he jury had agreed upon their verdict?

MR. COSGROVE, the foreman, answered in a low tone, but
heard distinctly in the general hush, "We have!"

The CLERK then asked: "Is the prisoner guilty or not
guilty?"

Everyone but the prisoner seemed anxious. He alone of
all those present, eager to hear the message of fate,
was calm.

The Foreman replied: "Guilty, with a recommendation to
mercy!"

Riel smiled as if the sentence in no way affected him,
and bowed gracefully to the jury.

THE PRISONER'S SPEECH.

COL. RICHARDSON asked the prisoner if he had anything to
say why the sentence of the Court should not be passed
upon him?

RIEL replied: Yes, your honour. Then he began, in a low,
calm voice to detail the story of the half-breeds in
Manitoba, and spoke at length of the rebellion of '69.
He said that if he had to die for what had taken place,
it would be a consolation to his wife and to his friends
to know that he had not died in vain. In years to come
people will look at Manitoba and say that Riel helped
the dwellers of those fertile plains to obtain the benefits
they now enjoy. He said it would be an easy thing for
him to make an incendiary speech, but he would refrain.
He said that God had given him a mission to perform, and
if suffering was part of that mission, he bowed respectfully
to the Divine will, and he was ready to accept the task,
even if the end should be death. Like David, he had
suffered, but he lacked two years of the time that David
suffered. The prisoner then went into the history of the
Red River rebellion at great length. He claimed that he
had ruled the country for two months for the Government,
and his only reward was a sentence of exile. The troubles
in the Saskatchewan, he said, were but a continuation of
the troubles of the Red River, and the breeds feel that
they are being robbed by the Government, which has failed
to carry out the treaty promises that had been made to
them. The breeds sustained their rights in '69 by arms,
and the people of Manitoba are enjoying the results
to-day. The people of Saskatchewan only followed the same
precedent, and he trusted that the same results would
follow. He then spoke at great length of the part played
by Sir John Macdonald, Sir George Cartier, and Bishop
Tache in the Red River rebellion. The money that had been
given to him and to Lepine on leaving the country had
been accepted, he said, as part of what was justly their
due. The whites