Doubtless
it seemed to him that the French Canadians, like the Irish, were
victims of Anglo-Saxon tyranny and bigotry. Sir George Grey, the
colleague of Gosford, Lord Stanley, a former colonial secretary, and
William Ewart Gladstone, then a vigorous young Tory, spoke in support
of the resolutions. The chief opposition came from the Radical wing of
the Whig party, headed by Hume and Roebuck; but these members were
comparatively few in number, and the resolutions were passed by
overwhelming majorities.

[Illustration: Wolfred Nelson. From a print in the Chateau de Ramezay.]

As soon as the passage of the resolutions became known in Canada,
Papineau and his friends began to set the heather on fire. On May 7,
1837, the _Patriotes_ held a huge open-air meeting at St Ours, eleven
miles above Sorel on the river Richelieu. The chief organizer of the
meeting was Dr Wolfred Nelson, a member of the Assembly living in the
neighbouring village of St Denis, who was destined to be one of the
leaders of the revolt at the end of the year. Papineau himself was
present at the meeting and he spoke in his usual violent strain. He
submitted a resolution declaring that 'we cannot but {61} consider a
government which has recourse to injustice, to force, and to a
violation of the social contract, anything else than an oppressive
government, a government by force, for which the measure of our
submission should henceforth be simply the measure of our numerical
strength, in combination with the sympathy we may find elsewhere.' At
St Laurent a week later he used language no less dangerous. 'The
Russell resolutions,' he cried, 'are a foul stain; the people should
not, and will not, submit to them; the people must transmit their just
rights to their posterity, even though it cost them their property and
their lives to do so.'

These meetings were prototypes of many that followed. All over the
province the _Patriotes_ met together to protest against what they
called 'coercion.' As a rule the meetings were held in the country
parishes after church on Sunday, when the habitants were gathered
together. Most inflammatory language was used, and flags and placards
were displayed bearing such devices as '_Papineau et le systeme
electif_,' '_Papineau et l'independence_,' and '_A bas le despotisme_.'
Alarmed by such language, Lord Gosford issued on June 15 a proclamation
calling on all loyal {62} subjects to discountenance writings of a
seditio