[Sidenote: Carleton urges the upkeep of strong forts in North America.] [Sidenote: Carleton’s policy: (1) adequate defences and garrisons: (2) attachment of the Canadians to the British Crown especially by giving them employment under the government.] Years before, shortly after taking over the administration of Canada, Carleton had called attention to the dilapidated condition of these forts. In a letter, dated the 15th of February, 1767,[58] he wrote to General Gage, then Commander-in-Chief in North America--‘the forts of Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and Fort George are in a very declining condition, of which, I believe, your Excellency is well informed. Should you approve of keeping up these posts, it will be best to repair them as soon as possible.’ The letter went on to suggest that, in addition to repairing the forts in question, there should be ‘a proper place of arms near the town of New York and a citadel in or near the town of Quebec’, the object being to secure communication with the mother country and to link the two provinces together. Written in view of ‘the state of affairs on this continent’, the letter was statesmanlike and farseeing in a high degree. The writer argued that ‘the natural and political situation of the provinces of Quebec and New York is such as must for ever give them great influence and weight in the American system’. He pleaded, therefore, for strong forts at Quebec and New York, and strong posts on the line between New York and Canada. Thus, in the event of war breaking out, the King’s magazines would be kept secure, the northern colonies would be separated from the southern, and delay in transport and difficulty of communication, so dangerous, especially in the early stages of a war, would be averted. In the years which preceded the War of American Independence, Carleton had constantly in view the twofold contingency of war with France and war with the British colonies in America; and there were two cardinal points in his policy, which he never ceased to impress upon the Home Government, on the one hand the necessity for adequate military forces, and adequate forts in America, on the other the necessity for taking such steps as would attach the Canadians to the British Crown.