Page 169 - Transcriptions d'actes notariés - Tome 20 - 1682-1686

LI
. . . Nor can we suppress our astonjshrnent that a British parliament
should ever consent to establiah in that country (Canada) a religion that
has deluged your isIand in blood, and dispersed jnipiety, bigotry,
persecutiun, murder, and rebellion through every part of the world."
And "that we tliink the legisleture of Great Brjtain is not authorised by
the constitution to esteblish a religion fraught with sanguinary and
impious tenets. . ."(+T)
After hearjng the expression of such sentiments rendering Catholica
BO great an injustice, the Canadian Clergy were not disposed to receive
too well the deliberatiuns of the same Congress addressing the inhabitants
of Quebec.

None of the Commissioners was enjoying the stay in hlontreal.
They reportecl to Congress that thcy were in a critical and annoying
situation, pestered with al1 kinds of demands whjch they could not
answer, in a place where their cause had a majorjty of enemiw, Added
to these problems wes ihe fact that the earrison was weak. The
Cornmissioners had hoped for milit ary succe~s'~+) and for money from
Congress. Both these hopes proved to be iuiile. After trvo weeks of
fruitless conversations, the Commissioners lcar ned that General John
Thomas commanding the inadquate garrison at Quebec had ben
surprised by British warships coming up the river. The Arnerieans had
been overwhelmed, their cannon and small arms captured. Added to
thjs Wa6 the report from Congrees that it was unable to send any money.
This, the Conirniedonera felt was the fatal blow to the American cause
in Canada.lio) They inforrned Congess that they could render no
service to their country by reinaining any longer in Canada.

On May 11, Frankliii left hlontreal, the first of the group. The
cold weather. an attaek of gout and the weight of his seventy years had
cornbined to make the trip a most wretehed one for him. Father CarrolI
joined Franklin along the horneward route. Chase and Charles Carroll
remained to attend to a few rnatters concerning the American military
wt-up. Everywhere Charles Carroll found the situation of the American

Finally, on May 30, Charles was able to record in his journal:
"The couneil of war was held this day, and determined to maintain
possession of the country between the Saint Lawrence and the Sorel,
if possible, -in the ineantirne to dispose matters so as to make an ortlerly
retreat out of Canada." He and Chase arrived back in Philadelphia
on June 10. The foIlowing day they gave their report of ~he trip and
of the state of the army in Canada to the Congres~.(~~i

(47) Ford, lournds O] Con~inenïol Congress, 1, pp. 82-90.
('Ri Smith, Ch. CmrrolI, pp. 148.149.
(49) Ibid., p. 149.
(50) Force, Amcricun Archiiiss, Y, pp. 431; 448.434.