The Marquis de Montcalm, Part Two
Centuries after the death of Montcalm, writes Arnold Whitridge, the French presence still dominates Quebec.
If Montcalm was disgusted by the incompetence and dishonesty of colonial officials, he was also disgusted by the indifference of Versailles to the plight of its empire overseas. In 1758 conditions became so serious that Vaudreuil agreed with him that someone must be sent over to France to explain the situation more fully.
Bougainville was selected for this mission; but at the same time Vaudreuil wrote letters to friends at court warning them Bougainville was an agent of Montcalm and therefore not to be trusted. In any case, Bougainville had not been in Versailles long before he recognized that his case was hopeless.
As one of the ministers put it, ‘when the house is burning one can not pay too much attention to the stables’. There was nothing more to be said. Bougainville returned to Canada with promotions and decorations for everybody, but nothing more. It was nice to know that the King had the greatest confidence in his loyal subjects overseas.
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