It was at this juncture that the valuable aid of Isbister came to his
countrymen. In 1847 Isbister, with his educated mind, social standing,
and valiant spirit led the way for his people, and with five other
half-breeds of Red River forwarded a long and able memorial to Earl
Grey, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, bringing the serious
charges against the Company, of neglecting the native people, oppressing
all the settlers, and taking from them their natural rights. A perusal
of this document leads us to the opinion that the charges were
exaggerated, but nevertheless they showed how impossible it was, for a
Trading Company, to be at the same time the Government of a country and
to be equitable and high-minded. The Hudson's Bay Company answered this
document sent them by the Imperial Government, and so far relieved
themselves of some of the charges. But the storm raised could not be
quieted. Isbister obtained new evidence and attacked the validity of the
Company's Charter. Lord Elgin, the fair-minded Governor of Canada,
claimed that he, in Canada, was too far away from the scene of dispute
to give an authoritative answer, but on the whole he favored the
Company.
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