III. THE MONTREAL COMPLAINTS HAVE A RESULT—THE REARRANGEMENT OF THE POSITIONS OF HONOUR IN THE SOVEREIGN COUNCIL—THE GOVERNOR AND THE INTENDANT, DUCHESNEAU—RIVAL FACTIONS—CENTRALIZATION AND HOME RULE THE CAUSE OF FRENCH FAILURE IN CANADA—PERROT MADE GOVERNOR OF ACADIA.
We have now to consider the fortunes of Montreal under the reign of Frontenac, as governor general, and M. Perrot, as local governor. Louis de Buade, Count de Pallua et de Frontenac, arrived in Canada in September of 1672, whereas M. Perrot had been in Montreal since 1670 as governor, by the goodwill of the seigneurs, and by the letters patent of March 14, 1671, he held the rank also by royal commission. He considered himself in a strong position, but Frontenac was also a strong man, and when the clash came in the autumn of next year, the old opposition of Quebec and Montreal was renewed. Both antagonists had powerful protectors at court. Unfortunately Perrot's character was haughty and violent, and his unworthy attempts to enrich himself by engaging in the nefarious liquor trade, leaves us unable to sympathize with his case, as we did with that of the gentle and single-minded de Maisonneuve. To illustrate this, Perrot, as governor of Montreal, could not openly engage in the trade, yet he chose a situation on an island given to him by Talon as his seigneury and named after him, "Ile Perrot," lying at the toe of Montreal, between the seigneuries of Bellevue and Vaudreuil and at the western end of Lake St. Louis, an excellent spot for a receiving station for peltry from the Indians, descending from above. There, he placed a former lieutenant of his company, Antoine de Fresnay, Sieur de Brucy, who acted as his agent and gave protection to the deserting volontaires now illegally becoming coureurs de bois, who were growing numerous around Montreal and were being more or less openly encouraged by the local government. These were given liquor and merchandise in exchange for the products of their hunting expeditions. The consequence was that frequent disorders occurred through their irregularities.
A delegation consisting of the foremost citizens called on M. Perrot, respectfully remonstrating on this situation. Among them were Migeon de Branssat, Charles Le Moyne, Picoté de Bélestre, Jacques Leber, and Vincent de Hautmesnil. The haughty governor received them with insult and he imprisoned their spokesman, Migeon de Branssat, who as procureur fiscal was acting as judge in place of M. d'Ailleboust, then absent. "I am not like M. de Maisonneuve," said he, "I know how to keep you in your proper places." Next day, Dollier de Casson as a representative of the seigneurs expostulated at such imprisonment, especially as the course of justice was being held up; but to no avail at the moment. Perrot was governor by royal commission, and he meant to show it. Eventually, however, the procureur fiscal was freed and the court sittings continued.
It will be remembered that Marie François Perrot had espoused Madeleine de La Guide, niece of Talon, and under the régimes of Courcelles and his uncle, Talon, the illicit commerce had either passed unperceived or authority had closed its eyes. But he was to meet his match under the new government.
Let us now turn to Frontenac, who was soon to cross swords with Perrot of Montreal. The new governor general, now a man of fifty, having been born in 1622, was a very complex character with high qualities and serious defects. He was every inch a Gascon, a boastful talker, an exaggerator, fond of posing and a little of a bully. Yet he could be gay, was a lover of a good table, a man of the world, brilliant, communicative, and generous with his friends, as he was haughty and distant with those he disliked.
STATUE OF FRONTENAC
(By Philippe Hébert)
From the age of fifteen he followed camp life, serving at first under Maurice, Prince of Orange, and his reputation for bravery was sound. He was placed at the head of a Norman regiment and distinguished himself in Flanders, Germany and Italy; at the battle of Orvietto he broke his arm. In 1664, while at St. Gothard, Turenne sent him to fight against the Turks, to the Island of Candia, whence he returned to Paris, covered with glory. He rose to the rank of a maréchal de camp or brigadier general. His married life was not too domestic. Himself, the godchild of Louis XIII, his father being the chief majordomo and captain of the Château de St. Germain-en-Laye, he married the daughter of one of his neighbours in Paris, Lagrange Trianon, a master of accounts. Madame de Frontenac was handsome, gallant, witty, fond of high society, imperious, and very independent. In these qualities, she resembled monsieur and after a time Frontenac found warring more to his taste than the fireside, and madame lived with Mademoiselle Montpensier, and together these two "divines" held a kind of court of their own in their "apartment," in which they set the tone for the best society of Paris. It was, therefore, no doubt through her influence, combined with his services as a distinguished soldier to the king, that the office of governor general of Canada was secured for him, to help him in his poverty.
As a governor he had high gifts of administration; according to Charlevoix, "his work and his capacity were equal; ... his views for the development of the country were great and just." He knew how to maintain his position, and even to gain the affection of those he ruled, especially the Indians. But he was absolute, dominating, despotic, violent, headstrong, ambitious, jealous, choleric and impatient of opposition. He also came full of prejudice against the clergy and especially the Jesuits.