Canadian State Trials: Volume Two: Rebellion and Invasion in the Canadas, 1837-1839

This second volume of the Canadian State Trials series focuses on the largest state security crisis in 19th century Canada: the rebellions of 1837-1838 and associated patriot invasions in Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Québec). Historians have long debated the causes and implications of the rebellions, but until now have done remarkably little work on the legal aspects of the insurrections and their aftermath. Given that over 350 men were tried for treason or equivalent offences in connection with the rebellions, this volume is long overdue. The essays collected here, written by prominent Canadian historians, legal scholars, and archivists, break new ground in the existing historiography of the rebellions by presenting the first comprehensive examination of the legal dimensions of the crises. In addition to examining trials and court martial proceedings, the essays examine their political, social, and comparative contexts, including the passage of emergency legislation and executive supervision of legal responses, the treatment of women, and the plight of political convicts transported to the Australian penal colonies. Canadian State Trials, Volume Two contributes significantly to the ongoing reassessment of the rebellion period. Contents 7 Foreword 11 Acknowledgments 13 Contributors 15 Maps 17 Abbreviations 19 Introduction: Rebellion, Invasion, and the Crisis of the Colonial State in the Canadas, 1837–9 22 PART ONE. Upper Canada 62 1. Trying the Rebels: Emergency Legislation and the Colonial Executive’s Overall Legal Strategy in the Upper Canadian Rebellion 62 2. The Toronto Treason Trials, March–May 1838 83 3. The Treason Trials of 1838 in Western Upper Canada 121 4. The Kingston and London Courts Martial 151 5. The Prince Affair: ‘Gallant Colonel’ or ‘The Windsor Butcher’? 181 6. Patriot Exiles in Van Diemen’s Land 209 PART TWO. Lower Canada 228 7. ‘This Ultimate Resource’: Martial Law and State Repression in Lower Canada, 1837–8 228 8. State Trial by Legislature: The Special Council of Lower Canada, 1838–41 269 9. The General Court Martial at Montreal, 1838–9: Operation and the Irish Comparison 300 10. The Montreal Court Martial, 1838–9: Legal and Constitutional Reflections 346 11. ‘Women’s Work’: Women and Rebellion in Lower Canada, 1837–9 374 12. The Punishment of Transportation as Suffered by the Patriotes Sent to New South Wales 404 APPENDICES. Archival Research and Supporting Documents 426 Appendix A. In Pursuit of Rebels at the National Archives of Canada: Beyond the Usual Round-up of Suspect Sources 426 Appendix B. Archival Sources in Quebec Relating to the Legal Suppression of the Rebellions of 1837 and 1838 in Lower Canada 449 Appendix C. Rebellion Trials Sources in Ontario Archives 473 Appendix D. Supporting Documents 480 Index 508