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CIlAl'LEAl ON TIIK MOTtON M .J;(, lU'NAfhNT FOU HAMNii .vIJ.i'WKl) TJIi: EXF.rrTlON KW i.isris, j.j[,;f. il-nOM THE OI'FRjAL DEBAHa) IMPKIWERIE O'.NKrSU-:, 4."), lACQCEK-OAHflEK SlilAHiJ, MONXUEAL lrit'6 mmm » m'% mm 0m t 9rmfv^tmumtt PC ^Zi^ ./ s V If li ii ii t ii 1, I v t: li o CI CI 1 o ii o tl t( h 1) tl tl P, oi SPEECH OF HONdRABlE Mr. tHAPLEAU, M.l'., On thv nidi ion ntddr. In fore f/ic Ilounf of Co»i}nniis, on the llth MidiIi, ISSii^ lo h/itnii f/if (iorminiinf for hnvin)/ (il/oirrd //«' c.rcciifiun of Rii I. A iiowsjiiiju'r lin\iiii,' luiiiounccd last •■vciiiiij;, tlnit i hud iMVome suddoiily ii iicnitcut. that I was very lu'iir iilijiiriii!; tlir onor.s which, with my i'f)ll('aLCUfs in tlic (Jovfriiiin'iit, I liad Ix'cii sullif'rin;,' uihUt of hite, and that J was, in tlic \u\iv t'luur*', iCoini,' ti» hid adieu to political life — I oidy wish that could ho true and that 1 would retire repent- ing' ; and as the paper wished I should employ the last days of my life in prayer, so as to lie forixiven l«y (Jod and man, I thouLfht I would take this tii'st opportunity of makint,' uiy last confession of tlu^ ifreat crime of which I have lieen accused durioi^ several months past, and I hope 1 shall make it as])lain, as complete, as full as possihle, so as to satisfy hoth friends u'.id foes. I do not know, .Mr. Speaker, whether I can do justice to tliis deliate. i know it is, j)erhaj)S, out of place for me to api»lo<,dze for not speakiui,' in the lan^uan'e which is my mother tongue ; but e\ery time I rise in this I Louse, every time 1 have to express what I feel deeply and vi\ idly in my heart, I have to express it in a lani,'uai(e which is not my own, I thiidv it is necessaiy for me to ajioloiji/e ; for the English lani,'ua;^'e, that has taught the world tin; gi(^at lessons of liberty, does not give me that full freedom of expression which 1 would liave in my own language. What a change a year can make in the ideas of men, in the feelings of men I What ditl'erences do we remark when we look over the pro- ceedings of !a.st Session, as I did yesterday ! Read over J/(in,f(inl and compare dates with this year. Th(> I'Jth of March last year, St. Joseph's Day, tlie day named after that great .saint, whose nam(> is synonimous with Hdelity and loyalty, was cho.sen by Louis Riel for the outbreak of his leliellion in the N'orth-West. On the lUtli of .March Louis lliel inaugurated his revolt, in acts, in his oliii'ial declaration, in his open opposition to l)oth civil and spiritual power in the North-West. On the following days, the relx'llion was in full blast, and the day after to-morrow will be the anniversary of one of the sad events of our history — tl«> anniversary of the Duck Lake tight — when some of our bravest soldiers, some of the good men of the Xorth-West, fell under the bullets of traitors and rebels, led by Louis Kiel, fell victims to the treachery of a criminal l>and, who, after destroying Government property, after ransacking and plundering tlie stores of industrious citizens, after having seized and taken prisoners the men wlio were (loin,' t iK'ir duty under the laws of tlicii country, in tlio protection of (In, ( 'juKulian find the IJiitisli llii^, had torn down tlic flu;,' of Jlcr .Majesty and liad l)o^'un that nihoilionof wiiich J hope we will ha\(> to- day the last iTcollcc'tion. I hope that the nit-niorics fif men will not recollect it, aft(>r we have done our duty to-day and said that the coun- try cannot countenance those who would like; this House — represt^itinj,' the intei-ests, the desires, and th(> wisluis of (lie people, (o sny that that event was one,- wjiich would heexcusalile and jusdtialile in the eyes of true Canadians. We all renienilier the f<'elini,' (hut pervaded (his House when, on the '22nd, 2.")rd and 'JIth of .March, the news arrived (ha( really a i-clu'llion was existini,' in the North West, and that the agitation which had l)e;,'un many months hefore had taken tla; form of an opc.-n re\(»lt. We rememlier the fcelim; that existed in this House. It is true that then, as since the lic'niMiinL;' of (his Session, some gentlemen on the other side, exercising theii- I'ights its niemljcrs of I'arliamtMit, had lieen asking foi' information, had lieen clamoring for jiapcrs, Imt still the House went on with tin; performance of its duties until (he day we heard the .sound of nthellion, and learned that the sons of (\inada, at the i-all of the (Joverniiieiit, had to go up and fight that revolt. Sir, '.vhen the news of tlic Duck Lake light arrived, there was not one man to he found here who would not have said frankly and openly that tlios*; wlio had commenced that reliellion, those men who wer-e ignoring the hiws of the country am! i-iilielling against them, wci-e deserving the .sevi^rest punislunent of the law. I rememlter a tV'w days latei', when a iiewspapia* in Ontario had had the audacity, as it was thc^n styled, to say that my honorable friend si^'^ '.; on our left had Iteen actually giving countenance to the rebel , ,^ that ho had been aiding the c(nis[)irators against tin; peace and iu-.grity of the country, that the honoral)le meml)ers sitting on that side of the House were accomplices of tliose in the North- West who were trying to take these larges t(!rritoi'it?s away from their allegiance to Our Sovereign, I remember what took place in this House. 1 reniendu'r seeing the honorable leader of the Opposition rising in his seat, his features altered, treiu'oling with emotion and saying, with tears in liis voice, that thei'e never was such a slanderous insinuation cast upon him and his party as to say that he and they might be called accomplices or even .sympathisers with the rel)ellion in the Nortli- West. We all remember the honorable member for West-Durham stating that he had a relation whose lilood had alrcnidy stained the snow of the prairies, that he had a nephew whose life was in danger, that his son and his brother's son were ready to slioulder their muskets and go to the Saskatchewan and fight against those who wantinl to commit that attempt against tlie liljerties of the empire, and the good name of the people of Canada. At that time we responded to the expression of those feelings ; and I remember the rig'nt honorable Premier in this House getting up in his seat and saying that whatever differences of opinion there might be between him and honorable gent- lemen opposite, he thought the article in question was an ill-advised one— that we all here in this House .symjjathisod together in support- ing the laws of our Dominion, and keeping in its integrity the tine '11 .(I r.' couiitrv wliii-li we arc now ailininistcriiiL,' to tli(> ;nlory of tliosc who uri|uin'(l it, find tlic i,'lorv i>t' tlir SovcrciLfn who ruh's over us. Who wouhl hav(! said tht'n a word of jiistitication of that rriniiiial hand that was l)CL(iniiin;,' a rclxdlion on tiir siiorcs of thi- Saskatche- wan ? Will) would have tlniii;,dit, wln-n tin' honorahlc t^'i'idlcinrn who l»'ft this House to take upon tiicmst'lvcs the anhnnis task of leadini; thoir men to th" lieUl of I'lttle, who would have (lioui,dit when we vero all shaking,' hands with tin m, who wouhl have thouudit when we said iirhMiii, whose name hus Ihmmi revered and cherished, and loved amon,:,'st us, sim-e he hmt his life in the defein'e of hj^ country, — who would have thou;jht then that, in this House, twelve months after- wards, we would have lieiMi asked to vote re;,'re( for the lawful execu- tion of the leafier of that rehellion '.' When ''olomd Williams left us here, shakin;,' hand with us, and tellim,^ us : " Yes, i;eiit lenieii, I am going, and I am jtroud and happy to pcM-forin my duty to my (.,>ueen and countr\, pi-oud to leave you whilst you are doin;; your duty here,'' who would have said to him, '* Oh I yes, you are goin.n there to risk your life, hut twelve months after this, from his seat in J'arliament, a iiieiii))er will rise and s;iy : '' 1 want to declare l>y my \ote that those who killed you and your hrotliers deserve the sympnihies of Canada, ;ind that we reirret their puni>hmeiit .'" Mr. Sjieaker. 1 regret the execution of the late reiiel leader, J.,ouis Riel, Ix'cause .1 cannot lind in my heart a place for a feeling of pleasure or rt'joicing at tho ignominious death of a fellow- being. 1 regret the fi.veoutioii of Louis Kiel as I regret those painful oci-asions when a sacri- lice, of human lite has to be made for the vindication of the law or for tiie protection of society. 1 regret. Sir, the oxocution of Louis Kiel l)ecau.se of the unhappy trouble he has caused in one of the tinest Provinces of this Dominion. J regret the execution of Louis Jiiel because of the occasion it has given, for discussicMi in this House, in which, to use tho expression of the honorable member for West Dur- ham (Mr. DIakej, " words hav(> be(>n said that should not have been said, things have been uttered that should not have Ix^en uttered, and sentiments have liad room for expression which should not have been expres.sed in tliis Ifouse." 1 regret the execution of Louis lliid for those reasons ; but I cannot coademu the punishment of his (,Time. Providence, Sir, sutlers the mysterious agencies of human passions and the free will of men, to mark dark hours in the history of nations. Louis Kiel has written with his own hand and with his own deeds the darkest pages in the liistory of the North-West of this Dominion ; he has signed tho.se bloody pages, and .sealed them with his blood on the scaiibld of Regina on the ICth of November last. The scaf!bld has spread its hideous .sliadow over the newly christened town of Regi .a — christened after the name of our beloved Sovereign ; and the virgin soil of the Province of Assinib:)ia was torn open to receive the dead body of a man who liad sown the seeds of discontent, of revolt, and of war and death in a land whish should have been n^sorxcd for peace, unity, happy tranquility and industry. The solemn sanction which wjis then given to the law should deter all otluu- men, and deter, I hope, all other evil-disposed and evil-thinking men from imitating his example. w — 4 — I'lifortviniitf'ly, Sir, from the cell of tlio doonu'cl ii>,'itiitor, from the Bcall'old, and tin' ;,'niv<' of tlir executed crimiiiiil, thei'c eame the wind of revolt and the poison of niitionivl animosity, wliii'h pervaded one of the <,'reat l'ro\ inees of this hominion, and whieh threaten ('veii now, jterhaps to a laiijer extent tlian we lielieve, the future trantjuility and destinies of tlie Dominion. Mr. Speaker, if I Iirini,' to your recoHection these sad events, it is oidy to show you tin- unffuliuiate position in whicii are pliiced tliose who in the Province of l^ui!n'i- have espoused - some with sincerity and 1,'ood faith, f>thcrs with sclicnirs for ]>olitical supremacy the cause uf rel)ellion, whicii, it cannot lie denied, has proihn-ed in this country one of the nmst unfortunate periods in our political hist(»ry. Mr. Speaker, it is the deep feeling of the danLrer arisinif from the present crisis which has animated me durini; the wliole of that |>eriod, and wliich has often driven away from my lips and from my pen words of an^'er and words of violent reliuke, which wouhl have Keen justilied by the treatment to whicii I and my hon. colleaijues in the (lovern- luent have been .subjected f(tr over thi'ee months past. During' that time, Sir, we have seen an infui-iated and madilened mol) tearing' to pieces our likenesses, and hani.'ini; and burning us in elll;;y ; but thi.s has had upon me no other ell'ect than to make me feel more pity than anf,'pr towards the crowd who had been excited af^ainst us. Ill the city of Montreal, my ])ortrait has l)een for days exposed in windows, beariii!;- on the forehead a lar^'e red stain, to convey the itlea that 1 was the murderer of one f>f my fellow-countrymen. Sir, 1 forgave^ that villanv. As one of mv friends in .Montreal remarked Th loor individual who did tliat has himself on his brow a stain which neither rubl>in<' nor washin<' will ever tak( aw av, ' and calls back to my memory the followini,' lines : — " La mer y i)asHt'rail sans iavcr la souillurc, Cur le pjullre est immense et la taclio est au fond." I forget easily those attacks prompted liy tin? juiblic exciteniont, but there is one thiiij,' from which I have siiiiered-- it is this : These demon- strations were called by men who have; been associated with me in friend- ship, and knew me better than with sincerity to call mr a traitor and a coward. I, a traitor I Mr. Sjieaker, I have lieen now ov(>r '27 years in active public life, and I think I could ask from friends and foes this testimony, that I lia\e been true to my Sovereitrn, true to my country, true to my party, true to my friends. Sir, if there is one reproach which I do not deser^■e from either side of the House, it is the reproach of treachery. I have been at times accused, and accused by the press of my lion, friends opposite, of having perhaps too much political loyalty. They have also called nie coward. Well, it is hard to speak of one- self, but I might say of those who have uttered this charge, that their hearts would, perhaps, have faltered if they had had to go through the ordeal through which I have passed since the 13th Koveniber last. To have retained the coiirage I have retained, to have faced what I have faced, to have lefuscd what I have refused, to have done what I have done — does not, I ask those wlio have called me a coward, merit for V >. I •it — fl — ino that opithot I Rut, as T havo said, tVnliuLj that tho occasion was om^ M'hich seldom pn'^^ciils itself in the lit'e of" a man, feelin;^ deeply the dan'jer which, I tlK)Ui,'ht, was menacin;; our country and our nationality, I kejit away from my lips and my pen all words of an^or against tlioso who aliused me. I mi;,'ht also say here, there was another reason that prevented me from resentin;,' those insults. I am frank, and 1 must say that, what- i'vcr mii,dit Itethe causi-. the movement that spreail throu'^h the Pro vince of Queliec did not surprise me, ami if I have not rt-proached, in 1)itter torms,my friends for what they have donr',it is because I thoui^ht that. althouLrh we, the Ministers of tho Crown, hail not failed in our duty towards the Crown, towards our oath of ollii-e, toward.^ our country <(eneially. perhajis we were in fault to a certain detfree in not J,., ha\ in-j; taken more care in the rlirection of pulilic opinion in the I vince of C^uehoc. The cause, the main eausi^ of the troulile in that Province has Ikmmi the (?xa,t,'U''iatioiis of the ('onservative press. I havo stat((d to my friends that the troul)le we havfs had, the dampers wo have run, the consei|uence from which we may proltahly sutler, would not liav(> Iieen occasionrd if the press, and esju'cially the Conservative press, had iieen licttcr din^-ted. It is true that, as people .say, it was in the wind, it was everywhere, the atmosphei'e was full of it, and noltody could escape ; luit I am, ne\ eitheless, surprised to see that men, such as .sserv(>s praise. The population in our countiy, being divided, as it is, in diderent nationalities, tho atlii-mation of the rights of one fraction of the people is not bad in itself. That pride in ont^'s nationality is a thing that nught be pro- ductive of good results ; like all powerful motives, it must Ik^ regulatrated that feeling, and hence we have .seen in the Province of (Quebec that outburst of .sectional animosity which wo all dej)lore, and which, 1 trust, will end after this Hou.se has taken its determination and has given the vote which mo- derate, delibei'ate men are asked to give. Hut, Sir, we liave not here to deal with those demonstrations ; we have to deal with the (piestion which is ])roposed to us, and that ([ues- tion is this ; Was the execution of Louis Riel one which we, the House of Parliament— we, the Hou.se representing the view.s, feelings and id(^as of the country-, should condenni or approve 1 My lion, friend from Montmagny (Mr. Landry) has put liis motion in a particular way, and in his opening remarks lie said : " I have not -( say tliis was pcrlmps in (lie idfii of tlu' movor a skilful arrfttiyc- iiioiit with II view t(» «lru\v as iiimiy votcH as |i(issil»i(^ tor liiii iiiotinn, Imt I undcrstaiul that he waiili-d to say that pvi'ryoiK' iiii;f a|ij>i'(t\t'd. As I have said licl'dir, I wcudd In- ready to iinilc my syiii|iathi('S with his if he oidy wanted an expn'ssion of re^^'ret, if there wiis not co'ipled with thai an expression of lilaine for (he a»'tion of the (Jovernni tit in askin;4 that the law siiould lie carried out. The lion, iiieinlier for t.^ueheelCast (Mr. riiiurier), ^v|i.> Ims taken upon liiiMsclf the defence of the reliellion in the North West, wa.s very cMM-ful. in the lieyinniii',' of his remarks and diiriny; the whole of lii« speech, to say tint the movement which had lieen carried on in the Province of (.^iielicc was not a political movement ; secondly, that it was not a national movement ; and furthc, tliat the House liiul not to decide upon tli(i>-e (jUestions. .My lion, friend said it was not a political movement. NVi'll, Mr. Speaker, I ask e\"iyone of those who saw the Kei^'innini^ of that a;L,dta- tion to say \\he(hei' it was so or not. I ask those who saw the press, liefore this Session, \vh(!ther then; was nothiiiL,' in that mov(>ment of a political character, whether ther(> was nolhin.i,' lait a sincere desiie to .see if the law had lieeii .justly administered or if a f,M'eat injustice had not heen done in the execution of the sentcnco. My hon. friend will allow me to ask him. how did the aijitation heyiti in Montreal? It did not Iteijin with tli<' meetini^ of the ('hainii-de-Mars ; it did not lie;,'in with the outhiirst of the Con.servative )iress which made it a ;,'oneral ([uestion in the country : it hcLfan when two of the friends of the hon. iiiemiier for tihietiec-Kast started the movement. I must give credit to those to whom it is due. Mr. L. O. David, of Montical, was the originator and initiator of that movement, lie was assisted, it is true, in his ed'ort l)y a man whoso name and jirofession are more modest. Iiy a Kailillcif the name of I'haneuf, one of the aj,'ents of the Lilieral party in Montreal. They liOjLraii to create an ai^itatioii in Montreal, and every- one knows how easily that is done in a larj,'etity. Then, in I'oyard to the delays in the execution of the sentence, there wi're the rei)orters who had been sent \>y the press to repoit the proceeding's of the trial at Ke<,'ina, and who. instead of icportinj,' truly and solely the proccedin<,'s of tlie conit,did send to the press of Montreal fantastical reports havinj,' more tlie color and shape of novels than of true reports from a court of justice. These were the; l»eginnings of the movement in Montreal. After a wliile, when it had taken shape, e\erylpody was expecting — wliat / [ must say it, Mr. Speaker — on one side, among our Conser- vative friends in Alontreal. some were expecting that the Covernment would take the side of mercy, would treat that cjuestion with the view of trying to preserve peace by the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy, and, on the other, the Liberals were only .speculating upon the Government carrying out the law to its fullest extent, to its direct execution, .so as to have a lever upon public opinion for political design.s. J do not dissimulate the state of public opinion in the city of Montreal. What was the state of things in that city in the month of October? I arrived in Montreal in the beginning of October, and I was met by friends wlio said : " Well, there is a great movement pervading f — I tlu' country, iiiid it is for you to lie iit tlii' lioiul of it ; it is for you to Kt'c tlmt juisticc is (lone, luit iit tlic siiiiif time tliiit iin'rcy is yivcn l>y tlw ( ;(i\ iriunciit ; Wf uiust U>iu\ puMii- opinion; wi- must not fillovv tlic liilicniU to (ukt' the Iciul ; wo nnist not iillow tiioni to ;,':iin tlio fonti- (lonto of tlio t'lt'ctors, to arouse a niitidniil ffcliMu' in tlif rountry. " Such WHS till' state of things in Montreal in ((ctohcr. One party was lookini; toi p)litical a^i^'raniliscnicnl and triunipli. Tlic fitlicr party was lookini,' truly, sincerely, earnestly for sonietliini; which they thought was due to the national ser\ ices that have iieeii rendered hy the Con servatives and the [''ii'ncli ('auadiaii iiat ionaiily. <)ne party w as lookini^ the othei' ptrty was lookin;; for mercy. Tln' lion, memlier f< or power I for (^ueltecJCast (.Mi. Lam ier), siiid we have Keen careful to altstain frotii any political declaration on that suliject.'' ^'es, Sir, and tliat is true in words ; that is ivw like that lovalt m the lips, of which lay lion, friend for (,)Meliy, I iiiiyht say, the whole popidation of the Province of (^uehec, 1 heard this, and J shall quote (he words from a letter which was sent to nin— after it was aiinoiiin ed ju Moutieul that the ( ioxcninient had taken a decision from OllC (I f tl h(ite in M mitreai wlieie littl concla\e o f Lil lerals had lieeii held waitiii.:,' for the news from ()ttawa ; and. learniiiif that the (ioverninent had decided that the law should he carried out, one of them said : " Kli liicii ! taut micux. "Nous a\ ions liicii |icnr (|in' Ic \ica\ .SirJolm n't-nl arran;j,'t' cci;i |)i-n(laiit (|u"il<'laii I'll Aii^ilcl "I'l (• pinir cii laisscr la rcspoiisiiliiliic ;in ^iomcrncnu'iit ]iii|)i'iial, coniinc dans rallairi- LcU'llk-r. Mais ccia nous vauL viii^t coiiitcH (hiiiH Ic Htts-Canada." This declai'atioii. Mr. Speaker, cannot lie denied. It his \H'on sent to me qui^e warm from the lips of the man who s:iid it, and it is a .secret to nohody ill Montreal that all the Jjii>erals openly said : " Wo liavt; got them now ; we have taken the (.'onservatives with u.s, and now that the (roNcniment is olilii^fed to see that the law is carrie(l out, twenty counties will come to us in the Province of Quebec. We thou^^iit that the s. But I will not take up the time of the House to show the insincerity of those who pretend now that they are woiking in the causes of hu- manity, and who were then" asking for the head of the man wliosn fate they now jtretcnd to deplore. They did not want — what shall 1 say ? to save Louis Riel from death '! No. The moment thoy kiH!\v that his fate was sealed, the moment they knew that the grave would soon be closed o\er him, they began the; agitation. Their synipalhy is only for the corpse of the man, but it was not for the body and soul of the living man. It is tiue, Mr. tS[)eaker, our Province got excited over it, and it is one of the traits of my nationality to have that chivalrous spirit for which due credit is not given to us. It is not the lirst time that spirit has shown itself in fa\ or of others — I hope it will be t\u\ last. We saw the same thing in 1S72 in reference to the New-iirunswick school ipiestion to which my hon. friend for Jacques-Cartier has alluded. The whole Province of Quebec was aroused. The Conservative party was sjib't in two ; more than that, J think the majority of the Conser' itive party in that Province left the ranks for the moment. What did the leader of the Conservative party in the Pro- vince of Quebec say then ? Sir George E. Cartier said : " Gentlemen, you arc taking a course which you ought not to follow ; you are the minority in the Dominion, and you are setting a precedent which will be turned against you." That lesson, 8ir, was one which should have been remem- bered. As soon as our friends op[)Osite came ii\to power, the j-yinpathies which tlun' had shown us previously, soon vanished, and e\ en those foi' whom the Conservative Jiai'ty had fought came up and said that they expected to lii\d the Pi-ovince of Quebec satisfied with the law against which it had nearly revolted. Mr. Sjieaker, the hon. member for Quel;--c-East, in his speech, has tried to make the House and counti-y forget his sjjeech on the Chainp- de-Mars — not by repudiating it, but by inaking, in this House, ev(;n bolder assertions than those he made on that occasion. What do we find in his speech ? First, a plea in justification of the insurrection ; .second, the cruel treatment which tlie Governnuint meted out to a defeated man in his struggle for liberty against a despotic Govern- ment ; and at last — I was surprised to hear the last part of his speech, which actually pulled down the fine edifice he had l)uilt up — after having crowned his hero with the halo of a martyi', he finished his portrait of Riel by saying that the Government had not taken suflicient pains to prove that his idol had nothing more than feet of clay and legs of sand, but that even his head was not in the right j)lace, and that his hero was an insane, forgetting that Riel or any other man could not be both a hero and an in',ane. Well, my hon friend lias said the Goxernment had acted badly I- I 1 — 9 — towards the Half-hreeds, and that the iiisuirection on tlie Saskatche- wan was justiHahle — not only excusable, l)ut justifial)le, lie said. And liow, and wliy ? He said the legislation of 1879 concerning the Half- lireeds of the North- West was nothing hut the conij)letion of the legis- lation of 1870. But he added : You have taken from 1S79 to 1885, the whole of that time, to give Justice to tho.se ))eople who were entitled to what you gave tluMu in 188.^), under the Act of 1870. J admit, for argument's .sake, the df^lays of the Government luive been faulty, liut they were only delays. And has the lion, gentleman considered that the resiionsibility for those delays bears much nio?-e heavily on the Ciovernment to which he belonged than it does on this Governement ? No, he foi'got tliiit circumstance. If his own ( Government had not given as an answer to the Jfalf-l)reeds that they would not l)e treated other- wise than as white settlers, those delays might perhaps have been avoided and the revolt of IS.-^.") averted. In that great display of elocjuence we had from the lion, gentleman, he declared that the Government had only moved when bullets were coming upon them. But the lion. g(Mitleman was obliged to admit that on "JOtli January the CJovernment had decided to grant those rights, and to seiul a commission to see that those rights were granted to the parties entitled to them. ITe has stated that the Government did not want to gi%e the Ifalf-lireeds their rights anri do justice to them, and that they only intend(kl to take a census of the Half-bret'ds who might have been entitled, under treaty rights according to the Acts of 1870 and 1879. He thereby dealt the heaviest blow at the (Joveniment, of which lie has l)een a memlier, and at those who have taken up arms against this (ioveniment, in stating that we had had the prudence to think as to who were entitled to the rights according to the Act of 1870. Tlu! lion, gentleman was forgetting, that of all those who rebelled and fought on the Saskatchewan, not more than I'l had really a right to claim land under that title. The other Half-breeds, who were acting with Kiel, had already obtained land by virtue of the Act of 1870, after the transfer of Manitoba and the North-West Territories to the Government. In that list, it is trut;, a few names were given among the rebels, but those wei.^ probalily the greatest proportion of those who had reasons to urge their claims l)efore the (Jovernment. If that hon. gentleman had occupied a .seat on the Treasury benches, he would have said what w(» have said, and he would have said more than the hon. member for Bothwell (Mr. Mills) said, when he refused the whole of the rights demanded by the Half-breeds. I was surprised when I heard the hon. mcMnber for Quebec-East .say that what is hateful is not reliellion but tlie despotism that imluces rebellion ; what avo hateful are not rebels but the men who having the possession of power did not discharge its duties. The sentiment «xprcs.sed l)y the hon. meml)cr might be very good for a rhetorical dis- play, a very happy answer to the remark of the Minister of Militia, who said that in his heart he hated rebellion and hatcnl rebels : that might be a very tine answer in a debating club, but in the mouth of a Privy Councillor the statement that what he hated vi:- not rebellion and not rebels was an ejcpression which should not be heard in any deliberative assom1)ly. — 10 The hon. gentleman tliought he could answer the declaration of the Minister of Militia hy saying that if Sir George Cartier, the great leader for years of the French-Canadian Conservative party, had been here and had heard the statement of tlie Minister of Mihtia, holding the same portfolio that Sir George Cartier held, he would have reproa- ched him for his words, for he, in 181^7, had been a rebel. I wish Sir George Cartier could ha\e been here to have iieard the words of the hon. member. He might hav(* said perhaps that in his youth, carried away by ideas of libei'ty, he joined a movem(>nt which was much more justifiable than tlie North-West rebellion, and he might have been found in the ranks of the rebels. But that distinguished statesman would probalily ha\e said to the hon. gentleman what I heard liim say one day, that if he had been taken with arms in his hand and been executed lie would have received nothing but what he diserved. The hon. gentleman cannot (juote words from Sir George Cartier that he was ri'djt in rebellinij: a<'ainst the authority of his Soverei'm ; he never heard him nu:'iition a word to that effect. But if Sir George Cartier had done so he would have been speaking of an occasion, not at all identical with the insurrection of l^Sf) on the Saskatchewan; and although the hon. gentleman may be able to show thi, , relj^illion and rebels, when viewed through the magic lantern of his elotjuence, were justifiable, he would never convince good Canadian subjects that the recent reliellion in the North-West could be properly compared with the movement of 1837. I have to thank the hon. member and his friends for not having repeated in this House what they have stated all over the country, that those martyrs of the North-West should be honored and applauded equally with the victims of lS37-.'?8, and should have the veneration, and admiration, and respect of our fellow citizens as those heroes have. My friend from (Juebec-East could not have repeated these words in this assembly. He knows that his old friends in Lower Canada, who were associated with the agitation of 1837 and 1838, would have repu- diated him. I have a letter here from one of those men of 1837, who says it would be a mockei'v to think of it — and this man is a true Lil)eral, a Liberal in heart and not a mere political schemei- — he says : " I told my friends : Do not be guilty of putting the mockery of a martyr of liberty among those who have been real martyrs to the cause of frtH^dom '\ Do not desecrate that tomb in the cemetery, at Montreal, and do not class those who sleep in that tomb with this man. They would blush to see his name associated with theirs, and would ask him what he has done with the money which his ambition and his cupidity wanted to have, while they ga\ e their blood for their principles when treachery was offering thousands of pounds for their surrender." ]\Iy hon. friend did not make a happy allusion when he wanted to assimi- late those two cases, or when he said that Sir George Cartier, if he had been here and had been the leader uf the Conservative pai'ty, would never have allowed the execution of Kiel. I can recall one case which occurred when Sir George Cartier was Attorney -(General, and when he had the sad duty to perform of report- ing in favor of an execution. In that occurrence, Cartier stated himself that he had gone so far as to consider that he could not remain in the ir \ '1 11 Government if his ojjinion as Attorn oy-Geueral was not adopted in a case where the judge liad refused to concur in the recommendation to the mercy of the Crown. My hon. friend from (^uehec-East (Mr. Lau- rier), in a great outburst of Liberalism, said tljat he knew what Tory loyalty was, and he went on to state what it was in his estimation, I do not want to follow him in that line, but I will only refer to one point. He has spoken of Tpinion aVtout him, and when, the other day, I heard the hon. inember for West-Huron (Mr. Cameron) — the gentle- man who is lepresented to be the very essence of Critism in the Pro- vince of Ontario — rising in his .seat and speaking as he has spoken, I v,-as astounded to hear him and to .see what he was doing, and I asked myself, where is r.iiieral honesty in politics, when they champion liiel as a martyr now that he is dead, and have never done anything to save him before the Kith oi' Xovember ? \\'hy I it looks like a put up Job, and lower j)arty politics to mere trickery. I think, Sir, that against Toi'Y loyalty we might fau'v set up in comparison the Jjiberal-Rouge- Crit honesty on this question. I do not believe that there is one man in tiie Dominion, I do not believe <'hat there is one man on that side of the House, who honestly and truly and sincerely thinks that the issue which has been rai.sed on this question isoiif which tlu^y do truly in their souls and hearts a{ipro\e of. Sonit! hon. MKMiiKKS. C)h ! Oh 1 Mr. CliAi'LKAU. My hon. friends need not get up and tell me I am not speaking parlianuMitarv language. I lune as much right to say that I do not believe in their sincerity U[)on this (juestiou, as they had to say that we were traitors, that we were the men who should ha\e been {)unished. But my hon. friend tVoni t^)ueb{;c-East thought he could bring to the House recollections of the past, that he could (juote to the House all those instances where insurrections had been decided liy history to have been not only justiliabh', but to have been the stejis i)y which, one after another, the great nations of the world have I'eached the height of liberty. My hon. friend lias enumerated them all. He said he had admired, and he still admired, and fi'lt a synqiatliy foi', the French people who had tried to win their lil)erties in the insurrection of 1870 ; misguided tluiugh he says they were, they ai'o still worthy of admira- tion. He .said that his .sympathies had been with the Italians when they were endeavoring to liberate themselves from the yoke of their oppressors ; and with the Americans when they were fighting in the great cause of national unity. It is true niy hon. friend made a gi'eat rhetorical spread, but he forgot that the great fight for frec^dom, for state rights, if it had any application to his case at all, would have been the tight of the South for their liberty against the despotism of — 12 — the North. However, that was a splendid occasion to deliver some magnificent rhetorical pei-iods, and tliat was all the hon. gentleman cared for. After enumerating the revolutions which he glories in, my hon. friend said : " And when at last— at last —a section of our own countrymen rose in arms to claim ri>i;lits louf^ denied tliem, riplits wliieli were imniediately acknow- led;:;e(l to l)e,just, us soon as tliey were asked witli bullets, an we to liave no syuipatliy witli thenir There are three great errors in that sentence. First, those rights which he says wore not acknowledged to thorn, he has said in another part of his speccli they were acknowledged to them, but that delays had occur- red in the execution of tiiat acknowledgment. Next, it i.« not true, that their demands wcie oidy answered when Inillets were sent. They were acknowledged, and the execution of that ackurwledgmi^nt took place befoi'c the Ijullets came ; and, as 1 shall prove in a moment, the bullets came from Kiel's partisans oidy l»ecause justice had preceded him, and he was afraid of the elfect of justice on his deluded partisans. The last heresy of the hon. gentleman is in asking our sym- pathy with them in their rebellion 1 But, Sir^ let us see another sen- tence which I find in my lion, friend's speech : " Tliouffh tl)ese men were in the wrong', though the rebellion had to be put down, thougli it was the duty of tl>e (ioverinnent to assert its authority and yindieate tlie law, still I ask iiny friend of liberty it t liere is not a feeling rising in hi.s lieart stronger than all. reasoning to the contrary, that these men were excusable." Mr. Speaker, I cannot reconcile those two ideas. Since those men were wrong, since the Government was right and did well to put down the rebellion, what is the conclusion fi'om my hon. friend's premises to his vote ! If the Government was right, if the rebels were wrong, should we regret the punishment of the man who took up arms against the Government of Her Majesty, and who has been the cause of the death of hundreds of good citizens ? Should we regret the execution, because they where wrong and the GoAernment was right, or should we regret it l)ecausi^ a feeling of generous .sympathy comes into our hearts because those men, as my hon. friend said, took their lives and their liberty in their hands to put them in plac(> of petitions and protests aiul demands which they should ha\e sent to the Government 1 Had my hon. friend gone one step further he would have fallen into the anarchical doctrines of Jean Jacques Rousseau who speaking in his " Cotdrat Social," says : " Les clauses dn "Confmf .S'ormZ" sont tellenientdetermineea par la nature de I'aete (|ue la inoindre nioditicatioii les I'endrait values et de nul etl'et. ... en sorte (lue cliacun rentre alors tlans les premiers droits et reprenne sa liberte naturelle." This is another endeavor te adapt a social theory to the unfortunate rebellion of which an apology has l)een attempted. My hon. friend lias recalled the memory of the great agitations which in the past century have changed dynasties, have inaugurated new charters of liberty, and have moulded new destinies for some of the nations of Europe. He has recalled to our minds the revolution of 1870 — that revolution which gave the regime of the Commune and the reign of that liberty rouge — 13 — with the blood of General Leconite and of Mpr. D'Avhoy, rouge with the incendiary lights of the Tuilories and the Hotel-de-Ville, which the petroh'usi's liad ignited as fitting torches for the altar of triumphant dernagogism, range witli the atrocities that all the world lias deplored — that last revolution of France my hon. fri('Ufl has taken as a model. Mr. Lauuieu. Hear, hear. Mr. Chapleau. My hon. friend shall not say that he has not cited it. He said ; " I apitcal to every frieiid of lil)ertv, to all theses wlio during twenty-live years ])iist, have felt their liearts thrill wlienever a strup^le for freedom was goinj^ oil in any eoruerof the world And when he funics to the French revolution. — " With the Freiuli lliemselves,intheir generous though misguided eflbrts to estahiish amongst tliemselves the blessings of freedom and jiarliamentury and. responsiljle governiiieiit." My hon. friciul could not have le^ aside the word "misguided"; but his thrill of generous impulse for the friends of liberty was for tliat regiiiif of 1871, as T have stated. My hon. friend also cited the revo- lution of Italy. It is true, that revolution is worthy of his sympathy. It was the vevolution that wrested from the Papacy, with the temporal power, an indejiendance that for ages had been the safeguard of the thrones of Eiirojx', and which at the present moment the greatest statesmen of P^urope are thinking of restoring, in the hope to save the Old World from the anarchical wave which socialism and nihilism are bringing over it. My hon. friend also referred to the Fi'ench revolution of 1789 which invented the guillotine and deified the sajis-rnloltt's. That also was one of the great impulses of human liberty. If my hon. friend and his col- league sitting beside him have chosen those events as examples to us of the right of r(;sistance and revolution, I decline to accept their conclu- sions, jMy hon. friend from Quebec-East has attempted to draw a parallel between the conduct of this Government towards the Half-breeds, and that of the United States towards the South. He tried to be particu- larly elocjueiit on this point, l)ut his comparison lacked of justice, and if he had carried it out to its proper terms, he would have found him- self in the painful necessity iov liiin to praise this Government. Let us l)ri(>fly recall a few facts connected with the American rebel- lion and that of Kiel. The South, after having been tyrannized by the Federal Government for years, saw his enemies pressed by the rabid jUjolitionists, ready to wipe out sla\ery, a course I should appro\e with all the friends of Liberty, but which meant ruin for the South if the slaves were to be set free without compensation for their owners. The South took up arms and waged, for four years, one of th(i most terrilile wars of modern times. There was unanimity in the coui'se of the Southerners 1 The whole nation went to war ; there were not particular persons against whom alone could be clmrged the crime of rebellion. The whole South was guilty in the same degree, and it would have been ridiculous to- bring Jefi". Davis before courts of justice, charged with high treason. - U — I Ho was simply eloctecl chief and did assume command on the authority imposed to him. Besides, as tlie South had suffered wholesale slaugh- ters, it would have been absurd and useless to shoot or hang one indi- vidual after the war. But these were not the only reasons why Jeff. Davis was not tried. Had the lion, gentleman forgotten that the Southern States wf>re recog- nized as belligerents ; that all through the war constant exchanges of prisoners had taken place between the contending armies, and that the articles of capitulation ([uotod by the lion, member accepted to some extent their standing as belligerents. Now, if we turn to (Janada we tiiid (juite another state of things. Did wo deny the rights of the ^h'tis ? I)i(l we not recognize them from the first, and that, after the previous (Jovernment had distinctly declared that it did not see any reason why the Half-breeds should be treated otherwise than white settlers? Delays were the cause of the trouble.s, but if the (Government, of which my lion, friend was a member, had recognized, as we did, the rights of the Metis, these delays would have been less, and the war might have been averted. The (iovernment, I am ready to concede, may l)e res[)onsible for some delays ; liut the ^Eetis must also be responsilile, because of some of their demands which could not be granted, on account of their impracticability, as were the claims of those who had already received their grants, in ^Manitoba, after 1870. But, ]Mr. Speaker, people do not go to war for questions of details, for a question of delay ; when the principle is admitted, the main point is settled ; and they would not have rushed to arms, at the very moment when the announcement came that ju,stice was coming to them, if lliel, rebelling in one breath against Church and State, had not blinded them altogether, in his desire to achieve his own oV)jects. And here. Sir, I cannot refrain from remarking that the lion, gentle- men who have magnified Kiel's claims so iis to justify his rebellion, have forgotten to tell us what claim he had against the Church, against the mis.sionaries ; they have prudently omitted to justify his rebellion against spiritual power. I hojie they will attempt it before this debate is over. But now, to revert to our comparison, how have we dealt with the rebels after the war, and how the Government which my lion, friend points out as a model in its dealings with defeated rebellion 1 We have taken the poor Metis, crushed, ruined by their fault; we have fed them ; we have repaired the evil brought on them by the folly of their leader, we have saved them from starvation ; we have oi)ened the doors of the pri-sons where the most compromised had been confiiKnl after a trial. And our great models, what have they done 1 Let history answer. Not satisfied with having laid the South waste, they roblied the slave owners by setting free, without compensation or preparation, a most dangerous class, not fit for liberty ; and to crown their horril)le con- duct, they threw the South into the hands of a new Egyptian plague, the carpet-baggers who, for almost twenty years, have jjersecuted and tyrannized the unfortunate down-trodden Southerners as no nation in the present age has been ! — Such has been the gloi'ious conduct of our models towards a defeated enemy. But per! aps my hon. friend has taken those examples to prove that — 15 after a revolutinaary movomont or a £;roat political commotion no Mood .should be shud for political crimes and that mercy should be exej'cised, for he said that during the last century nothing of the kind was done except in the dfvspotii- countries of luirope. My lion, friend has forgotten his histoi-y on the shores of the Saskat- chewan ; his historical reniini.scences are as rusty as tlu; musket he wanted to shoulder. It was a very unfortunate recollection that took him l)ack to the revolution of 1S70, in France. \V(^ know that hundi'cds and thou.sands of men were sacriticed as political otVenders after that terrible war. I cannot coiii]»liment him on the iitiu^ss of his choice. It was indeed :\ most unfortunate precedcMit for one who contended that ])olitical oflences are no more visited with capital punishment, sin<,'e the French revolution of IS70. With the record of the post of Satory, with the hecatombs of victims sentenced iind e.\(^cuted after the defeat of the Coiiu/nnif that page of history hardly bears testimony in favor of the cause of my hon. friend. It is true that all governments have not acted as we have, and in recommending us to follow the exami)le of otlici' governments, no doubt hon. gentlc-nu'ii o])posite believed that, in our pati>rn;d care of the North-West and the poor deluded peo])le who wei'e carried away l)y tln^ rebellion, we should have done what we did not choose; to do, namely, proclaim martial law. lion, gentlemen opposite would no doubt have doiu! this, ami all thosi? niliels would have been executiul, their families deprived of their support, and my hon. friends would have claimed that that was right because it was the effect of martial law and not the revenge of society against })olitical otlendcM's. But the Government did not do that; the General in connnand showed that .sympathy and humanity which .should not bo made a reproach against him. He is a good general and he is also a good- hearted man, and he tried to save the lives of those who fought against him as he did throughout the whole campaign the lives of our best youth in arms for their country. It is an insult to history, it is an insult to logic to pretend that there is any point of similarity between the great social perturbations which were cited and the events of the North-West. jNIy hon. friend from Quel)ec-East may show the treasonable revolt of Riel through the magic lantern of his eloijuence as often as he pleases, he will never succeed in magnifying it to the dimensions of the rising of nations, breaking the sliacklt>s of servitude and shattering the walls of the social edifice to breathe the refreshing air of liberty. Hon. gentlemen have been speaking about papers being wanted, petitions sent in connection with the North-West grievances. I ask the hon. member for Quebec-East (Mr. Laurier) if he has quoted a single instance in which tho.se apj)eala would indicate a refu.sal of justice by the Government, that would justify the insurrection. The hon. mem- ber for West Durham (Mr. Blake) says that .since last year they had been asking papers. Why, there is not a scrap of paper written in the North-West which has not been published in the press all over the country. There are papers in condemnation of the rebellion, in con- demnation of the arch-traitor, and in condemnation of the theories of hon. gentlemen o^jposite, — and what papers are they 1 They are the !' I 16 — letters of Riel to the Fmliaris, the Proclamation sent to the Half breeds callin*,' on them to rehel, the Memoirs of Riel written by himself, his letter to Dr. Fiset, the confessions he has made — all these are papers 3'ou know of, and which condemn not only tliose who have; rebelled, but thos(^ who are npholding the rebellion. There arc the letters of the missionnaries and the bishops, who have said the leader of the insur- rection was wicked in intention and treacherous in conduct, both to the ( Jovernment and the ititerests of the people; there are above all, to condemn those who plead for the rebellion, the Statutes of the land. These are the papers which hon. f,'entl(^men should have read ; these are the papers the people will read, and in which they will read the con- demnation of hon. gentlemen ojipositt;. But when I heard the theory advanced by my hon. friend in favor of the I'ight, as he called it, the sacred right of resistance, I could not hel[) looking into those books which we studied and were taught in our youth to i(>spect. The hon. member for West-Durham (Mr. Blake) called it the sacred right of resistance ; the hon. member for Quel>ec-East (Mr. Laurier) called it the right of rebellion and insur- rection. 1 maintain that my hon. friend has laid out a doctrine which is repro\ed by the authority to which he must submit, in those mat- ters. What is the true doctrine in relation to legitimate resistance to the established powers'/ The rules, if rules they may be called, which have been expounded on that subject, in the most liberal as well as the most prudent formula, are those which we find in the works of Thomas Aquinas. I (piote the illustrious doctor without fear of being accused of bigotjy. Protestant writers have agreed to say that his definition of the law is the boldest and noblest which could Ik* devised. The law, says the great Catholic philosopher, is : " Rutionix ordinatlo, adbonuui eoiHiniine, nh ro (pii cardin }i exercised when long and personal surt'ering has been sustained, when prayers, petitions, protests, summonses have ]>een sent — Some hon. member. Hear, hear. Mr. CiiAPLEAU. Yes, I hear my hon. friends say " hear, hear," and I tell them that their " hear, hears "' are of no account— when prayers petitions, summonses, protests have been presented, when those who — 17 — are tnost qualiiied to advise tho people, wlio are mosf ipialifled to know the ooiiuiioii ;,")0(1 of the eoiiiimiaity, have doeided that the nih' ot' tlie ruh'r is iiitoh;ral»h! and is producini? more liarni than would a revolu- tion, whieh is always produetive of harm, and when th'>si' who are in a position to Jutii,"' of tlm wants of the p«M)i)lo and to advise the ruler and who have advised him, ai^rec with the nation that a risin.i,' is legi- timate. That is a doctrine which the ('hureli has not proelaimed, hut which she has tolerated as heiiii,' the doctrint; founde(l on real and true; ('hristi)in }»rincipl(;. Art! those tlu; connt"(l to tlu; (iovernment liy him or V)y his govei'iunent or council, and that L, th(! fi'iend of the Half-lireeds, 1, the man who had shown my friendship and my sympathy for them i'l a suhstantia! manner, I had received nothing fi-om them, npt all his views, he began a political agitation, lie did not address hinjse'f to the Gov- ernment, but went on with his agitation ; and, when, as in one instance a veneral)le l>ishop, Bishop tlrandin, liad him at a meeting, and said : "Perhaps this is not the course you should follow,' iiumediately you see Louis Kiel not only trying to captivate the .sympathies of the i)eopIo and alienating from them the Government and the olllcials, l)ut even alienating those who, according to the words of the great writer, whose authority I have cited, " are in the best position to know the wants o tlie [)eople ami to advi.so the rulers of the country." lie alienated them from his cause, he created a new religion, he was a renegat(> and an apostate. Then, Mr. Speaker, Riel did nothing of wliat is considered to be the necessary conditions in order to justifj the rising of a nation. lie is inexcusable if he is judged according to the rules accepted by the Church. But there is another rule by whicli he, perhaps, want(!d to be jud- ged ; tliat is the political rule which is this — the man who riises against the Government, if he succeeds, might bo a hero ; il lie succuml)s he is a traitor and he is executed. Riel has chosen what he wanted to have — not the rule of a justifiable rising, but the human political rule, to be applied to him : to be considered a hero if he succeeded, or a felon and a traitor if he fa.iled, and to be acted upon as such ; as he was treated and as the law acted u[)on him. Mr. Speaker, I will ask permission of the House at this moment to refer to a point taken in this debate, that Riel, who had been arrested — 18 \ a 1 I P» and tried for hi.L;h troason, wrvs oonsidorod \>j tho courtH, l»y the (!ov- (jrnment, smd \>y iml)lic opinion, as not Koin*:; entitled to any sjM-oial kindness at tho hands of th(i (Jovernnient heeauso ho was a rohel for the seeond time, and that, thoui,di not eonvict«>(I, he had been ah'eady aceiised of and ontlftwed fur anotiier eriinin.'il oU'ence. I shall not take u|) the time of the I louse to expound th(i jurisprudenee upon tliis (|Ui!stion. 'Plir Minister of Justice lias said tliat a convietion, on a previous ooeasion, of the same oll'ence, is a real and just consideration for a jud<;e to take into account in senteueitiLC an ollender. iWil my lion, friend from (,>ue})ec-lvist, and the hon. memlierfor W'est-I )uiliam, have tried to |)ut m<' into contriidictii^n with myself fur havin;,' Wecm a defender of Lei)in(^ in 187-t ; and 1 oidy allude to it Itecause the press throu!,diout the country has heen hai'{iiri,ic upon it. 1 rlid say in my letter to my constituents that I knew that Kiel had heeri ^'uilty of a prtnious nninler, had heen ^'uilty of rehelliun hefore 1>>.^-'"). 1 do m-t see my hon. friend for W(;st-])urhai!i in his seat ut this moment, l»ut \ must say that lu; was not i^enenuis on that occasion, he, a niendier of the profession to which I am proud to lu'lotn;' ; and [ was sorry to hear him speak as lit; did. [n 1871, Ambroisc Lepine and Louis Kiel were indicted for the murder of Thomas Scott. It is well known that, at that time, there was a great deal of oxcitement in the country, especially in the Pro- vince of (Quebec. Many considered that the transfer of the North- West by tin- Imperial (iovernmi'nt to Canada not having been com- ploters sitting on both sides of the Hpeakei-. I wa.3 asked then to go and defend Lepine. I remember, as if it were but yesterday, the letter whicli I received from my esteemed friend the hon. member for Provencher (Mr. Koyal). TTe had volun- teered to be the counsel of the accused. Kiel had tied from the country. Kiel, the principal guilty j)arty, if there ever was a guilty party in the country, had not surrendennl to justice, but Ambroise Lepine came up for his trial. i\Iy hon. friend from Prov(>ncher wrote to me, as nenv as I can remembei-, to this effect : " ]\fy dear frieiul, I am charged with tho defence of one of the most inipc)rtant cases that ever were tried, and certainly the most important case which I shall probably ever have. I ask you — you having such a reputation as a criminal lawyer — to come and assist me in that work, which I consider as the duty of a fellowman to a fellowman." I think my hon. friend added in his letter : " I shall share with you my fees in the case — I plead in fonnd panperis — all I can ofTer you is a hearty hospitf lity." Sir, I left Montreal at the tirst bidding. I did not myself take, nor did I ask my friends to take the hat around for subscriptions. I knew that a man of warm sympathies was waiting for me. I knew that the trip, long as it was, was one that a brave man could under- take, and I left Montreal with my clerk and secretary, Mr. Forget, who is now the much esteemed secretary of tlie North-West Council. I'J the flnv- IV s]»('i'iiil i'(>l)('l fur n already I not take ujion this tion, t>u a ■,i(l('r:itiou r.iit my Durhiim, itii.' UiM'u a tlu' prcsH ?ay ill iiiy guilty of a 1 (lo not letit, i»ut r niciiiltt'i' of rrv to hear ;ecl for the time, there in the Pro- the North- l)een com- o territoi'V, ictit uoverii- re fliavijetl, rvectioii. I memljers )er, ivs if it IV esteemed had vohni- 1 troiu the as a ,t,'uilty Amhroise neher wrote ar friend, I t cases that lich I shall .it at ion as a h I consider hon. friend the case — I -)spitf lity." myself take, criptions. I me. I knew could under- Mr. Forget, est Council. We fotiiid in Mauitnlia the kind hospitality of an old friend, tim hon. metidier for I'roveneher, anil I acted with liiin an counsel for Ijt'piiie. We foMu'ht that case. The judu'e who presiih'd. and who is no more of tins world had no tr.ore sympathy for the i-clicj th;m have my lioii. friends opposite, in tlieir iiearts. for liid, 'i'iic case was a hard (tiie to ii;^ht, \\k\ lost it ; hut on that occasion, Mr. Speaker, the trial was not only a le^'al trial, Imt it was a IJritish trial su^h as my lion, fiiciid for .J ac(pi('s( 'artier watjts to liave. ()ii the jury we had si\ l''rfnrli Caiiadiau I la!f hreed.>, llvel'jUi^dish Half-lin'eds and oidy om- white man : and tht'\erdii't went a'4ain->t our Ffalf-lirfed client, whom 1 then thought and whom I still tinnk, was innoei-nt of the crime of wliieli he wan aecusi-d. I[e was tried, because Louis [\\\'\ had not had the manliness to surrender himself, an act which would ha\(! saved licpirie. I le was accused of murder. I do not want to plead the case o\ci' ai;aiii, l>ut J say that, that I'eim,' .a cas(\ of murder, we j)rovcd that he had iiotlun;j to do with caiisiiiL; the death of the man who was shot. Wo proved that Li'piim had not o,\v\\ voted for th<> dearh of Thomas Scott, that he was opposed to it ; that he had not lieeii a pai'ty to the execution, dmt he was absent from the e.vecution, and that iJiel had hiiuself been supervisiiitr the execution as a corporal of a y:uard wouhl have done. The jury, however, found Li'pinc ;,'uilty. 1 biiucd to tlie decision, although 1 believed in my heart that my clietit was not i,'uilty. I went to (Jueliec, the f.eiri.^laturci was sittimj. In the t^Uieliec L<'j.!;islatiire I prfiposed a resolution which wtis read the other day ijy my hon. friend from West-I )uiham, wlio tried to find fault with my actions on (hat matter. The resolution had reference to the murder of Thomas Scott, lait in a i^reatei' det,'ree coiicenied the demaiid wliii'h w(3 were uiakiuir for a commutatiiMi of the sentence in the cas(> 1 had defended, and our reipiest was coui'iu'd iti respectful words. For whom were we then i)etitionin;L^- ? For And)roise Lepine ; the document wa.s not prepared for anybody else. It .set fortli [larticulars ^\■ith respect to the insurrection, and stated thiit one of the most deplorable inci- dents was the death of Thomas Scott. We stated that we deplored that murder, yet we thought thi^ event was so much interwoven with political cNcnts that it had not for my client the ^sigidtieance qf an ordinary muriler. I wish hon. gentlemen opyiosite would fairly consider the resolution and the speech I made at that time. I was warm with the feeling that the verdict of the jury was not what it should have been, that the judge's charg(i hiul been given against the prisoner in a manner not wai'ranttvl by the rules which should conduct judges in addressing juries ; aiul still what ditl I say? The hon. gentleman (quoted my words in French only the other day. I wish he had done me the justice of giving also a translation My speech, as reported in the newspaper, was iis follows, when translated : — " I now come to the burning question, to ti most unfortunate event which has set tire to ])ublie oiiinion over tlio whole of Canarla, the fireat fault which has marked the conduct of tlie provisional government of Manitoba." Remember that was in 1874 when everybody was clamoring for an amnesty, and I then said it was "a most unfortunate event " a "great fault." I continued : — 20 — " If ImH Ix'i'ii attcnipfr'd to cri'^t iipnii a few IndlvidimlH the ro'^pmisiblllty wlilrli iMtist lie u|iiiii all t lii)si>. who liMil ('liai'K*''! Hifl and IiIh conipanioii.s lo iiroli'i-i t Im'iii and lead lliciii. TIiIh iiiirorl iiiiatc cvc.it wliicli I ''(iiidriiiii, liais lii'cii coiniiiltlcd liy iicrsoiis who liclli'v-ril ii in >;o(h1 luiili to Itt- iit'ci'ssarv l^r tlif safiMy of I In- sDcicl V and I lie (lovci'iinu'iil wliicli I hey indit'd \mik Ii-jmI lifi'.'uisi' it was issni'd of po|iiilar will. All what {•.in he .saiil on ihr cmtuI ion of ."^icoil ha«iofiiii liccii n-pi'iiicd. It is a suhjccl whidi it will l»c well to allow to fall into ol)li\'ion, in order not lo aronsc niition.-il Hnsci'p' ibilit ics. I .isjc that ii 1)1' fcM'noitrn in tin- s.inic w.iy that I d 'Mire tluit the ninnli'r of (lonlct, anil olhi'i' llalf'lin't'ds lie no lon^if spoUcn of. Hlood <-,'tlls lor lilood, nod there has heen enonjih shed to satisfy hoili siih's, adndllin;^, what I will not ailiuil, t hut liie t wo nationalilies in coniliei, njion that poini reiptired that barliiirons roparatit)!!." , T !isk all nn'ii who arc not ])r(>jn(lic(Ml if f, as the lawyer of L('pi'io, spcakiiij,' ill his iiamt', was usiiiy any laii,i;ua!,'o whioli cntith's nif to coii(hMiiiiiitii>ii to-day. T then said tluil the (vxccutioii of ThoiMa.s Scott was thn most iiu fort tin ate cvoiit tliat had hapiiCMied intliat iiiifortiiiiatu iMOvcniciit of 1S70. I said it was to li" dfploieil that sneli a thiii^; had happened. I said I t'ondcniiipd it. Is that any ooiitratliotioii of what [ say to-day- that in .'idjudiciitiui,' the fat(i of liicd, the (tovornnio'it had a vi^lit to oni|iiii'o into his antocedciits, into his pfoviotis convic- tions, and althotii,'h punishment had not to Ixj inllicted fof an act for which Iio o))tained pardon, thoii:,di he liad not j)erfoi'ined the conditions of his pardon, yet, we had a ri^ht to say that he had been once ^'iiilty of reliellioii and once ,^'uil^y of nuirder, and wo could not give him our sympathy to-day as we niit,dit have lieeii ready to have given him nur sym|)at(iy at a previous time? [ wish I had here to read tlio testimony of the witnesses in the Ciise of AmVjroise Lepine. I hoard the other day an hot). meml)er read n letter tliat had been written by the 'lev. ^fr. Youni,' about the murlish to the court I He statt'd that Thomas Scott had been accused before the so-called council of Louis lliel in 1870, that his trial had taken place, if it can be called a trial, that sentence had bcuMi passed, that he had been condemned to die, tmd tliat during the whole of that mook trial the prisoner himself had not even been lu'ought face to face with his accusers, those who judged and condemned him. He stated that Thomas Scott was brought and informed, by Riel, that he was to be shot, the next day, at 1 2 o'clock, and wheii the witness, a friend of tlie rebel leader, was asked whether any questions were allowed to be put by the prisoner, Riel replied : " No." Scott was told that he had been found guilty, that ho was to be shot the next day and that he might write to liis minister to come and comfort him in the few hours that were left to him. These wei-e facts which I knew, and if, in 1874, I said that pardon should be given to my client, Ambroise Lepine, it was l)coause I knew then tliat he had nothing to do with the murder, as he was one of the members of the tribunal who had refused to vote for the death of Scott, and were opposed to tlie death sentence. Lepine was at the time tlie lieutenant-general, as he was called. It was he who was charged with the execution of the orders of the president, and it was proved that when the sentence was executed, he was not even guilty 21 :::: gave •e Nvas vl)lis\i H'tuVO tak(!U lilt bn :o face stated was to 'lul oi to be 10 had hat he ,v hours pardon ;auso I. vas one I death at the ^ho was it was guilty of boing present uiulor orders. Then I referred to ihe to be regretted ixt'ciition whirli 1 doploreil, which I thought ovrrybody sliould try to t'orgct. Ihit, I inust not keep the House much hniger, and I wdl summarise thi- points wliiili have Ijccn raised by my hon. friends opposite. 'I'he llrst was a jiistitiration of the; rebellion, and this was the task imposed on my lion, friend from (Quebec- Hast. Tiu'ii it was argued that it was a political otVeiice ; that a reprieve liad b(((>n granted which should imply tlie commutation of the smvcne*; ; that insnuity had Iteeii i)Ieaded, and that the (loverumeiit iiad not given tlie necessary eare to an inquiry into the insanity of Louis Kiel ; that the recommendation of the jury to the mercy of the Crown iiad not been heaivl ; and lastly, that the prayer of the whole nation a.sking for pardon Iiad not l»een lisiened to liy the (jrovernnu'Ut. Mention has been made of tiie fair- ness of the trial which has been given to Kiel. 1 shall not diseuss that (|uestion, luit shall content myself with (juoting the words of the lioii. le.ider of tlii^ Opposition, as I thiidc they will dispo.se of the wliolo of that accusation. The hon. member for West-Durham has said : '* l''roin what I know of t licir Iftidinn' c(nuis(>l^, I should think it iiupossihle thai ill t heir Miaiuint'iiu'ut iif I he cjisc tlu're was iiuvlhiii.u: iiiil'air to {\\v pri- soner or (Icronutory to tla? Iii)ih character they ik'scrscilly enjoy, and the res- jionsibk' dutius llicy luulertook to [icrform." No better testimony than this, Mr. Speaker, could ha\ n been given to the fairness of the trial. Thtiii, Sir, Mr. Fit/.patrick, the leading counsel , for lliel, has stated on ditleren!: occasions, as this Hou.se know.s, that tin; trial was a fair one, and that his client couhl not complain of tlie legality of the verdict which had been rendered against him. Insanity h;us been pleaded, l>ut how was it pleaded ? It is a fact well known to everybody that no spticial plea, of insanity was put in, at tlie trial of Louis iliel, on his behalf. I shall bo answered that a general pl(>a of not guilty would include the plea of insaiuty. But, Sir, the authoriti(^s which havfi been read, in this IIou.se, will show that if insanity is to be pleaded only as an insane impulse at the time of the commission of the crime, then, the general plea of not guilty including tho plea of insanity, to excuse the act of which the prisont^r is accused, is the proper plea, and why ? l^ecause at the time of the trial, the pri- soner is not supposed to be insane ; because it is oidy inti'iulod to prove that, under a certain disease of the mind, at a certain timt;, the prisoner might have been then in.sane, and the gen(U"al plea covers that plea of in.sanity, if it is intended to be proved at the trial. But is that the theory of my hon. friends ? Is that the plea of those members who are saying as the hon, member for liichelieu (Mi: Massue) said in his remarks : " I do not agree with what has been said on the other side, but I think that during the insurrection, before the execution, and at the time of the execution, there were douljts as to the mental sanity of the prisoner, and I think the Government should have given him the benefit of the doubt." The law is that, in cases of insanity, the benefit of the doubt must not be given to the pretended insane, but in favor of the reason and responsibility of the man who has committed the not. lint let us take tlie cloclaration of my lioii. frioiuls. wlu'n tlu'V say tliat the man (luriiii; the iiii^urreetioii, before the (rial, at the trial, ami afu'r the trial, and np to tht> time that he expiatcii his eriine was insane. ]My frieniis will lielit>\o me when 1 tell them that, in siieh a ease, the jilea of insanity should have been a spiH'ial j^Iea. The ]>lea of insanity should have hroimht all those medieal men, who^f duty it woidd liavo hecn to examim- the pi'lsoncr with earc ; and 1 am sm-e the trilmnid would willini^ly have allowed that examination. lUit^ the counsel I'di- the jirisoner eliose to I'aise the ltc'IummI ]>lea of not iLjui'ty. l''.\ eiT mendter of the leical Jirofession knows how diiru'uh it is, when it is net a sju-eial i>l('a, to jirove that insanity Mas tln> rulim: disease of a man at an anterior date. No, -Mr. Speaker, insanity was not ]ileadi>d as beiu^ the aetual sta'c of the prisoner at the time of his trial, and why .' l>eeause the prisoner did not want it ; l'eeausi> his counsel did not wanl it; lieeausi^ they knew that, if the prisoner had been examined of the tim<> at the trial, the }>lea of insanity would not have lieen a Lrood ph'a, tluMi, anymore than it is a ixood pit a now. W'l.at is le^al insanity ? We have heartl of it here, and we mii,'ln be kept for months listenin^sj; to the opinion of doctors. It is true, do tois are called as witnesses to ,i:;ive tlieir o]>inions in cases where ins;inity is pleadtnl ; but the jiroof of insanity is niit tlie Ojunion of a doctor. We must take the law ;is it exists, for the protection of society, and when it says that insanity should t)e declaretl legally so as to prtnent tlu' execution of an olVen(h>r after the siaitence is ju'onounct'd, or to ])rev(>nt (he (iiuling of the jury svIumi the ease is before the jury, (he h.\i:;al insanity is not what a doctor .says, it is what tiie verdict of the jury declares it to be. If wt> took the medical books as authorities of what insanity is, we should have to believe that three-fourths of the worlds brains are not i>xempt from mental disease. Therefore we nuist accept the decision of a jury selected accordinj:; to law. 1 was surprised when I heard my hon. frii-nd from lbnivill(> (Mr. (litjault) (piotinji; from Sir William Harcourt to the el'i'ect that the IToriie Secretary had the rie.ht to make an empiiry as to the mental .state of an otVendei-. at the time of the c otVenee. as well as at the timi> lu> was about to be (Executed. That is uoi what Sir NN'illiam Harcourt said, and it is not what the law says. The (lU(>tati(.n made by my hon. friend was to the iMh'ct that in certain cases in which the judijes had not empiirml into the sanity or insanity of the prisoner, owinj;-. ])erha}>s, to the pi'isoner beint; too ]>iior to brin^- witnt>sses. the Home Sctaetary had taken upon himself, after havin:^- l)een duly advised that insanity existed, to hold an emjuiry wliieh the eoui't had not made ; but in Kmjfland when the ])h>a of insanity is raised, and the verdict of the jury is fcnind tipon that plea, it is not true thaf the Jlome Secretary orders an enquiry, to take up ayfain the work that the court and the jury have doiu', or takes new evidence to prove that in.sanity existed at the time of the eommission of the ortenee emitrary to the evidence taken at the trial. It could not bo .so, because if that were done the Home Secretary would have the ritjht to take up the ease a^ain and institute another court in order to try the prisoner anew. Tills would be subversive of the administration of lo.'al wO jnstico. iiiul I am smv the practice is not ro understood l)v lion, niom- lu-rs on tilt' othiT side of the J louse who belong,' to our proft'ssion, and it should not lie assert eil in the House as being the true principle which should i,'ui(h> the action of the KxocutM'e here. Mk. MuvKi:. Hear, hear. Ml!. ( 'llAlM.l'.AV. 1 know tliat the wjiole of tlu> e\ ideuee has to be scrutinised by the .Minister of Justice and by the I'rivy Council, and if that e\ idenci' is found to be drfective, then it is the dutv of the l'-\ecuti\(' to say so. i'liit to hold anotlier in\estiy;at ion and ti-v the case ane\s- 1 say i> lieresy in law and would lie a suliNci-sidu of the administration of ju.sticc. Now, I come III annther jioint- the reciunmiMidat inn to nuM"cv by the jury ; and I mu.-t say that, with the pe(i|ile, this feature of the ease has haii i,'reat intluence. 1 do not ai:jree with my honorable friend from l\ou\ille (.Mr', (li^ault), that, in every case, in laii,dund, wliere a recommendation to mercy has been given l:y the jury, no exi-cution has taken place, 'i'li.it was not the real meaniuir of the authority my honoi-alile friend (juoted. That authority snid that if the juilye did iu)t agree with the reconnuendation to mercy, then the Home Seci'etary had to judu'c by himself ujion tin' e\ idence and the reeord brougiit litider his consideration. My honoralili" friend from .Faci]ues-C.\irti(>r (.Mr. (iirouard) felt the weakness of tliat^ argument, when he said : ■ 1 ha\e looked o\ er the recoi'ds ;ind I hnve not seen anything to proN c to Jue that the judge did not coincide with the ri'connnendat ion to nu'rcy by the jury." .Mr. Speaker, 1 need not take any nmre than what the judge said in passing sentence. He said : " I < luuiot ^ivo you any expectation or hope that the recommcntlation to lUiTcv will lie taken into consideration bv the Kxecutivc." Would it be jxissible for the magistrate to say in plainer terms tliat lu' cotdd not agree with the recommendation of the jury, that the clemency of the ("rown should be exercised ? What would be the result if the theory of my honorable friend from Rouville were put into jiractice ? 1 have had soiih' experience in courts of criminal jurisiliction for over tifteen years ; 1 have Ikhmi practising in those e(nu'ts and 1 kiu)W the danger of a recomnu'ndatiou of mercy by the jury. That danger is on both sidt^s. There is a danger for the administration of justice, bi'cause the lawyer, who has a bail easi' to plciid, can, almost in every case, save tlu> life of his client, by asking the jiM'y to recontmend Inm to mercy. It would be daiigiM' to the pri- soner als>>, iti dmilitfnl case.s, if the prosecutor for the frown, unmind- ful of his duty, wotdd tell the jury to lind a verdict of guilty and couplt^ it with a recommendation t(i mercy, whieh wotild save the life of the pri.soner. T'he law has enacted that the admiiustration of justice should be set apart from all political jirejtidice or jiassion ; the judiciary slundd be above partisanship, and yet, if we are to believe the ad\ocates of Riel, we shotild ptit the .Minister of Justice — who should be, with respect to those cases, on the .same level as the judiciary since he is exercising the same functions — at the mercy of political opinion, political bias or passion, or any excitement in the country, Ami honorable gontlemne - >.ijMnigt Ti — 24 — ask that we should take no account of the delicate functions he has to exercise, but subject him to the inilueiice of every wave of |)ublic opinion. On that point I ber for West Durham ; to will give the opinion of the honorable niem- " As Minister of Justico, I have had to advise in many capital casos, and I do not forj^ot the heavy responsibility which rests on those in whoso hands are the issues of life and death, and whose taslc is rendt-red all the more difli- cult by reason of tlie larf:;(? ^ueasure of disc-retion vested in tlu'in, and expressed in the word ' clemency.' I know how much these dilliculties are enhanced by a heatetl partisan and popular discussion." And the honorable gentleman added : " And I declare the occasion must be grave which renders discussion oppor- tune and the case must be clear which renders censure expedient." This should have been the rule in appreciating the delicate position of the honorable Minister of Justice and of the Executive in the question. I now return to the main point raised in this discussion, that is : the (juestion of the insanity of Louis Riel. I have explained what insanity is, in a legal point of view, and how insanity should l)e consi- dered in the administration of justice. It has been said that Louis Riel was insane ; first, because he had formerly been coniined in an insane asylum as an insane man ; next, l)ecause he had religious mania, and then, the new argument is advanced that he must have been insane because his secretary, Jackson, was insane, as otherwise he would not have employed Jackson. On this subject, I may perhaps be allowed to allude to an incident in the debate. The honorable member for West Durham (Mi*. Blake) accused me of having stated in my county, at St. Jerome, that J ackson, Kiel's secretary, was a frenchitied Anglo-Saxon. I do not know what conclusion the honorable gentleman was trying to come to from that, but, at all events, he said the secretary should not have b(,'en set at liberty when his master had been condemned to death. I told the honorable gentleman at the time that I blamed him for not taking the word of a colleague when I said I had not used those words on the occasion referred to. I must tell him now what I did say. I said that newspapers had mentioned that Jackson was not more English than. French, and miglit have been one of those frenchitied English, and that there was no reason why he should have been set at liberty ; and in reply to the newspapers, I stated that Jackson might be a Frenchman, but, whatever his nationality, he was one of Tliel's secretaries and Kegnier was the other ; I stated that the counsel for the prosecution had decided that neither should be sulyect to a trial, but they be set at large, that Regnier was set at large ; and if Jackson, was put on his trial, it w.as because his friends and family urged the Gov- ernment not to let him loose, because he was insane and should be put in the asylum, as an insane man, and cured if possible as they believed his insanity was only temporary. I had had that information from one of the counsel for the defence and I repeated it then. This disposes of the little aspersion of my honorable friend from West Durham (Mr. Blake) in that respect. But let us return to the main issue. Was Riel iussuie at the time li e has to I public le luem- is, and I so hands lore dilli- eni, and ilties are on oppor- position c, in the , that is : led what be consi- lat Louis led in an us mania, icn insane .vould not ii incident Ir. Blake) b Jackson, now what oui that, (Ml set at I told the iking the s on the said that lish than English, n set at son might of Kiel's sel for the trial, but ;ksoi). was the Gov- uld be put ^y believed I from one disposes of •ham (Mr. b the time — 25 — of the insurrection, and is that insanity a reason against the veixUct obtained against him, and against the sentence rendered ai;ainst him ? Kiel had been put into an asylum, it is true. I was the Minister of the Government at Quebec who signed the papers for his entrance into the asylum at Longuc-Pointe. I am at a loss to know, even at this Jiioment, whether the man was insane then or not. I shall state in a few moments why my doubts exist. Previous insanity is not a proof of insanity at a subsequent period. Where sliall we take then the evidence of the insanity of Kiel if we do not take it at the trial from the verdict of the jury ] The insanity of Kiel is proven by whom ? By the missionaries who were, at that time, in that region ? If they had Ijelieved that Ptiel was really insane, as insane as a man is legally, would they not have taken the means, during that time, to ha^se him arrested as a lunatic, and contined as a lunatic 1 Let us take the testi- mony fif his fellow-countrymen. The first man who said that the Gov- ernnient had hanged an insane man in hanging Riel, was slandering the Metis nation. Wt; have the testimony of those who were with him, and we are told liy one member of tills House that In; might have been insane and yet might have led sane men ; that we have seen on .some occasions an insane man creating a riot. That might be the case, for a few hours, in a sudden rising, l)ut have we e\er seen, and can we say, as sensible men, that a lunatic, that a demented man, from the month of July, 18nce that he was an insane man ? Louis Riel knew all that, lie knew the difficulties we had to en- counter. He knew that, just in the beginning of Spring, before the grass would grow, as he said, we would have a rel)ellioii sucli as we had never witnessed in the Xorth-West. He knew that, at that season, though the food might be sufhcient for the ponies of the prairies, food for horses coming with troops from this country would be difficult to be found or to be transported there. He knew that thtjusands of Indians might take part in that uprising. If the rising had been a successful one, if the Indian warfare had been a successful one, who knows what would have become of the Half- breed pojjulation who remained faithful and loyal to the Government and to their Sovereign 1 — and I hope they were then, as now, really loyal. Who knows what might have been the consequences of that uprising ? Who knows what miglit have been the consequences in the Province of Manitoba 1 Who knows if the success would not have brought to him thousands of arms to aid him 1 Who knows if he had not planned that the rising of the Indians, .scaring the settlers from our North- West, would gi\e cause to the thousands of Indiaiis in the United States to join in the war and tlood the North-West, so that he miglit, in his own (;mphatic words, have taken jiossession of Manitoba and the North-West ? Who says that we did not believe that our- selves last year, and that, in the feeling we had that that country was to be submerged by rebellion, warfare and bloodshed, we dit not believe that that man was the sanest man who ever planned a rebellion, selecting that particular time of the year, with the means at his dis])Osal, and knowing the scanty means which were at the disposal of the Govei'nment ? His design has been friLstated, it is tru(^, but who can B'.'v that he had not the free use of his mental faculties when he planned that campaign 1 We expressed those fears last year. Hon. gentlemen opposite expressed those fears, and we then heard the hon. leader of the Opposition telling the Minister of Militia : " Sir, you shall be held responsible for the lives of the sons of this country who are-"going to the North-West if you do not supply them with the best of arms, because we have been told that the Indians and the Half-breeds have been supplied with the best of weapons for the warfare they are under- taking. " he had rom our in the that he auitoba that our- itry was dit not rebellion, 3 at his l«)sal of but who when he opposite • of the be hekl "going to of arms, eeds have re uuder- — 27 Tliis was our conviction. How has it changed since that time ? IFow lias it conic that in'^ lion, friends opposite believe the whole of that was nothing but the pnantasy of a deranged mind ? That there was no danger, that the people should have known the man was crazy, and that every one of his words, that every one of his actions, ev(>ry one of his plans would have been frustrated on account of his insanity 1 It is true that he had not collected the means necessary for the insurrection ; it is true that his scheme was not such as would have been planned by a man accustomed to campaigns ; but the wickedness of a man who contenijilates a crime has always some weak point. A great criminalist said once to a lawyer who argued that his client could not be guilty because his utterances and actions were those of an insane man, and if he had been really a criminal he would not have spoken as he did — the celebrated judge answered : " Sir, this is no proof ; fortunately, the insanity of criminals is the pi'otection of life and of society. " Mr. Speaker, tliere is one point to which I am surprised that my lion, friends on this siv est, had been tried as accomplices before the courts, they might have been adjuged guilty with the criminal, and the jury recommended one to the mercy of the court, because the others had not been indicted with him in the accusation. I do not want to comment upon the impropriety, upon the indecency of the act of the man who wrote tliat letter, anti who had the audacity of saying that he would ha\e found a verdict of guilty against persons when not a word of evidence had been given against them at the trial, who had the audacity to come and give his declaration that though no evidence liad been given against those members of the Government and th<; administration in the North-West, though they had nob even been charged with any ottence, he, a juryman, who was sworn to gi\e a verdict according to the evidence, declares that he would have found them guilty. But, !is for the issue before us, we cannot doubt the document nor I iff — 28 — suspect the intentions of the writer. In tliat document, it is stated that not on(3 of the jury for a moment thought tliat the prisoner was insane. This man says : " We do not declare to you that each and every one of us, wlien he answered tlie roll call, said : " He is guilty and perfectly sane." The question had been put frankly and in a judi- cial manner l)y the judge : " Do you find him guilty of the rebellion? And if so, say guilty. Do you tin I him guilty of the rebellion, V)ut if you think that his mind was deranged at the time, that he was not responsible for his acts, say that he is guilty but insane."' And ho said : " We answered that he was guilty and perfectly sane." Mr. Speaker, if there was a corner in my conscience where the shadow of a doubt had existed, that shadow of a doubt has been cleared away, and I must say that I felt as if a heavy weight had been taken otr me when I heard the hon. gentleman disclosing the secret delibera- tion of that jury, anl telling me : " You were I'ight in surmising that there was no evidence of insanity, and if the whole jury had i-econi- niended him to the mei'cy of the court, that would have been no reason for granting it." My hon. friends opposite have contended that a recommendation for mercy was justilied only on the ground that there was a disease in his brain, but tliat is cleared away by the hitter which the hon. mem- ber has read to this House. What documents could prove more than that ? I have other documents which I hesitate to place before this House, though that would not bo improper as the production of a letter from a juryman disclosing the deliberations of the jury. The documents are before me, and if I am asked why were not the men who gave those documents examined before the court at Regina, I shall answer that they did not volunteer to be witnesses beca ise men are not obliged to be informers against their fellov.-men and to give evidence to secure their conviction and send them to the gallows. [ have the evidence ; I have not asked for it. I have not enquired about it although I knew it ; I did not want to ask for it, it was sent to me. I will ask the permission of the House to read these documents. I did not need them to inlluence my own feeling about the case, my own convict on as to the case and the conclusion at which I arrived ; but they may assist the hon. member for West Durham (Mr. Blake) as being coulirmatory of the evidence of his friendly juror at Regina. Here is a letter dated 10th March, 1886, from Longue-Pointe. It is given by the attending physician of the asylam since the opening of the institutiou — Dr. Perrault, a man against whose character, honesty and integrity no man in the Dondnion can have a word to say. Here is his certiticate. As I have told the House, I knew it before ; I knew it from authorities that I would not like to disclose. I will translate the paper : " I, the undersigned physician of the asyhnn of St. Jean-de-Dieu, certify that a few days aftor the entrance of Louis Kiel into this iisylum I perceived that with him insanity was simulated. Tlio exaggeration of his acts wa.s such and so much beyond what we generally remark in subjects atTected with real insanity that with a jihysiciau accustomed to treat such cases there would be no room for doubt. Upon making the observation to him that I was not to be taken for his dupe, he confessed to me in effect that he was shamming the insanity. And the evidence that I was right in my surmise 29 — J stated ner was ach and s guilty I a judi- buliiou ? I, but i£ was not And he [lere the II cleared ;n taken dt.'libera- sini,' that ,(1 veconi- lo reason iciidation disease in lon. nunn- iiore than lis House, ;tter from locunients who gave ,ill answer are not evidence lave the about it ent to nie. uts. I did my own ■ived ; but BUike) as egina. iute. It is opening of >r, honesty ay. Here e ; I knew 1 translate )ieu, certify I perceived is acts was tfected with oases there him that I that he was my surmise and that his confession was ro lly sincere, is that on all occasions, and they were many. I liav(? heen alon^ Jiivcrsin'r ^^•itll liiiii. he lias always talked in a manner absolutely lucid and Htme upon all and every subject with which he has entertained me. "i'\ X. PEHRAi'LT. :\r.n., " Asylum of lidn.uue-Pointe." As I said ])(>forp, this information was given to mo a wliilo ago. I kmnv it, I must say, even before" tliis llonso sat. T knew it cvvii, but not ill a satisfactory manner, some time after the so-called insam^ man was admitted in the iisylum. I knew it from some of tlie guards, but I would not have taken their authority. Hon. geutU^iicn may say : " How is it that a man who has been visiting doctor of an institution and knew a patient was not insane and yet allowed him to remain in the institution whore he was shamming insanity V I ask lion, mem- bers, and all those who know the circumstances under vvhich the man was detained in the asylum, whether it would have been prudent, csven in the pul)lic interest, to have, at that time, revealed that secret and set that man at large. It was in li<7C). The amnesty had been pro- claimed, but the crime of the murder of Scott had not been forgotten, and it woulfl not hav(; been in the interest of anyone that this poor man should have l)een made a target for a bullet which would have been sent in revenge for the murder of Scott. Some lion. .Memheks. Oh, oh I Mr. CiiAPLKAU. I hear some lion. mcml>ors laugh. I wish they had been in the Province of Quebec, in the counsels of tl eir own friends, some of M'liom came to me as Fro'vincial Secretary and told me in etl'ect that the man was Louis Riel, but his name h;id not been made pulilic for the reason I hav. mentioned. They said that his re- tention in the asylum would never be made a reproach to mi". I do not reproach myself for having admitted in the asylum Louis David, whom the lion, gentleman's friends told me afterwards was Louis Riel. No good could have been obtained by not doing so. The evitlence put before me was the evidence to which as a member of the Governm'.nt I had to submit. The other document which I bring here in support of the letter of the juror at liegina is the certiiicate of a man whose naMie I would hesitate to place liefore the House. It might subject him to ditUculty, to persecution ; but I have the document in my hands, and the pei'son to whom it has ])een given said I could place it before the Hou.se and the writer would not object. I do it u[>oii my resiionsibility. It is the certificate of a man who stands high in the medical profession, a man who can l)e vouched for by some of the ))est men in the medical pro- fession. It is the certiticate of Dr. Brunelle, house-surgeon of the Hotel- Diou, of Montreal, a professor of the medical faculty of Victoria Uni- versity. Dr. Brunelle was an intimate friend of Riel. He knew him both in Montreal, at iicauport Asylum, and afterwards in the United States where he lived for sever^ weeks and months with Riel. The certificate reads : " I, the undesigned, certify that, at the time of and after the confinement toBeauport Asylum of Louis Riel (whom I i ave particularly known, both in the United States and in Canada) 1 have ascertained on divers occasions that outside some excentricities in his manner which were little to be noticed, he was perfectly lucid in his mind and sane in his intellect, and spoke absolutely — 30 well on fill subjects when he was not oliscrved. I attest, moreover, that In my presence tiie said Louis Hie) has Ik'cii wininlatinj^ insanity in sncli a manner as to leave no doubt in my mind as to the character of his pretended Lnsanity.' Aiul tlicn I may add that the; writer of th(! last ccM'tilicatc has stated that he liad on several occasions cou\('rse(l witli Jjouis Riel, and had from liiiu the whole secret priests and six white men. We arc! camped on tlie ereek Just lielou Cut Knife Hill, waitiiiji lor IV\^ Hoar. 'I'lie Hlackroct have killed si.vty police at the Klliow. A half Im-oimI wlm inicriireted for ilie iKilice, liHviii>.c survived the liulil rliou>ch woiiiiuotl, Ijrou.uihi this news. Here we have killed six white men. We h;i\-e not taken the hairiicks vol. hut that is the only entire hiiildin^ in fiatllcford. All the cat tie and horse's in the vicinity we liave taken. We have lost one man, a Nez-I'ci'co. killed, heiioinf; alone, and one w\)unded, riome soldiers have come from Swifi t iirront. hut 1 don'l know theiriuimher. Wo hiive, liere gmis and rilles of all sorts, lail aiiimu- niiionfor llieniis short. If it he possihle, send ns iiiinriunltion of various kinds. We arc wealc only for the warn of thai, ^'oii sent word ilial yon would come to Haitlefon! when \uebec-Kast (Mr. Laurier) has been trying to make it, an insurrection that might be justitied and excused. It is of no use for them to try to make of Riel a martyr, as my hon. friend from Maskiimnge (Mr. Desaulniers) .said he did, or a hero, as my hon. friends opposite liave tried to prove him, or even an in.sane man, as son^.e of my friends on this side have been disposed to think him, giving the l)enetit of any doubt they had, not to the law, but to that humane tenderness which exists for a man who is condemned to the gallows. No, Sir, I'istory, in its impartiality, shall not decree him a hero. The buniini cotniiiiinc, the interest of the nation was not the motive of his actions. He had dreamed of being a Napoleon, but he was ready aiul willing to be the chief of a guerilla band, ruling by violence and terror over the region of his exploits, living on plunder and waiting for the accident of a fortunate encounter to secure a heavy I'ansom with the safety of his own life. Here is my opinion, and I speak with the .sincerity of my heart and of my conscience, here is my opinion of Louis Kiel's campaign, surrender and death. Riel was not an ordinary criminal, who, under the impulse of strong ruling passions, and for lucre, lust and revenge, committed murder, arson and pillage, with " malice aforethought ". 1 ,w- m i i j ii I Hi I h — 32 — Hid has beon an unscrupulous afjitator, gottirif^ up a robollion ai^aiiist tl»o S()V(>rf'iL,'n for tlio siikc of jxirsoual aiiihition and pi'ollt uiulcr tlio coloi- of ruclrcssiiii,' puhlii.- ^'riovaiu-cs. Jlicl was a horn uonspii-ator, a dreaiufi' of power and wtvilth, frustrated in liis dosign l)Ut not sulMUu-d by bis former ;idered the alleged grievances of the Uiilf-breeds more in the light of the ojiportunities it would give him to resunu' power in the Xorrh-W'est, than with llie\ie\vof ri'd'.-ss- ing thos(^ wrongs. lit; had always a(l\f)(Mted that the Hudson l>ay Con)]>any's pri\ ileges and government were an usurpation, and, as a consei[uenee, i hat the (Janadian ( J(i\ crnmenl, wlio lii wilfully agreed, with his con.scicnce, to kill or to be killed. He nu'asured the distance between his ambition and the success that could crown it, and ho (lelil)erately consented to till the gap, if necessary, with tho corpses of liis enemies or even of his friends. Devoid of the courage of a soldier, lie believed in his own shi'ewdness as a plotter. He expected success by a suri)rise, not from a regular battle, lie was a wilful and dangerous rebel. If rebellion, with the sacrifice of huma,u life, with the aggravating circumstanci? of having incited to an Indian war, d'^serves the penalty of death, Kiel deserved it as a political ollender in the li ,hest degi'ee. Jt has been pretended that, in his extravagant career, Riel was not sound in his mind and could not reason, although he accepted the responsibility of his actions. After the most careful examination of all the evidence which came before us, I cannot help saying that Riel, from the moment he left his home in tlu; United States for the a\ owed purpose of assisting the llalf-breeds in their deuuinds for redress of alleged grievances, until the end of the North-West insurrection, has deliberately pui'sued the object he had in view, nanudy, to obtain full control of the North- West Half-breeds and Iiulians. To obtain his object, he aroused in himself, and connnunicated to others, to an intense degree, a sort of national and religious fever. This was a com- paratively easy work with an excitable and credulous people. Having thus subdued tho Half-breeds, his next etlbrt was directed towards alienating them from the Government and from their clergy. When he had succeeded in doing this, he sought the alliance of the Indians and of the American sympathisers. """All that, he planned with a great amount of sagacity and with great pain. But the extravagant confidence he showed in his success, the smallness of the means he collected, his absolute inipassiveness when reverse came, the unfeigned faith he had in what he called his mission, all point out to the conclusion that he was the prey to exaltation, to hallucination. ■:ii' — 33 iriitor, a .s\i1mIu('i1 .diciitiuf,' hiu^ his oaiu'' to as, i>lan- of that )i; his Ut\^ rievaiici's milil '^ivo i p'li'.'ss- (Ison l>ay tiiid, as a ifcil from ers of tUo thoii-h an (•(•(iiiiiilish iUiMl. Ho that couhl iitTOSsary, ^•oid of tho ; a ])h5ttcr. !. lie was \ of liumaii an Indian a political i(d was not ct'ptcd tho. ninatioii of ; tliat Riol, tlu' avowed r rodress (jf L'tion, has obtain full olitain his hci-s, to an was a coni- e. llavin,i]; ed towards V. \Vli<-'" the Indians with great success, the ^-eness when lis mission, altation, to ■( t Thougli not insane, in tho lo^al sense of the word, he was, to uso a ootiinion expression, a "crank," luit a craidv of the woi'st kind, know- in;,' well what was good and wlint was hud, what was wicked and wiiat was kind, wiiat was the value fif life and what was death ; l»ut his notions of what was right nnrl what was wi'ong Imd lieen distorted and altei'od by the deleriMinatiim and lixity of his purpose, by an ardent and Hellish aiidiition, leading to injustice and ci'iitdty. He was eertaiidy, and without afl'ectation, c()n\ini'ed that what \h' did was permitted by di\ ine and m paroxysm af a prejudiced mind, which has wilfully dist(irt(^d in itself the ti'ue notions of law n.nd of right. It cannot excuse a criminal act. Tho perversity of the intelligence is as much punishable as the pervei'sity of the heart in its wrongful direction of the will for the performance of criminal acts. The ruling passion has for its origin the criuiinal purpose wliich the perverted intellect has consecrated and transformed into a sense of duty. In this case the purpose was supremo power, both civil and reli- gious. The redress of grievances on one part, and the desire of personal pecuninry advantnges on the otlier, do not seem tome tohav(^ i)een the })i'incipal motors of Kiel's actions, though they certainly were important factors in his conduct. 15ut that ol)ject, supreme power, was criminal and could not qualify, could not excuse him. It is a wrong theory, and it Nvould be a dangerous doctrine to excuse and leave without punishment crimes committed with the conviction that the act accomplished is one calculated to redress a wrong or to bring good results to the community. I am not a free thiidcer. I lielieve that free thinking is the most pernicious evil of this country. It has engendered the worst utopies against moral, social anrl religious ordei'. But those who claiin tlu* right to the most absolute liberty for human thought, will restrict that lil)erty to the theoretical regions, and th(>y are ready to punish it when it comes in conflict with existing laws. They will punish the mani- festation of the idea after ha\ing giv(ui to that idea the free- dom of the world. I agree with their conclusion in that respect ; but I am logical, and I believe in the right, nay in tlus oliligation of punishing the perversity of the doctrine. I believe that a man is guilty when he does not preserve his intelligence from the contagion of false doctrines ; in the words of one of the most eminent Catholic writers of this ago, in speaking of those whose guilty leniency towards the errors of the mind, gives au excuse tg f evolution and socialism : 3 - -■ «-i i l4 1/ ( I! Qr-T " TIk'v to Hi'ai'di causcM ll In till'. H\ himI (tilt any rule If t lie I'HMi 1)1' iIIhik'i of till- III if llia( Ml the tirst . nltriliiitr — f^4 — \Hi HO far (14 to Mjiv lliat rrror is no ^J:llill, lliat man is not lioiiinl tliciinnosi of liis soul (o scr whet her llicri' an' not some secret lat lead liiiii a\\a> from the palli of triilii. 'I'liev ileclaie lliiil ijieres of liiiMian iileas, all liitman and dixim^ lir\s are useless of place. What iiiHanity ! Am if it was possihle to exempt from the hiuhesl and I he mo-.t nol>le portion of human iialiire! Ah 'lit iai element, which maUes of man llie heinviof creation conlil ised from I lie rules of that di\iii<' harnions of the various pailm livcrse to;/eiher and of that universe with ils divine maker : an ihlime liarniony could csisl or e\cii lie conceiN ed with man, iinleHH )f human olili;.'iil ions lie the coiiKtiiiit accuni with t riilli, that eternal of di\ inity ! " This is the solid and oidy lo;,'iciil t'oimdatioii for the Ici^'it imatc |innis|i- inont of a iniinlior of erinics w liicli ollicrw isn would liiid their cxeiise in the erroneous Imt firm convictions of their p(M|)etrators. In such cases the law is at. lilicity to admit that the criminal was actuated Iiy a wi'onj,'ful notion of his intelli:;ence, imt it dei lares ifuiity tiie idea whicii has Iirout,dit that erroneous t'onviction in tiieni ; ami if tlm accused invokes tlie testimony of his own conscience, (li(> law reiiiinds him tliat it was his duty to keep his eonscieiici! ii,!;iit or to 1 tify il. r am often poiiiti'd out to my countrymen and corelii,'ionists as an iinmiti'^afed lilieral c;ilholic, and F jiresume that my I heoIot,'ieaI sean-hes, in this case, svill lie found faidt with as usual. I coiisoliMiiyself, in advance, as I did liefore, in tlio idea that my detractors will lie Iiai'in- le.ss, if not charitahh? in their denunciations. The crime of Ijoiiis iliel had lieen commilied, the ciiminal had hcMMi tak«Mi and tried. The trial had lieeii an impartial, a fair trial. .V verdict had lieen rend(>re(l n/^ainst lliol, the only verdict that could ho found according,' to th(> e\ idenco. Sentence of death had lieen passed against him. The sentence was a just punishment of the crimecomniil teil. It would serve as an example, a war ing, a terror to all future; crimi- nal impostors ; as a remedy an'oanst the increasiiu; contagion of craid■""' , such fiiscs . idea Nvliifli i„lsl>iii> that rionistS ilS Mil ic:\l si'iinlit's, ,1.- mysflf, ii> ^vill !>•• ll^lI'Ml fair trial- A I that i-ouUl hti iiiccniKmittt'th future c'viiiu- .^ion of L'l-anks. j^i-rat rvimo ; a ,,j^\-,. looked iis vtion into lif(^ ,. ut'oplf whom ,,.,-(1, au.l those irmuous t'xcite- itly assisted hy oininutatiou ot tho vcnlii't was The time iised made on hehalf so unsound in ould he useless appointed to t,'0 that is whether ,Uhe measure of lostunaniumus enunent yiehled uen whose cha- exauiination of the |)risoiior, and nitreed in their eoin'Iusioiis that Kiel was an arcoun- tal>N> iM'iiiir tor his actions and that ( hei'*'t'oi'i> he could di.^ti'rn ri^^dit tVoiii wronj,', he could nnth-rstand the verdict, found iiLfainst him and measure tlie s(«verity of the |iunisliinent intlicted upon him. And after that report llie i'!\eculi\e aLfr-'cil that, the sentence should lie carried out ai,'ainst. the unfortunate man. A m'leat deal has lieeii said ahout t\\i' fiirnontnl of that medical coni- mission. as it is calleil ; 1 am ready to admit that the selection of more |ti()minent men in tlm profession, men more speciully prepai'etl Uy their particular stinlies, for tlu! ('xnminatiou of such i-ases, mi;,'ht have ^iveii m<»re satisf,icti"ii to those who had asked for that commission. .\t the same time I atiirm that a nioi'c connect conclusion would not hasc heeii arrived at, and I am sure that, the clauioriu!.,' multitude would not liiivo heeii .sat islied. 'I'liexcrdict w as a correct on<'. The zealous ministers who administi'red the last rites of the Church to Louis Ki(!l had them.selvos, — and more than .ill others they were in a ])osition to kiu)w the wcjrd of tlu' mysterious enijuina, — adjudyed upon that point to a lari;i' extent, in receivini,' tlieahjuration of Ids past errors, in heinji made tlie cmdident of his last recommendations and his hist will, in admittini,' him to the most august Sacivunent of the Churdi, on repealed occasions. He had consoled their hearts in searchini; into the inmosl of his own for the hundile confession and the sincere repen- tance of his faults a^'ainst (iod and man. He had proved to all that he was enjoyini.' the full nsai^e of his mental faculties, the full force of the ■.,'ood impuUi' of his he.ift and soul liy tlu- letters he had written to hi,s friends, to his mother, to his family, hy the memoirs full of dates, of names, of linures, which he wi-ote from memory and without the assistance of [leisons oi- liooks or of notes, liy his last will and hy lu.s whole demeanor in the face of death, lie died as lu> had lived, a strong willed man, he died a sane man. Such is what the mis.iionai'ii- hul sai.l in the liej,'innin,L;', what the Half-hreeds who followed him said, what I he witnesses said who were produced a^ainst him, what tin- doctors said, what the ciuirts said in reuderin,i,' the verdict ; and it is for having ourselves said the .same thing that wc^ hav(^ been censured, that we have been accu.sed, that wo have l)een Itrandcd, as I said before, as traitors to our nationality, as traitors to the law, as murderers, as we have been accused in this House by hon. mendiers sitting on the op}H).site side. J liave been very often asktnl how I could forgive the malignant as])ei'sions which have been thrown against me l)y tliose wlio havti iiutialeil tli(^ Jliel agitation. J havi^ |)ut to myself viuy oft(ni the sauu? question, and I liave had only one answer. 1 could not believe in the insincerity of a number of them ; I could not lielicve tliat such an outburst of passion, that sueii a violent disruption of social and friendly a.ssociations, that such a I'miture of i)arty political ties could liiVvc been nothing bi;t the un|irincipled result of political apostaey; I could not believe that our friends who left us on the IGthof Jsovembcr on this question were not sincere ; and it is because I believed in tlieir sincerity that I appealed to them, without tln'oats of violence, without promises of favor; it is because 1 believed in their sincerity fliat I have resented the insult contained in the insinuation which was cast i ' Li I i; ; r — 'M\ — in tlu'ir t'aoos liy the iiit'inhci' t'or West Huron (M. Cuiicron), mid tlio nuMulici' t'or llicrvillc (M. Iiccliard). It was iMH-auso I lu'litncd in (lie siiu'(>iity oi my t'ricnds. tli:i(. I was appcaliiiL;' to (lu'ir lictlor int'oriiu'd jud^mout, tliat I lioprd that tlirir iicttcr judifiufiit woidd «-oiiu> at last to llu'ir rcsi'Uo, that 1 was not williny to distrust thtMr lioncsty of purpose. 1 know that uiy hon. tVicnds can ha\t' im politu'al sympathy with hon. i;«M\thMiuMi oppt)sitc After this ([uestion is disposed of, none of tin* niinu'rous matters wiiit'h remain, as t lie proi,'rannn(> of the party, ean reeoiu'ile their views ami their eon\ ietions witii those of mendiers sit tinn' on tlie other side of the House. I have appeali-d to them, and if my appeal is in vaia, I hope I shi'U not he foui\m. ' I caniu)t, I must say. jH'ive the .same testimony of sincerity to the hon. jjentlenien whom 1 see in the innnediati> foUowiui; of the hon. nuMnli(>r who leads the Opposition. 1 should not he teliiuij: the truth if I wen> to say that I ea,u reconcilt^ sincerity with th(< action whii^h the lion, the leader himself has taken ufion this (piestion ; but 1 must hasten to say, at tho same time, that 1 cannot iilamt> him, knowing;, as I think I ilo, the nu>tiv(M)f his action on this occasion. The hon. m(>nibt>r for (^>uebee- East, earried like so many othei's by the popular cyclone which (ner- raii tiie Province of (,>iiebi'c, on the llith NoNcmber, on the Champ de- JMars, in JMontreal, had committed one of those mistakes wiii;'h out live the political i'.\isttMiC(> of a man. lie had icade tluMi the declaration, that if he lia,d bet>n livini;- on the shores of the Saskatchewan, he woiihl havt> been ready to shouldei' his musket ayainst the ( iovernment of il(>r Majesty. His declaration had resounded throughout tlu' Hominion like a buf^le call to arms for a ci\il war, and had been resented by the\vliol(> of the volunteer force of Canada as a I'ondemnat ion and insult. The English Liberal party in the Province of Queb(>c — and 1 must formers of Ontario had joined in the n'pudia- tion of a declaration borderiuLi; on treason in the mouth of a Privy Councillor, it is a secret to no one that an e.\.euse had to bo found to prevent till! hon. ex-Minister from haviny; an unpl(>;'sant reet^ption in Toronto, and his former popularity, his much admired elotnUMice, would not have savi'd him from popular reprobation had he \entured to sjjo before an ICiiiflish aud'em-e even in Montreal at thetime. His star was waninii;. .S'(»/(. I'toilr /ul/isfiaif, as was said at the time, and for a moment his (lownlall was imminent. None of the meetings which followed tlu^ Champ-de-Mars gathering had the benelit of his ('loqueiu'e. Jn the moantime the leader of the Reform pai'ty had landed in New- York ; a mysterious conclaxi' took place there, we are told, in the house of an (!X-.Minister living in (hat. city. The tidings which were brougiit from that mysterious in(i>rview were not of a consoling character to the agitators of the Province of (j)uebec. The leailer wiMit to 'J'oronto and a few ilays afterwards the speech of London eanio. P>ut then the word uttered then; was thi> word of a sphinx. Tli(> press say that a st ill more mysterious interview took [ilace here, in thet^ipital, l>etween the leader of the Reform party and the young chief of the Liberals in the I'rovincc of Quobeo. T i >i\), iinil tlio iovftl in du' i>r iut'oniu'il i-omo at last. !• luM\«>sty of npiitliy Nvitli (it", wow of l\t< piirty, ran inlu'i's sitting .1, antl if i>»y li for hiivinj; ily to tluihon. \un\. niiMnluH- uthif I wm> h thi'hon. tlu! hasten to say, I think I ilo, >or for Ciiu'l'oo- ,. \\hW\\ ovtM-- tlu' Chanip-iU'- , \\u\A\ outUvo lv,> cltH-laratiou, I'wan, lu^ woviUl i-rnnuMitof Uor . Dominion liko ,.,1 1)V tlio Nvholo ul iiisiilt. Tho must ij;ivi« thoni .lad rison in a I in the ivpuilia- ,uth of a Trivy to lie founil to uit riH-i^ption in lo.lu.Mu-e, Nvouhl vontmril to go ,0. His star was lud for a niomiMit lii'h foUowcnl tho ni'C. tllaniU>a in New- told, in the house ,ioh were brought g i-haraeter to t.he it to Toronto and hit then the word y that a st ill u\ore ,;.tweeu thi! leader Is in the rroviiico — 37 — Since that day the attitude of th;' hon. ineinher for West Hurliaui was an onignia for tlie juililir. Wo liavc had tht> explanation of that enignia liy liis sptveli the otiier night. What was it 'I Tho young and iuipotuous loader of the C^hioheo l.ihoral party was not to lie ih>tliron«>d ; on tln> contrary lie was to ho supporteil, and he was to ho applauded, a great l)low was to !•(> struok to arous(> the sympathies of the parly in his favor. Ilis dt'ciaration on tho Champ tie-Mars had hoon a liold one. Jlis doi'laration in tho llous(> of ("ommons was to he an audacious one, antl ho liad to h(> supported and applaudeil lu-re. Ilenee the speech of last Wednesday. I nnist .say, Mr. S|>eaker, that the hon, gentleman lias done it hra\ ely, to say the least. Audacious in its atHniiations, polislied in its diction, hrilliant in its delivery, i\w speech of the hon. memher for tJu(>hoc-Kast, if it was not a model of souiul logic, was, at least, a splendid eiVort to rally around his haiui'M- the wavering sympathies of his frit>iids in Jjower Canada. lUit that was not sullicieut to restore eoiitidence in him, to bring hack the former .'sympathy, and tlu> lion, leader of the Ojijiosition chivalrously caiiu> to his rescue. Ho lent to the fcivid eloiiuence of his noighhor the assistance of his vast t>rudition, his poweiful dialectics, his most ingenious argumentation, for live hours. The leader has risked his own j>o]mlarity to save his first litMitenant. There are oHiccrs for the .sake t)f whom a general will defy danger. It may not he according to (he art of war, l)ut it shows courage, and courag(^ challtMiges admira- tion. However, Mr. Speak(M\ we say ov(>ryone in this House could see (he laliorious eil\M(, the most ungra(eful lalior, which the hon. memher for West-Durham was performing. That great master of the language was uiu>asy in the work of propping with carefully shaped argumont.s, of covering with his most (>laliora(e periods what li(> felt his great (aient could no(, force into (he minds of his followt>rs. Overwhelmed hy tlu" w(>ight he was carrying, at one momont ho was ohligtul ill confess that the Note he would givt^ in this ease* was "an inexpedient vote. " Ye.s, Mr. S|>eak»>r, it will ho an ine.xpedient vote, not only an inexpedient, hut a useless vote, iiu^xplicahleand indcf(>nsihle. In Ontario, in the Maritime Provinces, it will he receiveil with hosti- lity ; in the Province of (.^uehec it will be received witli suspicion. An hon. AHcMitiii. Hear, hear. Mli. CiiAlM.KAU. H' (he hon. (ientleiiian ojiposite, who says "hear, hear," li.stened (o liis own in(ima(e feelings, lu^ would say that it is pre- posterous to think that the loyalty of the Dominion will ai'ci'pt, how- evt>r eloipient it may have been, a plea in favor of that revitlt such as was claimed by tho lion, member for t^hiehec-Kast. 'J'hat plea will not be acce}>ttHl. The Dominion of Canada cannot acc(>pt it. I regret to bo forced to say that the hon, gentleman, by (he course lie iias (aken has not " caused the Hous(> of Commons to speak wi(h a voice and in a sensi> which p(^s(eri(y, after (hes(» liea(s have coohul and these mists have elt>ared, shall ra(ify and c-on(irm." Jf (ht> vote of tho lion, meniht'i' for West Durhaiii, if his voice, if tho sympathy he has been at(empting to raise, rect-ived, even in tht> Piovinco of (.Quebec, the answi'r ho has invited, 1 would say (hat tlu>n, contrary to his own protestations, ho would have the «ad glory of having built u political platforui on tho 1-^ — 38 — scaffold of Regina, that lio had cenionted party ties with the lilood of the condemned man, and he woukl be one of tlioso who had dared "To attempt the Future's portals with the Past's hlood-rusted key." That wouhl bo liis success. But I hold tliat thisdesign will bo frustrated by the desire in the Province from whicli I come to foml)ine — using the words of the hon. genthMiian — the altirmation of one's rights with forbearance in favor of other people's rights, to secure that common citizenship to all which will make of Canada a great and glorious country, inhabited by a united and happy people. I hope that what the lion, gentleman himself has said will prove true, and that the jieople of Quebec will believe that to create the harmony which is necessary for the good of the country, we nuist not act in the way which those who ha\(; begun this agitation would like us to act. It is with that desire of unity and peace that I have followed my course with the people of our Province ; it is with that desire that I appeal to my hon. friends whose sympathies have been surprised and whose scrupulous sense of honor has been unduly stimulated for fear of their old party fidelity. To them I appeal, with confidence, not to be carried away by a mere popular cry, not to giv^e countenance to a movement, the final issjes of which might be disastrous to the party, to the nationality, to t'.ie country. Mr. Speaker, a last word and 1 nddress it to those in this House who belong to *he same nationality as myself. Let them beware. This hour is one of the greatest importance. Upon them a vast responsibility rests in respect to the vote which they will give to-night upon this question. The future condition of the Province of Quebec will largely depend on the vote which hon. members ai-e about to give. I have already warned hon. members of the inexpedient attempt which was made to create a so-called political union of all French Canadians throughout the Dominion, and I have said that this was a most unpatriotic step to be taken, that it was one fraught with danger to the Dominion, and fraught with special danger to those who, being a minority in the Doir.iuion, are asked to work together as a unit without considering questions of opinion. I have often repeated that opinion to niy fellow countrymen. I have often said it, though never so appropriately or so feelingly as I do to- day. In the whole of this agitation, I have tried to be true to my country as well as to my duty. I have not followed the dictates of any- one, I have not been biassed in my appreciation of facts and things ; T have not perhaps followed the path which would be in my own private interest. I have been offered — I would not say it if it had not been stated by the leader of the French Canadian party in the Province of Quel)ec himself, that he had charged one of the hon. membeis of this House to come and give me his message about it — I was oflered the leadershij) of all my fellow countrymen in that unpatriotic mission of collecting together all French-Canadians in the Dominion, to make of theiu a kind of political association. I refused the offer. I refused it because I thought the proposal was fraught with danger to )ny own fellow-country- men. I 4 i 39 — -lie blood of :1 dared ed key." l)e frustrated nl)ine— using K rights with tliat conuxion and glorious tid will pvove to create the , we must not ion would like have followed hat desire that 11 surprised aud lulated for fear itidence, not to HUitenance to a us to the party, this House who iiportaiice. Upon which they wdl . of the Province on. nuunbers are the inexpedient ical union of all ive said that this 3ue fraught with ,u;(.r to those who, .'oijether as a unit antrynien. I have elingly as I do to- to be true to my le dictates of any- ,cts and things ; I n my own private Lot been stated by [•evince of Quebec [•s of this House to |rod the leadership [ssion of collecting make of theni a Mus'-'^l it because I nvn fellow-country- A Canadian writer who understands this (|ue.stion has said that the structuiH! of the Frencli Canadian iiiitionality in tl)is Dominion liad b(!en laid, stone by stone, by tlio hands of men in whom w-re concen- trated the most consummate wisdom, allied with the greatest prudence. That writer also stated tliat the only danger to tlit; French nationality was the hour in wIul-Ii the pcophi allo\v(Ml thomsi^lves to be carried away liy faction and by passion, and ally themselves together as a faction. It is true, if \vc look at the history of this country, that the French Canadians liave achiev(>d what has not been achieved in almost any other country. We know from the lessons of history liow ditlicult it is for a minority, in a con([uered country especially, to escape en- croachments, to escape absorption l)y the majcn-ity, however well dis- posed the liiajority may b(\ in this country, wo have prospered, we have grown, we hav(! increas(>d our wealth without any sacrifice of our lilu^rty. We, the mniority, have achi(!VO(l sometiiing mon;. We have, even when the cry of racc^ and religion wns raised by a part of our population, succeeded in impressing on tl)(; majority a system of laws p(!culiar to ours(dves — I s|)eak of the introdui-t ion of the civil laws of Lower (Janada into the Fastern Townships with the concurrence of the majority. We have achi(!vcd mon; than that,. We the minority have secured the good will, the esteem, the respect, the sympathy of the majority in the work of protecting; our own jieculiar institutions. We have done this, and it is tiue what the writer I have quoted lias said that the structure of the French Canadian nationality in Canada must have been the work of consummate wisdom allied to the greatest prudence. But at the same time his words were prophetic : " Do not allow yourselves to be led away by faction and [>assion. Do not become a faction in the country because although you are strong with your allies you will be weak as a faction, however strong a faction it might be." It has been stated in public meetings by m<>n who have l)cen led away l)y thtnr passions, that the French Canadian should become a party similar to the Irish party in the Imperial Parliament under the guidance of Mr. Parnell. I have not to judge the issue of tliat Parliament. I say if the Irish people; in their struggles for liberty liave b(>en obliged to viewed, to look at the laws as they exist, to look at the diHiculty of t\n'. j)Osition in which the jNlinister of Justice and th(> ( Jovernment were placed, to judge not from feeling lor C- oni the relations of blood or — 40 — creed or nationality. It is natural with men of one Province or of one blood to feel more warmly in rogard to the cause of men of their own Province, of their own hlood and religion. But we must not judge of this matter in that light. Tlu^se have been my sentiments during the last four months. I have not changed my mind to suit men and cir- cumstances ; I have relied upon the reward given to men who do not flinch before the cries of the multitude, and who do not seek their poli- tical fortune in the success of the moment. I have walked straight before me in what I thought was the right path as a citizen of Canada. I have followed that conduct, I have not been biassed, and in the whole of what I have done, in the whole of what I have said through that painful crisis, I trust I have not lost the sympathies of my friends, the respect of my encnjies, nor the confidence of the country. ill! ! •ovincc or of one len of their own lUst not judge of nents during the ait men and cir- men who do not )t seek their poli- 3 walked straight dtizeu of Canada, issed, and in the ave said through lies of luy friends, country.