in his present insurrection. There would seem to be an entire breaking away from the Church, so far as its local representatives are concerned. Whether this is the result of a general loosening of religious bonds, in a time of relaxed faith, or of the influence of Montana godlessness upon the chief insurgents, it would be hard to say. Riel, himself, seems to be still under religious influences; though, in the motives that have inspired him, whether affected or not, he appears to be under the hallucination of some Mormon Joe Smith, rather than under the sober dictates and restraints of Mother Church. The imprisonment and murder of priests, and the disregard of their sacred calling, is undoubted proof that the clergy were opposed to the rebellion, and withstood lawlessness to the shedding of blood. Riel, moreover, is reported to have told his people not to ask for the support of the clergy in their defiance of authority, as they would not receive it. He adds, significantly, that, "this is a matter affecting our civil and political rights, and has nothing to do with the Church."

But time will bring all this out. It will also bring out how far the half-breeds have received encouragement from reckless white settlers in the Saskatchewan region. Already it is talked of that the insurgent leaders were abetted in their course by other communities than the half-breed village of Batoche. Agitators in Prince Albert are said to have invited Riel to the settlement, and to have given him hope of aid in his rising against authority. This is a matter that should be closely inquired into: if the officials of the administration in the district were worth anything, it ought long ago to be within the privity of the Government.

But the curious fact with regard to the outbreak, is Government's alleged ignorance of the circumstance that serious trouble impended. Of this we are assured by the repeated

statements of the Premier, by the asseverations of various members of the Ministry, and by emphatic protests from the Department of the Interior. Accepting these statements, as we are bound to do, in reliance on the bona fides of honourable gentlemen, we can scarcely doubt the fact, however, that the Government was aware of discontent among the half-breeds and informed of their many unsettled claims. With the large staff of officials and representatives in the North-West, and the Government's many friends, ecclesiastical and political, it is incredible that the authorities were not made acquainted with the designs of Riel and his lieutenants. If the land-claims of the half-breeds were solely the cause of trouble, this surely was also known to Government; and, if known, why was justice withheld, and why did humanity disregard them? The promptness with which they are now being settled by Commissioners would indicate that the claims were just; and this makes the case look ugly for Government.

Our own opinion, however, is that the land-claims, though doubtless a source of irritation, were not the sole cause of trouble. Riel, at least, has no such pretext to advance in justification of his conduct. Some time ago he became an American citizen, and had therefore no rights in the country to champion. We have already referred to the historical causes which, though in the background, seem to have been operative in producing disaffection, and in widening the breach between the half-breed and the settler. The movement has an historical and scientific side. This is a side which the popular, and even the political, mind does not very closely look at. But it is a point of view which has its advantages and its instruction. The social position of the half-breed has never been much considered; and his civil status in the community, in common justice, has yet to be determined. The half-breeds

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have been treated neither as white men nor as Indians. failure to recognise, and to do justice to their civil rights, has therefore had much to do with the present uprising. Again we say, that grievances do not justify rebellion, far less the atrocities of Indian warfare. But that the half-breeds had unredressed grievances goes far to mitigate their crime, and to call for clemency in settling accounts.

Like the Indians, the half-breeds have suffered heavy loss by the intrusion of the settlers. They have seen the game, which hitherto was their sole means of livelihood, driven from the plains. They have also, in great measure, lost employment by the Fur Company. With their half kin, they have looked upon the land as their exclusive and inalienable possession; but, unlike their half kin, they were not disposed to submit quietly to be dispossessed of it. Receiving no Government annuity, and scorning the charity of the Indian Department, their case has called for exceptional treatment. Exceptional treatment have they had? This is a question the nation has to put to itself; and in it lies the kernel of the matter. If they have not received this treatment, there is little difficulty in tracing the causes of the rebellion.