Before the arrival of Sir James Craig, Brock wrote that voluntary offers of service had been made by numbers of the inhabitants to form themselves into corps of cavalry, artillery and infantry, at little or no expense to government if they were furnished with arms, but these offers had not been encouraged by President Dunn. The fact was, as the minutes of council show, there were no means at the disposal of the executive for equipping, arming, and paying troops. The militia, when embodied, were entitled to receive the same pay and allowance as the king's troops. The minute of council reads:--"No funds for this purpose are at the disposal of the civil government, but have invariably been provided by the commander-in-chief of the forces. The civil government is not by law authorized to provide for the furnishing of carts or horses for works as proposed." {97} At this time Lieutenant-Governor Gore had been supplied with four thousand muskets from the king's arsenal at Quebec, and with various military stores. This left at Quebec only seven thousand muskets for the militia of Lower Canada. As to the temper of the militia of the province, Brock says in a letter to his friend, Colonel Gordon: "The Canadians have unquestionably shown a great willingness upon this occasion to be trained, and I make not the least doubt, would oppose with vigour any invasion of the Americans. How far the same sentiments would actuate them were a French force to join I will not undertake to say; at any rate I feel that every consideration of prudence and policy ought to determine me to keep in Quebec a sufficient force to secure its safety. The number of troops that could be detached would be small, notwithstanding a great deal might be done, in conjunction with the militia, in a country intersected in every direction by rivers, deep ravines, and lined at intervals on both sides of the roads by thick woods." [Sidenote: Volunteers of Glengarry] Another proposal to raise a volunteer corps among the Scottish settlers of Glengarry had been made by Colonel John Macdonell. This was forwarded by Brock to the secretary of state. Brock strongly advocated the formation of the corps, as he said at that time there were only three hundred militia trained to arms in both the Canadas. He also advocated the appointment of the Rev. Alexander {98} Macdonell as chaplain of the corps. The men were all Highland Catholics, and were very much attached to him. He had acted as the chaplain of the Glengarry Fencibles during the rebellion in Ireland in 1796, who had emigrated to Canada under his leadership in 1803, and had settled in the eastern district of Upper Canada. Brock thought the corps would be soon completed and would form a nursery from which the army might draw a number of hardy recruits. It was some time, however, before this was done.