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QUEBEC 1867. Quebec, November, 1867. To the Honorable Alexander Campbell, Senator^ Postmaster General of the Dominion of Canada. Sir,— The accompanying letter to your address, with the copies of correspondence, were prepared and intended for publication in August last, but, at the request of some friends, I forbore adding new elements of bitterness to the contest which took place between the political parties at the last General Election. This may have been weakness on my part, but, if so, 1 do not regret it so much as I do another point in my letter to you of the 1st June last, in which i accepted your disclaimer, put forward in the Assistant Commissioner's letter of the 29th of May last, that there were no grounds of suspicion in connection with the sum of $8,000, as since the 1st of June I have heard three explanations didering from each other of the $8,000 transaction ; which fact, instead of weakeaing my suspicions, goes far to prove them to have been founded. Moreover, both you and the public will easily understand my peculiar position as a father of a large family, and the suggestion of some friends, that it was desirable to leave you a loophole to get out of, what was considered by all parties, an ugly affair. I am. Sir, Your most obedient servant, P. M. Partridge. Quebec, August, 1867. To the Honorable Alexander Campuell, late Cnmmisstoner of Crown Lnnds for the former Province of Canada^ now Senator for life for the Dominion of Canada^ and Postmaster General of the same. Sib,— As the public has been duly informed that I have been dismissed from my late office of Superintendent of Woods and Forests, and that the cause has not been made known, but, on the contrary, rather studiously kept in the dark for reasons best known to yourself, I deem it but justice to myself, to my family, and to my Iriends, to publish the correspondence which has taken place on the subject, and, in doing so, to add a few remarks by way of illustrating your character as a political man, and as an administrator. My observations may serve the Editor of the " Portraits of British Americans," in a future edition of his spicy work. Since you became Commissioner of Grown Lands, in March, 18G3, neither the Magician's ivand nor the Astrologer's cri/stal has been found necessary to enable observers to read distinctly the words "failure" as a politician — "found out" as an administrator. As, by your cold-blooded and arbitrary act, I am now one of the general public, I conceive I have a right to examine your course as a politician, and yt'Ur acts as an administrator. First, as a Politician. I remember very well the day you arrived in this city, when you were heralded as the " Saviour of your country" — " the man for the emergency;" but forty- eight hours had not elapsed from your arrival, when your vacillation and unreliability became patent to all those with whom you had come in contact. I violate no confidence in stating that the late Sir E. P. Tache, during the progress of the negotiations lor the formation of a new ministry, found out what little claims you had to be called a statesman, and viewed you wilh disgust. As a legislator, your Fishery-Bill was so cut up and changed, in its progress through Parliament, that your bantlincf was no longer recognizable when it became law. 5 Yonr Cnllers'-Bill was approijriatcly tornicu "an inlrigno and a conspiracy" (a form of piocednre which yon seem lo have a pecniiar aflection for) ; aller niarchini^ and counter- march inf^ it for the greater part of a session, you were forced to abandon it by your colleagues. Your Timbcr-nili ! — What sliall I say of it ? By some peculiar sh.'ighf of htmd, you slipped it through the Legislative Council ; but the Sentinels of the People in the Lower House saw through the verbiage of some of its provisions, and your covert attempt to create a new feudal tenure in Canada, was unmasked, not, ho\vever, without periling the existence of the Ministry, and earning for yourself that character for double- dealing which is now one of your peculiar attributes. Here, again, you proved a failure. As a member of a jiolitical party, what has been your course ? The party with whom you have been allied have found out that you are more than what your biographer terms "suspected," that you have played "fast and loose" with them, and tlial it is only because you have been allowed ruore than the lion's share of the loaves and lishes, that you have not already passed over to the other side. You have an admitted /irnr/intd for double-dealing ; but your political sponsor cannot long continue to cover you with the legis of his great talents and influence. The ('ouble-dealer must be expelled the camp ; he is only a source ol weakness to his party. The great Reform party of Ontario could only recognize you as a desorter from the other side, and is loo strong itself, and too far-seeing, to admit sucii an one to its coniidence. The chances of politics have made you a Senator of the New Dominion ; but the history of the past teaches that Senators as well as Judges have been undeserving of their positions. Your character, as I understand it, is a strange jumble of qualities the most diverse. Bold to rashness, yet timid to weakness — arrogant to tyranny, yet servile and cringing — lavish of the public money, yet quite the reverse in personal matters, — the only feeling which such a character, when known, can elicit, is that of contempt. 6 What a man to assist in shaping the deslinies of a New Em- pire ! For shame's sake, Sir, if not for the sake of our common country, retire to the IVttifogger's desk ! but continue not -to lay your sacrilegious hands on the ark of tiie New Dominion. Second, as an Administrator. Placed at the head of that conglomeration of Departments, the PuIjUc Latuls, you have proved yourself a failure. To entrust such a man with the administration of such a Department was an egregious mistake. This is now admitted by all parties, even by your own friends. You were looked up to as the impartial administrator of the diverse, and oftentimes conllicting, interests which came up for your decision ; but such, at times, and so great was your zeal for the public service, that many, vory many, mistook you for the special agent of special interests, — interests very often not in unison with the general interests of the country, and quite as often hurtful to the public revenue. There are many of yonr aots which it is desirable to have explained ; for instance, tlie lullowiiig : — While actual siMtlcis on |)ublic lands are compelled to pay up the lastlarihmg of principal and interest on their purchase- rnoney, and to |)erlbrm, to the full, the cc.ndilions of settlement, before their patents are granted to them, yon allowed patents to issue to he " Canarhan Lund ami Kmiii; ration Compamp'' before they fulfilled the conditions of their purchase of tlie ten Townships sold ihom. What aulhority had you to do this — and what was the secret history of that strange transaction ? One of your earliest acts, after you became Commissioner of Crown Lands, was to order the Survey of the River Rouge to be stopped, and this notwithstanding that the faith of a previous Grovernment was pledged that the Survey would be completed as soon as possible, and the territory placed in the market to meet the numerous demands of the trade for timber berths in that section of country. And why was the Survey of the River Rouge stopped? W^as it in order that Messrs. Hamilton Brothers might choose the best part of the territory, and that the Surveyor should be made to feel that he would not be allowed to complete the Survey unless he acquired their good graces ? /" Some there arc who say thai tlomments on record in lh(? Depiiriment, in your own handwriting, show that yoa cotistiuitcd yoiirsflf ih(' spi'cial advocate of that firm, — that yoii giJinlcd them the following &ij)euial favors in connection with the Woods and Foresis : — 1st. In stopping the Survey of the River Ronge, to please them and suit their interests. 2nd. In continuing it afterwards for the same purposes. 3rd. In allowing them to cut saw-logs for several years over tliat territory, outside the ground for which they held licenses, and for those logs charging merely the single rate of 5d. per log ; while a poor settler, il he cut logs on his own lot without t license, was charged double dues and expenses. 4lh. In alh.wing them to change and shift about their licenses as they plea(?ed on that river. 5th. In allowing them extensive additional timber-berths there, while other parties were refused berths. 6lh. In allowing them three new berths on the River Gatiueau, at a nominal bonus, while other parties were refused. 7th. In allowing them the sum of '^6,000 or $8,000 to make improvements on the R'wer Jean de Tcrre — a tributary of the Gatineau, on which they hold timber-berths. All these things you have, it is said, done, in a special way, as a special advocate of special interests, and out of the ordinary rule of transacting business through the proper officer of the Department. Sir ! — Many a political man has been impeached before the high tribunal of Parliament for less. The crowning act of yours is the passing of the new Timber Regulations of the 13th June, 18GG, in which you gave yourself the power to do j»s you pleased with the Woods and Forests of the country. Very nice regulations indeed ! How pleasant it would have been to dispose of the remainder of the Public Forests as you pleased, and leave nothing to be disposed of 8 by the Local Governments. Of course ii would have been in tliL' most (Jisintcrosted manner, as disintcrcMtodnoss Is a virtuo peculiarly your own. But in this you did not succeed. Your nice scheme was at least partially Irustratrd. Now, Mr. Campbell, you made use of yoiir accidental position to endeavor to crush, to ruin one of your subordinate officers, who felt it his diUy as a public servant not to lend himself to yoiir plans. That officer had sulfieicnt self-respect, independence of character, and reijjard for llic public interest, not to becom(» one of your tools inyour atlmini.stralion schemes. Ho believed that his duty was to treat the Forests as an important source of Revenue to the country; to deal impartially with all ; to protect the poor man as well as the rich ; and, when the hardy pioneer of the backwoods appealed to the Department for protection and justice, not to refer him dlsdiiinfully to an Act of Parliament, but to listen to his cry for protection, and warn the tres|i:iss('r on his rights that the settlement of the country must not be unjustly interfered with. Of course the lutnberer should also get that protection which the great staple trade of 'he country is entitled to, but not at the expense of the settlers on the lands of the Crown which are fit for cultivation. When you allied yourself with two conspirators, and dismissed me on their ex parte statements, you showed your weakness. The tejni)er, nay the fury, you betrayed in the form of my dismissal, must have convinced us both of the triteness of this French ])roverb : " La verite clioquc : mais toute verile rCest pas bonne a dirc.^^ Had you been a Persian Satrap, you might have so acted ; but in this free land of Canada, where Ministers of the Crown are the creatures of the People, and are responsible for their acts to Parliament and to Public Opinion, that judgment will be passed on you which you so richly deserve. You did not take the usual course, the legal course, of bringing any charges you had against me before His Excellency in Council (and seeing the matter was partly personal, delicacy at least,would have suggested this course). No, — you acted the part of a coward : you wrote stealthily to His Excellency, the Administrator, at Montreal, and requested that I should be dismissed ^^fo?' misconduct." Why did you not act like a man, give the full particulars of my offending, and 11 9 bring llio matter heforo Council ? Were yon afraid, Sir ? Did yon think that the afl'air mii^ht resolve itself into a charge against some geutletnan higher in the service than myself? I now ask yon, why has not action boon taken on my memorial to His Excellency of the 18th of June last, aj)pealing against your arbitrary and unjust action ? Sir! the Public will await with curiosity your explanation respecting the $8,000 mentioned in the accompanying corres- pondence, as well as your explanation of the secret of your constituting yourself the special advocate of the w«^althy firm in question. For your own sake, let the explanation be ample ; give the facts, the days and dates, the whys and the wherefores. The Lumber Trade, particularly the Licentiates, who have been paying maximum ground-rents for years past, will be desirous of having an explanation of the reason why, about May last, you struck off" upwards of ^1,000 Irom the amount payable for ground-rents on certain limber-berths on the River Maganetawan ; they will be curious to know who the parties are, who received such favors. There is another point of sufTicicnt importance to merit the searching investigation of Parliament. You thought proper to change the system of levying dues on saw-logs by your Regulations of the 13th June, 18GG, and you pretended that the change made in the mode of levying, and in the rate of saw log- dues, would increase the amount of those dues. What is the fact ? That your change has quite the contrarji effect. In the face of the great increase in the value of sawn lumber of late years, you, as Commissioner of Crown Lands and guartlian of the Timber Revenue, actually decreased the C i;s payable to the Public Treasury, and ignored the proper of'oer altogether in framing these Regulations. Why did you do this ? The document marked ^4, appended to this letter, will show, to the Legislators and people of Canada, the action which I, as Superintendent of Woods and Forests, felt it my duty to take in order to endeavor to prevent the public forests of the country from being recklessly granted away by you at a merely nominal rate. Timber-berths, which you were but too willing to grant at a bonus of $4 the square mile, making for 165 square miles $660, realized at a public sale, at which 6 10 I recomrr ended them to be sold, ^3 1, 062. 86 .J — or an excess of $30,402. 86 J over what you were willing to grant them at. And now, Sir, comes ti.e question — How many hundreds of aquare miles did you, at a merely nominal rate, recklessly grant on old obsolete applications of from two to ten years' standing ? And those applications you granted, notwith- standing that you knew they gave the applicants vc right to the timber-berths ; and that you so decided aflerwards, in writing, as is of record in the Department. But of what use was this decision, when you had already recklessly granted away the public property at a merely nominal figure. These things, Sir, are matters for parliamentary investigation. But you, I have been told, sneered at such a thing, as you felt no dread of being responsible for your acts to what you termed a moribund Government ; — you meant a moribund Parliament, no doubt. It is easy to see, from the facts, that under your system the Public Departments wou'd have soon become hotbeds of disho- nesty, incapacity and favoritism, and the refuge of informers ; for no honest man would be safe, if he discharged his duty uprightly, and declined to lend himself to the interested schemes of such a political chief as you. Is this the Departmental system into which our brethren from the Maritime Provinces are to be initiated ? I hope not. I have been told, Sir, that you boasted you would crush me : I am aware that your vengeance has gone so far as to endeavor to intimidate the Local Government of the Province of Quebec from doing me justice. But yod cannot intimidate public opinion ; you cannot blunt the sense of justice which lies in ihe breast of every honest mar ; you cannot repree , the warm sympathies of the many friends, in Upper and Lower Canada, with whom I have had official relations for the pajt eleven years: _you cannot crush my manhood ; neither can you starve my family, although you would wish to do it. Now, Sir, I leave you before the tribunal of Public Opinion ; and I shall take an early opportunity of pressing my claim to justice in the proper quarter. I am, Sir, Your most obedient servant, P. M. Partrioob. DOCUMENT A. {Copy.) MEMORANDUM. The undersigned deems it his duty, as Superintendent of Woods and Forests, to make the following remarks in connection with the sale of Timber Berths, held at Toronto, on the 4th ultimo : — The !Serths sold are situate as follows — Oakley, 631: square miles, Hindon, 69 and ll-12lhs square miles, Monck, 29i " " making a total of 163 square miles, nearly; the Bonus on which amounted to $31,062 and 86^ cents, — or at the rate of 29 and 8-lOlh cents the acre. The purchasers were Messrs. Sage & Co., of Toronto, an American firm engaged in the sawed lumber trade, having mills at Bell Ewart, on Lake Simcoe ; Mr. D. Thurston, who purchased, likely, for Messrs. Sage & Co. ; Mr. George Milliard, of Peterboro', a saw-mill owner ; and Mr. Jno. Cook, who, it is thought, belongs to the firm of Messrs. Cook Brothers. For a few years past the tendency has been to diminish the production of square timber, and to increase the production of sawed lumber. The diminution in the production of square timber has already commenced to atfect the business of the Port of Quebec. Up to 25th October, the comparative Statement of Timber measured during the years 1864, 1865 and 1866, through the office of the Supervisor of Cullers, stands thus : — White and Red Pine and Tamarac, up to 25th October Oak, Elm, Ash,Bassw'd, Butternut, Birch and Maple, up to 25th Oct. 1864. 186.' 18(iG. 30,466,320 24,275,188 18,931,990 cubic feet. 5,906,604 4,052,9.4 3,033,955 36,372,924 28,328,142 21,965,945 12 ' making a difference against 1866, as compared with 1864, of 14,406,979 cubic feet. The returns of the Crown Timber Agents, of the quantities of Saw Logs cut on Public Lands, for ihe years ending 31st December, 1863, 1864, and 1865, are as follows : — 1863. White Pine 1,085,643 Spruce 305,544 1864. 1865. 1,286,898 1,290,856 303,903 273,169 Apart from the tendency to diminish the production of timber for the Quebec market, there have been other con- tributing causes : the tightness of the money market, and the fact that trees suitable for square and wany timber are not so easily got at as in the past. Timber has to be brought a longer distance, and is, comparatively speaking, becoming scarce. The returns of white pine saw-logs, cut on public lands, show a considerable increase in 1864 as compared with 1863, — say 201,255 logs, or about 20 per cent.; while the numbers in 1864 and 1865 are nearly equal. The number of spruce-logs has decreased, — there being 32,375 less in 1865 than in 18C3. During the present year, there have been several sales by private parties of Timber Berths held under License from the Cirovernment. These berths — some of which were sold at public auction — have for the greater part been bought by saw-mill owners, for the purpose of supplying their mills with logs. The " Bissett Creek Limits," belonging to the estate of the late John Egan, of about 235 miles in area, brought, it was said, $32,000 at sale by auction, — or about 2 ij cents per acre. Mr. Surveyor of Crown Timber Licenses, A. J. Russell, has been asked to procure a Statement of the sales of Bertha made lately by private parties in the Upper Ottawa Territory. The anxiety of saw-mill owners to obtain Berths to supply their mills with saw-logs, and the fact that no sale in the Upper Ottawa Territory was advertised by the Government, were partly the causes of the good prices which some of the Berths sold, brought ; and no doubt these good prices were a standard of value lor the Berths sold at Toronto on the 4th ultim ). The great increase in value of the Forest property of the country for the ten years prior to . 359, was one of the reasons of 13 which induced the nndersigneJ to recommend, in his general Report of the 24th of March of that year (1859), that all timber berths in the lumbering territories should be offered for sale at public auction ; and thst sales should not be forced, but merely keep pace with the wants of the trade. A still further increase in value, owing in part to the conserving action of the Government, has taken place during the seven years which have since elapsed. Mr. Alexander Dennistoun, in his application of 20th April last for licenses in Oakley and Hindon, offered a Bonus of only $4 the square mile, which, for the 165 miles sold, would have been $660 ; while at public sale these 165 miles realised $31, 062. 86^,— or an excess of $30,408. 86^ over Mr. Dennis- toun's offer ! In view of the preceding reasons, and of others given in the Report alluded to, and seeing that under Confederation the timber on public lands will be the chief source of revenue for Upper and Lower Canada, respectively, the undersigned would respectfully recommend that no further licenses be granted for Timber Berths in the great lumbering territories, by sale at public auction ; and that all Berths intended to be offered for sale should be advertised for at least four months previous to such sale being held. Lithograph maps showing the Berths, and accompanied by descriptions of said Berths, to be distributed among the trade immediately, or shortly after, any large sale is advertised. Respectfully subm'tted. (Signed), Woods and Forests, Ottawa, 3rd November, 1866. P. M. Fartridos, Sup't Woods and Forests. The Honorable Alexander Campbell, Commissioner of Grown Lands. {Copy of Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 1. Memorandum for the Honorable Alexander Campbell, Commissioner of Crown Lands. On the 19th January, 1865, Mr. Wray wrote, on the part of the Hon. John Hamilton, of Hawkesbury Mills, to the Depar'cment, enclosing a cheque on the Bank of British North America for $8,000. The letter was sent to the Woods and Forests Branch. On the 27th January, I wrote to Messrs. Hamilton Brothers, or Mr. Wray, asking what Agency the money was on account of, presuming it was for timber dues. On the 28th January, the Commissioner received a private note from Mr. Wray, explaining that the remittance was on a private transaction between the Hon. John Hamilton and the Commissioner. Mr. Partridge, of the Woods and Forests, Ott hearing this, took possession of the letter which had covered the cheque (an unusual proceeding on his part, as letters in coanection with remittances always remain with me, having charge of the accounts), and while doing so, declared, emphatically, that the afiair was a job^ and that it was too bad ; — that the one who had done the work should at least have got half of it. These remarks, and more of the same kind, aided by looks and gestures more eloquent than words, -were made in the hearing of Mr. Robitaille and Mr. Nickinson, as well as myself. The AooGuntant, Dr. Ford, called on me next day lor the letter, stating that it was a private affair. I told him that Mr. Partridge had it ; but that I would get it from him, and send it to him. I asked Mr. Partridge for the letter ; — he hesitated. I said that Dr. Ford wanted it. He was about to give it to mc, when, as by an afterthought, he drew it back, and said he would send it himself ; and immediately laid it before him on his desk, and proceeded to take a copy of it. Mr. Robitaille (who will speak for himself) has informed me that on several subsequent occasions, Mr, Partridge, in his own private room, referred to the subject, always declaring, It. rmed e, in ring, 15 in the plainest language, that the $8,000 was k bribe ; that t^e Commissioner was anprmcipied, and perfectly capable of such a transaction. What he, Mr. Partridge, meant that the money was a consideration for, I know not : I only know, and that very imperfectly, that some matters of the Messrs. Hamilton were or hod been about that time under adjustment in some way. Mr. Robitaille and Mr. Nickinson can and will corroborate the foregoing at any time. I am ready to testify to the above on oath, ... I Respectfully submitted. (Signed), G. B. Cowpkr. Ottawa, 27th May, 1867. {Copy of Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 2. Memorandum for the Honorable Alexander Commissioner of Crown Lands. Campbell, The undersigned begs leave respectfully to state that he has seen a memorandum of this date, marked No. 1, from Mr, Qr. B. Cowper to the Honorable the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and to certify that the statements therein made are to my knowledge true and correct ; and the language used by Mr* P. M. Partridge, on his speaking to me of the matter referred to in Mr. Cowper's memorandum, is even less thali moderately conveyed. This I can testify on oath. Respectfully submitted. (Signed), L. A. Robitailul Ottawa, 37th May, 1867. {Copy.) 16 DOCUMENT NO. 3. I Crown Lands, Canada, Ottawa, 27lh May, 1867. Sir,— I am instructed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands to suspend you from the exercise of your official duties, and to furnish you with the enclosed copies of statements of Messrs. Cowper and Robitaille ; also, to enquire if you have any explanation which you may desire to have submitted to him. 1 have the honor to be. Sir, Your most obedient servant, (Signed), A. Russell, Asst. Commr. P. M. Partridge, Esq. {Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 4. Department of Crown Lands, Ottawa, 27th May, 1867. Dbar Sir, — With reference to the accompanying official letter, you will please remove your private papers and effects from your room this afternoon, as the Commissioner does not wish you to have access to it afterwards. Yours truly, (Signed), A. Russell. P. M. Partridge, Esq. {Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 5. Ottawa, 28th May, 1867. Sir,— : Mr. Assistant Commissioner Russell came into my room yesterday, with Mr. G. B. Cowper, and handed me an 17 envelope, willi my address on it, containing the following documents : — 1st. Copy of a Memorandum, dated 27th instant, by said Cowper, stating, respecting a certain letter received in the Department in January, 1865, from Mr. Wray, on the part of the Honorable John Hamilton, of Hawkesbury Mills, enclosing a bank cheque for ^8,000, that I had declared, emphatically, that the affair was a 706, and that the one who had done the work should, at least, have got the half of it, &c., &c. 2nd. Copy of a Memorandum, dated 27th instant, by Mr. L. A. Robitaille, slating that he had seen Mr. Cowper's memorandum of that date, and certifying that the statements therein made are to hia (R's) knowledge true and correct ; and the language used by me, on my speaking to him on the matter referred to in Mr. Cowper's memorandum is even less than moderately conveyed. 3rd. A letter, dated 27th instant, from Mr. Assistant Com- missioner Russell, informing me that he is instructed by the Commissioner to suspend me from the exercise oi my official duties, and to furnish me with copies of the enclosed statements of Messrs. (Jowper and Robitaille ; also, to enquire if I had any explanation which I desired to have submitted to him. 4th. A note, dated 27th instant, from Mr. Assistant Com- missioner Russell, ordering me to remove m;, private papers and effects from my room same afternoon, as the Commissioner did not wish me to have access to it afterwards. With reference to the whole matter, I have to state as follows : — That, at the time the transaction respecting the letter and cheque occurred, I had no conversation whatever with Mr. Cowper on the subject of a job or bribe ; and that I merely told him to prepare a letter to Messrs. Hamilton Brothers, or Mr. Wray, asking what Agency the money was on account of, — or something to that effect. This was in order that the necessary entry should be made in the books. I do not think I saw the reply of Mr. Wray ; but remember Mr. Cowper coming to me for the first letter, saying that Dr. Ford wanted it, as the matter was a private affair between the Commissioner and the Honorable John Hamilton. I ! 18 returned the first letter to Dr. Ford, after taking a copy of it. I frankly admit that in a confidential conversation with Mr. Robifaiile, in my room, I stated that the matter looked very suspicious, as about that time several timber matters of the Messrs. Hamilton were up in the Department. Mr. Robitaille did not hesitate to say that the affair looked suspicious, and this at several times and on other matters, but always in strict confidence — which confidence the want of faith on Mr. Robilaille's part has now removed from me. The letter and the cheque I heard subsequently mentioned by at least two other gentlemen of the Department, not belonging to the Woods and Forests, as being rather suspicious. If the remarks made by me at the time, in strict confidence, were more serious than similar remarks in other cases made among other employes of the Department, why were two years and four months allowed to elapse before bringing them to the notice of the Commissioner ? I think I can explain this; but, before doing so, it is proper to remark that Mr. Cowper himself, in his own memorandum, hints rather broadly that the matter was open to suspic'on, when he says, " What he, " Mr. Partridge, meant that the money was a consideration lor, " I Inow not : I only know, and that very imperfectly, that " some matters of the Messrs. Hamilton were or had been " about that time under adjustment in some way." This coupling of the sum of money with the matters of the Messrs. Hamilton stated as under adjustment, and the peculiar reticence of his language, go to show that the suspicion was entertained by Mr. Cowper also. A few days ago, Mr. Cowper was absent a day from the office, and when he came the following morning did not even condescend to state why he was absent. On being remon- strated with by me on this point (and it so happened I wanted him particularly the day he was absent), he assumed a blustering tone, and replied, that he had sickness in his family, and that I knew it. I told him he should not speak thus impertinently, as I thought he had had enough ol that before ; — that it was his duty, at least, to come to me in the morning and explain the cause of his absence the preceding day. Some months previously I had felt it my duty to report to the Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Cowper's repeated absences, and his return to work without even condescending to mention his absence or explain it. This led to his being 19 grossly impertinent anA to repudiating nny authority altogether. When I alluded to this, after his last absence, he said, that matter was not done yet ; and stated : " Sir, you stand on the " brink of a precipice, and you had better look to yourself!" 1 then told him I should report the whole matter to the Commissioner. This I would have done, as I did some months before to the Assistant Commissioner in a previous instance, but was loo busy with the work of the office to attend to it. Moreover, I die' not wish, on the eve of the breaking up of the Department, to .ake action which might permanently injure Mr. C. and his Ijimily. Mr. Cowper has, however, anticipated such action, and entered into a malicious conspiracy with Mr. Robitaille — of whom he has made r- cat's paw — to injure me in the eyes of the Commissioner, by bringing forward a private conversation had with the latter some two years and four months ago. Only the darkest malevolence, and a desire to shield himself, with the hope to benefit by my injury, could, it appears to me, have prompted this conspiracy. There was no necessity/ for reviving the matter. Was it done in the interests of the public service — or in the interest of the Commissioner ? Evidently not. It was a voluntary and malicious conspiracy, which the promoters hope to profit by. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed), P. M. Partridge. To the Honorable A. Campbell, Commissioner Crown Lands, Ottawa. {Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 6. Department of Crown Lands, Ottawa, 29th May, 1867. Sir,— The Commissioner directs me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th instant, and to say thai your statement, so far from palliating, increases your offence. I am to say that you neither disclaim, nor apparently regret, the lying slanders mentioned by Mr. Cowper and Mr. ftobitaille ; ir 20 but seek ralher to justify a foul suspicion upon grounds so simple that to no honest-minded man could they have suggested anything wrong. The Commissioner will take such steps as he may deem proper as regards Messrs. Cowper and Robitaille ; and also against the two other officers of the Department referred to in your statement, if you will communicate their names to me. I am further directed to notify you that you are dismissed from the public service in this Department. I am. Sir, Your most obt. servant, (Signed), A. Russell, Asst. Commi. P. M. Partridge, Esq. (Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 7. SlR,- Ottawa, 1st June, 1867. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of a letter of the 29th ultimo, written in your name by Mr. Assistant Commissioner Russell, couched in such abusive language, and making such an extraordinary suggestion, that I am sure ii is without parallel in the records of official correspondence. First, I am charged by the writer with being a lying slanderer ; and, in the next sentence, I am asked to place myself in confidential communication with him, and give the names of the two other employes of the Department who mentioned the matter of the letter and cheque for $8,000 as being ralher suspicious. It might suit the ideas of propriety of the person who was the Chief Informer against me, to reveal the names of the gentlemen in question ; but, to my mind, were I to do as requested by Mr. Russell (who seems to think it no harm), I would be as infamous as the Informer himself. I respectfully submit that my explanation of the 28th ultimo was frank and temperate, and undeserving of the reply it received. 21 Remarks maae by me in ray room to one of my subordinate.^^ in the confidence of official intercourse, but which never transpired in public, respecting a transaction which occurring as it did, was, I thought, open to suspicion, have brought upon me, after over sixteen years' public service — upwards of ten of them in one of the most onerous and important subordinate posts connected with the Government — the penalty of dismissal, and on my family of seven young children the deprivation of their daily bread ; for at my period of life it is diificuh, if not impossible, to launch out into the wo-ld and begin it anew. Had the Commissioner asked the malicious Informer and bis Instrument why they delayed two years and four months in bringing to his notice the private conversation in which my suspicions were expressed, and sent for me and asked an explanation, I could have shown the motives o{ ihe actors, and made such explanations and apology as the circumstances required. Even now, after having been so harshly treated, I have no hesitation in saying, in view of the Asst.-Commissioner's letter in which he states that there were no grounds for suspicion, that I was wrong in harboring such suspicions, and I express my regret that I ever entertained them, or made mention of them. I hope that this explanation and apology will be accepted in the spirit in which they are offered. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant^ (Signed,) P. M. Partridok. Tb the Honble. Alixandbr Campbell, Commissioner of Crown Lands, &c. ' Ml (Copy.) DOCUMENT NO. 8. Department or Crown^ Lands, Ottawa, 5th June, 1867. Sir,— I am directed by Mr. Campbell to acknawledge the receipt of your letter of the Isrt June, and to 8aj|,that whea 22 you were in the first instance suspended, an opportunity was afforded you of seeking to have your offence condoned, that you then said in a statement which is properly characterised in the letter of the Assistant of the 29th ultimo — that you were in consequence dismissed from the Civil Service, and that under no circumstances will the Commissioner reinstate you. I have the honor to be, Sir, In the absence of the Asst.-Commissioner, Thos. Hectob. p. M, Partridge, Esq. (Cbpy.) DOCUMENT NO. 9. To His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council. The Memorial of the undersigned, lately Superintendent of Woods and Forests, of the Province of Canada. Respectfully sheweth, That after over 16 years public service, upwards of 10 of which in one of the most onerous and important subordinate offices of the Government, he has, through a malicious conspiracy by two of his Assistants, been summarily dismissed from the service in the most arbitrary manner, and on an ex-parti hearing. The copies of documents Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the 27th, and No. 5 of the 28th ultimo, appended hereunto, show that the ground of dismissal was a private and confidential conversation, two years and four months old, in which the undersigned stated to one of his subordinates that a certain transaction which took place in the Department of Crown Lands, in January 1865, looked very suspicious. These remarks never transpired, however, until the undersigned threatened lo report one of his subordinates for misconduct, and they became necessary for the basis of a conspiracy, as set forth in copy of explanatory statement of the undersigned of the 28th ultimo, (document No. 5.) 23 The undersigned most respectfully submits that this statement was frank and temperate, and undeserving of the reply it received (document No. 6 herewith), and of the very harsh and arbitrary measure of dismissal ; also, that the further explanation and apology contained in his letter of the 1st instant (document No. 7 herewith), were all that any honorable man could oHer. In view of the whole facts of the case, the undersigned most respectfully appeals to His Excellency the Administrator of the Government in Council, for a calm and thorough investigation of the matter, and submis tthat an officer ol the Government of his grade and length of service, whose efficiency and oneness of purpose in organising and administering the important branch of the service lately under his charge, have been acknowledged by all the Commissioners of Crown Lands, including the present one, who have held office since his appointment, as well as by the Lumber Merchants and the settlers on the Public Lands, should not be dismissed the service without a full and impartial consideration of the circumstances by His Excellency in Council. Wherefore, the undersigned begs speedy justice in the premises, seeing that a young and numerous family are dependent on him for their daily bread. And, as in duty bound, he will every pray. P. M. Partbidox. Quebec, 18th Jane, 1867.