IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 u tM 111 ^ m I IL25 i 1.4 2.0 1.6 0%^ <^ 71 ^> ^s*'*' ^^^ PhotDgraphic Sdences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716)872-4S03 «- ■^' 4lio \ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Tachnieal and Biblioflraphic Notaa/Notaa tachniquas at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta has anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. 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This Itam is filmad at tha raduction ratio chackad balow/ Ca documant ast film* au taux da r*duction indiqu* ci-dassous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X »X ^^^1 7 12X 16X aox 24X 28X 32X laira I details |UM du t modifiar igar una • filmaga Tha copy flimad hara haa baan raproducad thanka to tha ganaroaity of: Douglaa Library Quaan's Univaraity Tha imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaaibia conaidaring tha condition and iaglbllity of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract apacif icationa. L'axamplaira fiimA fut raproduit grAoa i la gAnAroaiti.da: Douglaa Library Quaan'a Univaraity Laa Imagaa aulvantaa ont 4tA raprodultaa avac la plua grand aoin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da l'axamplaira fllmi, at an conformity avac laa conditiona du contrat da filmaga. / Original copiaa in printad papar covara ara flimad baginning with tha front covar and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraa- aion, or tha back covar whan approprlata. All othar original copiaa ara flimad baginning on tha f irat paga with a printad or Iiluatratad Impraa- aion. and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or iiluatratad impraaaion. Laa axampiairaa originaux dont la couvartura an paplar aat ImprimAa aont filmte an commanpant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant aoit par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'llluatration, aoit par la aacond plat, aalon la caa. Toua laa autraa axampiairaa originaux aont filmte an comman9ant par la pramldra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaaion ou d'llluatration at an tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una talia amprainta. Tha laat racordad frama on aach microficha ahaii contain tha aymboi ^»> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha aymboi y (moaning "END"), whichavar appiiaa. Un daa aymbolaa auivanta apparattra aur la darniira imaga da chaqua microficha, aalon la caa: la aymbola «► aignifia "A SUiVRE", la aymboia ▼ aignifia "FIN". ira Mapa, piataa, charta, ate, may ba flimad at diffarant raduction ratioa. Thoaa too larga to ba antiraiy included in ona axpoaura ara flimad baginning in tha uppar iaft hand cornar, iaft to right and top to bottom, aa many framaa aa raquirad. Iha following diagrama iliuatrata tha mathod: Laa cartaa, planchaa, tablaaux, ate, pauvant Atra fiimte A daa taux da reduction diff Aranta. Loraqua la document aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un aaui clichA, il aat fiimA A partir da i'angia aupArlaur gaucha, da gaucha A droita, at da haut an baa, an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nAcaaaaira. Laa diagrammas auivanta iliuatrant la mAthoda. V errata Id to nt ie pelure, pon A 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 NaT. CAMPAIGN TRAOI^S. EESTJL or ^ { FIVE YEARS GRIT-ROUGE RULE IN CANADA. The fort Frames Lock—The Kaminisiiquia Terminus and Neebing Hotel Job. HOW^ THE MONEY QOES. Three features connected with the Pac- ific Railway are suificiently worthy of re- mark, having been used ly the Govern- ment as instruments of the grossest cor- ruption. The first is the Fort Frances Lock, the second the Kaministiquia land purchase, and the third the purchase of the celebrated Neebing Hotel. In rela- tion to all these T«e have the advantage of evidence given under oath before com • mittees of the Senate, and we are left, therefore, in no way to mere surmise. First, as to The Fort Frances I.ock. It was intended when this lock was first undertaken, that it would be a part of the Pacific Laiiway. That, was the plea upon which Mr. Mackenzie ven- tured upon it. We have already shown in a former paper that in undertaking it he either violated the law, or ignored the authority of Parliament. If it was part of the Pacific Kailway, it should have been let by public tender ; if it was not Eart of the Pacific Railway, Parliament ad voted no money for its construction. As to the uselessness of the enterprise, the report of the committee of Senate, based upon evidence presented to it, offers tbe best evidence. The lock is situated on Rainy River ; it is intended to overcome a fall of 23 feet, now passed by a portage, and, when the lock is completed, and the obstructions of the IHanitou and Long Sault Rapids on Kainy River are removed, there 'will be unbroken water communication from Rainy Lake to Lake of the Woods. Un- fortunately, however, the route to Rainy Lake from Fort Savanne, where the Cana- dian Pacific connects with the water stretches, involves a passage of nine port- ages,, the difference in fall between these two points being 400 feet ; so that we have THE EXTRAORDINARY FACT OF A LOCK BEING COMMEKCtD AWAY OUT IN THE WILDERNESS, TO OVERCOME A FALL OF 23 FEET, WHIL , TO REACH IT, WILL STILL INVOLVE THE PASSAGE OF NINE PORTAGES AND A FALL OF 400 FEET. It is no wonder that the Senate committee should say that the evidence had satisfied them that this lock, when completed "could not be " used for purposes of commerce in con- " nection with the Canadian Pacific Rail- " way so as to form p xrt of the through " connection from Lake Superior to Ma- " nitoba" So much for the uselessness of this lock, under any circumstances ; but the manner in which it has been carried out shows a spirit of recklessness that one can hardly understand. When the Government cancelled the contract for the railway from Fort William to Lake Sheba&dowan, in order to obacge the ^X)^SC.\5^18^ Uo1 V location to that by Port Savanne, the ' amount expended on this lock did not exceed $73,940. The department at that time evidently took the common sense view, that, as the line of the railway had been changed, and the canal rendered ab- solutely useless, the work upon it should be stopped; and, in November, 1875, a telegram was sent to the superintend- ent of the lock to the following effect : — " Close all canal works at i*ort Frances. " Suspend all proceedings." It is evident that these works had proved too valuable an asylum for broken-down political hacks looking for situations, to be thus perma- nently abandoned ; and, in April 1876, the department instructed the superin tendent to resume work upon the lock by day labour. The work has gone on ever since, and, according; to the evidence of Mr. Sutherland, $210,389 was expended up to the 30 th of June last, and he assumes that the work before it is completed will cost $250,000. T SHOW THE ABSUtiDiTY OF THIS LOCK. AS PART OF THE PACIFIC RAILWAY, IT IS ONLY NECESSARY 'JO SAY TTAT ir IS A HUNDRED MILE^ FROM 'IHE NEAREST POINT OF TnE CANADIAN PACIFIC; and, according to Mr. Mortimer, one of the engineers examined by the committee, the cost of maiiing even a possible connection be tween Lake Shebandowan and the Lake of the Woods, outside of this ton Frances lock, will be $341,000. The committee, in their report as to the value of these locks, used the following anguage : — "Your committee h's failed to discover that the Foi t Frances L ck can bo ol use to thH DomlnioQ, Ti e evidt^oce ishows tbat U wl 1 be of niopp eclab e advantagaev n to the localitvln wlileh It is t'ltuuted. i ho trade of the fertile Canadian banl£ of Rainy River, and of' h < whole country westof ihe loel£, will sofck the Ralway at Rat Portage abd litt e or no portion of It will asct.nd tbrough the look a-.d go eastwards, as at tho east e d of Rainy Lake, It will be oonf rooted wlitiui e • rtag s ana thj .- c n o 4 Ofcet whi hteparatet » orr, > w nwi iro^i Ri ny Laae '• h • t o -.ntry on the < a; a 1 =t'< s orv o R nyLak) is » ts H bl < for ; gr uKi>i« ; a mod.Tckt t''sid ! 1 J timbe an s wlo-'Iian ti» I, cm be xpectea tj flow fr. m th t re- g oti. F >r t e a-c . mo^dt on of smh f> t aie, whe 1 it tprin^'s up. > lock at Fot Fr»T:.e8 w 11 nut be required, hi in- «x en V.I slide wcuU answer e.'t'ry nu>- , T- ce, !n' eve X ihat ou' ' no h 'VP been needed for years. It has been suffgested that the lock m^y be of service as a milii ary work, but evidence was not takeu on that point, as, In the opinion of your Committee, while the lock wi'l be unused for commerce, it rannot be seriously cont«nded i bat an Iso a- t'd 1 ck on the frontier of Minnesota may became a serviceable iniiliary work of this Dominion." That conclusion is fully borne out by the evidence of engineers and others examined by the Committee. We have thus $250,000 spent in a work of absolute- ly no value to the country, un(" .'taken in violation of law or without the authority of Parliament, and designed simply for the purpose of otFering employment to people who are clamoring to be rewarded for services rendered to their party. Tbe KaminlMiiqiila Pnrchaae. Whether the Kamiuistiquia River or Prince Arthur's Landing is the bet- ter place for a harbor is hardly a matter for discussion in connection with the purchase of lands on the Kaministiquia. The evidence on the point is conflicting, 'inhere is no doubt that by the construction of a brealcwater Prince Arthur's Landing could be made a most excellent harbor, while by dredging the sand bars at the mouth of the river, a safe hai>*or could be had at Kaminis- tiquia. The balance of evidence, how- ever, is uiidoubtedly in favor of Prince Arthur's Landinc, from the fact that it is open to navigation for two or three, and sometimes four, weeks in the year more than the Kaministiquia River. Our object, however, is not to discuss the re- lative merits of these two points, but to show how groHS an act of corruption was committed in the purchase of this land. The Kaministiquia terminus is even yet a wilderness — the land in this vicinity has heen sold within the last five or six years by the Ontario Government at the rate of $4.00 the acre. Tlie factshalf connected with the arrangement appear to be these : The land wa« fixed for a terminus in June, 1874. Had the plan then been fyled and the land imme- diately ai-quired, there is no doubt that \ an enormous saving would have been i effected. In December, 1875, the Govern- ^ ment had not yet taken steps to procure ,; the land for the terminus, and Mr. Sand- ford Fleming, the chief engineer, wrote to the department to warn them of the importance of taking immediate posses- sion of the property required for tho terminus. In this letter Mr. Fleming said " the land referred to consists of number " of small town lots, and I have recently '< been informed that these lots are stiil " being bought and sold by private " persons. It becomes my duty, there- " fore to draw the attention of the De- '' partment to this subject, so that, if le- " gal posnession of the land has not been ♦' fully taken, no time may now be lost " in thQ natter." Nothwitbstanding this warning, however, the valuators were not appointed until 1876, and their instruo lions included these A^ords : — " You will '' understand that you are not author- *' ized to close any agreements ; all you " can do is to settle on a reasonable' '' amount, subject to the approv- "al of the Minister." So that iho Gov^rnment reserved full power to deal with the matter, and cannot, thei'stbre, now fall back upon the state- ment, as they are doing in their picnic speeches, that the valuators were re-, sponsible for the amount paid. When the valuators were appointed, Oliver, Davidson & Co. and their friends were the principal owners of the lots required to be taken for the railwiy terminus. 'I here is some interesting evidence as to how they became possessed of them. Mr. John Claik, of Toronto, in his evidence, stated that he had bought some lots in 1871 from the Ontario (jo vernment at $4.00 a lot, and these were included in the railway reserve. Being asked whether he still owned them, he said he had sold them to Mr. Davidson of the firm of Oliver, Davidfiou & Co, in >Joveinl)er, 1874, that for four of them he gofc$eO(X> a piece, and for the other, either $80.00 or $100.00. Then came this interesting list of evidence : — " Q,. Did Mr. Pavldsoa give any reason for pnrctinslDg i^'cm, al*«'r tbo sain? Ye-*, ho .stated ho Knew the terminus was to bj ther,\ K. was not generally known whether It was to bo there or at Prince Arthur's Liind'mg. •'Q,. Wiiiitdldhosav? HK SAI » HE GOT HI'^ INFOKvlATION FROM Me. MA .- K NZIW. "(J,. Tliat wn.s at what time? The latter part of jNovember, 1874. " Q, Did ^ r. Davidson show you any map that ho hud of the rai i way veserve there ? 11' did. H icauit) inatut showei me a map. It wa.^oolo t^d tiic 8ame us plan exhibit " A." " Q. 1 )Kl ho say where he K t this map? HE ??AiunR<;oriT t-KOJioTrAWA. 'Q, Was any per.son present wh^n ht? showed ! his mau ? Yes. Mr. Savlgny, of To- ronto, a surveyor. " ti iHtiie committee to understand that in the lali of 1874 Davidson showed you a nlaa of Port WilHam town plot, colored In the same wayasexhlblt •' A." It was colored ; I can- not say that It was the same as this plan. IT WAS COLORED SO AM iQ bHOV.WHBH"5 THE TER.viIiNn.S WOULD BE, AND HE TOLD Mlfl IHB GOVERNMENT HAD TO GKT Lf.THOsE* OLOREDLOTS. C^ Birt he mcn'loned Vtr. Mackenzie'^ name wUh ieu;ard totheln/nrmatlon? Hedld. i Q,. V hut, did he say ? HE R XID M R. MAC- T K.'<:X7iI h; TO UiUIjL THE TERMINUS WAS TOBETHEKE" The Mr. Savigny, who is spoken of in this evidence us having been present when the conversation occurred, was aftewarda examined, and, after referring to fbe pur- ehas*^ of lots by Davidson from Clark, and to his (Savigny 's) surprise that so much should be paid for land that was only worth four or five dollars a little while be- fore, t-he examination continued as follows: " Q,. When did thl.s converisat'on with Mr. Davld«on occur ? At the close of the sale In the end uf November, or the beginning of De- cember, 18"4. "Q, Did he make any reply to you? Yes, he s .idhowasiiotsuch afoDl as to buy land without Itnowlnsth value of it andwbathe was going to da with it. '•Q,. JJid he givey u any exp'anatloo of it? Ho B \Ui it w.i8 going to b,> the terminus of the THilway, that hvi knew It from the very best authority. Q, Did he tell you what fh-t authority was? Ho showed mo a m ip— i tracing. "Q. Of wh-t? A tradugof a map of the town plot, showing tho amonnt of Jand re- quired by the Government for the lermiuua of the railway. "Q. Was the plan exhibited to you a rough sketch th.it any ote nilgut ma'i e, or was it a regular plan, made by aproftjsslonaldraugbts- m>eo9lonof it? He Ka dhe got it fojn the est authority— thatltwasperfir'Ctly authentic. "Q,. IJldliM show It to joiiasbtlngathing that everybody 'ouldsee, or wasltconflden- tlal ? No ; ho said it was confldt ntial. Thus, the evidence goes to show that Oliver, Davidson & Co. were in i^osaesfjion of information beiore the general public, and that they were purchaaing land as the result of that inlbrrnatiou. We have, thus, the fact that the place was fixed upon as tho termi- nas in June, 1874 — that in Decem- ber, 187.5, Mr. Fleming Wiiriied tho Government that loss would occui if they did not at once obtain legal pos; S-'D session of the proi)ert7, that the valu- ators were not appointed until 1876, AND THAT, IN THE MEANTIME, OLIVE K DAVIDSON & CO., HAVING OB- TAINED THEIR INFORMATION, AS THEY ALLEGE, FIl /M MR. MAC- KENZIE, AND HAVI>G IN THEIR OFFICE A MAP FURNISHED BY THE DEPARTMENT. WERE BUYING UP THE LA^D WHICH THEY WERE SUBSEQUENTLY TO SELL TO THE GOVERNMENT. The valuators ap- pointed by the Government were Mr. Hugh Wilson, of Mount Forest; Mr. Reid, a bookseller of London, and Mr. Peter J. Brown, of Ingersoll. a lawyer. Mr. Brown waa appointed, as Mr. Mackenzie said, to see to the perfecting of titles, but .in reahty as the legal representative of the Government, to advise in the nurchase of the property. WHEN IT IS STATED THAT THIS MR. BROW.NT WAS A PARTNER IN THE FIRM OF OLIVE K, DAVIDSON & CO , AND WAS, THERE- FORE, INTERESTED IN THE L\ND THAT WAS TO BE PURCHASED, it will be seen how improper his appoint- ment was. The result proves this, if there had been any doubt before. It is well known that the law relating to this mat- ter declares that, in taking property for public works, the valuator shall not assume the increased value to be given to the property by the con- struction of these works. In other words, that the value of the land is to be what it would have been toan ordinary purchaser il the works were not going on at all. Now, the value of land at this point, with- out reference to the Pacific Railway ter- minus, we have seen was, in 1871 and 1872, only about $8.00 an acre. It is im- possible for anyone to imagine that, but tor the railway, it would have increased to any considerably higher sum within three years; aneyet iHE AVERAGE PRICE (ilVENTO OLIVER, DAVIDSON & CO., WAS ABOUT $500 AN ACRE The Committee in their report say : — " For the land tak(>n from Oliver, Davldnon f lot, containing 1>6 acres, for about fivo doi - ars per norc, your commltt;.e submit th »t the enhanced value of this property was due to the ulacing r.f the terminus whi?ro it is. YET FORKIGHT ACRE i OP IT THEGOVERN- UENT, ADYIeiED BY- liifi yVLU- ATORS, PAID ABOUT FIVE HUN- DRED DOLLARS PEH ACRE, B«3- INO AHOUT FOUR THOU.SAND DOL- Ij\RS fob eight Ai5RKd, O^ OVER THR E TtfOU8/VND MO tw) FOR THfi MIGHT ACRES THAN OLIVEH, DAVID* ON ACO. P\ID FOBTHK E>TIIs, subsection 18 of sect on 9, in ri-fer- ence to arbltr'itor ? No. I wa< unier the Impression ftaat It did not apply to that par- lieu ar ca-e. " Q. Was there not a clause in your instruc- tions which specially applied to ihat clause ? Yes. " ii. How did you Inform yourself as to the bearing of tliis clause? I spolte to our legal adviser, Mr. Brown, and aiso to Judge Van JVorman on the matter, and ev<-ntualiy the valuation was fixed according to the price of oSher lands in the nelgbbO' hood. "Q What did Judge Van N'>rman advise 7 He would not give me any advice In the mat- ter at all " Q What did Mr. Brown advise 7 I really could not say positively, but It was to tnls ei- fect— that it was questionable whether the act would apply in tuis case, and I thought my- self it would not apply. That was my opin- ion." We have thus this extraordinary state of things — that the Government gave to friends information in advance of the general public, in order to enable them to get possession,of property, so that they might make a great deal of money out of it. WE HAVE THEM THEN AP- POINTING ONE OF THE OWNERS « F THE PROPERTY AS THU LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GOV- ERNMENT IN ADVISING THE VALU- A lORS, and we have them finally con- senting to ignore the Act of Parliament passed expressly to prevent such things being done. It is right to say that the Hon. Mr. Mackenzie, in his evidence, stated that he was not aware that Mr. E>'own was a partner in the firm at the time he was appointed, Here is his evi- dence upon that point : " Q. Was Mr. Brown appointed by the De- partment of Publlo Justice? Yes, he was. I think I requesttd them to do it, as that la generally tlie method. In somep'aces we have ouriiciular ttgent, whodoesall the work. For iustance, ut Halifax, ist. John, Victoria and Winnipeg; but in scattered places, whtre it Is only temporary employment, we have to find out. the most convenient. Mr. Brown was se- lected from the knowledge 1 possessed that he eltber bad an office there or was there often, and I knew nu otbur practitioner at tbe place. *' Q. Are you awaro th«»t Mr. Brown formed one of the company of Ollvpr, D i vidsoii A Co.? I was not aware of it until Mr. Rbid told me. " Q,. Then you could not have been aware of the fact that h" was inter-st d in lands with them ? I was not awtiro of it until tbe same day, as you will find by my letter. Unfortunately, however, for Mr. Mac- kenzie's veracity in tliis matter, we have a return submitted to Parliament last session, for copies of specifications on which tenders were invited to construct the Lake Superior and Fort Garry sec- tions of the Canadian Pacific Telegraph ; and, in that return, is a contract entered into on the 9th day of February, 1875, a year before the appointment of the arbi- trators in the Kamiuistiquia land matter, between the government and Messrs. Oliver, Davidson & Co. ; and, in that con' tract, we find the firm of Oliver, David- eon & Co. is stated to be composed of Adam Oliver, of the town of Ingersoll, Joseph Davidson, of the City of Toronto, AND P'fiTEK JOHNSON BROWN, of the liovfn (A Ingersoll. We find the names of these three gentlemen appendod to the contract IN TdE PRESENCE OF MR. MACKENZIE, WHOSE SIGNATURE APPEARS JUST BELOW THEIRS. All these three gentlemen are strong political friends of Mr. Mackenzie, and it is simply absurd, therefore, to suppose that he had forgotten that Peter J. Brown was a partner in the firm of Oliver, Davidson & Co. when he appointed him the legal ad- viser of the Government in purchasing land from the firm for the benefit of the Government. KeebluK Hotel. In connection with this Kaministiquia land purchase was the Neebing Hotel job. It appears from the evidence taken before the committee that Messrs. Oliver, Davidson & Co. had a lot of culled lumber on land which they were anxious to dispose of. They formed a bogus com- pany, called the Neebing Hotel Com- pany, and commenced to put up a hotel on the railway reservation. According to the evidence of Mr. Reid, the hotel was " built five months after tbe time '' the reservation had been made." This is another instance of the loss to the Go- vernment from the failure to register the plans and take possession of the pro- perty, the moment the site was de- termined upon. This building has been a subject of considerable amusement in 6 the political Hispussions that have taken place. Ill order that our readers may understand its character, we give a sketch of the hiiildinf: as it wtfiod when purchnsed by tlio (ilovenimpnt. That illuHtration is from a photograph taken on the spot, and its .iccurracy has never been denied. Mr. Reid i.n bis evidence ^t;tted that he ob- tained from Mr. Durand, who was a valuator lor nearly all the insuranco com- panies in the Dominion, a practical l)uilder, hia opinion as to the value of the building'. Mr. Ifeid described the building to ^^r. Durand and we may fair- ly assuniH that, as he was the Govern- ment valuator, his description of it did it no injustice. And yet the estimate of iis value by Mr. Durand was that a similar building, eould be erected in London for $2,500. ihe evidence of Mr. tienderson who built the Hotel in Bome reipect.s very interest! n-,'. Ue re are a few passages of that evidence selected at random which will enable the reader to im jerstand the motive for the erection of the building and the manner in which it was erect- ed :t- " Q,. Had you plans and specification'* for tlie bnildins that was to be erected? I un- iindor.sio od b„ :v'r Davirtson that lio haa the phiGs II nd specifications but when I got up • hf-rohe ha I none. He merely »ja,ve mean outlineor slceLcu of how ihe building waa to te niude. "Q. l>iP:LF AXU MNKiiJ NY ALl'EKAllONr. I LIKtCD; inc bein? a builder tie said I would iiave an idea ot how tJ build it. •' Q,. Did h<) tf II yon what size lie wanted the bullciius loh.i? Yes; he told me to malie it largo euougli. " Q. Can you statfl to the committee how much of 1 his 05.01M feoi of lumb r was used in !he buiidinj,' ? I thiuk about 6 ,00) feet. "Q. as there a quanti ty of material remov- Rdaitiryou left? Yt a; there was a quantity of material leit and pil( d up in f ■ on', of the boiel when I stopputl working ou the building ? "Q,. Do you know whatlbecameof any of that materia;, that in the lumber ? It was piled in front <)1 1 !io ill ptel. I believe tliere was so'f>e iftlcenaway. I saw about three iiundred feet taken away. " Q. V\ ho took it away ? MR. OLIVER'a FORcjM.^N. , " Q. Where was It taken to? To several ■'little cottges that the Government were bnildinR further up the road. "Q,. Who was building luese cottages? Oliver, Davidson & Co. " Q^ On their own account ? For the Gov- ernment "Q,. By contract ? Yes . lOok at the account Bent in by Oliver, Davld-oon A Co., and say what number is chargcil there? Horty-fourdoKrs. "Q,. Were ihere i«,l 'y-lourduors delivered by <»llver, JjMVldiinn A to. to you aiHortVVll- Ilim? Ihlrty-four doors is ah that were delivered. "Q. In what condition were thooe doors whtn delivered; were Ih'y complete, era ii<1}- td, dressed, and niouldod? N'>; tney woio Just ready to bo cr: cedar posts. "Q," Did you put a cellar under the build- ing ? Yes. " «i. Under the whole of it ? No. "Q. Was it laid up with lime and »and? 'JO ; IT WAS LaIl> up V\ ITH BLUE CLAY. " Q, Was it stoned wh!?n you left ? NO ; IT H^D Partly fallen down when i LEFT. ' ' Q,. Who laid up the stone, was It a mason ? N0;D\Y L BORERS" "Q. I seo there is in your account $1,225 charged for labor ; did it aciually cost that? Labor oa the building ? " O,. That Is the labor expended on the build- ing ?' No, it did not cos', exaou have » rected that bui dinsc for »t that time ? I C jULD HAVE EhEOTii-D IT FOR ABOUT $;()0. It will be seen that the putting up of this building was simply a scheme for getting rid of a lot of old lumber at fancy prices, that the accounts sent in to the Goyemment were fraudulent accountS| and that the Government became respon- i sible for this loss to the country by its '; own neglect in not earlier fyling the plans I tor the reservation. Mr. Wilson's evi- dence gives some particulars aa to how the price paid for the building was ar- rived at. 'I'he following are extracts Irom that evidence: " Q How did yru arrive at the value of tho Neeblng Hotel, for wliich $5,029 was paid ? Tho mtnition vras to pay tho no ual cost of the bui diu( , and u e wf>rf a buil.tiiis< was ic as to iip- nf arance and genernl size ? IT W^i.S A VBRY TEVTPO 'AUY . us-d? I understcod they were the lowest figures t>^ey would t- be as the actual cost of tho buUdiuK up to that time. "Q. When you s nt them to the Government did you d ako any report on them ? I did not. MycoilCTgue, Mr. K«id, on led them down from Toronto to Ottawa, and he was to ex- plain ttorenort. "Q. Was there any painting done in the building? I think not. " Q,. Would you look at the account as fur- nished by Mr. Oliver and ascertain If there Is any paint chprged, and the quantity and cost 1 Yes, I notice there are two entries, one of $20 and one of $18, together they make[$38, but 11 is charged at )$ii.2), as there Is a dis- count of ten per cent. " Q. Would you look at the account and as- certain the quantity of oil, turpentine and varni' h t^hat was furnished ? Twenty-five tcallons of boiled oil, and 70 cts., apparently- for the barrel, $18.10 ; ten gallons of turpen- tine nt HO cts., and two tins, each 75oti>i.. mak- Itntr $U.5'); live gallons of furniture varalsh, *tt 25 ; ono pound of lamp-bla<;k, Jl cts., mak- ing .$9.5'» ; five gallons furniture varnish, ftfl.2>; ono pound of lam-ljinck. 20 cts j lour pound«of vonot inn rod, 1 lets ,and toupounds* of patimt dr.ver, !bl 3 ; two p .uudsof yollow ujhre,(icts., making lu all .$ol.'15. \ " Q. Would you look at 'ho account, a'^d .se« how many doors arc charged tliori? I might mention that there was u pilo of doors u(> stairs in tho upper Kloioyot tho build ng at t ho 1 imc that wi'io not huutr ivtui somo siishes, Tnero are forty-four door charged iu tho ac- count. "Q, At how much pevdoor? One at $7, ono ut $1.50, two »it$ipiu!h, lifteen at if! each, tvve» ty-llvo at.'pJT.'Seach, uijiking lnall.!il;Jl.2.">. *'Q. Were tho sashes lu and tho glitzlng done? Only th it portion of tho building in which Ur. Henderson w^s llvl'ig. " Q,. \n divided into two. *' Q. But you could tell from outside how many windows there were? ABOUT FO UK WIN DOWri. " Q,. Look nt tho accouit and soo how much glass was charged ? The total amount is i5y2.S2. "Q. What is tho quantity of glass? TV KNTY-THi EE BOXi .H AND 2VJ PANKM "Q,. Loolcatthouccou'iiand see how many thousand s.)lnglesw''re charged for Ijy Messrw. Oliver, Davldsim dt Co? Forty-six thousand, amount ing to .$101. "Q. Do you think it required forty-six thousand of shingles to bhiugie that portion ? No. " Q. How much of tho floori g was laid ? I coul I not say positively, but, I think, most of the floor on the east wing was laid, and a good portion of the upper floor. "Q. Wns there munh of the upper floor laid? There was a portion laid iu the main building and in the win'.'. "Q,. Making altogether how much? I did not make any calculation. I did not measure tho flooring that wis laid, b'^ciu^o there was a lot of flooring in the building not laid. "Q Look at the account of Mi. Oliver, and see tho quantity charged ? Fifteen i housand eight hundred and seventy-two feet, costing •*Q, Lock at the account, ard sse if four daz.uof easu fastouers are char,ied tho.e? Y'S. "Q. Were thpy uerd 1" i^e buUdlMg? I could not say. I am not aware thao any were used. •*Q. What is th** est of those fastenings? NlDo dollars and twen y cents. **Q. How many lo ks atd knob^ wer» rfaarged? Bixand three-q'Ti-rters' doz«!a rf Iocs and the same of knous, charged at $37.83. " 1 o you t^lDk that those were uFed in the building? Notail of thf-m; a few of them wer<^ on the doors that were hung. "Were the chlconeys built in th's hotel? Ono flue, I believo, 'u thep i ' tinn rf tho b; ild- log that w>i8 t?rish'^d. Th le had be n al' brick toocu it, but it fell off or mouid r d!.", awav. If. was brick ms/'e mthe neighbor-Sj hood, and it did not stand the weather. j^- " Q. Ware the ohimnevs b lorfl'i to the hotet pronerly buau— anything special? Yea. I re- aiember I drew his attentiou speclfilly to tho dliflcultv woba^l about it, and we had come to the conclusion ihat wo must leave It to the! overnmentto say whether under the circiiniHtauces, until tho legal diffl -ulty was settled tlify could elal'i unler the Actor not. \Vo agreed, however, if they eould makeal- fldavit to the correctness of their accoun's, so far as they c(i«!d «-stnbllsh they were cor- rec',wo would be williug to allow th itaniount If the legal dilllcully were overcome." THE GOVERNMENT, HOWEVER, TOOK NO STEPS TO TEST THE LEGAL QUESTION, TOOK NO STEPS TO OB 'AIN AFFIDAVITS AS TO .HE CORhECTNFSS OF THE ACCOUNTS, BUT ON THE CoNTRAKY PAID THE AMOUNT CLAIMED BY OLIVER, DA- VIDSON & CO. WITHOUT IIE>irA- TION. As an illustration of tho slovenly manner in which this whole matter was conducted, it may be mentioned that, during the evidence, it came out that the lot upon which the Neehing Hotel stood had been paid for twice, and, in order to avoid trouble, Mr. Peter J. Brown, deposited to the credit of the Governiuent $r>00 the price of the lot. But for the investi- gation undertaken by the i^enate that fact would never have been known, and the money would have been lost. It is but an evidence, however, of the way in which the public interests were disre- garded in connection with these pro- ceedings. It may be asked why the Government should have given so many favors to this firm of Oliver, Davidson & Co. ? There is but one answer to be made. Mr. Crooks, Treasurer of the Province of On- tario, when defeated in West Toronto, re- mained out of the Legislature for some months, unable to obtain a seat. At last, Mr. Adam < lliver, tli^n representative for Nouth Oxford, consented to retire and allow Mr. Crooks to become the candi- date. The reward for this act of self- abnepation on the part ot Mr. Oliver is to be found in the transactions to which we have been making reference. The country paid some $50,000 in order to ootain a seat for the Treasurer of the Piorince of Ontario. ' Published by T, <& It. WHITE, ** THE GAZETTE," MONTREAL,