time, but at length said the letter is written in French, you have
only to interpret it according to the rules of common sense." Few
will think that a harsh saying, under the circumstances, yet Father
Burke, adds : " This, I avow, was not sufficiently mild ; I was sorry
tor it, and asked his pardon." .

Writing to his bishop from Detroit on 5th November, 1795, he
says :

" I have made a resolution not to do anything in this difficult
mission without the approbation of your lordship. Left as I am to
myself without any one to advise me, should I by any misfortune
fail in my duty, I shall have in the wisdom of your lordship a real
help ; and in order that you may have full knowledge of the country
and its needs, I shall give you a general idea of what I know has
taken place." He then enters into a lengthy explanation of the dis-
content and jealousy which prevailed when he first arrived, and of
the strained relations between Mr. Baby, lieutenant of the coun-
ty, and the Commander of the fort. He speaks of the difficulties of
the situation by reason of the corruption of the old wood ran-
gers, and the traffic in liquor. He points out the necessity of his
being at Niagara during the session of parliament to safeguard the
interests of religion ; and remarks that the augmentation of his al-
lowance from government, which he confidently expects would en-
able him to spend some time in Kingston, until a missionary is
permanently settled there. He makes various suggestions for the
consideration of the bishop regarding the future.



25

His lordship did not adopt these suggestions, for in a letter of
June yth, 1 796, written at Detroit, Father Burke, with true priestly
obedience and humility, writes : " I find that your lordship's views
do not at all accord with mine. But as the Holy Ghost has placed
you to guide the flock, and consequently, to you he has given the
lights necessary to lead it in the way of salvation, I feel assured that
I shall not be mistaken in following your advice. The foolish con-
duct of the people of these districts have defeated the projects
which I had formed for their spiritual and temporal good, when I
had all the means necessary for putting them into execution as if
providence wished to give me a sensible proof that the plans of man
are unsubstantial." The country west of the Detroit river was
about to pass under the control of the United States. The Bishop
of Quebec had expressed some wish for Father Burke to remain at
Detroit, for he adds : " I cannot accept the mission of Detroit, for
your lordship can readily understand that such a step would give
grave displeasure to the government from whom I have received
every mark of good will, and would engender a well-founded dis-
trust of all clergymen which might have regrettable consequences
in the future. To day or to morrow I leave for Makinaw to secure
a site suitable for a church, and to St. Joseph's Island, whither the
fort is transported, to administer the sacraments to the poor people
who have been destitute of spiritual ministrations since the death of
Father Payet. I shall return by way of Kingston, where after hav-
ing examined all the circumstances of the case, if I find the interests
of this mission would be better promoted by handing it over to the
seminary of Montreal, I shall notify your lordship."

He informs the Bishop that the mission at Raisin river gave no
other temporal support to him during the year excepting twenty-
two bushels of wheat. Nevertheless, he adds, " I continue to live.
One finds plenty of resources in providence when one wishes to
follow in good faith its designs. Seek ye first the Kingdom of
God and its justice, and all these things shall be added unto you."
He also informs his lordship that he has received a papal res-
cript empowering him to administer the sacrament of confirma-
tion, with the bishop's consent, and asks for directions in the



26

premises. It was through his friend Dr. Troy, of Dublin, that this
rescript had been obtained. From his subsequent letters it can-
not be learnt whether or not Bishop Hubert authorized him to
make use of this faculty.

For the space of nearly two years, he laboured and planned as
the Superior of these Western Missions, his usual place of resid-
ence being on what is now the United States side of Detroit river.
What his difficulties were, and with what zeal and courage, as well
asjDrudence, gentleness and obedience he laboured, are revealed
by the extracts we have given from his letters. But political changes
were impending which would entail a transfer of base for his mis-
sionary operations.




CHAPTER VI.

BACK TO CIVILIZATION.

N 1796, the conditions of the treaty made two years previously
between England and the United States, having been ful-
filled, the English troops retired from Fort Miami, which
together with Detroit passed under the Dominion of the United
States. The national boundary was no longer the Ohio river, but
the imaginary line across the lakes which it is to-day. Ecclesiastic-
ally, too, the territory in which Father Burke had laboured
changed jurisdiction. By an old decree the limits of the diocese
of Baltimore were to be co-extensive with the civil boundaries of
the United States. Father Burke notified the Bishop of Baltimore
of the imminent change, and that Prelate sent the Rev. Mr. Le-
Vadou to take charge of Detroit.

Father Burke was most loyal to the English Government,
although he was ever ready to oppose and set at naught any at-
tempts which it might make, either openly or covertly against his
faith. He had a wholesome old time dislike, too, for revolutionary
methods, and was shocked to learn that the new pastor of Detroit
had eulogized Washington one Sunday from the pulpit. Such a
man could not remain west of the Detroit river ; he followed the
British flag to its eastern bank in the early summer of 1796. His
last letter from Detroit is dated June 7th of that year.

On 22nd July we find him at Niagara on his way to Quebec via
Kingston. On August ist, he writes from Montreal to his Bishop :
"After a journey of twenty-five days, here we are, Mr. Frechette
and myself * I fear that your lordship's answer

to Lord Dorchester may cause me to lose my means of living

* * * The project of securing the community of

Montreal (that is the Sulpitians) seems an inspiration of the Holy
Ghost, and I shall do all that depends on me for its realization,



28

and I pray your lorpship to think of it unceasingly." In the whole
series of his letters Father Burke has only words of praise for the
Sulpitian Fathers, or " gentlemen of the seminary," and he longed
to see them take charge of the missions of Upper Canada. We
shall hear his own words on this point later on. In order to ex-
plain the meaning of his remark to his Bishop that he feared lest
his lordship's answer to Lord Dorchester might injure him, we
subjoin the following extract from a letter to Dr. Troy, dated at
Quebec, August iyth, 1796.
MY LORD,

Yours of 3oth November, 1795, cam ^ to hand in the month of
February, near the Miamis, about 400 leagues westward of Que-
bec. 'Twas not yet decided whether we were to have war or peace
with our neighbours, the Yankees, and our situation there was
rather critical. The Canadians almost to a man were infected
with the new philosophy. An old miscreant who had squandered
a property between the brothel and the billiard table, kept a sort
of school to teach the young fellows that there was neither a God
nor a demon. I was every day in danger of being assassinated ;
the country in which I lived being ceded by the late treaty, I did
not think it proper to remain on that side. It would have given
great offence to the government from whom I had received every
mark of confidence and at whose expense I was supported. I'm
now in Quebec endeavoring to increase my appointment, and am
in hopes of succeeding.

An indiscreet answer of the Bishop to my Lord Dorchester has
deranged my affairs. He told the governor that 'twas uncertain
whether I would remain on the American side of Detroit river or
not. His lordship who was on the point of settling my appoint-
ment on a liberal scale deferred till my determination was known.
In the meanwhile General Prescott arrived, commander-in-chief.
My lord's counsellors, who were my best friends, were all thrown
out of place, and he himself sailed in a frigate for Europe. The
frigate ran aground on the Isle of Anticosti, and my lord is this
day with his family at some peasant's lodge in the Bay of Gaspe.
I have yet a good friend in General Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor



29

of Upper Canada. His secretary gives me the best assurance of
his desire to serve me ; unfortunately he does not hold the strings
of the purse.

Many French clergymen, of good information, are arrived in this
country and were greatly wanted. I'm sorry to add that the
Canadians look on them with a jealous eye. In the seminary of
Quebec, the seat of learning here, they would not admit a man of
them, though they evidently want them. Their schools are unfre-
quented and falling into contempt, and a mean jealously prevent-
ed them from employing the men who would bring them into
repute.

I'm rejoiced to hear that government patronizes your semin-
aries. I wait but an answer to set off again to the upper country
and continue my mission. I expect the bishop will allow me
some clergyman to accompany me. having no ambition to die
without the sacraments."*

Father Burke was able to dispel any cloud of suspicion that
might have arisen in the minds of government officials regarding
his sentiments, and course of action. He was to return to Upper
Canada as Vicar General, and superior of the missions, but he
realized how sadly inadequate were the means at his disposal for
the proper cultivation of that vast missionary field. He was
Superior in name, but hampered in action by a restriction of
authority. He saw one hope for the evangelization of the land
and he laboured to realize it. A sufficient number of true mission-
aries was of prime necessity ; so, also was a certain amount of
temporal wealth to meet the requirements of the poorer districts.
The community of the Sulpitians possessed both men and means,
and moreover were ready to undertake the work. The Bishop's
consent alone was required, and to obtain that Father Burke for-
warded to his lordship the following memorial. As in all his
letters so in this memorial his zeal and disinterestedness are appar-
ent. He saw the harvest ripening, and felt his own inability, from
lack both of men and pecuniary resources to garner it successfully.



"(Arch. Hal.)
3



30

He had no petty ambition of being the chief personage in the
field ; no sordid love of gain ; no mean jealousy of the success of
other workers. He surveys the ground ; grasps its requirements ;
maps out a course, and is willing to leave the glory of its success-
ful issue to others.

MEMORIAL TO BISHOP HUBERT.

" That your memorialist having attentively examined the local
situation of the province of Upper Canada and the rapid pro-
gress of its population under the protection of a most vigilant and
enlightened government, giving equal liberty to Catholics and
sectaries of all denominations, having also considered the advan-
tages which must arise from the establishment of solid and per-
manent missions in the chief places of resort, and the want of
resources in the present infant state of these for the support of
missionaries is convinced of the necessity of calling in the assist-
ance of some religious community.

Your memorialist begs leave to represent to your lordship that
the community of St. Sulpice appears to him, under every possi-
ble point of view, the most eligible ; its principles are purely
Catholic ; it possesses the means, has avowed its readiness to co-
incide with your lordship's views ; is in the confidence of govern-
ment, or at least is not an object of jealousy.

Your memorialist moreover most numbly represents to your
lordship that a mission of three priests living in community at the
Assumption is of the last importance : one to attend constantly to
the instruction of that extensive and populous settlement, another
to perform service on Sundays and holidays for the Canadians and
Christian Indians at the new post of Maiden, and a third to go
annually, immediately after the opening of the navigation to the
post of St. Joseph and falls of St. Mary, where an immense number
of Canadians employed in the fur trade meet and pass a month or
two ; and on his return to go from time to time to chenal icarti and
the River Tranch to attend to the instructions and other spiritual
wants of the people scattered in those quarters.



31,

Your memorialist also most humbly represents to your lord-
ship the absolute necessity of' two priests living in community
either at Kingston or Niagara, the one constantly at the place of
residence, and the other to go occasionally and spend at least
three months in the year at the other place.

Your memorialist finally begs leave to remark that a mission of
the sisters of the congregation consisting of two or three at the
least, beyond the meridian of life, under the direction of the
chief priest of that mission, with a power of admitting any well-
qualified woman into their order would be of manifest utility at
the Assumption, and your memorialist is humbly of opinion that
resources may be found in that country for their support.

From your lordship's zeal for the glory of Christ, and the
spiritual interest of his flock, your memorialist has every reason to
hope a favorable attention to these his most humble representa-
tions, and that your lordship will take the most speedy and
effectual measures with the community of St. Sulpice to reduce
them to practice, and your memorialist will ever pray * * *

Accompanying this memorial was a letter to the bishop dated
at Soulange, 26th September, 1796, in which he says : " Mr. Bras-
sier in the name of the seminary has proposed to me to establish
missions in Upper Canada, with your lordship's consent ; and
added that the seminary is disposed to make all necessary efforts
for that purpose, even to the bringing of subjects from Europe *
* * I see no obstacle to the accomplishment of this project,
save the personal interest of Mr. Dufaux (the priest in charge of
L' Assumption). To this I reply that when it is a question of the
general good of religion, the interest of no individual whomso-
ever should enter into the calculation. Moreover, your lordship
has many other places in the diocese which would amply compen-
sate him."

Death quickly removed what Father Burke considered the only
obstacle to the consummation of his desire. Writing from Kingston
3rd October, on his way to Sandwich, he says : he has just heard
of the death of Mr. Dufaux from a man named Pratt who was on
his way to Quebec with letters for the bishop. He advises his lord-



32

ship to be on his guard as he suspects the man goes on purpose to-
deceive him. If his lordship approves of his project relative to the
Sulpitians, he begs him to arrange with the Seminary so that two
priests may come up the following spring ; he would live with them r
and anything remaining " over and above their support he would
use, together with all the compontnda, on behalf of the mission of
Kingston."

October 25th, he writes : " My lord, here I am after almost end-
less delays at Chippawa. I had the good fortune to obtain a large
lot at Niagara, and another at York (Toronto), two permanent es-
tablishments. I shall willingly cede these lands to the seminary,
but the buildings must be erected by it. I have not yet drawn my
large lot ot land, as I am waiting until the location of the Capital
shall. have been decided on."

Like a skillful general he was studying the field as he journeyed
onward, and selecting suitable sites as centres for future operations.

November 2nd, 1796, he writes from L'Assomption : " My lord.
I had the honour to write to your lordship from Chippawa ; that
same day I reached Fort Erie, and two days after the mouth of the
Detroit River an almost marvelous feat and on the Vigil of All
Saints I arrived at L'Assomption. If your

lordship will send me two Sulpitian Fathers according to my pro-
posed plan, I shall open at once a school. All are pleased at this
proposal, and I have no doubt some good subjects would be found.
There is need of a house for two missionaries at Niagara, it is the
most suitable place, and I have given orders to buy a plot of ground
for 150 or 2co pounds. I know not where I shall find the money,
but God's providence will provide. If this place will aftord me a
maintainance, I shall apply all my salary from government towards
the purchase, and thus I shall accomplish my design."

From Maiden he wrote on January 29th, 1797, a long letter to
the Bishop detailing the difficulties of the situation, and the dissen-
sions existing both between the French Canadians and the English,
and among the French themselves. A new set of laws had been
promulgated for Upper Canada, and against some of these a por-
tion of the French Canadians were protesting, urged on, it would



33

.appear by their brethern on the west of Detroit River. Father
Burke's voice and influence were ever on the side of law and order.
He recognized that the laws, though differing from those of Lower
Canada, were good in themselves, and hence he strove to have
them observed. The winter passed, spring came, and as no mis-
sionaries had arrived, he went once more to Quebec to plead the
cause he had at heart.




CHAPTER VII.

STATEMENT OF MISSIONS SENT TO ROME.

N the August of 1797, Father Burke writes from Quebec to
Archbishop Troy that the recall of Lord Dorchester had been
disadvantageous to him, but as he had a friend in Lieu-
tenant Governor Simcoe, his allowance had been increased so as to
enable him to live. He then continues : "I am forced to tell your
Grace that the poor Irish and Scotch, though numerous, are totally
neglected by the Canadian clergy. In the towns of Quebec and
Montreal, where there are numbers of them, they are destitute of
every sort of instruction, A Mr. Saulnier in Montreal, a zealous
and able missionary, 'tis true, attends to them in the best manner
he can. The Upper Province in which I am stationed is peopled
with them, and 'tis of absolute necessity that schools be estab-
lished for their instruction, and clergymen brought from Ireland
until they can be formed here in the province. There is but one
parish in this immense tract of country, inhabited by Canadians
(that is, French Canadians). If it be just to sacrifice the salva-
tion of thousands to a handful of the most ignorant and impudent
fellows that I ever knew, your Grace will determine. The gentle-
man of St. Sulpice, in the seminary of Montreal, agreed with me
to undertake the mission of the whole province, and to procure
some missionaries from Ireland, if I could obtain the bishop's
consent. I wrote him a strong memorial on that subject. He
was content, but declined terminating the business, I believe to
avoid jealousies. I have now come three hundred .leagues to ex-
postulate with him, and find him unfortunately attacked with a
melancholy which renders him incapable of business. I have no
hopes from his coadjutor, and have, of course, sent a relation and



35

memorial to the Prefect of the Propaganda. A community is
absolutely necessary to carry on this mission."*

A few days later he wrote to the same Prelate, enclosing his
statement of the missions to be forwarded to Propaganda. In
this he alludes again to the zeal of the Sulpitians, and their ability
and readiness to establish missions in the Upper Province. He
contrasts them with the Canadian clergymen, much to the disad-
vantage of the latter, and adds : " Your Grace can't conceive with
what sorrow and indignation I saw the seminary of Quebec, though
destitute of subjects, refuse to admit two men, a Mr. Gazet and a
Mr. Desjardins, who would do honour to any house. Poor Gazet
is now in London, the other man is yet here, but without employ-
ment * * * Being upon good terms with the. government,
I have obtained an acre of land in each of the new towns, and a
lot of twelve hundred acres besides, upon which it will be easy to
found missions, and which I intend to transfer to the community
of St. Sulpice, if I can procure them for the missions. I myself
have no funds to build, being obliged to live on my appointments
from government, having no ecclesiastical revenue."*

From the Archives of Propaganda we have obtained a copy of
.the report on the state of the missions, of which Father Burke
speaks in the letter just cited. It is dated Quebec. i5th August,
1797, and is addressed to the Cardinal Prefect of Propaganda.
He tells how at the request of Lieutenant Governor Simcoe, the
Bishop of Quebec sent him in 1794 to Raisin River. His powers
though apparently ample, were in fact rendered illusory by a clause
inserted at the end. The banks of the river " are inhabited by
about one hundred Canadian families, baptized indeed in the
Catholic Church, but wicked men given to every vice, but espe-
cially to drunkness and sins against nature. Scarcely can you find
a girl ot ten years that has not suffered violence." At a distance
of thirteen leagues from the mouth of the river, there were two set-
tlements, peopled by the descendants of wood rangers, a " bad
race of men, worse than the savages themselves." He tells us war



*Arc. Hal.



36

was at that time (1794) raging between the United States and the
Indians, that the English Government favoured the latter, supply-
ing arms and food, that nearly all the French Canadians in that
part were favourable to the Republic. He relates his subsequent
attempts to secure the services of the Sulpitian Fathers, and how
he had now come to Quebec to lay this matter, as well as other
difficulties that impeded his work, personally before the bishop,
but found him so broken in health as to be unfit for business. He
then continues : " He (Bishop Hubert) appears resolved to trans-
fer the burden of the episcopate to his coadjutor ; to this latter
an assistant will be at once assigned by the Governor General. I
know not who he may be, but it is much to be feared that he may
be'unsuitable, having only this one merit, that of being acceptable
to the Governor General. There are in the diocese some most
worthy men, among whom are conspicuous Messrs. LeRoux,
Saulnier and Desjardins, natives of France. 5 ' He points out to
the Holy See the abuses which might easily arise, should an ambi-
tious and unprincipled man he appointed through the influence of
the Governor General. The danger was a very real one, when we
consider all the circumstances of the country. Father Burke was
not content with pointing it out ; his practical mind suggested the
means best adapted to avert a calamity from that source. He
says : " There is no remedy for this imminent evil except the erec-
tion of Montreal into an Episcopal See. As at present constituted
the diocese of Quebec is most vast in extent, running from the
mouth of the St. Lawrence to the Pacific; and no bishop who
ever was, or is, or will be, could properly attend to its wants.
Right reason demands that over the country east of the eastern
boundary of Lower Canada (viz., the Maritime Provinces), which
is peopled by English, Scotch and Irish, and their descendants,
with a few French, an Apostolic Missionary speaking the English
language should be appointed." The diocese of Quebec should,
in his v^ew, be limited to that part of the Province which is east of
Three Rivers j the remainder of Lower Canada to constitute the
new Diocese of Montreal. Speaking of the Sulpitians in Montreal
he says : " In their congregation are men of great learning, and of



37

marked zeal for the glory of God and the good of their neighbour ;
eloquent in speech they have, within the three years that have
elapsed since their arrrival, restored in this city religion that was
shaken to its foundations and almost uprooted. If one of these
were made bishop, and another given him as coadjutor, so chat the
office should be annexed to the congregation, a flourishing church
would soon be seen instead of one sapped at its roots, and tremb-
ling on its foundations. If human intelligence can avail the erec-
tion of this diocese is not merely useful, it is altogether necessary."

He points out that the obstacles to this plan, whether coming
from the clergy, the government, or the bishop, could be easily