IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MTS) /y ^/ ^/. 5^ f/ ^ 1.0 ■50 "'■• IRHM ^ liJ l!H2.2 u liii 11.25 .s"*!^ 1.8 il III 1.6 sp. '// % ^ J^ ,v >>:> #^'^ d?-.N^ ^# Photographic Sciences Corporation ^ "^ \ <<:* <^ 'v *1^ ■V 4^ h 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y MSSO (716) 872-4503 .- t CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series, CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques I. ,- I « ©1981 Tschnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa techniques et bibiiographiques Tho institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographicaily unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked belcw. ^L Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ D Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurAe et/ou pelliculAe □ Cover title missing/ Leti titre de couverture manque loured maps/ Cartes giographiques er. couleur cured init (i.e. other than blue re de ccuieur (i.e. autre que bieue ou noire) I I Coloured maps/ □ Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Enc I — i Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reiiurc serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de !a distortion ie long de ^a marge int^rieure I — ]\/BlaMk leaves added during restoration may Lij appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration appriraissent dans Ie texte. mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas et6 film^es. D Additional comments:/ Commentaires s>jppl6mentaires; L'institut a microfilm^ Ie meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a itii possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvont exiger une modification dens la mAthode normale de filmage •ont indiqu6s ci-dessous. r~~1 Coloured pages/ D Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Panes ondommagies EJ ^ D This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ C» document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. 14X 18X 22X 10X I — I Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaiir6es et/ou peilicui^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d^colories, tachet6es ou piquets I I Pages detached/ Pages d^tachies Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Quality inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppl^mentaire □ Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscurec by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalament ou partieilement obscurcies par un feuiilet d'err<«ta, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 fiimdes & nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. 26X 30X ^ 12X 16X SOX 24X 28X 32X Ills difier jne lage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thank* to the generosity of: Library of the Public ^ Archives of Canada The images appearing here are the best quallelure. □ 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 mmm „.,.jpi sr^ speech: OF '■ lif,. MoN. M.R. pHAPLEAU, JA.P. ON THE EXECUTION OF LOUIS RIEL {FXOM TEE OFFICIAL DEBATES.) HOUSE OF COMMONS MARCH 2ith, 1886. OTTAWA : PRINTED BY MACLEAN, ROGER Si CO., WELLINGTON STREET. '986. ;'4 , ■ :* j SPEECH or HON. MR. CHAPLEAU, M.P., ON Till EXECUTION OF LOUIS KIEL. HOUSE OF COMMONS, MArtCH 2 1th, 1886. Mr. OHAPLKAU. Mr. Speaker: A nowHpapot* having announced last ev*t confoHsion of the great orirao of whioh I have been accueed during several months past, and I hope I nhall make it as plain, as complete, as full as posnible, wo as to «ui isfy t»olh friends and foes. I do not know, Mr. Speaker, whether I can do justice to this debate. I know it is, perhaps, out of pla(50 for roe to apolog'HO for not npoaking in tho lauguaj^o which is ray mother tongue; but every time 1 rise in this flouso, every time Ihave to express what I feel deeply and vividly in my heart, and have to oppress it in a laugungo which is not my own, I think it is necessary for me to apologise ; for the English language, tbat has taught tho world the great leshons of libertj*, does not give me that full freedom of expression which 1 would have in my <'Wn language. What a change a year can make in the ideas of men, in the feelings of men I What diffureLCes do wo remark when we look over the proceedings of last Session, C9 I did yesterday 1 Bead over Hansard and compare dates »' with this year. Tho 19th of ^faroh loat year, St. JoHoph'8 Day, tho day named after that groat saint, whoHO naino io synonymouH with t\dolily and loyalty, wtta ohoBon by Louis Riel for tho oatbroak of his rebellion in the North-WoHt. On tho 1 9th of March Louis Riol inaugurated hi* revolt, in acts, in h'^n official declaration, in his open opposition to both civil und spiritual power in the North-West. On the following days, tho rebellion wan in full blat-t, and the day after to^morrovir will be the anni* versary of ono of tho pad ovents of our history — the anni- versary of the Duck Lake fight — when eouie of our bravoHt soldiers, some of the good men of the North-West, fell tinder the bullets of traitors und rebels, led by Louis Biol, fell victims to the treachery of a criminal band, who, after destroying Government property, after ransacking and plundering the stores of industrious citizens, after naving seized and taken prisoners tho men who v^ere doing their duty under the laws of their country, in the ^orotection of tho Canadian and the British flag, had torn down the flag of Her Majesty and had begun that rebellion of which I hope wo will have to day the last recollection. I hope that the memories of men will not recollect it, after we have done our duty to-day and said that the country cannot countenance those who would like this House — representing tho interests, the desires, and the wishes of the people, — to say that that event was one which would be excusable and justifiable in the eyes of true Canadians. We all remember the feeling that pervaded this House when, on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of March, the news arri/ed that really a rebellion was existing in the North-West, and that the agitation which bad begun many months before had taken the form of an open revolt. We remember tho feeling thnt existed in this House. It is true that then, as since tho beginning of this Session, some gentlemen on th^ other bide, exercis- ing their rights as members of Parliament, hnd boon asking for information, hbd been clamoring for papers, but still the House went on with the performance of its duties until the day wo heard the sound of rebellion, and learned that the sons of Canada, at tho call of the Qovernment, had to go up and fight that revolt. Sir, when the news of the Duck Lake fight arrived, there \7a8 not one man to be found here who would not have said frankly and openly that those who had commenced that rebellion, those men who were ignoring the laws of the country and rebel> ling against them, were deserving the severest punish- ment of the law. ys^s/s' <2. o^ I romombor a fvw days Inter, when a novv>pap«r in Ontario had hud the audacity, ati it wua thon styled, to Hay that ray hon. friond sitting on yonr loft had been actuullv giving countenance to the rebellion, that ho bad been aiding the conspirators against the peace and integrity of the country, that the hon. members sitting on that side of the House wore accomplicos of those in the North- Wont who wore trying to take those large Territories away from thoir allegiance to our Sovereign, I remember what took pluno in tniH House. I remember Hooing the hon. loader of thoOppoHition ribing in his He;it, his features altered, trembling with emotion and saying, with tears in his voice, that there nevor was suon a slanderous insinuation cant wjon him and his party as to say that he and they might lo called accomplicos or even sym- pathisors with the rebellion in the North West. We all remombor the hon. member for West Durham Htating that he had a rotation whoso blood had alcoady stainod tho enow of the prairies, that be had a nephew whose life was in danger, that his son and his brother's son were ready to shoulder their muskots und go to tho Saskatchewan and fight against those who wanted to commit that attempt against the liberties of the empire, and the good name of the people of Canada. At that time wo res'pondod to the expression of those feelings ; and I romombor tho right hon. Premier in this House getting up in his seat and saying that whatever difforoncos of opinion thore might bo between him and hon. gentlemen opposite, he thought the article in ques- tion was an ill-advised one — that wo all hero in this House sympathised together in supporting the laws of our Dominion, and keeping in its integrity the fine country which wo are now administering to the glory of those who acquired it, and the glory of the Sovereign who rules over us. Who would have said then a word of justification of that criminal band that was beginning a rebellion on tho shores of the Saskatchewan ? Who would have thought, when tho hon. gentlemen who loft this Honee to take upon themselves the arduous and dangerous task of leading their men to the field of battle«-who would have thought when we were all shaking hands with them, — who would have thought when we said good-bye and farewell to the late lamented and regretted member for East Durham, whose name has been revered and cherished, and loved amongst us, since he lost his life in the de- fence of his country — who would have thought then that in this House, twelve months afterwards, we would have been asked to vote regret for the lawful execution of a-... the Icador of that robflllion ? Wh«n Colorol WilliauiR lofl us hero, Hhaking baiidH with uh, and tvUinf^ uh : *' Yea, fientlemon, I amgoin^, and I am proud and happy to p«r> orm my duty to my Qucon and couiury, proud to leave you whilst you are do\v^ your duty here," who would have said to him, " Oh, ycH, you are going there to rihk your life, but twelve monthH after thitt, from his seat in Parliament, a member will rise and pay : " I want to doolnio by my vote that Iho^o who killed you and your brotheiM do^orve the HympathicH of Canada, and that wo regret the'r pun- iahmonl I " Mr. Hpcakor, I regret the execution of the late rebel leader, Loimh iliel, because I cannot find in my heart a place for a feeling of pleasure or rejoicing at the ignomini« OQB death of a folloy? being. 1 regret the oxoculion of Louis 3,ie\ us I regret tho^e painful occasionH when a sacriiioe of human life has to be made for the vindication of the law or for the protection of society. I regret, Sir, the execution of Louis ftiol because of the unhappy trouble ho has caused in one of the finest Provinces of this Dominion. I regret the execution of Louis Kiel because of the occasion it has given f(>r discussion in this Uouso, in which, to use the expression of the hon. member for West Durham (M.r. Blake), " won ; have been said that should not have been said, things have been uttered uttered, and sentiments have sion '/vhich shauld not have House." 1 regret the execution reasons; but 1 cannot condemn the punishment of his crime. Providence, Sir, sufVors th« mysterious agencies of human pahsions and the free will of men, to mark dark hours in the history of nations. Louis Biel has written with his own hand and with his own deeds the darkest pages in the history of the North- West of this Dominion : he has signed those bloody pages, and sealed them with his blood on the scatlbld of Eegina on the l(>th of Kovembor last. The scaffold hns spread it« hideous shadow over the newly christened town of negina — christened after the name of our beloved Sovereign ; and the virgin soil of the Province of Assiniboia was torn open to receive the dead body of a man who had sown the seeds of discontent, of revolt, and of war and death in a land which should have been reeerved for peace, unity, happy tranquility and industry. The solemn sanction which was then given to the law should deter all other men, and deter, I nope, all other evil^disposed and evil-thinking men from imitating his example. Unfortunately, Sir, from the cell of the doomed agitator, from the scaffold, and the grave of the that should not have been had room for expres* boen expressed in this of Louis Kiel for those •xeoa' d criminal, thero name tho win I uf revolt and the poiion of naliooal animoHity, which porvadod ono of tho great ProvincAs of thin Dominion, and which throiiton even now, perhaps to a larger extent Ihun wo boiievo, tho Aitore tranquility and doHtinioH of tho Dominion. Mr. Spoakor, if I brin^ to yoar reoollcotlon these sad eventii, it in only to ahow you the unfoiLunato ponition in which are placed those who in tho i'rovinco of Queboo have eflpou8ed->tomo with sincerity and good folth, othorH with Hchcmos for politioal mipromacy — the cause o* rebollion, which, it cannot be denied, has produced in thin country one of tho most unfortunate periods in oar politioal history. Mr. Speaker, it is the deep fooling of the danger arising from tho present crisis which has aninm'ed me daring the whole of that period, and which has often driven away from my lips and from my pon words of angor and words of violent rebuke, which would have been justified by the treatment to which I and my hon. oolleagues in tho Government have heen subjected for ov<>r throo mon(hn past. During that time, Sir, we have soon an infuriated and maddened mob tearing to pieces our likonosses, and hanging and burn* ing us in offlgy ; but t!iis has had upon me no other efTeot than to make me fool more pity than anger towards the orowd who had boon excited against us. In the city of Montreal my portrait has been for days exposed in windows, bearing on the forehead a largo red stain, to convey tho idea that I was the murdor«r of one of my fellow-ooantrymen. Sir, I forgave that villaay. As one of my friends in Wontroal remarked: "Tho poor individual wh) did that has himself on his brow a stain which neither rubbing nor washi;)g will ever take away," and calls back to my memory the lollowiig lines:— ** La mer 7 pasnorAit sans laver la souillare, Uar le goutrre est immeuBe et la tache est an fond. " I forget easily those attacks prompted by the public excite- ment; but there is ono thing rrom which I have suflFerod— it is this : These demonstrations were called by men who had been associated with me in friendship, and knew me better than with sincority to call mo a traitor and a coward. I, a traitor I Mr. Speaker, I have been now over 27 years in active public life, and I think I could ask from friends and foes this testimony, that I have been true to ray Sovereign, true to my country, true to my party, true to my friends. Sir, if there is one reproach whioh I do not deserve from either side of the Houpe, it iH tho reproach of treachery. I btTO boon Al tim<^ ancuiiA I, and Aooniieil by the proM of my hot). fHcndfloppodito, of htyiag p«rhu|H^ too much polU tical loyalty. Thoy have aho oalled mo a cowarU. Woll, it ia hard to iip«ak of onoKoir, but I might aay of thoM who haT« utt«re« prodactivo of f(ood roaultfl ; but, mi all Htrong patahmN, it it aaii^eroiin ; liko nil powerful motivon, it munt ho ro^uJAtixJ, othoi wJMO (liNordor will roHult; liico ull thoHO ntron^ a|{ontt on (he human organtHm, taken in a moderate done it is • aplondid rumody, but taken in an irnmoderaio doae it beoomufi a poinon. In thiH iriHtance, our friends have oxaxgeratod that feeling, and honoe wo have soon in the Province of (^ueboo that outburst of rtoctional animoHity whioh we all doploro, and whioh, I truHt will ond after this HouHO has taken its dotormination and has given tho vote which modoralo, doliborato mon uro aiiked to give. But, Sir, we have not here to deal with tho^o demonHtra- tions; we have to doa! with the nuoHtion which \n prouosed to us, and that question is this: Was tho execution of Louis Iliel ono which w<\ tho House of Parliament— wo, tho IlouMe reproHonting the viows, foolings and ideas of the country, ahoald condemn or tipprovo? My hon. friond from Mont> mugny (Mr. Landry) has put his motion in a particular "way, and in his opening romarks ho said: "I have not qualified tho oxproHsion of rogrotfor tho execution of Lonia Iliel ; I have lofi to evoryotie the right to choose the reason why thoy Hhould rogrot that execution." I must nay this "was perhaps in tho idea of the mover a skilful arrangomont with a view to draw as many votes as possible for his motion, bat I anderstand that bo wanted to say that overv- one might express his reason why tho ozooution should be blamed or should bo approved. As I havo said beforo, I would be ready to unite my sym* pathioH 'vith his if he only wanted an ox|)roHsion of regret, if thero was not coupled with that an oxproHHion of blatno for the action of the Government in asking that the law should be carried out. The hon. member for Quebec-East (Mr. Laurier), who has taken upon himsolf tho defence of tho rebellion in tho NorthWest, was very careful, in the beginning ing of hiH remaikH and during the whole of his Hpoeoh, to say that tho movement which had boon carried on in the Pro* vlnoe of Quebec was not a political movement; secondly, that it was not a national movement; and further, that the House had not to decide upon those questions. My hon. friend said it was not a political movement. Well, Mr. Speaker, I ask everyone of those who saw the beginning of that agitation to say whether it was so or not. lask those who saw the press, before this Session opened and during this Session, whether thero was nothing in that movement jif a political character, whether thero was nothing bat a sincere desire to see if the law had been jastly administered or if a great inJQntioo had not been done in the oxeoution of the Hetlonco. Mj hon. friend will allow me to ask him, how did the agitation begin in Montreal 7 It did not begin with tho meeting of tho Champ do Mars ; it did not begin with tho oiitbiiHt of the ConHorvative proes which made it n general question in the country ; it began when two of the friends of the hon. member for Quebec Eict started the movement. I must give oredit to Ihone U) whom it is due. Mr. ii. O. David, of Montreal, was the origitmlor and initiator of that movement. He witH aiiHiHtcd, it is true, in his effort by a ian whose name and profession are more modest, hy a bailiif of tho name of Phanenf, one of the agents of the Liberal party in Montreal. They began to create an agitation in Montreal, anJ everyone knows how easily that is done in a large city. Th<>in, in regard to the delays in the execution of the sentence, there were the reportora who had been sent by the press to report the proceedings of tho triul at Kegina, and who, instead of reporting truly anl solely the proceedings of the oourt, did send to the press of Montreal fantastical reports havii ;^ more the color and shape of novels than of true reports from a court of justioo. These were the beginnings of the movement in Montreal. After a whilo, when it had taken shape, everybody waa expecting — what? I must say it, Mr. Speaker— on one side, among our Conservative friends in Montieal, some were expecting that tho Government would take the side of meroy, would treat that question with the view of trying to pre- serve peace by the exercise of the royal prerogative of mercy, and, on the other, the Liberals were only speculating upon the Government carrying'out the law to its fullest ex- tent, to he direst execution, so as to have a lever upon public opinion for political desipns. I do not dissimulate the stat& of public opinion in the city of Montreal. What was the state of things in that city in the month of October ? I ar- I'ived in Montreal in the beginning of October, and I was met by frionda who paid : " Well, there is a great movement per- vading the country, and it ic ior you to be at the head of it ; it is for you to see that justice is done, but at the same time that mercy is given by the Government; we must lead public opinion ; we must not allow the Liberals to take iuQ lead ; wo must not allow them to gnin the coiifidence of the. electors, to arouse a national feeling in the country." Such was the btal e of thinga in Montreal in October. One party was looking for political aggrandieemoni. and triumph. The other party was looking truly, sincerely, earnestly for inistered cution of ask him, lot begin lot begin B which it began iber for e credit lontroal, jvemeot. b bv a 38t, bf a s 01* the ceate an w easily } to the were the >port the instead I of the reports of true ^innings )dy was >ne side, le were I meroy^ to pre- ative of Dalttting llest ex- D pablic he stata ^as the ? lar- wasmet ent per- id of it; ne time ist lead ake \,hd e of the- r. One Tiamph* Jtly for wmmmmm something which they thought was due to the national ser- vioea that have been rendered by the Conservatives and tho French-Canadian nationality. One party was looking for power; the other party was loolsing for mercy. Tho hon, memler for Quebeo-F.u8t (Bar. Laurier), said: "No, wo have been careful to abstain from any political declaration on that subject," Yes, 8ir, and that is true in words ; that is true like that loyalty on the lipa, of which my hon. friend from Quebec Emt spoke, and to which I will allude in tho course of this debate. My hon. friends were saying : *' No, let us cast aside all political differences, let us all be united as one man to aek the Government to do justice." But, Mr. Speaker, I who knew what was going on, I whi was made the confident of many indis'^reot confidences, knew one thingi After petitions had been sent, after all influence had been exercised to try to obtain tho result of what was then asked by, I might say, the whole population of the Province of Quebec, I heard this, and I shall quote tho words from a letter which was sent to me — after it was announced in Montreal that tho Government had taken a decision — from one of the hotels in Montreal where a little conclave of Liberals had been hold waiting for the news from Ottawa ; and, learning that tho Government had decided that the law should be carried cut^ one of them said : " Eh bien I tant mi«QZ. " Nous avions bien peur que le vieuz Sir John n'edt arranf;6 cela pen- dant qa'il 6tait en Angleterre puur en laieser la respoQsabilii6 au ffOUTernemeat Imperial, cotntne dans I'affttire Letellier. Mais cela nouB Taut Tingt comtes dans le Bas-Oanada. ' This declaration, Mr. Speaker, cannot be denied. It has been sent to me quite warm from tho lips of the man who said it, and it is a secret to nobody in Montreal that all the Liberals openly said : " We have got them now ; wo have taken the Conservatives with us, and now that the Govorn*^ ment is obliged to see that the law is carried out, twenty counties will come to us in the Province of Quebec. Wo thought that the great schemer, Sir John, would have arranged it in England." I received a letter to that effect whilst 1 was in Paris, in which one of my friends, not be- longing to my own political party, said : " I know very well how it will be done. You will be a partner in that scheme, and yon will arrange it so that tho Imperial Government will take the responsibility, and i/hen you will go flying along, sails to the wind, and again you will carry your elections." Sir, that has not been done, and tho right hon. gentle- man at tho head of tho Government had no such design k 1^ \ ':. when he was in Bngland, But that was Haid, and it is an indication that the movemont had not that character which the hon. member for QuebecEaat gave it, ihat is non- political and non-national, but having only for its object the fair and just administration of the law to all, and mercy to who doaerves it. The hon. member for JacquesOartier (Mii Girouard) has said that those who were UHkiug for the head of Riel were not friends of the Government. Thoee who were asking for the head of Riel were the organi representing the Liberal party in Ontario. They were clam* oriug for his death, believing, as the Liberals of Montreal had said, that the Government would be unuble to settle that question without appealing to the Imperial authorities. But I will not take up ihe time of the House to show the insincerity of those who pretend now that they are work- ing in the cause of humanity, and who were then asking for the head of the man whosb fate they now pretend to deplore. They did not want — what shall I say ? to save Louis Riel from death ? No. The moment they knew that his fate was sealed, the moment they knew thiit the prave would soon be closed over him, they began the agitaticc. Their sympathy is only for the corpse of the man, but it was not for the body and soul of the living man. It is true, Mr. Speaker, our Province got excited over it, and it is one of the traits of my nationality to have that chivalrous spirit for which due credit is not given to us. It is not the first time that spirit has shown itself in favor of others— -I hope it will be the last. We saw the same thing in 1872 in reference to the New-Bruns- wick school question to which my hon fiiend for Jacques- Oartier has alluded. The whole Province of Quebec was aroused. The Conservative party was split in two ; more than that, I think the majority of the Conservative party in that Provicce left the ranks for the moment. What did the leader of the Conservative party in the Province of Quebec say then ? Sir George E. Cartier said : " Gentlemen, you are taking a course which you ought not to follow ; you are the minority in the Dominion, and you are setting a precedent which will b-i turned against you." That lesson. Sir, was one which rihould have been remembered. As soon AH our friends opposite came into power, the sym- pathies which they had shown us previously, soon van- ished, and even those for whom the Conservative party had fought came up and said that they expected to find the Province of Quebec satisfied with the law against which it had nearly i^evolted. 11 Mr. Speaker, the lion, member for Quebeo-Easti in his Bpoeob, has tried to make the Souse an<' oountry forfl^et his Bpeeoh on the Champ-i>' -MarH— not by re- padiating it, but by makiag, in thi8 iiouHe, oven bolder assertions than those he made on that oooasion. What do we find in his speech ? First, a plea in justification of the insurrection ; second, the cruel treatment which the Govern* ment meted out to a defeated man in his struggle for liberty Against a despotic Government ; and at last — i was sarpriseid to hear the last part of hiH npoech, which actually pulled down the tine odifioe he had built u^ — after having crowned his hero with the halo of a martyr, he finishel his portrait of Kiel by saying that the Government had nut taken buk- ficient pains to prove that his idol had nothing more than feet of clay and logs of sand, but that even his head was not in the ri^ht place, and that his hero was an insane, forget- ting that Riel or any other man could not be both a hero and an insane. Veil, my hon. friend has said the Government had acted badly towards the Half-breeds, and that the insur- rection on the Saskatchewan was iustifiable— not only excusable, but justifiable, he said. And how, and why ? Re said the legislation of 1879 concerning the Half-breeds of the North-West was nothing but the completion of the legislation of 1870. Bat he added : You have taken from 1879 to 1885, the whole of that time, to give justice to those people who were entitled to what you gave them in 1886, under the Act of 1870. I admit, for argument's sake, the delays of the Government have been faulty. But they were only delays. And has the hon. gentleman con- sidered that the responsibility for those delays bears much more heuvily on the Government to which he belonged than it does on this Government? No, he forgot that cir jumstance. If his own Government had not given as an answer to the Half breeds that they would not be treated otherwise than as white settlers, those delays might perhaps have been avoided and the revolt of 1885 averted. In that great display of eloquence we bad from the hon. gentleman, he declared that the Government had only moved when bullets wore coming upon them. But the hon. gentleman was obliged to admit that on 26th January the Government had decided to grant those rights, and to send a commission to see that those rights were granted to the parties entitled to them. He has stated that the Gov- ernment did not want to give the Half-breeds their rights and do justice to them, and that they only intended to take a census of the Half breeds who might have been entitled, nnder treaty rights, according to the Acts of 1870 and 1879. > 1 12 Ho thereby dealt the heaviest blow at the Govornraont, of which ho has been a member, and ut those who bavor taken up armti ajB^aiDiit thiH GovernmeDt, in Btaling that we hud hi>.d the piudenoo to think as to who were entitled to the ri^hta according to the Aot of 1870. The hon. gentleman wdb forgetting, that of all those who rebelled and fought on the Saskatchewan, not more than 21 had really a ^ight to claim land under thtit title. The other Ual/breods, who were acting with Eiel, had already obtained land by virtue of the Aot of 1870, after the transfer of Manitoba and the North- Went Territories to the Govern- ment. In that list, it is true, a few names were given among the robelo, but those were probably the greatest proportion- of those who had reasons to urge their claims before the Government. If that hon. gentleman had oonupiod a seat on the Treasury benches, he would have uaid what we have said, and ho would have said more than the hon. member for Eothwell (Mr. Mills) said, when ho refused the whole of the rights demanded by the Half-breeds. I was surprised when I heard the hon. member for Queb<^c- East eay that what is hateful is not rebellion but the despc tism that induces rebellion ; what are hateful ara not rebels but the men who haviog the possession of power did not dis* charge its duties. The sentiment expressed by the hon. member might be very good for a rhotorical display, a very happy answer to the remark of the Minister of Militia, who said that in his heart he hated rebellion and hated rebels ; that might be a very fine answer in a debating olab, but in the mouth of a Privy Counc !lor the statement that what ho hated was not rebellion and not rebels was an expression which should not be heard in any deliberative assembly. The hon. gentleman thought he could answer the declara- tion of the Minister f f Militia by saying that if Sir George Cartier, the great leader for years of the Frenoh comon into our hoarts because thoHo men, iiM my Hon. friend Bald, took their Uvea and their liberty in their hands io jput them in plaoo of peti« tionM and protOHtH and domamls which thoy Hhould have sent to the (fovornmont? Had mv hon. friend gone one step further he would have fallen into the anarohioai doctrinoH of Joan JaoquoH Kousseaa who speaking in bie •' " Oontrat Social," any a : "L«tcUuieida " Contrat ffoHaV* lont tellement dAt«nnb6et par \tk nature de Taota que la in')tn(lr« modillcatlor Ian rendrait vainea nl de nal eflTut en lorte (|iie chaouD rontre aiort dam les prcmiera droits «t reprenne la Ub«rl6 na(uriU«," This is another onduavor to adapt a sooial theory to the unfortunate rebellion of which an apology has been attempted. My hon. fiieiid has recalled tho memory of the great agitations which in tho past century have changed dynasties, have inaugurated new charters of liberty, and have moulded new doHlinies for somo of the nations of Europe. IIo has rooalUd to oar minds the revolation of 1870 — that revolution which gave the rigime of the Commune and tho reign of that liberty rouge with the blood ofCionorul Lecomto and of Mgr. D'Arboy, rouge with tho incendiary lighta of the Tuilories and the lldtelde-Ville, which the ;)d efforts to establish amongst tlirmselres the blessings oi freedom and parliamentary and responsible goTernmont." My hon. friend could not have 1< ft aside tho word " mis- guided "; but his thrill of generous impulse for the friends of liberty was for that rigime of 18*7 1, as I havo stated. My ^on. friend also cited tho revolution of Italy. It is true, that revolution is worthy of his sympathy. It was tho revolu* tion that wrested from the Papacy, with tho temporal power, an indepondenoe that for ages had boon tho safeguard of the IhroDosof £uropo,and which at the present moment the great- It eatiUtefimen of Kuropo nro thinlcinf;^ of roRtoririi^, in tho hopo to k«ve tho Old World from thn litmrchicttl wuvo vvhioh flOcinliHm and nihili'^m urn hrin^iti}^ ovor it. My hon. friend uUo r«ro«ri(l lo ilio I"'ronoh ruvolution of 1789 which invontod ihoKiiillotino und doiflod {\io sana-cutot- tet. That aIho whh ono of thn ^ruat impiilhOK of human liberty. If my hon. friond and hm c«)lluii^iio Hittint; hotlo, hocniino of Kome of- their dumandri which , could not bo Kranlod, on account of their in praotioabiliiy, aH woro the cluimM of thono wlio had already reooired their grantH, in Manitohu, nflor lb70. But, Hr. Hpoalior, noople do not ^^) to war for qucHtiona of dftailf, for a queittion of delay ; when the principio ia ati- miticd, tho mail, point U -)ttle jury. That danger is on both sides. There is a danger for the administration of justico, bocautjo the lawyer, who has a bad case to plead, can, almost in every case, save tae life of his client by asking tho jury to re- commend him to morcy. It would be danger to tho prisoner also, in doubtful cases, if the prosecutor for the Crown, unmindful of his duty, would teU the jury to find a verdict of guilty and conplo it with a recommendation to mercy, which would save the life of the prisoner. The law has enacted that the administration of justice shoald be set apart from ail political prejudice or passion; I I 80 th« Jadlclnry nhcald b© ibove partliian»h!p, and jet, if w« ire to holievo the advocnteii of i'.^l, v/e ■lioulU pat the Min- futer of JuHtlce— who nhool*' bo, with ronpoct to thoiie cMo* on the Name level m the Judiciary ainoe he in oxeroiMin^ the wRmo fiuuitionn— at th*^ morcy of fwlitioal opinion, politioiil bias or pttiwion, or any oxdilomunt in the country. And hon. gentlemen mhIc that wo nhould take no aooount of th^ delicate funotionn he ban to exeroiiie. bat Nubjeot him to theintlaenooof every wave of public opinion. On that point I will give the opiniuu of the hou. member for Went Durham: " Ai MloiiUtr of JuitloA, I havs Imd to aiIvUa In manj OApItAl <»■•§, Rndl I do not (ajr^nt th* hetT? retponiibllUjr which tnni» oa thoi« in whoiahkudi ar« th« iuuet ot fifa and death, nad whot«i U*k It r«ndflr«oon the rule in appreciating the delicate position of the hon. MiniHtor of Juatioeand of the Kzocativo m the qaostioD. I now return to the main point raiHod in thiH dig* cuBHioD, that ii ■ the question of the insanity of Louis Kiel. I have explained what innanity is, in a legal point of view and how insanity Hhould bo considered in the adminis- tration of justice. It has boon said that Louis Riol was insane ; first, beoause ho had fomorly been confined in an insane asylum as an insano roan , next, beoauHo ho had religioas mania, and then the new argument is advanced that he must have been insane beoause his secretary, Jackson, was insane, as otherwise bo would not have employed Jackson. On this subject, I may perhaps be allowed to allude to an incident in the debate. The hon. member for We8t>>Darham (Mr. Blake) accused me of having stated in my county, at St. J^r6me, that Jackson, Kiel's secretary, was a frenohified I gloSizon. I do not know what conclusion the hon. gentlen^ \n was trying to come to from that, bat, at all events, he said tho secretary should not have been set at liberty when his master had been condemned to death. I told the hon. gentleman at the time that I blamed him for not taking the word of a colleague when [ said I had not used tl.ose words on the occasion referred to. I mast tell him now what I did say, I said that newspapers had mentioned that.Taokson was not more English than French, and might hare been one of those frenohified Bngiish, and that there 81 wai no roMoi) why ho should h«vo boon not at liborly ; and in reoly to the nowrtpapora, I atatod that Jaukaon ntight bo a rronrhmim, hut, whutovflr hin nulionalitv, ho wun oi)«> of UioI'm NocrotarioN and KA^niur wuh thu ollior ; i atatotl that the oonnaol for the prMiooution had dooidod that neither should bo nuhjootod to it triul, but thoy bd Met at largo, that H6gnier hum tiot at largA; and if JaolcMon waM put on hia trial, it waa booauMohiM iriondN and family tirgod iho (iovornroont not to let him l(x>«c, liocauHo ho waa inaano and Hhould be put in tho aNyltim, an an inMuno mun luid cjroil if |)OMMiblo iiM ihuy boliovod hiM inHanity wam only luinportiry. I baa had that information from one of tho oounRol for tho defonoo and I ronoatod it thun. TbiM dinpoMON of tho littlo ftMporMion of my bon. Iriond from VV oat-Durham (Mr. Hlalco) in that roapoct. But lot ua return to tho main Imhuo. Wuh Riel inrano at tho time of tho inHurrcction, and iM that inHanity a roaiton aguinHi tho vordiutobluinod ogninMt liim, and uguinHt tho Montonco rendered against him? liiol had been put into an OMylum, it iM truo. 1 waH tho MiniHtor in tho Govern- ment at Quoboo who nigned tho papers for hiM en- trance into tho aHvlum at Jjonguo>Pointo. 1 am at a Ions to know, even at this moment, whether thu man wom inHano then or not. I shall Htate in a few momontH why my doubtM oxiHt. Previous insanity is not n proof of inMunity at aHub- sequent period. Whore shall wo take then tho ovidonce of tho insanity of Riol if we do not take it at tho trial from tho verdict of tho jury ? Tho inHanity of Rlol is proven by whom ? By the misHionarios who wore, at that timo, in that region 7 If they had beliovod that iiiel was really insane, OS insane as a man is legally, would they not have takon the means, during that timo, to have him arrostod as a lunatic, and confined as a lunatic 7 Let us take the testi- mony of his followcountrymon. The first man who Maid that the Govornmont had hanged un insane man in hanging Kiel, was slandering the Mdtis nation. We have the tebtimony of those who wore with him, and wo are told by one mem* ber of this Houbo that ho might have been insane and yet might havo lod sane men ; that we have seen on some occasions an insane man creating a riot. That might be tho case, for a few hours, in a sudden rising, but have we ever seen, and can we say, as sansiblo mtu, that a lunatic, that a demented man, from the month of July, 1884, to the month of April or May, 1886, could have acted as he did without anyono protesting against him, where men were placing in his hands their linerties and their lives, and could not perceive, by their daily and nightly communioation with him, that ho was not in posaossioo (n his senses ? r>" I ^ We might go farther. Take the plan of his campatgD. I do not speak of tho plan for the organisation of the party of Louia Kiel, but tho plan of his campaign. We are sopposed to be sane men ; we might be acting under delub'onB, as my hon. friends have been actin^r under delusions rtince November last that this Government would see its last days in consequence of this crisis/but wo are sup- posed to be sane men, and yet did we not, last year, suppose, bnd do we not now think, that his olan of campaign was not only the work of a sane man but of a very cunning man ? The season when the outbreak took place, the !9th March, at tho beginning of spring, is a time when the roads are almost impassable, and when, in that country, even ordinary vehicles can hardly bo used on those prairies, and the use of cannons and batteries, which Biel probably thought would be brought into the field, would be muoh more impossible. Take the plan of his campaign. The Canadian Pacific Bailway was not then finished, and Kiel knew it as well as we did. He knew it better than the leader of the Opposi- tion did, who was asking at that tisre what gaps of the rail- way remained uncompleted, how many miles remained to be constructed, and what were the difiSculties to be encoun- tered in building that roud ? The railway was not complet- ed. Was it not the work of a sane man to choose that time for an insurrection, when that road was not in a condition to use for the conveyance of troops into the North- West? Wd did Foot think ourselves that it would be possible. We doubted it, and we wote asking ourselves whether the American Government would permit the transpor- tation of men, ammunition and arms through American territory. We knew that international laws might have prevented it. Wo knew that on a certain occasion, the transportation of troops had been prohibited by the Ameri- can Government, across the St. Clair Flats, where only a few miles had to be traversed in a neutral part of tho country, and we thought that tho Government of the United States might have prevented this, especially on such an occasion, and Louis Iliel knew it also. He knew that, at a time when a political campaign was just over in the United States, when the two ptirties were fighting, it was probable that the Canadian Government would not have the authorisation to transport troops through the American territory. Was that an evidence that he was an insane man? Louis Riel knew all that, he knew the difficulties we had to encounter. He knew that, just in the beginning of spring, before the grass would grow, as he said, we would have a re- bellion ^uch as we had never witnessed in the North- West. 33 on lew I was lavo J had re- Test. "Ho know that, at that Hoa^on, though tho food might bo Bufficient tor tho ponies of Iho prairies, food for hor«os com- ing with troops fiom this oountiy would be dltUcult to be foand or to bo transported there. Ifo know that thousands of Indians might take part in that uprising. If tho rising had been a succosisful one, if tho Indian war* fare had boon a succosHful one, who known what would have become of tho Half-breed ywpulalion who remained faith- ful and loyal to tho Govorninont and to their Sovereign ? — and I hope thoy were then, as now, really loyal. Who tnows what might have boon the con^oquonoos of that uprising? Who knows what might have been the conse- qnencos in tho Province of Manitoba? Who knows if tho success would not have brought to him thoinand:^ of arm^ to aid him? Who knows if he had not planned that tho rising of tho Indians, scaring tho settlors from our North- West, would give ca'tHe to the thousands of Indians in the United Stales to join in tho war and flood tho Norlh-West, so that ho might, in his own emphatic words, have taken possession of Manitobi and of theNorth- West ? Who says that wo did not believe that oursnvoy last year, ^^^d that, in tho feeling wo had thai that country was to be submerged by rebellion, warfare and bloodshed, wo did not boliovo that that man was tho sanest man who over planned a rebellion, selecting that particular timo of the year, with the moans at his disposal, and knowing tho scanty means which were at tho disposal of tho Governmont? His design has been frustrated, it is true, but who can say that be had not the free use of his mental faculties when he planned that campaign ? We expressed those fears last year. Hon. gentleman opposite expressed those fears, and wo then hoard the hon. leader of the Opposition iolHng tho Minister of Militia: ** Sir, you shall be hold responsible for tho lives of tho sons of this country who are going to tho North- West if you do not supply them with the best of arms, because we have been told that the Indians and tho Half-breeds have been supplied with the best of weapons for the warfare they aro undertaking." This was our conviction. How has it changed since that time? How has it come that my hon. friends opposite 4)elieye the whole of that was nothing but tho phantasy of A deranged mind ? That there was no danger, that the people bhould have known the man was crazy, and that evory one of his words, that every one of his actic ^s, every one of his plans would have been frustrated en account of his insanity ? It is true that he had not collected the moans necessary for the insurreotion ; it is true that his scheme was not such I- 1 i- r :i! 34 1 1, as woald have been planned by a man aooustoraed to cani' paigns; bnt the wiokodneHS of a man who oontemplates a crime has always some weak point. A great criminalist said once to a lawyer who argued that his client could not he guilty becauHC bis utterances and actions were those of an insane man, and if he had been really a criminal he would not have spoken as he did— the celebrated judge answered : V Sir, this is no proof ; fortunately, the insanity of oriminaU is the protection of life and of society." Mr. Speaker, there is one point to which I am surprised that my hon. friendd on this side of the House havo paid so little attention. I refer to a piece of evidence which was received in this House— I would be disposed to say providentially — and that evidence the hon. leader of the Opposition himself has brought before us. I would not apply the words of the judge that I quoted a moment ago that there is always some degree of insanity in wickedncHS ; but the wicked idea which preHided at the origin of that letter from a juryman on the trial at Regina, which was given before the House, is a most extra- ordinary thing. 1 do not want to qualify the act, but I was surprised to hear a counsel learned in the law, a man accustomed to the dignity of courts of justice, co 7ing up in such a solemn debate as this, and reading a let': ' ^rom a juryman, who gives- under his own signature, though no name was disclosed, the secret deliberations of the jury and the motives and reasons for their verdict. But, Mr. Speaker, inopportune as this might have been; improper as this has been, a great point, the real point, lay at the bottom of it. The pleasure ot reading it was only the pleasure of bringing out the conclusion of that most extra- ordinary letter, in which it was stated that if the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior, and the Lieutenant- Governor of the !North,-West, had been tried as aocomplioes before the courts, they might have been adjuged guilty with the criminal, and the jury recommended one to the mercy of the court, because the others had not been indicted with him in the accusation. I do not want to comment upon the impropriety, up v the indecency of the act of the man who wrote that Ijti , • and who had the audacity of saying that he would hav«. found a verdict of guilty against persons when not a word of evidence had been given against them at the trial, who had the audacity to come and give his dvsolaration that though no evidence had been given against those mem- bers of the Government and the administration in the North- West, though they had not even been charged with any offence, he a juryman, who was sworn to give a verdict I .1 according to Iho evidonce, doolaros that ho would have foand them gailty. Bat, aa for the isRoe before us, we cannot doubt th heavy weight had been taken off me when I heard the hon. gentleman disclosing the secret deliberation of that jury, and telling me: " You were right in surmising that there was no evidence of insanity, and if the whole jury had recom- mended him to the mercy of the court, that would have been no reason for granting it." My hon. friends opposite have contended that a recom- mendation for mercy was justified only on the ground that there was a disease in his brain, but that is cleared away by the letter which the hon. member has read to this House. What documents could prove more than that? I have other documents which I hesitate ix) place before this House, though that would not be improper as the production of a letter from a juryman disclosing the deliberations of the jury. The documents are before me, and if I am asked why were not the men who gave those documents examined before the court at Eegina, I shall answer that they did not volunteer to be witnesses because men are not obliged to be informers against their fellow men and to give evidence to secure their conviction and send them to the gallows. I have the evidence ; I have not asked for it. I have not enquired about it although I knew it ; I did not want to ask for it, it was sent to me. I will ask the permission of the House to read these documents. I did not need them to influence my own feeling about the case, my own conviction as to the case and the conclusion at which I arrived ; but tbey may assist the hon. member for West Durham (Mr. Blake) as being confirmatory of the evidence of his friendly juror at Begina. 36 Here Ib a letter dtttod 19th March, 1886, from Longue- Pointe. It is given by the attending physician of the asylum since the opening of the inwtitution — Dr. Perrault, a man against whoso charaotur, honesty and integrity no man in the Dominion can have a word to say. Uere is his certifi- cate. As I have told the House, I know it before ; I knew it from authorities that I would not like to disclose. I will translate the paper : "I, theundcrtljrnedpbyeician of theaBylum of St. Jean-de-Dieu, certify that a few daya after the oQtranoe of Louis Hiel into this asylum I per- ceived that with him insanity was simulated. The exagt^eration of his acts was such and so much beyond what we generally remark in sub- jects a tfticted with teal insanity that with a physician accustompd to treat such casrs there would be no room for doubt. Upon making the observation to him that I was not to be taken tor his dupe, he confessed to me in etfrct that he was shamming the insauity. And the evidence that I was right iu my surmise and that bis confession was really sincere is that on all ocrasions, and they were many, I have been along conversing with him, he has always talked in a manner absolutely lucid and sane upon all and every subject with which be has entertained me. V ««F. X PERRAULT, M.D., " Asylum of Longue Pointe." As I said before, this information was given to me a while ago. I know it, I must say, even before this House eat. 1 knew it even, but not in a satisfactory manner, some time after the so called insane man was admitted in the asylum. I knew it from some of the guards, but I would not have taken their authority. Hon. gentlemen may say : " How is it that a man who has been visiting doctor of an institution and knew a patient was not insane and yet allowed him to remain in the institution where he was shamming insanity ? " I ask hon. members, and all those who know the circumstances under which the man was detained in the asylum, whether it would have been prudent, even in the public interest, to have, at that time, revealed that secret and set that man at large. It was in 1876. The amnesty had been proclaimed, but the crime of the murder of Scott had not been forgotten, and it would not have been in the interest of anyone that this y>oor man should have been made a target for a bullet which would have been sent in revenge for the murder of Scott. Some hon. MEMBERS. Oh, oh I Mr. CHAPLEAU. I hear some hon. members laugh. If wish they had been in the Province of Quebec, in the counsels of their own friends, some of whom came to me ag Provincial Secretary and told me in effect that the man was Louis Biel, but his name had not been made public for the reason I have mentioned. They said that his retention in he asylum would not be made a reproach to me. I do not Mf' m reproach mypelf for havin^r admitted in tbo asylum Louis David, whom the hon. geotleman'a friends told me after- wards waH Louis Hiel. No good could have been obtained by not doing so. The evidence put before me was the evidence to which as a member of the Government I had to pubmit. The other document which I bring here in support of the letter of the juror at Eegina is the certificate of a man who^e name I would hesitate to place before the House. It might subject him to difficulty, to persecution ; but I have the document in my hands, and the ^oraon to whom it has been given said I could place it before the House and the writer would not object. I do it upon my responsibility. It is the certificato of a man who stands high in the medical profession, a man who can bd vouched for by some of the best men in the medical profession. It is the certificate of Dr. Brunelle, house-surgeon of tbeHotel- Dieu, of Montreal, a professor of the medical faculty of Victoria University. Dr. Brunelle was an intimate friend of Kiel. He knew him both in Montreal, at Boauport Asylum, and afterwards in the United States where he lived for several weeks and months with Ilfel. The oertiti- cato reads : " 1, the uadersip^ned, certify th*t, at Ibe time of and after the con- finement to Beauport Asylum ot Louia Riel (whom I have particularly kaowQ, both in the United States and in Canada) I bare ascertained on divers occaeionB that ootiide some excentricities in bis manner which were little to bj noticed, he was perfectly lucid in his mind and sane in bis intellect, and spoke absolutely well on all subjects when he was not observed. I attest, moreover.that in my presence the s»id Louis Riel bai been simulating insanity in such a manner as to leave no doubt in my mind as to the character of his pretended insanity." And then I may add that the writer of the last certificate has stated that he had on several occasions conversed with Louis Kiel, and had fron him the whole secret of his sham insanity. Although I have given to this House the evidence which I have received, I do not intend to make use of it to ask for the decision of the House upon the question before us. My hon. friend from Bothwell (Mr. Mills) is laughing. I do not know whether he is laughing at the sanity or the insanity of Louis Eiel, whether he is laugh- ing because these certificates are overwhelmingly against the poor unfortunate man, but I say that I think what I have given to the House is nothing but a corroboration of what I have stated and what I believe, that when Louis Eiel was found by the jury at Rcgina to be a sane man, the finding was one which every man in this House would have found if he had beer, on that jury, after the evidence which was heard at the trial. 88 Outside of the ioHurreotioD, ono of tho roaHona that pre- vented oiomoncy boin^ oxoroi80 Durham, who said that there was a most aggravating character to the rebellion in the fact that Kiel bud incited the Indians to warf&re. That aggravating feature, the greatoat of all the orimeH that Kiel has committed in the North-West, has not been answered by anyone in this House except the leader of the Opposition. He said, also, that we should not hold our heuds very high with regard to that accusation of inciting the Indians lo warfare, because the Indians had been pressed into war centuries ago to assist brave soldiers and humane men in wavG against other nations. I do not want to dwell upon this. The Minister of Justice had done justice to that pretension. I would ask, however, if there is any similarity between ti\e case of soldiers fighting in the citadel of Quebec, tho vails of Montreal, or of the forts of the old Province of Upper Canada, having Indian allies in tboir struggles, and thj case of Louis liiel ? No, Sir, there is not, and we have proof of it. Let me remind the IIouso of the letters which Kiel wrote to the Indians telling them to come and plunder, as was stated in the case of the Indians who were put on trial before Judge Houleau, and that before the 1st of June tho order was given to the Indians to rite, and tho whole of the white race was to be exterminated in the North-West. What is the answer of the Indians to the messengers that Louis Hiel sent to them ? Their answer proves the demand, and proves tho intent of the man who sent these messengers with presents to the Indians. Here is a letter which was written by a number of Indians to Louis Hiel : " Mr. LoDis Riil: •' I want to hear news of the progress of God's work. If any event has occuried since your messengers came away let me know of it. Tell me the date when the Americans will reach the Oanadian Pacific Rail- way. Tell me all the news that you have heard from all places where your work is in progress. Big Bear has finished his work ; he has taken Port Pitt. • If you want me to come to you let rae know at once.' he said, and I sent for him at once. I will be four days on the road. Those who have gone to see him will sleep twice on the road. They tooK twenty prisoners, including the master of Port Pitt. They killed eleven men, including the agent, two priests and six white men. We are camped on the creek just below Out Knife Hill, waiting for Big Bear. The Ulackfeet have killed sixty police at the Elbow. A half-breed who interpreted for the police, having survived the fight, though wounded, brought this news. Here we have killed six white men. We have not taken the barracks yet, but that is the only entire building in Battle- ford. All the cattle and horses in the virinity we have taken. We have lost one mftn, a Kez-Pero6, killed, he being alonr, and one wounded. Some ■oldierii have come from Swift Ourrent, but I don't Icnow their number. We hare here gUDi and riflee of all iorti, but ammunition for them ii abort. If it be poeaible, nend ui ammunition of various kinds. We are weak only for the waot of that. You sent word that you would come to Battleford when you had finished you- work at Duck Lake. We wait still for you, as we are inahle to take the fort without help. It you send us news, send only one messen^rer. Wc are impatient to reach you. It would encourage us much to see you, and make us work more heart* ily." There ib the demand and th'i answer. It is a proof that the Indians were a»ked to rise, and that all tbo white settle- ments should be defaced from the prairie and the white men ezternainatcd. The laws of nations have declared within the lasl cent- nry that alliance with Indians was not only unwise and inipradent but inhuman and outside the pale of inter- national law. The United States Government, which has been quoted as a model for us, have decided very quickly because of the rinin^B in their NorthWost, the riHingH near Mexico, and the risings during tho building of thoir rail- ways. There they have given foraenters of Indian wars and hostile Indians no kind of trial except tho bringing them betoro the military authorities, shooting them, o" hanging Ihera by tho do2U3n or the four dozens, as was done after the Custer massacre. The Government of the United States, that model Government, do not allow any scruple to interfere; but when an Indian war is raised, the law of tho land is enforced and executed by the military hand. It is useless for my hon. friends on the other side to try to make of this rising, as my hon. friend from Quebec-East (Mr. Laurier) has been trying to make it, an insurrection that might be justified and excused. It is of no ase for them to try to make of Riel a martyr, as my hon. friend from Maskinongd (Mr. Besaulniers) said he did, or a hero, as my hon. friends opposite have tried to prove him, or even an insane man, as someof my friends on this side have been disposed to think him, giving the benefit of any doubt they had, not to the law, but to that humane tendernesa which exists for a man who is condemned to the gallows. No, Sir, history, in its impartiality, shall not decree him a hero. The bonum commune, the interest of the nation was not tb'5 motive of his actions. He had dreamed of being a Napoleon, but he was ready and willing to be the chief of a guerilla band, ruling by violence and terror over the region of his exploits, living on plunder and waiting for the acci- dent of a fortunate encounter to secui'o a heavy ransom with the safety of his own life. fi' 40 < Hero id, in my opinion, and I Hpoak with the Hinueiity of my heart and of my ooniioienoe, hore iH my opinion of Loui8 HiorH cnmpuign, fturrondor and death. Kiel waH not an ordinary criminal, who, under the impulse of Btrong ruling pMHHJonH, and for lucre, iuHt and revenge, committed murd«r, aiHon and pillni;o, with " mnlice afore- thought." Kiel huH boon nn unhcrupulouK agitator, getting up a ribollion uguinHt the Sovereign for tbo Hake of personal ambition and protit under the color of redreswing pablio grievances. Riol wuh a born conKpirator, a dreamer of power and wealth, frustrated in hiH designs but not subdued by his former defeat, which had shaken his brains without eradicating the germ of liis morbid ambition, he had been patiently watching his opportunity to come to the surface, until that opportunity came to him ; fully cognizant of the nature of the innurrection he was planning and preaching ; fully awaro of the grave conse- quences of that movement, ready to accept the full responsibility of the loes of his lifn in the prosecution of bis design. He considered the alleged grievances of the Half- breeds more in the light of the opporttmities it would give him to resume power in the North-WePt, than with tha view of redressing those wrongs. Ho had alwoys advocated that the Hudson Buy Company's p/ivilegcs and government were an usurpation, and as aoonserjuonce that the Canadian Government, who had acquired from tbo Hudson Bay Company, were not th3 legitimate rulers of tbo North-West and the Half-breeds. He was a conrinced, although an extravagant, pretender. He believed in his mission, and to accomplish it, he willfully agreed, with his conscience, to kill or to be killed. Ho measured the distance between his ambition and the sucoees that could crown it, and he deliberately consented to fill the gap, if necessary, with the corpses ot his enemies or even of his friends. Devoid of the courage of a soldier, he bi^Veved in his own shrewdness as a plotter. He expected success by a surprise, not from a regular battle. He was a wilful and dangerous rebel. If rebellion, with the sacrifice of human life, with the aggravating circumstance of having incited to an Indian war, deserves the penalty of death, Riel deserved it as a political offender in the highest degree. It has been pretended that, in his extravagant career, Kiel was not sound in his mind and could not reason, although he accepted, the re^ponsibilitj' of his actions. After the most careful examinationof all the evidence which came before ue, I cannot help saying that Riel, from the mo- ment he left his home in the United States for the avowed purpoee of aepisting the Half-breeds in thoir demands for 7 n }i le »i »• f i t 9 9 7 S fi L 41 redrenB of ulloffcd griovanccB, until Iho end of the North-West initurrootion, huH delil>orut«ly |)urHUod Ibo objoct ho had in view, namely, to obtain full control of the North Weat Half brocMlH and Indiann. To obtiiin bin objout, ho aroaaed in himHolf, and oommunicntod to othera, to an intonao degroo, a aort of national and rflli^iouH fovor. ThJH waa a comparativoly eaay work with un oicitablo and orodaloua people. Ilavin^f tbaa Hubduod the Ilalf-broedn, bia noxt effort waH directed towards alienating thorn from the Goy- ornrnont and fiom their clergy. When ho had Hucoooded in doing thirt, he Hougiit the uLianoo of Iho IndianH and of Amerieun cympathit-erH. All tbut, bo planned with a grout amount of Hagaoity and with great pain. Hut tbo oxtruvaguntconfldottoo beHbowed in bin huccohh, the amallncHH of tbo meanx bo collected, hii4 abHoluto impaHHivonoHH when leverao came, the unfeigned faith bo bad in what be called bitt miuaion, all point out to tbo eoncluaion that bo won tbo prey to oxaltition, to hallucination. Though not innano, in tho legal aenHO of the word, he waH, to upo a common oxpreasion, a "crank," but a crank of tho worfit kind, knowing woll what waA good and what was bad, what wqh wicked and what waa kind, what waa the value of life and what was death ; but bin notions of what \vm right and what was wrong had been diHtorted and altered by tbo detorminatioM and tixity of his purpose, by an ardent and soltish ambition, leading to injustico and cruelty. Ho was certainly, and without affectation, convinced that what he did was permitted by divine and moral laws, and that his treason was justifiable. Up to tho last moment he supported himself with tho fixed expectation that tho heroism of bis struggle, tbo stoicism ho had displayed when arraigned by tbo law, would bring him a timely deliverance. The death knell alone, that supreme shock which usually increases tho nervous irrita- bility of tbo maniac, when not subdued by illnoss, had the effect to bring him back from tbo exalted atmosphere which he had purposely selected for himself. He then seems to have carefully put aside his fantastic character, and resumed the collected and solemn demeanor of a Christian at tho threshold of eternity. That kind of delusion is natural to political fanatics and to religious maniacs. It is the paroxysm of a pre- judiced mind, which has wilfully distorted in itself the true notions of law and of right. It cannot excuse a criminal act. The perversity of the intelligence is as much punishable as the perversity of the heart in its wrongful direction of the will for the performance of criminal acts. 4a i The rtilio^ pMution has for it« origin tho oriminul puip./«« whirh tho (Mtrvnrto*! intelluot hatt oonMoeratod and tiana* iurmod intu a Neimo of r conclusion in that roHpoct; but I um logical, and I boliovo ut tho right, nay in tho obliga- tion of punishing tho perversity of tho doctrine. 1 boliovo that a man is guilty when ho docs not r ^orvo his intoU ligonco from the contagion of fulrto doctr in the words of one of tho most ominont (vutholic wri...o of this ago, in Hpeaking of those whoMO guilty lonioncy towards the orrora of the mind, gives an ozcuso to revolution and socialism : " They go lo far as to lay that error is no gaWt, that man ia not bound to March the inmoBt of bis »oul to see whether there are not some secret causes that lead him away from the path of truth. They declare that in the spheres of bum&n ideas, all human and dirlne laws are useless and out of place. What insanity t As if it was possible to exempt from any rule the hif^hest and the most noble portion of human nature 1 As if tbe essential element, which makes of man the being o( creation could be dispensed trom the rules of that divine harmony of the rarious part of the universe together and of that universe with ita divine maker ; as if that sublime harmony could exist or even be conceived with man, unlesii the first of human obligations be the constant accord with truth, that eternal attribute ot divinity I " This is the solid and only logical foundation for the legi* timate punishment of a number of crimes which otherwise would nnd their excuse in the erroneous but firm convic- tions of their perpetrators. In suoh cases the law is at liberty to admit that the criminal was actuated by a wrong fal notion of his intelligence, but it declares guilty the idea which has brought tb&l erroneous conviction in them ; and if the aoouMil invoke* tho tOMtimony of hit own oonsoitnoo, the law remlndH him thut it wait hia duly to icMp hiii ouna* cienoe right or to recti ty it. 1 am often fwintod out to my countrymen and core* ligioDihta aa an unmiti^atod liboral oatholio, and I pr** Mtimo that my thoolo^ical noarohuM, in thin ouho, will he found fault with an unual. 1 conHole myHolf, in advanoe, «a I did before, in the idea that my dotructom will bo harmloMH, if not ohariluhio in their donunciationa. Tho crime of Ix)uiH liiel had iMion committed, the criminal had been talton and tried. Tho trial hail boon un impartial, A fair trial. A verdict had boen rendered a^ainttt Kiel, tho only vurdict that could be found uuoordin^ to tho ovidonco. Hontouco ot tluuth hud bcon paitMud agaiiirtt him. Tho moU' tenco WM a juHt puniahraont of tho crimo committed. It would Horvo UH an uxamplo, a warning, a terror to all future criminal impohtorM; aH a romo ever strong a faction it raigh^ be." It has been stated in public meetings by men who have been led away by their passioos, that the French Canadian should become a party similar to the Irihh party in the Imperial Parliament under the guidance of Mr. Parnell. I have not to judge the issues of that Parliament. I say if the Irish people in their struggles for liberty have been obliged to do what they are doing and to unite them- selves under one loader, it is a course they have been obliged to take because they do Lot erjoy the freedom, respect and sympaihy wo possess in tbiM country. Ask Mr. Parnell if he would not resign the leadership of his faction in the Parliament of England if he could have the leadership of the French Canadians where they enjoy the freedom and liberty such as we enjoy in this Canada of ours. 4 ■W^P" 50 ' No ; the groat danger with ub i^ that we Hhall make A faotion of the minority in this coaniry, that we Bhall make what is called a oloso political allianoo amongHt oorBolvoH, bat in reality one which won.ld be moot unpatriotic and diB' astrouB to the French Cauadians. 1 ask hon. momborH, therefore, to look at this qnes* tion as it should be viewed, to look at the laws as they exist, to look at the difficulty of the position in which the Minister of Justice and the Government were placed, to judge not from f joling nor from the rela- tions of blood or creed or nationality. It is natural with men of one Province or of one blood to feel more warmly in regard to the case of men of their own Province, of their own blood and religion. But we must not judge of this matter in that light. TheBO have been my sentimentB during the last four months. I have not changed my mind to suit < men and circumstances; I have rolled upon the reward .. given to men who do not flinch before the cries of the multitude, and who do not seek their political fortune in the BuccesB of the moment I have walked straight before me in what I thought was the right path us a citizen of Canada. 1 have followed that conduct, I have not been biassed, and in the whole of what I have done, in the wboler ofwhatlhave said through that painful crisis, I trust I have not lost the sympathies of my friends, the respect of my enemies, nor the confidence of the country. - Printed by iW .cL«an, Roger & Co , Parliamentary Priukra, Ottawa. (ke A [nake >lve8, i d'lB- qnoB- ITS as »iUon mont rela- with ily in •own ter in I the o suit iward if the in the re me en of been Arhol« ruHt I lect of ;awa.