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My Dear Campbellby W. Leland Clark Manitoba Pageant, Winter 1974, Volume 19, Number 2
The Hon. Colin H. Campbell, M.L.A. for Morris and Minister of Public Works in the Rodmond P. Roblin Ministry, was stricken by a severe illness on February 15, 1913, the very day on which the session of the Manitoba Legislature was prorogued. Hoping to benefit from the traditional cure of rest and sunshine, the Minister travelled to Kingston, Jamaica, where he, unfortunately, almost immediately suffered from an attack of paralysis. Following a considerable amount of time spent in the care of medical authorities in the Eastern United States, the Minister and his ever-present wife, Minnie Julia Beatrice Campbell, journeyed overseas in the continuing search for medical relief. There, they spent the winter of 1913-1914 and what proved to be the majority of his remaining days. Despairing of hope for a full recovery, the Hon. Colin and Mrs. Campbell returned to Manitoba in the late summer. He died shortly thereafter on October 24, 1914, at the relatively young age of fifty-four. While Colin Campbell was absent from Manitoba, several Manitoba politicians wrote with varying degrees of frequency in an effort to keep the absent Minister informed of developments within his home province. In view of the scarcity of primary sources for that particular political era, the letters written to Colin Campbell during his period of absence are of value and interest to the historian. The fact that several of these letters were written by Premier Roblin in what proved to be a crucial stage in his political career means that they are even more of interest to the reader today. Premier Roblin wrote several times during a period of time that extended from July 9, 1913 to August 21, 1914. The nature of his letters would vary as he became more aware of the gravity of Campbell’s illness. Thus, on July 9, 1913, Premier Roblin wrote a cheerful, reassuring letter that said virtually nothing, probably on the assumption that the Minister would soon return and there would then be time for serious political discussion. After the predictable comments on Campbell’s health and an expression of hope that “the trip that you are about to take will end in your complete restoration ...” [1] Roblin turned to politics in an almost “breezy” fashion:
Premier Roblin’s next letter of September 9, 1913 was also full of confidence and reassurance. The harvest was underway and it was “undoubtedly the best in the history of Western Canada.” [6] The Parliament Buildings were under construction and they were “sinking the caissons now.” [7] The political scene still remained calm for, as Roblin noted, “The Free Press has not had any spasms for several days, but I suppose it will break out in a violent one soon, as it is impossible for them to remain passive for any length of time.” [8] Finally, Roblin noted some concern for his own health (he had taken the baths at the Elmwood Sanitarium [9] for his lumbago), and that he was delighted with the news that Colin Campbell was expected to be back at his duties in four or five weeks. Before those few weeks had passed, there was to be another Roblin to Campbell letter, dated September 25, 1913, containing the first ex-pressed concern for the political future of the Government.
Campbell’s continuing ill health and the approaching general election combined to cause considerable anxiety for Premier Roblin and his colleagues. As Roblin indicated in his next letter of October 6, 1913, the gravity of the situation was increased by the fact that Colin H. Campbell was generally regarded as the second in command to the Premier.
That the Minister resigned promptly in response to the above request is evident from the Premier’s next letter of November 10, 1913, in which he referred to the resignation received about a week before. Campbell’s resignation as Minister of Public Works had been followed by the immediate appointment of Dr. Montague [16] to that post. There still remained the problem of finding a seat in the Legislative Assembly for the new minister.
The sincere sadness of a Premier who had experienced the distasteful task of requesting the resignation of his principal lieutenant was apparent in this letter. In addition there was an awareness that his own personal role in Manitoba politics was nearing its end.
The seat which the Roblin government selected for Dr. Montague was that of St. Andrews and Kildonan. The by-election there in late 1913 proved to be one of the most controversial in Manitoba’s history. When Roblin reported on it to Campbell, who was by then seeking the recuperative benefits of the Cairo sunshine, the final results of that by-election were not yet known. The by-election had been, the Premier wrote
While the Premier did not discuss, to any extent, the methods employed by the Government party in that much disputed by-election, he did note that bad weather had hampered some of their activities. Thus, he wrote that “Saturday, election day, was mud to the axles. I fancy there were 20 motor cars out of business as a result of the weather. We had over forty cars down there, but the mud road was so bad they were scarcely able to do anything only on that portion of it that is macadamised.” [20] When Roblin wrote next on January 9, 1914, the challenge of the by-elections had been successfully overcome, [21] and the Legislature had been in session since December 11. While the Premier reported that the session had not as yet “excited any interest”, [22] the major problem then before the Government (but not yet before the Legislature) was a matter of considerable significance. Re-distribution was to precede an election in 1914 and there were many factors to be considered.
This letter of the Premier’s also carried much news of home to the absent colleague in far-off Cairo. It had been an unusually pleasant winter, [25] the notorious Jack Krefchancko (sic) [26] had been arrested for the murder of a Plum Coulee bank manager, and Sir James Whitney [27] was seriously ill in New York City. The Premier noted as well that many residents of Winnipeg had left, or would be leaving, for Cairo where, it was anticipated, they would visit with the Campbells. [28] Finally, there was a further disquieting comment by the Premier as to his own health:
Roblin wrote again just ten days later in response to a letter just received from Campbell. As with the previous correspondence, this letter was friendly and informative. However, there was less of political significance on this occasion. The fact that this letter was written so soon after the earlier one of January 9, 1914, could be the explanation. One suspects, however, that the relationship between Roblin and Campbell was slowly changing as it became increasingly evident that they would never be cabinet colleagues again. There was, however, still political news of a rather general nature.
There was also a report on one of Campbell’s favorite pieces of legislation:
Finally, there was a somewhat patronizing reassurance for the ailing politician that he could still be of value to his party.
As time passed so did the close relationship that had existed between the absent Campbell and the Manitoba Government. The Premier wrote his last letter on April 21, 1914, some three months later. In this letter Roblin clearly was writing to someone who was then quite removed from the political scene.
There was rather depressing news of old friends.
Inevitably, politicians writing to politicians must refer at some point to politics. This last letter was no exception, and in it is to be found the still present optimism for the future.
Finally, there were a few words on an issue that would prove to be most significantand more damaging to the Roblin government than the Premier foresaw.
The election results of July 10, 1914, presumably caused more “consternation” in the Conservative party than they did in the “other camp”. There is no record of any letter from Roblin to his ex-colleague after that fateful date and it remained for an old friend and the ex-Premier, Hugh John Macdonald, to convey details on the political misfortunes of the Conservative party.
While Hugh John would be well aware of the thesis that elections are rarely won or lost on a single issue, he was quite certain as to the major cause of this particular setback:
Macdonald further suggested that some Government candidates had perhaps too readily shared their Premier’s self-confidence:
The political future was, Macdonald concluded, full of uncertainty and he found the prospects personally disturbing:
The Campbell’s return to Winnipeg a few months before his death on October, 1914, terminated the correspondence of the preceding months. The historical significance of that correspondence lies both in what was said and what was not said. Premier Roblin, for example, had expressed initial concern as to the strength of his Government. His “right bower” was to be absent during important months preceding the 1914 General Election. The Premier also expressed concern for his own health (as did Hugh John Macdonald after that election) and, on one occasion, he seemed to envy Campbell’s detachment from the strain of office. On the other hand, the Premier did not display any real awareness of the significance of the issues that were before the Legislature and would soon be before the electorate. He wrote without any apparent doubt that he, and the Government, were successfully resolving the questions of temperance and compulsory education. The Grits, he confided in Campbell, were divided and Norris’ position as leader was insecure. The Government was perhaps relying on the traditional techniques of electioneering. “Ditches were being dug” and redistribution had been presumably completed satisfactorily. The Government was, indeed, optimistic about its electoral future. There was no expressed awareness of what the 1914 election was to bring. One might suggest that Premier Roblin purposely underestimated the significance of these political problems in order to avoid alarming his ailing colleague. He had not, however, refrained from expressing his earlier concern when he wrote of his own health and the weaknesses of the Cabinet. One can conclude, therefore, that Premier Roblin was unaware of the extent of the political opposition that was developing in Manitoba when he wrote his last letter to “My Dear Campbell” on April 21, 1914. Whether he remained unaware as his Government went to the polls on July 10, 1914, is unknown. It was the expressed opinion of Hugh John Macdonald that he did. If one does conclude that the Roblin Government was largely unaware of its own weaknesses on the eve of the 1914 General Election, there remains the difficulty of explaining such unawareness. Could part of the answer be the absence, during those crucial months preceding that election, of Roblin’s “right bower”? One suspects so. Notes1. Rodmond P. Roblin to Colin H. Campbell, July 9, 1913, Colin H. Campbell papers, Correspondence May-September 1913, Public Archives of Manitoba (hereafter cited as P.A.M.). 2. The frequent reference to crops and harvest conditions undoubtedly reflect both the political and economic significance of agriculture in Manitoba in 1913-1914. 3. The reference to Kelly and the Parliament Buildings contract does not indicate any “special” relationship between Kelly and the Government. 4. The implication is that Roblin regarded party organization as his own personal responsibility. 6. Roblin to Campbell, September 9, 1913, Colin H. Campbell papers, Correspondence May-September, 1913, P.A.M. 10. The Hon. G. Coldwell, M.L.A. for Brandon and Minister of Education, had been Acting Minister of Public Works in the Hon. Cohn Campbell’s absence. 11. Roblin to Campbell, September 25, 1913, Colin H. Campbell papers, Correspondence May-September 1913, P.A.M. 12. John T. Haig was a prominent Winnipeg Conservative and, evidently, a close friend of Colin Campbell. 13. Sir James Aikins would become Lieutenant-Governor in 1916. Aikins, M.P. for Brandon since 1911, was one of those mentioned earlier as a possible successor to Campbell. He did become leader of the Conservative party in 1915 after Roblin’s resignation. 14. The Hon. Robert Rogers was then Minister of Interior in the Borden government. Matters of patronage for Manitoba were clearly his responsibility. 15. Roblin to Campbell, October 6, 1913. Colin H. Campbell Papers. Correspondence, October-December, 1913. P.A.M. 16. Dr. Montague has been listed as the cabinet’s second choice in the letter of October 6. There is no explanation as to why Montague was appointed rather than James Aikins, the expressed first choice. 17. Roblin to Campbell, November 10, 1913, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence October-December, 1913, P.A.M. 18. Ibid. It would appear that Roblin’s poor health might well have led to retirement in the near future, irrespective of any question of political impropriety. 19. Roblin to Campbell, December 1, 1913, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence, October-December 1913, P.A.M. 20. Roblin to Campbell, December 1, 1913, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence October-December 1913. P.A.M. 21. Roblin reported that Dr. Montague had won the St. Andrews and Kildonan by-election by a margin of 418 votes. In addition, the Government party had also won a by-election in Macdonald constituency, with the majority of 923 being “a very considerable increase over the last one.” Roblin to Campbell, January 9, 1914, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence, 1914, P.A.M. 23. J. C. W. Reid was the Conservative M.L.A. for Deloraine. In the 1910 General Election he won the seat by a margin of six votes over his Liberal opponent, R. S. Thorton. Presumably. Roblin was attempting to strengthen Reid’s position although the phrase “fix Reid permanently” is somewhat ambiguous. In any event, Reid lost the seat in 1914 by a majority of 204 votes. 25. The Premier notes that he had that day, for the first time, abandoned his summer overcoat for winter attire. 26. Krafchenko’s arrest, his later escape, and his eventual execution, was of much interest to Manitobans in 1913-14. 27. Sir James Whitney, Conservative Premier of Ontario, had been seriously ill since December. He died on September 25, 1914. 28. It would appear that Cairo met the needs of winter-weary Manitobans in pre-World War days as does the southern United States and like areas now. 30. T. C. Norris, M.L.A. for Lansdowne, was elected House Leader in 1909 and Liberal party leader in 1910 on the eve of the election. 31. Roblin to Campbell, January 19, 1914, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence, 1914, P.A.M. 32. Ibid. The amendment in question would fail to convince the electorate that the Roblin administration was taking the necessary steps to ensure a universal and unilingual educational system. This failure proved to be a major issue in the 1914 General Election. 34. Roblin to Campbell, April 21, 1914, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence 1914, P.A.M. 35. Sir William Whyte was vice-president of the CPR when he retired in 1911. He had been a prominent citizen of Winnipeg for many years. 37. The Liberal opposition would win 21 seats in the 1914 General Election. They had 13 members in the House at the time when Roblin was writing this letter. 40. Hugh John Macdonald to Hon. Colin H. Campbell, July 17, 1914, Colin H. Campbell Papers, Correspondence 1914, P.A.M. 41. The Roblin Government insisted that the Coldwell Amendments of 1912 were designed only to clarify certain sections of the School Act. Many critics believed that the Amendments were designed to re-introduce certain aspects of separate schools into Manitoba. 43. Ibid. The letters suggest, but do not prove, that one of the major factors in the Roblin Government’s setback in 1914 was its failure to perceive a fundamental change in electoral attitude. 45. Ibid. This is an interesting comment in view of the fact that so little is known of the relationship between these two men. Macdonald might well have envied the political success of Roblin who replaced him as Premier in 1900 while he, Macdonald, was to end his political career in the futile attempt to defeat Clifford Sifton in Brandon. 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