COITES OF 
 
 C()RRESI>0N1)ENCE 
 
 K EL ATI V K TO TILE LIBEL 
 
 ON 
 
 11. K. H. PRINCI: GE{)R(;H of WALES. 
 
 llinWEKN 
 
 H. L). iMcOnJliON, y.c, 
 
 Of Montrbai-, Canada, 
 
 AND 
 
 A. CURTIS BOND, 
 
 _ All, riraii Miinu^ier Dnnlap's Ca])le Co., 
 KoreiL'ii Counoction Dalzinl's News Co., 
 (,)K jS'bw Yohk. 
 
COPTES OF 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 EELATIVE TO THE LIBEL 
 
 ON 
 
 li. R. H. PRINCE GEORGE OF WALES. 
 
 HETWEEN 
 
 R. D. McGIBBON, OC, 
 
 Op Montreal, Canada, 
 
 AND 
 
 A. CURTIS BON D, 
 
 American Manager Dunlap's Cable Co., 
 
 Foreign Connection Dalziel's News Co., 
 
 Ok Nbw York. 
 
CJOKRESPONDENCE. 
 
 No. 1. 
 [Telegram.] 
 R. D. MiGibbon to Dunlap Cable Neias Co. 
 
 Montreal, Sept. Kith, 1890. 
 
 DuNLAP's Cable News Agency. 
 
 36 Broad Street, New York. 
 
 Will you furnish me with name of author of lying 
 dospat<;h re Prince George on Saturday ? The citizens of 
 Montreal expect your assistance to punish the blackguard. 
 Mr. Hosmer is in New York, and I have wired him to 
 see you. Please answer, ray expense. 
 
 (Signed,) 
 
 R. D. McGrlBBON. 
 
No. 2. 
 
 [Telec.uam.J 
 
 A. Cur/is n,md lu R. D. Mraibimn 
 
 To R. D. McGiBiJON. 
 
 Moutreal. 
 
 New York, Soplvmlier 15, 18IH). 
 
 a appt'nrs we were iiu-xi^usably iinpoised upon l)v t»uv 
 correspoiKk'iifc re Priiiro (leorgv story Whilo it rclioctocl 
 in no unworthy way upon tho Prince, but rathor increased 
 the respect the world has Tor llritish prowess, yet we 
 regret the incident sincerely, as every conscientious news- 
 g-atherer must regret being made the innocent means of 
 circulating a false story. The name oi'a correspondent is 
 always sacred, and we must decline making it public. ■ 
 
 (Signed), 
 
 A. Curtis Bond, 
 
 Ammcan Mnnngrr, 
 
 Durilap'f: OiUf Aevx Co. 
 
. No. .3. 
 
 [Lr.TTEll I 
 11. D. Mr Gibbon to Dunln/i's Cable A^enci/. 
 
 DuisLAP's Cable Agency, 
 
 ^{0 and 30 Broad Streot, 
 Now York, N.Y. 
 
 The Temple, 
 Montreal, Sept. 15th, 1890. 
 {Didaled Letter.) ^ 
 
 (iHNTLEMEN: 
 
 I wired you to-day asking' whether or not you would be 
 wiUiii^^' to divulge tome, uk Viee-Chairmau of the Citizens' 
 I'onniiittee appointed to rereivo ILK. H. I'rince (leorgo oi" 
 Wales, the. name of your agent in Montreal, who sent you 
 llu- maliciously false despatch relating to Trince George, 
 which appeared in the New York papers of Saturday, 
 13th September. ; 
 
 I have noticed for some time, from the English papers, 
 that despatrhes sent from Montreal, through your agency, 
 are of the most unreliable character. 
 
 1 presume, that, as purveyors of news, you would 
 naturally resent any imposition made upon you by the 
 individuals you may happen to employ in the different 
 centres where you collect, and whence you distribute, the 
 commodity in which you deal. 
 
 The blackguard who sent the despatch relating to 
 Prince George and the Montreal nabob, considered to 
 
n 
 
 })(? mysell, know, vvhon lio was writing tho tl'Spalch, lli:it 
 h*' \V!iK iH'iuiiiii*' ii lalschooil, unci that lii^ was obliiiiiinuf 
 IVoni yon money \vlii<li yon vvfiv paying lor iiitolli'^ou<H' 
 and news, wlu-n in reality he was providing- you with 
 liciion, and iietion of a very malicious and mal-odorous 
 quality. 
 
 As I wired you today, the citizens of Montreal, i'or 
 whom I speak, as th<' elected vice-chairman olthe lieception 
 Oommittoi', expei t you, as honoural)lo gentlemen, to assist 
 them in prosecutinir the scoundrel who punctuates so 
 disagreeably, what was otherwise a very charming visit 
 oi the grandson ol' our (.)ueen to Montreal. For your own 
 credit, as well as the credit ol" the hospitality ol" the 
 people who live on this side of the Atlantic, both north 
 and south of tiu^ boundary line between your country and 
 mine, I hope and trust thai I may not have presumed loo 
 much on your sense of decency and honour. 
 
 I may add that 1 r(!ser\ * my right to publish this. letter, 
 should I deem it necessary, at a subse(|uent stage of the 
 proceedings. 1 have wired Mr. C. R. Ilosmer, (leneral 
 Manager of the Canadian Paciiic Ifuilway's Telegraph, 
 who is in New York today, requesting him to call upon 
 you with reference to the matter, and trust he may have 
 done 80. 
 
 T beg to request that you will not construe the above 
 letter as written in a spirit of menace, but simply as a 
 (It^mand from o]ie gentleman to another, asking him todo 
 what lie,'^ in his power to enable him to purge this city of 
 one nieuiber of a small class which has done much to 
 destroy, ruin, and belittle the; iniluence, importance and 
 character uf the newspaper <;orrespondcnts of Canada. 
 
 1 am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Yours truly, ■ 
 
 (►Signed), II. h. McGiimoN. 
 
P.S. — Sinco vvrilini^ thf iiliovn, \ have roroivod your 
 it'l.'L;nun, which, f must say is oniircly unsatisfactory. 
 Your admission thai yfuircorvt'spondoni has intentionally 
 and wilfully dtundvod you, by s<Midin<^ you a hdoji^rani 
 which he know to bo a deliberate ialsehood, is very 
 uratil'yinir, but your statement that " the name of a 
 " oi)rrivspondent is always sacn^d, and we must decline 
 " mMkin,i( it ])ublie," is the reverse. A correspondent 
 who sends you intelliu^enee in i^ood faith, which he 
 ht'iieves <o be true, undoubtedly, oui^ht to have the 
 priva<y of his m«'s.sai^-e preserved at all ha/ards. But it 
 is diflereiit with it liar, w^ho knows himself to be a liar 
 when he tells his lies. This man, whose name is Tl. N. 
 O'lbien, knew when he penned this despatch Ihat it was 
 false, and a concoction ol his own. lie not only libelled 
 iris Royal Tlij^hness, and the writer, but also deceived 
 you, iiud practically endeavours to obtain mouthy from you 
 niider fals«' ])rete!nces, by telegraphing you as news, the 
 most absolute fabrications. 
 
 I fyoii desire to protict a man of this character, T must 
 say that you d<>viate trom the policy of journalists, (and to 
 use your own expression, " news-gatherers"), quite as able 
 to ippreciate and carry out the traditions and convention- 
 alities of journalism as your+^eU In a similar (;a>^c. Colonel 
 C. U. Taylor, editor of the Boston Globe, and Mr. U. M. Pul- 
 sifer, proi)rif^torand manager of the Boston Ihruld, not only 
 stated that thoy ^vere unwilling to protect the author of 
 a rmilicious slander, but sent to Ottawa their sub- 
 editors with the actual manuscript, for the purpose of 
 I)nnishing a man, in the first place, for his libel on a 
 distinguished Canadian statesman, and secondly for the 
 dece[)tion of his employers, the American Journalists I 
 r*ifer to. ■ . 
 
 ^ am sure that on rellection you will see that your 
 course is entirely unwarranted, and that the only manly 
 and honourable thing for you to do, is to divulge the name 
 
8 
 
 of the lying scoundrel who has taken advantage of the 
 anonymity afforded by the press to slander a young 
 meml)er of the Tioyal Family, whose conduct and 
 demeanour left nothing to be desired, in every respect in 
 which a gentleman would desire to have his actions 
 regarded as those of an English gentleman. 
 
 I therefore beg again to request that you furnish me, 
 by telegraph, with the name of this lying blackguard. 
 
 Yours truly, " 
 
 (Signed.) 
 
 R. D. MoGrlBBON. 
 
9 
 
 No. L 
 [Letter.] » 
 
 From Dunlap's Cable Neios Co., to R. D. Mc Gibbon. 
 
 I . Oil tlio b?ervice oF 
 
 DuNLAP's Cable News Co., ' 
 Now York. 
 
 Foroit^n connoction 
 Dalziet/s Caule News Agency, 
 Europe 
 
 Executive Offices, 140 Fifih Avo. 
 New York, Sept. 17, 1890. 
 
 V ■ - 
 
 UoiiEUT D. McCrlllBON, EsQ.. 
 
 . . >; . The T*'iupU', St. Jiurios St., 
 
 ' '»<» I Monl real, Canada. 
 
 Dkar Sir:— 
 
 Yonr I'avor oi" the l;)th iiist., we received yesterday, 
 but too liit<' for the eyeniiiu;' mail, and we beg to assure^ 
 you again of our regret at being the innocent medium 
 through which a report was circulated calculated to give 
 you personally, nnd the citizens of Montreal any uneasi- 
 ness. •. . ..', ,:, ':.„. -. ■,..,,.- -■.: .: .,_'■; ., 
 
 l^^irnishing us with false new^s, is as you say. obtaining 
 money undcM" false pretenses, and is aggravatcul by the 
 fact that our hrst instruction to a correspondent is — " bo 
 
10 
 
 sure of your fuels" ; that, in our ostimatioii, should como 
 hclbro any and all other ronsidoratious. Ihit from th«* 
 volumo of protests that have reached us, and in faet from 
 the frank admission by the correspondent himself, we 
 appt^ir 'o have been shaoieiiiUy and ruthlessly deceired. 
 The partv who sent us that story, we must say to his 
 credit, has heretofore been thoroughly reliable, and has 
 done considerable excellent work for us, but the prepon- 
 derance of tnndence in this instance, indicalcis that he has 
 cither been the victim of a hoax himself, or has delibe- 
 ratidy manufactured a statement, which if created in that 
 way, is uncx(>usable, inane and infamous. 
 
 The assertion that you have noticed our news in the 
 l*]nii'lish papers for sometime to ])e unreliabh.', is a com- 
 ment that certainly demands our attention. 
 
 It has b(MMi an endeavor on our part to make our 
 service unassailabh' so far as accuracy is concerned, and 
 with many friends dis])osi'd to criticise in this country 
 and (.ireat liritain, we have thus far escaped any adverse 
 criticism on our Dominion reports, which, we had Ilat- 
 tered ourselves, were unimjM'achable. 
 
 Mr. Davidson Dalziel, our Oeneral Manager, who 
 personally supervises the business of our numerous 
 ollices tliroui>-hout Itlnrope, is most partii-ular as to the 
 authenticity of the despatches sent him, and calls 
 our immediate attention to any item he may con- 
 sider likely to be questioni'd by his readers on the other 
 side. In the absence of any adverse comment from Mr. 
 Dalziel conc(>rning our Canadian matter, we must con- 
 ilude that you have unintentionally confounded the 
 news of some other agency with that of ours. 
 
 If we wert^ satislied that our corn^spondent wilfully 
 misled us in this story, if w(^ knew that it was concocted 
 l)y him without a shadow of an excnise, we should consi- 
 der him unworthy any protection whatso«wer, and would 
 
11 
 
 publish his namo at the request of any porson his story 
 mijvht reflect upon; but, as it is, he assures us ho was 
 himself misled. Such is the explanation from him that 
 l)rorapted us to withhold his name in our telegram. 
 And under such circumstances, before a full investif,'ation 
 has been made, we believe both Mr. Pulsifer and Col. 
 Taylor, whom you quote, and who both attained the 
 highest plane in American journalism, wortld act with 
 the same spirit of forbearance toward their correspondent 
 that we did. Doubtless your own sense of justice would 
 lead you to endorse this position were you, yourself, not 
 a victim of the story. # 
 
 Your regret at this incident is no more sincere than 
 ours, and to indicate it to the people of your city, we 
 lru.<t, if you give your letter to the press, you will see 
 that this one accompanies it. 
 
 l?es?iring' that you will accept the assurance of our 
 respect, 
 
 We remain, 
 
 DuNLAP's Cable News Co., 
 Per A. CuRTTS Bond, 
 
 American Manajj^er. 
 
19 ■ 
 
 -L AM 
 
 ■ . •'• t - 
 
 No. 5. - _ _ 
 
 [Li:tter.] 
 B. D McOihbou io D/m/aps Cable. Neios Co. 
 
 . . . f 
 
 The TEMiiiE, 
 " Montreal, Sept. I8H1, 1800. 
 
 J)Ui\LAl''S ('ABLE NeWS COMPANY, 
 
 140 Filth Avonu(% « 
 
 Now 'York. N.Y. 
 
 {Diclaled LcUcr.) 
 (Jentlemen, 
 
 I am in rot-eipt of your lavoiir of tho ITlh iiist., and I 
 must .say that it docs not app<\'ir. Io nu} al all Jo nn'ot th<> 
 '.'xig-ciicios of tho situation. 
 
 As I understand, thi> facts ar(^ as follows : You are a 
 News coiapany, whose business it is to eollec'l, !)y in(\ins 
 of your oorrespondi'nts al dillerent points in this eountry, 
 inbdligence of a publie nature, which you th«'n distribute 
 to dillerent journals, in consideration of a money p;iy- 
 ment. Your rorrespondents are, as you say, instructed 
 to " oe sure of their tacts," which instruction you slate, \n 
 your estimation, " should come before any and all other 
 considerations.'' Now. the story sent by your Montreal t^or- 
 respond-nt to you is admittedly false ; so a<lniitted by your- 
 selves and by your correspondent. It would be impossi- 
 ibr your ((UTespondent to have sent the despatch in qu(\s- 
 tion if he had followi-d your instructions. The despatch 
 itsell', ns you will observe, states : " The story has been 
 carefully kept from the public, and all questions an* met 
 
18 
 
 with olficial denial.' This statement, is ahsolutely false. 
 OM^iien, for it is no uko concealing the fact that he is 
 your corresi)ondent here, (as I have his business card 
 with your name and his, in association,) made no enquir- 
 ies from any oilicial as to the accuracy of the story, winch 
 he alleges to have heard. 
 
 This being the state of facts, it is evident that 
 this man has sent olf u shamefully libellous des- 
 patch to you, without obeying your instructions, 
 or taking the most ordinary pre«*aution of investi- 
 gating the truth of the story he sent to you. ThcM'c was 
 no such haste in connection with your service as to re- 
 quire the instant telegraphing of a story of this kind ; 
 and your correspondent could easily have tin(|uir<'d l)y 
 telephone of Lieutenant-Colonel ITughes, as to whether 
 the part alli'ged to have been played by that olUcer in 
 connection with the disturbance, was true or false. This 
 would not have occupied live minutes, but was not done ; 
 and therefore you find yourselves now in the position of 
 protecting a blackguard, who, not only contravened what 
 you allea'e to hav*' been your explicit instructions to him, 
 but also neglected to tak»> the most ordinary precaution to 
 verify his despitch, and ret;klessly spread broadcast to 
 the world a malicious .slander on Prince George. 
 
 It is probable that this cowardly scoundrel, knowing 
 that Prince George had allowed other equally olfensive 
 pul)lications to pass unnoticed, took advantage of His 
 lioyal Ilighness's sitj)posed good nature, to earn a few 
 dollars for himself by inventing this story, 
 
 I take issue with you when you say that : " The party 
 who sent us that story has hith«n'to been thoroughly, 
 reliable." You continvte : " lie has done consideral)ie 
 excellent work lor us." I am al'raid that your idea oi' what 
 constitutes "excellent work" dillers so widely from mine, 
 that we are not upon a common ground in discitssing 
 the question. If "excellent work " consists in sending 
 
14 
 
 ofl'such moiulacious storios as this man has boon i^nilty of 
 sondinn- to your agcniciy, and to othor partios, thon of 
 cour.so his 'oxcelK'HCo " is indisputablo ; but it seoms to 
 me incrodiblo that goiithMnoii, whose business it is to 
 discriminate between news and inventions, did not, lono- 
 <M-e this, know that the Montreal correspondent of Dunlap's 
 Cal)h^ News Company was a notorious liar. 
 
 I stand by the assertion I made that your news in the 
 Eiii^lish papers has been unreliable news, I read daily the 
 London d/ube, which g-ets your matter, or rather that I'ur- 
 ni.shed by Dalxit^l's cable news agency. I have not a file of 
 this papt^r by me, and, of course, cannot recall more than 
 one or two special instani i^s of his inaccuracy. 1 do re- 
 collect, however, that in connection with the burning of the 
 Insanti Asylum at Longue Pointe, near Montreal, a hor- 
 rible despatch appeared in the London Globe, as sent by 
 you, to the (Mlect that the unfortunate female pationts had 
 esca])(ul, and w<'re ravished in the w^oods adjoining by 
 savages— a statement which, of course, was utterly and 
 absolutely unfounded. • 
 
 This same individual lost his situation with one of the 
 leading New York dailies in consequence of a monumental 
 '' fake " in r.'gard to a w»dl known defaulter named 
 Silcox. 
 
 Other instances of his untrut hfulness are : a messao-e^ent 
 by hira stating, without a scintilla of foundation, that two 
 of our most prominent citizens had been apprehended in 
 a house of evil-repute; a despatch to the effect that an 
 imaginary fire had occurred, with a large loss of life, in a 
 pulp factory, a fictitious account of a Fenian meetino- 
 held in Quebec, and others. 
 
 If his lucubrations have ever been followed by any 
 adequate criticism or examination, it is beyond compre- 
 hension that his entire economy of the truth i^ould have 
 escaped notice. Thi^ utter worthlessness of his reputation 
 
could have boon ascoitaiued by the most cursory euriniry 
 in Montreal. 
 
 I do not .supi)Ose that Mr. Dalziel, who revises your 
 despatches in Europe, has the means at hand ot" verifying 
 sucli yarns as these I have just referred to, and therefore 
 his failure to notify you of the untruth of the matter sent 
 from this side, does not appear to me to be at all con- 
 clusive, as you assume. 
 
 I am satisfied that I could in a very short time, were I 
 disposed to do so, examine the files of any of your 
 subscribers in l^lngland, and place my hand on half a 
 dozen more equally untrustworthy reports 
 
 I have only to add, in conclusion, that I fail completely 
 to comprehend how you can have the sliffhtest doubt as 
 to whether your correspondent wilfully misled you or 
 not. You will allow me to express my opinion that any 
 journalist worthy of the name would not issue any such 
 despatch as that sent you, without, first of all, satisfying 
 himself that it was strictly correct in every detail. 
 
 Of course, you are quite entitled to withhold your 
 assistance from the prosecution of this man, and to d(5vi- 
 ate from the course I indic^ated to you as having been 
 pursued by Mr. Pulsifer and Colonel Taylor, You may 
 be interested in knowing that, in response to a telegram 
 sent to Colonel Taylor, of the Boston Globe, to-day, asking 
 lor the name of the person who supplied the Globe with 
 (his information, he t^hcerfully and at once replied to my 
 enquiry, and stated that he had received it from your 
 agency. 
 
 My own sense of Jusiice would never lead me to en- 
 dorse your position, nor does my having been a victim of 
 tlie story myst^lf, in any way, prejudic'c me. 
 
 It appears to me that the sincerity of your regret would 
 be very much better evidenced by a reconsideration of a 
 position, which I humbly think at once untenable and 
 
16 
 
 unrair, than if is by your protestations of good faith, 
 coupled with your determination to protect your corres- 
 pondent, who has aduiiltcdly deceived you. 
 
 Of course, should I decide to publish this correspond- 
 ence, I should consider it my duty to i)lace both sides of 
 the correspondence before ihe puLlI •. 
 
 Reg-retting- that my request has not been complied 
 witli, and closing- the corresx)ondcnce. so far as I am cou- 
 eerued, • * 
 
 1 beg to remain, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (t^ig-ued), R. 1). MdliBiJON. 
 
 P.S — I append, for your information, a <-opy of an edi- 
 torial whi(-h appeared in the leading evening' paper of 
 Montreal, "The Sfar,'' on Monday, June 2nd, whit;h 
 speaks for itself : — 
 
 " Curious Stories FROM Montreal. 
 
 "The following- faked telegrams from the agent of 
 Dalxiel in this city will hv found intei-esting n-ading 
 to-day, when the city is gay with bunting, and v^'hen 
 French Canadian officers vie wath tlieir English brothers- 
 in-arms to welcome the distinu-uished visitors to Canada. 
 The author of these misleading despatciies, which are so 
 injurious to Canada, is well known, and the Canadian 
 I'acilic Telegraph authorities, over whose system tbjy 
 are sent, an^ taking legal advice on the subject. The 
 following is the despatch in question : — 
 
 ./ 
 
IT 
 
 '"KA(nAL Feelings in Canada — Curious vStories in 
 
 Month EAL. 
 
 " ' A Dalziol teleg-nirn from Montreal says : A meeting; 
 ol' military officers was held here yesterday, lo eouiplcto 
 the details of the arran<i^ements tor the grand review 
 which was to be held in honour oi' the Duke of Connaught. 
 The commanding officers wer(? surprised to find that the 
 interest tak«m in the aftair was very lukewarm, anil it way 
 liiially decided that the review should not be held, ostensi- 
 bly on account of this being the busy season. The real 
 cause of this decision is that the French Canadians declined 
 to take part in the parade, and it is reported that officers of 
 the French regiment, whose Colonel is a Montreal Judge, 
 absolutely refused to obey the order to be present at thi' 
 review. The authorities are placed in a most awkward 
 dilemma, by this unfortunate con Ire temps.' 
 
 " It is needless to say that there is not a word of truth in 
 the above labricalion. The Sixty-l^'ifth Regiment was re- 
 presented by Lieutenant-Colonel Dugas, audit .vas unani- 
 mously resolved to tender the Duke a review of the city 
 corps, which, however, II. 11. H. reluctantly had to 
 decline. It is high time this fabricator was muzzled.' " 
 
 I also append the following article from the " Toronto 
 Emjnre " : — 
 
 " Montreal, Sept. 16. " Very few of Richard N. ( )'r,ri«>n"s . 
 confreres, of tha Montreal press, sympathized with thai 
 worthy when he appeared before Judge Desno^ers this 
 morning charged with having wilfully and malic'i(msly 
 libelled Prince George of Wales. Last evening- the Lon- 
 don Times took the trouble to cable over, asking if the 
 latest yarn was correct. 
 
 " A few weeks ago a pulp factory was burned in this 
 City, and a girl had her ankle sprained. I'unlap's 
 agency reported that the Montreal Hospitals were lilled 
 with the dead[and^dying. 
 
18 
 
 " At. the time of the Asylum fire, the same agency re- 
 l)orte(l that the female inmates had escaped to the woods, 
 where they were ravished by wild Indians. The fact of 
 the mattt3r is the press men of this City said it served 
 him right, when O'Brien at last reached the end of his 
 tether, and it looked as if the accused would have to go 
 to jail. However, a Doctor Patterson planked down |800 
 in hand, cash, and O'Brien was allowed to go free pending 
 the investigation, which opens to-morrow. Mr. St-Pierre 
 will defend the accused, who will plead not guilty. Mr. 
 R. D. McGribbon, Q. C, the private prosecutor, will be 
 represented by Messrs. Donald Macmaster, Q.C., Quinn, 
 Q. C, Auge, Q. C, and W. J. White, and an interesting 
 case is looked for."