Believe me, one and all,
that (in the words of a great orator of the last century), "my memory
shall have mouldered when it ceases to recall your goodness and
kindness, my tongue shall forever be silent, when it ceases to repeat
your expressions of sympathy, and my heart shall have ceased to beat
when it throbs no longer for your happiness."
The troubles of the North-West have proven that there is no land,
however, happy, prosperous or tranquil it may be, that is totally free
from the dangers of internal revolts,--it has likewise proven that our
country possesses the means, the strength, the energy and stamina, to
crush the hydra of disunion or rebellion, no matter where it may
appear. For like the upas tree, if it is permitted to take root and
grow, its proportions would soon become alarming, while its poisonous
influence would pollute the atmosphere with misery, ruin, rapine and
death.
The rebellion is now a thing of the past. It is now a page in Canadian
history. When a few generations shall come and go; our sad story of
the "Frog Lake Massacre," may be totally forgotten, and the actors
therein consigned to oblivion; but, these few papers, should they by
any chance, survive the hand of time, will tell to the children of the
future Canada, what those of your day experienced and suffered; and
when those who are yet to be learn the extent of the troubles
undergone, and the sacrifices made by those of the present, to set
them examples worthy of imitation, and models fit for their practice,
to build up for them a great and solid nation, they may perhaps
reflect with pride upon the history of their country, its struggles,
dangers, tempests and calms.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127