Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1875-09-20
THE MONTREAL RIOT.

Montreal is greatly excited over re-
ligious question, the glst of which is
briefly as follows: One of Canada's
most enterprising and successful men
was printer, one Joseph Guibord who
died in 1869. at the age of 60 years.
Guibord was a French. Canadian Roman
Catholic of distinguished piety and f.
deity to the doctrines of his church and
of excellent moral character for many
years he was foreman of an extensive
printing establishment, and, being on
intimate terms with the leading ecclesi-
astics of the provinces, he personally su-
perintended the composition and print
ing of much of the work belonging to
the foreign missions of his church
among other things the difficult task of
putting into print the catechisms and
hymns furnished the Roman Catholic
mission in the Northwest for use among
the Indians; besides his church work he
gave great impetus to the Improvement
of scientific printing and to stereotyping
in the Domlnions Guibord was mem
Der of the Institute Canadian and, when
that society incurred the displeasure of
the Bishop for refusing to throw out of
its library certain books forbidden to
Catholics by the Index at Rome, he was
one of two hundred members who refus-
ed to withdraw from the society and who
appealed TO Rome against the arbitrary
course of the Bishop.
Guibord died member of the society
and was in consequence refused burial
in the eonsecrated ground of Notre Dame
cemetery, to lot in which he had pur-
chased the title; an appeal was taken
by his friends to the civil authorities
and finally to the home government,
which recently decided that Guibord
was entitled to burial in his own lot
Guibord's friends turned out to bury
him, but when the procession reached
the cemetery gate, it was attacked by
an Infatuated mob of the French Catho.
lies and driven off. This happened some
two weeks since and the excitement
seems in no degree abated. Guibord i;
not yet buried, his remains having beer
returned to the temporary resting place
where they have been for the past SIX
years and it has been found necessary
to keep guard of police or soldiers t.
protect them.
A certain class of Catholics and theil
'organs" are doing all they can to in
fame the passions of the ignorant anG
prejudiced Catholics against Guibord
and, to say the least, the affair has plac
ed the church authorities in Canada il
a most undignifed and reprehensible pc
sition, while the Mayor of Montreal ha
shown himself, by his failure to guar,
against riotous demonstration of whicl
he had sufficient warning, to be an inef
ficient and Enthusiastically official.
| The best authorities say that the de
cision of the home government was i
accordance with the terms of the Treat
of Cession, which guaranteed to th
Catholics continuance of their religion
rights as exercised under French rule
and the same decision would undoubteG
ly have been made at any time durin
: the last two centuries in similar cas-
: occurring in pro- Catholic France s
that there seems to be 10 legal groun
on which the Catholics can contest ii
y question they are in fact in open opp,
Il sition to the civil authorities and
e looks as though their resistance woul
> prove successful under the present eli
: administration of Montreal.