Letters to Secretary General Drummond from Thomas Scott, July 1814
Loading...
Date
Authors
Cameron, Chantal
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Consists of 4 photocopied letters from Thomas Scott, Chief Justice of Upper Canada, to Secretary General Drummond, concerning traitors and treason. The letters are dated July 5, 1814, July 8, 1814 (2), and July 14, 1814. The July 5th letter is titled “copy of a dispatch from …Bathurst…of insufficiency of evidence to convict traitors” and “Relative to the Traitors who were condemned at Ancaster”. The July 14th letter is titled “The Instruments of Reference not made out in due form”.
Description
Thomas Scott (1746-1824) was a politician and judge originally from Scotland. He came to Canada in 1800 after accepting the appointment of Attorney General of Upper Canada, and in 1806 was promoted to Chief Justice of Upper Canada. The declaration of war in 1812 brought into question the loyalty of the colony’s population, who were largely born in America. As concerns over allegiance intensified, the government sought out traitors in an attempt to make an example of them and deter others. The subsequent trials of citizens accused of treason resulted in 15 convictions, including Jacob Overholser. These trials were intended to assert the authority of the state, but also to demonstrate clemency. Only 8 of the convicts were executed, with the rest being banished from the colony. Scott supported these measures, although they were largely initiated by Attorney General John Beverly Robinson. Thomas Scott retired in 1816 and died in 1824.