THE LOYALISTS IN QUEBEC
It was a tribute to the stability of British rule in the
newly-won province of Quebec that at the very beginning
of the Revolutionary War loyal refugees began to flock
across the border. As early as June 2, 1774, Colonel
Christie, stationed at St Johns on the Richelieu, wrote
to Sir Frederick Haldimand at Quebec notifying him of
the arrival of immigrants; and it is interesting to note
that at that early date he already complained of 'their
unreasonable expectations.' In the years 1775 and 1776
large bodies of persecuted Loyalists from the Mohawk
valley came north with Sir John Johnson and Colonel
Butler; and in these years was formed in Canada the first
of the Loyalist regiments. It was not, however, until
the defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1778 that the full
tide of immigration set in. Immediately thereafter
Haldimand wrote to Lord George Germain, under date of
October 14, 1778, reporting the arrival of 'loyalists in
great distress,' seeking refuge from the revolted provinces.
Haldimand lost no time in making provision for their
reception. He established a settlement for them at
Machiche, near Three Rivers, which he placed under the
superintendence of a compatriot and a protege of his
named Conrad Gugy. The captains of militia in the
neighbourhood were ordered to help build barracks for
the refugees, provisions were secured from the merchants
at Three Rivers, and everything in reason was done to
make the unfortunates comfortable. By the autumn of 1778
there were in Canada, at Machiche and other places, more
than one thousand refugees, men, women, and children,
exclusive of those who had enlisted in the regiments.
Including the troops, probably no less than three thousand
had found their way to Canada.
With the conclusion of peace came a great rush to the
north. The resources of government were strained to the
utmost to provide for the necessities of the thousands
who flocked over the border-line. At Chambly, St Johns,
Montreal, Sorel, Machiche, Quebec, officers of government
were stationed to dole out supplies. At Quebec alone in
March 1784 one thousand three hundred and thirty-eight
'friends of government' were being fed at the public
expense. At Sorel a settlement was established similar
to that at Machiche. The seigneury of Sorel had been
purchased by the government in 1780 for military purposes,
and when the war was over it was turned into a Loyalist
reserve, on which huts were erected and provisions
dispensed. In all, there must have been nearly seven
thousand Loyalists in the province of Quebec in the winter
of 1783-84.
Complete details are lacking with regard to the temporary
encampments in which the Loyalists were hived; but there
are evidences that they were not entirely satisfied with
the manner in which they were looked after. One of the
earliest of Canadian county histories, [Footnote: _Dundas,
or a Sketch of Canadian History_, by James Croil, Montreal,
1861.] a book partly based on traditionary sources, has
some vague tales about the cruelty and malversation
practised by a Frenchman under whom the Loyalists were
placed at 'Mishish.' 'Mishish' is obviously a phonetic
spelling of Machiche, and 'the Frenchman' is probably
Conrad Gugy. Some letters in the Dominion Archives point
in the same direction. Under date of April 29, the
governor's secretary writes to Stephen De Lancey, the
inspector of the Loyalists, referring to 'the uniform
discontent of the Loyalists at Machiche.' The discontent,
he explains, is excited by a few ill-disposed persons.
'The sickness they complain of has been common throughout
the province, and should have lessened rather than
increased the consumption of provisions.' A Loyalist who
writes to the governor, putting his complaints on paper,
is assured that 'His Excellency is anxious to do everything
in his power for the Loyalists, but if what he can do
does not come up to the expectation of him and those he
represents, His Excellency gives the fullest permission
to them to seek redress in such manner as they shall
think best.'
What degree of justice there was in the complaints of
the refugees it is now difficult to determine. No doubt
some of them were confirmed grumblers, and many of them
had what Colonel Christie called 'unreasonable
expectations.' Nothing is more certain than that Sir
Frederick Haldimand spared no effort to accommodate the
Loyalists. On the other hand, it would be rash to assert
that in the confusion which then reigned there were no
grievances of which they could justly complain.
In the spring and summer of 1784 the great majority of
the refugees within the limits of the province of Quebec
were removed to what was afterwards known as Upper Canada.
But some remained, and swelled the number of the 'old
subjects' in the French province. Considerable settlements
were made at two places. One of these was Sorel, where
the seigneury that had been bought by the crown was
granted out to the new-comers in lots; the other was in
the Gaspe peninsula, on the shores of the Gulf of St
Lawrence and of Chaleur Bay. The seigneury of Sorel was
well peopled, for each grantee received only sixty acres
and a town lot, taking the rest of his allotment in some
of the newer settlements. The settlement in the Gaspe
peninsula was more sparse; the chief centre of population
was the tiny fishing village of Paspebiac. In addition
to these settlements, some of the exiles took up land on
private seigneuries; these, however, were not many, for
the government discouraged the practice, and refused
supplies to all who did not settle on the king's land.
At the present time, of all these Loyalist groups in the
province of Quebec scarce a trace remains: they have all
been swallowed up in the surrounding French population.
The Eastern Townships in the province of Quebec were not
settled by the United Empire Loyalists. In 1783 Sir
Frederick Haldimand set his face like flint against any
attempt on the part of the Loyalists to settle the lands
lying along the Vermont frontier. He feared that a
settlement there would prove a permanent thorn in the
flesh of the Americans, and might lead to much trouble
and friction. He wished that these lands should be left
unsettled for a time, and that, in the end, they should
be settled by French Canadians 'as an antidote to the
restless New England population.' Some of the more daring
Loyalists, in spite of the prohibition of the governor,
ventured to settle on Missisquoi Bay. When the governor
heard of it, he sent orders to the officer commanding at
St Johns that they should be removed as soon as the season
should admit of it; and instructions were given that if
any other Loyalists settled there, their houses were to
be destroyed. By these drastic means the government kept
the Eastern Townships a wilderness until after 1791, when
the townships were granted out in free and common socage,
and American settlers began to flock in. But, as will be
explained, these later settlers have no just claim to
the appellation of United Empire Loyalists.