New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-09-16
4 FEUfTLESS INVESTIGATION.


Americans have been in the habit of COM
pairing the so-called Canadian Pacific Railroad
scandal with our own Credit Mobilier disgrace.
Like that, its guilty secret was an alleged cor
rupt transaction between members of the
Government and railway spectators; like
that. its exposure was due to the sharp sight
edness of political opponents; but, unlike that,
its dissection has been coniided to hands not
unfricndly. Col. III. 5. McComb, disagreelng
with his associates in the American Credit
Moblier Ring commenced suit which FUR
nshed the clue to the tangled skeln
of evidence subsequently unraveled by
"A Congressional Committee. Mr. G.. w.
McAlullen became the custodian of the fatal
secret of Canadian Ministerial intrigues, and,
for reasons best known to himself, spread it
all abroad. Our Credit Mobilier scandal
was investigated by Committee of the House
of REPRESENTATIVES purposely constituted so
that one or two of its members might appear
as public prosecutors. The Canadian scandal
is laid before a Commission appointed by the
Governor General of Canada. The Commits
sion is to investigate charges against the Min
istry. There is no public prosecutor nor any
thing corresponding to such an officer, before the
Royal Commission the crOss-examinaton Is
mainly conducted by Sir John A. Macdonald,
Premier of the Canadian Government, and
chief among the accused persons. These con-
ditions do not promise much for the discovery
of the whole truth and the furtherance of the
ends of justice.
The original charges against the Ministers
were that they had intrigued to give control
of the Canadian Pacific Railroad to Americans,
and that they had disposed of the lucrative
contract for building that road to Sir Hugh
Allan and associates in consideration OF money
subscribed and paid for political purposes. In
the investigation by the Royal Commission
much has beenfsaid about the american in
"fluencen charge, and very little about the
alleged corrupt disposal of the contract The
first count has naturally become a light
one compared with the graver one of
selling q contract for money. Outside OF
Canada, there is little interest felt in this
,branch of the subject. Yet it is morally GER
tain that Sir Hugh. Allan and his partners
were closely allied BY negotiations, at least,
with certain American capitalists who were to
have o share in the contract The kilograms
and letters which passed between these gem
tlemen proved two things: that it was thought
necessary in Canada that the Americans should
be kept temporarily in the background; and
that they should pay out their money literally
without expecting compromising receipts for
it at once. Mr.. G. w. McMullen's brother swore
to the partial execution OF q contract be-
tween G.. w. McMullen and the follow
ing gentlemen who represented the dreaded
American interest, viz: w. b. Ogden, Thos.
Scott, G. w. Cass, j. Gregory Smith. w. G.
Fargo, Winslow & Co., and w. b. Dinsmore
President of the Adams Express Company
That these estimable gentlemen proposed to
corrupt Canada, OF Canadian politics, seems
hardly credible.
As to the alleged sale by the Canadian
Government of the railroad contract, the only
testimony calculated to establish the charge
il purely circumstantial. When the Allan
correspondence was first published, the case
was clearly made out. 1t was admitted that
Sir Hugh Allan had secured the contract by
an avoidance of the letter of the law which
required due advertisement for proposals.
The letters and kilograms showed Sir John
A. Macdonald and other members of the Min
istry repeatedly and approximately applying
TO the Allan party for money on certain mys-
teriously expressed terms" and the sworn
evidence shows that Allan subscribed $4,000
10 the Montreal election fund alone How
much he subscribed to other funds we are not
vet told. But we know that the contest of
that year was moneyed one, and that the
Ministry were barely saved from defeat. Sir