We had no idea that we should be called on to make railways, political rail ways, and other kinds of railways out of our own territory and at our own cost, as has been the case. If that principle had been adhered to, I for one should have no hesitation in con structing railways in every direction, even through private properties, and in every dis trict of tha Colony that required a railway t with its eyes open to the contingency. I say ' let them have it if they a3k for it with their eyes fairly open to the contingency that they may be called on to pay for it. I think that by this system, which was on the Statute book and was repeated I don't know how — I was not there; I never heard of it until years afterwards — but it was quietly rubbed out, we should have had a guarantee that no railway not likely to pay would be con structed, and we should most effectually shut the mouths of those who are demand ing railways for themselves, simply because and for no other reason than that other people have got them. The present system, to my mind, of commonism is destructive not only of good government, but of that spirit of self-reliance on the part of the people which is essentially on« of the chief corner stones of a sound politi cal fabric. Well, then, the general direction of the policy for the future which I should advo cate is to localise administration and everything else as much as possible, and to discourage that tendency to lean on others instead of on our selves which is now being engendered so largely throughout this Colony— a tendency which is being engendered in consequence of the vicious system of borrowing, or rather of distributing borrowed money, which now pre vails. I hold it to be an axiom which ought to be insisted on, that whoever raises the money should expend it ; and whoever spends it should raise it. I admit that if you carry out this principle in its entirety, you strike at the root of subsidies, and I can easily conceive that you would then have a very nice state of things throughout the country. 