140 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



cargo of six thousand stand of arms, for the militia of the lower province, 

 failed to arrive, Prévost was in consequence compelled to draw upon 

 the ordnance depot at Halifax to supply deficiencies and much delay 

 occurred in completing their equipment.* 



Before leaving Halifax on his return to England, Mr. Foster wrote 

 that a bill which had passed the house of Representatives for the 

 purpose of promoting an insurrection in Canada had been defeated in 

 the Senate and he had good reason to believe that no serious attempt 

 would be made to invade the lower province for some time to come. 

 He again emphasised the advantage that would be derived from abstain- 

 ing from any invasion of the United States which might afford its 

 government a plea for making a strong appeal for the support of the 

 militia form the Eastern States, f 



About the same time it was announced that the inhabitants of 

 the frontier townships in Vermont and Lower Canada had voluntarily 

 entered into a mutual agreement to abstain from molesting one 

 another. | 



After completing his arrangements for the defence of Montreal, 

 the Governor General returned to open the special session of the legis- 

 lature. In his speech he briefly referred to the declaration of war by 

 the United States and declared that he relied upon the spirit of His 

 Majesty's subjects, their well known attachment to, and zeal for, the 

 religion of their ancestors, their loyalty to their Sovereign, and their 

 ardent love for the true interests of their co-untry; and that he should 

 depend implicitly under Divine Providence, upon their best exertions, 

 aided by the courage and loyalty of the militia and by the valour, skill 

 and discipline of the regular troops for repelling all hostile attacks. 

 The necessary maintenance of the militia and other expenses connected 

 with the approaching campaign would cause considerable expenditure 

 and he must rely upon their wisdom and public spirit for the provision 

 of all supplies required by the emergency. He expressed his satisfaction 

 at the appearance and discipline of the battalions of embodied militia 

 he had recently inspected and believed they would contribute materially 

 to the successful defence of the province. 



As usual the reply of the Assembly echoed in a general way the 

 sonorous sentences of the speech from the throne. 



"Your Excellency may place full confidence," it declared, "in the 

 spirit of His Majesty's subjects throughout the province; their attach- 

 ment and zeal for the religion of their forefathers, their loyalty to their 

 Sovereign and their ardent love for the true interests of their country, 



*Prevost to Sherbrooke, July 18. 



t Foster to Prévost, July 18 and 20. 



JHuyncs to Brock, July 10. ' 



