Henry Samuel Chapman

“ The tory party of Canada generally allege that they own the bulk of the property in the province. As far as the moveable property of the cities of Quebec and Montreal is concerned, the statement is perhaps true. Before they set so bad an example, they should have reflected that their property was of a destructible nature ; indeed, this seems to have crossed their minds, for a few days after this they made application to the commander of the forces for troops to protect their steam-boats in winter quarters. ”

“ Troops, too, were on the spot, but still there was no protection for the property. It has been alleged that friends would have mustered in sufficient force to afford such protection, but that they were overawed by the troops, whom they knew to be under the direction of magistrates opposed to them in politics. The impression of the people is, that had a mob, composed of the popular party, attacked one of the constitutional papers, the troops would have been ordered to fire with eager haste. ”

“ A regiment of volunteer cavalry had long existed in Montreal. This was immediately strengthened, and promotion given to the officers ; though not, as it appears, without giving umbrage to some who considered their merits to have been overlooked. A rifle corps was also either formed, or re-organised ; and various other volunteer corps armed and equipped. In short, every man of the constitutional party called himself a soldier. The number of volunteers, at the end of November, is stated to have reached two thousand in Montreal alone; besides some few companies in Missisquoi and other counties. ”

“ As if to confirm the doctrine of our editor at the general election of 1834 ; an election which, be it remembered, turned on the application of the elective principle to the Legislative Council, he was returned for a French county, Yamaska ; and what is still more worthy of remark, he ousted a French Canadian, named Badeaux. Use, or rather abuse, had been made of the appeal to origin at this election; but the Canadians replied, "Better a good Irishman than a bad Canadian;" and so O'Callaghan became member for Yamaska. ”

“ As this gentleman has been all his life opposed to the Assembly in politics, his proceedings were narrowly watched by the popular leaders. Whispers of affidavits, warrants, and arrests, were heard from time to time, but as yet, all was uncertainty and doubt. The public mind was evidently agitated ; men looked suspiciously around them, as they asked "What is Ogden's business here !"
The mystery was soon cleared up. News reached Montreal that, on the 13th of November, M. Morin and four other persons had been arrested at Quebec, charged with seditious practices. ”

“ His first election he probably owed to the respect due to his name, but he soon earned a reputation for himself by the energy and talent he displayed as an advocate of popular rights ; and, on his father's retirement, he was invited to represent the west ward of the city of Montreal, for which he has continued to sit to the present time. On the elevation of Mr. Speaker Panet to the bench in 1815, M. Papineau was chosen to succeed him, the Assembly thus conferring on him the highest honour they have it in their power to bestow. ”

“ Whilst contemporary narration has what may be called its specific disadvantage, it has also its appropriate countervailing advantage. Its pictures are fresh and vivid — events stand out in bold relief — the various actors, as well as sufferers, are made to tell their own tales ; and if there be sometimes exaggeration, there is, for the most part, a large predominance of racy truth ”

“ M. Morin was obnoxious to the executive of Lower Canada, because he was one of the most active of the majority in the Assembly ; being a good writer, an effective, but somewhat plain and unostentatious speaker, and moreover, one of the hardest workers in the House.
M. Morin is the son of a substantial farmer, and was educated at the seminary of Quebec. He chose the law as his profession, and has for some time practised at Quebec ”

“ Here the matter is entirely different : those who are theoretically democratic find great difficulty in casting aside their ancient associations — prejudices, though they be. In judging of the state of opinion in Canada, we shall do well to bear this continually in mind. ”

“ Under these circumstances, the inconvenience which we have pointed out is one which the public has always been willing to bear, for the sake of the advantages with which it is allied ; the more especially if an honest care be evinced to secure the good, with as small an admixture of the evil as possible. ”

“ The several public meetings which had been held in most of the counties in the latter, and in some in the former district, had been productive of the firmest determination on the part of the people to carry out, to the letter, the plan of passive resistance detailed in the introduction. By means of the non-consumption of all duty-paying articles, the popular leaders appear to have had every hope of driving the government to a redress of those grievances of which they had so long complained. A letter, written about this time by M. Papineau to Dr. ”

“ The majority of the Assembly contend, that the struggle is for good government and that origin has nothing to do with the matter. In proof of this, cases are cited where Englishmen — the representatives of English counties, are found voting with the French majority7 — whilst French Canadian constituencies are to be found returning British men, — English, Scotch, and Irish, to the Assembly. ”

“ Then came the manifold efforts of the official party to avoid being amenable to the Assembly, and the counter exertions of the Assembly to bring them under their control. In all these disputes M. Papineau took a prominent part, and he rose greatly in the estimation of his compatriots.
In 1822, a proposal was brought before parliament to unite the two provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. This measure was not popular in either province. In Lower Canada especially, the opposition was very great ”

“ He is thoroughly acquainted with what may be called the constitutional history, both of this country and the United States ; and is even versed in the occult mysteries of our party politics. He has been said to be an enemy to trade ; this, however, will be appreciated when we know who are his accusers. They are the colonial merchants, a class of men whose life-blood is restriction and monopoly. M. Papineau is, in fact, an enemy to trade, in the same sense that Mr. ”

“ The authorities, we trust, will lose no time in following up the blow they have now struck. They have passed the Rubicon, and the success of their measures must henceforth depend mainly on their promptness.
"No stone must be left unturned to insure the arrest of every man against whom evidence can be found to warrant a fair hope of his conviction.
"There is a little doubt expressed in some quarters, as to the fact of a warrant being out against Papineau ; but we trust, there is no ground for such a doubt.
"The number of warrants prepared is, we believe, considerable ”

“ Two divisions went away ; the third, unfortunately, came into collison with the Doric Club ; stones were exchanged; the Doric Club retreated through a street called St. James's, where some windows were broken in the houses of two magistrates, one of whom was obnoxious to the people from his having called out the troops in 1832, (at an election !) when some persons were unhappily killed. Whether the windows were broken by accident or design4 is not clear, neither is it important ”