The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-02-02 00:00:00

UPPER CANADA:

Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 28, 1837..
'This day at eleven yclock, his excellency the Lieut Gover-
nor proceeded instate,'from the government house to the cham-
ber oLthe.., honourable the legislative council, where, being
arrived, and seated on the throne, the gentleman usher of the
black rod was sent with a message from his excellency to the
House of.. Asssern" commanding their attendance. .The
members present being coins up accordingly, his excellency
was pleased to address the two houses with the followinv.
• . • SPEECH.. •
Honourable gentlemen qt. the Legislative Council ; and gentlemen

of'the House of Assembly_
I have deemed it necessary to• convene the Legislature of
Upper Canada a few dais earlier than has been customary,
tar the purpose of communicating with you on the pre.ent
state of the province; bat before I draw your attention to this
important subject, 1 cannot refrain from condoling with von
on the foss which, since our Vast meeting, we have sustained in
the deinise of his late gi'acions majesty King W illiaui the Fourth,
of blessed memory, whose paternal attachment to tie.Canadas.
will, I feel confident, long be rembered by its inhabitants with
filial gratitude and respect.
The throne of the British empire is now adorned by her ma.
jesty Queen Victoria, whose youth, education, .virtues and sex,
endearing. her to her subjects, claim their loyal protection and
support.,
Notwithstanding •the prosperity and happiness of this pro-
vince, it .is with pain. I
inform you that I -have --suddenly been
,called upon to suppress a rebellion, which must have appeared
in the province at large of so extraordinary a character,•that it
is proper I shoutdrevert to its origin anthprogress.
'With .every disinclination to revive political differences of
•o•Pioit4o,wili.c.is must exist in every freoviiently, and which no
liberal man would ever be desirous to suppress,. I will merely
rciuitubyou,, that s.hortly 'after 1-arrived in this province, with
instrticinaus from his. hite
.i\lajesly to correct whatever grie-
yances.,..might exist, it ..nnayoidably became necessary that I
shauld,constitutionallyxppeal to the sense .of the people. I did
.so, and they unequisocally'suppoited:me.
A few individuals, disappointed at the result, did not scruple
;to declare, that the people of Upper Canada had been mistaken
;in their verdict, which, it was asserted had been obtained by Mi.
'limpet plea ns.
-
•
.TheY second sublie.c.t of discussion I
deemed it* advisable to
bring plainly:before the public—it was accordingly submitted to
the consideration of his late majesty and the itnperial govern-
ment, the house of Commons, awl the house of Assoorlily
of
Upper Canada. anti by all th,se tribunals, the question was de-
cided •agaiast those, who, with grimuitless slander, hail assailed
their govexntuept, and who, being rapidly deserted by their
original supporters, ,weir now reduced to a very few indivi-
viduals, • .

lrigding that against cool argument they cotild advance no
thing, they desperately determined to try an appeal to physical
strength, the avowed object of which was to force her Majesty's
:,‘4lbjects from their allegiance, and to subvert the British eon,
ttitution.onderthe pretext of reform,
As soon as this rouspiracy became known tome, I deter-
alined, for the public good, I. would allow it to work its own
cure,,but as 1,4 ',lt convinced that that cure would never be ad-
ntitttsd to be ;perfect if tier Majesty's troops were required to
take-onv partip•the contest, I cheerfully approved of their !ear,-
lUg the province, iw.ortler,that the •;reople of Upper Canada,
to a. state, uncootrolled independence, might be allowed
another •opportunity of unequivocally demonstrating whether
they would support .me or desert me in the determination 1 had
evinced. " to maintain for them the British constitution iNvio-
LATa,.t!, ,
Besides parting, with the troops,. I farther resolved to place in
cthe battis of the civil portion of the commuuity all the muskets,
o),2l,o6p),,iiiiet the government, bad in store, and.l. accord -
'nttly delivered them over to the custody of the mayor, alder-
men nd comnirrp,elitylifitti.e city, of Toronto.
NV,ithout either soldiersor weapons torwse my cause, allow,ert, the leader of the intended insurrection a full opportu-
nity to make-his intended exoerimeitt—l freely allowed him to
a'rife what he chose.;--,ay what he chose, and do what he chose
I ;Illowed-liim to- assemble h s del,u(led adhel eats for the pur-
pose of drill, even allowed them unopposed to-assemble with
loaded fire arins,- and in spite, of the. remonstrances which, from
almost every district of the province, I received. from Ike
peaceable po't lion of the community,'l allowed him to -make de-
l'u'r"to Preparations for revolt; for. I heck/ ,otilvv...l. itirliiii-
f.terrate the dcg,ee of.andacity and cruelt v which these armed
of the Law wee, prepared. as events Ityentoved,• to
e:thiltit. It did nor seem to the crettib:e,, that in the le,som of
this Peaceful country, where every
one was enjoying •the,pro-
Eect ion of equal lawn, and, leaping, the,fruit of his labours almost
tiOdiminished by taxes, any number of persons could be found
",.:114,4 to ossaihthe plunder the .preperty of their inlet*-
. 'ndttig,,,lfellow,suitjects. and to attempt the destruction of a go-
veroment from which they had received nothing but good.
'rite ultimate abject of the consnirsev

mysterious secrecy. which I had no desire to penetratc.t and
relying implicitly on the people, so little.did I inquire in to it,
that I was actually in bed and asleep, when I was awaken(' by
a nieSSenger,- who abruptly informed me that a numerous 6ody
()farmed rebels had been congregated by their.leader—that ithe
murder of a veteran officer or distinction, a settler in the pro-
vince, had already been committed—and that the assail tuts
were within art hour's march of Toronto. ' _

The long-looked • for crisis- had now evidently arrived, r !yid
accordingly, defenceless and unarmed, leaned upon the !nib tia
of Upper Canada to defend theingovernment, and then con ti-
dentiv awaited the' result.

With an enthusiasm which it is impossible for me to describ
t.hey..instantly obeyed the summons.

. .
Upwards of 10,600 men immediately marched towards they
capital—and in the depth of a Canadian winter, with no clothes!
but those they stood in—without food, and generally speaking,
i,,eitiMpt arms. Reformers as well as constitutionalists—nobly
rusked forward to defend the .revered constitution of their an 7
cesfors; although the rebel who had dared to attack it was offer-
in/. to his adherents 300 acres of our land, and the plunder of
our banks. •

As soon as 'the people had organized themselves, I saw it
would be tiecessitry to make an attack• however, feeling the
greatest possible, reluctance at the prospect ola sanguinary con-
flict with the deluded subjects of her Majesty, who were opposed
to me, I despatched to them two of their own party, to tell them
that before any collision should take place, I parentally called
upon them as their Governor, to avoid the effusion of human
blood.

The answer I received from the rebel leader was, that he
would only consent that, h►s demands should be settled by a
national convention,. and that he would wait till two o'clock for