s speaker, does
not appear to have taken any active part in the rebellious movement, but
he availed himself of a warning given him by Head, who wished {354} to
get rid of him as quietly as possible, and hurried to the United States,
where he remained for the remainder of his life. Mackenzie also fled to
the Republic, and industriously set to work to violate the neutrality of
the country by inciting bands of ruffians to invade Canada.

As in the case of the Fenian invasion many years later, the authorities
of the United States were open to some censure for negligence in winking
at these suspicious gatherings avowedly to attack a friendly country.
The raiders seized an island just above Niagara Falls, on the Canadian
side, as a base of operations, and a steamer, called the _Caroline_, was
freely allowed to ply between the island and the mainland with supplies.
It became necessary to stop this bold attempt to provide the freebooters
on Navy Island with the munitions of war, and a Canadian expedition was
accordingly sent, under the command of Colonel MacNab, to seize the
_Caroline_. As it happened, however, she was found on the American side;
but at such a time of excitement men were not likely to consider
consequences from the point of view of international law. She was cut
from her moorings on the American side, her crew taken prisoners, one man
killed, and the vessel set on fire and sent over the Falls of Niagara.

Until the month of December, 1838, Upper Canada was disturbed from time
to time by bands of marauders, instigated by Mackenzie and others, but
they were easily beaten back by the bravery of loyal Canadian volunteers
commanded by Colonels Prince, MacNab, Cameron, Fitzgibbon, and other
patriotic {355} defenders of the country. Whatever sympathy may have
been felt for Mackenzie by some persons at the outset of the
insurrection, was alienated from him by his conduct after he crossed the
border. He suffered much misery himself while he remained in the United
States, and was a prisoner for some months when the American Government
awoke to the necessity of punishing a man who had so nearly embroiled
them with England by his violation of the municipal law of a friendly
territory, and of the obligations that rest upon political refugees.
When Sir Francis Bond Head was very properly recalled from the province
whose affairs he had so badly administered, he was succeeded by Sir
George Arthur, who had been governor of