Legislative Assembly recommended forty-five schools, Regional High Schools , so we really cut it down by 200% which wasn't a bad slash. So I think the Minister of Health should read fee LaZerte Report again and actually except for one area, high schools were operating in every one of those areas when he was Minister, and he inaugurated many.of those schools, perhaps most of them on a high school basis. So he couldn't criticize me because I was just following what he had already set up. All we did was devafsp it on a regional basis, and gave all the children in the regions an opportunity to eBj|M in and take advantage of these centers of higher education, instead of having to Mn around and ask the village school or board permission to bring their students in. We organized a transportation system whereby they could all be brought in every day on a regular basis and receive their instruction. I am not too impressed with the fact that there may be busses, two busses meeting, because when they arrive at fee school, if they are loaded it doesn't make much difference what road they travel That is not a serious matter at all. Now, I am pleased to see that the vote for an enquiry into a system of ' tion has been put back in again: the vote of $7,500.00 that we passed last year of which not one cent was spent. I see they have put it up to $8,000.00 this year. The promise was made at the time of the election that there would be a commission appointed immediately but I don't think that eight or ten months comes within the meaning or interpretation of the word immediately. I would certainly advise the Minister, ft he doesn't want me to come back next year and read this promise all over again, that he had better get his commission appointed and set them enquiring into how he is going to do away with urban and rural taxation. That is going to be a problem. I just want to say a few words about the debt. There have been certain pro¬ nouncements made about the net debt of the Province. Tou know, you can come op with almost any figure and say it is the debt. It is the most amazing thing. Some¬ thing like the men of Hindustan who went to see the elephant, though all of them were blind, and they all came up with a different interpretation of what the elephant was like. That is the way with the Members of the Government, they all come np with a different interpretation of what the debt is. They are all partly right and maybe all in the wrong, however. The funded debt on the 28th of July 1966 was $48,846,000.00, according to the auditors report. Less sinking funds, cut it down to $42,000,000.00. According to the same report on the 31st, of March the net debt was $49,000,000.00. Some Member : Six hundred and seventy thousand. L. George Dewar : And mostly through the efforts of the present Provincial Treasurer this net debt of $49,000,000.00, which I think ia the important figure to use, you can say that the total liabilities of the Province are $102,000,000.00. And if you add in the guarantees you get a $120,000,000.00. So I could say the debt fa $120,000,000.00 at the present time, but I wouldn't be telling the whole truth. I could go to work and cut it down by using all the assets that we have but if we UM fee net debt figure, we find that it was $49,000,000.00 on the 31st of March and it to now $61,592,000.00 or an increase estimated at some $12,000,000.00 by the present Provincial Treasurer. Frank Myers: $12,000,000.00 of an increase in the net debt during the ad¬ ministration of this Government. Honourable T. Earle Hickey : What was it the 28th of July? L. George Dewar : On the 28th of July I took exception to some of the figures that were included. And I think the Provincial Treasurer had better look into it himself, because I don't think they are altogether correct Honourable T. Earle Hickey : There is nothing wrong with those figures. Honourable Alexander B. Campbell : Will you take an affidavit on it? L. George Dewar : Yes, take an affidavit on it. I think of one item that I men¬ tioned the other day with regard to the Senior Citizens Homes. Honourable T. Earle Hickey : Well, that is going to be a debt in any case, —426—