Alfred D. DeCelles

“ Doubtless the honourable gentleman, having studied military tactics as a lieutenant in the militia—I do not say as a major, for he has been a major only for the purposes of the parade-ground and the ball-room—is quite competent to judge of the results of a civil war and of the forces of the country, but he need not fancy that he can frighten us by hinting to us that he will fight in the ranks of the enemy. ”

“ After this all present marched past singing popular airs; and each man placed his hand on the column, swearing to be faithful to the cause of his country, and to conquer or die for her. All this, of course, was comparatively innocent. The resolutions, too, were not more violent than many others which had been passed elsewhere. Nor did Papineau use language more extreme than usual. Many of the Patriotes, indeed, considered his speech too moderate. He deprecated any recourse to arms and advised his hearers merely to boycott English goods, in order to bring the government to righteousness. ”

“ In that war, in which Canada was repeatedly invaded by American armies, French-Canadian militiamen under French-Canadian officers fought shoulder to shoulder with their English-speaking fellow-countrymen on several stricken fields of battle; and in one engagement, fought at Châteauguay in the French province of Lower Canada, the day was won for British arms by the heroic prowess of Major de Salaberry and his French-Canadian soldiers. The history of the war with the United States provides indelible testimony to the loyalty of French Canada. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Melbourne administration, which had sent Durham to Canada, might have been expected to stand behind him when he was attacked. Lord John Russell, indeed, rose in the House of Commons and made a thoroughgoing defence of Durham's policy as 'wise and statesmanlike.' But he alone of the ministers gave Durham loyal support. In the House of Lords Melbourne contented himself with a feeble defence of Durham and then capitulated to the Opposition. Nothing would have been easier for him than to introduce a bill making valid whatever may have been irregular in Durham's ordinance ”

“ Papineau had attacked Lord Aylmer in language breathing passion; and had caused Lord Aylmer's reply to the address of the Assembly containing the Ninety-Two Resolutions to be expunged from the journals of the House as 'an insult cast at the whole nation.' Papineau had professed himself hopeless of any amendment of grievances by Great Britain. 'When Reform ministries, who called themselves our friends,' he said, 'have been deaf to our complaints, can we hope that a Tory ministry, the enemy of Reform, will give us a better hearing? ”

“ It is not, you see, uniformity of language which makes peoples more faithful or more united.'
'Is it not ridiculous,' exclaimed Pierre Bédard, whose name will appear later in these pages, 'to wish to make a people's loyalty consist in its tongue?'
The outcome of the debate, as might have been expected, was to place the French language on a level with the English language in the records and publications of the Assembly, and French became, to all intents and purposes, the language of debate. The number of English-speaking members steadily decreased. ”

“ When Papineau entered public life the political situation in Lower Canada was beginning to be complicated. The French-Canadian members of the Assembly, having taken great pains to acquaint themselves with the law and custom of the British constitution, had awakened to the fact that they were not enjoying the position or the power which the members of the House of Commons in England were enjoying. In the first place, the measures which they passed were being continually thrown out by the upper chamber, the Legislative Council, and they were powerless to prevent it ”

“ The rest of the Patriote leaders were scattered far and wide. Chénier and Girod lay beneath the springing sod; Papineau, O'Callaghan, Storrow Brown, Robert Nelson, Côté, and Rodier were across the American border; Morin had just come out of his hiding-place in the Canadian backwoods; and LaFontaine, after vainly endeavouring, on the outbreak of rebellion, to get Gosford to call together the legislature of Lower Canada, had gone abroad. The future course of the rebels who had fled to the United States was still doubtful ”

“ The French Revolution profoundly affected the attitude of the French Canadians toward France. Canada was the child of the ancien régime. Within her borders the ideas of Voltaire and Rousseau had found no shelter. Canada had nothing in common with the anti-clerical and republican tendencies of the Revolution. That movement created a gap between France and Canada which has not been bridged to this day. In the Napoleonic wars the sympathies of Canada were almost wholly with Great Britain. ”

“ For four days he evaded capture. Then, finding that the cordon was tightening around him, he blew out his brains with a revolver. Thus ended a life which was not without its share of romance and mystery. ”

“ 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 Joseph, near St Eustache, had fled from their homes, leaving their property to its fate. ”

“ Up to this point the Patriotes had not indulged in any overt acts of armed rebellion. Some of their leaders, it is true, had been laying plans for a revolt. So much is known from the correspondence which passed between the leading Patriotes in Lower Canada and William Lyon Mackenzie, the leader of the rebellion in Upper Canada. Thomas Storrow Brown, one of Papineau's lieutenants, wrote to Mackenzie asking him to start the ball rolling in Upper Canada first, in order to draw off some of the troops which Sir John Colborne had massed in Lower Canada. ”

“ When the American colonies broke out in revolution in 1775, the Continental Congress thought to induce the French Canadians to join hands with them. But the conciliatory policy of the successive governors Murray and Carleton, and the concessions granted by the Quebec Act of the year before, had borne {3} fruit; and when the American leaders Arnold and Montgomery invaded Canada, the great majority of the habitants remained at least passively loyal. ”

“ 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 of Lake Champlain. They were shown much sympathy and encouragement by the Americans, and seem to have laboured under the delusion that the American government would come to their assistance. A proclamation signed by Robert Nelson, a brother of Wolfred Nelson, declared the independence of Canada under a {118} 'provisional government' of which Robert Nelson was president and Dr Côté a member. The identity of the other members is a mystery. ”

“ Great dissatisfaction, of course, arose among the English in the colony at Lord Gosford's policy. 'Constitutional associations,' which had been formed in Quebec and Montreal for the defence of the constitution and the rights and privileges of the English-speaking inhabitants of Canada, expressed gloomy forebodings as to the probable result of the policy. The British in Montreal organized among themselves a volunteer rifle corps, eight hundred strong, 'to protect their persons and property, and to assist in maintaining the rights and principles granted them by the constitution' ”

“ The grandson's social tastes and affiliations might have led one to expect that he would have been found in the ranks of the loyalists; but the arbitrary policy of the Russell Resolutions had driven him into the arms of the extreme Patriotes. Arrested for disloyalty at the outbreak of {90} the rebellion, he had been admitted to bail and had escaped. These men, under the belief that the habitants would rise and join them, determined upon an armed invasion of Canada. Possibly they believed also that Wolfred Nelson was still holding out. ”

“ Papineau and O'Callaghan were present in St Denis when the attack began; but before the morning was well advanced, they had departed for St Hyacinthe, whence they later fled to the United States. Papineau always declared that he had taken this action at the {79} solicitation of Wolfred Nelson, who had said to him: 'Do not expose yourself uselessly: you will be of more service to us after the fight than here.' In later days, however, when political differences had arisen between the two men, Nelson denied having given Papineau any such advice. It is very difficult to know the truth. ”

“ Failing important aid from the United States, the rebels had an even slighter chance of success than they had had a year before, for since that time the British regular troops in Canada had been considerably increased in number. The chief responsibility for the rebellion must be placed at the door of Robert Nelson, who at {126} the critical moment fled over the border, leaving his dupes to extricate themselves as best they could from the situation into which he had led them. ”

“ The speech with which Lord Gosford opened the session of the legislature in the autumn of 1835 was in line with the rest of his policy. He announced his determination to effect the redress of every grievance. In some cases the action of the executive government would be sufficient to supply the remedy. In others the assistance of the legislature would be necessary. A third class of cases would call for the sanction of the British parliament. He promised that no discrimination against French Canadians should be made in appointments to office. ”

“ The Ninety-Two Resolutions were introduced by Elzéar Bédard, the son of Pierre Bédard, and are reputed to have been drawn up by A. N. Morin. But there is no doubt that they were inspired by Papineau. The voice was the voice of Jacob, but the hand was the hand of Esau. The Resolutions constituted the political platform of the extreme wing of the Patriote party: they were a sort of Declaration of Right. A more extraordinary political document has seldom seen the light. ”

“ As the rebels appeared the loyalist militia attacked them; and after a brisk skirmish, which lasted from twenty to twenty-five minutes, drove them from the field. Without further ado the rebels fled across the border, leaving behind them eleven dead and a number of prisoners, as well as a six-pounder gun, a large number of muskets of the type used in the United States army, a keg of powder, a quantity of ball-cartridge, and a great many pikes. Of the provincial troops two were killed and one was severely wounded. ”

“ Most of the leaders—Wolfred Nelson, Thomas Storrow Brown, Robert Bouchette, and Amury Girod—were strangers to the men under their command; and none of them, save Chénier, seemed disposed to fight to the last ditch. The movement at its inception fell under the official ban of the Church; and only two priests, the curés of St Charles and St Benoit, showed it any encouragement. The actual rebellion was confined to the county of Two Mountains and the valley of the Richelieu. ”

“ 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 simple reason that the interests of the French were in the main agrarian ”

“ But it must be {4} borne in mind that Haldimand ruled the province in the manner of a soldier. His high-handed orders caused dissatisfaction, which he probably mistook for a want of loyalty among the clergy. No more devoted subject of Great Britain lived at the time in Lower Canada than Mgr Briand, the bishop of Quebec; and the priests shaped their conduct after that of their superior. At any rate, the danger which Haldimand feared did not take form; and the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 made it more unlikely than ever. ”

“ But his Irish geniality and his facility in being all things to all men were no small recommendations for a governor who was to attempt to set things right in Canada.
The policy of Lord Glenelg, the colonial secretary during Gosford's period of office, was to do everything in his power to conciliate the Canadian Patriotes, short of making any real constitutional concessions. By means of a conciliatory attitude he hoped to induce them to abate some of their demands. ”