The Goderich Signal Star, 1976-04-15, Page 12•
iR.
PAICx a 2A,-:GODERic 'I-1 SIGNAL -STAR, Tl-IURSDAY: APRIL, 15, 194
Charge falseIlloods.fulminated
Sigooj rqp.totta John
verbatim in three c�lui
$Y W.E. ELLIOTT •
Sir John A.' Macdonald,
leader, of; ,the Tory. party,'
cane. to. Goderich in .the
election, campaign of 1.886 and
' the. Huron Signal, vigorous
,champion• of the, Reform
party, gave its readers a
cdmplote'and accurate report
of his .'speech. It occupied
Slightly less'. than, three
columns. Generous space was
given in•the same issue to the
speeches - of Macdonald
Ministers__ and the Ontario
leader.
This week," the editor
explained, "we give a ver-
• batim report of Sir John
_Macdonald's address at the
Palace Rink, Goderich. It is
the .only lengthy report of Sir
• John's speech that will ap-
pear, notwithstanding • the
fact that representatives of
the Toronto Mail. Goderich`
Star, Seaforth -Sun and
Mitchell Advocate and
-... an4#1:A..,m..1dd,r4G . pr,„ were
present. •
o A. word-for-word report, the
• Signal Said, and meant it:The
•
explanation .is found in the
masthead: ' Publishers 'wet'e
•
McGillicuddy Brothers. Tom
McGillicuddy • was a
.proficient shorthand writer.
All other reports of 'Mac-
' dbnald's• 'speech, including.
. that .in the . Goderich Star,
would be from longhand. notes.
and, as the Signal, said of the.
Star's, "garbled."
It was •a remarkable per,-.
fortha'nce for the time - or any
time -. and the Signal had
reason to boast. As well, it
-- was .courteous in its report of
-the Tory gathering" and its
estimate of the crowd.
"The Tories of this town
worked long and hard," it
said, "to' fit the Palace Rink
for the meeting. They deserve
. credit , for the . taste and
• comfort of the arrangements.
Nearly 2,000 persons occupied
seats, and probably between
,500 and 1,000 had to stand.
The audience was . about
:evenly, divided in political
' sympathy, a•Ithou.gh the old
and reliable Tories Were
packed in well toward the
platform by the . ushers.
SIR:J.A:'
MADONALD
181'5"-1$91 •
"It is a great solace to a man like myself, advancerd in
years, approaching rthe termination of his 'political
career, to be greeted by such an assembly." Sir John A.
Macdonald said this in Goderich.
•
V I N.S: ,T
YOUR
HEAD QUARTERS
FOR
*ROGERS MAJESTIC TV
•EXPERT.TV SERVICE ..
• ANTENNA &.T6WER•
.., • INSTALLATION
162 MARY ST: GODERICH 524-9089
Flowers • and ev,ergreens
decked the platform, and the
Union Jack and American
flag flanked thelrostr'um. The
Clergy of the town by. special
. invitatio'h occupied seats on
the platform."
Ap,pended to this' gracious
accodnt. was a 'gloves off"
warning: "The Signal
publishes the report in full
becatia it believes Sir John
Macdonald should be •held
accountable . for his
pronouncements on the oc-
casion, and for the same
reason, no: doubt, •the local
Tory newspaper gives only a
garbled report. Already, a
challenge has been issued by
M.C. Cameron to the Right
Hon. Sir John Macdonald to
meet him at Dungannon 'lir
Goderich and daring him 'to
make good the falsehoods he
fulminated at the Peace
Rink` Friday night."
There has' been a revival of
interest in '-Macdonald in
recent years, with production
of , some excellent.
biographical work's. Mac-
' donald, His Life and Work, by
P.B. Waite, history professor
at Dalhousie University, was
published recently, con.,
taining numerous photos. W.
Kaye "Lamb, former
Dominion • .archiv'ist,is
general editor. This book•is in
Goderich public library. •
The author relates •that
Macdonald''and three or four
of his ministers spent almost
two solid weeks campaigning
in the last half of November,
1886. The Liberals were:
campaigning, too, • and
Edward Blake had addressed
a Winghana meeting. (The
n2l--wave—.Hh.i ni t
columns.) • West Huron
Reformers (Liberals) had
nominated M.C.' Cameron /or
the House of Comrn.ons and
A.M. Ross for the Legislature
-- "two of the most popular.
and able .politicians in the
Provincev the Signal editor
stated. ..
Macdonald was" ',ac-
companied to Goderich by
"faithful and obedient aides,"
as the Signal described thein:
J.S.D: Thompson;.(a future
prime minister); Hon.
Thomas White, rninister.-A.f.
the interior, • and W.R.
Meredith, leader. .of the
Conservati've' party in the
'.Qntarjo Legislature. During
-the campaign they lived in
Macdonald's private car,
•'Jamaica.
Prof. Waitewrites that the
party • "travelled.. from
PaimerstontoeGodericb in a
, perfect blizzard all day. At
every station there was a
crowd, .. sometimes with a
brass band. Thompson would
watch Macdonald go out,
shake handl; with everyone,
and kiss all the girls, coming
back to the car covered with
snow:"
• •0
the Loveliness of
FLOWERS
far Easter!
Either as a' gift or to brighten up your home'- flowers
are just the thing for this the Eastern Season.
. 0
• Floral Arrangments
• Gifts of Distinction
• Potted Plants
+ Unique Planters
for your Easter gifts
"' • or flowers visit....
When they • : reao•hed
Goderich there . was a for
chiight procession, but only .`
Meredith , overcame his.
fatigue. and joined the party.
Next day, the blizzard having .
abated,the prime minister
and party were driven in open
carriages ' 12 miles • to
Dungannon, ' and arrived
"perished from cold," to have
the crowd take the horses': and
themselves • • haul the
carriages through the village.
The Gode't•ich meeting'
lasted'five hours, until .1: a.m.
Chairman was •F.W. John-
Ston, unsuccessful candidate
for the Legislature in 1883.
Here: are Macdonald's
opening words, as recorded.
by Thomas McGillicuddy's
shorthand: -
have received this kind
and warm=hearted anct
cordial address which ha -s
been presented to me by the --
Liberal -Conservative
Association with. thanks. It is
a great solace to a man like
myself, .advanced in years,
approaching the termination
'of his political career, to be
DM'S -TO ,
I',?1S'y" S'r
ri bE1ltICli
aleed
greeted by such -an assembly
as' this, and for my humble..
services all has been in .the, .:•
nature 'of . eulogy that you
have addressedme.'
(Sir John had nearly four
years left. The 1'89i".campaign.
was to be bis last.)"'.
He . should have been well
content with the outcome of
his visit to • Goderich on
February 22,, 1887. West
Huron voters rejected
Cameron by 27 votes, and
elected a non: resident' Con-
servative, . Robert Porter, a
former •school.. teacher, of
Sirncoe county.
Inthe same issue of the
Signal° with the report of the
Macdonald meeting:
Charles A. Nairn an-
nounced the, arrival of '`3
crates, 2 hogsheads and 5 •
cases 'of crockery and fancy
glassware."
Downing advised:
"Keep your feet dry by
buying your• boots and shoes
at .this 'store, in Crabb's
Block." -
A.B. Cornell offered "the
two best hearses in town."
fn
OPIONEER
Now At Prices Never Before Offered In Canada!
(Limited Time Only) -
Q1P IOEE...L.
AM/FM STEREO RECEIVERS
The World's Largest Seller In Stereo.Equipment
Will •
M:odel:SX-434
(15.Watts & 15 Watts)
Model SX35
(20 Watts &.20 Watts)
- Model SX -636
(25 Watts & 25 Watts)
Model SX -737
(35 Watts & 35 Watts)
4 •
Reg. 299.95
379.95
439.95
519.95
A111111:
11; Ont;ii io. Street,.
Stratford 271.2960
s= '239.
:299.
'349.
'399.
r
Save with Challenge Priced* 26 oz.
Pepsi-Cola .at''all participating
dealers. Challenge Priced Pepsi
means .big .savings for you...so
take the Pepsi Challenge.
Look for Challenge Priced
Diet Pepsi too. `
Returnable
°R'LESS
Suggested Challenge Price
•
( h.,Uong,• Pnr, , P,•psl ,s 1,0,1 ,lir n•gol n pr + P4 and ,4 lyra r Ibo: whdr! suppin!s-f,i t rn the oreo setv.CPO by your Pays cnlu solder Exeter
•- n,•f,•,, A ,d.r .urd P,'Psl,.rrc fefolen r1 frrdpmilrk9 of p0 ,Go Inc'
3