then trackless West, and associated their names to all time with the
rivers, lakes, and forests of that vast region, which is now the most
productive granary of the world. In the wake of these priestly pioneers
followed the trader and adventurer to assist in solving the secrets of
unknown rivers and illimitable forests. From the hardy peasantry of
Normandy and Brittany came reinforcements to settle the lands on the
banks of the St Lawrence and its tributary rivers, and lay the
foundations of the present Province of Quebec. The life of the
population, that, in the course of time, filled up certain districts of
the province, was one of constant restlessness and uncertainty which
prevented them ever attaining a permanent prosperity. When the French
regime disappeared with the fall of Quebec and Montreal, it can hardly
be said there existed a Canadian people distinguished for material or
intellectual activity. At no time under the government of France had the
voice of the 'habitants' any influence in the councils of their country.
A bureaucracy, acting directly under the orders of the King of France,
managed public affairs; and the French Canadian of those times, very
unlike his rival in New England, was a mere automaton, without any
political significance whatever. The communities of people that were
settled on the St. Lawrence and in Acadia were sunk in an intellectual
lethargy--the natural consequence not only of their hard struggle for
existence, but equally of their inability to take a part in the
government of the country. It was impossible that a people who had no
inducement to study public affairs--who could not even hold a town or
parish meeting for the establishment of a public schools--should give
many signs of mental vigour. Consequently, at the time of the Conquest,
the people of the Canadian settlements seemed to have no aspirations for
the future, no interest in the prosperity or welfare of each other, no
real bonds of unity. The very flag which floated above them was an
ever-present evidence of their national humiliation.