You may have heard that the man LENOIR,
resident of Montreal, having gone to England three years ago without
leave, I have kept him in prison till he had settled the fine he was
condemned to pay, and which I transferred to the hospitals. I add that
a part of the interest you have in the Indians not going to Chouaguen,
I have another on account of the trading carried on for the benefit of
the King at Niagara and at fort Frontenac which that English post has
ruined. By all means you may rely on my attention to break up English
trade. I fear I may not succeed in this so long as the brandy traffic,
although moderate, will find adversaries among those who govern
consciences.
[Sidenote: Foreign trade; Beaver at trade at Labrador.]
I will do my best to prevent the beaver which is traded at Labrador and
the other posts in the lower part of the River to be smuggled to France
by ships from Bayonne, St Malo and Marseille. This will be difficult
as we cannot have at those posts any inspector. I will try, however,
to give an ordinance so as to prevent that, which may intimidate some
of those who carry on that commerce.
It is true that the commandants of the upper country posts have relaxed
in the sending of the declarations made or to be made by the
_voyageurs_ as to the quantity and quality of the bundles of beaver
they take down to Montreal. M. the General and I have renewed the
necessary orders on this subject so that the commandants shall conform
to them.
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