France and England in North America, Part V: Count Frontenac, New France, Louis XIVParkman, Francis
History
France and England in North America, Part V: Count Frontenac, New France, Louis XIV
Parkman, Francis
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Frontenac, Louis de Buade, comte de, 1620-1698
Having given the principal charges of Duchesneau against Frontenac, it
is time to give those of Frontenac against Duchesneau. The governor says
that all the coureurs de bois would be brought to submission but for the
intendant and his allies, who protect them, and carry on trade by their
means; that the seigniorial house of Duchesneau's partner, La Chesnaye,
is the constant resort of these outlaws; and that he and his associates
have large storehouses at Montreal, Isle St. Paul, and Rivière du Loup,
whence they send goods into the Indian country, in contempt of the
king's orders. [22] Frontenac also complains of numberless provocations
from the intendant. "It is no fault of mine that I am not on good terms
with M. Duchesneau; for I have done every thing I could to that end,
being too submissive to your Majesty's commands not to suppress my
sharpest indignation the moment your will is known to me. But, Sire, it
is not so with him; and his desire to excite new disputes, in the hope
of making me appear their principal author, has been so great that the
last ships were hardly gone, when, forgetting what your Majesty had
enjoined upon us both, he began these dissensions afresh, in spite of
all my precautions. If I depart from my usual reserve in regard to him,
and make bold to ask justice at the hands of your Majesty for the wrongs
and insults I have undergone, it is because nothing but your authority
can keep them within bounds. I have never suffered more in my life than
when I have been made to appear as a man of violence and a disturber of
the officers of justice: for I have always confined myself to what your
Majesty has prescribed; that is, to exhorting them to do their duty when
I saw that they failed in it. This has drawn upon me, both from them and
from M. Duchesneau, such cutting affronts that your Majesty would hardly
credit them." [23]
[22] Mémoire et Preuves du Désordre des Coureurs de Bois.
[23] Frontenac au Roy, 2 Nov., 1681.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account