In November 1873 he left provincial politics when he was appointed minister without portfolio by Alexander Mackenzie in the federal Cabinet he formed after Sir John A. Macdonald's government had been forced to resign due to the Pacific Scandal.
In November 1873, he left provincial politics when he was appointed minister without portfolio by Alexander Mackenzie in the federal Cabinet. Mackenzie had become prime minister after after Sir John A. Macdonald's government had been forced to resign due to the Pacific Scandal.