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~ Cn unity Of saiated Bi ' A SK eval $2.00 per Annum VOL. 2, No. 20.] " All extremes are error, the opposite of error is not truth but error; truth lies between the extremes." STRATFORD, WEDNESDAY, MAY im advance. 18, 1864. [WHGLE No. 47 YP PMLA BARA RAR RARAARAARALRRAL AAS Mr. Galt's Audit Bill. Up till the time the Coalition Ministry came into power in the end of 1854 " system" was entirely unknown inany of the public Depart- ments, Previous, to that date no regular ac- counts were kept--no returns weremade. Each public officer did as he pleased to a very great extent. It was not unusual for. the Legislative Assembly to hear, for the first time, of large ex- penditures many months after the cash had been paid away. The Post Office Department was entirely from under the control of the Legisla- ture. Crown Land agents, for want of a pro- per system, were not compelled to pay the money they received into the Bank at once-- they might receive the money--give their own receipt for it, and there was no way of checking their accounts till the settlers presented the whole of their receipts after having paid up for their land, in order to obtain their Patents. It was this imperfect system that enabled Peter Eby to rob the country of thousands of pounds and enabled his worthy defender to establish a Grit organ. Large sums were from time to time, paid to the clerks of different Departments, no trace or account of which ever appeared in the public accounts. In one Department alone, the "Crown Land Office" the sum of £6,351, were, in 1853, received for mines from different companies, not one penny of which was re- ported by that Department, or placed on the public accounts. No person was able to say as to how, when, where or for what purpose it was expended! Our reader will be able to judge of the value of a general system for preventing peculation, which enabled this Department to balance its accounts with this large sum omitted just as correctly (?) as if it had been recorded. The whole system in the several Public Depart- ments was worse than useless--it was a per- fect farce. The Coalition Government revised and remodelled the whole system--appointed &n Auditor-General and thus, to a great extent, produced order outofconfusion. The system of Audit established in 1855, together with the other vast improvements in the general man- agement of the different Departments, prevent- ed the possibility of large sums of money finding _ their way into any of the Public Departments, without its being possible to find out what be- came of them afterwards. During the last Parliamentary election in this County, Mr. Macfarlane condemned the present_ system as being very defective and charged itas a crime against Mr. Daly and the men he sup- ported tlt they had not made it perfect, and boasted that his Government were going to still further improve and reform the general System. We never heard of this matter afterwards, how- ever. Mr. Macfarlane, being elected, forgot all about it in his desire to upset By-Law, 91, and thereby prevent the Northern townships from re- ceiving what they were justly entitled to. He _ forgot this important reform in his efforts to sup- port his masters in wrong doing--in such acts as the "double shuffle" the Sicotte purchase, and in the unconstitutional attempt made to force Rankin into the House in an irregular and unlawful manner--in his supporting the fradu- lent cancelling of the Quebec Fire Loan at the same time that he approved of Writs being is- sued against defaulting Upper Canadian Muni- cipalities--yes, reader, Mr. Macfarlane, like his Grit masters, could promise but either could not or would not, because he did not, perform. The men, however, who have heretofore, improved the general system in the different Departments --in fact who in 1854, found the whole affair in a chaotic condition, and, before the end of 1855, produced order out of this confusion--these men, we say, are now back to power and at once set about to still further improve the general De- partmental system and to still further secure the public against being in any way liable to be de- frauded. The House was not a week in session when Mr. Galt introduced his " Andit Bill." This Bill proposes to add to the Board of Audit the four deputy heads of the four great disbur- sing departments. Instead of having the ac- counts Audited after the money has been ex- pended, all will pass before the new Board of Audit before the money has been paid out, thus making it almost impossible for frauds to be com- mitted or money misapplied. Heretofore the Financial: year ended on the 31st December. The estimates were, consequently, made up to this date only.. The House did not meet till a later date and the Billof supply could not be passed fortwo or three months afterwards. In this way the Governmen' had to make payments and disburse money before it had received the sanction of the House. To remedy this evil, and so take away from the Government the power of paying away money not authorized or sanctioned by Parliament. Mr. Galt proposes that the Financial year shall end on the 30th of June, and the accounts of the Province be made up till thatdate. The Board of Audit, as consti- tuted by the new Bill, will have the power to prevent the payment of any moneys for the ex- penditure of which Parliament had not given its sanction--Another object of the Bill isto putan end to the system of " accountable warrants" un- der which advances are from time to time made to public officers distant' from the seat of Go- vernment. This system--a dangerous one-- will be done away with, and no moneys will be paid by accountable warrants until the specific service has been performed and the accounts Audited. There will also be a uniform time for closing the accounts ofeach Department, viz: 30th June... There can be no two: opinions as to the necessity and importance of Auditing expen- diture before it..takes place, and of throwing a personal responsibility upon the deputy, heads of the several great.disbursing Departments of the country--at the same time giving them the power to check all unauthorized outlay! | It has been kept as.a standing charge against the great leaders of the great Conservative party of Canada that they are Corruptionists--that they have wasted and squandered the public funds for their ewn selfish objects... How wicked and groundless such charges appear when we con- sider that the very men against whom these charges are urged are the men who. have done all in their power to prevent the possibility of peculation or a waste of the public funds. They found, when they came into power in 1854, that the general public system was fearfully de- fective--that it was possible for even subbordin- ate clerks to pocket large sums of money with- out being detected--that confusion reigned su- preme--at once this state of things was reme- died, A regular system was adopted in each of the Public Departments--and - to prevent such villains as Peter Eby from robbing the country, and to prevent party organs from being estab- lished throughout the Province by money vil- lanously filched from the people, it was pro- vided that no Crown Land Agent should receive any moneys from the settlers; but that the money should be paid into the Government Bank from which receipts would be issued. An Audi- tor-General was appointed at once whose duty it was and is to see that all moneys received are properly accounted for. Surely were these men what their unprincipled opponents represent them to be--they would not have taken so much trouble to place the public accounts in such a position as to prevent the public funds from be- ing taken or expended with its being known ! And now on their return to power we find one of their first acts is for tke still further improve- ment of that excellent system established by them in 1855. Our readers willsee from this which of the two parties have the interests of their country at heart. Mr. Macfarlane, for the sake of gaining a little temporary influence dur- ing his last election canvass of this County, de- clared the system established by our party in 1855 to be defective. Did he make any effort or did his party make any effort, to make it more perfect ?. The men who promise not but who perform where any work is necesary to be done are themen most deserviug of public support. We hope the noble electors of this County will, should Mr, Macfarlane again have the presump- tion to appear before them asa candidate for Parliamentary honors as,khim what became of all his former promises and pledges | What the Clear Grit Leader ealls Oraugemen, During the debate on the Bill for the Incorpo- ration of the Sons of Temperance, Mr. McGee said, "If it were shown that the Society was not "a secret Society, he would support the Bill. " He had always been opposed to secret societies, "and was still. He did not favor any interfer- 'ence with them so long as they sought nothing 'from the Legislature, but when they asked for " Acts of Incorporation then it was the duty of "the Honse to inquire into their character' Mr, McGee, by opposing the Fenian Society, a Society composed entirely of his co-religionists, shows that he is sincere in what he says, and, therefore, is worthy of respect. The Grit Leader, however, could not let the matter pass without having a thrust at Mr. McGee, as a Cct'o ic Irishman, and at the Orangemen. He at- tacked Mr. McGee for his present attitude to- wards secret societies, which, he said, differed from what it formerly was. He charged him with inconsistency in having formerly denounced them,.and in now travelling cheek-by-jowl thro' the country with members of a secret socléty which was excelled in enormity only by that other secret society, the THUGS OF INDIA. Our readers will well remember how this same Grit Leader and his colleagues ap- plauded this same Mr. McGee when he, acting with them, had, on a previous occasion, spoken against secret societies. Consistency, at least, commands respect ; and however we may differ from Mr. McGee in some ofshis opinions on these matters, we can bear testimony to his manly and consistent course in regard thereto. For men, therefore, of the George Brown or Sandfield Mac- donald stamp to attack him as they have done is enough to sicken all good men. In regard to Mr. Sandfield Macdonald's remarks, we quote the Hon. J. A. Macdonold's reply. He " wished "to draw the attention of the country to the "fact that the member for Cornwall had offered a 'wanton and deliberate insult to a large and re- " spectable body of men--the Orangemen--com- "paring them with the Thugs of India~a band "whose creed was assassination, and whose re- "ligion was murder and robbery. He had said "that the Orange society was only excelled by " that other society, the Thugs of India, and he "had no right to offer such an insult merely "from a desire to attack the Minister of Agri- ' culture." Men of Elma, Wallace, and Morn- ington--Orangemen of the County of Perth-- mark what this man, of whom Mr. Macfarlane was and is a slavish supporter, says of you: that you are no better than the Thugs of India, and, therefore, that you are men, as the Beacon said of you during the last election, whose creed is assassination, and whose religion is murder and robbery!!! This is just in keeping with the whole course of the Grits. They have no principles--they are incapable of originating or carrying through any measure for the general benefit of the country--the only hope they have of ever gaining a temporary triumph is by trading in the prejudices and pas- sions of the people. - To-day we have them de- nouncing popery, priests, nunneries, &c., and to-morrow comparing the Orangemen of Canada to the THUGS OF INDIA! Who are the Corruptionisis ? The Grit Press.are busy just now raising aicry against the Ministry concerni~g certain regula- tions regarding Mineral Lands. These 'people appear to haye neither shame nor discretion, otherwise they. would never speak of such mat- ters. The late Ministry, in order to. get hold of valuable lands for next to nothing; lowered the price per acre of gold or mineral lands to. thirty cents. A party was at once sent out by these worthies and their supporters, to hunt up these lands, in order to their being secured by them- selves. Before this nice little arrangement could by completed theMinistry fell to pieces,and on the accession of the present Ministry to power, this plot to plunder the public was rather rudely handled by the price of the Mineral Lands being raised from thirty cents to two dollars per. acre. Hence the cause of the virtuous horror of the immaculate Wm. McDougall, and the fury of his followers. It is supposed that an inquiry into the whole affair will be instituted, and the infa- mous plot exposed. In connection with this matter there is another of a more infamous char- acter still. Referring to Mr. Macdougall's con- duct as Commissioner of Crown Lands, a writer in the Leader says :-- ' "Tt has been ascertained since he went out of " office, that in some cases where a balance due "on mineral lands on the North Shore had been "demanded, he refused at different times to re- "ceive the money, although no order had been "issued, and then forfeited the -lands for non- "payment. Some of them thus forfeited were "immediately taken up by his friends; and he 'himself has an eye upon others, having made "arrangements with Gen. Wallbridge, of New "York, to visit them with a view of picking "out the best for themselves, The only valu- "able mine in this section of the country--400 "acres in extent--has gone into the hands of "Messrs. Sheppard and Blackburn, organists-in- " chief of the late Ministry." Mixed up with these disgraceful transactions we find the simeon pure of Upper Canada, Mr. George Brown. It is said, on good authority, that he received a grant of a large tract of land as the price of his abandonment of Representa- tion by Population. Many of our readers will, no doubt, remember the Bothwell land transac- tion in connection with this gentleman's name, and will easily understand that such an arrange- ment as the above could be effected. After this we may well ask, who are the corruptionists ? Elector's of Perth, bear in mind that Mr. Mac- farlane is the unflinching supporter of these men, and equally guilty with them. Correspondence. POY Yann Stratford and Saugeen Railway. To the Editor of the Herald. Sirn.-- Although I have been favored with the perusal of only one copy of the County of Perth Herald, yet, from the able manner in which it appears to be conducted and the en- lightened principles and views advocated there- in, I would humbly solicit the publication of a few plain statements through its medium, re- garding the building of the railroad from Strat- ford to Southampton, in the County of Bruce. There are two proposed routes or lines advocat- ed by parties differently interested. The one from Guelph, passing near or through the village of Walkerton, which is admitted by every com- petent engineer to be of most difficult and expensive construction; the other from Strat- ford, through a portion of the north-eastern townships of the County of Huron, passing near the rising and thriving village of Wroxeter, and which is of easy construction with no lime- stone rocks to pierce, and requiring no trestle work as proposed to overcome the difficulties of the Guelph line, and which is very dangerous for the lives of the lieges. It is evideat, then, that the latter route is much preferable to the former. Any person at all acquainted with the country, and the lines proposed, will see at a glance that the one from Stratford has also the' greater advantage of being much more level than the proposed line from Guelph, and has far less formidable obstructions to sur- mount. And I may state, that I have the best authority for saying, that when the line from Stratford was surveyed some years ago, the surveyor stated unhesitatingly and in the most emphatic terms, that it was the best line and of the easiest gradients, and could be built at less expense than any other he had ever sur- veyed. The very rich agricultural country, too, through which the Stratford line passes, before itreaches the point in Bruce County where it nearly becomes identified * with Guelph is another important consideration in favor of the Stratford line above that of the Guelph line ; and another advantage which the Stratford line possesses over that of Guelph is, that it would communicate directly with two important lines already built, viz., the Grand Trunk and the Buffalo and Lake Huron railways, and their various ramifications and branches. It is plain, then, that from these considerations,--the level- ness of the line, the absence of formidable ob- structions, the richness and agricultural impor- tance of the country through which it passes, and its communicating directly with other im- portant lines already built,--that the Stratford line is altogether very superior to that of the line from Guelph. From these circumstances it is obyious that the Stratford line affords far greater facilities for trade and commerce, with much better prospects of repaying any company of capitalists who may undertake its construc- tion, than the line from Guelph. : I may also state that throughout the entire line there is a very strong feeling in favor of the undertaking, and itis much. desired that some parties more immediately interested in such works than the general public, would agitate the various townships and municipal corpora- tions on, or near, the whole route; in order to stir up the people to a sense of their own vital interests in this matter, for what is everybody's | business is no one's business, and hence much good is left undone. I would, therefore, humbly suggest that one or two parties in, or near, Stratford, of respectability and intelligence, should be sent without delay, to draw the atten- tion of these municipalities to the vast importance of the case, and at the same time to ascertain as nearly as po'sible,what funds could be raised or subscribed in furtherance of the undertaking,-- AndasIam acquainted with no one in Strat- | ford or its vicinity except Mr. John Jackson, who is well known and very favorably received throughout all the townships on, or near, the whole line, even to Southampton, I would sug- gest that he might form one of the parties, who might be very successfully employed in the agi- tation. With these remarks, Iam, your obedient servant, Ov-PrQ: Wroxeter, May 9, 1864. Kiiice Court of Revision Again. To the Editor of the Herald. Sm.--I had the honor of being present at the Court of Revision for this township on Saturday last, and with your permission, I purpose laying before your readers a brief account of the deci- sions that were made thereat, and how things are managed in Ellice generally. But in order that your readers may the better understand the whole affair, I must take them back about three weeks, when our Reeve and Deputy Reeve took it into their heads to hold a Court of Revision on their own hook. They, acecrdingly, went to the Assessor's house for the purpose, and 'be- tween themselves and the Assessor they suc- ceeded in erasing the names of several parties who had been duly assessed, and who had their schedules to show, but who, the Reeve >xpected, would vote against him at the next municipal election for Ward No. 3, and replacing them with others who, he was satisfied, would vote for him. When the parties found out that their names did not appear on the Assessment Roll, they appealed to the Court of Revision in order to have their names placed on again, having been duly assessed; and Robert Henry, Esq., J. P., appealed to have a numer of names struck off that had been wrongfully inserted, and that without the knowledge of the parties so assessed, in fact some of them were residents of other municipalities, and others of Uncle Sam's dominions, not owning a foot of land in the municipality. Now for the scene at the Court--the Reeve in the chair. The appeal cases were called on in regular order, some complained of overcharges in their assessment, which, with one exception, were not sustained; on coming to some of those whose names had tramway, school house, municipal and other schemes, and last but not least, Mr. John Free- | born, of Millbank. This gentleman some time | ago belonged to the Conservative ranks, but by | some trick of legerdemain became a conyert to | the Grit ranks and when fully fledged sought | the Councillor's' chair, and out of 700 é€lectors polled 91 votes... But nevertheless Mr. Freeborn would make a good rin if we judge from pre- polling at the municipal election he made such arun for home as surpassed cight or ten after him, and astonished some 200 electors who wit- nessed the race. Jerusalem! how he streakes it." JERUSHA. Morn mgton C:rrt of Revision. To the Editor of the Herald, Court of Rerision--The .Issessment Roll--A Grit Triek played upon the Assessor--More Grit persecuiion--Apperis feom Assessment--Ad~ jourimen! of the Cour/--Anew dodge for ruis~ ing lie wind--T'e Trauway thrown tn the shade--Johnny tok» alvantage of the local dispute Letween M-Fid 'en and the Reeve and Devuty, oud seeks $1000--Gels foiled--Raises aire aid escapes tn se smoke, The Court of Revision for this township met on Monday last, at the Inn of J. W. Maxwell, Esq., in the Village of Millbank. Present the Reeve, Dennty Reeve, and Councillors Magwood, Roe, and Nicklin. Among the lookers on I ob« served Messrs. John smith, of Tramway predi- lections, Moses McFadden, who had a 'ist of ap~ peals, John Freeborn, the recent convert, with a very fancy pair. f iumention. bles, with alter- nately a white and black button up the centre, Jas. Reid, Township Treasurer, and several quiet individuals, upon the table, and from a pretty close examina~ tion appears to speak very favorably of the abili- ty | ot' the." :Assessor. Nevertheless. the Assessor was selected for Grit persecution. The case is this; some time ago one, Geo, Shearer ob- tained a small judgmen: against the Assessor,'in the 5th Division Court. Execution was issued and returned nulla bon , after which a judgment summons followed. TheAs:essor was examined, and ordered to pay immediately orbe committed 10 days. The Order was made on the 3rd March last; but strange to say was never put in force until the very day of the sitiing of the Court of Revision, when hi; :resence was neces~ sary to give such information as the Court might require. The Court examined a few of the ap- peals and then adjourned until Saturday, the 14th inst., when a stormy time may be expected. After the adjournment the (-ouncil organized fie the dispatch of business. A new dodge (things been erased, a scene ensued beyond description.) that sometimes do occur'in Mornington) was ate Which was both amusing and disgraceful, in which the Reeve and some of the appellants were the chief actors. Councillor Pearson--" This is most disgraceful conduct, the Council came here to do justice to the ratepayers, and, if you Il only keep order, I have no doubt that they will getit." The Reeve--" That's what some of them are afraid of." Councillor Pearson-- That's rather a novel way you have adopted to have them scratched off the Roll! Why didn't you take the proper steps to have them stcuck off, and you would have got justice?" Reeve-- "Yes, like you when you got John Kastner to appeal." Councillor Pearson--" If that appeal had been dealt with according to its merits, you would not occupy the position you do to-day. It's ashame for the Reeve of a municipality to be going on in the manner which you are doing, giving back talk to the ratepayers! I'm asham- el of youl!" Reeve--" Order!!" A voice-- "Yes, order yourself, youre making more noise than any body else." Reeve--"I'll hold my tongue when I like." Mr. Pearson--"TI claim the privilege of having the Assesso sworn, as.there appears to be something suspicious about the matter." The Assessor was sworn accordingly, and, on being questioned touching the case, he admitted that the Reeve told him to erase the name, and that he did it accordingly; and in another case where the proper name had been erased, and another inserted in its place, the Assessor swore that the Deputy Reeve ordered him to do it. These, sir, ar: the men who talk about corruption in our Parliament men; but, sir, the electors of Ellice are beginning to find out who the corruptionists are, and will deal with them accordingly. Now, Mr. Editor, if anv of your readers should doubt the truth of the above statement, I would refer them to the Assess- ment Roll, which they can find at the office of the County Clerk, Stratford, where they can ex- amine for themselves. Hoping that it will be a long time before I have occasion to trouble you again with so disagreeable an affair, © I am, your obedient servant, SPECTATOR. Ellice, May 11, 1864. en The next Grit Candidate for Par. liamentary Honors.--Sugges- tions, To the Editor of the Herald. Mr. Eprror.--You have given your readers the names of a number of respectable gentlemen, any one of whom would make an excellent represen- tative of the Conservatives of this County in Parliament: Messrs. Guest, Peter Watson, Peter Kastner, P. R. Jarvis, Monteith Ford, (not the Rey. Dr.) and last but not least, our true friend and real member, T. M. Daly, whose name shall be the pass-word for every truly loyal man. in Perth ; but in giving the names above, you alto- gether lost sight of the Grit interests. Allow me to suggest a few who would, probably, make a goodrun on the Grit ticket. First, then, I will commence with the Rev. Dr. Ford. This gentle- men is certainly entitled to the Grit nomination from the exertions which he made, in the Coun- ty of Waterloo, against the Hon. Mr. Foley -- Some consideration is due him at the hands of the Grits for his extensive influence in the Wa- terloo election, his pills were scattered freely. Second, Mr. John Smith, of Millbank, holds very strong claims upon the Grits for the many sac- rifices which he has made, and more especially is he entitled to become the man of their choice, from the fact of his being such a profficient in tempted with the Council to raise the wind. It appears the Trustees of Millbank School Section, among whom is John Smith, the Tramway ad- vocate, concocted the plan of building a frame SchoolHouse in the Village,at a cost of about$500, yet strange to say, John applied to the Council in his " own little way" to raise $1000, by issuing Debentures upon the township, for that amount. The question arose what was to be done with the additional $590. The answer was by Johnny Freeborn. The additional amount was "to go and come upon," and that although only about $590 might be required to build the house. yet Mr. Smith would have the management of the other $500, and his principles for fair deal- ing was a sufficient guarantee for the proper ap- propriation of the money. This doctrine of Johnny, the new convert to Gritism, was so strangely different from that preached by him two years ayo, that a strong suspicion was raised in the minds of the Council, as to the intended application of the $500 of 'go nd come" money in, the face of an approaching general election. The discussion grew hot between Smith and Freeborn on the one side, and McFadden, Nick- lin and McKee on the other, and finally, when the heat became intense, Smith and his colleague "kinder gin out' and evaporated. This scheme, had it succeeded, would have thrown the MiH- bank Tramway completely in the shade. What say you? Whew!!! The Council of Mornington with a suspicious eye the doings of those Johnnies. ¢ Tam &c., TRAMWAY. The Beacen Abusing the German. Population. To the Editor of the Herald.' The Stratford Beacon, of the 5th inst., sendw broadcast one of those untruthful statements go common in that paper, intended to stigmatize the Dutch in general in this township, and m and drunken, worthless characters, incapable of taking care of themselves. manufacture falsehoods for the Beacon imagine that because the Dutch of this township were, during the late County election about ten months ago, well primed with 'schnapps,' led to the poll, and induced to vote for the Bea~ con man's pet, that they are unable to take care of themselves? I, for one, and I trust and have reason to believe, that my countrymen in this township will, at the next election, teach care of themselves and to record their votes very differently from what they did in this township at the last election. I have only to add, that the "statement in the Beacon, having reference to my- end. ; CONRAD CASPER. Millbank, May 9, 1864. sane Bec Scar.er Fever.--A prominent physician in ventive of scarlet feverjis the simple wearing of a tarred string around the neck of the person who has been exposed or is liable to exposure, He cites cases that have occured within his own personal knowledge, where children and adultg have sickened and. died from this 'disease, and that none in the family or out of it have taken it when the preventive was used. cedent, for on the wfternoon of the first. day's. One wag cried out, " Oh,-' The Assessment Roll was laid , seem determined for all time to come to watch self in particular, as being fondof "schnapps" © Do the parties who -- the Beacon man that' Dutchmen are able to take) self and countr ymen, is untrue from beginning to Massachusetts has discovered that a sure pre-.' <I Ss