WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO THE DUKE OF

MY LORD DUKE,

NEWCASTLE

[Extract1]

Louisbourg, October 29, 1745.

The late Season of the year making it dangerous for me to delay my Return to Boston longer, I shall Embark for that Place in two days leaving in this Garrison 2250 private Centinels, Corporals and Sergeants and Commission'd Officers being all among those I found here, that were either fit for Duty, or whom it was not most for his Majesty's Service to dismiss, or to permit to go to New England upon Furlo to raise recruits, or as Agents to fetch supplies for those who stay behind; and have omitted nothing in my Power to make the Troops easy and satisfy'd in their Duty here 'till the Arrival of the two Regiments from Gibraltar, and the Garrison can be furnish'd with its Complement of Troops upon another Establishment, and to put their Barracks under such a Regulation, as may best preserve the men's health. I have also inspected the State of the Ordnance Stores and put 'em into the best Condition I can, promoted the repairs of the Works and Houses, and the making of additional Barracks for the Reception of the Troops expected here, as far as I could; and the laying in sufficient Quantities of Provisions and Cloathing; And to Guard against any Surprize, have order'd four Companies of Scouts of 50 men each well provided with Snow Shoes and Moggisons to be rais'd, and two Guard Houses for a Constant Watch to be set up without the City, where they may command a View of the Country and Bay; and shall leave the place as defensible as I can with Mr Warren, who has himself strengthen'd the Garrison by the additional Artillery, and Ordnance Stores, which he has drawn into it from the Ships, and will further secure the Harbour by a Boom and Fire Vessell.

1 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 900, p. 255.

As to the sea force necessary to be sent here in the Spring for the protection of this Place, and the time when the Ships should arrive in these Seas I beg leave to refer your Grace to Mr Warren. The number of Troops adviseable to be maintain'd in the Garrison inclusive of the Train of Artillery, 'till it shall be strengthen'd with a Number of Settlers, which I hope it may be within a year or two, seems to me to be 4000 at least including a Train of Artillery consisting of two Companies, after which I should think 3000 Soldiers besides a proper Train of Artillery would be sufficient for the Defence of it during the Warr, and half that number or perhaps 1000 men exclusive of the Train of Artillery in time of Peace. A Civil Government, the same general Toleration of Protestants of all Denominations, as is express'd in the New England Charter, a privilege from Arrests for five or seven years, a Distribution of some of the Lands among the first Settlers, and a free port (except as to the importation of European Commodities, without their having been first laden in England, which license in my opinion would have a Dangerous Tendency to throw the European Trade to this place, and indeed to all the Colonies into the Dutch Channell) if consistent with the Acts of Trade now in force, would be considerable Steps towards forwarding the Settlement of this Island, and with the Advantage of the Fishery here, especially if large Convoys from the West Indies and all the Colonies were to be made up here, according to Mr Warren's proposal, could not fail, I think, of soon drawing hither a very large number of Inhabitants.

For the manner of finishing the Works of the Garrison necessary to be compleated in order to put it into the most defensible posture, Mr Engineer Bastide has transmitted to the Board of Ordnance a plan of his projections, concerning which I can't pretend to give any opinion; but would observe to your Grace that proper directions in that respect should be given with the utmost Dispatch; and in particular it seems of great Consequence that the weak parts of the Works, which, among other Inducements, put me upon making the late attempt against this Place, and are the

low Courtain against a Cove fronting the Sea at the South East part of the City, and the row of Pickets in a Pond at a small distance from it to the North East, and the whole wall fronting the Harbour from the Flagstaff in the North East Bastion to the West Gate, and which are plainly unfinished parts of the works, should be immediately strengthen'd in the most secure manner and rais'd. The two firstmention'd parts of the Works seem the most necessary to be finish'd; after which if the last mention'd part was to be finish'd by degrees, I believe all the other Works might remain in the form they are in, with being repair'd and strengthen'd, which may be done without any great Expence: Though I wish some good projection had been made for securing the Landside of the Grand Battery or at least making it more tenable against great Artillery, than it is at present. I would also observe to your Grace that I perceive by Mr Bastide's plan the West Gate newly built at the Expence of about 1300t Sterling with the choicest of the Stone here, and which I mention'd in a former Letter to your Grace to be built up in the same weak manner that it was at first by the French, and to require being strengthen'd with Town Timber to make it endure a Battery, is now propos'd (I suppose for that reason) to serve only for this Winter, and the Road is design'd to be turn'd, and another Gate built a little to the South of the present one.

I should not trouble your Grace with such particulars, or go so far beyond my line in the Business of an Engineer, if I was not exceedingly dissatisfy'd at the present Management of the repairs of the Works, the ruinous Condition of some of 'em, and the Waste of Money and Time in doing some things not very necessary and others in an ineffectual manner; and I think it my Duty to observe to your Grace that the chief Direction of these Works should be under the ablest Engineer, which can be spar'd; I doubt the cost of finishing 'em, and the maintenance of the Garrison will, from the Expence of what has been done upon the work since the Reduction of the place, and the present maintenance of the Garrison, appear extraordinary, but I don't think the present

Charges a just rule for estimating the future necessary Expence; And though it appears that the French King must have been at an immense Charge in fortifying this place, yet it is most evident that from the value which his Subjects and I believe all the British Colonies likewise set upon it, that no expence will by them be thought too much for it.

Among other measures necessary to be taken for preserving this Acquisition to His Majesty putting the Inhabitants of Nova Scotia upon a proper foot of Subjection and fidelity to the Crown of Great Britain seems to be an Essential one; For at present upon the landing of 1000 French Troops in that Province with a suitable Train of Artillery for attacking his Majesty's Garrison at Annapolis Royal all the French Inhabitants, among whom may be reckon'd between 5 and 6000 Effective men, together with the Cape Sable, Penobscot, St. John's, and other neighbouring Indians computed at 1500 fighting men more must be expected to join 'em; so that upon the Reduction of that Place the Enemy would soon have a force of 8000 Men with perhaps more than half that number of Canadeans ready within a few Leagues of this Island to land and join a Number of other French Troops from Europe, in attempting to regain the Possession of Louisbourg. And this makes it seem so necessary that His Majesty should at this Juncture be thoroughly appriz'd of the uncommon circumstances of that Province, in which the number of the Inhabitants instead of Strengthening his Garrison and Government there, as they ought to do, endangers the Safety of 'em, that I have endeavour'd in the inclos'd Representation, which is chiefly extracted from an Account, which Mr Sherriff the present Secretary of Nova Scotia, who has been privy to the Transactions there almost from the first Settlement of the Garrison, drew up at my request, to state the Circumstances of the Province in the fullest manner for your Grace's Consideration of what may be most adviseable for his Majesty to do for the better Settlement of his Government within it, and the Security of his Garrison at Annapolis Royal. Mr Warren seems strongly inclin'd to the Scheme first

propos'd in the inclos'd Representation for putting the province of Nova Scotia into a better State, but the other may possibly be the most secure, though not so expeditious.

I took the Liberty to mention in a former Letter to your Grace, that I thought, if the Expedition against Cape Breton should succeed, a Spirit would be immediately rais'd in the Colonies for pushing that success as far as Canada; which observation I find was not ill grounded; And I trouble your Grace with the Repetition of it now, because the Reduction of that Country to the Obedience of his Majesty seems to be the most effectual means of securing to the Crown of Great Britain not only Nova Scotia, and this Acquisition, but the whole Northern Continent as far back as the French Settlements on the River of Missisippi, which are about 2000 miles distance from Canada, by making all the Indians inhabiting within that Tract, (who are now chiefly, almost wholly indeed in the French Interest) dependent upon the English; the immediate consequence of which would be throwing the whole furr Trade, except such part of it as the French Settlements at Missisippi might keep, into the hands of His Majesty's Subjects; breaking up all the French Fishing Settlements in the Gulph and river of St Lawrence, and even on the back of Newfoundland, and Securing the whole Codfishery to the English; which besides the Profits arising from that part which the French lately had of it amounting to near one Million Sterl as computed in the account of it, which I lately inclos'd to your Grace would be farther Beneficial to the British Subjects by the great Consumption of Rum, and Cloathing necessary for the Men in carrying on the Fishery, and the great Quantity of Shipping, small Craft and Fishing Gear of all Sorts necessarily employed in it, which would in such Case be all British: To what I also mention'd concerning the Nursery of Seamen, which that Fishery would maintain for the Royal Navy, I may add, that from the Healthfulness of the Climates on this Continent and the Surprizing Growth of it's Inhabitants within the last Century it may be expected that in one or two more centuries there will be such an addition from hence to the