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- replied Mr. Blair. "I didn't listen

PAGE EIGHT

Interesting

By J. L. PAYNE (Article Nine)

Que of the troublesome problems of a private secrstlfy i8 n9" '~° handle certain classes of caller!‘- A‘ minister's time is precious and cannot be sacrificed to mere bores

0r over-persistent appellants for fa-

vors. One day, when the line 0f waiting callers was extra. long in -Mr. Blair's waiting room. a well- l was about

dressed man came in. to show in a gentleman, and had

the door open, when this newcomer "Gentlemen," he

pushed forward. explained. “I do not wish to Se! ahead of you. Isllnply want l0 stick my head in the door, lily 0119 word which Mr. Blair will under- stand. and then he off to catch my train." Not waiting for assent. he walked in. I had learned to sus- pect these “one word” fellows, and what happened justified that sus- picion in this instance.

He did not pause at the door. He went in. took off his rubbers and overcoat. hung up his hat. and made other preparations to camp. I explained the situation to Mr. Blair in his presence, and retired. At the end of ten minutes, Mr. Blair rang his bell and gave rue the signal to get this man out. But no hint of mine could budge him. Ten minutes later i went in again. and found that he bad lit a cigar. and appeared to be settled for a long stay. I told him bluntly that he was there under false pretences, and had stolen the place of people who had been waiting for an hour. That threw him into a paroxysm of laughter; but at the end of a fur- ther fifteen minutes I finally got him out.

"Who was he?" l asked. “l have not the slightest idea,”

to a word he said." What spoiled the remainder of the day for me was the murder that lurked in my

heart. Such men may fancy that they are clever; but they get no where. '

My various chiefs were practical- ly all alike in their attitude toward callers. As f-ar as may be pract- icable, it is the invariable disposi- tion of Ministers to see all who may call; but an appointment is often necessary if delay is to be avoided. A Prime Minister‘ has many engagements, and necessar- ily he must be economical in the matter of time. The bane ‘of a busy minister's life, however, is the manwho culls and‘ then outwears his welcome. Speaking broadly, every caller makes a mistake who stays longer than five or ten min- utes, trnless he has an extraordin- ary matter to discuss. He should he on his guard against mistaking

Franc lcia=

Rllpptechtu should

or a -~ Private-l Secretary

Handling Troublesome Callcrs—_-Somé Odd Characters About the’ ($311111?! — Dra- matic Moments-in Gabardine-Parliament.

courtesy for an invitation to lins- l have seen many good cause! lost through excessive persistence- The idea that thlnlrarfi 80C‘ at 0'!‘ tawa by “keepingst it,” is one ‘of turned many u possible victory into de-

Prillosl-‘rlu ta clown tarantula- " to be made of him with‘

Bavaria-ocpalato-fiom Odl-rlllty-“ho viiilhe acacia-lino of nonunion

THECHARLOTPETOWN GUARDIAN

6!‘.

those fictions which has feat ODD "CHARACTERS.

loose somewhere.” He bad but one idea, apart from religion. and that was the peace of the world. His plan in that regard was general disarmament, to be followed by something like the present League of Nations. Year in and year nut he might have been seen hovering around Parliament Hill, looking for the chance to walk a score or two of steps with a minister and talk about his hobby. He was so patient, hopeful and sunshiny. that he invariably found a listening ear; but in time he died-cheerful, hope- ful and persistent to the and. Another sigular character was a little old chap named Pope. Every-body called him Professor, and he confldedto me one day that‘ he had four claims to the title- plolessor of penmanshlp. music. weather and religion. . He seldom wasted his time on any one below the rank of Prime Minister, and l know that Sir John Macdonald sus- pected him of something in the nature of a special sense in res- pect of elections. At all events, Bir John seldom called on a bye election without sending Pope to look over the ground and report on conditions. Sir John Thompson also took stock in this queer chap, and scores of times l have seen them sauntering arm in arm toward the Prime Minister's office.

A PERSISENT SCOT

There are other types of men who haunt official Ottawa. No one became more familiar at the offices of private secretaries in my time than Mr. Provand. He was a member of the British Parliament. Pebresenting one of the seats in Glasgow. Away back in the earl eighties he had invested £100 in the Chlgnecto Marine Railway, and when that ambitious enterprise languished. he seems to have taken it on himself to try and have it rs- vlved by securins a Government subsidy. Nearly every yen]- (or considerably more than a quarter 9' a cell-WI‘? he came out to Can- ada and spent several months at the Capital. during which time he

Ht 'liil"ltltls"ion;“

6U" . salsa or Pralin- ',‘,“"'°'"' M"

Q

~ fhtiaiuétastécrsiat ‘

During my time there have been many odd characters at flttawa on the fringe of high official rife. The best known was Wentwortn Monk, a ruddy-faced. sweet-tempered. hat- ‘rlarchael old soul, who might have been a great man but for "a screw

wirole proceedings were enormous. ly solemn. and suggested thing of the ancient aspects or our judicial system. YEW cool. defended his action with sltill. and escaped the tower. The tower has no terror in our ‘ time. if‘? during the scandal session of j I an incident occurred which~ was somewhat of a New Engind had been summoned

mo... yo“ "CNN!

It ll IOU" (lobllhf

it‘?

would see every Mlllm" °t 3°"

times. His unaxamllled persistence did not. however, carry 11"" m Buc’ oess, and when he died about eiBm years ago the last heard of the ill-fated Chisnwlv Marine Railway.

A CLEAN CAPITAL.

That Ottawa is the Mecca of el- fice-seékers and men lookintf 1'91‘ Governmental favors is. 0f ¢°‘"""- true; hutnot to the extent of POP- ulnr suspicion. ‘Members of Parlia- m‘ t are mediums for most of that so‘ of thing. Nothing whatever in thénature of a sroun of nwfessiil" sfgo-betweens. Illch 85 l“ we“ Washington and many 01 the 3mm Capitals. has ever 80¢ "- (Willow at Canadian headquarters. DurlnB the war there were special agent! looking after contracts. but H108! of that work was 1981mm“ and want on openly. Based on specla opportunities for observation. 1 should say that Ottawa has always been fairly clean in respect of graf- ting. Nothing ln the nature of ser- ious scandal in that regard has de- veloped during my thirty-Blah! years in the Capital. We have I111 active and alert public conscience in Canada. which always serves to check corruption on a large scale.

DRAMATIC MOMENTS.

There were many dramatic mo- ments in Parliament during my ser- vice ln the Press Gallery. One stands out among my recollections. lt was in 1886, when the eXBIJIIUI-lll of Louis Riel was at issue. and feel- ing ran at fever pitch among the French-Canadian membe a. Sir John Thompson, as Minister of Justice, was the Government's de- fender of the course taken, and in a masterly speech he traced the history of the famous half-breed leader. in orderly sequence. he told of Riel's plottiugs, and finally of his bringing Big Bear and his band over from the States to prey on the defenceless settlers of the prairies. ln vivid language he pic- tured the atrocities of the Indians —the scalpings, the burnings, the massacre of the nuns, the taking of women and children prisoners- aud finally be said: "Ani when such a man comes to me and sues for mercy, he shall have" —l thought he was going to say “the hangmams noose,” “the fate he de- deserves" or perhaps “the same mercy be showed to his victims:" but instead, after a pause, during which every listener held his breath, he said “he shall have jus- tice."’_ _ That was the most impressive climax to a speech l ever heard. Had he used any other word than "justice" the effect would have been losti but who could question a decision based on that lofty prin- ciple lt put the policy of Govern- ment 0n a planewhiclrrhirt out all other considerations. He malls it clear that Riel had not been hang- sd for having incited rehcllon. but for his "direct. complicity in th: bloody deeds of Big Bear. Asl have s id in o. previous sketch. sir John‘ hotnpson could‘ never wholly divest himself of the garb and bear- ings of s judgezso that‘ in this mat- ter he found one of those supreme opportunities when the trial judge could sum up a great case‘ before ths highest Jury in the land. In that moment he was at his best- the judge on the bench; the mouth- piece of British law.

ernment. and most of the!!! m“?

was Probably

I Confederation.

never opened his lips against his

for months investigating irregulari-

them was a prominent official of

anyway. Larkin d: Connolly had sent him a Christmas present of

hirwlftt. He no ‘barinto see _how ‘tllesllver

to be on that train. and if all g s well l shall be across the bor er by two. I shall bid you good morn- lug." Smiling and bowing. he left: and, although» Sir John fairly ground his teeth. the tower l maln- er untehanted.

LANGEVIWB‘ RESIGNATION. That session of 1891 brought

—the resignation of Sir Jfectdr Langevin. He had become lnvob ved in the Larlrin 6 Connolly soirr.

the tidal loclt at Quebec, arilfwas compelled to retire from public life. As he made his statement 1o Pan- lisment and withdrew, never-tufte- turn, ther was a ‘hush which could be felt. Sir Hector had been" a big man as Minister of Public Works, and had been recognised as Sir John Macdonald’s lieutenant since The splendid new departmental building on “felling- ton street still bears his name. He was a power in the Government. and had inherited the mantle of Sir George Etienne Cartier as the French-Canadian leader. Yet- he fell because of the exposure brought about by J. Israoe Tarte regarding money for campaign pur poses. -

DEATH OF MACOONALD

Sir John Macdonald did not live to see the humiliation of his strong and loyal ‘lieutenant, for during that hectic session he died; No-one who was present can ever forget those impressive‘ moments‘ when

B.

5

the House‘ that the great ‘Conserva- tive leader hall been fatally strick- en. Members looked at each other with the plain suggestion“ of a great crisis in their faces. It was really e. turning point in Canadian" hlstory. In fact, it is no exaggera- tion to say that Sir John had been Canada's uncrowned king. with a personality unique and command- ing. it should not be surprising, therefore, that his sudden taking created a sensation. '

It was in the 1891 ‘session, too. that Hon. Thomas McGreevy was expelled from Parliament, follow- ing revelations of corruption ‘on his Dart. He was also ‘sentenced to six months in prison on being pro- secuted. The sad and black side of these particular exposures in 1891 came from the fact that Thomas McGreevys brother Rob- ert had been the informant. it was at the same-time made clear that Thomas had been very generous to Robsrtdurlng many years, and the recbrdswili" show that the former

in

brother. even when the‘ ‘menace of‘ imprisonment hung over him. Lat- er, however, Michael Connollyhad Robert convicted of conspirscymnd

ll.

That was a black session of Par- liament. A special committee silt

ties, and many heads in the, civil service were lopped off. Among

the Public works Department, whose case appealed very much" to popular sympathy. it did to mint,

some silverware refused to accept.‘ His wire agreed. but sulrl it could do

"FEBRUARY 9, 1924

would look o t1. ' they had beenndlsptiasegdte" In the end they dl 0 ‘

Slr John Macdorlald

other during the eiglilitegai. gsr contrast between mo]. 3"?!" i . about another dramatic ooourr-snnegrrlgiii-‘lfifgrfnd hstlc human being, y“ could be knocked from 1m

am"; arising’ out of the hilildlng of |§°a‘}°'“""

delivered a witbcrln h ewly-eleoted Baird? 1-3;“ ounty,

barely seated when Dr. wot

Albert. sprang to his feat. ~

was an impetnous torm-

wouderful command of picitu

English,

utea he poured out

vective" upon Blake,

made the great Iiiberul m",

seat.

man who would use the sire

newcomer to the House w“ ster and a tyrant. Blake asked the Speaker what m, have done to deserve such buke, sputtered n. few 1m sentences and sat (lOWp in s He probably never knew how he could hurt.

nvxsrtra sxputstou

The expulsion of J. C. Ryk many yaarg member for

Sir Hector bsngevln announoodfo-snd a couspicious man in 2 inept, was somewhat trllgi bad been found guilty in . tion with certain timber limit dais, in which Rykeri hall t i. ed the names of Sir John ll era's son and Sir Charles ’l‘u son. happened‘ when the matter »

letters read, there was ample for political against Sir John Macdonaltl the chivalry of Sir William l, ended all that. uncompromising opponan‘ ‘ old Tory chieftain, and yet l untarily declared that he kn John's son to be a true geuti utterly incapable of any bre integrity. John looked across the ~ simply tears were face. He bud a fathers hea every other father's heart i House responded. l recall ano her incident l liameut, whic pathetic than dramatic.

McMullen, of Nor-th- Weill whose rasping voice will be = bered by everybody who ever

‘ Id h t hi b lliré-a ‘ he served two years in jail. a“)! gem“; s: “mum A BLACK SESSION charges of that nature in-

modern .days—when lion. i Mills took a hand. Sir loll disregarded McMullen; but il er ignored Mills. when 1M wall sage had taken his sol aged Conservative Chieftain. his lips trembling. and saili- oab hire may seem larfiei b“ too poor to have a csrriaso ~ own and i am too old t0 Mills apologized. and m“ ‘ end of the "d .19Wel!'¥ lmlmuch wou.

(cqpyflzhl; by Montreal Star Bureau).

MPANY

INNlPEG

<1 keen u.

When Hon. Edward Bio

ever afforded -_ B

and Sir J intensely

_ and one alts llarnent I saw it not"; dramatic episode. no ..

New Brunswick, s

and in the next (i. a ton-en; which l

Weldon told him ..

giant on a timid and sh

I recall, in particular, Parliament. On thefsce i

capital to be '

Sir William

When, however

said. “l thank you.

streaming dow

was perhaps

was heckling Sir John ~'

matter. The ii

DUNN AT THE BAR.

The bringing of John R. Dunn to the bar of the House in 188B ‘was another striking incident. no had donesomstblng unusual as return- "18 officer in lln ‘election in Queens County, New Brunswick,

stances which threw light on some of the vivid pages of British Parlia- "lelllflfy history. in some such way was Warren Hastings irled. The

SOME-

llut Dunn was

Before one of the commit-

Bl-ITHRE The head Duper company l0 live evid-

urrnu lower. PIHIIIIIIC.‘ ’ Iot-‘nrsst until tum.

"at so ma)

XI!‘ HOII

and was put on trial tinder circum- i

mo...‘ “asst

Hunted is Mfllpt

A

States loaves at

trslrrlcrlho Unit twain. 1

only womhn to

n!» ‘

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