Canada Transformed by Sarah Gibson

Author:Sarah Gibson [Gibson, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-7710-5720-5
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Published: 2014-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

* Donald Alexander Smith, later Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, had spent his early career in the Hudson’s Bay Company, beginning as a factor in the Esquimaux Bay district. In December 1869 Macdonald appointed him special commissioner to investigate the growing conflicts at Red River. (Reford, “Donald Alexander Smith (1820–1914),” DCB; Sprague, Canada and the Métis, 46

* William MacTavish (1815–1870), governor of Rupert’s Land and governor of Assiniboia at the time of the crisis, believed that the Métis (many of whom were Hudson’s Bay Company employees and were the descendants of the colonists sponsored by Selkirk) should be consulted in the transfer of Rupert’s Land. (Goossen, “Mactavish, William,” DCB)

* Macdonald appears to be referring to the military expedition to Red River then under consideration, which he continued to resist talking about explicitly on April 26, when Antoine-Aimé Dorion inquired “whether any expenditure of public money was going on without the sanction of Parliament.” He asked, because “[t]hey knew that East and West preparations had been onfoot for sending an armed expedition into the Territory.” Macdonald replied, “I will only make one remark upon that most unfortunate speech of the hon. gentleman opposite [Dorion], and it is this, that the Government are making arrangements of a certain kind, which, however, cannot be carried out, and will not be carried out, without an express vote of Parliament.” (House of Commons, Debates, 1st Parl., 3rd Sess., vol. 3, 1191)

† A delegation was due to arrive shortly in Ottawa from the North-West to negotiate Manitoba’s entry into Confederation. It included Alfred H. Scott (c. 1840–1872), Judge John Black (1817–1879), and Noel-Joseph Ritchot (1825–1905). Ritchot and Scott were promptly arrested by Thomas Scott’s brother. Macdonald had promised the Colonial Office that the delegates would be well received, and, embarrassed, personally paid their legal costs. (Sprague, Canada and the Métis, 55-6; Morton, “Scott, Alfred Henry,” DCB)

‡ Macdonald is referring to the convention first held on January 26, 1870, of 40 members of the community elected to discuss their concerns. They created a subcommittee of English- and French-speaking “halfbreeds” and Métis to outline the residents’ terms for entry into Confederation. The convention also chose the delegates to take it to Ottawa. The whole process arose from Donald Smith’s reassurances to the people in mid-January, 1870. (Sprague, Canada and Métis, 47)

* John Black (1817–1879) was the recorder of Rupert’s Land and in the fall of 1869 was the acting governor presiding at the Council of Assiniboia when Riel resisted William McDougall’s entry into Red River. (Dorge, “Black, John,” DCB)

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.