of their favour and support; and at public meetings promulgated the fact that the clergy favoured and desired his candidature, and publicly proclaimed to the people that they should listen to and obey the voice of the clergy."

This was not an exceptional case, his hon. friends upon the other side of the House knowing as well as he did that this was one of the many instances of elections carried by the alliance in favour of the Conservative party by the tyranny, activity, and energetic influence of the clergy in the Province of Quebec.

MR. MASSON: How do you account for that; I judge the communists are for you?

MR. LAFLAMME said that some there and were communists came sent back. They were brought by the Conservatives and sent back by the Liberals to purify society. He would leave to better hands the duty of dealing with the objections which the hon. gentlemen of the Opposition made with respect to Protection and the absolute want of legislation mentioned in the Speech, to put an end to the insolvencies which have occurred so frequently throughout the Dominion, to restore trade, to bring back ship-building not only in the Province of Quebec but in the other Provinces. He believed it was almost crime on the part of hon. gentlemen opposite to have left the country so long in that -unfortunate state of depression. The Government had attempted to restore it to prosperity. If they would only show a plan by which even this continuing depression could be terminated he was ready to support it. He was ready-he was more than that- he would give the hon. member for Terrebone (Mr. Masson) his support with the greatest pleasure in the world if he could show with any hope of success, by any possible legislation, to bring back not only the former prosperity of the country but terminate the present distress, and show that the country was returning to that prosperity which had rapidly disappeared since the late Government had left the Treasury benches. That was an act which certainly would be patriotic on their part, to at least indicate the course to be taken; and he was certain,

if they desired a reaction, they could depend upon it that the moment they should show this, if members on the Government side of the House refused to accept and follow such valuable instruction, hon. gentlemen opposite were sure to have a greater reaction than ever appeared in any country; and if they were not brought back to power, notwithstanding their previous commissions and omissions, it will be singular. But unfortunately, the reaction which was so much spoken of was a reaction which was more apparent than real, and which would certainly not take place when the electors were put in possession of the whole facts regarding the conduct of the The Administration. result be not a

would

reaction

in

favour of the Conservative party, but in favour of those who had honestly administered the affairs of the country; the reaction which had been spoken of should be entirely on the other side. He would recall to the hon. member from Terrebonne (Mr. Masson) a fable of La Fontaine, a translation of which he had never seen in English. It was the fable of the donkey which carried the relics. La Fontaine, who was a very good Catholic, mentions a donkey, which having been used for very modest purposes, was employed one day to carry relics, and he found it very extraordinary how well he was received and treated. Everybody was bowing as he passed along, and he thought he had become something extraordinary; he flattered himself of his great success. When, after having deposited his relics, the boys came and threw stones and treated him as usual, the animal found he was nothing but what he had been before

enough, or was it not enough? This was certainly more than the Conservatives had ever given to the manufacturers of the Dominion, and we had at the present moment a more protective system than when hon. gentlemen opposite were at the head of affairs. They cried for protection only when they were out of office, and he was positive-for be had too much confidence in their intelligence, the learning of the gentlemen of the other side to think otherwise that if they were managing the affairs of the country they would not attempt to introduce a more protective system than the one that exists. It would be utterly impossible to obtain the rev enue, and to protect at the same time the manufacturing interests beyond the amount for which they were protected to-day. The hon. member for Charlevoix (Mr. Langevin) had spoke of the disasters to the country, and referred to the failure of one of those manufacturers who supported the hon. the Minister of Inland Revenue in Quebec. That gentleman was a boot and shoe manufacturer. If all the boot and shoe manufacturers in the country were to-day asked if they required more protection, not one would reply in the affirmative. It was not the want of protection that had brought disaster on the boot and shoe manufacturers, but rather the over-protection, for there had been more boots and shoes manufactured than the Canadian market-which was our only market-could consume, and it was found that the manufacturers could supply the requirements of five times the present population of the country. Having no other market but that of Canada, they must limit their operations, and when they multiply their stocks too largely they must cease. At present, manufacturers had 17 per cent. duty to protect their manufacture, and the difference between the freight and the commissions raised the amount virtually to 20 per cent. protection to manufactures in this country, 20 per cent. the consumer had to pay for the luxury of having a manufactory in the neighbourhood. The manufacturers which required more than 20 per cent. protection were not legitimate manufacturers;

their labour was not productive and they cannot contribute to enrich or develop the resources of this country. That subject would, however, be better treated by abler men than himself on a subsequent occasion. He had never found, as the hon. gentlemen had given the House to understand, that all those who belonged to the National party were protectionists. There never was any such question mooted in the Party National, and the idea expressed by the hon. member for Charlevoix (Mr. Langevin) of the principles laid down in the programme of that party and the declaration that they required more facilities to enter into commercial treaties with other countries, certainly could not establish the principle that from laying down that plank in the platform, the party insisted on and required protection. The question of protection, however, was "Incidental Protection. It could never be made the absolute question of dividing parties. There were gentlemen on the other side of the House who were Free-traders, while there were some on the Government side who were Protectionists; but every man would admit that there could be but one interest, and that was to find out what was really the best policy for the development and prosperity of the country. believed the tariff, such as it was, and the rates, such as they were, for the protection of manufacturers, were sufficient.

He

Some of the ablest writers for the protective system had of late completely changed their minds. He took as an example, the representative organ of the Protectionist party in Montreal, the Gazette, whose editor was certainly one of the ablest writers on that side of the tariff question. He, nevertheless, had accepted the decision of the Dominion Board of Trade, which has always been held up by the gentlemen on the other side as being the only competent judges in matters of trade, because they happened to approve the policy of the Government in former days, they had however come back-and they were representative men of their class—and at their last meeting they declared that the free tariff was the tariff required of this country, that it required no alteration, and that the protection

given was sufficient. Now, probably, hon. members on the other side would declare that the Dominion Board of Trade had lost its influence and could not understand the question as it did in previous years when they thought proper to bring forward a condemnation of the politics of the Liberal party.

MR. MOUSSEAU moved the adjournment of the debate. Motion agreed to.

House adjourned at
Fifteen minutes after

Twelve o'clock.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Tuesday, 12th Feb., 1878.

The Speaker took the chair at Three o'clock.

PRAYERS.

They would tell the Administration they had done nothing. It was true that bankruptcies and commercial disasters existed throughout the country, but nevertheless, the Ministry had done nothing. They had not made use of the means at their disposal, either in the direction of protecting our indus-tries or of reducing the public debt or of diminishing the public expenditure. What was the answer received by hon. members on making these statements? It was always the same, viz :—that the leader of the Opposition, his hon. friend from Kingston, had pursued the same policy; and that the Conservatives had done the same thing when in possession of power. Well, he thought that the country was beginning to be disgusted with this reply; the hon. gentlemen opposite had not attained office to live on the past career of the Conservatives, or on the past faults or blunders of the Conservative party. They obtained office in order that they might live their own life and

LENCY'S SPEECH.

The House resumed the consideration of His Excellency's Speech at the opening of the Session.

MR. MOUSSEAU said the hon. gentlemen opposite had now been in power for almost the space of five years; their term of office was drawing to a close, and this Session was the last of the present Parliament. These hon. gentlemen had presented the House with a bill of fare which contained nothing at all-in effect it set forth this fact itself. The House had been merely called together for the transaction of ordinary business, and nothing of an extraordinary nature, nothing of any importance was proposed to be done. No assistance was to be extended to the country suffering under general commercial depression; in fine, nothing whatever was to be done. Of course, the House, as well as the country was very seriously dissatisfied with this programme and the Speech from the Throne. With regard to the Address which was moved in reply, he considered that it was the duty of every member to inform the House in what manner he looked upon the policy pursued by the Ministry.

their measures and their reforms, the they had heard so much. Nevertheless, famous reform principles of which these hon. gentlemen hesitated, or refused altogether to put those principles into practice. If hon. members would closely examine the five years which had elapsed since the hon. gentlemen opposite had taken office, hon. members would find that the legislation presented to the House and the country by these hon. gentlemen was almost nil, such legislation as increased the burden of taxation, and the expenses and the public debt in addition, excepted. The only measure of any importance which these hon. gentlemen had passed was one which he was glad to say he had opposed most strenuously, the establishment of the Supreme Court. This was the only measure, properly speaking, that had been submitted to Parliament during their five years of office by these hon. gentlemen. Now, he had always understood-and so history taught them with respect to all other countriesthat when new men reached office, it was not to secure fat situations and sinecures for themselves, nor to play the role of place-hunters and officeseekers, but because they were pre

sumed to be better men, or because their principles and their measures or their social and political reforms which they presented to the country, were better than those of their predecessors. He would repeat that, during the past five years, the hon. gentlemen opposite had done nothing of the kind; and it was not to be wondered at, as had yesterday been stated, that the country generally, and the Province of Quebec particularly, were disgusted with the present supremacy of the Liberal party. And in many instances it had been shown that this disgust was so deeply seated, that it was impossible for the electors of the Province of Quebec to endure the yoke of the Liberal party. This feeling had been exemplified and illustrated in the numerous instances that had been afforded to the electors of the Province of Quebec for the rejection of Ministerial candidates, at partial elections since the year 1874. In one matter, and in one matter only, would public opinion, as represented in the House, concur with the statements contained in the Speech from the Throne; and this related to the expression of regret the Speech contained with reference to the approaching departure of their Excellencies, Lord and Countess Dufferin from this country; and every one would endorse the eulogium which had been paid these high personages, and what had been so well said in this regard by the right hon. member for Kingston. In view of the high literary attainments, high social position, real talents and practical statesmanship of His Excellency, they hoped that he, Lord Dufferin, would, on his arrival in England, be accorded by his party a position worthy of all his great merits, talents and attainments. One of the chief boasts of the Liberal party on attaining office had been, that they took office resolved to raise their now famous standard of public morality. This was exhibited as the leading plank in the Reform programme and platform. The Liberals and Grits on taking office had declared their intention to replace the corrupt Administration of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George Etienne Cartier, with purity, and to raise aloft the standard of public morality; and one of the special means by which this

was to be accomplished, was to prevent the interference of Ministers and high public officials in the elections of the representatives of the people. During the many years that the hon. gentlemen were in opposition, many speeches, many discussions, and many motions had been made with that object in view; and not later than in 1873, the last Session that the Conservatives were in power, the present hon. the Prime Minister had made a motion which he would read to the House. It had been made in 1873. Mr. Mackenzie had moved :

"It is highly criminal in a Minister, or the Ministers, or other servants under the Crown, to directly or indirectly use the power of their office in the election of representatives to serve in Parliament, and any attempt at such influence is at all times to be resented by this House as an insult to its own dignity, honour, and independence." A few moments subsequently, these hon. gentlemen had succeeded to power on the resignation of the late Government, and taken the seals of office; and a few years afterwards, during last November, an election had taken place in Quebec Centre. A member of the Government, the hon. the Minister of Inland Revenue, had just been defeated in the county of Drummond and Arthabaska, because he (Mr. Laurier) had been unfaithful to all his past promises, and consequently the Ministry had been obliged to create a vacancy for him in the ancient city of Quebec. What did they then see? He would answer frankly-nothing less than direct bribery, offered to the electors of Quebec East. A portion of these electors were told that if they voted for the Minister of Inland Revenue, the Government would grant them the free importation of French wines, while others were informed that if they voted for the hon. the Minister of Inland Revenue they would secure for them the free importation of Canadianbuilt ships into France. He had heard the explanation given on this point by the hon. the Premier. He could not contradict the hon. gentleman, but he was sure that the whole country would endorse his opinion that the transactions or dealings which had taken place with regard to the duty on French wines and the duties imposed