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/•' 
 
 THE STORY 
 
 D'p;f:ee CAnAumn 
 
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 j;.\ ./^ ..r:9 Ji . j^ ., J^;...l 17l1 
 
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 OL.l. 
 
 "!• l.I, -IIF, I 
 
 'l< ) HONTO 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF TUB 
 
 UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION; 
 
 LARGELY DERIVED FROM ORIGINAL SOURCES AND DOCUMENTS. 
 
 By JOHN CHARLES DENT, 
 
 Authof of " The Last Forty Years:' etc. 
 
 • Well, God be thanked for these rebels,"-i ffenry IV., Act iii. sc. j. 
 
 guiding stars, and. abovrall Zld S L T "''"■ ^'''°'^ ^"'^ biography would cease to be 
 
 Toronto: 
 
 C. BLACKETT ROBINSON, 5 JORDAN STREET. 
 
 1885. 
 
v^ 
 
 133338 
 
 .7 
 
 7 ) 
 
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 Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada in the year 1885, by 
 0. Blackett Robinson, in the office of Vie Mini»ter of AgricMure. 
 
 I 
 
 l \J 
 
338 
 
 I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO MY ESTEEMED FRIEND, 
 
 GEORGE STEWART, JUN'R. 
 
 OF QUEBEC: 
 
 WHOSE RESEARCHES IN A KINDRED DIRECTION WILL ENABLE HIM TO 
 
 DO FULL JUSTICE TO WHATEVER IS MERITORIOUS IN IT; WHILE 
 
 HIS GENEROUS APPRECIATION OF THE EFFORTS OF HIS 
 
 LITERARY BRETHREN WILL RENDER HIM 
 
 INDULGENT TO ITS DEFECTS. 
 
 TOBONTO, 1885. 
 
 JOHN CHARLES DENT. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. ^*''"' 
 
 The Banished Briton 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 
 A Bill of Partiottlabs. ... ... 
 
 4h 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Family Compact 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Fathers of Reform „„ 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 A "Free and Unfettered" Press j22 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Cask OF Captain Matthews ,^ 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Niagara Falls Odtragb ,-, 
 
 151 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The "Amoval" of Mr. Justice Willis jg2 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Case of Francis Collins -.og 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
Viii. CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 LioHTs— Old AND Nbw 213 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 PaBUAMKNTAKT PBIVItBOK 231 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 D18FBANCHI8KMKNT 253 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Mr. Hcmk's "Bankb-ui, Domination" LkxTkb 264 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "SKB, the CONQUEBINa HbBO COMJBSl" 282 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 "A Tried Rbpoemer. ' 2% 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Teiumphs of a Tbikd Refobueb 324 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Reaction 3^ 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Fobgino of the Pikes 354 
 
THE STORY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 CHAPTiiR I. 
 
 1819. 
 
 THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 N the afternoon of a warm and sultry day, towards the close 
 of one of the warinest and most sultry summers which Upper 
 Canada has ever known, an extraordinary trial took place at 
 the court-house in the old town of Niagara. The time was 
 more than threescore years ago, when York was a place 
 of insignificant proportions; when Hamilton could 
 barely be said to have an existence ; and when the sites of most of the 
 other towns of the Province whose names are now familiar to us still 
 formed part of the hunting-grounds of the native Indian. The little 
 town on the frontier was relatively a place of much greater importance 
 than it is at present; though its fortunes, even at that early period, 
 were decidedly on the wane, and such glory as it could ever boast 
 of possessing, as the Provincial capital, had departed from it long 
 before. To speak with absolute precision, the date was Friday, the 
 20th of August, 1819: so long ago that, as far as I have been able 
 to learn, there are only two persons now living who were present on 
 the occasion. The court-room, which was the largest in the Province, 
 was packed to the doors, and though every window was thrown open for 
 purposes of ventilation, the atmosphere was almost stifling. Even a 
 
10 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 stranger, had any such been present, could not have failed to perceive 
 that the trial was one in which a keen interest was felt by the spec- 
 tators, many of whom were restless and irritable, insomuch that they 
 found it impossible to keep perfectly still, and from time to time shifted 
 uneasily in their places. Whispers, "not loud, but deep," occasionally 
 reverberated from the back benches to the quadrangular space in front 
 assigned to gentlemen of the long robe, and ascended thence to the 
 august presence upon the judgment seat. Ever and anon the stentorian 
 voice of the crier proclaimed silence, in a tone which plainly signified 
 that endurance had well-nigh reached its limits, and that he would 
 really be compelled to proceed to extremities if his mandate were any 
 longer disobeyed. 
 
 The court-room was of the old conventional pattern. At the upper 
 end was the large elevated desk, or throne, extending nearly half 
 way across the chamber, with spacious cushioned chairs, and other 
 suitable accommodation for the presiding judge and his associates. To 
 right and left were the enclosed jury boxes, with seats raised consid- 
 erably above the level of the floor, but not so high as those provided for 
 the justices. Directly opposite the throne of justice, and about six yards 
 distant therefrom, was the prisoners' dock, into which five or six persons 
 might have been thrust, at a pinch. The intervening space enclosed by 
 this quadrangle — throne, prisoners' dock, and jury boxes — was mainly 
 appropriated to the use of barristers and attorneys, and their clients. 
 A large portion of the space so appropriated was occupied by a table, 
 around which were distributed a few chairs, every one of which was 
 occupied ; and at the end directly below the judicial throne was a small 
 enclosure provided for the clerk of the court, set apart by a low railing, 
 and containing a desk of diminutive size. Between the clerk's desk and 
 the left-hand jury bo:., was the witness stall, raised to a level with the 
 highest seats provided for the jurors. A seat for the sheriff was placed 
 a short distance to the right of the throne of justice, and on a slightly 
 lower level. 
 
 All these arrangements occupied perhaps one-third of the entire court- 
 room. The rest of the space, extending from the rear of the prisoners' 
 dock to the lower end of the chamber, was occupied by seats rising t^er 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 11 
 
 behind tier, with a passage down the middle. Between each of the ends 
 of these seats and the walls of the chamber were passages of about three 
 feet in width, leading to the doors, for purposes of "ingress, egress and 
 regress." Such was the plan of the conventional Upper Canadian court- 
 room in the olden time ; and such, with a few inconsiderable modifica- 
 tions, many of them remain down to the present day. 
 
 The sole occupant of the judgment seat, on this sultry afternoon, 
 was a gentleman of somewhat diminutive size, but withal of handsome 
 and imposing appearance. Though he had reached advanced middle 
 life, he presented none of the signs of age, and evidently retained all his 
 vigour unimpaired. His eyes were bright and keen, and his small but 
 firm and clearly cut features were lighted up with the consciousness of 
 mental power. No one, looking upon that countenance, could doubt that 
 its owner had all his faculties under strict and thorough control, or that 
 his faculties were considerably above those of average humanity. The 
 face was not one for a child to fall in love with, for it was a perfect index 
 to the character, and was firm and strong rather than amiable or kind. 
 Evidently a man who, should the occasion for doing so arise, would deal 
 out the utmost rigour of the law, if not with indifference, at least without 
 a qualm. He was the Honourable William Dummer Powell, and he 
 occupied the high office of Chief Justice of the Province. In conjunction 
 with the Eeverend Doctor Strachan, Eector of York, he had for several 
 years practically directed the administration of affairs in Upper Canada. 
 Francis Gore and Sir Peregrine Maitland might successively posture as 
 figure-heads under the title of Lieutenant-Governors, but the real deposi- 
 taries of power were the Eector and the Chief Justice. Ominous combi- 
 nation ! which falsified the aphorism of a great writer — now, unhappily, 
 lost to us — about the inevitable incompatibility of law and gospel. Both 
 of them had seats in the Executive Council, and, under the then-existing 
 state of things, were official but irresponsible advisers of the Crown's 
 representative. More than one would-be innovator of those days had 
 been made to feel the weight of their hands, without in the least 
 knowing, or even suspecting, whence the blow proceeded. They were 
 the head and front of the junto of oligarchs who formed the Vehmgfricht 
 known as the Family Compact, and for all practical purposes their 
 
12 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 judgment in matters relating to the dispensing of patronage and the 
 disposal of Crown property was final and conclusive. 
 
 The counsel for the prosecution was a handsome young man of 
 twenty-eight, who for some years past had been steadily fitting himself 
 for the important part he was destined to play — that of Mr. Powell's 
 judicial* and political successor in the colony. The time was only ten 
 years distant when he, in his turn, was to become Chief Justice of Upper 
 Canada. The time was still less remote when he was to succeed Chief 
 Justice Powell as Dr. Iltrachan's most active colleague — as the chief 
 lay spokesman of his party, and the chief lay adviser of successive 
 Lieutenant-Governors. His name was John Beverley Robinson, and his 
 destiny was doubtless sufficiently clear before him on this 20th of August, 
 1819. He had strong claims upon his party, for he was the son of a 
 United Empire Loyalist, and during the late war with the United States 
 had proved that he was no degenerate scion of the stock whence he had 
 sprung. He had been present at the surrender of Detroit, and had 
 borne himself gallantly at the battle of Queenston Heights. Nor had his 
 party shown any disposition to ignore his claims. On the contrary, they 
 had pushed him forward with a rapidity which would have turned any 
 head with a natural tendency to giddiness. He had been appointed 
 Attorney-General of the Province before he had been called to the bar, 
 and when he was only twenty-one years of age — a special Act of Parliament 
 being subsequently passed to confirm the proceeding. In 1815 he had 
 been appointed Solicitor-General, chiefly in order that he might draw the 
 salary incidental to that office during a two years' visit to England. 
 Soon after his return he had again been appointed Attorney-General, 
 and had early signalized his re-accession to office by his manner of 
 prosecuting certain criminals from the Red River country, who had been 
 placed on trial at York. Tnose proceedings do not fall within the purview 
 of this work, but it may be said with reference to the young Attorney- 
 General's connection with them that he had proved himself an exceedingly 
 narrow partisan and a docile pupil of Dr. Strachan. He now presented 
 
 
 *Not, however, his immediate judicial sucoesBor. Mr. — afterwards Sir William— Campbell 
 became Chief Justice in 1825, and Mr. Robinson's succession did nnt take place until four 
 yean later. 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 18 
 
 himself to take a leading part in one of the most shameless and iniquitous 
 prosecutions that ever disgraced a court of justice. His personal appear- 
 ance was decidedly prepossessing. Hie figure, clad in well-fitting garments 
 of the fashionable cut of the period, was light, agile and compact, and his 
 face, rather inclining to narrowness, was surmounted by a high and 
 smoothly-finished brow, beneath which looked out a pair of steel-grey 
 eyes, the usual expression of which was eagtr and firm, but on the whole 
 not unkindly. His mouth was iinely formed, and when he was in a 
 pleasant humour — as indeed he not imfrequently was — his smile was 
 sweet and ingratiating. In intellectual capacity he was considerably in 
 advance of most of his professional brethren of that day, and he had 
 cultivated his natural abilities by constant watchfulness and study. His 
 features, one and all, were well and sharply defined, and he was probably 
 the handsomest man at the Provincial bar. 
 
 Several other members of the legal profession, all of them more or 
 less widely known in the forensic, judicial or political annals of the 
 Province, were present. Conspicuous among them was the brilliant but 
 unscrupulous Christoper Alexander Hagerman, who had already taken 
 high rank at the bar, and was destined to be one of the most active and 
 intolerant directors of the oligarchical policy. Archibald McLean, tall 
 and lithe of limb, had then been more than four years at the bar, and he 
 had already given evidence of the high abilities which were to gain for 
 him an honoured seat upon the judicial bench. He had been retained to 
 defend two prisoners at the Niagara assizes, and his presence in the 
 court-room was due to this fact. Another figure at the barristers' table 
 was Samuel Peters Jarvis, his hands yet red with the blood of young 
 John Bidout, ruthlessly shed by him in a duel two years before, and 
 never to be effaced from the tablets of his memory. There, too, sat 
 Henry John Boulton, a young man of much pretension but mediocre 
 intellect, who had been appointed acting Solicitor-General during the 
 previous year, and who imited in his own person all the bigotry and 
 narrow selfishness of the faction to which he belonged. He, also, had 
 been concerned in the shedding of young Ridout's blood, having acted as 
 second to the surviving principal in that affair. With this exception his 
 past life had been uneventful, but his future was fated to be marked by 
 
14 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 considerable variety of incident, and by actions which even the moat 
 favourable judgment cannot regard with unmixed complacency. 
 
 The twelve jurymen sat in their places, in the jury-box to the left of 
 the judge. The witnesses summoned on behalf of the Crown were the 
 Honourable William Dickson and the Honourable William Glaus, both of 
 whom were members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. 
 The former gentleman was an enterprising Scotchman who had settled 
 in Niagara while it was yet known as Newark, where he had first 
 kept a general store, and afterwards practised law and speculation with 
 great pecuniary success. Like the Jarvis above mentioned, he was 
 disfigured by a red right hand, having shot his man in a duel fought 
 in the autumn of 1808 behind the United States fort on the oppo- 
 site bank of the river. It is fair to Mr. Dickson, however, to say that 
 he was the challenged party, and that the duel was in a measure 
 forced upon him by the barbarous usages of society in those (happily) 
 far-off days. The other witness, Mr. Claus, was at the head of the Indian 
 department at Niagara, the abuses in the administration whereof were 
 notorious. It was well understood throughout the district that Dickson 
 and Claus between them had contrived to make a tolerably good thing 
 out of the Indians, and that they had been concerned in some decidedly 
 shady transactions. If it be true that Heaven helps those who help 
 themselves, certainly both those gentlemen were entitled to look for divine 
 assistance. They possessed and exercised a wide influence throughout the 
 settlements in the Niagara peninsula, as well as at the Provincial capital, 
 and were commonly regarded as being on the high road to great wealth. 
 Two years before the date of the trial forming the subject rtf the present 
 chapter, Dickson had purchased the whole of the splendid township of 
 Dumfries, comprising 94,305 acres, at a trifle over a dollar an acre ; and 
 he had already begun to realize upon his investment. Claus and he 
 occupied seats at the barristers' table, in close proximity to the Attorney- 
 General. The spectators included pretty nearly every prominent resident 
 of the town of Niagara and its immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 But the most conspicuous figure in that crowded court-room yet 
 remains to be considered. It has been mentioned that the prisoners' dock 
 was large enough to hold five or six persons. On this occasion it held 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 15 
 
 but a single, solitary prisoner. A man large and bony, who, when in 
 his ordinary state of health, must have weighed not less than fifteen 
 stone. Juai at present be was very far from being in ordinary health, for 
 during the preceding twelvemonth he had undergone sufficient worry 
 and suffering to destroy the life of any man of average vitality. After 
 having successfully defended himself through two criminal trials, he had 
 been cast into prison, where he had languished for more than seven 
 months. During his long confinement he had been subjected to a course 
 of treatment which would have been highly culpable if meted out to a 
 convicted criminal, and which was marked by a malignant cruelty hardly 
 to be comprehended when the nature of the offence charged against him is 
 considered. His own account of the matter is a plain and simple narration 
 of facts, the truth whereof rests upon the clearest and most indisputable 
 evidence. "After two months' close confinement," he writes, " in one of 
 the cells of the jail, my health had begun to suffer, and, on complaint of 
 this, the liberty of walking through the passages and sitting at the door 
 was granted. This liberty prevented my getting worse the four succeed- 
 ing months, although I never enjoyed a day's health, but by the power 
 of medicine. At the end of this period I was again locked up in the cell, 
 cut off from all conversation with my friends, but through a hole in the 
 door, while the jailor or under-sheriff watched what was said, and for 
 some time both my attorney and magistrates of my acquaintance were 
 denied admission to me. The quarter sessions were held soon after this 
 severe and unconstitutional treatment commenced, and on these occa- 
 sions it was the custom and duty of the grand jury to perambulate the 
 jail, and see that all was right with the prisoners. I prepared a memorial 
 for their consideration, but on this occasion was not visitied. I com- 
 plained to a magistrate through the door, who promised to mention my 
 case to the chairman of the sessions, but the chairman happened to be 
 brother of one of those who had signed my commitment, and the court 
 broke up without my obtaining the smallest relief. Exasperation of 
 mind, now joined to the heat of the weather, which was excessive, rapidly 
 wasted my health and impaired my faculties. I felt my memory sensibly 
 affected, and could not connect my ideas through any length of reasoning, 
 but by writing, which many days I was wholly unfitted for by the violence 
 of continual headache." 
 
16 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 There is a pathos about this plain, unvarnishe'i story that appeals to 
 every heart. That a man, no matter what his crimes, should have his 
 nervous system thus cruelly undermined ; that his physical and mental 
 faculties should be slowly but surely filched from him in this deliberate 
 fashion, is an idea not to be borne with composure by anyone whose 
 breast is susceptible to human impulses. But Bobert Gourlay was no 
 great criminal. He had engaged in no plot to blow up King, Lords and 
 Commons. He had been guilty of no treason or felony. He had threatened 
 no man's life, and taken no man's purse upon the highway. He was by 
 no means the stuff of which great criminals are made. He was not even 
 a vicious or immoral man. He was an affectionate husband, a fond and 
 indulgent father. His story, from beginning to end, even when subjected 
 to the fiercest light that can be thrown upon it, discloses nothing cruel 
 or revengeful, nothing vile or outrageously wicked, nothing grovelling or 
 base, nothing sordid or mean. On the other hand, it discloses a man of 
 many noble and generous impulses ; a man with a great heart in his 
 bosom which could warmly sympathize with the wrongs of his fellow- 
 creatures; a man in whom was no selfishness or greed; a man of decided 
 principles and stainless morals; who was incapable of dishonesty or 
 cruelty; who had a high sense of human responsibility; who feared his 
 God and honoured his King. When we compare his virtuous and hon- 
 ourable, albeit turbulent and much misguided life, with that of any one 
 of his immediate persecutors, the contrast is mournfully suggestive of 
 Mr. Lowell's antithesis about 
 
 " Truth forever on the BoafTold ; wrong forever on the throne." 
 
 To what, then, was his long and bitter persecution to be attributed ? 
 Why had he been deprived of his liberty; thrust into a dark and unwhole- 
 some dungeon; refused the benefit of the Habeas Corpus Act; denied his 
 enlargement upon bail or mainprize ; branded as a malefactor of the 
 most dangerous kind; badgered and tortured to the ruin of his health 
 and his reason? Merely this: he had imbibed, in advance, the spirit of 
 Mr. Arthur Clennam, and had "wanted to know."* He had displayed a 
 persistent determination to let in the light of day upon the iniquities and 
 
 *" Upon my soul, you mustn't come into the place saying you want to know, you know ! 
 You have no right to come this sort of move 1 "—LittU Dorrit, 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 17 
 
 rascalities of public officials. He bad denounced tbe system of patronage 
 and favouritism in the disposal of tbe Crown Lands. He had inveighed 
 against some of the human bloodsuckers of that day, in language which 
 certainly was not gracious or parliamentary, but which as certainly 
 was both forcible and true. He had even ventured to speak in contume- 
 lious terms of the reverend Kector of York himself, whom he had 
 stigmatized as "a lying little fool of a renegade Presbyterian." Nay, 
 he had advised the sending of commissioners to England to entreat 
 Imperial attention to colonial grievances. He had been the one man 
 in Upper Canada possessed of sufficient courage to do and to dare : to 
 lift the thin and flimsy veil which only half concealed the corruption 
 whereby a score of greedy vampires were rapidly enriching themselves 
 at the public cost. He had dared to hold up to general inspection 
 the baneful effects of an irresponsible Executive, and of a dominating 
 clique whose one hope lay in preserving the existing order of things 
 undisturbed. It was for this that the Inquisition hpd wreaked its 
 vengeance upon him ; for this that the vials of Executivf wrath had been 
 poured upon his head ; for this that his body had been subjugated and 
 his nerves lacerated by more than seven months' close imprisonment ; 
 for this that he had been " ruined in his fortune and overwhelmed in his 
 mind." And all these things took place in " this Canada of ours," in 
 the year of grace eighteen hundred and nineteen — barely sixty-six years 
 ago — while the Duke of Eichmond was Governor-General, and his hand- 
 some scapegrace of a son-in-law nominally administered the government 
 of the Upper Province. 
 
 With a view to a clearer understanding of the circumstances which 
 led to this most villainous of Canadian State prosecutions, it will be 
 well to glance at some details of the prisoner's past life.* 
 
 Eobert Gourlay was the son of a gentleman of considerable fortune — 
 a retired Writer to the Signet — and was born in the parish of Ceres, 
 Fifeshire, Scotland, in 1778. He received an education suitable to his 
 social position, and while at the University of St. Andrews was the fellow- 
 
 * For a much more comprehensive account of Mr. Gourlay'a life than the one here given 
 the reader is referred to a sketch by the author of this work in The Canadian Portrait Oallerv 
 Vol. III., pp. 240-256. 
 
18 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 student and personal friend of young Thomas Chalmers, who after- 
 wards became one of the most eloquent pulpit orators of modern times.* 
 Eobert was the eldest son of his parents, and, being heir to the paternal 
 estates, he grew up to manhood with the expectation of one day succeed- 
 ing to wealth and station in society. He was put to no profession, and 
 after leaving college, devoted himself to no settled pursuit. He was on 
 visiting terms with the resident gentry of his native shire, and took some 
 interest in local military matters. In 1806 he offered to take charge of 
 an expedition for the invasion of Paris, being probably impelled thereto 
 by the mad attempt of Lord Camelford several years before. He was 
 full of energy and robust health, bountiful and generous to the poor of 
 the parish, a practical philanthropist, possessed of great intelligence and 
 a genuine love for his kind ; but withal somewhat flighty and erratic, of 
 impetuous temper, deficient in tact and discretion, and given to revery 
 and theorizing. He was, in short, a bundle of contradictions, some of 
 his idiosyncrasies being doubtless inherited from his father, who was a 
 generous and high-minded but unpractical man. The sire would seem to 
 have been conscious of his son's weaknesses. " Eobert," he was wont to 
 say, "will hurt himself, but do good to others." The son studied deeply 
 the economical side of the pauper question, and his researches in this 
 direction brought him into intimate relations with that eminent writer 
 Mr. Arthur Young, t at whose suggestion he was appointed to conduct an 
 inquiry into the condition of the poor in England. By virtue of this 
 appointment he travelled, chiefly on foot, through the most important 
 
 * More than half a century later the venerable Doctor thus wrote to his old school-fellow : 
 " . . I received your interesting letter . . with no slight emotion of kindness and respect, 
 having ever regarded you as one of the ablest of my fellow-students at St. Andrews ; and who, if 
 human life had not been the lottery it is, would have earned by his talents, and merited by his 
 friendly disposition, a place of high and honourable distinction in society." 
 
 tThe following observations, written concerning Mr. Young by Mr. Gourlay many years 
 afterwards, contain, so far as they go, a singularly accurate portraiture of the Banished Briton 
 himself : — " He was an enthusiast, and of course honest : he was well educated, and a gentleman. 
 In all his voluminous writings a mean sentiment is not to be found. His habit of making free 
 with people's names, and taking liberties with their writings, arose from an uncontrollable ardour 
 in the cause of improvement. . . His inclination to accumulate crude and undigested infor- 
 mation, sufficiently evinced in some of his tours, had their full scope : he then lost himself, and 
 bewildered others. In the confusion of detail. I question if he ever had the power of correct 
 abstract reasoning. His imagination was too busy for it : his eye was too ravenous, devouring 
 all within its re&ch."— General Introduction to Statistical Account of Upper Canada; p. xcvii. 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 19 
 
 agricultural districts of the island, after which he was pronounced by 
 competent authorities to be the best-informed man in the kingdom 
 respecting the poor of Great Britain. As I have said elsewhere : " He 
 was consulted by members of Parliament, political economists, parish 
 overseers, and even by members of the Cabinet, as to the best means for 
 reforming the poor laws, and was always ready to spend himself and his 
 substance for the public good."* 
 
 Having married and settled down on one of his father's estates, he 
 took upon himself various offices of public usefulness and philanthropy. 
 His enterprise and public spirit caused him to be much looked up to by 
 the yeomanry of Fifeshire, and he soon came to be recognized as the 
 special champion of the smaller tenantry at agricultural meetings. At 
 one of these meetings he conceived himself to have been discourteously 
 treated by his neighbour, the Earl of Kellie. The discourtesy does not 
 seem to have been of a serious nature, but Mr. Gourlay became irritated 
 to a degree altogether disproportionate to the ofifence. He wrote and pub- 
 lished a pamphlet, in which Lord Kellie was handled with much severity. 
 It was circulated by the author throughout Fifeshire, and widely read ; 
 and from this time forward he was much given to taking the public into 
 his confidence respecting his personal grievances. His attack on Lord 
 Kellie, however, weakened his popularity, and in 1809, partly owing to 
 this cause, and partly to his being in temporary ill-health, he accepted a 
 proposal from the Duke of Somerset to become the tenant of a farm 
 belonging to his Grace, and situated in the parish of Wily, in Wiltshire. 
 For a time all went well with him in his new abode. His farm was a 
 model for the emulation of all the landholders in the parish, and his 
 products gained prize after prize at successive agricultural exhibitions. 
 But Mr. Gourlay was nothing if not critical, and certain of his surround- 
 ings afforded legitimate grounds for fault-finding. There were many and 
 serious defects in the system of administering the poor-laws of Great 
 Britain in those days, and the administration in the parish of Wily 
 was attended by some specially objectionable features. These erelong 
 became painfully apparent to the keen eyes of Mr. Gourlay, who began 
 to agitate for a reform. He went into the matter with characteristic 
 
 * Canadian Portrait Gallery, Vol. III., p. 241. 
 
20 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 earnestness, and, by dint of constant speechifying and weekly letters 
 addressed to the local newspapers, he soon began to produce an impres- 
 sion. His appetite for agitation grew by what it fed upon, insomuch 
 that he became a confirmed grievance-monger and hunter-up of abuses. 
 The magnates of the county began to look coldly upon him, and even, 
 in some instances, to array themselves in open opposition to him. 
 This only tended still furthor to arouse the native pugnacity of his dis- 
 position, and his attacks upon local abuses and those who upheld them 
 became more and more violent. Now, in all this there can be no doubt 
 that Mr. Gourlay was from first to last chiefly actuated by genuine 
 philanthropy. He certainly had no selfish or pecuniary purpose to 
 serve; and indeed it is hard to conceive of a man less influenced by 
 mercenary motives. His life was passed in a perpetual war against 
 veritable and undoubted evils; but unfortunately his hotheadedness 
 and want of tact prevented him from doing justice to himself and his 
 views. He lacked the calm intellect and patient temper necessary to the 
 successful fighting of life's stern battle, and had the imhappy faculty of 
 generally putting himself in the wrong, even when there could be no doubt 
 that he had originally been in the right. Some of his letters to the news- 
 papers were remarkable for nothing but their indiscretion, violence and 
 bad taste, and he came to be looked upon by the landlords of Wiltshire 
 as a visionary and dangerous man. His own landlord, the Duke of 
 Somerset, was of this way of thinking, and after some remonstrances 
 at second-hand which proved unavailing, his Grace resolved that this 
 " pestilent Scotchman " must be got rid of. A bill in Chancery was 
 filed against him on some pretext or other, with the view of putting an 
 end to his tenancy. Years of irritating and ruinous litigation followed, 
 the ultimate result of which was a decision in Mr. Gourlay' s favour. 
 But it was the old story of Jarndyce v. Jarndyce. The protracted litiga- 
 tion had eaten up the substance of the successful litigant, and upon the 
 promulgation of the decree the Wiltshire Radical was a ruined man. 
 This would have been a matter of secondary importance to the heir of a 
 wealthy Fifeshire laird, but unhappily his father had also come to the 
 end of his resources. Injudicious speculation and the mismanagement 
 of an agent, combined with the necessity of placing a large quantity of 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 21 
 
 real estate in the market at an inauspicious time, were the causes which 
 led to the bankruptcy of the elder Gourl.iv, whj was stripped of his 
 great possessions and left with a bare subsistence. The son's prospects 
 of inheriting a fortune were thus at an end, and ac thirty-seven years of 
 age he found himself almost wholly without means, and with a family of 
 five children and a wife in delicate health dependent upon him for 
 support. The howl of the wolf began to be audible to him ; distant, as 
 yet, but still gradually drawing nearer. To his mind, a change of the 
 base of his operations was clearly indicated. 
 
 Five years before this time he had acquJved a block of land in the 
 Township of Dereham, in the County of Oxford, Upper Canada, where his 
 wife also owned some property. He now began to cast his eyes anxiously 
 towards the setting sun, with a view to the rehabilitation of his broken 
 fortunes. After weighing the matter carefully, he resolved to cross the 
 Atlantic and pay a visit to Canada, in order to ascertain whether it would 
 be prudent to remove his famiiy thither. He seems to have been very 
 deliberate about making up his mind, as be did not set sail from Liver- 
 pool until the month of April, 1817, and did not reach Canada until 
 early in June. Tlae country delighted him, more especially the Upper 
 Province ; but one with so keen an eye for abuses had not far to look 
 throughout our fair land in those days for subjects of criticism. Having 
 made himself acquainted with some of the most glaring iniquities of the 
 ruling faction, and with the various causes which tended to retard the pro- 
 gress of the colony, he began to liberate his mind by written and spoken 
 utterances such as had not theretofore been heard in the Province. The 
 effect of these appeals to popular sentiment was soon apparent. People 
 who had long smarted silently under injustice did not hesitate to make 
 known their discontent. The disturber of the public tranquillity continued 
 to speak and write, and he made his presence felt more and more from 
 month to month. Having resolved to engage in business as a land 
 agent, and to set on foot a huge scheme of immigration to Canada from 
 Great Britain, he went diligently to work to gather specific and definite 
 information, and to attack one abuse after another. He travelled about 
 the country hither and thither, addressed public meetings, and wrote 
 letters to all the papers that would publish his animadversions. He was 
 
22 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 in deadly oarnest, and put all the energy of his impassioned nature into 
 his appeals. In commenting upon the delinquencies of public officials 
 he did not mince matters, though I search in vain throughout his 
 voluminous writings for any evidence that he was ever guilty of a 
 misstatement, or even an exaggeration. He regaled his readers and 
 hearers with indubitable facts — facts which, for the most part, were 
 easily susceptible of proof, and which were eminently calculated to 
 arouse public indignation against the harpies who reaped where they 
 had sowed not, and who gathered where they had not strawed. 
 
 These proceedings, as may readily be believed, rendered him inex- 
 pressibly obnoxious to the Executive, and to the horde of myrmidons who 
 held office at their sufferance. But the cup of his transgressions was not yet 
 full. His next proceeding filled it to overflowing. He addressed a series of 
 thirty-one printed questions to prominent persons in different parts of the 
 Province, asking for topographical and other information. The thirty- 
 lirst question was so framed that, if truthfully replied to, it was certain to 
 elicit facts which would form the groundwork of damnifying strictures on 
 the principal abuses of the time. **V/hat, in your opinion," asked Mr. 
 Gourlay, "retards the improvement of your township in particular, or 
 the Province in general?" Throughout the Home District the influence 
 of the Compact was sufficient to prevent any replies from being returned 
 to these queries. Elsewhere that influence was partial only, and many 
 answers were received from other districts. The all but invariable reply 
 to the thirty-first question attributed the slow development of the country 
 to the Crown and Clergy Eeserves. Mr. Gourlay did not attempt to 
 conceal his intention of publishing the results of his investigations, and 
 of circulating them all over Great Britain and Ireland. Having succeeded 
 in arousing a good deal of popular enthusiasm, he proceeded to strike 
 what he intended to be another damaging blow. Owing to his exertions, 
 a convention was held at York, whereat he advocated a petition to the 
 Imperial Parliament, praying for an investigation into the public affairs 
 of Upper Canada. He also suggested the sending of deputies to England 
 in support of the petition, and it is not improbable that such a course 
 would eventually have been followed, but the petitioners were as yet 
 not fully organized, and before any of their plans could be brought to 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 23 
 
 maturity their champion's career of agitation received a sudden and, for 
 the time, an effectual check. 
 
 The oUgarchs had taken alarm. If this man were permitted to go on 
 as he had begun, there would soon he an end of the existing order of 
 things, which they had so tremendous an interest in preserving. At 
 any cost, and by whatever moans, he must be suppressed. There must 
 be a general and determined advance against him all along the line. 
 
 The prime organizer of this most um'ighteous crusade is believed to 
 have been the Reverend Dr. John Strachan, Hector of York, member of th j 
 Executive Council, supreme director of the lay and ecclesiastical policy of 
 the Church of England in Upper Canada, champion of the Clergy Kcserves, 
 and what not. It may seem a thankless task to write in strong depre- 
 ciation of a man who, in his day and generation, was looked up to with 
 reverence by a large and influential portion of the community, and 
 whose memory is still warmly cherished by not a few. But truth is 
 truth, and the simple fact of the matter is that Dr. Strachan did more 
 to stifle freedom and retard progress in Upper Canada than any other 
 man whose name figures in our history. His baneful influence made 
 itself felt, directly or indirectly, in every one of the public oftices. 
 Wherever liberty of thought and expression, whether as affecting things 
 spiritual or temporal, ventured to lift its head, there, bludgeon in hand, 
 stood the great Protestaat Pope, ready and eager to strike. It may 
 perhaps be conceded that he acted according to his earnest convictions. 
 So, doubtless, did Philip of Spain and Tomas de Torquemada. It is not 
 going too far to say that Dr. Strachan was utterly incapable of seeing 
 more than one side of any question involving the interests of himself 
 and his church. When his cause was a just one, who so fond as he of 
 appealing to the majesty of the law. When he wished to pervert the 
 liiw to his own purposes, who so apt at enjoining a disregard therefor.* 
 There is abundant reason for believing that he was the original instigator 
 of the Gourlay prosecutions. They were at ail events carried on by his 
 satellites, and fostered by his fullest concurrence and approval. Their 
 
 * Ex. gr. .'—"The law ! the law ! " impatiently exclaimed the Reverend Doctor, iu his most 
 rtvidont vernacular, when the question of lUrnabas Bidwell'R expulsion from the Assembly wai 
 under discussion in his hearing—" Never mind the law ; toorn him oot, toorn him oo..' 
 
24 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 object was to drive Mr. Gourlay out of the country, and to this end it would 
 appear that the Compact were prepared to go whatever lengths the neces- 
 sities of the case might require. A criminal prosecution for libel was 
 set on foot against the doomed victim of Executive malevolence, who 
 was arrested and thrown into jail at Kingston, where he lay for some days. 
 The trial took place on the 15th of August, 1818, when Mr. Attorney- 
 General Robinson put forth the utmost power of his eloquence to secure 
 a conviction. In vain. The prisoner conducted his own defence, and 
 BO clearly exposed the flimsiness of the indictment that the prosecution 
 utterly failed. A second arrest on a similar charge resulted in another 
 acquittal at Brockville. It was by this time manifest that no jury could 
 be found subservient enough to become blind instruments of oppression. 
 The alleged libel consisted of two paragraphs in a petition to the Prince 
 Regent, drafted by Mr. Gourlay, approved of, printed and published by six- 
 teen residents of Niagara District, six of whom were magistrates. These 
 paragraphs contained a vivid but faithful pictmre of the abuses existing 
 in the Crown Lands Department, and it would probably have been diffi- 
 cult to find a jury anywhere in Upper Canada, some members whereof 
 had not had personal experience of those abuses. Having failed in two 
 attempts to convict him of libel, Mr. Gourlay's foes Int on another and 
 more effectual method of accomplishing his destruction. 
 
 By a Provincial statute known as the Alien Act, passed in 1804, 
 authority was given to certain officials to issue a warrant for the arrest 
 of any person not having been an inhabitant of the Province for the pre- 
 ceding six months, who had not taken the oath of allegiance, and Avho 
 had given reason for suspicion that he was " about to endeavour to 
 alienate the minds of His Majesty's subjects of this Province from his 
 person or government, or in anywise with a seditious intent to disturb 
 the tranquillity thereof." In case the person so arrested failed to prove 
 his innocence, he might be notified to depart this Province within a 
 specified time, and if he failed so to depart he was liable to be imprisoned 
 until he could be formally tried at the general jail delivery. If found 
 ^uilty, upon trial, he was to be adjudged by the court to quit the Province, 
 and 'f he still proved contumacious he was to be deemed guilty of felony, 
 and to suffer death as a felon, without benefit of clergy. 
 
 I 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 liO 
 
 This statute, be it observed, -was not passed at Westminster during the 
 supremacy of the Plantagenets or the Tudors, but at York, Upper Canada, 
 during the forty-fourth year of the reign of George the Third. More than 
 one eminent authority has pronounced it an unconstitutional measure. 
 There was, however, some show of justification for it at the time of its 
 enactment, for the Province was then overrun by disloyal immigrants from 
 Ireland and by republican immigrants from across the borders, many of 
 whom tried to stir up discontent among the people, and were notoriously 
 in favour of annexation to the United States.* It was against such per- 
 sons that the Act had been levelled, and there had never been any question 
 of attempting to apply it to anyone else. Now, however, it was pressed 
 into requisition in order to compass the ruin of as loyal a subject as could 
 have been found throughout the wide expanse of the British Empire ; 
 who had resided in Upper Canada for a continuous period of nearly 
 eighteen months ; who was no more an alien than the King upon the 
 throne ; and whose only real offence was that he would not stand calmly 
 by while rapacious and dishonest placemen carried on their nefarious 
 practices without protest. 
 
 Among the various dignitaries authorized to put the law in motion, 
 by the issue of a warrant under the Act, were the members of the Legis- 
 lative and Executive Councils. William Dickson and William Claus, as 
 has been seen, were members of the former body ; and as such they had 
 power over the liberty of anyone whose loyalty they thought fit to call in 
 question. Dickson was a connection by marriage of Mr. Gourlay, and 
 for some months after that gentleman's arrival in this Province had gone 
 heart and hand with him in his schemes of reform. For Mr. Dickson then 
 had a grievance of his own, arising out of the partial interdict of immigra- 
 tion from the United States which had been adopted after the War of 
 1812-15. He was the owner of an immense quantity of uncultivated 
 land in the Province, including the township of Dumfries akeady men- 
 
 * "The local situation of Upper Canada exposes it to the inroad of aliens of all nations, who, 
 having no tie of allegiance or affection to Britain, may thence be suspected of evil designs ; and 
 for that reason terrors maybe held out to keep them at a distance ; but for British subjects to be 
 suspected and made liable to penalties on mere suspicion, is contrary at once to nature and the 
 spirit of our constitution. It is more especially absurd when we consider that the law was 
 expressly made for their protection," — General Introduction to Statistical Account of Upper Canad'%, 
 p. Ixviii. 
 
2G 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 tioned, which he was desirous of selling to incoming settlers. The 
 shutting out of United States immigrants tended to retard the progress 
 of settlement and the sale of his property. His anger against the 
 Administration had been hot and bitter, and he had even gone so far as 
 to state publicly that he would rather live under the American than 
 under the British Government. But he had managed to induce the 
 Assembly to pass certain resolutions, recognizing the right of subjects 
 of the United States to settle in Upper Canada. The restrictions being 
 relaxed, his only cause of hostility to the Administration vanished, and 
 he ceased to clamour against it. His sympathy with Mr. Gourlay's 
 projects vanished into thin air. Those projects contemplated enquiry 
 and reform. Dickson, having accomplished his own ends, desired no 
 further reform ; and as for enquiry, he had excellent reasons for burking 
 it, as it would probably lead to the disclosure of certain reprehensible 
 transactions on the part of himself and Glaus, the Indian agent. He 
 therefore presented a sudden change of front, and, so far from continuing 
 to act with Mr. Gourlay, he became that unfortunate man's bitterest foe. 
 How far Dickson's enmity was stimulated by cooperation with the 
 leaders of the Compact party at York will probably never be known. 
 That there was something more than a merely tacit understanding that 
 Mr. Gourlay was to be got rid of is beyond question. But before any 
 arrest could be effected under the Act of 1804 it was necessary that per- 
 jured testimony should be forthcoming. It was easily provided. On the 
 18th of December, 1818, a secret consultation took place between Dickson 
 and one Isaac Swayze, at the former's private abode. Swayze was a 
 resident of the Niagara District, and the representative of the Fourth 
 Riding of Lincoln in the Legislative Assembly, but was nevertheless a 
 man of indifferent character, and so illiterate as to be barely able to 
 write his name. During the Revolutionary War he had been a spy and 
 "horse-provider" to the loyalist troops. More recently he had been 
 chiefly known as one of the most bigoted and unprincipled of the Com- 
 pact's minor satellites ; a hanger-on who was ever ready to undertake 
 any disreputable work which the Executive might have for him to do. 
 He was a smooth-tongued hypocrite, who made extravagant professions of 
 zeal for religion when he was in the society of religious people, but after- 
 
THE BANISHED liRITON. 
 
 27 
 
 wards laughed at their credulity for believing him. " When electioneer- 
 ing," said he, ''I pray with the Methodists." At other times he gained 
 votes by threatening to bring down upon the electors the vengeance of 
 the Executive, who, he averred, were specially desirous of having his 
 services in the Assembly. Corruption can always find apt tools to do its 
 bidding. 
 
 " Where'er down Tiber garbage floats, the greedy pike ye see ; 
 And whereaoe'er such lord is found, such client still will be." 
 
 Isaac Swayze was a veritable modern counterpart of the client Marcus, 
 and when he gained votes by holding his patrons in terrorem over the 
 heads of the electors, he was merely echoing his ancient prototype : — 
 
 *' I wait on Appius Claudius, I waited on his sire ; 
 Let him who works the client wrong beware the patron's ire." 
 
 His employers knew their man, and that he would not stick at a trifle to 
 keep their favour. On the day after his secret interview with Dickson he 
 proved his subordination to authority by committing wilful and deliberate 
 perjury. He swore that Mr. Gourlay was an evil-minded and seditious 
 person, who was endeavouring to raise a rebellion against the government 
 of Upper Canada; that he, deponent, verily believed that said Gourlay 
 had not been an inhabitant of the Province for six months, and had not 
 taken the oath of allegiance.* 
 
 On the strength of this sworn statement, Mr. Gourlay was arrested under 
 the Alien Act of 1804, and carried before Dickson and Claus, both of whom 
 were specially and personally interested in putting him to silence. The 
 examination and hearing before them, which took place on the 21st of 
 December, was a transparent mockery of justice. Dickson, Claus and 
 Swayze, in common with nearly every one in Upper Canada, well knew that 
 their victim had been resident in the Province for nearly three times the 
 p'^riod specified in the Act. Dickson had been in constant and familiar 
 
 * Seven or eight years after this time Swayze narrowly escaped prosecution for the murder 
 of Captain William Morgan, who is presumed to have been slain for his threatened disclosure of 
 the Masonic Ritual, Swayze openly boasted that ho had been concerned in the abduction of 
 Morgan, and in the execution of Masonic vengeance upon him. He professed to be able to 
 indicate the precise spot where the body was buried — which spot, he declared, was not far from 
 the bottom of his garden. Upon investigation these vainglorious boastings proved to be utterly 
 without any foundation in fa zt. 
 
28 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 I 
 
 intercourse with him for sixteen months. Claus had known him nearly as 
 long. Swayze had conversed with him at York more than a year before, and 
 had been acquainted with his proceedings from month to month — almost 
 from week to week — during the entire interval. The charge of being an 
 evil-minded and seditious person was too absurd to be seriously enter- 
 tained for a moment by any one who knew Mr. Gourlay as intimately as 
 Dickson had done for more than eight years.* As for his not having 
 taken the oath of allegiance, it had never been required of him, and he 
 was both able and willing to take it with p clear and honest conscience. 
 But as matter of fact no one suspected his loyalty, and the charge against 
 him was the veriest pretext that malice couid invent. When he appeared 
 before his judges, however, Messieurs Dickson and Claus professed to 
 be dissatisfied with his defence, and alleged that his " words, actions, 
 conduct and behaviour" had been such as to promote disaffection. They 
 accordingly adjudged that he should leave the Province within ten days. 
 A written order, signed by them, enjoining his departure, was delivered 
 to him. "To have obeyed this order," writes Mr. Gourlay, t "would 
 have proved ruinous to the business for which, at great expense, and 
 with much trouble, I had qualified myself. It would have been a tacit 
 acknowledgment of guilt, whereof I was unconscious. It would have 
 been a surrender of the noblest British right ; it would have been holding 
 light my natural allegiance ; it would have been a declaration that the 
 Bill of Eights was a Bill of Wrongs. I resolved to endure any hardship 
 rather than to submit voluntarily." 
 
 He paid a heavy penalty for his disobedience. On the 4th of January, 
 1819 — the third day after the expiration of the period allowed him for 
 departure — Dickson and Claus issued an order of commitment, under 
 which he was arrested and lodged in Niagara jail, there to remain until 
 the next sitting of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. His pugnacity was 
 by this time fully aroused, and he determined to fight his ground inch 
 by inch. After some delay, he caused himself to be taken before Chief 
 
 * Dickson had originally made Gourlay's acquaintance in 1810, when he visited and spent a 
 week with him at his farm in Wiltshire. See Gourlay's Statistical Account of Upper Canada, 
 Vol. 2, p. 494. 
 
 t General Introduction to Statistical Account of Upper Canada, p, ix. 
 
 #. 
 
iT 
 
 THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 29 
 
 
 Justice Powell, at York, under a writ of habeas corpus, for the purpose of 
 being either discharged from custody or admitted to bail. The argument 
 was heard on the 8th of February, when several persons of wealth and good 
 social position presented themselves, and offered to become responsible to 
 any amount for his appearance whenever called upon to stand his trial. 
 The attorney who argued the cause on behalf of the prisoner presented 
 three affidavits, made respectively by the Honourable Eobert Hamilton, 
 Peter Hamilton, and the prisoner himself, who, in order to render his posi- 
 tion doubly unassailable, had meanwhile taken the oath of allegiance. In 
 the first affidavit it was deposed that Mr. Gourlay had been domiciliated 
 at Queenston for more than nine months, and that the deponent verily 
 believed him to be a natural-born subject of Great Britain. By the 
 second it appeared that deponent had known Mr. Gourlay in Britain, 
 where he was respected, esteemed, and taken to be a British subject ; 
 "and that he is so" — thus ran the affidavit — "this deponent verily 
 believes is notoriously true in this district." The prisoner's own affidavit 
 set forth that he was a British subject; that he had taken the oath of 
 allegiance, and that he had been an inhabitant of Upper Canada for 
 more than a year prior to the date of the warrant first issued against 
 him. There could hardly have been a clearer case. But the prisoner's 
 enlargement at this time would have been a triumph for him, and would 
 have made him a popular idol, which would not have comported with 
 the policy of the Unholy Inquisition at the capital. He was remanded 
 to jail, the Chief Justice indorsing judgment on the writ to the effect that 
 the warrant of commitment appeared to be regular, and that the Act 
 under which it was issued made no provision for bail or mainprize. 
 
 When Mr. Gourlay was first placed in durance at Niagara he was 
 possessed of robust health, a vigorous frame, a seemingly unconquerable 
 will, and a perfervid enthusiasm for the cause of truth and justice. But 
 his sufferings during the ensuing six months were of a nature well calcu- 
 lated to sap the health of the most robust, to rack the frame of an athlete 
 to tame the wildest enthusiasm, and to subjugate the strongest will. 
 When we read of what the gentle and erudite John Fisher or the eloquent 
 and upright Sir John Eliot underwent in the Tower for conscience sake, 
 the heart's blood within us is stirred with nghteous indignation. But we 
 
so 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 are calmed by the reflection that these things took place centuries ago, and 
 in a far-distant country. In the case of Eobert Gourlay we can lay no such 
 flattering unction to our souls. His slow crucifixion was accomplished in 
 our own land, and at a time well remembered by many persons now living 
 among us. Some idea of what he passed through may be derived from 
 his own words already quoted. Further light on the subject may be 
 obtained from noting his demeanour when placed on trial, as the reader 
 will presently have an opportunity of doing. 
 
 For some months after his incarceration his fine state of health and 
 exuberant animal spirits kept him from utterly breaking down. His 
 whole nature was up in arms at the wrongs he had si: stained, and his 
 pugnacity asserted itself as far as his circumstances would admit of. He 
 obtained the opinions of eminent English lawyers as to the legal aspect 
 of his case. The unanimous opinion of counsel was that his imprison- 
 ment was wholly unjustifiable. Sir Arthur Piggott was clear that Chief 
 Justice Powell should have discharged the prisoner when brought before 
 him under the writ of habeas corpus, and that Dickson and Claus were 
 liable to actions for false imprisonment. This opinion was acted upon, 
 and proceedings were instituted against the two last-named personages. 
 But the contest was too unequal. Each of the defendants obtained an 
 order for security for costs, which security the plaintiff, being in confine- 
 ment, and subject to various disabilities, was unable to furnish. The 
 actions accordingly lapsed, and Dickson and Claus thus escaped all civil 
 liability for their most reprehensible deeds. 
 
 The thread of the narrative may now be resumed pretty nearly where 
 it was dropped a few pages back. It was, as has been said, the 20th of 
 August — nearly a year subsequent to the Kingston trial* — when the 
 prisoner was finally placed in the dock to undergo the semblance, without 
 the reality, of a judicial investigation into his conduct. He was himself 
 firmly per6>uaded that the jury empanuelled in his case was a packed 
 one. We have no means of knowing all the circumstances whereby 
 he was led to this conclusion, but the idea is not in itself inherently 
 improbable. In those days, and for long after, no man tried in Upper 
 Canada for anything savouring of radicalism in politics could hope to 
 
 * In these times there was but one jail delivery per annum in Upper Canada. 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 31 
 
 receive fair play. In Gourlay's case there were one or two suspicious 
 features which, to say the least, require explanation. The custom ordi- 
 narily adopted by the sheriff, in selecting jurymen, was to draw them in 
 rotation from the various townships in the district. " In my case," says 
 Mr. Gourlay, " it was said that he had varied his course ; and not this 
 only, but, instead of drawing from a square space of country, he chose a 
 line of nearly twenty miles, along which it was well known that there were 
 the greatest number of people prejudiced and influenced against me."* 
 Mr. Gourlay further declares that it was observed by people in court 
 that in the glass containing the folded transcripts from the jury-list some 
 of the folded papers were distinctly set apart, so as to admit of their being 
 drawn, apparently with fairness, in the ordinary manner. These papers so 
 set apart from the rest, as Mr. Gourlay informs his readers, were ** caught 
 hold of" as the twelve which should decide his fate. The names of the 
 jurors, which, so far as I am aware, have not hitherto appeared in print, 
 are worthy of preservation. They were William Pew, John Grier, William 
 Servos, James B. Jones, Kalfe M. Long, David Bastedo, John C. Ball, John 
 Milton, James Lundy, William Powers, Peter M. Ball and John Holmes. 
 The personal appearance of the prisoner had undergone a woful 
 change during his confinement. Had his own wife seen him at that 
 moment it is doubtful whether she would have recognized her lord. Could 
 it be possible that that frail, tottering, wasted form, and that blanched, 
 sunken-eyed, imbecile-looking countenance were all that were left of the 
 once formidable Robert Gourlay? The sight was one which might have 
 moved his bitterest enemy to tears. His clothing, a world too wide for so 
 shrunken a tenant, hung sloppy and slovenly about him, and it was 
 remarked by a spectator that he had aged fully ten years during the 
 six months that had elapsed since his journey to York in the previous 
 February. His limbs seemed too weak to support him where he stood, 
 and as he leaned with his hands upon the rail in front of him his fingers 
 
 * Statistical Account, Vol. II., p. 342. In a note to p. xv. of the 0&,\eral Introduction, Mr. 
 Gourlay says further: "The jury in this case was notoriously packed. To guard against the 
 effects of this as much as possible, I had, in the expectation of trial for libel, obtained lists of 
 inimical jurymen, and had people willing to appear in court to swear that many of them had 
 prejudged me openly, in the rancour of party dispute. These lists were handed to me through 
 the door, before Kod during the assizes; but all caution and care forsook me in the time of need." 
 
 M 
 
It 
 
 32 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 twitched nervously, while his whole frame visibly trembled. The saddest 
 change of all had been wrought in his once fine 'yes. They were of light 
 grey, and their ordinary expression had been more sharp and piercing 
 than is commonly found in eyes of that colour. They had been clear 
 and keen, and expressive of an active, vigorous brain behind them. At 
 present they were wandering, weak and watery, altogether lacking in 
 lustre or expression. They told their sad tale with piteous brevity. The 
 brain was active and vigorous no longer, or, if still active, was so to no 
 definite purpose. The spark of reason was for the time quenched witliin 
 him. His oratory and his writings were no longer to be dreaded. The 
 man whose large presence had once carried about with it unmistakable 
 evidences of physical and mental power had been reduced to a physical 
 and mental wreck. No man in that closely-packed court-room was now 
 more harmless than he. The Compact had indeed set an indelible mark 
 upon him — a mark which he was to carry to his grave, for during the 
 forty-four years of life that remained to him he was never again the 
 Eobert Gourlay of old, and was subject to periodical seasons of mental 
 aberration. 
 
 And yet, as he stood there trembling and distraught, with that sea of 
 faces turned upon him, he was not altogether without some glimmering 
 of reason. He was at least passively conscious, like one in a troubled 
 dream, of what was going on around him. He realized, in a misty, 
 dazed sort of fashion that he was on his trial ; but, cudgel his 
 memory how he would, he could not recall the nature of his alleged 
 offence. The fact is that, though no stimulant had passed his lips, 
 he was in a state that can only be characterized as one of intoxi- 
 cation. We know, on undoubted authority, that very emotional per- 
 sons are sometimes intoxicated by a plate of soup, and that invalids 
 have become tipsy upon eating their first beefsteak after convalescence. 
 Mr. Gourlay was endowed with an enthusiastic, exuberant nature, which 
 required to be kept in subjection by abundant exercise. Up to the time 
 of his imprisonment he had led an active out-of-door life, whereby the 
 demon of nervousness within him had been kept at bay. But long-con- 
 tinued confinement in a close cell, deprivation of fresh air and suitable 
 exercise, had hindered his exuberance from finding vent. His mind had 
 
 I 
 
 ■f 
 
 I 
 
 f . jbMi- 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 S3 
 
 boen thrown back upon itself. He had not been permitted to confer with 
 hia friends, except under such restrictions as made converse intolerable. 
 He had been kept in such a state of nervous tension that he had had no 
 appetite, and had eaten scarcely any food. His sleep had been broken 
 by mental discomfort, and he had sometimes lain the whole night through 
 without a minute's unconsciousness. What wonder that his flesh had 
 sunk away from his bones, and that his frame had lost its elasticity ! For 
 some hours every day he had lain prostrate on the bed in his cell, in a 
 state of feebleness pitiful to behold, unable to speak or move, and hardly 
 able to breathe. " One morning," he writes, " while gasping for breath, 
 I besought the gaoler to let me have more air, by throwing up the 
 window. 'You are no gentleman,' said he; 'you gave that letter* 
 out of the window, and I will come presently to nail it down.* 
 Happily a friend soon after called upon me, and through his inter- 
 ference the window was put up. The brutal gaoler had never before 
 been uncivil to me . . but there is a spirit throughout animal nature, 
 brute and human, to oppress in proportion as opportunity is safe, and 
 the object defenceless. The wounded stag, and the close prisoner of a 
 Provincial Government, experience similar treatment."! 
 
 The summer heat, as before mentioned, had been excessive. No rain 
 had fallen for weeks until just before the opening of the assizes, when 
 there had been three days of damp, cool weather. During these three 
 days the prisoner's strength had rallied wonderfully, and he had been 
 able to prepare a written defence, as well as a written protest against the 
 legality of his trial, in case of a hostile verdict. But the exertion had 
 been too much for him in his enfeebled condition, and, as though to add 
 to his miseries, the heat had become more intolerable than before. He 
 had not known how utterly his nerves were shattered until his case had 
 been called for trial, and he had been placed in the prisoners' dock. Hot 
 and stifling as was the air of the court-room, it was balm itself when 
 compared with the vitiated element which he had long been forced to^ 
 
 * Keferring to a letter written to attract sympathy to the case of the editor of the Niagara 
 Spectator, who had been imprisoned and shamefully abused for publishing several of Mr. Gourlay's 
 criticisms. Some account of the persecution to which this gentleman was subjected will be found 
 on a future page. 
 
 + Statutical Account, Vol. 2, pp. 393, 394. 
 
34 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 i! 
 
 ( 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 M 
 
 breathe. The atimulua was too great, and he was no longer master ol 
 himself. To quote his own words, ho became rampant with the fresh air, 
 and was reduced to imbecility at the very moment when he specially 
 needed strength, patience and recollection. Such was his condition when 
 Mr. Attorney-General rose from his seat and proceeded to lay bare the 
 prisoner's unspeakable enormities. It had been determined that no 
 attempt should be made to convict him of sedition, and that the only 
 charge to be pressed against him should be his refusal to leave the Prov- 
 ince. The indictment, however, was read and commented upon, doubt- 
 less for the purpose of influencing the minds of the audience. It charged, 
 with wearisome iteration and reiteration, that he, the said Robert Gourlay, 
 being a seditious and ill-disposed poraon, and contriving and maliciously 
 intending the peace and tranquillity of our lord the King within the 
 Province of Upper Canada to disquiet and disturb, and to excite discon- 
 tent and sedition among his Majesty's liege subjects of this Province — 
 and so forth, and so forth, to the end of the tedious and tautological 
 chapter. The patriotic and disinterested conduct of Dickson and Glaus, 
 in performing the imperative but unpleasant duty of committing their 
 personal friend to jail, lest he should undermine the loyalty of the 
 people, was commented upon with periphrastic eloquence. When the 
 official inquiry was put to the prisoner : " How say you, Robert Gourlay, 
 are you guilty or not guilty ? " he instinctively replied " Not guilty." Then 
 came the next query: "Are you ready for your trial?" Ready for his 
 trial, indeed ! when his helpless condition was apparent to everybody 
 who could catch a glimpse of his tottering frame and his vacant, expres- 
 sionless face. The unmeaning sound which issued from his lips was 
 taken for an affirmative, and the farce of an impartial investigation 
 proceeded with. 
 
 During the whole of these proceedings the prisoner stood like one 
 amazed and confounded ; as one who gropes blindly in the dark for what 
 he cannot find. From the various hints scattered here and there through- 
 out his numerous writings, we are able to form some idea of what he 
 underwent during that trying ordeal. His imagination had been rendered 
 more lively by weakness and prostration of body, and he was so stimu- 
 lated by the change of air from his cell to the court-room that his 
 
i 
 
 THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 tion 
 
 lone 
 [hat 
 
 he 
 Ired 
 
 lU- 
 
 Ihis 
 
 sensations were cliietly those of a vague and unreasoning delight — delight 
 at the prospect of freedom ; delight at the prospect of once more enjoying 
 the luxury of heaven's sunlight unimpeded hy the bars of a prison coll ; 
 of running rampant through the land, and feeling upon his sunken cheeks 
 the deliciously invigorating air of the open fields. His high spirit had 
 been effectually tamed by that rigid, excruciating torture of close con- 
 finement during the dog days, with no other companion than despair. 
 By this time personal liberty and fresh air seemed to him the only things 
 greatly to be desired. He was cognizant of a sensation of thankfulness 
 that his trial had come on at last, even though it should result in his 
 banishment. He rejoiced that he should even thus be set at liberty from 
 his horrible situation.* He longed to feel the tide of human life ebbing 
 and flowing around him, and to feel that he himself was not a mere drone 
 in the hive. During the progress of the trial, though he was oblivious 
 of most that was going on in the court-room, memory and fancy were 
 keenly alert, and he rapidly lived over again many episodes of his past 
 life. The dead and gone years rose up before him like the scenes of a 
 rapidly-shifting panorama, even as the past is said to arise before the 
 mental vision of those lying on beds of pain, just before the great mystery 
 of the grave is unfolded to their view. Subjects and scenes long forgotten or 
 seldom remembered presented themselves. There was the little Fifeshiro 
 school, with its umbrageous playground, where he had been a merry 
 laughing lad, and where Dominie Angus had given him his first taste of 
 ferule and Fotherup. There was the patched portrait of Cardinal Beaton, 
 in St. Alary's College, at which be and his friend John Dean had been wont 
 to gaz^i with rapt admiration in the old days left so far behind. There 
 Was tUiit odd adventure among the Mendip Hills, during his professional 
 peregrination through Somersetshire more than a dozen years before, and 
 upon which he could not remember that he had bestowed a single thought 
 since his arrival in Canada. There, too, was the drunken type-setter from 
 Bristol, who had taught him the technical marks to be used in making 
 corrections for the press, and whom he had neither seen nor thought of 
 since the publication of hie pamphlet in which he had portrayed the 
 Bufferings of Bet Bennam and Mary Bacon. Who shall say what other 
 
 * General It^oduction, p. xv. 
 
Hi 
 
 3G 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 scenes, sad or mirthful, presented themselves among his "thick-coming 
 fancies ""? Possibly he recalled the high hopes of his boyhood, when he 
 thirsted to better the condition of tlio poor, and was almost porsuadod 
 that he had been sent into the world expressly to guard their interests 
 against the exactions of grasping landlords. Visions, too, may have 
 arisen before him of his beautiful Wiltshire farm, where the modest 
 daisies peeped above the grass, and the joyous lark sang from the meadow; 
 where he had once been so happy in the companionship of his fond wife 
 and little ones, who at this moment waited in longing expectation for 
 tidings from the absent husband and father. Perchance also he called 
 to mind, at that crisis, his little dead daughter, who had blossomed and 
 faded among the green glades of Wily, and over whose grave the parson 
 of the parish had refused to read the services of the Chiu-ch.* The poor 
 baba had died imchristened, and under such circumstances the rubric 
 forbade the solemnization of funeral rites. 
 
 From all such musings he was recalled by the voice of Chief Justice 
 Powell, demanding if ho had aught to say ere the sentence of the court 
 should bo pronounced upon him. The sentence of the court ! For the 
 best part of two hours he had been wool-gathering, and the words beat 
 upon his brain without arousing any just appreciation of their signi- 
 ficance. He now once more awoke to the fact that he was on his trial, 
 but ho could not grasp the potontialitioa of his situation, nor could he for 
 the life of him recall the precise nature of the offence with which he had 
 been charged. He did, however, realize that the jury had returned a 
 verdict to the effect that he had been guilty of refusing to leave the Prov- 
 ince, pursuant to the order served upon him. By a desperate effort ho 
 managed to rally his senses sul\iciently to remember that he had been 
 accused of being a seditious person, tliough whether the accusation had 
 been made yesterday, or the day before, or half a century ago, ho was 
 wholly unaware. Turning towards the jury-box, he enquired of the 
 nearest occupant whether he had been found guilty of sedition. Sud- 
 denly it flashed across him that he had prepared a defence, together 
 with a written protest against the anticipated verdict. But by no mental 
 exertion of which he was capable could he remember what he had done 
 
 *€feneral Introduction, pp. ooviil., ccix., and uote. 
 
 11. 
 
THE BANISHED imiTON. 
 
 87 
 
 with the defence, nor could he call to mind the word " protest," although 
 at that moment ho had the written one in his pocket. After a moment's 
 struf^'gle to remember what he wished to say, he found himself hope- 
 lessly befogged, and abandoned the attempt. Then, to the amazcMncnt 
 of all who heard him, he burst out into a loud, strident peal of unmean- 
 ing, maniacal laughter — laughter which had no spice of merriment iu 
 it, and which was a mere spontaneous effort of nature to relieve the 
 strain upon the shattered nerves. Bench, bar, jury and spectators 
 stared agast. Such laughter sounded not only incongruous, but sinister, 
 ominous. It was suggestive of the expiring wail of a lost soul. It was 
 more eloquent than any mere words could have been, and spoke with 
 most miraculous organ. Over more than one heart there crept a sort of 
 premonition that a dread reckoning must sometime arrive for that 
 day's work : that Eternal Justice would sooner or later exact a fit penalty 
 for th(> cruel perversion of right which was then and there being con- 
 summated. It would be interesting to laiow what, at that particular 
 moment, wore the innermost sensations of William Dickson and William 
 Claus, both of whom sat within a few feet of their victim, and both of 
 whom had repeatedly received offices of kindness at his hands. 
 
 Strange to say, the miserable man's memory was merely suspended, 
 and he afterwards recalled with much clearness the thoughts and rellec- 
 tions which passed through his mind during that delirium of more than 
 two hours. Ho even remembered the senseless bray of laughter which, 
 to the sympathetic mind, is not the least impressive feature of that 
 iniquitous trial. His overwrought nerves being temporarily relieved by 
 the cachinnation, he regained for a few minutes some measure of com- 
 posure and sanity. With the return of reason came a returning sense of 
 injustice and oppression. He made a brief but ineffectual attempt to 
 argue the matter with the Chief Justice, who informed him that the facts 
 had boon dealt with by the jury, and that he could be permitted to speak 
 only on questions of law. The sentence of the Court was then pronounced. 
 It was to the effect that the prisoner must quit the Province within 
 twenty-four hours. He was reminded of the risk he would run in the 
 event of his presuming to disobey, or to return to Upper Canada after 
 his departure therefrom. He would be liable, according to the woids of 
 
li 
 
 38 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 the Act of 1804, to suffer death as a felon, without benefit of clergy. 
 The Chief Justice finally proceeded to read him a severe lecture upon his 
 past course since his arrival in Canada, and furthermore to give him 
 some excellent advice. He informed him that in this country the law is 
 supreme; that no man can be permitted to run counter to it with impu- 
 nity; that those who administer the law should be no respecters of 
 persons ; that justice is even-handed, and metes out impartially to the 
 poor man and the rich. He advised him to turn his great abilities to 
 practical account, whereby he would no doubt win happiness and distinc- 
 tion. " Perhaps," says George Eliot, " some of the most terrible irony 
 of the human lot is to hear a deep truth uttered by lips that have no right 
 to it." Poor Gourlay was conscious of some feeling of this sort when he 
 heard such truths proclaimed from such lips. To his morbidly-sensitive 
 nature, such irony seemed an aggravation of all he had endured. To 
 think that, after such experiences as had fallen to his share, a Family 
 Compact judge should gravely inform him that in Upper Canada the 
 administrators of the law should be no respecters of persons ! that justice 
 is even-handed ! To think that such an one should presume to advise him 
 to become practical, with a view to wealth and happiness ! It was like 
 the adulterous woman who, on eloping with her paramour, wrote to 
 her husband enjoining him to be virtuous if he would be happy. The 
 incongruity struck the prisoner so forcibly that for a moment he was on 
 the verge of another explosion of sardonic laughter. Before leaving the 
 dock he made one last attempt to draw attention to the treatment he had 
 sustained while in prison. By way of heightening the effect of his narra- 
 tion, he informed the Court that his letters had been suppressed by the 
 sheriff :* that while his enemies had been allowed to fill the newspapers 
 with lying diatribes against him, and to prejudice the public mind in view 
 of his impending trial, his own letters to the Niagara Spectator had been 
 
 * The sherifE was Thomas Merritt, father of the gentleman who afterwards became the Hon. 
 William Hamilton Merritt, to whose enterprise, more than to that of any other man, we owe the 
 Welland Canal. It is right to add that most of the subordinate duties of the office of sheriff were 
 discharged by an underling, and that Thomas Merritt may have been personally free from blame 
 in respect of Mr. Gourlay. Assuming him to have been blamable, his son, the Hon. W. H. 
 Merritt, in after days, did his utmost to atone for it by espousing Mr. Gourlay's cause in the 
 Canadian Assembly, as will be seen by reference to the Parliamentary debates of 1856, 1857 
 and 1858. 
 
ff 
 
 1 
 
 THE BANISHED BRITON. 39 
 
 rigidly withheld from the light of day, and this by official interference. 
 Chief Justice Powell put the cap-sheaf upon the pinnacle of absurdity by 
 informing him that if he chose he might prosecute the sheriff. Prosecute 
 the sheriff ! when he had just been sentenced by the Chief Justice himself 
 to leave the Province within twenty-four hours, and when he was liable 
 to the last penalty of the law in case of his return to prosecute ! 
 
 The trial was ended, and — blissful thought ! — for the ensuing twenty- 
 four hours he was free to come and go whithersoever he would. He was 
 taken in charge by his friends the Hamiltons, and spent the night in their 
 house at Queenston. Next day — Saturday, the 21st of August — he obeyed 
 the mandate of the law, and shook from his feet the parched dust of 
 Upper Canadian soil. His mental condition was far from satisfactory, 
 but he would brook no interference with his actions, even from his best 
 friends. The feeling uppermost in his bosom was a delicious sense of being 
 at large, with no one to shut the cell door upon him, or otherwise to control 
 his actions. He felt like one recalled to life. The unhappy man was 
 well aware that his brain was weak, but he also knew that he was not 
 what is ordinarily understood as insane. Like Baldassarre, he carried 
 within him that piteous stamp of sanity, the clear consciousness of 
 shattered faculties. His feebleness was as patent to himself as to others. 
 He knew that he was the mere wreck of what he had once been, and he 
 knew further that his mental andbodily ruin was due to the triumph of 
 tyranny and injustice. Still, he was, for the moment, happy. There 
 was sunshine in his heart, and gladness in his eye. Having crossed 
 the Niagara river, he knew that he was beyond the material grasp 
 of those whose baneful shadow was nevertheless destined to darken the 
 rest of his life. "I thanked God," he writes, several years afterwards, "as 
 I set my first foot on the American shore, that I trod on a land of freedom. 
 The flow of animal spirits carried me along for more than two miles in 
 triumphant disgust. It carried me beyond my strength, till, staggering 
 by the side of the road, I sunk down, almost lifeless, among the bushes, 
 and awoke from my dream to a state of sensibility and horror past all 
 power of description. If at my trial, and so long after it, I was callous 
 to feeling ; if I was blind to objects around me, and regardless of con- 
 sequences, the scenes I had passed through were now too visible : my 
 
m 
 
 40 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 senses were too keen ; my feelings too acute. Before, all was frozen and 
 rigid ; now, extreme relaxation resigned me to the tortiu-e of a distracted 
 mind, feeble, doubting, and irresolute. In fact, my nervous system had 
 undergone a most violent change ; and, to this horn*, the effects are 
 permanent : to this hour, with every effort and every appliance, my 
 natural tone of health and vigour cannot be regained."* 
 
 One of the bitterest reflections which forced itself upon him was that 
 he, a man of unimpeachable loyalty, had been banished — " flung out like 
 a spoilt jelly," t under a statute which had been passed to guard against 
 the machinations of aliens and traitors. " Banishment " was to him a 
 word replete with repulsive and disgraceful associations. He liked it no 
 better than did the sweet rose of the Capulets. 
 
 " Banished : that one word — banished. 
 • .•■•.• 
 
 There is no end, no limit, measure, bound, 
 In that word's death." 
 
 On the 27th of August, precisely a week after the trial above described, 
 a high and mighty English nobleman who was for the time domiciled in 
 Canada underwent a more terrible experience than ever fell to the lot of 
 Eobert Gourlay. He was travelling at the time through a part of the 
 county of Carleton, and while wandering through the woods, attended by 
 several companions, he found himself exceedingly imwell. His spu-its were 
 depressed, and he was dominated by what seemed an unaccountable 
 dread of water. His valet had noticed that for a day or two previously 
 he had shrunk from performing his customary ablutions, and had cleaned 
 his hands and face by the application of a damp towel. On approaching 
 within a few yards of a forest stream he was seized by violent spasms. 
 By a desperate resolution he forced himself to take his seat in a canoe 
 which had been provided, but the little craft had not proceeded many 
 yards ere he was seized by a fresh paroxysm, and in a frenzied tone ordered 
 the boatman to land him on the nearest bank. The order was promptly 
 obeyed, and he had no sooner escaped from the boat than he ran franti- 
 cally into the depths of the wood. He was pursued and overtaken by his 
 companions, who found him foaming at the mouth and raving mad. They 
 
 *Stati3tical Account, Vol. II., pp. 400, 401. 
 
 tib., p. 401. 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 41 
 
 ■;* 
 
 ■ 4 
 m 
 
 secured him until the paroiysm Lad spent itself, when they conveyed him 
 to a neighbouring shanty. The sufferer, at his own request, was soon after 
 removed to an adjoining barn, where he said he should be more comfort- 
 able than in the shanty, as it \f as further from the water. Throughout the 
 rest of the day and ensuing night he was subject to repeated returns of 
 the paroxysms, dm-ing which he suffered untold agonies. It was evident 
 to himself and those about him that he was afflicted by the most terrible 
 of all maladies to which humanity is subject — hydrophobia. He had been 
 bitten by a tame fox a few weeks before, and the deadly rabies had ever 
 since been rankling in his system. He realized that he must die, and the 
 instincts of his race — he was a remote by-blow of royalty — taught him 
 to make an ending in a manner becoming a gentleman. Towards evening 
 he consented to be taken back to the shanty, where a bed had been 
 prepared for him. Except while the paroxysms were upon him, he was 
 perfectly calm and collected, and gave his last sad directions to a friend 
 who stood by his side. About eight o'clock on the morning of the 28th 
 the death-agony came upon him, and his excruciating tortures were at 
 an end. 
 
 Thus passed away Charles Gordon Lennox, Fourth Duke of Eichmond, 
 Earl of March and Baron Settrington in the peerage of England ; Duke 
 of Lennox, Earl of Darnley and Baron Methuen in the peerage of Scot- 
 land; Due d'Aubigny in France, Governor-General of Canada, lord of 
 Haluaker, Goodwood and West Hampnett. There was, as has been 
 above hinted, a bar sinister in his escutcheon, for he was descended from 
 King Charles the Second and the fair and frail Frenchwoman Louise 
 Eende de Querouaille, who was commonly known among Englishmen yi. 
 her day as Madam Carwell. This lady, who was probably the IpCidt bad 
 of the unlicensed prostitutes of Charles's seraglio at Whitehall, was for 
 her many virtues created Duchess of Portsmouth. Her descendants, 
 like those of Nell Gwynn and the rest of that frail sisterhood, are 
 reckoned among the great ones of the earth. The Duke whose melancholy 
 fate has just been chronicled was the father of Lady Sarah, spouse of 
 Sh' Peregrine Maitland, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. 
 
 • Was there any connection between these two tragical events : the trial 
 of Robert Gourlay and the death of the Duke of Eichmond ? Mr. Gourlay 
 
42 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 I 
 
 ,. ■' 
 
 evidently leaned to the belief that there was.* The Duke and his 
 son-in-law had passed through Niagara during the hot weather of July, 
 while the victim of Family Compact villainy was gradually having his 
 health and reason tortured out of him in the jail at that place. He was 
 of opinion that the two distinguished visitors should have exercised their 
 prerogative by setting him at liberty. This, of course, was an altogether 
 unreasonable belief. His Grace was not at all likely to interfere in the 
 matter, and as for Sir Peregrine, he was completely in the hands of Mr. 
 Gourlay's enemies. The belief, however, is worth recording, as exhibit- 
 ing the extent to which Mr. Gourlay's persecution continued to prey 
 upon his mind, even after the lapse of years, and when he was in as 
 good health as he ever regained. 
 
 It was deemed advisable that Mr. Gourlay's case should be a per- 
 petual warning to any and every person -who might thereafter dare to 
 tread in his venturesome footsteps. Accordingly, as has been seen, he 
 had to drink the cup of mortification to the very dregs. And, by way of 
 deterring public writers from aiding and abetting any such pestilent 
 innovators for the future, it was determined that a notable example 
 should be made of the editor of the Niagara Spectator, who had dared to 
 side with the oppressed against the oppressor, and had published some 
 of Mr. Gourlay's attacks upon the abuses of the time. His name was 
 Bartemus Ferguson, and he had on several occasions manifested his 
 sympathy with projects of reform. The discipline inflicted upon him 
 
 * Mr. Gourlay was in error aa to the date of the Duke's death. 'le represents him as 
 "writhing in agony at the self same hour," and aa dying on the same day when he, Mr. Gourlay, 
 crossed over into the United Statea. — Statistical Account, vol. 2, p. 401. He was astray by exactly 
 a week. By reference to the precept of the court, I find that Mr. Gourlay's trial took place on the 
 day specified in the text — Friday, the 20th of August. He left the Province on the following 
 day -Saturday, the 21st. The Duke's death took place on Saturday, the 28th. 
 
 It may perhaps be aa well for me to refer here to a story which seems to have obtained 
 some currency, to the effect that the Duke of Richmond's death was due, not to hydrophobia, 
 but to delirium tremens. There is not the shadow of truth in the story. The evidence as to 
 the Duke's having been bitten at Sorel by a tame fox ; as to his showing the healed wound on his 
 thumb several weeks afterwards ; as to his dread of water during the day before his death, and 
 as to all the circumstances attending that tragical event, ia aa clear aa evidence can very well be. 
 Moreover, his habits were by no means such as to lead to mania a potu. He was a 6on vivant, but, 
 80 far as I have been able to aacertain, he did not drink to exoesa, and was always master of such 
 brains as he possessed. Hia end was one which his family might honestly mourn, and there was 
 little in his life, nothing in his death, of which they had any cause to feel ashamed. 
 
THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 43 
 
 was swift and severe. He was seized while in bed, in the middle of the 
 night, a hundred and fifty miles from home, conveyed to jail at Niagara, 
 and thence to York, where he was detained in prison for some days out of 
 the reach of friends to bail him. He was tried for sedition at the 
 Niagara assizes a day or two before Mr. Gourlay. In order that public 
 journalists of the present day may note in what comparatively pleasant 
 places their lines have fallen, I transcribe the sentence of the court, 
 which was as follows : — " Therefore it is considered by the said court 
 here that the said Bartemus Ferguson do pay a fine to our said lord 
 the King of fifty pounds of lawful money of Upper Canada : That he, the 
 said Bartemus Ferguson, be imprisoned in the common jail of the 
 District of Niagara for the space of eighteen calendar months, to be 
 computed from the eighth day of November, in the sixtieth year of the 
 reign of our said lord the King : that in the course of the first month 
 of the said eighteen months he do stand in the public pillory one hour, 
 between the hours of ten o'clock in the forenoon and two o'clock in the 
 afternoon : and that at the expiration of the said imprisonment he do 
 give security for his good behaviour for the term of seven years : he the 
 said Bartemus Ferguson in the sum of five hundred pounds, and two 
 sureties in the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds each ; and further, 
 that he, the s; I Bartemus Ferguson, do remain imprisoned in the said 
 jail until the aforesaid fine be paid and security given." 
 
 The composition for which the editor was thus held to so stern an 
 account was a letter written by Mr. Gourlay, and signed by his name, 
 published in the Spectator during the editor's absence from home, and 
 without his knowledge. It animadverted pretty sharply on the Adminis- 
 tration of the day. In the jingling and jangling phraseology of the indict- 
 ment, it was calculated to " detract, scandalize, and vilify His Grace Charles 
 Duke of Eichmond, Lennox and Aubigny, Captain-General and Governor 
 in and over the Provinces of Lower and Upper Canada, Nova Scotia and 
 New Brunswick and their dependencies ; and to scandalize and vilify Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland, Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Military 
 Order of the Bath, His Majesty's Lieutenant-Governor of this Province of 
 Upper Canada." Certain public officials, not specifically alluded to by 
 name, were referred to as fools and sycophants. But the letter did not con- 
 tain a syllable which was not literally true, and was mildness itself when 
 
44 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 compared with letters and articles which are constantly published with 
 impunity in newspapers of all shades of political opinion in these present 
 times. It appears that, upon the humble and unequivocal submission of 
 the culprit, some of the most severe penalties imposed by the court were 
 remitted, and that he was erelong allowed to resume his business ; * but 
 all enthusiasm for the public good had meanwhile been crushed out of 
 him, and he became one more added to the list of subservient tools which 
 the Executive always managed to have at their control. Such were the 
 glories of a free press in enlightened Upper Canada sixty-six years ago. 
 Such were the " good old times" which our grandfathers are never weary 
 of belauding to the echo. How bright are the hues of retrospection ! 
 But for us of the present generation, let us be thankful to the Giver of 
 all Good that such brave old times are long past, and that they can 
 never return. Let them go ; but sm-ely it is too much to expect us to 
 pronounce a benison upon their dead and departed dry bones. 
 
 Even before the commencement of proceedings against Mr. Gourlay 
 under the Alien Act, his conduct had furnished a pretext to those in 
 authority for striking a heavy blow against freedom of speech and action. 
 The holding of conventions, whereat meddlesome persons of the Gourlay 
 stamp might air their grievances and agitate for investigations into 
 public abuses, was a thing not to be tolerated in Upper Canada. Upon 
 the assembling of the Legislatm-e at York, in October, 1818, the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, in his opening Speech, hinted at a law to prevent the 
 holding of such meetings; and in the course of the ensuing session a Bill 
 to effect that object was introduced into the Assembly by Mr. Jonas 
 Jones, member for Grenville. The Bill was supported by twelve out of 
 the thirteen members present, and was speedily passed into law ; but, as 
 will hereafter be seen, it was not destined to a long life. 
 
 ill 
 
 After a brief delay in the State of New York, Mr. Gourlay repaired 
 to Boston, and thence took ship for Liverpool. On a subsequent page 
 we shall catch one more brief glimpse of him, but with that exception 
 
 ♦ "Major General" D. MoLeod, in his "History of the Canadian Insurrection," p. 75, in- 
 correctly stfttea that Ferguson " died in jail from extremely cruel usage." 
 
 liili. 
 
i 
 
 THE BANISHED BRITON. 
 
 45 
 
 the present work has no further concern with his chequered existence. 
 He will be referred to from time to time, but only incidentally, and for 
 purposes of illustration. Those who may feel sufficient interest in him 
 to follow his fortunes and misfortunes to the bitter end, will find some 
 account of them in the authority quoted below.* 
 
 * Canadian Portrait Gallery, Vol. Ill,, pp. 240— 25C. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 
 JHE course of bitter persecution sustained by Mr. Gourlay 
 was really the first remote germ of the Upper Canadian 
 Eebellion. In making this statement I would not be under- 
 stood as asserting that Gourlay was the first person to set 
 himself up in opposition to authority in the Province, or 
 even that ho was the first victim of Executive tyranny. 
 There had been more or less of dissatisfaction at the selfish and one- 
 sided policy of the Administration ever since shortly after the departure 
 of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe in 1796. Between that date and Mr. 
 Gourlay's arrival in the Province several personages of some local note had 
 paid heavy penalties for daring to have opinions of their own. Mr. Wyatt, 
 the Surveyor-General, had been dismissed from o^ce because he had 
 presumed to point out certain official irregularities, and because he would 
 not betray the trust reposed in him. Joseph Willcocks had been goaded 
 into treason by a long course of persecution. Judge Thorpe had been 
 driven from the country quite as effectually as Mr. Gourlay, for no other 
 reason than that he had persisted in holding up official corruption to 
 the public gaze. But none of these manifestations of " the oppressor's 
 wrath, the proud man's contumely," had taken so deep a hold upon the 
 public mind as did the case of Mr. Gourlay. The injuries inflicted 
 upon him had been so cruel, the perversion of justice so vile, that the 
 public conscience received a shock from which it did not recover during 
 the existing generation. For the first time in Upper Canada's history 
 signs of an organized Opposition began to appear upon the floor of the 
 Assembly. Thenceforward the antagonism between the two parties grew 
 in intensity from year to year. In process of time the Opposition frequently 
 
 tui 
 
 lU 
 
A BILL OP PARTICULARS. 
 
 47 
 
 
 became the controlling power in the House. At a later stage of its 
 development it divided into two parts. One of these constituted the 
 moderate Reform Party of the Province. The other was made up of the 
 advanced Radical element, whence emanated the Rebellion which forms 
 the especial subject of the present work. All of which will hereafter be 
 narrated with greater amplitude of detail. 
 
 It has been intimated that traces of dissatisfaction began to be 
 apparent soon after Governor Simcoe's time. Upon his demission of 
 authority the direction of affairs devolved upon the Honourable Peter 
 Russell, as senior member of the Executive Council; and that gentleman 
 had not been long in authority before murmurs began to be heard about 
 the partial and defective administration of the important department 
 of Crown Lands. There were comparatively few men in the country 
 possessed of sufficient education and business experience to admit of 
 their being entrusted with the charge of public affairs ; and where all 
 the offices were necessarily in the hands of a small number of persons, it 
 was a foregone conclusion that irregularities should creep in, and that 
 cliquishness and favouritism should prevail to a greater or less extent. 
 When Lieutenant-Governor Hunter arrived, in 1799, he found that certain 
 objectionable practices had become common, and that the foundation had 
 been laid of serious public evils. Greed and favouritism had obtained 
 a strong foothold, and scarcely any branch of the public service was 
 efficiently managed. The sin of covetousness was not confined to sub- 
 ordinate officials, but included among its votaries some of the highest 
 dignitaries of the Province. It would seem that President Russell him- 
 self had an itching palm, and that his individual interests were carefully 
 watched over during his temporary administration of affairs. Everybody 
 has heard how he made grants of public lands from himself to himself,* 
 
 * Being somewhat doubtful as to the truth of this oft-repeated story, I have taken the 
 trouble to consult the records in the Crown Lands Office, where I find that Mr. Russell on several 
 occasions made grants of land to himself. Among other such grants I may mention lot number 
 twenty-two, in the third concession of the township of York, which was made on the 16th of 
 July, 1797. See Liber A., folio 382, Provincial Registry Office. He also granted various tracts 
 of land to his sister, Miss Elizabeth Russell, the first of which bears date the 15th of December 
 179G. See Liber B., folio 334. So that the President appears to have begun to "do good unto 
 himself " and his family before he had been three months in office as Administrator of the Govern- 
 ment. Further investigation would doubtless prove that he kept up the practice until the arrival 
 of Governor Hunter. 
 
48 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REnELLION. 
 
 t! 
 
 nil 
 
 I 
 
 
 thereby violating one of the most cherished maxims of English juris- 
 prudence. Lieutenant-Governor Hunter, in a letter written to a friend 
 in England soon after his arrival at York, refers to V. B. — by whom 
 Mr. Russell is clearly indicated — as " an avaricious one." In a subse- 
 quent part of the same epistle he adds : " So far as depended upon him 
 [Mr. EussellJ he would grant land to the de'il and all his family as good 
 Loyalists, if they would only pay the fees." During Governor Hunter's 
 own term of office, though there is no evidence of corruption or double- 
 dealing on his own part, abuses continued to exist, and dishonesty too 
 often stared honesty out of countenance. During the regime of his suc- 
 cessor. Commodore Grant, these abuses grew steadily, both in number 
 and in bulk ; and during Francis Gore's long though interrupted admin- 
 istration, they reached a height which called aloud for redress. 
 
 And here it is desirable to enquire into the specific nature of the 
 manifold evils which enriched a few at the expense of the many; which 
 endowed a venal and corrupt clique with a practical monopoly of political 
 and social power; which sowed the deadly seed of factious strife, and 
 stemmed the tide of Upper Canadian prosperity. 
 
 Theoretically speaking, the constitution granted to Upper Canada by 
 the Act of 1791 was not unfairly represented by Lieutenant-Governor 
 Simcoe as being " the very image and transcript of that of Great 
 Britain."* We had a Legislative Council, the members whereof were 
 appointed by the Crown for life. This body bore some resemblance to 
 the British House of Lords. Next, we had a Legislative Assembly, the 
 members whereof were periodically elected by the people — or rather by 
 Buch of the people as possessed a sufficient property qualification to 
 entitle them to exercise the franchise ; and this property qualification 
 was placed so low as almost to constitute universal suffrage, t The 
 Assembly corresponded to the British House of Commons ; and these 
 
 * See his speech at the close of the first session of the First Parliament of Upper Canada, on 
 the 15th of October, 1792. 
 
 t The property qualification for a voter was, in counties, the possession of lands or tenements 
 of the yearly value of forty shilKngg sterling or upwards, over and above all rents and charges ; 
 and in towns or townships, the possession of a dwelling house and lot of the yearly value of five 
 pounds sterling or upwards, or the having been a resident for twelve months, and the having 
 paid a year's rent at the rate of ten pounds sterling or upwards. See the twentieth section of the 
 Constitutional Act. 
 
A BILL OF PAUTICULARS. 
 
 49 
 
 two bodies— Council and Assembly— with the Lioutenant-Govornor, con- 
 stituted the Trovincial Parliament. The last-named functionary of 
 course corresponded to the Sovereif:;n of Great Britain. He was 
 appointed by the Crown, to whom he was solely responsible. He was 
 in no constitutional sense responsiljle to cither branch of the Legis- 
 lature, or to both branches combined, or to any other cis-Atlantic 
 authority whatsoever. 
 
 With such substitutes for King, Lords and Commons, Upper Canada 
 might therefore be said to possess a pretty close copy of the British 
 constitution. But when carried into practice the resemblance failed in 
 a matter of the very highest import. The absence of ministerial 
 responsibility was an all-comprehending divergence. When a British 
 ministry fails to command the confidence of the electorate, as repre- 
 sented by tlie House of Commons, resignation must follow. In other 
 words, the Government of the day derives its power from the people, to 
 whom it is responsible for the manner in which it discharges the trust 
 reposed in it ; and the moment it fails to command public confidence it 
 must give way to those who possess such confidence. The test of confi- 
 dence is the vote in the House of Commons. This has been a recognized 
 principle of English Parliamentary Government for nearly two hundred 
 years; in fact, ever since the settlement of the constitution after the 
 Revolution of 1688. With us in Upper Canada there was none of this 
 ministerial responsibility. We had a ministry, but not a responsible 
 ministry. It was manifestly impossible that each member of the Legis- 
 lative Council and Assembly should be consulted as to every minute 
 detail of the administration. Such a system would be cumbrous, und 
 altogether impracticable. The actual task of carrying on the Govern- 
 ment was therefore, as in England, entrusted to a small body of men 
 who, from the nature of their functions, were known as the Executive 
 Council. The members of this body were appointed by the Crown — that 
 is to say, by the Lieutenant-Governor — at will. It was not necessary 
 that they should have seats in either branch of the Legislature, to neither 
 of which were they in any sense responsible. They were not required to 
 possess any property or other qualification. In a word, the Crown's repre- 
 sentative was at liberty to select them without any restriction, and no one 
 

 1 
 
 ii I 
 
 50 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 in the Province would have had any constitutional right to call him to 
 account if he had seen fit to enrol his own valet as an Executive Councillor. 
 As matter of fact they were commonly selected from the judiciary and other 
 salaried officials, and from the members of the Legislative Council. Their 
 number was indeterminate, but was seldom less than four or more than 
 six, in addition to the Lieutenant-Governor himself. Their functions 
 consisted of giving advice to the Lieutenant-Governor on all matters 
 of governmental policy, whenever he might deem it expedient to consult 
 them. With respect to mere matters of detail, such as appointments to 
 office, he was not supposed to be under the necessity of advising with 
 them, nor, according to an opinion long and ostentatiously proclaimed, 
 was he in these 3arly days under the smallest obligation to follow their 
 advice after it had been given. This, however, wan merely the prescrip- 
 tive view, and it derived no sanction from the Constitutional Act itself, 
 which incidentaHy refers to the Executive Council as being appointed 
 " within such Province, for the affairs thereof." On the other hand, the 
 Executive Councillors themselves were not legally or constitutionally 
 responsible to the Upper Canadian people, either indi^ddually or collec- 
 tively, for any line of policy they might inculcate, or for any advice they 
 might give. There were no means whereby they could be called to 
 account by the people, oven should they corruptly and openly abuse the 
 trust reposed in them. 
 
 It is not difficult to foresee the result of so anomalous a state of 
 things, though in this Province, owing to sparsity of population and 
 other local causes, the result did not immediately become apparent. 
 Simcoe was a strong-minded, as well as a conscientious man. He 
 had a policy of his own for the government of the country, both at 
 large and in detail, and during his regime he carried out that policy as 
 to him seemed best. He from time to time went through the form of 
 consulting with his Executive Council, but, so far from receiving any 
 impulse from them, he invariably carried all before him at the Council 
 Board, and was the be-all and end-all of the Administration. He was, in 
 short, a beneficent despot, of high and disinterested views, who accom- 
 plished much good for Upper Canada, and would doubtless have accom- 
 plished more but for his too early removal. The moment his all-porvading 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 51 
 
 influence was gone, however, the mischief, as has already been seen, began 
 to work. President Russell granted public lands to Peter Russell, and 
 rapidly laid up a store of wealth. Where the head of the public service was 
 thus disposed to help himself, we may be sure that subordinate officials were 
 not slow to follow his example. Subsequent Lieutenant-Governors were 
 for the most part militai'y men, with little knowledge of the country's 
 needs, and with a disposition to make their voluntary exile as easy 
 and agreeable — and withal as profitable — as might be.* They naturally 
 turned for counsel and assistance to their Executive Councillors, who thus 
 became the dispensers of patronage and the supreme power in the State. 
 The Crown's representative was a mere tool in their hands. Their 
 domination was complete. "A body of holders of office thus consti- 
 tuted," says Lord Durham,! " without reference to the people or their 
 representatives, must in fact, from the very nature of colonial govern- 
 ment, acquire the entire direction of the affairs of the Province. A 
 Governor, arriving in a colony in which he almost invariably has had no 
 previous acquaintance with the state of parties or the character of indi- 
 viduals, is compelled to throw himself almost entirely upon those whom 
 he finds placed in the position of his official advisers. His first acts 
 must necessarily be performed, and his first appointments made, at 
 their suggestion. And as these first acts and appointments give a 
 character to his policy, he is generally brought thereby into immediate 
 collision with the other parties in the country, and thrown into more 
 complete dependence upon the official party and its /riends." 
 
 It has been the fashion with most writers on our early history to 
 represent the Executive Council as an arbitrary creation of the early 
 Lieutenant - Governors : as an arrangement sanctioned by the Imperial 
 authorities, but not authorized by the Provincial constitution. Such 
 writers cannot have read the debates which took place in the House of 
 Commons while the Constitutional Act of 1791 was under discussion 
 there. Nay, they cannot have read the Act itself with much cnre. 
 
 * The latter part of this clause has no aiiplicatlon to Brock, who was made of manlier stuff. 
 Brock, however, was not Lieutenant-Governor, but merely Provisional Admiuistrator of the 
 Province. 
 
 t JtepoH on the Affairs of Drituh North America, English folio edition, p. 2S. 
 
i: 
 
 ii I 
 
 ; I 
 
 52 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Nothing is more certain than that the framers of that statute contem- 
 plated the creation of an Executive Council. By reference to the seventh, 
 thirty-fourth and thirty-eighth clauses it will be seen that the Executive 
 Council is definitely mentioned by name, and that the appointment of 
 such a body is assumed, and treated as a matter of course. But that 
 the Council should occupy the same relative position as in Great Britain, 
 and that it should be amenable to public opinion as expressed by the 
 vote of the House of Assembly, does not appear to have been clearly 
 understood. Indeed, with the exception of a few master minds, such as 
 Pitt, Pox, and Burke, but little interest seems to have been taken by 
 British legislators in this important colonial experiment. Parliamentary 
 Government, though it had been long established in England, had not 
 then been reduced to a science. Even such clear-sighted statesmen as 
 Pitt and Fox were blind to facts which at the present day force them- 
 selves upon the attention of every student of constitutional history. 
 What wonder, then, that there should have been defects in the measure 
 of 1791? What wbnder that even eminent statesmen should have 
 attempted to square the circle in politics by introducing such an incon- 
 gruity as representative institutions without Executive responsibility? 
 Power was given to the popular branch of the Legislature to pass 
 measures for the public good. But, no matter how overwhelming might 
 be the majorities whereby such measures were passed, there was no 
 obligation on the other branches of the Legislature to accept or act upon 
 them. In the words of one of our own writers: "the Legislative 
 Councils, nominated by the Crown, held the Legislative Assemblies by 
 the throat, kept them prostrate, and paralyzed them." * As for the 
 members of the Executive Council, they were to all intents and purposes 
 independent of public opinion, and could override a unanimous vote 
 of the Assembly without incurring any responsibility whatever. By 
 reference to the correspondence between successive colonial Governors 
 and the Home Office, it appears to have been tacitly recognized by the 
 magnates on both sides of the Atlantic that it was unnecessary for a 
 colonial Executive to defer to a Parliamentary majority. The right of 
 appointment to ofiice was considered to be the exclusive prerogative of 
 
 * The Cotutitutional History of Canada, by Samuel .Tames Wiitson, Vol. I., p. 128, 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 53 
 
 il 
 
 the representative of the Sovereign, and it was regarded as a badge 
 of colonial dependence that the people should have no voice in such 
 matters. 
 
 It seems to have been assumed that certain Imperial interests w^ere 
 involved in this great question, and that to give way to the popular 
 demand would be to render the colonies free from Imperial control. 
 What those particular interests were which required to be protected by 
 so jealous and anomalous a doctrine does not appear to be anywhere 
 specified with precision. But nothing is more certain than that con- 
 fusion and chaos must be the inevitable outcome of any attempt to 
 reduce to practice such opposite principles as are involved in Kepre- 
 sentative Government and Executive irresponsibility. Such an attempt 
 in England would very soon produce revolution. Such an attempt in 
 France did actually produce revolution in 1830, when Charles the Tenth 
 was deposed for his persistent endeavours to maintain an unpopular 
 ministry in power. No country in the world would long continue to 
 tolerate a Parliamentary system which was free and representative in 
 theory, but tyrannous and despotic in practice. Upper Canada was 
 indeed long- suffering, but a time arrived when it became evident that 
 there was a limit to her powers of endurance. 
 
 As the years rolled by, and the country steadily advanced in wealth 
 and population, abuses grew apace.* The Executive became rapacious 
 and tyrannical. Commanding, as they did, the entire administrative 
 and official influence of the Province, they ordei-ed all things according 
 to their own pleasure. They could count upon the support of every 
 member of the Legislative Council. Indeed, through their pliant tool, 
 the Lieutenant-Governor for the time being, they controlled the mem- 
 
 *Tbe iibusee specified in the present chapter were not confined to Upper Canada. They 
 existed, with certain local variations, throughout all the British North American colonies, and 
 produced similar results in each; viz., ever-recurring conflicts between the Executive and tl; 
 popular branch of the Legislature, followed by more or less alienation of loyalty to the mothei' 
 co\mtry on the part of the more radical element in the community. In the Maritime Provinces 
 the alienation was not sufficiently widespread to manifest itself in actual rebellion, though the 
 conflict between the oligarchy and the popular tribunes sometimes produced a very disturbed 
 state of feeling. In Lower Canada, where the element of race-hatred was added to all other 
 sources of disturbance, the conflict attained an intensity far beyond what was reached in any of 
 the other colonies, and left traces behind it which are not even yet wholly obliterated. 
 
ill !: 
 
 Is! 1^1 
 
 r 
 
 -i i 
 
 54 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 1 
 
 bership of the latter body, and took care that no man was appointed 
 a Legislative Councillor unless he was either one of themselves or 
 wholly subject to their influence. The Assembly soon found that it 
 was deliberately and systematically deprived of the privileges which 
 of right belonged to it, and that it was little better than a nullity. 
 It might meet and go through the form of passing such measures as it 
 saw fit, but if the measures so passed were not acceptable to the Legisla- 
 tive and Executive Councils they were contumeliously vetoed when they 
 reached the Upper House. This brought the two deliberative branches 
 of the Legislature into direct and perpetual conflict. The Assembly, 
 however, in early years, was always largely made up of such men as 
 Isaac Swayze — subservient creatures of the Administration, who opposed 
 their influence to that of the tribunes of the people, and prevented any 
 collision between the two Houses from assuming a very serious constitu- 
 tional aspect. It was not till the third decade of the century that the 
 conflict assumed such a character as to threaten the foundations of the 
 constitution itself ; and it was not till the fourth decade that any actual 
 attempt was made to subvert those foundations. 
 
 The Province was about fifteen years old before the inhabitants of 
 Upper Canada generally began to realize what an intolerable burden they 
 had to bear in this irresponsible Executive. Before that time some of the 
 better educated and more intelligent among them recognized its exist- 
 ence as an evil with which they or their descendants would at some 
 future time be called upon to deal. But such persons were comparatively 
 few in number, and as the burden did not lie with special heaviness upon 
 their own backs, they did not feel called upon to involve themselves in what 
 might prove a ruinous quarrel with persons who would not tamely submit 
 to interference. As for the inhabitants generally, they were too busily 
 occupied in clearing their lands, in hewing out homes for themselves and 
 their families in the vast wilderness, and in reducing the soil to a state 
 fit for cultivation, to give themselves much concern about public affairs. 
 There was no newspaper press to stimulate them to enquiry. The only 
 sheet published in the Province which by any license of language could 
 be called a regular newspaper was The Upper Canada Gazette, which was 
 the official mouthpiece of the Administration. The Canada ConBtellation, 
 which was a quaint long folio, published at the old capital, Niagara, 
 
A BILL OF PAUTICULARS. 
 
 55 
 
 liad but a brief existenco, and expired during the very early years of the 
 century. The Ui)pcr Canada Guardian, to be hereafter referred to, did 
 not come into being till 1807. Editorial articles, except of the 
 briefest and crudest sort, were a still later development. The bucolic 
 mind had no intellectual stimulant whatever except such as was to be 
 obtained from contact with other bucolic minds through the medium of 
 conversation. It was no wonder, then, that for the first fifteen years 
 after the creation of Upper Canada, the Provincial Government should 
 have been permitted to do very much as it chose, without being sub- 
 jected to any formidable criticism on the part of the community. 
 
 The Legislative Council, as has been said, was composed of members 
 nominated by the Sovereign's representative. By the sixth section of 
 the Constitutional Act provision had been made for the creation of a 
 hereditary nobility, with the hereditary right of being summoned to the 
 Legislative Council. Happily this authority was not exercised ; other- 
 wise, as Gourlay has remarked, " we should have seen, perhaps, the 
 Duke of Ontario leading in a cart of hay, my Lord Erie pitching, and 
 Sir Peter Superior making the rick ; or perhaps his Grace might now 
 have been figuring as a pettyfogging lawyer, his Lordship as a pedlar, 
 and Sir Knight, as a poor parson, starving on five thousand acres of 
 Clergy Reserves."* We were spared the spectacle of such absurdities, 
 and life members of the Legislative Council were the nearest approach 
 to a nobility vouchsafed to us. Some of the first appointees were 
 men of intelligence and probity, but few of those subsequently created 
 could with any show of truthfulness be so characterized. They were 
 for the most part dependants of the Government, with no fitness, 
 educational or otherwise, for the discharge of grave legislative functions, 
 and with no motive but to do the bidding of those who had clothed 
 them with the dignity of office. All things considered, this condition 
 of things was to be looked for; but the inevitable result followed. 
 The few upright members either died off in the course of time, 
 and were succeeded by sycophantic placemen, or, finding themselves 
 outnumbered, ceased to attend the sittings of the branch of the Leg- 
 
 * Statistical Account, Vol, II., p. 296. 
 
ill Hi 
 
 ill I 
 
 
 56 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 islature to which they belonged. In one way and another, those who 
 really wished to preserve the public interests were weeded out, and 
 nothing was left but a rump devoted to the Executive ".vill. Instead 
 of answering the purpose for which it was originally intended, the 
 Legislative Council became a mere instrument in the hands of the 
 oligarchy for stemming back the tide of public opinion. Instead of 
 forming a seasonable and wholesome check upon extravagance and 
 inconsiderate legislation in the Lower House, it contributed to the im- 
 poverishment of the Provincial revenue by assisting to keep the control 
 of public affairs in the hands of selfish and unprincipled men. Instead 
 of preserving the "happy balance of our glorious Constitution" — a 
 phrase constantly placed in the mouths of Lieutenant-Governors, and 
 embodied in their addresses to our Canadian simulacrum of the House 
 of Lords — it tended to keep the balance all on one side, and that side was 
 the one most prejudicial to the public good. It became a mere stop-gap 
 interposed by the Government between itself and the Assembly. The 
 Assembly passed measure after measure with careful deliberation, only 
 to find that their time had been thrown away, for upon reaching the Upper 
 House these measures were ignominously thrust aside. One who had 
 himself been a member of the Assembly, and who had had personal experi- 
 ence of the evils whereof he wrote, has left the following description of the 
 manner in which Bills from the Lower Chamber were treated in the Upper : 
 " Sitting for a short time each day, the Bills of the Assembly are 
 despatched under the table with unexampled celerity. Deputations, con- 
 veying up popular measures, no sooner have their backs turned than the 
 process of strangulation commences. Bills +hat have undergone discus- 
 sion for days in the other House, and that have been amended and 
 perfected with the greatest care, no sooner arrive in their august presence 
 than their fate is sealed." * He adds: "Of those who attend to their 
 duties, two-thirds are dependent on the Government for either salaries 
 or pensions. It is not harsh to say that they become the willing tools of 
 the hand that feeds them, instead of looking to the interests of those 
 from whom they indirectly derive their support. Such gratitude may be 
 
 'Canadimia, by W. B. Wells, p. 103. 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 57 
 
 very amiable, but it is no qualification for an independent legislator."* 
 These lines were written as late as the year 1837, and their author informs 
 us that within the preceding eight years the Council had rejected no fewer 
 than three hundred and twenty-five Bills passed by the Assembly, being 
 an average of more than forty for each session! — a statement which is 
 fully confirmed by reference to the official journals of the respective 
 Houses. 
 
 Such a method of procedure, leading to inevitable oruflicts between 
 the two Houses, caused the public business to be impeded and the 
 public interests to be very inefficiently conserved. The whole admin- 
 istrative system of the Province was disorganized. The contest was 
 very unequal, for the Government could frequently command a majority 
 of votes in the Assembly. The minority in that House smarted 
 under a sense of tyranny and injustice, and felt that they were of no 
 weight in the body politic. That sense of dignity which is imparted by 
 a consciousness of contributing to the formation of public policy and 
 opinion was wanting. Not only were the benefits arising from a proper 
 organization of labour altogether lost, but the antagonism between the 
 two factors in political life was so great that they to a large extent 
 neutralized each other. The Upper House had no weight with the 
 people ; the Lower House had no weight with the Crown. 
 
 One of the greatest drawbacks to the country's prosperity was the 
 method of granting public lands. It had been the policy of Governor 
 Simcoe to encourage immigration from the United States, as well as from 
 Great Britain and continental Europe. He had offered great induce- 
 ments, in the shape of free grants of wild lands, to persons settling in 
 Upper Canada, and his offer had produced the expected results in the 
 shape of a full tide of immigrants. He had, h( \'ever, exercised a rigid 
 personal supervision over these grants, and had done his utmost to pre- 
 vent the abuse of his bountiful regulations. His successors were loss 
 scrupulous, and being, as has been seen, under the control of greedy and 
 selfish persons, they permitted the public lands to be used as means of 
 enriching and corrupting the favourites of the Administration. The 
 
 •lb. 
 
 + lb., p. 104. 
 
i 
 
 58 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 :?l 
 
 
 i 
 
 land-granting department was honeycombed by jobbery and corruption. 
 Grants of five thousand acres were made to each member of the Execu- 
 tive Council, and of twelve hundred acres to each of their children. 
 Similar grants were made to certain favoured members of the Legisla- 
 tive Council and their children.* Numerous other personages who could 
 command sufficient influence at Court obtained grants of twelve hundred 
 acres each. The extent of an ordinary grant was two hundred acres. 
 From the creation of the Province down to 1804 these donations were 
 unattended by any cost whatever to the grantees beyond trifling fees to 
 the officials for their trouble in passing the entries through the office 
 books. The privilege of obtaining landed estates for nothing was abused 
 to such an extent, however, that the Home Office interfered, and in the 
 year last named a scale of fees proportionate to the extent of the grant 
 was introduced ; but U. E. Loyalists, officers, soldiers. Executive Coun- 
 cillors and their children were exempt even from this trifling burden. 
 In 1818 the performance of certain settlement duties was imposed upon 
 all persons receiving grants, without any exemptions, and in after years 
 several other scales of fees were introduced from time to time. The 
 public lands were committed to the care of an official called the Surveyor- 
 General, and it was not until 1827 that a Commissioner of Crown Lands 
 was appointed. During the first thirty-five years of the Province's 
 history grants of land were entirely subject to the discretion of the 
 Governor-in-Council, not merely as to the quantity and situation of the 
 land itself, but also as to whether the applicant should receive any grant 
 at all.t Under such a system it was inevitable that the grossest par- 
 
 * These grants of five thousand acres to members of the Executive Council were in direct 
 Tiolation of the instructions framed by the Home Government for the regulation of land-granting 
 in Upper Canada. They continued to be made down to 1807, when they were stopped by a 
 peremptory order to that effect from the Colonial Secretary. There is one instance on record 
 of a reserve being applied for and made on behalf of the child of a member of the Legislative 
 Council, though the child was not three days old. See the evidence of John Radenhurst, Chief 
 Clerk in the office of the Surveyor-General, in Appendix B. to Lord Durham's Report on the 
 Affairs of British North America, 
 
 t Most of these facts with reference to the granting of public lands may be obtained from 
 the archives of the Crown Lands Office in Toronto, and from the newspapers and official reports 
 of the period. They may also be found, together with a vast accumulation of other important 
 facts bearing on the same subject, in Charles BuUer's Report on Public Lands and Emigration, 
 forming Appendix B. to Lord Durham's Report on the Affairs of British North America. 
 
 il;;. 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 59 
 
 tiality should prevail, and it was but seldom that any one succeeded in 
 obtaining a grant until those in authority had satisfied themselves that he 
 was to be relied upon to uphold any policy which they might see fit to 
 dictate. Official dignitaries granted lands to their servants and other 
 dependants, and, as soon as certain requisite forms had been complied 
 with, these lands were transferred to themselves or their children. In 
 other cases persons were actually hired by the month to draw land and 
 perform the settlement duties, after which the land was conveyed to their 
 employers. Having the run of the official books, these cormorants con- 
 trived in one way and another to acquire for themselves and their 
 creatures all the best lands in the Province, either wholly for nothing or 
 at a price which was merely nominal. " The keys of office," says a 
 writer already quoted from, " were held by themselves or friends, and no 
 admittanc3 to their secrets was allowed except to the initiated, whose 
 favourable out-of-door statements could be relied on. Never since the 
 Norman invasion of England was there such a wholesale partition of 
 plunder." * Many persons owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, 
 entire townships. t Others owned thousands of acres which they had 
 never seen. As the taxes imposed on unsettled lands were trifling, 
 those immense tracts were no appreciable expense to their owners, who 
 could hold them from year to year, until the progress of settlement 
 rendered them of immense value. Such progress was inevitable, for 
 
 * Canadiana, p. 130. 
 
 t In 1796 or therabouts the Executive offered to grant entire townships to persons who would 
 undertake to settle them with a certain number of colonists within a specified time. The number 
 of colonists required was made proportionate to the extent of territory to be settled. This offer 
 was taken advantage of by ten different individuals. The grants were not actually made, but 
 the respe/^ive townships were allocated in the official books to the various persons concerned. 
 Upon Che faith of the pledge of the Executive, several of the ten assignees proceeded to carry out 
 the conditions imposed. Among them was Mr. William Berczy, who, having obtained an assign- 
 ment of the township of Markham, went to great expense in bringing over a number of German 
 families, whom he settled according to the conditions of the contemplated grant. After he had 
 spent a sum of money variously stated at from twenty to thirty thousand pounds sterling, the 
 Executive coolly announced that they had determined to abandon the township system, and 
 that they did not even intend to carry out the grants to those who had complied with the condi- 
 tions. The compensation offered for this unparalleled breach of faith was a grant of twelve 
 hundred acres to each assignee. Nine of the individuals concerned assented to these terms, but 
 Mr. Berczy refused to accept any such inadequate recompense, and he remained for the rest of 
 his life a ruined man. He shook the dust of Upper Canada from his feet, and took up his abode 
 in Montreal, whence he subsequently repaired to New York, where he died in the year 1813. 
 
GO 
 
 THE Ul'PER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 
 \)W\ 
 
 HI! 
 
 •I ■ 
 
 ih 
 
 I 
 
 though these huge reservations tended to keep back the country, settlers 
 obtained grants of adjoining lands, and their labours could not fail to 
 increase the value of all contiguous territory. The Home District, 
 including the most valuable portion of Upper Canada, was especially 
 afflicted by these wholesale reservations, but every part of the Province 
 was more or less crippled by them. 
 
 The ruling faction and their favourites, not satisfied with the 
 enormous direct and indirect grants of lands which they managed in one 
 way and another to obtain, availed themselves of every opportunity to 
 buy up land which had been granted to persons who had expended their 
 little all on their properties, and had thereby become impoverished. 
 Among these latter were many half-pay officers and others of good birth 
 but limited means, who had sought homes for themselves in the Canadian 
 wilderness. Not a few had been compelled to sell their commissions in 
 order to obtain the wherewithal to settle themselves and their families on 
 the lands granted to them. Finding themselves cut off from society, 
 and ill-suited to face the privations of pioneer life, they became dis- 
 couraged, and sold their lands for whatever meagre price they could get. 
 The land-jobbers were ever on the alert to buy up these tA'acts at a few 
 shillings an acre, not with any intention of settling upon or improving 
 them, but solely for the purpose of holding tbam for an increr sed value. 
 The grants to the children of U. E. Loyalists were the constant subjects 
 of bargain and sale, and wrought great evil to the Province without pro- 
 ducing any corresponding benefit to the recipients. Very few of the 
 lots so granted were ever occupied by the grantees, most of whom were 
 young persons of both sexes who resided with their parents, and had no 
 mclination to set up for themselves in the wilderness. These grants 
 were frequently sold at ridiculously low prices. From two to five pounds 
 was an ordinary price for a lot of two hundred acres. Mr. John Eaden- 
 hurst, who was Chief Clerk in the office of the Surveyor-General for 
 many years, is entitled to speak on this subject with authority. In his 
 evidence taken before Lord Durham's Commissioner, in 1838, he states 
 that the general price paid by speculators for the two-hundred-acre lots 
 granted to sons and daughters of U. E. Loyalists was "from a gallon of 
 rum up to perhaps six pounds." In answer to another question, he 
 
 ti iiliii 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 CI 
 
 states that while millions of acres were granted in this way, the settle- 
 ment of the Province was not advanced, nor the advantage of the grantee 
 secured in the manner that may be supposed to have been contemplated 
 by Government. He mentions the Honourable Kobert Hamilton, a mem- 
 ber of the Legislative Council, and the two Chief Justices, Elmsley and 
 Powell, as among the largest purchasers of these lands. Mr. Hamilton's 
 acquisitions amounted to about a hundred thousand acres.* Elmsley and 
 Powell, in addition to the five thousand acres which each of them had 
 obtained for nothing as members of the Executive Council, managed to 
 acquire quantities of land which, had they been brought together in one 
 spot, would have made a township of average size. Thus was monopoly 
 perpetuated and increased from year to year, and thus were large tracts 
 of the Provincial territory maintained in a state of primitive wilderness. 
 Intimations of the gigantic abuses existing in the land-granting system 
 of Upper Canada were more than once sent across the Atlantic to the 
 Colonial Secretary, who instructed the Lieutenant-Governor to impose 
 certaJL regulations with a view to preventing the continuous repetition of 
 injusticb The Colonial Office, however, was more than three thousand 
 milcE away, and means were easily found for evading any restrictions im- 
 posed at such a distance. Some idea of the extent which the evil had 
 attained in the year 1818 may be derived from the two passages in that 
 
 • See Appendix B. to Lord Durham's Report, folio edition, p. 99. Mr. Charles Rankin 
 Deputy-Surveyor in the Western District, in his evidence before the Commission {ib. pp. 
 120, 121), says :— " The system of making large grants to individuals who had no intention of 
 settling them has tended to retard the jirosperity of the colony by separating the actual settlers, 
 and rendering it so much more difficult, and in some cases impossible, for them to make the 
 necessary roads. It has also made the markets more distant and more precarious. To such an 
 extent have these difficulties been experienced as to occasion the abandonment of seitlementd 
 vtfhich had been formed. I may mention, as an instance of this, the township of Rama, where 
 after a trial of three years, the settlers were compelled to abandon their improvements. It should 
 be noticed that the settlers in this instance were not of a class fitted to encounter the privations of 
 the wilderness, being half-pay officers. In the township of St. Vincent almost all the most 
 valuable settlers have left their farms from the same cause, the townships of Nottawasaga and 
 CoUingwood, the whole of the land in which had been granted, and which are almost entirely 
 unsettled (CoUingwood, I believe, has ( nly one settler), intervening between thom and the settled 
 township, and rendering communication impossible. There have been numerous instances in 
 which, though the settlement has not been altogether abandoned, the most valuable settlers after 
 unavailing struggles of several years with the difficulties which I have described, have left their 
 farms." This witness further states his belief that nine-tenths of the lands in the Western 
 District were still— in 1838— in a state of wilderness. 
 
I ! 
 
 1 
 
 M! 
 
 Ill 
 
 62 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 very petition to the Prince Regent for which Mr. Gourlay was indicied at 
 Kingston and Brockville, as related in the preceding chapter. " The hinds 
 of the Grown in Upper Canada," proceeds the petition, "are of immense 
 extent, not only stretching far and wide into the wilderness, but scattered 
 ovev the Province, and intermixed with private property already cultivated. 
 The disposal of this land is left to ministers at home, who are palpably 
 ignorant of existing circumstances, and to a council of men resident in 
 the Province, who, it is believed, have long converted the trust reposed in 
 them to purposes of selfishness. The scandalous abuses in this depart- 
 ment came some years ago to such a pitch of monstrous magnitude that 
 the Home ministers wisely imposed restrictions upon the Laud Council 
 of Upper Canada. These, however, have by no means removed the evil ; 
 and a system of patrona,ge and favouritism, in the disposal of the Crown 
 Lands, still exists ; altogether destructive of moral rectitude and virtuous 
 feeling in the management of public affairs. Corruption, indeed, has 
 reached such a height in this Province that it is thought no other part of 
 the British Empire witnesses the like, and it is vain to look for improve- 
 ment until a radical change is effected. It matters not what characters 
 fill situations of public trust at present — all sink beneath the dignity of 
 men — become vitiated and weak, as soon as they are placed within the 
 vortex of destruction. Confusion on confusion has grown out of this 
 unhappy system ; and the very lands of the Crown, the giving away of 
 which has created such mischief and iniquity, have ultimately come to 
 little value from abuse. The poor subjects of His Majesty, driven from 
 home by distress, to whom portions of land are granted, can now find 
 in the grant no benefit ; and Loyalists of the United Empire — the 
 descendants of those who sacrificed their all in America in behalf of 
 British rule — men whose names were ordered on record for their virtuous 
 adherence to your Royal Father — the descendants of these men find now 
 no favour in their destined rewards ; nay, these rewards, when granted, 
 have in many cases been rendered worse than nothing, for the legal rights 
 in the enjoyment of them have been held at nought ; their land has been 
 rendered unsaleable, and, in some cases, only a source of distraction i ud 
 care. Under this system of internal management, and weakened from 
 other evil influences, Upper Canada now pines in comparative decay ; 
 
 m 
 
 iiii 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 G3 
 
 discontent and poverty are experienced in a land supremely blessed with 
 the gifts of nature ; dread of arbitrary power wars, here, against the free 
 exercise of reason and manly sentiment ; laws have been set aside ; 
 legislators have come into derision ; and contempt from the mother- 
 country seems fast gathering strength to disunite the people of Canada 
 from their friends at home." Notwithstanding these long, involved, 
 awkwardly-constructed sentences, there is no more accurate picture to bo 
 found anywhere of the effect of the pernicious administration of affairs in 
 the Public Lands Office at York in 1818. Twenty years later Lord 
 Durham found it not much improved.* 
 
 Another hydra-headed monster which ate into the very vitals of the 
 commonwealth was the provision for the clergy, known as the Clergy 
 Reserves. This was perhaps the greatest of all the curses imposed upon 
 Upper Canada by the Constitutional Act, for its ill effects were both 
 direct and incidental. It not only tended to stop the march of progress, 
 but it created a degree of sectarian animosity and hatred little calculated 
 to inspire respect for Christianity in the breasts of the secular portion of 
 the community, and it disturbed the public tranquillity for nearly two 
 generations. 
 
 By the thirty-sixth section of the Act of 1791, power was given to 
 reserve out of all future grants of land in Upper and Lower Canada, 
 as well as in respect of all past grants, an allotment for the support of 
 " a Protestant Clergy." It was provided that this allotment should be 
 "equal in value to the seventh part of the lands so granted." By the 
 thirty-seventh section, the rents, profits and emoluments arising from 
 the lands so appropriated were to be applicable solely to the maintenance 
 and support of a Protestant Clergy. By subsequent sections provision 
 was made for the erection and endowment by the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 under instructions from the Crown, of parsonages or rectories, one or 
 more in every township or parish, according to the establishment of the 
 Church of England, and for the presentation of incumbents, subject to 
 the bishop's right of institution. By section forty- two it was enacted that 
 no Provincial statute varying or repealing these provisions should receive 
 the royal assent until thirty days after it had been laid before both Houses 
 
 * See his Report, paiaim ; also see the portion of Appendix B. relating to Upper Canada. 
 
!i!|!|!t!i 
 t 
 
 : 
 
 I < 
 
 !':' 
 
 I III 
 
 |M 
 
 ii 
 
 64 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN UEBELLION. 
 
 of Parliament in Great Britain. These famous enactments were destined 
 to produce more discord and heartburning than all the other clauses of the 
 Constitutional Act combined. They were destined to make the Church of 
 England more cordially detested in this Province by persons without the 
 pale of her communion than she has ever been in any other part of the 
 world. They were destined to set one Legislative faction against another 
 in such fierce array that the public business frequently had to be sus- 
 pended. They were destined to divide the Provincial population into two 
 hostile camps, each filled with envy, malice and all uncharitableness 
 towards the other. They were destined to be the key-note of general 
 elections, and to shape the policy of successive Administrations. They 
 were destined to be the chief factor in bringing about a Eebellion which 
 for a time seriously disturbed the industries of the Province ; which filled 
 the Provincial jails with suffering prisoners ; which consigned a number 
 of persons to a premature and ignominious death ; which brought sorrow 
 and ruin to many a once happy fireside ; which bequeathed a legacy of 
 hatred to the children of those who took part in it ; and which seriously 
 disturbed the international amity between Great Britain and the United 
 States. 
 
 It may be doubted whether all the ill effects of these appropriations 
 were foreseen by their promoters in the early years of our history. It 
 was at all events some time before those effects began to be apparent 
 to the people generally. In making the appropriations, care was taken 
 that the reserved lands should be intermixed with grants to actual 
 settlers, whereby they were spread over a large area ; the manifest inten- 
 tion being to increase their value by their proximity to cultivated farms, 
 and at the same time to create a tenantry in the settled townships, with 
 a view to the creation of parishes and the endowment of rectories. In 
 Beveral portions of the Province, however, it was impossible to follow this 
 plan. Much of the Niagara peninsula had been granted to Butler's 
 Eangers before the passing of the Constitutional Act. In like manner, 
 certain townships along the north bank of the St. Lawrence, as well as 
 several 'portions of the Western District, had been granted to other 
 United Empire Loyalists. In none of these cases had any reservations 
 been made, and the lands had already become vested in the grantees. 
 
A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 G5 
 
 The appropriators accordingly set apart large tracts of aggregated 
 reservations in contiguous townships which were yet unsettled. The 
 prejudicial results soon hegan to appear. Huge tracts of reserves 
 interposed themselves between one settler and another, enhancing the 
 difficulties of communication and transportation, and hindering or alto- 
 gether preventing that cooperation of labour which is essential to the 
 prosperity of pioneer settlements. The inhabitants, instead of being 
 drawn together, were isolated from one another, and combination for 
 municipal or other public purposes was rendered all but impracticable. 
 They were kept remote from a market for the sale of their produce, cut 
 off from the privileges of public worship and public education for their 
 children; deprived, in a word, of the blessings of civilization. Settle- 
 ment was seriously obstructed, and the industrious immigrant was to a 
 great extent paralyzed by his surroundings. 
 
 The evils arising out of these Clergy Eeservea were intensified by the 
 unfair and illegal manner in which the appropriations were made. It 
 has been seen that by the Act of 1791 the land rererved for the clergy 
 was to be equal to one-seventh of all grants made by the Crown. One- 
 seventh of all grants would obviously be one-eighth of the whole. Yet, 
 instead of acting on this self-evident proposition, it was the practice of 
 those to whom the duty of reservation was entrusted to set apart for the 
 clergy one-seventh of all the land, which was equal to a sixth of the land 
 granted. The surplus thus unjustly appropriated on behalf of the clergy 
 had in 1838 footed up to a total of three hundred thousand acres. The 
 excess was confined to about two-thirds of the surveyed townships, from 
 which circumstance, as well as from the obvious construction of the 
 statute, it is to be inferred that the excessive reservations were made 
 deliberately, and not from mere oversight or inadvertence.* 
 
 As the Province increased in population, and as land advanced in 
 value, the grievance became more and more manifest. The growl of 
 discontent began to be heard, and the people began to combine against 
 the intolerable evil. This, at first, was chiefly due to the purely secular 
 
 • See tlie Special Report of Mr. R. Da vies Hanson, Assistant Commissioner of Crown Lands 
 and Emigration, forming the commencement of Appendix A. to Lord Durham's Rtport on the 
 Affairs of British North America, 
 
:l, ' 1 
 
 66 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN KEBELLION. 
 
 
 iliilM 
 
 t 
 
 t H' 
 
 Hi 
 
 reasons above indicated. By degrees, however, the sectarian element 
 was developed, and the growl of discontent became a roar of opposition. 
 A dominant church was not acceptable to the Dissenters* who composed 
 the bulk of the population ; yet it was contended by those in authority — 
 all of whom were Episcopalians — that the Clergy Reserves were the 
 exclusive domain of the Church of England. It must be conceded that 
 there was some ground for this contention, and that the question was 
 not quite free from doubt. The Act authorizing the setting apart of 
 the Eeserves had appropriated them for the maintenance and support 
 of "a Protestant Clergy." The word "clergy" was not commonly 
 applied in those days to dissenting ministers of religion. It had never 
 been used in any English statute to designate any ministers except those 
 of the Church of Rome and the Church of England. The Church of 
 Rome being excluded by the term "Protestant," it was contended that 
 the provision had been for the exclusive benefit of the Church of England, 
 more especially as the creation and endowment of parsonages and 
 rectories — which are institutions peculiar to the Church of England — 
 had been expressly provided for by the same Act. Such was the plea 
 put forward on behalf of the Church of England. Dissenters took a 
 different view. They argued that the term "Protestant Clergy" had 
 been used in the Act in mere contradistinction to the clergy of the 
 Church of Rome. They further urged that the limited construction 
 sought to be put upon the term by the Anglicans was plainly negatived 
 by the thirty-ninth section of the Act, wherein the words " incumbent or 
 minister of the Church of England" were expressly employed. Such 
 terms, it was said, would not have been used by the framers of the Act if 
 they had regarded them as synonymous with " Protestant Clergy," as 
 used in other clauses. " The manifest intention of the Act," said the 
 Dissenters, "was to provide for a Protestant — as distinguished from a 
 Roman Catholic — clergy. The provision for the establishment of parson- 
 ages and rectories is a mere matter of detail, which cannot be allowed to 
 override the larger intention so plainly evidenced by other sections." 
 
 ♦ I use this word for want of a better, though it is not strictly accurate as applied to Upper 
 Canada, where there were no clearly prescribed standards of religious faith from which non- 
 supporters of Episcopacy could be said to dissent. The word " Nonconformist " is objectionable 
 for a similar reason. 
 
1 
 
 A BILL OF PARTICULARS. 
 
 67 
 
 The Presbyterian body took higher ground than their non-Anglican 
 brethren. The Church of Scotland had been expressly recognized as a 
 Protestant Church by the Act of Union of England and Scotland in 1707. 
 It was therefore contended that the ministers of that church were entitled 
 to be considered as "Protestant Clergy;" and this contention was 
 sustained by the English law officers of the Crown in 1819. The opinion 
 expressed by those learned officials was acted upon, and the Presbyterians 
 of Upper Canada put forward claims to a share of the Reserves. Their 
 claims were allowed ; whereupon other Protestant denominations followed 
 their example, and demanded, as "Protestant Clergy," to participate in 
 the provision made for them. The private and public quarrels which 
 ensued between leaders of the different sects kept the country in a state 
 of chronic disturbance ; while the greed displayed by professed ministers 
 of religion furnished a striking practical commentary upon the doctrines 
 taught by the Founder of all Christian faiths. Opinions were obtained 
 from eminent lawyers as to the respective rights of the various sects, 
 and as to the true meaning of the Constitutional Act. The most opposite 
 conclusions were arrived at by different lawyers, and it became manifest 
 that no apportionment satisfactory to all the claimants could be made 
 by any tribunal. The Church of England meanwhile contrived to secure 
 the great bulk of the spoils. According to a return to the House of 
 Assembly of lands set apart as glebes in Upper Canada during the forty- 
 six years from 1787 to 1833, it appears that 22,845 acres were so set 
 apart for the Clergy of the Church of England, 1160 acres for Ministers 
 of the Kirk of Scotland, 400 for Roman Catholics, and " none for any 
 other denomination of Christians."* 
 
 But there was a broader and stronger argument than any of these 
 purely technical contentions : an argument founded on experience and 
 practical utility. No matter what had been the intent of the original 
 framers of the Constitutional Act, the fact had become patent to all 
 Dissenters, and even to many liberal-minded lay members of the Anglican 
 Church, that the Clergy Reserves were a curse to the Province — a mill- 
 stone about her neck, which dragged her down in spite of all exertions to 
 raise her to the surface. Not long after this fact had become generally 
 
 * See Seventh Orievance Committee's Report, p. 164. 
 
68 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 mm 
 
 M 
 
 recognized, an agitation arose in favour of the total abolition of State aid 
 to religious bodies. The plan advocated by Reformers was the sale of the 
 Reserves, and the application of the proceeds to public education and 
 municipal improvements. The agitation was kept up until long after the 
 period covered by this work, and the object sought to be attained by it was 
 not fully accomplished until the year 1854. Meanwhile, however, it was 
 the most important question before the country, and it occupied the 
 attention of the Legislature during a large part of almost every session. 
 Here was where the conflict between the two Houses was felt with most 
 pernicious e£fect. The advocates of abolition and secularization clearly 
 had the country with them, and the Assembly passed Bill after Bill to 
 effect those objects. Their efforts were utterly nullified by the Upper 
 House, which would not listen to any such proposals, and which threw 
 out as many Bills relating to this important subject as the Assembly 
 thought proper to send up for its consideration. Such were the merits 
 of the long and fiercely-contested question of the Clergy Reserves. 
 
 Another serious obstacle to Upper Canadian prosperity was the con- 
 tinual interference of the Colonial Office in our domestic concerns. Bills 
 passed by the Provincial Legislature for the regulation of our own 
 internal affairs were disallowed with vexatious frequency, and some- 
 times, apparently, from mere caprice. Sometimes the irresponsible 
 Executive, unwilling that their obedient servants in the Upper House 
 should incur popular odium by opposing the will of the Assembly, per- 
 mitted Bills to pass both Houses, and then, through their tool the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, had these identical measures disallowed. Advice, 
 the compliance with which could not fail to be prejudicial to the 
 interests of the colony, was also sent across the Atlantic through the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, to whom it came back by return post in the 
 shape of Imperial instructions to be acted upon. The Colonial Minister, 
 whoever he might for the time happen to be, knew little and cared little 
 about the British North American colonies, and did not generally concern 
 himself with despatches to colonial Governors any further than to sign 
 his name to them. He was thus the unconscious means of furthering 
 Executive tyranny, and to some extent of alienating the loyalty of the 
 colonists. 
 
A BILL OF rARTICULARS. 
 
 69 
 
 Among other drawbacks, sufficiently serious in themselves and iu 
 their ulterior consequences, but of minor importance when compared 
 with the all-permeating grievances already referred to, may be mentioned 
 the quartering of military men upon the colony in the capacity of 
 Lieutenant-Governors; the unequal representation of the people in the 
 Assembly ; the exorbitant salaries of certain public officials ; the union of 
 judicial and legislative functions in the same persons ; the appointment 
 of judges, sheriffs, magistrates, and other officials during the pleasure of 
 the Executive, and not during good behaviour. 
 
 The evils attendant upon placing the local administration of the 
 colonies in the hands of military officers, who were inexperienced in con- 
 stitutional government, and unfitted by training for such duties as were 
 demanded of them, have already been glanced at.* Such persons natu- 
 rally enough found themselves altogether out of their proper element 
 upon their arrival in the colony, and looked to the Executive Councillors 
 for advice and instruction. That they should follow the instruction 
 received, and that they shodd surrender themselves to the judgment of 
 those enemies of the public weal, followed almost as a matter of course. 
 In this way the strength of the oligarchy was consolidated and enlarged, 
 and its members rendered more and more independent of public opinion. 
 All that can be urged on behalf of the Home Ministry, by way of excuse 
 for committing the dii-ection of our affairs to such persons, is that the 
 position of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada was not a sufficient 
 inducement to make it sought after by really capable men. The office, in 
 at least one instance to be hereafter recorded, went a-begging. 
 
 Unequal representation was a fruitful source of discontent, though 
 Upper Canada was no worse off in that respect than the mother-country 
 prior to the passing of the Eeform Bill of 1832. For years before the 
 Rebellion, the little district towns of Niagara, Brockville and Cornwall 
 each enjoyed the privilege of sending a representative to the Assembly. 
 All three of them were notoriously rotten boroughs — as rotten as 
 Gatton, Grampound or Old Sarum — and always returned Tory members 
 prepared to do the bidding of the Executive. By such means was the 
 Assembly corrupted, and the elective franchise turned into an instrument 
 of oppression. Some of the salaries of public officials were altogether 
 
 * Ante, p. 51. 
 
I 
 
 I n 
 
 ii* 
 
 . ''I 
 
 
 !l> 
 
 70 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 out of proportion to the state of the revenue, and to the nature and 
 extent of the duties performed. Certain highly-paid oflSces were the 
 merest sinecures, and had been created for no other purpose than to 
 provide for serviceable tools of the Administration. The practice of per- 
 mitting judges to sit and vote in tha Legislature needs no comment. 
 Whatever justification there might have been for such a union of func- 
 tions in the first infancy of the Province, when educated men were few 
 in the land, there was certainly none in the days when Chief Justice 
 Eobinson was Speaker of the Legislative Council. The effect of making 
 the tenure of office of judges and other dignitaries dependent on the will 
 of the Executive was such as has attended upon such a system in all 
 countries where it has been in vogue. The officials were selected almost 
 entirely from one political party, and had always an eye upon the nod of 
 their taskmasters, who had the power to make or unmake them. When- 
 ever it was desirable, in the supposed interests of the Executive, that the 
 authority of the courts should be strained to the perversion of judgment, 
 the dispensing of even-handed justice was altogether a secondary con- 
 sideration. Mr. Gourlay's case, to say nothing of that of Bartemus 
 Ferguson, affords a sufficient illustration of the extent to which the 
 traditions of the Star Chamber were revived in Upper Canadian practice, 
 when it was thought desirable to crush a champion of popular liberty 
 and equal rights. 
 
 Such were a few of the burdens which the people of Upper Canada 
 were compelled to bear in the by-gone epoch when tyranny reigned 
 supreme thoughout the Province : when 
 
 "the law's delay, 
 The insolence of office, and the spurns 
 That patient merit of the unworthy takes," 
 
 were the all too frequent portion of such of the inhabitants as dared to 
 cnll in question the righteousness of existing ordinances. There was a 
 further intolerable grievance which was closely bound up with, and 
 which, so to speak, grew out of or sustained all the rest : which compre- 
 hended within itself all the evils affecting the body politic, and which left 
 traces of its existence that have survived down to the present time. This 
 was the Family Compact — a phrase which is in everybody's mouth, but 
 the significance whereof, I venture to think, is in general but imperfectly 
 understood. The subject deserves a chapter to itself. 
 
) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 HAT was the nature and origin of this powerful organization 
 — this informally-constituted league, the name whereof has 
 been familiar to the ears of Upper Canadians during the 
 whole, or nearly the whole, of the present century; which is 
 ^ referred to in nearly all books dealing with the political and 
 
 social life of this Province before the Union of 1841 ; which for forty years 
 regulated the public policy of the colony, and ruled with an iron hand 
 over the liberties of the inhabitants ? 
 
 Immediately after the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, in 1763, 
 whereby Canada was ceded by France to Great Britain, it became necessary 
 for the British Government to appoint a considerable number of officials 
 to fill the public offices in the country so ceded. It did not suit the 
 policy of the conquerors to leave much power in the hands of the 
 conquered. The introduction of the English language and laws was 
 moreover a practical disqualification for most of the native inhabitants 
 of the colony, and the new officials were nearly all sent over from 
 England. Some of the principal personages among them were men of 
 probity and brains. Others, though possessed of a full share of brains, 
 had but a younger brother's portion of the other commodity. The 
 underlings, generally speaking, had but a slender allowance of either. 
 They were for the most part appointed on the recommendation of 
 various support _„ of the Government of the day, who were thus able to 
 provide for a number of their needy relatives and dependants — a matter 
 of vastly greater importance in their eyes than the proper adminis- 
 tration of the affairs of a distant and newly-acquired colony. The 
 
72 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Conquest thus proved a boon to many servile hangers-on of pubhc 
 men in Great Britain, and scores of the waifs and strays of British 
 aristocracy began to turn their eyes towards Canada as a possible 
 resource in the last emergency. It was said to be a cold and comfortless 
 land, but it was surely preferable to the Fleet Prison or the Marshalsea, 
 with the alternative of starvation or enlistment in the army. Many of 
 these pimps and pandars to the whims or the passions of those in high 
 station found their way to Quebec and Montreal, and were provided for 
 at the public expense by being installed in places of greater or less 
 emolument.* 
 
 When Upper Canada was set apart as a separate Province, in 1791, 
 the field of operations was considerably extended. Indeed, the Upper 
 Province soon came to be regarded with special favour by intending 
 aspirants to office, as it was in all respects an English colony; whereas 
 Lower Canada, in spite of all attempts to Anglicize it, remained much 
 more French than English. Lower Canada, indeed, remained in some 
 respects more French than any other part of the world, not even excepting 
 France itself, for in that country the Great Revolution had swept away 
 many effete institutions which were still retained in all theii- decrepitude 
 among the Frenchmen of the New World. Now, the French Canadians, 
 though most of the avenues to power and office were closed to them, 
 composed a vast majority of the population. They did not take kindly 
 to the British colonists, and declined to fraternize with them. The latter 
 could bear this isolation, as they were comforted by the spoils of office, 
 but their lives were rendered much less agreeable than they would have 
 been in a colony where no such disturbing elements were known. Upper 
 Canada was precisely such a colony. No part of Britain was more 
 British in sentiment. In no part of the world would an expatriated 
 Englishman find himself more entirely in harmony with his environ- 
 ment, from a purely patriotic point of view. What wonder, then, that 
 Upper Canada was regarded by place-hunting emigrants from England 
 
 ♦ It may perhaps be thought by some readers that the closing sentences of this paragraph 
 are pitched in too high a key. Those who entertain that opinion will receive light on the subject 
 by a careful perusal of various official reports issued just prior to the passing of the Quebec 
 Act in 1774, and more especially of A Cry from Quebec, published at Montreal in 1809. 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 73 
 
 with wistful eyes ? What wonder that an appointment to a public 
 office in Upper Canada should have been regarded by such persons 
 as a thing greatly to be coveted ? Such aspirants were regarded with 
 but little favour by Governor Simcoe. His great object was to launch 
 the Province successfully on its career, and to lay the foundations 
 of good government. He brought with him his own staff, selected by 
 himself with a single eye to their fitness for the positions which they 
 were respectively intended to fill. During his day there was little 
 or no favouritism in public appointments, and but little, if anything, 
 to find fault with in the conduct of the administration. His demission 
 of office was almost immediately followed by a relaxation of discipline, 
 and by a looseness in the management of the public business. As the 
 years passed by, the Province became the resort of numerous office- 
 seekers from beyond sea — half-pay officers and scions of good English, 
 Scotch and Irish families, who sought to better their fortunes by expat- 
 riation. As they were, generally speaking, men of some education, 
 and of manners more polished than were ordinarily found among 
 the colonists, they naturally assimilated, and were drawn towards 
 each other. They likewise coalesced, to some extent, with a few 
 United Empire Loyalist families of exclusive pretensions, in whose 
 veins the blood was supposed to possess an exceptionally .cerulean tint. 
 Several persons who had rapidly gained wealth by trade and speculation, 
 and who had thereby acquired influence in the community, were also 
 admitted. In an inconceivably short space of time this union of several 
 influential cliques was followed by important results. They acquired 
 a strength and influence which, in the then primitive state of the colony, 
 carried all before them. They wormed themselves into all the more 
 important offices, directed the Councils of the Sovereign's representative, 
 and, in a word, became the power behind the Throne. In the early 
 years of their domination they organized their forces with much tact and 
 judgment, and did not develop their plans until they had been carefully 
 matured. They may be said to have practically absorbed the Executive 
 and Legislative Councils, as those bodies were entirely made up of persons 
 either selected from among them or entirely subservient to their influ- 
 ence. No man, whatever his abilities, could hope to succeed in any 
 
r 
 
 74 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 profession or calling in Upper Canada if he dared to declare himself in 
 oi^position to them. A few made the attempt, and failed most signally. 
 
 Such was the Family Compact. " For a long time," says Lord 
 Durham,* writing in 1838, " this body of men, receiving at times acces- 
 sions to its members, possessed almost all the highest public oflices, by 
 means of which, and of its influence in the Executive Council, it wielded 
 all the powers of Government ; it maintained influence in the Legislature 
 by means of its predominance in the Legislative Council ; and it disposed 
 of the large number of petty posts which are in the patronage of the 
 Government all over the Province. Successive Governors, as they came 
 in their turn, are said to have either submitted quietly to its influence, 
 or, after a short and unavailing struggle, to have yielded to this well- 
 organized party the conduct of affairs. The bench, the magistracy, the 
 high offices of the Episcopal Church, and a great part of the legal profes- 
 sion, are filled by the adherents of this party : by grant or purchase they 
 have acquired nearly the whole of the waste lands of the Province ; they 
 are all-powerful in the chartered banks, and, till lately, shared among 
 themselves almost exclusively all offices of trust and profit." 
 
 The influences which produced the Family Compact were not con- 
 fined to Upper Canada. In the Lower Province, as well as in Nova 
 Scotia and New Brunswick, similar causes led to similar results, and the 
 term "Family Compact" has at one time or another been a familiar 
 one in all the British North American colonies. But in none of them 
 did the organization attain to such a plenitude of power as in this 
 Province, and in none of them did it wield the sceptre of authority with 
 so thorough an indifference to the principles of right and wrong. Its 
 name is a rather indefinite, but not inai)t characterization. Lord Durham 
 refers to the term " Family Compact," as being not much more appro- 
 priate than party designations usually are ; ** inasmuch as," he writes, 
 " there is, in truth, very little of family connexion among the persons 
 thus united.t" " Much " is a saving clause, but if his Lordship had 
 thought it worth his while to enquire minutely into the relations sub- 
 sisting between the members of this body, he would have found that 
 
 * Heport on the Affairs of British North America, English folio edition, p. 53. 
 
 \Ih. 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 75 
 
 ^:^ 
 
 > 
 
 M 
 
 ■■? 
 
 I ibere had been a good many intermarriages between them, and that the 
 
 pecuniary intcresta which bound them together had been welded by the 
 
 most powerful of social bonds.* The designation " Family Compact," 
 
 >' however, did not owe its origin to any combination of North American 
 
 , colonists, but was borrowed from the diplomatic history of Europe. By 
 
 I the treaty signed at Paris on the 15th of August, 1761, by representatives 
 
 on behalf of France and Spain, the contracting parties agreed to 
 
 J guarantee each other's territories, to provide mutual succours by sea 
 
 - and land, and to consider the enemy of either as the enemy of both. 
 
 'I This treaty, being contracted between the two branches of the House of 
 
 Bourbon, is known to history as the Family Compact Treaty, and the 
 
 ,;; name was adopted in the Canadas, as well as in the Maritime Provinces, 
 
 '% to designate the combination which enjoyed a monopoly of power and 
 
 • place in the community, and among the members whereof there seemed 
 
 to be a perfect, if unexpressed, understanding, that they were to make 
 
 common cause against any and all persons who might attempt to diminish 
 
 .'( or destroy their influence. 
 
 )l • How far Lord Durham was justified in saying that there was " little of family connexion " 
 
 '*i among the members of the Compact will appear from the following "curious but accurate 
 
 V: statement," prepared by Mr. W. L, Mackenzie for his Sketches of Canada and the United States, 
 
 ;^ published in England in 1833. It will be found on pp. 405-409 of that work. "When I left 
 
 r| Upper Canada last year,'' writes Mr. Mackenzie, "some of the offices, sinecures, and pensions 
 
 of the Government were divided as follows :--No. 1. D'Arcy Boulton, senior, a retired pensioner, 
 
 £500 sterling. 2. Henry, son to No. 1, Attorney-General and Bank Solicitor, £2400. 3. 
 
 D'Aroy, son to No. 1, Auditor-General, Master in Chancery, Police Justice, etc. Income 
 
 '% unknown. 4. William, son to No. 1, Church Missionary, King's College Professor, etc., £650. 
 
 5. Gkohge, son to No. 1, Registrar of Northumbeiland, Member of Assembly for Durham, etc. 
 
 Income unknown, (i. JoHN Bevbrlky Robinson, brother-in-law to No. 3, Chief Justice of 
 
 ^' Upper Canada, Member for life of the Legislative Council, Speaker of ditto, £2000. 7. Peter, 
 
 #. brother to No. 6, Member of the Executive Council, Member for life of the Legislative Council, 
 
 ■■% Crown Land Commissioner, Surveyor-General of Woods, Clergy Reserve Commissioner, etc. 
 
 ,#, £1300. 8. William, brother to Nos. 6 and 7, Postmaster of Newmarket, Member of Assembly 
 
 ''f^ for Simcoe, Government Contractor, Colonel of Militia, Justice of the Peace, etc. Income 
 
 •( unknown. 9. Jonas Jones, brother-in-law to No. 2, Judge of the District Court in three 
 
 i districts containing eight counties, and filling a number of other offices. Income about £1000. 
 
 % 10. Charles, brother to No. 9, Member for life of Legislative Council, Justice of the Peace 
 
 ■ ■f in twenty seven counties, etc. 11. Alpheus, brother to Nos. 9 and 10, Collector of Customs, 
 
 > Prescott, Postmaster at ditto. Agent for Government Bank at ditto, etc. Income £900. 12. 
 
 Levius p. SHERWOon, brother-in-law to Nos. 9, 10, 11, one of the Justices of the Court of King's 
 
 Bench. Income £1000. 13. Henry, son to No. 12, Clerk of Assize, etc. 14. John Elmsley, 
 
 son-in-law to No. 12, Member of the Legislative Council for life, Bank Director, Justice of the 
 
 Peace, etc. 15. Charles Heward, nephew to No. 6, Clerk of the District Court, etc. Income 
 
 £100. 16. James B. Maoaulay, brother-in-law to Nos. 17 and 19, one of the Justices of the 
 
i*' 
 
 7G 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN KKHKLLION. 
 
 li 
 
 The mcmbors of the Family Compact, with very few exceptions, were 
 members of the Church of England, which, owing to the before-mentioned 
 provisions in the Constitutional Act, they regarded as the State Church of 
 Upper Canada, established by law, and entitled to the special veneration 
 of the inhabitants. They accounted all persona as members of the Church 
 of England who were not actual members of some other religious body, and 
 in enumerating the people for statistical purposes they sometimes even 
 
 Court of King's Bench. Income £1000. 17. Christophkr Alkxandeu Haokbman, brotlier- 
 in-law to No. 16, Solicitor-Oeneral. £800. 18. John M'Gill, a relation of Nos. 16 and 17, 
 Legislative Councillor for life. Pensioner, £500. 19 and 20. W. Allan and Gkokqb Crook- 
 shanks, connexions by marriage of 16 and 17, Legislative Councillors for life, the latter 
 President of the Bank. £500. 21. Henrv Jones, cousin to Nos. 9, 10, etc., Postmaster of 
 Brockville, Justice of the Peace, Member of Assembly for Brockville. Income unknown. 22. 
 William Uummkr Powbll, father of No. 24, Legislative Councillor for life, Justice of the 
 Peace, Pensioner. Pension, £1000. 23. Samuel Peters Jarvis, son-in-law to No. 22, Clerk 
 of the Crown in Chancery, Deputy-Secretary of the Province, Bank Director, etc. Income 
 unknown. 24, Grant, son to No. 22, Clerk of the Legislative Council, Police Justice, Judge 
 Home District Court, Official Principal of Probate Court, Commissioner of Customs, etc. 
 Income £075. 25. William M., brother to 23, High Sheriff Gore District. Income from 
 £500 to £800. 26. William B., cousin to Nos. 23 and 25, High Sheriff, Home District, 
 Member of Assembly. Income £900. 27. Adiel Sherwood, cousin to No. 12, High Sheriff 
 of Johnstown, and Treasurer of that district. Income from £500 to £800. 28. Georqe Sher- 
 wood, son to No. 12, Clerk of Assize. 29. John Strachan, their family tutor and political 
 schoolmaster, archdeacon and rector of York, Member of the Executive and Legislative Councils, 
 President of tlie University, President of the Board of Education, and twenty other situations. 
 Income, on an average of years, upwards of £1800. 30, Thomas Merger Jones, son-in-law to 
 No. 29, associated with No. 19, as the Canada Company's Agents and Managers in Canada. 
 This family connexion rules Upper Canada according to its own good pleasure, and has no 
 efficient check from this country to guard the people against its acts of tyranny and oppression. 
 It includes the whole of the judges of the supreme civil and criminal tribunal (Nos. 6, 12, and 16) 
 — active Tory politicians. Judge Macaulay was a clerk in the office of No. 2, not long since. 
 It includes half the Executive Council or provincial cabinet. It includes the Speaker and other 
 eight Members of the Legislative Council. It includes the persons who have the control of the 
 Canada Land Company's monopoly. It includes the President and Solicitor of the Bank, and 
 about half the Bank Directors ; together with shareholders, holding, to the best of my recollec- 
 tion, about 1800 shares. And it included the crown lawyers until last March, when they carried 
 their opposition to Viscount Goderich's measures of reform to such a height as personally to insult 
 the government, and to declare their belief that he had not the royal authority for his despatches. 
 They were then removed ; but, with this exception, the chain remains unbroken. This family 
 compact surround the Lieutenant-Governor, and mould him, like wax, to their will ; they fill 
 every office with their relatives, dependants, and partisans ; by them justices of the peace and 
 officers of the militia are made and unmade ; they have increased the number of the Legislative 
 Council by recommending, through the Governor, half a dozen of nobodies and a few placemen, 
 pensioners, and individuals of well-known narrow and bigoted principles ; the whole of the 
 revenues of Upper Canada are in reality at their mercy ;— they are Paymasters, Receivers, 
 Auditors, King, Lords, and Commons I " 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 77 
 
 went so far as to include the infant children of Dissenters as Episcopa- 
 lians. They sought to defend the alleged establishment of a State Church 
 in Canada by arguments which it is astonishing to think that men of 
 education and intelligence should ever have stooped to employ. " There 
 should be in every Christian country an established religion," said Dr. 
 Strachan, in his evidence before the Select Committee on Grievances, 
 in 1835, " otherwise it is not a Christian but an infidel country."* 
 According to their theory, one of the principal ends of the Govern- 
 ment of Upper Canada was the propagation of religious truth as 
 set forth in the doctrines of the Church of England. True, the argu- 
 ments on the subject were not so well understood then as now. Mr. 
 Gladstone's little volume on " The State in its Eelations with the 
 Church," and Macaulay's answer thereto in the Edinburgh Review, had 
 not then been published. But some of the most conclusive arguments 
 adduced by Macaulay were as old as the world itself ; and even Mr. 
 Gladstone, in all his youthful exuberance, did not venture to take so 
 preposterous a stand as was assumed by the upholders of a State Church 
 in this Province. Their bigotry and intolerance were utterly out of 
 keeping with the times in which they lived, and were better suited to the 
 days of Archbishop Laud or Sir Kobert Filmer. Of that heaven-born 
 charity which suffereth long, and is kind ; which vaunteth not itself, and 
 is not puffed up; which seeketh not her own, and is not easily pro- 
 voked ; which thinketh no evil ; which rejoiceth not in iniquity, but 
 rejoiceth in the truth ; which beareth all things, believeth all things, 
 endureth all things — of the spirit which impels to such a state of mind 
 as this, we find few traces in the lives and writings of the upholders of 
 State-Chm-chism in Upper Canada in those days. We find, on the con- 
 trary, much unkindness, mucl^ vaunting of themselves, much selfish 
 conceit, much seeking, not only of their own, but of that which of right 
 belonged to their neighbours. The champions of ecclesiastical monopoly 
 were easily provoked to anger, and to thinking and speaking all manner 
 of evil of those who differed from them as to the distribution of the 
 Clergy Reserves. Eoman Catholicism they contemplated with a certain 
 
 * See his evidence annexed to the Committee's Report, p. 86. 
 
 jgi 
 
7.S 
 
 TIIK Ul'I'ICU (.'ANADIAN llKliKLI.loN. 
 
 !i! 
 
 Jill 
 
 )'|i' 
 
 In l\ 
 
 
 l-'\\ 
 
 1 ^ 1 
 
 iJl^llllvl:!' 
 
 iiuioiint of toloriilioii, an the lioimiii (!ii,(,li()li(! hicirarcliy yifldc.d the 
 (iovcrmiKint iiii iinwavoriiif^' Hiipport in rdtuni for tlio frocidoiu and privl- 
 legoH vvhicli tlu^y enjoyed. I Jut tlioir toU^ration ./as not l)road cnoii}^'!! to 
 cover any other form of riilii^iouH bidiof. hisHcait, in all iin ninltiforni 
 plniscH, tlicy looked upon with miiif^ded abhormnce and (tontenijjt — an a 
 thini^; to be Hhinnied and tabooed by all rii^dit-niinded pca'HonH. DisHentinf? 
 rninisterH of reh"(^Mon were re<^'M,rded as " low fc^llovv:," whom it was no 
 Hii'. to i)erHeeut((, and, if poHHiblci, drive out of the country. Compara- 
 tively f(!W of the latl,(!r were ])(!ruiitt(Ml to Holemni/e Jiiatrimony (lurinj,' the 
 lirHt forty y(!arH of the I'rovince'H liiHtory. IJy the ntaiute HH (Jt'ori^n; 111., 
 chM,pti>r -1, |)aH.s(!d in 17!)H, tiu! privilej^'e of doin;.; ho wan accordcMl to 
 HiiniHterH of " The (Jlun-ch of ScotlanM, or IjulheranH or CalvinintH;" but 
 it waH lied^Mid aI)out with cumbrouH restrictions which must have Ixmu 
 fcdt as humiliatiuf^ and ujuiecessary. No [)erson was to be ref^'anhid as a 
 minister under the Act until Iks had api)eare(l before the JusticeH of the 
 Peace in Quarter Htissions, and hii,d produced satisfactory credcintials 
 of his ordinn,tion. Hi! was also compciiled to take the oath of nliej^'i- 
 anc(!. Mv(!n aft(!r coinplyini^ with all formalii.i(\s, his funcitions wiM-e 
 icstrictcid to casea whiire one or both of the parti(!S to bo joiniMl to^^etlier 
 belon^^'ed to his own rcdif^ious society. Ministers of other denominations, 
 imdudiu}^ those of the Methodist body, wliich was the most numerous 
 relii^iouH (!ommunity in the I'rovincut, wcn-e not allowed the privil(!}j[e of 
 Holemni:',inf^ nuirriaj^'e rites till the year IHIJI. The '"nominiousdis(piali- 
 lication was removed by the statute 11 (ieorf];e 1 > ',hapt(!r !}('), which 
 wa.i passed in 1830, but which did -lot receive the royal assent until th(! 
 rollowiufj; year. A similar measure had r(!peat(;dly been ijassed by the 
 Ass(!mbly in former sessions, but had as often l)e(>n r<ijocted l)y the 
 Upper ll()us(!. Hefore tlu; law was linally an<l equitably seUbid j's above 
 mentioned, several ministers of I'clif^ion had bet'ii tried and banisluMl 
 from the Province for haviufj; ventiu'ed to t.^lemnize nuitrimony without 
 Icf^'al authority. It is said that in one case where a minister was tried 
 on a charf^e of this kind, the accused protested against his Hent(^nce, 
 ullegin^' thai; the Chi(^f Justice, who presided at the trial, had himself 
 sanctioned the perfornuinco of the ceremony. The ('hief Justice, Ixiin;^ 
 called upon to descend from the ju<l<^mont scat and give evidence as to 
 
 
 1 
 
I .1 
 
 TIIK I'A.MII.Y COMI'ACT, 
 
 79 
 
 ihis fact, (l(;(',liu(!(l to Jo ho ; but liu uftorwanls procuml a pardon for tlio 
 [)riHoii(if.* 
 
 Tho Compact alwayH oonlairusd witliin its ranks ii fow porHonB of rnoro 
 tlian avcraj^'o ability. Homo of tboin doiibtloHH luiliovod tliat tho conrHO 
 l)iirHiH)d by thoir orj^anization waH for tho advantaj^o of tho colony, thonf^'h, 
 niaHoiiiiiK by tho lij^ht of proHont knowlod^'o, it iw diflioult to comprolicnd 
 how nn'.n of oven modtsrato p()rHi)i(;a('.ity and jud},'m<int could liavo brouj^ht 
 tlusniHolvoH to Hucli a coucluHiou. It was, hovvovor, iiKsvitablo that jxirHoriH 
 of Buch narrow and contracted viowH — jxirHonH to whoii^ H(df and polf 
 wore tho mii.inspriu{:!;H of life — should df^'ciiorato, nKintally as well as 
 morally. 'I'ho persons compositif^ tho sitcond (^'ciMsration W(^rr^, with wsy 
 fdW oxc(!i)tionH, strikiiif^ illustratio'S of tlio doctrino of tho descent of 
 num. Their sires had boon mon of onorgy and force of chara,ct(!r. 'I'hey 
 thomsolvoH w()re — to l)()rr()w a jdiraso frotn tho actinf^ drama — tho mere 
 walkiufj; g(intIoia"'' of tho colony. The siros had orif:;imi,tod a bold a,nd 
 determined politsy, and had from first to last pursued it witli consistent 
 vigour. Tho sons had neither brains to conceive nor disctretion to carry 
 out the cone(!ptions of others. Tho siroH had boon persons wlioni it had 
 b(!on poHsiblo for tlio commonalty to ntsjXict. Tho sons were pcirsons whom 
 it was impossible not to despise. Surely a more sujHirlatively common- 
 place and contenii)til)le race of human beings lias seldom been secui on tho 
 earth tlian four-lifths of the second generation of this l)astard aristocracy 
 of Upper Canada. It boro no reseinblanco to any other aristocracy 
 whereof history lias preserved any record. Tho old Roman commonalty, 
 while they groaned beneath tho iron Iuk;! of tyranny, wore one and all 
 conscious of a secret pride in their imixsrial opprcissers. For tho Homan 
 aristocracy was an aristocraiiy of nature. The Koman patricians iiuwlo 
 foreign rulers to crouch and tivjmble at the name of Rome, 'i'lusir 
 triumphs Wisro the triumi)hs of tho nation. (Jaius of ('oiioli, T'urius 
 Camillus, Titus Caj)it()linus, were nanu^s tho mere ntterance of which 
 stirred tho Roman blood like the blast of a trumpet. For many a long 
 year after one haughty dititator had sle[)t liis last sleep beneath the walls 
 
 •(lourlfty, r iniiioiililiK ution UiIm fpimMlc-, roiimikH : " WIk. panlniKMl all Ui« |po<ir Hlnnrrn 
 tliiit for yc.'HM liail Ikmiii Ki'tli'ik' ImHliiidM, iitnl wlm li'Kitiiui/.ud Uuihh, was not iluturiiiiiiuil wliuii I 
 Imilo farewell til tJppur Caimdft." .V<<i<m</(((/ Ari-diint, Vul. 2, p. MH. 
 
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 80 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 of Prreneste, and after another had taken his final plunge beneath the 
 yellow Tiber or from the Tarpeian rock, their exploits furnished themes 
 for tale and song around the Eoman camp-fires. These puissant repre- 
 sentatives of the dominant class had shown little sympathy for the 
 plebeians, upon whom they had looked down from a lofty height, and 
 towards whom they had ever borne themselves with haughtiness and 
 disdain. But their pride was a something to be tolerated by Romans of 
 every degree, for they had achieved much glory for the Roman name. In 
 the words of one who has interpreted the sentiment of those times with 
 rare felicity, Rome could bear the pride of him of whom herself was 
 proud. The old French noblesse, again, were not devoid of redeeming 
 qualities. Their galling yoke would not have been borne from reign to 
 reign, and through century after century, even by such seeming reconcile- 
 ables as constituted the bulk of the French populace during the ante- 
 Revolutionary period, if they had all been like the wicked St. Evremonde 
 of Mr. Dickens's tragic story. As a class, they had a subtle French grace 
 about them which rendered their most grievous exactions less hard to bear 
 than were the exactions of their eastern neighbours. They were an unmis- 
 takable haute noblesse, ever polished and dignified. Some of them, like 
 Philippe Egalit^, had the cunning, when the time of trial arrived, to bend 
 to the popular storm, and even to affect a zeil for citizenship. Compara- 
 tively few of them were at once blase' and brainless. It may be doubted if 
 a single one of them combined — as did many of the rank and file of the 
 second generation of the Family Compact of Upper Canada — the preten- 
 sions of an aristocrat with the sentiments of a boor and the intellectual 
 development of a child. Yet further. The feeling of veneration with 
 which the English commonalty have for centuries regarded the House 
 of Lords is easy enough to understand. That feeling seems to be rapidly 
 passing away, if, indeed, it has not already departed. But it would not 
 have endured from the time of the Plantagenets to the time of Queen 
 ' Victoria if it had not had some substantial foundation to rest upon. The 
 House of Lords has always contained a number of men of high integrity 
 and ability. Take it for all and all, it is probably the most just-minded 
 and intellectual aristocratic assembly the world has ever seen. This may 
 not be very high praise, but it may at least be taken for what it is worth. 
 
 i 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 81 
 
 Its individual members are seldom brought sufficiently near to the lower 
 order of the commonalty to enable the latter to detect their weaknesses. 
 Their wealth, prestige and social position give them a vast influence, while 
 at the same time their legislative powers are held in check by the direct 
 representatives of the people. Most of these conditions were directly 
 reversed in Upper Canada, where the members of the dominant faction 
 were brought into the closest relations with the people generally, insomuch 
 that their many deficiencies could not be concealed. Such wealth as they 
 had they were too often known to have obtained at the expense of the 
 rest of the community. The Lower House formed no efficacious check 
 upon them, for they either managed to return a sufficient number of their 
 tools to control the vote in that body, or else they rendered the Assembly's 
 operations of no avail by means of their influence in the Legislative 
 Council. They had none of tlie graceful suavity of the Lower Canadian 
 seigneurs. Nor could they boast of the superiority derived from a liberal 
 education. Many of them — even including some of those who held high 
 public offices — were so illiterate that they were unable to write a simple 
 business letter without committing errors of orthography of which any 
 one but Artemus Ward or Jeames de la Pluche might well feel ashamed. 
 Nearly all the leading spirits of this strangely-assorted oligarchy 
 were either wealthy or on the direct road to wealth. Being comfortably 
 provided for at the public cost, in the form of fat offices or wild 
 lands, or both, they assumed a swelling port, and aped, as best they knew 
 how, the manners and customs of the upper classes in Great Britain. 
 They built their dwellings in imitation of old-fashioned English manor- 
 houses, with a variety of wings and gables, and with broad entrance halls 
 which in an emergency might have served the purpose of presence- 
 chambers. They dined long and late, and with much old-world pomp 
 and ceremonial. They drove out in coaches emblazoned with heraldic 
 bearings, and attended by broad-calfed flunkeys in family livery. Certain 
 social observances of the early Georgian era, long since effete and worn 
 out in England, flourished in the social life of Little York down to a 
 period within the memory of many persons who are still living. The 
 aristocratic clique which preserved these customs was in the highest 
 degree rigid and exclusive. No outsider was admitted into the charmed 
 
82 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 II: 
 
 §m 
 
 '' I ' II 
 
 circle unless he came duly ticketed and accredited. The attempt to 
 transplant the usages of an old and advanced state of society into the 
 primitive streets and lanes of such places as York, Kingston, and Wood- 
 stock -was for a time more successful than might he supposed. Such of 
 the families as had been to the manner born carried off these observances 
 with considerable grace. They had brought their traditions with them 
 across the Atlantic, and though such traditions were not well suited to 
 the genius of a young and sparsely-settled colony, they were at least 
 maintained with some regard to the sources whence they had been 
 derived. With the pretenders who formed a portion of the clique, and 
 who had been admitted into it for special political reasons, the attempt 
 to copy the habits of their social superiors was, generally speaking, less 
 satisfactory. There was, in truth, an inner social circle which these 
 latter were never invited to join. They, however, enjoyed all the political 
 and pecuniary advantages arising from their connection, and were not 
 easily distinguishable by outsiders from the very head and front of the 
 organization. 
 
 So far as to the wealthy members of the ruling faction. But there 
 were a good many of them who not only were not wealthy, but who were 
 in positively indigent circumstances. These, for the most part, were 
 members of old country families who had sent them to Canada with the 
 sole object of getting rid of them. Others were half-pay officers who 
 had spent their whole fortunes in settling on land, after which they 
 had found themselves unable to make a livelihood, and had then sold 
 their property for as much — or as little — as they could manage to get. 
 These latter, after having disposed of their lands, generally repaired 
 to the towns, and most of them sooner or later found their way to the 
 Provincial capital. There they became obedient slaves of those in 
 authority, and picked up a precarious livelihood by making themselves 
 useful in various ways. The Executive could always find a certain 
 amount of work for such persons, though, if the truth must be told, the 
 supply was often greater than the demand. The code of social ethics in 
 vogud among this class was such as might have been expected from per- 
 sons who had been reared to regard themselves as the objects of a 
 special dispensation of fortune. They looked upon manual labour as 
 
 H-lil 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 83 
 
 degrading. Any person, no matter what bis abilities, who earned a liveli- 
 hood by the sweat of his brow, or even by honest trade, was considered as 
 no fit company for the brood of parasites who hung on to the heels of the 
 Compact, and who nevertheless did not hesitate to perform tasks from 
 which the average costermonger would have shrunk in disgust. Their 
 employers occasionally admitted them to their tables, and even to some 
 degree of social intimacy. More frequently they presented them with 
 uheir cast-off clothing, with new gowns for their wives at Christmas, or — 
 when things were at a remarkably low ebb — with a hundredweight of 
 flour or half a barrel of mess pork. Yet the recipients of these 
 favours piqued themselves upon their good birth and high connexions, 
 and would have felt themselves insulted if anyone had ventured to hint 
 that they should visit, upon terms of equality, with the grocer or the 
 butcher in the next street. 
 
 The reader now has before him a sufficient array of facts to enable 
 him to form a pretty accurate conception of the state of social life in 
 Upper Canada during ante-Eebellion times. It was a matter of course 
 that such a monopoly of power as was possessed and exercised by the 
 ruling faction should excite envy and opposition on the part of those 
 who did not revel in its smiles or share in its plunder. Loud mur- 
 murings began to make themselves heard against the delay and partiality 
 in the land-granting department, and against the corrupt manner in 
 which the public affairs of the Province generally were carried on. 
 Before the close of Governor Hunter's regime these murraurings had 
 become loud enough to occasion no little disquiet to some of the officials 
 who had most reason to dread enquiry and investigation. The abuses 
 were greater in some branches of the service than in others, but pecu- 
 lation prevailed to a greater or less extent almost everywhere. The 
 Indian department was notorious for the corruption of its officials. A 
 sum of sixty thousand pounds sterling was annually granted by the 
 Imperial Government for distribution among the various tribes, and 
 for the payment of agents and interpreters. The distribution 
 among the Indians chiefly took the form of commodities which had a 
 particular fascination for the mind of the noble savage — such com- 
 modities, for instance, as muskets, powder, bullets, knives, tomahawks, 
 
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 84 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 hatchets, l)lankets, spangles, pocket mirrors, and — last, but by no means 
 least — fire-water. The opportunities which this grant afforded for pecu- 
 lation and plunder were too tempting to be resisted. The agents and 
 their subordinates, from highest to lowest, owed their positions to their 
 servility and usefulness to those in authority. So long as they proved 
 serviceable and obedient to their masters, there was not much likelihood 
 of their being called to serious account for any iniquities they might 
 commit to^^ards Mohawk or Seneca, Oneida or Mississaga. By way of 
 consequenc9, the Indians were robbed and the Government was robbed; 
 and the robbers, feeling secure of protection from their superiors, plied 
 their nefarious traffic with impunity.* There were equally culpable but 
 less notorious abuses of power in other branches of the service. Probably 
 not one in ten of these ever came to light, but from time to time there 
 were awkward revelations which could not be suppressed. All these 
 things comoined to beget a widespread lack of confidence in the official 
 clique. Ths want of confidence, not without good reason, extended even 
 to the administrators of the law. The judges, as already mentioned, 
 held office at the will of the Executive, and, at least in some instances, 
 were shamelessly servile and corrupt. This led to their dicta being 
 disregarded by sturdy juries who cared less for the letter of the law than 
 for its spirit. Mr. John Mills Jackson, in his " View of the Political 
 Situation of the Province of Upper Canada," published in 1809, speaks 
 of an instance where the people became tumultuous, and broke the 
 public stocks in the presence of the Chief Justice.! The public distrust 
 of the administrators of the law does not seem to have been confined to 
 the judges of the Superior Courts. It extended to the rural magistrates, 
 some of whom turned their offices to commodity in a manner which 
 would have excited the admiration of Falstaff himself. "The shop- 
 keepers," writes Mr. Jackson, "are Justices of Peace. They have the 
 
 * Those who wish to gain an insight into some of the most revolting features of this traffic 
 may consult Claws and the Clauses, a pamphlet published at Buffalo in 1818; also Gourlay, vol. 2, 
 pp. 486, 487; together with Jackson's pamphlet referred to in the text. 
 
 + This must have been Chief Justice Thomas Scott, after whom Scott Street, Toronto, was 
 called. He was Chief Justice from August, 180C, to Michaelmas Term, 181C. He is referred to 
 by Dr. Scadding in Toronto of Old, p. 51, as "a man of fine culture, spoken of affectionately by 
 those who knew him." A picture of him in his decline is presented on page 130 of the same 
 work. 
 
 •>^- 
 
 «■ -i -' 
 
 iif '• 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 85 
 
 means of extortion, and the power of enforcing payments. They are 
 first the criminals, then the judges; and the court of appeal seems to 
 be so constructed as to prevent an honest verdict from passing into 
 effect. The practice of the court is unjust, oppressive, and influenced. 
 Favourite attorneys were made deputy clerks of the peace, so that 
 process might be entered and writs obtained most partially. The crown 
 lawyer is allowed nearly seven pounds sterling for every criminal prose- 
 cution ! an inducement to listen to trifling complaints, and prefer frivo- 
 lous indictments, when, if power was gratified and independence harassed, 
 it waM a sufficient excuse for an inflated contingent account." The author 
 of this scathing philippic against petty oppression proceeds to recount 
 a case wherein an action was brought against a magistrate who had 
 exerted his authority in an illegal and oppressive manner. A verdict 
 was obtained against him for a hundred pounds. An application was 
 made to the Court of King's Bench to set the verdict aside, which was 
 rejected ; whereupon the clerk of the court in which the judgment had 
 been obtained was ordered by the Crown lawyer not to issue execution. 
 The clerk knew better than to disobey an order from such a source, and 
 the plaintiff accordingly took nothing by his verdict. The unrighteous 
 magistrate escaped the penalty of his misdeeds, and furnished a sort 
 of standing precedent for magisterial iniquity. Other equally flagrant 
 perversions of justice are recorded by the same authority. An illegal 
 and unjustifiable extent issued, at the suit of the Crown, against one of 
 the civil officers. It lasted for years; yet the officer dared not resist 
 oppression by applying for justice. " When [the extent] was as imperi- 
 ously taken off as it was arbitrarily laid on," writes Mr. Jackson, " the 
 sheriff dared not apply for fees expended in holding possession under 
 the writ, or the printer sue for the money voted him by the House of 
 Assembly for printing their journals. The surveyors could not obtain 
 the money they had actually expended in the public service, nor the 
 people find redress for extorted fees. Therefore, when there was neither 
 substance nor shadow of law or justice, but the will of power was the 
 rule of decision, the public mind was agitated in the extreme, and uni- 
 versal gloom pervaded the Province." 
 
 The discontent produced by official tyranny • was however almost 
 impotent as against the wrong-doers, who were so strongly entrenched 
 
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 THK UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 in their places that it seemcJ as though nothing could shake them. 
 Many of them, conscious of their misconduct, doubtless felt secret 
 misgivings whenever any specially significant outburst of popular dis- 
 satisfaction occurred. But for many years they were able to present a 
 united and brazen front, and to crush anyone who dared to so much as 
 wag a finger against them. It was intimated on a former page that 
 Robert Gourlay was not the first victim of Executive tyranny. The first 
 conspicuous victim of whom any record has been preserved was Mr. 
 Eobert Thorpe, an English barrister of much learning and acumen, who 
 in 1805 was appointed a puisne judge of the Court of King's Bench for 
 Upper Canada. Previous to his arrival in this country Mr. Thorpe had 
 never been remarkable for any specially liberal opinions, but he was a 
 man of enlightened mind, and actuated by an honest desire to do his 
 duty. He was not long in perceiving that the administration of justice 
 in this Province was little better than a hollow mockery. He resolved 
 to do what one man could to restore public confidence in the judicial 
 bench, and his court erelong became a popular forum for honest litigants, 
 for it was evident to all that he held the scales of justice with an even 
 hand, and was not to be either cajoled or bullied into perverting the law. 
 Before he had been a twelvemonth in the country he was known far and 
 wide as an upright judge, and as a sort of champion of popular rights. 
 Grand juries took him into their confidence, and tabulated their griev- 
 ances before him. These were laid by him before the authorities at 
 York, upon his return from circuit; a proceeding which was quite suf- 
 ficient to bring down upon his head the opposition of the faction which 
 flourished by reason of those very grievances. The whole of the Family 
 Compact influence arrayed itself against him in deadly enmity. Francis 
 Gore arrived in the capacity of Lieutenant-Governor in the summer of 
 1806. He was informed by his Councillors that Judge Thorpe was a 
 dangerous and revolutionary personage. It was certain that the past 
 year had been signalized by a decided propensity on the part of the 
 people to assert themselves against the intolerable exactions of their 
 oppressors, and that a spirit of opposition was on the increase throughout 
 the land. Governor Gore and his Councillors reversed the inductive 
 process, and attributed the popular discontent to the influence of the 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 87 
 
 new judge. This seeming conviction on their parts was strengthened 
 by certain remarks of Judge Thorpe himself, made in reply to an address 
 from the Grand Jury of the London District. " The art of governing," 
 said he, " is a difficult science. Knowledge is not instinctive, and the 
 days of inspiration have passed away. Therefore, when there was 
 neither talent, education, information, nor even manners in the Admin- 
 istration, little could be expected, and nothing was produced." The 
 reference here is manifestly to the reijbne, of Governor Hunter and 
 Commodore Grant ; and the intimation is that better things are to be 
 hoped for under the recently-arrived Governor. "But," continued the 
 judge, " there is an ultimate point of depression, as well as of exaltation, 
 from whence all human affairs naturally advance or recede. Therefore, 
 proportionate to your depression, we may expect your progress in pros- 
 perity will advance with accelerated velocity." He also in the course of his 
 address, inveighed against the Alien Act of 1804. When he reached York, 
 at the close of the circuit, he laid before the new Lieutenant-Governor 
 the various recapitulations of grievances which had been entrusted to 
 him. They were received by Mr. Gore and his Councillorr with a very 
 ill grace. The complaints from the London District were stated with 
 great vigour and lucidity, and as they had got into print they could 
 not be suppressed or wholly ignored. An attempt was made to show 
 that the chapter of grievances had been presented by the jurors, not 
 because there was really anything of importance to complain of, but 
 because Judge Thorpe himself had instigated them to such a course. 
 As this charge was openly made, Mr. Thorpe in his capacity of a Justice 
 of the King's Bench, caused a proceeding of the nature of scandaluvi 
 magnatum to be instituted. His brother judges, however, some of whom 
 were members of the Executive Council, and all of whom were subject to 
 strong influences from that quarter, ruled that the proceeding could not 
 be maintained, and it accordingly fell through. An attempt was also 
 made, hrst to intimidate, and afterwards to corrupt the Grand Jury. 
 A letter was sent to them from the office of the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 requesting them to state the grounds of their complaints more speci- 
 fically. The recipients responded by preparing and forwarding a stronger 
 case than before. A recantation was then drawn up by a skilful hand, 
 
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 88 
 
 THE UlTEIl CANADIAN REUELLION. 
 
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 and ijx'eaented to each individual member of the Jury, a reward being at 
 the same time offered as an inducement to sign it. The jurymen, how- 
 ever, were not prepared to barter away their Hberties in this manner, and 
 the attempt wholly failed. While the Executive were deliberating as to 
 how they could most effectually strike Judge Thorpe, a vacancy occurred 
 in the representation of one of the constituencies in the Home District. 
 In those times, as has already been seen, a judgeship was no disqualifica- 
 tion for political life, and a deputation waited on Mr. Thorpe with a 
 numerously signed address, requesting him to become their repre- 
 sentative. He replied that he would not become a partisan, but that 
 if he were returned to Parliament he would not hesitate to do his 
 duty. No sooner did it become kno\m that "the Eadical Judge," 
 as he was called, was a candidate for the Assembly than the lead- 
 ing spirits of the Compact aroused themselves to defeat him. This 
 was natural enough. That they should employ against him every 
 means which their ingenuity could devise — among others, bribery, 
 vilification and deliberate slander — that also was natural, when the 
 time and persons are considered. "Every engine within the reach of 
 authority," writes Mr. Jackson, " was used for the purpose of defeating 
 the wishes of the people on this .occasion. All interests were required 
 to yield in favour of the candidate most likely to succeed as against 
 Mr. Thorpe. Any person in employment, in expectation of, or entitled 
 to land, was gratified, promised, or threatened ; magistrates were made 
 and unmade, as best suited the purposes of electioneering ; grants were 
 given ; fees excused, or promised to be paid by those high in authority. 
 Even domestics were bribed with places, land, and money, to vilify 
 and accuse, by du-ect falsehoods, the most upright, serviceable and 
 esteemed persons in the Province." For once public opinion proved 
 too strong for Family Compact influence. Judge Thorpe was returned, 
 and great things were hoped for from his career in Parliament. But 
 the triumph of freedom was short-lived. The Compact was too 
 strong to be opposed by the multitude with impunity. Lieutenant- 
 Governor Gore was subservient to its wishes, and besides he had by 
 this time come to hate the popular judge on his own account, and his 
 mind was fully made up to solicit from the Colonial Secretary Judge 
 
 1:1 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 89 
 
 k4 
 
 Thorpe's recall. One of his private letters, written from Kingston, 
 during a journey from York to Montreal, several months after the 
 Judge's election to the Assembly, announces this resolution in unmis- 
 takable terms. "The object of Mr. T.'s [Thorpe's] emissions," he 
 writes, " appears to be to persuade the people to turn every gentleman 
 out of the House of Assembly. However, keep your temper with the 
 rascals, I beseech you. I shall represent everything at St. James'." 
 He was as good as his word, and in October, 1807, the announcement 
 was made in the Gazette that the Lieutenant-Governor had been instructed 
 to suspend Mr. Thorpe from his judgeship, which we may be quite sure 
 was done without unnecessary loss of time. 
 
 Thus did might continue to triumph ovei* right. There was not the 
 slightest imputation of any sort against the Judge's character. His 
 professional attainments were high ; his personal character without a 
 stain. His continued presence in Canada would have been a blessing 
 to all but the race of tyrants who trampled on popular liberty. Yet he 
 was removed because he respected himself and his office too highly to 
 pervert judgment, and because he bade fair to abridge the rule of 
 corruption. Upon his return to England the Colonial Office urged 
 nothing whatever against him, and merely suggested, by way of justifi- 
 cation for his recall, that his stay in Upper Canada would have led to 
 perpetual disturbance of the public tranquillity. He instituted pro- 
 ceedings in one of the English courts against Mr. Gore, who was 
 convicted of libel, but who escaped much more easily than he deserved 
 with a fine of trifling amount. By way of recompense for his recall 
 from Upper Canada, Judge Thorpe was appointed Chief Justice of Sierra 
 Leone. There he remained for two years, by which time his constitution 
 liad become so much broken by the climate that he was compelled to 
 return home. At the request of a number of the inhabitants he carried 
 with him to England a petition complaining of certain abuses of power 
 there. For this he was discarded by the Ministry of the day. His 
 appointment as Chief Justice was cancelled, and another judge was sent 
 out to West Africa in his stead. The rest of his life was passed in 
 obscurity and neglect, and when he died his family were left without 
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 honourable and high-minded man, whose only fault was that he was too 
 pure for the times in which he lived, and for the people among whom 
 his lot was cast. 
 
 Another early victim, whose life record seems to contradict the adage 
 that honesty is the best policy, was Surveyor- General Wyatt. There is 
 no need to go minutely into the particulars of his case. He was uni- 
 versally recognized as a competent and honest official, insomuch that 
 it was currently said of him that he was too good for the masters whom 
 he served. But he ventured to interfere on behalf of one of the subor- 
 dinates in his office, who had been refused a stipend to which Mr. Wyatt 
 considered him entitled. Then, he presumed to oppose the Council in 
 respect of an irregular purchase of a large tract of land from the Missis- 
 saga Indians. Finally, he went so far as to profess a high degree of 
 respect for the manly and independent conduct of Judge Thorpe. The 
 secret conclave speedily pronounced his doom. No one vcatured to 
 allege any fault against him, yet he was deprived of his situation by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, and a pliable tool was installed in his office. 
 
 Joseph Willcocks had a more bitter experience still. He was an 
 Irishman, of liberal education, and of much energy of character, whose 
 influence in official circles was wide enough to obtain for him the post of 
 Sheriff of the Home District. For several years no occasion for any 
 difference of opinion arose between him and his superiors. He was 
 known as a competent officer, who discharged his duties with great 
 consideration for the impecunious and unfortunate. But his frequent 
 official peregrinations through the Home District enabled him to see 
 with his own eyes the disastrous effects of the Clergy Keserves, of the 
 land-granting system, and of Family Compact domination generally; 
 and on several occasions he had sufficient courage to express his opinions 
 thereupon. Attempts were made to silence him, first by remonstrances, 
 and afterwards by threats, but all to no purpose. When Judge Thorpe 
 began to figure as a sort of popular tribune, Willcocks declared himself 
 as being also on the side of the people. When the Judge became a 
 candidate for Parliament, the Sheriff, who had a vote in the constituency, 
 recorded it in his favour. For this be shared the fate of the Surveyor- 
 General, and was promptly dismissed from office by the Lieutenant- 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 91 
 
 Governor. But he came of a fighting stock, and was not to be suppressed 
 by the mere circumstance of being deprived of an official income. He 
 started a newspapbr called The Upper Canada Guardian, or Freeman'a 
 Journal. In this sheet, which waa edited by Mr. Willcocks himself, 
 various desirable measures of reform were advocated, and the dominant 
 faction were from time to time referred to in opprobrious, but certainly 
 not untruthful or unmerited language. The paper obtained a consider- 
 able circulation, and soon made its editor an object of bitter hatred on 
 the part of the authorities. The vilest abuse was poured out upon him, 
 and he was subjected to a course of persecution well-nigh as grievous as 
 subsequently fell to the lot of Robert Gourlay. Governor Gore himself, 
 in a letter still extant, written in 1807, refers to him as " that execrable 
 monster who would deluge the Province with blood." The execrable 
 monatei's influence, however, continued to grow, and upon Judge Thorpe's 
 retirement from Upper Canada, he was returned to the Assembly in his 
 stead, for the West Biding of the County of York, the First Riding of the 
 County of Lincoln, and the County of Haldimand. As he was a ready 
 and powerful speaker, as well as a vigorous writer, it was felt that he 
 would soon become intolerable if his career were not effectively checked. 
 He was accordingly tried before the Assembly on a frivolous charge of 
 having, in a private conversation held at the house of a Mr. Glennan, in 
 York, spoken disrespectfully of some of the members. The proceedings 
 were the veriest travesty of the forms of justice. The accused was found 
 guilty, and committed to the common jail of the Home District, there to 
 remain during the "itting of Parliament.* This indignity he was com- 
 pelled to suffer, h&L. g confined for many weeks in a small close cell, 
 which he was not permitted to leave for a single moment. He was 
 further wrought upon by informations for libel, as well as by secret 
 inquisitions into his private affairs. After his enlargement he continued 
 to publish his paper, but he was so tortured by the incessant persecu- 
 tions to which he was subjected that he could accomplish little or nothing 
 in the way of reform. From some of his votes in the Assembly it would 
 
 ♦For a full account of these infamoua proceedings, the reader is referred to The Upper 
 Canada Guardian of February 6th and March 18th, 1808, quoted by GourUy in hia StatuHcal 
 Account, Vol. 2, pp. 665—662. 
 
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 92 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 appear that he made tacit overtures towards reconciliation with hia 
 enemies,* but he had offended too deeply to be forgiven, and their 
 rancour was not to be appeased. Eventually he was compelled to relin- 
 quish the publication of the Guardian for want of funds to carry it on. Not- 
 withstanding all that he had endured, his loyalty remained unshaken, and 
 when the War of 1812 1 broke out he responded to the call for volunteers 
 by shouldering his musket and doing his devoirs like a man at the battle 
 of Queenston Heights. Even this obtained for him neither complaisance 
 nor immunity from abuse. He found himself ruined in fortune, opposed 
 and hated by those in authority, without any prospect before him but 
 starvation. It is not singular that a man subjected to such conditions 
 should become disheartened. In a moment of exasperation he deserted 
 the ranks where he had been held as of so little account. Accompanied 
 by a small body of Canadian volunteers, he repaired to the camp of the 
 enemy, where he offered his services, and obtained a colonel's commission. 
 He served under Major-General Brown at the siege of Fort Erie, where 
 he was slain while planting a guard. 
 
 Such are three of the most notable examples of ministerial tyranny 
 in comparatively early times. As before mentioned, they attracted less 
 widespread attention than did Mr. Gourlay's case some years later, 
 because, though they were signal instances of the abuse of power, they 
 were not marked by such refinement in cruelty, and because they 
 appealed to the political sympathies of comparatively few. In the time 
 of Judge Thorpe, Wyatt and Willcocks, the dominating class not only 
 held a monopoly of power, but they and their adherents were numerically 
 in the ascendant. At the time of Gourlay's persecution the population 
 was much more evenly divided. The oligarchy still had control of all 
 the avenues to power, but there was a large and steadily-increasing class 
 in the community who recognized the fact that many changes were 
 
 • See an extract frooi tlie minutes of the proceedings in the Assembly, 10th March, 1810, 
 quoted by Gourlay, Vol. 2, pp. 328, 329. See also Gourlay's remarks thereon, VoL 2, pp. 
 334, 335. 
 
 t There is reason to believe that the discontent begotten of tbi abuse of power in Canada 
 was one of the inducements to this attempt on the part of the United States, the Government 
 of which was led to believe that Canadians generally would welcome any relief from the yoke 
 which the Compact had placed upon their necks. 
 
 I li iP 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 93 
 
 necessary before Upper Canada could become a prosperous and well- 
 governed colony, and a satisfactory place of abode for the average 
 British immigrant. 
 
 In closing this hasty review of the nature and effects of Family 
 Compact domination in Upper Canada, I would not be understood as 
 pronouncing a sweeping condemnation upon all the individual members 
 of that body. John Beverley Eobinson, for instance, though he lent 
 himself to many high-handed acts of oppression, was a man of 
 undoubted ability, and of a character which inspired respect. His 
 descendants are to-day among the most respected and influential 
 members of society in our Provincial capital. Several others were men 
 of high personal character, and of abilities above the average. They 
 acted in accordance with time and circumstance, and must be supposed 
 to have done so conscientiously. But such persons as these composed 
 but a very slender proportion of the Compact's entire membership. The 
 rank and file were of a totally different complexion. The characteristics 
 of the more poverty-stricken among them have already been hinted at ; 
 but, independently of these, there were many who were well-to-do, and 
 who held their heads high in the air, who were nevertheless very ill 
 qualified to win admiration for the caste to which they belonged. To state 
 the simple truth, most of them were very ordinary commonplace person- 
 ages, respectable, sapless, idealess — ^what Dr. Johnson would have charac- 
 terized as exceedingly barren rascals. Some were of obscure origin, and 
 would have been hard put to it if required to trace their ancestry 
 beyond a single generation. Of these latter, a few, as has already been 
 seen, had amassed wealth by trade or speculation, and had made their 
 way into the exclusive circle by a fortunate combination of circumstances. 
 
 Among the Compact, then, the number of persons of good birth and 
 descent, possessed of sufficient qualifications to justify their aristocratic 
 predilections, and of sufficient capacity to enable them to direct the 
 colonial policy, was small. And it must by no means be supposed that 
 all the good blood in the Province was confined to the Compact. There 
 were many persons among the pioneers of Upper Canada of gentle nur- 
 ture and breeding, who nevertheless scorned to pose in the character of 
 aristocrats in a land where such assumptions were altogether out of 
 
94 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 place, and who manfully accommodated themselves to their primitive 
 surroundings. As has been well remarked by Mr. MacMuUen,* " While 
 they learned to wield the axe and swing the cradle w'ih the energy and 
 skill of the roughest backwoodsman, they retained their polished-manners, 
 their literary tastes, their love for the beautiful and the elegant ; and 
 thus exercised the most beneficial influence upon their rustic neighbours. 
 In the absence of schools, of churches, of most of the refining influences 
 of civilized society, this class of the early settlers of Upper Canada were 
 foremost in usefulness. Their superior education, their well-bred man- 
 ners, their more refined habits, raised them in the estimation of the 
 rural population, who soon tacitly admitted a superiority which would 
 never have been conceded [had it been] more directly asserted." Most, 
 though not all, of these gentlemen were Tories, and, with hardly an 
 exception, preserved their loyalty through all chances and changes. 
 During the War of 1812-'15, and again during the agitation arising out 
 of the Rebellion, they proved true to their Tory instincts, and rallied to 
 the side of the Government with ready fervour. Their social proclivities 
 were equally removed from the rude boorishness of the ordinary settler 
 as from the pretence and ceremonial of th'> clique of self-corstituted 
 aristocrats. They generally preserved a modicum of state in the regu- 
 lation of their household affairs, though they kept aloof from the Compact 
 and its practices, and devoted themselves to various branches of industry — 
 among others, to the education of youth ; to the practice of the learned 
 professions; to the opening and cultivating of new avenues of commerce; 
 and to reducing the pathless forests to arable and smiling fields. 
 
 One other fact it is essential to bear in mind, in estimating the effects 
 of the Compact's regime. In seizing upon all the official and other spoils 
 within their reach, and in trampling upon the liberties of the people, 
 the magnates of Upper Canada were merely treading in the footsteps 
 of the Tite Barnacles of Great Britain. The period was one of transi- 
 tion, all over the civilized world. Popular rights were but imperfectly 
 understood, and the idea that good government is best served by the 
 extension of justice and equal rights to all classes was only beginning to 
 
 • History of Canada, p. 243. 
 
 I 
 
THE FAMILY COMPACT. 
 
 96 
 
 dawn upon the minds of public men, even in old and long-established 
 communities. That Canada was not in advance of the times is not 
 to be wondered at ; but the ordeal through which she was compelled to 
 pass on the waj' to full and assured liberty forms an epoch highly neces- 
 sary to be understood and frequently remembered by all who appreciate 
 the blessings which are the birthright of every Canadian of the present 
 day. A knowledge of the principles and practices of the Family Compact 
 in the olden days constitutes the most effectual guarantee that such 
 days can never return, and that neither our children nor our children's 
 children will ever be compelled to fight over again the battle which was 
 BO long and so patiently waged by their ancestors. 
 
m\ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 I Vi 
 
 '■I ' 
 
 FATHERS OF REFORM. 
 
 |HE history of Upper Canada, from the time of Mr. Gonrlay's 
 banishment, in 1819, down to the actual outbreak of rebel- 
 lion, is largely made up of a succession of abuses on the 
 part of the Executive, and of more or less passive endurance 
 on the part of the great body of the people. As has been 
 intimated, the Gourlay prosecutions and their attendant 
 circumstances aroused much popular indignation, and led 
 to the formation of an organized Opposition. During the session of 1820 
 the "Gagging Bill," as it was called, which had been introduced and 
 carried through the Assembly under the auspices of Mr. Jonas Jones* 
 two years before, was repealed,! and the holding of conventions was no 
 longer prohibited by law. It is a fact worth mentioning that Attorney- 
 General Robinson was the only member who recorded his vote against 
 the repealing statute, whereas at the time of the enactment of the original 
 repressive law in 1818 only one vote had been given against it. Such a 
 change of opinion among the members of the Assembly within so brief a 
 space of time is in itself significant of the progress of liberal views among 
 the people generally. 
 
 The vote on this repealing statute was somewhat of a surprise to the 
 authorities. It was evident that Reform sentiment was growing, and 
 that many persons who had never been classed as Reformers were weary 
 of the long reign of tyranny. It was not the policy of the Compact, how- 
 ever, to yield anything to popular demands, and they held on their course 
 with dogged pertinacity, as though animated by a fixed resolve that the 
 
 'Ante, p. 44. 
 
 fThe repealing statute is 1 Geo. IV. chapter 4. The statute repealed is 69 Geo. III., seas. 1, 
 chapter 2. 
 
 Ill 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 
 
 97 
 
 public indignation which had been aroused by the Gourlay prosecutions 
 should not be permitted to subside. Erelong a new opportunity for 
 applying the thumb-screw presented itself, and it was taken advantage of 
 to the fullest practicable extent. During the recess following the close 
 of the first session of the Eighth Provincial Parliament, which was 
 prorogued on the 14th of April, 1821, a vacancy occurred in the repre- 
 sentation of the constituency of the United Counties of Lennox and 
 Addington. The local Reformers took advantage of the opportunity thus 
 afforded of bringing out a candidate who had rendered much service to 
 Liberal principles in Upper Canada, and who was eminently fitted to 
 impart strength to the Opposition in the Assembly. His name was 
 Barnabas Bid well, and he was known far and wide as one of the keenest 
 intellects and as one of the best public speakers in the country. His 
 past history had been unfortunate, and as it was soon to be made the 
 subject of strict Parliamentary enquiry, a few leading facts in connection 
 with it may as well be set down here. 
 
 He was a native of Massachusetts, where he was born in the old 
 colonial days before the Revolution. He came of a Whig family which 
 espoused the colonial cause with ardour, but he was himself too young to 
 take any part in the great struggle which gave birth to the United States. 
 Having completed his education at Yale College, he studied law, and at 
 an early age rose to eminence at the Massachusetts bar. He became 
 Attorney-General of the State, and, though he had for his rivals some of 
 the ablest men known to American history, he was regarded by his 
 coimtrymen as one whose future was in his own hands. His manners 
 were courtly and refined, and his scholastic attainments wide and 
 various. He soon found his way to Congress, where his brilliant eloquence 
 caused him to be listened to with attention and respect. 
 
 Up to this time his career had been an uninterrupted success. But in 
 achieving his political eminence he had been unfortunate enough to make 
 for himself a good many bitter enemies. His political course seems to have 
 been somewhat arbitrary and uncompromising, insomuch that his oppo- 
 nents regarded him with more rancorous feelings than are commonly 
 entertained among public men where there are no personal grounds for 
 enmity. "Whether such personal grounds existed in the case of Barnabas 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
98 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Bidwell cannot now be readily ascertained. It is however certain that he 
 was regarded by a host of clever and unscrupulous persons with a bitter- 
 ness of enmity almost amounting to ferocity. He seems to have made 
 no attempt to conciliate his foes, but treated them with a sort of haughty 
 contempt. In the year 1810 the weight of their anger descended upon 
 him like an avalanche. He was then, and he for some years previously 
 had been. Treasurer of the County of Berkshire, Massachusetts. An 
 accusation of a very serious nature was brought against him. He was 
 charged with having applied the public funds to his own use, and with 
 having falsified entries in his books in order to cover up his malversations. 
 It is difficult to get at the exact truth in the matter. Mr. Bidwell's atten- 
 tion to public affairs had caused him to neglect his private and profes- 
 sional business, which consequently had not flourished. He was far from 
 wealthy, and it is not improbable that he was sometimes financially 
 embarrassed. Whether he succumbed to temptation, and dipped his 
 hands into the treasui-y without leave, cannot now be certainly declared. 
 His own version of the matter was that he was entirely free from 
 blame, but that his enemies had deliberately woven a subtle web about 
 liim from which he was unable to extricate himself, as it would have 
 been impossible for him, under the existing state of things, to obtain 
 justice. At all events, he seems to have felt himself to be unable to face 
 the situation. Learning that an indictment had been laid, and that a 
 warrant had been issued for his apprehension, he fled from his native 
 country, and took refuge in Upper Canada. 
 
 Accompanied by his family, consisting of a son and daughter, he 
 settled at the village of Bath, in the County of Addington, on the Bay 
 of Quints. He soon obtained employment as a school teacher, and 
 encountered no difficulty in gaining a livelihood, though the humble role 
 he was compelled to play comported ill with his past experience and 
 present ambition. There is little doubt that he was an admirer of 
 republican institutions, and that he so remained to the end of his life, 
 though his admiration was thrown away in this country, and it was 
 impossible for him to return to his own. He was a useful man in the 
 litt' community where he resided, and his education and intelligence 
 caused him to be looked up to by people of all classes. He did not 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 
 
 99 
 
 intrude his political views further than to proclaim himself an advocate 
 of Liberal ideas, and upon the breaking out of the War of 1812 he took the 
 oath of allegiance to His Majesty. His ordinary pursuits were altogether 
 insufficient for his enthusiastic nature, and after the lapse of several years 
 he removed to Kingston, and took up his abode there. He found an outlet 
 for his superabundant energy through the medium of frequent contribu- 
 tions to the press. Among the best known of his writings are a series of 
 letters on practical agriculture and political economy, originally contrib- 
 uted to a Kingston newspaper, and subsequently republished in pamphlet 
 form under the title of " The Prompter." The series of historical and topo- 
 graphical sketches forming the first half of the first volume of Gourlay's 
 "Statistical Account of Upper Canada" are also from Mr. Bidwell's pen, 
 and they are upon the whole the most valuable portion of the entire work. 
 He espoused Mr. Gourlay's cause with great fervour, and by his written 
 and spoken words did much to arouse public sympathy for that 
 unfortunate man, as well as to awaken abhorrence for the cruelty and 
 selfishness of his persecutors. From that time forward he began to take 
 a more conspicuous part in politics than he had been accustomed to take 
 since his arrival in Canada. From the hustings and elsewhere he 
 thundered against the Compact domination with an eloquence which 
 thrilled his audiences. He soon made himself felt as a power in the 
 land, and as one from whom the ruling faction had good reason to 
 apprehend more serious antagonism than they had ever had to encounter. 
 Such was the man chosen by the Eeform element in Lennox and 
 Addington, during the summer of 1821, to represent its interests in the 
 Provincial Assembly. The ensuing campaign was an exciting one, but 
 at its close Barnabas Bidwell was the undoubted choice of a large majority 
 of the electors. This was a heavy blow to the Executive party. The 
 Keformers would now have a representative in the House who could not 
 be cajoled or bullied. His eloquence, aggressiveness, intelligence and 
 shrewdness could not fail to produce a decided impression on the House 
 and on the country. Would it not be well if he could be got rid of, as 
 Thorpe and Gourlay had been got rid of before him ? 
 . During the progress of the election campaign, some of the main facts 
 connected with Mr. Bidwell's migration from Massachusetts to Upper 
 
 H 
 
i 
 
 100 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ',i 
 
 i|i|i 
 
 Canada had become known to his opponents. The pretext afforded by 
 these disclosures was too good to be neglected. An emissary was 
 despatched to Berkshire County, where there was no difficulty in ascer- 
 taining that he had been Treasurer of the municipality ; that he had been 
 indicted for misapplying public funds ; that a warrant had thereupon 
 been issued for his apprehension ; and that he had then fled beyond the 
 jurisdiction. Certified copies of the indictment and of several other 
 important documents bearing on the matter were obtained by the agent, 
 and by him brought over to Upper Canada. On the strength of the 
 information and documents thus obtained a petition was filed against the 
 election of Mr. Bidwell, upon the ground that he was an alien and a 
 fugitive from justice, who had moreover taken an oath of allegiance to 
 the Government of the United States. The accused notwithstanding 
 appeared in his place in the Assembly upon the opening of the session, 
 and when the matter of the petition came up for discussion he defended 
 himself before the House with an eloquence and pathos which stirred 
 every heart. He declared, in language and tones which left no doubt of 
 his sincerity, that he was guiltless of the embezzlement with which he 
 had been charged, and that the accusation had been solely due to the 
 machinations of a powerful clique of enemies. He further urged that, 
 whatever might be the facts as to the charge, he had never been tried or 
 convicted, and that the Assembly had no right to assume his guilt in the 
 absence of positive proof. He admitted having taken the oath of 
 allegiance to the Government of the United States, but urged that such 
 an oath was required of every man assuming a public ofldce in all civilized 
 countries ; that it applied only to the period of his actual residence, 
 and was no legitimate bar to his advancement in another country. Since 
 his arrival in Canada he had taken an oath of allegiance to the King of 
 Great Britain. That his loyalty was not open to suspicion was sufficiently 
 manifest from the mere fact of his having been returned to Parliament 
 by a constituency the inhabitants whereof were largely composed of 
 United Empire Loyalists and their immediate descendants. Such was 
 the course of his argument, which from beginning to end was singularly 
 lucid and clear. But all was unavailing. He was assailed by the 
 Government party in language such as is rarely to be met with in the 
 
 ■J' 
 
 m 
 
 
FATliEHS OF REFOUM. 101 
 
 * It waa however a bare majority, the vote standing 17 to 16. 
 
 t See Stat. 2 Geo. IV. chapter 4, passed 17th January, 1822. 
 
 4: Six years later Francis Collins, editor of The Canadian Freeman, lay in York jail for having 
 charged Attorney-General Bobinson with " native malignancy." During his incarceration he 
 addressed several open letters to his prosecutor, in one of which may be found the following 
 comments upon the episode referred to in the text : — 
 
 "In the next place, a most respectable portion of the colony returned the venerable 
 Mr. Bidwell, sen., to Parliament, and upon this occasion I think you displayed more ' native 
 malignancy' than I ever witnessed, in a political way, in the colony. A hired pimp waa 
 despatched to Boston to hunt up slanders, originating in political feuds there. Mr. Bidwell was 
 put on his trial before a corrupt House, and when thus you saw your innocent victim within your 
 
 I 
 
 anaals of Parliamentary debate in this country. Mr. Attorney-General 
 Robinson went beyond any former effort of bis life in the way of vitupera- 
 tion, and overleapt the bounds of the commonest decency. He proclaimed 
 himself to be the son of a United Empire Loyalist who had fought and 
 bled for his country, and as therefore being no fit company for runaway 
 felons and pickpockets. His sympathy with himself was so great that 
 the tears chased one another down his cheeks as he was speaking. All 
 the amiability which commonly marked his intercourse with his fellow^ 
 men seemed to have utterly departed from him, and he towered above his 
 seat in a perfect whirlwind of rage and fiery indignation. Mr. Bidwell's 
 calm and temperate reply was in striking contrast to the levin bolts which 
 had been hurled at him, and produced a marked effect upon his hearers. 
 But the Compact commanded a majority in the Assembly,* which 
 sustained a motion for his expulsion. And as it was well known that 
 the electors of Lennox and Addington would again return him, and that 
 he could not be permanently excluded by any ordinary means, it was 
 determined to disqualify him by special legislation. An Act was accord- 
 ingly passed intituled " An Act to render ineligible to a seat in the 
 Commons House of Assembly of this Province certain descriptions of 
 persons therein mentioned."! Among the persons declared ineligible 
 were those who had held any of the principal public offices in a foreign 
 country, which was of course an effectual disqualification for Barnabas 
 Bidwell, who, as already mentioned, had been Attorney-General of 
 Massachusetts. It was a veritable Act of Exclusion, aimed at a par- 
 ticular person, and it served its purpose by keeping the obnoxious ]|ft| 
 individual perpetually out of public life.J 
 
!S 
 
 102 
 
 THE UPPEH CANADUN REBELLION. 
 
 In consequence of Mr. Bidwell's expulsion a new election for L^mnox 
 and Addington became necessary. The writ was issued, and, to the 
 chagrin and disgust of the supporters of the Government, a new champion 
 of popular rights appeared in the field in the person of Marshall Spring 
 Bidwell, the only son of the recently-expelled member. The new candi- 
 date was a young man of twenty-three years of age. He was a native of 
 Massachusetts, and had accompanied h's parents to Canada at the time 
 of their migration in 1810. At an early aj/e he hud given proofs of the 
 possession of splendid abilities. His fat :er, who was eX',:, -Singly proud 
 of the bright boy, had cultivated his faculties to the r';T .ost, and by the 
 time that Marshall Spring Bidwell had attained his majority he was 
 regarded by all who knew him as having a brilliant ature before him. 
 A year before his candidature he had been called to the Provincial bar. 
 He now presented himself before the electors of Lennox and Addington 
 in opposition to the Tory candidate, a gentleman named Clark. The 
 combined modesty and assurance displayed by young Bidwell throughout 
 the contest gained for him many warm friends, while at the same time 
 his earnestness and flowing eloquence proved that he was a true son of 
 his father. He conducted the campaign with signal ability, and laid the 
 foundation of a lasting reputation in the constituency. At the close of 
 the poll the returning-officer declared Mr. Clark to have been duly elected, 
 
 reach, then it was you lifted up the flood-gates of your loyal wrath, and let your vengeance fall 
 upon his devoted head. Then it was that the overflowings of your ' native malignancy ' hurled 
 the tears of loyalty down your pallid cheeks. Then it was that your natural flippancy gave 
 rapid birth to the most gross, unqualified and unjustifiable abuse I ever heard heaped, not only 
 upon a member of Parliament, but even upon the commonest member of society. ' Am I,' said 
 you, ' the son of a TJ. E. Loyalist, who fought and bled for his country, to sit within these walls 
 with disloyal runaway felons, pickpockets and murderers from the United States ? '—(the loyal 
 tears flowing.) Yes, Sir, you coaxed, you threatened, you argued, you wept, until you prevailed 
 upon a corrupt and cringing House, as I have before remarked, to turn Mr. Bidwell out of his 
 seat, unconstitutionally, illegally and unjustlj' ; and the next day you were obliged to get one of 
 your tools to bring in a Bill to cover this illegal proceeding, and prevent his re-election, thus 
 forever depriving the country of the valuable services of a man better qualified for a legislator, in 
 point of learning, talent and experience than yourself, or any other man, perhaps, in Upper 
 Canada. Now, Sir, if you viewed it as a disgrace to sit in the same House with the father, 
 although in every respect your superior, how will it suit you to bend your outrageously loyal 
 neck to his son in the Speaker's chair, who, it is my opinion, is the most fit person in the new 
 House to fill it, and who, I doubt not, will be elected ? " 
 
 The letter from which the foregoing extract is taken bears date December 25th, and appears 
 in the Freeman of that date. The prediction in the concluding sentence was verified. Mr. M. S. 
 BidweU was elected Speaker at the opening of the session in January, 1829. 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 
 
 103 
 
 but, as it was notorious that corrupt practices had been resorted to, a 
 protest was entered by the friends of the Eeform candidate, who himself 
 appeared in person at the bar of the House to conduct the argument. 
 The result of the enquiry was that the return was set aside and a new 
 election ordered. Young Bidwell so distinguished himself by his argu- 
 ment before the House that the official party perceived that he was likely 
 to be no less formidable as an opponent than his father would have been. 
 When the new election was held he again presented himself as a candidate, 
 but found that the returning-officer had received instructions to accept no 
 votes for him, upon the ground that he was an alien. The Tory candidate, 
 Mr. Ham, was accordingly returned; but another protest was filed, with 
 a similar result. The election was once more set aside, and Lennox and 
 Addington still remained without a Parliamentary representative. It had 
 by this time become notorious that the whole power of the Executive 
 was exerted to keep the Bidwells out of public life, and the conviction 
 that such was the fact gave rise to a counter-movement on the part of 
 the victims. The friends of Reform bestirred themselves to such purpose 
 that during the session of 1823-'24 an Act was passed* repealing the 
 meapuve of two years before, and relaxing the conditions under which 
 persons who had resided in or taken the oath of allegiance to a foreign 
 state should be eligible for election to the Provincial Parliament. It was 
 provided that a residence in the Province of seven years next before election 
 should render such persons eligible for membership in the Assembly. This 
 clause removed all existing disqualifications from young Mr. Bidwell ; but 
 his father still remained disqualified, for it was expressly re-enacted that 
 no person who had been a member of the Senate or House of Representa- 
 tives of the United States, or who had held office in any of the executive 
 departments of "the United States of America, or any one of the said 
 United States," should be capable of being elected to the Assembly. 
 Under this clause the elder Bidwell was doubly disqualified, for he had 
 not only been Attorney- General of Massachusetts, but had also sat in 
 Congress. It was much, however, that the son was rendered eligible. 
 A general election took place during tlie summer of 1824, at which he was 
 returned for the constituency which he then contested for the third time. 
 
 * See 4 Geo. IV., sesB. 2, chapter 8, passed 19th January, 1824. 
 
T 
 
 104 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 
 He continued to sit in Parliament for eleven successive years. He is 
 properly regarded as one of the founders of the Eeform party in Upper 
 Canada, and by his eloquence, tact and discretion, no less than by the 
 high respect in which his character was held, he did much to advance 
 the progress of Eeform principles. 
 
 The general election of 1824 resulted in the return of a number of 
 prominent Eeformers who now for the first time came forward to take 
 part in public affairs. It was evident that a spirit of Eeform had been 
 awakened, and that from this time forward every important public 
 question was likely to have two sides to it. 
 
 The most conspicuous of all the new members was Mr. John Eolph, 
 who had been returned as one of the representatives for the County ol 
 Middlesex. As he played an important part in the event which forma 
 the subject of this work, and as he was one of the ablest men who have 
 ever taken part in public affairs in this country, it is desirable to give 
 some fuller account of him than is to be found in the various books 
 relating to the place and times in which he lived. 
 
 John Eolph was unquestionably one of the most extraordinary person- 
 alities who have ever figured in the annals of Upper Canada. He possessed 
 talents which, under favouring circumstances, would have made him a 
 marked man in either professional or public life in any country. Chief 
 among his qualifications may be mentioned a comprehensive, subtle intel- 
 lect, high scholastic and professional attainments, a style of eloquence 
 which was at once ornate and logical, a noble and handsome countenance, 
 a voice of silvery sweetness and great power of modulation, and an address 
 at once impressive, dignified and ingratiating. His keenness of perception 
 and his faculty for detecting the weak point in an argument were almost 
 abnormal, while his power of eloquent and subtle exposition had no rival 
 among the Canadian public men of those times. His famous speech — to 
 be hereafter more particularly referred to — delivered in the Assembly, in 
 1836, on the subject of the Clergy Eeserves, was one of the most powerful 
 indictments ever heard within the walls of a Canadian Parliament. His 
 arraignment of Sir Francis Bond Head before the same body early in 
 the following year was hardly less impressive. He was of a full habit of 
 body, even in comparative youth, and though he was rather under than 
 
 HI 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 105 
 
 above the middle height, there was a dignity and even majesty in his 
 presence that gave the world assurance of a strong man, while it at the 
 same time eflfectually repelled imseemly familiarity. A pair of deep clear 
 blue eyes, surmounted by rather heavy eyebrows, glanced out from 
 beneath his smooth and expansive forehead. He had light brown hair, a 
 well-moulded chin, a firmly-set nose, and a somewhat large and flexible 
 mouth, capable of imparting to the countenance great variety of expres- 
 sion. Such, according to the universal testimony of those who knew 
 him, and according to portraits painted from life and preserved in his 
 family, was the John Eolph of fifty to sixty years ago. 
 
 There was unquestionably a per contra. Though he was a man of 
 many friends, and was the repository of many familiar confidences, there 
 was probably no human being — not even the wife of his bosom — who ever 
 possessed John Rolph's entire confidence. There was about him no such 
 thing as self-abandonment. This was not because he was devoid of 
 natural passions or affections, or even of warm friendship, for he was a 
 kind, if not a tender husband and father, and there were many persons 
 whom he held in very high esteem, and for whom ho cheerfully made 
 great sacrifices. But the quality of caution seems to have been preter- 
 naturally developed within his breast. No man was ever less open to the 
 imputation of wearing his heart upon his sleeve. He had a temperament 
 of great equableness, and doubtless felt much more deeply than was 
 suspected, even by those who were constantly about him. To the outer 
 world he was ever self-possessed, calm and dignified, of pleasant and 
 amiable manners, and not deficient in good-fellowship, but seldom or 
 never abandoning himself to frolicsomeness or fun. His smile had a 
 winsome sweetness about it, but it was a very rare occurrence indeed for 
 him to indulge in anything approaching to hearty laughter. His self- 
 control was marvellous. He was never surprised or startled, never 
 dismayed by unexpected intelligence, never taken off his guard. Yet he 
 possessed great dramatic talent, and in his addresses to juries and public 
 audiences could successfully simulate the most contradictory feelings and 
 emotions. One who judged him simply from such exhibitions as these 
 might well have set him down for an emotional and impetuous man, apt 
 to be led away by the fleeting passions and weaknesses of the moment. 
 
 w 
 

 106 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 !l 
 
 Yet no one coming to such a conclusion would have had any conception 
 of his real character and idiosyncrasies. He certainly never acted without 
 motive, but his motives were sometimes dark and unfathomable to every- 
 one but himself. Not one among his contem:"»craries was able to take 
 his moral and intellectual measure with anything approaching to com- 
 pletenes»; and throughout the entire length and breadth of Canadian 
 biography there is no man of equal eminence respecting whose real 
 individuality so little is known. 
 
 Mr. Eolph's peculiarities wore probably inherent, for the facts of his 
 early life, so far as known, afford no clue to the reading of the riddle. 
 He was the second son in a family consisting of eighteen children, and 
 was born at Grovesend, in the market town of Thornbury, Gloucester- 
 shire, England, on the 4th of March, 1793. His father, Thomas Kolph, 
 was a physician of some local repute, who seems to have been impelled to 
 emigrate in consequence of the impossibility of making any suitable 
 provision in England for so numerous a progeny. The ascertained facts 
 with reference to John Eolph's early life in England are singularly meagre. 
 He accompanied his parents to Canada some time prior to the War of 
 1812, for he served as a volunteer during the early part of that conflict, 
 and was for some months a paymaster of militia. During the progress of 
 the war he was taken prisoner by the enemy, and was detained in custody 
 for a short time at Batavia, in the State of New York. An exchange of 
 prisoners having been effected, he was set at liberty. After his liberation 
 he returned to England, where he entered one of the colleges of the Univer- 
 sity of Cambridge ; and, though he seems to have left there without taking 
 a degree, he was recognized as a young man of very remarkable and preco- 
 cious intellectual powers, likely to become conspicuous in after-life. He 
 absorbed knowledge with marvellous facility, and never forgot anything 
 he had learned. After leaving college he repaired to London, where he 
 was entered as a student-at-law, and was in due time called to the bar of 
 the Inner Temple. Like Bacon, he seems to have taken all knowledge to 
 be his province, for, not satisfied with having acquired what, in so young 
 a man, was accounted a wide knowledge of jurisprudence, he studied for 
 some time under Sir Astley Cooper, and was enrolled as a member of the 
 Eoyal College of Surgeons. He soon afterwards returned to Canada, and 
 
 •■t 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 
 
 107 
 
 took up his abode on a lot of land in the Township of Charlotteville, about 
 midway between the villages of Turkey Point and Vittoria, in what is 
 now the County of Norfolk, but which then and for long afterwards 
 formed part of the Talbot District. In Michaelmas Term of 1821 he was 
 called to the bar of Upper Canada, and for pome years thereafter he 
 appears to have practised the two professions of law and medicine con- 
 currently. His great acquirements and pleasant manners made him a 
 favourite with all classes of the people, and caused him to be regarded 
 as a genuine acquisition to the district in which he resided. He became 
 the professional adviser and familiar friend of Colonel Thomas Talbot, 
 founder of the Talbot Settlement, and was one of the originators of the 
 Talbot Anniversary, established in 1817, and kept up for more than twenty 
 years thereafter, in honour of the day of the Colonel's arrival at Port 
 Talbot — the 21st of May, 1803. The Colonel was not, in the strict sense 
 of the term, a politician, but he was a member of the Legislative Council, 
 and naturally supported the official party; whereas Rolph, though a man of 
 equable mind, and by no means constitutionally inclined towards Radi- 
 calism, had much better opportunities for mixing with the people than 
 had Colonel Talbot, and his keen eye revealed to him many official abuses 
 which did not commend themselves to his sense of justice. It is probable 
 that differences of opinion on public questions led to their ultimate 
 estrangement. At all events, Eolph espoused the side of the people, and 
 declared himself a foe to the Family Compact policy, and from that time 
 forward the intimacy between him and Colonel Talbot seems to have 
 grown less and less. The Gourlay prosecutions aroused Eolph's hot 
 indignation, which he did not hesitate to express with much freedom 
 whithersoever he went. Being a brilliant and eloquent talker, strong 
 in opinion and logical in argument, he made many converts to his 
 views, the number of whom was not lessened by the course of treatment 
 adopted towards the Bidwells. It seems to have been about this time 
 that he took up his abode at Dimdas, where he subsequently resided 
 for many years. When the general elections af 1824 took place the 
 Reformers of Middlesex brought out John Eolph and Captain John 
 Matthews, both of whom were returned at the head of the poll. 
 
 Eolph made his presence felt in the Assembly from the time of 
 taking his seat there. He was then thirty-one years of age, and of a 
 
108 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 compact, well-built figure, inclining to portliness. His face was at once 
 handsome and intellectual, and his presence carried witu it a suggestion 
 of undoubted power. He spoke comparatively seldom during his early 
 Parliamentary sessions, but when he did speak it was always with effect. 
 His diction was singularly luminous and expressive, and would have 
 attracted attention in any public assembly in the world. There was a 
 clear metallic ring in his voice which did full justice to the language 
 employed, and there were few empty benches in the House when it was 
 known that Eolph was to speak. 
 
 His colleague from Middlesex, though a staunch Eeformer, was a 
 man of very different cast. Captain Matthews was a retired officer of 
 the royal artillery, who had seen twenty-seven years* service. At a very 
 early period of his residence in Upper Canada he had become disgusted 
 with Family Compact rule, and had spoken his mind on the subject with 
 much freedom. Being a resident of the County of Middlesex, and being 
 held in much esteem there among the adherents of Liberal principles, he 
 was induced to offer himself along with Dr. Eolph at the general election 
 of 1824 as one of the candidates for the county. His candidature was 
 successful, and he became very popular in the House, though the texture 
 of his mind was somewhat light and airy, and he was not well fitted, 
 either by nature or by training, to deal with such grave constitutional 
 questions as were continually forcing themselves upon public attention. 
 
 Another prominent Eeformer who now took his seat in Parliament for 
 the first time was Peter Perry, who had been returned as young Marshall 
 Bidwell's colleague in the representation of Lennox and Addington. 
 Although thirty- four years have elapsed since his death, Mr. Perry is still 
 well remembered by the older generation of our politicians. During the 
 twelve years succeeding his entry into public life he was one of the most 
 conspicuous Eeformers in the Province. Though not possessed of a 
 liberal education, and though his demeanour and address were marred by 
 a sort of impetuous coarseness, he was master of a rude, vigorous 
 eloquence which under certain conditions was far more effective than the 
 most polished oratory would have been. He was certainly the ablest 
 stump orator of his time in this country, and there was no man in the 
 Eeform ranks who could so effectively conduct a difficult election 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 109 
 
 l« 
 
 campaign. No man was more dreaded by his opponents, more especi- 
 ally by those who had to encounter him while p contest was pending. 
 It may here be added that he continued to take an active part in politics 
 down to a short time before his death in 1851, and that he rendered great 
 services to the cause of Reform, but in the years following the Union of 
 the Provinces he was overshadowed by Eobert Baldwin, whose social 
 position, spotless reputation and disinterestedness of purpose combined 
 to place him on a pedestal beyond the reach of ordinary politicians. 
 Peter Perry, however, while yielding a loyal support to Mr. Baldwin, 
 continued to the end of his life to fight his political battles in his own 
 way. The sincerity of his convictions was beyond any sort of question, 
 and his shrewdness, experience and hard common sense caused his 
 opinions to be regarded with respect, even by such men as Rolph, Baldwin 
 and the Bidwells. 
 
 Mr. Perry was a native Upper Canadian, having been born at 
 Ernestown in 1793, during the early part of Governor Simcoe's adminis- 
 tration of affairs. He was the son of a U. E. Loyalist, and was brought 
 up on a farm, at a time when public schools were few and far between 
 in the rural districts. He grew to manhood without having acquired 
 much in the way of education, but the quickness of his parts and the 
 soundness of his judgment did much to atone for his want of regular 
 school training. He began to take an active interest in public affairs at 
 an early age, and before he was thirty he had acquired wide notoriety as a 
 strongly-pronounced Reformer. Living in the same part of the country as 
 the Bidwells, he took a warm interest in their candidature. As his political 
 ideas coincided with theirs, and as his rough eloquence had already made 
 him well known throughout the constituency, he espoused their side in 
 the successive election contests, and at the general election of 1824 was 
 himself returned to the Assembly as the colleague of the brilliant young 
 lawyer. 
 
 In addition to John Rolph, Marshall Spring Bidwell, Captain John 
 Matthews and Peter Perry, a number of other advocates of Reform 
 principles were returned at the general election of 1824. For the first 
 time in Upper Canadian annals, it was manifest not only that the 
 Reformers had a majority in point of numbers in the Assembly, but that 
 
110 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 they had a decided preponderance of ability. No adherent of the official 
 party — not even the Attorney-Geneial, John Beverley Robinson — was a 
 match for Eolph or Bidwell, to say nothing of Perry, whose oratory was 
 of an altogether different complexion, though scarcely less effective. Upon 
 the meeting of the Houses the numerical strength of the respective 
 parties was fairly tested by the vote on the Speakership. The Reformers 
 nominated as their candidate John Willson, one of the members for Went- 
 worth. Mr. Willson was an unpretending farmer, of strong political con- 
 victions, but of good sense and calm judgment, who" had allied himself 
 with the Reformers, and who might safely be depended upon to dis- 
 charge the duties incidental to the Speakership with judicial impartiality. 
 The vote stood twenty-one to nineteen, the majority of two being in 
 Mr. Willson's favour. The Reformers felt that they had achieved a 
 triumph, and were accordingly jubilant ; but they soon found that the 
 mere control of the Assembly signified very little in the absence of 
 Executive responsibility. The Legisltitive Council interposed its dead 
 weight, and vetoed one bill after another sent up by the Assembly. 
 
 The Reform preponderance in the Assembly, however, and the bring- 
 ing together of the leading supporters of Liberal principles, led to the 
 establishment of an organized body of Reformers, which from that 
 time forward made its existence felt throughout the constituencies, and 
 presented an obstacle to the continued rule of the Compact. Conspicuous 
 among the Fathers of Reform, in addition to John Rolph, Peter Perry, 
 Captain Matthews and the two Bidwells, were Doctor William Warren 
 Baldwin, his son Robert, and William Lyon Mackenzie. None of the 
 three last-named gentlemen was at this time in Parliament, but they 
 were nevertheless all able to render very valuable services to Reform 
 principles — the first two by reason of their wealth and high social posi- 
 tion, and the third from the fact that he was the publisher of a news- 
 paper, and that he was a man of strong opinions and superabundant 
 energy in giving expression to them. 
 
 The elder Baldwin was a gentleman of high character and social position, 
 resident at York. He had emigrated from Ireland to Canada towards the 
 close of the last century, and, like Mr. Rolph, had for some time practised 
 law and medicine concurrently. He achieved considerable success, both 
 

 FATHERS OP REFORM. Ill 
 
 pecuniarily and otherwise, and, notwithstanding his political principles, 
 which were of a decidedly advanced character, he was respected by the 
 entire community of the little Provincial capital. The family to which 
 he belonged were well known in Ireland for their adherence to advanced 
 political doctrines, and he himself remained true to family traditions. 
 At a time when it required no slight courage to espouse the Liberal side 
 in York, Dr. Baldwin was always to be found in the ranks of Reform. 
 He was wealthy, as, in addition to the property which he had personally 
 accumulated, he had succeeded, by bequest, to the bulk of the large 
 possessions of the Honourable Peter Russell — whose method of doing 
 good unto himself has already been glanced at — and of that gentleman's 
 maiden sister Elizabeth. Miss Russell resided in Dr. Baldwin's family 
 diu'ing the last few years of her life, and survived until 1822. The 
 Russells and the Baldwins were remotely connected by ties of relation- 
 ship, and as neither the Administrator nor his sister ever married, there 
 was nothing strange in the disposition made by them of their property. 
 High as Dr. Baldwin stood in the Reform ranks, however, he was 
 destined to be eclipsed by his more distinguished son. It is safe to say 
 that no public man in Canada has ever gained so enviable a reputation 
 as attaches to the name of Robert Baldwin. As was intimated two or 
 three pages back, he stood upon a lofty pedestal, and was a very man 
 per sc. And this high position he attained, not by means of brilliant 
 oratory, keenness of perception, or subtle comprehensiveness of judgment. 
 No one has ever pretended to claim for him any special intellectual 
 greatness of any kind. He was a plain man, of abilities not much 
 above the average, who possessed strong convictions, and whose high 
 principles, sterling honesty and disinterestedness of purpose were 
 unimpeachable. Had he been a member of the British House of 
 Commons during Sir Robert Walpole's regime, the proverbial dictum 
 of that high priest of corruption would never have been uttered, for 
 certainly no man would ever have dreamed of offering a bribe to 
 Robert Baldwin. He has been in his grave for more than a quarter 
 of a century; thirty-four years have elapsed since his withdrawal 
 from public life; yet he is still referred to by adherents of both 
 political parties in Canada as a statesman of unblemished integrity. 
 
 III.! 
 
 ,f 'I 
 
 'Bill 
 
 
112 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 whose character was without spot, and in whose bosom was no guile. 
 He more than once occupied the foremost position in the public eye. 
 During much of his career a fierce light beat upon him, yet failed to 
 disclose anything whereof the most august character in history would 
 have had any cause for feeling ashamed. As I have said elsewhere : 
 " We can still point to him with the admiration due to a man who, during 
 a time of the grossest political corruption, took a foremost part in our 
 public affairs, and who yet preserved his integrity untarnished. We can 
 point to him as the man who, if not the actual author of Responsible 
 Government in Canada, yet spent the best years of his life in contending 
 for it, and who contributed more than any other person to make that 
 project an accomplished fact. We can point to him as one who, though 
 a politician by predilection and by profession, never stooped to disrepu- 
 table practices, either to win votes or to maintain himself in office. 
 Eobert Baldwin was a man who was not only incapable of falsehood or 
 meanness to gain his ends, but who was to the last degree intolerant of 
 such practices on the part of his warmest supporters. If intellectual 
 greatness cannot be claimed for him, moral greatness was most indis- 
 putably his. Every action of his life was marked by sincerity and good 
 faith, alike toward friend and foe. He was not only true to others, but 
 was from first to last true to himself. . . Robert Baldwin was neither 
 a bigot nor a fanatic, but he was in the best and truest sense of the word 
 a Christian. He was strict in his observance of religious duties, and 
 brought up his children to seek those things which make for righteous- 
 ness, rather than the things of this world. His piety was an ever-present 
 influence in his life, and was practically manifested in his daily walk and 
 conversation. As we contemplate the fifty-four years which made up the 
 measure of his earthly span, we cannot fail to be impressed by its uniform 
 consistency, its thorough conscientiousness, its devotion to high and 
 noble objects. It is a grand thing to acquire a famous name, but it is a 
 much grander thing to live a pure and noble life ; and in estimating the 
 character of Robert Baldwin it should be remembered that he was not 
 merely a statesman and a lawyer, but was, over and above all else, a man 
 and a Christian."* 
 
 * Canadian Portrait Qdttery, VoL I., pp. 17, 46. 
 
1:1 
 
 FATHERS OF REFORM. 118 
 
 The foregoing account, be it understood, applies to a later period. At 
 the date of the general election in 1824 Robert Baldwin was still a young 
 man, whose reputation, professional and political, was yet to be made* 
 He had not even been called to the bar, and was still a student in his 
 father's office. Notwithstanding his youth, however — he was only in his 
 twenty-first year — he had given some thought to the political questions 
 of the time, and had even begun to look forward to the possibility of an 
 ultimate political career. His father, from whom he had learned many 
 political lessons, had recently become very wealthy through the death of 
 Miss Eussell, as already mentioned. Much of his wealth consisted of 
 landed property. Robert was the first-born child of his parents, and, as 
 the law of primogeniture was then in force in Upper Canada,* it was to 
 be anticipated that he would succeed to large possessions, and would be 
 independent of any income arising from his own exertions. He bore an 
 honoured name, and it was tolerably certain that, under such a combina- 
 tion of circumstances, he would sooner or later find his way to Parlia- 
 ment. He had already imbibed what were in those days considered as 
 advanced Liberal views, and was in full accord with his father, who had 
 to a large extent moulded his opinions. He was present at the meetings 
 of the Reform members held during the first session following the elections 
 of 1824, for the purpose of organization. It was then that a distinct 
 Reform Party, with common objects and a specific policy, may be said 
 to have been formed in this Province. There had been Upper Canadian 
 Reformers from the very foundation of the Province, but no Reform Party 
 can strictly be said to have had an existence prior to the latter part of 
 the year 1824. 
 
 No man was more conspicuous in contributing to the founding of the 
 Reform Party than was William Lyon Mackenzie, whose personality yet 
 remains to be considered. Owing in some measure to the force of circum- 
 stances, but chiefly to his own energy, impulsiveness and love of noto- 
 riety, Mr. Mackenzie's name and achievements have become more widely 
 knovm than have those of many abler and wiser men. He was the only 
 
 * It is to the exertions of Robert Baldwin himself that we owe the abolition of the doctrine 
 of primogeniture as applied to real estate in Upper Canada. He it was who, while Attorney- 
 General for the Western Province, introduced and carried through the measure of 1851. 
 
 I'lff 
 
 
A 
 
 114 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REnELLION. 
 
 child of humble parents, and waa born at Springfield, a suburb of Dundee, 
 in Forfarshire, Scotland, on the 12th of March, 1795. When he was four 
 weeks old his father died, leaving him and his mother wholly unprovided 
 for, insomuch that they were dependent upon the bounty of relatives. 
 To adopt his own language, poverty and adversity were his nurses, and 
 want and misery were his familiar friends. " It is among the earliest of 
 my recollections," wrote he in 1824, 'that I lay in bed one morning 
 during the grievous famine in Britain in 1800-1, while my poor mother 
 took from our large kist the handsome plaid of the tartan of our clan, 
 which in her early life her own hands had spun, and went and sold it for 
 a trifle, to obtain for us a little coarse barley meal, whereof to make our 
 scanty breakfast; and of another time dm'ing the same famine when she 
 left me at home crying from hunger, and for (I think) eight shillings 
 sold a handsome and hitherto carefully preserved priest-gray coat of my 
 father's, to get us a little food." His mother, from whom he inherited 
 his most salient peculiarities, was a woman of strongly-marked character. 
 She was endowed by nature with a high temper, and with a tendency to 
 act from impulse rather than from reason. To these qualities were 
 added great energy and strength of will. She brought up her son in the 
 fltraitest of theological creeds, which left a certain permanent mental 
 impress upon him, though during the last quarter of a century of his 
 life he wandered far afield from the religious teachings of his child- 
 hood. He seems to have been born with a genuine love for knowledge, for, 
 notwithstanding the inauspicious surroundings of his youth, he contrived 
 to acquire a better education than was commonly obtainable by lads in 
 his rank of life in Scotland in those times. The education thus acquired 
 was almost to the end of his days supplemented by reading and study. 
 As soon as he was old enough to enter upon employment he became 
 an assistant in a draper's shop, cfter which he filled various temporary 
 situations which led to nothing. When only nineteen he opened a small 
 store on his own account at Alyth, a village about twenty miles from 
 Dundee. This he conducted for about three years, by which time it had 
 become apparent that the business could not be successfully carried on, 
 so he abandoned it and removed to England. There he spent more than 
 two years, during some part of which he acted as clerk to a coal company. 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 115 
 
 In tho spring of 1820 be sailed for Canada, where he was destined to 
 gain great notoriety, and to become an important factor in the moulding 
 of public opinion. 
 
 In a now country like Canada a young man of Mackenzie's energy 
 was soon able to make his presence felt. After being employed for a 
 short time on the survey of the Lachine Canal, he opened a store at York, 
 whence he removed to Dundas, and entered on a more extensive mercan- 
 tile business in partnership with Mr. John Lesslie, the style of the firm 
 being "Mackenzie & Lesslie." His mercantile venture in Dundas was 
 faurly successful. During his residence there he married Miss Isabel 
 Baxter, a native of Dundee, after a brief courtship of three weeks. In 
 the spring of 1828 the firm of Mackenzie & Lesslie was dissolved, and 
 for a few months thereafter the senior partner carried on business by 
 himself. In the autumn of the same year he removed to Queenston, 
 where he embarked in business by opening a general store. The store 
 had not been many months in operation before its proprietor abandoned 
 commercial pursuits and embraced the life of a journalist. This change 
 seems to have been the result of some deliberation, and it must be 
 admitted that Mr. Mackenzie possessed considerable aptitude for the 
 new field of labour which he had chosen. His writing, though very 
 unequal, and sometimes exceedingly verbose and amateurish in point 
 of style, was almost always direct and easy to understand. His obser- 
 vation was keen, and he had taken a warm interest in politics ever since 
 his arrival in the country. Though many of his views were what would 
 now be considered Toryish and out of date, they were then classed by the 
 Compact and their adherents as ultra-Radical and revolutionary. He 
 had formed the acquaintance of Rolph, Perry, the Bidwells, and other 
 prominent Reformers, by all of whom the sincerity of his political pro- 
 fessions were regarded as being beyond question. The first number of 'ijl f 
 his newspaper, which was christened The Colonial Advocate, made its 
 appearance on the 18th of May, 1824. It consisted of thirty-two pages, 
 and, although its owner had neither received nor sought a single sub- 
 scriber, he issued an edition of twelve hundred copies. Whether he 
 embarked in newspaper life at this particular time with a view to influ- 
 encing votes during the impending general election cannot now be known 
 
 ■'1 ' 
 
116 
 
 IHE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 il 
 
 t 
 
 with certainty. Probably enough this may have been one of his motives, 
 which were doubtless of a mixed nature. That he was sincere in his 
 advocacy of Eeform must in all fairness be conceded, though his itch for 
 notoriety must always be considered in reviewing and estimating his 
 actions. This tendency of his mind would readily lead him to select 
 journalism as his vocation in life, more especially as he found that his 
 opinions were regarded as having some value. As compared with his life 
 in Britain, his career in Canada had been an undoubted success. He 
 had acquired some property, and was in fair pecuniary circumstances. 
 From the inner side of his counter he had been in the habit of holding 
 forth to his customers on the political and other questions of the day, and 
 had found that his arguments were accepted by a majority of the unlet- 
 tered yeomen of Wentworth as being unanswerable. He was looked up 
 to as a man of weight and influence in the community, and the conscious- 
 ness of this was naturally gratifying to the whilome shop-boy of Dumfries. 
 He felt incited to address larger audiences than any which had hitherto 
 listened to him. The time seemed propitious for the establishment of a 
 Reform newspaper. There was a general awakening in the direction of 
 Reform, extending over the greater part of the Province. There could be 
 no sort of doubt that public opinion was in a state of transition : that 
 many people had begun to look forward to a time when Responsible 
 Government would be conceded, and when the domination of the Compact 
 would be no more. When that much-wished-for epoch should arrive, 
 those who had been the means of bringing it about, or of hastening its 
 advent, would stand high among the Reformers of Upper Canada. Who 
 would be likely to stand higher than a clever and aspu-ing man who was 
 at once editor and proprietor of the leading organ of Liberal opinion in 
 the Province ? Such a personage might command anything within the 
 power of his party to grant. That he would soon be able to write his 
 way into Parliament was a foregone conclusion ; and a seat in Parlia- 
 ment appeared a very proud distinction in the eyes of one whose past 
 Burroimdings had been so far removed from i^uch a sphere. 
 
 That these, or something like these, were among the chief motives 
 whereby Mr. Mackenzie was actuated in establishing The Colonial 
 Advocate seems tolerably certain. Nor is there anything unusual or 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 
 
 117 
 
 censurable in such an ambition. The labourer is worthy of his hire, and 
 no labourer is better entitled to a full recompense than is the man who, 
 through long and weary years, struggles to win success for a depressed 
 and righteous cause. That he was not devoid of a spirit of sincere 
 patriotism is evident, alike from his words and his deeds. He had 
 amassed a few hundreds of pounds, and was in no dread of poverty, 
 being sanguine and self-confident to an uncommon degree. He ardently 
 longed to see this fair colony rescued from the thraldom under which 
 it groaned. In a letter* written many years afterwards, when he was 
 an outlaw and an exile, he gives his own version of the motives which 
 impelled him to embark upon what he calls "the stormy sea of politics." 
 " I had long," he writes, " seen the country in the hands of a few shrewd, 
 crafty, covetous men, under whose management one of the most lovely 
 find desirable sections of America remained a comparative desert. The 
 most obvious public improvements were stayed ; dissension was created 
 among classes ; citizens were banished and imprisoned in defiance of all 
 law; the people had been long forbidden, under severe pains and penalties, 
 from meeting anywhere to petition for justice ; large estates were wrested 
 from their owners in utter contempt of even the forms of the courts ; the 
 Church of England, the adherents of which were few, monopolized aa 
 much of the lands of the colony as all the religious houses and dignitaries 
 of the Koman Catholic Chu:'ch had had the control of in Scotland at the 
 era of the Reformation; other sects were treated with contempt and 
 scarcely tolerated ; a sordid band of land-jobbers grasped the soil as their 
 patrimony, and with a few leading officials, who divided the public revenue 
 among themselves, formed the Family Compact, and were the avowed 
 enemies of common schools, of civil and religious liberty, of all legislative 
 or other checks to their own will. Other men had opposed, and been 
 converted by them. At nine-and-twenty I might have united with them, 
 but chose rather to join the oppressed, nor have I ever regretted that 
 choice, or wavered from the object of my early pursuit." 
 
 A man entertaining such views as these, more especially a man of 
 energy and intelligence, with a newspaper at his back, could not fail to 
 be acceptable to the little knot of politicians who formed the nucleus of 
 * Quoted by Mr. Liudsey, in bis Life and l'ime$ of William Lyon Mackemie, VoL I., pp. 40, 41. 
 
 :^n 
 
 
 
f 
 
 i .> 
 
 
 \l 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 118 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 the Eeform Party of Upper Canada. Mr. Mackenzie was cordially 
 welcomed into the ranks, and ^ras soon recognized as a most useful and 
 valuable acquisition thereto. !3e could make no pretence to the vario.us 
 learning, fine presence, subtle intellect or polished eloquence of Eolph, 
 nor even to the high but less marked qualities of the Pidwells, but the 
 time was at hand when he was to prove that he possessed the power to 
 move audiences, by his voice an well as by his pen. In person he would 
 have been pronounced by a casual passer-by to be rather insignificant, 
 being exceedingly short in stature, and not well proportioned as to his 
 figure, which was slight, wiry, and — owing to a restless habit and a 
 highly-strung nervous system — seldom in repose. Still, no one who 
 contemplated his features with attention would ever have dreamed of 
 pronouncing him oommonplace. His intellectual vigour and determina- 
 tion were attested by his large head, massive brow, keen, light-blue eyes 
 and firmly-set mouth. His physical energy was placed equally beyond 
 doubt by the nervous activity above mentioned. Until he was long past 
 the prime of his manhood he was never still for many consecutive 
 moments during his waking hours. When labouring under any unusual 
 excitement his frame seemed to be set on steel springs. As his temper 
 was easily aroused, it was no uncommon thing to see him in one of these 
 phases of excitement. But though he was thus quickly moved to anger, 
 it could not with justice be said that his temper was bad, for, so far from 
 being implacable, he was readily appeased, and always quick to forget 
 and forgive. Altogether, he had an active but ill-balanced organization. 
 His sympathies were too quick and strong for his judgment, and he 
 frequently acted from impulse and hot blood. From his cradle to his 
 grave he was never fit to walk alone and without guidance through any 
 great emergency. 
 
 No two human beings could well be more unlike than were William 
 Lyon Mackenzie and John Eolph. They were compelled to work together 
 in a common cause for many years, but the two entities were thoroughly 
 antagonistic, and there was never much personal liking between them. 
 The dtr ici ire of their bodies was not more dissimilar than was that of 
 their minds. The one, slight, wiry, and ever in motion, seemed as 
 though it might be blown hither and thither by any strong current. 
 
FATHERS OP REFORM. 
 
 119 
 
 The other, solid almost to portliness, was suggestive of fixity — of self- 
 dependence, and unsusceptibility to outside influences. The one was 
 suggestive of being in a great measure the creature of circumstances ; 
 the other of being a law unto himself — one who would be more likely to 
 influence circumstances than to be influenced by them. Mackenzie's 
 nature, though it could not strictly be called a shallow one, at any rate 
 lay near the surface, and its characters were not hard to decipher, even 
 upon a brief acquaintance. There were depths in Eolph'f' nature which 
 were never fathomed by those nearest and dearest to him — possibly not 
 even by himself. Mackenzie seems to have long regarded Eolph with a 
 sort of distant awe — as a Sphinx, close, oracular, inscrutable. Eolph 
 evidently estimated Mackenzie correctly, as one whose politics were 
 founded upon deeply-rooted convictions, and not upon mere opinions, 
 although he would probably have found it difficult to subject those 
 opinions to a rigid analysis ; as one whose energy and journalistic 
 resources might be turned to good account in the cause of Eeform, but 
 whose discretion was not always to be relied on. This estimate, indeed, 
 was sufficiently obvious to any one who maintained frequent or familar 
 relations with Mackenzie, and was concurred in by most, if not all, of his 
 friends. His earnestness and good faith, however, were manifest to all 
 who knew him, and these were sufficient to cover much more culpable 
 weaknesses than any which he had hitherto displayed. 
 
 Having now become acquainted with some of the Fathers of Eeform, 
 it is desirable to cast a momentary glance at the material which went to 
 the composition of the Eeform Party generally. That material was of 
 the most heterogeneous character imaginable. It included a few U. E. 
 Loyalists of advanced opinions, and their descendants ; but the bone and 
 sinew were made up of more recent immigrants from Great Britain and 
 the United States. The organization of the party, such as it was, was of 
 too recent a date at this time to admit of any absolute unanimity of 
 opinion on all questions of public policy having been arrived at among 
 so numerous a body. On one cardinal point, however, all were agreed : 
 it was in the highest degree desirable that the Canadian constitution 
 should be more closely assimilated to that of the mother-country, and 
 that the Executive Council should be made responsible to the popular 
 
 i 
 M 
 
 I 
 
 "I 
 
 I 
 
120 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 I.- a ; Jit 
 
 branch of the Legislature. True, there was a small element — almost 
 entirely made up of immigrants from across the border — who held 
 republican theories, but no class of the community clamoured more loudly 
 for Responsible Government than did the advocates of republicanism, 
 very few of whom regarded their opinions as coming within the domain 
 of practical politi-^s in Upper Canada. On the question of the Clergy 
 Reserves there was less uniformity of sentiment. Many sincere Reformers 
 disapproved of the voluntary principle, and believed in a State provision 
 for the Clergy,* though very few of them went so far in that direction as 
 to defend the exclusive pretensions of the Church of England. On this 
 and other important public questions, however, the diversity of opinion 
 henceforth became less and less from year to year. In point of numbers 
 the adherents of Reform principles constituted a majority of the inhabit- 
 ants of the Province. 
 
 The Advocate was only six months old when its proprietor removed to 
 York. If any good service was to be done to Reform by his means it was 
 clear that the Provincial capital must be the seat of his operations. The 
 removal took place in November, 1824, and in the following January the 
 new Parliament met for the first time. Much of the interval was 
 spent by the Reformers in preparations for organization. In all 
 these proceedings Mr. Mackenzie took an active and prominent part. 
 He also assumed, to a greater extent than he had previously done, the 
 rule of a public censor, and, in the columns of his paper, opened a hot 
 fire upon the official party and their myrmidons. His writing was 
 ** personal journalism," with a vengeance, for he usually expsressed 
 himself in the first person singular, and directed his animadversions 
 against any one who, for the time being, happened to have attracted 
 his notice. He wrote very erratically, and from the impulse of the 
 
 ''^ Among those who approved of such a provision no one was more outspoken than was 
 Mr. Mackenzie himself. In the very first number of the Advocate he clearly laid down his 
 platform on this question. "In no part of the constitution of the Canadas," he writes, "is the 
 wisdom of the British Legislature more apparent than in its setting apart a portion of the 
 country, while yet it remained a wilderness, for the support of religion." He expressed himself 
 in favour of a law whereby the ministers of every body of professing Christians, being British 
 subjects, should receive equal benefits from the Reserves. On this, as on many other subjects, 
 however, the editor of the Advocate subsequently saw fit to alter his opinions. The instability of 
 his opinions, indeed, was one of his most dangerous charaoteristics, and this alone marked him 
 out as unfit to be trusted with the guidance of others. 
 
FATHERS OF REFORM. 121 
 
 moment; in one number lauding some particular personage in extra- 
 vagant terms, and in subsequent numbers assailing the self- same indi- 
 vidual in language which certainly reflected no credit upon the writer. 
 Sometimes he even extended his attacks to the friends and relatives of 
 those who had become obnoxious to him. In all this he merely followed 
 the example of his opponents, from whom better things might have been 
 expected, but he certainly lessened his influence, even among his friends 
 and fellow-labourers, by his onslaughts upon particular individuals. 
 There can be no manner of doubt, however, that he achieved his object 
 of holding some of his opponents up to public ridicule, and that in at 
 least one or two instances he was the means of affecting votes in the 
 Assembly thereby. To what extent, if at all, his efforts in this direction 
 contributed to the election of Mr. Willson, the Keform candidate for the 
 Speakership in the Assembly, already referred to, is not easy to say. 
 That his deliverances may have produced an effect upon one or two 
 waverers, and thereby have brought about the desired result — the vote, it 
 will be remembered, was a close one, standing twenty-one to nineteen * — 
 is possible enough. It is at all events certain that the combined action 
 of the Eeform Party in and out of Parliament produced early and specific 
 consequences. On a number of questions the Government found them- 
 selves confronted by a hostile majority considerably greater than they || 
 had encountered on the Speakership. But these seeming triumphs were 
 of no immediate advantage to the Opposition. Let the majority against 
 the Government be ever so great in the Assembly, the official policy 
 remained the same. The Upper House rejected Bill after Bill which had 
 been passed by the Lower, and the Executive clung to their places in 
 undisturbed serenity. 
 
 * Ante, p. 110. 
 
 f 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 R. MACKENZIE'S newspaper devoted much space to the 
 advocacy of Eesponnible Government, which for many years 
 constituted the main plank in the Liberal platform. He 
 pointed out the injustice and absurdity of the existing state 
 of things, where the people were beguiled with a mockery of 
 representation in Parliament without having any voice in 
 the nomination of the persons composing the Government of the day. 
 There was no attempt on the part of the official body to distort the real 
 facts of the case. They straightforwardly avowed their independence of 
 public opinion, and sneered at arguments founded on the doctrine of 
 ministerial responsibility. They proclaimed their immunity from all out- 
 door influence whatever, and smiled pleasantly when taunted across the 
 floor of the Assembly with repeated violations of the constitution. Rolph, 
 Bidwell, and other Eeform members in the House were sufficiently 
 masters of themselves to argue this and other questions on purely public 
 grounds, and without gross violations of the laws of Parliamentary disci- 
 pline. This, however, Mr. Mackenzie's impetuous temperament prevented 
 him from doing, and as he was not in the House he felt at liberty to 
 give full rein to his impetuosity. He made every important question a 
 personal matter between himself and each individual supporter of the 
 Government who contradicted him. Through the columns of his paper 
 he poured out much bitter invective. What he said was for the most 
 part undeniably true, but he had such an offensive way of expressing 
 himself that the amenities of journalism were constantly violated. By 
 this means he brought down upon his head the rancorous hatred of those 
 whom he made the objects of attack. 
 
 ' '""■ ■ ' ' 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 123 
 
 The feelings entertained towards him by the members of the Govern- 
 ment, and by the Tory party generally, were largely personal and inde- 
 pendent of politics. The conflict between them may be said to have 
 begun before the removal from Queenston to York, and indeed almost 
 before the ink was dry upon the first number of the Advocate. In that 
 number Sir Peregrine Maitland, the Lieutenant-Governor, was accused 
 of indolence, and of being the cause why Upper Canada was less pro- 
 gressive than her enterprising republican neighbour. He was referred 
 to as one who, after spending his earlier days in the din of war and the 
 turmoil of camps, had gained enough renown in Europe to enable him 
 to enjoy himself, like the country he governed, in inactivity; whose 
 migrations were, by water, from York to Queenston and from Queenston 
 to York, like the Vicar of Wakefield, from the brown bed to the blue, 
 and from the blue bed to the brown. Such comparisons as these could 
 not be expected to find much favour with Sir Peregrine, more especially 
 as they notoriously contained more than a soupgon of truth. The faction 
 natm'ally sympathized with the Lieutenant-Governor, and only waited 
 a suitable opportunity to give adequate expression to their abhorrence 
 of Mackenzie and his doctrines. As for Sir Peregrine, he was ready 
 enough to cooperate with his supporters in any proceeding for the sup- 
 pression of this free-spoken and most objectionable little Eadical, who 
 dared to wag his plebeian tongue against the son-in-law of a Duke. An 
 occasion for the first overt act of hostility was afforded by certain rites 
 connected with the erection of the monument on Queenston Heights to 
 the memory of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. The construction of the 
 monument having been determined upon, and considerable sums of 
 money having been granted by Parliament for the purpose, commis- 
 sioners were appointed to superintend the work, which was duly pro- 
 ceeded with. The second funeral of the dead hero, and the removal of 
 his remains from Fort George, had been fixed for the 13th of October 
 (1824), being the twelfth anniversary of the battle; but in the interim 
 some of the local magnates of the Niagara District resolved that the 
 foundation-stone should be laid with masonic honours. The Ist of June 
 was appointed for this ceremonial, and on that date a considerable 
 number of persons assembled on the Heights to witness it. Mr. Mac- 
 
 •i\ 
 
 I 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 
 I 
 
 w 
 
 It - 
 
124 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 " 
 
 "« 
 
 kenzie, who, it will be remembered, then resided at Queenston, seems to 
 have taken an active part in the proceedings, and this with the full 
 consent and approval of the committee of management. A glass vessel, 
 hermetically sealed, and enclosing a number of coins and a copy of 2'he 
 Upper Canada Gazette, together with the recently-issued first number of 
 The Colonial Advocate, was produced for the purpose of being placed 
 within the hollow of the foundation-stone. The vessel and its contents, 
 enveloped in an otter's skin, were placed by Mr. Mackenzie in the cavity, 
 the spectators looking on in quiet approval. The stone was then touched 
 with the trowel, the deposit was covered up, and the rite was complete. 
 An account of the proceedings found its way into the newspapers, and 
 Sir Peregrine Maitland learned, to his intense disgust, of the part which 
 Mackenzie had been permitted to take in the ceremony. He sent for 
 Colonel Thomas Clark, one of the commissioners appointed by Parlia- 
 ment to superintend the construction of the column, and, in a voice of 
 undisguised passion, gave orders to that gentleman that the glass vessel 
 should forthwith be disinterred, and the copy of the Advocate removed 
 therefrom. The mandate was of course obeyed. As the column had by 
 this time reached a considerable height, the excavation was no slight 
 task. Mr. Mackenzie himself, who personally attended at what he 
 called the "premature resurrection," claimed and obtained possession 
 of the number of the paper which had caused so much unnecessary 
 labour and ill-temper. 
 
 From this time forward there was almost incessant warfare between 
 Mr. Mackenzie and the official party: warfare sometimes suppressed, 
 sometimes altogether concealed for a brief season, but always ready to 
 break out upon the slightest pretext — sometimes, indeed, without any 
 apparent pretext at all. 
 
 Soon afi 3r the Advocate's removal to York, and not long before 
 the opening of the Legislature, the Honourable D'Arcy Boulton, one 
 of the puisne judges, laid himself open to attack by conduct of the 
 most reprehensible kind. In a case tried before him, in which his son, 
 the Solicitor-General, appeared on behalf of the Crown, the Judge dis- 
 played such gross partiality that one cannot read the report of the 
 proceedings, even as chronicled by one of the organs of the Government, 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 125 
 
 ■vrithout mingled feelings of wonder and disgust. At the present day 
 such conduct on the part of an occupant of the judicial bench would 
 bring down upon his head the animadversions of the press of the whole 
 country. Sixty years ago it passed without editorial remark from any 
 of the journals of the time, with the single exception of the Advocate, 
 which certainly used some very plain words in characterizing the Judge's 
 behaviour. It appealed to the Legislature to address the Governor on 
 the subject, with a request to dismiss from office the whole of the Boulton 
 race, root and branch. " If a Government emanating from England," 
 wrote Mr. Mackenzie, " can cherish such a corrupt, such a Star Chamber „ 
 crew, then the days of the infamous Scroggs and Jeffries are returned 
 upon us; and we may lament for ourselves, for our wives and for our 
 children, that the British Constitution is, in Canada, a phantom to 
 delude to destruction, instead of being the day-star of our dearest 
 liberties." 
 
 Such language as this, which was a mild specimen of the writer's 
 trenchant style, was not, upon the whole, too strong for the occasion. 
 In other instances he was roused to greater fury on less provocation, and 
 used phrases unbefitting the columns of any paper which aspires to be a 
 public instructor. But he was not alone in his scurrility. Some of the per- 
 sons attacked in the Advocate retorted upon the editor through the official 
 press in language far less defensible than his own. He was denounced as 
 an upstart and a demagogue, whose low origin placed him far beneath 
 the notice of gentlemen. This language, be it understood, was used by 
 at least one wealthy and influential personage whose own origin was such 
 that Mr. Mackenzie's might have been pronounced aristocratic by com- 
 parison. To all such vapourings Mr. Mackenzie responded in the Advocate 
 in kind. He had a large vocabulary of Billingsgate at his command, and 
 as his temper became thoroughly aroused he proved that he could fully 
 hold his own in this sort of wordy warfare. He followed the example of 
 his antagonists, invaded the sanctities of private life, and descended to 
 outrageous personalities. The persons thus placed in the journalistic 
 pillory were merely paid back in their own coin, but they had never been 
 accustomed to yield to others the privileges they claimed for themselves, 
 and could not understand how " this fellow " dared presume to retort 
 
 i!| 
 
 k'lii 
 
 I 
 
 ill 
 
126 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN EEBELLION. 
 
 1 
 
 the foulness hurled at him. His paper meanwhile enjoyed a fair circula- 
 tion, and his enemies periodically saw themselves heU". up before the 
 people of the Province in a light well calculated to bring down public 
 execration upon them. They winced, and hated their aggressor with a 
 hatred which knew no bounds. 
 
 Before the close of the first session of the Ninth Parliament, in 1825, 
 the struggle between the two political parties had assumed a distinct form. 
 The Opposition contended for a responsible Executive ; the Government 
 repudiated the contention with sarcastic contempt. There were various 
 other grounds of dispute, but this great question overshadowed and 
 practic'iUy included all. It cannot truly be said that there was much 
 perceptible progress in reform during the session; indeed material 
 progress was impossible so long as the Government controlled the 
 Legislative Council, and while the Executive Councillors held on to office 
 in spite of the hostile votes of the Assembly. The way towards reform 
 was however paved by the debates. Never before had the Government 
 of Upper Canada been subjected to the incessant criticism of a watchful 
 and vigorous phalanx of censors within the walls of Parliament. They 
 were not wise enough to read the signs of the times, and would yield 
 nothing to the demands of their opponents. They still believed in the 
 efficacy of repression, and the next few years were marked by a series of 
 high-handed persecutions which did more to speed the progress of reform 
 than all the eloquence of Kolph and Bidwell could have effected in half a 
 century. 
 
 As for Mackenzie, he would doubtless have been dealt with as Gour- 
 lay had been, could such a course have been adopted towards him with 
 safety. Isaac Swayzes in abundance might no doubt have been found 
 to swear that the obnoxious personage had not been a resident of the 
 Province for the preceding six months. Doubtless, also, phrases had 
 been used in the Advocate which, isolated from the context, might have 
 been tortured into something like sedition. But the party in power were 
 not so dull as to be unable to perceive that that experiment must not be 
 repeated. The Liberal schoolmaster had been actively at work within 
 the last few years, and any attempt to re-enact that glaring iniquity 
 would, to say the least, be attended with serious risk to the actors. 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 127 
 
 ' 1 
 
 ifr 
 
 '''5 
 
 The most feasible method of disposing of the noisy little firebrand 
 presented itself in the shape of successive indictments for libel, to which 
 his aggressive and unguarded mode of writing would be certain to expose j;j| 
 
 him. It is of course impossible to obtain direct evidence of an express 
 conspiracy on the part of the Government to destroy him by such means. 
 A conspiracy of that nature would not be likely to take the shape of a 
 written contract which might be produced against the contracting parties 
 in the future. Nor would the parties to such a conspiracy be likely to 
 leave any written traces of it behind them. Still, anyone who has the 
 opportunity and inclination to go minutely into the question will be 
 irresistibly driven to the conclusion that there was some sort of under- 
 standing among the chiefs of the official party that the publication of the 
 Advocate was to be stopped, and that its editor was to be either driven 
 out of the country or reduced to silence. 
 
 In the meantime Mr. Mackenzie himself had serious difficulties to 
 contend with. The Advocate, notwithstanding its considerable circula- 
 tion, did not yield any appreciable income. Subscribers were backward 
 in their payments, and the cost of making collections reduced the profit 
 to little or nothing. The postage to country subscribers had to be paid 
 in advance by the publisher, which was in itself a considerable drain |{ 
 
 upon his resources. The issue of the paper was moreover necessarily 'if 
 
 attended by a good deal of expense. It did not appear regularly, and the |!j 
 
 intervals between successive numbers were sometimes of considerable jf: 
 
 Jill 
 
 duration. This irregularity was a serious drawback to its prosperity, 
 and a source of much dissatisfaction to its patrons. Such a combination 
 of discouragements could have but one result. By the beginning of June, 
 1826, Mr. Mackenzie had been reduced to serious pecuniary embarrass- 
 ment, and had temporarily withdrawn himself from the jurisdiction, 
 pending an arrangement with his creditors. It is in the highest degree 
 improbable that another number of the paper would ever have been 
 issued. It was moribund, if not already dead. But when matters had 
 ai rived at this pass, the violence of Mackenzie's enemies led them to i| 
 
 commit an act of lawless ruffianism which gave the Advocate a new lease 
 of life. The act moreover aroused much popular indignation against the 
 perpetrators, and a proportionate degree of sympathy for their victim, to 
 
 'di 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 128 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 whom it gave ad^litioual im2)ortance, while it at the same time materially 
 improved his financial condition. 
 
 During the spring of tho year 1826 the Advocate's criticisms upon 
 certain members of the oligarchical faction were mai'ked by exceptional 
 acerbity. The persons attacked, however, sought in vain throughout the 
 closely-packed columns for any material upon which a criminal prosecution 
 might be founded ; for Mr. Mackenzie, whether by prudence or good fortune, 
 contrived for some weeks to say very acrid things without rendering himself 
 liable to an indictment. Among the persons who were compelled to pass 
 through the fire of his criticism was the Honourable James Buchanan 
 Macaulay, a gentleman who in after years attained the honour of knight- 
 hood, and became Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Upper 
 Canada. At the period under consideration he was a member of the 
 Executive Council, and occupied a high position at the local bar. The 
 language employed by the Advocate with respect to him was compara- 
 tively mild, and did not even mention him by name. Moreover, the 
 editor's remarks appear to have been entirely in accordance with facts. 
 At any rate they were altogether insufficient to account for the state of 
 ferocity into which Mr. Macaulay allowed himself to be lashed. He 
 prepared and published a pamphlet, in which he gave vent to such scur- 
 rility as it seems incredible that any man of education, or even of decent 
 social training, could ever have descended to write. Truly, no man is 
 ever so effectually written down as when he himself holds the pen. Those 
 readers who wish to be better acquainted with the depths to which an 
 angry man can lower himself, and who have not access to Mr. Macaulay's 
 pamphlet, can obtain some inkling of the truth by reference to Mr. 
 Lindsey's "Life and Times of William Lyon Mackenzie."* As Mr. 
 Lindsey very justly remarks: — "The cause of the quarrel was utterly 
 contemptible, and Mr. Macaulay showed to great disadvantage in it." It 
 seems probable enough that one main object of the publication of the 
 pamphlet was to goad Mr. Mackenzie into a retort which would render 
 him amenable to the law of libel. In one sense this plan — if such there 
 were — succeeded. The Advocate came out with a long reply which con- 
 tained an abundance of scandalous matter, a great part of which, as 
 
 •Vol. I., p. 89, et seq. 
 
 liil 
 
ill! 
 
 j !' : 
 
 A "FKEE AND UNFETTERED PRESS. 
 
 129 
 
 the writer must have been well aware, had no shadow of foundation in 
 truth. The matter related not only to persons occupying public situa- 
 tions, but to individuals altogether unconnected with public life, including 
 respectable married women and persons who had long been dead. But 
 most of the statements and insinuations, even those which were unsup- 
 ported by a tittle of evidence — nay, even those which were notoriously 
 groundless — related to and were interwoven with circumstances which, 
 as the persons involved well knew, would not bear discussion. It would 
 never do to permit such matters to become the subject of judicial investi- 
 gation. Anything in the shape of an enquiry would inevitably lead to 
 disclosures seriously affecting the honour of more than one member of 
 the Compact. An indictment, therefore, was out of the question. 
 
 It has often been asserted that the oligarchy are to be held accountable 
 for the display of ruffianly violence which followed Mackenzie's retort to 
 Macaulay's pamphlet. In one sense this is true, for it was in consequence 
 of their long abuse of the supremacy which they enjoyed that feelings of 
 hatred and enmity were begotten between one stratum of society and 
 another; and it was this hatred which gave rise to violent measures. 
 But if it is meant to be implied that the oligarchy, as a body, conceived 
 the design, or that it was carried out under their auspices, the implication 
 is too absurd to stand in need of serious rebuttal. To carry the argument 
 no farther, the body was too numerous to admit of any general secret 
 cooperation between them for such a purpose. As simple matter of fact, 
 all knowledge of the contemplated violence was confined to the breasts of 
 those who took part in it. No one familiar with the circumstances, how- 
 ever, can doubt that it met with the fullest approval of the ruling faction 
 after it had been effected, and that, so far as such a thing was possible, 
 the wrong-doers were protected by them from the consequences of the 
 outrage. To this charge they must perforce plead guilty ; but there are 
 degrees in guilt, and the endorsation, or even the approval of an act after 
 it has been committed, is a different thing from the original conception 
 and carrying out of it. The respective weight of culpability, hi the case 
 under consideration, is a matter which the reader may very well be left 
 to estimate according to his own judgment. 
 
 And now for the outrage itself. 
 
 J,: 
 
 I 
 
130 
 
 THE IH»PER CANADIAN REnKLLION. 
 
 The office of the Advocate was situated on the north-west corner of 
 Frederick and Front * streets, in a building which had been the birth- 
 place of llobert Baldwin, and in which the Cawthras subsequently carried 
 on a large and very successful mercantile business.! Readers acquainted 
 with the neighbourhood will not need to be informed that this site is in 
 close proximity to the bay. Mr. Mackenzie, with his aged mother — who 
 had long before followed him to Canada — and tlie rest of his family, 
 resided in the building, which was therefore his home, as well as hie 
 place of business. At about half-past six o'clock in the afternoon of 
 
 ld2() 
 
 Thursday, the 8th of June, 182(5, in broad daylight, and while the 
 proprietor was absent in the United States, t a raid was made upon the 
 printing establishment, which, in the course of a few minutes, was reduced 
 to a state of confusion and chaos. The door was broken open, the press 
 partly demolished, the imposing- stone overturned, and a quantity of 
 type battered and thrown into the adjacent bay. The contents of some 
 of the cases were "pied" and scattered around the floor. Frames, chases, 
 galleys, composing-sticks and office furniture wore thrown together in one 
 confused heap. In a word, the entire office was turned topsy-turvy. Mr. 
 Mackenzie's mother, who was then in her seventy-eighth year, stood and 
 watched the proceedings in a state of great fear and agitation from a 
 oorncr of the office. § 
 
 The most remarkable feature about the whole of this extraordinary 
 transaction was that there appeared to be no attempt at concealment. 
 It was carried out as tliough it had been the most legitimate and ordinary 
 business enterprise, to which no one could reasonably offer any sort oi' 
 
 • This portion of Front Htreet wiw then and for many years afterward known as PaJnoe 
 Street. It had boeu ho named, in the early years of York's history, from the circinnstauce tliat 
 it led down to the Parliament liuildings in the east end of the town, and because it was believed 
 that the oliicial residence or "palace" of the Lieutenant-Governor would bo built there. 
 
 f This historic landmark was burned down durinjj the winter of 1854-'6. 
 
 t^le had, as previously mentioned in the text, withdrawn from the Province with a view to 
 a St', tl-jment with his creditors. He wa^ at Lewiston, in the State of New York. In the bo^inninK 
 of *,t.f second part of his pamphlet, p\iblishod at York in 1820, giving an account of the affair, he 
 rep''08ent8 himself as having been at Queenston when he received nowb of the raid, 
 
 IThe statement to be found in various books — among others in Wells's Caiudliana, p. 1C4, and 
 Rogir's Rise of Canada from Barbarism to Givilization, Vol. I., p. 405 -that Mr. Mackenziti's 
 mother was grossly maltreated by the rioters is wholly without foundation. The affair was 
 disgraceful enough, in all consuiencu, and needs no tictitious einbelliBhmonts. 
 
I 
 
 A "FUEE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 ISl 
 
 objection. The raiders did not think it necessary to wait for darkness, 
 nor did thoy resort to any disj^uises. If they did not court pubHcity, 
 they at least took no care to avoid it. Tliey chose a time of day when 
 the journeymen and apprentices connected with the establishment were 
 almost certain to be absent, and when there would be no one to oppose 
 their entrance ; though, according to the printed admission of the prime 
 mover and instigator of the affair, thoy wore prepared, if necessary, to 
 oppose force to force in order to effect their purpose. As there was 
 nobody in the office, any sucli display of force was happily uncalled for. 
 Having made their way inside, the work of destruction was proceeded 
 \vith coolly and calmly, as though there was no necessity for extraordi- 
 nary haste. When they had fully worked their will, they departed as 
 quietly as they had arrived. 
 
 The actual perpetrators of this unique act of ruffianism were nine in 
 number. Thoy were none of them ruffians by profession, and wore not 
 commonly rated as blackguards. They could not even plead the poor 
 excuse that they wore under the influence of strong drink. Most of 
 them were young men, and nearly all of them were closely identified, 
 either by interest or by close relationship, with prominent members 
 of the oligarchy. They were, in short, with few exceptions, the llower 
 of the aristocracy of the little capital. Chief among them was Samuel 
 Peters Jarvis, barrister, the slayer of poor young John liidout, men- 
 tioned on a former page.* He, at least, could not plead in extenua- 
 tion of his share in the transaction that he had been carried away by 
 the uncontrollable effervescence of youth, for he was at this time not 
 far short of thirty-four years of aget. His acquittal on a more serious 
 charge nearly nine years before might well have led him to believe 
 that he could with impunity set the law at defiance. His identification 
 with the ruling faction is easily traced, for he was a son of Mr. William 
 
 * Ante, p. IS. 
 
 t According to a conteiniiorary pamphlet giving an account of the duel, which took placn In 
 1817, he wftH thon twenty-live years of ago. lie would therefore be at least in hiH thirty-fourth 
 year at the time of the presH riot in 182(i. By reference to the IJarriHterH* Roll I Knd that he was 
 called to the bar in Trinity Term, 55 <}eo. III., 1815, at which time he niUHt have been at least 
 twenty-one yearH old, »o that the stiitemont in the text cannot be far from the fact. It i» from 
 him that Jarvis Street, Toronto, derives its name. 
 
 lit 
 
132 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Jarvis, who was for many years Secretary of the Province ; and he was 
 moreover son-in-law to ex-Chief Justice Powell.* He himself held a 
 situation under Government at this time — being Clerk of the Crown in 
 Chancery — and stood high in the favour of Sir Peregrine Maitland, towards 
 whom he sometimes acted in the capacity of private secretary. He was 
 the chief offender, for it was by him that the outrage was planned, and 
 he was the directing spirit throughout, as well as the most noisy and 
 impudent apologist for it afterwards. Another active participant in the 
 raid was Captain John Lyons, a confidential clerk in the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's office. A third was Henry Sherwood, student at law in the 
 office of Attorney- General Kobinson, and Clerk of Assize. He was a SQn 
 of the Honourable Levius Peters Sherwood, one of the puisne judges, and 
 was also connected with other leading members of the ruling faction. It 
 is due to him to say that he eventually outgrew the follies of his youth, 
 and became an able lawyer, a prominent politician, and a useful member 
 of society. He alone, of all the participators in this shameful business, 
 attained to anything like honourable distinction. A fourth member of the 
 gang of kid-gloved housebreakers was Charles Heward, a son of Colonel 
 Stephen Heward, who, in addition to being an active spirit among the 
 Compact, was a magistrate. Clerk of the Peace in and for the Home 
 District, and Auditor - General of Land Patents. The others were 
 Charles Richardson, a student in the office of Attorney-General Robin- 
 son; James King, a student in Solicitor-General Boulton's office; Peter 
 M'Dougall, a well-known shopkeeper in York in those times; and two 
 sons of the Honourable James Baby, Inspector-General, and member of 
 the Executive Council. These were all the active participants in the 
 outrage. While it was in progress a number of other persons appeared 
 upon the scene, but did not take any part therein otherwise than as 
 spectators. 
 
 It is of course not to be supposed that this incursion was attributable, 
 either directly or indirectly, to the Government as a body, or that it 
 had formed a subject of deliberation at the Council Board. The charge 
 that it was attributable to the entire oligarchy has already been disposed 
 
 • The Hon. W. D. Powell ceased to be Chief Justice during the previouB year (1825), wher 
 he WM succeeded by Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Campbell. 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 133 
 
 of.* But it is at least fairly to be inferred that, after the thing had been 
 done, the Government considered themselves as being under obligations 
 to the misguided persons concerned in it. Several of the latter received 
 appointments to positions of public trust and emolument, such as are 
 usually conferred by Governments upon deserving supporters. Jarvis 
 was successively appointed to various posts, the most important of which 
 was that of Indian Commissioner, in which capacity he became a defaulter 
 to the Government, and was involved in serious pecuniary and other diffi- 
 culties. The avejiging ghost of John Ridout pursued him, and his subse- 
 quent career was not one to be contemplated with admiration. Richardson, 
 again, was appointed Clerk of the Peace for the Niagara District. Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland could not pretend to overlook the dereliction of his 
 confidential clerk. Captain Lyons, who was accordingly dismissed from 
 that position. But this was not the end of the story. Many readers are 
 doubtless familiar with Halifax's remark when Lawrence Hyde, Earl of 
 Rochester, was removed from the post of First Lord of the Treasury and 
 installed in that of Lord President. "I have seen people kicked down- 
 stairs," remarked the great Trimmer, "but my Lord Rochester is the | 
 first person that I ever saw kicked up-stairs."t In like manner the ;! 
 Lieutenant-Governor's clerk was soon afterwards kicked up-stairs, by 
 being appointed Registrar of the Niagara District. 
 
 It really seemed as though this wanton and most reprehensible inva- 
 sion of private rights was regarded by those in authority as a high and 'fl 
 meritorious action. It was certainly so regarded by "the best society'' of 
 York at the time. The young men, who ought to have been made to suffer 
 social ostracism, were petted and caressed as heroes who had done some 
 grand service to the State ; and, as will presently be seen, they were not 
 even permitted to suffer any considerable pecuniary loss by reason of their 
 breach of the law. Finding that their conduct led to their being made the 
 subjects of a sort of hero-worship, it is not surprising that they soon came 
 to pique themselves upon what they had done, and, so far from feeling 
 any consciousness of shame or regret, to openly court publicity for their I ' 
 proceedings. Jarvis was especially culpable in this respect, and was not 
 ashamed to write letters to the papers on the subject, in one of which he 
 
 *Ante, p. 129. fMacaulay's Hiat<yry of England, Vol. I., Chapter 2. 
 
 S 
 
134 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 avowed himself as the author and originator of the outrage. He admitted 
 having led on his band of semi-official desperadoes, determined to 
 "persevere, if resistance had been made." As to the morality or 
 immorality of the act, he professed himself " easy on that head." Such 
 language as this, coming, as it did, from one who had shed the blood of 
 a fellow-creature upon very slight provocation ; who had been tried for 
 murder, and acquitted because the crime was sanctioned by the usages of 
 society; and who, moreover, in the estimation of many people, richly 
 deserved the hangman's noose — such language, under the circumstances, 
 was not merely injudicious and unfeeling, but positively revolting. The 
 only conceivable excuse that can be made for it arises from the fact that 
 Jarvis was at the time irritated by a succession of attacks in the news- 
 papers, in which his conduct, bad as it had been, was held up in even 
 a more odious light than it deserved. The excuse may be taken for 
 what it is worth. It is at least certain that had the transgressor been 
 imbued with feelings of ordinary delicacy he would not have permitted 
 himself to be goaded into using such expressions as are to be found in 
 his " Statement of Facts," published at York nearly two years after the 
 type riot.* His callousness stirred the hot blood of Francis Collins, of 
 The Canadian Freeman, to speak his mind editorially on the subject : — 
 " We view it," he wrote, " as the greatest misfortune that could happen 
 to any man in this life to imbrue his hands in the blood of a fellow- 
 man. But as this barbarous practice has, by long usage, become 
 familiar to the mind of civilized society, we think it is a misfortune 
 that might occur to an otherwise virtuous and well-disposed man, and 
 therefore ought not (unless under aggravated circumstances) to be a 
 reproach either to himself or to his children; provided that, during 
 the remainder of his life he will show that caution which becomes his 
 delicate- situation, and prove by his subsequent benevolence that he 
 regrets his misfortune. But if, after once having stained his hands with 
 human blood, he will act the desperado, and become a leader in such 
 outrages as may end in a repetition of his former act — then, we say, he 
 
 • statement of Factt relating to the Tretpass on the Printing Prest in the Possession of Mr, 
 William Lyon Mackenzie, in June, 1826, Addressed to the Public generally, and particularly to 
 the Subscribers and Supporters of the CoUmidl Advocate, York, 1828. 
 
A "FEEE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 135 
 
 is worthy of reproach, and ought to be viewed as the common enemy 
 of mankind."* 
 
 News of the aggression soon found its way to Mr. Mackenzie at 
 Lewiston.f He at once returned to York, and lost no time in instituting 
 proceedings against eight of the aggressors who had constituted them- 
 selves a vigilance committee at his expense. He brought a civil action for 
 damages, and erelong these incipient "Kegulators of Upper Canada" 
 began to realize that they had acted with some precipitation and foolhardi- 
 ness. It seemed probable that they would be mulcted in heavy damages ; 
 and even these would be no bar to a criminal prosecution. The aforemen- 
 tioned James Buchanan Macaulay was appointed to conduct their defence. 
 The plaintiff's attorney was James Edward Small, a rising young lawyer 
 who afterwards made some figure in political life, and who belonged to a 
 well-known family in York. Overtures in the direction of a compromise 
 were made on behalf of the raiders, who offered first two hundred pounds 
 and afterwards three hundred by way of full compensation. The smaller 
 amount would have been an abundant recompense for the actual loss, t 
 but Mackenzie felt that public sympathy was with him, and he was 
 desirous that the facts should go to a jury. The offer of the defendants 
 was rejected, and the case came on for trial before Chief Justice Campbell 
 and a special jury in the following October. Associated with the Chief 
 Justice were the Honourable William Allan and Mr. Alexander McDonnell, 
 as Justices of the Peace. The plaintiff's counsel were Marshall Spring 
 Bid well, J. E. Small, and Alexander Stewart, of Niagara. The defendants 
 were represented by J. B. Macaulay and Christopher Alexander Hager- 
 man. These names afford sufficient evidence that full justice was done 
 to the case on both sides. Hagerman was a counsel of remarkable 
 ability, and he fought very hard. His argument was a masterpiece of 
 clever, specious reasoning, well calculated to produce an effect upon 
 uneducated or half-educated jurymen. He took an enlightened stand. 
 
 ij 
 
 •Sae the Freeman for Thursday, Feb. 2l8t, 1828. 
 
 tSee note to p, 130 ante. 
 
 t Mr, Mackenzie, when taken before the Grand Jury to give evidence in support of a criminal 
 prosecution of the typo rioters, admitted that his actual, aa distinguished from his incidental loss 
 by the riot, did not exceed £12 10s. sterling. 
 
136 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 admitting the advantage to a community of a free and unfettered press. 
 He then proceeded to argue away all the consequences of the admission, 
 alleging that the career of the Advocate had been one of license, and not 
 of mere freedom. But the evidence of the outrage was clear and unas- 
 sailable, and the defence did not venture to call any witnesses. It was 
 proved on behalf of the plaintijBf that three members of the ruling faction, 
 two of whom were magistrates, had been in close proximity to the scene 
 of the raid at the time when it took place; and there appears to be 
 very little doubt that all three must have been eye-witnesses of the 
 outrage. One of these was the Honourable William Allan, who, at the 
 very moment when this evidence was given, sat on the bench to the right 
 of the Chief Justice as an associate judge on the trial. Colonel Heward, 
 whose son Charles was one of the delinquents, was the other magistrate 
 compromised by the evidence. The third person alleged to have witnessed 
 the transaction was Mr. Macaulay, leading counsel for the defence. The 
 utter incongruity and unseemliness of the whole affair from first to last 
 seems incomprehensible at the present day. All sense of the fitness of 
 things seems to have been wanting. 
 
 The trespass had been flagrant and bold, and the only question which 
 the jury had to consider was the amount of damages. There were con- 
 flicting elements among the jurors, who were long in coming to a decision. 
 After much deliberation they returned a verdict of ^625,, which sum, 
 together with costs of suit, was soon afterwards paid over to the plaintiff's 
 attorney.* But the rioters themselves were not suffered to sustain this 
 loss. Prominent adherents of the official party did not hesitate to say that 
 
 * It was the policy of the official party to suppress, as far as was practicable, all reference in 
 the public newspapers to the misdoings of themselves and their adherents. This was biit natural. 
 No one likes to see his transgressions preserved to future ages in all the pitiless coldness of type, 
 which may rise up against his descendants long after he himself is forgotten. The following is a 
 complete transcript of the contemporary report of the trial of these rioters, as published in The 
 U. E. Loyalist, a sheet issued as a sort of supplement or rider to the official Gazette. It appears 
 in the Loyalist for October 2l8t, 1826 : 
 
 " Court of King's Bench. — In the suit of M'Kenzie va Jarvis, M'Dougall, and others, for 
 Trespass, the Jury, after a consultation of twenty -four hours, returned into Court— Verdict for 
 the Plaintiff £625." 
 
 This is absolutely the only information obtainable from the contemporary number of the 
 official organ on a subject which was par excellence the topic of the time. It may be added that 
 the organ contained no reference whatever to the type riot until many weeks after its occurrence. 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 137 
 
 by the attack upon Mr. Mackenzie's press and type, and by the conse- 
 quent stoppage of publication of his paper,* the perpetrators of the outrage 
 had rendered an essential service to society, by abating an intolerable 
 nuisance. Under such circumstances it was only just that society should 
 bear harmless those who had thrown themselves into the breach and 
 vindicated her rights. It was resolved that a subscription should be set 
 on foot with this laudable object. 
 
 Among the few high Tories resident at York in those days upon whose 
 characters it is possible for one of modern ideas to look with sympathy, and 
 even with a considerable degree of admiration, was Colonel James Fitz 
 Gibbon. The Colonel was a gallant veteran who had fought the battles 
 of his country on two continents, at Copenhagen and the Helder, at Fort 
 Erie and the Beaver Dams. His military career was not yet quite at an 
 end, for he was destined to play an important part in the putting-down 
 of the Upper Canadian Eebellion; a circumstance which furnishes a 
 sufficient justification for a somewhat more extended reference to him in 
 this place than his mere connection with the press riot would have 
 rendered necessary. He was an Irishman of humble origin, who had 
 enlisted as a private soldier at the age of seventeen, and who, by sheer 
 force of energy, bravery and aptitude for his profession, had fought his 
 way to military rank and honour. After seeing much service on the 
 continent, and ^ assing through as many adventures as a knight-errant of 
 old, he was transferred to British North America. His gallant services 
 in this country are imperfectly recorded in various accounts of the War 
 of 1812, and in Tupper's "Life of Brock." Every Canadian is, or ought 
 to be, familiar with the circumstances attending the capture by him of a 
 force of 450 infantry, fifty cavalry, and two guns, he himself being at the 
 time in command of only forty-eight men. After the close of the war he 
 was placed on half pay, and took up his abode at York. He attached 
 himself to the Provincial militia, whence he derived his rank of Colonel. 
 He likewise obtained a post in the Adjutant-General's office, and subse- 
 quently became Deputy Adjutant-General, which position he held at the 
 period at which the narrative has arrived. He was also in the Commis- 
 
 * Apparently they were not then aware that the publication had actually ceased before the 
 riot took place. 
 
 U 
 
138 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 sion of the Peace, and frequently sat in Quarter Sessions. His share in 
 suppressing the revolt in 1837 will be narrated in its proper place. For 
 the rest it may be added that he was always impecunious, for, apart from 
 the fact that he was no financier, and never knew how to take care of 
 money when he had any, the expenses of his outfit when promoted to the 
 rank of Adjutant, in 1806, formed the nucleus of a debt which hampered 
 him from youth to old age. His indigence often subjected him to straits 
 which must have been hard to bear ; but he was of a sanguine, joyous 
 disposition, and poverty, though it might temporarily overcloud his happi- 
 ness, had no power to break his indomitable spirit. During his long 
 residence in Canada he was a persistent seeker after office, because he 
 was almost always in pecuniary straits; but he fully earned all the 
 emoluments he ever received from the Government, and if his income 
 had been five times as large as it ever was he would probably have been 
 neither more comfortable nor less impecunious. It seemed as though no 
 experience could lead him to take thought for the morrow. His chief char- 
 acteristics were such as are not uncommon among his fellow-countrymen. 
 He was generous and open-hearted to a fault, ever ready to bestow his 
 last shilling upon anybody who needed it, or who even made a plausible 
 pretence of needing it. He was rash, impetuous and indiscreet, but the 
 ranks of the British army held no braver or more loyal heart than his. 
 In his simple and gentle soul there was no room for envy or guile. He 
 seems, indeed, to have been in many respects a sort of Irish reflection of 
 Colonel Newcome ; and the parallel even extended to the outward circum- 
 stances attending the close of their respective lives. Colonel Newcome, 
 when all his worldly possessions had gone from him, retired to Grey Friars 
 — the Charterhouse — a retreat for " poor and decayed brethren," when the 
 world seemed to afford no other asylum. There he passed the remainder 
 of his days, and there he said " Adsum " when his name was called for 
 the last time in this world. In like manner Colonel Fitz Gibbon, when 
 all other resources failed him, was able, through the kindness of Lord 
 Seaton, to obtain a place in an asylum of somewhat similar character. 
 At Koyal Windsor there is an institution which provides a retreat from 
 the cares and storms of life for a limited number of depleted old military 
 officers. The members are styled Military Knights of Windsor, and the 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED*' PRESS. 
 
 139 
 
 abodes provided for them are situated " within the precincts." Hither, 
 in 1850, when he had entered upon his seventieth year, the battered old 
 hero of many fights retired to pass in quiet the evening of an active 
 life. He survived for more than ten years, during which period he 
 succeeded in obtaining for himself and his brother knights certain 
 important privileges of which they had theretofore been deprived. 
 
 Though he was not, in the proper sense of the word, a politician, both 
 his interests and his superabundant loyalty impelled him to the side of 
 those in power. No one in the Province had less respect for radicals of 
 the Mackenzie stamp. It was sufficient for him to reflect that the 
 official party reflected the might and majesty of the Crown of Great 
 Britain. His whole nature, fostered by his military training, revolted at 
 the idea of opposition to those in authority. He was moreover dependent 
 upon the Government for his place in the Adjutant-General's office, and 
 would naturally espouse the side of his patrons. The Compact had no 
 more faithful adherent, and by no one were " low radicals " held in more 
 profound abhorrence. He was roused to a high pitch of fervour by the 
 trial of the press rioters, who, in his opinion, had acted in the most 
 patriotic and praiseworthy spirit. When the verdict had been rendered, 
 and when it had become manifest that the defendants must pay the 
 penalty of their acts, the Colonel regarded them as martyrs. He 
 promptly volunteered to canvass the town for subscriptions to a fund for 
 discharging the liability, and thus saving " the boys," as he called them, 
 from loss. He was as good as his word, and the requisite sum was soon 
 forthcoming. Who the contributors to this fand were has never been fully . 
 revealed, and the secret is likely to be well kept, for the list was burned 
 by Colonel Pitz Gibbon immediately after it had served its purpose, and 
 there is probably no man now living who can throw any light upon the 
 subject. Mr. Lindsey observes* that "it is believed the officials of the 
 day were not backward in assisting to indemnify the defendants in the 
 type-riot trial, for the adverse verdict of an impartial jury " — a belief 
 which, under the circumstances, is certainly not an extravagant one. 
 It was commonly rumoured that several heads of departments had 
 contributed twenty pounds each to the fund, and Francis Collins gave 
 
 •Xi/e of Mackenzie, Vol. I., p. 99. 
 
140 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 currency to the rumour through the columns of his paper. The contro- 
 versy to which this gave rise was the indirect means of furnishing almost 
 the only evidence now obtainable as to the signatures to the subscrip- 
 tion list. Collins asserted that Sir Peregrine Maitland's own name was 
 understood to be at the head of the list, opposite to a large contribution. 
 Colonel Fitz Gibbon was so indiscreet as to write a reply, in which he 
 distinctly declared that the latter's assertion was wholly untrue, ho far 
 as the Lieutenant-Governor was concerned. From this letter, which was 
 duly given to the public in the Freeman, it was not unfairly to be inferred 
 that the assertion, so far as it related to the heads of departments, could 
 not be truthfully denied. That some, at least, of the members of the 
 official body contributed to the fund was matter of notoriety in York 
 at the time, and, so far as I am aware, has never been denied. The 
 Honourable James Baby, indeed, who was then or shortly afterwards the 
 senior member of the Executive Council, and who, as before mentioned, 
 was the father of two of the young men concerned in the raid, contributed 
 his share with great reluctance. He was at this time advanced in 
 life — he was in his sixty-fifth year — and he had ceased to carry much 
 weight in the Great Council of the Province, having been to a large 
 extent superseded by younger and more energetic men. His opinions 
 were no longer deferred to as they had once been, and o", one or two 
 occasions he had, as he conceived, been treated with inadequate respect 
 by some of his jimior colleagues. He felt his position keenly, and there 
 is reason for believing that he would have resigned his office of Inspector- 
 General and his seat at the Council Board, had it not been that there 
 were many demands upon his purse, and that he was largely dependent 
 upon his official salary for the support of his family. On a subsequent 
 page a notable instance will be given of the degradation to which his 
 poverty compelled him to submit at the hands of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor. Under the circumstances, however, he could not refuse to 
 contribute to Colonel Fitz Gibbon's list ; and it is recorded that when 
 one of his sons called upon him for the amount which he had subscribed, 
 he handed over the sum with justifiable petulance, saying : " There, go 
 and make one great fool of yourself again." * 
 
 * See Dr. Soadding's Toronto of Old, p. 38. Mr. Baby's idiom was due to hia French origin 
 and training. 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED" PRESS. 
 
 141 
 
 Such of the rioters as were possessed of means contributed to the 
 fund according to their respective ability, but the others were not allowed 
 to bear more than a very small share of the loss. 
 
 The only other documentary evidence to be had on the subject of the 
 subscribers to the fund is to be found in the " Statement of Facts " of 
 Samuel Peters Jarvis himself. " I have on my part to assure the public," 
 he writes, " that so far from being indemnified by the contributions which 
 from various motives were made for our relief, the biurthen fell heavily 
 upon such of us as had the means of paying anything; and I affirm that 
 the share of the verdict which I myself had to defray, from no very 
 abundant means, was such that if Mr. Mackenzie had made as much 
 clear profit by his press during the whole time he has employed it in the 
 work of detraction, he would not have found it necessary to leave the 
 concern, and abandon it to his creditors." To which statement it may 
 be added that a gentleman now living in Toronto distinctly remembers 
 hearing Mr. Jarvis say that his own contribution to the fund was pre- 
 cisely £109; that that of Peter M'Dougall was about the same; and that 
 none of the rest of the rioters paid anything, except through their parents 
 or relatives. 
 
 The civil liability having been discharged, the public looked forward 
 to a criminal prosecution, for it seemed outrageous that the perpetrators 
 of such an offence against society should escape without any greater 
 penalty than had thus far been exacted from them. Mr. Mackenzie 
 himself seems to have been desirous of proceeding to extremities, although 
 the amount which he had recovered was far more than compensation for 
 any loss he had sustained, whether direct or incidental. But the brains 
 of his professional advisers were cooler than his own, and saved him 
 from the consequences of his want of judgment. Mr. Bidwell dissuaded 
 him from taking any steps which might seem to be dictated by a feeling 
 of revenge. It was represented to him that he was a decided gainer by 
 the raid, not only in pocket but in popularity. The public sympathy 
 had been with him from first to last. A policy of war to the knife on his 
 part would certainly cool, and in some cases altogether alienate that 
 sympathy. The jiury's liberal verdict had placed him "in funds," and 
 he was thus in a position to resume the publication of the Advocate under 
 
142 THE UPPER CANADIAN UEDELLION. 
 
 favourable circumstanceB. The transaction had distinctly increased his 
 prestige in the rural constituencies, and he might reasonably hope to be 
 a successful candidate for Parliament when a suitable vacancy should 
 occur. Such being the position of affairs, he was strongly advised to 
 let well alone. Contrary to his habit, he proved amenable to advice, 
 and refrained from a criminal prosecution. 
 
 The issue fully justified the advice of Mr. Mackenzie's counsellors. 
 Several of the newspapers in the Province commended his forbearance, 
 and contrasted his conduct with that of his enemies. But, it was asked, 
 what was the Attorney-General about ? How was it that he, who never 
 failed to stretch his authority to the utmost when a Reformer rendered 
 himself amenable to the law — how was it that he permitted such an 
 outrage as this to pass without notice? Surely it was his du+y to 
 officially proceed against the wrong-doers. But the Attorney-General 
 was deaf to all such remonstrances, and did not concern himself with 
 the matter further than to maintain the most cordial relations with the 
 persons implicated. How far his conduct in this respect was consistent 
 will hereafter appear. Colonel Fitz Gibbon was rewarded for his zeal 
 in a bad cause by receiving the appointment of Clerk to the Legislative 
 Assembly, and the additional income thus afforded him left him neither 
 better off nor worse than before. 
 
 The participators in perhaps the grossest outrage ever committed in 
 the Provincial capital thus escaped, for the time, all due penalty for then- 
 misconduct. It may almost be said, indeed, that they escaped altogether, 
 for though, as will hereafter be seen, seven of them were eventually 
 brought to trial and convicted at the instance of another person, they 
 received no adequate punishment, and were thus able to boast that 
 gentlemen in their station of life in York were above the law. 
 
 Eash deeds often produce unlooked-for consequences. So it was in 
 the case under review. The attempt to suppress the Advocate was the 
 means of re-establishing it on a fairly satisfactory financial basis, and 
 of extending its life for about seven years. The indignity to which 
 the printing-office had been subjected, and the trial resulting there- 
 from, had furnished the best advertisements that could possibly have 
 been desired. With a portion of the sum recovered from the hands 
 
A "FREE AND UNFETTERED PRESS. 
 
 143 
 
 of the spoilerB Mr. Mackenzie was able to satisfy the most pressing of 
 his creditors. With the balance he provided himself with new printing 
 material, and the Advocate soon made its appearance under more favour- 
 able auspices than ever. It continued to be marked by the same 
 characteristics as during the first epoch of its existence. It was not 
 conducted with more discretion, and there were as many gross person- 
 alities in its columns. It however contributed much to the spread of 
 Eeform doctrines, and during much of its life it rendered undoubted 
 service to the party to which it yielded its support. Had the editor's 
 judgment been commensurate with his energies, his journal would 
 undoubtedly have been a great power for good. Even as it was, it 
 probably acted to some extent as a check upon Executive aggression, 
 and thus served a beneficial purpose in spite of its many weaknesses and 
 shortcomings. 
 
 As for Mr. Mackenzie, his persecutions were by no means at an end. 
 They had, in fact, only begun. Of the many other shameful indignities 
 to which he was subjected — indignities which finally drove him into 
 rebellion, and involved him in overwhelming disaster — the narrative 
 will hereafter take full account. It is at present desirable to advert to 
 a number of other pregnant examples of abuse of power in which Mr. 
 Mackenzie had no special concern* 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
CTIArTEll VI. 
 
 TITE CASE OF CAPTAIN MATTHEWS. 
 
 
 fAPTAIN MATTHEWS, wlio, it will be remembered, had been 
 returned to the Assembly for the County of Middlesex, gave 
 great umbrage to the official party by allying himHolf with 
 the Opposition. His birth and social standing, it was said, 
 unfitted him • >y such companionship. The Captain himself 
 was apparently conscious of no incongruity, and bent all his 
 energies to the advancement of the Eeform cause. Upon his first arrival 
 in the country he could not be said to have had any political convictions 
 at all. He had been bred a Tory, and his military career had been such 
 as might naturally have led him to seek his allies in the ranks of those 
 in authority. But his own experience of the abuses in the Land Office 
 had impelled him to consider the political situation of affairs in Upper 
 Canada generally, and the upshot of his deliberations had boon his alli- 
 ance with the new movement in the direction of Reform. Being a man 
 of much local influence, his example had won to his side a number of the 
 Middlesex farmers, more especially in the Township of Lobo, in which he 
 resided. During his first session in Parliament he attracted considerable 
 attention to himself, for he spoko frequently and well, and generally with 
 a humorous eloquence which made him a favourite with thos(! who were 
 not bitter partisans on the other side. 
 
 It was to be expected that Captain Matthews's defection from the 
 political faith of his ancestors would render him specially odious to the 
 High Tories of Upper Canada. It was shameful, they thought, that an 
 officer deriving an income from His Majesty's Government should enter- 
 tain, much less give utterance to, such vile democratic opinions as were 
 constantly heard from his lips. The Captain was indiscreet, and became 
 more and more outspoken the oftener he was charged with radicalism ; but 
 
THE CASE OF CAPTAIN MATTHEWS. 
 
 145 
 
 on no occasion did he utter anything savouring of disloyalty, for the very 
 BulHiciont reason that there was no disloyalty in his heart. It was apparent 
 to the Compact that his influence was most pernicious to them ; yet no 
 feasible plan for getting rid of him presented itself. Would it not bo 
 possible, by a little extra exertion, to deprive him of his pension ? Could 
 this laudable object be ar 'jomplished, the obnoxious Captain, who was of 
 an impetuous temperament, would probably be goaded into saying or 
 doing something really culpable — something which would place weapons 
 in the hands of his enemies whereby he might be effectually silenced. 
 The plan was at any rate worth trying. A system of espionage was 
 accordingly adopted towards him.* During the sitting of the Legisla- 
 ture, myrmidons of the Excscutive dogged his footsteps wherever he went, 
 in order to obtain some grounds for a hostile accusation against him. 
 
 The spies did not have long to wait, for any shallow pretext was 
 sufficient to serve as a peg upon which to hang an imputation .>f dis- 
 loyalty, and the doomed man himself was unsuspicious of any design 
 against him. The pretext actually resorted to was so utterly contemptible 
 that one feels almost ashamed to record the attendant circumstances. 
 
 A company of theatrical performers from the United States visited 
 York during the session which assembled in the autumn of 1825. The 
 actors mot with little encouragement, and became, in stage parlance, 
 " stranded." Being reduced to extremity, they resolved upon giving a 
 
 ♦That Bpieg were employed by Sir PereKrine Maitland and his Council, and that certain 
 Oovornment oflicialw wore encouraged to net in tliat capai-ity, are facts which will bo denied 
 by no one who faniiliari/.oH liitnHelf with the local logiHlutive, oflicial and now.ipapur literature of 
 the time. An apparently well-informo<l contributor to JHackwood'ii Afayaziiif. for Keptember, 1829, 
 In an article headed "Colonial DiHcoutunt," conimentH on thiB retrograde ByHtum in the followinj; 
 terniH : -"A HyHtem of CHpionage aHgumoH that there in HomethinK which ought to be watciied and 
 to be prevented ; and au the exiHtenceof Huch aHyntem probi'.l)ly did exist in Upper Canada during 
 the a<lniiniHtration of Sir Peregrine Maitland, it may bo Haid that ho far his Government was lod 
 to act on false principles. . . We do not suppose that there waa anything like an organizx-d 
 syHtom, but only that tales to the porHonal diHadvantage of tho Anti-Ministerial imrty were tuo 
 readily listened to. No doubt the members of that party were as credulous in listening to tak's 
 to the prejudice of the adherontti of Uovurnnient, but then they had it not in their power, like 
 them, to inflict piuushment. It is unnecessary to explain in what manner a system of uspionage 
 begets heart-burnings. It ii to tho public what tattle and malicious goKsij) are to private society, 
 witli this essential dilTerence, however, that the talu of the slanderer is in time forgotten or 
 refuted, whereivs the report of the spy is received in secret, placed in the c<mfidential archi/ei of 
 ottiou, and referred to as a testimonial of character, in which «uoh set nt testimonials oan be 
 applied with effect when the ocoaslon arisoR." 
 
 
146 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 special performance for the delectation of the members of the Legislature, 
 whose patronage was solicited for the occasion. Sixteen or eighteen of 
 the members — among whom was Captain Matthews — complied with the 
 solicitation, and the performance took place at the little York theatre on 
 the night of December 31st. During the intervals between the acts the 
 orchestra played tht national airs, "God Save the King," "Eule Britan- 
 nia," and " The British Grenadiers." Several persons in the audience — 
 Captain Matthews among the number* — apparently out of compliment 
 to the actors, all of whom were from across the lines, called out for 
 "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail Columbia." The demand was complied 
 with, at least in part. The orchestra were unable to play "Hail 
 Columbia," but the audience were regaled with the lively strains of 
 "Yankee Doodle." Captain Matthews joined in the applause which 
 followed, and removed his hat, calling upon others to do the same. The 
 weight of evidence would seem to favour the idea that he was not the 
 first to raise his hat, or to request the removal of the hats of his fellow- 
 membera. At all events the request was generally complied with. And 
 this was the gist of the story. Captain Matthews' b share in the events 
 of the evening was the having joined in the demand for the two objec- 
 tionable airs, in the applause which ensued upon the rendering of one 
 of them, and in the request for the uncovering of heads. These dire 
 offences sealed the doom of a gallant officer who had served his king for 
 more than a quarter of a century, and whose acquiescence in the call for 
 the national airs of the republic was probably due, at least in part, to the 
 effervescence of feeling begotten of a good dinner. 
 
 It is difficult to trace, step by step, the progress of the measures 
 adopted against him. Distorted and exaggerated accounts appeared in 
 The Kingston Chronicle and The Quebec Mercury. But it is hardly likely 
 that any ex officio notice would have been taken of the affair if the news- 
 
 * Mr. Maokeniie, in his Sketches of Canada and the United States, p. 419, denies that Oaptain 
 Matthews called for these airs, as stated in the text. But anyone who carefully examines into 
 the Provincial events of those times will not be long in arriving at the conclusion that Mr, 
 Mackenzie's unsupported testimony, more especially as to matters in any way coming within the 
 scope of politics, is of very little value. The evidence as to the Captain's having called for 
 "Yankee Doodle" is conclusive. That his doing so constituted a serious oflEence ia another 
 nuktter, as to which ther* will, at the present day, be very little difference of opinion. 
 
THE CASE OF CAPTAIN MATTHEWS. 
 
 147 
 
 paper reports had not been backed by a specific charge. Captain Mat- 
 thews appears to have been secretly accused to the military authorities. 
 He soon afterwards received a letter from the military secretary to the 
 Earl of Dalhousie, Commander of the Forces in Lower Canada, stating 
 that that dignitary's attention had been attracted by a report in the 
 public prints of a representation that Captain Matthews had, in a riotous 
 and outrageous manner, in the theatre at York, called for the national 
 airs and tunes of the United States, "urging the audience there assembled 
 to take oflf their hats, as is usual in the British Dominions in honour of 
 *God Save the King.'" The letter went on to say that "finding the 
 statement corroborated, upon inquiry," the Commander of the Forces 
 called upon Captain Matthews to explain conduct which was pronounced 
 to be "utterly disloyal and disgraceful." Even this was not all. By a 
 subsequent letter, received from the Board of Ordnance, the Captain 
 was directed to repair forthwith to Quebec, and there remain until he 
 could, by the first vessel in the spring, proceed to England, there to give 
 an account of his conduct. This order was stated to have been made in 
 consequence of a communication from the authorities in Canada to Lord 
 Bathurst, the Colonial Secretary, and by him transmitted to the Master- 
 General and Board of Ordnance. 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie asserts that the object of the authorities was to get 
 the Captain out of the Province, and thus deprive the Opposition of his 
 vote, "in order to give the local Government a preponderance in the 
 Legislature against the people's rights."* This, however, can hardly be 
 accepted as a full or true explanation, as the Captain's absence at the 
 time would not have given such a preponderance to the Government on 
 any test vote. The weakening of the Opposition may or may not have 
 been one of the objects sought to be achieved by the Captain's accusers. 
 If so, it signally failed. Captain Matthews, be it understood, was not in 
 receipt of half-pay, but of a pension. He had served twenty-seven years, 
 and, on his corps being totally disbanded, he had settled in Upper Canada 
 with the approbation of the Government. Having since been elected a 
 member of the Provincial Assembly, his first duty was to that body, and 
 it was necessary that he should obtain its leave before proceeding to obey 
 
 • Sketches of Canada, etc., p. 419. 
 
 if- 
 4- 
 
 i ■! 
 

 148 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 the order of the Master-General. Accordingly, on Thursday, the 28th of 
 December, 1826, he rose in his place and made a motion involving an 
 application for leave of absence. He explained the circumstances, and, 
 in the course of the debate which ensued, expressly stated that he asked 
 for leave, not with any desire of its being granted, but merely in order 
 that the House might do its duty. The Opposition stood faithfully by 
 him in this emergency. The House felt that the honour of one of its 
 members was concerned. It refused the application for leave, and, on 
 motion of Mr. Eolph, set on foot an inquiry into the circumstances on its 
 own behalf. 
 
 The inquiry was searching and minute, and the witnesses were not 
 examined in presence of each other. Much of the evidence was beyond 
 measure ludicrous and absurd. The scene at the theatre was described 
 by one witness after another in endless variety. The merits of " Yankee 
 Doodle" and "Hail Columbia," philologically and Aesthetically, were made 
 the subjects of the gravest investigation. It appeared that with the 
 exception of Mr. John Beikie, Clerk of the Executive Council, and a very 
 few of the townspeople, the audience was entirely made up of members 
 of the Legislature. There were no ladies present, and, as it was New 
 Year's Eve, the audience generally felt a considerable freedom from 
 restraint. Many of the members had partaken freely of the cup that 
 cheers — assuredly not the cup indicated by Cowper — and were in the 
 blissful condition of Tam O'Shanter upon a certain memorable occasion 
 to which no more specific reference is necessary. In plain English, 
 some of them were so drunk as to be unable to recall anything that 
 occurred. All were full of mirth and jollity, and the scene enacted was 
 of the most uproarious description. Three grave legislators "danced 
 while 'Yankee Doodle' was played." Several others had reached the 
 quarrelsome stage of inebriety, and, in the language of one of the 
 witnesses, " showed fight." Mr. Philip Vankoughnet, one of the mem- 
 bers for Stormont, was constrained to admit that he had stripped off 
 his coat, and threatened to knock somebody down. Captain Matthews, 
 among others, called for " Hail Columbia " and "Yankee Doodle," but 
 the general opinion among the more sober of the party appeared to be 
 that he had done so " in derision." It was a bibulous age, and sobriety 
 
THE CASE OF CAPTAIN MATTHEWS. 
 
 149 
 
 was the exception rather than the rule. The whole affair was little better 
 than a bar-room orgie, and could properly be regarded in no other light. 
 
 When the Assembly's report made its appearance, early in 1827, 
 Captain Matthews was fully exonerated, so far as that body was con- 
 cerned, from everything savouring of disloyalty. "The circumstances 
 of the transaction" — thus ran the report — "as they are related without 
 the contradiction of a single witness, irresistibly bespeak the absence of 
 that disloyalty with which it has been basely attempted to sully the 
 character of a most honourable man." The report moreover read a 
 sharp lesson to the promoters of the accusation against him. It declared 
 that "If every effervescence of feeling upon every jovial or innocent 
 occasion is, in these Provinces, to be magnified into crime by the 
 testimony of secret informers — if there can longer exist a political 
 inquisition which shall scan the motives of every faithful servant of 
 the public — if the authorities in Canada shall humble the independence 
 of the Legislature by scandalizing its members and causing them to be 
 ordered to Quebec, and thence to England, to sustain a fate which, under 
 such corroboration as Lord Dalhousie received, might cover them with 
 ignominy, or bring them, however innocent, to the block — or if the 
 members of our community shall be awed into political subserviency 
 by fear of oppression, or lured by the corrupt hope of participating 
 guilty favours, then, indeed, will the prospect before us lour, and *^'8 
 fine Province become a distant appendage of a mighty empire, ruled 
 by a few aspiring men with the scourge of power." * 
 
 The Committee professed their inability to learn by whom the per- 
 nicious representations had been made to the newspapers, or to the 
 authorities in Canada, or from what source Lord Dalhousie had obtained 
 his "corroboration." They expressed their conviction that there was 
 no ground for the charge preferred against Captain Matthews, the 
 malignity and falsity of which they believed to have derived their origin 
 and support from political hostility towards him. 
 
 The United States press was loud in its expressions of contempt. 
 " Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth ; " said The New York 
 Enquirer — "truly, there is something very undignified in such vexatious 
 
 * See Journal of Assembly for 1826-7, Appendix P. See also Journal for 1828, p. 122. 
 
150 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION, 
 
 stretches of authority" — referring, of course, to the attempt to drag 
 Captain Matthews across the Atlantic on a charge depending on such 
 ridiculous evidence. Attention was drawn to the fact that the national 
 airs of Great Britain, "God Save the Queen," and "Eule Britannia," 
 are often heard at theatres and elsewhere in the republic without any 
 such momentous consequences, and without being received either with 
 laughter, dancing or contempt. " The evidence," continued the Enquirer, 
 *' does not speak very strongly in favour of the amenity and decorum of 
 the M. P.'s of Upper Canada. If calling for one of our national airs, in 
 a time of profound peace, within a few miles of the frontiers, is regarded 
 as an unpardonable crime by the British Government, who shall wonder 
 or complain that the British people are full of prejudice against us." 
 The Liberal press of the Maritime Provinces harped to the same tune. 
 "Eeally," remarked The Halifax Recorder, "we think people must have 
 their wits about them now-adays, if such things as these are to be 
 construed into disaffection." 
 
 But though Captain Matthews had been cleared by the Legislature., 
 he had still to run the gauntlet of the military inquisition. They could 
 not compel his attendance during the existence of the Parliament then 
 in being, but they possessed an effectual means of reducing him to 
 ultimate submission. This power they exercised. His pension was 
 stopped — a very aerious matter to a man with a large family and many 
 responsibilities. ELe continued to fight the battles of Eeform with dogged 
 courage and pertinacity as long as his means admitted of his doing so, 
 but he was soon reduced to a condition of great pecuniary distress, and 
 was compelled to succumb. Broken-hearted and worn out, he resigned 
 his seat in the Assembly, and returned to England, where, after grievous 
 delays, he succeeded in getting his pension restored. He never returned 
 to Canada, and survived the restoration of his pension but a short time. 
 Thus, through the malignity of a selfish and secret cabal, was Upper 
 Canada deprived of the services of a zealous and useful citizen and 
 legislator, whose residence among us, had it been continued, could not 
 have failed to advance the cause of freedom and justice. 
 
 J 
 
I 
 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE NIAGARA FALLS OUTRAGE. 
 
 |HE case of William Forsyth — comin':^nly known in the chron- 
 icles of the time as the Niagara Falls outrage — differed 
 materially from that of Captain Matthews, not only in kind, 
 but in degree. In the latter case there was no gross viola- 
 tion of the decencies of life, or of the outward forms of law. 
 The mischief was effected by means of spies and secret infor- 
 mation, and the damage inflicted was incidental rather than 
 direct. The Forsyth case, on the contrary, was more in the manner of 
 the type riot. It was a violent and utterly unjustifiable exercise of brute 
 force. But in one important respect it was worse than the type riot. 
 That display of ruffianism had been accomplished without the open 
 approbation of the authorities. The Niagara Falls outrage was com- 
 mitted not only with the full assent, but by the express command, of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor himself. Not even the poor excuse that it was 
 done in a moment of anger or irritation could be made for it. It was 
 done deliberately, in cold blood, and was as deliberately repeated. It 
 was a simple case of Might versus Eight. 
 
 A few words of explanation are necessary by way of prologue. 
 In the year 1786, before the setting apart of Upper Canada as a sepa- 
 rate Province, and just after the commencement of the settlement of 
 the Niagara Peninsula by Butlor's Ra' ^ers, the territory contiguous to 
 the west bank of the Niagara River was surveyed and laid out into lots 
 by Augustus Jones, a surveyor whose name is familiar to all students of 
 the early history of this Province. In pursuance of instructions received 
 from the Government, Mr. Jones, in laying out these lots, made a reser- 
 vation of a chain in width — sixty-six feet — along the top of the bank. 
 
 \ 
 
152 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 The reservation was made partly with a view to the military defence of 
 the Province, and partly for the purpose of preserving a convenient 
 communication.* It was expressly specified in the Crown Patents to 
 the owners of adjoining lands, and embodied in all subsequent deeds upon 
 successive transfers. It may therefore be conceded that the Crown's title 
 to the reserved land was indisputable. 
 
 In the year 1827, and for some time previously, the principal inn on 
 the Canadian side of the river at Niagara Falls was owned and kept by 
 one William Forsyth. The man and his establishment were well known 
 to travellers, and " Forsyth's " had a high reputation as one of the most 
 comfortable houses of public entertainment in the country. During the 
 heat of summer, many residents of York paid more or less frequent visits 
 to the Falls, not more to enjoy the change of air and the majestic scenery, 
 than to partake of " mine host " Forsyth's hospitality. The inn was in 
 close proximity to the great cataract, and was known as the Niagara 
 Falls Pavilion. It was built on ground that bordered upon and ran up 
 to the Government's reservation, which alone intervened between it and 
 the top of the bank. 
 
 Mr. Forsyth drove a flourishing business, but, like some of his succes- 
 sors at the same spot, his greed grew with his increasing gains, and he 
 was not content to grow rich by degrees. He determined to augment his 
 income by the erection of a high post and rail fence, placed so as to shut 
 out visitors from approaching near to the Falls, and rendering it neces- 
 sary for them to pass through his house before the desired view could be 
 obtained. It should be mentioned that Mr. Forsyth, in addition to the 
 Pavilion and its immediate grounds, owned the adjoining lands for a 
 considerable distance, including all the points from which the great 
 spectacle was to be seen to advantage. By the erection of the fence, 
 therefore, visitors would be debarred and shut off from all that was best 
 
 *See the letter from Chief Justice Robinson to Lieutenant-Colonel Rowan, Secretary, etc., 
 etc. , dated at York, Slat December, 1832, and appended to the Report of the Committee of the 
 House of Assembly on the Petition of William Forsyth, dated April Ist, 1835. In one part of 
 this letter the Chief Justice says that the laying out of the lots took place " some time between 
 the years 1785 and 1790, and while General Haldimand administered the Government of Canada." 
 General Haldimand did not administer the Government of Canada during any part of the time 
 thus specified — a fact of which Chief Justice Robinson ought to have been aware. In a subse- 
 quent part of the same letter he properly gives the date as 1786. 
 
^ 
 
 
 THE NIAGARA FALLS OUTRAGE. 153 
 
 worth seeing in the neighbourhood, until they had passed through his 
 inn; and it was of course anticipated that most of those so passing 
 through would spend more or less money on the premises. There was, 
 however, one rather serious objection to the contemplated change. It 
 would involve the enclosure of the Government reservation, a proceeding 
 which was not likely to be permanently tolerated. Forsyth was probably 
 ill advised by his attorney in the matter, for he seems to have been really 
 of opinion that the Government's title to the land was at least open to 
 question, and he had been permitted to occupy a portion of it without 
 remonstrance for about six years. Sometime during the early spring of 
 the abovementioned year — in time to catch the expected influx of summer 
 visitors — he carried out his design, and constructed the enclosure. 
 
 1827 
 
 His house was thus converted into a thoroughfare, which necessarily 
 gave rise to a greatly increased number of visitors, and to much additional 
 expenditure within its walls. But the public serenity soon began to show 
 signs of disturbance. There was a rival innkeeper named Browne, who 
 was not long in discovering that his own losses were in proportion to 
 Forsyth's gains. He bestirred himself in the matter, and soon succeeded 
 in arousing a good deal of indignation in the minds of visitors. No one 
 was allowed to either enter or pass by his door without being importuned 
 to sign a petition to the Government, praying for a removal of the 
 objectionable fence. Other persons residing in the neighbourhood took 
 umbrage at the innovation, and also made appeals to the Government 
 on the subject. In this way several numerously- signed petitions were 
 obtained and forwarded to headquarters. 
 
 Such proceedings as these were in themselves reasonable and proper ' 
 enough. Forsyth had acted in a selfish and unwarrantable manner, 
 and it would have been nothing more than he had a right to expect 
 if the Government had instituted immediate action against him. It 
 would have been an injustice to the public if he had been permitted to 
 enjoy his monopoly undisturbed. But neither the trespasser himself 
 nor any of those who protested against his conduct was prepared for 
 such high-handed measures as were actually resorted to ; measures 
 which effectually proved the unfitness of Sir Peregrine Maitland for his 
 high office; which led to his being cordially hated throughout the 
 
T 
 
 154 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION, 
 
 length and breadth of Upper Canada ; and which doubtless had some- 
 thing to do with his removal to another sphere of action. 
 
 One day about the middle of May, when the enclosure had been 
 erected about six weeks, and when the season's regular flow of tourists 
 had fairly set in, the landlord of the Pavilion received a call from 
 Captain George Phillpotts, of the Eoyal Engineers, who then held 
 command in the District. The latter demanded why Forsyth had 
 presumed to fence-in the Government reserve. Forsyth replied, denying 
 that the reserve belonged to the Government, and asserting his own title 
 thereto, whereupon he was informed that unless the enclosure was 
 removed without delay, he. Captain Phillpotts, would himself undertake its 
 removal. Forsyth professed to feel strong in his rights, and threatened 
 to prosecute the Captain or any one else who might interfere with his 
 property. Here the interview ended. Several days afterwards — on the 
 18th — the landlord was summoned to his door by a message that a 
 gentleman there wished to see him. The gentleman proved to be 
 Captain Phillpotts, who was accompanied by a sergeant and four other 
 soldiers in fatigue jackets, without arms. Major Bichard Leonard, 
 Sheriff of the Niagara District, and Augustus Jones, who had made the 
 original survey of the property forty-one years before, were also in 
 attendance. The Sheriff, who had merely accompanied the party at the 
 Captain's request, took no part in the subsequent proceedings, but 
 contented himself with quietly looking on. Mr. Jones had been brought 
 for a specific purpose, and, at the request of Captain Phillpotts, he then 
 and there made a hasty re-survey of the reserve, the limits of which 
 he indicated by pickets. Upon the completion of this task, the Captain 
 demanded that Forsyth should immediately remove the enclosing fence, 
 and upon his refusal to do so, the soldiers, under orders from their 
 Captain, deliberately cut and threw down the fence, exposing the 
 gardens, meadows and about sixty acres of growing crops to waste. A 
 blacksmith's shop which had been erected on the reserve was demolished, 
 and the building material thrown over the bank. The Captain avowed 
 that he was acting under express orders from the Lieutenant-Governor, 
 which proved to be the fact. 
 
 Having accomplished his purpose. Captain Phillpotts and his soldiers 
 
T 
 
 
 THE NIAGARA FALLS OUTRAGE. 155 
 
 departed, accompanied by the Sheriff and the surveyor. They were no 
 sooner out of the way than Forsyth and hia servants set themselves to 
 work to repair damages, and before nightfall the enclosure was rebuilt ; 
 the premises, with the exception of the blacksmith's shop, being restored 
 to the condition in which they had been before the assault upon them. 
 But intelligence of the restoration was speedily conveyed to Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland, who again despatched the same emissary, and the drama of 
 demolition was reenacted. The landlord of the Pavilion then gave up 
 the contest, so far as any attempt at reconstruction was concerned, and 
 proceeded to obtain redress by due course of law. 
 
 Now, it may perhaps be admitted that Forsyth was rightly served, or 
 at any rate that he deserved little or no sympathy. His enclosure of the 
 Crown reserve had been without any strict colour of right, and had been 
 due to pure greed and selfishness. But his blacksmith's shop had been 
 constructed on the land as far back as 1821, when he had purchased the 
 adjoining lot from William Dickson, and no one had ever questioned his 
 right to maintain it there. He seems to have thought that he had as 
 good a claim to the property as anybody. He had been informed, con- 
 trary to the fact, that the Government reserve extended only to the lower 
 bank, and did not cover the land at the top. He might easily have 
 discovered that-'his information was misleading, but he had not chosen 
 to take so much trouble, and deserved to suffer the legal consequences of 
 his neglect. He could undoubtedly have been dispossessed by means of 
 an action of ejectment, with the costs of which he would justly have been 
 saddled. But he had a right to expect that, after being allowed to remain 
 so many years in undisturbed possession, he should only be dispossessed 
 by civil process. It was not a case where an arbitrary removal was 
 justifiable, such as may lawfully take place when it becomes necessary 
 to abate a nuisance. But it was above all things intolerable that the 
 military should have been employed for such a purpose. Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland, in sending Captain Phillpotts on the expedition, had acted, not 
 in his capacity of Lieutenant-Governor, but in that of Major-General 
 Commanding the Forces in Upper Canada. This it was that wrought up 
 the public pulse to such a pitch of excitement. This it was that created 
 a dangerous antagonism between the people and the soldiery, and led to 
 
 fcl 
 
156 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 frequent quarrels and bickerings between thera. The Committee subse- 
 quently appointed by the Assembly to investigate the subject echoed tli j 
 popular sentiment when they reported that "a person long in possession 
 of land, like the petitioner, ought to have been ejected by the law of the 
 land, which is ample, when impartially administered, for securing the 
 rights of property, but the interference of the military, by such acts of 
 violence, for maintaining supposed or contested rights, is justly regarded 
 with jealousy in all free countries, and ought to be seriously regarded in 
 a colony where the most unprecedented outrages have been perpetrated 
 without prosecution, and even followed by the patronage of the local 
 Government upon the wrong-doers."* The presence of the civil power 
 on the occasion, in the person of the Sheriff, had been even an aggrava- 
 tion of the offence, for the Sheriff had thus been made to lend his coun- 
 tenance to the proceeding. As for the Lieutenant-Governor's action in 
 the matter, he himself was solely to blame, for his intentions were not 
 made known to the Executive Council, or, so far as appears, to any 
 member of that body. It was simply and solely a barefaced and most 
 impudent abuse of authority, the responsibility for which rests upon no 
 shoulders but his own. 
 
 Forsyth had no success in his appeals to the law. He brought two 
 actions of trespass, one of which was against Sheriff Leonard and Captain 
 Phillpotts jointly, for removing the fence and blacksmith's shop; and 
 the other of which was against Captain Phillpotts alone for removing 
 the fence the second time. Sir Peregrine instructed Attorney-General 
 Robinson to defend both these suits, and to vindicate the Crown's title to 
 the reserved land.t To effect the latter object in the most formal and 
 decisive manner, the Attorney- General filed an information for intrusion 
 against Forsyth, upon which a verdict was rendered in favour of the 
 Crown. The plaintiff altogether failed in his action against Phillpotts 
 
 * See the report, p. iv., appended to the Seventh Report of the Orievance Committee, 
 
 +The defence of these two suits would seem to have been the means of considerably augmenting 
 the Attorney-General's already ample income. From certain accounts sent down to the Assembly 
 it appears that a sum of £127 6«. 6|rf. sterling were paid to him during the year 1834 for " expenses 
 Incurred by him in defending two suits with costs in reference to the military reserve near the 
 Falls of Niagara." 
 
THE NIAGARA FALLS OUTRAQE. 157 
 
 and the Sheriff, and the decision in that case rendered it useless for him 
 to procead with the action against Phillpotts alone.* 
 
 While those suits were in progress, Forsyth, finding that public 
 opinion, if not in his favour, was at least hostile to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, sent in a petition to the Assembly, setting forth the 
 circumstances, and praying for redress. This was during the 
 session of 1828. The Assembly entertained the petition, and appointed 
 a Committee of Inquiry. The Committee proceeded to inquire accord- 
 ingly. While their investigations were in progress they resolved to 
 examine two of the Government officials, who, as there was reason to 
 believe, could throw light upon Sir Peregrine's reasons for such arbi- 
 trary conduct as that of which he had been guilty. The officials whose 
 evidence it was thought desirable to obtain were Colonels Coilin and 
 Givins, both of whom were heads of departments. The former occu- 
 pied the position of Adjutant-General of Militia for Upper Canada; the 
 latter was Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Both of these gentlemen 
 were summoned to attend before the Committee at a specified time. In 
 this there was nothing strange or unusual. It was a matter of frequent 
 occiirrence for officials of the Government, high and low, to be suirmoned 
 before Parliamentary committees while the Legislaturv^ was in session, 
 and there was no question as to the right of such committees to require 
 such attendance. In this instance, however, the persons summoned were 
 not permitted to obey the behests of the Committee, and in the attendant 
 circumstances there were pretty plain indications of crookedness and 
 collusion between the Crown officers and Sir Peregrine Maitland. Each 
 of the two officers concerned, immediately upon receiving his summons, 
 caused the fact to be communicated to the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 each wrote a shuffling letter to the Chairman of the Committee. Later 
 in the day the Lieutenant-Governor positively declined to permit the 
 attendance of the persons summoned, assigning as a reason that he had 
 not been made acquainted with the facts as to which it was desired to 
 
 * There was a very general belief throughout the Niagara District at the time that Major 
 Leonard, who was an obedient servant to the Executive, had manipulated the lists from which 
 the jurors in those cases were selected. The truth or falsity of the belief cannot now be pro- 
 nounced upon, the circumstances upon which it was founded being buried in oblivion. 
 
158 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 interrogate them. Now, when one considers all the facts and circum- 
 stances of the case, one is driven to the conclusion that Colonels Coffin 
 and Givins were in possession of certain information which the Executive, 
 or at any rate the Lieutenant-Governor, had a strong interest in keeping 
 secret. Why else were they forbidden to attend ? The reason assigned 
 was certainly not a sufficient one. In the first place it was not founded 
 upon fact. That the Committee had been appointed for the specific 
 purpose of investigating the circumstances connected with the Niagara 
 Falls outrage was matter of common notoriety. When the two Govern- 
 ment officers were summoned to give evidence before that Committee 
 there could ue no doubt that the intention was to examine them touching 
 their knowledge of the matter in hand.* Some years before this time, 
 when the Compact were all-powerful in the Assembly, as well as in the 
 Upper House, a custom had been introduced of notifying the Lieutenant- 
 Governor whenever it was proposed to examine any of the Government 
 officials as witnesses before a Parliamentary committee. It had been 
 customary to specify, in the address of notification, the subject on which 
 it was intended to take evidence. This, however, had been a mere 
 matter of courtesy and conventionality, upon which nobody had any 
 right to insist ; and the practice had not been uniform or consistent, 
 various instances having occurred where Crown officers had been sum- 
 moned and examined as witnesses without any such notification having 
 been given. Upon such a flimsy pretext, however, did Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland base his refusal to permit the two witnesses to attend for 
 examination in the Forsyth case. 
 
 The Chairman of the Committee duly reported to the Assembly the 
 non-attendance of the witnesses, and that body determined that its 
 authority should not thus be defied and set at i? aught with impunity. 
 The chief offender, the Lieutenant-Governor — or the Commander of the 
 Forces, if he was to be considered as acting in that capacity — was of 
 course beyond reach, but proceedings were forthwith instituted against 
 
 • " He [Sir PereTine Maitland] must have inferred that the Committee proposed to examine 
 theso officers respectii.^ the employment of a military force for the ejecting of Forsyth from the 
 land."— See Despatch from the Colonial Secretary, Sir George Murray, to Major-General Sir 
 John Colborne, dated 20th October, 1828, appended to the Report on Forsyth's petition. 
 

 THE NIAGARA FALLS OUTRAGE. 
 
 159 
 
 
 tho recalcitrant witnesses. Warrants were issued against them by the 
 Speaker, in order that they might be brought up before the House, in cus- 
 tody of the Sergeant-at-Arms, to answer for their contempt. Acting under 
 legal advice, they declined to submit to such authority unless compelled 
 to do so by force ; and they boldly threatened that in case of force being 
 resorted to they would prosecute the Speaker. It is to be presumed that 
 the warrants would in any case have been acted upon, but this impudent 
 threat left the Assembly no alternative. If Government officers, paid 
 out of the public purse, were to be allowed to defy that branch of the 
 Legislature which alone represented the popular voice — if they were to 
 be permitted to treat its mandates with contempt, and to threaten its 
 representative with ulterior consequences in the event of those mandates 
 being enforced — then, indeed, liberty and equal rights were at a low ebb 
 in Upper Canada. The warrants were promptly executed, the house in 
 which the two officials had ensconced themselves being forcibly entered 
 for the purpose. Being brought to ihe bar of the House, and charged 
 with their contempt, they sought to vindicate themselves by pleading 
 the action of the Lieutenant-Governor in refusing to sanction their 
 attendance. The House then adopted a resolution under which they 
 were handed over to the custody of the Sheriff, and committed to the 
 common jail of the Home District. They formally notified the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor, through his private secretary, of the calamity which 
 had come upon them through obedience to his behests, and requested 
 that the advice and assistance of the Crown officers — that is to say, of 
 the Attorney-General and Solicitor-General — might be vouchsafed to 
 them. They however remained in confinement only three days, for the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, in accordance with an intimation previously given, 
 prorogued the Legislature on the 25th of March — they had been com- 
 mitted on the 22nd — and the power of the Assembly to commit did not 
 extend beyond tho time when it was actually in session. 
 
 Colonels Coffin and Givins carried out their threat, and sued tho 
 Speaker for damages for false imprisonment. The right of tho Assembly 
 to commit for contempt was however a matter too well established, and 
 was confirmed by the Court of King's Bench in another cause then 
 pending. So that the Adjutant-General of Militia and the Superintendent 
 
;> 
 
 160 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 of Indian Affairs, in addition to their respective bills of costs, had their 
 three days' imprisonment as a reward for their fealty to Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland, and for their disloyalty to the Canadian people. 
 
 Sir Peregrine appears to have felt a little dubious as to how his 
 proceedings would be regarded at the Home Office. It was quite certain 
 that the Colonial Secretary would hear of the affair, but that dignitary's 
 approval was open to question. It would at all events be well that the 
 official mind should receive its first impression on the subject from Sir 
 Peregrine himself, who accordingly lost no time in sending over his own 
 version of the transaction. His despatch, which bears internal evidence 
 of having been written or revised by Attorney-General Kobinson, is dated 
 the 29th of March — the fourth day after the prorogation. Under the 
 pretext of asking for advice as to how he should act in the future in case 
 of any of the officials being summoned before Parliamentary committees 
 without any notification having been made to himself, he recounts the 
 story of the Niagara Falls outrage. His narrative, it is almost needless 
 to say, is from first to last garbled and one-sided. Forsyth is referred 
 to therein as " a person notoriously of indifferent character ; " and the 
 Assembly and its committees are maligned in language highly improper 
 to be employed in a confidential communication from the Lieutenant- 
 Governor of a colony to his superiors at home.* The Colonial Secretary, 
 however, was shrewd enough to penetrate the veil of misrepresentation 
 in which the despatch was enveloped, and to arrive at a pretty just 
 appreciation of the merits of the case. He officially expressed his 
 opinion that there had been adequate grounds for inquiry by the 
 Assembly. "I cannot but consider," he wrote, "that Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland would have exercised a sounder discretion had he permitted 
 the officers to appear before the Assembly ; and I regret that he did not 
 accomplish the object he had in view in preventing Forsyth's encroach- 
 ments by means of the civil power, which is said to have been at hand, 
 rather than by calling in military aid." This despatch, however, was 
 written, not to Sir Peregrine Maitland himself, but to his successor, 
 
 * See the despatch, appended to the Keport on the Forsyth Case, at end of Grievance Com- 
 mitteo's Report. The Colonial Secrotary'a despatch quoted in the text will be found appended 
 to the same Report. 
 
 r 
 
 { 
 
THE NIAGARA FALLS OUTUAQE. 
 
 161 
 
 
 
 Sir John Colborne. The Forsyth case, coming, as it did, in the wake of 
 other ill-advised proceedings on the part of Sir Peregrine, detormined 
 the Home Government to withdraw him from Upper Canada, where it 
 was quite evident that his usefulness — if he had ever had any — was gone. 
 He was transferred to Nova Scotia, whither it is not necessary that this 
 narrative should follow him. 
 
 With respect to Forsyth, it may be added that, being unable to obtain 
 any recompense for the Phillpotts invasion, and being harassed by 
 protracted litigation, he sold his property at Niagara Falls at a price 
 considerably below its value, and removed from the spot. It cannot be 
 said that he deserved much sympathy, for he had brought his losses on 
 himself by his own selfishness. He took advantage of the situation to 
 pose in the character of a martyr to Executive tyranny, and he succeeded 
 in deceiving many of his contemporaries into the belief that he was a 
 much injured man. The historical interest, however, centres not in him, 
 but in the consequences arising out of the employment of soldiers to do 
 the Sheriff's work in a time of profound peace, and without any initiatory 
 civil process having been issued. The popular excitement consequent on 
 the outrage encouraged Forsyth to petition the Assembly. The petition 
 led to the appointment of the Committee of Inquiry, which in its turn 
 led to the summoning of witnesses and the conflict between the Assembly 
 and the Lieutenant-Governor. The conflict led to the latter's removal, 
 and, from that point of view, is not to be regarded in the light of an 
 unmixed evil. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE ''AMOVAL" OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 I HE Forsyth embroilment extended over a long period, and 
 from time to time during several years it continued, at 
 longer or shorter intervals, to thrust itself upon public 
 attention. Meanwhile it was not the only instance of abuse 
 of power on the part of the Executive to which the people 
 of Upper Canada were constrained to submit. Several other notable 
 contemporaneous examples shared with it in the unenviable work of 
 widening the breach between the Government and the people, and in 
 destroying popular confidence in the impartial administration of justice. 
 It is a rather singular fact that of all the many high-handed measures 
 resorted to during the existence of the Ninth Parliament, the one which 
 aroused the greatest indignation was perhaps the least blameworthy ol 
 them all. It has been the fashion with writers who have dealt with this 
 period of our history to represent the amoval of Justice Willis as being 
 upon the whole the most glaring iniquity of the time. This view is not 
 borne out by the facts. In the Willis affair Sir Peregrine Maitland had 
 recourse to the espionage system, and certainly went to the utmost verge 
 of his authority, but he cannot be said to have run violently in the teeth 
 of precedent and good sense, as was done, for instance, in the Forsyth case. 
 Nor can it be said that he acted with despotic rashness or precipitation. 
 His decade of misrule in Upper Canada was characterized by many 
 cruel, tyrannical and shameful deeds : deeds which stare out from the 
 pages of the past with lurid distinctness. He has enough to answer for 
 at the bar of history; and it is quite unnecessary to load the formidable 
 indictment against him with surplusage or dubious matter. A careful 
 and dispassionate examination of all the circumstances in the Willis case 
 must convince the inquirer that the faults were not all on one side, and 
 
 ' 
 
 I' 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 163 
 
 ' 
 
 that the Judge himself is bound to at least share with Sir Peregrine 
 the responsibility for the bitterness arising out of the "amoval." 
 
 John Walpole Willis, whose name was destined to win considerable 
 celebrity in the judicial annals of this Province, was a lawyer of good 
 standing at the English Chancery bar. He came of a respectable county 
 family, but had no hereditary expectations, and from his earliest youth 
 had applied himself to study with a zeal begotten of the conviction that 
 he would be compelled to depend upon his own exertions for a livelihood. 
 He devoted himself with assiduity to studying the literature pertaining 
 to the equity branch of the law. By the time he reached manhood he 
 had acquired considerable erudition, and it was predicted of him that 
 he would make a mark in his profession. He did his utmost to justify 
 the prediction, for he had no sooner been called to the bar than he came 
 before the world as an author. His first publication was a work bearing 
 upon the law of Evidence. In 1820 he issued a work on Equity Pleading; 
 and in 1827 appeared his treatise "On the Duties and Responsibilities of 
 Trustees." These works obtained a fair share of recognition, and doubt- 
 less tended to promote his professional success. He enjoyed the reputa- 
 tion of being an industrious and painstaking lawyer, and a brilliant and 
 accomplished member of society. 
 
 In 1823, when he had reached the age of thirty-one years, he was 
 applied to for professional advice by the Earl of Strathmore. This 
 event was destined to have important consequences. The advice led to 
 important professional employment extending over several months, during 
 which the clever lawyer was a frequent guest in the Earl's household, and 
 on terms of intimate social intercourse with the family. In an unhappy 
 hour for his future peace of mind he formed an attachment to Lady Mary 
 Isabella Bowes Lyon Willis, one of his lordship's daughters. His attach- 
 ment was reciprocated by the young lady, who was possessed of great 
 personal attractions, and who might doubtless have looked forward to a 
 more ambitious match; but her noble father had little to offer in the 
 shape of dowry, and did not oppose her wishes. The marriage took place 
 at Marylebone Church, in August, 1824. The bridegroom was then 
 thirty-two years of age, and the bride had just completed her twenty- 
 second year. This disparity was not sufficient to excite any remark, 
 
164 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 for Lady Mary was mature for her age, and the bridegroom had scarcely 
 taken leave of his youth. For about three years after the marriage the 
 pair resided with Mr. Willis's mother, at Hendon, a pleasant suburb lying 
 to the north-west of London ; he meanwhile continuing the practice of 
 his profession in town. All these circumstances materially contributed 
 to the shaping of the young barrister's future career. 
 
 Mr. Willis enjoyed the social advantages which his union with a 
 nobleman's daughter was certain to confer. These advantages were 
 fully appreciated, but they involved certain inevitable consequences, the 
 principal of which was a material increase in the domestic expenditure. 
 As neither Lady Mary nor her husband was possessed of much property, 
 and as the latter's income was almost entirely derived from his profession, 
 he resolved to try for some public appointment whereby his pecuniary 
 condition might be improved. Early in 1827 the project of establishing a 
 Court of Equity in Upper Canada was for a short time under some sort of 
 consideration at the Colonial Office. Through the influence of his father- 
 in-law, Mr. Willis was mentioned as a most suitable man to undertake 
 that important duty. His heart responded to the idea. He felt 
 that he was well fitted for such a responsibility, and that a con- 
 genial sphere of usefulness would thus be presented to him. His 
 vanity also seems to have been flattered by the prospect of being raised 
 to the bench — even the colonial bench — at so early an age. Visions of 
 social and intellectual supremacy among the magnates of Upper Canada 
 doubtless presented themselves in alluring shapes before his mind. He 
 had no difficulty in obtaining a promise that in the event of the contem- 
 plated appointment being made it should be offered to him. The project, 
 however, was still in embryo, and — as the event proved — was not fully 
 carried out until about ten years later. It was meanwhile desirable that ji 
 
 a puisne judge of the Court of King's Bench for Upper Canada should be 
 appointed without delay, and that position was offered to Mr. Willis. It 
 was at the same time represented to him that his acceptance would in 
 no wise interfere with the scheme of the establishment of a Court of 
 Chancery, and that he would be none the less fitted to carry out such a 
 scheme from his having resided for some time in the Province, and from 
 his having become to some extent familiar with local laws and institu- 
 
 i. 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 165 
 
 i 
 
 tions. After mature reflection he accepted the offer, and set out for 
 Canada towards the end of the summer, accompanied by his wife, 
 mother, sister and infant son. 
 
 His marriage had not proved in all respects a felicitous one. Lady 
 Mary was imbued with patrician ideas, and bore herself towards her 
 husband's family with considerable hauteur. She was very particular in 
 exacting certain observances to which she considered herself entitled. 
 There were doubtless faults on both sides. Mrs. and Miss Willis took 
 umbrage at the patronizing airs of Lady Mary, who, in her turn, com- 
 plained that she was made a cipher in her own house. There were also 
 petty jealousies on the part of Lady Mary, which led to disputes between 
 herself and her husband. Altogether the domestic establishment at 
 Hendon was not a harmonious one, but the means of the family were 
 insufficient to admit of the keeping up of two separate households. The 
 true remedy for such a state of things lay in the exercise of a spirit of 
 mutual forbearance — an exercise to which Lady Mary, at least, seems to 
 have been little accustomed. Under such ominious auspices was the 
 Willis household transferred from Hendon to Upper Canada. 
 
 The Willises reached the Upper Province on the 17th of September, and 
 on the following day the new judge proceeded to Stamford Cottage, the 
 summer residence of the Lieutenant- Governor, in the Niagara District. 
 Having presented the royal warrant for his appointment, together with 
 certain other documents, he was cordially received by Sir Peregrine. He 
 dined and spent the evening at the Cottage. In the course of conversa- 
 tion he referred to the project of establishing a Court of Equity — which by 
 this time was no secret — and was surprised to find that the theme was 
 distasteful to his host, who, in a tone not to be misunderstood, remarked : 
 " Sir, you have not got your Court of Equity yet." " The words," wrote 
 Mr. Willis,* "made some impression at the time, and subsequent events 
 tended to throw further light upon their meaning." 
 
 Upon his arrival at York, on the 20th, Mr. Willis was welcomed with 
 apparp"+, cordiality by the judiciary, the bar, and society generally. The 
 
 • See his "Narrative of Occurrences in Upper Canada," written from Bath to the Secretary 
 of State for the Colonial Department, dated 5th December, 1828, and included in pp. 273-288 of 
 the blue book on the subject issued by the Imperial Government in 1829, 
 
166 THE UPPEU CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 leaders of local fashion vied with each other in their attentions to the 
 ladies of the family, more especially to Lady Mary, who was almost 
 overwhelmed with civilities. The new judge was sworn in on the 11th of 
 October. He entered with avidity upon the duties of his office, and also 
 made himself conspicuous in society, where he was from the first regarded 
 in the light of a decided acquisition. He entered with keen zest into 
 plans for party-giving and entertaining, and evidently derived heartfelt 
 pleasure from receiving and dispensing courteous hospitalities. He 
 attended several public meetings which had been called for charitable and 
 other purposes, at all of which he spoke with what was considered a 
 somewhat perfervid eloquence. In a word, he not only took the rank to 
 which he was entitled by virtue of his office, but jumped at once into the 
 position of a leader of society and social movements. His name was 
 on everybody's lips. Persons to the manner born, who had been 
 accustomed to fill the foremost places in the public eye, found them- 
 selves, for the time, almost superseded and ignored. Judge Willis duly 
 appreciated the homage which was rendered to him, and exhibited 
 himself to society in his brightest and most amiable colours. T ■ a few 
 great personages, however, it seemed as if the new-comer carried himself 
 with wonderful sang-froid, and contemplated himself and his position 
 with too much complacency. To them it appeared as if he regarded all 
 the eager admiration which was lavished upon him as being nothing 
 more than his transcendent qualifications entitled him to look for at the 
 hands of the little world of York. He seemed, they thought, to accept it 
 all as his just due. And the belief was not unreasonable on their part, 
 for the Judge seems to have been in a measure carried off his feet by the 
 attentions paid to him on every hand. His position was one calling for 
 the exercise of calm judgment and discretion. It was not surprising 
 that leading members of the bench and bar, who had long served tho 
 Government with zeal and acceptance, should entertain some jealousy ac 
 the appointment of an outsider to a place of high honour and emolu- 
 ment. Attorney-General Robinson, for instance, had filled his responsible 
 office for many years, and the Crown had certainly no reason to complain 
 that he had favoured liberty at the expense of prerogative. Hagerman 
 and Boulton, too, had for years lent themselves to the purposes of the 
 
THE "AMOVAL OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 167 
 
 
 Executive. It was not singular that these persons should feel as though 
 their own claims to preferment had been passed over in favour of Judge 
 Willis, a stranger to Canada, her institutions and her polity. Nor was it 
 wonderful that their deportment towards the stranger should, in spite 
 of themselves, be influenced by the feeling. Judge Willis was not long 
 in discovering that some sentiment of this sort was in the air, but he 
 does not appear to have made sufficient allowance for it, and manifested 
 a disposition to carry things with a high hand. He entertained a poor 
 opinion of the Attorney-General's professional attainments, and did not 
 sufficiently conceal this opinion. He was at first disposed to think highly 
 of Judge Sherwood's abilities, but erelong came to the conclusion that he 
 had greatly overestimated them,* and plainly showed, by his conduct, 
 that he attached little weight to his brother judge's decisions. This 
 course was the very opposite to what would have been adopted by a 
 discreet and really able man. Such a man would have made due allow- 
 ance for jealousies which, under the circumstances, were almost 
 inevitable. Such a man would have adopted a policy of friendly concili- 
 ation. Such a man would have refrained from making himself specially 
 conspicuous, at least until he had been some time settled in his new 
 career, and had become accustomed to the novel atmosphere. Judge 
 Willis's conduct was the very reverse of all this. In his intercourse 
 with his brother judges — one of whom, it must be remembered, was Chief 
 Justice — he adopted a tone of superiority, and even, to some extent, of 
 dictation. He was of course not to be blamed for dissenting from their 
 opinions — which he verj frequently did — provided that he was honest 
 in his dissent; but he acted very cavalierly on such occasions, and in 
 pronouncing his own judgments seldom thought it necessary to make 
 any reference to the decisions of his brethren on the bench. It was 
 impossible for the latter to ignore the fact that he despised, or affected 
 to despise their legal attainments; and their recognition of this neces- 
 
 * There is a covert irony in the portion of Judge Willis's Narrative which refers to this 
 Bubject. "I wished to think," he writes, "and from the attention he seemed to pay to business 
 I actually worked myself up into the belief, which I frequently expressed, that Mr. Justice Sher- 
 wood was a hard-headed sensible man ; but I became convinced that, though right in the former 
 conjecture, yet so far as legal knowledge or abilities were concerned, I was mistaken in the latter 
 part of my conclusion." The italics are Judge Willis's own. 
 
168 THE UPPER CANADIAN REUELLION. 
 
 sarily gave rise to irritation and anger on their part. They felt his 
 conduct to bo all the more disrespectful to them in consequence of his 
 admitted want of familiarity with Common Law, his own reading and 
 practice having been almost exclusively confined to the Equity branch of 
 the profession. 
 
 In the very first judgment ever rendered by him, he gave utterance 
 to sentiments which, to put the matter mildly, were very much out of 
 place. The case was one brought by George Rolph, of Dundas, against 
 T. G. Simons and others, for a gross outrage which had been perpetrated 
 on the plaintiff, who was a brother of the Attorney-General's great 
 political rival. The outrage had arisen out of private complications, 
 and no political question arose in the course of the trial. In concluding 
 his judgment Mr. Willis took occasion to remark that he had formed his 
 opinion of the case on its intrinsic merits, unbiassed by any political 
 considerations. He added that he was totally devoid of party feelings, 
 and that it would ever be his most earnest desire to render to every one 
 impartial justice. It goes without saying that these are very proper 
 sentiments on the part of an occupant of the judicial bench. Such 
 principles were especially required in Upper Canada, where there had 
 long been much judicial partiality and frequent miscarriages of justice 
 by reason of political differences. But a judge should at least assume 
 that his integrity is taken for granted, and should deem it beneath his 
 dignity to attempt any vindication of his rectitude while an occupant of 
 the bench. Moreover, there were no circumstances to call forth such 
 expressions as were used by Judge Willis. No hint of any partiality had 
 ever been heard against him. There had been no opportunity for any 
 display of partiality by him, for he then took his seat on the bench for 
 the first time. Saith the proverb : " He who makes unnecessary excuses 
 accuses himself." In this case the Judge certainly indulged in wholly 
 unnecessary self-vindication. And there were reasons why any such 
 vindication by him was especially indelicate. The Radical newspapers 
 had heralded his arrival as the dawn of a new era, when judicial corrup- 
 tion would cease in the land. It is pretty evident that he had been 
 flattered by the eulogy, and that he now went out of his way to administer 
 a covert reproof to his colleagues on the bench. His remarks were 
 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 1G9 
 
 
 undoubtedly taken in that sense, and tacitly resented by them. It may 
 have been that they were all the more ready to take the remarks as 
 applying to themselves from their consciousness of past shortcomings ; 
 but it was not from a brother on the bench — one, too, who had been only 
 a few weeks in the country — that they should have been subjected to 
 reproof. 
 
 To the feelings of his colleagues, however, Mr. Willis paid little con- 
 sideration. His heart was specially set upon the establishment of a court 
 of equitable jurisdiction, and to this end he bent much of his energy. 
 He forced the matter upon the attention of the Attorney-General, who, 
 he found, differed from him in respect of certain important details. He 
 also prepared and submitted a scheme to the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 He found great difficulty in inducing any member of the Government 
 to discuss the matter with him. He was informed that an Act of 
 the Provincial Legislature was considered necessary to the creation of 
 such a court as the one contemplated by him. In this opinion he 
 did not coincide, but by way of expediting matters he bestirred him- 
 self with a view to bringing about the necessary legislation. After 
 a Bill, originally prepared by his own hand, had been introduced 
 into the Assembly, he attended to hear the debates, and fraternized 
 with Rolph, Bidwell, and other members of the Opposition — a circum- 
 stance which was afterwards very strongly urged against him at the 
 Colonial Office. The Bill did not run smoothly, and was denuded of 
 certain clauses which he deemed to be essential to the successful carrying 
 out of the scheme. He vainly endeavoured to bring the Attorney-General 
 round to his view of the matter. Mr. Robinson had too long been supreme 
 in all legal affairs to submit to any dictation, more especially from one 
 towards whom he bore no good will. Judge Willis found himself opposed 
 and thwarted at every turn ; and he erelong discovered that the Govern- 
 ment were averse to the scheme, although the aversion was not directly 
 avowed. He then recalled the Lieutenant-Governor's remark on the 
 subject made to him some months before at Stamford Cottage. Certain 
 dubious expressions which had from time to time fallen from the lips 
 of the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, the Judges, and other 
 prominent officials also recurred to his mind. As for Attorney-General 
 
; 
 
 170 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Robinson, " I at length diacovored," wrote Judge Willis, " that any pro- 
 position that did not originate with himself was not generally attended j 
 with his approbation."* ( 
 
 A despatch from the Colonial Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor 
 was promulgated about this time, from which it appeared that the project 
 of establishing a Court of equitable jurisdiction was in abeyance, or had, 
 for the time, been abandoned. Judge Willis was greatly disappointed 
 at this abandonment, which, in conversation, he openly ascribed to the 
 influence of Sir James Scarlett, the English Attorney-General, with 
 whom he had once had some unpleasantness while on circuit. But it 
 also became known about the same time that Chief Justice Campbell 
 was about to retire from the bench, and that his office would accord- 
 ingly soon be vacant. Judge Willis lost no time in making application 
 for the post. Neither did Attorney-General Robinson, whose application 
 was backed by the entire influence of the Upper Canadian Executive. 
 Here was a fresh ground of rivalry, whereby the unpleasant relations 
 between these two officials were intensified. It soon became impossible 
 for the new Judge and the Attorney-General to come into contact without 
 feelings and expressions indicative of personal hostility. The hollow 
 friendship which had at first seemed to subsist between them was cast 
 to the winds, and all social intercourse between them was at an end. 
 Any proposition emanating from Judge Willis was systematically op- 
 posed by the Attorney-General. The Judge in his turn availed himself 
 of several opportunities of showing how little weight he attached to 
 the Attorney- General' 8 opinions. Worse still, he brought upon him- 
 self the lasting indignation of the Lieutenant-Governor. It would 
 perhaps be more correct to say that his wife brought this calamity upon 
 him, for the origin of the trouble was a hot dispute between Lady Mary 
 Willis and Lady Sarah Maitland on a question of rank and precedence. 
 In this quarrel it is quite clear that Lady Mary was in the wrong, but 
 the whole affair was utterly contemptible on both sides. The ladies 
 dragged their respective liege-lords into the dispute, and each of the 
 latter espoused the side of his helpmeet. Sir Peregrine necessarily got 
 the better of his adversary, whom he never forgave. It is impossible to 
 
 • See Judge Willis's Narrative, ubi supra. 
 
TnE "AMOVAIi" OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 171 
 
 • 
 
 say how far this unseemly women's wrangle contributed to the humili- 
 ation which Judge Willis was subsequently compelled to endure, but it is Bj 
 pretty clear that from that time forward Sir Peregrine was bent upon 
 getting his adversary removed from his position. Unhappily the Judge, 
 by his want of discretion, made this resolution comparatively easy of 
 accomplishment. He constituted himself a sort of general censor of 
 judicial and official shortcomings, and from his seat on the bench gave 
 utterance to petulant and unbecoming strictures ou various transactions 
 with which he had no need to concern himself. 
 
 At the York Assizes held in April, 1828, Judge Willis came into 
 
 1828 
 
 such serious public collision with the Attorney-General that the affair 
 was bruited abroad, and made considerable noise throughout the Prov- 
 ince. On Thursday, the 10th of the month, Francis Collins, editor of the 
 Freeman, was brought up on certain indictments for libel preferred against 
 him by Attorney-General Eobinson, under circumstances which will be 
 detailed in a subsequent chapter. The bench was occupied by Mr. Justice 
 Sherwood. The Clerk was just about to proceed to arraign the accused, 
 when a postponement was asked for on the latter' s behalf. The appli- 
 cation was granted, and there the matter ended for the day. Next 
 morning — Friday, the 11th — the bench was occupied by Justice Willis, 
 who then for the first time in his life presided at an Assize. He had no 
 sooner taken his seat than Collins rose at the bar. " May it please your 
 Lordship," said he, "I have a motion or two to make in Court, if I, not 
 being a lav?yer, am in order in so doing." 
 
 " Certainly," replied the Judge ; " step forward, that the Court may 
 hear you." 
 
 Collins then stepped forward, and addressed the Court in a speech 
 which had evidently ')een prepared for the occasion.* " My Lord," said 
 he, "I am the humble conductor of a public press in this town. I come 
 forward to accuse His Majesty's Attorney-General of vindictiveness and 
 foul partiality in the discharge of his duty as prosecuting officer for the 
 
 * So far as mere dietion is concerned I have here chiefly followed Collins's own report of this 
 episode, as published in the Freeman, but I have also before me the Attorney-General's account, 
 as well as the more elaborate one of Judge Willis himself, and the three do not materially differ 
 in this respect. 
 
I 
 
 172 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Crown. He has sent his nephews and apprentices as spies into my office 
 in order to hunt up imaginary offences. He has preferred bills of 
 indictment against me on supposition of libel, and I have been dragged 
 from my business by a common constable, and oblif^ed to give bail in this 
 Court, while he, the Attorney-General, has allowed the most infamous 
 crimes to pass in review before him, without taking any notice whatever 
 of them." And so on, with much more to the same purport. 
 
 The speaker was interrupted by the Attorney-General, who had been 
 conferring with a member of the bar in an adjoining room, but who 
 had been specially summoned into Court by his clerk, Henry Sherwood, 
 who had informed him that Collins was making a long harangue to the 
 Judge. Observing that the Judge showed no disposition to put a stop to 
 the proceedings, Mr. Kobinson requested to be informed what was the 
 defendant's object in addressing the Court, and whether he had made 
 any motion. "If Mr. Collins is allowed to proceed," replied Judge 
 Willis, "I dare say his object will appear." Collins accordingly pro- 
 ceeded : — 
 
 " My Lord, while I have been dragged into this Court, on the mere 
 suspicion of libel, by His Majesty's Attorney-General, I hold in my hand 
 the printed confession of His Majesty's Solicitor-General, Henry John 
 Boulton Esquire, of a crime that the law of England calls murder, 
 committed ten or eleven years ago.* Yet no indictment has been brought 
 against him, and this confession is attested by James Fitz Gibbon 
 Esquire, a magistrate of this District, and by the Sheriff of this Court. 
 I hold also in my hand the printed history of an outran ' the grossest 
 character, where a number of young official gentlemen in this town 
 assombled together and committed a noonday burglary, by breaking into 
 the private house of "William Lyon Mackenzie, and destroying his pro- 
 perty. This atrocious outrage, please your Lordship, was proved on the 
 floor of this Court, in the presence of His Majesty's A.ttorney-General. 
 The perpetrators were identified and sworn to yet no indictment has 
 ever been brought against them, while the Attorney-General is busying 
 himself in sending spies and informers into my printing office to bring 
 me up for imaginary offences." 
 
 *Ante, p. 13. 
 

 THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 173 
 
 The Attorney-General could hai^dly be expected to sit quietly under 
 such accusations as these, made in open Court, and listened to by the 
 bench without any expression of disapprobation. He rose in some heat, 
 and remarked that he hoped the Court would not allow the public business 
 to be thus interrupted. "The defendant," said he, "is not upon his 
 trial, nor has he ever been arraigned. He seems merely to be indulging 
 himself in an attack upon me as Attorney-General — an attack which 
 could not have any bearing upon his own case, even if it were now before 
 a jury ; but which at present is nothing but a most improper interruption 
 of the business of the Court, by an harangue intended to prejudice the 
 public mind before he shall be put upon his trial. As to the matters of 
 which he has spoken, I am not to be called to account by him, or by any 
 other defendant, for the discharge of my official duties with respect to 
 other parties not now before the Court. I am at all times ready to 
 account for my proceedings as Attorney-General to the Government for 
 whom I act, and to whom I am responsible ; but I trust that the Court 
 will not suffer a person whom I merely know as defendant upon bills for 
 libels of the most disgraceful kind, and whose arraignment upon these 
 charges has been postponed, as an indulgence, at his own request — I 
 trust that such a person will not be allowed to address the Court in this 
 irregular manner, for the mere object of calumniating me, whose duty it 
 is to conduct the prosecutions against him." 
 
 A brief silence followed these words, after which Collins resumed, and 
 was allowed to proceed without further interruption. 
 
 " The object of my present motion, then, my Lord, is to compel the 
 Attorney-General to do that duty which he has so long neglected when 
 his own friends were concerned ; and as I think his present proceedings 
 against me are both partial and unjust, I shall press the criminal prose- 
 cution of his friends, Henry John Boulton Esquire, for murder, and 
 Samuel P. Jarvis and others for riot. In the latter case, please your 
 Lordship, the rioters were sued in a civil action, and damages to a con- 
 siderable amount recovered from them ; yet I feel it my duty to press 
 the criminal prosecution, because James Fitz Gibbon Esquire, a magis- 
 trpte of this District, begged the amount of the fine from door to door in 
 this town, and the rioters have so far gone wholly unpunished. All 1 
 
174 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ask, please your Lordship, is justice and impartiality, and from your 
 Lordship's character I doubt not I shall receive them at your hands." 
 
 After a moment's consideration, during which silence reigned supreme 
 in the Coujrt-room, Judge Willis remarked : — " If the Attorney-General 
 has acted as you say, he has very much neglected his duty. Go you 
 before the Grand Jury, and if you meet with any obstruction or difficulty 
 I will see that the Attorney-General affords you every facility." 
 
 This was, beyond doubt, very unbecoming language to be used by a 
 Judge under such circumstances. It must be understood that Judge 
 Willis had not properly before him any facts upon which to base his 
 opinion as to the Attorney-General's having neglected his duty. That 
 that official had much to answer for; that his practice had been one- 
 sided and inconsistent; that much of his life had been spent in endeav- 
 ouring to smother public opinion and to maintain the supremacy of a 
 selfish and corrupt caste — this must be conceded at the bar of history. 
 But no such allegations were before Judge Willis in an official form, and 
 he had no right to assume anything against the Attorney-General in the 
 absence of the most irrefragable evidence. Instead of evidence, he had 
 merely heard the ex parte statements of an alleged libeller. This was 
 the legal aspect of the matter, and it is impossible to avoid the conclu- 
 sion that the Judge permitted himself to be influenced by his personal 
 dislike to At Lorney- General Robinson. 
 
 The Attorney-General sat for a moment as if thunderstruck. He had 
 so long been accustomed to having his own way in Courts of Justice, and 
 to seeing his opinions deferred to by the bench, that he could scarcely 
 credit what was passing before his eyes. That a Judge should dare to 
 censure him in this irregular way, before the bar and the public, was 
 almost beyond belief. A contemporary account says that he turned to 
 "a rich cream colour."* He was at all events labouring under sup- 
 pressed rage as he deliberately arose to address the Court. He denied 
 that he had neglected his duty in not preferring indictments against 
 persons in cases where no formal complaint had been laid, and he utterly 
 repudiated the idea that his officii imposed upon him the rdle of a thief- 
 catcher. " It is not my business," said he, " to play the part of a detec- 
 
 ♦ The Freeman, AprU 17th, 1828. 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 175 
 
 4 
 
 tive, or to hunt about the country for evidence in support of voluntary 
 prosecutions. I have now discharged the duties of a Crown officer for 
 nearly thirteen years, and this is the first time that a failure in my duty 
 has been imputed to me. I have always conceived it to be my duty to 
 take official cognizance of offences against the State. As to other cases, 
 I have been accustomed to proceed only upon informations and com- 
 plaints placed in my hands by justices of the peace, and upon present- 
 ments of Grand Juries. In cases of injuries to individuals and their 
 properties, such as assaults and riots, where a double remedy is afforded 
 by action and indictment, I have not been accustomed to set the law in 
 operation on my own motion." 
 
 " That," interrupted Judge Willis, " merely proves that your practice 
 has been uniformly wrong, and I take leave to remark that you have 
 neglected your duty. Why are you placed here, as prosecuting officer? 
 To prevent the violation of the public peace, or, when it has been violated, 
 to punish the offenders, whoever they may be, or whatever may be your 
 private feelings with respect to them. The moment a violation of the 
 public peace was proved before you, as in the case mentioned by Mr. 
 Collins, it was your duty to proceed against the offenders. Do you not 
 consider that the Solicitor-General and yourself have the exclusive right 
 to conduct all criminal prosecutions ; or do you admit them to be open 
 to the bar in general, as in England?" 
 
 The Attorney- General's feelings were by this time worked up to a 
 tremendous pitch of excitement. To think that a Judge — a junior Judge, 
 who had been only a few months in the country — should presume to 
 lecture him in this manner, and to instruct him in his duties as though 
 he were a petty juryman ! "My Lord," he burst forth, in a tone of hot 
 anger, " I know my duty as well as any Judge on the bench. I have 
 always acted in the way I have indicated, in which respect I have 
 followed the practice of all my predecessors in this Province ; and I shall 
 continue to act in the same manner as long as I am prosecuting officer 
 for the Crown." 
 
 "Then, Sir," retorted Judge Willis, "if you know your duty you have 
 wilfully neglected it; and as you say you will continue to act as you 
 have done hithdrto, I shall feel it to be my duty — holding, as I do. His 
 
176 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Majesty's commission on this bench — to make a representation of your 
 conduct to His Majesty's Government." 
 
 This far from edifying scene was without precedent in the annals of 
 Upper Canadian courts of justice, and was for some days the talk of the 
 town, more especially among the members of the legal profession. The 
 bar generally sided with the Attorney-General, and were loud in their 
 aspersions upon Judge Willis. Some of the leading members, however, 
 among whom were Rolph, Bidwell and the two Baldwins, took a different 
 view, so far, at least, as the legal aspect of the dispute was concerned. 
 As for public opinion generally, it was largely in favour of Judge Willis. 
 On Monday, the 14th, before the public pulse had had time to cool, there 
 was a scarcely less notable interchange of asperities between the same 
 personages. The Attorney-General, in a criminal case in which he was 
 officially concerned, took occasion to reiterate, in effect, the views to 
 which he had given expression on the previous Thursday as to the duties 
 of a Crown prosecutor. When he had finished his remarks Judge Willis 
 expressed himself to the same effect as before. " The practice in this 
 country," said the Judge, " as stated by the Attorney-General, does not 
 agree with my notions as to the duty of that officer, and I have laid a 
 statement of the question before His Majesty's Government here for the 
 purpose of having it transmitted to England, where it will be decided 
 how far the Attorney-General is right in expressing his sentiments as he 
 has done." Mr. Eobinson hereupon remarked that he was Attorney- 
 General to His Majesty, and not to Judge Willis, and that he would act 
 as he believed to be right, even though he should differ in opinion from 
 his Lordship. 
 
 Justice Willis. — Mr. Attorney-General, I am one of His Majesty's 
 Judges in this Province. As such, it is my place to state to the Crown 
 officers what their duties are, and it is for them to perform those duties 
 according to direction. If the interests of the Crown had not been con- 
 cerned I would not have permitted any discussion on the question. But 
 I am sure His Majesty's Government will protect me from insult in the 
 exercise of my judicial functions, and in stating to any public office" 
 whit I conceive to be his duties. 
 
 Attorney-General Robinson. — And will also protect His Majesty's 
 officers in the execution of their duty. 
 
 
THE "AMOVAL OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 177 
 
 Justice Willis. — Mr. Attorney-General, I beg that you will not reply 
 to the bench in that manner. 
 
 The unseemliness of thus discussing, in open Court, how far the 
 Attorney-General had proved to be an effective public servant, must be 
 apparent to everybody. And it must be admitted that the discussion 
 was provoked by Justice Willis, who had made something very like an 
 attack upon the Attorney-General — an attack based upon the unsworn 
 statements of an indicted libeller. He had moreover permitted Collins to 
 go a most unwarrantable length in his onslaught upon the Crown pro- 
 secutor, more especially as no affidavits had been produced in support 
 of the motion. A layman who comes before the Courts inops consilii is 
 allowed more latitude in the conduct of his case than is generally conceded 
 to a counsel whose professional business it is to plead at the bar; but the 
 latitude permitted in the case under consideration was beyond all legiti- 
 mate bounds. The Judge's dislike to the Attorney-General seems to 
 have predisposed him to believe that all Collins's allegations were true. 
 In reality they were exaggerated presentations of notorious facts. That 
 they were largely founded upon facts Judge Willis probably Itnew from 
 common hearsay. But while sitting on the bench he had nothing to 
 do with common hearsay. A fortiori, he was not justified, upon the mere 
 assumption of a hypothetical case,* in admonishing the Attorney-General 
 in the presence of his accuser, and in humiliating him in the presence of 
 the bar of which he was the rightful head. An English judge would be 
 considered as departing widely beyond the sphere of his duty if he were 
 thus openly to arraign the conduct of the Attorney-General, especially in 
 a matter clearly lying, as in the case under consideration, within that 
 officer's discretion. English judges, on the contrary, are much more likely 
 to interpose on behalf of the officers of the Crown, and to prevent their 
 acts and motives from being called in question in open Court by persons 
 against whom proceedings have been instituted by them. Judge Willis 
 seems to have been wrong in his law, wrong in his etiquette, wrong in 
 his temper, and wrong in his construction of judicial amenities. 
 
 Henceforth the Judge's "amoval" was only a matter of time, for the 
 
 * The case, aa put by the Judge, was purely hypothetical, 
 acted so and bo, he has neglected his duty." See ante, p. 174. 
 
 " // the Attorney-Generul has 
 

 178 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 entire influence of the Executive, direct and indirect, was arrayed against 
 him. From the Lieutenant-Governor down to the most insignificant 
 clerk in the departments there arose a howl of indignation against the 
 man who had dared to set up his wife in opposition to Lady Sarah Mait- 
 land ; who had dissented from the judgments of Chief Justice Campbell 
 and Mr. Sherwood, and sneered at their legal acumen ; who consorted 
 with the leading members of the Opposition ; who had even gone the 
 inconceivable length of berating Attorney-General Robinson for neglecting 
 his duty. Such a man was not to be tolerated. He must surely be a 
 Eadical, who had got himself sent over to this colony in order that he 
 might stir up dissatisfaction among the people. To go over all the 
 interminable squabbles which took place between Judge Willis, on the one 
 hand, and the various judicial and official dignitaries on the other, would 
 be alike wearisome and profitless. Judge Willis availed himself of every 
 opportunity which presented itself for officially and publicly animadver- 
 ting upon the conduct of those who were opposed to him. He added to 
 his enormities by announcing, through the newspapers, that he was pre- 
 paring for publication a work on Upper Canadian jurisprudence, and it 
 appeared that the title-page was to bear the deprecatory motto Meliora 
 sperans.* Meliora spcrans, indeed! What manner of personage was 
 this outsider, who arrogated to himself the responsibility of ameliorating 
 the rigours of Upper Canadian laws ? t It was not long before an 
 opposition announcement appeared, being an exact counterpart of the 
 other, ex'jept that the motto was Beteriora timens. The authorship of 
 tlip latter, whether rightly or wrongly, was very generally attributed to 
 Attorney-General Robinson. Judge Willis's announcement gave great 
 offence to the official guardians of the law, from the highest to the 
 lowest. The motto, which in reality had been adopted by him prior 
 
 *The announcement ran as follows :— "Preparing for publiuation. — A View of the Present 
 System of Jurisprudenco in Upper Canada ; by an English Barrister, now one of His Majesty's 
 Judges in this Province. — Meliora sperans." 
 
 + It was time for some one to undertake the duty of ameliorating the criminal law of Upper 
 ■Canada, which was that of England as it stood on the 17th of September, 1792, except in so far as 
 it h.-d been altered by subsequent legislation. At the Assizes for the Home District, held at York 
 in the autumn of 1827, within a few weeks after Judge Willis's arrival in the Province, a boy was 
 capitally oonv'icted and sentenced to death for killing a cow. 
 
 jflH 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 179 
 
 to his coming to Canada, was believed to have been specially assumed for 
 the occasion, and was regarded as a covert sneer at existing institutions 
 in the Province. As a consequence, it was taken as additional evidence 
 of disrespect. Owing to the Judge's " amoval " the projected treatise was 
 never issued, though several chapters of it had actually been written. 
 A small portion of it was incorporated in a work published by the author 
 in England twenty-two years afterwards.* 
 
 In an elaborately-worded despatch to the Colonial Secretf dated 
 the 6th of June, 1828, Sir Peregrine Maitland called the attentic that 
 official to Judge Willis's announcement and the accompanyin^^^ motto, 
 which he declared to be, in his opinion, neither discreet nor delicate, as 
 emanating from a Judge upon the bench, who had been but a few months 
 in the Province. The laws of Upper Canada, in Sir Peregrine's estima- 
 tion, were highly satisfactory, and needed nothing so much as to be let 
 alone. "I have been ten years in this government," he wrote, " and as 
 I have never received any representation against the laws, or the manner 
 in which they have been administered, I must conclude that the people 
 are content with both." Content with laws which prescribed capital 
 punishment for the killing of a cow ! Content with laws which had been 
 conceived in an iron age, and under a state of society which was now 
 happily passing away ! Content with the laws ! When a majority of 
 the population, through their representatives in the Assembly, had for 
 years been using their utmost endeavours to procure the repeal of the 
 Sedition Act of 1804 ! When a Select Committee of the British House of 
 Commons had directed the attention of Government to this medisevally- 
 conceived statute, and had expressly recommended its repeal ! Content 
 with the manner in which the laws had been administered, when the trial 
 of Robert Gourlay was yet fresh in the public memory ! When a score 
 of almost equally vile but less conspicuous perversions of justice were 
 matters of yesterday ! When no obscure litigant could sue a member of 
 the Family Compact with any assurance of obtaining his rights ! When 
 the Reform newspapers had for years been iilled to overflowing with com- 
 plaints about the imperfect administration of justice ! When a very 
 
 * On the Government of the British Colonies. London, 1850. 
 
I . •• 
 
 180 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 strongly- worded complaint of neglect in the administration of justice had 
 only a few weeks before been made in open court to Judge Willis when 
 he first took his seat in a Court of Assize ! When a large proportion of 
 the population had ceased to have any confidence in the integrity of the 
 judiciary ! When this want of confidence was shared by several leaders 
 of the Provincial bar, who certainly had exceptional opportunities for 
 forming a correct opinion on the subject ! The time was not far distant 
 when one of the most eminent and successful lawyers in the country 
 was to abandon his profession, owing to this very want of confidence. 
 Truly, a wonderful manifestation of content with the laws and the manner 
 in which they were administered. Sir Peregrine thought and acted as 
 other opponents of reform have acted from time immemorial. He refused 
 to believe in the existence of discontent which he did not share. He 
 refused to believe that he himself was not an object of adoration to the 
 great body of the people, because the official lickspittles by whom he was 
 surrounded vied with each other in flattering his imbecile vanity. Had 
 he been left to his own devices he would have been like the doomed king 
 who refused to believe that his people were hungry until thirty thousand 
 starving sans-culottes were thundering at his palace gates. 
 
 It soon became generally known throughout the country that strained 
 relations existed between Judge Willis and the whole race of officialdom at 
 the capital. The new Judge was known to have given expression to a desire 
 for a reform of the law ; and it was commonly assumed that it was to his 
 liberal ideas that he was indebted for the hostility with which he was 
 regarded by the ruling faction. The Keform Party warmly espoused 
 his cause, and their organs devoted much space to extolling his wisdom, 
 moderation and other high qualities. Addresses to him were circulated 
 throughout some of the rural constituencies, and there was a manifest 
 disposition to cater for his favour and patronage. Had he been endowed 
 with discretion and good judgment he might, without any dereliction 
 from his judicial duty or integrity, have rendered incalculable service to 
 the cause of freedom and good government. Doubtless the rendering 
 of such service would sooner or later have involved him in complications 
 with the official party, but if he had kept his head it is doubtful if they 
 could have prevailed against him. Unfortunately he proved to be too weak 
 
THE "AMOVAL OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 181 
 
 for his position, and allowed himself to be completely out-manceuvred. 
 He ruined himself, without accomplishing anything for the cause which 
 he wished to serve. The time was rapidly drawing near when, by means 
 of a judicial decision, he was to shut the door forever upon any prospect 
 of his advancement in this country, and when he was to be made the 
 subject of ofBcial communications resulting in his permanent removal 
 therefrom. 
 
 As has already been mentioned, there had been frequent differences 
 of opinion between Mr. Willis and his colleagues, almost from the begin- 
 ning of the former's assumption of judicial functions. The acting justices 
 of the Court of King's Bench were at that time three in number, and 
 consisted of the Hon. WiUiam Campbell, Chief Justice, the Hon. Levius 
 Peters Sherwood, senior puisne judge, and Mr. Justice Willis himself. 
 During the first Term which ensued after Mr. Willis's arrival in this 
 country — which was Michaelmas Term, 1827 — he had occupied the bench 
 along with the other two judges. In Hilary Term of 1828 the Court had 
 been presided over by the same three judges, except that Chief Justice 
 Campbell had occasionally been absent from his seat in consequence of 
 infirm health. Immediately after the close of the last-named Term the 
 Chief Justice, having obtained from the Lieutenant-Governor six months' 
 leave of absence, departed for England, whence he did not return 
 until after a long holiday. The Court of King's Bench was thus left 
 with only the two puisne judges, who accordingly presided by them- 
 selves during the following Easter Term. They had by this time come to 
 dislike each other most cordially, insomuch that it taxed their powers to 
 the utmost to treat each other with becoming respect. Sometimes the 
 ejGfort was beyond their power, and they snapped and snarled at one 
 another upon the bench like two querulous old women. They now differed 
 in opinion upon almost every case which came before them, and it is 
 impossible to doubt that their differences were in large measure due 
 to their personal hostility. This was a serious matter, for, as no third 
 judge was at hand to give the preponderance of authority to either side, 
 there was a practical dead-lock in much of the business of ije Court. 
 Suitors were put to serious delay, inconvenience, and consequent expense. 
 Counsel were profoundly disgusted, and of course took sides for and 
 
182 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 against. Judge Willis was so sensible of the deplorable consequences of 
 such a state of things that, as soon as Term was over, he entered into a 
 minute and searching investigation of the constitution and power of the 
 Court of King's Bench as established in Upper Canada.* He was desirous 
 of finding some way out of the difficulty, or at all events of knowing 
 precisely upon what ground he stood. But a still more serious evil soon 
 began to loom up before his mind, for the result of his investigations was 
 a conviction that the Court could not legally sit in Term, unless the full 
 court — i.e., the Chief Justice and the two puisne Justices — were present. 
 This conviction was a momentous one, for, if sustained, it would 
 nullify much that had been done in the Court ever since its establishment 
 in 1794. The frequent practice had been for two Judges, and sometimes 
 even for only one, to sit during Term; and, as has been seen, Judge 
 Willis himself had so far acquiesced in this practice as to sit during a 
 part of the preceding Hilary Term, and during the whole of Easter 
 Term, with Justice Sherwood as his only colleague. He had however 
 assumed the prevailing practice to be justified by the constitution of 
 the Court, and had not examined the matter on his own account until 
 impelled to do so by the reasons already indicated. He now discovered, 
 as he believed, that the practice was altogether unwarranted, and that 
 all that had been done under it was liable to be upset. The first 
 section of the Provincial Statute under which the Court had been 
 created t enacted that "His Majesty's Chief Justice, together with two 
 puisne justices," should preside therein. All the subsequent sections 
 except those relating to appeals had been repealed by a later Provincial 
 Act,t and although power was given to the senior puisne Judge, in the 
 absence of the Chief Justice, to teste the process, and to any of the Judges to 
 
 * The investigation, according to Judge Willis's own testimony, was entered into partly in 
 consequence of a suggestion which he received on the subject. See the text of his written 
 opinion, embodied in pp. 66—74 of the Imperial blue book issued in 1829, entitled "Papers 
 relating to the Removal of the Honourable John Walpole Willis from the Office of One of His 
 Majesty's Judges of the Court of King's Bench of Upper Canada." It seems probable that the 
 suggestion emanated from Dr. Baldwin. 
 
 t34 Geo. III., c. 2. This statute was framed by the Hon. William Osgoode, first Chief 
 Justice of Upper Canada, a gentleman ot great learning, who had been sent out from England 
 for the express purpose of organizing the Courts of the Province. 
 
 t2Geo. IV.,c. 1. 
 
THE "AMOVAL OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 183 
 
 sit at Nisi Prius, there was no authority to sit in Banco, unless the Court 
 were full. Having arrived at a conclusion on the subject, Judge Willis at 
 once communicated the fact to the Colonial Secretary, the communication 
 being made by letter, forwarded through the Lieutenant-Governor, and 
 left purposely unsealed in order that that dignitary might possess himself 
 of the contents, to which his attention was specially called by a separate 
 note. Sir Peregrine could not refuse to transmit the Judge's missive, but 
 he took good care to malign him in an accompanying despatch. "It is 
 with pain," he wrote, " I am compelled to observe that, having presided 
 as a Judge for the first two terms after his arrival, withont finding more 
 occasion than all the respectable Judges who have preceded him to 
 make the administration of justice subservient to popular excitement, 
 Mr. Willis has been either unable or unwilling within the last few months 
 to avoid making his proceedings, either in the Civil or Criminal Court, 
 the prominent subject of political discussion, and the pretence of attacks 
 from the vilest quarters, and of the grossest kind, upon those who were 
 associated with him in the administration of justice, and of whom I shall 
 speak only justly when I say that the measure of respect and esteem in 
 which their public conduct has ever hitherto been held, and is now held, 
 by their Government, and by every person except by Mr. Willis, and by 
 a party with whom I have lamented to find him associate himself, and 
 who are not very respectable in any sense, is not to be attained but by a 
 long period of correct and honourable service." The italics are not Sir 
 Peregrine's, but they are deserving of all the emphasis which distinguish- 
 ing type can give them, as exemplifying the way in which the represen- 
 tative of Majesty in those days was not ashamed to secretly vilify persona 
 who opposed his policy: persons who, whether contemplated from a 
 moral or an intellectual point of view, were elevated so far above him 
 that it is impossible to institute any comparison between them. Will it 
 be believed that the gentlemen who were " not very respectable in any 
 sense " were John Eolph, Marshall Spring Bidwell, Dr. William Warren 
 Baldwin, and Eobert Baldwin? Was it not an honour to be disrepu- 
 table in such company ? Some of these, at least, were men whom no 
 pressure of outward circumstances could have induced to stab their 
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184 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 
 was in the frequent habit of doing in his despatches, and as he did when 
 he wrote the mendacious words above quoted. Judge Willis doubtless 
 associated with these men because he found them more to his taste than 
 anyone else with whom he became acquainted in York. And his doing 
 so was made much more of than the facts warranted. His acquaintance 
 with the persons named was not of such a nature as to be called intimate. 
 In hia "Narrative," already quoted from, he has recorded that to the 
 best of his recollection he never conversed with Dr. Baldwin, Mr. Eolph, 
 Mr. Bidwell, "or any other person politically opposed to Mr. Robinson" 
 a dozen times in the course of his life ; and in a separate defence of his 
 conduct written at Bath in December, 1828, he says: "From what I 
 know of Dr. T Id win and his family, I must always sincerely regret that 
 I have not known more." * 
 
 Having arrived at such a decision as to the constitution of the Court, 
 and having apprised the Colonial Secretary thereof, he took the earli' st 
 feasible opportunity of making it known to the Provincial bar. At ten 
 o'clock in the forenoon of the opening day of Trinity Term — which was 
 Monday, the 16th of June — he repaired to the Court House at York. 
 While robing himself in the Judge's chamber he was joined by his 
 colleague, Justice Sherwood, and a few moments afterward they both 
 proceeded to the Comrt room, attended by the Sheriff in the usual 
 manner. The Court having been formally opened, Judge Willis arose 
 and addressed the audience, standing all the while, after the manner of 
 a counsel at the bar. In the course of his remarks, which occupied 
 nearly an hour in delivery, he expressed himself in very positive terms 
 as to the constitution of the Court. He declared it to be his decided 
 opinion that the Court could not be legally held without the presence of 
 the Chief Justice and two puisne Judges; that everything which had 
 theretofore been done in the Court by two Judges only was null and 
 void; that the Lieutenant-Governor had no authority to grant leave of 
 absence to a Judge without the express approbation of the Executive 
 Council; that he (Judge Willis) had made enquiry at the office of the 
 Executive Council, and had found that leave had always been granted by 
 
 * See pp. 249—267 of the Imperial Government's blue book on the snbjeot, uM r^pra. 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 185 
 
 the Lieutenant-Governor alone, in pursuance of which leave Chief Justice 
 Campbell was now absent from the Province. The manner in which the 
 leave of absence to the Chief Justice, as well as to many other persons 
 holding situations under the Provincial Government, had been granted 
 by the Lieutenant-Governor, was pronounced to be, in Judge Willis's 
 opinion, not only irregular but illegal, whereby the incumbents had 
 forfeited their several offices. During the preceding Term an order of 
 the Court had been passed by Judge Sherwood and himself. That order 
 he now rescinded, so far as his authority was concerned, and he expressed 
 his regret that he had entered upon the discharge of his judicial functions 
 without having previously acquainted himself with the state of the law. 
 He added that he had felt it to be his imperative duty to declare his 
 opinion as to the incapacity of the Court to legally proceed with the 
 business before it; and that, holding that opinion, he had resolved to 
 decline to sit any longer upon the bench, though he would remain at 
 hand to attend to any functions which he could legally discharge. 
 
 This extraordinary address, it may be presumed, was not altogether 
 a surprise to Justice Sherwood, as Justice Willis had previously notified 
 the Lieutenant-Governor of his intention to give currency to his views 
 at the commencement of Term, and Sir Peregrine would be certain to 
 discuss the matter with the Attorney-General, through which medium 
 the facts would be tolerably sure to find their way to Justice Sherwood. 
 The latter seemed to take the matter very coolly. He informed the bar that 
 he would not take upon himself to pronounce an opinion on the subject 
 of the constitution ' ' ^<he Court, as there was nothing before him which 
 rendered it necessary lor him to do so. He added that he would adhere 
 to the practice which had uniformly prevailed, and that he would not 
 hesitate to proceed with the ordinary business of the Court, adjourning it 
 from day to day as occasion required. Judge Willis, still standing, then 
 said: "You cannot adjourn a Court that does not exist. The Court is 
 not legally constituted. Its functions cannot be exercised, and any 
 proceedings you may take will be void." " I am aware," replied 
 Mr. Sherwood, " that such is your opinion ; but I have a right to mine, 
 and I shall pursue the course I have indicated. If that course, notwith- 
 standing the practice which has hitherto prevailed, should prove to be 
 
186 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAX REBELLION. 
 
 bi>^ 
 
 wrong, I shall extremely regret it ; but I feel it to be a matter of too 
 much importance to the business of the country to take upon myself to 
 vary from it, without the interference of a higher authority." Judge 
 Willis then briefly repeated his protest, and retired from the bench. His 
 colleague, after transacting some unimportant routine business, adjourned 
 the Court until the following day. Throughout the rest of the Term he 
 was the sole occupant of the Bench. 
 
 Judge Willis's conduct on this occasion does not admit of much 
 diversity of opinion. For one thing, as was subsequently decided by 
 the Privy Council, he was wrong in his view of the law. This is of 
 itself an important consideration. But even if his view had been a 
 Bound one, admitting of no doubt, he incurred a very serious responsi- 
 bility in giving currency to it at such a time, and in such a manner. 
 His conduct was certain to produce great excitement and disturbance 
 in the public mind. It was certain to create an increased distrust of 
 long-settled institutions, which it was highly essential for the well-being 
 of society that the public should regard with confidence and respect. 
 Besides, the rendering of the past and present proceedings of the Court 
 liable to doubt and uncertainty could not fail to seriously affect the 
 business interests of the country. If the practice of the Court had been 
 wrong, and if many of its proceedings were invalid, the wisest course 
 would have been to quietly take steps to bring about remedial legis- 
 lation, whereby all defects might have been cured, without the serious 
 risk of reviving old animosities and long-settled disputes. But such a 
 course as Judge Willis saw fit to adopt was wholly uncalled for, no plea 
 to the jurisdiction having been pleaded in any case before the Court. It 
 was certain to produce ill, without any possibility of good. He moreover 
 placed in the hands of the Executive a rod for his own back — an 
 implement of which they speedily availed themselves to inflict grievous 
 punishment. 
 
 On the following day, which was Thursday, the 17th, Judge Willis 
 formally notified the Lieutenant-Governor of the public delivery of 
 his opinion, adding that he was nevertheless most desirous of dis- 
 charging such duties as he could legally pe' form consistently with his 
 view of the law. Judge Sherwood meanwhile continued to sit on the 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 187 
 
 bench alone, and to transact such business as came before him. Some 
 influential members of the bar found themselves in a quandary. After 
 Judge Willis's decision, they entertained grave doubts as to the legality 
 of the Court, and hesitated as to the advisability of taking any further 
 proceedings in cases committed to them, until the vexed question should 
 be settled. Judge Sherwood, though he had dissented from his col- 
 league's view, and though he plainly testified by his persisting in sitting 
 and holding Court that he still continued to dissent, had not given any 
 formal judgment, nor had he even verbally stated any gi'ounds for his 
 opinion. With a view to obtaining light for their guidance in this per- 
 plexing emergency. Dr. Baldwin, his son Kobert, and Mr. Simon Wash- 
 burn, another prominent member of the bar, addressed a written appli- 
 cation to the Court, in the person of Justice Sherwood, requesting to be 
 favoured with his opinion on the matter. The application was made on 
 Thursday, the 17th, and replied to by Mr. Sherwood in writing next day. 
 The phraseology of the reply made it quite clear that the Judge felt by 
 no means strong in his position. " You are desirous," he wrote, " that 
 I should express an opinion from the bench on the present state of this 
 Court, but it appears to me any opinion of that sort would be extra- 
 judicial. No one but His Majesty's Kepresentative has any right to ask 
 for the opinion of a Judge where no cause or regular motion, according 
 to the practice of the Court, is pending before him." There was more 
 to the same no-purport. It was clear that the applicants were not to 
 receive much assistance from Justice Sherwood in resolving their doubts. 
 The Judge's response was no sooner communicated from the bench than 
 the two Baldwins and Mr. Bolph then and there threw off their gowns 
 and left the Court, declaring that they concurred in opinion with Judge 
 Willis, and that they could not continue to transact business in a Court 
 which they believed to be illegally constituted. 
 
 The emergency brought about by Judge Willis's decision, and by his 
 consequent withdrawal from the bench, was one for which the Executive 
 deemed it essential to provide without unnecessary delay. It was manifestly 
 impossible that matters should remain in statu quo. The time for holding 
 the annual circuits was approaching. Mr. Sherwood was the only Judge 
 remaining on the bench, and a Court composed of a single Judge is not a 
 
188 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 satisfactory tribunal for all purposes of justice. The Council took the 
 opinions of the law officers of the Crown as to the soundness of the Judge's 
 views with respect to the constitutionality of the Court of King'" Bench. 
 Those opinions were in direct opposition to the conclusion at which 
 Judge Willis had arrived. The Attorney-General's was a remarkably 
 exhaustive and lucid exposition of the law bearing upon the question. 
 It was also free from ambiguity, and left little room for doubt. These 
 opinions were strengthened by that of Justice Sherwood, who, at the 
 request of the Executive, also prepared an elaborate paper on the subject, 
 in which he expressed precisely similar views to those enunciated by 
 the Attorney-General. The question was then submitted to the Crown 
 officers whether the Lieutenant-Governor could legally remove Judge 
 Willis from office and appoint a successor. The answer prepared by the 
 Attorney-General, and signed both by him and Solicitor- General Boulton, 
 came with remarkable promptitude. " Upon the points submitted to us," 
 it ran, "we are of opinion, 1st: That the power to remove an officer 
 depends on the tenure of his office. In this, as iu other colonies, the 
 appointment of a Judge is during pleasure ; and we conceive that in law 
 any person holding an office on such a tenure is removable at pleasure : 
 that is, at the pleasure of the Lieutenant-Governor, acting in the name 
 and on behalf of the King. The reasons for such removal are to be 
 rendered to His Majesty by the Lieutenant-Governor, who is responsible 
 for their sufficiency. . . 2nd : We are of opinion that a removal of a 
 Judge of the Court of King's Bench necessarily vacates the office, and 
 that another person may be appointed to fill the vacancy, subject to be 
 confirmed or disallowed by His Majesty." 
 
 The Executive acted with great circumspection. Fortified as they were 
 by these strongly- worded opinions, and assured as they felt of the legality 
 of their contemplated proceedings, they did not permit themselves to be 
 betrayed into indiscretion. On the 25th of the month they addressed a 
 letter to Judge Willis, referring to his communication to the Lieutenant- 
 Governor on the 17th, in which he had professed willingness to discharge 
 such duties as he could legally perform. He was asked what explana- 
 tion he had to offer, and what duties he was prepared to undertake. On 
 the 26th he replied that he did not feel at liberty to pronounce an extra- 
 
THE "AMOVAL OP MB. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 189 
 
 judicial opinion, and that he could only define the precise nature of his 
 duties when the matter should come judicially before him. The Executive 
 thereupon pronounced his doom, and a writ was issued whereby he was 
 removed from office until His Majesty's pleasure should be known. The 
 Lieutenant-Governor, through his Secretary, notified him that the Council 
 had felt it incumbent upon them to advise this step.* The " amoval " 
 was now an accomplished fact. A vacancy was thus created on the 
 bench, which was filled on the 2nd of July by the appointment of 
 Christopher Alexander Hagerman to a puisne judgeship. 
 
 The news of Judge Willis's " amoval " spread rapidly through the 
 Province, and produced widespread excitement. The circumstance that 
 his course had met with the approval of Rolph and the Baldwins led 
 to the belief among non-professional people that he was sound on the 
 legal question, and that he had been driven from the bench because he 
 would not stoop to corruption. The case of Judge Thorpe was exhumed 
 from the dust of twenty years, and the amoval of Judge Willis was believed 
 to be a mere re-enactment of that unforgotten iniquity. As for Judge 
 Willis himself, he determined to proceed at once to England to present 
 his side of his case, in the form of an appeal from the order of amotion, 
 at the Colonial Office. Before his departure he received addresses of 
 condolence from various parts of the Province. Numerously- signed 
 petitions in his favour were transmitted to the king, and to the several 
 other branches of the Imperial and Provincial Legislatures. A long 
 requisition from a number of influential persons in the County of Lincoln 
 entreated him to represent their constituency in the Assembly. People 
 who were usually sensible appear to have lost their heads for a time 
 during this exciting period. A large meeting of the Judge's sympathizers 
 was held in Toronto, at which Dr. Baldwin and Mr. John Galt,t with 
 their wives, were appointed a Committee to watch over the interests and 
 
 * The notification was dated the 26th of June, whereaB the formal document issued by the 
 Council was not signed until the 27th. Mr. Willis attached a good deal of weight to this iiregu- 
 larity, which however was of less importance than might at first sight be supposed. The Council 
 had fully made up their minds on the 26th, and the notification was despatched accordingly, 
 though the order of amotion was not actually ready for oignature until the day following. 
 
 ■I- The well-known author, who was then in Canada as representative of the Canada Land 
 Company. 
 
190 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 insure the protection of Lady Mary and her family during the absence of 
 her lord ; and Robert Baldwin was added to the Committee as her Lady- 
 ship's solicitor. 
 
 Judge Willis took his departure from York on the 11th of July. As 
 he expected that he would very soon be able to prociure from the Colonial 
 Office a reversal of his " amoval," and that he would be reinstated in his 
 judgeship, to the great discomfiture of the Lieutenant-Governor and his 
 satellites, he did not think it necessary that his family should accompany 
 him to England. The suitable disposal of the members of his household 
 was an embarrassing problem for him. In good sooth, he was in a 
 situation somewhat analogous to the man in the familar old story, who 
 came to the bank of a wide stream, having in his possession a fox, a 
 goose, and a bag of corn. The application is easy. Mrs. "Willis and 
 Lady Mary could by no means be left to keep house together unless the 
 head of the establishment was near at hand to keep the peace between 
 them. The relations between Lady Mary and Miss Willis, though far 
 from amicable, were somewhat less strained. Mr. Willis accordingly 
 took with him his mother only, leaving his wife, child and sister behind 
 him ; though it is to be presumed that the abovementioned Committee 
 had a sinecure, so far as any special attendance upon or protection over 
 Lady Mary was concerned. 
 
 A series of acrimonious despatches from the Lieutenant-Governor 
 preceded Mr. Willis across the Atlantic. For weeks — probably for 
 months — before the delivery of his unfortunate decision, the espionage 
 system had been put in full operation against him, and measures had 
 been taken to watch his personal habits and pastimes. There had been 
 a firm determination to e£fect his ruin,* and the strong suspicion that 
 such was the case had done much to array a majority of the inhabitants 
 on his sido. " It is my duty to state to you in the most decided terms," 
 wrote Sir Peregrine Maitland to the Colonial Secretary, on the 6th of 
 July, "that his [Mr. Willis's] restitution to office, while it would be 
 received by the most portion of the population as a triumph over the 
 Government which Mr. Willis has ungratefully and wantonly insulted, 
 would be most pernicious to the peace of this colony, and an act of the 
 
 * " Cabot," in Blackwood's Magazine for September, 1829. 
 
THE "AMOVAL OF MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 191 
 
 most aggravating injustice to those faithful servants of the Crown against 
 whom he has, for unworthy purposes, dishonourably laboured to excite 
 the prejudice and hatred of the ignorant and malicious." It is worth 
 while to note that this extract contains a clear admission by the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor that his Government was regarded with disfavour by 
 " the most portion of the population : " an admibsion directly at variance 
 with many statements made by him in former despatches, as well as in 
 speeches to the Provincial Parliament. 
 
 Upon reacliing England Mr. Willis put himself into immediate com- 
 munication with the Colonial Office. He took up his quarters at the 
 house of his brother, the Reverend W. D. Willis, at Bath. There he 
 prepared an elaborate statement of his case, which was duly forwarded 
 to the Colonial Secretary. After some delay he succeeded in obtaining 
 copies of the several despatches of Sir Peregrine Maitland in which the 
 charges against him were formulated with wearisome reiteration. These 
 indictments against him, which, though signed by Sir Peregrine, were 
 doubtless in reality prepared by Mr. Willis's arch-enemy, Attorney- 
 General Eobinson, were certainly of the most formidable character. 
 They went over the whole course of the Judge's procedure, from the 
 time of his arrival in the Province down to his departure therefrom. To 
 the serious grounds of complaint which had unquestionably been given 
 were added numerous delinquencies of the most petty and trifling nature. 
 It was stigmatized as " a great indecency " that Judge Willis had been 
 seen in a dress " but little according with his situation." * In view of the 
 interests involved, and of the grave nature of the questions to be decided, 
 it seems ludicrous that the appellant should have been called upon to 
 reply to an accusation of this nature.! A perusal of these despatches. 
 
 * See despatch marked " Separate," from Major-General Sir Peregrine Maitland to Mr. 
 Secretary Huskiason, dated 6th July, 1828. 
 
 t Hie reply will be matter of surprise to the staid and decorously-attired judges of the 
 present day. "On all ordinary occasions," he wrote, "I usually wore a black velvet coat and 
 tvautcoat. The first time I saw the Chief Justice he had on a black kalimanco or camlet jacket, 
 which I have seen him wear even on the bench. I have met the Lieutenant-Governor frequently 
 walking through the streets with an olive-coloured square-cut velveteen jacket and waistcoat ; 
 and a few days before I left Tork I beheld Mr. Justice Sherwood in a grass-green cloth jacket 
 with white metal buttons. I merely mention these ' extravagancies ' to show that my dress wag 
 neither improper nor extraordinary."— See the Nairative, ubi supra. 
 
192 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 
 *jyj. 
 
 however, rendered necessary a supplementary statement and narrative, 
 wherein every count in the indictment was either traversed, or, in legal 
 parlance, confessed and avoided. But Mr. Willis soon found that 
 he was not to gain so easy a triumph over his enemies as he had 
 previously allowed himself to suppose would be the case. The question 
 to be decided was a purely technical one, and after the matter had 
 been for some time under consideration at the Colonial Office it was 
 referred for decision to the Privy Council, where it was not disposed of 
 for nearly a year. The conclusion finally arrived at was that Mr. Willis 
 had been wrong in his view of the question in dispute, and that the 
 Executive Council, in amoving him from office, had not acted in excess 
 of their authority. Under such circumstances his return to Upper 
 Canada was of course out of the question ; but as his conduct was 
 attributed to error of judgment rather than to any serious dereliction 
 from duty, he received an appointment to a judgeship in the South 
 American colony of Demerara. 
 
 From all the circumstances, then, it is clear that Judge Willis, though 
 he was in some sense a victim of Executive intolerance in Upper Canada, 
 was himself largely to blame for his downfall, to which he contributed by 
 his want of caution and calm good sense. But many of the circumstances 
 detailed in the present chapter were unknown to the bulk of the Canadian 
 people, by whom he was regarded as a martyr to his upright and liberal 
 principles His amoval produced a wider excitement than any event since 
 Gourlay's time. It tended greatly to embitter public opinion, and was 
 unquestionably a strong factor in producing the discontent which 
 ultimately found expression in open rebellion. For this reason it has 
 been thought desirable to go somewhat minutely into details which are 
 in themselves fraught with instruction, and as to which the people of 
 Canada, even at the present day, are very inadequately informed. 
 
 Mr. Willis felt his defeat very keenly, more especially as he had 
 confidently looked forward to a successful termination of his appeal. 
 At his instigation the subject was brought before the attention of the House 
 of Commons by Lord Milton, on Tuesday, the 11th day of May, 1880.* Sir 
 George's Murray's explanation, which involved a narrative of the circum- 
 
 • See Hansard's Parlianuntarp Dibatcs, N. S., Vol. xxiv., 551 — 565. 
 
 I 
 
THE "AMOVAL" of MR. JUSTICE WILLIS. 
 
 108 
 
 stances in detail, proved satisfactory to the House, and the matter was 
 allowed to drop. But the amoved Judge was fated to have greater reasons 
 still for deploring that he had ever taken up his abode in Canada, as his 
 residence there led to the rupture of his family ties and the total wreck of 
 his domestic happiness. It will be remembered that Lady Mary and her 
 child, together with Miss Willis, had remained at York. Upon learning the 
 decision of the Privy Council in his case, Mr. Willis wrote to his wife and 
 sister, requesting them to dispose of his house there, and to return home as 
 speedily as possible. During the long interval which had elapsed since 
 the ex- Judge's departure for England, the two ladies had been left to amuse 
 themselves as best they could in the little capital. They occasionally went 
 into society, and received a certain amount of attention from that portion 
 of it which had been favourable to Judge Willis, as well as from some 
 of the military officers stationed there. Among others whose acquaintance 
 they formed was a certain Lieutenant Bernard, an officer of the 68th 
 Light Infantry, whose regiment was then in Canada. He occasionally 
 rode out with Miss Willis, who was an accomplished equestrienne, but he 
 did not appear to be on specially intimate terms with Lady Mary. On the 
 16th of May, 1829, Lady Mary set out for England by way of 
 Montreal, Miss Willis remaining behind for a week to make a final 
 disposition of the house. On reaching Kingston, Lady Mary was met 
 by Lieutenant Bernard, who accompanied her to Montreal, whence the 
 pair several months afterwai'ds fled together to England, Lady Mary 
 leaving her child behind her in the care of one of her maids. Mr. Willis 
 brought an action against Bernard, who had by that time succeeded to a 
 Captaincy. The case was tried in the Court of Common Pleas at West- 
 minster on Thursday, the 9th of February, 1882, when the plaintiff 
 recovered jEIOOO by way of damages. A report of the proceedings 
 will be found in The Times of the following day.* 
 
 It may be of interest to Canadian readers to learn that Mr. Willis 
 was some years afterwards appointed to a seat on the bench of the 
 Supreme Court of New South Wales. On the Stb of February, 1841, 
 he was under a local statute appointed resident Judge for the District of 
 Port Philip. While officiating in that capacity he came into conflict 
 
 1829. 
 
 1832. 
 
 * Some further pftrticulars may be found in 8 Bingham, 376 ; also in 5 C. & P., 342. 
 
104 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 with Sir George Gipps, Governor of the Colony, and the Executive 
 Council, by whom he was once more " amoved " from office. The order 
 of amotion, which was made on the 17th of June, 1843, was however 
 reversed by the Imperial Privy Council for irregularity. The Lords of 
 the Judicial Committee, before whom the case was heard in June and 
 July, 1846, reported that in their opinion the Governor-in-Council had 
 power in law to amove Mr. Willis, and that the facts were sufficient to 
 justify his amoval, but that an opportunity ought to have been a£forded 
 him of being previously heard. The requisite notice not having been 
 given, the omission was held to vacate the order of amotion, and judgment 
 was rendered accordingly.* 
 
 *See the case of John Walpole Willis, Appellant, veriut Sir Oeorge Gipps, Knt., RMpon< 
 dent, ft Moore's Reports of Privy Council Cases, 379. From an obiter dictum of one of the judKes 
 in the case it would appear that the order of amotion from the bench of thi^ Province was finally 
 aat aside on technical grounrls, owing to the appellant's not having been heard in Canada. After 
 diligent search, I have been unable to find any report of this decision, either in the official reports 
 of the Privy Council or in any of the newspapers or periodicals of the time. 
 
 fe^ 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 jN the foregoing pages mention has several times heen made 
 of Francis Collins, editor, proprietor and publisher of The 
 Canadian Freeman, a Radical weekly newspaper issued at 
 York. Mr. Collins was an enthusiastic young Irish Roman 
 Catholic, who had immigrated to Canada a short time 
 before the excitement arising out of the Gourlay persecution 
 reached its height, and when he himself was barely twenty years of age. 
 He was a printer by trade, and for some time after his arrival worked 
 as a compositor in the office of The Upper Canada Gazette, published at 
 York by the King's Printer, Dr. Robert Charles Home. Finding that he 
 possessed much intelligence and a fair education, his employer deputed 
 him to report the debates in the Assembly during the sessions of Parlia- 
 ment. In 1821 he reported certain proceedings which the Government 
 were annoyed at seeing in print, more especially as the version given 
 was not strictly accurate. For this offence Dr. Home was summoned 
 to the bar of the House, where he sought to evade responsibility by 
 pleading that the debates had not been reported by himself, but by 
 Francis Collins. The Doctor further offered a humble apology, and was 
 glad to escape with a sharp reprimand, accompanied by a caution from 
 the Speaker that he would thereafter be held responsible for the reports 
 in the Gazette.* 
 
 •The Attorney-General, John Beverley Robinson, was ever valiant on the stronger side. 
 He tried to induce the Assembly to compel Dr. Home to insert in the next issue of the Gazette 
 a paragraph in the following words : " From the incompetence or negligence of our reporter, the 
 debates of the House of Assembly inserted in the last number of this paper were so imperfect 
 and so untruly reported that no dependence can be placed in their accuracy." The Assembly, 
 however, were satisfied with the humiliation to which the Doctor had been subjected, and would 
 not compel him to further self-abasement. 
 
196 
 
 THK Ul'l'Liv CANADIAN IlEUELLION. 
 
 > 
 
 
 Within a short time after receiving this admonition Dr. Home 
 ceased to be King's Printer, whereby the post became vacant. As 
 Collins was familiar with the nature of the work, and was naturally 
 desirous of bettering his condition, he applied for the appointment. 
 The oflBce was at the disposal of the Lioutonant-Governor, and was held 
 entirely at his pleasure. Collins was curtly checked for his presuiuption 
 by a leading official, who informed him that the office would be conferred 
 upon "no one but a gentleman." It would be interesting to know 
 whence the official who was guilty of this wanton insult had derived his 
 ideas of courtesy and good breeding. If his statement were to be 
 credited, any application on his part for the post of King's Printer 
 would most assuredly have been made in vain. The appointment was 
 given to Mr. Charles Fothergill, who belonged to a good Yorkshire 
 family, and was therefore fully entitled to rank as a gentleman.* 
 
 Collins was excusably indignant at the gross insult which had been 
 hurled at him. He considered himself as at least the social equal of 
 any member of the Government, for he claimed descent from the old 
 Irish kings, and on one or two occasions when more than ordinarily 
 exhilarated he had even been known to refer to his ancestor, Brian Boru. 
 Yet, for all this mendacious and vainglorious boasting, Collins was a 
 man of unquestionable ability, and when fully aroused could write a 
 paragraph well calculated to make the ears of his enemies to tingle. 
 His nationality was clearly indicated by his personal appearance, his 
 features being rough-hewn and unmistakably Celtic ; while his red hair 
 and beard, usually not very well cared for, gave him an aspect of uncouth 
 wildness. Up to this time he had not taken any very conspicuous part in 
 politics since his arrival in Canada ; but henceforward the Executive had 
 
 •Mr. Fothergill held the office barely three years, when he was dismissed for votint? with 
 the Opposition in the Assembly against the Government. It was an anomaly to permit the 
 King's Printer to hold a seat in the Legislative Assembly, and the Government could hardly be 
 expected to tolerate opposition from such a quarter. Mr. Fothergill was the first incumbent o( 
 the office to develop liberal opinions. He was sufficiently deep in the secrets of the Adminis- 
 tration to make him a dangerous opponent if ho had felt disposed to wage war to the knife. Of 
 this fact the Administration seem to have fakcn a sort of oblique cognizance. He had overdrawn 
 his account by £360, and in settling with him this sum was not taken into consideration. In 
 other wor<ls, the Government made him a present of £3G0. Hia suooessor in the office of King's 
 Printer was Mr. Robert Stanton. 
 
*i':' 
 
 THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 197 
 
 no more bitter or aleoplcss fco. Ho continued to report the proceedings in 
 rarliiunout, and kept his oyea ever open for an opportunity to strike the 
 Govornniont with etfect. In 1825 ho succeeded in ostabUshing the Free- 
 man, which was thenceforth to some extent a rival of Mackenzie's Advo- 
 cate. It was from the first conducted with great energy, and the editorials, 
 which were often set up without being committed to paper, displayed 
 exceptional vigour, but they were frequently disfigured by a coarseness 
 and bad taste equal to anything of Mackenzie's production. For some 
 time the better class of Liberals fought shy of the enterprise, but the 
 editor steadily forced his way into general recognition. 
 
 The Freeman was permitted to continue its course unchecked for 
 nearly three years. During that time it followed up tlie shortcomings 
 of the Executive with ceaseless vigilance. To Sir Peregrine Maitland 
 and Attorney-General Robinson it was a veritable thorn in the flesh. 
 There was abundant occasion for criticism, and it was seldom, if ever, 
 that Collins resorted to pure invention for the purpose of attacking 
 the innumerable abuses of the time. There was always a suflicient 
 substratum of truth in his accusations to render it inexpedient to prosecute 
 him for )"bel. The punishment of what was false would have involved 
 the public exposure of what was true. The official party realized the 
 force of the laureate's dictum, not then propounded, that 
 
 *' A lie tliat is all a Ho may bo mot with and fought outright, 
 But a lie that is part of a truth is a harder matter to fight." 
 
 They of course did not present the matter in this aspect to the world at 
 large. On the contrary, their organs claimed for them a spirit of generous 
 and Christian forbearance. But this could not go on for ever. Collins 
 continued to pour in his chain- siiot from woe!' to week with never-failing 
 pertinacity, and with seeming impunity from the law. The Executive 
 in the first place tried to check his career by crippling him financially. 
 The Assembly had for some years previously been accustomed to vote him 
 an annual suui by way of remuneration for reporting their proceedings. 
 The paying over of this sura, however, was a matter entirely within the 
 control of the Lieutenant-Governor. As it was known that Collins was 
 poor, and that his resources were sometimes taxed to the uttermost to 
 
i 
 
 198 
 
 THE UPPKH CANADIAN HEIJKLLION. 
 
 enable him to bring out his paper, it was hoped that, by withholding 
 payment for his services as reporter to the Assembly, he might be 
 compelled to suspend publication. He was accordingly informed, when 
 he applied for his money in the early spring of 1828, that the funds 
 were not forthcoming. The sum in question was .€113 10s., and was 
 a matter of serious importance to him ; but he well understood the 
 object of the Executive, and spurred himself up to fresh effort. His 
 paper appeared with the most provoking regularity, and its tone 
 was, if possible, intensified by the withholding of the sum due to its 
 editor. He told the story to the public, his account being garnished 
 with profuse comments in his bitterest vein. The Executive found 
 that they had miscalculated his resources, and that his press was 
 conducted with renewed vigour. It was finally resolved that a dead- 
 set should be made upon him, and that he should be overwhelmed 
 by a shower of contemporaneous indictments. On Thursday, the 
 10th of April, 1828, as mentioned in the preceding chapter,* 
 two bills of indictment for libel were found against him. One of 
 these was for having, in his paper, charged the Lieutenant-Governor 
 with partiality, injustice and fraud, in not paying over the money 
 voted by the Assembly. The other was on the information of the 
 Solicitor-General, Henry John Boulton, for animadversions on his con- 
 duct in connection with the duel, in 1817, between Samuel Peters Jarvis 
 and John Ridout.t Upon the strength of these indictments Collins was 
 forthwith arrested, and compelled to appear and give the required 
 bail. On the following morning two other bills were found, upon which 
 he also gave bail. It was at this time that he made his extraordinary 
 attack upon the Attorney-General, before Justice Willis, as already 
 narrated at length.! It will be remembered that he was instructed by 
 the Judge to go before the Granr' Jury and prefer his complaints. These 
 instructions he followed without a moment's unnecessary delay. He 
 appeared before the Grand Jury, and charged H. J. Boulton and J. E. 
 Small with being accessary to murder in the killing of young Kidout. He 
 next laid a charge of rioting against S. P. Jarvis and six of the other 
 persons who had figured as defendants in the action brought by Mac- 
 
 * AnU, p. 171. fAnte, p. 13. t Ante, pp. 171—174. 
 
THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 199 
 
 konzie. The Grand Jury speedily returned ii true bill against Boulton 
 and Small, lioth those gentlemen were then in Court with their 
 gowns on. They wore immediately put under arreut, and they so 
 remained until late in the afternoon, when Judge Willis, upon the appli- 
 cation of Mr. Macauloy, admitted them to bail. As Jarvis had been 
 tried for the ofifence and acquitted, shortly after the duel in 1817, the 
 Grand Jury now returned " No bill" as to him. On the following Monday 
 a true bill was returned by the Grand Jury against the seven persons 
 charged with riot. They were promptly arrested and held to bail. 
 
 Collins, having no faith in Attorney-General Robinson's integrity, 
 was very unwilling that the prosecution of these cases should be con- 
 ducted by him. Boulton was not only the Attorney-General's colleague 
 as a law officer of the Crown, but was his warm personal friend, as well 
 as a connexion by marriage. Boulton, in fact, was a profound admirer 
 and faint umbra of the Attorney-General, in whose professional sunshine 
 he basked, and at whose feet he may in an intellectual sense be said to 
 have grovelled. Even the most Spartan of Crown prosecutors could 
 hardly be expected to do his utmost to secure a conviction under such 
 circumstances; and Attorney -General Robinson had nothing of the 
 Spartan in his composition where the interests of his friends were con- 
 cerned. Collins accordingly applied to Robert Baldwin to conduct the 
 prosecution for murder. But the prosecution of criminal cases was not 
 then open to the bar as a matter of course, and without the consent of 
 the Crown. Mr. Baldwin applied to the Court for the necessary per- 
 mission, which was granted with the Attorney-General's consent. The 
 trial was proceeded with before Justice Willis at the opening of the 
 Court on the morning of Monday, the 14th. The defendants, upon 
 being arraigned, pleaded " Not guilty." The proceedings extended over 
 two days, during which the same evidence was given that had been 
 adduced at the trial in 1817. All the horrible details of the duel were 
 revived for the edification of a crowded Court-room. Many of the specta- 
 tors, as well as the Judge himself, were affected to tears. The custom 
 of society was once more successfully pleaded in extenuation of a cruel 
 and dastardly murder. As the chief offender had himself escaped scot- 
 free, however, it would have seemed anomalous to punish the acces- 
 
(J 
 
 1 
 
 \ ' 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 
 200 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 saries. The charge from the bench was eloquent and judicial, and the 
 jury were absent from the box only ten minutes, when they returned 
 into Court with a verdict of acquittal. 
 
 The trial of the type-rioters next required conRideration. CoUins's 
 counsel moved for leave to the prosecutor to conduct this case also by 
 private comsel, but to this the Attorney-General firmly refused to 
 consent. It was urged that one of the accused was his nephew, and 
 that two others had been clerks in his office at the time of the outrage. 
 No matter; he was determined to withstand any further interference 
 with Crown prosecutions on the part of the bar. There was no telling, 
 he remarked, where such interference would end. There had already 
 been too much of it. He was about to proceed with the prosecution, 
 when Mr. Kolph arose on behalf of Collins, and expressed a wish that, 
 as the painful investigation of the murder case had been finished, the 
 prosecutions for libel might be discontinued. Judge Willis warmly 
 seconded the proposal, and further suggested that the prosecution of the 
 type-rioters might also be dropped. The type-rioters, however, were 
 ready and waiting for their trial, and, through their counsel, objected 
 to any abandonment so far as they were concerned. It was urged 
 on their part that they had never wished to avoid prosecution, but 
 had rather courted it; that they would accept of no compromise of a 
 proceeding which had been maliciously and vexatiously instituted, not 
 by the person injured, but by one who, being brought into Court for 
 libel, had been received as a sort of public prosecutor, and allowed to 
 harass them by raking into old transactions which had long since been 
 investigated and atoned for. They insisted upon the matter being there 
 and then finally disposed of, so that it might no longer be in the power 
 of any malicious person wholly unconnected with the case to prosecute 
 them at his pleasure. 
 
 The trial was then proceeded with. The persons charged were of 
 course found guilty. Judge Willis was very lenient, and sentenced them 
 to a nominal fine of five shillings each, expressly stating as a reason for 
 this slight punishment that more than ample recompense had already 
 been obtained in the civil action.* 
 
 •AnU, p. 136. 
 
THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 201 
 
 With respect to the indictments against Collins, the Judge's appeal 
 to the Attorney-General was not altogether without efficacy, notwith- 
 standing the ill blood between them. The fact is that the latter was 
 glad enough of any excuse for abandoning the two prosecutions insti- 
 tuted by Boulton and Jarvis, feeling well assured that there was no 
 likelihood of securing a conviction in either case. He could subserve his 
 own and his friends' interests, and at the same time assume the appear- 
 ance of deferring to the suggestion from the bench. The consent of the 
 prosecutors having been obtained, he theretore announced in open Court 
 that he would proceed no further upon those indictments. He added, 
 however, that there were further indictments against Collins which had 
 emanated from the Grand Jury, and that he could not with proper 
 deference to them at once relinquish proceedings therein. "But I have 
 no objections to state," said the Attorney-General, "that I will forbear 
 any further action during the present Assizes, and that in proceeding or 
 not hereafter, I shall be governed in a great measure by the sense which 
 the defendant shall show of his duty and obligations as the conductor of 
 a public newspaper." Bail was accordingly furnished by Collins on one 
 of the presentments. The other was tacitly allowed to lapse; and there, 
 for the time, the matter ended. 
 
 The editor of the Freeman certainly gave the Attorney- General no 
 excuse for leaving him unmolested. In each successive issue of his 
 paper he lashed the whole race of officials, to some of whom he applied 
 the most opprobrious epithets. The Government organs pursued a 
 similar course on their side, and characterized Collins and his friends 
 in language too gross for quotation. The Attorney-General probably 
 repented that he had not proceeded on at least one of the indictments 
 during the late Assizes, and resolved that another opportunity should 
 not pass unimproved. The autumn Assizes opened during the second 
 week in October, when he attempted to press one of the old charges 
 against Collinb. The defendant appealed to Judge Sherwood, who occupied 
 the bench, representing that his counsel was not in Court, and that he 
 had never been arraigned. The Attorney-General replied that the absence 
 of the defendant's counsel was not the fault of the Crown, and that he 
 had been arraigned at the spring Assizes. The latter statement was 
 
202 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 denied by the defendant, and upon referring to the Clerk of Assise it 
 appeared that there had been no arraignment. Next day the Attorney- 
 General again attempted to force on the trial, but as it wr.d cl'^ar that the 
 defendant had not been arraigned the latter now claimed the right to 
 traverse. As this right was indisputable it was conceded by the Court, 
 the result being that the defendant was entitled to have the trial held 
 over until the next sittings, which would not take plkce until the following 
 spring. The Attorney-General, however, was entitled to demand that the 
 defendant should find security, and promptly urged his demand. Collins 
 knew that were he to find the required security it would embarrass him 
 in the conduct of his paper, and stated that he would prefer to be tried at 
 once rather than adopt such an alternative. He was accordingly tried, 
 and, though the prosecution was pressed against him with all the vigour 
 at the Attorney-General's command, he was acquitted by the jury. 
 
 But the Attorney-General was not the man to allow his prey to escape 
 him while any chance remained of securing a conviction. A fresh 
 indictment was laid against him for a personal libel upon the Attorney- 
 General himself. Collins, in reporting the trial which had just resulted 
 in his acquittal, had accused the Attorney-General of "open palpable 
 falsehood," and "native malignancy," and had referred to Judge Hager- 
 man as "our old customer." This report had been published at full 
 length in the Freeman, and it was the ground of the prosecution now 
 instituted. The defendant laboured under the same compulsion with 
 regard to security as before, and elected to stand his trial at once, which 
 was precisely what the Attorney-General desired. The indictment, which 
 may still be seen among the records at Osgoode Hall, was a truly 
 formidable instrument and set out the offence with great prolixity. The 
 trial took place on Saturday, the 25th, before Mr. Justice Sherwood, who, 
 in charging tbo jury, inveighed against the defendant with nearly as 
 great vehemence as did the Crown prosecutor, stigmatizing him as " a 
 wholesale retailer of calumny." He pronounced the Freeman's report 
 to be " a gross and scandalous libel."* It was plainly evident that 
 Mr. Sherwood's mind was not equable, and that he was influenced by 
 
 'The charge, as reported by Collins, will be found in the Appendix to the Journals of 
 Auemblj/ for 1829, pp. +27, +28. 
 
THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 203 
 
 considerations not properly before him. The fact that his non Henry, 
 and his brother-in-law, H. J. Boulton, had respectively been prosecuted 
 for riot and murder at Collins's instigation was too clearly held in 
 remembrance, insomuch that every point was strained to the utmost 
 against the defendant. Judge Sherwood, however, was absent from the 
 bench when the jury returned into Court with their verdict, his place 
 being taken by Judge Hagerman, who had many times been subjected to 
 the arrows of Collins's satire, and who was referred to with bantering 
 contumely in the very report which formed the subject of the present 
 prosecution. The jury, after deliberating about five hours, brought in a 
 verdict of "Guilty of a libel on the Attorney-General." The Clerk 
 recorded a general verdict of " Guilty," which was read to the jury. The 
 defendant's counsel objected to the recording of the verdict in this form, 
 inasmuch as the jury had found his client guilty of libel on the Attorney- 
 General only. A brief argument on the subject ensued, whereupon the 
 Judge charged the jury to the effect that such a verdict as they had found 
 could not be received. He informed them that if they found the defend- 
 ant guilty of any part of the alleged libel, they ought to return a general 
 verdict of " Guilty; " but that they might, if they thought proper, suggest 
 to the Court on what particular part of the publication their verdict was 
 founded, in which case the Court would confine the punishment to that 
 part only. The jury thereupon retired a second time, but soon returned 
 with a general verdict of " Guilty." On being asked by the Judge 
 whether they adhered to their former opinion as to the libellous part of 
 the publication, they answered in the affirmative. 
 
 The sentence of the Court was not pronouuiied until sufficient time 
 had elapsed to admit of a conference on the subject between Justices 
 Sherwood and Hagerman. That such a conference really took place is 
 clear enough from a letter of Judge Sherwood himself, to be presently 
 referred to. The sentence, when it came, created much surprise, not 
 only in the bosom of the individual who was directly concerned, but 
 among the public at large. It condemned the defendant to pay a fine 
 of fifty pounds, to be imprisoned for twelve calendar months, to find 
 securities for his good behaviour for three years after his liberation, 
 himself in four hundred pounds and two sureties in one hundred pounds 
 
204 
 
 THE UPPER CANADJAN REBELLION. 
 
 lit 
 
 each, and to stand committed until all these conditions should be 
 complied with. 
 
 Certainly it was no wonder that the little world of Upper Canada 
 opened its eyes at such a Star Chamber sentence as this, pronounced in 
 the year of Grace 1828. It seemed as if the whirligig of time had brought 
 back the days of Bartemus Ferguson and The Niagara Spectator.* It 
 was an open question with many persons, even among those who were 
 upon the whole favourable to the measures of the Government, whether 
 the prosecution should have been sustained at all or not. A charge of 
 "native malignancy" was not likely to seriously affect the character or 
 standing of Attorney-General Eobinson, v.'ho was ready enough to apply 
 much stronger epithets to his enemies. But, however that might be, 
 there could be no sort of doubt that the punishment awarded was wholly 
 disproportionate to the offence, more especially when the defendant's 
 circumstances were considered. If persisted in, the sentence really 
 involved the latter's perpetual imprisonment, for no two men of substance 
 were likely to be found who would feel safe in guaranteeing the good 
 behaviour of such a turbulent spirit as Francis Collins for so long a 
 period as three years. Throughout the whole of this infamous prosecu- 
 tion the Attorney- General showed to very little advantage. As previously 
 mentioned, he had showered four indictments upon the defendant within 
 the brief space of two days. Three of these he had withdrawn, and upon 
 the fourth the defendant had been acquitted. He had then gone out of 
 his way to lay a personal information upon a very insignificant pretext. 
 Poor Collins was his enemy, and must not be allowed to characterize his 
 conduct as "native malignancy," whereas the editors of newspapers 
 under the patronage and pay of the Government were permitted to 
 pursue a deliberate system of malicious vilification with impunity. The 
 latter were allowed to publicly malign not only individual members of 
 the Opposition, but to circulate the grossest libels upon the House of 
 Assembly itself. With these offences the Attorney-General did not think 
 fit to meddle. They were committed by his personal and political friends, 
 and, unless common rumour seriously belied him, were not seldom com- 
 mitted at his own instigation. At any rate he maintained the most 
 
 * Ante, p. 42 et seq. 
 
THE CASE OF FBANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 20fi 
 
 amicable relations with the lioellers, and allowed no opportunity of 
 serving their material interests to pass unimproved. Such inconsistency 
 forced itself upon public attention. People who up to that time had 
 supported the official party began to ask where this one-sidedness was to 
 end. The Attorney-General had no right, it was said, to reward his 
 friends for doing precisely the same things as those for which he punished 
 and imprisoned his enemies. It was remembered against him how, when 
 disputing with Judge Willis as to the nature of his official duties, he had 
 with scorn repudiated the suggestion that he should proceed in the 
 absence of instructions, even against notorious evil-doers. It was remem- 
 bered that he had declined to take any official cognizance of so serious 
 an offence against the public peace as the type-riot, which had been com- 
 mitted by his own friends and prot^g^s. Yet he had here gone out of his 
 way to prosecute to his ruin a poor wretch who, certainly not without 
 great provocation, had merely accused him of falsehood and native 
 malignancy. A man who accommodated his conduct to his inclinations 
 in this way might perhaps be much beloved by his friends, but he 
 certainly had no claim to be considered either good or great. The 
 faction, from Dr. Strachan downwards, had for years been holding up 
 John Beverley Eobinson to the admiration of Upper Canadians. By 
 many he had been accepted at their valuation. The Selkirk and Gourlay 
 episodes, together with a score of others less noteworthy, had been slurred 
 over. As the worst of these had occurred some years before, they had 
 been partly forgotten by the existing generation. But the remorseless 
 vindictiveness and cruelty displayed throughout the Collins prosecution 
 were patent to everybody. They did much to lower the Attorney- General 
 in popular estimation, and to destroy public confidence in the integrity 
 of the Judges. They gave rise to an uneasy feeling of discontent, and 
 doubtless had their share in bringing about the troubles of 1837-'38. 
 
 Collins went to jail, where, in spite of great exertions on his 
 behalf, he was compelled to remain for many months. The fine was 
 paid, like the damages in the type-riot case, by public subscription. 
 Appeals from various quarters to the Lieutenant-Governor on the 
 prisoner's behalf were made in vain. The incumbent of that office was 
 no longer Sir Peregrine Maitland, whoae torpid and nerveless administra- 
 
206 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 I 
 
 I- I 
 1' 
 
 tion had como to an end some weeks before,* when, as previously men- 
 tioned, he had taken his departure for Nova Scotia. His successor as 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada was Major-General Sir John Col- 
 borne, a distinguished officer of the 52nd Regiment, who had done gallant 
 service in the Peninsula, and had fought at Waterloo. He is desciibed 
 by Napier, the historian of the Peninsular War, as having developed " an 
 extraordinary genius for war." After the return of peace he had had some 
 experience in diplomacy, having for some time been placed in charge of the 
 Government in the island of Guernsey. His appointment to the more 
 onerous and responsible post of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada 
 was heralded as the precursor of better times. It was announced that he 
 had come over charged with instructions to reverse the fatuous policy of 
 his predecessor, and to conduct the administration in accordance with the 
 well understood wishes of the people. It seems tolerably certain that 
 some such general directions as these had actually been given, but great 
 latitude was necessarily left to Sir John himself; and, as after events 
 proved, he was ill fitted for the discharge of such duties as had been 
 entrusted to him. He was destined to furnish, in his own person, a 
 sufficient argument against the absurd system pursued by the Home 
 Government of saddling the colonies with military rulers. That Sir John 
 was an excellent soldier goes without saying. It is certain, too, that he 
 was in the main actuated by upright and honourable motives. But he 
 had been " a man of war from his youth," and his early training and 
 long military career had made him stern and unbending. He had no 
 sympathy with the aspirations of a people who were just beginning to 
 grasp the principles of constitutional liberty, and who saw many things 
 in the body politic which called aloud for reform. 
 
 It did not take long for the people of Upper Canada to gauge the 
 character of the new Governor, for he had not been a fortnight in the 
 Province before he had practically allied himself with the Compact. 
 Hardly had he assumed the functions of his office ere a petition, signed 
 
 •Sir Peregrine was gazetted to be "Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia and its depend- 
 encies" on the 14th of August, 1828. On the same date Sir John Colborne was gazetted as 
 Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, but he did not reach the seat of his Government until 
 late in the autumn, and Sir Peregrine did not actually demit office until the arrival of his 
 successor. 
 
THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 207 
 
 by a number o' influential inhabitants of York and its neighbourhood, 
 was presented to him by a Committee on behalf of Collins. The 
 facts were set out in detail, and his Excellency was asked to exercise 
 the royal clemency by releasing the prisoner from his melancholy situa- 
 tion. Sir John's reply was non-committal, but not wholly discouraging. 
 It conceded the advantages resulting from a free and well-conducted 
 press, but expressed reverence for trial by jury, and referred to the danger 
 of interfering with the verdicts of juries or the opinions of Judges unless 
 their illegality could be clearly demonstrated. It added, however, that if 
 his Excellency, after inquiring into the case, should come to the conclu- 
 sion that his interposition was called for, a communication to that effect 
 would be made to the person chiefly concerned. 
 
 In the face of this reply, it behooved the prisoner and his friends to 
 wait a reasonable time before taking any further steps. Within the 
 next few days a number of facts came to light which certainly went to 
 show that there were at least good grounds for a new trial. It appeared 
 that John Hayden, one of the jurymen, had been ignorant of the true 
 meaning of the word " malignancy," and had sent out to the Court for 
 Johnson's Dictionary, in order to arrive at a true definition. This indul- 
 gence was refused by the Court, and Hayden was constrained to accept 
 the definition of another juror, whereby he was led to believe that the 
 word in question has a much more serious significance than really attaches 
 to it. By this means he had been induced to give his voice for the 
 conviction of the defendant. Two other jurymen,* who were servile 
 tools of the Attorney-General, had been actuated by undue prejudice, 
 insomuch that they had expressed a strong pre-determination to convict 
 the defendant. Then, the conduct of Mr. Hagerman, in sitting as a 
 Judge in a case wherein he was personally concerned — it will be remem- 
 bered that he had been derisively referred to in the report which formed 
 liie subject of the indictment — was an infringempnt of decency, to say 
 nothing of its being a perversion of the letter and spirit of the law. He 
 had also conferred with the Judge by whom the sentence was pronounced 
 
 * William Davenish and Andrew A. Thompson. The former stated that in the event of his 
 being called as a juror he would "put it en to" Collins. See the Freeman for Thursday, 
 December 25th, 1828. 
 
208 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REnELLION. 
 
 J I 
 
 
 as to the measure of punishment to be awarded. But he had not only 
 sat in judgment in his own cause : he had refused to record the finding 
 of the jury, whom he had misled and coerced into bringing in a verdict 
 contrary to what they really intended. Judge Sherwood's conduct had 
 been little better. He had delivered a charge to the jury which practi- 
 cally left them no alternative but to convict, unless they altogether 
 disregarded his counsels. John Carey, editor of the York Observer, who 
 was present on the occasion, testified thn,t the Judge's charge appeared 
 to him to outrage law and common sense.* Then, the sentence itself 
 was so grossly out of proportion to the offence as to shock all ideas of 
 justice, and to form a standing menace against the liberty of the press 
 in Upper Canada. Yet Judge Sherwood, in pronouncing it, had expressly 
 stated that it should be light, in consequence of its being awarded for a 
 first conviction. It would be curious to know what punishment he would 
 have awarded if the defendant had been previously convicted on a similar 
 charge. 
 
 All these circumstances went far to prove that the defendant had met 
 with considerably more or less than justice. And there were other facts 
 which had an ugly look. The defendant, as already mentioned, was a 
 Boman Catholic ; yet, out of a large and respectable population professing 
 the same religious faith, not one was to be found on the panel, although at 
 the Quarter Sessions, held a few days later, the number of Roman Catholics 
 summoned to serve on juries was exceptionally large. The Sheriff who 
 empanelled the jury was a political enemy of the accused. So was each 
 individual member of the Grand Jury who found the true bill against him. 
 So were a large majority of the petty jury by whom he was tried. So was 
 the Attorney- General who prosecuted him. So were the two Judges who 
 presided at the trial. Taken in connection with the specific facts men- 
 tioned in the preceding paragraph, these matters gave rise to many 
 unpleasant conjectures, and it was no wonder that the public voice 
 exclaimed against the verdict as an unrighteous one. It was no wonder 
 that public meetings were held in some of the rural districts to protest 
 against what was almost universally pronounced to be a tyrannical abuse 
 of the process of the Courts. It was no wonder that hisses and groans 
 
 * See Appendix to Journals of Assembly for 1829. 
 
THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 200 
 
 were Bometimes heard from quiet nookd nnd corner^ when the Attorney- 
 General passed along the streets of York. And it was no wonder that, 
 coming, as it did, on the heels of other trials that diflferecl with it only 
 in degree, the case of Francis Collins caused many theretofore loyal 
 subjects to ask themselves whether their loyalty demanded that they 
 should forever continue to bend their necks to the yoke of the oppressor. 
 What was Collins's case to-day might possibly be theirs or their sons' 
 on the morrow. 
 
 On the 26th of November Collins sent in to the Lieutenant-Governor 
 a pathetically-worded petition, in which the desolate condition of his 
 young and helpless family was alluded to in brief but moving terms. It 
 set out that, in consequence of his imprisonment, the business whereby 
 he had supported his family was all but ruined, as its success depended 
 solely on his personal exertions. Finally, he prayed to be restored to 
 his liberty. Accompanying the petition were affidavits setting forth the 
 admitted ignorance of one of the jurymen, and the pre-determination of 
 the other two to convict. But the prisoner knocked at the gates of Sir 
 John Colborne's heart in vain. The Lieutenant-Governor was .'jy this 
 time as completely hand and glove with the official party as his pre- 
 decessor had ever been. Dr. Strachan and John Beverley Robin&f>n 
 managed him with great skill, and, by dint of much seeming deference, 
 had him under complete control. Without being in the least aware of 
 it, he was clay in the hands of the potter, who moulded him at will. 
 As well might poor Collins have appealed for mercy to a half-famished 
 tiger of the jungle as to these two Provincial representatives of law 
 and gospel. His memorial, dated " York Gaol, November 26th, 1829," 
 was not replied to until more than three weeks had elapsed, and when 
 the answer came its contents indicated perfect callousness to the pris- 
 oner's unhappy condition. He was curtly informed that the Lieutenant- 
 Governor could not think it right to comply with the petition, but that 
 on the expiration of the specified term of imprisonment, any application 
 which he might desire to make would be taken into consideration. 
 
 From this time forward the prisoner seems to have resigned himself 
 to his fate, although his friends did not relax their exertions on his 
 behalf. It seemed useless to apply for a new trial, as the application 
 
1 
 
 210 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 1 1 
 
 '1 
 
 would have to be made to either Sherwood or Hagerman, from neither 
 of whom could he hope to obtain justice. The Freeman continued to 
 make its appearance, although its publication was necessarily carried on 
 under great disadvantages. The editor's spirit was by no means broken, 
 and he sent forth from his place of confinement a succession of editorials 
 as bitterly vigorous as any previous efforts of his pen. He also wrote 
 a series of open letters addressed to the Attorney-General, in which 
 that official's career, from his infancy onwards, was reviewed with 
 caustic bitterness.* These letters were published in successive num- 
 bers -of the Freeman, and must be presumed to have been a source 
 of great annoyance to the gentleman to whom they were directed. 
 Though many of the statements therein were perverse and wilful dis- 
 tortions of facts, there was a large element of truth, and it would not 
 have been easy to expose the falsehood without admitting much that 
 could not be denied. The Attorney-General contemplated another prose- 
 cution, but thought better of it — not, it is to be presumed, from any want 
 of vindictivenesB, but because he felt that there was a limit to the public 
 endurance, and that that limit had pretty nearly been reached. 
 
 In January, 1829, the Collins case was taken into consideration by the 
 Assembly. A Committee was appointed, and a rigid inquiry insti- 
 tuted into some of the most interesting features. Attorney-General 
 Eobinson was examined at considerable length. Judges Sherwood and 
 Hagerman were summoned before the Committee, but both of them 
 declined to answer any questions. A good many important facts were 
 elicited, upon the strength of which an Address to his Excellency was 
 passed, recapitulating the circumstances, and praying for a remission 
 of the sentence. The reply was of the same inexorable character as that 
 previously made to Collins's own petition. " It is my anxious wish," 
 was the response of the Lieutenant-Governor, "to render service to the 
 Province, by concurring with the Legislature in everything that can 
 promote its peace, prosperity and happiness; and I regret exceedingly 
 that the House of Assembly should have made an application to me 
 which the obligation I am under to support the laws, and my duty to 
 society, forbid me, I think, to comply with." For the information of 
 
 1829. 
 
 'Ante, pp. 101, 102, note. 
 
THE CASE OF FRANCIS COLLINS. 
 
 211 
 
 the House, hia Excellency forwarded a copy of a letter addressed by 
 Justice Sherwood to the Governor's Secretary, embodying certain 
 reasons for the judgment of the Court in the case. The Judge, it 
 will be remembered, refused to assign any such reasons when ques- 
 tioned on the subject by the Committee of the House of Assembly, 
 As to his right to so refuse there can hardly be much difference of 
 opinion, but he would have been more consistent if he had also refused 
 when applied to by the Ijieutenant-Governor. After admitting the right 
 to publish fair and candid opinions on the Government and constitution, 
 the Judge declared that if a publisher " steps aside from the high road 
 of decency and peaceable deportment, and adopts a course of public 
 calumny and open abuse against the officers of Government generally, 
 or particularly against the principal law officer of the Crown, in the 
 legal discharge of his duty in the King's Courts, as the defendant did," 
 then it was the Judge's conviction that the publisher so offending should 
 be "punished to that extent which, in human probability, would prevent 
 a recurrence of the offence. " And yet this same Judge, in pronouncing 
 sentence, had expressly declared that the sentence should be a light one, 
 as it was the defendant's first ofifence. The conclusion of the letter 
 showed plainly enough that a conference had taken place between 
 Justices Sherwood and Hagerman before the imposition of the penalty. 
 It proved, indeed, that the sentence was to be considered as the joint 
 sentence of the two Judges. " Tt.king all the circumstances of the case 
 into consideration," it ran, " Mr. Justice Hagerman and myself deemed 
 the sentence which we passed on the defendant both proper and necessary 
 for the public good, and what the case itself required." 
 
 Two or three further appeals were made to the Lieutenant-Governor 
 on the prisoner's behalf, all of which proved ineffectual. The matter 
 was really in the hands of the Attorney-General himself, who was 
 inexorable, and would be satisfied with nothing short of the fullest 
 expiation. The Assembly meanwhile did not relax its efforts to obtain 
 a commutation of the sentence. On the 12th of March an address to the 
 King was passed by that body, whereby His Majesty was entreated "to 
 extend to Francis Collins the royal clemency, by remitting the residue of 
 his punishment." Not much was hoped for from this proceeding, as it 
 
 -.1 
 
212 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN KEHKLLION. 
 
 was folt that tlio wholo infliuMU'o of tho Executive would bo put forwavil 
 a<j;aiust it. Tho priaonor himself mado up liis uiiiul to accopt tho iuovit- 
 nhh', antl to sorvo out at loast tho full tonn of tho Hontonco impoHotl. lie 
 coutiuuod to supply editorial artioloH for his paper, couched in a strain 
 which soomed to indicate his superiority to circumstances. But his 
 buoyant spirit was measurably tamed by his lonj^ imprisoiiuont, and it 
 was ronuirked that ho was never atj;ain quito the same man as before. 
 Contrary to his anticipations, tho address of the Assembly finally proved 
 elToctivo, and he was permitted to walk forth from tho jail a free man. 
 His paper came forth from week to week, but its tone was evidi'utly 
 inoditiod and subdued. Somothinj^ of the old spirit occasionally llashed 
 forth, but titfully and transitorily only, like the llicker of a lamp before 
 its extinction. It was clear that the editor had not for{;;otten the indig- 
 nity and mental sulToring ho had undergone, and throughout tho renuiin- 
 ing years of his life he always dwelt more or loss in tho shadow of the 
 cold and solitary cell. The records of the jurisprudonco of civilized 
 countries contain few modern instances of the exaction of so Bcvoro a 
 penalty for so insignificant an offence. 
 
 Tho narrative has no further concern with Francis Collins, except to 
 record that he continued to edit and publish tho Frcfman down to IHiM, 
 when he fell a victim to the cholera invasion by which tho 1 rovincial 
 capital was ravaged during that year. Ho died on the 2nd of September, 
 and the Frecimn thenceforth ceased to exist. 
 
 i: 1 
 
CIIAl'Tl'.lt X. 
 
 'f 
 
 LKJHTS— OLD AND NKW. 
 
 N tho prectuling fivo chapters an attempt has boon maile to 
 r('(hu'o to narrativo form a groat mass of hotcrogonooua 
 material bearing npon tho " Story " whieh it is tho pnrpoao 
 ^^t''^*' ji© of tlu^se vohimes to rehito. A considerabhi proportion of this 
 material is to all practical intents inaccoHHible to the general 
 reading public, being scattered here and there through old 
 and long-forgotten newspapers, blue-books, pamphlets and unedited 
 numuscripts. Yet some actpuiintance with it is absolutely necessary to 
 a clear comprehension of the deplorable state of things which existed in 
 this Province during the n^ginie of Sir Peregrine ^raithuid and his suc- 
 cessor. No one who is ignorant of it is capable of expressing an 
 intelligent opinion as to the merits or demerits of the Rebellion and 
 those who took part therein. The principal facts and circumstaneea 
 attendant upon some of the most flagrant exhibitions of Family ('ompaet 
 oppression which mark the fourth decade of Upper Camidian history 
 have therefore been set forth in consecutive order, and with considerable 
 minuteness. The picture thus alTorded of Provincial society and Govern- 
 ment, though pregnant with instruction, is by no moans an attractive 
 one, and any person contemplating it for tho first time nniy well be 
 excused for ipiestioning its perfect accuracy. The drawing, at times, 
 seems to bo too wavy in outline, and some of the details have the 
 appearance of being painted in cdIcuu-s too glaring to bo natural. Hut a 
 strict examination of the properties will correct all such impressions. 
 Varying themes recpiire varying methods of treatment. There are 
 certain features of landscape wliich must not be drawn with absolute 
 sharpness of outline, and there are subjects to which neutral tints 
 
214 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 altogether fail to do justice. Of such a character are more thaa one of 
 the scenes hero reproduced. Independently of the mere method of treat- 
 ment, the historical evidence is so clear and explicit that it can be 
 questioned by no one who takes the trouble to examine it. As to mere 
 matters of fact, there will be little or no difference of opinion among 
 those who consult and compare the various authorities cited in the 
 notes.* 
 
 The cases hitherto recorded are merely a few out of many, but they 
 Buffice to tell the story of Executive cruelty and selfishness during the 
 period referred to more effectively than it could possibly be told without 
 their aid. To set forth with equal fulness of detail the circumstances 
 attendant upon the persecution of Jonah Brown, Eobert Eandal, Hugh 
 Christopher Thompson, and a round score of minor victims, would be to 
 extend this work to an interminable length. The materials for a work 
 ^vritten on such a plan are abundant, as they include all the facts arising 
 out of the stupendous iniquity sought to be perpetrated under the guise 
 of the Alien Bill. The particulars connected with the attempt to force 
 this infamous measure upon the people of Upper Canada cannot be 
 inquired into in these pages. Sufficient to say that it was a most 
 dishonest and unstatesmanlike attempt on the part of the Executive to 
 get rid of political opponents by repudiating the well-understood obliga- 
 tions of their predecessors in office : an attempt to dispossess persons 
 who, relying upon the faith of the Government of the day, had settled in 
 the country and taken up lands, to which they had received titles, and 
 upon which they and their parents had in many cases resided ever 
 since Governor Simcoe's time. The attempt failed through the vigilance 
 of the Opposition and the interference of the Imperial Government, but 
 it proved the length to which the official party were prepared to go in 
 order to maintain the existing order of things. It was of a piece with 
 the rest of the Executive policy, which seemed to wax more and more 
 exacting and one-sided with lapse of time. It was abundantly clear 
 
 * It has not been thought desirable to incumber the text with foot-notes except where they 
 seemed to be needed for purposes of elucidation ; but in every matter of real importance, where 
 the reader of average information and intelligence may reasonably be supposed to be in doubt 
 as to the source of the narrative, care has been taken to indicate the authority. 
 
\ 
 
 LIGHTS — OLD AND NEW. 
 
 215 
 
 to many persons unconnected with the Eeform party that there was no 
 justice in the land for a Eeformer, and that the oHgarchy by whom the 
 country was dominated cared nothing for its best interests. Constitu- 
 tional liberty was systematically trampled under foot. The oft- quoted 
 boast of the Founder of the Province about the Upper Canadian constitu- 
 tion being "the very image and transcript of that of Great Britain"* 
 seemed the hoUowest mockery when /iewed in the light of events which 
 had become a matter of frequent occurrence. 
 
 It was not only to the thumbs of political opponents that the Execu- 
 tive screw was applied. When occasion arose it was applied with 
 surprising energy and vigour to the thumbs of those who had long been 
 obedient slaves of the Administration. Nothing more clearly shows the 
 shameless exercise of power on the part of the faction : nothing more 
 clearly proves the complete subordination of their tools, and the depths 
 of degradation to which public men could be made to stoop : than an 
 episode which occurred during the Parliamentary session of 1828. The 
 persons chiefly involved were the Hon. James Baby, who was himself 
 Inspector-General of Public Accounts and senior member of the Executive 
 Council, and ex-Chief Justice Powell. It has already been explained that 
 the first-named personage had for some time past ceased to carry any 
 great weight at the Council Board, where he had been to a considerable 
 extent supersec'ed by his juniors. t His seniority was merely in point of 
 time, and his influence on the policy of the Government was as insignifi- 
 cant as it possibly could be, consistently with the position which he held. 
 He keenly felt his having been, so to speak, thrust into the background, 
 and in several instances showed a disposition to assert himself by acting 
 independently. A similar feeling, but milder in degree, animated the 
 breast of the ex-Chief Justice, whose place as principal lay adviser of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor had long since been taken by Attorney-General 
 Robinson. During the session of 1823-4 he had seen fit to protest 
 against a School Bill passed by the Assembly, under which Dr. Strachan 
 was intended to and did actually derive a sinecure salary of three 
 hundred pounds a year. His protest, at his own urgent request, was 
 entered on the journal, where it seemed likely to remain a perpetual 
 
 *Ante, p. 48. 
 
 fAnU, p. 140. 
 
216 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 , 
 
 
 1, 
 
 I 
 
 ' 
 
 I' 
 
 
 !l 
 
 i ' 
 
 1 
 
 ' ' i ' 
 
 ' '^ 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 memento of his independence and of the servility of his colleagues. 
 But this was by no means desired by the Lieutenant-Governor and the 
 Attorney-General. Pressure was brought to bear upon the recalcitrant 
 member, under the influence of which he was forced to succumb. He 
 consented that the protest should be erased from the journal, and it 
 was erased accordingly.* But a still more sickening humiliation was 
 in store for him, as well as for the venerable Mr. Baby. 
 
 During the session of 1828 several petitions were received by the 
 Assembly praying for relief against a law passed in 1825, whereby certain 
 taxes had been imposed on wild lands.! Among other grievances com- 
 plained of was the manner in which the law had been passed. It was 
 distinctly alleged in one of the petitions that the measure had been 
 pushed through both Houses with too great rapidity, and that most 
 culpable means had been employed in order to procure the assent of 
 certain members to whom it was objectionable. The Assembly enter- 
 tained the petitions, and appointed a Committee to inquire into the 
 matter. A number of witnesses were examined, and some astounding 
 facts elicited. The allegations as to undue influence were proved by the 
 clearest evidence, and by witnesses who had generally been accustomed 
 to act with the Government. One of these was our somewhile acquain- 
 tance, the Hon. William Dickson, who, as has previously been seen, was 
 the owner of an immense tract of land, I and was consequently seriously 
 affected by the law enacted in 1825. His evidence, as printed in the 
 Appendix to the Journals of the Assembly, § stands as a perpetual indict- 
 ment against Sir Peregrine Maitland and the venal clique by whom he 
 was surrounded. It appears that from the time when the Bill relating to 
 the taxation of wild lands was first introduced into the Upper House it 
 
 * See Seventh Report of Grievance Committee, p. xxxvil. The School Act referred to was 
 4 George IV. cap. 8, passed on the 19th of January, 1824. John Henry Dunn, Receiver- 
 Gl«neral of the Province, aeems also to have protested against the measure, and to have con- 
 sented, under pressure, to the erasure of his protest. See the evidence of the Hon. William 
 Dickson and the Hon. Thomas Clark, referred to in the ensuing paragraph of the text. 
 
 fThe royal assent to this Act was promulgated by a proclamation bearing date April 4th, 
 1825. 
 
 XAnte, p. 14. 
 
 §See Report on Petitions against Wild Linds Asscssinent Law, in Appendix to Journals of 
 Assembly for 1828, p. 107 et seq. 
 
LIGHTS — OLD AND NEW. 217 
 
 was an unpopular measure, and that it was opposed by a majority of the 
 members. Most of the latter were large landholders by virtue of their 
 membership, and some of them had acquired additional blocks by 
 purchase. The obnoxious Bill was opposed at every stage, and there 
 seemed to be no possibility of its becoming law. Its defeat being regarded 
 as inevitable, its opponents to some extent relaxed their efforts, and con- 
 gratulated each other upon their apparent success. On the third reading, 
 however, Mr. Dickson found, to his supreme astonishment and disgust, 
 that some of the members upon whom he had relied for votes presented 
 an entire change of front, and appeared in the rdle of supporters of 
 the measure. It was noticeable that all the converts, or perverts, held 
 offices under the Government. The Hon. John Henry Dunn, Provincial 
 Eeceiver-General, took a different course. He had been among the most 
 determined opponents of the Bill, and had declared that it would never 
 pass.* He had too much self-respect, after taking such a stand, to give 
 the lie to all his protestations by voting for the measure, so he quietly 
 staid at home on a pretence of sickness. t Eeferring to those who took a 
 more determined stand, by voting contrary to their pledges, Mr. Dickson 
 says : " This change, I am satisfied, arose from intimidation by the 
 Local Government, who seemed determined to carry the measure at any 
 sacrifice. It was most painfully manifest from their countenances and 
 demeanour that the change was not from conviction, but from coercion. 
 The business of the Legislative Council was suspended for two hours 
 for a meeting of the Executive Council. And I do believe that at that 
 Council the members of the Legislative Council holding ofi&ces were con- 
 strained at the peril of their situations to vote for the measures they had 
 a week before decidedly opposed. Upon those members returning that day 
 to their legislative duties there was a change of voting, and one of those 
 who staid away on pretence of sickness was, to my knowledge, able to 
 attend." The reference here is presumably to Mr. Dunn. Mr. Dickson's 
 evidence then goes on to say that about ten minutes before the vote was 
 taken, a message was delivered to the Hon. James Baby that Major 
 Hillier wished to speak to him. Major Hillier was the Lieutenant- 
 Governor's most confidential secretary, and was employed in numberless 
 
 •See The SpHt in the Legislative Council, by F. 0. [T Francis ColUnf], p. 7. fli., p. 8. 
 
!■ ! 
 
 I!"" '^ 
 
 jli; 
 
 i !fl 
 
 I'M 
 
 1 
 
 218 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 little transactions requiring the exercise of coolness and tact. In response 
 to the message Mr. Baby left his place in the House, and did not return 
 for some time. Upon his return from the interview to his accustomed 
 seat he was evidently much confused and agitated. Being spoken to 
 by Mr. Dickson he found it impossible to conceal his agitation, but 
 told his interlocutor, to that gentleman's great astonishment, that he 
 must vote for the Bill. When the time came he accordingly voted with 
 the Government, and the Bill was carried by a small majority, Messieurs 
 Dickson and Clark entering a determined protest against it. "After the 
 passing of the Bill," continues Mr. Dickson, "the Hon. Mr. Baby, after 
 leaving the House, put his hand upon his heart, and, with reference to 
 his change of conduct on the measure, said something about his children, 
 expressive of his regret at the necessity which drove him to the abandon- 
 ment of the course he had pursued." 
 
 Mr. Powell, who was then Speaker of the Legislative Council, was 
 evidently subjected to similar influences. Like Mr. Baby, he had been 
 strenuous in his opposition to the Bill, and had even gone so far as to 
 speak harshly of some of those who promoted it. But he was speedily 
 made to know his place, and the tenure by which he held it. During a 
 portion of the two hours when the business of the Legislative Council 
 was suspended he was in secret conference with Major Hillier and one or 
 more members of the Executive Council.* When he took his seat upon 
 the resumption of the business of the day, it was noticeable that he, as 
 well as Baby, was labouring under undue embarrassment and agitation. 
 It was beyond any reasonable doubt that they had been shamelessly 
 coerced, and had been compelled to choose between voting as they were 
 commanded or being dismissed from their respective ofl&ces. Upon 
 being questioned by Mr. Dickson, Powell admitted that he had changed 
 his opinion, and added, in seeming sincerity, that he had received new 
 light on the matter within the last ten minutes. Such an exchange of 
 an old lamp for a new one must surely have been the work of some malig- 
 nant and monstrous genie at the Council Board. 
 
 It should be mentioned that Dickson's evidence, so far as "extra- 
 ordinary and undue influence by the Local Government " is concerned, 
 
 * TAc Split in the Legislative Council, ubi Bupra, p. 10. 
 
 
LIGHTS— OLD AND NEW. 
 
 219 
 
 is fully confirmed by the evidence of the Hon. Thomas Clark, who was 
 also a member of the Upper House, and was present at the proceedings 
 above described. 
 
 There could not well be any more conclusive proof of the unconsti- 
 tutional and corrupt manner in which the Government was carried on 
 during Sir Peregrine Maitland's time than is afforded by the circum- 
 stances just narrated. They read like a chapter out of the political 
 history of England during the last century. The methods employed by 
 Walpole exhibit nothing baser or more repulsive than these. His 
 aphorism about "every one of them" having his price might well have 
 been echoed by Sir Peregrine, so far as the Legislative Council was 
 concerned, with the addition that the price in Upper Canada was some- 
 times ridiculously low. The persons who were guilty of these grosB 
 violations of the constitution, to say nothing of the commonest principles 
 of honesty, were incessantly prating of their devoted loyalty to the Crown. 
 Yet it is plain enough that their fealty was always subservient to what 
 they deemed to be their personal interests. This was as clearly apparent 
 in 1837 as it had been in 1828. When, a few years later,* a crisis arose 
 in which they were compelled to choose between those interests and their 
 devotion to the Crown, it was once more abundantly manifest that theirs 
 was the veriest lip-loyalty. The burning of the Parliament Buildings 
 at Montreal was as direct an act of treason as was the affair at 
 Montgomery's Farm. 
 
 In 1828 there was a general election, in the course of which the 
 Executive party made tremendous exertions to regain a predominating 
 influence in the Assembly. They perceived plainly enough that a hostile 
 majority in the Lower House must in the end prove fatal to them. They 
 might temporarily set it at naught, through their control over the 
 Legislative Council and the absence of ministerial responsibility, but 
 they could not hope to keep up such a farce for all time. This know- 
 ledge impelled them to adopt every means which their ingenuity could 
 devise to secure the return of candidates who might be relied upon to 
 support their policy. Their success was by no means proportionate to 
 their efforts. When the returns were all in it appeared that the Opposi- 
 
 • In 1849, 
 
?:o 
 
 TUE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 1829. 
 
 tion had rather gained than lost by the contest. Two staunch mombera 
 of the Compact were defeated in what had theretofore been regarded as 
 safe Tory boroughs, and Attorney-General Robinson's majority in the 
 Town of York was greatly diminished. All the most prominent 
 Reformers were returned, and at the opening of the session on the 
 8th of January, 1829, Rolph, Bidwell, Perry, Matthews and Dr. Baldwin 
 took their seats on the Opposition benches. To their number was now 
 added William Lyon Mackenzie, who had been returned for the County 
 of York. His election was a surprise to the Government party, and was 
 pronounced by them to be an everlasting disgrace to the intelligent and 
 populous constituency which had returned him. He repaid such compli- 
 ments as these with others of a like character, and gave back as much as 
 he received, if not with usury, at least with fair interest. 
 
 Mr. Bidwell was elected to the Speaker's chair by the new Assembly, 
 and on every test question the Government were left in a hopeless 
 minority. The vote on the Address in Reply will aflford some clue to the 
 political complexion of the House. It referred to the Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor's advisers as having deeply wounded the feelings and injured the 
 best interests of the country ; yet it was carried with only one dissentient 
 vote — that of J. H. Samson, one of the members for Hastings. Reform 
 was evidently in the ascendant throughout the Province ; but, as during 
 the preceding Parliament, the exertions of the majority in the Assembly 
 could do little for Reform under the existing state of the constitution. 
 The Lieutenant-Governor responded with curt ambiguity to the Assem- 
 bly's Address, and cemented his alliance with the Compact by refusing 
 to grant the prayer of the petition for the release of Collins. The Gov- 
 ernment submitted to one defeat after another with dogged suUenness, 
 but with undiminished contempt for the idea that successive defeats 
 imposed upon them any obligation to resign. 
 
 The session of 1829 was a noisy and quarrelsome one. Hardly had 
 Mackenzie taken his seat before he began that system of inquiry and 
 agitation which he thenceforward pursued throughout the whole of his 
 career as a member of Parliament. He instituted an investigation into 
 the management of the Provincial Post Office, conducted an inquiry as 
 to the privileges of members of the Assembly, and as to the behaviour 
 
LIGHTS — OLD AND NEW. 
 
 221 
 
 of certain returning officers, and generally busied himself with important 
 matters of detail. He displayed precisely the same characteristics as a 
 legislator that he had displayed as the conductor of a newspaper — great 
 energy and vigilance, accompanied by a critical and fault-finding spirit, 
 and an almost entire absence of tact and discretion. He gave wanton 
 and unnecessary offence to those who differed from him in opinion, not 
 only on important political questions, but even on comparatively insig- 
 nificant matters of every-day occurrence. His coadjutors found that, 
 independently of the sincerity or insincerity of his intentions, his judg- 
 ment was not to be trusted. He could be misled by any ignis fatuus 
 that displayed a bright light, and was led into many a Serbonian bog 
 from which he was not extricated without serious difficulty. Some men 
 have an unerring instinct which, even in the absence of calm judgment 
 or mature reflection, commonly leads them in the right path. Mackenzie's 
 first conceptions, on the contrary, were almost invariably erroneous ; and 
 he had a perverse habit of frequently clinging to an idea once formed, 
 even when experience and deliberation had proved it to be unsound.* 
 At other times his opinions were as changeable as the hue of the 
 chameleon. In short, he was a creature of impulse, and too often acted 
 upon the motto of " First fire — then inquire." This was perhaps a mis- 
 fortune rather than a fault, and under ordinary circumstances would 
 have merited lightness of touch on the part of the historian. But 
 Mr. Mackenzie is identified with a movement which forms a conspicuous 
 and dramatic passage in Upper Canadian chronicles, and in justice to 
 others it becomes highly necessary to form a correct estimate of his 
 personality. This is all the more essential from the fact that he himself 
 at different times gave various and conflicting accounts of the episode 
 
 * Such, as far aa I have been able to learn, was the conviction of all Mackenzie's contem- 
 poraries, even of those most favourably disposed, including those who were thrown into the 
 most intimate relations with him, and were bound to him by close ties. One of the foremost of 
 these, in a conversation with me a short time since, remarked : " Mackenzie generally meant 
 well, but he was unpractical and unmanageable. I knew him intimately from his boyhood, and I 
 am compelled to say that whenever he was in the least excited he acted like a spoiled child. He 
 underwent no change in this respect, and was the same in youth, manhood and old age. A more 
 unfit person to be entrusted with the management of any great enterprise, or with the control of 
 his fellow-creatures, I can hardly conceive." I have abundant written testimony to the same 
 effect. 
 
iC 
 
 
 'm 
 
 222 
 
 THE UPPEU CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 with which his name is inseparably blended, which accounts have hitherto 
 been the only sources of information drawn upon by so-called historians. 
 All the references to the Upper Canadian Rebellion to be found in cur- 
 rent histories are traceable, directly or indirectly, to Mackenzie himself, 
 and all are built upon false hypotheses and perverted representations 
 of events. To Mackenzie, more than to any other person, or to all other 
 persons combined, are to be attributed all the worst consequences which 
 flowed from that feebly-planned and ill-starred movement. All the facts 
 point to the conclusion that if he had been content to play the patient 
 and subordinate part properly belonging to him, the whole course of his 
 subsequent life might have been shaped much more smoothly, and he 
 might have been saved the most serious of the privations which he 
 was compelled to undergo. Much sorrow and suffering would also have 
 been spared to others. The injury that may be done in a primitive 
 community by a man who combines good intentions and great energy 
 with excessive obstinacy, misguided ambition, and perversity of judgment, 
 is simply incalculable. The subsequent course of the narrative will be 
 found to fully bear out these reflections, and to point a moral even where 
 there is no intention to moralize. 
 
 Beyond the perpetual friction which was kept up between the Executive 
 body and the Opposition, the session of 1829 was barren of events of 
 permanent political importance. The Executive was tolerably inde- 
 pendent of the popular branch of the Legislature, for it retained the 
 casual and territorial revenues, and could get along without an annual 
 vote for supplies. No fewer than twenty-one Bills passed by the Assembly 
 were rejected by the Legislative Council during the session. "The 
 Province," says Mr. MacMuUen,* " presented the unconstitutional spec- 
 tacle of a Government requiring no moneys from the Assembly, and a 
 Legislative Council of a totally different political complexion from the 
 popular branch of the Legislature. No restraint could now be imposed 
 on the Executive by an annual vote of supplies. It was completely 
 independent of the people." And it declared its independence in the 
 most emphatic manner by inserting in one of the Lieutenant-Governor's 
 messages a direct intimation that the Assembly would not be asked to 
 trouble itself about ways and means. 
 
 * Hiitm-y of Canada, p. 370. 
 
LIGHTS— OLD AND NEW. 
 
 223 
 
 to 
 
 Certain episodes occurred during this session which are deserving of 
 something more than passing reference, not only as indicative of the man- 
 ners of those times, but because they concern personages whose achieve- 
 ments were fated to occupy much space in the annals of our country. 
 The Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Colborne, had not long been installed 
 in office before he was exhibited in effigy in the streets of Hamilton. 
 Certain Tories who were believed to have taken part in the exhibition 
 openly asserted that the Hamilton Reformers wore responsible for it. 
 It was at the same time alleged that there was a plot on the part of the 
 Reformers to release Francis Collins from York jail by force of arms. 
 The two stories emanated from a common source, and as they were 
 without any foundation in truth the Reform leaders in the Assembly 
 deemed it proper to institute an inquiry into the matter. Upon motion 
 of Mr. John Rolph a Committee of Investigation was appointed, with 
 power to send for persons and papers. It was known that Allan Napier 
 MacNab, who was then an impecunious young lawyer in Hamilton, 
 could give certain important information about the affair, and he was 
 summoned to appear before the Committee during the second week in 
 February. He obeyed the summons, so far as presenting an appearance 
 was concerned, but he refused to reply to certain questions put to him, 
 and conducted himself with great insolence and want of discretion. 
 Being again summoned before the Committee, to answer for his conduct, 
 he read a written defence which had been prepared for him, and which 
 rather aggravated his offence than otherwise. Accordingly, on motion 
 of Dr. Baldwin, seconded by George Rolph, the future baronet was 
 committed to York jail, under warrant of the Speaker, during the 
 pleasure of the House. After remaining in custody about ten days, 
 Mr. MacNab addressed a letter to the House which reads very much 
 like a repetition of his former contempt, but which the Assembly seem 
 to have construed very charitably, as on the 3rd of March a motion was 
 carried for his discharge, and he was set at liberty. 
 
 This brief term of imprisonment, which in all lasted less than a 
 fortnight, was the turning point in the reckless young lawyer's career. 
 Up to that time he had been nobody, and had had no apparent prospect 
 of ever attaining to any importance. But from this time forward the 
 
 ;:||: 
 
 fi 
 
! i 
 
 
 i! 
 
 224 
 
 THK UPrKIl CANADIAN UEHKLLION. 
 
 ollicial party regarded him in the light of a martyr who had svilTored in 
 the good cause. Thov feastjd and lionized him, and did thoir utmost to 
 advance his fortunes. At the elections whi^h took place during the 
 following year tho} returned him as one of the representatives of tiie 
 County of Wontworth in the Assemhly, wlieve, though he lacked sufticicnt 
 ballast to display anything like stateamanship, he made considorahle 
 noise, and erelong became a notable personage. He was voluble, and 
 made many verbose speeches, the matter of which never rose above the 
 veriest commonplace, but as it was always charged with emph.tiic High 
 Toryism it was applauded to the echo by the ollicial party, l-jventually, 
 as every Canadian knows, he obtained high distinction and eminence, and 
 had abundant reason to bless the discipline which lie had received at the 
 hands of a Parliamentary Committee. But for that discipline he might 
 have lived and died an obsciuro country lawyer. To that discipline he 
 was indebted for all the honours wliich subsequently descended upon him. 
 By its aid he successively became a member of the Upper Canadian 
 Parliament, Speaker of the Assembly, Commander-in-Chief of the Upper 
 Canadian land forces during the Bebellion, Knight, Queen's Counsel, 
 member of the United Parliament of Canada, leader of the Tory Party in 
 the Canadian Legislature, Premier, President of the Council and Minister 
 of Agriculture, Baronet, honorary Colonel in the British Army, Aide-do- 
 Camp to the Queen, Speaker of the Legislative Council. Ho also became 
 father-in-law to a peer of the realm, and died Sir Allan MacNab of 
 Df nduru. Certain passages of his life will form the subject of future 
 consideration. Meanvvhile it will be sufficient to remark that each 
 succossivo link in the long chain of his triumphs may be distinctly 
 traced to his supposed martyrdom at the hands of the Reform majority 
 in the Upper Canadian Assembly in 18'2i). 
 
 Another personage cited to appear before the Assembly's Connnitteo 
 on the same investigation was the Hon. H. J. Boulton, Solicitor-General. 
 He di.^p'ayed the same reticence as young MacNab, and refused to reply 
 to certani questions put t(. him by the Chairman. Ho was soon tauglit 
 that l'\o high position which he occupied, backed, as it was, by the 
 Buppci't of the party in power, could not shield him from the conso- 
 quoncoB of his refusal. Upon motion of Dr. Baldwin a resolution was 
 
LiaiiTS— (n,n ano nkw. 
 
 22') 
 
 adoptcil that the Solicitor-Cionoral had boon guilty of a high coiitoinpt 
 and broach of tho privilogos of tho llouso. lie was phicod at tlie bar, 
 whoro ho showed nioro bouho of proprioty than had boon shown by his 
 prodocossor. Ho had no dt'siro to wvar a crown of martyrdom, and did 
 liis utmost to purgo himself of his contempt. Ho ploadod that he had 
 intondod no disrospoot to tho Committoo. nor any broach of tho privileges 
 ')f tho AsHombly, and condudod by saying that ho stood r(>ady to answer, 
 if tho House so dosirod. Tho House acted magnai\imously, not choosing 
 to humiliate a beaten man any farther than was necessary for tlu* due 
 vindication of its own authority. John llolph, seconded by Or. Ambrose 
 Blacklock, one of tho members for Stormont, moved that tho Solicitor- 
 General bo admonished by tho Speaker, and disdnirgod on payment of 
 fees to the Sergoaut-at-Arms. 'Vho motion was carried, and it only 
 remained for tho culprit to submit to tho mild discipline which ho had 
 boon adjudged to bear, 
 
 But there was reason for believing that that discipline would bo a 
 trying ordeal for tho Solicitor-General. The Speaker who was to pro- 
 nounce the admonition was no connnonplace piece of clay, trained to the 
 sot phrase of office, like the previous occupant had been. Ho was no less 
 a personage than Marshall Spring Bidwell, who, with perhaps tho single 
 exception of John Kolph, was tho most oUxpiont and powt>rful speaker in 
 the Trovince. When moved to righteous auger, he was eiipable of 
 administering a scorching reproof, and if a man is ever justiliod in taking 
 liis antagonist at a disadvantage, ample justification was to bo found in 
 tho present instance. Mr. Bidwell had reason to hate tho very name of 
 Boulton, and might well be expected to avail himself of such an oppor- 
 tunity of darting tho hot iron into his enemy's soul. There was a feud 
 of long standing between the BidwoUs and the Boultons. Tho Hidwells 
 had sustained serious wrong and insult at the hands of the Boultons, 
 anil tho lk)ultons hated the Bidwells with the hatred which small natures 
 always feel towards higher nature's which they have wronged. It was 
 a iU)ulton who had been despatched to Massachusetts in 1H21, to hunt 
 up evidence as to tho alleged misconduct of the older Bidwell.* It was 
 this same Henry John Boulton who had joined with his friend the 
 
 •Ante. p. 100. 
 
i 
 
 •I I 
 
 ! 
 
 ■:> 
 
 ■ 
 
 4'\ 
 
 226 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Attorney-General in abusing and maligning the elder Bidwell during the 
 election campaign of 1821, and afterwards. It was he who had put forth 
 all the little strength that was in him to assist his party in bringing 
 about the expulsion of the elder Bidwell from the Assembly.* He had 
 done his utmost, and successfully, to induce members of Parliament to 
 vote for the statute which had forever closed the doors of the Upper 
 Canadian Legislature to the ex-member of Congress.! He had opposed 
 the return of the younger Bidwell to the Assembly, and more recently, 
 though he was not then a member of the House, he had done what he 
 could to keep him out of the Speaker's Chair by influencing members in 
 favour of John Willson. He had lost no opportunity of making himself 
 personally offensive to Mr. Bidwell, whose abilities he envied, and whose 
 character he was utterly incapable of appreciating. It will thus be seen 
 that all the attendant circumstances combined to make Mr. Bidwell hate 
 and contemn his adversary. If he failed to do so the explanation was to 
 be found in his own gentle nature, and not in the lessons of humiliation 
 which the Boultons had endeavoured to impose upon him. 
 
 It was a memorable scene when the Solicitor-General stood up, on 
 the 20th of February, to receive the admonition which he had been 
 adjudged to endure. He was in a state of tremor, for he was conscious 
 of the disadvantage of his position, and he dreaded the power of the 
 Speaker's tongue. His friends also felt much solicitude on his account, 
 for they knew how little consideration he deserved at the hands of the 
 man who now had him in his power. For some moments a solemn 
 silence reigned supreme. Then the Speaker's voice was heard ; low at 
 first, but steadily rising into clear and impressive tones which made every 
 word sink deep into the hearts of the listeners. And the words them- 
 selves : how different from what the expectant personage at the bar had 
 looked for ! Nothing of malice or revenge there. Nothing but quiet 
 dignity and forbearance. No mere spectator could have told whether 
 the offender was a personal friend or an enemy of the Speaker. The 
 voice was full of feeling, but utterly devoid of passion or malevolence. 
 The power of Parliament was fully vindicated, yet the transgressor 
 escaped without any unnecessary laceration of his pride. "By every 
 
 *AnU,p. 101. 
 
 »i*. 
 
 liif !i 
 
LIGHTS — OLD AND NEW. 
 
 227 
 
 member of the community," proceeded Mr. BidAvell, "a ready and 
 cheerful respect should be shown towards the House of Assembly, 
 who represent the people of the Province, whom the constitution has 
 entrusted with important privileges for the benefit of their constituents, 
 and who are amenable to them for all that they do. But it might 
 in a peculiar degree have been expected of you, whose duty it is to 
 enforce submission to the laws and respect for the institutions of the 
 country." Here Mr. Boulton bowed his head as if in mute assent. He 
 was then informed that the House could not permit this formal and 
 gratuitous denial of its authority to pass unnoticed. " It is important," 
 continued the Speaker, " that by its proceedings against you a warning 
 should be given, before others are led by the influence of your sentiments 
 and conduct to dispute an authority which the House is bound to vindi- 
 cate and enforce. It is necessary that it should go thus far ; but it gives 
 me great satisfaction to observe that its duty does not compel, nor its 
 inclination induce it, in your case, to go any farther than is requisite to 
 attain this object; and, finding from your answer that you are now 
 disposed to treat its privileges with just and becoming respect, and to 
 defer your own private opinion to the judgment of that body whoso 
 constitutional right it is to decide upon its own privileges, it is willing to 
 dismiss you with no other punishment than this admonition from its 
 Speaker. This moderation is a proof that these privileges have been 
 safely lodged by the constitution in its hands, and that they will never 
 be used in a wanton or oppressive manner. It is by the order and in the 
 name of the House that I thus admonish you, and direct that the 
 Sergeant-at-Arms do now discharge you from custody." He was dis- 
 charged accordingly, and left the house profoundly affected by the 
 magnanimity of the man whom he had so grievously injured. One who 
 seems to have watched him as he took his departure has recorded that 
 the Boulton crest never hung so low as at that hour.* Nothing could 
 have more clearly proved the greatness of soul of Mr. Bidwell than this 
 episode ; nothing could have more effectually illustrated his capacity to 
 rise superior to all merely personal considerations when entrusted witli 
 the discharge of a public duty. The London Times published a full 
 
 * The Hamilton Outrage, by " Vindex," p. 9. York, 1829. 
 
m 
 
 228 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ■1 
 
 ii!! 
 
 ill 
 
 ■I m 
 
 report of his admonition, which it pronounced to be the best paper 
 of the kind on record. 
 
 During the following summer an event took place which removed 
 Attorney-General Robinson from the atmosphere of the Assembly, and 
 was the indirect means of introducing Robert Baldwin to public life. This 
 was the appointment of Mr. Robinson to the place of Chief Justice of 
 Upper Canada. The office had just become vacant through the retire- 
 ment of Chief Justice Campbell, who had received the honour of knight- 
 hood during his absence in England. Mr. Robinson thus obtained the 
 reward which he had long coveted, and which his devotion to successive 
 Lieutenant-Governors had richly earned. There was some doubt as to 
 the strict legality of his passing directly from the office of Attorney- 
 General to that of Chief Justice. To remove the doubt he accepted the 
 position of Registrar of the County of Kent, which he resigned after 
 holding it a few days. His appointment to the Chief Justiceship was 
 made on the 13th of July, but owing to the delay occasioned by his 
 acceptance of the inferior office it was confirmed and re-dated on the 
 8rd of August following. He then took his seat on the bench, and was 
 destined to remain there for more than thirty-three years. As Chief 
 Justice he succeeded to the Presidency of the Executive Council, and at 
 the opening of the session in the beginning of 1880 he was nominated 
 Speaker of the Upper House. His removal from the Assembly there- 
 fore did not remove him from the political arena, and for years after- 
 wards he continued, in conjunction with his friend and quondam tutor 
 Dr. Strachan, to direct the policy of the Government as completely as he 
 had done for some years previously. He was succeeded in the office of 
 Attorney-General by Henry John Boulton. The temporary purpose for 
 which Mr. Hagerman had been appointed to the bench, in place of Mr. 
 Justice Willis, having been fully effected, that gentleman now threw off 
 his official robes and succeeded his friend Boulton as Solicitor-General. 
 
 Mr. Robinson's elevation to the bench left a vacancy in the repre- 
 sentation of the Town of York. This vacancy young Robert Baldwin 
 successfully aspired to fill. At the last general election, in conjunction 
 with J. E. Small, he had unsuccessfully contested the County of York 
 with W. L. Mackenzie and Jesse Ketchum. He was now opposed in the 
 
LIGHTS — OLD AND NEW. 
 
 229 
 
 town by the same individual who had so lately been his coadjutor in the 
 county. Mr. Small was defeated, but, at his instance, the return was 
 declared void, the writ for the election having inadvertently been issued 
 by the Lieutenant-Governor instead of by the Speaker of the Assembly, 
 as in strictness it should have been. A new writ was issued, and 
 Mr. Baldwin again contested the seat, his opponent now being the 
 Sheriff of the County, William Botsford Jarvis. The Sheriff naturally 
 enjoyed many advantages in such a contest, but he was defeated by a 
 considerable majority, and on the opening of the session in the following 
 January, Eobert Baldwin, then in his twenty-sixth year, took his seat in 
 Parliament for the first time. He however did not make any conspicuous 
 figure during the session. He had already fully imbibed the idea that a 
 responsible Executive was the great want of Upper Canadian polity, and 
 took comparatively little interest in the subordinate questions of the day. 
 He could see no good purpose to be served by recording successive 
 majorities against the Government, so long as the members of that 
 Government could retain their offices, together with the favour of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, in spite of any vote which the Assembly might see 
 fit to record. He made no remarkable speeches, and seemed rather dis- 
 posed to remain in the background. It so happened that he did not again 
 have an opportunity of winning honours in the Legislature for many 
 years, as, in consequence of the death of the king, a dissolution of Par- 
 liament took place before the time had arrived for the meeting of another 
 session, and Eobert Baldwin was one of the many Eeform candidates who 
 were beaten at the general elections which ensued. 
 
 There are few facts worthy of record in connection with the session 
 of 1830. In the Speech from the Throne the Lieutenant-Governor was 
 able to announce that the revenue at the disposal of the Crown had been 
 found sufficient to meet the requirements of the civil list, and that there 
 still remained a considerable surplus in the Provincial Treasury. The 
 Assembly's Address in Eeply once more drew his Excellency's attention 
 to the want of confidence felt in the advisers by whom he was surrounded. 
 " We still feel unabated solicitude about the administration of public 
 justice," it ran, " and entertain a settled conviction that the continuance 
 about your Excellency of those advisers who from the unhappy policy 
 
!\ 
 
 230 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 they pursued have long deservedly lost the confidence of the country, is 
 highly inexpedient, and calculated seriously to weaken the expectations 
 of the people from the impartial and disinterested justice of His Majesty's 
 Government." The response to this intimation is probably the briefest 
 official deliverance of the kind on record. Divested of the formal com- 
 mencement, it contained exactly six short words : " I thank you for your 
 Address." The number of Bills passed by the Assembly and rejected by 
 the Upper House during the session was twenty-seven. In addition to 
 these there were several Bills which originated in the Assembly, but 
 were afterwards rejected by that House by reason of amendments made 
 to them by the Legislative Council.* 
 
 * For the titles of these measures, see the Seventh Report of Grievance Committee, pp. 266, 267. 
 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 I 
 
i E 
 
 CHAPTEE XL 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 jjOR several years before this time a quiet and almost impercep- 
 tible change had been taking place in Upper Canadian poli- 
 tics. On one side was the old High Tory or Family Compact 
 party, who revelled in the spoils of office, and held the repre- 
 sentative of Majesty in the hollow of their hands. The 
 ' policy of this body was unchanged and unchangeable. The 
 
 Eeform party, though it had not been in existence more than six years, 
 already began to show symptoms of want of cohesion. The men of 
 moderate views, like the Eolphs, the Baldwins and the Bidwells, com- 
 posed fully two-thirds of the entire number. The ultra-Eadicals, 
 composed for the most part of unlettered farmers and recently-arrived 
 immigrants, began to show evidence of a desire to rally themselves 
 under the banner of Mackenzie, who, through the combined influence 
 of his paper and nis election to Parliament, had of late come promi- 
 nently before the public. A large and intelligent body of electors had 
 however grown up within the last few years who, while they professed 
 Conservative principles, were disgusted with the greedy, self-seeking 
 Compact, whose practices they held in utter disdain. They held politicians 
 of the Mackenzie stamp in still greater abhorrence, to which was added a 
 large modicum of contempt. With the moderate Eeformers, on the other 
 hand, they had much in common. Many of them approved of the doctrine 
 of Eesponsible Government, and almost all of them desired to see the 
 end of Compact domination. At the last general election their votes had 
 been very much divided. But they were now disposed to hold aloof from 
 the Eeformers in consequence of the latter's being nominally of the same 
 party as the Mackenzie Eadicals, who had only recently come into exist- 
 
 1 
 
I ' 
 
 rh 
 
 232 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ence. The exercise of a little diplomacy and mutual forbearance at this 
 time might, it is believed, have effected that union between these two 
 classes of persons which was actually accomplished about a quarter of a 
 century later. Such an union would have made the united party all 
 powerful. It would have swept away the Compact, together with the 
 long-standing abuses which had grown up under their rule, and the 
 united party would quietly have assumed the reins of power with an over- 
 whelming majority at its back. There would thus have been no raison 
 d'etre for the Kadical element, which would necessarily have been 
 absorbed, or would at least have ceased to be an important factor in 
 political life. 
 
 These things, however, were not to be. Neither of the parties 
 primarily interested made any advances to the other, and each was left 
 to pursue its own line of policy. As a consequence the moderate Con- 
 servatives henceforth voted as one man. They saw the Radical element 
 assuming an importance which, as they believed, was fraught with far 
 greater danger to the commonwealth than was likely to arise from the 
 continued ascendency of the Compact. They gave the ofl&cial party a 
 qualified support, merely because they regarded them as the less of two 
 evils, and their votes at the general election of 1830 resulted in the 
 return of a considerable majority of candidates favourable to the official 
 body. 
 
 The Reformers could no longer hope to obtain justice, even in the 
 Assembly, where they had exerted a predominating influence during the 
 last two Parliaments. So long as they had had control of the Lower 
 House they had possessed the shadow of power without the reality. Even 
 the shadow had been better than nothing ; but of this shadow they were 
 henceforth to be deprived. They had not only sustained numerical defeat. 
 Some of their most trusted leaders had been beaten at the polls, and were 
 no longer able to raise their voices in Parliament. Robert Baldwin's defeat 
 in York has already been mentioned.* His father had suffered a similar 
 fate in Norfolk. In Middlesex John Rolph and Captain Matthews had 
 been succeeded by Colonel Mahlon Burwell and another adherent of the 
 Compact. Lennox and Addington had again returned Bidwell and Perry, 
 
 • ArUe, p. 229. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 233 
 
 but, owing to the changed complexion of the House, there was no possi- 
 bility of the former's re-election to the Speaker's chair. Among other 
 triumphs scored by the official party were the return of the Solicitor- 
 General, Christopher A. Hagerman, for Kingston ; of the Attorney-General, 
 H. J. Boulton, for Niagara; of William B. Kobinson (brother of the Chief 
 Justice) for Simcoe, and of Allan N. MacNab for Wentworth. York still 
 remained true to Mackenzie, and, as will presently be seen, his presence 
 in a House composed mainly of political opponents was destined to lead 
 to serious complications. Upon the assembling of the Legislature early 
 in the following year, Archibald McLean, the official candidate for 
 the Speakership, was elected by a majority of twelve votes. No 
 adherent of the official party could have been more acceptable to the 
 Eeformers than Mr. McLean, who was a gentleman of high standing at 
 the bar, and who personally enjoyed great popularity. He sat for the 
 County of Stormont, which he had represented for many years, during 
 all of which period he had maintained friendly personal relations with 
 the members of the Opposition. Great confidence was felt in his personal 
 integrity, and in his earnestness for the country's welfare. He had 
 special claims to consideration, for he was a Canadian by birth, and had 
 fought and bled in defence of his native land during the War of 1812. 
 Still, he represented political principles which the Eeform members had 
 been expressly returned to combat, and the mere fact of his election to 
 the Speaker's Chair by a majority of twelve votes in a House which 
 numbered fewer than fifty members was in itself a sufficient indication 
 that those principles were for the time unmistakably in the ascendant 
 in Upper Canada. The proceedings of the House during the session 
 furnished an apt and conclusive commentary upon this fact. 
 
 The session of 1831 was chiefly memorable for two things : the passing 
 of the Everlasting Salary Bill, as it was called by those opposed to it; 
 and the commencement of the agitation which had for its object the 
 exclusion of Mr. Mackenzie from the Legislature. 
 
 The Salary Bill was simply a measure granting to the Provincial 
 Government a permanent Civil List, in return for the cession by the 
 Crown of the control of the Imperial duties. It was introduced in. 
 accordance with a suggestion from the King, but the Provincial Execu- 
 
 I 111 
 
 I if 
 
I ?■ 
 
 234 
 
 THE UPPEB CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 tive concealed certain facts in connection with it, of which the Opposition 
 did not become aware until some time afterwards.* 
 
 By this Bill provision was made for the salaries of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, the three Judges of the Court of King's Bench, the Attorney- 
 General, the Solicitor-General, five Executive Councillors, and the Clerk 
 of the Executive Council. Eeformers were strenuously opposed to the 
 measure, which they regarded as another blow at the constitutional 
 rights of the Assembly. It of course had the effect of rendering the 
 Executive more independent of the Assembly, and more indifferent to 
 its opposition, than ever. Hagerman and Boulton, whose official salaries 
 were thereby provided for, were conspicuous above all other persons in 
 the House in defending this measure, and in browbeating those who 
 ventured to raise their voices against it. The Reform members found 
 Attorney-General Boulton an infliction specially hard to bear. His 
 predecessor, Mr. Robinson, had been a sufficiently galling yoke, but his 
 abilities had made him respected, and he had seldom attempted to play 
 the bully. In cases where no important party interests were at stake 
 he had generally been amenable to reason, and had not gone out of his 
 way to needlessly exacerbate the feelings of those who disagreed with 
 him,, Now, a different order of things prevailed. Boulton was simply 
 unendurable. His capacity was barely such as to enai .e him to discharge 
 his official functions, and what he lacked in ability he raade up for in 
 bluster. He had an abominable temper, and a haughty, overbearing 
 manner. He was always committing blunders which he refused to 
 acknowledge, and he roared and bullied his way through one compli- 
 
 * "When, in the year 1831, His Majesty was graciously pleased to suggest a further pro- 
 vision for the Civil List, which the Colonial Ministry required to be made either for seven years 
 or for the life of His Majesty, the terms of the proposition were not candidly submitted to the 
 Assembly, and notwithstanding the strenuous exertions of those who desired to make no pro- 
 vision at variance with the spirit of our constitution, the Executive influence in the Assembly 
 succeeded in carrying a measure for a permanent and extravagant supply, popularly called ' the 
 Everlasting Salary Bill,' while the liberal and gracious terms proposed by His Majesty on the 
 subject were concesded and known only to those who, feeling themselves to be above responsi- 
 bility, consummated a measure which has spread universal dissatisfaction and distrust. If this 
 undue and impolitic concealment was practised from any pretended apprehension that a just 
 provision would not be made for His Majesty's Government by his faithful Commons, there is 
 nothing in the country to justify it, and as it encroached upon the privileges of the Legislature 
 there is no language ot censure too strong against it."— Seventh Report of Grievance Committee, 
 p. xlii. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 235 
 
 cation after another in a fashion which disgueted even those with whom 
 he acted. During the discussion on the Salary Bill he shrieked and 
 raved himself hoarse in denouncing what he called the " factious inso- 
 lence " of the Opposition. Of his own factious insolence he seems to 
 have been altogether oblivious. The Bill was passed, but he was not 
 destined to a long enjoyment of the provision thereby made for the 
 Attorney-General. 
 
 The Mackenzie persecution was a matter of greater moment than the 
 Salary Bill, and was fated to produce results altogether unexpected by 
 those who set it on foot. The session was not many days old when 
 Mr. Mackenzie once more began to make himself conspicuous in Oppo- 
 sition. He moved a resolution denying the authority of the Executive 
 to prescribe the religious observances of the Assembly, and affirming the 
 right of the latter body to appoint its own chaplain. He made a forcible 
 but exasperating speech in support of his motion, which, by vote of the 
 House, was not submitted. He then moved that the ministers of religion 
 of various denominations resident in York should be requested to say 
 prayers in the House during the session. This motion was equally 
 unsuccessful. During the debate, the Assembly was favoured with a 
 characteristic specimen of Attorney -General Boulton's oratory. He 
 stigmatized the assumption that the House was entitled to appoint its 
 own chaplain as of a piece with the assumption of an assassin that he 
 has a right to shoot down a man in the street — the right of brute force. 
 This nonsensical tirade he shrieked out by way of peroration to a speech 
 intended as a defence of the right of the Government in the matter of 
 the chaplaincy. It is strange that the House should have listened to 
 such balderdash, not only with patience, but even with apparent sub- 
 mission. Solicitor-General Hagerman spoke in a similar strain, but 
 with less of irascibility. He warned the House that the Government 
 was too powerful for them; that the Lieutenant-Governor had strong 
 feelings on this subject, and that if they persisted in opposing his wishes 
 confusion would ensue, and an end would be put to their proceedings. 
 
 But Mackenzie was not to be dismayed by the want of success of his 
 exertions to popularize the religious ceremonial of the Assembly. He 
 next moved for an inquiry into the state of the representation. Such 
 

 i l^l'^ll 
 
 23G 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 an inquiry was urgently needed, for the House was full of postmasters, 
 county registrars, inspectors of licenses, and other placemen who held 
 office at the will of the Executive, and who therefore could not be expected 
 to be honebt exponents of public opinion in their respective constituencies. 
 Mackenzie, in the course of a vigorous speech, presented such an array 
 of facts that a committee of inquiry was appointed. This success he 
 followed up by a motion for an inquiry into certain pensions, fees and 
 salaries. Then he instituted a crusade against the management of the 
 Bank of Upper Canada, of which institution Attorney-General Boulton 
 was solicitor. Each of these motions afforded opportunities for inflam- 
 matory speeches, in the course of which the Government and its official 
 favourites were handled with scant consideration. The Attorney-General 
 was several times lashed into a state of almost insane fury, and on one 
 occasion seemed to be on the point of rushing across the floor and 
 making a personal onslaught upon Mr. Mackenzie. The " little man- 
 nikin from York," as he was called, always had the courage of his 
 opinions, and rather courted such an attack than otherwise. That he 
 had many and grave faults cannot be denied, but certainly cowardice 
 was not among the number. No more certain means of intensifying his 
 opposition could have been found than an attempt to put him down by 
 the strong hand. He continued to make motion upon motion and speech 
 upon speech, and before the session was half over he had managed to 
 cause an amount of annoyance to the Government such as they had never 
 before known. And all this time the party to which he belonged was in 
 an insignificant minority in the Assembly. What then was to be antici- 
 pated when the chances and changes of time should once more place 
 that party in the ascendant there ? 
 
 In former times it had been possible for the official party to rid 
 themselves of a troublesome opponent upon any slight pretext. Why 
 not now, when the Assembly was well-nigh as obedient as the Upper 
 House, and when some of the ablest members of the Eeform party had " 
 ceased to occupy themselves with public affairs? Certainly there had 
 never been a time when suppression was more imperatively required, for 
 did not this man Mackenzie spout something very much like democracy 
 in their very faces? Had he not made several speeches in the House 
 
 ill 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEOE. 
 
 237 
 
 which had aroused a spirit of inquiry ? If ho were allowed to continue, 
 was it not inevitable that some of his waspish stings must take serious 
 effect ? 
 
 Prosecutions for libel had become unpopular. The case of Francis 
 Collins had aroused such a clamour that it was not deemed wise to try 
 further experiments in that direction. In April, 1828 — about the same 
 time when measures had been instituted against Collins — an indictment 
 for libel had actually been laid against Mackenzie for a paragraph pub- 
 lished in the Advocate, in which the Crown lawyers and other supporters 
 of the Government had been referred to in contumelious terms, and 
 wherein a hope had been expressed that the constituencies returning 
 certain Tory members to Parliament would clear the Assembly of "the 
 whole of that ominous nest of unclean birds."* But the Attorney- 
 General, after keeping the prosecution impending over the defendant's 
 head for many months, had seen fit to abandon it. The times, in fact, 
 had ceased to be propitious for libel prosecutions, and some other way 
 out of the difficulty had to be found. The device actually hit upon to get 
 rid of Mackenzie's opposition in the Assembly was worthy of the minds 
 which had plotted the ruin of Captain Matthews, Justice Willis and 
 Francis Collins. Mackenzie, who had the contract for printing the 
 journals of the House, and who generally had a number of copies of 
 those journals on hand, had distributed a hundred and si\cty-eight of 
 them throughout some of the constituencies just prior to the last general 
 election. This had been done at his own expense, and in the interest of 
 the Beform candidates ; for he believed that no more effective campaign 
 document could be devised than a truthful record of the proceedings in 
 the House. But as strict matter of Parliamentary law he had been 
 guilty of a breach of privilege, no one having a right to publish reports 
 of the proceedings of the Houses without authority. The existence of 
 such a rule is perhaps salutary, as there ure conceivable cases in which 
 it would be inexpedient to allow such publication. But, as everybody 
 knew. Parliament had long been accustomed to wink at perpetual viola- 
 tions of this rule. Newspapers all over the world bad been permitted, 
 and even encouraged, to transgress it. Some of the leading organs of pub- 
 
 • See The Colonial Advocate of April 3rd, 1828, 
 
 I'll 
 
 
 
 "• 
 
 
 
 l> 
 
II 
 
 (: 
 
 RiV 
 
 ' 11 
 
 m 
 
 238 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN EEBELLION. 
 
 lie opinion in different parts of the world had built up their reputations 
 mainly by the fulness and accuracy of their reports of Parliamentary 
 proceedings. Nothing can be more certain than that there would have 
 been no talk about enforcing the obsolete rule at this time but for the fact 
 that it seemed to afford a pretext for punishing the man whom the Govern- 
 ment party wished to destroy. The attempt to enforce it was not a 
 success. The motion to that end was made by Allan MacNab, and was 
 to the effect that Mackenzie had abused the trust reposed in him as the 
 printer of the journals, by distributing portions of the same for political 
 purposes, and among persons not entitled to copies thereof, thereby 
 committing a breach of the privileges of the House. The junior member 
 for Wentworth thundered with ' emendous vehemence in support of his 
 motion. To judge from his language, his soul had been stirred to its 
 nethermost depths by this lamentable violation of Parliamentary privi- 
 lege, which he characterized as a species of treason. Hagerman and 
 Boulton followed in the same strain, the latter waxing almost pathetic 
 in his expressions of devotion to the British constitution. But their 
 exertions were ineffectual. The House, subservient though it was, was 
 not to be coerced into supporting a motion which, if carried, would 
 almost certainly be converted into a basis of attack on persons who were 
 favourable to the Administration. A majority of the members foresaw 
 that if Mackenzie were punished on such a pretext, his fellow- workers in 
 the Assembly would not fail to institute measures against the publishers 
 of various newspapers throughout the land who had been in the constant 
 habit of reporting the proceedings in Parliament without leave. Only 
 fifteen members voted for MacNab's motion, while twenty recorded their 
 votes against it, and among the latter were several of the most redoubt- 
 able Tories in the House. The organizers of the attack perceived that 
 they had made a false move, and withdrew their forces for a fresh assault 
 in a different quarter. 
 
 The opportunity for a fresh attack did not present itself until the 
 following session. Meanwhile, Mackenzie occupied himself in turning 
 his notoriety to account, and in developing his policy of agitation. He 
 resolved upon getting up a series of petitions to the King and the Imperial 
 Parliament, calling attention to the various grievances wherewith the 
 
 \m. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 239 
 
 inhabitants of the Province were burdened, and praying for redress. 
 During the summer he carried out his project by organizing a series of 
 public meetings in some of the most populous cities and towns of the 
 Province, at each of which a petition was adopted and numerously signed. 
 It is said that the aggregate number of signatures obtained exceeded 
 24,500. The agitator's succesb encouraged him to persevere in the 
 course he had adopted, and when Parliament re-assembled in November 
 he was ripe and ready for the fray that was sure to follow. The assault 
 against him now took the shape of a charge of gross, scandalous and 
 malicious libel, intended and calculated to bring the House and the 
 Government of the Province into contempt, and to excite groundless 
 suspicion and distrust in the minds of the inhabitants, thereby consti- 
 tuting a breach of privilege. The matter complained of was embodied 
 in two articles published in the Advocate subsequent to the opening of 
 the session, and both publication and authorship were admitted by 
 Mackenzie. One of the articles was a sharp criticism on the manner 
 in which the House had treated a petition from certain inhabitants of 
 Vaughan. The other was a well-merited tirade against the local Execu- 
 tive, which was unfavourably contrasted with that of the sister Province. 
 Neither of them was grossly abusive, nor even unfair. They were indeed 
 exceptionally favourable specimens of the Mackenzie otyle of journalism, 
 and were incomparably milder than articles which may constantly be 
 seen in the Canadian party journals of the present day. 
 
 Being called upon for his defence, Mackenzie addressed the House 
 with more than his wonted ability. He exposed the flimsiness of the 
 charges against him, and the gross partiality of the proceedings. But 
 the House was in search, not of justice, but of a victim, and neither the 
 eloquence of a Demosthenes nor the reasoning powers of a Pascal would 
 have availed aught with that hostile majority. Attorney-General Boul- 
 ton, in the course of the discussion, delivered himself of a tempest of 
 characteristic abuse against the accused, to whom he referred as a 
 reptile. Solicitor-General Hagerman could always be depended upon 
 as a good second in such emergencies, and followed up by referring to 
 Mr. Mackenzie as a spaniel dog. The House seemed to accept these 
 choice Parliamentary epithets with approval. They came from an 
 
 if 
 
 ■A 
 
'T H f 
 
 m 
 
 240 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 official source, and it is so easy to be strong upon the stronger side. 
 Little chance was there for the maimed and bleeding under dog in the 
 fight among that crowd of venal and merciless sycophants, some of whom 
 had libelled the late Assembly in terms thrice as gross as any that had 
 been employed in the a,i tiicles in question. The tti quoque argument is 
 not generally admissible ia legal investigations, but surely it might have 
 been permitted to have some weight with the judges — who were likewise 
 the jurors — in this case. Neither that nor any argument appears to 
 have been seriously considered. The usual forms were gone through, 
 in order to preserve some appearance of conventional propriety, but a 
 verdict of guilty was altogether certain and beyond peradventure from 
 the moment when the indictment was laid. By a vote of twenty-seven 
 to fifteen it was resolved that Mackenzie was guilty of the libel charged 
 against him. By a vote of twenty-six to fourteen it was resolved that 
 he was guilty of a high breach of the privileges of the House. And by 
 a vote of twenty-four to fifteen, it was resolved that he be expelled 
 therefrom. 
 
 To characterize these proceedings as a series of shameful abuses of 
 power is certainly not to exceed the bounds of moderation. The persons 
 responsible for them must stand tainted at the bar of history for all 
 time to come. It is far from desirable to perpetuate the bitterness of 
 the past, but it is possible for oblivion to be too charitable. It is well 
 that those who are accustomed to speak of "the rebels" of 1837 with 
 contumely and indignation should bear in mind against whom and what 
 it was that they rebelled. The expulsion of Mackenzie from the Assembly 
 was not the greatest act of tyranny to which the people of Upper Canada 
 were compelled to submit in the far-away days that are gone ; but the 
 nature of the abuse was such that it awoke widespread alarm, and gave 
 rise to ominious forebodings. It indicated that constitutional oppo- 
 sition to the Government was no longer safe in the Assembly, as it 
 had been during the two preceding Parliaments. It indicated that 
 nothing approaching to a fair trial was to be had, even from the High 
 Court of Parliament, for a politician who dared to criticize the official 
 methods of transacting the public business. Growls of discontent were 
 heard from all over the County of York, whose representative was treated 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 241 
 
 lal 
 Ire 
 
 led 
 
 with such ignominy. People were heard to express an opinion that 
 Upper Canada was no longer a fit place of abode for free men and 
 women. 
 
 The public indignation found expression in several petitions, addressed 
 to the Lieutenant-Governor by electors in York and elsewhere, in which 
 his Excellency was asked to " dismiss a House tainted with the worst 
 vices of judicial partiality." A deputation, consisting of more than nine 
 hundred persons, called at Government House to present one of these 
 manifestations of popular sentiment. His Excellency could not well 
 refuse to receive a respectfully-worded petition, but his reply was so 
 curt and unsatisfactory as to amount to positive insolence. " Gentle- 
 men," said he, " I have received the petition of the inhabitants." And 
 with this wholly unnecessary item of information the deputation was 
 compelled to withdraw. So utter a disregard for the expression of the 
 opinion of a considerable body of the inhabitants was without precedent 
 in the annals of the Province. That the prayer of the petition would be 
 granted, or even tha- it would be taken into serious consideration, was 
 hardly to be expected. Its very nature forbade any such expectation. 
 But, considering the number of names appended to it, it certainly 
 merited a serious response, in which light the actual rejoinder could 
 not be regarded. The proceeding showed not merely indifference, but 
 contempt; and thenceforward Sir John Colborne was as cordially hated 
 by the Keformers of Upper Canada as ever Sir Peregrine Maitland had 
 been.* 
 
 The efforts of the faction to ruin and humiliate Mackenzie had the 
 effect which such treatment always produces in communities where the 
 inhabitants have been indoctrinated with ideas of fair play and equal 
 rights. It made a popular hero of one who, if the truth must be told, 
 had very little of the heroic in his composition. Had the Government 
 been wise enough in their own interests to let him have his say in the 
 Assembly, he would soon have found his proper level, and would have 
 
 * I can find no confirmation of the statement made by Mackenzie, and re-echoed by subse- 
 quent writers, about the excessive fears of the Government at this juncture, and the preparations 
 made by them to resist an uprising of the people. There were no grounds for any such fears, 
 nor for any anticipations of an uprising. The people were long-suffering, and were by no mean» 
 ripe for revolt. 
 

 Illi 
 
 \m 
 
 m 
 
 
 :.:1'lli 
 
 a^sa _— 
 
 m , He would nndouMedly have raised a 
 
 ceased to carry any ««"*''""; J' ^rthing abases, and by vituper- 
 gooddealotten^poraryexc— by^^eart g^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^„„„y 
 
 «*ina nersons ^Jhom he disliked. But ne sufficient reason 
 
 re:tr::d the suprenracy o''^;" ' '^Z^. of the lea^ng 
 « he could not »--" Tms and tho Baldwms bad 
 snirits of his own party. Bolpn. >■; . j^^ value. They 
 
 Ztis time come to rate ^^"''^""'J.td considerable. He had a 
 «c„gnl.ed his talents, which -- ^Xu^^.^i.e ideas about matters 
 elear head for »««»*; ""^r,sleunpra«tical, and even chrmencal, 
 of finance. Some of these ideas wer^ unP ^^^ „^^g „o„id learn 
 
 but anyone capable of Bepa-t^ Ws J^eat ^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ 
 
 much from him, and could ""''"^"S,, ,„a active in the manage- 
 «cellent subordinate, --^"1 ?" . °"^f *,' ft conductor of a public press, 
 Lent of details. He also had his us a^ ft ^^ _^ ^^^^^ 
 
 Though, owing to the erratic »* '^;^7„ Weakness rather than of 
 ^tocate was in some >-»?«'=* ;,;X1 „„„fined to the farmers and 
 strength. His infiuence ™s P- yj" y, ^.^^r was chiefly cu- 
 
 mechanics of that portion of t^"™»/,„„ia „ever have been anything 
 enlated ; and even *^^;;;:^:^rh: it not heenforth^P-^^out^ 
 UUe so great a-^^^^^:!!,-^------^^ 
 
 _ BO great as it acw^v -^ ^ TT^;^^™'"'""'" 
 
 . I, .., evidmc. were »e*J »'*;'„ ,„„ „ile. He ja. *'"^;;,°fli,. Hi. mWor- 
 
 'X»™ "• • "'"fiTS* h; C been con-peW '» » 7,',3!^lT«ed .. indulge 
 
 Li., "nd <■<-' »""'°'' ' S . l«e »•«•"" •' ««''T° ■ nvother member. He »loP"J 
 te„l,er.,i.. to r.B.ra b.m w,* al« ^^^^ ,„,„a,ed m « "Xo.n.e on matter, whicb 
 
 . tenee oi •?••=* :,'""'' J"°„ . „d delivered him.eU "''\f »' "'„„„ ce»ed to .tt.oh .ny 
 p„ci..ly tbe ..m. '«« » t> ™;,Lu„ ,..nlt w» th.t '"" *^';°"' Jm. „,d d.etrin,., and t. 
 L did not nnd.,.t»d. ?^"°"i„^j i,„, »„u«h to "P-'* "Xtbe W W""" '» T'" 
 „.ight to bi. opmon.. He 1.^ ,j^,,j,y „„ frequently ^^^ ^__ ^,,^j„„. 
 
 „t many of hi. P»t «»*■ J'^er «r. any '"^'^"Z'Ltl, o think of then, a. edii.g 
 the, bad been on ""f «• "Xny im,.orlance to bi. >t«"»""";;;„,„,a j,„.r wbo might be 
 d„. Member. c.».ed to »'"* " J ^ ^,j,a „ , .or. of nnbc» ^__ j_^_^_, . ^„^ 
 
 ,or „rio». "»»*''»''°"h ",. bybi. antie. «ben there »^ °° J'^U him ...=ral year, to 
 p„„itted to «m«.e the Hon.. W ,|,^ j„„„ n,e»eng.r. It ^^_^^^ ^^ ,„, 
 
 L to any real intoenc" b" ^"f « °^j .i„o.gHy bom. '^TJl^i' '"eir generation » U.e 
 
 s-':iir-errJ^ren^«--st:;-»"t^^^^^^^^ 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 243 
 
 w 
 
 I to 
 
 lat 
 les- 
 
 |ing 
 
 ibe 
 Ibut 
 l» to 
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 itbe 
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 Chey 
 
 I day 
 
 which he was subjected. Over and beyond, he could not be said to have any 
 distinctive locus standi in the Eeform party. Of statesmanship, properly 
 so called, he had nothing beyond the most misty conception. The structure 
 of his mind prevented him from seeing a question in its various aspects, 
 and in judging of future political events he was much more often wrong 
 than right. That he was honestly desirous of advancing the cause which 
 he had espoused there seemed no good reason to doubt, but it was evident 
 to those who were brought into intimate relations with him that the fiery 
 zeal which he displayed was made up at least as much of hatred of his 
 foes as of any overpowering enthusiasm for Eeform. Another quality 
 which seriously interfered with his usefulness was his exceeding want of 
 discretion. He seemed to be utterly incapable of keeping his own counsel, 
 and a secret once told to him was a secret no longer. His rashness and 
 impetuosity were proverbial, and were perpetually involving him in 
 disputes, not only with enemies but with friends. 
 
 It was surely a short-sighted policy which gave to a man so consti- 
 tuted a factitious importance, and which made him for some years the 
 most notorious personage in Upper Canada. The treatment he had 
 received aroused popular sympathy on his behalf, and preparations were 
 made to return him again for the County of York by an increased 
 majority. When the new election was held, on the 2nd of January in 
 the following year, a long procession of sleighs escorted him to the 
 polling-place, which was the Eed Lion Tavern, on Yonge Street. 
 Two thousand persons assembled to witness the triumph of " the people's 
 friend." An Oi^positionist was nominated, but as he received only one 
 vote during the hour and a-half which elapsed after the opening of the 
 poll, he abandoned the contest, and Mackenzie's triumph was assured. 
 The close of the poll was followed by the presentation of a gold medal by 
 his constituents, as a token of their approbation. A number of sleighs 
 were then formed in line and paraded down Yonge Street, and thence 
 past Government House and down to the Parliament Buildings. The 
 foremost sleigh was decorated with enthusiastic mottoes painted on 
 calico, and cheers for the successful candidate rent the air as the proces- 
 sion passed along the principal thoroughfares. All this popular adulatic 
 was grateful to Mackenzie's soul. He was in his element. 
 
 1832. 
 

 244 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 There is no need to linger over this part of the narrative. Parlia- 
 ment was still in session, and the Assembly were resolved that, no matter 
 what the electors of York might think proper to do, Mackenzie should 
 not sit in the House. A new pretext for his expulsion was found in an 
 article of which he avowed himself to be the author, and which appeared 
 in the Advocate of the 5th of January. This article was a true and by 
 no means intemperate recital of certain well-known facts as to certain 
 measures which had been passed by the Assembly. It was notwith- 
 standing adjudged, by a vote of twenty-seven to nineteen, to be a libel 
 on the House, and a high breach of its privileges ; and it was further 
 resolved that Mr. Mackenzie be expelled the House, and declared 
 unfit and unworthy to hold a seat therein during the existing Parlia- 
 ment. But his constituency stood loyally by him, and again re-elected 
 him by an overwhelming majority within a few weeks after this second 
 expulsion. His popularity reached a higher point than ever. Public 
 meetings were held all over the Province to protest against the measm-es 
 which had been adopted towards him, and petitions to the King and the 
 Imperial Parliament were again circulated and signed by great numbers 
 of the inhabitants. These meetings proved so successful that the 
 Government party deemed it wise to take some steps of a similar 
 character on their own behalf, with a view to checkmating the operations 
 of the Eeformers. Nothing is more easy than to obtain signatures to 
 petitions, which are frequently signed without being read. Opposition 
 meetings were held by supporters of the Government, at which excuses 
 were attempted to be made for the expulsions of Mackenzie, and at which 
 counter petitions to the King and Parliament of Great Britain were 
 signed by many thousands of persons. One of the meetings was held at 
 Hamilton on the 19th of March, and Mackenzie attended it by special 
 invitation. That same night an attack was made upon him by certain 
 myrmidons of the official party, who kicked and beat him severely. At 
 another meeting held at York four days later the proceedings became so 
 riotous that the Sheriff professed himself unable to preserve the peace. 
 An attack was made upon the office of the Advocate, the windows of 
 which were broken. The town remained in a very disturbed state 
 throughout the ensuing night, and a large proportion of the inhabitants 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 245 
 
 did not venture to seek repose. Mackenzie deemed it prudent to retire 
 into the country for several weeks; and almost immediately after his 
 return to town he set ofif on an important mission to England. It was 
 considered that the most effectual method of impressing the subject- 
 matter of the various Reform petitions upon those to whom they were 
 addressed would be to send Mackenzie himself across the Atlantic to 
 present them, and to urge the many much-needed colonial reforms upon 
 the attention of members of the British House of Commons. It was 
 believed that he could accomplish the various objects of ms mission and 
 return in time to take his seat in the Assembly at its opening towards 
 the close of the year. He deputed the editing and publication of the 
 Advocate to other hands, and sailed from New York on the Ist of May. 
 In due course he reached his destination, and put himself into communi- 
 cation with Hume, Roebuck, Cobbett, O'Connell, and other eminent 
 persons of Liberal proclivities, including Lord Goderich, the Colonial 
 Secretary. 
 
 The reader hardly needs to be informed that this was a momentous 
 period in the history of England. It was the epoch of Reform, and 
 the nation was in a state of ferment. During the brief space while 
 Mackenzie had been crossing the Atlantic great events had taken place. 
 Earl Grey's ministry had resigned ; Sir Robert Peel had refused to join 
 the Duke of Wellington in an attempt to form a Government ; and Earl 
 Grey had resumed office, armed with the King's written authority to 
 Lord Brougham and himself to create as many peers as might be neces- 
 sary to ensure the passing of the Reform Bill. This authority it did not 
 become necessary to exercise. The titled aristocracy bowed to the 
 unconquerable will of a great and thoroughly-aroused people, and 
 Mackenzie reached London in time to hear the tb -d reading of the 
 Great Bill in the House of Lords. He was soon afterwards received at 
 the Colonial Office, not as the representative of any particular class of 
 Canadian politicians, but as a person interested in Canadian affairs, and 
 able to afford much valuable information concerning them.* He then 
 
 * Lord Howick, writing on behalf of the Colonial Secretary, under date of June 23rd, 1832, 
 in reply to Mackenzie's application for an interview, informed the applicant that although tha 
 Secretary was ready to hear any observations which he (Mackenzie) might have to ofifer upon the 
 affairs of Upper Canada, as an individual interested in the welfare of that Province, and as a 
 
 ■Hi 
 
246 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 If 
 
 :l 
 
 found that the efforts of the official party in Upper Canada to render his 
 mission inoperative had not been barren of results. Petitions had been 
 received at the Colonial Office in which entire satisfaction was expressed 
 with the existing laws and institutions of the Province ; and the signa- 
 tures thereto slightly exceeded in number those appended to the petitions 
 of which he himself had been the bearer. He however devoted himself 
 with characteristic energy to the presentation of his case, and prepared 
 a memoir wherein all the most serious grievances of the Upper Canadian 
 people were set forth in detail. --Jn this document the writer adopted a 
 discursive and rhetorical style which, as the Colonial Secretary justly 
 remarked, were " singularly ill adapted to bring questions of so much 
 intricacy and importance to a definite issue." The facts were neverthe- 
 less pretty comprehensively embodied, and were generally speaking of 
 such a character as to tell their own story. The perusal of the memoir 
 seems to have produced an impression upon the Colonial Secretary's 
 mind. He wrote a long and elaborate despatch to Sir John Colborne, in 
 which the weak points of Mackenzie's arguments were exposed with 
 cutting severity, and wherein it was evident that very little weight had been 
 attached to most of his representations ; but at the same time certain 
 concessions to popular opinion were plainly hinted at. When this 
 despatch was submitted to the Legislative Council and Assembly of 
 Upper Canada at the ensuing session it was treated with scant respect. 
 The Upper House formally declared that it did not regard it as calling 
 for serious attention, and returned it to the Lieutenant-Governor. The 
 Assembly discussed the propriety of sending it back, but finally resolved 
 not to do so. Both the Crown Law Officers made hot-headed speeches on 
 the subject, and referred to the Colonial Secretary in the most contemp- 
 tuous terms. 
 
 member of the Assembly, yet that the Secretary could not recognize him as being deputed to act for 
 any other persons, nor could he enter into any discussion with him on the measures which His 
 Majesty's Government might think it right to pursue. "The views and intentions of His 
 Majesty's Government with respect to the affairs of the Province," wrote his Lordship, "can 
 only be made known to the people of Upper Canada through the medium of the Governor or of 
 the Legislature ; it is to one or other of these authorities that any complaints which individuals 
 may have occasion to make should properly be addressed ; and if the course pursued by the 
 Executive Government should be such as to give just ground for dissatisfaction, the inhabitants 
 have, by their Representatives, the means of bringing their grievances under the immediate 
 attention of His Majesty." The full text of the letter will be found on pp. 191, 192 of the Seventh 
 Report of Grievance Committee. 
 
 M. 
 
PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 247 
 
 Meanwhile, Mackenzie, who still remained in England, was in his 
 absence expelled from the Assembly a third time. On this occasion 
 there was no preliminary attempt to convict him of any fresh libel or 
 breach of privilege. The Law Officers of the Crown simplified the pro- 
 ceedings by declaring that the House had a right to determine as to the 
 eligibility of members, and a resolution to that effect was moved and 
 carried. It was then resolved that the person returned for York was the 
 same William Lyon Mackenzie who had been twice expelled the House 
 and declared unfit to hold a seat therein ; and that by reason thereof the 
 said Mackenzie could not sit or vote in the House as a member thereof. 
 He was then expelled for the third time, and a new writ was issued for 
 the County of York. The inhabitants of that constituency felt so much 
 aggrieved, and gave such loud-mouthed expression to their dissatisfac- 
 tion, that no candidate hostile to Mackenzie dared to present himself at 
 the ensuing election, and the choice of the people was retm-ned by 
 acclamation. 
 
 The part taken by the Law Officers of the Crown in these repeated 
 expulsions was not acceptable to the Colonial Office. Neither was the 
 contemptuous manner in which they had seen fit to refer to the Secre- 
 tary's despatch written after the perusal of Mackenzie's memoir. A mis- 
 sive on the former subject had been sent to Sir John Colborne some months 
 before the commencement of the session of 1832-3, the contents of which 
 seem to have been promptly communicated to Messieurs Boulton and 
 Hagerman.* Notwithstanding that communication, those gentlemen had 
 seen fit, soon after the opening of the session, to take a leading part in 
 another expulsion, and to make contemptuous references to the conduct 
 of the Colonial Secretary himself. The Attorney-General had expressed 
 an opinion that the Secretary might have found something better to do 
 than to sit down and answer " Mackenzie's rigmarole trash." Solicitor- 
 General Hagerman had remarked that the Secretary had stultified himself 
 by noticing statements which rested on no better authority than that of 
 
 * Mr. Boulton denied, at least by implication, that any such communication had been made 
 to him. See his letter dated April 30th, 1833, and published in the Couriei' of the following day. 
 But it is certain that the contents of the missive had been made known to Mr. Hagerman, and it 
 is hardly conceivable that he would have failed to communicate to his colleague matters of such 
 vital importance to their common welfare. 
 
 F 
 
 :* i 
 
 I 
 ' 
 
 I , ; 
 
 jil 
 
 
248 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ■>> I, 
 
 a person who had been twice expelled the Assembly, and who had been 
 declared unfit to sit therein in consequence of his having "fabricated 
 and reiterated libels of the grossest description." Lord Goderich signified 
 his disapprobation of this conduct in the most emphatic manner by 
 dismissing the two virulent critics from office. Their dismissal 
 was effected by a despatch to Sir John Colborne dated March 6th, 1833. 
 " By the accounts I have lately received of the proceedings of the Legis- 
 lature of Upper Canada," wrote his Lordship, " I have learnt that the 
 Attorney and Solicitor-General of that Province have, in their places in 
 the Assembly, taken a part directly opposed to the avowed policy of 
 His Majesty's Government. As members of the Provincial Parliament, 
 Mr. Boulton and Mr. Hagerman are of course bound to act upon their 
 own view of what is most for the interest of their constituents, and of 
 the colony at large. But if, upon questions of great political importance, 
 they unfortunately differ in opinion from His Majesty's Government, it 
 is obvious that they cannot continue to hold confidential situations in 
 His Majesty's service without either betraying their duty as members of 
 the Legislature, or bringing the sincerity of the Government into ques- 
 tion by their opposition to the policy which His Majesty has been advised 
 to pursue." It was intimated that the Law Officers of the Crown could 
 not be permitted to impede the Government policy, and that in order 
 that those gentlemen might be at full liberty to follow their own judg- 
 ment, they were to be relieved from their offices.* 
 
 When this despatch reached York, towards the end of April, its con- 
 tents were communicated to Attorney-General Boulton. Mr. Hagerman 
 had started for England a short time before on a mission connected with 
 the Clergy Eeserves, and, as was said, t in order to obtain a permanent 
 appointment to a judgeship. He learned of his dismissal immediately 
 upon his arrival in London, and lost no time in putting himself in com- 
 
 • The full text of the despatch will be found on p. 293 of the Seventh Report of Grievance 
 Committee, 
 
 t ' ' We have been very credibly informed that, on account of the extent of the settlements 
 and consequent increase of court business, it was thought expedient by our wise ones that a 
 fourth judge was necessary, and that he [Mr. Hagerman] had obtained (previous to his leaving 
 here) a recommend from the other judges for himself to be appointed to the new created 
 mtxxdXion,"— Colonial Advocate, Thursday, May 2nd, 1833. 
 
PABLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 249 
 
 munication with the Colonial Minister. An important change had 
 recently taken place at the Colonial Office. Lord Goderich bad vacated 
 the Secretaryship, and had become Lord Privy Seal, being at the same 
 time created Earl of Eipon. He was succeeded as Colonial Secretary by 
 Mr. Stanley, afterwards Earl of Derby, who had been Secretary for 
 Ireland, but had aroused such hostility against himself among O'Con- 
 nell's followers by his stand on the Irish question* that it had been 
 deemed prudent to find another portfolio for him. He now admitted 
 Mr. Hagerman to an audience, and was so won upon by that gentleman's 
 specious representations that he restored him to his stewardship. 
 Accordingly, although he had been only moderately successful in carry- 
 ing out the specific objects of his mission, Mr. Hagerman returned to 
 Upper Canada in triumph ; and he was greeted, upon his arriral, with a 
 tempest of acclamation from the Tory press. 
 
 Mr. Boulton, upon receiving from the Lieutenant-Governor's secre- 
 tary an intimation of his dismissal, raised a howl of indignation against 
 Lord Goderich and the Imperial Government generally. It was notorious 
 that he controlled the columns of The Upper Canada Courier, a newspaper 
 published at York in the interests of the official party, and edited by Mr. 
 George Gurnett. That paper, in its next issue, contained an article more 
 scm'rilous and abusive than had been cither of those articles in the Advo- 
 cate on the pretext whereof Mackenzie had been expelled from the Assembly. 
 It reeked with scurrility and disloyalty from beginning to end. It alleged 
 that the well-affected people in the country were more than half 
 alienated from the Home Government, and that they began to cast about 
 in their mind's eye for some new state of political existence. There was 
 more to the same purport. Some new state of political existence ! This was 
 a pretty strong suggestion of rebellion ! And it emanated from the organ 
 of a faction in whose mouths the word "loyalty" was ever present; whose 
 "loyalty" had for years been vaunted from every hustings, and who, so 
 long as the tide ran in their favour, had preached doctrines worthy of 
 the middle ages about submission to the higher powers. How changed 
 was the tone now that there seemed to be some prospect of their being 
 
 * It was at this time that Mr. Stanley, by his fiery speech against O'Connell, won for himself 
 the sobriquet of " the Eupert of Debate." 
 
250 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 placed upon the same footing, and judged by the same standard as their 
 neighbours. If they did these things in the green tree, what would they 
 do in the dry ? What might have been expected from them if they had 
 been subjected to such injustice and ignominy as the party to which they 
 were opposed ? Here was a faction professedly ready to throw off their 
 allegiance because two of their number had been deprived of offices which 
 they had notoriously prostituted and disgraced.* Here was a "well- 
 affected " people " casting about '* in their " mind's eye " for a new state 
 of political existence, because two of the most corrupt, brazen and 
 audacious officials in the colony were no longer to be allowed to pervert 
 legislation under the mantle of Imperial countenance. And they were 
 as little disposed to brook interference with their pecuniary interests by 
 the Colonial Office. Early in the following year they gave utterance to 
 rank treason in consequence of the threatened disallowance by the 
 Imperial Government of certain Bank Charter Acts passed by the Prov- 
 incial Parliament.! A pearl is proverbially uncomely in the snout of a 
 Bwine; and truly the word "loyalty" was never more absurdly out of 
 place than when pronoimced by such lips. 
 
 The ex-Attorney-General followed the ex-Solicitor-General to Eng- 
 land, where he represented his case to the new Colonial Minister. 
 After giving much attention to the matter, Mr. Stanley expressed him- 
 self as satisfied with the explanations which had been offered. The 
 explanations seem to have chiefly consisted of solemn declarations on 
 
 * Henry Sherwood, who had by this time attained to a prominent place in tho ranks of the 
 official party, was especially loud in his denunciations of the British Government for dismissing 
 Boulton and Hagerman. According to a correspondent of the Colonial Advocate, he declared, in 
 the course of an ordinary conversation, that if such proceedings were to continue, he, for his part, 
 did not care how soon the British authority was superseded by a republican one. — See letter of 
 "John Bull," on first page of the Advocate of December 14th, 1833. 
 
 t They were equally intolerant of opposition from their own adherents when their pecuniary 
 interests were at stake. In December, 1833, the Hon. John Elmsley, who had been called to the 
 Executive Council three years before, was forced to resign his seat in that body because he could 
 not act independently there. In his letter of resignation, which is dated "Holland House, York, 
 December 3rd, 1833," he says: "Since I have assumed the duties of that high office [i.e., the 
 office of an Executive Councillor], I find that I cannot fearlessly express my real sentiments and 
 opinions, if opposed to the Government for the time being, without incurring the risk of dis- 
 missal from that Honourable Board, which constitutes my inability to advance the public good. 
 I have therefore deemed it expedient most respectfully, but reluctantly, to tender the resignation 
 of my seat in the Executive Council."— See evidence of the Hon. Peter Robinson, in Appendix 
 to Seventh Report on Orievances, p. 91. See also p. xxvii of the Report itself. 
 
I '. 
 
 PARLIAMENTARY PRIVILEGE. 
 
 251 
 
 
 tlie part of Mr. Boulton that ho had been insufficiently informed of the 
 views of the Home Government, and that he had had no desire whatever 
 to set up his own will in opposition to those views.* He doubtless pro- 
 fessed his readiness to go any length in the way of sycophancy which 
 might be required of him for the future. It was however impossible to 
 restore him to the Attorney-Generalship, as a successor to that ofBce had 
 been appointed in the person of Mr. Robert Sympson Jameson,! an 
 English barrister, who had actually sailed from Liverpool for Canada, 
 and was already well on hie way thither. Mr. Boulton was informed 
 that he should have the first good appointment at the Secretary's disposal. 
 His success was even greater than that of his recent colleague, for on the 
 17th of June he was notified that the King had been graciously pleased 
 to accept of his further services, and that the Colonial Secretary had His 
 Majesty's commands to oflfer him the appointment of Chief Justice of 
 Newfoundland, which situation bnd recently become vacant.! This 
 appointment was fully approved by the Earl of Ripon, under whose 
 advice he had been dismissed from the Attorney-Generalship of Upper 
 Canada, § but who had been induced to change his views after hearing 
 Mr. Boulton's explanations. 
 
 Mr. Boulton's triumph, however, was to be followed by a downfall 
 more humiliating than that which he had so narrowly escaped. He 
 repaired to Newfoundland in the autumn, and entered upon the perform- 
 ance of his duties. He had not been long in his new position before he 
 had aroused a feeling of disgust and alarm on the part of a large propor- 
 tion of the public and the profession. He began by being arbitrary, 
 tyrannical and unjust. He proceeded from bad to worse, until it was 
 found impossible to permit him to retain his position. || There is no 
 need to follow the proceedings adopted against him. He was not finally 
 
 • See Case of the Honourable Henry John Boulton, Chief Justice of the Island of Newfoundland, 
 etc.— being a report of the Case before the Privy Council— p. 3. 
 
 t This was the husband of the accomplished Anna Jameson, whose brilliant art criticisms are 
 among the most readable things of their kind in the English language, and whose Canadian 
 sketches have made her name well known in this country. 
 
 X Case of the Hon. H. J. Boulton, etc., p. 3. § 11., p. 4. 
 
 II Full particulars of his misconduct may be found in the work already quoted from. 
 
 u ■ 
 
2r>2 
 
 THE UPl'KU CANADIAN REUELLION. 
 
 got rid of until 1888, when ho roturned to Upper Canada, and once more 
 entorod political life as member for Niagara. The Home Government 
 turned a deaf oar to his perpetual applicationn for employment, and 
 would liavo nothing more to do with him. Some years after the 
 Unicm of the Provinces, finding that he had nothing to hope for from the 
 Conservative party, who refused to elevate him to a judgeship, he 
 abandoned them, and for some time acted with Mr. lialdwin. It seems 
 alraoRt cruel to record the fact that he supported Eosponaible Govern- 
 ment and the lleL';llion LoBses Bill. 
 
 I 
 
 ^^^>0 ■^j^:'?'^^'?^ 
 
 jii I 
 
 '^ij;^^ 
 
 ,^^> 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 nH 
 
 DISFRANCHISEMENT. 
 
 /VCKENZTE romiiiiuid in Enj^land much longer than he hiid 
 anli(;i|)atc(l, and did not roturn to Canada until towardH the 
 end of AuRUHt, 1838. Ho was ahsont in all nearly Bixtecn 
 months, whi<;!i wan considcrahly longer than waH nciceHsary 
 for the accomplishment of the objects of his mission. He 
 doubtless enjoyed life in the metroi)olis, and was loth to 
 relinquish it.* His mission had not been wholly fruitless, for his 
 representations at the Colonial Ollico had led to the writing of Lord 
 (iodcrich's despatch already referred to, by which the faction in Upper 
 Canada were led to see that they would for the future be compelled 
 to act with somewhat more of circumspection. Several much-neiidod 
 suggestions wore made in the despatch on subjects of practical iniport- 
 
 * Prior to hJH (loparttire from Canada lio travelloil about liore and lluu-e tlirouf(h the 
 country to collect HubHcriptionn towardH tlio ex|)HnH«H of his journey. He mot with Imt Hlendor 
 MicooHH, After hi.i return he made further efTortH in the Hauie direction, and with Hiiuiiar 
 roHuitH. I'erHoiiH wlio profoHHed much zeal for lieforiu worn hIow to put tlieir liandH in tlioir 
 |)ockelH for h>u;1i a purpoHe, and he HUcciiodiMl in collecting only about ill 50. It nhould however 
 bo renioniberod tiukt nioHt Upper Canivlian lleformerH in tlioKe dayn were poor. Mivckon/.io'H actual 
 diHburHeniont« duriuK Iwh abHence are Htated by Mr, liincUoy to have boon £(570 (Life of Mac- 
 kfnzif, vol. i., p. 2H7), but a couHidorable part of thiw Muni wan oxpi'ndo<l on a vIhII to Hcotiand. 
 It Ih ])rol)abIe, too, that the amount Htated includen the cont <>f publiHliinf^ Ukrlrhn in (Mmulu and 
 the United Statt», which nnmt have been couHidcral)!!). It in fairly to be inferred from Mr. 
 Lindiiey'H account that Mackenzie waH hiniHolf compelled to pay the difference between £lt){), th* 
 amount collected from HubHcriborn, and t'tl/O, the amount actually expended. " The peuple'n 
 ftKont," ho inforinH UH, " wiw loft to bear the Kreater part of the expenne." TIiIh, no doulit, waH 
 Mr. Lindney'H belief when bin book wan written ; but nothing ooulil be further fnrni the fact. It 
 would be much nearer the truth to nay that Mackenzie enjoyed a Hixteen nionthn' holiday at the 
 expeURO of bin political friondn, for all, or nearly all the uxmoy cxpendud over and al)ove the i-'lftO 
 wan contributed by Dr. MorrtHon, Dr. Itolph, David (JibNon, tho LoHHlioa, ShepardH, and othcrH ; 
 and aH no portion cif tho money ho contributed wan over repaid, they, and not Mackenzie, were 
 CuinpoUed to bear the Iodh. The implied Hlur upon tho Uuf orm party in tborofore wholly undcHerved. 
 
 TIJ 
 
 III 
 
,' ) 
 
 254 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ance — among others as to the remuneration of members of the Assembly 
 representing Town constituencies ; as to the extension of the franchise 
 to persons who, by reason of their religious scruples, could not conscien- 
 tiously take the prescribed oath ; as to the repeal of the law disqualifying 
 British subjects from voting at elections till the expiration of seven years 
 after their return from a residence in a foreign country ; and as to the 
 interference of ecclesiastical Legislative Councillors in secular matters.* 
 Mackenzie was also entitled to claim credit for obtaining important 
 reforms in the management of the Provincial Post Office. He had 
 brought the affairs of the Province conspicuously before the minds of 
 several eminent public men, whose interest in Canada had thus been 
 aroused, and who were thenceforth able to display some familiarity with 
 Canadian questions as they came up for discussion in the House of 
 Commons. During his stay in London he had published a duodecimo 
 volume, extending to 504 pages, entitled " Sketches in Canada and the 
 United States," in which a good many Provincial abuses had been 
 specified. The information contained in this work had been thrown 
 together in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, and it could not be said to have 
 much real value, more especially as many of its statements were 
 inaccurate, and must have been known to be so when they were written.! 
 Still, it probably had some effect in seconding the author's efforts to 
 attract attention to himself and the interests which he represented. He 
 had moreover acquainted the Colonial Secretary with matters which 
 
 *Hi8 LordHhip expressed himself with much clearness on this subject. "Whether," he 
 wrote, "even under this restriction [i.e., the restriction of non-interference in secular affairs], 
 their holding such seats is really desirahle, is a question upon which I am fully prepared to listen 
 with the utmost attention to any advice which I may receive from yourself, froni the House of 
 Assembly, or from any other competent authority. I have no solicitude for retaiv.iug either the 
 Bishop [McDonnell] or tho Archdeacon [Strachan] on the list of Councillors, but am, on the 
 contrary, rather predisposed to the opinion that by resigning their seats they would best consult 
 their own personal comfort and the success of their designs for the spiritual good of the people. 
 But any such resignation must be voluntary, since the office is held for life ; and were it other- 
 wise, no consideration could induce me to advise His Majesty to degrade the Bishop or the 
 Archdeacon from tho stations they occupy, except upon tho most conclusive proof of miscorduct." 
 One might not unroabonably construe those words into a pretty broad hint to Bishop Mcl>onnell 
 and Dr. Strachan that they ought to resign. 
 
 + The London Morning Herald of July 11th, 18.33, correctly characterized it as " the oddest 
 mixture of slander and truth, of knowledge and ignorance, of bold assertion and vacillating 
 opinion." 
 
DISFRANCHISEMENT. 
 
 255 
 
 could not possibly have been clearly explained otherwise than orally. It 
 was tolerably certain that information furnished by him had led to the 
 dismissal of Boulton and Hagerman, a proceeding which had wonderfully 
 exhilarated his mind ; and his depression had been correspondently 
 deep upon learning that the one had been promoted and the other 
 reinstated. He had hoped to see Mr. Rolph appointed to the Solicitor- 
 Generalship, and, if his word is to be credited, he really seems to have 
 had some grounds for believing that such an appointment would be 
 made,* He afterwards declared that he had " good reasons for believing " 
 that Mr. Rolph's appointment had actually been made out and trans- 
 mitted to Canada, but that Sir John Colborne and Chief Justice Eobinson 
 had prevented it from taking effect.! 
 
 As has already been seen,! Mackenzie, during his absence in England, 
 had once more been elected to represent the County of York in the 
 Assembly. Upon the first meeting of Parliament after his return he pre- 
 sented himself as a member. There was however a persistent determina- 
 tion that he should not be permitted to take his seat. The hostile majority 
 in the House professed to believe that they had a right to exercise a discre- 
 tion as to who should bo permitted to sit therein. Mackenzie, they alleged, 
 had libelled the House by libelling a majority of its members, and he had 
 neither made nor attempted to make any reparation or apology. The 
 Clerk, acting most probably on instructions, refused to administer the 
 oath to him. A resolution was adopted that he should not be permitted 
 to sit or vote as a member during the session, and a writ for a new 
 election was ordered. Again did he return to his constituents, and again 
 was he returned without opposition. The electors of York were by this 
 time heartily tired of the farce, the perpetual re-enactment whereof had 
 
 * " Mr. Rolph will, we have no doubt, have the oflfer of the SoHcitorship, but whether he will 
 accept it is a matter more doubtful ; though we think he possibly may, provided ho is to lie 
 associated in the administration with men of a liberal policy ; otherwise wo are of opinion he 
 will decline. Such an appointment would certainly do credit to our country, and we hope ho 
 (Mr. Rolph) will accept the appointment if offered— that is, if he can consistently do ao."— Colonial 
 Advocate, Thursday, May 2nd, 1833. See also the Advocate for October 3rd, 1833. 
 
 fSee An Accottnt of the Dismissal of the Attorney and Solicitnr-Oencral from Office, ami of the 
 Re-appointmcnt of Mr. Uayerman, written by Mackenzie for the General [Reform] Committee at 
 York, and published in the Advocate for Thursday, Augusw iJ9th, 1833. 
 
 tAnte, p. 247. 
 
 'f:'i 
 
 
 Jl 
 
 
 ' If ' 
 
 
 ^ 
 
HBBiaHfisa 
 
 256 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 the effect of partly disfranchising them by leaving them with only one 
 representative in the Assembly instead of two. They were nevertheless 
 fully resolved not to yield their undoubted rights without some further 
 assertion of them. The member of their choice was under no legal 
 disability. They were advised that there was no constitutional justifica- 
 tion for the action of the Assembly. They declared that they owed it to 
 themselves and those who were to come after them not to submit tamely 
 to injustice of such a nature. The election being over, a considerable 
 body of them escorted him to the Houses of Parliament. But a short 
 time had elapsed since the last expulsion, and the Legislature was still 
 in session. The members of the Assembly stared in astonishment at the 
 sudden and altogether unlooked-for incursion of strangers, who poured 
 into the gallery and into the space below the bar, where they were per- 
 mitted to intrude themselves, and where Mackenzie presented himself to 
 take the oath. Those who could not find room inside remained without 
 in the lobbies. In a few moments a lull occurred in the proceedings of 
 the House, whereupon burly Peter Perry rose in his place and announced 
 that he had a petition to present on behalf of the inhabitants of the 
 County of York. The contents of the petition were not of a nature 
 to render it acceptable to a majority of the members. It referred to 
 Mackenzie's expulsion, and prayed that that indignity might not be 
 repeated. There was a very general feeling among the supporters of the 
 Government that the House ought not to receive such a petition, and 
 several of them gave utterance to their opinions on the subject. Allan 
 MacNab expressed himself to this effect with his customary emphasis, 
 and was greeted with a storm of hisses from the York electors in the 
 gallery. Ominous sounds ! The House could not be expected to tamely 
 brook such a manifestation, and an order was given to clear the gallery. 
 While the order was being obeyed, the Sergeant-at-Arms approached 
 Mackenzie where he stood below the bar, and directed him to leave. 
 Mackenzie replied to the effect that he had a right to be there, and that 
 he intended to remain. The door was then opened by the Sergeant-at- 
 Arms, who proceeded to eject Mackenzie by force ; but before he could 
 carry out his purpose a rush was made from the adjacent lobby. The door 
 was promptly closed and barricaded, but not until several of the invaders 
 
DISFRANCHISEMENT. 
 
 257 
 
 had effected an entrance. The excitement was intense, and for some 
 minutes the proceedings of the House were suspended. When quiet had 
 been in some measure restored, the Speaker directed the Sergeant-at- 
 Arms to clear the space below the bar of strangers. That functionary 
 again ordered Mackenzie to leave,, and he received the same reply as 
 before. This was communicated to the Speaker, who decided that, as 
 Mackenzie had not taken the oath, he was not a member of the House, 
 and was not entitled to remain. Mackenzie was there, ready and anxious 
 to take the oath ; but he was nevertheless removed by the Sergeant- at- 
 Arms, and the Assembly was once more purged of his presence. On the 
 next day he was again formally expelled by a vote of the House * — an 
 anomalous proceeding in view of the Speaker's decision that he was not 
 a member ! He had thus been thrice expelled from the House, and once 
 excluded therefrom upon the ground that he was not a member. 
 
 It was by this time clear that from a House so constituted Mackenzie 
 could not expect to meet with fair play. Mr. Bidwell, Mr. Perry, and 
 others of his friends had all along spoken manfully on his behalf when- 
 
 *As the resolution recited the facta relating to the two former expulsions, as well as the 
 grounds of the present one, it may not be amiss to transcribe it in full. It was voted upon on 
 Tuesday, the 17th of December (1833). Its mover was William Morris, member for Lanark. It 
 was in the following words : " That this House, on the thirteenth day of December, 1831, in 
 consequence of a false and scandalous libel published against a majority of its members by 
 William Lyon Mackenzie, Esquire, one of the members then representing the County of York, 
 of which he avowed himself the author and publisher, was induced to expel him, the said William 
 Lyon Mackenzie, from this House : That notwithstanding the gross and scandalous nature of the 
 said libel, this House, in the hope that the said William Lyon Mackenzie would abstain from a 
 continuance of the offensive conduct for which he had been expelled, permitted him to take his 
 seat on the third day of January following, as a member for the County of York, after being 
 re-elected : That in this hope, so important to the deliberate transaction of public business, so 
 essential to the respectability of the Legislature and peace of the country, a few days' experience 
 convinced this House there was so little reason to rely, that on the seventh day of the same month 
 of January, it was by a large majority again deemed necessary to expel the said William Lyon 
 Mackenzie, for a repetition and aggravated reiteration of the aforesaid false and scandalous libel ; 
 and in doing so, this House, in order to support the dignity which ought to belong to a Legislative 
 body, considered it just and proper to declare the said William Lyon Mackenzie unfit and 
 unworthy to hold a seat in this House during the continuance of the present Parliament : That 
 as the said William Lyon Mackenzie has never made reparation to this House for the gross 
 injuries which he has attempted to inflict on its character and proceedings, there is no reason to 
 depart from the resolution of the said seventh day of January, 1832." In amendment, Mr. 
 MacNab, seconded by Mr. Bobinson, moved that the following words be added to the original 
 resolution : "And therefore he, the said William Lyon Mackenzie, again elected and returned to 
 represent the County of York in this present Parliament, is hereby expelled." The amendment, 
 as well at the original motion, was carried by a vote of 22 to 18. 
 
258 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ever an opportunity of doing so had presented itself, but their arguments 
 had simply been thrown away. His pugnacious spirit was however fully 
 aroused, and he determined to exhaust every means before abandoning 
 his endeavours to take the seat to which he was entitled. He applied to 
 the Lieutenant-Governor for permission to take the oath prescribed for 
 members of the Legislature before his Excellency, or before some one 
 specially appointed for the purpose, under the twenty-ninth section of 
 the Constitutional Act of 1791.* The question involved in this applica- 
 tion was submitted to the Attorney-General, Mr. Jameson, who pro- 
 nounced the opinion that Mackenzie was entitled to the privilege asked 
 for. The matter was nevertheless allowed to remain in abeyance for 
 some weeks, as the hostile members of Assembly had been worked 
 up to a great pitch of excitement by the incursion of the rural popu- 
 lation, and were in no humour to tolerate Mackenzie's presence. Mean- 
 while petitions to the Lieutenant-Governor were sent in from various parts 
 of the County of York, as well as from other places. The language in some 
 of these was of the most unmistakable kind, and it was evident that 
 endurance had nearly reached its limits. On Monday, the 10th of 
 February, Mackenzie, having taken the oath before the Clerk of the 
 Executive Council, and having obtained a duly attested certificate of the 
 ceremonial, ventured once more to present himself in the Chamber of the 
 Assembly. 
 
 The House was in Committee on the question of improving the 
 navigation of the St. Lawrence when he entered. The gallery was 
 crowded with spectators, most of whom were sympathizers with 
 Mackenzie, and had assembled there to impart to him a sort of outside 
 numerical support. He walked to the seat which he had once been 
 accustomed to occupy, and quietly sat down in it. Ere many minutes 
 the Sergeant-at-Arms t approached and requested him to withdraw. This 
 he declined to do, alleging that he was a member legally elected, duly 
 sworn, and charged with no offence or irregularity which could disqualify 
 
 1834, 
 
 * This section provides for the taking of the oath bafore the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, 
 or person administering the Government, or " before some person or persons authorized by the 
 said Governor or Lieutenant-Governor," etc. 
 
 t The Sergeant-at-Arms was Allan MacNab, Sr., father of the junior member for Went- 
 worth. 
 
DISFRANCHISEMENT. 
 
 259 
 
 him from sitting and voting.* He produced the attested copy of the 
 oath, and bade the Sergoant-at-Arms interfere at his peril. The follow- 
 ing is Mackenzie's own account of what ensued ; and, unHke most 
 of his narratives, it is in all substantial respects confirmed by 
 several eye-witnesses. "He [the Sergeant-at-Arms] said he must 
 use force, and he did so in as gentle a manner as was consistent 
 with the act. Although his proceedings were illegal, his whole con- 
 duct in carrying them into effect was marked by a discretion wisely 
 adopted in the excited state of the minds of the dense audience bj' 
 whom he was surrounded. I almost immediately returned to the seat I 
 had occupied, and while on my way was seized hold of by Colonel Frazer, 
 Collector of Customs at Brockville, and obliged to change my route. 
 Before I had got well seated, one of the members, I think Mr. Boulton,f 
 moved that the Speaker take the chair. He did so, and I addressed 
 him, stating the insult I had received while in the performance of my 
 duty as a member. To this he made no reply, but said that the Sergeant- 
 at-Arms must know his duty. He then left the chair ; the Committee 
 resumed, and I was a second time forced from my seat by violent means. 
 After a little reflection I decided to resume my seat ; was a third time 
 forced from it by the Sergeant-at-Arms, and when the Speaker had 
 returned I was placed at the bar, charged by the Sergeant-at-Arms with 
 refusing to leave the House." I The Sergeant-at-Arms then reported to 
 the Speaker that he had taken into custody William Lyon Mackenzie for 
 disorderly conduct, and that he had him in charge at the bar ; whereupon 
 it was moved by Mr. Samson, and seconded by Mr. Vankoughnet, 
 member for Stormont, that William Lyon Mackenzie, having been 
 brought to the bar of the House by the Sergeant-at-Arms for disorderly 
 conduct, be called upon to state what he might have to say in his defence. 
 To this motion Mr. Perry moved an amendment to the effect that 
 Mackenzie was under no legal disqualifications, and had a right to sit 
 and vote in the Ho'- , Then followed a long debate which lasted nearly 
 
 • See the Advocate of Thursday, February 13th, 1834. 
 
 + Not H. J. Boulton, who had several months before departed for Newfoundland, but George 
 Strange Boulton, one of the members for Durham. 
 1 See the Advocate of February 13th, 1834. 
 
2G0 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 six hours,* and which left the question at issue pretty nearly where it had 
 been. Mr. Perry's motion was lost by a vote of twenty-one to fifteen. A 
 dense crowd occupied the gallery until far into the night, but good order 
 was preserved, the only demonstration being a subdued hiss while Mr. 
 William B. Kobinson, member for Simcoe, and brother of the Chief 
 Justice, was speaking. Much rancour was exhibited by some of the Tory 
 speakers, several of whom approved their loyalty by inveighing loudly 
 against the Lieutenant-Governor for permitting the Clerk of the Execu- 
 tive Council to administer the oath to Mackenzie. Allan MacNab 
 declared his intention to vote for committing Mackenzie to the common 
 jail. Casting his eyes up to the gallery, he scowled at the occupants, to 
 whom he referred as a band of ruffians who had come there to intimidate 
 the House. The Lieutenant-Governor, he said, had interfered very 
 improperly, and in a manner no way creditable to himself. He had 
 acted like the Vicar of Bray, and might yet find, like that individual, that 
 by taking both sides of a question he might fall through between. Mr. 
 Samson, member for Hastings, spoke to a similar purport,' declaring 
 himself to be in favour of sending Mackenzie to jail without a hearing, 
 and referring to the Lieutenant-Governor in terms of strong censure. 
 " His Excellency," remarked Mr. Samson, "knew perfectly well that Mr. 
 Mackenzie had been expelled by us, and for him to allow the oath to be 
 administered under such circumstances was a most unwarrantable pro- 
 ceeding. He had no right whatever to interfere. I do say he acted a 
 most improper part, and I do not know but this House ought to take it 
 up." When Mackenzie attempted to speak at the bar, William Hamilton 
 Merritt, member for Haldimand, rose in much anger, and exclaimed : 
 " Drown his voice. He ought to be put out of the House, and two men 
 stationed continually at the door to keep him out." Absalom Shade, of 
 Gait, member for Halton, was of the same opinion. The speech of the 
 member for Simcoe, which evoked the hiss from the gallery as already 
 
 •Mackenzie, in the Advocate, says "full seven hours," but he did not reach the Assembly 
 Chamber until nearly half-pftst three in the afternoon, and the House adjourned at 9.30 for want 
 of a quorum. See the sessional journal. The three removals of Mackenzie from his seat must 
 have occupied some minutes, and the entire debate could not possibly have extended over quite 
 Bix hours. The matter is of no particular importance, but it shows how carefully all unsupported 
 statements of Mackenzie ought to be scrutinized before being admitted as evidence. 
 
DISFRANCHISEMENT. 
 
 2G1 
 
 mentioned, was perhaps the most violent of all. He advocated that 
 Mackenzie should be punished and consigned to jail without being 
 allowed to utter " one single word " in defence of his outrageous proceed- 
 ings. " Mackenzie," said he, " would never have dared to show himself 
 in this House again if he had not had his Excellency's sanction for doing 
 so in his pocket. His Excellency's conduct, I maintain, has been utterly 
 unjustifiable. Indeed, I could not have believed it possible that his 
 Excellency should have thought of taking such a step without consulting 
 the Speaker of this House. He had no right whatever to do so, and now 
 that he is told that we do not recogniae such a right on the part of the 
 Executive, I trust he will not persevere."* For milder language 
 than this, many of the Keformeis had been branded as "traitors," 
 " disaffected," and " republicans," by the very person who now gave 
 utterance to it. The beam in one's own eye is so much harder to per- 
 ceive than the mote in the eye of one's brother. 
 
 The plain fact of the matter is, that no sentiment of either loyalty or 
 disloyalty had anything whatever to do with the treatment to which 
 Mackenzie was subjected at the hands of the Compact and their sup- 
 porters. It was simply this : Mackenzie was a thorn in their sides. He 
 watched them closely, and exposed their conduct in language which was 
 telling and vigorous, albeit often ill-considered and unbecoming. They 
 felt that their supremacy was menaced, and largely by his instrumen- 
 tality. His expulsions were due to a fixed determination to keep him 
 out of Parliament, irrespective not on)" of what was constitutional or 
 unconstitutional, but even of what was right or wrong. To carry out 
 this determination they resorted to all the party devices which a majority 
 in the Assembly placed at their disposal. "From first to last," as 
 Mr. Lindsey remarks,! "the proceedings against Mr. Mackenzie were 
 conceived in a party spirit, and earned by party votes. No worse descrip- 
 
 •"It is probable," says Mackenzie (Colonial Advocate, Feb. 13th), "that the provoking 
 language of some of the members would have ended in a disturbance had I not warned the 
 people through the press, personally at many of their dwelling houses, and in the House before I 
 took my seat, to preserve perfect silence whatever the members said or did. They were very 
 orderly, and it is creditable to them that they were so. If public opinion will not avenge our 
 cause, violence and tumult will not help us." The irony of fate had decreed that this admirable 
 sentiment should not find a permanent lodgement in the writer's breast. 
 
 +Zt/"e and Times of Mackenzie, vol. i., p. 311. 
 
202 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN IICBELLION. 
 
 tion or condemnation of them could bo given, seeing that they were in 
 their nature judicial." 
 
 The debate, as has been said, came to nothing. Mackenzie was not 
 permitted to take his seat, and did not again attempt to do so during the 
 session. No new writ was issued for the election of a member b}' tlio 
 County of York. Mackenzie's supporters opposed the issue of a writ 
 because such a proceeding would have assumed that the expulsion had 
 been legal, and that there was a legal vacancy in the representation. 
 Others, who were not friendly to Mackenzie, felt that a new election 
 would only lead to fresh complications. York would undoubtedly return 
 the expelled member, and he would again be refused a seat in the House. 
 The session accordingly dragged on to its close without any writ having 
 been issued : a matter of little practical importance, inasmuch as there 
 was to be a general election in the course of a few months. It will thus 
 be seen that the County of York underwent a partial disfranchisement 
 for three years, during which three sessions were held. Before another 
 session came round a new Parliament had come into being, and the 
 political situation had undergone a complete metamorphosis. 
 
 During the session of 1833-4, which witnessed the tumultuous scene 
 just described, the Provincial Parliament made one important concession 
 to public opinion by passing an Act to render the Judges of the Court of 
 King's Bench independent of the Crown. It is right to state, however, 
 that this was done in consequence of pressure from the Imperial Govern- 
 ment,* and not from any wish to remove an abuse of long standing. 
 The Act provided that "the Judges of His Majesty's Court of King's 
 Bench for this Province shall hold their oflBces during their good 
 behaviour, notwithstanding the commissions which have been heretofore 
 granted to them, or either of them, may specify that the office is to be 
 held during the pleasure of His Majesty ; and that from and after the 
 passing of this Act the commissions to the Judges of the said Court shall 
 be made to them respectively to hold during their good behaviour, and 
 that the commissions of Judges of the said Court for the time being shall 
 be, continue, and remain in full force during their good behaviour, not- 
 withstanding the demise of His Majesty, or of any of his heirs and 
 
 • See Lord Goderich's despatch of 8th November, 1832, 
 
DISFRANCHISEMENT. 
 
 2G3 
 
 successors." Thus were the Judiciary rendered independent of the 
 humours of the Executive, whereby a long step was taken towards 
 securing a pure administration of justice in the Superior Court of the 
 Province. Had a similar policy been pursued with respect to other gross 
 abuses, the effect upon the public mind would have been most pacifica- 
 tory. Standing, as it did, alone, the Act exhibited a striking contrast to 
 every other feature of the Executive policy, and it may be doubted 
 whether a solitary inhabitant of the Province was conciliated thereby. 
 
 h i 
 
 ^i%; ' 
 
 Iff, 
 
 m. 
 
 '^l^ 
 
 I 
 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
'^ 
 
 ■ {• 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MR. HUME'S "BANEFUL DOMINATION" LETTER. 
 
 jACKENZIE'S repeated expulsiona, unjust as they were, and 
 humiliating as were some of the attendant circumstances, 
 were not wholly without compensation. For one thing they 
 caused him to be more talked about than any other man in 
 Upper Canada. This, of itself, would have gone far towards 
 reconciling him to the indignities which had been heaped 
 upon him, for notoriety was very dear to his heart. But a more sub- 
 stantial reward, and one altogether unlooked for, was in store for him. 
 
 Within a month after the scene in the Assembly described towards 
 the close of the last chapter, the town of York ceased to exist, having 
 exchanged its name for the old Indian appellation which it has ever since 
 borne. An Act of incorporation had been obtained during the session, 
 whereby it was enacted that York should be constituted a body corporate 
 and politic by the name of the City of Toronto. The city was to be 
 divided into wards, with two aldermen and two common councilmen for 
 each ward, to be elected by the inhabitants ; and with a mayor, to be 
 elected by the aldermen and councilmen from among themselves. This 
 Act, like the rest of the measures passed during the session, was assented 
 to on the day of adjournment — the 6th of March, 1834. On the 15th of 
 the same month an official proclamation appeared whereby Thursday, 
 the 27th, was appointed for the first electioaof municipal representatives. 
 A campaign of active canvassing was forthwith set on foot throughout 
 the city. As has often happened in more recent times, the contest 
 assumed a political complexion. The Act of incorporation had been 
 procured by Tory influences, and had been carried through the Assembly 
 under the auspices of Sheriff Jarvis, the local member. In his speeches 
 
MR. Hume's "baneful domination" letter. 
 
 265 
 
 on the subject in the House Mr. Jarvis had taken the reasonable and 
 legitimate ground that the Provincial capital had attained dimensions 
 which rendered a separate government necessary to the efficient manage- 
 ment of its affairs. This view was participated in by Tory residents 
 generally. The Reformers, on the other hand, had all along been opposed 
 to incorporation. York, they argued, was the main fortress and strong- 
 hold of the official party, who would be almost certain to acquire a 
 pernicious ascendency in municipal affairs, to the detriment of the rest 
 of the community. The Province at large had already suffered enough 
 from Compact domination, and it was far from desirable to afford an 
 opportunity for its exercise in a more restricted field. Again, it was 
 urged that the expense of a separate administration for the city would 
 more than counterbalance any advantages to be derived therefrom. 
 These views were put forward with much vehemence by Reformers, both 
 in Parliament and through the medium of the press. From all which 
 it was evident that the impending elections would afford a pretty accurate 
 test of the strength of the respective political parties in the city. 
 
 Generally speaking, the Tory vote in the capital had been largely in 
 excess of that polled by the Reformers. That it was not so in the spring 
 of 1834 was due in no small degree to public indignation at the unfair 
 treatment to which Mackenzie had been subjected. Persons who had 
 never recorded a Reform vote before now came forward to support 
 candidates who were known to be strong Reformers. It was not so much 
 that these persons sympathized with Mackenzie, who was by many of 
 them held in detestation and abhorrence; but they felt that gross 
 injustice had been done, against which it behooved them to record their 
 formal protest. The result waF that the sanguine calculations of the 
 Tories were altogether falsified, and that a majority of Reform candidates 
 were returned to the first Council of the City of Toronto. Among the 
 latter were Mackenzie himself, who was elected as one of the aldermen 
 for St. David's Ward, and John Rolph, who was elected for the Ward of 
 St. Patrick. 
 
 A few words of explanation are necessary in this place with regard to 
 Mr. Rolph. It will be remembered that he and the two Baldwins had 
 divested themselves of their gowns during the progress of the Willis 
 
266 
 
 TIIK UPPER CANADIAN HE HELLION. 
 
 dispute, and had declined to transact any further business in a court 
 which they beheved to be illegally constituted.* They did not again 
 present themselves before the court during Term until after the decision 
 of the Privy Council had set their minds at rest on the subject. There 
 was no longer anything to prevent them from resuming their practice. 
 The Baldwins did so, and Eolph for a time followed their example, albeit 
 in a half-hearted manner. He had long been profoundly disgusted with 
 the partiality displayed by the judges, and by their complete subserviency 
 to the wishes of the Executive, as expressed by their forensic mouth- 
 piece, Attorney-General Robinson. On account, as he believed, of his 
 political opinions, he had been forced to contend against the persistent 
 hostility of the judiciary. His triumphs at the bar had been won by 
 reason of his power over juries, and in spite of one-sided charges from 
 the bench. Of the understanding and judicial integrity of Mr. Sherwood 
 he had formed a very low estimate. Hagerman, who temporarily 
 succeede'^. Judge Willis, was an abler man, but his political feelings were 
 so strong that Eolph wo\xld not imperil the interests of his clients by 
 appearing before him. Upon the accession of Attorney-General Eobinson 
 to the bench the state of affairs from Rolph's point of view was not much 
 improved. Mr. Robinson and he had so long fought each other at the 
 bar and on the floor of the Assembly that they had come to regard each 
 other as personal enemies. Eolph, rightly or wrongly, -^.me to the 
 conclusion that he could no longer hope to obtain any measuie of justice. 
 The necessary consequence of such a conclusion was a resolve to abandon 
 the practice of law, and to resume that of medicine, which latter, indeed, 
 he had never wholly abandoned. This resolution was not fully carried 
 out until more than two years after it had been formed, though he 
 meanwhile accepted no new awta, and steadily p^-^^pared himself for the 
 impending change. The decisive step does not appear to have been 
 tn>en until 1832, when he transferred his legal practice to his brother 
 George , Thenceforward John Eolph never again appeared in a Court of 
 justice in the capacity of an advocate. It was a momentous decision, for 
 he had a fine legal practice, and enjoyed the reputation of being the 
 most eloquent man at the Upper Canadian bar. He had outlived the 
 
 * Ante, i:. 187. 
 
MR. Hume's "baneful domination" letieti. 
 
 2G7 
 
 exuberance of youth, and was at this time nearly forty years old — an age 
 at which few men would have had the courage to abandon a pursuit 
 which had been followed with signal success for many years. He 
 resumed the practice of medicine and surgery, and was thenceforward 
 known as " Doctor " Rolph. For some years before this time he had 
 resided at Dundas. He now removed to the capital, where he was well 
 known, and where he continued to reside until the breaking out of the 
 Eebellion towards the close of 1837. He soon won a distinguished place 
 in the ranks of his new calling, and reached a preeminence therein as 
 great as he had ever attained at the bar. There was no regularly- 
 organized medical college in Ijpper Canada, and the facilities for 
 acquiring a competent medical training were few. In response to urgent 
 requests from a number of influential persons in Toronto he established 
 a private medica,l class, and gave instruction to a limited number of 
 students. His teaching was eminently successful, and he made himself 
 greatly beloved by his students. He seemed to have the whole round of 
 medical literature at his fingers' ends, and his marvellous knowledge and 
 graphic power of expression kindled in the breasts of the young men a 
 love of knowledge for its own sake.* By no one were his attainments 
 held in higher respect than by the Lieutenant-Governor. Sir John 
 urged him to found a permanent medical college, and promised that 
 Government aid for such an enterprise should not be wanting. But 
 Dr. Rolph had other views. He had for several years been out of public 
 life, but with no idea of so remaining. He was resolved to re-enter 
 Parliament at the first suitable opportunity, and did not allow his 
 professional pursuits to absorb all his attention. Unlike Robert Baldwin, 
 who to a great extent held himself aloof from politics at this time, Rolph 
 took a leading part at Reform meetings and caucuses, and did his utmost 
 to give practical shape to the Reform policy. Baldwin, notwithstanding 
 his undoubted zeal for Liberal principles, was imbued with somewhat 
 
 * " To his insf-.ruction, and the love of knowledge which he never failed to inspire in those 
 who came within the magio of his eloquence, many men who have since made their mark on the 
 hiHtoiy of Canaua owe their first start in intellectual progress. Notable among these is the 
 present Chief Superintendent of Education, who has acknowledged that if he has achieved any 
 distinction, it is mainly due to the love of knowledge with which he was inspired by the eloquence 
 and example of Ur. Rolph." Such was the late Dr. Ryerson's own testimony, as published in 
 the Journal of Education, upon Dr. Rolph 's death in 1870. 
 
WUHM 
 
 268 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 
 exclusive social ideas, and was not in active sympathy with the Eeformeis 
 at this period. He regarded Mackenzie as very much of a demagogue, 
 and as a person with whom he could not hold any very intimate relations. 
 The sentiments entertained by Baldwin for Mackenzie seem to have been 
 closely akin to those entertained by Sir John Falstaflf for the troops 
 with whom he declared that he would not march through Coventry. 
 Mackenzie's noisy verbosity and self-assertion offended the patrician 
 instincts of Mr. Baldwin, to whom, indeed, the little proletarian was 
 altogether distasteful and repulsive. This feeling, however, seems to 
 have been due to the antipathetic natures of the two men, rather than 
 to any mere feeling of exclusiveness on the part of Mr. Baldwin. They 
 had as little in common as two persons very well could have. Without 
 entering any further into the question, it will be sufficient to say that the 
 one had a judgment under strict discipline, while the judgment of the 
 other was always subordinate to the circumstances or prejudices of the 
 moment — a fatal defect in one who aspires to be a leader of men. 
 Mr. Baldwin made no secret of his conviction that no substantial 
 progress could be made by the Eeform party so long as one like 
 Mackenzie was permitted to have any commanding voice in its counsels, 
 or at any rate to have any hand in the shaping or directing of its policy. 
 Eolph took a broader view, and while he admitted the notoriously weak 
 points in Mackenzie's character, did not feel disposed either to throw him 
 overboard altogether or to deprive him of a share in the direction of party 
 affaire. He naturally felt and spoke strongly on the subject of the 
 expulsions. For Mackenzie personally he had never felt much liking, 
 but he hated injustice, and did not hesitate to give the expelled member 
 all the support, moral and otherwise, which he could command. He was 
 wont to say that Mackenzie might yet do much good work for Eeform, if 
 he could only be kept in his proper place. Mackenzie, on his side, 
 never wearied of sounding Eolph's praises, and he sometimes did so in 
 extravagant terms. Wherever he went ho proclaimed the Doctor as the 
 one man in Upper Canada capable of leading the Eeform party to 
 triumph and permanent power. Bidwell and Perry were well enough in 
 their way, but to neither of them would he pin his faith if Eolph 
 questioned the wisdom of their counsels. 
 
MR. HUMES "BANEFUL DOMINATION LETTEK. 
 
 2G9 
 
 Such was the state of affairs at the time of the election of the first 
 Council of the City of Toronto. In that Council, as already mentioned, 
 there was a preponderance of Reform members. According to the 
 provisions of the Act of incorporation the aldermen and councilmen were 
 to hold their first meeting on Thursday, the 3rd of April, when they were 
 to proceed to the election of a mayor. As the Reform members were able 
 to command the situation, they held a caucus on the evening of Monday, 
 the 31st of March, to concert a scheme of action, and to take steps to 
 turn their numerical superiority in the Council to the best account. 
 An understanding had already been arrived at as to the mayoralty. 
 Dr. Rolph had been pitched upon by common consent to fill the chair of 
 the chief magistrate. He was upon the whole better fitted to grace 
 the position than any other man in the city, and the Reform members 
 contemplated their candidate with pride. But at the caucus held on 
 the evening of the 81st matters took an altogether unexpected turn. 
 Dr. Rolph did not attend, being kept away by professional duties. It 
 was suggested by James Lesslie, one of the aldermen from St. David's 
 Ward, that the Doctor was indifferent as to the mayoralty, and that 
 he would be quite willmg to waive any claims to the position which he 
 might be supposed to have. It was further suggested that the interests 
 of the Reformers would be best promoted by the elevation of the editor of 
 the Advocate to the chief magistracy. Mackenzie, it was urged, had 
 been treated with shameful indignity by the Assembly, and had been 
 held up to contempt by the official party generally. He had been 
 maligned at the Home Office as a personage whom the Secretary could 
 not admit to his presence consistently with due respect to himself and 
 his office. He had been represented as a snarling little upstart who, 
 by the votes of the lowest and most rascally section of the Radicals, had 
 been placed in a position unsuited to his character and belongings. It 
 had been especially urged against him in England that the better class 
 of Reformers held aloof from and thoroughly despised him. There could 
 be no doubt that by such representations as these Mackenzie had been 
 subjected to much unmerited obloquy and annoyance during his sojourn in 
 the old country. The present conjuncture of affairs, it was said, afforded 
 an excellent opportunity for atoning to him for what he had endured, and 
 
 
 t. 
 
I, 1 
 
 270 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ti<i 
 
 at the same time for scoring a double victory for Eeform principles. His 
 elevation to the chief magistracy of the capital city of Upper Canada 
 would furnish the most conclusive answer that could poFsibly be made 
 to the abuse and slander wherewith he had been assailed. The position 
 was one of high honour and dignity. It would be impossible to represent 
 the occupant of that position as the mere tool and mouthpiece of a low 
 Eadical clique, or as a person whom no gentleman could admit to a 
 conference. There was much plausibility about these arguments, and 
 they had the more weight inasmuch as Dr. Kolph was said to be 
 personally indifferent about the matter. Dr. Eolph, moreover, needed 
 no accession of dignity. He could certainly derive none from being 
 elected to the mayoralty, and could very well afford to waive his claims. 
 This view of the matter finally prevailed, and it was agreed, before the 
 adjom'nment of the caucus, that, provided Dr. Rolph were a consenting 
 party, Mackenzie should be the first mayor of Toronto. 
 
 When the matter was submitted to Dr. Eolph he expressed some 
 surprise at the action of the caucus. He appears to have felt convinced 
 that no credit to the Eeform cause was to be won by placing Mackenzie 
 in a prominent position. He knew Mackenzie to be a man who could 
 not stand prosperity, and whose want of mental ballast was such that he 
 was not fit to be trusted with power. He was moreover very much 
 disposed to suspect that the little man himself was at the bottom of the 
 movement in his favour, which was probably the fact. Still, the Doctor 
 was compelled to admit that there was much force in the arguments put 
 forward, and he was by no means disposed to press his own claims. He 
 therefore gave his assent ; and from that moment the question was to be 
 regarded as practically settled, although the matter was kept a profound 
 secret among the persons most immediately concerned. 
 
 The Conservative members of the Council also held a caucus before 
 the day appointed for the election of a mayor. Their purpose was to 
 organize Iheir forces, and to present the best front which their numerical 
 inferiority would admit of. They had assumed that Dr. Eolph would 
 as a matter of course be the choice of the Eeform members for the 
 chief magistracy, and this assumption had been confirmed by common 
 rumour, so that they entertained no doubt on the subject. The selection 
 
MR. HUMES "BANEFUL DOMINATION LETTER. 
 
 271 
 
 
 mei with their full appro /al. In fact, unless a mayor was to be chosen 
 from their own number- a thing out of the question with such a pre- 
 ponderance of Keform members — no man would have been so acceptable 
 to them as Dr. Eolph. He was known to and respected by them all, 
 and it was felt that he would fill the chair with credit to the city. 
 They accordingly resolved to give him their support, and one of their 
 number, Mr. Thomas Carfrae, jr., wrote to him on the subject. But, 
 Dr. Eolph had meanwhile given his assent to the project of Mackenzie's 
 election, and was not in a position to accept support from any quarter. 
 After careful consideration he had determined to resign his seat in the 
 Council. He foresaw that Mackenzie would render himself unpopular, 
 and deemed it probable that he would be guilty of indiscretions which 
 no public represen'iative of a political party could properly defend. The 
 course of subsequent events was such as to fully justify this forecast. 
 Dr. Eolph replied to Mr. Carfrae, thanking him for his offer of support, 
 but announcing that he was about to resign his seat. He also wrote to 
 his friend Dr. Morrison, one of the representatives of St. Andrew's Ward, 
 to the same effect. The contents of these two letters did not become 
 known until the meeting of the Council on the 3rd of April, otherwise steps 
 would unquestionably have been taken to prevent Mackenzie's election ; 
 for the Eeformers, with two or three exceptions, were not sujfficiently 
 anxious to elect him to oust Dr. Eolph for his sake ; and as for the Con- 
 servatives, the idea of Mackenzie's elevation to the highest seat in the 
 Council would at all times have been simply intolerable to them. At the 
 appointed time all the aldermen and councilmen were in their places 
 except Dr. Eolph. The chair was temporarily taken by John Doel, one 
 of the representatives from St. Andrew's Ward. It was moved by 
 Franklin Jackes, councilman from St. David's Ward, and seconded by 
 James Lesslie, Mackenzie's colleague as aldermanic representative from 
 the same ward, " that William Lyon Mackenzie, Esquire, be the mayor 
 of this city." The motion took the Conservative members completely by 
 surprise, and they did not attempt to conceal their dissatisfaction, and 
 even disgust. Several of them arose in succession, and spoke in favour of 
 Dr. Eolph. Dr. Morrison then announced Dr. Eolph's decision, and read 
 his letter by way of confirmation. Mr. Carfrae intimated that he had 
 
 I^Pl 
 
II 
 
 , 1 ' 
 
 1 t 
 
 272 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 received from the Doctor a letter to the same purport. There was thus 
 no room for further discussion. Tlie preconcerted programme was 
 carried out. Mackenzie received ten votes in support of his candidature, 
 which constituted a majority. He was declared duly elected, and took 
 the chair of honour. During the afternoon of the same day he took the 
 prescribed oath, and his authority was complete. He could boast that 
 he was the first mayor of Toronto, and also the first mayor ever elected 
 in Upper Canada. 
 
 Scarcely had he been installed in office ere he began to furnish 
 examples of that perverse and almost inconceivable want of judgment 
 which attended upon him from the beginning of his life to its end. 
 Knowing the light in which he was regarded by the Conservative 
 members of the Council, it might have been supposed that he would be 
 specially circumspect in his demeanour towards them, and careful not to 
 give gratuitous offence. On the contrary, he conducted himself like a 
 veritable Jaok-in-Office, and disgusted not only the Conservatives but 
 some of his own friends. He was constantly intruding his personal 
 antagonisms upon the Council, and trying to induce the members to 
 take sides. His indiscretion in the matter of the famous " baneful 
 domination " letter is absolutely incomprehensible. The particulars can 
 only be given very briefly in these pages. 
 
 During the month of May, Mr. Mackenzie received from Joseph 
 Hume, the Eadical member for Middlesex in the British House of 
 Commons, an extraordinary letter — a letter which, for violence of tone 
 and intemperance of language, might almost have been written by the 
 editor of the Advocate himself. It referred to the Eeverend Egerton 
 Byerson, a leading minister of the Methodist Church and editor of The 
 Christian Guardian, in terms which it is astonishing to think that a 
 gentleman in Mr. Hume's position should have permitted himself to 
 employ. Now, Mackenzie had quarrelled with Mr. Eyerson not long before, 
 and had devoted much space in the Advocate to maligning him. He saw 
 here an opportunity for a further attack, with which view he deliberately 
 published " copious extracts "* from the letter in the issue of his paper 
 
 • The phrase is Mackenzie's owa. See his rennrks preceding the extracts in the Advocate 
 of May 22nd. 
 
Mit. Hume's "baneful domination" letter. 
 
 273 
 
 n ; 
 
 dated the 22nd of May. The effect was electrical, for the references to 
 Mr. liyerson, bad as they were, were not the portions of the letter most 
 calculated to excite astonishment in the public mind. The phrase which 
 called forth px'ompt execration from all classes of the community was 
 one in which the writer, referring to Mackenzie's last election to the 
 Assembly and his expulsion therefrom, characterized those proceedings 
 as events which must hasten the crisis that was fast approaching 
 in the affairs of the Canadas, and which would "terminate in inde- 
 pendence and freedom from the baneful domination of the mother 
 country." These extraordinary words — extraordinary as proceeding 
 from a British statesman to a colonist who was likewise a public 
 character — were printed in the Advocate, like the rest of the letter, in 
 large type. It was subsequently urged* on Mr. Hume's behalf that he 
 had not meant to imply separation from the mother country, but only an 
 end to the false and pernicious system of governing the colony ; and this 
 explanation was admitted by him t to express what he had intended to 
 signify. But if Mr. Hume could write so indiscreetly on such a subject, 
 what is to be thought of the newspaper editor and the politician who had 
 no better sense than to give such a production to the world of Upper 
 Canada, more especially while he himself occupied the position of mayor 
 of its most important city ? 
 
 No sooner was the number of the Advocate containing this letter in 
 the hands of the public than an outcry arose on every hand. The Tories 
 saw their advantage, and made the most of it. Now, it was said, the 
 real designs of Mackenzie and those who acted with him were no longer 
 masked. What they wanted was not constitutional Reform, but separa- 
 tion from the Empire, and the establishment of a republic. And it was 
 not only Tories who spoke and felt thus. Persons who cordially hated 
 
 * By Dr. Morrison in the Toronto City Council. See the report of the proceedings of that 
 body at the meeting held on Monday, June 9th, 1834. On the Hubject generally, see the pamphlet 
 published in Toronto in 1834 entitled The Gelebrated Letter of Joseph Hume, etc. 
 
 tin a letter dated 14th July, 1834, and published in the Advocate of September 2oth. 
 Mr. Hume there states his meaning to have been " that the misrule of the Government in Canada, 
 and the monopolizing selfish domination of such men as had lately (though but a small faction of 
 the people) resisted all improvement and refor.a, would lose the countenance of the authorities in 
 Downing Street, and leave the people in freedom to manage their own attairs. " 
 
 
 i i 
 
 ■HrtH 
 
I. ( 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 274 
 
 TIIK U1'PF:H CANADIAN RKliKLMON. 
 
 the dorainatioa of the Compact, and who had condomnod the treatment 
 of Mackenzie as unconstitutional, tyrannical and unjust, now felt that 
 such a man deserved no sympathy. Ho was evidently a rehel at heart.* 
 Ho had brought reproach not only on himself, but upon the party to 
 which he belonged. Reform journals hastened to signify their repudia- 
 tion of the sentiments of the objectionable letter. "We profess ourselves 
 Badical Reformers," said the Freeman, " and willing to go any reasonable 
 length in correcting abuses, because we know extensive grievances have 
 existed both in the mother country and in these colonies. . . but we 
 cannot bring ourselves to support violent and unprincipled factions." 
 "It has often been the misfortune," said The British Whig, of Kingston, 
 "for those who have laboured to emancipate the people of this colony 
 from Tory misrule to be accused of disaffection to the mother country, 
 and of a design to effect the substitution of a republican mode of 
 Government for their present monarchical form. That no accusation is 
 more generally false we are thoroughly satisfied; and yet, owing to the 
 indiscreetness of certain writers, the enemies of political change have 
 had too many opportunities afforded them to ground their assertions on 
 something like proof. Here is a letter published by a leading Reformer, 
 without one single remark in detestation of the doctrine it promulgates. 
 . . Does Mr. Mackenzie sincerely believe that the independence of 
 
 * The followinff extract is from a cloverly-written letter signed "O. P. Q,," which appeared 
 in the Courier of Juno 5th, 1834. It Hpoke the Hentimenta of nearly all the nawBpai)erB in the 
 country, of whatsoever shade of politics : "But for that letter the people of this Province niight 
 long remain in ignorance of the real motives by which your conduct has been actuated. They 
 might long regard you as a persecuted patriot. . . But your iinpruilence or your vanity has 
 been the means of completely unmasking and placing you liefore the people of this country in all 
 the naked deformity of an acknowledged traitor. Henceforth you must be content to be regarded 
 as the secret abettor of a heartless conspiracy. . . Do not think, Sir, that these are the senti- 
 ments of a violent political opponent who approves of the measures adopted towards you by the 
 House of Assembly. . . These views, Sir, are the views of a man who has ever denounced the 
 course your adversaries have pursued towards you as unwise, unjust and unconstitutional. They 
 are the sentiments of a man who, if he had the power to punish the persons who first rose you 
 from poverty, ijjnominy and ruin, to comparative affluence and popular notoriety, would have 
 sent the destroyers of your press to less favoured regions. They are the sentiments of one who 
 had up to the publication of the letter . . regarded you as a man attached to the institutions 
 of your colintry. . . It is an old adage, 'Give him rope enough,' etc. You have a moderate 
 quantiiy, and if the avowal of such sentiments as you have lately promulgated do not afford you 
 a few yards more, you may regard yourself as infinitely more fortunate than many better and 
 bolder men." 
 
MU. IIUMii's "HANKFUL DOMINATION" LETTKR. 
 
 275 
 
 this Province would be beneficial to its inhabitants ; or is he of opinion 
 that the domination of the mother country is baneful? If he answer in 
 the negative, as we think he will, why in the name of common sense did 
 ho afford his enemies so much occasion to brand him with disloyalty?" 
 Said The Free Press, of Hamilton, " It is not the domination of the 
 mother country that Reformers comi)lain of; it is only the tyrannical 
 conduct of a small and despicable faction in the colony. The domination 
 of the mother country is as necessary to our present happiness and 
 future greatness as the mother's breast is to the infant." " There can be 
 but one opinion," said The British American Journnl, of St. Catharines, 
 "in the minds of honest men, relative to the sentiments contained in 
 this letter. That they are seditious and revolutionary is painfully 
 evident ; besides the language in which it is couched, the brief reference 
 to the important subjects treated of, and the peculiar manner of its 
 appearance before the Canadian public, irresistibly force the conclusion 
 upon our mind that it is the premature disclosure of a plan long 
 premeditated to separate the Canadas from the empire of Great Britain, 
 and either annex them to the confederated union of the States, or 
 establish separate independent republic Governments ; as far as the 
 author or publisher of the letter is concerned, it is immaterial which." 
 Mackenzie himself was characterized as a man who was doing his best 
 to drive the people headlong and blindfold into rebellion. Such being 
 the tone of the Liberal press, that of the Tory journals may readily 
 be conceived. Some of them demanded that the Government should 
 institute an immediate prosecution of Mackenzie. Indignation meetings 
 were held all over the Province, at which loyal addresses to His Majesty 
 were passed. The Methodist Conference and other bodies, secular as 
 well as religious, hastened to pass resolutions condemnatory of Mr. 
 Hume's sentiments, and to forward the same to the Lieutenant-Governor. 
 The excitement in Toronto was tremendous. Before noon of the day on 
 which the offensive letter appeared in print a public meeting had been 
 called to protest against the disloyal sentiments embodied in it. It was 
 numerously attended, and, though a good many Reformers were present, 
 a vote of censure on Mackenzie was passed without a dissentient voice. 
 The matter was brought up in the City Council, and, though the support 
 
 
■ f- 
 
 276 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 ' 
 
 Pftc 
 
 of the Reform members enabled him to escape the official censure of that 
 body, he was compelled to submit to a series of criticisms which must 
 have been exceedingly galling to his feelings. By this one misguided act 
 he had contrived to do enough harm to far more than counterbalance 
 any good which had been effected through his mission to England; and 
 there were many Reformers who, in spite of all his protestations, never 
 again felt any confidence in him, politically or otherwise. 
 
 In his capacity of mayor he was fairly assiduous in his attention to 
 his duties. The city was subjected to a visitation of Asiatic cholera 
 during the year, and he appears to have done his utmost to stay the 
 progress of the pestilence, as well as to provide for the treatment of the 
 stricken patients. He was nevertheless guilty of a number of indiscre- 
 tions which rendered him odious to a large proportion of the population. 
 His pettiness of spirit was incessantly asserting itself. No person in the 
 community, however insignificant, was beneath his wrath when his sense 
 of personal dignity was wounded. On one occasion a wretched woman 
 of intemperate habits and loose character was brought before him in the 
 Mayor's Court. She was loquacious and abusive, and Mackenzie, in a 
 rage, ordered her to be placed in the public stocks. There were still a 
 public pillory and stocks within the city, but, like those in Squire 
 Hazeldean's parish, they had long been disused. Mackenzie had 
 probably never heard of the maxim Qwieta non movere. At any rate, the 
 greater part of his life was spent in efforts in an opposite durection. His 
 sentence was carried out, and the culprit was placed in the stocks. Had 
 this been the act of a fossilized member of the Compact it would not have 
 appeared very incongruous, but in Mackenzie it seemed ludicrously out 
 of keeping with his professions. It aroused the popular indignation 
 against him to a higher pitch than ever ; but it had one good effect : it 
 led to the removal and destruction of the barbarous relics of medisevalism. 
 To Mackenzie belongs the questionable credit of reviving their use when 
 Tory magistrates had become ashamed to employ them any longer. He 
 is entitled to the further distinction of being the last magistrate in Upper 
 Canada to sanction their use ; and that, too, in the case of a poor and 
 defenceless woman, whose wretchedness ought to have removed her far 
 from the possibility of his vengeance. 
 
MR. UUME'S " HAXEFUL DOMINATION " LETTER. 
 
 277 
 
 A consiclenible part of the summer was spent by both the political 
 parties in the Province in preparing for the general election contest 
 which was to take place before the close of the year. It was held in 
 October. Had it been held some months earlier, while the public 
 sympathy with Mackenzie in consequence of his repeated expulsions was 
 at its height, an overwhelming preponderance of Reform members would 
 have been returned. The publication of Mr. Hume's letter in the interval 
 had alienated many sympathies and lost many votes to the lieform cause. 
 Still, there was a strong tendency throughout the greater part of the 
 Province in the direction of Reform, and the Reformers made unpre- 
 cedented exertions. They succeeded in winning to their side a large 
 number of the Roman Catholic electorate, and they absorbed most of 
 the recent arrivals from beyond sea. Bidwell and Perry were re-elected 
 for Lennox and Addington. William Benjamin Wells, a young lawyer of 
 twenty-five, who afterwards made some mark as a newspaper writer 
 on the Reform side, and from whose " Canadiana " several extracts 
 have already been made in these pages, was returned for the County of 
 Grenville. He was an Upper Canadian by birth, of U. E. Loyalist stock, 
 and the grandson of a volunteer who fought at the siege of Louisbourg. 
 Oxford returned for one of its members Dr. Charles Duncombe, who was 
 destined to take a conspicuous part in the insurrectionary events of two 
 years later. He was a medical practitioner of gi*eat intelligence and 
 wide influence, an eloquent and forcible speaker, and an ardent Reformer. 
 He resided on the Burford Plains, near the present village of Bishopsgate, 
 a few miles west of Brantford. The two members returned for the County 
 of Simcoe represented very nearly the two extremes of political opinion. 
 William Benjamin Robinson, a brother of the Chief Justice, was, as 
 became one of his race, the incarnation of Family Compact Toryism. 
 His colleague was Samuel Lount, whose name, owing to his untimely 
 fate and the melancholy circumstances attending it, arouses a host of 
 sad memories. It may safely be said that of all the victims of the rising 
 of 1837 none has been so sincerely and generally mourned. His execu- 
 tion is justly regarded in the light of a judicial murder and a stain upon 
 our country's annals. As a peculiar interest has ever since attached to 
 his name, and as but little is generally known with respect to him, it 
 
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 278 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 may be proper to record a few particulars. He was born on the banks 
 of the Susquehanna River, in the State of Pennsylvania, on the 24th of 
 September, 1791. His father, Gabriel Lount, was an Englishman, and a 
 native of Bristol, who settled in the United States after the close of the 
 Revolutionary War, and married an American lady of English descent. 
 Gabriel Lount never lost his British proclivities during his residence 
 in the republic, and in the spring of the year 1811, accompanied by 
 his son and the rest of his family, he reraoved to Upper Canada. He 
 settled in the township of Whitchurch, where he practised as a sur- 
 veyor, and in the course of the next fev^ years laid out many official 
 surveys for the Provincial Government. Samuel, prior to his removal 
 to Canada, had learned the trade of a blacksmith, which he carried 
 on for some years at Holland Landing. He had a farm in the same 
 neighbourhood which he cultivated with much pecuniary success. Being 
 a man of great industry and intelligence, he gradually amassed con- 
 siderable property, and became what for those days might be regarded 
 as wealthy. Better still, he acquired the respect and confidence of the 
 people around him, for he was kind-hearted and generous, and spent 
 much of his time in ministering to the necessities of those in-coming 
 settlers who were less advantageously situated than himself. To this 
 day the neighbourhood abounds with traditions of his noble unselfishness, 
 and there are old men and women who, after the lapse of half a century, 
 cannot speak of Samuel Lount without a dimness of vision and a huski- 
 ness of the voice.* Though a zealous loyalist, he was an enthusiastic 
 
 * "To the many poor settlers who came frora Europe, and obtained grants of lands from the 
 government, he was a friend and adviser, and in cases of necessity their wants were supplied 
 from his purse or his granaries. Many is the time, said some of our fellow-priJ^oners, that we 
 have seen him, after the toils of the day were over, leave his home to carry provisions for miles 
 through the pathlass forest, to theehanty of some poor and destitute settler, who with wife and 
 family were rendered by want and sickness utterly destitute. Those acquainted with the history 
 of new settlements need not be told how often those who have been accustomed to bntter days 
 are obliged to embark in a new career of life, the duties of which they are totally ignorant and 
 wholly unfitted for, nor how often sickness in engendered by their great bodily exertions, by 
 neglect and deprivation. In a country like tl (kt in which Mr. Lount was settled, the inhabitants 
 resided far apart, and consisted generally of old, worn, and superannuated British officers, who, 
 at the close of the war, pitched their tents, for the last time, in the wilderness. The sums which 
 they obtained from the sale of their half-pay, almost expended in the transportation of their little 
 families, before arriving on the lands assigned them by government— unfitted, from their former 
 pursuits, to bear the drudgery their new course of life required, it was frequently the case, that 
 
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 Mil. Hume's "baneful domination" letter. 279 
 
 Reformer, and vehemently opposed to the domination of the faction 
 whose selfishness went far to paralyze the life of the Province. He 
 was an excellent speaker, and during election contests did much to 
 awaken public opinion on the fruitful subject of Executive abuses. He 
 now, in response to pressing solicitations, allowed himself to be nomi- 
 nated as a candidate for the representation of Simcoe in the Assembly, 
 and, as has been seen, was returned for that constituency along with an 
 ultra-Tory. In personal appearance he was considerably above the 
 medium height, and of robust figure ; of dark complexion, and with a 
 pleasant, intelligent expression of countenance. 
 
 The County of York, smarting under a sense of indignity and partial 
 disfranchisement, rendered itself specially conspicuous in the contest. 
 During the preceding year an Act * had been passed extending and 
 readjusting the representation of the County, and dividing it for electoral 
 purposes into four Eidings, designated respectively the First, Second, 
 Third and Fourth. Each of these now returned a Radical Reformer. 
 The First Riding returned David Gibson, a land surveyor who resided on 
 Yonge Street, about eight miles north of the city, near the present 
 village of Willowdale. He was of Scottish nationality, having been 
 born in the parish of Glammis, Forfarshire, on the 9th of March, 1804. 
 Within legitimate bounds there was no more pronounced Reformer in 
 the Province than Mr. Gibson, whose house was a sort of rendezvous 
 or place of meeting for party caucuses. He was an honourable and 
 high-minded man, much esteemed by his neighbours, and in high favour 
 with his party. The Second Riding chose Mackenzie. Many of the 
 voters disapproved of some of his acts, but his paper was largely 
 read among them, and it was felt that some recompense was due 
 
 before they cuuld raise anything from their lands, they became perfectly destitute of the neces- 
 Baries of subsiatence. Too proud to seek assistance, they would starve rather than communicate 
 their situation ; but in Lount, their generous neighbour, they found one quick to discover and 
 prompt in affording relief, and he woidd minister to their wants with such delicacy that the most 
 sensitive would experience a pleasure rather than the pang of wounded pride." — Theller's Canada 
 tn 18S7-S8, vol. i., pp. 233, 234. I transfer these remarks, not because I have any respect for 
 Theller's personal testimony on any subject, but because in the present instance his language 
 clearly expresses the general sentiment of the period with regard to Samuel Lount, and is 
 confirmed by the remembrance of many persons still living in and near Holland Landing. 
 *3 Wm. IV., c. 15, passed 13th February, 1833. 
 
 m 
 
^ 
 
 p 
 
 280 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 to him for the indignities which he had suffered. The Third Riding 
 returned Dr. Tliomas David Morrison, of Toronto, who has ah-eady been 
 referred to in connection with the municipal affairs of the city. He was 
 a physician enjoying a good practice; a man of good sense and wise 
 counsels, and a prominent personage in the ranks of Reform. For the 
 Fourth Riding was returned John Mackintosh, a resident of Toronto, 
 and a connexion, by marriage, of Mackenzie. He was a steady Reformer, 
 of no remarkable abilities, who a few months previously had been 
 elected President of the Metropolitan District Reform Convention, and 
 was known to be to a large extent under Mackenzie's control. Such 
 were the four York representatives. 
 
 At the close of the contest the Reformers of the Province had 
 secured a certain majority, which led them to look eagerly forward to 
 the meeting of Parliament, although, with the exception of Bidwell and 
 Perry, their best and most trusted chiefs had no seats therein. Rolph 
 and the Baldwins had positively refused to stand for any of the constitu- 
 encies, although siiongly urged to do so. They seem to have felt 
 that the political pulse was not healthy, and that no credit was to be 
 won, either for themselves or for the Reform cause, while the morbid 
 symptoms continued. The worst symptom of all in their eyes was 
 the ascendency of Mackenzie and his satellites among the rural and 
 uneducated part of the community.* With this ascendency they were 
 wholly out of accord, and they awaited the time when he should find his 
 proper level in public opinion. Dr. Rolph had brought himself to 
 acquiesce in this estimate of Mackenzie with great reluctance ; and it is 
 
 * In the preceding February Dr. Baldwin had thus written in reply to a notification to attend 
 an a delegate at the District Convention : ' * This honour I beg leave to decline, and for this 
 reiison : that having heretofore served the country to the utmost of my humble abilities as their 
 representative in Parliament, with the sincerest integrity of purpose in maintenance of popular 
 rights, unspotted, I trust, by one single vote of a contrary tendency, I, together with many others 
 of the staunchest friends of those rights, experienced such extreme fickleness of popular opinion 
 that this conclusion has long been formed in my mind ; that the great body of the people of this 
 Province (without doubt there are many honourable exceptions), in no wise ignorant of their 
 rights or the great value of them, are nevertheless shamefully indiflEerent into whose hands they 
 commit their preservation and due exercise. Experience alone must teach the people. This 
 experience is coming to them by painful lessons. . . Under these circumstances I beg you 
 will make my apology," etc. The letter appears in the Advocate of March 13th, 1834, following 
 one to a similar purport from Dr. Rolph. 
 
MR. HUME'S " BANEFUL DOMINATION " LETTER. 
 
 281 
 
 
 probable that his strong suspicious of double-dealing in the matter of 
 the mayoralty election had something to do with his change of views. 
 By this time Mackenzie had become tired of publishing the Advocate, 
 which was not a commercial success. Early in November the last 
 number published under his auspices made its appearance, and tlie 
 editor was at liberty to devote his chief energies to his legislative 
 duties.* During the second week in December he and a number of 
 his political friends formed what they called the Canadian Alliance 
 Society, for the promotion of Responsible Government, the abolition 
 of the law of Primogeniture, the secularization of the Clergy Reserves, 
 and other needful reforms, most of which have since been conceded. 
 At the beginning of the new year (1835) Mackenzie again offered himself 
 as a candidate for the representation of St. David's Ward in the City 
 Council of Toronto, but he was defeated by Robert Baldwin Sullivan, 
 a brilliant Toronto lawyer, and a kinsman of Robert Baldwin. The 
 Council elected the successful candidate as mayor for the ensuing year. 
 
 * It was continued for some time after by another hand, under the name of The Correspondent 
 and Advocate. 
 
 t 
 
 m 
 
 \m 
 
 'p. i 
 
 * 
 
 S! i. 
 
1 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 1835. 
 
 SEE, THE CONQUERING HERO COMES ! 
 
 JARLIAMENT met on the 15th of January, 1835, when the 
 Reform majority in the Assembly were able to once more 
 elect Mr. Bidwell to the Speakership. The vote stood thirty- 
 one to twenty-seven. Among the minority were five or six 
 Conservative members who repudiated the name of Tory, and 
 were opposed to the policy of the official party, to whom, as has been 
 seen,* they merely yielded a qualified support as the less of two evils. 
 Such being the state of affairs in the Assembly, the Compact party 
 were of course precluded from making any further serious attempts 
 to keep Mackenzie out of the House. The proceedings of previous sessions 
 relative to the several expulsions were upon motion of Mackenzie himself 
 expunged from the journals of the House. The baneful domination letter 
 was made the subject of a long discussion, in the course of which 
 Mackenzie received some exceedingly hard hits from Solicitor-General 
 Hagerman ; but as he had been manifestly in the wrong in giving pub- 
 licity to that letter, and as he had been disciplined by members of his 
 party to keep silence in the event of an attack on that score, he sat 
 quietly through the Solicitor-General's onslaught. 
 
 The most important proceedings of the session, and the only ones of 
 which it is necessary to take cognizance in these pages, were those 
 relating to the Seventh Report of the Grievance Committee, to which 
 frequent reference has already been made. On Friday, the 23rd of Jan- 
 uary, Mackenzie moved for and obtained the appointment of a Special 
 Committee on Grievances, with power to send for persons, papers and 
 
 *Ante, pp. 231, 232. 
 
 I 
 
SEE, THE CONQUERING HERO COMES 1 
 
 283 
 
 recorda, and with authority to report to the House fi-om time to time by 
 bill, address or otherwise. Mackenzie himself acted as Chairman of 
 the Committee, the other members of which, as finally struck, were 
 Dr. Morrison, David Gibson and Charles Waters, one of the members 
 for Prescott. The famous Seventh Report, which did more to arouse the 
 Home Government on the subject of Upper Canadian affairs than all 
 previous efiforts in that direction, was completed and presented to the 
 Assembly on Friday, the 10th of April. It was a truly formidable indict- 
 ment. It recapitulated the various grievances under which the Province 
 laboured, and which called loudly for remedy. These have been already 
 set forth in former chapters of the present work, and need not here be 
 enlarged upon. The prevailing tone of the Report was temperate and 
 ealm, and there is little or nothing in it to which serious exception can 
 be taken, although, as may easily be discerned from internal evidence, 
 the compilers felt strongly the importance of a vivid presentation of their 
 case. The Report proper occupies only fifteen folio pages of the appendix 
 to the official journals of the session; but the evidence taken by the 
 Committee, and the various letters, papers and documents which go to 
 make up the mass of valuable information submitted to the Assembly, 
 extend to voluminous dimensions. In addition to the copies printed for 
 insertion in the appendix to the journal, two thousand copies of the 
 complete work were issued separately in octavo form for distribution. 
 It thus obtained a considerable circulation throughout the Province ; and 
 a copy was also sent to each member of the British House of Commons. 
 The first copy that left the binder's hands was forwarded to the Colonial 
 Secretary. All the most pressing grievances were dealt with in greater 
 or less detail, but special prominence was given to the necessity for a 
 responsible Government — a Government responsible to public opinion, 
 which must cease to exist when it ceases to command popular con- 
 fidence. The wished-for settlement of this important question would 
 necessarily comprehend and include the removal of many of the most 
 glaring abuses to which the people of the Province had long been subject 
 and the Reform party were keenly alive to the importance of obtaining 
 the concession. More than a third of the Report proper was devoted to 
 dealing with the question in its various aspects, and it was shown that 
 
284 
 
 THE UPf'FR CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 the Provincial Executive were not only impervious to public opinion, but 
 were also i-oiuly enough to disregard the views of the Home Government 
 itself when those views failed to coincide with their own plans for self- 
 aggrandizement. Some of the evidence taken was of the most com- 
 promising character, while the refusal of leading members of the 
 Compact to answer certain questions propounded to them did not tend 
 to place matters in a more favourable light. Archdeacon Strachan's 
 response to many of the questions put to him amounted to a practical 
 contempt of the Committee. "I do not answer that question." — "I have 
 no answer to give." — "I refer you to the Constitutional Act." — "I cannot 
 answer that question, owing to its assumptions, which I do not admit." 
 Such are a few of his replies. The whole of his examination is worth 
 reading, as exemplifying how far an intelligent man will sometimes 
 permit bigotry and intolerance to gain possession of his soul. Indeed, 
 the evidence of all the witnesses may be read with profit by those who 
 wish to gain a full insight into the state of the Province at that time, 
 and to fully appreciate the necessity which existed for a change in the 
 mode of conducting public affairs. 
 
 The report, though presented to the Assembly as above intimated, 
 does not appear to have been formally adopted during the session, 
 but the passing of the order for the printing of it, together with two 
 thousand extra copies, amounted to a practical adoption, and was probably 
 so considered. The Committee could easily have secured its adoption, 
 for the vote on the Speakership had not fully represented the strength 
 of the Opposition, who on several questions were able to command a 
 majority of from ten to eleven. But the fact was again brought vividly 
 home to the Keform party that mere success at the polls had availed them 
 little. Notwithstanding the numerical minority of the official party in the 
 Assembly, they continued to exercise supreme power, and to strengthen 
 themselves by the constant dispensing of patronage. They controlled 
 the Legislative Council, and could thus control the legislative powers of 
 the Assembly, independently of any question of the numerical strength 
 or weakness of the Opposition in that House. The Legislative Council 
 now assumed an attitude of determined antagonism to the popular voice, 
 and would entertain no legislation of a liberal character. The vivid 
 
SEE, THE CONQUERINO HERO COMES ! 285 
 
 
 I 
 
 realization of these facts gave a keen edge to the remarks on Responsible 
 Government in the Grievance Committee's Report. An Address setting 
 forth these various discouragements was forwarded to His Majesty by the 
 Assembly. The language was respectful but firm, and it was hinted 
 that, if a remedy were not provided, reaort would have to be had to the 
 extreme measure of withholding the usual supplies. Earnest petitions 
 to His Majesty were at the same time sent across the Atlantic from 
 some of the rural districts, praying that the principles of the British 
 constitution might be applied to Canadian affairs. 
 
 The Address and petitions were accompanied by the fullest docu- 
 mentary and other evidence, and, in conjunction with the Grievance \i'[\ 
 Committee's Report, they stored the Home Government to action. \\' 
 The Colonial Secretaryship had changed hands more than once since || i 
 Mr. Stanley's tenure of office. The incumbent at this time, and for 
 several years afterwards, was Lord Glenelg. His Lordship gave much 
 consideration to the Report, and laid it before the King in person. 
 
 The Home Government had by this time fully realized that there was i 
 
 much well-grounded discontent in the Canadas, and that something 
 
 must be done to allay it. It was clear that the Reformers were justified ; 
 
 in at least some of their demands, and that reasonable concessions i 
 
 should be made to them. This conviction led to an ungracious corres- \ 
 
 pondence between the Colonial Office and Sir John Colborne,* who, 
 owing, as is to be presumed, to the advice of Chief Justice Robinson 
 and Archdeacon Strachan, was very reluctant to make concessions as 
 suggested. As this reluctance was made manifest in the course of the 
 correspondence, the Colonial Secretary resolved upon His Excellency's 
 recall. Sir John had been appointed by a Tory Government, the 
 traditions of ?Fhich had been pretty well swept away by the effect of the 
 Reform Bill. His mode of conducting the Provincial Administration may 
 perhaps be to some extent palliated by the circumstances attending his 
 appointment. But a Whig Government had now been for some time in 
 power, and an effete colonial policy could not be permitted to be main- 
 tained to the detriment of colonial loyalty. If Sir John Colborne was 
 
 * See Report of a Select Committee of the Eoiue of Assembly on tfie Political State of the Provinces 
 of Upper and Lower Canada, p. 2ff. Toronto, 1838. 
 
286 
 
 Tin; UITKU CANADIAN llEUELLION. 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 1 
 
 ! 
 
 p 
 
 not nmonablo to Whig discnplino he must mako way for some one 
 of a moro i)laHtic mind. Ho was meanwhile instructed to diday the 
 assonibling of the Logislaturo until the Home Govornmeut could fully 
 consider the aspect of affairs, and take such stops for the redress of 
 the Provincial grievances as might seem advisable. 
 
 Having arrived at this conclusion, the Colonial Secrotai'y began to 
 look about hiiu for a successor to Sir John Colborno. It was not easy 
 to find one in all respects suitable, for the appointment was not a prize 
 of such magnitude as to attract persons of really lirst-rato abilities. 
 There seems good reason to believe that the place was offered to at least 
 two fairly competent public servants, both of whom declined it.* In 
 view of his subsequent conduct, it is fair to assume that Lord (llenelg 
 was sincerely anxious to do his best for Upper Canada, and to confer the 
 appointment upon the best man within his reach. How ignominiously 
 ho failed to carry out his wishes in this particular is known to every 
 student of Upper Canadian history ; but what is not known, either to 
 students of history or anyone else, is — What was the motive powoi 
 which directed his choice ? J3y what whimsical combination of circum- 
 stances it came about that the appointment was linally offered to, and 
 accepted by, one of the most unlikely men in the three kingdoms, is one 
 of those ollicial riddles which appear to defy solution. The fact remains, 
 that the post of Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada was confeirod upon 
 Sir Francis Bond Head, a Knight of the lloyal Hanoverian Guelphic 
 Order, a retired half-pay Major, an Assistant Poor-Law Commissioner 
 for one of the Kentish districts, and the author of several entertaining 
 but exceedingly superficial books of travel. To no one was the appoint- 
 ment a greater surprise than to Sir Francis himself. He must have 
 felt the utter absiu'dity of the thing — that he had no claim to such a 
 post, and was disqualified from filling it with credit. He neither knew 
 nor cared anything about Canada. He was altogether ignorant of 
 politics. Ho had never joined any political party; never attended a 
 political discussion ; never oven voted at an election or taken any part 
 in one.f So far as any knowledge of the British constitution was 
 
 •See liouyh yotes on Head's Narrative, by a Liberal, p. 17. Loadou, 1840. 
 + Seo his Narrative, Chapter III. 
 
SKE, THK CONQUERINO UKUO COMES ! 
 
 287 
 
 conconiod, ho liad as little as any Kuslislnuan of docont odiu'atiou 
 ooiiM possibly liavo. llo had no claim upon the Govorinuent ; was not 
 ac(iiiainted with any nienibor of it ; and had novor ho nuich au seen 
 Lord (ilenclg in his life* It is certainly not Btran;j;e that ho should 
 have been, as ho says,} " alto}i;othor at a loss to conceive" why this 
 appointment should have been offered to him. 
 
 From tliat day down to the present time the circumstance has puzzled 
 wiser heads than his, and there have been various attempts to solve the 
 mystery. A tradition is said to bo current in the Colonial Oi'tice that the 
 apiiointment was the result of a snij^ular miHa[)pruhension of identity, 
 and the late Mr. lloobuck assiu d Sir Francis llincks that such was 
 really the fact. I A " distinjjtuished Imperial statesman" also assured 
 Sir Francis that he had heard the same statement,!} which was to the 
 effect that the person for whom the appointment was really intended was 
 the kinsman of Sir Francis, afterwards Sir Fidmund Walker Head, 
 Governor-General of Canada. It is said that at a meeting of the Cabinet, 
 while the selection of a successor to Sir John Colborno was under con- 
 sideration, one of the Ministers suggested that " young Head " would be 
 a likely man for the position — the person meant being ]*jdmund Walker 
 Head, who was even then known as possessing wide political knowledge, 
 in so far, at least, as such knowledge can be obtained from books. 
 Edmund was moreover known to many public men in Great Britain as 
 an able writer on political subjects, and was a prott%«^ of the Marquis of 
 Lausdowne, who was at this time President of the Council, and, by conse- 
 quence, a colleague of Lord Glonelg. l^jdmund, as well as Francis, was 
 a I'oor-Law Commissioner, though he occupied a more exalted position 
 than his kinsman. Thus, it is argued, there was some show of excuse 
 for confusing the one with the other. Lord (-ikmelg, so the story goes, took 
 the suggestion of his colleague as applying to Sir Francis, and acted upon 
 it ; and before the error was discovered the appointment had been offered 
 to and accepted by the wrong man.|| How much truth there may be in 
 
 • JVatrattV, Chapter II. t^. 
 
 tSee lieminiscmces oj his Public Life, by Sir Franots Hinoks, K.0.M.O,, O.B., p. 14. 
 Montreal, 1884. §76., p. 16. 
 
 IISoo The Canaiiian Portrait OalUry, vol. Iv., p. 172. 
 
1 1 
 
 i . 
 
 r 1 ■ ■ 
 
 { 
 
 ''■1 '' 
 
 m' 
 
 288 
 
 THE UPPER CANA;DIAN REBELLION. 
 
 this account of the matter it is not easy to say. Such a blunder would 
 imply an amount of carelessness barely conceivable in the management 
 of an important Department of the State. Sir Francis Hincks, however, 
 who has enjoyed exceptional opportunities of discussing the story with 
 leading English statesmen, is strongly disposed to believe it.* Whatever 
 opinion may be formed as to its truth or falsity, certain it is that Sir 
 Francis Bond Head received the appointment, and that his conduct in 
 Upper Canada did more to alienate the minds of the colonists generally 
 than anything which had been done by either Sir John Colborne or Sir 
 Peregrine Maitland. There is this to be said on his behalf: that he 
 came to Canada at a very critical time — at a time when diplomatic 
 shrewdness and statesmanlike sagacity were imperatively demanded of 
 one occupying the position of Lieutenant-Governor. Injustice had so 
 long borne sway in the land that many of the inhabitants had ceased to 
 hope for better times. Many despaired of the future, and a few, whose 
 natural element was opposition, had little desire to be conciliated.! 
 Even a born statesman would have found his task by no means a 
 sinecure. 
 
 To statesmanship no shadow of pretence could be made on behalf 
 of Sir Francis Head. The texture of his mind was light and airy. 
 He was inordinately vain and self-conscious ; and, as has been seen, 
 he was devoid of political knowledge and experience. The whole 
 course of his previous life had been of a character to render him 
 unfit for such greatness as was now thrust upon him. A considerable 
 part of it had been spent in travel and adventure, and very little of 
 it in study. He had left school at an early age, since which time he 
 
 * Reminiscenca, etc., pp. 14, 16. 
 
 tThe Cc'-tnial Office could not even plead, in extenuation of such a fatal blunder as the 
 appointment of Sir F. B. Head, that it was unaware of the importance of the crisis in colonial 
 affairs. In the beginning of the instructions prepared for Sir Francis, dated " Downing Street, 
 December 15th, 1835," the following words may be found: "I have the honour herewith to 
 transmit to you a Commission, under His Majesty's sign-manual, appointing you Lieutenant- 
 Governor of the Province of Upper Canada. You have been selected for this office at an era of 
 more difficulty and importance than any which has hitherto occurred in the history it that part 
 of His Majesty's dominions. The expression of confidence in your discretion and ability which 
 the choice implies would only be weakened by any more formal assurance which I could convey 
 to you." What a commentary upon such language was furnished by tht mere fact of the 
 appointment of such an one as Sir Francis Head 1 
 
SEE, THE CONQUERING HERO COMES ! 
 
 289 
 
 had encountered innumerable moving accidents by flood and field in 
 various parts of the world. He had received a certain amount of 
 training at the Military Academy at Woolwich, and had obtained a 
 commission in the Royal Engineers in his nineteenth year. He had 
 seen some active service in Spain towards the close of the Peninsular 
 War ; had been present at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, and had fought at 
 Fleurus under the Prussian General Ziethan, where he had had his horse 
 shot under him. After the restoration of peace he had for some time 
 been engaged in making a trigonometrical survey of the island of Lampe- 
 doza, in the Mediterranean. Thence he had embarked in a Greek vessel 
 for Tripoli; had been nearly wrecked through the skipper's intemperance, 
 and had finally been put ashore at Malta. He had also been Byron- 
 smitten, and had followed in the wake of the author of " Childe Harold " 
 to the Levant; had contemplated "the Niobe of nations" among the 
 ruins of Rome ; had witnessed the dance of the dervishes amid the fallen 
 temples of Athens ; and had " felt his patriotism gain force upon the plain 
 of Marathon."* He had twice visited South America as the agent of a 
 company formed for the working of certain gold and silver mines, and 
 known as the Rio de la Plata Mining Association. During one of these 
 expeditions he had ridden on horseback from the port of Buenos Ayres 
 across the pampas to the silver mines of Upsallata, near the foot of the 
 Andes, whence, without any companion whatever, he had galloped back 
 to Buenos Ayres — a distance of nearly a thousand miles — in the brief 
 space of eight days. Then he had retraced his course across the pampas, 
 and, collecting a party of miners at Mendoza, had conducted them over the 
 Andes to Santiago, the capital of Chili. After "prospecting" the country 
 in various directions, he had ridden back across the Andes and the 
 pampas to Buenos Ayres, having traversed six thousand miles on horse- 
 back in an inconceivably short time. His "Rough Notes" contains a 
 graphic account of this expedition, and is very interesting reading. It 
 won for him wide notoriety, and led to his being commonly referred to in 
 the current literature of the time as " Galloping Head." His adventurous 
 
 • See a brief account of Sir F. B. Head's life published in The Courier of Upper Canada of 
 Juno 11th, 1836, written by Alan Fairford {John Kent), and prefixed, with notes, to the collec- 
 tion of his Excellency's Speeches, Mesiaga aiui Replies, published at Toronto during the same year. 
 
 I I 
 
:M 
 
 1 
 
 290 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 career had left an indelible stamp upon his character. He was rash, 
 impetuous,, inconsiderate and superficial, fond of producing dramatic 
 effects, and ever with an eye to some coup de th^dtre. He had not been a 
 Foor-Law Commissioner loi;g enough to have become thoroughly settled 
 down when a king's messenger arrived at his Kentish abode about 
 midnight, with a missive offering him the appointment of Li^utenant- 
 Governor of Upper Canada. He seems to have at first had sufficient 
 good senee to decline the proffered honour ; but he allowed himself to 
 be talked into accepting it by Lord Glenelg and his under-secretary, 
 Mr. Stephen. As I have said elsewhere: "The result of an appointment 
 made under such circumstances was disaster to the Province, and some- 
 thing nearly approaching ignominy to himself. As a civil administrator 
 in a disturbed and grievance-ridden colony, he was altogether out of his 
 proper element, and furnished a signal instance of the round peg in the 
 square hole. His administration extended over little more than two 
 years, but during that period he contrived to embroil himself with his 
 own Executive, with the Home Government from which he had received 
 his appointment, and with pretty nearly every one who was desirous of 
 promoting the cause of political liberty in Upper Canada. He also 
 contrived to do an amount of mischief which left traces behind it for 
 many years after he had ceased to have any control over Canadian affairs. 
 And yet it would be most unjust to represent him as a deliberately bad 
 or ill-intentioned man. He was simply a weak man out of his proper 
 sphere." * That a man of such mental endowments should have been 
 sent out to stem the tide of Upper Canadian discontent, and to con- 
 ciliate noisy Eadicals of the Mackenzie stamp, is in itself sufficient proof 
 that a huge official blunder of some sort was committed. What was 
 wanted was a statesman, and a man of Liberal political views. Had 
 there been any, even the slightest inquiry, it would have been ascer- 
 tained that Sir Francis hardly knew the meaning of the word statesman, 
 and that he had no political views whatever. It is hardly going too far 
 to say that on all current political subjects, whether pertaining to the 
 colonies or the mother country, his mind was little more than a blank. 
 
 • CaTiadian Portrait Gallery, Vol. II., p. 1(39, where the sentences above quoted form part of 
 a tolerably full sketch of the life of Sir F. B. Head. 
 
SEE, THE COXQUERINQ HERO COMES! 
 
 291 
 
 Lord Glenelg had an elaborate paper of instructions prepared for 
 the new Lieutenant-Governor. This was intended as the Imperial 
 response to the strong representations which had been received from 
 Upper Canada in the course of the year. Sir Francis was directed 
 to communicate the substance of his instructions to both Houses of the 
 Provincial Parliament. Having been schooled for a few days by Mr. 
 Stephen, and having gone down to Brighton and been presented to the 
 King, he set sail, with his suite, from Liverpool for Canada, by way of 
 New York. While crossing the Atlantic he devoted some time to study- 
 ing his instructions, together with the Seventh Report of the Grievance 
 Committee, with which he had been provided at the Colonial office.* 
 Upon arriving at New York he pushed on to his final destination. 
 " There would be no end to this chapter," he writes, in the third chapter of 
 his "Narrative," "were I to describe the simplicity of mind, ill-naturedly 
 called ignorance, with which I approached the city of Toroi'to. With 
 Mr. Mackenzie's heavy book of lamentations in my portmanteaiv and 
 with my remedial instructions in my writing case, I considered myself as 
 a political physician, who, whether regulai'ly educated or not, was about 
 to effect a surprising cure ; for, as I never doubted for a moment either 
 the existence of the 553 pages of grievances, nor that I would mercilessly 
 destroy them, root and branch, I felt perfectly confident that I should 
 very soon be able proudly to report that the grievances of Upper Canada 
 were defunct — in fact, that I had veni-ed, vidi-ed and vici-ed them." 
 Infatuated man, to compare himself to Csesar, even in this half-jocular 
 manner, at such a time, and to suppose that the bitter animosities which 
 had been accumulating for the best part of a generation could be swept 
 out of existence at the mere wave of the hand of such a weak substitute 
 for " the mighty Julius " as he ! 
 
 He reached Toronto on the 23rd of January, 1830. Sir John 
 Colborne was just ready to take his departure, to the great regret 
 of the official party, and very much to the delight of the Reformers, who 
 had been led to believe that the in-coming Lieutenant-Governor was a 
 
 1836. 
 
 *He seems to have been provided with a duplicate copy by Joseph Hume. Se^that gentle- 
 man's letter to Mackenzie, dated 5th December, 1833, and included in the third chapter of 
 Head's Narrative. 
 

 
 il tli 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 II 
 
 ''' l^m 
 
 ■i' ^^^H 
 
 Jl; 
 
 292 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 thorough-going Liberal, sent over expressly to redress their grievances, 
 and to hurl the Compact from the s'^at of power which th-^y had so long 
 usurped. Parliament had been assembled on the 14th of the month, 
 and had ever since been expecting the arrival of the King's new repre- 
 sentative. As for Sir John Colborne, he was in no good humour with 
 the Imperial Government, although his rigid ideas as to discipline 
 prevented him from giving utterance to his displeasure except to some 
 of the members of the Executive, and even to them his views were 
 imparted with great caution, and in the strictest secrecy.* In conse- 
 quence of his unsatisfactory communications from the Colonial Office, he 
 had for some time felt his position growing more and more uncomfortable, 
 and had solicited his recall ; but his deposition had been fully resolved 
 upon before the receipt of his request by the Colonial Secretary. He 
 had served out his full term of six years, and somewhat more, so that 
 his removal did not imply any reflection upon him. His nature and 
 training unfitted him to caiTy out the projects of Reform which it had 
 been determined to set on foot, but, in his proper sphere, he was 
 recognized as a valuable public servant, who had all his life done his 
 duty according to the light which had been vouchsafed to him. The 
 leading spirits of the ruling party in the Province contemplated his 
 departure with gloomy forebodings. They also had been led to suppose 
 that Sir Francis Head was a Reformer of wide experience, who was 
 coming among them to introduce a new order of things. They resolved 
 to put forth one great effort while the chance remained to them. They 
 induced Sir John, before his departure, to perpetrate what may fitly be 
 characterized as the most unstatesmanlike act of his life : an act which 
 aroused a perfect transport of public indignation, and caused the name 
 of the perpetrator to be execrated throughout the length and breadth of 
 the Province. 
 
 It will be remembered thatt provision had been made by the Consti- 
 tutional Act for the creation and endowment, out of the lands reserved for 
 the support of a Protestant Clergy, of parsonages or rectories, according 
 
 •See Report of a Select Committee of the Assembly, etc., 183S. Sea also The Rector ff Question, 
 p. 2. Toronto, 1836. 
 t Ante, p. 63. 
 
\^' 
 
 SEE, THE CONQUKKINO HKRO COMES ! 
 
 293 
 
 to the establishment of the Cburch of England. The discussion to which 
 the Clergy Reserves had rop'jatedly given rise had prevented any advantage 
 being taken of this authority. Nearly half a century had elapsed since the 
 passing of the Constitutional Act, and as the power had been allowed to 
 remain uuexercisrd during all that time, there was good reason to believe 
 that there would be no attempt to put it in operation, more especially in 
 view of the strong feeling entertained with regard to the Reserves, and 
 of the fact that the Provincial Parliament had been requested by the 
 Imperial Government to legislate on the subject. Previous Colonial 
 Secretaries, Lord Goderich among the number, had given what might 
 fairly be construed as pledges on the part of the Imperial Government 
 that no steps would be taken with respect to the disposal of any part of 
 the Reserves, unless in accord with the views of a majority of the Upper 
 Canadian people. Yet Sir John allowed himself to be persuaded into 
 creating and endowing forty-four rectories* with more that 17,000 acres 
 of laud, giving an average of about 386 acres to each. These were put 
 in possession of clergymen, who were thus enabled to acquire such a 
 personal vested and possessory interest in the lands as, it was believed, 
 would enable them to make good their titles thereto in a "court of law. 
 
 This most reprehensible " clerical land grab " was made on the 
 15th of January, eight days before the arrival of Sir John Colborne's 
 successor, and while Sir Francis was actually en route for Toronto. 
 It was thus one of Sir John's last official acts. It is said that he 
 was with difficulty brought to accede to the advice of his Council on 
 the subject. He at all events seemed to feel that his creation of the 
 rectories was an extraordinary act, and he took care to say nothing 
 about the matter to the Imperial Government, who did not discover 
 the facts until Sir Francis Head had been for some time in office. 
 That the creation and endowment of the rectories were the means of 
 greatly intensifying the general discontent throughout the Province, and 
 
 •The intention was to create fifty-seven rectories, and patents for that number were actually 
 made out, but thirteen of them were left unsigned by the Lieutenant-Governor, and the authorities 
 refused to complete them or to admit their validity. See The Rectories of Upper Cnnaia, being a 
 Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons, etc. Colonial Office, Downinsf 
 Street, 1839. See also The Last Forty Years, vol. ii., p. 199 : Religious Endowments in Canada; a 
 Chapter of Canadian History, by Sir Francis Hincks, K.C.M.G., C.B. ; London, 1869. 
 

 
 294 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 that they were thus factors in bringinq about the Rebellion, is beyond 
 question ; though to say, as has been said by Mackenzie and others, 
 that they were the j^rime factors, is to talk nonsense. The sequel of 
 the story may as well be briefly outlined here. The Executive Council 
 kept the matter secret as long as they could, but it was of such a nature 
 that its early disclosure was inevitable. The transaction became public 
 property in the course of the spring, soon after the close of the session 
 of Parliament. No sooner did it become known than the public indig- 
 nation began to manifest itself in lurid speeches and newspaper articles. 
 Meetings were held to denounce Sir John Golborne and those who had 
 prompted him to this high-handed iniquity. The Wesleyan Methodist 
 Conference and the Synod of the Church of Scotland in Upper Canada, 
 if agreeing on no other subject, were of one mind as to this, and officially 
 pronounced upon it with a vehemence which commended itself to popular 
 opinion. Petitions without number were sent over the sea. ** The Impe- 
 rial Government," says Mr. Lindsey,* "was besieged with petitions, 
 praying for the annulment of the rectories. The temper of the public 
 mind became imbued with that sullenness which a sense of injury begets, 
 and which forebodes the approach of civil commotion. It was the idea 
 of violated Imperial faith ; of a broken compact between the Sovereign 
 and his Canadian subjects, that constituted the sting of the injury. The 
 people recurred to the promise of Lord Goderich that their wishes should 
 be the Sovereign's guide in the matter, and regarded themselves as the 
 victims of a deception which brought dishonour on the Crown and dis- 
 trust on Imperial faith." The Home Government were in two minds 
 about repudiating the transaction. The right of the Lieutenant-Governor 
 to create and endow without the express assent of the King was not per- 
 fectly clear, and the Law Officers of the Crown were consulted on the 
 question. Those gentlemen, on the case submitted for their considera- 
 tion, pronounced the opinion that there had been an excess of authority, 
 and that the creation and endowment were invalid. Dr. Strachan, 
 upon becoming acquainted with this circumstance, prepared a report 
 embodying certain facts and documents which had not been before the 
 
 ♦ See The Clergy Reserves, their History and Present Position, by Charles Lindsey, pp. 30, 31. 
 Toronto, 1851. 
 
SEE, THE CONQUERING HERO COMES 
 
 29n 
 
 Law Officers, to whom the caae was now submitted a second time. The 
 additional dt.,ta placed a different face upon the question, and the Law 
 Officers arrived at a conclusion contrary to that which they had formerly 
 expressed. The grantees were accordingly permitted to retain their 
 property undisturbed, but the name of Sir John Colborne continued to 
 be execrated in Upper Canada for his share in the transaction for many 
 a year.* 
 
 ♦It has not baen deemed necessary to go very fully into the Rectory question in these pages. 
 Anyone deairlng to do go will find very full details in the varioui authorities abov« olted. 
 
f 
 
 I: 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 i! 
 
 "A TRIED REFORMER." 
 
 TR FRANCIS HEAD, upon reaching Toronto on Saturday, 
 the 23rd of January, temporarily took up hia quarters at 
 a hotel, where apartments had been engaged for him. He 
 was not a little surprised, as he rode along the streets, to 
 see himself placarded in large letters on the walls as " Sir 
 Francis Head, a Tried Reformer." What a farce the thing 
 must have appeared in his ej es, knowing, as he did, that 
 up to the date of receiving the king's messenger, he had never read 
 a page of practical politics ; that he had never recorded a political vote, 
 and that he was at this present moment, to use his own frank expression, 
 no more connected with human politics than the horses that were draw- 
 ing him ! How he must have marvelled at Fate for playing hira such 
 a trick ! On the same day, at the urgent request of Sir John Colborne, 
 he removed to Government House. On Monday, the 25th, he was 
 sworn into office as Lieutenant-Governor; and on Tuesday Sir John 
 and his family took their departure for Montreal. The Compact took 
 care that their staunch friend should not leave the seat of his Govern- 
 ment without some mark of what might pass for popular favour. A 
 crowd of persons was got together to cheer as Sir John passed along the 
 streets on his way eastward, and a stranger might have been excused for 
 believing that the ex-Lieutenant-Governor was regarded by the populace 
 with feelings of the warmest affection. He proceeded to Montreal, and 
 had arranged to sail from New York for England, when he received a 
 despatch appointing him Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Canada. 
 He accordingly repaired to Quebec, the capital of the Lower Province, 
 
"A TRIED REFOUMEU." 297 
 
 which was already in a state of ferment, and preparing for the outburBt 
 wliich ensued towards the close of the following year. 
 
 Sir Francis being now formally installed in office, an era of Reform 
 was commonly supposed to have begun. His manner and address 
 wore in the highest degree pleasing, and he at first produced a most 
 favourable impression upon all who came within the immediate circle 
 of his influence. The Reform press sang pseans in his praise. He 
 had no sooner received his appointment than Joseph Hume had written 
 to Mackenzie congratulating the Province on the circumstance, and 
 stating that the conduct and principles of Sir Francis had been much 
 approved of. "My anxiety is," wrote Mr. Hume, "that you and all 
 the Reformers should receive Sir Francis in the best possible manner, 
 and do everything consistent with principle to meet his views and 
 wishes."* The fact was that Mr. Hume was in precisely the same 
 condition as Lord Glenelg himself with respect to Sir Francis : that is 
 to say, he knew nothing whatever about him. He seems to have very 
 unwisely taken it for granted that the new Lieutenant-Governor was a 
 good man for the position because he had been appointed under Whig 
 auspices. His letter found its way into all the Reform newspapers in 
 Upper Canada, and Sir Francis had no reason to complain of the treat- 
 ment he received at their hands. He was welcomed as the " Tried 
 Reformer " for whom they had so long prayed in vain. The Tories and 
 Conservatives, on the other hand, naturally regarded him with consider- 
 able apprehension. They entertained no doubt that his advent boded 
 their downfall; but they were too wise to betray any solicitude, and 
 quietly waited the march of events. Parliament being in session, he 
 received from both Houses congratulatory addresses upon his assumption 
 of the Government. On the 27th he went down to the Council Chamber, 
 and made a brief and rather meaningless speech to the Legislature.! 
 "As regards myself," said he, "I have nothing either to promise or 
 
 * See the letter, in Head's Narrative, chap. iii. 
 
 tThis proceeding was not relished by the Assembly. Sir John Colborne had already 
 delivered one Speech from the Throne at the opening of the session, and this delivery of a second 
 one was resented as a breach of privilege. After much time had been wasted in discussion, a 
 precedent for the Lieutenant-Governor's action was found under date of December, 17G5, and the 
 matter was allowed to drop. 
 
208 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAK REBELLION. 
 
 In ) 
 
 profess, but I trust I shall not call in vain upon you to Rive me that 
 loyal, constitutional, unbiassed and fearless assistance which your King 
 expects, and which the rising interests of your country require." He 
 had been directed by Lord Glenelg to communicate to the Provincial 
 Legislature the substance of his instructions. He not only communi- 
 cated the substance, but a verbatim copy of the letter itself, together 
 with a copy of the appendix, to each of the Houses. By this injudicious 
 proceeding he caused no little embarrassment to the Colonial Secretary, 
 and proved his utter want of experience in diplomatic afifairs.* Lord 
 Glenelg, in common with the official world of Great Britain generally, 
 felt and expressed strong disapprobation of this extraordinary conduct 
 on the part of the Lieutenant-Governor, who ought to have been recalled 
 for this act alone, and probably would have been but for the difficulty of 
 finding a competent man to succeed him. 
 
 A certain space must be devoted to an examination of these instruc- 
 tions. Speaking generally, it may be premised that they showed a 
 disposition to conciliate the discontent of the colonists, but only after 
 a partial and piecemeal fashion, such as might be exercised towards 
 persons in a state of tutelage. It was evident that the Home Govern- 
 ment regarded the colonists as persons who had not reached full political 
 stature, who were not in all cases able to judge as to what was best for 
 themselves, and who needed the constant supervision of calmer and 
 loftier intelligences than their own. In reply to the allegation that the 
 number of public offices in the colony was in excess of the people's needs, 
 it was said that in Upper Canada, as in other new countries, the number 
 of public employments was necessarily larger in proportion than in older 
 and more densely-peopled states. " In the early stages of such a society," 
 wrote Lord Glenelg, " many duties devolve upon the Government which, 
 at a more advh,nced period, are undertaken by the better educated and 
 wealthier classes, as an honourable occupation of their leism-e time." 
 He went on to say that His Majesty's Government were not solicitous 
 
 * In the third chapter of his Narrative Sir Francis attempts to excuse himself for this sense- 
 less act. The reader who thinks it worth while to consult the rhetorical plea there attempted to 
 be set up will recall Pembroke's dictum, in King John, that 
 
 " oftentimes excusing of a fault 
 
 Doth make the fault the worse by the excuse." 
 
A TRIED REFORMER." 299 
 
 
 to retain more patronage than was neceBsary for the people's welfare, 
 but that tlie selection of public officers must be entrusted to the head of 
 the local Government, and could not wisely be exercised in any form of 
 popular election, or committed to any popular body. Such exercise or 
 transfer, it was suggested, would be destructive of responsibility and 
 discipline. This doctrine was laid down as a general rule of action, but 
 any wish to urge it beyond its just and necessary limits was expressly 
 disclaimed, aipd it was even suggested that there were cases in which the 
 doctrine might be contravened. There was no attempt to go into details 
 as to specific cases, but it was stated as a general principle that whatever 
 patronage was necessary to maintain perfect subordination to the prero- 
 gatives of the Crown must bo retained, and that whatever was unneces- 
 sary for that purpose should be abandoned. His Excellency was directed 
 to review and consider the subject with diligence, and to report the result 
 of his investigation. Should he meanwhile deem it wise to reduce the 
 number of offices, either by abolition or consolidation, he was authorized 
 to exercise his discretion in that respect, but any appointment made 
 under such circumstances was to be merely provisional, and subject to 
 cancellation by the Home Government. In the selection of persons for 
 public offices his Excellency was to be guided exclusively by the com- 
 parison of the claims of the candidates by reason of past services or 
 personal qualifications; and as a general rule no person was to be 
 appointed to office who was not either a native of the Province or a 
 settled inhabitant of it. Exceptions to this latter rule were admitted 
 where a knowledge of some particular art or science was demanded, and 
 where no Provincial candidate could be found possessing the necessary 
 qualifications. His Excellency was also left free from restriction in the 
 choice of those officers immediately attached to his own person. There 
 were various other directions, not necessary to be specified, on the subjects 
 of patronage and pensions, salaries and fees, and the Provincial Post 
 Office. The Clergy Eeserves question was dealt with in the most general 
 manner, no definite course being suggested; and the instructions on 
 this subject are absolutely devoid of historical or other value. With 
 regard to the Land-Granting Department, it was assumed that some of 
 the grievances had been remedied. Keference was made to a despatch 
 
!t SIM I 
 
 
 300 
 
 THE UPPER CANAnrAN RKHELLION. 
 
 of Lord lUi^on's on tho subject, and it was stated that any ambiguity 
 thoroin was to bo romovod, while i)rom[)t obedience to the iuHtructions 
 embodied thoroin was inculcated. Upper Canada College, established by 
 Sir John Colborue only five v(!ars before this time, had already become 
 a ground of offence to many Ueformers. The Assembly, in their Address 
 to J [is Majesty, had declared that it was upheld at great public expense, 
 witli high salaries to its principal masters. They had expressed the 
 opinion that the Province in general derived very little advantage from 
 it, and that it might be dispensed with. On this subject Lord Glenelg 
 remarked that there was no desiro to retain any charge for the ostablish- 
 mont more than sufticient to suitably provide for the effective perform- 
 ance of the teachers; but the advantages of such an institution, it was 
 said, ought to be great, and if the Province derived no benefit from it 
 the explanation was to be found in some error of management susceptible 
 of remedy. His Lordship remarked that he should deeply lament the 
 abolition of a college " of which tho defects would appear so remediable, 
 and of which it does not seem easy to exaggerate the benefits." As for 
 King's College, which was another educational bone of contention 
 between tho two branches of the Provincial Legislature, it was inti- 
 mated that His Majesty would cheerfully resume the consideration 
 of the charter, provided the assent of both Houses to his doing so 
 could be obtained, but that, as tho subject had been committed to 
 the local Legislature, he could not withdraw it from their cognizance 
 at tho instance of one brancli only. The system of auditing the 
 public accounts had been complained of as being insufficient for 
 ensuring the proper application of the revenue. As a remedy, the 
 establishment of a Board of Audit, tho regulation of which should be 
 secured by well-conHidered legislation, had been suggested. In this 
 suggestion the Colonial Secretary expressed his concurrence, and he 
 transmitted various documents explanatoi'y of the system of auditing 
 the public accounts of the Kingdom. The Assembly having expressed 
 its belief that the Logislative Council would not assent to any ellicient 
 legislation on the subject, the Lieutenant-Governor was empowered, in 
 case of that belief being realized, to constitute a provisional Board of 
 Audit. To remedy another evil which had been complained of — the 
 
"A TRIF.n UKFOUMKR. 
 
 301 
 
 withholdiiifT of public accounts from the Assembly — it was propostul that 
 a statute siiould bo passed providinj^ the time and manner of making 
 periodical returns, and naniiuf:; the olHcers who should render them to 
 the Letj;i8laturo. 'flien followed brief instructions to be observed by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor in his intercourse with the Assembly. " You will 
 always," wrote his Lordship, "receive the addresses of the Assembly 
 with the most studious attention and courtesy. As far as may be con- 
 sistent with your duty to the Kinp;, you will accede to their wishes 
 cheerfully and frankly. Should that duty ever compel you to differ from 
 their opinion, or to decline compliance with their desires, you will explain 
 in the most direct, and of course in the most conciliatory terms, the 
 ground of your conduct." Ilis Excellency was instructed to adopt Lord 
 Goderich's despatch to Sir Jolni Colborne of the 8th of November, 18!V2,* 
 as a rule for the guidance of his conduct. He was directed to select 
 Justices of the Peace without reference to political considerations. In 
 the Grievance Committee's Report, as well as in tlu^ Address from the 
 Assembly to the King, great stress had been laid on the mode of 
 appointing members of the Legislative Council. It had been represented 
 that that body had utterly failed to answer the ends for which it had 
 been created, and that the restoration of legislative harmony and good 
 government required its reconstruction on the elective principle.!" The 
 inhabitants of the Lower Province felt still more strongly on this subject 
 than did 'heir fellow-colonists in Upper Canada, and had made urgent 
 representations to His Majesty thereupon in ninety-two resolutions 
 which had been adopted by the local Assembly during the session of 
 18J14. " The greatest defect in the constitution of Canada," said they, 
 " is the right of nomination, by the Crown, of the Legislative Coun- 
 cillors." These resolutions had led to the appointment by the Imperial 
 Government of a commission of investigation into the affairs of Lower 
 Canada, and as the principles bearing upon the question of an elective 
 TiOgislative Council were the same in both Provinces, Lord Glenolg now 
 
 * Thia is the despatuh referred to ante, \>. 2'i(>, wliioh had been troated with Hiioh contempt 
 hy the Law Officers of the Crown, and which had been returned by the Provincial Lomialative 
 Oouncil to thn Liontenant-Govornor. 
 
 + 8ee the 8vo edition of the Report, p. xxxix. 
 
.; ' I 
 
 11 
 
 w 
 
 r 
 
 302 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 contented himself with appending the instructions issued to the commis- 
 sioners, and referring to the views therein contained as having received 
 the deliberate sanction of the King. A similar device was adopted with 
 respect to the demand for the control by the Assembly of tLe territorial 
 and casual revenues of the Crown. 
 
 The one great overshadowing question of Executive responsibility was 
 dealt with by Lord Glenelg in a most perfunctory and unsatisfactory 
 manner. It was apparent that he either wholly failed to grasp the real 
 significance of the theme, or that he fenced with it for the mere purpose 
 of beguiling the colonists with a counterfeit presentment. " Experience 
 would seem to prove," he wrote, "that the administration of public 
 affairs in Canada is by no means exempt from the control of a sufficient 
 practical responsibility. To His Majesty and to Parliament the Governor 
 of Upper Canada is at all times most fully responsible for his official acts. 
 That this responsibility is not merely nominal, but that His Majesty feels 
 the most lively interest in the welfare of his Canadian subjects, and is ever 
 anxious to devote a patient and laborious attention to any representations 
 which they may address to him, either through their representatives or as 
 individuals, is proved not only by the whole tenor of the correspondence 
 of my predecessors in this office, but by the despatch which I am now 
 addressing to you. That the Imperial Parliament is not disposed to 
 receive with inattention the representations of their Canadian fellow- 
 subjects is attested by the labours of tjie committees which have been 
 appointed by the House of Commons during the last few years to inquire 
 into matters relating to those Provinces." It was declared to be the 
 Lieutenant-Governor's duty to vindicate to the King and the Imperial 
 Parliament every act of his administration. In the event of any com- 
 plaint being preferred against him, his conduct was to receive the 
 most favourable construction. The Assembly, it was said, were at all 
 times able to invoke the interference of the King and Parliament. 
 Every public officer was to depend on the King's pleasure — i.e., upon the 
 pleasure of the Lieutenant-Governor — for the tenure of his office. Certain 
 rules were then laid down, the observance of which, it was said, would 
 produce a system of perfect responsibility. As these rules differed in no 
 essential respect from those which had consistently been acted upon by 
 
"A TRIED aKTORMER." 303 
 
 Francis Gore, Sir Peregrine Maitland and Sir John Colborne, it was 
 evident that the system of responsibility contemplated by Lord Grlenelg 
 ■was not identical with that desired by Upper Canadian Reformers. 
 Lord Glenelg certainly made good his asseveration that the Upper 
 Canadian Executive were " practically responsible." But to whom were 
 they responsible ? To the Upper Canadian people ? Not at all. The 
 responsibility was to the King and Parliament of Great Britain — that 
 is to say, to Downing Street, several thousand miles away. Of what 
 avail was such responsibility, guarded, as it was, by secret despatches, 
 "like a system of espionage"?* Had this responsibility to Downing 
 Street ever saved "a single martyr to Executive displeasure"?! Had 
 it been of any avail for the protection of Robert Gourlay, Captain 
 Matthews, Francis Collins or Robert Randal ? Had it preserved from 
 the dry pan and the slow fire any one of a scora of individuals whose 
 only offence against the State was that they would not willingly sacrifice 
 their rights, and become the tools of venality and corruption? In not one 
 solitary instance had it served any such purpose. Such responsibility 
 was a mockery, " a broken reed, which it would be folly ever again to 
 rest upon." I Of real, constitutional responsibility to the people there 
 was not so much as a pretence. " All the powers of the Government," 
 says Mr. Lindsey, " were centralized in Downing Street, and all the 
 colonial officers, from the highest to the lowest, were puppets in the 
 hands of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. At the same time, the 
 outward trappings of a constitutional system, intended to amuse the 
 colonists, served no other end than to irritate and exasperate men who 
 had penetration enough to detect the mockery, and whose self-respect 
 made them abhor the sham." § 
 
 In an early paragraph of these instructions. Lord Glenelg had 
 objected, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, to any resort on the 
 part of the Assembly to that ulterior measure — the stoppage of the 
 supplies — to which allusion had been made in the Address of that body, 
 and had referred to it as a proceeding to be justified only by an extreme 
 
 * See the rejoinder of certain citizens of Toronto to tlie reply of the Lieutenant-Governor to 
 their aildress, dated 25th March, 1836. f lb. t lb. 
 
 %Life of Mackenzie, vol i., pp. 345, 346. 
 
m 
 
 !: 
 
 304 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 emergency. He concluded with an expression of earnest hope that the 
 representatives of the Upper Canadian people would receive with gratitude 
 and cordiality this renewed proof of His Majesty's paternal solicitude for 
 the welfare of his loyal subjects in the Province, and that, laying aside 
 all groundless distrusts, they would cheerfully co-operate with the King 
 and the Lieutenant-Governor in advancing the prosperity of " that 
 interesting and valuable portion of the British Empire." 
 
 As already mentioned, the full text of the instructions was com- 
 municated by the new Lieutenant-Governor to the Upper Canadian 
 Assembly. Apart from the fact that this proceeding was not warranted 
 either by usage or express permission, it was short-sighted and unwise, 
 for the instructions were not such as to be by any means satisfactory, 
 either to the official party or the Opposition. The Opposition perceived 
 that, under a cover of many fair words and specious phrases, there was 
 very little substantial concession. To the official party it seemed that 
 the spirit of concession was manifested much too strongly, and as the 
 appointment of Sir Francis Head had been hailed by the Reformers as a 
 triumph, anything in the nature of concession, filtered through such a 
 medium, was naturally regarded with strong suspicion. As for Sir 
 Francis himself, his mind seems to have been for some weeks in a 
 chaotic state. He had not been installed in office many days before he 
 had a succession of private interviews with several leading members of 
 the Reform party. In the course of a conversation with Mr. Bidwell, 
 who, it will be remembered, was Speaker of the Assembly, he for the first 
 time became aware that the Report of the Grievance Committee was not 
 recognized by the Reform party as being a complete exposition of the case 
 as between the Home Government and themselves.* He soon after had 
 an interview with Mackenzie, who, in conjunction with Dr. Morrison, was 
 chiefly responsible for the existence of the Report. " I thought," writes 
 Sir Francis,! "that of course he would be too happy to discuss with me 
 the contents of his own book, but his mind seemed to nauseate its 
 subjects even more than Mr. Bidwell's. Afraid to look me in the face, 
 he sat, with his feet not reaching the ground, and with his countenance 
 
 'Narrative, chap. iii. 
 
 + /«.. 
 
"A TRIED REFORMER." 
 
 303 
 
 averted from me, at an angle of about seventy degrees ; while, with the 
 eccentricity, the volubility, and indeed the appearance of a madman, the 
 tiny creature raved about grievances here and grievances there, which 
 the Committee, he said, had not ventured to enumerate." This was a 
 revelation to the Lieutenant-Governor, and set him thinking. He 
 attempted to discuss the merits of the Report with various persons, but 
 encountered what was to him an inexplicable reluctance to talk about it. 
 All were ready to discuss the grievances themselves, but no leading 
 Reformer was disposed to admit the Report into the discussion. The 
 reason of this was doubtless because the Report had been chiefly fathered 
 by Mackenzie, and they were unwilling to accept him as their mouth- 
 piece. As for Mackenzie's own disinclination to enter into a discussion 
 of the matter, it probably arose from a feeling that it would be unwise 
 for him to tie himself down to a particular record, beyond which he 
 would not be permitted to travel. Sir Francis, writing three years 
 afterwards, declares that " the light of truth " at once burst upon his 
 mind, and that he perceived that the Grievance Report was a mere 
 pretext for Rebellion.* It is quite clear that he perceived nothing of the 
 kind, and that " the light of truth " was a mere after-thought with him. 
 It is impossible for one in his sober senses to see what does not exist, 
 and at this time there was no purpose of rebellion in the heart of 
 anyone with whom the Lieutenant-Governor came in contact — not even 
 in the heart of Mackenzie himself, who might easily have been con- 
 ciliated by wisdom and prudence. Had Sir Francis been half as clever 
 and astute as he professed to believe himself to be — nay, had he even 
 been fairly honest and truthful, and possessed of the most ordinary good 
 sense — there would probably have been no such thing as an Upper 
 Canadian Rebellion. 
 
 He had not been a fortnight in the country when suggestions began 
 to be made to him from various quarters as to the membership of the 
 Executive Council. That body, for the nonce, consisted of only three 
 persons, namely, Peter Robinson, Commissioner of Crown Lands ; George 
 Herchmer Markland, Inspector -General; and Joseph Wells, Bursar 
 
 * Naii-ative, chap. iii. 
 
Ill 
 
 30G 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN RERELLION. 
 
 
 1*1 ! 
 
 h If: 
 
 
 i 
 
 f I 
 
 of King's College. The presence of all three of these persons was 
 necessary to the formation of a quorum, and in case of the illness 
 or unavoidable absence of any one of them the public business would 
 have been interrupted and delayed. Mr. Robinson, moreover, was not 
 only an Executive Councillor, but, as just mentioned, was also Commis- 
 sioner of Crown Lands. In the former capacity the duty was imposed 
 upon him of taking part in the auditing of his own accounts. This 
 invidious necessity would no longer exist if additional members were 
 appointed, as a quorum could easily be obtained without Mr. Robinson's 
 presence being required at the Council Board. These facts were indis- 
 putable, and the argument to be deduced therefrom was unanswerable. 
 Additional Councillors must be appointed. But from what class of the 
 community should they be selected ? Sir Francis, the " Tried Reformer," 
 had begun to conceiv^ a distaste for the Reformers of Upper Canada. 
 There seemed to be a natural antagonism between him and them. The 
 reason is not far to seek. Persons of the social grade of Mackenzie were 
 inconceivably odious to this " diner-out of the first water;" while men 
 like Bidwell and Baldwin made him painfully conscious of his own 
 littleness and insufficiency for the task which he had undertaken. Yet 
 he could not venture to call to his Council any of the remnant of the 
 Tory Compact, and thereby utterly ignore the Liberal principles which 
 were presumed to have dictated his appointment. The Tories, more- 
 over, had seen fit to petition the King against his very first administrative 
 act — the appointment of a Surveyor-General. As for the Conservatives, 
 as distinct from the Tories, they had not yet formulated a distinct policy, 
 and none of their leaders had come very conspicuously to the front. 
 
 It seemed clear, then, that the choice must be made from the Reform 
 ranks. After much deliberation and inquiry,* the Lieutenant-Governor 
 came to the conclusion that approaches should be made to Robert 
 Baldwin, a gentleman to whom he refers as " highly respected for his 
 moral character, being moderate in his politics, and possessing the 
 esteem and confidence of all parties."! His Excellency's resolve on 
 this subject was approved of by the Speakers of the two Houses, as 
 
 • See Head's despatch to Lord Glenelg, dated February 22nd, 1836, in Narrative, chap. n. 
 
A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 307 
 
 well as by the three members of the Council, to all of whom the 
 project was submitted before any attempt was made to carry it out. 
 When the proposal was made to Mr. Baldwin it was received by him 
 with becoming respect, but with a coolness of demeanour which was 
 far from flattering to the vanity of Sir Francis, who seems to have 
 expected that the recipient would be well-nigh overwhelmed bv the 
 honour. The latter stated that he was very reluctant to again embark 
 in public life, and he explained his views on the political situation 
 with great frankness. There were several interviews, in the course 
 of which Sir Francis did his utmost to induce Mr. Baldwin to accede 
 to his wishes. Mr. Baldwin required time for consideration, an in- 
 dulgence which was of course accorded. The Lieutenant-Governor 
 being anxious to cari*y his point, sent for Mr. Baldwin's father, Dr. 
 W. W. Baldwin, for the purpose of securing his influence in the nego- 
 tiations. Father and son were both of one mind. There was little 
 or nothing in common between the political sentiments of the three 
 members of the existing Executive Council and the man whom it was 
 proposed to add to their number. How, then, could it be expected that 
 they would agree as to the policy of the Administration. If they did not 
 agree, what would Mr. Baldwin's single voice avail against the other 
 three ? And, even admitting that this anomaly could be got rid of, it 
 was deemed necessary that there should be some understanding on the 
 subject of Executive rv^sponsibility before Mr. Baldwin could consent to 
 accept a seat in the Council. He and his father, from whom his political 
 ideas had been chiefly derived, had for years contended that Responsible 
 Government already existed in Upper Canada by virtue of the Constitu- 
 tional Act, and that when a Government failed to command a majority 
 of votes in the Assembly it was legally bound to resign. It was of course 
 notorious that this principle had never been recognized by the Provincial 
 Administration, but Mr. Baldwin was of opinion that the constitution 
 had been systematically violated in this particular. In talking over the 
 matter with the Lieutenant-Governor he now discovered that the latter 
 was entirely unacquainted with constitutional questions, and that he had 
 no ideas on the subject whatever, beyond such as he had picked up within 
 the past few days. Still, his Excellency's good temper, and hia seeming 
 
iiii 
 
 ill 
 
 It 
 
 11 
 
 il' 
 
 
 
 ft*'' 
 Ik * 
 
 308 
 
 THE UI'PER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 anxiety to do his duty, won upon the sympathies of Mr. Baldwin, who 
 naturally felt desirous to be of service to a man who had come to 
 Canada in the guise of a tried Reformer, and who professed to be 
 actuated by a sincere desire to govern the colony on Liberal prin- 
 ciples. After several courteous refusals, and after much consideration 
 and repeated consultations with his friends, Mr. Baldwin consented to 
 accept office, provided that seats in the Council were at the same time 
 offered to his father, and to Dr. Rolph and Mr. Bidwell. Dr. Baldwin 
 was so unwilling to accept the cares of office that his name was dropped 
 by common consent. To Dr. Ilolph no objection was felt, but his 
 Excellency had conceived an antagonism towards Mr. Bidwell, with 
 whom he had had frequent interviews, and who had not scrupled to 
 express himself with much freedom on the necessity for a regular system 
 of Provincial Reform. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that 
 John Henry Dunn, the Provincial Receiver-General, should be substituted 
 for Mr. Bidwell. Mr. Dunn was not a member of any political party, 
 nor had he any special aptitude for political life ; but he was a man of 
 high character and moderate views, and was held in much public estima- 
 tion. On Saturday the 20th of February the three new Councillors were 
 sworn into office and gazetted, "until the King's pleasure be known."* 
 The three old members retained their places. 
 
 This manifestation of a resolve to carry on the Government of the 
 Province by means of Councillors possessing the public confidence was 
 hailed with great favour by the Reform party, and indeed by the Conser- 
 vatives as well, for Messieurs Baldwin, Rolph and Dunn were persons for 
 whom the highest respect was felt by all classes of the community, and 
 were regarded as being altogether above suspicion. Even the members 
 of the Compact were disposed to favour the arrangement, for, in conse- 
 quence of rumours which had reached their ears, they had dreaded that 
 the Lieutenant-Governor might possibly ally himself with the Radicals, 
 who, if placed in power, would have done their utmost to exact a 
 reckoning for past abuses. Upon the whole, then, Sir Francis had 
 
 • See the extra number of the Gazette issued on that date. A very full account of the negotia- 
 tions and conferences which led to this result will be found in a letter written by Robert Baldwin 
 to Peter Perry, dated "Front Street, 16th March, 1836," and published in the papers of the time. 
 So3 post, p. 312. 
 
"A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 309 
 
 materially strengthened his position. But the strength was fictitious 
 rather than real, and the baseless fabric which he had reared with such 
 pains quickly tottered and fell. The three new Councillors were not long 
 in discovering that their places were sinecures. His Excellency wanted 
 none of their counsel, and had no intention of permitting them to have 
 any real voice in the carrying-on of the Government. To one person 
 only did he apply for advice in every emergency. That person was not 
 a member of the Government, and was therefore an unsworn counsellor, 
 under no semblance of responsibility to anybody. He was a power 
 behind the throne, with all the privileges and none of the disabilities 
 attaching to such a position. The gentleman elevated to this anomalous 
 dignity was Chief Justice Robinson, Speaker of the Legislative Council, 
 the master-spirit of the Family Compact, and the life-long champion of 
 those very abuses which the " Tried Reformer " was currently supposed 
 to have been sent out to remove. The Councillors, old as well as new, 
 were treated as mere figure-heads. They were consulted about land 
 matters and insignificant questions of detail, but the policy and measures 
 of the Government seldom passed under their review, or were submitted 
 to them for advice. * Some of these measures were such as they could 
 not approve or sanction. His Excellency nominated two adherents of 
 the old official party to vacant offices upon which they had no sort of 
 claim. He refused the royal assent to the Felons' Counsel Bill, a 
 measure "demanded by justice and humanity, and passed for more than 
 ten years, almost unanimously, by repeated and different Houses of 
 Assembly." t The Councillors were thus made to seem responsible for 
 acts over which they had no control, and of which some of them, at 
 least, highly disapproved. The Reform party were astonished to see 
 such things done under the auspices of a Government of which Robert 
 Baldwin and Dr. Rolph were members. They however acquitted both 
 those gentleman of having advised such acts. It was believed by 
 Reformers generally that the three new Councillors were not consulted, 
 
 • See the representations of the Counoillora to the Lieutenant-Governor, dated Friday, 4th 
 March, 1836. 
 
 tSee Report of the Select Committee to which was referred the Answer of His Excellency the 
 Licutenant-Oovernor to an Address of the House of Assembly, relative to a Responsible Executive 
 Council, p. 6. Toronto, 1836. 
 
 w 
 
I 
 
 
 I 
 
 310 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN llEBELLION. 
 
 or else that the old members, witu the umpirage of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor, predominated.* 
 
 This state of things could not bo allowed to continue. The Executive 
 Councillors consulted together, and determined upon a remonstrance 
 with the Lieutenant-Governor. This remonstrance was formally pre- 
 pared in writing, and sent in to his Excellency on Friday, the 4th of 
 March. The three old members concurred in it, and it was signed by all 
 the six in order of seniority. The mere fact of this concurrence affords 
 strong evidence of the growth of the power of public opinion in the 
 Province. In past times members of the Executive Council had been 
 content to pose as figure-heads year after year, while John Beverley 
 Robinson and one or two others manipulated and directed the whole 
 course of public affairs. It is probable, however, that in the present 
 instance the three senior Councillors may have been influenced by the 
 arguments of Baldwin and Eolph, who felt very strongly on the question 
 at issue. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor's reply, every paragraph of which bears 
 evidence of the Chief Justice's cunning hand, is dated on the following 
 day, but was not actually communicated until the next regular Council 
 day, which was Thursday, the 10th. It contained a firm but courteous 
 expression of his Excellency's dissent from the opinions expressed by the 
 Executive Councillors as to their privileges and duties. It was contended 
 that the Lieutenant-Governor was the sole responsible minister, and the 
 difference between the constitution of the mother-country and the colony 
 was referred to as being highly advantageous to the latter. His 
 Excellency, it was said, was only bound to consult his Council when he 
 felt the need of their advice, and to do so on the innumerable subjects 
 upon which he was daily compelled to decide would be "as utterly 
 impossible as for any one but himself to decide upon what points his 
 mind required or needed " advice. The position taken by the Councillors 
 was declared to be unconstitutional, but his Excellency informed them 
 that his estimation of their talents and integrity, as well as his personal 
 regard for them, remained unshaken, and that he was not insensible 
 
 'lb., p. 7. 
 
A TUIED REFOimiiR." 311 
 
 to the difficulties to which he would be exposed should they deem it 
 necessary to resign. He added, however, that should they be of opinion 
 that their oaths required them to retire from office, he bogged that they 
 would not on his account hesitate to do so. As they were very strongly 
 of that opinion, they waited on his Excellency on Saturday, the 12th, and 
 tendered their resignations, which were accepted. They had held office 
 precisely three weeks. 
 
 The clue to this puzzle is easily found. Sir Francis had conceived 
 an utter distaste for the persons and political principles of the Reformers i 
 
 of Upper Canada. There was an inherent antagonism between the r 
 
 nature of this shallow, feather-brained sketcher by the wayside and the [ 
 
 natures of men like Eolph, Bidwell and the Jialdwins, whose quiet earnest- 
 ness and fixity of purpose had been intensified by the long course of 
 injustice to which they, in common with their party, had been subjected. l 
 
 The earnestness of these gentlemen presented itself to him in the light of 
 importunity, if not of impertinence. He could hardly be expected to 
 sympathize very strongly with their unconquerable zeal for principles 
 which he did not understand : which he was perhaps incapable of under- 
 standing. Then, Sir Francis was an eminently social personage, and the 
 social qualities of the leaders of Upper Canadian Reform were not of a 
 high order. To them, small talk across the walnuts and the wine seemed 
 utterly incongruous in view of the momentous public questions which 
 were urgently pressing for a solution. In this particular they presented 
 a marked contrast to the leading spirits of the Compact. The Robinsons, 
 Hagermans and Sherwoods, one and all, could not only advise the '. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor on the affairs of the Province, but could be pleasant 
 and entertaining companions. They were not very different from the 
 county magistrates and other officials with whom he had been accustomed ' 
 
 to confer in his capacity of a poor-law commissioner. They were more- . 
 
 over exceedingly diplomatic. They saw the importance of winning him 
 to their side, and governed themselves accordingly. They lost no 
 opportunity of making themselves agreeable to him. Instead of boring 
 him with what, to his understanding, seemed abstruse speculations on 
 executive responsibility and an elective Legislative Council, they scouted 
 Buch doctrines as myths begotten in the moody brains of unpractical and 
 
S12 
 
 THE Ul'PKU CANADIAN UKUKLLION. 
 
 discontented men. The wide knowlodgo, lonpc experience and specious 
 eloquence of the Chief Justicn enal)lcd him to present the Tory side of 
 these arguments with much plausihility. Sir Francis soon became 
 convinced that the issue was not merely between two sides of colonial 
 politics, but between monarchy and republicanism, between loyalty and 
 disloyalty, between Great Britain and the United States. As he after- 
 wards declared, he believed that he was " sentenced to contend on the 
 soil of America with ])emocracy,* " and that if he did not overpower it, 
 he would himself be compelled to succumb. Having brought himself to 
 this conclusion, he not unnaturally preferred the rSle of the hammer to 
 that of the anvil. It was surely better to strike than to be struck. 
 Acting on this principle, he made a complete surrender of himself to 
 the Family Compact, and from that time forward was in all essential 
 respects guided by their counsels. His rashness and impetuosity some- 
 times led him to act on his own motion, and without waiting to take 
 counsel from any quarter ; but in all ordinary affairs of administration 
 he was guided by Sir John Robinson quite as effectually as Sir John 
 Colborne had ever been. 
 
 No sooner was it announced that the Executive Councillors had all 
 resigned office than the public pulse began to beat at an accelerated 
 pace. The excitement was greatly intensified upon the publication of 
 a letter written by Robert Baldwin to Peter Perry, in which, by the 
 Lieutenant-Governor's special permission, all the attendant circum- 
 stances were set forth in detail. This letter, having been written for the 
 express purpose of being read by Mr. Perry from his place in the Assembly, 
 and of being afterwards published in the newspapers, is somewhat formal 
 and official in its tone, but it presents the subject-matter in a clear light, 
 and must be regarded as an important contribution to the histoiy of 
 Responsible Government in Upper Canada. It is the chief, indeed the 
 only trustworthy original authority for the facts as to the precise dispute 
 between Sir Francis and his Council, for the former's account f is 
 more than usually incomplete and one-sided when dealing with -this 
 episode. The essential portions of Mr. Baldwin's presentation of the 
 case have been embodied in the foregoing narrative. 
 
 * Narrative, chap. v. 
 
 f Narrative, chapters iv., v. 
 
^' 
 
 "A TIUED REFORMER." 813 
 
 The Liuutonant-Governor lost no tirao in providing himself with a 
 now Council. On the 1 1th of March, when the resignation was only two 
 days old, an extraordinary issue of the (rdzrtte. announced that Uohort 
 Baldwin Sullivan, John Elmsley, Augustus Baldwin and William Allan 
 had been appointed members of the Executive Council of the Province. 
 The reader has already made the acquaintance of all these gentlemen 
 with the exception of Augustus Baldwin, who was a retired naval oflicer 
 of high character, but of no particular politics ; a brother of Dr. Baldwin, 
 and by consequence an uncle of Robert Baldwin. All four of the new 
 Councillors were persons of character and position, but they were not in 
 sympathy with the Liberal sentiments of the period, and the people 
 generally were not disposed to place any political confidence in them. 
 Elmsley and Allan were consistent, old-fashioned Tories. Baldwin's 
 leanings, so far as he had any, were in the same direction. Sullivan's 
 youth and early life had been passed amid more or less Liberal influences, 
 but of late he had shown a retrogressive tendency in political matters. 
 This was largely due to personal rivalry between Mackenzie and him- 
 self in municipal affairs. As previously mentioned, he had defeated 
 Mackenzie at the municipal elections for St. David's Ward, and had 
 been elected mayor of Toronto in the beginning of 1835. The contest 
 had been waged between them with unseemly rancour. Sullivan had 
 denounced Mackenzie as a noisy upstart and demagogue; while Mackenzie 
 had characterized Sullivan as an oily-tongued, unprincipled lawyer, who 
 would lie the loudest for the client who had the longest purse. All 
 Mackenzie's supporters during the contest had been Radicals, or at least 
 persons of strong Reform proclivities. This had arrayed the whole Tory 
 and Conservative vote on the side of Sullivan, who was thus in a measure 
 brought under anti-Reform intiuences. His social tastes also inclined 
 him in the same direction, so that he soon came to be classed as a, 
 Conservative. Reformers were disposed to look askance at him as a 
 political renegade, and this disposition was increased upon his accept- 
 ance of office under Sir Francis Head at the present juncture. He 
 alone, of all the new Councillors, was a man of exceptional ability. 
 He was not inaccurately described, a few years later, as ''an Irishman 
 by birth, and a lawyer by profession ; a man who, if he had united 
 
. _ 
 
 814 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN llEBELLION. 
 
 consistency of political conduct and weight of personal character with 
 the great and original talents which he unquestionably possessed, might 
 have taken a conspicuous part in the public aifairs of any country."* 
 
 These transactions — the resignation of the Councillors and the 
 appointment of their successors — produced a tremendous effervescence of 
 feeling among the Opposition in the Assembly, who had already conceived 
 strong suspicions of the Lieutenant-Governor's motives. But the excite- 
 ment was not conllned to the Opposition. It was participated in by the 
 Conservatives, and, even, for a ti'ue, by most of the ultra-Tories. On 
 the 14th of March, the House, by a vote of fifty-three to two, adopted a 
 resolution unequivocally assertive of the principles which the ex-Coun- 
 cillors had endeavoured to maintain. Ten days later an address to the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, based on this resolution, was passed by a vote of 
 thirty-two to nineteen. It expressed deep regret that his Excellency had 
 consented to accept the resignation of his late Council. It declared the 
 Assembly's entu*e want of conlidence in the new appointments, and 
 humbly requested that immediate steps might be taken to remove the 
 new Councillors from office. Meanwhile, petitions on the all-engrossing 
 subject poured into the Assembly from all over the Province. f Public 
 meetings were called in Toronto, as well as in some other of the principal 
 towns, at which resolutions were passed echoing the Assembly's address, 
 imploring the Lieutenant-Governor to dismiss his present advisers, and 
 to call to his Council gentlemen possessing public confidence. 
 
 One of these gatherings tended in an especial manner to widen the 
 irreparable breach between Sir Francis Head and the Eeform party. 
 On the 85th of March a meeting was held in the City Hall, Toronto, 
 at which an Address to liis Excellency of exceptional significance was 
 passed. It dealt at considerable length with the constitutional question 
 at issue ; referred to Kesponsible Government as having been introduced 
 by the Constitutional Act ; expressed surprise and sorrow at the resig- 
 nation of the late Councillors, and an entire want of confidence in 
 
 * Kaye's Life and Correspondence of Charles, Lord Metcalfe, vol. ii., y. 339. Kevised edition, 
 1858. 
 
 + It is fair to say that some of these were due to the efforts of the Kudicals in the Assembly, 
 who had sent out blank petitions to local friends, with instructions to obtain signatures and fill 
 in the name of the constituency. 
 
"A TRIED BEFORMEl?." 
 
 315 
 
 their sucoessora. It deplored the apparent fact that his Excellency 
 was acting under the influence of evil and unknown advisers. In 
 conclusion, it claimed all the rights and privileges of the British con- 
 stitution, and that the representative of the Crown should he advised 
 hy men known to and possessing the contidence of the people. When 
 the deputation called at Government House to present this Address, they 
 were treated with an off-hand ahriiptness and hncsqucric which gave them 
 much offence. The reply of his Excellency was wordy and unsatisfying 
 in tone; but its most objectionable feature was the air of assumed 
 superiority by which it was pervaded. It referred to the meeting repre- 
 sented by the deputation as having been composed principally of " the 
 industrious classes," but added, with a seeming loftiness of condescension, 
 that the Address should be replied to with as much attention as if it had 
 proceeded from either of the branches of the Legislature — " although," 
 said his Excellency, *' I shall express myself in plainer and more homely 
 language." This was bad enough, but its effect was intensified by the 
 demeanour of the Lieutenant-Governor and several military officers who 
 were in attendance upon him. It seemed to the deputation that those 
 gentlemen regarded them with supercilious impertinence ; as a something 
 which viceroyalty must be content, for the nonce, to endure, but as being 
 altogether beyond the pale of their sympathies or interests. Nothing 
 could have been in worse taste than such couduct as this, though it is 
 possible enough that more sensitiveness was displayed than was called 
 for by the actual circumstances. The deputation withdrew, cut to the 
 quick by the indignities which they, rightly or wrongly, conceived them- 
 selves to have sustained. On the succeeding evening a meeting of 
 themselves and some of their friends was held at the house of Dr. 
 Morrison — who was now mayor of the city — at which a bitterly sarcastic 
 rejoinder was prepared. It thanked his Excellency for replying to an 
 Address fi'om "the industrious classes" with as much attention as if 
 it had proceeded from either branch of the Legislature, and acknow- 
 ledged his condescension in expressing himself in plain and homely 
 language — language presumed to be brought down to the level of the 
 plain and homely understandings of his interlocutors, whose deplor- 
 able waut of education was accounted for by the maladministration by 
 
 r 1 
 
 w 
 
 1 
 
 •i-B 'J 
 
 ■■'i 
 ■is 
 
 
* 
 
 ! 1 
 
 I 
 
 316 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION, 
 
 former Governments of the endowments of King's College, and by the 
 impossibility of obtaining a sale of the Clergy Reserves and the appro- 
 priation of the proceeds to educational purposes. "It is," proceeded this 
 cutting rejoinder, " because we have been thus maltreated, neglected and 
 despised, in our education and interests, under the system of Government 
 that has hitherto prevailed, that we are now driven to insist upon a 
 change that cannot be for the worse." Reference was made to the desire 
 to bring about a system of Responsible Government, and the utter 
 futility of mere responsibility to Downing Street was pointed out with a 
 pointed eloquence which proved that the signatories were in deadly 
 earnest. The misgovernment of Dalhousie and Aylmer in Lower Canada, 
 and of Gore, Maitland and Colborne in Upper Canada, was touched upon 
 in a few brief, vitriolic sentences. It was shown that, though these 
 gentlemen had been responsible to Downing Street, they had not only 
 met with no punishment, but had actually been promoted to higher 
 honours. " We do not mean," said they, " in our plain and homely 
 statement, to be discourteous, by declaring our unalterable conviction 
 that a nominal responsibility to Downing Street, which has failed of any 
 good with the above gentlemen of high pretensions to honour, character 
 and station, cannot have any magic operation in your Excellency's 
 administration, which, should it end as it has unhappily begun, might 
 make us drink the cup of national misgovernment to the very dregs, 
 without (as experience proves) redress on our part, or retribution on 
 yours." There was much more of the same sort. The document con- 
 cluded by stating that if the Lieutenant-Governor would not govern upon 
 sound constitutional principles he would violate the charter, virtually 
 abrogate the law, and justly forfeit submission to his authority. 
 
 This was beyond doubt the most vigorously- written protest that had 
 ever been presented to an Upper Canadian Lieutenant-Governor. It was 
 signed by Jesse Ketchum, James Hervey Price, James Lesslie, Andrew 
 McGlashan, James Shannon, Robert McKay, M. McLellan, Timothy 
 Parsons, William Lesslie, John Mills, E. T. Henderson, John Doel, 
 John E. Tims, and William J. O'Grady. All these were ardent Radicals, 
 and coadjutors of Mackenzie. Two of them — Jesse Ketchum and James 
 Les&Ue — delivered the rejoinder at Government House, without waiting 
 
"A TRIED REFOKMER." 317 
 
 for a reply. It was already in type, and during the next day was widely 
 read and commented upon. The Lieutenant-Governor was not insensible 
 to its cutting irony, but it did not admit of any sur-rejoinder, and after 
 the first transient ebullition of his wrath, the matter, so far as he was 
 concerned, was quietly permitted to drop out of sight. The document, 
 however, acted as an additional stimulus to the public excitement, and 
 it continued to be quoted against Sir Francis from time to time so long 
 as he remained in the colony. 
 
 While these events were occurring the Provincial Legislature still 
 remained in session. A Committee having been appointed by the 
 Assembly to consider the correspondence between the Lieutenant- 
 Governor and the ex-Councillors, it proceeded to deal with the question 
 in the usual manner. The report was presented to the Assembly on 
 the 18th of April. In the course of the debate which ensued, several 
 eloquent speeches were made on the Tory side. The most effective Tory 
 arguments were founded upon the assumption that the concession of 
 Kesponsible Government would be a mere preliminary to separation 
 from the mother country. The speech made by Mr. Hagerman on this 
 occasion was one of the most brilliant efforts of his life. Mere verbal 
 eloquence, however, exhausted itself in vain. The report was adopted 
 by a vote of thirty-two to twenty-one. It was even more directly 
 condemnatory of the Lieutenant-Governor than the rejoinder above 
 referred to had been. It expressed the Committee's belief that the 
 appointment of the three ex-Councillors had been a deceitful manoeuvre 
 to gain credit with the country for Liberal feelings and intentions where 
 none really existed. The question of Executive responsibility was gone 
 into at considerable length, and the conduct of the ex-Councillors was 
 approved of in every particular. There is no need to analyze the entire 
 report, which was long and exhaustive. It distinctly recommended the 
 withholding of the annual supplies. The Assembly, by adopting the 
 report, and by committing itself to this extreme measure, proved that, 
 in the language of Lord Glenelg's instructions,* it regarded the present 
 in the light of " an emergency." The supplies, however, were not 
 
 *AtiU, pp. 303, 804. 
 
 ¥ 
 
 
 'Di 
 
 m 
 
 ■^ d 
 
 
318 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 entirely withheld. Money was granted for the construction of roads, for 
 schools, for the improvement of navigation, and other useful purposes ; 
 but all these grants were nullified by the Lieutenant-Governor, who 
 signified his disapprobation of the Assembly's conduct by refusing his 
 assent to the money-bills of the session. He afterwards stated as one 
 of his reasons for this refusal that he had good grounds for believing 
 a portion of the money would have been spent by the Assembly in 
 sending an agent to England * — which was probably the fact. 
 
 The Assembly, feeling that some reason should be assigned for their 
 action in the matter of the supplies, which were now withheld for the first 
 time in the history of Upper Canada, passed an Address to the King, 
 in which the Lieutenant-Governor's conduct was painted in no neutral 
 tints. He was directly charged with being despotic, tyrannical, unjust 
 and deceitful. His conduct was declared to have been " derogatory to 
 the honour " of his Majesty, and " demoralizing to the community." 
 A memorial to the House of Commons was also adopted, in which his 
 public acts were referred to as having been arbitrary and vindictive, and 
 wherein he was charged with mis-statements, misrepresentations, and 
 "deviations from candour and truth." This bitterly-worded memorial 
 was formally signed by Mr. Bidwell as Speaker of the House — a circum- 
 stance which was long remembered against him by the person implicated. 
 
 It must have been gall and wormwood to Sir Francis to be com- 
 pelled to forward these documents to the Colonial Office. It was the 
 first time that clear and undisguised charges of so humiliating a nature 
 had been officially laid against a colonial Lieutenant-Governor, and one 
 must needs confess that nothing short of the most unassailable evidence' 
 could have justified the employment of such terms in a communication 
 between two representative bodies respecting a trusted servant of the 
 Crown, more especially in the case of one occupying so lofty a position. 
 Something is due to the proprieties, and to accuse a man of deviations 
 from candour and truth is of course merely a slightly periphrastic method 
 of charging him with falsehood. The Assembly, however, had become 
 convinced, not without reason, that Sir Francis's word was not to be 
 
 • See his despatch to Lord Gleneljj, dated April 28th, 1830, in Narrative, chap, v. 
 
^11 
 
 'A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 319 
 
 trusted. Other persons who had been brought into more or less intimate 
 relations with him had been driven to the same conclusion.* The fact is 
 that when his feelings were much stirred ho knew not how to speak the 
 language of truth and soberness. He talked so much and so thought- 
 lessly that he very frequently gave utterance to the thing which was not. 
 Some excuse might perhaps be made for one who, in the heat or haste of 
 verbal controversy, gives currency to erroneous statements. But Sir 
 Francis's mis-statements were not confined to verbal controversy. He 
 had been distinctly convicted of "a deviation from candour and truth" 
 in a deliberate official communication. The Assembly had requested 
 that they might be furnished with copies of any bond or agreement 
 between him and his Councillors respecting the administration kji the 
 Government in the event of his Excellency's death or removal. To this 
 request Sir Francis had replied, explicitly denying tho existence of any 
 document of such a nature. Yet upon the examination of certain of the 
 Councillors it had been proved that an agreement on the subject had 
 actually been made, and that it had been reduced to writing by his 
 Excellency's own hand. The devices to which he had had recourse in 
 his attempts to prove that he had merely been guilty of tergiversation 
 instead of downright lying, were such as positively to aggravate the 
 original offence, and to fully justify the Assembly in refusing to attach 
 any weight to his unsupported statement upon any subject.! As the 
 weeks passed by, the quarrel between him and the Assembly waxed 
 positively ferocious. On the 20th of April he prorogued Parliament, 
 making a speech on the occasion which must have occupied a full hour 
 or more in delivery, and wherein he reviewed, in his own inimitable 
 fashion, and from his own point of view, the various events by which 
 his Administration had up to this time been characterized. Any attempt 
 to analyze it here is altogether out of the queBv.ion. It should be read 
 in its entirety in the official Journal of the session. 
 
 ' I 
 'I 
 
 r i 
 
 'i 
 
 '>li 
 
 i 'i 
 
 ■■( 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 m'l 
 
 *Sir Francis himself has gravely recorded that certain militia officers publicly declared him 
 
 to be "the d dest liar and d dest rascal in the Province." See despatch of 6th February, 
 
 1837, in Nmrative, chap. ix. 
 
 + The evidence will be founil in appendix to Journal of 1836, 2nd Session, Twelfth Parlia» 
 ment, vol. iii., No. 106, pp. 57, 58. 
 
u:li! 
 
 ■'L 
 
 320 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 During the weeks following the prorogation the public excitement 
 continued to increase, until it had reached a height without precedent in 
 the history of the Province. The Reformers felt that they had been 
 wofully deceived in the Lieutenant-Governor, and many of them placed 
 no bounds to their censure. Some of the Reform newspapers hinted 
 pretty strongly that no people could be expected to remain permanently 
 loyal when they were deprived of their rights year after year, and when 
 all their petitions were set at naught. The political atmosphere was 
 charged with electricity. The outlook was lurid and ominous. Some of 
 the loyalists began to dread an actual uprising of the people. Such an 
 uprising, they thought, would be a legitimate sequel to so extraordinary 
 a proceeding as the stoppage of the supplies. To not a few well-meaning 
 but old-fashioned people the mere act of refusing to vote the supplies 
 was in itself a species of treason. To more practical people this act 
 presented itself in a different aspect. It seemed to them indicative of a 
 niggard and ruinous parsimony. They gazed with ill-concealed envy at 
 the marvellous prosperity of the neighbouring State of New York. Any 
 one crossing the Canadian frontier in that direction at once became 
 aware that he had passed from a land of comparative stagnation to a 
 land of activity and progress. This contrast had been largely brought 
 about by the construction of great public works, and a lavish policy on 
 the part of the State Legislature. There seemed no reason to doubt that 
 the adoption of a similar policy would bring about similar results in 
 Upper Canada, where large and costly public works were urgently needed 
 for the proper development of the resom*ces of the colony. But, instead 
 of liberal grants of money for such purposes, the Assembly bad cut 
 down the pupplies to meet the barest works of necessity. The colony 
 could never hope to hold up its head by the side of its enterprising 
 neighbour while such a cheese-paring system prevailed. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor's advisers were shrewd enough to make the 
 most of this unpromising state of affairs. The cheese-paring policy 
 went for something, but it was almost lost sight of in the much more 
 effective imputation of disloyalty to the Empire, Nothing was so certain to 
 turn the scale of public opinion in favour of his Excellency as an appar- 
 ently well-founded stigma of disloyalty cast upon his opponents. The 
 
"A TRIED REFORMER." 
 
 321 
 
 ! 
 
 1 
 
 official party accordingly set themselves deliberately to work to dis- 
 seminate the belief that the bulk of the Opposition were ripe for treason, 
 and that, under the guise of agitation for Reform, they concealed a design 
 of effecting the separation of the colony from Great Britain. It is not 
 improbable that many of those who industriously circulated the report 
 did so in good faith, for the language of some of the Reformers, used in 
 moments of irritation, was of a nature to lead to such a conclusion. No 
 sooner did this report gain credence than there was a very perceptible 
 turning of the scale of popular opinion. Many who had grumbled loudly 
 at Sir Francis's conduct now declared themselves as being on his side. 
 They favoured the doctrine of a responsible Executive, but devotion to 
 the mother country was as the breath of their nostrils. Whatever tended 
 to relax the tie which bound the colony to the Empire was a thing to be 
 utterly opposed and stamped out. The domination of the Compact was 
 bad, but even at its worst it was better than separation. So argued 
 many persons who had always been conspicuous for the moderation of 
 their political views. The official party of course turned such sentiments 
 as these to the utmost account. The cry of disloyalty was heard on 
 every side. The state of the Lower Province, which was rapidly gliding 
 into insurrection, was triumphantly pointed to as evidence of what was 
 to be looked for if democratic ideas were allowed to make headway. 
 Twice within the last four years had the Lower Canadian Assembly 
 resorted to the extreme measure of refusing to grant supplies to the 
 Government. By so doing they had embroiled themselves with the 
 Imperial Ministry, and drawn down upon themselves the indignation 
 of persons of moderate views. It was no secret that the Upper 
 Canadian Reformers generally were in sympathy with the projects of 
 Reform entertained by the Lower Canadian agitators ; and it suited 
 the Tories to assume that the sympathy extended not only to legiti- 
 mate projects of Reform, but to less openly-avowed schemes of rebellion. 
 Just before the prorogation Mr. Bidwell had laid before the Assembly 
 a letter written by Louis Joseph Papineau, Speaker of the Lower 
 Canada Assembly, wherein the great agitator had given utterance to 
 sentiments which, read in the light of subsequent events, cannot be 
 construed otherwise than as treasonable. Several members of the 
 
 I' ■•■•- 
 
 1 ( 
 
 ■;'^;! 
 
hi 
 
 :ii, 
 
 f 
 
 
 322 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Reform party had publicly spoken enthusiastically of M. Papincau, and 
 had even gone so far as to express approbation of his most indiscreet 
 and ol)jectionable language. This circumstance was now urged to show 
 that the objects of the anti-Executive party in both Provinces were 
 identical. There was no attempt to discriminate between constitutional 
 Eeformers of the Baldwin stamp and advanced Radicals like Mackenzie. 
 All were included in one sweeping verdict as " disloyal " persons, against 
 whom it was necessary for right-minded citizens to organize in self- 
 defence. 
 
 Early in May these sentiments began to find expression in outward 
 acts. A number of Tory gentlemen of Toronto formed themselves into 
 what they called the British Constitutional Society, with the funda- 
 mental principle and object of perpetuating the connection between 
 Upper Canada and the United Kingdom. A society bearing the same 
 name had been formed upon the breaking out of the War of 1812, and 
 this of 1836 professed to be a reorganization of the former one. In 
 reality, however, it was to all intents and purposes a new society, 
 started for the specific purpose of opposing the cry for Responsible 
 Government, and of gaining support for Sir Francis Head. During the 
 previous year. Colonel Fitzgibbon had, under Sir John Colborne's 
 auspices, formed a drill corps for such young men of Toronto as desired 
 military instruction. A handful of well-connected young men had availed 
 themselves of the opportunity. The Colonel now devoted himself with 
 redoubled ardour to preparations for the insurrection which he declr.red 
 would burst forth before the next winter. He got together a rifle corps 
 to the number of seventy, and drilled them twice a week with tireless 
 enthusiasm, declaring that when the hour of trial should come, he and 
 " his boys " would be found in their places, however the rest of the 
 community might see fit to demean themselves. 
 
 Notwithstanding these preparations, and the prevailing sentiments 
 which inspired them, it is doubtful whether the idea of rebellion had up 
 to this time taken definite possession of the mind of a single human being 
 in Upper Canada. There seems abundant reason for believing that the 
 time for wise concession was not past, and that a prudent and discreet 
 Administrator might have restored tranquillity to the land without 
 
" A TRIED REF0RMP:R." 
 
 323 
 
 going an iota beyond the scope of Lord Glonelg'a instructions. But Sir 
 Francis Head acted in no such spirit. He set his mind firmly against 
 concession, feeling convinced, as ho said, that the more he yielded the 
 more would bo demanded of him. In this respect he — no doubt uncon- 
 sciously — emulated the example of James the Second, who was of opinion 
 that his father owed the loss of his head to his concessions to the House of 
 Commons. That this opinion was altogether erroneous dues not admit 
 of argument. Sir Francis was equally wrong, and equally stubborn in 
 maintaining his opinion. His conduct was the last straw heaped upon 
 the back of the much-enduring camel, and the outbreak which followed 
 must in large measure bo attributed to his misgovornmont. 
 
 'M 
 
 
 '.a 
 
 m 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 IM 
 
 1 #^ 
 
 THE TRIUMPHS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 HILE the public excitement continued unabated, the Lieu- 
 tenant-Governor resolved upon a step which was little 
 calculated to allay it. This step was the dissolution of the 
 ^ existing Parliament. He and his advisers, sworn and 
 unsworn, believed that the time was opportune for a general 
 election. If the numerical majority of the Opposition in the Assembly 
 were reversed, the Government could afford to laugh at what they called 
 "low-bred democracy." Such a reversal, it was thought, might now be 
 effected. The disloyalty cry might safely be trusted to do its work, not 
 only by clearing the Assem' ly of the chief members of the Opposition, 
 but by giving the Government >arty an easy working majority. In 
 order, however, that his Excellency might seem to be following public 
 opinion in this matter instead of guiding it, the official party caused 
 petitions to be sent in from various quarters, praying that a dissolution 
 and a general election might take place. This not only served the in- 
 tended purpose of misleading the public as to the designs of the Executive, 
 but also afforded Sir Francis an opportunity of pouring out oceans of 
 words in the form of replies. The concluding sentence of his reply to 
 an address from certain electors of the Home District is eminently 
 characteristic of the man. Portions of the already-mentioned letter 
 from Papineau to Bidwell had seemed to point to a possible invasion 
 of the Province by inhabitants of the United States. This idea was 
 eagerlj' seized upon by Sir Francis, as indicative of concerted action 
 between the hypothetical invaders and the Upper Canadian Radicals. 
 " In the name of every regiment of militia in Upper Canada," said he 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF A TRIKD REFORMER. 825 
 
 ^v:i 
 
 — "Let them come if they dare!"* Nothing but actual perusal of hia 
 despatches will afford any accurate idea of his blatant self-confidence 
 at this time. It is quite evident that he regarded the above-quoted reply 
 as a master-stroke of vigorous diplomacy. He drew special attention to 
 it in a communication to Lord Glenelg, in the course of which he made 
 use of language which must have almost stunned the conventional and 
 decorous Colonial Secretary. " I am aware," he wrote, " that the answer 
 
 may be cavilled at in Downing Street, for I know it is not exactly '([)||| 
 
 according to Hoyle. Mais, man seigneur, croyez-vous done qu' on fosse des 
 revolutions avec de Veau de rose ? " f The tone of his despatches is from 
 
 first to last extraordinary. It would seem as if they ought to have told f 
 
 their own miserable tale of superficiality and unfitness to the Colonial 
 Secretary. In announcing the probability of an early dissolution of the 
 Provincial Parliament, Sir Francis requests his Lordship to send him no 
 
 orders on the subject, but to allow him to work the matter in his own r<i^vf|i; 
 
 way. I The Opposition are constantly referred to in such phrases as " the j f 
 
 republicans in the House of Assembly," and " the revolutionists of Upper _r, ' j 
 
 Canada." § His Lordship is warned that if the demands of the Oppo- 
 sition be complied with in the matter of Execu+^'ve responsibility, 
 " democracy, in the worst possible form, will prevail in our colonies." || 
 ** In South America," he remarks, " truth and justice carried me through 
 difficulties even greater than those I have now to contend with, and I 
 have the firmest reliance they will again be triumphant." IF In another 
 despatch** his Lordship is notified that Robert Baldwin, who is referred 
 to as an agent of " the revolutionary party," is about to start for London. 
 *' It is stated," writes Sir Francis, " that he goes there for the recovery 
 of his health, but it is acknowledged by his party that he will be prepared 
 to answer any questions which the Government may feel disposed to put 
 
 • Sir Francis afterwards denied that this challenge was addressed to the Americans. See 
 his despatch to Lord Glenelg dated 6th November, 1836, embodied in his Narrative, chap, vi, V . 
 
 But it is quite evident tliat the denial, aa well as the construction there sought to be put upon his ■ -^l'^ f''i'l i iii 
 
 language, was an afterthought. If, as he there asserts, "the Americans had no more to do with !;' ■' ' * ' '•' 
 
 the subject than the Chiuese," there was no appropriate significance whatever in his doughty 
 ■defiance. '' 
 
 t See despatch of May 28th. i , '< 
 
 X See despatch of 2l8t April. 
 
 §/6. 1126. IT Despatch of May 28th. ** Of April 28th. ' 
 
 
 11 
 
326 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 to him." This intimation in followed by tlio expression of a confidence 
 that his Lordship will discountenance *' the system of sending agents 
 from the British North American colonies, and their being received 
 by the Government." A hope is expressed that should Mr. Baldwin 
 directly or indirectly communicate with the Colonial Office during his 
 stay in England, he may be effectually sat upon, and that he may receive 
 " that style of answer," a copy of which may be transmitted to Sir 
 Francis, and published in the Canadian papers, as a means of deterring 
 further " left-handed attacks upon the constitution." It may be added 
 that the expression of coniidence above referred to was justified by the 
 result, as Mr. Baldwin, during his stay in England, was not admitted to 
 an interview with Lord Glenelg, though a written statement of his views 
 was received by his Lordship, and submitted to the Cabinet. 
 
 The Reformers, moderate and radical, were brought closer together 
 by the agitated state of the public mind, and by the efforts of the 
 official party to destroy their inliuence. Several weeks before the 
 dissolution actually took place it became known that such a step was 
 imminent, and quiet preparations were made for the general election 
 which was to follow. The formation of the Canadian Alliance Society 
 by the Radicals, towards the close of 1834, has already been referred 
 to.* Neither the platform of this society nor the mode of con- 
 ducting it was such as to commend it to Reformers generally, and it 
 was now deemed advisable to organize a new association on a broader 
 basis, with a special eye to cooperation with Reformers who resided in 
 the rural districts. This was accordingly done under the auspices of 
 some of the leading Reformers of Toronto. In contradistinction to the 
 British Constitutional Society mentioned towards the close of the last 
 chapter, the new association was called the Constitutional Reform 
 Society. Dr. Baldwin accepted the Presidency, and Francis Hincks, 
 who was then engaged in commercial life in Toronto, was appointed 
 Secretary. Steps were taken to counteract the misrepresentations of 
 the official party, and generally for the efficient maintenance of the 
 impending election campaign. The Reformers seem to have greatly 
 
 • Ante, p. 281. 
 
Ji 
 
 Si 
 
 THE TIUUMPUS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 327 
 
 . 1 
 
 undorestimated the efforts of their opponouts. As the event proved, they 
 were also Impolosbly astray in gauging the public opinion of the Province, 
 for they looked forward to the approaching contest with the utmost 
 confidence in the result. The new society, it was thought, would 
 acconiplisli wonders in the way of thorough organization, and it was 
 confidently believed that the existing Reform majority in the Assembly 
 would be fully maintained, if not increased. The efforts of the olVicial 
 party to spread a belief prejudicial to the patriotism of the Reformers 
 were laughed to scorn. So also was the attempt of the Lieutenant- 
 Governor to imbue the inhabitants with a belief in the probability of a 
 foreign invasion. Upon the promulgation of the challenge to the 
 imaginary invader, a number of the Toronto Reformers, with Mr. Ilincks 
 at their head, amused themselves by perpetrating a practical joke. 
 Having taken counsel together, they formed themselves into a deputa- 
 tion, and called upon his Excellency in a state of vvtll-assumed perturbation. 
 In a formal address they expressed much solicitude on the subject of the 
 contemplated invasion. They professed to re-echo his unbounded confi- 
 dence in the Provincial militia, but begged to be informed of the quarter 
 whence the attack was anticipated. "We do not doubt," said they, in 
 their Address, " the readiness with which would be answered upon any 
 emergency your appeal to the militia, which appeal we are satisfied 
 would not have been made without adequate cause. In a matter so 
 seriously affecting the peace and tranquillity of the country, and the 
 security of its commerce, we beg to learn from your Excellency from 
 what quarter the invasion is alleged to be threatened." To this not 
 unreasonable demand the Lieutenant-Governor was unable to make any 
 definite reply. The absurdity of his challenge was for the first time fully 
 brought home to him. According to the testimony of eye-witnesses, he 
 *' did not sit, but stood with that personal oscillation which you witness 
 in a man so situated as not well to know what to say or what to do." * 
 When at last his reply came, it proved to be the briefest and most sensible 
 of all his replies. "Gentlemen," said he, "I have no further observations 
 
 * See Dr. Rolph's Spccrh to the House in Committee on the Report of the Select Committee on the 
 Petition of Dr. Charles Buncombe to the British House of Commons, delivered on Monday, January 
 30th, 1837. 
 
 n 
 
 ■ii 
 
 W^ ^ 
 
 •' I 
 

 328 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 (i| 
 
 to make to you on this subject." The deputation, struggling with sup- 
 pressed hiughter, withdrew. 
 
 The Provincial Parliament was dissolved on the 28th of May, and as it 
 was thought desirable to strike while the iron was hot, the elections were 
 hurried on with unseemly haste. They began on the 20th of June, and 
 all the returns were in during the first week in July. The issue was an 
 exciting, but not a doubtful one, for the official party entered upon the con- 
 test with loaded dice and a determination to win. Numerous attempts 
 have been made to explain and excuse their conduct during this eventful 
 epoch; but it is impossible to blink the fact that the result was a foregone 
 con^'hision from the very moment of the issue of the writs. The whole 
 weigut of the Government was put forward to ensure the return of Tory 
 candidates, and this was done in the most direct and shameless manner. 
 The Lieutenant-Governor openly made himself a party to the contest. His 
 replies to the various addresses which he had himself promoted were one 
 and all set to the same tune.* The issue was presented in such a light 
 that no inconsiderable part of the population were led to believe that the 
 maintenance of British connection depended upon the result of the 
 contest. Owing to the representations of Government emissaries, backed 
 by the Tory press, and reinforced by the inflammatory speeches and 
 addresses of the Lieutenant-Governor, it was widely believed that should 
 the Reformers succeed there would be a speedy uprooting of cherished 
 institutions, followed by separation from the mother country and ultimate 
 annexation to the United States. The indiscreet language of Mackenzie 
 and some other Radicals had been such as to lend colour to misrepresenta- 
 tions of this nature, and the spirit thereby aroused was decisive of the 
 
 * It was afterwards urged by Sir Francis that his replies to addresses were made before, and 
 not durinijr, the election. The plea will not bear a moment's examination. The mischief was 
 done by the inflammatory and menacing tone of the replies, and tho mere question of the time of 
 their delivery is of no importance whatever. An English writer tluis effectually disposes of this 
 attempted defence : "Surely ho [Sir F. li. Head] must have some glimmering perception that 
 tliis is not a question of time, and that, if promises or threats are addressed to the electoral body 
 with regard to their exercise of the electoral franciiise, it is a matter of no importance whetlier 
 tliia is done before or at the time of the election. Illogical as he has proved himself, we cannot 
 suppose him to bo so utterly destitute of the reasoning faculty as a sincerity in this defence would 
 imply ; and we must therefore believe that he knows the charge to be well founded, and has 
 recourse to this shuffling evasion in jnire despair."— See London and Westminster Itcvicw, vol. 
 xxxii., No. 2, article vi. 
 
 »4K!^ 
 

 TUE TlUUMl'IIS OF A TllIED REFOllMER. 
 
 321) 
 
 result. Not only professed Tories, but most of the moderate-minded of 
 the population, rallied to the side of the Lieutenant-Governor, to uphold 
 British connection, and to oppose the encroachment of republican and 
 revolutionary ideas. Loyalty was rampant, and patriotic fervour wan 
 arouded to a height which it had not reached in Upper Canada since the 
 War of 1812. "Down with democracy ! " "Down with republicanism ! " 
 "Hurrah for Sir Francis Head and British connection!" Such were 
 the legends inscribed on the dead-walls in the principal towns of the 
 Province.* Tory votes were manufactured by wholesale, and Tory 
 funds were squandered with reckless profusion. For the iiist time in 
 the history of Upper Canada, Government agents were sent down to the 
 polling-places armed with patents for land, to be distributed among the 
 electors. It is open to doubt whether some of these were not conferred 
 upon persons who had no title to them.f Reform votes were rejected 
 by partisan returning-oflicers upon the most frivolous pretexts. Gangs 
 of ruffians were stationed at the polls to intimidate those who ventured 
 near to record their votes in favour of anti-Government candidates. In 
 at least one instance, the Lieutenant-Governor presented himself in 
 person at the polling-place while the contest was at its height, and 
 remained there for some time on horseback, in close proximity to the 
 spot where votes were recorded. I As for the Reformers, they wore soon 
 aroused from their dreams of conlidence. But their rude awakening, 
 early as it was, came all too late. They perceived that the seed had been 
 well sown, and that the crop would have to be reaped. They found them- 
 selves looked upon with suspicion and dislike among their neighbours 
 and others from whom they had been accustomed to receive conlidence 
 
 '4,. 
 
 4 
 
 * During the contest people on tlie hustinijs actually deinaudeil of the candidates : " Do you 
 vote for the House of Assembly or for Sir Francis I load ? " — a ipiostion which, as Sir Francis him- 
 self remarks, amounted in plain terms to this : "Are you for a republican Kovernment, or are you 
 not?" — See Memorandum on the Present Politieal State of the Canadas, in Narrative, chap. vi. 
 
 + Lord Durham, reasoning; from sucli evidence as he had before him, proceeds upon the 
 assumption tluvt no patents were issued except to persons entitled to tlie land. But, as his Lord- 
 ship admits, the granting of (latonts at all under such circumstancoa was an act of official favour- 
 itism which no Lieutenant-Governor with a proper sense of his duty would have permitted. See 
 Report, U.C. folio edition, p. 51. 
 
 JTliis wan at Streotsville, while tlie contest for the Second Riding of York waa in progress 
 between William Lyon Mackenzie and Edward William Thomson, 
 
830 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 and respect. They needed all the courage of their opinions to support 
 them against the obloquy which official slander had aroused. The cour- 
 ageous among them faced the polls in the spirit of a forlorn hope. The 
 more timid quietly remained at home and refrained from voting, rather 
 than subject themselves to certain insult and probable physical violence, 
 It may perhaps be urged, in reply to some of the foregoing allegations, 
 that a Committee of the Assembly subsequently inquired into the various 
 matters complained of, and that their report acquitted the Governor of 
 all culpability. But anyone who is familiar with the proceedings of election 
 committees in those days, and even in times much more recent, will not 
 need to be informed how much — or how little — weight should be attached 
 to a verdict from such a source. In the case under consideration, the 
 proceedings were conducted with exceptional disregard to propriety, and 
 the verdict of acquittal cannot be considered as of any value whatever. 
 Only one member of the Committee heard the whole of the evidence 
 upon which the report was based. Three of the members declared that 
 the report was adopted without their knowledge or consent. Of the 
 other live members who prepared the document, one attended only two 
 meetings out of fourteen ; while another attended four, and another five. 
 A fourth member attended twelve meetings, and one only of the five 
 attended all the fourteen. The inquiry was from first to last conducted 
 in a spirit of partisanship, and the report, in the language of Dr. Eolph, 
 was "the offsi)ring of untempered zeal, insufficient evidence, hasty 
 conclusions, and executive devotion." * As a general rule, it is a 
 difficult matter to convict a Government of actual, direct interference 
 with the freedom of election. But in the case of the general election 
 of 1836, there is unfortunately no room for doubt. That patents were 
 issued in great numbers by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and 
 despatched by the hands of trusted agents of the Government to the 
 polling-places, to be used by the voters, is as well established as 
 is the fact of the election itself. Nay, the fact is admitted by Sir 
 Francis Head in the supplemental chapter to his "Narrative," as well 
 as by the Committee appointed by the Assembly to investigate the 
 matter, and the attempts to explain it away are of the weakest kind. 
 
 • See hie speech in the Assembly on January 30th, 1837. 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 331 
 
 The number of patents issued was so great as to require a special staff 
 of extra clerks to get them ready by the time they were wanted. In 
 some cases the patents covered only a quarter of an acre of wild, 
 uncultivated land, upon which no buildings had been erected. Many of 
 them were issued between the date of the dissolution of Parliament and 
 the close of the election a month later,* and in some instances they were 
 issued after the actual opening of the poll. They were distributed openly 
 at the places where the elections were held, to persons who had not 
 applied for them, and who, at least in some instances, received them 
 without paying the usual fees, merely that they might thereby be 
 enabled to vote. Whether the issue of the patents affected the result of 
 the election in any single instance is altogether beside the question. It 
 would be absurd to pretend, in the face of such tactics as these, that 
 there was any real freedom of choice offered to the people in the matter 
 of Parliamentary representation. Freedom of election was paralyzed. 
 Keform voters were literally overwhelmed, and their franchise rendered 
 
 * From official returns it appears that 1,478 patents passed the Great Seal between the 20th 
 of April (the date of the prorogation) and the close of the contest in June. Of this number 1,245 
 were issued in pursuance of Orders in Council made prior to Sir Francis Head's arrival in the 
 Province. Between his arrival and the close of the election 233 were issued, whereof only 150 
 were issued under Order in Council on his authority. But that the entire 1,478 were passed 
 under Sir Francis's rilgirae within a very brief period ; that a special staff of clerks was employed 
 for the purpose ; that for the first time in the history of the Province these patents were distri- 
 buted at the polling-booths by Government agents who were strong adherents of the official party, 
 and who were moreover dependent upon the Government for their situations— these are circum- 
 stances which admit of but one brief explanation. The only one of these agents whom the 
 Committee of Inquiry ventured to summon before them was Mr. Welsley Richey, of Barrie, who, 
 on his examination, deposed that he mentioned to the Lieutenant-Governor that the persona 
 who wanted their deeds were entitled to them, and that he thought they would vote for Constitutional 
 candidates ; that Sir F. B. Head strictly commanded witness not in any manner to interfere as 
 Government agent, or to use any influence which his situation gave him at the election ; that out 
 of a number not exceeding 130 patents which persons residing in the County of Simcoe were 
 entitled to, and which were in witness's possession for them, only about thirty were called for, 
 and only part of that thirty voted. This is mere petty evasion. As pointed out in the text, the 
 extent to which such tactics as these affectetl the result is not the chief question to be decided. 
 The mere fact that they were employed is sufficient to settle the question of culpability. 
 Eichey was directed not to interfere with tlie elections as (?> rnment agent. How was it pos- 
 sible for an official known to be connected with the Government to divest himself of the influence 
 inseparable from such a connection, more especially when his strong political bias was well known, 
 and when he presented himself at tlie poll as a distributor of deeds among the voters ? The mere 
 fact of a conference on such a subject between the head of the Government and a subordinate is 
 in itself a suspicious circumstance. 
 
 > 
 
332 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 of no avail. All this was done with the cognizance and assent of ihe 
 Lieutenant-Governor, who thereby wilfully violated the instr'-io aons 
 which he had received from the Home Office.* 
 
 The result of an election contest conducted on these lines wa 3 such 
 as to fully realize the expectations of Sir Francis and his aoivisers. 
 Not only were all the old Tory members returned — and this, in several 
 cases, without any opposition — but a number of new adherents of that 
 side found seats. Hagerman was returned for Kingston by acclamation, 
 McLean was returned for Stormont, George S. Jarvis for the Town of 
 Cornwall, Jonas Jones and Ogle R. Gowan for Leeds, A. N. MacNab for 
 Wentworth, W. B. Eobinson for Simcoe, Mahlon Burwell for the Town of 
 London, Henry Sherwood for Brockville, and William Henry Draper for 
 Toronto. The last-named gentleman, known to later times as Chief 
 Justice Draper, now entered public life for the first time. He was a very 
 decided acquisition to the ranks of Upper Canadian Toryism, and was 
 destined to exert a wide and far-reaching influence upon successive 
 representatives of the Crown in this colony. But the triumphs of the 
 official party were not confined to mere numerical successes. They 
 wrested some important constituencies from the hands of their opponents. 
 The Reformers were not only left in an insignificant minority, but nearly 
 all their ablest members were defeated in what had long been regarded 
 as safe Reform constituencies. Bidwell and Perry suffered defeat in 
 Lennox and Addington; Louut underwent a similar fate in Simcoe; and 
 Mackenzie was signally worsted in the Second Riding of York by a man 
 of no political standing. Gibson, Morrison and Mackintosh gained 
 their respective elections in the other three Ridings of York, but none of 
 them possessed much Parliamentary ability, or was to be depended upon 
 in any great emergency. The one significant gain to the Reform party 
 arose out of the election of Dr. Rolph. The Doctor, after having allowed 
 himself to be talked into accepting a seat in the Executive Council whose 
 
 • In Lord Goderich's despatch to Sir John Colborne, dated 8th November, 1832, referred to 
 ante, p. 246, the following language is employed : " His Majesty expects and requires of you 
 neither to practise, nor to allow on the part of those who are officially subordinate to you, any 
 interference with the rights of his subjects to the free and unbiassed choice of their representa- 
 tives ; " and, as previously mentioned, Lord Glenelg had expressly iustructed Sir Francis Head to 
 adopt that despatch as a rule for the guidance of his conduct. See ante, p. 301. 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 333 
 
 resignation had been the beginning of the contest between the Eeformers 
 and the Lieutenant-Governor, had not felt himself at liberty to reject the 
 overtures of his friends. He had been put in nomination for the County 
 of Norfolk, and his candidature had been successful. He was a host in 
 himself, and his return was the one streak of bright light which appeared 
 in the Reform horizon at the close of the campaign. 
 
 Perhaps the most unsatisfactory feature about the whole unsatisfactory 
 business, from the Reform point of view, was that the ignominious dis- 
 comfiture of the Reformers had been brought about by defections from 
 their own ranks. Moderate-minded Reformers had come to think, with 
 the Conservatives, that even Family Compact domination was preferable 
 to the ascendency of such men as Mackenzie. The publication of the 
 baneful domination letter, followed, as it had been, by Tory misrepresen- 
 tation, had led thousands of persons to believe that the Radicals secretly 
 favoured the separation of the colony from Great Britain. The Wesleyan 
 Methodists, a numerous body, were doubly impelled to oppose Mackenzie 
 and all who favoured his cause. The quarrel between Mackenzie and 
 the Rev. Egerton Ryerson has already been referred to.* Mr. Ryerson 
 was in those days one of the most prominent figures in Upper Canadian 
 Methodism, and in conjunction with his brothers, exerted a predominant 
 influence among the members of that body. At the time of the general 
 election of 1836 he was absent from the Province on a mission to 
 England, whither he had gone to obtain a charter for the Upper Canada 
 Academy, and to solicit subscriptions for the establishment and main- 
 tenance of that institution, which subsequently developed into the 
 University of Victoria College. But the reverend gentleman's arm was 
 far-reaching, and stretched across the broad expanse of the Atlantic. 
 In common with a large and respectable portion of the Upper Cana- 
 dian population, he cherished a feeling of personal contempt for 
 Mackenzie, whose character he thoroughly despised, and whose projects 
 he regarded as prejudicial to the welfare of the colony. The publication 
 of the baneful domination letter had convinced him that rebellion and 
 separation were among the cherished schemes of the Radicals. To all 
 such schemes he was prepared to oppose his firmest resistance, for his 
 
 *Ante, p. 272. 
 
334 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN llEBELLION. 
 
 loyalty was of the perfervid order, and his dislike of Mackenzie probably 
 imparted additional zeal to his opposition. As has been seen, Mackenzie, 
 with the aid of Hume, Eoebuck and other British statesmen, had suc- 
 ceeded in creating in the minds of the English public considerable 
 sympathy for Canadian Eeform. To counteract this influence Mr. Eyer- 
 son, under the signature of "A Canadian," contributed a series of letters 
 to the London Times. They were vigorously written, and attracted 
 much attention, not only in England but in Canada, where they were 
 republished in the columns of the Tory newspapers, and where they 
 were circulated in pamphlet form as a campaign document. Mr. 
 Eyerson also wrote to leading members of the Methodist body in 
 Canada, urging them to cast all their influence for Government candi- 
 dates, and against the revolutionary policy of the Eadicals. His appeals 
 served their purpose, and the great bulk of the Wesleyan Methodists of 
 Upper Canada, who had theretofore supported Eeform members, went 
 over to the side of the Government. In many constituencies — notably 
 so in Lennox and Addington — they held the balance of power, and their 
 secession from the Eeform cause decided the fortunes of the candidates.* 
 A few remained unaffected by Mr. Eyerson's lucubrations, and some even 
 went so far as to denounce his conduct and reply to his arguments, but 
 these were too few in number to affect the general result. Some of tiie 
 successful candidates were compelled to pledge themselves in advance to 
 the Methodists and other Nonconformists to take immediate steps for the 
 settlement of the Clergy Eeserves question, but the pledges were neglected 
 or forgotten during the turbulent epoch which ensued. 
 
 ♦ Sir Francis Hincks, who, as previously mentioned in the text, then resided in Toronto, and 
 was identified with the Reform party, has, in his Reminiscences, recorded his views on this subject, 
 and as they are founded upon personal experience and recollection they are worth quotinj?. 
 " Bearinf? in mind," he writes, "that there are exceptions to all general rules, I think that I am 
 not wrong in my belief that the members of the Church of England and the Presbyterians gener- 
 ally voted for the Tory candidates, while the Roman Catholics and the Baptists, Congregational- 
 ists, etc., voted as uniformly for the Reformers. The Wesleyan Methodists held the balance of 
 power in a great many constituencies, and I believe that it has been generally acknowledged that 
 the elections in 183G were carried against the Reformers by their votes." Again : " I believe that 
 I am correct in asserting that Sir Francis Head carried the elections in 1836 against the Reformers 
 mainly through the influence of the Rev. Egerton Ryerson, who, though absent from Canada at 
 the time, had, by his published impressions, induced those who confided in him to abandon the 
 Reform oa.v^e."—Eeminiicences, etc., pp. 17, 18. 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 335 
 
 It will thus be seen that, as is clearly pointed out in the Eeport of 
 Lord Durham,* the contest which had been commenced on the question 
 of a responsible Executive Council had afterwards been adroitly turned 
 by the official party, and had been decided on very different grounds. 
 The question of a responsible Executive, as well as the question of the 
 Clergy Eeserves, had for the time sunk out of public notice. All other 
 matters had given way to a resolve to return candidates who would 
 "rally round the throne." The triumph of the Government went far 
 beyond what several members of it had ventured to anticipate. On the 
 8th of July, Sir Francis vvas able to report to Lord Glenelg that 
 " the Constitutionists " — by which name he designated the official party 
 and all who supported them — had a majority of twenty-five, t whereas in 
 the preceding Assembly they had been in a minority of eleven. In the 
 same despatch he availed himself of the opportunity to malign Mr. Bidwell, 
 whom he characterized as the " twin or Siamese companion of Mr. 
 Speaker Papineau." He descanted upon the powerful reaction which had 
 been brought about, and exultingly informed his Lordship that of the 
 four candidates who had contested the constituency of Lennox and 
 Addington Mr. Bidwell had polled the fewest votes. 
 
 The Colonial Minister must have been sore puzzled to know what to 
 make of this gushing and galloping Lieutenant-Governor, who was so evi- 
 dently devoid of the peculiar qualifications supposed to be requisite for one 
 in his station, and who framed his official despatches upon the model of a 
 sensation novel. Here was a man who had been selected for an elevated 
 and honourable post because he had been supposed to be an adept in the 
 science of politics, but who, as it now turned out, was utterly unacquainted 
 with the principles and practice of Government; who was ignorant 
 of the proprieties and amenities of official intercourse ; who, in 
 what were intended fo grave official despatches, indulged in extracts 
 from French vaudevilles, and referred to certain methods of procedure as 
 not being according to Hoyle ! By all known theory and precedent, 
 
 *U.C. folio edition, p. 49. 
 
 fThe House contained in all only sixty -two members, so that a majority of twenty-five con- 
 stituted what mi^ht be called abaolute control. The actual majority was twenty-six, as there 
 were but eighteen Reform representatives as against forty-four supporters of the Government. 
 
 ' t 
 
336 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 the accession to office of such a man ought to have been attended 
 by immediate and ignominious failure. Yet, so far as could be 
 judged, he had by no means failed. Nay, he actually appeared to have 
 scored a marvellous success, and to have brought about what men of 
 greater ability and wider experience had been utterly unable to 
 accomplish. Such a success was an inscrutable mystery to the official 
 mind, and Lord Glenelg, after tho first few weeks, appears to have 
 abandoned all attempts to penetrate it. The entire demeanour of this 
 unconventional Lieutenant-Governor was incomprehensible. He had 
 expressed his total dissent from the policy of the Commissioners of 
 Inquiry in Lower Canada, who had reported in favour of a responsible 
 Executive.* He had even gone so far as to tender his resignation in 
 consequence of his inability to concur in the liberal measures of Reform 
 advocated by the Commissioners.! But the Home Government had by no 
 means been disposed to accept his resignation just at that time. They had 
 no available person to put in his place, and it had been thought desir- 
 able that he should be permit+ed to try his hand a little longer. And 
 now this news as to the result of the elections seemed to fully justify 
 their determination to retain him in office. If he had really inaugm-ated 
 a new and improved order of things in Upper Canada, it was only fair 
 that he should enjoy the prestige of his success. 
 
 But the ill effects of Sir Francis's superficial and disastrous policy 
 were already beginning to be apparent to those whose eyes were keen 
 enough to look below the surface of things. The Reformers felt that 
 they had been out-manoeuvred. That they could have borne, for they 
 had often been compelled to bear a similar infliction in past times. But 
 they considered that they had been cheated out of then* rights by one whose 
 especial duty it was to watch over and preserve those righ^.s inviolate. 
 They had endured much at the hands of a Gore, a Maitland and a 
 Colborne. But Gore, Maitland and Colborne had not presented them- 
 selves before them in the garb of tried Reformers. They had been the 
 Tory emissaries of Tory superiors beyond sea, whose instructions they 
 had generally carried out. All this had been changed; but the change, so 
 
 • See his despatch of 1st June. + lb. 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 337 
 
 far as Upper Canada was concerned, had been for the worse. The 
 Reformers of the Province felt that the man who had been placed at the 
 helm of State — the man who had been sent over by an ostensibly Liberal 
 Government to redress the accumulated wrongs of the past — was in 
 some respects far more dangerous than any of his predecessors had been. 
 Carlyle had not then delivered his celebrated discourse on fools, but 
 the idea that a fool may sometimes be far more dread-inspiring than a 
 wise man is sufficiently obvious, and had presented itself in vivid shape 
 before the minds of a good many of the Reformers of Upper Canada. 
 They had by this time come to know something of Sir Francis Head. 
 They had brought themselves to regard him as not only a fool, but a 
 fool devoid of right feeling or principle ; a fool who would stop at no 
 injustice or iniquity the perpetration whereof would conduce, in however 
 small a degree, to his own glorification. He evidently regarded his 
 personal interference in the elections as a thing upon which he ought to 
 plume himself. Such a state of things was not to be borne. It was 
 clear that life, for Canadian Reformers, would very soon be not worth 
 living. They despaired of the future, which, to their depressed vision, 
 seemed to be overhung by a sky of unrelieved blackness. Their despair 
 was accompanied by a smarting sense of defeat and injustice proportionate 
 to the circumstances. Such feelings were not confined to defeated 
 candidates and their immediate friends, but were participated in by 
 Reformers generally. Some of them began to weigh the advantages and 
 disadvantages of removal from the Province. Others, after the first 
 effervescence of disappointment had expended itself, determined to 
 endure in patience and to hope for the best. A comparatively small 
 number, yielding to the influence of mingled despair and exasperation, 
 began to contemplate armed resistance to authority as among the 
 possibilities of the near future. Constitutional resistance, they thought, 
 had had a fair trial. Might it not be worth while to try a more drastic 
 remedy ? 
 
 Conspicuous among the personages who were strongly influenced by 
 such thoughts as those last indicated was William Lyon Mackenzie, who, 
 as previously mentioned, had lost his election in the Second Riding of 
 York. It might have been supposed that if any constituency in the 
 
 w 
 
 :^j^ 
 

 338 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 m 
 
 Province was beyond the reach of Tory influence, the Second Riding 
 waa entitled to that distinction. It was notoriously the most Radical 
 constituency in the colony. It had stood loyally by Mackenzie all 
 through the troubled epoch of the successive expulsions. Yet it had 
 now thrown him overboard on behalf of a political nobody. The 
 explanation is to be found in the fact that the Riding had been the scene 
 of some of the most scandalous abuses committed during the campaign. 
 The Tories had resolved that Mackenzie should be defeated at any cost, 
 and had resorted to the most reprehensible means to secure that end. 
 To elect a professed Tory would have been an impossibility, so the 
 person fixed upon to oppose him was one whom the author of 
 " Middlemarch " might have had in her eye when she described Sir 
 James Chettam as " a man of acquiescent temper, miscellaneous 
 opinions and uncertain vote." * His name was Edward William Thomson, 
 and he professed to be a moderate Reformer. His moderation was 
 acceptable to a considerable proportion of the electors, many of whom 
 were tired of Mackenzie. The official party, however, did not choose to 
 rely upon legitimate means for defeating the Radical candidate. Money 
 was spent freely, and brawny bullies were hired for purposes of intimida- 
 tion. Good votes were rejected on one side, and bad ones accepted on 
 the other. Patents were sent down to the polling place, certain recipients 
 whereof voted for Thomson. Sheriff Jarvis attended, and by his 
 language and demeanour did what he could to discourage Mackenzie's 
 supporters. Not a stone was left unturned to effect the desired object. 
 Such means as Mackenzie had at his command were altogether 
 insufficient to counteract the devices employed against him. He was 
 beaten, and by a majority of a hundred votes. 
 
 This result took Mackenzie completely by surprise. It came upon 
 him in the form of a revelation. He had not permitted himself to 
 entertain any doubt of his success, and the conviction that he had lost 
 
 * This language aptly characterizes Mr. Thomson, for afterwards, in the Assembly, it was 
 impossible to predict how he would vote on any conceivable question. His " Reform " principles 
 must have been very "moderate," for he frequently supported the measures of the Compact. 
 His votes seem to have been dictated by chance or caprice, rather than political conviction of 
 any kind. 
 
THE TRIUMPHS OF A. TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 SS9 
 
 his popularity cut him to his inmost soul. Ho retired to the house of 
 one of his supporters in the neighbourhood, where he completely broke 
 down, and wept with a bitterness which evoked the active sympathy of 
 those present. But this mood did not last. It was succeeded by a 
 Hullenness and stolidity such as had never before been observed in him. 
 He knew that he had been beaten unfairly, and resolved to petition 
 against the election. Meanwhile his rage against the party which had 
 been concerned in his defeat was ungovernable, and must have vent. 
 He resolved that he must again have control of a newspaper. He 
 accordingly established The Constitution, a weekly paper, the first 
 number of which made its appearance in Toronto on the sixtieth anni- 
 versary of the Declaration of Independence of the United States— 
 namely, the 4th of July, 1836. Its tone was such as might have been 
 anticipated from the mood of its editor. It was more outspoken than 
 the Advocate had ever been under his management, and might from 
 the first have been styled a revolutionary organ. In its columns every 
 phase of discontent found utterance, and some of its editorial artic^' ; 
 were marked by a spirit of bitterness and implacability such as had noli 
 commonly been supposed to belong to Mackenzie's nature. Means 
 would doubtless have been taken for its suppression, had not the 
 Government felt that they had achieved a signal triumph, and that 
 they could afford to ignore its attacks. 
 
 Many others of the Eadicals felt little less rancour towards the 
 Government party than did Mackenzie. Indeed, the conduct of the 
 party in power had been such as to make temporary Eadicals of not a few 
 persons who had theretofore been known as moderate Reformers. It 
 may be said indeed that nearly all the moderates had either made com- 
 mon cause with the Government party for fear of the Radicals, or had 
 coalesced with the Radicals from a sense of official tyranny and injustice. 
 Public meetings were held, at which the Lieutenant-Governor and his 
 myrmidons were subjected to the most vehement denunciations. At a 
 meeting of the Constitutional Reform Society Dr. Baldwin, George Ridout, 
 James E. Small and others referred to his Excellency's conduct in terms 
 which public audiences had never before heard from their lips. An 
 official address issued by the Society on the subject of the resignation of 
 
 n, 
 
 pr 
 
 I: 
 
340 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN RERELLION. 
 
 the Executive Councillors also contained some severe but well-merited 
 strictures. The Lieutenant-Governor marked his condemnation of the 
 language employed by promptly dismissing the three gentlemen above 
 named from certain offices which they held.* As will hereafter be seen, 
 this proceeding eventually led to serious complications between the Home 
 Office and Sir Francis. Meantime, the latter was permitted to have his 
 own way, but not without stubborn attempts at resistance on the part of 
 some of his opponents. A number of the most pronounced Radicals 
 resolved to make a strong representation of election and other abuses to 
 the British House of Commons, and to that end sent Dr. Charles Dun- 
 combe to England. Dr. Duncombe had been re-elected for Oxford, but 
 had had to contend against similar influences to those which had been 
 employed in other constituencies, and was thus able to speak of the 
 partisan conduct of the Lieutenant-Governor's emissaries from personal 
 observation. He prepared a statement of the case against Sir Francis, 
 which was laid before the House of Commons by Mr. Hume. The 
 Colonial Secretary despatched a copy of it to Sir Francis for explanations. 
 It is unlikely that Dr. Duncombe's mission would have been a successful 
 one under any circumstances, but he made the mistake of protesting too 
 much. The greater part of the indictment could easily have been sub- 
 stantiated before any impartial tribunal, but it also contained charges 
 which, whether true or not, the prosecutor was unable to prove. As 
 mentioned on a former page,t the matter was referred to a Committee of 
 the Provincial Assembly, by whom the Lieutenant-Governor was com- 
 pletely exonerated. A further reference to the matter will be made in 
 connection with the proceedings of the following session. 
 
 The Lieutenant-Governor was meanwhile engaged in a voluminous 
 correspondence with the Colonial Secretary. The subjects dealt with 
 therein were many and various. Perhaps the most important of ail was 
 
 • Dr. Baldwin was Judge of the Surrogate Court of the Home District. Hia dismissal 
 was probably due quite as much to the fact that he was President of the Society as to hia remarks 
 about the Lieutenant-Governor, or to the official address. Mr. Ridout was Judge of the 
 Niagara District Court, Justice of the Peace, and Colonel of the 3econd Regiment of East York 
 Militia. He was dismissed from all three oflSces, although he was not a member of the Reform 
 Society. Mr. Small was Commissioner of the Court of Requests in Toronto, and also Lieutenant. 
 Colonel of the First East York Militia. 
 
 + AnU, p. 330. 
 
tl 
 
 '1 
 
 THE TRIUM' HS OF A TRIED REFORMER. 
 
 341 
 
 the Lower Canadian CommisHion of Inquiry. The Goinmiasioners had 
 made a report in which thoy liad recommended the concession of Re- 
 sponsible Govorniuont, and other much-needed Reforms. As previously 
 mentioned, Sir Francis had no sympathy with these views, and distinctly 
 repudiated the policy thus recommended. The idea of a responsible 
 Executive was utterly repugnant to him. He erelong perceived that the 
 Imperial Government would sooner or later yield to the imperative 
 demand made on behalf of the different British North American colonies, 
 but he determined to fight against it as long as opposition was possible, 
 and his despatches teem with what he doubtless regarded as arguments 
 on the negative side. He predicted the most serious results if the policy 
 of the Commissioners was adopted. The language of the Ninety-two 
 resolutions of the Lower Canada Assembly he pronounced to be not only 
 insulting to the British Government, but traitorous. He proposed varioua 
 measures for establishing the power of the Crown in the Canadas on a 
 firm basis. Among these were the repeal of the Act surrendering the 
 revenue, the annexation of the District of Gaspd to the Province of New 
 Brunswick, and the annexation of Montreal to Upper Canada. It may 
 safely be assumed that these ideas were not his own, and nobody who 
 has read " Canada and the Canada Bill,"* published several years later, 
 will entertain much doubt as to the individual from whom he derived his 
 inspiration. 
 
 * Written by Chief Justice Robinson, in opposition to the project for uniting the two Prov- 
 inces of Upper and Lower Canada. 
 
 i 
 
 I'., 
 
 M' 
 
 HiM'l 
 

 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 REACTION. 
 
 I HE closing weeks of the summer and a part of the early 
 autumn were spent by the Lieutenant-Governor in an 
 informal tour through some of the most interesting and 
 picturesque districts of the Province. A great part of the 
 tour, which occupied in all about two months, was performed 
 on horseback, and with only two attendants. A pleasantly- 
 written account of some of the experiences encountered during this invig- 
 orating holiday may be found in " The Emigrant," a light, sketchy, and 
 most readable little voli:me put forth by Sir Francis ten years afterwards. 
 Soon after his return to the Seat of Government his seif-complacency 
 received a check in the form of a despatch from the Colonial Office, 
 enclosing copies of instructions which had been sent to Sir Archibald 
 Campbell, Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick. It appeared that 
 the strenuous exertions of the Reformers of that Province had been 
 crowned with success. Sir Archibald had been directed to surrender to 
 the Assembly the casual and territorial revenues of the Crown, and to 
 concede a responsible Executive. This was not all. Sir Francis was 
 himself distinctly informed that what had been conceded in one British 
 North American Province could not be withheld from the rest. Scarcely 
 had this piece of intelligence been chewed and digested ere he received 
 another despatch which added to his discomfiture by confirming the 
 previous one, and by seating the obnoxious doctrine at his very door. 
 He was instructed that the Executive Councils in the various North 
 American colonies were thenceforward to be composed of individuals 
 possessing the confidence of the people. This, though not altogether 
 unexpected, was almost past bearing. He saw the house of cards which 
 he had constructed with such pains about to crumble before him. If 
 
REACTION. 
 
 343 
 
 this course were persisted in, all his efforts to pack a House of Assembly 
 would erelong prove to have been made in vain ; for no Assembly would 
 permanently uphold a clique of Councillors in whose appointment they 
 themselves had had no voice, and in whose principles they had no 
 confidence. Sir Archibald Campbell and he were entirely of one mind 
 as to the vexed question at issue, and they were both firmly deter- 
 mined to resist such a policy to the last ditch. Of Sir Archibald's 
 proceedings it is unnecessary for this work to present any detailed 
 account. It will be sufficient to say that he preferred to resign his 
 office rather than obey the instructions he had received, and that he 
 carried out this resolve during the following year, when he was succeeded 
 by Sir John Harvey. Sir Francis Head meanwhile contented himself 
 as best he could with vehement protests addressed to the Home Office. 
 " The more seriously I contemplate the political tranquillity of this 
 Province," he wrote,* "the more stedfastly am I confirmed in my 
 opinion that cool, stern, decisive, unconciliating measures form the 
 most popular description of government that can be exercised towards 
 the free and high-minded inhabitants of the Canadas." The style of 
 his despatches did not improve with time. It was wordy, bombastic and 
 slangy. The despatches themselves were largely made up of inflated, 
 impertinent phraseology, and quotations from the light literature of the 
 period. Lord Glenelg, however, had become accustomed to the uncon- 
 ventional methods of his protege, and was by no means disposed to judge 
 him with severity. On the 8th of September he wrote to him to the 
 effect that his " foresight, energy and moral courage " had been approved 
 of by the King. " It is peculiarly gratifying to me," wrote his Lordship, 
 "to be the channel of convoying to you this high and honourable testi- 
 mony of His Majesty's favourable acceptance of your services." From 
 all which it is sufficiently apparent that the real state of Upper Canadian 
 affairs was not much more clearly understood by the Colonial Office than 
 by Sir Francis Head. 
 
 The new Parliament was assembled on the 8th of November. 
 Archibald McLean, of Stormout, was elected Speaker by a majority of 
 fifteen, the vote standing thirty-six to twenty-one. This vote did not by 
 
 • See despatch of 30th December, 1836, in Jfarrative, chap. vii. 
 
 •i 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 'l.i 
 
 ■' -Mil 
 
 I' 
 
 
 #l»i 
 
344 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 any means indicate the full strength of the Government, which was 
 simply irresistible. The power of the Compact was not only completely 
 restored, but increased. Never had its ascendency been so great. It was 
 absolute, overwhelming; and any opposition to it was a bootless kicking 
 against the pricks. In the Speech from the Throne his Excellency con- 
 gratulated the Houses on the loyal feeling pervading the Province, and 
 on the stillness and serenity of the puhlic mind. He drew attention to 
 "the conspicuous tranquillity of the country," and briefly referred to 
 the legislation contemplated by the Government, which, as thus indi- 
 cated, was of an exceedingly practical character. The Speech concluded 
 with a declaration of his Excellency's intention " to maintain the happy 
 constitution of this Province inviolate." If the Speech, as a whole, 
 contained a faithful reflex of the official mind, it indicated that the 
 Government greatly misjudged the state of opinion in the country. 
 True, there was little conspicuous agitation, for the Reform party had 
 sustained so signal a defeat that they for the time felt powerless. But 
 they were feverishly sensible of the crushing blow that ha,d been dealt 
 them, and reeled from it in a spirit which was far removed from 
 ** serenity." Scores of them despaired of the future, sold out their 
 belongings, and removed to the United States. During the months 
 of September and October there had been a considerable emigration 
 of farmers from the western part of the Province to Michigan. Such 
 was the "tranquillity" upon which Sir Francis plumed himself, and 
 upon which he continued to dilate at recurring intervals until he was 
 roused from his slumbers by the intelligence that " the rebels " were at 
 Montgomery's. 
 
 The Legislature at once proceeded to pass a Bill to provide for 
 
 the support of the Civil Government for the current year, a circum- 
 
 I stance of which the Lieutenant-Governor hastened to apprise Lord 
 
 Glenelg. Various matters of importance occupied the attention of 
 Parliament during the session. Among other questions which came up 
 for discussion was the long-standing grievance of the Clergy Reserves. 
 On Thursday, the 8th of December, a Bill was introduced into the 
 Assembly by Hiram Norton, member for Grenville, having for its object 
 the disposal of the Reserves for purposes of general education. It passed 
 
REACTION. 
 
 345 
 
 |i!i: 
 
 the second reading on the 13th of the same month, whereupon the 
 House, in Committee of the Whole, after several days consideration and 
 discussion, reported a resolution in favour of appropriating the Clergy 
 Keserves lands and the proceeds arising from the sales thereof to the 
 religious and moral instruction of the people. This gave rise to a 
 motion of amendment by Dr. Rolph, " That it is expedient to provide for 
 the sale of the Clergy Reserves, and the application of the proceeds to 
 the purposes of general education, as one of the most legitimate ways of 
 giving free scope to the progress of religious truth in the community." 
 In support of this amendment the Doctor made what was unquestionably 
 the most noteworthy speech of his life — a speech which a well-known 
 writer* has pronounced to be without a parallel in the annals of Canadian 
 Parliamentary debate. Its copiousness and felicity of illustration, its 
 fluent and harmonious elegance of diction, could not have failed to 
 stamp it as a great effort if it had been delivered before any audience 
 in the world. No higher praise can be awarded to it than to record the 
 simple fact that it added to the Doctor's already high reputation as an 
 orator, and that it evoked the admiration of many persons who could 
 not subscribe to the doctrines and arguments it contained. But no 
 oratory and no arguments would have availed witli that House. The 
 amendment was lost, and on Friday, the 16th, the original resolution 
 
 *Mr. Charles Lindaey, in his pamphlet on " The Clergy Heaei-ves: their History ana Present 
 Position;" appendix, p. i. He adds : "The clear, pointed, classical diction of the speaker ; 
 the learning and historical research he displayed ; the beauty and appositeness of his illustrations ; 
 the breadth and depth and immovable basis of his arguments ; the clearness, the syllogistic 
 accuracy and force of his logic, and the impressive eloquence of his delivery produced an effect 
 upon those who heard the speech never to be forgotten. Its publication in the newspapers of 
 the day aroused the people. It convinced them {for, strange as it may seem now, there were 
 many who needed to be convinced) of the unscriptural, immoral and unjust character of a State 
 religion ; while it confirmed them in their determination to rest not until they had exterminated 
 the curse from Canadian soil. , . This noble effort of an able, learned, bold and patriotic 
 defender of the cause of the people against their corrupt, unscrupulous and then powerful 
 enemies, ought to be printed in letters of gold, and preserved for the instruction and warning of 
 all future generations of Canadian freemen." This was written in 1851, when the Clergy 
 Reserves question yet remained unsettled, and while it still continued to agitate the public mind 
 almost to the exclusion of other matters. Now that the subject has ceased to be a practical one, 
 the encomiums so lavishly bestowed upon Dr. Rolph's famous speech will perhaps seem a little 
 overstrained ; but it • 'as most unquestionably a great oratorical and intellectual effort, such as 
 had never before been heard within the walls of the Provincial Legislature. Even at this 
 distance of time, when all interest in the subjec has died out, the speech cannot be read without 
 arousing a feeling of aJmiration for the orator. 
 
 <■ I.!: 
 
 
 ■I 'I 
 
 
 Wl 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 . 1 IV: 
 
346 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 was carried by a vote of thirty-five to twenty-one. The matter was then 
 referred to the Upper House for its concurrence. As the measure fell 
 through during the session, and ultimately came to nothing, it seems 
 unnecessary to follow its fortunes any farther. 
 
 Dr. Eolph made another powerful speech during the session; a 
 Bpeech which would of itself have entitled him to a high place as a Par- 
 liamentary orator, and which was inferior in vigour only to the one on 
 the Clergy Reserves. It arose out of Dr. Duncombe's charges against 
 the Lieutenant-Governor. Having received from the Colonial Secretary 
 a copy of the complaint which had been submitted to the House of 
 Commons, his Excellency, who was of course able to rely implicitly upon 
 the Assembly as then constituted, handed it over to that body to be dealt 
 with. The result fully justified his confidence. A partisan Committee 
 was appointed, by whom the question was approached in a spirit very 
 far removed from judicial fairness. How the inquiry was conducted has 
 already been recorded.* Dr. Duncombe had made certain charges, some 
 of which were easily susceptible of positive proof, while others were from 
 their nature of a kind which admitted of nothing stronger than indu-ect 
 evidence. With regard to one or two damnatory charges, he implicitly 
 believed them to be true, but he failed to secure any substantial proof 
 whatever. He presented himself once before the Committee, only to find, 
 as he had expected, that he must not look to obtain a fair or patient 
 hearing. Under these circumstances he felt that nothing was to be 
 gained by any further attempt to establish the truth of his allegations, 
 and permitted the case to go by default. The Committee accordingly 
 proceeded to take evidence on their own responsibility. The verdict 
 arrived at was such as might easily have been foreseen. Every charge 
 and insinuation made against his Excellency was declared to be "wholly 
 and utterly destitute of truth." Not only was his conduct vindicated in 
 this comprehensive manner, but he was referred to as one to whom the 
 Province owed a large debt of gratitude. In due course the report came 
 before the Assembly on a motion for its adoption. The proceeding had 
 from the first been of the nature of a practical impeachment of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor, a matter which was really beyond the jurisdiction 
 
 *Ante, p. 330. 
 
m 
 
 Mi 
 
 KEACTION. 
 
 347 
 
 of any Canadian tribunal. It afforded to Dr. Rolph an opportunity for 
 addressing the House at considerable length, and in a speech which, as 
 remarked by Mr. Maciruzie's biographer, "will ever be memorable in 
 Canadian history."* It was delivered on the 30th of January, 
 1837. It dealt in most trenchant fashion with the various abuses 
 which had been practised during the elections. The serio-comic tone 
 which pervaded a great part of it evoked roars of laughter, while its more 
 earnest passages aroused the most conflicting feelings in the minds of 
 the auditors. True oratory is never altogether fruitless, and it would 
 seem as if this powerful speech must have given the spur to feelings 
 which, sooner or later, were bound to produce specific results. So far, 
 however, as any immediate effects upon the action of the House were 
 concerned, it might as well have remained unuttered. The report was 
 adopted by a vote of more than two-thirds of the members present, and 
 the Lieutenant-Governor stood ofl&cially exonerated from blame. 
 
 Among other matters presented for the consideration of the Assembly 
 was a petition from Mr. Mackenzie. Ever since the election, he had 
 publicly announced his determination to petition against the return in 
 the Second Kiding of York. He was prevented by illness from filing his 
 memorial within the prescribed period, and an extension of time was 
 obtained on his behalf. He got together a great mass of evidence, some 
 portions of which the Government would certainly have found it hard to 
 answer to the public satisfaction. He was jubilant, and openly boasted 
 that he would expose such a mass of corruption as would make the 
 country stare aghast. He was however so intent on collecting evidence 
 and on discounting his contemplated triumph over his enemies that he 
 failed to enter into the necessary recognizance until the allotted period 
 for doing so had elapsed. The statute governing the case requked that 
 the petitioner should enter into recognizance within fourteen days from 
 the presentation of the petition. In this case the petition was presented 
 on the 20th of December, 1836, so that the fourteen days expired on the 
 8rd of January, 1837. " If at the expiration of the said fourteen days " 
 — so ran the statute — " such recognizance shall not have been entered 
 into, the Speaker shall report the same to the House, and the order for 
 
 * Lindsey's Life of Mackenzie, vol. i., p. 392. 
 
 !■ 
 
 ^!i 
 
 
 , :i 
 
 \- ill 
 
 
348 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 :'1| 
 
 taking such petition into consideration shall thereupon be discharged; 
 unless, upon matter specially stated and verified to the satisfaction of the 
 House, the House shall see cause to enlarge the time for entering into 
 such recognizance." Accordingly, on the opening of the House on 
 Wednesday, the 4th of January, Mr. Speaker McLean announced that 
 the time limited for W. L. Mackenzie, the petitioning candidate for the 
 representation of the Second Riding of York, to proceed upon his petition, 
 had expired. Mr. Boulton, one of the members for Durham, then 
 moved that the further consideration of the petition be discharged. Dr. 
 Morrison sought to obtain additional time for the furnishing of the 
 statutory recognizance, but the House was under no obligation to 
 grant any indulgence, and after a long debate declined to do so. Mr. 
 Boulton's motion was carried ; whereupon Dr. Morrison moved that Mr. 
 Mackenzie have leave to present a new petition. The House negatived 
 this motion, and Mr. Thomson was confirmed in his seat. The matter 
 was again brought before the notice of the House a few days after- 
 wards by Dr. Morrison, who moved that Mr. Mackenzie be allowed 
 further time to enter into the requisite security. The motion was made 
 in order to give Dr. Rolph — who had not been present during the former 
 discussion — an opportunity of speaking on the subject. The member 
 for Norfolk delivered himself of a vigorous and subtle argument, in the 
 course of which he reviewed the English practice, as well as the practice 
 which had generally prevailed in similar cases in Upper Canada. The 
 fourteen days, he argued, should be computed from the time when the 
 petition was read to the House, not from the date when it was handed in. 
 The presentation referred to in the statute, he alleged, was not complete 
 until the reading of the petition, which could not take place until it had 
 lain on the table two days. Still further, the petitioner's delay had been 
 in part due to the Clerk of the House, who had led Mr. Mackenzie to 
 believe that the fourteen days would not begin to run against him until 
 two days after the delivery of the petition. The argument throughout 
 was plausible and powerful, but it shared the fate of many other 
 powerful appeals in those days. The motion was lost. There seems to 
 have been a strong determination on the part of the Government to 
 bm-ke the investigation. This was suggestive of a fear of the result, and 
 
REACTION. 
 
 349 
 
 m 
 
 Ml, 
 
 A 
 
 was so regarded by many wholly disinterested persons. Some of the 
 charges were of the gravest nature, and, if the Government had felt that 
 their skirts were clean, it is incomprehensible that they should not have 
 availed themselves of such an opportunity of establishing the fact by 
 official record. There seems but too good reason to believe that, if the 
 inquiry had been proceeded with, Mackenzie would have made good his 
 boast, and that a disgraceful exposure of Execu^^^ive corruption would 
 have been made. 
 
 One of the significant measures of the session was an Act to prevent 
 the dissolution of the Provincial Parliament upon the demise of the Crown. 
 The desire of the Executive for such an enactment arose in this manner. 
 During the brief election campaign of the pi'eceding summer the most 
 tempting promises had been made to the electors on behalf of the Gov- 
 ernment. This had been done with the full knowledge and consent — 
 nay, probably at the instigation — of the members of the Government 
 themselves. The fulfilment of some of the promises would have been 
 feasible enough. Others had been as absurdly impossible of fulfilment 
 as were Jack Cade's pledges that seven halfpenny loaves should be sold 
 for a penny, and that the three-hooped pot should have ten hoops. 
 The Government now realized that their performances were far from 
 being commensurate with the promises so lavishly made. In the 
 event of a new election taking place within the next few months it 
 would be easy for the Keformers to make out a strong case, and it would 
 be hard for the Government party to reply thereto with effect. It seemed 
 not improbable that a new election might erelong become necessary, for 
 King William the Fourth was more than three score and ten years old, 
 and was known to be in a state of health which rendered it unlikely 
 that he would live much longer. Now, his death, in the ordinary course 
 of things, would bring about a dissolution and a general election, and 
 this was the contingency against which it was thought desirable to guard. 
 A measure was accordingly passed whereby it was enacted "That the 
 Parliament of this Province shall not in any case be deemed to be deter- 
 mined or dissolved by the death or demise of His Majesty, his heirs or 
 successors ; nor shall any session of the Parliament of this Province be 
 deemed to be determined, or the proceedings therein pending in any 
 
 .:i 
 
 ,i, i-iii 
 
 it|h 
 
350 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 manner abated, interrupted or affected by the demise of Hia Majesty, his 
 heirs or successors ; but notwithstanding such death or demise the Par- 
 liament of this Province shall continue, and, if sitting, shall proceed to 
 act until dissolved or prorogued in the usual manner, or until the legal 
 expiration of the term of such Parliament." The Eeformers fought this 
 Bill inch by inch on its way through the Assembly, but in vain. 
 Upon its coming up for its third reading, Norton, of Grenville, moved 
 its recommittal, and, upon the defeat of his motion, he made a final 
 effort by moving " That the Act shall not go into operation before 
 the expiration of the present Parliament.'' Thi:5, too, was defeated, and 
 the Bill was finally passed by a vote of twenty six to eighteen. The 
 measure is suggestive of the English Act passed by the Long Parliament 
 during the reign of Charles the First, which enacted that Parliament 
 should not be dissolved by the King without its own consent. 
 
 There was a good deal of extravagant legislation during the session. 
 Large sums were voted for the construct! n and improvement of 
 Provincial highways, for surveys of the Ottawa Eiver and the territory 
 contiguous thereto, for the improvement of the navigation of the Trent 
 and Grand Eivers, for the completion of the Welland Canal, and for the 
 construction of various other canals, harbours, and lighthouses. Provi- 
 sion was also made for loans to several railway and other companies. 
 Most, perhaps of all these, were enterprises deserving of aid and encour- 
 agement, but the aggregate sum of the moneys voted was nearly four 
 millions of dollars, being considerably more than the condition of the 
 Province and the circumstances of the people justified. This exceeding 
 liberality was probably to some extent due to a wish to respond to the 
 popular demand for the expenditure of money on public improvements. 
 It was during this session that an Act was passed providing for the estab- 
 lishment of a Provincial Court of Chancery. Mr. Jameson was soon after 
 appointed Vice Chancellor, the Chancellorship being vested in the Crown. 
 
 The session terminated on Saturday, the 4th of March, and its termina- 
 tion was attended by a scene of "most admired disorder" in the Assembly. 
 The project of uniting the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada had 
 occupied a certain amount of attention on the part of both Houses, and 
 had been on the order of the day throughout the greater part of the 
 
( 1 1 
 
 REACTION. 
 
 351 
 
 session. When the final day of deliberation arrived, the Legislative 
 Council sent down to the Lower House an Address embodying certain 
 resolutions against the proposed union. The Address was accompanied 
 by a request that the Assembly would concur therein, after which it was to 
 be despatched to the King. It reached the hands of the Clerk of the Lower 
 House about noon, and was at once submitted in the form of a motion of 
 concurrence. This was not relished by the Reformers, who were strongly 
 disposed in favour of an equitable union of the two Provinces, a step 
 which, as they believed, would go far to adjust the balance of parties. 
 A considerable number of the members had already left for their homes, 
 and Dr. Eolph took advantage of this circumstance as a plea for post- 
 poning the further consideration of the matter until the next session. 
 He moved an amendment to that effect, and said a few words in 
 support of his motion. Dr. Morrison and Thomas Parke* took up 
 the argument, and spoke for some minutes. They were subjected to 
 frequent interruptions from the supporters of the Government, who 
 were evidently anxious to prevent discussion. Dr. Rolph then rose to 
 speak to the question of order, upon which the interruptions were 
 renewed. Frequent appeals were made to the Speaker, who soon found 
 himself involved in an animated discussion with Dr. Rolph. Nearly all 
 the prominent members of the House erelong became participants, and 
 the situation became critical. Hard words were freely bandied about, 
 amid the gri 'iest confusion and disorder. An eye-witness compares the 
 scene to a wasp's nest disturbed.! The Speaker finally put a stop to the 
 ebullitions of temper, and brought the scene to a close by announcing 
 that the time had arrived for waiting on the Lieutenant-Governor with 
 certain addresses. There was no opportunity of renewing the discussion, 
 and at half-past three o'clock Black Rod summoned the House to the bar 
 of the Legislative Council. In proroguing Parliament the Lieutenant- 
 Governor referred in complacent terms to the legislation of the session, 
 and applauded the harmony which had prevailed between the two 
 branches of the Legislature. 
 
 * Member for Middlesex. 
 
 + See the report in the number of The Correspondent and Advocate for Wednesday, March 
 15th. 
 
 'i 
 
 ; ii 
 
 I ■ 
 
 ' if 
 
 1.1 
 
 ..Jill 
 
 ii r^i^'MH 
 
 • ii- 
 
 ,* 
 
 
 I, ; 
 
 'Fill 
 
3r>2 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 By this time it began to bo apparent to discerning persons that Sir 
 Francis's success as an Adrainistratjr had been rather apparent than 
 real. All through the election campaign, as well as for some time before 
 and after, the Tory party had sounded his praises with stentorian lungs. 
 He had to a large extent been accepted by thu country at their valuation. 
 But sufficient time had now elapsed to enable the people to judge for 
 themselves, and it was shrewdly suspected that the current estimate of 
 him had been too high. He had triumphed at the elections, and had 
 managed to pack the Assembly with an overwhelming majority of 
 members pledged to support his policy; but he now began to discover that 
 he had raised a spirit which he could not control. Neither the majority 
 in the Assembly nor the members of the Legislative Council were pre- 
 pared to slavishly accept his dictation, or to follow him blindfold 
 whithersoever he might choose to lead them. Some of the official 
 utterances of these bodies during the session had been as strongly 
 assertive of their own dignity and independence as the deliverances of 
 the former Assembly had ever been. Even the Executive Council had 
 begun to exhibit an impatience of being indirectly dictated to by unsworn 
 advisers who were permitted by the Lieutenant-Governor to usurp the 
 functions peculiarly belonging to themselves. His Excellency's popu- 
 larity was evidently waning throughout the land. There was a decided 
 reaction against him, and thousands of Keformers who had voted for 
 Government candidates at the election were now animated by a strong 
 sentiment of opposition. The Lieutenant-Governor was also at issue 
 with the Colonial Office on several matters of importance. To the 
 recommendations of the Lower Canada Commissioners, as previously 
 mentioned, he had strenuously opposed himself. He had failed to carry 
 out the direction of Lord Glenelg to restore Mr. Eidout to the offices 
 from which that gentleman had been dismissed. He now displayed 
 further insubordination by neglecting to obey several minor injunctions 
 received from headquarters, by which course of procedure he involved 
 himself in much disputatious correspondence. His anxieties were 
 increased by a commercial crisis which set in about this time in the 
 United States. There had been an era of seeming prosperity but real 
 inflation in that favoured land, of which the present crisis was the 
 
REACTION. 
 
 353 
 
 legitimnto consequence. Specie payraenta were suspended, and business 
 was all but paralyzed. This disheartening state of things was epei'dily 
 reflected in Canada, which was ill qualified to bear such an infliction. 
 The banks and the mercantile community generally became alarmed. 
 In the Lower Province the banks suspended specie payments, and our 
 own were much disposed to follow the example. The directors of some 
 of our leading financial institutions applied to the Lieutenant-Governor 
 for advice and direction. As all these matters, however, belong rather 
 to the mercantile history of the country than to the story of the 
 Rebellion, there is no need to go into them with minuteness. Suflice 
 it to say that Sir Francis Head deemed it proper in this emergency to 
 convene an extra session of the Legislature, which met accordingly on 
 Monday, the 19th of June. As Mr. McLean had accepted a seat on the 
 bench since the close of the preceding session, it was necessary that 
 a new Speaker should be elected, and A. N. McNab was chosen as his 
 successor.* The session lasted only three weeks, and terminated on 
 Tuesday, the 11th of July. It was purely a session of emergency, and 
 the legislation was confined to relieving the banks from certain penalties 
 which the crisis had threatened to impose upon them. 
 
 •Forty-two members were present at the vote on the Speakership, all of whom voted for 
 Mr, McNab with the exception of David Gibson, of the First Riding of York, wlio r^oorded his 
 solitary vote In the negative. 
 
 ' , ''I 
 
 
 Wl 
 

 Chapteb XVIU. 
 
 (luM^js^^ 
 
 THE FORGING OF THE PIKES. 
 
 T \vill be remembered that, during the summer of 1836, Dr. 
 Baldwin, George Eidout and J. E. Small had been dis- 
 missed by Sir Francis Head from certain offices held by 
 them at the pleasure of the Crown. Mr. Ridout had 
 appealed to Lord Glenelg, to whom the Lieutenant-Governor 
 had soon afterwards found himself called upon to defend his 
 conduct. The only reason which had at first been assigned by his 
 Excellency for Mr. Eidout's dismissal was that the latter was presumed 
 to be a member of the Constitutional Eeform Society. This society, just 
 before the election, had issued and circulated a printed address wherein 
 his Excellency was charged with a disregard of constitutional Govern- 
 ment, and of candour and truth in his statements. Mr. Eidout had 
 undoubtedly attended and spoken at some of the meetings of the society, 
 but he was not a member of it, and had no difficulty in establishing the 
 fact to the satisfaction of the Colonial Secretary, who, after mature con- 
 sideration, conveyed to Sir Francis His Majesty's commands that Mr. 
 Eidout should be reinstated in the various offices from which he had been 
 removed. With this command, as mentioned towards the close of the 
 last chapter. Sir Francis did not see fit to comply. Finding himself 
 beaten upon the case as it stood, he proceeded to amend the record by 
 alleging other matters against the accused. In this course he met with 
 little encouragement from his Lordship, who patiently combated his 
 untenable positions, and repeated the injunction that Mr. Eidout should 
 be reinstated. While the matter was in abeyance, another difference of 
 opinion arose between Lord Glenelg and Sir Francis. During the spring 
 of 1837, Mr. Jameson having been appointed Vice Chancellor, and 
 Archibald McLean and Jonas Jonas having been appointed Judges of 
 
I'll 
 
 I' • 
 
 THE FORQINO OF THE PIKES. 
 
 35^ 
 
 the Court of King's Bench, it became necessary for Sir Francis to sub- 
 mit those appointments to his Lordship, toj^ether with those of Mr. 
 Hagerman and Mr. Draper respectively to the otiices of Attorney-General 
 and Solicitor-General. His Excellency seems to have felt that it was 
 necessary to assign some reason for passing over Mr. Bidwell, whose 
 legal acquirements were certainly superior to those of any other member 
 of the Upper Canada bar since John Rolph had abandoned the long robe. 
 " That gentleman's legal acquirements," wrote Sir Francis, * " are, I con- 
 sider, superior to at least one of the individuals whom I have elevated. 
 His moral character is irreproachable. But, anxious as I am to give to 
 talent its due, yet I cannot but feel that the welfare and honour of this 
 Province depend on His Majesty never promoting a disloyal man." His 
 Excellency then went on to represent . Mr. Bidwell as having been 
 desirous of effecting the separation of the colony from the parent state, 
 and of exchanging the British constitution for " the low, grovelling 
 principles of democracy." There was no allegation that any such desire 
 had ever been personally expressed or manifested by Mr. Bidwell, but it 
 was inferred from the conduct of Im associates. This was somewhat more 
 than the Colonial Secretary could quietly pass over. He pointed out t 
 to the Lieutenant-Governor that the disloyalty imputed to Mr. Bidwell'a 
 associates had not been charged against himself, or attempted to be 
 proved by any act of his ; that he had withdrawn himself from political 
 strife ; and that as his professional abilities and high moral character 
 were respected by his political opponents, the political stand formerly 
 taken by him ought not to operate against his advancement. It was 
 furth^-: urged by his Lordship that the elevation of such a man to the 
 bench would convince the Upper Canadian public of the impartiality of 
 the Executive in such matters. Finally, his Excellency was informed 
 that should another vacancy occur among the Judges of the Court of 
 King's Bench, it was the wish of His Majesty's Government that the 
 situation should be offered to Mr. Bidwell. 
 
 Upon receipt of the missive containing this intimation the Tried 
 Reformer was almost beside himself. . He had none of that magnanimity 
 
 * See his Despatch to Lord Glenelg, dated 5th April, 1837, in Narrative, chap. ix. 
 tSee his Despatch dated July 14th, 1837. 
 
 M 
 
 ' ''* 
 
 ^ 
 
)l 
 
 356 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 i-.RH 
 
 ii 
 
 which impels a man to admit that he is in the wrong when he has been 
 clearly proved to be so. Nor could he boast of that skill of graceful 
 concession which enables its possessor to recede without discredit from 
 an untenable position. He replied to his Lordship* in the following 
 blunt and explicit terms: "After very deliberate consideration, I have 
 determined to take upon myself the serious responsibility of positively 
 refusing to place Mr. Bidwell on the bench, or to restore Mr. George 
 Eidout to the Judgeship from which I have removed him." He went on 
 to deprecate the necessity for this "overt act of hostility," but added 
 that disobedience on the part of a Lieutenant-Governor does not neces- 
 sarily imply disaffection to the Minister. He hinted that he was quite 
 prepared for an immediate dismissal. A great part of the despatch was 
 taken up with libels upon Mr. Bidv7ell and his father. In order that 
 there might be no misunderstanding on the matter, he emphatically 
 repeated his refusal to elevate the former. " So long as I remain 
 Lieutenant-Governor of this Province," he wrote, " I will never raise 
 Mr. Bidwell to the bench; and I think it proper to confess to your 
 Lordship that I have at this moment two appointments to make of 
 King's Counsel, neither of which can I conscientiously bestow upon 
 that gentleman." He declined to argue the question as to Mr. Eidout 
 any further, and again refused the most explicit terms to reinstate 
 him in office. This language left the Colonial Secretary no other dis- 
 cretion than to " accept Sir Francis's resignation," but before this 
 determination was officially conveyed to him the peace of the Province 
 was disturbed by the outbreak of the rebellion. 
 
 During the whole summer of this year Mackenzie was doing his utmost 
 to ad'l to the prevalent oeling of discontent against the Government. A 
 superlative bitterness had possessed him ever since the elections, and the 
 fate of his petition had inflamed his resentment almost to madness. He 
 felt that he had been cheated out of his seat, and that nothing was to be 
 hoped for on behalf of either himself or his fellow-workers so long as the 
 existing Government remained in power. To subvert that Government 
 thenceforth became the dominant passion of his life. He was ready to adopt 
 any means, lawful or unlawful, to secure that end. The tone of the Consti- 
 
 * On the 10th of September, 
 
THE FOllGING OF THE PIKES. 
 
 357 
 
 tiition was not to be mistaken. The miud of the editor had evidently 
 run a long course since he had first begun to concern himself with public 
 affairs. In one of the early numbers of the Advocate * he had boasted 
 that disloyalty could never enter his breast. " Even the name I bear," 
 he had written, " has in all ages proved talismanic, an insurmountable 
 barrier." What a change had come over him since giving utterance to 
 those words. He now boasted of his "rebel blood," which he declaied 
 would always be uppermost. " I am proud," he wrote, " of my descent 
 from a rebel race." t And, as if this were not sufficiently specific, he 
 added : *• If the people felt as I feel, there is never a Grant or Glenelg who 
 crossed the Tay and Tweed to exchange high-born Highland poverty for 
 substantial Lowland wealth, who would dare to insult Upper Canada with 
 the official presence, as its ruler, of such an equivocal character as this 
 Mr. What-do-they-call-him — Francis Bond Head." Ever and anon the 
 Tory press retorted on him in a spirit by no means calculated to soften 
 the asperity of his heart. The most contemptuous epithets were freely 
 bestowed upon him, and he was from time to time taunted with his humble 
 origin. It seems almost unnecessary to say that those who indulged in 
 such taunts as these had very little wherewith to reproach Mackenzie on 
 the score of birth and breeding. There must surely be some foul taint in 
 the Dlood of any man who can stoop to such methods of humiliating a 
 beaten enemy. Still, such insults, coming, as they did, in the wake of 
 serious material injury, added fuel to the flame which burned within 
 Mackenzie's heart like a consuming fire. All the worst part of his nature 
 was up in arms. There were times when he wrote and spoke like one 
 who has lost all self-control. But he was in such deadly earnest that he 
 carried conviction to many a wavering mind. In the Home District, 
 where his paper chiefly circulated, there were scores of people who had 
 seen enough of irresponsible Government to be ready to receive his 
 preachments with favour. His efforts were not restricted to writing 
 virulent articles. He openly went among the people, and disseminated 
 
 * See the number for June 10th, 1824. 
 
 + This boast seems to have been madi iu the columns of The Constitution, but I have been 
 unable to find it there. I make the quotation on the authority of Mr. Linddey's Life of 
 Mackenzie, vol. i. , p. 393, note. 
 
 til 
 ' 'i 
 
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 ''1 ^ 
 
 !'- ! 
 
358 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 his doctrines by word of mouth. He spoke better than he wrote ; and it 
 was only natural that he should exercise a strong influence over the 
 rural communities wherein the Eadical element was in the ascendant. 
 His influence became specially conspicuous at this time throughout the 
 Second Eiding of York, which he had represented in Parliament, and 
 which, as previously mentioned, had been the scene of much high-handed 
 corruption during the last election contest. The voters of that con- 
 stituency awoke to the fact that they had been beguiled by the Tories, 
 and that their representative, Mr. Thomson, was not likely to be of much 
 service in the role of a Reformer. They eagerly listened to Mackenzie's 
 tabulation of grievances, and cheered him to the echo when he hinted 
 that the time had arrived for the Spirit of Freedom to assert herself. 
 
 Among those who warmly sympathized with Mackenzie was Samuel 
 Lount, of Holland Landing, who, it will be remembered, had sat in the 
 last Parliament for Simcoe, and who had been beaten, as he believed, by 
 corrupt methods, at the last election. He had contemplated a petition 
 to the Assembly, but had been discouraged by the conviction that it would 
 be impossible to obtain an impartial inquiry. He now made common 
 cause with Mackenzie in promoting the establishment of a series of 
 "Union meetings," as they were called, in the various townships of North 
 York and Simcoe. These meetings were convened at irregular intervals 
 for the ostensible purpose of political organization. At first they seem to 
 have been conducted with a good deal of craftiness, for as a general thing 
 nothing was said which could in strictness be regarded as treasonable. 
 But there can be little doubt that the intention of the original promoter 
 of these assemblages was the spread of revolutionary ideas, with a view 
 to an ultimate resort to arms, and in a short time the mask of political 
 organization was completely thrown off. Those who had once put their 
 hands to the plough did not care to draw back, and, before they were 
 aware of what they were doing, they found themselves committed to 
 projects of which at the outset they had not so much as dreamed. 
 
 Lount's example was followed by most of the leading Radicals among 
 the farming community where he was best known. The Lloyds, Gorhams, 
 Doans, Fletchers and others had long been active advocates of Radical 
 principles, and had marked with ever-growing hostility the tactics of Sir 
 
7^ r 
 
 "I 
 
 THE FORGING OF THE PIKES. 
 
 359 
 
 \ 
 
 Francis Head. They saw right persistently violated by might. They 
 saw the resiiectful complaints and petitions of the people disregarded and 
 set at naught. They saw the Government in the hands of persons who 
 were not only devoid of sympathy with progressive ideas, but who seemed 
 to have no regard for the principles of plain right and wrong. They 
 found themselves of no account in the commonwealth. Their cherished 
 principles were held up to public scorn, and their chosen candidates for 
 Parliament were beaten by fraudulent means. They were utterly with- 
 out weight in public affairs. After a long and hard fight with the Family 
 Compact, they saw that clique more strongly entrenched in power than 
 ever before. The Tried Reformer who, in response to their long and 
 loud appeals, had been sent over to administer the Government, had 
 stooped to a barefaced violence and tyranny in excess of anything which 
 could be truly charged against the Tory Sir John Colborne. All the 
 old abuses were maintained in full vigour. The incubus of the Clergy 
 Reserves was not removed. Appointments to office were still made from 
 one political body only. The Legislative Council still had the power to 
 paralyze the efforts of the Assembly. The Assembly itself was at present 
 as retrograde as the Upper House, and it had been formed by a corrupt 
 and venal race of officials against whom there was no remedy. The Act 
 to prevent the dissolution of Parliament would probably have the effect 
 of maintaining the existing Assembly for years. To all these evils was 
 now superadded great commercial depression. And there seemed to be 
 no prospect of brighter times. The future seemed overcast and hopeless. 
 Is it any wonder if those who were compelled to contemplate the picture 
 from this dark point of view were forced to the conclusion that a change 
 of any kind must surely be for the better ? 
 
 It is impossible to say at what precise date the idea of armed resis- 
 tance to authority was adopted among the rural Reformers, but I can find 
 no distinct trace of it until the 30th of June, when, at a secret meeting 
 held at Lloydtown, a resolution was passed to the effect tb-it constitu- 
 tional resistance to oppression having been for many years tried in vain, 
 it behooved every Reformer to arm himself in defence of his rights and 
 those of his fellow-countrymen. Within a fortnight afterwards resolu- 
 tions of a similar character were passed by small gatherings in other 
 
 I '! 
 
 ' 11 
 
 1 I 1 
 
 i ' 
 
 
 V 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
3G0 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 parts of the Home District. As yet, however, the idea of actual rebellion 
 does not seem to have taken definite shape in the minds of the supporters 
 of Mackenzie and Lount. Au most, there appears to have been a sort of 
 understanding that recourse to arms was justifiable, and might some day 
 become expedient ; but even this view of the case did not meet with 
 universal acquiescence, and the advocates of insurrection sometimes found 
 themselves confronted by hostile majorities, even amon^ assemblies of 
 the most trusted Radicals. 
 
 But meanwhile Reformers in the cities and towns were beginning to 
 bestir themselves. Toronto was the headquarters of the Reform party of 
 U^Dper Canada, and it was natural that the adherents of that party 
 throughout the Province generally should contemplate their proceedings 
 with interest. As yet the idea of an armed rising against the Govern- 
 ment had not been seriously hinted at among the Reformers of the 
 capital. Profound sympathy, however, was felt and expressed among 
 them for the Lower Canadians, who made no secret of their determination 
 to rebel in case certain resolutions adopted by the British Parliament, at 
 the instance of the Ministry, were acted upon. These resolutions had 
 been adopted in consequence of the Lower Canadian Assembly's persistent 
 refusal to grant supplies. They authorized the seizure of certain funds in 
 the hands of the Provincial Receiver-General, and the application of them 
 to the general purposes of the Provincial government. Papineau and 
 his adherents had been maddened by this proceeding, and were actively 
 engaged in preparations for an outbreak. The Upper Canadian Reformers 
 warmly sympathized with their neighbours, and passed resolutions con- 
 demnatory of the obnoxious resolutions. On the 5th of July, Mackenzie, 
 in the Constitution, reviewed the state of affairs in the Lower Province with 
 exceeding boldness. He discussed the probability of an outbreak there, 
 and the chances of success, very clearly indicating his own opinion in 
 the affirmative as to both contingencies. Othei Rofoii papers exj^ressed 
 strong opinions in favour of Papineau's side of the quarrel, but, with the 
 exception of the Constitution, none of them ventured to predict and hope 
 for the success of the rebel arms. The fact is, that a comparatively small 
 number of Upper Canadian Reformers were either ripe for or desirous of 
 rebellion. They were aroused to hot anger, and were prepared to advo- 
 
THE FORQING OF THE PIKES. 
 
 3G1 
 
 cate the most radical measures of agitation. Their hostility, however, 
 was not chiefly directed against Great Britain, but against Sir Francis 
 Head and those by whom he was surrounded. It was felt that the Home 
 Office had failed in its duty, but the more intelligent were ready to make 
 allowances for the ignorance respecting Canadian affairs of a Minister 
 three thousand miles away. Such were the sentiments of Robert Bald- 
 win and hundreds of other persons the sincerity of whose Reform prin- 
 ciples were equally free from doubt. Dr. Baldwin felt and expressed less 
 moderation than his son, though he was not the man to venture upon 
 what he could not have regarded otherwise than as a hare-brained scheme 
 of rebellion, more especially when his chief allies would be composed of 
 the Mackenzie element of Radicals. Rolph and Bidwell were precisely 
 of the same opinion as Dr. Baldwin. They were sick and weary of all 
 that they saw around thism. They would have cordially welcomed a blood- 
 less revolution. As for Bidwell, he would gladly have seen the Province 
 quietly absorbed by the United States, for Family Compact domination 
 would then have been at an end, and there would have been a chance 
 for a man to be rated according to his merits. One situated as he 
 was could not be expected to be devotedly loyal to a Government which 
 did its utmost to keep him down, and which raised a lawyer like Jonas 
 Jones to the bench over his head. Like his father before him, he was a 
 republican in principle, and would doubtless have been willing enough to 
 see a republican form of Government established in Upper Canada ; but 
 he had never permitted his predilections to interfere with his duties as a 
 citizen and legislator. Moreover, he was before all things a Christian 
 and a man of peace. It is not by such as he that revolutions are 
 planned or accomplished. If questioned on the subject, he would 
 doubtless have admitted that rebellion, under certain circumstances, 
 may be justifiable, but it is hardly possible to conceive of any circum- 
 stances under which he could have been induced to take part in such a 
 movement. Assuredly, nothing short of an almost absolute certainty of 
 success would have impelled him to such a course. The inherent proba- 
 bilities of success in the case of the Upper Canadian rebellion were from 
 the first very few and remote. There was a brief interval during which, 
 owing to the stupidity and supineness of the Government, success might 
 
 I'll 
 
 !>: 
 
 1 
 
 to\ 
 
 1 t ! 
 
 \i. 
 
3G2 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 have been achieved, but whether it would have been temporary or perma- 
 nent must ever remain an open question. In any case, the contingency 
 was one upon which no prudent man would have allowed himself to count 
 beforehand. As matter of fact Mr. Bidwell had no more to do with the 
 rebellion than had Eobert Baldwin.* Dr. Rolph, Dr. Morrison, David 
 Gibson, James Hervey Price, Francis Hincks, John Doel, James and 
 
 * Mr. MacMuUen, writing, doubtless, from honest conviction, endeavours to convey tlie 
 impression tliat Bidwell was more deeply implicated in the rebellion than ho chose to acknowledge. 
 See his History of Canada, p. 446, note. But no substantial proof has ever been offered in support 
 of such a belief, whereas the proof on the other side is unanswerable. There is, first of all, the char- 
 acter of the man. His moral courage was great, and he could stand up for a cherished principle 
 with much firmness and vigour. But he fought with weapons which were not carnal, and would 
 have suffered almost any wrong that could have been inflicted upon him rather than resort to 
 physical violence. Then, there is the fact that he always denied all knowledge of the rising. No 
 man who knew Marshall Spring Bidwell would have hesitated to accept his bare word as against 
 any but the most direct evidence to the contrary, and in this case -there can hardly be said to be 
 any countervailing evidence whatever. Again, there is the fact that he declined to act as a dele- 
 gate to the proposed Reform convention, as subsequently mentioned in the text. But there is 
 no need to resort to circumstantial or conjectural evidence. We have the testimony of Mackenzie 
 himself, who, after his return to Canada, was ready enough to betray the secrets of his somewhile 
 coadjutors, and who would have been only too glad if he could have pointed to Bidwell as one 
 of the number. In his Flag of Truce, published in 1853, he says : " The question is often asked 
 me— What part Mr. Bidwell took in 1837 "—and his answer is explicit enough : " None that I 
 know," It is quite certain that Bidwell could not have been concerned in the movement without 
 Mackenzie's knowledge. The only circumstances which might be adduced as indicating a 
 knowledge of the intended rising on the part of Mr. Bidwell are two in number, and neither of 
 them will bear a moment's examination. First, it is true that he was consulted by the Radicals 
 as to the lawfulness of their assembling for drill exercise and other purposes. He advised that, 
 under curtain restrictions, such assemblings were within the law, and that there could be nothing 
 culpable in rifle-matches involving mere trials of skill. But when his advice was sought there 
 was no intention, even on Mackenzie's part, to rise at any definite period, and Mr. Bidwell may 
 very well have believed that the projects would end as most of Mackenzie's enterprises had 
 ended— in talk. The other circumstance calling for explanation is his allowing himself to bo 
 frightened into leaving the country. This will be duly considered in its proper place. Suffice it 
 for the present to say that, taking everything into account, the mere fact of his expatriation 
 affords no evidence either one way or the other ; whereas the attendant circumstances afford strong 
 presumptive evidence of his innocence. 
 
 In examining the papers of the late David Gibson within the last few weeks I have come upon 
 what may not unfairly be regarded as conclusive evidence that Bidwell was in no manner privy 
 to the rising. Gibson, after his escape to the State of New York, was desirous of obtaining 
 employment as a land surveyor, and, at Dr. Rolph's suggestion, he wrote to Bidwell for a certifi- 
 cate as to his character, and for advice as to the best means of obtaining employment. Bidwell 
 was then in the City of New York, casting about in his mind to what he should direct his atten- 
 tion as a means of livelihood. His reply and the certificate enclosed therein — both in his own 
 handwriting — are now lying before me. The latter is as follows :— 
 
 '"I was acquainted with David Gibson, Esquire, until the recent disturbance in Upper 
 Canada, and know that by his integrity, good sense and amiable character, he had acquired the 
 
THE FOKGINO OF THE PIKES. 
 
 363 
 
 William Lesslie, John Mackintosh,* and many other leading Reformers 
 were full of vehemence and indignation, ready to go any reasonable 
 length to bring about a state of things more satisfactory to their party ; 
 but up to the close of summer I cannot learn that any serious thought 
 of rebellion had taken possession of the minds of cny prominent Toronto 
 Eeformer with the exception of Mackenzie him, Even up in North 
 
 York and Simcoe, where the feeling of discom was strongest, and 
 where there was much talk about rebellion against the Government, no 
 one seems to have realized or believed that there would be any actual 
 outbreak. 
 
 There could be no doubt, however, that the Reformers in both town 
 and country were more thoroughly in earnest than they had ever been 
 
 confidence and esteem of his neighbours and acquaintances. His services as a land surveyor were 
 highly valued. Since the trouble commenced in Upper Canada I have not been in communica- 
 tion with him, but I have no doubt that the utmost reliance may be placed on his industry, ability 
 and fidelity in all his engagements. I have seen his name mentioned with respect for his 
 humanity in one of the most violent newspapers published in Upper Canada. He has my 
 warmest wishes for his success and happiness. 
 
 "Marshall S. Bidwbll." 
 
 The following is the text of the letter accompanying the certificate ; — 
 
 "My Dear Sir : 
 
 " I received to-day your letter, and have sent you a certificate. I am unable to refer 
 you to any place or situation for employment. I am myself unsettled, and do not know what 
 I shall do or where I shall settle. 
 
 " I lament the recent proceedings in Upper Canada, and cannot to this day reflect upon them 
 but with amazement. How men of good sense like you and others could be involved in so absurd 
 and hopeless a project fills me with continual surprise. However, I would not upbraid you, 
 though I shall perhaps be ruined in consequence of these movements. On the contrary, I wish 
 you well, and have the same kind feelings towards you as I was wont to have. I trust you may 
 find some situation where you may be happy. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 " Marsh ALr. S. Bidweh. 
 
 "David Gibson, Esq., 
 "Cth March." 
 
 After the publication of this letter— written, it will be remembered, to one of the chief par- 
 ticipators in the rebellion— it will hardly be pretended that Bidwell was concerned in the enter- 
 prise. It is a characteristic epistle, breathing Christian kindness and good will, and, independently 
 of its bearing upon the question at issue, is well worthy of publication as illustrative of Bidwell's 
 individuality. 
 
 • For the sake of consistency I adopt a uniform spelling of this gentleman's name, which 
 however is spelt indifferently "Mackintosh" and "Mcintosh," in the Journals of Assembly, 
 in various official documents, in th? newspapers and advertisements of the time, and even in 
 private correspondence. Walton's Toronto Directory for 1837 gives it as " Mcintosh, " which 
 seems to have been the form commonly adopted by members of the family. 
 
 
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36* 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION, 
 
 '& i 
 
 before. Energetic measures were in favour among them, and the number 
 of advocates of passive endurance was very small. There were regular 
 communications between them and the opponents of the Government 
 in Lower Canada. They held frequent meetings, at which schemes of 
 agitation were discussed, and where every member was encoui-aged to 
 speak his mind without fear or favour. A very frequent place of meeting 
 in Toronto was Elliott's tavern, on the north-west corner of Yongo and 
 Queen Streets. A place for holding more secret and confidential caucuses 
 was the brewery of John Doel, situated at the rear of his house on the 
 north-west corner of Adelaide and Bay Streets.* Towards the end of 
 July a number of leading Eadicals assembled at Elliott's for the purpose 
 of discussing the draft of a written Declaration, which was intended to 
 embody the platform of the local members of the party. It reads very 
 much like a cautious parody on the Declaration of Independence of the 
 United States, upon which it was evidently modelled. It set foi.h the 
 principal grievances of which the Reform party complained; declared 
 that the time had arrived for the assertion of rights and the redress of 
 wrongs; and expressed the warmest admiration of Papineau and his 
 compatriots for their opposition to the British Government. It further 
 expressed the opinion that the Reformers of Upper Canada were bound 
 to make common cause with their fellow-citizens in the Lower Province; 
 and to render their cooperation more effectual it recommended that 
 public meetings should be held and political associations organized 
 throughout the country. Finally, it recommended that a convention of 
 delegates should be held at Toronto to consider the political situation, 
 "with authority to its members to appoint commissioners to meet others 
 to be named on behalf of Lower Canada and any of the other colonies, 
 armed with suitable powers as a congress to seek an effectual remedy for 
 the grievances of the colonists." Mr. Lindsey,t doubtless upon the 
 authority of Mackenzie, represents this Declaration as having been the 
 joint work of Dr. Rolph and Dr. W. J. O'Grady, somewhile editor of The 
 Correspondent and Advocate. I can find no confirmatory evidence of this 
 
 • A part of this building, used as a planing-mill, is still in existence on Bay Street, a short 
 distance north of Adelaide Street. 
 ■\rLife oj Mackemie., vol. ii., p. 17. 
 
THE FORGINQ OF TUE PIKES. 
 
 3G5 
 
 statement, and some of Dr. Rolph's letters would seem, at least by 
 implication, to contradict the assertion that he had any hand in its 
 preparation. The question of authorship, however, is not important. 
 The document was discussed at considerable length. Dr. Morrison, who 
 was present, fully approved of its contents, but objected to sign it, as ho 
 would thereby place himself in a dubious position as a member of Parlia- 
 ment. This argument was not acquiesced in by James Lesslie, and the 
 Doctor finally appended his signature. His example was followed by all 
 the other members present except James Lesslie, who withheld his name 
 until the document should be signed by Dr. Rolph, who was absent from 
 the meeting.* 
 
 On the afternoon of Friday, the 28th of the same month, the Declara- 
 tion was submitted to and discussed for the second time by a number of 
 Reformers assembled at Elliott's. There was to be a large meeting the 
 same evening at Doel's brewery, at which it was thought desirable that 
 the platform should be adopted. Some discussion arose as to several 
 clauses, however, and one or two immaterial alterations were made, 
 after which it was thought best to postpone the final adoption of the 
 Declaration in its entirety until a subsequent meeting. The meeting 
 held during the evening at Doel's was very numerously attended. 
 About three hundred persons were present,! and a good deal of 
 important discussion took place. A motion expressive of sympathy 
 and admiration for Papineau and his compatriots was proposed by 
 Mackenzie, and passed without a dissentient voice, and it was resolved 
 that "the Reformers of Upper Canada" should make common cause with 
 those of the Lower Province. The persons present at this meeting of 
 course had no authority to speak on behalf of the Reformers of Upper 
 Canada as a whole, but they fairly enough represented the Radical wing 
 of the party, which was quite large enough to be formidable. The 
 meeting further resolved that a convention of delegates should be 
 assembled at an early period in Toronto, " to take into consideration the 
 
 ♦ According to Mr. Lindsey, James Lesslie induced his brother William, who had signed the 
 Declaration, to erase his ?'(jnature. See Life of Mackenzie, vol. ii., p. 18. 
 
 t See the evidence of John Elliott, on the trial of Dr. Morrison for high treason, at Toronto, 
 in the following April. 
 
 I 11 
 
 ,< . 4^ 
 
3GG 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 state of the Province, the causes of the present pecuniary and other 
 difficulties, and the means whereby they may bo effectually removed;" 
 and that persons be appointed by the said convention to proceed to 
 Lower Canada, "there to meet the delegates of any congress of these 
 Provinces which may be appointed to sit and deliberate on matters of 
 mutual interest to the colonies during the present year." The Declara- 
 tion was not submitted, as final judgment had not been passed upon it 
 by those who had it in charge. After a long and busy session, the 
 assemblage adjourned to meet in the same place on the evening of 
 Monday, the Blst. 
 
 It was matter of much regret among the Radical leaders that Dr. 
 Eolph had not up to this time taken any active part in their deliberations. 
 He was known to be in sympathy with the project of a movement in 
 concert with the Lower Canadians for the purpose of impi-essing the 
 Imperial Government with the necessity of changing their colonial policy. 
 He had become the trusted counsellor of all the leading Radicals, who 
 looked up to him as the one man in the Province who was capable of 
 directing any large or wise measure of Reform. But he had not identified 
 himself with them by actual cooperation in their projects, and had 
 attended none of their secret meetings, although he was kept fully 
 informed of all that occurred thereat. The Radicals, recognizing how 
 much would be gained by securing the presence among them of Rolph 
 and Bidwell, resolved to press both those gentlemen into service. At the 
 adjourned meeting on the evening of the 31st, the movement made con- 
 siderable progress. The Declaration was formally adopted clause by 
 clause. According to a contemporary newspaper report,* it "called forth 
 from the meeting the most unequivocal marks of approbation." As 
 already mentioned, one of its clauses recommended the holding of a 
 convention at Toronto. A resolution was accordingly unanimously 
 adopted appointing Rolph, Bidwell, Dr. Morrison, James Lesslie and 
 others as delegates to the proposed convention. This, it was confidently 
 believed, would have the effect of identifying Rolph and Bidwell with the 
 Radical cause, for it was not thought that either of them would refuse to 
 attend as delegates. Other resolutions were adopted with a view to 
 
 ♦ Cm-respondent and Advocate for Wednesday, August 2nd. 
 
 i-. 
 

 THE FORQINa OF THE PIKES. 
 
 3G7 
 
 placing the party in a state of efficient organization throughout the 
 Province. The persons who had previously appended their names to the 
 Declaration* were appointed "a permanent Committee of Vigilance, for 
 this city and liberties, and to carry into immediate and practical effect 
 the resolutions of this meeting for the effectual organization of the 
 Reformers of Upper Canada." John Elliott, a Toronto scrivener, who 
 was also Assistant Clerk of the City Council, was requested to continue 
 to act as Secretary-in-Ordinary, and Mackenzie to act as "Agent and 
 Corresponding Secretary." Both of these requests were assented to. A 
 resolution, doubtless adopted in emulation of similar resolutions at 
 meetings held under Papineau's auspices in Lower Canada, pledged the 
 members to abstain as far as possible "from the consumption of articles 
 coming from beyond sea, or paying duties." A sort of rider to this was 
 moved by Mackenzie, and adopted by the meeting: "That the right of 
 obtaining articles of luxury or necessity in the cheapest market is 
 inherent in the people, who only consent to the imposition of duties for 
 the creation of revenues with the express understanding that the revenues 
 so raised from them shaH be devoted to the necessary expenses of Govern- 
 ment, and appointed by the people's representatives; and therefore, when 
 the contract is broken by an Executive or any foreign authority, the 
 people are released from their engagement, and are no longer under 
 any moral obligation to contribute to or aid in the collection of such 
 revenues." On Wednesday, the 2nd of August, the Declaration was 
 published in full, together with the names of the committee, in The 
 Correspondent and Advocate, and in Mackenzie's Constitution. Each of 
 these papers also published a report of the proceedings at the meeting. 
 
 The part assigned to Mackenzie — that of " Agent and Corresponding 
 Secretary" — was an important one, and involved him in the necessity 
 of giving up all his- time and energies to the cause. In so far as his 
 abilities enabled him to do so, he was to virtually play the same part in 
 Upper Canada that had long been enacted by Papineau in the Lower 
 
 * These were nineteen in nurabor, and consisted of Dr. Morrison, John Elliott, David Gibson, 
 John Mackintosh, Dr. O'Grady, E. B. Gilbert, John Montgomery, Dr. John Edward Tims, 
 J. H. Price, John Doel, M. Keynolds, Edward Wright, Robert McKay, Thomas Elliott, James 
 Armstrong, James Hunter, John Armstrong, William Ketchum and W, L. Mackenzie. 
 
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3G8 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 Province. He was to be a supreme itinerant organizer, and was to go 
 about the country stirring up opposition to the Government. This would 
 involve the arranging and holding of public meetings and secret caucuses, 
 the selection of local correspondents, the supervision of local reports, 
 and various other duties not definitely specified, much being necessarily 
 left to his own discretion. He had been engaged in precisely similar 
 tasks for some weeks previously, but henceforth he was able to carry out 
 his designs as the accredited emissary of the Reformers of Toronto, a 
 fact which of course gave him additional importance in the eyes of the 
 Reformers generally. His appointment was due to his own manoeuvres, 
 but it must be confessed that he was in many respects well qualified for 
 the post. 
 
 He addressed himself to his tasks with redoubled assiduity. The 
 Province was mapped out into four districts, each of which was again 
 subdivided into minor divisions. Local branch societies were formed or 
 remodelled in all neighbourhoods where Reformers were numerous. 
 Each of these was directed to report regularly to a central society, and 
 all the latter were to report to the Corresponding Secretary, by whom the 
 reports were classified, digested, and laid before the central committee in 
 Toronto. Mackenzie at once proceeded to hold a fresh series of meetings, 
 beginning with the townships in which he was best known, and thence 
 flitting hither and thither as was deemed advisable. In this way, in the 
 course of the late summer and autumn he went over the whole of the 
 Home District, and over a great part of the adjoining country. His soul 
 was in the work he was doing, and he put into it all the energy which he 
 could command. He did not succeed in arousing such a feeling in the 
 west as Papineau did in the east. He had not Papineau's marvellous 
 Gallic eloqueace, nor were the farmers of Upper Canada composed of 
 such inflammable material as the habitans of the Lower Province. But 
 Mackenzie, when thoroughly aroused, as he now was, had considerable 
 power to move the masses, and he exerted himself to this end as he had 
 never done before. The manifold wrongs he had endured had exasper- 
 ated his nature almost beyond endurance, and he could lash himself into 
 a storm of indignation at a moment's notice. He succeeded in awaken- 
 ing enthusiasm in persons who had formerly been remarkable for stolidity. 
 
THE FORGING OF THE PIKES. 
 
 3G9 
 
 He presented few new subjects for the consideration of his auditors, but 
 he presented old subjects in a light which was suggestive of new ideas. 
 He declaimed against the iniquities of the Executive, the supineness 
 of the Imperial Government, and the culpable indifference of the British 
 Parliament. The Declaration, in fact, was the text upon which his 
 harangues were founded, but he presented its respective clauses in 
 ever-recurring novelty of aspect. The document was itself submitted 
 to the various meetings for approval, accompanied by Mackenzie's fiery 
 commentary. As a general thing the Eadical element was largely in 
 the ascendant at the gatherings, and he had no trouble about carrying 
 his resolutions, frequently by very large majorities. He adapted his ora- 
 tory to his audience. Where he knew that he would encounter little or no 
 opposition he was much more outspoken than where the feeling was less 
 favourable to him. Wherever he felt that he could carry his audience 
 with him, he boldly advocated separation from the mother-country, and 
 the establishment of elective institutions under an independent Govern- 
 ment ; though he took care to deprecate any appeal to physical force,* 
 and generally advocated a money payment to the British Government as 
 the price of a full release and quittance of all Imperial claims upon the 
 
 * At a meeting held in the township of CaJedon, however, during the second week in August, 
 a very outspoken resolution was discussed. After setting out with some general principles as to 
 the duties of kings, governors and subjects, it ran as follows :— ' ' If the redress of our wrongs can 
 be otherwise obtained, the people of Upiier Canada have not a just cause to use force. But the 
 highest obligation of a citizen being to preserve the community, and every other political duty 
 being derived from, and subordinate to it, every citizen is bound to defend his country against 
 its enemies, both foreign and domestic. When a government is engaged in systematically 
 oppressing a people, and destroying their securities against future oppression, it commits the same 
 species of wrong to them which warrants an appeal to force against a foreign enemy. The his- 
 tory of England and of this continent is not wanting in examples by which the rulers and the 
 ruled may see that, although the people have been often willing to endure bad government with 
 patience, there are legal and constitutional limits to that endurance. The glorious revolutions 
 of 1688 on one continent, and of 1776 on another, may serve to remind those rulers who are 
 obstinately persisting in withholding from their subjects adequate security for good government, 
 although obviously necessary for the permanence of that blessing, that they are placing them- 
 selves in a state of hostility against the governed ; and that to prolong a state .)f irresponsibility 
 and insecurity, sucb as existed in England during the reign of James II., and as now exists in 
 Lower Canada, is a dangerous act of aggression against a people. A magistrate who degenerates 
 into a systematic oppressor, and shuts the gates of justice on the public, thereby restores them to 
 their original right of defending themselves, for he withholds the protection of the la^ %nd so 
 forfeits his claim to enforce their obedience by the authority of law."— For the tex» of this 
 resolution I am indebted to Mr. Lindsey. See his Life of Mackenxie, vol. ii., p. 27, note. 
 
^^^n^^l^v 
 
 370 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 colony. He employed all the paraphernalia which he thought likely to 
 impress the people, and banners bearing revolutionary inscriptions were 
 freely displayed from the platform in neighbourhoods where such a course 
 was deemed safe. Lount, Gibson, Nelson Gorham and others occasion- 
 ally reinforced him by their presence and their oratory. These gentle- 
 men were all gifted with more than ordinary powers of expression. The 
 subject-matter was one which they all had deeply at heart, and upon 
 which they could speak with never-failing freshness and vigour. The 
 audiences were sometimes moved to rapturous demonstrations of applause. 
 Even in communities where the popular sentiment was less enthusiastic 
 the recommendations embodied in the Declaration were generally assented 
 to, and local vigilance committees were formed. Delegates to the 
 proposed Toronto convention were appointed, but the date of holding it 
 was for the time left open. About seventy of these delegates were 
 appointed in the Home District alone. The necessity for making com- 
 mon cause with the Lower Canadian Opposition in their efforts to estab- 
 lish civil and religious liberty was vehemently pressed by the speakers, 
 and commonly recognized by the audiences. Any reference on the part 
 of the speakers to what ** our brethren in Lower Canada " were doing for 
 the cause of liberty was almost certain to evoke applause. A trusted 
 emissary — Jesse Lloyd of Lloydtown — acted as a medium of communica- 
 tion between the Radical leaders in the two Provinces, and passed to and 
 fro from time to time with despatches and intelligence between Papineau 
 and Mackenzie. By this and other means the Lower Canadian leaders 
 were from first to last kept promptly informed of the progress of the 
 movement in the Upper Province. 
 
 Sometimes — not often — Mackenzie met with considerable opposition. 
 The idea of separation from Great Britain was a stumbling-block to a 
 few even of the ultra-Radicals, and had to be handled with extreme 
 delicacy. Others were chary of any concerted action with the Lower 
 Canadians on account of the latter's religious faith. In several instances, 
 moreover, the meetings were actually broken up by the Tories, in whose 
 ears the language used by Mackenzie and his coadjutors was neither more 
 nor less than treason. In other instances, though the opposition was not 
 effective enough to actually break up the meetings, it was found impos- 
 
THE FORQINQ OF THE PIKES. 
 
 371 
 
 eible to carry any resolutions founded upon the Declaration. In two 
 cases the meetings were broken up in confusion by local bodies of Orange- 
 men, and a number of persons sustained more or less physical violence. 
 Such incidents as these, however, were the exception, and not the rule. 
 Out of all the meetings — considerably more than a hundred in num.ber* — 
 held between the adoption of the Declaration and the actual outbreak of 
 rebellion, seventy-five per cent, seem to have passed off without serious 
 disturbance or interference. Most of those who disapproved of the meet- 
 ings staid away from them, and regarded those who promoted them with 
 settled hostility, frequently accompanied by contempt. Of those who 
 attended and supported the resolutions, a very small number had any 
 suspicion that matters were shaping themselves, or were being shaped 
 by Mackenzie, towards rebellion. 
 
 As for Mackenzie himself, he seems to have been intent on mischief 
 during the whole summer of this eventful year. He however recognized 
 the necessity of moving slowly, for no one knew better than he that a 
 very small percentage of the Reformers of the Province could be brought 
 to sanction such a project as rebellion under his auspices. What they 
 might have been disposed to do if rebellion had been mooted by Robert 
 Baldwin, Bidwell, Rolph, and other aminent Reformers, it would now be 
 idle to inquire. It would be as profitless as to discuss what would have 
 been the fate of the Revolution of 1688 if James the Second had died 
 while he was Duke of York. The mental constitution of Baldwin and 
 Bidwell were such that it would have been an impossibility for them to 
 take part in a rebellion, and the general belief with respect to Rolph was 
 that his doing so was equally out of the question. All this was well 
 known to Mackenzie. He also well knew that the Reform press would 
 have promptly denounced him had his designs been known. If he had 
 encountered such denunciation his bubble would have burst there and 
 then. But the Reform press knew nothing of his designs. He was 
 believed to be agitating for constitutional Reform. It was of course 
 known that he was carrying his agitation to an unprecedented length, 
 
 * Mr. Lindiey places the number at two hundred. See Life of Mackenzie, vol. !i., p. 32. I 
 have not been able to find any trace of more than 117. Mackenzie seems to have been present 
 ftt fully half of these. 
 
372 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 but it was supposed that he was doing so for the purpose of intimidating 
 the Government, and thereby coercing them into concessions ; and the 
 Reform press throughout the land was fully prepared to support him in 
 such a course. He accordingly acted with much greater caution than he 
 had been wont to display in the management of either public or private 
 affairs. He perceived that the machinery of vigilance committees, branch 
 societies, public meetings and what not, which had been so successfully 
 set in motion under the auspices of the Reformers, might be turned to 
 account for insurrectionary purposes. To a few of his friends in the 
 country, over whom he possessed almost unbounded influence, and who, 
 as he knew, felt almost as bitterly towards the Government as he himself 
 did, he imparted a project involving a resort to arms. Among them 
 were Samuel Lount, Jesse Lloyd, Silas Fletcher, Nelson Gorham and 
 Peter Matthews. The communication was doubtless made to the several 
 persons at different times, but all of those mentioned seem to have been 
 made acquainted with the project before the beginning of autumn. They 
 all yielded a ready enough acquiescence, but no thought of bloodshed 
 was in their minds. It was intended to get together a great body of 
 Reformers from all over the country, and then to advance upon the 
 capital in the form of a monster demonstration. This idea seems to have 
 originated with Lount. It was at first objected to by Mackenzie as unlikely 
 to prove efficacious. He urged that demonstrations had been made in 
 his favour several years before, and that none of them had had any effect 
 in moderating the policy of the Government, or in inducing the Assembly 
 to permit him to sit therein. He especially instanced the occasion upon 
 which a great crowd of the York electors had accompanied him to the 
 House of Assembly, and had filled the galleries and lobbies while Parlia- 
 ment was sitting.* All this, he pointed out, had been labour in vain, and 
 if such a scene were to be re-enacted it must, in order to produce any 
 satisfactory effect, be on a very large scale indeed. His argument was 
 unanswerable. It was clear that any appeal to the Government's sense 
 of right would be made in vain, and that they could only be influenced 
 through their fears. If anything was to be effected by means of a demon- 
 
 • Ante, p. 266. 
 
THE FORQINQ OF THE PIKES. 
 
 S73 
 
 stration, the number of persona taking part in it must be sufficiently 
 numerous to overawe, and if necessary to coerce, the Government. 
 
 Some weeks appear to have elapsed before any scheme was definitely 
 fixed upon and approved by all the nine or ten persons concerned, who 
 thus took upon themselves the responsibility of directing the future course 
 of our colonial polity. The understanding arrived at was that the 
 time of holding the proposed convention in Toronto would also be the 
 appropriate time for making the proposed demonstration. The conven- 
 tion would afford a reasonable pretext for the assembling of great numbers 
 of Reformers at the capital. It will be remembered that no definite time 
 had been fixed upon for the holding of the convention. It was now settled 
 that it should be held early in the spring of the year 1838. When the 
 gathering should be complete, it was proposed to wait upon the Govern- 
 ment, as the barons waited on King John at Eunnymede, and wring from 
 them their assent to a constitution founded upon the propositions 
 embodied in the Declaration. It was agreed that if this assent should 
 be obtained. Sir Francis Head was, at any rate temporarily, to be left 
 undisturbed in his position of Lieutenant-Governor, but that the Executive 
 Council should be altogether remodelled, and that Rolph, Bidwell and 
 Mackenzie should have seats therein. The Government was to be carried 
 on upon the principle of Executive responsibility to the Assembly. This 
 re-adjustment was to be folloAved by a general election, after which the 
 future of the colony would be in the hands of the Assembly. 
 
 But how if the Government would not be coerced ? What was to be 
 done if they refused to be dictated to ? In that case there was only one 
 course open. The Lieutenant-Governor and his Council were to bo seized 
 with as little violence as possible. A Provisional Government was to be 
 formed with Dr. Eolph at its head, provided that that gentleman could 
 be induced to accept the position. It was not believed that the carrying 
 out of this project would necessarily involve any sacrifice of life, for the 
 force at the disposal of the Provisional Government would be such as to 
 render any opposition futile. Moreover, the bulk of the population of 
 the capital were known to be favourable to Reform principles, and it was 
 believed that they would readily take part in the movement if they saw 
 an assured prospect of success. 
 
374 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 The conspirators were sanguine as to obtaining Rolph's cooperation, 
 for, unlike Bidwell, he had not repudiated the position of a member of 
 the convention, which had been thrust upon him by the meeting at 
 Uoel's brewery in July. Bidwell, immediately upon becoming acquainted 
 with what had been done, had notified the secretary that he had with- 
 drawn from political life, and that he could have nothing to do with the 
 proposed convention. Rolph also had at first felt disposed to decline the 
 appointment, but he had taken time to consider, and had talked the 
 matter over with Dr. Baldwin, who had strongly counselled him to accent. 
 I can find no documentary evidence of either acceptance or rejection on 
 his part, but he seems to have been favourable to the holding of the 
 convention, which he doubtless regarded as a possible means of consoli- 
 dating the Reform party, and of rendering its opposition to the Govern- 
 ment more effective. It was agreed that for the present nothing should 
 be said to him about the contemplated subversion of the Government by 
 force. The boldesi features of the scheme were intended to be kept secret 
 from nearly everyone until the time for action should be near at hand, 
 but no oath of secrecy was imposed, and, in spite of all resolutions, more 
 or less accurate hints of what was in contemplation were conveyed to 
 hundreds of Radicals throughout the Home District and elsewhere. 
 
 As the autumn advanced, the conspirators proceeded to prepare their 
 adherents for the impressive display of the ensuing spring. It was 
 evident that even a very numerously-attended demonstration would not 
 impress the Government unless those taking part in it carried about with 
 them a suggestion of strength. In order to be strong they must have 
 arms, and they must furthermore know how to use them should the 
 necessity arise. A system of secret training and drill was accordingly 
 organized throughout the townships. People met after nightfall in the 
 corners of quiet fields, in the shadow of the woods, and in other seques- 
 tered places, and there received such instruction in military drill and 
 movements as was possible under the circumstances. Old muskets, 
 pistols and cutlasses were furbished up after long disuse, and pressed 
 into service once more. Small quantities of rifles and ammunition were 
 surreptitiously obtained from the United States. Disaffected blacksmiths 
 in the rural districts devoted themselves to the manufacture of rude 
 
THE FORGINQ OF THE PIKES. 
 
 375 
 
 pike-heads, which, after being fitted to hickory handles of five or six 
 feet in length, formed no contemptible weapons for either attack or 
 defence. Lount'a blacksmith shop at Holland Landing was for some 
 weeks largely given up to this manufacture. As there was no attempt 
 at interference with these proceedings, the disaffected became bolder, 
 and began to assemble at regular periods to engage in rifle practice, 
 pigeon-matches, and the slaughter of turkeys. As intimated in a previous 
 note,* Mr. Bidwell was applied to for a legal opinion as to the lawfulness 
 of such gatherings. He advised with great caution, specifying how far 
 he conceived this sort of thing might be carried with impunity. Gather- 
 ings for the slaughter of birds and for trials of skill with the rifle ho 
 conceived to be clearly within the law. 
 
 Before the middle of October the movement had extended in all 
 directions. The four districts into which the Province had been mapped 
 out were called respectively the Toronto Division, the Midland Division, 
 the Western Division and the Eastern Division. The first-named consisted 
 of the counties of York, Simcoe, Durham, Halton, Wentworth, Haldimand 
 and Lincoln. The second included the counties of Northumberland, 
 Hastings, Prince Edward, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. The 
 Western Division consisted of Oxford, Norfolk, Middlesex, Huron, Kent 
 and Essex ; and the Eastern included all that portion of the Province to 
 the east and north-east of the Midland. Preparations for the demonstra- 
 tion were more or less active everywhere, and there were nights when the 
 whole country side might be said to be in ai'ms. In some portions of the 
 Western Division, which was under the direction of Dr. Charles Duncombe, 
 the feeling against the Government was as intense as in any part of the 
 Home District, and the preparations there were carried on with special 
 activity. Dr. Duncombe and a few leading personages among the Radicals 
 were entrusted with the full plan of the conspiracy, so far as it had been 
 matured ; but in no part of the Province were the rank and file taken 
 into anything like full confidence. Most of those who engaged in drill, 
 and in the manufacture of pike-heads and handles, supposed that they 
 were merely getting ready for a formidable procession which was to 
 intimidate the Government by reason of its numerical strength. 
 
 *Antt, p. 362. 
 
S7G 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 The enquiry may not unnaturally be made : What were the Govern- 
 ment about all this time ? Were they in total ignorance of what was going 
 on all around them ? Not at all. They were kept regularly informed of 
 the banners, speech-makings, drillings, pigeon-matches and what not ; and 
 — at least in some instances — they contrived to obtain pretty accurate 
 reports of the proceedings at Mackenzie's meetings. But they committed 
 the grave error of undervaluing their opponents. They would not believe 
 it possible that Mackenzie could ever again be dangerous. He had been so 
 completely worsted in his hand-to-hand fight with Toryism that it was 
 not to be credited that he would ever again be able to secure a following 
 large enough to be worth seriously considering. True, he threatened all 
 manner of dire calamities, but he had for so many years been accustomed 
 to indulge in loud-mouthed threats that he had lost all power to create 
 alarm. He was like the shepherd's boy who had cried " wolf " so often 
 that nobody paid heed to him. The official party spoke of him as an 
 upstart mannikin who had enjoyed his little day of notoriety, but whose 
 power for either good or ill was past and gone. Sometimes, when he 
 published anything of special ferocity in his paper, the attention of the 
 Lieutenant-Governor would be drawn to it by his supporters, who would 
 urge that a prosecution should be instituted. But Sir Francis's wiser 
 counsellors knew better than to adopt any such foolish course. They 
 knew that State prosecutions had done more to alienate popular sympathy 
 and to weaken the power of the Government in times past than any 
 other cause whatever. The editor of the Constitution, they believed, had 
 steadily lost his influence — an influence which he could feever hope to 
 regain unless some imprudent act of his enemies should once more create 
 for him a specious sympathy and notoriety. Nothing, it was felt, would 
 be so certain to give him a fictitious importance as to prosecute him for 
 treason, at least until he should proceed to such lengths as to render a 
 prosecution imperative. Sir Francis Head, Chief Justice Eobinson, 
 Attorney-General Hagerman, Judge Jones, and the whole race of official- 
 dom refused to believe in the possibility of an actual rebellion. They all 
 declared that there were not fifty men in the Province who would consent 
 to take arms against the Government. Plenty of low Radicals, it was 
 said, were ready enough to boast and bluster, but their courage was only 
 
1 
 
 THE FORQINO OF THE PIKES. 
 
 377 
 
 skin-deep. As for Mackenzie, he was admitted to be an exception, so far 
 as the mere disposition to rebel was concerned, but he had lost nny 
 influence he had ever possessed, and counted for nothing. It was toler- 
 ably certain that he would sooner or later overstep the limits at which it 
 would be possible to leave him alone. Then, when he should have placed 
 himself in such a position that no loyal subject could defend him, would 
 be the time to make an effectual disposition of him. By all means, then, 
 give him an abundance of rope. This was the spirit in which the little 
 man and his proceedings were regarded by the authorities, and he availed 
 himself of the freedom of speech and action to the fullest conceivable 
 extent. "First," says Sir Francis,* "he wrote, and then he printed, and 
 then he rode, and then he spoke, stamped, foamed, wiped his seditious 
 little mouth, and then spoke again ,* and thus, like a squirrel in a cage, 
 he continued with astounding assiduity the centre of a revolutionary 
 career." Attorney-General Hagerman was instructed to report to his 
 Excellency as soon as Mackenzie had proceeded so far in the direction 
 of treason that his conviction would be certain, and meanwhile he was 
 permitted to invoke the Spirit of Freedom, both in prose and poetry, to 
 his heart's content. 
 
 In the Lower Province matters had so shaped themselves as to favour 
 Mackenzie's designs. Sir John Colborne was kept tolerably well informed 
 as to the proceedings of Papineau and the other fomenters of revolt, 
 and he had become aware that he would very soon be compelled to 
 have recourse to the strong hand. He felt perfectly secure, but at the 
 same time determined to neglect no precaution which might conduce 
 to a swift and decisive victory. He mustered all the lorces at his 
 command, and satisfied himself, from personal supervision, as to their 
 efficiency. There were a few troops stationed in Toronto. Sir John 
 shared Sir Francis Head's confidence in the loyalty of the Upper 
 Canadians, and acquiesced in the opinion that an Upper Canadian 
 rebellion was altogether out of the question. As he believed that there 
 was no likelihood of the troops being needed there, he deemed it prudent 
 to strengthen his position by removing them to Kingston, where they 
 
 ♦ The Emigrant, p. 157. 
 
 ' 
 
378 TUE UPPER CANADIAN UEBELLION. 
 
 would bo more readily available in case of his requiring their services to 
 crush the rebellion in Lower Canada. When this removal had been 
 effected, Toronto was left wholly unguarded by military. By command 
 of the Lieutenant-Governor, several thousand stand of arms which had 
 recently been sent from Kingston, together with a quantity of ammunition, 
 were committed to the custody of the municipal authorities and deposited 
 in the City Hall. Two constables were placed in charge, and this was 
 absolutely the only precaution taken against the seizure of both arms and 
 ammunition by any determined body of men who might think proper to 
 possess themselves thereof. 
 
 Mackenzie believed that the propitious time had arrived, and that the 
 resolve to postpone until the following spring any active measures against 
 the Government should be rescinded. He received an additional impetus 
 from certain messages which reached him through Jesse Lloyd, on 
 Monday, the 9 th of October, from the loaders of the movement in Lower 
 Canada. These messages apprised him that the French Canadians 
 were about to make what thoy called a " brave stroke for liberty" without 
 further delay. They entreated him to cooperate with them by simul- 
 taneously raising the standard of revolt in the Upper Province. Lloyd 
 himself favoured the idea, and counselled its adoption. 
 
 Such a momentous step, however, could not very well be taken without 
 the concurrence of others. Mackenzie, who at the time of receiving the 
 messages was out on Yonge Street, some miles from Toronto, hastened 
 into town, and summoned a small secret caucus to meet at Doel's 
 brewery. I am unable to fix the exact date of holding this caucus, but 
 it must have been on the evening of either Monday the 9th or Tuesday 
 the 10th of October.* Eleven persons were present. They were, 
 1. Mackenzie himself; 2. John Doel, the owner of the brewery ; 3. Dr. 
 Morrison ; 4. John Mackintosh, who sat in the Assembly for the Fourth 
 Riding of York ; 5. John Elliott, who, as already mentioned, acted as Secre- 
 tary-in-Ordinary to the Reform Union meetings in Toronto ; 6. Timothy 
 
 * John Elliott, in his testimony on Dr. Morrison's trial, places the date in October ; and I 
 have evidence in my possession that Mackenzie received the intimation mentioned in the text 
 on the second Monday in October. The second Monday fell on the 9th. There would be no 
 delay in summoning the caucus, which would therefore be held on the evening of either Monday 
 or Tuesday. 
 
THE FORQINO OF THE PIKES. 
 
 37y 
 
 Parson, who kept a ptraw bonnot and fancy warehouse on Kinj? Street ; 
 7. Uobert jSfackay, a grocer and wine merchant; 8. William Leaslio, one of 
 the Hrm of Losslie & Sons, booksellers, stationers and druggists, at number 
 110^ King Street; 9. John Armstrong, n mainifacturer of edged tools, 
 having a place of business at number ',V,i Yonge Street ; 10. Thomas 
 Armstrong, a carpenter, residing at number 11 Lot (now Queen) Street ; 
 11. John Mills, hatter, 191 King Street. Dr. Rolph and J. H. Price had 
 been asked to attend, but they did not see lit to do so. No one except 
 Mackenzie appears to have had any idea of the real object for which the 
 meeting had been summoned. The other ten merely repaired to the 
 appointed place to hear whatever communication the Agent and Corres- 
 ponding Secretary might have to make to them. Upon being called 
 upon to state the purpose for which he had called them together, 
 Mackenzie proceeded to unfold his project. He had no sooner entered upon 
 it than he encountered mui-murs and expressions of dissent. He stated that 
 he could count upon the active cooperation of at least fifteen hundred men 
 in the Home District alone, of whom, however, not more than a thu-d 
 were supplied with arms. Beyond the limits of the Home District he 
 could count upon from two to three thousand, but of these not one-fifth 
 were properly armed. All these, he declared, might be implicitly depended 
 upon to support any project which might then and there be determined 
 upon. He proposed to send out trusty messengers in all directions to 
 summon these " good men and true " to repair at once to Toronto. But 
 there was no need, he said, to wait for the arrival of these supporters. 
 He had taken pains to ascertain the exact condition of the city, and it 
 was absolutely defenceless, owing to the sending away of the troops. 
 Why should not the decisive blow be struck at once ? Why not instantly 
 send for Dutcher's* foundrymen and Armstrong's axemakers, all of whom 
 were true to the good cause? With these men at their backs, they might 
 proceed straightway to Government House and seize Sir Francis, who 
 had just come in from his daily ride on horseback, and who was guarded 
 ^ — — — , 1 p ' — " — — — 
 
 • William A. Dutoher had a foundry on Yonge Street, where a good many hands were 
 •mployod, most of whom were readers of the ConstittUion, and supporters of the Radical cause. 
 The Armstrong whoso axemakers it was proposed to press into service was John Armstrong, 
 who was himself present at the meeting. 
 
3ii0 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 by only one sentinel. His cajiture having been effected, they might 
 proceed to the City Hall and seize the arras and ammunition. The next 
 thing would be to proclaim a Provisional Government, and give Sir 
 Francis the alternative of conceding what the Radicals demanded or 
 taking the consequences of refusal. There was absolutely nothing, 
 Mackenzie averred, to interfere with the carrying out of this programme. 
 Four-fifths of the citizens would join them when they saw that success 
 had attended their efforts, and of the other fifth at least half would remain 
 neutral, while the small residue of the population would be too insigni- 
 ficant in point of numbers to render it possible for them to offer any 
 serious opposition. 
 
 Such was the astounding scheme propounded by Mackenzie. His 
 small audience could hardly credit the evidence of their senses. When 
 he had proceeded thus far, Dr. Morrison could restrain himself no longer, 
 but burst forth with an impetuosity and indignation which had but seldom 
 been observed in him. He asked if it was possible that Mackenzie could 
 be serious in unfolding so foolhardy a design. "This," said he, "is 
 treason ; and if you think to entrap me into any such mad scheme, you 
 will find I am not your man ! " He declared that if another word were 
 said on the subject he would forthwith leave the room. The others present 
 also repudiated the proposal with more or less of vehemence, but they 
 all regarded it as a mad freak of Mackenzie's, and hardly worth grave 
 consideration. Mackenzie found that nothing was to be done, and a few 
 minutes later the little conclave broke up. 
 
 On the following day Mackenzie called upon Dr. Eolph, who had 
 meanwhile heard from Dr. Morrison of the proposal of the previous 
 evening. Dr. Rolph questioned Mackenzie strictly respecting the accuracy 
 of his details as to the number of men who could be depended upon as 
 adherents in the event of a revolution. Mackenzie repeated his assertion 
 that about four thousand could easily be got together, every one of 
 whom was ripe and ready for taking up arms. He produced certain 
 documentary evidence which went to confirm the truth of his state- 
 ments, and vehemently declared that a successful revolution was 
 not only feasible, but inevitable. He proposed not to wait for the 
 proposed convention, but to speedily assemble all the men who could be 
 
THE FOIIGINQ OF THE P1K.ES. 381 
 
 got together at some point within a few miles of the city. This he 
 proposed to effect as secretly as possible. The men could then advance 
 upon the city and proceed in a body to the City Hall, where they could 
 possess themselves of arms and ammunition. They would then be 
 masters of the situation, and could set up a Provisional Government on 
 such terms as might be agreed upon. Dr. Kolph was so far impressed 
 by the documentary and other evidence placed before him that he 
 consented to give the matter his consideration, and to discuss it with 
 some of his friends. 
 
 After turning the subject over in his mind, Dr. Rolph appears to 
 have arrived at the conclusion that the subversion of the Government was 
 perfectly feasible. The capital of the Province was defenceless. The 
 Lieutenant-Governor had not only sent away the troops, but had per- 
 sistently refused to take any steps for the organization of the militia. 
 If several thousands of the people were really disposed to assert themselves, 
 there was nothing to prevent them from carrying out the programme 
 outlined by Mackenzie. They could capture Toronto and seize the 
 members of the Government before any measures could be taken to 
 successfully oppose them. This having been quietly effected without 
 bloodshed, it seemed probable enough that the population at large would 
 not refuse their support. The Reformers of the Province constituted 
 a large majority of the inhabitants, and there was not a Reformer in 
 Upper Canada but was heartily weary of Sir Francis Head and his clique. 
 Only a small minority would have consented to enter upon the risks and 
 dangers of a rebellion ; but there is a great difference between a rebellion 
 to be encountered and one which has been successfully accomplished. 
 Thousands of persona who would strenuously refuse to have any 
 connection with the former would readily acquiesce in the latter. If the 
 Government were once subverted and in the hands of the Reformers, 
 and if the entire Reform element were in sympathy with the change, 
 the rebellion would so far be a success, for at this time there were 
 comparatively few persons in the Province who cared suflficiently for the 
 Family Compact to risk life or limb for the purpose of restoring them to ' 
 
 power. But there was another important question to be considered : What 
 would the Imperial Government have to say about it ? If the might and 
 
rv 
 
 382 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 majesty of Britain were to be enlisted against the project, no Upper 
 Canadian rebellion could hope for permanent success, unless in the very 
 unlikely event of national interference on the par u of the United States. 
 But was it not probable that the Imperial Governi aent would be strongly 
 impressed by this uprising of a long-enduring and much-wronged people, 
 and that a sense of justice would compel them to adopt a new policy with 
 respect to the Canadas ? Should this conjecture prove to be correct, all 
 that was sought to be effected by rebellion would have been accomplished. 
 In any case, the condition of the Reformers could hardly be altered for 
 the worse. The leaders of the movement would be driven to take refuge 
 in the States, but some of them had already begun to regard such an 
 emigration as desirable, for there seemed to be no future for them under 
 Family Compact rule. 
 
 With such thoughts as these passing through his mind. Dr. Rolph had 
 several conferences with Dr. Morrison, with whom Mackenzie also had 
 some conversation after the caucus at the brewery. Dr. Morrison was 
 disposed to attach great weight to any suggestion emanating from his 
 professional colleague, and when he had been placed in possession of the 
 latter' s views he was able to contemplate a rising of the peojole with 
 much greater complacency than before. The idea gradually took form 
 and shape in his mind. At Mackenzie's urgent request he gave him a 
 letter introducing Jesse Lloyd to Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan, of Montreal, who 
 was editor of a Radical newspaper, and known to be favourable to 
 insm'rection. Lloyd was about to start from his home in the township 
 of King on one of his expeditions to the Lower Province, to confer with 
 the lead-'rs of the insurrectionary movements there. This was sometime 
 dm'ing the third week in October. 
 
 Dr. Morrison, having thus put his hand to the plough, regarded 
 himself as in a measure pledged to support the cause of the people, 
 if they were really bent on subverting the Government. One day 
 about a fortnight later he received an urgent message from Dr. Eolph 
 to call at the latter's house on Lot (Queen) Street. Upon repairing 
 thither he found Rolph and Mackenzie in confevence with Lloyd, 
 who had just returned from the Lower Province with a letter to 
 Mackenzie from Thomas Storrow Brown, one of the directors of the 
 
 1- 
 
 » 
 
 / I 
 

 i 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 THE FORaiNQ OF THE PIKES. 
 
 383 
 
 insurrectionary movement there. The letter seemed, on the surface, to 
 be a mere business communication, but its phraseology had a secret 
 meaning understood by Mackenzie, who expounded it to the others. 
 Lloyd supplemented the lotter by certain verbal communications. It 
 appeared that the Lower Canadians were prepared to act, but they wished 
 the Upper Canadian Radicals to make the first move, so as to divert 
 attention from their proceedings. This would involve grave consequences, 
 and could not be resolved upon all in a moment. After some 
 consideration, it was agreed that Eolph, Morrison and Mackenzie should 
 meet at Morrison's house on Newgate (Adelaide) Street that same 
 evening to take serious counsel together. The meeting was held as agreed 
 upon. Rolph and Morrison pointed out to Mackenzie th;B momentous con- 
 sequences which would flow from acting on the suggestion from Lower 
 Canada. They expressed some doubt as to whether the people were 
 really sufficiently desirous of a change to risk their liberties and lives in a 
 rebellion, and they pointed out the disastrous consequences of failure. 
 Mackenzie, however, who possessed much better opportunities for judging 
 as to the bent of popular opinion among the Radicals, would hardly 
 listen to such remonstrances. For the hundredth time he pointed out 
 the defenceless state of the capital. Within the last few days the troops 
 which had been removed from Toronto to Kingston had been withdrawn 
 from the Province altogether by Sir John Colborne, in order that they 
 might be used against the rebels in Lower Canada. The whole of the 
 Upper Province was therefore without means of defence. Mackenzie 
 pledged his word that the whole Radical element were anxious to rise in 
 the good cause. He asserted that he had received lists signed by 
 thousands of persons, each one of whom had pledged himself to rise in 
 revolt at any moment when summoned. Rebellion, he declared, must 
 come, as the spirit of insurrection had been thoroughly aroused ; and he 
 upbraided his interlocutors for their lukewarmness in the cause of the 
 people. After several hours of discussion and deliberation it was 
 agreed that Mackenzie should proceed through the country and distinctly 
 submit the question to the different political unions. If they really felt 
 ready and anxious to put down the existing Government by force of 
 arms, as Mackenzie declared, they should have their way. A plan was 
 
 1 
 
d84> 
 
 THE UPPER CANADIAN REBELLION. 
 
 discussed for seizing the arms in the City Hall, for taking into custody 
 the chief Government JTicials, and for establishing a Provisional Govern- 
 ment with Dr. Eolph at its head. All this, it wab believed, could be 
 easily effected without firing a shot, and without the sacri^ce of a single 
 life. It v*as also distinctly understood that private property was to 
 be respected, and that all money in the banks was to be regarded as 
 private property, except such as actually belonged to the Government. 
 It was however expressly stipulated that nobody was to be finally 
 committed to any definite course of procedure until Mackenzie's return 
 from his rural tour with the sanction of the various political unions. 
 No authority whatever was meanwhile given to Mackenzie, either 
 expressly or by implication, to stir the people up to rebellion. He was 
 simply authorized to ascertain their views. At his own urgent request 
 permission was given him to use the names of Rolph and Morrison, but 
 only so far as to state that if the people were really desirous of effecting 
 a revolution, they might depend upon receiving the countenance of those 
 two gentlemen. On this distinct understanding Mackenzie left Dr. 
 Morrison's house, and started the same night or early on the following 
 morning for the north. 
 
 NOTE TO CHAPTER X. 
 My authorities for the foregoing chapter are too numerous for citation. In addition to 
 printed works and official records, they consist of manuscript letters, statements, aflSdavits and 
 other documents which have never seen the light, and the most important of which will be given, 
 in whole or in part, in the second volume. 
 
 END OP VOL. I. 
 
 V- ■ -lii., •