old. As a rule, during the season, the Toronto papers of one day now reached that place at two o'clock the next day, a thing which was never accomplished with anything like this promptitude under the former arrangements; and similar results had taken place with regard to letters from the West, owing to the fact that the railway communication was direct, and that the ferry connected with the railway and brought over the letters as soon as they arrived. He would say nothing at all as to the effect of this change upon the other places of resort, or as to the cost. He was not competent to speak personally on these points. He had merely answered the appeal of the hon. member for Charlevoix by stating his own experience respecting the results of the change which, to Upper Canadians visiting Murray Bay, were highly satisfactory

MR. LANGEVIN said the present arrangement answered the purpose of one place, Murray Bay, and the interests in this regard of all the other places Baie St. Paul, Eboulements, Tadousac and the Saguenay district-were neglected. He thought that the convenience of the tourists at Murray Bay should not deprive the whole of the counties of Charlevoix, Chicoutimi, and Saguenay of the prompt reception of their mails during the season of navigation.

MR. HUNTINGTON said he was not aware that any such inconvenience as that which had been represented was experienced. The Department had been beset to make these changes by persons who, perhaps, were more particularly interested in Murray Bay than any other place in that quarter. He had consented last year to an experimental change by which the steamer would cross to Murray Bay, with such arrangements as to the delivery of the mails to the places below as could be made; and it might be a success or otherwise. The hon. gentleman had heard what the hon. member for South Bruce had said; and the officers of the Department reported to him that the average delivery of the mails there had not been more than three times a week, though his

hon. friend (Mr. Blake) said five times a week. He (Mr. Huntington) supposed this discrepancy could be explained by the fact that, as the season waned, delivery was not so prompt. The experiment had been made for one year, and the expense of it was nothing so dreadful as the hon. gentleman anticipated. He believed that they had spent $300 more than during the previous year. The impression in the Department, and the information they had received, was that, while some inconvenience, perhaps, was felt in places lower down, which it might be possible to remedy, the whole service had greatly improved. They had provided a daily mail with a comparatively slight increase of expenditure. concurred with his hon. friend (Mr. Langevin) that the interests of residents should not be sacrificed to the convenience of visitors. So far as the Department was concerned, it had no motive in the matter, save to serve the public; but he believed that the hon. gentleman's representations in this regard were exaggerated. If the inconveniences were as serious as represented, he did not consider it advisable to adopt a crab-like policy, and go back to a system of mail delivery three or five times a week; it would be better to improve the service all the way down.

He

MR. LANGEVIN said the object of calling attention to this matter was this: Malbaie, Baie St. Paul, Eboulements, Tadousac, and other places on the Saguenay and in Chicoutimi county were left last year without the mail service they had in 1874, 1875, and 1876, and the residents of these counties should not be deprived of the regular delivery of their mails during the season only because the mails were sent by the Grand Trunk to Murray Bay, and thence distributed by land to these other different places, thus consuming more time than if it was done by boat, which was possible from Quebec five or six times a week. These districts had no railways; the people lived in the mountains; very little of the public money was spent there; and all they now asked for, at all events, was a regular mail during the season of navigation, and the ordinary mails during the rest of the year.

MR. BLAKE said that at time in his experience had the steamers from Quebec stopped daily or on their regular trips at Eboulements and Baie St. Paul. This only took place occasionally during the week, perhaps twice or thrice, but certainly not regularly.

MR. LANGEVIN: That may have been so during last season.

MR. BLAKE: I am speaking not of one season, but of ten or twelve seasons.

MR. LANGEVIN said the places in question were suffering under very great hardships in this regard.

MR. HUNTINGTON said he believed the hon. gentleman had been misled as to the number of trips formerly made to these places. He rested his statement on information furnished by officers of the Department. The papers would be brought down, and it would then be seen whether that was the case or not.

Motion agreed to.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION.

MR. LANGEVIN said he desired to make a personal explanation. Certain statements had been made in his regard by the hon. member for Lévis (Mr. Fréchette), and he had not thought proper to answer them until he could obtain the letter which he would now read to the House. That hon. gentleman said he (Mr. Langevin) should have informed his electors how much it cost

him to procure the Cross of St. Gregory the Great from His Holiness the Pope; and had afterwards said, in explanation, he (Mr. Fréchette) had merely referred to sacrifices, etc., made on his part. He had since sent for the letter which he had received at the time from the late Archbishop of Quebec, Mgr. Baillargeon, who had forwarded to him this cross from His Holiness the Pope. This letter was as follows:

" ARCHBISHOPRIO OF QUEBEC,
"QUEBEC, 8th July, 1870.

"MONSIEUR LE MINISTRE,

it comes.

MR. HUNTINGTON "said there were only two provisions, which were the administration of the Department. intended to meet certain difficulties in The Postmaster-General had certain powers to regulate the transmission of Her Majesty's mails over railways. In consequence of the convention with had been the United States, it extend the considered desirable to the United States provision to

mails. The other clause gave the Postmaster-General power to deal with correspondence which related to lotteries or gift concerts of fraudulent intent. In the United States, severe penal legislation had been been found necessary in relation to these matters. It seemed now that, being driven out of the United States, these parties had set up their business in this country. One of them had recently advertised;

and the letters had been mailed to the St. Stephen Post-office in New Brunswick, and the postage paid to the Department on those letters was, he believed, at least eight eight thousand dollars. A very large number of letters were transmitted, and it was evident that this was not a desirable practice to encourage.

MR. TUPPER said he thought that some such proposal as this was contained in the present Post Office Act, when it was introduced by the hon. the Postmaster-General of that day, and he thought it was the difficulty of dealing with the subject without violating the privacy of correspondence which passed through the Post Office, which led to its withdrawal; however, it would be time enough to discuss the question on the second reading of the Bill.

MR. HUNTINGTON said the difficulty was one which had been suggested and anticipated, but the evil had not an existence then to the extent it had now. The Government now proposed to legislate for an evil which absolutely existed, and he remembered that, at the time the Post Office Act was discussed, the provision was only intended to meet some possibility of the future.

Bill read the first time.

Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Minister of Public Works; the Hon. Isaac Burpee, Minister of Customs; the Hon. Thomas Coffin, ReceiverGeneral, and the Hon. Wilfrid Laurier, Minister of Inland Revenue, to act with the Speaker of the House of Commons as Commissioners for the purposes and under the provisions of the Act 31st Victoria, Chapter 27, intituled an Act respecting the Internal Economy of the House of Commons and for other purposes. "GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

OTTAWA, 20th February, 1878.”

MAIL TO LAKE ST JOHN.

QUESTION.

the intention of the Government to MR. CIMON enquired, Whether it is send the mail to Lake St. John by way of the new Colonization Road opened by the Government of the Province of Quebec last summer, between Quebec and Lake St. John?

MR. HUNTINGTON: In answer to the hon. gentleman, I have to say that a petition asking for this has been received, which has been referred to the Inspector. I can say nothing about it till we get his report.

MAIL TO NOTRE DAME DE LATERRIÈRE.

QUESTION.

MR. CIMON enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to send a daily mail directly from Bagotville to Notre Dame de Laterrière, in the county of Chicoutimi, instead of causing it to pass by way of the village of Chicoutimi ?

MR. HUNTINGTON: I have only to say, Sir, that in my Department we know nothing about any application such as the hon. gentleman refers to.

COASTING REGULATIONS.

QUESTION.

MR. STEPHENSON enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government this Session to introduce any amendments to the existing Canadian Customs Laws and Coasting Regulations, making them approximate more closely in the matter of wrecking, towing and coasting by foreign vessels in Canadian waters than they now are to the laws and regulations relating to these matters in the United States?

MR. SMITH (Westmoreland): The Government do not contemplate, during the present Session, introducing any measure upon the subject.

BREAKWATER AT MAIN-À-DIEU.

QUESTION.

MR. MCDONALD (Cape Breton) enquired, Whether it is the intention of the Government to place in the Estimate a sum of money for the purpose of building a breakwater at the entrance of the harbour of Main-à-Dieu, in Cape Breton ?

MR. MACKENZIE: The hon. gentleman will see from the Estimates, which are printed, that it is not there.

MAILS TO EBOULEMENTS AND MURRAY BAY.

MOTION FOR RETURNS.

MR. LANGEVIN moved for a copy of all tenders received in 1877 for the carrying by land of the mails from Quebec to Eboulements or Murray Bay; also a copy of all Orders in Council or Departmental Orders relating to the same, showing the reasons why one special tender has been accepted, and also a statement showing the name of the late contractor for carrying of said mails, the amount paid him, and the amount now paid, and to whom, for the same services, together with a copy of the correspondence on the said subject.

Motion agreed to.

THE SERVICES OF WILLIAM TAYLOR, OF COTEAU DI LAC.

MOTION FOR RETURN.

MR. LANTHIER moved for all papers, documents, and pay-lists in relation to the services of the late William Taylor, of Coteau du Lac, as master builder for the construction of the Fort at the Coteau, from 1812 to 1822.

Motion agreed to.

REPAIRS TO MILITARY BRIDGES AT LÉVIS.

MOTION FOR RETURN.

MR. BLANCHET moved for a return shewing the sums expended for

repairs to military bridges at Lévis, since last Session; the names and wages of the workmen, and the amount paid to each of them; the amount of all accounts for materials, and charges for commission, with the names of parties. to whom payments have been made ; also the amount and description of work given out by contract, with the names of the parties tendering, and of the contractors.

Motion agreed to.

EXPENSES OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES.

MOTION FOR RETURN.

MR. YOUNG moved for a return setting forth the objects and expenses incurred by each of the Special Committes appointed by this House during the past four years, with the names of the persons who received payment, whether as witnesses or otherwise, and the amounts received by each. He said that his object in making the motion was to bring before the House the expenditure that had been incurred by the various Committees appointed during the last few years, the results being, in many cases, in his opinion, not equal to the expense incurred. The outlay had been very large, as he was led to believe, and he thought it was doubtful whether so many Committees ought to be granted except in cases of admitted utility.

MR. TUPPER said he would like to ask the hon. member whether the motion was intended as a censure upon the Government? He could not see how it could be regarded in any other light. He could not, at this moment, charge his mind with any of these Special Committees which had even been moved for upon the Opposition side of the House; at all events, the Government was responsible for allowing these Special Committees to be appointed. If his hon. friend (Mr. Young) wished to put it in the light of a censure on the Government, he (Mr. Tupper would be glad to afford him the best assistance in his power.

MR. YOUNG said that he was glad to find that his hon. friend was so anxious to shield the Government from any blame in this matter. His (Mr. Young's) chief object was to get

MR. YOUNG moved for a return showing the nature and value of all manufactures and other articles exchanged between Canada and the Australian Colonies, from the 1st of July, 1876, up to the latest returns in possession of the Government, together with copies of the tariffs of these colonies, and any other information in possession of the Government which may be useful in promoting the valuable trade spring up between us. He said that they had a certain amount of information in the Trade and Naviga. tion Returns, but he regarded this portion of our trade as so important that he thought it advisable to have details as to the nature and value of

the different articles which had been exchanged between Canada and the Australian Colonies during the last two or three years. The experiment of sending our manufactures to the North South Wales Exhibition had undoubtedly been a great success, and it was surprising to see what a large number of orders were being received by our manufacturers for all kinds of goods. There seemed, undoubtedly, to be an opening for an extension of our trade in that direction that direction; but one of the difficulties was the want of regular means of communication between Canada and these distant colonies; and, in view of the success of the action of the Government in having the country properly represented at New South Wales, and the orders which were consequently being received from those colonies, he thought the subject of better communication might very well receive the attention of the Government.

Motion agreed to.

BOUNDARY LINE BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER CANADA.

MOTION FOR REPORTS.

MR. LANTHIER moved for an address to the Governor-General for

1st. Copy of the Reports of Alphonso Wells, Deputy Provincial Land Surveyor, dated the 10th November, 1841, with the plans respecting the division line between the two Provinces formerly called Upper and Lower Canada, running between the River Ottawa and the River St. Lawrence.

2nd. Copy of the Report of the Commissioners appointed under the Act 23 Vict., chap. 21, intituled an Act respecting the Line of Division between Upper and Lower Canada. With a statement of all moneys paid for claims and compensation under the provisions of the said Act; the amount paid to each individual claimant; and copies of the plans of the parcels of land to which such payments relate, and to which the receipts given refer; as well as copies of the deeds in the form of instruments under the hand and seal of the Commissioner, issued by him according to the provisions contained in the

1st sub-section of the 4th section of the said Act.

lands

were

MR. MACKENZIE said he had to ask the hon. gentleman to withdraw this which were not in the possession of motion; he was asking for papers the Government. All papers connected with the survey of transmitted, either to the Government at Quebec or to the Government at Toronto, at the time when ConfederaGovernment could not force these tion took place, and the Dominion Governments to produce any of the papers, though he had no doubt the hon. gentleman could get them by applying to the proper authorities.

MR. TUPPER said he would like to ask the hon. the First Minister if his attention had been drawn to the fact that this was not a survey in Upper or Lower Canada, but a division or boundary line; and, if these papers were not in the possession of the Government, they ought to be. He considered that all papers referring to boundaries between the Provinces ought to be in the possession of this Government, and he had no doubt that, on application, they would be placed in their hands.

MR. MACKENZIE said there was no reason why, because lands lay on either side of the boundary, the papers respecting them would be in the hands of this Government.

MR. TUPPER said these papers referred to the division line between those two Provinces which were united before Confederation took place, and, therefore, had no relation to boundaries