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;
SPEECH OF SI]{ JOHN THOMPSON
IN UEI'T.y TO
SIR RICHARD CART^^TRiGi-lT
TUESDAY, 28tli JUNE, 1892.
■i •;,.■""-*
Kousc of Commons jOebntcs*
SliCO.N'I) SESSlON-SliVliNlll rARl.lAMUNT,
SPEECH OF SIR JOHN THOMPSON,
IN REP1;Y TO
SIR RICHARD CARTV/RIGHT.
TUESDAY, JUNE 28tii, 18!)2.
Sir JOHN 'I'IfOMl'SON. I Knd I must detiuii
till! Mousi' from t;i)iiig into Cominittcu <.f Siip|)ly
iiiiil iisiv you fof i' few momunts not to leave tlie
Chair, not at all Ueeause the speech we hava just
listened to contained anything new or true, but
hccause I have certain ohligations to expresH to
tlie hon. gentleman who delivered it which may be
, ntteied more fervently now than if time were
allowed to elapse. When the hoi.i. gentleman was
good enough tins afternoon to intimatt' that he
ticsii'fd very miu;h that 1 should l)e ))rescnt when
lit! delivci'eil himself as he has done this evening,
and that he had forboriu; for a long time from
slaying the other business of the H(uise in order
that, in the full House and in my presen(;e, he
might utter that long preser\ed, not to say kiln
dried S()ecimen which he has given this evening, I
asked one of my friends what it eonhl jiossibly lu'
that engaged the hon. member for Soptii Oxford
(Sir Kii^hurd Cartwright) so earnestly and maile
him so anxious at the closing hours of the session,
anil wlien we at least, if not he ami his friends,
feel oursehes somewhat overtaxed with the exer-
tions necessary to liring tlu! delil)erations of I'arlia-
tent to a clo.se, to deliver himself of a great speecli.
y frieml told me Ihiit i)i'ol)al)ly in ransai'king his
Beeches of tlu! past, tlu' hon. mend)er had found
|iat there was some adjictive which lie had missed,
libd he wantecl togetit into //iiii''(in(. As far as I
Mitl concerned I am gratified that the hon. geiith'man
hiks been favoured with the opportunity, although
I feel that he has not even found the new u(ljecti\e,
and although we have b\it iieard the old battered
BtOek of superlatives and the olil stale invective
which has caused this Housi' and the electorate of
t^is country so often to listt^n to the hon. gentle-
iniUi with disgust and to legaril his name with dis-
iti^l, though wo have had to listen to this on the
cvi of a patriotic oi'casion like the lirst of .Inly, to
whieh thehoii. gentUnnan uiiid(! allusion at the dost!
of .bis leniarki-;. 1 auMleeply indebted per.sonally to
the hon. meudier for having waited todeli\er tliese
ollOervat ions until 1 was present, l)ecause it a))pcars
Liifts to be tlu! subject of many of them, but afiart
from that it was a great delight to me to sit her'c
foi- an hour ami a-half and heai'the lion, gentleman
with eye and Hiiger [jointed to his su])porteis, lec-
turing them on political eorrii])tion, and to see how
they took it vithont a mnrniur or a cheer, and to
.see how the stricken consciences whieh the coun-
tenances of his followers showed mirrored the mis-
ery he showecl in his, J am cleeply indebted for
another thing, and that is for liic? piiiure which the
hon. iiK'Hibci- presenteil to us, if not in new tones
and colours, at least in faithful and living portrai-
ture, of tiie faithless Minister, the corruj't politi-
1 I'ian, the scheming scandal-monger, who goes aiiroau
j through this country, and the man who, when
I himself in otiice, jobbed the. treasury for tiie
' purpose of political prostitution, hint tiie money of
the j)ublic to l>anks without interest in order that
I men interested in those banks might go through
j the by-ways of the country an<l bribe the eleetor-s
I to ket']) him in oliice. I iini obliged to the hon.
[gentleman for that |)ortraiture, bectause 1 know
I that a great author has said : " Never does a
man jiortray his own character so vividly u.s in
his numner of poitraying another. '" I am obliged
, to the hon. gentleman for tlu! kindness which
he showed to myself, for the care lie says he
■ exei'cise<l over my tottei'ing footsteps wlien I
: entered public lifi!. When I entered jiublic life
■ in this arena, my steps may have lieen tottering,
but, although I had not seen tlu! hoi, gentle-
man, I had learnt of him in history as being one of
: the most miscralile tott(Mers that ever crossed the
stage of piibli(; life in Canada. I am much obliged
I to the lion, gentleman, further, for not allowing
Parliament to separate, after a session of nearly
live months, witiiout his giving us another of those
war, famine and pestilence speeches which have so
often tMiried constituencies for the ( lovernment. I
, am obliged to him, w hen, in reiteriition of the de-
: nuneiations of his country and his conntiymen all
over Canada, he felt obligecl to a|)peal for sup))ort
: to H(une authoi'ity, he apjiealed only to himself and
rt'ad for cori'oboration one of his own spei.'chcs,
j thus presenting tlu! kind tif endorsations which is
■I 1 .1
%^-
known intlie.sl;ing<if iDiiiini'ri'oiis ■' I'ork mi IJacon."" j
I !un much ohligcil to tlii' lion. i;ciitk;iiian tliiit on
the I've of a ])atri()l'c occasion siuli as the culclna-
tion of the natal day of this country he has laiil
aside the mask, even if only foi a few liours, and ;
if, when l'"riday shiill have come, the lion. ^v\\\V\-
niaii will lilan<lly suiile with satisfiictioli, we, at |
least, shall ha\ e irioii the Ilaiisiiril the record that ;
lieru, within a few hours of the ihiwii of the iia j
talday of tliiscouiitry, thehon.menilierdeclared from
his place in I'ailiiinient, the most j>'iidic |)lace in j
Canada, that resistance was lawful to atloveni- j
inent like this, and that men were goiiiy aliout i
the stieets asking how long this country ought to I
))u allowed to stand. Sir, it is gratifying for us to ,
know that he has laid aside the in:isk, even if only |
for to-night, ami tliongh lie may nias<|nerade 1
ill other disguises, on l''iiday next, at least tin? \
country and the House will liave taken the weight j
of the lion. I'entlenian, and will have realized, as j
we all have done, and as the country has done, that
the t'-aitor is generally the truckling corrupt iouist \
as well. .Nfr. Spcsiker, the lion, gentleman piiid me ;
a very high compliuient ; the lion, gentleman, after
denouncing his jiarty as guilty of every legislative ,
and electoral crime that a party could lie guilty
(if, turned at last, almost for the lirst time
in the course of an hour".s harangue, aiul
pointing at me, declareil that I had shown an
intimate knowledge of criminal Imav, and had no
doubt heeii a suece.s.sful defender of clangerous
criminals. .Sir, 1 decline the lion, geiitlenian's
hrief.
Sir RICHARD C.XRTWRTCTTT. Vou must
have the fee lirst.
Sir.lOHX THO.MI'SON. ] have had some ex-
perience, liotli in defending criminals and in ]irosc-
ciiling them ; J have never shrunk in my calling as
a niemher of the liar, from taking any man's case,
no matter how des]ieral(! it might lie, for the jinr
pose of saying for him what he might properly say
for himself ; liut F have sometimes s]mrucd the fee
of a lilateiit scoiiinlrcl who denounced e\'erylMidy
claj J in the world, and w.is hi iiise!t'llie(liiicuK:iit
siiA-age of tlicm alT 1 (lonlit^ThiTTTrieViiilituile
with which I listened to the lion, gentleiiiaii's ad-
dress, will he shared liy his followers ; I doulil
that they will consider that tlii^ occasion was the
most timely the lion, geiitleinaii could have chosen.
They will think that the lion, gentleman might
have got <ill' hi.s address at one of the earlier st.iges
of the liusiness of the House, when he forliore to
intruile himself upon the attention of Parliament.
1 think they will recall this evening the sad fact
for tlu'iii, tliat he, liy his perscinal inlluence, hy the |
|Miwer cif his language, by the force of his \
iiiM'ctive, ami by his close criticism of public ;
all'airs in thin country, has reduced their
ranks by 50 jier cent since we met last ; ;
and they will recall the fact that not only i
did every constitueiu'y w liicli he additfs.sccl i
give a verdict against tlieiii, but that every city,
town and hamlet in his own province w hich he i
addressed, gave a rolling majority against his |
party ; and they will lecall the fact that ho ;
chose for the occasion of hi.s speech today,
when they wore celcliiating another defeat the,
wresting of another coMstitueiicy, almost within
sound of my voice, by the !,ilieral-Consi'rvative
party from the hands into whiidi it fell at the
la.st general election. Now, if I eanilot elicit
from his own supporters the gratitinle wliii'h
1 feel towards liiin, J ••an at least do this for the
fnirfiose of slniwing my jiersonal gratitude;
although the lion, gentleman siijiposes, 1 fancy,
that he has rellccted upon me, that Ik; has even
attacked iiie, an<l that, perhap.s, he has made me
feel badly for a moment, notwithstanding tlu't, 1,
as a meiiibtu' of the Liberal-Conservative party,
oH<! him such a debt of gratitud" that if it shall be
necessary to retain the lion, gentleman "s services
in the (larty which he does not lead, and which
would not have iiiin for a leader, ami which barely
tolerates liiin as a .supporter - if it be mu-es.sary to
retain him in that capacity I, for one, will propose
a subsidy to Parliament to kee|) him there. I
know. Sir, that the lion, gentleinandidiiot do himself
half justice when he declared that the task before him
was not ajileasant one. Why, Sir, the lion, gentle-
man would rather abuse liis country and defame
it, than eat his breakfast any day. I can tell the
hoii. geiitlenuin that, strong as his language was,
doleful as his forecast was, of the future of this
country, alaiining to some people of delicate
nerves, as it might be if they had not heard it
befoie, as we have so ofttm heard it, languiige
about the future of Canada, about the peo|ile who
are asking liow long this c-.niilry can stand, iind
about peo)ile who ar<; advising resistances to
authority in tl is country. \i c, for our part, believe
that on the |)art of the great majority of the pcojile
of this cmintiy, there is no fear and no alarm.
Conlident of the position which this country has
obtained in s]iiteof the cllbrts of the lion, member
for South Oxford, conii lent in the path that srtie
has clio.seii for herself, I hey are not to be alarmed
e\en by the ihreats of a leading iiublic man w Im
counsels lesistance, and <leclar(^s that the fate of
his country is sealed ; because they know as well
a.'i we know, that when tUe lion, gentleman talk~
of resistance, iiid the death of his country, :ind ali
that kind of stnlf, his courage is all in hi.s toiigiu ,
and that the motto which he carries upon hi-
escutclieon is " \\'or<ls, not deeds." Sir, tln' ho:i.
geiitli'man has made an allus'on to me which I
may refer to while it is in my menior.^. Ilaviir.
stigmati/cd his own [larty to whom he was pciii.i
iiig and whom he was addressing, w ith every criii
in the jiolitical calendar, and many in the mo'
calendar as well, having reminded them of li
sad fact that they had so ])olluted cuitain con>i
tiicncies of lluH eonntry wil h stolen nioiiey, tli
this i\ssembly w-s hanlly to be regarded as a repi
sentative body, the lion, gentleman i^roceedcd
attack the judges of this country. 1 have i
doubt that the lion, gentleman has good cau.se I
(|iiarrel with the jnilgcf:. The lion, gentleinan li
the same cause for i|narrel w ith the judges of '.
country that the culprit liiis for the lash win
smacks his back. 'I'lie judges of tlu' country h.^
foii.id him and lii.i party, while their mouths w^
full of \irtue, guilty of every degrading cri
which the electoral law ]iuiiishcs iind di.'clarestn
a fraud, and haves unseateil in this Parliament i
wards of ;t() of his supporters: and the consti
encies to the number of 1(1, taking 'advantagi
that fact, in hi.s ow.i province and in the Provi:
of <.j)uebec, have rcvi rseil the votes and re|ieir
of the su|ip(jrt which they gave the lion, gem
mail less than two years ago. lint the lion, gen' iL-^
man having his nuaircl with the jndgeH, tlioii. jj|j7|i ^''''
•^ 0|1,'(
pei>i,||,,|
len-il,.
brou-lii^
ht'arin
regard,.,
W.iidd ill
If J In, j
of v.liatf
OhiUl;.
wns. I j|
SUppoilJ
(Sir l!i,i
vaean.vf
(tiiith
iftfete.l I J
a
not eli'ji*
lie whitli
lis fill' *^'"^
iiiatitiuli: ; .;
,, 1 fancy, i
B has I'vru ;:,,
IS iiiiuU' nif
iig tlii't, I,
tivo i)'"^>''
f it slialllii!
u"s services
iiuil wl>ii^*'
vlni-lil'iiiely
ueeessiny to
will yvn\»<^^' ?;
1.1 tlieve. I
.ottloli""^''"
skUefolcliU"
. liuli. jieliUe-
iiiitl ilefaine
can tell the
uture of this
^ „f (lelieiae
„„t lu-avtl It
it, lan;:u;v-^''
>e IK'ul.le Nvl>"
an stiuul, ana
lesistanet^ to
„■ uait, helu'V
tv,.flheiM=M'"'
an.l no aUnn.
is eonntry ha-
lu- hon. nienihei
,Kith t)ial >\
to he alavnuM,
uhlic man ^^h'•
hat the fateo
V know as ^yf ■
Kontlenian talU-
country, ami al:
11 in his toni^m;.
:aiTies "!>on '»'-
, •• Sir, the Uo'.l
' t,, nic Nvhich 1
H.uor:*. Havu..
,n. ho Nvas (loiul
vvilheve.ycn.n.
anv in the n..>'^^|
,letl them o* tiv
te.l certahi eonsU
tolen money, l"'
.uranleil as a rein '
en.an pi'oeeecle.l i
nt.y. 1 »>^^^'= ."
,„, ..,o.l cause •
,ou. jj;cntlcman U
the iua^res ot I
or the lash wh'
,f du' country li'
Uicir mouths w
,le'4ra.Huj; cn^
^iuui aeclarest"
,i^ I'aiUament >
. ,iua the const 1
l\W -aavauta>ic
,n.rin the rr-'^'
,,,us atulrciH'U-
vc ll>c hou. til'"'
liul the hon. gcu
,lu. .iuages, thou
■y
he irii;,'ht ilraj,' uie int(» ihi i|uaiicl, loo, and <le-
elarea llial, forsootli, the iiia<.'es were not tit people
to try eases, liecause tliey Were not iniparlial. 'I'lie
lion, gent leniaii is the only l^iiia ot inaii wliooui^lil to
try a ease, anil ahovc all is t lii^ only kind of jnijue «lio
sIiomM sit on tlu! ti'ial of a political opponent. lie
is so |!iire, he is so ahove repioaeh, In? is so \Nfll
known oiitsiae of liis own province, wliieii those
inifoilnnate jinlj^'es who arc appointed art! not,
that he aho\ e all ollu is inMcle in the same mould
wliicli thank (iod nature liioke wiien she cast iiini
was tit to sit in jndj,'inent in eases whether political
or civil in this eountry. Let us iinufiine what the
outcome must he, if liavin;^ judij;es to hear evidence
this I'arlian.eiit is to he told that they are the most
unlit men in the country to ])erfoini tiiis duty,
hccaiise they arc men nnw(U'thy of their positions,
men who do not know the law and who were ap-
))ointed l)ecausc '.hey were jiarty liacks. I do not
know, 1 have not looked at the record of tin: lion.
L'entleman's apjioinlinents, hut it may he so as to
soiiK^ IJut for the piuty whicii is in power now I
slif^matixe that as disgi-accfid a misstatement as
can he ntteit'd in Parliament, iind L iia\e only to
appeal to the rceidleetion of i^veiy man who hears
m<! to corrohorati! me in stating that ahove all
other things the late leadei of the Ijheral-( 'onset-
vali\-c liarty aciiieved ])id)lic respect for the conrse
he took in select ing proper men to occupy the jiidg-
n cut seats of this country. lUit, again 1 say, the
lion, gentleman tried to drag me into his (piarrel
with the jinlges, the ijuarrel of a convicted man
against the heiich, hecaiise we all know that when
ii man has lost his case and l)een convicted of a dis-
graceful crinie he has ))iit two optioiLs-- on.^ is to
appeal ami the other is to ahusc the judge, and the
lion, gentleman has chosen the litter cour.se. He ha-
dragged me into that controversy for the purpose
of making the ujiscrahle insinuation that 1 lioitght
the jjosition 1 now lill hy giving a seat upon the
pencil to a menilier of this House. That statement
is ahsohitely untrue ; it has not ii shadow of
foundition. 1 suppose there are few persons
present wlio know m hat a>'tually occurred w hen I
Was invited to he a mcmlier of Sir Jolm Macdoiiald's
Cahinet, and as \ am not fond of referring to
personal details, I shall not go into this matter at
length, hut I can say this, as the matter has heeii
l^roiiglit up for the tirst time in Parliament in my
hearing, that the invitation to i^ome here was not
pegariied hy me as a very tempting one, or oiu) that
■Would imluee me to hrihe any man to give me a seat.
1 h.iil followed my ]iersonal choice and inclination
V, hat 1 prcferiiMl — wliiUi I do not regret tiic
iP^ange I have made I would have stayed wiiiM't^ I
(fes. Ihit the seat u|)on tlie county heiieii wiiic.h a
J(OT)])orti'r of tile hon. gentleman for South (!\ ford
(Sir Iticiiiird Cartwiii^litl took, and which made a
Vficancy which I stood for, was vacated liy tiie
diatli of .liiilge Caniplndl, and it was inti
ted to me not only that my presence would
desirahle as a menilier of tin; Caliinet and
iiktlie capacity of Minister of .Instice, hut that
I 'Would have an opportmiity, if 1 ilcsired it, of
nt!|n<ling for the old county uliich I had always
r^rescntcd in the Pro\incial Legislature, liecaiise
itr \* as prohahle that Mr. Mclsaac would he
otfereil thi' vacancy on the county hencli. .\lr. Mc
Itoiic was the leading barrister and leading coinisel
itt thai district heyond all comparison. I declined
nqt once but more than once tiie invitation, and in
doing so I Htated that from the knowledge I had of
that judicial district the appointnuMit ought to he
given to Mr. Mclsaac. if he were willing to ai'c.c^pt
it, regardless altogi'tlier of any appointment of my-
self. 'I'hose who knew him, those who knew his
relations ill the county, and know the way in which
he has discharged his duties, will .say th.it I was riyht
and ga\e sr)und advice, anil they will not,
stalwart Reformers as they are to this day, my
leading o|)ponciits as tlii^y are to this day, thank
the oldliine leader hehind whom their friend Mr.
McLsaae sat, for the unwinthy insinuation, even if
it were triU', ^hat he was hought with a .seat on tiic
hench for the puriMise of giving me a place in this
Hou.se. 1 dare .say if the jildge weri; to ex))resshis
1 own oj)inion, it would he this, that he was willing
to aeee])t a seat on the bench or any otln^r jilaee
Ijccanse he had stit (piite too long bchiml
the meniher for South Oxfoid. Now, Mr. Speaker,
we are told that ))arliameiitaiy institutions in
this country are in danger, that this House can
hardly he regarded as a representative liody,
that legislative fraiul has been supported by organ-
i/.(Ml corruption, that the ( iovernnient is silent anil
its Hubsidi/.ed ])r(,'ss and paid su])|»orters are equally
silent, and all this because it is said we hive refn.sed
an investigiition and substituted for it a mock trial.
! 1 will not make so little of the House is to ask the
Hous(i whether that statiMnent is true lU' whetlu'r
it is false ; but 1 ask the House whether it thinks
a man wortliy to sit within its walls who stigmatizits
as a mock trial an investigation to be held by two
of the highest judges of this country, who have not
yet taken their seat and opened the investigation.
1 should like to ask the lloii.se if that is not on a
jjar with the veheineiiee with which the lion, gen-
tleman has criticized these proceedings from the
beginning to t!ie end, and not veheineiice only but
ili.sgraceful iinfaiiiiess, which has never been (laral-
leled in the history of parliamentary debate. The
hon. gentleinaii dciumneed the accuseil (icrsoii as
guilty almost before he had made an answer
in his defence, and the judges had no
sooner l)eeii named by this House and an
investigation ])ioposed by whicli they will take
evidence than it is declaieil that everything is
wrong in the country, that the (Jovernment is cor-
rupting the conntry by legislative fraud and auth-
orized corrii])tion, and that the investigation which
those judges are going to eoiiduct is a mock trial.
Well, Sir, upon that point I have only to add this :
1 am (piile sure that whetlie' those two gentlemen
who havi! been selected are known to the hon.
member for South Oxford or not, the jieople who
do know them, and they are w idely known in their
own province, and well known, too, by meni!)ers of
their profession in other provinces as wi'll, will
knew how to chiuacterize as fair or ba.selessly false
and malicious the aeeusalioii that any trial they
are to conduct is a mock trial. Is it true or false
that we lia\i' siijipresscd the charge wliiiU has been
made'; Is that statement not ilisgraceful to the
man w ho uttered it again 'i W hy, time and tiling
again. 1 have shown to the House, unnecessarily as
regards the great majority, uselessly as regards
the hon. niemlier for Scnith Oxford, that W(!
have not suppressed the charge^ (hat we have
refused to allow lioii. inembeis to try a large
number of contested election eases, many of
which had been already tried in the eouits.
Hut as regards anything to e<inneet a member of
tliis I'arliiinicMt or ;i iiiciiilicr of tliis ( iovi'i-mnciit
will) tlu'sc clcftoiiil (•oi'iii])tioMs, tlu' cliiugcs are
tlier<! iind iiic to )>(• iiivcsli^ati'd if tlic lion, iiu^iii-
ber for Soiitli Oxfonl (Siv Itioliiinl Cartwriglit ) has
the courage to come forward to sustain them, or
if he is not simply lying v\ hen lie tells this House
tluit these ehiirges eun lie ))rovecl. One or the
otlier. The investigation has lieen lefused, Sir,
has it? The charges liave lieen s\ij)|)ressed, have
tliey ? ^\'liy, Sir, thei'e an; the charges to-day as
framed hy the lirm. mendter for \\'est Ontario
(Mr. Kdgar) as eniphasi/cd hy the lion, niemher
foi' South Oxford liiin.-ielf (Sir Hictluird Caitwright)
and in so far as we have changed them, we liave
simply changed them to conform to the violent
language with which the lion. niend)er foi' South
Oxford sought to enforce them ; and if they aie
not proved, the result will lie to stam]) him with
the name upon his foreheait that he deserves.
IS'dw, Mr. Speaker, in place after ])lace in the
charges we have not hesitatiMl to put liefore this
connnission these statements that tlu^ I'ostmaslei'
(Jeneral is charged with a conspiracy to olitain jiuli-
lic numey for eom])anies, to olitain that money foi-
companies f()|- elec.'toi'al |)Uiposesand for the pur))ose
of e()rru])tiiig constituencies although it makes
not a jiartide of dillerenceas far as he is concerned,
for he nuist fall, if it lie true, that lu'was engaged in
such ii cons])iracy w hethei- in; used the money for
the elections oi- not. We put that in,, too, so that
these lion, gentlemen might ])i(>ve it if tliej' coulil,
and in evei'y resjiect the charges ;ire just as full and
sjiecilic, .so far as the I'osiniaster (ieneral is con-
ciu'ned, as they were the day they were hrought \>y
thf lion. iiieml)eifoi()ntaiio(Mr. Kdgar). One thing
which we have eliminated is the general cliaige
that other persons interested in these subsidies
may have givcMi these moneys too, ami the general
charge that these moneys were used in some "24 o?'
2.") constituencies, anil in some tliice or four elec-
tions in each of tlie.se constituencies. But, so far
as the charges against the ( ioverniiicnt are con-
cerned, and so far as the (;harges against the I'ost-
niaster (ieneral aie concerned, they are just as
clear and just as precise and just as o])en for in-
vestigation us the day they were made, 'i'lie lion,
member for South Oxford (Sir Richard Cartwright)
challenged me to state if they are vague novv-.
They are not vague now, thanks to the lion, mem-
ber who made them, thanks to the lion, member
for liothwell who supported them, and thanks t.)
the lion, member for South Oxford who sought to
(tri\e them home witli invective which he is sorry
for now because lie cannot sustain it. 'i'hese
charges have been maile precise and they have
lieeii made spec itic, and if the lion. I'ostmastei ( Jem-
eral is not afraid to meet tlieiii, there are three men
who are afraid ; because they have just sought to
sheltel' themselves on the plea of privilege against
ajipearing before the commission at all. They are
the iiieml)er foi' Ontario (Mr. Kdgar), the member
for Mothwell (.Mr. .Mills) and the mendier for South
Oxford (Sir Hicliard Cartwright). Thidion. mem-
bei' for South Oxford has declared that the.se com-
missioners are th(! appointecis of the Postmaster
( Jeliel'al liimself. No statement more utterly at
variance! with the truth can be put upon /fniiiard,
beciiu.se, as a fact, ihey havc^ been appointeil by this
H(mse and by a vote of this House practically una-
nimous as regards their iiualilications. The Oppo-
nitioii abstaiiK^d fioiii coimiiilling themselves (o tlu^
principle of appointing commissionei's at all, but
every member of llie Hou.se knows that it was
perfectly consistent for the Opposition to .say:
that if the House should eventually appoint com-
missioiieis these men wero iintit by reason of
liiis or that disipialilication, or this or that
unfit ness of temperament. If tiiese commis-
sioners were the villains whom the lion, mem-
ber for .South Oxford (Sir Hiihard Cartwright)
jiortrays as sitting on the bench of this country
iVoni one end to the other, if they were (lar-
ti.sans, if they weie piirty hacks, if they were
men not ver.sed in the law, if they were men not
likely to be inijiartial, every member who sits with-
in these wulls was cliiillenge<l to say so.
He had an o]iportiinity to say so ; he was
bound to say so, notwithstanding lie thought
that no commi.ssion sliould be apjiointed at all ;
but lion, gentlemen opposite ilid not d;ire to say
.so, and in sjiite of the re|)iidiation of the lion,
menilier for South Oxford, 1 declare that these
commissioneis were fully sanctioned by this House
without a single ilis.scnt as to their fitness or
disipialiticatiou, and after di.ssent had been chal-
lenged or defied, for I ilefied it niyse!^ stamliiig in
my place here. 'i"he lion, member for South Oxford
(Sir Richard Cartwright) has decdared that the
details which are )jublished in his rejitile story, in
his organ in Toi'onto, to which organ he says we
are so deeply indebted tor these disclosures -a? wt-
are, of course, abso to him, as I have already ex
plained in the ojiening remarks I have ottered to
the Hoii.se the lion, member has declared thai
such a set of documents with legard to electoral
coriii])lion never in previous times was laid before
this country. The lion, gentleman's memory i^
short. He forgets that about nine times what wa^
alleged to have been expended in any one of these
onstitueiicies saving the election of Thi'eeUiv(M>
..s to which the statement is very vague -he for
gets that about nine times what was spent in tin
most expensive of these constituencies was speni,
at the election of 1ISS7, to secure him ii sup])ort(i
in a countj within KM) miles from where I stand
and the lion, meiiiber for South Oxford (Sir Richaii
Cartwright) was not so virtuous or so I'cgretfii
then.
re(
di.-
fav
for
the
• let
JeiK
of t
iiinii
the
but,
ever
fry I,
toni,
to liu
so-caj
thee,
Ox for
t<)iiie(i
Wlien
coiinti
liiuglit
^Witlc
t<» all
Were t
leadiiJ
greet e|
and
of III,. I
the sill
in the
South
. Su II
the h,\
lutelv •■
><ir ./I
can pK
and Mill
for .So I, I
foil t,,
Nil I
SirRlCH.ARJ) (ARTW RI(;HT. IVrliaps yi
would givi! us particulars of your election?
Sir JOHN THOMPSON. 1 will give the Ii.m
gentlcniaii |)articulars fast enough, and I will ti
him where to find what 1 refer to. 1 was about i
say, .Mr. .Speaker, that the lion, member for Soul
Oxford (Sir Richard Cartwright) was not siicli
purist then, or was not such a hypocrite tlui &dtlcii|
v hichever it may be, and he was not ashamed to - Soiii:
click by jowl with a man who got his seat I'y li
expenditure of .S;j( ;,()()(>. If the lion, gentleiu Sir b
wants ))riiot of details, he can find them inthecl' ^ Wouh
tioii courts which lie shnddei's to think of as bci *''Q 'u'
presiiled over by men of such doulitfiii chaiacii g,-,. j
and after that, if he goes to the highest tribunul that tin
this country he will find the record there, ainl imtjini
will find, furthermore, that that man held his >'ilraw il
by the ))U rest technicality in tlu; world, ami I n'l-jt,, , j
the judgment as to the corruption stands uiirr\
sed to this day. \'es, Sir, and more than that, \\i Sir I
the; iqipeal from the decision unseating that meiiil'°*'tl(iii|
had succeeded by reason of a technicality, ami i: g|j,, ;,
nii^mber aiipeared in the llou.se in the iifteriiii|,jjj,.
•
liat it ^vi>s
,11 to x!iy ■• 1
,|,oi\it i'"'"-,
. ll'ilS<>'> <>'
is or '''."■*
^e coiiii"''*'
lion. I"*'"'-
CiirlwrigliM
this counliy
y wen- I'iii-
i Uiey wi^'*'
ti) siiy >*'••
so; l>i' '^^'^'^
, 1,1. thoiiil''*
;,i,ite.l aluU;
ot .lave to say
, of tlie l>oi>.
uc tliat t\u'st'
1 \,v thi«Vloi>s''
iieiV titucss ov
haa been chal
,e1f ^talv«ln^^ i"
,1. South ()>.for.l
aaif.l that tl;.'
reptile story, i'«
..,au he says nv
^closures as w
,ave already ex
l„,veortere. t„
,1, .leclare.l tha
,ara to eleetoral
^s vas lai.l hefor.'
,„au's iiieitioiy i>
,0 times what Nva.>
,uiv one of tl»esc
,1, of Three Kiver.
Kv vague he for
was Speut in tlu
leueies was spent
V himasuppoiti
.n> where I stai,
xfor.HSir Hu-hu
ihc lion. ni('ini)er for .Soiitli Oxforil (.Sir Hiuhurd
( 'ill tw li^ht ) ieil the ehecr.s ot eonjrratulut ion wiiich
Hifclccl him. If liie hoii. (^entJiMiian want.-i proof
of lU'tails Ukc that, his iiicmniy ean scrxe liim, if
lir yocs hack to the luioiil of t h»' l.,oncloii trial ami
of .1 jfooil manv other.s too.
.Mr
trial.
KICIIAK!) CAK'I'W KKMI'I'. Tin' [aiiuox
Mr. ;;()WK1.L. Tiic Cook trial.
Sir.KmN 'i'HO.MI'SON. Ves, he can Hn.l the
rcciirtls of it ;;oo(l many oiiur.s loo in which for
<lisi;iaeeful liriliery caiuliilates were lewanleil l>y
favonis from tiie Cahinet in which the lion, niemhei'
for South Oxfor.l (Sir Ilichanl Cartwriglit ) sat. V
the lion, geiitleni.in wants his reeoril and wants his
details, he ha.s only to give us another war, pesti-
lence and famine speech, and he will ha\e enough
of them for the night. .Sir, 1 couM not help being
amused at the story which was trotted out ahoiit
tiu^ " Ked Parlour" for the thousandth time here
lint, .Sir, while that passes through deaf ears wher-
eveiit is iittere<l now, because everyone in thiseonn-
tiy has founil out hy ihi.s time that it is all a jihan-
toiii, and tliat the sul)scii|)tioiis which are supposed
to have iieeii given hy the manufacturers at the
so-called "Ked Parlour" would not carry any one of
, the constituencies, which the lion. meiiil)(Mf(<r .South
Oxford (.Sir liiohard Cartwriglit) has heen accus-
tomed to run for within the last 120 or .S(( years
when tliat i.s .so well known and understood in this
country, the way it is echoed and re-echoed excites
laughter wherever the phrase is use<l ; yet the lion,
gentleman got one of hi.s sympathizers and .satellites
to attend to hi.s business in Washington wiiile w»:
Were there in Ajiril last. He got him to wiite a
leading article in a Wa'liington paper, which
greeted us the morning we anive<l in Washington,
and before we were introduced to the authorities
of the United .States, for the purpose of putting
the subject and the object of our mis.sioii just
in the fa\()nrite language of the hon. member for
South Oxford (.Sir Kichanl ("aitwright).
Sir RICIlAHDCAKTWRKIirT. Mr. .Speaker,
the lion, gentleman is making a statement abso-
lutely di'stitute of foundation in fact, as he knows.
Sir dOIIX THO.MP.SOX. Well, .Mr. Speaker, I
can produce the article and anylxidy who reads it
and who has hear<l tiie speeches of the lion, member
for South Oxfoi-d (.Sir Kit'hard Cartwriglit) eaiiiiot
i 'was about > fail to recognize the author.
liiiMiiber for S.aj' Sir RICH ARD CAHTW RKillT. If the hon.
,rl,l) was not sm i ggn(;i,,„|_,n |,,^g \^^,^,^^ ^,,1,1
■" ., livpoerite tun
tot ashamed to > Some lioii. M HM1'.KRS. Order, order.
,o liot his seat by >' gj,. kR'H ARD CARTWRKIHT— that 1 dhl so,
il,c lion, g^'";"'', I would tell him that I did nothing of the kind,
liud thcni inthe e.. ^^^ ,^^ . .
lothiukotasbci
,,l. H„ regretfu
;ll'l\ Perhaps y
',r election';
^.i„ give the b-
mgh, and 1 vy.U '-
states what is fal.sci.
d.miitfui characi' Sir .lOHX THOMPSON. I did not mean to say
' , 1 iidu'st tribuiuil that t he lion, membi'i' for .South Oxford «as the
\ . Z,\ thefts 'inil author ; and if he denies it, I am willing to with-
1 'Viiuvn held his ^'drMv (lie statement that he induced tiie autiior to
,'tlie woihl, an.l lirt'rite ihat article.
Jiiion «^'^'"^'': "''''^,\ Sir RKniARl) (WRTWRIOHT. The hon.
1 more than tha , jfonth'iiian knows that it is a falsehood.
'leXb'^l'ty^indu |jr.|()HXTII()MPS()N. ] ,lt. m.t know any-
■ ''"''\ ■ iiio aftcrni'hillg of the kinil, but if anything would induce
inc to believtiWt, it is the lion, gentleman's denial. (•
What I wa4 going on to .say, Mr. .Spe.iker, was
this, that the author, whoever he was and there
can be no doubt as to who he was rellccted
exai-tly the sentiments and opinions of the hon.
member for .South Oxford ; this is his duty and his
work, such as it is, in certain iriipoitant piiliiica-
tions in the I'ity of Toronto and elsewhere. .And
in re echoing the hon. gentleman s story almut cor-
ruption in this countiv and the imposteie of our
mission to Washington, of cour.se it could not be a
faithful portrayal of his master's woril> and ideas
unless the •'Red Parlour" were introduced too,
although I supposi' Washington would open its
eyes to know what " Red Pai'loui'" had to do with
it or what " Red Parlour"' meant; and so little was
known or understood of the term there that the
innocent pi'iiiteis published it to the world as the
■'lied parlour." The hon. member for .South
Oxford has undertaken to speak biographicallj of
this ( lovernnient, and he has declared that we have
gradually progressed by rajiid stages, but still by
stages -and that we began at a (leriod when,
as he says, my ste])s weie tottering and
faltering, and when he accused a niembei' silting on
this side of the House of being the top of a nioun-
taiii range of undetined corruption a submerged
mountain top, or similar picture.scjue language ;
there was, at any rate something mountainous
about the hon. gentleman's statement, we all knew
at the time how much truth there Mas in the
allusion of the lion, member ; but his candour and
sagacity are at any late remarkable for this cii'-
cuniswuiee, that although he was at that time, and has
ever since been accusing Mr. Rykert of being guilty
of falsehood, and corru|)t falsehooil, in all tlu;
letters iiiid stat(!iiients he had made with regard
to that matter ; yet now, when it suits his purjiose,
he (juotes the words of that gentleman as a witness
on his behalf, for the statement that (h)zens of mem-
bers among whom he .sat were just as cornijit as he
had been, and had been guilty of just as many breaches
of parliamentary decorum. -\lt I can say, Mr. .Sjieak-
er, is that if Mr. Rykert was worthy of the strong
invectives ivhicli the hon. member for .South Oxfonl
has ap|)lied to him in times past and we know
that the Knglish language all'ords no stronger -lie
is a worthy witness for the hon. member for .South
Oxford this evening. I have said, Sir, that we
thought we knew how much of truth there was in
the lion, gentleman's statement ; but until the
hoi), gentleman and his party went a few stages
forward, and we found that, not only in
this I'rovince of Ontario, but everywhere else
throughout this country, and even in the Ma-
ritime Provinces, of which the hon. gentleman
has spokiMi as having been corruiiteil by ( iovern-
meiit inlluence.s, the money that was stolen from
the treasury of a neighbouring province was used
to help them in the elections ; until wf heard that
development, and until we found men sitting in
this Houst; hy means of that money, we could
not suspect how iiiuch truth that- lion, gentle-
man had uttered. The hon. gentleman has
spoken of railway subsidies. When we consider
that c)ii(! railway company gave for his puiiiose as
much as is alleged to have been spent in all these
•2.") constituencies, W(! can see that tiiere was more
truth than poetry in the hon. genthMiian's remarks
about a great mountain rantre of which Mr. Rykert
was the visible top. Now, I have referred to the
!
liiW """ , i,.w lii.l lull'"'" 'f the l>a»t twen« B
OTTAWA
, , e K Dawson.
. , ,1,,. UwvW'^ ^^'""^
xcept liiii'
,it wlii'ii'.'ll
.(lutiy
ill
li»y
tl\oxc \vl>»
iir, i'Xl>'
t (U'Hiie
OllH
m
\iiis a
•vfiy
his
(•hs,
for
tliit*
_ licarl
lion.
L'ouutvy
lent ■Miv.i«'**t'y-