July 19, 1867
MR. BROWN SEEKS A SEAT IN OTTAWA
According to a Globe editorial, the scourge of coalition governments in both Ottawa and Toronto have forced George Brown to acquiesce to the call of some 1,200 electors in the riding of South Ontario to carry the Reform banner in the upcoming Dominion election. Mr. Brown’s opponent will be Conservative Thomas Gibbs who represented the riding in the Legislative Assembly of Canada from January 1865 until Confederation.
REFORM CONVENTION IN WEST YORK
West York Reformers met at Kemp’s Hotel in Weston yesterday for the purposes of selecting their candidates for the upcoming Dominion and Ontario elections. The meeting held with it a sense of déjà vu, as the Tories, who had the day before commandeered the Reform delegate selection meeting in Vaughan, descended on the meeting and managed to have their “bogus delegation” (those are The Globe’s words) seated, resulting in Reformers walking out of their own meeting for the second day in a row. Into this vacuum stepped Hon. William P. Howland (Inland Revenue) who received the nomination for the riding in the Dominion election. Dr. Bull was nominated as the candidate for the Ontario legislature, defeating the honourable Mr. Howland’s brother, Harry, by a vote of 15-8. It has been suggested that Dr. Bull’s nomination was an olive branch extended to Reformers on behalf of the Tories. Bull is opposed to Sandfield Macdonald’s coalition cabinet.
In the meantime, the Reformers, once again holding a separate meeting, nominated George Brown to be the candidate for the House of Commons. Concerns that Mr. Brown would not accept the nomination (as indeed, our earlier item indicates, he would not) were swept aside in a fit of enthusiasm. The Reformers postponed the nomination of a candidate for the Ontario election to a future meeting.
REFORMERS ALLERGIC TO PUBLIC OFFICE?
The Reform newspaper The Globe has celebrated the fact that so many Reformers have refused to accept a seat in Sandfield Macdonald’s cabinet. It is a badge of honour and a point of principle, the editorialists at the paper will have us believe.
What, then, to make of yesterday’s Reform failure to find a single candidate to carry that party’s banner in either the Dominion or Ontario elections. Reformers will cry foul about their meeting having been usurped by Tories but when they retreated to their own meeting room they unanimously nominated for the House of Commons a man who they were told would not accept their trust. After that arduous endeavour they decided to adjourn rather than choose a standard-bearer for the Ontario legislature.
If the refusal to fill vacant seats is a sign of the current principles of the Reform party, we predict electors across the Dominion will be listening and cast their votes accordingly.
WILLIAM OLIVER BUYS ‘A FEW SHEEP’
With Hon. Jean Charles Chapais (Agriculture) away from Ottawa, Hon. Hector Louis Langevin (Secretary of State of Canada) has advised the Privy Council, and the Council has recommended (1867-0026) to His Excellency, Lord Monck, that the Order-in-Council of February 20, 1866, that prohibits the importation of cattle be suspended to allow William Oliver to bring back “a few Sheep” from Scotland. The application was made on Mr. Oliver’s behalf by James Cowan, Esquire, of Galt, Ontario. The Order will be considered and approved on August 7, 1867.
DOMINION GOVERNMENT DEBT GROWS BY ANOTHER $500,000
Hon. Alexander Tilloch Galt (Finance) has advised the Privy Council (1867-0027) that a sum of $500,000 is required in order for Her Majesty’s Government to meet its obligations. He is seeking authority to borrow the sum from the Bank of Montreal, repayable on December 1, 1867, at a rate of seven per cent interest.
The Minister has also requested authority to extend an earlier loan ($750,000) from the same institution, that comes due on August 1, 1867, to December 1, 1867, on the same terms as the new loan. The Order will be considered and approved on August 7, 1867.