Meanwhile, Hunters' Lodges continued to exist along the border; and preparations were made for another Patriot invasion of the Canadas. Sir John Colborne had received minute information of these proceedings, and the necessary defensive preparations were accordingly made. In Upper Canada, Sir George Arthur called out a portion of the militia, on the 23d of October, by proclamation. At the same time, the armed vessels now on Lakes Erie and Ontario were put into the most efficient condition for active service.

The final Patriot invasion of Canada, like all the preceding ones, was based on the principle of combined movement. In Lower Canada, Robert Nelson established himself at Napierville; while in Upper Canada, an attempt was made to obtain possession of Fort Wellington, at Prescott, on the St Lawrence, and of Fort Malden, at Amherstburg.

On the 10th of November a body of armed men embarked at Oswego on board the United States, a large steamer plying from Ogdensburg westward. At the same time, two schooners conveyed a detachment of Patriots down the St Lawrence, which were taken in tow by this steamer, as she descended the river. On the night of the 11th they were off Brockville, and considerable alarm was felt lest the enemy might land and attack that town. This, however, formed no part of their plan, and they proceeded to Prescott, midway between which town and Ogdensburg the schooners cast anchor. Here next morning they were attacked by a small British armed steamer, the Experiment, mounting two guns, and compelled to move nearer the American shore. The Experiment likewise fired upon the United States, which came out from Ogdensburg harbour, apparently with the object of taking the schooners again in tow and of landing the sympathisers she had on board at Prescott, and compelled her to sheer off. Having injured one of her guns, the Experiment was under the necessity of running into Prescott to refit, when the Patriots promptly landed a body of some two hundred and fifty men, led by Von Schultz, a Polish adventurer, a little further down the river at Windmill Point, which was beyond the range of the guns of Fort Wellington. This was an excellent defensive position. The Windmill, a building of great strength, was flanked by several stone dwelling-houses and walls, the latter forming good. breast-works; and as the road ran close by this post it commanded both the land and water approaches. Having thus made a solid lodgment on Canadian soil, the Patriots expected to be joined by many of the inhabitants, but were completely disappointed. Scarcely any one aided them openly, while the militia of the

neighbouring counties were soon swarming towards Prescott, from all directions, to drive the pirate invaders from their country.

By the morning of the 13th, a force of over four hundred militia and eighty regulars had been drawn together, and supported by the Victoria and Cobourg armed steamers, moved forward at seven o'clock under the command of Major Young, one of the military officers sent out from England to organise the militia, to dislodge the enemy from the breast-work he had formed, by connecting the stone walls around the mill with intrenchments of earth. The Patriots fought desperately, but were gradually driven from point to point, and finally compelled to take shelter in the stone buildings within their position, where, as the attacking force had no artillery, and the guns of the steamers made no impression on the mill, they were permitted for the present to remain. Strong pickets, however, were posted so as to prevent their escape during the ensuing night. The loss of the Canadians during this action was severe. Two officers and six men were killed; and three officers and thirty-nine men wounded. The Patriots suffered still more severely. Two of their officers and eleven men had been killed, a large number wounded, and thirty-two taken prisoners. During the battle, several boats filled with men had attempted to cross from the opposite side, but were prevented by the armed steamers. The American shore was crowded with spectators, who cheered vigorously whenever they supposed their countrymen had the advantage of the Canadians. Meanwhile, the schooners, which had sought shelter near the American shore, were taken possession of by a United States' Marshal, aided by some troops. The steamer United States was also seized, and the unhappy adventurers at Windmill Point left to their fate,* although they repeatedly begged to be taken off.t

During the 14th the enemy was permitted to retain his position. undisturbed, the Experiment keeping a sharp watch to prevent his escape. On the following day heavy artillery was forwarded from Kingston, as well as a body of troops, under Lieutenant-Colonel Dundas; but owing to some delays these did not reach Prescott till the afternoon of the 16th. As night approached the troops and militia moved forward to the assault, and being well supported by the fire of their guns, the Patriots were soon driven from the dwelling-houses, and compelled to retreat to the mill. This effectually resisted the fire of the artillery, but its destruction being appre

* Major Young's Despatch, 14th Nov. 1838. Brockville Recorder, 15th Nov. 1838.

+ See Von Schultz's Statement.

hended by the Patriots, who still numbered over one hundred, they surrendered at discretion. Several others were afterwards captured, who had hidden in the vicinity, so that one hundred and thirty were taken altogether, of whom several were wounded; their loss in killed was probably about fifty, there being no certainty on this point, many of the dead being burned in the buildings. On the side of the Canadians, only one soldier was killed, and a few wounded in the final assault.

The attempt to obtain possession of Amherstburg terminated equally unsuccessful for the Patriots with the movement against Prescott. On the 4th of December, a body of about four hundred and fifty strong crossed over from Detroit to the Canadian shore, marched upon the village of Windsor, captured the few militia guarding it, burned the steamer Thames, lying at the wharf, and two buildings, murdered a negro who refused to join them, and then prepared to move against Sandwich, a village two miles distant on the road to Amherstburg. But the captured militia soon managed to effect their escape, after shooting the leader of the enemy.

During their march towards Sandwich, the advanced guard of the Patriots brutally murdered Surgeon Hume, of the regular army, who happened to meet them and offered his medical aid. His dead body was shockingly mutilated. But his melancholy fate was speedily avenged by a detachment of one hundred and seventy militia from Sandwich, acting under the orders of Colonel Prince, which attacked this portion of the enemy, who had meanwhile established themselves in an orchard, completely routed them, and killed twenty-one of their number. But Colonel Prince stained his victory by ordering four prisoners, brought in immediately after the action, to be shot. Twenty-six prisoners were shortly afterwards taken; but these were reserved for disposal by the proper tribunal. The loss of the militia in this action was trifling; only one man was killed and two wounded.

The Patriots, however, still retained possession of Windsor, from which Prince did not think proper to dislodge them, as a part of their force, which had meanwhile made a flank movement towards Sandwich, threatened his rear. He accordingly retired upon the latter village, where he was soon after joined by a detachment of regulars with a field-piece, and again proceeded to seek the enemy. But finding that none of the inhabitants would aid them, and having already had enough of fighting, the Patriots had in the meantime either recrossed the river to Detroit, or concealed themselves in the surrounding woods. Nineteen of the latter, destitute of food,

and unable to cross to the opposite shore, were shortly after found frozen to death, around the remains of a fire they had kindled.

Thus terminated the last Patriot invasion of Canada. Like the inhabitants of Ogdensburg, those of Detroit lined the bank of the river during the action at Windsor, and cheered the robber band who had crossed to assail our gallant militia with such disastrous results to themselves. But the horrid drama of blood had not yet terminated. Mercy had been too long shown to the citizens of a friendly country, with which we were at peace, who had invaded our soil for purposes of rapine and bloodshed. Courts-martial were accordingy assembled at Kingston and London, for the trial of the prisoners taken in arms at Prescott and Windsor. Of the former, Von Schultz and nine others, chiefly Americans, were executed at Kingston. Three were executed at London for the Windsor outrage, several were also executed in Lower Canada, and a large number from both provinces transported to the penal settlements at New Holland. More than half the prisoners taken at Prescott, being youths under age, were pardoned by Sir George Arthur, and permitted to return home.

Like all rebellions, that of Canada had produced its full harvest of disorder, caused a large outlay to the state, and checked the progress of the country, aside from arousing men's evil passions, and drawing a gallant militia from their homes to the injury of their business.

Every true lover of liberty will admit that rebellion is necessary and justifiable in certain circumstances. When a nation has not security for life and property, when the rights of person are violated arbitrarily and unjustly by the powers that be, when men suffer sharp wrongs, and their liberties are trampled on daily by the iron heel of oppression, when taxation is imposed without legislative representation, then rebellion is a virtue, and not a crime. It is far preferable to die the death of the brave man than to live the life of the slave. Thus, the Swiss rebellion against Austrian tyranny was justifiable, as was also that of the States of Holland, and of the United States of America. But there was no analogy whatever between the condition of these countries, prior to their rebellions, and that of Canada. Here trial by jury existed, the law of Habeas Corpus protected personal rights, and the levying of internal taxation was vested in the local Parliament. In Lower Canada, the French inhabitants enjoyed a larger liberty than their race possessed in any other part of the world; while, in Upper Canada, the few political evils which existed must soon have disappeared before

the pressure of constitutional agitation, the progress of national intelligence, and the increase of national population and wealth.

There can be very little doubt entertained, by any impartial or unprejudiced person, that the singular and very imprudent conduct of Sir Francis B. Head produced in a great measure the wretchedly organised rebellious outbreak in Upper Canada. His injudicious administration, in the first place, created a large amount of political agitation; in the second, the absence of all military preparation to repress armed riots of any kind, invited the rebellion of a small minority of disaffected persons, such as must always exist even in the best-governed countries. But these circumstances, nevertheless, do not lessen the criminality of the course pursued by William Lyon Mackenzie, who was decidedly the leading evil spirit of the crisis, and who must ever be held morally responsible for much of the bloodshed in Upper Canada at this period. The progress of time has mellowed much of the asperity with which his conduct has been regarded, and enabled us to form more just conclusions as to his principles and his objects. As one traces his checkered existence, which presents such a strange admixture of upright intentions and dangerous errors, a doubt of his perfect sanity cannot fail to be evoked, to receive additional colour from the softening of the brain, that finally resulted in death. Ever unstable as water, he flits changefully before the eye as the Dundee shop-boy, the uneasy clerk, the bankrupt shopman, the newspaper editor, the bookseller, the druggist, the member of Parliament, the agitator, the political agent to England, the fomentor of rebellion, and the rebel general. As a refugee in the United States, he shifted his occupation with the same chameleon rapidity as in Scotland and Canada; his peculiar faculty of getting into difficulties of one kind or another being in no way diminished, until, at length, fully as tired of the people as they were of him, he was glad to shelter once more his fortunes under the British flag, which he had once so impotently essayed to trample in the dust. Scotchmen, as a rule, invariably exhibit great tenacity of purpose and steadiness of application, but to that rule Canada presents two notable exceptions in the persons of Gourlay and Mackenzie. Both were wonderfully alike in their failures and their misfortunes, and both supplied the most ample evidence that method and perseverance are ever the solid essentials of success. Mackenzie was much the more clever of the two; but he lacked the sterling talent and the sober judgment which constitute the truly eminent man, and his once great popularity rested solely on the passions and prejudices of the hour. He was alike an indifferent