1September 1993 2 3 4 The Metis Rebellion and the Amnesty Issue 5 6 ..............edited by Marijan Salopek 7 8 ============================== 9 10 Letter from Dr J. S. Lynch to Governor-General Sir John Young, 11 July 1, 1870. 12 13 I have on several occasions had the honor of addressing Your 14 Excellency on behalf of the loyal portion of the inhabitants of 15 the Red River Settlement and having heard that there is a 16 possibility of the Government favoring the granting of an amnesty 17 for all offences, to the rebels of Red River, including Louis 18 Riel, O'Donoghue, Lepine and others of their leaders, I feel it 19 to be my duty on behalf of the loyal people of the Territory, to 20 protest most strongly against an act that would be unjust to them 21 and at the same time to place on record the reasons which we 22 consider render such clemency not only unfair and cruel but also 23 injudicious, impolitic and dangerous. I therefore beg most 24 humbly and respectfully to lay before Your Excellency on behalf 25 of those whom I represent, the reasons which lead us to protest 26 against the leaders of the rebellion being included in an 27 amnesty, and for which we claim that they should be excluded from 28 its effects. 29 1. A general amnesty would be a serious reflection on the 30 loyal people of Red River Settlement who, throughout this whole 31 affair, have shewn a true spirit of loyalty and devotion to their 32 Sovereign and to British institutions. Months before Mr. 33 McDougall left Canada it was announced that he had been appointed 34 Governor. He had resigned his seat in the Cabinet, and had 35 addressed his constituents prior to his departure. The people of 36 the Settlement had read these announcements, and on the 37 publication of his Proclamation in the Queen's name, with the 38 Royal Arms at its head, they had every reason to consider that 39 the Queen herself called for their services. 40 These services were given cheerfully, they were enrolled in 41 the Queen's name to put down a rising that was a rebellion that 42 was trampling under foot all law and order and preventing British 43 subjects from entering or passing through British territory. For 44 this they were imprisoned for months, for this they were robbed 45 of all they possessed, and for this -- the crime of obeying the 46 call of his Sovereign -- one true-hearted loyal Canadian was 47 cruelly and foully murdered. An amnesty to the perpetrators of 48 these outrages by our Government we hold to be a serious 49 reflection on the conduct of the loyal inhabitants and a 50 condemnation of their loyalty. 51 2. It is an encouragement of rebellion; Riel was guilty of 52 treason when he refused permission to Mr. McDougall, a British 53 subject, to enter British territory, and drove him away by force 54 of arms; he set law at defiance, and committed an open act of 55 rebellion. He also knew that Mr. McDougall had been nominated 56 Governor, knew that he had resigned his seat in the Cabinet, knew 57 that he had bid farewell to his constituents, yet he drove him 58 out by force of arms; and when the Queen's proclamation was 59 issued -- for all he knew by the Queen's authority -- he tore it 60 up, scattered the type used in printing it, defied it, and 61 imprisoned, robbed and murdered those whose only crime in his 62 eyes was that they had obeyed it. 63 It may be said that Riel knew that Mr. McDougall had no 64 authority to issue a proclamation in the Queen's name; a 65 statement of this kind would lead to the inference that it was 66 the result of secret information, and of a conspiracy among some 67 in high positions. This had sometimes been suspected by many, 68 but hitherto has never been believed. An amnesty to Riel and 69 other leaders would be an endorsation of their acts of treason, 70 robbery, and murder, and therefore an encouragement to rebellion. 71 3. An amnesty is injudicious, impolitic and dangerous if it 72 includes the leaders -- some of these who have been robbed and 73 imprisoned, who have seen their comrade and fellow prisoner led 74 out and butchered in cold-blood, seeing the law powerless to 75 protect the innocent and punish the guilty, might in that wild 76 spirit of justice called vengeance, take the life of Riel or some 77 other of the leaders. Should this unfortunately happen, the 78 attempt by means of law to punish the avenger would be attended 79 with serious difficulty, and would not receive the support of the 80 loyal people of the Territory, of the Canadian emigrants who will 81 be pouring in, or of the people of the older Provinces -- trouble 82 would arise and further disturbances break out in the settlement. 83 It would be argued with much force that Riel had murdered a loyal 84 man for no crime but his loyalty, and that he was pardoned, and 85 that when a loyal man taking the law into his own hands executed 86 a rebel and murderer in vengeance for a murder, he would be still 87 more entitled to a pardon, and the result would be that the law 88 could not be carried out when the enforcement of the law would be 89 an outrage to the sense of justice to the community the law would 90 be treated with contempt. A full amnesty will produce this 91 result, and bitter feuds and a legacy of internal discussion 92 entailed upon the country for years to come. 93 4. It will destroy all confidence in the administration of 94 law and maintenance of order; there would be no feeling of 95 security for life, liberty or property, in a country where 96 treason, murder, robbery, and other crimes had been openly 97 perpetrated, and afterwards condoned and pardoned sweepingly by 98 the highest authorities. 99 5. The proceedings of the insurgent leaders, previous to 100 the attempt of Mr. McDougall to enter the Territory as well as 101 afterwards, led many to expect that Riel and his associates were 102 in collusion with certain persons holding high official 103 positions, although suspected it would not be believed. An 104 amnesty granted now including every one would confirm these 105 suspicions, preclude the possibility of dissipating them, and 106 leave a lasting distrust in the honor and good faith of the 107 Canadian Government. 108 In respectfully submitting these arguments for Your 109 Excellency's most favorable consideration, I wish Your Excellency 110 to understand that it is not the object of this protest to stand 111 in the way of an amnesty to the great mass of the rebels, but to 112 provide against the pardon of the ringleaders, those designing 113 men who have inaugurated and kept alive the difficulties and 114 disturbances in the Red River settlement, and who have led on 115 their innocent dupes from one step to another in the commission 116 of crime by false statements and by appealing to their prejudices 117 and passions. 118 119 Source: 120 121 'Report of the Select Committee on the Causes of the Difficulties 122 in the North-West Territory in 1869-70,' 1874, Vol. 8, Appendix 6, p. 195. 124 ============================