Travis contended George Murdoch had tampered with the voters' list and a new council was appointed which failed to garner public support.

[3] Murdoch along with councillors Issac Sanford Freeze and Dr. Neville James Lindsay were removed from office effective October 21, 1886 by a special Territorial Ordinance issued by stipendiary magistrate Jeremiah Travis.

Travis, a teetotaler and supporter of the temperance movement, was appalled by the open traffic of liquor, gambling and prostitution in Calgary despite legal prohibition in the Northwest Territories.

Travis' behavior would soon reach Ottawa and Judge Thomas Wardlaw Taylor of Winnipeg was sent by the federal government to investigate the situation.

Taylor also notes when the voters' list was being revised and the "corrupt practices" were occurring, Murdoch was visiting his former home in Eastern Canada and not in Calgary.

Travis would find Murdoch in contempt of court and disallowed the result of the election, instead installing James Reilly as mayor and other members as the council.

Members of the Calgary Hook, Ladder and Bucket Corps would break into the storage yard on the day of the fire to retrieve the engine.