Burning of The Parliament Buildings in Montreal - Second Series of Arrests

Second Series of Arrests

On the morning of August 15, John Orr, Robert Cooke, John Nier, Jr., John Ewing and Alexander Courtney were charged with arson and arrested by justices McCord, Wetherall and Ermatinger. All were released on bail except for Courtney. The transfer of the accused from the Court House to the prison was a repeat of Perry's transfer on April 26. A crowd, determined to deliver up Courtney, attacked the military escort protecting his car, but were pushed back at the points of bayonets.

A gathering formed at dusk (after 8:00 pm), in front of the Orr Hotel, on rue Notre-Dame. Men endeavoured to raise barricades of three to four feet in height using the paving stones of the Saint-Gabriel and Notre-Dame streets. The authorities were informed of what was going on and a detachment of the 23rd regiment was sent to undo the work before the barricades could be armed. Some of the men who ran off when the army showed up regrouped and decided to attack the houses of Lafontaine and the boarding house where Baldwin was residing.

At around 10:00 pm, some 200 men attacked the residence of Lafontaine, who was at home and without a guard. It was around 5:00 pm when he learned of a rumour circulating in town saying that his house was going to be attacked. At around 6 or 7:00 pm, he sent a note to captain Wetherall to tell him about the rumour. Around the same time, some friends who had heard the rumour arrived on their own to help him defend his life and his property. Among them were Étienne-Paschal Taché, C.-J. Coursol, Joseph Beaudry, Moïse Brossard, and Harkin. Guns were fired on both sides. The attackers retreated with seven wounded, including William Mason, the son of a blacksmith living on Craig street, who died of his wounds the following morning. The cavalry commanded by captain Sweeney which Wetherall had sent to protect Lafontaine arrived later and missed the entire action.

The Tory press gave great coverage of the death of Mason, and, on the August 18, a grand funeral procession marched on Craig, Bonsecours and Saint-Paul street, as well as on Place Jacques-Cartier, before going toward the English cemetery.

An enquiry of the circumstances of Mason's death was opened by coroners Jones and Coursol. Lafontaine was called in to testify before the jury in the Cyrus Hotel, on Place Jacques Cartier, on August 20 at 10:00 am. While the co-premier was inside the hotel, some men spread oil in the front staircase and set it on fire. The building was evacuated and Lafontaine exited under the protection of the military guards.