The Montreal and American papers furnish some particulars of th --- e
last military proceedings in Lower Canada, which prove that the con- querors behaved most barbarously. The poor excuse for such out. rages as are mentioned below is, that they were perpetrated in retaliation for outrages previously committed by the insurgents on the loyalists.
" About two-thirds of St. Eustache is burned, including the church ; and nearly the whole of St. Benoit, including the church, &c. has shared the same fate. At last accounts the dead at St. Eustache remained unburied ; and those who saw it represent the scene of desolation and misery as most appalling. The Canadians are now humbled, but it is the effect of fear, not of conviction; and unless the rod is held over them we shall have no peace in the country." " The village of St. Eastache presented a heart-rending appearance, the whole of the lower portion being one sheet of lurid flame. It is supposed that about fifty houses have been burnt, and nothing now is left of them but stone walls or solitary ehimnies. The moon looked blue and was through the thick and curling smoke, and seemed as if mourning over the melancholy scene. The destruction at the church and nunnery at St. Eustache was horrible, being surrounded on every side, and a hand even could not be shown from withia without being fired at." " It was not the intention of Sir John to destroy the property of the hump gents at Grand Brule; but, after the troops had left, the village was fired and destroyed by the exasperated Loyalists of the vicinity, who had been shamefully plundered and maltreated by the insurgents."
The Upper Canada Tories are full of Orange fury. The Toronto Patriot says- " This has been altogether a fortunate outbreak, as it will lead to a thorougk scourging of the province, a gathering together of all the rotten sheep of the flock, and ther subjection to one common doom ; after which we may calcu. late on a long and uninterrupted course of health, peace, harmony, and pros- perity. The country is being scoured in all directions for the captains of the gang, and we expect every moment to see them brought in pinioned and bound, to be laid by as winter provender fir the greedy gallows."
Alluding to these and similar expressions in the Montreal and To- ronto papers, the Albany Evening Journal says- " The public sympathy and popular feelings are with the Patriots. These cannot be repressed. And yet our relations kith England are of a character ss amicable as to impose the strictest neutrality upon us. With these views we have thus far pursued a course dictated by convictions of duty. We cannot pro- mise, however, to remain long indifferent, if the Royalists continue their sangui• nary mode of warfare. Defenceless villages may not be burned with impunity. Fires thus kindled will blaze higher and burn longer than the incendiaries con- template. This is not the age for oppressors to pierce the hearts of the oppressed. The Government officers are pushing their advantages too far. There iso principle in human nature which rulers are slow to comprehend. Men fight most desperately when driven to extremities. The Government is not so clearly right, nor the Revolutionists so palpably wrong, an to warrant the rigorous course pursued. Ifs majority of the elusion of Canada are in favour of governs ing themselves, there is nothing worthy Of death or bonds' in the expression of that opinion. Nor was it in accordance with the spirit of the times for the Royalists to mob and destroy the presses which ventured to discuss thin quer tion. If the lessons taught by our revolution have been forgotten in England, that Government will assuredly lose its Canadian provinces. The Tory press., in Canada are thirsting fur blood. ' The gallows,' says a Toronto paper, impatient for its prey, and will speedily have carrion in abundance. Should the Government veniure to try and hang fur treason, its power to wreak suck vengeance will he short lived. The moment the Royalists condemn citizens to the ' gallows':for political offences, a warfare will be commenced which must terminate in the independence of Canada." Ii is said that Dr. Wolfred Nelson, wasted by anxiety and sickness, died in prison at Montreal. Mrs. Papineau has been very ill, but report of her death is known to be false. Papineau himself is said 0 be with Brown at Middleburgh in Vermont. According to a story in a Montreal paper, documents have been discovered containing a plan of a combined insurrection in Lower and Upper Canada; which was to have been commenced on the 18th of December. About twenty prisoners charged with high treason have been liberated at Montreal. c holier, who was killed at St. Eustache, had been in the employ of the North-west company. Among the papers of Dr. Wolfred Nelson, found at his house in St. Denis, was a letter from Papineau, dated the 7th December, which shows that he at least contemplated "passive resistance," not active insurrection- " As for myself, I am of opinion that our plan of non-consumption and agita- tion, which will render the expenses of the colony more burdensome to Eng- land by the necessity of an increased military force, and the diminution of her commerce, is by far the best policy to pursue for. Me present. Continue to push it as vigorously as you can." —Navy Island, occupied by Mackenzie, (madman or hero, as it may turn out,) is thus described- " Navy Island is at the foot of Grand Island, near the Canada shore, In 1820 it was declared by the Commissioners under the Treaty of Ghent to be. long to Canada, the line between the two nations passing between it and Grand Island. It is an excellent military position, there being a facility of communi- cation with both shores. It consists of about 1,000 acres, and is well wooded. In the first instance it was taken possession of by a body of Volunteers from Buffalo."
A correspondent of a Buffalo paper, dated the 17th of December, after stating that Navy Island had been seized by a body of 150 Ame- rican Volunteers, raised in Buffalo, adds-
" The position is excellent as a communicationn can be kept open with both shores. The Volunteers are fortifying the island, and are reported to have six field-pieces. Theyhave two to my knowledge, and a good supply of small arms and ammunition. Balls are being cast in this city for their cannon. They its well supplied with clothing and provisions. A Mr. Van Rensselaer, from Albany, is appointed General of Mc invading army, and has taken the com- mand. I think this late movement has given the Canadian revolution a more serious turn than any thing that has been done before in either province."
The Buffalo Volunteers seized a quantity of muskets deposited in the Court-house of that town, but afterwards surrendered them to the Sheriff. About Lk inhabitants of Buffalo published a " card," ex- pressing regret that tiny of their townsmen should have meddled in the Canadian warfare. In reply to a communication from the Magistrates of Fort Erie, the Common Council of Buffalo declared their inability to prevent the inlistment of Volunteers by Mackenzie and others.
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