royal assent to
these and other bills. Not a suspicion of the governor's intention had
got abroad until the morning of the eventful day. His action was
looked upon as a defiance of public sentiment; the popular mind was
already violently excited, and consequences of the direst kind
followed. His Excellency, when returning to his residence,
'Monklands,' was grossly insulted, his carriage was almost shattered by
stones, and he himself narrowly escaped bodily injury at the hands of
the infuriated populace. A public meeting was held that evening on the
Champs de Mars, and resolutions were adopted praying Her Majesty to
recall Lord Elgin. But no mere passing of resolutions would suffice
the fiercer spirits of that meeting. The cry arose--'To the Parliament
Buildings!' and soon the lurid flames mounting on the night air told
{24} the horror-stricken people of Montreal that anarchy was in their
midst. The whole building, including the legislative libraries, which
contained many rare and priceless records of the colony, was destroyed
in a few minutes.

This abominable outrage called for the severest censure, not merely on
the rioters, but also on the authorities, who took few steps to avert
the calamity. An eyewitness stated that half a dozen men could have
extinguished the fire, which owed its origin to lighted balls of paper
thrown about the chamber by the rioters; but there does not seem to
have been even a policeman on the ground. Four days afterwards the
Government, still disregarding public sentiment, brought the
governor-general to town to receive an address voted to him by the
Assembly. The occasion was the signal for another disturbance. Stones
were thrown at Lord Elgin's carriage; and missiles of a more offensive
character were directed with such correctness of aim that the
ubiquitous reporter of the day described the back of the governor's
carriage as 'presenting an awful sight.' Various societies, notably St
Andrew's Society of Montreal, passed resolutions removing Lord Elgin
from the presidency or patronage of their {25} organizations; some of
them formally expelled him. On the other hand, he received many
addresses from various parts of the country expressive of confidence
and esteem. Sir Allan MacNab and William Cayley repaired to England to
protest, on behalf of the Opposition, against the governor's course.
They were closely followed by Francis Hincks, representing the
Government. The matter dul