THE AFFAIRS OF CANADA.
It has been seen in the parliamentary debates that the affairs of Canada were in a very unsettled state; it is now necessary, however, to give a brief account of the transactions which had taken place in that province.
During several preceding years great dissensions had existed in Lower Canada; and in the year 1837 these dissensions broke out into open insurrection. The provincial parliament of that province assembled on the 18th of August; but from its refractory conduct Lord Gosford was compelled to prorogue it. He had no other alternative but to dismiss the members, since they plainly declared that they suspended all deliberation until the consummation of the reforms announced by and in the name of the imperial authorities. On the prorogation of the provincial parliament everything denoted imminent troubles. The authorities were on the alert; and plans were formed for the effective disposition of the small force that the local government possessed. Nor were the loyalists inactive: a great meeting was held at Montreal, at which resolutions were adopted in support of the British government. These resolutions were followed up by the formation of regiments of volunteers, thus showing a steady determination to carry them out to the utmost. But, notwithstanding all this, the French party, or patriots, convened a great meeting in the county of Richelieu, which they termed “the meeting of the five counties,” at which place delegates were collected from the various parishes. The people met in a large meadow; and in this meadow was erected a column, surmounted with a cap of liberty, and bearing this inscription:—“To Papineau, by his grateful brother patriots.” Papineau was there; and after haranguing the multitude with other leaders of the faction, and a string of insurrectionary resolutions having been passed, the transatlantic demagogue was conducted to the foot of the column, where an address was delivered to him by one of his brother agitators. The proceedings of the day terminated with a procession of young men, who, marching up to the pillar, sung a patriotic hymn, and, with their hands placed on the column, devoted themselves to their country. Mischief was now fairly afloat. Soon after this a collision took place in the streets of Montreal between the “loyalists and patriots,” in which the latter were defeated. The troops in Lower Canada were reinforced by two regiments sent from Halifax; and Sir Francis Head placed the whole of the troops stationed in Upper Canada at the disposal of the Lower, although there were symptoms of disaffection within his jurisdiction. Still rebellion continued. Every day displayed a new manifestation of an intended rising: on the one side men assembled in arms, using threatening language; and on the other the magistrates issued proclamations and warrants, which the military were called on to enforce. On one occasion a party of volunteer cavalry, who composed the escort of some prisoners, was waylaid by an overpowering assemblage of insurgents, who, receiving them with a galling fire, put them to the rout, and rescued the prisoners. Before the close of the last year many of the leaders of the faction were in prison, and more of them, among whom was M. Papineau, had withdrawn to a place of safety.
The insurrection in Lower Canada rendered it necessary for the British government to appoint a species of dictatorial governor, one who should possess the power of making temporary provision for the government of Canada. It has been already seen that Lord Durham was selected for this important mission, and that he had arrived in the province. Before, however, relating the particulars of his government, it is necessary to take a retrospective view of events in Upper Canada.
Sir Francis Head at this time was governor of the upper province of Canada; and at the period when he arrived there a Mr. Lyon Mackenzie, who had originally emigrated from Scotland, was a principal leader of the “Reform,” or malcontent party in the province. In the year 1832 Mr. Mackenzie made his appearance in London, as the agent of his party; and in that capacity he was received with every mark of respect. Mr. Mackenzie, in fact, was so successful in his mission as to procure the removal of the attorney and solicitor-generals from their posts, a penalty which they paid for the part they had taken in joining in a vote which had expelled their antagonist from the house of assembly. He returned in triumph to Upper Canada; and, supported by the approval of the English cabinet, succeeded in regaining a seat in the house of assembly. At the ensuing election “the reformers” obtained a large majority in that assembly; and the result was that a “grievance committee” was appointed, which committee made a report that was subsequently transmitted to England. It was to redress the grievances therein stated that Sir Francis Head was despatched to Canada; and he was hailed on his arrival there as a “tried reformer.” His appearance under such circumstances naturally excited the distrust of the loyalists, who gave indications of their dissatisfaction. Sir Francis Head, however, was nothing daunted at this demonstration; he had the grievances of Upper Canada to redress, and he had the remedies; and whether the Tories liked the medicine or not, he did not care a straw. At the same time he soon gave an intimation to the Republican leaders that he was not the kind of man they believed him to be. Beyond the grievances they had enumerated in the report, they had a variety of others hitherto unmentioned; and when this was intimated to him, he gave a distinct intimation that he should not take these into consideration. His graphic account of his interview will well illustrate the manner in which he treated the Republicans. He says,—“When Mr. Mackenzie, bringing with him a letter of introduction from Mr. Hume, called upon me, I thought that of course he would be too happy to discuss with me the contents of the report; but his mind seemed to nauseate its subjects. Afraid to look me in the face, he sat with his feet not-reaching the ground, and with his countenance averted from me at an angle of about seventy degrees, while, with the eccentricity, the volubility, and, indeed, the appearance of a madman, the tiny creature raved in all directions about grievances here, and grievances there, which the committee, he said, had not ventured, to enumerate. ‘Sir,’ I exclaimed, ‘let us cure what we have got here first!’ pointing to the report before me. But no; nothing that I could say would induce this pedlar to face his own report; and I soon found that it had the same effect upon all the members, and that, like the repelling end of a magnet, I had only to present it to the Radicals to drive them from the very object which his majesty’s government expected would have possessed attractions.” On his arrival Sir Francis Head promulgated his instructions; a step which had the effect of precipitating matters in Lower Canada. He then proceeded to act, by adding three Reformers to his executive council, making the total number six. By this means the executive council was brought into unison with the majority of the house of assembly. Thus favoured, in furtherance of the views of that body as then constituted, the board requested the governor to bestow upon it a considerable enlargement of its powers. But this sealed the fate of the executive council. Instead of granting their request, Sir Francis, who had already become hostile to the Reformers, dismissed the whole of the members of which the council was composed. This brought him into collision with the house of assembly; the supplies were stopped, and violent and condemnatory addresses drawn up. Sir Francis, however, fought them with their own weapons; when they stopped the supplies, he refused to assent to bills providing for their own contingencies; and in April, 1836, first prorogued, and then dissolved his exasperated parliament. The next assembly presented a majority of opposite politics to the last, and Sir Francis had everything his own way: he “rode on a full tide of popularity.” Still he was beset with difficulties on every hand; and his mode of governing was of so novel and experimental a nature, that it was evident he must sooner or later become offensive to his superiors at home. Before the close of the year, indeed, he found himself in collision with Lord Glenelg. During that period and in the following year he addressed several memorandums to the colonial office, in which he gave a description of the political state of Canada, and offered his advice as to what measures were necessary for its good government. It must be confessed that his views were generally of the most eccentric character; and hence they were either unnoticed by the government at home, or he was given to understand that they were not thought worthy to be included among those submitted to the imperial government. The points at issue between Sir Francis and his superiors progressively accumulated, until at length the lieutenant-governor broke out into insubordination, and thereby made his recall a matter of necessity. But before his recall, and while the correspondence was passing between Sir Francis and Lord Glenelg, an insurrection broke out, which was headed by Mr. Mackenzie: Toronto was attacked by him, bearing on his colours the name of “Bidwell,” the judge-elect for the court of Queen’s Bench. This attack failed, and it became incumbent on Sir Francis Head’s successor, Major-general Sir George Arthur, to institute proceedings against some of those engaged in the outbreak, who had been taken prisoners. Among these were Samuel Lount, a native of the United States, and Peter Mathews, an Upper Canadian, both of them men of considerable property. Mathews had headed a party, and attacked the city, when Sir Francis Head was shut up in the Town-hall; on which occasion a bridge and several houses were set on fire. Being brought to trial they pleaded guilty, and were sentenced to death—a sentence that was executed on them. Upon being informed of this event, Lord Glenelg wrote to express his regret that these severities should have been deemed requisite, and expressed a hope that no similar necessity might recur. No more of the offenders suffered capital punishment; but great embarrassment was occasioned by the number of prisoners, it being alike inexpedient to pardon and inconvenient to punish. Sir Francis Head had instituted a board of commissioners, with the vice-chancellor of the province at their head, for the purpose of investigating the cases, and classifying the offenders according to their guilt. A considerable number were finally discharged on bail; others were bound over to keep the peace; some were set at liberty; and of the remainder, a few, principally Americans, were banished from the province; while the residue, for the most part men of property and influence, were sentenced to transportation to the penal colonies. But while the government was occupied in the disposal of these prisoners, the marauders on the American side of the border were making preparations for a renewal of hostilities; and on the 30th of May, 1838, a band of these outlaws boarded the Sir Robert Peel British steamer at Well’s Island, situated in the river St. Lawrence, and belonging to the United States. The passengers were robbed of everything, and the vessel was set on fire and then abandoned. Lord Durham, who had just arrived, offered £1,000 reward for the discovery and conviction of the offenders; but the marauders set the authorities, British as well as American, at defiance. Johnson, their commander, celebrated for his address and courage, became the terror of the coast, and executed his schemes of plunder with success and impunity. During the summer and autumn the preparations for invasion continued to be conducted on the American border without any attempt at concealment, and the alarm of the Canadians was naturally proportionate to the danger. Sir George Arthur devoted himself with the greatest assiduity to the defence of the province upon an extensive scale; but the known lenity of Lord Durham had excited a strong feeling of dissatisfaction in the upper province, and had created a feeling of lukewarmness, against which it was difficult to work. On the other hand, Lord Durham thought that the local government had erred on the opposite side of severity. On this subject he wrote to the government at home:—“It cannot be doubted that events of the past year have greatly increased the difficulty of settling the disorders of Upper Canada. A degree of discontent, approaching, if not amounting to disaffection, has gained considerable ground. The causes of dissatisfaction continue to act on the minds of the reformers; and their hope of redress, under the present order of things, has been seriously diminished. The exasperation caused by the conflict itself, the suspicions and terrors of that trying period, and the use made by the triumphant party of the power thrown into their hands, have heightened the passions which existed before. It certainly appeared too much as if the rebellion had been purposely invited by the government, and the unfortunate men who took part in it, deliberately drawn into a trap by those who subsequently inflicted so severe a punishment on them for their error.”
It seemed, too, as if the dominant party made use of the occasion afforded by the real guilt of a few desperate and imprudent men, in order to persecute or disable the whole body of their political opponents. A great number of perfectly innocent individuals were thrown into prison, and suffered in person, property, and character. The whole body of reformers were subjected to suspicion, and to harassing proceedings, instituted by magistrates whose political leanings were notoriously adverse to them. Severe laws were passed, under colour of which individuals very generally esteemed were punished without any form of trial—I make no mention of the reasons which, in the opinion of the local government, rendered those different steps advisable, because my object is not to discuss the propriety of its conduct, but to point out the effects which it necessarily had in augmenting irritation. The revolt in Lower Canada has been noticed at the commencement of this article. After this event Lord Gosford was recalled, and during the interval between his departure, and the arrival of Lord Durham, the functions of government in that province devolved on Sir John Colborne. The first care of Sir John, after the termination of the revolt, concerned the disposal of the prisoners, of whom a great number remained in custody. In the whole, about three hundred and twenty-six were from time to time liberated, leaving about one hundred and sixty in confinement, among whom seventy-two stood charged with being among the principal promoters of the insurrection. It was not expected that any of these would be convicted if tried by ordinary juries; but Lord Glenelg being informed of this, declined to sanction a resort to any other species of court, without previously submitting as a practical test the anticipations as to the issues of the ordinary tribunals. Sir John Colborne was instructed to take steps for reducing the number of prisoners still remaining, by allowing some of them after arraignment to plead guilty, on the assurance that the judgment recorded against them should not be executed, if they would consent to leave the province. From the remaining number he was directed to select four or five cases, and bring them before the ordinary courts of the province, the juries being convened according to the existing practice; but in case this line of proceeding should not appear expedient, it was suggested that a law should be passed, suspending the habeas corpus act, and that the prisoners should be detained until Lord Durham’s arrival. Sir John Colborne adopted this latter course, being little disposed to try state-prisoners under what he considered a certainty of their acquittal. In the meantime, however, the news arrived of the new act of parliament, which provisionally invested him with the powers which were eventually to devolve on Lord Durham. In pursuance of his fresh instructions he proceeded to nominate provisionally a special council, consisting of twenty-one members, of whom eleven were French Canadians, and two natives of the province. After preparing a series of “rules and orders” for the better conduct of their deliberations, this council proceeded to pass ordinances for such domestic objects as would have come before the local parliaments in the ordinary course, and to take necessary measures to meet the peculiar exigencies of the time. Among the latter class may be mentioned enactments suspending the habeas corpus, and imposing certain restrictions on the publishers of newspapers. An ordinance was also passed to continue the local act for the transportation of offenders from the province to England, and from thence to New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land; an act which was on the point of expiring. By a second ordinance it was provided that, upon the petition of any person charged with high treason committed in the province, it should be lawful for the person administering the government, before the arraignment of the offender, to grant a pardon upon such terms as should seem proper, which pardon should have the same effect as an attainder, so far as regarded the forfeiture of the real and personal estate of the person therein named; and further, that in case any person should be pardoned under that ordinance, upon condition of being transported, or of voluntary banishment, either for life or for a shorter time, and should afterwards return without lawful excuse, contrary to the condition of his pardon, he should be deemed guilty of felony, and forfeit his life. By a third ordinance it was enacted that if a person against whom an indictment for treason was found by a grand-jury in the province would not appear, he might be summoned by proclamation to surrender himself by a given day, such day not to be less than three months from the date of the proclamation; and in the event of his failing to do so, should stand and be adjudged attainted of the crime expressed in the indictment, and suffer and forfeit accordingly, and judgment be recorded to that effect. After issuing these ordinances, with others of minor importance, and after repealing martial-law in the district of Montreal, on the 5th of May the council was prorogued. On the 29th of the same month Lord Durham arrived at Quebec, and immediately proceeded to the council-chamber at the castle, and took possession of the government with the accustomed formalities. His first act was to issue a proclamation, assuring the people that he appeared among them as a friend and arbitrator, ready at all times to listen to them without respect to party, race, or politics. On the 31st of May he addressed a circular to the respective members of the executive council, dispensing with their services, having previously formed another, composed of the secretaries to the general government; namely, C. Buller, Esq., M.P., chief secretary; T. E. M. Turton, Esq., secretary; Colonel G. Couper, military secretary; the provincial secretary; and the commissary-general. Among the earliest measures of Lord Durham was the mission of Colonel Grey to Washington, with instructions to expostulate with the American government on the state of things existing on its own borders. Colonel Grey obtained the fullest assurances of the president that the American government desired to preserve the good understanding existing with England, and ample promises of co-operation in any measures which Lord Durham might think necessary to adopt for restoring the peace of the frontier. A more difficult affair for Lord Durham to settle was the disposal of the state prisoners. His lordship himself remarked that it was “by far the most delicate and dangerous” of all the matters requiring settlement. The manner in which his lordship settled this question has already been seen in the record of the recent debates in parliament. Having appointed a special council, consisting of five members only, he, with the sanction of this council, issued an ordinance, which, after reciting that Wolf Nelson, and seven others therein named, had acknowledged their participation in high-treason, and submitted themselves to her majesty’s pleasure, and that Papineau with fifteen others had absconded, enacted that it should be lawful for her majesty to transport Nelson and his seven associates to Bermuda, during pleasure, there to be subjected to such restraints as should be deemed fit; and further, that if any person of the above classes should be found at large, or within the province without permission, they should be deemed guilty of high-treason, and on conviction of coming within the province, suffer death. The ordinance further empowered the governor for the time being to grant, whenever he should think fit, permission to all, or any, of the above-named individuals to return to the province. By a special clause two other classes of persons implicated in the murder of Lieutenant Weir and one Joseph Chartrand, were excluded from the operation of the ordinance, and from the benefit of any amnesty which might be proclaimed. The ordinance was accompanied by a proclamation of amnesty, which declared that, with the exception of the persons named therein, all persons then in custody on a charge of high-treason, or who had withdrawn themselves from justice beyond the limits of the province, should, on giving proper security, be at liberty to return to their own homes. What views were taken in the imperial parliament has been seen. During the debates there, Lord Durham applied himself to the consideration of questions connected with the management of the crown-lands within his dominion. He formed a design for making these lands more subservient to the purpose of emigration than they had hitherto been. A commission of inquiry into the disposal of the crown-lands to that end was issued by him, and he directed similar investigations to be instituted in the other colonies subject to his control. Subsequently his lordship commenced a progress through the two provinces; and, according to his despatches, he was warmly greeted on every hand. He writes:—“Everywhere, in the most insignificant village, as in the most populous town, I have been received with the utmost enthusiasm: in fact, in no part of England have I ever been more warmly greeted, or received more unequivocal marks of respect from all ranks and classes. I announce this fact with much satisfaction, as it is an unerring mark of the feelings with which the measures which I have adopted for the public good have been regarded by the great majority of the inhabitants of the two provinces.” It is quite clear, however, that Lord Durham had not conciliated the great body of the people. During the month of September, those who were charged with the crime of murdering the French Canadian, Chartrand, were tried, and although they were arraigned before a jury consisting exclusively of French Canadians, and were moreover notoriously guilty, they were acquitted. On this subject, in one of his reports, Lord Durham says:—“A perusal of the notes of the chief-justice in this case, will satisfy every candid and well-ordered mind, that a base and cruel assassination, committed without a single circumstance of provocation or palliation, was brought home by evidence, which no man ever pretended to doubt, against the prisoners, whom the jury nevertheless acquitted. The duty of giving this dishonest verdict had been most assiduously inculcated by the French press before the trial came on; the jurors are said to have been kept for some time in the hands of zealous partizans, whose business it was not only to influence their inclination, but to stimulate their courage; the array of the leaders of the party who were present at the trial, was supposed to be collected for the same purpose; and it is notorious that the acquittal was celebrated at public entertainments, to which the jurors were invited, in order that they might be thanked for their verdict.” This intelligence seems to have had the effect of opening the eyes of Lord Glenelg and his colleagues, as to the impolicy of the restrictions which had been imposed upon the colonial authorities with respect to the trial of political offenders. In his reply, Lord Glenelg stated that it was the desire of her majesty’s government that an ordinance should be passed by the special council of Lower Canada, constituting a tribunal for the trial of treason and murder; leaving it to Lord Durham’s own discretion how such a tribunal should be formed. It does not appear, however, that Lord Durham adopted any plan for securing the conviction of such offenders as it might be deemed expedient to bring to trial. He scarcely, indeed, had an opportunity of making any alteration in the criminal law. Soon after Lord Glenelg had given directions on that point, he was compelled to communicate the determination of ministers to annul his celebrated ordinance. After informing him that so much of that edict as related to the Bermudas was generally admitted to be invalid, and that in all other respects the law-officers of the crown thought its provisions were within the competency of the governor and special council; he said that, in consequence of the discussions in parliament, and the unpopularity of the penal parts of the ordinance, government, though reluctantly, advised her majesty to disallow the ordinance. Lord Glenelg then proceeded to direct Lord Durham, with a view of preventing the return of the prisoners from Bermuda, to pass an ordinance subjecting them to such penalty, short of death, as might be thought expedient, in the event of their being convicted of returning to the province without permission. With regard to those who had previously fled from justice, it was suggested it might be sufficient by proclamation to make it known that, should they re-enter the province, they would be forthwith arrested, and dealt with according to law, on the charge of treason. The expediency of suspending the habeas corpus act was pointed out; and the despatch concluded with an assurance of the earnest desire of ministers to afford Lord Durham the utmost support in the arduous discharge of his duties. Before these instructions were received, however, Lord Durham had despatched a letter notifying his resolution to resign his office. In this letter he dwelt on the incessant persecutions to which he was exposed in the house of lords; the backwardness of ministers in his defence; and the injurious effects of these circumstances upon the moral authority of his government. “Upon two things,” said he, “could I chiefly rely for ultimate success: first, the great extent of the legal powers conferred upon me; secondly, the impression which prevailed throughout the colonies, that I might reckon with perfect confidence on the undeviating support and approval of the government.” Deprived of these by the proceedings in question, he proceeded to say, the prestige of his situation was gone for ever, and he had resolved to quit his untenable post, Soon after this, Lord Durham forwarded to Lord Glenelg a statement of the grounds upon which he was prepared to maintain that no part of the ordinance was illegal, however imperative it might, and must of necessity be without assistance and co-operation at home. In another paper, of the same date, he entered at great length into an examination of the conduct of ministers in the late proceedings, arraigning them with great severity for deserting him in the hour of need. He asked, “in what their opposition to the second reading of Lord Brougham’s bill consisted? In a concession far more calculated to weaken my hands than would have been any vote of the house of lords, in which it is notorious that her majesty’s government have never commanded a majority.” His lordship added, “A vote of the house of lords adverse to her majesty’s government, or merely condemnatory of any proceedings of mine, would have been considered almost as a matter of course in the present state of parties; and would, if it had been decidedly opposed by the ministers, have left my authority untouched, because it would have been attributed to the mere party motives of a powerful opposition.” After remonstrating against the conduct of ministers, Lord Durham proceeded to vindicate his policy. As regarded the particular defect of the ordinance, his lordship contended that he had power to banish people from the province, to keep them in custody during the transit, and to land them at Bermuda or elsewhere. At the same time his lordship admitted that his jurisdiction did not extend further: once landed in Bermuda, the prisoners were subject only to the laws of the island. Lord Durham, after justifying his policy, made some remarks on the impossibility of governing the country with any effect; and then proceeded to consider Lord Glenelg’s suggestions of the course which it was advisable to adopt in the present emergency. His lordship treated the suggestion of another ordinance, banishing from the province the eight persons who had been sent to Bermuda, as futile; and stated that he had strong objections to the suspension of the habeas corpus. He remarked:—“Men’s notions of right and freedom would be more shocked at such an universal violation of every man’s dearest rights, than by any summary process adopted for the punishment of the undeniable guilt of a few. In the event of a general outbreak, it might be proper that the government should be armed with the power of arresting objects of its suspicion without trial. But there existed no such necessity at present; and he did not think it justifiable to take away the franchise of a whole people, in order to punish a few known and dangerous individuals, or to guard against the misconduct of twenty-three men, by enveloping them in a general forfeiture of personal liberty.” In conclusion Lord Durham intimated his intention of remaining a few weeks longer, only in order to complete certain measures then in progress. Upon the receipt of Lord Durham’s first announcement of his intention to throw up his office, Lord Glenelg endeavoured to soothe his mind, by acknowledging that he had much reason to complain; and entreated him, upon public grounds, to reconsider his decision. His lordship, however, remained firm: he retained office only until arrangements had been made for some one to assume the reins of government. Before he left Canada he proclaimed the act of indemnity, and notified her majesty’s disallowance of the ordinance. He accompanied the promulgation of these acts with a manifesto, in which he forgot alike what was due to the country and to himself. The tendency of this manifesto will be seen by Lord Glenelg’s remarks upon it. He observed:—“The proclamation of the 9th of October, her majesty’s confidential advisers regard not merely as a deviation from the course which has hitherto been invariably pursued by the governors of British possessions abroad, but as a dangerous departure from the practice and principles of the constitution. They consider as open to a most serious objection an appeal by such an officer to the public at large, from measures adopted by the sovereign, with the advice and consent of parliament. The terms in which that appeal has been made, in this instance, appear to her majesty’s ministers calculated to impair the reverence due to the royal authority, to derogate from the character of the imperial legislature, to excite amongst the disaffected hopes of impunity, and to enhance the difficulties with which your lordship’s successor will have to contend. The ministers of the crown having humbly submitted this opinion to the queen, it is my duty to inform you that I have received her majesty’s commands to signify to your lordship her majesty’s disapprobation of your proclamation of the 9th of October. Under these circumstances, her majesty’s government are prepared to admit that your continuance in the government of British North America could be attended with no beneficial result.” Lord Durham’s manifesto was deservedly condemned by all parties, as unbecoming the office and character of the queen’s representative: it procured for him, in the Times newspaper, the unenviable title of “the lord-high seditioner.” In Canada, however, it increased the golden opinions entertained of him greatly. Public meetings were convened, and addresses expressive of sorrow at his resignation poured in upon him from all quarters. At home, also, there were those who admired his character and applauded his conduct. His lordship sailed from Quebec on the 1st of November, and on the 26th he arrived in Plymouth harbour. At Plymouth, Devonport, and Exeter he received complimentary addresses, and unfortunately he was betrayed upon these occasions into renewed indiscretions, the only excuse for which could be that he had received most serious provocation.
In his reply to the addresses at Devonport and Plymouth, Lord Durham boasted that he had “effaced the remains of a disastrous rebellion,” and “had conciliated the esteem of a great and powerful nation, in which were to be found all the elements of danger or security to our North American possessions.” Before he reached Exeter, however, where another address awaited him, he was compelled to say that he had foreseen another event, the intelligence of which had just been conveyed from Liverpool—the renewal of the rebellion in Canada.
On the departure of Lord Durham, the government again provisionally devolved upon Sir John Colborne. It was expected before he set sail that a renewal of the rebellion would take place during the winter. On the 20th of October, indeed, his lordship had informed Lord Glenelg that the indications of mischief were so numerous and urgent that it was no longer possible to conceal a consciousness of danger. The indications of conspiracy had, in fact, become undeniable. Throughout the French population there existed a formidable organization, bound together by oaths and secret signs. Knowing this, the loyalists in both provinces either took up their abode in the towns, or fled altogether from the British dominion. What made their situation the more critical was the reluctance of the militia and volunteers to take up arms. This was especially the case in Upper Canada, and it seems to have chiefly originated in their dissatisfaction with the lenity of the government. No sooner had Lord Durham departed than the danger became imminent. Arrests took place at Montreal on the following night: domiciliary visits were general; guards and pickets were dispersed in all parts of the city, and its approaches occupied. It was originally intended by the insurgents that the rising should take place at Montreal, on Sunday, the 3rd instant, when the troops were unarmed, and at church. The precautions of Sir John Colborne, however, defeated this scheme, and Beauharnois was selected for the theatre of war. The habitans were now, therefore, once more in arms against the British crown. A numerous party attacked the house of Mr. Ellice, late private secretary to Lord Durham, and that gentleman with three others were carried away by the rebels. On the same day an interesting incident occurred at Caughnawaga, an Indian village. While at church, the Indians were informed that a large body of armed men were secreted in their neighbourhood; and rushing from the sacred walls, they hurried home, seized what arms came to hand, raised the war-whoop, fell upon the enemy, and captured seventy prisoners, with scarcely a show of resistance. The Indians conveyed their prisoners to Montreal, bound with their own sashes and garters; and when Sir John Colborne thanked the chief of the party, he characteristically offered to bring in the scalp of every habitant in the vicinity within twenty-four hours. Sir John Colborne, however, did not think it prudent to give him such a commission, though use of these warriors was made during the struggle. Every day the number of the insurgents increased. Between the 3rd and 6th of November, four thousand were concentrated at Napierville, in La Prairie, under the command of Dr. Robert Nelson, Dr. Cote, and one Gagnor. Upon this point Major-general Sir James Macdonnell was directed to march; but before he could arrive the rebels had dispersed, and were beyond pursuit. In their route they were twice attacked and defeated by a small party of volunteers, losing in the whole sixty men killed, and having about an equal number wounded. The loyalist forces now scoured the insurgent districts, and it was found impossible to prevent many excesses from taking place. The village of Beauharnois was partially destroyed by fire, and the houses of disaffected persons in every part shared the same fate. But while the war was thus easily suppressed in Lower Canada, their American coadjutors were actively engaged on their side. On the evening of the 12th they effected a landing at a place called Prescott, in Upper Canada, to the number of five hundred men, carrying with them several field-pieces. These were, however, defeated by the troops under the command of Colonel Dundas, Major McBean, Colonel Young, and Captain Sandom. Nearly two hundred of them were taken, and conveyed to Kingston, to be tried by court-martial; many were slain, and the rest escaped across the river. Another attack was made by the American marauders on the 4th of December, near Sandwich, at the western extremity of Upper Canada. A steam-boat and the barracks were set on fire, and Dr. Hume, a military surgeon, having fallen into their hands, was barbarously murdered. On discovering this outrage, the militia, under the command of Colonel Price, assembled, and on their approach the enemy fled. Twenty-six of their number were slain in their flight, and twenty-five captured.
In the meantime Sir John Colborne and his special council were busy in the exercise of their legislative functions. Ordinances were passed for substituting martial law, for suspending the habeas corpus, for the attainder of persons against whom the sentence of courts-martial should be given, and for preventing, by highly penal provisions, the administering of unlawful oaths. It had been suggested by Lord Glenelg to Lord Durham, that a special court for the trial of “rebels and murderers” should be instituted. Sir John Colborne, however, preferred to resort to courts-martial for the disposal of prisoners recently captured. Soon after the dispersion of the insurgents, therefore, a general court-martial was convened, and twelve prisoners, all of French extraction, were arraigned before it. Two of these were acquitted, and the rest were sentenced to death; a sentence, however, which was only executed upon two of the most notorious—Cardinal, a notary, and Duguette, a tavern-keeper, who had commanded in both insurrections. In Upper Canada, where Sir George Arthur provisionally governed, the difficulties attendant upon the disposal of the prisoners were greater. The Upper Canadians demanded severity, and would not hear of mercy being extended to men whom they deemed robbers and murderers. A court-martial was assembled at Kingston for the trial of some of the recently captured prisoners; and several of them, as Van Schoultz, a Pole, who commanded the brigands, and three of his associates in command, Abbey, George, and Woodruff, were executed. Not long afterwards five more of the prisoners, three of whom had been engaged in the affair near Sandwich, suffered the same fate. At this time, indeed, according to Sir George Arthur’s report, the feelings of the loyal portion of the inhabitants of the upper province, were in the highest degree exasperated. He writes:—“Never was there a task more difficult than to decide what course, under the existing circumstances of the country, should be pursued, so as to combine the least possible violation of public feeling with a sense of justice, preserving withal a due and necessary regard to mercy in its administration; mercy not only as regards the prisoners, whose fate was yet undecided, but which respectively has reference to the lives that may hereafter be sacrificed by the adoption of a present injudicious measure.”
It may be mentioned that while these events were transpiring in Upper and Lower Canada, the remainder of the British North American provinces were in perfect harmony with the British government. In Newfoundland, indeed, there were the elements of discord between the colonial legislature and their rulers, superadded to which were religious dissensions; but these circumstances gave no cause for alarm. The broils prevailing there owed their existence to Roman Catholic agitation; but the Protestant interests were too strong to be shaken by them, or the government disturbed.