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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29973-8.txt b/29973-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6192cfa --- /dev/null +++ b/29973-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3503 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Patriotes' of '37, by Alfred D. Decelles + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The 'Patriotes' of '37 + A Chronicle of the Lower Canada Rebellion + +Author: Alfred D. Decelles + +Release Date: September 13, 2009 [EBook #29973] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Advance of the British troops on the village of St. +Denis, 1837. From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys.] + + + + + +THE + +'PATRIOTES' OF '37 + + A Chronicle of the Lower + Canadian Rebellion + + +BY + +ALFRED D. DECELLES + + + +TORONTO + +GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY + +1916 + + + + + _Copyright in all Countries subscribing to + the Berne Convention_ + + + + +{vii} + +PREFATORY NOTE + +The manuscript for this little book, written by me in French, was +handed over for translation to Mr Stewart Wallace. The result as here +presented is therefore a joint product. Mr Wallace, himself a writer +of ability and a student of Canadian history, naturally made a very +free translation of my work and introduced some ideas of his own. He +insists, however, that the work is mine; and, with this acknowledgment +of his part in it, I can do no less than acquiesce, at the same time +expressing my pleasure at having had as collaborator a young writer of +such good insight. And it is surely appropriate that an English +Canadian and a French Canadian should join in a narrative of the +political war between the two races which forms the subject of this +book. + +A. D. DECELLES. + +OTTAWA, 1915. + + + + +{ix} + +CONTENTS + + Page + + I. CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 + II. THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED . . . . . . . . . . 7 + III. 'THE REIGN OF TERROR' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 + IV. THE RISE OF PAPINEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 + V. THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . 33 + VI. THE ROYAL COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 + VII. THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 + VIII. THE DOGS OF WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 + IX. _FORCE MAJEURE_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 + X. THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER . . . . . . . . . . 104 + XI. THE SECOND REBELLION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 + XII. A POSTSCRIPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 + INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 + + + + +{xi} + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH TROOPS ON + THE VILLAGE OF ST DENIS, 1837 . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys. + +SIR JAMES CRAIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Facing page_ 16 + From a portrait in the Dominion Archives. + +LOUIS JOSEPH PAPINEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 22 + After a lithograph by Maurin, Paris. + +WOLFRED NELSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 60 + From a print in the Château de Ramezay. + +SOUTH-WESTERN LOWER CANADA, 1837 . . . . . . . . . . " " 69 + Map by Bartholomew. + +DENIS BENJAMIN VIGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 128 + From a print in M'Gill University Library. + + + + +{1} + +CHAPTER I + +CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW + +The conquest of Canada by British arms in the Seven Years' War gave +rise to a situation in the colony which was fraught with tragic +possibilities. It placed the French inhabitants under the sway of an +alien race--a race of another language, of another religion, of other +laws, and which differed from them profoundly in temperament and +political outlook. Elsewhere--in Ireland, in Poland, and in the +Balkans--such conquests have been followed by centuries of bitter +racial warfare. In Canada, however, for a hundred and fifty years +French Canadians and English Canadians have, on the whole, dwelt +together in peace and amity. Only on the one occasion, of which the +story is to be told in these pages, has there been anything resembling +civil war between the two races; and this unhappy outbreak was neither +widespread nor prolonged. The record {2} is one which Canadians, +whether they be English or French, have reason to view with +satisfaction. + +It does not appear that the Canadians of 1760 felt any profound regret +at the change from French to British rule. So corrupt and oppressive +had been the administration of Bigot, in the last days of the Old +Regime, that the rough-and-ready rule of the British army officers +doubtless seemed benignant in comparison. Comparatively few Canadians +left the country, although they were afforded facilities for so doing. +One evidence of good feeling between the victors and the vanquished is +found in the marriages which were celebrated between Canadian women and +some of the disbanded Highland soldiers. Traces of these unions are +found at the present day, in the province of Quebec, in a few Scottish +names of habitants who cannot speak English. + +When the American colonies broke out in revolution in 1775, the +Continental Congress thought to induce the French Canadians to join +hands with them. But the conciliatory policy of the successive +governors Murray and Carleton, and the concessions granted by the +Quebec Act of the year before, had borne {3} fruit; and when the +American leaders Arnold and Montgomery invaded Canada, the great +majority of the habitants remained at least passively loyal. A few +hundred of them may have joined the invaders, but a much larger number +enlisted under Carleton. The clergy, the seigneurs, and the +professional classes--lawyers and physicians and notaries--remained +firm in their allegiance to Great Britain; while the mass of the people +resisted the eloquent appeals of Congress, represented by its +emissaries Franklin, Chase, and Carroll, and even those of the +distinguished Frenchmen, Lafayette and Count d'Estaing, who strongly +urged them to join the rebels. Nor should it be forgotten that at the +siege of Quebec by Arnold the Canadian officers Colonel Dupré and +Captains Dambourgès, Dumas, and Marcoux, with many others, were among +Carleton's most trusted and efficient aides in driving back the +invading Americans. True, in 1781, Sir Frederick Haldimand, then +governor of Canada, wrote that although the clergy had been firmly +loyal in 1775 and had exerted their powerful influence in favour of +Great Britain, they had since then changed their opinions and were no +longer to be relied upon. But it must be {4} borne in mind that +Haldimand ruled the province in the manner of a soldier. His +high-handed orders caused dissatisfaction, which he probably mistook +for a want of loyalty among the clergy. No more devoted subject of +Great Britain lived at the time in Lower Canada than Mgr Briand, the +bishop of Quebec; and the priests shaped their conduct after that of +their superior. At any rate, the danger which Haldimand feared did not +take form; and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 made it +more unlikely than ever. + +The French Revolution profoundly affected the attitude of the French +Canadians toward France. Canada was the child of the _ancien régime_. +Within her borders the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau had found no +shelter. Canada had nothing in common with the anti-clerical and +republican tendencies of the Revolution. That movement created a gap +between France and Canada which has not been bridged to this day. In +the Napoleonic wars the sympathies of Canada were almost wholly with +Great Britain. When news arrived of the defeat of the French fleet at +Trafalgar, a _Te Deum_ was sung in the Catholic cathedral at Quebec; +and, in a sermon {5} preached on that occasion, a future bishop of the +French-Canadian Church enunciated the principle that 'all events which +tend to broaden the gap separating us from France should be welcome.' + +It was during the War of 1812-14, however, that the most striking +manifestation of French-Canadian loyalty to the British crown appeared. +In that war, in which Canada was repeatedly invaded by American armies, +French-Canadian militiamen under French-Canadian officers fought +shoulder to shoulder with their English-speaking fellow-countrymen on +several stricken fields of battle; and in one engagement, fought at +Châteauguay in the French province of Lower Canada, the day was won for +British arms by the heroic prowess of Major de Salaberry and his +French-Canadian soldiers. The history of the war with the United +States provides indelible testimony to the loyalty of French Canada. + +A quarter of a century passed. Once again the crack of muskets was +heard on Canadian soil. This time, however, there was no foreign +invader to repel. The two races which had fought side by side in 1812 +were now arrayed against each other. French-Canadian veterans of +Châteauguay were on {6} one side, and English-Canadian veterans of +Chrystler's Farm on the other. Some real fighting took place. Before +peace was restored, the fowling-pieces of the French-Canadian rebels +had repulsed a force of British regulars at the village of St Denis, +and brisk skirmishes had taken place at the villages of St Charles and +St Eustache. How this unhappy interlude came to pass, in a century and +a half of British rule in Canada, it is the object of this book to +explain. + + + + +{7} + +CHAPTER II + +THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED + +The British did not treat the French inhabitants of Canada as a +conquered people; not as other countries won by conquest have been +treated by their victorious invaders. The terms of the Capitulation of +Montreal in 1760 assured the Canadians of their property and civil +rights, and guaranteed to them 'the free exercise of their religion.' +The Quebec Act of 1774 granted them the whole of the French civil law, +to the almost complete exclusion of the English common law, and +virtually established in Canada the Church of the vanquished through +legal enforcement of the obligation resting upon Catholics to pay +tithes. And when it became necessary in 1791 to divide Canada into two +provinces, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, one predominantly English and +the other predominantly French, the two provinces were granted +precisely equal political rights. Out of this {8} arose an odd +situation. All French Canadians were Roman Catholics, and Roman +Catholics were at this time debarred from sitting in the House of +Commons at Westminster. Yet they were given the right of sitting as +members in the Canadian representative Assemblies created by the Act of +1791. The Catholics of Canada thus received privileges denied to their +co-religionists in Great Britain. + +There can be no doubt that it was the conciliatory policy of the +British government which kept the clergy, the seigneurs, and the great +body of French Canadians loyal to the British crown during the war in +1775 and in 1812. It is certain, too, that these generous measures +strengthened the position of the French race in Canada, made Canadians +more jealous of their national identity, and led them to press for +still wider liberties. It is an axiom of human nature that the more +one gets, the more one wants. And so the concessions granted merely +whetted the Canadian appetite for more. + +This disposition became immediately apparent with the calling of the +first parliament of Lower Canada in 1792. Before this there had been +no specific definition of the exact status of the French language in +{9} Canada, and the question arose as to its use in the Assembly as a +medium of debate. As the Quebec Act of 1774 had restored the French +laws, it was inferred that the use of the French language had been +authorized, since otherwise these laws would have no natural medium of +interpretation. That this was the inference to be drawn from the +constitution became evident, for the British government had made no +objection to the use of French in the law-courts. It should be borne +in mind that at this period the English in Canada were few in number, +and that all of them lived in the cities. The French members in the +Assembly, representing, as they did, nearly the whole population, did +not hesitate to press for the official recognition of their language on +a parity with English. + +The question first came up in connection with the election of a +speaker. The French-Canadian members, being in a majority of +thirty-four to sixteen, proposed Jean Antoine Panet. This motion was +opposed by the English members, together with a few of the French +members, who nominated an Englishman. They pointed out that the +transactions between the speaker and the king's {10} representative in +the colony should be 'in the language of the empire to which we have +the happiness to belong.' 'I think it is but decent,' said Louis +Panet, brother of Jean Antoine, 'that the speaker on whom we fix our +choice, be one who can express himself in English when he addresses +himself to the representative of our sovereign.' Yet the majority of +the French members stuck to their motion and elected their speaker. +When he was sworn into office, he declared to the governor that 'he +could only express himself in the primitive language of his native +country.' Nevertheless, he understood English well enough to conduct +the business of the House. And it should not be forgotten that all the +sixteen English members, out of the fifty composing the Assembly, owed +their election to French-Canadian voters. + +Almost immediately the question came up again in the debate on the use +of the French language in the publication of official documents. The +English members pointed out that English was the language of the +sovereign, and they contended that the exclusive official use of the +English language would more quickly assimilate the French +Canadians--would render them more loyal. To these {11} arguments the +French Canadians replied with ringing eloquence. + +'Remember,' said Chartier de Lotbinière, 'the year 1775. Those +Canadians, who spoke nothing but French, showed their attachment to +their sovereign in a manner not at all equivocal. They helped to +defend this province. This city, these walls, this chamber in which I +have the honour to speak, were saved partly through their zeal and +their courage. You saw them join with faithful subjects of His Majesty +and repulse attacks which people who spoke very good English made on +this city. It is not, you see, uniformity of language which makes +peoples more faithful or more united.' + +'Is it not ridiculous,' exclaimed Pierre Bédard, whose name will appear +later in these pages, 'to wish to make a people's loyalty consist in +its tongue?' + +The outcome of the debate, as might have been expected, was to place +the French language on a level with the English language in the records +and publications of the Assembly, and French became, to all intents and +purposes, the language of debate. The number of English-speaking +members steadily decreased. In the year 1800 Sir Robert Milnes {12} +wrote home that there were 'but one or two English members in the House +of Assembly who venture to speak in the language of the mother country, +from the certainty of not being understood by a great majority of the +House.' + +It must not be imagined, however, that in these early debates there was +any of that rancour and animosity which later characterized the +proceedings of the Assembly of Lower Canada. 'The remains of the old +French politeness, and a laudable deference to their fellow subjects, +kept up decorum in the proceedings of the majority,' testified a +political annalist of that time. Even as late as 1807, it appears that +'party spirit had not yet extended its effects to destroy social +intercourse and good neighbourhood.' It was not until the régime of +Sir James Craig that racial bitterness really began. + + + + +{13} + +CHAPTER III + +'THE REIGN OF TERROR' + +During the session of 1805 the Assembly was confronted with the +apparently innocent problem of building prisons. Yet out of the debate +on this subject sprang the most serious racial conflict which had yet +occurred in the province. There were two ways proposed for raising the +necessary money. One, advocated by the English members, was to levy a +direct tax on land; the other, proposed by the French members, was to +impose extra customs duties. The English proposal was opposed by the +French, for the simple reason that the interests of the French were in +the main agrarian; and the French proposal was opposed by the English, +because the interests of the English were on the whole commercial. The +English pointed out that, as merchants, they had borne the brunt of +such taxation as had already been imposed, and that it was the turn of +the French farmers to bear their {14} share. The French, on the other +hand, pointed out, with some justice, that indirect taxation was borne, +not only by the importer, but also partly by the consumer, and that +indirect taxation was therefore more equitable than a tax on the +land-owners alone. There was, moreover, another consideration. 'The +_Habitants_,' writes the political annalist already quoted, 'consider +themselves sufficiently taxed by the French law of the land, in being +obliged to pay rents and other feudal burthens to the Seigneur, and +tythes to the Priest; and if you were to ask any of them to contribute +two bushels of Wheat, or two Dollars, for the support of Government, he +would give you the equivocal French sign of inability or unwillingness, +by shrugging up his shoulders.' + +As usual, the French-Canadian majority carried their point. Thereupon, +the indignation of the English minority flared forth in a very emphatic +manner. They accused the French Canadians of foisting upon them the +whole burden of taxation, and they declared that an end must be put to +French-Canadian domination over English Canadians. 'This province,' +asserted the Quebec _Mercury_, 'is already too French for a British +colony.... Whether we be in peace or at war, it is essential {15} that +we should make every effort, by every means available, to oppose the +growth of the French and their influence.' + +The answer of the French Canadians to this language was the +establishment in 1806 of a newspaper, _Le Canadien_, in which the point +of view of the majority in the House might be presented. The official +editor of the paper was Jean Antoine Bouthillier, but the conspicuous +figure on the staff was Pierre Bédard, one of the members of the House +of Assembly. The tone of the paper was generally moderate, though +militant. Its policy was essentially to defend the French against the +ceaseless aspersions of the _Mercury_ and other enemies. It never +attacked the British government, but only the provincial authorities. +Its motto, '_Notre langue, nos institutions et nos lois_,' went far to +explain its views and objects. + +No serious trouble resulted, however, from the policy of _Le Canadien_ +until after the arrival of Sir James Craig in Canada, and the +inauguration of what some historians have named 'the Reign of Terror.' +Sir James Craig, who became governor of Canada in 1807, was a +distinguished soldier. He had seen service in the American +Revolutionary {16} War, in South Africa, and in India. He was, +however, inexperienced in civil government and apt to carry his ideas +of military discipline into the conduct of civil affairs. Moreover, he +was prejudiced against the inhabitants and had doubts of their loyalty. +In Canada he surrounded himself with such men as Herman W. Ryland, the +governor's secretary, and John Sewell, the attorney-general, men who +were actually in favour of repressing the French Canadians and of +crushing the power of their Church. 'I have long since laid it down as +a principle (which in my judgment no Governor of this Province ought to +lose sight of for a moment),' wrote Ryland in 1804, 'by every possible +means which prudence can suggest, gradually to undermine the authority +and influence of the Roman Catholic Priest.' 'The Province must be +converted into an English Colony,' declared Sewell, 'or it will +ultimately be lost to England.' The opinion these men held of the +French Canadians was most uncomplimentary. 'In the ministerial +dictionary,' complained _Le Canadien_, 'a bad fellow, +anti-ministerialist, democrat, _sans culotte_, and damned Canadian, +mean the same thing.' + +[Illustration: Sir James Craig. From a portrait in the Dominion +Archives.] + +Surrounded by such advisers, it is not {17} surprising that Sir James +Craig soon took umbrage at the language and policy of _Le Canadien_. +At first he made his displeasure felt in a somewhat roundabout way. In +the summer of 1808 he dismissed from the militia five officers who were +reputed to have a connection with that newspaper, on the ground that +they were helping a 'seditious and defamatory journal.' One of these +officers was Colonel Panet, who had fought in the defence of Quebec in +1775 and had been speaker of the House of Assembly since 1792; another +was Pierre Bédard. This action did not, however, curb the temper of +the paper; and a year or more later Craig went further. In May 1810 he +took the extreme step of suppressing _Le Canadien_, and arresting the +printer and three of the proprietors, Taschereau, Blanchet, and Bédard. +The ostensible pretext for this measure was the publication in the +paper of some notes of a somewhat academic character with regard to the +conflict which had arisen between the governor and the House of +Assembly in Jamaica; the real reason, of course, went deeper. + +Craig afterwards asserted that the arrest of Bédard and his associates +was 'a measure of precaution, not of punishment.' There is no {18} +doubt that he actually feared a rising of the French Canadians. To his +mind a rebellion was imminent. The event showed that his suspicions +were ill-founded; but in justice to him it must be remembered that he +was governor of Canada at a dangerous time, when Napoleon was at the +zenith of his power and when agents of this arch-enemy of England were +supposed to be active in Canada. Moreover, the blame for Craig's +action during this period must be partly borne by the 'Bureaucrats' who +surrounded him. There is no absolute proof, but there is at least a +presumption, that some of these men actually wished to precipitate a +disturbance, in order that the constitution of Lower Canada might be +suspended and a new order of things inaugurated. + +Soon after Bédard's arrest his friends applied for a writ of habeas +corpus; but, owing to the opposition of Craig, this was refused. In +July two of Bédard's companions were released, on the ground of ill +health. They both, however, expressed regret at the tone which _Le +Canadien_ had adopted. In August the printer was discharged. Bédard +himself declined to accept his release until he had been brought to +trial and acquitted {19} of the charge preferred against him. Craig, +however, did not dare to bring him to trial, for no jury would have +convicted him. Ultimately, since Bédard refused to leave the prison, +he was ejected at the point of the bayonet. The situation was full of +humour. Bédard was an excellent mathematician, and was in the habit of +whiling away the hours of his imprisonment by solving mathematical +problems. When the guard came to turn him out, he was in the midst of +a geometrical problem. 'At least,' he begged, 'let me finish my +problem.' The request was granted; an hour later the problem was +solved, and Bédard was thrust forth from the jail. + +Sir James Craig was a man of good heart and of the best intentions; but +his course throughout this episode was most unfortunate. Not only did +he fail to suppress the opposition to his government, but he did much +to embitter the relations between the two races. Craig himself seems +to have realized, even before he left Canada, that his policy had been +a mistake; for he is reported on good authority to have said 'that he +had been basely deceived, and that if it had been given to him to begin +his administration over again, he would have acted differently.' It is +{20} significant, too, that Craig's successor, Sir George Prevost, +completely reversed his policy. He laid himself out to conciliate the +French Canadians in every way possible; and he made amends to Bédard +for the injustice which he had suffered by restoring him to his rank in +the militia and by making him a judge. As a result, the bitterness of +racial feeling abated; and when the War of 1812 broke out, there proved +to be less disloyalty in Lower Canada than in Upper Canada. But, as +the events of Craig's administration had clearly shown, a good deal of +combustible and dangerous material lay about. + + + + +{21} + +CHAPTER IV + +THE RISE OF PAPINEAU + +In the year 1812 a young man took his seat in the House of Assembly for +Lower Canada who was destined to play a conspicuous part in the history +of the province during the next quarter of a century. His name was +Louis Joseph Papineau. He was at that time only twenty-six years of +age, but already his tall, well-built form, his fine features and +commanding presence, marked him out as a born leader of men. He +possessed an eloquence which, commonplace as it now appears on the +printed page, apparently exerted a profound influence upon his +contemporaries. 'Never within the memory of teacher or student,' wrote +his college friend Aubert de Gaspé, 'had a voice so eloquent filled the +halls of the seminary of Quebec.' In the Assembly his rise to +prominence was meteoric; only three years after his entrance he was +elected speaker on the resignation of the veteran {22} J. A. Panet, who +had held the office at different times since 1792. Papineau retained +the speakership, with but one brief period of intermission, until the +outbreak of rebellion twenty-two years later; and it was from the +speaker's chair that he guided throughout this period the counsels of +the _Patriote_ party. + +[Illustration: Louis Joseph Papineau. After a lithograph by Maurin, +Paris.] + +When Papineau entered public life the political situation in Lower +Canada was beginning to be complicated. The French-Canadian members of +the Assembly, having taken great pains to acquaint themselves with the +law and custom of the British constitution, had awakened to the fact +that they were not enjoying the position or the power which the members +of the House of Commons in England were enjoying. In the first place, +the measures which they passed were being continually thrown out by the +upper chamber, the Legislative Council, and they were powerless to +prevent it; and in the second place, they had no control of the +government, for the governor and his Executive Council were appointed +by and responsible to the Colonial Office alone. The members of the +two councils were in the main of English birth, and they constituted a +local oligarchy--known as the 'Bureaucrats' or the 'Château +Clique'--which {23} held the reins of government. They were as a rule +able to snap their fingers at the majority in the Assembly. + +In England the remedy for a similar state of affairs had been found to +lie in the control of the purse exercised by the House of Commons. In +order to bring the Executive to its will, it was only necessary for +that House to threaten the withholding of supplies. In Lower Canada, +however, such a remedy was at first impossible, for the simple reason +that the House of Assembly did not vote all the supplies necessary for +carrying on the government. In other words, the expenditure far +exceeded the revenue; and the deficiency had to be met out of the +Imperial exchequer. Under these circumstances it was impossible for +the Lower Canada Assembly to attempt to exercise the full power of the +purse. In 1810, it is true, the Assembly had passed a resolution +avowing its ability and willingness to vote 'the necessary sums for +defraying the Civil Expenses of the Government of the Province.' But +Sir James Craig had declined on a technicality to forward the +resolution to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, realizing fully +that if the offer were accepted, the Assembly would be able to exert +complete {24} power over the Executive. 'The new Trojan horse' was not +to gain admission to the walls through him. + +Later, however, in 1818, during the administration of Sir John Coape +Sherbrooke, the offer of the Assembly was accepted by the Imperial +government. Sherbrooke was an apostle of conciliation. It was he who +gave the Catholic bishop of Quebec a seat in the Executive Council; and +he also recommended that the speaker of the House of Assembly should be +included in the Council--a recommendation which was a preliminary move +in the direction of responsible government. Through Sherbrooke's +instrumentality the British government now decided to allow the +Lower-Canadian legislature to vote the entire revenue of the province, +apart from the casual and territorial dues of the Crown and certain +duties levied by Act of the Imperial parliament. Sherbrooke's +intention was that the legislature should vote out of this revenue a +permanent civil list to be continued during the lifetime of the +sovereign. Unfortunately, however, the Assembly did not fall in with +this view. It insisted, instead, on treating the civil list as an +annual affair, and voting the salaries of the officials, from the +governor {25} downwards, for only one year. Since this would have made +every government officer completely dependent upon the pleasure of the +House of Assembly, the Legislative Council promptly threw out the +budget. Thus commenced a struggle which was destined to last for many +years. The Assembly refused to see that its action was really an +encroachment upon the sphere of the Executive; and the Executive +refused to place itself at the mercy of the Assembly. The result was +deadlock. During session after session the supplies were not voted. +The Executive, with its control of the royal revenue, was able by one +means or another to carry on the government; but the relations between +the 'Bureaucrats' and the _Patriotes_ became rapidly more bitter. + +Papineau's attitude toward the government during this period was in +harmony with that of his compatriots. It was indeed one of his +characteristics, as the historian Christie has pointed out, that he +seemed always 'to move with the masses rather than to lead them.' In +1812 he fought side by side with the British. As late as 1820 he +publicly expressed his great admiration for the constitution of 1791 +and the blessings of British rule. But in the struggles over the +budget he took up ground {26} strongly opposed to the government; and, +when the question became acute, he threw restraint to the winds, and +played the part of a dangerous agitator. + +What seems to have first roused Papineau to anger was a proposal to +unite Upper and Lower Canada in 1822. Financial difficulties had +arisen between the two provinces; and advantage was taken of this fact +to introduce a Union Bill into the House of Commons at Westminster, +couched in terms very unfavourable to the French Canadians. There is +little doubt that the real objects of the bill was the extinction of +the Lower-Canadian Assembly and the subordination of the French to the +English element in the colony. At any rate, the French Canadians saw +in the bill a menace to their national existence. Two agents were +promptly appointed to go over to London to oppose it. One of them was +Papineau; the other was John Neilson, the capable Scottish editor of +the Quebec _Gazette_. The two men made a very favourable impression; +they enlisted on their side the leaders of the Whig party in the +Commons; and they succeeded in having the bill well and duly shelved. +Their mission resulted not only in the defeat of the bill; it also +showed {27} them clearly that a deep-laid plot had menaced the rights +and liberties of the French-Canadian people; and their anger was roused +against what Neilson described as 'the handful of _intrigants_' who had +planned that _coup d'état_. + +On returning to Canada Papineau gave vent to his discontent in an +extraordinary attack upon Lord Dalhousie, who had become governor of +Canada in 1819. Dalhousie was an English nobleman of the best type. +His tastes were liberal. He was instrumental in founding the Literary +and Historical Society of Quebec; and he showed his desire for pleasant +relations between the two races in Canada by the erection of the joint +monument to Wolfe and Montcalm in the city of Quebec, in the governor's +garden. His administration, however, had been marred by one or two +financial irregularities. Owing to the refusal of the Assembly to vote +a permanent civil list, Dalhousie had been forced to expend public +moneys without authority from the legislature; and his +receiver-general, Caldwell, had been guilty of defalcations to the +amount of £100,000. Papineau attacked Dalhousie as if he had been +personally responsible for these defalcations. The speech, we are told +by the chronicler Bibaud, recalled in its violence the {28} philippics +of Demosthenes and the orations against Catiline of Cicero. + +The upshot of this attack was that all relations between Dalhousie and +Papineau were broken off. Apart altogether from the political +controversy, Dalhousie felt that he could have no intercourse with a +man who had publicly insulted him. Consequently, when Papineau was +elected to the speakership of the Assembly in 1827, Dalhousie refused +to recognize him as speaker; and when the Assembly refused to +reconsider his election, Dalhousie promptly dissolved it. + +It would be tedious to describe in detail the political events of these +years; and it is enough to say that by 1827 affairs in the province had +come to such an impasse, partly owing to the financial quarrel, and +partly owing to the personal war between Papineau and Dalhousie, that +it was decided by the _Patriotes_ to send another deputation to England +to ask for the redress of grievances and for the removal of Dalhousie. +The members of the deputation were John Neilson and two French +Canadians, Augustin Cuvillier and Denis B. Viger. Papineau was an +interested party and did not go. The deputation proved no less +successful than {29} that which had crossed the Atlantic in 1822. The +delegates succeeded in obtaining Lord Dalhousie's recall, and they were +enabled to place their case before a special committee of the House of +Commons. The committee made a report very favourable to the _Patriote_ +cause; recommended that 'the French-Canadians should not in any way be +disturbed in the exercise and enjoyment of their religion, their laws, +or their privileges'; and expressed the opinion that 'the true +interests of the provinces would be best promoted by placing the +collection and expenditure of all public revenues under the control of +the House of Assembly.' The report was not actually adopted by the +House of Commons, but it lent a very welcome support to the contentions +of Papineau and his friends. + +At last, in 1830, the British government made a serious and well-meant +attempt to settle, once and for all, the financial difficulty. Lord +Goderich, who was at that time at the Colonial Office, instructed Lord +Aylmer, who had become governor of Canada in 1830, to resign to the +Assembly the control of the entire revenue of the province, with the +single exception of the casual and territorial revenue of the Crown, if +the Assembly would grant {30} in exchange a civil list of £19,000, +voted for the lifetime of the king. This offer was a compromise which +should have proved acceptable to both sides. But Papineau and his +friends determined not to yield an inch of ground; and in the session +of 1831 they succeeded in defeating the motion for the adoption of Lord +Goderich's proposal. That this was a mistake even the historian +Garneau, who cannot be accused of hostility toward the _Patriotes_, has +admitted. + +Throughout this period Papineau's course was often unreasonable. He +complained that the French Canadians had no voice in the executive +government, and that all the government offices were given to the +English; yet when he was offered a seat in the Executive Council in +1822 he declined it; and when Dominique Mondelet, one of the members of +the Assembly, accepted a seat in the Executive Council in 1832, he was +hounded from the Assembly by Papineau and his friends as a traitor. As +Sir George Cartier pointed out many years later, Mondelet's inclusion +in the Executive Council was really a step in the direction of +responsible government. It is difficult, also, to approve Papineau's +attitude toward such governors as Dalhousie and {31} Aylmer, both of +whom were disposed to be friendly. Papineau's attitude threw them into +the arms of the 'Château Clique.' The truth is that Papineau was too +unbending, too _intransigeant_, to make a good political leader. As +was seen clearly in his attitude toward the financial proposals of Lord +Goderich in 1830, he possessed none of that spirit of compromise which +lies at the heart of English constitutional development. + +On the other hand, it must be remembered that Papineau and his friends +received much provocation. The attitude of the governing class toward +them was overbearing and sometimes insolent. They were regarded as +members of an inferior race. And they would have been hardly human if +they had not bitterly resented the conspiracy against their liberties +embodied in the abortive Union Bill of 1822. There were real abuses to +be remedied. Grave financial irregularities had been detected in the +executive government; sinecurists, living in England, drew pay for +services which they did not perform; gross favouritism existed in +appointments to office under the Crown; and so many office-holders held +seats in the Legislative Council that the Council was actually under +the thumb of {32} the executive government. Yet when the Assembly +strove to remedy these grievances, its efforts were repeatedly blocked +by the Legislative Council; and even when appeal was made to the +Colonial Office, removal of the abuses was slow in coming. Last, but +not least, the Assembly felt that it did not possess an adequate +control over the expenditure of the moneys for the voting of which it +was primarily responsible. + + + + +{33} + +CHAPTER V + +THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS + +After 1830 signs began to multiply that the racial feud in Lower Canada +was growing in intensity. In 1832 a by-election in the west ward of +Montreal culminated in a riot. Troops were called out to preserve +order. After showing some forbearance under a fusillade of stones, +they fired into the rioters, killing three and wounding two men, all of +them French Canadians. Immediately the _Patriote_ press became +furious. The newspaper _La Minerve_ asserted that a 'general massacre' +had been planned: the murderers, it said, had approached the corpses +with laughter, and had seen with joy Canadian blood running down the +street; they had shaken each other by the hand, and had regretted that +there were not more dead. The blame for the 'massacre' was laid at the +door of Lord Aylmer. Later, on the floor of the Assembly, Papineau +remarked that 'Craig merely imprisoned his {34} victims, but Aylmer +slaughters them.' The _Patriotes_ adopted the same bitter attitude +toward the government when the Asiatic cholera swept the province in +1833. They actually accused Lord Aylmer of having 'enticed the sick +immigrants into the country, in order to decimate the ranks of the +French Canadians.' + +In the House Papineau became more and more violent and domineering. He +did not scruple to use his majority either to expel from the House or +to imprison those who incurred his wrath. Robert Christie, the member +for Gaspé, was four times expelled for having obtained the dismissal of +some partisan justices of the peace. The expulsion of Dominique +Mondelet has already been mentioned. Ralph Taylor, one of the members +for the Eastern Townships, was imprisoned in the common jail for using, +in the Quebec _Mercury_, language about Papineau no more offensive than +Papineau had used about many others. But perhaps the most striking +evidence of Papineau's desire to dominate the Assembly was seen in his +attitude toward a bill to secure the independence of judges introduced +by F. A. Quesnel, one of the more moderate members {35} of the +_Patriote_ party. Quesnel had accepted some amendments suggested by +the colonial secretary. This awoke the wrath of Papineau, who assailed +the bill in his usual vehement style, and concluded by threatening +Quesnel with the loss of his seat. The threat proved not to be idle. +Papineau possessed at this time a great ascendancy over the minds of +his fellow-countrymen, and in the next elections he secured Quesnel's +defeat. + +By 1832 Papineau's political views had taken a more revolutionary turn. +From being an admirer of the constitution of 1791, he had come to +regard it as 'bad; very, very bad.' 'Our constitution,' he said, 'has +been manufactured by a Tory influenced by the terrors of the French +Revolution.' He had lost faith in the justice of the British +government and in its willingness to redress grievances; and his eyes +had begun to turn toward the United States. Perhaps he was not yet for +annexation to that country; but he had conceived a great admiration for +the American constitution. The wide application of the principle of +election especially attracted him; and, although he did not relinquish +his hope of subordinating the Executive to the Assembly by means of the +control of the finances, he {36} began to throw his main weight into an +agitation to make the Legislative Council elective. Henceforth the +plan for an elective Legislative Council became the chief feature of +the policy of the _Patriote_ party. The existing nominated and +reactionary Legislative Council had served the purpose of a buffer +between the governor's Executive Council and the Assembly. This +buffer, thought Papineau and his friends, should be removed, so as to +expose the governor to the full hurricane of the Assembly's wrath. + +It was not long before Papineau's domineering behaviour and the +revolutionary trend of his views alienated some of his followers. On +John Neilson, who had gone to England with him in 1822 and with +Cuvillier and Viger in 1828, and who had supported him heartily during +the Dalhousie régime, Papineau could no longer count. Under Aylmer a +coolness sprang up between the two men. Neilson objected to the +expulsion of Mondelet from the House; he opposed the resolutions of +Louis Bourdages, Papineau's chief lieutenant, for the abolition of the +Legislative Council; and in the debate on Quesnel's bill for the +independence of judges, he administered a severe rebuke to Papineau for +language he {37} had used. Augustin Cuvillier followed the lead of his +friend Neilson, and so also did Andrew Stuart, one of the ablest +lawyers in the province, and Quesnel. All these men were politicians +of weight and respectability. + +Papineau still had, however, a large and powerful following, especially +among the younger members. Nothing is more remarkable at this time +than the sway which he exercised over the minds of men who in later +life became distinguished for the conservative and moderate character +of their opinions. Among his followers in the House were Louis +Hippolyte LaFontaine, destined to become, ten years later, the +colleague of Robert Baldwin in the LaFontaine-Baldwin administration, +and Augustin Norbert Morin, the colleague of Francis Hincks in the +Hincks-Morin administration of 1851. Outside the House he counted +among his most faithful followers two more future prime ministers of +Canada, George É. Cartier and Étienne P. Taché. Nor were his +supporters all French Canadians. Some English-speaking members acted +with him, among them Wolfred Nelson; and in the country he had the +undivided allegiance of men like Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, editor of +the Montreal _Vindicator_, {38} and Thomas Storrow Brown, afterwards +one of the 'generals' of the rebellion. Although the political +struggle in Lower Canada before 1837 was largely racial, it was not +exclusively so, for there were some English in the Patriots party and +some French who declined to support it. + +In 1832 and 1833 Papineau suffered rebuffs in the House that could not +have been pleasant to him. In 1833, for instance, his proposal to +refuse supply was defeated by a large majority. But the triumphant +passage of the famous Ninety-Two Resolutions in 1834 showed that, for +most purposes, he still had a majority behind him. + +The Ninety-Two Resolutions were introduced by Elzéar Bédard, the son of +Pierre Bédard, and are reputed to have been drawn up by A. N. Morin. +But there is no doubt that they were inspired by Papineau. The voice +was the voice of Jacob, but the hand was the hand of Esau. The +Resolutions constituted the political platform of the extreme wing of +the _Patriote_ party: they were a sort of Declaration of Right. A more +extraordinary political document has seldom seen the light. A writer +in the Quebec _Mercury_, said by Lord Aylmer to be John Neilson, {39} +undertook an analysis of the ninety-two articles: eleven, said this +writer, stood true; six contained both truth and falsehood; sixteen +stood wholly false; seventeen seemed doubtful and twelve ridiculous; +seven were repetitions; fourteen consisted only of abuse; four were +both false and seditious; and the remainder were indifferent. + +It is not possible here to analyse the Resolutions in detail. They +called the attention of the home government to some real abuses. The +subservience of the Legislative Council to the Executive Council; the +partisanship of some of the judges; the maladministration of the wild +lands; grave irregularities in the receiver-general's office; the +concentration of a variety of public offices in the same persons; the +failure of the governor to issue a writ for the election of a +representative for the county of Montreal; and the expenditure of +public moneys without the consent of the Assembly--all these, and many +others, were enlarged upon. If the framers of the Resolutions had only +cared to make out a very strong case they might have done so. But the +language which they employed to present their case was almost certainly +calculated to injure it seriously in the eyes of the home government. +{40} 'We are in no wise disposed,' they told the king, 'to admit the +excellence of the present constitution of Canada, although the present +colonial secretary unseasonably and erroneously asserts that the said +constitution has conferred on the two Canadas the institutions of Great +Britain.' With an extraordinary lack of tact they assured the king +that Toryism was in America 'without any weight or influence except +what it derives from its European supporters'; whereas Republicanism +'overspreads all America.' Nor did they stop there. 'This House,' +they announced, 'would esteem itself wanting in candour to Your Majesty +if it hesitated to call Your Majesty's attention to the fact, that in +less than twenty years the population of the United States of America +will be greater than that of Great Britain, and that of British America +will be greater than that of the former English colonies, when the +latter deemed that the time was come to decide that the inappreciable +advantage of being self-governed ought to engage them to repudiate a +system of colonial government which was, generally speaking, much +better than that of British America now is.' This unfortunate +reference to the American Revolution, with its {41} hardly veiled +threat of rebellion, was scarcely calculated to commend the Ninety-Two +Resolutions to the favourable consideration of the British government. +And when the Resolutions went on to demand, not merely the removal, but +the impeachment of the governor, Lord Aylmer, it must have seemed to +unprejudiced bystanders as if the framers of the Resolutions had taken +leave of their senses. + +The Ninety-Two Resolutions do not rank high as a constructive document. +The chief change in the constitution which they proposed was the +application of the elective principle to the Legislative Council. Of +anything which might be construed into advocacy of a statesmanlike +project of responsible government there was not a word, save a vague +allusion to 'the vicious composition and irresponsibility of the +Executive Council.' Papineau and his friends had evidently no +conception of the solution ultimately found for the constitutional +problem in Canada--a provincial cabinet chosen from the legislature, +sitting in the legislature, and responsible to the legislature, whose +advice the governor is bound to accept in regard to provincial affairs. +Papineau undoubtedly did much to hasten the day of responsible +government in Canada; {42} but in this process he was in reality an +unwitting agent. + +The Ninety-Two Resolutions secured a majority of fifty-six to +twenty-four. But in the minority voted John Neilson, Augustin +Cuvillier, F. A. Quesnel, and Andrew Stuart, who now definitely broke +away from Papineau's party. There are signs, too, that the +considerable number of Catholic clergy who had openly supported +Papineau now began to withdraw from the camp of a leader advocating +such republican and revolutionary ideas. There is ground also for +believing that not a little unrest disturbed those who voted with +Papineau in 1834. In the next year Elzéar Bédard, who had moved the +Ninety-Two Resolutions, broke with Papineau. Another seceder was +Étienne Parent, the editor of the revived _Canadien_, and one of the +great figures in French-Canadian literature. Both Bédard and Parent +were citizens of Quebec, and they carried with them the great body of +public opinion in the provincial capital. It will be observed later +that during the disturbances of 1837 Quebec remained quiet. + +None of the seceders abandoned the demand for the redress of +grievances. They merely {43} refused to follow Papineau in his extreme +course. For this they were assailed with some of the rhetoric which +had hitherto been reserved for the 'Bureaucrats.' To them was applied +the opprobrious epithet of _Chouayens_[1]--a name which had been used +by Étienne Parent himself in 1828 to describe those French Canadians +who took sides with the government party. + + + + +[1] The name _Chouayen_ or _Chouaguen_ appears to have been first used +as a term of reproach at the siege of Oswego in 1756. It is said that +after the fall of the forts there to Montcalm's armies a number of +Canadian soldiers arrived too late to take part in the fighting. By +the soldiers who had borne the brunt of the battle the late-comers were +dubbed _Chouaguens_, this being the way the rank and file of the French +soldiers pronounced the Indian name of Oswego. Thus the term came to +mean one who refuses to follow, or who lets others do the fighting and +keeps out of it himself. Perhaps the nearest English, or rather +American, equivalent is the name Mugwump. + + + + +{44} + +CHAPTER VI + +THE ROYAL COMMISSION + +A general election followed soon after the passing of the Ninety-Two +Resolutions and revealed the strength of Papineau's position in the +country. All those members of the _Patriote_ party who had opposed the +Resolutions--Neilson, Cuvillier, Quesnel, Stuart, and two or three +others--suffered defeat at the polls. The first division-list in the +new Assembly showed seventy members voting for Papineau as speaker, and +only six voting against him. + +The Resolutions were forwarded to Westminster, both through the +Assembly's agent in London and through Lord Aylmer, who received the +address embodying the Resolutions, despite the fact that they demanded +his own impeachment. The British House of Commons appointed a special +committee to inquire into the grievances of which the Resolutions +complained; but there followed {45} no immediate action by the +government. The years 1834 and 1835 saw much disturbance in British +politics: there were no less than four successive ministers at the +Colonial Office. It was natural that there should be some delay in +dealing with the troubles of Lower Canada. In the spring of 1835, +however, the government made up its mind about the course to pursue. +It decided to send to Canada a royal commission for the purpose of +investigating, and if possible settling, the questions in dispute. It +was thought advisable to combine in one person the office of chief +royal commissioner and that of governor of Canada. To clear the way +for this arrangement Lord Aylmer was recalled. But he was expressly +relieved from all censure: it was merely recognized by the authorities +that his unfortunate relations with the Assembly made it unlikely that +he would be able to offer any assistance in a solution of the problem. + +The unenviable position of governor and chief royal commissioner was +offered in turn to several English statesmen and declined by all of +them. It was eventually accepted by Lord Gosford, an Irish peer +without experience in public life. With him were associated as +commissioners Sir Charles Grey, afterwards {46} governor of Jamaica, +and Sir George Gipps, afterwards governor of New South Wales. These +two men were evidently intended to offset each other: Grey was commonly +rated as a Tory, while Gipps was a Liberal. Lord Gosford's appointment +caused much surprise. He was a stranger in politics and in civil +government. There is no doubt that his appointment was a last +resource. But his Irish geniality and his facility in being all things +to all men were no small recommendations for a governor who was to +attempt to set things right in Canada. + +The policy of Lord Glenelg, the colonial secretary during Gosford's +period of office, was to do everything in his power to conciliate the +Canadian _Patriotes_, short of making any real constitutional +concessions. By means of a conciliatory attitude he hoped to induce +them to abate some of their demands. There is, indeed, evidence that +he was personally willing to go further: he seems to have proposed to +William IV that the French Canadians should be granted, as they +desired, an elective Legislative Council; but the staunch old Tory king +would not hear of the change. 'The king objects on principle,' the +ministers were told, 'and upon what he {47} considers sound +constitutional principle, to the adoption of the elective principle in +the constitution of the legislative councils in the colonies.' In 1836 +the king had not yet become a negligible factor in determining the +policy of the government; and the idea was dropped. + +Lord Gosford arrived in Canada at the end of the summer of 1835 to find +himself confronted with a discouraging state of affairs. A short +session of the Assembly in the earlier part of the year had been marked +by unprecedented violence. Papineau had attacked Lord Aylmer in +language breathing passion; and had caused Lord Aylmer's reply to the +address of the Assembly containing the Ninety-Two Resolutions to be +expunged from the journals of the House as 'an insult cast at the whole +nation.' Papineau had professed himself hopeless of any amendment of +grievances by Great Britain. 'When Reform ministries, who called +themselves our friends,' he said, 'have been deaf to our complaints, +can we hope that a Tory ministry, the enemy of Reform, will give us a +better hearing? We have nothing to expect from the Tories unless we +can inspire them with fear or worry them by ceaseless importunity.' It +{48} should be observed, however, that in 1835 Papineau explicitly +disclaimed any intention of stirring up civil war. When Gugy, one of +the English members of the Assembly,[1] accused him of such an +intention, Papineau replied: + + +Mr Gugy has talked to us again about an outbreak and civil war--a +ridiculous bugbear which is regularly revived every time the House +protests against these abuses, as it was under Craig, under Dalhousie, +and still more persistently under the present governor. Doubtless the +honourable gentleman, having studied military tactics as a lieutenant +in the militia--I do not say as a major, for he has been a major only +for the purposes of the parade-ground and the ball-room--is quite +competent to judge of the results of a civil war and of the forces of +the country, but he need not fancy that he can frighten us by hinting +to us that he will fight in the ranks of the enemy. All his threats +are futile, and his fears but the creatures of imagination. + + +Papineau did not yet contemplate an appeal {49} to arms; and of course +he could not foresee that only two years later Conrad Gugy would be one +of the first to enter the village of St Eustache after the defeat of +the _Patriote_ forces. + +In spite of the inflamed state of public feeling, Lord Gosford tried to +put into effect his policy of conciliation. He sought to win the +confidence of the French Canadians by presiding at their +entertainments, by attending the distribution of prizes at their +seminaries, and by giving balls on their feast days. He entertained +lavishly, and his manners toward his guests were decidedly convivial. +'_Milord_,' exclaimed one of them on one occasion, tapping him on the +back at a certain stage of the after-dinner conversation, '_milord, +vous êtes bien aimable_.' 'Pardonnez,' replied Gosford; '_c'est le +vin_.' Even Papineau was induced to accept the governor's hospitality, +though there were not wanting those who warned Gosford that Papineau +was irreconcilable. 'By a wrong-headed and melancholy alchemy,' wrote +an English officer in Quebec to Gosford, 'he will transmute every +public concession into a demand for more, in a ratio equal to its +extent; and his disordered moral palate, beneath the blandest smile and +the {50} softest language, will turn your Burgundy into vinegar.' + +The speech with which Lord Gosford opened the session of the +legislature in the autumn of 1835 was in line with the rest of his +policy. He announced his determination to effect the redress of every +grievance. In some cases the action of the executive government would +be sufficient to supply the remedy. In others the assistance of the +legislature would be necessary. A third class of cases would call for +the sanction of the British parliament. He promised that no +discrimination against French Canadians should be made in appointments +to office. He expressed the opinion that executive councillors should +not sit in the legislature. He announced that the French would be +guaranteed the use of their native tongue. He made an earnest plea for +the settlement of the financial difficulty, and offered some +concessions. The legislature should be given control of the hereditary +revenues of the Crown, if provision were made for the support of the +executive and the judiciary. Finally, he made a plea for the +reconciliation of the French and English races in the country, whom he +described as 'the offspring of the two foremost nations {51} of +mankind.' Not even the most extreme of the _Patriotes_ could fail to +see that Lord Gosford was holding out to them an olive branch. + +Great dissatisfaction, of course, arose among the English in the colony +at Lord Gosford's policy. 'Constitutional associations,' which had +been formed in Quebec and Montreal for the defence of the constitution +and the rights and privileges of the English-speaking inhabitants of +Canada, expressed gloomy forebodings as to the probable result of the +policy. The British in Montreal organized among themselves a volunteer +rifle corps, eight hundred strong, 'to protect their persons and +property, and to assist in maintaining the rights and principles +granted them by the constitution'; and there was much indignation when +the rifle corps was forced to disband by order of the governor, who +declared that the constitution was in no danger, and that, even if it +were, the government would be competent to deal with the situation. + +Nor did Gosford find it plain sailing with all the French Canadians. +Papineau's followers in the House took up at first a distinctly +independent attitude. Gosford was informed {52} that the appointment +of the royal commission was an insult to the Assembly; it threw doubt +on the assertions which Papineau and his followers had made in +petitions and resolutions. If the report of the commissioners turned +out to be in accord with the views of the House, well and good; but if +not, that would not influence the attitude of the House. They would +not alter their demands. + +In spite, however, of the uneasiness of the English official element, +and the obduracy of the extreme _Patriotes_, it is barely possible that +Gosford, with his _bonhomie_ and his Burgundy, might have effected a +modus vivendi, had there not occurred, about six months after Gosford's +arrival in Canada, one of those unfortunate and unforeseen events which +upset the best-laid schemes of mice and men. This was the indiscreet +action of Sir Francis Bond Head, the newly appointed +lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, in communicating to the +legislature of Upper Canada the _ipsissima verba_ of his instructions +from the Colonial Office. It was immediately seen that a discrepancy +existed between the tenor of Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions and +the tenor of Lord Gosford's speech at the opening of the legislature of +Lower Canada in 1835. {53} Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions showed +beyond peradventure that the British government did not contemplate any +real constitutional changes in the Canadas; above all, it did not +propose to yield to the demand for an elective Legislative Council. +This fact was called to the attention of Papineau and his friends by +Marshall Spring Bidwell, the speaker of the Assembly of Upper Canada; +and immediately the fat was in the fire. Papineau was confirmed in his +belief that justice could not be hoped for; those who had been won over +by Gosford's blandishments experienced a revulsion of feeling; and +Gosford saw the fruit of his efforts vanishing into thin air. + +A climax came over the question of supply. Lord Gosford had asked the +Assembly to vote a permanent civil list, in view of the fact that the +government offered to hand over to the control of the legislature the +casual and territorial revenues of the Crown. But the publication of +Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions effectually destroyed any hope of +this compromise being accepted. In the session of the House which was +held in the early part of 1836, Papineau and his friends not only +refused to vote a permanent civil {54} list; they declined to grant +more than six months' supply in any case; and with this they made the +threat that if the demands of the _Patriotes_ were not met at the end +of the six months, no more supplies would be voted. This action was +deemed so unsatisfactory that the Legislative Council threw out the +bill of supply. The result was widespread distress among the public +officials of the colony. This was the fourth year in which no +provision had been made for the upkeep of government. In 1833 the bill +of supply had been so cumbered with conditions that it had been +rejected by the Legislative Council. In 1834, owing to disputes +between the Executive and the Assembly, the legislature had separated +without a vote on the estimates. In 1835 the Assembly had declined to +make any vote of supply. In earlier years the Executive had been able, +owing to its control of certain royal and imperial revenues, to carry +on the government after a fashion under such circumstances; but since +it had transferred a large part of these revenues to the control of the +legislature, it was no longer able to meet the situation. Papineau and +his friends doubtless recognized that they now had the 'Bureaucrats' at +their mercy; and {55} they seem to have made up their minds to achieve +the full measure of their demands, or make government impossible by +withholding the supplies, no matter what suffering this course might +inflict on the families of the public servants. + +In the autumn of 1836 the royal commissioners brought their labours to +a close. Lord Gosford, it is true, remained in the colony as governor +until the beginning of 1838, and Sir George Gipps remained until the +beginning of 1837, but Sir Charles Grey left for England in November +1836 with the last of the commissioners' reports. These reports, which +were six in number, exercised little direct influence upon the course +of events in Canada. The commissioners pronounced against the +introduction of responsible government, in the modern sense of the +term, on the ground that it would be incompatible with the status of a +colony. They advised against the project of an elective Legislative +Council. In the event of a crisis arising, they submitted the question +whether the total suspension of the constitution would not be less +objectionable than any partial interference with the particular +clauses. It is evident from the reports that the commissioners had +{56} bravely survived their earlier view that the discontented +Canadians might be won over by unctuous blandishments alone. They +could not avoid the conclusion that this policy had failed. + + + +[1] He was really of Swiss extraction. + + + + +{57} + +CHAPTER VII + +THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS + +When the legislature of Lower Canada met in the autumn of 1836, Lord +Gosford earnestly called its attention to the estimates of the current +year and the accounts showing the arrears unpaid. Six months, however, +had passed by, and there was no sign of the redress of grievances. The +royal commission, indeed, had not completed its investigations. The +Assembly, therefore, refused once more to vote the necessary supplies. +'In reference to the demand for a supply,' they told the governor, +'relying on the salutary maxim, that the correction of abuses and the +redress of grievances ought to precede the grant thereof, we have been +of opinion that there is nothing to authorize us to alter our +resolution of the last session.' + +This answer marked the final and indubitable breakdown of the policy of +conciliation without concession. This was recognized by {58} Gosford, +who soon afterwards wrote home asking to be allowed to resign, and +recommending the appointment of a governor whose hands were 'not +pledged as mine are to a mild and conciliatory line of policy.' + +Two alternatives were now open to the British ministers--either to make +a complete capitulation to the demands of the _Patriotes_, or to deal +with the situation in a high-handed way. They chose the latter course, +though with some hesitation and perhaps with regret. On March 6, 1837, +Lord John Russell, chancellor of the Exchequer in the Melbourne +administration and one of the most liberal-minded statesmen in England, +introduced into the House of Commons ten resolutions dealing with the +affairs of Canada. These resolutions recited that since 1832 no +provision had been made by the Assembly of Lower Canada for defraying +the charges for the administration of justice or for the support of the +civil government; that the attention of the Assembly had been called to +the arrears due; and that the Assembly had declined to vote a supply +until its demands for radical political changes were satisfied. The +resolutions declared that though both the bodies in question might be +improved in respect of their composition, it {59} was inadvisable to +grant the demand to make the Legislative Council elective, or to +subject the Executive Council to the responsibility demanded by the +House of Assembly. In regard to the financial question, the +resolutions repeated the offer made by Lord Aylmer and Lord +Gosford--namely, to hand over to the Assembly the control of the +hereditary, territorial, and casual revenues of the Crown, on condition +that the Assembly would grant a permanent civil list. But the main +feature of the resolutions was the clause empowering the governor to +pay out of the public revenues, without authorization of the Assembly, +the moneys necessary for defraying the cost of government in the +province up to April 10, 1837. This, though not exactly a suspension +of the constitution of Lower Canada and a measure quite legally within +the competency of the House of Commons, was a flat negative to the +claim of the Lower-Canadian Assembly to control over the executive +government, through the power of the purse or otherwise. + +A long and important debate in Parliament followed on these +resolutions. Some of the chief political leaders of the day took part +in the discussion. Daniel O'Connell, the great {60} tribune of the +Irish people, took up the cudgels for the French Canadians. Doubtless +it seemed to him that the French Canadians, like the Irish, were +victims of Anglo-Saxon tyranny and bigotry. Sir George Grey, the +colleague of Gosford, Lord Stanley, a former colonial secretary, and +William Ewart Gladstone, then a vigorous young Tory, spoke in support +of the resolutions. The chief opposition came from the Radical wing of +the Whig party, headed by Hume and Roebuck; but these members were +comparatively few in number, and the resolutions were passed by +overwhelming majorities. + +[Illustration: Wolfred Nelson. From a print in the Château de Ramezay.] + +As soon as the passage of the resolutions became known in Canada, +Papineau and his friends began to set the heather on fire. On May 7, +1837, the _Patriotes_ held a huge open-air meeting at St Ours, eleven +miles above Sorel on the river Richelieu. The chief organizer of the +meeting was Dr Wolfred Nelson, a member of the Assembly living in the +neighbouring village of St Denis, who was destined to be one of the +leaders of the revolt at the end of the year. Papineau himself was +present at the meeting and he spoke in his usual violent strain. He +submitted a resolution declaring that 'we cannot but {61} consider a +government which has recourse to injustice, to force, and to a +violation of the social contract, anything else than an oppressive +government, a government by force, for which the measure of our +submission should henceforth be simply the measure of our numerical +strength, in combination with the sympathy we may find elsewhere.' At +St Laurent a week later he used language no less dangerous. 'The +Russell resolutions,' he cried, 'are a foul stain; the people should +not, and will not, submit to them; the people must transmit their just +rights to their posterity, even though it cost them their property and +their lives to do so.' + +These meetings were prototypes of many that followed. All over the +province the _Patriotes_ met together to protest against what they +called 'coercion.' As a rule the meetings were held in the country +parishes after church on Sunday, when the habitants were gathered +together. Most inflammatory language was used, and flags and placards +were displayed bearing such devices as '_Papineau et le système +électif_,' '_Papineau et l'indépendence_,' and '_A bas le despotisme_.' +Alarmed by such language, Lord Gosford issued on June 15 a proclamation +calling on all loyal {62} subjects to discountenance writings of a +seditious tendency, and to avoid meetings of a turbulent or political +character. But the proclamation produced no abatement in the +agitation; it merely offered one more subject for denunciation. + +During this period Papineau and his friends continually drew their +inspiration from the procedure of the Whigs in the American colonies +before 1776. The resolutions of the _Patriotes_ recalled the language +of the Declaration of Independence. One of the first measures of the +Americans had been to boycott English goods; one of the first measures +of the _Patriotes_ was a resolution passed at St Ours binding them to +forswear the use of imported English goods and to use only the products +of Canadian industry. At the short and abortive session of the +legislature which took place at the end of the summer of 1837, nearly +all the members of the Assembly appeared in clothes made of Canadian +frieze. The shifts of some of the members to avoid wearing English +imported articles were rather amusing. 'Mr Rodier's dress,' said the +Quebec _Mercury_, 'excited the greatest attention, being unique with +the exception of a pair of Berlin gloves, viz.: frock coat of {63} +granite colored _étoffe du pays_; inexpressibles and vest of the same +material, striped blue and white; straw hat, and beef shoes, with a +pair of home-made socks, completed the _outré_ attire. Mr Rodier, it +was remarked, had no shirt on, having doubtless been unable to smuggle +or manufacture one.' But Louis LaFontaine and 'Beau' Viger limited +their patriotism, it appears, to the wearing of Canadian-made +waistcoats. The imitation of the American revolutionists did not end +here. If the New England colonies had their 'Sons of Liberty,' Lower +Canada had its '_Fils de la Liberté_'--an association formed in +Montreal in the autumn of 1837. And the Lower Canada Patriotes +outstripped the New England patriots in the republican character of +their utterances. 'Our only hope,' announced _La Minerve_, 'is to +elect our governor ourselves, or, in other words, to cease to belong to +the British Empire.' A manifesto of some of the younger spirits of the +_Patriote_ party, issued on October 1, 1837, spoke of 'proud designs, +which in our day must emancipate our beloved country from all human +authority except that of the bold democracy residing within its bosom.' +To add point to these opinions, there sprang up all over the country +{64} volunteer companies of armed _Patriotes_, led and organized by +militia officers who had been dismissed for seditious utterances. + +Naturally, this situation caused much concern among the loyal people of +the country. Loyalist meetings were held in Quebec and Montreal, to +offset the _Patriote_ meetings; and an attempt was made to form a +loyalist rifle corps in Montreal. The attempt failed owing to the +opposition of the governor, who was afraid that such a step would +merely aggravate the situation. Not even Gosford, however, was blind +to the seriousness of the situation. He wrote to the colonial +secretary on September 2, 1837, that all hope of conciliation had +passed. Papineau's aims were now the separation of Canada from England +and the establishment of a republican form of government. 'I am +disposed to think,' he concluded, 'that you may be under the necessity +of suspending the constitution.' + +It was at this time that the Church first threw its weight openly +against the revolutionary movement. The British government had +accorded to Catholics in Canada a measure of liberty at once just and +generous; and the bishops and clergy were not slow to see that under a +republican form of government, {65} whether as a state in the American +Union or as an independent _nation canadienne_, they might be much +worse off, and would not be any better off, than under the dominion of +Great Britain. In the summer of 1837 Mgr Lartigue, the bishop of +Montreal, addressed a communication to the clergy of his diocese asking +them to keep the people within the path of duty. In October he +followed this up by a Pastoral Letter, to be read in all the churches, +warning the people against the sin of rebellion. He held over those +who contemplated rebellion the penalties of the Church: 'The present +question amounts to nothing less than this--whether you will choose to +maintain, or whether you will choose to abandon, the laws of your +religion.' + +The ecclesiastical authorities were roused to action by a great meeting +held on October 23, at St Charles on the Richelieu, the largest and +most imposing of all the meetings thus far. Five or six thousand +people attended it, representing all the counties about the Richelieu. +The proceedings were admirably staged. Dr Wolfred Nelson was in the +chair, but Papineau was the central figure. A company of armed men, +headed by two militia officers who had been dismissed for disloyalty, +and {66} drawn up as a guard, saluted every resolution of the meeting +with a volley. A wooden pillar, with a cap of liberty on top, was +erected, and dedicated to Papineau. At the end of the proceedings +Papineau was led up to the column to receive an address. After this +all present marched past singing popular airs; and each man placed his +hand on the column, swearing to be faithful to the cause of his +country, and to conquer or die for her. All this, of course, was +comparatively innocent. The resolutions, too, were not more violent +than many others which had been passed elsewhere. Nor did Papineau use +language more extreme than usual. Many of the _Patriotes_, indeed, +considered his speech too moderate. He deprecated any recourse to arms +and advised his hearers merely to boycott English goods, in order to +bring the government to righteousness. But some of his lieutenants +used language which seemed dangerous. Roused by the eloquence of their +leader, they went further than he would venture, and advocated an +appeal to the arbitrament of war. 'The time has come,' cried Wolfred +Nelson, 'to melt our spoons into bullets.' + +The exact attitude of Papineau during {67} these months of agitation is +difficult to determine. He does not seem to have been quite clear as +to what course he should pursue. He had completely lost faith in +British justice. He earnestly desired the emancipation of Canada from +British rule and the establishment of a republican system of +government. But he could not make up his mind to commit himself to +armed rebellion. 'I must say, however,' he had announced at St +Laurent, 'and it is neither fear nor scruple that makes me do so, that +the day has not yet come for us to respond to that appeal.' The same +attitude is apparent, in spite of the haughty and defiant language, in +the letter which he addressed to the governor's secretary in answer to +an inquiry as to what he had said at St Laurent: + + +SIR,--The pretension of the governor to interrogate me respecting my +conduct at St Laurent on the 15th of May last is an impertinence which +I repel with contempt and silence. + +I, however, take the pen merely to tell the governor that it is false +that any of the resolutions adopted at the meeting of the county of +Montreal, held at St Laurent {68} on the 15th May last, recommend a +violation of the laws, as in his ignorance he may believe, or as he at +least asserts.--Your obedient servant, + +L. J. PAPINEAU. + + +At St Charles Papineau was even more precise in repudiating revolution; +and there is no evidence that, when rebellion was decided upon, +Papineau played any important part in laying the plans. In later years +he was always emphatic in denying that the rebellion of 1837 had been +primarily his handiwork. 'I was,' he said in 1847, 'neither more nor +less guilty, nor more nor less deserving, than a great number of my +colleagues.' The truth seems to be that Papineau always balked a +little at the idea of armed rebellion, and that he was carried off his +feet at the end of 1837 by his younger associates, whose enthusiasm he +himself had inspired. He had raised the wind, but he could not ride +the whirlwind. + +[Illustration: South-Western Lower Canada, 1837.] + + + + +{69} + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DOGS OF WAR + +As the autumn of 1837 wore on, the situation in Lower Canada began to +assume an aspect more and more threatening. In spite of a proclamation +from the governor forbidding such meetings, the _Patriotes_ continued +to gather for military drill and musketry exercises. Armed bands went +about the countryside, in many places intimidating the loyalists and +forcing loyal magistrates and militia officers to send in their +resignations to the governor. As early as July some of the Scottish +settlers at Côte St Joseph, near St Eustache, had fled from their +homes, leaving their property to its fate. Several houses at Côte St +Mary had been fired upon or broken into. A letter of Sir John +Colborne, the commander of the forces in British North America, written +on October 6, shows what the state of affairs was at that time: + + +In my correspondence with Col. Eden I have had occasion to refer to the +facts {70} and reports that establish the decided character which the +agitators have lately assumed. The people have elected the dismissed +officers of the militia to command them. At St Ours a pole has been +erected in favour of a dismissed captain with this inscription on it, +'Elu par le peuple.' At St Hyacinthe the tri-coloured flag was +displayed for several days. Two families have quitted the town in +consequence of the annoyance they received from the patriots. Wolfred +Nelson warned the patriots at a public meeting to be ready to arm. The +tri-coloured flag is to be seen at two taverns between St Denis and St +Charles. Many of the tavern-keepers have discontinued their signs and +substituted for them an eagle. The bank notes or promissory notes +issued at Yamaska have also the same emblem marked on them. Mr +Papineau was escorted from Yamaska to St Denis by a numerous retinue, +and it is said that 200 or 300 carriages accompanied him on his route. +He has attended five public meetings lately; and at one of them La +Valtrie, a priest, was insulted in his presence. The occurrence at St +Denis was certainly {71} a political affair, a family at St Antoine +opposed to the proceedings of W. Nelson, having been annoyed by the +same mob that destroyed the house of Madame St Jacques a few hours +before the shot was fired from her window. + + +Special animosity was shown toward the Chouayens, those French +Canadians who had refused to follow Papineau's lead. P. D. Debartzch, +a legislative councillor and a former supporter of Papineau, who had +withdrawn his support after the passing of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, +was obliged to flee from his home at St Charles; and Dr Quesnel, one of +the magistrates of L'Acadie, had his house broken into by a mob that +demanded his resignation as magistrate. + +On November 6 rioting broke out in Montreal. The Doric Club, an +organization of the young men of English blood in the city, came into +conflict with the French-Canadian _Fils de la Liberté_. Which side +provoked the hostilities, it is now difficult to say. Certainly, both +sides were to blame for their behaviour during the day. The sons of +liberty broke the windows of prominent loyalists; and the members of +the Doric Club completely wrecked {72} the office of the _Vindicator_ +newspaper. It was only when the Riot Act was read, and the troops were +called out, that the rioting ceased. + +Up to this point the _Patriotes_ had not indulged in any overt acts of +armed rebellion. Some of their leaders, it is true, had been laying +plans for a revolt. So much is known from the correspondence which +passed between the leading _Patriotes_ in Lower Canada and William Lyon +Mackenzie, the leader of the rebellion in Upper Canada. Thomas Storrow +Brown, one of Papineau's lieutenants, wrote to Mackenzie asking him to +start the ball rolling in Upper Canada first, in order to draw off some +of the troops which Sir John Colborne had massed in Lower Canada. But +all calculations were now upset by events which rapidly precipitated +the crisis in the lower province. + +Soon after the fracas in the streets of Montreal between the Doric Club +and the _Fils de la Liberté_, a priest named Quibilier waited on +Papineau, and advised him, since his presence in Montreal had become a +source of disturbance, to leave the city. Whether he came as an +emissary from the ecclesiastical authorities or merely as a friend is +not clear. At any rate, Papineau accepted his advice, {73} and +immediately set out for St Hyacinthe. The result was most unfortunate. +The government, thinking that Papineau had left the city for the +purpose of stirring up trouble in the Richelieu district, promptly +issued warrants for the arrest of Papineau and some of his chief +lieutenants, Dr Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, Edmund Bailey +O'Callaghan, and several others. + +Meanwhile, on the day that these warrants for arrest were being issued +(November 16), a skirmish took place between a small party of British +troopers and a band of _Patriotes_ on the road between Chambly and +Longueuil--a skirmish which may be described as the Lexington of the +Lower Canada rebellion. The troopers, under Lieutenant Ermatinger, had +been sent to St Johns to arrest two French Canadians, named Demaray and +Davignon, who had been intimidating the magistrates. The arrest had +been effected, and the party were on their way back to Montreal, when +they were confronted by an armed company of _Patriotes_, under the +command of Bonaventure Viger, who demanded the release of the +prisoners. A brisk skirmish ensued, in which several on both sides +were wounded. The troopers, outnumbered by at least five {74} to one, +and having nothing but pistols with which to reply to the fire of +muskets and fowling-pieces, were easily routed; and the two prisoners +were liberated. + +The news of this affair spread rapidly through the parishes, and +greatly encouraged the _Patriotes_ to resist the arrest of Papineau and +his lieutenants. Papineau, Nelson, Brown, and O'Callaghan had all +evaded the sheriff's officer, and had taken refuge in the country about +the Richelieu, the heart of the revolutionary district. In a day or +two word came to Montreal that considerable numbers of armed habitants +had gathered at the villages of St Denis and St Charles, evidently with +the intention of preventing the arrest of their leaders. The force at +St Denis was under the command of Wolfred Nelson, and that at St +Charles was under the command of Thomas Storrow Brown. How these +self-styled 'generals' came to be appointed is somewhat of a mystery. +Brown, at any rate, seems to have been chosen for the position on the +spur of the moment. 'A mere accident took me to St Charles,' he wrote +afterwards, 'and put me at the head of a revolting force.' + +Sir John Colborne, who was in command of the British military forces, +immediately {75} determined to disperse these gatherings by force and +to arrest their leaders. His plan of campaign was as follows. A force +consisting of one regiment of infantry, a troop of the Montreal +Volunteer Cavalry, and two light field-guns, under the command of +Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, had already been dispatched to Chambly by +way of the road on which the rescue of Demaray and Davignon had taken +place. This force would advance on St Charles. Another force, +consisting of five companies of the 24th regiment, with a +twelve-pounder, under Colonel Charles Gore, a Waterloo veteran, would +proceed by boat to Sorel. There it was to be joined by one company of +the 66th regiment, then in garrison at Sorel, and the combined force +would march on St Denis. After having dispersed the rebels at St +Denis, which was thought not to be strongly held, the little army was +to proceed to St Charles, where it would be joined by the force under +Wetherall. + +At eight o'clock on the evening of November 22, Colonel Gore set out +with his men from the barrack-square at Sorel for St Denis. The +journey was one of eighteen miles; and in order to avoid St Ours, which +was held by the _Patriotes_, Gore turned away from the main {76} road +along the Richelieu to make a detour. This led his troops over very +bad roads. The night was dark and rain poured down in torrents. 'I +got a lantern,' wrote one of Gore's aides-de-camp afterwards, 'fastened +it to the top of a pole, and had it carried in front of the column; but +what with horses and men sinking in the mud, harness breaking, wading +through water and winding through woods, the little force soon got +separated, those in the rear lost sight of the light, and great delays +and difficulties were experienced. Towards morning the rain changed to +snow, it became very cold, and daybreak found the unfortunate column +still floundering in the half-frozen mud four miles from St Denis.' + +Meanwhile word had reached the rebels of the coming of the soldiers. +At daybreak Dr Wolfred Nelson had ridden out to reconnoitre, and had +succeeded in destroying several bridges. As the soldiers approached St +Denis they heard the church bells ringing the alarm; and it was not +long before they found that the village was strongly defended. After +capturing some of the houses on the outskirts of the village, they were +halted by a stockade built across the road covered by a large brick +house, well fortified on all sides. The commander of {77} the troops +brought reinforcements up to the firing line, and the twelve-pounder +came into action. But the assailants made very little impression on +the defence. Although the engagement lasted for more than five hours, +the troops succeeded in capturing nothing more than one of the flanking +houses. The ammunition of the British was running low, and the numbers +of the insurgents seemed to be increasing. Colonel Gore therefore +deemed it advisable to retire. By some strange oversight the British +were without any ambulance or transport of any kind; and they were +compelled to leave their dead and wounded behind them. Their +casualties were six killed and eighteen wounded. The wounded, it is a +pleasure to be able to say, were well looked after by the victorious +_Patriotes_. + +The British effected their retreat with great steadiness, despite the +fact that the men had had no food since the previous day and had been +marching all night. They were compelled to abandon their +twelve-pounder in the mud; but they reached St Ours that night without +further loss. The next day they were back at Sorel. + +The number of the insurgents at St Denis has never been accurately +ascertained; {78} probably they were considerably in excess of the +troops. Their position was one of great strength, and good judgment +had been shown in fortifying it. On the other hand, with the exception +of a few veterans of Major de Salaberry's Voltigeurs, they were +untrained in war; and their muskets and fowling-pieces were much +inferior to the rifles of the regulars. Their victory, it must be +said, reflected great credit upon them; although their losses had been +twice as great as those of the soldiers,[1] these peasants in homespun +had stood their ground with a courage and steadiness which would have +honoured old campaigners. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said +about some of their leaders. Papineau and O'Callaghan were present in +St Denis when the attack began; but before the morning was well +advanced, they had departed for St Hyacinthe, whence they later fled to +the United States. Papineau always declared that he had taken this +action at the {79} solicitation of Wolfred Nelson, who had said to him: +'Do not expose yourself uselessly: you will be of more service to us +after the fight than here.' In later days, however, when political +differences had arisen between the two men, Nelson denied having given +Papineau any such advice. It is very difficult to know the truth. But +even if Nelson did advise Papineau to leave, it cannot be said that +Papineau consulted his own reputation in accepting the advice. He was +not a person without military experience: he had been a major in the +militia, and was probably superior in rank to any one in the village. +His place was with the brave farmers who had taken up arms on his +behalf. + +An episode in connection with the attack on St Denis left a dark stain +on the _Patriote_ escutcheon and embittered greatly the relations +between the two races in Canada. This was the murder, on the morning +of the fight, of Lieutenant Weir, a subaltern in the 32nd regiment, who +had been sent with dispatches to Sorel by land. He had reached Sorel +half an hour after Colonel Gore and his men had departed for St Denis. +In attempting to catch up with Gore's column he had taken the direct +road to St Denis and had arrived there {80} in advance of the British +troops. On approaching the village he was arrested, and by Wolfred +Nelson's orders placed in detention. As the British attack developed, +it was thought better by those who had him in charge to remove him to +St Charles. They bound him tightly and placed him in a wagon. Hardly +had they started when he made an attempt to escape. In this emergency +his warders seem to have lost their heads. In spite of the fact that +Weir was tightly bound and could do no harm, they fell upon him with +swords and pistols, and in a short time dispatched him. Then, appalled +at what they had done, they attempted to hide the body. When the +British troops entered St Denis a week later, they found the body +lying, weighted down with stones, in the Richelieu river under about +two feet of water. The autopsy disclosed the brutality with which Weir +had been murdered; and the sight of the body so infuriated the soldiers +that they gave the greater part of the village of St Denis to the +flames. In the later phases of the rebellion the slogan of the British +soldiers was, 'Remember Jack Weir.' + +Another atrocious murder even more unpardonable than that of Weir was +perpetrated {81} a few days later. On November 28 some _Patriotes_ +near St Johns captured a man by the name of Chartrand, who was enlisted +in a loyal volunteer corps of the district. After a mock trial +Chartrand was tied to a tree and shot by his own countrymen. + + + +[1] According to a report twelve _Patriotes_ lost their lives during +the engagement. Among them was Charles Ovide Perrault, member of the +Assembly for Vaudreuil, a young barrister of considerable promise. He +seems to have been Papineau's closest follower and confidant During the +last sessions of the Lower Canada legislature Perrault contributed many +letters to _La Minerve_. + + + + +{82} + +CHAPTER IX + +_FORCE MAJEURE_ + +The check administered to Colonel Gore's column at St Denis, in the +first engagement of the rebellion, was the only victory which fell to +the rebel forces. In the meantime Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, with +several companies of infantry, a troop of volunteer cavalry, and two +field-guns, was marching on St Charles. On the evening of November 22 +Major Gugy, the leader of the English party in the Assembly, had +brought to Wetherall at Chambly instructions to advance down the +Richelieu and attack the rebel position at St Charles in the morning. +He set out accordingly at about the hour when Gore headed his forces up +the river from Sorel. But, while Gore carried out his orders to the +letter and reached St Denis on the morning of the 23rd, Wetherall +allowed himself some latitude in interpreting his instructions. This +was largely due to the advice of Gugy, if we are to believe {83} the +account which Gugy has left us. 'In the first place,' it runs, 'not +one of the force knew anything of the roads or people, nor do I believe +that more than one spoke French.... The storm raged so fearfully, the +rain poured in such torrents, and the frost set in afterwards so +intensely, that ... men and horses were equally fatigued ... all so +exhausted as to be unable to cope, on broken or woody ground, +successfully with any resolute enemy.... I learned that we had marched +without a dollar, without a loaf of bread, without a commissary, and +without a spare cartridge--a pretty predicament in an enemy's country, +surrounded by thousands of armed men.' It was apparent to Gugy that +Sir John Colborne, in issuing his orders, had greatly underestimated +the difficulty of the task he was setting for the troops. After +crossing the river above the Chambly Basin, Gugy therefore induced +Wetherall to halt until daylight; and, turning himself into a +commissary, he billeted the men and horses in the neighbouring houses +and stables. + +The next day about noon the column reached St Hilaire, some seven miles +from St Charles. Here Wetherall obtained information which led him to +fear that Gore {84} had met with some kind of check; and he was +persuaded to send back to Chambly for a reinforcement of one company +which had been left in garrison there. His messenger reached Chambly +at four o'clock on the morning of the 24th. Major Warde, the +commandant at Chambly, at once embarked his company on a scow and +dropped down the river to St Hilaire; but he arrived too late to allow +of any further action that day, and it was not until the morning of the +25th that the column moved on St Charles. + +Meanwhile, the rebels had been making preparations for defence. They +had fortified the manor-house of Debartzch, who had fled to Montreal, +and built round it a rampart of earth and tree-trunks--a rampart which, +for some mysterious reason, was never completed. They appointed as +commander Thomas Storrow Brown, a Montreal iron-merchant, for whose +arrest a warrant had been issued and who had fled to St Charles with +two or three other _Patriote_ politicians. But Brown had no military +experience, and was still suffering so severely from injuries received +in the rioting in Montreal that his proper place was a home for +convalescents rather than a field of battle. His appointment can only +be {85} explained by the non-appearance of the local _Patriote_ +leaders. 'The chief men,' Brown testified afterwards, 'were, with two +or three exceptions, absent or hiding.' It is evident that the British +authorities expected to meet with the strongest opposition at St +Charles, since that place had been the scene of the great demonstration +earlier in the year. But, as a matter of fact, the rebel forces at St +Charles were much less formidable than those at St Denis. Not only +were they lacking in proper military leadership; they were also fewer +in number and were, moreover, very inadequately armed. If Brown's +statements are to be relied upon, there were not in the rebel camp two +hundred men. 'Of ammunition,' wrote Brown, 'we had some half dozen +kegs of gunpowder and a little lead, which was cast into bullets; but +as the fire-arms were of every calibre, the cartridges made were too +large for many, which were consequently useless. We had two small +rusty field-pieces, but with neither carriages nor appointments they +were as useless as two logs. There was one old musket, but not a +bayonet. The fire-arms were common flintlocks, in all conditions of +dilapidation, some tied together with string, and very many with {86} +lock-springs so worn out that they could not be discharged.' + +On the 24th Brown made a reconnaissance in the direction of St Hilaire. +He destroyed a bridge over a ravine some distance to the south of St +Charles, and placed above it an outpost with orders to prevent a +reconstruction of the bridge. But when the British troops appeared on +the morning of the 25th, this and other outlying pickets fell back +without making any resistance. They probably saw that they were so +outnumbered that resistance would be hopeless. On the approach of the +troops Brown at first assumed an attitude of confidence. A messenger +came from Wetherall, 'a respectable old habitant,' to tell the rebels +that if they dispersed quietly, they would not be molested. Brown +treated the message as a confession of weakness. 'I at once supposed,' +he said, 'that, followed in the rear by our friends from above, they +were seeking a free passage to Sorel, and determined to send a message, +that _if they would lay down their arms, they should pass unmolested_.' +This message does not seem to have reached its destination. And hardly +had the engagement opened when Brown quickly changed his tune. 'To go +forward {87} was useless, as I could order nothing but a +retreat--without it the people commenced retiring. I tried to rally +the little squads, my only hope being in keeping together the +fowling-pieces we had collected, but finding, after a long trial, my +strength and authority insufficient, I considered my command gone, +turned my horse, and rode to ... St Denis (seven or eight miles), where +... I arrived about nightfall.' + +The engagement lasted less than an hour. The rebels, or at any rate +those of them who were armed, seem to have been outnumbered by the +soldiers, of whom there were between three and four hundred. But the +fighting was apparently brisk while it lasted. The British lost three +killed and eighteen wounded. The _Patriote_ losses are not known. The +local tradition is that forty-two were killed and many more wounded. +We know that thirty were taken prisoners on the field. + +The defeat of the rebels at St Charles really terminated the rebellion +in the country about the Richelieu. When news of the defeat spread +over the countryside, the _Patriote_ forces immediately disbanded, and +their leaders sought safety in flight. Papineau and O'Callaghan, who +had been at St Hyacinthe, {88} succeeded in getting across the Vermont +border; but Wolfred Nelson was not so fortunate. After suffering great +privations he was captured by some loyalist militia not far from the +frontier, taken to Montreal, and there lodged in prison. + +For some reason which it is difficult to discern, Wetherall did not +march on from St Charles to effect a pacification of St Denis. On +December 1, however, Colonel Gore once more set out from Sorel, and +entered St Denis the same day. He found everything quiet. He +recovered the howitzer and five of the wounded men he had left behind. +In spite of the absence of opposition, his men took advantage of the +occasion to wreak an unfair and un-British vengeance on the helpless +victors of yesterday. Goaded to fury by the sight of young Weir's +mangled body, they set fire to a large part of the village. Colonel +Gore afterwards repudiated the charge that he had ordered the burning +of the houses of the insurgents; but that defence does not absolve him +from blame. It is obvious, at any rate, that he did not take adequate +measures to prevent such excesses; nor was any punishment ever +administered to those who applied the torch. + +{89} + +But the end of rebellion was not yet in sight. Two more encounters +remain to be described. The first of these occurred at a place known +as Moore's Corners, near the Vermont border. After the collapse at St +Charles a number of _Patriote_ refugees had gathered at the small town +of Swanton, a few miles south of Missisquoi Bay, on the American side +of the boundary-line. Among them were Dr Cyrile Côté and Edouard +Rodier, both members of the Lower Canada Assembly; Ludger Duvernay, a +member of the Assembly and editor of _La Minerve_; Dr Kimber, one of +the ringleaders in the rescue of Demaray and Davignon; and Robert Shore +Milnes Bouchette, the descendant of a French-Canadian family long +conspicuous for its loyalty and its services to the state. Bouchette's +grandfather had been instrumental in effecting the escape of Sir Guy +Carleton from Montreal in 1775, when that place was threatened by the +forces of Montgomery. The grandson's social tastes and affiliations +might have led one to expect that he would have been found in the ranks +of the loyalists; but the arbitrary policy of the Russell Resolutions +had driven him into the arms of the extreme _Patriotes_. Arrested for +disloyalty at the outbreak of {90} the rebellion, he had been admitted +to bail and had escaped. These men, under the belief that the +habitants would rise and join them, determined upon an armed invasion +of Canada. Possibly they believed also that Wolfred Nelson was still +holding out. Papineau, it was said, had reported that 'the victor of +St Denis' was entrenched with a considerable force at St Césaire on the +Yamaska. They therefore collected arms and ammunition, sent emissaries +through the parishes to the north to rouse the _Patriotes_, and on +December 6, flying some colours which had been worked for them by the +enthusiastic ladies of Swanton, they crossed the Canadian border, about +two hundred strong. They had two field-pieces and a supply of muskets +and ammunition for those whom they expected to join the party on +Canadian soil. + +Hardly had the invaders crossed the border when they encountered at +Moore's Corners a body of the Missisquoi Volunteers, under the command +of Captain Kemp, who were acting as escort to a convoy of arms and +ammunition. Having received warning of the coming of the insurgents, +Kemp had sent out messengers through the countryside to rouse the +loyalist {91} population. To these as they arrived he served out the +muskets in his wagons. And when the rebels appeared, about eight +o'clock at night, he had a force at his disposal of at least three +hundred men, all well armed. + +There is reason for believing that Kemp might have succeeded in +ambushing the advancing force, had not some of his men, untrained +volunteers with muskets in their hands for the first time, opened fire +prematurely. The rebels returned the fire, and a fusillade continued +for ten or fifteen minutes. But the rebels, on perceiving that they +had met a superior force, retired in great haste, leaving behind them +one dead and two wounded. One of the wounded was Bouchette, who had +been in command of the advance-guard. The rebels abandoned also their +two field-pieces, about forty stand of arms, five kegs of gunpowder, +and six boxes of ball-cartridge, as well as two standards. Among the +loyalists there were no casualties whatever. Only three of the rebels +were taken prisoner besides the two wounded, a fact which Kemp +explained by several factors--the undisciplined state of the loyalists, +the darkness of the night, the vicinity of woods, and the proximity of +the boundary-line, {92} beyond which he did not allow the pursuit to +go. The 'battle' of Moore's Corners was in truth an excellent farce; +but there is no doubt that it prevented what might have been a more +serious encounter had the rebel column reached the neighbourhood of St +Johns, where many of the _Patriotes_ were in readiness to join them. + +A few days later, in a part of the province some distance removed from +the Richelieu river and the Vermont border, there occurred another +collision, perhaps the most formidable of the whole rebellion. This +was at the village of St Eustache, in the county of Two Mountains, +about eighteen miles north-west of Montreal. The county of Two +Mountains had long been known as a stronghold of the extreme +_Patriotes_. The local member, W. H. Scott, was a supporter of +Papineau, and had a large and enthusiastic following. He was not, +however, a leader in the troubles that ensued. The chief organizer of +revolt in St Eustache and the surrounding country was a mysterious +adventurer named Amury Girod, who arrived in St Eustache toward the end +of November with credentials, it would seem from Papineau, assigning to +him the task of superintending the _Patriote_ cause {93} in the north. +About Girod very little is known. He is variously described as having +been a Swiss, an Alsatian, and a native of Louisiana. According to his +own statement, he had been at one time a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry +in Mexico. He was well educated, could speak fluently several +languages, had a bold and plausible manner, and succeeded in imposing, +not only upon the _Patriote_ leaders, but upon the people of St +Eustache. He found a capable and dauntless supporter in Dr J. O. +Chénier, the young physician of the village. Chénier was one of the +few leaders of the revolt whose courage challenges admiration; and it +is fitting that to-day a monument, bearing the simple inscription +CHÉNIER, should stand in the Place Viger in Montreal, among the people +for whom, though misguidedly and recklessly, he laid down his life. + +To St Eustache, on Sunday, November 26, came the news of Wolfred +Nelson's victory at St Denis. On Monday and Tuesday bands of +_Patriotes_ went about the countryside, terrorizing and disarming the +loyalists and compelling the faint-hearted to join in the rising. On +Wednesday night the rebels gathered to the number of about four hundred +{94} in St Eustache, and got noisily drunk (_s'y enivrèrent +bruyamment_). They then proceeded, under the command of Girod and +Chénier, to the Indian mission settlement at the Lake of Two Mountains. +Here they broke into the government stores and possessed themselves of +some guns and ammunition. They next made themselves unwelcome to the +superior of the mission, the Abbé Dufresne, and, in spite of his +protestations, carried off from the mission-house a three-pounder gun. +On their return to St Eustache they forcibly entered the convent which +had been lately completed, though it was not yet occupied, and camped +there. + +The loyalists who were forced to flee from the village carried the news +of these proceedings to Montreal; but Sir John Colborne was unwilling +to take any steps to subdue the _Patriotes_ of St Eustache until the +insurrection on the Richelieu had been thoroughly crushed. All he did +was to send a detachment of volunteers to guard the Bord à Plouffe +bridge at the northern end of the island of Montreal. + +On Sunday, December 3, word reached St Eustache of the defeat of the +insurgents at St Charles. This had a moderating influence on many of +the _Patriotes_. All week the Abbé {95} Paquin, parish priest of St +Eustache, had been urging the insurgents to go back quietly to their +homes. He now renewed his exhortations. He begged Chénier to cease +his revolutionary conduct. Chénier, however, was immovable. He +refused to believe that the rebels at St Charles had been dispersed, +and announced his determination to die with arms in his hands rather +than surrender. 'You might as well try to seize the moon with your +teeth,' he exclaimed, 'as to try to shake my resolve.' + +The events of the days that followed cannot be chronicled in detail. +When the Abbé Paquin and his vicar Desèves sought to leave the parish, +Girod and Chénier virtually placed them under arrest. The abbé did not +mince matters with Chénier. 'I accuse you before God and man,' he +said, 'of being the author of these misfortunes.' When some of the +habitants came to him complaining that they had been forced against +their will to join the rebels, he reminded them of the English proverb: +'You may lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink.' +Unfortunately, the Abbé Paquin's good influence was counteracted by +that of the Abbé Chartier, the curé of the neighbouring village of St +{96} Benoit, a rare case of an ecclesiastic lending his support to the +rebel movement, in direct contravention of the orders of his superiors. +On several occasions the Abbé Chartier came over to St Eustache and +delivered inflammatory addresses to the rebel levies. + +The vicar Desèves has left us a vivid picture of the life which the +rebels led. No attempt was made to drill them or to exercise +discipline. Time hung heavy on their hands. He continually saw them, +he says, passing through the village in knots of five or six, carrying +rusty guns out of order, smoking short black pipes, and wearing blue +_tuques_ which hung half-way down their backs, clothes of _étoffe du +pays_, and leather mittens. They helped themselves to all the strong +drink they could lay their hands on, and their gait showed the +influence of their potations. Their chief aim in life seemed to be to +steal, to drink, to eat, to dance, and to quarrel. With regard to the +morrow, they lived in a fool's paradise. They seem to have believed +that the troops would not dare to come out to meet them, and that when +their leaders should give the word they would advance on Montreal and +take it without difficulty. Their numbers during this period showed a +good deal of {97} fluctuation. Ultimately Girod succeeded in gathering +about him nearly a thousand men. Not all these, however, were armed; +according to Desèves a great many of them had no weapons but sticks and +stones. + +By December 13 Sir John Colborne was ready to move. He had provided +himself with a force strong enough to crush an enemy several times more +numerous than the insurgents led by Girod and Chénier. His column was +composed of the 1st Royals, the 32nd regiment, the 83rd regiment, the +Montreal Volunteer Rifles, Globensky and Leclerc's Volunteers, a strong +force of cavalry--in all, over two thousand men, supported by eight +pieces of field artillery and well supplied with provision and +ammunition transport. + +The troops bivouacked for the night at St Martin, and advanced on the +morning of the 14th. The main body crossed the Mille Isles river on +the ice about four miles to the east of St Eustache, and then moved +westward along the St Rose road. A detachment of Globensky's +Volunteers, however, followed the direct road to St Eustache, and came +out on the south side of the river opposite the village, in full view +of the rebels. Chénier, at the head of a hundred and fifty men, +crossed the {98} ice, and was on the point of coming to close quarters +with the volunteers when the main body of the loyalists appeared to the +east. Thereupon Chénier and his men beat a hasty retreat, and made +hurried preparations for defending the village. The church, the +convent, the presbytery, and the house of the member of the Assembly, +Scott, were all occupied and barricaded. It was about the church that +the fiercest fighting took place. The artillery was brought to bear on +the building; but the stout masonry resisted the battering of the +cannon balls, and is still standing, dinted and scarred. Some of the +Royals then got into the presbytery and set fire to it. Under cover of +the smoke the rest of the regiment then doubled up the street to the +church door. Gaining access through the sacristy, they lit a fire +behind the altar. 'The firing from the church windows then ceased,' +wrote one of the officers afterwards, 'and the rebels began running out +from some low windows, apparently of a crypt or cellar. Our men formed +up on one side of the church, and the 32nd and 83rd on the other. Some +of the rebels ran out and fired at the troops, then threw down their +arms and begged for quarter. Our officers tried to save the {99} +Canadians, but the men shouted "Remember Jack Weir," and numbers of +these poor deluded fellows were shot down.' + +One of those shot down was Chénier. He had jumped from a window of the +Blessed Virgin's chapel and was making for the cemetery. How many fell +with him it is difficult to say. It was said that seventy rebels were +killed, and a number of charred bodies were found afterwards in the +ruins of the church. The casualties among the troops were slight, one +killed and nine wounded. One of the wounded was Major Gugy, who here +distinguished himself by his bravery and kind-heartedness, as he had +done in the St Charles expedition. Many of the rebels escaped. A good +many, indeed, had fled from the village on the first appearance of the +troops. Among these were some who had played a conspicuous part in +fomenting trouble. The Abbé Chartier of St Benoit, instead of waiting +to administer the last rites to the dying, beat a feverish retreat and +eventually escaped to the United States. The Church placed on him its +interdict, and he never again set foot on Canadian soil. The behaviour +of the adventurer Girod, the 'general' of the rebel force, was +especially {100} reprehensible. When he had posted his men in the +church and the surrounding buildings, he mounted a horse and fled +toward St Benoit. At a tavern where he stopped to get a stiff draught +of spirits he announced that the rebels had been victorious and that he +was seeking reinforcements with which to crush the troops completely. +For four days he evaded capture. Then, finding that the cordon was +tightening around him, he blew out his brains with a revolver. Thus +ended a life which was not without its share of romance and mystery. + +On the night of the 14th the troops encamped near the desolate village +of St Eustache, a large part of which had unfortunately been given over +to the flames during the engagement. In the morning the column set out +for St Benoit. Sir John Colborne had threatened that if a single shot +were fired from St Benoit the village would be given over to fire and +pillage. But when the troops arrived there they found awaiting them +about two hundred and fifty men bearing white flags. All the villagers +laid down their arms and made an unqualified submission. And it is a +matter for profound regret that, notwithstanding this, the greater part +of the village {101} was burned to the ground. Sir John Colborne has +been severely censured for this occurrence, and not without reason. +Nothing is more certain, of course, than that he did not order it. It +seems to have been the work of the loyalist volunteers, who had without +doubt suffered much at the hands of the rebels. 'The irregular troops +employed,' wrote one of the British officers, 'were not to be +controlled, and were in every case, I believe, the instrument of the +infliction.' Far too much burning and pillaging went on, indeed, in +the wake of the rebellion. 'You know,' wrote an inhabitant of St +Benoit to a friend in Montreal, 'where the younger Arnoldi got his +supply of butter, or where another got the guitar he carried back with +him from the expedition about the neck.' And it is probable that the +British officers, and perhaps Sir John Colborne himself, winked at some +things which they could not officially recognize. At any rate, it is +impossible to acquit Colborne of all responsibility for the unsoldierly +conduct of the men under his command. + +It is usual to regard the rebellion of 1837 in Lower Canada as no less +a fiasco than its counterpart in Upper Canada. There is no doubt that +it was hopeless from the outset. {102} It was an impromptu movement, +based upon a sudden resolution rather than on a well-reasoned plan of +action. Most of the leaders--Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, +Robert Bouchette, and Amury Girod--were strangers to the men under +their command; and none of them, save Chénier, seemed disposed to fight +to the last ditch. The movement at its inception fell under the +official ban of the Church; and only two priests, the curés of St +Charles and St Benoit, showed it any encouragement. The actual +rebellion was confined to the county of Two Mountains and the valley of +the Richelieu. The districts of Quebec and Three Rivers were quiet as +the grave--with the exception, perhaps, of an occasional village like +Montmagny, where Étienne P. Taché, afterwards a colleague of Sir John +Macdonald and prime minister of Canada, was the centre of a local +agitation. Yet it is easy to see that the rebellion might have been +much more serious. But for the loyal attitude of the ecclesiastical +authorities, and the efforts of many clear-headed parish priests like +the Abbé Paquin of St Eustache, the revolutionary leaders might have +been able to consummate their plans, and Sir John Colborne, with the +small number of troops at {103} his disposal, might have found it +difficult to keep the flag flying. The rebellion was easily snuffed +out because the majority of the French-Canadian people, in obedience to +the voice of their Church, set their faces against it. + + + + +{104} + +CHAPTER X + +THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER + +The rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada profoundly affected public +opinion in the mother country. That the first year of the reign of the +young Queen Victoria should have been marred by an armed revolt in an +important British colony shocked the sensibilities of Englishmen and +forced the country and the government to realize that the grievances of +the Canadian Reformers were more serious than they had imagined. It +was clear that the old system of alternating concession and repression +had broken down and that the situation demanded radical action. The +Melbourne government suspended the constitution of Lower Canada for +three years, and appointed the Earl of Durham as Lord High +Commissioner, with very full powers, to go out to Canada to investigate +the grievances and to report on a remedy. + +John George Lambton, the first Earl of {105} Durham, was a wealthy and +powerful Whig nobleman, of decided Liberal, if not Radical, leanings. +He had taken no small part in the framing of the Reform Bill of 1832, +and at one time he had been hailed by the English Radicals or Chartists +as their coming leader. It was therefore expected that he would be +decently sympathetic with the Reform movements in the Canadas. At the +same time, Melbourne and his ministers were only too glad to ship him +out of the country. There was no question of his great ability and +statesmanlike outlook. But his advanced Radical views were distasteful +to many of his former colleagues; and his arrogant manners, his lack of +tact, and his love of pomp and circumstance made him unpopular even in +his own party. The truth is that he was an excellent leader to work +under, but a bad colleague to work with. The Melbourne government had +first got rid of him by sending him to St Petersburg as ambassador +extraordinary; and then, on his return from St Petersburg, they got him +out of the way by sending him to Canada. He was at first loath to go, +mainly on the ground of ill health; but at the personal intercession of +the young queen he accepted the commission offered him. It was {106} +an evil day for himself, but a good day for Canada, when he did so. + +Durham arrived in Quebec, with an almost regal retinue, on May 28, +1838. Gosford, who had remained in Canada throughout the rebellion, +had gone home at the end of February; and the administration had been +taken over by Sir John Colborne, the commander-in-chief of the forces. +As soon as the news of the suspension of the constitution reached Lower +Canada, Sir John Colborne appointed a provisional special council of +twenty-two members, half of them French and half of them English, to +administer the affairs of the province until Lord Durham should arrive. +The first official act of Lord Durham in the colony swept this council +out of existence. 'His Excellency believes,' the members of the +council were told, 'that it is as much the interest of you all, as for +the advantage of his own mission, that his administrative conduct +should be free from all suspicions of political influence or party +feeling; that it should rest on his own undivided responsibility, and +that when he quits the Province, he should leave none of its permanent +residents in any way committed by the acts which his Government may +have {107} found it necessary to perform, during the temporary +suspension of the Constitution.' In its place he appointed a small +council of five members, all but one from his own staff. The one +Canadian called to this council was Dominick Daly, the provincial +secretary, whom Colborne recommended as being unidentified with any +political party. + +The first great problem with which Lord Durham and his council had to +deal was the question of the political prisoners, numbers of whom were +still lying in the prisons of Montreal. Sir John Colborne had not +attempted to decide what should be done with them, preferring to shift +this responsibility upon Lord Durham. It would probably have been much +better to have settled the matter before Lord Durham set foot in the +colony, so that his mission might not have been handicapped at the +outset with so thorny a problem; but it is easy to follow Colborne's +reasoning. In the first place, he did not bring the prisoners to trial +because no Lower-Canadian jury at that time could have been induced to +convict them, a reasonable inference from the fact that the murder of +Weir had gone unavenged, even as the murderers of Chartrand were to be +acquitted {108} by a jury a few months later. In the second place, +Colborne had not the power to deal with the prisoners summarily. +Moreover, most of the rebel leaders had not been captured. The only +three prisoners of much importance were Wolfred Nelson, Robert +Bouchette, and Bonaventure Viger. The rest of the _Patriote_ leaders +were scattered far and wide. Chénier and Girod lay beneath the +springing sod; Papineau, O'Callaghan, Storrow Brown, Robert Nelson, +Côté, and Rodier were across the American border; Morin had just come +out of his hiding-place in the Canadian backwoods; and LaFontaine, +after vainly endeavouring, on the outbreak of rebellion, to get Gosford +to call together the legislature of Lower Canada, had gone abroad. The +future course of the rebels who had fled to the United States was still +doubtful; there was a strong probability that they might create further +disturbances. And, while the situation was still unsettled, Colborne +thought it better to leave the fate of the prisoners to be decided by +Durham. + +Durham's instructions were to temper justice with mercy. His own +instincts were apparently in favour of a complete amnesty; but he +supposed it necessary to make an {109} example of some of the leaders. +After earnest deliberation and consultation with his council, and +especially with his chief secretary, Charles Buller, the friend and +pupil of Thomas Carlyle, Durham determined to grant to the rebels a +general amnesty, with only twenty-four exceptions. Eight of the men +excepted were political prisoners who had been prominent in the revolt +and who had confessed their guilt and had thrown themselves on the +mercy of the Lord High Commissioner; the remaining sixteen were rebel +leaders who had fled from the country. Durham gave orders that the +eight prisoners should be transported to the Bermudas during the +queen's pleasure. The sixteen refugees were forbidden to return to +Canada under penalty of death without benefit of clergy. + +No one can fail to see that this course was dictated by the humanest +considerations. A criminal rebellion had terminated without the +shedding judicially of a drop of blood. Lord Durham even took care +that the eight prisoners should not be sent to a convict colony. The +only criticism directed against his course in Canada was on the ground +of its excessive lenity. Wolfred Nelson and Robert Bouchette had +certainly suffered a milder fate {110} than that of Samuel Lount and +Peter Matthews, who had been hanged in Upper Canada for rebellion. Yet +when the news of Durham's action reached England, it was immediately +attacked as arbitrary and unconstitutional. The assault was opened by +Lord Brougham, a bitter personal enemy of Lord Durham. In the House of +Lords Brougham contended that Durham had had no right to pass sentence +on the rebel prisoners and refugees when they had not been brought to +trial; and that he had no right to order them to be transported to, and +held in, Bermuda, where his authority did not run. In this attitude he +was supported by the Duke of Wellington, the leader of the Tory party. +Wellington's name is one which is usually remembered with honour in the +history of the British Empire; but on this occasion he did not think it +beneath him to play fast and loose with the interests of Canada for the +sake of a paltry party advantage. It would have been easy for him to +recognize the humanity of Durham's policy, and to join with the +government in legislating away any technical illegalities that may have +existed in Durham's ordinance; but Wellington could not resist the +temptation to embarrass the Whig {111} administration, regardless of +the injury which he might be doing to the sorely tried people of Canada. + +The Melbourne administration, which had sent Durham to Canada, might +have been expected to stand behind him when he was attacked. Lord John +Russell, indeed, rose in the House of Commons and made a thoroughgoing +defence of Durham's policy as 'wise and statesmanlike.' But he alone +of the ministers gave Durham loyal support. In the House of Lords +Melbourne contented himself with a feeble defence of Durham and then +capitulated to the Opposition. Nothing would have been easier for him +than to introduce a bill making valid whatever may have been irregular +in Durham's ordinance; but instead of that he disallowed the ordinance, +and passed an Act of Indemnity for all those who had had a part in +carrying it out. Without waiting to hear Durham's defence, or to +consult with him as to the course which should be followed, the Cabinet +weakly surrendered to an attack of his personal enemies. Durham was +betrayed in the house of his friends. + +The news of the disallowance of the ordinance first reached Durham +through the columns of an American newspaper. {112} Immediately his +mind was made up. Without waiting for any official notification, he +sent in his resignation to the colonial secretary. He was quite +satisfied himself that he had not exceeded his powers. 'Until I +learn,' he wrote, 'from some one better versed in the English language +that despotism means anything but such an aggregation of the supreme +executive and legislative authority in a single head, as was +deliberately made by Parliament in the Act which constituted my powers, +I shall not blush to hear that I have exercised a despotism; I shall +feel anxious only to know how well and wisely I have used, or rather +exhibited an intention of using, my great powers.' But he felt that if +he could expect no firm support from the Melbourne government, his +usefulness was gone, and resignation was the only course open to him. +He wrote, however, that he intended to remain in Canada until he had +completed the inquiries he had instituted. In view of the 'lamentable +want of information' with regard to Canada which existed in the +Imperial parliament, he confessed that he 'would take shame to himself +if he left his inquiry incomplete.' + +A few days before Durham left Canada he took the unusual and, under +ordinary {113} circumstances, unconstitutional course of issuing a +proclamation, in which he explained the reasons for his resignation, +and in effect appealed from the action of the home government to +Canadian public opinion. It was this proclamation which drew down on +him from _The Times_ the nickname of 'Lord High Seditioner.' The +wisdom of the proclamation was afterwards, however, vigorously defended +by Charles Duller. The general unpopularity of the British government, +Duller explained, was such in Canada that a little more or less could +not affect it; whereas it was a matter of vital importance that the +angry and suspicious colonists should find one British statesman with +whom they could agree. The real justification of the proclamation lay +in the magical effect which it had upon the public temper. The news +that the ordinance had been disallowed, and that the whole question of +the political prisoners had been once more thrown into the melting-pot, +had greatly excited the public mind; and the proclamation fell like oil +upon the troubled waters. 'No disorder, no increase of disaffection +ensued; on the contrary, all parties in the Province expressed a +revival of confidence.' + +Lord Durham left Quebec on November 1, {114} 1838. 'It was a sad day +and a sad departure,' wrote Buller. 'The streets were crowded. The +spectators filled every window and every house-top, and, though every +hat was raised as we passed, a deep silence marked the general grief +for Lord Durham's departure.' Durham had been in Canada only five +short months. Yet in that time he had gained a knowledge of, and an +insight into, the Canadian situation such as no other governor of +Canada had possessed. The permanent monument of that insight is, of +course, his famous _Report on the Affairs of British North America_, +issued by the Colonial Office in 1839. This is no place to write at +length about that greatest of all documents ever published with regard +to colonial affairs. This much, however, may be said. In the _Report_ +Lord Durham rightly diagnosed the evils of the body politic in Canada. +He traced the rebellion to two causes, in the main: first, racial +feeling; and, secondly, that 'union of representative and irresponsible +government' of which he said that it was difficult to understand how +any English statesman ever imagined that such a system would work. And +yet one of the two chief remedies which he recommended seemed like a +death sentence passed on the French in Canada. {115} This was the +proposal for the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada with the +avowed object of anglicizing by absorption the French population. This +suggestion certainly did not promote racial peace. The other proposal, +that of granting to the Canadian people responsible government in all +matters not infringing 'strictly imperial interests,' blazed the trail +leading out of the swamps of pre-rebellion politics. + +In one respect only is Lord Durham's _Report_ seriously faulty: it is +not fair to French Canadians. 'They cling,' wrote Durham, 'to ancient +prejudices, ancient customs, and ancient laws, not from any strong +sense of their beneficial effects, but with the unreasoning tenacity of +an uneducated and unprogressive people.' To their racial and +nationalist ambitions he was far from favourable. 'The error,' he +contended, 'to which the present contest is to be attributed is the +vain endeavour to preserve a French-Canadian nationality in the midst +of Anglo-American colonies and states'; and he quoted with seeming +approval the statement of one of the Lower Canada 'Bureaucrats' that +'Lower Canada must be _English_, at the expense, if necessary, of not +being _British_.' His primary {116} object in recommending the union +of the two Canadas, to place the French in a minority in the united +province, was surely a mistaken policy. Fortunately, it did not become +operative. Lord Elgin, a far wiser statesman, who completed Durham's +work by introducing the substance of responsible government which the +_Report_ recommended, decidedly opposed anything in the nature of a +gradual crusade against French-Canadian nationalism. 'I for one,' he +wrote, 'am deeply convinced of the impolicy of all such attempts to +denationalize the French. Generally speaking, they produce the +opposite effect, causing the flame of national prejudice and animosity +to burn more fiercely. But suppose them to be successful, what would +be the result? You may perhaps _Americanize_, but, depend upon it, by +methods of this description you will never _Anglicize_ the French +inhabitants of the province. Let them feel, on the other hand, that +their religion, their habits, their prepossessions, their prejudices if +you will, are more considered and respected here than in other portions +of this vast continent, and who will venture to say that the last hand +which waves the British flag on American ground may not be that of a +French Canadian?' + + + + +{117} + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SECOND REBELLION + +The frigate _Inconstant_, with Lord Durham on board, was not two days +out from Quebec when rebellion broke out anew in Lower Canada. This +second rebellion, however, was not caused by Lord Durham's departure, +but was the result of a long course of agitation which had been carried +on along the American border throughout the months of Lord Durham's +régime. + +As early as February 1838 numbers of Canadian refugees had gathered in +the towns on the American side of the boundary-line in the +neighbourhood of Lake Champlain. They were shown much sympathy and +encouragement by the Americans, and seem to have laboured under the +delusion that the American government would come to their assistance. +A proclamation signed by Robert Nelson, a brother of Wolfred Nelson, +declared the independence of Canada under a {118} 'provisional +government' of which Robert Nelson was president and Dr Côté a member. +The identity of the other members is a mystery. Papineau seems to have +had some dealings with Nelson and Côté, and to have dallied with the +idea of throwing in his lot with them; but he soon broke off +negotiations. 'Papineau,' wrote Robert Nelson, 'has abandoned us, and +this through selfish and family motives regarding the seigniories, and +inveterate love of the old French bad laws.' There is reason to +believe, however, that Papineau had been in communication with the +authorities at Washington, and that his desertion of Robert Nelson and +Côté was in reality due to his discovery that President Van Buren was +not ready to depart from his attitude of neutrality. + +On February 28, 1838, Robert Nelson and Côté had crossed the border +with an armed force of French-Canadian refugees and three small +field-pieces. Their plan had contemplated the capture of Montreal and +a junction with another invading force at Three Rivers. But on finding +their way barred by the Missisquoi militia, they had beat a hasty +retreat to the border, without fighting; and had there been disarmed by +the American {119} troops under General Wool, a brave and able officer +who had fought with conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Queenston +Heights in 1812. + +During the summer months, however, the refugees had continued to lay +plans for an insurrection in Lower Canada. Emissaries had been +constantly moving among the parishes north of the New York and Vermont +frontiers, promising the _Patriotes_ arms and supplies and men from the +United States. The rising was carefully planned. And when November +came large bodies of disaffected habitants gathered at St Ours, St +Charles, St Michel, L'Acadie, Châteauguay, and Beauharnois. They had +apparently been led to expect that they would be met at some of these +places by American sympathizers with arms and supplies. No such aid +being found at the rendezvous, many returned to their homes. But some +persevered in the movement, and made their way with packs on their +backs to Napierville, a town fifteen miles north of the boundary-line, +which had been designated as the rebel headquarters. + +Meanwhile, Robert Nelson had moved northward to Napierville from the +American side of the border with a small band of refugees. {120} Among +these were two French officers, named Hindenlang and Touvrey, who had +been inveigled into joining the expedition. Hindenlang, who afterwards +paid for his folly with his life, has left an interesting account of +what happened. He and Touvrey joined Nelson at St Albans, on the west +side of Lake Champlain. With two hundred and fifty muskets, which had +been placed in a boat by an American sympathizer, they dropped down the +river to the Canadian border. There were five in the party--Nelson and +the two French officers, the guide, and the boatman. Nelson had given +Hindenlang to understand that the habitants had risen and that he would +be greeted at the Canadian border by a large force of enthusiastic +recruits. In this, however, he was disappointed. 'There was not a +single man to receive the famous President of the _Provisional +Government_; and it was only after a full hour's search, and much +trouble, [that] the guide returned with five or six men to land the +arms.' On the morning of November 4 the party arrived at Napierville. +Here Hindenlang found Dr Côté already at the head of two or three +hundred men. A crowd speedily gathered, and Robert Nelson was +proclaimed 'President of the Republic of {121} Lower Canada.' +Hindenlang and Touvrey were presented to the crowd; and to his great +astonishment Hindenlang was informed that his rank in the rebel force +was that of brigadier-general. + +The first two or three days were spent in hastening the arrival of +reinforcements and in gathering arms. By the 7th Nelson had collected +a force of about twenty-five hundred men, whom Hindenlang told off in +companies and divisions. Most of the rebels were armed with pitchforks +and pikes. An attempt had been made two days earlier, on a Sunday, to +obtain arms, ammunition, and stores from the houses of the Indians of +Caughnawaga while they were at church; but a squaw in search of her cow +had discovered the raiders and had given the alarm, with the result +that the Indians, seizing muskets and tomahawks, had repelled the +attack and taken seventy prisoners. + +On November 5 Nelson sent Côté with a force of four or five hundred men +south to Rouse's Point, on the boundary-line, to secure more arms and +ammunition from the American sympathizers. On his way south Côté +encountered a picket of a company of loyalist volunteers stationed at +Lacolle, and drove it {122} in. On his return journey, however, he met +with greater opposition. The company at Lacolle had been reinforced in +the meantime by several companies of loyalist militia from Hemmingford. +As the rebels appeared the loyalist militia attacked them; and after a +brisk skirmish, which lasted from twenty to twenty-five minutes, drove +them from the field. Without further ado the rebels fled across the +border, leaving behind them eleven dead and a number of prisoners, as +well as a six-pounder gun, a large number of muskets of the type used +in the United States army, a keg of powder, a quantity of +ball-cartridge, and a great many pikes. Of the provincial troops two +were killed and one was severely wounded. + +The defeat of Côté and his men at Lacolle meant that Nelson's line of +communications with his base on the American frontier was cut. At the +same time he received word that Sir John Colborne was advancing on +Napierville from Laprairie with a strong force of regulars and +volunteers. Under these circumstances he determined to fall back on +Odelltown, just north of the border. He had with him about a thousand +men, eight hundred of whom were armed with muskets. {123} He arrived +at Odelltown on the morning of November 9, to find it occupied by about +two hundred loyal militia, under the command of the inspecting +field-officer of the district, Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor. He had no +difficulty in driving in the loyalist outposts; but the village itself +proved a harder nut to crack. Taylor had concentrated his little force +at the Methodist church, and he controlled the road leading to it by +means of the six-pounder which had been taken from the rebels three +days before at Lacolle. The insurgents extended through the fields to +the right and left, and opened a vigorous fire on the church from +behind some barns; but many of the men seem to have kept out of range. +'The greater part of the Canadians kept out of shot,' wrote Hindenlang; +'threw themselves on their knees, with their faces buried in the snow, +praying to God, and remaining as motionless as if they were so many +saints, hewn in stone. Many remained in that posture as long as the +fighting lasted.' The truth appears to be that many of Nelson's men +had been intimidated into joining the rebel force. The engagement +lasted in all about two hours and a half. The defenders of the church +made several successful sallies; and just when the {124} rebels were +beginning to lose heart, a company of loyalists from across the +Richelieu fell on their flank and completed their discomfiture. The +rebels then retreated to Napierville, under the command of Hindenlang. +Robert Nelson, seeing that the day was lost, left his men in the lurch +and rode for the American border. The losses of the rebels were +serious; they left fifty dead on the field and carried off as many +wounded. Of the loyalists, one officer and five men were killed and +one officer and eight men wounded. + +Later in the same day Sir John Colborne, at the head of a formidable +force, entered Napierville. On his approach those rebels who were +still in the village dispersed and fled to their homes. Detachments of +troops were immediately sent out to disperse bands of rebels reported +to be still under arms. The only encounter took place at Beauharnois, +where a large body of insurgents had assembled. After a slight +resistance they were driven out by two battalions of Glengarry +volunteers, supported by two companies of the 71st and a detachment of +Royal Engineers. + +In these expeditions the British soldiers, especially the volunteers, +did a good deal of burning and harrying. After the victory at {125} +Beauharnois they gave to the flames a large part of the village, +including the houses of some loyal citizens. In view of the +intimidation and depredations to which the loyalists had been subjected +by the rebels in the disaffected districts, the conduct of the men, in +these regrettable acts, may be understood and partially excused. But +no excuse can be offered for the attitude of the British authorities. +There are well-authenticated cases of houses of 'notorious rebels' +burned down by the orders of Sir James Macdonell, Colborne's +second-in-command. Colborne himself acquired the nickname of 'the old +Firebrand'; and, while he cannot be charged with such a mania for +incendiarism as some writers have imputed to him, it does not appear +that he took any effective measures to stop the arson or to punish the +offenders. + +The rebellion of 1838 lasted scarcely a week. It was a venture +criminally hopeless. Failing important aid from the United States, the +rebels had an even slighter chance of success than they had had a year +before, for since that time the British regular troops in Canada had +been considerably increased in number. The chief responsibility for +the rebellion must be placed at the door of Robert Nelson, who at {126} +the critical moment fled over the border, leaving his dupes to +extricate themselves as best they could from the situation into which +he had led them. As was the case in 1837, most of the leaders of the +rebellion escaped from justice, leaving only the smaller fry in the +hands of the authorities. Of the lesser ringleaders nearly one hundred +were brought to trial. Two of the French-Canadian judges, one of them +being Elzéar Bédard, attempted to force the government to try the +prisoners in the civil courts, where they would have the benefit of +trial by jury; but Sir John Colborne suspended these judges from their +functions, and brought the prisoners before a court-martial, specially +convened for the purpose. Twelve of them, including the French officer +Hindenlang, were condemned to death and duly executed. Most of the +others were transported to the convict settlements of Australia. It is +worthy of remark that none of those executed or deported had been +persons of note in the political arena before 1837. On the whole, it +must be confessed that these sentences showed a commendable moderation. +It was thought necessary that a few examples should be made, as Lord +Durham's amnesty of the previous year had evidently encouraged some +{127} habitants to believe that rebellion was a venial offence. And +the execution of twelve men, out of the thousands who had taken part in +the revolt, cannot be said to have shown a bloodthirsty disposition on +the part of the government. + + + + +{128} + +CHAPTER XII + +A POSTSCRIPT + +The rebellion of 1837 now belongs to the dead past. The _Patriotes_ +and the 'Bureaucrats' of those days have passed away; and the present +generation has forgotten, or should have forgotten, the passions which +inspired them. The time has come when Canadians should take an +impartial view of the events of that time, and should be willing to +recognize the good and the bad on either side. It is absurd to pretend +that many of the English in Lower Canada were not arrogant and brutal +in their attitude toward the French Canadians, and lawless in their +methods of crushing the rebellion; or that many of the _Patriote_ +leaders were not hopelessly irreconcilable before the rebellion, and +during it criminally careless of the interests of the poor habitants +they had misled. On the other hand, no true Canadian can fail to be +proud of the spirit of loyalty which in 1837 {129} actuated not only +persons of British birth, but many faithful sons and daughters of the +French-Canadian Church. Nor can one fail to admire the devotion to +liberty, to 'the rights of the people,' which characterized rebels like +Robert Bouchette. 'When I speak of the rights of the people,' wrote +Bouchette, 'I do not mean those abstract or extravagant rights for +which some contend, but which are not generally compatible with an +organized state of society, but I mean those cardinal rights which are +inherent to British subjects, and which, as such, ought not to be +denied to the inhabitants of any section of the empire, however +remote.' The people of Canada to-day are able to combine loyalty and +liberty as the men of that day were not; and they should never forget +that in some measure they owe to the one party the continuance of +Canada in the Empire, and to the other party the freedom wherewith they +have been made free. + +[Illustration: Denis Benjamin Viger. From a print in M'Gill University +Library.] + +The later history of the _Patriotes_ falls outside the scope of this +little book, but a few lines may be added to trace their varying +fortunes. Some of them never returned to Canada. Robert Nelson took +up his abode in New York, and there practised surgery until {130} his +death in 1873. E. B. O'Callaghan went to Albany, and was there +employed by the legislature of New York in preparing two series of +volumes entitled _A Documentary History of New York_ and _Documents +relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York_, volumes +which are edited in so scholarly a manner, and throw such light on +Canadian history, that the Canadian historian would fain forgive him +for his part in the unhappy rebellion of '37. + +Most of the _Patriote_ leaders took advantage, however, of the virtual +amnesty offered them in 1842 by the first LaFontaine-Baldwin +administration, and returned to Canada. Many of these, as well as many +of the _Patriote_ leaders who had not been implicated in the rebellion +and who had not fled the country, rose to positions of trust and +prominence in the public service of Canada. Louis Hippolyte +LaFontaine, after having gone abroad during the winter of 1837-38, and +after having been arrested on suspicion in November 1838, entered the +parliament of Canada, formed, with Robert Baldwin as his colleague, the +administration which ushered in full responsible government, and was +knighted by Queen Victoria. Augustin Morin, the reputed author {131} +of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, who had spent the winter of 1837-38 in +hiding, became the colleague of Francis Hincks in the Hincks-Morin +administration. George Étienne Cartier, who had shouldered a musket at +St Denis, became the lifelong colleague of Sir John Macdonald and was +made a baronet by his sovereign. Dr Wolfred Nelson returned to his +practice in Montreal in 1842. In 1844 he was elected member of +parliament for the county of Richelieu. In 1851 he was appointed an +inspector of prisons. Thomas Storrow Brown, on his return to Montreal, +took up again his business in hardware, and is remembered to-day by +Canadian numismatists as having been one of the first to issue a +halfpenny token, which bore his name and is still sought by collectors. +Robert Bouchette recovered from the serious wound he had sustained at +Moore's Corners, and later became Her Majesty's commissioner of customs +at Ottawa. + +Papineau returned to Canada in 1845. The greater part of his period of +exile he spent in Paris, where he came in touch with the 'red +republicans' who later supported the revolution of 1848. He entered +the Canadian parliament in 1847 and sat in it until 1854. {132} But he +proved to be completely out of harmony with the new order of things +under responsible government. Even with his old lieutenant LaFontaine, +who had made possible his return to Canada, he had an open breach. The +truth is that Papineau was born to live in opposition. That he himself +realized this is clear from a laughing remark which he made when +explaining his late arrival at a meeting: 'I waited to take an +opposition boat.' His real importance after his return to Canada lay +not in the parliamentary sphere, but in the encouragement which he gave +to those radical and anti-clerical ideas that found expression in the +foundation of the _Institut Canadien_ and the formation of the _Parti +Rouge_. In many respects the _Parti Rouge_ was the continuation of the +_Patriote_ party of 1837. Papineau's later days were quiet and +dignified. He retired to his seigneury of La Petite Nation at +Montebello and devoted himself to his books. With many of his old +antagonists he effected a pleasant reconciliation. Only on rare +occasions did he break his silence; but on one of these, when he came +to Montreal, an old silver-haired man of eighty-one years, to deliver +an address before the _Institut Canadien_, he uttered a sentence which +may be taken as {133} the _apologia pro vita sua_: 'You will believe +me, I trust, when I say to you, I love my country.... Opinions outside +may differ; but looking into my heart and my mind in all sincerity, I +feel I can say that I have loved her as she should be loved.' And +charity covereth a multitude of sins. + + + + +{134} + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +The story of the Lower Canada rebellion is told in detail in some of +the general histories of Canada. William Kingsford, _History of +Canada_ (1887-94), is somewhat inaccurate and shows a strong bias +against the _Patriotes_, but his narrative of the rebellion is full and +interesting. F. X. Garneau, _Histoire du Canada_ (1845-52), presents +the history of the period, from the French-Canadian point of view, with +sympathy and power. A work which holds the scales very evenly is +Robert Christie, _A History of the Late Province of Lower Canada_ +(1848-55). Christie played a not inconspicuous part in the +pre-rebellion politics, and his volumes contain a great deal of +original material of first-rate importance. + +Of special studies of the rebellion there are a number worthy of +mention. L. O. David, _Les Patriotes de 1837-38_, is valuable for its +complete biographies of the leaders in the movement. L. N. Carrier, +_Les Événements de 1837-38_ (1877), is a sketch of the rebellion +written by the son of one of the _Patriotes_. Globensky, _La Rébellion +de 1837 à Saint-Eustache_ (1883), written by the son of an officer in +the loyalist militia, contains some original materials of value. Lord +Charles Beauclerk, _Lithographic Views of Military Operations in Canada +under Sir John Colborne, O.C.B., {135} etc._ (1840), apart from the +value of the illustrations, is interesting on account of the +introduction, in which the author, a British army officer who served in +Canada throughout the rebellion, describes the course of the military +operations. The political aspect of the rebellion, from the Tory point +of view, is dealt with in T. C. Haliburton, _The Bubbles of Canada_ +(1839). For a penetrating analysis of the situation which led to the +rebellion see Lord Durham's _Report on the Affairs of British North +America_. + +A few biographies may be consulted with advantage. N. E. Dionne, +_Pierre Bédard et ses fils_ (1909), throws light on the earlier period; +as does also Ernest Cruikshank, _The Administration of Sir James Craig_ +(_Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada_, 3rd series, vol. ii). +See also A. D. DeCelles, _Papineau_ (1904), in the 'Makers of Canada' +series; and Stuart J. Reid, _Life and Letters of the First Earl of +Durham_ (1906). + +The parish histories, in which the province of Quebec abounds, will be +found to yield much information of a local nature with regard to the +rebellion; and the same may be said of the publications of local +historical societies, such as that of Missisquoi county. + +An original document of primary importance is the _Report of the state +trials before a general court-martial held at Montreal in 1838-39; +exhibiting a complete history of the late rebellion in Lower Canada_ +(1839). + + + + +{136} + +INDEX + +Assembly, the language question in the, 8-12; racial conflict over form +of taxation, 13-14; the struggle with Executive for full control of +revenue leads to deadlock, 22-5, 27, 29-30, 53-4, 57; seeks redress in +Imperial parliament, 28-32; the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42; the +grievance commission, 45-6, 52, 55-6; the Russell Resolutions, 57-61. +See Lower Canada. + +Aylmer, Lord, governor of Canada, 29, 33-4, 44, 45. + + +Beauharnois, Patriotes defeated at, 124-5. + +Bédard, Elzéar, introduces the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38, 42; +suspended as a judge, 126. + +Bédard, Pierre, and French-Canadian nationalism, 11, 15, 16; his arrest +and release, 17-19, 20. + +Bidwell, M. S., speaker of Upper Canada Assembly, 53. + +Bouchette, Robert Shore Milnes, 129; wounded at Moore's Corners, 89-90, +91, 102, 108, 131. + +Bourdages, Louis, Papineau's chief lieutenant, 36. + +Brougham, Lord, criticizes Durham's policy, 110. + +Brown, Thomas Storrow, 38, 72, 73, 131; in command of Patriotes at St +Charles, 74, 84-6, 102, 108. + +Buller, Charles, secretary to Durham, 109, 113. + +Bureaucrats, the, 18. See 'Château Clique.' + + +Canada. See Lower Canada. + +Cartier, Sir George, 30; a follower of Papineau, 37, 131. + +Catholic Church in Canada, the, 7; opposes revolutionary movement, +64-5, 102, 103. + +Chartier, Abbé, encourages the rebels at St Eustache, 95-6; escapes to +the United States, 99. + +Chartier de Lotbinière, on French-Canadian loyalty, 11. + +'Château Clique,' the, 22; and the Patriotes, 25, 31. + +Chénier, Dr J. O., killed at St Eustache, 93, 94, 95, 97-9, 102, 108. + +Christie, Robert, expelled from the Assembly, 34, 134. + +Colborne, Sir John, his letter on the situation previous to the +Rebellion, 69-71; his 1837 campaign, 74-5, 83, 94, 97-101, 102; +administrator of the province, 106-8; his 1838 campaign, 122, 124, 125, +126. + +Côté, Dr Cyrile, 89, 108, 118, 120; defeated at Lacolle, 121-2. + +Craig, Sir James, his 'Reign of Terror,' 15-20, 23. + +Cuvillier, Augustin, 28-9; breaks with Papineau, 37, 42, 44. + + +Dalhousie, Lord, his quarrel with Papineau, 27-9. + +Daly, Dominick, provincial secretary, 107. + +Debartzch, D. P., breaks with Papineau, 71, 84. + +Desèves, Father, 93; his picture of the rebels at St Eustache, 96-7. + +Doric Club, the, 71. + +Durham, Earl of, governor and Lord High Commissioner, 104-6; his humane +policy fails to find support in Britain, 107-12; his appeal to Canadian +public opinion, 112-13; his Report, 114-16. + +Duvernay, Ludger, at Moore's Corners, 89. + + +Elgin, Lord, and French-Canadian nationalism, 116. + +English Canadians, their conflicts with the Patriotes, 51, 64, 128. + +Ermatinger, Lieutenant, defeated by Patriotes, 73-4. + +Executive Council, 22, 25, 59. See 'Château Clique.' + + +French Canadians, their attitude toward the British in 1760, 2; their +loyalty, 2-5, 128-9; their generous treatment, 7-8; their fight for +official recognition of their language, 8-12, 50; their struggle with +the 'Château Clique,' 22-5, 29; their fight for national identity, +26-7, 29, 115-16. See Patriotes. + +French Revolution, the, and the French Canadians, 4-5. + + +Gipps, Sir George, on the grievance commission, 46, 55. + +Girod, Amury, commands the rebels at St Eustache, 92-3, 94, 95, 103; +commits suicide, 99-100, 108. + +Gladstone, W. E., supports the Russell Resolutions, 60. + +Glenelg, Lord, colonial secretary, 46. + +Goderich, Lord, colonial secretary, 29, 30. + +Gore, Colonel Charles, commands the British at St Denis, 75-7, 88. + +Gosford, Lord, governor of Canada, 45-7, 49-53, 55, 57-8, 61, 64, 106. + +Great Britain, and French-Canadian loyalty, 2-5; her conciliatory +policy in Lower Canada, 7-8, 9, 44-6, 57-60; and the Rebellion, 104, +110-111. + +Grey, Sir Charles, on the grievance commission, 45-6, 55. + +Gugy, Major Conrad, 48; at St Charles, 82-3; wounded at St Eustache, 99. + + +Haldimand, Sir Frederick, governor of Canada, 3-4. + +Head, Sir F. B., his indiscreet action, 52-3. + +Hindenlang, leads Patriotes in second rebellion, 120, 121, 123, 124; +executed, 126. + + +Kemp, Captain, defeats the Patriotes at Moore's Corners, 90-2. + +Kimber, Dr, in the affair at Moore's Corners, 89. + + +Lacolle, rebels defeated at, 121-2. + +LaFontaine, L. H., a follower of Papineau, 37, 63, 108, 130, 132. + +Lartigue, Mgr, his warning to the revolutionists, 65. + +Legislative Council, the, 22, 25, 31, 36, 41, 46, 53, 54, 55, 59. + +Lower Canada, the conflict between French and English Canadians in, +13-15, 33, 114; the Rebellion of 1837, 69-103; the constitution +suspended, 104, 106; treatment of the rebels, 108-13; Durham's +investigation and Report, 114-116; the Rebellion of 1838, 117-27. See +Assembly. + + +Macdonell, Sir James, Colborne's second-in-command, 125. + +Mackenzie, W. L., and the Patriotes, 72. + +Melbourne, Lord, and Durham's policy, 111. + +Mondelet, Dominique, 30; expelled from the Assembly, 36. + +Montreal, rioting in, 71-2. + +Moore's Corners, rebels defeated at, 89-92. + +Morin, A. N., a follower of Papineau, 37, 108, 130-1. + + +Neilson, John, supports the Patriote cause, 26-7, 28; breaks with +Papineau, 36-7, 38, 42, 44. + +Nelson, Robert, 108; leader of the second rebellion, 117-26, 129-30. + +Nelson, Dr Wolfred, a follower of Papineau, 37, 60, 65, 66, 70, 73, 74; +in command at St Denis, 74, 76, 79, 80, 88, 102, 108, 109, 131. + +Ninety-Two Resolutions, the, 38-42, 44. + + +O'Callaghan, E. B., a follower of Papineau, 37, 73, 74, 78, 87-8, 108, +130. + +O'Connell, Daniel, champions the cause of the Patriotes, 59-60. + + +Panet, Jean Antoine, his election as speaker of the Assembly, 9-10, 22; +imprisoned, 17. + +Panet, Louis, on the language question, 10. + +Papineau, Louis Joseph, 21; elected speaker of the Assembly, 22, 28; +opposes Union Bill in London, 26-7; his attack on Dalhousie, 27-29; +defeats Goderich's financial proposal, and declines seat on Executive +Council, 30; attacks Aylmer, 33-4, 47. becomes more violent and +domineering in the Assembly, 34-5; his political views become +revolutionary, 35-6, 42-43; his powerful following, 37-8, 44, the +Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42; hopeless of obtaining justice from +Britain, but disclaims intention of stirring up civil war, 47-8, 53; on +the Russell Resolutions, 60-1; his attitude previous to the outbreak, +66-68, 70; warrant issued for his arrest, 72-3, 74; escapes to the +United States, 78-9, 87-8, 90, 92, 108; holds aloof from second +rebellion, 118; his return to Canada, 131-3; his personality, 21, 25-6, +30-1, 49-50, 68, 79, 132-3. + +Paquin, Abbé, opposes the rebels at St Eustache, 95, 102. + +Parent, Étienne, breaks with Papineau, 42, 43. + +Patriotes, the, 22, 25; their struggle with the 'Château Clique,' 31-2, +54-5; the racial feud becomes more bitter, 33-34, 128; the Ninety-Two +Resolutions, 38-42, 44-5, 52; the passing of the Russell Resolutions +causes great agitation, 60-2; declare a boycott on English goods, 62-3; +'Fils de la Liberté' formed, 63, 71-2; begin to arm, 63-4, 69-71; the +Montreal riot, 71-2; the first rebellion, 73-103; Lord Durham's +amnesty, 108-110, 113; the second rebellion, 117-27; and afterwards, +128-33. See French Canadians. + +Perrault, Charles Ovide, killed at St Denis, 78 n. + +Prevost, Sir George, and the French Canadians, 20. + + +Quebec Act of 1774, the, 7, 9. + +Quesnel, F. A., and Papineau, 34-5, 37, 42, 44, 71. + + +Rodier, Edouard, 62-3; at Moore's Corners, 89, 108. + +Russell, Lord John, his resolutions affecting Canada, 58-59; defends +Durham's policy, 111. + +Ryland, Herman W., and the French Canadians, 16. + + +St Benoit, the burning of, 100-101. + +St Charles, the Patriote meeting at, 65-6; the fight at, 74, 82-7. + +St Denis, the fight at, 74-81; destroyed, 88. + +St Eustache, the Patriotes defeated at, 92-100. + +St Ours, the Patriote meeting at, 60-1, 70, 75. + +Salaberry, Major de, his victory at Châteauguay, 5. + +Sewell, John, and the French Canadians, 16. + +Sherbrooke, Sir John, his policy of conciliation, 24. + +Stanley, Lord, supports the Russell Resolutions, 60. + +Stuart, Andrew, and Papineau, 37, 42, 44. + + +Taché, E. P., a follower of Papineau, 37, 102. + +Taylor, Lieut.-Colonel, defends Odelltown against the rebels, 123-4. + + +United States, and the French Canadians, 2-3, 117-19. + + +Viger, Bonaventure, a Patriote leader, 73, 108. + +Viger, Denis B., a follower of Papineau, 28-9, 63. + + +War of 1812, French-Canadian loyalty in the, 5. + +Weir, Lieut., his murder at St Denis, 79-80, 88, 99. + +Wellington, Duke of, and Durham's policy in Canada, 110-111. + +Wetherall, Lieut.-Colonel, defeats rebels at St Charles, 75, 82, 83, +86, 88. + +Wool, General, disarms force of Patriotes on the United States border, +119. + + + + + Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty + at the Edinburgh University Press + + + + + + +THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA + +THIRTY-TWO VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED + +Edited by GEORGE M. WRONG and H. H. LANGTON + + + +THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA + +PART I + +THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS + +1. THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY + By Stephen Leacock. + +2. THE MARINER OF ST MALO + By Stephen Leacock. + + +PART II + +THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE + +3. THE FOUNDER OF NEW FRANCE + By Charles W. Colby. + +4. THE JESUIT MISSIONS + By Thomas Guthrie Marquis. + +5. THE SEIGNEURS OF OLD CANADA + By William Bennett Munro. + +6. THE GREAT INTENDANT + By Thomas Chapais. + +7. THE FIGHTING GOVERNOR + By Charles W. Colby. + + +PART III + +THE ENGLISH INVASION + +8. THE GREAT FORTRESS + By William Wood. + +9. THE ACADIAN EXILES + By Arthur G. Doughty. + +10. THE PASSING OF NEW FRANCE + By William Wood. + +11. THE WINNING OF CANADA + By William Wood. + + +PART IV + +THE BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH CANADA + +12. THE FATHER OF BRITISH CANADA + By William Wood. + +13. THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS + By W. Stewart Wallace. + +14. THE WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES + By William Wood. + + +PART V + +THE RED MAN IN CANADA + +15. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE OTTAWAS + By Thomas Guthrie Marquis. + +16. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS + By Louis Aubrey Wood. + +17. TECUMSEH: THE LAST GREAT LEADER OF HIS PEOPLE + By Ethel T. Raymond. + + +PART VI + +PIONEERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST + +18. THE 'ADVENTURERS OF ENGLAND' ON HUDSON BAY + By Agnes C. Laut. + +19. PATHFINDERS OF THE GREAT PLAINS + By Lawrence J. Burpee. + +20. ADVENTURERS OF THE FAR NORTH + By Stephen Leacock. + +21. THE RED RIVER COLONY + By Louis Aubrey Wood. + +22. PIONEERS OF THE PACIFIC COAST + By Agnes C. Laut. + +23. THE CARIBOO TRAIL + By Agnes C. Laut. + + +PART VII + +THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM + +24. THE FAMILY COMPACT + By W. Stewart Wallace. + +25. THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 + By Alfred D. DeCelles. + +26. THE TRIBUNE OF NOVA SCOTIA + By William Lawson Grant. + +27. THE WINNING OF POPULAR GOVERNMENT + By Archibald MacMechan. + + +PART VIII + +THE GROWTH OF NATIONALITY + +28. THE FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION + By A. H. U. Colquhoun. + +29. THE DAY OF SIR JOHN MACDONALD + By Sir Joseph Pope. + +30. THE DAY OF SIR WILFRID LAURIER + By Oscar D. Skelton. + + +PART IX + +NATIONAL HIGHWAYS + +31. ALL AFLOAT + By William Wood. + +32. THE RAILWAY BUILDERS + By Oscar D. Skelton. + + + +TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The 'Patriotes' of '37, by Alfred D. Decelles + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 *** + +***** This file should be named 29973-8.txt or 29973-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/9/7/29973/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Decelles +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {text-indent: 0%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.block {text-indent: 4%; + font-size: small ; + margin-left: 4% ; + margin-right: 4% } + +P.salutation {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.closing {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.footnote {font-size: 80% ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.transnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.index {font-size: small ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-top: 0% ; + margin-bottom: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.intro {font-size: medium ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.dedication {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 15%; + text-align: justify } + +P.published {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 15% } + +P.quote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.report {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.report2 {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +H3.h3left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H3.h3right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H3.h3center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +H4.h4left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H4.h4right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H4.h4center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +H5.h5left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H5.h5right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H5.h5center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgleft { float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: 1%; + padding: 0; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgright {float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1%; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgcenter { margin-left: auto; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: auto; } + +.pagenum { position: absolute; + left: 1%; + font-size: 95%; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; } + +.sidenote { left: 0%; + font-size: 65%; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0%; + width: 17%; + float: left; + clear: left; + padding-left: 0%; + padding-right: 2%; + padding-top: 2%; + padding-bottom: 2%; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; } + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The 'Patriotes' of '37, by Alfred D. Decelles + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The 'Patriotes' of '37 + A Chronicle of the Lower Canada Rebellion + +Author: Alfred D. Decelles + +Release Date: September 13, 2009 [EBook #29973] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="Advance of the British troops on the village of St. Denis, 1837. From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys." BORDER="2" WIDTH="657" HEIGHT="518"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 657px"> +Advance of the British troops on the village of St. Denis, 1837. <BR> +From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys. +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE +</H2> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +'PATRIOTES' OF '37 +</H1> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A Chronicle of the Lower<BR> +Canadian Rebellion<BR> +</H3> + +<BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ALFRED D. DECELLES +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TORONTO +<BR> +GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY +<BR> +1916 +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +<I>Copyright in all Countries subscribing to<BR> +the Berne Convention</I><BR> +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pvii"></A>vii}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFATORY NOTE +</H3> + +<P> +The manuscript for this little book, written by me in French, was +handed over for translation to Mr Stewart Wallace. The result as here +presented is therefore a joint product. Mr Wallace, himself a writer +of ability and a student of Canadian history, naturally made a very +free translation of my work and introduced some ideas of his own. He +insists, however, that the work is mine; and, with this acknowledgment +of his part in it, I can do no less than acquiesce, at the same time +expressing my pleasure at having had as collaborator a young writer of +such good insight. And it is surely appropriate that an English +Canadian and a French Canadian should join in a narrative of the +political war between the two races which forms the subject of this +book. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +A. D. DECELLES. +<BR><BR> +OTTAWA, 1915. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pix"></A>ix}</SPAN> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> + +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">Page</TD> + +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 1</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 7</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">'THE REIGN OF TERROR'</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 13</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THE RISE OF PAPINEAU</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 21</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 33</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">THE ROYAL COMMISSION</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 44</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 57</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE DOGS OF WAR</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 69</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09"><I>FORCE MAJEURE</I></A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 82</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 104</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">THE SECOND REBELLION</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 117</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">A POSTSCRIPT</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 128</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#biblio">BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 134</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#index">INDEX</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + 136</TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="Pxi"></A>xi}</SPAN> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATIONS +</H2> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH TROOPS ON +THE VILLAGE <BR>OF ST DENIS, 1837</A><BR> + From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + <I>Frontispiece</I> +</TD></TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#img-016"> +SIR JAMES CRAIG</A> <BR> + From a portrait in the Dominion Archives. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + <I>Facing page</I> 16 +</TD></TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#img-022"> +LOUIS JOSEPH PAPINEAU</A> <BR> + After a lithograph by Maurin, Paris. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + " " 22 +</TD></TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#img-060"> +WOLFRED NELSON</A> <BR> + From a print in the Château de Ramezay. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + " " 60 +</TD></TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#img-069t"> +SOUTH-WESTERN LOWER CANADA, 1837</A><BR> + Map by Bartholomew. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + " " 69 +</TD></TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#img-128"> +DENIS BENJAMIN VIGER</A><BR> + From a print in M'Gill University Library. +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> + " " 128 +</TD></TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P1"></A>1}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW +</H4> + +<P> +The conquest of Canada by British arms in the Seven Years' War gave +rise to a situation in the colony which was fraught with tragic +possibilities. It placed the French inhabitants under the sway of an +alien race—a race of another language, of another religion, of other +laws, and which differed from them profoundly in temperament and +political outlook. Elsewhere—in Ireland, in Poland, and in the +Balkans—such conquests have been followed by centuries of bitter +racial warfare. In Canada, however, for a hundred and fifty years +French Canadians and English Canadians have, on the whole, dwelt +together in peace and amity. Only on the one occasion, of which the +story is to be told in these pages, has there been anything resembling +civil war between the two races; and this unhappy outbreak was neither +widespread nor prolonged. The record +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P2"></A>2}</SPAN> +is one which Canadians, +whether they be English or French, have reason to view with +satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +It does not appear that the Canadians of 1760 felt any profound regret +at the change from French to British rule. So corrupt and oppressive +had been the administration of Bigot, in the last days of the Old +Regime, that the rough-and-ready rule of the British army officers +doubtless seemed benignant in comparison. Comparatively few Canadians +left the country, although they were afforded facilities for so doing. +One evidence of good feeling between the victors and the vanquished is +found in the marriages which were celebrated between Canadian women and +some of the disbanded Highland soldiers. Traces of these unions are +found at the present day, in the province of Quebec, in a few Scottish +names of habitants who cannot speak English. +</P> + +<P> +When the American colonies broke out in revolution in 1775, the +Continental Congress thought to induce the French Canadians to join +hands with them. But the conciliatory policy of the successive +governors Murray and Carleton, and the concessions granted by the +Quebec Act of the year before, had borne +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P3"></A>3}</SPAN> +fruit; and when the +American leaders Arnold and Montgomery invaded Canada, the great +majority of the habitants remained at least passively loyal. A few +hundred of them may have joined the invaders, but a much larger number +enlisted under Carleton. The clergy, the seigneurs, and the +professional classes—lawyers and physicians and notaries—remained +firm in their allegiance to Great Britain; while the mass of the people +resisted the eloquent appeals of Congress, represented by its +emissaries Franklin, Chase, and Carroll, and even those of the +distinguished Frenchmen, Lafayette and Count d'Estaing, who strongly +urged them to join the rebels. Nor should it be forgotten that at the +siege of Quebec by Arnold the Canadian officers Colonel Dupré and +Captains Dambourgès, Dumas, and Marcoux, with many others, were among +Carleton's most trusted and efficient aides in driving back the +invading Americans. True, in 1781, Sir Frederick Haldimand, then +governor of Canada, wrote that although the clergy had been firmly +loyal in 1775 and had exerted their powerful influence in favour of +Great Britain, they had since then changed their opinions and were no +longer to be relied upon. But it must be +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P4"></A>4}</SPAN> +borne in mind that +Haldimand ruled the province in the manner of a soldier. His +high-handed orders caused dissatisfaction, which he probably mistook +for a want of loyalty among the clergy. No more devoted subject of +Great Britain lived at the time in Lower Canada than Mgr Briand, the +bishop of Quebec; and the priests shaped their conduct after that of +their superior. At any rate, the danger which Haldimand feared did not +take form; and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 made it +more unlikely than ever. +</P> + +<P> +The French Revolution profoundly affected the attitude of the French +Canadians toward France. Canada was the child of the <I>ancien régime</I>. +Within her borders the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau had found no +shelter. Canada had nothing in common with the anti-clerical and +republican tendencies of the Revolution. That movement created a gap +between France and Canada which has not been bridged to this day. In +the Napoleonic wars the sympathies of Canada were almost wholly with +Great Britain. When news arrived of the defeat of the French fleet at +Trafalgar, a <I>Te Deum</I> was sung in the Catholic cathedral at Quebec; +and, in a sermon +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P5"></A>5}</SPAN> +preached on that occasion, a future bishop of the +French-Canadian Church enunciated the principle that 'all events which +tend to broaden the gap separating us from France should be welcome.' +</P> + +<P> +It was during the War of 1812-14, however, that the most striking +manifestation of French-Canadian loyalty to the British crown appeared. +In that war, in which Canada was repeatedly invaded by American armies, +French-Canadian militiamen under French-Canadian officers fought +shoulder to shoulder with their English-speaking fellow-countrymen on +several stricken fields of battle; and in one engagement, fought at +Châteauguay in the French province of Lower Canada, the day was won for +British arms by the heroic prowess of Major de Salaberry and his +French-Canadian soldiers. The history of the war with the United +States provides indelible testimony to the loyalty of French Canada. +</P> + +<P> +A quarter of a century passed. Once again the crack of muskets was +heard on Canadian soil. This time, however, there was no foreign +invader to repel. The two races which had fought side by side in 1812 +were now arrayed against each other. French-Canadian veterans of +Châteauguay were on +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P6"></A>6}</SPAN> +one side, and English-Canadian veterans of +Chrystler's Farm on the other. Some real fighting took place. Before +peace was restored, the fowling-pieces of the French-Canadian rebels +had repulsed a force of British regulars at the village of St Denis, +and brisk skirmishes had taken place at the villages of St Charles and +St Eustache. How this unhappy interlude came to pass, in a century and +a half of British rule in Canada, it is the object of this book to +explain. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P7"></A>7}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED +</H4> + +<P> +The British did not treat the French inhabitants of Canada as a +conquered people; not as other countries won by conquest have been +treated by their victorious invaders. The terms of the Capitulation of +Montreal in 1760 assured the Canadians of their property and civil +rights, and guaranteed to them 'the free exercise of their religion.' +The Quebec Act of 1774 granted them the whole of the French civil law, +to the almost complete exclusion of the English common law, and +virtually established in Canada the Church of the vanquished through +legal enforcement of the obligation resting upon Catholics to pay +tithes. And when it became necessary in 1791 to divide Canada into two +provinces, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, one predominantly English and +the other predominantly French, the two provinces were granted +precisely equal political rights. Out of this +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P8"></A>8}</SPAN> +arose an odd +situation. All French Canadians were Roman Catholics, and Roman +Catholics were at this time debarred from sitting in the House of +Commons at Westminster. Yet they were given the right of sitting as +members in the Canadian representative Assemblies created by the Act of +1791. The Catholics of Canada thus received privileges denied to their +co-religionists in Great Britain. +</P> + +<P> +There can be no doubt that it was the conciliatory policy of the +British government which kept the clergy, the seigneurs, and the great +body of French Canadians loyal to the British crown during the war in +1775 and in 1812. It is certain, too, that these generous measures +strengthened the position of the French race in Canada, made Canadians +more jealous of their national identity, and led them to press for +still wider liberties. It is an axiom of human nature that the more +one gets, the more one wants. And so the concessions granted merely +whetted the Canadian appetite for more. +</P> + +<P> +This disposition became immediately apparent with the calling of the +first parliament of Lower Canada in 1792. Before this there had been +no specific definition of the exact status of the French language in +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P9"></A>9}</SPAN> +Canada, and the question arose as to its use in the Assembly as a +medium of debate. As the Quebec Act of 1774 had restored the French +laws, it was inferred that the use of the French language had been +authorized, since otherwise these laws would have no natural medium of +interpretation. That this was the inference to be drawn from the +constitution became evident, for the British government had made no +objection to the use of French in the law-courts. It should be borne +in mind that at this period the English in Canada were few in number, +and that all of them lived in the cities. The French members in the +Assembly, representing, as they did, nearly the whole population, did +not hesitate to press for the official recognition of their language on +a parity with English. +</P> + +<P> +The question first came up in connection with the election of a +speaker. The French-Canadian members, being in a majority of +thirty-four to sixteen, proposed Jean Antoine Panet. This motion was +opposed by the English members, together with a few of the French +members, who nominated an Englishman. They pointed out that the +transactions between the speaker and the king's +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P10"></A>10}</SPAN> +representative in +the colony should be 'in the language of the empire to which we have +the happiness to belong.' 'I think it is but decent,' said Louis +Panet, brother of Jean Antoine, 'that the speaker on whom we fix our +choice, be one who can express himself in English when he addresses +himself to the representative of our sovereign.' Yet the majority of +the French members stuck to their motion and elected their speaker. +When he was sworn into office, he declared to the governor that 'he +could only express himself in the primitive language of his native +country.' Nevertheless, he understood English well enough to conduct +the business of the House. And it should not be forgotten that all the +sixteen English members, out of the fifty composing the Assembly, owed +their election to French-Canadian voters. +</P> + +<P> +Almost immediately the question came up again in the debate on the use +of the French language in the publication of official documents. The +English members pointed out that English was the language of the +sovereign, and they contended that the exclusive official use of the +English language would more quickly assimilate the French +Canadians—would render them more loyal. To these +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P11"></A>11}</SPAN> +arguments the +French Canadians replied with ringing eloquence. +</P> + +<P> +'Remember,' said Chartier de Lotbinière, 'the year 1775. Those +Canadians, who spoke nothing but French, showed their attachment to +their sovereign in a manner not at all equivocal. They helped to +defend this province. This city, these walls, this chamber in which I +have the honour to speak, were saved partly through their zeal and +their courage. You saw them join with faithful subjects of His Majesty +and repulse attacks which people who spoke very good English made on +this city. It is not, you see, uniformity of language which makes +peoples more faithful or more united.' +</P> + +<P> +'Is it not ridiculous,' exclaimed Pierre Bédard, whose name will appear +later in these pages, 'to wish to make a people's loyalty consist in +its tongue?' +</P> + +<P> +The outcome of the debate, as might have been expected, was to place +the French language on a level with the English language in the records +and publications of the Assembly, and French became, to all intents and +purposes, the language of debate. The number of English-speaking +members steadily decreased. In the year 1800 Sir Robert Milnes +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P12"></A>12}</SPAN> + +wrote home that there were 'but one or two English members in the House +of Assembly who venture to speak in the language of the mother country, +from the certainty of not being understood by a great majority of the +House.' +</P> + +<P> +It must not be imagined, however, that in these early debates there was +any of that rancour and animosity which later characterized the +proceedings of the Assembly of Lower Canada. 'The remains of the old +French politeness, and a laudable deference to their fellow subjects, +kept up decorum in the proceedings of the majority,' testified a +political annalist of that time. Even as late as 1807, it appears that +'party spirit had not yet extended its effects to destroy social +intercourse and good neighbourhood.' It was not until the régime of +Sir James Craig that racial bitterness really began. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P13"></A>13}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +'THE REIGN OF TERROR' +</H4> + +<P> +During the session of 1805 the Assembly was confronted with the +apparently innocent problem of building prisons. Yet out of the debate +on this subject sprang the most serious racial conflict which had yet +occurred in the province. There were two ways proposed for raising the +necessary money. One, advocated by the English members, was to levy a +direct tax on land; the other, proposed by the French members, was to +impose extra customs duties. The English proposal was opposed by the +French, for the simple reason that the interests of the French were in +the main agrarian; and the French proposal was opposed by the English, +because the interests of the English were on the whole commercial. The +English pointed out that, as merchants, they had borne the brunt of +such taxation as had already been imposed, and that it was the turn of +the French farmers to bear their +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P14"></A>14}</SPAN> +share. The French, on the other +hand, pointed out, with some justice, that indirect taxation was borne, +not only by the importer, but also partly by the consumer, and that +indirect taxation was therefore more equitable than a tax on the +land-owners alone. There was, moreover, another consideration. 'The +<I>Habitants</I>,' writes the political annalist already quoted, 'consider +themselves sufficiently taxed by the French law of the land, in being +obliged to pay rents and other feudal burthens to the Seigneur, and +tythes to the Priest; and if you were to ask any of them to contribute +two bushels of Wheat, or two Dollars, for the support of Government, he +would give you the equivocal French sign of inability or unwillingness, +by shrugging up his shoulders.' +</P> + +<P> +As usual, the French-Canadian majority carried their point. Thereupon, +the indignation of the English minority flared forth in a very emphatic +manner. They accused the French Canadians of foisting upon them the +whole burden of taxation, and they declared that an end must be put to +French-Canadian domination over English Canadians. 'This province,' +asserted the Quebec <I>Mercury</I>, 'is already too French for a British +colony.... Whether we be in peace or at war, it is essential +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P15"></A>15}</SPAN> +that +we should make every effort, by every means available, to oppose the +growth of the French and their influence.' +</P> + +<P> +The answer of the French Canadians to this language was the +establishment in 1806 of a newspaper, <I>Le Canadien</I>, in which the point +of view of the majority in the House might be presented. The official +editor of the paper was Jean Antoine Bouthillier, but the conspicuous +figure on the staff was Pierre Bédard, one of the members of the House +of Assembly. The tone of the paper was generally moderate, though +militant. Its policy was essentially to defend the French against the +ceaseless aspersions of the <I>Mercury</I> and other enemies. It never +attacked the British government, but only the provincial authorities. +Its motto, '<I>Notre langue, nos institutions et nos lois</I>,' went far to +explain its views and objects. +</P> + +<P> +No serious trouble resulted, however, from the policy of <I>Le Canadien</I> +until after the arrival of Sir James Craig in Canada, and the +inauguration of what some historians have named 'the Reign of Terror.' +Sir James Craig, who became governor of Canada in 1807, was a +distinguished soldier. He had seen service in the American +Revolutionary +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P16"></A>16}</SPAN> +War, in South Africa, and in India. He was, +however, inexperienced in civil government and apt to carry his ideas +of military discipline into the conduct of civil affairs. Moreover, he +was prejudiced against the inhabitants and had doubts of their loyalty. +In Canada he surrounded himself with such men as Herman W. Ryland, the +governor's secretary, and John Sewell, the attorney-general, men who +were actually in favour of repressing the French Canadians and of +crushing the power of their Church. 'I have long since laid it down as +a principle (which in my judgment no Governor of this Province ought to +lose sight of for a moment),' wrote Ryland in 1804, 'by every possible +means which prudence can suggest, gradually to undermine the authority +and influence of the Roman Catholic Priest.' 'The Province must be +converted into an English Colony,' declared Sewell, 'or it will +ultimately be lost to England.' The opinion these men held of the +French Canadians was most uncomplimentary. 'In the ministerial +dictionary,' complained <I>Le Canadien</I>, 'a bad fellow, +anti-ministerialist, democrat, <I>sans culotte</I>, and damned Canadian, +mean the same thing.' +</P> + +<A NAME="img-016"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-016.jpg" ALT="Sir James Craig. From a portrait in the Dominion Archives." BORDER="2" WIDTH="366" HEIGHT="534"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 366px"> +Sir James Craig. <BR>From a portrait in the Dominion Archives. +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Surrounded by such advisers, it is not +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P17"></A>17}</SPAN> +surprising that Sir James +Craig soon took umbrage at the language and policy of <I>Le Canadien</I>. +At first he made his displeasure felt in a somewhat roundabout way. In +the summer of 1808 he dismissed from the militia five officers who were +reputed to have a connection with that newspaper, on the ground that +they were helping a 'seditious and defamatory journal.' One of these +officers was Colonel Panet, who had fought in the defence of Quebec in +1775 and had been speaker of the House of Assembly since 1792; another +was Pierre Bédard. This action did not, however, curb the temper of +the paper; and a year or more later Craig went further. In May 1810 he +took the extreme step of suppressing <I>Le Canadien</I>, and arresting the +printer and three of the proprietors, Taschereau, Blanchet, and Bédard. +The ostensible pretext for this measure was the publication in the +paper of some notes of a somewhat academic character with regard to the +conflict which had arisen between the governor and the House of +Assembly in Jamaica; the real reason, of course, went deeper. +</P> + +<P> +Craig afterwards asserted that the arrest of Bédard and his associates +was 'a measure of precaution, not of punishment.' There is no +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P18"></A>18}</SPAN> +doubt that he actually feared a rising of the French Canadians. To his +mind a rebellion was imminent. The event showed that his suspicions +were ill-founded; but in justice to him it must be remembered that he +was governor of Canada at a dangerous time, when Napoleon was at the +zenith of his power and when agents of this arch-enemy of England were +supposed to be active in Canada. Moreover, the blame for Craig's +action during this period must be partly borne by the 'Bureaucrats' who +surrounded him. There is no absolute proof, but there is at least a +presumption, that some of these men actually wished to precipitate a +disturbance, in order that the constitution of Lower Canada might be +suspended and a new order of things inaugurated. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after Bédard's arrest his friends applied for a writ of habeas +corpus; but, owing to the opposition of Craig, this was refused. In +July two of Bédard's companions were released, on the ground of ill +health. They both, however, expressed regret at the tone which <I>Le +Canadien</I> had adopted. In August the printer was discharged. Bédard +himself declined to accept his release until he had been brought to +trial and acquitted +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P19"></A>19}</SPAN> +of the charge preferred against him. Craig, +however, did not dare to bring him to trial, for no jury would have +convicted him. Ultimately, since Bédard refused to leave the prison, +he was ejected at the point of the bayonet. The situation was full of +humour. Bédard was an excellent mathematician, and was in the habit of +whiling away the hours of his imprisonment by solving mathematical +problems. When the guard came to turn him out, he was in the midst of +a geometrical problem. 'At least,' he begged, 'let me finish my +problem.' The request was granted; an hour later the problem was +solved, and Bédard was thrust forth from the jail. +</P> + +<P> +Sir James Craig was a man of good heart and of the best intentions; but +his course throughout this episode was most unfortunate. Not only did +he fail to suppress the opposition to his government, but he did much +to embitter the relations between the two races. Craig himself seems +to have realized, even before he left Canada, that his policy had been +a mistake; for he is reported on good authority to have said 'that he +had been basely deceived, and that if it had been given to him to begin +his administration over again, he would have acted differently.' It is +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P20"></A>20}</SPAN> +significant, too, that Craig's successor, Sir George Prevost, +completely reversed his policy. He laid himself out to conciliate the +French Canadians in every way possible; and he made amends to Bédard +for the injustice which he had suffered by restoring him to his rank in +the militia and by making him a judge. As a result, the bitterness of +racial feeling abated; and when the War of 1812 broke out, there proved +to be less disloyalty in Lower Canada than in Upper Canada. But, as +the events of Craig's administration had clearly shown, a good deal of +combustible and dangerous material lay about. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P21"></A>21}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE RISE OF PAPINEAU +</H4> + +<P> +In the year 1812 a young man took his seat in the House of Assembly for +Lower Canada who was destined to play a conspicuous part in the history +of the province during the next quarter of a century. His name was +Louis Joseph Papineau. He was at that time only twenty-six years of +age, but already his tall, well-built form, his fine features and +commanding presence, marked him out as a born leader of men. He +possessed an eloquence which, commonplace as it now appears on the +printed page, apparently exerted a profound influence upon his +contemporaries. 'Never within the memory of teacher or student,' wrote +his college friend Aubert de Gaspé, 'had a voice so eloquent filled the +halls of the seminary of Quebec.' In the Assembly his rise to +prominence was meteoric; only three years after his entrance he was +elected speaker on the resignation of the veteran +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P22"></A>22}</SPAN> +J. A. Panet, who +had held the office at different times since 1792. Papineau retained +the speakership, with but one brief period of intermission, until the +outbreak of rebellion twenty-two years later; and it was from the +speaker's chair that he guided throughout this period the counsels of +the <I>Patriote</I> party. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-022"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-022.jpg" ALT="Louis Joseph Papineau. After a lithograph by Maurin, Paris." BORDER="2" WIDTH="368" HEIGHT="549"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 368px"> +Louis Joseph Papineau. <BR>After a lithograph by Maurin, Paris. +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When Papineau entered public life the political situation in Lower +Canada was beginning to be complicated. The French-Canadian members of +the Assembly, having taken great pains to acquaint themselves with the +law and custom of the British constitution, had awakened to the fact +that they were not enjoying the position or the power which the members +of the House of Commons in England were enjoying. In the first place, +the measures which they passed were being continually thrown out by the +upper chamber, the Legislative Council, and they were powerless to +prevent it; and in the second place, they had no control of the +government, for the governor and his Executive Council were appointed +by and responsible to the Colonial Office alone. The members of the +two councils were in the main of English birth, and they constituted a +local oligarchy—known as the 'Bureaucrats' or the 'Château +Clique'—which +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P23"></A>23}</SPAN> +held the reins of government. They were as a rule +able to snap their fingers at the majority in the Assembly. +</P> + +<P> +In England the remedy for a similar state of affairs had been found to +lie in the control of the purse exercised by the House of Commons. In +order to bring the Executive to its will, it was only necessary for +that House to threaten the withholding of supplies. In Lower Canada, +however, such a remedy was at first impossible, for the simple reason +that the House of Assembly did not vote all the supplies necessary for +carrying on the government. In other words, the expenditure far +exceeded the revenue; and the deficiency had to be met out of the +Imperial exchequer. Under these circumstances it was impossible for +the Lower Canada Assembly to attempt to exercise the full power of the +purse. In 1810, it is true, the Assembly had passed a resolution +avowing its ability and willingness to vote 'the necessary sums for +defraying the Civil Expenses of the Government of the Province.' But +Sir James Craig had declined on a technicality to forward the +resolution to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, realizing fully +that if the offer were accepted, the Assembly would be able to exert +complete +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P24"></A>24}</SPAN> +power over the Executive. 'The new Trojan horse' was not +to gain admission to the walls through him. +</P> + +<P> +Later, however, in 1818, during the administration of Sir John Coape +Sherbrooke, the offer of the Assembly was accepted by the Imperial +government. Sherbrooke was an apostle of conciliation. It was he who +gave the Catholic bishop of Quebec a seat in the Executive Council; and +he also recommended that the speaker of the House of Assembly should be +included in the Council—a recommendation which was a preliminary move +in the direction of responsible government. Through Sherbrooke's +instrumentality the British government now decided to allow the +Lower-Canadian legislature to vote the entire revenue of the province, +apart from the casual and territorial dues of the Crown and certain +duties levied by Act of the Imperial parliament. Sherbrooke's +intention was that the legislature should vote out of this revenue a +permanent civil list to be continued during the lifetime of the +sovereign. Unfortunately, however, the Assembly did not fall in with +this view. It insisted, instead, on treating the civil list as an +annual affair, and voting the salaries of the officials, from the +governor +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P25"></A>25}</SPAN> +downwards, for only one year. Since this would have made +every government officer completely dependent upon the pleasure of the +House of Assembly, the Legislative Council promptly threw out the +budget. Thus commenced a struggle which was destined to last for many +years. The Assembly refused to see that its action was really an +encroachment upon the sphere of the Executive; and the Executive +refused to place itself at the mercy of the Assembly. The result was +deadlock. During session after session the supplies were not voted. +The Executive, with its control of the royal revenue, was able by one +means or another to carry on the government; but the relations between +the 'Bureaucrats' and the <I>Patriotes</I> became rapidly more bitter. +</P> + +<P> +Papineau's attitude toward the government during this period was in +harmony with that of his compatriots. It was indeed one of his +characteristics, as the historian Christie has pointed out, that he +seemed always 'to move with the masses rather than to lead them.' In +1812 he fought side by side with the British. As late as 1820 he +publicly expressed his great admiration for the constitution of 1791 +and the blessings of British rule. But in the struggles over the +budget he took up ground +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P26"></A>26}</SPAN> +strongly opposed to the government; and, +when the question became acute, he threw restraint to the winds, and +played the part of a dangerous agitator. +</P> + +<P> +What seems to have first roused Papineau to anger was a proposal to +unite Upper and Lower Canada in 1822. Financial difficulties had +arisen between the two provinces; and advantage was taken of this fact +to introduce a Union Bill into the House of Commons at Westminster, +couched in terms very unfavourable to the French Canadians. There is +little doubt that the real objects of the bill was the extinction of +the Lower-Canadian Assembly and the subordination of the French to the +English element in the colony. At any rate, the French Canadians saw +in the bill a menace to their national existence. Two agents were +promptly appointed to go over to London to oppose it. One of them was +Papineau; the other was John Neilson, the capable Scottish editor of +the Quebec <I>Gazette</I>. The two men made a very favourable impression; +they enlisted on their side the leaders of the Whig party in the +Commons; and they succeeded in having the bill well and duly shelved. +Their mission resulted not only in the defeat of the bill; it also +showed +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P27"></A>27}</SPAN> +them clearly that a deep-laid plot had menaced the rights +and liberties of the French-Canadian people; and their anger was roused +against what Neilson described as 'the handful of <I>intrigants</I>' who had +planned that <I>coup d'état</I>. +</P> + +<P> +On returning to Canada Papineau gave vent to his discontent in an +extraordinary attack upon Lord Dalhousie, who had become governor of +Canada in 1819. Dalhousie was an English nobleman of the best type. +His tastes were liberal. He was instrumental in founding the Literary +and Historical Society of Quebec; and he showed his desire for pleasant +relations between the two races in Canada by the erection of the joint +monument to Wolfe and Montcalm in the city of Quebec, in the governor's +garden. His administration, however, had been marred by one or two +financial irregularities. Owing to the refusal of the Assembly to vote +a permanent civil list, Dalhousie had been forced to expend public +moneys without authority from the legislature; and his +receiver-general, Caldwell, had been guilty of defalcations to the +amount of £100,000. Papineau attacked Dalhousie as if he had been +personally responsible for these defalcations. The speech, we are told +by the chronicler Bibaud, recalled in its violence the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P28"></A>28}</SPAN> +philippics +of Demosthenes and the orations against Catiline of Cicero. +</P> + +<P> +The upshot of this attack was that all relations between Dalhousie and +Papineau were broken off. Apart altogether from the political +controversy, Dalhousie felt that he could have no intercourse with a +man who had publicly insulted him. Consequently, when Papineau was +elected to the speakership of the Assembly in 1827, Dalhousie refused +to recognize him as speaker; and when the Assembly refused to +reconsider his election, Dalhousie promptly dissolved it. +</P> + +<P> +It would be tedious to describe in detail the political events of these +years; and it is enough to say that by 1827 affairs in the province had +come to such an impasse, partly owing to the financial quarrel, and +partly owing to the personal war between Papineau and Dalhousie, that +it was decided by the <I>Patriotes</I> to send another deputation to England +to ask for the redress of grievances and for the removal of Dalhousie. +The members of the deputation were John Neilson and two French +Canadians, Augustin Cuvillier and Denis B. Viger. Papineau was an +interested party and did not go. The deputation proved no less +successful than +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P29"></A>29}</SPAN> +that which had crossed the Atlantic in 1822. The +delegates succeeded in obtaining Lord Dalhousie's recall, and they were +enabled to place their case before a special committee of the House of +Commons. The committee made a report very favourable to the <I>Patriote</I> +cause; recommended that 'the French-Canadians should not in any way be +disturbed in the exercise and enjoyment of their religion, their laws, +or their privileges'; and expressed the opinion that 'the true +interests of the provinces would be best promoted by placing the +collection and expenditure of all public revenues under the control of +the House of Assembly.' The report was not actually adopted by the +House of Commons, but it lent a very welcome support to the contentions +of Papineau and his friends. +</P> + +<P> +At last, in 1830, the British government made a serious and well-meant +attempt to settle, once and for all, the financial difficulty. Lord +Goderich, who was at that time at the Colonial Office, instructed Lord +Aylmer, who had become governor of Canada in 1830, to resign to the +Assembly the control of the entire revenue of the province, with the +single exception of the casual and territorial revenue of the Crown, if +the Assembly would grant +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P30"></A>30}</SPAN> +in exchange a civil list of £19,000, +voted for the lifetime of the king. This offer was a compromise which +should have proved acceptable to both sides. But Papineau and his +friends determined not to yield an inch of ground; and in the session +of 1831 they succeeded in defeating the motion for the adoption of Lord +Goderich's proposal. That this was a mistake even the historian +Garneau, who cannot be accused of hostility toward the <I>Patriotes</I>, has +admitted. +</P> + +<P> +Throughout this period Papineau's course was often unreasonable. He +complained that the French Canadians had no voice in the executive +government, and that all the government offices were given to the +English; yet when he was offered a seat in the Executive Council in +1822 he declined it; and when Dominique Mondelet, one of the members of +the Assembly, accepted a seat in the Executive Council in 1832, he was +hounded from the Assembly by Papineau and his friends as a traitor. As +Sir George Cartier pointed out many years later, Mondelet's inclusion +in the Executive Council was really a step in the direction of +responsible government. It is difficult, also, to approve Papineau's +attitude toward such governors as Dalhousie and +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P31"></A>31}</SPAN> +Aylmer, both of +whom were disposed to be friendly. Papineau's attitude threw them into +the arms of the 'Château Clique.' The truth is that Papineau was too +unbending, too <I>intransigeant</I>, to make a good political leader. As +was seen clearly in his attitude toward the financial proposals of Lord +Goderich in 1830, he possessed none of that spirit of compromise which +lies at the heart of English constitutional development. +</P> + +<P> +On the other hand, it must be remembered that Papineau and his friends +received much provocation. The attitude of the governing class toward +them was overbearing and sometimes insolent. They were regarded as +members of an inferior race. And they would have been hardly human if +they had not bitterly resented the conspiracy against their liberties +embodied in the abortive Union Bill of 1822. There were real abuses to +be remedied. Grave financial irregularities had been detected in the +executive government; sinecurists, living in England, drew pay for +services which they did not perform; gross favouritism existed in +appointments to office under the Crown; and so many office-holders held +seats in the Legislative Council that the Council was actually under +the thumb of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P32"></A>32}</SPAN> +the executive government. Yet when the Assembly +strove to remedy these grievances, its efforts were repeatedly blocked +by the Legislative Council; and even when appeal was made to the +Colonial Office, removal of the abuses was slow in coming. Last, but +not least, the Assembly felt that it did not possess an adequate +control over the expenditure of the moneys for the voting of which it +was primarily responsible. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P33"></A>33}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS +</H4> + +<P> +After 1830 signs began to multiply that the racial feud in Lower Canada +was growing in intensity. In 1832 a by-election in the west ward of +Montreal culminated in a riot. Troops were called out to preserve +order. After showing some forbearance under a fusillade of stones, +they fired into the rioters, killing three and wounding two men, all of +them French Canadians. Immediately the <I>Patriote</I> press became +furious. The newspaper <I>La Minerve</I> asserted that a 'general massacre' +had been planned: the murderers, it said, had approached the corpses +with laughter, and had seen with joy Canadian blood running down the +street; they had shaken each other by the hand, and had regretted that +there were not more dead. The blame for the 'massacre' was laid at the +door of Lord Aylmer. Later, on the floor of the Assembly, Papineau +remarked that 'Craig merely imprisoned his +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P34"></A>34}</SPAN> +victims, but Aylmer +slaughters them.' The <I>Patriotes</I> adopted the same bitter attitude +toward the government when the Asiatic cholera swept the province in +1833. They actually accused Lord Aylmer of having 'enticed the sick +immigrants into the country, in order to decimate the ranks of the +French Canadians.' +</P> + +<P> +In the House Papineau became more and more violent and domineering. He +did not scruple to use his majority either to expel from the House or +to imprison those who incurred his wrath. Robert Christie, the member +for Gaspé, was four times expelled for having obtained the dismissal of +some partisan justices of the peace. The expulsion of Dominique +Mondelet has already been mentioned. Ralph Taylor, one of the members +for the Eastern Townships, was imprisoned in the common jail for using, +in the Quebec <I>Mercury</I>, language about Papineau no more offensive than +Papineau had used about many others. But perhaps the most striking +evidence of Papineau's desire to dominate the Assembly was seen in his +attitude toward a bill to secure the independence of judges introduced +by F. A. Quesnel, one of the more moderate members +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P35"></A>35}</SPAN> +of the +<I>Patriote</I> party. Quesnel had accepted some amendments suggested by +the colonial secretary. This awoke the wrath of Papineau, who assailed +the bill in his usual vehement style, and concluded by threatening +Quesnel with the loss of his seat. The threat proved not to be idle. +Papineau possessed at this time a great ascendancy over the minds of +his fellow-countrymen, and in the next elections he secured Quesnel's +defeat. +</P> + +<P> +By 1832 Papineau's political views had taken a more revolutionary turn. +From being an admirer of the constitution of 1791, he had come to +regard it as 'bad; very, very bad.' 'Our constitution,' he said, 'has +been manufactured by a Tory influenced by the terrors of the French +Revolution.' He had lost faith in the justice of the British +government and in its willingness to redress grievances; and his eyes +had begun to turn toward the United States. Perhaps he was not yet for +annexation to that country; but he had conceived a great admiration for +the American constitution. The wide application of the principle of +election especially attracted him; and, although he did not relinquish +his hope of subordinating the Executive to the Assembly by means of the +control of the finances, he +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P36"></A>36}</SPAN> +began to throw his main weight into an +agitation to make the Legislative Council elective. Henceforth the +plan for an elective Legislative Council became the chief feature of +the policy of the <I>Patriote</I> party. The existing nominated and +reactionary Legislative Council had served the purpose of a buffer +between the governor's Executive Council and the Assembly. This +buffer, thought Papineau and his friends, should be removed, so as to +expose the governor to the full hurricane of the Assembly's wrath. +</P> + +<P> +It was not long before Papineau's domineering behaviour and the +revolutionary trend of his views alienated some of his followers. On +John Neilson, who had gone to England with him in 1822 and with +Cuvillier and Viger in 1828, and who had supported him heartily during +the Dalhousie régime, Papineau could no longer count. Under Aylmer a +coolness sprang up between the two men. Neilson objected to the +expulsion of Mondelet from the House; he opposed the resolutions of +Louis Bourdages, Papineau's chief lieutenant, for the abolition of the +Legislative Council; and in the debate on Quesnel's bill for the +independence of judges, he administered a severe rebuke to Papineau for +language he +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P37"></A>37}</SPAN> +had used. Augustin Cuvillier followed the lead of his +friend Neilson, and so also did Andrew Stuart, one of the ablest +lawyers in the province, and Quesnel. All these men were politicians +of weight and respectability. +</P> + +<P> +Papineau still had, however, a large and powerful following, especially +among the younger members. Nothing is more remarkable at this time +than the sway which he exercised over the minds of men who in later +life became distinguished for the conservative and moderate character +of their opinions. Among his followers in the House were Louis +Hippolyte LaFontaine, destined to become, ten years later, the +colleague of Robert Baldwin in the LaFontaine-Baldwin administration, +and Augustin Norbert Morin, the colleague of Francis Hincks in the +Hincks-Morin administration of 1851. Outside the House he counted +among his most faithful followers two more future prime ministers of +Canada, George É. Cartier and Étienne P. Taché. Nor were his +supporters all French Canadians. Some English-speaking members acted +with him, among them Wolfred Nelson; and in the country he had the +undivided allegiance of men like Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, editor of +the Montreal <I>Vindicator</I>, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P38"></A>38}</SPAN> +and Thomas Storrow Brown, afterwards +one of the 'generals' of the rebellion. Although the political +struggle in Lower Canada before 1837 was largely racial, it was not +exclusively so, for there were some English in the Patriots party and +some French who declined to support it. +</P> + +<P> +In 1832 and 1833 Papineau suffered rebuffs in the House that could not +have been pleasant to him. In 1833, for instance, his proposal to +refuse supply was defeated by a large majority. But the triumphant +passage of the famous Ninety-Two Resolutions in 1834 showed that, for +most purposes, he still had a majority behind him. +</P> + +<P> +The Ninety-Two Resolutions were introduced by Elzéar Bédard, the son of +Pierre Bédard, and are reputed to have been drawn up by A. N. Morin. +But there is no doubt that they were inspired by Papineau. The voice +was the voice of Jacob, but the hand was the hand of Esau. The +Resolutions constituted the political platform of the extreme wing of +the <I>Patriote</I> party: they were a sort of Declaration of Right. A more +extraordinary political document has seldom seen the light. A writer +in the Quebec <I>Mercury</I>, said by Lord Aylmer to be John Neilson, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P39"></A>39}</SPAN> +undertook an analysis of the ninety-two articles: eleven, said this +writer, stood true; six contained both truth and falsehood; sixteen +stood wholly false; seventeen seemed doubtful and twelve ridiculous; +seven were repetitions; fourteen consisted only of abuse; four were +both false and seditious; and the remainder were indifferent. +</P> + +<P> +It is not possible here to analyse the Resolutions in detail. They +called the attention of the home government to some real abuses. The +subservience of the Legislative Council to the Executive Council; the +partisanship of some of the judges; the maladministration of the wild +lands; grave irregularities in the receiver-general's office; the +concentration of a variety of public offices in the same persons; the +failure of the governor to issue a writ for the election of a +representative for the county of Montreal; and the expenditure of +public moneys without the consent of the Assembly—all these, and many +others, were enlarged upon. If the framers of the Resolutions had only +cared to make out a very strong case they might have done so. But the +language which they employed to present their case was almost certainly +calculated to injure it seriously in the eyes of the home government. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P40"></A>40}</SPAN> +'We are in no wise disposed,' they told the king, 'to admit the +excellence of the present constitution of Canada, although the present +colonial secretary unseasonably and erroneously asserts that the said +constitution has conferred on the two Canadas the institutions of Great +Britain.' With an extraordinary lack of tact they assured the king +that Toryism was in America 'without any weight or influence except +what it derives from its European supporters'; whereas Republicanism +'overspreads all America.' Nor did they stop there. 'This House,' +they announced, 'would esteem itself wanting in candour to Your Majesty +if it hesitated to call Your Majesty's attention to the fact, that in +less than twenty years the population of the United States of America +will be greater than that of Great Britain, and that of British America +will be greater than that of the former English colonies, when the +latter deemed that the time was come to decide that the inappreciable +advantage of being self-governed ought to engage them to repudiate a +system of colonial government which was, generally speaking, much +better than that of British America now is.' This unfortunate +reference to the American Revolution, with its +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P41"></A>41}</SPAN> +hardly veiled +threat of rebellion, was scarcely calculated to commend the Ninety-Two +Resolutions to the favourable consideration of the British government. +And when the Resolutions went on to demand, not merely the removal, but +the impeachment of the governor, Lord Aylmer, it must have seemed to +unprejudiced bystanders as if the framers of the Resolutions had taken +leave of their senses. +</P> + +<P> +The Ninety-Two Resolutions do not rank high as a constructive document. +The chief change in the constitution which they proposed was the +application of the elective principle to the Legislative Council. Of +anything which might be construed into advocacy of a statesmanlike +project of responsible government there was not a word, save a vague +allusion to 'the vicious composition and irresponsibility of the +Executive Council.' Papineau and his friends had evidently no +conception of the solution ultimately found for the constitutional +problem in Canada—a provincial cabinet chosen from the legislature, +sitting in the legislature, and responsible to the legislature, whose +advice the governor is bound to accept in regard to provincial affairs. +Papineau undoubtedly did much to hasten the day of responsible +government in Canada; +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P42"></A>42}</SPAN> +but in this process he was in reality an +unwitting agent. +</P> + +<P> +The Ninety-Two Resolutions secured a majority of fifty-six to +twenty-four. But in the minority voted John Neilson, Augustin +Cuvillier, F. A. Quesnel, and Andrew Stuart, who now definitely broke +away from Papineau's party. There are signs, too, that the +considerable number of Catholic clergy who had openly supported +Papineau now began to withdraw from the camp of a leader advocating +such republican and revolutionary ideas. There is ground also for +believing that not a little unrest disturbed those who voted with +Papineau in 1834. In the next year Elzéar Bédard, who had moved the +Ninety-Two Resolutions, broke with Papineau. Another seceder was +Étienne Parent, the editor of the revived <I>Canadien</I>, and one of the +great figures in French-Canadian literature. Both Bédard and Parent +were citizens of Quebec, and they carried with them the great body of +public opinion in the provincial capital. It will be observed later +that during the disturbances of 1837 Quebec remained quiet. +</P> + +<P> +None of the seceders abandoned the demand for the redress of +grievances. They merely +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P43"></A>43}</SPAN> +refused to follow Papineau in his extreme +course. For this they were assailed with some of the rhetoric which +had hitherto been reserved for the 'Bureaucrats.' To them was applied +the opprobrious epithet of <I>Chouayens</I>[<A NAME="chap05fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap05fn1">1</A>]—a name which had been used +by Étienne Parent himself in 1828 to describe those French Canadians +who took sides with the government party. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05fn1"></A> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[<A HREF="#chap05fn1text">1</A>] The name <I>Chouayen</I> or <I>Chouaguen</I> appears to have been first used +as a term of reproach at the siege of Oswego in 1756. It is said that +after the fall of the forts there to Montcalm's armies a number of +Canadian soldiers arrived too late to take part in the fighting. By +the soldiers who had borne the brunt of the battle the late-comers were +dubbed <I>Chouaguens</I>, this being the way the rank and file of the French +soldiers pronounced the Indian name of Oswego. Thus the term came to +mean one who refuses to follow, or who lets others do the fighting and +keeps out of it himself. Perhaps the nearest English, or rather +American, equivalent is the name Mugwump. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P44"></A>44}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE ROYAL COMMISSION +</H4> + +<P> +A general election followed soon after the passing of the Ninety-Two +Resolutions and revealed the strength of Papineau's position in the +country. All those members of the <I>Patriote</I> party who had opposed the +Resolutions—Neilson, Cuvillier, Quesnel, Stuart, and two or three +others—suffered defeat at the polls. The first division-list in the +new Assembly showed seventy members voting for Papineau as speaker, and +only six voting against him. +</P> + +<P> +The Resolutions were forwarded to Westminster, both through the +Assembly's agent in London and through Lord Aylmer, who received the +address embodying the Resolutions, despite the fact that they demanded +his own impeachment. The British House of Commons appointed a special +committee to inquire into the grievances of which the Resolutions +complained; but there followed +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P45"></A>45}</SPAN> +no immediate action by the +government. The years 1834 and 1835 saw much disturbance in British +politics: there were no less than four successive ministers at the +Colonial Office. It was natural that there should be some delay in +dealing with the troubles of Lower Canada. In the spring of 1835, +however, the government made up its mind about the course to pursue. +It decided to send to Canada a royal commission for the purpose of +investigating, and if possible settling, the questions in dispute. It +was thought advisable to combine in one person the office of chief +royal commissioner and that of governor of Canada. To clear the way +for this arrangement Lord Aylmer was recalled. But he was expressly +relieved from all censure: it was merely recognized by the authorities +that his unfortunate relations with the Assembly made it unlikely that +he would be able to offer any assistance in a solution of the problem. +</P> + +<P> +The unenviable position of governor and chief royal commissioner was +offered in turn to several English statesmen and declined by all of +them. It was eventually accepted by Lord Gosford, an Irish peer +without experience in public life. With him were associated as +commissioners Sir Charles Grey, afterwards +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P46"></A>46}</SPAN> +governor of Jamaica, +and Sir George Gipps, afterwards governor of New South Wales. These +two men were evidently intended to offset each other: Grey was commonly +rated as a Tory, while Gipps was a Liberal. Lord Gosford's appointment +caused much surprise. He was a stranger in politics and in civil +government. There is no doubt that his appointment was a last +resource. But his Irish geniality and his facility in being all things +to all men were no small recommendations for a governor who was to +attempt to set things right in Canada. +</P> + +<P> +The policy of Lord Glenelg, the colonial secretary during Gosford's +period of office, was to do everything in his power to conciliate the +Canadian <I>Patriotes</I>, short of making any real constitutional +concessions. By means of a conciliatory attitude he hoped to induce +them to abate some of their demands. There is, indeed, evidence that +he was personally willing to go further: he seems to have proposed to +William IV that the French Canadians should be granted, as they +desired, an elective Legislative Council; but the staunch old Tory king +would not hear of the change. 'The king objects on principle,' the +ministers were told, 'and upon what he +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P47"></A>47}</SPAN> +considers sound +constitutional principle, to the adoption of the elective principle in +the constitution of the legislative councils in the colonies.' In 1836 +the king had not yet become a negligible factor in determining the +policy of the government; and the idea was dropped. +</P> + +<P> +Lord Gosford arrived in Canada at the end of the summer of 1835 to find +himself confronted with a discouraging state of affairs. A short +session of the Assembly in the earlier part of the year had been marked +by unprecedented violence. Papineau had attacked Lord Aylmer in +language breathing passion; and had caused Lord Aylmer's reply to the +address of the Assembly containing the Ninety-Two Resolutions to be +expunged from the journals of the House as 'an insult cast at the whole +nation.' Papineau had professed himself hopeless of any amendment of +grievances by Great Britain. 'When Reform ministries, who called +themselves our friends,' he said, 'have been deaf to our complaints, +can we hope that a Tory ministry, the enemy of Reform, will give us a +better hearing? We have nothing to expect from the Tories unless we +can inspire them with fear or worry them by ceaseless importunity.' It +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P48"></A>48}</SPAN> +should be observed, however, that in 1835 Papineau explicitly +disclaimed any intention of stirring up civil war. When Gugy, one of +the English members of the Assembly,[<A NAME="chap06fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap06fn1">1</A>] accused him of such an +intention, Papineau replied: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="block"> +Mr Gugy has talked to us again about an outbreak and civil war—a +ridiculous bugbear which is regularly revived every time the House +protests against these abuses, as it was under Craig, under Dalhousie, +and still more persistently under the present governor. Doubtless the +honourable gentleman, having studied military tactics as a lieutenant +in the militia—I do not say as a major, for he has been a major only +for the purposes of the parade-ground and the ball-room—is quite +competent to judge of the results of a civil war and of the forces of +the country, but he need not fancy that he can frighten us by hinting +to us that he will fight in the ranks of the enemy. All his threats +are futile, and his fears but the creatures of imagination. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Papineau did not yet contemplate an appeal +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P49"></A>49}</SPAN> +to arms; and of course +he could not foresee that only two years later Conrad Gugy would be one +of the first to enter the village of St Eustache after the defeat of +the <I>Patriote</I> forces. +</P> + +<P> +In spite of the inflamed state of public feeling, Lord Gosford tried to +put into effect his policy of conciliation. He sought to win the +confidence of the French Canadians by presiding at their +entertainments, by attending the distribution of prizes at their +seminaries, and by giving balls on their feast days. He entertained +lavishly, and his manners toward his guests were decidedly convivial. +'<I>Milord</I>,' exclaimed one of them on one occasion, tapping him on the +back at a certain stage of the after-dinner conversation, '<I>milord, +vous êtes bien aimable</I>.' 'Pardonnez,' replied Gosford; '<I>c'est le +vin</I>.' Even Papineau was induced to accept the governor's hospitality, +though there were not wanting those who warned Gosford that Papineau +was irreconcilable. 'By a wrong-headed and melancholy alchemy,' wrote +an English officer in Quebec to Gosford, 'he will transmute every +public concession into a demand for more, in a ratio equal to its +extent; and his disordered moral palate, beneath the blandest smile and +the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P50"></A>50}</SPAN> +softest language, will turn your Burgundy into vinegar.' +</P> + +<P> +The speech with which Lord Gosford opened the session of the +legislature in the autumn of 1835 was in line with the rest of his +policy. He announced his determination to effect the redress of every +grievance. In some cases the action of the executive government would +be sufficient to supply the remedy. In others the assistance of the +legislature would be necessary. A third class of cases would call for +the sanction of the British parliament. He promised that no +discrimination against French Canadians should be made in appointments +to office. He expressed the opinion that executive councillors should +not sit in the legislature. He announced that the French would be +guaranteed the use of their native tongue. He made an earnest plea for +the settlement of the financial difficulty, and offered some +concessions. The legislature should be given control of the hereditary +revenues of the Crown, if provision were made for the support of the +executive and the judiciary. Finally, he made a plea for the +reconciliation of the French and English races in the country, whom he +described as 'the offspring of the two foremost nations +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P51"></A>51}</SPAN> +of +mankind.' Not even the most extreme of the <I>Patriotes</I> could fail to +see that Lord Gosford was holding out to them an olive branch. +</P> + +<P> +Great dissatisfaction, of course, arose among the English in the colony +at Lord Gosford's policy. 'Constitutional associations,' which had +been formed in Quebec and Montreal for the defence of the constitution +and the rights and privileges of the English-speaking inhabitants of +Canada, expressed gloomy forebodings as to the probable result of the +policy. The British in Montreal organized among themselves a volunteer +rifle corps, eight hundred strong, 'to protect their persons and +property, and to assist in maintaining the rights and principles +granted them by the constitution'; and there was much indignation when +the rifle corps was forced to disband by order of the governor, who +declared that the constitution was in no danger, and that, even if it +were, the government would be competent to deal with the situation. +</P> + +<P> +Nor did Gosford find it plain sailing with all the French Canadians. +Papineau's followers in the House took up at first a distinctly +independent attitude. Gosford was informed +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P52"></A>52}</SPAN> +that the appointment +of the royal commission was an insult to the Assembly; it threw doubt +on the assertions which Papineau and his followers had made in +petitions and resolutions. If the report of the commissioners turned +out to be in accord with the views of the House, well and good; but if +not, that would not influence the attitude of the House. They would +not alter their demands. +</P> + +<P> +In spite, however, of the uneasiness of the English official element, +and the obduracy of the extreme <I>Patriotes</I>, it is barely possible that +Gosford, with his <I>bonhomie</I> and his Burgundy, might have effected a +modus vivendi, had there not occurred, about six months after Gosford's +arrival in Canada, one of those unfortunate and unforeseen events which +upset the best-laid schemes of mice and men. This was the indiscreet +action of Sir Francis Bond Head, the newly appointed +lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, in communicating to the +legislature of Upper Canada the <I>ipsissima verba</I> of his instructions +from the Colonial Office. It was immediately seen that a discrepancy +existed between the tenor of Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions and +the tenor of Lord Gosford's speech at the opening of the legislature of +Lower Canada in 1835. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P53"></A>53}</SPAN> +Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions showed +beyond peradventure that the British government did not contemplate any +real constitutional changes in the Canadas; above all, it did not +propose to yield to the demand for an elective Legislative Council. +This fact was called to the attention of Papineau and his friends by +Marshall Spring Bidwell, the speaker of the Assembly of Upper Canada; +and immediately the fat was in the fire. Papineau was confirmed in his +belief that justice could not be hoped for; those who had been won over +by Gosford's blandishments experienced a revulsion of feeling; and +Gosford saw the fruit of his efforts vanishing into thin air. +</P> + +<P> +A climax came over the question of supply. Lord Gosford had asked the +Assembly to vote a permanent civil list, in view of the fact that the +government offered to hand over to the control of the legislature the +casual and territorial revenues of the Crown. But the publication of +Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions effectually destroyed any hope of +this compromise being accepted. In the session of the House which was +held in the early part of 1836, Papineau and his friends not only +refused to vote a permanent civil +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P54"></A>54}</SPAN> +list; they declined to grant +more than six months' supply in any case; and with this they made the +threat that if the demands of the <I>Patriotes</I> were not met at the end +of the six months, no more supplies would be voted. This action was +deemed so unsatisfactory that the Legislative Council threw out the +bill of supply. The result was widespread distress among the public +officials of the colony. This was the fourth year in which no +provision had been made for the upkeep of government. In 1833 the bill +of supply had been so cumbered with conditions that it had been +rejected by the Legislative Council. In 1834, owing to disputes +between the Executive and the Assembly, the legislature had separated +without a vote on the estimates. In 1835 the Assembly had declined to +make any vote of supply. In earlier years the Executive had been able, +owing to its control of certain royal and imperial revenues, to carry +on the government after a fashion under such circumstances; but since +it had transferred a large part of these revenues to the control of the +legislature, it was no longer able to meet the situation. Papineau and +his friends doubtless recognized that they now had the 'Bureaucrats' at +their mercy; and +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P55"></A>55}</SPAN> +they seem to have made up their minds to achieve +the full measure of their demands, or make government impossible by +withholding the supplies, no matter what suffering this course might +inflict on the families of the public servants. +</P> + +<P> +In the autumn of 1836 the royal commissioners brought their labours to +a close. Lord Gosford, it is true, remained in the colony as governor +until the beginning of 1838, and Sir George Gipps remained until the +beginning of 1837, but Sir Charles Grey left for England in November +1836 with the last of the commissioners' reports. These reports, which +were six in number, exercised little direct influence upon the course +of events in Canada. The commissioners pronounced against the +introduction of responsible government, in the modern sense of the +term, on the ground that it would be incompatible with the status of a +colony. They advised against the project of an elective Legislative +Council. In the event of a crisis arising, they submitted the question +whether the total suspension of the constitution would not be less +objectionable than any partial interference with the particular +clauses. It is evident from the reports that the commissioners had +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P56"></A>56}</SPAN> +bravely survived their earlier view that the discontented +Canadians might be won over by unctuous blandishments alone. They +could not avoid the conclusion that this policy had failed. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06fn1"></A> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[<A HREF="#chap06fn1text">1</A>] He was really of Swiss extraction. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P57"></A>57}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS +</H4> + +<P> +When the legislature of Lower Canada met in the autumn of 1836, Lord +Gosford earnestly called its attention to the estimates of the current +year and the accounts showing the arrears unpaid. Six months, however, +had passed by, and there was no sign of the redress of grievances. The +royal commission, indeed, had not completed its investigations. The +Assembly, therefore, refused once more to vote the necessary supplies. +'In reference to the demand for a supply,' they told the governor, +'relying on the salutary maxim, that the correction of abuses and the +redress of grievances ought to precede the grant thereof, we have been +of opinion that there is nothing to authorize us to alter our +resolution of the last session.' +</P> + +<P> +This answer marked the final and indubitable breakdown of the policy of +conciliation without concession. This was recognized by +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P58"></A>58}</SPAN> +Gosford, +who soon afterwards wrote home asking to be allowed to resign, and +recommending the appointment of a governor whose hands were 'not +pledged as mine are to a mild and conciliatory line of policy.' +</P> + +<P> +Two alternatives were now open to the British ministers—either to make +a complete capitulation to the demands of the <I>Patriotes</I>, or to deal +with the situation in a high-handed way. They chose the latter course, +though with some hesitation and perhaps with regret. On March 6, 1837, +Lord John Russell, chancellor of the Exchequer in the Melbourne +administration and one of the most liberal-minded statesmen in England, +introduced into the House of Commons ten resolutions dealing with the +affairs of Canada. These resolutions recited that since 1832 no +provision had been made by the Assembly of Lower Canada for defraying +the charges for the administration of justice or for the support of the +civil government; that the attention of the Assembly had been called to +the arrears due; and that the Assembly had declined to vote a supply +until its demands for radical political changes were satisfied. The +resolutions declared that though both the bodies in question might be +improved in respect of their composition, it +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P59"></A>59}</SPAN> +was inadvisable to +grant the demand to make the Legislative Council elective, or to +subject the Executive Council to the responsibility demanded by the +House of Assembly. In regard to the financial question, the +resolutions repeated the offer made by Lord Aylmer and Lord +Gosford—namely, to hand over to the Assembly the control of the +hereditary, territorial, and casual revenues of the Crown, on condition +that the Assembly would grant a permanent civil list. But the main +feature of the resolutions was the clause empowering the governor to +pay out of the public revenues, without authorization of the Assembly, +the moneys necessary for defraying the cost of government in the +province up to April 10, 1837. This, though not exactly a suspension +of the constitution of Lower Canada and a measure quite legally within +the competency of the House of Commons, was a flat negative to the +claim of the Lower-Canadian Assembly to control over the executive +government, through the power of the purse or otherwise. +</P> + +<P> +A long and important debate in Parliament followed on these +resolutions. Some of the chief political leaders of the day took part +in the discussion. Daniel O'Connell, the great +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P60"></A>60}</SPAN> +tribune of the +Irish people, took up the cudgels for the French Canadians. Doubtless +it seemed to him that the French Canadians, like the Irish, were +victims of Anglo-Saxon tyranny and bigotry. Sir George Grey, the +colleague of Gosford, Lord Stanley, a former colonial secretary, and +William Ewart Gladstone, then a vigorous young Tory, spoke in support +of the resolutions. The chief opposition came from the Radical wing of +the Whig party, headed by Hume and Roebuck; but these members were +comparatively few in number, and the resolutions were passed by +overwhelming majorities. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-060"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-060.jpg" ALT="Wolfred Nelson. From a print in the Château de Ramezay." BORDER="2" WIDTH="367" HEIGHT="546"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 367px"> +Wolfred Nelson. <BR>From a print in the Château de Ramezay. +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +As soon as the passage of the resolutions became known in Canada, +Papineau and his friends began to set the heather on fire. On May 7, +1837, the <I>Patriotes</I> held a huge open-air meeting at St Ours, eleven +miles above Sorel on the river Richelieu. The chief organizer of the +meeting was Dr Wolfred Nelson, a member of the Assembly living in the +neighbouring village of St Denis, who was destined to be one of the +leaders of the revolt at the end of the year. Papineau himself was +present at the meeting and he spoke in his usual violent strain. He +submitted a resolution declaring that 'we cannot but +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P61"></A>61}</SPAN> +consider a +government which has recourse to injustice, to force, and to a +violation of the social contract, anything else than an oppressive +government, a government by force, for which the measure of our +submission should henceforth be simply the measure of our numerical +strength, in combination with the sympathy we may find elsewhere.' At +St Laurent a week later he used language no less dangerous. 'The +Russell resolutions,' he cried, 'are a foul stain; the people should +not, and will not, submit to them; the people must transmit their just +rights to their posterity, even though it cost them their property and +their lives to do so.' +</P> + +<P> +These meetings were prototypes of many that followed. All over the +province the <I>Patriotes</I> met together to protest against what they +called 'coercion.' As a rule the meetings were held in the country +parishes after church on Sunday, when the habitants were gathered +together. Most inflammatory language was used, and flags and placards +were displayed bearing such devices as '<I>Papineau et le système +électif</I>,' '<I>Papineau et l'indépendence</I>,' and '<I>A bas le despotisme</I>.' +Alarmed by such language, Lord Gosford issued on June 15 a proclamation +calling on all loyal +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P62"></A>62}</SPAN> +subjects to discountenance writings of a +seditious tendency, and to avoid meetings of a turbulent or political +character. But the proclamation produced no abatement in the +agitation; it merely offered one more subject for denunciation. +</P> + +<P> +During this period Papineau and his friends continually drew their +inspiration from the procedure of the Whigs in the American colonies +before 1776. The resolutions of the <I>Patriotes</I> recalled the language +of the Declaration of Independence. One of the first measures of the +Americans had been to boycott English goods; one of the first measures +of the <I>Patriotes</I> was a resolution passed at St Ours binding them to +forswear the use of imported English goods and to use only the products +of Canadian industry. At the short and abortive session of the +legislature which took place at the end of the summer of 1837, nearly +all the members of the Assembly appeared in clothes made of Canadian +frieze. The shifts of some of the members to avoid wearing English +imported articles were rather amusing. 'Mr Rodier's dress,' said the +Quebec <I>Mercury</I>, 'excited the greatest attention, being unique with +the exception of a pair of Berlin gloves, viz.: frock coat of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P63"></A>63}</SPAN> + +granite colored <I>étoffe du pays</I>; inexpressibles and vest of the same +material, striped blue and white; straw hat, and beef shoes, with a +pair of home-made socks, completed the <I>outré</I> attire. Mr Rodier, it +was remarked, had no shirt on, having doubtless been unable to smuggle +or manufacture one.' But Louis LaFontaine and 'Beau' Viger limited +their patriotism, it appears, to the wearing of Canadian-made +waistcoats. The imitation of the American revolutionists did not end +here. If the New England colonies had their 'Sons of Liberty,' Lower +Canada had its '<I>Fils de la Liberté</I>'—an association formed in +Montreal in the autumn of 1837. And the Lower Canada Patriotes +outstripped the New England patriots in the republican character of +their utterances. 'Our only hope,' announced <I>La Minerve</I>, 'is to +elect our governor ourselves, or, in other words, to cease to belong to +the British Empire.' A manifesto of some of the younger spirits of the +<I>Patriote</I> party, issued on October 1, 1837, spoke of 'proud designs, +which in our day must emancipate our beloved country from all human +authority except that of the bold democracy residing within its bosom.' +To add point to these opinions, there sprang up all over the country +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P64"></A>64}</SPAN> +volunteer companies of armed <I>Patriotes</I>, led and organized by +militia officers who had been dismissed for seditious utterances. +</P> + +<P> +Naturally, this situation caused much concern among the loyal people of +the country. Loyalist meetings were held in Quebec and Montreal, to +offset the <I>Patriote</I> meetings; and an attempt was made to form a +loyalist rifle corps in Montreal. The attempt failed owing to the +opposition of the governor, who was afraid that such a step would +merely aggravate the situation. Not even Gosford, however, was blind +to the seriousness of the situation. He wrote to the colonial +secretary on September 2, 1837, that all hope of conciliation had +passed. Papineau's aims were now the separation of Canada from England +and the establishment of a republican form of government. 'I am +disposed to think,' he concluded, 'that you may be under the necessity +of suspending the constitution.' +</P> + +<P> +It was at this time that the Church first threw its weight openly +against the revolutionary movement. The British government had +accorded to Catholics in Canada a measure of liberty at once just and +generous; and the bishops and clergy were not slow to see that under a +republican form of government, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P65"></A>65}</SPAN> +whether as a state in the American +Union or as an independent <I>nation canadienne</I>, they might be much +worse off, and would not be any better off, than under the dominion of +Great Britain. In the summer of 1837 Mgr Lartigue, the bishop of +Montreal, addressed a communication to the clergy of his diocese asking +them to keep the people within the path of duty. In October he +followed this up by a Pastoral Letter, to be read in all the churches, +warning the people against the sin of rebellion. He held over those +who contemplated rebellion the penalties of the Church: 'The present +question amounts to nothing less than this—whether you will choose to +maintain, or whether you will choose to abandon, the laws of your +religion.' +</P> + +<P> +The ecclesiastical authorities were roused to action by a great meeting +held on October 23, at St Charles on the Richelieu, the largest and +most imposing of all the meetings thus far. Five or six thousand +people attended it, representing all the counties about the Richelieu. +The proceedings were admirably staged. Dr Wolfred Nelson was in the +chair, but Papineau was the central figure. A company of armed men, +headed by two militia officers who had been dismissed for disloyalty, +and +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P66"></A>66}</SPAN> +drawn up as a guard, saluted every resolution of the meeting +with a volley. A wooden pillar, with a cap of liberty on top, was +erected, and dedicated to Papineau. At the end of the proceedings +Papineau was led up to the column to receive an address. After this +all present marched past singing popular airs; and each man placed his +hand on the column, swearing to be faithful to the cause of his +country, and to conquer or die for her. All this, of course, was +comparatively innocent. The resolutions, too, were not more violent +than many others which had been passed elsewhere. Nor did Papineau use +language more extreme than usual. Many of the <I>Patriotes</I>, indeed, +considered his speech too moderate. He deprecated any recourse to arms +and advised his hearers merely to boycott English goods, in order to +bring the government to righteousness. But some of his lieutenants +used language which seemed dangerous. Roused by the eloquence of their +leader, they went further than he would venture, and advocated an +appeal to the arbitrament of war. 'The time has come,' cried Wolfred +Nelson, 'to melt our spoons into bullets.' +</P> + +<P> +The exact attitude of Papineau during +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P67"></A>67}</SPAN> +these months of agitation is +difficult to determine. He does not seem to have been quite clear as +to what course he should pursue. He had completely lost faith in +British justice. He earnestly desired the emancipation of Canada from +British rule and the establishment of a republican system of +government. But he could not make up his mind to commit himself to +armed rebellion. 'I must say, however,' he had announced at St +Laurent, 'and it is neither fear nor scruple that makes me do so, that +the day has not yet come for us to respond to that appeal.' The same +attitude is apparent, in spite of the haughty and defiant language, in +the letter which he addressed to the governor's secretary in answer to +an inquiry as to what he had said at St Laurent: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="block"> +SIR,—The pretension of the governor to interrogate me respecting my +conduct at St Laurent on the 15th of May last is an impertinence which +I repel with contempt and silence. +</P> + +<P CLASS="block"> +I, however, take the pen merely to tell the governor that it is false +that any of the resolutions adopted at the meeting of the county of +Montreal, held at St Laurent +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P68"></A>68}</SPAN> +on the 15th May last, recommend a +violation of the laws, as in his ignorance he may believe, or as he at +least asserts.—Your obedient servant, +</P> + +<P CLASS="block"> +L. J. PAPINEAU. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +At St Charles Papineau was even more precise in repudiating revolution; +and there is no evidence that, when rebellion was decided upon, +Papineau played any important part in laying the plans. In later years +he was always emphatic in denying that the rebellion of 1837 had been +primarily his handiwork. 'I was,' he said in 1847, 'neither more nor +less guilty, nor more nor less deserving, than a great number of my +colleagues.' The truth seems to be that Papineau always balked a +little at the idea of armed rebellion, and that he was carried off his +feet at the end of 1837 by his younger associates, whose enthusiasm he +himself had inspired. He had raised the wind, but he could not ride +the whirlwind. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-069t"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-069.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-069t.jpg" ALT="South-Western Lower Canada, 1837." BORDER="2" WIDTH="576" HEIGHT="576"> +</A> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 576px"> +South-Western Lower Canada, 1837. +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P69"></A>69}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE DOGS OF WAR +</H4> + +<P> +As the autumn of 1837 wore on, the situation in Lower Canada began to +assume an aspect more and more threatening. In spite of a proclamation +from the governor forbidding such meetings, the <I>Patriotes</I> continued +to gather for military drill and musketry exercises. Armed bands went +about the countryside, in many places intimidating the loyalists and +forcing loyal magistrates and militia officers to send in their +resignations to the governor. As early as July some of the Scottish +settlers at Côte St Joseph, near St Eustache, had fled from their +homes, leaving their property to its fate. Several houses at Côte St +Mary had been fired upon or broken into. A letter of Sir John +Colborne, the commander of the forces in British North America, written +on October 6, shows what the state of affairs was at that time: +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="block"> +In my correspondence with Col. Eden I have had occasion to refer to the +facts +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P70"></A>70}</SPAN> +and reports that establish the decided character which the +agitators have lately assumed. The people have elected the dismissed +officers of the militia to command them. At St Ours a pole has been +erected in favour of a dismissed captain with this inscription on it, +'Elu par le peuple.' At St Hyacinthe the tri-coloured flag was +displayed for several days. Two families have quitted the town in +consequence of the annoyance they received from the patriots. Wolfred +Nelson warned the patriots at a public meeting to be ready to arm. The +tri-coloured flag is to be seen at two taverns between St Denis and St +Charles. Many of the tavern-keepers have discontinued their signs and +substituted for them an eagle. The bank notes or promissory notes +issued at Yamaska have also the same emblem marked on them. Mr +Papineau was escorted from Yamaska to St Denis by a numerous retinue, +and it is said that 200 or 300 carriages accompanied him on his route. +He has attended five public meetings lately; and at one of them La +Valtrie, a priest, was insulted in his presence. The occurrence at St +Denis was certainly +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P71"></A>71}</SPAN> +a political affair, a family at St Antoine +opposed to the proceedings of W. Nelson, having been annoyed by the +same mob that destroyed the house of Madame St Jacques a few hours +before the shot was fired from her window. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Special animosity was shown toward the Chouayens, those French +Canadians who had refused to follow Papineau's lead. P. D. Debartzch, +a legislative councillor and a former supporter of Papineau, who had +withdrawn his support after the passing of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, +was obliged to flee from his home at St Charles; and Dr Quesnel, one of +the magistrates of L'Acadie, had his house broken into by a mob that +demanded his resignation as magistrate. +</P> + +<P> +On November 6 rioting broke out in Montreal. The Doric Club, an +organization of the young men of English blood in the city, came into +conflict with the French-Canadian <I>Fils de la Liberté</I>. Which side +provoked the hostilities, it is now difficult to say. Certainly, both +sides were to blame for their behaviour during the day. The sons of +liberty broke the windows of prominent loyalists; and the members of +the Doric Club completely wrecked +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P72"></A>72}</SPAN> +the office of the <I>Vindicator</I> +newspaper. It was only when the Riot Act was read, and the troops were +called out, that the rioting ceased. +</P> + +<P> +Up to this point the <I>Patriotes</I> had not indulged in any overt acts of +armed rebellion. Some of their leaders, it is true, had been laying +plans for a revolt. So much is known from the correspondence which +passed between the leading <I>Patriotes</I> in Lower Canada and William Lyon +Mackenzie, the leader of the rebellion in Upper Canada. Thomas Storrow +Brown, one of Papineau's lieutenants, wrote to Mackenzie asking him to +start the ball rolling in Upper Canada first, in order to draw off some +of the troops which Sir John Colborne had massed in Lower Canada. But +all calculations were now upset by events which rapidly precipitated +the crisis in the lower province. +</P> + +<P> +Soon after the fracas in the streets of Montreal between the Doric Club +and the <I>Fils de la Liberté</I>, a priest named Quibilier waited on +Papineau, and advised him, since his presence in Montreal had become a +source of disturbance, to leave the city. Whether he came as an +emissary from the ecclesiastical authorities or merely as a friend is +not clear. At any rate, Papineau accepted his advice, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P73"></A>73}</SPAN> +and +immediately set out for St Hyacinthe. The result was most unfortunate. +The government, thinking that Papineau had left the city for the +purpose of stirring up trouble in the Richelieu district, promptly +issued warrants for the arrest of Papineau and some of his chief +lieutenants, Dr Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, Edmund Bailey +O'Callaghan, and several others. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, on the day that these warrants for arrest were being issued +(November 16), a skirmish took place between a small party of British +troopers and a band of <I>Patriotes</I> on the road between Chambly and +Longueuil—a skirmish which may be described as the Lexington of the +Lower Canada rebellion. The troopers, under Lieutenant Ermatinger, had +been sent to St Johns to arrest two French Canadians, named Demaray and +Davignon, who had been intimidating the magistrates. The arrest had +been effected, and the party were on their way back to Montreal, when +they were confronted by an armed company of <I>Patriotes</I>, under the +command of Bonaventure Viger, who demanded the release of the +prisoners. A brisk skirmish ensued, in which several on both sides +were wounded. The troopers, outnumbered by at least five +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P74"></A>74}</SPAN> +to one, +and having nothing but pistols with which to reply to the fire of +muskets and fowling-pieces, were easily routed; and the two prisoners +were liberated. +</P> + +<P> +The news of this affair spread rapidly through the parishes, and +greatly encouraged the <I>Patriotes</I> to resist the arrest of Papineau and +his lieutenants. Papineau, Nelson, Brown, and O'Callaghan had all +evaded the sheriff's officer, and had taken refuge in the country about +the Richelieu, the heart of the revolutionary district. In a day or +two word came to Montreal that considerable numbers of armed habitants +had gathered at the villages of St Denis and St Charles, evidently with +the intention of preventing the arrest of their leaders. The force at +St Denis was under the command of Wolfred Nelson, and that at St +Charles was under the command of Thomas Storrow Brown. How these +self-styled 'generals' came to be appointed is somewhat of a mystery. +Brown, at any rate, seems to have been chosen for the position on the +spur of the moment. 'A mere accident took me to St Charles,' he wrote +afterwards, 'and put me at the head of a revolting force.' +</P> + +<P> +Sir John Colborne, who was in command of the British military forces, +immediately +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P75"></A>75}</SPAN> +determined to disperse these gatherings by force and +to arrest their leaders. His plan of campaign was as follows. A force +consisting of one regiment of infantry, a troop of the Montreal +Volunteer Cavalry, and two light field-guns, under the command of +Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, had already been dispatched to Chambly by +way of the road on which the rescue of Demaray and Davignon had taken +place. This force would advance on St Charles. Another force, +consisting of five companies of the 24th regiment, with a +twelve-pounder, under Colonel Charles Gore, a Waterloo veteran, would +proceed by boat to Sorel. There it was to be joined by one company of +the 66th regiment, then in garrison at Sorel, and the combined force +would march on St Denis. After having dispersed the rebels at St +Denis, which was thought not to be strongly held, the little army was +to proceed to St Charles, where it would be joined by the force under +Wetherall. +</P> + +<P> +At eight o'clock on the evening of November 22, Colonel Gore set out +with his men from the barrack-square at Sorel for St Denis. The +journey was one of eighteen miles; and in order to avoid St Ours, which +was held by the <I>Patriotes</I>, Gore turned away from the main +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P76"></A>76}</SPAN> +road +along the Richelieu to make a detour. This led his troops over very +bad roads. The night was dark and rain poured down in torrents. 'I +got a lantern,' wrote one of Gore's aides-de-camp afterwards, 'fastened +it to the top of a pole, and had it carried in front of the column; but +what with horses and men sinking in the mud, harness breaking, wading +through water and winding through woods, the little force soon got +separated, those in the rear lost sight of the light, and great delays +and difficulties were experienced. Towards morning the rain changed to +snow, it became very cold, and daybreak found the unfortunate column +still floundering in the half-frozen mud four miles from St Denis.' +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile word had reached the rebels of the coming of the soldiers. +At daybreak Dr Wolfred Nelson had ridden out to reconnoitre, and had +succeeded in destroying several bridges. As the soldiers approached St +Denis they heard the church bells ringing the alarm; and it was not +long before they found that the village was strongly defended. After +capturing some of the houses on the outskirts of the village, they were +halted by a stockade built across the road covered by a large brick +house, well fortified on all sides. The commander of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P77"></A>77}</SPAN> +the troops +brought reinforcements up to the firing line, and the twelve-pounder +came into action. But the assailants made very little impression on +the defence. Although the engagement lasted for more than five hours, +the troops succeeded in capturing nothing more than one of the flanking +houses. The ammunition of the British was running low, and the numbers +of the insurgents seemed to be increasing. Colonel Gore therefore +deemed it advisable to retire. By some strange oversight the British +were without any ambulance or transport of any kind; and they were +compelled to leave their dead and wounded behind them. Their +casualties were six killed and eighteen wounded. The wounded, it is a +pleasure to be able to say, were well looked after by the victorious +<I>Patriotes</I>. +</P> + +<P> +The British effected their retreat with great steadiness, despite the +fact that the men had had no food since the previous day and had been +marching all night. They were compelled to abandon their +twelve-pounder in the mud; but they reached St Ours that night without +further loss. The next day they were back at Sorel. +</P> + +<P> +The number of the insurgents at St Denis has never been accurately +ascertained; +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P78"></A>78}</SPAN> +probably they were considerably in excess of the +troops. Their position was one of great strength, and good judgment +had been shown in fortifying it. On the other hand, with the exception +of a few veterans of Major de Salaberry's Voltigeurs, they were +untrained in war; and their muskets and fowling-pieces were much +inferior to the rifles of the regulars. Their victory, it must be +said, reflected great credit upon them; although their losses had been +twice as great as those of the soldiers,[<A NAME="chap08fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap08fn1">1</A>] these peasants in homespun +had stood their ground with a courage and steadiness which would have +honoured old campaigners. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said +about some of their leaders. Papineau and O'Callaghan were present in +St Denis when the attack began; but before the morning was well +advanced, they had departed for St Hyacinthe, whence they later fled to +the United States. Papineau always declared that he had taken this +action at the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P79"></A>79}</SPAN> +solicitation of Wolfred Nelson, who had said to him: +'Do not expose yourself uselessly: you will be of more service to us +after the fight than here.' In later days, however, when political +differences had arisen between the two men, Nelson denied having given +Papineau any such advice. It is very difficult to know the truth. But +even if Nelson did advise Papineau to leave, it cannot be said that +Papineau consulted his own reputation in accepting the advice. He was +not a person without military experience: he had been a major in the +militia, and was probably superior in rank to any one in the village. +His place was with the brave farmers who had taken up arms on his +behalf. +</P> + +<P> +An episode in connection with the attack on St Denis left a dark stain +on the <I>Patriote</I> escutcheon and embittered greatly the relations +between the two races in Canada. This was the murder, on the morning +of the fight, of Lieutenant Weir, a subaltern in the 32nd regiment, who +had been sent with dispatches to Sorel by land. He had reached Sorel +half an hour after Colonel Gore and his men had departed for St Denis. +In attempting to catch up with Gore's column he had taken the direct +road to St Denis and had arrived there +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P80"></A>80}</SPAN> +in advance of the British +troops. On approaching the village he was arrested, and by Wolfred +Nelson's orders placed in detention. As the British attack developed, +it was thought better by those who had him in charge to remove him to +St Charles. They bound him tightly and placed him in a wagon. Hardly +had they started when he made an attempt to escape. In this emergency +his warders seem to have lost their heads. In spite of the fact that +Weir was tightly bound and could do no harm, they fell upon him with +swords and pistols, and in a short time dispatched him. Then, appalled +at what they had done, they attempted to hide the body. When the +British troops entered St Denis a week later, they found the body +lying, weighted down with stones, in the Richelieu river under about +two feet of water. The autopsy disclosed the brutality with which Weir +had been murdered; and the sight of the body so infuriated the soldiers +that they gave the greater part of the village of St Denis to the +flames. In the later phases of the rebellion the slogan of the British +soldiers was, 'Remember Jack Weir.' +</P> + +<P> +Another atrocious murder even more unpardonable than that of Weir was +perpetrated +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P81"></A>81}</SPAN> +a few days later. On November 28 some <I>Patriotes</I> +near St Johns captured a man by the name of Chartrand, who was enlisted +in a loyal volunteer corps of the district. After a mock trial +Chartrand was tied to a tree and shot by his own countrymen. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08fn1"></A> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[<A HREF="#chap08fn1text">1</A>] According to a report twelve <I>Patriotes</I> lost their lives during +the engagement. Among them was Charles Ovide Perrault, member of the +Assembly for Vaudreuil, a young barrister of considerable promise. He +seems to have been Papineau's closest follower and confidant During the +last sessions of the Lower Canada legislature Perrault contributed many +letters to <I>La Minerve</I>. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P82"></A>82}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +<I>FORCE MAJEURE</I> +</H4> + +<P> +The check administered to Colonel Gore's column at St Denis, in the +first engagement of the rebellion, was the only victory which fell to +the rebel forces. In the meantime Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, with +several companies of infantry, a troop of volunteer cavalry, and two +field-guns, was marching on St Charles. On the evening of November 22 +Major Gugy, the leader of the English party in the Assembly, had +brought to Wetherall at Chambly instructions to advance down the +Richelieu and attack the rebel position at St Charles in the morning. +He set out accordingly at about the hour when Gore headed his forces up +the river from Sorel. But, while Gore carried out his orders to the +letter and reached St Denis on the morning of the 23rd, Wetherall +allowed himself some latitude in interpreting his instructions. This +was largely due to the advice of Gugy, if we are to believe +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P83"></A>83}</SPAN> +the +account which Gugy has left us. 'In the first place,' it runs, 'not +one of the force knew anything of the roads or people, nor do I believe +that more than one spoke French.... The storm raged so fearfully, the +rain poured in such torrents, and the frost set in afterwards so +intensely, that ... men and horses were equally fatigued ... all so +exhausted as to be unable to cope, on broken or woody ground, +successfully with any resolute enemy.... I learned that we had marched +without a dollar, without a loaf of bread, without a commissary, and +without a spare cartridge—a pretty predicament in an enemy's country, +surrounded by thousands of armed men.' It was apparent to Gugy that +Sir John Colborne, in issuing his orders, had greatly underestimated +the difficulty of the task he was setting for the troops. After +crossing the river above the Chambly Basin, Gugy therefore induced +Wetherall to halt until daylight; and, turning himself into a +commissary, he billeted the men and horses in the neighbouring houses +and stables. +</P> + +<P> +The next day about noon the column reached St Hilaire, some seven miles +from St Charles. Here Wetherall obtained information which led him to +fear that Gore +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P84"></A>84}</SPAN> +had met with some kind of check; and he was +persuaded to send back to Chambly for a reinforcement of one company +which had been left in garrison there. His messenger reached Chambly +at four o'clock on the morning of the 24th. Major Warde, the +commandant at Chambly, at once embarked his company on a scow and +dropped down the river to St Hilaire; but he arrived too late to allow +of any further action that day, and it was not until the morning of the +25th that the column moved on St Charles. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, the rebels had been making preparations for defence. They +had fortified the manor-house of Debartzch, who had fled to Montreal, +and built round it a rampart of earth and tree-trunks—a rampart which, +for some mysterious reason, was never completed. They appointed as +commander Thomas Storrow Brown, a Montreal iron-merchant, for whose +arrest a warrant had been issued and who had fled to St Charles with +two or three other <I>Patriote</I> politicians. But Brown had no military +experience, and was still suffering so severely from injuries received +in the rioting in Montreal that his proper place was a home for +convalescents rather than a field of battle. His appointment can only +be +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P85"></A>85}</SPAN> +explained by the non-appearance of the local <I>Patriote</I> +leaders. 'The chief men,' Brown testified afterwards, 'were, with two +or three exceptions, absent or hiding.' It is evident that the British +authorities expected to meet with the strongest opposition at St +Charles, since that place had been the scene of the great demonstration +earlier in the year. But, as a matter of fact, the rebel forces at St +Charles were much less formidable than those at St Denis. Not only +were they lacking in proper military leadership; they were also fewer +in number and were, moreover, very inadequately armed. If Brown's +statements are to be relied upon, there were not in the rebel camp two +hundred men. 'Of ammunition,' wrote Brown, 'we had some half dozen +kegs of gunpowder and a little lead, which was cast into bullets; but +as the fire-arms were of every calibre, the cartridges made were too +large for many, which were consequently useless. We had two small +rusty field-pieces, but with neither carriages nor appointments they +were as useless as two logs. There was one old musket, but not a +bayonet. The fire-arms were common flintlocks, in all conditions of +dilapidation, some tied together with string, and very many with +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P86"></A>86}</SPAN> +lock-springs so worn out that they could not be discharged.' +</P> + +<P> +On the 24th Brown made a reconnaissance in the direction of St Hilaire. +He destroyed a bridge over a ravine some distance to the south of St +Charles, and placed above it an outpost with orders to prevent a +reconstruction of the bridge. But when the British troops appeared on +the morning of the 25th, this and other outlying pickets fell back +without making any resistance. They probably saw that they were so +outnumbered that resistance would be hopeless. On the approach of the +troops Brown at first assumed an attitude of confidence. A messenger +came from Wetherall, 'a respectable old habitant,' to tell the rebels +that if they dispersed quietly, they would not be molested. Brown +treated the message as a confession of weakness. 'I at once supposed,' +he said, 'that, followed in the rear by our friends from above, they +were seeking a free passage to Sorel, and determined to send a message, +that <I>if they would lay down their arms, they should pass unmolested</I>.' +This message does not seem to have reached its destination. And hardly +had the engagement opened when Brown quickly changed his tune. 'To go +forward +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P87"></A>87}</SPAN> +was useless, as I could order nothing but a +retreat—without it the people commenced retiring. I tried to rally +the little squads, my only hope being in keeping together the +fowling-pieces we had collected, but finding, after a long trial, my +strength and authority insufficient, I considered my command gone, +turned my horse, and rode to ... St Denis (seven or eight miles), where +... I arrived about nightfall.' +</P> + +<P> +The engagement lasted less than an hour. The rebels, or at any rate +those of them who were armed, seem to have been outnumbered by the +soldiers, of whom there were between three and four hundred. But the +fighting was apparently brisk while it lasted. The British lost three +killed and eighteen wounded. The <I>Patriote</I> losses are not known. The +local tradition is that forty-two were killed and many more wounded. +We know that thirty were taken prisoners on the field. +</P> + +<P> +The defeat of the rebels at St Charles really terminated the rebellion +in the country about the Richelieu. When news of the defeat spread +over the countryside, the <I>Patriote</I> forces immediately disbanded, and +their leaders sought safety in flight. Papineau and O'Callaghan, who +had been at St Hyacinthe, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P88"></A>88}</SPAN> +succeeded in getting across the Vermont +border; but Wolfred Nelson was not so fortunate. After suffering great +privations he was captured by some loyalist militia not far from the +frontier, taken to Montreal, and there lodged in prison. +</P> + +<P> +For some reason which it is difficult to discern, Wetherall did not +march on from St Charles to effect a pacification of St Denis. On +December 1, however, Colonel Gore once more set out from Sorel, and +entered St Denis the same day. He found everything quiet. He +recovered the howitzer and five of the wounded men he had left behind. +In spite of the absence of opposition, his men took advantage of the +occasion to wreak an unfair and un-British vengeance on the helpless +victors of yesterday. Goaded to fury by the sight of young Weir's +mangled body, they set fire to a large part of the village. Colonel +Gore afterwards repudiated the charge that he had ordered the burning +of the houses of the insurgents; but that defence does not absolve him +from blame. It is obvious, at any rate, that he did not take adequate +measures to prevent such excesses; nor was any punishment ever +administered to those who applied the torch. +</P> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P89"></A>89}</SPAN> + +<P> +But the end of rebellion was not yet in sight. Two more encounters +remain to be described. The first of these occurred at a place known +as Moore's Corners, near the Vermont border. After the collapse at St +Charles a number of <I>Patriote</I> refugees had gathered at the small town +of Swanton, a few miles south of Missisquoi Bay, on the American side +of the boundary-line. Among them were Dr Cyrile Côté and Edouard +Rodier, both members of the Lower Canada Assembly; Ludger Duvernay, a +member of the Assembly and editor of <I>La Minerve</I>; Dr Kimber, one of +the ringleaders in the rescue of Demaray and Davignon; and Robert Shore +Milnes Bouchette, the descendant of a French-Canadian family long +conspicuous for its loyalty and its services to the state. Bouchette's +grandfather had been instrumental in effecting the escape of Sir Guy +Carleton from Montreal in 1775, when that place was threatened by the +forces of Montgomery. The grandson's social tastes and affiliations +might have led one to expect that he would have been found in the ranks +of the loyalists; but the arbitrary policy of the Russell Resolutions +had driven him into the arms of the extreme <I>Patriotes</I>. Arrested for +disloyalty at the outbreak of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P90"></A>90}</SPAN> +the rebellion, he had been admitted +to bail and had escaped. These men, under the belief that the +habitants would rise and join them, determined upon an armed invasion +of Canada. Possibly they believed also that Wolfred Nelson was still +holding out. Papineau, it was said, had reported that 'the victor of +St Denis' was entrenched with a considerable force at St Césaire on the +Yamaska. They therefore collected arms and ammunition, sent emissaries +through the parishes to the north to rouse the <I>Patriotes</I>, and on +December 6, flying some colours which had been worked for them by the +enthusiastic ladies of Swanton, they crossed the Canadian border, about +two hundred strong. They had two field-pieces and a supply of muskets +and ammunition for those whom they expected to join the party on +Canadian soil. +</P> + +<P> +Hardly had the invaders crossed the border when they encountered at +Moore's Corners a body of the Missisquoi Volunteers, under the command +of Captain Kemp, who were acting as escort to a convoy of arms and +ammunition. Having received warning of the coming of the insurgents, +Kemp had sent out messengers through the countryside to rouse the +loyalist +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P91"></A>91}</SPAN> +population. To these as they arrived he served out the +muskets in his wagons. And when the rebels appeared, about eight +o'clock at night, he had a force at his disposal of at least three +hundred men, all well armed. +</P> + +<P> +There is reason for believing that Kemp might have succeeded in +ambushing the advancing force, had not some of his men, untrained +volunteers with muskets in their hands for the first time, opened fire +prematurely. The rebels returned the fire, and a fusillade continued +for ten or fifteen minutes. But the rebels, on perceiving that they +had met a superior force, retired in great haste, leaving behind them +one dead and two wounded. One of the wounded was Bouchette, who had +been in command of the advance-guard. The rebels abandoned also their +two field-pieces, about forty stand of arms, five kegs of gunpowder, +and six boxes of ball-cartridge, as well as two standards. Among the +loyalists there were no casualties whatever. Only three of the rebels +were taken prisoner besides the two wounded, a fact which Kemp +explained by several factors—the undisciplined state of the loyalists, +the darkness of the night, the vicinity of woods, and the proximity of +the boundary-line, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P92"></A>92}</SPAN> +beyond which he did not allow the pursuit to +go. The 'battle' of Moore's Corners was in truth an excellent farce; +but there is no doubt that it prevented what might have been a more +serious encounter had the rebel column reached the neighbourhood of St +Johns, where many of the <I>Patriotes</I> were in readiness to join them. +</P> + +<P> +A few days later, in a part of the province some distance removed from +the Richelieu river and the Vermont border, there occurred another +collision, perhaps the most formidable of the whole rebellion. This +was at the village of St Eustache, in the county of Two Mountains, +about eighteen miles north-west of Montreal. The county of Two +Mountains had long been known as a stronghold of the extreme +<I>Patriotes</I>. The local member, W. H. Scott, was a supporter of +Papineau, and had a large and enthusiastic following. He was not, +however, a leader in the troubles that ensued. The chief organizer of +revolt in St Eustache and the surrounding country was a mysterious +adventurer named Amury Girod, who arrived in St Eustache toward the end +of November with credentials, it would seem from Papineau, assigning to +him the task of superintending the <I>Patriote</I> cause +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P93"></A>93}</SPAN> +in the north. +About Girod very little is known. He is variously described as having +been a Swiss, an Alsatian, and a native of Louisiana. According to his +own statement, he had been at one time a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry +in Mexico. He was well educated, could speak fluently several +languages, had a bold and plausible manner, and succeeded in imposing, +not only upon the <I>Patriote</I> leaders, but upon the people of St +Eustache. He found a capable and dauntless supporter in Dr J. O. +Chénier, the young physician of the village. Chénier was one of the +few leaders of the revolt whose courage challenges admiration; and it +is fitting that to-day a monument, bearing the simple inscription +CHÉNIER, should stand in the Place Viger in Montreal, among the people +for whom, though misguidedly and recklessly, he laid down his life. +</P> + +<P> +To St Eustache, on Sunday, November 26, came the news of Wolfred +Nelson's victory at St Denis. On Monday and Tuesday bands of +<I>Patriotes</I> went about the countryside, terrorizing and disarming the +loyalists and compelling the faint-hearted to join in the rising. On +Wednesday night the rebels gathered to the number of about four hundred +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P94"></A>94}</SPAN> +in St Eustache, and got noisily drunk (<I>s'y enivrèrent +bruyamment</I>). They then proceeded, under the command of Girod and +Chénier, to the Indian mission settlement at the Lake of Two Mountains. +Here they broke into the government stores and possessed themselves of +some guns and ammunition. They next made themselves unwelcome to the +superior of the mission, the Abbé Dufresne, and, in spite of his +protestations, carried off from the mission-house a three-pounder gun. +On their return to St Eustache they forcibly entered the convent which +had been lately completed, though it was not yet occupied, and camped +there. +</P> + +<P> +The loyalists who were forced to flee from the village carried the news +of these proceedings to Montreal; but Sir John Colborne was unwilling +to take any steps to subdue the <I>Patriotes</I> of St Eustache until the +insurrection on the Richelieu had been thoroughly crushed. All he did +was to send a detachment of volunteers to guard the Bord à Plouffe +bridge at the northern end of the island of Montreal. +</P> + +<P> +On Sunday, December 3, word reached St Eustache of the defeat of the +insurgents at St Charles. This had a moderating influence on many of +the <I>Patriotes</I>. All week the Abbé +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P95"></A>95}</SPAN> +Paquin, parish priest of St +Eustache, had been urging the insurgents to go back quietly to their +homes. He now renewed his exhortations. He begged Chénier to cease +his revolutionary conduct. Chénier, however, was immovable. He +refused to believe that the rebels at St Charles had been dispersed, +and announced his determination to die with arms in his hands rather +than surrender. 'You might as well try to seize the moon with your +teeth,' he exclaimed, 'as to try to shake my resolve.' +</P> + +<P> +The events of the days that followed cannot be chronicled in detail. +When the Abbé Paquin and his vicar Desèves sought to leave the parish, +Girod and Chénier virtually placed them under arrest. The abbé did not +mince matters with Chénier. 'I accuse you before God and man,' he +said, 'of being the author of these misfortunes.' When some of the +habitants came to him complaining that they had been forced against +their will to join the rebels, he reminded them of the English proverb: +'You may lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink.' +Unfortunately, the Abbé Paquin's good influence was counteracted by +that of the Abbé Chartier, the curé of the neighbouring village of St +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P96"></A>96}</SPAN> +Benoit, a rare case of an ecclesiastic lending his support to the +rebel movement, in direct contravention of the orders of his superiors. +On several occasions the Abbé Chartier came over to St Eustache and +delivered inflammatory addresses to the rebel levies. +</P> + +<P> +The vicar Desèves has left us a vivid picture of the life which the +rebels led. No attempt was made to drill them or to exercise +discipline. Time hung heavy on their hands. He continually saw them, +he says, passing through the village in knots of five or six, carrying +rusty guns out of order, smoking short black pipes, and wearing blue +<I>tuques</I> which hung half-way down their backs, clothes of <I>étoffe du +pays</I>, and leather mittens. They helped themselves to all the strong +drink they could lay their hands on, and their gait showed the +influence of their potations. Their chief aim in life seemed to be to +steal, to drink, to eat, to dance, and to quarrel. With regard to the +morrow, they lived in a fool's paradise. They seem to have believed +that the troops would not dare to come out to meet them, and that when +their leaders should give the word they would advance on Montreal and +take it without difficulty. Their numbers during this period showed a +good deal of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P97"></A>97}</SPAN> +fluctuation. Ultimately Girod succeeded in gathering +about him nearly a thousand men. Not all these, however, were armed; +according to Desèves a great many of them had no weapons but sticks and +stones. +</P> + +<P> +By December 13 Sir John Colborne was ready to move. He had provided +himself with a force strong enough to crush an enemy several times more +numerous than the insurgents led by Girod and Chénier. His column was +composed of the 1st Royals, the 32nd regiment, the 83rd regiment, the +Montreal Volunteer Rifles, Globensky and Leclerc's Volunteers, a strong +force of cavalry—in all, over two thousand men, supported by eight +pieces of field artillery and well supplied with provision and +ammunition transport. +</P> + +<P> +The troops bivouacked for the night at St Martin, and advanced on the +morning of the 14th. The main body crossed the Mille Isles river on +the ice about four miles to the east of St Eustache, and then moved +westward along the St Rose road. A detachment of Globensky's +Volunteers, however, followed the direct road to St Eustache, and came +out on the south side of the river opposite the village, in full view +of the rebels. Chénier, at the head of a hundred and fifty men, +crossed the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P98"></A>98}</SPAN> +ice, and was on the point of coming to close quarters +with the volunteers when the main body of the loyalists appeared to the +east. Thereupon Chénier and his men beat a hasty retreat, and made +hurried preparations for defending the village. The church, the +convent, the presbytery, and the house of the member of the Assembly, +Scott, were all occupied and barricaded. It was about the church that +the fiercest fighting took place. The artillery was brought to bear on +the building; but the stout masonry resisted the battering of the +cannon balls, and is still standing, dinted and scarred. Some of the +Royals then got into the presbytery and set fire to it. Under cover of +the smoke the rest of the regiment then doubled up the street to the +church door. Gaining access through the sacristy, they lit a fire +behind the altar. 'The firing from the church windows then ceased,' +wrote one of the officers afterwards, 'and the rebels began running out +from some low windows, apparently of a crypt or cellar. Our men formed +up on one side of the church, and the 32nd and 83rd on the other. Some +of the rebels ran out and fired at the troops, then threw down their +arms and begged for quarter. Our officers tried to save the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P99"></A>99}</SPAN> +Canadians, but the men shouted "Remember Jack Weir," and numbers of +these poor deluded fellows were shot down.' +</P> + +<P> +One of those shot down was Chénier. He had jumped from a window of the +Blessed Virgin's chapel and was making for the cemetery. How many fell +with him it is difficult to say. It was said that seventy rebels were +killed, and a number of charred bodies were found afterwards in the +ruins of the church. The casualties among the troops were slight, one +killed and nine wounded. One of the wounded was Major Gugy, who here +distinguished himself by his bravery and kind-heartedness, as he had +done in the St Charles expedition. Many of the rebels escaped. A good +many, indeed, had fled from the village on the first appearance of the +troops. Among these were some who had played a conspicuous part in +fomenting trouble. The Abbé Chartier of St Benoit, instead of waiting +to administer the last rites to the dying, beat a feverish retreat and +eventually escaped to the United States. The Church placed on him its +interdict, and he never again set foot on Canadian soil. The behaviour +of the adventurer Girod, the 'general' of the rebel force, was +especially +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P100"></A>100}</SPAN> +reprehensible. When he had posted his men in the +church and the surrounding buildings, he mounted a horse and fled +toward St Benoit. At a tavern where he stopped to get a stiff draught +of spirits he announced that the rebels had been victorious and that he +was seeking reinforcements with which to crush the troops completely. +For four days he evaded capture. Then, finding that the cordon was +tightening around him, he blew out his brains with a revolver. Thus +ended a life which was not without its share of romance and mystery. +</P> + +<P> +On the night of the 14th the troops encamped near the desolate village +of St Eustache, a large part of which had unfortunately been given over +to the flames during the engagement. In the morning the column set out +for St Benoit. Sir John Colborne had threatened that if a single shot +were fired from St Benoit the village would be given over to fire and +pillage. But when the troops arrived there they found awaiting them +about two hundred and fifty men bearing white flags. All the villagers +laid down their arms and made an unqualified submission. And it is a +matter for profound regret that, notwithstanding this, the greater part +of the village +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P101"></A>101}</SPAN> +was burned to the ground. Sir John Colborne has +been severely censured for this occurrence, and not without reason. +Nothing is more certain, of course, than that he did not order it. It +seems to have been the work of the loyalist volunteers, who had without +doubt suffered much at the hands of the rebels. 'The irregular troops +employed,' wrote one of the British officers, 'were not to be +controlled, and were in every case, I believe, the instrument of the +infliction.' Far too much burning and pillaging went on, indeed, in +the wake of the rebellion. 'You know,' wrote an inhabitant of St +Benoit to a friend in Montreal, 'where the younger Arnoldi got his +supply of butter, or where another got the guitar he carried back with +him from the expedition about the neck.' And it is probable that the +British officers, and perhaps Sir John Colborne himself, winked at some +things which they could not officially recognize. At any rate, it is +impossible to acquit Colborne of all responsibility for the unsoldierly +conduct of the men under his command. +</P> + +<P> +It is usual to regard the rebellion of 1837 in Lower Canada as no less +a fiasco than its counterpart in Upper Canada. There is no doubt that +it was hopeless from the outset. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P102"></A>102}</SPAN> +It was an impromptu movement, +based upon a sudden resolution rather than on a well-reasoned plan of +action. Most of the leaders—Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, +Robert Bouchette, and Amury Girod—were strangers to the men under +their command; and none of them, save Chénier, seemed disposed to fight +to the last ditch. The movement at its inception fell under the +official ban of the Church; and only two priests, the curés of St +Charles and St Benoit, showed it any encouragement. The actual +rebellion was confined to the county of Two Mountains and the valley of +the Richelieu. The districts of Quebec and Three Rivers were quiet as +the grave—with the exception, perhaps, of an occasional village like +Montmagny, where Étienne P. Taché, afterwards a colleague of Sir John +Macdonald and prime minister of Canada, was the centre of a local +agitation. Yet it is easy to see that the rebellion might have been +much more serious. But for the loyal attitude of the ecclesiastical +authorities, and the efforts of many clear-headed parish priests like +the Abbé Paquin of St Eustache, the revolutionary leaders might have +been able to consummate their plans, and Sir John Colborne, with the +small number of troops at +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P103"></A>103}</SPAN> +his disposal, might have found it +difficult to keep the flag flying. The rebellion was easily snuffed +out because the majority of the French-Canadian people, in obedience to +the voice of their Church, set their faces against it. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P104"></A>104}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER +</H4> + +<P> +The rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada profoundly affected public +opinion in the mother country. That the first year of the reign of the +young Queen Victoria should have been marred by an armed revolt in an +important British colony shocked the sensibilities of Englishmen and +forced the country and the government to realize that the grievances of +the Canadian Reformers were more serious than they had imagined. It +was clear that the old system of alternating concession and repression +had broken down and that the situation demanded radical action. The +Melbourne government suspended the constitution of Lower Canada for +three years, and appointed the Earl of Durham as Lord High +Commissioner, with very full powers, to go out to Canada to investigate +the grievances and to report on a remedy. +</P> + +<P> +John George Lambton, the first Earl of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P105"></A>105}</SPAN> +Durham, was a wealthy and +powerful Whig nobleman, of decided Liberal, if not Radical, leanings. +He had taken no small part in the framing of the Reform Bill of 1832, +and at one time he had been hailed by the English Radicals or Chartists +as their coming leader. It was therefore expected that he would be +decently sympathetic with the Reform movements in the Canadas. At the +same time, Melbourne and his ministers were only too glad to ship him +out of the country. There was no question of his great ability and +statesmanlike outlook. But his advanced Radical views were distasteful +to many of his former colleagues; and his arrogant manners, his lack of +tact, and his love of pomp and circumstance made him unpopular even in +his own party. The truth is that he was an excellent leader to work +under, but a bad colleague to work with. The Melbourne government had +first got rid of him by sending him to St Petersburg as ambassador +extraordinary; and then, on his return from St Petersburg, they got him +out of the way by sending him to Canada. He was at first loath to go, +mainly on the ground of ill health; but at the personal intercession of +the young queen he accepted the commission offered him. It was +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P106"></A>106}</SPAN> +an evil day for himself, but a good day for Canada, when he did so. +</P> + +<P> +Durham arrived in Quebec, with an almost regal retinue, on May 28, +1838. Gosford, who had remained in Canada throughout the rebellion, +had gone home at the end of February; and the administration had been +taken over by Sir John Colborne, the commander-in-chief of the forces. +As soon as the news of the suspension of the constitution reached Lower +Canada, Sir John Colborne appointed a provisional special council of +twenty-two members, half of them French and half of them English, to +administer the affairs of the province until Lord Durham should arrive. +The first official act of Lord Durham in the colony swept this council +out of existence. 'His Excellency believes,' the members of the +council were told, 'that it is as much the interest of you all, as for +the advantage of his own mission, that his administrative conduct +should be free from all suspicions of political influence or party +feeling; that it should rest on his own undivided responsibility, and +that when he quits the Province, he should leave none of its permanent +residents in any way committed by the acts which his Government may +have +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P107"></A>107}</SPAN> +found it necessary to perform, during the temporary +suspension of the Constitution.' In its place he appointed a small +council of five members, all but one from his own staff. The one +Canadian called to this council was Dominick Daly, the provincial +secretary, whom Colborne recommended as being unidentified with any +political party. +</P> + +<P> +The first great problem with which Lord Durham and his council had to +deal was the question of the political prisoners, numbers of whom were +still lying in the prisons of Montreal. Sir John Colborne had not +attempted to decide what should be done with them, preferring to shift +this responsibility upon Lord Durham. It would probably have been much +better to have settled the matter before Lord Durham set foot in the +colony, so that his mission might not have been handicapped at the +outset with so thorny a problem; but it is easy to follow Colborne's +reasoning. In the first place, he did not bring the prisoners to trial +because no Lower-Canadian jury at that time could have been induced to +convict them, a reasonable inference from the fact that the murder of +Weir had gone unavenged, even as the murderers of Chartrand were to be +acquitted +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P108"></A>108}</SPAN> +by a jury a few months later. In the second place, +Colborne had not the power to deal with the prisoners summarily. +Moreover, most of the rebel leaders had not been captured. The only +three prisoners of much importance were Wolfred Nelson, Robert +Bouchette, and Bonaventure Viger. The rest of the <I>Patriote</I> leaders +were scattered far and wide. Chénier and Girod lay beneath the +springing sod; Papineau, O'Callaghan, Storrow Brown, Robert Nelson, +Côté, and Rodier were across the American border; Morin had just come +out of his hiding-place in the Canadian backwoods; and LaFontaine, +after vainly endeavouring, on the outbreak of rebellion, to get Gosford +to call together the legislature of Lower Canada, had gone abroad. The +future course of the rebels who had fled to the United States was still +doubtful; there was a strong probability that they might create further +disturbances. And, while the situation was still unsettled, Colborne +thought it better to leave the fate of the prisoners to be decided by +Durham. +</P> + +<P> +Durham's instructions were to temper justice with mercy. His own +instincts were apparently in favour of a complete amnesty; but he +supposed it necessary to make an +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P109"></A>109}</SPAN> +example of some of the leaders. +After earnest deliberation and consultation with his council, and +especially with his chief secretary, Charles Buller, the friend and +pupil of Thomas Carlyle, Durham determined to grant to the rebels a +general amnesty, with only twenty-four exceptions. Eight of the men +excepted were political prisoners who had been prominent in the revolt +and who had confessed their guilt and had thrown themselves on the +mercy of the Lord High Commissioner; the remaining sixteen were rebel +leaders who had fled from the country. Durham gave orders that the +eight prisoners should be transported to the Bermudas during the +queen's pleasure. The sixteen refugees were forbidden to return to +Canada under penalty of death without benefit of clergy. +</P> + +<P> +No one can fail to see that this course was dictated by the humanest +considerations. A criminal rebellion had terminated without the +shedding judicially of a drop of blood. Lord Durham even took care +that the eight prisoners should not be sent to a convict colony. The +only criticism directed against his course in Canada was on the ground +of its excessive lenity. Wolfred Nelson and Robert Bouchette had +certainly suffered a milder fate +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P110"></A>110}</SPAN> +than that of Samuel Lount and +Peter Matthews, who had been hanged in Upper Canada for rebellion. Yet +when the news of Durham's action reached England, it was immediately +attacked as arbitrary and unconstitutional. The assault was opened by +Lord Brougham, a bitter personal enemy of Lord Durham. In the House of +Lords Brougham contended that Durham had had no right to pass sentence +on the rebel prisoners and refugees when they had not been brought to +trial; and that he had no right to order them to be transported to, and +held in, Bermuda, where his authority did not run. In this attitude he +was supported by the Duke of Wellington, the leader of the Tory party. +Wellington's name is one which is usually remembered with honour in the +history of the British Empire; but on this occasion he did not think it +beneath him to play fast and loose with the interests of Canada for the +sake of a paltry party advantage. It would have been easy for him to +recognize the humanity of Durham's policy, and to join with the +government in legislating away any technical illegalities that may have +existed in Durham's ordinance; but Wellington could not resist the +temptation to embarrass the Whig +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P111"></A>111}</SPAN> +administration, regardless of +the injury which he might be doing to the sorely tried people of Canada. +</P> + +<P> +The Melbourne administration, which had sent Durham to Canada, might +have been expected to stand behind him when he was attacked. Lord John +Russell, indeed, rose in the House of Commons and made a thoroughgoing +defence of Durham's policy as 'wise and statesmanlike.' But he alone +of the ministers gave Durham loyal support. In the House of Lords +Melbourne contented himself with a feeble defence of Durham and then +capitulated to the Opposition. Nothing would have been easier for him +than to introduce a bill making valid whatever may have been irregular +in Durham's ordinance; but instead of that he disallowed the ordinance, +and passed an Act of Indemnity for all those who had had a part in +carrying it out. Without waiting to hear Durham's defence, or to +consult with him as to the course which should be followed, the Cabinet +weakly surrendered to an attack of his personal enemies. Durham was +betrayed in the house of his friends. +</P> + +<P> +The news of the disallowance of the ordinance first reached Durham +through the columns of an American newspaper. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P112"></A>112}</SPAN> +Immediately his +mind was made up. Without waiting for any official notification, he +sent in his resignation to the colonial secretary. He was quite +satisfied himself that he had not exceeded his powers. 'Until I +learn,' he wrote, 'from some one better versed in the English language +that despotism means anything but such an aggregation of the supreme +executive and legislative authority in a single head, as was +deliberately made by Parliament in the Act which constituted my powers, +I shall not blush to hear that I have exercised a despotism; I shall +feel anxious only to know how well and wisely I have used, or rather +exhibited an intention of using, my great powers.' But he felt that if +he could expect no firm support from the Melbourne government, his +usefulness was gone, and resignation was the only course open to him. +He wrote, however, that he intended to remain in Canada until he had +completed the inquiries he had instituted. In view of the 'lamentable +want of information' with regard to Canada which existed in the +Imperial parliament, he confessed that he 'would take shame to himself +if he left his inquiry incomplete.' +</P> + +<P> +A few days before Durham left Canada he took the unusual and, under +ordinary +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P113"></A>113}</SPAN> +circumstances, unconstitutional course of issuing a +proclamation, in which he explained the reasons for his resignation, +and in effect appealed from the action of the home government to +Canadian public opinion. It was this proclamation which drew down on +him from <I>The Times</I> the nickname of 'Lord High Seditioner.' The +wisdom of the proclamation was afterwards, however, vigorously defended +by Charles Duller. The general unpopularity of the British government, +Duller explained, was such in Canada that a little more or less could +not affect it; whereas it was a matter of vital importance that the +angry and suspicious colonists should find one British statesman with +whom they could agree. The real justification of the proclamation lay +in the magical effect which it had upon the public temper. The news +that the ordinance had been disallowed, and that the whole question of +the political prisoners had been once more thrown into the melting-pot, +had greatly excited the public mind; and the proclamation fell like oil +upon the troubled waters. 'No disorder, no increase of disaffection +ensued; on the contrary, all parties in the Province expressed a +revival of confidence.' +</P> + +<P> +Lord Durham left Quebec on November 1, +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P114"></A>114}</SPAN> +1838. 'It was a sad day +and a sad departure,' wrote Buller. 'The streets were crowded. The +spectators filled every window and every house-top, and, though every +hat was raised as we passed, a deep silence marked the general grief +for Lord Durham's departure.' Durham had been in Canada only five +short months. Yet in that time he had gained a knowledge of, and an +insight into, the Canadian situation such as no other governor of +Canada had possessed. The permanent monument of that insight is, of +course, his famous <I>Report on the Affairs of British North America</I>, +issued by the Colonial Office in 1839. This is no place to write at +length about that greatest of all documents ever published with regard +to colonial affairs. This much, however, may be said. In the <I>Report</I> +Lord Durham rightly diagnosed the evils of the body politic in Canada. +He traced the rebellion to two causes, in the main: first, racial +feeling; and, secondly, that 'union of representative and irresponsible +government' of which he said that it was difficult to understand how +any English statesman ever imagined that such a system would work. And +yet one of the two chief remedies which he recommended seemed like a +death sentence passed on the French in Canada. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P115"></A>115}</SPAN> +This was the +proposal for the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada with the +avowed object of anglicizing by absorption the French population. This +suggestion certainly did not promote racial peace. The other proposal, +that of granting to the Canadian people responsible government in all +matters not infringing 'strictly imperial interests,' blazed the trail +leading out of the swamps of pre-rebellion politics. +</P> + +<P> +In one respect only is Lord Durham's <I>Report</I> seriously faulty: it is +not fair to French Canadians. 'They cling,' wrote Durham, 'to ancient +prejudices, ancient customs, and ancient laws, not from any strong +sense of their beneficial effects, but with the unreasoning tenacity of +an uneducated and unprogressive people.' To their racial and +nationalist ambitions he was far from favourable. 'The error,' he +contended, 'to which the present contest is to be attributed is the +vain endeavour to preserve a French-Canadian nationality in the midst +of Anglo-American colonies and states'; and he quoted with seeming +approval the statement of one of the Lower Canada 'Bureaucrats' that +'Lower Canada must be <I>English</I>, at the expense, if necessary, of not +being <I>British</I>.' His primary +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P116"></A>116}</SPAN> +object in recommending the union +of the two Canadas, to place the French in a minority in the united +province, was surely a mistaken policy. Fortunately, it did not become +operative. Lord Elgin, a far wiser statesman, who completed Durham's +work by introducing the substance of responsible government which the +<I>Report</I> recommended, decidedly opposed anything in the nature of a +gradual crusade against French-Canadian nationalism. 'I for one,' he +wrote, 'am deeply convinced of the impolicy of all such attempts to +denationalize the French. Generally speaking, they produce the +opposite effect, causing the flame of national prejudice and animosity +to burn more fiercely. But suppose them to be successful, what would +be the result? You may perhaps <I>Americanize</I>, but, depend upon it, by +methods of this description you will never <I>Anglicize</I> the French +inhabitants of the province. Let them feel, on the other hand, that +their religion, their habits, their prepossessions, their prejudices if +you will, are more considered and respected here than in other portions +of this vast continent, and who will venture to say that the last hand +which waves the British flag on American ground may not be that of a +French Canadian?' +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P117"></A>117}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE SECOND REBELLION +</H4> + +<P> +The frigate <I>Inconstant</I>, with Lord Durham on board, was not two days +out from Quebec when rebellion broke out anew in Lower Canada. This +second rebellion, however, was not caused by Lord Durham's departure, +but was the result of a long course of agitation which had been carried +on along the American border throughout the months of Lord Durham's +régime. +</P> + +<P> +As early as February 1838 numbers of Canadian refugees had gathered in +the towns on the American side of the boundary-line in the +neighbourhood of Lake Champlain. They were shown much sympathy and +encouragement by the Americans, and seem to have laboured under the +delusion that the American government would come to their assistance. +A proclamation signed by Robert Nelson, a brother of Wolfred Nelson, +declared the independence of Canada under a +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P118"></A>118}</SPAN> +'provisional +government' of which Robert Nelson was president and Dr Côté a member. +The identity of the other members is a mystery. Papineau seems to have +had some dealings with Nelson and Côté, and to have dallied with the +idea of throwing in his lot with them; but he soon broke off +negotiations. 'Papineau,' wrote Robert Nelson, 'has abandoned us, and +this through selfish and family motives regarding the seigniories, and +inveterate love of the old French bad laws.' There is reason to +believe, however, that Papineau had been in communication with the +authorities at Washington, and that his desertion of Robert Nelson and +Côté was in reality due to his discovery that President Van Buren was +not ready to depart from his attitude of neutrality. +</P> + +<P> +On February 28, 1838, Robert Nelson and Côté had crossed the border +with an armed force of French-Canadian refugees and three small +field-pieces. Their plan had contemplated the capture of Montreal and +a junction with another invading force at Three Rivers. But on finding +their way barred by the Missisquoi militia, they had beat a hasty +retreat to the border, without fighting; and had there been disarmed by +the American +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P119"></A>119}</SPAN> +troops under General Wool, a brave and able officer +who had fought with conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Queenston +Heights in 1812. +</P> + +<P> +During the summer months, however, the refugees had continued to lay +plans for an insurrection in Lower Canada. Emissaries had been +constantly moving among the parishes north of the New York and Vermont +frontiers, promising the <I>Patriotes</I> arms and supplies and men from the +United States. The rising was carefully planned. And when November +came large bodies of disaffected habitants gathered at St Ours, St +Charles, St Michel, L'Acadie, Châteauguay, and Beauharnois. They had +apparently been led to expect that they would be met at some of these +places by American sympathizers with arms and supplies. No such aid +being found at the rendezvous, many returned to their homes. But some +persevered in the movement, and made their way with packs on their +backs to Napierville, a town fifteen miles north of the boundary-line, +which had been designated as the rebel headquarters. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, Robert Nelson had moved northward to Napierville from the +American side of the border with a small band of refugees. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P120"></A>120}</SPAN> +Among +these were two French officers, named Hindenlang and Touvrey, who had +been inveigled into joining the expedition. Hindenlang, who afterwards +paid for his folly with his life, has left an interesting account of +what happened. He and Touvrey joined Nelson at St Albans, on the west +side of Lake Champlain. With two hundred and fifty muskets, which had +been placed in a boat by an American sympathizer, they dropped down the +river to the Canadian border. There were five in the party—Nelson and +the two French officers, the guide, and the boatman. Nelson had given +Hindenlang to understand that the habitants had risen and that he would +be greeted at the Canadian border by a large force of enthusiastic +recruits. In this, however, he was disappointed. 'There was not a +single man to receive the famous President of the <I>Provisional +Government</I>; and it was only after a full hour's search, and much +trouble, [that] the guide returned with five or six men to land the +arms.' On the morning of November 4 the party arrived at Napierville. +Here Hindenlang found Dr Côté already at the head of two or three +hundred men. A crowd speedily gathered, and Robert Nelson was +proclaimed 'President of the Republic of +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P121"></A>121}</SPAN> +Lower Canada.' +Hindenlang and Touvrey were presented to the crowd; and to his great +astonishment Hindenlang was informed that his rank in the rebel force +was that of brigadier-general. +</P> + +<P> +The first two or three days were spent in hastening the arrival of +reinforcements and in gathering arms. By the 7th Nelson had collected +a force of about twenty-five hundred men, whom Hindenlang told off in +companies and divisions. Most of the rebels were armed with pitchforks +and pikes. An attempt had been made two days earlier, on a Sunday, to +obtain arms, ammunition, and stores from the houses of the Indians of +Caughnawaga while they were at church; but a squaw in search of her cow +had discovered the raiders and had given the alarm, with the result +that the Indians, seizing muskets and tomahawks, had repelled the +attack and taken seventy prisoners. +</P> + +<P> +On November 5 Nelson sent Côté with a force of four or five hundred men +south to Rouse's Point, on the boundary-line, to secure more arms and +ammunition from the American sympathizers. On his way south Côté +encountered a picket of a company of loyalist volunteers stationed at +Lacolle, and drove it +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P122"></A>122}</SPAN> +in. On his return journey, however, he met +with greater opposition. The company at Lacolle had been reinforced in +the meantime by several companies of loyalist militia from Hemmingford. +As the rebels appeared the loyalist militia attacked them; and after a +brisk skirmish, which lasted from twenty to twenty-five minutes, drove +them from the field. Without further ado the rebels fled across the +border, leaving behind them eleven dead and a number of prisoners, as +well as a six-pounder gun, a large number of muskets of the type used +in the United States army, a keg of powder, a quantity of +ball-cartridge, and a great many pikes. Of the provincial troops two +were killed and one was severely wounded. +</P> + +<P> +The defeat of Côté and his men at Lacolle meant that Nelson's line of +communications with his base on the American frontier was cut. At the +same time he received word that Sir John Colborne was advancing on +Napierville from Laprairie with a strong force of regulars and +volunteers. Under these circumstances he determined to fall back on +Odelltown, just north of the border. He had with him about a thousand +men, eight hundred of whom were armed with muskets. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P123"></A>123}</SPAN> +He arrived +at Odelltown on the morning of November 9, to find it occupied by about +two hundred loyal militia, under the command of the inspecting +field-officer of the district, Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor. He had no +difficulty in driving in the loyalist outposts; but the village itself +proved a harder nut to crack. Taylor had concentrated his little force +at the Methodist church, and he controlled the road leading to it by +means of the six-pounder which had been taken from the rebels three +days before at Lacolle. The insurgents extended through the fields to +the right and left, and opened a vigorous fire on the church from +behind some barns; but many of the men seem to have kept out of range. +'The greater part of the Canadians kept out of shot,' wrote Hindenlang; +'threw themselves on their knees, with their faces buried in the snow, +praying to God, and remaining as motionless as if they were so many +saints, hewn in stone. Many remained in that posture as long as the +fighting lasted.' The truth appears to be that many of Nelson's men +had been intimidated into joining the rebel force. The engagement +lasted in all about two hours and a half. The defenders of the church +made several successful sallies; and just when the +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P124"></A>124}</SPAN> +rebels were +beginning to lose heart, a company of loyalists from across the +Richelieu fell on their flank and completed their discomfiture. The +rebels then retreated to Napierville, under the command of Hindenlang. +Robert Nelson, seeing that the day was lost, left his men in the lurch +and rode for the American border. The losses of the rebels were +serious; they left fifty dead on the field and carried off as many +wounded. Of the loyalists, one officer and five men were killed and +one officer and eight men wounded. +</P> + +<P> +Later in the same day Sir John Colborne, at the head of a formidable +force, entered Napierville. On his approach those rebels who were +still in the village dispersed and fled to their homes. Detachments of +troops were immediately sent out to disperse bands of rebels reported +to be still under arms. The only encounter took place at Beauharnois, +where a large body of insurgents had assembled. After a slight +resistance they were driven out by two battalions of Glengarry +volunteers, supported by two companies of the 71st and a detachment of +Royal Engineers. +</P> + +<P> +In these expeditions the British soldiers, especially the volunteers, +did a good deal of burning and harrying. After the victory at +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P125"></A>125}</SPAN> +Beauharnois they gave to the flames a large part of the village, +including the houses of some loyal citizens. In view of the +intimidation and depredations to which the loyalists had been subjected +by the rebels in the disaffected districts, the conduct of the men, in +these regrettable acts, may be understood and partially excused. But +no excuse can be offered for the attitude of the British authorities. +There are well-authenticated cases of houses of 'notorious rebels' +burned down by the orders of Sir James Macdonell, Colborne's +second-in-command. Colborne himself acquired the nickname of 'the old +Firebrand'; and, while he cannot be charged with such a mania for +incendiarism as some writers have imputed to him, it does not appear +that he took any effective measures to stop the arson or to punish the +offenders. +</P> + +<P> +The rebellion of 1838 lasted scarcely a week. It was a venture +criminally hopeless. Failing important aid from the United States, the +rebels had an even slighter chance of success than they had had a year +before, for since that time the British regular troops in Canada had +been considerably increased in number. The chief responsibility for +the rebellion must be placed at the door of Robert Nelson, who at +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P126"></A>126}</SPAN> +the critical moment fled over the border, leaving his dupes to +extricate themselves as best they could from the situation into which +he had led them. As was the case in 1837, most of the leaders of the +rebellion escaped from justice, leaving only the smaller fry in the +hands of the authorities. Of the lesser ringleaders nearly one hundred +were brought to trial. Two of the French-Canadian judges, one of them +being Elzéar Bédard, attempted to force the government to try the +prisoners in the civil courts, where they would have the benefit of +trial by jury; but Sir John Colborne suspended these judges from their +functions, and brought the prisoners before a court-martial, specially +convened for the purpose. Twelve of them, including the French officer +Hindenlang, were condemned to death and duly executed. Most of the +others were transported to the convict settlements of Australia. It is +worthy of remark that none of those executed or deported had been +persons of note in the political arena before 1837. On the whole, it +must be confessed that these sentences showed a commendable moderation. +It was thought necessary that a few examples should be made, as Lord +Durham's amnesty of the previous year had evidently encouraged some +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P127"></A>127}</SPAN> +habitants to believe that rebellion was a venial offence. And +the execution of twelve men, out of the thousands who had taken part in +the revolt, cannot be said to have shown a bloodthirsty disposition on +the part of the government. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P128"></A>128}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A POSTSCRIPT +</H4> + +<P> +The rebellion of 1837 now belongs to the dead past. The <I>Patriotes</I> +and the 'Bureaucrats' of those days have passed away; and the present +generation has forgotten, or should have forgotten, the passions which +inspired them. The time has come when Canadians should take an +impartial view of the events of that time, and should be willing to +recognize the good and the bad on either side. It is absurd to pretend +that many of the English in Lower Canada were not arrogant and brutal +in their attitude toward the French Canadians, and lawless in their +methods of crushing the rebellion; or that many of the <I>Patriote</I> +leaders were not hopelessly irreconcilable before the rebellion, and +during it criminally careless of the interests of the poor habitants +they had misled. On the other hand, no true Canadian can fail to be +proud of the spirit of loyalty which in 1837 +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P129"></A>129}</SPAN> +actuated not only +persons of British birth, but many faithful sons and daughters of the +French-Canadian Church. Nor can one fail to admire the devotion to +liberty, to 'the rights of the people,' which characterized rebels like +Robert Bouchette. 'When I speak of the rights of the people,' wrote +Bouchette, 'I do not mean those abstract or extravagant rights for +which some contend, but which are not generally compatible with an +organized state of society, but I mean those cardinal rights which are +inherent to British subjects, and which, as such, ought not to be +denied to the inhabitants of any section of the empire, however +remote.' The people of Canada to-day are able to combine loyalty and +liberty as the men of that day were not; and they should never forget +that in some measure they owe to the one party the continuance of +Canada in the Empire, and to the other party the freedom wherewith they +have been made free. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-128"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-128.jpg" ALT="Denis Benjamin Viger. From a print in M'Gill University Library." BORDER="2" WIDTH="362" HEIGHT="483"> +<H4 CLASS="h4center" STYLE="width: 362px"> +Denis Benjamin Viger. <BR>From a print in M'Gill University Library. +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The later history of the <I>Patriotes</I> falls outside the scope of this +little book, but a few lines may be added to trace their varying +fortunes. Some of them never returned to Canada. Robert Nelson took +up his abode in New York, and there practised surgery until +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P130"></A>130}</SPAN> +his +death in 1873. E. B. O'Callaghan went to Albany, and was there +employed by the legislature of New York in preparing two series of +volumes entitled <I>A Documentary History of New York</I> and <I>Documents +relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York</I>, volumes +which are edited in so scholarly a manner, and throw such light on +Canadian history, that the Canadian historian would fain forgive him +for his part in the unhappy rebellion of '37. +</P> + +<P> +Most of the <I>Patriote</I> leaders took advantage, however, of the virtual +amnesty offered them in 1842 by the first LaFontaine-Baldwin +administration, and returned to Canada. Many of these, as well as many +of the <I>Patriote</I> leaders who had not been implicated in the rebellion +and who had not fled the country, rose to positions of trust and +prominence in the public service of Canada. Louis Hippolyte +LaFontaine, after having gone abroad during the winter of 1837-38, and +after having been arrested on suspicion in November 1838, entered the +parliament of Canada, formed, with Robert Baldwin as his colleague, the +administration which ushered in full responsible government, and was +knighted by Queen Victoria. Augustin Morin, the reputed author +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P131"></A>131}</SPAN> +of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, who had spent the winter of 1837-38 in +hiding, became the colleague of Francis Hincks in the Hincks-Morin +administration. George Étienne Cartier, who had shouldered a musket at +St Denis, became the lifelong colleague of Sir John Macdonald and was +made a baronet by his sovereign. Dr Wolfred Nelson returned to his +practice in Montreal in 1842. In 1844 he was elected member of +parliament for the county of Richelieu. In 1851 he was appointed an +inspector of prisons. Thomas Storrow Brown, on his return to Montreal, +took up again his business in hardware, and is remembered to-day by +Canadian numismatists as having been one of the first to issue a +halfpenny token, which bore his name and is still sought by collectors. +Robert Bouchette recovered from the serious wound he had sustained at +Moore's Corners, and later became Her Majesty's commissioner of customs +at Ottawa. +</P> + +<P> +Papineau returned to Canada in 1845. The greater part of his period of +exile he spent in Paris, where he came in touch with the 'red +republicans' who later supported the revolution of 1848. He entered +the Canadian parliament in 1847 and sat in it until 1854. +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P132"></A>132}</SPAN> +But he +proved to be completely out of harmony with the new order of things +under responsible government. Even with his old lieutenant LaFontaine, +who had made possible his return to Canada, he had an open breach. The +truth is that Papineau was born to live in opposition. That he himself +realized this is clear from a laughing remark which he made when +explaining his late arrival at a meeting: 'I waited to take an +opposition boat.' His real importance after his return to Canada lay +not in the parliamentary sphere, but in the encouragement which he gave +to those radical and anti-clerical ideas that found expression in the +foundation of the <I>Institut Canadien</I> and the formation of the <I>Parti +Rouge</I>. In many respects the <I>Parti Rouge</I> was the continuation of the +<I>Patriote</I> party of 1837. Papineau's later days were quiet and +dignified. He retired to his seigneury of La Petite Nation at +Montebello and devoted himself to his books. With many of his old +antagonists he effected a pleasant reconciliation. Only on rare +occasions did he break his silence; but on one of these, when he came +to Montreal, an old silver-haired man of eighty-one years, to deliver +an address before the <I>Institut Canadien</I>, he uttered a sentence which +may be taken as +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P133"></A>133}</SPAN> +the <I>apologia pro vita sua</I>: 'You will believe +me, I trust, when I say to you, I love my country.... Opinions outside +may differ; but looking into my heart and my mind in all sincerity, I +feel I can say that I have loved her as she should be loved.' And +charity covereth a multitude of sins. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="biblio"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P134"></A>134}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE +</H3> + +<P> +The story of the Lower Canada rebellion is told in detail in some of +the general histories of Canada. William Kingsford, <I>History of +Canada</I> (1887-94), is somewhat inaccurate and shows a strong bias +against the <I>Patriotes</I>, but his narrative of the rebellion is full and +interesting. F. X. Garneau, <I>Histoire du Canada</I> (1845-52), presents +the history of the period, from the French-Canadian point of view, with +sympathy and power. A work which holds the scales very evenly is +Robert Christie, <I>A History of the Late Province of Lower Canada</I> +(1848-55). Christie played a not inconspicuous part in the +pre-rebellion politics, and his volumes contain a great deal of +original material of first-rate importance. +</P> + +<P> +Of special studies of the rebellion there are a number worthy of +mention. L. O. David, <I>Les Patriotes de 1837-38</I>, is valuable for its +complete biographies of the leaders in the movement. L. N. Carrier, +<I>Les Événements de 1837-38</I> (1877), is a sketch of the rebellion +written by the son of one of the <I>Patriotes</I>. Globensky, <I>La Rébellion +de 1837 à Saint-Eustache</I> (1883), written by the son of an officer in +the loyalist militia, contains some original materials of value. Lord +Charles Beauclerk, <I>Lithographic Views of Military Operations in Canada +under Sir John Colborne, O.C.B., +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P135"></A>135}</SPAN> +etc.</I> (1840), apart from the +value of the illustrations, is interesting on account of the +introduction, in which the author, a British army officer who served in +Canada throughout the rebellion, describes the course of the military +operations. The political aspect of the rebellion, from the Tory point +of view, is dealt with in T. C. Haliburton, <I>The Bubbles of Canada</I> +(1839). For a penetrating analysis of the situation which led to the +rebellion see Lord Durham's <I>Report on the Affairs of British North +America</I>. +</P> + +<P> +A few biographies may be consulted with advantage. N. E. Dionne, +<I>Pierre Bédard et ses fils</I> (1909), throws light on the earlier period; +as does also Ernest Cruikshank, <I>The Administration of Sir James Craig</I> +(<I>Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada</I>, 3rd series, vol. ii). +See also A. D. DeCelles, <I>Papineau</I> (1904), in the 'Makers of Canada' +series; and Stuart J. Reid, <I>Life and Letters of the First Earl of +Durham</I> (1906). +</P> + +<P> +The parish histories, in which the province of Quebec abounds, will be +found to yield much information of a local nature with regard to the +rebellion; and the same may be said of the publications of local +historical societies, such as that of Missisquoi county. +</P> + +<P> +An original document of primary importance is the <I>Report of the state +trials before a general court-martial held at Montreal in 1838-39; +exhibiting a complete history of the late rebellion in Lower Canada</I> +(1839). +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="index"></A> + +<SPAN CLASS="pagenum">{<A NAME="P136"></A>136}</SPAN> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +INDEX +</H3> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Assembly, the language question in the, <A HREF="#P8">8-12</A>; racial conflict over form +of taxation, <A HREF="#P13">13-14</A>; the struggle with Executive for full control of +revenue leads to deadlock, <A HREF="#P22">22-5</A>, <A HREF="#P27">27</A>, <A HREF="#P29">29-30</A>, <A HREF="#P53">53-4</A>, <A HREF="#P57">57</A>; seeks redress in +Imperial parliament, <A HREF="#P28">28-32</A>; the Ninety-Two Resolutions, <A HREF="#P38">38-42</A>; the +grievance commission, <A HREF="#P45">45-6</A>, <A HREF="#P52">52</A>, <A HREF="#P55">55-6</A>; the Russell Resolutions, <A HREF="#P57">57-61</A>. +See Lower Canada. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Aylmer, Lord, governor of Canada, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>, <A HREF="#P33">33-4</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>, <A HREF="#P45">45</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Beauharnois, Patriotes defeated at, <A HREF="#P124">124-5</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bédard, Elzéar, introduces the Ninety-Two Resolutions, <A HREF="#P38">38</A>, <A HREF="#P42">42</A>; +suspended as a judge, <A HREF="#P126">126</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bédard, Pierre, and French-Canadian nationalism, <A HREF="#P11">11</A>, <A HREF="#P15">15</A>, <A HREF="#P16">16</A>; his arrest +and release, <A HREF="#P17">17-19</A>, <A HREF="#P20">20</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bidwell, M. S., speaker of Upper Canada Assembly, <A HREF="#P53">53</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bouchette, Robert Shore Milnes, <A HREF="#P129">129</A>; wounded at Moore's Corners, <A HREF="#P89">89-90</A>, +<A HREF="#P91">91</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bourdages, Louis, Papineau's chief lieutenant, <A HREF="#P36">36</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Brougham, Lord, criticizes Durham's policy, <A HREF="#P110">110</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Brown, Thomas Storrow, <A HREF="#P38">38</A>, <A HREF="#P72">72</A>, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>; in command of Patriotes at St +Charles, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>, <A HREF="#P84">84-6</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Buller, Charles, secretary to Durham, <A HREF="#P109">109</A>, <A HREF="#P113">113</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Bureaucrats, the, <A HREF="#P18">18</A>. See 'Château Clique.' +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Canada. See Lower Canada. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Cartier, Sir George, <A HREF="#P30">30</A>; a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Catholic Church in Canada, the, <A HREF="#P7">7</A>; opposes revolutionary movement, +<A HREF="#P64">64-5</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>, <A HREF="#P103">103</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Chartier, Abbé, encourages the rebels at St Eustache, <A HREF="#P95">95-6</A>; escapes to +the United States, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Chartier de Lotbinière, on French-Canadian loyalty, <A HREF="#P11">11</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +'Château Clique,' the, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>; and the Patriotes, <A HREF="#P25">25</A>, <A HREF="#P31">31</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Chénier, Dr J. O., killed at St Eustache, <A HREF="#P93">93</A>, <A HREF="#P94">94</A>, <A HREF="#P95">95</A>, <A HREF="#P97">97-9</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Christie, Robert, expelled from the Assembly, <A HREF="#P34">34</A>, <A HREF="#P134">134</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Colborne, Sir John, his letter on the situation previous to the +Rebellion, <A HREF="#P69">69-71</A>; his 1837 campaign, <A HREF="#P74">74-5</A>, <A HREF="#P83">83</A>, <A HREF="#P94">94</A>, <A HREF="#P97">97-101</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>; +administrator of the province, <A HREF="#P106">106-8</A>; his 1838 campaign, <A HREF="#P122">122</A>, <A HREF="#P124">124</A>, <A HREF="#P125">125</A>, +<A HREF="#P126">126</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Côté, Dr Cyrile, <A HREF="#P89">89</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, <A HREF="#P118">118</A>, <A HREF="#P120">120</A>; defeated at Lacolle, <A HREF="#P121">121-2</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Craig, Sir James, his 'Reign of Terror,' <A HREF="#P15">15-20</A>, <A HREF="#P23">23</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Cuvillier, Augustin, <A HREF="#P28">28-9</A>; breaks with Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P42">42</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Dalhousie, Lord, his quarrel with Papineau, <A HREF="#P27">27-9</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Daly, Dominick, provincial secretary, <A HREF="#P107">107</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Debartzch, D. P., breaks with Papineau, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>, <A HREF="#P84">84</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Desèves, Father, <A HREF="#P93">93</A>; his picture of the rebels at St Eustache, <A HREF="#P96">96-7</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Doric Club, the, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Durham, Earl of, governor and Lord High Commissioner, <A HREF="#P104">104-6</A>; his humane +policy fails to find support in Britain, <A HREF="#P107">107-12</A>; his appeal to Canadian +public opinion, <A HREF="#P112">112-13</A>; his Report, <A HREF="#P114">114-16</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Duvernay, Ludger, at Moore's Corners, <A HREF="#P89">89</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Elgin, Lord, and French-Canadian nationalism, <A HREF="#P116">116</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +English Canadians, their conflicts with the Patriotes, <A HREF="#P51">51</A>, <A HREF="#P64">64</A>, <A HREF="#P128">128</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ermatinger, Lieutenant, defeated by Patriotes, <A HREF="#P73">73-4</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Executive Council, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P25">25</A>, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>. See 'Château Clique.' +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +French Canadians, their attitude toward the British in 1760, <A HREF="#P2">2</A>; their +loyalty, <A HREF="#P2">2-5</A>, <A HREF="#P128">128-9</A>; their generous treatment, <A HREF="#P7">7-8</A>; their fight for +official recognition of their language, <A HREF="#P8">8-12</A>, <A HREF="#P50">50</A>; their struggle with +the 'Château Clique,' <A HREF="#P22">22-5</A>, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>; their fight for national identity, +<A HREF="#P26">26-7</A>, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>, <A HREF="#P115">115-16</A>. See Patriotes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +French Revolution, the, and the French Canadians, <A HREF="#P4">4-5</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gipps, Sir George, on the grievance commission, <A HREF="#P46">46</A>, <A HREF="#P55">55</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Girod, Amury, commands the rebels at St Eustache, <A HREF="#P92">92-3</A>, <A HREF="#P94">94</A>, <A HREF="#P95">95</A>, <A HREF="#P103">103</A>; +commits suicide, <A HREF="#P99">99-100</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gladstone, W. E., supports the Russell Resolutions, <A HREF="#P60">60</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Glenelg, Lord, colonial secretary, <A HREF="#P46">46</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Goderich, Lord, colonial secretary, <A HREF="#P29">29</A>, <A HREF="#P30">30</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gore, Colonel Charles, commands the British at St Denis, <A HREF="#P75">75-7</A>, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gosford, Lord, governor of Canada, <A HREF="#P45">45-7</A>, <A HREF="#P49">49-53</A>, <A HREF="#P55">55</A>, <A HREF="#P57">57-8</A>, <A HREF="#P61">61</A>, <A HREF="#P64">64</A>, <A HREF="#P106">106</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Great Britain, and French-Canadian loyalty, <A HREF="#P2">2-5</A>; her conciliatory +policy in Lower Canada, <A HREF="#P7">7-8</A>, <A HREF="#P9">9</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44-6</A>, <A HREF="#P57">57-60</A>; and the Rebellion, <A HREF="#P104">104</A>, +<A HREF="#P110">110-111</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Grey, Sir Charles, on the grievance commission, <A HREF="#P45">45-6</A>, <A HREF="#P55">55</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Gugy, Major Conrad, <A HREF="#P48">48</A>; at St Charles, <A HREF="#P82">82-3</A>; wounded at St Eustache, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Haldimand, Sir Frederick, governor of Canada, <A HREF="#P3">3-4</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Head, Sir F. B., his indiscreet action, <A HREF="#P52">52-3</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Hindenlang, leads Patriotes in second rebellion, <A HREF="#P120">120</A>, <A HREF="#P121">121</A>, <A HREF="#P123">123</A>, <A HREF="#P124">124</A>; +executed, <A HREF="#P126">126</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Kemp, Captain, defeats the Patriotes at Moore's Corners, <A HREF="#P90">90-2</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Kimber, Dr, in the affair at Moore's Corners, <A HREF="#P89">89</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lacolle, rebels defeated at, <A HREF="#P121">121-2</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +LaFontaine, L. H., a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P63">63</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, <A HREF="#P130">130</A>, <A HREF="#P132">132</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lartigue, Mgr, his warning to the revolutionists, <A HREF="#P65">65</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Legislative Council, the, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P25">25</A>, <A HREF="#P31">31</A>, <A HREF="#P36">36</A>, <A HREF="#P41">41</A>, <A HREF="#P46">46</A>, <A HREF="#P53">53</A>, <A HREF="#P54">54</A>, <A HREF="#P55">55</A>, <A HREF="#P59">59</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Lower Canada, the conflict between French and English Canadians in, +<A HREF="#P13">13-15</A>, <A HREF="#P33">33</A>, <A HREF="#P114">114</A>; the Rebellion of 1837, <A HREF="#P69">69-103</A>; the constitution +suspended, <A HREF="#P104">104</A>, <A HREF="#P106">106</A>; treatment of the rebels, <A HREF="#P108">108-13</A>; Durham's +investigation and Report, <A HREF="#P114">114-116</A>; the Rebellion of 1838, <A HREF="#P117">117-27</A>. See +Assembly. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Macdonell, Sir James, Colborne's second-in-command, <A HREF="#P125">125</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Mackenzie, W. L., and the Patriotes, <A HREF="#P72">72</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Melbourne, Lord, and Durham's policy, <A HREF="#P111">111</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Mondelet, Dominique, <A HREF="#P30">30</A>; expelled from the Assembly, <A HREF="#P36">36</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Montreal, rioting in, <A HREF="#P71">71-2</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Moore's Corners, rebels defeated at, <A HREF="#P89">89-92</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Morin, A. N., a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, <A HREF="#P130">130-1</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Neilson, John, supports the Patriote cause, <A HREF="#P26">26-7</A>, <A HREF="#P28">28</A>; breaks with +Papineau, <A HREF="#P36">36-7</A>, <A HREF="#P38">38</A>, <A HREF="#P42">42</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Nelson, Robert, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>; leader of the second rebellion, <A HREF="#P117">117-26</A>, <A HREF="#P129">129-30</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Nelson, Dr Wolfred, a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P60">60</A>, <A HREF="#P65">65</A>, <A HREF="#P66">66</A>, <A HREF="#P70">70</A>, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>; +in command at St Denis, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>, <A HREF="#P76">76</A>, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>, <A HREF="#P80">80</A>, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, <A HREF="#P109">109</A>, <A HREF="#P131">131</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ninety-Two Resolutions, the, <A HREF="#P38">38-42</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +O'Callaghan, E. B., a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>, <A HREF="#P78">78</A>, <A HREF="#P87">87-8</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>, +<A HREF="#P130">130</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +O'Connell, Daniel, champions the cause of the Patriotes, <A HREF="#P59">59-60</A>. +</P> + + +<P CLASS="index"> +Panet, Jean Antoine, his election as speaker of the Assembly, <A HREF="#P9">9-10</A>, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>; +imprisoned, <A HREF="#P17">17</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Panet, Louis, on the language question, <A HREF="#P10">10</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Papineau, Louis Joseph, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>; elected speaker of the Assembly, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P28">28</A>; +opposes Union Bill in London, <A HREF="#P26">26-7</A>; his attack on Dalhousie, <A HREF="#P27">27-29</A>; +defeats Goderich's financial proposal, and declines seat on Executive +Council, <A HREF="#P30">30</A>; attacks Aylmer, <A HREF="#P33">33-4</A>, <A HREF="#P47">47</A>. becomes more violent and +domineering in the Assembly, <A HREF="#P34">34-5</A>; his political views become +revolutionary, <A HREF="#P35">35-6</A>, <A HREF="#P42">42-43</A>; his powerful following, <A HREF="#P37">37-8</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>, the +Ninety-Two Resolutions, <A HREF="#P38">38-42</A>; hopeless of obtaining justice from +Britain, but disclaims intention of stirring up civil war, <A HREF="#P47">47-8</A>, <A HREF="#P53">53</A>; on +the Russell Resolutions, <A HREF="#P60">60-1</A>; his attitude previous to the outbreak, +<A HREF="#P66">66-68</A>, <A HREF="#P70">70</A>; warrant issued for his arrest, <A HREF="#P72">72-3</A>, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>; escapes to the +United States, <A HREF="#P78">78-9</A>, <A HREF="#P87">87-8</A>, <A HREF="#P90">90</A>, <A HREF="#P92">92</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>; holds aloof from second +rebellion, <A HREF="#P118">118</A>; his return to Canada, <A HREF="#P131">131-3</A>; his personality, <A HREF="#P21">21</A>, <A HREF="#P25">25-6</A>, +<A HREF="#P30">30-1</A>, <A HREF="#P49">49-50</A>, <A HREF="#P68">68</A>, <A HREF="#P79">79</A>, <A HREF="#P132">132-3</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Paquin, Abbé, opposes the rebels at St Eustache, <A HREF="#P95">95</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Parent, Étienne, breaks with Papineau, <A HREF="#P42">42</A>, <A HREF="#P43">43</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Patriotes, the, <A HREF="#P22">22</A>, <A HREF="#P25">25</A>; their struggle with the 'Château Clique,' <A HREF="#P31">31-2</A>, +<A HREF="#P54">54-5</A>; the racial feud becomes more bitter, <A HREF="#P33">33-34</A>, <A HREF="#P128">128</A>; the Ninety-Two +Resolutions, <A HREF="#P38">38-42</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44-5</A>, <A HREF="#P52">52</A>; the passing of the Russell Resolutions +causes great agitation, <A HREF="#P60">60-2</A>; declare a boycott on English goods, <A HREF="#P62">62-3</A>; +'Fils de la Liberté' formed, <A HREF="#P63">63</A>, <A HREF="#P71">71-2</A>; begin to arm, <A HREF="#P63">63-4</A>, <A HREF="#P69">69-71</A>; the +Montreal riot, <A HREF="#P71">71-2</A>; the first rebellion, <A HREF="#P73">73-103</A>; Lord Durham's +amnesty, <A HREF="#P108">108-110</A>, <A HREF="#P113">113</A>; the second rebellion, <A HREF="#P117">117-27</A>; and afterwards, +<A HREF="#P128">128-33</A>. See French Canadians. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Perrault, Charles Ovide, killed at St Denis, <A HREF="#P78">78</A> n. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Prevost, Sir George, and the French Canadians, <A HREF="#P20">20</A>. +</P> + + +<P CLASS="index"> +Quebec Act of 1774, the, <A HREF="#P7">7</A>, <A HREF="#P9">9</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Quesnel, F. A., and Papineau, <A HREF="#P34">34-5</A>, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P42">42</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>, <A HREF="#P71">71</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Rodier, Edouard, <A HREF="#P62">62-3</A>; at Moore's Corners, <A HREF="#P89">89</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Russell, Lord John, his resolutions affecting Canada, <A HREF="#P58">58-59</A>; defends +Durham's policy, <A HREF="#P111">111</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Ryland, Herman W., and the French Canadians, <A HREF="#P16">16</A>. +</P> + + +<P CLASS="index"> +St Benoit, the burning of, <A HREF="#P100">100-101</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +St Charles, the Patriote meeting at, <A HREF="#P65">65-6</A>; the fight at, <A HREF="#P74">74</A>, <A HREF="#P82">82-7</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +St Denis, the fight at, <A HREF="#P74">74-81</A>; destroyed, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +St Eustache, the Patriotes defeated at, <A HREF="#P92">92-100</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +St Ours, the Patriote meeting at, <A HREF="#P60">60-1</A>, <A HREF="#P70">70</A>, <A HREF="#P75">75</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Salaberry, Major de, his victory at Châteauguay, <A HREF="#P5">5</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sewell, John, and the French Canadians, <A HREF="#P16">16</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Sherbrooke, Sir John, his policy of conciliation, <A HREF="#P24">24</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Stanley, Lord, supports the Russell Resolutions, <A HREF="#P60">60</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Stuart, Andrew, and Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P42">42</A>, <A HREF="#P44">44</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Taché, E. P., a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P37">37</A>, <A HREF="#P102">102</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Taylor, Lieut.-Colonel, defends Odelltown against the rebels, <A HREF="#P123">123-4</A>. +</P> + + +<P CLASS="index"> +United States, and the French Canadians, <A HREF="#P2">2-3</A>, <A HREF="#P117">117-19</A>. +</P> + + +<P CLASS="index"> +Viger, Bonaventure, a Patriote leader, <A HREF="#P73">73</A>, <A HREF="#P108">108</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Viger, Denis B., a follower of Papineau, <A HREF="#P28">28-9</A>, <A HREF="#P63">63</A>. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="index"> +War of 1812, French-Canadian loyalty in the, <A HREF="#P5">5</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Weir, Lieut., his murder at St Denis, <A HREF="#P79">79-80</A>, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>, <A HREF="#P99">99</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Wellington, Duke of, and Durham's policy in Canada, <A HREF="#P110">110-111</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Wetherall, Lieut.-Colonel, defeats rebels at St Charles, <A HREF="#P75">75</A>, <A HREF="#P82">82</A>, <A HREF="#P83">83</A>, +<A HREF="#P86">86</A>, <A HREF="#P88">88</A>. +</P> + +<P CLASS="index"> +Wool, General, disarms force of Patriotes on the United States border, +<A HREF="#P119">119</A>. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty<BR> +at the Edinburgh University Press<BR> +</H5> + +<BR><BR> + +<HR> + +<BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA +</H2> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THIRTY-TWO VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +Edited by GEORGE M. WRONG and H. H. LANGTON +</H4> + +<BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA +</H2> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART I +<BR> +THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +1. THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Stephen Leacock.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +2. THE MARINER OF ST MALO +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Stephen Leacock.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART II +<BR> +THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +3. THE FOUNDER OF NEW FRANCE +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Charles W. Colby.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +4. THE JESUIT MISSIONS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Thomas Guthrie Marquis.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +5. THE SEIGNEURS OF OLD CANADA +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By William Bennett Munro.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +6. THE GREAT INTENDANT +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Thomas Chapais.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +7. THE FIGHTING GOVERNOR +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Charles W. Colby.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART III +<BR> +THE ENGLISH INVASION +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +8. THE GREAT FORTRESS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By William Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +9. THE ACADIAN EXILES +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1em">By Arthur G. Doughty.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +10. THE PASSING OF NEW FRANCE +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By William Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +11. THE WINNING OF CANADA +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By William Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART IV +<BR> +THE BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH CANADA +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +12. THE FATHER OF BRITISH CANADA +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By William Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +13. THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By W. Stewart Wallace.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +14. THE WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By William Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART V +<BR> +THE RED MAN IN CANADA +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +15. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE OTTAWAS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Thomas Guthrie Marquis.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +16. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Louis Aubrey Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +17. TECUMSEH: THE LAST GREAT LEADER OF HIS PEOPLE +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Ethel T. Raymond.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART VI +<BR> +PIONEERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +18. THE 'ADVENTURERS OF ENGLAND' ON HUDSON BAY +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Agnes C. Laut.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +19. PATHFINDERS OF THE GREAT PLAINS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Lawrence J. Burpee.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +20. ADVENTURERS OF THE FAR NORTH +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Stephen Leacock.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +21. THE RED RIVER COLONY +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Louis Aubrey Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +22. PIONEERS OF THE PACIFIC COAST +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Agnes C. Laut.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +23. THE CARIBOO TRAIL +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Agnes C. Laut.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART VII +<BR> +THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +24. THE FAMILY COMPACT +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By W. Stewart Wallace.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +25. THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Alfred D. DeCelles.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +26. THE TRIBUNE OF NOVA SCOTIA +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By William Lawson Grant.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +27. THE WINNING OF POPULAR GOVERNMENT +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Archibald MacMechan.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART VIII +<BR> +THE GROWTH OF NATIONALITY +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +28. THE FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By A. H. U. Colquhoun.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +29. THE DAY OF SIR JOHN MACDONALD +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Sir Joseph Pope.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +30. THE DAY OF SIR WILFRID LAURIER +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Oscar D. Skelton.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PART IX +<BR> +NATIONAL HIGHWAYS +</H3> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +31. ALL AFLOAT +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By William Wood.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +32. THE RAILWAY BUILDERS +<SPAN STYLE="margin-left: 1.5em">By Oscar D. Skelton.</SPAN><BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The 'Patriotes' of '37, by Alfred D. 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Decelles + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The 'Patriotes' of '37 + A Chronicle of the Lower Canada Rebellion + +Author: Alfred D. Decelles + +Release Date: September 13, 2009 [EBook #29973] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Advance of the British troops on the village of St. +Denis, 1837. From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys.] + + + + + +THE + +'PATRIOTES' OF '37 + + A Chronicle of the Lower + Canadian Rebellion + + +BY + +ALFRED D. DECELLES + + + +TORONTO + +GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY + +1916 + + + + + _Copyright in all Countries subscribing to + the Berne Convention_ + + + + +{vii} + +PREFATORY NOTE + +The manuscript for this little book, written by me in French, was +handed over for translation to Mr Stewart Wallace. The result as here +presented is therefore a joint product. Mr Wallace, himself a writer +of ability and a student of Canadian history, naturally made a very +free translation of my work and introduced some ideas of his own. He +insists, however, that the work is mine; and, with this acknowledgment +of his part in it, I can do no less than acquiesce, at the same time +expressing my pleasure at having had as collaborator a young writer of +such good insight. And it is surely appropriate that an English +Canadian and a French Canadian should join in a narrative of the +political war between the two races which forms the subject of this +book. + +A. D. DECELLES. + +OTTAWA, 1915. + + + + +{ix} + +CONTENTS + + Page + + I. CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 + II. THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED . . . . . . . . . . 7 + III. 'THE REIGN OF TERROR' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 + IV. THE RISE OF PAPINEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 + V. THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . 33 + VI. THE ROYAL COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 + VII. THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 + VIII. THE DOGS OF WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 + IX. _FORCE MAJEURE_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 + X. THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER . . . . . . . . . . 104 + XI. THE SECOND REBELLION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 + XII. A POSTSCRIPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 + INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 + + + + +{xi} + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH TROOPS ON + THE VILLAGE OF ST DENIS, 1837 . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys. + +SIR JAMES CRAIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Facing page_ 16 + From a portrait in the Dominion Archives. + +LOUIS JOSEPH PAPINEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 22 + After a lithograph by Maurin, Paris. + +WOLFRED NELSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 60 + From a print in the Chateau de Ramezay. + +SOUTH-WESTERN LOWER CANADA, 1837 . . . . . . . . . . " " 69 + Map by Bartholomew. + +DENIS BENJAMIN VIGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 128 + From a print in M'Gill University Library. + + + + +{1} + +CHAPTER I + +CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW + +The conquest of Canada by British arms in the Seven Years' War gave +rise to a situation in the colony which was fraught with tragic +possibilities. It placed the French inhabitants under the sway of an +alien race--a race of another language, of another religion, of other +laws, and which differed from them profoundly in temperament and +political outlook. Elsewhere--in Ireland, in Poland, and in the +Balkans--such conquests have been followed by centuries of bitter +racial warfare. In Canada, however, for a hundred and fifty years +French Canadians and English Canadians have, on the whole, dwelt +together in peace and amity. Only on the one occasion, of which the +story is to be told in these pages, has there been anything resembling +civil war between the two races; and this unhappy outbreak was neither +widespread nor prolonged. The record {2} is one which Canadians, +whether they be English or French, have reason to view with +satisfaction. + +It does not appear that the Canadians of 1760 felt any profound regret +at the change from French to British rule. So corrupt and oppressive +had been the administration of Bigot, in the last days of the Old +Regime, that the rough-and-ready rule of the British army officers +doubtless seemed benignant in comparison. Comparatively few Canadians +left the country, although they were afforded facilities for so doing. +One evidence of good feeling between the victors and the vanquished is +found in the marriages which were celebrated between Canadian women and +some of the disbanded Highland soldiers. Traces of these unions are +found at the present day, in the province of Quebec, in a few Scottish +names of habitants who cannot speak English. + +When the American colonies broke out in revolution in 1775, the +Continental Congress thought to induce the French Canadians to join +hands with them. But the conciliatory policy of the successive +governors Murray and Carleton, and the concessions granted by the +Quebec Act of the year before, had borne {3} fruit; and when the +American leaders Arnold and Montgomery invaded Canada, the great +majority of the habitants remained at least passively loyal. A few +hundred of them may have joined the invaders, but a much larger number +enlisted under Carleton. The clergy, the seigneurs, and the +professional classes--lawyers and physicians and notaries--remained +firm in their allegiance to Great Britain; while the mass of the people +resisted the eloquent appeals of Congress, represented by its +emissaries Franklin, Chase, and Carroll, and even those of the +distinguished Frenchmen, Lafayette and Count d'Estaing, who strongly +urged them to join the rebels. Nor should it be forgotten that at the +siege of Quebec by Arnold the Canadian officers Colonel Dupre and +Captains Dambourges, Dumas, and Marcoux, with many others, were among +Carleton's most trusted and efficient aides in driving back the +invading Americans. True, in 1781, Sir Frederick Haldimand, then +governor of Canada, wrote that although the clergy had been firmly +loyal in 1775 and had exerted their powerful influence in favour of +Great Britain, they had since then changed their opinions and were no +longer to be relied upon. But it must be {4} borne in mind that +Haldimand ruled the province in the manner of a soldier. His +high-handed orders caused dissatisfaction, which he probably mistook +for a want of loyalty among the clergy. No more devoted subject of +Great Britain lived at the time in Lower Canada than Mgr Briand, the +bishop of Quebec; and the priests shaped their conduct after that of +their superior. At any rate, the danger which Haldimand feared did not +take form; and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 made it +more unlikely than ever. + +The French Revolution profoundly affected the attitude of the French +Canadians toward France. Canada was the child of the _ancien regime_. +Within her borders the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau had found no +shelter. Canada had nothing in common with the anti-clerical and +republican tendencies of the Revolution. That movement created a gap +between France and Canada which has not been bridged to this day. In +the Napoleonic wars the sympathies of Canada were almost wholly with +Great Britain. When news arrived of the defeat of the French fleet at +Trafalgar, a _Te Deum_ was sung in the Catholic cathedral at Quebec; +and, in a sermon {5} preached on that occasion, a future bishop of the +French-Canadian Church enunciated the principle that 'all events which +tend to broaden the gap separating us from France should be welcome.' + +It was during the War of 1812-14, however, that the most striking +manifestation of French-Canadian loyalty to the British crown appeared. +In that war, in which Canada was repeatedly invaded by American armies, +French-Canadian militiamen under French-Canadian officers fought +shoulder to shoulder with their English-speaking fellow-countrymen on +several stricken fields of battle; and in one engagement, fought at +Chateauguay in the French province of Lower Canada, the day was won for +British arms by the heroic prowess of Major de Salaberry and his +French-Canadian soldiers. The history of the war with the United +States provides indelible testimony to the loyalty of French Canada. + +A quarter of a century passed. Once again the crack of muskets was +heard on Canadian soil. This time, however, there was no foreign +invader to repel. The two races which had fought side by side in 1812 +were now arrayed against each other. French-Canadian veterans of +Chateauguay were on {6} one side, and English-Canadian veterans of +Chrystler's Farm on the other. Some real fighting took place. Before +peace was restored, the fowling-pieces of the French-Canadian rebels +had repulsed a force of British regulars at the village of St Denis, +and brisk skirmishes had taken place at the villages of St Charles and +St Eustache. How this unhappy interlude came to pass, in a century and +a half of British rule in Canada, it is the object of this book to +explain. + + + + +{7} + +CHAPTER II + +THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED + +The British did not treat the French inhabitants of Canada as a +conquered people; not as other countries won by conquest have been +treated by their victorious invaders. The terms of the Capitulation of +Montreal in 1760 assured the Canadians of their property and civil +rights, and guaranteed to them 'the free exercise of their religion.' +The Quebec Act of 1774 granted them the whole of the French civil law, +to the almost complete exclusion of the English common law, and +virtually established in Canada the Church of the vanquished through +legal enforcement of the obligation resting upon Catholics to pay +tithes. And when it became necessary in 1791 to divide Canada into two +provinces, Upper Canada and Lower Canada, one predominantly English and +the other predominantly French, the two provinces were granted +precisely equal political rights. Out of this {8} arose an odd +situation. All French Canadians were Roman Catholics, and Roman +Catholics were at this time debarred from sitting in the House of +Commons at Westminster. Yet they were given the right of sitting as +members in the Canadian representative Assemblies created by the Act of +1791. The Catholics of Canada thus received privileges denied to their +co-religionists in Great Britain. + +There can be no doubt that it was the conciliatory policy of the +British government which kept the clergy, the seigneurs, and the great +body of French Canadians loyal to the British crown during the war in +1775 and in 1812. It is certain, too, that these generous measures +strengthened the position of the French race in Canada, made Canadians +more jealous of their national identity, and led them to press for +still wider liberties. It is an axiom of human nature that the more +one gets, the more one wants. And so the concessions granted merely +whetted the Canadian appetite for more. + +This disposition became immediately apparent with the calling of the +first parliament of Lower Canada in 1792. Before this there had been +no specific definition of the exact status of the French language in +{9} Canada, and the question arose as to its use in the Assembly as a +medium of debate. As the Quebec Act of 1774 had restored the French +laws, it was inferred that the use of the French language had been +authorized, since otherwise these laws would have no natural medium of +interpretation. That this was the inference to be drawn from the +constitution became evident, for the British government had made no +objection to the use of French in the law-courts. It should be borne +in mind that at this period the English in Canada were few in number, +and that all of them lived in the cities. The French members in the +Assembly, representing, as they did, nearly the whole population, did +not hesitate to press for the official recognition of their language on +a parity with English. + +The question first came up in connection with the election of a +speaker. The French-Canadian members, being in a majority of +thirty-four to sixteen, proposed Jean Antoine Panet. This motion was +opposed by the English members, together with a few of the French +members, who nominated an Englishman. They pointed out that the +transactions between the speaker and the king's {10} representative in +the colony should be 'in the language of the empire to which we have +the happiness to belong.' 'I think it is but decent,' said Louis +Panet, brother of Jean Antoine, 'that the speaker on whom we fix our +choice, be one who can express himself in English when he addresses +himself to the representative of our sovereign.' Yet the majority of +the French members stuck to their motion and elected their speaker. +When he was sworn into office, he declared to the governor that 'he +could only express himself in the primitive language of his native +country.' Nevertheless, he understood English well enough to conduct +the business of the House. And it should not be forgotten that all the +sixteen English members, out of the fifty composing the Assembly, owed +their election to French-Canadian voters. + +Almost immediately the question came up again in the debate on the use +of the French language in the publication of official documents. The +English members pointed out that English was the language of the +sovereign, and they contended that the exclusive official use of the +English language would more quickly assimilate the French +Canadians--would render them more loyal. To these {11} arguments the +French Canadians replied with ringing eloquence. + +'Remember,' said Chartier de Lotbiniere, 'the year 1775. Those +Canadians, who spoke nothing but French, showed their attachment to +their sovereign in a manner not at all equivocal. They helped to +defend this province. This city, these walls, this chamber in which I +have the honour to speak, were saved partly through their zeal and +their courage. You saw them join with faithful subjects of His Majesty +and repulse attacks which people who spoke very good English made on +this city. It is not, you see, uniformity of language which makes +peoples more faithful or more united.' + +'Is it not ridiculous,' exclaimed Pierre Bedard, whose name will appear +later in these pages, 'to wish to make a people's loyalty consist in +its tongue?' + +The outcome of the debate, as might have been expected, was to place +the French language on a level with the English language in the records +and publications of the Assembly, and French became, to all intents and +purposes, the language of debate. The number of English-speaking +members steadily decreased. In the year 1800 Sir Robert Milnes {12} +wrote home that there were 'but one or two English members in the House +of Assembly who venture to speak in the language of the mother country, +from the certainty of not being understood by a great majority of the +House.' + +It must not be imagined, however, that in these early debates there was +any of that rancour and animosity which later characterized the +proceedings of the Assembly of Lower Canada. 'The remains of the old +French politeness, and a laudable deference to their fellow subjects, +kept up decorum in the proceedings of the majority,' testified a +political annalist of that time. Even as late as 1807, it appears that +'party spirit had not yet extended its effects to destroy social +intercourse and good neighbourhood.' It was not until the regime of +Sir James Craig that racial bitterness really began. + + + + +{13} + +CHAPTER III + +'THE REIGN OF TERROR' + +During the session of 1805 the Assembly was confronted with the +apparently innocent problem of building prisons. Yet out of the debate +on this subject sprang the most serious racial conflict which had yet +occurred in the province. There were two ways proposed for raising the +necessary money. One, advocated by the English members, was to levy a +direct tax on land; the other, proposed by the French members, was to +impose extra customs duties. The English proposal was opposed by the +French, for the simple reason that the interests of the French were in +the main agrarian; and the French proposal was opposed by the English, +because the interests of the English were on the whole commercial. The +English pointed out that, as merchants, they had borne the brunt of +such taxation as had already been imposed, and that it was the turn of +the French farmers to bear their {14} share. The French, on the other +hand, pointed out, with some justice, that indirect taxation was borne, +not only by the importer, but also partly by the consumer, and that +indirect taxation was therefore more equitable than a tax on the +land-owners alone. There was, moreover, another consideration. 'The +_Habitants_,' writes the political annalist already quoted, 'consider +themselves sufficiently taxed by the French law of the land, in being +obliged to pay rents and other feudal burthens to the Seigneur, and +tythes to the Priest; and if you were to ask any of them to contribute +two bushels of Wheat, or two Dollars, for the support of Government, he +would give you the equivocal French sign of inability or unwillingness, +by shrugging up his shoulders.' + +As usual, the French-Canadian majority carried their point. Thereupon, +the indignation of the English minority flared forth in a very emphatic +manner. They accused the French Canadians of foisting upon them the +whole burden of taxation, and they declared that an end must be put to +French-Canadian domination over English Canadians. 'This province,' +asserted the Quebec _Mercury_, 'is already too French for a British +colony.... Whether we be in peace or at war, it is essential {15} that +we should make every effort, by every means available, to oppose the +growth of the French and their influence.' + +The answer of the French Canadians to this language was the +establishment in 1806 of a newspaper, _Le Canadien_, in which the point +of view of the majority in the House might be presented. The official +editor of the paper was Jean Antoine Bouthillier, but the conspicuous +figure on the staff was Pierre Bedard, one of the members of the House +of Assembly. The tone of the paper was generally moderate, though +militant. Its policy was essentially to defend the French against the +ceaseless aspersions of the _Mercury_ and other enemies. It never +attacked the British government, but only the provincial authorities. +Its motto, '_Notre langue, nos institutions et nos lois_,' went far to +explain its views and objects. + +No serious trouble resulted, however, from the policy of _Le Canadien_ +until after the arrival of Sir James Craig in Canada, and the +inauguration of what some historians have named 'the Reign of Terror.' +Sir James Craig, who became governor of Canada in 1807, was a +distinguished soldier. He had seen service in the American +Revolutionary {16} War, in South Africa, and in India. He was, +however, inexperienced in civil government and apt to carry his ideas +of military discipline into the conduct of civil affairs. Moreover, he +was prejudiced against the inhabitants and had doubts of their loyalty. +In Canada he surrounded himself with such men as Herman W. Ryland, the +governor's secretary, and John Sewell, the attorney-general, men who +were actually in favour of repressing the French Canadians and of +crushing the power of their Church. 'I have long since laid it down as +a principle (which in my judgment no Governor of this Province ought to +lose sight of for a moment),' wrote Ryland in 1804, 'by every possible +means which prudence can suggest, gradually to undermine the authority +and influence of the Roman Catholic Priest.' 'The Province must be +converted into an English Colony,' declared Sewell, 'or it will +ultimately be lost to England.' The opinion these men held of the +French Canadians was most uncomplimentary. 'In the ministerial +dictionary,' complained _Le Canadien_, 'a bad fellow, +anti-ministerialist, democrat, _sans culotte_, and damned Canadian, +mean the same thing.' + +[Illustration: Sir James Craig. From a portrait in the Dominion +Archives.] + +Surrounded by such advisers, it is not {17} surprising that Sir James +Craig soon took umbrage at the language and policy of _Le Canadien_. +At first he made his displeasure felt in a somewhat roundabout way. In +the summer of 1808 he dismissed from the militia five officers who were +reputed to have a connection with that newspaper, on the ground that +they were helping a 'seditious and defamatory journal.' One of these +officers was Colonel Panet, who had fought in the defence of Quebec in +1775 and had been speaker of the House of Assembly since 1792; another +was Pierre Bedard. This action did not, however, curb the temper of +the paper; and a year or more later Craig went further. In May 1810 he +took the extreme step of suppressing _Le Canadien_, and arresting the +printer and three of the proprietors, Taschereau, Blanchet, and Bedard. +The ostensible pretext for this measure was the publication in the +paper of some notes of a somewhat academic character with regard to the +conflict which had arisen between the governor and the House of +Assembly in Jamaica; the real reason, of course, went deeper. + +Craig afterwards asserted that the arrest of Bedard and his associates +was 'a measure of precaution, not of punishment.' There is no {18} +doubt that he actually feared a rising of the French Canadians. To his +mind a rebellion was imminent. The event showed that his suspicions +were ill-founded; but in justice to him it must be remembered that he +was governor of Canada at a dangerous time, when Napoleon was at the +zenith of his power and when agents of this arch-enemy of England were +supposed to be active in Canada. Moreover, the blame for Craig's +action during this period must be partly borne by the 'Bureaucrats' who +surrounded him. There is no absolute proof, but there is at least a +presumption, that some of these men actually wished to precipitate a +disturbance, in order that the constitution of Lower Canada might be +suspended and a new order of things inaugurated. + +Soon after Bedard's arrest his friends applied for a writ of habeas +corpus; but, owing to the opposition of Craig, this was refused. In +July two of Bedard's companions were released, on the ground of ill +health. They both, however, expressed regret at the tone which _Le +Canadien_ had adopted. In August the printer was discharged. Bedard +himself declined to accept his release until he had been brought to +trial and acquitted {19} of the charge preferred against him. Craig, +however, did not dare to bring him to trial, for no jury would have +convicted him. Ultimately, since Bedard refused to leave the prison, +he was ejected at the point of the bayonet. The situation was full of +humour. Bedard was an excellent mathematician, and was in the habit of +whiling away the hours of his imprisonment by solving mathematical +problems. When the guard came to turn him out, he was in the midst of +a geometrical problem. 'At least,' he begged, 'let me finish my +problem.' The request was granted; an hour later the problem was +solved, and Bedard was thrust forth from the jail. + +Sir James Craig was a man of good heart and of the best intentions; but +his course throughout this episode was most unfortunate. Not only did +he fail to suppress the opposition to his government, but he did much +to embitter the relations between the two races. Craig himself seems +to have realized, even before he left Canada, that his policy had been +a mistake; for he is reported on good authority to have said 'that he +had been basely deceived, and that if it had been given to him to begin +his administration over again, he would have acted differently.' It is +{20} significant, too, that Craig's successor, Sir George Prevost, +completely reversed his policy. He laid himself out to conciliate the +French Canadians in every way possible; and he made amends to Bedard +for the injustice which he had suffered by restoring him to his rank in +the militia and by making him a judge. As a result, the bitterness of +racial feeling abated; and when the War of 1812 broke out, there proved +to be less disloyalty in Lower Canada than in Upper Canada. But, as +the events of Craig's administration had clearly shown, a good deal of +combustible and dangerous material lay about. + + + + +{21} + +CHAPTER IV + +THE RISE OF PAPINEAU + +In the year 1812 a young man took his seat in the House of Assembly for +Lower Canada who was destined to play a conspicuous part in the history +of the province during the next quarter of a century. His name was +Louis Joseph Papineau. He was at that time only twenty-six years of +age, but already his tall, well-built form, his fine features and +commanding presence, marked him out as a born leader of men. He +possessed an eloquence which, commonplace as it now appears on the +printed page, apparently exerted a profound influence upon his +contemporaries. 'Never within the memory of teacher or student,' wrote +his college friend Aubert de Gaspe, 'had a voice so eloquent filled the +halls of the seminary of Quebec.' In the Assembly his rise to +prominence was meteoric; only three years after his entrance he was +elected speaker on the resignation of the veteran {22} J. A. Panet, who +had held the office at different times since 1792. Papineau retained +the speakership, with but one brief period of intermission, until the +outbreak of rebellion twenty-two years later; and it was from the +speaker's chair that he guided throughout this period the counsels of +the _Patriote_ party. + +[Illustration: Louis Joseph Papineau. After a lithograph by Maurin, +Paris.] + +When Papineau entered public life the political situation in Lower +Canada was beginning to be complicated. The French-Canadian members of +the Assembly, having taken great pains to acquaint themselves with the +law and custom of the British constitution, had awakened to the fact +that they were not enjoying the position or the power which the members +of the House of Commons in England were enjoying. In the first place, +the measures which they passed were being continually thrown out by the +upper chamber, the Legislative Council, and they were powerless to +prevent it; and in the second place, they had no control of the +government, for the governor and his Executive Council were appointed +by and responsible to the Colonial Office alone. The members of the +two councils were in the main of English birth, and they constituted a +local oligarchy--known as the 'Bureaucrats' or the 'Chateau +Clique'--which {23} held the reins of government. They were as a rule +able to snap their fingers at the majority in the Assembly. + +In England the remedy for a similar state of affairs had been found to +lie in the control of the purse exercised by the House of Commons. In +order to bring the Executive to its will, it was only necessary for +that House to threaten the withholding of supplies. In Lower Canada, +however, such a remedy was at first impossible, for the simple reason +that the House of Assembly did not vote all the supplies necessary for +carrying on the government. In other words, the expenditure far +exceeded the revenue; and the deficiency had to be met out of the +Imperial exchequer. Under these circumstances it was impossible for +the Lower Canada Assembly to attempt to exercise the full power of the +purse. In 1810, it is true, the Assembly had passed a resolution +avowing its ability and willingness to vote 'the necessary sums for +defraying the Civil Expenses of the Government of the Province.' But +Sir James Craig had declined on a technicality to forward the +resolution to the Houses of Parliament at Westminster, realizing fully +that if the offer were accepted, the Assembly would be able to exert +complete {24} power over the Executive. 'The new Trojan horse' was not +to gain admission to the walls through him. + +Later, however, in 1818, during the administration of Sir John Coape +Sherbrooke, the offer of the Assembly was accepted by the Imperial +government. Sherbrooke was an apostle of conciliation. It was he who +gave the Catholic bishop of Quebec a seat in the Executive Council; and +he also recommended that the speaker of the House of Assembly should be +included in the Council--a recommendation which was a preliminary move +in the direction of responsible government. Through Sherbrooke's +instrumentality the British government now decided to allow the +Lower-Canadian legislature to vote the entire revenue of the province, +apart from the casual and territorial dues of the Crown and certain +duties levied by Act of the Imperial parliament. Sherbrooke's +intention was that the legislature should vote out of this revenue a +permanent civil list to be continued during the lifetime of the +sovereign. Unfortunately, however, the Assembly did not fall in with +this view. It insisted, instead, on treating the civil list as an +annual affair, and voting the salaries of the officials, from the +governor {25} downwards, for only one year. Since this would have made +every government officer completely dependent upon the pleasure of the +House of Assembly, the Legislative Council promptly threw out the +budget. Thus commenced a struggle which was destined to last for many +years. The Assembly refused to see that its action was really an +encroachment upon the sphere of the Executive; and the Executive +refused to place itself at the mercy of the Assembly. The result was +deadlock. During session after session the supplies were not voted. +The Executive, with its control of the royal revenue, was able by one +means or another to carry on the government; but the relations between +the 'Bureaucrats' and the _Patriotes_ became rapidly more bitter. + +Papineau's attitude toward the government during this period was in +harmony with that of his compatriots. It was indeed one of his +characteristics, as the historian Christie has pointed out, that he +seemed always 'to move with the masses rather than to lead them.' In +1812 he fought side by side with the British. As late as 1820 he +publicly expressed his great admiration for the constitution of 1791 +and the blessings of British rule. But in the struggles over the +budget he took up ground {26} strongly opposed to the government; and, +when the question became acute, he threw restraint to the winds, and +played the part of a dangerous agitator. + +What seems to have first roused Papineau to anger was a proposal to +unite Upper and Lower Canada in 1822. Financial difficulties had +arisen between the two provinces; and advantage was taken of this fact +to introduce a Union Bill into the House of Commons at Westminster, +couched in terms very unfavourable to the French Canadians. There is +little doubt that the real objects of the bill was the extinction of +the Lower-Canadian Assembly and the subordination of the French to the +English element in the colony. At any rate, the French Canadians saw +in the bill a menace to their national existence. Two agents were +promptly appointed to go over to London to oppose it. One of them was +Papineau; the other was John Neilson, the capable Scottish editor of +the Quebec _Gazette_. The two men made a very favourable impression; +they enlisted on their side the leaders of the Whig party in the +Commons; and they succeeded in having the bill well and duly shelved. +Their mission resulted not only in the defeat of the bill; it also +showed {27} them clearly that a deep-laid plot had menaced the rights +and liberties of the French-Canadian people; and their anger was roused +against what Neilson described as 'the handful of _intrigants_' who had +planned that _coup d'etat_. + +On returning to Canada Papineau gave vent to his discontent in an +extraordinary attack upon Lord Dalhousie, who had become governor of +Canada in 1819. Dalhousie was an English nobleman of the best type. +His tastes were liberal. He was instrumental in founding the Literary +and Historical Society of Quebec; and he showed his desire for pleasant +relations between the two races in Canada by the erection of the joint +monument to Wolfe and Montcalm in the city of Quebec, in the governor's +garden. His administration, however, had been marred by one or two +financial irregularities. Owing to the refusal of the Assembly to vote +a permanent civil list, Dalhousie had been forced to expend public +moneys without authority from the legislature; and his +receiver-general, Caldwell, had been guilty of defalcations to the +amount of L100,000. Papineau attacked Dalhousie as if he had been +personally responsible for these defalcations. The speech, we are told +by the chronicler Bibaud, recalled in its violence the {28} philippics +of Demosthenes and the orations against Catiline of Cicero. + +The upshot of this attack was that all relations between Dalhousie and +Papineau were broken off. Apart altogether from the political +controversy, Dalhousie felt that he could have no intercourse with a +man who had publicly insulted him. Consequently, when Papineau was +elected to the speakership of the Assembly in 1827, Dalhousie refused +to recognize him as speaker; and when the Assembly refused to +reconsider his election, Dalhousie promptly dissolved it. + +It would be tedious to describe in detail the political events of these +years; and it is enough to say that by 1827 affairs in the province had +come to such an impasse, partly owing to the financial quarrel, and +partly owing to the personal war between Papineau and Dalhousie, that +it was decided by the _Patriotes_ to send another deputation to England +to ask for the redress of grievances and for the removal of Dalhousie. +The members of the deputation were John Neilson and two French +Canadians, Augustin Cuvillier and Denis B. Viger. Papineau was an +interested party and did not go. The deputation proved no less +successful than {29} that which had crossed the Atlantic in 1822. The +delegates succeeded in obtaining Lord Dalhousie's recall, and they were +enabled to place their case before a special committee of the House of +Commons. The committee made a report very favourable to the _Patriote_ +cause; recommended that 'the French-Canadians should not in any way be +disturbed in the exercise and enjoyment of their religion, their laws, +or their privileges'; and expressed the opinion that 'the true +interests of the provinces would be best promoted by placing the +collection and expenditure of all public revenues under the control of +the House of Assembly.' The report was not actually adopted by the +House of Commons, but it lent a very welcome support to the contentions +of Papineau and his friends. + +At last, in 1830, the British government made a serious and well-meant +attempt to settle, once and for all, the financial difficulty. Lord +Goderich, who was at that time at the Colonial Office, instructed Lord +Aylmer, who had become governor of Canada in 1830, to resign to the +Assembly the control of the entire revenue of the province, with the +single exception of the casual and territorial revenue of the Crown, if +the Assembly would grant {30} in exchange a civil list of L19,000, +voted for the lifetime of the king. This offer was a compromise which +should have proved acceptable to both sides. But Papineau and his +friends determined not to yield an inch of ground; and in the session +of 1831 they succeeded in defeating the motion for the adoption of Lord +Goderich's proposal. That this was a mistake even the historian +Garneau, who cannot be accused of hostility toward the _Patriotes_, has +admitted. + +Throughout this period Papineau's course was often unreasonable. He +complained that the French Canadians had no voice in the executive +government, and that all the government offices were given to the +English; yet when he was offered a seat in the Executive Council in +1822 he declined it; and when Dominique Mondelet, one of the members of +the Assembly, accepted a seat in the Executive Council in 1832, he was +hounded from the Assembly by Papineau and his friends as a traitor. As +Sir George Cartier pointed out many years later, Mondelet's inclusion +in the Executive Council was really a step in the direction of +responsible government. It is difficult, also, to approve Papineau's +attitude toward such governors as Dalhousie and {31} Aylmer, both of +whom were disposed to be friendly. Papineau's attitude threw them into +the arms of the 'Chateau Clique.' The truth is that Papineau was too +unbending, too _intransigeant_, to make a good political leader. As +was seen clearly in his attitude toward the financial proposals of Lord +Goderich in 1830, he possessed none of that spirit of compromise which +lies at the heart of English constitutional development. + +On the other hand, it must be remembered that Papineau and his friends +received much provocation. The attitude of the governing class toward +them was overbearing and sometimes insolent. They were regarded as +members of an inferior race. And they would have been hardly human if +they had not bitterly resented the conspiracy against their liberties +embodied in the abortive Union Bill of 1822. There were real abuses to +be remedied. Grave financial irregularities had been detected in the +executive government; sinecurists, living in England, drew pay for +services which they did not perform; gross favouritism existed in +appointments to office under the Crown; and so many office-holders held +seats in the Legislative Council that the Council was actually under +the thumb of {32} the executive government. Yet when the Assembly +strove to remedy these grievances, its efforts were repeatedly blocked +by the Legislative Council; and even when appeal was made to the +Colonial Office, removal of the abuses was slow in coming. Last, but +not least, the Assembly felt that it did not possess an adequate +control over the expenditure of the moneys for the voting of which it +was primarily responsible. + + + + +{33} + +CHAPTER V + +THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS + +After 1830 signs began to multiply that the racial feud in Lower Canada +was growing in intensity. In 1832 a by-election in the west ward of +Montreal culminated in a riot. Troops were called out to preserve +order. After showing some forbearance under a fusillade of stones, +they fired into the rioters, killing three and wounding two men, all of +them French Canadians. Immediately the _Patriote_ press became +furious. The newspaper _La Minerve_ asserted that a 'general massacre' +had been planned: the murderers, it said, had approached the corpses +with laughter, and had seen with joy Canadian blood running down the +street; they had shaken each other by the hand, and had regretted that +there were not more dead. The blame for the 'massacre' was laid at the +door of Lord Aylmer. Later, on the floor of the Assembly, Papineau +remarked that 'Craig merely imprisoned his {34} victims, but Aylmer +slaughters them.' The _Patriotes_ adopted the same bitter attitude +toward the government when the Asiatic cholera swept the province in +1833. They actually accused Lord Aylmer of having 'enticed the sick +immigrants into the country, in order to decimate the ranks of the +French Canadians.' + +In the House Papineau became more and more violent and domineering. He +did not scruple to use his majority either to expel from the House or +to imprison those who incurred his wrath. Robert Christie, the member +for Gaspe, was four times expelled for having obtained the dismissal of +some partisan justices of the peace. The expulsion of Dominique +Mondelet has already been mentioned. Ralph Taylor, one of the members +for the Eastern Townships, was imprisoned in the common jail for using, +in the Quebec _Mercury_, language about Papineau no more offensive than +Papineau had used about many others. But perhaps the most striking +evidence of Papineau's desire to dominate the Assembly was seen in his +attitude toward a bill to secure the independence of judges introduced +by F. A. Quesnel, one of the more moderate members {35} of the +_Patriote_ party. Quesnel had accepted some amendments suggested by +the colonial secretary. This awoke the wrath of Papineau, who assailed +the bill in his usual vehement style, and concluded by threatening +Quesnel with the loss of his seat. The threat proved not to be idle. +Papineau possessed at this time a great ascendancy over the minds of +his fellow-countrymen, and in the next elections he secured Quesnel's +defeat. + +By 1832 Papineau's political views had taken a more revolutionary turn. +From being an admirer of the constitution of 1791, he had come to +regard it as 'bad; very, very bad.' 'Our constitution,' he said, 'has +been manufactured by a Tory influenced by the terrors of the French +Revolution.' He had lost faith in the justice of the British +government and in its willingness to redress grievances; and his eyes +had begun to turn toward the United States. Perhaps he was not yet for +annexation to that country; but he had conceived a great admiration for +the American constitution. The wide application of the principle of +election especially attracted him; and, although he did not relinquish +his hope of subordinating the Executive to the Assembly by means of the +control of the finances, he {36} began to throw his main weight into an +agitation to make the Legislative Council elective. Henceforth the +plan for an elective Legislative Council became the chief feature of +the policy of the _Patriote_ party. The existing nominated and +reactionary Legislative Council had served the purpose of a buffer +between the governor's Executive Council and the Assembly. This +buffer, thought Papineau and his friends, should be removed, so as to +expose the governor to the full hurricane of the Assembly's wrath. + +It was not long before Papineau's domineering behaviour and the +revolutionary trend of his views alienated some of his followers. On +John Neilson, who had gone to England with him in 1822 and with +Cuvillier and Viger in 1828, and who had supported him heartily during +the Dalhousie regime, Papineau could no longer count. Under Aylmer a +coolness sprang up between the two men. Neilson objected to the +expulsion of Mondelet from the House; he opposed the resolutions of +Louis Bourdages, Papineau's chief lieutenant, for the abolition of the +Legislative Council; and in the debate on Quesnel's bill for the +independence of judges, he administered a severe rebuke to Papineau for +language he {37} had used. Augustin Cuvillier followed the lead of his +friend Neilson, and so also did Andrew Stuart, one of the ablest +lawyers in the province, and Quesnel. All these men were politicians +of weight and respectability. + +Papineau still had, however, a large and powerful following, especially +among the younger members. Nothing is more remarkable at this time +than the sway which he exercised over the minds of men who in later +life became distinguished for the conservative and moderate character +of their opinions. Among his followers in the House were Louis +Hippolyte LaFontaine, destined to become, ten years later, the +colleague of Robert Baldwin in the LaFontaine-Baldwin administration, +and Augustin Norbert Morin, the colleague of Francis Hincks in the +Hincks-Morin administration of 1851. Outside the House he counted +among his most faithful followers two more future prime ministers of +Canada, George E. Cartier and Etienne P. Tache. Nor were his +supporters all French Canadians. Some English-speaking members acted +with him, among them Wolfred Nelson; and in the country he had the +undivided allegiance of men like Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, editor of +the Montreal _Vindicator_, {38} and Thomas Storrow Brown, afterwards +one of the 'generals' of the rebellion. Although the political +struggle in Lower Canada before 1837 was largely racial, it was not +exclusively so, for there were some English in the Patriots party and +some French who declined to support it. + +In 1832 and 1833 Papineau suffered rebuffs in the House that could not +have been pleasant to him. In 1833, for instance, his proposal to +refuse supply was defeated by a large majority. But the triumphant +passage of the famous Ninety-Two Resolutions in 1834 showed that, for +most purposes, he still had a majority behind him. + +The Ninety-Two Resolutions were introduced by Elzear Bedard, the son of +Pierre Bedard, and are reputed to have been drawn up by A. N. Morin. +But there is no doubt that they were inspired by Papineau. The voice +was the voice of Jacob, but the hand was the hand of Esau. The +Resolutions constituted the political platform of the extreme wing of +the _Patriote_ party: they were a sort of Declaration of Right. A more +extraordinary political document has seldom seen the light. A writer +in the Quebec _Mercury_, said by Lord Aylmer to be John Neilson, {39} +undertook an analysis of the ninety-two articles: eleven, said this +writer, stood true; six contained both truth and falsehood; sixteen +stood wholly false; seventeen seemed doubtful and twelve ridiculous; +seven were repetitions; fourteen consisted only of abuse; four were +both false and seditious; and the remainder were indifferent. + +It is not possible here to analyse the Resolutions in detail. They +called the attention of the home government to some real abuses. The +subservience of the Legislative Council to the Executive Council; the +partisanship of some of the judges; the maladministration of the wild +lands; grave irregularities in the receiver-general's office; the +concentration of a variety of public offices in the same persons; the +failure of the governor to issue a writ for the election of a +representative for the county of Montreal; and the expenditure of +public moneys without the consent of the Assembly--all these, and many +others, were enlarged upon. If the framers of the Resolutions had only +cared to make out a very strong case they might have done so. But the +language which they employed to present their case was almost certainly +calculated to injure it seriously in the eyes of the home government. +{40} 'We are in no wise disposed,' they told the king, 'to admit the +excellence of the present constitution of Canada, although the present +colonial secretary unseasonably and erroneously asserts that the said +constitution has conferred on the two Canadas the institutions of Great +Britain.' With an extraordinary lack of tact they assured the king +that Toryism was in America 'without any weight or influence except +what it derives from its European supporters'; whereas Republicanism +'overspreads all America.' Nor did they stop there. 'This House,' +they announced, 'would esteem itself wanting in candour to Your Majesty +if it hesitated to call Your Majesty's attention to the fact, that in +less than twenty years the population of the United States of America +will be greater than that of Great Britain, and that of British America +will be greater than that of the former English colonies, when the +latter deemed that the time was come to decide that the inappreciable +advantage of being self-governed ought to engage them to repudiate a +system of colonial government which was, generally speaking, much +better than that of British America now is.' This unfortunate +reference to the American Revolution, with its {41} hardly veiled +threat of rebellion, was scarcely calculated to commend the Ninety-Two +Resolutions to the favourable consideration of the British government. +And when the Resolutions went on to demand, not merely the removal, but +the impeachment of the governor, Lord Aylmer, it must have seemed to +unprejudiced bystanders as if the framers of the Resolutions had taken +leave of their senses. + +The Ninety-Two Resolutions do not rank high as a constructive document. +The chief change in the constitution which they proposed was the +application of the elective principle to the Legislative Council. Of +anything which might be construed into advocacy of a statesmanlike +project of responsible government there was not a word, save a vague +allusion to 'the vicious composition and irresponsibility of the +Executive Council.' Papineau and his friends had evidently no +conception of the solution ultimately found for the constitutional +problem in Canada--a provincial cabinet chosen from the legislature, +sitting in the legislature, and responsible to the legislature, whose +advice the governor is bound to accept in regard to provincial affairs. +Papineau undoubtedly did much to hasten the day of responsible +government in Canada; {42} but in this process he was in reality an +unwitting agent. + +The Ninety-Two Resolutions secured a majority of fifty-six to +twenty-four. But in the minority voted John Neilson, Augustin +Cuvillier, F. A. Quesnel, and Andrew Stuart, who now definitely broke +away from Papineau's party. There are signs, too, that the +considerable number of Catholic clergy who had openly supported +Papineau now began to withdraw from the camp of a leader advocating +such republican and revolutionary ideas. There is ground also for +believing that not a little unrest disturbed those who voted with +Papineau in 1834. In the next year Elzear Bedard, who had moved the +Ninety-Two Resolutions, broke with Papineau. Another seceder was +Etienne Parent, the editor of the revived _Canadien_, and one of the +great figures in French-Canadian literature. Both Bedard and Parent +were citizens of Quebec, and they carried with them the great body of +public opinion in the provincial capital. It will be observed later +that during the disturbances of 1837 Quebec remained quiet. + +None of the seceders abandoned the demand for the redress of +grievances. They merely {43} refused to follow Papineau in his extreme +course. For this they were assailed with some of the rhetoric which +had hitherto been reserved for the 'Bureaucrats.' To them was applied +the opprobrious epithet of _Chouayens_[1]--a name which had been used +by Etienne Parent himself in 1828 to describe those French Canadians +who took sides with the government party. + + + + +[1] The name _Chouayen_ or _Chouaguen_ appears to have been first used +as a term of reproach at the siege of Oswego in 1756. It is said that +after the fall of the forts there to Montcalm's armies a number of +Canadian soldiers arrived too late to take part in the fighting. By +the soldiers who had borne the brunt of the battle the late-comers were +dubbed _Chouaguens_, this being the way the rank and file of the French +soldiers pronounced the Indian name of Oswego. Thus the term came to +mean one who refuses to follow, or who lets others do the fighting and +keeps out of it himself. Perhaps the nearest English, or rather +American, equivalent is the name Mugwump. + + + + +{44} + +CHAPTER VI + +THE ROYAL COMMISSION + +A general election followed soon after the passing of the Ninety-Two +Resolutions and revealed the strength of Papineau's position in the +country. All those members of the _Patriote_ party who had opposed the +Resolutions--Neilson, Cuvillier, Quesnel, Stuart, and two or three +others--suffered defeat at the polls. The first division-list in the +new Assembly showed seventy members voting for Papineau as speaker, and +only six voting against him. + +The Resolutions were forwarded to Westminster, both through the +Assembly's agent in London and through Lord Aylmer, who received the +address embodying the Resolutions, despite the fact that they demanded +his own impeachment. The British House of Commons appointed a special +committee to inquire into the grievances of which the Resolutions +complained; but there followed {45} no immediate action by the +government. The years 1834 and 1835 saw much disturbance in British +politics: there were no less than four successive ministers at the +Colonial Office. It was natural that there should be some delay in +dealing with the troubles of Lower Canada. In the spring of 1835, +however, the government made up its mind about the course to pursue. +It decided to send to Canada a royal commission for the purpose of +investigating, and if possible settling, the questions in dispute. It +was thought advisable to combine in one person the office of chief +royal commissioner and that of governor of Canada. To clear the way +for this arrangement Lord Aylmer was recalled. But he was expressly +relieved from all censure: it was merely recognized by the authorities +that his unfortunate relations with the Assembly made it unlikely that +he would be able to offer any assistance in a solution of the problem. + +The unenviable position of governor and chief royal commissioner was +offered in turn to several English statesmen and declined by all of +them. It was eventually accepted by Lord Gosford, an Irish peer +without experience in public life. With him were associated as +commissioners Sir Charles Grey, afterwards {46} governor of Jamaica, +and Sir George Gipps, afterwards governor of New South Wales. These +two men were evidently intended to offset each other: Grey was commonly +rated as a Tory, while Gipps was a Liberal. Lord Gosford's appointment +caused much surprise. He was a stranger in politics and in civil +government. There is no doubt that his appointment was a last +resource. But his Irish geniality and his facility in being all things +to all men were no small recommendations for a governor who was to +attempt to set things right in Canada. + +The policy of Lord Glenelg, the colonial secretary during Gosford's +period of office, was to do everything in his power to conciliate the +Canadian _Patriotes_, short of making any real constitutional +concessions. By means of a conciliatory attitude he hoped to induce +them to abate some of their demands. There is, indeed, evidence that +he was personally willing to go further: he seems to have proposed to +William IV that the French Canadians should be granted, as they +desired, an elective Legislative Council; but the staunch old Tory king +would not hear of the change. 'The king objects on principle,' the +ministers were told, 'and upon what he {47} considers sound +constitutional principle, to the adoption of the elective principle in +the constitution of the legislative councils in the colonies.' In 1836 +the king had not yet become a negligible factor in determining the +policy of the government; and the idea was dropped. + +Lord Gosford arrived in Canada at the end of the summer of 1835 to find +himself confronted with a discouraging state of affairs. A short +session of the Assembly in the earlier part of the year had been marked +by unprecedented violence. Papineau had attacked Lord Aylmer in +language breathing passion; and had caused Lord Aylmer's reply to the +address of the Assembly containing the Ninety-Two Resolutions to be +expunged from the journals of the House as 'an insult cast at the whole +nation.' Papineau had professed himself hopeless of any amendment of +grievances by Great Britain. 'When Reform ministries, who called +themselves our friends,' he said, 'have been deaf to our complaints, +can we hope that a Tory ministry, the enemy of Reform, will give us a +better hearing? We have nothing to expect from the Tories unless we +can inspire them with fear or worry them by ceaseless importunity.' It +{48} should be observed, however, that in 1835 Papineau explicitly +disclaimed any intention of stirring up civil war. When Gugy, one of +the English members of the Assembly,[1] accused him of such an +intention, Papineau replied: + + +Mr Gugy has talked to us again about an outbreak and civil war--a +ridiculous bugbear which is regularly revived every time the House +protests against these abuses, as it was under Craig, under Dalhousie, +and still more persistently under the present governor. Doubtless the +honourable gentleman, having studied military tactics as a lieutenant +in the militia--I do not say as a major, for he has been a major only +for the purposes of the parade-ground and the ball-room--is quite +competent to judge of the results of a civil war and of the forces of +the country, but he need not fancy that he can frighten us by hinting +to us that he will fight in the ranks of the enemy. All his threats +are futile, and his fears but the creatures of imagination. + + +Papineau did not yet contemplate an appeal {49} to arms; and of course +he could not foresee that only two years later Conrad Gugy would be one +of the first to enter the village of St Eustache after the defeat of +the _Patriote_ forces. + +In spite of the inflamed state of public feeling, Lord Gosford tried to +put into effect his policy of conciliation. He sought to win the +confidence of the French Canadians by presiding at their +entertainments, by attending the distribution of prizes at their +seminaries, and by giving balls on their feast days. He entertained +lavishly, and his manners toward his guests were decidedly convivial. +'_Milord_,' exclaimed one of them on one occasion, tapping him on the +back at a certain stage of the after-dinner conversation, '_milord, +vous etes bien aimable_.' 'Pardonnez,' replied Gosford; '_c'est le +vin_.' Even Papineau was induced to accept the governor's hospitality, +though there were not wanting those who warned Gosford that Papineau +was irreconcilable. 'By a wrong-headed and melancholy alchemy,' wrote +an English officer in Quebec to Gosford, 'he will transmute every +public concession into a demand for more, in a ratio equal to its +extent; and his disordered moral palate, beneath the blandest smile and +the {50} softest language, will turn your Burgundy into vinegar.' + +The speech with which Lord Gosford opened the session of the +legislature in the autumn of 1835 was in line with the rest of his +policy. He announced his determination to effect the redress of every +grievance. In some cases the action of the executive government would +be sufficient to supply the remedy. In others the assistance of the +legislature would be necessary. A third class of cases would call for +the sanction of the British parliament. He promised that no +discrimination against French Canadians should be made in appointments +to office. He expressed the opinion that executive councillors should +not sit in the legislature. He announced that the French would be +guaranteed the use of their native tongue. He made an earnest plea for +the settlement of the financial difficulty, and offered some +concessions. The legislature should be given control of the hereditary +revenues of the Crown, if provision were made for the support of the +executive and the judiciary. Finally, he made a plea for the +reconciliation of the French and English races in the country, whom he +described as 'the offspring of the two foremost nations {51} of +mankind.' Not even the most extreme of the _Patriotes_ could fail to +see that Lord Gosford was holding out to them an olive branch. + +Great dissatisfaction, of course, arose among the English in the colony +at Lord Gosford's policy. 'Constitutional associations,' which had +been formed in Quebec and Montreal for the defence of the constitution +and the rights and privileges of the English-speaking inhabitants of +Canada, expressed gloomy forebodings as to the probable result of the +policy. The British in Montreal organized among themselves a volunteer +rifle corps, eight hundred strong, 'to protect their persons and +property, and to assist in maintaining the rights and principles +granted them by the constitution'; and there was much indignation when +the rifle corps was forced to disband by order of the governor, who +declared that the constitution was in no danger, and that, even if it +were, the government would be competent to deal with the situation. + +Nor did Gosford find it plain sailing with all the French Canadians. +Papineau's followers in the House took up at first a distinctly +independent attitude. Gosford was informed {52} that the appointment +of the royal commission was an insult to the Assembly; it threw doubt +on the assertions which Papineau and his followers had made in +petitions and resolutions. If the report of the commissioners turned +out to be in accord with the views of the House, well and good; but if +not, that would not influence the attitude of the House. They would +not alter their demands. + +In spite, however, of the uneasiness of the English official element, +and the obduracy of the extreme _Patriotes_, it is barely possible that +Gosford, with his _bonhomie_ and his Burgundy, might have effected a +modus vivendi, had there not occurred, about six months after Gosford's +arrival in Canada, one of those unfortunate and unforeseen events which +upset the best-laid schemes of mice and men. This was the indiscreet +action of Sir Francis Bond Head, the newly appointed +lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, in communicating to the +legislature of Upper Canada the _ipsissima verba_ of his instructions +from the Colonial Office. It was immediately seen that a discrepancy +existed between the tenor of Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions and +the tenor of Lord Gosford's speech at the opening of the legislature of +Lower Canada in 1835. {53} Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions showed +beyond peradventure that the British government did not contemplate any +real constitutional changes in the Canadas; above all, it did not +propose to yield to the demand for an elective Legislative Council. +This fact was called to the attention of Papineau and his friends by +Marshall Spring Bidwell, the speaker of the Assembly of Upper Canada; +and immediately the fat was in the fire. Papineau was confirmed in his +belief that justice could not be hoped for; those who had been won over +by Gosford's blandishments experienced a revulsion of feeling; and +Gosford saw the fruit of his efforts vanishing into thin air. + +A climax came over the question of supply. Lord Gosford had asked the +Assembly to vote a permanent civil list, in view of the fact that the +government offered to hand over to the control of the legislature the +casual and territorial revenues of the Crown. But the publication of +Sir Francis Bond Head's instructions effectually destroyed any hope of +this compromise being accepted. In the session of the House which was +held in the early part of 1836, Papineau and his friends not only +refused to vote a permanent civil {54} list; they declined to grant +more than six months' supply in any case; and with this they made the +threat that if the demands of the _Patriotes_ were not met at the end +of the six months, no more supplies would be voted. This action was +deemed so unsatisfactory that the Legislative Council threw out the +bill of supply. The result was widespread distress among the public +officials of the colony. This was the fourth year in which no +provision had been made for the upkeep of government. In 1833 the bill +of supply had been so cumbered with conditions that it had been +rejected by the Legislative Council. In 1834, owing to disputes +between the Executive and the Assembly, the legislature had separated +without a vote on the estimates. In 1835 the Assembly had declined to +make any vote of supply. In earlier years the Executive had been able, +owing to its control of certain royal and imperial revenues, to carry +on the government after a fashion under such circumstances; but since +it had transferred a large part of these revenues to the control of the +legislature, it was no longer able to meet the situation. Papineau and +his friends doubtless recognized that they now had the 'Bureaucrats' at +their mercy; and {55} they seem to have made up their minds to achieve +the full measure of their demands, or make government impossible by +withholding the supplies, no matter what suffering this course might +inflict on the families of the public servants. + +In the autumn of 1836 the royal commissioners brought their labours to +a close. Lord Gosford, it is true, remained in the colony as governor +until the beginning of 1838, and Sir George Gipps remained until the +beginning of 1837, but Sir Charles Grey left for England in November +1836 with the last of the commissioners' reports. These reports, which +were six in number, exercised little direct influence upon the course +of events in Canada. The commissioners pronounced against the +introduction of responsible government, in the modern sense of the +term, on the ground that it would be incompatible with the status of a +colony. They advised against the project of an elective Legislative +Council. In the event of a crisis arising, they submitted the question +whether the total suspension of the constitution would not be less +objectionable than any partial interference with the particular +clauses. It is evident from the reports that the commissioners had +{56} bravely survived their earlier view that the discontented +Canadians might be won over by unctuous blandishments alone. They +could not avoid the conclusion that this policy had failed. + + + +[1] He was really of Swiss extraction. + + + + +{57} + +CHAPTER VII + +THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS + +When the legislature of Lower Canada met in the autumn of 1836, Lord +Gosford earnestly called its attention to the estimates of the current +year and the accounts showing the arrears unpaid. Six months, however, +had passed by, and there was no sign of the redress of grievances. The +royal commission, indeed, had not completed its investigations. The +Assembly, therefore, refused once more to vote the necessary supplies. +'In reference to the demand for a supply,' they told the governor, +'relying on the salutary maxim, that the correction of abuses and the +redress of grievances ought to precede the grant thereof, we have been +of opinion that there is nothing to authorize us to alter our +resolution of the last session.' + +This answer marked the final and indubitable breakdown of the policy of +conciliation without concession. This was recognized by {58} Gosford, +who soon afterwards wrote home asking to be allowed to resign, and +recommending the appointment of a governor whose hands were 'not +pledged as mine are to a mild and conciliatory line of policy.' + +Two alternatives were now open to the British ministers--either to make +a complete capitulation to the demands of the _Patriotes_, or to deal +with the situation in a high-handed way. They chose the latter course, +though with some hesitation and perhaps with regret. On March 6, 1837, +Lord John Russell, chancellor of the Exchequer in the Melbourne +administration and one of the most liberal-minded statesmen in England, +introduced into the House of Commons ten resolutions dealing with the +affairs of Canada. These resolutions recited that since 1832 no +provision had been made by the Assembly of Lower Canada for defraying +the charges for the administration of justice or for the support of the +civil government; that the attention of the Assembly had been called to +the arrears due; and that the Assembly had declined to vote a supply +until its demands for radical political changes were satisfied. The +resolutions declared that though both the bodies in question might be +improved in respect of their composition, it {59} was inadvisable to +grant the demand to make the Legislative Council elective, or to +subject the Executive Council to the responsibility demanded by the +House of Assembly. In regard to the financial question, the +resolutions repeated the offer made by Lord Aylmer and Lord +Gosford--namely, to hand over to the Assembly the control of the +hereditary, territorial, and casual revenues of the Crown, on condition +that the Assembly would grant a permanent civil list. But the main +feature of the resolutions was the clause empowering the governor to +pay out of the public revenues, without authorization of the Assembly, +the moneys necessary for defraying the cost of government in the +province up to April 10, 1837. This, though not exactly a suspension +of the constitution of Lower Canada and a measure quite legally within +the competency of the House of Commons, was a flat negative to the +claim of the Lower-Canadian Assembly to control over the executive +government, through the power of the purse or otherwise. + +A long and important debate in Parliament followed on these +resolutions. Some of the chief political leaders of the day took part +in the discussion. Daniel O'Connell, the great {60} tribune of the +Irish people, took up the cudgels for the French Canadians. Doubtless +it seemed to him that the French Canadians, like the Irish, were +victims of Anglo-Saxon tyranny and bigotry. Sir George Grey, the +colleague of Gosford, Lord Stanley, a former colonial secretary, and +William Ewart Gladstone, then a vigorous young Tory, spoke in support +of the resolutions. The chief opposition came from the Radical wing of +the Whig party, headed by Hume and Roebuck; but these members were +comparatively few in number, and the resolutions were passed by +overwhelming majorities. + +[Illustration: Wolfred Nelson. From a print in the Chateau de Ramezay.] + +As soon as the passage of the resolutions became known in Canada, +Papineau and his friends began to set the heather on fire. On May 7, +1837, the _Patriotes_ held a huge open-air meeting at St Ours, eleven +miles above Sorel on the river Richelieu. The chief organizer of the +meeting was Dr Wolfred Nelson, a member of the Assembly living in the +neighbouring village of St Denis, who was destined to be one of the +leaders of the revolt at the end of the year. Papineau himself was +present at the meeting and he spoke in his usual violent strain. He +submitted a resolution declaring that 'we cannot but {61} consider a +government which has recourse to injustice, to force, and to a +violation of the social contract, anything else than an oppressive +government, a government by force, for which the measure of our +submission should henceforth be simply the measure of our numerical +strength, in combination with the sympathy we may find elsewhere.' At +St Laurent a week later he used language no less dangerous. 'The +Russell resolutions,' he cried, 'are a foul stain; the people should +not, and will not, submit to them; the people must transmit their just +rights to their posterity, even though it cost them their property and +their lives to do so.' + +These meetings were prototypes of many that followed. All over the +province the _Patriotes_ met together to protest against what they +called 'coercion.' As a rule the meetings were held in the country +parishes after church on Sunday, when the habitants were gathered +together. Most inflammatory language was used, and flags and placards +were displayed bearing such devices as '_Papineau et le systeme +electif_,' '_Papineau et l'independence_,' and '_A bas le despotisme_.' +Alarmed by such language, Lord Gosford issued on June 15 a proclamation +calling on all loyal {62} subjects to discountenance writings of a +seditious tendency, and to avoid meetings of a turbulent or political +character. But the proclamation produced no abatement in the +agitation; it merely offered one more subject for denunciation. + +During this period Papineau and his friends continually drew their +inspiration from the procedure of the Whigs in the American colonies +before 1776. The resolutions of the _Patriotes_ recalled the language +of the Declaration of Independence. One of the first measures of the +Americans had been to boycott English goods; one of the first measures +of the _Patriotes_ was a resolution passed at St Ours binding them to +forswear the use of imported English goods and to use only the products +of Canadian industry. At the short and abortive session of the +legislature which took place at the end of the summer of 1837, nearly +all the members of the Assembly appeared in clothes made of Canadian +frieze. The shifts of some of the members to avoid wearing English +imported articles were rather amusing. 'Mr Rodier's dress,' said the +Quebec _Mercury_, 'excited the greatest attention, being unique with +the exception of a pair of Berlin gloves, viz.: frock coat of {63} +granite colored _etoffe du pays_; inexpressibles and vest of the same +material, striped blue and white; straw hat, and beef shoes, with a +pair of home-made socks, completed the _outre_ attire. Mr Rodier, it +was remarked, had no shirt on, having doubtless been unable to smuggle +or manufacture one.' But Louis LaFontaine and 'Beau' Viger limited +their patriotism, it appears, to the wearing of Canadian-made +waistcoats. The imitation of the American revolutionists did not end +here. If the New England colonies had their 'Sons of Liberty,' Lower +Canada had its '_Fils de la Liberte_'--an association formed in +Montreal in the autumn of 1837. And the Lower Canada Patriotes +outstripped the New England patriots in the republican character of +their utterances. 'Our only hope,' announced _La Minerve_, 'is to +elect our governor ourselves, or, in other words, to cease to belong to +the British Empire.' A manifesto of some of the younger spirits of the +_Patriote_ party, issued on October 1, 1837, spoke of 'proud designs, +which in our day must emancipate our beloved country from all human +authority except that of the bold democracy residing within its bosom.' +To add point to these opinions, there sprang up all over the country +{64} volunteer companies of armed _Patriotes_, led and organized by +militia officers who had been dismissed for seditious utterances. + +Naturally, this situation caused much concern among the loyal people of +the country. Loyalist meetings were held in Quebec and Montreal, to +offset the _Patriote_ meetings; and an attempt was made to form a +loyalist rifle corps in Montreal. The attempt failed owing to the +opposition of the governor, who was afraid that such a step would +merely aggravate the situation. Not even Gosford, however, was blind +to the seriousness of the situation. He wrote to the colonial +secretary on September 2, 1837, that all hope of conciliation had +passed. Papineau's aims were now the separation of Canada from England +and the establishment of a republican form of government. 'I am +disposed to think,' he concluded, 'that you may be under the necessity +of suspending the constitution.' + +It was at this time that the Church first threw its weight openly +against the revolutionary movement. The British government had +accorded to Catholics in Canada a measure of liberty at once just and +generous; and the bishops and clergy were not slow to see that under a +republican form of government, {65} whether as a state in the American +Union or as an independent _nation canadienne_, they might be much +worse off, and would not be any better off, than under the dominion of +Great Britain. In the summer of 1837 Mgr Lartigue, the bishop of +Montreal, addressed a communication to the clergy of his diocese asking +them to keep the people within the path of duty. In October he +followed this up by a Pastoral Letter, to be read in all the churches, +warning the people against the sin of rebellion. He held over those +who contemplated rebellion the penalties of the Church: 'The present +question amounts to nothing less than this--whether you will choose to +maintain, or whether you will choose to abandon, the laws of your +religion.' + +The ecclesiastical authorities were roused to action by a great meeting +held on October 23, at St Charles on the Richelieu, the largest and +most imposing of all the meetings thus far. Five or six thousand +people attended it, representing all the counties about the Richelieu. +The proceedings were admirably staged. Dr Wolfred Nelson was in the +chair, but Papineau was the central figure. A company of armed men, +headed by two militia officers who had been dismissed for disloyalty, +and {66} drawn up as a guard, saluted every resolution of the meeting +with a volley. A wooden pillar, with a cap of liberty on top, was +erected, and dedicated to Papineau. At the end of the proceedings +Papineau was led up to the column to receive an address. After this +all present marched past singing popular airs; and each man placed his +hand on the column, swearing to be faithful to the cause of his +country, and to conquer or die for her. All this, of course, was +comparatively innocent. The resolutions, too, were not more violent +than many others which had been passed elsewhere. Nor did Papineau use +language more extreme than usual. Many of the _Patriotes_, indeed, +considered his speech too moderate. He deprecated any recourse to arms +and advised his hearers merely to boycott English goods, in order to +bring the government to righteousness. But some of his lieutenants +used language which seemed dangerous. Roused by the eloquence of their +leader, they went further than he would venture, and advocated an +appeal to the arbitrament of war. 'The time has come,' cried Wolfred +Nelson, 'to melt our spoons into bullets.' + +The exact attitude of Papineau during {67} these months of agitation is +difficult to determine. He does not seem to have been quite clear as +to what course he should pursue. He had completely lost faith in +British justice. He earnestly desired the emancipation of Canada from +British rule and the establishment of a republican system of +government. But he could not make up his mind to commit himself to +armed rebellion. 'I must say, however,' he had announced at St +Laurent, 'and it is neither fear nor scruple that makes me do so, that +the day has not yet come for us to respond to that appeal.' The same +attitude is apparent, in spite of the haughty and defiant language, in +the letter which he addressed to the governor's secretary in answer to +an inquiry as to what he had said at St Laurent: + + +SIR,--The pretension of the governor to interrogate me respecting my +conduct at St Laurent on the 15th of May last is an impertinence which +I repel with contempt and silence. + +I, however, take the pen merely to tell the governor that it is false +that any of the resolutions adopted at the meeting of the county of +Montreal, held at St Laurent {68} on the 15th May last, recommend a +violation of the laws, as in his ignorance he may believe, or as he at +least asserts.--Your obedient servant, + +L. J. PAPINEAU. + + +At St Charles Papineau was even more precise in repudiating revolution; +and there is no evidence that, when rebellion was decided upon, +Papineau played any important part in laying the plans. In later years +he was always emphatic in denying that the rebellion of 1837 had been +primarily his handiwork. 'I was,' he said in 1847, 'neither more nor +less guilty, nor more nor less deserving, than a great number of my +colleagues.' The truth seems to be that Papineau always balked a +little at the idea of armed rebellion, and that he was carried off his +feet at the end of 1837 by his younger associates, whose enthusiasm he +himself had inspired. He had raised the wind, but he could not ride +the whirlwind. + +[Illustration: South-Western Lower Canada, 1837.] + + + + +{69} + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DOGS OF WAR + +As the autumn of 1837 wore on, the situation in Lower Canada began to +assume an aspect more and more threatening. In spite of a proclamation +from the governor forbidding such meetings, the _Patriotes_ continued +to gather for military drill and musketry exercises. Armed bands went +about the countryside, in many places intimidating the loyalists and +forcing loyal magistrates and militia officers to send in their +resignations to the governor. As early as July some of the Scottish +settlers at Cote St Joseph, near St Eustache, had fled from their +homes, leaving their property to its fate. Several houses at Cote St +Mary had been fired upon or broken into. A letter of Sir John +Colborne, the commander of the forces in British North America, written +on October 6, shows what the state of affairs was at that time: + + +In my correspondence with Col. Eden I have had occasion to refer to the +facts {70} and reports that establish the decided character which the +agitators have lately assumed. The people have elected the dismissed +officers of the militia to command them. At St Ours a pole has been +erected in favour of a dismissed captain with this inscription on it, +'Elu par le peuple.' At St Hyacinthe the tri-coloured flag was +displayed for several days. Two families have quitted the town in +consequence of the annoyance they received from the patriots. Wolfred +Nelson warned the patriots at a public meeting to be ready to arm. The +tri-coloured flag is to be seen at two taverns between St Denis and St +Charles. Many of the tavern-keepers have discontinued their signs and +substituted for them an eagle. The bank notes or promissory notes +issued at Yamaska have also the same emblem marked on them. Mr +Papineau was escorted from Yamaska to St Denis by a numerous retinue, +and it is said that 200 or 300 carriages accompanied him on his route. +He has attended five public meetings lately; and at one of them La +Valtrie, a priest, was insulted in his presence. The occurrence at St +Denis was certainly {71} a political affair, a family at St Antoine +opposed to the proceedings of W. Nelson, having been annoyed by the +same mob that destroyed the house of Madame St Jacques a few hours +before the shot was fired from her window. + + +Special animosity was shown toward the Chouayens, those French +Canadians who had refused to follow Papineau's lead. P. D. Debartzch, +a legislative councillor and a former supporter of Papineau, who had +withdrawn his support after the passing of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, +was obliged to flee from his home at St Charles; and Dr Quesnel, one of +the magistrates of L'Acadie, had his house broken into by a mob that +demanded his resignation as magistrate. + +On November 6 rioting broke out in Montreal. The Doric Club, an +organization of the young men of English blood in the city, came into +conflict with the French-Canadian _Fils de la Liberte_. Which side +provoked the hostilities, it is now difficult to say. Certainly, both +sides were to blame for their behaviour during the day. The sons of +liberty broke the windows of prominent loyalists; and the members of +the Doric Club completely wrecked {72} the office of the _Vindicator_ +newspaper. It was only when the Riot Act was read, and the troops were +called out, that the rioting ceased. + +Up to this point the _Patriotes_ had not indulged in any overt acts of +armed rebellion. Some of their leaders, it is true, had been laying +plans for a revolt. So much is known from the correspondence which +passed between the leading _Patriotes_ in Lower Canada and William Lyon +Mackenzie, the leader of the rebellion in Upper Canada. Thomas Storrow +Brown, one of Papineau's lieutenants, wrote to Mackenzie asking him to +start the ball rolling in Upper Canada first, in order to draw off some +of the troops which Sir John Colborne had massed in Lower Canada. But +all calculations were now upset by events which rapidly precipitated +the crisis in the lower province. + +Soon after the fracas in the streets of Montreal between the Doric Club +and the _Fils de la Liberte_, a priest named Quibilier waited on +Papineau, and advised him, since his presence in Montreal had become a +source of disturbance, to leave the city. Whether he came as an +emissary from the ecclesiastical authorities or merely as a friend is +not clear. At any rate, Papineau accepted his advice, {73} and +immediately set out for St Hyacinthe. The result was most unfortunate. +The government, thinking that Papineau had left the city for the +purpose of stirring up trouble in the Richelieu district, promptly +issued warrants for the arrest of Papineau and some of his chief +lieutenants, Dr Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, Edmund Bailey +O'Callaghan, and several others. + +Meanwhile, on the day that these warrants for arrest were being issued +(November 16), a skirmish took place between a small party of British +troopers and a band of _Patriotes_ on the road between Chambly and +Longueuil--a skirmish which may be described as the Lexington of the +Lower Canada rebellion. The troopers, under Lieutenant Ermatinger, had +been sent to St Johns to arrest two French Canadians, named Demaray and +Davignon, who had been intimidating the magistrates. The arrest had +been effected, and the party were on their way back to Montreal, when +they were confronted by an armed company of _Patriotes_, under the +command of Bonaventure Viger, who demanded the release of the +prisoners. A brisk skirmish ensued, in which several on both sides +were wounded. The troopers, outnumbered by at least five {74} to one, +and having nothing but pistols with which to reply to the fire of +muskets and fowling-pieces, were easily routed; and the two prisoners +were liberated. + +The news of this affair spread rapidly through the parishes, and +greatly encouraged the _Patriotes_ to resist the arrest of Papineau and +his lieutenants. Papineau, Nelson, Brown, and O'Callaghan had all +evaded the sheriff's officer, and had taken refuge in the country about +the Richelieu, the heart of the revolutionary district. In a day or +two word came to Montreal that considerable numbers of armed habitants +had gathered at the villages of St Denis and St Charles, evidently with +the intention of preventing the arrest of their leaders. The force at +St Denis was under the command of Wolfred Nelson, and that at St +Charles was under the command of Thomas Storrow Brown. How these +self-styled 'generals' came to be appointed is somewhat of a mystery. +Brown, at any rate, seems to have been chosen for the position on the +spur of the moment. 'A mere accident took me to St Charles,' he wrote +afterwards, 'and put me at the head of a revolting force.' + +Sir John Colborne, who was in command of the British military forces, +immediately {75} determined to disperse these gatherings by force and +to arrest their leaders. His plan of campaign was as follows. A force +consisting of one regiment of infantry, a troop of the Montreal +Volunteer Cavalry, and two light field-guns, under the command of +Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, had already been dispatched to Chambly by +way of the road on which the rescue of Demaray and Davignon had taken +place. This force would advance on St Charles. Another force, +consisting of five companies of the 24th regiment, with a +twelve-pounder, under Colonel Charles Gore, a Waterloo veteran, would +proceed by boat to Sorel. There it was to be joined by one company of +the 66th regiment, then in garrison at Sorel, and the combined force +would march on St Denis. After having dispersed the rebels at St +Denis, which was thought not to be strongly held, the little army was +to proceed to St Charles, where it would be joined by the force under +Wetherall. + +At eight o'clock on the evening of November 22, Colonel Gore set out +with his men from the barrack-square at Sorel for St Denis. The +journey was one of eighteen miles; and in order to avoid St Ours, which +was held by the _Patriotes_, Gore turned away from the main {76} road +along the Richelieu to make a detour. This led his troops over very +bad roads. The night was dark and rain poured down in torrents. 'I +got a lantern,' wrote one of Gore's aides-de-camp afterwards, 'fastened +it to the top of a pole, and had it carried in front of the column; but +what with horses and men sinking in the mud, harness breaking, wading +through water and winding through woods, the little force soon got +separated, those in the rear lost sight of the light, and great delays +and difficulties were experienced. Towards morning the rain changed to +snow, it became very cold, and daybreak found the unfortunate column +still floundering in the half-frozen mud four miles from St Denis.' + +Meanwhile word had reached the rebels of the coming of the soldiers. +At daybreak Dr Wolfred Nelson had ridden out to reconnoitre, and had +succeeded in destroying several bridges. As the soldiers approached St +Denis they heard the church bells ringing the alarm; and it was not +long before they found that the village was strongly defended. After +capturing some of the houses on the outskirts of the village, they were +halted by a stockade built across the road covered by a large brick +house, well fortified on all sides. The commander of {77} the troops +brought reinforcements up to the firing line, and the twelve-pounder +came into action. But the assailants made very little impression on +the defence. Although the engagement lasted for more than five hours, +the troops succeeded in capturing nothing more than one of the flanking +houses. The ammunition of the British was running low, and the numbers +of the insurgents seemed to be increasing. Colonel Gore therefore +deemed it advisable to retire. By some strange oversight the British +were without any ambulance or transport of any kind; and they were +compelled to leave their dead and wounded behind them. Their +casualties were six killed and eighteen wounded. The wounded, it is a +pleasure to be able to say, were well looked after by the victorious +_Patriotes_. + +The British effected their retreat with great steadiness, despite the +fact that the men had had no food since the previous day and had been +marching all night. They were compelled to abandon their +twelve-pounder in the mud; but they reached St Ours that night without +further loss. The next day they were back at Sorel. + +The number of the insurgents at St Denis has never been accurately +ascertained; {78} probably they were considerably in excess of the +troops. Their position was one of great strength, and good judgment +had been shown in fortifying it. On the other hand, with the exception +of a few veterans of Major de Salaberry's Voltigeurs, they were +untrained in war; and their muskets and fowling-pieces were much +inferior to the rifles of the regulars. Their victory, it must be +said, reflected great credit upon them; although their losses had been +twice as great as those of the soldiers,[1] these peasants in homespun +had stood their ground with a courage and steadiness which would have +honoured old campaigners. The same, unfortunately, cannot be said +about some of their leaders. Papineau and O'Callaghan were present in +St Denis when the attack began; but before the morning was well +advanced, they had departed for St Hyacinthe, whence they later fled to +the United States. Papineau always declared that he had taken this +action at the {79} solicitation of Wolfred Nelson, who had said to him: +'Do not expose yourself uselessly: you will be of more service to us +after the fight than here.' In later days, however, when political +differences had arisen between the two men, Nelson denied having given +Papineau any such advice. It is very difficult to know the truth. But +even if Nelson did advise Papineau to leave, it cannot be said that +Papineau consulted his own reputation in accepting the advice. He was +not a person without military experience: he had been a major in the +militia, and was probably superior in rank to any one in the village. +His place was with the brave farmers who had taken up arms on his +behalf. + +An episode in connection with the attack on St Denis left a dark stain +on the _Patriote_ escutcheon and embittered greatly the relations +between the two races in Canada. This was the murder, on the morning +of the fight, of Lieutenant Weir, a subaltern in the 32nd regiment, who +had been sent with dispatches to Sorel by land. He had reached Sorel +half an hour after Colonel Gore and his men had departed for St Denis. +In attempting to catch up with Gore's column he had taken the direct +road to St Denis and had arrived there {80} in advance of the British +troops. On approaching the village he was arrested, and by Wolfred +Nelson's orders placed in detention. As the British attack developed, +it was thought better by those who had him in charge to remove him to +St Charles. They bound him tightly and placed him in a wagon. Hardly +had they started when he made an attempt to escape. In this emergency +his warders seem to have lost their heads. In spite of the fact that +Weir was tightly bound and could do no harm, they fell upon him with +swords and pistols, and in a short time dispatched him. Then, appalled +at what they had done, they attempted to hide the body. When the +British troops entered St Denis a week later, they found the body +lying, weighted down with stones, in the Richelieu river under about +two feet of water. The autopsy disclosed the brutality with which Weir +had been murdered; and the sight of the body so infuriated the soldiers +that they gave the greater part of the village of St Denis to the +flames. In the later phases of the rebellion the slogan of the British +soldiers was, 'Remember Jack Weir.' + +Another atrocious murder even more unpardonable than that of Weir was +perpetrated {81} a few days later. On November 28 some _Patriotes_ +near St Johns captured a man by the name of Chartrand, who was enlisted +in a loyal volunteer corps of the district. After a mock trial +Chartrand was tied to a tree and shot by his own countrymen. + + + +[1] According to a report twelve _Patriotes_ lost their lives during +the engagement. Among them was Charles Ovide Perrault, member of the +Assembly for Vaudreuil, a young barrister of considerable promise. He +seems to have been Papineau's closest follower and confidant During the +last sessions of the Lower Canada legislature Perrault contributed many +letters to _La Minerve_. + + + + +{82} + +CHAPTER IX + +_FORCE MAJEURE_ + +The check administered to Colonel Gore's column at St Denis, in the +first engagement of the rebellion, was the only victory which fell to +the rebel forces. In the meantime Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, with +several companies of infantry, a troop of volunteer cavalry, and two +field-guns, was marching on St Charles. On the evening of November 22 +Major Gugy, the leader of the English party in the Assembly, had +brought to Wetherall at Chambly instructions to advance down the +Richelieu and attack the rebel position at St Charles in the morning. +He set out accordingly at about the hour when Gore headed his forces up +the river from Sorel. But, while Gore carried out his orders to the +letter and reached St Denis on the morning of the 23rd, Wetherall +allowed himself some latitude in interpreting his instructions. This +was largely due to the advice of Gugy, if we are to believe {83} the +account which Gugy has left us. 'In the first place,' it runs, 'not +one of the force knew anything of the roads or people, nor do I believe +that more than one spoke French.... The storm raged so fearfully, the +rain poured in such torrents, and the frost set in afterwards so +intensely, that ... men and horses were equally fatigued ... all so +exhausted as to be unable to cope, on broken or woody ground, +successfully with any resolute enemy.... I learned that we had marched +without a dollar, without a loaf of bread, without a commissary, and +without a spare cartridge--a pretty predicament in an enemy's country, +surrounded by thousands of armed men.' It was apparent to Gugy that +Sir John Colborne, in issuing his orders, had greatly underestimated +the difficulty of the task he was setting for the troops. After +crossing the river above the Chambly Basin, Gugy therefore induced +Wetherall to halt until daylight; and, turning himself into a +commissary, he billeted the men and horses in the neighbouring houses +and stables. + +The next day about noon the column reached St Hilaire, some seven miles +from St Charles. Here Wetherall obtained information which led him to +fear that Gore {84} had met with some kind of check; and he was +persuaded to send back to Chambly for a reinforcement of one company +which had been left in garrison there. His messenger reached Chambly +at four o'clock on the morning of the 24th. Major Warde, the +commandant at Chambly, at once embarked his company on a scow and +dropped down the river to St Hilaire; but he arrived too late to allow +of any further action that day, and it was not until the morning of the +25th that the column moved on St Charles. + +Meanwhile, the rebels had been making preparations for defence. They +had fortified the manor-house of Debartzch, who had fled to Montreal, +and built round it a rampart of earth and tree-trunks--a rampart which, +for some mysterious reason, was never completed. They appointed as +commander Thomas Storrow Brown, a Montreal iron-merchant, for whose +arrest a warrant had been issued and who had fled to St Charles with +two or three other _Patriote_ politicians. But Brown had no military +experience, and was still suffering so severely from injuries received +in the rioting in Montreal that his proper place was a home for +convalescents rather than a field of battle. His appointment can only +be {85} explained by the non-appearance of the local _Patriote_ +leaders. 'The chief men,' Brown testified afterwards, 'were, with two +or three exceptions, absent or hiding.' It is evident that the British +authorities expected to meet with the strongest opposition at St +Charles, since that place had been the scene of the great demonstration +earlier in the year. But, as a matter of fact, the rebel forces at St +Charles were much less formidable than those at St Denis. Not only +were they lacking in proper military leadership; they were also fewer +in number and were, moreover, very inadequately armed. If Brown's +statements are to be relied upon, there were not in the rebel camp two +hundred men. 'Of ammunition,' wrote Brown, 'we had some half dozen +kegs of gunpowder and a little lead, which was cast into bullets; but +as the fire-arms were of every calibre, the cartridges made were too +large for many, which were consequently useless. We had two small +rusty field-pieces, but with neither carriages nor appointments they +were as useless as two logs. There was one old musket, but not a +bayonet. The fire-arms were common flintlocks, in all conditions of +dilapidation, some tied together with string, and very many with {86} +lock-springs so worn out that they could not be discharged.' + +On the 24th Brown made a reconnaissance in the direction of St Hilaire. +He destroyed a bridge over a ravine some distance to the south of St +Charles, and placed above it an outpost with orders to prevent a +reconstruction of the bridge. But when the British troops appeared on +the morning of the 25th, this and other outlying pickets fell back +without making any resistance. They probably saw that they were so +outnumbered that resistance would be hopeless. On the approach of the +troops Brown at first assumed an attitude of confidence. A messenger +came from Wetherall, 'a respectable old habitant,' to tell the rebels +that if they dispersed quietly, they would not be molested. Brown +treated the message as a confession of weakness. 'I at once supposed,' +he said, 'that, followed in the rear by our friends from above, they +were seeking a free passage to Sorel, and determined to send a message, +that _if they would lay down their arms, they should pass unmolested_.' +This message does not seem to have reached its destination. And hardly +had the engagement opened when Brown quickly changed his tune. 'To go +forward {87} was useless, as I could order nothing but a +retreat--without it the people commenced retiring. I tried to rally +the little squads, my only hope being in keeping together the +fowling-pieces we had collected, but finding, after a long trial, my +strength and authority insufficient, I considered my command gone, +turned my horse, and rode to ... St Denis (seven or eight miles), where +... I arrived about nightfall.' + +The engagement lasted less than an hour. The rebels, or at any rate +those of them who were armed, seem to have been outnumbered by the +soldiers, of whom there were between three and four hundred. But the +fighting was apparently brisk while it lasted. The British lost three +killed and eighteen wounded. The _Patriote_ losses are not known. The +local tradition is that forty-two were killed and many more wounded. +We know that thirty were taken prisoners on the field. + +The defeat of the rebels at St Charles really terminated the rebellion +in the country about the Richelieu. When news of the defeat spread +over the countryside, the _Patriote_ forces immediately disbanded, and +their leaders sought safety in flight. Papineau and O'Callaghan, who +had been at St Hyacinthe, {88} succeeded in getting across the Vermont +border; but Wolfred Nelson was not so fortunate. After suffering great +privations he was captured by some loyalist militia not far from the +frontier, taken to Montreal, and there lodged in prison. + +For some reason which it is difficult to discern, Wetherall did not +march on from St Charles to effect a pacification of St Denis. On +December 1, however, Colonel Gore once more set out from Sorel, and +entered St Denis the same day. He found everything quiet. He +recovered the howitzer and five of the wounded men he had left behind. +In spite of the absence of opposition, his men took advantage of the +occasion to wreak an unfair and un-British vengeance on the helpless +victors of yesterday. Goaded to fury by the sight of young Weir's +mangled body, they set fire to a large part of the village. Colonel +Gore afterwards repudiated the charge that he had ordered the burning +of the houses of the insurgents; but that defence does not absolve him +from blame. It is obvious, at any rate, that he did not take adequate +measures to prevent such excesses; nor was any punishment ever +administered to those who applied the torch. + +{89} + +But the end of rebellion was not yet in sight. Two more encounters +remain to be described. The first of these occurred at a place known +as Moore's Corners, near the Vermont border. After the collapse at St +Charles a number of _Patriote_ refugees had gathered at the small town +of Swanton, a few miles south of Missisquoi Bay, on the American side +of the boundary-line. Among them were Dr Cyrile Cote and Edouard +Rodier, both members of the Lower Canada Assembly; Ludger Duvernay, a +member of the Assembly and editor of _La Minerve_; Dr Kimber, one of +the ringleaders in the rescue of Demaray and Davignon; and Robert Shore +Milnes Bouchette, the descendant of a French-Canadian family long +conspicuous for its loyalty and its services to the state. Bouchette's +grandfather had been instrumental in effecting the escape of Sir Guy +Carleton from Montreal in 1775, when that place was threatened by the +forces of Montgomery. The grandson's social tastes and affiliations +might have led one to expect that he would have been found in the ranks +of the loyalists; but the arbitrary policy of the Russell Resolutions +had driven him into the arms of the extreme _Patriotes_. Arrested for +disloyalty at the outbreak of {90} the rebellion, he had been admitted +to bail and had escaped. These men, under the belief that the +habitants would rise and join them, determined upon an armed invasion +of Canada. Possibly they believed also that Wolfred Nelson was still +holding out. Papineau, it was said, had reported that 'the victor of +St Denis' was entrenched with a considerable force at St Cesaire on the +Yamaska. They therefore collected arms and ammunition, sent emissaries +through the parishes to the north to rouse the _Patriotes_, and on +December 6, flying some colours which had been worked for them by the +enthusiastic ladies of Swanton, they crossed the Canadian border, about +two hundred strong. They had two field-pieces and a supply of muskets +and ammunition for those whom they expected to join the party on +Canadian soil. + +Hardly had the invaders crossed the border when they encountered at +Moore's Corners a body of the Missisquoi Volunteers, under the command +of Captain Kemp, who were acting as escort to a convoy of arms and +ammunition. Having received warning of the coming of the insurgents, +Kemp had sent out messengers through the countryside to rouse the +loyalist {91} population. To these as they arrived he served out the +muskets in his wagons. And when the rebels appeared, about eight +o'clock at night, he had a force at his disposal of at least three +hundred men, all well armed. + +There is reason for believing that Kemp might have succeeded in +ambushing the advancing force, had not some of his men, untrained +volunteers with muskets in their hands for the first time, opened fire +prematurely. The rebels returned the fire, and a fusillade continued +for ten or fifteen minutes. But the rebels, on perceiving that they +had met a superior force, retired in great haste, leaving behind them +one dead and two wounded. One of the wounded was Bouchette, who had +been in command of the advance-guard. The rebels abandoned also their +two field-pieces, about forty stand of arms, five kegs of gunpowder, +and six boxes of ball-cartridge, as well as two standards. Among the +loyalists there were no casualties whatever. Only three of the rebels +were taken prisoner besides the two wounded, a fact which Kemp +explained by several factors--the undisciplined state of the loyalists, +the darkness of the night, the vicinity of woods, and the proximity of +the boundary-line, {92} beyond which he did not allow the pursuit to +go. The 'battle' of Moore's Corners was in truth an excellent farce; +but there is no doubt that it prevented what might have been a more +serious encounter had the rebel column reached the neighbourhood of St +Johns, where many of the _Patriotes_ were in readiness to join them. + +A few days later, in a part of the province some distance removed from +the Richelieu river and the Vermont border, there occurred another +collision, perhaps the most formidable of the whole rebellion. This +was at the village of St Eustache, in the county of Two Mountains, +about eighteen miles north-west of Montreal. The county of Two +Mountains had long been known as a stronghold of the extreme +_Patriotes_. The local member, W. H. Scott, was a supporter of +Papineau, and had a large and enthusiastic following. He was not, +however, a leader in the troubles that ensued. The chief organizer of +revolt in St Eustache and the surrounding country was a mysterious +adventurer named Amury Girod, who arrived in St Eustache toward the end +of November with credentials, it would seem from Papineau, assigning to +him the task of superintending the _Patriote_ cause {93} in the north. +About Girod very little is known. He is variously described as having +been a Swiss, an Alsatian, and a native of Louisiana. According to his +own statement, he had been at one time a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry +in Mexico. He was well educated, could speak fluently several +languages, had a bold and plausible manner, and succeeded in imposing, +not only upon the _Patriote_ leaders, but upon the people of St +Eustache. He found a capable and dauntless supporter in Dr J. O. +Chenier, the young physician of the village. Chenier was one of the +few leaders of the revolt whose courage challenges admiration; and it +is fitting that to-day a monument, bearing the simple inscription +CHENIER, should stand in the Place Viger in Montreal, among the people +for whom, though misguidedly and recklessly, he laid down his life. + +To St Eustache, on Sunday, November 26, came the news of Wolfred +Nelson's victory at St Denis. On Monday and Tuesday bands of +_Patriotes_ went about the countryside, terrorizing and disarming the +loyalists and compelling the faint-hearted to join in the rising. On +Wednesday night the rebels gathered to the number of about four hundred +{94} in St Eustache, and got noisily drunk (_s'y enivrerent +bruyamment_). They then proceeded, under the command of Girod and +Chenier, to the Indian mission settlement at the Lake of Two Mountains. +Here they broke into the government stores and possessed themselves of +some guns and ammunition. They next made themselves unwelcome to the +superior of the mission, the Abbe Dufresne, and, in spite of his +protestations, carried off from the mission-house a three-pounder gun. +On their return to St Eustache they forcibly entered the convent which +had been lately completed, though it was not yet occupied, and camped +there. + +The loyalists who were forced to flee from the village carried the news +of these proceedings to Montreal; but Sir John Colborne was unwilling +to take any steps to subdue the _Patriotes_ of St Eustache until the +insurrection on the Richelieu had been thoroughly crushed. All he did +was to send a detachment of volunteers to guard the Bord a Plouffe +bridge at the northern end of the island of Montreal. + +On Sunday, December 3, word reached St Eustache of the defeat of the +insurgents at St Charles. This had a moderating influence on many of +the _Patriotes_. All week the Abbe {95} Paquin, parish priest of St +Eustache, had been urging the insurgents to go back quietly to their +homes. He now renewed his exhortations. He begged Chenier to cease +his revolutionary conduct. Chenier, however, was immovable. He +refused to believe that the rebels at St Charles had been dispersed, +and announced his determination to die with arms in his hands rather +than surrender. 'You might as well try to seize the moon with your +teeth,' he exclaimed, 'as to try to shake my resolve.' + +The events of the days that followed cannot be chronicled in detail. +When the Abbe Paquin and his vicar Deseves sought to leave the parish, +Girod and Chenier virtually placed them under arrest. The abbe did not +mince matters with Chenier. 'I accuse you before God and man,' he +said, 'of being the author of these misfortunes.' When some of the +habitants came to him complaining that they had been forced against +their will to join the rebels, he reminded them of the English proverb: +'You may lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink.' +Unfortunately, the Abbe Paquin's good influence was counteracted by +that of the Abbe Chartier, the cure of the neighbouring village of St +{96} Benoit, a rare case of an ecclesiastic lending his support to the +rebel movement, in direct contravention of the orders of his superiors. +On several occasions the Abbe Chartier came over to St Eustache and +delivered inflammatory addresses to the rebel levies. + +The vicar Deseves has left us a vivid picture of the life which the +rebels led. No attempt was made to drill them or to exercise +discipline. Time hung heavy on their hands. He continually saw them, +he says, passing through the village in knots of five or six, carrying +rusty guns out of order, smoking short black pipes, and wearing blue +_tuques_ which hung half-way down their backs, clothes of _etoffe du +pays_, and leather mittens. They helped themselves to all the strong +drink they could lay their hands on, and their gait showed the +influence of their potations. Their chief aim in life seemed to be to +steal, to drink, to eat, to dance, and to quarrel. With regard to the +morrow, they lived in a fool's paradise. They seem to have believed +that the troops would not dare to come out to meet them, and that when +their leaders should give the word they would advance on Montreal and +take it without difficulty. Their numbers during this period showed a +good deal of {97} fluctuation. Ultimately Girod succeeded in gathering +about him nearly a thousand men. Not all these, however, were armed; +according to Deseves a great many of them had no weapons but sticks and +stones. + +By December 13 Sir John Colborne was ready to move. He had provided +himself with a force strong enough to crush an enemy several times more +numerous than the insurgents led by Girod and Chenier. His column was +composed of the 1st Royals, the 32nd regiment, the 83rd regiment, the +Montreal Volunteer Rifles, Globensky and Leclerc's Volunteers, a strong +force of cavalry--in all, over two thousand men, supported by eight +pieces of field artillery and well supplied with provision and +ammunition transport. + +The troops bivouacked for the night at St Martin, and advanced on the +morning of the 14th. The main body crossed the Mille Isles river on +the ice about four miles to the east of St Eustache, and then moved +westward along the St Rose road. A detachment of Globensky's +Volunteers, however, followed the direct road to St Eustache, and came +out on the south side of the river opposite the village, in full view +of the rebels. Chenier, at the head of a hundred and fifty men, +crossed the {98} ice, and was on the point of coming to close quarters +with the volunteers when the main body of the loyalists appeared to the +east. Thereupon Chenier and his men beat a hasty retreat, and made +hurried preparations for defending the village. The church, the +convent, the presbytery, and the house of the member of the Assembly, +Scott, were all occupied and barricaded. It was about the church that +the fiercest fighting took place. The artillery was brought to bear on +the building; but the stout masonry resisted the battering of the +cannon balls, and is still standing, dinted and scarred. Some of the +Royals then got into the presbytery and set fire to it. Under cover of +the smoke the rest of the regiment then doubled up the street to the +church door. Gaining access through the sacristy, they lit a fire +behind the altar. 'The firing from the church windows then ceased,' +wrote one of the officers afterwards, 'and the rebels began running out +from some low windows, apparently of a crypt or cellar. Our men formed +up on one side of the church, and the 32nd and 83rd on the other. Some +of the rebels ran out and fired at the troops, then threw down their +arms and begged for quarter. Our officers tried to save the {99} +Canadians, but the men shouted "Remember Jack Weir," and numbers of +these poor deluded fellows were shot down.' + +One of those shot down was Chenier. He had jumped from a window of the +Blessed Virgin's chapel and was making for the cemetery. How many fell +with him it is difficult to say. It was said that seventy rebels were +killed, and a number of charred bodies were found afterwards in the +ruins of the church. The casualties among the troops were slight, one +killed and nine wounded. One of the wounded was Major Gugy, who here +distinguished himself by his bravery and kind-heartedness, as he had +done in the St Charles expedition. Many of the rebels escaped. A good +many, indeed, had fled from the village on the first appearance of the +troops. Among these were some who had played a conspicuous part in +fomenting trouble. The Abbe Chartier of St Benoit, instead of waiting +to administer the last rites to the dying, beat a feverish retreat and +eventually escaped to the United States. The Church placed on him its +interdict, and he never again set foot on Canadian soil. The behaviour +of the adventurer Girod, the 'general' of the rebel force, was +especially {100} reprehensible. When he had posted his men in the +church and the surrounding buildings, he mounted a horse and fled +toward St Benoit. At a tavern where he stopped to get a stiff draught +of spirits he announced that the rebels had been victorious and that he +was seeking reinforcements with which to crush the troops completely. +For four days he evaded capture. Then, finding that the cordon was +tightening around him, he blew out his brains with a revolver. Thus +ended a life which was not without its share of romance and mystery. + +On the night of the 14th the troops encamped near the desolate village +of St Eustache, a large part of which had unfortunately been given over +to the flames during the engagement. In the morning the column set out +for St Benoit. Sir John Colborne had threatened that if a single shot +were fired from St Benoit the village would be given over to fire and +pillage. But when the troops arrived there they found awaiting them +about two hundred and fifty men bearing white flags. All the villagers +laid down their arms and made an unqualified submission. And it is a +matter for profound regret that, notwithstanding this, the greater part +of the village {101} was burned to the ground. Sir John Colborne has +been severely censured for this occurrence, and not without reason. +Nothing is more certain, of course, than that he did not order it. It +seems to have been the work of the loyalist volunteers, who had without +doubt suffered much at the hands of the rebels. 'The irregular troops +employed,' wrote one of the British officers, 'were not to be +controlled, and were in every case, I believe, the instrument of the +infliction.' Far too much burning and pillaging went on, indeed, in +the wake of the rebellion. 'You know,' wrote an inhabitant of St +Benoit to a friend in Montreal, 'where the younger Arnoldi got his +supply of butter, or where another got the guitar he carried back with +him from the expedition about the neck.' And it is probable that the +British officers, and perhaps Sir John Colborne himself, winked at some +things which they could not officially recognize. At any rate, it is +impossible to acquit Colborne of all responsibility for the unsoldierly +conduct of the men under his command. + +It is usual to regard the rebellion of 1837 in Lower Canada as no less +a fiasco than its counterpart in Upper Canada. There is no doubt that +it was hopeless from the outset. {102} It was an impromptu movement, +based upon a sudden resolution rather than on a well-reasoned plan of +action. Most of the leaders--Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, +Robert Bouchette, and Amury Girod--were strangers to the men under +their command; and none of them, save Chenier, seemed disposed to fight +to the last ditch. The movement at its inception fell under the +official ban of the Church; and only two priests, the cures of St +Charles and St Benoit, showed it any encouragement. The actual +rebellion was confined to the county of Two Mountains and the valley of +the Richelieu. The districts of Quebec and Three Rivers were quiet as +the grave--with the exception, perhaps, of an occasional village like +Montmagny, where Etienne P. Tache, afterwards a colleague of Sir John +Macdonald and prime minister of Canada, was the centre of a local +agitation. Yet it is easy to see that the rebellion might have been +much more serious. But for the loyal attitude of the ecclesiastical +authorities, and the efforts of many clear-headed parish priests like +the Abbe Paquin of St Eustache, the revolutionary leaders might have +been able to consummate their plans, and Sir John Colborne, with the +small number of troops at {103} his disposal, might have found it +difficult to keep the flag flying. The rebellion was easily snuffed +out because the majority of the French-Canadian people, in obedience to +the voice of their Church, set their faces against it. + + + + +{104} + +CHAPTER X + +THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER + +The rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada profoundly affected public +opinion in the mother country. That the first year of the reign of the +young Queen Victoria should have been marred by an armed revolt in an +important British colony shocked the sensibilities of Englishmen and +forced the country and the government to realize that the grievances of +the Canadian Reformers were more serious than they had imagined. It +was clear that the old system of alternating concession and repression +had broken down and that the situation demanded radical action. The +Melbourne government suspended the constitution of Lower Canada for +three years, and appointed the Earl of Durham as Lord High +Commissioner, with very full powers, to go out to Canada to investigate +the grievances and to report on a remedy. + +John George Lambton, the first Earl of {105} Durham, was a wealthy and +powerful Whig nobleman, of decided Liberal, if not Radical, leanings. +He had taken no small part in the framing of the Reform Bill of 1832, +and at one time he had been hailed by the English Radicals or Chartists +as their coming leader. It was therefore expected that he would be +decently sympathetic with the Reform movements in the Canadas. At the +same time, Melbourne and his ministers were only too glad to ship him +out of the country. There was no question of his great ability and +statesmanlike outlook. But his advanced Radical views were distasteful +to many of his former colleagues; and his arrogant manners, his lack of +tact, and his love of pomp and circumstance made him unpopular even in +his own party. The truth is that he was an excellent leader to work +under, but a bad colleague to work with. The Melbourne government had +first got rid of him by sending him to St Petersburg as ambassador +extraordinary; and then, on his return from St Petersburg, they got him +out of the way by sending him to Canada. He was at first loath to go, +mainly on the ground of ill health; but at the personal intercession of +the young queen he accepted the commission offered him. It was {106} +an evil day for himself, but a good day for Canada, when he did so. + +Durham arrived in Quebec, with an almost regal retinue, on May 28, +1838. Gosford, who had remained in Canada throughout the rebellion, +had gone home at the end of February; and the administration had been +taken over by Sir John Colborne, the commander-in-chief of the forces. +As soon as the news of the suspension of the constitution reached Lower +Canada, Sir John Colborne appointed a provisional special council of +twenty-two members, half of them French and half of them English, to +administer the affairs of the province until Lord Durham should arrive. +The first official act of Lord Durham in the colony swept this council +out of existence. 'His Excellency believes,' the members of the +council were told, 'that it is as much the interest of you all, as for +the advantage of his own mission, that his administrative conduct +should be free from all suspicions of political influence or party +feeling; that it should rest on his own undivided responsibility, and +that when he quits the Province, he should leave none of its permanent +residents in any way committed by the acts which his Government may +have {107} found it necessary to perform, during the temporary +suspension of the Constitution.' In its place he appointed a small +council of five members, all but one from his own staff. The one +Canadian called to this council was Dominick Daly, the provincial +secretary, whom Colborne recommended as being unidentified with any +political party. + +The first great problem with which Lord Durham and his council had to +deal was the question of the political prisoners, numbers of whom were +still lying in the prisons of Montreal. Sir John Colborne had not +attempted to decide what should be done with them, preferring to shift +this responsibility upon Lord Durham. It would probably have been much +better to have settled the matter before Lord Durham set foot in the +colony, so that his mission might not have been handicapped at the +outset with so thorny a problem; but it is easy to follow Colborne's +reasoning. In the first place, he did not bring the prisoners to trial +because no Lower-Canadian jury at that time could have been induced to +convict them, a reasonable inference from the fact that the murder of +Weir had gone unavenged, even as the murderers of Chartrand were to be +acquitted {108} by a jury a few months later. In the second place, +Colborne had not the power to deal with the prisoners summarily. +Moreover, most of the rebel leaders had not been captured. The only +three prisoners of much importance were Wolfred Nelson, Robert +Bouchette, and Bonaventure Viger. The rest of the _Patriote_ leaders +were scattered far and wide. Chenier and Girod lay beneath the +springing sod; Papineau, O'Callaghan, Storrow Brown, Robert Nelson, +Cote, and Rodier were across the American border; Morin had just come +out of his hiding-place in the Canadian backwoods; and LaFontaine, +after vainly endeavouring, on the outbreak of rebellion, to get Gosford +to call together the legislature of Lower Canada, had gone abroad. The +future course of the rebels who had fled to the United States was still +doubtful; there was a strong probability that they might create further +disturbances. And, while the situation was still unsettled, Colborne +thought it better to leave the fate of the prisoners to be decided by +Durham. + +Durham's instructions were to temper justice with mercy. His own +instincts were apparently in favour of a complete amnesty; but he +supposed it necessary to make an {109} example of some of the leaders. +After earnest deliberation and consultation with his council, and +especially with his chief secretary, Charles Buller, the friend and +pupil of Thomas Carlyle, Durham determined to grant to the rebels a +general amnesty, with only twenty-four exceptions. Eight of the men +excepted were political prisoners who had been prominent in the revolt +and who had confessed their guilt and had thrown themselves on the +mercy of the Lord High Commissioner; the remaining sixteen were rebel +leaders who had fled from the country. Durham gave orders that the +eight prisoners should be transported to the Bermudas during the +queen's pleasure. The sixteen refugees were forbidden to return to +Canada under penalty of death without benefit of clergy. + +No one can fail to see that this course was dictated by the humanest +considerations. A criminal rebellion had terminated without the +shedding judicially of a drop of blood. Lord Durham even took care +that the eight prisoners should not be sent to a convict colony. The +only criticism directed against his course in Canada was on the ground +of its excessive lenity. Wolfred Nelson and Robert Bouchette had +certainly suffered a milder fate {110} than that of Samuel Lount and +Peter Matthews, who had been hanged in Upper Canada for rebellion. Yet +when the news of Durham's action reached England, it was immediately +attacked as arbitrary and unconstitutional. The assault was opened by +Lord Brougham, a bitter personal enemy of Lord Durham. In the House of +Lords Brougham contended that Durham had had no right to pass sentence +on the rebel prisoners and refugees when they had not been brought to +trial; and that he had no right to order them to be transported to, and +held in, Bermuda, where his authority did not run. In this attitude he +was supported by the Duke of Wellington, the leader of the Tory party. +Wellington's name is one which is usually remembered with honour in the +history of the British Empire; but on this occasion he did not think it +beneath him to play fast and loose with the interests of Canada for the +sake of a paltry party advantage. It would have been easy for him to +recognize the humanity of Durham's policy, and to join with the +government in legislating away any technical illegalities that may have +existed in Durham's ordinance; but Wellington could not resist the +temptation to embarrass the Whig {111} administration, regardless of +the injury which he might be doing to the sorely tried people of Canada. + +The Melbourne administration, which had sent Durham to Canada, might +have been expected to stand behind him when he was attacked. Lord John +Russell, indeed, rose in the House of Commons and made a thoroughgoing +defence of Durham's policy as 'wise and statesmanlike.' But he alone +of the ministers gave Durham loyal support. In the House of Lords +Melbourne contented himself with a feeble defence of Durham and then +capitulated to the Opposition. Nothing would have been easier for him +than to introduce a bill making valid whatever may have been irregular +in Durham's ordinance; but instead of that he disallowed the ordinance, +and passed an Act of Indemnity for all those who had had a part in +carrying it out. Without waiting to hear Durham's defence, or to +consult with him as to the course which should be followed, the Cabinet +weakly surrendered to an attack of his personal enemies. Durham was +betrayed in the house of his friends. + +The news of the disallowance of the ordinance first reached Durham +through the columns of an American newspaper. {112} Immediately his +mind was made up. Without waiting for any official notification, he +sent in his resignation to the colonial secretary. He was quite +satisfied himself that he had not exceeded his powers. 'Until I +learn,' he wrote, 'from some one better versed in the English language +that despotism means anything but such an aggregation of the supreme +executive and legislative authority in a single head, as was +deliberately made by Parliament in the Act which constituted my powers, +I shall not blush to hear that I have exercised a despotism; I shall +feel anxious only to know how well and wisely I have used, or rather +exhibited an intention of using, my great powers.' But he felt that if +he could expect no firm support from the Melbourne government, his +usefulness was gone, and resignation was the only course open to him. +He wrote, however, that he intended to remain in Canada until he had +completed the inquiries he had instituted. In view of the 'lamentable +want of information' with regard to Canada which existed in the +Imperial parliament, he confessed that he 'would take shame to himself +if he left his inquiry incomplete.' + +A few days before Durham left Canada he took the unusual and, under +ordinary {113} circumstances, unconstitutional course of issuing a +proclamation, in which he explained the reasons for his resignation, +and in effect appealed from the action of the home government to +Canadian public opinion. It was this proclamation which drew down on +him from _The Times_ the nickname of 'Lord High Seditioner.' The +wisdom of the proclamation was afterwards, however, vigorously defended +by Charles Duller. The general unpopularity of the British government, +Duller explained, was such in Canada that a little more or less could +not affect it; whereas it was a matter of vital importance that the +angry and suspicious colonists should find one British statesman with +whom they could agree. The real justification of the proclamation lay +in the magical effect which it had upon the public temper. The news +that the ordinance had been disallowed, and that the whole question of +the political prisoners had been once more thrown into the melting-pot, +had greatly excited the public mind; and the proclamation fell like oil +upon the troubled waters. 'No disorder, no increase of disaffection +ensued; on the contrary, all parties in the Province expressed a +revival of confidence.' + +Lord Durham left Quebec on November 1, {114} 1838. 'It was a sad day +and a sad departure,' wrote Buller. 'The streets were crowded. The +spectators filled every window and every house-top, and, though every +hat was raised as we passed, a deep silence marked the general grief +for Lord Durham's departure.' Durham had been in Canada only five +short months. Yet in that time he had gained a knowledge of, and an +insight into, the Canadian situation such as no other governor of +Canada had possessed. The permanent monument of that insight is, of +course, his famous _Report on the Affairs of British North America_, +issued by the Colonial Office in 1839. This is no place to write at +length about that greatest of all documents ever published with regard +to colonial affairs. This much, however, may be said. In the _Report_ +Lord Durham rightly diagnosed the evils of the body politic in Canada. +He traced the rebellion to two causes, in the main: first, racial +feeling; and, secondly, that 'union of representative and irresponsible +government' of which he said that it was difficult to understand how +any English statesman ever imagined that such a system would work. And +yet one of the two chief remedies which he recommended seemed like a +death sentence passed on the French in Canada. {115} This was the +proposal for the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada with the +avowed object of anglicizing by absorption the French population. This +suggestion certainly did not promote racial peace. The other proposal, +that of granting to the Canadian people responsible government in all +matters not infringing 'strictly imperial interests,' blazed the trail +leading out of the swamps of pre-rebellion politics. + +In one respect only is Lord Durham's _Report_ seriously faulty: it is +not fair to French Canadians. 'They cling,' wrote Durham, 'to ancient +prejudices, ancient customs, and ancient laws, not from any strong +sense of their beneficial effects, but with the unreasoning tenacity of +an uneducated and unprogressive people.' To their racial and +nationalist ambitions he was far from favourable. 'The error,' he +contended, 'to which the present contest is to be attributed is the +vain endeavour to preserve a French-Canadian nationality in the midst +of Anglo-American colonies and states'; and he quoted with seeming +approval the statement of one of the Lower Canada 'Bureaucrats' that +'Lower Canada must be _English_, at the expense, if necessary, of not +being _British_.' His primary {116} object in recommending the union +of the two Canadas, to place the French in a minority in the united +province, was surely a mistaken policy. Fortunately, it did not become +operative. Lord Elgin, a far wiser statesman, who completed Durham's +work by introducing the substance of responsible government which the +_Report_ recommended, decidedly opposed anything in the nature of a +gradual crusade against French-Canadian nationalism. 'I for one,' he +wrote, 'am deeply convinced of the impolicy of all such attempts to +denationalize the French. Generally speaking, they produce the +opposite effect, causing the flame of national prejudice and animosity +to burn more fiercely. But suppose them to be successful, what would +be the result? You may perhaps _Americanize_, but, depend upon it, by +methods of this description you will never _Anglicize_ the French +inhabitants of the province. Let them feel, on the other hand, that +their religion, their habits, their prepossessions, their prejudices if +you will, are more considered and respected here than in other portions +of this vast continent, and who will venture to say that the last hand +which waves the British flag on American ground may not be that of a +French Canadian?' + + + + +{117} + +CHAPTER XI + +THE SECOND REBELLION + +The frigate _Inconstant_, with Lord Durham on board, was not two days +out from Quebec when rebellion broke out anew in Lower Canada. This +second rebellion, however, was not caused by Lord Durham's departure, +but was the result of a long course of agitation which had been carried +on along the American border throughout the months of Lord Durham's +regime. + +As early as February 1838 numbers of Canadian refugees had gathered in +the towns on the American side of the boundary-line in the +neighbourhood of Lake Champlain. They were shown much sympathy and +encouragement by the Americans, and seem to have laboured under the +delusion that the American government would come to their assistance. +A proclamation signed by Robert Nelson, a brother of Wolfred Nelson, +declared the independence of Canada under a {118} 'provisional +government' of which Robert Nelson was president and Dr Cote a member. +The identity of the other members is a mystery. Papineau seems to have +had some dealings with Nelson and Cote, and to have dallied with the +idea of throwing in his lot with them; but he soon broke off +negotiations. 'Papineau,' wrote Robert Nelson, 'has abandoned us, and +this through selfish and family motives regarding the seigniories, and +inveterate love of the old French bad laws.' There is reason to +believe, however, that Papineau had been in communication with the +authorities at Washington, and that his desertion of Robert Nelson and +Cote was in reality due to his discovery that President Van Buren was +not ready to depart from his attitude of neutrality. + +On February 28, 1838, Robert Nelson and Cote had crossed the border +with an armed force of French-Canadian refugees and three small +field-pieces. Their plan had contemplated the capture of Montreal and +a junction with another invading force at Three Rivers. But on finding +their way barred by the Missisquoi militia, they had beat a hasty +retreat to the border, without fighting; and had there been disarmed by +the American {119} troops under General Wool, a brave and able officer +who had fought with conspicuous gallantry at the battle of Queenston +Heights in 1812. + +During the summer months, however, the refugees had continued to lay +plans for an insurrection in Lower Canada. Emissaries had been +constantly moving among the parishes north of the New York and Vermont +frontiers, promising the _Patriotes_ arms and supplies and men from the +United States. The rising was carefully planned. And when November +came large bodies of disaffected habitants gathered at St Ours, St +Charles, St Michel, L'Acadie, Chateauguay, and Beauharnois. They had +apparently been led to expect that they would be met at some of these +places by American sympathizers with arms and supplies. No such aid +being found at the rendezvous, many returned to their homes. But some +persevered in the movement, and made their way with packs on their +backs to Napierville, a town fifteen miles north of the boundary-line, +which had been designated as the rebel headquarters. + +Meanwhile, Robert Nelson had moved northward to Napierville from the +American side of the border with a small band of refugees. {120} Among +these were two French officers, named Hindenlang and Touvrey, who had +been inveigled into joining the expedition. Hindenlang, who afterwards +paid for his folly with his life, has left an interesting account of +what happened. He and Touvrey joined Nelson at St Albans, on the west +side of Lake Champlain. With two hundred and fifty muskets, which had +been placed in a boat by an American sympathizer, they dropped down the +river to the Canadian border. There were five in the party--Nelson and +the two French officers, the guide, and the boatman. Nelson had given +Hindenlang to understand that the habitants had risen and that he would +be greeted at the Canadian border by a large force of enthusiastic +recruits. In this, however, he was disappointed. 'There was not a +single man to receive the famous President of the _Provisional +Government_; and it was only after a full hour's search, and much +trouble, [that] the guide returned with five or six men to land the +arms.' On the morning of November 4 the party arrived at Napierville. +Here Hindenlang found Dr Cote already at the head of two or three +hundred men. A crowd speedily gathered, and Robert Nelson was +proclaimed 'President of the Republic of {121} Lower Canada.' +Hindenlang and Touvrey were presented to the crowd; and to his great +astonishment Hindenlang was informed that his rank in the rebel force +was that of brigadier-general. + +The first two or three days were spent in hastening the arrival of +reinforcements and in gathering arms. By the 7th Nelson had collected +a force of about twenty-five hundred men, whom Hindenlang told off in +companies and divisions. Most of the rebels were armed with pitchforks +and pikes. An attempt had been made two days earlier, on a Sunday, to +obtain arms, ammunition, and stores from the houses of the Indians of +Caughnawaga while they were at church; but a squaw in search of her cow +had discovered the raiders and had given the alarm, with the result +that the Indians, seizing muskets and tomahawks, had repelled the +attack and taken seventy prisoners. + +On November 5 Nelson sent Cote with a force of four or five hundred men +south to Rouse's Point, on the boundary-line, to secure more arms and +ammunition from the American sympathizers. On his way south Cote +encountered a picket of a company of loyalist volunteers stationed at +Lacolle, and drove it {122} in. On his return journey, however, he met +with greater opposition. The company at Lacolle had been reinforced in +the meantime by several companies of loyalist militia from Hemmingford. +As the rebels appeared the loyalist militia attacked them; and after a +brisk skirmish, which lasted from twenty to twenty-five minutes, drove +them from the field. Without further ado the rebels fled across the +border, leaving behind them eleven dead and a number of prisoners, as +well as a six-pounder gun, a large number of muskets of the type used +in the United States army, a keg of powder, a quantity of +ball-cartridge, and a great many pikes. Of the provincial troops two +were killed and one was severely wounded. + +The defeat of Cote and his men at Lacolle meant that Nelson's line of +communications with his base on the American frontier was cut. At the +same time he received word that Sir John Colborne was advancing on +Napierville from Laprairie with a strong force of regulars and +volunteers. Under these circumstances he determined to fall back on +Odelltown, just north of the border. He had with him about a thousand +men, eight hundred of whom were armed with muskets. {123} He arrived +at Odelltown on the morning of November 9, to find it occupied by about +two hundred loyal militia, under the command of the inspecting +field-officer of the district, Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor. He had no +difficulty in driving in the loyalist outposts; but the village itself +proved a harder nut to crack. Taylor had concentrated his little force +at the Methodist church, and he controlled the road leading to it by +means of the six-pounder which had been taken from the rebels three +days before at Lacolle. The insurgents extended through the fields to +the right and left, and opened a vigorous fire on the church from +behind some barns; but many of the men seem to have kept out of range. +'The greater part of the Canadians kept out of shot,' wrote Hindenlang; +'threw themselves on their knees, with their faces buried in the snow, +praying to God, and remaining as motionless as if they were so many +saints, hewn in stone. Many remained in that posture as long as the +fighting lasted.' The truth appears to be that many of Nelson's men +had been intimidated into joining the rebel force. The engagement +lasted in all about two hours and a half. The defenders of the church +made several successful sallies; and just when the {124} rebels were +beginning to lose heart, a company of loyalists from across the +Richelieu fell on their flank and completed their discomfiture. The +rebels then retreated to Napierville, under the command of Hindenlang. +Robert Nelson, seeing that the day was lost, left his men in the lurch +and rode for the American border. The losses of the rebels were +serious; they left fifty dead on the field and carried off as many +wounded. Of the loyalists, one officer and five men were killed and +one officer and eight men wounded. + +Later in the same day Sir John Colborne, at the head of a formidable +force, entered Napierville. On his approach those rebels who were +still in the village dispersed and fled to their homes. Detachments of +troops were immediately sent out to disperse bands of rebels reported +to be still under arms. The only encounter took place at Beauharnois, +where a large body of insurgents had assembled. After a slight +resistance they were driven out by two battalions of Glengarry +volunteers, supported by two companies of the 71st and a detachment of +Royal Engineers. + +In these expeditions the British soldiers, especially the volunteers, +did a good deal of burning and harrying. After the victory at {125} +Beauharnois they gave to the flames a large part of the village, +including the houses of some loyal citizens. In view of the +intimidation and depredations to which the loyalists had been subjected +by the rebels in the disaffected districts, the conduct of the men, in +these regrettable acts, may be understood and partially excused. But +no excuse can be offered for the attitude of the British authorities. +There are well-authenticated cases of houses of 'notorious rebels' +burned down by the orders of Sir James Macdonell, Colborne's +second-in-command. Colborne himself acquired the nickname of 'the old +Firebrand'; and, while he cannot be charged with such a mania for +incendiarism as some writers have imputed to him, it does not appear +that he took any effective measures to stop the arson or to punish the +offenders. + +The rebellion of 1838 lasted scarcely a week. It was a venture +criminally hopeless. Failing important aid from the United States, the +rebels had an even slighter chance of success than they had had a year +before, for since that time the British regular troops in Canada had +been considerably increased in number. The chief responsibility for +the rebellion must be placed at the door of Robert Nelson, who at {126} +the critical moment fled over the border, leaving his dupes to +extricate themselves as best they could from the situation into which +he had led them. As was the case in 1837, most of the leaders of the +rebellion escaped from justice, leaving only the smaller fry in the +hands of the authorities. Of the lesser ringleaders nearly one hundred +were brought to trial. Two of the French-Canadian judges, one of them +being Elzear Bedard, attempted to force the government to try the +prisoners in the civil courts, where they would have the benefit of +trial by jury; but Sir John Colborne suspended these judges from their +functions, and brought the prisoners before a court-martial, specially +convened for the purpose. Twelve of them, including the French officer +Hindenlang, were condemned to death and duly executed. Most of the +others were transported to the convict settlements of Australia. It is +worthy of remark that none of those executed or deported had been +persons of note in the political arena before 1837. On the whole, it +must be confessed that these sentences showed a commendable moderation. +It was thought necessary that a few examples should be made, as Lord +Durham's amnesty of the previous year had evidently encouraged some +{127} habitants to believe that rebellion was a venial offence. And +the execution of twelve men, out of the thousands who had taken part in +the revolt, cannot be said to have shown a bloodthirsty disposition on +the part of the government. + + + + +{128} + +CHAPTER XII + +A POSTSCRIPT + +The rebellion of 1837 now belongs to the dead past. The _Patriotes_ +and the 'Bureaucrats' of those days have passed away; and the present +generation has forgotten, or should have forgotten, the passions which +inspired them. The time has come when Canadians should take an +impartial view of the events of that time, and should be willing to +recognize the good and the bad on either side. It is absurd to pretend +that many of the English in Lower Canada were not arrogant and brutal +in their attitude toward the French Canadians, and lawless in their +methods of crushing the rebellion; or that many of the _Patriote_ +leaders were not hopelessly irreconcilable before the rebellion, and +during it criminally careless of the interests of the poor habitants +they had misled. On the other hand, no true Canadian can fail to be +proud of the spirit of loyalty which in 1837 {129} actuated not only +persons of British birth, but many faithful sons and daughters of the +French-Canadian Church. Nor can one fail to admire the devotion to +liberty, to 'the rights of the people,' which characterized rebels like +Robert Bouchette. 'When I speak of the rights of the people,' wrote +Bouchette, 'I do not mean those abstract or extravagant rights for +which some contend, but which are not generally compatible with an +organized state of society, but I mean those cardinal rights which are +inherent to British subjects, and which, as such, ought not to be +denied to the inhabitants of any section of the empire, however +remote.' The people of Canada to-day are able to combine loyalty and +liberty as the men of that day were not; and they should never forget +that in some measure they owe to the one party the continuance of +Canada in the Empire, and to the other party the freedom wherewith they +have been made free. + +[Illustration: Denis Benjamin Viger. From a print in M'Gill University +Library.] + +The later history of the _Patriotes_ falls outside the scope of this +little book, but a few lines may be added to trace their varying +fortunes. Some of them never returned to Canada. Robert Nelson took +up his abode in New York, and there practised surgery until {130} his +death in 1873. E. B. O'Callaghan went to Albany, and was there +employed by the legislature of New York in preparing two series of +volumes entitled _A Documentary History of New York_ and _Documents +relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York_, volumes +which are edited in so scholarly a manner, and throw such light on +Canadian history, that the Canadian historian would fain forgive him +for his part in the unhappy rebellion of '37. + +Most of the _Patriote_ leaders took advantage, however, of the virtual +amnesty offered them in 1842 by the first LaFontaine-Baldwin +administration, and returned to Canada. Many of these, as well as many +of the _Patriote_ leaders who had not been implicated in the rebellion +and who had not fled the country, rose to positions of trust and +prominence in the public service of Canada. Louis Hippolyte +LaFontaine, after having gone abroad during the winter of 1837-38, and +after having been arrested on suspicion in November 1838, entered the +parliament of Canada, formed, with Robert Baldwin as his colleague, the +administration which ushered in full responsible government, and was +knighted by Queen Victoria. Augustin Morin, the reputed author {131} +of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, who had spent the winter of 1837-38 in +hiding, became the colleague of Francis Hincks in the Hincks-Morin +administration. George Etienne Cartier, who had shouldered a musket at +St Denis, became the lifelong colleague of Sir John Macdonald and was +made a baronet by his sovereign. Dr Wolfred Nelson returned to his +practice in Montreal in 1842. In 1844 he was elected member of +parliament for the county of Richelieu. In 1851 he was appointed an +inspector of prisons. Thomas Storrow Brown, on his return to Montreal, +took up again his business in hardware, and is remembered to-day by +Canadian numismatists as having been one of the first to issue a +halfpenny token, which bore his name and is still sought by collectors. +Robert Bouchette recovered from the serious wound he had sustained at +Moore's Corners, and later became Her Majesty's commissioner of customs +at Ottawa. + +Papineau returned to Canada in 1845. The greater part of his period of +exile he spent in Paris, where he came in touch with the 'red +republicans' who later supported the revolution of 1848. He entered +the Canadian parliament in 1847 and sat in it until 1854. {132} But he +proved to be completely out of harmony with the new order of things +under responsible government. Even with his old lieutenant LaFontaine, +who had made possible his return to Canada, he had an open breach. The +truth is that Papineau was born to live in opposition. That he himself +realized this is clear from a laughing remark which he made when +explaining his late arrival at a meeting: 'I waited to take an +opposition boat.' His real importance after his return to Canada lay +not in the parliamentary sphere, but in the encouragement which he gave +to those radical and anti-clerical ideas that found expression in the +foundation of the _Institut Canadien_ and the formation of the _Parti +Rouge_. In many respects the _Parti Rouge_ was the continuation of the +_Patriote_ party of 1837. Papineau's later days were quiet and +dignified. He retired to his seigneury of La Petite Nation at +Montebello and devoted himself to his books. With many of his old +antagonists he effected a pleasant reconciliation. Only on rare +occasions did he break his silence; but on one of these, when he came +to Montreal, an old silver-haired man of eighty-one years, to deliver +an address before the _Institut Canadien_, he uttered a sentence which +may be taken as {133} the _apologia pro vita sua_: 'You will believe +me, I trust, when I say to you, I love my country.... Opinions outside +may differ; but looking into my heart and my mind in all sincerity, I +feel I can say that I have loved her as she should be loved.' And +charity covereth a multitude of sins. + + + + +{134} + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +The story of the Lower Canada rebellion is told in detail in some of +the general histories of Canada. William Kingsford, _History of +Canada_ (1887-94), is somewhat inaccurate and shows a strong bias +against the _Patriotes_, but his narrative of the rebellion is full and +interesting. F. X. Garneau, _Histoire du Canada_ (1845-52), presents +the history of the period, from the French-Canadian point of view, with +sympathy and power. A work which holds the scales very evenly is +Robert Christie, _A History of the Late Province of Lower Canada_ +(1848-55). Christie played a not inconspicuous part in the +pre-rebellion politics, and his volumes contain a great deal of +original material of first-rate importance. + +Of special studies of the rebellion there are a number worthy of +mention. L. O. David, _Les Patriotes de 1837-38_, is valuable for its +complete biographies of the leaders in the movement. L. N. Carrier, +_Les Evenements de 1837-38_ (1877), is a sketch of the rebellion +written by the son of one of the _Patriotes_. Globensky, _La Rebellion +de 1837 a Saint-Eustache_ (1883), written by the son of an officer in +the loyalist militia, contains some original materials of value. Lord +Charles Beauclerk, _Lithographic Views of Military Operations in Canada +under Sir John Colborne, O.C.B., {135} etc._ (1840), apart from the +value of the illustrations, is interesting on account of the +introduction, in which the author, a British army officer who served in +Canada throughout the rebellion, describes the course of the military +operations. The political aspect of the rebellion, from the Tory point +of view, is dealt with in T. C. Haliburton, _The Bubbles of Canada_ +(1839). For a penetrating analysis of the situation which led to the +rebellion see Lord Durham's _Report on the Affairs of British North +America_. + +A few biographies may be consulted with advantage. N. E. Dionne, +_Pierre Bedard et ses fils_ (1909), throws light on the earlier period; +as does also Ernest Cruikshank, _The Administration of Sir James Craig_ +(_Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada_, 3rd series, vol. ii). +See also A. D. DeCelles, _Papineau_ (1904), in the 'Makers of Canada' +series; and Stuart J. Reid, _Life and Letters of the First Earl of +Durham_ (1906). + +The parish histories, in which the province of Quebec abounds, will be +found to yield much information of a local nature with regard to the +rebellion; and the same may be said of the publications of local +historical societies, such as that of Missisquoi county. + +An original document of primary importance is the _Report of the state +trials before a general court-martial held at Montreal in 1838-39; +exhibiting a complete history of the late rebellion in Lower Canada_ +(1839). + + + + +{136} + +INDEX + +Assembly, the language question in the, 8-12; racial conflict over form +of taxation, 13-14; the struggle with Executive for full control of +revenue leads to deadlock, 22-5, 27, 29-30, 53-4, 57; seeks redress in +Imperial parliament, 28-32; the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42; the +grievance commission, 45-6, 52, 55-6; the Russell Resolutions, 57-61. +See Lower Canada. + +Aylmer, Lord, governor of Canada, 29, 33-4, 44, 45. + + +Beauharnois, Patriotes defeated at, 124-5. + +Bedard, Elzear, introduces the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38, 42; +suspended as a judge, 126. + +Bedard, Pierre, and French-Canadian nationalism, 11, 15, 16; his arrest +and release, 17-19, 20. + +Bidwell, M. S., speaker of Upper Canada Assembly, 53. + +Bouchette, Robert Shore Milnes, 129; wounded at Moore's Corners, 89-90, +91, 102, 108, 131. + +Bourdages, Louis, Papineau's chief lieutenant, 36. + +Brougham, Lord, criticizes Durham's policy, 110. + +Brown, Thomas Storrow, 38, 72, 73, 131; in command of Patriotes at St +Charles, 74, 84-6, 102, 108. + +Buller, Charles, secretary to Durham, 109, 113. + +Bureaucrats, the, 18. See 'Chateau Clique.' + + +Canada. See Lower Canada. + +Cartier, Sir George, 30; a follower of Papineau, 37, 131. + +Catholic Church in Canada, the, 7; opposes revolutionary movement, +64-5, 102, 103. + +Chartier, Abbe, encourages the rebels at St Eustache, 95-6; escapes to +the United States, 99. + +Chartier de Lotbiniere, on French-Canadian loyalty, 11. + +'Chateau Clique,' the, 22; and the Patriotes, 25, 31. + +Chenier, Dr J. O., killed at St Eustache, 93, 94, 95, 97-9, 102, 108. + +Christie, Robert, expelled from the Assembly, 34, 134. + +Colborne, Sir John, his letter on the situation previous to the +Rebellion, 69-71; his 1837 campaign, 74-5, 83, 94, 97-101, 102; +administrator of the province, 106-8; his 1838 campaign, 122, 124, 125, +126. + +Cote, Dr Cyrile, 89, 108, 118, 120; defeated at Lacolle, 121-2. + +Craig, Sir James, his 'Reign of Terror,' 15-20, 23. + +Cuvillier, Augustin, 28-9; breaks with Papineau, 37, 42, 44. + + +Dalhousie, Lord, his quarrel with Papineau, 27-9. + +Daly, Dominick, provincial secretary, 107. + +Debartzch, D. P., breaks with Papineau, 71, 84. + +Deseves, Father, 93; his picture of the rebels at St Eustache, 96-7. + +Doric Club, the, 71. + +Durham, Earl of, governor and Lord High Commissioner, 104-6; his humane +policy fails to find support in Britain, 107-12; his appeal to Canadian +public opinion, 112-13; his Report, 114-16. + +Duvernay, Ludger, at Moore's Corners, 89. + + +Elgin, Lord, and French-Canadian nationalism, 116. + +English Canadians, their conflicts with the Patriotes, 51, 64, 128. + +Ermatinger, Lieutenant, defeated by Patriotes, 73-4. + +Executive Council, 22, 25, 59. See 'Chateau Clique.' + + +French Canadians, their attitude toward the British in 1760, 2; their +loyalty, 2-5, 128-9; their generous treatment, 7-8; their fight for +official recognition of their language, 8-12, 50; their struggle with +the 'Chateau Clique,' 22-5, 29; their fight for national identity, +26-7, 29, 115-16. See Patriotes. + +French Revolution, the, and the French Canadians, 4-5. + + +Gipps, Sir George, on the grievance commission, 46, 55. + +Girod, Amury, commands the rebels at St Eustache, 92-3, 94, 95, 103; +commits suicide, 99-100, 108. + +Gladstone, W. E., supports the Russell Resolutions, 60. + +Glenelg, Lord, colonial secretary, 46. + +Goderich, Lord, colonial secretary, 29, 30. + +Gore, Colonel Charles, commands the British at St Denis, 75-7, 88. + +Gosford, Lord, governor of Canada, 45-7, 49-53, 55, 57-8, 61, 64, 106. + +Great Britain, and French-Canadian loyalty, 2-5; her conciliatory +policy in Lower Canada, 7-8, 9, 44-6, 57-60; and the Rebellion, 104, +110-111. + +Grey, Sir Charles, on the grievance commission, 45-6, 55. + +Gugy, Major Conrad, 48; at St Charles, 82-3; wounded at St Eustache, 99. + + +Haldimand, Sir Frederick, governor of Canada, 3-4. + +Head, Sir F. B., his indiscreet action, 52-3. + +Hindenlang, leads Patriotes in second rebellion, 120, 121, 123, 124; +executed, 126. + + +Kemp, Captain, defeats the Patriotes at Moore's Corners, 90-2. + +Kimber, Dr, in the affair at Moore's Corners, 89. + + +Lacolle, rebels defeated at, 121-2. + +LaFontaine, L. H., a follower of Papineau, 37, 63, 108, 130, 132. + +Lartigue, Mgr, his warning to the revolutionists, 65. + +Legislative Council, the, 22, 25, 31, 36, 41, 46, 53, 54, 55, 59. + +Lower Canada, the conflict between French and English Canadians in, +13-15, 33, 114; the Rebellion of 1837, 69-103; the constitution +suspended, 104, 106; treatment of the rebels, 108-13; Durham's +investigation and Report, 114-116; the Rebellion of 1838, 117-27. See +Assembly. + + +Macdonell, Sir James, Colborne's second-in-command, 125. + +Mackenzie, W. L., and the Patriotes, 72. + +Melbourne, Lord, and Durham's policy, 111. + +Mondelet, Dominique, 30; expelled from the Assembly, 36. + +Montreal, rioting in, 71-2. + +Moore's Corners, rebels defeated at, 89-92. + +Morin, A. N., a follower of Papineau, 37, 108, 130-1. + + +Neilson, John, supports the Patriote cause, 26-7, 28; breaks with +Papineau, 36-7, 38, 42, 44. + +Nelson, Robert, 108; leader of the second rebellion, 117-26, 129-30. + +Nelson, Dr Wolfred, a follower of Papineau, 37, 60, 65, 66, 70, 73, 74; +in command at St Denis, 74, 76, 79, 80, 88, 102, 108, 109, 131. + +Ninety-Two Resolutions, the, 38-42, 44. + + +O'Callaghan, E. B., a follower of Papineau, 37, 73, 74, 78, 87-8, 108, +130. + +O'Connell, Daniel, champions the cause of the Patriotes, 59-60. + + +Panet, Jean Antoine, his election as speaker of the Assembly, 9-10, 22; +imprisoned, 17. + +Panet, Louis, on the language question, 10. + +Papineau, Louis Joseph, 21; elected speaker of the Assembly, 22, 28; +opposes Union Bill in London, 26-7; his attack on Dalhousie, 27-29; +defeats Goderich's financial proposal, and declines seat on Executive +Council, 30; attacks Aylmer, 33-4, 47. becomes more violent and +domineering in the Assembly, 34-5; his political views become +revolutionary, 35-6, 42-43; his powerful following, 37-8, 44, the +Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42; hopeless of obtaining justice from +Britain, but disclaims intention of stirring up civil war, 47-8, 53; on +the Russell Resolutions, 60-1; his attitude previous to the outbreak, +66-68, 70; warrant issued for his arrest, 72-3, 74; escapes to the +United States, 78-9, 87-8, 90, 92, 108; holds aloof from second +rebellion, 118; his return to Canada, 131-3; his personality, 21, 25-6, +30-1, 49-50, 68, 79, 132-3. + +Paquin, Abbe, opposes the rebels at St Eustache, 95, 102. + +Parent, Etienne, breaks with Papineau, 42, 43. + +Patriotes, the, 22, 25; their struggle with the 'Chateau Clique,' 31-2, +54-5; the racial feud becomes more bitter, 33-34, 128; the Ninety-Two +Resolutions, 38-42, 44-5, 52; the passing of the Russell Resolutions +causes great agitation, 60-2; declare a boycott on English goods, 62-3; +'Fils de la Liberte' formed, 63, 71-2; begin to arm, 63-4, 69-71; the +Montreal riot, 71-2; the first rebellion, 73-103; Lord Durham's +amnesty, 108-110, 113; the second rebellion, 117-27; and afterwards, +128-33. See French Canadians. + +Perrault, Charles Ovide, killed at St Denis, 78 n. + +Prevost, Sir George, and the French Canadians, 20. + + +Quebec Act of 1774, the, 7, 9. + +Quesnel, F. A., and Papineau, 34-5, 37, 42, 44, 71. + + +Rodier, Edouard, 62-3; at Moore's Corners, 89, 108. + +Russell, Lord John, his resolutions affecting Canada, 58-59; defends +Durham's policy, 111. + +Ryland, Herman W., and the French Canadians, 16. + + +St Benoit, the burning of, 100-101. + +St Charles, the Patriote meeting at, 65-6; the fight at, 74, 82-7. + +St Denis, the fight at, 74-81; destroyed, 88. + +St Eustache, the Patriotes defeated at, 92-100. + +St Ours, the Patriote meeting at, 60-1, 70, 75. + +Salaberry, Major de, his victory at Chateauguay, 5. + +Sewell, John, and the French Canadians, 16. + +Sherbrooke, Sir John, his policy of conciliation, 24. + +Stanley, Lord, supports the Russell Resolutions, 60. + +Stuart, Andrew, and Papineau, 37, 42, 44. + + +Tache, E. P., a follower of Papineau, 37, 102. + +Taylor, Lieut.-Colonel, defends Odelltown against the rebels, 123-4. + + +United States, and the French Canadians, 2-3, 117-19. + + +Viger, Bonaventure, a Patriote leader, 73, 108. + +Viger, Denis B., a follower of Papineau, 28-9, 63. + + +War of 1812, French-Canadian loyalty in the, 5. + +Weir, Lieut., his murder at St Denis, 79-80, 88, 99. + +Wellington, Duke of, and Durham's policy in Canada, 110-111. + +Wetherall, Lieut.-Colonel, defeats rebels at St Charles, 75, 82, 83, +86, 88. + +Wool, General, disarms force of Patriotes on the United States border, +119. + + + + + Printed by T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty + at the Edinburgh University Press + + + + + + +THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA + +THIRTY-TWO VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED + +Edited by GEORGE M. WRONG and H. H. LANGTON + + + +THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA + +PART I + +THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS + +1. THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY + By Stephen Leacock. + +2. THE MARINER OF ST MALO + By Stephen Leacock. + + +PART II + +THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE + +3. THE FOUNDER OF NEW FRANCE + By Charles W. Colby. + +4. THE JESUIT MISSIONS + By Thomas Guthrie Marquis. + +5. THE SEIGNEURS OF OLD CANADA + By William Bennett Munro. + +6. THE GREAT INTENDANT + By Thomas Chapais. + +7. THE FIGHTING GOVERNOR + By Charles W. Colby. + + +PART III + +THE ENGLISH INVASION + +8. THE GREAT FORTRESS + By William Wood. + +9. THE ACADIAN EXILES + By Arthur G. Doughty. + +10. THE PASSING OF NEW FRANCE + By William Wood. + +11. THE WINNING OF CANADA + By William Wood. + + +PART IV + +THE BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH CANADA + +12. THE FATHER OF BRITISH CANADA + By William Wood. + +13. THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS + By W. Stewart Wallace. + +14. THE WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES + By William Wood. + + +PART V + +THE RED MAN IN CANADA + +15. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE OTTAWAS + By Thomas Guthrie Marquis. + +16. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS + By Louis Aubrey Wood. + +17. TECUMSEH: THE LAST GREAT LEADER OF HIS PEOPLE + By Ethel T. Raymond. + + +PART VI + +PIONEERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST + +18. THE 'ADVENTURERS OF ENGLAND' ON HUDSON BAY + By Agnes C. Laut. + +19. PATHFINDERS OF THE GREAT PLAINS + By Lawrence J. Burpee. + +20. ADVENTURERS OF THE FAR NORTH + By Stephen Leacock. + +21. THE RED RIVER COLONY + By Louis Aubrey Wood. + +22. PIONEERS OF THE PACIFIC COAST + By Agnes C. Laut. + +23. THE CARIBOO TRAIL + By Agnes C. Laut. + + +PART VII + +THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM + +24. THE FAMILY COMPACT + By W. Stewart Wallace. + +25. THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 + By Alfred D. DeCelles. + +26. THE TRIBUNE OF NOVA SCOTIA + By William Lawson Grant. + +27. THE WINNING OF POPULAR GOVERNMENT + By Archibald MacMechan. + + +PART VIII + +THE GROWTH OF NATIONALITY + +28. THE FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION + By A. H. U. Colquhoun. + +29. THE DAY OF SIR JOHN MACDONALD + By Sir Joseph Pope. + +30. THE DAY OF SIR WILFRID LAURIER + By Oscar D. Skelton. + + +PART IX + +NATIONAL HIGHWAYS + +31. ALL AFLOAT + By William Wood. + +32. THE RAILWAY BUILDERS + By Oscar D. Skelton. + + + +TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The 'Patriotes' of '37, by Alfred D. Decelles + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 *** + +***** This file should be named 29973.txt or 29973.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/9/7/29973/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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