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'.
AN ABRIDGED
HISTORY OF CANADA.
BY
WILLIAM H. WITHROW, D.D., F.R.S.C.
ALSO, AN
Outline History of Canadian
Literature.
By G. mercer ADAM.
TORONTO:
V/ILIvIAM BRIOOS.
MONTBjsAL, C. W. COATES, I Halifax, S, F. HUBSTIS,
i— / "^jC
r
F5'0i"0
lji/|TH^-<^'-
/3 3v^
158531
yjj.i
Bntkrkd, according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year one thousand
eight hundred and eighty-seven, by William Brigqs, Book Steward of the
Methodist Booli and Publishing House, Toronto, at the Department of
Agriculture.
1
c thousand
ard of the
irtment of
PREFACE.
In the earlier portion of this history the author has studied
compression so far as was consistent with sufficient clearness
in order to be able to give in fuller detail an account of the
more recent and important events leading to and following
the confederation of the British North American province?.
The growth of the principles of civil liberty and the develop-
ment of the Canadian Constitution, will, it is hoped, be
r'ound impartially trac d in these pages. The social, com-
mercial and military, as well as the political aspects of
Canadian history, have been treated as fully as the neces-
sary limits of space would permit.
While the narrative interest has centred chiefly in the
provinces now known as Ontario and Quebec, the contem-
porary history of the sister Maritime Provinces, and of the
newer provinces of the North-west and the Pacific coasts
has been given as fully, yet succinctly, as possible. The
contemporary history of the empire and of foreign countries,
where it was intimately connected with that of Canada, has
been interwoven with the text.
The writer has made copious use of the best existing
sources of information, embracing original documents in
French and English, parliamentary reports, newspaper files
representing the views of all political parties, and many
printed volumes. He has endeavoured to observe strict
if
PREFACE.
impartiality, and trusts that he has been able to do so, even
in treading upon the delicate ground of recent political
events.
The running dates at the top and margin of the page, and
the full syi.optical headings of the chapters, will clearly
indicate the chronological and other relations of the events
described, and will greatly facilitate private study, and
class examin.itions and reviews. A copious pi-;;nouncing
vocabulary of proper names has been considered essential
to the completeness of the work.
The following quotation from Milton expresses the spirit
in which the author desires that this little book should be
read : " Consider what nation it is whereof ye are ; a nation
not slow and dull ; but of a quick, ingenious and piercing
spirit ; acute to invent, subtile and sinewy to discourse, not
beneath the reach of any point that human capacity can
soar to."
Trusting that this contribution to Canadian history will
help to cultivate in its younger readers an intelligent
patriotism, and better prepare them for the duties of citi-
zenship, the author commits it to the sympathy of an indul-
gent public.
The admirable Outline History of Canadian Literature
by that accomplished writer, Mr. G, Mercer Adam, will
meet a long felt want, and add greatly to the value of this
volume.
W. H. W.
Toronto, August, 1887,
so, even
political
)age, and
clearly
le events
idy, and
louncing
essential
he spirit
hould bo
a nation
piercing
arse, not
city can
tory will
telligent
of citi-
m indul-
terature
im, will
s of this
I. W.
CONTENTS.
t
J
PAQB
Chapter I.— Discovery op America— To 1497.
Ancient Traditions— The Norsembn— Columbus— Vespucci— De Gama 9
Chapter II.— Early Exploration -To 1549.
The Cabota— Cartier— The Robervals , 12
Chapter III.— Tnr Indian Tribes.
The Mound-Buildors- Modorn Tribes- Arts— Wars— SuporDtitions—
Alliances— Tribal Divisions— Present Conditions. 15
Chapter IV.— Champlain Administration- To 1635.
Early Colonization— Frobisher— Magellan— Drake- Gilbert — Raleigh
— Des Monta—Port Royal— Champlain Founds Quebec— Its Resto-
ration-Death of Champlain 20
Chapter V.— The Hundred Associates— To 1663.
Early Colonization — Jamestown — Plymouth — Montmagny —Ville
Mario— Huron Missions and Martyrs— Laval— Des Ormeaux 27
Chapter VI.— Royal Government— To 1670.
Supreme Council— De M6sy— De Tracy— Talon— Do CourcoUes— Indian
Wars— Seigniorial Tenure— Fur Trade 33
Chapter VIT.— Discovery op the Great West— To 1687.
Frontenac— Jesuit Explorers— Marqtiette-La Salle 37
Chapter Vin.— "The Agony op Canada"— To 1689.
De la Barre— Indian Wars— Denon ville— Massacre of Lachine 39
Chapter IX.— Frontj^nac's Second Administration— To 1698.
Fronch Invasion of New England— Sir William Phipps is Repulsed at
Quebec— D'lbervilie— Treaty of Ryswick— Death of Frontenac 41
Chapter X.— "Queen Anne's War"— To 1743.
Treaty with Iroquois— Vaudreuil-Capture of Port Royal—Failure of
Attack on Quebec- Peace of Utrecht— Charlevoix 45
Chapter XI.— Louisburq— Du Quesne— To 1754.
Pepperel's Conquest of Louisburg— Halifax Founded — Collision in
Ohio Valley 48
Vl CONTENVS.
PAOB
Ohapticr XII.— Tfik Campaign of 1766.
Sir William Johnnnn - I^nuldock's Defeat— DIoskau's Dofoat at Fort
Oeorgo— Expulsion of the Acadlans 61
Chaptkr XIII.— Campaions of 1756 and 1757.
Seven Years' War Bej?un— Capture of Forts Oswego and William
Henry— Exhaustion of Canada -Famine— Extortion of liigot 65
Chaptkr XIV.— Cami-aions of 1758 and 1759.
Fall of Louisburg— Abercrombie's Dofoat— Capture of Fort du Qucano
—Niagara and Ticondcroga Taken 68
Chaptkr XV.— Tub Conquest of Canada, 1759 and 1760.
Wolfe Before Quebec— Engagement at Montmorency— Battle of the
Plains of Abraham— Death of Wolfe and Montcalm— Battle of
Ste. Foyo— Capitulation of Canada 62
Chapter XVI.— British Rule- To 1774.
Effects of the Conquest— The Peace of Paris— Conspiracy of Pontiac—
The Quebec Act 68
Chapter XVII.— The Revolutionary War— To 1784.
Causes of the War— Invasion of Canada -Burgoync's and Cornwallis'
Surrender— The Peace of Versailles— Tlie U. E. Loyalists 72
Chapter XVIII.— The Founding of Upper Canada— To 1809.
The Constitutional Act— Early Legislation— York Founded— Growth
of Parties— Judge Thorpe— Social Organization 78
Chapter XIX.— Outbreak of the War of 1812-16.
The Now Constitution— Sir J. Craig's Administration— Constitutional
Crisis - Causes of the War- -Hull's Surrender— Battle of Queenston
Heights, and Death of Brock- Dearborn's Invasion 83
Chapter XX.— Campaign of 1813.
Capture of New York and Niagara— Victories at Stony Creek and
Beaver Dams -Defeats at Sackett's Harbour, Lake Erie, and
Moravian Town— Victories of Chrysler's Farm and Chateauguay—
Burning of Niagara— Sea Fights , 8f*
Chapter XXI.— Campaign of 1814.
Victories of LacoUe and Oswego— Battles of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane
and Fort Erie— Provost's Retreat from Plat tsburg -Capture of
Washington -Treaty of Ghent— Battle of New Orleans 95
Chapter XXII. —After tub War— Lower Canada— To 1828.
Effects of the War— Internal Development- Civil Strife -The Union
Scheme— Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 100
1
PAOI
t Fort
51
55
58
62
68
72
78
83
8"
95
100
1
I
I
*
I
CONTENTS. vii
fAei
Chapter XXTTI -After the War— Upper Canada— To 1836.
The "Family Compact"— Robert Oourlav Tho " Canada Trado Act"
Uov. iJr. Strachan— William Lyon Mackenzie— Koburt Baldwin-
Sir Francis Bond Head 103
Chaitkr XXIV. -The Rebellion— Lower Canada— To 1838.
Political Disaffection —The Gosfore Commission— Collision at Mont-
real -Rebels Routed by Wothorall and Sir John Colborno— Lord
Durham 107
Chapter XXV.— The Rebellion— Upper Canada— 1830 ash 1837.
Struggles for Responsible Government— Mackenzie's Rebellious Pro-
jects—The Rendezvous at Gallows Hill— Death of Col. Moodio—
Attack on Toronto— Rout of tho Itobels— Col. McNab 112
Chapter XXVL— The "Patriot" War-1837 and 1838.
Mackenzie at Navy Island— Colonel McNab on the Frontier- Tho
CaroKne— "Patriot" Raids-Battle of Windmill Point— Rebellion
Suppressed 115
Chapter XXVIL— The Union op the Canadas— To 1841.
Constitutional Struggles in Marii mo Provinces— Boundary Disputes
-Lord Durham's Report— The Union Bill— Clergy Reserves 119
Chapter XXVIII. -Responsible Government— To 1846.
The New Constitution— " Double Majority"— Municipal System— Sir
Charles Metcalfe— Upper Canada Rebellion Losses Bill-Public
School System 121
Chapter XXIX.— Rebellion Losses Agitation—To 1849.
Lord Elgin— Lower Canada Rebellion Losses Bill— Mob Violence at
Montreal— Burning of Parliament Buildings 124
Chapter XXX.— The Railway Era— To 1852.
Political and Commercial Emancipation — Internal Development-
Clergy Reserve Question— Francis Hincka— Railway Construction
—Municipal Loan Fund 127
Chapter XXXI.— Important Legislation- 1853 and 1854.
Reciprocity Treaty— Secularization of Clergy Reserves— Abolition of
Seigniorial Tenure 130
Chapter XXXII.— The Coalition Ministry— To 1858.
Sir Edmund Walker Head— Militia Organization— Mr. John A. Mac-
donald —" Double Magority" Abandoned — " Representation by
Population " Demanded— Mr. George Brown 133
Chapter XXXIII.—" Representation by Population "—To 1861.
Ottawa Selected as Capital— The Two Days' Ministry— The " Double
Shuffle "— " Joint Authority" Resolutions— The Prince of Wales in
Canada 136
Vtll CONTENTS.
PA8S
OnAPTBR XXXIV.— Political Ckibib— To 1863.
Lord Monok— The ''Trent" Affair— Defeat of C^articr-Macdonald
MiniBtnr on Militia Bill — Commercial Prosperity — ^fa/>ama
Piracies 139
Chapter XXXV.— Thk Confederation Movement— To 18fi5.
Political Dead-Lock— Coalition Ministry -Charlottetown and Quebec
Conferences— Canadian Parliament Adopts Quebec Scheme 142
Chapter XXXVI.— The Fenian Invasion -1866.
Abrogation of ReciprocltyTreaty — The Fenian Brotherhood— Invasion
of Canada— Fight at Ridgeway—Prcscott and Cornwall Menaced
-Eastern Frontier Crossed— The Raids Suppressed— Last Parlia-
ment of Old Canada 147
Chapter XXX VII.— Confederation Accomplished To 1868.
British North America Act- Inauguration of New Constitution—
Anti-Confederation Agitation — "Bettor Terms" Granted Nova
Scotia 152
Chapter XXXVIH— Rival Fur Companies— Red River Settlement
Hudson's Bay Company— French Fur Company— North-west Com-
S any —Fort Williaui — Red River Settlement Planted — Fierce
Livalries and Conflicts- Assiniboia 156
Chapter XXXIX.— The Red River Rebellion— To 1870.
Rupert's Land Act -Riel's Revolt- Provisional Government— Exocu-
• tion of Thomas Scott— Red River B]xpedition— Collapse of the
Rebellion— British Columbia enters the Dominion 158
Chapter XL.— Fall of the Macdonald Ministry— To 1873.
The Washington Treaty— Lord Dufferin, Governor-General— Geneva
Arbitration— Canada Pacific Railway Scandal— Prince Edward
Island Enters Dominion— Resignation of Ministry 162
Chapter XLI.— The Mackenzie Administration— To 1876.
New Government— New Pacific Railway Act— Qu'Appelle Treaty-
Organization of North-west Coimcil— Inter-Colonial Railway 165
Chapter XLII.— VicE-RoyALTY of the Marquis of Lornb.
New Conservative Government— Arrival of Marquis of Lome— The
National Policy "-Pacific Railway Syndicate 168
Chapter XLIII.— Vice-Royalty of the Marquis of Lansdov^ne.
Red River Rebellion- Completion of Canadian Pacific Railway— The
Queen s Jubilee ', 170
H
the
874
fkan
llonald
Witiiia
139
|) 1805.
Jucboc
142
Ivaslon
macod
*arlia-
117
D 1868.
ition—
Nova
152
TTLKMENT
; Corn-
Fierce
156
1870.
PJxocu-
of the
158
> 1873.
ronova
dward
162
1876.
eaty—
165
RNB.
-The
168
DOWNE.
-The
170
I
I
I
I
I
I
HISTORY OF CANADA.
CHAPTER I.
THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
Ancient Triulil ions —The NorHcmen colonize Groenland and discover
America in the Ninth Oontury— 874. Diaz diwcovcra the Cape of
Good Hope— 1486. Kllbrts of Columbus to orRanize an Expedition;
batHed for ten years -He sets sail August 3rd, and discovkks San
Salvador, October 11th— 1492. Amerigo Vespucci gives his namo
to the Continent— Do Gania readies India by way of tho Capo of
Good Hope--1498.
From very ancient times there were traditions of the exist-
ence of «a western woi'ld. Allusions in the Greek and Latin
writers to the fabled island of Atlantis and the Gardens of
tlie Hesperides have been doubtfully supposed to refer to
the continent of America. Both Phoenician find Cartha-
genian voyagers are said, on slender evidence, to have
crossed by way of the Azores to some unknown land beyond
tlie western sea.
stories concerning the Irish and the Welsh.
On much better ground rest the claims of the Norsemen
to the discovery of America. There is evidence that Ice-
land, eight hundred and fifty miles from Norway, was
4,- . colonized from that country over a thousand years
ago. Icelandic sac^as record that Greenland was soon
after discovered and settled, and that for four hundred years
it remained a see of Rome, with a succession of seventeen
Christian bishops. The sagas further record that, in the
year one thousand, Leif Erikson wintered about the latitude
of Boston, in a newly-discovered country which, from the
abundance of wild grapes, he called Vinland. He is said
also to have visited and named Markland (Nova Scotia),
Little credence can be given to similar
10
NORSE DISCOVERIES.
[874
and Helluland (Newfoundland). Soon after, several col-
onies, it is recorded in the sagas, settled in Vinland ; but
they were eventually expelled by the natives or wasted by
famine and disease.
But, even though the alleged facts be true, they do not
lessen the glory of Columbus for his re-discovery of the
western continent. His was no less the commanding genius
that wrested its secret from the bosom of the sea, and re-
vealed to the astonished eyes of Europe a new world. He
lived in a period of remarkable maritime adventure. The
rich commerce with the East in gold and silver and precious
stones, in ivory, silks, and costly spices, had stimulated the
desire to find a shorter way of access to India — the land of
those coveted treasures — than the tedious caravan route
through the Syrian deserts. The invention of the Mariners'
Compass, and the i.icreased knowledge of astronomy and
navigation, encouraged the efforts to seek this distant land
by sea. With this design, the Portuguese had extended their
voyages along the African coast, till at length, in 1486,
Bartolommeo Diaz reached the southern part of that con-
tinent, which was named, as an augury of the long-sought
discovery, the Cape of Good Hope.
Christopher Columbus, a Genoese mariner, had in the
meanwhile conceived the idea of reaching India by sailing
directly westward around the world. Possibly he may have
heard, in a voyage which he made to Iceland, traditions of
the former discovery of a land beyond the Atlantic. He
was confirmed in his convictions by the writings of learned
men, and by the strange products of unknown v,ountries
cast upon the shores of Europe by western gales. For
twenty years he cherished hi« grand design, and for ten
years he went from court to court — to Genoa, Portugal, and
Spa^'n — seeking to inspire confidence like his own, and to
obtain an outfit for the enterprise. After many dishearten-
ing rebuffs, delays, and broken promises, when impoverished
and almost despairing, the generous Isabella of Castile be-
came his patroness, pledging even her crown jewels for the
support of his project. But the means furnished were
strangely inadequate for the magnitude of the task — only
three small vessels and one hundred and twenty men. With
a lofty faith in what he believed to be his providential mis-
sion, Columbus claimed the office of admiral of all the
4
I
[874
1492]
COLUMBUS.
11
Jseveral col-
(inland; but
wasted by
hey do not
ery of the
ding genius
sea, and re-
world. He
ture. The
nd precious
uiated the
-the land of
•avan route
le Mariners'
'onomy and
[listant land
tended their
h, in 1486,
of that con-
long-sought
had in the
a by sailing
le may have
^aditions of
lantic. He
I of learned
ti ^.ountries
gales. For
nd for ten
•rtugal, and
wn, and to
dishearten-
ipoverished
Castile he-
els for the
shed were
task — only
len. With
ential mis-
of all the
lands to be discovered, and one-ten bh of the profit of all
their merchandise.
After solemn r ligious rites, on Friday, August 3rd, 1492,
Columbus and his companions sailed on their memorable
voyage. Leaving the Canary Islands on the 6th of Sep-
tember, they sailed steadily w stward for five and thirty
days. The mysterious trade winds seemed to the sailors to
waft them remorselessly onward to some dread unknown.
The appalling distance they had travelled, the alarming
variations of the compass which occurred, the strange por-
tents of a sea of weeds that almost prevented their progress,
and of a fierce storm that followed, aroused in the dis-
affected crews dark conspiracies and turbulent mutinies.
At length, on the night of October the 1 1 th, lights were seen
moving amid the darkness, and the joyous cry of " Land !
land ! " rang from vessel to vessel. "With the dawn of the
morning the New World lay revealed to European eyes.
With devout prayers and hymns of praise, Columbus took
possession of the new-found territories in the name of God,
and of his sovereign mistress, Isabella of Castile.
The land proved to be one of the Bahama islands, and
was reverently named San Salvador. After visiting several
of the neighbouring islands, designated, in accordance with
his erroneous geographical theory, the West Indies, Colum-
bus returned to Spain, to proudly lay at his sovv?reigns' feet
the dominion of a new world. He was crowned with the
highest honours, and the naval resources of the kingdom
were placed at his disposal. With seventeen ships and
fifteen hundred men, he speedily sailed again to prosecute
his discoveries in these unknown lands. In successive voy-
ages he explored the West Indian archipelago and the
adjacent mainland. But calumny, envy, and malice pur-
sued him, and the discoverer of a new world was dispos-
sessed of his author] tv. and sent back in chains to the
ungrateful country wliich, beyond the dreams of avarice, he
had enriched. Broken in health, bowed in spirit, impover-
ished in estate, stricken with the weight of seventy years,
neglected by the sovereign whom he had so faithfully served
— ^his noble benefactress, Isabella, no longer lived to pro-
tect him — this great man died at Seville, May 20th, 1506.
As if his remains could find a fit resting-place only in
the new lands which he had discovered, they were con-
12
CABOT.
[1497
veyed in 1536 to the island of Santo Domingo, and in 1796,
with great pomp, to Havana, within whose cathedral they
now repose.
Amerigo Vespucci, a private adventurer, who wrote an
exaggerated account of his explorations succeeding those of
Columbus, by giving his name to the new-found continent,
has defi'auded of that honour the rightful claimant.
In 1497-98, the Portuguese navigator, Vasco de Gama,
rounding the Cape of Good Hope, reached the coast of India
— the chief object of the adventurous voyages of discovery
of this period.
CHAPTER II.
EARLY EXPLORATION.
John Cabot discovers Labrador and Newfoiindland— 1497. Sebastian
Cabot explores America from the La Plata to Hudson's Bay, 1498-1517.
Jacques Cartikr discovers the Ct. Lawrence— 1634. Visits
Stadacona and Hochclaga— Names Mont Royal— Winters at Stada-
cona— Suflferings from Scurvy— 1635. Roberval, Viceroy— 1541.
Cartier, his Lieutenant; Founds CiiARLESBOURa— Roberval winters
at Cape Rouge -Mutiny and Scui vy— 1542. The Robervals founder
at sea— 1549.
The discovery of America was the beginning of a new era
in the world. The western nations of Europe were eager to
take possession of the new-found continent. In the year
1496, John Cabot, a Venetian merchant resident in Bristol,
received from Henry VIT., King of England, a commission
for discovery in the New World, on the condition that one-
fifth of the profits of the expedition should accrue to the
crown. In the following spring, with his son Sebastian, he
sailed from the port of Bristol in a single vessel, and on the
twenty-fourth of June sighted the coast of Labrador, to which
he gave the name of Prima Vista. He landed and planted
in the soil of the New World the banner of England. He
was thus the first discoverer of the continent of America,
fourteen months bef' re Columbus, in his third voyage, beheld
the mainland. Two days after he reached a large island,
^
1535]
probabl
called
T
1498 jj
passage
sequent
hundre
The
began
men, tl
Breton
The
Oartier
April,
of abo
Belle I
a resp
on acci
leurs.
a large
possess
Franci
he leai
the inl
he sai
the la
resolv(
presses
the fi
squadi
1535
to wh
the en
Sague
into t
the I
name(
from
his fc
count
theS
[1497
in 1796,
Iral they
wrote an
those of
Dntinent,
e Gama,
of India
iscovery
1535]
JACQUES CARTIER.
13
Sebastian
y, 1498-1517.
J4. Visits
8 at Stada-
roy— 1641.
'al winters
bis founder
new era
eager to
the year
Bristol,
imission
hat one-
e to the
itian, he
i on the
:o which
planted
id. He
.m erica,
, beheld
I island,
probably Newfoundland, which, in honour of the day, he
called St. John's Island.
1 4.Q8 ^^^^ following year Sebastian Cabot, with two vessels,
in the endeavour to reach the Indies by a north-west
passage, sailed as far north as Hudson's Straits. In a sub-
sequent voyage, 1517, he penetrated that bay to which, a
hundred years afterward, Hudson gave his name.
The rich fisheries of the Banks of Newfoundland soon
began to attract the hardy Breton and Norman fisher-
men, the former of whom gave its present name to Cape
Breton.
The real discoverer of Canada, however, was Jacques
Oartier, a native of St. Malo, in Brittany. On the 20th of
April, 1534, he sailed from that port with two small vessels
of about sixty tons e^ch. Sailing through the Straits of
Belle Isle, he passed the barren coast of Labrador, and on
a resplendent day in July entered the large bay to which,
on account of the intense heat, he gave the name Des Cha-
leurs. Landing at the rocky headland of Gaspe, he erected
a large cross bearing the lily shield of France, and took
possession of the country in the name of his sovereign,
Francis I. Taking with him two of the natives, from whom
he learned the existence of a great river, leading so far into
the interior that " no man had ever traced it to its source,"
he sailed up the Gulf of St. Lawrence till he could see
the land on either side. The season being advanced he
resolved to return. The successful voyage favourably im-
pressed the King, and three vessels, better equipped than
the first, were furnished for the enterprise. The little
squadron did not reach the mouth of the St. Lawrence till
,^oK the middle of July. On the 10th of August, the
festival of St. Lawrence, Cartier entered a small bay,
to which he gave the name of the saint, since extended to
the entire gulf and river. Passing the gloomy gorge of the
Saguenay, and sailing on beneath lofty bluffs jutting out
into the broad river, on the 7th of September he reached
the Island of Orleans, covered with wild grapes, hence
named Isle of Bacchus. Here he received a friendly visit
from Donnacona, an Algonquin chief, with five hundred of
his followers. Cartier having resolved to winter in the
country, the little squadron dropped anchor at the mouth of
the St. Charles, where stoo(i the Indian towii of Stadacona,
14
ROBERVAL.
[1541
beneath the bold cliff now crowned with the ramparts of
Quebec.
Eager to explore the noble river, he pressed on, and
on the 2nd of October reached the Indian town of Hoche-
laga, near a wood-crowned height, to which he gave the
name of Mont Hoyal, now Montreal. The town was a cir-
cular palisaded enclosure, containing fifty large-sized, well-
built houses, with about a thousand inhabitants. After
three days' friendly intercourse with the inhabitants, who
evidently regarded the French as superior beings, and
brought their sick to be healed by their touch, Cartier
returned to Stadacona, which he reached on the 11th of the
month.
Having protected their vessels by a stockaded enclosure,
mounted with cannon, the French prepared, as best they
could, for the winter, which proved of unusual severity.
Soon scurvy of a malignant type appeared. By the month
of April twenty-six had ^ied and were buried in the snow.
On the 6th of May Cartier set sail for St. Malo, carrying
with him Donnacona and several chiefs. The kidnapped
Indians never again saw their native land, all of them
dying before another expedition returned.
The religious wars with Charles V. now for four years ab-
sorbed the attention and exhausted the treasury of Francis I.
At length, in 1540, the Sieur de Roberval, a wealthy noble
of Picardy, obtained the appointment of Viceroy of New
1^,, France, and Cartier, as his lieutenant, sailed with
five ships the following spring. The natives, at first
friendly, became less so on finding that Donnacona and his
companions had not returned. Cartier therefore built a
fort, to which he gave the name of Charlesbourg, and began
1542 *^ cultivate the soil. After a gloomy winter, having
heard nothing from Roberval, and the Indians proving
unfriendly, he sailed for France. At St. John's, Newfound-
land, he met Roberval, with three ships and two hundred
colonists of both sexes. But disheartened by their disasters
and sufferings, Cartier and his company refused to return,
and continued their homeward voyage.
Roberval wintered at Cape Rouge, but with the loss of
over sixty men through cold and scurvy. The Indians, too,
were unfriendly; and the colonists, most of whom were
convicts, proved so insubordinate that the Governor had
I
The
i
[1541
riparts of
on, and
^f Hoche-
Igave the
^as a cir-
[zed, well-
After
i,nts, who
[ngs, and
Cartier
th of the
mclosure,
best they
severity,
he month
the snow.
carrying
idnapped
of them
years ab-
Francis I.
thy noble
' of New
iled with
s, at first
a and his
5 built a
ad began
p, having
3 proving
Bwfound-
hundred
disasters
return,
e loss of
ians, too,
)m were
nor had
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
15
to hang some, and to scourge or imprison others. In the
fall of this year Cartier was again sent to Canada to order
Roberval's return. He wintered for the third time in the
country, and finally left it in May, 1544, conveying with
him the remains of the ill-fated colony, and his name hence-
forth disappears from history. Thus ended in disastrous
failure all the early expeditions to New France.
CHAPTER III.
THE INDIAN TRIBES.
The Mound-Builders— Their superior Arts, Manufactures, and Social
Org"»nization— Their probable Origin and Fate— The modern Indians,
probably an intrusive Asiatic race— Their Physical Aspect— Their
Agriculture, Canoes, Wigwams, Dress, and Ornaments— Their Wars,
Craft, Cruelty, and Stoicism— Their Councils, Oratory, and Treaties
—Wampum Belts— Their Superstitions— The Great Spirit— Burial
Customs— Fetichism—" Medicine-men "— Gambling— Their Alliances
—The Fur Trade, etc., etc.— Tribal Divisions— The Algonquins—
Hurons- Iroquois— Their present condition.
The name Indians, given to the native races of America,
commemorates the illusion of its discoverers that they had
reached the shores of the Asiatic continent. A short
digression as to the character, manners, and tribal divisions
of these races is necessary in order to understand the long
and often cruel conflict between the white man and the red
for the possession of the New World.
All over this continent, from Lake Superior to the Gulf
of Mexico, from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains,
are found the remains of an extinct and pre-historic people.
These consist for the most part of earthen mounds, often Z:
vast extent and almost countless numbers. Hence their
unknown creators are called the Mound-Builders. These
mounds were employed for burial, for sacrifice, for tem-
ple sites, and for military observation. There were also
vast enclosures of earthworks, sometimes miles in extent.
Many of these were evidently for military defence against
16
INDIAN CHARACTERISTICS.
an intrusive race, and formed a line of forts from the
Alleghanies to the Ohio. Others were for religious pur-
poses, and often, especially in the Mississippi ^ alley, formed
the outlines of gigantic animals, probably the totems or
symbols of the different tribes, as the turtle, alligator, eagle,
hawk, and like figures. On the Atlantic seaboard and in
the valley of the St. Lawrence, these mounds are either
altogether wanting or are of far inferior character.
There is also ample evidence of the comparatively high
state of civilization of the Mound-Builders, chiefly remains
of their ait and manufactures, elegant pottery, carved pipes,
woven fabrics, and other objects. They also worked the
copper mines on Lake Superior, raising huge masses from
considerable depths, and forging or casting it into weapons
and elaborate ornaments. These were the objects of an
active commerce extending from Lake Superior to the Gulf
of Mexico.
Long before the discovery of America by Columbus this
mysterious people had passed away ; for their mounds,
graves, and quarries are covered deep by m alluvial deposit
in which trees, often of a gigantic size, have grown. They
seem to have been a mild and unwarlike race, probably of
Asiatic origin, su bsisting chiefly by agriculture ; and, in
Central and South America developing the remarkable
civilization of which such wonderful remains have been
found in Mexico, Guatemala and Peru. These gigantic
structures could only have been erected by a numerous
people with a settled social order and with considerable
skill in agriculture and the arts.
They were probably driven southward out of the Missis-
sippi valley by a succeeding wave of Asiatic emigration,
the progenitors of the present Indian tribes. This intrud-
ing race was of a much more fierce and warlike character,
and, continuing its nomad life, never attained to a degree
of civilization at all comparable to that of the race it dis-
possessed.
The Indians of whom we shall have to speak in this his-
tory were a tall athletic people with sinewy forms, regular
features, straight black hair, scanty beard, dark eyes, and
copper-coloured skin. They were capable of much endur-
ance of cold, hunger, and fatigue ; were haughty and taci-
turn in their manners ^ active, cunning, and stealthy in thQ
from the
ious pur-
y, formed
iotemd or
or, eagle,
'd and in
re either
vely high
J remains
ed pipes,
rked the
5ses from
weapons
;ts of an
the Gulf
ibus this
mounds,
il deposit
1. They
Dbably of
and, in
Tiarkable
ivo been
gigantic
Lumerous
siderable
3 Missis-
igration,
1 intrud-
laracter,
a degree
30 it dis-
this his-
regular
/'OS, and
I endur-
tid taci-
^ in th©
•
\ '
INDIAN CUSTOMS.
17
ciiase and in war ; but in camp sluggish, and addicted to
gluttonous feasts. The women in youth were of agreeable
form and feature, but through severe drudgery soon became
withered and coarse.
The agriculture of the native tribes, with slight exceptions,
was of the scantiest character — a little patch of Indian corn
or tobacco rudely cultivated near their summer cabins.
Their chief subsibtence was derived from hunting and fish-
ing, m which they became very expert. With flint headed
arrows and spears, and stone axes and knives, they would
attack and kill the deer, elk, or buffalo. The necessity of
following these objects of their pursuit to their often distant
feeding grounds, prevented social or political organization
except within very narrow limits. The same cause also
prevented the construction, with a Tew exceptions, of any
but the rudest and simplest dwellings — conical wigwams of
skins or birch bark, spread over a framework of poles.
Some of the more settled and agricultural communities had,
however, large lodges for public assemblies or feasts, and
even for the j ''nt accommodation of several families.
Groups of these lodges were sometimes surrounded by
palisades, and even by strong defensive works with heaps
of stones to repel attack, and reservoirs of water to extin-
guish fires kindled by the enemy.
The triumph of Indian skill and ingenuity was the bark
canoe — a marvel of beauty, lightness, and strength. It
was constructed of birch bark, severed in large sheets from
the trees, stretched over a slender frame-work of ribs bent
into the desired form, and well gummed at the seams with
pine resin. Kneeling in these fragile barks, and wielding
a short strong paddle, the Indian or his squaw would navi-
gate for hundreds of miles the inland waters, shooting the
arrowy rapids, and even boldly launching upon the stormy
lake. Where rocks or cataracts interrupted the progress,
the light canoe could easily be carried over the " portage "
to the navigable waters beyond.
The Indian dress consisted of skins of wild animals, often
ornamented with shells, porcupine quills, and brilliant pig-
ments. In summer little clothing was worn, but the body
was tattooed and painted, or smeared with oil. When on a
war expedition, the face and figure were bedaubed with
startling contrasts of colour^ as blacjj, white, red, yellow,
18
INDIAN WARS.
and blue. The hair was often elaborately decorated with
dyed plrmes or crests of feathers. Sometinies the head
was shaved, all but the scalp-lock on the crown. The
women seldom dressed their hair, and except in youth wore
little adornment. Their life after marriage was one of
perpetual drudgery. They tilled the f ^Ids, gathered fuel,
bore the burdens on the march, and performed all the
domestic duties in camp.
The Indian wars were frequent and fierce, generally
springing out of hereditary blood feuds between tribes, or
from the purpose to avenge real or fancied insults or
wrongs. After a war-feast and war-dance, in which the
plumed and painted "braves" wrought themselves into a
phrensy of excitement, they set out on the war-path against
the object of their resentment. Stealthily gliding like
snakes through the forest, they would lie in wait, sometimes
for days, for an opportunity of surprising the enemy. With
a wild whoop they would burst upon a sleeping village and
involve in indiscriminate massacre every age and either sex.
Firing the inflammable huts, and dragging off their prison-
ers, they would make a hasty retreat with their victims.
Some of these were frequently adopted by the tribe in place
of its fallen warriors; others were reserved for fiendish
tortures by fire or knife. One trophy they never neglected,
if possible, to secure — the reeking scalp-lock of their enemy.
Torn with dreadful dexterity from the skull, and dried in
the smoke of the hut, it was worn as the hideous proof of
the prowess of the savage warrior. When captured, they
were as stoical as iron in the endurance of pain. Amid
agonies of torture, they calmly sang their death-song, hurl-
ing defiance at the foe.
Their councils for deliberation were conducted with great
gravity and decorum. The speakers often exhibited much
eloquence, wit, vigour of thought, and lively imagination.
Their oratory abounded in bold and striking metaphor, and
was characterized by great practical shrewdness. They
were without a written language, but tlieir treaties were
ratified by the exchange of wampum belts of variegated
beads having definite significations. These served also as
memorials of the transaction, and were cherished as historic
records, whose interpretation was the assigned task of the
wise men of the tribe.
•
INDIAN SUPEIISTITICNS.
19
ated with
the head
wn. The
outh wore
as one of
ered fuel,
d all the
generally
tribes, or
insults or
which the
vea into a
th against
ding like
sometimes
ly. With
illage and
3ither sex.
3ir prison-
r victims.
)e in place
r fiendish
neglected,
jir enemy.
I dried in
i proof of
ired, they
n. Amid
ong, hurl-
i^ith great
ted much
igination.
phor, and
s. They
ties were
ariegated
id also as
s historic
sk of the
The Indians were deeply superstitious. Some tribes had
an idea of a Great Spirit or Manitou, whose dwelling-place
was the sky, where he had provided happy hunting grounds
for his reel children after death. Hence they were often
buried with tiieir weapons, pipes, ornaments, and a supply
of food for their subsistence on their journey to the spirit
world. Others observed a sort of fetichism — the worship of
stones, plants, waterfalls, and the like ; and in the thunder,
lightning, and tempest, they recognized the influence of
good or evil spirits. The "medicine men," or conjurers,
cajoled or terrified them by their superstitious hopes or
fears. They attached great importance to dreams and
omens, and observed rigorous fasts, when they starved
themselves to emaciation ; and glutton feasts, when they
gorged themselves to repletion. They were inveterate and
infatuated gamblers, and have been known to stake their
lives upon a cast of the dice, and then bend their heads for
the stroke of the victor's tomahawk.
In the unhappy conflicts between the English and the
FiXncli for the possession of the continent, the Indians were
the coveted allies of the respective combatants. They were
supplied with knives, guns, and ammunition, and the atro-
cities of savage were added to those of civilized warfare.
The profitable trade in peltries early became an object of
ambition to the rival nations, and immense private fortunes
and public revenue were derived from this source. The
white man's "fire water" and the loathsome small-pox
wasted the native tribes. The progress of settlement drove
then from their ancient hunting grounds. A chronic war-
fare between civilization and barbarism raged along the
frontier, and dreadful scenes of massacre and reprisal
stained with blood the annals of the time.
The great Algonquin nation occupied the larger part of
the Atlantic slope, the valley of the St. Lawrence, and the
watershed of the great lakes. It embraced the Pequods
and Narragansetts of New England, the Micmacs of Nova
Scotia, the Abenaquis of New Brunswick, the Montagnais
and Ottawas of Quebec, the Ojibways or Chippeways on the
great lakes, and tho Crees and Sioux of the far west.
The Hurons and Iroquois were allied races, though for
ages the most deadly enemies. They were more- addicted
to agriculture than the Algonquins, and dwelt in better
20
TRIUAL DIVISIONS.
houses, but tlioy were (equally fierce and hnplacsable. The
Hurons clneHy occupied the country betwecTi I^akes Erie,
Ontario and Huron, and the northern bank of the St. Law-
rence. Their principal settlement, till well nigh exter-
minated by the Iroquois, was between Lake Simcoe and the
Georgian J>ay.
The Iroquois or Five Nations occupied northern New
York, from tho Mohawk liiver to tlie Genesee. The
confederacy embraced the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas,
Cayugas, and Senecas, and was afterwards joined by the
Tuscaroras from South Carolina. They were the most cruel
and blood-thirsty of all the savage tribes — skilful in war,
cunning in policy, and rutliless in slaughter. They were
chiefly the allies of the British, and proved a thorn in the
side of the French for a hundred and fifty years.
After the British conquest of Canada, the Indians were
gathered into reserves under military superintendents at
Grand liiver. Rice Lake, River Thames, Manitoulin and
Walpole Islands, and elsewhere; and were supplied with
annual presents of knives, guns, ammunition, blankets,
trinkets, grain, implements and the like. Special efforts
have been made with marked success for their education in
religion, agricultural industry, and secular learning.
1521
1578
CHAPTER IV.
. CHAMPLAIN'S ADMINISTRATION.
Early Colonization. Frobisher explores the Arctic Seas— 1576. Magellan
—Drake— Sir Humphrey Gilbert— Raleigh's unsuccessful Colony at
Roanoke— 1585. Chauvin plants a trading post at Tadousac— 1600.
Champlain's lirst voyage to Canada— 1603. Poutrincourt founds
Port Royal— 1605. Ciiamplain founds Quebec— 1608. Discovers
Lakes Huron, Sinicoo, and Ontario— 1613. The Company op the
Hundred Associates organized— 1627. Kirk's Conquest op
Quebec— 1629. Quebec Restored by the Treaty of St. Ger-
main-en-Laye— 1632. Death of Champlain— 1635.
For fifty years after the failure of Roberval there was no
further attempt to colonize Canada. France, engaged in
her prolonged struggle with Spain and Austria, and con-
'i
EARLY EXPLORERS.
21
Ic. Tlio
U!S Erie,
St. L.'iw-
h oxter-
and the
rn Now
e. The
ondagas,
I by the
ost cruel
in war,
ley were
n in the
ins were
dents at
Lilin and
ied with
)lankets,
bl efforts
nation in
Magellan
Colony at
sac— 1600.
rt founds
Discovers
IT OF THE
QUEST OP
St. Gbr-
5 was no
aged in
.nd con-
vulsed by the civil wars of religion, had neither men nor
means to sparer for foi-cign settlement.
The hope of finding a north-west passage to the Indies
continued to be a strong incentive to North American ex-
ploration. In 1576, Martin Frobisher, an English marines,
in a vessel of only five and twenty tons, reached the straits
still known by his name, and took possession of the adjacent
country in the name of Queen Elizabeth.
A Portuguese sailor was the first to circumnavigate the
1 roi gl^^^j "-^^^^ ^^^s left his name stamped forever upon the
geography of the earth, and emblazoned in th(; con-
stellations of the skies. ^ The gallant Drake, an English-
, -„(. man, explored the western coast of America as far
north as Oregon, and followed in Magellan's wake
around the world.
In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, step-brother of Sir
Walter Raleigh, reasserted England's claim, by right of
discovery, to Newfoundland, by taking possession of the
island, with feudal ceren^ony, in the name of the virgin
Queen. On its return, the little fleet was sliattered by a
tempest. The pious admiral, in the tiny pinnace Squirrel^
of only ten tons burden, foundered in mid-ocean. As he
sat in the stern of the doomed vessel, with his Bible in his
hand, he called aloud to the crew of his consort, ' Fear not,
shipmates ; heaven is as near by sea as by land. *
Undeterred by the fate of his gallant kinsman. Sir
Walter Raleigh sent out an expedition which planted the
first English colony in America, on Roanoke Island, off the
coast of North Carolina ; but disaster, imprudence, and con-
flicts with the natives, soon led to its abandonment.
We now return to the narrative of early French coloni-
zation. In the year 1599, Chauvin, a naval officer, obtained
a monopoly of the fur trade, on condition of settling five
hundred colonists in Canada. With the aid of Pontgrave,
a merchant of St. Malo, he built a trading post at the
mouth of the Saguenay, and established a lucrative traffic
in furs. In 1603, CLamplain, a naval officer in the service
of the company, and the future founder of Quebec, ascended
the St. Lawrence as far as Hochelaga, but saw no trace of
the Indian town existing there sixty years before. Chauvin
* Magellan's Straits and the Magellanic Clouds.
22
QUEUE(? FOUNDRD.
[1C08
1015]
dying thiR year, Dos Monta, a Huguonot iu).l>lo, obtained
t\\o niU(!li-covot(Hl trading nionopoly. Acadia was solcH^tod
for colonization, on acc'ount of tho supposed nuldnnss of its
climate, ease of access, and abundance of furs. A settle-
ment was made, in 1G05, at Port Royal, a grant of whicli
was given to Poutrincourt, who was appoint(^d Governor.*
After three years of busy industry, the colony was aban-
dorKHl on account of the seizure of its stoi'e of pc^ltries by
the Dutch, and the revocation of its charter. In IGIO it
was replanted ; but was, in 1G13, utterly destroyed by an
armed expedition from Virginia, under Captain Argall.t
Des Monts meanwhile abandoned Acadia for Canada.
In 1C08, Champlain, as his lieutenant, sailed with two
vessels for the St. Lawrence. On the 3rd of July he
reached Quebec, and, beneath the tall cliff of Cape Diamond,
laid the foundations of one of the most famous cities of the
New World. J The colonists were soon comfortably housed,
but before winter was over many of them had died of
scurvy The severe discipline observed by the Governoi-
provoked a conspiracy for his murder. It was discovered ;
the ringleader was hanged, and his fellow-conspirators were
shipped in chains to France. Champlain, in the spring,
yielded to the solicitations of the friendly Algonquins to
join in an attack upon their hereditary foes, the Iroquois.
With his savage allies, Champlain advanced up the river
Richelieu and the beautiful lake which now bears his name.
The strange appearance of the armed Europeans, only three
in number, and the novel terror of the death-dealing fire-
arms, soon put the enemy to flight. This was an unfortun-
ate expedition, as the Iroquois became, for one hundred and
fifty years, the implacable foes of the French, and terribly
avenged, by many a murder and ambuscade, the death of
every Indian slain in this battle.
*The dates of the earliest settlements are as f ollows :— St. Augustine, 1565; Port
Royal, 1605; Jamestown, 1607; Quebec, 1608; Albany, 1615; Plymouth, 1620; New
York, 1623; Boston, 1630; Montreal, 1642; Frontenac (Kingston), 1672; Phila-
delphia, 1683; Detroit, 1702; New Orleans, 1718; Halifax, 1749; St. John, 1783;
Toronto, 1795.
t In 1609, Henry Hudson, an English navigator, sailed up the river to which he
gave his name, as far as Troy, and the following year explored Hudson's Bay.
With hia son and seven others he was turned adrift by a mutinous crew, and never
heard of again. Tlie noble bay which became hia grave perpetuates his memory.
t The name Quebec, Champlain positively asserts, was the Indian designation of
the narrows of the St. Lawrence at this jwint, the word signifying a strait. Canada
is the Indian word for a collection of huts, and enters into the composition of
several native names.
IGll
1
[1G08
>)>taincd
s('I(H!ted
ss of its
V settles
)f whicli
v(;rnor.*
IS a])}iM-
trios l)y
1010 it
I by an
.i^all.t
C-aimda.
ith two
July lie
'iainoiid,
!s of the
housed,
died of
rovernor
povered ;
ors were
I spring,
^uins to
roquois.
he river
is name,
ly three
ing fire-
tifortun-
red and
terribly
[eath of
1565; Port
1620; New
72; Phila-
ohn, 1783;
> which he
son's Bay.
and never
9 memory.
gnation of
. Canada
)08ilio» of
1015]
DISCOVERY OF LAKE HUllON.
23
After the death, in this year, of Ifenry IV., the patron
of Des Monts, the latter was obliged to admit privates ad-
venturers to share the profits of the fur trade, on condition
of their promoting his schemes of colonization. The powerful
Prince of Conde, Admiral Montmorency, and the Duke of
Ventadour, became successively Viceroys of Canada ; but
the valour, and Hdclity, and zeal of Champlain commanded
the confidence of tiiem all. With the prescience of a
,p^ 1 founder of empire, ho selected the Island of Montreal
as the site of a fort protecting the fur trade and
commanding the two great water-ways of the country, the
St. Lawrence and the Ottawa.
In order to verify the story of the existence of a great
northern sea, which would probably give access to China
and India, Champlain, with a few companions, ascended the
rapid Ottawa, as far as the Isle of Allumettes. When even
the Indians refused to escort him further on his perilous
way, he returned, disappointed but undaunted, to Quebec,
and thence to France, to urge the fortunes of the colony.
With a desire for gain, and for extending the dominions
of France in the New World, was blended also a zeal for
the conversion of the savages to the Catholic faith. On
Champlain's return to Canada, in 1615, he brought with the
new company of colonists four Recollet friars, the first of a
brave band of missionaries who toiled amid the wilderness
to win the wandering pagans to the doctrines of the cross.
Joining a party of Algonquin and Huron Indians about to
wage war against the Iroquois, he proceeded up the Ottawa
and over almost countless portages, and reached, by way of
Lake Nipissing and French River, Lake Huron, to which he
gave the name Mer Douce — the Fresh Water Sea. Coasting
down its rugged eastern shore, and threading a forest trail,
Champlain and his companions reached at length a place of
rendezvous, on the narrows of Lake Couchiching, near where
the village of Orillia now stands.
Here a war party of two thousand plumed and painted
Indian braves was assembled. Sailing, with several hun-
dred canoes, through Lake Simcoe, and traversing the pic-
turesque Balsam, Sturgeon, Pigeon, and Rice Lakes, with
their intervening portages, they glided down the devious
windings of the Otonabee and Trent Rivers, and reached
the beautiful Bay of Quinte, now adorned with smiling
24
HOQUOIS VICTORY.
[1616
1629]
villages and cheerful farms. The Huron fleet then entered
Lake Ontario, to which Champ) ain gave the name — which
it long retained — of Lac St. Louis. Boldly crossing the
lake, they reached the country of the Iroquois, and pressed
onward some thirty leagues to the Seneca towns near Lake
Canandaigua. The tumultuous onset of the Hurons was
ineffective. They were soon thrown into disorder, in spite
of the efforts of Champlain, who was himself seriously
wounded by the arrows of the savages, and were compelled
to retreat.
Champlain had been promised an escort down the St.
Lawrence to Quebec, but, daunted by their defeat, the
Hurons refused to keep their engagement. He was there-
fore, although severely wounded, compelled to return with
his savage allies. After long delays,^ he traversed on snow-
shoes the wintry forest, beneath a crushing load, through
what are now the counties of Hastings, Peterborough, and
Victoria, and on Christmas eve reached Lake Couchiching.
He remained four months with his savage hosts, sharing in
their councils, their feasts, and their hunts, and hearing
strange tales of the vast lakes and rivers of the far west.
Igjg His arrival at Quebec, after a year's absence, was
greeted almost as a resurrection from the dead.
In the fall he returned to France, only to find his patron,
Conde, disgraced and imprisoned. Admiral de Montmor-
ency, in 1620, purchased the vice-royalty, and the same year
Champlain brought out his youthful wife, who was received
by the Indians with reverential homage, as if a being of
superior race. The impolicy of Champlain's Indian wars
was soon manifested by the first of those Iroquois attacks
which so often afterwards harassed the colony. Quebec
was as yet surrounded only by wooden walls. To strengthen
its defences, the energetic Governor built a stone fort in
the lower town, and on the magnificent heights overlooking
the broad St. Lawrence, one of the noblest sites in the
world, he began the erection of the Castle of St. Louis, the
residence of successive Governors of Canada down to 1834,
when it was destroyed by fire.
In consequence of disputes in the Trading Company of
1621 "^^^ France, its charter was suspended and its privi-
leges transferred to tlie Sieurs De Caen, uncle and
nephew, zealous Huguenots. Many resident traders left
the
[1616
1629]
kirk's conquest of QUEBEC.
25
entered
I — which
jing tlie
pressed
ir Lake
rons was
I in spite
seriously
)mpelled
the St.
at, the
is there-
rn with
)n snow-
through
gh, and
hiching.
aring in
heariniQ:
ar west,
ice, was
i.
patron,
ontmor-
me year
•eceived
•eing of
n wars
attacks
Quebec
ngthen
fort in
ooking
in the
lis, the
> 1834,
any of
1 privi-
le and
's left
I
the country in disgust, so that the population was reduced
to forty-eight persons.
^nnx Montmorency soon surrendered his vice-royalty to
the Duke de Ventadour, a nobleman who, wearied of
the follies of the court, had entered a monastic order, and
was full of zeal for the extension of the Roman Catholic
faith in the New World. Amid the religious and com-
mercial rivalries by which it was distracted, the infant
colony languished. The Iroquois became more bold in their
attacks, and even cruelly tortured a French prisoner. Tlie
De Casns furnished inadequate supplies of food, clothing,
and ammunition, so that at times the colony was reduced
to great extremities. Everything withered under their
monopoly.
1^97 Cardinal Richelieu, one of the greatest statesmen
who ever swayed the destinies of France, was now in
power. He straightway annulled the charter of the De
Caens, and organized the Company of the Hundred Associ-
ates, with the absolute sovereignty of the whole of New
France, and with the complete monopoly of trade. It was
required to settle four thousand Catholic colonists within
fifteen years, and to maintain and permanently endow the
Roman Catholic Church in New France ; and all Huguenots
were banished from the country.
But a new misfortune befel the colony. Charles I., King
of England, had made an ^ineffectual attempt to relieve the
Huguenots, besieged in Rochelle, and had declared war
against France. The conquest of Canada was decreed, and
the task was assigned to Sir David Kirk, a Huguenot
refugee. In the summer of 1628 he reached the St. Law-
rence, and sent a summons to Champlain to surrender. The
Governor ostentatiously feasted the messengers, although
the town of Quebec was on an allowance of only seven
ounces of bread per day, and returned a gallant defiance to
Kirk. The latter cruised in the Gulf, and captured the
transports laden with the winter's provisions for the colony.
The sufferings of the French were intense. With the early
iroq spring the famishing population burrowed in the
forests for edible roots. But the heroic spirit of
Champlain sustained their courage. Still the expected pro-
vision ships from France cime not. At length, toward
the end of July, hungry eyes discovered from the Castif? of
8
26
DEATH OF CHAMPLAIN.
[1635
1633
St. Louis three vessels rounding the headland of Point Levi.
But they were English ships of war, and the little garrison
of sixteen famine-wasted men were compelled to surrender.
As peace had been declared before the surrender of
Quebec, the French demanded its restoration. By the
treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, the whole of Canada, Cape
Breton and Acadia, was restored to the French, and the
red cross banner of England, after waving for three years
from the Castle of St. Louis, gave place to the lilied flag of
France.
The following year Cham plain returned to the colony
as Governor, with two hundred emigrants and soldiers.
He established forts at Three Rivers, and at the mouth of
the Richelieu,"'^ to protect the fur trade and check the in-
roads of the Iroquois, and greatly promoted the prosperity
of the colony. But the labours of his busy life were draw-
ing to a close. In October, 1335, he was smitten with his
mortal illness. On Christmas day the brave soul passed
away, and the body of the honoured founder of Quebec was
buried beneath the lofty cliff which overlooks the scene of
his patriotic toil. For thirty years he laboured withcj^t stint
and against almost insuperable difficulties for the struggling
colony. A score of times he crossed the Atlantic in the
tardy, incommodious, and often scurvy-smitten vessels of
the period, in order to advance its interests. His name is
embalmed in the history of his adopted country, and still
lives in the memory of a grateful people, and in the desig-
nation of the beautiful lake on which he, first of white men,
sailed. His account of his voyage and his history of New
France bear witness to his literary skill and powers of
observation ; and liis summary of Christian doctrine, written
for the native tribes, is a touching monument of his piety.
English]
Cc
Vi
tic
to!
CI
• This ancient highway, by which the bark fleets of these enemies of New France
Invaded the colony, waa long known as the River of the Iroquois.
[1635
( 2V)
Mnt Levi.
garrison
irrender.
lender of
By the
[da, Cape
and the
fee years
M flag of
e colony
soldiers,
nouth of
^ the in-
•osperity
re draw-
«^ith his
i passed
>bec was
scene of
r:.t stint
'uggling
■ in the
ssels of
name is
nd stil]
e desig-
'e men,
•f New
t^ers of
^'ritten
3iety.
If France
CHAPTER V.
THE HUNDRED ASSOCIATES.
English Colonization— Jamestown Founded— 1607. The New England
Colonies— Montmagny, Governor of Canada— 1637. Founding op
ViLLE Marie (Montreal)— 1642. Huron Missions— Their Destruc-
tion by the Iroquois— 1648-49. Tlio Abbe Laval, first Vicar Apos-
tolic— 1659. Dulac des Ormeaux, the Lconidas of Canada— 1660.
Charter of the Hundred Associates Annulled— 1663. Earthquakes.
In order to understand the prolonged conflict between
France and Great Britain for the possession of the North
American continent, it will be necessary to trace briefly the
progress of English colonization. It was not till the year
1607, one hundred and ten years after the discovery of
America by Cabot, that a permanent English settlement
was made in the New World. It consisted of one hundred
and five emigrants— of whom forty-eight were "gentlemen,"
and only twelve labourers and four carpenteiS — sent out by
a company of London merchants, incorporated under royal
charter. They entered the magnificent Chesapeake Bay,
and began their settlement at Jamestown, on the .Tames
River. Indolence, strife, and jealousy plunged the colony
into anarchy and despair. Before autumn half of its num-
ber had died, and the rest were enfeebled with hunger and
disease. They were only saved from destruction by the
energy and ability of Captain John Smith, the romantic
story of whose rescue from death by Pocahontas is one of
the most pleasing legends of early colonization. Successive
reinforcements, chiefly of broken-down gentlemen, bankrupt
tradesmen, and idle and dissolute fugitives from justice,
increased the number in three years to four hundred and
ninety person' hen John Smith, injured by an explosion
of gunpowder, was compelled to return to England. In six
months vice and famine had reduced the colony to sixty
persons, who prepared to abandon the country. Lord Dela-
ware opportunely arrived with supplies ; but in twelve years,
after the expenditure of $400,000, it numbered only six
hundred persoii.. At length, reinforced by a superior class
oi immigrants, its population rapidly increased, till, in 1648,
it numbered twenty thousand souls.
28
ENGLISH COLONIZATION.
1642]
In 1632, Lord Baltimore, a Roman Catholic nobleman,
received a grant of the territory which, in honour of Hen-
rietta Maria, wife of Charles I., he called Maryland. This
he held by feudal tenure, paying only a yearly rent of two
Indian arrows, and a fifth of all the gold and silver found.
Catholics and Protestants alike enjoyed religious toleration,
and by 1660 its population had increased to ten thousand
souls.
The New England colonies were the offspring of religious
impulse. A company of English Puritans, sojourning in
Holland for conscience' sake, embarked in the Mayflower^ of
immortal memory, and on Christmas day, 1620, landed on
Plymouth Rock. Before spring, half the number had died,
and for several years sickness and famine menaced the very
existence of the colony. Further settlements were made at
Salem and Boston ; tlie new colonies of Rhode Island and
Connecticut were planted ; and after many years of priva-
tion, suffering, sickness, and Indian massacres, the popula-
tion of New England, continually reinforced by fresh immi-
gration, reached, in 1675, lifty-five thousand.*
1fi^7 ^^ return to follow more minutely the varying
fortunes of New France. M. de Montmagny,f the
successor of Champlain, arrived in Canada in 1637. The
Company of the Hundred Associates, from which so much
had been expected, did little but send a few vessels annu-
ally to traffic with the natives. Instead of transporting
four thousand colonists in fifteen years, in the thirty-five
years of its existence it did not send out one thousand. At
Champlain's death, there were only two hundred and fifty
Europeans in the colony. In five years more, scarce a hun-
dred were added. In 1648, the European population was
only eight hundred, and in 1663, ^vhen the company's
charter was annulled, it was less than two thousand, most
of whom had come out without its aid. So slowly, as com-
*A9 early as 1615, the Dutch had a trading post at Albany. In 1623, they
founded New Amsterdam, now New York. In 1638, the Swedes colonized Dela-
ware, but were compelled to cede their territory to the Dutch in 1655. The Dutch,
in turn, were obli^'ed, in 1664, to yield their possessions to the English, now su-
preme from Acadia to Florida, which last, in 1764, the Spaniards ceded in exchange
for Havana and Louisiana.
t From this Governor is derived the name Onontio, applied by the Indians to all
his successors. It is the translation into their language of his name, and signiflea
" Great Mountain."
pared
populat
Man
eager
caine t<
Madan
who,
foundri
structic
Guyari
de rin
of twe
landed
was to
enthus
and t\
over t
instru(
In \
ciates (
selecte
officer,
little f
forty :
lander
erecte<
P^re"
Heave
tions i
metro
Thi
and s<
gaine
most
missi<
Worl
the I
and c
♦ Fo
•• Rela'
ware e
ment i
1642]
FOUNDING OF MONTREAL.
29
obleman,
of Hen-
i. This
1) of two
r found,
leration,
housand
religious
rning in
bowery of
nded oa
ad died,
the very
made at
ind and
f priva-
popula-
ih inimi-
varying
iy,t the
7. The
io much
s annu-
iporting
irty-five
id. At
id fifty
a hun-
ion was
[ipany's
i, most
IS com-
623, they
zed Dela-
16 Dutch,
now su-
sxchange
ms to all
si^nifiea
pared with that of Virginia and New England, did the
population of New France increase.
Many persons devoted to religion, both priests and nans,
eager to engage in missionary toil among the savages,
came to Canada. One of the most remarkable of these was
Madame de la Peltrie, a lady of wealth and noble birth,
who, left a widow at the age of twenty-two, became the
foundress of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec for the in-
struction of French and Indian girls. With her came Marie
Guyart, better known by her conventual name of Marie
de r Incarnation, who had also been left a widow at the age
of twenty. They arrived at Quebec in 1639. As they
landed from their floating prisons they kissed the soil that
was to be the scene of their labours, and were received with
enthusiasm by the inhabitants, and with firing of cannon,
and the best military parade of the little garrison. For
over thirty years these devoted women laboured for the
instruction of the Indian neophytes.
In the year 1640, the Company of the Hundred Asso-
ciates ceded the Island of Montreal to a new company, which
selected M. de Maisonneuve, a young and gallant military
officer, as its representative. In the spring of 1642, the
little fleet, bearing the founders of the new town and aboui
forty soldiers and settlers, glided up the river. As they
landed, a hymn of thanksgiving was sung, an altar was
erected, and in that magnificent ar \phitheatre of nature,
P^re Vimont celebrated mass, and invoked the blessing of
Heaven on the new colonists. Thus were laid the founda-
tions of the Ville Marie de Montreal, the future commercial
metropolis of Canada.
That remarkable religious order, which in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries belted the globe with its missions,
gained some of its most striking triumphs and exhibited its
most heroic spirit in the wilderness of Canada. "**■ The Jesuit
missionaries were the pioneers of civilization in the New
World. As early as 1626, Jsan de Brebeuf, the apostle of
the Hurons, visited the savage tribes, and planted the cross
and chanted the mass at Sault Ste. Marie, on the shores of
* For forty years, from 1032 to 1672, the Jesuit Fathers sent home annual
"Relations" of the progress of the missions and of affair? in the colony. These
ware collected and published in three large 8vo volumes by the Canadian Govern-
ment in 1858. They are a perfect mine of information on early Canadian history.
30
HURON MISSIONS.
[1648
1650]
the Mer Douce. Soon other missionaries followed,^ and
toiled among the Hurons, in the country between Lake
Sirncoe i,nd the Georgian Bay. Footsore and weary, gnawed
by hunger, and chilled by piercing cold, they traversed the
wintry woods from plague-smitten town to town, to minister
their healing similes to the .victims of the loathsome small-
pox, to baptize, if possible, a dying child, and to tell the
painted savages in their reeking wigwams of the love of
Mary and her Divine Son.
At length, over a score of mission stations were estab-
lished, the chief of which was at Ste. Marie, near the present
town of Penetanguishene. Here was erected a stone fort,
whose ruins may still be traced, with a church and mission
house. In 1648, a storm of heathen rage burst upon the
Christian missions. A war party of the blood-thirsty Iro-
quois fell upon the village of St. Joseph, near the present
town of Barrie, on the morning of July 4th. Pere Daniel
had just finished the celebration of mass when the dread
warwhoop was heard. " Fly, my brethren," he cried, " I
will die here •" and he fell like a hero at his post, with the
name of Jesus on his lips.
Early next spring, a thousand Iroquois warriors attacked
the Huron villages. At St. Louis, not far from Orillia, P^res
Br^beuf and Lalemant were seized, and, after cruel tortures,
borne with martyr patience, they were burned at the stake, f
The mission was wrecked. The missionary Fathers set fire to
Ste. Marie, and saw consumed in an hour the labours of
years. On an island not far from the mainland, they built
a new mission fortress, the remains of which may still be
seen. Here, by winter, were assembled six or eight thousand
wretched Hurons, dependent on the charity of he mission.
Before spring, harassed by attacks of the Iroquois, wasted
by pestilence, and famished on the scanty allowance of
acorns (boiled with ashes to take away their bitter taste),
which was their only food, half of the number had died.
* The fate of one of these, P^re Jogues, is of tragic interest. In 1642, he was
carried captive to the Seneca towns and most inhumanly treated. He escaped to
Albany, and thence to France. Undaunted by the danger, he returned to the
scene of his sufferings, to establish the " Mission of the Martyrs," as it was pro-
phetically named, and was there barbarously murdered.
t The skull and other relics of Brebeuf are preserved at the Hotel Dieu, at Quebec.
No less than nine of the Jesuit Fathers and lay labourers died as martyrs in these
cruel Indian wars.
There w
ten thoi
Ther
to God,
country
blood
retreat,
hundre(
numero
Island
land.
hate ol
mission
Hurons
northei
soon di
of the
Christi
two cei
plough
fulHu
The
ments
1650 i
year, a
Iroquc
lay in
Frencl
killed
Every
not w
numei
incurs
Frenc
In
existe
paint(
three
Behin
gathe
was i
devot
[1648
d,^ and
n Lake
gnawed
rsed the
minister
e small-
tell the
love of
estab-
present
ne fort,
mission
pon the
sty Iro-
present
Daniel
e dread
•ied, "I
v^ith the
attacked
a, P<^res
ortures,
stake, t
t fire to
ours of
iy built
still be
ousand
lission.
wasted
-nee of
taste),
1 died.
2, he \va8
caped to
d to the
was pro-
1650]
LAST OF THE HUKONS.
31
Quebec,
in these
There was nothing but despair on every side. More than
ten thousand Hurons had already perished.
The missionaries, "after forty consecutive hours of prayer
to God," resolved, not without many tears, to Jibandon the
country endeared by their toils and consecrated with the
blood of their brethren. They were accompanied in their
retreat, by way of Lake Nipissing and the Ottawa, by three
hundred Christian Hurons — sad relics of a nation once so
numerous. The little band of fugitives sought refuge on the
Island of Orleans, near Quebec, and afterward on the main-
land. But even here they were pursued by the undying
hate of the Iroquois, who again and again attacked the
mission beneath the very guns of the fort. The remaining
Hurons were dispersed in scattered bands over the bleak
northern wastes from the Saguenay to the Mississippi, and
soon disappeared as a distinct tribe. No trace now remains
of the Jesuit missions save the blackened embers of the
Christian ^villages, buried beneath the forest growth of over
two centuries, which are sometimes upturned by the settler's
plough ; and a few families, the remnant of the once power-
ful Huron nation, still lingering at Lorette, near Quebec.
The incursions of the Iroquois on the St. Lawrence settle-
ments now increased in frequency and audacity. From
1650 to 1660 a perfect reign of terror prevailed. Not a
year, and scarce a month, passed without an attack. The
Iroquois swarmed in the forests and on the rivers. They
lay in wait, at times for weeks, near the forts, thirsting for
French or Huron blood. They entered the settlements, and
killed and scalped the inhabitants on their own thresholds.
Every man carried his life in his hand. The peasants could
not work in the fields unless strongly armed and in a
numerous body. Ville Marie lost in one month by these
incursions over a hundred men, two-thirds of whom were
French, the rest Algonquins.
In 1660, the Iroquois menaced with a fatal blow the very
existence of the colony. Twelve hundred plumed and
painted warriors were on the way to attack successively the
three military posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec.
Behind their loopholed palisades the trembling inhabitants
gathered, their hearts failing them for fear. The colony
was saved from extermination by an act of valour and
devotion as heroic as any recorded on the page of history.
32
POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION.
[1660
16631
Dulac des Orraeaux, a youth of twenty-iive, with sixteen
others, youthful like himself — all of Montreal — resolved to
save their country, though they perished in the act. T/iey
made their wills, confessed, received the sacrament, and
bade a solemn farewell to their friends, like men about to
march to death. And so they were. Not one returned
alive. They took their stand at the Lonf^ Sault, near
Carillon, on the Ottawa. Soon the savage host appeared.
For five long days and nights they swarmed around the frail
redoubt erected by the French, repulsed again and again by
its brave defenders, who, though worn by hunger, thirst, and
want of sleep, fought, and prayed, and watched in turns.
Iroquois reinforcements arrived ; and for three days longer
seven hundred ferocious savages beleaguered the crumbling
redoubt, and only with the death of the last Frenchman was
the dear-bought victory won. But the colony was saved.
The pass of the Long Sault was the Thermopylae of Canada.
We return to trace briefly the political administration of
New France during this period. In 1647, Montmagny was
recalled, and M. D'Ailleboust was appointed his successor.
In 1651, D'Ailleboust was succeeded by M. de Lauson, a
leading member of the Hundred Associates. In 1658,
De Lauson quitted his post in disgust, and was succeeded
in office by the Viscount D'Argenson.
In 1659, the Abb6 Laval, a member of the princely house
of Montmorency, who afterwards (in 1670) became the first
bishop of the colony, arrived in Canada as Vicar Apostolic.
He was a man of intense zeal and devotion to the interests
of his order. For thirty years he swayed the religious
destiny of the colony. His memory is greatly revered by
his countrymen, and the noble collegiate pile which crowns
the heights of Quebec perpetuates his name. Acrimonious
disputes soon arose between the Bishop and successive
Governors on matters of precedence and other expressions
of ecclesiastical dignity.
In 1661, DArgenson was succeeded by the Baron
D'Avaugour, a brave soldier, who had served with distinc-
tion in Hungary. Resolved on energetic l jures of colon-
ial defence, he asked for three thousand regular troops.
The King tardily sent out four hundred, and meanwhile th«
country was laid waste, and the military posts were prac-
tically in a state of siege.
In 1
earthqu
ice on
church
totterec
hoard,
to Aug
pily no
This
ciates,
and in(
unpt
ara
CONSTIT
-I
Go
HA
trn
Sn
The c
scindei
becami
minist
of gre
score (
The n(
cil, coi
Intenc
wards
presid
TheG
and w
his re
memb
[1660
16631
SUPREME COUNCIL.
33
sixteen
Ived to
Tnvy
lit, and
bout to
e turned
t, near
peared.
he frail
gain by
rst, and
turns.
i longer
mbling
lan was
saved,
yanada.
ition of
ny was
3cessor.
lUSon, a
1658,
I'ceeded
'f house
he first
ostolic.
iterests
^ligious
red by
3rowns
onious
cessive
3ssions
Baron
istinc-
colon-
roops.
lie tht!
prac-
In 1GG3, the whole country was sliakon by a torriule
earthquake. Dense darkness tilled tiie air, the thick-ribbed
ice on the rivers was broken, springs were dried up, the
church bells pealed with the rocking motion, buildings
tottered, the forest trembled, and poi'tentous noises were
heard. Shocks were repeated at intervals fi'om February
to August. The utmost consternation prevailed, but hap-
pily no loss of life is recorded.
This date closes the administration of the Hundred Asso-
ciates, which had been characterized l)y greed, weakness,
and inefficiency on the part of the company, and by the
unparalleled sufl'erings of the colonists.
CHAPTER VI.
IIOYAL GOVERNMENT.
Constitution op the Supreme Council— 1663. De Mcsy, Governcr
— Do Tracy, Viceroy— Talon, Intendant— 1665. Do Coxirccllcs,
Governor -Attacks the Iroquois— De Tracy conquers the Mo-
nAWKS-1666. Eighteen Years' Truce— Talon's wise adminis-
tration- Seigniorial Tenure op Land -Tlio Fur Trade — The
Small-pox and Liquor Traffic waste the Native Tribes.
The charter of the Hundred Associates having been re
scinded (February, 1663), the government of New France
became vested directly in the crown. Colbert, the new
minister of Louis XIV., a man of comprehensive views, and
of great energy and integrity of character, continued foi' a
score of years to be the tried and true friend of Canada.
The new government was administered by a Supreme Coun-
cil, composed of the Governor, the Bishop, and the royal
Intendant, assisted by four Councillors — a number after-
wards raised to twelve. Of this Council, Bishop Laval was
president, and had jurisdiction over ecclesiastical affairs,
The Governor was the military representative of the King,
and was generally of noble rank ; while the Intendant was
his representative in legal matters, and was generally a
member of the legal profession. The respective duties and
34
CAl^UllE OF NEW AMSTERDAM.
[1664
authority of tlio Govornor and Tntendant were not clearly
dt^Hned, and fiom their peculiar relations it was iuipossiblo
but that jtMilousies should arise between tlieui. The Gover-
nor frequ(^ntly, and with justice, regarded the Intendant as
a spy upon his conduct and a check upon his influence ; and
(;ach made t're(iuent and often conflicting reports to the
King. The jurisdiction of the Council covered every de-
partment of government — legislative, judicial, executive —
from declaring war or peace to trivial municipal regulations,
and the setthniient of petty disputes. The code of laws of
the mother country, known as the '' coutume de Paris," or
custom of Paris, became the recognized colonial standard.
The new system was inaugurated with considerable
energy. A hundred families of immigrants arrived, and
the prospt;cts of the colony began to brighten. M. de Mesy,
conmiandant of Caen, was the iirst Governor.
The trade of Canada had meanwhile been granted to the
West India Company, one of those giant monopolies that
strangled its infant connnerce, just struggling into life. In
consideration of its control, for fifty years, of the traflic of
New France, it was to defray all the expenses of govern-
ment.
Simultaneous with these events was another which was
destined to aft'ect the entire future history of the North
American continent. The English sovereign, Charles IJ.,
had grantea to his brother, the Duke of York, the country
adjacent to the Hudson River, which for fifty years had
been in the peaceable possession of the Dutch. Four Eng-
lish ships anchored before New Amsterdam, and demanded
its surrender. After a short pai'ley, the white flag was
raised, and the Dutch settlers became British subjects.
Out of compliment to the Duke of York, the place was re-
named New Yoi'k, and Fort Orange became Albany. The
English strove steadily to divert the fur trade from the St.
Lawrence to the Hudson, offering in barter better goods at
lower prices than the French. Out of the commercial
greed of these for-midable rivals sprang the cruel wars which
long desolated the frontiers of New England and New
France.
The Marquis de Tracy, a veteran oflTicer, was sent to
Canada to reduce the Iroquois and settle all disorders. He
arrived in the spring of 1665, with a splendid body of
I
;o
[1664
clo.'irly
possible
Go ver-
dant as
and
to the
fry de-
utive —
lations,
laws of
Li'is," or
dard.
derable
ed, and
e Mesy,
d to the
ios that
ife. In
rafiic of
govern-
ich was
} North
i-les I J.,
countiy
ars had
ur Ensf-
nianded
lag was
iubjects.
was re-
y. The
the St.
;oods at
nnercial
•s which
id New
sent to
[•s. He
jody of
1667]
talon's enliohtened policy.
85
troops — tlio royal Carignan regiment, which had won glory
in Hungary, fighting against the Turks. The mounted
oHic«u's especially struck terror to the breasts of the savjigos
as they weio deemed inseparable from the horses they
bestrode — the first the Indians had ever seen. Soon after
arrived M. de Oourcellef?, the new Coverm ', and M. Talon,
the new Intendant of Canada, with more soldiers, and a
numerous body of immigrants.
The colony was now strong enough to wage aggressive
warfare. To check the inroads of tlie Iroquois, forts were
built at Chambly and Sorel. De Courcelles and De Ti'a»;y
made successive attacks on the Iroquois in their strongholds.
The savages learned to dread the strength of that arm
which from so great a distance could strike such a blow, cand
a treaty of peace was made, which gave rest to the long-
harassed colony for eighteen years.
Under the able administration of De Courcelles and
Talon, after the departure of De Tiacy in 1667, the affairs of
the colony greatly prospered. The Intendant especially
laboured to develop the natural lesources of the field, the
forest, and the mine, as well as the fisheries and the fur
trade. Many of his enlightened .schemes are only being
carried into effect two centuries after his death. He pro-
cured the disbandment of the Carignan regiment in the
colony, with grants of land to the ©IKcers and men. In
order to procure wives for the disbanded ti'oops and un-
married colonists, Talon procured a large immigration of
marriageable young women of good character, to whom a
handsome dowry was paid. A fine was imposed on celibacy,
and on the arrival of the annual ship-load of candidates for
matrimony, couples were married, oays the contemporary
chronicle, " by thirties at a time."
These military colonists became the tenants or cevisitaires
of the seigniors, often their former officers, to whom exten-
sive domains had been assigned. The soldiers' grants,
situated chiefly on the St. Lawrence and Richelieu, were
generally a hundred arpents or French acres in size, having
a narrow frontage on the river and running back abort a
mile and a half. These farms often became subdivided by
inheritance into a mere riband of land, some of which have
continued in the same family to the present time. In the
absence of roads, the proximity to the river furnished facili-
3G
COUUEUUS 1)K HOIS,
tics for travel, and also for mutual tlifonco. Tho ccnsitairca
paid to tlio s(!i«,niior a nominal rent, but thoy \v(»ro loquired
to labour for liis ]>one(it a cortain number of days in tho
year ; to got their corn ground at his mill, paying a ti\od
toll thorofor : to give him ono fish in overy cloven caught ;
and, in case of a sale of their lands, to pay him one-twelfth
of the price received. It was, in fact, a moditicd forni of a
feudal tenure. It was only entirely abolished in 1851.*
Trade, however, strangled by artificial restrictions, lan-
guished, and the West India Company grew rich at the
expense of the colony. Almost the sole traflic was that in
furs, wliich was unduly stimulated to the great injury of
the country. The wild forest life had an irresistible
fascination for the adventurous spirits of the time. Hun-
dreds of the young men, disdaining the dull routine of
labour, became Coureurs de Bois, — " Runners of the
Woods," — and roamed like savage nomads upon the distant
shores of Lakes Superior and Michigan. Meanwhile the
fields Ir.nguished for lack of tilirige ; poverty and famine
wasted the land. The conre^irs de bois, lawless and reck-
less, set at defiance the royal edicts issued for their restraint,
and glutted the market with furs for Nv^hich there was no
remunerative demand : three-fourths of the stock at Mon-
treal was burned in 1700 in order to make the rest worth
exportation.
A considerable number of Algonquin Indians had been
gathered into mission communities by the Jesuit Fathers,
and brought under at least the partial restraint of Christi-
anity and civilization. But the white iiian's diseases, and
the white man's vices, were more easily acquired than the
white man's virtues. The small-pox wasted the native
tribes. The white man's *' fire water " had a fatal fascina-
tion for the red man's unrestrained appetite.
♦ The rents were often absurdly low. At Montreal, at thh period, a common
annual rate was half a sou and half a pint of wheat per acre. The purchasing
power of money was very jrrcat. Fuel sold at Quebec for one and three pence per
cord— the amount of a day's wages. Eels were sold in the market at one shilling
per hundred.
sitairea
in the
a fixed
;au!4lifc ;
twelfth
rni of a
")■{*
Ms, lari-
at the
that in
vtry of
sistible
Hun-
tine of
)f the
ilistant
ilo the
fill nine
I reck-
;traint,
ivas no
t Mon-
worth
d been
athers,
yhristi-
3S, and
\n the
native
iscina-
common
rc'hasiiig
erice per
shilling
( 37 )
CHAPTER VII.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE (IIIEAT WEST.
Frontonud, (Jovornor— lo72. ForvDS Fokt Fuontknac (Kl">?«lon)—
J(\HiiU Kxplorors— MAKQUK/nio Dihcovkhh tmk Mihhihsii'I'I— 1673.
La Sallc! liiun(OioH lluf (Jiuki-in 1679. Ukacmks tiik Moutie ok
TiiK MiHKiHHii'i'i— 1682. Atluinpls to Colonl/o LoulHiaiui and in
slain— 1687.
In the year 1G72, Louis do Buado, Count do Fi-ontonac,
was appointed Governor, and J\I. Duchcsneau, Intendant
of Canada. Frontenac's imperious tenip(!r soon involved
him in disputes with Laval, and with the Litendant, and
rendered his whole administration on(^ of tumult and strife.
One of the first acts of tiie new Covernor was the plant-
ing of a fort and trading post at the foot of Lake Ontario,*
both long known by his name, in order to check the inter*-
ference of the English from Albany and New York with
the fur trade of the Indian allies of the French.
The chief glory of Frontenac's administration was the
spirit of daring exploration and discovery by which it was
characterized. The pathfinders of empire in the New
World were the Jesuit missionaries. With breviary and
crucifix, at the command of the Superior of the Order at
Quebec, they wandered all over this great continent from
the forests of Maine to the Rocky Mountains, from the
regions around Hudson's Bay to the mouth of the Mis-
sissippi. " Not a cape was turned, not a river was entered,
but a Jesuit led the way." f
In 1640, P^res Brebeuf and Shaumont explored the
southern shore of Lake Erie. In 1641, Peres Jogues and
Raymbault told the story of the ^^oss to the wondering
assembly of two thousand red men, beside the rushing
rapids of Ste. Marie, five years before Eliot had preached
to the Indians within gunshot of Boston town. In 1646,
Pere de Quen threaded the gloomy passes of the Saguenay
to teach the way of salvation to savage northern hordes.
In 1660, Ren^ Mesnard reached Keweenew Bay, on Lake
Superior, and perished in the wilderness. The zeal of Laval
Where Kingston now stands.
t Bancroft.
38
MARQUETTE.
[1673
burned to tread in the same path of trial and glory. In
1665, Pere Alloiiez paddled his fra?l canoe over the crystal
waters of Superior, beneath the pictured rocks, the columned
palisades, the rolling sand dunes of its southern shore, to
its furthest extremity, and heard of the vast prairies and
great rivers beyond. ^
In 1673, under the patronage of Talon, P^re Margjjuatte,
with Joliet, a native of Quebec, and five others, glided down
the winding Wisconsin to the mighty Father of Waters.
Day after day they sailed down the solitary stream for over
a thousand miles, past the rushing Missouri, the turbid
Ohio, and the sluggish Arkansas. Learning that the mighty
river flowed onward to the Gulf of Mexico, Joliet returned
to Quebec to tell the story of the fair and virgin lands of
the west, while Marquette remained to preach the gospel
to the Indians, among whom he soon died.
The glory of Joliet's discovery fired the ambition of
another adventurer, Robert la Salle. He obtained a com-
mission for exploration in the far west, with authority to
erect forts, and a monopoly of the traffic in buftalo skins.
In November, 1678, accompanie 1 by Tonti, an Italian
veteran, by P6re Hennepin, and a motley crew, he sailed
for the Niagara River, and erected a fort above the great
cataract. During the winter. La Salle returned on foot to
Frontenac for additional naval supplies. By midsunmier,
1679, a vessel of forty-five tons was built and launclied amid
the chanting of the Te Deum and the firing of her little
armament of small cannon. On the 7th of August, the
Grilfin spread her wings to the breeze, and in three weeks
reached the entrance to Lake Michigan. La Salle freighted
this pioneer vessel with a cargo of furs in order to appease
the clamours of his creditors, and sent her back to Niagara.
She must have foundered in an autumnal storm, as she was
never heard of again.
Weary of waiting her return, he resolved to explore the
interior. At Lake Peoria, in the heart of Illinois, amid the
despondency, mutiny and desertion of his men, he built a
fort to which, in allusion to his disasters and disappoint-
ments, he gave the name of Creveca^ur — Heart-break. After
many adventurer, he at length, with his little company,
launched his frail canoes on the broad bosom of the Missis-
sippi. For sixty days he glided down the giant stream, and
I
[1673
1687]
LA SALLE.
89
y. In
crystal
lumned
lore, to
es and
;attfitto,
d down
Vaters.
or over
turbid
mighty
[^turned
ands of
gospel
tion of
a com-
)rity to
3 skins.
Italian
) sailed
e great
foot to
Linimer,
id amid
r little
Lst, the
! weeks
lighted
^ppease
iagara.
he was
>re the
aid the
Duilt a
Dpoint-
After
apany,
Missis-
m, and
reaching its mouth he claimed the vast mid-continent for
France, under the name, in honour of his sovereign, of
Louisiana.*
To meet the detractions of his enemies, he returned to
Canada, and sailed to France. He was received with favour
at court, and despatched with a hundred soldiers and a
hundred and eighty settlers to colonize Louisiana. Ho
missed the mouth of the Mississippi. His store-ship was
wrecked two hundred miles out of his course. Disaster
dogged his footsteps. Disease, famine, and savage foes
made havoc among his followers. Treachery and mutiny
corrupted the survivors. His colony being reduced to forty
persons. La Salle set out with sixteen men for Canada to
^ pj.y procure recru^'ts. His companions mutinied, and bar-
barously murdered their leader, leaving his naked
body on the prairies to be devoured by buzzards and wolves.
After superhuman toils and sufferings, seven men of the
ill-fated band reached Canada to tell the tragic story ; the
rest perished miserably in the wildeiness.
The animating spirit of La Salle was not the religious
enthusiasm of the Jesuit missionaries, nor the patriotic
devotion of Champlain, but rather a vast ambition, a passion
for discovery, an intense energy of character which courted
difficulty and defied danger. His splendid services to Franco
and civilization merited a better fate than his tragic and
treacherous death, at the early age of forty-three, upon the
Texan plains.
CHAPTER VIII.
"THE AGQNY OF CANADA."
Frontcnac recalled— Dc la Barro, Viceroy— 1682. Iroquois War renewed
—Disaster of Famine Cove— 1684. Denouvillc, Viceroy -Seizes
Iroquois Chiefs— 1G85. Defeats Senecas — Plants Western Forts
—1687. Iroquois Ravage Frontier -Treachery of Le Rat— 1688.
Massacre op Lachine, the "brain-blow" of Canada— 1689.
During the ten years of Frontenac's first colonial adminis-
tration, his haughty and overbearing manners involved him
* The Ohio and the Mississippi received the names respectively of Rivtjr St Louis
and Hivev Colbert.
40
inOQUOlS WAR.
[1688
in perpetual disputes with the Bishop, the Intendant, the
Council, the Jesuits -in fact, with all who opposed his often
arbitrary will. At length, wearied with complaints, the
King recalled Frontenuc in 1682, and appointed M. de la
Barre his successor. On his arrival in Canada, he found
the country threatened with the outbreak of another Iro-
quois war. Mustering a thousand militiamen and Indians,
and a handful of regulars, at Fort Frontenac, he proceeded
to invade the Seneca country ; but was compelled to make
,^(^p, an ignominious peace. He was soon recalled in dis-
grace, and was succeeded by the Marquis de Denon-
ville.
Denonville, who was shortly followed by six hundred
regulars, after a few hours' rest at Quebec, pushed on to
Fort Frontenac; and in June, 1687, defeated the Senecas
with great loss. He spent ten days ravaging the country,
burning the villages, and destroying an immense stock of
maize: — over a million bushels, says one account. He
planted palisaded posts at Niagara, Toronto, Detroit, Sault
Ste. Marie, Mackinaw, and on the Illinois River, as a bar-
rier against the encroachments of the English or their
Iroquois allies.
The whole Five Nations now united to avenge the
jgQg slaughter of the Senecas. They prowled like famished
wolves all along the frontier. They lay in wait near
every settlement, thirsting for Christian blood. During this
fatal year, over a thousand of the colonists fell by the scalp-
ing knife or tomahawk of their relentless foe.
In this extremity, negotiations for peace were opened
under the menace of a thousand Iroquois warriors at Lake
St. Francis, who demanded the restoration of their betrayed
chiefs, now toiling in the royal galleys in France. While
the negotiations were pending, a crafty Huron chief, Kon-
diarak or the Rat, a forest Machiavelli, offended at the pros-
pect of a treaty with his hereditary foe, by a deed of double
treachery fell on an Iroquois emba: ^y, and declared that he
acted by the command of the French. He had effectually,
as he boasted, " killed the peace." The incipient treaty
was broken off, and the war was waged with intenser vio-
lence.
The culminating art in this bloody drama was the mas-
sacre of Lachine in 1689. On tiie night cf August 5th,
[1688
1689]
THE BRAIN-iJLOW OF CANADA.
41
mt, the
is often
ts, the
I. de la
found
er Iro-
ndians,
)ceeded
► make
in dis-
Denon-
undred
on to
ienecas
)untry,
iock of
He
Sault
a bar-
their
twelve hundred painted warriors landed amid a shower of
hail on the Island of Montreal. Before daybreak they lay
in wait around every dwelling in the doomed village. At
a given signal, the dreadful war-whoop awoke the sleepers
to a death-wrestle with a pitiless foe. Men, women, and
children were dragged from their beds and indiscriminately
butchered with atrocious cruelty. The houses were hred,
and two hundred persons perished in the flames. As many
more were carried oft' for the nameless horrors of delib(>rate
torture. For two montlis the victors ravaged the island,
the besieged inhabitants of Ville Marie cowering in mortal
fear behind their palisades.
This " brain-blow " seems to have staggered the colony.
Fort Frontenac was blown up and abandoned. The do-
minion of France in the New World was practically reduced
to the forts of Quebec, Thr(H^ Rivers, and Montreal. At
this hour of its deepest deprerssion", Do-non ville was recalled,
and the fiery Frontenac was re-appointed Governor.
?e the
nished
it near
ig this
scalp-
►pened
' Lake
irayed
While
Kon-
I pros-
louble
lat he
ually,
:reaty
r vio-
mas-
; 5tli,
CHAPTER IX.
FRONTENAC'S SECOND ADMINISTRATION.
Frontenac ro-appointcd Governor— 1689. French Invasion of New
England— Massacres of Corlaer and Salmon Falls— First American
Congress at New York— Sir Wm. Phipps captures Port Royal-
Is repulsed at Quebec— 1690. Iroquois ravages— Frontenac burns
their towns— D'Iberville in Newfoundland and Iliidson's Baj — 160G.
Treaty of Ryswick restores respective possessions of Fi'ance and
England— 1697. Death of Frontenac in his seventy-eighth year
—1698.
The veteran soldier, now near seventy years of age, was
hailed as ijhe deliverer of Canada. He arrived at a critical
period. The peril of the colony was increased by the de-
claration of war between France and England, in conse-
quence of the Revolution of 1688, whereby James II. was
driven fn m his throne by William III. Prince of Orange.
M. de Calli6res, the Governor of Montreal, had already
urged an attack upon the English at Albany and New
42
PHIPPS' ATTACK ON QUEBEC.
[1690
York, whom he accused, and not without reason, of inciting
the Iroquois to war. It was now resolved to act vigorously
on tlie aggressive.
In nndwinter, Frontenac ravaged, with fire and ssvord,
the British colonies. Let one example suffice : Early in
iron l^'^'^^^'ii'^^y) two hundred men, half French and half
Indians, marched from Montreal through the snow to
Corlaer (now Schenectady), neai- Albany. At midnight, in
a bitter storm, they entered stealthily the little hamlet
sleeping in fancied security with open and unguarded gates.
The wild war-whoop was raised, and sixty men, women, and
children were butchered in cold blood, and every house was
burned to ashes. It was not war ; it was midnight murder.
The ]>ritish colonies now began to act with vigour. Sir
William Phipps, a native of Maine, who had risen from
before the mast to a baronetcy, and a captaincy in the
royal navy, captured and plundered the small French fort
of Port Royal, in Acadia. In May, a congress of British
colonists, the first ever held, assembled at New York to
concert a scheme of combined action. A vicjorous attack
on Canada, by land and water, was devised. A partial
famine, and tlie outbreak of small-pox, caused the complete
miscarriage of the overland expedition.
Frontenac was now startled at learning that an English
fleet was carefully sounding its way up the St. Lawrence.
Early in the morning of October 5th, the snowy sails of a
fleet, under Sir William Phipps, were seen slowly rounding
the headland of Poin. Levi. Phipps sent a summons to
surrender in the name of William of Orange, Kin<r of Enc-
land. Led blindfolded into the council chamber of the
Chateau of St. Louis, the envoy, laying his watch upon the
table, demanded an answer in an hour. " I will answer
by the mouth of my cannon," defiantly replied the choleric
Frontenac, and he soon opened a damaging fire on the fleet.
Phipps ineffectively attempted to reply. His assaulting
party of twelve hundred men was repulsed with loss. Nine
vessels of his squadron were wrecked. The church of Notre
Dame de la Victoire, still standing in the Lower Town,
commemorates this victory.
The entire population of New France was only eleven
thousand. That of New England was at least ten times
as many. The plucky Frenchmen continued to wa"[e the
Englij
[1690
1690]
IROQUOIS EAVAGES.
43
mcifcinfr
porously
sword,
Carly in
nd half
snow to
light, in
hamlot
d gates,
on, and
use was
Kiurder.
ir. Sir
n from
in the
ch fort
British
'^ork to
attack
partial
>mplete
English
v^rence.
Is of a
iinding
ons to
f Eng-
of the
on the
mswer
loleric
; fleet,
ulting
Nine
Notre
Cown,
ileven
times
e the
unequal conflict. With their Indian allies they ravaged
the New England frontier, and French corsairs swept the
seaboard, and even cut out vessels in Boston harbour. The
English cut the dikes, flooded the land, and slaughtered the
cattle of the French settlements of Acadia.
A reign of terror and sorrow, of desolation and death,
prevailed. " No Frenchman shall have leave to cut a stick,"
threatened the revengeful Mohawks ; " they sliall find no
quiet even in their graves." Along the frontier every house
was a fortress, and every household was an armed garrison.
Many were the deeds of daring done by lone women in
defence of their hearths and babes, and pitiful the sufferings
they endured. The footprints of civilization ' re marked
with blood. The culture of the soil was impossible, and
famine threatened the land. Society wa^ eturning to a
state of savagery. Christian i ;en, despising the vast herii^ign
of virgin soil with which the g^ oat All-Father had dowered
his children, red or wliite, in their mutual jealousy, and
hatred, and unhallowed greed for gain, hounded their
savage allies at each other's throats, and, crowning atrocity
of shame ! a tariff of prizes was offered for human scalps —
from ten to fifty louis by the English, from ten to twenty
by the French. Amid such horrors were 'he foundations
of the Canadian nationality laid.
IPQf. To put an end to this reign of terror, Frontenac
resolved on a supreme effort. He rebuilt the fort at
Cataraqui called by his name, and collected there a force
of twenty-three hundred men, French and Indians, for the
punishment of the Iroquois. Crossing Lake Ontario they
sailed up the Oswego river. In the march through the
forest the veteran Governor, now seventy-six years of age,
carried in his chair, commanded in person. The Iroquois,
firing their villages, fled, leaving the smoking brands the
profitless booty of the conqueror, l^o his lasting disgrace,
Frontenac permitted the torture of a forest stoic of nearly
a hundred years, from whom no sufferings could extort a
single groan.
During these stormy years, M. D'Iberville, a native of
Montreal, who had risen to a naval captaincy in the French
service, was maintaining the supremacy of the French
arms. In 1685, with MM. Troyes and Ste. Heline and
eighty Canadians, he had traversed on snow-shoes six hun-
44
d'iberville.
[1706
dred miles of mountain, marsli, and forest to Hudson's Bay,
and witli many brave but bloody exploits had captured the
British trading posts on that frozen sea. He subsequently
ravaged in midwinter the island of Newfoundland, burning
the fishing town of St. John's. In a series of bloody con-
flicts several forts oi' the island and the New England coast
were taken and re-taken by the French and English several
times. In 1679, with a single lifty-gun ship, he defeated
in the waters of Hudson's Bay three British vessels, with one
hundred and twenty-four guns, sending one to the bottom
with all sail set, with the loss of every one on board ; and
conquered the whole territory for France. Thus the ice-
bergs and reeky shores of this wild northern sea echoed the
international strife that was deluging the plains of Europe
with blood, and carrying terror to every hamlet in New
Encrland and New France.
The treaty of Byswick, signed September 20th, 1G97,
put an end to the war in the Old World and the New, and
restored to France and England the respective possessions
held at its outbreak. The bloodshed and pillage, the
wretchedness and ruin of eight long years counted for noth-
ing; and the irrepressible conflict for the possession of a
continent had to be fought over again and again. Frontenac
,pqn soon after died at Quebec in the seventy-eighth year
of his age. He was respected or admired by his
friends for his energy and daring of character, and feared
or hated by his enemies — and he had many — for his stern
and haughty manners and cruel temper in war. His lot
was cast in troublous times, and he had at least the merit
of preserving to France the colony which he found on the
very verge of ruin.
On the declaration of peace, D'Iberville, the hero of
Hudson's Bay, obtained a commission to colonize Louisiana.
Exploring, planting, building from 1699 to 1702 in the hot,
unwholesome swamps and lagoons of the Gulf coast, he
founded Boloxi and Mobile. Snutten with yellow fever, he
returned to France. Scarce convalescent, he captured from
the Br^'tish, Nevis, one of their West India possessions, and
died of a second attack of yellow fever, in 1706 aged forty-
four. Thus passed away one of the restless spirits of a
stormy age, whose deeds of valour were unhappily also deeds
of blood.
1699
[1706
{ 45 )
's r>ay,
ccl the
uently
urning
iy con-
d coast
several
featecl
th one
)ottom
; and
ne ice-
)ecl the
lurope
1 New
>v.
1G97,
and
essions
:e, the
r noth-
n of a
ntenac
h year
by his
feared
stern
[is lot
merit
3n the
TO of
siana.
e hot,
st, he
er, he
from
?, and
forty-
of a
deeds
CHAPTER X.
"QUEEN ANNE'S WAR."
Do Callicrcs succeeds Frontenac— Treaty with the Iroquois— 1700. De-
troit founded— V/ Alt OP the Spanish Succession— 1702. Vau-
drouil, Viceroy— The Abcnaquis ravage New England— 1703. Port
Royal captured— Re-named Annapolis— 1710. Sir Hovcnden Walk-
er's diso/strous attempt against Quebec -1711. The Treaty ok
Utrecht gives England Acadia, Newfoundland and Hudson's Bay
—1713. Internal Development — Fur Trade — Manufactures-Law
Reforms— Death of Vaudreuil— Forts Oswego and Frederic planted
-1720.
The Chevalier de Calli^res, who had been for some time the
iroQ commandant of Montreal, was appointed successor to
Frontenac, and soon made a treaty with the Iroquois.
To maintain their grasp of the Great West, the French
sent M. de Cadillac, with a hundred men, to build a fort at
Detroit, the key of the upper lakes. The wise choice of
position is vindicated to-day by the stately " City of the
Straits " which occupies the site of the rude fortress of
1702. De Calli6res died in 1703, and was succeeded by
the Marquis de Vaudreuil, commandant of Montreal.
The war of the Spanish Succession had now broken out
between England and her continental allies, and France
and Spain (May 15th, 1702), and all Europe and America
were again involved in a bloody strife for the maintenance
of a visionary balance of power. By the victories of Blen-
heim, Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet, Marlborough
and Eugene won name and fame, and the power of France
was broken at the cost of a sea of blood. Again the " dogs
of war " slipped their leash amid the forests of the New
World. The French stirred up their allies, the ferocious
Abenaquis, against the New England colonists. In one
day they burst upon every house from the Kennebec to the
Piscatqua, sparing neither hoary age, nor childing mother,
nor tonder infancy. Like human hyenas, they lay in wait
for their prey, thirsting for blood, and after the savage
spring skulked off into the forest with the victims who
were not slain upon the spot.
And Christian men surpassed in these deeds of blood the
cruel pagan of the woods. In the midwinter of 1703-1704,
4>3
walker's attack on QUEBEC.
[1711
Ilertel tie Rouville, with two hundred French and one hun-
dred cand fifty Indians, marched two hundred miles on snow-
shoes to the little town of Deerfteld, in New Hampshire.
They laid it in ashes, and of its inlwibitants forty-seven be-
dabbled with their blood the snow, and one hundred and
twelve were dragged with inhuman torture through the
wintry woods to Canada.. Again, in 1708, De Rouville, not
)et weary of slaughter, fell at daybreak on the sleeping
hamlet of Haverhill, in New Hampshire. The tragedy of
Deerfield was repeated ; but the inhabitants rallied, and
many of the French returned from their hunting of human
prey no more.
Meanwhile the English colonists retaliated as best they
could. In 1704, and again in 1707, expeditions sailed from
Boston harbour to reduce Acadia, but they were repulsed
by the valour of the French. General Nicholson, with two
thousand militia and a l^and of Iroquois allies, marched
against Canada. On the shores of Lake Champlain an
epidemic broke out in his camp, and the campaign ended in
disastrous retreat..
,w,^ The following year, a fleet of fifty vessels sailed
from Boston for the capture of Port Royal. After
three weeks' siege, M. Subercase, its commandant, with his
famished garrison of one hundred and fifty-six men, marched
out with the honours of war ; and ever since the red-cross
flag has proudly waved over the noble harbour, then named,
in honour of the reigning sovereign, Annapolis.
,_, , On the 30th of July the following year, eighty-eight
ships of war and transports, under the command of
Sir Hovenden Walker, sailed from Boston for the attack on
Quebec. Four thousand militia and six hundred Iroquois,
under General Nicholson, advanced simultaneously from
Albany to Lake George. Walker sailed slowly up the St.
Lawrence, intending to winter m the river, and wondering
how he should protect his ships when it would be frozen to
the bottom ; he thought he would place them in cradles on
the shore. On the 23rd of August, the fleet was enveloped
and amid the darkness drifted upon the reefs of
Before morning, eight of his vessels were
shattered, and eight hundred drowned sailors were strewn
upon its shores. Sir Hovenden abandoned the attack on
Quebec, General Nicholson retreated from Lake Georsre.
in a fog,
the Egg Islands.
were
[1711
1713]
INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT.
47
le liun-
snow-
psliire.
v^en be-
Bcl and
Ejh the
lie, not
eeping
^edy of
d, and
human
st they
;d from
epulsed
ith two
larched
ain an
nded in
1 sailed
After
vith his
(larched
Bd-cross
named,
by-eight
land of
tack on
roquois,
y from
the St.
tidering
'ozen to
idles on
veloped
[•eef s of
sis were
strewn
iack on
Greorge,
and the beleaguered fortress had another respite from con-
quest.
On tlie 13th of March, 1713, in the Dutch town of
Utrecht, the treaty was signed which gave peace, not only
to the war-worn nations of Europe, but also to the scattered
colonists in the wilds of the New World. England obtained
Acadia, Newfoundland, the protectorate of the Iroquois
"nations," and the unexplored regions around Hudson's
Bay. France, of all her vast colonial possessions, retained
only Canada, Cane Breton, the small islands of St. Pierre
and Miquelon and certain fishing rights on the shores of
Newfoundland, and the undefined territory of Louisiana.
The peace between Great Britain and France continued
for over thirty years, and gave an opportunity for the de-
velopment of the natural resources of the colonies. Vau-
dreuil began forthwith, in anticipation of the final struggle,
to strengthen the defences of New France, and to extend
the chain of forest forts connecting it with the Mississippi
valley. A town was begun at Louisburg, Cape Breton, and
a fortress of immense strength constructed at the cost of
five millions of dollars.
But the growth of peaceful industry was a surer means
of promoting national prosperity. The fur trade was re-
lieved of some of its hampering restrictions, and an annual
fair was established at Montreal. Shipbuilding was encour-
aged, and Quebec laid the foundation of her distinguished
reputation for this industry. Iron was manufactured at
St. Maurice, and salt at Kamouraska. Judicial reforms
were also introduced, tending to repress the litigious dis-
position of the people. A letter post was established, the
country was divided into eighty-two parishes, and roads
were made between the settlements to supplement the
water communication. Tlie fascinations of the adventur-
ous fur trade were especially unfavourable to agricultural
prosperity. This trade successive edicts in vain attempted
to repress, for with it every family in the colony was in
some way connected. The English colonists, en the con-
trary, devoted themselves almost exclusively to agriculture,
conquering yearly a broad domain of forest, and extending
the frontiers of civilization; the fur trade was only a very
subordinate industry. The coureur vtt hois had no English
counterpart, although he may have had a few English imi-
tators.
48
WAR OF AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION.
[1743
In 1720-1722, P6ro Chnrlnvoix traversed Canada and
Louisiana, and wrote a voluminous and valuable liistory
of the country. (^)ueboc had then a population of seven
thousand. Its society, which was largely military, he de-
scribes as very agreeable ; but Ijeneath its gay exterior —
the reflex of the salons of FoMtaine})leau — was conceahid
a general poverty. Montreal had about two thousand in-
habitants, and the entire Province about twenty-live thou-
sand.
In 1725, after a skilful and prudent administration for a
quarter of a century of colonial affairs, Vaudreuil died, and
was succeeded by tlie Marquis de Beauharnois, a natural
son of Louis XIV.
CHAPTER XL
LOUISBURG— DU QUESNE.
Wat of the Austrian Succession— 1743. Peppeiiel's Conquest op Louis-
KUitG— 1745. Tlie Disastrous Attempt of the Froncli at its Ko-
capture -1746. The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle Restoues it to
France— 1748. Halifax Founded— 1749. Fort Du Quesne Planted
— Collision in the Ohio Valley— 1754. The Death of Jumonvillo
" kindles the world into a flame."
In 1739 England broke peace with Spain on account of her
jealous restrictions of trade with her South American de-
pendencies.
In 1743 the question of the Austrian Succession plunged
Europe into war. England, Austria, and Holland drew
the sword in favour of the heroic Maria Theresa. France
, - ^^ and other powers declared for her rival, the Elector of
Bavaria. The Stuart Pretender deemed the moment
opportune for raising a Scottish revolt. In America the
conflict of races was renewed. A body of French from Capo
Breton surprised the English post at Canso, and carried
off eighty prisoners to Louisburg. The New England
colonists resolved to attempt the daring feat of the cap-
ture of that fortress. Four thousand colonial militia were
collected, and William Pepperel, a merchant and militia
[1743
1745]
rElTEllELS CAnUUE OF LOUISIJUUO.
49
a and
listory
s(;veu
lie de-
I'ior —
icoaled
tnd in-
thou-
ri for a
d, and
atural
IF Louis-
[; its Ko-
'.KB IT TO
) Planted
monvillo
i of her
can de-
>lunged
1 drew
France
;ctor of
loment
Lca the
n Cape
carried
n gland
le cap-
a were
militia
colonel of Maine, took command. On tlui 29th of April,
1745, a hundred vessels, under Commodore Warren, sailed
into the capacious harhour of Louishurg. This was one of
the strongest fortresses in the world. It was surrounded
by a wall forty feet thick at the base, and from twenty
to thirty feet high, and by a ditch tnghty feet wide. It
mounted nearly two hundri^d guns, and had a i/arrison of
sixteen hundred men. The assailants had only eightt;en
cannon and three mortars. With a rush tliey charged
through the surf, and repulsed the French who lined the
steep and rugged shore. Dragging their guns through a
marsh on sledgc^s, the English gained the rear ; the French
in a panic abandoned an outwork, spiking their cannon.
After six weeks' siege, Duchambon, the commandant,
capitulated, ;ind the New England militia marched into the
works. As they beheld their extent, they exclaimed, "Cod
alone has delivered this stronghold into our hand," and
a sermon of thanksgiving was preached in the French
chapel.
The fall of tha strongest fortress in America before a
little army of New England farmers and fishermen caused
the wildest delight at Boston and the deepest chagrin at
Versailles. Beauharnois was recalled, and the Marquis de
la Jonqui^re was appointed Governor-General of Canada.
,„.^ The following spring, a French fleet of forty sail
was despatched to recapture Louisburg and Annapolis,
and to destroy Bostoi.. After a three months' voyage it
was scattered by storms, a part only reaching the place of
rendezvous, Chebucto (now Halifax) harbour. Scurvy broke
out in the fleet, and carried off* eleven hundred men. The
admiral died of apoplexy, or, it was whispered, by poison.
His successor, overwhelmed by the responsibility of his
office, fell upon his sword and died. Johquiere ordered an
attack upon Annapolis, which was frustrated by tempest,
and the baffled expedition returned to France.
Undeterred by disaster, the French the next year fitted
out two squadrons, one against the British East Indies, the
qther to recover Louisburg. Admirals Anson and Warren,
however, intercepted and defeated both off" Cape Finisterre,
capturing many vessels and a great quantity of booty.
Among the prisoners was Jonquiere, thus again prevented
from assuming the government of Canada, The peace of
50
FORT DU QUESNE.
[1754
1
1752
-.^ Aix-la-Chapoll(^, to tho ^ro.it cha^M-in of tlio Now
En^^lantl colonists, restoi'cd Louishiir;^' to Franoo in
exchang(^ for hvv Kast India con([U(;st, Madras. This peace
was only acc<^pt«d as a brcathin;^' spoil to propai'tj for the
coming struggle for tho possession of tho continent.
To consolidate the IJritish power in Nova Scotia, a strong
colony was sent to the magnificent Chebucto hai-hour. Tt
was named after Lord Halifax, its projector. In July,
1749, fourteen vessels transportt^d thither nearly four thou-
sand colonists, and before winter three hundred houses were
constructed and defended by palisaded works.
La Jonquidro was consumed by an ignoble avarice, and
used every means to enrich himself at the expense of tho
colony. Fraud and peculation impoverished the people,
who dtnnandod his recall ; but ho died Ijofore the arrival of
^^y his successor, l)u Quesne. Bigot, his Intondant, was,
if possible, even more corrupt thau tho miserly Uov-
ernor, and added the vices of licentiousness and extrava-
gance to those of meanness and avarice. He mocked the
misery of the people by his ostentatious profligacy, and aped
the sensualism of the court of Louis XV. at his palace in
Quebec, and at his chateau at Beauport.
Du Quesne entered upon a vigorous aggressive policy.
He organized and d'^illed the militia, garrisoned the western
forts, and established new posts in the Ohio valley. The
"Ohio Company," composed of London and Virginia mer-
-jyp, chants, had begun a settlement and fort at the junc-
tion of the MonongaheLi. and Alleghany rivers, where
Pittsburgh now stands. A strong force of French, under
M. Contrecour, seized the fort, and having completed its
defences, gave it the name of Du Quesne. Meanwhile,
Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, had despatclied a force
under Colonel George Washington, then in the twenty-
second year of his age, to hold the fort for the English.
Contrecour sent M. Jumonville, with a small party of sol-
diers, to warn him off what was claimed as French territory.
Washington, apprehending that their purpose was hostile,
and eager to distinguish himself, surprised them in a narrow
valley. The French sprang to arms. " Fire !" cried Wash-
ington. " That word," says Bancroft, "kindled the world
into a flame." It precipitated the earth-shaking conflict on
the plains of India, on the waters of the Mediterranean
and the
rampart
in tho v;
the Kroi
continor
ville, wl
there is
oommiss
Convontic
liriti
— Th
FKA'
PULi
It was
of depu
Albany
lin prop
of the I
prevent
detach i
was seci
nephew
of an I
Hall," .
commar
bulwarl
Duq
Cavana
appoint
The
Genera
were re
battalic
[1754
New
lUH) ill
peace
or the
strong
Hr. Tt
July,
i" thou-
s were
in\ and
of the
people,
ival of
it, was,
y (iov-
xtrava-
ied the
id aped
lace in
policy,
vestern
'. The
ia mer-
e junc-
, where
, under
ted its
iiwhile,
a force
-wenty-
liiglish.
of sol-
[•ritory.
hostile,
narrow
Wash-
world
flict on
ranean
SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON.
61
Riid the Spanish Main, on the (Jold Coast of Africa, on the
ramparts of Louishurg, on th(; Inughts of Quebec, and here
in tlie valley of the Ohio, which led to the utter defeat of
tlie French, and the di'struction of their sovereignty on tliia
contint^it. The French dcniounccnl tlie attack on Junion-
ville, while in the charactcir of an envoy, as murder ; but
there is no evidence that Washington was aware of hia
commission.
CHAPTER XII.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1755.
Convention of British Colonists at Albany -WilliaTn Johnson — 1751.
liritisli Naval Victories— Bit addock's Dkkeat at the Monongahela
—The Expedition against Fort Niagara a Failure- Johnson De-
feats DiESKAU at Lake Ge< 'go— The Tragedy of Grand Pre— Ex-
pulsion OF THE ACAUIANS 1760.
It was now felt that war was inevitable. A convention
of deputies of the English colonies was forthwith held at
Albany to concert measures of defence. The astute Frank-
lin proposed a federal union after the manner of the league
of the Six Nations, but imperial and provincial jealousy
prevented its consummation. The French endeavoured to
detach the Iroquois from the English ; but their allegiance
was secured through the influence of William Johnson, a
nephew of Admiral Warren, who, having married the sister
of an Iroquois chief, lived in feudal state at "Johnson's
Hall," on the Mohawk River. His integrity of character
commanded the respect of the Indians, and made him the
bulwark of British authority upon the troubled frontier.
Du Quesne was recalled, and the Marquis de Vaudrsuil-
Cavanag, the son of a former Governor of Canada, was
appointed his successor, 1755.
The British forces were strengthened by the arrival of
General Braddock with two royal regiments, and the French
were reinforced by Baron Dieskau with several veteran
battalions. The British swept the seas, and during the
52
BRADDOCKS DEFEAT.
[1755
1755]
year captured three hundred French vessels and eight thou-
sand sailors.
On land it was resolved to attack the French at once at
Forts Du Quesne, Niagara, Frederic, and Beau Sejour.
The main enterprise, that against Fort Du Quesne, was
assigned to General Braddock. He was a brave soldier,
but a mai inet — arrogant, perverse, and obstinate. He
attempted to wage war amid the wilds of America after the
msmuer of a European campaign. He treated with disdain
the provincial troops, and rejcjted the counsels of Wash-
ington and other backwoods lighters. With his little army
of twenty-three hundred men and an innnense baggage and
artillery train, he hewed a road through the wilderness and
over the Alleghany Mountains. On the 9th of June he
reached the neighbour!) od of the Monongaliela. It was a
gallant sight — the baniiijred array, the scarlet uniforms, the
gleam of bayonets, uo the little army, with Hying colours,
unconsciously pressed on to its fate — the fife and drum corps
making the forest ring with the inspiring strains of " The
British Grenadiers." As they entered a narrow defile,
suddenly the deadly war-whoop rang, and a murderous fire
was poured into their ranks by unseen enemies lurking
amid the shadows of f^\^ primeval forest.
The British regulars were thrown into confusion, and,
failing by scores, huddler^ together like sheep, till, panic-
stricken, they broke and fled. In ^ ain their officers sought
to rally them. Braddock had five horses shot under him,
and fell mortally wounded. The colonial troops under
Colonel Washiuguon displayed a steadiness that put the
roguhii's to shame ; but scarce one-fifth of their number left
the field alive. Of the entire command more than half
were killed or wounded. The French, who were only some
two hundred and fifty in number, attempted no pursuit,
and their six hundred savage allies reaped a rich harvest of
scalps and booty, and brilliant British uniforms. The as-
sailants lost only forty men. This disastrous rout brought
on the Pennsylvania and Virginia settlements all the hor-
rors of a merciless border warfare.
The expedition against Fort Niagara failed even to reach
its destination. Disheartened by Braddock's defeat, tlie
militia d(5serted by scores ; and the Iroquois, wavering in
their allegiance, disputed its right of way through their
In
[1755
ffht thou- S
.t once at
our.
osne, was
soldier,
Lte. He
after the
h disdain
3f Wash-
btle army
■gage and
:'ness and
June he
It was a
ornis, the
', colours,
um corps
of "The
^ defile,
irons tire
i lurking
Lon, and,
il, panic-
[•s sought
der him,
)S under
put the
nber left
lan half
ily some
pursuit,
irvest of
The as-
brought
the hor-
to reach
?at, the
3ring in
jh their
1755]
ACADIAN NEUTRALS.
53
territory. Reaching Lake Ontario in August, Shirley, its
commander, left seven hundred men to garrison Oswego,
and returned with the remainder to Albany.
The expedition against Crown Point was more successful.
General Johnson, with tive thousand militiamen, advanced
from Albany to Lake George. Dieskau, with a mixed
force of two thousand men, m.ade a detour to attack Fort
Edward in his rear. The French, after a fierce contest of
four hours, were compelled to retreat, hotly pursued by the
British, on their entrenched camp at Ticonderoga, at the
northern end of the lake. Johnson, having built and
garrisoned Fort William Henry, on the site of the conflict,
fell back on Albany. He received a grant of £5,000 and a
knighthood for his achievement.
In the spring of the year. Colonel Moncton, with forty-
one vessels and two thousand men, had sailed from Boston
to reduce Fort Beau Sejour, in the Acadian isthmus, to
which the French still laid claim. Ill-manned by a few
hundred refugees and a few soldiers, it soon capitulated,
and was re-named Fort Cumberland. The Acadian peasants,
on the beautiful shores of the Bay of Fundy, were a simple,
virt'ious, and prosperous connuunity. With remarkable in-
dustry they had reclaimed from the sea by dikes many
thousands of fertile acres, which produced abundant crops
of grain and orchard fruits ; and on the sea meadows, at
one time, grazed as many as sixty thousand head of cattle.
The simple wants of the peasants were supplied by domestic
manufactures or by importations from Louisburg. So great
was their attachment to the government and institutions of
their fatherland, that during the aggressions of the Eiiglish
after their conquest of the country, a great part of the
population — cjome ten thousand, it has been said, although
the number is disputed — abandoned their homes and mi-
grated to that portion of Acadia still claimed by tlie French,
or to Cape Breton or Canada. Some seven thousand still
remained in the peninsula of Nova Scotia, but they claimed
a political neutrality, resolutely refusing to take the oath of
allegiance to the alien conquerors. They were accused of
intriguing with their countrymen at Louisburg, with resist-
ing the English authority, and with inciting and even lead-
ing the Indians to ravage the English settlements.
The cruel Micmacs needed little
instigation.
The)>
54
TRAGEDY OF GRAND PRE.
[1755
1756^
swooped down on the little town of Dartmouth, opposite
Halifax, and within gunshot of its forts, and reaped a rich
harvest of scalps and booty. The English prisoners they
sometimes sold at Louisburg for arms and ammunition.
The Governor asserted that pure compassion was the motive
of this traffic, in order to rescue the captives from massacre.
He demanded, however, an excessive ransom for their libera-
tion. The Indians were sometimes, or indeed generally it
was asserted, led in these murderous raids by French com-
manders. These violations of neutrality, however, were
chiefly the work of a few turbulent spirits. The mass of
the Acadian peasants seem to liave been a peaceful and
inoffensive people, although they naturally sympathized
with their countrymen, and rejoiced at the victory of Du
Quesne, and sorrowed at the defeat of Lake George. They
were, however, declared rebels and outlaws, and a council
at Halifax, confounding the innocent with the guilty, de-
creed the expulsion of the entire French population.
The decision was promptly carried out. Ships soon ap-
peared before the principal settlements in the Bay of Fundy.
All the male inhabitants, over ten years of age, were sum-
moned to hear the Ki!ig's command. At Grand Pre, four
hundred assembled in the village church, when the British
officer read from the altar the decree of their exile. Resist-
ance was impossible ; armed soldiers guarded the door, and
the men were encaged in prison. They were marched at
the bayonet's point, amid the wailings of their relatives, on
board the transports. The women and children were shipped
in other vessels. Families were scattered ; husbands and
wives separated — many never to meet again. Hundreds of
comfortable homesteads and well-filled barns were ruthlessly
given to the flames. A number, variously estimated at
from three to seven thousand, were dispersed along the
Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Georgia. Twelve hun-
dred were carried to South Carolina. A few planted a
new Acadia among th'^ir countrymen in Louisiana. Some
tried to return to their blackened hearths, coasting in open
boats along the shore. These were relentlessly intercepted
when possible, and sent back into hopeless exile. An im-
perishable interest has been imparted to this sad story by
Longfellow's beautiful poem " Evangeline," which describes
the sufferings and sorrows of some of the inhabitants of the
[1755
1756]
SEVEN years' war BEGUN.
00
opposite
d a ricli
rs they
unition.
B motive
lassacre.
r libera-
rally it
ch coni-
were
mass of
ul and
^athized
r of Du
They
council
ilty, de-
oon ap-
Fundy.
re sum-
re, four
British
Resist-
>or, and
3hed at
ves, on
shipped
ds and
reds of
hlessly
ted at
ng the
e hun-
ited a
Some
I open
cepted
^n im-
)ry by
icribes
3f the
little village of Grand Pr6. It is a page in our country's
annals that is not pleasant to contemplate, but we may not
ignore the painful facts. Every patriot must regret the
stern military necessity — if necessity theie wore — tliat
compelled the inconceivable sufi'ering of so many innoctmt
beings.
CHAPTER XIIL
CAMPAIGNS OF 1756 AND 1757.
The Seven Years' War begiin— Respective condition of the French
and English in America— Montcalm captures Fort Oswego -1756,
» Loudon's futile attempt against Louiaburg— Montcalm reduces
Fort William Henry— Indian Massacre of Twelve Hundred British
Prisoners— 1767. Exhaustion of Canada— Famine— Extortion and
Profligacy of Bigot and his Associates— 1768.
Notwithstanding these hostile demonstrations, war was not
formally declared till the following spring (1756). France,
Austria, and Russia were combined against England and
Prussia for the prolonged and bitter struggle of the Seven
Years' War. It seemed at first as though the combination
must be fatal to Britain and her ally. But the political
sagacity of William Pitt, and the military genius of Fred-
erick the Great, with the lavish expenditure of treasure and
blood, humbled their enemies and raised their respective
countries to the summit of glory. The " Great Commoner "
made good his proud boast that " England should moult no
feather of her crest." Olive's stupendous victory on the
plains of Plassey gave her her Indian Empire, and Wolfe's
heroic death on the heights of Quebec was the price of the
conquest of this great continent.
Nevertheless, the campaign of 1756 resulted disastrously
to the British. The French military officers were far
superior in dash and daring to their opponents. Montcalm,
the Commander-in-Ohief, had acquired experience and skill
in Italy and Germany, and was audacious in battle even to
the verge of rashness. De Levi and St. Veran, his military
colleagues, were also able officers. The number of Fi-ench
i6
PLAN OF CAMPAIGN.
[1756
1757]
regulars was increased to about four thousand, and the total
available colonial forces amounted to only twice that num-
ber. The whole French population was scarcely eighty
thousand, and it was ground down by feudal exactions,
knavish commercial monoplies, and fraudulent public ser-
vants.
The British colonies, on the other hand, numbered three
millions of inhabitants. Fostered by freedom and intelli-
gence, these had be -^.ne rich and prosperous. Thougli not.
deficient in valour, they possessed less of the military instinct,
and were more addicted to peaceful industry than thei' lorth-
ern neighbours. The Earl of Loudon, a man utterly without
military genius, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the
British forces. The plan of operations comprehended ex-
peditions against Forts Frederic, Niagara, Du Quesne, and
Quebec ; but delay and indecision frustrated these purposes,
while promptness and vigour characterized the operatiofis
of the French.
While Ceneral Abercrombie was awaiting reinforcements
at Albany, IMontcalm, with three thousand men, moved
rapidly on Oswego, where a strong fort gave the British
command of Lake Ontario. After a vigorous bombardment,
the fort capitulated, with a garrison of sixteen hundred
men, and an immense quantity of military stores. After
razing the fort, Montcalm returned to Lake Champlaiji, and
erected strong fortifications at Ticonderoga, thus guarding
the gate of Canada against the British. During the v inte^,
an attacking force of fifteen hundred French and Indians
advanced on snow-shoes from Montreal, nearly two hun-
dred miles, to attempt) the capture of Fort William Henry,
at the southern end of the lake. Unable to surprise the
fort, they burned all the outworks, together with the adja-
cent mills, dwellings, shipping, and batteaux, and carried
consternation even within Abercrombie's entrenchments at
Albany. Marauding parties of French and Indians ravaged
the English frontier with fire and sword, swooping down on
lonely settlements, in midnight attacks, and murdering and
scalping the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex.
The following year, 1757, Lord Loudon resolved to make
Louisburg the chief point of attack. In July he had as-
sembled at Halifax a fleet of sixteen ships of the line and
ninety transports, with ten thousand soldiers, chiefly veteran
troops
sieges.
[1756
1757] CAtTUllE OF FOllT WILLIAM HENRY.
67
troops.
sioges.
Here he wasted a month in mock })attles and
Learning that Louisburg was well garrisoned, and
guarded by a fleet as strong as liis own, he al>andoned his
design, and returned ingloriously to New York.
Meanwhile, Montcahn struck a fatal blow at Fort William
Henry, on Lake George. Early in August, the fort, now
garrisoned by twenty-seven hundred men, under Colonel
Munroe, was invested by the French. For live days, a
fierce bombardment woke the wild echoes of the mountains,
while hundreds of yelling savages scoured the woods, cutting
off and scalping all stragglers. The gallant Munroe held
out till half his guns were burst and his ammunition was
nearly exhausted, and over three hundred and fifty men
were killed and wounded, before he capitulated.
On the surrender* a tragedy ensued which stained with
the blood of its victims the laurels of the victors. As the
garrison, with its camp following of women and children,
was defiling through the woods, the blood-thirsty savages,
balked of their anticipated harvest of scalps and i)lunder,
and maddened by liquor, which the British had neglected
to destroy, fell in ruthless massacre upon the panic-stricken
throng. Montcalm, De Levi, and other ofiicers, interposed,
with daring and devotion, to stop the massacre and to rescue
the prisoners from their murderous assailants. But twelve
hundred, there is reason to fear, were massacred or enslaved
by the Indians.
Montcalm razed Fort William Henry to the ground, and,
deterred from a further advance by shoH allowance of food,
the French returned to reap the scanty harvest of their
Canadian fields. Naught remained to murk human habita-
tion on the shores of the lonely lake save the charred ruins
of the fort and the graves of the dead on the hill side.
Notwithstanding this victory, the condition of Canada
was one of extreme exhaustion. During the weary months
,.-^Q of winter, a severe famine prevailed. The cultivation
of the fields had been abandoned to women and chil-
dren, every able-bodied man being enrolled in the army.
The meagre crops that had been sown were almost a total
failure. The soldiers were put upon short allowance of
horse-flesh and bread. The daily rations were continuously
reduced till, in April, the allowance of bread was only two
ounces. Men fell down from faintness in the streets of
68
EXHAUSTION OF CANADA.
[1757
.11
Quebec. Three hundred Acadian refugees perished of
hunger.
During this period of general distress, Bigot, the Tnten-
dant, and his partners in crime and extortion — Cadet,
Varin, De Pean, and others — battened like vampires upon
the life-blood of their unhappy country. Bigot, the chief
criminal, was mean in stature, repulsive in countenance,
odious in life. His rapacity was almost incredible. He
actually, in tliis time of famine, exported large quantities
of bread stuffs to the West Indies, and made enormous pro-
fits from the enhanced cost of food at home. He destroyed
the financial credit of the colony by the lavish issue of
paper money, which soon became utterly worthless. While
the country languished, this gang of thieves amassed princely
fortunes. " It would seem," wrote Montcalm, " that all are
in haste to be rich before the colony is altogether lost to
France."
The mother country was herself exhausted by the ex-
actions of a world-wide war, and her civil and military ad-
ministration was corrupted and enfeebled by the profligacy
of the court. She could send few reinforcements of men or
money, military stores or food, to the colony ; and most of
the victualling ships sent out in the spring of 1758 were
captured by the British.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1758 AND 1769.
Pitt, Prime Minister of England— Fall op Louisburo— Abercrom-
bie's Defeat at Ticonderoga— Bradstreot Captures Fort Fronte-
nac— Fort I)n Qucsne Reduced — Re-named Fort Pitt— British
Victories around the World— The Hero of Louisburg— 1768.
Sir William Johnson reduces Niagara — Amherst occupies
Ticonderoga— 1769.
The disasters of the British only served to arouse their
intenser energy and firmer determination. William Pitt,
for a time excluded from the cabinet of the nation, now
seized the helm of state. His lofty courage, noble patriot-
ism and honest administration were the guarantee of sue-
[1757
•ished of
le Inten-
— Cadet,
res upon
the chief
itenance,
ble. He
u an titles
lous pro-
lestroyed
issue of
While
princely
it all are
)r lost to
the ex-
itary ad-
rofligacy
f men or
most of
58 were
BERCROM-
irt Fronte-
- British
urg— 1768.
OCCUPIES
ise their
M Pitt,
on, now
patriot-
3 of sue-
1758]
FALL OF LOUISBURO.
59
cess. He resolved on the absolute conquest of Canada,
even at the cost of England's " last shilling and last man."
Lord Loudon was recalled, and Generals Abercrombie,
Amherst, Wolfe and Howe were appointed commanders.
The military forces were increased to fifty thousand men.
It was resolved to attack Louisburg, Du Quesne, Ticonde-
roga, Quebec and Montreal. The French girded themselves
for what they felt to be the death-wrestle. " We will bury
ourselves, if need be," wrote Montcalm, " beneath the ruins
of the colony."
The first blow wa» struck at Louisburg. Its fortress had
fallen greatly into decay since the siege of 1745 ; but it was
garrisoned by three thousand five hundred men, and sup-
ported by ten ships of war. Early in June, Admiral Bos-
cawen, with thirty-seven ships of war, and one hundred and •
twenty transports conveying twelve thousand troops, ap-
peared off the harbour. Wolfe, with a strong force, gallantly
landed through the surf, and seized the outworks of the
fort. The siege was vigorously pressed by day and night
for seven weeks. The resistance was brave but ineffectual.
When town and fortress were well nigh demolished by shot
and shell, Louisburg capitulated. Its inhabitants were
conveyed to France, and the garrison and sailors, over five
thousand in number, were sent prisoners to England. Tlie
fortress, constructed at such cost and assailed and defended
with such valour, soon fell into utter ruin. Where giant
navies rode and earth-shaking war achieved such vast ex-
ploits, to-day the peaceful waters of the placid bay kiss the
deserted strand, and a small fishing hamlet and a few
mouldering ruin-moands mark the grave of so much military
pomp, and power, and glory.
But this victory was followed by a terrible disaster. In
the month of June, Lord Abercrombie, with an army of
sixteen thousand men, had set out from Albany for the
attack on Ticonderoga. On a brilliant July morning he
embarked his whole force, in over a thousand batteaux, on
Lake George, and in bannered pomp and splendour sailed
down the lovely lake to the narrows of Carillon, as the
French called Ticonderoga. In a preliminary skirmish
three hundred French were captured or killed ; but Lord
Howe, the favourite of the army, fell at the head of the
column. Montcalm, who had with him nearly four thou-
60 FALL OF FORTS FRONTENAC AND DU QUESNE. [1758
175J
sand of his best troops, had strengthened a naturally for-
midable position by an earthwork, before which sloped a
steep glacis, covered with an impenetrable abattis of felled
trees and sharpened stakes. Tlie assault was gallantly
made. For six long liours, again and again the colunnis
were hurled against the terrible abattis, and as often
staggered and recoiled before a withering point-blank fire
of cannon and musketry. Baffled and broken, with the
loss of two thousand men, the more than decimated army
retreated panic-stricken to their batteaux, and speedily
placed tlie length of the lake between .them and the victori-
ous enemy.
The disgrace of this disaster was partly retrieved by the
capture of Fort Frontenac, the French naval depot at the
foot of Lake Ontario, by Colonel Bradstreet. With three
thousand men he advanced by way of the Mohawk and
Oswego rivers, and crossing the lake in open boats, invested
tlio fort, whicli was guarded by only one hundred and sixty
men. After two days' bombardment it surrendered, and was
burned to the ground, together with an immense quantity
of stores and seven armed vessels. Thus, without the loss
of a man, was destroyed the French naval supremacy on
Lake Ontario.
In the west, General Forbes, with a force of six thousand
provincials and regulars, advanced against Fort Du Quesne.
Stricken with mortal illness, he was borne, a dying man,
across the Alleghanies in a litter. Colonel Washington
had the honour of planting the red-cross flag on the ram-
parts of Fort Pitt, as it was thenceforth called. The name
of the Great Commoner is inscribed forever on the gate-
way of the Ohio valley, in the designation of the city of
Pittsburg.
The toils were gathering around the doomed colony of
Canada. A fervent appeal was made to the mother country
for assistance. But the exhaustion produced by the Euro-
pean war, and by the prodigality of the court, prevented the
sending of reinforcements. " When the house is on fire,"
said the minister, " one does not mind the stables." The
colonists rallied for a supreme effort for the defence of their
hearths and homes. Famine stared them in U\e face. The
half-tilled acres brought forth but meagre cropa, and the
shameless exactions of Bigot were more ffrindinff than ever.
[1758
illy for-
loped a
f felled
illantly
olumns
I often
ink fire
ith the
d army
ipeedily
victori-
by the
at the
1 three
v^k and
ivested
d sixty
,nd was
Liantity
jhe loss
acy on
ousand
iuesne.
^ man,
lington
le ram-
3 name
3 gate-
3ity of
Dny of
3untry
Euro-
ed the
1 fire,"
The
f their
The
id the
L ever.
1758]
BUITISH VICTOUIES.
61
The entire population from sixteen to sixty was summoned
to the field, but though every sixth soul in the colony
responded, they mustered only fifteen thousand, of whom
many were unavailable for service. The chief dependence
was upon ten skeleton regiments of regulars, in which
ghastly gaps were worn by siege and sortie, by famine and
disease. To these the British opposed fifty thousand well-
armed troops and copious reserves.
England, like a rampant lion, was rousing herself for
conquest. The House of Commons voted ^£1 2,000,000
sterling for the war. Pitt infused his own spirit into every
branch of the service. The world was ringing with British
victories. A merchant's clerk, with a handful of men, had
conquered an empire where the foot of Alexander had
faltered. Senegal, Goree, Guadaloupe, her fairest tropical
possessions, were wrested from France. Alike on the
banks of the Ganges and on the banks of the Ohio, on the
forts of the Gold Coast and on the ramparts of Louisburg,
the red-cross banner waved triumphantly, and it was
destined soon to crown the heights of Quebec. In the
Indian Seas, on the Spanish Main, on the Atlantic, and on
the Pacific, Britain's fleets were everywhere victorious.
Pitt chose his instruments well. With the instinct of
genius he discerned the surpassing merit of the young hero
of Louisburg, and entrusted to him the conquest of Quebec.
Though only thirty-three years of age, Wolfe was a veterarx
soldier, having been eighteen years in the army. At
twenty-two he was a lieutenant-colonel, and at Dettingen,
Fontenoy, and Culloden, by his almost reckless bravery, he
had won distinguished honours. Though raised so rapidly
to the rank of general, even envy breathed no word of de-
traction against his name, and he commanded the love and
admiration of the entire army.
To Amherst was assigned the reduction of Ticonderoga
and Crown Point, and the capture of Montreal : and to
Prideaux the destruction of Fort Niagara. These move-
ments were sustained by forces amounting to fifty thousand
men, which were to concentrate at Quebec for the last act
of tlie drama. The French were to act strictly on the
defensive, retiring, in case of defeat, on Quebec, where the
final stand was to be made.
Tl^e first blow fell on Niagara. General J^rideaux a4-
62 CAlTUllE OF NIAGARA AND TlCONDEllOOA. [1758
vanced, l>y way of tlie Mohawk and Oswogo rivers, in many
batteaux to Niagara. A brisk lire was opened, but Prid-
eaux being killed by the bursting of a mortar the connnand
devolviKl on Johnson. M. Pouchot, tlie Frc h command-
ant, had summoned to liis aid the garrisor* of Detroit,
Presqu' Isle, and the western forts. M. D'Aubrey was
liastening to his relief with a force of seventeen hundred
French and Indians, when he was intercepted below the
Palls by Johnson, and utterly defeated, with the capture
of the greater part of his force. Hereupon Pouchot sur-
rendered, with six hundred men. The control of the great
lakes passed away from the French forever, and General
Stanwix speedily reduced all the western forts.
In the month of June, General Amherst, with an army
eleven thousand strong, reached Lake George from Albany.
Mindful of Abercrombie's disaster, he observed exceeding
caution on approaching the lines of Carillon. But the
genius of Montcalm was absent, and De Bourlemaque
retired within the fort, which was garrisoned by three thou-
sand men. After four days' vigorous resistance, the fort
was mined, fired, and abandoned. A tremendous explosion
occurred, but Amherst promptly occupied the smoking
ruins. Fort Frederic (Crown Point) was also abandoned
by the French, who strongly entrenched themselves at Isle
aux Noix, at the northern extremity of Lake Champlain,
which they determined to hold to the last extremity, as the
gatewp.y of Canada.
CHAPTER XV.
THE CONQUEST OF CANADA.
Wolfe before Quebjcc— The Sioge opened- Straits of the Inhabitants— The
Attack at Montmorency— Its disastrous failure— Wolfe's Illness—
An audacious design -The Eve of the Battle— The British gain the
Heights— The Battle of the Plains of Abraham— The Death
OF Wolfe and Montcalm— British Occupation of Quebec— 1769.
Battle of Ste. Foye -French Siege of Quebec raised -Surrender
of Montreal and Capitulation of Canada— 1760.
The last act of this historic drama, the conquest of Quebec,
j^^g must now be described. In the month of May,
the British fleet, of about forty war vessels and a
I
1759]
[1758
1759]
SIEGE OF QUEBEC.
G3
number of transports convoying oijL^lit tljous.'ind troops,
rimdezvoused at Louishur^, and toward tlio cud of Juno
arrived safely before tlie heiglits of Qut;bec. Wolfe
promptly occupied the Island of Orleans, the left bank of
the Montmorency, and Point Ltivi, opposite the city.
Montcalm had mustered a force of some thirteen thousand
men of every age, from boys of thirteen to veterans
of eighty, and had strongly fortified with redoubts and
earthworks the precipitous banks, from Cape Ilouge, eight
miles above Quebec, to Montmorency, as far below. A
strong boom, sunken ships and floating batteries, closed the
mouth of the St. diaries, and shoal water and nmd flats,
along the Beauport shore, made landing almost impossible.
Fire raf1« and Are ships were repeatedly launched on the
ebb tide against the British fleet, but tliey were always in-
tercepted by the British tars, and towed ashore without
having accomplished any injury.
The batteries at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, during the
month of July, poured such an incessant Are into the
doomed city that conflagrations were of almost daily occur-
rence, and soon the greater part of both Upper and Lower
Town was in ruins. Wolfe's plan was to force Montcalm's
lines, if possible, and bring him to an engagement. But the
French stood strictly on the defensive, except that their
Indian scouts cut off" and scalped stragglers from the
British lines. In retaliation, and as a measure of military
necessity, we must suppose — for he was man of humane
instincts — Wolfe ravaged the country and burned the vil-
lages both above and below Quebec. The beleaguered city
was reduced to severest straits. "We are without hope
and without food," said an intercepted letter ; *' God hath
forsaken us."
On the last day of July, under cover of a furious Are from
the fleet, a strong party of British landed at the foot of the
snowy Falls of Montmorency, and at low tide forded its
brawling stream. Without waiting for supports, the van
rushed impetuously up the steep escarpment, crowned with
the redoubts of the enemy. A storm burst upon them.
Stumbling on the now slippery incline, and their ammuni-
tion soaked with rain, they were hurled back in disastrous
defeat by a crushing fire from the French entrenchments.
Four hundred and fifty gallant men lay dead or wounded on
the gory slope,
G4
EVE OF THE llATTLE.
[1759
Chagrin and griof at tin's disaster throw tho young com-
mander into a well-nigli fatal fever. His heroic soul was
housed in a frail body. Tossing on his couch of pain,
he felt that the eyes of his country wcuo upon him, and
the disappointment of its expectations was anguish to his
spirit. The season was rapidly passing, juuI wliatciver was
to be done must bo done quickly. Wolfe determined on
an attempt bold o.vvn to the verge of rashness ; but its
audacity was the s(?crct of its success. Masking his designs
by feints against Jieauport, he moved the bulk of his army
and the fleet up the river above tho city, despite the heavy
tire from the battei-ies of Quebec.
On the moonless morning of September 13th, before
day, the fleet dropped silently down the river«with tho
ebbing tide, accompanied by thirty barges containing six-
teen hundred men, which, with muffled oars, closely hugged
the shadows of the shore. Pale and weak with recent ill-
ness, Wolfe reclined among his ofticers, and in a low tone
recited several stanzas of the recent poem, Gray's " Elegy,
written in a Country Churchyard." Perhaps the shadow of
his own approacliing fate stole upon his mind, as in mourn-
ful cadence he whispered the strangely prophetic words,
"The paths of glory lead but to the grave."
With a feeling of the hollowness of military renown, he
exclaimed, " I would rather have written those lines than
take Quebec to-morrow."
Challenged by an alert sentry, an officer gave the counter-
sign, which had been learned from a French deserter, and
the little flotilla was mistaken for a convoy of provisions
expected from Montreal. Landing in the deeply-shadowed
cove which has since borne Wolfe's name, the agile High-
landers climbed lightly up the steep and narrow path lead-
ing to the sunnnit, and in a few moments the guard was
overpowered. The troops swarmed rapidly up the rugged
precipice, the barges meanwhile promptly transferring fresh
reinforcements from the fleet.
When the sun rose, the plain was glittering with the
arms of plaided highlanders and English red-coats forming
for battle. The redoubled fire from JPoint Levi, and a por-
tion of the fleet, upon the devoted city and the lines of
J^eauport, held the ^.ttentiou of Montcalm, and completely
thin
[1759
1759]
DEATH OF WOLFE AND MONTCALM.
65
ing coin-
oul was
)£ pain,
iin, and
[i to hiu
ver was
iuocl oil
l)ut its
designs
is army
e heavy
before
ith the
ing six-
liugged
:'ent ill-
:)w tone
' Elegy,
idow of
inourn-
rds,
wn, he
s than
ounter-
er, and
•visions
idowed
High-
h lead-
rd was
rugged
g fresh
th the
Drniing
a por-
ines of
pletely
dec'i'ivod liini as to the main point of attack. A breatldesa
horsiiman conveyed the intelligence at early dawn. At
first incredulous, the gallant commander was soon convinced
of the fact, and exclaimed, " Then they have got the weak
side of this wretched garrison, but we must fight and crush
them ; " and the roll of drums and t\w peal of ))Ugles
on the fresh morning air summoned the scattered army
to action. With tui>iultuous haste, the skeleton French
regiments hurried through the town and formed in long
thin lines upon the Plains of Abraham. They numbered
seven thousand five hundred famine- wasted and disheart-
ened men. Opposed to them were five thousand veteran
troops, eager for the fray, and strong in their confidence in
their beloved general. Firm as a wall these awaited the
onset of the French. In silence they filhxl the ghastly gaps
made in their ranks by the tire of the foe. Not for a
moment wavered the steady line. Not a trigger was pulled
till the enemy arrived within forty yards. Then, at the
ringing word of command, a simultanc^ous volley flashed from
tlie levelled muskets and tore through the enemy's ranks.
The French line was broken and disordered, and heaps
of wounded strewed the plain. With cheer on cheer the
British charged before they could re-form, and swept the
fugitives from the field, pursuing them to the city gates, and
to the banks of the St. Charles. In fifteen minutes was lost
and won the battle that gave Canada to Great Britain.
The British loss was six hundred killed and wounded; that
of the French was more than twice as many.
Almost at the first fire, Wolfe was struck by n, bullet
that shattered his wrist. A moment later a ball pierced his
side, but he still cheered on his men. Soon a third shot
lodged deep in his breast. Staggering into the arms of an
officer, he exclaimed, " Support me ! Let not my brave
fellows see me fall." He was borne to the rear, and gently
laid upon the ground. " See ! they run ! " exclaimed a
bystander. "Who run?" demanded Wolfe, arousing as
from a swoon. "The enemy, sir; they give way every-
where," was the reply. " What ! already 1 " said the dying
man. "Now, God be praised," he murmured, "I die
content."
His brave adversary, Montcalm, also fell mortally wound-
ed, and was borne from the field. " How long shall I livel"
66
BilxTISH OCCUPATION OF QUEBEC.
he :<.sked the surgeon. '' Not many hours," was the reply.
"I am glad of it," he said; "I shall not see the surrender of
Quebec." He died before midnight, and, coliined in a rude
box, was buried amid the tears of his soldiers in a grave
made by the bursting of a shell.
The conquerors immediately began the construction of an
entrenched camp on the plain, and in three days had a hun-
dred and twenty guns and mortars in position for the siege
of the city. But, wasted with famine, and its defenders
reduced to a mere handful, the beleaguered fortress surren-
dered, and on the 18th of September, 1759, the rock-built
citadel of Quebec passed for ever from the dominion of
France.
Near the scene of their death a grateful people have
erected a common monument to the rival commanders, who
generously recognized each other's merit in life, and now
keep for evermore the solemn truce of death. The two
races i:hat met in the shock of battle dwell together in
loving fealty, beneath the protecting folds of one commcii
Hag.
Engla.id had never known a year or such t iumphs as
this. Ill all parts of the world her arms were victorious.
At Lagos, at Quiberon, at Minden, at Quebec, her fleets or
armies won new renown. " We must ask every morning,"
said Horace Walpole, " what new victory there is." Never-
theless, France was not to surrender her fairest possession
17fiO "^i*^^^^ another struggle. M. de Levi, early in the
spring, collected ten thousand men at Montreal, and
toward the end of April attempted the recapture of Quebec.
The winter had been one of intense severity, and to the
French one of unexampled dearth and distress. The garri-
son of General Murray was worn down by the labour of
procuring fuel and maintaining a defence against frequent
harassing assaults. Its effective strength was reduced by
deaths, scurvy, frost-bites, and other casualties, from seven
thousand to less than half that number.
On the 27th of April, De Levi's van appeared, and drove
in the British outposts. The following day, with more
valour tlian prudence, Murray marched out to give battle
against overwhelming odds. He attacked the French with
spirit on the Ste. Foye road, but was outflanked and out-
numbered. After a hot contest of two hours, he was com-
e reply.
Bnder of
I a rude
a grave
)n of an
1 a hun-
he siege
sfenders
surren-
ck-built
iiion of
>le have
3rs, who
nd now
^he two
)ther in
sommcii
tnphs as
jtorious.
fleets or
Qrning,"
Never-
ssession
in the
eal, and
Quebec.
to the
le garri-
bour of
requent
iced by
n seven
i drove
h more
3 battle
ch with
nd out-
as com-
1760]
CAPTURE OF MONTREAL.
67
pelled to retreat, with the loss of a thousand men killed or
wounded. The French loss in this fruitless battle was still
greater.
Besiegers
De Levi pressed tho siege for eighteen days,
and besieged both looked for aid from an expected fleet.
Eager eyes were strained continually toward Point Levi for
signs of its approach. At length a strange frigate rounded
the headland, amid the anxious suspense of the beholders.
As the Union Jack was run up to the peak, cheer on cheer
rang from the ramparts, and deep chagrin filled the hearts
of the besiegers in the trenches. Soon two other vessels
arrived, and De Levi made a hasty retreat, abandoning
tents, baggage, and siege train in his flight.
He retired to Montreal, there to make the last stand for
the possession of Canada. Three English armies converged
on the heart of the colony, where life still feebly beat.
General Murray, with all his available force, advanced
from Quebec, receiving the submission of the inhabitants.
C ^lonel Haviland, with three thousand men, hastened from
Cri. vn Point by way of Lake Champlain and the Richelieu,
occupying the forts evacuated by the French. General
Amherst proceeded from Albany, with ten thousand men,
by the strange detour of the Mohawk and Oswego rivers, to
Lake Ontario, and thence down the St. Lawrence. The
three armies reached Montreal on three successive days,
and on the 8th of September, sixteen thousand men be-
leaguered the devoted town, the last stand of French fidelity
and valour. It was defended only by frail walls and by
three thousand war-wasted men. Resistance was impossible.
The most heroic courage could do no more. Tlie same day,
De Vaudreuil signed the capitulation which severed Canada
from France forever.
( 68 )
CHAPTER XVI.
BRITISH RULE.
Bbne;< i«jiAL Effects of the Conquest— State of the Country— Military
Government— 1760. The Peace of Paris transfers most of the
French Colonial Possessions to Great Britain — Conspiracy of
PoNTiAC— Siege of Detroit— Massacres in the West— Law Reforms-
Seigniorial Land Tenure obnoxious to the British— 1763. The
Quebec Act extends the Boundaries of Canada to the Mississippi,
and secures Civil and Religious Immunities to the French— 1774.
The conquest of Canada by the British was the most for-
tunate event in its history. It supplanted the institutions
of the middle ages by those of modern civilization. It gave
local self-government for abject submission to a foreign
power and a corrupt court. It gave the protection of
Habeas Corpus and trial by jury instead of the tribunals of
feudalism. For ignorance and repression it gave free
schools and a free press. It removed the arbitrary shackles
from trade, and abolished its unjust monopolies. It enfran-
chised the serfs of the soil, and restricted the excessive
power of the seigniors. It gave an immeasurably ampler
liberty to the people, and a loftier impulse to progress, than
was ever before known. It banished the greedy cormorants
who grew rich by the official plunder of the poor. The
waste and ruin of a prolonged and cruel war were succeeded
by the reign of peace and prosperity ; and the pinchings of
famine by the rejoicings of abundance. The one hundred
and fifty-seven years of French occupancy had been one
Tainst fearful odds — first with the ferocious
then with the combined power of the British
colonies and the mother country. The genius of French
Canada was a strange blending of the military and religious
spirit. Even commerce wore the sword, and a missionary
enthusiasm quickened the zeal of her early explorers. The
reign of peaceful industry was now to succeed that of mar-
tial prowess, and was to win victories no less renowned
than those of war.
As a provisional measure, a military government was
organized in Canada. The free exercise of their religion
was accorded to the people, and their more pressing necessi-
long struggle
savages.
1760]
ties we
their h
number
of the
Financ
rency,
great c(
late Gc
the "G
thrown
The Gf
years f
native
for the
more t
com pell
of neai
France
In O
eminen<
nobles,
offered
ing offe
enabled
the com
Seven 12
had slai
and pro
grief, w
wearied
the wh<
Great ^
Illinois,
possessi
east of
King, <
Yet the
great cc
island 1:
Soon
George
redoubt
1760]
STATE OF THE COUNTRY.
69
-Military
St of tho
IRACY OF
leforma—
63. The
ississippi,
-1774.
lost for-
itutions
It gave
foreign
ition of
unals of
ve free
jhackles
enfran-
scessive
ampler
3S, than
norants
V. The
cceeded
lings of
lundred
Jen one
rocious
British
French
eligious
sionary
i. The
ai mar-
riowned
nt was
religion
necessi-
.
ties were generously relieved. The militia were sent to
their homes, and the regular soldiers, three thousand in
number, were conveyed to France. A. considerable exodus
of the noblesse, officials, and merchants also took place.
Financially, the colony was bankrupt. Bigot's paper cur-
rency, which had flooded the country, was worthless, and
great commercial depression ensued. M. de Vaudreuil, the
late Governor, together with Bigot and other uipmbers of
the "Grand Company," en their return to Fiance were
thrown into the Bastile, for alleged malfeasance of office.
The Governor was honorably acquitted. After fifi/'z-six
years faithful service of the crown, he returned to his
native country poor, having sacrificed his private fortune
for the public weal. The crimes of the Intendant wi re
more than proven. He and his fellow-cormorants weie
compelled to disgorge their ill-gotten plunder, to the amount
of nearly twelve million francs, and were exiled from
France forever.
In October, 1760, George III. became King. The very
eminence of Pitt made him obnoxious to the crown and
nobles. The Great Commoner resigned office, and was
offered the government of Canada, but the not very tempt-
ing offer was declined. Still, the impulse of Pitt's policy
enabled England, Prussia, and little Portugal to withstand
the combined power of Europe. The awful ravages of the
Seven Years' War had desolated a large part of the Continent,
had slain a million of men, accumulated a mountain of debt,
and produced a heritage of international hate and domestic
grief, when the Peace of Paris again gave rest to the war-
wearied world, 1763. France surrendered to Groat Britain
the whole of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Canada, and the
Great West, as far as the valleys of the Wabash and the
Illinois, and several West India islands and her East India
possessions ; and Spain gave up Florida and all her territory
east of the Mississippi. " Never," exclaimed the exultant
King, " did any nation in Europe sign such a peace before."
Yet there were not wanting prophets to foretell that these
great colonies would not always remain subject to the little
island beyond the sea.
Soon after the cession of Canada, the red cross of St.
George supplanted the lilied flag of France on the wooden
redoubts of Presqu' Isle, De Bceuf, Venango, Detroit, Mia-
70
CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC.
[1763
mis, Mackinaw, and other forts in the west. But a wide-
spread dissatisfaction soon prevailed in the forest wigwams.
This was fanned to a flame by the arts and eloquence of
Pontiac, a noted chief, who sought to exterminate the
English and restore the supremacy of his race. He laid a
deep conspiracy for the simultaneous rising of all the tribes
on the shores of the upper lakes and in the Ohio valley. For
fifteen months the savages beleaguered the fort at Detroit —
an unexampled siege in Indian warfare — defeating succes-
sive forces sent to its relief. To obtain food for his war-
riors, Pontiac, in imitation of European finance, issued
promissory notes, drawn upon birch bark and signed with
his own totem, an otter ; all of which, on their maturing,
were faithfully redeemed.
The other forts throughout the west, with scarce an
exception, were reduced by stratagem, by assault, or by
siege, and the frontier was ravaged with fire and scalp-
ing knife. Strong expeditions under General Bradstreet
and Colonel Bouquet defeated the savages, rescued several
hundreds of prisoners from their cruel captors, and restored
them amid scene« of touching pathos and rejoicing to their
anxious friends.
After the peace of Paris, Canada was formally annexed
to the British possessions by royal proclamation. British
subjects were invited to settle in the province of Quebec by
the promise of the protection of British laws, and of the
establishment, as soon as the circumstances of the country
would admit, of representative institutions. Liberal land
grants were also made to military settlers. A civil govern-
ment, CO isisting of Governor and Council, was formed, and
courts were established for tlie administration of justice in
accordance with the laws of England. The printing press —
that palladium of free institutions — was first introduced
into Canada in 1764, and on the 21st of June, the first
number of the Quebec Gazette, which is still published, made
its appearance.
The '*new subjects," as the French were called, soon
found themselves placed at a disadvantage as compared with
the British settlers, or "old subjects." The latter, altliough
as regards numbers an insignificant minority — less than five
hundred in all, chiefly half-pay ofiicers, disbanded soldiers,
and merchants — assumed all the prerogatives of a dominant
[1763
} a wide-
igwams.
uenue of
late the
le laid a
le tribes
y. For
•etroit —
succes-
his war-
issued
led with
aturing,
larce an
, or by
d scalp-
adstreet
several
restored
to their
annexed
British
lebec by
I of the
country
ral land
govern-
led, and
istice in
press —
roduced
;he first
d, made
d, soon
•ed with
Ithough
han five
joidiers,
Hiiinant
1764]
REORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY.
71
race, engrossing the public ofiices to the exclusion of the
sons of the soil. The terms of the proclamation were inter-
preted, like the law of England for sixty-five years later, as
excluding Roman Catholics from all offices in the gift of the
state. The French were willing to take the oath of allegi-
ance to King George, but even for the sake of public em-
ployment would not forswear their religion.
The British privilege of trial by jury, that safeguard of
popular liberty, was little appreciated, accompanied as it
was by increased expense and by the inconvenience of being
conducted in an unknown language. The simple habitants
preferred the direct decision of the judge in accordance with
their ancient customs.
General Murray, by his conciliatory and equitable treat-
ment of the conquered race, evoked tx;3 jealousy and com-
plaint of the English place-hunters, many of whom were
thoroughly mercenary and corrupt. His policy was ap-
proved, however, by the Home Government, and was
adopted by his successoi in office. Sir Guy Carleton. As to
legal matters, in criminal cases trial by jury and English
forms were observed ; in civil cases — those affecting property
and inheritance — the old irench laws and procedures were
allowed to prevail. The English settlers, however, objected
strenuously to several features of the land laws. The
feudal tenure, by which, on every transfer of real estate,
one-twelfth of the purchase money must be paid to the
seignior within whose seigniory the land lay, was especially
obnoxious. This was a heavy tax on all improvements,
buildings and the like ; and greatly discouraged the growth
of towns, and drainage of land or other modes of increasing
its value. The French also opposed the registration of
deeds, either from ignorant apathy or on account of the,
as they conceived, needless expense. Consequently British
land purchasers or mortgagees sometimes found themselves
defrauded by previous mortgages, to which the French law
permitted r sworn secrecy. Nothwithstanding these and
other anomalies, the country entered on a career of pros-
perity, and began to increase in population, agricultural and
commercial.
At length, after long delay, in 1774, as a definite settle-
ment of the government of the colony, the Quebec Act was
passed by the British Parliament. It extended the bounds
72
QUEBEC ACT.
[1774
of the province from Labrador to the Mississippi, from
the Ohio to the watershed of Hudson's Bay. It established
the riglit of the Frencli to the observance of the Roman
Catholic religion, without civil disability, and confirmed the
tithes to the clergy, exempting, however, Protestants from
their payment. It restored tlie French civil code, and es-
tablished the English administration of law in criminal
cases. Supreme authority was vested in the Governor and
Council, the latter being nominated by the crown, and con-
sisting, for the most part, of persons of British birth.
The English-speaking minority felt that their rights were
sacrificed. They were denied the promised elective As-
sembly, deprived of the protection of the Habeas Corpus
Act, and, in certain cases, of trial by jury, and were sub-
jected to the civil code of a foreign country. Fox, Burke,
Chatham and Townshend protested against the injustice in
the Imperial Parliament, as did also the merchants and
Common Council of London. But the Act was received
with delight by the French populjttion, and continued for
seventeen years the rule of government.
CHAPTER XVIL
THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
Causes of the American Revolution -The Stamp Duties— The "Boston
Tea Party"— 1773. Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill —American
Invasion of Canada- -Montgomery occupies Montreal— Ineffec-
tive Siege of Quebec— Death of Montgomery— Defeat of Arnold
—1776. American Invasion Repulsed— Declauation of Independ-
ence— 1776. Burgoyne's Advance from Canada and Surrender
AT Saratoga— 1777. Governor Carleton resigns -Is succeeded by
General Haldimand— 1779. Recognition of American Independence
—The Peace op Versailles makes the Great Lakes the Western
Boundary of Canada— The United Empire Loyalists seek homes
in the British Provinces— 1783.
The general policy of Great Britain toward her American
colonies was one of commercial repression. American
merchants were precluded by law the direct importation of
sugar, tea, spices, cotton, and similar foreign products.
[1774
1775]
AMERICAN IIEVOLUTION.
73
These were obliged first to be shipped to Great Britain, and
tlien to be re shipped to America at greatly increased cost
and delay. The colonial traders largely disregarded this
prohibition, and grew ricli by smuggling, which acquired in
time a sort of toleration. With the growth of American
commerce, imperial jealousy was aroused, and the colonial
vessels were seized and the contraband goods confiscated by
British ships or customs oflicers. The manufacture of cer-
tain articles, as wool and iron, was also, in defiance, it was
felt, of natural rights, prohibited in the colonies. The
oligarchical power of the crown ofiicials, and the offensive
assumptions of the church established by law, also gave
deep offence to the democratic communities of the American
colonies.
In order to meet the colonial military expenditure, a
stamp duty was imposed on all legal documents. The
colonists denied the right of the Imperial Parliament to
impose taxes without their consent. The Stamp Act was
repealed in a y^jr, but the obnoxious principle of taxation
without representation was maintained by a light duty on
tea and some other articles. The colonists refused to re-
ceive the taxed commodities, and a party of men disguised
as Indians threw into Boston harbour (December 16th,
1773) the tea on board the East India vessels, amounting
to three hundred and forty chests. Parliament, incensed
at this "flat rebellion," closed the port of Boston, and,
against the protest and warning of some of England's
greatest statesmen, sent troops to enforce submission.
A Continental Congress was assembled at Philadelphia
(September, 1774), which, though seeking to avert Indepen-
dence, petitioned the King, but in vain, for the continuance
of the colonial liberties. At Concord and Lexington (April
19th, 1776) occurred the collision between the armed col-
onists and the soldiers of the King which precipitated the
War of Independence, and the loss to Great Britain of her
American colonies. From the mountains of Vermont to
the everglades of Georgia, a patriotic enthusiasm burst
forth. A continental army was organized. General Gage
was besieged in Boston. Canada and Nova Scotia were
invited to join the revolt. Benedict Arnold and Ethan
Allen, with a handful of men, seized Ticonderoga and Crown
Point. At Bunker Hill (June 17th, 1775) tlio colonial
a
74
INVASION OF CANADA.
[1775
1775]
volunteers proved their ability to cope with the veteran
troops of England. Five liundred of tlio former and a
thousand of the lattor lay dead or wounded on the fatal
slope.
In the month of September, a colonial force of a thou-
sand men, under General Schuyler, advanced by way of
Lake Clianiplain against Montreal ; and another, under
Colonel Arnold, by way of the Kennebec and Chaudiere,
against Quebec. While Schuyler was held in check at Fort
St. John on the Richelieu, Co)onel Ethan Allen, with some
thT-ee hundred men, attacked Montreal. He was defeated
and taken prisoner, anc ^it in irons to England. Colonel
Richard Montgomery, a ' ra^ e OTid generous Irish gentle-
man, had succeeded to Schuyler^; .ommand. He vigorously
urged the siege of Forts St. John and Chambly, and having
compelled their surrender, pressed on to Montreal, which he
occupied. Carleton resolved to concentrate his forces at
Quebec, which was now menaced by Colonel Arnold.
That officer, with a thousand men, had toiled up the swift
current of the Kennebec, and transported his boats and
stores through the tangled and rugged wilderness to the St.
Lawrence. The sufferings of his troops through hunger,
cold, fatigue and exposure were excessive. They were re-
duced to eat the flesh of dogs, and even to gnaw the leather
of their cartouch boxes and shoes. Although enfeebled by
sickness and exhaustion, they crossed the river, climbed the
cliff by Wolfe's path, and appeared before the walls. Failing
to surprise the town, and despairing— ^with his footsore and
ragged regiments, with no artillery, and with only five
rounds of ammunition — of taking it by assault, Arnold
retired to Pointe aux Trembles, to await a junction with
Montgomery.
On the 4tli of December, the united forces, amounting to
two tliousand men, advanced on Quebec. Carleton had as-
sembled an equal number, among whom were five hundred
French-Canadians, prepared to tight side by side with their
former conquerors in defence of the British flag. For
nearly a month the invaders encamped in the snow before
the impregnable ramparts. Biting frost, the fire of the
garrison, pleurisy and the small-pox did their fatal work.
On the last day of the year a double assault was made on
the Lower Town. At four o'clock in the morning, in a
On
men, i
1776
[1775
1775]
INVASION BEPULSED.
76
i^eteran
and a
e fatal
I thou-
tvay of
under
udiere,
it Fort
1 some
feated
'olonel
gentle-
)rously
having
lich he
ces at
e swift
bs and
the St.
unger,
3re re-
eather
led by
ed the
^ailing
■e and
Y five
Lrnold
L with
ing to
id as-
tidred
their
For
>efore
I tlie
vork.
le on
in a
blinding snow-storm, Montgomery, with three hundred men,
crept along the narrow pass between Cape Diamond and
the river. As the forlorn hope made a dash for the gate, a
volley of grape swept through their ranks. Montgomery,
with two of his officers and ten men, were slain, and the
deepening snow wrapped them in its icy shroud.
On the other side of the town, Arnold, with six hundred
men, attacked and carried the first barriers. They pressed
on, and many entered the town through the embrasures
of a battery, and waged a stubborn street fight, amid
the storm and darkness. With the dawn of morning they
found themselves surrounded by an overwhelming force, and
exposed to a withering fire from the houses. They there-
fore surrendered at discretion to the number of four hun-
dred men.
1^^/. Arnold continued to maintain an ineffective ^ic e,
his command daily wasting away with small-pux, coid
and hunger. Jn the spring, Carleton assailed his lines
with a thousand men, and raised the siege, capturing a
number of prisoners and a large quantity of s >res. In
May and June, being reinforced by General Burgoyne with
ten thousand men, he pursued the retreating foe. The
Americans abandoned successively Three Eivers, Sorel and
Montreal, and retired to Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In
a severe engagement near Crown Point (October 19th),
Arnold was badly beaten.
Meanwhile the revolted colonies had thrown off" their
allegiance to the mother country by the celebrated Declara-
tion of Independence, which was solemnly adopted by the
Continental Congress, July 4th, 1776. The British had al-
ready been obliged to evacuate Boston. They were also
repulsed in an attack on Charleston. In July, Lord Howe
gained an injportant victory at Long Island, and took
possession of New York, driving Washington across the
Delaware. The latter, however, gained a brilliant victory
at Trenton and another at Princeton, which left the result
of the campaign in favour of the revolted colonists.
Notwithstanding the protests of Lord Chatham and Lord
North against the war, the King and his ministers persisted
in their policy of coercion. The following .spring. General
^fj^^fj Burgoyne, Avho had been appointed to the supreme
military command, set out from Canada with nine
76 RECOGNITION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE. [1783
thousand men to invade New York state, effect a junction
with General Gage at Albany, and sever the American
confederacy by holding the Hudson River. He captured
Ticonderoga, and advanced to Fort Edward. The New
England and New York militia swarmed around the invad-
ing army, cut off its supplies, and attacked its detached
forces with fatal success. Burgoyne was defeated at Still-
water, on the Hudson, and soon afterwards, being completely
surrounded, surrendered, with six thousand men, to General
Gates at ^Sa^atoga. This surrender led to the recognition
of American independence by the French, and to their
vigorous assistance of the revolt by money, arms, ships, and
volunteers. The occupation of Philadelphia by the British,
and the defeat of the Americans at Brandy wine and Ger-
mantown were, however, disheartening blows to the young
republic.
Governor Carleton, indignant at the military promotion
of General Burgoyne over his own head, resigned his com-
mission, and was succeeded in office by General Haldimand.
A Swiss by birth and a strict martinet in discipline, the
stern military government of the latter was a cause of much
dissatisfaction. The Revolutionary War continued with
varying fortune to drag its weary length. The genius and
moral dignity of Washington sustained the courage of his
countrymen under repeated disaster and defeat, and com-
manded the admiration and respect even of his enemies.
The last great act of this stormy drama was the surrender
of Lord Oornwailis, with seven thousand troops, at York-
town, Virginia, October 19th, 1781. The treaty of peace
w.as signed at Versailles, September 3rd, 1783. By its
terms Canada was despoiled of the magnificent region lying
between the Mississippi and the Ohio, and was divided from
the new nation designated the United States by the Great
Dikes, the St. Lawrence, the watershed between the St.
Lawrence and the Atlantic, and the St. Croix River. The
latter-mentioned portion of this boundary was sufficiently
vague to give rise to serious international disputes at a
subsequent period.
A considerable number of the American colonists had
remained faithful to the mother country. Their condition
during and after the war was exceedingly painful. They
were exposed to suspicion and insult, and sometimes to
came
1784]
UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS.
77
^g
w.'inton outrage and spoliation. Their zeal for the unity
of the empire won for them the name of United Empire
Loyalists, or, more briefly, U. E. Loyalists. The British
Government made liberal provision for their domiciliation
in Nova Scotia and Canada. The nlose of the war was
followed by an exodus of those faithful men and their
families, who, from their loyalty to their king and the in-
stitutions of their, fatherland, abandoned their homes and
property, often large ■^;'' ates, to encounter the discomforts of
new settle\iients, or the perils of the pathless wilderness.*
These exiles for conscience' sake came chiefly from New
England and New York state, but a considerai)le number
came from the Middle and Southern states of the Union.
Many settled near Halifax and on the Bay of Fundy. A
large number established themselves on the St. John River,
and founded the town of St. John — long called Parrfcown
from the name of the Governor of Nova Scotia. These
sought a division of the province, and a separate legisla-
-ifji^t ture. This was granted, and the Province of New
Brunswick was created. Cape Breton was also made
a separate government.
What is now the Province of Ontario was then almost a
wilderness. At the close of the war it became the home of
about ten thousand U. E. Loyalists. Each adult received
a free grant of two hundred acres of land, as did also each
child, even those born after immigration, on their coming
of ago. The Government also assisted with food, clothing,
and implements those loyal exiles who had lost all on their
expatriation. They settled chiefly along the Upper St.
Lawrence, around the beautiful Bay of Quinte, and on the;
northern shores of Lake Ontario. Other settlements were
made on the Niagaia and Detroit rivers. Liberal land
grants were also given to immigrants from Great Britain.
Many disbanded soldiers, militia and half-pay officers took
up land, and in course of time not a few imuiigrants from
the United States. The wilderness soon began to give place
to smiling farms, thriving settlements, and waving fields of
grain; and zealous missionaries threaded the forest in order
to minister to the scattered settlers the rites of religion.
* The British Parliament voted £3,300,000 for *^^ indemnification and assistance
of the patriotic loyalists, of whom it is estimated that twenty-five thousand sought
refui^e in the British colonies.
( 78 )
CHAPTER XVTII.
THE FOUNDING OF VVVKR CANADA.
Lord Dorchostor (Sir Guy Curloton), Govornor-(ionoral of Hrltish North
Aiuoriea-1787. Tho Constitutional Act dlviiles ('muula iiiid
I'c'ConstructH its Const ilution -1791. Early LoglHlation li» Ui)|)cr
Canada— Choice of a (Capital - YoitK (Toronto) Foundkd -1795.
Mujor-Gencral Hunter, lii(;nt.-Governor-1790. Internal J)cvelo|»-
niont— Growth of I'olillcal Parties— Francis Goro, Llcut.-Govoruor
—1806. Social Orjjaniwition -Education, Religion, etc.
In 1787, Sir Guy Carlt^ton, now Lord Dorchestor, beeamo
Governor-Genenil of Puitish North America. The Cana-
dian colonists demanded tlie same constitutional privileges
as were enjoyed by the Maritime Provinces. The Halu^as
Corpus and trial by jury in civil cases were secured to them
by statute law. But they wished alao an elective Legis-
lative Assembly, instead of a crown-appointed liegislative
Council, and a larger measure of constitutional liberty.
In 1791, Lord (Jrenville introduced into the House of
Lords a bill, known as the Constitutional Act, for the ad-
justment of Canadian affairs. It divided Canada into two
provinces by a line coinciding chiefly with the Ottawa
River. In Western or Upper Canada, British law, both
civil and criminal, and freehold land tenure were intro-
duced. In Eastern or Lower Canada, the seigniorial tenure
and French law in civil cases were retained. In each pro-
vince a government was constituted, consisting of an elec-
tive Legislative Assembly, and a Legislative Council and
Governor appointed by the crown. One-seventh of tho
land was also reserved for the use of the crown, and one-
seventh for the maintenance of the Protestant clergy — a
provision which gave rise to much subsetjuent trouble and
agination.
John Graves Simcoe was appointed first Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor of Upper Canada, and entrusted with the inaugura-
tion of the new constitution. He was a landed gentleman,
a member of the English House of Commons, and held the
rank of B 'igadier in the army. He had assisted in passing
the Constitutional Act, and was anxious to see it success-
fully carried out. His administration was honest, prudent,
f
I \
1795]
YORK (TORONTO) FOUNDED.
79
entM*g(»tic, and public-spirited. I To established his seat of
government at Newark, a village of about a hundred houses,
at the mouth of tlie Niagara River. The first Parliament
of Upper Canada assembled on the 17th of Septembc^r,
1792. The Assembly consisted of sixteen, and the Jjegisla-
tivo Council of seven members — plain, homespun-clad far-
mers or merchants, from the plough or store.
Deeming Newark too near the American frontier for the
capital of the province, Governor Simcoe looked for a more
eligible site. He wished to found a new London in the
heart of the Western District, on the banks of the winding
Thames. Lord Dorchester favoured the claims of Kingston,
which he made the principal naval and military station of
the Drovince. As a compromise, York was selected, chiefly
on iccount of its excellent harbour, although the land was
low and swampy. The growth and prosperity of the noble
city of Toronto vindicate the wisdom of the choice.
Parliament continued to sit at Newark till 1797. The
principal Acts provided for civil and municipal administra-
tion, for the construction of roads, fixing of duties, millers'
tolls, and the like. Rewards of twenty and ten shillings,
respectively, were offered for wolves' and bears' heads, which
is suggestive of the forest perils of the times. The pay-
ment of members of parliament was fixed at ten shillings
per day. The introduction of slaves was forbidden, and
their term of servitude limited, ten years before similar
legislation in Lower Canada.
Governor Simcoe removed to York in 1795, before a
Jiouse was built, lodging temporarily in a canvas tent or
pavilion,^ pitched on the plateau overlooking the western
end of the bay. In 1797, the Provincial Legislature was
opened in a wooden building near the River Don, whose
site is commemorated by the name of Parliament Street ;
but the foundei of Toronto had previously been transferred
to the government of San Domingo. He had projected a
vigorous policy for the encouragement of agriculture, fish-
eries, and internal development. On his removal most of
these wise schemes fell through. Land designed for settle-
ment was seized by speculators, and the general develop-
ment of the country was greatly retarded.
* Originally constructed for Captain Cook.
80
INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT.
[1800
Mr. Russell, the senior member of the; Executive Council,
, ^QQ administered the government till the arrival of Major-
General Hunter, v/ho held otiice for the ensuing six
years. The progress of the country in trade, population,
and the development of its resources, was rapid. The tide
of immigration steadily increased. The Irish troubles of
" '98 " especially led many hardy settlers to seek new homes
in the virgin wilds of Canada. In 1803, Colonel Talbot, an
eccentric British officer, received a grant of five thousand
acres of land on Lake Erie, on condition of placing a settler
on every two hundred acres. For inany years he kept a
sort of feudal state in his forest community. The obstruc-
tions of the St. Lawrence made communication with Mont-
real and Quebec more difficult than \>'it.li Albany and New
York. A brisk lal^e trade therefore sprang up, and addi-
tional ports of entry were estaMish.xl, which fostered the
prosperity of the grov/ing settleuiouts of Cornwall, Brock-
ville, Kingston, York, Niagara, Aniherstburg, and other
frontier towns.
As the province increased in wealth and population, the
evils of a practically iiresponsible government began to 1)C
felt. The Executive Council, composed of the Governor
and five of his nominees, removable at his pleasure, gradually
absorbed the whole administrative influence of the colony.
The official Gazette, the only representative of the public
press, was in the hands of the (
LiOV
jirnment, as was also the
whole of the revenue of the province. The Legislative
Assembly, therefore, could exorcise no check by annual
votes of supply. Many poor gentlemen, half-pay officers,
and others of similar character from the mother country,
sought to better thair fortunes in the new colony. By birth
and training they were unfitted to cope with the hardships
of backwoods life. They soon engrossed, almost entirely,
the departmental offices, for which, by education and pre-
vious position, they were es})ecially adapted, or l)ecame
hangers on and zealous supporters of the Government,
while they looked down with a sort of aristocratic exclusive-
ness on the uncultivated, and perhjips sometimes uncouth,
hard-working yeomanry of the country.
Others, with a wiser policy, adapted themselves to their
altered circumstances and to the condition of the province.
While learning to swing the axe and hold the plough, they
[1800
1806]
GROWTH OF POLITICAL PARTIES.
81
ouncil,
Major-
ng six
iliition,
le tide
bles of
homes
hot, an
ousand
settler
kept a
bstruc-
Mont-
d New
d addi-
?ed the
Bi'ock-
l other
on, tlie
^ to he
)vernor
aduajly
colony,
public
lIso the
islatlve
annual
officers,
juntry,
y birth
rdships
itirely,
id pre-
l)ecanie
ninent,
jlusive-
icouth,
their
Dvince,
ii, they
preserved, amid the rudest surroundings, the tastes and
instincts of gentlemen. They became, from their education
and cultivated manners, centres of influence and leaders of
opinion in th<». rural communities in which they lived, which
tacitly conceded a superiority which they would never have
yielded had it been directly asserted.
The sturdy yeomar y not unnaturally regarded with jeal-
ousy and aversion the former of these classes, and allied
themselves with the latter as their legitimate leaders and
friends. Thus early in the century the origin of parties may
be traced in Upper CJanada — on the one hand, the zealous
supporteis of an irresponsible executive ; on the other, the
advocates of a larger measure of constitutional liberty.
Mr. II unter was succeeded as Governor bv Francis Gore,
, ^p.p Esq. His personal character was estimable and his
pujposes honest. In his ignoianoe of the country he
depended on his Council for information and advice. These
gentlemen, not unnaturally, endeavoured to maintain the
privileges of their order and of their fnends. In 1811, Mr.
Gore retuin^d to England, lea ing the temporary adminis-
tration of government in the hands of Major-General Sir
Isaac Brock, Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's forces in
the province.
Meanwhil", the country had steadily prospered, undis-
turb'^d in its forest isolation by the great European war,
which was deluging with blood a hundred batt le-ti(;lds and
desolating thousands of homes. I»y thf^ year 1809 the
population had incr ased to about seventy thousand. The
chief commercial want was a paper curr«?ncy and banking
facilities. Popular education was at a low ebb, although a
grammar school had been established in each of the eight
districts into which the provijioe was now divided. The
people lived in rude abundance, the virgin soil brought
forth plentifully, deer roamed in the forest, wild fowl
swarmed in marsh and nu^rc*, and the lakes and rivers
teemed with the finest fish. Homespun and often home-
woven frieze or flannel furnished warm and serviceable
clothing.
The houses, chiefly of logs, rougli or squared with the
axe, tiiough rude, were not devoid of homely comfort. The
furniture, eNccpt in towny and villages, was mostly home-
made. Oxen weve largely employed in tilling tho soil, and
82
SOCIAL ORGANIZATION.
[1809
dragging
tlio rude waggons over rough roads. Tho iields
were studded with blackened stumps, and the girdling
forest ever bounded the horizon or swept around the scanty
clearing. The grain was reaped witli the sickle or scythe,
threshed with the flail, and winnowed by tho wind. Grist
nulls being almost unknown, it was generally ground in the
steel hand-mills furnished by the Government, or pounded
in a large mortal", hollowed out of a hardwood stump, by
means of a wooden pestle attached to a spring beam.
The roads were often only blazed paths through the
forest, supported on transverse corduroy logs where they
passed through a swamp or marsh. The "Governor's
Road," as it was called, travei'sed the length of the province,
along the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, and westward
to Audierstburg. Yonge Sti-eet extended from York to
Holland River. Much of the early legislation had reference
to the construction of roads and bridges, chiefly by statute
labour. Tlie judges and crown lawyers made their circuits,
when possible, in Government schooners, and the assize
furnished an opportunity of reviving for a time in tho
country towns the half-forgotten gaieties of fashionable
society. In the aristocratic circles of York a mimic repre-
sentation of Old World court life was observed, with only
partial success.
Before the war there were only four clergymen of the
Church of England in Upper Canada. A few Methodist
and Presbyterian ministers toiled through the wilderness
to visit the scattered flocks committed to their care. Amid
tlie not altogether propitious circumstaTices were nourished
that patriotic and sturdy yeomanry that did doughty battle
for Jjritain in the approaching war, and many of those noble
characters that illustrated the future annals of their country ;
and then were laid the foundations of that goodly civUization
amid which we live to-day.
lished
by th
and 1
In
[1809
fields
nfirdling
scanty
scythe,
Grist
1 in the
mounded
imp, by
•
ugli the
re they
vcrnor's
rovince,
estwtard
iTork to
eference
r statute
circuits,
e assize
in the
hionable
ic repre-
rith only
n of the
[ethodist
ilderness
Amid
ourished
by battle
)se noble
country ;
^^Iization
( 83 )
CHAPTER XIX.
OUTBREAK OF THE WAR OF 1812-15.
Injiuguration of the New Constitution in Lower Canada- 1792. Sir Janios
Craig's Stormy Administration— 1808-11. . Causks ok thk Wak of
1812-15 — Tlic "Berlin Decree" and "Orders in Council "— 1806.
The "Right of Search"— War Dkclahkd, June 18. 1812 Repub-
lican Anti-War Protest— Position of Combatants -Canadian Loy-
alty- Hull's Invasion and Rei)ulse-Hio Sukuiondkus to Brock,
Aug. lo, 1812 - TJatti.k ok Qukknston Hkights -Death of Brook,
Oct. 13, 1812— DKARiiOKN's Invasion— Repulsed at Lacolle, Nov.
20, 1812.
In the more populous province of Lower Canada, the
iiiau<:(uration of the new colonial Constitution gave rise to
struggles between the irresponsible Executive and the elec-
tive Assembly, which felt itself the safeguard of popular
liberty. The new legislature met in 1792, in the even then
venerable city of Quebec. It was composed of a nominated
Council of tifteen, and a Lower House of fifty members,
elected for four years. Fifteen of the latter were of British
aad the remainder of French origin. The debates, there-
fore, were conducted, as they have been ever since in all
legislatures in which Lower Canada was represented, in both
English and French, and the otticial documents were pub-
lished in both langu iges. A jealousy of race was fomented
by the invectives of the rival newspapers of the French
and English press.
In 1797, Lord Dorchester, after twenty years of pateri:al
over.siglit of Canada, was succeeded as Governor-General by
Major-( roneral Prescott.
In IHOS, Sir James Craig, a veteran military officer, was
appointed Governor-General, in anticipation of war with
the United States. Greatly broken in health, he was suc-
ceeded in office by Sir George Prevost, Lieutenant-Governor
of Nova Scotia, 1811.*
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick both experienced the
irrepressible contlict between the Council and the Assembly
— between the prerogatives of the crown and the growtli of
♦In 1809, the Hon. John Molson, of Montreal, launched the first steamboat on the
St. Lawrence. It made the trip to Quobeo in thirty-six hours. Four years prC'
vioqsiy, Fultou imviv^attid, on thu Hudson Hiver, the first steuniboat known.
84
CAUSES OF THE WAR.
[1S12
1812]
popular lJl)orty. Durinc: the Froiich and Tlovolutioi.aty
wars, >^^;\,l)fax had l)een a great iiaval and military ii-ntloz-
vuus, r*,nd society assumed a highly aristocratic a^id con-
ri'^rvative tone. The Duke of Kent, fathei* of Queen
Victoria, during the latter years of the century (1794-1799)
Commander-in Chief of the royal forces, dispensed a generous
hospitality, and fostered the loyal enthusiasm of tlie people.
Much English money was spent in the colony, and its com-
mercial progress was rapid. Governor Parr and his suc-
cej^sor, Sir John Wentworth, jealously guarded what they
considered the prerogatives of tiie crown against what they
regarded as the democi-atic encroachments of the people.
In New Brunswick for twenty years (17S2-180'J) Colonel
Carleton, brother of Lord Dorchest'M', administered the
all'airs of the province with great tact and ability, hut not
without occasional collisions with the Assembly, wliidi
seemed to be the inevitable fate of (olonial Governors in
tliose days. The lumber trade of N«'w Brunswick was
greatly fostered by the demands of the royal fleets and by a
heavy duty imposed on Baltic timber. The stately masts
of her forests bore the pennon of Great Britain in many a
stern sea-light.
We proceed now to trace the causes wdiich led to the
Anglo- Aniericau war of 1812-15.
For some time previous to the open rupture of 1812,
public feeling in the United (States lij.i *>i^come increasingly
hostile to G reat Brihiin. Tht^ -' Berlin ! Nv ree" of Napoleon,
issued November 1st, 1800, declared a Ijlockade of the en-
tir(» British - oast, and let loose French privateers against
her shipping, and that of neutral nations trading with lier.
lHn7 ^''*^"''^ l»ritain retaliated l>y the celebrated "Orders in
Council," which dechired all traffic with Krance con-
traband, and the vessels proseruting it, with their cargoes,
liable to seizure. These restrictions pressed heavily on
nevirals, especially on the Unit<.'d States, which now en-
grossed much e^ the <'a,rrying trade of the world. The Demo-
cratic ma,;<irity in the Union, tlierefore, bitterly reseni,ed
the Briti.h "Ordei-s," alt lOugh complacently overlooking
the **B vlj I De'. :ee'' by whii.h they were provoked, and
which wns sjually hostile to Ani'. rican commerce. Presi-
dent JefT'M'sovi now laid an emba'go on all nliipping, domes-
tic or foiei^ n, in the harbours of the United States, for
i8or j^,
either b
were re
Great E
exasper
Anot
Great 1
mense
vessels
frigate
nationa
.ship L(i'
desertei
disavow
But the
to sedu(
States 1
was to
West Ic
the solf
War
hope of
ning C
Almost
the chi
news p
The
which
prised
was sti
ventioi
agains
life del
extinc
tion oi
iialf-m
denoui
The
equal,
land o
pared
[IS] 2
ioi.ary
d cori-
Quocn
1799)
nerous
x»ople.
s coin-
s sue-
t they
t tliey
•oloncl
d tli(»
tut not
whic'J:
lors in
k wa:'.
id by a
uiasts
11 any a
to tlio
1812,
[isini^ly
poleon,
the en-
igjiinst
th llCT.
dors in
?e con-
[irgoes,
ily on
ow on-
Doino-
jscntx'd
ookin<]f
l], and
Presi-
donics-
es, for
1812]
DECT,ARATION OF WAR.
85
^ hi.'ii
ipr|r >. i^-ii Congress, the following year, substituted a
Non-Intercourse Act, prohibiting all comnje.'co vith
either belligerents till the obnoxiou"^' " Decree" or "Orders"
were repealed. Severe injury was thus inflicted on both
Great Britain and America, which tended to their mutual
exasperation.
Another cause conspired to fan the war feeling to a flamo.
Great Britain, pressed by the dilHculty of manning lier im-
mense fleets, asserted the " riglit of search " of American
vessels for deserters from her navy. The United States
frigate Chesapeake resisted this ri<]fht. ^a ^^^^^ ^^^^-*^ ^^ y "V tfir-
n ational law, but was compelled by a broadside from H. M.
snip Leopard (June, 1807) to submit and to deliver up four
deserters found among her crew. The British Government
disavowed the violence of tliis act and ofiered reparation.
But the Democratic party was clamorous for war, and eager
to seduce from their allegiance and aniie.x: to the United
States the provinces of British North America. The world
was to witness the spectacle of the young Republic of the
West leagued with the arch-despot Napoleon against almost
the sole champion of constitutional liberty in Europe.
War was precipitately declared June 18th, 1812, in the
liope of intercepting the West India fleet, and of overrun-
ning Canada before it could be aided by Great Britain.
Almost simultaneously the obnoxious "Orders in Council,"
the chief ostensible cause of tlu^ war, were repealed, but the
news produced no change in Ameri(;an policy.
The Republican party of the United States, however,
which was predominant in its northern section, and com-
prised the more modei-ate and intelligent part of the nation,
was strenuously opposed to the action of Congress. A con-
vention was held at Albany, protesting against the war and
against an alliance with Napoleon, "every action of wiioso
life demonstrated a thirst for universal empire and for tlio
extinction of human freedom." At Boston, on the declara-
tion of hostilities, the flags of the shipping were placed at
Jialf-mast as
a sign
of mourning, and a public meeting
denounced the war as ruinous and unjust.
The position of the parties to this contest was very un-
equal. Great j^ritain wjis exh.iusted by a war by sea and
land of nearly twenty years' duration. Canada was unpre-
pared for the conflit;t. She had only some six tiiousand
h^
;_:• (,(/ -r;;^,, t V- ._' •'■':,;-■■'* --,
86
hull's SUTIRENDER.
[1812
troops to defend a thousand miles of frontier. Her entire
population was under three hundred thousand, while that
of the United States was eight millions, or in the proportion
of twenty-seven to one. The Americans relied on the re-
ported disaffection of the provinces with British rule. In this
they were egregiously mistaken. Forgetting their political
differences, the Canadians rallied with spontaneous loyalty
to the support of the Government. Even the American
immigrants, with scarce an exception, proved faithful to
their adopted country.
On the declaration of war, Major-General Sir Isaac
Brock, a gallant officer and judicious civil ruler, who, in the
absence of Mr. Gore, administered the government of Up-
per Canada, resolved to strike the first blow. He ordered
an attack on Fort Mackinaw, which commanded the en-
trance to Lake Michigan. It was surprised and taken
wiHiout the loss of a j <.'n (July 17th).
The Ainei'ican plan of atta,ck was to invade Canada with
throe armies, on tlic Detroit and Niagara frontiers and by
way of Lake Ohain plain. General Hull crossed the Detroit
River at Sandwich with twonty-five hundred men. He
suinuioiied the Janadians to surrender, oiiering them the
alternatives of " peace, liberty, and security," or " war,
slavery, and destruction." They spurned his offers and de-
fied his tlu'eats. General Brock hastened from York, by
way of Niagara and Lake Eiie, with all the forces he could
collect. Hull recros^e 1 the river, and took refuge behind
the earthworks of Detroit. Brock followed him with seven
hundred legulars and militia, and six hundred Indians.
Witliout waiting an attack, Hull surrendered with all his
forces and vast military stores, and ceded to the British the
entire territoy nf Micliigan (August ir)th). Hull was after-
wards tried hy a Muued States court-martial for treason
and cowardice, and penienced to death, but was reprieved
on account of Ills services during the Revolutionary War.
On the Nin.gara frontier, the American General, Van
Ranselaer, collected an army of six thousand for the inva-
sion of Cjuiada. To protect the boundary of thirty -four
miles. Brock had only fifteen hundred men. A bold escarp-
ment of rock, an old lake margin, runs across the country
from west to east. Through this tne Niagara River, in the
course of ages, lias worn a deep and gloomy gorge. At the
[1812
I entire
that
fortion
Ihe re-
[n this
)litical
loyalfy
lerican
Iful to
Isaac
in the
hi Up-
rdered
he en-
taken
a with
md })y
)etroit
He
the
war,
-nd de-
»rk, by
! could
Dehind
seven
idians.
ill his
sh the
after-
reason
rieved
f^ar.
, Van
inva-
y-four
scarp-
untry
in the
Lt the
1812]
BATTLE OP QUEENSTON HEIGHTS.
87
foot of the cliff nestled on the west side the hamlet of
Queenstown, and on the east the American village of Lewis-
ton. Here, early on the cold and stormy morning of Octo-
ber the 13th, Van Ranselaer crossed with twelve hundicd
men. The British held the table-land at the top of the
escarpment ; but a part of the invading army having
climbed the precipitous rivor bank by a path tliought to be
impassable, they were oulllaiiked and driven down the hill.
General Brock, hearing the cannonade at Niagara, seven
miles distant, galloped off in the gray of the morning, to
ascertain if it were a feint or an attack in force. Having dis-
mounted, he rallied the British troops, and charged up the
hill under a heavy fire. His conspicuous figure attracted
the aim of the enemy, and, while cheering on the York
volunteers, he fell, shot through the breast. " Push on !
Don't mind me!" he exclaimed; and with his ebbing life
sending a love message to his sister in the far-off isle of
Guernsey, the brave soul passed away. His aide-df;-camp,
Colonel Macdonell, the Attorney-General of Upper Canada,
a promising young man of twenty-five, was mortally wounded
soon after his chief, and died next day.
Major-General Shealfe, an officer of American birth, now
succeeded Brock in command. By a flank movement lie
gained the height, and, after a sharp action, completely
routed the enemy. Pursued by yelling Indians, they fled :
some, clambering down the rugged slope, were impaled on
the jagged pines; others, attempting to swim the rapid
river, were drowned. Nine hundred and fifty men surren-
dered to Sheaffe — a force greater than his own.
The victory of Queenston Heights, glorious as it was,
was dearly bought with the death of Canada's darling hero,
the loved and honoured Brock, and of the ))rave young
Macdonell, his aide-de-camp. A grateful country has erected
on the scene of the victory — one of the grandest sites on
earth — a noble monument to Brock's memory; and beneath
it, side by side, sleeps the dust of the heroic chief and his
faithful aide-de-camp — united in their death, and not severed
in their burial.
A month's armistice was granted, during which the
Americans collected on the Nip>gara frontier an " army of
the centre," five thousand strong, to oppose which General
Sheaffe had only seven hundred men. General Smythe, a
m
NAVAt ENOACJEMENTS.
[1^12
gasconading braggart, who had succeeded Van Ranselaer in
command, kept in check by a force one-sixtli of his own,
was regarded even by his own troops with contempt, and
was obliged to fly from the camp to escape their indignation.
In the meanwliile, General Dearborn, with an army of
ten thousand men, advanced l>y way of Lake Champlain to
the frontier. The Canadians rallied pn masse to repel the
invasion, barricaded the roads with felled trees, and guarded
every pass. On the 20th of November, an attack was
made by fourteen hundred of the enemy on the British out-
post at Lacolle, near Rouse's Point; but the guard, keeping
up a sharp fire, withdrew, and the Americans, in the dark-
ness and confusion, fired into each other's ranks, and fell
back in disastrous and headlong retreat. The discomfited
General retired with his " Grand Army of the North " into
safe winter quarters behind the entrenchments of Platts-
burg.
In their naval engagements the Americans were more suc-
cessful. On Lake Ontario, Commodore Chauncey equipped
a strong fleet, which drove the Canadian shipping for pro-
tection under the guns of Niagara, York, and Kingston.
He generously restored the private plate of Sir Isaac Brock,
captured in one of his prizes. At sea, the American frigates
Constitution and UriUed States shattered and captured the
British ships Guerriere, Macedonian, and Java.
In the United States Congress this unnatural strife of
kindred races was vigorously denounced by some of the
truest American patriots. Mr. Quincy, of Massaclmsctts,
characterized it as the "most disgraceful in history since
the invasion of the buccaneers." But the Democratic ma-
jority persisted in their stern policy of implacable war.
laer in
own,
)t, and
lation.
my of
ain to
)el the
uarded
c was
h out-
fioping
dark-
iid fell
jmfited
" into
Platts-
re suc-
luipped
r pro-
ngston.
Brock,
'rigates
'ed the
brife of
of the
msfitts,
y since
Lie nui-
3
( «!> )
r
I
CHAPTER XX.
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1813.
•
Construction of Navy on tho Ijakoa-YoRK takkn by Oonoral Plko-
Exploaion of MaKuzine, April 27th— Fort Gkou«ik takkn -Vincent
retreats to HurliiiKton Ileif^ht.s, May 271 h— Americans routed in
Numit Attacmv at Stonv Cukek, June Glh -Lt. Fit/Kibinm'H exploit
at JiKAVKK Damh, June 28th— Second capture of York by (Muiuncey,
July 23rd- Peuky's Victory on Lake Kuik, September lOlh—
Proctor Retreats from Amheratburg—Is beaten by Harrison at
Moravian Town, October 15th -Death of Tceumseh-Wilkinson,
with nine thousand men, advances on Montreal — IJattlk ok
Chrysler's Farm, November 12th- Hampton's Invasion of Canada
— IlEi'ULSED at Chatioauouay, October 'xith-McClure evaeiuitea
and BURNS Niagara, December 10th- Fort Niagara taken, and
Lowiston, Black Hock, and Buffalo hurned, December 18th-30th.
By both belligerents preparations were made for the cam-
paign of 1813 with redoubled zeal. During the winter, tho
" King's Regiment," of New Brunswick, marched on snow-
shoes through the wilderness, and did good service through-
out the campaign.
The Americans gave special attention to the construction
of strong, if roughly finished, vessels on Lakes Champlain,
Ont'irio and Erie. The British Government, severely taxed
by the war with Napoleon, could send few reinforcements
to America, and an inconjpetent naval administration neg-
lected the equipment of vessels for the lakes. Very tardily
a few vessels were constructed at Kingston, York, and
Chippewa, at the extravagant cost, it was said, of £1000
per ton. To a country abounding with the best of timber,
English oak and all other equipments were transported
across the ocean, even to the superfluity on our " unsalted
seas " of casks for the stowage of fresh water. All military
stores had to be conveyed with incredible labour, in open
batteaux, up the rapids of the St. Lawrence under the fire
of the gun batteries on the American shore. More than
one brigade of boats was attacked, and captured or defended
with great valour and loss of life on botli sides.
The American plan of the campaign of 1813 includcid tho
mastery of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, the capture of tho
forts on the Niagara frontier, at York and at Kingston, and
7
90
YORK (TORONTO) TAKEN.
[1813
the reduction of the entire western peninsula. A concen-
tration of forces on Montreal and Quebec, it was thought,
would then drive the Union Jack from the valley of the
St. Lawrence.
In pursuance of this design, Commodore Chauncey, with
fourteen vessels and seventeen hundred men, under the
command of Generals Dearborn and Pike, left Sackett's
Harbour, and early on the morning of April 27th lay off*
the town of York, wliich was garrisoned by only six hundred
men, under General Shoaffe. Under cover of a heavy fire,
the Americans landed, drove in the British outposts, and
made a dash for the dilapidated fort, which the fleet mean-
whih' heavily bombarded. They fought their way to within
two Imndred yards of the earthen ramparts, when the
defensive tire ceased. Suddenly, with a shock like an earth-
quake, the magazine blew up, and hurled into the air two
hundred of the attacking column, together with Pike, its
commander ; killing also several soldiers of the retiring
British garrison. The town being no longer tenable. General
Sheaffe, after destroying the naval stores and a vessel on
the stocks, retreated with the regulars towards Kingston.
The public buildings were burned, and the military and
naval stores which escaped destruction were carried otr.
Dearborn re embarked his forces, and the fleet made for
the mouth of tlie Niagara. On the 27th of IVlay, at early
dawn, his ships, some tiftren in number, lay in crescent form
off" Fort St. George, which was garrisoned by Colonel Vin-
cent with about fourteen hundred men. Under cover of a
tremendous tire from the lleet and Fort Niagara, after a
triple repulse by the British, a force of six liousand men
effected a landing on the beach, on the grounds now occu-
pied by the Canadian Chautauqua Assembly. Vincent,
having nearly four hundred men killed, wounded, or cap-
tured, his amn.unition being well-nigh exhausted, and his
fort almost in ruins, spiked his guns, blew up his shattered
works, and, confronted by a force six times greater than
his own, retired on Queonston Heights.
The next day, having withdrawn the garrisons from the
frontier forts on the Niagara river, he retreated with
sixteen hundred men toward the head of the lake, and took
up a strong position on Burlington Heights, near Hamilton.
Dearborn despatched a force of over three thousand men,
1813
1813]
STONY CREEK.
91
)noen-
jught,
of the
with
tho
kett's
ay off'
ndred
y fire,
and
lean-
within
in the
carth-
ir two
ke, its
Jtiring
eneral
sel on
igston.
•y and
ff.
ide for
early
t form
1 Vin-
)r of a
fter a
\ men
occu-
ncent,
r cap-
ad his
ttered
than
n the
with
1 took
ilton.
men.
under Generals Chandler and Winder, to dislodge him. On
the 6tli of June thoy encamped at Stony Creek, seven miles
from Vincent's linos. The position of the latter was criti-
cal. Niagara and York had l)oth been captured. JJefore
him was a victorious foe. His annnunition was leduced
to ninety rounds. Ho was extricated from his peril by a
bold blow. Colonel John Harvey, having reconnoitered the
enemy's position, proposed a night attack. Vincent heart-
ily co-operated. At midnight, with seven hundred British
bayonets, they burst upon the American camp. A fierce
fight ensued, in which tlie enemy were utterly routed. The
British retired befoie daybreak, with a hundred prisoners,
including both of the American generals.
The invaders soon met with another reverse. Colonel
Boerstler, on the 28th of June, with four hundred and
seventy men, including fifty cavalry and two field-pieces,
advanced to dislodge a British picket at Beaver Dams (near
Thorold). Mrs. Secord, a heroic Canadian wife, whose
husband had been wounded at Queenston Heights, walked
twenty miles through the woods to give warning of the
attack. Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, with a handful of soldiers
and two hundred Indians, by a skilful disposition of i.is
forces, captured Boerstler's entire command, more than
twice his own number, to the intense chagrin of the
Americans.
Dearborn, whose forces were wasted away to about four
thousand men, was now beleaguered in Fort George by
Vincent with less than half the number of troops. During
the month of July the British made successful raids on Fort
Schlosser and Black Rock, on the American side of the
river, destroying barracks and dockyards, and capturing
stores and arms.
In accordance with the British policy of strengthening
the naval force on the lake, Sir James Yeo, with four
hundred and fifty seamen, had, early in May, arrived at
Kingston. The American fleet being engaged in the attack
on Fort George, at Niagara, it was resolved to make a
descent on Sackett's Harbour. On May 27th, the day of
the capture of Fort George, Sir James Yeo, with seven
armed vessels and a thousand men, under the personal com-
mand of Sir George Prevost, the Governor-General, sailed
from Kingston to destroy the shipping and stores of tho
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92
PERRY S VICTORY ON LAKE ERIE.
[1813
181
i
principal American naval depot on the lakes. The landing
of the British was stoutly opposed. Nevertlieless, the Ameri-
cans everywhere gave way, and had already fired the bar-
racks, naval stores, and shipping, wlien, to the intense chagrin
of his victorious troops, the over cautious Prevost ordered a
reti'eat.
In retaliation for this attack, Comniodoi-e Chauncey, on
the 23rd of July, appeared with twelve sail off the defence-
less town of York — all the regular troops being absent and
the militia on parole. He landed without opposition, and
burned the barracks and such public buildings as had pre-
viously escaped. On the 8th of August he encountered, off
Niagara, Yeo's fleet of six vessels — less than half his own
number. In a running fight of two days' duration, he lost
two vessels by foundering and two by capture, and escaped
to port. Yeo returned to Kingston with his prizes with-
out the loss of a single man.
Meanwhile two squadrons were preparing to contest the
supremacy of Lake Erie. Perry, the American commodore,
had nine vessels, well manned with experienced seamen
from the now idle merchant marine of the United States.
Barclay, the British captain, had only fifty sailors to six
vessels, the rest of the crew being made up of two hundred
and forty soldiers and eighty Canadians. On the lOtli o*'
September, the hostile fleets met off Put-in-Bay, at the
western end of Lake Erie. Perry's flagship soon struck
her colours, but Barclay, his own ship a wreck, could not
even secure the prize. The British ships fouled, and the
heavier metal ot the enemy soon reduced them to un-
'manageable hulks. The carnage was dreadful. In three
hours all their oflScers and half their crew were killed or
wounded. Perry despatched to Washington the sententious
message : " We have met the enemy. They are ours."
Proctor, cut off from supplies, exposed in flank and rear,
and attacked in force in front, could only retreat from
Michigan. He dismantled the forts at Detroit and Am-
herstburg, and fell back along the Thames with eight
hundred and thirty white men and five hundred Indians,
under Tecumseh. Harrison, the American general, followed
rapidly with three thousand five hundred men, and fell
upon his rear guard at Moravian Town, October 15th.
Proctor was forced to fight at a disadvantage, on ill-chosen
cjroi
[1813
Iandin<x
Ameri-
ihe bar-
chagrin
dered a
icoy, on
lefence-
Bnt and
on, and
lad J) re-
red, off
lis own
he lost
escaped
s with-
est the
lodore,
seamen
States.
to six
undred
LOth o'^
at the
struck
Id not
tid the
:o un-
three
lied or
ntious
rear,
from
1 Am-
eight
dians,
lowed
d fell
15th.
hosen
181.3]
CHIIYSLEIVS FARM.
1)'}
ground. The mounted Kentucky riflemen rode through and
tlii'ough his ranks, dealing death on every side. The hrave
Tecumseh was slain while rallying his warriors. The rout
was complete. Proctor, with a shattered remnant of his
troops, retreated through the forest to Burlington Heights.
General Harrison assumed the nominal government of the
western part of Upper Canada.
!►, The Americans were now free to concentrate their efforts
on the reduction of Kingston and Montreal. On the 24th
of October, an ai'my of nine thousand men, with ample
artillery, under General Wilkinson, rendezvoused at Grena-
dier Island, near Sackett's Harbour; but the store forts of
Kingston, garrisoned by two thousand m(m under De Kot-
tenburg, protected that important naval station from attack
even by a fourfold force. Wilkinson, therefore, embarking
his army in three hundred batteaux, protected by twelve
gun-boats, in the bleak November weather threaded the
watery mazes of the Thousand Islands in his menacing ad-
vance on Montreal. Passing Prescott on a moonlight night,
Wilkinson's batteaux received considerable damage from a
British caiinonade. He was forcec to land strong brigades
on the Canadian shore in order to secure a passage for his
boats. At the head of the Long Sault Rapids, Wilkinson
detached General Boyd, with a force of over two thousand
men, to crush the opposing British corps, which had taken
a stand at Chrysler's Farm — a name thenceforth of potent
memory. The collision took place in an open field. For
two hours the battle raged. But Canadian valour and dis-
cipline prevailed over twofold o<*-ds, and the Americans
retreated to their boats and crossed the river to their own
territory.
Similar disaster attended the invasion of Canada by way
of Lake Champlain. With a force of nine hundred soldiers,
on the 31st of July, Colonel Murray advanced from Tslc-
aux-Noix against the American works at Plattsburg, where
he captured or destroyed an innnense quantity of stores,
and hurned the newly-built barracks for four thousand men.
Early in September, General Hampton, with an army of five
thousand men, advanced from Lake Champlain, with a view
to a joint attack with Wilkinson on Montreal. On the 21si,
of October he pushed forward his forces along both sides of
the Chateauguay Kivcr. Colonel de Salaberry, with four
94
NIAGARA BURNED.
[1813
hundred voltigeurs — sharpshooters every one — defended by
a breastwork of logs and ab;ittis, held the enemy well in
check, till he was in danger of being surrounded by sheer
force of numbers. By a clever ruse, he distributed his
buglers widely through the woods in his rear, and ordered
them to sound the charge. The enemy, thinking themselves
assailed in force, everywhere gave way, and retreated pre-
cipitately from the field. Hampton soon retired across the
borders to his entrenched camp at Plattsburg. Thus tKe
patriotism and valour of a few hundreds of Canadian troops
repulsed from our country's soil two invading armies of ten-
fold strength.
These disasters carried dismay to the heart of Colonel
McClure, commanding at Fort George. Strongly pressed
by the British force, he hastily evacuated the fort, and
crossed the river, with the whole of his troops, December
10th. With inhuman barbarity, he tired every house in
Niagara at thirty minutes' warning, and drove four hundred
helpless women and children, amid the rigours of a Cana-
dian winter, to seek shelter in the log huts of the scattered
settlers, or in the bark wigwams of the wandering Indians.
The British, who immediately occupied the desolated town,
soon wreaked a grim revenge for the atrocious act. In a
night attack by Colonel Murray, with five hundred men,
Fort Niagara, on the American side of the river, was sur-
prised, when its garrison was wrapped in sleep, December
18th. The sentries were bayoneted, the guard overpowered;
three hundred prisoners, three thousand stand of arms, and
an immense quantity of stores, were captured.
With ruthless retaliation for the burning of Niagara, the
British ravaged the American frontier, and gave to tlie
ilames the t)^ living towns of Lewiston, Manchester, Black
Rock, and Buffalo.
Thus the holy Christmas-tide, God's pledge of peace and
good-will toward men, rose upon a fair and fertile frontier
scathed and blackened by wasting and rapine, and the year
went out in " tears and misery, in hatred and flames and
blood."
The commerce of the United States was completely crip-
pled by the blockade of her ports, her revenue falling from
$24,000,000 to $8,000,000. Admiral Cockburn swept the
Atlantic coa^st with bis fleet, destroying arsenals and naval
181
stor
Brit
stub
[1813
idod by
well in
jy sheer
ted his
ordered
mselves
'.ed pre-
ross the
hiis tKe
1 troops
1 of ten-
Colonel
pressed
rt, and
seem be r
ouse in
undred
< Cana-
attered
ndians.
I town,
In a
1 men,
as sur-
cember
we red;
IS, and
ra, the
to the
Black
ce and
'ontier
e year
es and
»
y crip-
^ from
pt the
naval
1814]
AFFAIR AT LACOLLE MILL.
95
stores wherever his gun-boats could penetrate. Great
Britain also recovered her old prestige in more than one
stubborn sea-light with a not unworthy foe.
CHAPTER XXL
CAMPAIGN OF 1814.
General Wilkinson repulsed at Lacolle Mill, March I3th— Yco
and Drummond capture Oswego, May GthlliAU, is defeated
at Chippewa, July 5th— He is reinforced by Drummond -Battle
OE Lundy's Lane, July 25th— Night Attack on Fort Erie— Explosion
and Sortie British fleet on Lake Champlain defeo.ted, August lltli -
Admiral Cockburn captures Washington and burns the Capitol,
etc., August 23rd— Peace concluded at Ghent, December 24th
General Packenham defeated by Jackson at New Orleans,
January 8th, 1815 -EfTects of the War on Canada and the United
States— Valour and Patriotism of the Canadians.
Preparations for the campaign of 1814 were made on both
sides with unabated energy. Stores of every kind and in
vast quantities were forwarded from Quebec and Montreal
by brigades of sleighs to Kingston as a centre of distribu-
tion for western Canada. A deputation of Indian chiefs
from the West was received at the castle of St. Louis and
sent home laden with presents and coniirmed in their alle-
giance to the British.
Early in the year, the Emperor of Russia offered to
mediate between the belligerents in the interests of peace.
Great Britain declined his interference, but proposed direct
negotiations with the United States. The commissioners
appointed, however, did not meet till August, and mean-
while the war became more deadly and mutually destructive
than ever. The campaign opened in Lower Canada. Gen-
eral Wilkinson advanced with live thousand men from
Plattsburg, crossed the frontier at Odelltown, and on the
13th of March invested live hundred British militia and
regulars at the stone mill of Lacolle. For four hours these
gallant men withstood an army. Incapable of forcing the
British position, the enemy retreated, baffled and defeated,
96
CHIPPEWA AND LUNDY S LANE.
[1814
1814]
to Plattsbui'g, and for a time the tide of war ebbed away
from the frontier of Lower Canada.
Early in May, Sir James Yeo and General Drunimond,
with a thousand men, attacked Fort Oswego. The assault-
ing party of three hundred and forty soldiers and sailors, in
the face of a heavy lire of grape, stormed the strong and
well-defended fort. In half an hour it was in their hands,
and the stores, barracks, and shipping were destroyed.
Napoleon was now a prisoner in Elbe, and England was
enabled to throw greater vigour into her transatlantic war.
In the month of June sevei'al regiments of the veteran
troops of Wellington landed at Quebec. The most sanguin-
ary events of the campaign, however, occurred on the
Niagara frontier. On July 3rd, Generals Brown, 8cott, and
Ripley, with a force of four thousand men, crossed the
Niagara at Buffalo and captured Fort Erie. General lliall,
with twenty-four hundred regulars, militia, and Indi?uis,
met the invaders, led by General Brown, at Chippewa. He
boldly attacked the enen;y, who had taken up a good posi-
tion, and were well supported by artillery. The battle
was fierce and bloody and tiie British were forced to retreat.
Riall retired in good order to Twenty Mile Creek ; Brown
followed to Queenston Heights, ravaged the country and
burned the village of St. David's, and returned to Chippewa,
followed again by Riall as far as Lundy's Lane.
In the meanwhile General Drummond hastened from
Kingston to strengthen the British force on the frontier.
Reaching Niagara on the 25tli of July, he advanced with
eight hundred men to support Riall. He met Riall's army
in retreat before the immensely superior force of the enemy,
but countermanding the movement, he immediately formed
the order of battle. He occupied the gently swelling ac-
clivity of Lundy's Lane. His entire force was sixteen
hundred men ; that of the enemy was five thousand. The
attack began at six o'clock in the evening, Drummond's
troops having that hot July day marched from Niagara.
The Americans made desperate efforts to capture the British
battery, but the gunners stuck to their* pieces till some of
them were bayoneted at their post.
At length the long sununer twilight closed, and the pity-
ing night drew her veil over the scene. Still r.mid the
darkness the stubborn combat raged, Tb© 4-i?ierican an4
mg r
Erie,
and
1814]
FALL OF FORT ERIE.
97
bway
from
'.->
British guns were almost nui/zle to muzzle. Some of each
were captured and recaptured in fierce hand-to hand fight.
About nine o'clock a lull occurred, and the moon rose upon
the scene, lighting up the ghastly faces of the dead and the
writhing forms of the dying, while the groans of the wounded
mingled with the deep roar of the neighbouring cataract.
The retreating van of Riall's army now returned with a
body of militia, twelve hundred in all. Tl:e Americans
also brought up fresh reserves, and the combat was renewed
with increased fury. At midnight, after six houi's of mor-
tal conflict, the Americans abandoned the hopeless contest.
To-day the peaceful wheat-fields wave upon the sunny slopes
fertilized by the bodies of so many brave men, and the
ploughshare upturns rusted Inillets, regimental buttons and
other relics of this most sanguinary battle of the war.
Throwing their heavy baggage and tents into the rush-
ing rapids of the Niagara, the fugitives retreated to Fort
Erie, where for three weeks they were closely besieged by
half their number of British. On the lIUli of August, after
a vigorous bombardment, a night attack, in three columns,
was made. upon the fort. Two of the columns had already
efTected an entrance into the works, when the explosion of
a magazine blew into the air a storming party, and caused
the repulse of the British, with a heavy loss in killed,
wounded and captured of six hundred and fifty men. The
Americans a month later made a vigorous sally. from the
fort, but were driven back with a loss on the part of both
assailants and assailed of about four hundred men. Shortly
after. General Izzard blew up the works and recrossed the
river to United States territory.
Meanwhile hostile expeditions were launched from Hali-
fax against the coast of Maine. Castine, Bangor, Machias,
and the whole region from the Penobscot to the St. Croix,
surrendered to the British, and were held to the close of
the war.
The arrival of sixteen thousand of Wellington's penin-
sular troops, the heroes of so many Spanish victories, en-
abled Sir George Prevost to vigorously assume the offensive.
A well-appointed force of eleven thousand men advanced
from Canada to Lake Champlain. Captain Downie, with a
fleet on which the ship-carpenters were still at work as he
went into action, was to co-operate with the army in an
98
BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS.
[1815
attack on Plattsburg. Tlio liritish fleet gallantly attackcnl
the enemy, hut after a desperate battle, in which Captain
Downie was slain, it was compf^lled to surrender to a supe-
rior force. Prevost had tardily advanced his storming
columns when the cheers from the fort announced the cap-
ture of the British fleet. Although on the verge of an easy
victory, Prevost, to the intense chagrin of his soldiers, gave
the signal to retreat. Many of his oflicers for very shame
broke their swords and vowed they would never serve again.
He was summoned home by the Horse Guards to stand a
court martial, but died in the course of the following year
before the court sat.
The launch at Kingston of the St. Lawrence, an "oak
leviathan" of a hundred guns, gave the British complete
naval supremacy of Lake Ontario, and enabled them
strongly to reinforce General Drummond with troops and
stores.
Along the Atlantic seaboard the British maintained a
harassing blockade. About the middle of August Ad-
miral Cockburn, witli a fleet of fifty vessels, arrived in the
Chesapeake River, and General Boss, with four thousand
men, attacked Washington, and gave to \e flames the Capi-
tol, White House and other public buildings — a retaliation
for the burning of York unworthy of a great nation.
On the 8th of January, 1815, General Packenham, with
a force of about six thousand men, attacked the city of
New Orleans, whicli was defended by General Jackson with
a much superior army. Jackson had thrown up formidable
breastworks, faced, it is said, with cotton bales forming a
very effective protection. The slaughter of tlie British in a
series of engagements was friglitful. Packenham with many
of his bravest troops were slain, and the attack was
completely repulsed.
Peace had already been concluded at Ghent on the 24th
of December, and was hailed with delight by the kindred
peoples, wearied with mutual and unavailing slaughter. The
calm verdict of history flnds much ground of extenuation
for the revolt of 1776 ; but for the American declaration of
war in 1812, little or none, A reckless Democratic ma-
jority wanionly invaded the country of an unoflfending
neighbouring people, to seduce them from their lawful alle-
giance and annex their territory. The long and costly con-
s'
[181
D
1815]
RESULTS OF THE WAR.
1)9
attacked
Captain
a supc-
storining
the cap-
f an easy
ers, gave
ry shaiuo
ve again.
> stand a
ing year
an
((
oak
complete
ed them
oops and
itained a
^ust Ad-
id in the
thousand
the Oapi-
italiation
11.
am, with
3 city of
son with
rmidable
)rming a
itish in a
ith many
ack was
the 24th
kindred
ter. The
enuation
ration of
•atic ma-
Dffending
vful al!e-
stly con-
flict was alike bloody and barren. Tlu? AnnMicans annexed
not a single foot of territory. They gained not a single-
permanent advantage. Their seaboard was insulted, ilieir
capital destroyed. Their annual exports were reduced
from £22,000,000 to £1,500,000. Thr(>e thousand of their
vessels were captiired. Two-thirds of their eommercial class
were insolvent. Avast war tax was incurred, and tlu^ very
existence of the Union imperilled by the nienacfid s(!cession
of the New Englaiid States. The " rigl't of s(\arch " md
the rights of neutrals — the ostensible but not the real
causes of the war — were not even mentioiKjd in the treaty
of peace.
On Canada, too, the burden of the war fell heavily.
Great Britain, exhausted by nearly twenty yonva of condict,
ard still engaged :n a strenuous struggle against the Eu-
ropean despot. Napoleon, could only, till near the close of
the war, furnish scanty military aid. It was Canadian
militia, with little help from British regulars, who won the
brilliant victories of Chrysler's Farm and Ch.'iteauguay ; and
throughout the entire conilict they wvve tbe principal de-
fence of their country. In many a Canadian home bitter
tears were shed for son or sire left cold and stark upon the
bloody plain at Queenston 1 heights, or Chippewa, or Lundy's
Lane, or other hard-fought field of battle.
The lavish expenditure of the Imperial authorities for
shipbuilding, transport service, and army supplies, and the
free circulation of the paper money issued by the Canadian
Government," greatly stimulated the prosperity of the
country. Its peaceful industries, agriculture, and the legiti-
mate development of its natural resources, however, were
greatly interrupted, and vast amounts of public and private
property were relentlessly confiscated or destroyed by the
enemy.
* The paper currency of the United States was not redeemed till it had greatly
depreciated in value, to the often ruinous loss of the holders.
( 100 )
CHAPTER XXII.
AFTKK THK VVAR-LOWKR CANADA.
The clos(5 of IIk! War— Stale of tlio roniifry- Sfr Jolni Cnpv, Slicrhrnokr,
tiovornor-Cicnrral 18H5. 'Vhv- l)uk(M)f l{iclinioiul,(«()Vta'iU)r-(joiu'ral
—1818. Ills TraKual I)('atli-I8l». Dralh of (J(M)r^?o III. ami acccH-
sion of GoorKi; IV.— 182i). Tho Karl of Dalhousio. (iovtM'nor-Gencral
—Union of lh(! Provinces Proposed 18'J2. Itniiciial (\)nMnission on
Canadian atlairs IS28. iLa report -Nova Scotia and New iJruns-
wiek after the N\'ar.
At the conclusion of the war tho fictitious prosp(M'ity cfoatod
by the militai-y expenditure nipidly (h;cliiH>d, and its linan
cial l)ur(h>ns, in th(> loi-ni of militia pensions and gratuities
to the widows and ojphans of the slain, w(M*e severely felt.
Grants of money were made by the Legislature of Ijovver
Canada for the construction of tlie Lachinc^ and liidcvau
canals, and the accurate survey of the country was projected.
Domestic manufactures, such as those of leatiier, hats, paper,
and to some extent of iron, had been introduced; and saw
mills and grist mills multiplied on the inland streams.
From the ashes of the forests, burned in the clearing of the
land, a considerable quantity of potash and pearlash was
produced. Colonization roads were greatly extended and
impnn'od. Shipbuilding was actively prosecuted, especially
at Quebec. The Banks of Montreal, Quebec and Kingston
were established, and greatly facilitated the trade of the
province. Immigration, in consequence of the depression of
trade in the old countries, largely increased, and the new
settlers were liberally aided by the Government with rations
and implements. Steam navigation was extended on the
St. Lawrence and the lakes, and the transatlantic trade of
Quebec sprang into importance.
Still the population was sparse — averaging in Upper
Canada only seven per square mile. Schools, teachers, and
medical men were few and not always the most efficient.
Lower Canada was divided into parishes, each with its resi-
dent cure; but in the upper province the people were de-
pendent for religious instruction lat;gely on the zejil of itin-
erant missionaries, chiefly of the Methodist and Presby-
terian persuasions.
18221
Sir G
native (
of Sir (
Co[)e SI
In 1{
tenant (
noi'-Gen
and on
Ottawa
amid th
adminis
law. Si I
Upper (
On tl
ful I'oigi
blind, I
King G
and the
[-p>i f
\^ ne i
experiei
ing Eng
land ten
accordai
two Can
in the h
French
scheme i
guarant(
proteste(
union pe
body wi
Trade A
from dui
the uppe
A con
to invesi
favour o
commiss
Lower C
sailed fo
of witne
coercion.
1<S221
POLITICAL STKIFE UKNKWED.
101
li('rbrnok(\
<)r-(J(!iii'riil
and ucc(^s•
orGi'iiernl
iinisHion on
uvv Uruns-
y crratod
its tiuaii
gratuities
vv]y felt.
)f Jjovvor
I Rideaii
•rojocted.
bs, paper,
and saw
streams,
ig of the
liK-ili was
ded and
specially
Kingston
& of tho
ession of
tlie new
1 rations
1 on the
trade of
Upper
lers, find
efficient.
its resi-
were de-
of itin-
Presby-
Sir Cordon Drumniond, tiie hero of Luiidy's Lane and a
native of i^iiehec, adniinistei'ed tlie government, in the place
of Sir (George Prevost, i(;called, till the arrival of Sir Jolm
Cope Sherhrooke, from Nova Scotia, in hSIG.
tn 1818, the Duke of Richmond, pj-eviously Lord Lieu-
tenant of Ireland, succeeded Sir Jolui Sherhi-ooke as (iover-
nor-Ceneral. He made a progress through U})p(u* Canada,
and on his return met with a tragical fnte. Whih^ at
Ottawa he was bitten by a tiime fox, and siiortly after died
amid the pangs of hydrophobia, August 27th, 1819. The
administration of public affairs devolved ui»on his son in-
law. Sir Peregrine Maitland, the Lieutenant-Governor of
Upper Canada.
On the 29tli of JanunrVj in the sixtieth year of his event-
ful reign and in the eighty-second year of his age, infirm,
blind, beclouded in intellect but beloved by his subjects.
King George J 1 1, died, and amid the ringing of joy bells
and the tiring of cannon George IV. was proei{)im('d King.
The Earl of Dalhousie, a veteran f-oldier of distiuguisiu-d
expei'ience, became the new Governor General. The grow-
ing English-speaking population, dissatisfied with the feudal
hind tenure and inconvenient administration of justice in
accordance with the French code, urged tlie union of tliC
two Canadas, and the suppression of tlie French language
in the legislature, the French laws in the courts, and tlie
French tenure of land. The French i-esented the union
scheme as a denationalizing policy and a violation of their
guaranteed rights and pi'ivileges. The Assembly strongly
protested against the union, and numerously-signed anti-
union petitions were sent to the Imperial Pa I'l lament. That
l>ody withdrew the union scheme, and passed the Canada
Ti'ade Act, providing for the distribution of revenue arising
from duties more equitably to the inci'eased population of
the upper province.
A commission was appointed by the Imperial Parliament
to investigate the civil conditior of Canada. It reported in
favour of liberal concessions and reforms. The report of the
commissioners pi'oduced the most lively gi*atitication in
Lower Canada. A week before its arrival, Lord Dalhousie
sailed for England, and was thus spared the mortification
of witnessing a policy of conciliation substituted for one of
coercion. He v/.as subsequently appointed Governor-Gen-
102
NOVA SCOTIA AND NEW HIILINSWICK.
[181 S
eral of Indi.i, and (licro won inotitcd distinction by liia
vIljoi'Ous ;i(luiinistni,<i(>n,
'Vho provinces of Nova Scotia and New lU'iinswiitlc had
felt little of the dirc^ct burdens of tim late war, but had
iKMictitod, the former especially, V(?ry L^reatl) by the in-
creas<'d niilitaiy and naval exp(Miditure. The vast ll(!ets of
(Jr((at llritain rendezvoused in the spacious harbour of Hali-
fax, tli<' ;^ains of the citadel continually wcIcoukmI th(! ari'i-
val of prizes in tow of liritisli cruis(!i's, and tin; IiiiixM'ial
dockyard was busy with n'pairs. With the peace all this
ceased, the revenue was greatly reduced, and numbers of
woi'kmen were tluown out of employmmit. The Karl of
Dalhousie and Sii* .James K(Mnpt successively admim'stered
the all'airs of the colony, and wisely fostered education,
agricultuie, and pu))lic improvements. In b'^'iO, Cape lire-
ton was incorpoi'ated as a county of Nova Scotia.
In 1818, New Ib'unsvvick received its first Governor,
Geneial George Tracey Hniylhe. The irrepr(Visi}>le conflict
between tlio two branches of the legislature became the
occasion of acrimonious disputes till his death in 1823. Sir
llowJird Douglas, his successor, greatly promoted the in-
ternal development of the province, the construction of
roads and the cultivation of the soil — too much neglected
in the almost exclusive devotion to lumbering and ship-
l)uilding. In the autumn of 1825, a terrible disaster over-
whelmed the colony. A long di'ought had parched the
forest into tinder. Numerous fires had laid waste the
woods and farms. On the 7th of October, a storm of
flame swept over -the country for sixty miles — from Mira-
michi to the Bay of Chaleurs. A pitchy darkness covered
the sky, lurid flames swept over the earth, consuming the
forest, houses, barns, crops, and t}\e towns of Newcastle and
Douglas. One hundred and sixty persons perished in the
flames or in their efforts to escape, and hundreds were
maimed for life. The loss of property was immense. The
generous aid of the sister provinces, and of Great Britain
and the United States, greatly mitigated the sufferings of
the hapless inhabitants made homeless on the eve of a rigor-
ous winter.
[ISIS
( 103 )
'y
liis
M(;lc had
1)11 1 had
tho in-
ll(!('ts of
•of llali-
tlj(»- ari'i-
Iinporial
o all this
inl)ors of
Kai-l of
iiiistri'(Ml
LliK'ation,
/ape l>ro-
irovornor,
conflict
caino tlu»
^23. Sir
d the iii-
iiction of
neglected
and ship-
iter over-
'ched the
^aste tlio
stonii of
Dm Mira-
3 covered
niing the
;astle and
id in the
eds were
ise. The
t Britain
ferings of
3f a rigor-
CHAPTER XXIII.
AFTER TTIK WAR -UIM»KR CANADA.
Francs Core, Esq.. Iiiciit.-Oovi!ninr—181'». Tho ('lor^'y llcscrvo pfri(»vanro
~Tho "Family C.'omi'Act" — Ita status and indiuiKio - IfoHi'.uT
CouuLAY atJ:ital(!H against Crown liand adininisinuion Sir Tcrc-
Ki'ino Mailland, liicut.-Ciovernor 1818. 'I'lic Kiev. I)i{. SntAciiAN,
anicMuborof tho Legislative Council- William IjVon Mackkn/ik
— IliH print iuK odlce wrttkcd— ISJO. Sir John Colborne, hieutennnl-
Cov( rnor— 1821). Kohkkt Haldwin hcconu's a Hcfoi-m leader—
lOKONTO Irrcoui'OUATiii) 1831. :\!a<ken/,ic llrsLJMayorlSir Francis
Bond Head, Lieutenant Oovornor— 1830.
In Upper Canada, fit the close of the wai', General Druni-
mond was succeeded in the administration of the govei'ii-
ment by Generals Murray and liobinson, for a couple of
months each, till the return of its former civilian Governor,
Francis Gore, Esq., September 25th, 1815. A good d<'al of
dissatisfaction was felt at the delay in giving the promised
grants of land to the volunteers and militia, and at the ex-
clusive claim of the Church of England to one-seventh of
tlie public lands of the province, set apart for the " support
of a Protestant clergy.'* It was felt that these " reserves "
constituted too large a pi-oportion of the territory of the
country; that their reservation retarded its settlement; and
that their appropriation for the exclusive advantage of any
denomination was ji practical injustice to all others, and in-
troduced into the mixed population of Canada the social
and religious inequalities and jealousies inseparable fi'om
the existence of an endowed and estal)lished State Church.
We have seen how, before the war, the principal olHces
of trust, honour and emolument were largely engrossed by
an aristocratic party. This party, which from the intimate
social relations of its leading spirits became known as the
^'Family Compact," was greatly strengthened during i.i d
after the war, and almost entirely controlled the execut; \ j
administration of the province. Its adherents formed the
majority of the Legislative Assembly, and were often place-
men whose votes maintained the monopoly of power in the
hands of their patrons. This "Compact" was extremely
unpopular with a large proportion of the population,
104
"THE FAMILY COMPACT.
>»
[1815
especially with many of the British and American immi-
grants, and a prolonged struggle resulted in the overthrow
of its authority, and the establishment of the principles of
responsible government.
One of tlie earliest and most vigorous opponents of the
Family Compact was Robert Gourlay, a Scottish immigrant
of an energetic and ambitious, yet eccentric character. For
the purpose of establishing himself as a land agent, and in
order to promote immigration on an extensive scale, he
addressed a series of statistical questions to the principal
inhabitants of each municipality. The answers received
disclosed serious abuses in the management of the ciown
lands and clergy reserves. Mr. Gourlay called a convention,
at Yorfc, of delegates from the townships, for the purpose of
, J., o adopting a petition to the Imperial Parliament for the
redress of these grievances. For expressions in his
petition and addresses deemed libellous, Gourlay was twice
put on his trial and as often acquitted. He afterwards
suffered a long imprisonment on charge of sedition, and was
expelled from the country through the strained interpreta-
tion of the Alien Act of 1804, which was designed to check
the political influence of immigrants from the United States.
In the meanwhile Mr. Gore had been succeeded as Gover-
nor by Sir Peregrine Maitland, the son-in-law of the Duke
of Richmond, the Governor-General.
The union of the Canadas, proposed in the Imperial
Parliament as an adjustment of their conflicting claims, was
generally favoured in the upper province ; but as we have
seen, in consequence of "'le intense opposition of the French
population of Lower Canada, the proposition for the time
was withdrawn. A standing grievance of the western pro-
vince was the collection at Montreal and Quebec of the
revenue duties imposed by Lower Canada on all imports —
of which at first only one-eighth, and afterwards one-fifth,
were refunded to Upper Canada. As the latter grew in
wealth and population, and its imports increased in value,
this was felt to be a growing injustice. The Canada Trade
Act of 1822 more equitably distributed these duties and
removed this grievance. It restored to the upper province
c£30,000 of arrears due by Lower Canada.
Several steamboats now sailed on the lakes and on the
St. Lawrence, but the passage of the rapids was made in
[1815
DR. STRACHAN.
105
I immi-
^rthrow
iples of
of the
nigrant
r. For
and in
ale, he
rincipal
eccived
crown
'■eniion,
'pose of
for the
in his
IS twice
rwards
md was
rpreta-
check
1 States.
! Gover-
e Duke
mperial
ms, was
ve have
French
le time
jrn pro-
of the
ports —
le-fifth,
^rew in
1 value,
I Trade
les and
rovince
on the
lade in
large flat "Durham boats," which were generally sold at
Montreal or Quebec to save the expense of time and toil in
returning against the strong current. The Lachine and
Rideau Canals were now approaching completion, and the
Welland Canal was projected. Agricultural societies greatly
in t'oved the mode of tillage, which was still very imperfect.
Farm produce brought scarcely remunerative prices, and
the growth of hemp and tobacco received a good deal of
attention. Agricultural implements were still of very rude
construction, and labour-saving machines, such as reapers
and mowers, were unknown. Our public school system had
already been established, 1816, and was aided in its infancy
by legislative grants.
In 1821, five new members were added to the Lef^islative
Council — one of whom was a man who was destined to exert
a powerful influence on the history of Canada. The Rev.
Dr. Strachan, who became in 1839 the first Anglican
Bishop of Upper Canada, was the son of humble Scottish
parents, members of the Presbyterian Kirk. He received
some classical training and became a tutor, first in Scotland,
and afterwards at Kingston, in Canada. He subsequently
taught the grammar school at Cornwall, joined the Church
of England, and became, in rapid succession, rector of York,
chaplain to the Legislative Assembly and member of the
.Legislative Council. When raised to the episcopal dignity,
his missionary zeal and energy largely contributed to the
extension and prosperity of the Church of England in this
country, on whose behalf he also exerted hi'^ political in-
fluence.*
Indications were not wanting that popular reaction was
taking place against the party in power. The general
election of 1824 resulted in favour of the Reform party,
as it now began to be called. Among the members elected
were Dr. Rolph, Peter Perry and Marshal Bid well, promi-
nent champions of popular rights, to prevent whose return
the Family Compact had made every effort.
The chief thorn in the side of the hitherto dominant
party, however, was a now "grievance monger" of the
Gourlay stamp. William Lyon Mackenzie, born 1795, was
the son of humble Perthshire parents. After a somewhat
•lie died on November 2, 18G7, aged eighty-nine.
106 STRUGGLE FOR RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT.
restless and erratic career in the old country, he emigrated
in his twenty-fifth year to Canada. After a varied experi-
ence at storekeeping in Toronto, Dundas and Niagara, he
found at last his true vocation as a journalist. His intense
hatred of injustice, and his natural impetuosity of disposition
hurried him into intemperance of expression and action. His
remarkable industry in ferreting out abuses — which were
only too easily found — and his pungent style of editorial
criticism, made the Colonial Advocate particularly obnoxious
1 R9fi *^ *^^® V^^^y i^ power. During a temporary absence
from home his printing office at York was sacked, his
press wrecked, and his type scattered by some young men
connected with the dominant party, which had taken offence
at the biting criticism of his paper upon some of their public
acts. He sued the aggressors for damages, and received the
award of £625. He also won popularity as a champion of
popular rights, and was shortly after returned a lleform
member of the Assembly for the county of York.
Sir John Colborne, a gentleman of somewhat stern mili-
tary character, who had succeeded as Governor Sir Pere-
1 Qoq gi'i^^G Maitland, transferred to Lower Canada, met a
new Parliament more outspoken in its opposition to
the Exe:;utive Council than any that had preceded it. The
"Compact" sustained a defeat in its stronghold in the
election of Robert Baldwin over its candidate, Mr. Charles
Small, for the representation of the town of York. Mr.
Baldwin, who was a native of the town which he now
represented, during the entire course of his public life com-
manded the esteem of both political parties. His personal
integrity, his legal ability, his singular moderation, enabled
him, as has been admirably said, "to lead his country
through a great constitutional crisis into an era of larger
and more matured liberty."
The struggle for "Responsible Government" had now
begun. Mackenzie's perpetual grievance motions were con-
tinually unearthing abuses that needed correction. Pension
lists, official salaries, the corrupt constitution of the House,
were all attacked with stinging sarcasm. The inequalities
of representation were glaring. One member had only
thirty constituents. The members for York and Lanark
represented more persons than the members for fifteen other
constituencies. Tlie House was filled with place-men —
WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE.
107
igrated
experi-
ara, he
intense
3osition
)n. His
}i were
di to rial
noxious
ibsence
ed, his
g men
offence
r public
ved tlio
pion of
Reform
n mili-
V Pere-
met a
uon to
;. The
in the
Charles .
. Mr.
e now
'e com-
irsonal
nabled
3untry
larger
I now
e con-
3nsion
louse,
alities
only
anark
other
len —
postmasters, sheriffs, registrars, revenue officers and col-
lectors.
Outside of the House Mackenzie was equally active. He
traversed the country, held public meetings, and circulated
petitions to the throne, which were signed by nearly twenty-
five thousand persons, praying for the secularization of the
clergy reserves, for law reform, for the exclusion of judges and
the clergy from parliament, for the abolition of primogeni-
ture, for the legislative control of pu))lic moneys, and for
other reforms which have long since become the law of the
land. A caustic article in the Colonial Advocate was deemed
a breach of parliamentary privilege, and Mackenzie was ex-
pelled from the House. He was triumphantly returned
again, and presented with a gold medal. Within a week
he was again expelled, and within another he was re-elected
by an immense majority, and was sent to England to sup-
port the petition to the King for the redress of grievances.
On his return he was again three times expelled from the
Assembly, and as often returned by large majorities. He
18*^4. ^^^ ^^^^ made first mayor of Toronto, now incorpo-
rated as a city. The Family Compact lost influence
with each defeat of their candidate, and Sir John Colborne,
1 oo/. unable to control the rising tide of political agitation,
requested his recall, and was succeeded by Sir Francis
Bond Head.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE REBELLION— LOWER CANADA.
Sir James Kempt, Governor-General— 1828, Lord Aylmer, Governor-
General— 1830. Lord Gosford, Governor-General- 18.'}5. Tlie t'om-
mission on Grievances fails to conciliate diriafrection--Sir John
Colborne assumes chief military command- 1837. Collision at
Montreal, November 6th— Colonel Wetherall kouts keukls at
St. Charles, November 25th— liOrd Durham, Governor-General
and High Commissioner— 1833. His magnanimous character -Ho
exiles leaders and pardons other rebels - His policy condemned as
ultra vires— Hia chagrin and resignation— His masterly Report.
In Lower Canada, in the meanwhile, the liberal concession^'
of the Home Government were met by increased and un-
reasonable demands. The object sought was not, as in
108
DISAFFECTION OF THE FRENCH.
[1837
Upper Canada, tlio establisliment of responsil)lc govern-
ment, but to effect the supremacy of the French race and
its absolute control over the executive.
The conciliatory policy of Sir James Kempt, who suc-
ceeded Lord Dalhousie in 1828, equally witli that of Lord
Aylmer, who became Governor in 1830, failed to satisfy
the jxggressive demands of the Asseml)ly. During the sum-
mer of 1831, an immigration of fifty thousand souls, chiefly
Irish, arrived at Quebec, and passed up the valley of the
St. Lawrence, "like a disorganized army," said a contem-
porary journal, "leaving the inhabitants to provide for the
sick and wounded and to bury the dead." The dreadful
ravages of the cholera, which spread from Grosse IsU^ over
the whole country, carried death and dismay to almost all
the frontier towns and villages. Three years later, a still
more fatal visitation of the cholera occurred.
Lord Gosford was appointed to succeed Lord Aylmer in
the ungrateful ofhce of Governor, and with him were asso-
■tooK ciated Sir Charles Grey and Sir George Gipps as a
commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged griev-
ances of the Assembly. These liberal measures failed to
conciliate the French majority. Papineau, the idol of the
ignorant habitants, intoxicated with power, boldly avowed
his republican principles. The French were known to
be secretly drilling, and loyal volunteer associations were
formed among the British population for the defence of the
Government.
1 9^7 Wearied by the rejection of its policy of concilia-
tion, the Home Government now adopted one of a
more vigorous character. For live years the Assembly had
voted no civil list. The British officials and judges were
reduced to extreme distress. The Governor-General was
empowered to take £142,000 out of the treasury to pay
these arrears. The demand for an elective Council was re-
fused. The indignation of the French population was
intense. Turbulent assemblies met witli arms in their
hands. Lord Gosford issued a proclamation forbidding
these seditious gatherings. The accession, after an interval
of a century and a quarter, of a female sovereign awoke no
feelings of loyalty in the rebel faction, and tliey plotted as
vigorously against the throne and crown of Queen Victoria
as they had against the citizen King, William IV.
1837
1837]
OUTBREAK OF THE IIEUELLION.
109
Never was a people less fitted for the exercise of political
power than the French habitants. Nine-tentlis of them
were, unable to read, and none of them had any spark of
that love of constitutional liberty in whicli the English
nation had so long been trained. Apparently the liberal
party in Lower Canada, they yet advocated reactionary
measures, and strove to revive the old French policy of
resistance to popular education, immigration, or any innova-
tion of English customs, laws, language, or institutions.
To meet the coming storm. Sir John Colborne, a prompt
and energetic officer, was appointed to the military com-
mand of the provinces. The few troops in Upper and
Lower Canada, only some three thousand in all, were chiefly
concentrated at Montreal, the focus of disaffection. But
Papineau, the leader of the rebellion, was an empty gas-
conader, void of statesmanship or military ability. Dr.
Wolf red Nelson, the second in conuTumd, was of English
descent, born in Montreal, and speaking French like a
native. As the sunnner waned the symptoms of revolt
increased. The Frencli tri-colour and c^agle appeared, and
turbulent mobs of " Patriots " or of " Sons of Liberty •'
sang revolutionary soners. At length an armed collision
with the loyalists in the streets of Montreal (November Gth,
1837), in which shots were fired, windows broken, and the
office of the Vindicator, a radical pai)er, wrecked, although
no one was killed, brought matters to a crisis.
The insurgents rendezvoused at St. Charles and St. Denis,
on the Richelieu, where there was considerable disaffection
among the population. On the 23rd of November, Colonel
Gore, with three hundred men and only one cannon, at-
tacked Dr. Nelson, and a large body of rel)els, at the latter
place. Papineau, on the first appearance of dangei', deserted
his dupes and fled over the b(3rder into the United States.
Nelson, strongly posted in a large stone brewery, maintained
a viijorous defence. Gore'^ connnand, worn out with a
long march through November rain and mire, out-numbered
and without artilleiy for battering the stone walls, was com-
pelled, after six hours' fighting, to retreat.
Two days later, Colonel Wetheiall, witli four or five
hundred troops, attacked a thousand rebels under " Gen-
eral " Brown, at St. Charles. After a brief resistance the
rebels fled, leaving a number of slain. Nelson now fled
1838
110 LOUD DURHAM, GOVKUNOK-OENERAL. [1838
ff
fi'oiu St. Denis, but after ten days' skulking in the snowy
woods was caught, and, with muny other rebel prisoners,
lodged in INIontrea^ jail.
Martial law was now picclair^ed. In the middle of
December, Sir John Colborno, with two thousand troops,
left Montreal to attack a thousand insurgents intrenched
at St. Eustache, on the Ottawa. The main body fled, but
four hundred threw themselves into the church and adjacert
buildings. The shot and shells of the cannon soon fired the
roof and battered the walls. Many were killed or wounded,
and many more made prisoners
Lord Gosford was now recalled, though without
any censure of his policy. The Home Government
suspended the constitution of the country, and appointed
the Earl of Durham Governor-General and High Commis-
sioner for the settlement of public aft'airs in the two Cana-
das. He was a nobleman of great political experience, and
had been educated in a liberal school. His personal char-
acter was attractive, and his private hospitality princely.
He was to tii? last degree unmercenary, refusing any recom-
pense for his distinguished services. He was refined and
courteous in manner, but tenacious of his convictions of
duty, and firm in carrying them into execution. On his
arrival in the country, May 27 th, he announced himself as
the friend and arbitrator of the people, without distinction
of party, race or creed. And amply he fulfilled his pledge
in the spirit of the purest and most disinterested statesman-
ship. He appointed a commission of inquiry into the state
0£ the country, and redressed many grievances in the public
administration. An amnesty was granted to the great mass
of the rebel prisoners, which was appropriately proclaimed
on the day appointed for the coronation of the maiden
Queen — June 14th. Humanely unwilling to appeal to the
arbitrament of a court-martial, the Governor banished Wol-
fred Nelson and eight other leading insurgents to Bermuda
— a light penalty for their crime — and forbade Papineau
and other fugitive rebels to return to the country, under
pain of death.
The Imperial Parliament, however, annulled the ordinance
as ultra vires, but indemnified the Governor and Council for
their well meant but unconstitutional act. The proud and
sensitive earl resigned his commission, and returned to
the
tial
[1838
1838]
REBELLION SUPPRESSED.
Ill
England a broken-hearted and dying man. His report on
the state of Canada is a monument of elaborate and impar-
tial research, and prepared the way for the union of the
provinces, and the subsequent prosperity of the country.
The departure of the Earl of Durham was the signal for
fresh outbreaks. The Habeas Corpus Act was again sus-
pended, and troops were distributed through the disaffected
regions to protect the loyal inhabitants. On Sunday, No-
vember 5th, an attack was made on the Indian village of
Caughnawaga for the purpose of seizing the arms and stores
deposited there. The Christian Indians, rushing out of the
church in which they were assembled, raised the war-whoop,
and captured sixty-four of the attacking party.
Robert Nelson, a brother of the exiled revolutionary
leader, crossed the frontier with a large body of rebel
refugees and American sympathizers, and proclaimed a
Canadian republic. On the 9th of November, two hundred
militia at Odelltown, posted in the Methodist church, kept
at bay a thousand of the insurgents, and drove them over
the border, with the loss of several killed and wounded.
The revolt was promptly crushed, but with extreme severity.
The rash and infatuated outbreak of the deluded habi-
tants was the cause of much bloodshed and misery, and
was utterly unjustifiable by their circumstances. They en-
joyed a larger degree of liberty than did their race in any
other country in the world, and every possible concession of
the Imperial Government to their requests was met only by
more unreasonable demands. The duped and ignorant peo-
ple were lured on to destruction by restless and designing
demagogues, who in the hour of danger abandoned them to
their fate, seeking selfish safety in flight.
( 112 )
CHAPTER XXV.
THE REBELLION-UPPER CANADA.
Silt Francis lu n Head, Governor of Upper Canada— 1836. Ho takes
bides with the Family Compact —Macltonzio defeated at tlio i)olls—
Ho ruslics into rebellion -1837. Seditions Gatherings— Rebel l*lans
—Apathy of the Government— The Kkndkzvous at Gallows Hill
—The Alarm in Toronto— Rally of the Citizens, December 4th— Death
of Colonel Moodio— Ni[jht attack of the rebels— Van Esmond's
exploit— TlEBELS ROUTED AT Gallows Hill, December 7th.
We now proceed to trace the contemporary events in the
upper province. The great majority of the liberal party in
Upper Canada sought reform only by constitutional meas-
ures. A small minority were betrayed into rebellion by
party leaders stung to resentment by the disappointment of
their hope of radical changes. The ma.,s of the population
maintained an unshaken loyalty, and the revolt was sup-
pressed almost entirely by the volunteer militia, without
the aid of Imperial troops.
The agent chosen by the Home Government to calm the
increasing political agitation of Upper Canada was by no
means well adapted for that purpose. Sir Francis Bond
Head was a half -pay Major and Poor-Law Commissioner,
known to fame chiefly as a sprightly writer and dashing
horseman, who had twice crossed the pampas of South
America from Buenos Ayres to the Andes. His military
training and somewhat impulsive temperament rather un-
fitted him for the performance of the civil duties which the
critical relations of parties in the province made necessary.
On his arrival at Toronto, in January, 1836, he was almost
immediately involved in the political strife that agitated the
colony. Mackenzie, th^^- most radical and extreme of the
Reform party, had been elevated by the persecution of the
Family Compact into the position of a popular leader, for
which neither his talents nor his weight of character
adapted him. Moderate Reformers, of the Robert Baldwin
stamp, were left behind by tlie more violent agitator and
his allies. Sir Fiancis, unjustly attributing to the whole
Reform party the extreme views of the latter, threw him-
self into the arms of the Family Compact, and adopted
1<S37]
irs37]
OUTimEAK OF THE REVOLT.
113
those principles of irresponsible achninistnition against which
the Reformers had Ihmmi so long contending.
Conctwing that the very principles of 'the liritish con-
stitution were at stak(^, he threw himself actively into th(^
political contest. By published addresses and popular
harangues, he so roused the loyal enthusiasm of the people
that the Reform party was badly beaten at the polls, and
its leaders were excluded from Parliament. Mackenzie
seems now to have abandoned all hopc^ of the redress of
political grievances by constitutional means, and to have
secretly resolved to have recourse to violence to accomplish
his purpose.
A dispatch from the Colonial Office instructed the Gover-
nor to form a responsi])le executive by calling to his Coun-
cil representatives who possessed the confidence of the
people. But, misled by the apparent success of his policy,
he declined to make these concessions, which would have
satisfied all moderate Reformers. Thus the extreme wing,
composed of partizans of Mackenzie, became more and more
exasperated, and prepared for the subsequent revolt.
Mackenzie, soured and disappointed, now joined hands
with Papineau in the desperate scheme of revolt. By sedi-
tious articles in his paper, and Vjy inflammatory speeches
throughout the country, he incited his partizans to insur
rection. Sir Francis Bond Head, with a chivalric confi
dence in the loyalty of the people, allowed Sir John Col
borne to withdraw all the soldiers from Upper Canada to
repress the menaced outbreak in the lower province. Em-
boldened by impunity and by the removal of the troops, the
rebel faction armed and drilled with assiduity. As no overt
act could be proved against Mackenzie, the Governor, ap-
parently unaware of the imminence of the danger, made no
effort for his arrest nor for the prevention of the outbreak.
In the month of November, Mackenzie, Rolph, Morrison
and other insurrectionary leaders, arranged at a secret con-
clave at Toronto the plan of operations. The rebels wore
to rendezvous on Yonge Street, near Toronto, on the night
of December the 7th. They were then to march on the
city, seize four thousand stand of arms deposited at the
City Hall, and rally their sympathizers among the inhabi-
tants. Through the precipitance of Dr. Rolph, the time for
the sittack wt^s qhanged from the 7th tQ the 4th of Pegew-
114
ATTACK ON TOllONTO.
[18,S7
hvr. Oi» tli.it (lat(5 al)out four liundrcd imporfoctly ann(3(l
iiisurg(M^ts ass(Mii))l(^d at Monti,'onHM'y's tavern, four miles
from Toronto. 'IMa(;ktui/ie wished to make a sudden assault,
whicli \v(.ul(l pi'oliahly have pl.'iced the city in his power,
hut it WMS (U^eid(;(l to wait for reinforcenuMits. Tlie rel)el
loadc'* Mild tliree or four others advanced toward the city to
10 ,;tre. They met and captui'ed two mounted citizens,
Messrs. Powell and Macdonald, who were patrollin*; the
road. These, shooting one of their guards, escaped and
gave the alarm. The (lovernor was roused from bed and
jiis family i)lnced for safety on a steamboat in tlie harbour.
The alarm bells rang. Loyal volunteers hastened to guard
the City iiall. Pickets were posted, and the city put in a
state of defence against a surprise.
Colonel Moodie, a retired half-pay oflicer, riding to the
city to apprise the authorities of tlie rising, was stopped by
a rebel guard. Rashly tiring his j)istol, he was immediately
shot by one of the insurgents, and died in a couple of hours.
On both sides blood had now been shed, and a bitter civil
strife seemed pending.
The next day the Governor, to gain time, sent Robert
Baldwin and Dr. Rolph, who had hitherto concealed his
treason, with a Hag of truce to inquire the demands of the
insurgents. Dr. Rolph, it is said, secretly advised them to
wait till dark, and promised them the aid of a large number
of sympathizers in Toronto. Under cover of night they
approached the city, but were fired on by a loyalist picket,
concealed behind a fence. After firing a volley, the rebels
turned and fled headlong. Mackenzie in vain attempted to
rally the flying mob. They refused to renew the attack,
and most of them threw away their weapons — the evidences
of their crime — and hastened to seek safety at their homes.
The following day Mackenzie could muster only five hun-
dred men. Dr. Rolph and others implicated in the revolt
fled to the United States. The loyal militia throughout
the country, clad in frieze, and armed with old flint-locks,
pikes, and even pitchforks, hastened to the capital for its
defence. Colonel McNab, at Hamilton, on hearing of the
revolt, seized a steamboat lying at the wharf, and in three
hours it was under weigh, crowded with the gallant men of
Gore.
Van Egmond, who had been a, colonel in the French
[18:j7
1837]
UEI'.KI.LION SUPIMIESSED.
115
\y ariiu;^
our miles
II assault,
is power,
riio nO)el
10 city to
1 citi/eiis,
)llin^ the
i\hh\ and
IuhI and
harbour.
to guard
put ill a
ig to the
oppcd })y
mediately
of hours,
tter civil
it Robert
sealed his
ds of the
them to
;e number
ight they
st picket,
he rebels
iiiipted to
le attack,
evidences
jir homes.
five hiin-
bhe I'cvolt
iroughout
lint-locks,
al for its
ig of the
in three
it men of
e French
army during the wars of Napoleon, now took military com
mand of the rebels. On the morning of th(^ 7th, he fired
the Don bridge, and captured the Montreal mail. Abimt
noon, Colonel McNab, with a large body of nien and two
fit^l(l-piec(;s, advanced against the rebels, who were postcnl
in partial cover of a wood at MontgonKM-y's tav(;rn, or (fal-
lows Hill, as it was called. The loyalists op(med a sharp
tiro of musketry and ai'tillery. After a short resistance
the insurgents fled, leaving Ixihind a number of wounded.
Mackenzie, an outlawed fugitive, with a reward of ,£1,000 on
his head, skulkc^d through tlit; wintry woods, and after many
hairbreadth escapes, got across the frontier into thes United
States. Ill a week the rebellion was crushed, and the mus-
ter of ten thousand gallant militiamen — lli^formers and
Conservatives alike — who had rallied amid frost and snow,
demonstrated the unshaken loyalty of the people to the
Iji'itish crown.
Shortly after, an attempted rising in the London district,
under Dr. Duncombe, a political disciple of Mackenzie,
was promptly suppressed by the loyal militia under Colonel
McNab, and the leader lied over the border.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE «' PATRIOT" WAR.
Border Ruffians seize Navy Island, December 13th— 1837. Mackenzie
proclaims "The Republic op Uppek Canada" — Capture and
destruction of the Caroline, December 28tlx— Sir Francis liond Ifead
recalled— Succeeded by Sir George Arthur— 1838. Sir George adopts
a coercive policy -Executions and transportations— Von Sciiultz
seizes Stone Mill, at Prescott, November 11th— Battle of Wind-
mill Point, November 16th— The rebels routed and leaders hanged.
The rebel leaders ought now to have seen the hopelessness
of their revolt. Their subsequent military organization and
wanton invasion of the province were utterly without palli-
ation or excuse. The Ameiican Government was guilty of
grave dereliction of duty in permitting its frontier to be
made a base of hostile operations against an unoflfending
116
CAI'TIJIUO l)F "TlIK CAUOLINE.
u
LlcS37
1 838 J
iioi«;hl)our. S(icrot socieiirs, known aH " ITuiitors' IiO(l<j;os,"
wtu'o organized in many of ilw, Anici'ican hoi'chir towns for
tlu) purpose) of ai<lin<; tlu^ Canadijui llclx'llion. Aiuon^
lIuMr nuMnl)(*rs were a nuniher of Canadian refu^(H's, but tlio
greater part were American citizens. Mackenzie, Kolpli,
and otlier insur«^(Uit leaders, ori^ani/ed an " Kxecutive Com-
mitt(H; " at l)ufi'alo, foi- tlu^ pui'pos(M)f dii-ecting th(^ invasion
of Uppcu" Canada. Tliey otlei'iul a ivwai'd of Jj^)00 for tiio
capture of Sir F^'ancis r)ond Head, and genei'ous prizes of
land to all volunteers foi- tin; "Crand Army of Liberation."
On the l.'Hli of l)ecen»l)er, 1SIJ7, a mob, describeil by a
lUittalo paper as *'a wretclied rabl)le, ready to cut any
man's throat for a dollar," undin* the command of a border
rullian named Van Renssela<»r, took possi^ssion of Navy
Island, about two miles above the Falls of Niagara. Ifere
Mackenzie proclaimed the " Hc^public of Upp(»r Canada,"
and invited recruits. Few Canadians joined his standard,
but about a thousand fi-ontier vagabonds, intent on plunder,
collected together. They were supplied with artillery and
stores taken from the United States arsenal. They threw
up entrenchments of logs, and opened fire on the Canadian
shore.
An American steamer, the Caroline, was actively engaged
in transporting men and stores to Navy Island. Colonel
McNab, after remonstrance with the American authorities,
resolved on her capture. On the night of December 28th,
Lieutenant Drew, with a l)oat party, gallantly cut her out
from under the guns of Fort Schlosser. Unable, from the
strength of the current, to tow her across the river, he or-
dered her to be fired and abandoned in the rapids. She glided
swiftly down the stream and swept grandly over the cata-
ract. In this atl'air five of the " patriots," it is said, were
killed and several wounded. The capture of the Caroliyie
was strongly denounced by the United States authorities,
and it seemed for a time as if it would embroil the two
nations in war. It was certainly extenuated, however, by
the strong provocation received, and was subsequently
apologized for by the British Government. Sir Jolni Col-
.000 borne reinforced the Upper Canadian frontier, and
compelled the evacuation of Navy Island.
Although the loyalty of the Canadians had been so amply
(jemonstrE^ted, yet, in uttqr defiance of international comity,
simidta
(Jlevela
jealous)
and v\H
maraud
The
att(Mid«'
by the
grievan
ti'itling
On his
stormy
was coi
vation
literatu
in th(^ )
Sir t
cive po
governi
He rul(
tliy for
The jai
oners, i
to the (
he said,
have a
Lount
regret (
Lord
and wii
effusior
their S(
peniten
and the
their f
suspect
countn
Duri
the l.)oi
Johnst
steame
rence.
[1S37
1838]
STERN IIKTIUHUTION.
117
ivviis for
Aiiioii^
, but tlio
Holph,
vo Com-
iiiviisiou
for tlici
)ri/('S of
M-.itioii."
I'd by ;i
cut any
L border
)f Navy
If«U'0
anada,"
bandard,
p hinder,
lery and
!y throw
Canadian
engaged
Colonel
liorities,
er 2StIi,
her out
Toni the
;', he or-
le glidt^d
he cata-
id, were
larolhie
liorities,
the two
3ver, by
'quently
>hn Col-
iei", and
3 amply
comity,
simultaneous at lacks on Canada were oi'ganized at- Drtr'oit,
(/leveland, Sandusky, \V'at<'rt()wn, and in Vei'inont. Tlie
jealousy and (juarrc^ls of the eofnmandcM's, and th(» vigilance
and energy of the? (Canadians, frustrated tht; designs of tlm
marauders.
'I'he administration of Sir Francis IJond I lead being
att(!nded by such disasti'ous circumstances, he was recaih-d
by th(! Home ( Jovei'iiment. lie was accused of intensifying
gi'ievances when \w. might have I'cdresscd them, and of
trilling with thtj i-ebfllion whrn h(^ might have prevented it.
On his retui'U to England he published a nai'rativ(» of the
stormy events of his administration, whicli by his friends
was consid(U"ed an exoneration, a!\d by his enemies an aggi-a-
vation of his acts, ile subsecjuently devoted himself to
literature, in which he was remarkably successful, and died
in tlm year 187.5, at tlu; advanced age of eighty-two.
Sir (jreorg(! Aithur, the wvw Governoi', adopted the coer-
cive policy of his pr(Klecessor. Ife was pionioted from the
governnumt of th(? penal coh^ny of Van l)iemen's Land.
Ke ruled with a iirm and heavy hand, having litth^ sympa-
thy for the now acce}»ted theory of r(!sponsibl(> gov(!rnment.
The jails of the province were crowdcnl with political pris-
oners, for whose pardon numerous pt^titions were presented
to the Governor. His reply was a sharp re))uke. Reform,
he said, had been the cloak of their ciimes, and they should
have an impartial trial — no more. Two of the leaders,
Lount and Matthews, were hanged at Toronto, amid the
regret of many loyal subjects.
Lord Cllcnelg, the Colonial Secr(!tary, now humanely
and wisely interposed his influence to prevent the needless
effusion of blood. ]\lany persons condennied to death had
their sentence connnuted to imprisomiKnit in the provincial
pcaiitentiary, or to transportation to Van Diemim's J^and,
and the less culpable ones were released on giving bonds for
their future good conduct. i\Iany, however, who were
suspected of sympathy with the rebellion, fled from the
country.
During the sunnuer several raids were made from over
the border. On the night of May 28th, the notorious " J>ill
Johnston," with half a hundred fcllow-rufllans, l)oarded the
steamer Sir Rohcrt Peel^ at Well's Island, on the St. Law-
rence. The passengers were driven ashore in a stormy
118
BATTLE OF WINDMILL POINT.
night, and the steamer, one of the finest on the river, was
piHaged and set on fire Johnston and his gang eluded
pursuit amid the labyrinth of the Thousand Islands.
On the loth of November, a body of "patriots," under
Von Schultz, a Polish refugee, landed at Windmill Point,
near Prescott. The windmill, a circular stone building of
itnmense strength, flanked by several stone dwelling-houses,
offered a very formidable defence. A force of about five
hundred men, under Colonel Young of the regular army,
advanced against the invading brigands. Two armed
steamers patrolled the river, and prevented the arrival of
reinforcements or the escape of the enemy. Driven from
post to post with severe loss, the invaders took shelter in
the windmill, and adjacent buildings. The besiegeu had to
aM^ait the arrival of artillery from Kingston. Meanwhile
the "patriots" remained for three days ingloriously hennned
in, unable to escape, artd then surrendered at discretion.
Von Schultz and Um others of the brigands were subse-
quently executed at ICingston by sentence of court martial ;
others wei-e transported, but most of them were pardoned
and released.
Thus in disaster and defeat ended the utterly unwar-
rantable " patriot " war, waged for the most part by law-
less American banditti upon a population loyal, with few
exceptions, to their native or adopted country; and even
when desiring a reform in its institutions, seeking it only
by constitutional means. The interruption of peaceful in-
dustry and the large military expenditure caused by these
wanton invasions, greatly retarded the prosperity of the
country ; and the criminal abetting of the outrage on (vaiia-
dian territory by American citizens was the cause of much
international ill-feeling and bitterness.
er, was
eluded
under
Point,
ding of
liouses,
)ut five
army,
armed
'ival of
n from
3lter in
; had to
in while
lemmed
cretion.
} subse-
iiartial ;
irdoned
unwar-
by law-
ith few
id even
it only
:eful in-
)y these
of the
n (^aiia-
f much
( 119 )
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE UNION OF THE CANADA.^.
A "Family Compact" in Nova Scotia -Joskimi ITowK a popular tribnrlo
— Struggle for Responsible Government— 1837. Boundary I)is()uto
— Ashburton Treaty— Hon. Charles Poulett Thompson, Governor-
General- 1839. The Union r>iLL passks (Colonial and Impkkial
Pakliaments — Phovisigns of the Union Act— Kesponhiblk
Government Guaxted— 1840.
The maritime provinces, concurrently with the rebellion
in the Canadas, were agitated by a good deal of political
excitenient. The general causes of discontent were similar,
but they did not lead to any of the acts of violence which
unhappily took place in the western provinces.
In Nova Scotia, Joseph Howe, the son of a U. E. Loyal-
ist, became the champion of popular rights. A shi-ewd
and vigorous journalist, and a ready and eloquent speaker,
"Joe Howe," as he was familiarly called, wielded immense
influence throughout the province. In his place in the
Assembly, on the pul)lic rostrum, and through the columns
of his journal, lie thundered against the oligarchy that gov-
erned the province. Sir Colin Campbell, the future hero of
Alma, Balaclava, and Lucknow, who administered the gov-
ernment during the greater part of this stormy period, was
succeeded by Lord Falkland, whose high notions of vice-
regal prerogative were the occasion of much popular dis-
content.
The dispute as to the New Brunswick frontier was not
yet settled. The King of the Netherlands, to whom the
decision had been referred, had given the lion's share of the
debatable ground to the United States. That country,
however, refused to be bound by the award. Lawless per-
sons invaded the disputed territory ; armed collisions oc-
curred ; and the frontier settlements were ablaze with
excitement. Cjrovernor Fairfield, of Maine, ordered eighteen
hundred militia to the border, and called upon th(! state
for ten thousand men — horse, foot, and ai'tillery. Sir John
Harvey, the Governor of New Brunswick, asserted by pro-
clamation the right of Great Britain to protect the dis|)uted
and sent two regiments to watch tlic Main©
territory.
1^0
Boundary tJisptJTti.
[ia^9
militia. Volunteers flocked to the Britisli standard. The
legislature of Nova Scotia, amid an unwonted scene of
patriotic enthusiasm, and witli an outburst of hearty British
cheers, voted £100,000 for the defence of the frontier, and
placed a strong force of militia at the disposal of the mili-
tary authorities.
Considerable excitement was roused in the United States.
That belligerent statesman, Daniel Webster, declared that
the American Government should seize the disputed pro-
perty unless Great Britain would abide by the treaty of
1783. President Van Buren, however, with praiseworthy
moderation, advocated the peaceable arrangement of the
difficulty. General Winfield Scott was sent to the border
to settle the dispute. He countermanded all hostile demon-
strations and opened a friendly correspondence with the
British Governor, who had been an old antagonist at Stony
Creek and Lundy's Lane.
Both parties now withdrew from the contest, and referred
the matter to l!^ord Ashburtoii and Daniel Webster, as com-
missioners for tlieir respective countries. The award, given
in 1842^ yielded the larger and more valuable territory to
the United States, to the intense chagrin of the colonists,
who conceived that tlieir rights were sacrificed to Imperial
interests. The Ashburton treaty also fixed the forty-fifth
parallel as the dividing line of latitude westward from the
disputed territory to the St. Lawrence, and the forty ninth
parallel as the boundary from the Lake of the Woods to the
Gulf of Georgia, on the Pacific. The central line of the
great lakes and their connecting rivers completed the
boundary. An important article of the treaty also pro-
vided for the extradition from either country, upon suffi-
cient evidence of criminality, of persons charged with
" murder, piracy, arson, robbery, or forgery."
Lord Durham's report on the state of the Canada" '^id
meanwhile been submitted to tl Imperial Parliament. Its
wise and liberal suggestions greatly tended to the pacifica-
tion of public feeling in the colonies. It urged the principle
of the dependence of the executive upon the representatives
of the people, and prepared the way for the establishment
of responsible government. It proposed the union of he
provinces in oi'der to restore the balance of power between
the French and English races, and to remove the commer-
[iai9
The
cene of
British
ier, and
le mili-
States.
•ed that
ed pro-
eaty of
worthy
of the
! border
demon-
ith the
t Stony
[•eferred
as com-
^, given
itory to
)lonists,
niperial
I'ty-fifth
oni the
y-ninth
s to the
of the
;ed the
so pro-
n sulfi-
d with
la" 'id
it. Its
lacifica-
"inciple
tatives
shnient
of he
etween
)mnier-
1841]
tNTON BILL.
121
cial difficulties between Upper and Lower Canada. It
suggested a federal union of all the colonies, and the con-
struction of an intercolonial road as a link l)etween them.
Sir John Colborne, the successor of Lord Durham as
Governor-General, had effectually suppressed the rebellion,
and left the province in an efficient state of defence.
He was succeeded by the Hon. Charles Poulett Thompson,
a statesman of liberal opinions, of great tact and judgment,
and of wide financial experience. The Home ministry had
determined on the union of the two Canadas, and on the
acknowledgment in the new constitution of the principle of
responsible government.
The Union Bill having passed the legislatures of the two
provinces, was ratified by the Imperial Parliament, and took
effect the 10th of February, 1841.
The Act of Union provided that there should be one
Legislative Council and one Legislative Assembly, in which
each province should be equally represented. The Legisla-
tive Council to be composed of not less than twenty life
members, appointed by the crown. The Assembly of eighty-
four members, elected by the people. The great object of
years of contention was secured — the control by the repre-
sentatives of the people of all the public revenues.
Mr. Thompson was raised to the peerage, with the title
of Lord Sydenham of Kent and Toronto, and assumed the
vice-royalty of the united provinces.
CHAPTER XXVITL
RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT.
Inauguration of new Constitution— 1S41. Kingston becomes the seat
of Government— Adoption of the "Donblc Maiority" Principle-
Sir Charles Bagot, Governor Gen. ai— 1842. Sir Charles Metcalfe,
Governor-General— 1843. Constitutional Struggle — Montreal
becomes the seat of Government— 1844. Death of Lord Mctcalfo—
Earl of Cathcart, Administrator of Government -1845. Rebellion
Losses Agitation in Upper and Lower Canada— 1846.
The Legislature assembled in the city of Kingston, which
had been selected as the new seat of government. To
counteract the dominant influence of the French members,
9
122
LOUD SYDENHAM.
[1841
the principle of " Jouble majority," as it was ca^ied, was
introduced. This required not merely a majority of the
whole House for the support of the Government, but also a
majoi'ity of the representatives of each province separately.
The application of this principle, while often a safeguard
against sectional domination, frequently led to sectional
jealousy, and sometimes to the retarding of needful legis-
lation.
Lord Sydenham, however, was not permitted to witness
the full I'esult of his labours, nor the triumph of that system
of responsible government which he had assisted in intro-
ducing. \Vhile out ridingj the fall of his horse fractured
his leg. His constitution, never robust, and now under-
mined by his zeal in the discharge of public duty, was un-
able to withstand the shock. After lingering in great pain
a few days, he sank beneath liis injuries, September 19th,
1S41. He was buried, by his own request, in the land to
whose welfare he devoted the last energies of his life. No
columned monument perpetuates his memory ; but the
constitutional privileges which we to-day enjoy, and the
peace and prosperity which resulted from the union of the
Canadas, which he laboured so strenuously to bring about,
constitute an imperishable claim upon our esteem and
gratitude.
The new Governor-General, Sir Charles Bagot, arrived
January 10th, 1842. lAlio. his predecessor, he was not long
pern\itted to discharge his official duties. He died at
Kingston, i^rcatly r(\gretted, sixteen months after his ar-
rival. May loth, 1843.
Sir Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, the new Governor-Gen-
eral of Canada, had risen, by the sheer force of his energy and
talent, from the position of a writer in the East India civil
service to that of Acting Governor-General of India, and
afterwards to that of Governor of Jamaica. His adminis-
trative experience in these countries, where the prerogatives
of the crown were unquestioned, was no special qualification
for the constitutional government of a free country like
Canada. The right of patronage and of appointment to
office he conceived was vested in himself as representative
of the crown, for the exercise of which he considered him-
self responsible only to the Imperial Parliament. This
principle was incompatible with the colonial theory of re-
[1841
(1, was
of the
also a
rately.
eguarcl
ctional
legis-
vitness
system
intro-
ctured
under-
ras un-
it pain
• 19tli,
and to
3. No
ut the
nd the
of the
about,
m and
I r rived
ot long
ied
[lis
at
ar-
►r-Gen-
gy and
ia civil
ia, and
Iminis-
jatives
ication
y like
Bnt to
itative
d him-
This
of re-
1840]
PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
123
sponsible government; and the appomtment of ccitain mem-
bers of the Conservative party to official position, without
the advice or consent of his ministers, was the ground of
grave dissatisfaction. In 1844, the seat of government was
removed to Montreal.
A teri'ible malady from which Lord Metcalfe suffered —
a cancer in the ffice — caused him to request his recall. He
returned to Eni.'^land in Noveml)er, and shortly after his
arrival died, greatly r(^grettc^.. His munificent liberality
and many personal virtues commanded the respect ven of
those who condemned his political acts.
The Earl of Cathcart, Connnander-in-Chief of Her Ma-
jesty's forces in Canada, was appointed administrator ot the
government on the resignation of Lord Metcalfe. He ob-
served a wise neutrality between the almost evenly-balanced
political parties.*
The subject of public school education had from time to
time received legislative attention, ai 1816, an Act was
passed by the Parliament of Upper Canada for the estab-
lishment of common schools. They were as yet, however,
very insuilicient in number and defective in character. In
1846, the important duty of reorganizing the connnon school
system of Upper Canala was e]itrusted to a gentleman
eminently qualified for the task, who has identified his
name for ever with the history of popular education in his
native province.
The Rev. Egerton Ryerson, LL.D., the son of a United
Empire Loyalist, was the youngest of three brothers, who
all, by their force of character, rose to eminence in the
ministry of the Methodist Church. Having been appointed
Chief Superintendent of Education for Upper Canada, he
continued for more than thirty years to devote his energies
to the development of the school system of the country,
crossing the ocean many times in order to examine the edu-
cational systems of Europe, and incorporating their best fea-
tures in that of his native province. Under the fostering
* Twice, with the interval of a month, in 1845, the city of Quebec was ravajjed by
fire. Twenty-four tliousand persons were rendered houseless, and several lives
were lost. Half a million of dollars was contributed by sympathizers in Great
Britain, and nearly half as much iti Can-ida and the United States. The American
people promptly and generously sent a shipload of provisions and cloth in j>- to the
foodless and shelterless multitude -an act of international charily that should
be remembered when the record of international strife and bloodshed shall be for-
gotten.
124
LORD ELGIN.
[1847
influence of the wise and liberal legislation of successive
paritanients, the pu])lic school system of Upper (Canada Ij^s
become one of the noblest of our institutions, the ad*Hi«ction
of travellers from older lands, and one of the surest guar-
antees of our future national prosperity.
CHAPTER XXIX.
RE?»ELLTON LOSSES AGITATION.
Lord Elgin, Govornor-Gcncral— Irish faiiiino and vast cnii*c:rat,ion to
Canada— 1847. Lower Canadian IIkhki.lion Lossks Hill intro-
ducod— Lord Elgin gives his assent to the liill— TiiK Pakliamknt
IJuiLDixfJS AUK ]iUKNKn, July 26th— 1849. Rioting suppressed by
the military— The seat of Government transferred to Toronto and
Quebec alternately— The Bill sustained by the Imperial Parliament.
In the year 1847, Lord Elgin \vas appointed Governor-
General of Canada. He was a son-in-law of the Earl of
Durham, and shared his liberal sentiments regarding colo-
nial administration. His sound judgment, conciliatory
manners, and connnanding ability, enabled him to over-
come formidable opposition, and to become one of the most
honoured representatives of Her Majesty that ever admin-
istered the affairs of the province.
The Rebellion Losses Bill, and the secularization of the
clergy reserves, the latter of which especially was strongly
advocated by the Reform party, were now prominent topics
of public discussio; *
The general elections of 1848 resulted in a large Reform
majority. On the opening of Parliament, February 25th,
the Draper ministry resigned, and Messrs. Baldwin and
♦The year 1847 was characterized by an unprecedented imniiu^ration from Ireland.
In consequence of the failure of the potato crop throuH'li rot, a famine well niyli
decimated that land. An exodus of a larj^e portion o its population took place,
seventy thousand of whom reached Quebec before the 7th of August this year.
Every possible provision was made by public and private charity for the relief of
their necessities, but multitudes died from exposure and fever. Immij^rant sheds
and hospitals, erected by the Government, were crowded t > overflowinji', arid many
slept in the open air by the roadsides, or beneath rude blanket tents. A relief fund
was established on behalf of the famine-stricken sufferers who still remained in
Ireland, to which all classes liberally contributed, even the Indian tribes on their
reserves, and the poor coloured people of the province, many of whom had not long
escaped from bondagfe.
[1847
1S49]
JiEUELLION LOSSES HILL.
125
Lafontaino wore entrusted with the task of foi'iuing a
Libei'al cal)inet. The new ministi-y was composed of four
French and four liritisli nienilnu'S — Messrs. Lafontaine,
Caron, Viger, and Taehe ; and Messrs. Ualdwin, llincks,
Cameron, and JJlake. This was a full and final constitu-
tional recognition of the principle of resp'Misihle government.
One of the earliest acts of the lialdwin-Lafontaine ad-
ministration, on the meeting of Parliament, Januaiy 18th,
1819, was th(; introduction of the " Ilebellion Losses Bill."
Jt authorized the raising of £100,000 by debentures for
indemnifying those persons in Lower Canada wliose pro-
perty had been destroyed by the rebels in the unhappy
events of 1837, and for whom no provision had been made
in the bill of 1846, introduced hy the Draper ministry.
The measure was vehemently denounced by the Opposi-
tion, as being actually a premium on rebellion, as parties
who had been implicated in the revolt might, under its pro-
visions, I'oceive compensation for losses sustained. " No
pay to rebels" was the popular cry. The excitement be-
came intense. A British Xortli American League was
formed for the express purpose of breaking up the Union.
To escape from French domination, as it was called, a
confederation with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was
proposed, failing which, the leaders of the League avowed
their purpose of throwing themselves into the arms of th(i
United States — rash words, which l)ecame the occasion of
the taunt of disloyalty from their opponents.
The ministry, however, sustained by a strong majority,
determined to face the storm, and the bill passed both
Plouses. It was thought that Lord i'^lgin, intimidated by
the violent opposition manifested, would not venture to
give his assent to the bill, ])ut would either veto it or
i-eserve it for the consideration of the ilome CJovernment.
This latter course would probably have been the better,
as allowing time for the popular excitement to become
allayed. But however violent the minority opposed to the
bill, how(!ver high and influential their position, the min-
istry by which it was proposed connnaiuled the majority of
both branches of the Legislature and the confidence of the
country. Tt was the crisis of responsible government, and
Lord Elgin, in spite of the menaced odium of the Opposi-
tion party, determined to act as a coustitutioual Governor,
126
UIOTS IN MONTREAL.
[1849
On tlic 26th of July, he proceeded in state to the Pai'lia-
ment House, on the site where now stands St. Anne's Market,
Montreal, and gave assent to the obnoxious bill. On leav-
ing the building he was received with groans and hootings
by a well-dressed mob about the doors, and his carriage, as
he drove off, was assailed with stones and rotten eggs.
The city was thrown into a ferment. A tumultuous
crowd assembled on the broad parade of the Champ de
Mars to denounce the procedure of the Governor. Violent
speeches were made. The cry was raised, " To the Parlia-
ment House ! " It was now night, and the Assembly was in
session. A number of visitors, including ladies, occupied
the galleries. The rioters rushed into the Assembly cham-
bers ; the ladies and meinl)ers fled into the lobby. A ruffian
seated himself in the Speaker's chair, and shouted, " The
French Parliament is dissolved ! " Chandeliers were shat-
tered, the members' seats and desks broken and piled in the
middle of the floor, and the Speaker's mace carried off. A
fire, kindled by the incendiary mob, raged furiously. The
members strove in vain to save the public records. Before
morning the Parliament House, with its splendid library,
containing many thousands of valuable books and public
records, was a mass of smouldering ruins. The money loss
was more than the entire amount voted by the obnoxious
l>ill ; but who shall estimate the reproach brought upon the
fair fame of the country by this lawless act ?
The Legislative Assembly took refuge in the old Govern-
ment House, and, by a large majority, passed resolutions
approving of the action of the Governor ; which, however,
were strongly resisted by the Opposition. A turbulent meet-
ing in the Champ de Mars passed resolutions for an address
to the Queen, praying her to disallow the obnoxious bill,
and to recall the unpopular Governor-General. Foui* d;iys
later, Lord Elgin was again greeted with showers of stones
in the streets ; nor did the rioting cease till a volley of
musketry intimidated the mob and unfortunately killed one
man.
Parliame' sat no more in Montreal. This outbreak
drove it from the city, and it has never since returned. Tt
was resolved to transfer the seat of government to Toronto
for the next two years, and afterwards to Quebec and
Toronto alternately every four years,
but
[lcS49
Parlia-
/larket,
u leav-
ootings
as
EMANCirATlON OF CANADA.
127
^age,
s.
iiltuous
imp de
Violent
Parlia-
was in
jcupied
' cliani-
rulRan
"The
e sliat-
in the
t)ff. A
. The
Before
ibrary,
public
ley loss
loxious
)on the
Jovern-
lutions
)wever,
t nieet-
iddress
IS bill,
ir d.-iys
stones
lley of
<ed one
tbreak
;d. It
'oronto
jc and
In cons('(jii('ncc of the public censure of his acts, Lord
Elgin tendtMcd his resignation to the Iiiip(M'ial authorities ;
but the Queen and the Home GoverniiKMit exi)i'esse(l their
approval of his coui'se, and reijuested liis continuane*; in
oHice. The Kebellion Losses J^ill was sustained ])y both
Houses of tlie Imperial Parliament ; and Lord l^ilgin, assured
of the personal favour of his sov(M(>ign and advanced a
step in the peerage, continued to adniinister the govern-
ment, and in time won the esteem of even his most ])itter
opponents.
CHAPTER XXX.
THE RAILWAY KUA.
Political and commercial emancipation of Canada— liapid i)r<)jj;ross catusod
by Reciprocity with the United States, Railway and Steauisliip
enterprises, and Municipal Institutions -1860. Postal reform —
Northern Railway begun— Grand Trunk and Great Western Rail-
ways projected -Retirement of Robert Baldwin from the Ministry-
Francis Hincks becomes Premier— His fiscal policy— 1861 . M unicipal
Loan Fund Act— 1862.
From the year 1850, the British North American colonies
may be said to have entered on a new era — to have reached
their political manhood. The period of tutelage, of govern-
ment from Downing Street, had passed away. The right
to the management of their own local affairs was conceded
by the Home authorities, and that of I'esponsible govern-
ment was vindicated in the colonies. The British Govern-
ment reserved only the right of disallowing any acts of
legislation opposed to imperial interests, and on the other
hand assumed the burthen of coloni;il defence. Canada was
thus one of the most lightly taxed arid favourably situated
countries in the world, and offered great inducements to
the influx of capital and immigration, and soon entered
upon a career of remarkable prosperity.
The colonies were permitted to trade freely with any part
of the world, to import as they pleased, subject to a taritF
ffxed by themselves, and to develop home manufactures and
home enterprises as they saw fit, Commercial reciprocity
128
PUOGRKSS OF THE COUNTIIY.
witli tho ITiiitocl States caused an inuiH^nso devclopmont of
international trade, and larcjely increased the valiu; of evei'y
acre of land, of every bushel of wheat, and of every head of
cattle in th(^ country.
This prosperity was further increased by tlw, extraor-
dinary development of Canadian railway enterprises, and
the conscMjuent opcjiing up of new parts of the country and
increased facilities for travel and transport throughout its
entire extent. Facilities for trade? were still further in-
creased by the establishment of the transatlantic line of
steamships. (Quebec and Montreal were thus brought within
speedy and regular communication with ()rreat IJritain, to
the immense commercial advantage of those cities. The in-
troduction and rapid extension of telegi-aphic communica-
tion also greatly facilitated the transaction of business.
The establishment of municipal institutions created an
intelligent interest in the iDcal management of public allairs,
and stimulated a spirit of local enterprise and improvement.
The legalizing of municipal loan funds, the formation of
joint stock companies and expansion of banking institu-
tions, promoted the introduction of capital and its profitable
employment.
The secularization of the clergy reserves and the abolition
of seigniorial tenure removed impediments to material pros-
perity and causes of popular discontent; the consolidation
of the legal code simplified the administration of justice;
and the tliorough organization of the public school system
and growth of newspaper and publishing enterprise contri-
buted to the diffusion of general intelligence.
These important subjects must now be alluded to some-
what more in detail.
In 1850, the seat of government was transferred to To-
ronto. The magnificent system of internal navigation, by
means of the Canadian lakes, rivers and canals, was increased
in value by lighthouses and other improvements, and was
soon to be largely supplemented by an extensive railway
system. The fii'st sod of the Northern Railway of Canada
— the pioneer of Canadian railway enterprises, except a
short section in Lower Canada— was turned amid imposing
ceremonies by Lady Elgin. The Grand Trunk line, con-
necting the lakes with tide water, and the Great Westei'n
Railway, connecting at the Niagara and "^'>troi> ijver^
1852]
UAILWAY DEVELOPMENT.
129
with the railway systoms of the United States, were regarded
as of great practical utility.
The growing political influence of what might be called
the extreme wing of the Reform paity, popularly designated
the "Clear Orits,"from their supposed intense radicalism, led
in 1857 to a reorganization of the cabinet. Mr. Robert Bald-
win retired from office, outvoted on a measure connected
with the Court of Chancery. In the new cabinet were Dr.
Rolph, the former rebel but now pardoned refugee, and
Malcolm Cameron, and Mr. Hincks became premier by
right of his predominant influence in the ministry, and en-
tered upon that fiscal policy which at once so greatly aided
the development of the country and increased its financial
burdens.
In 1852, Quebec became the seat of government. Dur-
ing a busy session of three months, one hundred and ninety-
three acts were duly passed. No less than twenty-eight of
these had reference to railway matters — an evidence of the
enthusiasm which had taken possession of the public mind
on this subject.
Another piece of legislation introduced by Mr. Hincks,
which largely increased the public indebtedness, was the
establishment of the consolidated Municipal Loan Fund for
Upper Canada. The intention, and to a certain degree the
result, of this measure were beneficent. It enabled munici-
palities to obtain money for local improvements, roads,
bridges, and railway construction, which proved of great
and permanent value to the country. Encouraged by the
facilities for raising money, however, some municipalities
rushed into rash expenditure and incurred debts the burden
of which, in consequence of their inability to meet their
engagements, fell upon the Government. The expenditure
under this scheme, and its extension to Lower Canada, soon
increased the public debt by the amount of nearly ten
millions.
During this session, by the Parliamentary Representation
Act, the number of members of the Assembly was raised
from eighty-four to one hundred and thirty — sixty-five for
each province — and the representation Wfis more equitably
distributed territorially.
( 130 ) ,
CHAPTER XXXI.
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION— 1854.
Rkuii'KOCity Treaty concluded, Juno 5th— Its conditions and rosults -
Tlio lliucks Ministry forced to rosinn-Tlio McNab-Morin Coalition
Cabinet formed— State of parties— Tiio Seculauization of this
Cleuqy llESEUVEH-Tlie Aholitkw of Skioniouial Tknuuic—
Resignation of Ijord Elgin— His subsequent career and death -Tho
Crimean War— Battle of the Alma— Canadian sympathy- 1884.
Two prv 'ninent subjects of public interest continued to pro-
voke warm discussion in the political press — the settlement
of the seigniorial tenure and clergy reserve questions. TIio
latter subject was formally surrendered to the Canadian
Parliament for legislation, by the Home Government, May
9th, 1853. The life interests of the existing claimants on
the reserves were, however, in accordance with Lord Syden-
ham's Act, to be strictly protected.
The subject of international reciprocity between Canada
-ijirA ^^^ ^he United States liad ever since the repeal of
the Navigation Laws in 1849 engaged the attention
of both Imperial and colonial authorities. The negotiations
between the two neighbouring countries were now happily
completed. The treaty provided for the free interchange of
the products of the sea, the soil, the forest, and the mine.
The navigation ot the St. Lawrence, the St. John and the
canals, and the inshore fisheries in the British waters, were
conceded to the United States ; and the navigation of Lake
Michigan was thrown open to Canada. By the provisions
of the treaty, it was to continue in force for ten years from
March, 1855, and was then terminable on twelve months*
notice from either party.
To the agricultural population of Canada the treaty was
attended with immense advantage, and gave an important
stimulus to every branch of productive industry. The mari-
time provinces, however, complained that the United States
had nothing to exchange comparable with the valuable
fisheries of their waters; and that while American shipping
was admitted to the same privileges as that of Great Britain,
yet colonial vessels were refused registration in the ports of
the United States or a share of the coasting trade.
1854] SECULAUI/ATION OF CLEIKJY UESEUVKS. LSI
result 8 -
C!oali(i()n
OF TIII'3
'knuuk—
jiiLh - Tho
1804.
I to pro-
itlement
s. Tlio
aiiadian
lit, May
lants on
I Syden-
Oanada
epeal of
ttention
)tiatioiis
happily
lange of
le mine,
and the
rs, were
of Lake
ovisions
irs from
months'
aty was
portant
le mari-
l States
'aluablo
hipping
Britain,
ports of
In consequence of its declining p()})ulaiity, the Hiiicks
ministry was compelled to renigti, and a coalition miiiibtiy
under the leadership of Sir Allan McNub and Morin was
foi'metl.
The policy of the new ministry, however, included
measures for which tluj Reform party had long c()nt(Mid(;d.
Prominent among these was on(^ for tlu; secularization of
the clergy reserves. A hill was tlun-eforc; promptly brought
forward for that pui'pose. Jiy the hill previously introduced
by the Draper administration for the settlemtmt of this
(piestion, the vast revenue arising from these rescu'ves, at
first claimed exclusively for the Church of England, was
proposed to be divided with the Church of Scotland and
other denominations in proportion to their piivate contri-
butions to the support of their clergy. But the principle of
the voluntary support of the ministry by tlu^ people, which
liad \vd to the Free Church secession in Scotland in 1843,
and which had been previously held by other dissenting
bodies, was widely prevalent throughout Canada. The
Government, therefore, although many of their supporters
were opposed to tho principle, were forced to yield to the
popular demand. The clergy reserve lands, originally
amounting to one-seventh of all the crown territory of the
province, were consequently handed over to the various
municipal corporations in proportion to their population, to
be employed for secular purposes. The life interests of the
existing incumbents were commuted, with the consent of
the holders, for a small permanent endownu^nt, and this
long-vexed question was settled forever : the principle of
the perfect religious ecjuality of all denominations in the
eye of the law had finally triumphed.
The other subject urgently demanding legislation related
exclusively to Lower Canada. This was the system of
seigniorial tenure, whose vexatious conditions greatly
ret:4,rded the progress of the country. This system was a
legacy from the old French regime. Much of the land of
New France had been granted to scions of noble houses,
under the feudal conditions obtaining in the Old World, as
previously described. It was chiefly when the population
became more dense and the transfers of property more
frequent that these conditions became oppressively felt,
especially that requiring the payment of one-twelfth of the
132
ABOLITION OF SEIGNIORIAL TENURE. [1854
purchase price of the land to the seignior at every sale, and
the vexatious milling and fishing dues and other conditions
of vassalage imposed on the tenants. The value of these
seigniorial claims had greatly increased, and they could be
equitably abolished only by a commutation from the public
funds of the province, supplemented by certain payments of
the censitaires or small land-holders, in consideration of the
exemptions about to be granted them. The entire expendi-
ture under the authority of this Act was a little over two
and a half million dollars. Thus was abolished, without
violence or revolution as in other lands, the last vestige of
the feudal system in the New World.
The Canada Ocean Steamship Company was also in-
corporated by Act of Parliament, and was aided by a
subsidy of $1,800,000. From this beginning has grown one
of the largest steam fleets that plow the ocean. Direct trade
with Great Britain has been greatly stimulated, and the
city of Montreal has been made one of the great seaports of
the world.
Toward the end of 1854, Lord Elgin resigned the gover-
norship of the province. He had won the lasting esteem
and admiration of a people who had besn largely alienated
in sympathy from his administration. He subsequently
employed his distinguished abilities in the service of his
sovereign, in the discharge of difficult and important mis-
sions in China and Japan. As the highest gift of the
crown, he received in 1862 the appointment of Governor-
General of India ; and the following year, worn out with
excessive labours, he died beneath the shadows of the
Himalayas, leaving behind him the blameless reputation of
a Christian statesman.
The gallant struggle of the Allied Armies against the
hosts of Russia, now in progress, evoked the enthusiastic
loyalty of both Canadas. In almost every town and hamlet
generous donations were contributed to the nation's heroes
who so gallantly maintained her name and fame on a foreign
shore. The illustrious victories of Alma, Balaclava, Inker-
man, and Sebastopol became memories of imperishable
power, and kindled beacoa-fires of joy throughout the land,
from the rock-built citadel of Quebec to t!he remote villages
on the shores of Lake Huron.
1855
[1854
( 133 )
ale, and
iiditions
of these
jould be
e public
Qents of
n of the
jxpendi-
ver two
without
jstige of
also in-
id by a
)wn one
ct trade
a-nd the
ports of
e gover-
esteem
ienated
quently
of his
i,nt mis-
of the
>vernor-
ut with
of the
ition of
nst the
usiastic
hamlet
I heroes
foreign
Inker-
'ishable
le land,
villages
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE COALITION MINISTRY.
Sir Edmund Walker Head, Governor-General— 1855. Parliament meets
at Toronto— Sir Allan McNab resigns leadership to Mr. John A.
Macdonald— Sketch of new Premier's career— The Legislative
Council made Elective— Its Constitution- 1856. Severe Com-
mercial Crisis— 1867. General Election — Reform majority in
Upper Canada — The "Double-Majority" principle abandoned —
Demand for "Representation by Population"- 1868.
Sir Edmund Walker Head, the successor of Lord Eljrin
,j.__ as Governor-General of Canada, was a gentleman of
distinguished scholarship, a prizeman and fellow of
Oriel College, Oxford, and a man of considerable adminis-
trative ability. His first diplomatic appointment was that
of Governor of New Brunswick, from which he was pro-
moted to the position of Governor-General of British North
America.
In 1856, the seat of government was again removed to
Toronto, where Parliament was opened on the 15th of
February. Sir Allan McNab resigned office in order to
make way for the more brilliant leadership of the acting
Attorney-General, IVIr. John A. Macdonald, who subse-
quently filled so prominent a position in Canadian politics.
On the resignation of the Hincks administration, in 1854,
Mr. Macdonald became a member of the coalition ministry
by which it was succeeded, and was now recognized as
the leader of the Conservative party of Upper Canada.
With a considerable degree of administrative skill, he com-
bined a large amount of political tact and sagacity.
Under this Conservative Government was passed a meas-
ure for which the Reform party had long striven, and
which their opponents had resolutely resisted. This was
the Act making the Legislative Council an elective body.
This system was relinquished under the Confederation Act,
but a strong feeling is entertained in favour of its restora-
tion.
The continuance of the Chinese war and the outbreak of
the Sepoy mutiny taxed to the utmost the force of lititain's
arms, and called forth the intense sympathy of Her Ma-
134
DOUBLE MAJORITY.
[1857
jesty's Canadian subjects. The names of the veteran Out-
ram, the gallant Campbell, the chivalric Lawrence, the
saintly Ilavelock, were added to Britain's bead-roll of
immortal memories, to be to her sons an inspiration to
patriotism, to piety, and to duty, forever.
A comparative failure of the wheat crop, coincident with
a depression in the English money market and a commercial
panic in the United States, together with the almost total
cessation of railway construction, produced a financial'crisis
of great severity throughout Canada. The inflated prices
of stocks and real estate came tumbling down, and many
who thought themselves rich for life were reduced to in-
solvency.
The rapid development of the natural resources of the
country, and the elasticity of public credit, however, were
such that, under the Divine blessing, prosperity soon re-
turned to crown with gladness the industry of the merchant,
the artizan, and the husbandman.
Since the uuion of the Canadas in 1840, successive min-
istries had succeeded in carrying their measures by a majority
from each province, in accordance with what was known as
the "double-majority" principle, adopted in order to prevent
either section of the country from forcing unpalatable legis-
lation on the other. The Reform preponderance in the
western province compelled the ministry of Mr. John A.
Macdonald to abandon this " double-majority " principle if
they would continue in office. The Government measures
were therefore carried chiefly by a Lower Canadian minis-
terial majority. This was felt by the Upper Canadian
Opposition to be all the more galling, because the wealth
and population, and consequently the contributions to the
public revenue, of the western province had increased rela-
tively much more than had these, elements of prosperity in
eastern Canada. This soon led to an outcry against what
was designated as "French domination," and the persistent
advocacy of the principle of representation by population
was adopted by the Reform leaders of Upper Canada.
The most conspicuous and influential advocate of this
principle was Mr. George Brown, the editor of the Toronto
■taf^h Globe, a gentleman who, though seldom molding office,
largely contributed tc the moulding of the institu-
tions and political destiny of his adopted country. In 1851
1857
1858]
OTTAWA SELECTED AS THE CAPITAL.
135
Mr. Brown was elected to the representcation of the county
of Kent in the Parliament of Caniicia; and from that time
to his retirement from active public life, subsequent to the
confederation of the British North American provinces, he
occupied a conspicuous place and exerted a powerful influ-
ence in Parliament.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
"REPRESENTATION BY POPULATION."
The Queen selects Ottawa as the permanent Capital— The Opposi-
tion disapprove her choice— A false move— The Ministry resign, and
Mr. Brown forms a Cabinet— He is defeated, and resigns after two
days' tenure of office— The Cartier-Macdonald Ministry formed— Tlic
" Double-Shuffle "—1858. Parliament meets at Quebec— Mr. Brown's
Resolutions in favour of Local Self-government and Joint Au-
thority rejected— Visit of the Princk of Wales— His royal pro-
gress— 1860. Outbreak of War of Secession— Retirement of Sir
Edmund Walker Head— 1861.
A GENERAL election took place early in 1858. The new
Parliament met in Toronto, February 28th. Among its
many new members was Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a former en-
thusiastic Irish patriot, and partner in the seditious schemes
of the insurrectionary leaders, Mitchell and Meagher ; now
returned as the loyal representative of West Montreal. The
country had at length grown tired of the expense and in-
convenience of the removal of the seat of goveininent every
four years from Quebec to Toronto, or vice versa. The selec-
tion of a site for a new capital had been referred for final de-
cision to Her Majesty* the Queen. That decision was now
given in favour of Ottawa. There was much to commend
this choice. The position was remote from the American
frontier. It was picturesquely situated on one of the great
waterways of the country, which formed the dividing line
between the two provinces. It also occupied an important
strategic position, and one of great strength and security in
case of invasion. The disappointment, however, of several
Canadian cities, which had aspired to the dignity of becom-
ing the capital, caused considerable dissatisfaction. Taking
136
CAllTIEll-MACDONALD MINISTRY.
[1858
advantage of this feeling, the Opposition brought forward a
resolution expressing deep regret at Her Majesty's choice,
which was carried by a majority of fourteen. It was a
false move, and placed the Opposition in apparent antagon-
ism to the sovereign. The ministry, identifying their cause
with hers, promptly resigned, and innnediately won a large
amount of public sympathy.
Mr. Brown, as leader of the Opposition, was invited by
the Governor-General to form a cabinet, and acceded to the
request. The new ministry, although containing several
gentlemen held in the highest esteem for ability and in-
telligence,* failed to command a majority of the House,
INIauy of the members repented their rash vote against
the Queen's decision, and, by a division of seventy-one
to thirty-one, the ministry was defeated. Mr. Brown
requested a dissolution of Parliament, in order that he
might appeal to the country; but this His Excellency
declined to grant, alleging that the House, being newly
elected, must reflect the popular will. The ministry there-
fore resigned, after a tenure of office of only two days.
Mr. George E. Cartier, was now invited to construct a
cal)inet. This, with the aid of Mr. John A. Macdonald,
he succeeded in doing, f
A clause in the Independence of Parliament Act pro-
vided that a minister resigning any office might, within a
month, accept another, without going back to his constituents
for re-election. Several members of the late Macdonald
administration who entered the new cabinet took advantage
of this Act by a simple exchange of departmental office.
This action was strenuously denounced by the Keform press,
under the designation of the "double shuffle." It was,
however, on an appeal to the courts, sustained by law ; but
the obnoxious clause of the Act by which it was rendered
valid was shortly aft or rescinded.
The legislation of the parliamentary session which opened
■taKQ on January 29th embraced several important acts.
One of these referred to the consolidation of the
* Its members were Messrs. George Brown, James Morris, Michael Foley, John
Sandfield Macdonald, Oliver Mowat, and Dr. Conner, for Upper Canada ; and for
Lower Canada, Messrs. Dorion, Drummond, Thibaudeau, Lemieux, Holton and
Laberge.
tit comprised Messrs. John A. Macdonald, John Ross, P. Vankoughnefc, O.
Sherwoov' and Sidney ''mith for Upper Canada ; and Messrs. Cartier, Gait, Rose,
Belleau, Sicotte and AUeyn, for Lower Canada.
1860
I860]
THE PRINCE OF WALiES tN CANADA.
137
statutes of Upper and Lower Canada, which was at length
successfully completed, and proved of immense advantage to
all interested in the transaction of legal business. In order
to meet the continued deficit in the revenue, the general rate
of customs duties was advanced to twenty per cent. ; but
manufacturers were increasingly favoured by the admission
of raw staples free of duty. The seat of government ques-
tion was finally set at rest by the authorization of the con-
struction of parliament buildings o* a magnificent character
at the selected capital.
On the 28th of February, the Canadian Legislature as-
1 r.»^ sembled in Quebec, to which city it had for the last
time remo^^^id. The ministry was sustained during
the session jy large majorities, and the House adjourned
May 19th, tr Meet three months later, in order to give a
Siting welcoixie to the Prince of Wales. On July 23rd
H . M. ship Hero, with an accompanying fleet of man-of-war
vessels, bearing the Prince of Wales and suite, reached St.
John's, Newfoundland. The progress of the royal party
was a continued ovation. After visiting Halifax, St. John,
N.B., Fredericton and Charlottetown, they were welcomed
to Canada by the Governor-General and a brilliant suite at
Gaspe. The royal fleet sailed up the gloomy gorge of the
Saguenay, and the thunders of its cannon awoke the imme-
morial echoes of the lofty clifis of Capes Trinity and Eter-
nity. The following day the Prince reached the capital,
and was profoundly impressed with the magnificent site of
the many-ramparted and grand old historic city. While at
Montreal the Prince of Wales drove the last rivet of the
magnificent Victoria Bridge. Bestriding the rapid current
of the St. Lawrence, here nearly two miles wide, on four
and twenty massive piers, it is one of the grandest achieve-
ments of engineering skill in the world.
At Ottawa, on September the 1st, amid as imposing and
picturesque surroundings as any on the continent, was laid
the corner stone of the stately pile, worthy of the site,
which was to be the home of the legislature of a great
dominion. The royal progress through the western penin-
sula was accompanied by no less cordial exhibitions of
loving fealty to the heir of England's crown.
At Detroit, rihicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Washington, Now York, and Boston, the Prince
10
138
WAll OF SECESSION.
of Wales received from a ^eign nation a warmth of wel-
come which proved its uniorgotten chivalric regard toward
the heir of a long line of English kings, and its admiration
of his royal mother — as woman, wife and queen, the para-
gon of sovereigns.
In the United Stjites the war clouds were lowering whicli
were soon to del age the country in blood. The domination
of the slave power at length provoked the firm resistance
of the N')rth. Abraham Lincoln was elected as the tribune
of the friends of liberty. The South refused to bow to this
expression of the popular Ayill. First South Carolina, then
other states, seceded from the Union and organized a con-
federacy based on human slavery. With the close of tlie
year a federal force was besieged in Fort Sumter, guarding
Charleston harbour.
The first shot fired on the flag of the Republic reverber-
Iftn ^*®^ through the nation. North and South rushed
to arms. A royal proclamation, issued May 13th,
enjoined strict neutrality on all British subjects, and recog-
nized the belligerent rights of the South. Such, however,
was Canada's sympathy with the North in this war for
human freedom — for such it ultimately proved to be — that
before its close fifty thousand of her sons enlisted in the
Northern armies, and many laid down their lives in costly
sacrifice for what they felt to be a righteous cause. For
four long years the tide of war ebbed and flowed over those
fair and fertile regions stretching from the valley of the
Potomac to the Gulf of Mexico, from the Atlantic to the
Mississippi, carrying sorrow and death into almost every
hamlet in the Union, and into many a Canadian home ;
costing a million of lives and millions of treasure, but, let
us thank God, emancipating for ever four millions of slaves.
At home, Canada enjoyed peace and prosperity. The
census returns revealed a rapid increase of population. In
1841, that of Upper Canada was 465,375 ; in 1851 it was
952,061 ; in 1861 it had reached 1,396,091. The popula-
tion of Lower Canada in 1841 was 690,782; in 1851,
890,261; and in 1861, 1,110,444. The population of all
Canada, it will be seen, amounted in 1861 to 2,506,755.
The rate of increase in the upper province had been so
much greater than that of Lower Canada, that it now had
an excess of 285,427 over the population of the latter; yet
of wel-
toward
li ration
le para-
^ whicli
liiiatioii
sistance
tribuno
to this
la, then
a con-
of tlio
uardiiig
Bverber-
rushed
y 13th,
d I'ecog-
owever,
war for
>e — that
I in the
a costly
le. For
er those
^ of the
c to the
;t every
L home;
but, let
f slaves.
y. The
on. In
it was
popula-
1 1851,
a of all
06,755.
been so
LOW had
ber; yet
1861]
THE TRENT AFFAIR.
139
it had only the same parliamentary representation. This
practical injustice lent new energy to th(> Upper Canadian
agitation for representation by population. The feeling of
jealousy between the two sections of the pro^'int;e led to
extravagance of expenditure. Although Upper Canada
contributed the larger part of the public revenue, the lower
province claimed an equal share from the common treasury.
Thus many unremunerative public works were constructed
in one province as an offset to an expenditure for necessary
constructions in the other.
In the month of October, Sir Edmund Walker Head
ceased to be Governor-General of Canada, and returned to
Great Britain.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
POLITICAL CRISIS.
Lord Monck, Governor-General, October 211 h— The Trrnf alFah— Threat-
ened Outbreak of War— Death of l*rince Albert, December 15th—
1861. Defeat of Cartier-Macdonald Ministry— Macdonald-Sicotte
Cabinet formed— Its Policy— The Cotton Famine— Canada at the
World's Fair— 1862. Reconstruction of the Cabinet— Political Dead-
lock— 1863.
Lord Monck, the new Governor-General, soon after his
appointment as Governor-General, had to face a grave
international difficulty, in which Great Britain became
involved with the United States. •
On the 9th of November, Capt. Wilkes, of the U. S. steam-
^on^ ship Jacm^o, forcibly carried off from the British mail
steamer Trent, Messrs. Slidell and Mason, commission-
ers of the Southern Confederacy to Great Britain and France.
The British Government promptly resented this violation
of international comity and of the rights of neutrals, and
demanded the rendition of the captured commissioners.
While awaiting an answer to the ultimatum sent to the
United States, the British Government shipped to Canada
several regiments of troops, the flower of the army, with
immense stores of munitions of war. The navigation of
140
CHANGE OF MINISTRY.
[1862
1802'
the St. Lawrence having closed, a portion of the troops
came overland through New Brunswick. The country
sprang to arms. Volunteer military companies were organ-
ized, home guards enrolled, and large sums of money contri-
buted to defend, if need were, the honour and dignity of
the empire.
Amid these public agitations came the startling intelli-
gence of the death of Prince Albert, the wise and noljlo
consort of our beloved and honoured Queen, December loth.
The nation's sympathy with the widowed sovereign Avas pro-
found and sincere. A prudent counsellor, a loving husband,
a high-minded man, the Queen continues to mourn his loss
with almost the poignancy of her first grief.
With the close of the year the war cloud which menaced
the country was dissipated by the surrender of Messrs.
Slidell and Mason, the captured commissioners, to the
British Government.
A new Parliament met in Quebec on the 21st of March
•iQoe) — ^ general election having taken place during recess.
The conflict of parties was renewed with the utmost
vigour. The defence of the provinces against the growing
military power of the United States was a question of con-
siderable difficulty. The Imperial authorities, feeling that
in case of the rupture of peace Canada would become the
battle-ground, had devised a comprehensive system of forti-
fication. The cost of the extensive works at Quebec was to
be defrayed by the Home Government, and that of the
works at Montreal and places west of it was to be paid from
the provincial treasury. The people of Canada, while will-
ing to make any effort for national defence that they thought
commensurate with their ability, shrank from largely in-
creasing their heavy indebtedness by undertaking military
works which they considered too extensive and costly for
their means, and of the necessity for which they were by
no means convinced. The volunteer movement was vigor-
ously sustained, and rifle competitions contributed to the
efficiency of the corps ; but the feeling of the country, in
opposition to the fortification scheme, found expression in
an adverse vote of the House on the ministerial militia bill.
The ministry forthwith resigned, and Mr. John Sandfield
Macdonald was called upon to form a new cabinet.* Mr.
* The new ministry was composed of Messrs. John Sandfield Macdonald, Adam
Wilson, Michael Foley, James Morris, William McDougall, and Mr. Rowland, for
[1862
1862]
COMMERCIAL PROSPERITY.
14]
m
Maeclonald announced as the policy of liis administration
the observance of tlie douhle-nuijority principle in all meas-
ures affecting locally either province ; a readjustment of the
representation of Upper and Lower Canada respectively,
without, however, adopting the principle of representation
by population ; and an increase of revenue and protection
of manufactures by a revised cu'^toms tariff.
The parliamentary rejection of the Macdonald-Cartier
militia bill created an impression in Great Britain that tlie
Canadians were unwilling to bear the burden of self-defence
— an erroneous conception, which the military enthusijism of
the country during the late Trent ditHculty ought to have
prevented. The thorough loyalty of the people was shown
by the liberal militia bill of the following session.
Two veteran Canadian politicians passed away during the
summer — the gallant Sir Allan WcNab, and his Refonn
contemporary, the Hon. WJliam Hamilton Merritt, the
projector of the Welland Canal.
The continuance of the American war was attended with
ijreat commercial advanta^^e to Canada. Canadian horses
were in especial demand for remounts for the Union cavalry
and for the artillery. Tlie country was also denuded of its
surplus live stock and farm produce, and in fact of every
marketable commodity, at highly renmnerative prices. The
resulting financial prosperity, in which all industrial classes
shared, enabled the people to discharge the indebtedness
which many had incurred through rash speculation or lavish
expenditure. It was observed that " the prosperous years
which now followed were distinguished by an unusually
small amount of litigation, while money lenders no longer
reaped the abundant harvest they had hitherto enjoyed."
In their prosperity Canadians did not forget the adversity of
their suffering fellow-subjects in Great Britain, who were
enduring extreme privation from the cotton famine, conse-
quent on the closing of the ports of the Soutliei'n Con-
federacy, from which the raw staple of their industry was
derived. Generous contributions for the relief of their
necessities exhibited at once the patriotism and philan-
thropy of the donors.
Parliament met in Quebec early in February, and the
Upper Canada ; and for Lower Canada, Messrs. Sicotto, Abbot, McGee, Dorion,
Tcssier and Evanturel.
142
CON FKDE KATE CUUISEUS.
[1863
\AC'\ ^©it^^io^ ^^^ ^^^0 incroased roprosentation of Upper
Canada was renewed. Tliese ellbits w(>re defecated by
tlie solid Lower Canadian vote; but public opinion in Uppc^r
Canada was daily becoming stronger in favour of a more
equitable adjustment of the representation. At length tlit;
Government was defeated on a direct vote of wjint of con-
fidence. They resolved to appeal to the country. In the
new Parliament it was found that the ministers had a
majority of only thn^e. They managed, however, to get
through the S(;ssion without defeat.
Mucli irritation was felt in the United States toward
Great l^ritain, on account of the devastation caused by the
Alabama and Florida, and other Confederate cruisers. These
piratical vessels, as tlio p(M)ple of the North regarded them,
constructed by British shipbuilders, and ecjuipped by Brit-
ish merchants, had cai)tured and destroyed hundreds of
American ships, and liad almost swept American commerce
from the seas. The Union armies, however, by sheer force
of numbers and an unlimited supply of war matarid, were
steadily crushing out the Southern rebellion, notwithstand-
ing a heroic resistance worthy of a better cause.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE CONFEDERATION MOVEMENT.
A Coalition Mimstky kohmkd to bring aboiit the Confodoration of the
l^ovinccs— Chaku)Tti;town and Qltehko CoNFKiiiONCKa discuss
the subject— 1864. T;iK Canadian Parliament adoi'th the Con-
federation Scheme Anti-Confederation Movement in the Mari-
time Provinces— Close of tue American War— Slavery Abol-
isued— 1866.
During the recess the ministry had still further lost ground,
and early in 1864, finding themselves without a working
majority, resigned.
Mr. Blair, the Provincial Secretary of the late adminis-
tration, was requested to construct a new cabinet, but failed
in the attempt. Sir E. P. Tach6, a leading Lower Canadian
Conservative, now essayed the difficult task, with better
[lcSG3
Upper
Lt(!(l by
Upp(;r
a more
gth tliij
of con-
In the
had a
to get
toward
by the
These
d them,
by Brit-
U*eds of
minierce
or force
\(d^ were
thstand-
1864]
POLITICAL DF../VD-LOCR.
143
Hon of the
BS discuss
THE CON-
thc Mari-
:by Ahol-
ground,
working
adminis-
tut failed
Canadian
1 better
success.* The new ministry had a very slight majority,
and within tln*ee months was defeated by a vote of sixty to
tifty-eight.
Political affairs were now at a drarl-lock. Parties were
so equally balanced that neither couhl carry on the govern-
ment of the country against the opposition of the other.
Every constitutional method of solvintr tlui difliculty had
been exhausted. Dissolution of Parliament and change cf
ministry brought no relief. The apj^icat'on of the double-
majority principle was found impractical»le, and represen-
tation by population under existing condit.'«.»ns was unat-
tainable. The solution of the dilliculty was found in the
adoption of the "joint-authority" scheme, so long resisted,
ridiculed and voted down.
The Conservative leaders made overtures to the Opposi-
tion for the formation of a coalition ministry, for the pur-
pose of carrying out the project of the confederation of the
British North American provinces, with a federnl govern-
ment of the whole, and local legislatures for the several
provinces. Mr. Brown therefore entered the ca\>ii>et as
President of the Council, and associated with him, as repre-
sentatives of the Beform party, Mr. William Macdougall
and Mr. Oliver Mowat. This coalition was very generally
received with extreme satisfaction, as a deliverance from
the bitter strife of parties which had so long distracted the
country.
Contemporary events now demonstrated the necessity for
a strong government. In the month of September, a gang
of Southern refugees seized two American steamers on Lake
Erie, with the design of releasing the Confederate prisoners
on Johnson's Island, and of destroying the shipping on the
lake. The attempt was ineffectual; but a more successful
hostile effort was made on the Lower Canadian frontier
about a month later. A body of twenty-three refugees
attacked the banks of St. Alban's, in Vermont, and hastily
retreated across the border with $233,000, having added
the crime of murder to that of robbery. Fourteen of the
raiders were arrested, but were subsequently discharged by
Judge Coursel, of Montreal. The illegal surrender to them
♦It embraced the following members:— Sir E. P. Tach^, and Messrs. Cartier,
Gait Chapais, McGee and Lan^jcvin, for Lower Canada; and for Upper Canada,
Messrs. John A. Macdonald, Campbell, Buchanan, Foley, Simpson and Cockburn.
44
QUKHEO CONFKUENCE.
[i«(;4
of .^90,000 of tli(< Htoloii Jiionoy which th« CjuKidian Gov-
oriniKMit had sul)S(MiiunitIy to repay — and tho ;4r()wiii<; sym-
pathy for th(5 Soutlj of a portion of tho (Jaiiadian press and
peopU^ (Mn))itterod tho relations hetwiMMi tlie two countries,
and contributed largely to the abrogation of tho reciprocity
treaty, which soon took places To" prevent a repetition of
these raids, tlu; Canadian (Srovernnient distri])uted a patrol
force of thirty volunteer conij)ani*»s along the more exposed
points of the frontier. An " Alien Act " was also passed,
enabling the executive summarily to arrest suspicious cliar-
acters.
Meanwhile the subject of colonial confederation was
attracting increased attention in tho British North Amei'i-
can provinces. The Governments of Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick had already been discussing the project of a
legislative union of the maritime provinces, and a conference
of delegates for the promotion of the scheme, undin' tho
sanction of the Colonial Office, was arranged to be held at
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, during this summer
(1864).
With the purpose of urging the more comprehensive
scheme of the confederation of all the provinces, the Cana-
dian Government expressed a wish to be represented at
that conference, and was cordially invited to send delegates.
The larger scheme seems to liave completely swallowed up
the narrower one, and a conference of delegates from all the
British North American colonies was appointed to be held
at Quebec.
On the 10th of October, the conference began its ses-
sions in the ancient capital. Thirty-three delegates were
present, representing the leading members of the politic;,!
parties of all the provinces. The deliberations continued
for seventeen days. Many conflicting interests had to bo
harmonized, and many local difficulties removed. At length
a general plan was agreed upon, and resolutions adopted as
the basis of an Act of Confederation. These resolutions
were to be submitted to the different legislatures for adop-
tion, without alteration of form.
The general outline of the scheme soon became divulged.
It was for the most part recei\'ed with very great favour.
It was regarded as the germ of a new and vigorous national
life. The bonds of a common allegiance to the sovereign,
[lcS()4
I Gov-
-r syni-
ss and
intries,
procity
tion of
patrol
X posed
pass(;d,
char-
)n was
Amori-
u\ New
;t of a
ference
rlei' the
held at
summer
hensive
e Galla-
nted at
legates.
>wed up
1 all the
be held
its ses-
es were
politic ,1
ntinued
cl to bo
b length
)pted as
Dlutions
)r adop-
Lvulged.
favour,
lational
^ereign,
1865]
CONFEDEUATION ADOl'TED.
145
and of common sympathies and interests, were recognized.
The constraints of loenl impediments to free intercolonial
trade were felt to ))e increasingly irksonio. The; difierencea
of productions and industries of the several provinces made
their union seem all tlu; more necessary for the greater
prosperity of all. The wheat fields and lumber interests
of Canada needed, and were ncHKled by, the fisheries and
mines and shipping of the niaritimc^ provinces. The mag-
nificent waterways of the west furnished unrivalled facili-
ties for commercial relations with the (!ast ; but the lack of
a winter seaport made the Intercolonial Kailvay, and the
harbours of St. John and Halifax, necessary to the develop-
ment of Canadian trade.
A federal central government also promised to lift politics
from the level of a jealous conflict between parties in< o that
of a pati'iotic andjition for the prosperity of the whole
country and for the development of a vigorous national life;
and the local legislatures olfered a guarantee of the self-
control of the domestic affairs of eacli province. The long-
continued demand of Upper Canada for representation by
population would be granted in the constitution of the
central parliament, and the Jealousy of the French popula-
tion of Lower Canada for their religion, language and laws,
would be appeased by their numerical representation in
their local legislature.
Nevertheless, considerable opposition was at first mani-
fested towards the scheme, especially in the maritime pro-
vinces. The preponderant influence of the more populous
provinces was feared, and several of the numerous details
of the Quebec scheme, which was presented for acceptance
without modification, were regarded with strong objection.
Thus an anti-confederation agitation arose, and was lon^**
and vehemently maintained.
On the 3rd of February, the Canadian Parliament met at
isfi^ Quebec. The resolutions on confederation, which had
been adopted by the Quebec conference of the previous
year, were submitted. After protracted debate — the report
of which fills a volume of over a thousand pages — the reso-
lutions were adopted ; and a strong deputation proceeded to
England to confer with the Imperial authorities for the
carrying out of the project of confederation.
In New Brunswick in the meantime a general election
146
CLOSE OF AMERICAN WAR.
[1865
had takenr place, and an assenil)ly highly averse to con-
federation had been returned. Not a single man who had
been a delegate at the Qucljeu coufeience was elected. In
Nova Scotia the anti-confederation agitation was strongly
pressed by Joseph Howe, the leader of the Opposition.
Tiie friends of the movement in Newfoundland and Prince
Edward Island were disheartened, and it sooined as though
the federation scheme would be wrecked almost before it
was fairly launched.
The scheme was received with great favour by the Im-
perial authorities, and despatches from the Colonial Office
strongly urged its adoption. These despatches were not
without their influence on public opinion in New Bruns
wick, and as the advantages of the proposed union became,
through fuller discussion, more apparent, the tide of feeling
began to turn in its favour.
The long and terrible civil war in the United States was
now drawing to a close. The immense military strength of
the North at length fairly crushed out the Southern revolt.
General Lee, with his war-worn army, surrendered (April
9th) ; Jefferson Davis, the ill-starred President of the Con-
federacy, was captured ; and slavery war dead. But this
hour of the nation's triumph was dashed with horror and
grief by the cowardly and cruel murder of its civic head —
the simple, honest, magnanimous Abraham Lincoln. The
heart of Canada was deeply stirred. Crowded meetings for
the expression of the national sympathy v/ere held, and the
utmost detestation of the crime was avowed. Much of the
growing estrangement of recent years between the two
nations was overcome by this exhibition of popular sym-
pathy and good-will.
On the 8th of August, the Parliament met in Quebec for
the purpose of receiving the report of the deputation sent
to Great Britain to promote the scheme of confedc; ration.
The session was short, and little opposition was offered to
the ministerial measures deemed necessary for the consum-
mation of the grand design which was to become the epoch
of a new and ampler national career.
Towards the close of the year the seat of government was
removed from Quebec to Ottawa, where the new parliament
buildings, then approaching completion, were to become the
home of a legislature still more august than that for which
they were originally designed.
inti
era
[186i
to con-
rho had
ed. In
trongly
)osition.
Prince
tliough
efore it
the Im-
il Office
TGre not
Bruna
became,
f feeling
ates was
ength of
n revolt,
d (April
the Con-
But this
)rror and
c head —
In. The
jtings for
, and the
ch of the
the two
liar sym-
ueljec for
btion sent
adoration.
)fFered to
3 consum-
bhe epoch
ment was
irliainent
jcorae the
for which
( 147 )
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THE FENIAN INVASION— 18GG.
The Abrogation of Reciprocity Treaty— Tub Fenian Brotherhood -
O'Neil invades Canada from liuKKALO, June Ist— Thk Fiuht at
Ridge WAY— Fenians thi*eatcn Prescott and Cornwall— " General "
Spear crosses the frontier of Lower Canada— He is promptly re-
pulsed, June 8th— Last Parliament of "Old Canada" meets at Ot-
tawa, June 8th— It revises the Tax'iff and prepares fcr Confedera-
tion.
The reciprocity treaty between the United States and
1 8fifi Canada was now approaching the period of its expi-
ration by effluxion of time. It had been of immense
commercial advantage to both countries. Under its provi-
sions the international trade had grown to the enormous
value of seventy milUon dollars annually. The United
States Government, however, refused to grant its renewal
except under conditions highly disadvantageous to Canada.
The Canadian ministry were willing to make considerable
concessions to the United States, and even to accept legis-
lative reciprocity if the continuance of the treaty could not
be secured. The exigencies of the American Government,
and the delusion on the part of at least some members of
Congress, that Canada could be thus coerced into annexa-
tion with the United States, however, overrode every effort
for the continuance of the treaty. The vast indebtedness
incurred by the war led to the adoption of a high customs
tariff for revenue purposes, afterwards increased for the
protection of the manufacturing interests.
The suspension of the treaty, however, was not so S,...«6-
trous in its effects as was anticipated ; and there were many
counterbalancing advantages to the country resulting from
its interruption. It greatly stimulated the development of
Canadian manufactures and the groVth of foreign and
intercolonial commerce, and aided the scheme of confed-
eration. Instead of promoting annexation, the abroga-
tion of the treaty had precisely the opposite effect. It
opened new avenues of trade and industry, and convinced
the Canadians of their ability to prosper without depending
so largely on commercial intercourse with the United States;
it ^Iso fostered a spirit of patriotism and nationality.
148
FENIAN BROTHERHOOD.
[1866
This spirit was still further promoted by contempora-
neous events. The hostile deinojist rations of the Fenian
brotherhood caused considerable alarm along the frontier,
and provoked just indignation against United States oiliciala
who, for political purposes, favoured this infamous organiza-
tion, and pandered to the unreasoning prejudices and an-
tipathies of its members.
The ostensible object of this armed conspiracy was the
liberation of Ireland from English rule, and the avenging
of its ancient wrongs. As a means to that end, although
the relevancy is not very apparent, the conquest of Canada
was proposed, and multitudes of infatuated " patriots " con-
tributed large amounts of money and formed local organiza-
tions in the chief American cities and frontier towns.
Gangs of reckless desperadoes, created by the civil war,
and even some leaders of higher rank and of considcT'able
military skill and experience, joined the lawless movement.
The firms, equipments, and military stores of the disbanded
United. States armies being thrown upon the market, large
quantities were purchased at a low rate and stored at
points convenient for the invasion of Canada.
The plan of operations of the Fenian brotherhood was
t^vofold. The first scheme proposed a combined attack, at
several points of the frontier, on Canada, where, it was
asserted, the Irish " patriots " had many sympathizers.
The other and still more insane plan contemplated a direct
attack upon Ireland. The former was promoted by " Presi-
dent" Roberts and "General" Sweeney; the latter by a
rival section of the brotherhood, under the leadership of
''Head Centre" Stephens and "Colonel" O'Mahony.
Saint Patrick's day, the 17th of March, was annoui^ced
as tlie date of the menaced invasion. The Canadian Gov-
ernment replied to the threat by calling out ten thousand
volunteers. In four and twenty hours fourteen thousand
sprang to arms for the defence of the country.
Saint Patrick's day, however, passed without any dis-
tur))ance of the peace. By the middle of May, the invasion
having seemingly exhausted itself in futile tliroats, a con-
siderable proportion of the volunteer force were withdrawn
from the frontier and allowed to return to their homes.
But secret preparations were being made for a number of
siuiviltaueous attacks on Canada. One expedition from
[1866
mpora-
Fenian
ontier,
)Hicials
ganiza-
.iid an-
ras the
'enging
though
anada
" con-
1866]
TNVASION OF CANADA.
149
M*
ganiza-
towns.
il war,
derable
-^ement.
banded
t, large
)red at
od was
tack, at
it was
bthizers.
% direct
" Presi-
Br by a
iship of
r
•
loui^ced
an Gov-
lousand
housand
my dis-
invasion
s, a con-
:;hdrawn
homes,
iniber of
)n from
Detroit, Chicago, and other western cities, was directed
against the Lake Huron frontier ; another, from Buffalo
and Rochester, was to cross the Niagara River ; a third,
from New York and the east(M :i cities, was to cross the St.
Lawrence at Ogdensburg, sever the communication between
the eastern and western portions of the country at Prescott,
and menace the ceat of government at Ottawa. Meanwhile
the right wing oi the invading force was to harass and
plundei" the frontiet' settlements of the Eastern Townships.
The result of these grand schemes was suigularly incom-
mensurate with their magnitude.
The main attack was on the Niagara frontier. The
city of Buffalo swarmed with lawless ruffians, and before
daylight on Friday, June 1st, some fourteen hundred of
them, under the command of " General " O'Neil, crossed
from Black Rock and took possession of the village of
Fort Erie. O'Neil was, however, utterly disappointed in any
Canadian demonstration of sympathy, if such were expect*^:!.
During the night, leaving a guard at Fort Erie to cover his
retreat, he advanced ten miles south-westward towards the
Welland Canal, probably with the intention of destroying
the locks and cutting the railway. He halted under cover
of some woods near the village of Ridgeway, and threw up
a slight breastwork of logs and rails.
Meanwhile the tidings of invasion aroused the country.
The volunteers rushed to arms, and active preparations were
made for the repulse of the enemy. The citizen soldiers
of Toronto, Hamilton, and other places near the scene of
action, promptly mustered in force, and were despatched by
train or steamer to the appointed places of rendezvous.
The Queen's Own Rifle Brigade — a Toronto volunteer corps
— the Thirteenth Battalion of Hamilton, and the York and
Caledonia volunteers, under command of Colonel Booker,
concentrated on Friday evening, June 1st, at Port Colljorne,
at the Lake Erie entrance to the Welland Canal.
Colonel Peacock, with a thousand volunteers and seven
hundred and fifty regulars, with a battery of artillery, took
post, late the same night, at the historic village of Chip-
pewa, near the Falls of Niagara.
Early on Saturday morning Colonel Booker's force, igno-
rant of O'Neil's whereabouts, were conveyed by train to
Ridgeway, and thence advancp'l towards Limeridge, with
150
FIGHT AT tllDGfiWAY.
[1866
the intention of joining Peacock's command. About eight
o'clock they discovered the enemy securely posted among
the trees on a rising ground. The volunteers pressed the
enemy steadily back for more than a mile under a heavy
fire. Some mounted Fenians now came in sight, and under
the apprehension that a force of cavalry was at hand, the
order was given to form squares. The skirmishers, having
exhausted their ammunition, also retired on their supports.
This double movement threw the volunteer troops into con-
fusion, soon converted into a retreat, which, however, was
gallantly covered b, the Queen's Own and the Thirteenth
Battalion, who kept up a steady fire on the advancing
enemy. In this disastrous affair seven Toronto volunteers
were killed. The Fenians at once retreated on Fort
Erie.
Colonel Dennis meanwhile had occupied the village ot
Fort Erie with a force of seventy men, conveyed in a tug-
boat from Port Col borne, and had captured the Fenian
guard of sixty men. These he confined on board the tug-
boat, which was employed to patrol the river and prevent
the arrival of Fenian reinforcements.
Colonel Dennis' handful of men was in turn overpowered
by O'Neil's command, more than tenfold his number, which
had now returned. It captured forty and wounded thirteen
of the volunteers, b^it not till the latter had inflicted a loss
of five killed and several wounded on the enemy.
O'Neil was now anxious, with his misguided dupes, to
escape, however ignominiously, from the country he had so
wantonly invaded. He tliei-efore, during the darkness,
stole across the river with the bulk of his force in canal
boats, tugs, skiffs, and every available means of transport.
His own pickets, and all his Canadian prisoners, were left
behind. On Sunday morning Colonel Peacock's advance
guard marched into Fort Erie, but only in time to capture
a number of Fenian stragglers.
That Sabbath day was one of ui\ wonted excitement
throughout Canada. In many of the churches bulletins
announcing the names of the killed and wounded were read
from the pulpits. Towards evening the city of Toronto
was moved by a common sorrow as it never was moved
before, as the bodies of her slaughtered sons were received
in silence by an irr.mense concourse of people. Two days
[1866
eight
imong
3d the
heavy
under
d, the
having
sports,
o con-
jr, was
•teenth
ancing
mteers
Fort
lage
of
a tug-
Fenian
he tug-
)revent
lowered
, which
hi r teen
d a loss
ipes,
to
had so
^rkness,
n canal
msport.
ere left
idvance
capture
tement
ulletins
re read
Toronto
moved
eceived
o days
1866]
REPULSE OF INVASION.
151
later they were borne, amid the mourning of a multitude,
to their early graves.
The country was now thoroughly aroused. The volun-
teers were called out in force, and were massed at conven-
ient centres from which to move to whatever point seemed
menaced with attack. At the military depots long railway
trains, laden with batteries of artillery, and with shot, shell
and other war materiel, stood on the sidings awaiting, with
steam up, the summons to the point of danger. Hundreds
of Canadian youth employed in the United States threw up
their engagements, and hastened home to defend their
native land.
Several points on the frontier were threatened with inva-
sion. A large body of Fenians assembled at Ogdensburg,
as if for a dash across the St. Lawrence and a raid upon
the capital. But regular and volunteer troops, rapidly
massed at Prescott, and a gunboat which patrolled the river,
effectually prevented an attack.
The would-be invaders now moved eastward to Malone,
opposite Cornwall; but a force of three thousand Canadian
troops at the latter point made them prudently desist from
their designs. The spirited remonstrance of the British
minister at Washington compelled the United States Gov-
ernment at length to interfere and restrain this wanton
violation of international right and comity. General Meade,
an able and honest United States officer, seized a large
quantity of Fenian arms, ammunition and military stores at
Ogdensburg, and effectually paralyzed the movements of the
marauders.
Oi> the 8th of June, however, "General" Spear, with
some two thousand Fenian ruffians, crossed the frontier
near St. Alban's, and took up a position three miles from
the border. They forthwith began to plunder and ravage
the neighbourhood, but the prompt rally of the Canadian
forces compelled them to retreat precipitately to the shelter-
ing territory of the United States, where they were dis-
armed and dispersed by General Meade.
So ended in ignominy and disgrace to all its actors, aiders
and abettors, the wanton and unprovoked Fenian invasion
of Canada. The result was not an unmixed evil. The ex-
pense to the country of the transport and maintenance of
troops — of whom forty thousand volunteers alone were at
152 LAST PAIIUAMENT Ot* OLD CANADA. [1866
one time under arms — and the cost of guarding its exten-
sive frontier, was great. The sacrifice of precious lives was
irreparable and lamentable ; but the glow of patr'iotic en-
thusiasm which was kindled in the hearts of the people
made the country realize its strength, and developed a na-
tional feeling that was a guarantee of its ability to .assume
the new and important national duties to which it was
about to be summoned.
On the same day that the gallant Hochelaga Voltigeurs
were repelling invasion from the eastern frontier (June 8th),
the Legislature of the country was opened in the new parlia-
ment buildings at Ottawa. Resolutions were passed defin-
ing the constitutions of Upper and Lower Canada, in
furtherance of the scheme of confederation ; and on the
18th of August, the last Parliament of the old Canadian
provinces was prorogued.
CHAPTER XXXVIL
CONFEDERATION ACCOMPLISHED.
The British North America Act passes the Imperial Parliament, March
28th— Provisions of the New Constitution— Inauguration of the
New Dominion, July 1st— 1867. Sir John Young, Governor-General
vice Lord Monck— Anti-Confederation Agitation in Nova Scotia—
"Better Terms" granted— 1868.
In the maritime provinces the tide of popular feeling had
now turned strongly in favour of confederation. In New
Brunswick the anti-confederation Government was com-
pelled to resign, and a new Parliament, elected with express
reference to this question, declared decidedly for it. In
Nova Scotia, Mr. Howe's eloquence in condemnation of the
scheme lost its spell, and his opposition in the lobbies of the
Imperial Parliament proved equally futile. The Canadian
and maritime delegates met in London, and slightly molli-
fied the provisions of the Quebec Resolutions, chiefly in
the direction of increasing the subsidies to the local govern-
ments.
[1866
exten-
es was
tic en-
people
a na-
issume
was
:igeurs
e 8th),
3arlia-
defin-
da, in
on the
nadian
it, March
V OF THE
•General
Scotia—
ing had
n New
is coni-
express
it. In
L of the
3 of the
madian
y morli-
efly in
govern-
1867]
bhitish north America act.
153
On the 7th of Februaiy, the Earl of Carnarvon, the
Colonial Secretary, introduced the British North America
Act into the House of Lords. After slight modification in
the House of Commons, it successfully passed through its
different stages, and received the royal assent and became
the law of the empire. The Canada Railway Loan Act
empowered the Imperial Government to guarantee a loan
of three million pounds sterling for the construction of the
Intercolonial Railway, now become a political, as well as a
commercial and military necessity for the prosperity of the
new nationality.
The Act of Union provided that the Dominion of Canada,
as the new nation was named, should consist of the pro-
vinces of Upper and Lower Canada (designated respectively
Ontario and Quebec), and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Provision was also made for the future admission of Prince
Edward Island, the Hudson's Bay TerritoT-y, British Colum-
bia, and Newfoundland with its dependency, Labrador.
The following are the chief provisions of the new con-
stitution :
The executive authority is vested in the Queen, in whose
name run all legislative Acts, civil processes, and naval and
military proclamations.
The Queen's representative in Canada is the Governor-
General, who is advised and aided by a Privy Council of
thirteen members, constituting the ministry, who must be
sustained by a parliamentary majority.
The Parliament consists of two chambers, the Senate and
the House of Commons.
The Senate was at first to be composed of 72 members —
24 for each of the three divisions, Ontario, Quebe:;, and
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The House of Commons, as first constituted, consisted of
181 members; 82 for Ontario, 65 for Quebec, 19 for Nova
Scotia, and 16 for New Brunswick.
The House of Commons is elected for five years unless
sooner dissolved. It elects its own Speaker, who can vote
only when the House is equally divided. All bills affecting
taxation or revenue must originate in the House of Com-
mons, and must be recommenddd by a message from the
Governor-General.
The jurisdiction of the Dominion Parliament extends over
11
154
THE NEW CONSTITUTION."
[1867
the public debt, expenditure and public loans; treaties; cus-
toms and excise duties ; trade and commerce ; navigation,
shipping and fisheries ; lighthouses and harbours ; the postal,
naval and military services; public statistics; monetary
institutions, banks, banking, currency, coining, and insol-
vency; criminal law, marriage and divorce ; public works,
railways and canals.
The appointment and maintenance of the Judges of the
Superior, District, and County Courts of the several pro-
vinces, is the prerogative and duty of the Governor in
Council.
The chief executive officer of the several provinces is the
Lieutenant-Governor, who is appointed by the Governor-
General in Council, acting for the Crown, for the term of
five years. The local legislatures were granted constitutions
agreeable to the wishes of the respective provinces.
The legislature of Ontario consists of only one chamber,
the Legislative Assembly. It was constituted at first with
eighty-two members, which number was afterwards increased
to ninety, who are elected for four years.
The other local legislatures consist of two chambers, a
Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly. The Acts
of the local legislatures may be disallowed by the Governor-
General, for sufficient reason, within a year after they have
passed.
The local legislatures have jurisdiction over direct taxa-
tion; provincial loans; the appointment and maintenance
of provincial officers ; the management of provincial lands,
prisons, hospitals and asylums; municipal institutions; local
improvements; education; and matters affecting property
and civil rights.
On the 1st of July, 1867, the Act of Confederation came
into force, and the Dominion of Canada set forth on its
high career. Lord Monck was sworn in as the Governor-
General of the confederated provinces. Sir N. F. Belleau
became Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, and Major-General
Doyle, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. In July, 1868,
the Hon. L. A. Wilmot was appointed Lieutenant-Governor
of New Brunswick, .and the Hon. W. P. Howland, Lieu-
tenant-Governor of Ontario.*
* The first Privy Council of the Dominion consisted of the following: members:—
Hon. A. F. J. Blair, President; Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald, Minister of Justice;
[1867
ties ; cus-
vigation,
le postal,
nonetary
tid insol-
c works,
of the
eral pro-
'^ernor in
ces is the
Srovernor-
term of
ititutions
chamber,
first with
increased
imbers, a
The Acts
jrovernor-
:hey have
ect taxa^
ntenance
ial lands,
ons; local
property
ion came
bh on its
Srovernor-
, Belleau
'-General
ily, 1868,
jrovernor
id, Lieu-
1868] "BETTER terms" GR.\NTED NOVA SCOTIA. 156
The elections for the Dominion Parliament and for the
several local legislatures took place during tlio summer.
The Dominion Parliament met at Ottawa for the transac-
tion of business on the 7th of November.
In the following November, Lord Monck, having wit-
nessed the successful inauguration of the new constitution
of the confedei'ated provinces, was succeeded in office by Sir
John Young.
Considerable dissatisfaction with the terms of union soon
began to be manifested in the province of Nova Scotia.
The annual subsidy from the Dominion Government was
found inadequate for the civil expenses of the government.
A strong anti-confederation agitation was therefore kept up,
and a petition was forwarded to the British Parliament re-
questing the repeal of the British North America Act so
far as it concerned Nova Scotia. The Imperial Parliament
refused to entertain the proposition of a repeal of the union,
but counselled a compromise with the recalcitrant province.
The Dominion Government offered a liberal readjustment
of terms with Nova Scotia, and an additional annual sub-
sidy was granted. Mr. Howe withdrew his opposition and
accepted office in the Dominion Government as President of
the Executive Council.
During this year the Abyssinian war, which had been
conducted with great skill and success by General Napier,
was brought to a close by the fall of Magdala and death of
King Theodore, on the 13th of April.
Hon, H. S. Lan<?evin, Secretary of State; Hon. A. T. Gait, Minister of Finance",
Hon. W. Macdougall, Minister of Public Works ; Hon. Alex. Campbell, Postmaster-
General; Hon. J. C. Chapais, Minister of Agriculture; Hon. E. Kenny, Receiver-
General ; Hon. Sir George E. Cartier, Minister of Militia ; Hon S. L. Tilley, Minis-
ter of Customs; Hon. W. P. Howland, Minister of Inland Revenue; Hon. P.
Mitchell, Minister of Marine and Fisheries ; Hon. A. G. Archibald, Secretary of
State for Provinces.
naembers :—
' of Justice ;
( 150 )
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
RIVAL I R COMPANIES— RED RIVER SETTLEMENT.
TiiK Hudson's Bay Company Orqanizkd, lG70-]'rolonged conflict with
older Freiurli Fur Company— The Noutii-wkht ('oisitany Ouoan-
IZKD, 1783— Its Enterprise and Success— Fort ^V'illia^^ JjOiU) SiOL-
KiUK I'LANTW Rkd Uiviou Colony, 1812 - Contlic^t with North-west
Company— Murder of Governor Soniblo, 181G— Hudson's Hay and
NoitTlI-WEST COMI'ANIICS AMALGAMATE, 1821— COUNCIL OF ASSINI-
BoiA ORaANiZED,1836— Patriarchal Government of tho Hudson's IJay
Company— Development of the North-west Territory.
The extension of the Dominion of Canada so as to embrace
within its bounds the whole of tlie territory of British
North America, was the strong desire of the leading Cana-
dian statesmen. A necessary preliminary to this was the
cession to Canada of the rights of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany. This company had been created by royal charter in
1670. For nearly a hundred years it was a keen and eager
rival with the Company of New France. In order to con-
trol the lucrative fur trade, the Hudson's Bay Company
planted forts and factories at the mouth of the Moose,
Albany, Nelson, Churcliill, and other rivers flowing into
Hudson's Bay. Again and again adventurous bands of
Frenchmen, like D'Iberville and his companions, made
bloody raids upon these posts, murdering their occupants,
burning the stockades, and carrying off the rich stores of
peltries.
Grown bolder with success, the French penetrated the
vast interior as far as the head waters of the Mississippi,
the Missouri and the Saskatchewan, and reached the Rocky
Mountains long before any other white men had visited
these regions. They planted trading posts and small pali-
saded forts at important river junctions and on far off lonely
lakes, and wrote their names all over this great continent,
in the designation of cape and lake and river, and other
great features of nature. The voyageurs and coureurs de
bois, to whom this wild, adventurous life was full of fascina-
tion, roamed through the forests and navigated the count-
less arrowy streams; and Montreal and Quebec snatched
much of the spoil of this profitable trade from the hands of
the English company. Every little far-off trading post and
RIVAL FUll COMPANIES.
157
VIENT.
flict with
Y OUGAN-
iOHI) 81OL-
orlh-wost
IJay and
Ahsini-
son's Bay
)F
embrace
Britisli
Lg Cana-
was the
ay Com-
arter in
nd eager
r to con-
tJoinpany
Moose,
ing into
)aiids of
s, made
cupants,
Jtores of
ited the
isissippi,
B Rocky
visited
lall pali-
ff lonely
ntinent,
d other
reu7's de
fascina-
) count-
natched
lands of
)Ost and
stockaded fort felt the reverberations of the English guns
which won the victory of the Phiins of Abralwim, whereby
the sovereignty of tliose vast regions passed away foi" ever
from the possession of France.
After tlie conquest numerous independent fur traders
engaged in this prolitable traffic. In 1783, these formed a
junction of interests and organized the North-west Com-
pany. For forty years this was one of the strongest com-
binations in Canada. Its energetic agents explored the vast
North-west regions. Sir Alexander Mackenzie, in 17S9,
traced the great river which bears his name, and first
readied the North Paciiic across the Rocky Mountains. In
1808, Simon Frazer descended the gold-bearing stream that
perpetuates his memory ; and shortly after Thompson ex-
j)lored and named another branch of the a.ne great river.
Keen was the rivalry with the older Hudson's Ray Com-
pany, and long and bitter was the feud between the two
great corporations, each of wliich coveted a broad continent
as a hunting ground and preserve for game. The head-
quarters of the North-west Company were at Fort William,
on Lake Superior. Its clerks were mostly young Scotclimen
of good families, whose characteristic thrift and fidelity
were encouraged by a share in the profits of the Company.
The senior partners travelled in feudal state, attended by a
retinue of boatmen and servants, " obedient as Highland
clansmen." The grand councils and banquets in the thick-
walled state chamber at Fort William were occasions of
lavish pomp and luxury. Sometimes as many as twelve
hundred retainers, factors, clerks, voyageurs and trappers
were assembled, and held for a time high festival, with a
strange blending of civilized and savage life.
In the early yeai's of the present century tlie feud be-
tween the rival companies was at its height. At this time
Thomas Douglas, Earl of Selkirk, was the Governor of the
Hudson's Bay Company, and proprietor of a large propor-
tion of the stock. He perceived that by obtaining control
of the Red River, and erecting a fort at its junction with
the Assiniboine, he would have a strong base for future
operations, and would possess an immense advantage over
his opponents. For this purpose he resolved to establish
a colony of his countrymen at that strategic position, the
key of the mid-continent,
158
RED RIVER SETTLEMENT.
After incredible hardships, the colony struck its roots
deep into the soil. It grew and flourished year by y(i/ir.
llecruits came from Scotland, from (Jermany, from Switzer-
land. Exhaustcul by forty yt^ars of conflict, in 1821 the
Hudson's Bay and North-west Companies ceJised their war-
fare and combined their forces, and were confirmed by the
Imperial Parliament in the monopoly of trad(! through the
wide re«]fion stretchin*^ from Labrador to the Pacific Ocran.
The policy of the Company was adverse to the settlement
of the country, and its agents endeavoured as far as possible
to retain the fur trade and sale of goods and supplies — th(5
profits of which were very great — exclusively in their own
liands.
The Red River settlement in 1858 had increased to a
population of about eight thousand, and during the next
ten years to about twelve thousand. On the formation of
the Dominion of Canada, however, it was felt to l)e highly
desirable that it should be included in the new confederacy,
and also that the Dominion should acquire jurisdiction over
the vast regions under the control of the Hudson's Bay
Company. Some years prior to this date, numerously-signed
petitions from the inhabitants of the Red River settlement
were presented to the Government of Canada, soliciting
annexation to that country.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE RED RIVER REBELLION.
Cession of North-west Territory to the 1 Jritish Crown— 1868. Rikl Reukl-
LiON— 1869. Provisional Government of Assiniboia orf?anized, Feb-
ruary 9th— Loyal organization for the suppression of the revolt— The
Scott Massacre, March 4th— Colonel Wolseley organizes Red River
Expedition— 1870. British Columbia enters the Dominion— History
of Colony— Franco-Prussian War- Outrages of the Commune— 1871.
In 1868, the Rupert's Land Act was passed by the British
Parliament, and under its provisions the Hudson's Bay
Company surrendered to the crown its territorial rights
over the vast region under its control. The conditions of
this surrender were as follows : — the Company was to regeive
18G9]
lllELS UKBKLLION.
159
its roots
\)y yiuu:
Switzer-
1821 the
lioir war-
ed by tho
rough the
fie Ocran.
ettleriient
s possihlo
)lies — tlio
their own
ased to a
the next
nation of
l>e Iiighly
nfederary,
ction over
Kon's Bay
sly-signed
settle ment
soliciting
llKL Rehkl-
anized, Fob-
rovolt— Tho
s Red River
on— Histx)ry
nunc— 1871.
ie British
ion's Bay
ial rights
ditions of
to receive
the sum of £.^00,000 sterling in money, and grants of livnd
around its trading posts to the extent of fifty thousand
acres in all. In addition it is to receive, as it shall \h)
surveyed and laid out in townships, one-tw(nitieth of all
the land in th(5 great fertile belt south of the north branch
o'f the Saskatchc^wan. It retains also the privilege of trade,
but without its fornuir exclusive monopoly.*
Unliappily, jealousies werci awakened among the settlers
lest this movtMiient should in some way prejudice their title
to their land. StJptember, 1869, the ilon. William Mac-
dougall proceeded to Jled liiver in order to assume tho
duties of Governor of the North-west Teri'itory so soon as
tho cession should take place, lie was met near the fron-
tier by a band of armed men, and compcilled to retreat
across the border to Pembina. An insurrectionary council
was creat(5d, with John Bruce as its presid(»nt and Louis
Kiel as secretary, although the latter was really the leading
spirit of the movement. The insurgents took forcible
possession of Fort Garry, a stone-walled inclosure contain-
ing the valuable storec of the Hudson's Bay Company, and
made a number of illegal arrests, over sixty in all.
Tiie temporary success of the revolt seems to have com
, ^^A pletely turned the heads of its leaders. A provisiona
government was created, of which Kiel contrived to
have himself elected president (February, 1870). Kiel had
now an armed force of some six hundred men under his
control, and carried things with a high hand in the settle-
ment, arresting wiiomsoever he would, confiscating public
and private property, and banishing from the country
persons obnoxious to himself. Among these was Major
J^oulton, a Canadian militia officer, who, after a sunnnary
trial by a rebel tribunal, was sentenced to be shot, but was
afterward reprieved. Less fortunate was Thomas Scott, a
V)rave and loyal man, who, after a mock trial V a rebel
court-martial, was sentenced to be shot at noon the following
day. In spite of the remonstrance and intercession of the
Kev. George Young, the Wesleyan missionary at Winnipeg,
who attended the prisoner in his last hours, and of Mr.
Commissioner Smith, the cruel sentence of this illegal and
♦ The price paid for this iiiajjriiificont territory aniounta to only one-sixth of a
cent per acre, or one-fifteenth the amount paid per acre by the United States for
frozen Alaska,
160
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
self -constituted tribunal was carried into execution amid
circumstances of much barbarity.
The tidings of this assassination produced intense excite-
ment throughout Canada, especially in the Provincr of
Ontario. Measures were promptly taken by the Imperial
and Dominion authorities, conjointly, for maintaining the
supremacy of the Queen in the North-west.
Colonel Garnet Wolseley, afterwards distinguished as the
successful commander of the British troops in Egypt, or-
ganized a military expedition to suppress the insurrection.
A body of twelve hundred men, chiefly volunteer militia
from both Ontario and Quebec, proceeded by way of Fort
William and Kainy Lake and Hiver to Fort Garry. All
tlie military stores and provisions, and the large and heavy
boats, had to be borne with incredible labour over numerous
portages, often long, and steep, and rugged. On the 24th
of August the little army reached its destination, only to
lind that Riel and his fellow-conspirators had fled from
Fort Garry.
The British troops immediately occupied the fort, and
to the gre; joy of the loyal inhabitants, the Queen's
authority was again acknowledged as supreme. On the
3rd of September, the Hon. A. G. Archibald ari'ived and
.assumed the functions of Lieutenant-Governor. Mr. Archi-
bald was shortly after succeeded as Lieutenant-Go\ernor
by the Hon. Chief Justice Morris.
In the early part of 1871, the Pacific province of British
Columbia wao admitted into the Dominion of Canada. The
previous history of that colony is soon told. In 17G2, Cap-
tain Vancouver visited and partially explored the islands
lying off the North Pacific coast, and gave his name to the
largest of the group. In 1849, Vancouver's Island became
a Crown colony, ^nd Sir James Douglas, the local agent of
the Hudson's Bay Company, became its first Governor.
The contemporaneous discovery of gold attracted thither
thousands of Canadian and American gold hunters. In
1858, between twenty and thirty thousand men were dig-
ging on the terraced slopes of the Frazer and its tributaries.
As a firm local government was necessary for the mainten-
ance of order among the mixed and often reckless popu-
lation, British Columbia was organized a separate Crown
colony. In 1866, Vo^ncouver's Island was reunited with
)n amid
excite-
nncr of
[mperial
ling the
d as the
gypt, or-
rrection.
militia
of Fort
ry. All
id heavy
lumerous
the 24th
I, only to
led from
fort, and
Queen's
On the
I'ived and
r. Ai'chi-
Governor
f British
.da. The
7G2, Cap-
e islands
ne to the
I became
agent of
rovernor.
1 thither
bers. In
vere dig-
butaries.
mainten-
'ss popu-
Crown
ted with
1871]
FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR.
161
British Columbia, and on the 20th of -July, 1871, that
colony was incorporated with the Dominion of Canada. It
was granted a representation in the Dominion Senate of
three members, and six members in the House of Commons.
The chief condition of the union was the construction
within ten years of a railway connecting the tide waters of
the Pacific Ocean with the railway system of Ontario and
Quebec — a gigantic undertaking, afterwards found imprac-
ticable within the allotted time.
Contemporaneously with this national growth and devel-
opment, stirring events were shaking the European conti-
nent to which we could not in Canada be indifferent. The
declaration of war against Germany by the Emperor of the
French, in 1870, was speedily followed by the invasion of
France, and the successive defeat of the French armies in
tlio sanguinary conflicts of Woerth, Gravelotte and Sedan.
The Emperor becoming a prisoner of war, the Empress fled
to England, and France was declared a republic. The vic-
torious German armies pressed remorselessly on to the siege
of Paris. Amid frost, and famine, and fire, amid desperate
sorties and gallant resistance, the doomed city held out till
January 23rd, 1871, when it succumbed to the awful bom-
bardment and relentless siege of the ememy. On the 1st of
March, the conquering army marched into the captured
capital, and inflicted, as the price of their evacuation of
France, the penalty of the excessive indemnity of 5,000,-
000,000 francs.
No sooner was the strong hand of the Germans removed
than the terrible rising of the Commune took place. For
three months the Republican army of France besieged its
own capital, and in fratricidal conflict fought its way through
scenes of slaughter, blood and flame, to the possession of
the city. A dreadful retaliation followed the stubborn re-
sistance and wanton destruction of property by the frenzied
Commune, in the wholesale execution of the defeated fac-
tion by their victorious fellow-countrymen. These tragical
events were the cause of profound sympathy in Canada, and
considerable sums of money were contributed by its French
and German inhabitants for the relief of the wounded of
their respective countries.
( 162 )
CHAPTER XL.
FALL OF THE MACDONALD MINISTRY.
Thk Alabama Claims— The Fishery Question — The Washington
Treaty concluded, May 8th— 1871. Lord Duffcrin, Governor-
General —Canadian Pacific Railway Companies organized— 1872,
Prince Edward Island enters the Dominion, July 1st— "Pacific
Railway Scandal" controversy— The Macdonald Ministry be.
signs, November 5th— 1873.
The question of the liability of Great Britain for the
immense damage done to American commerce by the depre-
dation of the Alabama, Florida, and other Confederate
cruisers sailing from British ports, was the occasion of
intense and prolonged discussion in the United States.
The political irritation found vehement expression in the
public press, on the platform, and even in the pulpit.
Another cause of international difficulty also existed.
During the continuance of the Reciprocity Treaty, the deep
sea and inshore fisheries of the British North American
coast were freely thrown open to American fishermen by
the conditions of the treaty. On the suspension of recipro-
city, of course that privilege ceased. Yet the Americans
continued to claim the right of fishing in British waters.
In order to remove as far as possible these causes of irrita-
tion, a joint high commission, composed of eminent states-
men of both nations, met at Washington in the month of
February, 1871. The result of the negotiations was ex-
pressed by the "Washington Treaty, concluded on the 8th of
May. The Alabama claims were jointly referred to a board
of arbitration appointed by friendly powers, which awarded
$15,000,000 to the United States. The fisheries of both
Canada and the United States were thrown open to either
country. A money compensation (afterwards settled at
$5,500,000) was, however, to be paid to Canada in con-
sideration of the superior value of her fisheries.
In the month of December, 1871, tlie Hon. John Sand-
field Macdonald, in consequence of a vote of the Ontario
Legislature adverse to tlie policy of the Government, in
appropriating $1,500,000 for railroad subsidies without
W]
1872]
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.
1G3
SHINOTON
Governor-
ze(I-1872.
Pacific
IflSTBY BE.
for the
le depre-
ifoderate
asion of
. States.
II in the
it.
existed,
the deep
American
rmen by
I recipro-
inericans
I waters,
of irrita-
it states-
nonth of
was ex-
ile 8th of
) a board
awarded
of both
to either
ittled at
L in con-
hn Sand-
Ontario
nient, in
without
taking a vote on the appropriations to the several roada^
resigned the premiership into the hands of Mr. Edward
Bhike.* Among the important measures of the session
was one disallowing the practice of dual representation,
that is, the occupancy of seats by the same person in both
the Dominion and local parliaments. In consequence of
this, Mr. Bla]se yielded the ollice of premier to the Hon.
Oliver Mo vn.t, who resigned his position on the bench in
order to entCx again into political life.
In the month of June following, the Earl of Dufferin
iQ^je) succeeded Zlr John Young (now Lord Lisgar) as
Governor-Ger>eral. Ke brought with hiin a distin-
guished reputation a,s a statesman and man of letters, and
by the urbanity oi his manners won a very remarkable
degree of popular fa ^^our. He promptly identified himself
with every interest oi the country which was calculated to
promote its happiness and welfare.
The construction of a Canadian Pacific Railway across
the continent was one of the conditions of the entrance of
British Columbia into the Dominion. For the purpose
of procuring the contract for this gigantic undertaking,
two rival companies obtained incorporation — the " Canada
Pacific," with Sir Hugh Allan, principal proprietor of the
Canadian steamship line, at its head ; and the " Inter-
Oceanic," with the Hon. Senator Macpherson as its presi-
dent. A subsidy of $30,000,000, and a grant of fifty
million acres of land in alternate blocks along the line of
railway, were also to be given to the company constructing
the road.
A charter was at length granted (February 19th) to a
,j>-o iiew "Canada Pacific Railway Company." The p.e-
sident was Sir Hugh Allan, and among the directors,
seventeen in number, were members of both the former
companies, and representative men from the different pro-
♦ The Hon. Edward Blake is the son of tlie late Hon. Wni. Hume Blake, a gentle-
man of ffiiod Irish family, whohocanie Solicitor-<!eneral of Canada in the Baldwin-
hafontaine ministry, and afterward Vice-Chancellor of Up|)er Canada. The youn^j-er
!)lake was educated at ITppur Canada (^olloge and Toronto Iniversity, where he
{graduated with honours. II< was called to the har in 1S.')(1. In 1H<)7 he was elected
representative for West Durham in the first Dominion Parliament, and for South
Bruce in the Ontario Letfislature.and bt'came in the iattor theacknowlcdsjfed leader
of the Opposition. Mr. Blako on entering political life at once stepped to the front
rank, both at Toronto and Ottawa. His public addresses, both in Parliament and
out of it. challenge tho attention of the country, and he conunands the respect
even of those who most strenuously oppose his political course.
164
fHE "PACIFIC SCANDAL.
>f
[1873
vinces of the Dominion, together with several leading
American capitalists.
Parliament met on the 6th of March. The (Tovernment
had a good working majority. Early in the session grave
charges were preferred against the ministry by Mr. Hun-
tington, the member for Shefford. They were accused of
malfeasance of office in connection with the granting of the
Pacific Railway charter. A committee of investigation was
appointed, with authority to examine witnesses on oath.
In Quebec, Mr. Caron became Lieutenant-Governor, vice
Sir N. Belleau ; and in New Brunswick, Mr. Tilley succeeded
Mr. Wilmot.
On the 1st of July, 1873 (Dominion Day), Prince Edward
Island was admitted into the Canadian confederacy. It
received a representation in the House of Commons of six
members, and in the Senate, of four members.
During the recess of Parliament certain correspondence
between Sir Hugh Allan and some American capitalists,
which was published in the newspapers, seemed to inculpate
the Government in what was now known as the " Pacific
Scandal." The burden of the charge was that the Govern-
ment had received from Sir Hugh Allan and American
capitalists, in consideration for granting them the Pacific
Railway Charter, large sums of money to be used in carry-
ing the elections in the interest of the Ministerial party.
When Parliament met on the 13th of August, the com-
mittee of investigation failed to report, as the Imperial
Government had on legal grounds disallowed the Oaths Bill,
under which it was authorized to receive sworn testimony.
A royal conmiission was appointed by the Governor-
General, to receive the testimony of sworn witnesses on the
charges against the Government.
Parliament met again on the 23rd of October to receive
the report of the royal commission, presenting the unpre-
cedented circumstance of being in session three times within
five months. The report of the commissioner^, was confined
to a statement of matters of evidence, without expressing
any judicial opinion upon the subject. Mr. Mackenzie, the
leader of the Opposition, moved a resolution of censure on
the Government. The debate continued for seven days.
At length, without waiting for the House to come to a vote,
Sir John A. Macdonald announced the resignation of his
cabinet, November 5th.
[1873
leading
jrnment
)n grave
Ir. Hun-
cused of
ig of the
tion was
oath,
•nor, vice
ucceeded
Edward
acy. It
ns of six
pondence
ipitalists,
inculpate
" Pacific
e Govern-
A.mericaii
le Pacific
in carry-
party,
the corn-
Imperial
»aths Bill,
estimony.
jrovernor-
les on the
bo receive
le unpre-
les within
i confined
xpressing
3nzie, the
snsure on
^en days,
to a vote,
3n of his
( 165 )
CHAPTER XLI.
THE MACKENZIE ADMINISTRATION.
The Mackenzie Ministry— 187?. New Pacific Railway Act— Govern-
ment empowered to Construct the Road — Qu'Appellk Treaty
CONCLUDED WITH NORTII-WEST INDIANS— 1874. MOUNTED POLICE
OliOANIZED IN NORTn-WEST TERRITORY— 1875. CANADA AT THE
Centennial Exhibition— 1876. Meeting of the Fishery Commis-
sion at Halifax— Groat Fire at St. John, Juno 20th— 1877.
Mb. Mackenzie was called upon to form a new govern-
■ic>fjA nient, which he speedily did."* During the Christmas
recess the House was dissolved, January 3rd. The
nominations, with few exceptions, took place on January
22ncl, and the elections one week later. It was the first
election for the Dominion Parliament at which voting, ex-
cept in a few outlying constituencies, was simultaneous.
An administration which had the honour of guiding the
early fortunes of the new confederation of provinces, which
had exhibited marked ability, and had rendered distin-
guished service to the country, received the condemnation
of a large proportion of the constituencies, especially of those
in the province of Ontario. It was claimed that in a House
of two hundred and six members, three-fourths were sup-
porters of the new administration.
The session was a short but busy one. Sir Hugh Allan
finding himself unable, on behalf of the Pacific Railway
* It was constituted ag follows :— Hon. Alexander Mackenzie, Minister of Public
Works; Hon. A. A. Dorion, Minister of Justice; Hon. Kdward Blakc, Member of
Privy Council; Hon. Albert J. Smith, Minister of Marine and Fisheries; Hon, L.
de St. Just, Minister of Aj,'riculture and Stjvtistics; Hon. II. J. Cartwri},'ht, Minister
of Finance; Hon. David Lain!, Minister of the Interior; Hon. David Cliristie, Sec-
retary of State; Hon. Isaac Hurpee, Minister of Customs; Hon. D. A. Macdonald,
I*0!(tmaster-General ; Hon. Thomas Coffin, Receiver-General ; Hon. Telesphoru Four-
nier. Minister of Inland Revenue; Hon. William Ross, Minister of Militia and De-
fence ; Hon. L. S. Huntington, President of the Council.
NoTK.— Mr. Mackenzie, the new premier, like many others of our public men, has
been the architect of his own fortune. He was born near Dunkuld, Perthshire, in
1822. He received his early education in the pul)lic school of his native parish.
Left an orphan at the a^e of fourteen, he earned his liviuK by tiie labour of
his hands, while he continued his unremittinyr work of self-education. Ho emi-
jrrated to Saruia, in Upper Canada, in 1842. He felt a strong interest in the struggle
for responsible government in IiIh adopted country, and took an active part in the
advocaoj' of lil»eral principles. In liS(>l he was elected member of Parliament for
Lambton. which constituency he long coiititmed to re])rescnt. On the |)a88age of
the Act disallowing dual representation, he resigned his seat in the Ontario Parlia-
njent for that at Ottawa, where ho soon becanie the acknowledged leader of the
Opposition.
166 ORGANIZATION OF NORTH-WEST TERRITORY. [1876
Company, to carry on the construction of tlic road, resigned
the charter into the hands of the Government. A new
Pacific R.ailway Act was therefore passed, empowering the
Government to construct the road in sections, and to make
use of the water stretclies on the route till the entire road
could be completed.
During the recess negotiations were carried on between
Sir Edward Thornton, British minister at Washington, and
the Hon. Geoi-ge Brown, representing Canada, and the
Hon. Mr. Fisli, Secretary of the United States, for the
renewal of a reciprocity treaty. On the 23rd of June a
draft of a treaty, which had been approved by the Govern-
ments of Great Bi-itain and Canada as the best that could
be effected under the circumstances, although by no means
so advantageous to Canadian interests as was desirable, was
submitted by President Grant to the United States Senate
"for advice." It was, however, ultimately vetoed by that
body. Its failure caused little regret in Canada, so un-
favourable were its conditions.
In the North-west the Qu'Appelle treaty was concluded
with the Indians having territorial rights between Fort
Ellice and the South Saskatchewan, which, in consideration
of generous reserves and annual presents, extinguished the
Indian title to seventy-four thousand square miles, and pre-
pared the way for the future settlement of this vast region.
Previous treaties had ceded the whole of Manitoba and the
Kewatin District. A considerable immigration of Men-
nonites and Icelanders took place into the province of
Manitoba. They received generous Goverimient aid and
favourably situated grants of land.
In 1876 provision was made for the separation of a por-
tion of the North-west territory for administrative purposes,
and for the creation of a new North-west Council, consisting
of a Lieutenant-Governor and five members. That portion
of the territory north and east of Manitoba was erected into
the District of Kewatin, or " the North-land," and was
placed under the jurisdiction o{ the Lieutenant-Governor of
the "prairie province." Provision was also made for the
ratifying of treaties with the Indian tribes, and for the
encouragement of immigration into the territory.
The United States Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia
attracted large numbers of Canadian visitors. The position
[1876
esigned
A new
ug the
make
re road
)etween
on, and
nd tho
or the
June a
lovern-
t could
means
3le, was
Senate
by that
, so un-
ncluded
3n Fort
deration
ihed the
and pre-
; region,
and the
of Men-
nnce of
aid and
I a por-
urposes,
•nsistinij
portion
;ted into
md was
ernor of
for the
for the
idelphia
position
1877]
FrSIIEUY COMMISSION.
107
occupied by Canada in that great industrial congress of tho
nations was in the highest degree creditable to the skill and
energy of her people, and was to multitudes an unexpected
revelation of the extent and magnificence of her resources.
Foremost of the provinces in variety, richness and beauty
of exhibits was Ontario. Its educational department
especially — with one exception, perhaps, by far the best in
the vast palace of industry — challenged universal attention
and admirtation. It is just ground for patriotic pride, that
in this highest outcome of civilization our country takes tho
lead of the world, and far surpasses many countries 'much
older and richer in material wealth. The mechanical in-
dustries and manufactures of Canada also commanded
wide recognition, and in some cases extensive patronage.
One of the most notable events of the year 1877 was the
meeting of the Fishery Commission at Halifax. The treaty
of Washington had thrown open the fisheries of the United
States and Canada to each country for the term of twelve
years ; the amount of compensation for the alleged superior
value of the Canadian Fisheries to be decided by three com-
missioners, — one chosen by each Government and the +hird
by the two Governments jointly. This commission met at
Halifax, N.S., June, 1877. The amount claimed by
Canada was $14,880,000. After exhaustive examination
of documentary and oral evidence, the sum of 85,500,000
was awarded to be paid by the United States. By this
award the immense value of these fisheries was recognized.
A great calamity in the month of June befel the Province
of New Brunswick in the destruction by fire, on the 20th
of June, of a large part of its flourishing seaport, St. John.
Two-fifths of the city, or over sixteen hundred houses, occu-
pying two hundred acres of ground, were consumed. The
energy and enterprise of the merchants of St. John at once
essayed the task of rebuilding their ruined city ; and soon,
" like the pha'nix from its ashes," it rose fairer and more
stately than before.
( 168)
n
CHAPTER XLII.
VICE-ROYALTY OF THE MARQUIS OF LORNE.
Oonoinl Elections— Now Conservative Government— Arrival of Marquis
of Lome and Princess Louise— 1878. The *' National Policy "—1879.
Pacific Railway Syndicate— 1880. Census Returns— 1881.
The general elections of the year ltt78 took place on the
17th oi September. The result was the defeat of Mr. Mac-
kenzie's Government by a very large majority. On the
16th of October, therefore, the Ministry resigned, and Lord
Dufferin called upon Sir John A. Macdonald to form an
Administration. This he succeeded in doing, and on the
18th his Cabinet was completed as shown below.*
On October 19th, Lord Dufferin sailed from Quebec amid
the universal regret of the people of Canada. This feeling
was accompanied by one of gratification that they were to
be succeeded in their high place by the Marquis of Lome
and the Princess Louise. It was felt to be a pledge of the
deep interest felt by Her Majesty the Quoen in the Dom-
inion, that she chose to be represented among her Canadian
subjects in the person of her daughter and of her son-in-
law. On the 2 5 til of November, the Vice-regal party landed
at Halifax. Their progress to Montreal and Ottawa was
one continued ovation.
On the opening of the new Parliament, February 14th,
lb79, the most important clause of the Speech from the
Throne was that which stated that the revenue of the
country being insufficient to meet the charges against it,
such a re-adjustment of the tariff would })e proposed as
would, it was expected, restore the equilibrium between
revenue and expenditure, and at the same time develop and
encourage the various industries of the country — a fiscal
system designated as the "National Policy."
*Hon. John A. Macdonald, C.B., Minister of Interior; Hon. Samuel L Tilloy,
C.B., Minister of Finance; Hon. Charles Tuppcr, C.B., Minister of Public Works ;
Hon. J. H. Pope, Minister of Agriculture ; Hon. John O'Connor, Q.C., President of
the Council ; lion. James Macdonald, Q.C., Minister of J^^tice ; Hon. Hector L.
Lan^cvin, CD., Postmaster General ; Hon. L. R. F. Masson, Minister of Militia and
Defence ; Hon. James C. Aikens, Secretary of State ; Hon. Mackenzie Bowell,
Minister of Customs; Hon. J. C. Pop*, viiiiister of Marine anil Finheries; Hon.
L. F. (}. Baby, Minister of Inland Uuvonue ; Hon. A. Campbell, Receiver-General ;
Hon. R. D. Wilinot, President of the Senate.
:»
[arqiiis
-1879.
on the
Mae-
11 the
d Lord
Drill an
on the
jc amid
feeling
^^ere to
: Lome
of the
le Dom-
[inadian
• son-in-
' landed
.wa wa>3
T Uth,
•om the
of the
binst it,
osed as
)etween
lop and
a fiscal
L Tilley,
ic Works ;
•esident of
Hector L.
lilitia and
e Bowell,
'ies; Hon.
'-General ;
^H
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY.
1G9
On the 11th of March, the Ontario Legislature was dis-
solved, and a new election took place. The results of the
election showed that Mr. Mowat's Government was sustained
by a large majority.
In the Quebec Legislature, the Joly Ministry was de-
feated, and Mr. Chapleau became the loader of a new ad-
ministration.
In the summer of 1880, Sir John A.. Macdonald an-
nounced that his Government was contemplating the aban-
donment of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Rail-
way as a public work, and was negotiating with a number
of capitalists for its construction by private contract. On
tlie 16th of September, it was publicly announced that a
contract had been made with capitalists of London, Paris,
and America, for t' it purpose — the contract to be subject
to the approval of i-*a- iament. Among its chief provisions
were the followii (: iwat the Company should receive a
subsidy in money of $25,000,000 and of 25,000,000 acres
of land, in alterne'e sections of 640 acres cacli, extending
back twenty-fc^r miles on each side of the railway. It was
also granted pe. mission to import, free of duty, all materials
required for the construction of the road. There were
numerous other conditions and provisions, but the above-
mentioned are the principal ones. This contract was rati-
fied by Parliament by a large majority.
The result of the decennial census of the Dominion in
1881 showed the population to be 4,324,810, divided as
follows :— Ontario, 1,923,228; Quebec, 1,359,027; Nova
Scotia, 440,572 ; New Brunswick, 321,233 ; Prince Edward
Island, 108,891 ; Manitoba, 65,954 ; British Columbia, 49,-
459 ; and the Territories, 56,446.
In the summer of 1882 a general election took place,
the result of which showed that the Government was sus-
tained by a large majority.
The people of Canada followed with keenest interest the
brilliant British campaign in Egypt, whereby the power of
the usurping Arabi was broken, and the authority of the
Khedive restored. The popular interest in the war was all
the greater that the Commander-in-Chief of the British
forces. Sir Garnet Wolseley, had won some of his earliest
laurels in Canada by his intrepid march through the wilder-
ness to the Red River in 1 870.
12
170
CANADIAN CONTINGENT IN EOYPT.
[1884
In October, 1883, tho Marquis of Lome and IT. R. H.
the Princess Louise took their h»ave of Canada amid the
unniin<,ded regrets of the entire eonmiunity.
CHAPTER XLIIL
VICE-ROYALTY OF THE MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE.
Lord Lansdownc, Governor General, Oct. 22,-1883. Red River Rebellion
— Airaira at I)\ick Lake, Fish Oeek, Cut Knife Oeek, Ratoche—
Rebellion Suppressed— Completion of Canadian Paciflo Railway
—1886. Queen's Jubilee— 1887.
Lord Lansdowxe, the new Governor-General of Canada,
arrived at Quebec, October 22nd, with loyal acclamation,
and was sworn in the following day.
During the year 1884, the people of Canada felt a pro-
found interest in the expedition organized by the British
Government for the suppression of the revolt of the Mfihdi
in the Soudan, and the relief of General Gordon, shut up
in Khartoum. At the invitation of General Wolseley, a
force of 378 Canadian voyaijeurs, under command of Lieut.-
Colonel F. C. Denison, enlisted for service in Egypt in con-
veying British troops and stores up the Nile ; and accom-
plished their task with distinguished success. The whole
civilized world shared the feeling of horror and regret when
the gallant Gordon fell a victim to treachery on the very
eve of the relief of Khartoum.
In the Province of Quebec a new ministry was formed
under the premiersliip of tlie Hon. J. J. Ross.
One of the most remarkable evidences of tlie progress of
the Temj^orance reform was the number of counties and
cities in wliich the Scott Act was adopted by popular vote
— up to the close of 1885, sixty-two counties and five cities.
Although in many cases the oiHcials whose duty it was to
aid the enforcement of the Act were positively hostile to
that enforcement, yet the weight of evidence goes to show
that its operation tended greatly to restrain the sale of in-
toxicating liquor, to drive the traffic into holes and corners,
and thus to deprive it of its quasi-respectability.
[1884
R. H.
VVNE.
Kobolllon
^ntocho—
Kail way
^Janada,
niation,
t a pro-
Ijiitish
3 Mahdi
shut up
seley, a
: Lieut. -
> in con-
'. accom-
e whole
3t when
he very
formed
gress of
ies and
[ar vote
e cities,
was to
stile to
bo show
e of in-
jorners.
1885]
NOUTII-WEST UEliELMON.
171
During the sunnnor of 1881, considcrahle uiuttoriiigs of
discontent were iicard amoii*; the lialf-hicrds in the Sas-
katchewan and Assiniboiiu^ territories. They complained
that they W(»re unahle to obtain patents for lands which
they had long occupied, and were, inck'cd, in danger of
being dis})ossessed by land companies whose grants over-
lapped their holdings. J5ut tlu.'ir complaints i)rought no
redr(^ss. The very remoteness of tlu^ seat of government,
and the divided responsibility of the departmcMital system,
made more dithcult — or, at least less etHcic^nt — the adminis-
tration of affairs over the vast regions stretching from the
western boundaries of ]\Ianitol)a to the Rocky Mountains,
and from the forty-ninth parallel to the northern limits of
f>opulation — a region greater than the whole of Russia in
Europe.
The disaffected half-breeds invited Riel, who, after varied
fortunes, had taken refuge among the Metis of INIontana, to
return and champion their rights. During the fall of the
year he addressed a series of meetings at the half-bi'ecd
settlements, jind prepared a so-called Jjill of Rights, d(v
mandinu tlie removal of their alleged grievances, Pendiui'
the response from Ottawa to these demands, a Provisional
Government was organized, with Riel at its head, and
Gabriel Dumont, a bold and energetic half-breed, as his
" Adjutant-General."
On IMarch 18th, 1885, the rebels — for such their reckless
acts now made them — seized the Government stores at Duck
Lake, captured the Indian agent, cut the telegi'aph wires,
and sent messengers to enlist the co-operation of the Indian
tribes. To maintain order in all the vast region of the North-
West, with a population of Indians estimated at over thirty
thousand, there were live hundred Mountc>d Police. Major
Crozier, with a force of about sixty police and forty volun-
teers, advanced to Duck Lake to tak(5 charge of the Govern-
ment stores ; they were intercepted two miles from Duck
Lake by a force of Indians and half-breeds, about two hun-
dred strong, under Gabriel Dumont. A collision occurred,
and a fierce fight ensued, and fourteen of the volunteers and
Police were killed. Riel now threw off all disguise, sum-
moned Indians and half-breeds alike to revolt, and with
only too disasti-ous success. The intelligence of these start-
ling events produced an intense sensation throughout the
172
TRAnEDV AT FROG LAKE.
[1885
country. Not sinco tho Fonian invasion in 1800 hn,(\ such
patriotic enthusiasm been aroused. In a few days nearly
four thousand volunteer troops were under at ins.
Tho transport of so many men, horses, guns, stores, etc.,
a distance of two thousand miles from central Ontario, at an
inclement season of the year, was one of no small diMiculty.
There were several gaps in the Canadian Pacilic Railway
north of Lake Superior, amounting in all to over ninety
miles, over which the troops had to be conveyed in sleiglis,
or, in some cases, marched through the snow and slush.
Meanwhile tragical events were occurring in the far West.
On Good Friday, April 3rd, the Indians at Frog Lake, wlio
constituted Big Bear's })and, rose in revolt, and massacred,
with peculiar atrocity, the two priests, Fathers Marchand
and Fafard, together with Thomas Qu nn, Indian agent,
John Delaney, farm instructor, John Gowanlock, and several
others. Three of the settlers' wives, two of whom had been
the horror-stricken spectators of their husbands' deaths,
were carried captive to the Indian camp. Not till two
months later were they finally rescued from their perilous
imprisonment.
Qu'Appelle station, three hundred and twenty-four miles
west of Winnipeg, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, was
made the first advance rendezvous of the troops, and thither
brigade after brigade were forwarded as fast as they arrived
from the East. General Middleton determined to march
his main column from Qu'Appelle to Clarke's Crossing, on
the South Saskatchewan. Another division rendezvoused
two hundred miles west of Qu'Appelle station, at Swift
Current, and made a dash across the prairie with a flying
column for the relief of beleaguered Battleford.
The march from Qu'Appelle to Batoche, the stronghold of
the rebels, was two hundred and thirty miles ; from Swift
Current to Battleford was one hundred and eight) miles.
Over these vast distances every ounce of food and forage
for man and beast, and all the multifarious supplies, stores,
and ammunition for an army, had to be hauled over a
prairie trail, when the roads were breaking up, and when
the streams to be crossed were running with ice or swollen
with the spring rains.
On April Gth, in a blinding snow-storm, the main body of
the North- West field force, about nine hundred and fifty
[1885
1885]
RELIEF OF nATTLEFOUD.
173
A such
nearly
\s, otc,
D, at an
llculty.
laihvay
ninety
sloi<;hs,
ah.
r West.
0, who
ssaored,
irchanci
agent,
several
ad been
deaths,
till two
perilous
ur miles
^ay, was
[ thither
arrived
3 march
sing, on
izvoused
t Swift
a flying
?hold of
n Swift
} miles,
i forage
, stores,
over a
d when
swollen
body of
nd fifty
strong, loft Fort Qu'Appelle. FJeven days' march brought
thcun to Clarke's Crossing. 'I'Ihj troops wcsre impatient to
push on to Matoclu', thirty-three miles from the Crossing,
but it was ncicessary to wait for forage supplies, hospital
stores, and the like, from Swift Current. Without waiting
for the reinforc(unents expected by the st(!amer Northcote^
General Middletor decided to divide his column into two
sections, and to move on the enemy simultaneously on l)oth
sides of the river. On April 23rd both divisions advanced.
About half way to liatoche, on the south l)ank of the river,
was a deep and rugged ravine, destined to become historic as
Fish Creek. Here an advance force of the rebels was con-
cealed. A conflict began which continued for several hours.
The volunteers were almost without cover, and suffered
severely, no less than ten being killed and about forty
wounded out of about three iiundred and lifty men under
fire.
For a fortnight there was an enforced cessation of hostili-
ties in order that the wounded might receive proper atten-
tion, and that General Middleton might accumulate a suffi-
cient store of supplies, and obt.ain the reinforcements and
artillery that were daily expected to arrive by the Northcote
from Swift Current.
At Battleford, meanwhile, were crowded some six hun
dred refugees, two-thirds of tliem being women and children.
Week after week they looked eagerly for the relief which,
in spite of innumerable difficulties, was hastening to their
rescue. At nightfall, on April 23rd, the relief column ar-
rived and the refugees within the stockaded fort hailed with
joy their deliverers.
The troops spent a few days throwing up earthworks and
strengthening the defences of the fort. To prevent the
flames of Indian revolt from spreading like flres in the
prairie grass, it was resolved to strike a blow at Pound-
maker's camp. His "braves" had wantonly pillaged the
settlers' houses far and wide, and it was feared that they
mi*rht effect a junction with Kiel's main body at Batoche.
On May 1st, at three o'clock in the afternoon. Colonel Otter,
with a flying column three hr dred strong, left Battleford
in waff'ons or on horses, and v the light of the full moon
pressed on all night to Poundmaker's camp. At live o'clock
next morning, just after crossing Cut Knife Creek, which
174
CAPTUllE OF 1]AT0(J11E.
[1885
runs through a wooded ravine, they met the enemy on an
open upland slope. Under tlie concentrated tire of Indian
sharpshooters, the troops suffered severely. The continuous
roar of the Gatling and the scream of the shells seemed, how-
ever, to intimidate the enemy. But the mountings of the
g'lns' unfortunately gave way, and they soon proved useless
in the fight. The troops, after fighting from dawn to noca
without food, were compelled to retreat. By ten o'clock at
night Battleford was reached — the six hours' tiglit and the
march of seventy miles having been effected within thirty
hours. Our loss, unfortunately, was heavy — eight killed
and twelve wounded.
We left General Middloton's command chafing at the
diilay caused by waiting for the arrival of the Northcoie
v/ith much needed supplies and annnunition. The progress
o'i: the steamer down the river from Swift Current was very
tedious. She v/as heavily laden, and the water in the river
was low. At length, on May oth, she reached Clarke's
Crossing. General INliddleton, on the 7th of May, with his
entire force — now numbering about a thousand men and six
hundred horses, with four guns and a Gatling — marched
along the right bank of tlie Saskatchewan, the Northcote
advancing simultaneously on tlie river. The following night
they encamped about eight miles from Batoche, the rebel
stronghold. The village lay in an eUiptical basin, with
numerous lateral ravines, whicli offered good cover for th{;
rebels. Concentric liiies of rifie-oits amonuj the brushwood
also made a formidablt^ (hjfence. For three days a desulto!"y
and ineffective iire was kept up. The rebels refused to
come out of tlujir trenches, and the Genei'al, careful of the
lives of his citizen soldiers, refused to allow the troops to
charge.
On Tuesday, May 1 1 th, tiie sharp-shooting was renewed
with visour. After a hastv meal in the trendies, the Gen-
eral ordered an advance in force of the whole line, now
extended along a front of a mile and a half. Siimiltaneously
the Midl.inders, Gi'enadiers, and 90th, with fixed hayontits,
rushed down the slopes, heedless of the fire from the riHe-
pits. Tlie enemy, speedily demoralized, everywhere gave
way. In a few minutes the ri tie-pits were reached and
cleared, and tlie gallant volunteeis w(;re in hot pursuit of
the retreatinjj rebels. liito the village they rushed, eager
[1885
y on an
Indian
tinuous
eel, how-
s of the
us(;less
to noGii
clock at
and the
n thirty
killed
at the
Vorthcote
progress
was very
tlie river
(Clarke's
witli his
1 and six
marched
N^orthcole
ing niglit
bhe rebel
;in, with
' for tli(5
•u si I wood
iesultory
fused to
Lil of the
troops to
renewed
the Gen-
ne, now
aneously
)ayon(!ts,
tlje riHo-
ere gave
hed and
irsuit of
id, eager
1885]
COLLAPSE OF THE llEIiELLION.
175
to save the prisoners. Among tlie foremost was the gallant
Captain French, who fell, pierced tlirough tlie heart, in an
upper room of Batoclie's house. Another otlicer, since de-
ceased, Colonel Williams, of the INIidlanders, wrenching
open a trap-door, found, pallid and gaunt, nine white
prisoners. In this charge, live volunteers were slain and
twenty-two wounded. Only the leaders in the rebellion
were put under arrest ; the others were dismissed to their
homes and supplied with food. Kiel and Dumont both
escaped. A few days later, on the 15th, Kiel surrenderetl
to a scouting party, but Dumont got safely over the border
into Montana.
At Calgary, one hundred and ninety-four miles south of
Edmonton, and eight Imndred and forty miles west of Win-
nipeg, Major-General Strange, a retired JJritish oliicer, who
had seen much service, was entrusted with the command.
He promptly raised a body of scouts among the cow-boys and
frontier-men, and was soon joined by volunteers to the num-
ber of about twe^lve hundred men. Innnediately after the
Frog Lake massacre, a Hying column was pushed forward
to Edmonton and thence down the North Saskatchewan to
Fort Pitt, and etiectually extinguished the llame of what
threatened to be a wide-spread Indian revolt.
In the meantime. General Middk^ton, with th(i bulk of
his command, pressed on to the relief of Prince Albert and
Battleford. Shortly after Poundmaker and his band sur-
rendered, and an expedition was organized for the pursuit
of Big Jiear, who had in his camp over sixty white prisoners.
Most of these were soon rescued, and the wandering chief,
fairly starved into submission, at last surrendercsd.
The campaign was now ended. The gallant volunteers,
who, aided by a few hundred IVIounted Police and men of
the Infantry School, had suppressed a rebellion extending
over many hundreds of miles, of often rugged and ditlicult
country, in which many hundreds of bold, vigorous, and
valorous lialf-breeds and Indians were engaged, might now
return home. The dill'erent columns which, from bases
lying hundreds of ndles apart, by forced marches, had
reached this outpost of civilization, each lighting nK'anwhih;
a vigorous campaign, embarked together on steamers on the
Saskatchewan, and were rapidly trans])oi'te(l to the East.
The trial of Kiel and his companions in his ill-starred
176
COMPLETION OF THE C. P. RAILWAY.
[1885
revolt ooeried at Regina, the capital of tho North-West
Territories, on July 28th. Striking evidence was given as
to his insanity, but on August 1st the verdict of " guilty "
was rendered, and, after successive reprieves, he suffered
the extreme penalty of the law at Regina, November 16th.
The execution of Riel produced an intense sensation among
his French-Canadian co-religionists. In Montreal and else-
where tumultuous meetings were held, accompanied by
riotous processions and the burning in effigy of the Premier
of tlie Dominion.
Of happier omen was a contemporary event in tho North-
West — the driving of the last spike of the Canadian Pacific
Railway (November 7th). Thus was brought to completion
an enterprise of the higliest importance to the material and
political welfare of the Dominion. Never had an under-
taking of so great magnitude been carried on with such
remarkable rapidity and success. By its completion a great
trans-continental highway was opened between the com-
mercial interests of Europe and those of Eastern Asia
much more direct and expeditious than any before existing.
As a military factor it contributes greatly to the unity of
the British Empire throughout the world.
During 1886 the principal event oi importance was tho
dissolution of the Ontario Assembly toward the close of tho
year. After a short but very exciting campaign the Mowat
Government was sustained by an increased majority, De-
cember 28th, 1886. Early in the following year the Do nin-
ion Parliament was dissolved, and a gentjral election took
place, February 22nd. The Conservative Government \ as
sustained, though with a decreased majority.
The relations between the United States and Canada be-
came somewhat strained on account of fishery disputes. An
international com;.\ission was appointed in Septeml)er, 1887,
for the settlement of the fishery and international (juestions.
Considerable public discussion took place with reference to a
policy of unrestricted trade reciprocity between the two
countries.
The most conspicuous event of the year throughout tho
British Empire wa-^ the celebration of the Jubilee year of
the Queen. Never was seen more patriotic enthusiasm than
that manifested in the many and varied celebrations, not
only at the heart of tho Empire, but also throughout ita
remotest dependencies.
*i
nary I'
Froiul
[1885
h-West
iven (in
juilty "
uflered
mr 16th.
among
nd else-
iit;d by
'remier
North-
Pacilic
iipletion
rial and
uiider-
th sucli
I a great
he coni-
rn Asia
3xisting.
unity of
was tho
se of tho
3 Mowat
'ity, De-
I Do nin-
ion took
lent \ as
nada be-
tes. An
er, 1887,
uestions.
3 nee to a
the two
lOut tho
year of
Lsm tlian
LOUS, not
rhout its
PRONUNCIATION OF PEOrEli NAMES/
Abenaquis .... Ab-en-a'h-kee.
Acadie, or \ A'k-ah-dee, or
Acadia . . . / Ak-a'de-a.
Aix-la Cha- 1 *.| i u u i\
pdle I Aiks-lah-shape 1.
AUjonquin .... Al-gr)n*''-kaii«.
) (or, -om).
Aubrey O'bree.
Bandet B5-ddy.
Bikimc Bay-a'rn.
Jieaul^nssin .... lio-bass-a'n*.
Jieauharnoia . . . Bo-har-nwa'w.
Jieauport Bo-po're.
Beau S<lJour . . . Bo Say-zho'or.
B4cancourt .... Bay-kaii'^'-koor.
Benoif. Ben-waw.
Biencourt Be-an^-koor.
Hoerstler Burst- ler.
Bowjanmlle . . . Boo-gaiit'-vee'l.
Bouquet lioo-ka'y.
Bourdon 15oor-<l6nK.
Bourhmaque . . Boor-lay -ma'hk.
Bur (joy ne Bur-goin.
Cabot Ka-b6.
Cahiague Ka-e-a-gu.
GallUres Kal-e-air.
Ca7iceau, or \ Kahn«-so', or
Ganso . . . . f Ka'ii-so.
Gari<jnan- \ Kar-eon-yahuS-
Saliires . . . j Sah-le-ai'r.
Gnrillon Kar-oeyoiiR.
Gartier, \ Kar-te-ay,
Jacques . . . f Zhak.
Gataraqui Kat-ar-ft-quee.
Gau(/hnawa^ja. , Kaw-naw -w:\-ga.
Gaymjas Kay-yu-galis.
Ghamplain .... Shaiinf''-i)lant»'.
Charlevoix .... Sliarle-vo-il.
Channcey C.'liahii-se'.
Chippewa Cliip'-pu-waw.
Chomuien Sliou-a'-gen.
Chrysler Kris-lur.
Corkbum Ko'-lmrn.
Contrec(e.ur. . . . K6n*f-tr-kc'Mr.
Gourcefleti Koor-se'll.
Coureur de \ Koo-rew'r ileh
Boi,H / bwaw.
Coutume de 1 Koo-tw'iii deh
Paris . . . . / pah-re'e.
Crdvecn'ur Krave-kewr.
GuviUier Kw-veul-yay.
Dablon I)ah-bl(')nK
Dauversiere . . . Do-vair-se-ai'r.
D' Ai<iuillon ... Day-gee-yc'tnK.
D^AiUeboust . . . Dl-ee-boo.
D'Argenson . . . Dar-zhahu»''-8onK.
D^Avlnay Do'-nay.
jy Arautjour . . . Dah-vo-goo'r.
Dearborn Deer-hiirn.
De Bienville . . . Deh lieaii«-vcel.
De Caen Deh KahiiK.
De Chastes .... Deli Sliast.
De Guast Deh ( Jah.
Des Monts .... Day Moii«.
De Silleri Deh Sill-er-y.
Dciiys Day -nee,
Desrhamps . . . Day-sliahuK.
Des Meules. . . Day 'Sleul.
D'He.rtel \ Dair-toU,
(liouville) ] (Roo-veel).
D' Iberville .... Dee-bair-ve'cl.
Dir.<ikau, Dee-e's-ko.
J)iiiiriddie .... Din-wi'd dy.
Druillettes .... Dnt-ce-ye't.
* In the proiiiiiicfations (^Iven, the letters and syllaltles are to liave their ordi-
nary EnjfliHh sound, with theso «!Xfi'jitioii8, viz., n and eu, m italics, denote tho
corre8pondin(( French soundn, which have no exact Kn^rlish equivalent ; u re|»re-
sents the short sound of tlie French o, soinowhat like v in but ; ii^,' denoleM tho
French nasal sound ; >; everywhere denotuH tlje hard Hound qf that letter, asj in yo ;
zh UuDotos the ttound o( i iu azur<}.
178
PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES,
Duche,meau . . . DM-she- o',
Dupuys Dw-pwo'e.
1)U PleSHM .... Dm l'l(!8S-«'f;.
Jht Que/me .... l)/i Kiii'ii.
IJulac lies \ Dulali Jaib
Ormtaux. . ] Oniio,
Duvantye Du-van-ti.
FotUainehkau . Fon«-tain-blo'.
Ctobarus Oab-ah-roo's.
.^ ,. M "i (ial-ees-on^-ne-
(rdltssonniere V . ,
J til I •
Oenesee Jeu-C-se'e.
Ghent (ialiii«.
Gruyart (jrw-e-yar.
Ihhert A-l)ai'r.
Heiim'jnn Hen-nf'-pan**.
IIochela<ja .... Hosh-ah-la'h-gah.
Iro<iuoin Eo-ro-(piaw.
IhIc aux Noix. . Eel-o-nwaw.
Joliet Joli-et,
Jonquidre Zhon*^-kee-a'ir.
Jnmonville .... Zhu-niOn*f-ve'el.
Komiiaronk . . . Kon-de-ar-o'nk.
Labrador Lab-rah-ilo'ro.
Lachine Lah-shee'n.
Ln/xHii aine .... Lo.h-fonK-tain.
Lak'vant Lahl-ma'huB.
Lanson Lo-z6ii*<.
LcHcarbot Lais-kar-bo.
Levi Lev-ee.
Lomjiienil .... LouK-geit'ee.
Loyola Loi-o'-lah.
Macomb Ma-koom.
Maisonmnive . . Ma'v-souti-neit'v.
Manitou Ma'nit-oo.
Marquette .... Mar-ket.
Mt'.vjs Meegs.
Mercier Mair-se-wy.
Mesnard May-na'r.
Mdiry , Ma'y-zee.
Monomja' \ Mo-iion-ga-hoo'-
held ] lah.
MoiUaijnais. . .. MOnK-ta'u-yay.
Montcalm >\i':i'-ttham.
Ai: ntma</ni- . x.loa^-ma'n-yee.
Montmorency \
Narragansetts . Nar-ra-ga'n-sots.
N^miH<^eau .... Neni-e-so'.
Norembeyue
Oiteidas . . .
Onondarjas
Pakenham
Perrot ....
PoiU<jrav6
Pontiac . . .
Ponchot . .
Poutrinrou)
PreHqii'Isle
J* re rout . . .
Prideaux .
Rasles . . ,
Jidcollet . .
liecontrrance
lienwelaer
Richelieu
Saskatchewan
SaiUt Ste.
Marie ....
Schultz
Schuyler ....
Senecas .....
Sioux
Ste. Foye ....
St. Pierre , . .
Stadacona . . .
Stuyvesand . ,
}
Nor-em-bay-gu.
O-nl'-dahs.
On-oii-daw-gaha.
Pak'n-am.
Pair-ro'.
PuuK-grah-va'y.
Pon'-to-ac.
Poo-sho'.
Poo - trahiiK- koor.
Press-ke'el.
l»rri'v-o.
Prid'-o.
Rahl.
Ra-koll-a'y. [ss
Ra-koo-vra'hii«-
Ren-se-lur.
Reesh-le-eM.
Sas-ka'tch-e-wan
So San«t
Mah-re'e.
Shoolts.
Sky'-ler.
Se'n-e-kahs.
See oo.
Saa^t-fwaw.
Saint Pe-air'.
Stad-ah-ko-nah.
Sti'-ve-sant.
Tecumseh Te-cum'-say.
Utrecht You-trekt.
Vaudreuil Vodre?i'-ee-ye,
Ventadour .... Vahn^-tali-doo'r.
Verazzaui .... Vay-rah-za'h-neo
Vespuccif 1 Voa poot-chee,
(Amerhjo) ] (Ah-inay-ree'-go)
Wyandot Wy-an-do't-
Lhtim.
Ina'n-yee.
lo-rahnK-
-ga'n-sets.
-so',
-bay-gu.
lahs.
-daw-gahs.
am.
o'.
jrah-va'y.
io-ac.
lo'.
•ahii»''-koor.
ke'el.
o.
o.
)ll-a'y. [s8
jo-vra'hu«-
ie-lur.
i-le-ew.
:a'tch-e-wan
ui«t
ili-re'e.
Its.
ler.
e-kahs.
>o.
t-fwaw.
; Pe-air'.
■ah-ko-nah.
/^e-saut.
im'say.
trekt.
rew'-ce-ye.
i«-tiih-(U)o'r.
rah-za'h-neo
poot-ohee,
may-ree'-go)
an-Jo't.
OUTLINE
History of Canadian fitcrature.
By G. MERCER ADAM.
CONTENTS.
PAOB
iNTKODUCTOJtY 179
French Ukoime:— The Discoverers, E.aiiy MisHionarics, and T^x-
plorers 1811
Later B'rench-Canadian Literature 197
Bhitibh Ueqime :— Tlie Fur Traders and the Literature of the
Noith-West 203
Early Colonial Writers : From the Rebellion Back to the
Conquest 20G
Writers on the Constitution, the U. E. Loyalists, and the
War of 1812 210
Works Descriptive Industrial, and Social 215
Contemporary Authors 220
INTRODUC OR Y.
The story of human life on th[ . ontiuent is a brief because
•a recent one : tlio stimo may b> said of tlio rtn^ord of its
literature. Unlike the Old VVut)d we have had no long
centuries of rich ind varied cuUv:re, ,?nd V)ut few periods of
bitter passion and strife to call forti), in intellectual expres-
sion, the energies, the heroism, and the national pride of the
people. The held for the display of those national (jualitiea
has hitherto not been literature. On this side the Atlantic
we lack even the diversified physical structure of the Old
World continents, with the ditVerentiation which a strongly-
marked geography product^s in mental antl other racial char-
acteristics. On the European contini'nt i»»en nece;:sarily
fell into variety, either from the iisolation iisiposed by
geographical barriers, or from the separating in.Haenees of
climate, language, or creed. In the Nt:w World, acciaent.
i80
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
caprice, or local attractiveness in scenery and climate, have
led to settlement here and there, and to the growth of the
communities which now inhabit it. But with the exception
of the Province of Quebec, the various coloni(5S that have
planted thoms(;lves from time to time in the northern por-
tions at least of the New World, though they have retained
no little of their original characteristics, have not perpetu-
ated them in their alitui aggressiveness. In great measure,
these communities have become assimilated and taken on
mon^ or less of a common type. This is perhaps accounted
for by tlie fact that the members composing them came
\wve in the main as peaceful colonists, and not, as in Old
World instances, as conquering peoples, with a well-marked
and dominating national force. The blending of nationali-
ties in peaceful pursuits on this continent is one of the
hai)piest circumstances in its history, and with the adoption
of a common language, with the traditions as well as the
civilization which that language represents, this fusion must
in time greatly contribute to the dominion of the race and
have a powerful influence on its literature.
The physiography of North America, though it has its
regional diversities, is characteristically as simple as the
European continent is varied. In this respect it is better
litted for man, though it nmst fail in creating those rieli and
diversified physical and mental types which we see in the
Old World. With the exception of the mediterranean seas
which lie between Canada and the neighbouring States, the
continent is undivided, and, save on its western flank, is
luai'ked })y little physical vaiic^ty. The lack of variety in
physical conformation of the inhabited portions of the con-
tinc^nt has its counterpart in the people. The human types
ari^ little diversified, and the mental cliaracteristics, if not
altogt^ther uniforu), correspond very closely to the same
model. Nor have the political divisions produced much
contrariety, and the little tliat has existed is every day
yielding to the influences of travel and social and com-
mercial intercourse. Even when the connnunities were
isolated and far apart, there was not much divergence in
habits and thought, beyond that which differentiates inland
communities from maritime, and marks off a provincial and
rural people from those that live in towns and acquire cos-
mopolitan manners and tastes. Nor among the aboriginal
INTRODUCTORY.
181
}, have
of the
:ception
lat have
jern por-
Iretained
Iperpetu-
neasure,
taken on
jcountecl
ni caiuc
in Old
I-niarkecl
lationali-
e of tlio
adoption
11 as tho
ion must
race and
t has its
le as tho
is better
3 rich and
see in tho
nean seas
tates, the
flank, is
ariety in
the con-
lan types
cs, if not
the same
ed much
very day
md com-
bies were
'f^ence in
,08 inland
ticial and
[uire cos-
(boriginal
inhabitants of the continent do we find much mental diver-
sity, save that which distinguishes the fon^sL from tlie prairie
Indians, or is connected with minor variations from tho
general structural affinity of the tribal languages.
Almost the sole exception to the prevailing mental uni-
formity on the continent is to be found, as we have hinted,
in Lower Canada, now the Province of Quebec. There
circumstances, the result in the main of the racial and
religious privileges granted to French-Canadians at tho
Conquest, have created and maintained a distinct — we nn'ght
almost say an alien — people, cherishing their peculiar habits
and customs, with their own national aspirations, langup.^-o,
and creed. Proud of their French origin, of their descent
from the old noblesse^ of the days of the Grand Monarcjue,
or from the hardy seamen of Normandy and Brittany, and
inheritors of the fame and the traditions of the original
discoverers and first colonizers of the country, they cling
tenaciously as a people to their own institutions, their
language, and their laws. Their sectional isolation, we
c{in hardly disguise from ourselves, is an untoward thing
for Canadian Confederation, and tlie unifying and Wv^lding
together of the various British commuiiiti(;s which twenty
years ago set out on a nationward jjath under a Federal
(iovernment. Nor is the evil reiidcMod less noxious by
racial jealousy, religious cleavage, and intermittent sec-
tional hostility ; though Party and a Party Press is perhaps
more responsible for this than are our French-Canadian
(;ompatriots. Ominous in a national sense as the fact is,
however, this surviv.il of Old France in the New World is a
rather pleasing break in the i-acial monotony of the Ameri-
can continent, and gives the charm of variety to the mental
habits and national characteristics of the j)eople. But a
more important and not less gratifying feature in the cas(» is
tliis, that it has gi en to Canada a distinctive, as well as an
early, literature, — all the more interesting as it h.as pre-
served an Old World flavour, and, while di*awing its in-
spiration in large measure from the Motherland, has made
fresh distillations of culture and civilization in the colony.
The volume and wealth of French-Canadian literature
are fa(;ts too little known to English speaking (^mada, and,
it is to 1h^ feared, are but litthi Jioted by our literary men
themselves. Wcire its resources as well as its m«!rits b(itter
182
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
known and recognized, the fact could hardly fail to ex*
cite a friendly and helpful rivalry in the domain of letters,
and aid in promoting that finte^ith cordiaU between the two
peoples, without which there can be no national fusion,
and but little material, and less intellectual, advanr v
ment. Nor would the least of its influence be felt in the
sphere of politics, and in the wider and more beneficent
fields of social and commercial intercourse. What a mine
the historian Parkman has found in the early history of
Canada, and how replete it is with all the materials of
romance, there is to-day no need to point out. In our in-
difference other American writers are entering upon the
field ; and already many of the localities in Quebec and the
Maritime Provinces, with their rich histories and fascinat-
ing legends, are fast passing into literature through the me-
dium of a foreign pen. It is perhaps not too much to say
that it is from the pages of Howelis' "Wedding Journey"
and "A Chance Acquaintance" that our people are first
apprised of the beauties of Quebec and the St. Lawrence ;
while of the local writers, Hawkins and Le Moine, they
probably never have heard. The same n){:y be said of the
licjuid chasm of the Saguenay, of the rude Gaspe coast,
and of historic Cape Breton, the Isle Royale of Louis
Quatorze, and the long-contested prize of Britain and
France. What we know of Grand Pr6 and the fateful
story of the expulsion of the AcadJans we know from
Longfellow's Evangeline and the historical corrective of
Parkman's "Montcahn and Wolfe." So with other dramatic
incidents in the whole rfigion of Acadia, and with those
delightful descriptions of scenery with which American
writers, such as Charles Hallock in " The Fishing Tourist,"
Charles Dudley Warner in "Baddeck and That Sort of
Thing," and Henry D. Thoreau in "A Yankee in Canada,"
have made us pleasantly acquainted. It is to tho poet
Stedman (see his LonVs-Day Gale) we turn to read the
stirring account of the terrible storm which swept the Caj)e
lireton coast and the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, in August,
1873, and wrecked hundreds of the fishing craft of Glouces-
ter, Maine. To Whittier, also, must we look for tlie poeti-
cal version of that old legend of the Massachusetts coast,
which gained for Skipper Ireson the maledictions, with
INTRODUCTORY.
183
}}
to ox-
[otters,
lio two
iision,
vanr •-
in tho
oficont
la inino
ory of
ials of
our in-
lon the
mcl tho
iscinat-
tho me-
i to say
)urney
i,re first
w^rence ;
le, tliey
1 of the
•e coast,
f Louis
lin and
fateful
•w from
ctive of
Iraniatic
:h tliose
merican
I ourist,
Sort of
>aiiada,"
ih(^ poet
eafl t\w
he Ci\.\w
August,
Glouces-
le poeti-
bs coast,
IS, with
tarring and feathering, of the irat(^ women of Marhlehead
for deserting a sinking tisliing-smack in the JJay of Ohah;ur.
*• Small pity for him ! — He sailed away
From a leaking ship in Chaleur Hay,—
Sailc'l n,',vay fiom a sinking wreck,
With hi.s own town's peo]»Te on her <leek i
' Lav hy ! lay hy ! ' they called to him ;
Back he answered, * Sink or swim I
Brag of your catch of fiah again ! '
And oil" he sailed through the fog and rain."
i recti ng
atten-
Gradually, however, our writers arc
tion to the rich stores of history, legend, and adventuie in
their own country, and are more and more seeking in native
fields themes for their pen and the inspiration that should
comp, and must best come, from local soui*ces. Already we
have no little to boast of in the literature of both languages;
and wore public appreciation of native literary undertakings
more hearty and pronounced, and the pecuniary rewards
more substantial, the field would be still more fully occupied.
Each year the area widens which is treated of by nfitive
writers, historical and descriptive ; and each year, also, sees
the various interesting periods of the native history more
fully discussed, and the social and political questions of the
past made subjects of keener criticism and of ampler eluci-
dation. In proof of this, we might point to the single
instance of our great North- West domain, which has
attracted the pens, we are quite within the mark in saying,
of at least a hundred writers, who have published as many
treatises and brochures on the country and its resources,
since the region passed from out the gloom and desolation
of the period of the Fur Traders into the brighter day of
colonization and settlement. Like gratifying facts might be
adduced with regard to the older Provinces, their past
history and social and industrial development; while various
phases in their intellectual and moral progress are now be-
coming subjects of interesting study and of critical exami-
nation. The number of works is now large, and is yearly
increasing, on such incidents in our history as the Conquest,
the War of 1812, the period of the rule of the Family Com-
pact, the Rebellion of 1837, the later story of Confederation,
with the politics, local and general, of recent times. The
national biography is also being annually enlarged, and the
\u
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
interesting portraiture of tlioso who have patriotically de-
voted themselves to the puMic service of th(^ youn^^ nation,
has become, or is fast becoming, both more familiar and
more real to us. Nor into the sterner tield of science have
our students and writers been slow to pen(;trate. A glance
through the four volumes of the "Transactions" of the
Royal Society of Canada, or through the "Journals" and
annual puV)licatioiis of the various other scientific institu-
tions of the Dominion, not to speair of ihe many important
separate treatises by our local najayiu, will emphasize this
fact. A like industry and public spirit characterizes our
literary workers in other fields ; though our people are slow
to recognize the fact, and chary in (heir acknowledgment of
it. What is wanted to help our nascent Canadian litera-
ture is a greater infusion into it of patriotic feeling, and,
among the people, a wider diffusion of national sentiment.
Through no influence more potent than literature and the
literary spirit can the nationalizing of the Dominion eflec-
tively operate. Nothing will better contribute to the weld-
ing J)rocess, or be more efHcient in bringing about homo-
geneity, and the consolidating influences the country so
urgently needs, than a healthy native literature and an
ardent national sentiment. With these, and due encourage-
ment to their exercise, we may see the various Provinc(is of
the Dominion knit more closely together in the bonds of a
common nationality, and sectionalism and disruptive influ-
ences dispelled as things of alien p owth.
* But we must not conceal froni ourselves our weakness.
We are a young and, as yet, far from a self-reliant people.
For our ( vn good, it is to be feared, we have been too long
in a state of pupilage and of dependence, intellectual as
well as political, upon others. This has bred not only dis-
trust of ourselves, but disesteem of our literature. There
is no need to quarrel with the pessimism which aflirms that
Canada has no literature. In a sense, the statement is true;
for of a distinctively native literature, on its English side,
it has as yet little. We do not say this as a concession to
popular ignorance or prejudice, but as a fact, the frank
admission of which may be helpful to native letters. Yet
•The concliKliiifj; portion of this Introductory is from an article by the present
writer on " The Disesteem of Canudian liitt'ruturo," reproduced, by liind pcnuiusic^n,
from The Kam^y, for OhriHtmas, 1BS6.— (/. M. A.
INTiioniTrTORY.
inry
ly de-
lation,
lir and
to, havo
glance
of tlio
" and
nstitu-
ortant
zo this
OS our
re slow
wont of
litera-
ig, and,
tiinent.
md tlio
n effoc-
le weld-
' horno-
ntry so
and an
joura^^o-
incos of
ids of a
\re influ-
aakness.
people.
:oo long
itual as
►nly dis-
Tliere
ms that
is true;
sh side,
ission to
8 frank
s. Yet
;he present
)criui»uion,
the nunilxu* of y)ookH written on and in Canada is large; how
large it would surprises many j)eopl(^ to know. Thci present
writ(3r has had fi«^(ju(!nt occasion to compile a list of Cana-
dian publications and works relating to Canada, and in Ins
time has madc^ many more or less am})itious collections.
The extent of the li»t has always been a marvel to him, and
he may be permitted to say that no Canadian, at least,
should be unfamiliar with much that it comprises. Tluiro
is scarcely a department of thought in it that is not repre-
sented, tljough it is specifdly rich in the materials for
liistory ; and the curi'ent additions to the list are by no
means meagre. While this is tlu^ case, we constantly hear
the statement that English Canada has no literature ; and
before going further it might be wc^ll to see just what it
has. What is it, then, we classify in our libraries under
native authors, and why give it so i mch space if it does
not rank as literature ? We shall best aiiHW(;r the ((uestion by
taking a look at our book-shelves, or by directing the reader
to the pages that follow. Here is one devoted to Canadian
histoiy and travels. True, the French portion ovcMshadows
the English ; but it is no less national or lacking in the Ht(»r-
ary quality. ]^ut if objection is taken to its citation, wo
shall pass by our Cluimplain, Charlevoix, TiCscarbot, Sagard,
La Hontan, Hennepin, and Le Clenj, with their modern
congeners Carneau, Ferland, Faillon, Tasse, Turcotte,
LeMoine, Chauveau, Suite, Ven-eau, Casgrain, Tanguay,
and St. Maurice — names that confer distinction upon Can-
ada, and whose authors have earned the right of admission
into the temple of literary fame. But before leaving this
section let us note what a field there is hm-o for the trans-
lator, and how much profitable work might l)e done in
rendering into English those interesting records of early
French travel and discovery which, so far, have not been
translated — despite the plums Parkman has abstractcid for
his brilliant historical narratives. It is not creditable to
Canadian literary industry that, as yet, we have no English
translation of the Relations des Jesuites, of Sagard 's or
Lescirbot's works on Nouvelle Fraytce, or of many other
instructive histories and monographs of the French period.
Let us now turn to the English division of the same
department. And here every section of the country, and
almost every period of its life, are dealt with. A mere
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186
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITEHATURE.
string of names will convey little ; but those familial- with
the work which tlie following list of authors represents will
admit that it counts for much in tlie sum of our Anglo-
Canadian literature : — Auchinleck, Bouchette, Bourinot,
Bryce, CannifF, Christie, Coffin, Collins, Dawson, Davin,
Dent, Fleming, Gait, Gourlay, Gray, 'Grant, Haliburton,
Heriot, Hargrave, Head, Hincks, Howison, Hind, Hod gins,
Hov/e, Kirby, Leggo, Lesperance, Lindsey, McGee, Martin,
Morris, Morgan, Murray, Macoun, Mackenzie, McGregor,
MacMuUen, Machar, Rattray, Ryerson, Reade, Sandham,
Scadding, Smith, Stewart, Talbot, Taylor, Thompson, JTodd,
Watson, Withrow, Wilson, and Young.
In this obviously incomplete list, we make no mention
of authors outside history and kindred topics, who have
published works in other departments, or graced Canadian
literature by minor contributions from their pen. Nor
have we cited authors in the professions — of education,
journalism, law, medicine, science, and theology — who have
issued text-books, treatises, manuals, works of practice, etc.,
or made important contributions to the journals, periodicals
and transactions of their respective professions. Nor have
we referred to our poets and writers of fiction, or to the
mass of printed matter, in pamphlets and brochures^ which
claims recognition as "Canadiana," and a respectable
amount of which, as fact or criticism, we hold, belongs,
if not to literature, to something closely akin to it. Yet
with all this material, it is slightingly said that Canada
has no literature — and no history. When, may we ask,
shall we get rid of tb'i; denationalizing habit of discrediting
the past ■? No Canadian history 1 Why, the past is full of
it; not, it may be, on any great scale, with "blare of
trumpet and beat of drui^i," but in that grander movement
of the country's industrial and social life, which has made
of the wilderness a cultivated garden, and brought peace
and plenty to a thriving and enlightened people. No
literature? With poets such as Reade, Roberts, Sangster,
Mair, Phillips Stewart, and George Martin among men,
and McLean, Machar (Fidelis), Crawford, Duncan (Garth
Grafton), Harrison, (Seranus), Rotiiwell, and Wetherald
among women. With novelists such as Kirby and Lesper-
ance. With scientists such as Logan, Dawson, Wilson,
Bell, Selwyn, and Sterry Hunt. With orators, publicists,
tNTRODUCTORY.
18?
iliai" with
sents will
ir Anglo-
Bourinot,
1, Davin,
iliburton,
Hodgins,
!, Martin,
IcGregor,
3andham,
ion, ^odd,
mention
vho have
Canadian
en. Nor
iducation,
who have
!tice, etc.,
eriodicals
Nor have
or to the
'es, which
spectable
belongs,
it. Yet
} Canada
we ask,
crediting
is full of
'blare of
lovement
las made
jht peace
pie. No
Sangster,
mg men,
ti (Garth
T^etherald
1 Lesper-
Wilson,
ublicists,
essayists, and miscellaneous writers, such as McGee, Howe,
Haliburton, Grant, Todd, Lindsey, Griffin, Stewart, Lo
Sueur, Rattray, and Goldwin Smith. Have these men and
women laboured in vain, and given nothing to the intellec-
tual life of their country that is fit to be called literature?
Only ignorance will dare assert that.
But the truth has to be qualified. We have a literature,
or, to be critical, the fair beginnings, at least, of one. How
much of it is known to those who ought to know it, we
shall not lare say. If there is ignorance of it, let us not
be told til at it doesn't exist. It is bad enough to hear the
question asked, "Who reads a Canadian book in England?"
but how much more discouraging is it to reflect how few are
the readers of a native work in Canada. And here is the
trouble : if we have not the literature we desire and might
have, it is because to such as we have we extend scant
favour. This attitude, if maintained, can only retard its
progress, dwarf the national spirit, and depress the literary
calling. On the other hand, were Canadian literature en-
couraged, it would take a more prominent place among the
intellectual agents of the higher life in Ca:^a la ; interests
and sympathies, now dormant, would be aroused ; and a
more distinctively national and higher literary work would
be created. To this end, let us first silence the depredators,
and pay fitting respect to the literary toilers of the past.
To the young Canadian who wants to know his country's
history and light the flame of his patriotism, we would ask
him to become acquainted with his country's authors and
take stock of their literary achievements. When he has
got that length, it will be time to hear of limits and de-
fects.
And now, briefly, for the qualifications, which, however,
do not excuse the prevailing lack of interest. That the
latter exists is shown by the comparatively few readers
even Parkman has among the Canadian public. If this
brilliant writer, dealing with the most dramatic incidents
in Canadian history, can command but a select body of
readers, what chance, it may be asked, has the average
Canadian writer? Yet the truth must be told, that, with
all the writers we have enumerated, we have little either of
an attractive or of a distinctively native literature. If we
except Parkman, the written records of our history familiar
188
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATUIIE.
to the Canadian reader are few and uninviting. Nor is
the reason far to seek ; for, in large measure, if the mate-
rial of these records is interesting, the style is bad. The
ground, admittedly, wants going over again, and our his-
tory re-presented with the graces of modern literary art.
But two essentials are necessary to this being done — the
qualitied writer and the appreciati\'e public. For lack of
these — and both w^e might havQ — how much is being lost !
Men and events of the greatest national interest are suf-
fered to fall into oblivion, for want of the skill and industry
to transfer them to the modern canvas, and the public spirit
to reward the toiler when he has performed his task. Nor
is it in the field of political action alone that we want the
writers ; but rather in that of Canada's social and indus-
trial life. Here is our romantic material, and the source
from which we might draw our picturesque narratives, and
the makings of a literature that shall be distinctively
national.
And how abundant is the material ! Every township has
its rich tale to tell of early settlement and toilsome pioneer-
ing work, and every section of the country its own chequered
annals and distinctive life. Yet few are the gleaners in the
field, while the elder folk are fast passing away from whose
lips the story might be taken down to pass into some famous
epic, drama, or history. With a little more public en-
couragement, what possibilities are before our Canadian
writers, and how much our literature might be enriched !
In the past history of Canadian thought and action, we
have been sowing but the seed-grain of a harvest that shall
bear good fruit, and in which the labourers, we trust, shall
not be few. To hasten that coming time, let us take greater
interest in the intellectual past and present, and hold its
product in more esteem. Then there will be no question of
our having a literature, and no lack of writers, racy of the
soil, whose work shall bring grace and repute to Canadian
letters.
THE DISCOVEllEKS AND EXPLORERS.
181)
Nor is
he mate-
id. The
our his-
-ary art.
me — the
' lack of
ng lost !
are suf-
industry
lie spirit
c. Nor
i^ant the
i iiidus-
3 source
ves, and
nctively
ship has
pioneer-
equered
s in the
Q whose
famous
3lic en-
anadian
Lriched !
ion, we
at shall
st, shall
greater
hold its
3tion of
of the
bnadian
FRENCH RfiGIME.
THE DISCOVERERS, EARLY MISSIONARIES, AND
EXPLORERS.
To most English readers of our native literature the work
of tlie French discoverers and explorers of Canada, of the
Jesuit and Recollet missionaries, and of the later French-
Canadian writers, must, in large measure, be a sealed book.
This must be matter for regret, as much of it is of the
highest order of interest, while its later portions are almost
unsurpassed in literary attractiveness. Fortunately, and to
a remarkable extent, Francis Parkman, the American his-
torian, has made the French period of Canadian history a
special field of work ; and in his series of brilliant narra-
tives of " France in the New World," the English reader of
early Canadian annals has a record of the epoch so scholarly
and fascinating that he can have little occasion to regret
hi" inability to peruse any portion of the literature of
French Canada whicli has not yet been translated into the
English tongue. We can note this only in passing, and add
that any Canadian who is unfamiliar with the works of Mr.
Parkman has little idea of the elements of romance that
enter into the annals, e'^cles'astical and civil, of Canada ;
nor can he be said to have really tasted of the charm of
history, when it is narrated by a graphic and picturesque,
as well as by a trustworthy and painstaking, writer.
Canadian literatrre can hardly be said to begin prior
to the founding of the Catholic missions in Canada in the
days of Champlain. From this period both the civil and
the ecclesiastical history of the country date. Previous to
tliat time, however, under the impulse given to the search
for a shorter, western passage to India in the reign of the
French monarch, Francis I., several notable voyages to the
New World were undertaken, and some account of these
ought here to be given ; but this, we regret, our limited
space forbids. We can permit ourselves but the barest
reference to the voyages of Jacques Cartier, undertaken
between the years 1534 and 1552, and refer those who feel
an interest in the subject of early exploration to the valu-
a.ble publications of the Hakluyt Society, and, particularly,
190
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
to Volume IV. of Justin Winsor's " Narrative and Critical
History of America " — a work which is now heing sumptu-
ously issued in Boston, and this special volume of which
deals exhaustively with " French Exploration and Settle-
ment in North America." In this volume will be found a
number of critical essays of the highest interest on the
discoverers and founders of Canada, and on the relations of
the Catliolic Church with the Indians. Jacques Cartier
made at least three voyages to Canada, in the first of which
(A.D. 1 .M) he took possession of the country for the
French King. In the following year he again left the port
of St. Malo for the New World, the objects of his enter-
prise, according to the terms of his commission, being dis-
covery, bottlemont, and the conversion of the native tribes.
In this voyage he disclosed to the ken of the Old World
(^ur noble St. Lawrence, and proceeding up its waters, reached
Stadacona (Quebec), and Hochelaga (Montreal). A third
voyage, in connection with the Sieur de Roberval, a Picardy
gentleman, was undertaken in 1540, with the design of
planting a colony in Acadia ; but this expedition, like those
that preceded it, was barren of practical results, save that
it gave to literature the earliest authentic record of dis-
covery in the region now embraced in the wide domain of
Canada. The narrative of Cartier's first voyage was issued,
in French, from the press of Ramusio, at Venice, in 1536.
In 1580 an English translation appeared, which was adopted
by Hakluyt and printed in his Naviijatio7is, in the year
1600. The account of his second voyage came out in Paris
in 1545 ; but of his third expedition, in concert with Rober-
val, we have only a fragment preserved by Hakluyt, whicli
brings the narrative down to 1541. In 1598 another ac-
count of Cartier's first voyage, in French, ap})eared at
Rouen, and was reprinted at Quebec, in " Voyages de
decouverte au Canada," 1534-1552, issued in 1843 under
the direction of the Quebec Literary and Historial Society.
Beyond the discovery of the country, and the intermittent
trade in fish and fur which it opened up, France profited
little from Cartier's voyages. Nor is there much in his
narratives as a contribution to literature, save numberless
curiosity-exciting facts, told to his St. Malo townsmen with
the truth and directness of a simple-minded but courageous
sailor,
THE DlSCOVEllEKS AND EXl'LOKEKS.
191
ud Critical
ig suinptu-
B of wliich
iiid Settle -
be found a
3st on the
'elations of
es Cartier
it of which
y for the
ft the port
his enter-
being dis-
bive tribes.
Jld World
rs, reached
A third
a Picardy
design of
like those
save that
rd of dis-
domain of
vas issued,
3, in 1536.
is adopted
L the year
it in Paris
ith liober-
lyt, vvhicJi
nother ac-
peared at
)yages de
H3 under
il Society.
3erniittent
e profited
:ch in his
umberless
imen with
ourageous
*' He told them of the Algoiniuin braves — the hunters of the wild,
Of how the Indian mother in the forest rocks her child j
Of how, poor souls, they fancy in every living thing
A spirit good or evil, that claims their worshipping ;
Of how they brought their sick and maimed for him to breathe
upon,
And of the wonders wrought for them through the Gospel of St.
John.
** Ho told them of the river whose mighty current gave
Its freshness for a hundred h^agues to Ocean's briny wave ;
He told them of the glorious scene presented to his si«^lit,
What time he reared the cross and crown on Hochclaga'n height ;
And of the fortress clift' that keeps of C'anada the key.
And they welcomed back Jacques Cartier from his perils o'er the
sea.
>> #
With the coming of Champlain the day dawned upon
French colonization and missionary enterprise. Within the
space of a generation (1603-1635) Champlain's eager, ardent
mind, his intense religious zeal, and his restless spirit of dis-
covery, made Canada, tixi now a veritable te7'ra incognita^
known to the outer world ; while he gave to the colony he
planted and fostered his earnest, watchful care and the
benefit of his every thought. With him came the Sieur do
Monts, a Huguenot who had rendered services to Henry
IV. during the wars of the League, and for which he was
rewarded by grants of land in Acadia, with the title of
Lieutenant-General. At the same period there also came
to Acadia, Pontgrave, a merchant of St. Malo, and with
him Poutrincourt, a French nobleman, w ho wished to escape
from the turbulent politics of Europe and settle in a land
unvexed by religious strife. Champlain eagerly entered
upon his explorations, first on the scene of the Acadian
colony, then on the St. Lawrence and its tributaries, in
the ascent of one of wliich he discovered the lake which
bears his name. Afterwards he ascended tlie Ottawa and
crossed to the country of the Hurons, and, with the latter
as allies, made his disastrous raid into the lair of the Iroquois
and brought upon the ill-starred colony which he founded
at Quebec the sleepless hate of that powerful Confederacy.
The chronicling of these and other events occurring in
New France during the early years of the 17th century,
*Froni the bt^llad of " Jactjues Cartier," b^' Thomas D'Arcy McGee,
192
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
with some account of tljc labours of tho llC'collot and
Jesuit missionaries, we happily owe to Chaniplain, the chief
personage in the drama of the times, and to Marc Lescar-
bot, a lawyer and man of good parts, who was intimately
associated with De Monts and Poutrincourt in the Acadian
Colony. The literary fruit of the period is embodied in
Champlain's voluminous narratives, of which there are
many editions in French, and at least one good edition in
English ; and in Lescarbot's " Histoire de la Nouvelle
France," the latter of which gives a vivid picture of life at
Port Royal among the Canadian "■ Knights of the liound
Table." The narrative of Champlain's first voyjige, entitled
*' JJes Sauvages, ou. Voyage de Samuel Champlain, de
Brouage," appeared in Paris in 1604, the year after tho
expedition was undertaken. In 1613, a second volume,
profusely illustrated, was issued in the French capital, em-
bracing the events which had occurred from 1603 to that
date. The volume is full of interesting matter, concerning
the native tribes, which were as yet uncontaminated b}'^ in-
tercourse with the scum of French prisons and other hy\)rid
classes sent out as colonists by order of the French Court.
Replete with interest is it also in regard to the geography
of the northern portions of the continent, particularly in
the region of the Bay of Fundy, including the coast line
of the Maritime Provinces and New England. A third
volume was published in 1619, which was twice re-issued in
Champlain's lifetime, and, with some additions, it again ap-
peared in 1632. Of his complete v/ritings, a collected
C'^nadian edition, in French, was published in Quebec, in
1870, in six volumes, quarto, under the editorship of the
accomplished Abbe Laverdi^re. This Canadian reprint is
creditable to native scholarship, being carefully edited, with
luminous notes from the original text in the Bibliotheque
Imperiale at Paris. To French-Canadian industry and re-
search are we also indebted for many interesting mono-
graphs on the subject of Champlain and his administration,
in the country he so faithfully served, and which has the
honour of holding his dust. L'Abbe Ferland's " Histoire
du Canada," contains an excellent summary of Champlain's
laboufs ; though, for English readers, Miles's " Canada un-
der the French Regime," Heriot's "History of Canada,'
and, especially, P^rkman's " Pioneers of France iu tb§
THE DISCOVERERS AND EXPLORERS.
193
)llot and
th(3 chief
c Lescar-
itiinately
Acadian
jodied in
here are
dition in
Nouvelle
of life at
e liound
, entitled
jlain, de
ifter the
volume,
jital, em-
3 to that
ncerning
ed b}'- in-
3r hybrid
3h Court.
BOgraphy
ularly in
oast line
A third
issued in
igain ap-
collected
uebec, in
p of the
•eprint is
ted, with
iotheque
y and re-
g mono-
istration,
has the
Histoire
implain's
riada un-
Canada, '
ift the
New World," should bo consulted. The best English trans-
lation of Champlain's complete voyages, however, is that
issued in three small quarto volumes, in 1878-82, for the
Prince Society, of Doston, by Dr. C. Pomeroy Otis, with an
elaborate memoir by the Rev. E. F. Slafter, M.A.
The limits of this brief sketch necessitate our dealing very
briefly with the remainder of the French writers of this
period. Contemporary with Ohamplain, and familiar with
his work, are the two authors, Marc Lescarbot and Gabriel
Sagard, who have made important contributions to the
literature of the era. Lescarbot's work deals with the
Nova Scotian colony under De Monts, and Sagard's with
the tribe and country of the Hurons. Not much is known
of Lescarbot, beyond the fact that he was born at Vervins
about the year 1580, and war, a law} er, having an extensive
practice in Paris, which he abandoned in 1604 to take part
>vith De Monts, the Lieutenant-General of Aoaciia, and
again with Poutiin'^ourt, in 1606-7, in the French colony
on the St. Croix river. Bay of Fundy. Three important
works of his are extant, the chief of which is an " Histoire
de la Nouvelle France," first published in Paris in 1609,
and to which was appended a collection of verse, written
also by Lescarbot, entitled '' Les Muses de la Nouvelle
France." Charlevoix, a later high authority, speaks of
Lescarbot's narrative as "sincere, well-informed, sensible,
and impartial." The author was a man of much vivacity
of manner, and has given us a delightful insight into the
habits and mode of life of the short-lived Acadian colony.
His verses which were the first effort to woo the Muses in
Canada, are bright and polished, and among them is a poem
written to commemorate a battle between Membertou, a
local Indian chief, and some neighbouring savages. Another
of his productions is a work on the " Conversion of the In-
dians," with an account of Poutrincourt's voyage to the
country in 1610. Father Sagard's works also deal with
missionary effort among the Indians. He was a member
of the E/icollet fraternity, of whose missions in the Huron
country, from 1615 to 1629, he is partly the historian. His
work, though diffuse, ip rich in details of Indian life and
customs: it is entitled "Le Grand Voyage du Pays des
Hurons," and has not been translated into English. It
appeared in Paris first in 1632, and again, in an enlarged
194
SKETCn OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
form, in 1G36, and to both editions is appendc^l a dictionary
of the Huron language which Sagard prepared.
We now come to the; most imjtortfint work of the period,
the account of the ecclesiastical history of Canada embraced
in the famous "vJesuit Relations," a work which has not
been translated into English, but the good things in which
have been extracted and elaborated by the historian Park-
man. The full title of the work is ** Relations des Jesuites,
con tenant ce qui s'est pass6 de plus remarquable dans les
Missions des Peres de la Compagnie de Jesus dans la Nou-
velle France." The edition of the Relatioyis in current use
in Canada is one in three portly volumes printed at Quebec
in 1858 by order of the government of the Province. The
narratives, which are marked by much simplicity of style,
extend from the year 1G32, with a few prior fragments, to
the year 1G79 ; and in no other contemporary source can
we look for so intimate a knowledge of the religious history
of the period, full as it is of thrilling incidents and the
record of a zeal and devotion unmatched in the annals of
missionary enterprise. The field of the first Jesuit mission,
founded in 1611, was at Port Royal, Acadia, though this
was temporary in its character. Tiie next mission was on
the St. Lawrence, under the Recollets, a reformed branch
of the Franciscan order, who came to the country with
Champlain in 1615. The Recollets at once extended their
field into the home of the Hurons, and in 1625 called to
their aid in their evangelizing labours the Jesuits, to whom
we are indebted for the long series of interesting Relations^
transmitted annually from the scattered fields of their work
to the head of their order at Quebec, and from there for-
warded to France for publication. As we have said, these
Relations have not been translated from the French ; the
English reader is therefore referred for an account of them
to Justin Winsor's " Narrative and Critical History of
America," to the valuable contributions of Dr. E. B.
O'Callaghan to the New York Historical Society, and to
the writings of Mr. Parkman. In Canadian sources, there
are also interesting papers on the missions contributed to
the Canadian Monthly by Dr. W. H. Withrow, and by Mr.
Martin J. Griffin, of the Parliamentary Library at Ottawa.
The reader will find an account of the Huron Missions by
THE DISCO VEUEUS AND EXPLORERS,
195
II dictionary
tho period,
[a oinbraced
icli has not
gs in which
orian Park-
les JC'suites,
ble dans les
ans la Nou-
current uso
:1 at Quebec
vince. The
ity of style,
agnients, to
source can
ious history
its and the
le annals of
iuit mission,
though this
don was on
ined branch
)untry with
ended their
25 called to
its, to whom
g Relations^
: their work
n there for-
said, these
^'rench ; the
ant of them
History of
Dr. E. B.
ety, and to
urces, there
itributed to
and by Mr.
at Ottawa.
Missions by
tlio present writer in P{r*urfisqne Cnnada, in tho section on
the "Georgian J5ay and the Muskoka Lakes."
One other important narrative of the religious liistory of
the colonies of France in tlu; Nt!W World wiiiclj remains to
bo noticed, is Father Christian Le Clei'(['s '•' Ktablissement
de la Foi," published in France in \i\S)\, in two volumes,
Vlxwo. This work has been tianslated, under the title of
" Establishment of tbe Faith," by J)r. J. (I. Shea, of N(nv
York, wliere it was published with a memoir in two volumes,
8vo, in 188L Le Clerq, who was a Recollet, and antagonis-
tic to the Jesuits, came to Quebec from France in 1675, and
found the held of his missionary labours in the Gas})6 rt^gion.
The Jesuits are bitterly satirized l)y Le Olercj in his work.
Another woi'k called forth by the Jesuit missions in Canada
is the "Moiurs des Sauvages Ameri({uains," by Father
Lafitau, and published in Paris in 1724. The author lived
long among the Iroquois and mad(; a close study of that
warlike tril)e. His book is held in high estimation by col-
h^ctors, though it is rather overlaia with a theory of the
Tartar origin of the red race.
Belonging also to this period are the narratives of the dis-
coveries of Father Louis Hennepin, who gives the first account
in history of the Falls of Niagara, and who was associated for
a time with the Chevalier de la Salle in his explorations in
the West. Hennepin's "Canadian Discoveri(»s and Voyages"
appeared at Utrecht, in 1697-8, and an earlier work, on tho
French colony in Louisiana, was issued in Paris, in 1683.
An English translation of the latter, by Dr. John Gilmary
Shea, an indefatigable student of the early annals of the
continent, appeared in New York, in 1880. Baron La
Hontan's " New Voyages in America," first published at
La Haye, in 1703, is another notable, though unreliable,
contribution to the literature of discovery and travel in New
France. The Baron, a young Gascon, and a favourite of
Frontenac, came to Canada in 1683, and was the bearer of
the Governor's despatches to Paris, conveying an account
of Phipp's failure before Quebec, in 1690. Parkman, in his
" Frontenac and his Times," characterizes La Hontan as a
mendacious historian ; and adds, that he was " a man in
advance of his time, for he had the caustic, sceptical, and
mocking spirit, which, a century later, marked the ap-
proach of the great Revolution."
196
SKETCH OF CANADIAN T.TTEIIATURE.
La Salle in his lifo-tiino left no record in Htor/iture of IiiH
important cliscov(u*ies in the West ; hut, thou^^^h iiiucli is
shr()U(l(!(l in olnscurity, rich niatcrialH an^ extant iijton which
jiiany interestinjL( volumes have h(ien written. Tlie chii^f of
tlu'sti are Mr. Parkman's '* La Salle and the Discovery of
the Great West," and the "Life of La Salle," hy Dr. Jari^d
Spark, who has also written on the explorations of La
Salle's sometime co-labourer. Father Marquette. In the
French lan<;uage, M. Pierre Marf,'ry, the present learned
Assistant Custodian of the Archives of Marine and Col-
onies in Paris, has shed the fulh^st liijfht on La Salle's his-
tory ; though that writer's claim for La Salle, of the honour
of discovering the Mississippi, with other statements tnade
in his book, have been actively combated. The cliief of M.
Margry's collections, which are considered of good author-
ity, is entitled ''Memoire envoy6 en 1G93 sur la decouverte
du Mississippi et des nations voisines par le Sieur d(; la
Salle, en 1678, et depuis sa mort par le Sieur do Tonti."
The Chevalier Tonti was governor of the For-t of St. Louis,
in the Illinois river, during Frontenac's regime, iuul took an
active part in promoting the objects La Salle had in view
in his explorations in the Gulf of Mexico, in the vicinity of
which La Salle, in 1690, met a woful death.
The latest writer who belongs to this period of Canadian
history, in point of ability, industry, and research, ranks
admittedly the first. This is the Jesuit Father, Pierre
Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, who came to Canada to
inspect the Jesuit Missions in the year 1720, and personally
travelled through the country from Acadia to the Gulf of
Mexico. His narrative, which is in six volumes, 12mo, did
not appear in France until 1744 : it is entitled "Histoire et
description Gcnerale de la Nouvelle France, avec le Journal
Historique d'un Voyage fait par I'ordre du Roi." His work,
it has been remarked, is commensurate with his opportuni-
ties : his faults and errors were those of his order. "Ac-
cess," says Dr. Shea, " to State papers and the archives of
the religious order to which he belonged, experience and
skill as a practised writer, a clear head and an ability to
analyze, arrange, and describe, well fitted him for his work."
Another good authority remarks, "that in all the high quali-
ties requisite for a great historian, Charlevoix has no
superior : he left no subject relating to the history of the
c.
nturo of luB
<;h iiiucli iu
upon which
rhc chi(!t' of
)isc()voi'y of
y Dr. J.'ii'cd
ions of L;i
bo. In tl»o
nnt learned
le and Col-
Salle's his-
tho honour
lucntH made
chief of M.
ood authoi'-
, dccouverte
Sieur de la
do Tonti."
f St. Louis,
ind took an
had in view
) vicinity of
f Canadian
arch, ranks
her, Pierre
Canada to
1 personally
:he Gulf of
12mo, did
Histoire et
; le Journal
His work,
opportuni-
der. "Ac-
archives of
irience and
,n ability to
r his work."
high quali-
[)ix has no
tory of the
LATER FUENril-nANAnTAN MTERATURE.
197
afTaira of his wonderful ord(M' in Aniorica untouched ; and
as tlie missions of the (Vnnpany of .lesiis amen;,' the Indians
wen^ the principal pur})ose of i\w Fathers in l»otli of the
Ameri<'as, tKe curiosity of (/li;irl(»voix permeated every ao-
cessibh> scpiare mih« of tlieir surfaec; to \vn\n the liahits, the
customs, and the secrets of the life of the stran^^e pcoph* his
brethren sought to subdue to the intluencc of the Cross."
LATKR FRENCH-CANADIAN LITERATURE.
The narrow lin)its of this sketch, it is a matter of regret to
Jie writer, call for rigid compr(!Ssion in the treatment of the
present and the two following sections. It is a long cry
from Cliarlevoix to Gai-neau, Ferland, and Faillon, in the
field of history, or, in the descending line of poets, from
Lescarbot to Cremazie, Le May, and Frrchette. JUit within
the space of time thnt divides these nanu^s literature in
Canada may be said to have folded its wings juid sh^pt. In
the long interval, the fortunes of France in the New World
had sufi'ered change. The race of doughty discoverers and
explorers had either died out, or its survivors had betaken
themselves to trapping and trade. The missions of the
Church, in the dire enmity of the Iroquois, had been exter-
minated or withdrawn. Then came the struggle with
Britain for the prize of the continent, and after tlu; Lilies
of France had fallen, a long period of an alien military
occupation brought upon the broken colony bewilderment
and discouragement. Upon the smoke of the contest litera-
ture did not open its eyes, and when it did, though the
clouds had cleared, it was long before it recovered heart.
With the union of Upper and Lower Canada, when polit-
ical strife for the time being was hushed, the long silence of
literature in Canada was at last broken, and the voice of
the modern group of French-Canadian writers began to be
heard. The place of honour must be assigned to the histor-
ians ; and the first to venture into the field was Michael
Bibaud (1782-1857), a Montreal magazinist, who, in 1843,
published a sober narrative of events entitled " Histoire du
Canada et des Oanadiens, sous la domination Frari9aise."
A second edition was issued in the following year, with a
198
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
upder the English
new work, dealing with the history
regime. Between the years 1845 and 1848 appeared a
work of conspicuous merit, which the French-Canadians
accept as their national history. We ref^r to " I'Histoire
du Canada," par Fran^ois-Xavier Garneau. In 1882 ap-
peared at Montreal a fourth and revised edition of this
great work, edited by the author's son, with an introduc-
tion by M. Chauveau ; and an English translation was
published by Mr. John Lovell, in 1866, by Mr. Andrew
Bell. The latter, it should be said, has taken some liberties
with M. Garntau's text to suit it to English readers. Dur-
ing the sixties, two learned priests entered the field of
French-Canadian authorship as historians; but their works,
though extremely valuable, are both incomplete, death in
each case having arrested the writer's labours. The first
in point of timo to appear was "Oours d'Histoire du
Canada," par TAbbe J. B. A. Ferland, continued to the con-
quest by I'Abbo Laverdi^re, who is said to have been one of
the ablest scholars in the Canadian priesthood. The second
of these two works is the " Histoire de la Colonie Fran^aise
en Canada," by the Abbe Etienne M. Faillon, a rather par-
tisan Sulpitian priest from Old France, who spent a number
of years in Canada, and whose great abilities and untiring
industry impart a high value to his work. Both of these
writers were men of great accomplishments, and as such
had access to all available ecclesiastical documents, in and
out of the country, which shed light on the civil and relig-
ious annals of Canada. Abbe Ferland's narrative is in two
volumes, and was published at Quebec in 1861-5. Of . bbe
Faillon's work but three volumes appeared, which were issued
in Paris in 1865-6.
To the other French Canadian works of note in the depart-
ment of histoi'y, with the kindred branch of biograpliy, we
can here re'^er only by their titles. Tliey are as follows :
" Histoire de Cinquante Ans," par M. Pierre Bedard ;
" Histoire des Canadiens-Fran^ais," par M. Benjamin Suite,
F.R.S.C., a richly furnished and comprehensive history by a
competent writer; " Le Canada sous I'Union,''' par M. Louis
P. Turcotte, an instructive work — from a thoroughly French
point of view, however — dealing with the political history
of the two old Provinces of Canada, from the Rebellion to
Confederation ; " Les Canadiens de I'Ouest," a series of por
IE.
the English
appeared a
ih-Canadiaiis
" I'Histoire
In 1882 ap-
ition of this
an introduc-
nslation was
Mr. Andrew
iome liberties
aders. Dur-
the field of
their works,
ete, death in
i. The first
'Histoire du
d to the con-
e been one of
The second
tiie Fran9aise
a rather par-
ent a number
and untiring
>oth of these
and as such
nents, in and
vil and relig-
tive is in two
-5. Of. bbe
h were issued
in the depart-
iograpliy, we
^ as follows :
srre Bedard ;
ijamin Suite,
history by a
par M. Louis
ighly French
itical history
Rebellion to
series of por
LATER FRENCH-CANADIAN LITERATURE.
109
traits of French pioneers in the West, par M, Joseph Tass6;
" Histoire de la Rebellion de 1837-38," par M. L. O. David,
and an interesting \a )rk by the accomplished philologist
and scholarly priest, FAbbe Tanguay, entitled " La Geneal-
ogie des Families Canadiennes." In this department, per-
haps, should also be noted the writi.gs of another French-
Canadian cleric, who is deeply imbued with the literary
spirit, and whose artistic and scholarly work has won for
him enrolment among tlie members of the Royal Society
of Canada. We allude to TAbbe R. H. Casgrain. This
writer's chief productions are " L'Histoire de I'Hotel Dieu
de Quebec;" " Histoire de la M6re Marie de I'lncarnation,"
and " Les Opuscules," a work which deals entrancingly with
incidents, historical and legendary, connected with early
pioneering life in the Lower Province. Another delightful
contemporary writer is M. Faucher de Saint-Maurice, whoso
" Promenades dans le Golfe St. Laurence," " Les Provinces
Maritimes," and other works of travel, have won for him
a high place in the literature of French-Canada.
Arthur Buies, one of the bright band of essayists and
chroniqueurs, whose work makes recent French-Canadian
literature so attractive, has written an entertaining book
on " La Saguenay et la Vallee du Lac St. Jean." This
region, long dear to the Church, and now the great resort
of tourists, is charmingly described by M. Buies. Of the
great repertoire of local and national history in the Quebec
Province, Mr. J. L. Le Moine, above all men, seems to hold
the key. Using his pen in both languages, Mr. Le Moine
has the advantage of most of his contemporaries, and num-
bers of English-speaking Canadians are familiar with his
work as an annalist and antiquary. He has done for Que-
bec what Dr. Scadding has done for Toronto — given us not
so much a history as the materials of history; and to few
men is Canada more indebted than to Mr. Le Moine for
preserving from oblivion many of the most interesting
legends and forgotten facts in our early history. His chief
published works are a triple series of " Maple Leaves : a
Budget of Legendary and Historical Intelligence," and two
volumes respectively entitled, " Quebec : Past and Present,"
and " Picturesque Quebec." He has also published number-
less brochures in French dealing with the early history of
the country. The name of Oscar Dunn, an accomplished
200
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
journalist and well-informed writer, cannot be omitted from
a list of French-Canadian authors. He has published two
volumes of collected papers, entitled " Lecture pour tous,"
and " Dix ans de Journalisme ; " also, a useful " Glossaire
Franco-Canadien."
Of the novelists and romancers of the province, a few
prominent names must suffice. The field, rich as it is in all
the materials of romance, it seems to the writer, should be
more fully occupied than it is. There is no lack of sketches
and studies in the literature of the sister province, but there
are few works of fiction of ambitious scope and sustained
merit. " L'Intendant Bigot " is the subject of one, and
perhaps the best, of the historical novels of M. Joseph
Marraette. Two others of his works, " Fran9ois de Bien-
ville," and " Le Chevalier de Mornac," have been drama-
tized and have found favour with his countrymen. " Les
Anciens Canadiens," by M. Philippe A. De Gaspe, is a
typical story of pioneering life in the early days of the
Quebec Province. "Jean Rivard," by M. Gerin-Lajoie,
and " Charles Guerin," by the Hon. Pierre J. 0. Chauveau,
are good examples of French-Canadian fiction ; as are also
M. Tache's *' Forestiers et Voyageurs," and "Trois Legendes
de Mnn Pays." Much more imaginative, and written with
a pleasing grace of style, is "Jacques et Marie," by M.
Napoleon Bourassa, a story which deals with the expulsion
of the Acadians. "A Mes Enfauts," by M. Napoleon
Legendre, is a charming collection of children's stories.
All literatures have usually their beginnings in song, and
this may truly be said of Canada. M. Suite, in an article
in Nouvelles Soirees Canadiennes (1882) on "La Poesie
FranQaise en Canada," enumerates a list between the years
1740 and 1880 of 175 French-Canadian authors of note, 67
of whom are known to have written verse. Much of the
work of these writers is ephemeral in its character, but not
a little of it is entitled to take high rank as poetry. As a
rule, its themes are Canadian, and from native subjects it
takes its colour and its life. Occasionally we find an invo-
cation to the muse of the Gallic motherland, and frequently
the models of Old France are perhaps too closely followed.
But, in the main, it is largely imbued with the genius of
the soil, and its subjects nre drawn from the national his-
tory, with pictures of its religious and social life, and its
LATER FRENCH-CANADIAN LITERATURE.
201
itted from
ished two
)Our tous,"
' Glossal re
rice, a few
it is in all
should be
)f sketches
, but there
sustained
one, and
M. Joseph
s de Bien-
en drama-
"Les
m.
IS a
aspe,
lys of the
rin-Lajoie,
Chauveau,
IS are also
Legendes
itten with
e," by M.
expulsion
Napoleon
ories.
song, and
an article
a Poesie
the years
note, 67
ch of the
r, but not
y. As a
ubjects it
an invo-
requently
followed.
genius of
ional his-
and its
political and industrial pursuits. With their characteristic
lightheartedness and joyous temperament, much of the verse
of the French- Canadian people is set in song. Three collec-
tions of this delightful species of verse have been published j
these are "Recueil de Chansons Canadiennes et Fran^aises"
(1859); "Chansons Populaires du Canada," edited, with
the music, by Ernest Gagnon (Quebec, 1865); and "Songs
of Old Canada," translated by William McLennan (Mon-
treal, 1886).
The number is legion who have written anonymous verse
and single poems, many of which are of great beauty. The
numerous serial publications of the Quebec Province, and
the continuous succession, from 1820 to the present time,
of Frencli-Canadian magazines have afforded vehicles for the
publication and preservation of these poetical contributions.
The chief of the minor poets may be said to be Bibaud,
Garneau (father and son), De Gaspe, Marchand, Prud-
homme, Routhier, Gingras, Chauveau, St. Aubin, Cartier,
Lenoir, Fiset, Poisson, Evanturel, Iiajoie, with two English
names, Chapman and Donnelly. The list of the poets of the
first rank contains the names of Pamphile Le May, Octave
Cremazie, Louis Honore Frechette, and Benjamin Suite.
The first is best known, perhaps, as the translator into
French of Longfellow's poem Evangeline. This production
is to be found in his " Essais Poetiques," published in 1865,
which was followed by a university prize poem, entitled.
La Dicouverte du Canada; by his Hymne Nationale, by Les
Vengeances, by a volume of Fables, and by a collection, Une
Gerbe, of fugitive verse. All these works are characterized
by true poetic feeling and literary grace. Of the other
writers named, of the first rank, Cremazie is said to be the
Hugo, Frechette the Lamartine, and Suite the Beranger of
Canada. Cremazie's verse has the ring of genius. Though
lofty in tone, it is marred, however, by the evil influences
of a disappointed life. Suite's more serious occupations
have left him little time to woo the Muses, but his songs
have a fine national stamp, and in his volume, entitled
Les Laurentiennes, he has given his countrymen justifica-
tion for placing him liigh among the recognized poets of
French-Canada. Frechette, however, holds the place of
honour. His published collections of verse are entitled Mes
Loisirs, Pel Mely Les Fleitrs Boreales, and Les Oiseaux de
14
202
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
Neige. The two latter works gained him the laurel crown
of the French Academy. His themes are incidents taken
from the national history, cast in various forms, with one or
two dramas, many sonnets, and a profusion of lyrics, of
great sweetness, dealing with nature and life.
In this section of our brief sketch of native literature, we
must not omit to note "I'Histoire de la Litterature Cana-
dienne," by M. Edmond Lareau, published at Montreal in
1874, which essays the task of presenting the French-Cana-
dian public with a manual of Canadian literature from the
earliest times. To this work we are somewhat indebted, as
well as to Mr. H. J. Morgan's "Bibliotheca Canadensis,"
to Dr. Bender's "Literary Sheaves," and to articles on
Canadian literature in the Transactions of the Royal So-
ciety, by the Hon. P. J. O. Chauveau, and Mr. John Les-
perance. Nor must we fail here to acknowledge our in-
debtedness to the collection of historical essays, contributed
to the Canadian Monthly^ by Dr. J. G. Bourinot, the Clerk
of the House of Commons, Ottawa. In this thoughtful little
volume, entitled " The Intellectual Development of the
Canadian People," the author has made a useful and inter-
esting addition to the meagre list of works available to the
English reader in the field of Canadian bibliography and
the record of Canada's intellectual life. In the same field,
with a good deal of intellectual acuteness and a fine literary
discernment, though marred occasionally by the writer's
self-willed predilections, Mr. J. Edmund Collins has given
us in his " Life of Sir John A. Macdonald " a bright chap-
ter on native thought and litensiture, which the student of
Canadian letters will find pleasant, and on the whole in-
structive, reading. The department of "Literature, Science,
and Art," in the Dominion Annual Register, edited by Mr.
Morgan, of Ottawa, may also be consulted with profit for
periodic summaries of the annual output of native litera-
ture and the record of the year's work in science and art.
The political abstracts and other information in these
annual volumes of reference, make them of the highest
value for consultation; and we shall be glad to see the ab-
stract of literature annually maintained, and something
more attempted than what has occasionally been given us —
a mere transcript of copyright entries.
THE PUR TRADERS AND THE NORTH-WEST. 208
1 crown
s taken
1 one or
Tics, of
bure, we
e Cana-
treal in
ih-CanA-
rom the
bted, as
»densis,"
icles on
oyal So-
►hn Les-
our in-
tributed
le Clerk
ful little
of the
d inter-
le to the
phy and
ne field,
literary
writer's
as given
ht chap-
ident of
'^hole in-
Science,
by Mr.
rofit for
'^e litera-
and art.
n these
highest
) the ab-
mething
ren us —
BRITISH REGIME.
THE FUR TRADERS AND THE LITERATURE OF THE
NORTH-WEST.
The great waterways of Canada — the St. Lawrence and
those inland seas from which it is fed — played an import-
ant part in the discovery and subsequent opening up of the
Continent. In the early days, it was the profits of the Fur-
trade, and not colonization and settlement, that drew the
trapper and voyageur, and that wonderful race of hardy
Canadian woodsmen, the coureurs de hois, into the vast in-
land solitudes of North America. First in the field, and
with access to the heart of the continent both by the St.
Lawrence and by the Mississippi, it is remarkable that
France ever lost her hold upon the territory, and that
Anglo-Saxon, and not French, is the civilization of the New
World. But with all the advantages in geographical posi-
tion, aided by their genius for exploration, a fatal defect in
the colonial system of France, and paralysis at Versailles
at the crucial moment when the prize was being contended
for, lost a new empire for the Latin race, and threw the
vast region into the hands of Britain and her English-
speaking colonists. When the Cross of St. George sup-
planted the White Lilies at Quebec, the flag of France was
flying at the Sault Ste. Marie and Michillimackinac, and
her fur traders had penetrated far across the plains. Had
another fate befallen on the St. Lawrence, France might
yet have been signally worsted in the Ohio Valley, and, by
a concerted descent from Hudson's Bay, driven back either
upon Quebec, or forced down the Mississippi to Louisiana
and the sea. But another issue was decreed, and with the
fall of Quebec there fell also the trading-posts of France in
the heart of the continent.
French exploration in tlie Far West dates back to 1738,
when Sieur de la Verandrye and his adventurous sons first
opened up the vast fertile plains which extend from the
lied River to the Rocky Mountains. For some account of
La Verandrye and his journey ings the reader is referred to
M. Suite's articles in the tenth volume of La Revue Cana-
204
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
dienne. Verandrye himself left no published account of his
explorations. Fifty years later came Sir Alexander Mac-
kenzie, a partner in the Great North- West Fur Company of
Montreal, the discoverer of the Mackenzie River, and the
first white man known to make his way across the Rockies
to the Pacific. His work, which gives a most interesting
account of the Canadian fur trade, contains the narrative
of two "Voyages from Montreal, on the River St. Lawrence,
through the Continent to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in
the years 1789 and 1793," and was published in London ip.
1802. Contemporary with Verandrye, Joseph La France,
a French half-breed, made an " Exploration of the Coun-
tries adjoining Hudson's Bay," an account of which, by
Arthur Dobbs, was published in London in 1744. Near
the close of the century, there also appeared the narrative
of three voyages in the same region by Samuel Hearne, a
Hudson Bay Co. ofiicer, who, after conquering many diffi-
culties, found a passage by the Coppermine River to the
Arctic Ocean. Hearne's work, entitled "Jou"ney from
Prince of Wales Fort (Hudson's Bay) to the Coppermine
River," was published in London in 1795. Another import-
ant book on the early fur :rade is that of Alexander Henry,
whose narrative furnishes Parkman with the thrilling
account, in his ** Conspiracy of Pontiac," of the Ojibway
massacre of the Figlish garrison at Michillimackinac just
after the Conquest. The reader will find considerable refer-
ence made to Henry, La France, Hearne, and Sir Alexan-
der Mackenzie, with a chapter on Lord Selkirk's ill-fated
colony on the Red River, in '* The North- West : its History
and its Troubles," by the present writer (Toronto, 1885).
Fuller narratives of the history of the Selkirk Colony will
be found in the work of Prof. Bryce, of Winnipeg, on
" Manitoba : its Infancy, Growth, and Present Condition,"
published in London in 1882; in Messrs. Gunn and Tuttle's
"History of Manitoba"; and, particularly, in a graphically
written work by Alexander Ross, a Scotch fur trader, who
was at one time an employe of Astor in his fur mart on
the Columbia River, and later on became a settler in the
Selkirk Colony. His work, which was published in London
in 1856, is entitled "The Red River Settlement: its Rise,
Progress, and Present State, with an account of the Native
Races." Not without interest, also, is the "Overland
b of his
r Mac-
Dany of
nd the
lockies
resting
rrative
vrence,
eans in
idon ii?.
France,
Coun-
ich, by
Near
-rrative
arne, a
ly diffi-
to the
y from
lermine
import-
Henry,
irilling
>jibway
ac just
e refer-
Uexan-
U-fated
listory
1885).
ny v.dll
3eg, on
Ution,"
Cuttle's
)hically
3r, who
[lart on
in the
Ljondon
5 Rise,
Native
;?erland
THE FUR TRADERS AND THE NOU'^H-WEBT 205
Journey" (London, 1843) of Sir George Simpson, for forty
years resi(Wt governor of the Hudson Bay Co.
With the cession to Britain, in 1869, of the Hudson Bay
Go's rights in the North- West Teriitories, and their transfer
to Canada, the literature of the modern era of travel and
description on the rich plains of the North- West com-
mences. Prior to the acoual surrender of the Hudson Bay
region, a few important narratives of exploration appeared,
the chief of which are Capt. Palliser's '' Exploration Re-
port;" Prof. Hind's "Red River Exploring Expedition,"
and that on the "Assiniboine and the Saskatchewan;" Paul
Kane's " Wanderings of an Artist among the Indians of
North America," and Milton and Cheadle's " North- West
Passage by Land." Since the acquirement of the territory,
it has been the field of extensive travel by Englisli writers,
from Capt. W. F. Butler, in his " Great Lone Land," etc.,
down to Mr. W. Fraser Rae's ' Columbia and Canada," and
Mr. Stuart Cumberland's " Queen's Highway from Ocean to
Ocean." With these works, however, we cannot here deal,
though Canadian history is particularly concerned with two
of them, in connection with Riel's Red River Rebellion. We
refer to Capt. Huyshe's "Narrative" of Wolseley's Red
River Expedition, and a cleverly written work by Mr.
Charles Marshall, entitled "The Canadian Dominion" (Lon-
don, 1871), which well hits off the whilom hero and dic-
tator of Fort Garry.
The native books on the North-West which belong to
the Confederation era begin with " A Sketch of the North-
West of America," by Mgr. Tache, Bishop of St. Boniface
(Fore Garry), translated by Capt. R. D. Cameron (Mon-
treal, 1870), and with the Rev. Principal Grant's eloquent
work, "Ocean to Ocean." The latter is a diary of the
Pacific Railway surveying expedition across the conti-
nent, undertaken for the Government, in 1870, by Mr.
Saudford Fleming, C.E. Dr. Grant's delightful book,
though the record of comparatively an old story now, is
still worthy of notice, and will well repay the modern
reader's perusal. Prof. Macoun's " Manitoba and the
North-West" (Guelph, 1882) is perhaps the most important
work for the reader who seeks information with regard to
the resources of the region, its physical features, and general
history. Mr. J. C. Hamilton's "The Prairie Province" (To-
206
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITEllATUUE.
ronto, 1871) is an instructive account of a journey "from
Lake Ontario to Lake Winnipeg," with a sketch of the pro
ductious and resources of the Red River Valley. Regg's
"Creation of Manitoba" has the merit of being written
by an intelligent resident of the Province and a shrewd
observer. "England and Canada," by Sandft d Fleming,
C.M.G., the learned Chancellor of Queen's University, is
also an interesting narrative of travel " from Old to New
Westminster." "Canada on the Pacific," by Charles Hor-
etzky, C.E. (Montreal, 1874), is worthy of notice for its
thoughtful review of the resources, with a pleasing descrip-
tion of the beauties, of British Columbia. Mrs. Spragge's
charming little volume, " From Ontario to the Pacific by
the C. P. R." will also well repay even an oft-repeated
perusal. The same remark applies to " Mountain and
Prairie," a journey from Victoria to Winnipeg via the Peace
River Pass, by the Rev. D. M. Gordon (Montreal, 1880).
We must not here forget the important work on " The
Treaties of Canada with the Indians of Manitoba and the
North- West" (Toronto, 1880), by the Hon. Alex. Morris,
P.C., formerly Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. Nor
must we omit mention of Mr. Charles R. Tuttle's "Our
North Land" (Toronto, 1885), the narrative of a Govern-
ment expedition to Hudson's Bay in 1884, for the purpose
of testing the practicability of a speedy route from England
to the North- West, via Hudson's Straits and Bay. There
remains but to mention the three published narratives of
the Riel Rebellion on the Saskatchewan, in 1885, one by
the present writer, another, a compilation, by the late Rev.
C. P. Mulvany, M.A., and a third by Major Boulton, the
gallant leader of Boulton's Scouts, and an intelligent and
enthusiastic eye-witness.
EARLY COLONIAL WRITERS.
From the Rebellion Back to the Conquest.
Leaving the region of the Great Plains, in the flower ot
their later-day development, let us get back to the old his-
toric Canadas on the St. Lawrence — the vestibule of the
N©rth-West, as Lord Duflferin termed them — and to what
THE REBELLION BACK TO THE CONQUEST. 207
' "from
ihe pro
written
shrewd
leining,
'sity, is
to New
es Hor-
for its
clescrip-
pragge's
cific by
epecated
bin and
e Peace
, 1880).
n
u
The
and the
Morris,
Nor
's "Our
Govern-
purpose
ngland
There
tives of
one by
bte Rev.
:on, the
ent and
ower ot
old his-
! of the
to what
may be called the mediaeval period in the national history.
After the Conquest came an extciic^ed period of nulitary
and semi-military rule, unfavourable to literature. This was
followed by a disturbed era of more or less personal rule, on
••he part of the Governors-General and Lieutenant-Governors
of Canada, during which the people in the French province
endeavoured to free themselves from the bonds of feudalism
and clerical domination which had long retarded the progress
of the colony. In the English province much the same tight
was going on, chiefly, however, against the paternalism of
the Mother Country, or rather against the tyranny of a
bureaucratic Colonial Executive, which stood in the way of
progress and the attainment of some needed measure of
responsible government. This state of things produced a
fevered condition in both provinces, unfavourable to material
advancement, though in the end conducive to intellectual
freedom and the increase of popular power. Its results may
be seen in the political gains of the people, though to secure
them the country was brought to a condition of active
rebellion, and almost to the verge of independence, or worse.
Happily peace came with the panacea of constitutional
government and a new and brighter era of progress and re-
form.
In the front rank of the literature of this distracting
period stands Lord Durham's famous " Report and Des-
patches " to the Imperial Government, " on the Affairs of
British North America" (London and Montreal, 1839).
This able State paper, the work partly, it is said, of his
Lords' ip's secretary, Mr. Charles Buller, reviews the whole
situation of affairs in both sections of the colony, discusses
all points of disagreement and the grounds of disaffection,
comments on the defects of the colonial system of govern-
ment and the inefficient administration of justice — and, as
a remedy, proposes the union of the two provinces. This
latter specific, as we know, was applied, and under it the
ailing body corporate managed to get along for the next
five-and-twenty years. It was some time, however, before
the dust settled on the scenes of the conflict,- and though the
embers of the fire are now scattered, literature has preserved
not a few of the brands in the strife. Of these we may
mention, on the Tory side, " that self-complacent piece of
effotism " Sir Francis Bond Head's " Narrative of his Ad-
208
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
ministration in Canada," with tho causes of tlio revolt (Lon-
don, 1839); the same writer's "Address to the House of
Lords against the Re- Union Bill, disclosing the improper
means by which the consent of the Legislature has been
obtained to the Measure " (London, 1840); * Canada and
the Canada Bill : being an examinat^' " the proposed
measure for the future Government Oi. v..»,nada, with some
views respecting the British Provinces in North America,"
by Chief Justice Sir John Beverlejr Bobinson, Bt., C.B. ;
" A Speech in the Legislative Council on the subject of the
Clergy Reserves," by the Right Rev'd John Strachan, D.D.,
Lord Bishop of Toronto, with other comforting comfits from
the members and adherents of " the Family Compact."
From the radical arsenal there belched volley after volley
of red-hot and inflammatory material, mostly in the shape of
political pamphlets, " dodgers," and hand-bills, with the occa-
sional round shot from the heavy guns, Gourlay, Papineau,
and Mackenzie. Of the highly seasoned, if not seditious,
tractates of the time, prepared for the delectation of the
then obnoxious authorities, the curious reader will find
entertainment in such brochures as Papineau's " Histoire de
I'Insurrection du Canada, en refutation du Rapport de Lord
Durham " (Burlington, Vt., 1839), and the "Seventh Annual
Report of the Select Committee of the House of Assembly
of Upper Canada, on Grievances," by its chairman, Wm.
Lyon Mackenzie (Toronto, 1835), together with an earlier
literary gem, from the same source, entitled "The Legisla-
tive Black List of Upper Canada ; or. Official Corruption
and Hypocrisy Unmasked " (York, 1828).
One of the first in the cause of reform to strip himself
for the fray, was Robert Fleming Gourlay, who came to
Canada in 1817, with the laudable and innoxious motive of
promoting emigration. Pursuing some statistical inquiries
into the resources and capabilities of the province, he became
aware of the existence of various abuses in connection with
the public administration of affairs, and in dragging them
rather Quixotically to light he brought upon himself the
wrath of the Provincial Executive, with subsequent banish-
ment from the country. The sad story of this hapless
"patriot," mixed up, unfortunately, with much that is
otherwise really valuable in his writings, may be gathered
from the author's " Statistical Account of Upper Canada,"
THE REIJELLION liACK TO TIJE CONQUEST. 209
b(Lon-
use of
proper
3 been
la and
oposed
h some
lerica,"
, C.B.;
of the
, D.D,
js from
npact."
volley
lape of
le occa-
pineau,
;Utious,
of the
ill find
ioire de
e Lord
Annual
sembly
Wm.
earlier
egisla-
[•uption
himself
ame to
)tive of
quiries
became
>n with
g them
elf the
banish-
haplesa
that is
ithered
mada,"
which appeared in London, in two Hvo voluinos, in l^^•22.
Tlu5 troubles and peiseciition of Gourlay, with tlu; obstinate
refusal of the Executives Council of Upper Canada to renu'dy
crying abuses and show some deference to the wish(!S of tlie
people, did much to excite public feeling and fan the Ihime
of rebellion. The llrst authority on the events of this period
is Mr. Charles Lindsey, the Nestor of Upp(!r Canadian
journalism, and the son-in law and biographei' of Wm. Lyon
Mackenzie, the cliief actor in the drama of the times. Mr.
Lindsey, however, l)elongs to the writ(!is of the modern
period, and though his theme, like that of Mr. J. C. Dent,
is the Rebellion of 1837, we must defer our notice of him
and his important work for the present. It would have
been advanttageous, we are aware, to have discarded the
chronological order of this sketch and dealt witli the writers,
irrespective of their period, grouped around their several
themes. Had this been our plan, which circumstances pre-
vented our adopting, we should here make mention, besides
the two special writers alluded to on tlie Rebellion period,
of a number of biograpliies which have of late years issued
from the press, and which throw a strong light on the actors
and the events of the time. The books we refer to are
such works illustrative of the period, and that immc^Hately
following it, as Sir Francis Hinck's " Reminiscence i" the
Life of the Hon. George Brown, by the Hon. Alexander
Mackenzie; Collins' Life of Sir John A. Macdonald; the
Biography of the Right Rev. Bishop Strachan, by Bishop
Bethune, his successor in the Toronto Episcopate; the "Story
of the Life of the Rev. Dr. Ryerson," by Dr. J. G. Hodgins;
and Mr. J. C. Dent's "Canadian Portrait Gallery," and
" The Last Forty Years " of Upper Canadian history. The
reader will find interest, also, in referring to Mr. J. W.
Kaye's Life and Correspondence of Hr Charles Metcalfe ;
to Mr. Theodore Walrond's Letters oi Lord Elgin (London,
1847-65), and to Major Richardson's "Eight Years in
Canada, embracing a review of the administrations of Lords
Durham and Sydenham, Sir Charles Bagot, and Lord Met-
calfe " (Montreal, 1847).
But it is time to get back to the earlier era from which
we digressed, in speaking of the military and personal rule
which followed the Conquest, and the events which led to
rebellion, anr" the union, in 1841, of the two old provinces
210
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITEUATUUE.
of CjuuiJ/i. For at l(«isfc half a century after the Conqueat,
as we liave already hinted, literature in the Lower Province
fell upon a p(;riod of lea'i years, while Uj)per Caiuida, as
yet, was a wihhu'ness. The story of the Conciuest itself is
nowhere better or more interestingly told, in an English
source, than in the pages of Major (Jr. D. Warburton's *'The
Conquest of Canada," edited by his gifted brother, Eliot
Warburton (London, 18 49). The author was an Kngiish
olHcer of the Royal Artillery, stationed for a time in Canada,
and while in the country h(5 made good use of his oppor-
tunities in gathering the material of this and an earlier
work entitled " Hochelaga: or, England in the New World."
His book on the Concpiest, particularly wi/a respect to
Indian life and legends, has a fascination not inferior,
though of a different sort, to that which makes Mr. Park-
man's "Montcalm and Wolfe" so absorbing a study. The
biographies of the Fr(;nch and English heroes of the strife,
the translation of "Montcalm's Letters" (London, 1777),
and Wright's "Life of Major-Ceneral Wolfe" (London,
1865), will also well repay perusal. Nor should the pages
of the American historian, Bancroft, on the Fall of Quebec,
the closing chapter of Miles' "History of Canada during
the French Ilogime," and Dr. Daniel Wilson's eloquent
article in the Canadian Morithlij on " Wolfe and Old
Quebec," be omitted by the reader or the student of one of
the most notable events in Canadian annals.
WRITERS ON THE CONSTITUTION, THE U. E. LOYAL-
ISTS, AND THE WAR OF 1812.
To the French-Canadian sources of the native history,
prior to and subsequent to the Coii((uest, we have already
referred. The chief of these, as we have said, is Garneau's
work, which may be profitably supplemented by Miles' his-
tory, and by the Anglo-Canadian authors, MacMuUen,
Dr. Withrow, and Mr. Andrew Archer, an able educational
writer and historian of New Brunswick. At the present
moment we are looking forward with inter(;st to the ap-
pearing of an addition to the ranks of native historical
writers, in the person of Mr, Wm. Kingsford, O.E., of
land
THE U. E. LOYALISTS AND THE WAU OF 1812. 211
CoiKjuoat,
r Province
Jaiiada, aa
sst itself is
lu English
toil's "Tho
ther, Eliot
lu English
in Canada,
his oppor-
an earlier
ow World."
respect to
ot inferior,
; Mr. Park-
;tudy. The
f the strife,
idon, 1777),
" (London,
Id tlie pagiis
\ of Quebec,
lada during
I's eloquent
[fe and Old
nt of one of
E. LOYAL-
bive history,
lave already
is Garneau's
ly Miles' his-
MacMuUen,
3 educational
the present
t to the ap-
ve historical
,rd, O.E., of
Ottawa, from whose pen we are shortly to have a History
of (/anada to the date of the cession of the country to
Ihitain. Here we must tind place to mention — in connec-
tion with t!ie successive constitutions granted to the people
by the liritish Crown, including the King's proclamation
after the Conquest, the Quebec Act of 1774, the Constitu-
tional Act of 1791, the Act of Union, 1841, and the British
North America Act, which gave shape and forn) to Confed-
eration — Mr. Samuel J. Watson's "Constitutional History
of Canada," of which the first vohime only appeared.
Dr. J. G. Bourinot's *' Parliamentary Procedure and Prac-
tice " also claims notice, in the opening chapter of which
the learned and industrious Clerk of the House of Commons
has given us a concise and lucid history of parliamentary
institutions in Canada. Dr. O'Sullivan's popular " Manual
of Government in Canada " may also be profitably consulted.
The student of the Canadian Constitutions will find, with
regard to the latest of them, a number of elucidatory text-
books well worthy of study, the chief of which is one by
Joseph Doutre, Q.C., of Montreal, illustrating the British
North America Act of 1867 by a series of annotations and
recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada and the
Imperial Privy Council. Dr. Alpheus Todd's important
treatise on "Parliamentary Government in the British
Colonies" (London and Boston, 1880) is, with his earlier
work, doubtless too important to be unknown to the reader.
Tiie author's learned commentaries, despite the buckram of
his style, are held in high repute wherever English institu-
tions are studied or introduced.
The outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Mont-
gomery's futile invasion of Canada in 1775, and the friction
between the British and French races in Lower Canada,
which the Quebec Act of the previous year occasioned, gave
birth to three volumes on the peculiar land system prevailing
in Lower Canada, by Francis Maseres, at one time Attorney-
General of the Province of Quebec. These volumes, entitled
" The Canadian Freeholder," discuss, in the form of a dia-
logue between an Englishman and a Frenchman, the burning
land question of the day, in the interests of the Protestant
minority of the province, who were then, as they aie still,
at great disadvantage in civil and ecclesiastical matters, in
consequence of the privileges granted at the Conquest to their
212
SKETCH C CANADIAN LITERATURE.
French-Canadian and Roman Catholic countrymen. The
author, who subsequently became r, Baron of the Exchequer
Court in England, also published a number of works advo-
cating the creation by the Crown of a House of Assembly
and parliamentary institutions in the Quebec Province. Re-
ferring to the Montgomery invasion, reminds us of Mr. John
Lesperance's novel, "The Bastonnais" (Toronto, 1877),
which gives a graphic account of it, and forms with Mr.
Wra. Kirby's historical romance, "LeChiend'Or" — a story
of the old courtly days of Louis Quatorze and Louis Quinze
in Quebec — the two finest pieces of fiction which English-
Canada has so far produced.
Popular assemblies were little to the mind of George III.,
and though the province was granted a Constutition, the
autocratic Executive and Legislative Council which were
given to it could scarcely be deemed a boon to the people.
Nor could the British and Protestant minority relish the
recognition by the State of the Roman Catholic Church,
with legalization of the Civil Code of France, and the per-
petuation of the status of a French province. For the
period the province ran a separate career, namely, from
1791 to the Union in 1841, Mr. Robert Christie's ** His-
tory of Lower Canada, Parliamentary and Political," in six
volumes, 12mo (Quebec, 1849-55), is the chief text-book
and repertory of facts. Mr. Christie, as an active member
of the Legislatuie, had good opportunities for studying the
workings of the parliamentary institutions of the province ;
and, though his style is loose and straggling, he has made
fair and intelligent use of them.
The war for American independence, now an accom-
plished fact, created an episode in the history of Canada of
which native literature has as yet made little, if we except
the two portly volumes of materials for a history compiled
by the late Rev. Dr. Ryerson, and published in Toronto in
1881. Unfortunately, in these volumes, " The Loyalists of
America and their Times," though it was the design of the
reverend gentleman that his work should be, as he phrased
it, " an historical monument to the character and merits of
the fathers and founders of his native country," the author
has occupied himself too much in re-telling the story of the
settlement of Massachusetts, and of the doings of the Puri-
tan Fathers^ and has not devoted that space to the incideats
ing
THE U. E. LOYALISTS AND THE WAR OF 1812. 21S
men. The
Exchequer
v^orks advo-
: Assembly
i^ince. Re-
•f Mr. John
ito, 1877),
IS with Mr.
p" — a story
3uis Quinze
ch English-
Jeorge III.,
atition, the
which were
the people.
J relish the
►lie Church,
md the per-
For the
mely, from
stie's **His-
ical," in six
f text-book
Lve member
budying the
e province ;
e has made
an accom-
: Canada of
f we except
[•y compiled
Toronto in
Loyalists of
esign of the
he phrased
d merits of
' the author
story of the
of the Puri-
be incidei^ts
of settlement in Upper Canada which, for our own people,
would have had an entrancing interest, and been the most
acceptable contribution to the native history. Neverthe-
less, the work has many claims upon Canadian readers, and
the author's enthusiasm in his subject, and years of industry
in compiling his materials, though, as we have said, he has
not made the best use of them, deservedly entitle his work
to notice and commendation. Hardly more satisfactory in
a literary point of view, though equally worthy of honour
as material for a history of the origin and progress of the
people of Ontario, is Dr. Wm. CannifTs "The Settlement of
Upper Canada, with special reference to the Bay of Quinte"
(Toronto, 1869). The work is unfortunately rare. The
proceedings, ir. 1884, at Adolphustoii, Toronto, and Niagara,
in connection with the celebration of the Centennial of the
settlement of Upper Canada by the U. E. Loyalists, were
published in Toronto, in 1885, and will be found to be of
considerable historic interest.
With the coming of Governor Simcoe, Upper Canada was
erected into a separate province, in the opening up of which
the sturdy band of incoming Loyalists rendered yeoman ser-
vice, and subsequently gave of its richest brain power in
laying the foundation of the young Western Commonwealth.
What progress had been made may be seen, less than twenty
years afterwards, when the province rose in its might to
maintain its integrity against an unprovoked and a fool-
hardy American invasion. In the patriotism which the
War of 1812 evoked, literature was a sharer, and has since
done not a little to commemorate in honour the doughty
deeds and stirring incidents of the brief but sanguinary
conflict. The chief narrators, among the eye-witnesses, of
the events of the period, are two in number, Lieut-Col. W.
F. Coffin, and Mr. David Thompson, late of the Royal
Scots, a long-time resident of Niagara. Another historian
of the conflict, who deals with it, like Coffin and Thompson,
in a distinct work, apart from the general history, is Mr.
Gilbert Auchinleck, editor of the Anglo-American Magazme,
in which periodical his patriotic narrative appeared in 1855.
Thompson's work was published in Niagara in 1832, and
has the advantage in preserving many interesting incidents
of the unequal struggle, undimme i by time and the advanc-
ing age of eye-witnesses. Col. Coffin's work, "The War
214
SKETCH OP CANADIAN LITERATURE.
of 1812 and its Moral," is a deeply interesting and impar-
tial narrative, in which is interwoven records of the per-
sonal parts taken in the conflict by many U. E. Loyalists
and chivalrous scions of old French-Canadii*n families of
noble birth. An incomplete narrative of the War, contain-
ing an account of the operations of the Right Division of
the Canadian army, also appeared at Brock vi lie in 1842,
from the pen of Major John Richardson, whose " Wacousta.,"
an Indian tale, and "The Canadian Brothers," a story of tho
War of 1812, are perhaps the best of the early productions
in the department of Canadian romance. *
The general reader will get a good idea of the War, and a
graphic picture of the time, in a work of fiction entitled
*' For King and Country," from the talented pen of Miss
Agnes Machar ("Fidelis"), of Kingston. Poetry and the
drama have also taken the war, or incidents in its progress,
up for treatment. The latest instance of this is Mrs. S. A.
Curzon's "Laura Secord : the Heroine of 1812," a dramatic
version of a woman's heroic deed in warning a British camp
of danger from attack by the enemy. The closing year
of the War, with the patriotic part taken in it by an T^.dian
ally of the Crown, is also admirably portrayed in verse in
Mr. Charles Mair's drama of " Tecumseh," a work which is
an honour to Canadian literature. Among the many press
reviews, which greeted this work on its appearing, will be
found a tribute to it and its talented author by the
present writer in the pages of The ^Varsity for 1885. The
reference here to Tecumseh recalls the name of another
noble ally of Britain in the Revolutionary War, whose
biography (Stone's " Life of Chief Joseph Brant ") though
not written by a Canadian, should be familiar to Canadians,
and its subject held by them in high honour. The same
should be said for Stone's " Life and Times of Sir Wm.
Johnson," who for forty years (1738-1778) was Royal Super-
intendent of Indian Affairs on this continent, and whose
work is replete with materials for Indian history during tlie
exciting period which preceded and followed the Conquest.
Nor should the student of Canadian history and literature
be unfamiliar with Tupper's " Life and Correspondence of
Major-General Sir Isaac Brock" (London, 1845), the hero
of Queenston Heights, whose death on the battle-field re-
pressed the shouts of victory.
DESCIllPTTVE, INDUSTRIAL, AND SOCIAL. 215
md iinpar-
of the per-
). Loyalists
families of
ir, con tain -
Division of
e in 1842,
Wacousta,"
itory of tho
)roductions
War, and a
3n entitled
sn of Miss
y and the
3S progress,
Mrs. S. A.
a dramatic
"itish camp
osing year
an I^.dian
in verse in
■k which is
many press
ng, will be
or by the
885. The
of another
7"ar, whose
t") though
Canadians,
The same
f Sir Wm.
3yal Super-
and whose
during the
5 Conquest.
1 literature
ondence of
), the hero
ble-tield re*
WORKS DESCRIPTIVE, INDUSTRIAL, AND SOCIAL.
At the close of the year 1814, Peace returned to brood
over the land, and the young colony addressed itself to the
task of industrial and political development. The litera-
ture of the period is represented mainly by books of travel,
written by Old Countrymen and foreigners, who had come
to see the Canadas and the lusty young Republic to the
south that had begun to work out the problem of a separate
national independence, with the legacy of an unfortunate
bias against the motherland of Britain and its loyal Cana-
dian colony. The first of these to appear were the works,
we fear known to book-collectors only, of Isaac WeM,
George Heriot, and John Lambert. Their travels were
published in London about the beginning of the century,
and are curious as the earliest descriptions of the coun-
try and of its social life after its occupation by Britain.
Heriot was the Deputy Postmaster-General of British North
America at the time he wrote his "Travels Through the
Canadas." These were followed by Mr. John Howison's
" Sketches of Upper Canada : Domestic, Local and Charac
teristic" (Edinburgh, 1821); by Capt. Basil Hall's "Travels
in North America" (Edinburgh, 1829); and by Sir R. H.
. Bonny castle's " Excursions in Canada," and " Canada and
the Canadians" (London, 1841-46). These later works in
dicate the progress of Upper Canada in the interval, and
herald the host of books which afterwards dealt with tho
country as a desirable field for emigration. These various
travellers describe the colony and its inhabitants through
the spectrum of their individual mental dispositions, and
the picture is not always pleasing or flattering. Happily,
for the most part, the physical features of the country, its
natural beauti. Its climate, its lakes, streams, falls, and
woodland scenery, with the curiosities of Indian life, Indian
habits and customs, etc., engross the travellers, give warmtli
and colour to their narratives, and withdraw their writers'
attention from the rawness of the country and the crude-
ness, as yet, of its social life.
Of native works published on Canada in the youth-time
of the province, none in their day were more useful than
those of a topographical and statistical character. The
216
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
most important of these are Lt.-Col. Joseph Bouchette's
laborious compilation, in three quarto volumes (London,
1831), entitled "The British Dominions in North America;"
N. P. Willis's "Canadian Scenery, illustrated from draw-
ings by W. H. Bartlett," two vols., quarto (London, 1842);
W. H. Smith's "The Canadian Gazetteer," and the same
writer's " Historical, Geographical and Statistical Account
of Canada West" (Toronto, 1851). With the Willis-Bartlett
book, and indicating the great advance made by Canada in
recent years in the arts connected with illustrated ^Dook
manufacture, should be bracketed the sumptuous work,
"Picturesque Canada, described by the best writers and
artists," and ably edited by Principal Grant, D.D., of
Queen's University, Kingston. Of this work we do not
hesitate to say, that its publication marks a distinct epoch
in the intellectual progress of the Canadian people, while it
cannot fail to have an immense influence upon the future
of native art and native literature. On this ground it well
deserves the success it has achieved in both hemispheres.
We now come to deal succinctly with the literature that
must possess most interest for those who seek to know the
history of Canada, not in its politics, or in the theatre of
public affairs, but in the heart- records of the people, in the
log-hut of the settler, or in the rude hamlet new-hewn from
the wilderness. Two of the early works in this department
were written by notable and eccentric characters in their
day. Col. E. A. Talbot and Dr. Wm^ Dunlop. The latter,
familiarly known in the province as "Tiger" Dunlop — a
sobriquet which his " tall," impassioned stories of tiger-hunt-
ing in India e.rned for him — came to Canada in 1820 with
John Gait, the novelist, in the service of the Canada Land
Co., and, with the latter, was instrumental in founding settle-
ments in the neighbourhood of Guelph, and the town which
now bears the name of the Land Commissioner. Dunlop
set up his " lodge in the wilderness," and lived a Bohemian
life in the backwoods, from which he now and then issued
to despatch a contribution at "Muddy Little York" to
Blackwood^ 8 Magazine^ or to the Literary Garland at Mont-
real. His "Statistical Sketches of Upper Canada" (Lon-
don, 1833) have the flavour of the Noctes Ambrusiance vfith.
a curious admixture of wisdom and humour. Talbot's "Five
Vcars' Residence in the Canadas" (London, 1824) tells the
DESCRIPTIVE, INDUSTRIAL, AND SOCIAL. 2l7
ouchette's
(London,
America;"
rom draw-
3n, 1842);
the same
1 Account
is-Bartlett
Canada in
ited \)o6k
)us work,
[•iters and
D.D., of
ve do not
inct epoch
e, while it
bhe future
md it well
pheres.
ature that
know the
theatre of
pie, in the
lewn from
epartment
•s in their
rhe latter,
Dunlop — a
biger-hunt-
1820 with
lada Land
ling settle-
own which
. Dunlop
Bohemian
hen issued
York" to
d at Mont-
tda" (Lon-
siancE with
)ot's "Five
t^ tells the
story of the Talbot Settlement near St. Thomas, and along
the shores of Lake Erie. Its founder came to Upper Canada
in 1793, as aide-de-camp to Governor Simcoe, and later on ob-
tained a grant from the English Government of one hundred
thousand acres in the southern peninsula of the province,
on condition of placing a settler on every two hundred
acres. Talbot settled near St. Thomas, and there lived a
a life of seclusion from the world, with, it is said, no woman
near him, and seeing, as Mrs. Jameson tells us in her
"Sketches in Canada," scarce a human being for twenty
years, " except the few boors and blacks employed in clear-
ing and logging his land. He himself," the visitor adds,
"assumed the blanket-coat and axe, slept upon the bare
earth, cooked three meals a day for twenty woodsmen,
cleaned his own boots, washed his own linen, milked his
cows, churned the butter, and made and baked the bread."
A life of this strange man, by Edward Ermatinger, was
published at St. Thomas in 1859, enriched with sketches of
the public characters and the career of several conspicuous
Upper Canadians of the period.
Of the class of conspicuous Upper Canadians here re-
ferred to, no more notable figure occurs in these early days
than that of the Hon. Wm. Hamilton Merritt, whose name
is imperishably associated with the Welland Canal. When
first projected, the scheme seemed visionary and Utopian :
to-day it is the embodied realizatior of a patriot's dream ;
and few undertakings in Canada have been of more practical
advantage to navigation and commei'ce. It was to be
expected that the sagacious projector and unwearied pro-
moter of this great enterprise would be remembered not
only in his work, but in some fitting and adequate biography.
A "Life," it is true, has appeared, which was published in
St. Catharines in 1875; but it is in no way worthy either of
the subject or of the biographer. Like many other books
of the past, the memoir of the Hon. Mr. Merritt puts })efore
one the bricks and mortar rather than the finished edifice
of an historical memorial. His, however, is one of the
figures on the canvas of the countiy's early liistory to
which literature, we doubt not, will yet do justice.
Gait's "Autobiography" is interesting reading, and his
book on "The Canadas" is replete witli valuable topo
graphical matter, addressed to intending emigrants in the
15
218
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITEllATUllE.
r^wime of Sir Peregrine Maitland. The historical romance,
" An Algonquin Maiden," by the present writer and Miss A.
ICthelwyn Wetherald, it may here be said, deals also with
descriptions of the country and the social life of Canada at
this period. The chief scenes of this novel — the borders of
Lake Simcoe — are also those which form the subject of
" Forest Scenes and Incidents in the Wilds of North
America," by Sir George Head, Bt., an English army officer
who served in Canada about the year 1825-6. Lieut. Col.
Strickland's " Twenty-seven Years in Canada " (London,
1853) is the faithful portrayal of the experiences of an
early settler and acute observer. This work is linked in
interest (as its author is linked in the ties of relationship)
with Mrs. Susanna Moodie's " Roughing it in the Bush,"
perhaps the best known and by far the most vivid narrative
of a settler's trials in the Canadian backwoods. This clever
gentlewoman, a sister of Miss Agnes Strickland, historian
of the "Queens of England," came to Canada in 1832 with
her husband, a half-pay officer, whose experience of the first
cold night in tl^eir cabin in the woods is preserved to us in
the following jocosely improvised ditty :
" Oh, the cold of Canada nobody knows,
The fire burns our shoes without warming our toes ;
Our blankets are thin, and our noses are blue —
Our noses are blue, and our blankets are thin,
It's at zero without, and we're freezing within ! "
Mrs. Moodie, however, lived long enough to give us an-
other picture than that limned in her book from her hus-
band's pen. Writing from Belleville in 1871, she says,
" Contrasting the first year of my life in the bush with
Canada as she is now, my mind is filled with wonder and
gratitude at the rapid strides she has made towards the ful-
filment of a great and glorious destiny. What important
events have been brought to pass within the narrow circle
of less than forty years ! What a difference between now
n.nd then I The country is the same only in name. Its as-
pect is wholly changed. The rough has become smooth, the
crooked has been made straight, the forests have been con-
verted into fruitful fields, the rude log cabin of the woods-
man has been replaced by the handsome, well-appointed
homestead, and large, populous cities have pushed the small,
clap-boarded village into the shade."
romance,
id Miss A.
also with
Canada at
borders of
subject of
of North
'my officer
Lieut.Col.
(London,
ces of an
linked in
ctionship)
he Bush,"
narrative
rhis clever
, historian
1832 with
of the first
3d to us in
oes ;
ive us an-
1 her hus-
she says,
bush with
onder and
ds the ful-
important
row circle
bween now
e. Its as-
mooth, the
been con-
:ho woods-
-appointed
the small,
DESCRIPTIVE, INDUSTRIAL, AND SOCIAL. 219
Another talented sister, Mrs. Traill, in her " Backwoods
of Canada," '* The Canadian Crusoes," and " Rambles in
the Canadian Forest/' gives us a further insight into the
primitive domestic life of the early settler, and a pathetic
record of disappointment, privation, and toil. This dear
old lady, who as we write is still alive, though in her
nineties, has found a solace in her woodland life of which
few have availed themselves, for their own profit and
delight, or. for the benefit of science and literature. In her
sylvan seclusion, she has brought out works on two different
occasions on the " Plant Life of Canada," the favourite
volumes alike of the literary student and the botanical
scientist and amateur. Dr. Geikie's " A Boy's Life in the
Woods," W. Lyon Mackenzie's racy "Sketches of Upper
Canada," and Canniff" Haight's " Country Life in Canada
Fifty Years Ago," are additional works in this interesting
department which should not be overlooked by the reader.
Nor should the various works be forgotten that deal with
local annals, and record the rise and development of the
cities and towns of the Province. Croil's " Dundas : a
sketch of Canadian History," "The Early History of Gait
and Settlement of Dumfries," by the Hon. James Young,
occur to us as good specimens of this class. " Toronto of
Old," by the Rev. Henry Scadding, D.D., is a work of
singular merit in the literature of antiquities, and is for all
time an unfailing storehouse of information. Though
nominally a local history, it contains, in effect, an account
of the founding of most of the political, literary, religious,
and philanthropic institutions of the whole Province of
Ontario. The style of the work is exceedingly graphic and
entertaining; it is unencuiiibered with dry, unrelated details,
and yet reproduces times gone by with vivid fidelity.
Of not a few names known to literature in the mother-
land, Canada has numbered and still numbers among her
residents many representatives. Of these Strickland, Ho-
mans, Carlyle, and Dickens are among the number. ^ Of
the authors themselves. Upper Canada has known, besides
the still-living Goldwin Smith, the poet Moore, the novelist
Gait, and the charming art-writer and Shakespearian
essayist, Mrs. Jameson. Here it is fitting to notice the
latter, though her residence in Canada, in consequence of
an unhappy marriage, was a bleak and chilling one. How
2^0
SKETCH OP CANADIAN LlTERATURK.
bleak and chilling it was, those must know who are familiar
with her life, and who liave read with shame for the then
Chancellor of the Province, of the reception given to his
weary wife, with the sweet spirituelle face, on her advent
in Toronto, after a trying voyage from the England she
held so dear, to take up a winter residence by the steel-C(jJd
waters of Lake Ontario. Despite this, how3ver, and its
depressing influence on mind and spirits, Mrs. Jameson's
" Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canada," (Lon-
don and New York, 1839,) is one of the few books that
belong to the literature of the time with which the reader
sliould not be unfamiliar. Her volumes are the work of a
poet-artist, and have the charm and grace of a sensitive
and cultivated woman. Though the country was to her
tlie land of an exile, there are not many writers on Canada
whose pages are more aglow with eloquent description and
an intense appreciation of the beautiful in nature.
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
The founders of a province soon pass away, but in-
wrought with the edifice which they have built up will be
found the characteristics that have distinguished them. In
the case of Upper Canada, what the characteristics were of
its sturdy and far-seeing founders, the condition of Ontario
to-day, and its well-assured future, indicate. In the busy
material affjiirs of the early settlers and colonists, little
leisure was left them to give to literature, either creative or
recreative. But they were not wholly indifferent to the
intellectual life, for in the larger cities, at any rate, the
lamp of learning, however feeble at times its flame, was at
least kept burning. Even in the most prosaic era, there
were, here and there, a few cultivated people who gave
tone to society, and despite the distractions of politics, did
something to promote culture and to exten'^ the area of its
sway. Far back in the history of Upj.-i' Canada the
intelligence and public spirit of the people made substantial
provision for education ; and with the growth of the Pro-
vince the school system has continued to receive generous
and ever-increasing aid. Few lacts in the past life of the
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
22]
familiar
the then
en to his
sr advent
jland she
steel-coJd
", and its
Tameson's
la," (Lon-
Doks that
he reader
vork of a
sensitive
as to her
n Canada
3tion and
but in-
ip will be
hem. In
!S were of
: Ontario
the busy
;ts, little
'eative or
it to the
rate, the
e, was at
ra, there
v^ho gave
itics, did
'ea of its
lada the
bstantial
the Pro-
generous
f 6 of the
colony are more creditable to it than this ; and though as
a young coniniunity we are apt unduly to boast of our
achievements, the scliool system of the province is deserving
of praise, and the sacrifices made in the interest of educa-
tion are worthy of the people. Equally creditable has been
the provision made for higher education, and for the found-
ing and maintenance in the various sections of the ].)ominion
of denominational colleges and national seats of learning.
The influence of the latter has, for the most part, been
manifested in other professions than that of literature.
Happily, however, there are now signs — and " The 'Varsity
Book," issued by the graduates and undergraduates of
University College, Toronto, is one of them — that the pro-
fession of letters is at length attracting the product of
University training. Already the stream of journalism is
being enriched from that source, and the newspaper world
of Canada is fast coming under the influence, in tone as
well as in thought, of higher and better instructed minds.
Though in the English-speaking Provinces we have not
been able to maintain a first-class magazine — if we except
the well-conducted Canadian Methodist Mac/azirie, which is
in the main supported by a denomination — the periodical
press of Canada has made gratifying progress, and its future
is not without promise.
With Confederation Canadian literature burst into blos-
som, but the fruit, it must be said, has not quite borne out
its spring-time promise. For a time literary enterprise felt
the glow of national aspiration and the quickening of a new
birth. But the flush on its face ere long passed off, and
mental activity once more engrossed itself with material
afl'airs. In the past twenty years, native literature, how-
ever, has made some gains, though the nation itself, it is to
feared, has not gone very far in the settled path of progress.
We are still discussing narrow provincial issues, and the
problems of the country's destiny, it would appear, are far
from being solved. At times the clouds seem to rise over
the national horizon, and a perceptible impulse is then given
to the forces of the native intellect. It is at these periods
that the country has been enriched by works of permanent
value. As yet literature is far from reaping great harvests,
but the soil already yields fairly, and by improved culture
will (ioubtless bring fortji more abundantly. If yfQ liav©
222
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
not to record great literary feats, we have at any rate im-
proved on the days of ecclesiastical brochures and political
pamphlets. It is to be remciubercd, moieovcr, that the
literary work done by Canadians has been achieved, for the
most part, through corroding care and amid the tumult of
alien noises. May the coming writers have the aid of u
more favourable environment !
Among Canadian authors who took part in public affairs
in the ushering in of Confederation, tlie names of two Parlia-
mentary orators are conspicuous — the lion. Joseph Howe
and the Hon. Thomas D'Arcy McGee. Both have finished
their career: one, uidiappily, was cruelly snatched from it;
and his untimely death was a keen blow to literature. The
chief literary interest in their work lies in the iield of ora-
tory, and in Howe's " Speeches and Public Letters" (Boston,
1858), and in McGee's "Speeches and Addresses, chiefly on
the Subject of British American Union" (London, 18G5),
we have a collection of patriotic public utterances peculiarly
interesting to the Canadian reader. Of nmch native inter-
est, also, is Mr. McGee's collected volume of " Canadian
Ballads and Occasional Verse," though the latter is perhaps
too heavily burdened with the plaint of "Irish Wrong."
The citation of Howe, the Nova Scotian orator, reminds us
that we have no space, we regret, to deal with the local
literature of t^e Maritime Provinces, not a little of which
deserves well at our hands. In history it is particularly
strong, as the historical writings attest of Judge Haliburton
(Sam Slick), Beamish Murdoch, Duncan Campbell, and
James Hannay. The " History of Acadia," by the latter,
and Haliburton's " Historical and Statistical Account of
Nova Scotia," are especially to be commended for their im-
partiality, accuracy, and spirit. Though Haliburton's fame
rests mainly on the raciness and humour of "Sam Slick,"
he is no less worthy to be read as an historian and moralist.
Of general histories, we have already spoken of Garneau's
work, translated by Bell, and have made mention of the
contemporary writers, MacMuUen, Dent, Archer, Bryce,
Kingsford, and Withrow. MacMullen's " History of Can-
ada" (London and Brockville, 1868), after the appearing of
the translation of Garneau, was the first comprehensive work
in English dealing with the country's history. It covers
the period frgm the e:irliest discoveries tg Confederation, and
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
223
y rate iin-
I })oUtical
that tho
(I, for tho
tumult of
aid of a
ilic affairs
NO Parlia-
ph Howe
e linislied
from it;
ire. Tho
Id of ora-
' ( Boston,
ihiefiy on
•n, 18Gr>),
)cculiarly
ive inter-
panadian
s perhaps
Wrong."
iminds us
the local
of which
:'ticularly
:ili burton
bell, and
le latter,
count of
their im-
)n's fame
II Slick,"
moralist,
rarneau's
n of the
, Bryce,
of Can-
3aring of
ive work
.t covers
bion^ and
is a sober, painstaking narrative, with a manifest Lilieral
bias. His work, we ftvir, is a standing crib for those writers
who have no gcMiius for drudgery and are unwilling to go to
the prime sources of information. Dr. Withrow's "History
of the Dominion of Canada" (Toronto, 1878 and 1887), is
essentially a popular narrative, covering tne whole ground
of the national annals, with a necessa»ily brief but intelli-
gible outline of tlu; history of each separate Province. Tho
work is deserving of its success, to which the author's
pleasant style of narration contributes something ; and it
bids fair to retain a tirm hold upon public favour as a lively
and faithful narrative of Canadian history. In Dr. IJryce's
" Short History of the Canadian People," the autlior has
given a new setting, though lacking the (piality of pictur-
esqueness, to the main facts of the country's histoty. Mr.
J. C. Dent's " The Last Forty Years," deals with the annals
of Upper Canada from the Union of the Provinces in 1841.
The period covered being a contemporary one, the work
possesses an interest which remote events usually fail to
awak( n, though the writer has the drawback of having to
contend with judgments already formed and with a criticism
which is more or less influenced by the predilections of the
reader. In spite of this, the author has acquitt(;d himself
well of his work, and he comments with judicious fairness on
the events which have taken place within the memory of the
present generation. The plan of the book is in its(;lf at-
tractive, viz., that of grouping facts and events into chap-
ters, which typify and illustrate the formative periods of the
country's growth, rather than the setting forth in minute
detail of the history from year to year.
To students of the national life and charicter the early
volumes, particularly, of the "Scot in British North
America," by the late Mr. W. J. Rattray, B.A., will be
sure to commend themselves. They contain a mass of
information respecting the political, material, social, religious
and intellectual life of the country, a" these features of its
development have been influenced and operated upon by
Scotchmen. No more vital inquiry could well have bi;en
taken up than this one of the national character : what its
ingredients are, how they have come together, and in what
manner they have fused or are fusing themselves into the
national life of the people, are never failing questions of
224
SKETCH OF CANADIAN TJTEUATURE.
intorost. To the considin'jition of tliosc^ thcMiios Mr. Rattray
l)roii;;ht emitioiit talents, an iiitiiiiato ac(|uaintaiico with the
national history, and a power of gra])hiu writin<( which im-
part sp(Mjial charm to tlie autlior's work. *' The Irishman in
Canada," hy Nicholas Flood Davin, M.T (Toronto, 1877),
is a kindnnl work, full of inter(5stin;jj facts respecting tho
m(ui of Irish ilesc(Mit who have tigurcd prominently in Cana-
dian history. Tlie story is told with the dash and vigour
of a clever, sprii^ditly, and practised writer. Mr. H. J.
Morgan's " Sk(itches of Cel(;brated Canadians," Notman'8
" Portraits of British Americans," edited by Fenninga
Taylor, Mr. J. C. Dent's " Canadian Portrait Gallery," and
"Tho Cycl()i);edia of Canadian Biography," edited by Mr.
G. McLean Rose, should not be omittinl from this category.
Among contempoi'ary authors who have enriched sp(!cial
periods of the national history by their pen, mention must
be made of Dr. ({eorge Stewart, F.R.S.C., of Quebec, and
Mr. J. Edmund Collins, author of ''The Life of Sir John
A. INlacdonald," to which we liave already referred. Mr.
Collins, besides the biography of the Dominion Premier,
and a collection of Canadian sketches and tales, has written
an account of the " Administration in Canada of Lord
Lome" (1878-1882), which, like all this writer's work, is
thoughtful and vigorous. Occasionally Mr. Collins offends
by his outspokenness and a hasty, wayward judgment ; but
there is merit in his independence, and his cleverness
atones for his faults. He has a poet's sympathy with
nature, and a painter's skill in describing the scenes he in-
troduces to the reader. Dr. Stewart is one of our well-
known and industrious authors, an accomplished man of
letters, and an enthusiastic Canadian. He is a Fellow of
the Royal Society ot Canada, a member of the Historical
and Literary Society of Quebec, to the Proceedings of which
he is a frequent contributor, and a writer in the new (ninth)
edition of the Encyclopcvdia Britannica. He is also the
author of the article on *' Frontenac," in Justin Winsor's
" Narrative and Critical History of America ; " though he is
perhaps best known as the historian of " Canada under the
Administration of Lord Dufferin " (Toronto, 1878). Dr.
Stewart is a fervent and sympathetic writer, and his work
is distinguished by industry, care, and conscientiousness.
Mr. Wui. Leggo has also written vn history of the '' Admin-
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
225
Rattray
with tliG
^hicli im-
ilinian in
o, 1877),
;tin«( tho
in Cana-
d vigour
H. J.
Potman's
^'enninga
My," and
I hy Mr.
category,
d sp(!cial
ion must
(bee, and
5ir John
?d. Mr.
Proniior,
5 written
of Lord
work, is
5 offends
;nt ; but
fverness
hy with
es he in-
jur well-
man of
i'ellow of
istorical
of which
r (ninth)
also the
^insor's
jgh he is
nder the
;). Dr.
lis work
ousness.
Admiu-
istration of tho Earl of Dufferin in Canada" (Montreal,
ltS7cS). This work shows a wide knowledge of Canadian
liistory on the part of tho writer, and minutely and graph-
ii^lly ilhistrates tho regime of Canada's most popular Gov-
e nor-Genoral.
Of writers in the department of Belles Lettres and tho
fu^ld of the Essay, Canada may be said to bo unusually rich.
Their names will be familiar to the readers of such critical
journals as The Week^ the deceased Nation, ArcturuSy
Canadian Spectator, and the suspended national review, tho
Canadian Monthly. Of the number, including those who
treat of public affairs and topics of general interest, it
will not be invidious to mention such gifted writers as Prof.
Goldwin Smith, President Daniel Wilson, Rev. Principal
Grant, Rev. Prof. VVm. Clark, Mr. W. D. Le Sueur, Prof.
Clark IMurray, Dr. Bourinot, Dr. Withrow, Mr. J.H.Menzies,
Prof. K. L. Jones, Dr. Dewart, Mr. Martin J. Griffin, Mr. F.
A. Dixon, Mr. J. Howard Hunter, Mr. John Seath, Mr. T.
A. Haultain, Mr. J. E. Bryant, Prof. J. E. Wells, Mr. W. H.
C. Kerr, Mr. R. W. Boodle, Dr. E. A. Meredith, Mr. S. E.
Dawson, Mr. Edward Farrer, Dr. J. G. Hodgins, Mr. Geo.
A. MacKenzie, Mr. E. Douglas Armour, Mr. W. A. Foster,
Q.C., Dr. Geo. Murray, Mr. 0. A. Rowland, Mr. D. Fowler,
Mr. Walter Townsend, Mr. A. Stevenson, Mr. A. W. Gundry,
Mr. F. B. Hodgins, Dr. Daniel Clarke, Rev. Dr. Scadding,
Mr. Ohas. Lindsey, Mr. John King, Mr. J. Macdonald Oxley,
Mr. W. H. Cross, Mr. A. H. Morrison and Mr. J. 0. Miller.
To these names have to be added those of a goodly company
of women, who have made delightful excursions into the
realm of the essay, and given us pictures of life, in nature
and humanity, and vivid glimpses into things, with the
power of penetration and deft literary skill which charac-
terize women of brains and culture. Among the literary
sisterhood should be mentioned Loui'^'f'. Murray, Agnes M.
Machar, Sara Jeannette Duncan, " Beranus " (Mrs. J. W.
F. Harrison), Agnes Ethelwyn Wetherald, Mrs. Francis
Rye, Mrs. Arthur Spragge, Mrs. Forsyth Grant, "Esper-
ance" (Miss Ardagh), Mrs. S. A. Curzon, Mrs. Anna Roth-
woll, Mrs. Edgar Jarvis, Miss Lewis, Miss Morgan, Miss
Pauline Johnson, Mrs. K. Seymour McLean, with other
anonymous writers, romancers, and makers of verse.
We must all hail the work of these cultured women in
226
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
Canadian literature, for it has given piquancy to our criti-
cal journals of late, taught us to see, understand, and enjoy
many things which the less penetrative and non-sensitive
masculine mind has failed to teach us, while it has brought
the reader more closely^ under the spell of the literary art.
What a reinforcement of freshness, and what has been called
"the naivete of self-expression," has come with the contribu-
tions, with which most readers of The Week must be familiar,
of Miss Duncan, Mrs. Harrison, and Miss Wetherald — to
cite but three of our literary women of to-day, all of whom,
we are sure, will leave an abiding record, in both prose and
verse, in Canadian literature. To the other names we have
mentioned" we also look hopefully for continued good work,
and for undertakings of a more ambitious and less epheme-
ral nature, which will serve the cause of native letters, per-
petuate their memories, and increase the number of those
who are living the higher life and keeping company with
truth, goodness, and beauty. We look also with hope, and
feel that we shall not be disappointed, to the many young
men and women who are now receiving a university educa-
tion, and who will, doubtless, ere long give to Canadian
literature some original and creative work. As specimens of
the " Essay mood," and of scholarly, appreciative criticism,
we may here fitly refer to two or three native books of belles
lettres, in the department of which we might find many
more and profitable workers than we do. "A Study of
Tennyson's Princess, with Critical and Explanatory Notes,"
by Mr. S. E. Dawson (Montreal, 1884), is a- book which
rec*iived commendation from Lord Tennyson himself, and
is a delightful and sympathetic bit of criticism, and a fine
interpretation of the poet's mind in the work. "Walt
Whitman," by Dr. R. M. Bucke, of London, Ont., is an-
other study of character, the clever and sympathetic delinea-
tion of which is creditable to native taste and scholarship.
* The Art Gallery of the English Language," by Mr, A. H.
Morrison, shows an intimate acquaintance with English
Literature and a keen appreciation of its beauties. The
volume of " Lectures and Addresses," on literary and his
torical subjects, by the late Dr. Morley Punshon, though
perhaps not wholly written, was first published, in Canada,
and won for its eloquent author a large circle of readers,
and, it may be added, the honorarium of $2,500 from his
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
227
bo our criti-
, and enjoy
on-sensitive
i.aa brought
iterary art.
been called
le contribu-
be familiar,
therald — to
11 of whom,
li prose and
les we have
good work,
ess epheme-
letters, per-
)er of those
npany with
1 hope, and
aany young
rsity educa-
3 Canadian
pecimens of
'^e criticism,
^ks of belles
find many
^ Study of
)ory Notes,"
book which
imself, and
and a fine
k. " Walt
)nt., is an-
3tic delinea-
scholarship.
Mr. A. H.
th English
ities. The
ry and his
on, though
in Canada,
of readers,
from his
Toronto publishers! "The Ballads and Songs of Scotland,
in view of their Influence on the Character of the People,"
by the Rev. Prof. J. Clark Murray, of Montreal, is a work
the merits of which call for notice in this section.
This department would be singularly incomplete without
some notice, however inadequate, of the literary labours
of Prof. Goldwin Smith, whose pen, for a length of years,
has been of infinite service to Canada, and to whom, most
of all, we are indebted for fighting the battle of free-
dom of speech in this country, at a time when there was
less tolerance of opinion, religious and political, than we
happily enjoy to-day. Mr. Goldwin Smith's " Life of Cow-
per," in the "English Men of Letters Series," though pub-
lished in England, .nay properly be chronicled here, as the
work was written in Canada, and a special edition was
placed on the Canadian market. Prof. Goldwin Smith had
an exceptionally delicate task entrusted to him in prepar-
ing a history of the poor, faded, melancholy life of the poet
Cowper. The memoir, however, is admirably written, with
a thorough appreciation of the gentle life and fine literary
work of the poet, and a reverent treatment of the incidents
of his career which called for considerate yet discriminating
comment. The book is invested with all the charm of style
characteristic of Prof. Smith's writings. Not less valuable
to the student of literature is the collected volume of Mr.
Goldwin Smith's "Lectures and Essays," which, though
printed for private circulation, well deserves to be recorded
among the issues of the Canadian press. The work consists,
in the main, of contributions to Canadian literaturfj em-
bracing papers on historical, social, and literary topics,
which, for the mx>st part, appeared in the pages of the
Canadian Monthly. The volume shows Mr. Goldwin Smith
at his best, not only as a master of English style, but as a
profound thinker, and a man of scholarly acquirements and
rare intellectual gifts. To the literary work on these two
volumes, besides a whole library of contributions to the press,
both of the old and the new world, we have to record the
great service Mr. Goldwin Smith has rendered as a Cana-
dian publicist, in the publication of The Bystander, in poli-
tical forecasts and reviews of "Current Events," Canadian
and general, contributed during many years to The Nation,
the Canadian Monthly, The Week, and the daily press of
228
SKETCH OP CANADIAN LITERATURE.
Toronto. Rarely, if ever, have passing events in any
country been discussed with greater ability than have the
topics of the time been treated of by this brilliant writer in
these various periodicals and journals. Their publication
has made a unique and well-nigh priceless contribution to
the intellectual resources of Canada.
In Fiction our Canadian writers have not done all ^Aey
might have done, considering the rich materials at hand in
the political, religious, industrial, and social life of Canada,
in the history and legends of the past, in the varied national
life of the people, and in the ample scope the novelist has
for descriptive word-painting in the natural beauties of the
country. Our rapidly contracting space necessitates the
briefest mention of a few names only in this department.
To the early tales of Major Richardson we have already re-
ferred, and to the important works of Miss Machar, Mr. Wm.
Kirby, and Mr. John Lesperance. Of Mrs. Moodie and
her sister Mrs. Trail, we have also spoken, and we have
made allusion to the joint work of Miss Wetherald and the
present writer — "An Algonquin Maiden" — an historical
romance, which has been received with much favour and has
had the honour of being issued not only in Montreal and
Toronto, but in London and New York.
Two writers in Montreal, Mrs. Leprohon and Mrs. Ross,
have issued several volumes of tales of some interest, the
best of which, perhaps, is " Ida Beresford," by Mrs. Lepro-
hon, a novel which first appeared in the Literary Garland.
Miss Louisa Murray, of Stamford, perhaps the ablest of
Canadian literary women, wrote for the British Amet ican
Magazine "The Cited Curate;" for the Canadian Monthly
"Carmina" and "Little Dorinn;" and for Once-Or-Week
"The Settlers of Long Arrow." All these tales evince a
high order of talent and undoubted skill in the writing of
fiction. They are, to-day, well worthy of reproduction.
" Honor Edgeworth," by Vera, pn Ottawa lady, who prefers
anonymity, is a rather clever study of social life in the
Dominion capital. Watson Griffin's "Twok" presents,
with power and sympathy, some phases in the life-drama of
a Oanadifn waif, with many thoughtful reflections and
admirable moral lessons. "Crowded Out," by Seranus
(Mrs. Harrison), is a collection of graphic and vivid sketche::
of life and character in the Quebec Province, done with
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
229
nts in any
,n have the
it writer in
publication
bribution to
one all 'fcl^ey
at hand in
of Canada,
ied national
novelist has
uties of the
ssitates the
department.
) already re-
ar, Mr. Wm.
Moodie and
nd we have
paid and the
n i:istorical
our and has
Lontreal and
1 Mrs. Ross,
nterest, the
Mrs. Lepro-
iry Garland.
le ablest of
sh Ame'iican
Ian Monthly
Once-a- Week
les evince a
le writing of
eproduction.
who prefers
life in the
" presents,
life-drama of
lections and
by Seranus
ivid sketches
B. done with
inimitable art, and full of the spirit of French-Canadian
nationality. Like all her work, it is marked by poetic
beauty, incisive thought, and the play and movement of
genius, or something closely akin to it. Mrs. Anna Roth-
well, and Prof. K. L. Jones, of Kingston, Mr. E. W.
Thomson of the Toronto Globe staff, and Miss A. E.
Wetherald ("Bel Tliistlethwaite " of the Globe), have all
done good work in fiction, which deserve preservation in
some more permanent form than is afforded by the daily or
weekly press.
The list is an extensive one, which embraces writers of
books on special subjects, and whose work, had we space
at command, well deserves notice here. Of these the follow-
ing, by way of example, may be cited, though, we regret,
merely by their titles : The late Dr. McCaul's " Britanno
Roman Inscriptions," Dr. Withrow's "The Catacombs of
Rome, and their Testimony relative to Christianity," Mr.
Charles Lindsey's " Rome in Canada," Dr. F. R. Beattie's
" Examination of the Utilitarian Theory of Morals," Prof.
John Watson's " Kant : a Critique," Rev. Prof. Gregg's
" History of Presbyterianism in Canada," and Col. Deni-
son's Russian-prize " History of Cavalry." President Daniel
Wilson's learned works on Archajology and Ethnological
Science ; Sir William Dawson's interesting treatise on
Acadian Geology, and his many works on the relations of
Science and Theology ; and the late Sir William Logan's
instructive Reports contributed to the Geological Survey of
Canada, with Prof. Harrington's Life of Sir William, may
also be cited as valuable products of Canadian thought, but
of which, unfortunately, our limited space will not permit
us to speak. We must pass on to the less abstruse subject
of poetry, and, with its brief mention, bring our hasty and
itn perfect sketch to a close.
W^ith some aspects of the national culture a large class of
the Canadian people, it is to be feared, has little sympathy.
Of these aspects. Poetry may be said to be one, and the most
alien to the popular taste, unless, perhaps, it presents itself
in the form of a commonplace bit of verse or a more or less
coarse poUtical lampoon. Nor is this quite to be wondered
at, if y^ consider how engrossing are the material interests
of the bulk of our people, and how few have been their op-
portunities for cultivating a taste for letters or for paying
230
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
court to the Muses. Despite the lack of appreciation of
good verse, it is surprising to note how much of it has been
written in Canada, and how many are the names whose
work, in regard both to literary form and sentiment, does
honour to this department of the national literature. Tho
first work of our Anglo-Canadian writers of verse to attract
attention was the drama, entitled " Saul," which appeared
in Montreal in 1857, and bore upon the title-page the name
of Charles Heavysege, Hea^'^ysege was but an humble
Montreal journalist, familiar with his Bible and with Shake-
speare ; yet his drama was acknowledged by the press of
the motherland to be one of the most remarkable English
poems ever written out of Great Britain. In 1865 he pub-
lished another long poem on a biblical subject, entitled
" Jephthah's Daughter," which was also well received.
" Saul " is a fine psychological study, treated with rare
poetic power, and '* Jephthah's Daughter," though it is de-
ficient in the vigour of the former work, has more imagina-
tion and feeling. " Voices from the Hearth," by Isidore G.
Ascher, a Montreal barrister, is another collection of verse
which was warmly commended by the American and Old
Country press. The volume is characterized by pleasant
fancy and a tender feeling, occasionally crossed by the
gusts of deep emotion and a warm but restrained passion.
" The Prophecy of Merlin, and other Poems," by John
Reade, is the work of another Montrealer, a Canadian poet
of the first rank, an able journalist, and a scholarly and
accomplished writer. In Mr. Reade's work his classical
tastes reveal themselves, not only in his translations, but
in the Tennysonian theme of the poem which gives the title
to the volume. But Mr. Reade is no mere imitator ; he
strikes his own lyre ; and in his sonnets, lyrics, and particu-
larly in the poems which illustrate Canadian scenery and
history, he is not only original but thoroughly national.
Occasionally we have a fine outburst of patriotic song ;
while his work, as a whole, if not always stirring and ani-
mated, pleases by its delicate feeling and refinement of
thought. '
The senior place in Canadian song belongs, by right of
the people at any rate, to Charles Sangster, of Ottawa,
He has ' published two collections of verse, entitled "The
St. Lawrence and the Saguenay," and "Hesperus, and other
liation of
has been
es whose
lent, does
ire. The
bo attract
appeared
the name
a humble
th Shake-
press of
3 English
5 he pub-
entitled
received,
with rare
h it is de-
} imagina-
Isidore G.
HL of verse
L and Old
T pleasant
(d by the
d passion,
by John
adian poet
Dlarly and
s classical
itions, but
3S the title
Ltator ; he
id par tic u-
3enery and
f national,
otic song ;
ig and ani-
nement of
3y right of
•f Ottawa,
itled " The
, and other
CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS.
231
Poems." Mr. Sangster's work is chiefly lyrical, and he
draws his inspiration, in the main, from Canadian scenery
and the incidents of the national history. He is wanting in
the art and in the scholarship which characterize the work
of Reade and Roberts; but his verse is aglow with patriotism,
and has a lilt and melody which remind one of running
streams and trickling water. His sympathies are wide and
human, and many of his poems, dealing with the domestic
affections, appeal tenderly to the home and the fireside. Tn
the characteristics of his genius, Mr. Charles G. D. Roberts,
of Fredericton, is more akin to John Reade. His verse is
largely cast in the classical mould, and bears the impress of
modern poetic art. All too rarely has he all /ed himself
to deal with native themes, and when he has; done so, as in
his " Ode to the Dominion " and " A Nat lal Hymn," he
has struck a tender chord in 'uh.(-i Canadian heart. His two
volumes are entitled respective iy, *' Orion, and other Poems,"
and " In Divers Tones." The leading poem in the former is
founded on a touching incident in the old mythical story of
Orion, and in some passages the author rises to the loftiest
heights of song. We like him, however, better in his
later volume, which has many poems of the highest order
and quality of verse, with a sweetness and music that
sing their way into the heart. Another essentially Canadian
volume is " Marguerite," by George Martin, of Montreal, a
work which takes its title from the heroine in a romantic
legend of New France. It contains many fine passages
which reveal the true poet. The author's sonnets will,
perhaps, be most admired, however, by lovers of the poetic
art ; while many will doubtless be attracted by the poems
on Canadian subjects, and chiefly those on winter sports.
A deservedly high place should be assigned to the late
Charles Pelham Mulvany, M.A., for his work in the vol-
ume entitled " Lyrics, Songs and Sonnets." His range is
wide, combining both the drama and the lyric, with some
tine examples of lighter verse, witty and pathetic. His
knowledge of the structure of verse and command of its
various forms, though he is sometimes careless in his work,
are extraordinary. IMrs. K. Seymour McLean's " The Cono-
ing of the Princess" is a collection of thoughtful, tender
verse. Miss Valancey Crawford's "Old Spook^jea' Pass, and
other Poems," chiefly drawn from Old World sources, dis-
232
SKETCH OF CANADIAN LITERATURE.
play much of the higher qualities of the poet. " Poems by
Phillips Stewart," a Toronto University graduate, are fi of
deep, subjective thought and tender feeling. Mr. George A.
Mackenzie's " Malcolm " is a fine ethical study, manifesting
taste and culture. *' Poems and Songs," by Alexander
McLachlan, **the Canadian Burns," as he is called, show
high powers of versification set to homely themes. Mr.
Imrie's themes are also those of the home and the fireside,
and his heart is warm and his sympathies are wide. Mr.
Kirby's " Canadian Idylls " deal with national subjects and
are full of the spirit of the past. This writer's Muse lacks
the stimulus either of ambition or of greater encouragement
to place him in the front rank of our native poets. Col.
Huntei'-Duvar, in " The Enamorado," a Spanish tale in dra-
matic form, has given us one good volume, and from his
Prince Edward Island home is, we believe, about to give us
another. Its subject, we understand, is " Roberval and his
Acadian Colony." Mr. S. J. Watson's " Legend of the
Roses," Mr. T. O'Hagan's "A Gate of Flowers," Miss
Mountcastle's "The Mission of Love," and Mr. A. McAl-
pine Taylor's " Boyhood Hours," all display, in more or less
measure, not only the technical qualities of the poet, but a
rich imagination and a true feeling. To those who have
not at command the separate works of the poets we have
mentioned, we would commend the study of the excellent,
though now scarce, anthology of Dr. Dewart, " Selections
from Canadian Poets," and Seranus' recently issued " Cana-
dian Birthday Book, with Poetical Selections for Every Day
in the Year," — a delightful posy from the French-Canadian
and Anglo-Canadian poets.
We are far from having exhausted our material, but we
are at the end of our space. Many authors, we regret,
must remain unnoticed, and with them the record we had
hoped to append of writers of fugitive verse. We must also
forego our chronicle of the writers in science, and those in
the professions of theology, law, medicine, and education.
At some other time, and in a more expanded form, we hope
to deal with these omissions. All we have here aimed at
L a modest outline of the subject — a simple and cursory
sketch. * j , ;> ,5 * . T> \
52
"Poems by
ite, are fi of
Ir. George A.
, manifesting
y Alexander
called, show
;hemes. Mr.
the fireside,
B wide. Mr.
subjects and
1 Muse lacks
couragement
poets. Ool.
h tale in dra-
nd from his
it to give us
3rval and his
gend of the
>wers
}f
Miss
fr. A. McAl-
more or less
i poet, but a
se who have
)ets we have
le excellent,
" Selections
sued " Cana-
p Every Day
ch-Canadian
jrial, but we
, we regret,
3ord we had
7e must also
nd those in
I education,
rm, we hope
re aimed at
md cursory