The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-22
CANADIAN POLITICAL MORALITY.

CANADIAN POLITICAL MORALITY.
A Toronto Conservative organ recently
Sunday observance:
Our sundays have not been invaded to any.
thing like the same extent that they have suf-
fered in the country to the south. In the United
States we might almost say the abolition of sun
day has been brought about and the results are
distinctly observable in the moral and physical
character of the people. With that experience
before it 10 not hard to see what should not be
done.
We may be physically inferior to our
Canadian cousins, whether or not as a
consequence of difference in Sunday OBJ
servance We are not prepared to say, but, in
view of recent exposures of Canadian po-
litical corruption, it begins to look as if
our moral character was quite as sound as
that of people who seem TO keep Sunday
with strictness, but sin in season and out
of season on every other day of the week.
Here is Sir Hector Langevin, minister of
public acts, forced to resign at 65 years of
age under the accusation of series of
from Quebec to Esquimalt, and his resig-
nation has been followed by that of
Thomas McGreevey, member of parlia-
ment. bank director, who took brides
from contractors to manipulate the bids
and corruptly secure the Quebec harbor
contract. Not less than $3.50, 600 was paid
into the Quebec Conservative election
g. -. I'll. Rsnl fanh
$4,000 to Robert McGreevey, Thomas
McGreeyey's brother, besides a perennial
stream OF payments to inspectors. The
contract for the Esquimalt dock was pro-
cured corruptly in the same way To
McGreevey and his friends were distributed
$207, 900 of the provincial subsidy for the
Bay of Chaleur railroad. This same Que
bee ring were concerned in Welland
canal fraud, in steamboat contract, and
in the corrupt manipulation and milk
ing" of the pay of clerks in the Public
Works Department.
Sir John Macdonald was defeated in 1873
on account Of corrupt revelations in con-
nection with the Canadian Pacific, and
yet the Canadian public pretends to be
shocked today to learn through this in
vestigation and consequent scandal that
the late Sir John Macdonald was wealthy
man and heavy stakeholder in the enter
prises he had subsidized, and Mr.. Abbott,
his successor, is Canadian Pacific man
who is described as great contractor who
has shared in the division of the spells of
subsidy and land grants.
Canadian politics have for many years
been VIGOROUSLY corrupt. The country is
| small; the French Canadian vote is ignor-
| ant and stupid, and under these circum-
stances corrupt leaders are rs sure to Sc
cure control as they are in New York city,
where suffrage is as universal as ignorance
and immoral greed among the masses of
the ruling Democratic party. 1t is pleas
ant to learn from the Toronto organ of
tins corrupt Conservative party of Canada
that Canada keeps the commandment con-
cernlng the Sabbath day more strictly
than We do; she ought TO be able TO keep
this one commandment certainly, since
she appears to break all the rest without
remorse. Keeping Sunday and stealing
right and left all the rest of the week is a
very dubious sort Of morality.
1t is possible that strict observance of
| Sunday may have made the Canadian peo-
| pie physically our superiors, as the To-
ronto paper intimates, but morally il be-
| gins 10 look as if Sunday was the only day
| in the week that Canada worshiped God
or kept any of his commandments. The
rest of the week appears to he 50 wholly
| devoted TO the worship Of the devil and all
his works that Canada, with the exception
| of Russia, is said To he the most corrupt
| country of Christendom.
The record of Canada is far worse than
anything that has ever disgraced our po-
htical history. We have had cheap mu-
nicipsl thieves like the Tweed Ring" the
| Broadway railroad steal. the Chicago ring,
but the great officers of our Federal or
state administrations have never had cor
| ruptiou personally brought home TO them.
such As clouds the Canadian ministry and
| Conservative Parliament, We have had
the L. s. collector AZ the port of New
| York once turn thief, as Swartwout
did under Jackson; we had a post
master Of New York city, Fowler,
become a defauter and fugitive; we have
| had Democratic state treasurers st the
| South and Southwest rob their trusts. but
outside of Secretary of War Belknap,
whose wife sold has good name to an In
| dian trader, there has never been a high
| officer of any American administration. Of
| either party, who was ever shown TO be
guilty of robbing the government or &C
eepting hribes in the matter of contracts
| for public works The Credit Mobiher
scandal touched two congressman who
were promptly expelled. and it placed
! Schuyler CoiiaE and United States senator
Patterson under grave suspicion. but the
! responsible executive administration OF