The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-12-19
BRITOAS WOULD REBEL
If Victoria Attempted What ADgers
Did in Quebec.
MERCIER, THE DEPOsED, ISSUES
A FIERCE MANIFESTO.

He Has Been a Prime Minister, but Not
a Slave VIII Yet Defeat Tyrants-A
Great Row, in Which Bale de Cha
leurs Is Likely To Be Forgotten Alto
gether-The Deposition of the Minis
try Made the Issue.
QUEBEC, December 18.-The excitement
In regard to the dismissal of Premier Mer-
cier and the government is rapidly grow
ing among the masses. Universal sympa-
thy is manifested by the people of Quebec
and the district with Mercier's cause. The
coming fight will not be made on the Bale
de Chaleur question, but on the dismissal
of Mercier. who had the support of both
houses. One minister said today that Lieu
tenant Governor Anglers should have chos-
en- one of the ministers not implicated in
the Bale de Chaleurs scandal to form the
new cabinet. as thus he would have re-
spected the peoples will. Monster mass
meetings are being organized by the Liber-
ais throughout the province. The trouble
is that the usual course of allowing the
House to pass judgment on the govern
ment has been passed over in this case by
the lieutenant governor. who, without
waiting for the House, has himself dis
missed the government on the report of the
royal ommissionEconvicting the ministers
of malfeasancein in office.
The excited adherents of the deposed
premier are indulging In some wild talk, of
which an example is found in the newspa-
per which threatened that, If neceS Sary.
the Liberals will take up arms.
MT. Mercier bas made public his views
on the political situation, and has pub
Ifct,r IL
and the Lieutenant Governor. and the in
tertm report Of the royal commissioners.
The report was signed only by Judges
Baby and Davidson. 1t says Mr.. Paseaud
acted as an intermediary between the gov
ernment and the contractors, who were
persuaded that this funcionary was neces-
sary. The report alleges that Mercier.
then premier. knew of the wrong doing in
the Bale de Chaleurs affair, and was conse-
QueDty party to it. The report further
says that in these transactions the treaSu-
ry was despoiled of 100000 The Gover-
nor. in transmitting the report to Mr..
Mercier, states that it proves carelcssness
and illegalities. and shows the statements
and Qualifications OF the Premier to be of
no value. The report, ne says, forces up
on him the conviction that the ministry
was not in position to advise the repre-
sentative OF the crown, and therefore he
must dismisssthem. Mr.. Mercier demands
a copy of Judge Jette's letter, supposed to
be dissentive from the report, and permis-
sion to publish the letter of dismissal. both
Of which the governor refuses. Then fol-
lows Mr.. Mercier'S final reply, In which he
says:
II have to do, not with the imperial
head of the executive, but political ad-
versary subjected to the outside influence
OF evil connsellors and bad passions. You
have knowingly and wilfully violated
usages and constitutional law; you have
had the audaclty TO do what our august
sovereign, Queen Victoria, never would
have dared to do In England without pre-
v0king revolution among the English
people. All good citizsns must admit
there is limit to tyranny and a man,
though he may have been prime minister,
is not a slave. The report is that of two
partisans, frou whom you have dragged
an unjust and unf0unded opinion. 1t IS
altogether informal, without legal value.
The allegations of this pretended pre-
liminary report are contrary to the proof.
They contain gratuitous insults to your ex-
ministers who are supported by great
majority of the legislature of the pro-
vince"
Mr.. Mercier charges the governor with
personal and autocratic government, with
having arrested the working of the gov
ernment, with having refused to cali the
legislature, at the request of its majority,
to transact public business, and with hay
ing carried on Que of the most odlous con-
splracies ever entered into against tue con-
stituti0nal liberties enjoyed by free peo-
pie. he taunts the governor with desire
to place power In the hands of political
friends by taking an abusive advantage of
the illness of Judge Jette, against oil rules
of decency and professional etiquette,
tlampling under foot the dignity of the
crown. He charges the governor with
leaving politics for the bei.cn, where even
there he was partisan. MIR Mercier dis
cusses the constitutional side of the oues-
ti0n. Referring to Lord Dufferin in the
Pacific scandal. who laid the matter before
Parliament, he charges the governor
sand today" he says, "you obey the
will Of the federal prime minister, Mr.. Abb
bott, who was himself a distributor of
this bribery money to the ministry. Your
conduct puts our political institutions in
jeopardy. l will try to undo your netari-
GUS work with the assistance of my COL
leagues and my political friends, and will
willingly expend all possess to save our
cherished province. l denounce you be-
fore public opinion. The time is not far
distant when the representatives of the
people will again resume the power of
which you have stripped them, and vindi-
cate the constitution you have broken.
You will shortly receive from Mr.. Abbott,
your master, the price of your national
treachery, / shall soon 90 before the peo-
pie and receive from their strong and
powerful bands new mandate which will
enable me to resume In the legislature the
position from which you have driven me,
and chase you, constitutionally but surely,
from Spencer Wood"