On March 9, Cross abruptly resigned as Attorney-General; Woods resigned the next day. Cross gave as his reason that Rutherford had told him that Cushing was re-entering cabinet, and Cross felt that that made his position untenable. Cushing gave a different account: he said that he had been asked by Rutherford to re-enter cabinet, and that the Premier had told him that if he did, Cross would resign. However, he denied ever having agreed to do so, and accused Cross of fabricating his story completely. Rutherford stayed silent until March 11, when he announced that he had refused Cross's resignation, and that he was still Attorney-General. Soon after, Boyle made his own set of accusations, saying that agents of the liquor license department, which was under Cross, had been demanding bribes from hoteliers in exchange for licenses and that Cross was aware of this. Cross denied the charge.