CHAPTER VI.
Visit the “lions” of Montreal—The 47th Regiment—The city open to attack—Quays, public buildings—French colonisation—Rise of Montreal—Stone—A French-Anglicised city—Loyalty of Canadians—Arrival of Troops—Facings—British and American Army compared—Experience needed by latter—Slavery.
Visit the “lions” of Montreal—The 47th Regiment—The city open to attack—Quays, public buildings—French colonisation—Rise of Montreal—Stone—A French-Anglicised city—Loyalty of Canadians—Arrival of Troops—Facings—British and American Army compared—Experience needed by latter—Slavery.
I remained several days at Montreal, examining the lions, and making the most of my brief stay. Here are living a knot of Southern families in a sort of American Siberia, at a very comfortable hotel, who nurse their wrath against the Yankee to keep it warm and sustain each other’s spirits. They form a nucleus for sympathising society to cluster around, and so germinate into innocent little balls, sleigh-parties, and occasional matrimonial engagements.
“Waiting for his regiment,” too, was old General Bell—the veteran who saw his first shot fired in the Peninsula, and his last, forty-four years afterwards, before Sebastopol. There were parades of the 47th Regiment and inspection-drills on the St. Lawrence in snow-shoes; and Penn marched out his Armstrongs in beautiful order, on their sleighs, for all to see.
The position of this fine city leaves it open to attack from the American frontier, which is so near that the blue tops of the mountain ridges of the bordering States can be seenon a clear day. The rail from thecentre of New York runs direct to it, through the arsenal and fort of Rouse’s Point on Lake Champlain; and there are two other lines converging on it, so that an enormous force could be swiftly sent against it. The frontier is here a mere line on the map, so drawn as to leave the head of Lake Champlain and Rouse’s Point in the hands of the Americans. Its importance, its beauty, and the feeling of the inhabitants would render it tempting to the Northern armies; and the fierce, relentless, and destructive spirit which has been evoked in their civil war, might lead them to destroy all that is valuable and handsome in a city which stands in strong contrast to the hideousness of American towns, if they were, as of old, obliged to abandon the city.
The quays of Montreal are of imperial beauty, and would reflect credit on any city in Europe. They present a continuous line of cut-stone from the Lachine Canal along the river-front before the city, leaving a fine broad mall or esplanade between the water’s edge and the houses. The public buildings, built of solid stone, in which a handsome limestone predominates, are of very great merit. Churches, court-houses, banks, markets, hospitals, colleges, all are worthy of a capital; and these would present a very different appearance to an invader from that which was offered by the poverty-stricken and insignificant Montreal of 1812.
There are a few guns mounted on a work on the left bank of the river above the city, but for military purposes the place may be considered perfectly open. There are more than 90,000 people in the city, but it is said not to be a fighting population; and there are many foreigners and emigrants of an inferior class, who taint the placewith rowdyism. The British element was active in volunteering when I was there, and figures in uniform were frequently to be seen in the streets; but the time was unfavourable for any public displays, and I never saw any of the volunteers workingen masse.
Here, as elsewhere, the jealousies of claimants for command, local and personal rivalry, have impeded the good work; but such obstacles would vanish in the presence of danger. National feeling has tended to make the organisation of corps too expensive, and the question of drafting for the militia has also interfered with the full development of the movement.
It would be unjustifiable to assert that the enterprise of the French people, and their capacity for colonisation, have been diminished by republican institutions; but, unquestionably, the great convulsions which have agitated society since the fall of the monarchy appear to have concentrated the energies of the race upon objects nearer home, even though they have annexed Algeria, established a protectorate over Tahiti, and are engaged in war with the Cambodians. Where is the enterprise which, more than 200 years ago, originated a company of merchant adventurers, who pushed out settlements into this wilderness, and founded factories among the Iroquois and the Mohawks? In those days, indeed, the zeal of Jesuits and other Roman Catholic missionaries preceded the march and directed the course of commerce.
Montreal owes its existence to a certain Monsieur Maisonneuve, the factor of the Commercial Association in 1642. More than 100 years afterwards it was nearly destroyed by fire; and ten years after the conflagration the troops of the insurgent colonies tookpossession of the town, which was a favourite object of attack in the two American wars.
In spite of many misfortunes—fire, hostile occupation, insurrection, riot—Montreal has flourished exceedingly, and the energy of its population has been displayed in securing for it a principal share of the trade between England and the Upper Provinces. Its railway communications have been pushed with great energy, and the canals and quays are in imperial grandeur; but still, in case of war with the States, the only outlet in winter (by rail to Portland) would be effectually blocked up.
The city contains nearly 100,000 inhabitants, of whom 60,000 are Roman Catholics—representing a great variety of nationalities, with a predominance, however, of French-Canadians and Irish. An abundance of fine stone, found near the town, has enabled the inhabitants to build substantial houses in lieu of the wooden edifices from which they were driven by two great conflagrations; but the material is of a dull cold grey colour, and the streets, seen in winter-time, have in consequence a gloomy and melancholy aspect. Many of the cupolas and spires and the roofs of many of the houses are covered with metal plates, which shine out in the sun, and give the city a bright appearance from a distance, which is not altogether maintained on a nearer approach.
The mental activity of the population, displayed in a large crop of newspapers, doubtless indicates a close intimacy with the United States; but Montreal is, after all, French Anglicised, and, notwithstanding the disaffection of which it gave symptoms in the rebellion, the sympathies of its people are very far removedfrom the bald republicanism of the New England States.
Nuns and priests seem, to a Protestant eye, to be rather too numerous for the good of the people; but having seen the schools of the Christian Brothers, and having heard the testimony of all classes to the services rendered to morals and religion, to charity and to Christianity, by the various religious orders, I am forced to believe that Montreal is much indebted to their labours.
The number of hospitals, schools, scientific institutions—the libraries, reading-rooms, universities, are remarkable. They are worthy of a highly-civilised, wealthy, and prosperous community; but, in fact, the economy with which they are managed is not one of the least remarkable features about the Montreal institutions. Party animosities have now been softened: but there is no doubt of the satisfaction with which the Liberal Canadian points to the fact that those who were imprisoned and persecuted by the Government, for rebellious acts or tendencies, have since been called to office, and have served the Crown in high official positions.
The people of Canada are learning a useful piece of knowledge or two from what is passing so close to them. The annexation party are heard no more: in their room stand the people of Canada, loyal to the Crown and to the connexion, prepared to defend their homes and altars against invasion. So far as I have gone, in no place in the Queen’s dominions is there greater attachment to her person and authority.
The Canadians see with sorrow the ills which afflict their neighbours, in spite of all the ill-advised menaces of the Northern Press; but they felt naturally indignantat being spoken of as if they were a mere chattel, which could be taken away by the United States from Great Britain in order to spite her. With such turbulent and dangerous elements at work close to them, they will no doubt eagerly assist the authorities in their efforts to secure their borders and their country, by putting the militia on a proper footing. The patriotism of the Legislature can be relied on to do this. England will do the rest, and give her best blood, if need be, to aid this magnificent dependency of the same Crown as that to which she is herself subject, in maintaining the present situation.
It was most agreeable to hear praise instead of grumbling, and to know that amid no ordinary difficulties the troops were landed and conveyed across the snows of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the month of January without casualty or mishap worth mentioning, and that the arrangements were worthy of every commendation. It made us feel proud of our army when we saw the cheerfulness, soldierly look, cleanliness, and deportment of the men, and learnt that they had conducted themselves in the most exemplary manner, though exposed to great temptation by the hospitality of the New Brunswickers and the cheapness of intoxicating liquors.
And what wonderful vicissitudes of service those officers and men have seen! Here is a face yet burned by the suns of India, encircled in fur-cap, and peering into the railway carriage to welcome some well-known friend from China or Aldershot. There marches a sturdy Guardsman, one of the few who remain of the men of Alma and Inkerman, with that small ladder of glory on his breast. Here is one of the old Riflemen—alas,most gracious Queen! they feel proud in sadness of their name now—one of “the Prince Consort’s Own Rifle Brigade,” who heard, that bright evening when our good ship was gliding through the blue waters of the Dardanelles, the rich chorus of those manly voices, most of which are silenced for ever:—
“Soldiers, merrily march away!Soldier’s glory lives in story,His laurels are green when his locks are grey,Then hurrah for the life of a soldier!”
“Soldiers, merrily march away!Soldier’s glory lives in story,His laurels are green when his locks are grey,Then hurrah for the life of a soldier!”
“Soldiers, merrily march away!
Soldier’s glory lives in story,
His laurels are green when his locks are grey,
Then hurrah for the life of a soldier!”
Firm and clean and straight as of yore, under all his load of greatcoat, furs, and boots, struts the soldier of the 47th, mindful of De Lacy Evans, “little Inkerman,” and of the greater in which it was eclipsed. Will he be as trim and neat, I wonder, if they take away his white facings? Of the old “fours”—the second brigade of the division which with the light divided the “general” fighting—the 41st and 47th, though perhaps no better, always looked better than the 49th, because of their facings.
The influence of facings, indeed, goes much further than that in general society. The hotel in which I live (a very attentive host is doing his best to complete the resemblance by extensive dilapidations) is as like a barracks as can be. The “St. Lawrence Hall” is in a military occupation. The obstacles in way of “alterations” are bestridden by Guardsmen, Riflemen, and Engineers, on their way to breakfast and dinner, as if they were getting through breaches. In the hall abundance of soldiers, anxious orderlies with the quaint quartoes full of orders, and military idlers smoking as much as you like, but, I am glad to say, not chewing—nor, as a New York paper calls theRepublican Senators, “tobacco-expectorant.” To appreciate this boon properly, pray be prepared to limit the suffrage immensely. In the passages more orderlies and soldier-servants, who now and then do a little of what is called flirting with the passingdemoiselles de service; tubs outside in the passage; doors of rooms openà la caserne; military chests and charts on the table.
It would have given those who admit that war is necessary sometimes, as the sole means of redressing national grievances, considerable satisfaction to have seen the difference presented by the regular troops of Great Britain in Canada and the vast masses of volunteers assembled on the Potomac by the United States. It is not that the British are one whit finer men: taking even the Guards, there are some few regiments there which in height and every constituent of physique, except gross weight, cannot be excelled.
As a whole, perhaps, the average of intelligence, taken there to mean reading and writing, may be higher among the United States volunteers than among the British regulars;—not much, however. The Sanitary Commission of New York, a very patriotic and thoroughly American body, did not attempt to claim more than three-fifths of the United States armies as of Americanbirth. The immediate descendants of Irish and German parents are thus included among native-born Americans, though they are in all respects except birth Irish and Germans still. Very probably they have not partaken to the full, or to any great extent, of the advantages of public education.
But, taking the statement of the Commissioners—which, by-the-bye, is a very serious reflection on thepatriotism of the Northern populations—it may be doubted whether in reading, writing, and arithmetic there is any great superiority on the part of the United States troops over the British. I admit that in some regiments of the New England States there is a higher average of such knowledge as may enable a man to argue on the orders of his officers, and of such intelligence as may induce him to believe he is competent to criticise the conduct of a campaign.
There is an immense amount of newspaper reading and letter-writing, the former taste predominating; but our own mailbags are ample enough to satisfy any one that the same preponderance which is maintained by London over New York in correspondence is to be found in the English army over the American. Many Irish and Germans here have no inducements to write letters, but there are few who are unable to read their newspapers.
What is it, then, one may reasonably ask, which would satisfy the grumbler, who finds fault with the expenditure of standing armies, that he has got value for his money when he contrasts the British troops here with the battalions on the Potomac? It is the efficiency produced by obedience, which is the very life of discipline: the latter is obedience incorporated, and, in motion or at rest, acting by fixed rules, with something approaching to certainty in its results.
The small army in Canada could be massed together, with its artillery and transport, in a very short time, and directed with precision to any one point, though it is a series of detachments on garrison duty rather than acorps d’armée, and it has neither cavalry nor baggage animals. With all the liberal (if not occasionally extravagant)outlay, and the cost of transporting it, the force in a few weeks would be far less expensive than an American corps of the same strength; and it is no disparagement to the latter to say they would be less efficient than the British. I do not speak of actual fighting; for our battle-fields in Canada tell how desperate may be the encounters between the armies. Our force would be under the orders of experienced officers. The staff would consist of men who have seen service in the Russian war, in Asia, in India, and in China, and who have witnessed the operations of great European armies. The United States is laboriously seeking to acquire experience, at a cost which may be ruinous to its national finances, and a delay which may be fatal to its cause; but it cannot galvanise the inert mass with the fire of military efficiency, though it burns, we are told, with hidden volcanic energies, and is pregnant with patriotic life. The use of an army in war is to fight, to be able to move to and after its enemy, to beat and to pursue him.
It is not greatly to be wondered at if the work, which Great Britain has only partially accomplished, notwithstanding the greatness of its progress, should be only begun in the United States. The aptitude of a large mass of the inhabitants for arms, whether they be foreign or native-born, is marred by many things. There is the principle of equality intruding itself in military duty, confounding civil rights with the relations between superior and inferior—between officer and rank-and-file. There is the difficulty of getting men to follow officers who have no special fitness for their post. A soldier may be made in a year; a company officer cannot be made in three years. There are manyofficers in the American army of great theoretical and some practical knowledge; there are many in the British army lazy and indifferent;—but no one would think for a moment of comparing the acquirements, in a military sense, of the officers of the two nations.
In the Crimean war, when our army was enlarged at a time that severe losses had much diminished the number of officers, we saw that our standard was considerably lowered by the precipitate infusion of new men. No wonder, then, that the United States had and has great difficulty in procuring officers of the least value for a levy of more than half-a-million of volunteers.
But the system itself is a most formidable barrier to success. Under no circumstances can it reach a moderate degree of efficiency, unless the test of subsequent examination be rigidly enforced. There is no superiority of rank, of military knowledge, of personal character, of social position, to create an emulation in the mind of the private to be the obedient but daring equal of the officer in the time of danger. To such general remarks there are many and brilliant exceptions.
In the course of time, the personal qualities and the reputation for bravery and skill of officers would stand in the Republican armies in lieu of those influences which move the British soldier. No one is foolish enough to think or say that the private follows his officer because the latter has paid so much money for his commission or has so much a year. The gradual rise from one rank to another is a guarantee of some military knowledge—at all events, of acquaintance with drill. Social position counts for much. Men who are equal before the law are very unequal in the drill-book.
It would be lamentable to see so much faith in acause, such devotion, zeal, boundless expenditure, and splendid material comparatively lost—to behold the petted Republic wasting away under this influence, and thevis inertiæof the force it has called into being, were it not that the spectacle is a lesson for the nations. It has not yet come to its end.
If standing armies there must be, let them be as complete in organisation as possible. If an empire must rely on volunteers as its main defence, let care be taken that they are organised and officered so as to be effective, and regulated on such principles of economy that they may not overwhelm with debt the country they are engaged in protecting by their arms.
It is quite true that the Confederates suffer from the same disadvantages as those which affect the Federals, but in a far less degree. Mr. Davis, early in the war, got hold of the army and subjected it to discipline. It was not so difficult to do so in the South as in the North, owing to the difference in the people. The officers were appointed by him. The men were animated, as they are now, by an intense hatred of their enemy. Their armies were in a defensive attitude; a large number, comprising some of the best, of the United States officers sided with them. They are operating besides on the inner lines.
But, after all, if the possession of the seaboard, the use of navies, the vast preponderance of population, the ability to get artillery and arms, and the occupation of the heads of the great river communications be not utterly thrown away, the North must overrun the South, if only the Northerners can fight as well as the Southerners, and if the North can raise money to maintain the struggle.
Let us leave out of view the slave element for once. The Abolitionists assert that the most formidable weapon in the United States armoury is the use of the emancipated slave; but it is rather difficult to see how the slaves could assist the North as long as they remain obedient and quiet in the South, or how the North can get at them by a mere verbal declaration till it has conquered the Slave States. Above all, it is not clear that it would benefit the penniless exchequer of the North to have 4,000,000 black paupers suddenly thrown on it for support.
Slavery is to me truly detestable; the more I saw of it the less I liked it. It is painful, to one who has seen the system at work and its results, to read in English journals philosophical—pseudo-philosophical treatises on the subject, and dissertations on the “ethics and æsthetics” of the curse, from which we shook ourselves free years ago with the approbation of our own consciences and of the world.
Before I speak of the defence of Montreal in connection with the general military position of the Canadian frontier, I shall continue my brief narrative of my tour through Canada.