HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron News-Record, 1889-04-17, Page 4The Huron News.Reeord
falba a Yoe -41.n In Advance.
Y Wednesday, April 10th 1889.
CON SCIENCE. AND THE
CONSTITUTION. .
We are sorry to see by the reso-
lutions passed by Orange lodges in
various parts of the country that
each intelligent bu:lies of men have
lost sight of the main issue involved
in - the motion for disallowance.
Oraugemen by passing resolutions
condemnatory of members of Parif-
ment are leaving themselves open
to the very chargee which they
have perpetually levelled at their
opponents—that of violating the
Constitution of the Country and the
laws based thereon.
It is one of the fundatnentul
principles of Orangeism to "perse-
cute no one for couscieuce sake,"
It looks very much like porsocu-
tion to publish a vote of censure on
Mr. Robert Porter, M. P. fur voting
as hie conscience directed ou the
disallowance question. Wo may
be told that Mr. Porter did not
vote conscientiously. He says he
did, \Vho knows best? Most de-
cidedly Mr. Porter himself. Can
we believe him 1 'file News -
RECORD does, We have always
found him truthful. There are no -
circumstances atteudiug his vote
in this case that would c.luse us to
doubt him.
Nu matter bow much we may
deplore the passage of the. Jesuits
Act by the Province of Quebec, and
THE News-fteconD will yield to
none in its abhorrence of a measure
which we believe to be fraught
with the most_ malign influences in
its bearing upon the harmonious
relations that have to such a great
extent existed between the espous
ers of the two most powerful re-
ligious bodies in the Dominion, but
We must adopt only constitutional
modes to have it set aside- •
At first, glance the allowance of
the Act by the Dorninion Parlia-
ment seemed iujicative of a venal
and craven spirit in the Protestant
monlbers.. We' honestly thought so
when first the resent was wade
known; and we said so, though de-
claring at the same time that Parliis-
ment was not the proper,trihunal to
test the constitutionality of the Act,
Further ilivestigat.ion confirms us
in the opinion that the O'Brien
resolution should never have come
'up in Parliament. But we are led
to modify the estimate we formed
of those who opposed it. It is,
admittedly unfair to charge im-
proper motives to any one unless
there is 130 other reasonable way of
accounting for the actions of those
we impeach.
Ordinary British fair play is to
hold a man innocent until he. has
been proven guilty. It is manifest-
ly unjust therefore to convict rnem•
hers of Parliament of venal and
truculent motives in violation of
their swore obligations to legislate
in accordance with the constitution
under which they live, without
adducing proof. If the constitu-
tion is faulty shall we declare as
the Mail did at oue time, "so much
the worse for the constitution 1"
That is we may violate the constitu-
tion in order that we may carry a
measure that we believe, no matter
however conscientiously we may
bolieve, to be inimical to the
interests of ourselves and a very
Large proportion of the people of
the Dominion.
To do so would be to adopt the
alleged horrible doctrines attribu-
ted to the Jesuits, that the end
justifies the means ; that we may
do evil that good niay come.
Surely if we hold that the Act
should not have been passed be-
cause it is in favor of the Jesuits
who are said to hold doctrines
inconsistent with constitutional
government, social order and
progrces, surely wo would be acting
inconsistently, :•tultifyiug ourselves,
did ' we insist on the Dominion
parliament unconstitutionally dis-
allowing a measure, said by those
most. competent to judge to be with-
in the jurisdiction of rho Quebec
legislature to puss. In fact for
Parliament to do so would be to
out -Jesuit the Jesuits. Because if
the Jesuits do hold the.. doctrine
.attributed to thein, tapir fanaticism
and religious zeal no doubt recon-
ciles their consciences to it, for
that it sometimes, to their minds,
R
enabled thele to save eoule arid
glorify Go& i•Uinbers of Parlia-
ment conscientiously holding dis-
allowance to be unconstitutional
and then voting for it would, ae we
have said, be out-Jesnitiug. the
Jesuits.
To do so would be treason. To
do so would make us rebels. We
would be in no better positron than
was the late Mr. Riel. He con-
sidered that the lawa of this Do-
miuion regnlatiug affairs in the
Northwest were unjust and were
working harmfully to a consider-
able portion of the people there.
He had followers there and in
Ontario and in Quebec, and almost
every Grit Member of Parliament
voted that he was right in viola-
ting; in forcibly resisting the consti-
tutionally enacted laws of this
country. In the.' last Claes the
Hon. Alex. MacKenzie was a not"-
able
ot=able exception. But Mr. Riel was
capitally and deservedly punished
fur being a law unto himself. And
it will be remembered that when
the condoners of treason brought
up in Parliament a motion of
censure of the Government for
insisting that the constitution must
bo respected, how Parliament sus-
tained the views of the Government,
and this in the face of the moat
violent and inftarumatory opposi-
tion of the creed class which the
same -Government is now accused of
pandering to.
Our people must not forget that
the issue before Parliament was nut
whether the Jesuits were a gond or
n bad lot, nor whether Roman
Catholic theology was a mixture of
paganism and politics. Fortunate-
ly or unfortunately a very great
majority of the people of Quebec
are Roman Catholics. They control
the Legislature. The legislature
agreed to vote $400,000 for Catho-
lic educational purposes and $60,-
000 for Protestant educatiofial pur-
poses- This out of their owrf•money
to be obtained out of their own
property, Roman Catholics and
Protestants agreeing to this.
Now the question at issue was
whether the Legislature had acted
within the constitution in marking
this grant, the greater portion of
which we in Ontario conscientious-
ly believe will be used for a pur-
pose subversive. of the beat interests
of our summon country, and repug-
nant to our feelings as Protestants.
Well, a very large majority of
the best • constitutional lawyers in
Parliament, and of laymen as well,
both Grit and Tory, say the Quebec
Legislature is clearly within its
constitutional right in passing this
measure. We are bound to believe
that these men acted conscientiously.
To do otherwise would be to say
that they are perjurers ! It is an
alarming charge to make against
188 men elected by the people on
account of their Legislative intelli-
gence and honesty of purpose. It
may be asked, how about the 13
who believed the measure uneoneti-•
tutional t We are equally bound
to grant that they acted honestly
according to the dictates of their
consciences.
But it is said that the majority
were guided by motives of the most
reprehensible character. They say
they were not.
Now, as we have suggested, the
justification of the 188 hiugus ou
whether they are liars and perjurers,
or wen worthy of belief, or ignor-
amuses. We will take Mr. Porter,
the member for West Huron, whom
most of our readers are personally
or by reputation acquainted with,
as a fair specimen. Well then,
his most bitter opponents during
his campaigns in this county have
conceded his truthfulness under
very trying circumstances, and they
have also acknowledged his intelli-
gence. And can his political
friends say that during his several
conteets'here they ever knew hire
to vary from the truth. have not
all hie friends found him to be an
honest and truthful pian. Have
we not all had occasion, time and
again, to rejoice in this fact. And
have we not also been proud of his
political and constitutional know-
ledge as well as of his truthfulness
and integrity 1 We have. And
can we now recoucilo ourselves to
brand him as a know nothing or an
Ananias when he says lie acted in
accordance with his light and hie
conscience 1 Tho Conservatives
who have been unthinkingly led
into condemning Mr. Porter aro in
t•
•
this diletnwe: that they say 'Ile is
eittfer a fool or a dishonest man.
We'Pre.'fer to bolieve him neither
from what we have known of him
in the past, and we bolieve time
will prove him neither.
Now as to motives. What wotdve
under the canopy of heaven could
there be for Mr, Porter to vote
against his conscience 1 Supposing
we were to thiuk so ill of him, we
ask again what personal motive
could he have to belie a lifetime of
unspotted integrity 1 We look in
vain for it. And until we do find
it we• shall continue to repose
that confidence in him which we
were proud to acknowledge in the
past, whether in defeat or victory.
And we believe ho still possesses
the.confidence of a -majority of the
electorate of West Huron.
ABOUT ORGANS.
Though Clinton largely leads in
organs, the Doherty organ particu-
larly, Tae NEWS RECORD does not
claim to be the organ of any society,
sect or party. To the best of our
ability, and we have been congratu-
lated on our success, we have en-
deavored for many years to explain
Conservative principles and did
and do support the Conservative
party because we think that its
policy on the whole has. been and
promises to bo for the beat interests
of our native country. But we are
uo subsidized or paid organ of any
party. We are supported by TiIE
PEOPLE and have always endeavored
to voice the ,well considered and
well understood wishes of the ma-
jority of the people.
Last week we casually mentioned
that we were no more the organ of the
Orange Order than our totem. was
the organ of the Methodist church.
That statement is assailed by our
cotem, referring to one of the pub-
lishers of this paper being en
Orangeman and "speaking for the
Orangemen every chance he gets."
We have elsewhere referred to this
and shown what it amounts to. We
may say just hero that our cotem.
makes our contention good,. for
though our Mr. Todd •has been
often- asked to speak to or for
Orangemen ho does not assume that
this gives the paper with which he
is connected the right to call itself
an organ of the Society. Just as
the fact of the proprietor of the Era
preaching to or for the Methodists
"every chauce ho gets" dues not
constitute his•paper an organ of the
Methodist body, whieh was what
we asserted.
It is quite truelhat this journal,
as a journal, has endeavored to dis-
abuse Protestants and Roman Catho-
lies of ignorant prejudices against
Orangemen. A senseless impress-
ion had hitherto prevailed that
Orangeism meant to assume to itself
all the loyalty in the country:
This we have often shown to be an
error. We have also shown that no
one but a loyal man could bo an
Orangeman, and that a true Orange_
man was the most liberal -minded of
men, who seeks to perpetuate the
civil end religious principles of the
whole people as guaranteed by the
constitution of Britain. And these
liberties aro eveu sought by Orange-
men for Roman Catholics, liberties
which thoy believe would be re-
stricted just in proportion as the
romish hierarchy becomes powerful
Thus while we have aimed at, and to
some extent succeeded in, breaking
down the barriers of religious an-
tipathy and prejudice, we have not
claimed to be an organ of any sect.
" THEM'S" OUR SENTIIWEN7'S
On another page will be found
lengthy extracts from the Orange
Sentinel, the ackuowledged organ
and exponent of Orange principles,
in support of the action of Parlia-
ment uu the disallowance question.
Below we give an extract from the
Linsday 1V order edited by Sam
Hughes who is Orange ' County
Master of Victoria county, and a
brother of J. L, Hughes of 'Toronto.
The Warder has been and is one of
the most persistent and vigorous
opponents of romish aggression in
Canada. And while contending
vigorously for protestant equality,
it has also acted intelligently. In
the extract which we give we
find much that coincides with the
views tinio and again expressed in
THE' NEWS -RECORD.
Froin .the Li/tdxa,/ i4'urile
in the matter of the •Jesuit Estates
Act, w.; know the law, we know the
•
Conetitutiop of Canada.. The act
from a purely constitutional aspect,
considered with reference to the
British North.Awerica A.ct, is within
the powers of Quebec. Still from
the first we have showu there was
the moral or general aspect, the
reference to the Pope, which called
for disallowance, or an elimination
of the objectionable parts of the
Bill.
However, the surest way to settle
the Bill is the courts of law. In the
United States that is a great fence
tion of the Supreme Court, a court
pronounced by one of the greatest
English jurists of this day as without
a rival in the universe, Reference
to the courts is superior to disallow-
ance for the following reasons :—
(a) It would be removed from the
arena of party politics.
(b) The decision would be forever
F1NAI.. Disallowance would be mere-
ly a temporary device, with Jesuits.
(o) In the courts many points such
as old England statute laws, the
articles of capitulation of Quebec,
the Treaty of Paris; and other
similar laws and references that
would not be within the purview of
the Governor-General in -Council,
could he utilized to quash the Act.
Therefore, while the Warder yields
to no man in Canada (1) in his efforts
to resist romish tyranny, (2) in the
success attending those efforts, we
fearlessly and independently main-
tain that the courts of law will be
infinitely superior to disallowance by
the Governor-General, for the final
settlement of the Jesuit Bill, and
for the -advancement of principles
of responsible government.
Many loudest in their cries over
this question are perfectly honest,
but they do not understand it in all
its bearings. 'Their judgment should
be calm, not excited es Intelligent,
and not the result of designing
schemers. We admire the loyal out-
burst of indignation over the Jesuit
Bill ; but it should have been earlier
manifested, and now that it is mane
rested should be applied towards
the CPROOTINO Of the Jesuits instead
of towards their tumults: este For
the Jesuit loves to split up those
parties opposed to him. Ile delights
in chaos.
What would we think of generals,
who, defeated in a mis-directed
assault, began quarrelling with each
other rather than uniting their
forces for another and better mode
of attack ?
EDITORIAL NOTES.
The Hamilton Spectatorzreferring
to the furore against the Jesuits by
the people of Ontario, very proper-
ly suggests Protestants taking a
stand in this Province against the
aggressions of humanism—at hotno
where we have control. Tho Spec.
is right. This whacking at the
Jesuits and Romanists of- Quebec,
where they are in the niajority, is
as tlselese as Rev. Spurgeon one
time pointed out in •England , for
the preachers there to slael' away at
the wickedness of peoplein the
United States or Australia, while
right ut.der their noses at home was
all manner of wickedness which
they could more justifiably reprove
and possibly prevent. Mr. Spurgeon
did not believe in going several
thousands of miles for work -while
so much remained at house to do.
If •we want to have Protestant con•
trol let us have it where we have a
majority of Prctestant people. Let
us insist upon it in Ontario, not in
Quebec. Let us pay our respects to
Mr. Mowat first. The Spectator
says :—"At last the time has come
"not to talk, but to act—not to
"waste words upon Mr. Mercier, but
"to take action respecting those
"things •which immediately concern
"us, and over which we have con-
"trol. We cannot command Mr.
"Mercier; we can eommar,d Mr.
"Mowat."
0URRENTS TOPICS
Detroit -Yews :—"Our laud
system encourages land monopoly,
and now the State of Illinois, which
60 years ago was an almost unhrok•
en prairie, contains about 100,000
teruant ferule.
[n its report of the Soca Act do.
ings at Guesph the Toronto Globe
says :
The feeling today among the bet-
ter part of the community was one
of indifference, and the efforts of the
great majority of the city pastors
only saved the Act from a worse.
defeat.
From which it may be inferred
that the Globe is of opinion that the
pastors do riot belong to the "better
part of the eoenlunity."
T1: TEMPERANCE.
Says the Montreal Gazette :—The
result is not by any means what
can be called a triumph for rum.,
There is in the world no soberer
community than is to he found in
the ie. erkee Ontario -rural district,
and it is by these the Scott Act has
been condemned. There have been
•nrietakes made by advocates -of the
Act, hut these were only drops in
the bucket. l'here has been a dis-
tinct preference shown for the
license system, which in Ontario
and Nova Scotia especially is a very
strict one, requiring that a tavern
Another Lot of Those
Wolldorfui_flross �ods!
AT
ROBERTSON'S
8c., 1Oc., 12c. and 15c.
Everybody should see them. The best value in the
country. Going like hot cakes.
o
OUR SPECIALTIES
111111llort and Dresses.
0
Robertson's Great Cash Store
shall he a place for the accowoda-
tiou of the publie as well as a bar,
aiul—pr-ox:id+t a that, the number of
Nemeses granted shall not exceed the
legititnate requirements of the
locality. It is people who aro not
drunkards who have given this
verdict, lust as it was people .who
were not total abstainers who first
put the Act in force. This is a fact
of least promise to the ardent ativos
cotes of prohibition, but it cannot
be gailrsaid. Since January of last
year twenty•four counties and two
cities have pronounced on the
measure, and only two—Richmond
and Westmoreland—have favored
its continuance.
Our Weekly Round Up
—Sugar prices are advancing in
England.
—Six deaths have resulted from
the effects of the prairie fines in
Hyde Park county, Dak.
—Four men have been shot in
Mexico for participation in the
derailment of President Diaz's trait)
a short time ago.
—Hesvy _reins have .fallen in
Southern Dakota anti Northern
Iowa, and the fears of drought have
been dissipated.
—At Barrie, Thursday, Charles
Hebner was.sentenced to seven years
in the penitentiary for the killing of.
Philip Moran in January last.
-Thomas Mason, of Tilbury
East; has been coinlnitted for trial
on s charge of indecently assaulting
,a Mrs. Whitely.
•" —The resolution to submit a pros
hibition amendment to the vote of
the people has been defeated in the
Illinois Legislature.
—Prince Law, a negro living on
the Springfield plantation, Georgia,
killed his 4-year•old child yesterday
as a sacrifice to the devil, wbo, he
said, was about to destroy the world.
—The second fogging of Rand,
for indecent assault, was given at
Picton, Ont., last Friday. He re•
ceived his allotment of twenty lashes.
He bud to be assisted to his cell by
two Hien.
—Jawed McFarlane, of Canada,
was drowned in Ten Mile creek,
Mich, three miles from Matchwood,
yesterday, while driving logs for
Thos. Nester. He was 26 years
old.
—The court of Queen's Bench
has decided that wowon are not
eligible for membership in the Lon-
don County Council, and Lady Sand-
hurst's e,ection rs therefore declared
void.
—The - body of John Fletcher,
who escaped from the lunatic asy-
lum at Selkirk last January, and
was frozen to death, was found in a
wood north of the town Thursday.
Fletcher originally carne from Lon-
don, One, and was employed on the
The Winnipeg Free Press.
—Quite a sensation has been
caused in Peterboro' by -the alleged
elopement of Alfred E. Carter, or•
ganist of the St. Andrew's chureh.
with Miss Annie Graham, one of the
leading singers of St. Andrew's choir.
Carter is a married man and has
one child, a little girl five years of
age, cud was formerly orgaeist of
St. Jennie Cathedral, Toronto. Miss
Graham is a seamstress, about 19 or
20 yeare of age and of a quiet diepo-
sition.
—An action has been entered at
the Simcoe Assizes against Dr.
Rose of Waterford, charging him
wild) causing the death of Luella
Dean, of the Caine place through
negligence, default and wrongful
sets. 'The plaintiff, the husband of
Mrs. Dean, claims $5,000 darting
es. Tho negligeuce, etc., is sail to
have been committed by Dr. Bose
whle 11e was extracting teeth from
Mrs. Dean, he putting her under
the influence of chloroform.
—.Russell Harrison, son of the
President, has been nrrested charged
with libel, Mr. Harrison come on
from Washington last night for'the
purpose of having the papers in the
suit served upon hits. The warrant
was issued by Judge Beaclt,of the Su-
premo Court, who fixed bail at $5,.
000, and it was promptly futuished.
The libellous article referred to ac-
cused ex Governer Crosby of having
stolen jewels from a Washineton lady
and was pultlished in a paper in
which Mr. Narrrisun owned an in..
terest.
—Michael Biggins died some
tittle ago nettle Mount' Hope Howe
for the Aged at London, which
place he was sent to from Stratford.
Mike was a navy veteran, having
served on the V ictory under Lord •
Nelson, At the time of his death
he must have been at least 101 year*
old. This is the seemed ex -marine
of the Victory that has died trr'this-
district. The other was Mr. Tred-
gent, who passed away some time
ago.
—William Goodwin was brought
before the Toronto police Magis.
trate on a charge of having assault.
ed his wife, to which he pleaded not
guilty, and explained that while at.
tempting to assault him she fell and
hit her face against the stove, whichh,
accounted for her wounded cheek
and discolored eye. Maria testified
that she was lying asleep when her
husband lit her with, it stick, and it
was after this occurred that she
thrashed hie. She further alleged '
that he would never tackle her ex-
cept when: site was in a he.lplesa con-
dition. The Magistrate sent Will.
ianl to jail for two months,
• Moih•s who removed a sawmill
from the Amerioen'"Soo" on boats
to avoid seizure reached the Cana-
dian side safely. A tug with the
sheriff reached Detour jute in time
to see the Moiler' fleet safe in Cana-
dian waters. They reach Cockburn
Island and anchored there, When
the Sheriff approached, the Moiler
told him they would fill hint with
cold lead if he attempted to take
them as they were then over five
miles in Canadian waters, Notting
could be done. As the fleet crossed
the Canadian line the crew cheered
and fired guns. They will lie at
Cockburn until the ice is gone.
—The jury in the Calgary mur-
der case first brought in a verdict of e
not guilty, which the judge would
not accept ; then they disagreed and
were discharged. The prisoner, one
Fisk, was charged with the murder
of a squaw. Alex. McGowan,
Mounted Police special detective,
described the blood stains on the
wall in the room in which the mur-
der was committed. One blood
mark was. made by three fingers of
theileft baud. It looked likea mutila-
ted hand. Ur. Castigate for the
Crown, asked the prisoner to show
leis left hand. The Court agreed.
A sensatinrl was caused when Fislc
held up his left hand and it was
seen that he only had three fingers,
the little timer having been ampu-
tated dram to the band.
BIRTHS.
Guxx.—In Clinton, ou the 13th, inst.,
the wife of Dr. W. Gunn, of a daugh-
ter.
DEATHS.
BROWNLaa.—In Blyth on the 11 host Mr.
Robert Brownlee, aged 50 years.
IFAArTr..—In Clinton on Thursday Apiil
11th, 1889, Annie M. E. beloved wife
of Mr. Goo. ,liaacke, Tine funereal took
place to Clinton cemetery last Friday.
SCissoRs sharpened, Razors ground and set
and Umbrellas repaired. Ir left nt Mr 8.
Davis' hardware store will he attended to by E.
PINC}i. 527-
ANew Trimmer
FOR *EDGING WALL PAPER.
New Designs in Wall Paper.
Fine LineBaby Carriages
COOPER'S Book Store.
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