Today in the Sobel Timeline: May 11

On the morning of May 11, 1929, the Liberal Party caucus of the Grand Council met to choose a successor to North American Governor-General Henderson Dewey, who had died in his sleep the previous morning. The top three contenders were Governor Foster McCabe of Manitoba, Minister for Home Affairs Douglas Watson, and Minister of Finance John Hopkins. However, because many Liberal Councilmen were still en route to Burgoyne at the time, the caucus was unable to achieve a quorum. Although McCabe was the most popular of the three, many of his supporters were scattered across Manitoba, leaving Watson and Hopkins to maneuver for support among the Councilmen present. Although Liberal Councilmen continued to arrive, by the end of the day, the caucus had still not achieved a quorum.