ed by all parties, as unbecoming the office and
character of the queen's representative: it procured for him, in the
_Times_ newspaper, the unenviable title of "the lord-high seditioner."
In Canada, however, it increased the golden opinions entertained of
him greatly. Public meetings were convened, and addresses expressive of
sorrow at his resignation poured in upon him from all quarters. At
home, also, there were those who admired his character and applauded his
conduct. His lordship sailed from Quebec on the 1st of November, and
on the 26th he arrived in Plymouth harbour. At Plymouth, Devonport, and
Exeter he received complimentary addresses, and unfortunately he was
betrayed upon these occasions into renewed indiscretions, the only
excuse for which could be that he had received most serious provocation.

In his reply to the addresses at Devonport and Plymouth, Lord Durham
boasted that he had "effaced the remains of a disastrous rebellion,"
and "had conciliated the esteem of a great and powerful nation, in which
were to be found all the elements of danger or security to our North
American possessions." Before he reached Exeter, however, where another
address awaited him, he was compelled to say that he had foreseen
another event, the intelligence of which had just been conveyed from
Liverpool--the renewal of the rebellion in Canada.

On the departure of Lord Durham, the government again provisionally
devolved upon Sir John Colborne. It was expected before he set sail that
a renewal of the rebellion would take place during the winter. On the
20th of October, indeed, his lordship had informed Lord Glenelg that
the indications of mischief were so numerous and urgent that it was no
longer possible to conceal a consciousness of danger. The indications
of conspiracy had, in fact, become undeniable. Throughout the French
population there existed a formidable organization, bound together by
oaths and secret signs. Knowing this, the loyalists in both provinces
either took up their abode in the towns, or fled altogether from the
British dominion. What made their situation the more critical was the
reluctance of the militia and volunteers to take up arms. This was
especially the case in Upper Canada, and it seems to have chiefly
originated in their dissatisfaction with the lenity of the government.
No sooner had Lord Durham departed than the danger became imminent.
Arrests took place at Montreal on the following night: domicilia