The Sequence of Events

September 1885

Jeremiah Travis arrives in Calgary to serve as the Stipendiary Magistrate for Calgary.

November 1885

The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) charge Calgary town councilor Simon J. Clarke with resisting arrest and assault after attempting to search the premises owned by him and partner John Beaudoin for alcohol.

Clarke appears before Travis and is represented by Henry Bleecker and E.P. Davis. To the surprise of the spectators, Travis sentences Clarke to six months of hard labour, without the option of a fine.

Travis accuses Clerk of the Court and Calgary Herald editor Hugh St. Quentin Cayley of being drunk on the job. Cayley is fired by Travis who includes as grounds for the action Cayley’s questionable practice of keeping court funds in his own bank account.

December 1885

The Calgary town council prepares for the upcoming January town election by examining and compiling a list of voters. Seventy-three names are added to the existing 212 registered voters. A supporter of mayoral rival James Reilly charges the mayor and council with corruption.

In response to scathing editorials in the Calgary Herald that criticized his actions, Travis charges editor and former Clerk of the Court Cayley with contempt of court.

Travis responds in court to the criticism, defending his actions concerning Clarke and Cayley and reaffirming his belief that Mayor Murdoch is involved in a Calgary whiskey ring.

Travis questions the credentials of lawyer E.P. Davis, arguing that the town solicitor had not yet passed the bar exams. He subsequently bans Davis from practicing law in his court for two years.

Cayley appears before Travis on contempt of court charges. Represented by Bleecker, Travis denies the defence argument that contempt of court had not occurred and indicates that the charges against the editor may be dropped if the identity of the author of the letter is disclosed. Cayley refuses and is offered the following options: printing a retraction; paying a $400 fine; or three months in jail. Cayley refuses the first two choices and opts for jail time.

The matter of the corruption and voter lists comes before Travis. Mayor Murdoch and the town council are defended by Bleecker who asserts that Travis has no jurisdiction to question the list of voters. Travis disagrees and disqualifies Murdoch and three councilors from the upcoming election and bans them from holding office for two years. 

January 1886

Cayley reports to the NWMP jail for his three-month sentence on contempt charges. He is accompanied by a rowdy crowd that includes the town band. While in jail the editorial duties at the Herald are taken over by Bleecker. A request from the Minister of Justice to release Cayley is refused by Travis. Three weeks later the government orders Cayley be released (Cayley’s father was a former Conservative cabinet minister and pressed for the action).

The civic election occurs. Mayor Murdoch and the disqualified councillors, I.S. Freeze, Neville Lindsay and Joseph Millward, appear on the ballot and all are re-elected by a large majority.  Mayoral rival James Reilly protests and Travis bans the group from the new council, replacing them with Reilly and members of his slate.

Upon the request of the banned lawyer E.P. Davis, Ottawa lawyer and Liberal party worker F.H. Chrysler charges that Travis’ actions concerning the election and town council were illegal and advises that Murdoch and disqualified councilors should refuse to give way to the Reilly slate. Calgary thus has two mayors and two town councils. Davis requests that Chrysler work to remove Travis.

February – March, 1886

The day to day running of Calgary grinds to a halt. Neither the Murdoch nor Reilly slate can function as the first has no legal standing and “missing” town records hinders the latter.

Travis appeals to Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, protesting his treatment in the press and Calgary’s town council. Travis is not without support, as a large number of prominent businessmen, church leaders and citizens sign a petition of support, applauding the magistrate’s efforts to rid Calgary of corruption and the whiskey ring.

Judge Thomas Taylor of Winnipeg is appointed to investigate the complaints against Travis such as illegal action, unjust convictions and sentences and dictatorial behaviour. Charles B. Rouleau replaces Travis pending the investigation.

June – July 1886

Commissioner Taylor holds hearings to investigate the complaints against Travis that are contained in 15 charges from Mayor Murdoch, Cayley, Bleecker and Davis. During the hearings, evidence also reveals damning testimony against the complainants, including drunkenness, perjury and inappropriate conduct.

Commissioner Taylor submits his report on Travis. The report would not be released by the federal government for nearly a year.
 

The federal government introduces a Supreme Court system for the North-West Territories that eliminates the position of stipendiary magistrate. Travis is not appointed to the new court, is given an annual pension and returns to private practice.

November 1886

The North-West Council orders a new election be held in Calgary. Murdoch runs, however the seat of mayor is awarded to George C. King. The new council immediately replaces Henry Bleecker as Calgary’s lawyer.

June 1887

Commissioner Taylor’s report on Travis is submitted to Parliament. The report is highly critical of Travis and recommends dismissal. The report argued that Travis had acted outside of his mandate, and was unjust, arbitrary and perhaps illegal in his actions.

The Sequence of Events Judicial Tyranny

“The matter concerns all of us, and though Clarke may suffer, it is for us to see that our community is not destroyed. It is not a question of prohibition or police jurisdiction but of remedying the law as Mr. Travis lays it down.”

—Editorial in the Calgary Herald, November 24, 1885

“It is a mistake on your part, and on that of those acting with you to suppose that such proceedings as those at the meeting on Monday night or even of other more lawless demonstrations which, I was advised were threatened to have been made last night, will deter me from the performance of my duty, one part of which I trust will not be the infliction of good punishment on those whose duty it is not to endeavor to interfere with the efficiency of the Court and mistreat it with punishable contempt, but to assist in the due administration of justice.”

—Jeremiah Travis to Henry Bleecker, November 11, 1885, as printed in the Calgary Herald, December 9, 1885

“We believe that it was neither on account of the Clarke case . . . that the Mayor was commissioned by the municipality and citizens to visit the capital, but to remind one or two persons who seem to have forgotten it, that this country contains men who are the descendents of those who once fought for and secured the recognition of the English liberties and who are determined that these liberties shall not suffer diminution through any fault or cowardice of theirs.”

—Calgary Herald, November 25, 1885

“that dirty, slanderous little sheet.”

—Jeremiah Travis on the Calgary Herald as printed in the Calgary Tribune December 16, 1885

“Fortunately for the people of this District there is every probability of Judicial authority surviving the wrath of the Herald’s editorial and literary staff.”

—Calgary Tribune, December 2, 1885

"It is beyond all doubt that there existed among the population of Calgary a lawless element, dangerous to the peace, and good order of society. In dealing with this element, Mr. Travis had a difficult task, but he did not pursue a prudent course.”

— Judge Thomas Taylor in The Western World, Winnipeg, August 1890

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