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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche i droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^'^ ^ n .■,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 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:'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 Printed by MoLiam, Roqbb h Go., Parliamentary Printers, Wellington Street, Ottowa. 195239