THE ORDER OF THE "MIDNIGHT SUN."

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7294, 6 January 1902, Page 1

THE ORDER OF THE "MIDNIGHT SUN."

~ Of all the wild dreams of empire since the days of Louis Kiel, that concocted by a little band of plotters scattered along the valley of the Yukon, from the upper lakes to Circle City, is probably the most fantastic recorded, says the American correspondent of the Dunedki "Star." Though, ■tihe existence of a plot to overthrow British, authority on the Yukon goldfields has been stoutly denied, there is good reason for saying that tne whole' business has been, thoroughly exposed, and that the strongest proof is in the ibainds of the Dominion authorities. What this proof is is thus outlined by the " Globs Democrat " of Seattle, which claims to have obtaiined its informationfrom one of the ringleaders. The organisation was formed at Dawson City in December, 1900, and its headquarters for months last summer was at Skagway. It was called the Order of the Midnight Sun. Its members, 1500 in number, took a hairraising oath to reveal none of its secrets. Death' was tie penalty for violation of this oath. It might have succeeded temporarily, as did Kiel when ih© invaded the North-west Territory with a band of halfbreeds, bub the leaders of the conspiracy lacked the requisite nerve. Someone "leaked," and the organisation, it is believed,- will disappear, as quickly and comjaletely as do thersnew tracks— along th© reaches of tie Upper Yukon, under £bie first warm rays of the sun. After the formation of th© central camp at Dawson, .which was to be the capital of thetnew republic, the would-be rebels issued!. a statement of grievances, certified copies of which, with, the grand seal of the organisation, were circulated in secret in White Horse, Atlin, Hootalinqua, Dawson, Skagway, and even in Circle City, for the . conspirators de-p'-^ded on aid from Americans, not only in j Alaska, but also in the States. Following j is a synopsis of the declaration of grievances : — ■ , ' ■ . 1. Defective mining laws framed by a people hostile to the Americans, who number seven-tenths of the population of the ! Yukon. 2. Corruption" in office. 3. Excessive taxes in way of royalty,' 10 per cent being exacted by the Government , on placer gold mines, andi 5 per cent on quartz; also excessive fees charged for miners' licenses. 4. Unlicensed liquor and gambling traffic, the revenue of which, it is declared, goes to the officials in power. 5. Policy of leasing to favoured individuals and corporations the best timber and mining lands in the country. 6. Unwise legislation, such as excessive tariff duties on American food and other products, alien laws, etc. 7. Boundary line dispute ; the seeming unwillingness of the British Columbia, Government to; meet the United States Government half-way in the boundary line dispute is a condition which grows worse and more acute with time, and will eventually cause trouble, perhaps war, unless attended to at once. At 'present capital hesitates to invest in this disputed district., and the development of the country is retarded .tienebj'. Wo pledge ourselves, if successful in this undertaking, to send a delegation to Washington, D.C., at the earliest possible opportunity, to the end. that t&e boundary may be permanently fixed. Fred Clark, who was in charge of the "junta" at Skagway, has found it convenient .to skip over to American territory, taking with 'him the records of the orgnaiiation, but some of the documents have been obtained by the Canadian authorities. Clark admits that it was intended to have cub the wires along the railroad after navigation ceased on the Yukon this winter, and to overpower the police at White Horse and Dawson, the chief posts. There were only 235 police in the whole of Brdt- , ash Yukon. The gold in the banks and in the possession 'of the Canadian authorities was to be- seized. The leaders believed that the United States would not allow British to enter via Skagway on American soil, and that they would be able to reach Dawson City by the All-Canadian route j inside of six months. In the meantime they fondly hoped to secure the intervene tion of the United States, or at the worst organise an army that would succeed iv coping with Canadian troops. According to a leading official of the Dominion stationed at Dawson, the Dominion Government have been kept thoroughly posted in the doings of the conspirators, who had strong pro-Boer proclivities, and were anxious to secure the co-operation of sympathisers and desperate characters from Puget Sound. But when the little business at empire-miaiking was "blown," there was a wholesale migration across the border, where the conspirators will cease from troubling. The Order of the Midnight Sun has disappeared as silently as it came into existence. .