The Rumour of Russian Intrigue in the Rebellion of 1837

VOL. XVII I ihe Canadian itariœal ReVieW TOKONTO,DECEMBER, 1937 No. 4 THE RUMOUR OF RUSSIAN INTRIGUE IN THE REBELLION OF 1837 TUDENTS ofCanadian history havecommonly regarded the rebellion of 1837 as a purely domestic struggle between the radicals and the tories. With the exceptionof the aid received by the rebelsfrom the hunter'slodges,it is generallyagreedthat there was no foreign intervention in the rebellion and certainly none by a European power. Contemporaries,however, had a different view on the matter. The New York Morning heraldof November 12, 1838, reported that," . . . as soonas the Russian cabinet heard of the outbreak in Canada, it was lookedupon by that powerasa favourableevent, and that, if properlyencouraged, it might lead to the downfall of the British Colonial System". It was further charged that "Russia is now reaching across the Atlantic, and is actually encouragingthe elements of discordon the New York frontier, so that it may lead to a war between England and the United States in order to embarrassEngland in her relations with Europe and the East". During the same month a number of other newspapersin the United States and Canada• published reports of Russian interference, and on November 15, 1838, M. Pontois, the French ambassador to Washington,wrote to Paristhat "...l'opinion enonc•e... dans ma correspondance, sur la part prisepar la Russieaux troublesdu Canada, sembleavoir aujourd'hui, acquis une sorte de certitude morale,ellesetrouve consignee dansplusieursjournaux Canadiens et Americains... "Y Matters took a more seriousturn when Henry Fox, the British ministerto Washington, investigatedtile questionand reported that President Van Buren"... hintedto mein conyersation, in a manner which I cannot misunderstand ..." that Russia was •Mackenzie's gazette, Nov. 12, 1888;New York Express,Nov. 12, 1888;Washington Chronicle,Nov. 16, 1888; CobourgStar, Nov. 22, 1888. =Cited in Nova Francis, IV (2), 80. 867 368 THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW financingthe rebellion? Concreteevidenceof the suspicion of the BritishgovernmentwasfurnishedwhenonNovember20, 1838, the Russian consul to Boston was arrested in Montreal and his baggage examined. 4 Fox now ordered Stewart Derbishire, a London barrister and journalist who had been connected with Lord Durham's mission, sto make a thorough examinationof the matter. When the report was submitted on July 20, 1830, the evidencestrongly indicated Russian intervention, and Derbishire concluded that, if the information he had obtained from various quarters was accurate, "... the Russian Government, and its Representatives here,areengaged in a criminalconspiracy against the British Crown, fomentingdisaffectionand promotingthe causeof rebellion, among its subjects, and leaguedwith the desperadoes of American Society in schemesof unparalleled iniquity againstthe peaceand honourof the British dominionson this Continent".ø A year later a two-volume work on Canada waspublishedby T. R. Preston. In it the author devotedtwelve pagesto the questionof Russianintrigue in Canada and concluded that therewas"a strongdegreeof plausibility,to saythe least", to the theorythat the Russians wereactively aidingthe rebels. 7 When this evidenceis considered in conjunctionwith the fact that Anglo-Russian relationsduring this periodwere extremely strained,sit is apparentthat there may well have beensomeconnectionbetweenthe Russiangovernmentand the Canadianrebels. The purposeof this article is to examine the material available and,if possible, to arriveat someconclusion onewayor theother. An analysisof the evidencereveals a number of specific charges against Russia. It was charged that Schoultz and Hindenlang,two patriot volunteers who were capturedby the loyalists,were Russianofficerswho had been sent to Canada to organize the rebel forces. 9 It was further stated that Russian 8PublicArchivesof Canada,SeriesG, vol. 224, pp. 298, 299: Fox to Colborne, Nov. 25, 1838. 4Thenewspapers attachedgreatsignificance to the affair. SeeNew York Herald, Dec. 8, 1838; Mackenzie's gazette,Dec. 15, 1838. SForderaris,see"StewartDerbishire's reportto Lord Durhamon LowerCanada, 1838" (CA•AmA• HlSXOg•CA[ Rgwgw, XVIII, March, 1937,48-62). 8Public Archives of Canada,Series G,vol.225,p. 196: Derbishire's report. •T. R. Preston,Threeyears'residence in Canada,from •837 toz839 .... (London, 1840), I, 241. SAnglo-Russian interestsclashednot only in the near east over the controlof the straitsand the integrity of the OttomanEmpire, but alsoin the middleeastoverPersia and the northern frontier of India. •Preston, Threeyears' residence in Canada, I, 235, 236; Pontoisto Comte Mo16, Nov. 23, 1838(27o•a Fran½ia, IV (2), 86). RUSSIAN INTRIGUE IN THE REBELLION OF 1837 369 agentsin New York suppliedthe rebelswith moneyxø and that the...