he arrest of certain
persons who were implicated in the destruction of the Parliament
buildings in April last. I was desirous, for the sake of peace, that
these parties should not be arrested until indictments had been laid
before the grand jury, and true bills found against them.
Unfortunately, in consequence of the cholera, the requisite number of
jurors to form a court was not forthcoming for the August term. The
Government thought that they could not, without impropriety, put off
taking any steps against these persons till November. They were,
therefore, arrested last week; all except one, who was committed for
arson, were at once bailed by the magistrates; and he too was bailed
the day after his committal by one of the judges of the Supreme Court.

All this is simple enough, and augurs no very vindictive spirit in the
authorities. Nevertheless it affords the occasion for a fresh
exhibition of the recklessness of the Montreal mob, and the
demoralisation of other classes in the community.

Again on the 27th he writes:--

We have had a fortnight of crisis consequent on the arrests which I
reported to you last week; which may perhaps be the prelude (though I
do not like to be too sanguine) to better times. A most violent
excitement was got up by the Press against M. Lafontaine more
especially, as the instigator of the arrests and the cause of the
death of the young man who was shot in the attack on his house. A vast
number of men, wearing red scarfs and ribands, attended the funeral of
the youth. The shops were shut on the line of the procession; fires
occurred during several successive nights in different parts of the
town, under circumstances warranting the suspicion of incendiarism.

Upon this the stipendiary magistrates, charged by the Government with the
preservation of the peace of the city, represented officially to the
Governor that nothing could save it but the proclamation of Martial Law.
But he told his Council that he 'would neither consent to Martial Law, nor
to any measures of increased vigour whatsoever, until a further appeal had
been made to the Mayor and Corporation of the city.'

[Sidenote: Quiet restored.]

This appeal was successful. A proclamation, issued by the Mayor, was
responded to by the respectable citizens of all parties; and a large number
of special constables turned out to patrol the