6. UNDER BRITISH RULE TO CON FEDERATION (1760-1864). At the mo ment when Vaudreuil (see VAUDREUIL-CAVAG• NAL, PIERRE) capitulated to Amherst (Septem ber 1760) (see Morrriu:AL — History) there were no English in Canada save the troops and a few civilians who had come with them. But, outwardly at least, this act of surrender placed the French Canadians and the English colonists in America on the same basis as subjects of the British Crown. One sovereignty was thus es tablished over a vast area where dwelt two races whose origin, sentiments, faith and insti tutions marked them off from each other in the sharpest contrast. A century later the face of the situation was profoundly changed. The American Revolution had created a second sovereignty in this region at a time when the population of Canada was almost wholly French, and yet by I860 the Canadian English had come to outnumber the Canadian French. The maintenance of the bond with Great Britain, the rise of the United States and the influx of English settlers are the broad con ditions which have affected the progress of Canada since the cession.
Three years elapsed between Vaudreuil's surrender and the Treaty of Paris, which con firmed Great Britain in• the possession of her American conctuests. During this interval the country remained under military rule, • and though General Murray's relations with the subject population were marked by sympathy and tact, it was impossible that a sense of permanence should be inspired by such a docu ment as the Act of Capitulation. The text of the treaty, in its turn, left many essential points unsettled, especially in the domain of law, and not until 1774, when the Quebec Act was passed, did French Canada receive from the British Crown and Parliament a charter upon which it could rely. The first 14 years of British rule were, however, a time of great importance in that the experience gained during this period suggested legislation which continues in force at the present day. The mass of the French population, seigneurs and habitants alike, ac cepted the change of masters in a spirit of resig nation. Their courageous support of Montoalm and Levis is proved by a large variety of evi dence. They seem to have shown as much dar ing as • the French regulars, together with a superior knowledge of the country and a better grasp of the tactics which were suited to Amer ican warfare: That the deportation of the Acadians had stimulated their resistance to the British is more than probable, but in any case loyalty and patriotism would have led them to make a brave defense. Once beaten, they ac
cepted the situation frankly and were not en couraged . to rebel by that restlessness of the Indian tribes which took form in the conspiracy of Pontiac (1763..64) (see PorrizAc). The contrast between their docility and the *rowing disaffection of New England and Virginia did not fail to leave an impression on the official mind both.in Quebec and London. The result was that when difficulties arose between them and their English fellow-subjects the govern ment was not disposed to espouse the cause of the latter. Apart from the retention of their property, the guarantee of their religious institu tions was the question which came nearest to the hearts of the French Canadians. By Article 27 of Vaudreuil's Capitulation it was agreed that "the free exercise of the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion shall subsist entire, in such manner that all classes and peoples of the town and rural districts, places, and distant posts may continue to assemble in churches, and to fre quent the sacraments as heretofore, without be ing molested in any manner, directly or in directly." This clause of the capitulation was confirmed at the Treaty of Paris (see PARIS, TREATIES or) with the condition oas far as the laws of Great Britain permit,' but any restriction which might seem to be placed upon religious toleration by the foregoing phrase was. nominal rather than rcal. The communities of nuns were not disturbed even at first, and after a few years of deprivation large estates were restored to the Sulpicians. The Jesuits also would prob ably have received a confirmation of title but for the special circumstances attending their suppression in France shortly before the Treaty of Paris and their general suppression in 1773. As it was, the scrupulous care with which gov ernors like and Carleton (see CAiu.E TON, SIR GUY) carried out the policy of tolera tion reassured the hierarchy and made it a firm supporter of British rule.