Introduction

• Author: C. Ian Kyer
• Pages: 1-14

1

Introduction

“P   Aemilius Jarvis Convicted” was the bold

front-page headline in The Globe on Saturday 25 October

1924.1 “Smith and Jarvis Sr. Imprisoned; Fined $600,000”

said the Toronto Star.2 “Prison and $600,000 Fine” echoed the Toronto

Telegram.3 The night before, after a sensational f‌ive-day trial and

months of headline-grabbing allegations,4 Peter Smith, the former

treasurer of the Province of Ontario, and Aemilius Jarvis, one of

Toronto’s most prominent businessmen and a champion yachtsman,

had been found guilty of criminal conspiracy to defraud the Ontario

government in connection with the repurchase of three series of suc-

cession duty–free bonds four years before.5

The verdict was not entirely unexpected, but it was shocking,

nevertheless. The Toronto Star dedicated considerable space to

describing not only the verdict but also what followed. Its readers were

told that “[t]he thumbs and f‌ingerprints of Peter Smith and Aemilius

Jarvis Sr., along with their individual descriptions and photographs

are now on the records of the bureau of criminal identif‌ication at

police headquarters with the records of sixty thousand odd others

who have passed through the hands of the police.”6 They learned that

throughout this process, Jarvis, described as a “heart-broken man,”

had maintained his innocence and had expressed concern that he