no thought for the unemployed; in the last four years positions have been secured for upwards of 2,000 applicants. In 1904 we had six Factory Inspectors; now there are ten. In 1904 208 trades unions reported on wages; last year 335 reports were received. In 1904 only 174 employers submitted reports as to Labour conditions. In the past year nearly 650 such reports came in."

As to other Conservative speakers Mr. Adam Beck, the prospective "Minister of Power," was at Paris on Dec. 2nd where he reviewed the policy of the Government at length. "Whatever may be our differences in this campaign we begin with an honest man at the head of affairs-admittedly honest during his office as Premier-and we begin with a solid foundation. As to the differences in the platforms of the two parties it is rather difficult to arrive at any definite conclusion. I fail, especially so far as the Power policy is concerned, to come to any conclusion, after reading the speeches of Mr. Rowell, Mr. MacKay, and others, that they are in agreement as to what the Power policy of the Liberal party is, or should be. I think the Power policy of the Whitney Government has, at least, been consistent and I feel safe in saying that it has been acceptable to the people of the municipalities which asked for such legislation." In another reference he was explicit: "Had the Power policy been carried on along the lines and principles of the Ross Government, and the Government of Laurier, this great electric project, now owned and controlled by the people, would have formed part of one of the largest and greatest monopolies this continent has ever seen. We are justified in assuming that the saving to the users this year will be in the neighbourhood of half a million dollars in Ontario. The effect of our operations in Hamilton is considered to have saved a hundred thousand dollars, whilst in London every effort was put forward to discredit the scheme and there they have a 412 cent. light." Mr. Beck also spoke at London, at Berlin on Dec. 4th, on the 5th at Goderich, on the 6th at Owen Sound, and on the 7th at Tillsonburg.

Speaking at Guelph, on Oct. 14th, the Hon. W. J. Hanna pointed out that it had been the firm resolve of the Whitney Government to try and bring to the doors of the farmers the benefits of the Ontario Agricultural College and with this end in view there were now some 15 graduates of the College at work, in that number of agricultural districts all over the Province, working with the farmers, co-operating and advising them as to what they should do. It had been estimated that as a result of this work in Lambton, alone, $3 per acre had been added to the farms which, in the case of 600,000 acres, meant $1,800,000 of increased values. At Leamington on Nov. 23rd Mr. Hanna met the Liberal charges as to scarcity of teachers by saying that "the largest number of teachers turned out under the Liberal Government was 1,400

while in 1911 there had been 1,950 teachers turned out under Conservative auspices." At Stratford on Dec. 2nd Mr. Hanna dealt with the Opposition charges as to the Premier's being autocratic and exercising one-man power, etc.: "Nothing is further from the truth than this paltry caricature. genial, more generous, more courteous, more ready to assist, conNo man is more sult and advise with a colleague or supporter or more ready to meet anybody as man with man, on fair, even footing, whether in or out of the Government, than Sir James Whitney." Other Ministers spoke at various places and W. K. McNaught, A. W. Wright and Hon. A. B. Morine also addressed a series of meetings.

As the Election proceeded it was found that 25 members, at least, of the late Legislature were not being re-nominated. Of these nine had resigned and been elected to Parliament at Ottawa; Messrs. J. P. Downey and J. H. Carnegie had accepted appointments; T. S. T. Smellie of Fort William, J. S. Gallagher in Frontenac and A. A. Richardson in East Hastings had failed to carry their conventions; D. R. McDonald, J. B. Tudhope, J. W. Pearce, H. P. Innes, Jacob Kohler, D. J. McDougal, T. E. Bradburn, R. E. Truax, N. Reid, W. J. McCart and John Shaw had not sought re-nomination-Mr. Shaw making way in North Toronto for Hon. J. J. Foy. The Liberals expected about 14 seats to go by acclamation but on Dec. 4th it was found that four members of the Government-Messrs. A. J. Matheson, Adam Beck, J. S. Duff, and W. H. Hearst had been returned without opposition together with W. D. Black, R. H. McElroy, J. J. Preston, G. H. Ferguson, S. Grant, J. W. Johnson, J. R. Cook, A. E. Ross, R. F. Preston, T. W. McGarry, Dr. Jessop, E. A. Dunlop and R. M. Mason-all Conservatives. In nine other constituencies the Liberals had no candidates.

An incident of the Election in its later stages was an appeal issued by the Ontario Branch of the Dominion Alliance (Prohibition) asking the electors to work and vote for the election of candidates who "are avowed and trustworthy supporters of Temperance reform, who can be depended upon to do all in their power to secure at the earliest opportunity the enactment of effective legislation against the bar-room evil and who will hold themselves free from party dictation in relation to such legislation." Mr. J. J. Foy, Attorney-General, who had gone from South Toronto into the North riding, was opposed by ex-Mayor Joseph Oliver upon a platform of Public ownership, no Bi-lingualism in schools and Prohibition. The contest was a lively one but there was no serious doubt as to the issue. It was claimed by the Liberal press that in Mr. Duff's constituency the Returning Officer had used a technicality to permit the Minister to be elected by acclamation. The point seemed to turn upon the absence of one of the Liberal nominators. He was sent for and did not appear so that in accordance with the law-after a wait of 15 minutes

beyond the hour and the refusal of any one present to second the nomination-Mr. Duff was declared elected.

The Liberal
Opposition in
the Ontario
Elections

The Liberal party had a difficult part to play in the 1911 Provincial Elections. In a big minority of the Legislature, badly defeated in the recent Dominion contest, and with a Leadership changed during the progress of the struggle, it would be hard to find a more depressing party situation. Mr. Alexander Grant MacKay, K.C., M.L.A., the Provincial Leader at the beginning of the contest, did what he could, and did it as vigorously as though he intended to fight for Opposition success in the same strenuous way he had fought for the Laurier Government in the Federal conflict. Immediately after the Premier's statement of Oct. 12th he issued an elaborate newspaper announcement of opinion and policy.

The proposed Dissolution was denounced as cowardly and unreasonable and many residents in unorganized districts, and in parts of 13 constituencies, were said to be disfranchised. He declared that " the inexplicable bungling of the Education Department has its most serious effect in the rural districts" where there was a lamentable scarcity of qualified teachers" caused, in part he claimed, by the abolition of the Model Schools; described the printing and sale of the school text-books by the Eaton firm as an injury to the retail trade of the whole Province; urged the appointment of a competent Provincial Commission on Technical Education and stated that $1,000,000 a year was paid by ambitious artisans and mechanics to Correspondence Schools, etc., for the purpose of self-improvement; stated that " there has been for several years a substantial annual Provincial deficit upon any classification of current receipts and expenditures that any sane accountant would make "; denounced the Hydro-Electric policy as helping the Niagara region at the expense of the rest of Ontario and aiding specific municipalities to take away and retain the industries of rural centres outside the favoured zone; alleged that the T. & N. O. was not treated as a Colonization road, that Government-owned town sites or properties were untaxed for municipal purposes, that prospectors were taxed by license fees for their work. He concluded as follows:

Let the electors of the villages, towns and cities in seven-eights of the Province take an independent stand with reference to the Power question and they will get justice. Let the electors of our great northland unite and, regardless of party, say emphatically that a sweeping and comprehensive advance must be made in dealing with the colonization of our great hinterland and that this territory shall not longer be compelled to play the role of financial milch cow but shall and must have a square deal. The plank of the Liberal platform of 1904 is right which said that this Province should have a Minister of Colonization and Labour. I would not bring undesirable immigrants into unfair competition with skilled and semi-skilled labour in our towns and cities, but on the other hand I would ever have an open eye for the immigrant adapted to coloni

zation purposes. Let the miners, for example, regardless of party insist that eight hours' work underground where there is more or less impure air, is more wearing on the human system than is ten hours' work in the open, and that as to this calling eight hours' work should constitute a full day. Let the miner pledge all candidates to such a just measure and he, also, will get a square deal. Let the report of the Commission as to the state of the Bi-lingual schools be published at once. Let us have the actual facts and then we may discuss remedies.

Following this Mr. MacKay called a conference of party leaders in the Province to discuss, on Oct. 19th, a situation which quickly developed with, it was said, the intention of resigning the leadership. It is unnecessary to go minutely into the reasons for this talk of retirement at such a juncture. There was said to be rivalry between the country elements of the Party which Mr. MacKay, in a sense, represented as coming from Owen Sound and the City element which would like to have things centered in Toronto; there were said to be objections to his somewhat negative stand on Temperance matters outside of the Three-fifths clause issue; there was personal trouble in certain secretly discussed charges which were finally embodied in a writ (Sept. 18, 1911) issued through a man named Haines-as to which full details were not published in the press and the truth of which Mr. MacKay earnestly denied.* Meanwhile, the Conservative press was naturally busy in discussing the situation and in assuming that there would be a resignation. The names of N. W. Rowell, K.C., H. M. Mowat, K.C., and J. Walter Curry, K.C., were variously suggested for the post. On the 19th the caucus of 30 leading Liberals was duly held and a statement issued that a unanimous Resolution of confidence in Mr. MacKay's leadership had been passed. Nothing further occurred for a couple of weeks excepting the suggestion in certain quarters that Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King would be an admirable nominee for the position.

On Oct. 31st, however, the Ontario Reform Association met in Toronto with 300 present and it was announced that Mr. MacKay had, on the previous evening, tendered his resignation as Leader of the Opposition in the Legislature to his colleagues of that House. In doing so he had declared that his character was attacked in charges which were to go into the Courts, which he characterized as "absolute blackmail," and which, it may be added, were never heard of after this Election was over. Mr. MacKay described the whole thing as a case of conspiracy, but felt it his duty to retire in the meantime from the leadership. He was urged by the Convention to re-consider the matter but refused and his resignation was accepted in a Resolution of which the following is a portion: "This meeting hereby tenders to Mr. MacKay its deep appreciation of the zeal and devotion displayed during his occupancy of the arduous position of Leader of the

NOTE-The Mackenzie Club of Toronto discussed the leadership on Oct. 26th with various veiled allusions to this matter.

Opposition and trusts that his present action will not deprive the Liberal party in Ontario and in the whole Dominion of his great talents and strong personality. This meeting further expresses to Mr. MacKay its unbounded confidence in his personal honour and integrity and its condemnation of the cowardly attack which it learns is being made upon him." A Committee was appointed to confer with the Parliamentary party as to choice of a leader.

While this Committee was at work, President H. M. Mowat delivered an address urging, in Dominion politics, an increase in the British preference and in Provincial matters the carrying out of Liberal pledges by advocacy of the abolition of bar-room licenses. The Hon. George P. Graham then addressed the meeting and the ensuing election of officers resulted as follows: President, Hon. W. L. Mackenzie King; Vice-Presidents, F. F. Pardee, C. M. Bowman, M.L.A., A. J. Young, North Bay, and Edmund Proulx, Prescott; Treasurer, A. E. Dyment. Then came the announcement that the Parliamentary Committee had unanimously elected Newton Wesley Rowell, K.C., as Leader and that he had accepted and would address the Convention. Mr. Rowell was given a great reception and in a brief speech described progressiveness as the life of the party, questions regarding New Ontario as vital, and the social reform issue as pressing.

The new Leader was young in years and virile in speech; quiet in manner but earnest in his convictions; a successful platform speaker and a strong Party man; deeply concerned in religious, educational and moral movements; a lawyer by profession and a politician who had never sat in any Parliament. Born in the year of Confederation he undertook these new responsibilities on the anniversary of his birthday. There was a chorus of popular approval regarding the selection and everyone interviewed by The Globe expressed the greatest satisfaction. Editorially that organ said: "Mr. MacKay, in point of sheer native ability, was the ablest man in the Assembly and much of the legislation passed by the Whitney Government was bettered by having been subjected to the fire of the Opposition leader's criticism. He had the hearty support and enthusiastic loyalty of his colleagues, a support and loyalty amply attested by the Resolution adopted by them when he insisted that the interests of the party required his withdrawal. The new leader comes to his task fully sensible of the burden he assumes and of the opportunity the leadership affords of serving his fellow-citizens of the Province of Ontario. Mr. Newton Wesley Rowell is a Liberal who during the past quarter of a century has given much of his time and his splendid ability as a platform speaker to the service of the party. To him, as to John Bright, the condition of the people is the supreme issue in politics. In all questions of moral and social reform and of the material advancement of the Province of Ontario, his interest is deep and abiding."