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Purvfs, secretary of the Farmers’ Unidfi, frornlrwhiqh I wx_ll Wad you some extracts : “ Dear Sir,â€"I think there has not been nince the commencement of the agitation a better time to strike than the present. Everything seems ripe for it. I am certain mven-eiqhtha of the people of Winnipeg are in our favor, and I am certain fiur or five hundred good men will accomplish our Olljtct without any difilculty whatever. The fact of the matter is this, we have nothing, to resist us, the military here is nothing more tnan a. pack of boys, and we have easy access 0 the store rooms. \Ve had a small meeting tonight, and the parties present were unanimous in favor of making a. strike at once. Now I think that if we delay We will not only be losing ground. but the thingwill never be acconipliehed. I would like to know the possible number of men who can be put from the country to assist the scheme. 1 hope you will come to some definite conclusion at your council meeting.” to come over and hear his fellow-country- men on the banks of the Saskatchewan. But I think there is evidence to show that there were others than the halfbreeds mixed up With the matter. (Hear, hear.) Men who have escaped far too easilyâ€" men who were willing to go just so far as they dare go, but who remained in the background. and pushed on these unfortu- nate and untutored halfbreeds, hoping to make them the cats-paws, who were to pull the chestnuts out of the fire. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) I find here evidence to prove that at that very date correspond- ence was going on between the organiza- tion, known as the Farmer’s Union, and some of the whites in Prince Albert, which I think seems to indicate that they had some hand or part in this matter ; and for mV part I am prepared to believe -â€"~I don’t know how it occurs to youâ€"that the money which went to pay the expenses of these halfbreeds going to Montana came out of the pockets of some of the white rebels wno were than living in Prince Albert. (Loud cheers.) On the 18th of June, 1884, about the time these men had gone to Montanaâ€"Riel came over on the 8th of Julyâ€"a letter was Writ- ten by aman named Mack HoWe to George I give you that as one piece of evidence innupport of my View that behind the haiforoeds, eggiug them on and iui‘nish‘ ing‘thom with money, were some of THE WHITE PEOPLE OF PRINCE ALBERT. (ll: 31‘, heat.) Why were they doing this, you may ask? Times were hard; in was (muof the worst years that the traderu will ot-htrs in than; locality had ex- pm-irnced, and we) were anxious that tho (jovcrnnmnt- :1! id give this scrip to the min» ‘ceflb‘. and why? Where uld thi , In have gone? Who would have reopen a profit out of it? Who else but the tradm‘s and speculators of 1’ "$1108 Mir 7, and this” wore the 111611 who were ".1 1- m; up this do'nund for scrip so that iizoy wmld irmho some. money out of it, uhilotlso demand was being ostensibly 4’41». i'. the in" “oats of the: halflnouln l‘ues. (ELM, hear and l audchcers.) ' m «in: you some. more evidence. . m, tlh: mom who ufturwards hoomne rary. wrwc w. letter to Riel on 1 of {I my, and you Well remember . 31 c:me into tho country on the 0.132 m J uly. m th n: it was h ly possible 1.1me ".13": plot was lmtnhec‘a SH JHUqu’DLly to is arrival in the N nah \Vest. Here is inn m’” "V from this letter : “ AL u in mm: prim:ch to Bl'zke 3.31:â€" "‘.;.f him not to Mop as L. Clarke's, and inalée wrote back that big; In alth Would not pormlt him ‘to visit the Northâ€"\Vest this: (mm ‘n'. our Wis b may uulsa him to Hang. his plans, hit )2 can keep posted through lvlaclia‘a, who has kept up a cor- !L'm.pa,.n=,’unca with him Elna-’3 1552. Fisher is, my lieutenant among the young men of we place, *md kmsz me ported as 10 the (caesnvy‘s movements in that quarter. I 122ml; Deacon, who is a Methodist, has Loan Mr. Parker. but Mr. Parker is too bound in prim: pic to he lo“; to us. Mr. ‘Elul‘iillianm, (1hr: Prouhy'torian minirst-or, who has hithoito Lam 3. Liberal, ntaled Loan nlgl 7M) supper table, that he. has yet to ham what our grievances are.” “h is the misfowuuu vi clergymen that thov see oniy ouo :irle of a. man’s , cter. and Mr. Sproul is a prominent pillar of rho, i‘reshywliau church; yet Mr. BicVViiiimhs i9 too good a man, I think, to be blinded for any length of time. I will leave him to form his opinion ft m MIX-um. and our petition may Lzolightcn him as to our gcievzwces.” Ami m (m. This long loner was written on the 2501 of July, 15 days after Riel mmei-m) the country written by this mâ€"m Jackson. who ai'torwar.'is became Hici’s svuremury. plainly showing that at :l evems at that date, no matter wheat zl'i’fi pruleucuu \wcre, no matter how , y and pinuaihly he spoke. no mamter am he. :wuunml to be heading a constitu- tmml! ugxtuxinn, thz-y had werctly and cu. ibumruly (lowrmiued on open robelllon. (Hum, hymn) Now let me Show you how the (i wunimenc were misled wi’ah regard Eu the aspect of allow at that time. They had communications from a true friend of Hie hulfln'eeds in the Noth West, Father Andre, who was there on the spot; he kcut the Government informed from time to m on the nature and extent of the ution, and I will read to you What her Andre said with regard to Riel, and the manner in which he was conduct- ing this agitation, when we now know that he was imposing on the good father, openly pretending to he a peaceable and public spirited mun, while atcretly he was plowing treason not merely against the crown, but what perhapsdwas in some re- spects worse~plotting treason against the uufnrtunate half breeds, who Were trust- ing him to the fullest ex tent. 0n the 7xh of July FATHER ANDRE \V'ROTE TO THE GOVERNOR of tile North-“lest Territories in the fol- lowing terms :â€" “ YOUR HONOR.â€"Y0ur telegram afl'ords me an opportunity to write you about an event of which you are sure to receive eevorsl different accounts, which will be colored according to the views and interests of the persons Writing to you. I assure you I have no other de- sign in writing to you than to keep you informed about the true state of things. Riel and delegates have arrived from across the line. The news may surprise and alarm you about the tranquility of the country. but you can set your mind quiet about that, and have no fear of any uisturbance in the ooumry. You know I am known to be a friend of Mr. Riel, and K look to the event of his arrival among us asa vi anger to the peace of our community, but now I do not entertain the least suspicion about Riel causing any trouble. He acts quietly and speaks wisely. From all the reports I heard about him, he blamed Charles Nolln for having refused to present your Honor with an address I encloge here the report of the delegates sent to Mr. Riel, and, too, the answer of Mr. Riel for his reasons accepting the re- quest of the people of the Saskatchewan to come and see them in order to help them to obtain their rights from the Govern- ment. You will see that answer is suitâ€" able, and smells not of treason. These flocumente, of which Ieend you true copy, 1. “1411 Mr. ,hi‘kd would only read this opinme by a Puesbyruriau clergy" man, who was up there at; the time, whu saw what, was gning on, who belonged '90 Mr. Blake‘s own political persuaaion, and who Bays “ he has yet. to lean: what our: grievance are.” (Hear, hear ) The later goes on :â€" were handed to Louis Schrnidt, as seérve- tary of the committee appointed to or- fianize last spring a deputation to Mr. iel. L. Schmidt has been kind enough to provide me with a. copy of these docu- ments, which are to be made known at the meeting to be held next Tuesday at the South Branch, among English half- breeds. Mr. 1161 is to come there. I think it is important that you should know these “ HONORABLE SIR,â€"-Since my last letter to your honor nothing has happened to disturb my belief that Riel, in coming to this country, has not any bad design in view. He has acted and spoken in a quiet and sensible way every time he has had an opportunity of appealing before the pub- lic, and no one can point out any act or word of his which is liable to create any disturbance in the country. All his en- deavours, so far as I know, are to make the people understand that in answering to their call he has no other object than to help them by legitimate and peaceful means. Riel, he says himself, of 1869 and 1es4 are quite two diiferent men. We have now in the country a. regular governâ€" ment which exists by authority of Her Majesty the Queen; in 1869 he made a ntuud against Canada. which wanted to take poeseseion of the country without any Drevioue agreement to secure the rights of the peoplejof Manitoba andthe North-“lest but to say the North-'West in an integral part of Canada, and having the experience of almost nine yean spent in the States. he is able to assure his countrymen, the halibreeds, they are better oil on this side 01 the line, and does not wish them to be come Americans. he has paesed through a hard school in which he has learned a good many useful leeflons, and the one he sets to heart is to remain quiet and to work for his fellow-countrymen by open and fair ways. Everywhere Riel goes he is creating the most favorable inn prrseions in his favor, and with the eig- caption of ten or twelve prejudiced per- sons, he seems to be very popular, not only among. t the French, but also amongst the Enulish population." documents, which will show you Riel means no mischief. You will receive alarming reports about the danger in which the countr . is, iii-consequence of Riel’s arrival. _0 not believe a word. Those persons will be very glad that you should commit some rash ant. Tney will send and advise you 'to have Riel arrested. For God’s sake, never cemmit such an act, before you have good motives to justify such an act. A good many persons will urge you to send here 200 or 300 police- men. They will be glad to see the Govern- ment go to expenses, because that will be so much money put in their pockets. Nothing. so far, requires to send one more man to keep the peace of the country. The halfbreeds, English, as well as French, understand too well the foolishness, and the consequences of rising in a rebellion against the Government, and Riel seems really to act by good motives, and to have no bad design. ,A man . will not bring his wife and children along with him, if he intended to raise a rebellion, and Mr. Riel has brought his wife and his little children with him, and that is the best proof that he has no bad intentions. I write you in earnest and tell you my sanguine conviction. that there is no dan- ger of any trouble if you but quiet Mr. Riel, but if you or any official interferes with him or try to have him arrested, there is almost a certainty of trouble, and halforeeds and Indians will join together ; so. as long as Mr. Riel conducts himself quietly, Why trouble him and raise the anger of the people ? The same- worthy priest, laler on, on the 'let of July wrote another communi- cation couched in still stronger terms. I will read some portions of it: to show what Riel was doing and pretending to the people on the Saskatchewan and more especially to this priest of his own Church. Then Faiher Andre says in another part of his long letter :â€" “ To-day these men have failed, and have seen their expectation to see a riot fall down, and they are greatly disap pointed, and will try to represent things 11ml er a black cloud,‘not according to real facts, but according; to their imagination ; they will try to distort the simplest things, and will represent Riel as bound to dis- turb the peace of the country ; but, «inventor, as an honest man, 1 tell you Riel has no other purpose than to help the people in their (lilllculties. He strong- ly advocatm peace and union among all the several sections of the country. 1 hare not heard a hard word lall from his month. What are his purposes? They are a good mzwy and require a. long time if he wan ed to see tnem carried out. let. He wants the hal'breeds to have a free grant to the land they occupy; he wants to agitate to have the three dis- tricts of Saskatchewan, Alberta, Assini- bola erected into provinces. or at least to have each district rcpreeeented in Parlia- ment; he wants to have the hind luwe amended to suit more the rapid settlement of the country. These, me far as I remem- ber. were the leading points to which he adilresaied the people of Prince Albert last Saturday. I we.th to hear him and I may say that he speaks well and eloquently ; he spanks fluently Euglmh, and his ex- preseions are just and correct. He created a great neneation and was immmenselv applauded all through his long address, and his opponents are obliged to credit him with much talents and a clever way to bring the people OVer to him. I could not. help admiring him to see how {situated as he was, he overcomes all the (illiiuuliios which surround him, and draw); the sympathies of the assembly towards ham. What would he the and of all this? The end will he that for a timewe will have plenty talk, plenty meetings, plenty peti- tions, and after a. time the excitement will get over and we will becomecalm as usual, and Riel who in our wonder toâ€"day, will become a common mortal for us, and we will be as much advanced as we are to-day, and these great reforms will become stale things, aud the big men will go down. Then, sir, is my iinproseiun of the present state of things. \Ve wanted some What will be the result of all this? The thing to occupy us for awhile talk- ing about him, and put an end to the talk about the crops, and the poor pros- pects before us to have a good one. â€" Now, as for as my opinion is worth any- thing, I advise strongly not Government to interfere, with Kiel as long as he keeps quiet. I cannot hide from you that his mfluenoe for good or evil is great among the halfbreeda, French as well as English; he has a great many advantages even among the white population, and the In- dians in the North-Ween _ will remain quiet as long as the hullhreeds will not set a bad example to them. They all look on Riel as their leader, and the Government ought to act wisely not to create an out- break by any rash act of theirs. I am convinced there is not any danger of dis- turbance. The arrival of Riel has acted as a. calm on all the agitated minds, and all his words are to advocate peace and good feeling among all the people in the country." These were the communications which this worthy gentleman in obedience to his duty to keep the Government informed of what was passing, wrote from time to time to Lieutenant-Governor Dewdney, and by him communicated to the Government at Ottawa. After a little while the scene changes. Seven public meetings in all were held. At all these meetings Riel was the hero â€"wise and prudent of counâ€" sel, eloquent of tongue, recommending various reformsâ€"the sensation of the hour. But no word of rebellion, no word of any unconstitutional methods, and they seem to have understood perfectly the difference between acoustitutional agitation and open warâ€"while all this time he was SECRETLY DRILLING HIS MEN, and preparing for an outbreak. But Riel began to despair, and here let me read you a document, referring to a demand the refusal of which was the real cause of the outbreak. It is a letter which was sent to Major Cx‘ozier, of the Mounted Police by Inspector Howe, and was sent by Major Crozier to the Governor of the North-West. Mark you, this was in the month of December, 1884, and the outbreak occurred in the March following : " Suziâ€"I have the honor to report that Mr. McDowell, member of the North “The Manitoba is the organ of the population of French Origin, 1102; only of 1.1115 province but also ofgthe new provinces of the Nortthest, and we are always pleased to open our columns to friends of our cause and of our rights. Here is the last letter of our correspondent, dated the 16Lh September, 1884 : Now let us look at the character of the manâ€"a man who in public was all for peaceâ€"wise, prudent, a leader of the people, disinterested, anxious to direct them, but who secretly was hatching treason against the Government, secretly was willing to betray the halfbreetis for a sum of money, to abandon their cause and throw them over for ever. Riel himself was the halfbreed grievance. (Hear, hear) The claim to be settled was his claim ; settle with Riel and the Whole grievance was disposed of. (Hear, hear and cheers.) Now, was that man a lunatic? On the contrary was he not very shrewd and wise? Perhaps not a very noble character, perhaps not a man to be admired, when we see through and througu his character, but looking at him as we now see him and know him, will any man pretend to say that Riel was a lunatic, or that he was not just as responsible for his acts as any man who is listening to me. (Hear, hear.) \Vell, there is another interview with Nolin, a' halfbreed like himself, but who declines, however, to go into open rebellion as Riel desired, or to abandon the safe ground of constitutional agita- tion; and to Noliu and Father Andre he made another proposition. First he said he wanted $100,000 ; afterwards he would take $35,000 and leave the country, and in so many words he said that if he got this money he would throw over the halfbreeds altogether. (Hear, hear.) Now I ask you if it is fair to charge on the Government the responsibility for the rebellion? Ought the Government, in the face of the language they had from Father Andre, to have. arrested RielmFather Andre who knew more than almost any man about his movements, who reported from time to time that RlEL WAS ALL FOIL PEACE, who wrote on a subsequent occasion that at a banquet which was held he proposed the healnh of Her Majesty the Queen, and who told the Government that if he were interfered with it- would onl lead to dis- turbance. The screened ha fbreed grieâ€" vance was Riel himself, andIaek you could the Government be blamed under the circumstances ‘! Riel says pay me this money and I will go to the United States, or to Quebec or any place else you please, and never came back again; he would advise his deluded fol- lowers to go to their homes and there would be no disturbance. I say that no reasonable man can accept the proposition which Mr. Blake endeavors to lay down as to Riel’s not having been the cause of the outbreak, and that the Government were themselves responsible for it. Things Went on from day to day, and at last we are told that Nolin, anxious to prevent any disturbance. suggested to Riel in council that before they broke out they should have a novmm, or nine days’ prayer. licl objected very strongly to that, because he was afraid that the half- breads would again come under the influence of their priests Whom they respected and honored as their spiritual guides and direc- tors. He succeeded in keeping many a“ ay from the WOUCflCL, and before the nine days had expired he had commenced the rebellion and had committed an act of treason. But to show you that even in September the bishops and I’RIES’l‘S HAD BECOME SUSPICIOUS, let me read you an extract from a letter written on the 16th of that; month and published in The Manitoba, giving an account of a meeting which was held at St. Laurent :â€" “SIR.~I think I shall interest your readers by giving them a short report of the great meetin held at St. Laurent on the 5th Septem er. This meeting was composed of French halfbreeds from all the surrounding parishes, and had been called for the purpose of respectfully sub- mitting to his lordship Mgr. Grandin and to the other members of the clergy of the Diocese of St. Albert, regret at not hav- ing their co-operation in the movement going on to-day to obtain from the Federal Government What the halfbreed popula- tion claims to be entitled to. There was also present at the meeting His Lordship Mgr. (lrandin, Bishop of St. Albert ; Rev. Father Fourmond, of the St. Laurent Mission ; Rev. Father Lacocq, of the Mission of Cumberlanz’i. Mr. Louis Riel was appointed president of the meeting, the object of which relates to these two questions zâ€"lst. Why do the clergy keep out of the move- ment going on to-day. and even seem hostile to it '3 2nd. Are the claims of the lmlfureeds upon the Government good, just and Iegibimate ? “ His influence among the halfbreeds is very great he ways, and that they will obey him most implicitly in whatever policy he may assume, politically or other- wise. He says he should like to see Sir John, but cannot procure the means to go to Ottawa.” “ Mr. Gabriel Dumont briefly stated the uneasiness felt by his compatriots at the abstention of the clergy from taking part in their deliberations. ‘ Our inten- tions,’ he said, ‘ are wrongly interpreted or wrongly understood, and the abstention of the clergy from coming to our aid can only be injurious to us.’ Mr. Dumont, overcome. by emotion, begged His Lord- ship to direct and enlighten them, adding that his voice, always respected as that of God, would be listened to wish the lame docility as in the past. “Riel stated that he was thinking shortly of returning to .Montuna. if the Government would oniy give him the means to do so; he further stated that he wiehed representation made to the Government that if a certain sum was paid to him in cash (Mr. McDowell seems to think he would accept $5,000) he would at once leave the country. He says he has such influence with the half-breeds that any rights they think they have or claims upon the Gov- emment would be at once dropped by them if he advised them to do so. “ He says he is very poor and has actu- ally nothing to live upon, and if he cannot procure means to leave the country as well as something to settle upon his wife and family, he will starve, which might make him desperate. “ As soon as the Government gives him What he asks for, he will, he says, give up all connection with the other half-breeds, in fact throw them all over, and pledge himself not: to return to this country. _ ‘-‘ The venerable prelate deigned to reply immediately that if, for some time, the relations between the clergy and the halfbreed population concerning the events which have arisen have seemed cool, in- different even, still this reserve in no way proved a diminution of affection and of charity, but was only the effect of absolute prudence, necessary under present circum- stances, in View of the mystery with which the proceedings up to that day had been surroundedâ€"mystery which not only left the clergy without sufficient light to pronounce intelligently, but also neces- sarily gave rise to serious suspicions, to fears and alarms really painful. Speak- in§ plainly, added his Lordship, tel us what you want and we shall tell you what we think. If justice is on your side, we will help you with all our might, as we have always done in the past. His Grace was listened to with respect and a religious attention. West Councii, returned yesterday from St. Laurent, to which place he went, accom- Eamied by Pare Andre, at the request of ouis Riel, who wished to hold a conver- sation with him as member for the dis- trict. ‘ ‘; Mr. Charles N013“ 5001; W, with an omntiou and a conviction wmuu z'tiucd for $UPPLEMENT. “ ‘ 8 An amelioration in the conditions pf labor asked from the Indians, and a greater care of their pnvsons, so as to preâ€" vent their dying of hunger.” I point out to you that according to this their own clergy Were suspicious even in September because of the mystery of their movements, that there was something nnderhand in their proceedings. and that the people complained of the withdrawal of their confidence from them. Now I think I have established to you that while Riel Was openly and ostensibly pretending to be in favor of constitutional agitation, he was really fomentâ€" ing rebellion for the purpose of get- ting a chance of selling out, and maki: ;; money at the expense of his lialfbreed followers. (Cheers.) New, I think. 1 may say with regard to this North-“fest question, that I have established what I set out to prove. I have, I think, shovvn you that the Government of this country were In t responsible for the rebellion. I think, I have shown you that if they erred, they erred in common with the Mac‘ kenzie Adminietration, which Mr. Blake supported, and which was represented in these transactions by Mr. David Mills, then Minister of the Interior. I think I have shown and that meet of you will agree, that the Government noted on the whole wisely and well : and there is but one action on the part of tne Government whieh~speeking for myselfâ€"I do not feel the same confidence in endorsing, and that is, that at the outbreak of the rebellion, in ' the month of J anuury, when they became convinced from the intormation they received that they were on the eve of an outbreak, they yieldedâ€" “ ‘ 6. The reservation of abou tone hundâ€" red townships chosen in the swampy lands which are not likely to be settled fora. long time. These lands are '60 be disâ€" tributed to the halfbreed children of the coming generation and during 120 years, each child to receive its share when it reaches the age of eighteen years. 13' THE HOPE or AVERTING BLOODSIIED so far as to order that commissioners should be sent to the North-“fest with a. View of giving the halibreeds their scrip. I think if any part of the action of the Government is worthy of condemnation that is the one which is least capable of support. (Hear, hear.) They had, I think, noted wisely in refuting to listen to these demands for scrip, but as Sir John Mnedonnld said on the floor of Parliament, “When we became convinced that a. re- bellion was being hatched, that those men were being drilled, that there was likely to be an outbreak, that blood was likely to be shed, we said, anything at all to avert the horrors of civil war. and he gave directions that an enumera- tion of the hullbreeds should be made with a. View to their receiving scrip as )1 11d the halfbreeds of Manitoba. That view was conveyed to Riel and Nolin, but it was deliberately withheld from the unfortunate halfbreeds by the arch traitor, who feared that if this announcement was made to them it would dissipate the band he had so carefully collected and drilled : and these men. if they were to any extent actuated in going into the rebellion against the Government by a desire to obtain this scrip, went into the fight supposing that the scrip had still been denied them, I say that for my own part 1 would feel better able to .stand up toâ€"night and justify every act of the Government, if I had been able to tell you that the Government oven at the eleventh hour had not yielded to these importunities even for the sake of peaceâ€"great and important as that ob- ject was. Some of you may perhaps differ from me and think that anything was better than war, but at any rate it did not avert the outbreak. I think the Government would have acted more wisely “ ‘ 5. The offer for sale by the Govern- ment 0 half a million acres of land, the produc s of this sale to be placed at inter:- est and applied to the aid of halfbreeds in the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, schools, etc., or in supplying the poorer persons with ploughs or other agricultural implements and in distributing seeds in the Spring; __ _ l. _ . - “" 7. A Subvention of at least one thou- sand dollars to sustain an establishment of nuns in each place where a. great. num- ber of lxalfbreed families are established. if they had searched deeper for the cause of the trouble. They knew what Riel’s claim was. and they dare not have given him a single dollar. No Government dare repeat the old trick of buying off Riel, and there is not a. man in Canada but would say that he would rather incur the risk of a. rebellion with all its cost in blood and money, than have bought off Riel with $5,000, or five thousand cents or five cents. (Loud cheers.) Now we come to the sequel of this unfortunate business. Our people, as we know, rallied to the call with singular unanimity. Men of all classes and parties did all that could be expected of true patriots in that hour of trouble. Our gallant volunteers sprang to arms, and our Canadian militia was mobilized within a time. so limited, that to military men it seemed extraordinary. A commisseriat was provided under circumstances of very great diffi- culty, so that in that respect our men did not suffer any hardship. But We know that on the long and in some respects terrible march to the North-“fest â€"pa,rtly in the cars with the thermometer twenty degrees below zero, and partly tramping through the slush and now on the north of Luke Superiorâ€"we know our men endured great hardship and suffering; we are proud of them for their conduct, and we are proud of our country to know that it can produce so noble a. race of men. (Loud cheers.) And when they arrived at the North-“lest we know him the most sympathetic attention. He said he bitterly deplored the painful abandonment in which the halfbreed population were left by those in whom they had always found devoted friends and fathers while such an important question for this population is agitated. They are all the more sensible of this abandonment, because they have an invincible faith in the rectitude of their instructions and in the justice of their cause. Mr. Nolin con- cluiled by a statement of the principal points, showing the basis of their claims on the Federal Government. Our demands he said, must be made respectfully, no doubt, but they must also be made with earnestness, force and persever- anceâ€"no rebellion; this mode has never been seriously in the minds of any- one, becauSe it would be a crime ; we will keep to legitimate means. “ ‘ 3. A grant of 240 acres of land to the halfbreeds who have not yet received that grant from t_1\e Goxernment. _ v “ ‘ 4, An immediate gratuitous grant by lettermpacent to the proprietors who oc‘ cupy them, of the lands of which they are in possession. “ His Lordship again declared his affec- tion and devotion to the well-being of his flock on all occasions, when the rights of religion, of honor, and of justice were not compromised by their_mode of action. “ Then there'is a discusaion upcu cer- tain local questions in regard to schools, which is immaterial. Then : “ ‘Mr. Riel, president of the meeting, spoke next. In order, he said, to com- pletely dissipate all misunderstanding, to take away all bad suspicion, and especially to show the value and importance of de- mands, I will give a. statement of our principal claims. “ ‘ We want-â€" “ ‘ 1. A sub-division of the North-West Territories into provinces. ‘ “ ‘ 2. For the settlers of the North-West the same advantages as those granted in 1870 to the settlers of Manitoba. HOW WELL OUR BRAVE SOLDIERS acquitted themselves ; we know how long and gallautly they withstood at the deadly rifle pits of Batoche the steady fire of a con- cealed enemy ; we know that the ad- Vance on Batoche was not so much due to she skill of General Middleton 1);: L mm A BETTER DEFENCE. for himself than his counsel made for him. Though it. is true that they had a right to eat up the plea of insanity, are we to suppose for one moment that the man who from July to March had been con- stantly meeting all those invilligent men at these gatheringeâ€"men of all classes and nationalitiesâ€"haul pissed among them as a men perfectly szme and in full possession of his reason, was yet all the time :1 jabbering lunatic ? Is it possible that these men who joined his standard and formed his council could he so deceived in him as to place them- selves under the leadership of a. lunatic? Is it possible that the man who conceived these resolutions, who drew up these peti- tionsâ€"which by the way never were for- warded to the Governmentwwho after- wards formed a council or provisional gov- ernment, who planned his campaign with the greatest skillâ€"415 the military men tell us he didâ€"4.3 it possible-for such a. man to have been insane ‘3 If so, Why did we never hear the truth of it until his coun- sel Went up to defend him ?7 (hear, hear) ~and when, having no other defense, they sought for some plea or excuse. Men of myprofcssion you know are bound to do that. (Laughter and cheers.) If Riel had had a good meritorious defense you would never have heard a. word about his insanity, but when a criminal is caught red-handed, when there is no possibility of proving an alibi, when you cannot set up a. defence ,which the lildst sympathetic jury wouid accept, then 2.9131}pr plea. of insanity. That plea was not set up in his case, but, for- tunately, cmordhg to our law, the jury were the judges, ano not the mail doctors, some of Whom, if they had their way, would make us all out to be insane. The jury who saw him in the (lock during that long and careful trial, who noted his every act and motion, who Watched‘ every turn of his eye, who heard his eloquent address â€"-which,as I am told by Mr. Robinson and Mr. Osler, the counsel for the Crown, made at the instigation of the men them- selves (cheers) that as one particular battle of the Crimea was called the soldier’s bat 1e so our gallant volunteers said at Batoc e that sooner than be peppered from day to day by the galling shot of a hidden foe we will take our lives in our hands, rush over the open plain and end I the thing one way or the otherâ€"and they did so and you know the result. (Prolonged cheers). I will not dwell on the glory of that achieve- ment. I have sometimes thought, and I still think, that although blood was spilt, and although tears were shed in many homes for the death and the wounds and the sufferings of our gallant volunteers, although large sums of money were ex- pended in putting down that rebellion, yet; we are a greater people today by reason of the fact that we have exhibited to the world the fact that Canada, small as she is, numbers among‘ her children men as brave and as strong to defend their homes and resist encroachment on their rights, as the noble races from which they have sprung. (Loud cheers.) And it may be perhaps that in the difficulty which is just now unfortunately arising with regard to our fisheriesâ€"it may be worth some- thing in the preservation of peace for the Americans to remember that Canadians as they did in the days of Brock, so they did in the days of Riel~â€"(cheers)â€"to re- member thst as ,they did then they are prepared to do nowâ€"(cheers)â€" to defend their hearths, their homes and their rights; that they are prepared to defend their fisheriesâ€"(prolonged cheers) ~which are the property of Canada as much as are the cattle in her fields: and that if the Americans will not deal fairly and rightly by us, we at all events will not surrender without a struggle. (Loud cheers.) But THE REBELLION HAVING BEEN PUT DOWN Riel was tried, and was there a. man in all Canada who did not call out for his trial. I don’t think there was a man, even in the Province of Queâ€" bec, who did not say that Riel should be triedâ€"fairly tried, it is truceâ€"but that he should he tried and tried speedily. And who amongst us all called most loudly for his trial? Why, the very men who have now turned around and told us that Riel was justified in that rebellion ; the very ‘ men who, like Mr. Anglin, are denouncing , me in this country as the candidate of the Government who hanged Riel. (Hear, hear. and cheers.) These were the men who hounded on the Government to try Riel, to see that his trial was properly conducted on the part of the Crown, so th st by no slip on the part of the Govern- ment could he escape the meshes of the law. The Globe accused the Government of haviugentcrcd into a. conspiracy for the acquittal of Kiel. It demanded first the trial ; next the sure conviction, and finally the speedy con- demnation and execution of Riel; The, London Advertiser, The Hamilton Times, and all the. Reform press, required at the hands of the Government that Riel when convicted should be hanged. His counsel at the trial set up the plea of insanity, but to that unfortunate man’s credit, be it said, he stood up in the dock and said 2 “I want no defence on the ground of insaui:y; I am not an insane man; I knew what I was doing at the time, and 1 know wwhat I am doing now,” and now it is insinuatedâ€"and perhaps truly, that he could have made in that court roomâ€"those jury men who were themselyes overcome by emot'n said that this man was not a lunatic,and they pronounced him to be sane. Not; onl so, but Mr. Blake himself read in the House of Commons 3 letter from one of those jurymen, showing that they were all of opinion that the man was perfectly sane. Now, why should not Riel have been hanged? Mr. Blake says he should not. The jury said he was not insane, the judges of the Supreme Court of Manitoba concurred in the finding ; leave was given to this criminalâ€"though denied to some othersâ€"to appeal to the Privy Council in England, but his lawyers never raiSed that question; they thought ihere was not material enough on which to raise it. Here was this man, who was not only a traitor to his country, but a double dyed traitor to the unfortunate hali‘nreeds whom he had incited to arms; who was willing to desert them for money, the man who incited the Indians to rise, the man who ahjured his religion because he knew that if he did not hold himself out to the people as a. prophet. they would remain under the guidance of their priests, who would have prevented the rebellion ; the man who caused the slaughter of two priests of the roll ions order which had been established in 1; int country. Will you tell me if there was one extenuating circumstance in the whole of his career, from July, 1884. do «In to the day of his execution ; is there a single circumstance under which the Govâ€" ernor Geneml could iropcrly have exer- cised the clemency oi the Crown in his favor? If there is I would like to hear it. If the man was insane he should not have been hanged ; but with the evidence of our senses, with the knowledge that these people had of him, who saw him and knew him, with ' l THE VERDICT OF THE JURY i and the confirmation of that verdict ‘ by the courts, the man must 3 have an overwcening belief in his own opinion who will say that all these people were wrong and that lieâ€"Ed- ward Blake aloneâ€"was right. (Chews) The form of insanity which it is said he had is megalomania. Did you ever hear of it before ? It seems to be a new form of insanity. I will give you a definition of it, and I think if you accept it I can prove to you that other people besides Louis Riel are alllicted VViiI-ll megnlomania. Here is what the doctors tell. us it is. and I wonder whether the (inscription wi l ‘ .y of the nulfim m- n ml" m i~nn1ut1y. BROUGHT THE TEARS TO EVERY RYE HE WENT TO OTTAWA and he prepared a long speech before he knew a word of the evidence any more than he had known at London, and in that speech he cites the opinions of all the mad; doctors Lin support of the theory that this megalomaniac should not be hanged. According to the views of these doctors, whose opinions he read, there is hardly a man of sound mind in the country. We know that in the State of New York not long ago criminals of the deepest dye, who were brought to trial, were proved by the evi- dence of these mad doctors to have what was called emotional insanity just at the time they committed the crime, though they were all right before, and are all right now, and the result was that many of them were allowed to get off sect free. That was the view supported by Lawyer Blake, although he knew perfectly well that after years and years of dispute on this subject all the law authorities of the realm have settled that the man who is responsible for his acts, Who knows right from wrong, knows whether he has risen in rebellion against his country or not, is answerable for his acts before God and man. Here was a man who was said to labor under the delusion that he was the prophet of the North- VVest. Now, a delusion is something absurdâ€"an idea. which has no solid foundation, but which you cannot drive out of a- man’s mind no matter what you do or how you reason with him ; but if the lunatic is willing to sell out hls delu- sion for a consideratiou‘Uoud cheers)â€" then the plea of insanity disappears at once. Iventure to say on this public platformâ€"and I ho o my words may reach Mr. Blakeâ€" venture totell him and. to tell you that when he concooted that speech, which was also carefully written out, when he sneaked down to 0t~ tswa to ask Mr. Laurier’s approval of that speechâ€"â€" Why. when a man gets very conceited, he is afflicted with msgalomania. (Hear, hear and laughter.) If a man thinks he knows more than all the world besidesâ€" beware, he is a megalomaniac. (Loud laughter.) I think this would not be a bad name to apply to the people who believe in the insanity of Riel, (Hear, hear and laughter.) Should not those of the Reform party who are agreed on the insanity of Riel and the consequences of that belief as distin- guished from those who think he was as sane as any one in this hall,have a name of their own? Sn pose we Christen them megalomaniacs. ( aughter and cheers.) Why should the whole Reform party of this country be saddled with the responsi- bility of this wild action on the part of Mr. Blake? Let those who among them accept this doctrine of‘Mr. Blake’s, accept this distinctive title; I have given it to them tonight, and I trust they will NOT BE ASllAMED to wear it. But was there any cause for Mr. Blake accepting this view, do you think? Oh, no, no, no. The great and good Mr. Blake is always actuated by the highest and purest motives; he is “ the serene soul ;” the man who never does or thinks wrong: he is always right, although he sometimes suppresses the record. No, Mr. Blake was conscientiously bound to follow his own convictions. He says, I have been Minister of Justice ; I know the responsi- bilities of the position; I have mastered the rules for the guidance of governors in the exercise of the clemency of the Crown, and knowing them, I say the Government is censurablo. Well, We have the authority of Mr. Gladstone, as we have that of all the other public men of the Empire, that with regard to the administration of that law, it is not a. fitting question to be treated ass. party question ; that all parties in England, as I hope all in Canada, are agreed as upholders of that law, and the responsi“ bility of every man in the country under that law. No, says 'Mr. Blake ; I know dilferently, and so he prepares a speech to deliver at London. The speech was ambiguous in phraseâ€"I will not say it was sentimental in tone, but it professed to exhibit those god-like attributes which he always assumes to himself. “This matter,” said he, “has to be decided by every man according to his conscience, and God forbid that I should make a platform out of the Regina scadold; God forbid that I should at- tempt to capture the French vote by pro- ‘ fessing sympathy.with their attitude on the Riel question. No ; I am holier than ‘ thou, and I will go to Ottawa to decide on this question according to the dictates of my conscience." And the poor de- luded crowd who listened to his words and applauded them, supposed that he would i go to Ottawa and would accept the respon- ‘ sibility ; that he would endorse the act of the Government in the execution of Riel. \Vell, AND I SAY SNEAKED, because when a public man like the leader of the Opposition goes openly to the Capital or anywhere else. it is not a mat- ter which escapes the observation of the public press, but in this case no person heard of it ;‘no newspaper record showed it. Mr. Blake says he took a cab from the station, and I have no doubt that he did, and that the windows of the cab were carefully drawn down. He says he went to his hotel, but I am told that he did not go to the hotel to which he usually goes at Ottawa. At, any rate he met Mr. Laurier there; he had the speech all carefully written out for Mr. Laurier’s approval. Why did he think it necessary to consult Mr. Laurier on the subject? Was it to find out to what extent the agitation had gone on in the 'Province of Quebec? Was it to learn whether this agitation which his lieuten- ant, Mr. Edgar, had gone to Manitoba to foster and encourage was likely to go on and spread so that it could be of service as a political weapon to be used at the com- ing elections? Was that the object of Mr. Blake’s visit to Mr. Laurier, or was it just to get Mr. Laurier‘s approval of th ' ‘nglish he used in the speech, or the god taste with which he framed his sentences 1’ Which was it? I leave it to you to say. (Loud cheers.) If you read the speech carefully as I have read it once or twice, you will see that he was very ingeniously paving his way. No man dared say at that time that Riel should not have been hanged ; if he had said so he would have driven his party from him. So he said, we must go slow ; we must not turn the corner too quickly, we mut take them round in a gentle curve. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Now, the importance of the matter is this: in one sense I care not for Mr. Blake’s mo- tives. But I say that if his motives were good, then he has not the common sense fitting for a leader of this country, THE COMMON SENSE ‘ to keep him from committing political blunders, and political blunders we know are crimes. But if he was worse than this; if he allowed his conduct to be in- fluenced by the hope of capturing the French contingent, I ask are there words strong enough in the Eng- lish languageâ€"unless We borrow a few from Mr. Blake himselfMin which to condemn the act? (Hear, hear.) The importance of the matter is this; They say this is a dead issue. They say that the party which they allege was guilty of all thee wrongs to the halfbreeds ; tle party which should themselves be tried for treason, because of their neglect ; these men are now seeking to divert pub- lic. attention from their own misdeeds, by holding up this question of the hanging: of “ W'th characteriées this particular form of mental alienation in the exaggera- tion of the sentiment of personality. Fix- panse of passion, is one of the consequences of in. Megalomanluca are happy, satisfied with themselves and speak without; limit of their own personality.” I hope at any rate you will not take me in. (Cheers apd ~lamghteq.) THE DESTROYER AND THE MAKER of governments, without finding in the long run, and before you are through with it, that you are paying very dearly for the experiment. (Hear, hear and. cheers). And do you suppose that the majority which Mr. Blake expects to get from the Province of a? Quebec are goin to support him without getting their qu‘ pro quo, and a pretty solid one at that? Do you suppose that the men of Ontario are willing to submit for a long period to a condition of subjection to one raceâ€"- and I speak not of Ontario alone but of every man outside of the French nation- ality? And bear in mind 1 speak not to any, or of any religion or creed. My own conviction is that it is not religion which is at the bot- tom of this matter. but that it is a race feeling. (Hear, hear and cheers). There isno feeling so strongâ€"no feeling which all history proves to be so strong as the feeling of race. The unification of Italy in our own time, after a separation lasting for so many years, the solidifica- tion of the German Empire, and of the Russian peoples are all examples which show the strength of this deep~seated racial feeling. And don’t we find the French today, in the Province of Quebec, more French than they were when they were conquered by VVolie on the Plains of Abrahsm? Do they mix with us, asimi- late with us, intennarry with us; do they read our literature or learn our laws? No ; everything with them is conducted on a French model, and while we may admire members of that race as individuals, yet as members of the body politic I say they are THE GREAT DANGER TO OUR CONFEDERACY. And if Mr. Blake had for the time forgot- ten partyism, had he said when he came back refreshed from his visit to the Old Country, “I can see what advantage Icould gain as a party man by adopting this course, ibut as a statesman I know it would be ultimately a fatal and shortsighted policy, as a patriot I know it would be heralding the ruin of my country, and therefore I am bound in honor to come out openly and. say that the Government who thus did their duty are not to be condemned; I will endorse the common public senti- ment of my countrymen ; I will show on this occasion that I am for Canada, rather than my party, no matter what the con- sequences may be to me, no matter it it keeps me from public life for the rest of my daysâ€"had thatbeen his course, I hesitate not to say that Edward Blake would have been the strongest man in the Dominion of Canada to-night. (Cheers.) No man could have withstood him if he had been willing on that on- casion said that the North-West has been opened up at great expense to the Canadian people ; we have almost staked our nation- al existence on the experiment of opening up and peopling that country. And un- less the people of the North-VVest know that the arm of the law ls strong enough to reach to the farthest corner of the Dominion, and grasp the criminal whOever, or wherever he may be, you cannot expect those who are there to remain, nor others to go into that country. And if you allow yourselves to be per- suaded that on other matters you should condemn the Government, while in Lower Canada. they have but this one issue, marl: my words, every man who casts Ma ballott in that way, will hit- terly regret it. (Prolonged cheers.) You cannot elevate the French nationality as you are asked to do, so as to make it TO SACRIFICE PARTY for the sake of his country. In the case of Sir John, we know that petition after petition from all classes and conditions of men was sent in to him. asking for the pardon of Riel, threatening the Govern- ment with the loss of the French Canadian support if he was not pardoned, while there was just one petition from the Province of Ontario asking for his execu- tion. But Sir John was consistent to the last. He said, while the criminal:2 shall have a fair trial, while he shall be allowed to appeal from court to court until he has exhausted the subtletieix of the law, while he shall have, before his execution an investiga- tion into his sanity, to see if he is in the same condition that he was in before the trial, beyond that executive interference will not go ; the law must take its course ; and, for my own part, I believe numberfl of my fellow-countrymen will go out of the ranks of their own party and will for- give Sir John a. multitude of sins which they suppose him guilty of, and support Mm for this one deed. (Loud and pro- BLAKE STEPPED OVER THAT LINE are you now prepared to accept the conse- quences of the bold stand which Sir John took? (Prolonged cheers.) Is their any reward for public men in this country who do their duty? Are the people so dead to patriotism, so war ed by party feeling that they are not agl‘e to appreciate a noble act when done by a political op- ponent? Are the men of this country not prepared to any that had Sir John con< sulted merely arty interests he would not have arouseg this storm in Quebec ; he would have given in to the men who have stood by him since 1854. who have never deserted him in all that time, trustin to get support also from a portion 0 the Up er Canadian pee 1e. But Sir John sai that the Nort - est has been opened AVENGE THE BLOOD OF RIEL, who they say was hanged by a Govern- ment whom they call his hangmen, and is not Mr. Blake in alliance with them. (Hear, hear and cheers.) Did not he bring Mr. Laurier up to this pro- vince like a tame bear during the local elections (hesr, hear and cheers); didn’t he lead him like a tame hear from plat‘ form to platform-the man who said “ That had he been on the banks of the Saskatchewan he would have shouldered his musket and shot down our volunteers." (Prolonged cheers.) While Mr. Blake in the House of Commons was calling on the Government to put in the hands of our volunteers arms of the latest pattern, death dealing instruments of the greatest precision and effect, beside him, at the same desk, there sat the man who said that in that struggle he would have been on the other side, receiving the bullets from those death dealing weapons instead of on the side of our volunteers. He was brought up to Ontxrio for the purpose of rallying to the support of Mr. Blake the French people of this province. Men of Ontario, if you are not prepared to stand by the Government which pen mitted the law to take its course in the case of Rielâ€"the Government did not hang Riel, because it was the law which hanged himâ€"what safety remains for our young nationality? Was not the com- plaint against Sir John that he was under French domination, that he was too sub- servient to the Bleus? Granted that he was, but he drew the line at this point, and because Mr. ionized applause.) Riel as the question of the hour, while Mr. Blake pretends to any that it is a dead issue. Well, I wish.I could agree with him, but is be honest in telling us that when we see these people in Lower Canada, on this very issue, coming out from the ranks of their party and joinin together in creating a, new party, cello the party of Nationalistsâ€"Nationaliatl not in the sense of being members of this Dominion, but Nationalists of the Province of Quebecâ€"Nationalists of the French race, and that to-day in that province the Rouge and the Bleu are slumbering together on the same couchâ€" Meroier thejadvanced Rouge, and Trudel the Uitramontane Bleu, both supping to- gether out of the same dish. (Hear, hear and cheers.) What does that mean? What was the meaning of the revolution in Quebec the other day by which Mr. Mer- oier has come into power? Don’t delude yourselves. There is no politics in that affair except this national questionâ€"