Produced by Al Haines [Frontispiece: Advance of the British troops on the village of St. Denis, 1837. From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys.] THE 'PATRIOTES' OF '37 A Chronicle of the Lower Canadian Rebellion BY ALFRED D. DECELLES TORONTO GLASGOW, BROOK & COMPANY 1916 _Copyright in all Countries subscribing to the Berne Convention_ {vii} PREFATORY NOTE The manuscript for this little book, written by me in French, was handed over for translation to Mr Stewart Wallace. The result as here presented is therefore a joint product. Mr Wallace, himself a writer of ability and a student of Canadian history, naturally made a very free translation of my work and introduced some ideas of his own. He insists, however, that the work is mine; and, with this acknowledgment of his part in it, I can do no less than acquiesce, at the same time expressing my pleasure at having had as collaborator a young writer of such good insight. And it is surely appropriate that an English Canadian and a French Canadian should join in a narrative of the political war between the two races which forms the subject of this book. A. D. DECELLES. OTTAWA, 1915. {ix} CONTENTS Page I. CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. THE RIGHTS OF THE DEFEATED . . . . . . . . . . 7 III. 'THE REIGN OF TERROR' . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 IV. THE RISE OF PAPINEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 V. THE NINETY-TWO RESOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . 33 VI. THE ROYAL COMMISSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 VII. THE RUSSELL RESOLUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 VIII. THE DOGS OF WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 IX. _FORCE MAJEURE_ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 X. THE LORD HIGH COMMISSIONER . . . . . . . . . . 104 XI. THE SECOND REBELLION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 XII. A POSTSCRIPT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 {xi} ILLUSTRATIONS ADVANCE OF THE BRITISH TROOPS ON THE VILLAGE OF ST DENIS, 1837 . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ From a colour drawing by C. W. Jefferys. SIR JAMES CRAIG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _Facing page_ 16 From a portrait in the Dominion Archives. LOUIS JOSEPH PAPINEAU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 22 After a lithograph by Maurin, Paris. WOLFRED NELSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 60 From a print in the Chateau de Ramezay. SOUTH-WESTERN LOWER CANADA, 1837 . . . . . . . . . . " " 69 Map by Bartholomew. DENIS BENJAMIN VIGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " 128 From a print in M'Gill University Library. {1} CHAPTER I CANADIANS, OLD AND NEW