ll,
presided. The grand jury complained that John Beverley Robinson, the
attorney-general of the province, was interfering with their
deliberations, and they refused to make a presentment. Chief Justice
Powell waited two days for their answer, and as it was not forthcoming
he adjourned the case. The actions were afterwards taken to York and
were tried there. For some reason the leaders of the political faction
known in the annals of Upper Canada as the Family Compact were not
friendly to Lord Selkirk; the Rev. John Strachan, the father-confessor
of this group of politicians, was an open opponent. As a result of the
trials Selkirk was mulcted in damages to the extent of L2000.

The courts of Lower Canada alone were empowered to deal with offences
in the Indian Territories. The governor-general of Canada could,
however, transfer the trial of such cases to Upper Canada, if he saw
fit. This had been done in the case of the charges against Selkirk,
and Sir John Sherbrooke, after consulting with the home authorities,
decided to refer Selkirk's charges against the Nor'westers, in {135}
connection with the events of 1815 and 1816 on the Red River, to the
court of the King's Bench at its autumn sitting in York. Beginning in
October 1818, there were successive trials of persons accused by Lord
Selkirk of various crimes. The cases were heard by Chief Justice
Powell, assisted by Judges Boulton and Campbell. The evidence in
regard to the massacre at Seven Oaks was full of interest. A passage
from the speech of one of the counsel for the defence shows the ideas
then current in Canada as to the value of the prairie country.
Sherwood, one of the counsel, emphatically declared that Robert Semple
was not a governor; he was an emperor. 'Yes, gentlemen,' reiterated
Sherwood, his voice rising, 'I repeat, an emperor--a bashaw in that
land of milk and honey, where nothing, not even a blade of corn, will
ripen.' The result of the trials was disheartening to Selkirk. Of the
various prisoners who were accused not one was found guilty.

Lord Selkirk did not attend the trials of the Nor'westers at York, and
seems to have returned to Britain with his wife and children before the
end of the year 1818. He was ill and in a most melancholy state of
mind. {136} Unquestionably, he had not secured a full measure of
justice in the courts of Canada. A man strong in health might have
borne his misfortunes more lightly. As it was, Selkirk l