It will totally
beggar New France, and may in the end bankrupt the royal treasury of
France itself if called on to redeem them."
The discussion rolled on for an hour. The Count listened in silent
approbation to the arguments of the gentlemen opposing the measure,
but he had received private imperative instructions from the King to
aid the Intendant in the issue of the new paper money. The Count
reluctantly sanctioned a decree which filled New France with
worthless assignats, the non-redemption of which completed the
misery of the Colony and aided materially in its final subjugation
by the English.
The pile of papers upon the table gradually diminished as they were
opened and disposed of. The Council itself was getting weary of a
long sitting, and showed an evident wish for its adjournment. The
gentlemen of the law did not get a hearing of their case that day,
but were well content to have it postponed, because a postponement
meant new fees and increased costs for their clients. The lawyers
of Old France, whom LaFontaine depicts in his lively fable as
swallowing the oyster and handing to each litigant an empty shell,
did not differ in any essential point from their brothers of the
long robe in New France, and differed nothing at all in the length
of their bills and the sharpness of their practice.
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