OLD QUEBEC
Cape Diamond, or the rock of Quebec, rises sheer from the river St.
Lawrence to a height of three hundred and forty-five feet. The
citadel on its highest point presented in the beginning of the
nineteenth century a formidable combination of powerful works, whence
a strong wall, supported by small batteries in different places, ran
to the edge of the precipice, along which it was continued to the
gateway leading to the Lower Town. This gateway was defended by
heavy cannon, and the approach to it, up Mountain Street, was both
enfiladed and flanked by many guns of large calibre. Thence a line
of defence connected with the grand battery, a work of great
strength, armed with a formidable train of 24-pounders, and
commanding the basin and passage of the river, which was here
eighteen hundred and thirty-seven yards broad. From the battery
another line was carried on beyond the Hope and Palace Gates, both of
which were protected by similar defences to those of the Lower Town
Gate until the line formed a junction with the bastion of the Côteau
de Palais.[1] In the Lower Town, on the west side of {90} St.
Nicholas Street, were, in 1808, the ruins of the intendant's palace,
once of much importance. In 1775 its ruin was completed, for when
the Americans under Arnold blockaded the city, they established a
body of troops in it, but were dislodged from their quarters by
shells, which set it on fire and nearly consumed it.
The Castle of St. Louis was of stone, built near the edge of the
precipice about a hundred feet below the summit of the cape, and two
hundred and fifty feet above the river. It was supported towards the
steep side by a solid work of masonry, rising nearly half the height
of the edifice, and was surrounded by a spacious gallery which gave a
most commanding view of the river and surrounding country. The
Château was a hundred and sixty-two feet long, forty-five feet broad,
and three stories high. In the direction of the cape it had the
appearance of being much more lofty. It was built shortly after
Quebec was fortified in 1721, but was neglected for a number of
years, suffered to go to decay, and had long ceased to be the
residence of the governor-general. At the time when Brock was
commandant it was used only for government offices, but in 1808
parliament passed a resolution for repairing and beautifying it, and
seven thousand pounds were voted for the purpose. An additional sum
of seven thousand pounds was, however, required to complete the work.
[Sidenote: Sir James Craig]
Sir James Craig was the first who occupied it {91} after its
restoration. It was in October, 1807, that this veteran officer
arrived in Canada as governor-general and commander-in-chief. He was
then about fifty-eight years of age, and had been constantly on
service since the age of fifteen, when he entered the army. He had
served in Canada in 1775 during the invasion of Montgomery and
Arnold, and had been in command of the troops that had pursued the
Americans in their disastrous retreat. He had been engaged
afterwards under Burgoyne throughout his unfortunate campaign, and in
the after events of the Revolutionary War. In 1794 he became a
major-general, and was, the following year, at the capture of the
Cape of Good Hope. He then did good service in India, and was
promoted to be lieutenant-general in 1801. In 1802 he was placed in
charge of the eastern district in England, and in 1805 was sent to
the Mediterranean, where his health broke down. Believing that he
had recovered he accepted the position of governor-general of Canada.
In many respects it was an unfortunate appointment, for, experienced
as he was in military affairs, he was lacking in tact and political
knowledge, and he came to the country prejudiced to an unreasonable
extent against the majority of the people he had come to govern. He
had an utter disbelief in the loyalty of the French Canadians, and
his treatment of them bore bitter fruit in after years. It was owing
partly to his mistaken policy that the misunderstandings and
ill-feeling arose {92} which led ultimately to the rebellion of 1837.
His views were strengthened by the hitherto veiled opinions of most
of the official class in Quebec, and the constant daily machinations
of Ryland, who filled again, as in preceding administrations, the
post of private secretary to the governor, and clerk of the council.
Ryland was certainly not a very suitable secretary for the governor
of a country whose inhabitants were largely French and Catholic. In
one of his letters the secretary wrote that he despised and hated the
Catholic religion, for it degraded and embruted human reason, and
became the curse of every country wherein it existed. His pet
scheme, to which he tried to commit the governor, was to break the
power of the Roman Catholic church by taking away its endowments, and
by making the priesthood dependent on executive authority.
[Sidenote: The newspapers]
Late in 1806 a newspaper named _Le Canadien_ had made its appearance
in Quebec. It was published in French, and bore for its motto: "_Nos
institutions, noire langue, et nos lois._" There was little or no
antagonism between the French and English inhabitants of the province
when it was founded, and its constitution simply claimed the freedom
of British subjects, or in its own language, "_La liberté (d'un
Anglais, qui est à présent cellet d'un Canadien._" The newspaper,
however, appealed to race prejudices. It was the organ of the
majority of the legislative assembly, and claimed for that assembly
{93} a power that was not given to it by the constitution. The
Quebec _Gazette_, the Quebec _Mercury_, and the Montreal _Gazette_
had hitherto been the only newspapers in the province, and the
editors of all had fallen under the displeasure of the assembly,
which had ordered the publisher of the latter to be arrested, while
the editor of the _Mercury_ only escaped incarceration by offering an
apology. The offence was that these journals had censured the vote
of the majority of the popular assembly on a jail tax, which was then
a burning question. It was little wonder that the wrath of the
Gallo-Canadians was roused, for in one of its articles the _Mercury_
thus expressed its opinion: "This province is far too French for a
British colony. Whether we be in a state of peace or war, it is
absolutely necessary that we exert all our efforts, by every avowable
means, to oppose the increase of the French and the augmentation of
their influence. After forty-seven years possession, it is now
fitting that the province become truly British."
Sir James Craig's first duty on his arrival was, of course, to
consider the defence of Canada, for the hostile feeling in the United
States was still growing, and had been increased by the
orders-in-council that England had passed in November in retaliation
for the Berlin decrees. These orders refused to neutrals the right
of trading from one hostile port to another, and bore heavily upon
the profitable carrying trade of the United States.
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Before Sir James Craig's arrival, Brock had petitioned the government
for the means to place the fortifications of Quebec in what he
considered a proper condition. He said he would require from six
hundred to one thousand men every day for six weeks or two months to
complete the defences. From the correspondence it is shown that the
president-in-council considered that embodying the militia according
to law was all that the civil government could undertake to do.
Brock wrote to Colonel Gordon on September 6th, 1807, that he was
expecting hostilities to break out at any moment, and that President
Dunn had taken no precautionary measures except to order one-fifth of
the militia--about ten thousand men--to be in readiness to march on
the shortest notice. In spite of the lack of coöperation on the part
of the government, repairs and additions had been made to the
fortifications under Colonel Brock's superintendence. Amongst other
things, he had caused a battery of eight 36-pounders to be raised
sixteen feet upon the "cavalier" in the centre of the citadel, so as
to command the opposite heights. This was known at first as "Brock's
Battery," but the name was afterwards altered by Sir James Craig to
"King's Battery." "Thinking," as Brock good-humouredly writes to his
brother, "that anything so very preëminent should be distinguished by
the most exalted appellation--the greatest compliment that he could
pay my judgment."
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[Sidenote: Military service]
Volunteering was going on with spirit as the following letter from
Brock to his friend James Cuthbert, of Berthier,[2] shows. He writes
October 12th, 1807:--"You may well suppose that the principal subject
of conversation at headquarters is the military state of the country.
I have been careful, in justice to you, to mention to Sir James Craig
the public spirit you have manifested in forming a company from among
the inhabitants of your seigniory, without the least pecuniary or
other assistance from government. You must be aware that in any
future general arrangement it will become an essential object with
government to secure a more substantial hold on the service of the
{96} men than their mere promise, and as it is intended to give every
possible latitude to their prejudices, and to study in everything
their convenience, it is thought no regulation to that effect can
operate to diminish the number of voluntary offers. As you have been
the first to set such a laudable example, Sir James thinks it but
just that Berthier should take the lead in any new project he may
adopt, and he desires me to ask your opinion in regard to the
following points." Then followed the proposals of government with
regard to arms, clothing and pay, and the rank of the officers.
Before the arrival of Sir James Craig, Brock wrote that voluntary
offers of service had been made by numbers of the inhabitants to form
themselves into corps of cavalry, artillery and infantry, at little
or no expense to government if they were furnished with arms, but
these offers had not been encouraged by President Dunn. The fact
was, as the minutes of council show, there were no means at the
disposal of the executive for equipping, arming, and paying troops.
The militia, when embodied, were entitled to receive the same pay and
allowance as the king's troops. The minute of council reads:--"No
funds for this purpose are at the disposal of the civil government,
but have invariably been provided by the commander-in-chief of the
forces. The civil government is not by law authorized to provide for
the furnishing of carts or horses for works as proposed."
{97}
At this time Lieutenant-Governor Gore had been supplied with four
thousand muskets from the king's arsenal at Quebec, and with various
military stores. This left at Quebec only seven thousand muskets for
the militia of Lower Canada. As to the temper of the militia of the
province, Brock says in a letter to his friend, Colonel Gordon: "The
Canadians have unquestionably shown a great willingness upon this
occasion to be trained, and I make not the least doubt, would oppose
with vigour any invasion of the Americans. How far the same
sentiments would actuate them were a French force to join I will not
undertake to say; at any rate I feel that every consideration of
prudence and policy ought to determine me to keep in Quebec a
sufficient force to secure its safety. The number of troops that
could be detached would be small, notwithstanding a great deal might
be done, in conjunction with the militia, in a country intersected in
every direction by rivers, deep ravines, and lined at intervals on
both sides of the roads by thick woods."
[Sidenote: Volunteers of Glengarry]
Another proposal to raise a volunteer corps among the Scottish
settlers of Glengarry had been made by Colonel John Macdonell. This
was forwarded by Brock to the secretary of state. Brock strongly
advocated the formation of the corps, as he said at that time there
were only three hundred militia trained to arms in both the Canadas.
He also advocated the appointment of the Rev. Alexander {98}
Macdonell as chaplain of the corps. The men were all Highland
Catholics, and were very much attached to him. He had acted as the
chaplain of the Glengarry Fencibles during the rebellion in Ireland
in 1796, who had emigrated to Canada under his leadership in 1803,
and had settled in the eastern district of Upper Canada. Brock
thought the corps would be soon completed and would form a nursery
from which the army might draw a number of hardy recruits. It was
some time, however, before this was done.
At the close of the year 1807, there was a feeling of greater
security in Canada, for public feeling in the states had calmed.
Brock writes on December 13th, to his friend Ross Cuthbert:--"You
will do me the justice to believe that I did not lose a moment in
laying the clear and satisfactory statement you sent me of the
constitution and character of the volunteer company under your
command before the governor. That something will shortly be done
there is no doubt, although the prevailing idea here is against a war
with our neighbours. People imagine the Americans will not dare to
engage in the contest, but as I consider their councils to be
directed solely by French influence, it is impossible to say where it
will lead them."
The French influence feared by Brock was still further to be
exercised the following year, when Napoleon, by every means in his
power, endeavoured to force on a war between the United States and
Great Britain.
[1] Bouchette's "Topography of Canada."
[2] The James Ross Cuthbert of this letter was the son of the Hon.
James Cuthbert who had served in the navy as lieutenant of the
flagship at the siege of Carthagena, in 1721. He afterwards entered
the 42nd Regiment on its formation. He was present in the 15th
Regiment at the capture of Louisbourg and served under Wolfe at
Quebec, carrying to England the despatches of Brigadier-General
Murray to whom he was aide-de-camp.
After the conquest, having left the army and become a settler in
Canada, he was appointed by Lord Dorchester one of the members of the
first legislative council. In the invasion of 1775, he was
particularly active in visiting the American camp at Sorel, was taken
prisoner by the Americans and sent in irons to Albany. During his
absence they burned his manor house and destroyed his property. His
son, James Ross Cuthbert, married an American, a daughter of Doctor
Rush, of Philadelphia. A sister of this lady was married to a
Captain Manners of the 49th.
Brock writes of them both to his sister-in-law in England, begging
her to call on Mrs. Manners, who was then living at Barnet. He says,
"Her sister Mrs. Ross Cuthbert, a charming little creature, makes her
husband, (my most intimate friend and with whom I pass a great part
of my leisure hours) a most happy man."
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