Isbister obtained new evidence and attacked the validity of the Company's Charter.

Lord Elgin, the fair-minded Governor of Canada, claimed that he, in Canada, was too far away from the scene of dispute to give an authoritative answer, but on the whole he favored the Company.

Lord Elgin, however, based his reply too much upon the statement of Colonel Crofton, a military officer, who had been sent to Red River.

Alexander Ross said of Crofton, on the other hand, that he was a man "who never studied the art of governing a people." But the agitation still gained head.
The mercurial French half-breeds now joined in the struggle.

They forwarded a petition to Her Majesty the Queen, couched in excellent terms, in the French language, in the main asking that their right to enjoy the liberty of commerce be given them.