The Sun.
London, England, 1849-05-16 00:00:00

IN SURRECT lON TN CANADA.
The Montreal Gaze Lite of the 27th ult. contains the
following narrative of the sacking and burning of the
Parliatnent House:—

‘. The writer of th' is report, on proceeding to the
House of Assembly on Wednesday evening, at about
9 o'clock, to take his pl Ace in the reporters' gallery, fell
in with a crowd of per sons marching towards the house.
The crowd advanced on the house by different streets
from the direction of the Placa d'Armes. It speedily
surrounded the house and commenced throwing stones
through the windows. The crowd was large, but not
very dense; the writer was able to walk about through
every part of it. The excitement appeared to be intense.
A party of the more violent among the crowd proceeded
to burst open the hall door, which they succeeded in
doing in the space of a few moments, smashing the door
to atoms. They then rushed up the main stairs into
the hall of the Assembly, a few members only having ,
remained, among whom were Messrs. Stevenson, Galt,
M'Counell, and Dr. Fortier—the first named, with great
coolness, planted themselves in such a manner as to
escape the volleys of stones, an I, like philosophers,
coolly surveyed the scene ; the last screaming
and yelling from very tear. The mob pro-
ceeded to demolish evervthing in the hall. One
fellow took possession of the Speaker's chair. and
declared in a solemn voice that he dissolved the Parlia
meat in the Queen's name, and that the Members had
better take themselves off, or he would not answer for
their lives. The remaining Ilembirs, together with
other individuals and four or five ladies, had in the
meantime. taken refuge behind the Speaker's chair. One
of the reporters jumped from a window in the second
story. This, however, was needless, for instead of hav-
ingl to pass through a lobby full of yelling demons, as
i on. Gentlemen anticipated, they had simply to walk
out.

" The writer proceeded round the House on the out-
side; the crowd appeared to be composed, for the most
part as far as he was able to observe, of merchants and
other respectable citizens of Montreal.
" The number of persons inside the House was not
very large; there was a party in the lobby engaged in
breaking up the Committe-rooms, clerks' offices, and
knocking windows out. On the outside the writer saw
five or six rough looking fellows beating in the window
panes with sticks and axe handles. A few boys 'were
throwing stones through the windows. The writer
heard some expressions to the effect that it was not
improbable that the mob in the building would set it
on fire ; these expressions did not seem unnatural
from the manner in which the work of demolition was
going on. On arriving at the west end of the building
was employed as a store-room-room..r stationery. When the
boarding (a kind of panelling) was broken through, some
he saw a few men break open a wooden gallery, which
loose papers appeared to have been strewed on the floor,
which the writer thought were leaves of printed bills,
as these were flying about in all directions. The men
then fired those loose papers, and threw them about the
room. The wind was high, and in a very few moments
the wooden gallery and a canvas covering above it were
enveloped in flames. The crowd stood at some distance
watching in an apparently impassive manner the progress
of this handful of incendiaries. The anxiety of the mo-
ment was painful. Five or six resolute men might have
arrested the incendiaries and prevented the catastrophe.
The writer's first impulse was to hasten for the police ;
he did not take this step, as the wildfire rapidity with
which the flames spread rendered it useless.

" Some fire-engines were immediately in the neigh-
bourhood, but they did not play upon the tire. It was
rumoured that the crowd would not permit them.
"The writer again hastened to the hall of the House
with the intention of endeavouring to aid in saving some
part of the library or records. He found the hall dark
and in confusion. He thought there were some persona
engaged already in what he intended to do; and finding
that he could be of no use, again left the hall to watch
the progress of the flames.
" All this occurred in the space of 10 or 15 minutes.
The wooden part of the building was now blazing with
intense brightness. A dense smoke was visible inside
the main building. A moment more, and it belched
through the windows and chimneys with awful fury. It
was now evident that any power, less than the hand of
God, must be inadequate to save the building, and it
would have been madness for human beings to have
attempted it.
" All hopes of rescuing the libraries were now at an
end. The centre part of the building, occupied by the
library of the Assembly, in a short time fell in with
a dreadful crash through the roof of the west wing of
the building. In a little time more the whole building,
from one end to the other, was enveloped in one sheet of
he intense heat, the belching flames
roof as it fell in, and the sight
ltihveinbgufliladmineg.
folrttwas now impossible to approach near
now bursting through the
y wbienadu
lashedt lul
tThethe
fia
nightes
was clear an
Numbers of dazzlingly white flakes
to maddening fury.
fir se to some hei ht above
of flame, like balloons ofere e,ro
became awfudllyeoaind,
the raging flames,
be caused
flakes appeared to by
andma g n
theiti che ingthl
distance. These fire
and w borne by the windgs to some
burning pieces of paper being shot upwards by the fury
of the flames. The whole heavens were illuminated,
and the clear and beautiful blue of the firmament, with
the moon and stars brightly shining, contrasting with
the maddened flames and white light below—made a
picture
" of thrilling and awful beauty, such as it is rarely
the lot of the artist to look upon, and such a one that
his pencil would vainly try to imitate.
" The crowd was still not dense ; it was not too much
so to allow a horseman to gallop through it. The ex-
pressions were various. Some were execrating the
Governor-General • soma deploring the outrage ; some
speculating on the loss, more particularly of the two best
and most extensive libraries in the province ; and some
were exulting over the ruin ; while others amused
themselves with tearing to atoms numbers of bills which
had been thrown through the windows. Some were
making witty allusions to the warm and sudden disso-
lution of Parliament, comparing it to the Long Par-
liament. There were various stories circulating aiJout
some fellows taking away that bauble,' the mare ; and
of some fellow taking possession of the chalr, and de-
claring that the Parliament was dissolved. Some were
wondering where the military were, anti some gave out
that they were coming. This did not, however, create
the slightest alarm that the writer was able to perceive,
except that a few Canadians, catching the word, on the
hint respectively said, 'je m'en vain,' which they imme-
diately did. The feeling of the crowd might be divided
into two divisions—deep regret on the part of the re-
reflecting and better informed, and jesting exultation
among the unreflecting and ill-informed.
"In the meantime the roofs of some houses on the op-
posite side of Commissioner-street had taken fire, and
painful fears began to be excited that it would extend to
the whole of St. Paul-street, the wind being so high.
The fire companies, however, performed their part well,
working in an intense heat, and succeeding in putting
down the fire, one or two houses only being burnt, of
comparatively trifling value. The damage in the other
street, on the east side of the house, was confined to
some wooden railings. The writer was on the spot until
near two o'clock; when the rage of the flames had
abated, all the flooring and roofing had fallen in, the bare
walls alone stood, and the interior, from one end to the
other, presented one mass of living embers.
" It may be observed that it was a late hour before
the military arrived at the scene; and the writer ob.
served no police until the work of destruction had irre-
trievably commenced. This cannot be too much re-
gretted, and the reason should be well inquired into; for
the writer affirms that fire or six policemen might have
arrested the incendiaries, while the crowd, at some dis-
tance, looked passively on. The greater part of the
crowd consisted of men too respectable to have aided in
incendiarism, and it seems wonderful that they could
have stood and looked so silently on. The writer can
only account for it by supposing that they had noidea
of the sudden result.
"The next morning the house lay in smoking ruins.
The stone of which it was built being blue limestone,
the walls were whitened, crumbled, and tottering in a
very dangerous state."
(By Electric Telegraph.)
MONTREAL, WRDNESDAY MOANING, MAY 2.
We continue in a most excited state. All sorts of
rumours are flying about. The Royalists from various
districts are reported as marching on the:town, and that
in their progress conflicts are occurring with the French
habitans.

Mobs of people have be moving in the neighbour-
hood of the city during tne past night, in expectation of
arrivals of French hakidans; if these should come in in an
armed body we skall have sad work.
It was ret:'orted yesterday that a deputation was
coming frotva Quebec to present an address to the Go-
vernor-r,eneral. This created a good deal of excite-
ment, and a large mob, numbering some 6,000 or 7,000,
u:sembled to prevent their landing, but notwithstanding
their efforts to prevent them, they succeeded in effecting
a landing at the Cross, about three miles below Montreal.
Large meetings are being held in Toronto and
Kingston, and numerous petitions are getting up to her
Majesty the Queen for the recal of Lard Elgin.
The following are the votes and proceedings of the
Legislative Assembly of Canada after the destruction of
the Houses of Parliament:—
BONSECOURS-lIALL, SATURDAY, APRIL 28.
Hon. Mr. Boulton moved the following address to his

Excellency :
" May it please your Excellenz,—
We, her Majesty's
dutiful and loyal subjects, the Commons of Canada in
Parliament assembled, have witnessed with feelings of
deep sorrow and indignation the proceedings of a mob of
riotous and disorderly inhabitants of this city, who, in a
time of profound peace and tranquillity, have committed
several wanton and disgraceful outrages, as well upon
persons as property, the most prominent of which is
the destruction of the building occupied by the two
Houses of Parliament. At such a moment of excitement
we feel it to be dud to ourselves and our constituents
to assure your Excellency of the devoted loyalty and
attachment of the people of Canada to the person and
Government of our beloved Sovereign, and of their
earnest desire to preserve the connexion with the parent
state.

" We further beg leave to express to your Excellency
our deep sense of the justice and impartiality which has
uniformly characterised the constitutional government of
your Excellency, while assisted by the counsels of your
former, as well as your present advisers, without refer-
ence to the policy of either.
" While we sincerely hope that the tranquillity of the
city is now substantially restored, we feel it our duty to
assure your Excellency of our cordial support of any
measure which your Excellency may find it necessary to
take for the preservation of the public peace, and we
pledge ourselves to make good any expense that your
Excellency may have found it necessary, or may yet
find it necessary, to incur for the accomplishment of that
object."
Mr. Wilson moved, in amendment—.
" That an humble address be presented to his Excel-
lency to express that, we. the Commons of Canada, in
Parliament assembled, beg to assure his Excellency of
our undiminished devotion and attachment to our most