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Date: 1867-05-15
By: Prince Edward Island (House of Assembly)
Citation: Prince Edward Island, House of Assembly, The Parliamentary Reporter; or, Debates and Proceedings of the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island, For the Year 1867, 23rd Parl, 1st Sess, 1865 at 133-138.
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Militia Bill.

The House again in committee on the Bill to add to and amend the “Act for the regulation of the Militia and Volunteer forces.”

Dr. JENKINS said that last night he had submitted a clause respecting the exemption of the firemen from militia duty, which was considered imperfect. He had since had a conversation with the firemen, and they thought that it was better to leave the matter to the officers of the different companies, authorizing them to say who should be exempted from militia duties.

Hon. ATTY. GENERAL would not object as the number to be exempted was but sixty; but he thought that there was something more wanted. How could we find out who the senior members of the companies were? In the prior clause which he had inserted, parties had to file their certificates in the office of the Adjutant General, and until they did this he thought it was not right to allow them to have their names enrolled for the purpose of taking the benefit of this clause.

Hon. LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT thought the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department the proper person to find this out.

Mr. REILLY, before the question was put, would like to know why fourteen days’ notice should be given?

Dr. JENKINS.—So that the Captains of the Companies might have time to send in the exemptions.

Mr. BRECKEN.—Only one filing was required.

Mr. REILLY moved that the word “eighty” be substituted for the word “sixty;” and in moving this would say that as there were five or six companies, sixty would only make an exemption of about ten for each company.

Mr. BRECKEN remarked that one of the captains had said that eighty would be the proper number to exempt.

Hon. Mr. LAIRD seconded the motion of amendment, and said that if the men were exempted the Fire Wardens should be entitled to the same privilege.

Hon. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION had observed that in the law of Nova Scotia passed last year, (sec. 69,) they placed the Fire Wardens under militia duty, and exempted the millers.

The amendment was then agreed to.

The Section relating to the time to be spent in drill being read,

Mr. PROWSE said that it would be well to allow Volunteers to put in two drills in the one day.

Hon. LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT thought that the militia would like to put in six hours in the one day likewise.

Hon. ATTY. GENERAL said that most military men were of opinion that one-and-a-half hour’s drill was enough for one day. The question was, will three hours’ drill be too much? Perhaps the hon. member for Murray Harbor could give some information on that point.

[Page 137]

Hon. Mr. HENDERSON said that any man in good health ought to be able to stand three hours’ drill. He meant one-and-a-half hour in each part of the day. What his hon. colleague had said was reasonable; and if it could be ordered so that all would have to concur in it, he thought it would be desirable; but not unless all the companies concerned had to concur in it.

Hon. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION.—It might do very well to have such an arrangement for soldiers; but for the matter under consideration he thought it better to leave that part of the Bill as it was. For his part he deemed one hour’s drill severe exercise, and he thought if some hon. members would turn out and drill for an hour some cold morning, they would find themselves pretty warm when the hour had expired. The law said that each Volunteer should attend drill not less than sixteen times in a year, and each drill not less than one hour and a-half. The Commander-in-Chief could not make such an order as was proposed, as it would operate against the Volunteers in the Town, who were chiefly composed of mechanics and clerks, who drilled from eight in the evening to half-past nine. The clause read thus: “The Commander-in-Chief may, from time to time, prescribe the qualifications of effective members of Volunteer Militia, provided that such qualification shall include, that each volunteer to be effective shall have attended drill, duly armed and accoutred, not less than sixteen times during the year, such drills not to be less than one and one-half hour, shall take the oath of allegiance, and have been inspected in uniform at such times as may have been ordered under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief.” He therefore thought it better to leave the Bill as it was.

Hon. Mr. HENDERSON.—The object would be to save time; and to do that in one day, which now required two, would be a matter of some interest to many in the country.

Progress was reported, and the House adjourned for one hour.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

House again in Committee on Militia Bill.

On the clause imposing fines, &c., for non-attendance of muster being read—

Hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL remarked that this clause might be considered by hon. members as rather too stringent, and, therefore, as it was not a vital one, he had no objection that hon. members should strike it out if they wished.

Hon. Mr. HENDERSON thought that the clause was perhaps too strong, and that, therefore, some reason should be given why it was really necessary before enacting it. Militia officers should not have too great power.

Mr. HOWAT.—The discussion of this Bill appeared to him to be a waste of time, since there was scarcely any clause upon which hon. members could agree. He would therefore move that the Speaker take the chair. He was opposed to making the law any more stringent than that of last year.

Hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The clauses of the Bill which had been already passed, tended to make the law less stringent.

Mr. McNEILL did not see any necessity for making the law more stringent than at present. The people of the Island were quite loyal enough to defend their hearths and homes, and if there was any desire to make them more loyal, the most effectual course to take was to do away with the land monopoly.

Hon. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION thought the motion of the hon. member for Tryon a most extraordinary one at this stage of the proceedings. It should have been moved at the second reading. This Bill should have been a Government measure, as the one of last year was. That had been introduced by three members of the Executive, and any amendments made were in mere matters of detail. In Canada four or five years ago, the fate of a ministry was decided on a Bill of this nature. A similar thing had taken place in Britain in 1852. What would the Imperial Government think when they found that the Bill introduced by the hon. Attorney General, had been repudiated by other members of the Government. He remarked upon the tone of the British Government regarding the training of our local Militia, and observed that this Colony—not being regularly supplied with troops—needed such an organization more than any of the others. He would be sorry to see the Colony occupy the disgraceful position which it necessarily would, if the committee on this Bill rose without reporting.

Mr. HOWAT said that the present Bill would, when the objectionable clauses were struck out, be very little, if any different from that of last year. It was therefore wasting time to discuss it.

Hon. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION thought that the object for which the hon. member for Tryon was elected appeared to be to criticize every measure brought forward, for he never originated one himself, good, bad or indifferent. He thanked God that they had no such member for any District in King’s County. He had no talent himself, and his whole aim was to oppose everything which others brought forward.

Hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL said that the hon. member for Tryon had taken the very worst course if he wished to shorten the debate upon the Bill. He could not see the necessity for making this Bill a Government measure, since it merely made a few alterations in the details of the old Act. To rise without reporting would not be a very respectful way of treating a matter brought to their notice by the Imperial Government. With the exception of two or three clauses, which he had expressed his willingness to have struck out, the Bill could not be objected to.

Mr. HOWAT.—The remarks of the hon. Leader of the Opposition were scarcely worth replying to. He would simply return the compliment which he had paid him, and say thank God there were so few of his stamp on the floor of the House, for if there were more we would soon be sold into Confederation. He did not know why the Militia Bill of last year required alteration so soon. It had scarcely had a fair trial.

Mr. BRECKEN would congratulate the Government upon the acquisition to their ranks of that political shuttle-cock, the hon. member for Tryon.

[Page 138]

Hon. LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT.—He was not a supporter of the Government.

Mr. BRECKEN.—He attended the caucus at the formation, for a trepanning operation upon him was threatened by a certain hon. member during one of these meeting. He would congratulate the Government upon their acquisition. The Conservatives had had him for four or five years, and he never bounced true, and now he was repudiated by the Liberals. The Government were acting strangely with a Bill coming, as this one did, from His Excellency. The hon. Leader of the Government, a few days since, characterized the militia training as “tom-foolery,” and he this morning supported the Bill before the Committee, which was to be enacted for the purpose of compelling the people to play the tom-fool, and very lately voted £2500 to keep up the foolery. The Leader of the Opposition might be twitted for being so strong a unionist, but he was not working so effectually in the cause as was the present disgraceful Government. The most departmental officer in the House was the doorkeeper, and the Bill had better be handed over to him. When His Excellency enquired what had become of the Bill, the thing called a Government would be responsible. The hon. Leader would have to answer, “I opposed the Bill because it was intended to patch up tom-foolery.” The hon. member for Tryon would say that it was in his opinion “a political dodge to drive us into Confederation,” while the hon. member for Belfast will give as the reason for his opposition that it took men from their business and was a useless expense to the country.

Hon. ATTORNEY GENERAL.—It was useless for the Opposition to find fault, because this Bill was not made a Government measure, when they, while in power, allowed the question of Confederation to remain an open one. The Opposition need not twit the Government with being divided, when we had seen one of their own members put out of the Executive. He did not desire either the sympathy or assistance of the Opposition in the manner in which they were giving it.

After a lengthy discussion the motion that the Speaker take the chair was lost on a division of 16 to 3.

The clause which had been read was then struck out, and several following ones agreed to, when the committee rose and reported progress.

On motion of Hon. Mr. HOWLAN, seconded by Dr. Jenkins, it was resolved that the Hon. Mr. Howlan, Mr. Owen, and Dr. Jenkins be a committee to report on the contingent accounts of the House for the present session, with power to send for persons, papers and records.

Adjourned.