Part 17 (1/2)
On his refusing to accede to the demand of the prisoner and the breeds with him, Riel said, ”You had better do it quietly If we succeed, I will pay you; if not, the Dominion Government will” I refused, said Walters, and they forced themselves in and took the arms I was arrested shortly after Riel said the movement was for the freedom of the people The country, if they succeeded, was to be divided, giving a seventh to the half-breeds, a seventh to the Indians, a seventh to church and schools, the remainder to be Crown Lands I was kept prisoner three days, being liberated by Riel Riel said, God ith their people, and that if the whites ever struck a blow, a thunderbolt would destroy the, the prisoner superintending the reoods
HILLYARD MITChell sworn, was examined by Mr Osler He said--I am an Indian trader, have a store at Duck Lake; heard there was an intention by rebels to take my store
I went to Fort Carlton and saw Major Crozier on the Thursday prior to the Duck Lake fight; saw prisoner on that Thursday at Batoche Saw solish half-breed freighters who had been taken prisoners by Riel, and their freight also taken Philip Garnot took me to the priest's house I saw the prisoner there with Charles Nolin, Guardupuy and others I think this was on the 19th of March I told Riel that I had coive some advice to the half-breeds Riel said the Govern ht 500 police He said he had been tra the Government and Sir Jonn Macdonald to their knees
THOMAS E JACKSON was next exaist, at Prince Albert, and a brother of Wm Henry Jackson, an insane prisoner of Riel's Riel, witness testified, asked hi a favourable construction on his (Riel's) actions Riel had made an application to Government for 35,000 as indereatest hatred to the English, and his e for ill-treat questioned Riel's present motives and plans, witness was taken prisoner and placed in close confinelish half-breed to desert
When Middleton was attacking Batoche, Riel came to witness and told him if Middleton killed any of their women and children he would e to Middleton to that effect, and I carried it to the General (The e was produced and identified by witness) I did not return to the rebel caht Riel was in co in i (The original summons to Major Crozier to surrender, the letter to Crozier asking hiht, a letter to ”dear relatives” at Fort Qu'Appelle, a letter to the half-breeds and Indians about Battleford, a letter to Poundmaker, and other docu in Riel's handwriting)
Cross-exahts and their claims under the Manitoba treaty, and I was in syht into the country by the French half-breeds I attended aat Prince Albert immediately after Riel's arrival in June, 1884 Riel said what they wanted was a constitutional agitation, and if they could not accomplish their ends in five years they would take ten to do it
Riel was their adviser; was not a member of the Executive Committee Up to March last, from all I heard prisoner say or discovered otherwise, I believed Rielcarried on by the other settlers Riel had told him the priests were opposed to hi up the country to be bestowed on the half-breeds, Poles, Hungarians, Bavarians, etc When I was Riel's prisoner I heard hiht meant a division of the proceeds of sale of lands in a scheether different fros All the docuned ”Exovide” (one of the flock) Riel explained that his new religion was a liberal form of Roman Catholicism, and that the Pope had no power in Canada
Think Riel wanted to exercise the power of the Pope himself These expressions were un
GENERAL MIDDLETON was now called, and was examined by Mr C Robinson, QC He testified that he was sent by the Minister of Militia to quell the outbreak on the Saskatchewan, and gave the well-known details of his encounter with the rebels at Fish Creek, and of his subsequenttwo letters from Riel on the day of the capture of Batoche, in one of which Riel threatened to massacre the prisoners in his possession if he (Middleton) fired upon the half-breed women and children The letter was produced in Court, and identified by the General
CAPT GEO H YOUNG, of the Winnipeg Field Battery, deposed that he was present at Batoche as Brigade Major under the last witness, and was in the charge at the close Witness was first in the rebel council chae, and found and took possession of the rebel archives A nunised as those he had secured After Riel's surrender he was given into witness's custody and taken to Regina
MAJOR JARVIS, in con, and to whoe of the papers found at Batoche was confided, identified the papers produced in Court
MAJOR CROZIER, of the N-W Mounted Police, was next sworn, and detailed the fact that he was met by an ar many of his command in killed and wounded He testified that, subsequent to this engageht hi him to come and remove his dead from the field
CHARLES NOLIN was next called, and was exarain in French The deposition of this witness we take from the Toronto _Globe_ Nolin deposed that he lived in St Laurent and formerly in Manitoba He knehen Riel came to this country in July, 1884 And met him many times Riel showed hiland, and also Rome and the Pope Riel spoke to hi his wish for money, a sum between ten and fifteen thousand dollars Riel had no plan to get it, but he wanted to claim an indemnity from the Dominion Government; that they owed him 100,000 Riel told him he had had an intervieith Father Andre, and at that tiy, but had ain his ends Riel went into the church with Father Andre and other priests, and proainst them, and Father Andre had promised to use his influence with the Governinning of Dece made at St Laurent
Between December and February 14th, witness had taken part in seven et the o wherever the Government would send him--to the Province of Quebec or elsewhere Otherwise, he said, before the grass was very long, they would see foreign ar Manitoba, and afterwards turn against the North-West Prisoner afterwards prepared to go to the United States, and told the people it would look well if they atte Riel never had the intention of leaving the country, but wanted witness to get the people to tell hi which was held, and brought thewas held at the settleht half-breeds there Prisoner appeared to be very excited, and told Father Andre he ive him permission to proclaim a Provisional Govern was held for the English half-breeds About forty armed French-half-breeds came there Riel spoke and said the police wanted to arrest him, but he had the real police Witness spoke also at theon the 5th of March Riel afterwards told witness he had decided to take up arlory of God, the good of the Church, and the saving of their souls About twenty days before the prisoner took up arms witness broke entirely from him On the 19th witness was made prisoner by four of Riel's men and taken to the church, where he found soht he was taken before the council and was acquitted Riel protested against the decision Witness was condemned to death, and he was thus forced to join the rebels to save his life The conditions of surrender to Crozier were put in his hands to be delivered to Crozier, but he did not deliver the letter Riel was present at the Duck Lake fight, on the 26th March, and was one of the first to go out toa cross in his hands
Cross examined by Mr Lemieux--I have taken an active part in political affairs of the country In 1869 I was in Manitoba In 1884 Riel was living in Montana with his wife and children I participated in theRiel here; believed Riel would be of advantage in obtaining redress of the grievances The clergy had not taken part in the political hts They thought it was necessary to have Riel as a point to rally round Delegates were sent to invite Riel to come, and he came with his wife and family A constitutional political movement was made, in which the half-breeds of all creeds took part, and the whites, though they were not active promoters, were sympathizers Did not believe Riel ever wanted to return to Montana, although he spoke of it After the Governrant the indemnity to Riel witness did not believe he would be useful as a constitutional leader It was after the inde away Witness denied that in 1869 he started an agitation with Riel, and then, as in the present case, abandoned him He only went as far as was constitutional He had heard prisoner say he considered himself a prophet, and said he had inspiration in his liver and in every other part of his body He wrote upon a piece of paper that he was inspired He shoitness a book written with buffalo blood, which was a plan that after Riel had taken England and Canada, Quebec was to be given to the Prussians, Ontario to the Irish, and the North-West to be divided aarians, and Bavarians included
The rebel council had first condemned witness to death, and afterwards liberated him, and he accepted a position in the council in order to save his life Witness said that whenever the word police washeard that the Govern 500 extra police
At this part of the cross-exas were interrupted by an excited claate the prisoner, and to assist personally in the conduct of his case This the Court could only alloith the consent of prisoner's counsel His counsel objected, and urged that such a proceeding would prejudice their client's case; but Riel persisted, and the rest of the day asted in fruitless altercation, which neither the Court nor the counsel for the Crown could allay The chief cause of Riel's excitement seemed to be the determination of his counsel to press the plea of insanity, a plea which, throughout the trial, Riel strongly objected to be urged on his behalf The Court in the midst of the altercation, adjourned
THIRD DAY OF THE TRIAL
[Footnote: In preparing this abstract of the day's proceedings, the writer acknowledges to have drawn from the reports published in the Toronto _Globe_ and _Mail_, and the Montreal _Gazette_ And _Star_]
The Riel trial was resu of July 30th, by MR GREEN shi+ELDS' addressing the jury for the defence The Court-roo to the difficulty counsel had met, in the prisoner's endeavour to obstruct their conduct of the case, Mr Greenshi+elds dwelt upon the history of the Indians and half-breeds in the North-West Territories, pointing out their rights to the soil In this Court they had a different procedure fro to be understood that the prisoner would not receive as fair a trial as the machinery provided made possible, he questioned whether a jury of six istrate, was sufficient to satisfy the dehts and liberties of all British subjects He believed any of the older Provinces would rebel against such an encroachhts, and he did not see why such a condition of things should obtain here For years the half-breeds had been hts All these efforts had been met by rebuffs, or had received no attention whatever frohts for which the half-breeds were supplicating and petitioning were being handed over to railway corporations, colonization companies, and like concerns He would not say that the action of the Govern of blood--but it left in these poor people those s fires of discontent that were so easily fanned into rebellion by a madman such as Riel The prisoner had been invited by the half-breeds to con country to assist therievances to the Government They were unlettered and required an active sympathizer, with education sufficient to properly conduct the agitation Riel was the man they chose, and there was no evidence to show that when Riel ca the people to arun and carried on up till January in a perfectly constitutional manner After that time, as the jury had seen in the cross-examination of the witnesses for the prosecution, no effort was made by the defence to deny that overt acts of treason had been committed in the presence of the prisoner; but evidence would be brought to show that at the time these acts were countenanced by the prisoner, he was of unsound mind and not responsible for what he did The peculiar disease of the prisoner was called by alomania” This species of mental disease developed two delusions--one the desire for and belief that the patient could obtain great power in political reat church That the prisoner was possessed of these delusions, the evidence abundantly proved The jury rounds for the belief, that the evidence of Charles Nolin, ore that the prisoner illing to leave the country if he obtained froratuity of 35,000, was inconsistent with the real existence of such a monomania as the prisoner was afflicted with But not one isolated portion, but the whole, of Nolin's evidence should be considered Other portions of his testiious matters, and his intention to divide up the country between various foreign nationalities, were conclusive proof of the prisoner's insanity This was a great State trial, the speaker said, and he warned the jury to throw aside the influence of heated public opinion, as it was expressed at present There weretaken part in the rebellion of 1837, and it was questionable if there could be found anyone noould justify those executions The beat of private feeling had died away, and the jury should be careful that no hasty conclusion in this case should leave posterity a chance to say that their verdict had been a wrong one They should, if possible, look at the case with the cal aside all preconceived notions of the case that interfered with the evidence given in the Court, and build up their verdict on the testiht out here In the course of his remarks, Mr Greenshi+elds said, that he accused no Govern the claims of the breeds; but if the authorities had paid attention to the petitions which had been addressed to the tribute to the volunteers, who left their private occupations and came from all parts of the Dominion to suppress the outbreak
At the conclusion of Mr Greenshi+eld's address, FATHER ANDRE, Superior of the Oblat Fathers in the district of Carlton, was called for the defence He said he had been intimately associated with the breeds for a quarter of a century Riel had been induced to come to this country by the settlers to assist the on a been sent to the Governitation; but he had himself indirectly communicated with the Govern the prisoner out of the country
The pretensions or claied frequently
After Riel's arrival the Government had been notified three or four ti The Government had promised to take the matter into consideration The Govern the old survey This was an important concession
At Batoche three scrips had been issued, and at Duck Lake forty were given The witness never liked talking with the prisoner on religion or politics On these subjects Riel's language frightened the witness, who considered him undoubtedly crazy on these subjects, while on all other points he was sane enough Once, at asuch a ious duties was discussed, and it was unaniious or political subjects with hi in front of a bull
PHILIP GARNEAU, of Batoche, but at present a prisoner in Regina gaol, was noorn and deposed as follows:--I saw Riel at Batoche last fall; had seen hi the trouble I talked with hiious matters He said the spirit of Elias, the prophet, was in him He wanted the people to believe that He often said the Spirit of God told hi his stay at ht; never heard such prayers before; prisoner must have made them up He could not stand to be contradicted, and was very irritable Heard hi of the country being divided into seven Provinces, and he was going to bring in seven different nationalities to occupy them I did not believe he would succeed in that He expected the assistance of the Jews and other nationalities, to who to award a Province each for their aid Riel said he was sure to succeed, it was a divine mission, and God was the chief of the ht the man was crazy
Cross-examined by Mr Robinson--I followed Riel solely because he forced reat influence over the half-breeds, who listened to and followed his advice,
FATHER FOURMAND sworn, examined by Mr Lemieux in French--I am a priest of St Laurent; went there in 1875 Have had conversations with Riel since the time of the rebellion