tiers, traders, and eveu missionaries 

 ^ere caus^ad much inconvenience and 

 loss by tliese stringent regulations. 

 Tlie governor and legal adviser, Judge 

 Tliom, naturally received the greater 

 part of popular disapproval. The 

 French halfbreeds took the lead in the 

 agitation aganst the company. A 

 strange story is relatt^d as to the way 

 in M hich the English halfbreeds who 

 had hitherto supported the claim of 

 the company, came to throw in their 

 lot with their French fellows-country- 

 men. A company officer had left 

 his two daughters at Fort Garry to 

 be educa ted. One of them w as the ob- 

 ject of the affection of a young Scotch 

 halfbreed, and at the same time of a 

 young Highlander. The young lady 

 is said to have preferred the Metis, but 

 the fond parent favored the young 

 Highlander. The Scotchman, forti- 

 fied by tlie father's approval, proceed- 

 ed to upbraid the IMetis for his temer- 

 ity in aspiring -to the hand of one so 

 high in society as the lady. As love 

 ruined Troy so it is said this affair 

 joined French and English half-breeds 

 in a union to deiend the country. 



During the five years after tlie pub- 

 lication of the proclamation a con- 

 stant agitation w^as going on among 

 the French, This was sedulously cul- 

 tivated, by one or two active leaders. 



When popular feeling had been thor- 

 oughly roused it happened that in 

 184:9 Guillaume Sayer, a French half- 

 breed trader, bought goods intending 

 to go on a trading expedition to Lake 

 Manitoba The authorities determin- 

 ed to arrest Sayer and three of his as- 

 sociates, This was done, but Sayer 

 only was kept in prison. 



As the day of trial drew near the 

 excitement grew intense. Governor 

 L'aldwell w^as known to be inflexible. 

 Judge Tliom, it was remembered, had 

 written tlie famous "Anti-Gallic let- 

 ters," in Montreal: he was, moreover, 

 said to be the director of the policy 

 of restriction, and a strong company 

 man. The day of trial had been fixed 

 for Ascension day. May 17th, and this 

 was taken as a religious affront by 

 the French The court was to meet 

 in the morning. On the day of the 

 trial hundreds of French Metis, armed, 

 came from all the settlements to St. 

 Boniface church, and leaving their 

 guns at the door of the church, enter- 

 ed for service, At the close they 

 gathered together and were address- 

 ed in a fiery oration by their chief 

 lender. Crossing by way of Point 

 Douglas, the Metis surrounded the un- 

 guarded court house at Fort Garry. 

 The governor and judge arrived and 

 took their seats at 11 o'clock. A 



curious scene then ensued, the magis- 

 trates protesting against the violence, 

 a Metis in loud tones declaring that 

 they would give the tribunal one hour 

 and if justice were not done then they 

 would do it themselves. An alterca- 

 tion then took place between Judge 

 Thorn and this leader, and the latter 

 cried: "'Et je declare que des ce 



moment Sayer a<t libre " 



The shouts of the Metis drowned all 

 opposition and Sayer and his 

 fellow^ prisoners betook themselves to 

 freedom, while the departing Metis 

 cried out : "Le commerce est libre ! 

 le commerce est libre ! vive la liberte." 

 This crisis was a serious one. Judge 

 Thorn, at the suggestion of Governor 

 Simpson did not take his place on the 

 bench for a year though he still held 

 his position and his emoluments. It 

 was the end of the attempt of the 

 company to enforce its distasteful 

 monopoly. 



Fifteen years of service in the re- 

 mote and isolated settlement of Red 

 IMver had enabled the recorder to 

 ,'iccuinulate a handsome competence. 

 He a ccordi ngly resigned, and returning 

 by way of York Factory sailed from 

 that port in the company's ship "The 

 Prince of Wales" on September 20th, 

 1854, with his wife and two children. 

 In the second year after his 

 i-etum Judge Tliom received the de- 

 gree of IjL. D. from his owti university 

 at Aberdeen in recognition of his at- 

 tainments. He appears to have lived 

 at Edinburgh and Torquay in Avhat 

 might seem to be his declining years, 

 but removed to Lofndon in 1870 .and 

 took up his abode in his well known 

 i-esidence, 49 Torrington Square, a 

 score of years longer. The family of 

 his departed friend were a constant 

 care to him. For them he always 

 showed a passionate regard. A trou- 

 blesome lawsuit wdtli a leading bank- 

 ing house in London for misuse of his 

 funds, worried him for years and ended 

 in his losing the ca§e. 



Judge Thorn's attainments were not 

 however, all of a legal character. The 

 Bishop of Montreal, on his visit to 

 Fort Garry in 1844, mentions that at 

 that time Recorder Thorn "was deep- 

 ly engaged Latterly in Biblical stud- 

 ies." In 1847 he completed for 

 publication his work on the typical 

 character of what he calls "Abraham's 

 430 years." An active mind like that 

 of Judge Thom must have something 

 on which to work. In not having 

 enough to fill up his time and utilize 

 his energies, he must have some ab- 

 struse line of study. His mind seemed 

 to have a bent towards mathematics, 

 and his inclination and probably early 



