At the conclusion of this speech Bigot took his seat. He had made a
favorable impression upon the Council, and even his most strenuous
opponents admitted that on the whole the Intendant had spoken like
an able administrator and a true Frenchman.
Cadet and Varin supported their chief warmly. Bad as they were,
both in private life and public conduct, they lacked neither
shrewdness nor courage. They plundered their country--but were
ready to fight for it against the national enemy.
Other officers followed in succession,--men whose names were already
familiar, or destined to become glorious in New France,--La Corne,
St. Luc, Celeron de Bienville, Colonel Philibert, the Chevalier de
Beaujeu, the De Villiers, Le Gardeur de St. Pierre, and De Lery.
One and all supported that view of the despatches taken by the
Governor and the Intendant. All agreed upon the necessity of
completing the walls of Quebec and of making a determined stand at
every point of the frontier against the threatened invasion. In
case of the sudden patching up of a peace by the negotiators at Aix
La Chapelle--as really happened--on the terms of uti possidetis, it
was of vital importance that New France hold fast to every shred of
her territory, both East and West.
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