these people who had become advanced in years-in which barbarous nations treated their aged people. It would be much better for the people superannuated by the Government, while fully able to perform their duties-and he knew what he was talking about when he made this assertion-and much less cruel, if they had been exposed as barbarous nations exposed their old people to starvation or drowning in the Ganges, or if they had been served up for dinner, as was done by some nations, who made holocausts of their respected parents and who did not keep any baptismal registers, because, when that system was adopted, he dared say that a little hunger or some other interested motive would prevent a very striking examination into the exact period when that holocaust was to take place. On the same principle, whenever it became necessary to place a favourite in some office, and to put somebody in the place who had earned, through some service to the party in power, the man who had held the office which, though the emoluments might be small, he supposed was to have been a permanency as long as he was capable of performing the duties, and his behaviour was good and no complaint was made against him, was turned out without any reason given for such action; and to this man so superannuated, in addition to the other damage inflicted upon him, the injustice was done him in this Bill of preventing him from entering Parliament. He knew of a case which had happened very near him, in which a gentleman of the very highest character and of the highest business qualification, who was employed by the Government at a moderate salary, who looked upon his position as permanent, and who wis educating his family, was turned out of office within the last year without any reason being given for it or any sort of justification, he had ever heard of, while the man who replaced this gentleman was a very unworthy successor. And this man had served the Government for years, was still in the prime of life, and he was obliged to take his children away from school because the scanty pittance which the Government gave him did not enable him to afford them the benefit of a common school education. This was only one case which had come under his observation; and he had heard of fifty such cases. Some HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear. MR. PLUMB said hon. gentlemen might cry "hear, hear"; but no doubt many of these hon. gentlemen themselves knew of such cases, which had fallen under his observation, because these cases had occurred all over Canada. He had heard of them in every direction. The Superannuation Fund had been made by the Government an instrument of tyranny and oppression, such as it was shameful to relate. He could vindicate the statement he had made by the most ample proof. In this way, these men were to be excluded from Parliament under this Bill, if the the people among whom they lived respecte:l them sufficiently to give them an opportunity to serve their country in the House. This was one of the most shameful provisions ever put into a Bill and brought before the public of Canada; and the more it was examined, notwithstanding the jeers of the hon. gentlemen opposite, the less the conduct of the Government with respect to the Superannuation Fund. would bear the light. This afforded him an opportunity to stigmatize the measure as he had long desired to do, and, as he knew, it well deserved. provision was found in this Bill to prevent hon Senators from holding publie contracts, but, if this Bill had gone a little further, it would have been a little better. It dealt very tenderly with that subject, and hon. gentlemen on the other side doubtless knew why. There was one part of this Act with which he was very glad to say he quite agreed, namely, that which acknowledged the principle that contracts for the loan of money upon public securities should be made by open competition. He had been long an advocate for this system in Canada and he had pointed out, and he believed clearly, that this was the only system which was safe and justifiable, and which could secure to us the best price for our securities. If this system had been adopted it would not have been necessary for the hon. the Finance Minister to have taken up at least one-quarter of his Budget speech | on public competition, and taking our in endeavouring to exculpate himself chances, provided always there was a from any blame in connection with the man at the helm who knew better last negotiation he had made of public than to decry the credit of Canada securities in England; and, if so, we upon every occasion for the sake of should not have had our securities in casting odium on his predecessors. such a position that the great loan- In every respect, from the beginning to mongers of Lombard-street could have the end, this Bill was in no way an made the price at any time what they improvement upon the Bill it sought chose, the Finance Minister who to replace. He had no doubt the went to negotiate the loan being Government, after hearing the criticisms quite helpless in the matter, of gentlemen of the legal profession and the public securities would have with respect to the legal difficulties been then scattered among small hold- connected with it, and those made ers and they could not have brought from a business point of view by any large sums to bear on the trans- other hon. gentlemen who were able action, as was now the case. The to view it in that light, would men who brought out these loans on consent to make such serious modithe market could at any time make fications that, if they pressed the price. He did not accuse them of it at all, it would meet with the accephaving done so; but he held that it tance and favour of those who had was in their power to do so. They directed their attention to it on this could very easily make the price by occasion. He considered these objecthrowing a sum on the money market tions so weighty that the Government and offering it for sale, that the public would not think of pressing the Bill would not buy, for these securities as it stcod; and, doubtless, they would were not dealt with like consols and take into consideration the changes other daily securities on the Stock suggested by members of the OpposiExchange. The principle which had tion, who desired, if possible, to secure been acted upon in this respect had the passage of a measure which should been a false one; and the hon. the effectually reach the end proposed, but Finance Minister who had fallen into the which this Bill would not reach in any hands of those who had advised him in proper degree. One of the great that way, did not understand his busi- objections to the Bill consisted in the ness, and had placed himself helplessly fact that it was left open as to when a hereafter, with regard to every loan writ might issue after a vacancy took which the hon. gentleman might make, place under the circumstances detailed in the hands of people who already in section 15. Another difficulty, and had it in their interest to fix a one more of detail, pronably, than anylow price on our securities. He did thing else, related to the fact that, in not say that they had not done this. default of a Speaker during recess, it He remembered with what indignation was provided that a member wishing the hon. gentleman, in his speech, had to resign, must send in his resignation charged hon. members of the Opposi- to two members of Parliament who tion in this relation with casting should issue the writ. It was provided reproach on the bankers and other that: money lenders who made loans their business on the money market of England. He was glad that this Bill recognised this principle, and he trusted that hereafter what had been said on this subject would weigh with those who had to negotiate our loans, although it was almost impossible, after an improper system had been adopted, to change it; still he would rather see the hazard taken with regard to the next loan of throwing it, after proper notice at the proper time, "He may address and cause to be delivered to any two members of the House, the declaration before mentioned, of his intention to resign and such two members upon receiving such declaration, shall forthwith address their warrant under their hands and seals to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery," etc. A man might be so stupid as to make a blunder in this connection. This they knew had occurred in the case of a member for British Columbia, who, he believed, it was publicly known, desiring to resign his seat, had not adopted the right means for effecting his purpose. The resignation submitted was in fault. There should be some specific machinery provided in this relation; the form of the writ should be stated, and the manner in which it should be issued, and the whole of the proceedings should be given so plainly and unmistakeably that no case like that to which he had just alluded could occur. That hon. gentleman, he believed, had got into some difficulty with respect to the violation of the Independence of Parliament Act, under the patronage of the present Government. Provisions should be made by which a member could resign without incurring the long delay that had occurred in this case, leaving the district in question without representation; and, in any case, there should be such a plain and simple process enacted, and such ample and exact statements placed in the Bill for the guidance of those who wished to resign, that no mistake would be committed, and no risk, either through connivance, or accident, or ignorance, incurred, of leaving a district unrepresented in this relation. This was so important a point that he was surprised it should have escaped the acute observation of the hon. the Minister of Justice. He was surprised that the hon. gentleman had not prepared a schedule to show the necessary steps to be taken to carry out the provisions of the Bill, because they must imagine that no Bill like this should be introduced without mature deliberation, or unless the the questions connected with it had been duly weighed and considered, not only by the hon. the Minister of Justice, but also by all the hon. gentleman's associates; and it seemed very hasty and inconsiderate to bring down a measure like this with important matters not only omitted, but pointed out by those who did not profess to be competent through legal knowledge to give any hint to the hon. the Minister of Justice, who might be supposed to embody in himself the whole of the judicial wisdom of the Ministerial side of the House. MR. CURRIER said that, if this Bill became law as it stood, it appeared to him it would be quite true, as the hon. member for Frontenac, as well as other hon. members had said, that any of the members of the House might form joint stock companies under the Joint Stock Companies Act, Provincial or Federal, thus enabling them to carry on any kind of business, and enter into any kind of contract with the Government, thereby evading the law. If there was not some way of preventing this, he did not see that it would be of any use whatever to enact this law. The only possible remedy for this, it appeared to him, was to exclude shareholders in joint stock companies from having anything to do with Government money. It could not be doubted that his hon. friend from Lincoln and himself,last Session, might have evaded the law if they chose; if such had been his desire, nothing could have been easier for him than to transact his business through a broker and furnish lumber to the Government. Now, if the Bill now under consideration did not provide for such contingencies, it was in no way better than the old Act. With reference to what had been said by the hon, the leader of the Opposition regarding gentlemen who had been superannuated, it appeared to him by no means wrong to exclude those gentlemen from holding seats in that House. So long as they were fit to discharge the duties of members of Parliament, they were quite able to do the duties connected with their Departments, and they should be kept there so long as they were able to perform such duties. When the time came that they were unable to do so, then they should be deemed unfit to hold seats in that House. The same remarks applied also to Judges. MR. NORRIS said he did not care how stringent the Bill was made, as it was very unlikely he should ever come within the operation of the Act again, but he did not think it right that hon. gentlemen opposite, amongst whom were the hon. members for Kingston, Niagara and St. John, should illustrate what they meant by pointing to himself and other members of the House. To do so certainly evinced bad taste, especially as the hon. member for to their constituents, were returned to the House the same as before. His hon. friend and himself had, therefore, as much right to sit in this House as any other gentleman in it, and it was scarcely creditable that allusions, such as those to which he called attention, should be made use of. Instead of strengthening his position, the hon. the member for Niagara had only shown his own weakness. Bill read the second time. Ottawa and himself, having appealed | The reason for giving the powers proposed in the amendment was that, as far as possible, the Government might have the power to check fraudulent enterprises, like those indicated in the clause. A number of these swindlers, who had been driven out of the United States, were endeavouring to make Canada their headquarters, in order that they might be able to carry on their operations. When the Bill was first introduced, however, the hon. member for Cumberland called his attention to what he termed the espionage over letters which passed through the Department, and deprecated such a power being vested in the hands of a Government official. That power, he could assure hon. gentlemen, would be used cautiously; and, sides, the clause did not go so far as set forth in clause 19 thereof, which the supervision allowed by the Act, as he would read from the Hansard for 1875, page 581: POST OFFICE ACT AMENDMENT BILL.[BILL NO. 17.] (Mr. Huntington.) SECOND READING. Order for second reading read. was a very simple one, and consisted "Make regulations declaring what shall and what shall not be deemed to be mailable matter for the purposes of this Act; and for restricting within reasonable limits the weight and dimensions of letters and packets and other matters sent by post; and for prohibiting and preventing the sending of explosive, dangerous, contraband or improper articles; obscene or immoral publications, or obscene or immoral post-cards." To that the new Bill proposed to add: "Aud for prohibiting and preventing the sending or delivery by post of letters, circulars, or other mail matter, concerning illegal lotteries, so-called gift concerts, or other illegal enterprises of like character; offering prizes or concerning schemes devised or intended to deceive or defraud the public, for the purpose of obtaining money under false pretences, whether such letters, circulars or other mail matter be addressed to or received by mail from places within or without the Dominion of Canada." The 2nd section of the Bill provided that section 41 of the Act be amended by the addition of the following words: "And whenever the Postmaster-General shall have undertaken or agreed to provide for the transportation of the mails from the United States or any portion of Canada, such mails, when so carried or transported, or required by the Postmaster-General to be so carried or transported over any Canadian carried or transported over any Canadian railway, shall, for all the purposes of the fifty-eighth section of the said Act, be deemed to be Her Majesty's mails." be "The Postmaster-General, upon evidence satisfactory to him, that any person, firm, elsewhere, is engaged in conducting any partnership, or company, in Canada or scheme or device for obtaining remittances fraudulent pretences, representations or prothrough the post-office, by means of false or mises of any kind, may forbid the payment by any postmaster to any such person, firm, partnership or company, of any postal money order drawn in his or their favour; and may provide for the return of the sum named in any such order, to the remitter thereof; and delivery to such person, firm, partnership or may, upon such like evidence, forbid the company of any registered or other letter him or them, through or by reason of any which he believes to be addressed to or for such fraudulent scheme or device, and may cause any such letter to be returned to the sender thereof, marked with the word "Fraud," as the reason of non-delivery to its address. Provided that no postmaster or other person not authorized by the Postmaster-General, shall open any such letters." In the present case it was proposed to deal with a particular class of frauds, and no new principle was introduced into the law as it now stood. The Postmaster-General might, according to the provision of the Act, deal with letters on various fair grounds of suspicion, and an attempt was now being made to restrain the circulation of letters despatched for an illegal purpose. The necessity for making an The addition to the Act such as that pro- [Thomas Graham brought forward a posed had been urged upon the Domi- measure to authorize the Government nion Government by the Government to extend the power of opening letters; of the United States, where frauds of but so strong was the feeling which the nature of those to be dealt with had arose against such a proposal-even grown into gigantic proportions. At though the case intended to be met the present time repressive measures was one of emergency-that Sir were rendered still more urgent, for Thomas was driven out of public life. such illegal enterprises had been He (Mr. Tupper) had no desire to started on an immense scale. In inflict a similar penalty on the hon. New Brunswick the postage paid on gentleman who introduced this Bill in such letters alone amounted to $8,000. the best possible faith; but, on the Hon. gentlemen, therefore, could easily eve of a general election, he did see that a system of fraud so extensive not think this was a proper time in its operations must prove hurtful to bring the matter forward. to the people, and that it was desirable country was entering upon a struggle such adventures should be stopped. between the two great parties repreThe extension asked for in the second sented in the House. It was desirable, clause was a very simple one, and therefore, that the correspondence merely amounted to giving the power which passed through the Post Office to the Postmaster-General of regulat- Department during the present year, ing the terms upon which mails should at least, should be perfectly inviolate, be transmitted over Canadian railways. and that communications of an innocent Under the recent Convention, the character should not be tampered with. United States undertook to transmit the He had not the slightest doubt that Canadian mails in United States Terri- the hon. the Postmaster-General had tory, and Canada undertook the trans- the purest possible intentions, with a mission of United States mails here. view to restricting the growing evil, It was necessary, for the proper carry- but he did not think the time was oping of the mails, that the price to be portune. He thought it would excite charged by the railways should be suspicion on the part of a great number fixed, and, in order that there might of people, and in the public mind be no difficulty as to the transmission generally. The mere intercepting of letters, etc., he hoped the amend- of correspondence, the sending it to ment would be agreed to. headquarters—the mere sending it to headquarters for investigation-would have a serious effect upon what hon. gentlemen might consider tremely important interest, and he thought the hon. the Postmaster-General had better postpone any extension of power with regard to the intercepting and opening of correspondence. He made this objection objection without the the Government, and simply because slightest reflection upon the motive of he thought that, at the present time, it would be better to leave letters as they were than to excite the public mind unnecessarily. SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD said he wished to know if clause 19 of the present Act had been copied from the English Act. MR. HUNTINGTON said he did not know that there was a like clause in the English Act, but the Government of England had vested a power in the hands of the Secretary of State similar to that given to the Postmaster-General of Čanada. Of course, it must be remembered that the circumstances of the two countries were different. MR. TUPPER said that the proposed change should be postponed, as the present time did not seem to him to be an opportune one. The hon. gentleman had not shown that any such clause was actually in force in Eng land; the one referred to had been introduced mainly to intercept letters connected with a conspiracy to destroy the life of the French Emperor. Sir, an ex MR. MACDOUGALL (East Elgin) said that the need of a clause which would cover the case had come under his Own observation. Lotteries were illegal in most States of America; he believed in all the States; and parties engaged in lotteries were unable to carry them on |