Featured Article Summary #152

The Types Riot occurred on June 8, 1826, in York, Upper Canada, when members of the Family Compact destroyed William Lyon Mackenzie’s printing press and movable type. The Family Compact were the ruling elite who controlled much of the government, while Mackenzie used his newspaper, the Colonial Advocate, to criticize them for corruption and profiteering. During the riot, a group forced its way into the newspaper office, damaged property, and took away type before throwing it into a nearby bay. Mackenzie later sued the rioters, but he lost important opportunities and the trial drew heavy media coverage that criticized government officials for not stopping the violence. The jury awarded him £625, and the event helped Mackenzie’s political career as reformers saw him as a martyr, while historians view the riot as evidence that Tory influence was starting to weaken. In Upper Canada, the ruling elite were the Family Compact, Loyalist descendants who gained influence after the War of 1812 by securing key political, legal, and religious positions. They used this power to benefit themselves and their families, while Reformers opposed them and journalists like William Lyon Mackenzie attacked their authority. Mackenzie published the Colonial Advocate (from 1824), a widely read newspaper that criticized the Family Compact under a pseudonym, including personal and scandalous claims in 1826, such as attacks tied to prominent Tory figures. The paper’s press was in York (now Toronto), where Mackenzie lived and worked with family and apprentices, and before the riot he traveled to Queenston, leaving his foreman in charge. It is unclear who planned the 1826 riot, but several people later claimed different roles, including that members of the Family Compact urged planning an attack on Mackenzie’s printing press. The riot started shortly after 6:00 pm on June 8, and about 9 to 15 men armed with clubs and sticks forced their way into the press, looking for Ferguson because they believed he was behind certain editorials. After smashing the printing equipment and scattering type, the mob left with type cases; witnesses later said some officials watched without stopping it, and an editor who arrived soon after reported Elizabeth feared the attackers would come back. Newspaper editors across Upper Canada blamed the government for the riot after Allan and Heward did little to stop it, and some argued the connection between the rioters and officials threatened press freedom. Others wrote privately, either condemning or justifying the violence, while key government figures largely avoided public comment or action against those involved. Public support for Mackenzie grew because authorities did not arrest the perpetrators, and Mackenzie stayed away from York, later facing financial hardship and ill health after the stress. Mackenzie was not sure the rioters would face criminal charges, so he sued them in civil court for damage to his printing press. His lawyer, James Edward Small, sought £2000, but the defendant’s lawyer, James Buchanan Macaulay, argued the actions were justified and the property was worth far less, offering £200 then £300, which Small rejected, so the case went to trial. The court heard the case in York’s new courthouse, where the defendants admitted participating and the jury decided the amount Mackenzie should be paid. A special jury was used, led by Robert Rutherford (a store owner) along with other jurors from York and nearby towns.