The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-05-09
From Canada.

From Canada
The New York papers publish the following
dispatch from Montreal. The dispatch is dated
the 2Sth of April,
Gal! day yesterday most fearful excitement
existed throughout the city. At 2 P H., the mass
meeting called to take into consideration the best
means Of preserving the peace Of the country, was
tittde was present Strong resolutions were passed,
and petition to the Queen TO recall Lord Egin
was drafted and adopted. At the earnest request
OF ias principal leaders, the people dispersed quiz
city. The FIVE gentlemen arrested have been com.
mited for rGting. A man BY the name Of Perry,
the great leader Of the iirstaen of this city, has
been committed TO Jail on charge Of arson. To-
wards evening rumor rapidly spread that the
French party were being sworn in as special con.
stables, and armed. Ii proved correct. The Brit.
ish portion were persuaded by the leaders TO wait
till armed, and an encounter took place between
about twenty English gentlemen and these consta.
bes, who most wantonly fired on them. Only
few of the small party had arms, which they dis
charged upon the mass and slowly retreated, bear.
ing off one Of the party, wounded in the leg by
pisto.ball From the cries uttered by some per-
sons in the crowd one Of the gentlemen who fred
informs me that their discharge must have taken
effect During the whole night these were drilled,
armed with cutasses and pistols, in the Bonsecours
market. The military We're under arms all night,
and the artillery drawn up In the square.
81 have the best authority for stating that Sir
Benjamin Durham, commander Of the forces, at a
meeting of the Executive Council last night, made
remarks to the following purport to Col. Tache, one
authority those men had been armed. He said he
was there to protect Her Majesty's dominions, and
by the aid of heaven he would do that. 1t was
unconstitutional to arm one portion of the popula.
ton against the other Turning round to Gen.
Gore, he said, Go to his Exceency the Governor
- 7 o,,1 hol. ,nf Atak
troops to protect him, and that will not consent
to this clandestine arming of the French popula-
ton. Dsarm these men, and find by whose au-
thority they were armed 1t is understood that
Col. Bruce and Col. Tache do it on an order from
the government: The arms are refused to be given
up. The British are rapidly arming, and dread
tul fight is expected. The list regiment arrived
from st. Johns this morning, and the provincial
cavalry are momentarily expected.
Upper Canada is in fearful state of excite
ment AT Coburg, the Governor was burnt in eff
gy; The Light could be seen at the lake, thirty
miles OH. The whole upper provinces are arming.
In the eastern townships immense quantities of
land have been sold, and large bodies of sturdy ri
femen are expected TO the assistance of the British.
On the Ottawa, the lumbermen are also preparing
to assist Montreal"
Martial law is talked of, and will be proclaimed,
if there is not an immediate end to violence. The
creators of the mob have raised spirit of resist.
ance, which they are now seeking to quel. As
for annexng Canada to the United States, no really
serious minded person in the community seems
really to entertain any such purpose. We give be-
low an extract from the Toronto Globe, Of what
seems to be public opinion both in Upper and
Lower Canada: every well informed person
knows that the true motives of the tories who now
cry for annexation, are to alarm Lord Elgn, and
through him the home government, that they may
have change of ministers and the restoration of
the provincial patronage. They will not succeed,
and they may well renounce the pursuit at
once. If the tory faction, which desires once more
to take the reins, do succeed If which there is
not the most distant hope, it will not be because
any means have been left untried They have
contrived even in England to create belief that
we are at the rebellion point in Canada, and they
look for nothing but war and rebelioas outbreaks