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Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, 23 May 1873, Prince Edward Island Confederation with Canada.

166 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873

FRIDAY, May 23rd.

Hon. LEADER or THE GOVERNMENT moved that the House resolve itself into a Committee of the whole to consider the message received from His Honor the Lieut. Governor, containing the Terms offered by the Dominion of Canada to this Colony for its admission into Confederation, procured by the last delegation, and said : 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 167 This question of Confederation is the most important matter ever taken into consideration by a Committee of the House of Assembly of this Colony. The Government considered the Terms brought down from Ottawa by Messrs. Haythorne and Laird, were such that if accepted, the Colony would be forced to resort immediately to local taxation in order to meet its yearly requirements ; and, therefore, felt it to be their duty to appoint another delegation for the purpose of obtaining better Terms, if possible. This Island occupies an entirely different position from that of any of the other Colonies, as the latter have many great sources of revenue which we have not. Ontario derives a revenue from her Crown lands, amounting to a million dollars per year ; New Brunswick has her Crown lands and forests, and Nova Scotia lands and mines. Although this Province is the most fertile and productive in British America, it is dependent upon the products of its soil and fisheries, and has no Crown lands or forests as sources of revenue, as have the other Provinces. Owing to our isolated position, we could not expect to successfully carry on manufacturing Operations or anything of that kind, while the other Provinces are not cut off from each other during half the year, and have four millions of customers for their manufactured .goods. I, therefore, looked upon this Island as occupying an exceptional position, and in giving up the power of self government and taxation, I felt that we should receive a sum sufficient to enable us to meet our requirements, as we have hitherto done. Although we had a Railway from one end of the Island to the other, it was only fair that Canada should take it off our hands and keep it running. The Government were told that the Terms brought down by Messrs. Haythorne and Laird were liberal, generous, and the best that could be obtained ; but we did not consider they would supply the wants of the Colony. The House then authorized the appointment of another delegation to proceed to Ottawa, and endeavor, if possible, to obtain better Terms which would meet our requirements, and, at the same time, be just, reasonable and fair. Messrs. Haviland, Howlan and myself were appointed on that delegation, and proceeded on our mission. On our arrival at Ottawa, we had a good deal to contend with. We had been preceded by the Leaders of the Opposition in both Branches of the Legislature, who composed the former delegation, and who, I believe, did all they could to obtain the most liberal Terms. On their return they had declared that no better Terms would be granted. And we had also heard a great deal about the Governor General's telegram which had been sent down here ; but we know that telegrams of that kind are sometimes asked for by the ministry of the day, and paid no attention to it. Representations bad preceded us from this Island to the effect that the great bulk of the people were satisfied with the Terms already offered, and that I had stated that if I could not obtain better Terms, I would accept the Terms brought down by the former delegates. Some of our friends and well wishers had written to Ottawa, stating that they considered the Terms already obtained just and liberal, and that they were satisfactory to the people generally. We stated in plain terms that what we wanted was a sufficient amount to carry on our local Government, and meet the usual wants of the Colony, without being compelled, immediately after entering Confederation, to resort to local taxation. Our idea was that the manner in which we presented our claims would enable the Dominion Government to judge for themselves, and they could then provide for them as they thought fit. I wrote a note to the 168 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 Finance Minister, and asked for an answer ; but the latter was very short, and most people would think there was no prospect held out in it of obtaining better Terms. However, we persevered, and made out as good a case as we possibly could by taking a rather prospective view of our expenditure, and after spending some time in negociation we succeeded in obtaining the following addition to the Terms brought down by the preceding delegates: Instead of entering Confederation with an assumed debt of $45 per head, we shall be entitled to incur a debt equal to $50 per head of our population, which will give us $23,500 annually. Then, in order to keep up constant communication with the capital, the Dominion Government agreed to pay $2,000 as a subsidy to the Telegraph Company. As we require a great deal of inland Steam communication, such as the line to Mount Stewart, Orwell, Crapaud, Georgetown, Summerside, &c., we claimed an annual allowance for that purpose, and obtained an assurance of $10,000 yearly for mail service by those lines. Our inland Steam Communication, will, we are assured, be connected with the Steam Service connecting this Island with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This would fully make up the sum of $33,000 per year over and above the Terms obtained by Messrs. Laird and Haythorne. We endeavored to impress upon the Dominion Government the fact that it would be better to prevent the necessity of our being compelled to resort to direct local taxation for a few years after entering Confederation, than to have our people enter the Dominion discontented and dissatisfied. We were also promised that the wharves in our principal harbors would be taken by the Dominion, and maintained, which would be another valuable  addition to the preceding Terms. When the House of Commons is in a Committee of Supply, a small amount for such a purpose does not receive much attention, while it will materially assist us. The Opposition were perfectly satisfied with the Terms procured by their Government, and, therefore, I am sure, that when they find them supplemented by the handsome sum procured by the last delegation, they will give them their cordial support. I sincerely hope and trust that this great question of Confederation will be carried by a unanimous vote of this House. A resolution, embodying the Terms now offered us, has been passed in the Dominion Parliament, and also an Address to Her Majesty, in accordance with the North America Act. I have received a telegram from the Finance Minister, stating that the Legislation necessary on the part of Canada was done and, therefore, the matter only requires action on our part to consummate the arrangement or our admission into the Dominion. The resolution passed through their Parliament without much opposition, and I hope this House will follow their example in that respect. Something was stated in that Parliament to the effect that the Terms were too liberal to this Colony ; but as there was a general feeling in favor of the consolidation of all the Provinces, little opposition was offered. As delegates, we did all that was in our power to do in the short time allotted us, and I think we accomplished a good deal, considering the circumstances. The House of Commons was about to rise, and the Ministers had a great many duties to attend to, which occupied their attention to a very late hour. If we had been allowed more time, we might have done still more, but we did not think the House should be detained much longer, as hon. members were anxious to return to their homes and business. As delegates we assented to the Terms, and the Government approved of all we had done. 1 be 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 169 lieve our supporters are ready to support the acceptance of the Terms, and to carry out this great question to its final issue ; and that the hon. members of the Opposition will also approve of the Terms we have obtained, instead of being grieved at the additional allowance we are to receive. I hope that when we go into Committee for the consideration of the matter, it will be dealt with in a proper spirit, and in a manner that will reflect credit upon this House. If the Opposition give their support in carrying out Confederation upon the basis of the Terms now before us, they will receive their full share of the credit resulting from it. I hope we shall have a unanimous vote upon the Terms now before the House, and I believe we shall, with the exception, perhaps, of my hon. friend from Bedeque (Mr. Howatt), but I hope that even he will make up his mind and support their acceptance, also. I do not think he will like to see his name recorded as that of the only hon. member who has voted against the important measure which will be introduced for consummating this matter of Confederation. The increased trade that will result from a union with the Dominion will be of very great service to us as a Colony. The people of the Dominion take a very great interest in this little Island, and I believe free intercourse with them in every respect will be of vast benefit to us. There will be no trouble about our credit, and with proper economy, I believe we shall be able to get along without asking our people to contribute anything, for many years to come, in direct taxation for local purposes. The sum we shall receive from the Dominion would amount to more than two dollars on every acre of land in this Colony, and if that tax had to be levied from our people, it would be found very objectionable. With due economy I think we shall have suffi cient for our wants, and I, therefore, rejoice that the time will soon arrive when we shall become a part of the great Dominion of Canada.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND seconded the motion of the hon. Leader of the Government to go into Committee for the consideration of the Terms lately offered to this Colony by the Dominion of Canada.
Mr. LAIRD.—I am surprised that the hon. member for Georgetown would second the motion of the hon. Leader of the Government without a single remark upon the important matter contained in the message from His Honor the Lieutenant Governor. I thought he would certainly have given some explanation of the proceedings of the delegation to Ottawa ; and it seems he is merely going to give a silent vote upon the question. However, we may hear from him when the House goes into Committee. It is surprising that the hon. member would append his name to the statement made to the Privy Council of the Dominion, that the people of this Island were dissatisfied with the Terms then before them, and wished so much more in addition, and also, that those Terms were not just and equitable. The hon. member voted for Confederation on the basis of the Quebec Scheme, and when the Haythorne- Laird Terms came down, he declared in public, that they were just and liberal to the people of this Colony, but in this communication to the Privy Council, he states that those Terms were not just and equitable. Perhaps he thinks we should endeavor to obtain all we can. Well, I will agree with him in that, and am very glad he has got better Terms. The hon. Leader of the Government has given us an account of the doings of the delegation, and was very moderate in his speech ; but his statement in refer 170 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 ence to the $10,000 promised him by the Dominion authorities for Inland Steam communication, is not backed up by any written document to that effect, and cannot be taken into account as forming any part of the Terms now offered us. The written Terms contain nothing in reference to either Inland Steam communication, or to Harbor improvements, and, therefore, grants for those matters are not guaranteed to us. We may set down the statements in reference to them as so much mere assertion, because we cannot expect to have anything granted that is not contained in the written Terms. Although ministers may give certain assurances, the fulfilment of them depends upon the ministry of the day, and are not to be depended upon for all time to come. The Terms brought down by the last delegation to Ottawa, amount, therefore, to only $25,000 more than the Terms obtained by the former delegation and we have not had, so far, any explanation as to the basis upon which this additional amount has been secured. The former delegates explained the basis upon which they obtained the $45 per head, and how the calculation was made. They showed that the Dominion was engaged in carrying on several great and costly public works, which would swell her debt to a certain amount, and that in receiving the $45 per head, we would receive an equivalent to that expenditure. But the House has not been informed how the extra five dollars, obtained by the last delegation, has been secured, whether it was because there is to be a re-adjustment of the assumed debts of all the Provinces of the Dominion, or whether additional public works to those already spoken of are to be undertaken? If any new work is to be undertaken by the Dominion, in addition to those previously mentioned by them, the House should be informed of it. If there is to be a re-adjustment of the debts of the several Provinces of Canada, we should also be informed of it. New Brunswick is seeking for better Terms, and at next session of the Dominion Parliament we may see their Government offer to increase the grants to all the other Provinces. If this turns out. to be the real state of matters, it will make a vast difference as to the real value of the Terms now offered us, as we shall have to hear our share of the taxation necessary to carry out that arrangement. I must say matters look very suspicious, as they at present appear. I do not say that this is really so, but I do say that the explanation given by his honor the Leader of the Government, as to the hams upon which the present Terms have been secured, is extremely unsatisfactory, and leaves great room for doubt and suspicion. I have looked over the arguments contained in the correspondence with the Finance Minister by the last delegates, and I fail to see in the claims they put forth, one single argument to justify the sending of that delegation to Canada. Before the delegation was appointed, the House was informed that certain Lighthouses and the Drill Sheds were built since the Quebec Conference took place, and that the expense of their construction should be borne by the Dominion Government. But we find that when the delegates reached Ottawa they did not even mention those items. I think the Opposition must have so thoroughly convinced them of the shallowness of their arguments, that they felt ashamed of them and did not dare to present them. There is something remarkable in the fact that the Minute of Council, containing their claims, was nearly identical in substance to that adopted by the late Government, before their delegation started for Ottawa. They actually stole the arguments advanced by the 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 171 late Government, and based their claim for better Terms upon them. There was only one item in their claims different from those of the former delegates, and that was, a claim for $100,000 for a little branch line of Railway to Port Hill. This, I can say with all my heart, I wish they had obtained. With that single exception, the last delegation could not raise a single argument in addition to those contained in the Minute of Council of the late Government, and which was presented by the former delegates to the Dominion Government. The former delegates received a memorandum from the Dominion authorities stating that their claims were inadmissable, and the last delegation received a similiar memorandum, stating the same thing in a very few words. When the former delegates found that they could not obtain the Terms they asked for, on the grounds they took, they asked for them in connection with our lands. We claimed that we should receive full compensation for the loss of our Crown lands. Ontario received a revenue of a million of dollars per year from her Crown lands, and it would be unfair that we should suffer on account of the granting away of our lands. Under this head we gained $5000, although we received $15,000 per year less than the amount we claimed. In the claims put in by the last delegation we find them talk about rotten hemlock wood in our bridges and wharves. There was nothing very powerful in that line of argument. The hon. Leader of the Government stated in this House, before the last delegation were appointed, that unless we received $70,000 per year in addition to the Terms obtained by the late Government, the Colony could not work its way in Confederation without resorting to immediate local taxation ; but the Terms they have obtained come far short of that amount, and according to his own argument, we shall still be compelled to resort to direct local taxation, immediately after entering the Dominion, if we accepted the Terms he has brought down. The last delegates asked $51 per head of our population, but obtained only $50 per head, which shows they were not all powerful with the Dominion authorities. I wonder how the Government are going to keep up a system of mail communication by inland steamers? Unless they send the mails regularly by those steamers, they cannot secure the $10,000 promised them for that purpose. The country was assured that they had obtained $33,000 in addition to the Terms brought down by the former delegates, but that amount has dwindled down to $25,500. However, I am glad that the delegates have gone up to Ottawa, and that the Terms now before us have been obtained, as Confederation will now be supported by both political parties, with the exception of the no-Terms men. I do not think any person could find fault with the Opposition for opposing the sending of the last delegation to Ottawa, as they had no reason for expecting any additional concessions from the Dominion immediately after the return of the former delegates from Canada, and as they had been elected by the people at the late election to accept the Terms then before the country. But as bet- Terms have actually been secured, the country should be satisfied with the result of the last delegation. I consider that the Opposition would have been guilty of a dereliction of duty, if, after having been returned to support the acceptance of the Terms secured by the late Government, they had not opposed sending another delegation. By following the course we then took, we were doing our duty tol our own constituents as well as to the Dominion Government. I sent no telegram to 172 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 Ottawa to endeavor to prevent the last delegates from obtaining better Terms, not did I, in any way, endeavor to throw any obstacle in their way ; but I know that telegrams were sent when the former delegation went up there to find the effect that we (Messrs. Haythorne and Laird) were not to be trusted, and those telegrams were published in the Ottawa newspapers at the time. I do not blame any member of the present Government with sending those Telegrams, but somebody sent them. We took no such means to injure the labors of the last delegation ; but, at it is well known, such telegrams will, by some means, be sent in such cases. The newspapers of this Island find their way to the Senate Chamber and the House of Commons, and while there, I went, upon the arrival of every mail, to see them. During such times as these, when a great question, such as Confederation is before the people, the members of the Dominion Government are sure to look at those papers of both sides of politics. I am not at all satisfied with the explanation of the hon. Leader of the Government as to the basis upon which the present Terms have been obtained. In their negociations with the Dominion Government, the last delegates nearly lost sight of the fisheries altogether, although they delcared their in tention, previous to starting upon their mission, of putting in certain claims in reference to that matter. They also stated that they would not give up the New Law Courts to the Dominion Government, as required it ourselves, but there has been no change made by them in this respect. With the exception of the $5 per head and the grant for telegraph communication, the Terms are word for word with those obtained by the former delegates. At the end of the first memorandum there are a dew words said in reference to the fisheries, but there is nothing said about them afterwards. The former delegation endeavored to press that question upon the attention of the Dominion Government, to a considerable extent, but did not succeed. They also claimed a grant for the telegraph communication, but it was refused. We thought the Dominion Government should take charge of that matter and pay the annual subsidy, but the Finance Minister said they did not pay for telegraph communication for any of the other Provinces, and could not promise to do anything for us. But they have now done us justice in this respect, and will find the telegraph almost a necessity for the purpose of keeping up a communication between the general Government and the Dominion officials. If any accident happened to the telegraph, they could not communicate with their officers here ; they had, therefore, a good right to pay the subsidy. They should have allowed us that grant from the first, and I am glad to hear that it has now been conceded. I shall reserve further remarks in reference to details, till the House resolves itself into a Committee of the whole.
I.O.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND.— Mr. Speaker, the hon, member who has just resumed his seat, and who is so anxious to hear my views, was in such a hurry to rise himself, that I had no opportunity to speak, when I seconded the motion of my hon. friend the Leader of the Government, and after thus hastily springing to his feet, and occupying the floor, the hon. member, the Leader of the Opposition, twits me for not expressing an opinion on the general subject. I am not one of those who think it is at all necessary that every hon, member should speak upon questions which come up for discussion. In the House of Commons, at Ottawa, where there are two hundred members, every man does not speak upon all matters which are introduced. 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 173 When I was there, a few days ago, I heard a question discussed which reflected upon the whole Government, and yet they left the matter to the Leader of the Government to defend. Any other course would be wearisome and attended with so prolonged a discussion that the public business could not be proceeded with. But as the hon. member is so anxious that I should not give a silent vote, I will favor him with a few remarks ; and first I must congratulate him on his aptitude as a learner, for, as Leader of an Opposition he is becoming thoroughly acquainted with those facilities which Teinrey lays down as a rule when he says, the duty of an Opposition is to oppose everything which comes from a Government. The hon. member is anxious to know upon what basis we obtained the additional allowance of $5 per head ? Well, the best answer to that is : argumentem ad hominem, as it is an argument which applies to the pockets of the people, and they care little for those of the ablest speakers in comparison with that which bears upon their personal welfare. The hon. member seems sore because we have succeeded so much better than he did, and asks upon what basis we received more ? Well we got the additional $5 a head, upon the same basis as he obtained the $45, with this difference, that we convinced them by our argument that on account of our isolated and exceptional condition, we were entitled to more than $45, and yielding to the force of this reasoning, when taken in connection with the principle laid down in the North American Act, they allowed us the extra $5 per head. The hon. member expressed surprise that I went on the delegation. Why, Sir, if he is surprised at me for going on the delegation, because I said I would go for the Terms be hrought down, if better could not be obtained, I may, with much more reason, express my surprise and astonishment, that he, who had been pledged himself, against Confederation, and who, through the use of the columns of the Patriot had been the means of having other public men pledged, should have thought of going on such a mission. Who would have thought that a gentleman, who, for so many years had been comparing Canda to the scarlet something,—which was not to be trusted—that after all this, he should turn round in favor of a union with this same country, may well surprise any one. That he, the quintessence of anti-Confederate sincerity, should so suddenly change his views, and in one night decide and go to Canada, may well astonish the public. Indeed, I think the hon, member is surprised himself at the suddenness of his conversion. But I am glad that he is now a Confederate. I am proud to know that the good seed of Confederation has taken root and is thriving so well ; and that the hon. member himself is one of the tallest trees which this seed has produced. What I said at Georgetown was, that sooner than that this Island should go into a state of bankruptcy, I would go for Mr. Laird's Terms, if better could not be had. But, says the hon. member, you asked for $51 and only got $50. Well, even so, is not $50 better than $45 ? it is useless to go into this question at any length to attempt to convince this hon. House of the advantages of a union with the Dominion, or that the Terms we received are better than Mr. Laird's. Such an attempt would be as unnecessary asit would be to get up and attempt to show to the people of this Island the advantages of education. It has now become a self-evident proposition, that we cannot any longer remain out of Confederation. A concession was made to us on account of our ice-bound position for so many months in the year, and also in view of the fact that our people had not been accustomed to direct taxation, and that if we went in under terms which would necessitate 174 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 us to resort to this, the people would be dissatisfied. Perhaps the hon. member, the Leader of the Opposition, made use of such arguments too. I do not doubt but that he did his best, nor do I doubt either. but that he approves of all we did. I am inclined to think the hon. member is only joking. The question, however, is important. So, also, is the crisis which has arrived in our history. It is one which, in the decision we may arrive at, will affect us for weal or woe for all time; therefore, it is important. Unless we accept the Terms now before us and go into Confederation, it will be utterly impossible, with the large debt now thrown upon us, to float our Debentures, and establish our public credit. If we go in we will be better off. The taxation will be less, and I believe, hope and trust. that when we go into Committee that a resolution will be agreedto which will be forwarded to Her Majesty, together with an Address, which will enable us forth with to become a part of the great Dominion of Canada. It would be to our advantage that we should go in before the 1st of July. That is the time when the financial year begins, and, therefore, in many ways it would be to our advantage. We will receive our half yearly allowance in advance, which as a matter of course will facilitate the public business of the Island. As his honor the Leader of the Government. has stated, Canada has done her part. We have to do ours when all that will be required will he to agree upon an Address to the Queen, asking Her Majesty to have this Island united with the Dominion, in accordance with the Terms of the North America Act. Hence, as Mr. Tilley says, if we wish to go in by the 1st of July, we know what we have to do. The hon member said, when he and his friend were up there, they did all in their power to get the Dominion to relieve us of   the subsidy paid to the Telegraph Company. That they did so, I do not for a moment doubt. But we showed the Finance Minister of Canada that by the Teams of the North American Act, the general Government is bound to keep up all Telegraph communication between the Provinces in the Union. He became convinced of the reasonableness and justness of the plea, and when he saw it in that light, consented at once to allow it.
Hon. B. DAVIES.—Mr. Speaker, as I have no wish that we should go to Canada in the position of mendicants, I contend we have a right to be told what the basis is upon which the $50 per head has been obtained. As we are about to enter the Dominion, it is a matter of importance for us to know how she spends her money, therefore, there must be some reason upon which this extra amount has been based. We should know why it is given. If a proportionate allowance, on a re- adjustment of the debt of the Colonies, is to be made to the other Provinces, it amounts to an extra additional debt of twenty millions dollars. And if so, I do not think they would think of undertaking such an outlay without making it known to the delegates. When the delegates are so unwilling to communicate fuller information to this House, on this subject, I am inclined to suppose that they probably obtained it by importunity. I do not see, Sir, that we can arrive at any other conclusion. The Canadian Government was satisfied they offered to the late delegates all we were entitled to ; and it appears to me that the late delegates, on account of the late Government being defeated on the floor of this House, took advantage of that fact to persuade the Privy Council of Canada, that unless an additional allowance was granted, this Island would not enter the Dominion. Now, if such were the arguments resorted to, to obtain this, they were dishonorable. 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 175 It was wrong to beg money of them in this way. It is. due to the Opposition and also to the supporters of the Government in this House, to explain how this extra allowance was obtained, and upon what principle it was granted. But as they took such care, by the resolution they carried before they went, to have every man bound by its construction to vote for the Terms they would bring down. they feel independent of this side of the House in this matter; knowing as they do, thatno hon. member of this hon. House, would, for a moment, think of being so dishonorable as to vote against the Terms brought down, after having supported the resolution upon which the delegates was appointed.
The motion was then put and agreed to when the House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole House, for the further consideration of the Report.
MR. HOWATT in the chair.
MR. LAIRD said the late Government laid the telegrams before the Home, which passed between the delegates and the Government when they were in Canada, and maintained that the telegrams which passed between the present delegates and the Government should have been laid upon the table of the House consecutively with the other correspondence. It was said that the addition to the Haythorne and Laird Terms was $33,000 in excess of those brought down by the delegates of the late Government. It is fair to enquire what has become of the balance? Perhaps it has been used for some purpose.which the telegram, respecting the $10,000 which fell so heavily upon some poor man's head, might explain. Why, the Committee should report progress and gather up the fragments which constitute the remaining $1,500, in order that nothing might be lost. Besides, it is not fair to this hon. Committee that any information should be withheld. In the speech of the hon. gentleman, the Leader of the Government, which he made, he stated that we were entitled to receive $70,000 in addition to the previous Terms. In the memorandum, sent into the Privy Council, but which is not dated, they say :—
"Prince Edward Island to be entitled to incur a debt of $51 per head instead of $45, in other words to he at liberty on entering the Union to incur a debt of $4,795,071 instead of $4,230,945.
"To receive an annual grant of $8,000 for maintenance of Steam communication up the rivers and along the coasts of the Island.
"The subsidy of $2,000 a year to Telegraph Company for connecting the Island with the Dominion by means of electric telegraph, to be assumed by the Dominion.
"The difference between the Terms offered by the Dominion, and the Terms required by the undersigned is $70,887."
But how they run it up this amount does not appear, for, according to his (Mr. L.) calculation, $51 per head of our population would yield but
$4,795,071
From which if we deduct the amount $45 per head, viz., 4,230,535
There is simply a gain of $564,126
Which at 5 per cent
Yields in excess of the Haythorne Terms, $28,206
To which when we add for Steam communication 8,000
Do, for Telegraph Co., 2,000
We have a total of $38,206
176 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 or a trifle more than half what they claimed. But he supposed they went on the principle that it was better to take half a loaf than starve. He thought he heard the hon. Leader of the Government state the other night that he was always convinced that if the real friends of the Dominion went up to Ottawa, they would obtain better Terms than others could. But who are the real friends of union ? Whatever may be said of some, he knew the record of the hon. member for Tignish was not very bright on that question. The hon. member quoted history largely, in the past, to show the evils which Confederation would entail upon our Island. He felt surprised the learned Colonial Secretary should have been so silent. Perhaps he always felt that the Railway would impose too heavy a burden upon the Colony, and saw that it would bring about that union with Canada which he so much desired. Had it not been for the exertions of the late Government and their friends, the Hon. member the Leader of the Government and his friends could never have carried Confederation. And if they had any true gratitude they would erect over our political graves a monument as high as the Pyramids of Egypt. (Laughter.) The record of the other two delegates is somewhat more favorable than that of the hon. member from Tignish. But at one time, viz., when the Terms of 1867 came down, the learned Attorney General was regarded as somewhat heretical in his views. It would be tedious to go through the course some of them have pursued, but in the meantime it was obvious that truth was stranger than fiction. If he had written and spoken against Confederation, it could be shown that from the first, up to the present moment, he never deceived any one. The hon. Col. Secreatry, according to his speech on Declaration day at Georgetown, would rather take the Haythorne-Laird Terms than have none at all. But why the hon. gentleman should have consented to throw these into the teeth of Canada, he could not understand. Probably, on that occasion, the hon. gentleman waxed more eloquent than wise. For his (Mr. L.) part, he thought that even then he would rather have the Quebec Terms, those of 1869, or the Haythorne-Laird Terms, than remain outside. So desirous has the hon. member ever been to have a Dominion horse, that he would rather have a spavined one than none at all. But the truth was, nothing taking place now in regard to politics, should astonish any one.
MR. SINCLAIR was pleased with the Terms, but thought the information brought down was not as full and explicit as it should be. It was telegraphed down to the Government that $33,000 had been obtained. Now it turns out there are but $25,500. The late Government was charged with having mutilated the Terms secured by their delegates. But no one ever charged them with boasting of having received more than they said they had obtained. With respect to what they have secured, no basis has been shown for a single dollar, except what was secured for the telegraph line, and the late Government were told we had a right to that, and he had no doubt but that it would have been received. This only seems to have been asked for upon a certain basis. If the $50 per head has been granted upon the principle that a re-adjustment of the debt of the other Provinces is to take place, then they have received nothing more in that particular than we would receive when that re-adjustment takes place. They said at one time, some of them at least, that they were willing to accept the Terms of 1869. But 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 177 the late Government asked and received far better than those of that year. They asked for more than the present delegates did.  The late Government, in a Minute of Council, agreed to ask for $5,000 on account of the increased expense of legislation, and their request was acceded to. What have the last delegates asked for ? Just think of it, a branch of Railroad from Port Hill to Egmont Bay. Well, he could hardly think that they thought that request would be granted though they did ask for it. Before they went up, they coutended that the land upon which the new Post Office stands should be paid for. Now we do not hear a word about it. Nothing less would do them than $70,000. If, when they put in that claim, they were sincere, they were not justified in closing for $25,00. If this sum was obtained as payment for the land upon which the Post Office stands, for the Barracks, Drill Sheds, &c., then it would be a gain ; but if on the basis of a re-adjustment of the Colonies, why there is no gain at all. He was surprised that when they went up to Ottawa, they did not at once put in a claim for all the specified objects of which they spoke before they went. If this extra allowance has been on the basis of the re-adjustmeut of the debt of the Colonies, for the Drill Sheds, &c., and if it is only because the other Colonies are to receive a certain amount, then it will all come out of the Dominion Exchequer, and in the end, we will have to pay our full share of it. The delegates have not shown that we have any right to the extra allowance granted. We have a right to know whether it is a free favor or an allowance based upon a legitimate claim. If we are to have it as a free favor, it is as well to make it known. He (Mr. S.) would like to know also whether anything has been obtained for education ? We have reason to assume and to believe that the Terms telegraphed down were correct. If so, $33,000 is what has been gained ? What has become of the balance ? It is due to the House to show the basis upon which it has been received. He found that the press of the Dominion, in the interest of Sir John's Cabinet, say the other Provinces are to have the same advantages extended to them.
Hon. Mr. POPE said, the hon. member said he was pleased with the Terms, and then endeavored to show that they were no better than those brought down by Messrs. Laird and Haythorne. The hon. member must have known that his statement had no foundation to rest upon. He (Mr. P.) cannot look upon the statement of the hon.member as being made for any other purpose than that of deceiving the country. The hon. member knew full well that the extra $5, obtained by the late delegates, was not obtained because of the re-adjustment of the debt of the other Provinces. No such a consideration was thought of. In so far as the telegrams go, the hon. member is welcome to make what use of them he pleases. We have obtained a clear gain over the Laird-Haythorne Terms of $25500. There are also many other concessions promised, all of which will be fulfilled, which would have justified the delegates in saying they had received concessions equivalent to $40,000 over the Laird-Haythorne Terms. True, for some of these the delegates have but the assurance of the Privy Council, but when such a Government as that of Canada will guarantee that it will be all right, that $10,000 will be expended in connection with the inland mail service, are we to suppose they will not fulfill their promise ? Again, in the Dominion Act, they are not bound to take wharves, but they have given us the assurance that they will send an Engineer to report upon the property of the Dominion, or what
178 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873
will become such, and he (Mr. P.) thought all that might be safety estimated at $10,000 ; and he contended still that the whole may fairly be regarded as equal to $40,000. He did not say it was that much, but he believed it to be such. He thought the hon. member for New London was not only striving to deceive the country, but the Committee also. With respect to the new Post Office, why, we left that as it had been fixed by the delegates who preceded us, but he, for one, would not think of calling that a bargain. The building cost the money, while the land it stood upon, with what will be given with it, was worth £4,000 or £5,000. Under any circumstances it was simply selling a building for what it was worth. We took the ground that we were entitled to all that was included in the Terms of 1869, and also that they should take our Railway and assume its debt on account of our isolated position as a Colony. Our isolation, and exceptional condition for so many months in the year was the reason, when the matter was urged upon them, why our allowance was increased above that allowed to the former delegates. We said that we felt we would have no right to ask for concessions not made to the other Provinces but for these reasons viz., our isolation, &c., and having told them that our people would not consent to go in at all unless we could receive enough to enable us to carry on the local Government without having to resort to direct taxation. We are as independent as any of the Provinces, and there is nothing to compel us to go in. Place us in as good a position as we are present, our people will be much more contented. We have no lands or minerals to fall back upon. Such were the arguments we used. Although he gave the ministry at Ottawa credit for being willing to do the best they could for us, yet he (Mr. P.) felt certain they felt themselves hampered, owing to the statements made by them to the former delegates. Had the late delegates not been preceded by Messrs. Laird and Haythorne, he (Mr. P.) felt quite convinced that there would have been no difficulty whatever in arranging for Terms much more favorable than he had been obtained.
Mr. SINCLAIR still contended there is no basis given for the extra $5 per head. He also believed that it had been telegraphed down that $33,000 had been secured in addition to what was obtained by Messrs. Laird and Haythorne.
Hon. Mr. HAVILAND wished to know if it had been telegraphed down that $33,000 had been secured in addition in cash ?
Mr. SINCLAIR thought that answer would not do. There is no guarantee for any amount save $25,500. The late Government was charged with making statements which were not correct. But here is a Government whose delegates telegraphed that $33,000 had been secured, and when the guarantee for this is asked for, we are told they have the assurance of the Dominion Government. The late Government had the same, but they did not include such in the Terms.
Hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL, (Mr. Brecken) said the hon. member the Leader of the Opposition made allusion to his (Hon. Atty. General's) political career when the Quebec Terms came down ; and had the temerity to go so far as to say that he had been whipped into line at that time, and that he had to do duty then a little against his will. But the hon. member should recollect that the resolution placed upon the table of the House was too strong. That, according to it, if the Dominion Government were to agree to offer Terms which 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 179 would literally pave our streets with gold, yet according to that resolution we could not accept them. Besides, at that time he felt disposed to look upon it as a Colonial, rather than an Imperial question. He, therefore, considered it his duty to act as he did in the matter, and believed he did right. But in 1869, when the Terms came down, he knew that there were quite a number in the Island who said that if a Railroad from Charlottetown to Summerside had been added to the Terms, and the building thereof guaranteed within a reasonable time, they would have been willing that the Terms should have been accepted and when the delegates from the Dominion Government declared, in a Minute of Council, that the Terms would be favorably considered if supplemented by a Railway. He was one of those, who, at that time favored this view of the matter, believing as he did that Confederation would, on Terms just to this Island, ultimately prove beneficial to this Colony. Yet the Opposition have the hardihood to charge Mr. Pope's Government with passing the Railway Bill for the purpose of bringing this Island into Confederation, than which nothing can be further from the truth. As to the hon. member, the junior member for Belfast, as an anti-Confederate, he stood head and shoulders above any other man in the colony, and when he undertook the mission to Ottawa, as a delegate, he removed every objection which the anti-Confederate party on the Island had to a union with Canada. But the hon. member says he is now a Confederate from necessity and not from choice. Well, how far that is so, after all that the late Government did to forward a union of this Island with Canada, forms matter for reflection, if not of doubt. But for his (hon. Atty. General) part, he could truly say he was a Confederate from choice. If the hon. member is sincere, then before going up as a delegate to seek for Terms of union with Canada, he should have put forth every effort to enable the Island to retain its political independence. He should have thought of the time when he published to the world that he saw, in our union with Canada, the subjugation of our independence. When every family was to be taxed, and when burdens so weighty and so grievous would be imposed upon the men, women and children in the Colony. If, however, the hon. member has seen that he was then in the dark, and had been laboring under a delusion, then he should come over and shake hands with every Confederate on the Government side of the House. If he is sincere in what he says, and is in favor of union from necessity, rather than choice, he should have left no stone unturned to prevent so dire a calamity falling upon our people. But what does the hon. member mean when he speaks about consulting our independence? He (Mr. B.) feared he did not go up to Canada as a loyal Confederate. He was afraid his loyalty pointed more to the political larder of the Dominion than to the principles embodied in Confederation, either as a Colonial or Imperial question. The hon. member, in the course of his remarks, was severe upon the hon. member for Alberton, because he had, at one time, been an anti-Confederate. The hon. member seemed to think hon. Mr. Howlan should not, therefore, have gone up as a delegate. The conduct of the hon. member for Alberton was quite legitimate and consistent, but such could not be truthfully said of the political career of the junior member for Belfast. Had Mr. Pope's Government sent off a delegation at the dead of night, how soon would the Patriot" have sounded the Toscin. Everything would have been tortured to suit his purpose, and pictured forth to the detriment of Mr. 180 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 Pope and his friends. His hon. friend from Alberton had a perfect right to go up as a delegate to Ottawa. Had the late delegates not gone up, this Island would be annually minus $25,500 less than it will now receive. Will the hon. member for New London say he would rather it was ? No doubt they would have been glad if the delegates had returned without obtaining an additional dollar. It is time the country saw and understood the loyalty of the Opposition, and the great interest they feel in the welfare of the Island. Just look at the resolution moved by the Opposition before the delegates went up, and contrast it with what has been said by the hon. member for New London. It is clear if he had his own way we would have been annually poorer by $25,500 than we will now be. But he is anxious about those telegrams. Well, he (Mr. B.) received one which stated that what had been obtained might be placed at $30,000. and another that it amounted to $33,000. Nor had he (Mr. B.) any hesitation in saying that in what has been secured in cash, and what has been promised for other purposes, that amount is under, rather than over what has been secured.
Mr. LAIRD.—But you have not got it yet.
Hon. Mr. BRECKEN.—Does the hon. member mean to insinuate that so little faith is to be placed in the word of Canadian Ministers ? He felt astonished at the remark. Why a few weeks ago he was wishing to place our destinies in their hands. If he could trust them in a great matter, surely he can do so in a small. He thought the Leader of the Opposition had great influence over his followers. He can do with them as he pleases. The hon. member told us that we gave expression to statements which were not in accordance with the fact. This  he (Mr. B.) denied. And if the ex pression of Mr. Pope and his friends manifested some feeling, it is proper to recollect that last year they were there politically hand-cuffed, nor had the hon. member and his friends the manliness or candor to enquire if we had a right to wear them, or honorably to remove them. It was on that account we spoke warmly. But the country has nobly done what they had not the magnanimity to do. The hon. member may say he was not then in the Government, but if he was not, he had a very good idea of what was going on. Why, to see the apostle of all the anti-Confederates going on a mission to Ottawa, was indeed a sight worth seeing. In the name of common sense who sent him up to Canada ? He still represents an anti-Confederate constituency ; yet without consulting them he started off at the hour of midnight to put this Island into the Dominion. Could the conduct of a public man be more unscrupulous ? Then again there is the hon. member for New London, very likely it took three or four months to feed him up so that his political strength would enable him to mount the Confederate political hustings. But judging from that " dashaway " letter of his, when he did so, he went about it quite vigorously. He first favored the opening up of a correspondence with the Dominion, and then gave his free consent for the delegation to proceed at midnight to Ottawa. Well, considering the anteceddents of the hon. member, it must be admitted that the hon. Leader of the Opposition did most effectually succeed in converting the hon. member for New London over to his views. Yet he was willing to admit that the course adopted by the late Government, was constitutionally correct, though on other grounds it was not consistent. But for the late Government to say they treated the people with consideration in the matter, was what they could not say and confine 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 181 themselves to statements consistent with the fact. He did not believe the late Government were defeated upon the Terms brought down. The country was flooded with an array of figures which they did not understand, but they were defeated upon their own record. Had the late delegates returned without obtaining any additional concessions, they would only have been laughed at. We have, however, secured the best Terms, and if any re-arrangement for the re-adjustment of the debt of the Provinces shall take place, we will come in for our share. Although the hon. member the Leader of the Opposition is a Confederate from necessity, yet he (Mr. B.) cannot but congratulate him on the service he has rendered to the Confederate cause.
G.
Mr. LAIRD.—After the late delegates reached Ottawa, their actions are, as far as we are concerned, enveloped in complete darkness, as they have, up to the present time, kept us in ignorance of the little game they played. We have no report of the progress they made in their negotiations with the Dominion Government, to throw light upon the matter. The former delegation, on their return, submitted certain figures which will bear the strictest investigation, showing most clearly the basis upon which they founded their claims, and the progress made in obtaining them. As far as mere promises are concerned, it was a very easy matter to get them by the bushel, but what were they worth ? They were similar to those made by his honor the Atty. General to many a friend throught the length and breadth of the Island before the late election, in order to obtain their support. Wonderful service he has done them ! I have no doubt many of them are to-day sighing over the disappointments he has caused them in reference to some coveted public office. It is an easy matter for politicians to give fine promises, but it is another matter for them to fulfill them. I have  not the slightest doubt that members of the present Government made many promises before the late election, which they now find they cannot carry into execution, and it may prove to be the same with the Dominion Government in reference to the promises they made to the last delegation. The former delegation received similar assurances, but I did not consider them of much account. It may be the intention of the Dominion Government to carry out the promises they have made, but when they place their resolution before the House of Commons, the members of that body will ask them why they wish to grant a sum for steam communication for P. E. Island when they withhold a similar grant from the other Provinces ? Nova Scotia has her large rivers upon which there are steamboats running by the dozen, and so has New Brunswick. If we receive the promised grant, those Provinces will demand the same upon similar grounds. The Dominion Government never undertook to sustain the steam communication of the several Provinces, and I would like to know how a grant for that purpose can be conceded to this Island. The former delegates obtained precisely similar promises, but they did not boast of what they received from the Dominion Government in that way. They did not send down anything in the telegrams except what was contained in the written Terms, because they knew that those alone could be depended upon. We already have the written assurance, obtained by the former delegates, that the Island shall receive a fair proportion from the Dominion for public works, in the $45 per head. As far as mere promises are concerned they are of no account whatever. The Dominion Government may be well intentioned, but they may find that their supporters may not bear them 182 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 out in those promises, and beside this, the men in power to-day may not be the men in power to-morrow. We know that a few days ago, there was an adverse vote in the House of Commons to the Government, and that the Dominion Ministry may soon be among the things that were. The hon. member for New London was, therefore, perfectly justified in saying that the Terms brought down by the last delegates did not contain more than $25,500 in addition to the previous Terms. I wonder that business men would telegraph a statement from Ottawa to the effect that they had received $33,000 in addition to the Terms obtained by the former delegation, when they knew it was partly founded on mere promises. They had a right to state what Terms had been obtained in black and white, but nothing further, as to make a statement on mere promises would be an attempt to deceive the country. The figures telegraphed down by Mr. Haythorne and myself, stood the most searching investigation, and were borne out by the Minutes of the Executive Council, laid on the table of this House. The hon, member for Alberton is astonished beyond measure that I should become a delegate to Ottawa, after having done so much for years past to oppose Confederation. I can tell that hon. member that my going upon that delegation, and in conjunction with my co-delegate, obtained the handsome Terms we brought back, was the proudest action of my life. What I then did, was done conscientiously, and the Terms we secured was one of the greatest boons ever secured to this Colony. If it had not been for my opposition to Confederation in years gone by, we would to-day have the old spavined horse with the hon. Col. Secretary was willing to accept, and with that old horse we would now be limping and hobbling along. The eighty cents per head, and the debt equivalent, were all that were granted under the Quebec Scheme, and I am to-day proud that I opposed that scheme. The Better Terms of 1869 I also opposed, and I am glad I did so, as the Terms secured by the former delegation were $14,000 better than they were. Any pledge which I have given to my constituents, I have kept in good faith. I went to Ottawa merely upon a mission of inquiry, for the purpose of ascertaining what Terms could be obtained from the Dominion. I never appended my name to any document, pledging myself to accept the Terms we brought down. The first statement I made in favor of accepting those Terms, was at a public meeting held in the Market Hall, Charlottetown, before the late election, when I said that if returned by the people to the House of Assembly, I was prepared to accept the Terms then offered. The hon. member for Charlottetown, (Mr. Brecken) became an ardent Confederate upon the better Terms of 1869, although he had been pledged at his nomination to oppose Confederation, and night after night, during the session of 1870, this Hall re-echoed with his elegant voice while be descanted upon the glories of the great Dominion, and the blessings that would flow from our acceptance of the Terms then offered us. He then declared that our liberties would not be impaired by casting in our lot with Canada, and that it was useless on our part to oppose Confederation, as it was inevitable ; yet he now declares that in taking that course, he only did his duty ! After his re-election, he obtained absolution for all his political sins, but in his opinion there was no pardon for me, as my course was so entirely different from his ! Before the first delegation started for Ottawa, our financial prospects were anything but bright. Our debt had been run up to a very large amount, and as a natural consequence, our debentures 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 183 going down below par. The late Government found it extremely difficult to negotiate the sale of the Land Damage Debentures at par, and I believe the present Government have had some experience of the same trouble. Did the Government sell the Debentures in order to pay the note held by the Maritime Bank of New Brunswick? No, they took the money out of the treasury, contrary to the principles of the Railway Bill, for that purpose. I thought we should look at our real position, and then adopt the best plan that could be devised to relieve the Colony from its financial difficulties. I broke no pledge and gave Confederation no public advocacy, until there were Terms before the people, which, under our then existing circumstances, I considered it my duty to accept. All we promised the Dominion to do, was to lay the Terms offered us before the country at a general election ; we were not pledged to accept them, and there is no record to show that we were bound in any way to do so. The first delegates asked the Dominion for an allowance of $58 per head of our population, but obtained only $45 per head, so that they did not lose for want of asking and pressing their claims. A great deal has been said in reference to the Revenue received by the other Provinces from their Crown lands. When the first delegates to Ottawa found they could not obtain any addition to the $45 per head, they took up the land argument more strongly, and said that this Colony should receive an additional allowance on account of the loss of our lands. On this ground they secured $5000 annually, in addition to the amount formerly granted. If the additional Terms, brought down by the last delegation, were obtained upon the same basis, the $800,000 would be increased to $1,200,000. But, the hon. member for Georgetown declares that the isolated and excep tional position of Prince Edward Island was the argument upon which the increase was obtained. That was something new certainly ! The reason the last delegation secured the $5 per head extra, was because P. E. Island is really an Island ! Why did they not tell the Dominion Government that there was ice on the north side of this Island up to the first of June, and that Tignish Run was jammed full of ice up to the same date? There is not a word in their memorandums about the little Summerside Lighthouse, and some others, or about the Drill Sheds! The rotten hemlock argument did not secure the increased allowance; there must have been some other reasons put forward, which have not yet been spoken of. Before the hon. Leader of the Government went upon the last delegation, he stated that in reckoning the indebtedness of the Dominion, the Finance Minister had forgotten to include ten millions of dollars expended upon the Intercolonial Railway last year, and that our share of thst sum would be $250,000; but we find that in his negociations with the Dominion Government this matter was never once mentioned. Where are his claims for the alleged five millions of dollars to be expended in addition to the estimated cost of the Bay Verte Canal? We do not find a word in his memorandums about them. We are even left in doubt whether the $5 per head additional, that has been obtained, is secured to us on a sound financial basis for all time to come, or whether there is to be a re-arrangement of the debts of the other Provinces. If the taxation of the Dominion is to be increased, the extra Terms secured will be no clear gain to this Colony, as they will not place us in a better poaltion than we would have been under the Terms procured by the former delegates. The last delegates were all able men, occupying the first position among our Island 184 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 politicians, well versed in all the political questions of the day, the first financiers of the Colony, and one of them had even been on a delegation to Washington ! I was nothing to be compared with them, Sir, except in lineal measure ! They were all Colonels-three gallant Colonels- we need not, therefore, be surprised that they took Ottawa by storm ! There is no need to ask for further explanation ; they stormed the city, and carried off $33,000, but lost a part of it while on their way home ! There were two ex- officio delegates at Ottawa besides the three delegates, and it may be that their services were the means of securing more than those of the latter. We have a right to see all the telegraphic correspondence between the delegates and the Government, as they were sent upon the authority of this House, and also because this House agreed to ratify the Terms they brought back. With all their financial and legal knowledge, the last delegates did not do as much financiering as the former delegates. The Terms brought down by the first delegates were understood by every school boy in the country, and the people generally were in favor of them. Some hon. members on the Government side of the House, would not look at those Terms first published, because they considered them spurious, and looked upon them as a piece of deception of the part of the late Government ; it was no wonder then, that they did not calculate and ascertain what they would amount to. But the people generally understood the financial position of the Colony, and were soon able to come to a conclusion as to the amount of money the Island would receive if the Terms were accepted. His honor the Leader of the Government assured us that the Terms first obtained were $70,000 per year short of our local wants, and that he would never be willing to go into Confederation, if we were to be forced to resort to local taxation immediately after we enter the Dominion. How is local taxation to be avoided under the Terms he has obtained, if his statement was correct? The Terms now before us are still $45,000 short, according to his own estimate ! In the absence of information as to the basis upon which the Terms were obtained, we shall wait for more light upon the matter.
Hon. Mr. HOWLAN.- I have had the pleasure of hearing a good many discussion in this House, but I must candidly say that the remarks just offered by the hon. Leader of the Opposition contained the greatest rigmarole of buncome I ever listened to. It was, in his eyes, a great sin for me to accompany the other delegates to Ottawa, because I held anti-Confederate views, although he well knows I did not consent to the appointment of another delegation, till I found that by the mismanagement of the late Government, the country was left in such a position, that there was no other course to be pursued. He, himself, had arrived at a similar conclusion, when he started upon that self-constituted delegation to Ottawa. He certainly imposed most successfully upon the people of Belfast, when he made them believe it was perfectly right for him to seek Terms for Confederation at Ottawa, but that it was altogether wrong for his political opponents to do so. There are men whose hearts and souls are so narrow, that they can only conceive that to be right which emanates from themselves. When a man slanders his political opponents, robs them of their character, and after all, turns round and adopts the measures they supported, declaring at the same time that he has acted conscientiously and honestly, on would suppose that he would be the last man to attack others who had changed their views upon just and reasonable grounds. 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 185 I have held anti-Confederate views,but owing to the bad management of men who called themselves financiers, whom the people returned to occupy a high place in the Government of the country for twelve months, and whose only characteristic was their inability and incompetency, I find that no other course is now let open to us, as a Colony, but to accept the best Terms we can procure, and enter the Dominion. The Government have been accused of sending over a bag of gold to New Brunswick, for what purpose? To pay a debt contracted by the late Government, where the credit and honor of the Island were at stake. The late Government would have renewed the note, held by the Maritime Bank of St. John, at the enormous rate of one per cent, per month, interest, if the present Government had not been returned to power. We paid the debt, and thereby made out credit godd. What was the result of that act ? I have, on my desk, an agreement signed by the President of that Bank, that it will take $100,000 in our Island debentures, at par. This is what we have done to preserve the credit of the country while absent on that delegation, and i we had done nothing more, our time would have been well spent. But I am glad to say we have done a good deal more. We have no correspondence before this House in referecne to the doings of the delegation sent up to Ottawa by the late Government, although there are two or three telegrams about snow storms. The documents on the table of this House, show clearly that we did not neglect the interests of this Island in our negociations with the Dominion Government. We told them we would be unwilling to return to this Colony without receiving Terms that would be just and fair, and re ceived every attention that could possibly be given us. Certain men, within the hearing of my voice, exerted all their influence in endeavoring to defeat us in the object of our mission ! I ask was such conduct patriotic ? The very men who declare that it was necessary for us to go into Confederation, used all their influence to prevent our obtaining better Terms ! The Terms we have brought back are ridiculed by the same individuals as of no advantage to the country, simply because they were greatly in advance of anything they were able to procure. The majority in the Upper Branch of the Legislature went up a reolution to Ottawa, showing, falsely, that the delegates represented the v iews of but a small portion of the people of this Colony, although they well know that we were the representatives of a very large majority of our population. When our own guns were turned against us, we were placed at a great disadvantage in endeavoring to obtain better Terms. The additional Terms which we have secured, are held up to ridicule by the hon. junior member for Belfast ; in his exalted idea of millions of dollars, a few thousands are nothing at all. The increase of the amount procured by us, is, in his eyes, a mere bagetelle. The $33,000 extra are certainly most annoying to that hon. member. We are told that the promise of the Dominion Government to grant ten thousand dollars annually for Inland Steam Communication, is a humbug. I have an authenticated copy of the proceedings of the Dominion Parliament, and I find there an allowance for increased mail service to P. E. Island. This annual grant will be secured to us on condition that a portion of our inland mails are forwarded by steamboat. Each succeed  ing Government is bound by the contracts made by the preceding Government, and, therefore, there will be no danger of our being dissapointed in reference to the grant for the carriage 186 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 of the inland mails by the steamers employed for that purpose. We are also told, by the hon. junior member for Belfast. that there is to be a. rearrangement of the debts ofthe various Provinces of the Dominion, and that we shall be no better off by obtaining the additional $5 per head, as the increase of our taxation will be greater than the amount we shall receive. A most extraordinary piece of intelligence surely! If a rearrangement of the debts does take place next year, should we be saddled with less taxation if we had accepted only $45 per head? The hon. member says he never broke any pledges to his constituents. It is very hard to say what he means by a pledge, as he appears in so many different colors. There is nothing to show us how or when the correspondence between certain members of the late Government. and the Governor General of the Dominion commenced. Hon. Mr. Haythorne stated a short time ago, that it began last August, but thereis nothing in the public Records to show that such was the case. The hon. member was taken into the late Government shortly afterwards, and surely Mr. Haythorne explained to him the position he would occupy in that Government. But the hon. member, although knowing the policy of the Government of which he was a member, did not risk the people of Belfast whether they were willing to go for Confederation or not. Nothing of the kind was mentioned to them. I, on the contrary. wrote to my constituents before I went with the other delegates to Ottawa to ask whether they were willing or not for me to go upon the delegation? I stated to them plainly that the position of the affairs of the Colony was such that I could not avoid the question of Confederation, and that there was no other way of redeeming our credit, but to obtain the best possible Terms, and enter the Dominion. This was all that I could do in the limited time: allowed me to decide as to the course i should take. The hon. member states that when he returned from Ottawa, he. advised his Leader to dissolve the House, in order to give him an opportunity to consult the people of Belfast. After doing all he could to put the Colony into Confederation, he turns round and asks the people to sanction what he did. This is the hon. gentleman who upbraids hon. members of this House with voting in favor of Confederation, without consulting their constituents. He endeavored to make out that the Terms we brought back from Ottawa amount. to nothing at all. If he had stated that we had secured an additional annual amount equal to the interest upon half a million of dollars at five per cent, he would have been honest, but to do so would be against his principles. The Terms are unjust and actually against our interests, but he is going to vote for them! Wonderful! As to the correspondence between the delegates and the Dominion authorities, it shows clearly that we were not unmindful of the powers of this House, or of the hon. gentlemen who sent us upon our mission. If the delegates had returned empty handed. and the Government had been compelled to levy additional local taxation. matters would have assumed a different aspect. They asked more than they received, unlike the former delegates. who received all they asked for. During the night of the torch light procession, for which, by the way, we have to thank the citizens of Charlottetown, the hon. junior member for Belfast was heard to say, " Well, I believe they have got better Terms after all." If the hon. member will give us all the telegrams sent up by his party to oppose our getting better Terms, I will promise him a copy of all we sent down from Ottawa. It. is nothing but fair for the hon. member 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 187 to admit that the promises made by the Dominion Government, both to the first and last delegates, will be kept in good faith, as he had no reason to come to any other conclusion. The Railway will be taken and worked by the Dominion, but I am in favor of retaining it, to be worked by our local Government, because I believe that if I live five or six years, I shall find it a paying institution. I cannot believe that a Railway, about two hundred miles in length, running through a fertile and highly cultivated country, will ever prove to be worthless, useless or non-paying; but as my friends in the Government are opposed to our retaining it, I give way to their opinions on the matter. Time will prove that 1 am correct in my opinions, and that our railway will yet be one of the best paying lines in the Maritime Provinces. The Government is, of course, ruled by the Opinions of the majority of its friends, and as the latter are in favor of the Dominion taking and working the railroad, their wishes will be acceded to.
MR, STEWART.—I willingly accord the last delegates my meed of praise for the addition which they have obtained to the Terms brought down by the former delegation. I opposed the motion to appoint the last delegation, not from personal motives, but on account of the great latitude which the resolution gave them in their negociations with the Dominion Government. I had reason to believe that some members of, the Government were in favor of retaining the Railway, for the purpose of being worked by our local Government, and with the opinion of the highest authority—that of the Government Engineer — before me, showing that it would entail a great loss upon the country, I could not vote for a resolution giving the delegates so much latitude. As it is, I am proud to acknowledge that, they have obtained better Terms, and will not stop to ask whether the latter are $25,000 or $33,000 better than those brought down by the former delegates. I stated before the last delegates left for Ottawa that I would vote for the Terms then before the country. but I also said that if better Terms could be obtained, I would vote for their acceptance when laid beforetbo House. It would, I think, have been better if the delegates had not led the people to believe they had received so large an amount as they at first named. There is no doubt that we shall be fairly dealt with by the Parliament of the Dominion, and that whenever we can clearly show that we do not receive justice, it will act fairly towards us. I am sorry that hon. members enter into personal disputes, which only tend to belittle them in the eyes of the country and of the people of the Dominion, who are watching our proceedings. Whilst I give my vote in favor of the Terms, I would have been better pleased if the delegates had not made Such a tremendous cackling over them. I have nothing to say against the torch light procession, and fire works, but I should like to see hon. members on the Government side of the House address themselves to the facts before them. I do not for a moment think the hon. member for Alberton believed that the late Government, were prepared, or ever intended to give one per cent per month to the Maritime Bank of St. John, N. B., for the renewal of the note, about which so much has been said. The present Government had no right to to take the money out of the Treasury to pay that note, as their action in that respect was contrary to law. They should have sold Land. Damage Debentures to pay the amount of the note. The reason why our debentures have gone up, or increased in value, is that Confederation is near its consummation. For that reason,and that only, our debentures have risen in lllt' market. I am only too happy to 188 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 know that Confederation is so nearly consummated on fair and reasonable terms, that our Island is to be freed from its tremendous debt, and that we shall be a free, independent, and well governed people, retaining all our present rights and privileges.
MR. L. H. DAVIES.—I am in the same dilemma as the hon. Leader of the Opposition, in reference to the Terms now before the House, and think we should have been informed as to the basis upon which they were granted. When the hon. Attorney General stated that the greater number of the people did not understand the terms of Confederation upon which they voted at last election, he made an incorrect statement Ifthe people have voted in ignorance of the matter, this House would not bejustified in voting away the constitutioa of the Colony, as the electors should know the facts of the case, and have an opportunity to deal with them accordingly. It would be unjust and unfair to take advantage of the peeple, and if his statement is correct, the question of Confederation should be referred to the magain for their decision. But I take issue with the hon. member on thts matter, and am prepared to vote for the Terms now before us, because I believe that nearly every voter in the country understood the financial aspect of the great question of Confederation, and was in a position to give an intelligent decision as to whether the Terms should be accepted or not. Any man who has read the published debates of this House, and the comments of the newspapers on political affairs, must be well posted up in reference to the Haythorne- Laird Terms. The late Government laid the figures clearly before the country, and the leading men of both political parties discussed the matter so fully, that all must have understood it. If the hon. Atty. General really be lieves that the people did not understand what they voted upon, he is placing himself in a false position by voting for the present Terms, and has a right to refer the question. again to the electors, in order to obtain an intelligent decision. I believe his honor was one of those who voted for the celebrated " No terms," resolution, which precluded the idea of entering into negociations with the Government of the Dominion at all He has therefore, only become a Confederate at the eleventh hour, and that too, before Canada conceded the liberal Terms now offered us. I, on the other hand have become a Confederate upon grounds which the hon. member cannot deny I should occupy. He has stated, time and again, that the man who persistently adheres to his opinion in the face of logic and facts, is more a fool than a politician. The enormous debt which presses heavily upon this Colony, and which we cannot much longer bear, has been the means of my becoming a a Confederate. The Terms now before us are good, but I do not think them better than the Haythorne-Laird Terms, because the latter were granted on a good sound reasonable basis, while the former seem to be based upon a re-adjustment of the debts of the several Provinces of the Dominion. The delegate telegraphed from Ottawa, that they had received $33,000 in addition to the Terms obtained by the first delegation, but that sum has dwindled down to a little over $25,000. What has become of the difference between those amounts? We have no information before us, as to the grounds or basis upon which the additional sum has been secured. If I understand the second section of the Minute of Conference, aright, this extra sum has been given us in "view of the possibility of a re-adjustment of the financial arrangements between Canada and the seven Provinces now embraced in 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 189 the Dominion." I believe that any person who reads that section, impartially, will come to the same conclusion. The $45-per head was agreed to by the Dominion, because they intended to increase their public debt to that amount, by the construction of certain important public works. The hon. Leader of the Government states that be obtained the addition upon the same grounds upon which the first delegation obtained their Terms, and that the latter made a mistake in their calculations. If this is the case, why does he not point out that error, and show the basis upon he obtained the additional sum? There is an ominous silence upon this matter, on the part of the delegates. I believe that the other Provinces will receive the five dollars per head, all round, in addition to their present allowances from the Dominion Treasury. If they (the last delegates) proved to the Dominion Government that Messrs. Haythorne and Laird omitted something in their calculations, why do they not show us in what respec and how the error was made? If, the other Provinces receive $5 per head of their population, in addition to their present allowances, $20,000,000 will be added to the debt of the Dominion. If this is the case we shall, under Confederation, be forced to pay an additional tax to pay the interest on that amount, and the real gain on our part will be nothing stall. If this is the real state of matters, the House has been deceived, and the country is being deceived. When the Haythorne-Laird Terms came down, the hon. Col. Secretary, one of the last delegates, said he was prepared to accept them at once.
Hon. COL. SECRETARY.—I stated that l was prepared to accept them, if I could not get better Terms.
MR. L. H. DAVIES.—The hon. member stated publicly in George town, and that statement was published in the newspapers, to the effect, that he was prepared to vote for the Terms then offered, and he never denied the correctness of the report. On what grounds did the Government ask the appointment of the last delegation? They asked it upon the grounds that Messrs. Haythorne and Laird bad omitted certain demands which were contended to be just and reasonable, and which they would have made, if they had been authorized to send a delegation to Ottawa. They also stated that the Haythorne-Laird delegation did not claim the cost of the land upon which the new Post Office is built, and of certain Lighthouses and the Drill Sheds, for all of which we should receive remuneration, according to their reasoning. But it now appears that not one of those items was urged before the Privy Council of Canada. A great deal was also said before the late delegation was appointed, to the effect, that one section of the former Terms was not carefully enough worded, and that the Steam Dredge could be taken away by the Dominion Government for use in the other Provinces; but we find that there was not a word said about this matter. His honor the Leader of the Government discovered a mares nest, when he found out that ten millions of dollars had been omitted by the former delegates in their calculation. I challenge him, now, to state whether his remarks in reference to that matter were correct or not.
Hon. LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT.—I made no such a statement, but according to the report of the Budget Speech of the Finance Minister, as published in the Toronto Mail, no other interpretation could he put upon it. That portion did not appear in the speech as published in pamphlet form, and if there was any mistake it 190 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 was in the report of the speech published in that newspaper.
Mr. L. H. DAVIES.—The inference which his honor drew from the Budget Speech, was, that the ten millions of dollars were not included in the calculations of Messrs. Haythorne and Laird ; but it was a mere Will-o-the-Wisp, as those calculations in reference to the present and prospective debt of the Dominion, were correct in every particular. I can come to no other conclusion than that the extra sum was obtained on the basis that there is to be a re-arrangement of the debts of the several Provinces of Canada. If this is not so, I should like to know upon what other basis it was obtained ?
Hon. COL. SECRETARY.—The $5 per head was obtained on the same basis as that upon which Messrs. Haythorne and Laird obtained the $45 per head. I am not aware that there will be any addition made to the allowances received by the other Provinces on account of the concession to this Colony.
MR. LAIRD.—Does his honor the Col. Secretary mean to say that the addition to the Terms was obtained on the same calculations as were made by the former delegates ? The statement will not hold good, for it cannot be proved.
Hon. COL. SECRETARY.—The isolated and exceptional condition of this Colony was given as a reason why we should obtain better Terms. We also stated that our people had never been used to direct taxation, and that the union with the Dominion would be unpopular, if our educational establishments, roads, bridges, &c., had to be sustained by local taxation immediately after going into Confederation.
MR. L. H. DAVIES.—Every hon. member of this House will rejoice that such a concession has been made to this Colony ; but if it were made on the same basis as the former Terms why were not the statements in reference to this matter embodied in the same paragraph ? There is reason for believing that the addition was granted on other grounds that those mentioned by his honor the Col. Secretary. If a re-adjustment of the financial arrangements petween the Dominion Government and the several Provinces is the basis upon which the last concession has been made, not a member from this Island could vote against a similar allowance to the other Provinces, if it is proposed next year in the Dominion Parliament ; and this Island will not receive one dollar in addition to the Haythorne-Laird Terms. Before the last delegation was appointed, his honor the Leader of the Government stated that if the country accepted the Terms then before it, there would be an annual deficit of $70,000. If that statement was correct, there is still a very large deficit ; no less than $45,000 per year ! Is his honor prepared to tax the people to that extent after accepting Confederation ? I rejoice that we are about to become a part of the Dominion, and shall, therefore, vote for the acceptance of th Ters now before us, even although they are no better than the former Terms, because I believe we cannot carry on our local Government any longer without over-burdening the people with taxation. I am not much afraid of the future of this Island under the Terms we are about to receive. The former Terms would, in my opinion, if accepted, give us surplus of Revenue to the extent of $17,000 per year, and we shall, at least, be no worse off under the present Terms. In a matter of this kind, the very least the Government could do, is to explain fully the basis upon which the additional sum has been obtained. The paragraph in the Minutes of Conference, states that the $5 per head 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 191 was obtained in view of a re-adjustment of the debts of the Provinces of the Dominion. If so, I do not think we have, in the Terms now before us, anything in addition to that brought down from Ottawa by Messrs. Haythorne and Laird.
Hon. LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT.—The additional sum of $5 per head conceded to this Colony by the Dominion, was not given us on the basis of a re-adjustment of the debts of the Provinces of the Dominion. That amount was granted for the purpose of placing us in the same position, financially, as the people of the other Provinces. The delegates did not get as large an amount was was asked for, but they received as much as it was expected they should receive. As the season was far advanced, and the Dominion House of Commons about to rise, and as knew that our own Legislature was awaiting our return, our time was extremely limited ; but we did the best we could do, under the circumstances. The hon. member for Strathalbyn (Mr. Stewart) made a most reasonable speech in reference to the action of the last delegates ; but I cannot agree with him when he says that the Government had no right to take $25,000 out of the Treasury to pay the amount due from this Colony at the Maritime Bank of St. John, N. B. Should that amount be drawn from the Treasury, or should we allow the note to be dishonored and the credit of the Colony injured to a far greater extent than it has already been ? No Government whose credit was worth anything would have agreed to renew their note at the enormous interest of one per cent per month ! The President and Vice President of that Bank were members of the Dominion Parliament, and if we had not paid the amount due, those gentlemen, owing to their position, might represent to the Dominion Government that the Colony was in such a state that it was forced to accept any Terms they might offer, and we should thus be prevented from obtaining any additional concession. We considered it our first duty to redeem that note and save the credit of the Colony. As soon as that sum was paid, I made an arrangement with the President of that Bank by which he agreed to take the Land Damage Debentures to the extent of $100,000 upon the terms that when those debentures are put into the market the Government of this Colony shall receive the interest that has accrued upon them. The credit of the country has thus been maintained, and the members of that delegation, in acting as they did, deserved, I think, the thanks of this House and of the country. As this matter has been pretty fully discussed, I beg to submit the following resolutions :—
1st. Resolved, That a Report dated 21st May, instant, from the hons. Messrs. Pope, Haviland and Howlan, delegates appointed by His Honor the Lieut. Governor of this Island, in accordance with an Address from this House, to negotiate for terms and conditions of union with the Dominion of Canada, together with other papers upon the same subject, laid before this House by Message from His Honor the Lieut. Governor, of the 22nd day of May, instant, this House learns that the said delegates have agreed with the Government of the Dominion of Canada that this Island shall enter into union with the said Dominion of Canada, upon the terms and conditions following :—
1. That Canada shall be liable for the debts and liabilities of Prince Edward Island at the time of the union.
192 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873
2. That, in consideration of the large expenditure authorized by the Parliament of Canada for the construction of Railways and Canals, and in view of the financial arrangements between Canada and the several Provinces now embraced in the Dominion, as well as the isolated and exceptional condition of Prince Edward Island, that Colony shall, on entering the Union, be entitled to incur a debt equal to fifty dollars per head of its population, as shown by the Census Returns of 1871, that is to say : Four millions seven hundred and one thousand and fifty dollars- $4,701,050.
3. That Prince Edward Island, not having incurred debts equal to the sum mentioned in the next preceding Resolution, shall be entitled to receive by half-yearly payments, in advance, from the General Government, interest at the rate of five per cent per annum on the difference, from time to time, between the actual amount of its indebtedness and the amount of indebtedness authorised as aforesaid, viz:- Four millions seven hundred and one thousand and fifty dollars, ($4,701,050.)
4. That Prince Edward Island shall be liable to Canada for the amount, if any, by which its public debts and liabilities at the date of the Union may exceed Four millions seven hundred and one thousand and fifty dollars. ($4,701,050), and shall be chargeable with interest at the rate of five per cent per annum on such excess.
5. That, as the Government of Prince Edward Island holds no lands from the Crown, and consequently enjoys no revenue from the source for the construction and maintenance of local works, the Dominion shall pay by half-yearly instalments, in advance, to the Government of Prince Edward Island, Forty-five thousand dollars, ($45,000) per annum, less interest at five per cent per annum, upon any sum not exceeding Eight hundred dollars ($800,000), which the Dominion Government may advance to the Prince Edward Island Government, for the purchase of lands now held by large proprietors.
6. That, in consideration of the transfer to the Parliament of Canada of the powers of taxation, the following sums shall be paid yearly by Canada to Prince Edward Island for the support of its Government and Leglislature— that is to say, Thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), and an annual grant of 80 cents per head of its population, as shown by the Census Returns of 1871, viz : 94,021 both by half-yearly payments in advance ; such grant of eighty per cents per head to be augmented in proportion to the increase of population of the Island, as may be shown by each subsequent decennial Census, until the population amount to Four Hundred Thousand, at which rate such a grant shall thereafter remain, it being understood that the next census shall be taken in the year 1881.
7. That the Dominion Government shall assume and defray all the charges for following services, viz:—
A. The Salary of the Lieutenant Governor.
B. The Salaries of the Judges of the Superior Court, and of the District or County Courts, when established.
C. The charges in respect to the Department of Customs.
D. The Postal Department.
E. The Protection of the Fisheries.
F. The Provision for the Militia.
1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 193
G. The Lighthouses, Ship-wrecked crews, Quarantine and Marine Hospitals.
H. The Geological Survey
I. The Penitentiary.
J. Efficient Steam Service for the conveyance of Mails and Passengers, to be established and maintained between the Island and the Main Land of the Dominion, winter and summer, thus placing the Island in continuous communication with the Intercolonial Railway, and the Railway system of the Dominion.
K. The maintenance of Telegraph Communication between the Island and the Main Land of the Dominion, and such other charges as may be incident to and connected with the services, which, by the " British North America Act, 1867." appertain to the general Government, and as or may be allowed to the other Provinces.
8. That the Railway under contract in course of construction for the Government of the Island, shall be the property of Canada.
9. That the new building, in which are held the Law Courts, Registry Office, &c., shall be transferred to Canada on the payment of Sixty-nine thousand dollars ($69,000). The purchase to include the land on which the building stands, and a suitable space of ground in addition, for yard room, &c.
10. That the Steam Dredge Boat in course of construction shall be taken by the Dominion at a cost not exceeding Twenty-two thousand dollars, ($22,000.)
11. That the Steam Ferry Boat, owned by the Government of this Island, and used as such, shall remain the property of the Island
12. Tat the population of Prince Edward Island having been increased by fifteen thousand or upwards since the year 1861, the Island shall be represented in the House of Commons of Canada by six members. The representation to be re-adjusted from time to time under the provisions of the "British North America Act, 1867."
13. That the constitution of the Executive Authority and of the Legislature of Prince Edward Island shall, subject to the provisions of " British North America act, 1867." continue as at the time of the Union, until altered under the authority of the said Act. And the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island, existing at the date of the Union shall, unless sooner dissolved, continue for the period for which  
14. That the Provisions in the " British North America Act, 1867," shall, except those parts thereof which are in terms made, or by reasonable intendment may be held to be specially applicable to, and only to effect one, and not the whole of the Provinces now composing the Dominion, and except so far as the same may be varied by these Resolutions, be applicable to Prince Edward Island, in the same way and to the same extent as they apply to the other Provinces of the Dominion. and as if they Colony of Prince Edward Island had been one of the Provinces originally united by the said Act.
15. That the Union shall take place on such day as Her Majesty may direct by Order in Council, or Addresses to that effect, from the Houses of Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of the Colony of Prince Edward Island, under the one hundred and forty-sixth section of the " British North America Act, 1867," and that the Electoral Districts for 194 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 1873 which, the time within which, and the laws and provisions under which the first election of members to serve in the House of Commons of Canada for such Electoral Districts shall be held, shall be such as the said House of the Legislature of the said Colony of Prince Edward Island, may specify in their said Addresses.
2nd. Resolved, that this House concurs in the above terms and conditions of Union ; and that an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, that she will be graciously pleased, by and with the advice of Her Most Honorable Privy Council, under the 146th clause of the " British North America Act, 1867," to unite Prince Edward Island with the Dominion of Canada on the terms and conditions above set forth.
Mr. D. LAIRD.—If the influence of his honor the Leader of the Government was so great that he could easily have negociated the loan of a sum of money, from our Island capitalists, without going out of the Colony, sufficient to meet the wants of the country, why did he not use his great influence to raise those debentures to par, the moment he obtained the reins of power, and thus have prevented the necessity for taking the money out of the Treasury to pay that note. If his influence with that Bank was as great as represented, all he had to do was to negociate the sale, at par, of the debentures deposited in the Maritime Bank, to prevent the necessity of taking the gold out of the Colony. He was in a position to issue an additional quantity of Land Damage Debentures, which, if his influence was sufficient, he could have sold at par, and thus have redeemed the note in question. But it seems that he has no more influence in getting our debentures cashed at par than any other person, or he would have done so long before this. The President and Vice President of that Bank knew that Confederation was certain to become an accomplished fact with regard to this Island, and, therefore, were quite willing, under these circumstances, to take our debentures at their full value. If the late Government had remained in power, the gold would never have been taken out of the Colony to redeem that note, as the debentures lying in the Bank as security, would have been sold at par for its payment, whenever Confederation became a certainty. The hon. Leader of the Government endeavors to make out that if that note had not been redeemed in the way it was, the last delegation would have been thereby placed at a disadvantage in obtaining better Terms. Now, I maintain that his whole argument before the Privy Council for better Terms, was based on the necessities of the Colony, from rotten hemlock down to the repairing of the Government House. If the statement, so often made by his honor, that the Railway was worth what it cost, was correct, why did he not repeat it at Ottawa ? If that assertion were correct, we should receive the $50 per head over and above the Railway debt. His honor knew, too well, that the Dominion Government would not be caught by such chaff as that. The hon. member for Alberton declared, in this House, that the Railway would pay $50,000 per year over working expenses, but he never ventured to put forth that argument at Ottawa. The last delegates well knew that the statements I made in reference to the Railway, before the Privy Council, were nearer the truth. Hon. Mr. Haythorne and myself presented the statement of the Chief Engineer as to the working expenses and receipts of the Railway, and said that its friends and promoters calculated it would be very soon self-sustaining. 1873 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER. 195 We gave the latter statement as the opinion of the hon. Leader of the Government and his friends, and not as our own. We did not entertain that opinion ourselves, but we let it go for what it was worth. In return we were laughed at for our pains, and, therefore, took good care not to repeat the statement again. I never boasted of my influence or ability ; but the highest compliment has been paid me this evening by his honor the Atty. General, who says that I can keep back Confederation or push it forward, just as I please ! It seems that the last delegates repeated our arguments in reference to the Railway, but they were choked off at once by the Privy Council. They stated that the Legislature was not satisfied with the Terms. In doing so, they gave ony one side of the story, forgetting all about the action of the Legislative Council and the Opposition in this House. In this correspondence we now have it stated that the delegates to Quebec went unauthorized by the people of this Island. This is certainly a great admission after all that has been said on that subject. The present Government party condemned the late Government because they appointed their delegation without convening the Legislature and asking its consent to the action ; yet the same men sent the delegation to the Quebec Conference without the authority of the people ! Scarcely had the first delegation to Ottawa left the Island, when an indignation meeting was called by the then Opposition, and the resolution which was passed, condemning the action of the late Government, was immediately sent to Ottawa, for the purpose of thwarting the delegates in obtaining fair and reasonable terms of Confederation for this Colony. They condemned the late Government because it sent up delegates to ascertain what Terms Canada would offer for our acceptance. The hon. member for Charlottetown, (Mr. Brecken) forgot his patriotism and his duty to his country, and joined in a declaration of indignation at the conduct of the late Government in merely sending up a delegation to Ottawa, to ask what Terms they would offer this Colony for its entrance into the Dominion !
On motion the Speaker took the chair, the Chairman reported progress, and obtained leave to sit again.
Ordered, That a call of the House be made for Monday next.
House adjourned till twelve o'clock, on Monday next.
I. O.

Source:

The Parliamentary Reporter of Debates and Proceedings of the House of Assembly. Charlottetown: Henry Cooper, 1873. Microfilm copies provided by the Prince Edward Island Libraries and Archives.

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Selection of input documents and completion of metadata: Isabelle Carré-Hudson.

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