Chapter 12

A POSTSCRIPT

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 toward the French Canadians, and lawless in their methods of crushing the rebellion; or that many of the _Patriote_ leaders were not hopelessly irreconcilable before the rebellion, and during it criminally careless of the interests of the poor habitants they had misled. On the other hand, no true Canadian can fail to be proud of the spirit of loyalty which in 1837 {129} actuated not only persons of British birth, but many faithful sons and daughters of the French-Canadian Church. Nor can one fail to admire the devotion to liberty, to 'the rights of the people,' which characterized rebels like Robert Bouchette. 'When I speak of the rights of the people,' wrote Bouchette, 'I do not mean those abstract or extravagant rights for which some contend, but which are not generally compatible with an organized state of society, but I mean those cardinal rights which are inherent to British subjects, and which, as such, ought not to be denied to the inhabitants of any section of the empire, however remote.' The people of Canada to-day are able to combine loyalty and liberty as the men of that day were not; and they should never forget that in some measure they owe to the one party the continuance of Canada in the Empire, and to the other party the freedom wherewith they have been made free.

The later history of the _Patriotes_ falls outside the scope of this little book, but a few lines may be added to trace their varying fortunes. Some of them never returned to Canada. Robert Nelson took up his abode in New York, and there practised surgery until {130} his death in 1873. E. B. O'Callaghan went to Albany, and was there employed by the legislature of New York in preparing two series of volumes entitled _A Documentary History of New York_ and _Documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York_, volumes which are edited in so scholarly a manner, and throw such light on Canadian history, that the Canadian historian would fain forgive him for his part in the unhappy rebellion of '37.

Most of the _Patriote_ leaders took advantage, however, of the virtual amnesty offered them in 1842 by the first LaFontaine-Baldwin administration, and returned to Canada. Many of these, as well as many of the _Patriote_ leaders who had not been implicated in the rebellion and who had not fled the country, rose to positions of trust and prominence in the public service of Canada. Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine, after having gone abroad during the winter of 1837-38, and after having been arrested on suspicion in November 1838, entered the parliament of Canada, formed, with Robert Baldwin as his colleague, the administration which ushered in full responsible government, and was knighted by Queen Victoria. Augustin Morin, the reputed author {131} of the Ninety-Two Resolutions, who had spent the winter of 1837-38 in hiding, became the colleague of Francis Hincks in the Hincks-Morin administration. George Étienne Cartier, who had shouldered a musket at St Denis, became the lifelong colleague of Sir John Macdonald and was made a baronet by his sovereign. Dr Wolfred Nelson returned to his practice in Montreal in 1842. In 1844 he was elected member of parliament for the county of Richelieu. In 1851 he was appointed an inspector of prisons. Thomas Storrow Brown, on his return to Montreal, took up again his business in hardware, and is remembered to-day by Canadian numismatists as having been one of the first to issue a halfpenny token, which bore his name and is still sought by collectors. Robert Bouchette recovered from the serious wound he had sustained at Moore's Corners, and later became Her Majesty's commissioner of customs at Ottawa.

Papineau returned to Canada in 1845. The greater part of his period of exile he spent in Paris, where he came in touch with the 'red republicans' who later supported the revolution of 1848. He entered the Canadian parliament in 1847 and sat in it until 1854. {132} But he proved to be completely out of harmony with the new order of things under responsible government. Even with his old lieutenant LaFontaine, who had made possible his return to Canada, he had an open breach. The truth is that Papineau was born to live in opposition. That he himself realized this is clear from a laughing remark which he made when explaining his late arrival at a meeting: 'I waited to take an opposition boat.' His real importance after his return to Canada lay not in the parliamentary sphere, but in the encouragement which he gave to those radical and anti-clerical ideas that found expression in the foundation of the _Institut Canadien_ and the formation of the _Parti Rouge_. In many respects the _Parti Rouge_ was the continuation of the _Patriote_ party of 1837. Papineau's later days were quiet and dignified. He retired to his seigneury of La Petite Nation at Montebello and devoted himself to his books. With many of his old antagonists he effected a pleasant reconciliation. Only on rare occasions did he break his silence; but on one of these, when he came to Montreal, an old silver-haired man of eighty-one years, to deliver an address before the _Institut Canadien_, he uttered a sentence which may be taken as {133} the _apologia pro vita sua_: 'You will believe me, I trust, when I say to you, I love my country.... Opinions outside may differ; but looking into my heart and my mind in all sincerity, I feel I can say that I have loved her as she should be loved.' And charity covereth a multitude of sins.

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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 of the Late Province of Lower Canada_ (1848-55). Christie played a not inconspicuous part in the pre-rebellion politics, and his volumes contain a great deal of original material of first-rate importance.

Of special studies of the rebellion there are a number worthy of mention. L. O. David, _Les Patriotes de 1837-38_, is valuable for its complete biographies of the leaders in the movement. L. N. Carrier, _Les Événements de 1837-38_ (1877), is a sketch of the rebellion written by the son of one of the _Patriotes_. Globensky, _La Rébellion de 1837 à Saint-Eustache_ (1883), written by the son of an officer in the loyalist militia, contains some original materials of value. Lord Charles Beauclerk, _Lithographic Views of Military Operations in Canada under Sir John Colborne, O.C.B., {135} etc._ (1840), apart from the value of the illustrations, is interesting on account of the introduction, in which the author, a British army officer who served in Canada throughout the rebellion, describes the course of the military operations. The political aspect of the rebellion, from the Tory point of view, is dealt with in T. C. Haliburton, _The Bubbles of Canada_ (1839). For a penetrating analysis of the situation which led to the rebellion see Lord Durham's _Report on the Affairs of British North America_.

A few biographies may be consulted with advantage. N. E. Dionne, _Pierre Bédard et ses fils_ (1909), throws light on the earlier period; as does also Ernest Cruikshank, _The Administration of Sir James Craig_ (_Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada_, 3rd series, vol. ii). See also A. D. DeCelles, _Papineau_ (1904), in the 'Makers of Canada' series; and Stuart J. Reid, _Life and Letters of the First Earl of Durham_ (1906).

The parish histories, in which the province of Quebec abounds, will be found to yield much information of a local nature with regard to the rebellion; and the same may be said of the publications of local historical societies, such as that of Missisquoi county.

An original document of primary importance is the _Report of the state trials before a general court-martial held at Montreal in 1838-39; exhibiting a complete history of the late rebellion in Lower Canada_ (1839).

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INDEX

Assembly, the language question in the, 8-12; racial conflict over form of taxation, 13-14; the struggle with Executive for full control of revenue leads to deadlock, 22-5, 27, 29-30, 53-4, 57; seeks redress in Imperial parliament, 28-32; the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42; the grievance commission, 45-6, 52, 55-6; the Russell Resolutions, 57-61. See Lower Canada.

Aylmer, Lord, governor of Canada, 29, 33-4, 44, 45.

Beauharnois, Patriotes defeated at, 124-5.

Bédard, Elzéar, introduces the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38, 42; suspended as a judge, 126.

Bédard, Pierre, and French-Canadian nationalism, 11, 15, 16; his arrest and release, 17-19, 20.

Bidwell, M. S., speaker of Upper Canada Assembly, 53.

Bouchette, Robert Shore Milnes, 129; wounded at Moore's Corners, 89-90, 91, 102, 108, 131.

Bourdages, Louis, Papineau's chief lieutenant, 36.

Brougham, Lord, criticizes Durham's policy, 110.

Brown, Thomas Storrow, 38, 72, 73, 131; in command of Patriotes at St Charles, 74, 84-6, 102, 108.

Buller, Charles, secretary to Durham, 109, 113.

Bureaucrats, the, 18. See 'Château Clique.'

Canada. See Lower Canada.

Cartier, Sir George, 30; a follower of Papineau, 37, 131.

Catholic Church in Canada, the, 7; opposes revolutionary movement, 64-5, 102, 103.

Chartier, Abbé, encourages the rebels at St Eustache, 95-6; escapes to the United States, 99.

Chartier de Lotbinière, on French-Canadian loyalty, 11.

'Château Clique,' the, 22; and the Patriotes, 25, 31.

Chénier, Dr J. O., killed at St Eustache, 93, 94, 95, 97-9, 102, 108.

Christie, Robert, expelled from the Assembly, 34, 134.

Colborne, Sir John, his letter on the situation previous to the Rebellion, 69-71; his 1837 campaign, 74-5, 83, 94, 97-101, 102; administrator of the province, 106-8; his 1838 campaign, 122, 124, 125, 126.

Côté, Dr Cyrile, 89, 108, 118, 120; defeated at Lacolle, 121-2.

Craig, Sir James, his 'Reign of Terror,' 15-20, 23.

Cuvillier, Augustin, 28-9; breaks with Papineau, 37, 42, 44.

Dalhousie, Lord, his quarrel with Papineau, 27-9.

Daly, Dominick, provincial secretary, 107.

Debartzch, D. P., breaks with Papineau, 71, 84.

Desèves, Father, 93; his picture of the rebels at St Eustache, 96-7.

Doric Club, the, 71.

Durham, Earl of, governor and Lord High Commissioner, 104-6; his humane policy fails to find support in Britain, 107-12; his appeal to Canadian public opinion, 112-13; his Report, 114-16.

Duvernay, Ludger, at Moore's Corners, 89.

Elgin, Lord, and French-Canadian nationalism, 116.

English Canadians, their conflicts with the Patriotes, 51, 64, 128.

Ermatinger, Lieutenant, defeated by Patriotes, 73-4.

Executive Council, 22, 25, 59. See 'Château Clique.'

French Canadians, their attitude toward the British in 1760, 2; their loyalty, 2-5, 128-9; their generous treatment, 7-8; their fight for official recognition of their language, 8-12, 50; their struggle with the 'Château Clique,' 22-5, 29; their fight for national identity, 26-7, 29, 115-16. See Patriotes.

French Revolution, the, and the French Canadians, 4-5.

Gipps, Sir George, on the grievance commission, 46, 55.

Girod, Amury, commands the rebels at St Eustache, 92-3, 94, 95, 103; commits suicide, 99-100, 108.

Gladstone, W. E., supports the Russell Resolutions, 60.

Glenelg, Lord, colonial secretary, 46.

Goderich, Lord, colonial secretary, 29, 30.

Gore, Colonel Charles, commands the British at St Denis, 75-7, 88.

Gosford, Lord, governor of Canada, 45-7, 49-53, 55, 57-8, 61, 64, 106.

Great Britain, and French-Canadian loyalty, 2-5; her conciliatory policy in Lower Canada, 7-8, 9, 44-6, 57-60; and the Rebellion, 104, 110-111.

Grey, Sir Charles, on the grievance commission, 45-6, 55.

Gugy, Major Conrad, 48; at St Charles, 82-3; wounded at St Eustache, 99.

Haldimand, Sir Frederick, governor of Canada, 3-4.

Head, Sir F. B., his indiscreet action, 52-3.

Hindenlang, leads Patriotes in second rebellion, 120, 121, 123, 124; executed, 126.

Kemp, Captain, defeats the Patriotes at Moore's Corners, 90-2.

Kimber, Dr, in the affair at Moore's Corners, 89.

Lacolle, rebels defeated at, 121-2.

LaFontaine, L. H., a follower of Papineau, 37, 63, 108, 130, 132.

Lartigue, Mgr, his warning to the revolutionists, 65.

Legislative Council, the, 22, 25, 31, 36, 41, 46, 53, 54, 55, 59.

Lower Canada, the conflict between French and English Canadians in, 13-15, 33, 114; the Rebellion of 1837, 69-103; the constitution suspended, 104, 106; treatment of the rebels, 108-13; Durham's investigation and Report, 114-116; the Rebellion of 1838, 117-27. See Assembly.

Macdonell, Sir James, Colborne's second-in-command, 125.

Mackenzie, W. L., and the Patriotes, 72.

Melbourne, Lord, and Durham's policy, 111.

Mondelet, Dominique, 30; expelled from the Assembly, 36.

Montreal, rioting in, 71-2.

Moore's Corners, rebels defeated at, 89-92.

Morin, A. N., a follower of Papineau, 37, 108, 130-1.

Neilson, John, supports the Patriote cause, 26-7, 28; breaks with Papineau, 36-7, 38, 42, 44.

Nelson, Robert, 108; leader of the second rebellion, 117-26, 129-30.

Nelson, Dr Wolfred, a follower of Papineau, 37, 60, 65, 66, 70, 73, 74; in command at St Denis, 74, 76, 79, 80, 88, 102, 108, 109, 131.

Ninety-Two Resolutions, the, 38-42, 44.

O'Callaghan, E. B., a follower of Papineau, 37, 73, 74, 78, 87-8, 108, 130.

O'Connell, Daniel, champions the cause of the Patriotes, 59-60.

Panet, Jean Antoine, his election as speaker of the Assembly, 9-10, 22; imprisoned, 17.

Panet, Louis, on the language question, 10.

Papineau, Louis Joseph, 21; elected speaker of the Assembly, 22, 28; opposes Union Bill in London, 26-7; his attack on Dalhousie, 27-29; defeats Goderich's financial proposal, and declines seat on Executive Council, 30; attacks Aylmer, 33-4, 47. becomes more violent and domineering in the Assembly, 34-5; his political views become revolutionary, 35-6, 42-43; his powerful following, 37-8, 44, the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42; hopeless of obtaining justice from Britain, but disclaims intention of stirring up civil war, 47-8, 53; on the Russell Resolutions, 60-1; his attitude previous to the outbreak, 66-68, 70; warrant issued for his arrest, 72-3, 74; escapes to the United States, 78-9, 87-8, 90, 92, 108; holds aloof from second rebellion, 118; his return to Canada, 131-3; his personality, 21, 25-6, 30-1, 49-50, 68, 79, 132-3.

Paquin, Abbé, opposes the rebels at St Eustache, 95, 102.

Parent, Étienne, breaks with Papineau, 42, 43.

Patriotes, the, 22, 25; their struggle with the 'Château Clique,' 31-2, 54-5; the racial feud becomes more bitter, 33-34, 128; the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 38-42, 44-5, 52; the passing of the Russell Resolutions causes great agitation, 60-2; declare a boycott on English goods, 62-3; 'Fils de la Liberté' formed, 63, 71-2; begin to arm, 63-4, 69-71; the Montreal riot, 71-2; the first rebellion, 73-103; Lord Durham's amnesty, 108-110, 113; the second rebellion, 117-27; and afterwards, 128-33. See French Canadians.

Perrault, Charles Ovide, killed at St Denis, 78 n.

Prevost, Sir George, and the French Canadians, 20.

Quebec Act of 1774, the, 7, 9.

Quesnel, F. A., and Papineau, 34-5, 37, 42, 44, 71.

Rodier, Edouard, 62-3; at Moore's Corners, 89, 108.

Russell, Lord John, his resolutions affecting Canada, 58-59; defends Durham's policy, 111.

Ryland, Herman W., and the French Canadians, 16.

St Benoit, the burning of, 100-101.

St Charles, the Patriote meeting at, 65-6; the fight at, 74, 82-7.

St Denis, the fight at, 74-81; destroyed, 88.

St Eustache, the Patriotes defeated at, 92-100.

St Ours, the Patriote meeting at, 60-1, 70, 75.

Salaberry, Major de, his victory at Châteauguay, 5.

Sewell, John, and the French Canadians, 16.

Sherbrooke, Sir John, his policy of conciliation, 24.

Stanley, Lord, supports the Russell Resolutions, 60.

Stuart, Andrew, and Papineau, 37, 42, 44.

Taché, E. P., a follower of Papineau, 37, 102.

Taylor, Lieut.-Colonel, defends Odelltown against the rebels, 123-4.

United States, and the French Canadians, 2-3, 117-19.

Viger, Bonaventure, a Patriote leader, 73, 108.

Viger, Denis B., a follower of Papineau, 28-9, 63.

War of 1812, French-Canadian loyalty in the, 5.

Weir, Lieut., his murder at St Denis, 79-80, 88, 99.

Wellington, Duke of, and Durham's policy in Canada, 110-111.

Wetherall, Lieut.-Colonel, defeats rebels at St Charles, 75, 82, 83, 86, 88.

Wool, General, disarms force of Patriotes on the United States border, 119.

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THE CHRONICLES OF CANADA