ete eaee Ah a ~~ Terms ;—Frve Doiitars a YEAR. NEW SERIES. * This is true Liberty, when Free Born Men, having to advise the Public, may speak CHARLOTTETOWN, P. E. ISLAND. WEDNESDAY, DEC Che Daily Examiner Is issued Every Evening by The Examiner Publishing Co., FROM THEIR OFFICE, LONDON HOUSE,” QUEEN SQUARE Charlottetown, P. E. Island. RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION : Ce Bee... mci kee bedens $2 50 pe ES A Oe 1 25 One Month COO6 o0hebbe 6 6 0000 oeee* . 0 50! e@ Advertising at most moderate rates. Contracts may be made for monthly, quar- terly, half-yearly or yearly advertisements on application. BARGAINS PIANOS. ‘ORGANS, | ——AND--— Sewing a potent MILLER BROTHERS, Queen Street, Charlottetown. IANOS, in price from $250 and ap wards. ORGANS, in price trom $65 and upward. SEWiNG MACHINES, in price from $25 and upwards Intending purchasers will do well to call and inspect our large stock. MILLER BROTHERS, Queen Street, Charlottetown. Agencies :—James Seaman, Summerside ; W. E. Scott, Alberton oc t29—dy Imeod wky 3m JOHN T. MELLISH, Barrister, Attorney, Notary Public, &e., CHAKLOTTETOWN, P. E. ISLAND. and OFFICE—London House Building, (Davies Corner), Queen St. All kinds of Legal Business promptly attended to. Money to Loan at low interest. ¥ ig & wky ef James A, MORRISON. GEORGE MUSGRAVE MORRISON & MUSGRAVE, BROKERS \-AND— Commission Merchants, HALIFAX Consignments of Island produce will receive prompt attention. Rererences: Thomas Fyshe, Esq., Cashier Bank of Nova Seotia, Halifax; D. C. halmers, Manager Bank of Nova Scotia iarlottetown. WARREN & JONES, TEA MERCHANTS, LONDON, ENGLAND. Represented in Canada by Moxggison & Muserave, Halifax. Oct. a4, 1887. A cook. | BOOK By mail to any ~ REE us her post office addons. Wells, Richardson & Co,, Montreal i BOSTON DIRECT. en Boston, Halifax and P. E. Island Steamship | Line. Only Direct Line ine Without Change. CHARLOTTETOWN TO BOSTON. The Staynch and Comnsetions Steamships “Carroll” and “Worcester,” gavin been thoroughly refurnished and put into ogee n every respect, will, during te os season of 1829, run as follows, commencing From Charlottetown, Thursday Sth May, at 4 p. m. One of these vesseis wil] leave Boston for Charlottetown EVERY W EDNESDAY, at Noon, and Charlottetown for Boston EVERY THURS. DAY, at Six o’clock p. mi. Low rbxcellent P.asenger accommodation. FARES— First-clasa Pass . age Berth in well- sarnished Cabin, $6.50. Stateroom Berth, $2.00 ies Rat ‘reight Carefully ja van CARVELL BESS... Agente, Ho untzon LORING, Treasurer, — which is always Boston. 3 HARRIS & STEWAS | LONDON HOUSE. seapinasitincinslie aesipesitiiiony onl gee: Mantiles, Sealette Jackets, Dolmans and HARRIS & STEWART, London House. Ladies’ Ulsters, try For For Serges, & Foule HARRIS Fine Dress Goods, Amazon Cloths, Cashmeres, Merinos, Henriettas, try STEWART, London House. Fur Goods, Muffs, Boas, Capes, Astrakan Jackets, Fur-Lined Cloaks, try HARRIS & STEWART, London House. For Ladies’ Gloves, Wool Goods, Shawls, Clouds, Fas | cinators, try HARRIS & STEWART, London House, Men’s Overcoats, Jackets, Suits, Fur Coats, Capes, Gloves, try HARRIS & STEWART, London House. For Boys’ Clothing, Reefers, Jackets, Top Coats, Suits, try HARRIS & STEWART, London House. Charlottetown, Nov. 26, 1889—eod & = For Ww H AT — eae McLeod & McKenzie, Star Merchant Tailors. a |) ODESTY forbids us (to use a slang phrase) to blow our own horn, and as it is contrary to our opinion (according to the old proverb) when in Rome to do as Pome does, we = endeavor, as heretofore, to present tacts so undeniable as to be beyond the reach of dis- Province we treat the several branches of the trade in this city with the same consi ide ration as a loving parent would his innocent offspring; and to this end we invite such tr ade rs to is entitled. In the meantime, call ami see our handsome goods, in NAPS, SCOTCH TWEEDS, WORSTEDS, etc., made up in the latest styles and cheap. McLEOD & McKENZIE. Charlottetown, Oct. 19, 1889. STILL ON ThE TOP And We Are Going to Stay There. meni] His IS OUR BUSIEST YEAR. Since its advent we have not had a dull day. WHY? Because we have earned a reputation for furnishing the very best Suits at the very lowest.prices. People from all sections of the country place their orders with us, and after receiving their Suits, stay with us in spite of all competition. We can show the largest range of Cloths on Prince Edward ‘[sland—600 different designs and patterns to select from. : Gents’ Furnishing Department. HATS, CLOTH and FUR CAPS, SHIRTS, COLLARS, TIES, UNDER OLOTHING, GLOVES, &c., sold at bottom prices. Five Hundred BOYS’ SUITS we are offering at first cost. ments ; strictly first-class work ; lowest prices. For FINE SUITS, neat and unique designs, elaborate and artistic trimmings, wren JOHN McLEOD & CO., Ch’ a Nov. 16, ae aee MERCHANT TAILORS, FALL & WINTER GOODS, Our Stock of Fall all and 1 Winter Goods is now Perfect-fitting Gar- tomers and the public generally to the im- mense bargains we are offering in Underwear, Shirts, Collars, Ties, Cult Buttons, | Shirt Studs, Breastpins, Silk Handkerchieis, ‘Suspenders, &ec. We have a very fancy lot of Cloths, in Naps, Meltons, Suitings, &e., which we will dispose of at our usual low prices. ; P. J, FORAN. Charlottetown, Oot, 18, 1889—eod wky UNPARALLELED! pute. True, people have gained for themselves a name (not an enviable one) which, to all appearances, served the purpose they had in view. But wisdom dictates, b:iore posing as leaders in the great race for supremacy, that we should look well to the foundation upon} which those assertions are based. To throw the mantle of charity over such people is our motto ; and instead of revealing to the public gaze, through your columns, the errors into which they have fallen, we will endeavor to lead them gently into the light. That you will | acquiesce in what wt say, is a foregone conclusion, namely, as Fathers of the trade in tbis aim high and co-operate in elevating this, the first profession, to the high status to which it | MELTONS, | Gents’) 8 receipt was given ITA Tl} rows znrraadrtn ND OFFICE OMMISSTO UA J PUL Uw dLahav lt > Public investigat tion. | ie too much for t -_——————et Hon, D. Ferguson's Statament. i | ® AFTERNOON SESSION. Enquity resumed at 4 o’clock. lion. D, Ferguson's examination continu- ed: If the moneys had besu kept without being deposited joftener than once a munth, in some months during which country cellections came in there would be, perhaps, $20,000 to deposit at the end of the month. The largest sum of money I ever knew to be in the possession of the Assistant Commissioner was $9,977. This was in the fall of 1881 during his western tour. Mr, Strong provided the Govern- ment with $8,000j-ureties. The Assistant i Yommissioner, previous to going on a col- (jecting tour, would pass the cash over to Mr. MeKinlvy. The cash in the box would then be counted over, and a receipt given therefor. I gave instructions to this effect myself, and also that when Mr. McKinlay handed back the cash to Mr. Strong the same course Was to adopted. 1 ai not sure that 1 can produce these receipts. Witness ‘submitted a detailed statement of the lands under the control of the Government, how they were acquired, etc. He continued ; There are complete plans of most of the estates ; but in the Bourke estate, Lot 37, there is no working plau, a great part of the land being held advers sely As soun as the piece of land is sold, the name of the purchaser is entered in ink upon the plan and a reference is also made thereon tu the folio in the township ledger wherein the purchaser's account may be found. In uiany cases the estates purchased hy the Government were found to be considerably less in acreage than represented. In one estate there was actually a shortage of many thousand acres. The Government of that time fonght the matter out, but the arbitrators appointed decided against the Government. When a sale of land is effected and pusid for, or partly paid for, a receipt is gin en from the land sales book, the other receipts from the ordinary reeeipt book are for subsequent payments. For both of these receipt hooks there are coun- terfoils on which the fal partictlars in the receipt are recorded. Aiter the 20 per cent. deposit is made, a second-class deed | is made out, with its duplicate, which, to gether with a plan of the property, is given the purchast I When a payraent in full is made in the first instance, a first-class dee ig issued. In 1877, 1878 and 1879 the work in the ofice was so excessive that preparation of deeds fell in arrears, an the purcha ers continued makin islaimen payments in the same way as if th y 4 their deeds ine time pas d w itheir having o ed deeds, and it being oo late to issU¢ SCCUNU-CL4ASS } cia8s Ones Wel lea len t nei i uy ii was In EVENING SESSION, Commission met at 7 o clock. Mr. Ferguson’s examination continued ;: | The revenue of the oflice is derived almost from land sales ‘The system of bookkeep- ing in the office has not been changed since 1876. ‘The receipt books are the starting point. The amounts appearing on the counterfoils of these receipt books are posted to the debit of cash in the cash book The amount is then posted from the cash book to the credit of the purchaser in his account in the township ledger. The debit is obtained largely from the valuation books. When a sum is paid on account, a receipt is given in the ordinary receipt book. The particulars of the receipt are on the counterfoil, from which it is posted in the daily cash book, whence it is trans- ferred to the township ledger. Books are not kept by double entry. There are no accounts for the townships. There is no general Jedger in which ali the transactions of the office are recorded. The balance is taken off the township ledgers after they come in, and compiled a general statement fromthem. In the early affairs of the Land Uffice there was a land account reported upon in each year, because the law re- quired each estate to be self-sustaining, but this has not been done under lands acguired under the Land Purchase Act, 1875, as the lands have been valued ata much lower rate than could be self-sustain- There is an audit made by the Pro- vincial Auditor, at the first of each month, of the previous month’s transactions. This audit is a comparison of the coun- terfoils off the land sales book and the ordinary receipt book with the items as they appear in the cash book, and an examination of the treasurer’s receipts. The Provincial Auditor has been in the habit of visiting the office at other times than once a month, and making a similar aie aud an examination of the cash without notice, No audit has ever ex- tended to the entries made in the township at or to any examination of the deeds, and none ever did, so faras I know. Money should never have been received for lands without a receipt being given in the proper ing. complete, and we call the attention of OF CUS= form, sod never knew of any being given in any other way until the discovery of the defalcation. Until this discovery was made |I never had adoubt but that in every case in the regular form. | The ral e that a receipt in the regular form should be given for every amount received i was imperat From the Ist July, 187 tu the 16 Sey i879, M i ' FH | MAL was Auditor, ihe omice was until the Ist J ly. j 79, aduring wotca tim Mr. F. W. Mitchell perforine Mr. W, ©. DesBrisay | continuing in the 8 An L8s: He Was Succeeuea vy Mr )Who resigned and was in tu 1 succeeded by Mr. B.. F DeBlois, the present incu in 187! } ‘th enew Cc vil service act can force. Under it the offices of Clerk Executive Council aud Ayditur were amal- Siveie Cortes Two Cents 7 yy oF | as ow VOL. 25.-NOQ: O a ees red ncn ira ramated ! have had conversat ro sta 1¢ way it had come through tothe bank, he difterent Auditors as to the ac rity fb it wher [ explained tne true state of f extending the lit. They agrec | affairs to him, and told him about the other as necessary; bub two of them- sdedi: | Sheriffs transactions, he was very much roy and Dé +s Brisay —said that it would icerned. When 1 told him the whole 1em todo, as they were hare be suggested that I should see Mra. jalready overworked. They said further] R. A. Strong, who had some means of her that it was not reasonable to expect them ‘to undertake that work now when it was [2 ot done by the previous Auditor, who had but the duties of Auditor to attendto. I took no steps to obtain the authority neces- sary to change the audit. It would mean new legislation. J thought the rule regard- ing the granting of receipts on the proper printed torm furnished a check. Mr. De- Blois bas said to me that the audit was not complete; but, like the other Auditors re- ferred to, he thought he had already as much work as he could attend to. To the question: Referring to a report made by you to the Government, dated the 6th November, 1889, in regard to certain defal- cations iaade by the late Assistant Comimis- sioner, Mr. Robert A. Strong, which report has been referred to the Commission to in- vestigate, please state when you first sus- pected that Mr. Strong had failed to account for all the Government money which came into his hands, with all the circumstances connected therewith, and what you did when you made the discovery ¢ Mr. Fergu- son replied: Shortlyafter Mr.Strong’s death, in November, 1888, 1 took up the Sheriff's ac- count for Prince County, and upon examin- ing it found that it showed a balance of $193.38 owing tothe Land Office under precepts issued. 1 adjusted the account according tothe Act, and furnished the Sheriff with a statement accordingly, asking him to remit the amount before the end of the finaucial year. In reply, he discussed the question of charges with me, and sub- mitted a readjustment of the account. My letter was dated Dec. 13th, 1888, and Sheriff Strong's letter in reply is dated Dec. lath. The statement annexed to the Sheriff's reply showed that the amount alleged io be due the Land Office by him had been paid by check to Mr. R. A. Strong on the 15th of March, 1888. My next letter to the Sheriff was dated Dec. 19th. In it the fact of the check he said he forwarded not having turned.up was | referred to and he was asked to look into! jthe matter. On the same day I wrote Mr. , Stavert, of the Summerside Bank, Sum- merside, askiug if a check correspending to 'the one referred to previously was present- led. A postal card was received in reply, | which stated that the check in question, je ndorsed by re self, had been cashed on) ithe Ist or 2nd June. The check was dated | Mar h, 15, 1888. After this I pursued my | inquiries in the office, and found that on the 3lst May, R. A. Strong had made a de- yosit of $1469.99 in the-Merchants’ Bank, fP. E. Island. I knew this because Mr rong s the cashier at that time, and t pparently in his ha f this deposit contain rif Strong oon does 1 y person lil any of the office. (WwW itn ess here pre- OOK ich showed that i! $1466 should have been caeposite 10 : rock havi og torm dai y part ma, ‘ quentiy, that the sum ol en abstracted fr the CaS. )} t Unt scovery, nothing ever occurred that could ke me doubt Mr. Strong’s in-! | tegrity. After this discovery, the first| thought that entered my mind was that the defaications would not extend beyond the Sheriff's account. The account of the Sheriff of King’s County was then examin- ed and found correct. Sheriff Curtis’ ac- count was next examined. [ found that the price of 4 farm known as the Woodside Farm, that Sheriff Curtis sold under pre- cept on the 23rd February, 1883, was not accounted for in the cash book. The sum ot $127 it had realized was entered in the township ledger in Mr. Strong’s hand-writ- ing. There was no credit of this amount in either the cash book or the receipt book. I sent for Sheriff Curtis and asked him for the money paid him for the Woodside Farm. i did this to test the matter. He told me he did not let the money get warm in his hand until he paid it in—to Robert Scrong, and said ** isn’tit credited ?’ I said ‘* Oh, it’s credited in the township ledger.’ Mr. Curtis gave me to understand that he had asort of a receipt for the money from Mr. Strong, but it was not in the regular, fourm. This receipt, he said, he thought he | had at home, and would try and get it. ! About this time Mr. McKinlay returned home from his collecting tour, and said he met a man named James Monaghan at Souris, who told him that he had paid Mr, Strong $20.40 on account of a farm he had purchased, which amount is credited on the township ledger, but not in the cash book. Mr. Mcinlay, at my suggestion, wrote Mr. Moaaghan, asking for a copy of the receipt given him. (Copy of receipt pro- duced.} The receipt given Mr. Monaghan was signed by Robert A. Strong, Assistant | Commissioner, and was in writing instead | of in the regular printed form. oriff Stren after the discovery of the Sheriff Strong! check matter I notitied the Provincial | Auditor and informed the Attorney! General, Hon. Mr. McLeod and my other} colleagues who were in Charlottetown, of | the affair. There was a meeting of the! Government shortly afterwards. After the meeting 1 went to Summerside to see}the | check in Squestion. I went to the bank! saw the check, and fouad that it was in dorsed§by myself. 1 explain this: (We cs in the habit of receiving checks from per- sons who may not have business with us, but who, havi ug bank accounts, are used as! hange by thetr customers | tall the checks that re * lire | ia% Medium vi ex: LDth > eck in Aiter | Guesti: i Saw 1 maANK i € iad . a ascead me if i ii he sent me in . A © ha su aC Alli was all rivat from (pression dia at the chee ledgers, whercin are recorded their transac- 'tions. This Chaisson »mount of $8 was paid 'to Mr. Strong on account of land purchased ‘on Lot 43, and was not credited on the | township ledger. It was credited in the {country ledger by Mr. Strong as having been received in December, 1886. George ong, when leaving, told me thatif we und anything else wrong, to let him know. n : MkIOUs TO k op the I ule [ think <4 ‘ sorge i it Hie I ‘ suld ‘ ouid Nn lik ad li- i li I ie if i] ALOT md ‘ if ve i my tere t é we Cw at t time. Having nde further ?Werles and t ‘ re Strong olf he } rer payment o1 Poi AD, fore ering. eon ‘rong to uaderstan i pon the subject, and they thought it would been deposited by Mr. Strong in the Merchants Bank of P. KE. Istand.] The other amounts are: S. O. Halloran, $23.75, Nov. 14, 1888 ; George Green, $40, Fe>. 1, 1888. [Letter of R, A. Strong, tu George ‘Green ackaowledgiug reeeipt of money | of this check put in evidence} John Me- ' Neill, $15, July 16, 1837; ward Lei- | stone, $35.56, Nov. 14, 1887: (830 of the own, and who, he was sure, would make it all right. I said that under the circum- stances I could not see Mrs. Strong and break t!.c matter to her. After some fur- ther cuuversation, Mr. Strong said he would write the family and tell them of the trouble, also that he would let me know the results of (he correspondence». We also talked of the Sheriff's accounts we had been corresponding about, and that affair was finally settled. On the 3lst December I met George R. Strong, son of the deceased Assistant Commissioner, at the back of the Market House in this city. He accosted me, and said they had had a letter from their uncle William, saying there was something wrong in the Land Offlce, about which he had called at the Land Office to see me when I was out. 1 went back with him to the ottice, where 1 told him all about the different transactions referred to before, as well as about some empty envelopes, with endorsations thereon, found in the cash box at Tignish after his father’s death. He then spoke to me about a check for $66.66 for his father’s month’s salary that had been held at the bank on account of the envelopes, and asked if the cheque would go in part payment of the shortage. 1 told him it would, and the ten dollars, in __ silver, found in the cash box would also be allowed in the same way. He went out, and came back with $300, which, with the cheque for $66.66, and the $10 referred to, made up cight dollars more than the amount of Sheriff Strong's cheque, Sheriff Curtis’ amount, the Mon- aghan amount, and the $19.75 shown by the envelopes to have been received by Mr. Strong, also the Chaisson amount of $8 which Mr. McKinlay had found during his visit to Souris, had been credited in the travelling ledger for Lot 43 in Mr. Strong’s writing. This amount we proceeded to ap- ply to the payment of the shortage referred to, and the sum of $7.96 remained. Be- foresgGeorge Strong called for this bal- ance, and a statement prepared for him, other discrepancies were discovered which prevented his getting the balance. For the parts of the eountry visited by the collector, we have what are called country it the matter uid be key pt ninth, > IL had apoken to my colleagues in the Government be better to do so. At that time we thought we had found out all the transactions, and that if the Government were reimbursed by the family, no good cause could be gained by making the matter public. I find the foll lowing amounts as having been received by Mr. Strong which were not credited in the cash book, but which appear to the credit of the persons paying in the town- ship ledgers: Rev. D. Macdonald, Sept. 26, 1884, $103.03. | This amount was paid by check ur voucher, which appears to have put in evidence}; John Locke, $165, July 15, 1889; [Four letters trom Juba Locke, ia California, referring to this payment put in evideace} John Bail, $113.96, Nov. 27, 1885; [Bank deposit ticket including amount amount paid in by George Strong went to a settlement of this account, as we thought that amount was all Ledstone had paid in, there having been an erasure in the Jed- ger.) J. Smaliman, $8 21, Nov. st, 1887 ; W. B. Dyer, $31.48, Nov. 16: Richard Smallman, $116 93, Dee. 1, 1885; [Deposit ticket including amount of this checkiput i in evidence] James McDonald,$9.95, Nor. 15, 1537; |This amount is also posted in the travelling ledger.| The entries of the above amounts are in Mr. Strong's handwriting. Adjourned till 4 o'clock. FOR SALE. SMALL-SIZE GURNEY BOILER, in good condition, Also, a good mahog- ; any Desk, suitable fo: au office. Apply to yg VILLIAM HEARD. nov21—tf ECLIPSE BAKERY. ee ee WHE tPLACE to Bread is u will get L Si hw AR Is aked evers y and of best quality. buy you ’, where ye ! re ~ L Cai ; placc—WATTS’ OLD SL AN D, Kent aiid teo2— tf sShapectientinenieeasibanmeatin a ms aw Po Paneer U eee? ee RI - » ee en ee ea r i Oe