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PREFATORY NOTE
PREFATORY NOTE
The manuscript for this little book, written by me in French, was handed over for translation to Mr Stewart Wallace. The result as here presented is therefore a joint product. Mr Wallace, himself a writer of ability and a student of Canadian history, naturally made a very free translation of my work and introduced some ideas of his own. He insists, however, that the work is mine; and, with this acknowledgment of his part in it, I can do no less than acquiesce, at the same time expressing my plea
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CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
The conquest of Canada by British arms in the Seven Years' War gave rise to a situation in the colony which was fraught with tragic possibilities. It placed the French inhabitants under the sway of an alien race—a race of another language, of another religion, of other laws, and which differed from them profoundly in temperament and political outlook. Elsewhere—in Ireland, in Poland, and in the Balkans—such conquests have been followed by centuries of bitter racial warfare. In Canada, however, f
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CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
The British did not treat the French inhabitants of Canada as a conquered people; not as other countries won by conquest have been treated by their victorious invaders. The terms of the Capitulation of Montreal in 1760 assured the Canadians of their property and civil rights, and guaranteed to them 'the free exercise of their religion.' The Quebec Act of 1774 granted them the whole of the French civil law, to the almost complete exclusion of the English common law, and virtually established in C
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CHAPTER III
CHAPTER III
During the session of 1805 the Assembly was confronted with the apparently innocent problem of building prisons. Yet out of the debate on this subject sprang the most serious racial conflict which had yet occurred in the province. There were two ways proposed for raising the necessary money. One, advocated by the English members, was to levy a direct tax on land; the other, proposed by the French members, was to impose extra customs duties. The English proposal was opposed by the French, for the
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CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER IV
In the year 1812 a young man took his seat in the House of Assembly for Lower Canada who was destined to play a conspicuous part in the history of the province during the next quarter of a century. His name was Louis Joseph Papineau. He was at that time only twenty-six years of age, but already his tall, well-built form, his fine features and commanding presence, marked him out as a born leader of men. He possessed an eloquence which, commonplace as it now appears on the printed page, apparently
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CHAPTER V
CHAPTER V
After 1830 signs began to multiply that the racial feud in Lower Canada was growing in intensity. In 1832 a by-election in the west ward of Montreal culminated in a riot. Troops were called out to preserve order. After showing some forbearance under a fusillade of stones, they fired into the rioters, killing three and wounding two men, all of them French Canadians. Immediately the Patriote press became furious. The newspaper La Minerve asserted that a 'general massacre' had been planned: the mur
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CHAPTER VI
CHAPTER VI
A general election followed soon after the passing of the Ninety-Two Resolutions and revealed the strength of Papineau's position in the country. All those members of the Patriote party who had opposed the Resolutions—Neilson, Cuvillier, Quesnel, Stuart, and two or three others—suffered defeat at the polls. The first division-list in the new Assembly showed seventy members voting for Papineau as speaker, and only six voting against him. The Resolutions were forwarded to Westminster, both through
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CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VII
When the legislature of Lower Canada met in the autumn of 1836, Lord Gosford earnestly called its attention to the estimates of the current year and the accounts showing the arrears unpaid. Six months, however, had passed by, and there was no sign of the redress of grievances. The royal commission, indeed, had not completed its investigations. The Assembly, therefore, refused once more to vote the necessary supplies. 'In reference to the demand for a supply,' they told the governor, 'relying on
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CHAPTER VIII
CHAPTER VIII
As the autumn of 1837 wore on, the situation in Lower Canada began to assume an aspect more and more threatening. In spite of a proclamation from the governor forbidding such meetings, the Patriotes continued to gather for military drill and musketry exercises. Armed bands went about the countryside, in many places intimidating the loyalists and forcing loyal magistrates and militia officers to send in their resignations to the governor. As early as July some of the Scottish settlers at Côte St
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CHAPTER IX
CHAPTER IX
The check administered to Colonel Gore's column at St Denis, in the first engagement of the rebellion, was the only victory which fell to the rebel forces. In the meantime Lieutenant-Colonel Wetherall, with several companies of infantry, a troop of volunteer cavalry, and two field-guns, was marching on St Charles. On the evening of November 22 Major Gugy, the leader of the English party in the Assembly, had brought to Wetherall at Chambly instructions to advance down the Richelieu and attack the
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CHAPTER X
CHAPTER X
The rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada profoundly affected public opinion in the mother country. That the first year of the reign of the young Queen Victoria should have been marred by an armed revolt in an important British colony shocked the sensibilities of Englishmen and forced the country and the government to realize that the grievances of the Canadian Reformers were more serious than they had imagined. It was clear that the old system of alternating concession and repression had broken
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CHAPTER XI
CHAPTER XI
The frigate Inconstant , with Lord Durham on board, was not two days out from Quebec when rebellion broke out anew in Lower Canada. This second rebellion, however, was not caused by Lord Durham's departure, but was the result of a long course of agitation which had been carried on along the American border throughout the months of Lord Durham's régime. As early as February 1838 numbers of Canadian refugees had gathered in the towns on the American side of the boundary-line in the neighbourhood o
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CHAPTER XII
CHAPTER XII
The rebellion of 1837 now belongs to the dead past. The Patriotes and the 'Bureaucrats' of those days have passed away; and the present generation has forgotten, or should have forgotten, the passions which inspired them. The time has come when Canadians should take an impartial view of the events of that time, and should be willing to recognize the good and the bad on either side. It is absurd to pretend that many of the English in Lower Canada were not arrogant and brutal in their attitude tow
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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
The story of the Lower Canada rebellion is told in detail in some of the general histories of Canada. William Kingsford, History of Canada (1887-94), is somewhat inaccurate and shows a strong bias against the Patriotes , but his narrative of the rebellion is full and interesting. F. X. Garneau, Histoire du Canada (1845-52), presents the history of the period, from the French-Canadian point of view, with sympathy and power. A work which holds the scales very evenly is Robert Christie, A History o
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PART I THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS
PART I THE FIRST EUROPEAN VISITORS
1. THE DAWN OF CANADIAN HISTORY By Stephen Leacock. 2. THE MARINER OF ST MALO By Stephen Leacock....
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PART II THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE
PART II THE RISE OF NEW FRANCE
3. THE FOUNDER OF NEW FRANCE By Charles W. Colby. 4. THE JESUIT MISSIONS By Thomas Guthrie Marquis. 5. THE SEIGNEURS OF OLD CANADA By William Bennett Munro. 6. THE GREAT INTENDANT By Thomas Chapais. 7. THE FIGHTING GOVERNOR By Charles W. Colby....
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PART III THE ENGLISH INVASION
PART III THE ENGLISH INVASION
8. THE GREAT FORTRESS By William Wood. 9. THE ACADIAN EXILES By Arthur G. Doughty. 10. THE PASSING OF NEW FRANCE By William Wood. 11. THE WINNING OF CANADA By William Wood....
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PART IV THE BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH CANADA
PART IV THE BEGINNINGS OF BRITISH CANADA
12. THE FATHER OF BRITISH CANADA By William Wood. 13. THE UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS By W. Stewart Wallace. 14. THE WAR WITH THE UNITED STATES By William Wood....
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PART V THE RED MAN IN CANADA
PART V THE RED MAN IN CANADA
15. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE OTTAWAS By Thomas Guthrie Marquis. 16. THE WAR CHIEF OF THE SIX NATIONS By Louis Aubrey Wood. 17. TECUMSEH: THE LAST GREAT LEADER OF HIS PEOPLE By Ethel T. Raymond....
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PART VI PIONEERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST
PART VI PIONEERS OF THE NORTH AND WEST
18. THE 'ADVENTURERS OF ENGLAND' ON HUDSON BAY By Agnes C. Laut. 19. PATHFINDERS OF THE GREAT PLAINS By Lawrence J. Burpee. 20. ADVENTURERS OF THE FAR NORTH By Stephen Leacock. 21. THE RED RIVER COLONY By Louis Aubrey Wood. 22. PIONEERS OF THE PACIFIC COAST By Agnes C. Laut. 23. THE CARIBOO TRAIL By Agnes C. Laut....
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PART VII THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM
PART VII THE STRUGGLE FOR POLITICAL FREEDOM
24. THE FAMILY COMPACT By W. Stewart Wallace. 25. THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 By Alfred D. DeCelles. 26. THE TRIBUNE OF NOVA SCOTIA By William Lawson Grant. 27. THE WINNING OF POPULAR GOVERNMENT By Archibald MacMechan....
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PART VIII THE GROWTH OF NATIONALITY
PART VIII THE GROWTH OF NATIONALITY
28. THE FATHERS OF CONFEDERATION By A. H. U. Colquhoun. 29. THE DAY OF SIR JOHN MACDONALD By Sir Joseph Pope. 30. THE DAY OF SIR WILFRID LAURIER By Oscar D. Skelton....
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PART IX NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
PART IX NATIONAL HIGHWAYS
31. ALL AFLOAT By William Wood. 32. THE RAILWAY BUILDERS By Oscar D. Skelton....
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