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A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

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^202 ACADIAN CONFLICTS, [1747.They wrote at the same time to Mascarene atAnnapolis, send<strong>in</strong>g him, to expla<strong>in</strong> the situation, acopy <strong>of</strong> Ramesay's threaten<strong>in</strong>g letter to them ; ^ begg<strong>in</strong>ghim to consider that they could not withoutdanger dispense with answer<strong>in</strong>g it ;at the same timethey protested their entire fidelity to K<strong>in</strong>g George.Ramesay, not satisfied with the results <strong>of</strong> his firstletter, wrote aga<strong>in</strong> to the Acadians, order<strong>in</strong>g them,<strong>in</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> the governor-general <strong>of</strong> New <strong>France</strong>,to take up arms aga<strong>in</strong>st the English, <strong>and</strong> enclos<strong>in</strong>gfor their <strong>in</strong>struction an extract from a letter <strong>of</strong> theFrench governor. "These," says Ramesay, "are hiswords : We consider ourself as master <strong>of</strong> Beaubass<strong>in</strong>'<strong>and</strong> M<strong>in</strong>es, s<strong>in</strong>ce we have driven <strong>of</strong>f the English.Therefore there is no difficulty <strong>in</strong> forc<strong>in</strong>g the Acadiansto take arms for us ; to which end we declareto them that they aredischarged from the oath thatthey formerly took to the English, by which they arebound no longer, as has been decided by the authorities<strong>of</strong> Canada <strong>and</strong> Monseigneur our Bishop.' "^1 This probably expla<strong>in</strong>s the bad spell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the letter, the copybefore me hav<strong>in</strong>g been made from the Acadian transcript sent toMascarene, <strong>and</strong> now <strong>in</strong> the Public Record Office.2 Les Habitants a I'honorahle gouverneur au for d'anapoUsse royal[sic], Mai {?), 1747.On the 27th <strong>of</strong> June the <strong>in</strong>habitants <strong>of</strong> Cobequid wrote aga<strong>in</strong> toMascarene :" Monsieur nous prenons la Liberte de vous recrirecelle icy pour vous assurer de nos tres humble Respect et d'unentiere Sou-mission a vos Ordres " {literatim).3 " Nous nous regardons aujourdhuy Maistre de Beaubass<strong>in</strong> etdes M<strong>in</strong>es puisque nous en avons Chassc les Anglois ; a<strong>in</strong>si il nya aucune difficulte de forcer les Accadiens a prendre les armes pournous, et de les y Contra<strong>in</strong>dre ; leur declarons h. cet effet qu'ils sont

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