1766] SIR GUY CARLETON. 191 CHAPTER V. Sir Guy Carleton, subsequently raised to the peerage as lord Dorchester, will always retain the first rank in Canadian annals. He was one of those rare men who, during a long and varied public life, lived so utterly irreproachably, that his memory remains untainted by the charge of a semblance of a vice. His career likewise furnishes one of the many proofs that there are duties to be undertaken, which give neither renown nor fame, but which exercise the greatest influence on human happiness and prosperity. The development of the resources of a country, and the establishment of laws by which personal liberty is secured and the rights of property justly maintained, are often effected so unobtrusively and with such little personal distinction, that the merit of the principal instrument in their introduction is soon forgotten.* It is under this aspect his character is to be considered, independently of his military reputation. He found Canada convulsed by an active minority, intent on attaining their purpose, which gained strength from the troubles which were agitating the old provinces, and was moreover sustained in the mother country by the political sympathy which failed to regard but one side of the problem. The more the opposition which Carleton experienced and his adherence to the principles he had formed for the discharge of his duties are considered, the more his moderation, ability and sense of justice become apparent, for his name ever to be remem Adam Smith draws attention to the distinction between "executing a work of splendour and magnificence . . seen by the principal nobility whose applauses flatter vanity and contribute to support interest at court, and the quiet patriotism which executes a great number of little works" in which nothing can be done to make any appearance, or excite the smallest degree of admiration, and which, “in short, have nothing to recommend them but their extreme utility." Inquiry, &c., book V., part III., Ed. 1874, p. 572. bered in the first rank of the able men who preserved Canada to British rule. The third son of a general in the army, also sir Guy Carleton of Newry, in the county Down, Ireland, he was born in 1724, so that he had scarcely reached middle age. He entered the guards at an early age and remained in that regiment until 1748, when he was promoted to a lieutenancy in the 72nd foot. On the breaking out of the war, he accompanied the British force to Germany, where he attracted attention by his gallantry and conduct. He was a good linguist and spoke French and German with ease. He early formed a friendship with Wolfe. In 1752 the latter, then a lieutenantcolonel, speaks of him as "my friend Carleton."' He accompanied Wolfe's expedition to Quebec as quartermaster-general. During the operations of the preceding May, when admiral Durell was ordered to the île aux Coudres, in the Saint Lawrence, to prevent any attempt at the defence of "the traverse," Carleton, in command of two hundred and fifty men, was placed in command of the land operations.† Finding the engineers present "indifferent and of little experience," in the movements before Quebec, Wolfe entirely relied upon Carleton as the principal engineer officer, although his rank * In January Wolfe writes to his mother: "The Duke of Richmond is to have a company in lord Bury's regiment; he wants some skilful man to travel with him through the fortified towns of the Low Countries and Loraine. I have proposed my friend Carleton, whom Lord Albemarle approves of." [Wright's Wolfe, p. 251.] Carleton was selected for the duty. On Wolfe's appointment as a brigadier in the expedition against Cape Breton, he asked for the appointment of Carleton upon his staff, which the king refused, as Wolfe states, to his own very great grief and disappointment, and with circumstances extremely unpleasant to him. Carleton was sent to join the army of the celebrated Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and Wolfe wrote to lord George Germaine, at the time lord George Sackville, that Amherst "would tell his opinion of Carleton, by which you will probably be better convinced of our loss." When Wolfe sailed on the Cape Breton expedition, in order to meet any contingency arising from his death, in his will he appointed Carleton as one of those who should attend to his affairs. At the latter end of the same year when appointed to the command against Quebec, the difficulty in the appointment of Carleton again presented itself, but it was finally removed.-[Ante, vol. IV., p. 224.] + Ante, vol. IV., p. 232. 1766] CARLETON'S SERVICES, 193 was that of quartermaster-general. Carleton was placed in command of the expedition against Point aux Trembles, which was so successfully conducted that he brought away sixty prisoners.* Throughout the whole operations he played a prominent part, always with ability and judgment, and on the memorable 13th of September, when Wolfe fell, Carleton was also wounded. He was one of the executors of Wolfe's will, who left him £1,000. He remained behind with the garrison of Quebec the winter of 1759-1760, and on de Levis' desperate attempt on the 28th of April to regain possession, Carleton formed one of the British force, which under Murray marched out from their intrenchments to meet him. He was present as a brigadier in the expedition against Belle-isle, the last effort of Pitt's power. In 1762 he obtained the rank of colonel and proceeded to the Havanna. As quartermastergeneral, he took part in the siege under the earl of Albemarle. In an attack upon the Spanish redoubt upon Moro Hill, he carried the post and was seriously wounded. The peace for a time closed his active career, and we do not again hear of him until his appointment as lieutenant-governor of Canada. Carleton arrived at Quebec on the 23rd of September, 1766, and was sworn in the following day. He had been appointed the previous 7th of April, to exercise the functions of the office only in case of the death, or absence of the governor-in-chief. Colonel Æmilius Irving had consequently acted as administrator of the government from the 30th of June to the above date, a few days within three months. It was not until the 25th of October, 1769, that Carleton became governor-in-chief. Several addresses were presented to him on his arrival, from the council, the magistrates, the merchants and traders of Quebec and Montreal; they were all equally complimentary. That of the council stated, that the union of the chief military. command with that of the highest civil authority would be fruitful of good. Carleton replied that there would be no class distinctions acted upon, the one difference being between good Ante, vol. IV., p. 247. + He was also executor to Mrs. Wolfe, who died in 1764. men and bad. The merchants complained that trade was languishing, and asked that an impulse might be given to it. All the addresses expressed confidence in Carleton's experience and patriotism, and were answered with equal courtesy. As The first duty incumbent upon the new governor was, so far as he was able, to quiet public feeling on the subject of the future government of the new province. There was dissatisfaction in all quarters. The arrogant demands of the English speaking minority had awakened a corresponding restlessness in the leaders of the French Canadians. They willingly accepted English criminal law, but called for the retention of their French civil law and custom, without modification. is often the case, there was a general feeling that the more that was demanded the more would be obtained. Nor was Carleton encouraged to look for assistance from his council, as an event which took place a few weeks after his arrival forcibly suggested. In order to discuss some pressing question, Carleton summoned two or three members, only, to attend, upon which those who had not been called upon remonstrated against the proceeding. The leader of the movement was Mabane: he had arrived in Canada as a surgeon's mate, and for some years had occupied prominent positions. Mabane was sustained by Cuthbert, who had established himself at Berthier, Walter Murray, described by Carleton as a “strolling player," and Mounier, represented as "an honest trader who knows little of our language or manners and will sign anything." The paper was also signed by colonel Irving. The remonstrance set forth that the bad consequences which might arise from the practice were manifold, but as colonel Irving had explained that it was by accident, not intention, it had taken place, it was needless to enumerate them. The purport of their paper was really, that the members of the council considered themselves irremovable except by the sovereign, the council forming with the governor an indivisible executive. Carleton was the last man to be dictated to under such circumstances; he immediately replied that there had been no accident in the matter, and gave his reasons 1766] JESUIT PETITION. 195 for acting as he had done. He claimed the right in special cases of calling upon the members best qualified to give him the information which he required; moreover, that he should ask the opinion of persons not of the council, of good judgment, truth and justice, who, he saw, were impressed with a sense of their duty to the state. He informed them likewise that the council now consisted of twelve members, those appointed by the king having precedence over those nominated by general Murray. What the province now required was tranquillity and peace. * A petition of the jesuits had been addressed to Lord Shelburne in November, asking for the restitution of their property, that their services for the education of youth should. be recognized and permitted, and indemnification made for the losses they had suffered. A copy was sent to Carleton, who wrote upon the subject, and explained that Murray had given a dinner to the clergy, and had read the paragraph of lord Egremont's letter of the 13th of August, 1763, in which he had been instructed to treat the hierarchy firmly, without exciting unnecessary alarm or disgust, and that the opinion had been formed that the religious orders were not included in the instructions. No result followed from the jesuit request. Before the close of the year Carleton relinquished his claim to fees and perquisites, and he issued a proclamation to this effect. He considered that the representative of the sovereign was lowered by the receipt of them. The fees for liquor licenses he conceived should be increased not lessened, and applied in some form to the public service. Carleton's conduct on this occasion caused Murray annoyance, as he regarded the public non-acceptance of the fees as casting censure upon him, for having acted otherwise. With this feeling he published a letter in "Lloyd's Evening Post." The letter was sent by Shelburne to Carleton, who disclaimed any intention of saying anything disagreeable to Murray, having only acted from the desire of doing what was right according to his own convictions. * Can. Arch., Q., 3, pp. 265-9. |