The grievances of the
people were given in detail. The reason suggested for the deaf ear which
had been given them by the British Parliament were stated to be "the
chicanery of the Hudson's Bay Company, and its false representations."
Isbister, in all his efforts, gained the unfailing respect and
gratitude, not only of his own race, but very generally of the people of
the Red River Settlement. Ten years after the petition of Isbister and
his friends had been presented to Earl Grey, a committee of the House of
Commons was sitting to investigate the affairs of the Hudson's Bay
Company. It was a sifting inquiry, in which Gladstone, Roebuck and other
friends of liberty, took part. It, however, took a quarter of a century
to bring about the union of Rupert's Land with Canada, although, as we
shall see, in less than five years, a measure of amelioration came to
the oppressed and indignant settlers of Red River. For this the people
of Red River Settlement were largely indebted to the self-denying and
persistent efforts of Alexander Isbister. The old settlers of Kildonan,
the French and English half-breeds of the several parishes, and their
descendants as well as the University of Manitoba and all friends of
education ought to keep his memory green for what he did for them, for
as a writer of his own time says, "He gained for himself a name that
will live in days yet to come.
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