§ MR. WHALLEYsaid, he wished to ask the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, with reference to a statement in the "Standard" newspaper of the 14th instant, copied from the "Toronto Globe," to the following effect:—
That a body of Loyal Volunteers at the Red River Settlement organized themselves to resist the insurgents, and sent Mr. Stuart Mulkins to confer with Riel, the rebel leader; that Mr. Mulkins was arrested and imprisoned, and that Mr. Schultz, another Loyal Volunteer, is still kept in solitary confinement, and not allowed to converse with anyone;also, as averred by Mr. Mulkins, "that the Roman Catholic clergy are at the bottom of the trouble;" Whether the Government has received any information confirmatory of the foregoing; and, in any case, what steps are taken for the deliverance and protection of the loyal inhabitants of this Settlement?
§ MR. MONSELLsaid, in reply, that it would not be well to express any opinion such as would be involved in a complete answer to this Question while negotiations were going on between the inhabitants of the Red River Territory and the Government of the Dominion of Canada. He was, however, happy to inform the hon. Gentleman that a deputation from the Red River Settlement had already started for Ottawa, and he hoped the negotiations would soon be completed. If the hon. Gentleman would then renew his Question, he would give him all the information in his power. To relieve the hon. Member's mind, however, from some of the misapprehension with which it was evidently possessed, he would inform him that the Canadian Government had induced the Vicar General of Quebec to proceed to the Red River Settlement as one of their Commissioners, and also that the Bishop of St. Boniflce heard of these disturbances when attending the ŒEcumenical Council at Rome; and immediately returned to the Red River Settlement to use his personal influence to restore peace.