Page:Brock centenary 2nd ed. 1913.djvu/21

 INTKODUCTION

��the free land grants; (2) those that had fled from the United States for crime; (3) Republicans anti- cipating that the colony would shake off its allegiance to Britain. Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest Crmkshank who is justly regarded as the most eminent authority on the War of 1812-14, believes that in a large portion of the Province " the recent immigrants from the United States outnumbered all the other inhabitants at least two to one. Two- lh)lf ?L members of the Assembly and one- States " ma S lstrate s were natives of the United

On the 28th of July, 1812, Brock called together

frl T l atUI>e .° f Upper Canada - In his «Peech from the throne he stated that « a few traitors have already joined the enemy, have been suffered to come into the country with impunity, and have been harboured and concealed in the interior » The peroration should be memorized by everv young Canadian: "We are engaged in an awful

™ + °° wl* and by vi - our in our operations we SLS** th / enem y this lesson, that a country defended by free men, enthusiastically devoted to

ouered " g TT and "»*<>»> ca * neVer be con ?£ w i % es P ecia11 ^ desire d the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act and the passing of an Act

LT? el T?^ perSOnS t0 take an oath abjur mg their allegiance to other countries. But Brock

ThPv e i^°,r W ° rd !' C ° Uld " get no g00d of them! ihey like the magistrates and others in office evi- dently mean to remain passive. The repeal of the Habeas Corpus will not pass, and if I have recourse to the aw martial, I am told the whole armed force will disperse. Never was an officer placed in a more awkward predicament."

The very next day he wrote in much the sattip spirit to Colonel Baynes: "The population, believe me, is essentially bad-a full belief possesses them all that this Province must inevitably succumb.

�� �