HISTORIC QUEBEC.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 185, 27 July 1908, Page 4

HISTORIC QUEBEC.

THE STRUGGLE FOR AMERICA. | AN EXCITING STORY. MANY CHANGES"OF FORTUNE. The story of the French foundation and the British conquest of Canada was lately told in "The Times" in two articles by the Hon. J. W. li'ortcscue. These are summarised in the "Sydney Herald," from whom we quote. The English anil French arrived in North America at the same moment, llenry Vli's patronage of Cabot gave I England its first vague claim to the sovereignity of the vast continent, but French seamen were the first to explore the coast. Denis lloflucr made

his way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1500. Jacques Cartier sailed up the great river in 1535, and left behind him the two names of St. Lawrence and Montreal; and 00 yeiirs later, in 1008, British adventurers established their first settlement un James River while Samuel Chaniplain simultaneous Iy laid the foundation of Montreal am Quebec us stations for trading with tin Indians.,

Wide apart as were the British and French settlements, (he two nations came into collision almost at once. The Jesuits, wlio followed hard upon Champlain, had founded a little station at Port Royal, in Arcadia. The Governor of Virginia considered it his first duty to uproot it, which he proceeded to do by force in 1013. Moreover, about this

time, King James 1 made a grant to an individual of the territory, which, iu compliment to the sovereign, he call-

Ed Nova Scotia; and as this was part of Acadia, which was claimed by the French, there were laid foundations of a very pretty quarrel, FIRST CAPTURE OF QUEBEC.

Six years later, in 1027, a company of adventurers took advantage of war with France to sail up the St. Lawrence to capture Quebec, and to achieve virtually, the conquest of Canud)i. Tims the main gate of the new France was won. But the French appreciated the strategic value of Quebec, and tlicy knew that Charles I was short of cash, and on bad terms with liis Parliament. So upon negotiations for peace in 1032, they oltercd £50,000 for its ransom. Charles could not withstand the temptation; and Quebec once again became a French settlement. Meanwhile, in 1021, t'liere had landed at New Plymouth, uic first batch of British emigrants of a new kind, and seven years later saw the foundation of a far more important colony, that of Massachusetts. In the interval Oliver Cromwell had sent an expedition, in 1054, to invite New England to join liim in the capture of the Dutch Settlements at the mouth of the Hudson. But file colonies declined, and the expedition, sailing on to the French settlements in Acadia, captured' that/ province for the second time, but did not venture to attack Quebec-. Still, the evil day for the Dutch was but postponed, for New Amsterdam was taken by Colonel Nicolls in 1004, and renamed by liim New York; and, though the now famous city was recaptured by the Dutch in 1073, it was quickly recovered, and finally assured to the British in 1074. Acadia had meanwhile been restored to the French by the Treaty of Breda in 1007. But the capture of New York fairly brought the French and English rivals face to face, and from 1080 until 1700 it may lie said that they were never at peace , in America. THJ3 GREAT CHAIN FORT.

AVith their usual restless energy, the French spread over the country, while the English settlers were making their homes, and at last they conceived the vast scheme of lapping round"the rear of the liritish settlements, confining the latter to a mere strip of the seaboard, and cutting tliein off wholly from the land within. By 1080 they had done it, and by a chain of forts at various strategic points the British were effectually shut- off from itlne. heart of the continent. The New York merchants protested in vain to Whitehall until .lames IT succeeded his brother. lie saw that the French really only existed in North America on sufferance, owing to the disunion *of the British colonies, lie put Now York and New England under a single military governor, and bade him make an end of the French aggression. The dispatches of colonial Governors from 1(180 to 1700 told of the unwearied aggression of the French during! two whole generations. In 174!) certain British traders seeking only traffic with the Indians proposed to erect a fortified commercial station on the fork of the Ohio River, where Pittsburg now stands. As usual, the French saw this would sever their chain of posts from the lakes to the (iulf ofMexico, and took prompt action. In 1 75 H Governor ))ui|iiesiie Sent 1 ">oomen to strengthen the line of communications, and incidentally seized a, liritish trading station for the purpose. Governor Dimviddic, of Virginia, ordered him to retire from British territory, and he replied that he had no intention "of doing so. Dinwiddie sent a party in 1754 to build a fort, at Pittsburg, but the French came down, drove them away, and erected a tnr stronger fort on the same site under the name of Fort Duquesne. ADVENT OF MONTCALM.

Unable to secure help from the other colonies, Dinwiddie appealed to England, and in January, 1775, two British' regiments were sent over under General Braddock, but the operations against the French tliat followed ended ignominiously. In 1750 two more regiments arrived from England under Lord Loudoun, but the operations again broke down—this time from the disunion of the colonies and the dearth of men and money. Worse than that, an energetic French officer, who had arrived froir Europe in May 1755, by a sudden s\v "t movement, surrounded the only lin.sli stronghold upon Ontario and compelled it to surrender. That officer was Louis Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm (lozon de Saint Veran. Matters changed in 1750, when William Pitt succeeded the Duke of Newcastle, whose feeble hand had be-jn very ill-fitted to guide a great, war. Where Newcastle had sent companies to the colonies Pitt sent battalions. Hut he was not equally careful as to the strength of his fleets, and the whole of the campaigning Season was thrown away because the fleet he sent to take Louisbitrg found awaiting it ■in the harbor a far more superior French licet. Loudoun was recalled, and there came out two more commanders—James Aberomby, who must never be confounded with the famous lialpli, and Jell'ery Amherst, of the Guards. To Amherst was assigned the task of beseiging Louisburg, and among his brigadiers was James Wolfe, "a tall, thin, singularly ugly man, with a shock of red hair and a profile like the flap of an. envelope." On this occasion Pitt took tare that the Heel was strong enough to keep all French squadrons at a distance, and Louisburg was battered into surrender. WOLFE PILOTED BY COOK.

For the campaign of 1750 I'itt ordered iv direct attack upon Quebec from the side of the sea, and a renewal of tiie advance upon it by the line from which Abercroinhy had' been repulsed. Wolfe, who had been home 011 sick leave, was selected to direct the first operation, and the second was left to Amherst. Wolfe sailed in February in Hie flagship of Admiral Saunders, who commanded a fleet of 21 vessels, hi. .May the whole of his troops were assembled at l<ouisburg— 8500 riien instead of the 12,000 that he hail heeil led to expect—and 011 June li the llect and transports sailed for the St. Lawrence. 011 June 20 t'lie Whole of the ships, which had been guided up the river by James Cook, afterwards famous as the great navigator, who visited New Zealand, anchored without a mishap a few miles below Quebec, which was held by 14,000 men under Montcalm.

Alter cannonading- the town and an unsuccessful attack on .Montcalm's 011trcnelimcnts, Wolfe shifted his operations to the ground above the town, and was able to sever communications with Quebec, and to cut oil' its supplies below and above. 11 became a question whether Quebec could he starved out before tile winter drove the Brit-, ish llect from the river, and both commanders suflered agonies of anxiety. The fleet daily patrolled the river, threafening at one point or another 1.1 miles of shore, and keeping tlie Frcue'li officers in torturing suspense as they inarched their troops to and fro. Oil the night of tlie sixth day the liue-of-battle ships made feigned preparations for an attack 011 the intrenched city, while Wolfe, with 4500 men in boats, dropped down tlie river j to a spot w'heuce a little path climbed, the cli/l's to the city above MONTCALM'S MISJUDGEMENT.

On the morrow (September 13) Montcalm saw an ominous line of scarlet 011

the heights to the west of the city. And then, It must be sorrowfully confessed the poor man, worn out with long enicty and strain, completely lost his hcjid. Closer examination of Wolfe's force would have betrayed to Jiim its numbers, and the fact that the British had but one very light field gun. In a few hours he could have assembled twice tlio number of men and thirty guns ; and, if he did not wish for a pitched battle, ho could manoeuvre Wolfe's army aWay j from the path, play with it a few days till it had fconsumed the small supply of provisions which each man carried, and I then worry it in earnest. But it was

not to be. Tie hurried into action with 5000 men of inferior quality to the British, and with only three guns, and was lost. The British, waited till the enemy was within 1)5 yards of them before th'.y fired a shot, and then two perfect volleys crumpled the. French line, and soon Quebec was won. Roth Wolfe and Montcalm received mortal wounds in the engagement.

ISo ended this memorable campaign, and though there was still to be anothei seigo of Quebec, with the actors and tlr

failure reversed, the world conspired to allow the curtain of the drama to fall 011 the deaths of Montcalm and Wolfe. It is, therefore, a happy inspiration which has suggested the purchase of the battle-field for a national monument, to be preserved as a field of reconciliation,

where, together with the bones of hundreds of brave men, the animosities of many centuries are buried for ever. !