1804] MILITARY EXECUTION. 493 have sunk rapidly, for he died on the 29th of the month, at the early age of forty-two.* The salary of Monk, chief justice of Montreal, was also increased to £1,100. The second provincial parliament closed with the session of 1800. New writs having been issued, the third parliament met in January, 1801. Panet was again chosen speaker. It was prorogued on the 8th of April. The public accounts shewed the revenue of the province to be £27,166, of which £17,120 was available towards the expenses of the civil government, which amounted to £33,831. The complaint of the insufficiency of the payment of judges had been met by a despatch of the duke of Portland, increasing the amount of their stipend from $2,000 to $3,000; the judge at Three Rivers receiving $2,000 in lieu of $1,500. In 1804, a military execution took place at Quebec, under circumstances of exceptional occurrence. Seven men were shot with all the ceremony of military punishment, to deter the soldiers from crime in the future. The unhappy men were a sergeant, a corporal and two men of the 49th, and three deserters, of the 6th, 41st and 49th regiments. A conspiracy had been formed in the wing of the 49th regiment quartered at fort George, Niagara, under the command of the lieutenant-colonel Sheaffe. The commanding officer was the celebrated Brock, who at this date had commenced his career in Canada, which was in the future to prove so distinguished. He had arrived in 1802. While Brock exercised his command with strictness, his discipline was tempered by reason and justice. Moreover, he possessed that quality which the French call camaraderie, so little acted upon in the British army, that it admits of no equivalent in our language, but nevertheless has always been found with really great soldiers. The secret of Brock's influence was that he cared for his men, and that they felt that such was his guiding principle. Thus he obtained their confidence and esteem. [Can. Arch., Q. 97, p. 37, 14th of February; p. 112, 12th of April; 13th of May, p. 130. Sheaffe, who commanded at Niagara, is reported to have been severe, and exacting to an extreme. He harassed the men on trifles in which discipline really was not involved; and he followed the harsh treatment which, as a principle, had become prevalent in the service. Desertions from every regiment consequently became of frequent occurrence. Independently of these evil influences, there were men ever present from the United States who felt that it was patriotism to tell the soldier how easy it would be to cross the line; that he could earn good wages and live freely and happily "on the other side." Moreover, if he wished to live a soldier's life, that better pay and allowances could be obtained in the United States army, with more liberty and less constraint. Some men had previously endeavoured to desert from York (Toronto), but they had been followed by an armed party in a bateau. They were seven in number, with a corporal of the 41st. The officer in command of the party sent in pursuit really landed in United States territory, seized the men there, made the whole party prisoners, and brought them back to Toronto. The fact was not known at the time, or the United States authorities would certainly have resented this violation of their territory and insisted on the return of the prisoners: a demand that could not have been evaded. Soon after the capture of these deserters, at the time confined at Niagara, a conspiracy was discovered in the 49th detachment. The design was to seize the officers, confine them in the cells in which several prisoners were placed, including the deserters named, and, with all who would accompany them, march armed to Queenston, seven miles distant, and cross by the ferry to the United States. It has been supposed that, had the plan succeeded, Sheaffe's life would have been taken. He disliked flogging; but, with this exception, his command, by all accounts, was painfully strained and bore heavily upon the men. It is said of colonel Sheaffe that this event changed his character, and that he became a different man in the regi 1804] THE DEATH PENALTY. 495 ment. On the discovery of the intended mutiny, intelligence was sent to Brock, who crossed over immediately from Toronto to Niagara. With judgment and firmness he arrested the ringleaders, known as the plot had been revealed. The prisoners, twenty in number, twelve being implicated in the conspiracy and the eight deserters lately taken, were sent to Quebec. They were tried by a general court-martial, the sergeant, corporal and two of the leading actors in the mutiny were sentenced to be shot with three deserters. The execution took place on the 2nd of March, 1804, at half-past ten o'clock in the morning, The day was cold and gloomy, with a sharp easterly wind, and the snow drifted continually to make the dreariness of the day more intense. The whole garrison was paraded, the Royal artillery with field pieces, the 6th, the 41st, and the entire staff. The seven coffins preceded the armed escort guarding the prisoners, attended by four Roman catholic priests, and the Rev. Mr. Mountain, to administer what comfort was possible to those about to suffer the extreme sentence of the law. In spite of the severe weather, the prisoners were kept three-quarters of an hour kneeling on their coffins, engaged in prayer. The firing party consisted of fifty-six, in three divisions. The order had been given to advance within eight yards, and then deliver their fire. From nervousness and excitement, one of the parties commenced firing at fifty yards. The order of the sergeant had been misunderstood. The unhappy prisoners fell partially wounded. The men, who had been ordered to reserve their fire, were then marched up, and discharged their pieces in the breasts of the wounded men, so by death they were relieved from pain. What made the execution the more painful was that those who suffered had fought gallantly at Copenhagen and in Holland. They met their death with firmness, it would seem, not without sympathy. Those were the days of the most terrible punishments, as if discipline could be maintained only by denying men every indulgence, and by punishing ordinary military crimes with frightful severity. Brock was ordered to take command at fort George. By the wise and patient exercise of authority, in no long time dissatisfaction vanished from the ranks and desertions ceased. Indeed, he lost no men during his command in Canada. The first desertions from York (Toronto) appear to have arisen from the bad influence of a corporal of the 41st, one of those shot on the 2nd of March. He had worked upon the men to accompany him across the lines, by the promise of future well-doing and by dwelling upon the facility with which the end could be gained. In 1805, the first attempt was made to improve the Lachine rapids. The sum of $4,000 was voted to be expended in removing any obstacles to navigation. It is scarcely necessary to add that the attempt proved futile. It had, however, the advantage of making perfectly plain that the only means of overcoming these rapids was by the construction of the Lachine canal. The necessity of such a work, owing to increased intercourse with Upper Canada, was obtaining more general recognition; but some few years were to elapse before definite steps were taken to carry the project into effect. The proceedings of 1805 are worthy of record, as the first practical attempt at any improvement of the navigation at this spot. In December, 1803, Milnes applied for leave and asked that his salary should be continued when absent. In August, 1804, he received a reply that his application was granted; but that he was to be prepared to return to Canada in one of the earliest ships in the ensuing spring. In October he again addressed lord Camden, excusing himself for having been unable to answer certain queries propounded to him, owing severe bilious fever he had contracted in the West Indies, which was increasing in violence. He would suffer severely if he did not receive the indulgence his health required. He trusted to leave in the frigate which, in the spring, would convoy the fleet. to a It was not until the 5th of August, 1805, that Milnes 1805] MILNES' DEPARTURE. 497 embarked in the "Uranie" for England, transferring the government to Mr. Thomas Dunn to act as administrator. Milnes does not bear the reputation of having been popular personally, and is described as having possessed only ordinary ability. Christie, who as I have remarked may be considered as expressing the opinions held in Quebec in his day, states "he may be ranked as an easy, well meaning man with talents scarcely above mediocrity, of no self confidence whatever, and consequently easily influenced by the irresponsibles about him, to whom he looked for advice." Christie wrote when there had arisen a strong feeling against the intervention of the colonial office in Canadian affairs, and in his desire to attack the system he speaks depreciatingly of the individual who represented it. This view has crept into. the histories which have been written; I cannot recognise that it is just. There is one sure test to apply to the consideration of this verdict. What proceeding on Milnes' part is on record to justify it? The time gave little. opportunity for any independence of action, as control over every department was exercised in London. As seen in the case of Dorchester, any act of statesmanship called forth by the spur of necessity was subjected to the criticism. that Dorchester received at the hand of Dundas. Milnes, too, had not at his command the resources of rank and wealth. There was in his day no brilliancy in government house, no renown gained from its hospitality. He was known to be poor, with a family not well provided for,* and in such cases there is ordinarily little generous entertainment to soften down political asperities, and the hospitality is mostly official, as a matter of custom, and not celebrated for splendour. The despatches which bear his name shew clearly that he possessed capacity. He had evinced considerable ability in finance in the West Indies, and his administration in Canada had increased the revenue of the province. He One cannot but remember the remark of Talleyrand, although in a different sense, "Ces pères de famille sont capables de tout." 2G |