FRONTENAC'S PUBLIC POLICY
As was said long ago, every one has the defects ef his
qualities. Yet, in justice to a man of strong character
and patriotic aim, the chronicler should take care that
constructive work is given its due place, for only those
who do nothing make no mistakes.
During his first term of office Frontenac had many enemies
in the higher circles of society. His quarrel with Laval
was a cause of scandal to the devout. His deadlock with
Duchesneau dislocated the routine of government. There
was no one who did not feel the force of his will. Yet
to friends and foes alike his recall at sixty-two must
have seemed the definite, humiliating close of a career.
It was not the moment to view in due perspective what he
had accomplished. His shortcomings were on the lips of
every one. His strength had been revealed, but was for
the time forgotten. When he left Quebec in 1682 he must
have thought that he would never see it again. Yet when
need came he was remembered. This fact is a useful comment
on his first term, extenuating much that had seemed ground
for censure in less troubled days.
Let us now regard Frontenac's policy from his own point
of view, and attempt to estimate what he had accomplished
down to the date of his recall.
However closely Laval and Duchesneau might seek to narrow
Frontenac's sphere of action, there was one power they
could not deny him. As commander of the king's troops in
Canada he controlled all matters relating to colonial
defence. If his domestic administration was full of
trouble, it must also be remembered that during his first
term of office there was no war. This happy result was
due less to accident than to his own gifts and character.
It is true that the friendship of Louis XIV and Charles
II assured peace between New France and New England. But
Canada could thank Frontenac for keeping the Iroquois at
arm's length.
We have seen how he built the stronghold at Cataraqui,
which was named Fort Frontenac. The vigour and the tact
that he displayed on this occasion give the keynote to
all his relations with the Indians. Towards them he
displayed the three qualities which a governor of Canada
most needed--firmness, sympathy, and fair dealing. His
arrogance, so conspicuous in his intercourse with equals
or with refractory subordinates, disappears wholly when
he comes into contact with the savages. Theatrical he
may be, but in the forest he is never intolerant or
narrow-minded. And behind his pageants there is always
power.
Thus Frontenac should receive personal credit for the
great success of his Indian policy. He kept the peace by
moral ascendancy, and to see that this was no light task
one need only compare the events of his regime with those
which marked the period of his successors, La Barre and
Denonville. This we shall do in the next chapter. For
the present it is enough to say that throughout the full
ten years 1672-82 Canada was free from fear of the
Iroquois. Just at the close of Frontenac's first term
(1680-82) the Senecas were showing signs of restlessness
by attacking tribes allied to the French, but there is
abundant reason to suppose that had Frontenac remained
in office he could have kept these inter-tribal wars
under control.
Bound up with the success of Frontenac's Indian policy
is the exploration of the West--an achievement which adds
to this period its chief lustre. Here La Salle is the
outstanding figure and the laurels are chiefly his. None
the less, Frontenac deserves the credit of having encouraged
all endeavours to solve the problem of the Mississippi.
Like La Salle he had large ideas and was not afraid. They
co-operated in perfect harmony, sharing profits, perhaps,
but sincerely bent on gaining for France a new, vast
realm. The whole history of colonial enterprise shows
how fortunate the French have been in the co-operation
of their explorers with their provincial governors. The
relations of La Salle with La Barre form a striking
exception, but the statement holds true in the main, and
with reference to Algiers as well as to Canada.
La Salle was a frank partisan of Frontenac throughout
the quarrel with Perrot and Fenelon. On one occasion he
made a scene in church at Montreal. It was during the
Easter service of 1674. When Fenelon decried magistrates
who show no respect to the clergy and who use their
deputed power for their own advantage, La Salle stood up
and called the attention of the leading citizens to these
words. Frontenac, who was always a loyal ally, showed
that he appreciated La Salle's efforts on his behalf by
giving him a letter of recommendation to the court in
which La Salle is styled 'a man of intelligence and
ability, more capable than any one else I know here to
accomplish every kind of enterprise and discovery which
may be entrusted to him.'
The result of La Salle's visit to Versailles (1674) was
that he gained privileges which made him one of the most
important men in Canada, and a degree of power which
brought down on him many enemies. He received the seigneury
of Fort Frontenac, he was made local governor at that
post, and, in recognition of services already performed,
he gained a grant of nobility. It is clear that La Salle's
forceful personality made a strong impression at court,
and the favours which he received enabled him, in turn,
to secure financial aid from his wealthy relatives at
Rouen.
What followed was the most brilliant, the most exciting,
and the most tragic chapter in the French exploration of
America. La Salle fulfilled all the conditions upon which
he had received the seigneury at Fort Frontenac, and
found financial profit in maintaining the post. The
original wooden structure was replaced by stone, good
barracks were built for the troops, there were bastions
upon which nine cannon announced a warning to the Iroquois,
a settlement with well-tilled land sprang up around the
fort, schooners were built with a draught of forty tons.
But for La Salle this was not enough. He was a pathfinder,
not a trader. Returning to France after two years of
labour and success at Fort Frontenac, he secured a royal
patent authorizing him to explore the whole continent
from the Great Lakes to Mexico, with the right to build
forts therein and to enjoy a monopoly of the trade in
buffalo skins. The expenses of the undertaking were, of
course, to be borne by La Salle and his associates, for
the king never invested money in these enterprises.
However, the persuasiveness which enabled La Salle to
secure his patent enabled him to borrow the necessary
funds. At the close of 1678 he was once more at Fort
Frontenac and ready for the great adventure.
How La Salle explored the country of the Illinois in
company with his valiant friend, Henri de Tonty 'of the
iron hand,' and how these two heroic leaders traversed
the continent to the very mouth of the Mississippi, is
not to be told here. But with its risks, its hardships,
its tragedies, and its triumphs, this episode, which
belongs to the period of Frontenac's administration, will
always remain a classic in the records of discovery. The
Jesuits, who did not love La Salle, were no less brave
than he, and the lustre of his achievements must not be
made to dim theirs. Yet they had all the force of a mighty
organization at their back, while La Salle, standing
alone, braved ruin, obloquy, and death in order to win
an empire for France. Sometimes he may have thought of
fame, but he possessed that driving power which goes
straight for the object, even if it means sacrifice of
self. His haughtiness, his daring, his self-centred
determination, well fitted him to be the friend and
trusted agent of Frontenac.
Another leading figure of the period in western discovery
was Daniel Greysolon du Lhut. Duchesneau calls him the
leader of the coureurs de bois. There can be no doubt
that he had reached this eminence among the French of
the forest. He was a gentleman by birth and a soldier by
early training. In many ways he resembled La Salle, for
both stood high above the common coureurs de bois in
station, as in talent. Du Lhut has to his credit no single
exploit which equals La Salle's descent of the Mississippi,
but in native sagacity he was the superior. With a
temperament less intense and experiences less tragic, he
will never hold the place which La Salle securely occupies
in the annals of adventure. But few Frenchmen equalled
him in knowledge of the wilderness, and none displayed
greater force of character in dealing with the Indians.
What the mouth of the Mississippi was to La Salle the
country of the Sioux became to Du Lhut--a goal to be
reached at all hazards. Not only did he reach it, but
the story of how he rescued Father Hennepin from the
Sioux (1680) is among the liveliest tales to be found in
the literature of the wilderness. The only regrettable
circumstance is that the story should have been told by
Hennepin instead of by Du Lhut--or rather, that we should
not have also Du Lhut's detailed version instead of the
brief account which he has left. Above all, Du Lhut made
himself the guardian of French interests at Michilimackinac,
the chief French post of the Far West--the rendezvous of
more tribes than came together at any other point. The
finest tale of his courage and good judgment belongs to
the period of La Barre's government--when, in 1684, at
the head of forty-two French, he executed sentence of
death on an Indian convicted of murder. Four hundred
savages, who had assembled in mutinous mood, witnessed
this act of summary justice. But they respected Du Lhut
for the manner in which he had conducted the trial, and
admired the firmness with which he executed a fair
sentence.
Du Lhut's exploits and character make him the outstanding
figure of the war which Duchesneau waged against the
coureurs de bois. The intendant certainly had the letter
of the law on his side in seeking to clear the woods of
those rovers who at the risk of their own lives and
without expense to the government were gaining for France
an unequalled knowledge of the interior. Not only had
the king decreed that no one should be permitted to enter
the forest without express permission, but an edict of
1676 denied even the governor the right to issue a trading
pass at his unrestrained discretion. Frontenac, who
believed that the colony would draw great profit from
exploration, softened the effect of this measure by
issuing licences to hunt. It was also within his power
to dispatch messengers to the tribes of the Great Lakes.
Duchesneau reported that Frontenac evaded the edict in
order to favour his own partners or agents among the
coureurs de bois, and that when he went to Montreal on
the pretext of negotiating with the Iroquois, his real
purpose was to take up merchandise and bring back furs.
These charges Frontenac denied with his usual vigour,
but without silencing Duchesneau. In 1679 the altercation
on this point was brought to an issue by the arrest, at
the intendant's instance, of La Toupine, a retainer of
Du Lhut. An accusation of disobeying the edict was no
trifle, for the penalty might mean a sentence to the
galleys. After a bitter contest over La Toupine the matter
was settled on a basis not unfavourable to Frontenac. In
1681 a fresh edict declared that all coureurs de bois
who came back to the colony should receive the benefit
of an amnesty. At the same time the governor was empowered
to grant twenty-five trading licences in each year, the
period to be limited to one year.
The splendid services of Du Lhut, covering a period of
thirty years, are the best vindication of Frontenac's
policy towards him and his associates. Had Duchesneau
succeeded in his efforts, Du Lhut would have been severely
punished, and probably excluded from the West for the
remainder of his life. Thanks to Frontenac's support, he
became the mainstay of French interests from Lake Ontario
to the Mississippi. Setting out as an adventurer with a
strong taste f or exploration, he ended as commandant of
the most important posts--Lachine, Cataraqui, and
Michilimackinac. He served the colony nobly in the war
against the Iroquois. He has left reports of his discoveries
which disclose marked literary talent. From the early
years of Frontenac's regime he made himself useful, not
only to Frontenac but to each succeeding governor, until,
crippled by gout and age, he died, still in harness. The
letter in which the governor Vaudreuil announces Du Lhut's
death (1710) to the Colonial Office at Paris is a useful
comment upon the accusations of Duchesneau. 'He was,'
says Vaudreuil, 'a very honest man.' In these words will
be found an indirect commendation of Frontenac, who
discovered Du Lhut, supported him through bitter opposition,
and placed him where his talents and energy could be used
for the good of his country.
It will be remembered that Frontenac received orders from
Colbert (April 7, 1672) to prevent the Jesuits from
becoming too powerful. In carrying out these instructions
he soon found himself embroiled at Quebec, and the same
discord made itself felt throughout the wilderness.
Frontenac favoured the establishment of trading-posts
and government forts along the great waterways, from
Cataraqui to Crevecoeur. [Footnote: Fort Crevecoeur was
La Salle's post in the heart of the Illinois country.]
He sincerely believed that these were the best guarantees
of the king's power on the Great Lakes and in the valley
of the Mississippi. The Jesuits saw in each post a centre
of debauchery and feared that their religious work would
be undone by the scandalous example of the coureurs de
bois. What for Frontenac was a question of political
expediency loomed large to the Jesuits as a vital issue
of morals. It was a delicate question at best, though
probably a peaceable solution could have been arranged,
but for the mutual agreement of Frontenac and the Jesuits
that they must be antagonists. War having once been
declared, Frontenac proved a poor controversialist. He
could have defended his forest policy without alleging
that the Jesuits maintained their missions as a source
of profit, which was a slander upon heroes and upon
martyrs. Moreover, he exposed himself to a flank attack,
for it could be pointed out with much force that he had
private motives in advocating the erection of forts.
Frontenac was intelligent and would have recommended the
establishment of posts whether he expected profit from
them or not, but he weakened his case by attacking the
Jesuits on wrong grounds.
During Frontenac's first term the settled part of Canada
was limited to the shores of the St Lawrence from Lachine
downward, with a cluster of seigneuries along the lower
Richelieu. In this region the governor was hampered by
the rights of the intendant and the influence of the
bishop. Westward of Lachine stretched the wilderness,
against whose dusky denizens the governor must guard the
colony. The problems of the forest embraced both trade
and war; and where trade was concerned the intendant held
sway. But the safety of the flock came first, and as
Frontenac had the power of the sword he could execute
his plans most freely in the region which lay beyond the
fringe of settlement. It was here that he achieved his
greatest success and by his acts won a strong place in
the confidence of the settlers. This was much, and to
this extent his first term of office was not a failure.
As Canada was then so sparsely settled, the growth of
population filled a large place in the shaping of public
policy. With this matter, however, Duchesneau had more
to do than Frontenac, for it was the intendant's duty to
create prosperity. During the decade 1673-83 the population
of Canada increased from 6705 to 10,251. In percentage
the advance shows to better advantage than in totals,
but the king had hardened his heart to the demand for
colonists. Thenceforth the population of Canada was to
be recruited almost altogether from births.
On the whole, the growth of the population during this
period compares favourably with the growth of trade. In
1664 a general monopoly of Canadian trade had been conceded
to the West India Company, on terms which gave every
promise of success. But the trading companies of France
proved a series of melancholy failures, and at this point
Colbert fared no better than Richelieu. When Frontenac
reached Canada the West India Company was hopelessly
bankrupt, and in 1674 the king acquired its rights. This
change produced little or no improvement. Like France,
Canada suffered greatly through the war with Holland,
and not till after the Peace of Nimwegen (1678) did the
commercial horizon begin to clear. Even then it was
impossible to note any real progress in Canadian trade,
except in a slight enlargement of relations with the West
Indies. During his last year at Quebec Duchesneau gives
a very gloomy report on commercial conditions.
For this want of prosperity Frontenac was in no way
responsible, unless his troubles with Laval and Duchesneau
may be thought to have damped the colonizing ardour of
Louis XIV. It is much more probable that the king withheld
his bounty from Canada because his attention was
concentrated on the costly war against Holland. Campaigns
at home meant economy in Canada, and the colony was far
from having reached the stage where it could flourish
without constant financial support from the motherland.
In general, Frontenac's policy was as vigorous as he
could make it. Over commerce, taxes, and religion he had
no control. By training and temper he was a war governor,
who during his first administration fell upon a time of
peace. So long as peace prevailed he lacked the powers
and the opportunity to enable him to reveal his true
strength; and his energy, without sufficient vent, broke
forth in quarrels at the council board.
With wider authority, Frontenac might have proved a
successful governor even in time of peace, for he was
very intelligent and had at heart the welfare of the
colony. As it was, his restrictions chafed and goaded
him until wrathfulness took the place of reason. But we
shall err if we conclude that when he left Canada in
discomfiture he had not earned her thanks. Through pride
and faults of temper he had impaired his usefulness and
marred his record. Even so there was that which rescued
his work from the stigma of failure. He had guarded his
people from the tomahawk and the scalping-knife. With
prescient eye he had foreseen the imperial greatness of
the West. Whatever his shortcomings, they had not been
those of meanness or timidity.