The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-18
WITH THE CANADIAN LAW MAKERS.
Cy Warman Spends Few Hours in Ottawa and Finds Plenty
of Entertainment Watching the Colonial Parliament
at WORTHLESS Their Methods.


4 certain department at "a salary OF
Si,10O a year, when there were twenty
I six old employees in that department
waiting for promotion.
The question seemed impertinent to
me, but the Hon. Mr.. ,Sifton rose and
explained. 1t was all Greek to me,
but l could see by the quiet gaze of the
minister that he understood, and
| thought Mr.. Foster would apologize
and subside. But he did nothing of
| the sort. He spoke at length, declar-
ing that the honorable minister of the
interiors explanation did not explain,
and the minister tried again, but to no
+ purpose. He wanted 10 know why this
man got the job. Senator Vest of
| Missouri could have explained it all in
| a breath. "Cause he's our kind of
/ folks" he would have said, but Mr..
! Sifton seemed never to think of that, if
/ that was the reason.
Now, Mr.. Fosters questions became
almost exasperating to me, and Mr..
/ Sifton's replies equally SO, but they
were as calm and polite as could be,
never so much as moving a hand to-
ward their hip pockets.
Seven times he got the minister up
and down, and then Mac said: Lets
| go-he won't tell and we strolled out.
Asswe gained the open Mac turned
and looked up over the door. Il want
| " tell you d SlOIys Sclu ne.
In the days when Sir John-the
great Sir John MacDonald-was pre-
mier, somebody stuck a little wooden
cross up above that door. One of Sir
Johns ministers came breathlessly to
the premier and wanted the thing
taken down at once. Leave it there,
said Sir John; that will help us in
Quebec
Years passed, and the little cross
change. A premier came who was a
Catholic. Presently the cross was
missing, and number of the faithful
waited upon the just minister to ask
that the emblem be restored to
its place.
rs it gomez" asked the premier.
Yes, they made answer, it is
gone
:well-let it go. That will help us
in Ontario
1t seemed as natural for the Canad-
ians TO mix religion and politics as
for kentuckian to mix water and
sugar.
Once. when the question of using the
! Bible in the public schools was up
the minister of education made a book
of selections that he thought would be
safe and instructive for children. He
submitted copy to the various biSh-
ops. The only criticism came from the
head of the Catholic church, and that
was merely that the grammar of the
Bible and the grammar of the modern
school were conflicting, and might con-
fuse the children. Our Father which
are in heaven"
With that exception the good bish-
ops We're all satisfied. but not so with
the politicians. / forget, now, which
party was in power, but it makes no
difference. The thing would happen
just the same.
One evening politician of the oppo-
Sition was making a public speech.
1t was near election time, and he was
desperately moved. He had never been
known as a Jealous worker in the
church, and the audience was not pre-
pared for the emotion he displayed
when referring to the abbreviation of
the scriptures. When he had recount
ed all the wrongs, or nearly all. of
which the party in power was the
cause, he lifted a trembling hand.
choked a little. and then said, almost
in tears; And now, my dear friends.
they crown all this infamy by taking
away our Bible. This he shrieked,
I'VE will never stand. Say to these po-
iitical pirates. give US back our Bible
we want our Bible the whole damned
Bible, or nothingp
l had never read a graphic pen pic
as we Strolled out to the brink Of the
high cliff upon which stands the mag
nificent parliament and other govern
ment buildings, / was in a condition to
enjoy the beauties of the scene.
1t was one of those rare June nights
that had come to Canada, after an I'M
usually severe winter two months
peeping over the city, catching the ed
dying swirls of the Ottawa, whose
waters had been fretted into white
foam at the falls half a mile above.
Just across the river, in the province of
Quebec, is the manufacturing and lum-
bering town of Hull. 1t was here, or
hereabouts, that the Yankee pioneer.
Wright of Waburn, rested and laid the
foundation for a fortune.
1t is easy to understand that all
strangers, from the first French voy-
ageur TO the present writer, have
grown enthusiastic over Ottawa No
man with a soul can stand upon the
edge of the cliff on Parliament Hill,
day or night, without feeling a thrill
of delight, so wondrously beautiful is
the scene. To be sure things have
changed since the days of Philemon
Wright. The whine of the distant saw
mill, and the song of the passing trolley
comes to US now, and below US in the
shadows where the famous Lovers
Walk winds among the shrubs, we
can hear the soft voices and the low
musical laugh of lovers that are stroll
ing there. But ever above ii all we
hear the ceaseless roar of the mighty
river, as it sucks through the narrows
and plunges over the rocks-the death
less song of the Chandiere.
We read in that interesting book
Canada and It's Capital that Wright
of Waburn climbed to the top of
more than one hundred trees to view
the situation of the country"
Well, I don't blame him But what
a saving of time and trousers he might
have worked by simply selecting one
tall tree, climbing to the top and stay
ing IN there Undertaking timesI