessed by the Roman Catholic minority in Ontario and the Protestant minority in Quebec." Mr. SPEAKER ruled that the House having ordered that the amendment moved by the hon. member for Quebec should be part of the motion, it was not competent to move another motion striking out those words. The question then being on the main motion as amended, the House divided, when it was carried on the following division: Cushing, Pouliot, Pelletier, Ross (Durham), Ross (iddlesex), Ross (Prince Edward), Rymal, Smith (Selkirk), Smith (Westmoreland), St. Jean, Taschereau, Thompson (Haldimand), Jettè, Trow, Mr. COSTIGAN moved in amendment: "That the said committee beauthorized in drafting the address to include the following: That this House reserves its right to seek by an address to HER MAJESTY, an amendment to the British North America Act, should the present address prove insufficient to bring about an amendment to the New Brunswick School Law, satisfactory to the minority of that Province." Mr. SPEAKER ruled the amendment out of order, on the ground that the address could only be based upon the resolution adopted by the House. Hon. Mr. CAUCHON, from the committee, reported an address based upon the resolution, which was adopted and engrossed. Hon. Mr. CAUCHON moved that an address be presented to His EXCELLENCY requesting him to transmit the address to HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, to be laid at the foot of the throne.-Carried. The House then adjourned at 2.45 a. M. GOVERNMENT NOTICES OF MOTIONS. Hon Mr. CARTWRIGHT moved for a Committee of the Whole, for to-morrow, to consider certain resolutions, to increase the salaries of the Civil Service of Canada, as provided in the "Act respecting the Civil Service of Canada." Hon. Mr. SMITH SMITH (Westmoreland) moved for a Committee of the Whole, for tomorrow to consider the expediency of transferring the powers and authorities of the Trinity House of Quebec to the Quebec Harbor Commissioners, with the property of the said Trinity House, except the Decayed Pilot Fund, which shall be transferred to the Corporation of Pilots, for and below the harbor of Quebec; and of amending the Constitution of the corporation of the said Harbor Commissioners. Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE moved that the House shall meet for the remainder of the session on Saturdays at three o'clock, and that the measures of the Government shall have precedence on the Orders of the Day.-Carried. REPORTING OF MR. PLUMB'S SPEECH. Sir JOHN A MACDONALD said he desired before the Orders of the Day were called to direct the attention of the First Minister, and also the chairman of the Printing Committee, to a matter connected with the reporting of the debates. Yesterday the hon. member for Niagara spoke for an hour, and his speech was replete with argument and exceedingly interesting to those who followed him ; and it was observed that the reporters did not take down a single word-did not use their pencils during the whole time he was speaking. It was not to be borne that the official reporters should be the judges of what addresses should be reported or not. Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE-Of course, the hon. gentleman does not attribute any responsibility to me in this matter. Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD-No. Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE said he had been too busy to read the reports and could not say who was well or who was ill reported. He thought it inexpedient that the Government of the day should have any control over the reporting of the debates. It was a matter for the House to deal with, and the House had referred it to the Printing Committee. The chairman of Hon. Mr. Cartwright. Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD said he quite agreed that it was inexpedient that the Government should interfere with the reporting of the debates, and he had not alluded to the hon. gentleman in his capacity of leader of the Government. He trusted that the Chairman of the Printing Committee would see that every hon. member got fair play in the reports, and that there would be no necessity of referring to this matter again. Mr. DYMOND, in the absence of the Chairman of the committee, to whom the report of the debates had been referred, and as a member of that committee, said the committee did not conceive it to be their duty to assume any responsibility with regard to the taking of the reports. The editor was of course respon sible to the committee, and through House, for to the committee the the due discharge of his duties, but the committee could not be expected to give instructions as to what speeches should be reported at length and what should be condensed. Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD agreed that the Committee could not be held responsible with respect to the exact length of the speeches, but somebody must be responsible, and it was specially imtheir speeches should be faithfully reported. portant to the minority that of course some discretion must be left to the editor, but it was one thing to condense a speech and another thing for the reporters to lay down their pencils and refuse to report a single word. Hon. Mr. MACKENZIE said that no doubt this conversation would direct the attention of the committee and of the editor to this matter. For his part he hoped the speech of the hon. member for Niagara last night would be faithfully reported. |