IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) * /. :/. f/. :/- 1.0 1.1 21 12.5 K .. .,. II 2.2 1.8 L25 i u m I 1.6 i? /i '■^i w ^,. V ^a>"^>-> ..^ ^/S Hiotograpriic Sdena^ Corporation r<\^ \ ^\ [\ .A 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M580 (716) 872-4503 .<^ .^ z ^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions hiutoriques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The tot The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. □ Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur □ Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pelliculde □ Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ I — I Coloured inlt (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Cartes {(dographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue cu noire) I — I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ D Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents r~7| Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion D n along interior margin/ Lareliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge intdrieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires: L'Institut a microfilmd le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cfjX exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmag'« sont indiqu4s ci-dessous. D D D y D D D D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul6es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6colordes, tachetdes ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages d6tachdes Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of print varies/ Quality in6gale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppldmentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. Th€ pos of 1 filnr Orii be{ the sioi oth firs sioi or i Th« sha TIN wh Ma diff ent bee rigl req me This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. IPX 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library of the Public Archives of Canada L'exemplaira filmd fut reproduit grAce A la g6nArosit4 de: La bibliothdque des Archives publiques du Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la netteti de I'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimis sont film6s en commenqant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernlAre page qui comports une empreinte d'impreseion ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, salon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commen^ant par la premidre page qui comports une em' .einte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol -^^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichover applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniire image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — »> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbols V signifie "FIN". 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 filmis d des taux de rMuction diffdrents. Lorsque le document e U trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est film6 d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m6thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 S 6 ] CASE OF BAPTISTE CADIEN, FOR MURDER ; TRIED AT THREE RIVERS, IN THE MARCH SESSION 1838. •?* THREE Rl VERS : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY G. STOBBS, 1838. the Ki ino dia un] 1 mo or 1 tha cor terr ^ro ofti 1 ed 1 moi 6i the men in tl the 1 CASE OF CADIEN. f A True Bill was found at Three Rivers at the September Session in 1837, of the Court of King's Bench, against Baptiste Cadien for hav- ing in December 1835, at Lac Puant in the In- dian Territory, murdered an Indian to the Jurors unknown. A plea to the Jurisdiction was put in, in the month of March ensuing, denying either Cadien or the person killed to be British Subjects, or that the crime of which Cadien was accused, i committed at all, had been committed within the territories of Great Britain. This plea was overruled by the Court, on the ground that the prisoner would have the benelit of the matters therein pleaded on the trial. The only witness adduced to prove the aliedg- ed murder was one Baptiste Jourdain, his testi- mony was as follows : — " In December 1835, Mr. Mowatt, a clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company, sent a party of six men from Fort Normand to a store offish, called in the country cache de poisson, to bring fish to the fort. The party consisted of Cadien,, ORe r Lagraisse, two Indians of the dog-rib nation, one young Indian of the hare tribe, and myself. ** Having heard Cadien say that he intended to kill some Hare Indians, I informed Mr. Mow- att iliereof. On onr way, Cadien attempted ijvfiiy evening to kill tlie young Hare Indian. When wo arrived near Lake Puant, Lagraisse said * this day will I shed dog's blood on the snow." Cadien said the same thing. I wanted to go straight to the cache, but Cadien took another road leading to the Indian lodges, Lagraisse agreed to it, and I went with them. We came to the Indian lodges on the eve of Christmas Diiy in the evening. There were at the lodges six men of the Hare Tribe, three young women, two old women, and I saw five children. When we arrived, the Indian who had the woman that had been carried off by Cadien, had his gun by him. I did not know what to think. We were well received ; they gave us meat for ourselves and fish for our dogs. I went to bed, and they afterwards spoke together, but I do not under- stand the language. The next morning Cadien said that he would kill the Indians, but I said that it was not a day for that, that it was a great day. They fed us. On the day after Christmas in the morning, Cadien went for fire to another lodge. I harnessed the dogs and we were ready to depart, wlien Cadien came and said to me, " I will pay the Indians : I owe them something." He called them three times. I saw one who m^m^ ^ith. a piece of cloth to receive payment:, , one nded /lovv- ipted dian. aisso low." o go other aisse came 3tmas )dges )men, ?Vhen that m by were elves they nder- adien said great stmas other 'eady ■ing." who nenti. He held the cloth spread out, and stoopoil he- fore Cadien, as if to receive something. Cadioii' also stooped, as if looking for some articles in his sleigh ; he drew a pistol from within his coat and shot the Indian in the loft side of tlio head who fell dead ; and Cadien then cried out to us, " defendeZ'Voiis,^* Then Lagraisse sliot the man who had the woman that had been car- ried oft* by Cadien, and lie also fell. I went towards the lodge to make the young Hare In- dian run away. I discharged my gun at random and ran after the young man to make him ily and escape. I fell and broke my gun. The young Indian returned to the lodge, took a pair of snow shoes and ran off*, while Lagraisse pur- sued him and strove to fire at him, but his gun repeatedly missed fire. ** There were six killed, amongst whom one woman, and another woman was wounded. Then Cadien, Lagraisse, the two dog-rib In- dians, one of whom was brother of the woman that had been carried off* by Cadien, four in all, went together. Cadien returned in less than half an hour, and said to me "you have not help- ed us : find out where the Indians are concealed and we will kill them." I went into the woods and fell into the track of the fugitives, and I did all I could to obliterate their track with my snow shoes. I came to an old woman and four chil- dren, and concealed one under the snow, I named Cadien to them to make them under- s?tand their danger. I returned to the camp,. where I found Cadien loading a gun which he had found there. He went out instantly, telling- me he had found out the track of the Indians. Some moments later I heard the report of a gun, and I saw Cadien in that direction about one arpent and a half. I saw him through the branches. I went to the spot and found the young Indian killed. 1 then returned to the camp with Cadien. Lagraisse and the two dog ribbed Indians also returned, and soon after came Cadien. Then the four commenced burning the lodges, and we departed immediate- ly, five in number, namely, Cadien, Lagraisse, the two dog-rib Indians, and myself, and we went towards the cache. Cadien had directed the woman to go in that direction and wait for us, and we found her at the distance of thirty arpents from the ledges. She came on with Cadien. We spent five days in going from the lodges to the cache. On the first day we only crossed Lake Puant and encamped on the other side of it. We encamped every night; at ttie first encampment they had a dance. While dancing, Cadien asked Lagraisse how many he had killed, who answered that he had killed five : Cadien said he also had killed five : Cadien's brother-in-law (the woman's brother) said he had killed two ; and I, to soothe Ca- dien, said I had killed one. Cadien took back the woman as his wife, and told us she was the same whom he had twice carried oflT. We came tp the cache, hut took no fish as it had been de- 1 I i 1 he ling- ans. gun, one the the the two after need iate- lisse, i we ?cted it for hirty with the only ther it the hile by h^ illed Ifive : |ther) Ca- Iback Is the ;ame de- ■5 I 1 atroyed by vermin. Then the two Indians left us, and we were joined by two others, one of whom was another brother of the woman. Ca- dien had said that he would kill Mr. Mowatt, and I went on before the party to warn him, and informed him in part of what had happened. 1 told him of the destruction of the Indians. Mr. Mowatt hearing this, came and stood by me while the parly entered the Fort. There was one Canadian in Fort Normand. Cadien, on entering the Fort, went to his own house with the woman. Cross examined, " The first Indian killed by Cadien was not armed. Lake Puant is near M'Kenzie's River in the Indian country. Lagraisse had no pistol : he and the Indians had guns. ** Lake Puant Ues west of the Rocky Moun- tains. " Cadien spoke French when he threatened to kill the young Hare Indian We were seven days in reaching the lodges where the Indians were killed. The two Indians (dog-rib), that were with us did not understand French, nor did they that were killed. Cadien told us every evening that he was about to kill the young Hare Indian. ** My gun was loaded with powder only : this is usually the case, as we know not what animal: we may find : bullet or shot is used as occasion requires. « 8 " When Caclion and Lagroisse spoke of api!^ ling (Jog's blood, they spoke French. I did not know what they intended to do. ** When we came to the lodges I went to bed without any uneasiness. I slept well. 1 did not hear them speak. 1 awoke once or twice. " There were six Indians in the camp. I saw one gun. I had never seen these Indians before, except the old man that was lirst killed, and whom the Bourgeois usually called le fotu I saw a trun in the hands of !-arnousse, the woman's liusband who was killed by Lagraissc. After the massacre of the Indians, Cadien took a gun, Lagraisi>e one, and I aUo one, that had belong- ed to those Indians. *' None of the Indians defended themselves. When Cr^dien spoke of killing the young Indian, he said that he and the young man had spoken ill of him. The young Indian was a full grown man. ** I offered no resistance to Cadien and La- graisse. 1 did not suspect any such thing. I iiad for a long time prevented them from killing the young Indian. This young man was at the door of the lodge when Cadien killed the first Indian. I discharged my gun after Lagraisse had fired his. Lagraisse was behind me, and the Indian killed by Cadien was before me. There was no person in the lodge. " When Cadien boasted of having killed the Indian, he said they wanted to kill all the white men. Cadien said he had twice taken the wo- man from Lamousse when the \fiu?.r was hunl- ■I ^- (1 not bed id not 1 saw efore, , and 1 saw man's After I gun, ilong- ;elv(3s. idian, ken ill 1 man. d La- . I billing at tht3 first raisso and 3 rac. jdthe white wo- huiit- ing. Cadien's nnother is a dog-rib sqnaw. La- graisse while going to the lodge repeated fre- quently that those Indians intended to kill us. Cadien was made a prisoner upwards of a montli after the massacre. I itevcr heard of an Indiati having been made a prisoner for killing another. The gentlemen of the north (Bourgeois du Nord) have sent me hither. 1 have been in- formed that government paid my board here. ** The gun I took was loaded. I have seen the prisoner's mother. He told me that his lather was a Canadian. The prisoner was an interpreter at Fort Normand.'' Cadien on this evidence was found guilty, and was condemned " to be taken, &c. and on the sixteenth of March instant he be hanged by the neck until his body be dead, and it was further ordered that execution be stayed to the twentieth day of April next." The following Petition, signed by a great number of the inhabitants of Three Rivers, was on the second of April presented to His Excel- lency Sir John Colborne, Administrator of the Government : — TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN COLBORNE, &c., &c., &c. The humble petition of the undersigned inhabitants of tbv Three Rivers, this 30th March, 1838. ] Signed, VALLIERES DE ST. REAL, Resident Judge. Answer to the foregoing Petition^ Government House, Montreal, llih April, 1838. Sir, — The Administrator of the Government having taken into his serious consideration the Petition signed by you and B 14 several other inhabitants of tho Town of Three Rivers, pray- ing that His Kxcollency would be pleased to grant Her Ma- josiy's pardon to Baptiste Cadien who was convicted of mur- der at ihe late Criminal Term of the Court of King's Bench at Thr( (! Kivttrs, and whose exe(?ution stands respited to the LM)th idstinit ; also the report of the Chief Justice of Montieal wlio prosid.'d at the trial : The observations of the Attorney (Teupral on the petition in favour of Cadien and a comniuni- <:Htion of iMr. Justice Vallieres on the same subject, together witii a further report from Chief Justice Reid ; I am com- manded to acquaint you, that as it appears from the whole of these docuniLMits that the trial of Cadien was conducted with every consideration to his unfortunate situation and that the Jury consisted of Canadians of respectable character who, had any favorable circumstances appeared, would assuredly, have leant to the side of mercy, His Excellency laments exceed* inglv that it is not a case in which the Executive Government can intcM'ftre. 1 have, &.C., Signed, WM, ROWAN, Civil Secretary. The Rev. Thos. Cooke, Vic. Gen., Three Rivers. The communication from Mr. Justice Vallieres, referred to in tlK? foregoing letter, was the following^, which was obtained from the person employed by Mr. Justice Vallieres in copying it : Three Rivers, 6th April, 1838. Sir, — As one of the Judges present at the trial of Baptist?^ ('adieu whose execution for muider stands respited to the 20tli instant, 1 cannot forbear from making known to His Excellen- cy, tlie Administrator of the Governujent, some considerations wliicli create a doubt in my mind whether the prisoner ought to.be executed. It does not appear to me to have been satisfactorily proved thai the olTence was committed within the dominions of Great Britain, or that Cadien is a subject of the British Crown. As it is the duty of every Sovereign to protect his subjecls^ so it is his right to punish them, in whatsoever place they may live or ^(It-nd, but no Government has ever assumed the right to pu- 15 1 Lt .S is »ish a foreigner for an offence committed in a foreign country- If therefore Cadien be not a subject of our Sovcrcicn, fie cannot be punished by the Queen's authority, for an oilence committed without the pale of Her Majesty's doniiniuns. Cadien was convicted on the evidence of one wiines.^, (Jourdain), whose testimony does not appear to me as satisfac- tory as it ought to be in a case of life and death. Jourdain uas sworn upon the Gospel, yet it does not appear that he is i\ christian. His account has some strange features ; I will use a translation of his own words. (Sec page 3). This is the whole of Jourdain's evidence upon wliicii I beg leave to make the following observations : 1. Jourdain, according to his own statement, knew the atro- cious design of Cadien atid Lagraisse.— Why, then, did he not warn the intended victims of their danger 1 If Jourdain and the young Hare Indian had joined the six Indians in the lodges, they would have stood eight against four ; Why was not this done or attempted to be done ] If Jourdain was adverse to the murder, it is diflficiilt to ex- plain his conduct. If he consented to the muider, iris equally difficult to give the least credit to his evidence. Z, Jourdain sfjys that Cadien attempted, every evening, to kill the youn^ Hare Indian while the party was proceeding to the loilges. He says thtit even before his departure from Fort l\o! .naiui, Cadien sjid he would kill the Hare Indian : He says i.-i \\]^ evidence in chief that, on the night of his arrival at the lodges, he went to bed and afterwards heard Cadien and the Indiaiis speaking. Yet on his cross examination he says ho heard no conversation afier going to bed, that he went lo bed wiihuut any uneasiness : Nay, when asked why he had not resisted Cadien and L^igraisse, he affirms that he had not suspected s«ch a thing as the murder of the Hare Indians, which nuir- der he had nevertheless prevented the day before if we believe him. 3. Jourdain might be convicted of murder by the evi dence of any one of the persons to whom, at the evening dan^o near Lake Puant, he boasted of having killed one of the Haie Indians. 4. It appears from Jourdain's evidence that Lake Puant lies west of the Rocky Mountains. Now the countries, west of the Rocky Mountains, are left open to American as well as to British Traders, as appears by the Imperial Statuiw m 16 1 and 2 Geo. IV, and it has not been proved that Lake Puar>l is \r,\n of the territories of Great Britain. It is proved to be wiihoui the limits of the Hudson's Bay Territory and it docs not appear ih.it liie authority of British laws or government ever extended to LakePuantor its immediate neighbouriiood. Iihas^ indeed, been proved that Cadien was the hired inter- preter of the Hudson*s Bay Company at Fort Normand, but assinning that he was born of a foreign woman in a foreign country, it cannot be pretended that his being the hired ser- vant of British merchants made him a British subject : A Chi' nese employed as interpreter or servant to the British nier- oh'ints at Canton would still be a subject of the Celestial, not of the British Empire. In, respectfully^ submitting my doubts to His Excellency ^^ir John Colborne, the principal object I have hi view is to accjuit my own conscience, and I am not without hope that my observations may be of some use to the Representative of nty Sovereign in the arduous task of administering justice in mercy. 1 have &c., Signed^ VALLIERES DE ST. REAL, Resident Judge. Colonel Rowan, Civil Secretary, Montreal. Letter of Catholic Clergy to His ExcelUncy asking for a further respite : Three Rivers, 13th April, 1838. Sir,— We have learnt, with pain, from your letter to one of MS, the Reverend Thomas Cooke of the 11th instant, in answer to the petition signed by us and several of the inhabitants of Three Rivers, that His Excellency the administrator of the Gaverument, has come to the conclusion that he case of Baptiste Cadien, new lying under sentence of death lor mur- der, is not one in which the Executive Government can interfere. We had hoped that the opinion of the two Honorable Judges before whom and the Honorable the Chief Justice of Men- ueaU the unfortunate man was triedi^ that serious doubts tt If •11 k rV existed a.^ to the jurisdiction of tlie Court and the sufficiency and credibiliiy of the evidonco of tlie sole witness upon wliose testifuony Cadien was convicted, would iiave tfiven weight to our petition ; from the well known docirijio of the law of Eng- land that any, the least doubt, in a case of life and de^ith, should have its ^'ili weight in favor of the accused. We take, now, the liberty, once more, humbly, to address His Excellency, and to request that, as the unfortunate Cadien is now no longer to expect mercy from man, he mc,y have a respite granted to him to piepare him to hope for mercy from God. We beg His Excellency to take into consideration the ignorance of the truths of the gospel in which Cadien has been brought up and lived, and though his spiritual advisers have done their utmost to instruct him therein, that it would require a {liw weeks more to prepare him for the awful passage to eternity. Hoping and eurnosilv trtisting tliat His Excellency may take this, our request, into his favorable consideration and grant a further respite, we have the honor to subscribe ourselves, with every degree of respect and consideration, Sir, Your most obedient humble servants. Signed, THOS. COOKE, G. Vicar. JOYER, Pretre. HARPER, Pretre. FORTIN, Pretre. Colonel Rowan, Civil Secretary, Montreal, To this letter, no answer was received, but Cadien was shortly after respited to Friday the fourth day of May, 1838. Whereupon, the Ad- vocates of Cadien addressed the following peti- tion to His Excellency Sir John Colborne : TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR JOHN COLBORNE, &,c, &c. &c. May it please your Excellency, The humble Petition of the undersigned, Advocates of the town of Three Rivers, hunibly represents : — That they were, in the month of September last, by the Court of King's Bench for the District of Three Rivers, ap- 18 pointed to act as Counsel for Baptiste Cadien, against whom Ht) Indictment for murder had been found. That the trial of the said Baptiste Cadien took place on the fourteenth day of March last, and that the said Baptiste Ca- dien, was found guilty on the sole testimony of one Baptiste Jourdain. That your Petitioners were not aware at the trial of the said Cadien, that the said Jourdain was not a Christian, and had never been baptized ; that that fact was not elicited at the said tti.il, and thnt the said Jourdain was sworn on the Holy Evangelists, in the usual form made use of to swear witnesses believing in the truths of the Gospel. That the fact of Jourdain's not being a Christian was esta- blished by the affidavit of Joseph Morin, of the 30th March last, annexed to a [>ftlitio!i to your Excellency dated the 31st ?4arch last, signed by divers of the inhabitants of the said town of Three Rivers, praying your Excellency, graciously, to grant Her Majesty's pardon to the said Baptiste Cadien. Your Petitioners in stating, simply, that there are doubts whether ;iie crime alledjjcd to have bron committed bv Ca- dien was committed within the territories of Great liriiain, whelher Cadien is himself a British subject, and wlieth' r Jourdain's testiinonv is sufficient and creditable, Iiuvh everv reason to believe, from what occurred at tin) trial, that their view of the case would be supported by the opinion of the Resident Judge of this District and Mr. Justice Dedard who iidt on that occasion, with the Chief Justice of Montreal. Your Petithmers aNo thiidv it their dutv to inform vour Excellency, that the Honorable the Chief Justice of Montreal, at the time of passing sentence of death upon the said Cadien, informed y,mr Petitioners, in open Court, thai the case of the said Cadien should be favorably represented to your Excel- lency, and that the said Chief Justice of Montreal, as your Petitioners have been credibly informed, privately intimated to the Sheriff of the District of Thiee Rivers, alter the trial was over, that, in his opinion, the said Baptiste Cadien would not be executed ; and that the Court before whom he had been tried would recommend the slid Cadien to the favourable consideration of the Executive Government. Your Petitioners would conceive themselves to be wanting in their duty te their unfortunate client, did they no! inliniaie 19 ir to your Excellency ibat thoy have too just grounds for feaiing that the Honorable the Chief Justice of Montreal has not re- presented to your Excellency, in conformity to his promise and, as your Petitioners beg leave to add as theit opinion^ his duty, the case of the said Baptiste Cadien to the favourable consideration of your Excellency ; but on the contrary, that he has done exactly the reverse, notwithstanding his promise which he made as President, and, consequently* in the name of the whole Court; and your Petitioners find themselves obliged to come to the painful conclusion forced on them by too evident facts, that the hopes, given by the said Chief Jus- tice to your Petitioners and the Iminane part of the publii!, have had the effect of inducing them to trust to those Ijopes, and thereby relax in those exertions whicli, under the circum- stances of a case like this, could hardly bo unsuccessml, on an application made to the representative of the Sovereign of (ireat Britain, for the pardon of a man found guilty of a crime of which, your Petitioners are convinced it would be found on reference to the Judges who sat on the trial, that doubts do exist as to their jurisdiction, and of the sufficiency and credi- bility of the sole witness, upon whose inicorroboraied testimo- ny, the accused has been found guilty. Your Petitioners may also add, that the apj)lication Was the more likely to buvc at- tention paid to it from xh^ circumstance that ih:ii solo witness has not only contradicted iilm^elf, but that it ap; eats from his own shewing, he could have been tried as a participator in the crime of which Cadien is accused. Your Petitioners are emboldened, by a sense of duly, to en- treat your Excellency to take into consideration the fact that the Governor General^ named by our gracious Sovereign, is expected to arrive in a very few days after the fourth of May next, the day fixed by the short respiie granted by your Ex- cellency, for the execution of Cadien ; and your Petitioners entreat your Excellency to consider whether it is necessary that your Excellency should consult any other than your own conscience and your own benevolent feelings, as to the Justire and expediency of your Excellency's granting the humhlo prayer of your Petitioners, that your Excellency may be pleased further to respite the execution of the said Bapiisle Cadien until the arrival of the Governor General. Your Petitioners, in urging, humbly and respectfuTy, ti.is I 20 llieir request, entreat yo;ir Excellency to consider the hum^'ne doctrine of the law of England, that it is belter iliat many guilty persons should escape the punishment due to their crimes, than that one innocent person should perish : and our client, may it pleasu your Excellency, is innocent U!iti! he is legally convicted. Js it necessary for us to ask yonr Excel- lency is Cadien legally convictcid, if two, of the three Honor- able Judges wh(» tried him, shall tell your Excellency that ihry have serious doiibis on the suhject I Your Petitioners, in closing ihis INuition, beg your Excel- Uncy to consider that the warmth which your Petiiioners n)ay sceui to feal in favor of iheir client is an honest one, ihat it is called for by ihe circumslances in which that unfortunate and unprotecied man is placcMJ, whose life, as your Petitioners fear, is about to be unlawfully saciificed, al the instance of the j)owerful conjpany who ask it of tln^ hands of your Excellen- cy : and whatever the result of this Petition may ho, your Pe- titioners can confidently say that they have to the utmost of their feeble power, acquiued themselves of the debt they owed to their client, to humanity, and to their consciences. Wherefore your Petitioners hmnbly pray, that the execution of the said Ba[)tiste Cadien ma}', by your Excellency, be graciously respited to the first Friday in June next, and your Peliiioners, as in duty bound will ever pray. Three Rivers, the 18th April 1838. Signed, EDW. BARNARD. H. JUDAH. No answer having been received to this Peti- tion ; and as the time approached of putting, un- lawfiilly, as it was conceived, in execution the sen- tence against Cadien, it was thought adviseabte to write the followinjx letters : — Sir, Three Rivers, 26th April 1838. As the Advocate of Baptiste Cadien, now lying under sentence of death for murder, I beg to apprize you for the information of His Excellency Sir John Colborne, that, it is apprehended the sentence is a nullity and a blank piece of paper, inasmuch as it is not conformable to the provisions of the Statute 25 Geo. II. ch. 37r 21 i I bog to refer lo Russoll on Crimes, No. 479. Foster 107. 1 East P. C. ch. 5, s. 136, p. 374 ; and tlie case of Rex v Fletcher, Trin. T. 1803. Russell and Ryan, 58. which was leferred lo all the Judges. 1 should suppose that, as a matter of course, notice will bo taken of the present letter. 1 have, &c. Signed, EDW. BARNARD. Colonel Rowan, Civil Secretary, Montreal. ANSWER. Government House, Montreal, 1st May 1338. Sir, I am directed to acquaint yon that your communi- cation of the 26th ultimo, has been duly received and hid before His Excellency, the Administrator of the Government. I have, &,c. Signed, W. ROWAN, Civil Sec. Edward Barnard, Esq. Advocate, Three Rivers. Three Rivers, 26th April 1838. Sir, — A friend of yours, whose name I am not authorized to give, has directed me to request you to obtain from the Executive Government communication of all the documents which hare passed to and from the Government, on the sub- ject of one Cadien, whose life, it is to be feared, is to be un- lawfully sacrificed on Friday, the fourth day of May next. It remains to be seen whether your interference may not be, under Divine Providence, a means of petsuading the Ex- ecutive against taking upon itself so fearful a responsibility « 1 have, &/C. EDW. BARNARD. The Hon. James Cuthbert, Montreal. ANSWER. Special Council Chamber, Montreal, 1 o'clock, P. M. 28th April. Sir, In answer to yours of the 26th instant, I beg to say, that I have had some communication on the subject of your unfortunate client, and I have reason to believe that, in con* sequence of some favorable interpretation or doubt on the part of high judicial authority, the prisoner may be farther 22 reprieved preparatory lo iIig adoption of commuted punish- IIIMlt. You will plen.so to cotisider this communication as altogctlicr unconnected with any ofTiciul permission to make it. In haste, L am Sir, truly vuiirs, &c. Signed, JAiMl!:S CUTHBERT.. E. Barnard, Esq. Advocate, Tiireo Rivers. Three Rivers, 26ih April 183S. Sir, — In taking the liberty to address you on the sub- ject of the following letter, I think I ought to plead no other apology than that of not having done so sooner. Though 1 have waited till the very last moment, there is still time, though there is but just time enough, for me to expect that there is one man in the Province whose commanding talents and standing can prevent the Executive Government from rendering itself guilty of taking away, unlawfully, tlie life of aji unfortunate and unprotected individual. A circumstance which emboldens me to hope that the appeal I make to you may and will meet with that attention which has been refused me where 1 had a right to expect it, is, that the case of the individual, in whose behalf 1 am now addressing you, arrested, lo,a considerable degree the attention, and, I may add, arous- ed the indignation of Mr. Andrew Stuart, who happened to be < here last September ; and that gentleman, in a manner wor- thy of him, tendered his professional services in aid of the ac- cused, and elicited from the Chief Justice of the Province, then silting, his opinion as to the want of jurisdiction iuMhe Courts of this Province from proceeding to the trial. Indeed had your brother not have been lately called away froni the Province, there is little doubt that it would not have become necessary that I should now address you. For his sake, and for the sake of humanity, you, I would fondly hope, will throw your powerful resources into the balance, which would otherwise be weighed down, not by right but by might. I, therefore, take the liberty of forwarding for your consi- deration divers documents which have passed to and from the Executive Government an the subject of Baptiste Cadien, an Indian! now lying under sentence of death for murder, which there is too much reason to fear, will, unless Providence inter- Sl- he aa ieh ■er- fi;rr, be carried into execution on Friday, ilu f.nrtli dny of May next. These papers will give you, pretty nearly, an 'nsight into the whole case ; and 1 only fear that, after the perusal of them you will deeui it not necessary to give yourstifany particular trouble in the matter, as you will come to the conclusion that 1 apprehend, every lawyer must in a case like this, that Go- vernment would not be willi ig to take upon itself the respon- sibility of executing Cadlr:i. This conclusion, however, I take the liberty, particularly to guard you against. I was induced, from the peculiar chain of the circumstances in the case, to go to Montreal in the beginning of the month, and, in an interview with His Excel- l(;ncy, my worst fears were confirmed beyond a doubt ; and I then became convinced of what 1 had before feared, that among the powerful men, thirsting for the blood of Cadien, are, from some cause or another yet to be discovered, to be ranked some, whose business it was to convict, whose duty it was to try, but whose duty or business it never could be to prejudice the honest, but 1 fear too confiding, oar of the personage now at the head of the administration. In pressing, then, this mutter upon you, I have in the name of poor Cadien, no fee to oiler but that worthy of a mind like yours, his gratitude and the thanks of the humane and reflecting part of mankind. 1 have the honor to be,