The Makers of Canada: Champlain

by N.-E. Dionne

The new ambassador could not urge the claims of France with greater activity than his predecessor. During the space of two months, Chateauneuf had prepared five documents relating to Canadian affairs, to which the commissioners appointed to settle the matter had replied on February 11th. These officials were Sir Humphrey May, Sir John Coke, Sir Julius Cæsar, and Sir Henry Martin. Their conclusion regarding Canada was that His Majesty had not changed his mind concerning the restoration of places, vessels and goods taken from the French, according to the first declaration he had made through a memorandum in Latin, communicated some time since to the French ambassador.

Louis XIII was at this time engaged in war with Austria, and Richelieu was too busy to attend to Canadian matters, which were of less importance than the European questions which occupied his time. Interior dissensions were soon added to the trouble which France had to undergo. Gaston, the king's brother, was compromised, and the Duke of Montmorency, who took part in a plot against the king, was seized and put to death.

The negotiations commenced in 1629 were not resumed until 1632. In the meantime the English authorities had not been idle. Charles I had not forgotten his promise, and even if he had, there were men in France who had a good memory. On June 12th, 1631, Charles I addressed a long letter to Sir Isaac Wake, ambassador to France, respecting the restitution of Quebec and Acadia. The terms were as follows:—

"That which we require, which is the payment of the remainder of the money, the restitution of certain ships taken and kept without any colour or pretence, and the taking of arrests and seizures which were made in that kingdom against our subjects contrary to treaty, being of right and due. And that which is demanded of us concerning the places in Canada and those parts, and some few ships of that nation (French) which remained yet unrestored, but have passed sentence of confiscation in our high Court of Admiralty upon good grounds in justice, being things of courtesy and good correspondence."

According to her marriage settlement the Queen Henrietta possessed a dowry of eight hundred thousand crowns, equivalent to eight hundred thousand écus de trois livres, French currency. The half of that sum had been made payable on the day before the marriage in London, and the other half a little later. The marriage took place on June 13th, 1625, and the first instalment was then paid. In the year 1631 the second instalment had not been paid, and Charles I claimed it as one of the conditions of settlement.

Some historians have stated that the king took this opportunity to have a money question solved. If, however, the debt was legitimate, France was obliged to pay it, and the difficulties that had occurred in the meantime had nothing to do with the deed of marriage upon which the claim was based. Chateauneuf had promised to pay the claim. Unless, therefore, there was any doubt as to the right of the king to claim the sum, it is difficult to understand why the king should be blamed.

In his letter to his ambassador at Paris Charles I alludes to documents exchanged between Chateauneuf and Fontenay-Mareuil on the one side, and the lords commissioners appointed to give a ruling. In this document it is noticed that Guillaume de Caën had discussed with Kirke the value of the goods and peltry that had been taken out of the stores at Quebec. They disagreed both as to the number and value. De Caën claimed four thousand two hundred and sixty-six beaver skins which had been captured by Kirke, while Kirke pretended to have found only one thousand seven hundred and thirteen, and that the balance of his cargo, four thousand skins, was the result of trade with the Indians.

According to the books of the English company, Kirke had bought four thousand five hundred and forty beaver skins, four hundred and thirty-two elk skins, and had found in the stores one thousand seven hundred and thirteen beaver skins. The difference in the calculation is due to the fact that the English only mentioned the beaver skins registered in their books, and the French included all the skins which belonged to them when the fort surrendered, making no mention of those that they had taken out of the fort with the permission of the English. Guillaume de Caën valued each skin at twelve pounds ten shillings, and Burlamachi had written from Metz to representatives of the English company, that he had been compelled to accept de Caën's estimates, as under the terms of an Act of Private Council, he was bound to make them good. The king had promised to reimburse de Caën for his losses by the payment of the sum of fourteen thousand three hundred and thirty pounds, of which eight thousand two hundred and seventy pounds were for his peltry and goods, and six thousand and sixty pounds for the vessels which had been captured. David Kirke strongly opposed the payment of this sum on the ground that it was excessive, but the king through his councillors ordered the payment to be made.

Having determined to seize the peltry brought to London from Quebec, the Kirke associates blew off the padlock which had been fixed to the storehouse door by an order of justice. Some time after, when Guillaume de Caën visited the store, accompanied by a member of the company and a constable, he discovered that only three hundred beaver skins and four hundred elk skins remained. Complaint was lodged with the king, who ordered Kirke to return the skins which were missing within three days, on pain of imprisonment or the confiscation of his property. None of the associates of Kirke appear to have obtained the sympathy of the public in that affair.

The English company had suffered a great loss over the transaction, and the king thought that it would be just to grant them some compensation. He therefore appointed two commissioners, Sir Isaac Wake and Burlamachi, to look after the interests of the English company. Their mission was to make an agreement with Guillaume de Caën, who represented the French company. After the exchange of a long correspondence, the king of France agreed to pay to David Kirke the sum of twenty thousand pounds, on the condition that he should restore the fort of Quebec, the contents of the storehouse, the vessel belonging to Emery de Caën, and the peltry seized in Canada.