[Hon. Mr. Galt]- He could not congratulate the
House upon progress of Confederation. It was
time it was carried, but from expressions he
had heard from members of this House he was
forced to conclude that the Province was not
satisfied. The policy of the Government with
reference to the Intercolonial Railway had
already been fully discussed and he did not
intend to say anything further than that he
should have been glad to have seen the policy
with reference to the construction of that road
materially altered. He thought a policy of
economy should have been pursued. The policy
which had been adopted in the construction of
the Intercolonial Railway has given us the
management of several hundred miles of railway—an arrangement that could not be carried
on as well under Government control as by
private parties, and it involved responsibilities
which it would have been better not to assume.
He was convinced that the expenditure upon
this railway would itself form a serious burden
upon the resources of the country. He regretted
to observe that the policy which had been pursued with reference to Newfoundland and
Prince Edward Island had borne results worse
than barren. They had received a more decided
negative from Newfoundland as regards Confederation. And this House stood in the awkward
position of having legislated with regard
to terms to be offered to Prince Edward Island,
which terms had been rejected entirely. With
regard to the North-West question he was
sorry to arrive at the same conclusion. An
avowed resistance had been given to attempts
to incorporate that Territory into the Dominion. Who was responsible for that state
of
things he would not pretend to say until all the
correspondence and other papers connected
with the matter had been laid before the
House. When he looked from one end to the
other of the Dominion he must pronounce the
administration of the hon. member for Kingston a failure as regards the important
measure
entrusted to him, (hear, hear). He would further say that if there had been one thing
that
had saved Confederation from public disapproval, it was not what had been done by
the
Dominion Government but the efficient management which had characterized the Local
Governments of Quebec and Ontario—eminently the populous and wealthy Province of
Ontario, and these Provinces could be appealed
to as a proof of the satisfactory manner in
which local powers had been administered. The
Speech of the Governor General was a serious
disappointment to him. There was but one
source of congratulation in that Speech—it was
thankfulness for the bountiful harvests; there
was no hope held out that there would be a
reconciliation of difficulties with that Province, and there is nothing to make us
hope that
This individual participated in: