1

until the autumn of 1873.

not a member of any other government | hon. gentleman was contending that the Northern Railway which run through a Mr. MASSON—But the hon. gentle-section between two great lakes was not of man was a supporter of the Ontario Gov-national importance. At all events it was the

ernment.

gen

Mr. McCALLUM defied the hon. tleman for South Bruce to contradict his statement. It made little difference how much he (Mr. McCALLUM) knew, but he endeavored to be consistent and to act in the interest of the people of this country. Mr. WILKES thought that public opinion had decided that the proposition was a very liberal one towards the country, while at the same time not oppressive towards the railway. He did not wish to be understood as advocating the claims of the Company against the claims of the public. The hon. member for Terrebonne had stated that the Northern Railway was not a public work in the sense of the Grand Trunk Railway, inasmuch as it was not a work of national importance. He gave the hon. gentleman credit for considerably more geographical knowledge. There had been a proposition to make a canal at an expense of £10,000,000 sterling on the very line traversed by the Northern Railway, which was the identical line between the Georgian Bay and Toronto, travelled by the old French traders. If that was not a public highway, he would like to know what public highway we had. We are expending an enormous amount of money in improving our water ways in another direction via the Welland Canal, and after going 400 miles by that route we reach a point to which the Northern Railway can take us by a journey of three or four hours. If the Northern Railway was considered a national work before, how much more was it to be considered a national work now, when we are spending millions of money in opening up the great North-West? The hon. gentleman (Mr. MASSON) had forgotten the debate only a few days ago, when a large subsidy was voted to the Canada Central Railway for the purpose of establishing direct communication between the Georgian Bay and the city of Montreal, or, as the leading argument of the hon. member of Chateauguay stated it, for the purpose of establishing direct communication between tide water and Lake Huron. That was a great consideration for Lower Canada to receive for the expenditure westward, and now the Mr. McCallum.

opinion of the people of Ontario that the
small amount relatively now being granted
to that road in abatement of its claim was
comparatively small besides the expendi-
ture that was to be made to secure com-
munication for the city of Montreal. He
believed it would be a great benefit to the
did not object to that expenditure for he
country at large. It was important that
we should develope our railway system as
well as the whole system of the Welland
Canal, and one important part of that
railway system was the road between two
great lakes. He admitted that was a mis-
fortune, but he did not see that this coun-
try could help it just now, particularly as
he had no doubt that the remedy would be
applied by building another line sooner or
later, but that did not alter the financial
aspect of the question, which was the
argument the hon. gentleman had presented.
The mode of calculation referred to had
heen effectually answered by the hon mem-
ber for Welland, calculating the interest on
a bad debt would be a ready mode of mak-
ing a fortune. The Northern Railway of
Canada had not paid to the Government
of this country the interest on the debt at
all, consequently for more than fifteen
years it had been an unproductive debt.
The company having no capital must allow
the road to get into a state of dilapidation..
It was obliged to allow lumber to lie at the
stations for months for want of rolling-stock
to carry it. A very large sum
required for rolling-stock alone. The
timber had been cut along the line and an
extension north to Muskoka became
necessary. It was now within a few miles
of that lake which would bring it within
reach of a large area of timber land.
was utterly impossible to complete this
extension, to put rolling-stock on the road,
or to lap the Pacific Road from Georgian
Bay to the Ottawa River, unless the
indebtedness of the road was re-arranged.
He estimated that the liabilities of the
Northern Railway Company, with the
$1,000,000 now proposed to be paid to the
Government would be seventy or seventy-
two thousand dollars per mile of the road.
The Government proposition was a very
fair one and it was in the interest of the
whole, Dominion as well as of the section

was

It

The Bill was read a first time.

Hon. Mr. LAIRD asked leave to introduce a Bill, entitled—" An Act respecting conflicting claims to lands of occupants in Manitoba." The intention of this Bill, he said, was to simplify the mode of procedure respecting such claims. The Government considered the machinery under the late Act to be cumbrous and expensive.

The Bill was read the first time.

Hon. Mr. LAIRD asked leave to introduce a Bill to amend the Act, to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Vic., Cap. 3, to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba. The intention of this Bill, he said, was to define more particularly what was meant by "Children of half-breeds." It was also to enable the Government to dispose of a portion of the 1,400,000 acres granted to the half-breeds. It was found when the division took place that some of these lands remained over, and it was difficult to distribute them equally. The proposition was to give scrip instead.

The Bill was read a first time.

future to be controlled by Parliament. The the Government may proceed in the way first section simply provides that there indicated. shall be a railway constructed between these two points. The second section determines the gauge, and that the Governor in Council may provide such plans and specifications as may be required for its construction. The third section authorizes the Governor in Council to enter into contracts with a company or individuals for the construction of the road, and the sub-sections of the clause are practically the same as, or nearly a repetition of the clauses in the Canadian Pacific Railway Bill of last session, regarding the security to be given, and the mode of payment to contractors, namely, $10,000 for each mile with the land somewhere on the line of the railway, and any further amount that may be required. Sections, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 refer to the letting of contracts. The Government do not propose to submit these contracts for the approval of Parliament for the reason that they expect to be able some time during this season to let out contracts for this work, and they took Parliamentary authority for letting them in the ordinary way that other contracts were let out by the Public Works Department. As the Government do not in this Bill recognize this line as part of the Pacific Railway, it becomes necessary that they should have a special section for the land grant from the Province. Section 9 accordingly provides that the railway shall not be commenced, and that no contract shall be entered into for the construction thereof until the Government of British Columbia shall grant and convey to the Canadian Government in trust a similar extent of public lands along the line of the said railway throughout its entire length, not to exceed twenty miles on the side of the line as may be appropriated for the same purpose by the Dominion Government for the NorthWest Territories and Manitoba, provided the amount of land that may be held by pre-emption shall be made good to the Dominion Government from contiguous lands. Section 11 and sub-sections simply apply the provisions of the general Railway Act to this Act, so far as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying out the law. The Bill, although a little lengthy, is very simple, and is merely a repetition of the clauses of the Canadian Pacific Act, with a clause providing that Bill to provide for the salaries of County

Hon. Mr. Mackenzie.

DOMINION LAND ACT.

Hon. Mr. LAIRD moved for leave to introduce a Bill to extend to the Province of British Columbia the Dominion Land Act.—Carried.

The Bill was introduced and read a first time.

PAYMENTS TO JUDGES.

Hon. Mr. CARTWRIGHT presented a return to an Address for details of payments made to Judges of the Province of Quebec, on account of travelling expenses.

PRIVILEGE.

Hon. Mr. BLAKE, before the Orders of the Day were called, gave notice that he would to-morrow call the attention of the House to the petition introduced by the hon. member for Victoria; and moved, seconded by Hon. Mr. HOLTON, that the petition be printed in the Orders of the Day.-Carried.

SALARIES OF COUNTY COURT JUDGES IN
NOVA SCOTIA.

Hon. Mr. FOURNIER moved that the

Court Judges in the Province of Nova | simply to apply the same principle to the Scotia, and for other purposes, be not now courts of the Maritime Provinces. read a third time, but be referred back to Committee of the Whole House.-Carried.

The House went into Committee of the Whole-Mr. BECHARD in the chair.

Hon. Mr. FOURNIER said the amendment proposed was simply to limit the application of the second clause which provided for the increase of the salaries of Judges receiving $2,000, and to place them on the same footing as the County Court Judges of Ontario.

was

Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD said his hon. friend from South Bruce was perfectly correct in reference to the distinction he had drawn respecting the retiring allowances to Supreme Court and County Court Judges. Before that law had been passed, County Court Judges had no retiring allowances at all; and they had welcomed it as a great boon, for there were several at the time the measure brought in who were incapable through advanced age or infirmities of performing Mr. McISAAC wanted to know upon their duties properly, a service of fifteen what principle the hon. Minister of Jus- years had been required, not only because tice made a distinction between inferior their appointments were less noticed by courts and superior court Judges. The public opinion, but because the most of former were required to be fifteen years them were comparatively young men when on the bench before they could receive a appointed; while the appointments of retiring pension; while the latter after Superior Court Judges were so important five years' service was provided for if he that public opinion would always be a proshould be rendered unfit by ill health fortection against any one being appointed the performance of his duties.

who was too old or too infirm to perform the duties satisfactorily.

Sup

Mr. MACDONNELL (Iverness) considered the Bill unsatisfactory in its provisions, and that it was His ions, and that it was no argument to a criticism of the Bill to say that the law in Ontario did not provide for retiring allowances for County Court Judges. Those Judges should equally with the professional men selected for the Superior Court, be appointed because of their high attainments and qualifications. In Nova Scotia there were seven Superior Court and seven County Court Judges. pose vacancies should occur in each class, and they were filled by men of the same legal ability, and each fifty years of age. The Superior Court Judge would receive $4,000, while the salary of the County Court Judge would be $2,000; each had important duties to discharge, which occupied their whole time and attention. Upon what principle could Parliament enact a law providing that the former should be entitled to a pension should he become incapable, on the day following his appointment, ot discharging the duties of his office, while the latter Judge, possessing equal abilitles for the performance of his duties, would receive nothing.

Hon. Mr. BLAKE said his hon. friend had not been in Parliament when the first provision had been made for retiring allowances to County Court Judges. His hon. friend, the member for Kingston, had proposed to give them a pension after fifteen years, and it had met with no opposition from his (Mr. BLAKE'S) side of the House. As to the distinction between County Court and Supreme Court Judges it had been stated by the hon. member for Kingston that the important character of an appointment to the Supreme Court was sufficient security to the public against such a thing as a person too advancedin years to perform his duties satisfactorily being appointed, but with reference to appointments of County Court Judges, there was not such a security against improper, extravagant and not economical appointments, and men might be put upon the bench with the view of getting for a short time a retiring pension. He did not think he misrepresented the statement of his hon. friend from Kingston and had taken the same view of the matter. Since then the hon. Mr. DORION had introduced a slight amelioration of the Act which provided that after twenty-five years' service it would be within the competence of the Government to give a County Court Judge a retiring allowance. The measure now before the House was Hon. Mr. Fournier,

Sir JOHN MACDONALD Then they should receive the same salary.

Mr. MACDONNELL said two wrongs: did not make a right. He failed to under