country was defended by little garrisons at Three Rivers
and Montreal as well as by several small detachments
distributed among the trading-posts where the white men
and the red met in the depths of the western wilderness.

The relations between the British garrison and the French
Canadians were so excellent that what Gage reported from
Montreal might be taken as equally true of the rest of
the country: 'The Soldiers live peaceably with the
Inhabitants and they reciprocally acquire an affection
for each other.' The French Canadians numbered sixty-five
thousand altogether, exclusive of the fur traders and
coureurs de bois. Barely fifteen thousand lived in the
three little towns of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers;
while over fifty thousand lived in the country. Nearly
all the officials had gone back to France. The three
classes of greatest importance were the seigneurs, the
clergy, and the habitants. The lawyers were not of much
account; the petty commercial classes of less account
still. The coureurs de bois and other fur traders formed
an important link between the savage and the civilized
life of the country.

Apart from furs the trade of Canada was contemptibly
small in the eyes of men like the London merchants. But
the opportunity of fostering all the fur trade that could
be carried down the St Lawrence was very well worth while;
and if there was no other existing trade worth capturing
there seemed to be some kinds worth creating. Murray held
out well-grounded hopes of the fisheries and forests. 'A