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Report the Evidence. "I have no intention of going into this matter at any great length," said Mtr. Nixon. "It is now several weeks since it was first brought to the House's attention by the resolution on Monday, Feb 5, when it was re-- ferred to the committse." Mr. Nixon then read Mr. Hentry's motion of ref-- erence, and in his version the conten-- tious vhrase was: ". . . and report to this House wita all convement speed the evidence." Opposition Speakers Deplore Method of McCaughrin Removal On & straight party vote, 53 to 11, tLbhe Ontarlio Legislature accepted the Legal Bills Committee's report deny-- ing that there had been bargaining or wrafficking of office in connection with the removal of Danie!l McCaugh-- rin from the Orillia Magistracy. . Mines Mirister Thinks Magistrate Led Astray '. by Liberals Mr. Nixon protested against the Government's action in bringing the important matter to the House on Friday afternoon, when many of the members had left for the week--end. All Liberal and Progressive members im the House voted for the amend-- ment, as did also the 'Labor and U.F.O. members, Neither W. E. N. Binclair, K.C., former Liberal Leader, nor 8. C. Tweed, Liberal, was in the Chamber, T. A. Blakelock (Liberal, Halton) arrived just too late to have his vote registered, and his exclusion caused Mr. Nixon to remark across-- floor to Premier Henry: "Your tactics In the debate which preceded the division, both Opposition Leaders took strong exception to the arrange ment whereby Magistzate McCaugh-- rin's successor was to pay his retir-- ing allowance, and also to Mr. Fin-- layson's assistance on the matter. Mr. Nixon considered that it bor-- dered on an infraction of the Code. Defending the report, Hon. Charles McCrea, Minister of Minecs, sym-- mathized with Mr. McCaughrin on the "There was a great rush to com-- plete the taking of evidence," con-- tinued the Progressive Leader, "the committee sitting late into the evening of the following Fridey and complet-- ing the taking of the evicence early the following week. Tae matter was allowed to stand until yesterday, in the usual manner of a procrastinating Administrations which puts off any-- tring of importance or embarrassment until the flinal days of the session. Now it is brought to the House for final disposal on a Friday afternoon, when many members have left the city, not expeciing any matter of great importance to be dealt with. TACTICS ARE _ RAPPED gromd that he was a tool used by Liberal politicians for their own pur-- Party Majority Upholds Cabinet In OQrillia Case On the same division, the House had rejected an amendment moved by Hon. Harry Nixon, Progressive Leader, that "this House condemns| leader, and second by Dr. George | A. McQuibban, Liberal House Lead-- er, that "this MHouse condemns the methods employed" in arranging Mr., McCaughrin's retirement. Nixon Protests. by "The instructions by this House to the committee were very explicit, to report the evidence to this House. I moved yesterday that the committce adhere to those instructions, consid-- cring that the House was the proper fnrum for final Gdisposition of the case. Thoréby I agreed with Clause 10 of the report (wlhuch merely states that the evidence is submitted), which, under our instructions should be the only one. Thcrefore I ari moving that the proper action should be one of censure regarding the methods em-- ployed in removing Mr. McCaughrin from office." Question of £Mciency. Regarding the first and second findings of the committee, which hold that Magistrate McCaughrin was in-- efficient. and, in the public interest, was retired, Mr. Nixon said he did not intend to take exception with them. The question of any offcial's efficicncy was the responsibility of an Administration, no matter what Gov-- ernment had :made the appointment. "I'd be the last to take exception to a dismissal, but I am objecting to the methods employed in this case. I prefer the straightforward, middle--o[-- the--rosd method of Gdismissal, the method adopted by our friend, G. Howard Porguson, in reorganizing the Hydrn Commission, when he wrote a member saying: 'We are reorganiz-- ing and we want your resignation.' It brings far less grief and embarrass-- ment than the devious, roundabout methods employed in this case, which skate so perilously near the provisions oi'! the Code respecting trafficking in office," Mr. Nixon then read from the evi-- dence given at the inquiry by Hon. William Finlayson, Minister of Lands and Forests, regarding the negoti-- ations which attended Mr. McCauzh-- rin's retirement, recalling the conver-- sation in Mr. Finlayson's office at the Parliament Buildings, which had fol-- lowed a chat between Mr. McCaughrin and Magistrate Howard Gover, his succossor, on the train on route to Toronto. g *"I submit again," said Mr. Nixon, "that I doubt very much that the Min'stry itself is proud of the meth-- ods of removin« this man from office. *"I submit again," said Mr. Nixon, "that I doubt very much that the Min'stry itself is proud of the meth-- ods of removing this man from office. You can't say there was no bargain-- ing, because it is apparent that Mc-- Caughrin and Gover talked on the train, McGauzhrin wantinge $3.000 and Gover starting with $1,500, and reached an agrsement at $2,000." Criminal Code Section. Mr. Nixon read Secotion 163 of the Mr. Nixon read Section 163 of the COriminal Code, covering buying of office. '"I'm not charging that these negotiations between Gover and Mc-- Caughrin come under the Code," he explained. "That's not my purpose, but I'm seeking to show that this was an improper method of securing the Magistrate's removal." Clause 4 of the commiitee report, setting forth the circumstances whereby Mr. McCaughrin received a retiring allowance, the Progressive Leader saw as a comonstration of the fact that the methods <~used were wrong. Again, he had no objection to the facts as stated in clauses 5, 6 and 7, but he reveated that they were Clause 8, which declares that there was "no bartering nor trafficking in office," was regarded by Mr. Nixon as "the kermel of the entire affair." The rest was "unimportant, inconsequent. I do not agree with that, and I sub-- mit that there was evidence of bart-- been so interrupted. With Clause 10 he agreed, but he baulked at the final recommendation that direct payments be made by the Government in meritorious cases to retiring officials. Inferentially, he said, this was a condemnation of the methods employed in the McCaughrin case. He would propose that in futwe the Government should not permit any retiring allowance to be bargained for as was done in this case. The & _ sSrong a methods. matter of superannuation and allow-- ance was being carried to "ridiculous Similarly, he disagreed with Find-- ing 9, listing precedents for the Orillia incident. He claimed there was no precedent for it. It would be suggested that if the negotiations in the other cases had been inter-- rupted at any certain stage, they would constituts a parallel, but the fact remained that none of them had & stro ym March methods <--used were i, he had no objection s stated in clauses 5, 6 repeated that they were rgunmrent against the P | Concluding, Mr. Heighington con-- ° |sidered the affair a "creditable, hon-- jest and charitable incident in the P !Government's history." ' _| Intricacies of Public Life. > l Dr. McQuibban observed that the s McCaughrin case had revealed a phase . _|of the intricacies of public life and . _ the business of politics. It had been | ordained that Mr. McCaughrin should 6 ' ge retired, "and then the machine got e ' us&,'ll lengths." Because a man had spent five or six years in a soft job, the Government was under no obligation to provide & payment on his retire-- ment. He agreed, however, that cer-- tain cases now covered by the Super-- annuation Act might be dealt with, on their merits, by the Legislature. Weighing of Evidence. To Wilfrid Heghington (Conserva-- tive, Toronto--St. Deavid) it was per-- fectly obvious that the House dele-- gated investigations to committees because tir>y provided the most ex-- peditious and convenient mode of atta ning the purpose. He read from authoritiecs in an effort to show that the committee's duty was to wrigh the evidence it heard and judge it for the Ho 1TADNGS 111 you'll turn Lile! h: the taxpayers of t from his successor. sympathy with Mr. returned man and a tried, however, inade duty. But "when he to tiiz Opposition p was looseni "Of all political flare--ups, the Mc-- Caughrin case was the biggest flop of the lot." he continued. "Poor old Dan McCaughrin! He had to use political influence to get himself ap-- pointed a commissioned officer of the Peel Regiment, and when you get turned down for a militia regiment in peacetime there's something seri-- ously wrong. When war came he en-- listed, and all credit to him. But he had to use political influence again when he was not considered the right type to command troops in the field." Mr. Nixon asked the Conservative member why the Government had appointed Mr. McCaughrin, if it were so convinced of his inefficiency. Mr. Heighington suggested that the appointment had been made out of respect to returned men. Nixon's suggestion that the negotia-- tions came perilously close to the pro-- visions of the Criminal Code. The section in question, he said, concerned reward and profit obtained by the in-- stigator of bartering for office. The committee report stated, said Dr., McQuibban, that Mr. McCaughrin was inefficient. But he was an ap-- pointss of the present Government, and the Attorney--General's Depart-- ment had capable experts who should have known of the Magistrate's in-- efficiency long before the dismissal. Meanwhile, many cases had come be-- fore the Magistrate, cases in which the justice dispensed meant much to the individuals involved. "We have no quarrel with the ro-- tirement, just with the manner in which it was handled by certain of-- ficials of the Government," said the Liberal Leader. He recalled Mr. Fin-- layson's role of arbitrator in the nego-- tiations, and remarked: "This case involved the boundaries of the Min-- ister's riding. There might be some retired and another put in his place." Ged you, ViI n2ad U Kuca.eda / poiti¢ ITnmohninvter and it pr m iyga ave it to The Gliobs. And ) the thing has proved McCaughr'n's philosochy, i been that "if you can-- at you want from your e Government of the day, raiter to those who have vyou'l and as an Ooftic:al who , inadequately, to do his hen he took this matter tion press and tried to capital out of it, he capital out of it, he the stone that brought down unon him." f1° njoy:in scard suspected that jleliberate attempt y--General of this vic y reason and had In iate for just a day [rit ing a substantial sceived, not from l" ie Province, but ' He had every . McCauzhrin as a} . questioned Mr. the hand that as oiIne i fficial w Strategy out --of long