St. John's was retaken, and
its late conquerers were made prisoners of war.
The financial condition of France was desperate. Her people
were crushed with taxation; her debt grew apace; and her
yearly expenditure was nearly double her revenue. Choiseul
felt the need of immediate peace; and George III. and Bute
were hardly less eager for it, to avert the danger of Pitt's return
to power and give free scope to their schemes for strengthening the
prerogative. Therefore, in September, 1762, negotiations were resumed.
The Duke of Bedford was sent to Paris to settle the preliminaries,
and the Duc de Nivernois came to London on the same errand. The
populace were still for war. Bedford was hissed as he passed through
the streets of London, and a mob hooted at the puny figure of Nivernois
as he landed at Dover.
The great question was, Should Canada be restored? Should
France still be permitted to keep a foothold on the North
American continent? Ever since the capitulation of Montreal
a swarm of pamphlets had discussed the momentous subject.
Some maintained that the acquisition of Canada was not an
original object of the war; that the colony was of little value
and ought to be given back to its old masters; that Guadeloupe
should be kept instead, the sugar trade of that island being worth far
more than the Canadian fur trade; and, lastly, that the British colonists,
if no longer held in check by France, would spread themselves over
the continent, learn to supply all their own wants, grow independent,
and become dangerous.
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