The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-05-12
LOUIS RIEL.

SKETCH OF HIS IrFE-H1s CRIMES AND HIS
EXPULSION FROM THE DOMINION HOUSE OF
COMMONS.
The Washington Chronicle contains the
GLOWING sketch OF the notorious Riel OF the
Canadian Parliament,
This now historical parsonage was educated
at an ecclesiastical college Of Lower Can
ada. and has enioyed the confidence of the
hierarchy throughout. He was chosen by the
bishop of St. Boniface, Red river, to set up
provisional government and prevent the
Dominion of Canada from taking possession
of the Northwest territory. All the claims
of the Church of Rome were complied with
such as large tracts of land for herself and
the French half breeds, over whom she
possessed almost unlimited control, together
with stipulations for seperats schools and
helf the education fund, and an arrange
ment which would give her representation
in the local legislation based upon her own
enumeration of the -nomadic half-breeds:
whether present absent, alive OF dead. Riel
did his part of the drama well. he chased out
ofths country the dominion governor and do
minion surveyors, and sent ambassadors 10
treat with the dominion government, which,
being ruled by French Canadian Romanlsts,
was ready enough to concede all such de-
mauds. Whilet the farce oftreating with Riel's
ambassadors was going on in Ottawa he was
SO far left to himself as to shoot, under the
pretended forms of a cOurt-Insrtial, bold
Tout-spoken OrangemaD from Ontario, whom
he had confined in irons for some time. The
only excuse for this cold blooded and afro
iously cruel murder of which we have al
ready given the history, was to show the
government at Ottawathat he was in earnest,
and to brighten all other opponents in the
Red river country into submission. This
murder
FIRED THE PROTESTANT HEART
of Ontario and all Canada, and thosgh the
Roman Catholics and especially the French
Canadians. justified and defended Riel, and
insisted upon an amnesty in his behalf
the government burst never go any further
in this line than to paralyze all efforts to
bring him TO justice. The new administration
ofCanads has the same difficulty-its French
Canadian SUPPORTS all insisting upon
amnesty for Riel, and its Protestants sup
porters insisting upon the law taking Its
own course. The latter, with common sense
and justice on their side, have carried the
day and for the first time in the history OF
the dominion, the Roman Catholic bishops
have been unable to protect their protege.
Riel has Just been expelled as fugitive
from Justice from the House of Comm ons,
to which he was elected by French Roman
Catholic half-breed constituency, under the
shadow of the bishops palace in Manitoba
The trouble with him is, however, not yet
over. He is likely to turn up again and again
to claim the protection of the priests, with
whose secret policy he is too well &C.
quainted, and If he is arrested and tried SUI
perhuman efforts will be made to clear him
or get him pardoned, He is, therefore, likely
to be skeleton in the closet of the present
dominion administration, as he was of the
last. There is one complication which may
grow out of this case that we have not seen
noticed. A warrant is out to arrest him for
murder, which he evades, either by conceal
ment among his friends or flight to the
states. In the lattr case we do not see how
| the dominion government can avoid claiming
him under the extradition treaty; and if il
does we can not see how the American gov
eminent could give him up, seeing that his
offence is of political nature.