The petitions had been lodged with promptness. "Evidence,"
as Mr Winter remarked, "is like a good many other
things--better when it's hot, especially the kind you
get on the Reserve." To which, when he heard it, Bingham
observed sarcastically that the cat would keep. The
necessary thousand dollars were ready on each side the
day after the election, lodged in court the next. Counsel
were as promptly engaged--the Liberals selected Cruickshank
--and the suit against the elected candidate, beginning
with charges against his agents in the town, was shortly
in full hearing before the judges sent from Toronto to
try it. Meanwhile the Elgin Mercury had shown enterprise
in getting hold of Moneida evidence, and foolhardiness,
as the Express pointed out, in publishing it before the
matter was reached in court. There was no foolhardiness
in printing what the Express knew about Finnigan's cat;
it was just a common cat, and Walter Winter paid five
dollars for it, Finnigan declaring that if Mr Winter
hadn't filled him up with bad whiskey before the bargain,
he wouldn't have let her go under ten, he was that fond
of the creature. The Express pointed out that this was
grasping of Finnigan, as the cat had never left him, and
Mr Winter showed no intention of taking her away; but
there was nothing sub judice about the cat.
Pages:
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401