History of the Montreal Prison from A.D. 1784 to A.D. 1886 [Microform]

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This document is archival in nature and is intended Le présent document a une valeur archivistique et for those who wish to consult archival documents fait partie des documents d’archives rendus made available from the collection of Public Safety disponibles par Sécurité publique Canada à ceux Canada. qui souhaitent consulter ces documents issus de sa collection. Some of these documents are available in only one official language. Translation, to be provided Certains de ces documents ne sont disponibles by Public Safety Canada, is available upon que dans une langue officielle. Sécurité publique request. Canada fournira une traduction sur demande. QNADA NATIONAL LIBRARY BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE <>> H I STORY OF THK MONTREAL PRISON KROM A. D. 1784 TO A.D. 1556 CUMAIN1N<; A Complete Recofil of Ihe Troubles of 1fl3/-li3B, Surning of llie Parllamenl Boiliiings, in 1849. THE ST. ALBAN'S RAIDERS, 1864. THE TWO FENIAN RAIDS OF 1866 AND 1870. AND A Chronolo'îcal Digest of all the principal events for the past hundred years. Valuable statistical tables from the Police and Recorder s Courts. Cu ions Proclamations, Warrants and other documents ncier before printed, relating to the Patriots of '37, and the administration of justice from the commenccvtent of the Courts in 17 84. Willi descriptions of Brasdmsioii tbe hand, standing on tbe Pillory, tlie Stocks, wmpping, &c. REV'D J. DOUGLAS BORTHWICK IWi'.NI V YKAK> (11 Al'l AIN tliilliot v-ij '*v?i)ctopa6ui ."Vijtoiil îni'' v:^,v-o.j:viplii|, 'vHi-l.^: ij J>v.otli,>l'i *v<ii.j. -^f ..-^f MONJKEAL A, FERIARO, BcoAseller, Publisher i\(h lipporler, 23 l\ James Street «• f<54*5 40500 60^ 1 ^ c^ ?oaTv(u\cK,^^^P Entered according to Act of rr.rliament of Canada l)y John Douglas BORTHWICK, in the office of the Minister of Agriculture. DEDICATION TO THE HONBLE SIR A. A. DORION Chief yuitice, Court of Queen' s Bench, Province of Quebec, Canada. SIR, I have very nuich pleasure in being able to dedicate this xvork THE HISTORY OF THE MONTREAI PRISON, to you. * The high position to which yon liave attained by your o^cn sterling worth and perseverance, commends itself to every right minded man in the Province of Quebec, of whatever religious denomination or political sect, and should be an in- centive to tlie younger members of the Bar to follow in your illustrious footsteps. TJw events of that part of tJie volume ivhich relates the stirring history of 1837-38, must be dear to many t/wusands of French Canadian hearts, and in dedicating this ivork to you—you havepermitted me, an Old Country-man by birth, but now a resident of Canada for five and thirty years, to hope sincerely tJiat in the near future, the Natioftal Spirit zvill so prevail that all party feeling will be obliterated in the ofie grand name CANADA. Wishing you long life in your judiciary career, I remain. Sir, Your obedient servant, J. DOUGLAS HORTHWiCK. .Monlrfdl, 1st yit/tuiirj; 1886. F^RBFACE HAVE often been asked to write the history of the Montreal Graol. The preseît building came into existence at a very important period of the history of Canada, and especially of our own province of Quebec and City of Montreal. Almost as soon as it was built, the troubles of 1837 and 1838 took place, and among the first oi jwlitual ajfenders were those w^ho being prisoners ^—taken with arms in their hands and in rebellion against the constituted author- ities — were incarcerated therein, and as in the case of several of them, suffered the extreme pejialty of the law by public execution. Several chapters will be devoted to this interesting period—as the names of many of our great rnen, and some only lately dead—weie connected with that event ; and now We can calmly look back on this troubled period and say that these men were indeed the Tieans oi" gaining for us, what we now so much prize, our present system of parliamentary representa- tion and reform, and all the benefits which the country has since derived. As Ijemoine, the Canadian writer justly says : " If one rellects how fully England- has granted the demands asked for, bv the Patriots of 1837. as set forth PREFACE in their Declaration of Independence, viz : abolition of seigniorial dues ; secularization of the Clergy Reserves ; abolition of imprisonment for debt, except in extreme cases ; freedom of the press ; trial by jury, in an extended form ; the use of both languages in public affairs ; the control of -the Provincial Revenue and Tariff; abolition of sentence of death,except in cases of murder ; it seems strange, that it should have specially fallen to the lot of French Canadians to fight to the death, for the poss- ession of reforms and changes, many of them so pecu- liarly British in their ring, and to achieve which they incurred such a liberal allowâncc of hanging and out- lawry. Was the real issue ever before the eyes of the British Canadian in 1837 ?" Other events in the history of our city and country will be treated of, notably the Burning of the Parlia- ment buildings, in 1849, where- now stands 8t. Ann's Market, the St. Alban's Raid, in 1864. and the two Fenian Raids of 1866 and 1870, together with such minor and interesting, yet TRUE events as go to make up a Repertoire of readable matter from the descriptions of history to the records of crime. If an experience of twenty years among the criminal classes and in that long period the sight of many phases of human character can add to the interest of this work or the truthfulness of the author's delineations then these sketches should be more acceptable to the public than those which might be written from imagin- — niEJ-ACh 111 ation only, besides a large portion of the volume will be devoted to periods of political upheaving, which are intimately connected with the history and advanr;ement of this " Canada of ours." For all these reasons therefor** the author launches his work on'the sea of public ojnnion—knowing well like The. olfl man ami his Ass that it is impossible to please everybody, for, while some will say that he has done right in his publication of these sketches, others, and perhaps some of the more interested parties, will reply that he has no right to make again public what, in the period of nearly half a century^ and down to later times, has been once the nin^. (lajfs vonder, and now has fallen into obscurity or has been forgotten. He feels that certain may thus reason, but those who cavil so, must remember that, what is public, belongs to the public, and therefore the " vox pftjmli'^ must prevail, and he doubts not but that in the case ot p<»litical offenders, confined in this institution, the history of whi<h in the object of this volume, the descendants of such men, now at this period of Canadian history [and enjoying tht* benefits of their demonstrations, will rather pride themselves on the sayings and doings of those of their own household, their kith and kin. who may appear in the pages of this work as political oflenders during that period of 1837-38. Byron, the great poet. says, in his •• English Bards and Scotch Reviewers." IV PREFACE "Tis pleasant sure, to see one's name in print A ]K>ok'sa book, altliough there's nothing in't." However the Author hopes there may be something in this bock to amuse as well as to instruct, to sjêak faithfully as well as historically and there^re he now makes his Editorial bow and retires from the prefatory stage and brings on his panorama of faces and of facts and of deeds, almost, and in a number ol' instances completely forirotten. J. DOUGLAS BORTIIWICK. Hcjchelaga, January, iS86, W S.—A great amount of the iniornuition which is here given of those persons who figured cons])icuously in the Troubles ol' 1837-H, has been taken from the Author's o\\\\ publication of " Montreal its History and Biographi<'a» Sl'-Uches '", and the items were either fur- nished directly to him, by the individuals themselves, or their immediate family, in manuscrii>t for the same ]>ook, or culled from Biograj^hies by Mr. L. O. David. He ther«;fore feels that many items in this interesting j)eriod will see the puldic light for the first time, as the above volum«^ had a select and limited edition, of only 200 copies, and is n<nv out of \rc\\\\ ; also very many items of information relative to ^7-38, ^c, &c.. have liecn taken by him from old documents in the Court House and Jaii. liberty to do so, lieinu' freely iriveii bv those who have poWer, — CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

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