Page:American History Told by Contemporaries, v2.djvu/354

326 the colonies pays nothing. The merchants of all parts of France and its colonies, are allowed to send ships with goods to this place ; and the Quebec merchants are at liberty likewise to send their goods to any place in France, and its colonies. But the merchants at Quebec have but few ships, because the sailors wages are very high. The towns in France which chiefly trade with Canada, are Rochelle and Bourdeaux ; next to them are Marseilles, Nantes, Havre de Grace, St. Malo, and others. The king's ships which bring goods to this country, come either from Brest or from Rochefort. The merchants at Quebec send flour, wheat, pease, wooden utensils, &c on their own bottoms, to the French possessions in the West-Indies. The walls round Montreal were built in 1738, at the king's expence, on condition the inhabitants should, little by little, pay off the cost to the king. The town at present pays annually 6000 livres for them to government, of which 2000 are given by the seminary of priests. At Quebec the walls have likewise been built at the king's expence, but he did not redemand the expence of the inhabitants, because they had already the duty upon goods to pay as above mentioned. The beaver trade belongs solely to the Indian company in France, and nobody is allowed to carry it on here, besides the people appointed by that company. Every other fur trade is open to every body. There are several places among the Indians far in the country, where the French have stores of their goods ; and these places they call les postes. The king has no other fortresses in Canada than Quebec, Fort Chamblais, Fort St. Jean, Fort St. Frederic, or Crown-point, Montreal, Frontenac, and Niagara. All other places belong to private persons. The king keeps the Niagara trade all to himself. Every one who intends to go to trade with the Indians must have a licence from the governor-general, for which he must pay a sum according as the place he is going to is more or less advantageous for trade. A merchant who sends out a boat laden with all sorts of goods, and four or five persons with it, is obliged to give five or six hundred livres for the permission ; and there are places for which they give a thousand livres. Sometimes one cannot buy the licence to go to a certain trading place, because the governor-general has granted, or intends to grant it to some acquaintaince or relation of his. The money arising from the granting of licences, belongs to the governor-general ; but it is customary to give half of it to the poor : whether this is always strictly kept to or not, I shall not pretend to determine.