But whilst the Hudson's Bay Company's territorial rights and
those of Great Britain had been at last transferred to the
Dominion, there remained inextinguished the most intrinsic
of all, viz., the rights of the Indians and their collaterals
to their native and traditional soil. The adjustment of these
rights was assumed by the Canadian Parliament in the last but
one of the resolutions introduced by Mr. Macdougall, and no
time was lost after the transfer in carrying out its terms,
"in conformity with the equitable principles which have uniformly
governed the Crown in its dealings with the aborigines."
[In the foregoing brief sketch, the author, for lack of space, omits
all reference to the Red River troubles, which preceded the actual
transfer, as also to the military expedition under Col. Wolseley, the
threatened recall of which from Prince Arthur's Landing, in July,
1870, was blocked by the bold and vigorous action of the Canada
First Party in Toronto.]
Former Treaties.
Before passing on to my theme, a glance at the treaties made
in Manitoba and the organized Territories may be of interest
to the unfamiliar reader.
The first treaty, in what is now a part of Manitoba, was made in
pursuance of a purchase of the old District of Assiniboia from the
Hudson's Bay Company in 1811 by Lord Selkirk, who in that year sent
out the first batch of colonists from the north of Scotland to Red
River.
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