IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TAkiGET (MT-3) // // 1.0 I.I 1.25 l^|2£ 125 |so "^^ MIH >U Ui2 |2.2 ^ lt£ 12.0 1.8 ^^ ',.■> f... THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION -■'^ ♦ / Hon. E J. FL YNN To the Electors of the Province of Quebec Gentlemen,— On the 14th November instant, His Honor the Lieutenant- Governor was pleased, in accordance with the advice of his Executive Coun- cil, to dissolve tho Legislative As-cm- blv and to call- upon vou to choose new representatives. The nomination will take place on the 30th November and voting on the 7th Dccem'ter, excepting for the districts of Gaspe, Chicoutimi- Saguenay and the Magdalen Islands. A fact worthy of note is that the writ bears the date of the 15th Nov- ember and that the delay between the latter date and polling day is exactly three weeks. The question now before us Is : Why is tho House dissolved at the pregont moment ? No constitutional reason is alleged. It is true that a certain newspaper con- tends that the Premier wishes to apply the democratic principle by getting the oaople to ratify the choice made of Opx as chief adviser of the Crown. This is a new theory. Hitherto we have always thought that Parliajr.'^Jkit was, and should be, the Government's pciar star, and that it represented the p^ple. Has the Government peradven- ture imapi'ned that it did not possess the confidence of the people's p:?presen- tatives ? No new qicstion, no new programme is submitted to the electorate. The truth is that the Government wishes the party it represents to bcni»?flt by the vote eiven on *he.?th of November in favoi of Sir Wilfrid Laurier ; in r)ther words, having but little desire for a contest purely on the merits of Provincial questions, it wishes to take advantage of the wave of popular favor which has carried Sir Wilfrid I.,aurier to power. Now, nothing can be mop; irregular or more unconstitutional than a disso- lution for this reason. All authors on constitutional law are agreed on this point. It is needless to cite, however, it is advisable to call the public's attention to tlie serious consequences resulting from a wron^ application of the constitutional theory upon such matters. Todd, in his work "Parliamentary G(»vernmcnt in the British Colonies," •says (p. 526) : "From the seilous con- sequences which may foVow the ad- ministration of this prerogative, it is manifest that \t should tc resorted to with great caution and forbearance. Frequent, unnecessary or abrupt disso- lutions of Parliament inevitably "tend to blimt the edge of a great instru- ment, eiven to the Crown for its pro- tection" : and wherever they have occur red they havi* been fraught with dan- ger to the commonwealth." And fur- tlier (p. 542) : "For It is not a legitimate use of the prerogative of dissolution to re- sort to it when there is no important political qtvslion upon which contend- ing parties are directly at issue, and merely in order to maintain in power tlie particvilar Ministers who are in office at the »■■ >•.< •■«woir»"*^:,i5 ^K /9CO (-If) .->•' »^' 2 -- Another authority, Ilearn, "Govern- mwit of F^njjland," savs (p. 156) . "Ascain, where no political question is at issue but t!ie object is meielv the Bidvantage of a particiVar party, there is no proper cause for a dissolution." In our opinion the real motive for this disS()lut.'on— and we are convinced that the people oi this Province will agree with us— is to take advantage of the vole just given by this Province in favor of Sir Wilfrid Laurii'r. The j)ef>- ple of this Pronnfe will allow njc to point out heiO how danicerous and re- grettable i.s this tendency (to lise tl.|)k; who will have to nay tlie cost of these eenoral elections, amountinc under tic pre- sent ci'rciurstances to at least S75,00'J and probablv SlOO.OOO, besiJ,s the cx- penee which will fall upon every citi- zen in consequence cf a general elec- tion and the other inconveniences con- nected therewith. Mo! cover, the season chosen is the worst of tic year. The Government has had no cotwideration for the conve- nience of tl'o public. On the contrary, it seems to have taken pleasure in mak- ing this appeal to the people at the most unreasonable time possibl?, espe- ciunv as a contest of several weeks' duration has barely (inishod. Why did not the Government wait for a. more siVtable season ? Why did it not call tl»e House together, and af- ter holding a session chocso a proper time far the election, if it had any legitimate reason /oc so doing ? In actlnir as It has doic. and in gi%*- kyc so ftttle time, the Govrrnnwnt can have Imd no other object than to stifle all discussion before tite electors, and 1 V even (we may at least pTlBume so un- der the circumstanors) thAintention it has is to destroy all oppjliition in the Legislative Assembly, -f ii'sbould suc- ceed in taking the electoral by sur- prise It caims to be desirous of having Its administrative acts approved of by the people, and, strange to .say, it takes the very means to prevent such acts to be looked into and criticized, inasmuch as the Public Accounts for the year ending on the 3(>th of J 1900, are not yet printed, are not at disposal of the members or the publ The Government will, no doubt, cla that it has a siirplus, and we sh( not even have the Public Accounts show whether tJ)is statement is ti or not. How then can it render an aocoun' of its administration to the people o tliis Province, for to render such account, vouchers are needed, and the Go\'©rnment ha.s none and produces none. This method of proceeding must be condemned by every man who has any idea of bu-siness. One of the nc<*es.sary consequences of the Government s action is to lessen the importance iA our Legislature, and within a short time, to bring about the destruction of tlie principle of Con- federation. The Legislature of Que- bec thus becomes the accessory of Ot- tawa, and this Legislature of Qtiebec which the Fatliers of Confederation wi^ed to make so proudly indp'ipendent becomes' in reality a mere branch of the central power. The people of this Province will, no doubt, ask itself this question : What is to become of Provincial Autonomy under the circumstances - liBhed by U. Barthe, p. 15> saM : f "Within the domain of their respec- tive attributes, the Legislatures, both Local and Federal, are sovereign and independent one of the other. "Now, in order that this federative system may not be an idle word, in order that it may produce the results it is called upon to produce, it is ne- '><^/^v5 1fw> •t i — 8 ccssary jKat it should be so, not only in theorf , but in fact ; it is above all nec«f>ary that the Local Legisla- ture shoold 1« entirely free from all control of the Federal LeRislalure. Should the Federal Legis/lature, either directly or indirectly, exert tl.c sliglit^ est control over the Local Legislature, then you no longer have federative Uftion, but you have legislative union, under the federative rorni. If you open tlic door to the mem tors of the Federal I^gislatkre, by this very fact you admit the control of the Federal Legislature over this House, and then, as 1 have said, you destroy the federa- tive union, whereof, in truth, you re- tain the form but no longer possess the substance." Sir Wilfrid Lp.urier thus proclaimed that through federal intervention, wo should, in reality, have I^egislative Union under the form of federation. Well, gentlemen, it would seem that his apprehensions are fully realized at the present day, and this, thanks to the unheard of action of the Quebec Government. If, in consequence of these unjust, unfair and unconstitutional tactics, the Government should succeed in des- troying freedom of discussion, botii in and out of Parliament, in stifling as it were the voice of the electorate, our Legislature would then present an example unprecetlented in countries governed by the principles of ttlie Bri- tish constitution, of a House without opposition, thai is to say without cri- ticism, and without any lawful oppo- nents of the Government. Tl.cre would ensue a state of things little better than anarchy. For more than 22 years that I have ^bcen a member, I have attentively fol- ^ lowed the actions of our Legislature, and I assert without fear of contra- diction, that opposition is essential to «all good legislation and all good Gov^ ernment, especially in this Province. Because as citizens and electors, we have thought proper to discuss the acts of the Laurier Government, an attempt) should not now be made to put us through the federal mill, for we have done nothing but exercia^ our rights as citizens and electors, l)earing in mind, at tJie same time, the active intervention in 1H97 of the Federal Government and its supporters' to oust UK from power. Moreover, every one knows that I havo always upheld the principle, that Provincial Legislatures should I* sepa- rate from and independent of the cen- tral power, and it is very regrettable for this Province that s\ich a policy has not prevailed in this case. No, gentlemen, we cannot avoid see- ing in the action of the Government, not only an irregular, unconstitutional and unfair proceeding, and one subver- sive of proxincial institutions, but also a sure indication of great moral weakneK.s, and of a marked fear of all opposition In fact, why is the Gov- ernment in sucli a hurry to dissolve Parlian.ent ? Why dois it not call the HousfH together and allow the re- presentatives of the people to inquire into its conduct with the aid of the Public Accounts and official documents'? Has it anything to conceal ? If not,? why this liaste ? ^ The result is that we, who have sat/ on the opposition benches for three years, are placed in an entirely un-- equal po.sition in this contest, as the t Goverimient wishes to carry it on un- der the auspices of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, instead of coming before the people on the merits of its own actions, and moreover, as the Go\ernment does not even allow us to use the weapons given us by the constitution. We are thei 'by deprived of the advantages of British fair play, that undeniable . re- rogative fV' every British subject. Nevertheless, we hope that the \yeo- ple of this Province will see that an attempt is being made to snatch a verdict\ifrom it by a vile electoral dodget and through such verdict to remain in power for tive years, by stifling all discussion outside of Parliament for the present, and, after the election in Parliament itself. The hour is a solemn and a seriouj^ one. This is admitted by all without distinction of party, and all seek to solve the problem ; How is this state of affairs to be remedied ? A celebrated general once said : Re- member that, when a people is threat- ened with destruction, nothing but- V '^ J- IKv '>6/^ r- 4 — devotedness and selfnsacrifice can save it" I wouUl sav to vou, people of the Province of Quebec, whatever may be youi origin or your creed, whatever your political allegiance may have hitherto been, remember that the po- pular Institutuons and liberties which you have learned to cherish are now threatened with destruction and that they can be saved only by devotedness and self-sacrifice. Lc, us. therefore, unite to one common il < ight of true patriobism. I appeal to all riglit thinking men, to all true patriots, and I call upon them to protest solemnly and energetic- -t <-: I ally in every county of this against this action of the Qi which threatens to wreck StAte. People of the Province otf yout fate is in your hands, but before deciding, reflect, and reflect seriously. We protest against the action of tlie Government, and call upon the people to condemn it for this odious attack upon our constitutional liberties. I have the honor to be, Your ol)edient si'rvant, . , E. J. FLYNN. I^eader of the Opposition. t ', ■ ,:'.,,' >"■% ■■'^''i\f- ;■>■ v*J- ' t I * .i