3 OCTOBER 1891, Page 2

The Canadian Parliament was prorogued on Wednesday. In the Speech

from the Throne, the "honourable gentlemen of the Senate and gentlemen of the House of Commons" were informed by Lord Stanley, that the negotiations in regard to Behring Sea, though "still incomplete," are proceeding, and that, "in anticipation of a friendly conference with the Government of the United States on the subject of the extension and development of our trade in that country, and other important matters, the provisions of the Protocol of 1888, known as the modus vivencli, have been extended,"—an announcement probably intended to pave the way for the adoption of a policy of Reciprocity by the Conservative Party. After mentioning "the extensive frauds" committed by "a group of contractors," and "the irregularities of certain per- sons in the Civil Services," the speech proceeds to de- clare that it is the intention of the Government "to procure and issue a Commission to investigate the organisation of the Civil Service, and to report as to measures for its improve- ment." We sincerely trust that Mr. Abbott's Government is really in earnest. If they succeed in cleansing the Augean stable in Canada, the effect will be felt through the English- speaking world. If the Americans see that it is possible to put down a corruption as bad as their own, they will make short work of the "Washington system" of which so much was heard in the recent inquiry at Ottawa.