http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0374079
data provider: CONTENTdm
contributor: Blakemore, William
issued: 2017-03-21
issued: 1917-06-02
aggregated CHO: https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/pwv/items/1.0374079/source.json
format: application/pdf
note: The Week A British Columbia Newspaper aad Review Vol. XIV, No. 51—15th Year Victoria, B.C., Canada, June 2nd, 1917 5c. a copy $2.00 a year Oh! The Pity of It THE resignation of Hon. M. A. MacDonald ns Attorney- General in the Brewster Cabinet was inevitable after the report of Mr. Justice Gregory was made. There does not appear to be any personal dishonor connected with the transaction that wns the compelling' force behind the resignation. A sum of $15,000 was admittedly received from Dr. Mackenzie for campaign purposes. It was stated and not disproven that this money came from a supporter or supporters of the party to which Jlr. MacDonald belonged, and that it was used only to promote the interests of that party during the election. On the face of it, the transaction is a perfectly legitimate and reasonable one. Campaign funds are necessary for the conduct of an election. Halls and committee rooms have to be hired; advertising and printing have to be done; travelling expenses for speakers have to be paid, and vehicles of all classes to be provided for. Agents and clerks are necessary in every election, and the usual expenditures for the many details of a contested election must be forthcoming. Hence it is both usual and proper for friends of the candidate or party to assist by their contributions the campaign treasury. Hon. John A. Macdonald was once forced to resign and his Government nnd party were afterwards defeated at the polls because of allegations made and sustained that a huge campaign fund had been provided by friends of his administration. These friends—unhappily for the Government—were proven to be contractors and other persons who hnd benefitted by thc construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Esquimalt Graving Dock. Sir John A. Macdonald defended the action of his friends and his party in a letter to the Governor-General, but tbe electorate condemned them by their votes. The conduct of Hon. M. A. MacDonald is less heinous because—and the sw…
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