More court proceedings were in order. In Canada the mills of the Gods grind slow, but they grind exceedingly fine. The memorable words which once fell from the lips of General U. S. Grant, "Let no guilty man escape," might be fittingly applied to the judicial system which prevails in the Dominion. Burke was again arraigned, this time before Judge Bain and another adjournment granted to await the arrival of the necessary papers. It was evident that Burke meant to fight extradition to the bitter end; it was equally evident that Judge Bain, although the youngest Judge upon the bench, was the best before whom the case could have been brought. He intended that justice should be done, and he did not propose that legal technicalities should save the prisoner from extradition, if it were proved that he was in any way concerned in the murder of the physician.
THE PRESIDENT ACTS.
All this time the authorities in Chicago had not been idle. Assistant States Attorney George Baker was first dispatched to Springfield, the State Capital, where the necessary papers were obtained. From here he hastened to Washington, where a requisition and other documents were properly "vised" by the State Department, and late on the night of June 24th, immediately upon his arrival from Cape May, where he had been taking a brief vacation, the President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, placed his signature upon the warrant which authorized the Secretary of State, James G. Blaine, to affix the great seal of the United States to the official documents. Without this Presidential warrant, the custodian of the seal in the State Department could not permit even Secretary Blaine to affix it. On the following morning this formality was carried out and the responsibility of the Federal Government in the case came to an end. Burke was again brought before Judge Bain on Thursday, June 27th, and despite the fact that it was known that the extradition documents were on their way, a determined effort was made by Counselor Campbell, with whom another prominent lawyer, W. E. Perdue, had been associated, to secure the discharge of the prisoner.
The Court decided to proceed with the case, and Officers Collins and McKinnon were called to testify. When they had told what they knew, a remand was granted for a week. Here it was resumed on July 3d, when Expressman Mortinsen repeated his identification of the prisoner, and Joseph Dillabaugh, a Chicago newspaper man, testified that he had seen the body taken from the Lake View catch basin, and was satisfied that it was that of Dr. Cronin. Additional evidence was given on the following day, Elliott Flower and Andrew Yount, representatives of Chicago newspapers, testifying to the location of the Carlson cottage, the blood stains found in it and other material facts. So the case went on from day to day. The evidence of young Carlson was considered necessary, and he was sent on in hot haste from Chicago. It was not until Wednesday, July 10th, that sufficient facts were before the Court upon which to base a decision. This decision, however, was to the point. It held that all the evidence given was admissible and sufficient for the purposes of extradition. It was sufficient to raise a presumption of guilt, and this was all that was necessary. Judge Bain went over the evidence which had been introduced before him, bringing out each little point, showing wherein it was weak and wherein it was strong, and concluded an able and exhaustive review of the case by remanding the prisoner to jail for extradition.
FIGHTING TO THE LAST.
Still Burke did not despair. Under the laws of the Dominion it was open to his counsel to apply for a writ of habeas corpus, in order that the decision of the Court might be reviewed. Nearly three weeks' delay was allowed for this purpose. People wondered that, considering the fact that Burke's available assets at the time of his arrest footed up little more than $50, he was able to retain two prominent attorneys, whose fees must, even up to this stage of the case, have aggregated more than ten times that amount. They wondered still more, when the announcement was made that the case of the suspect had been taken to a court of last resort, and which comprised Chief Justice Taylor, Judge Kellam and Judge Dubuc. This proceeding was in the form of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, based largely on technical grounds. Elaborate arguments were heard for several days, and in the meantime ex-Senator William Kennedy, of Wisconsin, arrived from the States as special legal adviser to the suspect. This was additional proof that somebody or other, with plenty of money at command, was behind Martin Burke in the effort to prevent his being taken back to Chicago. Again, however, the law was triumphant; the application for a writ of habeas corpus was denied, and the extradition of the prisoner was ordered for the second time.
CANADIAN JUSTICE TRIUMPHS.
Burke's last chance for a long stay in Canada had now disappeared. Unusual promptness characterized the action of the authorities at Ottawa. Immediately upon the receipt of a telegraphic dispatch from Chief Justice Taylor, to the effect that the appeal had been denied, the warrant of extradition was issued by Sir John Thompson, minister of justice, and mailed to Winnipeg. It arrived at its destination at noon of Saturday, August 3rd, and, having been vised by the Lieutenant-Governor and the Provincial Secretary, was served upon Govenor Lawlor. Chief of Police Hubbard had in the meantime arrived from Chicago to superintend the arrangements for the return of the prisoner, and availed himself of the opportunity to highly eulogize Chief McRae for the able manner in which he had worked his part of the case. Day had barely dawned on Monday morning when the Chicago officers were astir. They drove at once to the jail, and the necessary formalities having been complied with, the prisoner was delivered into the custody of Officer Collins, in whose name the warrant had been made out. He was quickly hustled into a covered carriage, Chief Hubbard, Lieutenant Ross and Officer Broderick occupying the opposite seat. A little after six the depot was reached, and the prisoner, who had been handcuffed prior to leaving the jail, was placed in the smoking compartment of the palace sleeping car "Great Falls." Here he was closely guarded by the two police officers, who were well armed, while the Chief and Lieutenant returned to the hotel for breakfast. In a very little while a big crowd had gathered at the depot, but the blinds of the compartment had been carefully pulled down, and the people were compelled to derive what satisfaction they could by gazing at the closed windows. Burke had brought a basket of food and fruit with him from the jail, and through enquiries it was learned that it had been delivered to him the night before, that he had been advised to eat no food which might be offered to him by the officers, as it might be drugged, and that he had also been instructed to have nothing whatever to say to his guards while on the road. These instructions, it was afterward developed, were inspired by a telegram from Chicago, and which had been sent by an unknown man from the Grand Pacific Hotel over the initials "J. G." Shortly before ten o'clock the train pulled out, and Burke had started on what, to him, was destined to be a memorable journey. Chief McRae, representing the Winnipeg, police, Chief Clark of the provincial police, Chief Hossack of the Canadian Pacific detective force, H. McMicken of the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba road, and James McHale, a United States Government officer, accompanied the party as far as Morris, McHale and Hossack, going as far as Neche on the American side of the line.