Canada; its Defences, Condition, and Resources / Being a third and concluding volume of "My Diary, North and South"

by Sir William Howard Russell

A well-organised expedition made in winter-time would now be attended with far greater danger than it was in former days, and if the snow remained in good condition, artillery, provisions, and munitions of war could be transported with greater facility than on the ordinary country roads. Quebec would, under these circumstances, be deprived of the co-operation of the fleet; but with the improvement in the defence which would be effected by the erection of a regular work at Point Levi, and by the alterations indicated in the citadel itself, Quebec would be in a position to resist any force the Americans might direct against it, and would have nothing to fear except from regular siege operations, which there was no chance of interrupting or raising. It would be most important to have the feelings of the inhabitants enlisted on our side. I fear there is reason to believe that they are antagonistic to the Americans, rather than violently enamoured of ourselves.

Having enjoyed a view from the Flag-staff Tower, 350 feet above the river, which in summer must be one of the grandest in the world, and which even now was full of interest, my visit to the Citadel was terminated by lunch in the mess-room, and I returned homewards through the city. I was encircled with people enjoying the keen bright air, though the thermometer was twenty degrees below freezing point.

Not the least interesting to me of the people were the habitans in their long robes gathered in round the waist by scarlet or bright-coloured sashes, with long boots, and fur caps, and French faces, chatting in their Old-World French; and the monks, or regular clergy, who moved as beings of another age and world through the more modern types of civilisation—such as fast officers in fast sleighs, and the Anglicised families in their wheelless calèches. I had the honour of an invitation to dine at the club called Stadacona, which is a corruption or modification of Indian words signifying “the site of a strait,” where I met a number of the citizens of Quebec at an excellent substantial dinner, which had far more of English tastes than of French cookery about it. The conversation did not disclose any symptoms of the tendency towards Americanisation which the Northern journals are so fond of attributing to the people of Canada; but it was perceptible that a war with America was regarded as an evil which could only fall on Canada because of her connection with Great Britain, and that Great Britain ought therefore to take a main part in it. The Canadians are proud of the part borne by De Salaberry and others in the former war; but, greatly as the country has advanced, I doubt if there is now such a population of ready, hardy fighting men as then existed: for most of the hunters, lumberers, and nomad half-castes, who cannot be called settlers, have been absorbed in cultivated lands and settled habits. The appointment of British officers to organise and command the volunteers has given offence; and I think it would be advisable, if not necessary, in case of actual war, to let the volunteers choose their officers within certain limits, and to give the authorities corresponding to our lords-lieutenant of counties power to name the commanding officers of corps, under the sanction of the Governor-General.

CHAPTER VIII.

Lower Canada and Ancient France—Soldiers in Garrison at Quebec—Canadian Volunteers—The Governor-General Viscount Monck—Uniform in the United States—A Sleighing Party—Dinner and Calico Ball.

I am afraid that in this Lower Canada just now we do but occupy the position of a garrison. The aspect and the habit of the popular mind are foreign, but they are not French any more—at least modern French; rather are they of an Old-World France—of a France when there was an ancient faith and a son of St. Louis; when there was a white flag blazoned with fleur-de-lys, and a priesthood dominant—a France loyal, chivalrous, and bigoted, without knowledge and without railways, content to stand on ancient paths, and hating reform and active mutation. What a change has occurred since the old Bourbon struck the medal with its inscription, “Francia in Novo Orbe Victrix, Kebeca Liberata. 1690.” There may be many in Canada who cannot forget their origin and their race, kept alive in their memories by a common tongue, ancient traditions, and antipathy to a foreign rule exercised from a far-off land, and sometimes manifested by rude, rough instruments, and by a mechanism of force; but it would be well for them to remember that, whilst France has passed through many convulsions, Canada has been saved from external and internal foes, with the exception of the American invasion in 1812, and the troubles caused by her own disaffected people at a later period, whilst as an appanage of France she must have undergone incessant anxieties and assaults. She has been spared the agonies of the Revolution, the exhaustive glories and collapse of the Empire, the reaction of the “Desired one”—the consequences of the convulsions of 1830, of 1848, of 1852. Great Britain, too, is bound to remember that she is dealing with a brave and ancient race, delivered to her rule under treaty, who have, on the whole, resisted many temptations, and preserved a firm attachment to her government in the face of an aggressive and prosperous Republic. Our soldiers must be taught to respect the people of Canada as their equals and fellow-subjects—a hard lesson perhaps for imperious islanders, but not the less necessary to learn, if we would preserve their attachment and our territories.

In justice to them I must say that the 60th Rifles gave no occasion to the people to complain, though Quebec is not destitute of its “rough” fellows, and of provocations; and that during my stay in Canada I only heard of one instance in which officers or men could be accused of indiscretion or want of respect for the people. Whiskey is shockingly cheap and atrociously bad, and public-houses are only too numerous, so that the base upon which the evils which afflict the soldier rest is not wanting here any more than at home.

A garrison rule must be very galling unless the officers and men are minded to behave themselves, and it would cause me regret if my observations of some regrettable circumstances in that relation were confirmed by larger experience. Of course the peasants are provoking; they are heavy and coarse, relying on their vis inertiæ, and aggressively passive. The other day, for instance, when Lord Monck was leading his sleigh party, several country carts came down from the opposite direction in the deep track, and it was with the utmost difficulty the driver of our party avoided collision with them, as the habitans would not get out of the way. Still one does not like to see young Greenhorn of the Invincibles flicking up the bourgeoisie with his whip as he whisks round a corner, for not getting out of the way. A gallant captain of volunteer artillery complained greatly of matters of this kind, but he also expressed very unreasonable jealousy respecting the appointment of English officers to superintend, and organise, and command the force.

February 11th.—Still more snow falling, and the cold sharper than ever. Visited the Parliament Houses and Library, of which more hereafter; saw the Ursuline Chapel; called on Mr. Cartier, Mr. Macdonald, Mr. Cauchon, and Mr. Galt, members of the Ministry, to whom I had introductions. In the evening dined with the Governor-General and Lady Monck at Government House. Although His Excellency has been but a short time in the country, and succeeded an able, energetic man, he has already gained the confidence of men difficult to win, and gives fair promise of administering the affairs of the provinces with sagacity and vigour. It occurred to me, considering the position of Canada, that, to escape from the consequences of divided views and command, it would be desirable to have the military and civil administration in one hand at critical junctures, or to send out a soldier as Governor-General. To be a good soldier one must be gifted with the faculties which constitute a good ruler, and the civilian can only possess those same qualities minus the special knowledge of the professional military man. Lord Monck, however, has applied himself with ability and zeal to the consideration of the provincial defences.