The Arthur Papers

The papers of Sir George Arthur are important to historical research in several countries. For this reason they have been divided. The Canadian papers were considered of such importance that the Toronto Public Library Board of Trustees, assisted by the generosity of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the University of Toronto Press, has undertaken their publication, under the editorship of the late Chief Librarian, Charles Rupert Sanderson, LL.D., M.A., B.Sc. They were first published in six paper-bound parts, and then in the present three volumes.

The emphasis in Volume One is on the restoration of order after the Rebellion of 1837, and the defence of the province against invasion and brigandry. The trials of the political prisoners and the prevention of a Torv reign of terror were two problems complicated by differences of opinion with Lord Durham. Defending the border and stamping out lawlessness were complicated by the attitude of the Commander of the Forces, Sir John Colborne, who vacillated between blind optimism and equally blind panic. Volume One closes with the attacks at Prescott and Windsor.