New-York tribune., 1873-07-22

contract. The Opposition, however, immedi-
| .talv .,o;pted tn the obstacles which tho Gov
ernment seemed to throw in the way OF the
inquiry which could not be refused. AS we
have seen, the Committee OF Investigation
which was finally raised, after some qmbbhng,
that may or may not have been promp'eo
by desire to avoid an exposure Oh inc scan
dal that followed, adjourned without action.
The correspondence of Sir Hugh Aiian' hmgn'
of Rovenscraig, which Immediately made It's
appearance in print, was the next great gun OF the
| Onnosition. After q breathless pause, the
Ministerial journals began to pooh-pooh the
whole business. They declared that the pub
lcation of the letters Of Allan was an out
rageous proceeding, and that the apparent
bargain between Sir John A. Macdonald, head
of the Canadian Government, and Sir Hugh
Allan was, after all, only deceptive appear
ance which could be explained away. Grow
ing bolder in debate, the Ministerial organs
were moved to defy the Opposition to produce
any evidence against the Government beyond
that which was alleged to exist in the letters
of Sir Hugh Allan.
The Opposition have responded. Mr.. George
| w. McMullen publishes letter which con-
| tains, it is claimed sufficient matter to supply
all the missing links in the chain OF evidence
| connecting the Government cOrruptly with the
| Allan party. Mr.. McMullen represented the
| American capitalists who were desirous of
Joining in the scheme; and he says that one
of the early steps in the business was con-
ference of the persons interested, among
whom were Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Fran
els Hincks, and Sir George E. Cartier-all i'm
portant members of tho Canadian Ministry.
The contract was signed but Mr.. McMullen
saws nothing about any additional pri-
yate understanding with the Government.
What the Opposition must rely upon, however,
to establish their charges against the Govern
ment is the fact that several members of the
| Ministry are now shown to have had direct
money dealings with the Allan ring Recol-
lecting that it is charged that the funds ad-
vanced by Allan were used in the elections
| then pending, the dates of several OF these
transactions are certainly suspicious. During
the canvass of 1872 Sir George Z. Cartier ap-
niles for and receives $4,000, receipt for
which is signed by the Election Committee !;
the same functionary also requests that $4,000
be sent to Sir John A. Macdonald on the same
terms.r Even Sir John urgently demanded
a contribution, telegraphing to Mr.. Abbott
of the Allan Ring thus: 81 must have
"another ten thousand-will be the last time
"of calling. Do not fail me.n That $4,000
is subsequently seen to pass into Sir Johns
hands by draft These two instances seem to
connect indisputably the Government with the
| Allan party in q manner which certainly
demands explanation. McMullen also gives
| Sir Hugh Allan's statement of disbursements
on account of "French influence" in the
elections; and one item is the payment of
$4,000 to La Minerre, journal owned by the
late Sir Geo. Z. Cartier, Minister OF the
Militia.
| We need not, however, go far into other
| and unsupported statements of Mr.. McMullen
to discover that members of the Cana
dian Ministry, while engaged in a
heated canvass, did receive from these
railroad operators considerable sums of
money for election purposes, or for their
private use. There are the demands and the
vouchers. Perhaps they may be explained
away but, until they are, any candid mind
| must admit that very strong case is made
out against the Canadian Ministry now in
power. Allan and his associates obtain a
! profitable contract without opposition /; they
acknowledge having spent large amount OF
money in getting it; several members of the
Ministry (who had the letting of the contract)
are shown to have received considerable sums
of money from the Allan party during this
time. Why did they receive these funds
What equivalent was rendered. These are
| only some of the questions which Sir John
Macdonald and his associates must answer
unless they plead "guilty."