[...] action until such time as it was absolutely necessary to be put in force, and
that it should then come into operation by a proclamation from the Governor in Council.
He saw no reason why this Act should now be put in force. Moreover, it provides that
the Governor in Council may suspend the operation of the Act as often as may be deemed
necessary whilst the Act continues. This was quite superfluous, for of course the
Act could not be suspended after it had expired. When a similar Act was passed in
Canada, they were in an actual state of invasion. Here we are laboring under no such
difficulty, and he did not think it right that the liberty of the subject should be
endangered by the passage of such an Act at this time. He should not move any amendment,
but should confine himself to entering his protest against the principle of the Bill,
without there were some tangible reason assigned for its passage. The late Government
had made every provision to meet the danger by which we had been threatened during
the last Session, and now we were in no immediate danger to call for the suspension
of an Act justly held dear by every British subject.
The Bill then passed on a division— Yeas 27 ; Nays 8.
DISTRIBUTION OF DEBATES.
Mr. BOTSFORD asked if the principle established by the last House in the distribution of Debates
according to population would be carried out this Session ?
His Honor
The SPEAKER said no action had been taken on the subject as yet.
Hon. Mr. McMILLAN said he thought it would be best to go back to the old arrangement, and give an equal
number to each member.
Mr. SMITH said his hon. friend could not certainly object to distribution by population, as
he was so much in favor of representation by the same rule.
Hon. Mr. CONNELL hoped the arrangement would be as last year, according to population. The only Counties
that suffer by numbers are Restigouche and Sunbury.
Mr. LEWIS said for Albert it made little difference which plan was adopted, but last year the
members for St. John, feeling the force of the statements made that the people there
had the benefit of the morning papers, very kindly divided
up their surplus copies with other members of the House.
Mr. RYAN said he had often brought this matter before the house in times past, and he was
always in favor of dividing them according to population.
Mr. BABBITT moved that the Debates and Journals should be distributed according to population.
Mr. SUTTON moved in amendment that the Debates and Journals be divided equally among the members.
Mr. LINDSAY was in favor of a division by population. For although he was not a supporter of
the doctrine of universal suffrage, yet he thought the people all over the Province
had an equal right to be informed with regard to the action of this House.
On division the amendment was lost, and the original resolution was sustained by a
large majority.
BILL RELATING TO OFFENCES.
Mr. CHANDLER moved the House into Committee of the whole on a Bill respecting offences relating
to the army and navy. Mr. Babbitt in the Chair .
Mr. CHANDLER explained that this was an addition to the law already existing with regard to offences
against those enticeing soldiers or sailors to desert. In cases of solicitation to
desertion there are two courses open to the prosecutor ; first he can bring the matter
before a jury as a misdemeanor, or to submit the matter to two Justices of the Peace
who can punish the offender by a fine, and if he has not the money to meet the penalty,
he is then committed to the County gaol for a period of three months. This Act is
to increase the penalty to a fine of fifty pounds, or to imprisonment in the Provincial
Penitentiary for six months. The sole object of the Bill is to repress those who are
always willing to assist soldiers to desert. Such a measure has been found absolutely
necessary on the Charlotte County border during the late trouble, and it may also
have been felt at St. John. If the parties found guilty are put in the County goal
they lie there without any benefit to the country.
Mr. JOHNSON would ask his hon. friend if he had looked into the Mutiny Act in the preparation
of his Bill. The Act imposes a penalty, but first he must have been indicted for a
misdemeanor. There was another point that might be considered, namely, that when a
large penalty was inflicted, the party lay in gaol, and the country was burdened,
whereas if the penalty was reduced from ÂŁ50 to ÂŁ20, the money could be forthcoming.
Mr. SMITH was of the same opinion as his hon. friend from Northumberland.
He thought if the fine was reduced the
object desired would be attained, much better than by placing it at a large sum.
Hon. Mr. CONNELL thought it might be so worded as to be not more than ÂŁ50 nor less than ÂŁ30.
On the passing of the sections, the penalty was reduced to ÂŁ20 and the time of imprisonment
to three months.
The Bill was agreed to.
CONTINGENT REPORT.
Mr. DOW, as chairman of the Contingent Committee, submitted the following report :
The Committee appointed to take into consideration the contingencies of the House,
beg to submit the following Report :
The Committee on due consideration recommend that the sum of eight dollars be allowed
to each member of the House to enable him to procure his necessary stationery ; that
no allowance beyond that sum should be entertained.
That the clerk shall obtain all the stationery required for himself and assistants
from the Board of Works. Stationery obtained through any other channel should not
be entertained or paid for, and will not be recommended by this Committee.
The Committee ask leave to make a further report.
Mr. YOUNG moved for leave to bring in a Bill to encourage the formation of oyster beds.
His Honor Mr. Justice Allen attended the House and administered the oath to C. N.
Skinner, Esq., a member for the County of St. John.
MIRAMICHI AND SHEDIAC RAILWAY COMPANY.
Hon. Mr. WILLISTON moved the House into Committee of the Whole on a Bill to Incorporate the Miramichi,
Richi bucto and Shediac Railway Company.
Mr. BOTSFORD in the chair.
Hon. Mr. WILLISTON said this Bill was brought in under the provisions of an Act passed in the year 1864,
which guarantees a sum of $10,000 per mile to any company who shall conduct a line
from Miramichi to Shediac, and other branch lines. Most of the lines mentioned in
that Act have been located, and the necessary Bills have been passed by which the
sum named can be secured. This Bill is to enable the company to go on with the work,
and secure the sum which the Facility Bill provided. And as we are shortly to be confederated,
the Quebec Scheme having been sustained by a large majority of the constituents of
the Province, it is necessary to secure this and without any delay. That scheme provides
for the amounts to be expended on these Railways. The Bill was a transcript of the
Bill incorporating the Fredericton Railway Company, which was passed at the last session
of the House.
Mr. SMITH congratulated his friend, the Solicitor General, and the hon.
DEBATES OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY FOR 1866. 15
members on the floors of the House, on
the policy which the Government intend
to pursue as expounded by him. He
was glad to know the exact position
the Government now take, so frankly
stated by the Hon. Solicitor General.
It is now evident that whatever may be
the opinions of hon. members of the
House, the scheme of Union is to be no
other than the Quebec Scheme. It was
put forth to the country that there were to be new negociations for Union, but
now the policy of the Government was
made known to be the Quebec Scheme
without the modifications asked for.
Another point for congratulation was,
that the hon. member of the Government had left hon. members to infer
that this line asked for would form part
of the Inter-Colonial Road. So that
after all that had been told the people
on the River St. John and in other parts
of the Province, that the line was to be
located in their neighborhood, it was to
go by the North Shore after all. He
had no objection to the route now stated
to be chosen. He again congratulated
the hon. members in the House on the
announcement which had been made so
fully and frankly by the hon. member
of the Government.
Mr. WILLISTON repudiated the idea
of announcing the policy of the Government in what he had said, but merely
stated that under the Quebec Scheme
these lines were to be provided for.
MR. JOHNSON said the question was not one of the Union of these
Provinces ; that would come up when
the Resolutions were submitted. The
object of the hon. member from Westmorland was evident enough. First he
strove to prejudice the minds of the
members on the River Saint John, and
then to influence those on the North
Shore. This was just what the hon.
member had been striving to do for two years past, to do on the floors of this
House what he had failed to do in the
Country namely, to divide the public sentiment on the subject of Confederation
The hon. member would surely remember that he went home, to England and
made arrangements for the construction
of the line that would pass through the
County of Westmorland, knowing that
the Intercolonial Railroad must pass
by that route wherever it would go in
other sections. For himself and the
constituents he represented he would
say that whatever route was decided on
as the cheapest and most advantageous,
would not be disapproved of by the
people.
MR. KERR said the Bill before the
House was one of those provided for
under the Facility Bill of 1864. The
other branches had taken advantage of
the subsidy there provided, and to make
the introduction of this Bill the point
of attack on the subject of Confederation, was out of place. The Act was a
copy of a Bill which had passed the
last Session, incorporating the Fredericton Branch Railway Company, and it
contained only such provisions as were
calculated to secure the requisite amount
of means to carry on the work.
Mr. SMITH said he must now go into
some explanation with regard to certain
statements put forth for a purpose during
the late elections. The Railway from
Moncton to Truro was not, as the line now contemplated on the North Shore, a merely
local affair a matter of interest to
the whole Province. It was the line over
which the Mails to and from England
were to be carried, and affected the people
of the whole country—the Governor, and
the merchant alike. It was to the advantage of the people generally that that line
should be constructed to meet the road at
the Nova Scotia border. The delegation
when in England met the Company who
had contracted to build the road, and they
required that inasmuch as the Nova Scotia
Government had agreed to provide for
land damages to a] much larger extent
than we thought proper to go, that the
Government of this country should allow
for all damages over fifty pounds a mile.
Mr. Allan and he consulted about the
matter, and they decided that they would
not be justified before the people if they
returned without accomplishing their object. He hoped that the Government
would not be called on for damages. It
had been said that the Company who had
the contract was a bogus concern ; but so
far they had fulfilled all their engagements.
They promised to locate the road in November last, and the surveyors were there
at work at the time appointed. They promised to begin the work on the road in the
month of June, and now they are at work
and progressing favorably. Now about
the route. It had been said that he
carried the route past Dorchester Corner,
and by his own door, to meet his own ends
and enhance the value of his property.
But he had much more property over on
the other line which would have struck at
Shediac, and if he had been actuated by
any selfish motives he would have carried
it by the head of Sackville and so on to
Shediac. But the route now chosen was
the shortest. It ran within a few miles of
the County of Albert, giving an advantage
to the people of that County, they could not
otherwise have obtained. It also was in
the locality of the stone quarries, and the
new shale works about to be erected. The
interests involved were not local but of a
most general nature, and in these respects
differ from the lines running from St
Stephen, Woodstock and other places.
Mr. LINDSAY thought the action of
the hon. member for Westmorland with
regard to the Dorchester line was not
quite generous to the other sections of the
country to allow for land damages on that
line. He thought that if they had wanted
to meet such demands the people most interested should have put their hands in
their pockets. Carleton County not only
gave her share toward the construction of
the European and North American Railway, but also taxed themselves to build
their own line, and if land damages were
to be anywhere, it should have been there.
With regard to the subject of Confederation he need say nothing, as it would come
up to-morrow.
MR. STEVENS said the Bill before
them was to incorporate a Railway Company, and not on a Union of the Colonies, and
he thought they were wandering far from the subject when they entered into a discussion
on that subject.
He had no objection to hear the objections of the hon. ex- Attorney General, but
they should now confine themselves to
the subject before the Chair. The Bill
asks only for that which they have a
right to demand, which is to be incorporated into a Company to construct a line
under the provisions of a Bill passed by
the House in 1861, and no opposition
should be raised to it.
The Bill was agreed to with certain
alterations.
ASSESSMENT FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES.
MR. DOW moved the House into Committee of the Whole on a Bill to assess
the County of York for Agricultural
purposes, Mr. W. P. Flewwelling in the
chair.
MR. DOW explained that this Bill
passed through the House at the last
Session, but not in time to go before
the Upper Branch. The Bill is local,
merely asking for permission to assess
the County of York, for the purpose of
assisting the York County Agricultural
Society in paying off the debt due on
the Exhibition Palace.
The Bill was agreed to.
MR. BECKWITH moved the House
into a Committee of the Whole on a
Bill to assess the City of Fredericton
for Agricultural Purposes, Mr. J. Flewelling in the Chair.
MR. BECKWITH explained that this
Bill was similar in its nature to that just
agreed to.
MR. SKINNER was opposed to the
Bill, being merely of a permissive nature.
The debts due for that building were still
unpaid, and there should be some measure introduced by which either the City
of Fredericton or the County of York,
or whoever is responsible, should be
made to clear up the debts due on the
building.
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