American Affairs, Lord George Germaine, who was Carleton's Germaine and enemy, blamed him for not pushing forward against Ticon- Carleton. deroga, and sought to saddle him with the consequences of the subsequent defeat, on March 26, 1777, of the German auxiliary troops at Trenton upon the Delaware, three hundred miles to the south. Germaine appointed to the command of the expedition which was directed to operate from the north against the American colonies General Burgoyne, a clever politician and littérateur, but who, whether or not a capable general, was unable to accomplish the impossible. Carleton was directed to confine himself strictly to Canadian affairs. He wrote back a dignified protest, but did not finally send in his resignation till the following June.

It is unnecessary in a history of Canada to dwell upon the dreary page which closed with the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga on October 16, 1777. The gallantry and superficial brilliance of Burgoyne could not redeem the fundamental error of the whole expedition. Carleton and Burgoyne also, had originally contemplated an advance upon Connecticut. The expedition down the Hudson required for its success the co-operation of an army from the south. At the critical moment Howe was occupied elsewhere, Germaine having failed to bring home to him the urgent necessity of such co-operation. Germaine, as though another Pitt, presumed to dictate the strategy of distant campaigns, but he was without either the genius or the industry which alone could justify such presumption. But though the full measure of Germaine's failure as Colonial Secretary does not directly concern Canadian history, his treatment of Carleton was not without its sinister influence. Throughout the last years of the war Canada must have shown herself defenceless against an American invasion. Happily for Great Britain, the jealousy entertained by the Americans of their French allies caused them to leave Canada alone. They did not desire to end British rule in North America only to call into

Resigna

tion of Carleton.

fresh life the power from which in the past they had suffered so severely. The failure of Burgoyne's expedition involved the retirement from Lake Champlain, and Ticonderoga, which had been again occupied in the spring of 1777, was abandoned.

While foreign affairs were thus unfortunate, the Governor found himself thwarted in the management of domestic concerns. The Quebec Act revoked all commissions to judges and other officials. The intention had been merely to give the Government power to deal with the case of absentees. Carleton himself treated no place as vacant 'except when the former occupier did not think it worth his while to remain in the province to attend to his duty'. The letter of the clause, however, was made the means by which capable officials were superseded by nominees of the home Government. Lord George Germaine was able at the same time to gratify his jobbing instincts and his keen dislike of the Governor. Carleton fiercely resented this behaviour. 'I am at a loss to know', he wrote, on hearing that the acting AttorneyGeneral and Judge of the Common Pleas at Montreal had been superseded, after the fate of these gentlemen, how I can even talk of rewarding those who have preserved their loyalty, without the appearance of mockery.' The appointment of one Livius as Chief Justice, in 1776, who, according to Carleton, understood neither the laws, manners, customs, nor the language of the Canadian people, evoked from him an indignant protest. On June 26, 1777, he sent in his resignation on the ground that Germaine and he could not act together, and that it was not right that the private enmity of the King's servants should add to the disturbance of his reign. In the circumstances of the province it was necessary that the Governor should remain on the spot till the arrival of his successor, and it was not till the June of the following year that Carleton took his departure. He and Livius were soon in hot contention.

Carleton.

The salaries of the judges had been materially increased in Attitude of 1770 so as to check the abuse of high fees. At the same time no regulations had been made, and the judges were a law to themselves. An ordinance prepared by Carleton to remedy this evil was opposed by Livius and other members of the Council. The Chief Justice appeared to the Governor 'greedy of power and more greedy of gain,... learned in the ways and eloquence of the New England Provinces, valuing himself on his knowledge how to manage Governors'. The Governor, having no hope that the proposed measure would be carried, prorogued the Council and dismissed Livius, thereby intimidating his associates on the Council. Carleton believed that with his departure Lord George Germaine might adopt a different policy. Otherwise, if the power of the Crown within the province were to be trampled down to exalt the sway of inferior servants and scribblers; if, in neglect of old and faithful servants, all places were to be at the disposition, like so much private property, of the Minister's friends and followers; if the rapine and dirt of office were to find no restraint, then there would soon appear among both troops and people faction and sedition, instead of obedience and tranquillity, and Canada would run headlong into the same disorders as its neighbours had experienced, with no less hurt to the interests of Great Britain.

Although Germaine had prevailed so far as to oust Carleton, the latter still stood high in the King's favour. He had been made a K.B. in 1776, and now received a sinecure appointment. Livius had also returned to England to appeal Appeal by to the Privy Council against his dismissal from the Council. Livius. Carleton refused to give evidence and merely referred to his dispatches, so that the judgement went not unnaturally in favour of Livius. There did not appear to be good or sufficient cause for his removal. On a second point the Privy Council gave a decision which was unfortunate for the future of Canada. Carleton had claimed to consult an

Council

a Cabinet.

Refusal of inner circle of the Council, thus, in effect, obtaining the Privy advantage of a coherent Cabinet; the Privy Council now to recognize decided that all members of the Executive Council stood on a footing of equality, and that all the business of the Council should be executed by that body as a whole. This was the slovenly and inefficient system, which received, fifty years later, the scathing condemnation of Lord Durham. Livius remained in England, receiving for another eight years the salary of Chief Justice. When asked to resume his duties, the astute patriot replied in 1782 that perhaps it was safer for the Government that he was away, as, if he were present in Canada, his duty would compel him to oppose Haldimand's arbitrary proceedings. The art of the patriot and the blackmailer could not be more happily blended!

Haldi

mand.

The narrow but honest and kindly character of the new Governor, Sir Frederick Haldimand, who arrived at Quebec in June, 1778, is well known from the pages of the Diary Position of of his last years which has been preserved. Throughout he is seen as conscientious and scrupulous, but jealous and narrow-minded. Haldimand was a Swiss Protestant who had done good service in the British army. At his coming the times were difficult, as another invasion appeared probable. Haldimand recognized to the full the weakness of his position and the slender trust that could be placed in the Canadian subjects. He has been accused of harshness in imprisoning suspected persons, but the publication of the Canadian archives has thrown such doubts on the assertions of his chief accuser, one Du Calvet, that these accusations may now be disregarded. It must be remembered that a new danger had arisen from the co-operation of the French with the American colonies. In 1775 the clergy had remained firmly loyal and had exerted their powerful influence in support of Great Britain, but in 1781 we find Haldimand writing that many of the priests had changed their opinions and could no longer be counted upon to support the Government.

Such danger was short-lived, and the surrender of Corn- Influence on Canada wallis at Yorktown in 1781 marked the virtual closing of of Amerithe struggle between Great Britain and the American colonies. can indeThe birth of a great world-state upon her borders was pendence. an event which influenced profoundly the whole future of British Canada. It decided for many generations, at least, the whole course of Canadian history. With the United States at hand ready to absorb her, Canada was compelled either to yield to that influence or to throw in her lot wholeheartedly with that empire which alone for the time could supply her with a counteracting force. Moreover, the rise of the United States directly caused the settlement of Upper Canada, thus securing a new starting-point for British energies, whence in the fullness of time a new British America should develop, more powerful than were the American Provinces for many years after the gaining of independence. Henceforth, now by attraction, and now by repulsion, the fortunes of Canada and the United States were closely interlaced, and every student of Canadian history should make himself also familiar with the history of the great Republic. Assuming a knowledge of the general history, it is only Peace of necessary to lay stress here on the points of the Peace of Paris, 1783. Paris which affected Canada. It must be confessed that neither Lord Shelburne nor his creature, Oswald, in the first negotiations for peace showed much concern for the interests of Canada. Moreover, in the apparent overthrow of her continental colonial empire, Great Britain may be pardoned if, at the moment, she paid little heed to the rift in the black clouds, which in time was to bring the promise and the fulfilment of a better day.

boundaries.

Fortunately there were stouter statesmen and negotiators Definithan Shelburne and Oswald, and under the treaty, when finally tion of signed, Canada remained British. The attempt to define its boundaries became the prolific cause of future controversies. The starting-point of the northern boundary line was