When Montcalm went to Quebec in September after the victory of William Henry he tells us that he found the air of the town "very commercial and stock jobbing." It was the time of the year when the card money was exchanged for letters of exchange on the treasurer of the marine department in France. The same activity would therefore be engaging Montreal. From September 1st to September 20th the people were bringing in to the treasurer the card money and the money orders which, besides the current coinage, which was very scarce, constituted the monetary system of the colony. The card money, created by the Intendant de Meulles, was equivalent to our bills on the government of Canada. But with the increase of the public expenditures, it was thought fit to have recourse to another instrument of exchange, and the intendants had sent out, under their sole signatures, "ordonnances" bearing an order number and an indication of their nominal value, inscribed in figures and in writing. These cards and ordonnances had currency only in the limits of Canada. It was necessary, therefore, that they should be transformed into other values, for commercial needs of importation and the financial relations between the colony and France. Thus, every autumn the treasurer exchanged them for paper negotiable outside the country. From the 1st of September to the 20th he gave "bonds" or their equivalent, and these were taken from the 1st of October to the 20th to the bureaux of the intendant, who gave in return the letters of exchange on the marine deparment of France. Thus the colony paid its bill to the mother country. The system worked well till 1753. But afterwards, owing to the deplorable financial conditions and the growing expenditures in Canada, the ministers adopted a system of delayed payments in three terms. Montcalm, in his journal, alludes to this practice. "The intendant regulates the terms of payments. Last year they were made payable during the year in three payments. This year they are made payable in three years, viz., a quarter in 1758, a half in 1759, and another quarter in 1760." [205]
In the middle of October, news came to the garrison of Montreal by an open letter of Montcalm on October 14th, sent through de Lévis, to the lieutenant colonels of his regiments, of the retrenchments ordered in the food supplies owing to the harvests having been ruined by frosts and rains that year, and to the provisions expected from France not having been sent through error. "We are about to find ourselves," ended the letter in an eloquent and soldierly appeal, "in most critical circumstances for want of good supplies. We are in need of bread this year; the means that they are about taking to supply it will make us in need of meat next year. Whatever difficulties the troops in the country experience in living with the habitants, their soldiers will have less to complain of than will those who are in the town garrisons. The times are going to be harder than at Prague in certain respects. I am, at the same time, persuaded that this is going to be the finest opportunity of glory for the land troops, as I am sure, in advance, that they will lend themselves to it entirely in the best taste, and that we shall hear no complaints or jeremiads on the rarity of supplies, seeing there is no remedy. Thus we are ready to give the example of frugality necessary by the retrenchment of our table fare and expenses, and I venture to say that that officer, who in place of priding himself on his good cheer, on spending and entertaining, like every French officer accustomed to notions of rank and liberality, will live the most meanly, will give the surest marks of his love for his country, for the king's service, and will be worthy of the greatest praise."
This letter, which did honour to the general, was written in consequence of a meeting called in Quebec on October 13th by Vaudreuil, at which Montcalm, Bigot, Péan and the commissary general, Cadet, were present to consider the terrible question of failing provisions. The Intendant Bigot submitted an exposé of the situation. The commissariat department contained only 1,500 quarts of flour; the quests in the southern districts had only returned 2,000 hundredweights; the government of Montreal could only furnish 600, to that of Quebec.
It was then decided that, commencing from November 1st, each soldier would receive the following rations every eight days: a half pound of bread every day, and a quarter pound of peas, six pounds of beef and two pounds of codfish for the eight days. In December they would begin to be given horseflesh—this to continue in January and February; pork was to be kept for the autumn. Montcalm made several judicious propositions, one being that soldiers should be dispersed into those villages where none were as yet quartered, and that the example of frugality, and retrenchment should be immediately set by himself, the governor general, the intendant and the others. This self-denying ordinance was at once generously acted upon. Writing to de Lévis next day, enclosing the open letter as above, Montcalm, speaking of the new régime of retrenchment, says: "All the colony applauds; the intendant not so much. He loves display."
Yet, sad to relate, in spite of these noble resolutions, the gayeties among the rulers of the colony, were soon revived at Quebec, while misery and famine were gnawing at the vitals of the common people. Bigot continued giving his luxurious receptions; music, sumptuous fêtes, dances and balls, illicit amours and gaming, went on fast and furiously in his house, with Vaudreuil complacently assisting. Even Montcalm was present at the great banquets and lost his money at the gaming tables like the rest. Many of his officers were becoming ruined. At times he would get qualms of conscience and he would write in his journal: "We are amusing ourselves and thinking of nothing; all is going and will go to the devil!" Again: "In spite of the public misery, balls and fearful gaming!" Then he would write to the batallions that if they played in any but the privileged houses (such as those of the intendant "out of the consideration due to him") he would punish them, adding that even in this case, he would expect them to play discreetly. Then he would make a resolution only to go to the intendant's house in the morning. "The tone of decency, of polite manners, of good society is banished from the home where it ought to be." Yet he frequented the house of Bigot and that of his paramour, La Péan, as at Montreal de Lévis was the constant visitor of Madame Pénisseault.
Meanwhile misery reigned in the colony. The people in Quebec continued to have no bread. In the country places wheat was rare, and an ordinance was passed to prevent the inhabitants from milling the grain necessary for seeding purposes.
From October 19th the rations of the troops had been reduced to a pound of bread, a quarter pound of pork and four ounces of peas. On November 1st, they were further reduced. Finally in December the troops and the people had to eat horseflesh. At Montreal when the first distribution of this was made it was perceived that a revolt was fermenting among them and that they had been incited by the people to make resistance. Being warned that the soldiers were refusing the rations and were leaving the canteen, de Lévis ran thither, ordered the company to be reassembled and in their presence made them cut some horseflesh for himself and commanded the grenadiers also to take some. These wished to make some representations, but he checked them, enjoining on them obedience and threatening to hang the first man that flinched, adding that he would listen to them after the distribution.
The grenadiers, thus subdued, took their meat and their example was followed by all the companies. Then they had the liberty to air their grievances. After having listened to them, de Lévis harangued them, disabusing them of the popular prejudice being aroused against horseflesh. "Horse meat was a healthy dish; that it was often eaten in besieged towns; that he would have an eye to it that the animals slaughtered should be in good condition; that he himself dined on it daily; [206] that the land troops ought to give a good example, etc." There were no more difficulties. They seem even to have taken to the dish, according to the following incident related in de Lévis' journal: "On 'the day of the Kings' (January 6), 1758, eight grenadiers of the Béarn regiment brought M. de Lévis a dish of horse meat prepared in their own fashion, which was very good. The chevalier made them sit down and dine, and ordered them some wine and two dishes of horse prepared by his own cooks, who proved to be not as good as theirs. In addition he gave them four louis, so that the company should celebrate the feast and drink to his health."
The ladies of Montreal were among the first to stir up resistance. When the first partial substitution of horseflesh for beef was made, they trouped tumultuously to the doors of the Château Vaudreuil. The governor allowed four of them to enter and asked them what they wanted. They replied that they wanted bread. Vaudreuil told them that he had none to give them; that even the troops were on short rations, but that he was going to kill horses and cattle to assist the poor in this time of misery. They replied that horseflesh was repugnant to them; that the horse was the friend of man; that religion forbade it to be killed, and that they would rather die than eat it. The governor then told them that this was mere nonsense; that horse was good meat, and he dismissed them, affirming that if they created any more disturbance he would put them in prison and hang half of them.
Thus was the "hunger strike" of 1757 dealt with.