the canadian dominion-第4章

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e　it　is　necessary　only　to　note　its　bearings　on　the　fate　of　Canada。

*　See　〃The　Eve　of　the　Revolution〃　and　〃Washington　and　His　Comrades　in　Arms〃　（in　〃The　Chronicles　of　America〃）。


Early　in　1775　the　Continental　Congress　undertook　the　conquest　of　Canada；　or；　as　it　was　more　diplomatically　phrased；　the　relief　of　its　inhabitants　from　British　tyranny。　Richard　Montgomery　led　an　expedition　over　the　old　route　by　Lake　Champlain　and　the　Richelieu；　along　which　French　and　Indian　raiding　parties　used　to　pass　years　before；　and　Benedict　Arnold　made　a　daring　and　difficult　march　up　the　Kennebec　and　down　the　Chaudiere　to　Quebec。　Montreal　fell　to　Montgomery；　and　Carleton　himself　escaped　capture　only　by　the　audacity　of　some　French…Canadian　voyageurs；　who；　under　cover　of　darkness；　rowed　his　whaleboat　or　paddled　it　with　their　hands　silently　past　the　American　sentinels　on　the　shore。　Once　down　the　river　and　in　Quebec；　Carleton　threw　himself　with　vigor　and　skill　into　the　defense　of　his　capital。　His　generalship　and　the　natural　strength　of　the　position　proved　more　than　a　match　for　Montgomery　and　Arnold。　Montgomery　was　killed　and　Arnold　wounded　in　a　vain　attempt　to　carry　the　city　by　storm　on　the　last　night　of　1775。　At　Montreal　a　delegation　from　Congress；　composed　of　Benjamin　Franklin；　Samuel　Chase；　and　Charles　Carroll　of　Carrollton；　accompanied　by　Carroll's　brother；　a　Jesuit　priest　and　a　future　archbishop；　failed　to　achieve…more　by　diplomacy　than　their　generals　had　done　by　the　sword。　The　Canadians　seemed；　content　enough　to　wear　the　British　yoke。　In　the　spring；　when　a　British　fleet　arrived　with　reenforcements；　the　American　troops　retired　in　haste　and；　before　the　Declaration　of　Independence　had　been　proclaimed；　Canada　was　free　from　the　last　of　its　ten　thousand　invaders。

The　expedition　had　put　Carleton's　policy　to　the　test。　On　the　whole　it　stood　the　strain。　The　seigneurs　had　rallied　to　the　Government　which　had　restored　their　rights；　and　the　clergy　had　called　on　the　people　to　stand　fast　by　the　King。　So　far　all　went　as　Carleton　had　hoped：　〃The　Noblesse；　Clergy；　and　greater　part　of　the　Bourgeoisie；〃　he　wrote；　〃have　given　Government　every　Assistance　in　their　Power。〃　But　the　habitants　refused　to　follow　their　appointed　leaders　with　the　old　docility；　and　some　even　mobbed　the　seigneurs　who　tried　to　enroll　them。　Ten　years　of　freedom　had　worked　a　democratic　change　in　them；　and　they　were　much　less　enthusiastic　than　their　betters　about　the　restoration　of　seigneurial　privileges。　Carleton；　like　many　another；　had　held　as　public　opinion　what　were　merely　the　opinions　of　those　whom　he　met　at　dinner。　〃These　people　had　been　governed　with　too　loose　a　rein　for　many　years；〃　he　now　wrote　to　Burgoyne；　〃and　had　imbibed　too　much　of　the　American　Spirit　of　Licentiousness　and　Independence　administered　by　a　numerous　and　turbulent　Faction　here；　to　be　suddenly　restored　to　a　proper　and　desirable　Subordination。〃　A　few　of　the　habitants　joined　his　forces；　fewer　joined　the　invaders　or　sold　them　suppliestill　they　grew　suspicious　of　paper　〃Continentals。〃　But　the　majority　held　passively　aloof。　Even　when　France　joined　the　warring　colonies　and　Admiral　d'Estaing　appealed　to　the　Canadians　to　rise；　they　did　not　heed；　though　it　is　difficult　to　say　what　the　result　would　have　been　if　Washington　had　agreed　to　Lafayette's　plan　of　a　joint　French　and　American　invasion　in　1778。

Nova　Scotia　also　held　aloof；　in　spite　of　the　fact　that　many　of　the　men　who　had　come　from　New　England　and　from　Ulster　were　eager　to　join　the　colonies　to　the　south。　In　Nova　Scotia　democracy　was　a　less　hardy　plant　than　in　Massachusetts。　The　town　and　township　institutions；　which　had　been　the　nurseries　of　resistance　in　New　England；　had　not　been　allowed　to　take　root　there。　The　circumstances　of　the　founding　of　Halifax　had　given　ripe　to　a　greater　tendency；　which　lasted　long；　to　lean　upon　the　mother　country。　The　Maine　wilderness　made　intercourse　between　Nova　Scotia　and　New　England　difficult　by　land；　and　the　British　fleet　was　in　control　of　the　sea　until　near　the　close　of　the　war。　Nova　Scotia　stood　by　Great　Britain；　and　was　reserved　to　become　part　of　a　northern　nation　still　in　the　making。

That　nation　was　to　owe　its　separate　existence　to　the　success　of　the　American　Revolution。　But　for　that　event；　coming　when　it　did；　the　struggling　colonies　of　Quebec　and　Nova　Scotia　would　in　time　have　become　merged　with　the　colonies　to　the　youth　and　would　have　followed　them；　whether　they　remained　within　the　British　Empire　or　not。　Thus　it　was　due　to　the　quarrel　between　the　thirteen　colonies　and　the　motherland　that　Canada　did　not　become　merely　a　fourteenth　colony　or　state。　Nor　was　this　the　only　bearing　of　the　Revolution　on　Canada's　destiny。　Thanks　to　the　coming　of　the　Loyalists；　those　exiles　of　the　Revolution　who　settled　in　Canada　in　large　numbers；　Canada　was　after　all　to　be　dominantly　a　land　of　English　speech　and　of　English　sympathies。　By　one　of　the　many　paradoxes　which　mark　the　history　of　Canada；　the　very　success　of　the　plan　which　aimed　to　save　British　power　by　confirming　French…Canadian　nationality　and　the　loyalty　of　the　French　led　in　the　end　to　making　a　large　part　of　Canada　English。　The　Revolution　meant　also　that　for　many　a　year　those　in　authority　in　England　and　in　Canada　itself　were　to　stand　in　fear　of　the　principles　and　institutions　which　had　led　the　old　colonies　to　rebellion　and　separation；　and　were　to　try　to　build　up　in　Canada　buttresses　against　the　advance　of　democracy。

The　British　statesmen　who　helped　to　frame　the　Peace　of　1783　were　men　with　broad　and　generous　views　as　to　the　future　of　the　seceding　colonies　and　their　relations　with　the　mother　country。　It　was　perhaps　inevitable　that　they　should　have　given　less　thought　to　the　future　of　the　colonies　in　America　which　remained　under　the　British　flag。　Few　men　could　realize　at　the　moment　that　out　of　these　scattered　fragments　a　new　nation　and　a　second　empire　would　arise。　Not　only　were　the　seceding　colonies　given　a　share　in　the　fishing　grounds　of　Newfoundland　and　Nova　Scotia；　which　was　unfortunately　to　prove　a　constant　source　of　friction；　but　the　boundary　line　was　drawn　with　no　thought　of　the　need　of　broad　and　easy　communication　between　Nova　Scotia　and　Canada；　much　less　between　Canada　and　the　far　West。　Vague　definitions　of　the　boundaries；　naturally　incident　to　the　prevailing　lack　of　geographical　knowledge　of　the　vast　continent；　held　further　seeds　of　trouble。　These　contentions；　however；　were　far　in　the　future。　At　the　moment　another　defect　of　the　treaty　proved　to　be　Canada's　gain。　The　failure　of　Lord　Shelburne's　Ministry　to　insist　upon　effective　safeguards　for　the　fair　treatment　of　those　who　had　taken　the　King's　side　in　the　old　colonies；　condemned　as　it　was　not　only　by　North　and　the　Tories　but　by　Fox　and　Sheridan　and　Burke；　led　to　that　Loyalist　migration　which　changed　the　racial　complexion　of　Canada。

The　Treaty　of　1783　provided　that　Congress　would　〃earnestly　recommend〃　to　the　various　States　that　the　Loyalists　be　granted　amnesty　and　restitution。　This　pious　resolution　proved　not　worth　the　paper　on　which　it　was　written。　In　State　after　State　the　property　of　the　Loyalists　was　withheld　or　confiscated　anew。　Yet　this　ungenerous　treatment　of　the　defeated　by　the　victors　is　not　hard　to　understand。　The　struggle　had　been　waged　with　all　the　bitterness　of　civil　war。　The　smallness　of　the　field　of　combat　had　intensified　personal　ill…will。　Both　sides　had　practiced　cruelties　in　guerrilla　warfare；　but　the　Patriots　forgot　Marion's　raids；　Simsbury　mines；　and　the　drumhead　hangings；　and　remembered　only　Hessian　brutalities；　Indian　scalpings；　Tarleton's　harryings；　and　the　infamous　prison　ships　of　New　York。　The　war　had　been　a　long　one。　The　tide　of　battle　had　ebbed　and　flowed。　A　district　that　was　Patriot　one　year　was　frequently　Loyalist　the　next。　These　circumstances　engendered　fear　and　suspicion　and　led　to　nervous　reprisals。

At　least　a　third；　if　not　a　half；　of　the　people　of　the　old　colonies　had　been　opposed　to　revolution。　New　York　was　strongly　Loyalist；　with　Pennsylvania；　Georgia；　and　the　Carolinas　closely　following。　In　the　end　some　fifty　or　sixty　thousand　Loyalists　abandoned　their　homes　or　suffered　expulsion　rather　than　submit　to　the　new　order。　They　counted　in　their　ranks　many　of　the　men　who　had　held　first　place　in　their　old　commun