LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Alexander Mackenzie: Liberals
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Alexander Mackenzie established himself as a man of direct expression and forceful opinions. He developed a strong sense of parliamentary tactics, which later stood him in good stead. A companion-in-arms of George Brown, the Reform leader, he held views on representation by population, retrenchment and fiscal responsibility, the supremacy of parliament, and church-state relations that followed predictable paths, informed as they were by his egalitarianism, his economic liberalism, and his suspicion of unreasoned institutional authority. Yet his beliefs on such matters could be compromised when the special interests of his constituency or region were at stake. In the 1860s, for example, he lobbied for the oil-producers of southwestern Ontario, gaining lower excise taxes for them, which effectively increased the tariff protection they already had.
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As 1878 drew closer and the probability that another election would be fought, Mackenzie shored up his team by adding a promising young Liberal named Laurier as his Quebec Lieutenant. Blake had left the government which was not entirely regretted by Mackenzie. He was finally starting to feel that he was in control of his party and the depression was ending. He called and entered the 1878 election feeling confident, that his responsible handling of finances, honesty and integrity in governing and his hard work in running the country would pay off with a second term as Prime Minister. He was gravely disappointed when the Liberals were swept out of power and MacDonald and his cronies were returned as the ruling party.
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With Brown gone, Mackenzie found a political associate in young Edward Blake, the new leader of the Liberals in Ontario. In the election of 1871 the Liberals won a majority in Ontario and Blake became the provincial premier. Mackenzie, representing West Middlesex County, was provincial secretary and registrar. When Blake went to England later in the year, Mackenzie became provincial treasurer and essentially governed Ontario during the time that Blake was away.
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Mackenzie ... served as a Minister of Public Works and oversaw the completion of Parliament Buildings. While drawing up the plans, he included a circular staircase leading directly to his office to the outside of the building. This clever addition allowed him to escape the patronage-seekers waiting for him in his ante-chamber. Proving Dufferin's reflections on his character to be true, Mackenzie disliked intensely the patronage inherent in politics. Nevertheless, he found it a necessary evil in order to maintain party unity and ensure the loyalty of his fellow Liberals.
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Scandals ... worked against Mackenzie that year. Although he was, within the boundaries of late-19th-century political life, a man of probity, he recognized the necessity and usefulness of patronage from the earliest stages of his political involvement. As prime minister he expected competence as well as service to the party from the beneficiaries of patronage. He had no intention of sweeping out Conservative appointments merely to benefit the Liberals. Besides, LordDufferin held very strongly to the principle of a permanent civil service. Still, the prime minister enjoyed rewarding his friends, and himself, within the scope of legitimate political practice.
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