glad to have sent' it to the secretary of state 'in a
cleaner manner.' In it they declared, 'We shall be ready
to carry into effect the demand proposed to us, as soon
as His Majesty shall have done us the favour of providing
some means of sheltering us from the savage tribes, who
are always ready to do all kinds of mischief... In case
other means cannot be found, we are ready to take an
oath, that we will take up arms neither against His
Britannic Majesty, nor against France, nor against any
of their subjects or allies.' [Footnote: Public Archives,
Canada. Nova Scotia A, vol. viii, p. 181 et seq.]

The attitude of both France and England towards the
unfortunate Acadians was thoroughly selfish. The French
at Louisbourg, after their first attempt to bring the
Acadians to Ile Royale, relapsed into inaction. They
still hoped doubtless that Acadia would be restored to
France, and while they would have been glad to welcome
the Acadians, they perceived the advantage of keeping
them under French influence in British territory. In
order to do this they had at their hand convenient means.
The guarantee to the Acadians of the freedom of their
religion had entailed the presence in Acadia of French
priests not British subjects, who were paid by the French
government and were under the direction of the bishop of
Quebec. These priests were, of course, loyal to France
and inimical to Great Britain. Another source of influence
possessed by the French lay in their alliance with the
Indian tribes, an alliance which the missionary priests
helped to hold firm. The fear of an Indian attack was