hostages, till the return of the aforementioned French and Canadians. We oblige our selves on the other part, to send back, in safety, the two officers left with us, in two months and a half, etc., etc." This was signed in duplicate. It has been remarked that Captain McKay's signature preceded that of Washington, by which it would appear that he had asserted his right of precedence, as a Royal officer. M. de Gaspé says that Washington should never have signed such a capitulation. His friends assert that he never did. Or, if he did, that a fraud had been practised on him, as he did not know a word of French till many years after. But the capitulation is inconsistent with itself. It permitted a man. charged with an atrocious, cold-blooded murder, to march out with all the honours of war, "as they wished to prove their desire to treat them as friends." This capitulation, too, is granted by the brother of the murdered man, who was specially sent in command, that he might avenge his brother's blood which was crying from the ground.— The history of the world does not afford such another instance of Christian conduct. Is any reliance to be placed on the testimony of Indians, who had most probably been active participators in the slaughter? We have read many instances of the whites being unable to restrain their Indian allies, but this is the first case in which we are told that, unless the Indians had rushed forward to prevent it, the whole of Jumonville's party would have been cut to pieces. sieux is evidently incorrect as to the numbers under McKay and Washington. He says there were 500; another French Canadian historian, Garneau, says 400. We have no means at present of ascertaining the exact amount. All we know is that Washington had under him one hundred and fifty The number of Captain McKay's Independent Company is not stated; Lord Mahon says the whole force was 400. It is men. Dus He curious to note how completely Garneau differs from Bancroft, Dussieux and others in his narration. He says, "Contrecœur, on learning the tragic end of Jumonville, resolved to avenge his death at once. put six hundred Canadians and one hundred savages, under the orders of the victim's brother, M. de Villiers, who started directly. Villiers found on his arrival at the scene of the late skirmish, the corpses of several Frenchmen; and near by, in a plain, the British drawn up in battle order, and ready to receive the shock. At Villiers' first movement to attack them, they fell back some intrenchments which they had formed and armed with nine pieces of artillery. Villiers had to combat forces under shelter while his own were uncovered. The issue of the battle was doubtful for some time; but the Canadians fought with so much ardour, that they silenced the British cannon with their musketry, and, after a struggle of ten hours' duration, obliged the enemy to capitulate so as to be spared an assault. The discomfited British engaged to return the way they came; but they did not return in like order, for their retrograde march was so precipitate, that they abandoned all, even their flag." Whom are we to credit ?* on In closing this paper we wish to say, that as neither of the parties had power to declare war or peace, the articles of capitulation, even had they contained nothing which could be objected to, were of no effect, and according to the interpretation of public law were in no respect binding. On the contrary, in such cases, the government of the country of either party objecting, required and commanded its subjects to pay no respect to it, but to act as if they had never been parties to it. We mention this here as it may have something to do in forming our estimate of the conduct of Robert Stobo, whose case we next propose to bring under review. * Garneau also says that the British loss was 58 and the French 73. From the abyss of heaven a meteor flame The princess lay Sleeping-so fair the beauty of the place Entranced I stood and speechless in my love, Fearing the rustling of a leaf would prove Softly as a flower Opens its eyes, awaked by April shower, She opened hers. Francesca, they were thine, Ruthlessly beautiful as deadly wine Which smiles and kills! I drank that wine and fell And Hope fell too and darkness as of hell And all was dreary, hopeless, starless night. MONTREAL. Yet Love, which hath slain me, Death cannot kill, Are to each other all here as above. Thou sayest it is grievous to recall Of that sweet time when first thy lips to mine Thou still art mine, Francesca; I am thine; Oh! for one ray of that supernal light Forgive me thou, Francesca. I to thee Mayhap we may not alway suffer thus. ! AN HISTORICAL NIGHT IN THE OLD CANADIAN PARLIAMENT. BY S. J. WATSON. T three o'clock, on the afternoon of Wednesday, June the 15th, 1864, Mr. Wallbridge, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, took the chair. Before he declared the sitting of that day to be closed, an event took place which delivered the death-blow to the system of government under which that Legislative Assembly was authorized to exist as represent ing the people of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. The weather that afternoon was warm even for the City of Quebec. The rock, on which the Parliament House stood, was hot to the touch; the sky above was without a cloud to break the eye-paining monotony of its burning blue; the streets were airless and sultry; and on the great river there was scarcely a breath of breeze to entice a ripple into play. The sultriness outside could be borne; inside the Parliament House, the sense of heat was almost overpowering. But, in spite of the oppressive atmosphere, the great majority of members were in their places; for the current of politics at that time was turbulent. The opposing parties were almost equally balanced; and in case of battle it was difficult to guess at the result. As soon as the preliminary routine business was finished, the Hon. A. T. Galt, at that time the Minister of Finance, rose to move that the Speaker should leave the chair, in order that the House might go into Committee of Supply. This proposition at once brought to his feet the Hon. A. A. Dorion, one of the leaders of the Lower Canadian Opposition. He stated that during the last night on which the Committee of Supply sat, some curious revelations were made concerning a sum of one He informed the hundred thousand dollars advanced by the Province in 1859 to redeem bonds of the City of Montreal, but, in reality, given to the Grand Trunk Railway Company. The Financial Commission (a Committee of Investigation appointed by Parliament), had elicited the particulars of this transaction, but on account of the manner in which the liability had been transferred from one account to another, no opportunity had been afforded of bringing the whole matter before the representatives of the people. He argued that the Province was in serious danger of losing this sum, unless instant measures were taken to recover the money from those on whom the responsi bility should be placed. House that, in the year 1859, the City of Montreal had issued, to the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railway Company, bonds to the amount of $100,000. Owing, however, to an arrangement between the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Kailway and the Grand Trunk, the latter corporation assumed the task of paying the bonds. It failed in its engagement, and the Province redeemed them out of its own exchequer. This payment had for its sole authority an Order in Council; the Order in Council had for its foundation a report of the then Finance Minister-the Hon. Mr. Galt. This report recommended that the bonds should be redeemed by the Province, and should be held by the Receiver-General until the advance was repaid, ani until Montreal should make good its indebtedness to the Municipal Loan Fund. In the month of September following the issue of the bonds by the City of Montreal, although the city had only fulfilled its obligation as to the Loan Fund indebtedness, Then most of these were mute, some anger'd, Quiet as any water-sodden log one Murmuring "All courtesy is dead," and one, "The glory of our Round Table is no more." Stay'd in the wandering warble of a brook; Then fell thick rain, plume droopt and mantle | Made answer, "I had liefer twenty years clung, And pettish cries awoke, and the wan day Went glooming down in wet and weariness: But under her black brows a swarthy dame Laught shrilly, crying "Praise the patient saints, Our one white day of Innocence hath past, And Lancelot's, at this night's solemnity So dame and damsel glitter'd at the feast Variously gay: for he that tells the tale Skip to the broken music of my brains For when thou playest that air with Queen Thou makest broken music with thy bride, Her daintier namesake down in Brittany— And so thou breakest Arthur's music too." "Save for that broken music in thy brains, Sir Fool," said Tristram, "I would break thy head. Fool, I came late, the heathen wars were o'er, The life had flown, we sware but by the shell— I am but a fool to reason with a fool, Liken'd them, saying "as when an hour of Come, thou art crabb'd and sour: but lean me cold Falls on the mountain in midsummer snows, And little Dagonet on the morrow morn, High over all the yellowing Autumn-tide, Danced like a wither'd leaf before the hall. Then Tristram saying, "Why skip ye so, Sir Fool?" Wheel'd round on either heel, Dagonet replied, Belike for lack of wiser company ; Or being fool, and seeing too much wit Makes the world rotten, why, belike I skip To know myself the wisest knight of all." “Ay, fool,” said Tristram, “but 'tis eating dry To dance without a catch, a roundelay To dance to." Then he twangled on his harp, And while he twangled little Dagonet stood, down, Sir Dagonet, one of thy long asses' ears, And hearken if my music be not true. "Free love-free field-we love but while we may: The woods are hush'd, their music is no more : "Ye might have moved slow-measure to my tune, Not stood stockstill. I made it in the woods, And found it ring as true as tested gold." But Dagonet with one foot poised in his hand, "Friend, did ye mark that fountain yesterday |