.were packed ftill of higlily- paid ctfiicizils and clerks, very -fe\v oi

Fisheries.

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The civil service as it was at the beginning of things iii the Dominion was the civil servic: of old Canada, and it seemed to the Maritime representatives that the three big buildings at Utlznvil whom were from the liast. ;\n elderly messenger down stairs and I were thc only permanent entployt-es fITLl-lll New llrtniswick in the large staff of the lloust- oi Coimiititts. .\l:iritiinc~ tninistters and members alike fclt that this was a lt.'ti'tl.sltip. set up a claim that the etitire ttfticial staff at Utiatva should be ap- portioned 0n the same basis as the Senattz. one-third from Llntario, One-third. from (Quebec. and ttnc-dhirtl front the hlttritiiiit- Pro-I virices. A number of the New llrtnistvick members made my fUOHLl Number 33, their ltcadqtiarters. and there was mncli talk ainongl them over the itieqtiality which prevadetl in the distribution of of-I fices. ‘Charles Lonncll. .\l.l'. for Carleton, N.l’i., had made thc tour of all th: offices in tlic Conitnoiis and qticstionctl each occu- pant as to his 0frici.'il duties. his pay and other particulars, which attention some of the jicrsons visited to red sent as an intrusion; (ltllL"'s took it jocularly and latighetl oveir; the strange catechism to wlti-slt they had lieeti stiltjectetl. D'Arcy“, bIcGee came in one ‘day while the tnatter was being discussed. antb rather agreeably stirprisetl us by admitting that the .\laritimc Pro~| vinces \v'ert- entitlctl to title-third of the oflices. “\\'e want toi treat You gcnerottsl)?" he said. “but vacancies catinot be made al at once. As vacancies occur Ilit'_\ ttught to be Iillcd from your Provinces." lle had a copy oi the St. john Trlrg/rti/t/t in his hand. in which this topic was discussed. and had been reading the‘ Ottawa correspondence. .\~ a llL‘\\'>jI2\[J(‘l' nian hc was also inlcr~' ested in others of tlit- craft. llc called my attention to tlic (ll-i tawa letter. “I :tiii told you urotc that." he said, and on niy atl~ mitting the fact, lic laid lll\ hand tipoii niy shoulder and sniilingly" said, "Keep 0n writing." I 'l‘t\o weeks later he was dead. Nlanyi times since have I rccallctl that friendly" toticli and whose kindly‘ words.

$oine of tlictii

were rather disposed

.\Ir. Tiilley had been able to place sonic of his friends in the: Customs Department. of tvltich he was now tht- head. i .\Ir.‘. Mitchell had a fret-r hand iti the new Dcparttnent of .\lariiic- Zlllllj But, as I have siiid, the civil service was that of oldi ‘Canada anti the tieu" men front tllt‘ liast were not in all c.'tscs made very wclcotne iii the tttlicizil /'r'tzrt~rz't'. I found my tiew cllit~l~ and iellyttt-clci'ks as cordial and friendly as. could be (lesircd. very capable and considerate chief ltt- was.

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l-‘roni the first. llo\\'t'.\'¢.‘l‘.:

\\', ll. lititlsay was Clerk of the llotisc. and a‘ llti was short aittl stout in physique, and of an ittiiirrittti» will but ltitidly" heart. ‘;\lfrctl Patrick was Clerk .\.\>i>'lfllll. aftt-rtvartls clerk; llr. t}. \\'. \\'icks steed, the Law Clerk: Frzttik lladgt-ly. his as. stain: l)r. .\lpbctts Todd, the Librarian: his brother, .\lfrt-d Todd. Chief Clerk of Committees; llenry llai'tncy'. Lltici llftict- Clerk: Di‘. \\'ilsttn, .\l. Dorion, and l7. ll. Hayes. in tht- 'l“ranslator's l-ratich: \\'. Ross and A. (i. l). 'l'.'t_vlor. (lurk and lsisistant Clerk of journals: Farqtihar blckiillivray’, at the head of and ltt-cortls; Messrs. Pocttt-r and liannitigg, over lllc \'ott:s and Procectlingy, ‘the venerable Thomas Yatix. .\\‘CIJllllIIllll‘. ll. ll. Stitztrt. (fhicfj Wr-ititig Clerk; and so on. the

htiittiii;

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ll.‘

t » . . . .. | in some cases brought tears to their eyes. In the civil szrvice

.\'ir _loliii had always had a devout body of worshippers, Who vxas not proud on that night to belong to the Commons staff? The Committee oniFisherie-s atidNavig-ation was my first ttiimnittec. It was got up by "Commodore" Fortin, also called y Dr. Ifortin, the giant member for Gaspé, and was composed of somei ltwenty-five members, chiefly from Quebec and the‘ Blaritimc Pro- ivinces. .\Ir. Mitchell, the Minister of Marine, had intimated to jme that the Commodore was himself ambitious to be Minister of vlthztt department, and failing in that ambition had set up this 601114 , niittec as a‘ side-show. Be that as it may, perhaps I shared a little of .\Ir. .\'litcliell's prejudice. Moreover, I had been warned by some of my fellow-clerks not to undertake committee work if I felt iii any way tincertain of iny nerves, as members of the Ilouse "ere very exacting at titties. "The fear of inaii which briiigcth a snare" is not ttsually tlic particular weakness of a newspaper re- ptirtcr, and I rather‘ relished the approaching meeting with the great men at close quarters. .\Ir. Todd. the Chief Clerk of Com~ tnitiees, instructed me in my duties, and also feared that I might find the members hard to please. He admonished ine to keep them to the rules as closely as tmicticable, and to report to him as soon as the meeting was over. So the members of the committee‘ were called together and the new clerk was there to receive theinql

I

. l-lalf a dozen of the QIICbCCiIIICIIIIWTS were the first t0 come iii—-' tnittce P"

Premier Chauveati, Dr. Fortin, Dr. Robitaille (later Lieutenant.- Govcrnor of Quebec). .\Ir. Siuiard, of Quebec Cotinty, and others. 'l‘liey nodded to me and went 0n talking in Iirencli. I knew littlc of that language, but soon made out that tltey waitted and tntist have a French clerk. This decided the acting clerkito be very insistent on the procedure. A

Up rose Dr. Robitaillc, and, seconded by .\Ir. Chauveati. nominated Di". Fortin to be ihairiiizin. l-Ie was about to put the question. when I reminded him that tlicre was not a quorum pre- sent. Three or four at once called out that seven was a quorum. I told them that until the committee was organized it rcqtiircd a majority of its members to constitute a quorum. They had ap-, patently never heard of such a rule. I quotcd the authority, and‘ then sent a tiiesscngcr with a list of the members to bring in the tardy ones. Then .\Ir. Blackcnzie, Mr. Anglint and others came in and wanted to know what was the matter. Dr. Robitaillc repeat- ed his motion, and was again about I0 put the question, when I told hituthc committee could not properlyqirocecd to business till the order of "reference had first been read. I proceeded to read it, and then added incidentally that I;\vas instructed tliatl until the committee was organized. it was the duty of the clerk toj preside. If now they had any motion to make they would [ilcast-t address it to me. I half expected that they would not stibinit tol this. but had in itiind a certain meeting with the New Brunswtick (loverntnent, before recited in these sketches, in which a little audacity had proved moderately fruitful. Ilut Dr. Robitaille prov- ed patient to a degree, atid rising for the third time and address ‘ing, “.\Ir. Clerk," with mock deference. proceeded to nominate l" Pierre Fortin, Esquire, Member for the County of tiaspé, to bc

i I put the question and declared Mr.

chairman of this committee.” | Fortin dtily elected. '

Before the meeting was through Premier Chauvczttt came over to my desk with a resolution that he was about to move, and 1 which hc had written in rather circunilocutionary linglisli. Ile ask- -cd me to make it read right, Rllldvl edited his copy for him. There- after I served that committee for five years witliottt a word of difference between us. and never heard any more about them wanting a French clerk. ' And a more pleasant and agreeable coni-

jquickly deposited them oii the committee table.

fessional man. H: was itiforniel iii the. negative, and that I was only waiting to be relieved, but that I fully concurred iii- the opinion of the committee that iii view of the nature ‘of the inquiry they ought to have a lawyer for zi clerk. ' _

' “Send for ilie Clerk of the House," said the chaimiati. I ziespatclicd a messenger to call him. Presently the messenger rc- turncd, reporting: “He is at his luncheon, sir, and can't conic." This for the moment ruffled the serenity of the great men. “Will you go, .\Ir. .\lcCrcady, and tell Mr. Lindsay to attend the com- mittee at once." I went to ,liis oflicc, pushed intotbe inner rdom where he was eating, and briefly delivered the peremptory order, at the same time explaining the circumstances as well as I could. .\Ir. Lindsay with a frown dropped his knife and fork, and as we went up the stairs together his anger was also mounting ltigher. lle entered the rooni erect, almost defiant. Oh, the things we do and say when we are znigryl Ilc bowed in silence to the cliair- tnan, who broke otit: “l want you to know, Mr. Liiidsav, that when a committee of the House sends fo_r you they don't propose l0 wait till you cat your luncheon lVc have not had our l\ll\(‘lI;(Ill as yet. .Y0\I knew the nature of this inqtiiry’, and that it is to impeach a judge. You have lfalf a dozen lawyers on your stall. .\Ir. .\IcCready vtnay be ‘a vcry good nian, but lic tells us he is not a lawyer. Why did you not send a lawyer to serve the com-

lilicrcis iiotliinyj li‘

litrctttistr it ztsstitt s

Chases Dirt

Protects the home

Thus sternly rebuked, .\Ir. Linsay hotly replied: "l have given you the best nian I have. If you will go 0n with tlic clerk you have antl lie fails you in any particular, I will be responsible."

“'l‘liat will do, .\Ir. Lindsay," retorted the chairman, and the irate Clerk of the Conimotis strode otit of the room. I was amazed. ttstotintlctl. \\'ith my vcry little experience, almost any member of the stall was IIIQI“! fit than I to undertake what scent. cd a diflictilt task. I knew that it was not .\Ir. Lindsay, but his inonieiitary' angcritintlcr trying circumstances, that had spoken thus. and had put me in a position where now the chairman, if not the cntirc ccminiittcc, would feel like making inc secin less; capable than l-\vas. lint sometimes courage rises with an ciiierg~l ency,

a ft‘ w ctvc i'

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tiluys, pour Iioflirijz; water lhein. leave tlll iit-ttrly tcltl. and‘ tise Lll“ \\":I-It~t‘ tor w paint. It FLllltlvtws stains

Mrs Howard Fallis

ONE 0F THE OUTSTANDING WOMEN SPEAKERS ()F CANADA

Will Address Meetings in Prince Edward Island at the Following Plm and Dates in thtylnterest of

1* f v and tititcitiy. CICZUI tutti. _ wit i lby rubbing with a damp Iralli tuhtitiiitg- ‘Soda should never the » "but: prised In was-hing pulnt, as it itijureq very the color.

The chairman ttiriied to iiie stiffly: “You will go to the lib- rary aiid bring us forthwith the atttlioritics upon proceedings in inipettcliiiit-iits." lhe librarian, good Dr. Todd, helped ine. \\ic had soon loaded tip two or three messengers with books, and tliev Sir .john .\l1\C(lt)ll- ald calmly’ took from thc pile .\Ir. Todd's work upon Parlianietit- aryary Procedure, and turning to Mr. Blake, said pleasantly. “Blake, we think we know a little law, and yet in the present case I should be quitc at a loss ivithout this book, written by a lava. itiaii." It was nice of liiiti t0 turn to inc and smile as he said that last word, “layinan." Mr. Blake assented. All others itow seemed quite iiiollified except the chainnan. After arranging what was next to bc done tlic others went out, lic alone remain- ing bent low over the tablcand writing rapidly that small, crooked hand which was one of his characteristics. .*\t length he straigln~ cited up. and beckoned nie to him. “Ilere are a list of wit - itcsscs," he said. speaking rapidly (there were about a litindrt-tl names). “Deputise whom you choose to serve tlieni. 'l‘his is the summons for the judge. l-Ittvc copies made of it in linglish and} French. Make personal service upon the judge as speedily as pus-i siblc, and attest the return of service."

He ‘rose to leavc. I had ncvcr served a legal papt-i" in my life. I must needs gain tinic, get some information or cxplana - tioii. "Attcst the date of service ?" I began, ratlicr lainely.

"The hour. the minute!” lie called back over his shoulder,

Improved Temperance j Legislation

MT. STEWART, Monday, May 16th, 8 P. M.

MT. HERBERT, Tuesday. May 17th, 8 P. M. WINSLOE HALL, Wednesday, May 18th, 8 P. M. SUMMERSIDE, Thursday, May 19th, 8 P. M. ST. ELEANORS, Friday, May 20th, 8 P. M. SPRING VALLEY, Saturday. May 21st, 8 P. M. ALBERTON, Monday, May 23rd, 8 P. M. 0'LEARY, Tuesday, May 24th, 8 P .M. TIGNISH, Wednesday, May 25th, 8 P. M.

Everybody Invited to Hear This Gifted Woman $peaker

She Has a Message of Particularvlmportance to Every Woman Vol"-

,',i2iiiy' of gentlemen one need not hope to nicct than those whom I

juniors. beside myself.‘ were Harry Smith, now Scrgcaiit-ztt-Xrnis antba full-bloivii (lil- onel; “"1 C. llowlcs, llarry Lindsay and Charles l'anet. .'\t my last visit to the House a few years ago, l was szttltlcnctl to go U\'t’l' the list and find how many \\'t'I‘:' dt-a-l. .\ll tliost- who were living were also "something far advanced in state." Let me say here, after the lapse of a generation since l served with them, that a more capable, genial, ltintllvztntl conrttwttts body- of public tifficials could not be desired. The ivork of the scssiotis is very trying upon the Commons staff, during the long hours and late night sittings, and it ought to be gvllcrollsly‘ paid for. There were evening entt rtainnients in those days about town, in connection with various church and literary‘ societies, aiitl at these the entertainers, readers and vocalists were stiinetiitics stip- plied from one of the learned professions. or from one of the Public departments. .\t ont- of Illrst‘. called a “liloust: of Com - mons Night," Sir john llactloualtl presided, and had about him on the platform the licatls of the (fonititotis stall’. Sir john tnadr a little introductory speech in which lie spoke very appreciativcl} of the civil service in gencrxtl and of the parliatiienlziry~ ttfliciitls in particular; sitid he itas proud of tlit-iii all for their ability and fitness; that with their great rcsjmnsiltilitics there had been no case of default zimotig them: that he felt they \\'.‘l't' the equals of any like body in the world. not excepting the civil service of the mother country: and Iivially that he was thc more proud from the fact that he ltad bsen responsible for the appointmctit of so many of their number. 'l'ht-n turning" to the men about hint 0n the platform he mltlrt-ssctl t-ztch one iti a complimentary sen» tence. and as each arose one .'tft:r another in ztckntiwletlgnient. the tableau was a very effective one. lli- endorsed .\Ir. Lindsay as a master of two languages and of parliameiitiiiy procedure. Dr_ Wickslced as “knowing all the litw"; l)r. T(l(l(l as having “not only anrAincricau but a littrttpcan fame." and so on. Such praise from so ltigh a stiurce. spoken so heartily. and with so tnucli dis- eriminafion. wciil straight Io the hearts of those ztdtlrcssetl. and

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NE of our customer:

nu grown Steele, Briggs’ “Seleetudfu l: Top’ Swede _Turmpl or 48 consecutive ca}! I Otl-ierfavorite Bran gyield- In; large, sound roots, are:

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nu hm In a l. Squlfor new Illustrated catalogue.

‘lhad first encountered, as related. When I reported to .\Ir. Todd. fihc was iiiticli interested. interrupting the story with frequent ejaculations such as, “Did you do that?" "l am so glad you did that," “l would not have. dared to that." and so on. .\Ir. Alfred Todd was ati excellent m‘ n, a cap- able and painstaking ofiicial and a good friend to nie always, btit lie had more reverence for members 0f Parliament than is common among newspaper men. When he met a tnembcr he always salut- ed him with great deference, and lie expected like observance from tiiessengcr.

(lo

f‘.

Mr. Mitchell, too, was much amused with my account of‘ the first meeting of “Fortin’s committee," as he called it. But later when that committee began to send him all sorts of inciti- orials and recommendations on pilotage, and the protection- of oyster beds atid technical reinonstraiices against the use of “bul- lows," and purse seines, he grew weary. Once I had to send out a long series of questions to the leading fish merchants and fisher- inen all over Canada, asking them all sorts 0f questions about the fisheries. and to compile their answers with other mattcrs in a re- port. \Vlien I asked my chairman for instructions in regard to the scope and nature of the report he gave a suggestive shrug of his shoulders. "Make it voluiiiiiiotis," was all lie said. I did so. Thcrc were 600 pages of foolscap in that report. The Commo- dore spent laborious days iii perusing it. llc, the writer; and the proof-reader were, I think, the only ‘persons who cvcr uvcnt through it all. When the proposal to print it came beforel the committee, the chairman strongly insisted that it should be pub- lished in fitll. Prudent Alexander Illackcnzic had asked my opin- ion privtttcly as to whether it ivas not rather bulky, and I told him there was four times too much of it, "but that I had followed instructions. So the voluminous report was printed as an appen- dix to the journals of t8('>t)—--that "new set of journals" which D'Arcy McGee had eloquently? told us “were to fortii the. noble records of a great people." My next committee was called to in- quire into the adtnitiistration of justice in the judicial district of Ottawa; in other words, to take the initial proceedings in tltc impeachment of Mr. Justice Lafontainc of the Superior Court of Quebec. He. had in his time been a land agent, later a politician and then a judge. The charges covered a good deal of ground and were intended to show that his lordship ought ncvcr to have been appointed to the bench, and had done some things as a judge for which he ought now to be removed from office. The proceed- ings were altogether new to a Canadian Parliament, no judge having ever been impeached in this country. A committee of the, greater lawyers and others, Sinjoltn Macdonald, john Hilyartl Cameron, Edward Blake, Lucius Seth Huntingdoti, Stewart (Tainpbell, Alexander Morris, Luther H. Holton, john Henry Pope, A. W. Savary, and half a dozen Quebec members, with Al- onzo Wright, the King of _the Gatineau. had been named to inves- tigate tlic charges. By ins ruction I called them together for or- ganization, but had no expectation of serving as clerk to the coni- tiiitlee during the investigation. Of course, I must reitiain in at- tendance until relieved by another clerk. They organized forth- with by appointing MrJCamcron chairman.

\

onsultntlon together, Mr. Blake came

and hc was gone. ‘The next half-hour belonged to the translator and thc copying clerk's. The papers ready, compared and signed, l drove to Ayhncr and called at the judgds residence. lle led mt- iiito his stinipttititts parlour where I handed liiin the duplicate suin~ monscs. Ile glanced at them and naively itiqttiretl, “ls that all?"| MRS_ GORDON WRIGHT’ OF SOUTH LONDON’ ONT/KR“),

It was then twenty minutes past four o’clock iii the ZlftCfllOUtLlPRESIDENT or CANADIAN WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE' and in my sworn return of service I was particular to note the UNION‘ wlu‘ ADDRESS PUBLIC TEMPERANCE MEETWGS UNDER

- . . . THE auspices 0F THE TEMPERANCE ALLIANCE 0F PRINCE exact time to the minutes. ‘When next committee met that rc-‘EDWARD ISLAND, AT THE FOLLOWING PLACES ON THE FOL- turn was before them. A smile went round as attention was eall- i

LOWING DATES: ed to this seemingly gynncccssary detail. \

Temperance Alliance .

Monday, May 16th, at a, .p. m., at United Church, Charlottetown. Tuesday, May 17th. Pownal. 2.30 p. m., Cherry Vim!» 9 P- "\- Oiher date and places wIII be annouficad later.

Mru. Wright is a noted platform speaker and has cancelled many. engagements In Western Canada In order to 0993K i0 "W WWW" all‘ men of Prince Edward Island upon the Iuue: now before the public-t.

“I ordered that," said Mr. Caiticron.

judge Lafontainc did not attend the committee in person. but appeared by counsel. Therewere a number of lawyers on each side. Mr. Blake took down- most of thc minutes of evidence, writing rapidly iii half-inch letters. I remember that once he be- gan a line on the foolscap page with the word "itivestigatioti.” All that he put down on that line was “iiivestiga " and 11w “lioii" went over to the next line. hlcmory hcrc Tecalls the autographs of some of the eminent nicii of the time-the coppet- plate beauty of the Uld Cliieftaiirs “john A. hlacdoiiziltl”; the diminutive signature “F. Ilincks," which a dime would cover; the clear-cut letters, all neatly fortned, that made tip “Alexander Rlackcnzic," as hc wrote it; the bold, fragmentary “It. j. Can. wright," the “Charles ITuppcr" that seemed as if scratched with a Inail upon a slate; “E. Blake.” that might have been traced with a Ismail crowba; dipped in ink, and the graceful flowing lines which bespcak the “Wilfrid Latiricr’ of today. But this is a digression.

iTo return to the committee. Wlc got along SITIOOIIII)’, even pleasantly, after that first day. As prorogzttion drew near, .\Ir. Cameron called me to his side one day and, remarking that we had begun “in rather stormy fashion,” handed me a slip of pztpci" certifying that I had served the committee quite to the satisfac- tion of its members and of himself as chairman.’ And judge Lafontaine was not impeached after all. Before the next session he was comfortably supcrannuatcd which was no doubt inuch more agreeable to him and also more politic othcnvisc.