satisfaction I entertain the conviction that the day is near at hand, if indeed it has not already come, when even our catholic fellow-citizens will be ready to admit that the wisdom and patriotism of the policy of the reform party from 1854 to 1867 has been amply justitied by the great results it has brought about. I remain, Gentlemen, yours truly,

GEO. BROWN.

GLOBE OFFICE, Toronto, 9th March, 1871.

CHAPTER XXII.

MR. SANDFIELD MACDONALD'S "PATENT COMBINATION."-THE ELEC TIONS OF 1872.-MR. BROWN AND MR. JUSTICE WILSON.

At the general election for the Ontario House of Assembly in March, 1871, as well as in the election for the Dominion in 1872, Mr. Brown devoted himself by pen and voice to advancing the interests of the liberal party with great success. The result of the election for the Ontario House was the defeat of the coalition government under Mr. Sandfield Macdonald, in spite of the strenuous support given that gentleman from his allies at Ottawa. It may here be stated that when Mr. Sandfield Macdonald was intrusted with the formation of the first Ontario administration Mr. Brown waited on him and assured him of the hearty support of the liberals if he formed a liberal government. It would appear he was not at liberty to do this by his Ottawa arrangements. Mr. Brown and the Globe therefore very properly vigorously opposed the small coalition as he opposed the larger one. The same principle was at stake in the existence of the one as in the other.

At no time was there any personal feeling existing between Mr. Brown and Mr. Macdonald, although the latter gentleman, to use his own words, had a crow to pluck with Mr. Brown because he had opposed the Macdonald-Dorion government in 1862. Mr. Macdonald imagined that he had, by taking conservatives into his government, for ever secured the adherence of that party to his standard. He was soon to be undeceived; immediately after the first decisive vote was recorded against him in the assembly, "they all forsook him and "fled." This ingratitude touched the fallen minister to the quick. Without him they never could have held the government; by adhering to him in his adversity they would have shown they had more than office in view; instead of this, "they all began with one consent 66 to make excuse. Mr. Brown, like many another opponent of Mr. · Macdonald's, had a liking for his brusque and honest character, and many a set-to they had at chance meetings, half in jest half in earnest, about current events, and particularly about Mr. Macdonald becoming a Tory, as Mr. Brown would put it. The Ontario Premier invariably denied vehemently that he joined the Tories, and claimed that they joined him to form not a coalition but a "patent combina"tion." (The phrase belonged to Mr. Hincks.)

The Dominion elections in 1872 were fiercely contested by the liberals, and with every prospect of winning a large majority. Into this contest Mr. Brown threw himself with characteristic ardour, and his efforts were crowned with great success. Indeed, the success was greater than at first appeared, for the country was ignorant for a time of the great advantages enjoyed by the conservatives in the expenditure by their leaders of hundreds of thousands of dollars to carry the election. Shortly after the new House met rumours of the dark transaction reached the public ear; these were increased from time to time until the month of July, when the Globe appeared one morning with a "full, true and particular account" of the great election bribery. At no time in the history of the Globe did it show more power and ability than during the summer and autumn of 1873. Many of its articles were directed to the course of the Governor-General, and denounced his action in proroguing parliament, and agreeing to the appointment of a commission by his ministers to try themselves. It is said that some of these articles were never quite forgotten in viceregal quarters. In addition to the specific acts complained of, the tone of the despatches to the English minister was such as invited comment, and the sending of the famous dispatch to parliament on the eve of an important discussion, so well calculated to aid the accused ministers, confirmed Mr. Brown in the opinion that vice-regal influence was used to an unjustifiable extent, considering the nature of the revelations which had then already been made. Time was to show that Lord Dufferin at least intended only to give his ministers as full an opportunity as possible to make good their "solemn assurances "that they were absolutely innocent of the things laid to their charge." In the following five years of Lord Dufferin's term no paper did him fuller justice than the Globe, and Mr. Brown was among the first always to give him credit for being, what he undoubtedly was, a fair and constitutional Governor, though many continued to doubt the wisdom of all he did at the time when the shadow of the Pacific scandal hung over the land. Efforts were made by the Tory press to get a small offset to the notorious Pacific scandal revelations by bringing into great prominence a copy of a letter written by Mr. Brown towards the close of the election campaign to three or four friends, asking for a contribution towards meeting expenses of some elections yet to come off. Mr. Mackenzie stated publicly, when this letter was first published by the party who stole it from Mr. John Simpson's office, that the entire expenditure of the central authorities for election expenses in 1872 was only $3,750, all of which was expended for legitimate purposes, chiefly for printing documents and payment of travelling expenses, but he disclaimed any knowledge of what individual candidates might have spent on their own responsibility.

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Early in 1876 a local paper made violent attacks upon Senator Simpson in connection with certain elections, and for having received and responded favourably to Mr. Brown's letter of August 15, 1872. Mr. Simpson applied for a rule to show cause why a criminal information should not issue against the editor of the paper in question on three counts. On the 29th of June the application came before Chief Justice Harrison, Justice Morrison and Justice Wilson. The Chief Justice delivered the judgment of the court, which was in brief that a criminal information should be filed against the editor for two of the offences mentioned; the third was refused on the ground that a sufficient case had not been made out. Mr. Justice Wilson was not content with the Chief Justice's unobjectionable statement of the opinion of the court, but availed himself of his technical right to enter into a long account of his reasons for concurrence in that judgment. In this extra-judicial speech--it would be an abuse of terms to call it a judgment-he had the bad taste to assail Mr. Brown, who was not in any way before the court, on the ground that the letter referred to was written with a corrupt intent, to interfere with the freedom of "elections." Mr. Simpson was similarly assailed, because he was supposed to have received this letter and had contributed money for the purpose asked. The Judge knew that the fact of such a letter being in existence was not legally ascertained, and was not in any way before the court. If he read the public journals and he read some very diligently as his speech showed he must have read Mr. Brown's statement, published months before this, respecting the now famous letter, which was as follows: "I have, then, to state "that the party subscription in question was got up to aid in defraying the legal and necessary expenses of candidates unable to bear "the whole cost of hotly contested elections, or fighting for the liberal cause in constituencies hopeless at the moment; and in defraying "the expenses of public speakers, circulating political documents, "and other similar legal and proper expenses of a great electoral con"test. I believe that the whole of the money subscribed was applied strictly to these purposes. I further state that the entire amount so raised and so expended was $3,700, or the trumpery sum of $45 to each of the eighty-two constituencies, had they all participated "in it. And I state still further that there was no general reform "fund but this for election purposes at the election of 1872, and, had there been any other, I think I must have heard of it." Judge Wilson also had before him Mr. Simpson's statement that he "had 64 no recollection of having received or having seen any such letter: "and that he is quite certain he contributed no money to the fund "referred to."

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Clearly Mr. Justice Wilson had no right to refer to a letter not

in any way before him; had no right to assume guilt to attach to the writer of the letter until it was proven.

Nay, he was bound to ac

author respecting it, Similarly he had no

cept the reasonable and true statement of its until he had legal evidence controverting it. right to assume moral or political wrong in connection with Mr. Simpson's letter to the Finance Minister, for there was none; nor was there a particle of evidence to sustain such a contention. He propounded the extraordinary doctrine that because Mr. Simpson made no statement about a letter not in his possession, when it was not incumbent on him to make any, therefore "it must be assumed that ** he cannot make any satisfactory explanation to the court concerning "it." There actually was, however, an explicit denial under oath by Senator Simpson, in his original affidavit making the application for the rule, in the following words: "I say that the statements, charges, * and imputations therein contained against me, are false, malicious, "and without foundation in fact. I further say, that the

He then

imputations against me of political intriguing, and of procuring "substantial aid for corrupt purposes, and that I have paid out money “for the purpose of bribery at elections, and that I used the money **of others corruptly, are untrue, false and malicious." proceeded, nevertheless, to give the letter a meaning of his own, and upon that interpretation, which was wholly unsupported by any evi. dence, to impute corrupt motives to Mr. Simpson. The only justification Justice Wilson gave for his political deliverance from the high seat he occupied was that he "might take notice of those matters which every person of ordinary intelligence is acquainted with." It was an unfortunate circumstance that his "acquaintance" was wholly with what he thought would tell against the two senators.

It was no wonder that, a few days after Justice Wilson made this speech on the bench, an article appeared in the Globe from Mr. Brown's pen, headed "Justice Wilson on the War Path," in which the Judge was handled roughly. The article was a very long and able one, and was a complete answer to the ill-advised attack of the Judge. After a careful and critical analysis of the deliverance of Justice Wilson, combined with statements of fact to set himself right, the article proceeds: “According to Mr. Justice Wilson's new doctrine, that the ** court may properly 'take notice of those matters which every person ***of ordinary intelligence is acquainted with,' whatever the matter may be, and whether before the court or not at the moment, we suppose “we must accustom ourselves to such outrages from the bench. But this Mr. Justice Wilson may rest assured of: that such slanders "and insults shall not go unanswered, and if the dignity of the bench “is ruffled in the tussle, on his folly shall rest the blame. We cast

back on Mr. Wilson his insolent and slanderous interpretation. The