W

CHAPTER XIX

DETROIT UNDER CANADIAN RULE

HILE these stirring events were transpiring other important events of an administrative and judicial nature were taking place. Comparatively few residents of Detroit know that this city and the State of Michigan were for a time, following the American Revolution, incorporated by law with the Province of Canada and under the jurisdiction of British law and Canadian courts. This was the case for a period of eight years.

In July, 1788, after the treaty of peace, the Canadian government established the judicial District of Hesse, which included Detroit and all adjoining territory within its jurisdiction. On December 26, 1791, Detroit and Michigan were incorporated as a part of Upper Canada. On July 16, 1792, the Canadian county of Kent was created, which included territory on both sides of Detroit River and all of the State of Michigan. The seat of government for Upper Canada was established at Newark, now Niagara-on-the-Lake, at the mouth of Niagara River. In August, 1792, two delegates, William Macomb and William Grant, were elected to represent Detroit in the Canadian legislature which met at Newark, Sept. 17. This was the first legislative session of the government of Upper Canada, established by the Canada Act of Dec. 26, 1791. That session changed the name of the District of Hesse to "the Western District."

In January of 1796 the Canadian Court of General Quarter Sessions held its last session in Detroit. Thus it will be seen that for a considerable period Detroit existed under two distinct and opposing governments. The Ordinance of 1787 enacted by the Congress of the United States extended American jurisdiction over the town and territory, while British-Canadian authority was imposed by the Canada Act, and Canadian rule

was maintained for a period of five years, formally, and for three years previous to the Canada Act, informally.

In 1797 occurred another incident, trifling in itself and without any discoverable consequences, but it is an incident in a conspiracy of treason which dragged many distinguished names in the mire for a time and ended in a number of judicial trials. which play an important part in United States history. The conspiracy, at the beginning, contemplated the transfer of all the western country east of the Mississippi River to the possession of Spain, apparently with the secret collusion of France. When this failed the purpose of the conspiracy was changed. That second purpose was never fully disclosed but the common opinion is that it contemplated the establishment of a government, which would be a formidable rival of the United States, involving the setting up of an empire or a republic which would combine the French dependency of Louisiana and the Spanish dependency of Mexico, which together included everything west of the Mississippi River south of the then undetermined British line.

The incident itself was nothing more than a visit to Detroit by Thomas Powers for a conference with Gen. James Wilkinson in connection with the first phase of the great conspiracy, but the real purpose of his visit was not disclosed until several years later. Even then there was nothing revealed that would be admissible as evidence in a court of law. The distinguished conspirators were so able that only here and there at wide intervals was circumstantial evidence of guilt apparent. Positive evidence of treason was afterward discovered in the archives of the Spanish government.

United States laws were not in force in Detroit until July 11, 1796. For some time thereafter the territorial legislature met at Marietta, O., at Cincinnati, O., and at Vincennes, Ind. Representation was allotted on a basis of one representative for each 5,000 inhabitants. The upper house of the legislature consisted of five members appointed by the President, approved by Congress and chosen from the members-elect. The first upper house of council consisted of James Findlay, Jacob Burnet, Henry Vanderberg, David Vance and Robert Oliver.

In 1801 the general assembly met at Chillicothe, but two months later it was adjourned to meet at Cincinnati. In February, 1805, under Indiana Territory, the seat of government

was shifted to Vincennes by proclamation of Gov. Harrison. These changes followed the creation of the State of Ohio in 1803. Michigan Territory was created June 30, 1805, and the Michigan administration of the Governor and Judges held their first session as a legislative body on July 4. The seal of the

Territory was adopted July 9. Most of the early sessions were held in the tavern of Richard Smyth, on the east side of Woodward Avenue, between Woodbridge and Jefferson Avenue. This site therefore should be marked by a memorial tablet as the first seat of government for Michigan and Detroit.

United States histories are savage in their denunciation of Benedict Arnold for his attempted betrayal of his country into the hands of Great Britain by surrendering the strategic post at West Point on the Hudson River, which held back British ships from the upper part of the river. It is very doubtful if the betrayal would have changed the result of the war even had it been carried into effect, but Arnold stands branded with treason and rightly so. Yet there were circumstances which, while they do not condone his act, furnish some explanation of his conduct. The real arch-traitor of the United States Army, then and for many years after, was a general whose name is hardly mentioned in history except in some honorable connection; a man who, in spite of repeated discoveries of treasonable and disloyal acts, generally managed to side-step the punishments he deserved, to shift the blame and to hold fast to important and profitable offices of public trust.

That man was Gen. James Wilkinson, who came to Detroit with Gen. Anthony Wayne and was with him throughout his western campaign. Wilkinson was born in Calvert, Maryland, in 1757. He came of a wealthy family and was educated by private tutors. He was an intimate friend of Benedict Arnold, Horatio Gates, Thomas Conway and Aaron Burr. He served under Arnold for a time and afterward under Gen. Gates.

British generalship planned three concerted expeditions by which the American patriot army in northern New York was to be surrounded and destroyed. One expedition was to come from Canada via Lake Champlain under Gen. Burgoyne. A second expedition was to come from Canada via the foot of Lake Ontario and down the Mohawk Valley. A third expedition was to proceed northward from New York City under Howe and Clinton. By these converging expeditions the scattered patriot forces were to be rounded up and forced to surrender.

تو

Gen. Gates was in position to oppose the march of Burgoyne's army, and Col. Wilkinson was his chief-of-staff. Benedict Arnold was sent up the Mohawk Valley to block the expedition under St. Leger. Arnold succeeded in routing the British and their Indians, and forced them to retire to Canada by a clever ruse of intimidation. Then he hurried by forced marches to the support of Gates.

He arrived at Bemis Heights to find the battle on, Gates in a blue funk, bordering on panic, and the Americans falling back disheartened. Arnold rushed into the fray, inspired the discouraged Americans with new hope, and turned the tide of battle which forced Burgoyne's surrender. He came out of the fight with a bullet in his knee and was placed under arrest by Gates for disobedience of his order to retire. Immediately Gen. Gates, Gen. Wilkinson and an Irish soldier-of-fortune named Thomas Conway started what is known in history as "The Conway Cabal," which was designed to induce Congress to remove George Washington from the head of the Army and put Gen. Gates in his place. Conway was made the scapegoat by his equally-guilty fellow-conspirators and went to France to take military service. The cabal also involved the promotion of Wilkinson from a colonel to a brigadier-general.

Discovery of the plot forced Wilkinson to resign his generalship soon after it had been bestowed, but instead of being barred from service he was attached to the quartermaster-general's department. At the end of the war he was given an important commercial post on the Lower Mississippi and immediately he began intriguing with Spain in a scheme which would deliver the territory between the Appalachians, the great river and the Ohio to Spain. His efforts to prevent the institution of the State of Kentucky led to the disclosure of his plot by Gen. Isaac Shelby. During the interval the inhabitants of this region were left by Congress without support to fight the Indians set upon them by Spanish authorities. They were forced to organize the independent State of Franklin in order to maintain some form of government and to make an organized defense.