The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1868-04-10
Exciting News from Ottawa |!
Assassination of Mr.. MCGEE !
HE ~ SHOT DEiD At MS
poor.


house of Mrs. Trotter on Sparks street,
where he lodged The ball passed through
his head and lodged i'm the door. \ son
of Mrs. Trotter, who is one of the Parli-
ament pages, was returning home and
was at some distance from the house
when he heard the shot. On reaching
his mothers door he found Mr. McGee
dead on the Pavement. lie saw no
person in the neighbOrhOOd and heard
no footsteps The night was bright and
clear and the assassin must have been
! either concealed behind the fence of
vacant lot opposite. or made Il very has
ty retreat Immediately on firing the
shot Mr. McGee had just left the
House of Parliament and had a cigar in
his mouth when killed His brains ex-
uded from the wound and the sidewalk
was covered with his blood. This fact,
in connection with that OF the ball lodg-
ing in the door post seem to indicate
that the weapon was held close to his
head when fired. There has been as yet
no traces OF the assassin discovered.
OTTAWA, 3.30 A. NJ, April It'll.
The body Of Hon. r. d. Niece has
lust been removed inside his boarding
house Examination shows that the
ball entered the back of the neck, appa-
rently while he was in the act of st0op-
ing to open the door, his latch key be
ing in the hole. The conical end y fke
ball was outterm0st in the door, indicag-
| ing tina il must have been upside down
in the barrel, or have twisted round in
the unfortunate mans head. His hair
was singed, showing that the firearm
must have been held close 10 his head.
The boy who first reached the spot, was
a page Of the house, who was terribly
alarmed, and says hc saw no one ruu-
ming.
Coroner Van Courtland, SirJ. \. Me
Donald Hon. Col. Gray, Speaker Cock
burn, and many other members of Par
lament were quickly on the spot, and
Sir John has taken measures to have all
| sources of exit from the city stricly
guarded and watched
The Canadian authorities Of Ottawa,
! offer reward of SO, 600 for the arrest Of
| the murderer of Niece.
A Montreal special says, "a vet nothing
is known of the cause of the dreadful
crime, but sunnises and cOniectures are
various and manifold.
Ii is a well known fact, that the most
bitter feeling has existed amongst the
Irish population, who are supposed TO
have Fenian sympathies, in all parts Of
Canada against the late Minister of Ag-
riculture. for his bold and -teadfast de
nunciation of the schemes and plots Of
the Fenians, and great mass of the in
habitants Of the city, in the absence of
all facts To the contrary. are disposed 10
lay the bloody crime at the door Of the
Fenian emisaries from the United States
who are supposed to be precursors of an
other and more gigantic raid upon these
frontiers
At drill sheds, in places of amusement,
in private dwellings, III the streets, ami,
in fact, in every part of the city, The
murder is the subject of universal COM
ment, and many alterations have taken
| place in regard To the crime. between
the government supporters, and those OF
the Irish population who We're unfavor-
ably disposed to McGee. There il
feeling of insecurity here, and il is not
known who may be taken off next by
the hand of violence, and the local au-
thorities have adopted strong precau-
tons.
In the House Monday night a couple
OF hours before the assassination. MIR.
McGee delivered an able speech on the
position OF Nova Scotia, and il j. said TO
have been one of the most eloquent ci-
forts of his whole life.
The House of Commons met al three
the doors Sir John A. Macdonald rose
and on moving an adjournment for the
Easter recess, alluded 10 the recent
dreadful assassination hy whichsa nteiss-
Der of the House had been cut down ia
the zenith of his reputation sir John
A. MacdOnaid's voice was scarcely audi
BILE from emotion a. be warmly eulO-
gized the deceased and spoke ofthe lega-
cy left by him to his country in his wild
ow and family.
Mr.. Mackenzie followed IN very elo-
quent and affecting address in which
he paid a high tribute to the deceased.
Hon. Mr.. Cartier also paid hearty and
eloquent tribute to the deceased states
man. y number of other persons adj
dressed the House in a similar strain
An adjournment then took place until
Thursday next The galleries We're
densely thronged, and members and
spectators alike were affected to tears.
Several persons have been arrested on
suspicion, but at this writing they have
all been discharged with the exception
Of james Nhclan, "a tailor. formerly Of
Quebec, and more recently of Gibbs es-
Enlistment, Montreal. He had been at
the House that night, and had heard Of
the murder, but never went TO see about
it. 4 six barrelled Smith x Nelson's
revolver was found in his possession,
and which took bullet precisely SINH
lar to that with which the murder Was
committed.
The Montreal Gosettcof Wednesday,
says:
Yesterday morning after the startl-
ing news of Mr.. Notices assassination
became gradually difiused through the
city, the greatest excitement prevailed
among all classes which increased dur
ing the day, as the successive kilograms
were egerly perused in the morning pa
pers. Ere long the Union Jack half
mast high and draped in mourning
floated over st. Patrick's Hall, and the
example was soon followed by the On
tario Bank and adjoining buildings, the
st. Lawrence Hall, and L. :. Consulate,
the Post Office, the Life Association OF
Scotland, Wink's and other prominent
buildings. Crowds assembled in front
of the Bulletin boards of the newspa-
per offices, and there was an incessant
demand for the various journals issued
which it was almost impossible 10 sup
ply and which continued until a late
hour in the evening. People thought
or talked of nothing else except the
shocking event so difficult to believe,
but which as it became realized spread
universal horror and Indignation only
equalled by that on the occasion of the
assassination of President Lincoln.
PROCLAMATION. !
VICTORIA r., by the Grace of God of
the United Kingdom of Great Britain,
and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the
Faith, &c.
10 all to ,chom these presents shall come,
or Daoy in dnyaOise concern, greeting.
Whereas, On the morning of this eth
day of April inst, the Hon. Thomas D.
Arcy MCGEE, late of the city of Montre-
al, in our Province of Quebec, and a
member of the House of Commons of
Canada, was found dead in one ofthe
streets of the city at Ottawa, in our
Province of Ontario, from the effects of
a bullet wound in the head and where
as the said Thomas Darcy McGee has
been foully murdered; now know We,
reward of S., 900 will be paid to any per-
son or persons, not being the actual per-
petrator or perpetrators, who will give
such information as will lead to the dis
covery, apprehension and convection of
the perpetrator or perpetrators of the |
supposed crime.
In testimony whereof we have caused |
4 n. 4 De-, q. -