William Bacheler Coltman
| William Bacheler Coltman | |
|---|---|
| Died | 1826-01-02 London, England |
| Occupation | Merchant, justice of the peace, government commissioner, bank president |
William Bacheler Coltman (born England; died 2 January 1826 in London) was a British-born Quebec merchant, government official, and special commissioner best known for his 1817–1818 investigation into the violent conflict between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company in the northwest, an inquiry that brought him directly to Fort William (present-day Thunder Bay, Ontario).[1]
Early career in Quebec
Coltman arrived in Quebec in July 1799 aboard the ship Caroline.[1] He established himself as a merchant and by January 1807 had purchased the schooner Sainte-Anne for £500. He entered business with his brother John Coltman under the firm John Coltman and Company, which had ties to Francis Ridsdale and Company of Leeds and to Ridsdale, Hamilton, and Coltman of London. The Quebec house traded in wines, rum, sugar, timber, flour, maritime supplies, and crockery, and operated its own vessels.[1]
In 1807 the firm acquired a 50-year lease on the seigneury of Sainte-Croix and barony of Portneuf. Between 1807 and 1810 they purchased 31 lots in Nelson Township and additional properties across several seigneuries. The partnership dissolved on 31 December 1811. The following year William and John formed a new firm, Coltman and Hale, with Edward Hale. In August 1812 John Coltman died after being crushed by a piece of timber being loaded onto a vessel at the Portneuf installation.[1]
By 1820 Coltman was operating from Rue Saint-Paul in Lower Town Quebec, dealing in Lower and Upper Canadian flour, Newfoundland biscuit, and iron products. He served as president of the Quebec branch of the Bank of Montreal in 1820–1821.[1]
Government and public service
Coltman was appointed a justice of the peace for the Quebec District in January 1810 and joined the Executive Council of Lower Canada on 13 January 1812. From 1815 he served as a commissioner for the management of the Jesuit estates, a post he held at least until 1824.[1] He was active in several Quebec civic organizations: elected to the managing committee of the Quebec Fire Society in 1811, involved in efforts to promote non-sectarian education for the poor in 1815, appointed to the Quebec Emigrants' Society committee in 1819, and elected to the committee of the Quebec branch of the Royal Humane Society in 1820.[1]
Red River commission and Fort William
In October 1816 Coltman received a commission of the peace for the Indian territory of the northwest, along with a special commission — shared with lawyer John Fletcher — to investigate crimes arising from the fur trade conflict between the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company.[1] He also received the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the Indian Department for the purpose of the mission.
The background to the commission was the escalating violence that had followed Lord Selkirk's establishment of a Scottish colony at Red River in 1812. In June 1816 the Battle of Seven Oaks resulted in the deaths of colony governor Robert Semple and approximately 20 settlers at the hands of a party of Métis led by Cuthbert Grant. Selkirk retaliated by seizing the North West Company's post at Fort William.[1]
Acting under instructions from colonial secretary Lord Bathurst, Coltman and Fletcher set out in the late spring of 1817 with a military detachment. Fletcher remained at Fort William while Coltman continued alone to Red River, where he arrested Selkirk and imposed bail of £6,000. He spent the following months taking depositions and gathering evidence, reportedly working twelve hours a day. A contemporary described him as "a good-natured Laugh and Grow fat sort of person" intent on conciliation rather than strict prosecution.[1]
Coltman submitted his final report on 30 June 1818. The report was thorough, accurate, and relatively impartial. He acknowledged the influence of North West Company partner William McGillivray but also expressed reservations about the legal basis of the Red River settlement and about Selkirk's seizure of Fort William. At the same time he particularly condemned the "system of intimidation and violence" employed by the North West Company, while crediting Selkirk with a sincere belief that the company had acted as an enemy of the Crown.[1][2][3]
The commission extended his jurisdiction to the Western District of Upper Canada in 1816, and to the whole of Lower Canada in 1821 and again in 1824. After his northwest service Coltman developed a special concern for Métis and Indigenous education, and in 1818–1819 he supported the efforts of Roman Catholic bishop Joseph-Octave Plessis to establish a mission at Red River.[1]
Political activity
In 1819 Coltman was appointed chairman of the Board of Audit of Public Accounts, a salaried post paying over £400 annually, and in May 1819 he joined the Board of Cullers.[1] He stood for election to the House of Assembly in 1820, losing the Upper Town Quebec contest to Joseph-Rémi Vallières de Saint-Réal and withdrawing from the Hampshire riding. In November 1822 he was elected president of the Quebec branch of an organization promoting the legislative union of Lower and Upper Canada. In that capacity he argued that the division of the provinces since 1791 had encouraged legislators to foster national prejudices rather than the commercial spirit of unity.[1]
Death
Coltman departed Quebec for England on 3 November 1825 and died in London on 2 January 1826.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Roy C. Dalton."Roy C. Dalton, "COLTMAN, WILLIAM BACHELER," Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6."[website].Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6 (University of Toronto/Université Laval).1987.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Link.(Rights: copyrighted | Access: open)
- ↑ "Papers relating to the Red River settlement."[record].Great Britain, Parliament, House of Commons paper, 1819, vol. 18, no. 584: 1–288.1819.British Parliament.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)
- ↑ E. E. Rich (ed.)."Hudson's Bay Record Society, vol. 1."[book].HBRS, 1 (Rich).Hudson's Bay Record Society.(Rights: unknown | Access: open)