There bare been two arrivals from New York this week,
with important news from Canada. The first portion of the intelli- gence indicated the alarm of the Government at Quebec, and the boldness of the Canadians. On the evening of Thursday Novem- ber the 13th, warrants were issued for the apprehension of five gentlemen, one of them a physician and another an advocate, on a charge of treason. These persons were secured and taken to prison. Other warrants were issued against Dr. OCALLAGHAN, Mr. THJMAS BROWN, and &VIDE PERRAULT, who are designated as " arch-rebels" in the Government newspapers : but they had escaped. A party of eighteen of the Montreal Volunteer Cavalry were despatched to St. John's, to seize two other suspected persons. As this detachment was returning to Montreal with their prisoners, they were attacked near Chambly, by about 300 men, armed with rifles, who fired upon them from behind a breastwork of' felled trees; and it is remarked, that, like well-trained soldiers, they knelt down and fired low. After a short resistance, the cavalry fled, leaving their prisoners in the hands of the assailants. Lieutenant- Colonel WETHERALL was immediately despatched with a consi- derable body of regular troops, in the direction of Chambly and Longueil. All these places lie on the right bank of the St. Law- rence, and apparently within two days' march of Montreal. The troops found all the houses deserted: women and children had been taken to places of safety, and the men had joined their comrades in arms. Such is the substance of the first budget of Canadian news. As usual, the papers in the interest of the Government were full of contempt for the rebels. Alluding to this first skirmish, the Montreal Courier said—" No British subject could desire better things : let but the enemy be seen, and the result is certain." The second accounts come down to the night of the 2Sth of November; and they are of a more serious complexion than the foregoing. British subjects have not much reason to rejoice at their tenour. Information having been received that the Cana- dian insurgents occupied the village of St. Denis, which seems to be about fifteen miles north-east of Montreal, a body of troops, consisting of six companies of infantry, and eighteen cavalry, with a small howitzer and a party of artillery, commanded by Colonel GORE, loft Montreal about ten o'clock on the night of Wednesday the 21st of November, to attack " the rebels." They
found the roads in a dreadful state ; and were obliged to wade through mud and water knee-deep, the rain falling in torrents. Almost all the bridges had been destroyed ; and their line of' march was pointed out to the enemy by blue lights thrown up as signals. After twelve hours marching, the advanced guard entered St. Denis; but were driven back by vollies of musketry from the barns and houses. The entire body came up, and commenced a regular attack ; which was chiefly di- meted against a stone building, strongly garrisoned by the insur-
gents, it ho kept up a most galling fire of musketry. After the Eghting bad continued till two o'clock in the middle of the day, the British troops retreated towards Montreal, with considerable loss. Captain MARKLAND was severely wounded. A Lieutenant WEIR, in the early part of the day, was taken prisoner. Oa the same night that Colonel GORE left Montreal on this disastrous expedition, Colonel WETHERALL marched from Cham-
bly to St. Charles; in which village the main body of the insur-
gents was concentrated, under the command, it was said, of PAPI- NEAU, Dr. O'CALLAGHAN, and THOMAS BROWN, (called General BROWN by his men,) aided by two of NAPOLEON'S officers. At
St. Charles is a fort which the Canadians took possession of, and prepared to defend with eight pieces of brass cannon. It is not stated distinctly of how many men the Canadian force consisted:
the lowest estimation is 2,000, the highest 6,000. The number of' Colonel WETHERALL'S troops is not named. It was not till eleven
o'clock on Saturday the 25th November that the attack on St. Charles commenced ; and the accounts are somewhat contradic- tory; but it appears probable that the British had the advantage at first, and would have succeeded in taking the fort, had they not been suddenly attacked in the rear by a fresh body of 1800 Canadians, who drove them out of the village into the woods.
Here the account of the military operations is closed. There was much alarm at Montreal ; many persons sent their families and valuables to Quebec ; and Sir JOHN COLBORNE, Commander in Chief, had issued a proclamation offering a large bounty to all who would inlist for a few years, or during the war. Reports• were circulated that a numerous body of the people of Upper Canada had assembled at Toronto, and put forth a " declaration of independence." Even in Quebec there has been some commotion.
That the Americans of the States bordering on Canada sympa- thize with the insurgents, is pretty clear from the tone of the Vermont newspaper. The Canadians are called "the Patriots;" and are told that now is the time "to revolutionize," for there are only 4,500 British troops in Canada, and more cannot arrive till the rivers are opened in the spring. A letter in the Montreal papers, from a gentleman in Alburgle which we believe is in the North-western part of the state of New York, mentions that the " Radicals from Canada" had been collecting arms and ammuni- tion; that the people were much interested in their favour, and had given them many guns and swords ; and that the ladies were making them a standard. It is added, that as soon as a "declara- tion of independence" is published, the Yankees will "make tracks for Canada," or go over to help the insurgents. How far the Ameri- cans may have the inclination or power to give the Canadians effec- tual assistance, is not apparent ; but if the inclination exists, the Central Government of the United States is impotent to restrain its subjects from taking part in the contest. With or without Ameri. can interference, there is a prospect of a long and bloody war in Canada. Probably as soon as the British troops are reinforced, perhaps before, we shall hear of the defeat of the Canadians; and it will be said that the war is at an end. But it will break out again and again. The British will hold the ground their guns can command, and no more. How long they will retain any foot- ing at all in Canada, is of course uncertain ; but every day will add to the ruinous cost of maintaining our dominion. Trade with the country will be almost at an end. British property in Canada will not be worth a year's purchase. Credit or gain to this country from the struggle, nobody expects. Behold the miser- able fruit of systematic injustice—the result of the Whig scheme of robbing the Canadian exchequer and violating the Canadian constitution !
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