“My man,” thought I, “you certainly have your knife out for the Canadian French.”
“Do you think,” asked Uncle, looking at Mr. Fraser, “that the Government of to-day is any improvement on that constituted by the Family Compact in Ontario?”
“Certainly, our present Government is by the people.”
“But as a Government, I mean, are officials more conscientious, more honest, does the man in the street fare better, is there less waste of public money?”
“I think so! Yes.”
“Is working a graft less pernicious when carried out by an elected representative, than when it is done by a member of an autocracy like the Family Compact?”
“They call it graft here; while in England it is known as ‘family influence’,” cut in Mr. Bang. “This was a distinction framed by an Englishman I knew in Dawson City.”
“There is no difference,” acknowledged Mr. Fraser in reply to Uncle’s question.
“What was the Family Compact?” I asked.
“As its name implies, a compact that lorded over Ontario in the old days.”