CANADA.—IMPORTANT.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 392, 16 January 1850, Page 3

CANADA. — IMPORTANT.

The steam ship America brings intelligence of renewed riots and bloodshed ot Montre.il, comequcnt on the arrest by government, at lait, of several persons charged with being concerned in the burning of the Houses of Parliament. The telegraphic despatches which furniih the materials of the ordinary accounts are but meagre, and not altogether consistent in details. The Montreal correspondent of the Morning Chionicle contributes, (though with an obvious bias,) the most intelligible narrative, down to the 20ih of August. "It became known on Tuesday last, (the 14th Auguit) the day after I wrote you, that our two Colonial Polignaci, Messrs. Lafontaine and Baldwin, intended to make a coup d'etat. Upon this the excitement among the opponents of the government became serious, and very alarming ; and on Wednesday, the following day, the parties against whom warrants had been issued, finding that the popular ferment was likely to prove dangerous to the peace of the city, either surrendered themielves immediately, or inti mated to the chief constable, that upon his serving them with proper warrants they would straightway accompany him to the Police office. In this manner seven or eight were brought up, all for misdemeanors, except two, charged with felony, punishable by imprisonment. Some were English, some Irish, others Scotch, and all gave bail. " While these events were going on, the excitement in the streets towatds the close of the day increased considerably ; and in the evening, a mob of 2 or 3 hundred, chiefly boys, made a visit to Mr. Lifontaine's dwelling hou-e. This gentleman had already, in April last, suffered severe loss at the hands of a mob. His out buildingi were burned, his bouse much injured, and his furniture destroyed. On that occasion he was absent, but on this he was at home and prepared. He had filled hit dwelling with armed men, consisting principally of his colleagues in the ministry, and others Fis personal friends, with I believe some luflian'. When the mob reached his premises, with what demon* stration I cannot safely say, a volley wai fired ftotn the house upon the rioters, and one boy, a fine lad, of about 19 years of age, of the name of Mason, was killed, and several others wounded. Thereupon the mob retreated, and the fir.ng ceaied. Much agitation prevailed all that night; and several barricades were raised in the streets, but not with a view to resisting the troops. When these last arrivdd at a barricade, the mob cheered, withdrew, and the barricades were removed. What the intention was in raising these obstructions I have not learned, " All day Thursday and Friday the excitement con» ! tinued ; and during these two nights large fiies took place, one of which was Donegana'd great Hotel. These conflagrations, though not a'tributed to political incendiarism, increased the agitation and tumult. Great crowds filled and paraded the streets, no doubt with a design to intimidate, they raised barricades, and bravely thrashed obnoxious individuals who were pasting quickly through the town, and all this with the most perfect impunity. Some of the street lamps were broken, the others were extinguished ; and amidst the darkness, yelling, and uproar, the city wore an aspect of anarchy and desolation. " On Saturday the remains of young Mason were interred with great pomp and solemnity. The follow* ing is the strange card of invitation to his funeral obsequies, posted in every part of the city, in placard form, the previous evening. "Murder! The first Anglo Saxon blood! Turn out to a man to the funeral, that you may remember for ever the murdered victim, and the glorious cause 1 To morrow morn'ng, at ten o'clock, the body of young Mason will be carried from Craig street to the grave. Let the shops be shut.— Friday, August 17, 1849. " The pall-bearers and mourners wore red scarfi and white bands— emblems, they say, of innocence and ruthless murder, with an ominous intimation of vengeance to be wreaked upon the perpetrators of the bloody deed. There does iudeed, seem to be more truth than poetry, in their symptoms of hostility to Mr. Lafontaine. About two thousand persons attended the funeral. I mention these details to give you some idea of the state of society in which we live just now. In Montreal, we may vie with any part of Texas, and we are fast relapsing into the rudeness and disorders of savage life. If this state of things continue much longer, every man will have to go armed, and the assassination of his neighbour will bs his only means of security, 11 \\i evening extra of one of our papers, on Sattir* day, thus discourses respecting the inquest and Mr. Lafontaine— 11 ' The inquest on the murder of young Mason was suspended until Monday morning at 11) o'clock, in consequence of the unexpected, but we suppose conve* nient absence of Mr. J. H. Jobin, one of the jurors, | and of the refusal of tbe Hon. J. tl. Lafoutan;, to obey the summons of the Coroner to appear as a witness. '• ' The first law officer of the Crown manifests his contempt for the law. " « Lord Elgin's Prime Minister sets at defiance the order of a high Court engaged in a solemn duty. '* ' People of Canada ! what are you coming to ? Judges, juries, and witnesses, laugh at the provisions of law. " * Society, with Lord Elgin at the head of a political party, has become disorganized.' '» As to Mr. Lafontaine's refusal to appear before the Coroner's jury, I cannot speak positively, but I should hardly believe it possible. In pr vate life, I have always taksn Mr. Lafontaine for a humane and honourable man ; and lam sure he regrets that blood has been shed, though he may feel justified in what he did, or caused to be done. Whether he comes voluntarily or involnutarily, he will be examined to-day. Thsre is • general impression among impartial men,

(ia which I do not yet participate), making every allowance for Mr. Lafontaine, that his friendi fired prematurely ; and they say, that in any event, he should have warned the mob, which it appears quite certain he did not. ]f I recollect rightly, Lord North, under almost similar circumitances, gave notice of impending resistance, and the mob dispersed. Be this as it may, it is a very unpleasant business altogether. The Coroner, who is a Canadian and a personal friend of Mr Lafontaine, was, it is said, (and I believe it to be a fact,) one of the defenders of the Prime Minister's house, and there when the volley was fired. I regret to say, so far as I have seen, he conducts the inquest in a most partisun spirit. I suspect we shall have a good deal of trouble before it ii over. We have not had time to hear how the affair will be viewed in other parts of theprovincs." On the 20th, while Mr. Lafontaine was piving evidence, the hotel in which the Jury were sitting took fire. " The confusion was dreadful : the soldiers [on guard rßn about with fixed bayonpts. Mr. Lafontaine was eventually escorted to the Government Hou c e in the square of troops." The later accounts, by telegraph, extend to the 22nd August, and are brief enough for insertion verbatim— »' [Montreal, August 22.— The Government have addressed a letter to the Mayor, asking him whether he could preserve the peace of the city. His Honor called a meeting- of the Municipal Council, but they arrived at no conclusion. The Mayor then replied, that he could not keep the peace. " The Horse Police are still out of town, and it is said that a body of armed men are waiting their arrival. [It is stated that the police had fired at the people blank cartridge, one supposes, on Saturday night the IStli ; then went on board a steamer, crossed the St* Lawrence, and remained on the east side of the river.] The New York Courier and Inquire writes— "The inquest on the lad Mason, shot from Mr. Lalontaine's house, was going on under a guard of soldiers ; and even during the investigation the same bitterness of feeling was apparent as we find everywhere else in Canada. One part of the proceedings has struck us with some surprise. A juror asked Captain Wetheail, a magistrate, who had proceeded to the spot on hearing' of the riot, if he knew the names of the parties wliota he had seen in the house 5 to which query, strange to say, the Coroner objected. .But the juror prersevered, and extracted from the witness that most ot them ' looked like gentlemen' ; and the papers generally agree that the friends of Mr. Lafontaiue had proceeded to his house to protect it. Tt seems, however, that the shots were fired before any damage was committed.— The crowd, more than half boys, as is usually the case in such matters, went up huzzaing to the gate which they broke opeß ; and after having advanced about twenty feet, were fired upon. Upon which a Tolley of stones was thrown at the house ; a salute replied to by the inmates with a discharge of fire-arms. The arrival of the troops seems to have stopped further outrage. " The town seems to be still under groat excitement ; so much so thut a proclamation has been issued against riotous assemblages — ' as stringent measures will be taken to suppress them.' The garrison is kept under arms, and the Horse Police brought into town. The latter are a body of men lately raised, who seem to be looked upon with contempt; bearing the unpopular cognomen of the ' Elgin Guards' ; 60me of the papers call them 4 The Hens.' " The hoitile criticisao but cautious advice of the Montreal Herald would seem to imply more than is expressed— " Lord Elgin, representing the mijesty of England, remains a close prisoner. His Ministers, not wise enough to foresee the dangers of the state, nor firm enough to provide agaiust them, take care of their own pmpeity by filling their houses with armed men. Win c the head of the Government refuses to govern, but retains the helm which he should resign to other bandi, all government is at an end. The citizens are shot down— perhaps in wrong doing— certainly not by legal authority, nor in support of law and order, That is our condition. How long this is to continue we know not ; but if it lasts mush longer, all we can say is, that every decent man will avoid the country, as he would a tribe of Malays intoxicating themselves previous to running a muck It is perfectly evident that the Provincial Minjstry is now acting with the perfect concurrence if not under direct instructions from the Imperial Government. Unless, therefore, that Government ia this country is to be overturned by foree — and we presume no one thinks of that — a jortive attempts at violence will only give occasion for renewed triumphs of vindictiveness. In the end, resistance will be overcome, and the victory of our enemies will be so much greater, as it will be graced by so many more victims."