page_title: Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal
section_title: J. R. Boyle's resolution
hierarchical_section_title: Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal / The scandal / J. R. Boyle's resolution
caption_attribution_description: English: R. B. Bennett (1870&#8211;1947), Prime Minister of Canada
context_page_description: The Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Scandal was a political scandal in Alberta, Canada in 1910, which forced the resignation of the Liberal provincial government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford. Rutherford and his government were accused of giving loan guarantees to private interests for the construction of the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway that substantially exceeded the actual cost of construction, and which paid interest considerably above the market rate. They were also accused of exercising insufficient oversight over the railway's operations.
  The scandal split the Liberal Party: Rutherford's Minister of Public Works, William Henry Cushing, resigned from his government and publicly attacked its railway policy, and a large portion of the Liberal caucus voted to defeat the government in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Although the government survived all of these votes, and Rutherford largely placated the legislature by appointing a royal commission to investigate the affair, pressure from Lieutenant-Governor George Bulyea forced Rutherford's resignation and his replacement by Arthur Sifton.
context_section_description: On February 21, Boyle gave notice of a resolution to expropriate the rights of the A&GW and build the line directly.  He asserted that the government had guaranteed to the A&GW more than was necessary, as a line of 230 miles (370 km), barely two thirds what had been guaranteed, was sufficient.  The next day, Boyle further alleged that Deputy Attorney-General S. B. Woods had tampered with the government's files on the A&GW before Boyle and Bennett had viewed them.  Attorney-General Charles Wilson Cross strongly disputed this allegation.
  Debate on Boyle's resolution began February 25, in front of a full public gallery.  Cushing opened debate.  He explained that the cabinet's original intention had been for $20,000 per mile to be the maximum guarantee, with less promised for more easily  built portions of the line.  He claimed that he had taken ill at a time that this understanding was still in place, only to have Rutherford move responsibility for railways from Cushing's Public Works department to a new Railways department, headed by Rutherford himself.  He recounted his discomfort with Rutherford's refusal to consult with Public Works engineers on the actual costs of constructing the line, and his relief at Rutherford's assurance that Cushing himself would be consulted.  He claimed that Rutherford had not followed-through on this pledge, and that, upon seeing the completed agreement between the A&GW and the government, Cushing had decided to resign.  Rutherford disputed this version of events, noted that Cushing had been at all relevant cabinet meetings, and cited the report of government engineer R. W. Jones in disputing that the line could be constructed for less than $20,000 per mile.
  Boyle followed, alleging that Rutherford had privately committed the government to the $20,000 figure as early as November 14, 1908, before a government engineer had even been appointed.  He also accused the government of negligence in failing to verify the paid in capital of the A&GW before committing $7.4 million of government loan guarantees to it.  He closed by repeating his demand that the government expropriate the company's rights and build the line itself.  Cross rebutted for the government, questioning Cushing's sincerity and quoting a March 1909 speech in which the then-Minister of Public Works had defended the government's railway policy against Bennett's attacks.  Cross also reminded the legislature that no money was to be paid to the A&GW until tracks were actually constructed.
  On February 28 Liberal member and Cushing-ally Ezra Riley proposed an amendment to Boyle's resolution, striking out the proposals to expropriate and substituting a statement that "the contract and agreement entered into between the Government and the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway Company are not such as to commend them to the judgment and confidence of this house".  The same day, an amendment to this amendment was moved by Liberal John William Woolf and seconded by Liberal John Alexander McDougall.  Woolf and McDougall proposed redrafting the agreement along the lines proposed by A&GW President Clarke in a letter to Rutherford.  This letter suggested that the A&GW should offer to the government its construction equipment and other assets in guarantee of its construction pledges.
  The Woolf-McDougall amendment was considered friendly to the government, but Rutherford was not yet in the clear.  Independent Edward Michener attacked the government for receiving only par value for the bonds when they had been sold at ten percent above par.  McDougall voiced his support for Michener's argument; though McDougall had seconded Woolf's pro-government amendment, it became apparent that his reasons for doing so were less support for the government than a principled aversion to the province using its law-making power to extricate itself from inconvenient contracts.
  Opposition to the government came to a head March 2 when Conservative leader Bennett first spoke.  Bennett was renowned as one of the province's finest orators, and his five-hour speech earned plaud
caption: R. B. Bennett led the tiny Conservative opposition during the scandal.
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