PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
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PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER.
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But, Sir, had the late Government succeeded in
their plans, where would we be to-day? Why into Confederation, and not in the proud
position which we now
occupy. We might have been in the position that Nova
Scotia is now placed in. This is one of the reasons
why this Government stands so high in the estimation of
the people. They know that on this important question
they can trust us. The hon. member has said that there
was no political manliness in this Government. But, Sir,
where was the political manliness of the late Government. In 1865 Confederation was
a question then
brought to their notice by the highest authority. Did
they come down with a measure upon the subject, or a
decisive expression of opinion? No! nothing of the
kind. They had men in that party who were determined
to carry it if they could. They knew also that the
Hon. Mr. Whelan was a Confederate, and doubtless
thought that his influence would secure a few votes in
favour of the measure from this side of the House, and
thus by obtaining a vote here and another there, they
hoped to succeed in forcing the measure upon this
country. But this question, I may state, will not be
entertained by any hon. member from the one end of our party to the other.-The hon.
the Leader of the Opposition, in referring to Education, made quite a circuit ; but,
lawyer like, took care to express no opinion of his own. I am surprised though that
he never before made the discovery that he so strongly sympathised with the Catholics.
[...]
R. Gordon, Reporter.
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Mr. BELL—I do not wish, Mr. Chairman, to say much
on this question; but it appears to me that parties in this
House take great pleasure in raking up everything they
can against each other. I have taken an active part
in politics for some time, in connection with the Liberal
party, and I think that they have always been the friends
of the tenantry. There is one act of the Conservative
party which I would like to notice—that is the bringing
of the troops here. I feel pretty sensitive on this subject;
it is not a very pleasant thing for a whole country to be
branded as rebels. The Government of the day should
have advised the people of the dangerous course they were
pursuing. I do believe, and always have believed, that
some of the members of the Government, then in power,
had no other end in view than to bring the Island into
Confederation. One prominent member of the Government laid his schemes for that purpose,
and he thought
that by stigmatising us as rebels, the Home Government
would be induced to force us into Confederation. The
present party must, however, have the credit of getting the
charges for the pay of the troops remitted. There is, also,
a great deal of talk about the Land Purchase Act. The
fact of the matter is, that this Act is not what it is said
to be. If, when this Act first came into operation, the loan
Bill had been passed, it might have been different ; but the
Land Purchase Act, as it is to-day, is a failure. It is
worse than paying rent. No active farmer will purchase
his farm when he can invest his money to more advantage.
Hon. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION.—I have certainly
been rather amused with the speaker who has just sat
down. He got up to lecture us on political morality, and
said that we should not impute motives ; but he soon got
the fever on him, and he also imputed motives, for he
said he believed the late Government got the Tenant
League into existence for the purpose of forcing the Island
into Confederation. It is not often that the hon. member
troubles us, but when he gets up to lecture us on political morality he should be
careful not to fall into the error
which he condemns. The charge he attempts to sustain
is altogether false. He also attempted to lecture the
Conservatives because they did not warn the Tenant Leaguers of the dangerous course
they were pursuing. The
same doctrine felt from the lips of the hon. member for
Belfast, who was himself a Tenant Leaguer. All I can
say to him is, that the Tenant League, from its first inception, was unconstitutional,
if the doctrines which emanated from that League are to be believed. The hon.
member said that they were organized merely to form an
Association. We know, Sir, that one of the conditions of
membership in that Association was, that each member
should subscribe for
Ross's Weekly—a paper that did a
vast amount of injury to this Colony. The Tenant Lea- [...]
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