The Father of British Canada | Page 5

so few, and
mostly so bad, that they became the cause of endless discord where
harmony was essential. In the seventies the idea was to restore the old
French-Canadian life so as not only to make Canada proof against the
disaffection of the Thirteen Colonies but also to make her a safe base of
operations against rebellious Americans. In the eighties the great
concern of the government was to make a harmonious whole out of two
very widely differing parts--the long-settled French Canadians and the
newly arrived United Empire Loyalists. In the nineties each of these
parts was set to work out its own salvation under its own provincial
constitution.
Carleton's is the only personality which links together all four
decades--the would-be American sixties, the French-Canadian
seventies, the Anglo-French-Canadian eighties, and the
bi-constitutional nineties--though, as mentioned already, Murray ruled
Canada for the first seven years, 1759-66.
James Murray, the first British governor of Canada, was a younger son
of the fourth Lord Elibank. He was just over forty, warm-hearted and
warm-tempered, an excellent French scholar, and every inch a soldier.
He had been a witness for the defence of Mordaunt at the court-martial
held to try the authors of the Rochefort fiasco in 1757. Wolfe, who was
a witness on the other side, referred to him later on as 'my old
antagonist Murray.' But Wolfe knew a good man when he saw one and
gave his full confidence to his 'old antagonist' both at Louisbourg and

Quebec. Murray was not born under a lucky star. He saw three defeats
in three successive wars. He began his service with the abortive attack
on pestilential Cartagena, where Wolfe's father was present as
adjutant-general. In mid-career he lost the battle of Ste Foy. [Footnote:
See The Winning of Canada, chap. viii. See also, for the best account of
this battle and other events of the year between Wolfe's victory and the
surrender of Montreal, The Fall of Canada, by George M. Wrong.
Oxford, 1914.] And his active military life ended with his surrender of
Minorca in 1782. But he was greatly distinguished for honour and
steadfastness on all occasions. An admiring contemporary described
him as a model of all the military virtues except prudence. But he had
more prudence and less genius than his admirer thought; and he
showed a marked talent for general government. The problem before
him was harder than his superiors could believe. He was expected to
prepare for assimilation some sixty-five thousand 'new subjects' who
were mostly alien in religion and wholly alien in every other way. But,
for the moment, this proved the least of his many difficulties because
no immediate results were required.
While the war went on in Europe Canada remained nominally a part of
the enemy's dominions, and so, of course, was subject to military rule.
Sir Jeffery Amherst, the British commander-in-chief in America, took
up his headquarters in New York. Under him Murray commanded
Canada from Quebec. Under Murray, Colonel Burton commanded the
district of Three Rivers while General Gage commanded the district of
Montreal, which then extended to the western wilds. [Footnote: See
The War Chief of the Ottawas, chap. iii.]
Murray's first great trouble arose in 1761. It was caused by an
outrageous War Office order that fourpence a day should be stopped
from the soldiers to pay for the rations they had always got free. Such
gross injustice, coming in time of war and applied to soldiers who
richly deserved reward, made the veterans 'mad with rage.' Quebec
promised to be the scene of a wild mutiny. Murray, like all his officers,
thought the stoppage nothing short of robbery. But he threw himself
into the breach. He assembled the officers and explained that they must
die to the last man rather than allow the mutineers a free hand. He then

held a general parade at which he ordered the troops to march between
two flag-poles on pain of instant death, promising to kill with his own
hands the first man who refused. He added that he was ready to hear
and forward any well-founded complaint, but that, since
insubordination had been openly threatened, he would insist on
subordination being publicly shown. Then, amid tense silence, he gave
the word of command--Quick, March!--while every officer felt his
trigger. To the immense relief of all concerned the men stepped off,
marched straight between the flags and back to quarters, tamed. The
criminal War Office blunder was rectified and peace was restored in the
ranks.
'Murray's Report' of 1762 gives us a good view of the Canada of that
day and shows the attitude of the British towards their new possession.
Canada had been conquered by Great Britain, with some help from the
American colonies, for three main reasons: first, to strike a death-blow
at French