The Story of a Dark Plot; Or, Tyranny on the FrontierA.L.O.C.
History
The Story of a Dark Plot; Or, Tyranny on the Frontier
A.L.O.C.
Smith, William W.; Temperance
The Scott Act is very good so far as it goes, but if the County of
Brome, instead of having this Act, and standing, in this respect,
almost alone in the Province, had possessed its share in a prohibition
law which held sway from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the outlawed
liquor venders of the county would probably not have had such power
with a great corporation as they displayed in this case. If the
temperance people of Canada wish to have a powerful voice in such
matters as this, or if they would have great institutions like the
Canadian Pacific Railway conducted on principles of temperance and
true freedom, let them work for prohibition, and send representatives
to Parliament who will do the same. And just now, when they hold in
their hands a key which may be the means of unlocking to us the gate
of Prohibition for our country, let them use it to the best advantage,
by giving a powerful majority for good when the Plebiscite vote is
taken.
CHAPTER IX.
THE MARCH COURT.
As was stated in Chapter III. of this book, the prisoners, Kelly and
Howarth, remained in jail, the former at Montreal, the latter at
Sweetsburg, during the winter of 1894-95, awaiting trial at the Court
of Queen's Bench.
This court opened at Sweetsburg on Friday, March 1st, 1895, but the
Assault Case did not receive special consideration until the following
week. Monday, March 4th, the Grand Jury reported a true bill against
M. L. Jenne, Jas. Wilson and John Howarth for conspiracy, and against
Walter Kelly for attempted murder.
On Tuesday morning the court room was crowded so that it was
impossible to obtain even standing-room for all the eager listeners,
and many were obliged to content themselves with the little that they
could hear outside the doors. Thus was shown the great interest which
the public felt in the result of this trial.
When the names of the accused were called, Mr. Racicot, counsel for
the defence, asked in an eloquent speech that the prisoners be allowed
to sit with their counsel instead of being made to stand for hours in
the dock. Mr. Baker, Crown Prosecutor, opposed this request, and Hon.
Judge Lynch ordered that the prisoners be put into the box.
The next thing in order was the empaneling of a petit jury. It
appeared that many of the proposed jurymen were known supporters of
the liquor party, and these were, of course, objected to by the lawyer
for the Crown. In the words of _The Templar_, "It seemed as if Mr.
Baker challenged all who were known to 'take a glass,' while Mr.
Racicot challenged all known temperance people."
The afternoon session opened at one o'clock. The Crown Prosecutor made
an eloquent speech to the jury, reviewing the evidence given at the
preliminary trial. The following account of his address was given in
the _Witness_:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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