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])?1 NOT BLINDED BY PARTISANSHIP that in a matter of this kind we should con-- sider calmly, and should not be called upon torecord an opinion until we are fully in-- formed of all the facts. Now I say that I am not disposed . to help the Dominion at Ottawa by placing on record an opinion in accordance with the resolution the hon. fientleman has moved. So far from that, I old it as perfectly clear upon the evidence at hand--we have all the evidence of which the Dominion Government has chosen to put us in possession--it is recognized as clear by the Liberal and Conservative newspapers that the Indians and Halfbreeds -- had Rrigyances. . ;: There 'had ~' been _ onlnahis ac INX THE UNITED STATES, after a much more formidable rebellion, in which hundreds of thousands of lives were sacrificed--a rebellion involving a destruc-- tion of property, and an amount of personal suffering ten thousand times greater than that involved in the late rebellion, and a re-- bellion, too, without any reason, as we all agree. Yet when that rebellion was over the course taken was not to punish any of the parties concerned. The leaders were imprisoned, but no pun-- ishment _ was _ inflicted _ upon them. Some peoglee thought that that was the course to taken here. Others have been influenced by this consideration:; that the Lnry recommended Riel to merey. That jury eard all the witnesses, they heard 'Ricl himself, they thought that he was guilty in point of law, and brought him in %;uilt , but waere of opinion that merey shogld be s})mwn. And we have all been struck, I am sure, with the evidence offered there and the evidence which we have heard since with regard to his insanity. Ido not say he was insane. I AM NOT PREPARED to form any judgment. But I say that these are all grounds upon which a large section of the community are of opinion that there should have been no exccutions following that rebellion. I am not prepared to express any opinion upon that subject at all. The leader of the Liberal party in the Dominion Parliament discussed this matter very fully in the magnificent speech which he made at London. HMe pointed out there at great length the duty of considering this whole matter and discussing it in a judicial spirit. He pointed out also what an amount of evidence was still withheld from the public, and which it was necessary to be put in pos-- session of before being able to form a satis factory judgment upon the whole matter, In view of fiwae considerations he declined to express any opinion upon the subject, until the matter [ holpe there is no differance of opinion. [ believe that we all o that whatever grievances the Indians Eud. however much ground they had for complaint, the duty in-- tumbent on the people of this country was to put down that rebellion in the promptest way possible. Nor is there any difference among us, in any part of the Dominion, as to the bravery manifgsted by our men who per-- formed that duty. But now that the insur-- rection has been put down, now that the rislnF has been quelled, there was and is up to this moment a difference of opinion in various partsof the country as to what course should be pursued with au?' of the prisoners. Our attention has been called by those who do not agree with what was done, to the wtion that was taken to RESPONSIRBLq»: SUPPRESSING REBELLION. ol6 neglect . in -- not levances, (Applause.) I hold that there would on at all--(applause)-- hat point, any evi-- I have re that I am culpable griev-- in nob Mr. FERRIS said it was well known that this question was one which was familiar to the country, and therefore one which a lay-- man might speak to. _ He thought at first that the motion had been brought forward from sympathetic or race moi ives,hut he had found by the speech of the leader of the Op-- position that it had been put forward from party motives, (Applause.) He could not vote for the amenadment to the amondment on that account, Then the amendment states that the principal participants had been punished. To this he took exception, as he was well aware that some of the princi-- pal participants were now fugitives from jus-- tice. . Regarding the former part of 'the amendment, he could say tfiut so _ ar as _ he knew, no Liberal newspaper or leader had said that Riel had not been legally | tried and legally executed. He regarded a | Bloa. for mercy as a mercifal eourse to take, | but they all knew that the recommendation | to merey of the Jjury had not been regarded. Hon. C. F. FRASER--No,. The: the question before them as to wh should be an appeal in such cases, decided that there should not be, Mr. MEREDTTH concluded his 1 giving his hearty siupport to the a to the amendment, uo C CECCORE PERPEemttegVelusee UC+ fore them. Moun. 0. F, FRASER--They were not dis-- cussing that at all. Mr. MEREDITH--They were discussing the competence of the tribunal, and whether the evidence on which Riel was convicted was sufticient,. Mr. MEREDITH regretted the tone taken by Mr. Fraser ard Mr. Mowat in dealing with the amendment moved by Mr. White. If the hon. gentleman from Essex, who was of the same blood as those for whom he was asking merey, was willing to stake his({)oliti- cal future upon his resolution, he should have met with a different reception. HMe referred at length to former resolutions of the House in the Riel matter, and to the resolu-- tion of the Dominion Parliament on Mome Rule, adducing these as reasons why the amendment should be accepted. He charged the Government with taking their present course, not from patriotic, but from party motives, He referred to the question of the mental condition of Riel, and said it was not a question for discussion. It was so clear that that aspect of the case was not argued before the Privy Council. Hon. C. F. FRASER --The aunestion of the saaity or insanity of Riel had nothing to do with the Privy Council. _ Mr. MEREDITH--It must have been be-- in Parliament ; it is a well--known fact, in-- deed, that toa very large extent the white population in the North--west recognized the wrongs of the Halfbreeds. There is no doubt then that the Halfbreeds had very great grievances ; in fact it has been said that t.he grievances woere greater than those which causeu the American Colonies to rebel, a:nd greater than those suffered before the rising of 1837. Still we cannot allow a man to take the law into his own hands even if be has grievances, _ Peace must be preserved, order must be restored, the general popu-- lation must be protected, the British fHag must be defended. (Applause.) Our Volunteers went forward with enthusiasm to restore order, and this they did easily and well ; but now the whole matter is over it is quite another question as between those who were driven into the rebellion by their wrongs and the Government who caused those wrongs. (Applause.) And once more I say that i wouid not be becoming in the people of this Province and in this House to take amy part in rescuing the Government of the Doiminion from the fate which awaits them. (Applause, loud and continued.) r!uusc.) It would be monstrous to hold up y one single act or one single word a Gov-- ernment standing in that position. (Ap-- plause.) I say all that, and yet I hold as strongly as anyone that rebellion is & 1l.n't.ve matter, and some have described rebellion as not being justifiable unless it is successful. If an ordinary rebellion is a grave matter, an Indian rebellion is of the gravest possible character. In this particular -- rebellion the _ sufferers _ were -- not those who were guilty of the wrongs of _ which the Halfbreeds and Indianus complained. Before it was settled innocent men, women, and children suffered in persons and property and other ways, and it is to be rememg:red that in no sense were they party to the wrongs, either directly or indirectly. They were rebellion--(applause)--as res ponsible for the whole of the bloodshed--(applause)--as ro-- sponsible for every life lost, as responsible for all the suffering, as responsible for all the destruction of _property resulting from it, And I hold the Dominion Government as responsible for all the delay in settling and developing the territory which resulted from the rebellion. (Ap-- NOT EVEN REPRESENTED --No. They only had d his remarks by hether there s, and thev amendment