Legislative Assembly

ness of patronage. as it is carried on in this province, antagonizes the people and they want to have it stopped. Political patronage is so rampant on P.E.I. that fifty percent of the people at all times do not regard the incumbent government as theirs. It is usual to hear throughout the province such remarks as, “When our Government gets back in, he will get what is coming to him.” and, “He's not my Premier,” and remarks like that. Now in any other province that I haVe ever been in, and I have been in them all, when a government is referred to, the people usually recognize the government as theirs. This isn’t so in P.E.I.; over half the people — not over half, but half the people on the Island at all times do not recognize the government in power as being theirs. I think it is time that this kind of thing was stopped. The Shaw Government made an excellent beginning in this regard, but I surmise that we are back again in the rut of the ’forties and ’fifties. The shadow of Jones and Matbeson is still hovering over this Government or perhaps it is an inborn error of Liberalism, I am not sure which. I lean to the latter view. In any case I don’t think this Island can afford political patronage any longer and the sooner we stop it the better.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I have a number of other things to say but I think I will leave it for the Budget Speech.

Well, Mr. Speaker, there are a couple of things I want to mention in regard to Dominion-Provincial affairs. This is probably the most important activity in which the Government of Prince Edward Island can engage because we are heavily dependent upon Ottawa for finances.

It has been the attitude of Liberal Governments in the past to take a begging attitude when going to Ottawa, and this was changed in 1959-60 when our rights were firmly asserted by Mr. Shaw, and his representatives, when they met the federal government. I think that is the way it should be. The federal govern- ment owes us certain obligations which are not being brought home to us, at least not at the present time. This matter goes back to Confederation. As I was saying this matter goes back to Confederation when at that time the burning question was the loss of our markets in the New England States along with their concern about the imposition of Canadian Custom duties. It was realized that we would sell less and pay more for our purchases one hundred years ago. We were situated far from Canadian markets and we had poor communications with the two Canada’s. For the past hundred years compensation for these losses, suffered as a result of Confederation, have been the subject of Dominion~Provincial arguments. Adjustments in provincial revenue have been the subject of several Royal Com- missions. The Rowell-Sirois Report, as well as others. And most recently we had the famous Gordon Commission. But the problem of compensation has not yet been solved. Everyone remembers the Gordon Formula. He said, “Put the Maritimers on a one-way train to Ontario where they can work in the factories of Upper Canada;” the rest of us who were stupid enough to stay here could become sort of a pastoral society, a nice place to visit, but not an area where we could earn a living. Mr. Gordon is once again an influential member of the federal Cabinet and it is too much to hope that he has changed his mind. Mr. Gordon is a vel'lv frank fellow and doesn't often change his mind. I don’t think I do him any injustice when I say that it is still his opinion that we must continue to export our young educated people to Central Canada, after we have educated them. The roster of distinguished Islanders abroad, and by abroad I mean off the Island, is very long. I think it is fair to say that we have a higher percentage of young people of superior intelli- gence in this Island than anywhere else in Canada. The corollary is also true that we have a proportionately higher percentage of those of sub-normal intelligence. One might be tempted to conclude that this is a province of geniuses and idiots, but that would be an extreme deduction. Most of our people are average normal citizens but we should not miss the point that there is an above-average number of young and old people of superior intellect in this province. I have had some experi- ence in this regard and this is my opinion. For several years, about ten years, I had the opportunity to assess Non-Islanders and during the six years that I have been in practice at home here on Prince Edward Island, I have observed the extremes which I have already mentioned. On several occasions I have brought this matter up in conversation with other Doctors, and at Medical Society Meetings. A specialist in genetics agreed that this should be so because Islanders have been a more or less

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