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MR. HUNTINGTON: I have already auswered this question, put by my hon. friend from Argenteuil. I may say, however, to the hon. gentle. man, that the manner of making the arrangements is under the considera

tion of the Government.

REPEAL OF DUTY ON NATIVE TOBACCO.

QUESTION.

MR. BOLDUC enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to

place in the Estimates an amount of
money for the purpose of carrying out,
in Quebec, the improvements known as
the Dufferin improvements?

MR. MACKENZIE: My hon. friend

will not complain if I say that it
will be necessary to wait until the Esti-
mates are printed for this information.
We never answer these questions in
advance.

SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD: There

amend, during the present Session, the is no improvement in that respect.

Act 31st Victoria, chapter 44, and the several Acts amending the same, in such way as to repeal the provisions imposing a duty on tobacco grown in Canada ?

MR. CARTWRIGHT: I may say to my hon. friend that information of that kind can hardly be given until the Budget statement is made.

EXPRESS FREIGHT ON GOVERNMENT
RAILWAYS.

QUESTION.

MR. OLIVER enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to cause all Government Railways to carry the freight of all express companies at one uniform rate?

MR. MACKENZIE: The mode which was adopted on the Government Railroads was to ask for tenders and to accept the tender which gave the most money to the Government; and there is no intention to alter that rule for the present.

ABOLITION OF STAMP DUTY ON
PROMISSORY NOTES.

QUESTION.

MR. BORDEN enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to propose legislation during the present Session to abolish the Stamp Duty on Promissory Notes and Bills of Ex-| change?

MR. CARTWRIGHT: I am afraid, Mr. Speaker, that the state of the finances will not allow us to entertain that proposition at present.

THE DUFFERIN IMPROVEMENTS IN

QUEBEC.

QUESTION.

Mr. CARON enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to

LEASING THE PEMBINA BRANCH OF
THE PACIFIC RAILWAY.

QUESTION.

MR. SCHULTZ enquired, Whether any arrangement has been made by the Dominion Government with a view to the leasing of the Pembina Branch of the Canada Pacific Railway to J. J. Hill and N. W. Kittson of St. Paul, and Donald A. Smith and others of Montreal; and if not, whether any promise of such arrangement has been made by the Government?

MR. MACKENZIE: No arrange-
ment has been made and no discussion
about such an arrangement has been had
with any of the gentlemen mentioned.
I have, however, had verbal discussions
on this subject with parties interested
in finishing the road to the boundary,
and the Government will, of course,
submit to Parliament any proposal that
they may decide upon.

MAILS BETWEEN QUEBEC AND THREE
RIVERS.

QUESTION.

MR. DE St. GEORGES enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to make arrangements for the establishment of a regular mail service between Quebec and Three Rivers and intermediate places, by line of the North Shore Railway?

MR. HUNTINGTON: All I can say, Sir, is that the subject is under consideration-as I said before.

THE GRANT FOR VETERAN MILITIAMEN.

QUESTION.

MR. ROY enquired, Whether the grant of $50,000 voted last Session, for

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the benefit of the veteran militiamen | is expended? If it is not, whether it is the intention of the Government to have the unexpended balance of such grant distributed among the surviving militiamen?

MR. JONES (Halifax): I will merely say in reply to the hon. gentleman that the total amount has not been expended; $7,000 remains unexpended, and this has arisen from the fact that about 240 of those on the list have made no applications this year. I may also say with regard to the second part of the question, that it is under consideration. There are about the same number of persons who made their applications previously, but who were not able to establish their claims in time to participate in the grant of the previous years, and the question under consideration is whether, after having established their claims, and after having drawn the grant since their claims were established, they may not be entitled to the arrearages which would have been paid them under other circumstances.

PUBLIC WORKS CHARGEABLE TO

CAPITAL.

MOTION FOR RETURN.

MR. OLIVER moved for a return showing the total amount of money expended for Public Works chargeable to capital since 1st January, 1874; also the amount of money expended, chargeable to capital, on Public Works under progress on the 1st January, 1874.

MR. TUPPER said he would like to ask the hon. gentleman to explain what he proposed to obtain by this motion that was not contained in the Public Accounts. He (Mr. Tupper) was not aware of any information that could be given in response to this motion that was not already before the House in the Public Accounts. The Public Accounts showed all the works which were in progress at the 1st of January, 1874, and all the expenditures on these works. He did not quite understand the hon. gentleman.

MR. OLIVER said he could understand such an objection coming from the Minister of Public Works, but he really could not understand an

objection coming from the hon. gentleman on the opposite side of the House. However, he might say it was impossible to get the information which he had asked for in this motion from the Public Accounts. They did not show the whole amount of money that had been expended on the Public Works and chargeable to capital since 1874; neither did it distinguish between the works which were commenced after that and which were in progress at that date.

MR. TUPPER said he did not quite understand the hon. gentleman taking exception to an hon. gentleman on that side of the House, asking for information to what the object of his motion was. If the hon. gentleman had informed him before or if he had reason to suppose that this was intended as an attack upon the hon. the Minister of Finance for not having presented in the Public Accounts such a statement of the public expenditure as he was bound to present, he did not know that he would have taken any exception to the motion.

Motion agreed to.

PAYMENTS FOR PRINTING.

MOTION FOR RETURN.

MR. DYMOND moved for copies of the accounts, vouchers and papers connected with the payments for printing, as entered in the Public Accounts for 1873-4, as made, out of the contingencies of the Department of Justice, to I. B. Taylor, the Citizen Printing Company, and J. G. Moylan. He said that during the last six months

an animated discussion had taken

place in the press and among our
leading men upon the question of
Government expenditure; and he was
sure that it must have been extremely
satisfactory and edifying to observe
that the master-minds of the nation
had descended
descended into the minutest
particulars, and dissected, very ably,
that portion of the public expenditure
which was denominated Contingencies.
Their example had proved, he had no
doubt, somewhat catching, and had led
others in a more humble sphere to
follow it at a respectful distance. For
his own part, he was induced to run

his eye through the contingencies of the Department of Justice for the year 1873-4, and previous years; and he was astonished, on arriving at the year in question, to find that there had been a sudden and most remarkable increase. For instance, he found that in 1870 the printing contingencies of the Department of Justice amounted to only $340.66; in 1871 they amounted to $222.98; in in 1872, to $542.72; in 1873, to $536.52; and in 1874-in all cases, of course, he alluded to the year ending on the 30th of June, they amounted to $3,320. In 1875, including the item charged to the Queen's Printer for printing, paper and binding, amounting to $573, they amounted only in the aggregate to $611. They were aware that in the year 1873-74 a change of Government took place; and, while a large portion of the expenditure of that year must necessarily have been foreseen and provided for when the Estimates were brought down in April, it was obvious that the contingencies represented items which might arise at any moment, and had been under the control either of the Minister of Justice, who retired in November, 1873, or of his successor who then entered into office. As an Independent member of the House, he was exceedingly desirous of knowing whether this was an item which suddenly arose during the last six months of the late Administration, or whether the incoming Administration were seized with a sudden desire to expend money under this particular head.

Motion agreed to.

PURCHASE OF THE RIVIÈRE DU LOUP
BRANCH.

MOTION FOR RETURN.

MR. LANGEVIN moved for a copy of all correspondence and Orders in Council since the first of July, 1876, relating to the leasing or purchasing by the Government of Canada of that portion of the Grand Trunk Railway which extends from Rivière du Loup

to the Chaudière Junction or Lévis. He said he had seen, by a report that was published of a meeting in London of the Grand Trunk Railway Com

pany's shareholders, that the President of the Company had said :

"The Intercolonial Railway was open for through traffic, as you are aware, in July, 1876, and there has since been a steady increase of business over our Rivière du Loup section. This traffic has doubtless been to the Lower Canadian Provinces via Portland, some extent drawn away from our route to but it is difficult to estimate precisely the extent of such transfer on account of the variations in the cousumption of breadstuffs and the volume of business during the two periods. Whilst in Canada, I had an interview at Ottawa with the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, the Premier of the Dominion, on the subject of our line from Chaudière Junction to Rivière du Loup. The Intercolonial. traffic is worked over that section under an agreement which is not satisfactory to us. It does not yield us sufficient remuneration for the work performed, and we have therefore given notice to the Canadian Government to terminate it, with a view to discussing with them a proposed amendment of it. The Government, on their part, desire that we should relay that section of our line with steel rails, and expend money on it in other ways, This expenditure is not required, however, for our own purposes, but with a view to enabling the Government to run fast mail trains through from Halifax to Montreal. It does not appear reasonable to expect that we should expend money for such an object upon a line which we have for so many year's worked at a loss, and for a service for which we receive insufficient remuneration; and I represented to Mr. Mackenzie that I should not be justiquisite for such a purpose. I further informed fied in asking you to provide the funds rehim that I was ready to treat with him either for a sale of the line from Chaudière Junction to Rivière du Loup, or for a lease of it, or to admit of the Government spending money on it on such terms as might be agreed upon. The proposition for a lease appeared to be that which most commended itself to his notice, and he undertook to consult with his colleagues on the subject as soon as he could meet them, which would not be for several weeks. I have not yet heard anything from him on the subject. It is expected that within four or five years the Inter colonial Railway will begin to pay working expenses, and obtain some remuneration for the Dominion Government. Meanwhile, section of our line will also improve; and the traffic on the Rivière du Loup that section of line, which actually yielded a profit for the half-year ending last Juue, will ultimately become a remunerative property, yielding a considerable revenue to the Government, who will, we may hope, before that time, have leased it or acquired possession of

it on fair terms.'

He did not wish to make any comments upon this, only that, by this report of the statements of the President

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of the company, it appeared that they | did not intend repairing that portion of their line in such a way as to allow these fast trains to run over that line in the short time they ran over the Intercolonial Railway. Of course it was Of course it was seen by those who travelled on that line that, when they came from the Lower Provinces to Rivière du Loup, the time taken to bring up passenger trains from Rivière du Loup to Quebec or to Montreal was much greater than it was on the Intercolonial Railway. No doubt this was due to the fact that that portion of the line from Rivière du Loup to Quebec was not kept up on the same footing as that portion which ran, for example, from Montreal to Toronto. It would be very interesting to see what steps the Government had taken on this matter.

MR. MACKENZIE said there was no correspondence, and there were no Orders in Council. It was quite correct, as the President of the Grand Trunk Railway had stated, that he had discussed this matter with him. He had asked for an interview, and discussed everything connected with the working of that branch, and the position of the Government relative to that of the company, and, generally speaking, any matters affecting some arrangement which might be made or anticipated by the company with the Government. Since then, that discus. sion had been resumed with the manager in this country, with a view to arrive at some arrangement which might be satisfactory to the Government and also to the company. No arrangement had yet been arrived at; but, although there were no papers, he might say that negotiations were proceeding, and he hoped to be in a position to state what conclusion they had arrived at before the House rose, with a view to asking Parliament to endorse whatever course they might desire to take, if indeed they took a course that required the sanction of Parliament. The hon. gentleman was aware that under the Statute law they had the power to enforce an arrangement; at the same time it was tolerably evident that the arrangement which they had had, which they had terminated pro tem., had not been so satisfactory to either party as perhaps was

Rivière du Loup Branch.

desirable. It was quite true that the trains had run upon that branch much slower than upon their own line. It was, perhaps, due to the fact that they had had a somewhat easier winter, both last year and this year, than usual, that there had not been more interruption of the traffic. There had not been any serious interruption of the traffic, excepting the continuous slowness of the trains from Rivière du Loup to Quebec; on the other hand, the Government had to consider many matters connected with the Grand Trunk, with its line to Portland, its relative length to the line to the Rivière du Loup, and what the effect would be of any arrangement with the company upon the traffic of their own road. He had only to say that it was quite impossible for him to say any more at present. His hon. friend would see that it was not desirable just now to precipitate any discussion on the subject; and, as there were no papers such as he asked for, he presumed he would withdraw the motion.

MR. BLANCHET said that, from the explanations given by the hon. the Premier, he might infer that very likely, if the authorities of the Grand Trunk were reasonable, some practicable arrangement would be concluded. If it ever came to a settlement, he presumed the hon. the Premier would not lose sight of the necessity of having a branch constructed from St. Charles, on the Grand Trunk, to Quebec. It was necessary that the intercolonial Railway should have termini at seaports. One now was at Halifax, and the other must be at Quebec or as near as possible; and something must be done to have that curve of the Chaudiére avoided. The only way to have that curve avoided, and the time lost by travellers, was to have that branch constructed. The hon. the Premier, two years ago, expressed the desirability of having such a work done in the interest of the trade of the Maritime Provinces. He hoped that, with his practical eye, when the arrangements were concluded, the hon. the Premier would see that that branch was constructed, not as a local branch, because it was for the interest of the whole Dominion, and, as he said two years ago, in the interest of the Maritime Provinces.

MR. TUPPER said he did not rise for the purpose of prolonging this discussion, but in consequence of the remark made by the First Minister, that whatever arrangements were made, he trusted would be made in time to submit them for the approval or endorsation of Parliament, provided that they required that endorsation. He hoped that no arrangement would be concluded by the Government,-in fact he should very much question the power of the Government to conclude any arrangement, in the sense in which the President of the Grand Trunk Railway Company referred to arrangements, without submitting them for the consideration of Parliament. He wished to draw the attention of the hon. the First Minister for a moment to a point that, he dared say, had not escaped his attention, but for fear that sufficient importance might not attach to it,-of providing, in case any such arrangements were made by which the working of the line from Rivière du Loup to Quebec should be placed in the hands of the Government of Canada, definite arrangements in relation to the charges made by the Grand Trunk Railway on all freight for the Intercolonial or over it, and over the other portions of their line. The hon. gentleman's attention, no doubt, had been drawn to the fact that, at present, the interest of the Grand Trunk was comparatively the same in reference to freight passing over the Intercolonial, and over the line to Portland, for the distance was just about the same from Montreal to Rivière du Loup and from Montreal to Portland. The moment, however, that the Intercolonial and the Government acquired, either by lease or otherwise, the line from Rivière du Loup to Quebec, the interest of the Grand Trunk would be enormously increased in sending all its freight and all its business, passengers, and everything of the kind, over the Portland line, because they would have a much greater mileage on that line than would remain on the other, and that would necessitate, of course, a provision by which the charges should be quite as favourable to everything coming over the Intercolonial Railway, via that line to Montreal, as to that which

came from Portland, in order to avoid the large interest which they would have in the working traffic over the Intercolonial Railway and over the line to Portland. Probably that had not escaped the hen. gentleman's attention; but it struck him as a matter which would be vital in dealing with this question. He trusted that no arrangement would take affect until it had received the approval of Parliament. He might just say, before sitting down, that the importance of having the line so improved between Rivière du Loup and Quebec as to facilitate the transmission of mails, passengers, and everything else over the Intercolonial Railway between Halifax and Montreal was a question of very great importance, and one that naturally had attracted the attention of the Government.

MR. MITCHELL said it had afforded him great gratification to find the position taken by the First Minister in relation to this matter. He thought every one would admit, looking at the geographical and local position of that Intercolonial road, that the absence of any connection between the present terminus of that road and the Quebec system except through the Grand Trunk section of line to Riviere du Loup, made it of the utmost importance that some arrangement should be arrived at. Of course it was very proper in making any arrangement, that the Government should consider carefully the points that the hon. the Premier stated in relation to the future traffic over the Grand Trunk by way of Portland, which might possibly divert a very large por| tion which now went over the Intercolonial road, in order to have some such arrangement as his hon. friend from Cumberland (Mr. Tupper) suggested made, at the same time as the leasing or purchase the line. One thing was very clear, that something would have to be done with the road. It was in anything but a respectable condition for fast travel, and sooner or later some accident would occur upon it. Any very heavy snow-storm was sure to result in delays, and it was a subject that ought to, and he was glad to find did, occupy the attention of the First Minister. He was

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