‎Halkett, John‎
‎Statement respecting the Earl of Selkirk's Settlement upon the Red River, in North America; its destruction in 1815 and 1816; and the massacre of Governor Semple and his party. With observations upon a recent publication‎

‎John Murray Hardcover London 1817 ‎

Reference : 37562

‎Good Octavo. VIII, 1-194, C, 12 (Ads). Brown paper boards, rebacked black tape. With the folded map as frontispiece. A few ex-library marks. Interesting version of the events by John W. Halkett (1768-1852). "In 1817 Halkett published, for private circulation, the unsigned Statement respecting the Earl of Selkirks settlement, in which he blamed the destruction of the colony on the NWC and its agents. The NWC reply was not long in coming: later the same year a rebuttal entitled A narrative of occurrences in the Indian countries of North America was released. The book was unsigned but has been attributed to NWC employee Samuel Hull Wilcocke*. In 1818 Halkett reprinted his pamphlet and included a reply to the NWC publication. In the end, however, Halkett and Selkirks few other supporters were outmanoeuvered by the Nor'Westers. The NWCs Montreal agents Simon and William McGillivray cultivated leading judicial and political leaders in England and the Canadas, and they succeeded in bringing these officials more or less to their point of view. This favourable disposition, joined with legal technicalities and delays in the Canadian courts, enabled the NWC men to escape punishment for their violent acts. Halketts statement to Bathurst in 1819, that Selkirk had been treated with marked and signal injustice, appears in retrospect to be justified"(DCB).‎