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.■,v4^^'£'^s7>S
\>
\
SPEECH
OF
\\
'A"rr:]^x^^.
.^. /
HON. E. BLAKE, M.P.,
ON THE
Disturbance in the North- West
/
m
1
OTTAWA, MAY 20th, 1885.
^
w
Mr. BLAKE. Before you proceed, Sir, to the other
basiness of tbe House, I think it my duty to avail myself of
my parliamentary right to make a substantive motion in
order to raino an important question, as I consider it to be,
a question both of gravity and of urgency, which the state
of the public business, the order of the House and the proc€i-
duie which has been pursued, preclude my raising in any
other way. I refer to the duties of the Government and the
rights and the obligations of this House with reference to
information as to ])ast events in the North- West leading up
to the troubles which have recently taken place. I have
not, since 1 entered this House, used, lor any purpose, the
motion which I am now about to use, always believing as 1
did and do believe, that the use of it should be a sparing use,
that it should be reserved for questions and situations, such as
the present situation and the present question. I believe that
there subsists either a misconception or a misinterpretation
of what the duties and obligations and rights of the
Oovernment and the House are with reference to thw impor-
tant question, and it is necessary that that subject should be
cleared up, and that we should oome to an understanding,
if possible, as to what our relative position is in the matter.
The most limited conception of the fundamental function of
Oovemment is the maintenance of security to the citizen
against attack from abroad, and against internal discord, and
tnia includes his right to the full enjoyment of justice in the
land. Our own constitution acknowledges and rather mag-
nifies that limited conception of the functions of Govern-
ment, by declaring, as it expressly does, that this Parliament
is authorised to make laws for the peace, order and good
government of our country ; and if it be that peace has been
broken ; that pablio orde*'
,!-■
\"»vi\
195239
/
2
Sir JOHN A. MACDONALD. In order that we may
know the regularity or the irregularity of the hon. gentle-
man's speech, 1 must a^k that ho will make the motion on
which he is going to speak.
Mr. BLAKE, i d ) not know that the hen. gentleman is
entitled to have the motion placed in your hands, Sir, but I
have no objection to stale my motion. 1 am about to move
that the House adjourn, ft is the only motion I can move
that will enable me to make this statemeni. It is the only
regular motion, and that being so I thought that the hon,
gentleman would have known it. If, as I was saying, the
public peace has been broken, if the public order has been
disturbed, if the authority of the (government has been
violated, if insurrection has raised its head in Canada, I hold
it to be the duty of the Government to give, and the duty of
this House to demand, and its right to obtain, all the
Eartioulars, so that wo nay a.scorlain how these things
ave happened, su that wo may deal with the wliole sub-
ject, as it includes both the Government of the country, and
those they rule, so that wo may fix the responsibility upon
the right shoulders, or share it, if it bo a mixed responsi-
bility, among the right shoulders; and I hold it to be the
duty of the Government, and our right, that we should be
placed in a position to form that judgment at
the earliest possible moment. More than eight weeks
have now elapsed since the insurrection broke out,
and from that time out I have been constantly
Eressing lor those pieces of information which might ena-
le us to reach conclusions upon this subject. We ail felt
it to be our duty heartily to agree, heartily to assist in
measures to restore the public authority, and we felt that
that was a duty emergent and doubly incumbent upon us
in the particular condition of the North-West country.
We did 80 ; whatever the Government proposed to uh, they
received without an instant's delay, and they received as
well the moral support and countenance of every member
of Parliament and of the people at large in taking the
earliest, the most active, the most energetic, the most com-
plete steps that they could devise in order to the restora-
tion of public authority. But while we have been doing
that we must not lose sight of this very important duty of
ours, nor must we lose sight of this very important
obligation of the Government. I say the obligation
of the Government to bring down to Parliament the
materials upon which Parliament may pronounce a
judgment, is clear and plain. They have full power to
govern, &,nd it is difficult to presume that without some
neglect, or delay, or wrong, such results as have taken
3
place, could have taken place. Buf I quite aJmit it to be true
that they may have taken place without neglect, without
dela}', without mistake, without misgovornment. That is
indeed possible; but if there is to bo a presumption, the pre-
sumption must, at the moment, be against those in authority.
The Government of the day may rebut that presumption, but
they are obliged to undertake the task, and the condition
upon which alone they can accomplish such a rebuttal, is full
information and full materials on which a judgment can be
reached. We have the right of juJgment, and we have the
duty of judgment ; we are to pass between our fellow
citizens lately in arras and their rulers on the political
question, and we are to pass on the questions between the
Indians and their rulers. Besides having that right, we have
a great responsibility, as the last court of appeal, in this
matter. We are the people's representatives, the great
inquest of the country, upon whom it devolves to enquire
thoroughly into such large questions as these.
I say the uvity of the Govcrnnietit is obvious on general
principles, it flows from their ])Osltion and ours. It has
been frequently admitted and acted upon in England. It
has been admitted and acted upon here. It was acted upon
hero by the hon. gentlemen themselves on the occasion
of the former disturbance in 18 9-70. We had at that time
a disturbfu'ice, a serious disturbance, though much less serious
than the present one, in connection with our acquisition of
the North-West. When we met Parliament on the 15th
February, 1870, Louis Riel was in possession of the Red River
settlement, as the president of the Government which ho
had assumed to form in that country ; negotiations were
going on with the people of the country ; an armed force
was being organised, or was contemplated at any rate, for
progress there in the spring. In that condition of things
the Parliament met on the 15th February, 1870. On the
24th day of that month, the Government brought down by
Message, not upon solicitation, not upon instance, not upon
pressure, but voluntarily by Message from His Excellency,
the documents connected with and throwing light upon
the causes of that outbreak up to the latest date, and
comprising a mass of papers which, when printed exceeded
150 pages of print. The Government did not think that
they were justified in picking and choosing for themselves ;
they felt that the situation was one which entitled both
Bides of the House to know all that had transpired, and they
therefore brought down all the papers. They proposed, on
the day on which they brought them down, the formation of
a select committee, struck from both sides of the House, on
which were the late lamented Mr. Holton, my hon. friend
1*
the present member for Easl York (Mr. Mackonzlo) and
mynelf, from tho OppoHitioTi nide of the HooHe, to ^p over
the papers which wore brought down in the Me>-a^e, in
order that they might report to the House what jjUj era it
would be expedient to puhliHh at that time. They Jell that,
in that peculiar condition, it wuh for the House to decide,
through the medium of a committee wtruck by the House,
and in which both sides had confidence, what papers should
be withheld ; and they, therefore, brought down all, and left
to that committee the duty of deciding what, in the public
interest at the moment, ought not to see the light. In a very
few di'ys — as 1 have said, this transaction took place on the
2'tth, nine days after the opening of the Session — within a
very few days thereafter, thut select committee reported,
and recommended the publication of all the papers
brought down, with tho exception of one single despatch
from the provisional Lieutenant Governor, the Hon. Mr.
Macdougall, and the names of two or three persons
occurring in two or three places in some of the
correspoiidence, which names were replaced by asterisks.
Almost immediately upon the opening of the Session, my
hon. friend from East York moved for other papers — not
knowing, of course, what the Government would bring
down — other papers connected with some details as to the
surveys and other points. That motion was granted, and
those papers were brought down within a very brief period.
What were these papers ? What was the general character
of these papers and of this information which the Govern-
ment, upon the occasion to which 1 refer, with reference to
the outbreak that had taken place in the North- West, to
prevent our entry into and assumption of the government of
that country, with reference to a condition of things in
which there was a de facto government assumed to be estab-
lished there, and which was assuming to act ; while
negotiation was going on for settlement ; while an
armed expedition was arranged to proceed in the spring
— what was the general character of the papers then
brought down? They professed to be everything that
threw light on the cause of the trouble, that threw light
on the conduct of the Government, that threw light on the
conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company, that threw light on
the conduct of the population, that threw light on the
conduct of the omcers oi the Government; all tho
instructions, all the despatches, all the correspon-
dence, all the papers from which this House and
this country could form its judgment as to how
that ti'ouble had arisen, as to what it was due to,
AS to who were responsible tor it, and as to what coarse
nzio) and
> ^p over
B>-ji^'o, in
I'iij ors it
ioit that,
decide,
e House,
rs should
I, and left
»e public
In a very
36 on the
wiihin a
cpotted,
papers
JoHpatch
on. Mr.
persons
of the
sterisks.
iion, my
jrs — not
1 bring
to the
od, and
period.
laracter
Gfovern-
ence to
(Vest, to
raent of
ings in
e es tab-
while
lile an
spring
s then
g that
r light
on the
ght on
)n the
ill the
'espon-
6 and
how
ae to,
ooorse
should bo taken in rcgaid to it, wore voluntaril} brought
down by the Govornraont of the day in discharge of
what thoy felt to be their public duty, their boundon duty,
their obvious obligation to the country and to Pailiament.
I shall trouble the House with a few roforoncos to the
papers so brought down, in order that I may show by those
references the kind of papers that wore thought tit to be
brought down, and at the same time incidontiiUy throw some
light upon the present sitiKilion. That HJtuation differed
very much from the prosont. We had bargained lor
the transfer of the tei ritory, but wo woi-a not in control
of it. and, as I have always thought, duo precautions had
not boon taken either by the Government of this country or
by the Hudson's Bay Company in that respect. I believe
that proper preliminary communications with the Hudson
Bay Company's authorities and with the people at large,
did not take place before those s'ops were taken, which
resulted so unfortunately, tho steps with reference to surveys,
the Hteps with reference to the entry of the Governor. I
believe that duo information with reference to the inten-
tions of the Government as to tho constitution to bo pro-
posed, and the nlan of government of the new Torrito:y, as
to the rights of the people in thei»* lands, wjih not commu-
nicated at the proper time. I believe that tht surveys, the
making of the surveys, the attempt to make the surveys
without the extinguishment of the Indian title, and in the
condition of fooling amongst certain classes of tho population,
was a very great mistake, as was the making of them, with-
out full and authoritative and authentic communication to
the settlers as to the intentions and object of the surveys,
although suoh information was, to some extent, communi-
cated by Colonel Dennis. As I have said, I believe the
Hudson Bay Company's aathorities were also to blame.
They were to blame for not communicating to the Govern-
ment oi Canada, and, if necessary, to the Imperial Govern-
ment, the facts which they knew, or ought to have
known, as to the condition of feeling among the people,
and for not advising the course it would have oeen
proper to take under the circumstances. Now, Sir,
these papers, amongst others, contain proofs which
seem to me to indicate, as I have said, two things.
First, the kind of information which the Government ioltit
its duty to bring down in order that the House might judge
whether it had been right or wrong in its procedure ; and,
secondly, some things which would help us to a judgment
when the time arrivesfor judgment on the present difficulty.
They comprise, amongst others, a letter from Col. Donuis,
who had been charged with some duties in connection with
6
the Hurvoyn, to Mr. Maclougull, in his capafily as Minister
of Public Works at Ottawa, '>n tlio 21st Aiifjjust, ISfiO, a
lottor wrilton Irom iho Had Jiivor sutlloinont, in which ho
says:
"I find that a consideriible degree of irritation exists ftinong tiie native
ropiilalion in view of surveys and sctllcnieiitd heing made wiliiout the
ndian tiUo liaving first ijceo cxiinKuinhed. Von will, no doubt, hare
becumo aware that the hfiU'-treeds lately, in a publicnicotitifj, called the
compHMy hero to account io the mailer of the money paid for the transfer
to Canada.
" Whatever may have been the views of the Government ns to the
character of the title to be conveyed by the det'd of transfer, whetlier
the exjiense may or may not be fairly chargeable to tlie company, I
am aatistiod that the Government will, in the first place, have to under-
take the extinction of the Indian title.
" This question must be regarded as of the very greatest importance.
In connection therewith I would reiterate to you my conviction, as
expressed wl)ile at Ottawa that nothing should be lost. The necessity
for prompt action is more apparent to me now than it seemed even then.
Suppo^^ing the transfer from the company to have been complpte, it is
possible that the object may be carried out yet, this fall. There can be
no question as to the prejudicial effects iu retarding the settlement of
the country, should the half-breeds and Indians assume a position of
hostility to any extent whatever towards the incoming settlers, -yt
towards the Government.
" The difTiculties of the position may be much enhanced by giving the
discontented parties the winter to brood over and to concert measures
in opposition to the views of the Government. In the meantime, th
French half-bieeds who constitute about J or J (say 3,000 souls), of the
settlement, are likely to prove a turbulent element. This class have
gone so far as to threaten violence should surveys be attempted to be
made."
Then, on the 20th of August following, the same gentleman
writes to the same Minister a letter, from which I also
read a brief extract :
" In the first place I had proposed, antil fully advised as to the
system ot farm surveys which might be adopted by the Government, to
employ the time in surveying the belt of lands granted by the companr
which embraces a strip of two miles in width on each side and extend-
ing up the Red River for the distance of say, 40 miles from the mouth,
and also along the Assiniboine in the same way for many miles. This I
have hesitated to go on with at the present time, in consequence of
much of the land being under crop ; going through which would
involve more or less injury to individual settlers, a measure which, in
the present temper of the half-breeds, is to be deprecated."
Again he says :
" I have again to remark an uneasy feeling which exists in the half-
breeds and Indian element, with regard to what they conceive to be the
premature action taken by the Government in proceeding to effect a
survey of the lands without having first extinguished the Indian title,
and I beg permission to reiterate the conviction expressed on a former
occasion, that this must be the first question of importance to be dealt
with by the Government. I have, of course, taken every opportunity
to assure this element as to the intention of the Government to deal
honorably and fairly in the matter in question, and shall go on quietly
with my work. Should, however, this feeling be likely to result in
any opposition of a character likely to prejudice a settlement fraught
with importance to the immediate futufe of this country, I shall at once
cease operation and await your future orders."
Minister
wliich ho
k' 111"! native
*viili()ut the
■oiibt, iiare
r, called the
tlje tmnsfer
"8 to the
whether
> to under-
"portance.
fiction, as
e r.eccssitj
even then.
plPte, it ia
ere can be
tlement of
osition of
ettlera, ^r
^ivinK the
meaaurea
itime, th
8)i of the
l«88 have
ed to be
atleman
I also
IB to the
iment, to
companv
extendf-
3 mouth,
Thial
uence of
would
hich, ia
ie half.
I be the
jffect a
1 title,
former
e dealt
rtunitj
) deal
quietlj
ult in
raught
it once
On the 22ntl of tho Soptombor Ibllowiti^, Mr. Macdoiigall us
MiniMtor of L'ublic VVorkn, Hont a momoriitulum to tho Coun-
cil (Stating :
" Mr, DenniH, after c'-'sultinpr with the Crown Lands Dcpartmenta,
both in Uanailii iind tin; Jnitoi States, in accordance with the above
instructions, ban forwarded certain papers enibracin^f a proposed BjHtein
of surveys and sub-divisions of public lands in that part of the Dom-
inion."
On tho lllh October, 1809, Colonel J)euiiiHHon(iH a memoran-
dum giving tho circumHtuncoH coiineoted with tho active
oppoHition of the Fronoh lialf-brecdH in this settlomont, to
tho prosecution of the Government surveys :
"This day, about 2 p. m., a iiie8senp;er arrived, a former chainbearer
of Mr. Webb's party, employed in surveying the base line or parallel of
latitude between townships 6, 6 and 7, bringing the unwelcome informa-
tion from Mr. Webb that liis further progress with the survey had been
stopped by a band of some 18 French half-breeds, headed by a man
named Louis Riel."
1 read then another extract :
" He was ordered by the leader of the party at once to desist from
further running the line, and in fact notified that he must leave the
country on the south side of the Assiniboine, which country the party
claimed as the property of the French half-breeds, and which they
would not allow to be surveyed by the Canadian Government."
Well, Mr. Dennis goes on to say that ho applied to Mr.
Cowan, who was a magistrate, for magisterial assistance,
and he adds :
" I remarked to Mr. Cowan at the same time, that I questioned
whether, owing to the unsettled state of the ^and tenure as regards the
half-breeds and Indians, and the peculiar irritation or sensitiveness
that existed on the part of the French half-breeds in view of the trans-
fer of the territory, and the assumption of tho Government by Canada,
it would be politic to take harsh measures towards the offenders in this
case."
On the I2th October, 1869, Governor Maedougall wrote a
letter to Mr. Smith, Secretary of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, from which this is an extract :
"I am also sorrv to inform you that some of the people here have
stopped one of Colonel Dennis' surveying parties, and aausual, of course,
the colonel came to us for redress. The men who have thus interfered
say they know the survey could proceed without any injury to anyone ;
but stopping it is always a beginning, and they are desirous to let the
Canadian Government know *hat it is not wanted by them ; that they
consider, if the Canadians wish to come here, the terms on which they
were to enter should have been arranged with the Local Qovernment
here, as it is acknowledged by the people in the country."
Mr. Cowan, on the 15th October, 1869, replied to Colonel
Dennis :
" I very much regret to say that we have failed entirely in onr
endeavors to get over the opposition of the French Manitoba settlers to
the survey. "
On the 12th February, 1870, Colonel Dennis made a long
8
report upon the whole Hubjoct to the MiniHter of Public
Workw at Ottiiwu, trorn which 1 road a Hhort oxtniot :
"I should here state that I hud preTioasly explained the object of
inch Burvey to tht> people, that tht> dtirrey wkh not to dixturb boiindariei
or possession, but to ascertain each man's actual ocru[iation, and make
* pliin thereof, so that thn (iovernir.ent would be in a portitiou. at the
earliest poHSible date, to carry out their intention to oonlirm Gorern-
ment deeds, and all horx'i jiU occupants of land.
" The EngliBh ttpenkiuK [leople appeared to understand and appreciate
the necessity fi)r the nieasure, and the boon it would be to hare their
titles perfected, and showed every facility to the surveyors employed at
the work.
"I gave, strict orders, however, not to survey in that portion of the
BettleiEcnt occupied by the French half-breeds and althou();h I hr.d, as
early as the day after my arrival from Canada, on the 2lHt August,
called on the dignitaries of the Roman Cathoiic ('hurch, at the palace of
8l. Boniface, on which oceasion I saw PcNre Tissot, Pere A Hard, and the
other priests, and eiplained the same thin^; to them, and those gentlemen
had also exprt s>-t(l iliemst Ives most favorably toward the measure, and
promised that iliej would explain the aame to their people, and recom-
mend them not to throw tiny diflicultiea in the way or these necessary
surveys beinp eirtcted ; hhII, as the outbreak occurred a few weeks after,
and 1 had evi ry de.xire to avoid any further possible caurie of offence
to that party, 1 gave the orders above, and to my knowledge they were
not departed from by either of the gentlemen employed."
That iiniHhoB the oxtra(5tH which I think it material to read,
showing the decree ot information supplied, and the condi-
tion of thingH upon the question of surveys, from August,
18(;9, onwards. On the 27th October, 1869, Mr. DonniB
communicatt'd to Mr. Macdougall, when outside the Terri-
toi V, I think in iho neighborhood of Pembina, a statement
in which he declaims:
" The attitude of the Kngliph speaking portion of the colony may, I
think, be fairly stated as follows : —
" They say, wo fet 1 a disposition to extend a sincere welcome to the
Eon. Mr. Macdougall, as the gentleman who has been selected for our
future Governor.
" We regret sincerely that the good name of the colony should be
prejudiced by any such action as we are told is contemplaiad by a por-
tion of the French half-breeds."
Then another extract :
" We feel tkis way — we feel confidence in the future adminiBtratioo of
the Government of this country nnder Canadian rule: at the same
time, we have not been consulted in any way as a people, in entering
into the Dominion.
"The character of the new government has been settled in Osaada
without our being consulted. We are prepared to accept it respect-
fully, to obey the laws, and to become good subjects ; tut when you
present to us the iesae of a conflict with the French party, with whom
we have hitherto lived in friendship, backed up, as they would be, by
the Roman Gathjiic Church, which appears probable by the course at
present being taken by the priests, in which conflict it is almost certain
the aid of the Indians wruld be invoked, and perhaps obtained, by that
party, we feel disinclioed to enter upon it, and think that the Dominion
should assume the responsibility of establishing amongst us what it,
and it alone, has determined upon,"
Next, Mr. Macdougall wrote to Mr. McTavish, who was the
14
1()
tf
9
of i'ublio
raot :
h« object of
b boijjulHrioi
Q. and make
litiou. at the
irm OoTera«
d "PFireciate
) hare theip
fiiiployedat
Hon of the
h I hr.d, aa
iHt August,
he palace of
^rd, and the
eRtintlemen
■asure, and
ind recom-
B necesBary
iveeks after,
of offence
t thej were
1 to read,
he condi-
August,
'. Donnw
he Terri-
tatement
ly may, I
>me to the
ed for our
hould be
by a por-
tration of
be same
entering^
Canada
respect-
jen you
b whom
d be, by
ourse at
certain
by that
ominioQ
rhat it,
^as the
local hcacl of the Huilson'rH Hiiy Company ai Koit (fan-y, a
letter in the month of Nov- mht r, in whi "h hn pointed out
that ho thought the <iiity of I ho (Jovernment was to pro-
chiim llio fact that Cinadu was now the proprietor and the
Government of the coiinliy. (Jovernoi- McFavish, on iH.h
Noveml<er, 1HH9, answered Mr. MacdoUj^'all, in a letter, from
which I will read twooxtraets:
" The Act in (1111 tjtion referred I , the pro8j)ectiie trans erof Uif Torri-
tory, but up to this moment w« have noottlcuil indinatioti from Knuland
or thi' Dominion of Canada, of th« fact of the transfur, or of in eondi-
tiona, or of the date at which thoy were to tako practical oH'ect upon the
Governmtat of this countrj-. In such n stale of matters, wh think it is
evident that any anch act on tlio fxirt of the Ked Rirer authorities as
that to which wo point, would iieceHSarily have been marked by a great
degree of vaRueness and uncertainty ; it was felt that it might atfect
injuriously the future, as well as the present Government; and we
therefore deemed it advisable to await the receipt of official intellijjence
of the actual transfer of the conntry, and of all the details which it con-
cerned us to know."
Again :
"It is unquestionable thai the preBervation of the public peace is the
paramount duty of every Government ; but while in ordinary circum-
stance it might bo reasonable enough to cast upon us the exclu-
Bive resjiunbihility of preserving the public peace, it may perhaps at the
same lime admit of doubt whether some degree of responsibility did not
also rejt upon others in a case of so exceptional a character a-i this, —
a case in which not merely a whole country is transferred, but also, in
a certain sense, a whole people, or where at least the political condition
of the people undergo such a great change; and it may moreover be a
question whe her, on the part of the Government the preliminary
arrangements for introducing ihu change have proceeded upon such a
jnst and accurate appreciation of the condition of the country and the
peculiar feelings and habits of its people, as oa such an occasion was
desirable, if not absolutely essential ; and whether the complications
by which we are now surrounded may not, to a great extent be owing
to that circumstance."
Negotiationa were then entered into by the Government at
Ottawa with a view to sending out oommiisioners to deal
with the people ot the country, and amougRt those was
Very Bevorend Grand Vicar Thibault,to whom, as a part of
his instructionB, on December 4tb, 18b9, the late Secretary
of Stale addressed a letter, Irom which I will read some
extracts :
"That the disturbances wmcli bare taken place at and around Win-
nipeg and Fort Garry have grown out of vagne apprehensions nt dai ger,
incident to the transition state of things which the action of the Imper-
ial Government and t'arliament rendered inevitable, there is no reason
to doubt; but it is quite apparent that, underlying what is natural and
fiardonable in this movement, there have been agencies at work vhicb
oyal subjects cannot countenance, and that arttal attempts have been
made to mislead the people by the most flagrant and absurd mijrepre*
sentations. Had the Queen's Government or the Government of the
Dominion imitated the rash and reckless conduct of some of t'aose who
have taken part in this disturbance, there would ere this have been
bloodshed and civil war in Rupert's land with the prospect cf the fiame
spreading along the frontier as the fire spreads over the prairie. For-
10
kIs
tunately calmer counsels have prevailed both in Eajfland and at
Ottawa. The proclamation of the Queen's representative, with copies
of which you will be furnished in French and English, will convey to
her people the solemn wtjrda of their Sovereign, who, possessed of ample
power to enforce her authority, yet confides in their loyally and affec-
tionate attachment to her throne."
Another extract :
" All the Provinces of the Hritish Empire which now enjoy represen-
tative institutions and responsible government have passed through a
probationary period, till the growth of population and some political
training prepared them for self government. In the United States the
territories are ruled from Washington till the time arrives when they
can prove their fitness to be included in the family of state and, in the
balls of congiess, challenge the full measure of power and free
development which American citizenship includes. It is fair to assume
that some such training as human society requires in all free countries
may be useful, if not indispensible, at Red Biver ; but of this you may
be assured, that the Governor General and hia council will gladly
welcome the period when the Queen can confer, with their entire appro-
bation, the largest measure of self government on her subjects in that
rf'j'ion, compatible with the preservation of British interests on this
continent and the integrity of the Empire."
A proclamation dated December 6th, 1869, referred to in the
dispatch from which I have read Bome extracts, contains
these words :
" Her Majesty commands me to etate to you that she will be always
ready through me as her representative to redress all well founded
grievances, and that she has instructed me to hear and consider any
complaints that may be made, or desires that may be expressed to me as
Governor General. At the same time she has charged me to exercise
all the powers and authority with v/hich she has entrusted me in the
su'^port of order and the suppression of unlawful distuibances."
Then again i
" And I do lastly inform you, that in case of your immediate and
peaceable obedience and dispersion, I shall order that no legal proceed-
ings be taken against any parties implicated in these unfortunate
breaches of the law."
On the day following, namoly, December 7th, 1869, the
Secretary of State wrote to Mr. Macdougall a letter, from
which I take two extracts:
" fou will now be in a position in your communications with the
residents of the North- West to assure them (1) that all their ciril and
religious libertic? ami privileges will be sacredly respected; (2) That
all their properties, rights and equities of f very kind, as enjoyed under
the government of the Hudson'u Bay Company, will be continaed to
them; (3) That in granting titles to land now occupiel by the set-
tlers, the most liberal policy will be pursued."
Again :
" (8) That the present Government is to be considered as merely
provisional and temporary, and that the Government of Canada will be
prepared to submit a measure to Parliament, granting a liberal consti-
tation as soon as 70U, as Govern jr, and your Council have had an
opportunity of reporting fully on the wants and requirements of the
territory."
A question arose at this time as to whether the Imperial
i
\i
11
inprland and at
ive, vith copies
will convey to
asi!3S(d of ample
yaliy and alfec-
fnjoy represen-
issed through a
some political
lited States the
vea when they
late and, in the
•wer and free
i fair to assume
1 free countries
this you may
sil will gladly
r entire appro-
ubjects in that
erosta on this
red to in tho
3tB, contains
trill be always
I well founded
1 consider any
eased to me as
me to exercise
ited me in the
aces."
nmediate and
egal proceed-
unfortunate
I, 1869, the
etter, from
>ns with the
>ir ciTil and
(2) That
ajoyed under
ooD tinned to
by the Bet-
as merely
nada will be
eral consti-
ave had an
nts of the
Imperial
Government Hh(;uld pay over to tho IIudson'H Bay Company
the purchase money which had been placed at thoir dis-
position to bo paid over upon tho transfer by the Canadian
rarliainoni, Iho sum of £300,000 sterling; and in consider-
ing that quoHtioti and in I'osponso to tho letter of the home
authorities upon tho subject, and a committee of tho Privy
Council on December 16th, 18G9, made a report which was
approved and transmitted to the Colonial Secr^ tary, and
which is signed by the right hon. gentleman (Sir John A.
Macdonald). From it J will read some extracts :
"That there would be an armed reai3tance by the inhabitants to the
transfer was, it is to be presumed, unexpected by all parties; it cer-
tainly was so by the Dominion GoTernraent. In this regard the com-
pany cannot be acquitted of all blame. They had an old and fully
organiaed government in the country, to which the people appeared to
render ready obedieuce. Their Governor was advised by the Council,
in which some of the leading residents had sears. They had every
means of information as to the state of feeling existing in the country.
They knew, or ought to have known, the light in which the proposed
negotiations were viewed by the people under their rule. If they were
aware of the feeling of discontent, they ought frankly to have stated it
to the Imperial and Canadian Governments. If they were ignorant of
the discontent, the responsibility of such wilful blindness on the part
of their officers must rest upon them. For more than a year these
negotiatio..B have been actively proceeded with, and it was the duty of
the company to have prepared the people under its rule for the change
— to have explained the precautions taken to protect the interest of the
inhabitant?, and thus have removed any misapprehensions that may
have existed amongst them. It appears that no steps of any kind ia
that direction were taken. The people have been led to suppose that
they have been sold to Canada with an utter disregard of their rights
and position. When Governor McTavish visited Canada in June last
he was in communication with the Canadian Government, and he
never intimated that he bad even a suspicion of discontent existing,
nor did he make any suggestions as to the best mode of effecting the
proposed change with the assent of the inhabitants."
Again :
" Anv haaty attempt by the Canadian Government to force their rule
upon the insurgents would probably result in armed resistance and
bloodBhed. Every other course should be tried before resort is had to
force. If life were once lost in an encounter between a Canadian force
and the inhabitants, the seeds of hostility to Canada and Canadian rule
would be sown, and might create an ineradicable hatred to the union
of the countries, and thus mar the future prosperity of British America.
If anything like hostility should commence, the temptation to the wild
Indian tribes an I to the restless adventurers who abound in the United
States (many of them with military experience gained in the late civil
war) to join the insurgents would be almost irresistible. Already it is
said that the Fenian organisations look upon this rising as another
means of exhibiting their nutred to England. No one can f>resee ♦he
end of the complications that might thus be occasioned, not only as
between Canaia and the North- West, but between the United States
and England, from a sincere conviction of the gravity of the situation
and not from any desire to repudiate or postpone the performance of
any of their engagements, the Canadian Government nave urged a
temporary delay ot the transfer. This is not a question of money — it
may be one of civil war. It is one in which the present and future
prosperity of the British possessions in North America is involved,
which prosperity haaty action might permanently prejudice."
12
Again :
"The Committee would also rrqueat your Excellency to asgure Lord
Granville that the Government nave taken and are taking active mea-
sures to bring about a happier state of affairs.
" They have sent on a njisaion of peace to the French half-breeda
DOW in arms, the Very Reverend Mr. Thibault, Vicar General (who
has labored among them as a clergyman for thirty-nine years), accom-
panied by Colonel De Salaberry, a gentleman well acquainted with the
country and with the manners and feeling of the inhabitants. These
gentlemen are fully informed of thebeneficenlintentions of the Canadian
Government, and can di?abusH the minds of the people of the misrepre-
Bentations made by designing foreigners."
"(Signed) JOHM A. MAODONALD."
On tho nth of December the Government at Ottawa issued
a commission to the Hon. Donald A. Smith, who was well
known to and familiar with the country and its people, in his
capacity as a resident of nui'iy years, and as occupying a
responsible pOHition in tho Hudson's Bay Company. In that
commission it was naid :
" And whereas it is expedient ythat enquiry should be had into the
causes and extent of such obstruction, opposition and discontentment
aforesaid, * * * nnd also to enquire into the causes and discontent
and dissatisfaction alleged to exist in respect to the proposed union of
the said North-West Territories with the Dominion of Canada; and
further to explain to the inhabitants of the said country the principle
on which the Government of Canada intends to administer the govern-
ment of the country, according to such instructions as may be given to
you by our Governor in Council in this behalf; and to take steps to
remove any misapprehension which may exist in respect totLe mode of
government of ihe same, and to report to our Governor General the
result of such enquiries, and on the best mode of quieting and removing
Buch discontent aiid dissatisfaction ; and also to report on the most pro-
per and fitting mode for effecting the speedy transfer of the government
and the country from the authority of the Hudson's Bay Company to the
Oovernment of Canada, with the assent of the inhabitants."
We passed the Manitoba Act during that Session, and that
Act declares in its 31st clause :
" And whereas it is expedient towards the extinguishment of the
Indian titles to the land in the Province, to appropriate a portion of
■neb ungranted lands to the extent of 1,400,000 acres thereof, for the
benefit of the families of the half-breed residents, it ia hereby enacted
that, under regulations to be from time to time made by the Governor
General in Council, the Lieutenant Governor shall select such lota or
tracts in such parts of the Province as he may deem expedient, to the
extent aforesaid, and divide the same amoafj^ the children of the half-
breed heads of families reaiding in the Province at the time of the said
transfer to Canada, and the aame shall be granted to the said children
reapectively, in such mode and on such conditions as to settlement and
otherwise as the Governor General ic Council may from time to time
determine."
The 32nd section dealt with the settlers' titles. The Hudson
Bay freehold grants were lurned into freehold grants from
the Grown ; the Hudson Bay grants, less than freehold, were
turned into freehold grants from the Crown ; titles by occu-
fancy with license of Hudson's Bay Company, when the
ndian titles were eztingaisbed, were turned into freehold
13
to aasure Lord
ng active mea-
ich half-breeda
General (who
years), accom-
linted with the
litants. These
•f the Canadian
the misrepre-
DONALD."
ttawa issued
10 was well
•eople, in his
occupying a
my. In that
had into the
iecontentment
nd discontent
osed union of
Canada; and
the principle
r the govern-
y be given to
take steps to
tte mode of
General the
md removing
the most pro-
> government
mpany to the
3, and that
lent of the
a portion of
•eof, for the
eby enacted
»e Governor
uch lots or
lient, to the
of the half>
of the said
tid children
lement and
ime to time
le Hudson
»nts from
old, were
1 by occu-
^hen the
freehold
grantb fiotn tho (!iown ; those who wore in peacoabio posses-
sion of landH, in which the Indian title was not oxtinj^uiwhed,
were declared to buvo a preeii)])tivo nghi, at a j'rice to be
fixed by the G-ovoriior in Council ; and the hay and common
rights were to be recoi^nieed, ami ii wa^* declared that they
should be commuted by grants in tee simple. VV>ith the v ew
of carrying out the arrangementH of the Manitoba Act as
tohali-bieed grants, on the 29th of July, 1870, tho late Sir
George E. Jurtier recoiamended to Council the appointment
of Lieutenant Governor Archibald as administrator of Mani-
toba Crown lands :
" And that he be required to report when called upon, on the regula-
lations to be made under the Manitoba Act for the selection and divi-
sion of the grant among the children of the half-breed heads of families
residing in Manitoba at the time of the transfer to Canada, together
with the mode and conditions as to settlement and otherwise which he
may consider desirable to embody in such regulations."
There was an Order in Council made on the 2nd of August,
1870, based on that recommendation, and on the 4th of
August the Secretary of State, pursuant to that order, wrote
to Li<.uionant Governor Archibald, communicaiing the
Order and t-aying :
" I have to request that you will have the goodness at your earliest
convenience to report the regulations, etc., etc., in terms of the above
Order in Uouncil."
Details were required, in order lo tho Lieutenant Governor's
carryinj< out this provision, and on the 4th of August^ lo70,
a letter Irom the Secretary of State was sent to Lieutenant
Govenor Archibald, conveying him his instructions, also
the 9th paragraph being as follows : —
"In order to enable you to select, under the provisions of the 31st
section of the Act, and under the regulations to be, from time to time,
made by the Governor General in Council, such lots or tracts from
among the ungranted lands in such parts of the Province of Manitoba
as vou may deem expedient, to the extent mentioned in the said section,
ana divide the same among the children of the half-breed heads of fami-
lies residing in the Province at the time of the transfer of the same to
Canada — you will cause an enumeration to be made of the half-breed
beads of families residing in the said Province at the time of such trans-
fer, and of their children respectively."
On the Ist of October, 1870, the Lieatenant Governor,
parenant to those instructions, divided the Province for
enameration purposes, and appointed the enumerators; and
in the same month issued the instructions and forms to the
enumerators. Those instructiDns included the direction to
count anyone whose dwelling house or place of residence
was within the Province at the time of the transfer, though,
at the time he might have been, or may now be temporarily
absent, and the enumeration so far was proceeded with at a
comparatively early date, although, of course, it turned oat
afterwards to be defective, by reason of certain persons not
14
having been in the Province at the time, and evidence not
having been brought forward by them at the tinae of
the general enunaeration. In the following Session there
was brought down also a letter from Flon. Donald A. Smith,
in the capacity of chief olficer, 1 presume, of the Hudson's
Bay Company, addressed to the Lieutenant xovernor, as to
the District of Sunkatchowan. The letter was written at
Fort Garry, and dated 9th September, 1870. In that letter
he says :
" For several years past outraKeg have been of frequent occurrence
there, with which the authorities have been powerless effectually to
deal ; and such are at present the latent elements of disorder that it is
impossible to predict how long a general outburst may be delayed, similar
possibly in many respects to that of recent occurrence in this place."
And he cites a number of instances. First, a murder on
Christmasi, 18(!6 ; second, liquor riots and orgies; third,
encounters between Assiniboines, Crees and Blackfoet,
annually' becoming more perplexing to the Hudson's Bay
Company's people ; fourth, the existence of a settlement of
French half breeds at a place named St. Albert, a collision
between the inhabitants of which and the Indians had
already occurred, while a repetition of such events was much
to bo dreaded ; fifth, the Hudson's Bay Company's people
were not likely to be able to live long at peace with
the Indians, ami ho mentions that in 1867, Fort Pitt was
forcibly entered by iOO Blackfeet, who pillaged the fort and
afterwards the trains of supplies of '.he fort hunters ; sixth,
shortly after a Blackfoot severel}' wounded a clerk at
Carlton by a gun shot; seventh, in the spring of 1870 an
encounter took place between the Blackfeet and the Crees
involving serious danyer to the Company's Factor Chribtie at
Edmonton ; eighth, in the spring of 1870 W= B. Traill, a olerk
at Fort Pitt was savagely assaulted by a half-breed servant,
and hit on the head with a hatchet; ninth, advances are a
necessary of life to the half-breeds, whose improvidence obliges
them to live during ihe winter on the prospective summer's
profits ; and the ref uhal to make these advances would expose
the company's stores to certain pillage ; tenth, a generally
mutinous conduct throughout the settlement. He adds:
"The miners, the missionaries and others who have founded isolated
settlements on the Saskatchewan live in the midst of personal dangers
far more serious than those which menace the lives of the Company's
servants at their posts."
Acd he requests a force of fifty men at once at Ed monton
and a like force next spring at Ctirlton to meet the press-
ing difficulties of the case. Now, Sir, these papers, as I
have said, sufficiently indicate the oharactei of the infor-
mation which the Government thought it its duty to bring
down, and which was supplied to Parliament at that time ;
16
evidence not
the time of
Session there
aid A. Smith,
the HudHon's
vernor, as to
IS written at
In that letter
Bnt occurrence
1 effectualljr to
rder that it is
lelayed, similar
this place."
murder on
^ies ; third,
i Biackfoot,
udson's Bay
ettlement of
t, a collision
Indians had
td was much
ny's people
peace with
ivt Pitt was
the fort and
^ers; sixth,
a clerk at
f of 1870 an
1 the Crees
r Chribtie at
•aill, a clerk
ed servant,
tnces are a
mce obliges
e summer's
3uld expose
V generally
.e adds :
ded isolated
>nal d augers
Company's
Ed monton
the press-
)er8, as I
the infor-
y to bring
^hat time ;
and thus, as I have indicated rather than related, in the end,
after the spillini^ of fsome blood, though a drop only in com-
parison with that which has been lately shed j after the
expenditure of much treasure, though a trifle only in com-
parinon with that of which we have now to face the expen.
diture ; after the running of great risks ; after the creation
of much IH-feeling; a small Province — because we must
remember what was then done was to create only the original
Province of Manitoba — was hastily formed, and a solution
of the pressing difficuliies was found, though the conse-
quences of the errors then committed have extended far
beyond the time of that solution. Wo bought. Sir, a very
dear experience, and with that experience we began our
course of governing the great territory of the North-West.
Since that time 15 years have elapsed, and we must ask
ourselves, how wo have used the experience that was
acquired, how we have fulfilled our mission, how we have
exercised our power ; and those questions are to be answered
soon. I Btale them only to-day ; I do not propose to attempt
to answer ihom to day, because my contention is that it is
the Govern meut's duty to furnirfh us authentic means for
answering. I state them today ; but even their statement
requires some exposition. As I have said, the actual terms
of settlement embraced only the area of a small Province ;
but beyond that small Province there wore vast regions,
dotted over here and there with Indian tribes, and hero and
there, though in very few quarters, with small settlements,
if one can call them so, of half-breeds or whites, with
a mission, or a Hudson Buy post. As the great settlement
of the North- West Territories in the east was on the Bed
and the Assiniboine rivers, so the great settlement, if you
may call it so, in the western part of those Territories was
on the mighty Saskatchewan river, and for the same cause.
At several points on the Saskatchewan there were very
eai-ly settlements. The land was very fertile, the river
was the great artery of the internal trade of the country,
limited though that trade was ; and it was also for the peo-
ple, during a large portion of the year, a chief means of com-
munication. Many years before 1870 the churches had
occupied the field. The Church of England, the Roman
Catholic church, and other churches, had established missions,
some in the very neighborhood of the focus of the present
disturbance, and there had been pioneers — some of mixed
blood, but very few — there for many years. The settlement
was then composed — besides Hudson Bay officials, where they
had posts, besides the missionaries — of haif-breeds — French,
Scotch and English, whom you might caU settlers, but who
were largely freighters and hunters, and some of
16
whom alrto farmed a little — and of some old HudHon
Bay omployen, and other pioneers from Ontario, (Que-
bec and elsewhere. To that settlement had nat-
urally extended under its circumstance.'* the same
system of occupying the river fronts which had obtained in
the Province ot Manitoba. It had not originated there ;
lor Canadian purposes, at any rate, we may say, it had
originated in the Province of Quebec, where that system
obtained from the very early settlement of the country, and
Drobably for obvious reasons — for the reason that protec-
tion from Indian attacks, society and good neighborhood,
the facility of communication by the great river which was
the chief means of communication, the facility ^f obtaining
what they wanted and going where they wanted, were
largely served, by the people living tolerably close
together on the edge of the stream ; and so you found
a system of narrow frontages on the river, and the
fariQH extending a long way back. Both from habit and
cus+'^m, as well as from reason, those plans of action were
adopted in the North -West; and there may be found another
reason, for this system gave the advantage of river flats,
with meadow lands belonging to them, and a variety to the
farm which would be important to the comfort and prosper-
ity of the settlers. Now, the solution which was
reached lor the Province of Manitoba itself, on any
points in which the condition of things was
similar in substance would, in equity and in the natural
expectations of the people, apply to the territories beyond.
If there were just the same class of persons similarly cir-
cumstanced as to race, as to claim, as to situation, and as to
occupancy, outside of the bounds of Manitoba, as those
within that Province, it was not unnatural to say that they
should expect similar treatment ; and it was not annatural
to suppose that what was just for the one would be just for
the other. Under these circumstances, with reference to
the extinguishment of the Indian title of the half-breeds,
with reference to the rights of occupancy and settlement,
with reference to the river front question, and with refer-
ence to the question of surveys — upon the jealousy and sus-
picion attending which I have already indicated the strong
view of that class of the population in the early days— on
all these questions, I say, we had had experience which should
have been profitable to us, and we had established precedents
which were calculated at once to raise expectations and to
furnish a method of settling difficulties. Of this vast terri-
tory to which I have referred, we have for 15 years now
had the control ; there is no Hudson Bay Company gov-
ernment to blame now ; we must bear our own burden, a.nd
al
el
17
old Hudson
)ntario, Que-
Dt had nat-
*• tlie same
d obtained in
nated there ;
' eay, it had
that system
country, and
that protec-
eighborhood,
ar which was
'^f obtaining
'anted, were
•rably close
3 you found
er, and the
n habit and
action were
»und another
river flats,
ariety to the
and prosper-
tvhich was
pif, on any
pings was
he natural
■ies beyond,
milarly cir-
n, and as to
a, as those
that they
unnatural
be just for
eference to
alf-breeds,
lettlement,
Writh refer-
y and 8U8-
the strong
days— on
ich should
)recedent8
ns and to
vast terri-
^ears now
)any gov-
i^en, a.Qd
the control wo have had has boon that of a paternal
or autocratic Government working from Ottawa,
and no doubt with largo, I may almost say with
unlimited powers ; for whatever powers it felt in want of,
it asked from this Parliament, and whatever powers it
asked from this Parliament, this Parliament unflinchingly,
and at once, granted to it. This being so, Sir, having so
entered into possession and control, and having for 15 years
so ruled that country, how stands the case to-day ? What has
been and what is the condition of affairs ? We know how the
case has stood since the middle of the month of March. We
know that the condition which I suggested hypothetioally
awhilo ago has been the actual state of things ; we know
that the public peace has boon broken, that the public order
has been violated, that the public authority has been
defied, and that insurrection has raised its head in that
country. We know that 5,000 Canadians have been put in
battle array by the Government, with the willing support of
the Parliament and the people of the country ; wo know
that bloody engagements have boon fought; we know
that the lives of some of the best and bravest of
our sons have been lost ; we know that many
of those best and bravest have been wounded j
we know that some have died, and that many more, in the
natural course of events, will suffer permanently from the
hardships incidental to war, those hardships which are its
chief scourge, which furnish the chief loss in war, a loss
far greater than that which is to be traced on the field of
battle. We know that those hardships and those difficulties
and those infirmities, so produced, have boon borne uncom-
plainingly; and we must remember that though they
do not give the honor of a wound, they strike as severely
and as hard as any wound can strike. We know
that the families and the friends of those volunteers have
suffered, not only in feeling bat in comfort; wo know
that tho pittance they are paid in many cases does not
support them, and that the public of various localities
has been obliged to come forward in order to keep the wolf
of hunger from the door of the wives and children of those
who are fighting our battles in the North- West. Now, Sir,
in the course of these transactions, our troops have done
nobly. It is not, porhaps, now tiie time, we have not
now the opportunity, the information, to enable us, if
we were capable of doing so, to criticise the military
conduct of the campaign ; but we have quite sufficient infor-
mation, from the unvarying testimony which reaches us from
even quarter, to say so much. We know that in endurance,
in the character and rapidity of their marches, in pluck, in
2
18
dash, in steady coarage, in military aptitude, those whom we
have sent into the field have surpassed even our glowing
expectations, and as they are the flower, from a military
point of view, of the Canadian people, they are a flower of
which, though it be tinged with a bloody hue we may not
like, we have a right to be proud. And let us be Just to
their foes. They, too, wrong, deeply wrong, in what thoy
did, misled, misguided, unhappy men — they, too, fought
with skill, with bravery, and with determination. It
would be doing less than justice to our own forces to say
less than that, because the character of their deeds depends
largely upon the determination, and the force, and the skill,
and the power of those with whom they had to contend.
They fought desperately, and they, too, have bled and
died in numbers. This is not all. Besides horrid war,
there has been more horrid murder. The savage Indian
kas donned his war paint and opened up his career of
slaughter, of rape and pillage ; and age, nor sex, nor sacred
office, nor faithful friendship has availed to prevent the
outrages which he calls war. Horrors have occurred
which make the blood run cold, and which the tongue
almost refuses to portray ; and against these, too, our people,
both those who were called by their avocation to resist and
those who stood forward at the moment as volunteers, have
done nobly. The casualties in these combats, considering
the number engaged, have been very great. The deaths,
from wounds in battle or from assassination, seem,
by the accounts I have seen in the papers, to be on the side
of the loyal forces and the people, 66 or more, and the
wounded on the same side number 119; and the deaths on
the side of the insurgents, at and near BatouchOj are said to
be 68 or more, and the wounded to be 191, and other deaths
there were on that side earlier. Besides this, it is stated
that 105 Indians graves were counted after the attack upon
the camp of Poundmaker. We have no information as to
the numbers wounded on that side upon that occasion.
Assuming that a proportion much less than the usual pro-
portion of deaths to wounds occurred there, it seems the
lamentable probability that there have on the whole been
aboat 260 deaths and 400 wounded, representing, so far, this
phase of the transactions in the North- West during the last
two months. I have said that the casualties on the part of
the loyal forces are extraordinary in proportion to the
numbers. They exceed those recorded of some great historic
combats. Instances will occur to every one, but one case
came under my notice within a day or +.wo with which I
had noc been before familiar ; I refer to the great battle of
Isly which was fougi t in Algiers, about forty years ago by
coi
att
or
ult^
i en(
l0B(|
haT
Cai
f
19
loae whom we
I our glowing
tn a military
re a flower of
we may not
>8 be jost to
in what thoy
I too, fought
lination. It
forces to say
9eds depends
and the skill,
I to contend,
ve bled and
horrid war,
avage Indian
is career of
K, nor sacred
prevent the
ve occurred
the tongue
), our people,
resist and
nteers, have
considering
rhe deaths,
tion, seem,
1 on the side
re, and the
deaths on
j are said to
)ther deaths
t is stated
ittack upon
tion as to
t occasion,
usual pro-
seems the
vhole been
80 far, this
ng the last
the part of
ion to the
Bat historic
t one case
th which I
t battle of
trs ago by
Marshal Bugeaud, against the forces of the Moors, against the
Bmpire of Morocco. The French troops in that fight, num-.
bered 6,500 foot and 1,600 horse, while the Moors mustered
about 50,000 horse and a small body of foot. An obstinate
combat took place which lasted several hours. Bepeated
attacks were made upon the small boJies, sometimes more
or less detached, of the French forcets. The French forces
ultimately obtaiued a decisive vicory, remaining on the
enemy's ground with a lose in all of 27 killed and 96 wounded,
losses which compare most favorably with those which
have occurred on the side of the troops of the people of
Canada, who have been fighting the battle of Canada in the
North- West. I have said that we rejoice over our soldiers'
valor ; it is perhaps the one fruit and gain from all this loss
and woe. ^ut still while we rejoice, wo rejoice, I, at any
rate, rejoice with chastened and sober feelings, when I
reflect that these are conflicts fought on Canadian soil,
that they are conflicts fought »jdtween Canadian citizens
and subjocts, in part with our fellow citizens, in part with
our Indian wards, and that the blood shed on both sides is
the blood of the commonwealth of Canada. Surely, in the
state of circumstances I have depicted, there can be no
question more urgent, no question more important than that
which I have suggested as the duty of the Government to
state and the duty of this House to consider and resolve,
how can these things bo in Canada? How can these things
be in free, self-governing, peaceful, law-abiding Canada ?
But great as were the perils and toils of the soldier, and
deep as is the sympathy of the people which flows out to
him, and to those dear to him ; yet his fate is in the lino he
has chosen, in the path allotted and undertak- n duty. But
the perils and the hai'dships have not been confined
to the soldier ; far from it. The perils and the hardships
have extended far beyond ; they have extended to the
peaceful settler who has gone forth with wife and chil-
dren to make a home in the wilderness, to the pioneer
who undertook long and wearisome journeys, who en-
countered isolation and privation, but who looked
for safety and security in every corner of our country.
He too and those near to him have suflfered j he, too, and
those near to him, so far as our information goes, have
done well in the great emergencies to which they were ex-
posed. The lives of some have been lost, and, generally,
over a wide area, terror, desolation, destruction, privation
have prevailed, and of course, over a very much wider area
still, anxiety and suspense. Smiling homes have been
destroyed, and the labor of years has been swept away in a
week, and over a vast district, all the vaster because of the
V O
\^
V>t4-
?-^ATCH^
20
vaguonoHH of information in that country, tho ominous
cloud of an Indian war haw nproad. Now lot me road you
from a local paper, the linttleford Herald of tho 2.'}rd of
Api-il, tho a(^count which iv givoH of tho condition of things
in itH imraodiato locality :
" One short month ago, the fairest field in Canada wa') the Saskatciie-
wan country; to-day it ia the most desoiato. And brightest and most
prosperous in all her settlements ivaa the Battle River Valley, whose
sons hailed the opening of soring with joy and thankfulness, rejoicing
in the prospects of the coming year, impatient to begin the labors that
were to bring them their reward. But in one brief day their hopes were
blasted ; instead of being the masters of peaceful and happy homes,
they were ut one blow bereft of everything but manhood; reduced from
B condition of plenty to one of absolute penury, houHeless, homeless and
penniless. Bloud stuins the soil, and tlie air is thick with the smoke of
desolation. Nearly a score of our citizens have been slain without a
moment's warning, by ingrates whose interests they guarded as carefully
as they did their own, and whoso hands were daily open in charity to
the men they looked upon as unfortunate and to be pitied. In the town
Itself, or that part of it lyinjj fouth of Battle River, there is only enough
left to remind the sufferers ot their once comfortable homes, and to recall
the fact that many things of peculiar value are irretrievably lost and
can never be replaced. Their crime was that they were whites : the
penalty imposed was death. Of all the fair farms that covered the land,
but few remain. Some of these lie under the guns of the fort, while
others are held by men in alliance with the Indians ; for on no other
ground can their owners hope for exemption from the universal
ruin. With the exception of these, there is not a home that has not been
raided, scarcely a house that has not been burned. It has always beea
the boast of this diatiict that, taking their numbers all through, their
horses and cattle were better bred than in any other district on the
Saskatchewan ; the people were generally well-off, and made improved
stock a specialty in their system of farming ; but to-day they are not
owners or a hoofi They are afoot and the marauders mounted ; their
dairies are bare, while their herds are being ruthlessly slaughtered by
the thieves. The work ot extermination has begun, evidently without a
thought for the morrow."
Nor, while that is tho condition of things with reference to
the settler in the disturbed districts, or those districts which
have been the centres of disturbance in throe or four points
in the North- West, are we to suppose that those who have
risen against their countrymen had not, many of thoTi too,
a stake to lose, or suflferings for wife and children, hearth
and home, to endure. Let us be just again. Let me
read you the correspondence of the Mail newspaper of last
month in regard to a scouting party alter the battle of
Fish Creek. The correspondent says :
" General Middleton, with Lord Melgund, Boulton's cavalry and
Captain French's scouts, left at 9 o'clock sharp to-day, on a recon-
noitering expedition down the river. The force was about 80 strong, all
mountea There are two trails down the east bank of the Saskatchewan,
one a mile or bo distant from the river, which runs through a
succession of bluffs and openings; the other nearer the River bank,
which, until Gabriel's Crossing is reached, is almost entirely through
open plains. We went down the first mentioned trail, returning by the
other. The land is of excellent quality, dotted here and there with well
built log houses of Metis, near which, in every instance, ia land broken
21
, tlio ominous
ot me road you
)f the 23rd of
iition of things
'as the Saakutciie-
right«'8t and moat
fer Valley, whose
fiilnesg, rejoicing
in the labors that
■ their hopes were
i(J happy homes,
id ; reduced from
Bfls, homeless and
Pith the smoite of
I slain without a
irded as carefully
pen in charity to
ed. In the town
•e is only enough
aeg.and to recall
•ievably lost and
I'ere whites: the
overfed the land,
the fort, while
for on no other
1 the universal
bat has not been
has always been
through, their
district on the
made improved
lay they are not
mounted; their
slaughtered by
ently without a
reference to
itricts which
r four points
se who have
of lhe*n too,
dren, hearth
Q. Let me
aper of last
he battle of
cavalry and
, on a recon-
,80 strong, all
iaskatchewan,
s through a
River bank,
;irelj through
urning by the
ere with well
land broken
and almost ready for the seed it will not receive this spring, averaging
from two til twenty or thirty of forty aoieg. These homes, however,
were lonely ami deserted, and with what haste their occupants lied, the
disordered state of the contents only too plainly told. In nearly all,
only sufli household goods as could not bo easily carried off were left.
One house almost represented all. Astove, table, chairn, in some oven
these latter were taken, a bedstead, a mattress, but no blankets. In
some, those marer the pcone of that fatal Friday's fi^ht, only a few
articles were missing. In one place, llie table utensils were neatly
left in ilii' cuplioard. In anotlier, seed wiient half filled tko one room,
which usually is the sleeping, dining and jiarlor of the household. A
cat, mewing plaintively, liadbeen left behind in another wlien the family
fled in their haste. At several, hens and their broods of chickens were
fouL'd, some of the houses were locked, others left with their doors wide
0|)en, some people tarried to board up the windows, otiiers to crossbar them
as a gaol-window is barred. A few had neatly packed in boxes what
they could not take with them, but nearly all showed evidence of a
very hurried removal. From each house came the trails of the cartH or
waggons in which the hegira had been made. All was still, lonely,
deserted, but on every hand were to be seen signs of thrift and industry,
and even of prosperity. There was an air of comfort and solidity about
these places which compared more than favorably with the homes of
their compatriots, or even of the average white settler, of Manitoba.
Each place was snugly, warmly built ; eacli faim had its byre, each its
storehouse, while some had separate, mud-covered, tent-shaped ovens.
Two or three had been enlarging the size of their houses, others had
not wasted the winter, as the huge piles of fence-raila and sharpened
pickets testified. To sum up their condition, I need only use the invol-
untary expression of one of the cavalry as we ride along : ' What fools
these people must be to leave such homes. ' Of course, there was no
elegant ease, but there was better : a good plain living without extraor-
dinary exertion. We bad not gone many miles when a lot of feathers,
the contents of a home-made bed, were found ; and near at hand the
interior ot a moss-bag, that useful contrivance in which the rising gen-
eration of the -Vorlh-West spends its earlier days. Both had been torn
to pieces to make bandages for those wounded in the Fish Creek attair.
At noon, we reached Gabriel Dumont's Crossing, although he does not
run It now, having sold out to a native Manitoban named Vandal, but
it still retains his name. About a mile this side of the place, the scouts
reported that five half-breeds had hastily left a houfe and, mounted on
their fleet ponies, galloped away Batoche-ward. Hy the time the scat-
tered little column was collected, the fleeing Metis were disappearing
from view. They apparently had seen our slow approach before we
noticed their hasiv departure. The vacated house was visited, and we
found that we had beeu ungentlemanly enough to disturb their mid-day
meal. A fire was burning briskly in the stove, on which the kettle
steamed. Some meat, which was at first thought to be horse-flesb, was
being cooked ; and on the table was a newly baked bannock. Outside
the door were discarded strips of old linen clotted with blood, bandages
to wrap the wounds of those engaged in the receuc fight."
i Then again :
" At the crossing there are several buildings, a double one being used
as the residence of the 'boss.' The facings of the windows and doors
are painted a bright blue, the only attempt at ornamentation we have
ye: come across. On the left is an open storehouse, and immediately
in front on the main entrance is a goodly sized store. In this latter,
much to our surprise, is a billiard table, with cues, chalk, pool balls,
and all the paraphernalia for rolling the ivories. Dumont's residence
was also entered. It was plainly, but for this country nicely furnished.
As in nearly all the other domiciles, a sewing machine occupied one
corner, and the walls were decorated with cheap colored prints, amongst
others vignettes of the Marquis of Lome and the Princess Louise. la
(
1
another house nearer the ferry were found lome letters ftddreMfld to
Oabriel Dumont, one being from Judith Boiln, llonttn*. There WM
Alio one from the Dominion Lands Office, Prince Albert, in reference to
Eatents, and another from a Saskatchewan firm threatenitift to sue
labriel if he did not at once par a long oTerdne account. Bo this self
saorificiDg patriot is no better on than thu rest of us, and even in his
lonely I'fe on the plains is as much subjected to duns as is the arsrage
Winnipeger."
Then again :
" The rcconnoisBance corroborated the prerious impreision we had
formcid that the rebels were oTerwbelmingly deteatod at Fish Creek,
and fled in utter demoralisation. All along the route there must have
been hurried flitting, and removal of women and children to safer
quarters.
'• The warriors took care of their own safety. Whether they have
gone to Batoche's or not, cannot, of course, be ascertainod, but
appearances indicate that they hare, and that there they will give us
battle if at all. In the meantime, as onv. passes through this desolate
but fertile land, iind sees tlic happy homes deserted, the nelda untouched,
the byres emi ty, he cannot escape experiencing a feeling of pain that
these misguided Metis have taken the suicidal course that they have ;
of sorrow that bO many circles should bu rudely broken up ; of regret
that such well cultivated farms should I'.e idle and unproductive; of
sympathising pity that these unfortunate men should be pluuged into
deep misery and poverty for the next year or two."
Now, Sir, all over the country, in the regionH of the dis-
turbance with Iho Indians, property haw been taken ; and if
you look at the amount of property tukon and destroyed,
and count in the year's labor almost lost by those settlers by
the want of opportunity to seed, you have a vast amount of
present and of potential loss in this regard. Contidence,
also, has been shaken. The charm of peace, the habit of
submission on the part of the Indian has ended, and our
relati' ) to him now from this time forth assumes a new and
more difficult phase. While tho half- breed riwing, as an
organised rising is over, the Indian war is not yet over.
Bow long it may last, we cannot state, and it may turn out
in the end that hunger, cold, and the want of ammuni*
tion may prove our best allies. With us ourselves, as
to bome parts of the North-Wost, and still more with those
abroad who do not know our magnificent distances, and who
cannot realise the fact that there are vast unsettled areas
in that country fit for cultivation and so far removed from
the scenes of disturbances as to render it utterly impossible
that they can be affected — I say with those abroad to whom
we may be looking for settlement, and who find it difficult, in
view of the smaller ranges of distance by which their vision
has been bounded in the past, to n alise that fact, our pros-
pects for immigration have been impaired, a blow to immi-
gration has been given which may have efltects enduring
for a considerable time, and may require us, to some extent,
to revise our plans for securing the rapid development of
the North- West. The North- West has thus been thrown
I
I
i
'^
pn addreiMd to
Ina. There wai
I, in reference to
leateninfi; to toe
It. 80 thia nlf
ftnd eTnn in bii
ii tbe arerage
brefsion we had
at Piflh Oreek,
Ihere must hare
Ihildren to safer
hether thev have
acertainod, but
ey will give us
h this desolate
elds untouched,
linpr of pain that
that they have ;
en up ; of regret
nproductive ; of
be pluuged into
)nH of tho dls-
taken ; and if
ind dostiojed,
OHO aottlors by
awt amount of
. Confidence,
), tho habit of
inded, and our
nort a new and
rining, as an
lot yet over,
may turn out
of ammuni-
ourselves, as
re with those
icen. and who
settled areas
omovod from
ly impossible
oad to whom
it difficult, in
1 iheir vision
ct, our pros-
low to immi-
Jts enduring
some extent,
7oIopment of
boon thrown
112
back at a time most critical for that country, for the
c:<inadian Pacitio Kail way, and for Canada at largo. Millions
of tho public treasury have been expended or engaged, and
as yet we are not in a position to criticise that expenditure.
Millions more, in tho nature of increased annual
(;hargo, are to be demanded for tho North- West,
and lo repair in part so far as it is reparable, the
damage done. And thus at the very moment when
wu are called on to abandon our goldun dreams of oarly and
lai'go roturns from Custom duties and from land sales, we
lind increased charge tho order of tho day, so that
both sides of tho national balance sheet will at the same
instant bo adversely ull'octod. That is not all, Sir. Canada's
good name among tho nation ■;, has sutVorod. The Govorn-
mont has boasted that wo know best of all how to deal with
th«) settlor ; that wo gave him superior advantages, and
gavo him great conbidoration, and had produced in him a
fooling ot content and satisfaction. The Governraont has
boastod that we know best of all poL)])lo how to manage the
Indian, and by justice, liberality, Hrmnoss, and wisdom, at
once to satisfy, improve, tame and develop him. Tho Gov-
ernmont has boustod that we treated the oarly exj)loror, the
pioncor, iho m;m of mixed blood, wisely, liberally, pru-
dently and paternally ; that ho had no ground for discontent;
that ho, too, was happy. Tho Government has proclaimed
that in tho groat North- West there wore no grievances —
nothintr but ))caco and prosperity, and what you would see
all through that wide extended country, was that " content
basking on the chook of toil." Several Ministers and several
high officers of tho Government, made their progresses
through that country a few months ago. All well ! was the
cry of these sentinels of Canada in tho discharge of their
duty there. The Minister of Public Works went up at the
desire of his chief, the loader of the Government, to spy out
tho grievances, if even his microscopic eye could discover
that any grievances were there. Ho called for tho griev-
ances, he sought for the grievances, he almost implored
the grievances ; and he summed up the results of those
his arduous labors in a ipooch in which he said that he had
mot two men who were discontented, and, if I rightly
remember, the ground of discontent which he gave was that
there were not enough ladies in the North- West. Some of as
thank God that there are no more there now. All well 1
said tho Minister. Now, what is the contrast to those
smooth spoeches ? What is the contrast to those flattering
tales ? 1 ask you, Sir, I ask tho House, I ask the country,
whether the contrast 1 showed you a moment ago, does
not demand an early explanation. The task of the Govern-
24
ment, Sir, was one of special responsibility, commensurate
with the vast power which they had claimed and obtained.
It has been well romnrked by a publicist of con-
siderable reputation, that while the parliamentary sys-
tem is the best for those who are represented, it
is the worst for Iho^o who are not represented.
That is a truth which, it cannot bo denied, added
largely to the responsibility of the Government, because
for a country having as its rule representative and parlia-
mentary institutions, to attempt to govern a part of its
home domain on paternal and autocratic principles, neces-
sarily added to the charge and the responsibilities of those
who undertook that tatk. And still more care is required
when it is the case that free institutions exist all around — in
the neighboring Province, in the country which governs,
in the neighboring States, in the continent at large —
in this continent, which, indeed, seems hardly to tolerate
any other form of rule. Still more, Sir, is that responsi-
bility increased when you are attempting so to govern men
who, besides finding the air of freedom blowing all around
them with the vast sweep and force of the wide continent
itself, have been accustomed, in their earlier lives, in the
Provinces from which they came themselves, to drink full
draughts of that vital air. And if you turn even to the
pioneer and to the half-breed, the need for care and the
consequent responsibility of the Government is not relaxed,
because they, too, had lived under an easy rein, they had
the power, if not the form, of freedom, they had order
almost without law, and but little sense of governmental
interference. They were a little like the hunter of the border
Western States who came one day to his cabin and said to his
wife : " Mary, we must move out ; we are getting crowded."
" Why," said she, " how is that ? " " Yes, we are getting
crowded; 1 heard the crack of a rifle to day." Aad such is the
intolerance of the crowded haunts of men and of nations, of
what are deemed happiness and comfort in what we call
civilised society, that those men living as they did on the vast
plains had a peculiar freedom which we cannot well appre-
ciate. Still further do we see the need for care in this special
case when we remember that, disquieted by the events of
1869-70, and not all recognising the new oMer of things,
many of these men receded before the eastern wave of civil-
isation and immigration, and departed to the plains to enjoy
Btill the rude freedom to which they had been accustomed.
But there was yet another element which added still further
to Xihe responsibility of the Administration — the Indian ques-
tion. The question of the Indian, the aboriginal inhabitant,
the untamed savage, resentful of his lost sovereignty, of his
25
I
appropriated lards, of his vanished pubsiptence, of his
shackled liberties, of the constraints imposed upon him, of
the dependence to which he is reduced — whose loyalty in the
nature of thingsraust bo largely duo to policy or fonr; whose
war is murder, whose tender meview are cruel ; the Indian
unaccustomed to labor and not yot resigned to starve— to
manage him demands care and vigilance, indeed, and adds to
the responsibility of those who undertake the task. When to
all this you add a policy of settlement widely extended,
sparse, isolated, defenceless, bringing the Indian and the
settler at once into close contact at many points, of course,
the responsibility is stil! further increased. There is yet
another element which added to the responsibilities of
Ministers, and it was that the work of government was to
be performed from a veiy great distance. It was to be per-
formed from this point, by letters, by agents, by officers,
and by clerks. And they had therefore, knowing what is
likely to happen under such circumstances, to take precau-
tions against, and by their own vigilance and energy to over-
come, the evils of officialism, of red tape, of carelessness, of
procrastination, of favoritism and of fraud, which all are apt
to encrust a departmental and routine system. I say, then,
that these conditions required, aye imperatively demanded,
from the Government a high degree of energy, of vigilance,
of tact, of promptness in arriving at decisions and reaching
conclusions, and seeing that these were acted upon with
respect to the North- West Territories. However, the Govern-
ment had some advantages, and considerable advantages.
They had, as 1 have said, the dearly bought exnerience of
1869. They had learned from that something of the feelings
of the people, something of the jealousies existing among
them, something of their suspicions, something of their
customs. They had the advantage of the settlement made
in 1870 for the Province of Manitoba and its application to
the North- West Territories. They had all the money they
chose to ask, and all the officers they chose to name, and
they had plenty of time, years upon years of time, before
the questions, even after they were raised, assumed the
form of extreme urgency. They had also the advantage
of utilising the link between the white men and the
Indians — the half-breed. I know that in some cases there
has been some jealousy between the half-breeds and the
Indians, but those most experienced in the relations, the
more recent relations of the half-breeds and the Indians in
the North- West, have, from their places in this House, not
infrequently stated that such is not the rule. I recollect
the hon. member for Provencher (Mr. Royal), more than
once stating in the strongest manner that there was an
26
assistance which was of the utmost consequence, and of which
he deeply regretted the Government did not sufficiently
avail themselves, namely, the half-breeds in relation to
the Government and in relation to the Indians through the
Government ; and I recollect his being answered by the
First Minister assentingly ; and of late years the course
has been to some extent adopted by the Government of
appointing half-breeds to such positions. I say they had that
advantage. They had also the advantage of the missionaries
with both ; and I believe if there was one thing more than
another which has helped us to keep the peace with
the Indians and the half breeds for bO long a time, it is the
good effect of the missions throughout the North- West from
very early years. Those wore great advantages they had.
As I have said, they had time pIso ; for at Prince
Albert, the neighborhood of which was the focus of these
disturbances, Hettlement increased at first but slowly. The
incoming tide roHo but gradually for Home years after the
transfer, and nothing was done early with the old settlers.
However, in 1878, if I remember rightly, a special survey
of a portion of the Prince Albert settlement was made. Mean-
time many of the halt-breeds had moved from Manitoba
to various points in the North- West Territory, and some to
the neighborhood of Prince Albert. Meantime, also there
had been the survey and location of the Canadian Pacific
Railway by the Yellow Head Pass, and that had stimulated
for a season the immigration to the banks of the Saskat-
chewan. Many people came in hoping to be along the line
of the projected railway, and the tide of immigration rose
for a season. All that was changed in later years, and the
change, of course, caused disappointment and difficulty.
But a large number in the meantime had
come many hundreds of miles in waggons, had
in to be the first, and as they hoped, to live
most progressive part of the country in consequence
of the great fertility of the lands and the great advantage
it had in many ways if it was to be considered as a railway
centre as well. Difficulties, as I have said, arose dur-
ing those years. Many questions were raised which one
after another, and many of them together, came forward
for solution, and those are the questions upon which it
seems to me the Government is bound, as I have repeatedly
stated this Session, to give to, and the House is bound to
insist on receiving the fullest information as to what was
represented, what was said, what was done during those
years in regard to those questions, so that we may judge
how it is, to whom it is due that those unhappy results
which I have depicted have at length arisen. There came
come in, had
come
in the
aence
tage
way
dur-
5h
27
many questions. The claims of the half-breeds of the terri-
tories to scrip for lands, and thus to be placed in the same
position as those of Manitoba in regard to the Indian title.
The claims of the Manitoba half-breeds, who were omitted
from the old enumeration and not provided for out of the
1,400,000 acres granted, of whom many moved to the
North-West Territories and have been residing there off
and on, some of them altogether and some temporanly
since. The half-breed question of surveys on river fronts. I
admit that is not exclusively a half-breed question ; but it is
largely a half-breed question, at all events, in so far as the
actual difficulties have arisen, because the first settlement
involved, in the view of the Government of that day, a
recognition of the same rule as had been applied in the Eod
Eiver aod the non-user of the general rectangular settle-
ment and the special settlement survey along the
river front. Then there are the half-breed settlements
generally and the surveys of those settlements, and
the adjustment of the claims of the half-breeds to
the land by virtue of occupation and settlement.
And there are the white settlors' claims of the same char-
acter. Then there are the claims with reference to coloni-
sation companies. The hon. Minister, when, a while ago, I
mentioned the question of colonisation companies, objected
to my doing so. He said that showed the spirit in which I
was speaking, and he asked what had that to do with the
question of the Metis. I am sorry to say that what it showed
was not the spirit in which 1 treated the question, in the
sense of the hon. gentleman, but how little the hon. gentle-
man knew of what the essentials of the question were;
because if he had regarded the memorials and repre-
sentations which had been made on that subject he would
have seen — I am not now judging of any of those claimb —
but he would have seen, as to the colonisation companies,
that the claim was made years ago by the people of this
very district, that there were grievances and injustice con-
nected with them ; and he would have known that, so far
from its having nothing to do with the Metis, it was inti-
mately connected, as it is intimately connected, with the diffi-
culties of the half-breeds as well as the white settlers. Then,
Sir, there was the question of the great, the enormous block
of railway reserves made early at the instance of the
Canadian Pacific Eailway Company, involving — I cannot
remember the exact number of acres — but I think some
16,000,000 or 17,000,000 acres of odd sections in that
northern district, which were reserved for them at an early
day, in order.that they might get a land grant out of it. Then,
Sir, there were claims for assistance — for mail accommoda
28
tion, claims for local improvomonts, claims for river
improvements. Then thoro was the Indian question, com-
plicatod by the questions I have alluded to, complicated by
settlement, complicated by the re>'ervations, complicated by
starvation ; and as to which there is a memorial sent in
November indicating the feeling of the people upon it. Then
there were questions of police protection, of the home guard,
and there was also the question of the militia and volunteer
corps — all points necessarily engaging the attention of the
(Tovernment, upon which they have taken action at different
times, action which as I have pointed out more than once
requires explanation, and in respect of which reports have
been received, as we are informed by the departmental
reports and otherwise. Then after all that, with reference
to all these questions, an event occurred in the month of
June last, which in a sense accentuated the vhole situation,
and added enormously to the responsibility of the Govern-
ment from that time forth. J allude to the coming of Louis
Riel into the settlement, and his remaining there from that
time forih. It is not necessary, Sir, for me to use language
of my own upon that subject, because we do not forget
the statement of the First Minister of the feelings of
those people towards Louis Riel, the influence he had over
them, and the things he was doing in the No'^thWest dur-
ing the summer and fall and winter of theyea^". I will not
now trouble the House by repeating what is to be found in
the reports of the Debates, by repeating the various pieces
of information which 1 have suggested as certain, as prob-
able, as due ; the reports from officers, the orders to the
Government officers, the reports from the North-West
Council, the petitions and memorials of the people, the
declarations and representations of important personages,
official and unofficial — I say I will not now weary the
House — though I have here a list of these papers, by
repeating that list in respect of which I desire to refer
to the Debates to the efforts we have made to elicit
this information from time to time. But I do say that
the statement of facts which I have given indicates in my
humble opinion, as a clear and inevitable conclusion, that
there is much to explain, much to discuss, much which can
be explained and discussed only on the production of the
documents and papers which are, or ought to be, in the
hands of the Government of the day. There was, Sir, an
enormous responsibility upon them, and also upon their
officers in that country, and it is due to those officers, as
between themselves and the Government of the day, it
in due to those important personages in the country, who
hold unofficial positions, that we should have their reports
29
and statementH and communications, which would throw
light on tho condition of things amongst the people,
on their state of feeling, and show the action recom-
mended to the Government from time to time. I say
it is due to those por.sone that we should see what they did
say, in order that wo may judge whether they did their
duty or not. It is due also from the Government to us, in
order that wo may see whether those demands were made by
the Government for information which the notorious facts
rendered it their duty to obtain. Now, for these papers
I have been pressing almost continuously for the last eight
W3eks. The hon. gentleman has brought down a few of
the less material papers, but the bulk of those papers he has
not brought down, and from day to day he has said that they
are being copied, that they are being prepared, that they
will be ready soon, that he will bring down those which
are not confidential, and bo forth and so forth. But 1 can-
not compliment him on his having given me or the House
a satisfactory answer, with reference to the papers he will
bring down and the time when they would be brought
down. The Session advances, and it is necessary that these
papers should be in our hands in order that we
may have the case of the Government, the case of their
officers, the case of the people in that country,
studied and examined wi th a view to pronouncing judg-
ment in the great cause which comes before us as the grand
inquest of the nation. I have said that the questions to
which I have referred demanded care, demanded vigilance,
demanded energy, tact, and liberality, from the Govern-
ment. They demanded promptness too. In these great
concerns of state we must not forget the rules which regu-
late ordinary affairs. Each man's individual concern is
dealt with and looked at by him with reference to those
rules, and it is proverbial that there should not be delay.
He that giveth quickly giveth twice ; justice delayed is
justice denied ; an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of
cure ; a stitch in time saves nine, are four homely proverbs ;
they excite the laughter of tho hon. gentleman, bat they
are the language of the people. They express the way the
people look at their concerns, and the way in which they
expect to be dealt with, whether by the Government or by
their own neighbor or friend or opponent. Now, the white
settlers as pioneers, and as disappointed pioneers by
reason of the change of the route of railway, were entitled to
consideration. The half-breeds as early colonisers and
as disappointed men, remembering the events of 1870, and
rememoering also that link of connection to which I have re-
ferred, which was so potent for good or evil, the
8JI
link between them and the Indian — they were also
entitled to be dealt with on the principles to which
I have referred. And, therefore, while I am not
saying — whatever I may think, whatever informa-
tion 1 have been able to accamalate from outside,
whatever conclusion that information leads me to, while I
am not to-day expressing it, while I am not saying to-day
that the Government has not done its duty, I do say that
their duty was such as I have described, and tlat we have a
right to the facts in order that we may judge ho\/ they have
done their duty. Since the Government took power, 1878,
1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883 and 1884 have passed, and what
has been done — that is the question ? In the last of these
years, as I have said, a very striking event — the invitation to
Louis Riel and his appearance, — took place, and what has
been done since that time ? Surely that sounded a warning
note. Surely it became then, even if it had not been before, the
most pressing and paramount duly of the Government with-
out delay, if there had been delay, to redress grievances if
grievances there were, to remove misconceptions if miscon-
ceptions existed, to attend to precautionary measures. Onco
again, what are the facts ? What was said ; what was
done ? What was done in the way of redress, in the way of
removing misconceptions, in the way of security ? The Gov-
ernment have, aa I have said, hosts of officers in that
country; what did they say or do from the Lieutenant
Governor down ? It has a council there, what did it
say or do ? It has unofficial but important helps, the
ministers of religion, the officials of the Hudson Bay
Company, all deeply interested in seeing that a sound policy
was pursued, and whose lives and property and dearest
interests were concerned in the keeping of the peace. What
did they say ? What did they do ? I have said I do not
attempt to answer these questions from my own informa-
tion ; I have some information, which, perhaps, I may sub-
mit to the House on another day, upon some other motion ;
but just now I have been trying to show the House, as I
hope I have succeeded, that there is a duty on the part of
the Government to inform ns, and to inform as fully and
very soon, so that we may judge between the people and
the Government, between the Government and its officers,
and decide the momentous questions which these issues
involve. I beg. Sir, to move the adjournment of the House.
Mr. BLAKE. In reply. Before my motion is put I desire to
say just one or two words with reference to the reply made by
the First Minister. The hon. gentleman, not for the first, or
second, or third time this Session, has addressed to us lan-
guage which is wholly unparliamentary, and which would
81
' »
I
of
Lnd
knd
Ws,
les
ise.
to
Iby
lor
beneath the dignity of his position, even if he were the
hnmblest member of thin lioase, and which is still more
beneath the dignity of his position as the leader of this Hoase.
I have not hitherto eit' ")r commented upon or retorted
upon the hon. gentleman when he has adopted this style of
argument ; but I think the time has arrived, or nearly arrived,
when forbearance ceaseg to be a virtue ; and when an hon.
gentleman, in his position, chooses persistently and continu-
ously to address such offensive language to an hon. member
opposed to him, it is time that an understanding should be
reached as to whether that method of conducting the busi-
ness of Parliament is to be continued. The hon. gentleman
said to-day : What care I whether there are people dead or
alive in the North-West ; and in several other parts of his
address he imputed to me the basest, meanest and most
unworthy motives for my course in this Houne. I shall
only say to-night, as to my views of the hon. gentleman's
oonduct, that I believe the hon. gentleman, intoxicated by
vanity and by the adulation of his followers, is forgetful of
his own dignity, and of the decencies of debate; and I warn
him that he will not be suffered unscathed to pursue an
unparliamentary course. With reference to the hon. gentle-
man's statement as to the reasons why he had delayed to
produce a portion of these papers, and the reasons why he
was not about to produce another portion of them, I have
just one or two observations to make. He says, of the delay
in the production of the papers which he says wil' be
brought down, that delay is excused in this matter, the
most important which has come before the Parliament thrs
Session, which has perhajis ever come before the Parlia-
ment of the country, on the ground that there is
a deficiency in the copying powers of the Department.
It is not necessary to do more than state that excuse to
demonstrate its utter absuidity and flimsiness. Are we to
be told by the First Minister, eight weeks after the demand
is made, that it is because be cannot find men enough to
copy the papers that we have not got them ? As to the
other class of papers, which he has not brought down and
says he will not bring down, because he says they are
papers, the production of which may imperil the lives and
interests of persons in the North-West, I have two observa-
tions to make. The first is this ; that no papers which
should show that the writers of them believed that the
half-breeds had grievances or in which they advised the
Government to remedy those grievances — no papers which
gave a fair and plain statement of the circumstances of the
case — could by any possibility, if published, injure or impair
the standing of those people in the community in which
32
Ihoy live. It is perfectly clear that those papers could but
Btrengthon them in the confidence of the people among
whom they live, instead of impairing it. The second
observation is this : that we found precisely the same diffi-
culty in the year 1869-70, and the way in which the Govern-
ment got over that difficulty on that occasion was not by
taking upon itself not to produce these papers, but by
bringing them down and striking a select committee,
composed of members on both sides of the House, who
should decide how much of those papers it would be in
the interest of the public and of individuals to publish.
At that moment Louis Hiel, as I said, was the president of
the de facto Government of the country ; he was exercising
a certain authority there, and we know how it was exercised,
and under those circumstances the Government brought the
papers down ; but, they said, we will appoint a select com-
mittee, which shall go over the papers, and shall expunge
such as, for the moment, cannot be published without
detriment to the interest of indi\ iduals there; and there was
an expurgation of certain names and an omission of a cer-
tain document which might, if produced, have had that
result. That is ihe precedent of the hon. gentleman himself^
set by himself, to deal with the very case he now says he
is going to meet without bringing down the documents,
In the third place, and it is the last observation I will make,
the hon. gentleman, in order to make out any case at all for
this argument of his, which I have proved to be no argu-
ment, affirmed that the half-breeds were still in insurrection,
and that there was still danger, and that they were
still and would be still inciting the Indian population
to warfare. That must strike us all with a painful
surprise, because we have observed, with feelings of gratifica-
tion, I am sure, that the General in command had freed
a large number of persons who came in, and told them to
return to their homes. If it be the case, as the hon. gentle-
man has stated, that the half-brecis are still organising, I
do not think that was a very prudent thing to do ; but I do
not think it is the case. I adhere to the statement with
which I opened my remarks ; I bel eve General Middleton
pursued a prudent course ; I believe there was no danger,
and in that, as in other respects, the hon. gentleman's
argument is wholly without foundation.
1
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