 Before resigning, Rutherford's government had called a Royal Commission into the Alberta and Great Waterways affair, and this commission had not reported by the time that Sifton took office. Between that and the proroguing of the legislature, the new Premier enjoyed a calm that lasted until November 10, when the legislature reconvened. Conservative leader Edward Michener attacked the government's speech from the throne for failing to commit itself on railway policy and attacked Sifton for failing to call a general election or seek the confidence of the legislature during his first half year in office. In the meantime, Sifton was facing a breach in his own party on the railway question. Many Liberals from the south of the province, including Sifton himself, felt inclined to abandon the construction of "pioneer" railways (such as the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway) designed to hasten the settlement of the province's emptier areas, and concentrate only on those connecting major population centres. Members from the north of the province, who comprised most of the Liberal caucus, disagreed, and were vehement in their insistence that the A & GW be built. Even among this latter group there were divisions: some Liberals agreed with the Conservatives that the railway should be directly built by the government, while others, including Cross, favoured a partnership with a "responsible company". These divisions were not calmed by the release of the commission's report, whose majority condemned Rutherford and Cross for poor judgment even as it concluded that there was insufficient evidence to find that they had engaged in improper behaviour.
