Part 61

By this onset, the Hurons were wholly routed; their country, which had for some time reposed in peace and security, became a scene of devastation and blood. Fleeing for refuge in every direction, a few subsequently united with their invaders, but the greater number sought safety among the Chippewas of Lake Superior. A small remnant of about three hundred were able to secure the protection of the French at Quebec. Here, they were viewed only as objects of charity; and though, as such, considerable exertions were put forth in their behalf, yet the whole number could not be accommodated. Numbers were exposed to cold and hunger, until a station could be formed for them, which was named Sillery, after their former chief settlement. In consequence of the successes of the Iroquois, the French were chiefly confined to the three forts of Quebec, Three Rivers, and Montreal. For a number of years, a sad state of things existed in the colony. The French had been compelled to accept of humiliating terms of peace, and even by these means, only partially secured the boon. The Iroquois continually extended their dominion, conquering one tribe of their fellow-savages after another, and even insulting the French in their fortified posts. The latter, from fear or weakness, were compelled to witness the destruction of their allies. They were themselves, in a great measure, safe in their fortresses, for these the enemy had no adequate skill to besiege.

_Accessions to the Colony._--It had been represented to Louis XIV., who had lately ascended the throne, that his government was exposing the French name to contempt, through neglect of his fine American province, and tame subjection to Indian ravages. He was sufficiently bent upon aggrandizement not willingly to incur such a reproach; and accordingly troops were dispatched from France, and the French power was at once considerably augmented in the province. The Marquis de Tracy was sent out at this time, 1665, in the joint character of viceroy and lieutenant-general. Besides the soldiers, a considerable number of settlers, including artisans, with horses and cattle, were conveyed with him to Canada. He was able to overcome and repress the savages, and increase the fortifications and defences of the country. The population was more than doubled by means of the immigration.

_Progress of the Colony._--After M. de Tracy, the government was administered successively by M. de Courcelles, Count Frontenac, M. de la Barre, Denonville, and Count Frontenac the second time, down to the year 1698. Under the first-named governor, the French power was gradually extended to the interior of Canada and the upper parts of the River St. Lawrence. A settlement of Hurons was established on the island of Michilimackinack, a situation very favorable to the fur-trade, and a site for a fort was selected at Cataraqui, on Lake Ontario, a position of importance for trade and defence. Count Frontenac, immediately upon his accession, caused the fort to be completed. He conducted the affairs of the colony with spirit and energy during a period of ten years, but he was too independent in his administration to suit a jealous court at home. His successor, M. de la Barre, not fulfilling the expectations of the government, was soon rëcalled, and the Marquis Denonville appointed in his room. The measures of this governor were not at all well advised; his treachery to the natives brought him into difficulty; he obtained only an empty victory over them, and, towards the conclusion of his administration, the very existence of the colony was threatened. At this period, 1689, Frontenac was rëcalled to the government. It was hoped that his experience would teach him to avoid the errors of his former administration, while his decision, energy, and fascinating manners, were deemed of vital importance to the welfare of the settlement.

Frontenac, anxious to justify to the world the choice made of him, the second time, to administer the affairs of Canada, determined at once on several bold projects. As his own country and England were now at war, and as England relied much on the aid of her provinces of the south, he resolved on attacking the latter. Accordingly, he fitted out three expeditions; one against New York, a second against New Hampshire, and a third against the province of Maine. The fatal attack upon Corlear, or Schenectady, detailed in another part of this work, was the result of the first expedition. The burning of Salmon Falls, on the borders of New Hampshire, proceeded from the second expedition. The third destroyed the settlement of Casco, in Maine.

The atrocities of the French and their savage allies soon aroused the Northern colonies, New York and New England, to take vengeance on the foe. The English determined to strike a blow which might at once deprive him of all his possessions. Two expeditions were prepared; one by sea, from Boston, against Quebec; the other by land, from New York, against Montreal. The first was commanded by Sir William Phipps, a native of New England, of humble birth, who had raised himself by his talents to a high station. Both expeditions failed as to their ultimate object; but Sir William captured all the French posts in Acadia and Newfoundland, with several on the St. Lawrence; and it is not without reason supposed that Quebec itself would have fallen, had not the English commander too hastily considered the enterprise as hopeless. He made a very considerable effort, but did not persevere. The French, Colden says, returned fervent thanks to Providence for having, by a special interposition, deprived their enemies of common sense. Montreal was saved only after a most strenuous resistance.

The French, under the administration of Frontenac, sustained themselves, and generally held their own against the attacks of the English and the Indians. Peace, at length, having taken place between France and England, negotiations were entered into for closing the provincial war and exchanging prisoners; but before the negotiations were concluded, Frontenac died. This event occurred on the 29th day of November, 1698, and may be said to have constituted an era in the Canadian history, as by his energy and talents he had retrieved the affairs of the settlement, and raised it into a powerful and flourishing state. De Callières, the successor of Frontenac, finally effected the negotiations in 1700.

_Attempts by the English to Conquer Canada_.--The first serious attempt to bring the French province of Canada under the English sway, and its failure, have already been chronicled. Other efforts were subsequently put forth with this object in view, as soon as the parent countries had again taken up arms on account of the Spanish succession. Canada, in this instance, was left to her own resources, as Louis XIV. had been entirely unsuccessful in his European wars, and could afford her no aid. She was at this time, also, able to repel her invaders, or was providentially delivered from their attack.

De Vaudreuil, who was then governor, in contemplation of a formidable attack, sought to dissipate it by an offensive movement. He sent out a detachment of two hundred men, which, after a long march, succeeded in storming and destroying Haverhill, a frontier village; though, while returning, they fell into an ambuscade. Thirty of their number were killed; but having beaten off their assailants, the remainder reached Montreal in safety.

In 1709, the English left New York for Canada with a force of two thousand men, joined by an equal number of savages. But after they had erected a chain of posts from New York, and had occupied, in great force, Lakes George and Champlain, circumstances occurred which defeated the project. The savages, who were the Iroquois, failed them from prudential considerations; and a pestilential disease happening among the English troops, the enterprise was abandoned, after their canoes and forts were burned to ashes.

The succeeding year, the English prepared a new and greater armament. General Nicholson arrived at Boston with a considerable squadron and fresh forces were expected, which, with those already in the country, were to be employed in two joint expeditions, by sea against Quebec, and by land against Montreal. But it happened, to the signal relief of the French, that the squadron was wrecked near the mouth of the St. Lawrence, a circumstance which prevented also the land forces, that were already on the march, from proceeding farther. The treaty at Utrecht, which took place on the 30th of March, 1713, put an end, for many years, to their armaments for the reduction of Canada. The long interval proved to be a season of prosperity to this French domain in the New World.

_Condition of Canada in 1721 and 1722._--This was the time when Charlevoix visited the colony, who gave a description of its state as he saw it.

Quebec was estimated to contain about seven thousand inhabitants; both the lower and the upper town were partially built, but none of the extensive suburbs appear to have existed. The society, composed in a great measure of military officers and noblesse, was extremely agreeable, and no where was the French language spoken in greater purity. Under this gay exterior, however, was concealed a very general poverty.

The only employment suited to their taste was the fur-trade. This, connected as it was with habits of roving and adventure, had great attractions for the people, and little fortunes were thereby occasionally made; but these were soon dissipated in the haste to enjoy pleasure and display. The absence of gold and silver, then considered almost the only objects as giving lustre to a colony, had always caused New France to be viewed as of less importance than it was in reality.

The coasts of the St. Lawrence, for some extent below Quebec, were already laid out in seignories, and tolerably cultivated. At a place seven leagues from the capital, many of the farmers were found in easy circumstances, and more wealthy than their landlords. The latter were in possession of grants which they had neither capital nor industry to improve, and they were, therefore, obliged to let them out at small quit-rents.

The island and city of Montreal presented to the eye objects of deep interest. The population was considerable, as both the upper and lower towns were already built, and a suburb had been commenced. Montreal was rendered comparatively secure against the savages, by the vicinity of two neighboring villages which were inhabited by friendly Indians.

_General Prosperity of the Colony._--Canada enjoyed a long period of tranquillity, under the administrations of De Vaudreuil and Beauharnois, Gallissonière, Jonquière, Longuiel, and Du Quesne and his successors.

During this interval, the French appear to have entirely overcome that deeply-seated enmity, so long cherished by the great Indian tribes. Their pliant and courteous manners, their frequent intermarriages, and, in some instances, actual adoption of the habits of savage life, rendered them better fitted than the English, to secure the confidence of the American savage. Instead of having to treat them as British allies, they could usually employ them, when occasion required, for their own military service.

An equally favorable change took place in respect to the fur-trade, which had been considerably diverted to the English market. A more liberal system appears to have been adopted; and a large annual fair, opened at Montreal, became the general centre of the traffic.

_Canada transferred to the English._--In an early portion of the volume, we have given an account of the "French and Indian war," during which an expedition against Quebec, under Wolfe, was attempted. This was in 1759. That expedition resulted, as is well known, in the death of that distinguished military hero, and the capitulation of the city. A single incident, only, will be here alluded to, touching the fall of this victorious general. On receiving his mortal wound, he said, "Support me--let not my brave soldiers see me drop." About a year following the surrender of Quebec, the whole of Canada was transferred to the dominion of Great Britain, by which it has ever since been held as one of her dependencies.

_Refusal to join in the War of American Independence._--In the revolt of the United Colonies against the government of the mother-country, the Canadians were pressingly invited to join and assist the former. They, however, never swerved from their allegiance. With a view to conciliate the Canadians, the "Quebec Act," passed in 1774, changed the English civil law, which had been at first introduced, for the ancient system. The French language was also directed to be employed in the law-courts, and other changes were made for the purpose of gratifying the people. The most important privilege of all, that of a national representation, was, however, not granted.

_Consequence of the American Independence to Canada._--The issue of the war of independence in the colonies, though unfavorable, or at least mortifying, to the mother-country, was attended with some advantages to Canada. A large body of loyalists, who had sought refuge in her territories during the war, received liberal grants of land in the Upper Provinces, as also farming utensils, building materials, and subsistence for two years. A great extent of country was thus put under cultivation, and flourishing towns, as those of Kingston and Toronto, arose from the policy which was adopted in regard to these settlers. Thus was laid the foundation of that prosperity which has since so eminently distinguished the Upper Province.

_Territorial Division and a Constitution._--A steady advancement and growth of the country, caused the population to feel more and more their importance, and they were little contented in the absence of a representative government. The wish for such a government was, at times, strongly expressed. In 1790, Mr. Pitt determined to comply with the desires of the people on this subject; but, as a preliminary, it was resolved to divide Canada into two governments, upper and lower. The constitution granted, proved to be on a basis nearly resembling that of the British constitution. The first house of assembly was opened in 1792, but for several years their proceedings were of no special importance. In 1797, General Prescott was called to administer the government, when complaints began to be made respecting the grant of lands. The Board constituted for that purpose, had appropriated extensive tracts to themselves, and thereby had impeded the work of general settlement. He was succeeded, however, in 1800, by Sir Robert S. Milnes, as lieutenant-governor. A few years afterwards, a decision of the chief justice of Montreal declared slavery inconsistent with the laws of the country, and the small number of slaves then living there received a grant of freedom.

_Dissensions after the Close of the War of_ 1812.--The contests in which Canada was involved with the United States, during the war of the latter with England, from 1812 to 1815, an account of which the reader will find in a prior part of the volume, had scarcely closed, before the country was disturbed by internal dissensions, particularly the Lower Province. They arose chiefly from the jealousies which existed between the different branches of the government. Indeed, as early as 1807, the assembly seriously complained of an undue influence exercised by the executive and judicial officers. The difficulties continued through successive administrations, with partial suspensions under compliant or conciliatory governors, until the government came into the hands of Sir Francis Burton, who, by yielding all the points in dispute, succeeded in conciliating the assembly. The principal subject of dispute had been the public revenue and its appropriation.

But the conciliation was not lasting. Every concession to the assembly gave rise to new demands, and the right was now claimed of an uncontrolled disposal of the entire revenue. Lord Dalhousie, who resumed office in 1826, resisted the demand, and the dissensions were of course renewed. Their violence was, indeed, much increased. On the meeting of the assembly in 1827, Mr. Papineau was chosen speaker, an appointment which, on account of his violent opposition to the measures of government, Lord Dalhousie refused to sanction. But the assembly being in no mood to recede from its position, the consequence was, that no session was held in the winter of 1827-28.

Discontent had now risen to an alarming height; and, in the latter year, a petition was presented to the king, signed by eighty-seven thousand inhabitants, complaining of the conduct of successive governors. The subject was brought before parliament, and a committee reported the expediency of a thorough and effectual redress, admitting, generally, that the grievances complained of were well-founded. Sincere attempts appear to have been made to carry out the provisions of the report, or measures of reform which had been promised; but, in the course of the colonial government, the claims of the crown and those of the assembly, on certain points, proved to be conflicting. The breach which was hoped to be closed, now became wider than ever. The assembly began to specify conditions on which certain salaries should be paid to the colonial officers; and, as a fundamental reform, next demanded that the legislative council, hitherto appointed by the crown, should be abolished, and a new one, like that of the American senate, substituted in its place, composed of members elected by the people. A petition to this effect was transmitted to the king, early in 1833, signed by Papineau. The British ministry, however, scouted at once such a proposal, and hinted the possibility of summary measures on the part of parliament, in order to compose the internal dissensions of the colonies. This was an imprudent intimation.

Both the refusal and the inuendo but added fuel to the flame. The assembly refused to pass any bill of supply whatever for the year 1834, and in a more resolute manner than heretofore, insisted on an elective legislative council. The next governor who was sent out, the Earl of Gosford, professed conciliatory views; but his real object was otherwise, as was accidentally discovered. The real instructions with which he was charged, were common to him and to the governor of the Upper Province; but the latter had made public a part of those instructions apparently without the knowledge of Lord Gosford's intentions. The rage of the popular leaders now knew no bounds; they complained not only of the disappointments they had experienced, but of the deception which had been practiced upon them. The assembly, as before, withheld the supplies, and made no provision for the public services.

_Disturbances and Insurrection._--A crisis had now arrived. Ministers determined no longer to postpone measures for counteracting the proceedings of the popular party, and placing the executive government in a state of regular action. The death of the king, meanwhile, the necessity of a dissolution of the parliament, and the unwillingness to begin the government of a young and popular queen by a scheme of coercion, caused a delay in the execution of the designs of government. The expedient of advancing the amount required for the public service, by way of loan from the British revenue, was substituted by ministers, in the prospect of being ultimately reimbursed from the provincial fund. The ball, however, was set in motion, and such was the momentum, that it could not be stopped at once. Meetings were held in the counties of Montreal and Richelieu, in which it was affirmed, that the votes of the Commons, (declaring the elective legislative council and the direct responsibility of the executive to the assembly, inexpedient,) had put an end to all hopes of justice. A general convention was proposed, to consider what further means were advisable, and a recommendation was made to discontinue the consumption of British manufactures, and of all articles paying taxes.

This state of things put the government on the alert; preparations were made to have in readiness for the public service an additional regiment from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. A proclamation, also, was issued, warning the people against all attempts to seduce them from their allegiance. Meetings of the friends of the government were held in Montreal and Quebec, condemning the house of assembly, declaring attachment to the British connexion, and deprecating disorganization and revolution. Notwithstanding all the attempts of the governor to effect a compromise, an agreement in respect to the topics in dispute could not be brought about. A recourse to arms appears now to have been determined upon by the popular leaders, with the avowed object of effecting an entire separation from the parent state. The efforts made to arouse the spirit of independence were considerable, though more secret than formerly, until an association was formed, under the title of the Sons of Liberty, who even paraded the streets of Montreal in a hostile and threatening manner. Other measures of defiance, in different parts of the country, were resorted to, having in view still more directly the ultimate object of resistance and independence. The recent appointments of the two councils, designed as an alleviation, in part, of the people's complaints, were declared wholly unsatisfactory, while the introduction of an armed force into the province was stigmatized as a new and outrageous grievance.

The government could not overlook these incipient steps of an insurrection. Additional military force was called into requisition--loyal volunteer associations were formed as an offset to those of the other party, and the Catholic clergy were zealous in their endeavors to preserve the peace. A scene of violence occurred in the streets, November 6th, 1837, between the two parties, in which the loyalists proved to be the stronger body. That event, as might be expected, increased the ferment; so that the government, as the most effectual course to put a stop to the aggressive movement of the people, arrested at Montreal a number of the most conspicuous leaders, with the exception of Papineau, who had disappeared. A part of these, however, were subsequently rescued--a fight ensued between the militia employed on this occasion, who amounted only to thirty, and a body of three hundred well-armed men, protected by a high fence. The former, of course, was overcome.

In adopting the prompt measures which were now deemed necessary by the government, strong detachments under Colonels Gore and Wetherall were sent to the village of St. Denis and St. Charles on the Sorel, to rout the armed bodies of insurgent assembled in those places, under Papineau, Brown, and Neilson. Gore was repulsed; but Wetherall, on the 26th of November, attacking a force of one thousand men, came off victorious, having killed and wounded nearly three hundred of the enemy. This latter affair decided the fate of the contest in that quarter. Terror seized the minds of the peasantry, and they began to consider themselves betrayed by their leaders. A few days subsequently, Neilson, one of the commanders of the insurgent forces, was taken in a barn, conveyed into Montreal, and thrown into prison. Papineau, however, could not be discovered.