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INSTITUTIONS, IDEOLOGY AND POWER:
SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE EASTERN

TOWNSHIPS OF QUEBEC

By

Philip James Hendrick

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Anthr0pology

1981

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ABSTRACT

INSTITUTIONS, IDEOLOGY AND POWER:
SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE EASTERN
TOWNSHIPS OF QUEBEC

By

Philip James Handrick

It has been suggested that ideological conflicts in complex
society express above all the conflict between groups competing for the
majority's acceptance of their theory of society and ultimately the
right to govern society. Much of the research dealing with ideology has
tended to focus on the symbolic expression of ideology, equating social
acceptance with the control of culturally appropriate symbols. The
present study is an attempt to deal with ideology in relation to non-
ideological dimensions of the society. If, as Althusser has suggested,
institutions serve as channels for the transmission of ideology in
complex society, then the competition between ideologically opposed
groups within a society should manifest itself as a struggle for the
control of institutions.

In order to test this hypothesis, a predominately English-
speaking village in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, North Hatley, was
chosen for the study. For nearly two centuries, Quebec society had been
divided ethnically into a dual institutional system; one English, the
Other French, providing parallel services but mutually exclusive systems.
Beginning in the 19608 the province began a series of reforms through
which it took control of education, health, welfare and social service

and began to take a more active role in municipal affairs in an attempt

 

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to modernize Quebec society.

Through this process of modernization, the traditional ethnic
division of institutions was broken down forcing French and English to
interact and compete within the same institutional framework. Changes
in provincial-municipal and provincial-federal relations modified the
dynamics of competition at the local level. English domination of the
municipal council and key institutions derived originally from control
over the local resource base. Centralization shifted the locus of
power to the French-dominated provincial government and has effected not
only English control of local institutions but brought their fundamental

assumptions about their collective identity and the nature of society

into question.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Alma mater is a descriptive term applied to institutions of
higher education but a misnomer. The intellectual nourishment that
sustains a graduate student does not come from brass bands and buildings
but from concerned people within them. It is those people at several
universities I owe my first round of thanks: James Olila at St. John's
University who fostered my interest in anthropology; Dotty Billings of
Wichita State University who nourished it; Norm Sauer, a friend, who got
it through the rough spots; and, Ken David, who coaxed form from a
whelter of ideas. Special thanks to Bob McKinley and Dave Dwyer, my
committee, for their patience, insight and support over the years. And
finally Scott Whiteford, my chair, whose guidance and confidence made
the research and writing of this dissertation a challenge and a pleasure.

I must thank the committee for Canadian-American Studies at
Michigan State, Victor Howard, Russel Nye and Georges Joyeaux, for their
support and most especially Yvan Breton of the Université Laval for his
invaluable introduction into the field of Quebec anthropology. I must
mention the staff of the Townships' Collection and several members of
the faculty at Bishop's University, Gil Ross, Kurt Rose, Allen Jones and
David Rittenhaus for their assistance, and Eric Weddell of the Université
Laval.

My debt to the residents of North Hatley is professional and
Personal. If the goal of research is to be objective about the behavior
"subjects" of the study, I have failed miserably.

and attitudes 0f the

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I have been privileged to share in the lives of people who were
strangers to me who have since become friends. Writing this disserta-
tion has meant wrestling the objective "facts" out of the personal
experience they permitted me to share. Beyond tolerating my presence
and patiently answering my questions many people made me welcome in
their homes--too many to be named but I must cite a few. Jacqueline and
Vitale Giroux (et l'Italien aussi) for sharing a warm kitchen and the
finest brioche in Quebec. The Gwyns for a family meal and coffee and
the Fleischers for a place by the fire and chocolate chip cookies. Ian
Tate and John Seitz for some first rate distractions and Georges
Ouellette for a unique friend. Eleanor Denora for typing and excellent
tmrmonies and Thelma Gilbert for keeping it all in perspective.

A special word of thanks to the Sutherland family: an extended
bilateral unit composed of Mom, Dad, five kids, two cats, an old yellow
dog and during my too brief stay in North Hatley, a resident
anthropologist. Besides critiquing ideas and editing drafts, Ron
Sutherland furthered my education to include beekeeping, the use of the
Jackhammer and the repair of antediluvian waterclosets. I cannot
Inassibly cite all the kindnesses shown me but my thanks is deeply felt.

Finally I must thank Beth and our families for their support

adld patience, what that has meant to me is best known between myself

a11d them.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES .
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION

The Social Context

Ethnicity .

Criteria in Site Selection .

The English-Speaking "Community"
The "Off-Island" English

The Eastern Townships .

Methodology . .

Chapters . . . . . . .

LAND TENURE AND COLONIZATION IN THE EASTERN TOWNSHIPS .

Introduction

Land Policy . .

The American Townships
Hatley Township . . .
Emergent Local Government .
Topography

Resources . .
Agricultural Production .
Education .

Religion

Summary .

THE INVASION AND THE "DOMINANT THOUGHT" .

The Liberal Challenge . .
The Rise of the Theocratic State
Decline of the Seigneuries
The Parochial Municipality .
The Myth of the Agricultural Vocation .
The Origin of Decentralized Government
Growth of British Investments .
Railroads . .
French Emigration .
Conditions of Settlement
Culture Contact .
The French Invasion .
Summary .

iv

10
13
17
20
23
30

34

34
36
39
43
49
53
55
S6
57
59
6O

62

63
66
67
73
74
76
79
83
84
85
88
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IV. THE EVOLVING MUNICIPAL TOWNSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
The Massawippi Valley Railroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Industrialization and the British Managerial Class . . . 98
Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Agricultural Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Growth and Decline of Villages . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Ayer' s Flats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Massawippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
East Hatley (Charleston) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Katevale, A Colonization Parish . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
North Hatley and Its Environs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
North Hatley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Education in the Township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
The Municipal Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
V. LA MAJORITE-MINORITAIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
The Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Agriculture and Dairy Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Rural Estates and Farm Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
The Tourist Trade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
J. R. McKay and the Pleasant View . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Local Manufacturing and Commerce . . . . . 149
Social Classification: Religious, Political or
Ethnic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Seasonal Employment in North Harley . . . . . . . . . . 157
The Summer Cottages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Rail Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
The Social Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Village Organizations . . . . . . 166
Composition of the Pre-World War II Summer Colony . . . 167
The American Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Post World War II Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Divergence and Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

VI. ETHNIC DIVISION AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL . . . . . . . . . 178

Micro-Ethnicity and Domains . . . . . . . .-. . . . . . . 179

Le Minorité-Majoritaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Attempt at Assimilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
The PrOperty Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Boundary Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

The Municipal Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Functions of the Municipal Council . . . . . . . . . . 189

The Associational Life of the Village . . . . . . . . . . 196
Religion . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Education: The Protestant School Board . . . . . . . . . 201

Consolidation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

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School Taxes
Summary . . . .

VII. REGIONALISM AND RESPONSE

Background: The "Quiet Revolution"
North Hatley: 1960 - 1976 .
Demographic Changes .
Local Commerce
Population Shifts .
The Regionalization of Education

The English-Speaking Townshippers Association .

Summary . . .
VIII. NORTH HATLEY: REACTION T0 RECENT CHANGES

Class Structure - Social Structure

The Municipal Council and Change
Police Protection . . . .
Municipal Reform

The Arab Invasion . . .
By-Laws, Zoning and Construction
North Hatley Regional Heritage Society

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IX. INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL LIFE: CONCLUSIONS .

Introduction . .
Fund Raising--Sherbrooke Hospital .
Public Service--Socia1 Service
North Hatley Library Society
Recreational Associations .
"Opting-Out": Quebec-Ottawa .

Bill 101 . .
Form and Social Drama .
Summary .

Conclusion . . . . . . . . .
FOOTNOTES

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . .

vi

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210

211

212
219
222
224
228
234
250
254

255

256
258
270
273
277
283
286
288

290

290
292
296
297
300
303
306
307
309
317

321

324

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LIST OF TABLES

Table
1.1 English-speaking population in the counties of the

"Historic" Eastern Townships . . . . . . . 19
2.1 Expenses related to the settlement of Hatley Township . . . 45
3.1 Emigration, 1840-1900 . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.1 Hatley Township farm occupiers (1871-1891) . . . . . . . . . 104
4.2 Population figures for Hatley Township (1871-1941) . . . . . 108
5.1 Milk produced in Stanstead County: 1921-1961 . . . . . . 138
5.2 Changes in dairy production, in Hatley Township, 1931-1976 . 139
5.3 Accommodations in North Hatley around 1930 . . . . . . . . . 145
6.1 Religious denominations: North Hatley . . . . . . . . . 199
8.1 Percentage of population living on farms in the

municipality of Hatley, 1931-1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

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1.1 Location of Eastern Townships .

1 2 Eastern Townships of Quebec . . .
2.1 Roads from the St. Lawrence into the Eastern Townships
2.2 Map of Hatley Township

5.1 Map of North Hatley . . .

5.2 Age of houses in North Hatley .

LIST OF FIGURES

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The transmission of ideology in complex society is an issue
central to several major theoretical discussions including the problem
of legitimation, nationalism and social movements. Ideology, broadly
defined, is a set of social ideas and values concerning society and
social goals. It may be assumed a priori that there is normally a
complementary relationship between the ideological and non-ideological
aspects of society. This relationship however is variable and deter-
nuning the relative position of these two elements in the relationship
is a difficult task (L. Dumont 1970:263-264). Much of the research in
the areas of nationalism and social movements has centered on the
symbolic expression of ideology equating political dominance with the
control of a dominant, culturally appropriate symbol capable of evoking
arm.mobilizing collective sentiment and support (Geertz 1973:214-217).
Stmh.ana1yses however tend to focus on the symbolic mediation of
Ildeology and society but less directly on the non-ideological dimensions
0f the relationship.

The analytic problem is further compounded when analysis turns
to the issue of ideological competition and ideological dominance, a
central theme in Quebec society and one that has engaged the research
of numerous French-Canadian social scientists.1 Marcel Rioux in an

article on the VDevelopment of Ideologies in Quebec" proposes an

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explanation for the ideological tensions within Quebec as the result of

competition between groups to define and to direct the society at large.
Global ideology is a plan for living which is proposed to the
society by one of its subgroups and aims at expressing the total
consciousness of the society and sharing its definition of the
situation with the total society. In complex society conflict of
ideologies expresses above all the conflict of subgroups which are
-competing for the majority's acceptance of their theory of society
and ultimately to govern society (Rioux 1968:96).

What is lacking in this analysis, as in the others, is a statement as

to how the ideology of a subgrdup comes to be accepted as the expression

of the total consciousness of the society.

Louis Althusser in his analysis of ideological state apparatus
suggests a direction for research when he attributes a central role in
the transmission of ideology to formally structured institutions such
as the Catholic Church. Participation in institutional ritual trans-
forms an individual's acts into socially meaningful practices, confirm-
ing or denying the individual's "ideas" concerning the meaning of his
action derived from.the larger ideological system chartering the
ritual (1971). Althusser limits his remarks to large, formally
Structured institutions, namely the Catholic Church and the educational
System, but it may be argued that the process of ideological transfer
Its common to all institutions at any level of social integration. This
iissumption permits the formulation of a preliminary hypothesis.

If institutions are channels for the transmission of ideology in
complex society as Althusser argues, and if the struggle for the accep-
tance of a given ideology as the "global“ ideology is a major source of
competition within society as Rioux argues, then this competition should

manifest itself as a struggle for the control of institutions. It

follows that research on ideology should focus on competition for the

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control of institutions requiring the "political interpretation" of
formerly non-political institutions (Cohen 1976:46). First, however,
an operating definition of institution and of group in relation to
ideology is required to provide a basis for establishing a method to
study institutional competition.

Institutions are organized networks of social relations main-
taining existence and continuity over time, providing a basis for
cooperative action and performing a recurring service or social function
and as such are incorporated into the ongoing social organization of the
community. As component parts of the social organization, institutions
are mechanisms for the distribution of goods and services and can be
defined in terms of the domains in which they operate. In addition to
channeling resources, institutions also channel individual activity in
a socially defined collective way while giving tangible existential
rapresentation to the ideas underlying that set of relations.

Because the study is centered on the ideological dimension of
group competition analysis will focus on institutions above the level
of the domestic unit or domestic networks which are insulated from

direct confrontation. The present research focuses on the range of
institutions operating in the public sector (such as school boards,
municipal councils, and civic organizations) which form the nexus of the
sC’Qial interaction in complex society and as such are the object of
83301113 competition.

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cc’lltrol within an institutional domain or between institutions for
c'OIItrol of each other's institutional domains or new domains, requires

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possible relationships this competition implies. This study makes

extensive use of analytic models develOped by Richard Adams (1975) per-
mitting description of relations within and between social units. It
must be noted, however, that the present analysis is not an attempt to
demonstrate the applicability of Adams' per se and therefore does not
attempt a systematic application of his specific terms and concepts.

Adams himself shows an interest in ideology2 but does not attempt to

systematically integrate it into his theory of power and structure,

focusing instead on values (1975:174-183). His methods, however, are

very compatible with the goals of the present analysis and his models
Permit the study of institutional competition within an institutional
framework without resorting to "game theory" models.

The concept of group employed in this analysis is broader in
SQOpe than that proposed by the various action—theorists, such as

Mayer (1966) whose analysis centers on ego-centered networks or quasi-

3roups which interact on a face-to-face basis. While the definition of

group used here does not exclude this type of grouping, it also includes
t:llcase groupings of individuals who do not necessarily interact but
cotlst:itute a group on the basis of special life style, or other set of
atiered attributes, whether recognized by the members of the group or not.

mlatever their basis, these groups may become "institutionalized"

efl~t:her by creating new institutional frameworks or by taking control of

e3t:isting institutions. These institutional frameworks provide a measure

of ready-made legitimacy and can be reshaped to suit the objectives of
the new group (Gold 1975:215). Once in command of an institutional
the<-':hanism, a group may use the power afforded it by virtue of its

Q-°I1trol within one institutional domain to gain control of other

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institutions within the same or related domains. Thus institutional

competition can take one of two forms: competition between groups for
control within an institutional domain; or, competition between
institutions for control of each other's original domains or over new

domains. Before proceeding to a further consideration of Specific

methodological considerations in assessing the process of institutional
competition, let us examine briefly the specific ethnographic context

of the present research and the way in which it exemplifies the problem

under discussion.

The Social Context
Throughout its history, Quebec has been confronted with a series
(>15 ideological confrontations concerning the direction and control of
(Illiebec society.. While not unique, this confrontation is especially
interesting because it has been played out within the context of a dual
itlastitutional framework-one French, one English--parallel in function

and operating within the same domains (education, welfare, health care,

etc:.) but remaining completely independent of each other. Under this

institutional framework French and English society existed as "two
s<3.‘.I.itudes" within the same political structure for nearly 200 years.
The situation was, however, far from static.

Group relations within the English institutional structure
tended to be more stable than in the French system, with the English

Q'EDInmercial elites firmly in control of the major urban and provincial

Ianglish institutions with smaller rural ones locally controlled. The

Catholic Church had attained a similar degree of institutional and ideo-

l°8:l.cal dominance within the French system but its preeminance was

 

 

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severely tested by various groups within French society with each suc-
cessive challenge directed at the Church's control of institutions. The
Church was distrustful of the State and this anti-étatism, promulgated
by the Church, added popular support to the clergy's resistance of any

attempts by the State to usurp its social functions or any reforms that

might permit State interference in the affairs of religious communities.

Under the traditional Quebec system, authority was decentralized.

Locally-elected Municipal Councils were charged with administering a
wide range-of services and with fixing the tax rate necessary to pay for
them. The political power of the traditional clerical and business
elites was firmly entrenched in this system and would not easily yield.
In addition, the lack of central power assured both French and English

tklat the "understanding" that existed between them affording each

autonomy within their cultural domains would not be breached.

By the late 19508 the problems of urban growth and industriali—

2a~1;ion could no longer be ignored, and Quebec with the tentative

blessing of the clergy and the English-dominated business community

began to redefine the role of the provincial government. In the 19603

gI—‘owing French awareness of the weaknesses inherent in decentralization

la-‘Innched the provincial government into a series of reforms to modernize

Q‘J-ebec society. The Catholic Church received the full brunt of these

QIlanges and the struggle within French society exemplifies the type of
group competition for control of institutions central to this study.
S<><:ial reform was accomplished by the centralization of power, using
f:Lnancial reforms and initiatives to circumvent possible local resis-
taMace.

With the development of a centralized bureaucracy, the dual

institutional framework was breached and the triumphant bureaucracy

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found itself in a position to challenge the autonomy of the English
institutional system, provoking another round of institutional con-
frontations. Michael Stein summarizes the results:
(The French began) to legislate in social, cultural, and economic
spheres hitherto considered beyond the sphere of interest of
Provincial authorities, including reorganization and standardiza-
tion of educational structures, regulation of professiOnal and
charitable associations, regrouping of municipalities and the
creation of regional and municipal governments . . . Intervention
on this scale was bound to encrouch on the hitherto autonomous
operation of Anglo-Quebec local institutions. The Anglophones
were no longer a selfegoverningAcommunity,gbut a minority group
subject to the will and political aspirations of the governing
Francophone majority (l977a:259; emphasis mine).
Vise will examine the effect these reforms had on the English-speaking
I><>I>ulation of Quebec, both in Montreal and in the Eastern Townships
£311<3rt1y, but we must first stop and consider the implication of this
I’ltcacess again from our theoretical position.

The rivalry between French and English is deep seated, replete
with unflattering stereotypes and involves disagreement over fundamental
cl‘--l~estions about the very organization of society--the English recogniz-
ing individual rights, the French collective rights--and the goals of
e'=‘==<:3nomic activity, the English preferring laissez-faire, the French,
goVernment involvement. As was the case with the Catholic Church, the
F’lc‘ocess of gaining control of English institutions involved the use of
Qerztralized power and financial reform. But the process was slower and
less direct since the ideological differences between groups was

paralleled not only institutionally but by ethnicity as well, adding a

new and interesting variable to the analysis.

Ethnicity
Ethnicity is itself a particular kind of ideology which makes

claims about the condition of society seen in terms of certain kinds of

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"we's" and "they's" established on the basis of some set of shared

socially significant attributes (descent, locality, language, etc.).

Beyond the belief in the social significance of ethnic categories them-
selves, members of an ethnic group may hold other ideas and values in
common and often do. Certain attitudes or ideas may be expressed with
considerable frequency among members of an ethnic group, yet an individ-
ual may espouse a belief contrary to the majority of his group. (such as
favoring the separation of Quebec from Canada) and still remain
"English" to both English and French alike. A feature of ethnicity
which invites analysis is that it entails highly salient symbolic
components (i.e., language, dress, etc.), "ethnic markers" that permit
Various institutions or institutional domains to be classified
uethnically" on the basis of observed behavior. One need only note the
language used in the post office and grocery store to know if it is an
"English" or "French" town. Ethnicity is symbolically marked in
institutional practice and has consequences beyond the mere signaling
of ethnic differentiations in a social context. Ethnicity is the basis
for social and personal linkages and as such can effect the social
oT:::Lentations and self-perception of its members.

To the extent that ethnicity determines the roles one is allowed
to play, ethnicity and identity stand in close relationship (Hicks and
Leis l977:4). Assuming that the molding and maintaining of personal
identity, a sense of self, derives partly from the roles one is allowed
to play, it may be postulated that ethnicity, to the extent it deter-
tJlliaise the roles one is allowed to play, stands in close relationship to
identity (11:31.: 4). A.L. Epstein in Ethos and Identity develops this

theme even further, suggesting that if identity is built out of the

 

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roles the individual plays, then ethnicity--where it is relevant in

determining those roles--may function as a "terminal identity" that is

the means by which the individual systematizes his roles and statuses
(Epstein: 108). The reality of ethnicity, like the reality of any
ideology, is to be found in the 'reality of interaction,’ a requirement
which again redirects research towards institutions and institutional
practices. The implications of this to the present research are fairly
straight forward.

If ideology is transmitted through institutions and if individ-
ual. identity is reaffirmed through participation in institutional
Practice, then the loss of control over an institution by a given group
Should result in an identity crisis among its members. Such crises
Seem to have occurred within the ranks of the clergy and the religious
as the state took control of schools, hospitals, and universities, and
as lay parishioners took control of parish operations leading to
ctDillective traunm and massive defections from the ranks of the clergy
and religious orders. Similar but less spectacular changes occurred
within the English commercial elites and in rural villages where the
8llzlft to French domination of municipal proceedings and to regional
SQliool boards in education eliminated many local English-speaking
leaders from their traditional prestige roles.

Institutional practices are the grist of everyday life and
c-°nstitute domains in which the interaction will either confirm the
individual's sense of identity or call it into question. Beyond the
hC‘Mlsehold, the social arenas in which ethnic behavior is permitted are

8(Dinetimes constrained by mitigating social factors such as the presence

0f other ethnic groups. Interaction in contexts dominated by "others"

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10

can lead individuals to internalize the opinions of others and to modify

his behavior in those contexts to avoid their slights and gestures. In

contrast, control over given domains can be the expression of collective
power and the basis for a self-esteem based on the belief of the worthi-
ness of one's own group's ways and values (Epstein: 108). Thus, it may
be argued that ethnicity, in addition to possessing an observable mark-
ing system with respect to control of institutions, is also subject to
subjective evaluation by individual social actions in terms of their
sense of personal power or lack of it. Such subjective valuations are
manifest in changing patterns of participation reflect the individual's
continuing viability as part of the social structure. Either judgment
reflects the result of institutional competition: the former indicates
t‘J‘le recognition of a loss of control over a given institution to
aJilother group and the latter the loss of social function by the

institution itself to other institutions operating in the same domain.

Criteria in Site Selection

In order to carry out a study of the problem of institutional
Q<>ttnpetition and the place of ideology in such competition, field
t‘esearch must focus on an area where the following features are found.
First, the presence of competing groups marked by some observable
fnature such as language to mark relative control; secondly, competition
be tween institutions for control of each other's institutional domains;
alad third, the presence of competition between groups for control within
a11 institutional domain. The size of the community to be studied should
be fairly small because of the practical limitations of participant

observation, the main method used in data collection.

 

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Quebec provided an ideal context in all respects, having a

significant English-speaking population within a predominately French

milieu where the use of ethnic markers, particularly language, in public
situations is an emotionally and politically sensitive issue. There has

been considerable competition between institutions as exemplified by the

actions of the Ministry of Education to take control of the Protestant

English-language school system. The vast majority of the English-
speaking population is centered in Montreal but the types of institu-
tional competition occurring in Montreal were of a scale that did not
involve broad-based participation within the English-speaking community.
one rural area of Quebec, however, had drawn the attention of several
1‘¢a<:ent writers (Caldwell, Wadell) because of apparent adaptation to the

recent political and administrative changes, the Eastern Townships.

The historic Eastern Townships of Quebec lie between the St.
L-a-Vrrence lowlands which were the cradle of the French-Canadian society

and the United States frontier, extending from New York to Maine (see

F:Lgure 1.1). The area was colonized in townships much in the New

England style which were originally settled by English and American

QOlonists around 1800. By the late 19th century, the French had become

the majority in the Townships, but the English population persisted in
Very isolated, demographically fragile communities. Yet, in contrast

to Montreal, this group of English-speakers has not only adjusted to the

recent changes but is in the midst of an ethnic revitalization movement

Stemming from the recent political reorganization. In addition, local

English control over a variety of institutions has persisted in some

cases and municipal councils have been the object of competition between

French and English, a competition highlighted by the dynamics of a

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13

French migration into the area. Before dealing specifically with the

English population of the Townships it is necessary to first place them
in relation to the broader English-speaking population to better under-

stand the ways in which they are similar to and differ from that of
Montreal.

The English-Speaking "Communiy"

The divisions within the English-speaking community go beyond

geographic distinctions. While the term "English" provides a conve-

nient shorthand for the English-speaking population of Quebec it
glosses over a number of fundamental differences within the "counnunity."
While some authors, such as Michael Stein, tend to emphasize political
restructuring as the cause of disorientation in the English-speaking
QClmllnunity, others treat it primarily as a catalyst and look to internal

Qnuses such as the ethnic, religious and class divisions within the

The English community is not homogenous but rather is

QCnnmunity itself.
rife with ethnic and religious divisions.

In terms of the Quebec Minister of Cultural Affairs, Camille

I--aurin, the English constituted a "colonial minority." Although

a~Qcounting for less than 20 percent of the population, the English were

economically dominant and exercised political power quite dispro-

Portionate to their numbers. As such they represented a "P61e

$1; attraction" and readily assimilated the immigrant population into their
Thus by 1971 within Montreal

 

institutional framework (Laurin 1978:16) .
and its subregions where 80 percent of the English-speaking population

resides, less than half was of Anglo-Saxon origin. Immigrants of

Mediterannean, Slavic and Scandinavian origin form a transient population

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maintained by immigration and through assimilation, share the same

language and institutions with those of Anglo-Saxon origin, but none of

the cultural tradition. This ethnic division is further compounded by

religious differences and although the Italians, Irish and Jews are
not Protestant, they are all lumped into the same educational

bureaucracy under the aegis of the Protestant School Board while the

French-Canadian education remains under the Catholic School Board

C Caldwell 1978:170) .
The centralization of public instruction, however, has been the

one institutional reform that has clearly served to integrate the

English community (Ibid.: 173). Although unable to overcome confessional

diVisions due to the dual constraints of religion and language, educa-
t:Lonal reform resulted in the creation of a network linking all the
English-speaking people of Quebec in a single institutional framework,

f imanced directly or indirectly by the State, and accountable only to

the English community. The schools had always been a central institu-

1:ZLonal element in the English milieu but with consolidation and the
Qnllection of ancillary institutions (i.e. , teachers' union,
a~<1.1ninistrators' associations, parent organizations) the school system
has come to represent considerable potential political power. Because
Qf its organizational complexity, the schools represent a major arena
Eor political action and have been the focus of several ethnic con-
f1':ontations resisting consolidation with the Francophone majority in
the name of language rights and educational reform (Stein 1977a; Cappon
1974; Lamontagne 1971).
As a result of this ethnic and religious diversity:

The English-speaking population has neither the demographic
stability, the cultural tradition, nor the leadership necessary

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15

from which to build a community, that is a collectivity wherein the
members are able to communicate among themselves to formulate
common social goals (Caldwell 1978:174; translation mine).
lit must be noted, however, that these same divisions existed prior to
tlie Quiet Revolution but an acceptable degree of social, if not cultural
czcihesion had been maintained through a system of English institutions
uvtiich provided needed social services while marking and legitimizing
t:rie class structure within the English society.

If there were weaknesses inherent in the decentralized political

5319'stem from the French perspective, they were not immediately apparent

to the English-speaking population. English institutions were well

endowed by the business community; English business elites lent their
t:£aLlents to the management of community institutions. These institutions
'E>1:rovided needed services to the community at large and formed a channel
till-rough which ideas and attitudes circulated from the top down. The
It‘ltnvolvement of the English businessmen with these institutions

‘:=<::ntributed to a sense of social responsibility among the business

iaLZl:istrocracy and their business concerns became tempered with a new

‘Elflhoareness of the social implications involved. The administration of

‘35Enese institutions was marked with informality and pragmatism.
‘::<:mmunity leaders dealt freely behind the scenes with provincial
IFDQDliticians and massive campaign contributions were part of the normal

operating procedures in the business community. The institutional

Fitoceedings often were flavored with an exclusive, club-like atmosphere.
IParticipation on the various boards served to further careers and

establish networks at the highest levels of society for the involved

businessmen.

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l6

' The political reforms of the 19603 radically altered the role
of the elites in the administration of these institutions as increas-

ingly "community institutions were obligated to submit their policies

and budgets to civil servants in Quebec" (Clift and Aranapoulos 1980:

The informality and closed-door policy traditionally associated

103) U
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with decision-making was no longer acceptable.

being squeezed out of the day-to-day administration by bureaucrats in

the name of efficiency and justice" (Ibid.: 107). This process denied

the business, elites their traditional role in the operation of community
institutions and ruptured the linkages between the business comunity

and the English-speaking community at large with painful consequences.

The break in linkages between the population itself and its
elites left the English-speaking community powerless to face the

bureaucratic invasion coming from the Provincial'government.

The English-speaking population . . was politically illiterate
and . . never really having participated in the management of its

community institutions . . had little understanding of the
principles on which it might have made a stand: decentralization
and local responsibility. The general reaction was to revert to
the traditional rivalries between French and English . . the kind
of confrontation with which everyone was familiar (Ibid.: 108).

I ‘l: is the off-island English, as the remaining 20 percent of the

Etlglish-speaking population is. called, who are responding constructively

no the new political situation. If the Montreal English-speaking popu-

lation is transient and ethnically diverse, the off-island English are

1massively British in origin and deeply rooted in a cultural tradition,

making the cleavage between them and Montrealers "as much one of East

as of place" (Weddell 1974:21).

 

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17

The "Off-Island" English

The English living off the island of Montreal are proportionately
well represented in those urban areas historically settled by them,
particularly in the Eastern Townships (Sherbrooke, Magog, Granby and
Cowansville)(See Figure 1.2). On the average however, the English
constitute only 5.6 percent of the population of smaller urban centers
and 6.5 percent of the total rural population. The rural English are
unevenly distributed throughout the rural areas of Quebec in seven
major concentrations, "separated by considerable areas where Anglophones
are either more or less absent" (Waddell 1974:16). Only two counties
have an Anglophone majority, Pontiac in the Ottawa Valley with 57
percent, and Brome in the Eastern Townships with 50.2 percent (See
Table 1.1). Even within these areas, the English tend to remain highly
localized and in cases where they form the majority, however slight,
they tend to dominate in public arenas (Ibid.: 24). English dominance
is marked by the use of English in the public arena but its use in
public meetings, even if accepted by the French-speaking majority, is
a violation of provincial language laws. Despite their geographic
isolation, the rural English whether living on scattered farms or as
highly localized majorities are not culturally or socially isolated.

The rural Anglophones exposed to the Montreal media also have
their own media, traditional print, radio and television. They are
linked through the school system which formed the basis for the first
effective mobilization of the population in response to change. The
Eastern Townships are not "without their institutions" and possess the

leadership and sense of community needed for English cultural survival.

 

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20

The Eastern Townships

' as they are deemed to be in

Far from being "English country,‘
the popular Quebec mythology, the Eastern Townships do not and never
in fact did support a particularly large English-Speaking population.
0f the original 11 counties which not comprise the area of the original
trace of land designated for settlement under the English tenure system
of "free and common soccage," five recorded French majorities prior to
1871, four more by 1901, and with Stanstead reaching a French majority
in.1911, only Brome remains with an Anglophone majority which owes its
existence to commercial and recreational linkages to Montreal and New
York State (see Table 1.1). Of the six counties which record signifi-
cant Anglophone populations, only four counties near the American.border
(see Figure l.2)(i.e.~ Compton 20%; Mississquoi 20.72; Brome 54%; and
Stanstead 22.5%) have maintained a substantial English-speaking
POpulation (Sutherland l977:9).

Unlike other sections of rural Quebec, the English population
of the Townships have retained their traditional institutions. These
institutions in turn have served to insulate the population from the
French-speaking majority and to provide their members with a firm sense
of identity. The rural English community has been a minority in the
Eastern Townships for over half a century. The presence of local
institutions seem to hold the key to understanding the mechanisms for
individual and cultural identity formation. But the Francophone majority
by taking control of the central social institutions of the society at
large has steadily extended its hegemony into areas traditionally
served by these local Anglophone institutions. The English-speaking

community has become increasingly aware of their minority status as

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21

their control over their local institutions has decreased. As one
farmer put it: "When you're a minority, you think, feel, you even
dream.different."

While the reaction within the Eastern Townships has not been
without its own degree of ethnic confrontation and withdrawal, there
tms also been the formulation of an initial response to the political
changes in a constructive manner. Unlike the English-speaking popula-
tion of Montreal, the English of the Townships are not politically
illiterate but are well versed in the values of decentralization and
local responsibility-knowledge and skills deeply imbedded in the social
fabric of the communities.

The Eastern Townships did not develop a system of local leader-
Ship and individual initiative for lack of elites. The industrialists
Who settled in the Eastern Townships were by and large British
capitalists seeking an area for capital expansion and developing small
industries in rural Quebec which rapidly eclipsed the rural elites.
'flus British upper class took control of the regional social and
political institutions. Like the English industrialists and financiers
who provided leadership in Montreal, they took control of the regional
social and political institutions, inhibiting discussion while formulat-
ing policies for the administration of such major English institutions
as the Sherbrooke Hospital, the Eastern Townships Bank, BishOps
University, and Stanstead College. If the rural English relied on
business elites to represent their interests at the provincial level and
regional level, the involvement of that same elite below the regional
level was minimal. At the local level, an elite, petit bourgeoisie,

"ran the towns" and enjoyed a certain linkage with the bigger elites but

 

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22

were closely integrated into the local social structure and subject to
locally imposed sanctions on exercising their power.

The tradition of voluntary associations runs deeps in the
fabric of the social structure of the English community. It is best
defined not in terms of the larger highly salient institutional
structures but in terms of the myriad of small associational groups
(e.g., library societies, service organizations, women's clubs, farmers'
organizations), recreational and patriotic organizations (i.e., the
Legion and curling clubs). These voluntary associations grew out of
the functional requirements of rural life. They were usually built
around a handful of individuals who perceived a particular need,
organized and in their turn, mobilized existing social networks. These
social activities served to further reinforce social relationships, to
reiterate the local class structure, and frequently to provide links
With the surrounding villages. They are the foundations of Anglophone
Cultural survival and today provide a social focus for even the most
isolated group of individuals. They have now lost much of their per-
ceived social value, especially among the young, as state agencies
increasingly displace their service function, causing problems in
recruiting new members. In addition, as "private" institutions, they
are very often structurally incompatible with the "public" orientation
of the government agencies now operating in their traditional domains.
The concept of voluntary organizations remains a key element in the

social orientation of the English population and their immediate

recourse in a crisis.

 

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23

Methodology

A field survey of the Eastern Townships was conducted in January
and February of 1979 in an effort to establish criteria for site
selection and to identify possible target communities. The survey
consisted primarily of interviews with faculty members of the Université
de Sherbrooke, Bishop's University and Champlain Community College,
involved in aspects of research on the Eastern Townships. In addition
to these geographers, demographers, and historians, newspaper editors,
educators, and members of local library and historical societies were
consulted.

It was decided to select a village for the study in which the
English-speaking population formed a local majority despite the fact
that the rural English are a minority throughout the Townships. As a
Egfiggité-migoritaire, the village would not be representative of the
majority of the English-speaking population, but certain other considera-
tions were given precedence. The first consideration was that transition
from an English to French majority was a fait accompli in most villages
and that the "entente" which marked the transition was no longer
practiced, that is, the villages were solidly in French control. The
transition has been described by Jean Hunter (1939) in The French
Invasiog;of the Eastern Townships and in articles,by Aileen Ross (1943,
1954), providing an unique opportunity to compare the mechanics and
effects of the transition process. Thus, a village maintaining an
English—speaking majority would have to possess some mechanisms which
inhibited English displacement by French and in all probability be
experiencing demographic pressure at present. The second consideration

was that any attempt to understand the functioning of the municipal

 

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24

government in its present context would require historical data in order
to assess the changes that have occurred. This would require extensive
examination of municipal documents and the availability of persons old
enough to aid in their interpretation.

In addition, Aileen Ross has written that a study of the
associational life of the English population of the Eastern Townships
would seem to indicate extreme over-organization. "Community leaders
in the Townships . . . promote new organizations, although already
overburdened by their leadership in others. A week's programme of some
of these community leaders would intimidate even the most ardent city
'joiner'" (1943:457). Community organizations would appear to be not
only the suitable "institutions" for the proposed study, but active
Participation in them is clearly linked with leadership in the community
and provides a key to understanding the social structure. Therefore, a
Community with a large enough population to maintain a variety of
associations with people and records to permit an analysis of their
Past and present functions would be preferred.

Based on these interviews and criteria, a number of villages
were proposed with all but two eliminated either because of their close
Proximity to the border or because, despite their size, they were

'unnatural' majorities as was the case for parts of Brome County where
tourism generated an inordinate number of English-speaking temporary
residents. Proximity to the border was not of itself reason for
exclusion since trafficking across the border has always been an impor-
tant aspect of English life in the border townships and the "States" have
always been a major area for diversion and even linguistic reinforcement.

But in cases such as Hereford in Compton County access to American

 

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25

schools just across the line mitigated the effects of educational reform
udthin Quebec, thus too much data would be lost or distorted. Finally
nu:possible areas were selected and field visits conducted.

The first visit was to Mansonville, an unincorporated village in
the Township of Patton, and as such presented a unique area since the
five settlements of which Mansonville is the largest, never formed
separate municipalities but have persisted under the township system.
The population is evenly distributed French and English with extensive
intermarriage and a remarkable degree of bilingualism among the school
children. Another strong point was the convention of the "entente" by
which the mayoral post is alternated between a French mayor and an
English mayor. During my visit it was the French mayor's turn, but the
Town Clerk is French and fluently bilingual. Another factor in the
selection was the presence of a social crisis which put a demand on the
community structure. In this case, there was a move by the Bedford
Regional School Board to close the English Protestant school and bus the
children to the nearby village of Sutton. Such a situation was certain
to provide an inside glimpse of the community structure but the crisis
QUICkly dissipated. On my return to Bishop's University I discussed the
Situation with faculty members in education and on their own initiative
they attended the closing and consolidation meetings, representing
Community interests against the school board's decision. A law then
°nlY recently passed protecting the Derniére Ecole d'un Quartier ou
Elllggg (The Last School of a Neighborhood.or Village) was used to pre-
vent the closing. The entire process I observed, however, was typical
of the administrative problems in the consolidated school districts and

is used to supplement the discussion in chapter 6 concerning the impact

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26

of education restructuring on the community.

The major problem with selecting Mansonville as a site was that
it was not incorporated at any level below the Township. While this
makes it a special case for understanding the township pattern, it also
nukes it atypical of most communities in which the division into
villages, towns and municipalities occurred with regularity as popula-
tion pressures, production patterns and demographic shifts necessitated
incorporation into the specialized, local administrative units that
formed the basis of the English community.

The second village, and the village finally selected for study,
was North Hatley, a cosmopolitan community set in the northeast corner
of Stanstead County. North Hatley is located on the upper end of Lake
Massawippi, where the lake outlets into the Massawippi River, which
flows north through Lennoxville to the St. Francis River at Sherbrooke.
This location gave the early settlement of North Hatley its perfunctory
first name, "the Outlet."

Originally one of five settlements in Hatley Township which was
colonized in 1797, North Hatley became the commercial center of the
township with the building of the Massawippi Valley Railroad in 1857,
rapidly eclipsing its rivals, Hatley and Massawippi. Established as a
railhead it began to consolidate the small service centers surrounding
it and by 1900 had a thriving commercial district and professionals
PIOViding jobs and leadership. In the 18503 the French settlement in
Kate‘Vale had begun to grow and the first French families entered the
community and by 1910 a parish was established. The village developed
a full range of service organizations, churches--four Protestant, one

Catholic, and all still functioning--an active municipal council and

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27

a.school board with records and permission to use them.

In the late 19th century, the community was "discovered" by
Americans from the southern coastal cities who formed a summer colony
that gave the village a character and architecture unique in the entire
area. It was both a farm service center providing goods and services
to the surrounding farms, and a popular vacation spot with hotels and
boarding houses. Besides the small farms there were several large farms
owned by "gentlemen" and worked by wage laborers raising purebreed beef
and dairy cattle. Farms represented the full range of crops and
husbandry typical of the Townships and the supplemental production of .
maple sugar and potash. The availability of forest lands and farms, the
relative market value of these resources and the changing tourist
patterns have left marks on the community, making it a microcosm of the
area--representative of much but typical of nothing.

Never an unassertive group, North Hatley residents resisted the
attempt to consolidate their school into the regional system, but
failed. Their efforts document the process better than most villages
Where this has happened. The relation between French and English has
been marked with some friction and hostility, but the dynamics of this
interaction have changed over time and are instructive in themselves.

In addition, during my initial visit, the news broke that an Arab
developer was planning a 53 million dollar project in the community,
floOding the municipal council meeting with.concerned citizens and
teIEVision crews from.Montreal. While the details of the development
were never clearly stated during the period of the research, the
anticipation and concerns the possibility of development generated within

the community, as various segments of the population mobilized in

 

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28

support or opposition, revealed internal tensions and class divisions
:uzthe village that would not normally be visible. The development of
mnung by-laws and the formation of the North Hatley Regional Heritage
Society provide useful case studies in examining group dynamics and the
confusion of cultural expectations within the English community itself.
Following the initial visit, I returned to Michigan State
University for several weeks, organizing the research project and
returned to begin intensive field research in North Hatley. On my
return I presented a written statement of my research objectives to the
municipal councils of Hatley and North Hatley, informing them of my
intentions and requesting their permission to use municipal records.
These records, along with the minutes of the school board housed in the
Eastern Townships Regional School Board offices in Lennoxville, provided
the basis for interview sessions with individuals who served as board
members or were involved with particular issues. Since information is
not evenly distributed throughout the community, I found the key-
informant technique the most productive. Once a particular topic was
selected for closer examination, I identified individuals who through
their membership or participation in a given group or activity would be
able to elaborate on the data base I had been able to construct from
written records. The use of participant observation was somewhat
curtailed since only a small portion of the community social life takes
place in public arenas. Interviews with some key informants were
exceptionally difficult to arrange, due in part to the hysteria and
distrust generated by the designation of the "Arab invasion" as a media
event in the reporters' search to discover a Watergate in every action

0f the public officials. In many cases, only after 13 months was I able

 

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29

maarrange some interviews, but attendance at public ceremonies such as
‘mmmmbrance Day, Confirmation, or dart tournaments at the Legion provided
some opportunities for participant observation.

One method used, the media--particularly the newspaper-~must be
given special billing in the analysis. There is a definite difference
in the treatment of federal and provincial events by the Montreal press
in both the major French-language paper, Le Devoir, and in the English-
language Gazette. At the regional level, the Sherbrooke Record is
locally owned and edited and covers the Townships as its primary area
and contrasts with the La Tribune, the Frenchelanguage Sherbrooke news—
Paper. Reading the newspaper and filing clippings from the newspaper
became an important part of the daily research routine. The Record
and Gazette were read daily and the La Tribune and Le Devoir were con-
snlted periodically to compare coverage of selected topics. The
information in the Record was most helpful, listing social events which
provided information on kinships, deaths, births, marriages, and
meetings of various women's auxiliary associations. There is also the

Stanstead Journal, a weekly newspaper published in Stanstead which

 

reflects the border community's problems and the English.condition in
general. A monthly newspaper, The Townships Sun, was begun in 1977 and
has contributed greatly to the formation of an awareness of common
Pr°blems and historical roots among the English-speaking townshippers.
BYmaintaining an extensive clippings file I was able to keep abreast
0f local affairs and issues, using this information for interviews.

The Eastern Townships Collection at Bishop‘s University was of immense

Value, containing historical memoires, rare books and articles, and

 

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(fissertations published on the Townships, particularly in historical

background research .

Chapters

Rather than attempt a discussion of specific cultural institu-
tions such as education, religion, production patterns, social organi-
zation as separate topics, I have chosen to divide the chapters on the
basis of time periods. The chapters represent specific time periods and
events marking major transitions in the development of the village in
the context of Quebec society. Each chapter then is an attempt to
present a summary of events which occurred during a given period consti-
tuting sychronic sketches of the emerging social organization, relating
the course of its development to changes occurring at the provincial
and national levels. The discussion of various institutions may be
viewed longitudinally as well and by.following topical headings, the
reader may trace the development of the municipal council, education,
religion, as well as trace the events occurring on the other societal
levels such as the confrontation of the Catholic clergy with the laity
or the process through which local school boards were absorbed into a
resional school systems The following presentation is to orient the
reader to major events which serve to define each chapter and to the
central themes which are carried throughout the dissertation.

Chapter 2 traces the development of Hatley Township from its
initial settlement in 1797 until its incorporation as a municipality in
1355. Particular attention is paid to the settlement pattern in
relation to the land tenure and centralized issuance system that
inhibited the growth of effective local government. The voluntary

°r83nizations were established to provide an institutional basis for

 

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collective action in the absence of formal civil powers. Examination of
the causes for this lack of civil power provides an example of the way
in which developments in the French society negatively determined
development in the Eastern Township.

Ideology and competition within the French community is the
central theme in chapter 3 which.explores the changes occurring within
French society brought about by economic pressures and by the struggle
between the Liberals and clergy for dominance within the French society.
The resolution of this conflict marked the beginning of the Frenchr
Canadian migration into the Eastern Townships. This period was also
marked by the growth of British investment in the Townships and led to
the expansion of industry and the establishing of the railroad.

Chapter 4 examines the way in which the Hatley Township council
sought to develop the resources of the township using local capital. It
examines the development of several small service centers which would
eventually be consolidated into the village of North Hatley, and looks
at the impact of the railroad in the formation of the municipalities
within the township. Particular attention is paid to the transformation
of the settlement of Katevale into a French parish.

Beginning with the establishment of North Hatley as a municipal-
ity in 1897, chapter 5 continues the analysis of the developing economic
infrastructure of North Hatley. It also examines the relation of
individual control over resources to group and institutional formation
and highlights the relation of employment patterns to other social
institutions.

Chapter 6 continues the examination of North Hatley during the

period of 1900 to 1950 but from the perspective of local associations

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32

and ethnic competition. It traces the emergence of the French.community
and the role of the parish in the maintenance of the community. It also
looks at the process of school consolidation which began during the
period.

In chapter 7 the focus shifts once again to the consideration of
the changes occurring within FrencheCanadian society as emerging Quebec-
oriented bureaucracy wrests control of social institutions from the
Catholic Church. The process of regionalization is explored, noting the
political and financial mechanisms employed to coerce local communities,
such as North Hatley, to surrender their control over educational and
social services. This process of regionalization also provided the
basis for a new type of collective response within the English-speaking
community in the EnglishrSpeaking Townshippers Association.

Chapter 8 returns to the local level, examining the impact of
regionalization on the local level institutions, especially its effect
on local government and the operation of the municipal council. The
net effect of municipal reforms and the language laws on the local
English.community are considered, not only for linguistic or ethnic
implications but for the problems in dealing with an increasingly
complexity of a bureaucracy dominated system. This problem is high-
lighted by the inability to deal effectively with.a proposed 53 million
dollar development in the community. Unable to match.the financial
resources of the developer and unable to function effectively with the
growing body of municipal regulations, the council is stymied. This
blockage has degenerated into a plethora of ad hoc committees and
private institutions as the town divides into special interest groups

over the proposed development.

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The description concludes with chapter 9 which looks at the
types of collective response generated by the change in institutional
control, especially as they relate the individual's sense of control
and security. Ideology as a multi-level phenomena is touched on in the
context of the 1979 Referendum debate and in the context of social

rituals carried out through certain institutions.

 

CHAPTER II

LAND TENURE AND COLONIZATION IN THE

EASTERN TOWNSHIPS

Introduction

This chapter traces the historic development of the American
Townships examining the underlying economic and political events which
influenced the settlement and development of these Townships during the
period of 1760 to 1850. The basic issue during this period was the
selection of the type of land tenure system to be used in colonization.
It was the selection of the "English" tenure system of free and common
soccage which truly distinguished the Eastern Townships from the
original French-Canadian settlements in the seigneuries of the St.
Lawrence Valley. Due to the integration of the French-Canadian society
into the seigneural tenure system.and the ideological commitment to
seigneuries as basic to cultural survival, the establishment of the
English tenure in the Townships effectively inhibited the immigration of
any significant number of French Canadians. But the weaknesses in this
system permitted abuses as well as the unrestrained speculation in land
undermined any attempts on the part of the Colonial government to
establish British subjects as settlers and resulted in the very uneven
develOpment of the Townships.

Due to the availability of markets and transportation Americans

concentrated in the four border Township Counties (Stanstead, Brome,

34

 

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Mississquoi, and Compton) and adopted particular types of husbandry and
crops in response to market and transportation demands. Isolated by
mountains and 100 miles of wilderness from Montreal, this border region
enjoyed a thriving trade with Vermont and the maintenance of an open
border with the United States permitted the immigration of many Yankee
settlers and gave this area a distinct New England character.

A political factor in the deve10pment of the Townships that
distinguished them from New England Townships and caused many of the
problems encountered in colonization was the type of administration
imposed by the British government. In contrast to the policy of
granting control of land to a charter company as had been the case in
New England, all political power and control over the division of land
was retained by the King. Under the decentralized New England system of
colonization, powers over the division of land were delegated to quasi-
autonomous bodies which assumed many of the perogatives of a corporation.
Under the new policy, formulated for Quebec after 1763, the administra-
tion of land policy and recordkeeping were centralized. The reality of
trying to administer the colonization of virgin territory by diverse
groups shattered this system, resulting in a modified version of the
Leader and Associates systems-an offshot of the New England method of
corporate colonization-but grafted to the new bureaucratic structure.

An individual received land in severalty directly from the King
or his delegate through a vertical process of responses from individual
to Governor for approval and confirmation. In this system, individuals
were dealt with as individuals and the notion of group representation
remained completely alien to the system. A conflict occurred between

a centralized administrative process based on individual

 

 

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36

grants-in-severalty and the practical requirements of a decentralized
system of distributing land based upon the group. Delay and uncertainty
surrounded every decision concerning land policy. As a result, both the
associates and leaders were integrated as individuals into a vertical
political mechanism with regard to the issuance of land while at the
same time faced with total alienation from the political process and
deprived of the legal mechanisms necessary for the collective develop-
ment of roads and funding needed for social services.

There are further social dimensions to be considered concerning
the formation and development of the Townships in response to the
extreme decentralization experienced in other domains. This dimension
of the land policy and the local implication of the political problems
is examined in the context of the development of a single township,
Hatley Township. We will note the problems of chartering, colonization
and the evolution of civil institutions in the decentralized context
of Lower Canada and which form the foundation of the rural English
society. As the colonists sought to develop commerce and communication,
legal systems, and social services in virtual geographic and political
isolation, the evolved mechanisms such as voluntary associations to

provide a legally sanctioned basis for collective action.

, Land Policy

 

Speaking for the entire British operation in the colonization of
Canada, Creighton (1937:147) states simply, "It would be difficult to
find a more extravagant and wasteful system of land distribution than
that of the period of 1763 to 1841 in the British North American
Colonies." In Lower Canada, out of six million acres surveyed in the

new townships, two thirds were either granted or sold, while unsatisfied

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claims for half a million acres pended, but only one twentieth of the
land was occupied by settlers (MacDonald 1939:514). The reasons for
this confusion are numerous and have been summarized by Fernand Ouellet
into the following features. First, there was no immediate pressure to
colonize the lands. The French felt no population pressure and the
value of the area between the seigneuries and the American border had
not been assessed. Secondly, there was the notion of maintaining the
area as a buffer zone with the United States. The third possibility
was to use the area to lodge a British population, but there was little
immigrant pressure from Great Britain. The settlement of the territory
did present the possibility of creating the basis for a landed English
aristrocracy, providing a balancing factor in parlimentary structures
and in the society. It would also promote the development of capital
intensive, market-oriented agriculture.

Instead of the anticipated British immigration, however,
administrators were faced with a wave of Americans seeking cheap land.
Their Republican ideas were disliked and administrators tended to
impose strict controls on them, Unfortunately for the administration,
political preoccupations, quarrels within the government and adminis-
trative anarchy rendered any attempts to grasp the whole problem
impossible. The result was a land policy plagued with inconsistencies
and remarkable failures which made the Eastern Townships a refuge for
speculators-merchants and politicians--often with little interest in
clearing land while claiming vast chunks of wilderness. Despite the
lack of government policies regarding the land following the Conquest,

there was no lack of interest in the land itself.

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During the 17703 and 17803 petitions were made to the govern-
ment for land in the Eastern Townships. Almost invariably the
applicants asked for concessions in free and common soccage (Munro
1907:204). Lacking policy guidelines, these requests were consistently
turned aside by Haldiman, the Governor-General, who refused to grant
any lands "until such time as a general arrangement shall be made for
the settlement of refugee Loyalists from the American colonies"
(Bender 1939:24).

Lord North had pressed Haldiman for provisions to settle the
Loyalists in the unoccupied Eastern Townships but Haldiman refused,
converting Lord North to his views. Haldiman reasoned that illicit
trade might develop along the unprotected border; that the settlement
of Loyalists near their former foes might provoke fighting; and that
these lands should be preserved for the rapidly multiplying French
Canadians who for cultural reasons would provide a better barrier
between Canada and the United States (Bender: 25). Thus the decision
was made to retain the region of the Eastern Townships as a buffer
zone and "the British government set its face like flint against any
settlement in this region" (Siebert 1914:42). As a consequence, the
Loyalists were settled in Nova Scotia, the Maritime Provinces and
Ontario though a few did manage to settle in the Eastern Townships
with the change in land policy in 1791 (Bender 1939:25). This is why
Stanstead County records only two Loyalists according to Bender
(1939:24) and the Eastern Townships so few in general. But the term
"Loyalist" remains in common usage. Blanchard distinguishes the
"vrais Loyalistes" from the "squatters" who were noanoyalist
Americans to whom the term "Loyalist" had been.wrongly applied

(1947:327-329).

 

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The American Townships

 

The American incursion into the region of the Eastern Townships,
begun in 1784, short circuited any British plans to retain the area as
an unoccupied buffer zone. The first group, the northernmost edge of a
wave of migration moving into upper Vermont and New Hampshire, were
squatters coming from Connecticut, Massachusetts and lower New Hampshire.
During this period the canals, which would shortly siphon off most of
this northerly flow, had not yet opened the western routes to the
Great Lakes. By 1830 Blanchard notes most of the residents of the
Eastern Townships were of this Yankee "stock" which was the leaven in
the dough that formed the Townships and which gave them their distinc-
tive American flavor (1947:330-331).

Their settlements in the border townships represented a natural
extension of the dense settlements in New England so these colonists,
unlike those in the other areas of the Townships, did not suffer the
same social isolation. Their entry into Lower Canada was facilitated
geographically and politically, and their introduction to the region
was supported by overriding commercial interests.

The fur trade was on the decline and the merchants in Montreal
began to seek new markets, exchanging new staples--timber, wheat and
potash--as they had furs in the past for manufactured goods from
England. To succeed they needed to extend their trade network into
the northern United States. To do this required free trade with the
United States, the acceptance in £352 of all exports shipped from
Canada without reference to its origin in the United States or Canada
on Imperial markets, and that the United States in all other ports of

the Empire except on the Canadian border be treated as a foreign nation

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and outside the charmed circle of the Imperial commercial system. Under
the incessant pressure of Canadian merchants and their London partners,
these conditions were eventually met, giving Montreal and Quebec a
virtual monopoly on the shipment of the produce and on the markets in
northeastern New York, northern Vermont, and New Hampshire since the

St. Lawrence, via Lake Champlain or the Richelieu River, was the only
efficient way to market products in the 18th century.

The Americans in the Townships profited little from these trade
agreements directly since they were effectively cut off from the St.
Lawrence. Not until after the War of J812 did the pioneers in the
Eastern Townships find it possible to trade with Montreal and Quebec.
Those living east of Mississquoi Bay shipped their products by way of
Lake Champlain and had to content with American Customs officers.

Those further east, near Lake Memphamagog, learned it was expensive

and dangerous to ship flour and potash down the St. Francis River to
Quebec because of the rapids. There were no roads out of the

Townships until after 1810 and then only one, the Craig Road. It was
the networks to the south which benefitted these pioneers who in
ordinary terms shared the markets of northern Vermont and northern New
Hampshire in the United States (Jones 1946:45). An abundance of water
routes connecting the Townships with the American settlements to the
south had served initially as.a means of passage into the new territory
and later became routes for commerce. The settlements near Mississquoi
Bay had access to a road which ran south through Burlington and those
near Lake Memphramagog to roads leading to the Connecticut River.
During the last decade of the 18th century and into the early 19th,

the residents of the country to the east, north and west of the Green

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Mountains sold their cattle to drovers who took them to Boston or New
York. Farmers and shopkeepers to the east and north of the Green
Mountains transported their saleable items to the head of the
Connecticut River or even direct to Boston. In 1803, the Opening of a
turnpike through the Crawford Notch permitted the farmers in the

northern parts of Vermont and New Hampshire and the Townships to sure

access to an alternative winter market in Portland, Maine (Jones:45-46).

Unlike farmers in the seigneuries, the pioneers in the American
Townships never lacked for a market despite the difficulties that
transportation involved.

Economic pressures turned the attention of the Townships
pioneers to the St. Lawrence, aided in part by Jefferson's Embargo
(December 1807) which lasted until the repeal of the Noanntercourse
Act (May 1810) which closed British ports to American ships. This
launched a period of feverish prosperity in the Townships as American
productions spilled into the interdicted northern route. The period
was marked with an extraordinary demand for potash and timber which
provided employment in lumbering and good returns for the farmers.

Trade remained good following the War of 1812 despite a
general depression in the agricultural market. In 1816 the Assembly
had begun to agitate for the conversion of the Townships into
seigneuries. The Assembly complained that Stanstead with a population
of barely 1,000 in 1815 was sending half its cattle to the United
States and merchants were importing contraband American products, with
an estimated value of 9,000 pounds annually (Ouellet 1971:269). Trans-
portation remained the central problem and the excessive cost reduced

any profit margin, requiring that some basic transformation of the

 

 

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42

product take place before its shipment. As late as 1832 there was no
money to be made in grain sales due to the transportation costs. The
market value of lard, beef, butter, cheese, and potash compensated for
high shipping costs and left some profit for the producer (Ouellet
1971:361).

The production of potash and pearlash represented the primary
cash crop in the early Townships. The capital needed for trade in
potash was minimal, consisting of a large iron cauldron in which the
wood char could be boiled and washed. The potash was extracted with
relative ease from the wood cleared in the process of opening the farm
land and through a bit more complicated process could be reduced to a
salt, pearlash. The demand for this product on the English market was
great and when cold and snow made winter routes to Montreal and Trois-
Rivieres passable, groups of farmers would set off with their loads of
potash, returning with flour, tea and nails (Blanchard 1947:243-245).
The Township of Hatley recorded six potasheries and five pearlasheries
in 1832 as merchants came to play a larger role in centralizing this
commerce (Bouchette: n.p.). Before we take up animal husbandry, we
should briefly consider two other crops of importance.

Prior to 1815, there was an attempt made by the colonial
authorities in engaging the farmers in the production of hemp in the
hopes of supplying Great Britain. The project never developed since
during the period of 1807 to 1810, when Britain needed hemp, it also
needed additional naval stores such as timber and lumber which could
be cut seasonally for greater return than cultivating hemp. Potatoes
were grown in the border townships for export while some were blended

with hops in the manufacture of a "pretty good whiskey" prepared in

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home stills and commercially with one distillery listed in Hatley
Township in 1832 (Bouchette: n.p.). Wheat and buckwheat were raised
primarily for food; oats served for the horses and hay was raised as a
winter feed. Here too the idea quickly developed to transform these
excellent grains into whiskey.

Given the general depression in the agricultural market follow-
ing the War of 1812, and the lack of roads, the farmers of the
Townships turned to the raising of animals. Like their cousins to the
south, they expanded their sheep production producing flannel for them-
selves and for the market. The farms in Stanstead and Mississquoi
averaged between 18 and 38 sheep, 13 to 23 horned cattle and 6 to 9
pigs (Ouellet 1971:360). Between 1816 and 1830, they obtained many
Merinos in Vermont, New York and Massachusetts, and so made the Eastern
Townships a minor rival of the hill country of northern New England
in sheep raising (Jones 1946:50). In Hatley Township three carding
mills and two fulling mills were in operation in 1832, with sheep at
3,168 head, outnumbering cows two to one (Bouchette 1832). Cattle pro-
duction also increased but never reached levels that had been hoped for
mainly due to the high cost of transportation which placed Eastern
Township farmers at a disadvantage in competition with the American
farmers or those in Upper Canada (Ouellet 1971:270). Large farms,
however, existed in better situated areas and by 1830 husbandry was

well established in the American Townships.

Hatley Township
The shortcomings of the British policy of central administration

of land in a region markedly seperated from the aiministrative center

 

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had a pronounced effect on the settlement of the area and on subsequent
social formations. Under the procedures devised by the land committee
appointed by the Executive Committee of Lower Canada to administer the
allocation of land, a series of steps were to be followed in the
issuance of Letters Patent securing a township to a petitioner. The
petitioner must first demonstrate his good character and willingness to
settle the land under petition. This being established, an order for
the survey of the land was issued by the Governor's Council with half
the cost of the survey to be borne by the Crown and the remainder by
the petitioner. The report of the initial survey was to be returned in
six months to the Council and they passed it. The petitioner then
swore allegiance to the Crown and finally the Letters Patent were
issued. A simple procedure in principle, it suffered from a shortage
of surveyors, a surfeit of petitioners, and the interminable squabbles
over the payment of fees. Discouraged by litigation, many of the
petitioners abandoned their claims only adding to the confusion while
others simply settled on their lands confident the government would
grant their petitions. In 1799 the Land Committee consolidated some of
its procedures establishing classifications for various groups of
colonists of which only the first need be of interest to us. This is
where the government granted the petition on the basis of a previous
promise.

The initial assessment of Hatley Township was conducted by Theil
Towner in the early 17808 in response to the petition of Isaac Odgen
for a grant of the western half of the present Stanstead County.
Petitions for a grant were presented by both Ebenezer Hovey, a

Connecticut Yankee, and Col. Henry Cull, an Englishman who had recently

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come to Quebec. Both men had petitioned for roughly the same piece of
territory and their petitions were lumped together. Col. Cull and Mr.
Hovey presented their petition for a grant of land on April 18, 1792.
The exterior lines of the trace were fixed by June 1792 by Joseph
Kilborne, surveyor. The limits of the Crown and Clergy Reserves had to
be fixed by the Council before dividing the land into lots (Caron 1927:
312-313). In 1795, this section was surveyed and divided into lots and
rangs by James Rankin with much having to be resurveyed in later years
(Hubbard l874:6). It was Rankin who gave the land the name Hatley,
naming it after a town in.England. Sometime during the intervening
period an accompanying sworn statement was submitted by Mr. Hovey docu-
menting the present settlement of the Township of Hatley with the
expenses incurred (Table 2.1). Having submitted the petition, Hovey

proceeded to settle in the area along with a number of other associates.

Table 2.1 Expenses related to the settlement of Hatley Township

 

Pounds Shillings Pence

Number of families settled in town: 49
Traveling expenses, transportation, 1 383 7

provisions, utensils, etc. ’
Surveying 15 O O
Surveying and cutting roads 50 O 0
Clearing lands, provisions, buildings,

and utensils 2,861 O 0
TOTAL EXPENSES 4,309 - 7 6

The statements supporting the petitions were apparently
scrutinized in the field and indicated by the statement sworne out in
Hatley, August 1799. Given the inspection and confirmation, the

petition was finally granted on March 25, 1803, and the Township was

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46

divided with Col. Cull taking the northern part, including the present
village of North Hatley, and Mr. Hovey the southern part, including the
present village of Hatley. Each Associate received a grant of 1,200
acres of which 1,000 reverted to either Col. Cull or Mr. Hovey in
consideration for their efforts in securing the claim. At the time of
issuance, the population of the Township of Hatley had reached 450.
After the grant was made, numerous settlers came to this section and
were able to buy land very cheaply from the Associates so that in 1805
the papulation had reached 600 (Bender 1939:45).

For their part, the leaders bore certain responsibilities as
reflected in the 1797 declaration by Hovey concerning the settlement of
the Township. In addition to paying for half the cost of surveying the
land, the leader was also responsible for the building of necessary
roads and the erection of grist mills. Most of the Associates could not
afford to pay for their share of these services having little or no
capital, but their development of 200 acres secured the additional 1,000
acres to be sold to cover the expenses incurred. The Associates theme
selves were from Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut and were not
recruited haphazardly.

An examination of family names, marriage records, and genealo-
gies, and on lists of first and second generation settlers provided in

Forest and Clearingg by Hubbard in 1874, compared with Associate lists,

 

the pattern of recruitment becomes clear. Recruitment of Associates
concentrated on sibling groups and future settlers were closely linked

by ties of kinship and settled near by. Brothers and sisters frequently
joined the Company and within the first two generations, the association-

al network was reinforced with a dense web of affinal ties that during

12 early sett-
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47

the early settlement period consolidated linkages within settlement
clusters. It is from this initial stock that many of the families who
still reside in the community came and in many cases families with the
same last name are unable to detenmine how they are related. While kin-
ship provided one possible basis for cooperation within the Township,
the number and scale of practical problems of social life suggest more
immediate causes for the development of corporate forms beyond the
possible response to land tenure. In fact, given the relative ease with
which the Letters Patent were obtained on Hatley Township, it is less
likely that Hatley would have developed a predominant corporate nature
since there was little of the uncertainty which marked the issuance of
Letters Patent in other townships such as Stanstead (Bender 1939:35-41).
As has been pointed out, the Township was vertically integrated
into the governmental structure only through the formal procedures by
which individuals within the Company of Associates dealt directly with
the Governor in the entitling of lands. Other dimensions of vertical
civil or political integration were virtually non-existent. The few
colonists generally scattered about the area lacked roads and were
generally unable to communicate with one another. In 1805 the residents
of Hatley, along with those of twelve other townships, sent a letter to
Governor Milnes detailing their situation and requesting among other
things: the establishment of new counties to be comprised of these
townships with the privilege of electing representatives to the Assembly;
the establishment of circuit courts for small claims; the modification.
of the existing road law more in line with the needs of the new town?
ships; the establishment of land offices for the local registration of

deeds and sales; the establishment of another customs port with the

 

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United States in addition to the one at St. Johns; the establishment of
Protestant clergy in the townships; and, the nomination of magistrates
and the creation of militia units according to the needs of the
population (Caron 1927:185).

Milnes favored the notion of creating new counties since the
5,000 residents of the Eastern Townships would represent a counterweight
to the French majority in the Assembly but the actual division was not
accomplished until 1829 (Caron: 186), leaving the Townships without
representation in the Chamber of Assembly (Lighthall 1914:163). In
1826, the legislature of Lower Canada finally gave in to the demands of
the Township residents, creating the Lower St. Francis District and in
1828, began the creation of counties in those areas held in "free and
common soccage," giving two seats to Stanstead County. They also adopted
a law establishing land offices in the area but it was never implemented.
"It is quite evident the Chamber of Assembly in Lower Canada wished to
reconcile itself politically with this population, in particular to the
colonists of American origin who were more sensitive to democratic ideas"
(Ouellet 1971:358).

The period of 1828 to 1832 also marked a time of intensive road
building under the direct patronage of the Assembly, but their refusal
to modify the laws fixing the responsibility for the maintenance of roads
to unincorporated townships, left many impassible within a few years of
their construction. This lack of roads presented a major obstacle to
development and to the possibility of French immigration.

In the early days of the settlement, the only access inhabitants
had to the surrounding country was along roads described as "brushed out

paths" maintained by corvée (Day 1869:181). An Act had been previously

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passed by the Provincial Parliament for making and repairing roads under

the supervision of the inspector of highways, the Grand Voyer. However,

 

it was not until their number and means increased that the road inspector
came from.Montreal to lay out the roads in Stanstead, Hatley and
Barnstead Townships (see Figure 2.1). He worked by assessment upon the
inhabitants. The unsettled portions of land, a result of speculation,
presented particular problems in the opening of roads. The construction
of a road from Stanstead to Montreal was stopped because the road could
not be continued through Granby since that township was not settled,

though it had been granted in 1803.

Emergent Local Government

 

The lack of roads and means of communication in the settlements
resulted in the institution of numerous local structures essential to
the ongoing social system and established formal and informal relation-
ship patterns. Due to poor communication, in part, there was little
consolidation of effort for many years in the settlements; each
neighborhood in the different townships managed its own local affairs
and formed a kind of community in itself, working on its roads and
sustaining its own schools (Hubbard 1874:5). Depending on the terrain,
a farm family could be half a mile from its nearest neighbor. Harris
and Wartenkin suggest that perhaps it was partly to counteract this
isolation that the New Englanders in the Townships were invenerate
joiners of associations. Bees of all kinds coordinating activities
ranging from clearing the forest, to shucking corn were an important
part of rural life (1974:95).

The formation of militia companies requested in the letter to

Milnes reflects the fact that until 1840 the Province enjoyed no

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municipal rights, local authority, corporations with a major, rural
police, even in the Eastern Townships with their English population.
Legally the Leader and Associate group had no social or administrative
importance but sought to adjust this shortcoming through voluntary
associations (Harris and Wartenkin 1974:94). The policing of the rural

districts was left in the hands of militiamen or capitaines des thes

 

(Lighthall 1914:290).

Responding to the letter of August 1805 Milnes reported that
since its receipt, the Eastern Townships militia had been organized
under the command of Sir John Johnson and that magistrates had been
appointed in the Townships (Caron 1927:186). Three militia companies
were organized in Stanstead in 1803. One company was organized in
Hatley in 1807, with Ebenezer Hovey, captain; Simon Kesar, lieutenant;
and Jesse Wadleigh, ensign; numbering about 50 men who drilled twice
yearly on the village green. By 1812 there were seven militia companies
in Stanstead; four in Hatley and three in Barnston. During the American
War of 1812 to 1815, each of these companies supplied some five men by
draft for the British forces. A cavalry company was also formed during
the War which saw duty with the rest of the militia on the frontier.
After 1815 the militias remained dormant except for an annual muster but
did see some action during the Rebellion of 1837 to 1838. Under the
command of Capt. Alex Kilborne, the recruits from Stanstead, Hatley,
Potten, and Bolton Townships formed a volunteer company and saw some
service primarily dealing with "disaffected Canadians and their American
sympathizers" who threatened periodic insurrections which resulted in
only two very minor engagements (Hubbard 1874:13-15). It was during the

Rebellion that Taylor Wadleigh, one of the first residents of North

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Hatley, was arrested and imprisoned in Montreal for his public statements
favoring the policy of MacKenzie and Papineau (Gravel 1959:1). This
political involvement, interestingly, did not preclude him from an
active role in the eventual formation of Hatley Township Municipal
Council.

Although no register office ever developed, a subdivision of
districts was made in 1821 and a part of the County of Richilieu was
included in the interior District of St. Francis, in which Sherbrooke
was selected as the place for building a court house and jail and
holding courts of justice (Hubbard 1874:6). Theft, counterfeiting, and
other types of vice were common and the presence of the border made for
an ideal escape. On occasion settlers dealt with problems themselves
as in the case of a man who was brought from Hatley to spend two hours
in stocks at Stanstead for beating his wife. The citizens of
Charleston (present-day Village of Hatley) took the need for law and
order seriously. In September 1823 a group of leading citizens met at
the home of William.Grannis to form "The Society for the Suppression of
Felonies, Vice and Misdemeanors in the Village of Charleston." They
incorporated, drawing up a constitution consisting of ten lengthy
articles, under the guidance of a committee of the leading men of the
community. Meanwhile, a second committee made a general valuation of
the property owned by the members of the Society who were then taxed
according to their means, to furnish money to carry out the punishment
of wrongdoers and the expense of taking them to jail in.Montreal. Five
‘men were appointed "Pursuers." Pellerin claims that this is an unique
case of an organized attempt to enforce the law (1967:24-25) but

mobilization by incorporation of special groups had become the

 

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Townshippers stock-in-trade.

Topography

As surveyed in 1792, the Township is 10 miles in length from
north to south and 8 miles wide with an area of 80 square miles or
approximately 51,000 acres (Hubbard: 47). Lake Massawippi or Tomifobi,
lies near the center of the Township, is about 9 miles in length and
has an average breadth of one mile. It is crescent shaped, extending
northeast by southwest. The principle inlet to the lake is the Bacon
River which is formed by the junction of the Barlow and Negro Rivers
about two miles south of the lake. The only outlet is the Massawippi
River, which runs through the north part of Hatley in a northeasterly
direction and empties into the St. Francis River, about a mile above the
present Village of Lennoxville, or about 8 miles from its source.

Lake Massawippi presents a natural obstacle to intercommunication
between the two sections of the Township (see Figure 2.2). The part
lying to the east is generally level or undulating, while that on the
west is hilly or even mountainous. Bordering the west shores of the
lake are the Massawippi Hills rising from.the water's edge, and in the
southwestern corner of the Township are the Bunker Hills extending from
Stanstead. The lake and the hills along with the relative superiority
_of the land on the eastern side of the lake combined to discourage
settlement on the northwestern section. The population in the western
section was still sparse in 1860; but the several localities east of the
lake were more thickly settled.

The population was nearly all ethnic Americans, Yankees from New

England, as the genealogies provided by Hubbard and the listing of the

 

 

54

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 2.2 Map of Hatley Township

 

 

 

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individual grants illustrate. Because of the lack of roads between the
townships and the St. Lawrence lowlands, immigration of British during
the period of 1815 to 1830-intense in the other sections of the
townships-was but a trickle and very few French Canadians had
penetrated the area (Harris and Wartenkin 1974:94). It was the western
section of Hatley Township which remained Sparsely populated and it
would receive the French Canadian colonists as they moved out of Magog
and eventually formed their own municipal organization in the north-
eastern section.

The Canadian census does not list national origin or place of
birth prior to 1871, yet it is quite evident that in 1871 with the first
census material of this type that ethnic Nmericans in Hatley Township
still identified their ancestral countries of origin as England,
Ireland, or Scotland, making a total population of 1,535 or 66 percent
of British extraction, with an additional 3 percent of German origin and
the remaining 79 residents of French descent. By the middle of the 19th
century, the vast majority of the residents of the Townships were

Quebec-born Townshippers.

Resources

In 1832 Bouchette provides the following description of the
rapidly developing Township of Hatley. "Towards Ascot and Comptonr-to
the north and east of the township-are some extensive settlements,
where the houses and outbuildings are substantially constructed, the
farms cultivated with industry and much ability and well stocked with
cattle. On the border of Lake Memphramagog--to the southwest--is
another range of improving settlements. Watered by several small lakes

besides Tomifobi (Massawippi) and by some small rivers and streams which

 

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56

as they wind through cultivated land turn corn and saw mills (1832: n.p.).
He notes eleven sawmills, three carding mills, two fulling mills, and
seven corn mills within the Township. "Many roads lead to the adjacent
townships and other communities with main roads leading to the states of
Vermont and New Hampshire" (Bouchette 1815:268). "The only village in
the township is Charleston (the present village of Hatley) . . . houses
one church, a school house, a brewery and a distillery. In addition the
township boasts a tannery, a hat manufacturer, two potteries, six pot-
asheries, five pearlasheries, three shopkeepers, two taverns and sevenr
teen artisans and a total population of 1,573 persons" (Bouchette 1832:
n.p.).

It is the village of Charleston that formed the center for the
developing township. Situated in the stage route from.Quebec to Boston
(Bender 1939:49) it was the preeminant village in the township until

eclipsed by North Hatley in the latter half of the 19th century.

Agricultural Production

 

In the early decades of settlement in.much of the townships, the
principle markets for agricultural products were the local distilleries
and tanneries which took potatoes and hides, and sales to new settlers
needing grain and livestock. Access to markets in the United States, and
later in Montreal and Quebec, placed a premium on the production of live-
stock. First beef cattle and sheep, later dairy cattle, were raised.
Hatley entered the dairy production quite early and by 1830 most of the
cleared land in the area was in meadow or pasture which could be rotated
with grain crops permitting long intervals of ten years between two or

three years of crops to permit rejuvenation of the soil.

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A major shift occurred in production during the period of 1831
to 1851. The production of sheep declined between 1831 and 1851, while
census returns show milk cows for the first time at a very high level.
In 1861 the number of milk cows had remained steady and the number of
sheep being raised was greatly increased. Joshua Woodman Operated a
water-powered carding mill in Hatley and advertised his services in the
Stanstead Journal (Pellerin 1967:73). During the same period, the
decline in the production of slaughter cattle suggests that a major
change was occurring in the farm production pattern. Dairy production
was converted almost exclusively to butter. Butter remained the
principle dairy product until 1911 when the first year of cheese made on
the farms was added to the production list and the sale of natural milk
began. By 1851 the sale of maple sugar (cream or toffy) was well under
way with 50,317 pounds produced, increasing to 741,248 in 1871--probably
reflecting the availability of rail transportationr-and peaked in 1881

and 1891 with the production slightly over one million pounds.

Education

Education was left largely to the discretion of the local
community. Elementary education was dependent on local financial support
but these Yankee settlers put great stock in education and it is said
that Stanstead County had schools before it had roads (Blanchard 1947:
330). The first school in Hatley was the Corner School, in the Village
of Charleston and was built in 1804. Some funds were made available by
the government but apart from.minimum qualifications did little to affect
local standards or programs. In 1800, an Act was passed by the

Provincial Parliament authorizing the establishment of schools under what

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58

was termed the Royal Institute. The Act remained a dead letter in many
of the townships for years since few of them had the ability to comply
with its requirements. Under the Act, any township or parish could
petition the Legislature for the sum of $240 as an annual salary for the
teacher of the grammar school, upon the condition that a house, furnish-
ings, ample accommodation for the school and for the family of the
teacher should be built by the people.

One school was built in Hatley in 1818 with a government grant
issued in 1816. In 1829 the law was modified with the Elementary
Education Act. Under the Act, commissioners were appointed and the
different townships divided into districts. Those districts multiplied
and grants made for building new school houses and for the support of
teachers-each school receiving $80 per annum. In 1829 the Charleston
Academy was founded and was one of seven high schools and academies
receiving government aid (Pellerin 1967:16).

The founding of the Charleston Academy is typical of the civic
action taken to provide needed services on local initiatives. In
November 1829, William Grannis--who also helped organize the Society for
the Suppression of Felonies-called the first meeting of prominent
citizens to form a committee for the creation of the school. A sub-
scription paper was circulated, plans drawn up and submitted to the
Anglican Bishop of Quebec for approval and the plan executed all under
the supervision of the committee. Trustees included the Bishop of
Quebec; the Hon. L.I. Papineau, speaker of the House of Assembly; and
individuals from the city of Sherbrooke, Lennoxville, Stanstead,
Barnston, Shefford, Charleston, and Hatley. The trustees included

Catholics in the person of the government officials, and Wesleyans and

v

5 as "e‘

o
-

.
to-.. S
déd"

.

.3
R

n.

vl

1
‘N
‘5‘-
v
.
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'6
fitment

-
'Q‘

811

o
~p~~u D
*5. b

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"~e~ ‘

..¢.~6‘

AQv

59

Baptists as well.

The Rebellion of 1837 benefited education because the
Constitution of Lower Canada was suspended in 1838 and a special
council was appointed under the Governor. In 1840 the special council
under the direction of Lord Sydenham enacted legislation establishing
the Municipal System and dividing Lower Canada into districts. Under
the supervision of a warden appointed by the Governor, each parish or
township within a district could elect one or two councillors, according
to its population, to the district council. The district council was
entrusted with the care of opening and maintaining highways, building
and repairing bridges, and levying taxes for school purposes and expenses

connected with the public interest (DeCelles 1914:293).

Religion

The lack of any centralized municipal system hindered the devel-
Opment of the community and prior to 1840 settlements depended on the
emergence of voluntary associations for needed services. With the
establishment of mechanisms to assess and collect school taxes, schools
became the focus of cooperative social action providing a cultural focus
for the religiously diversified population. In addition to the schools,
the appearance of Masonic Lodges early in the 18th century served to
further soften the potential lines of division inherent in religious
sectarianism. The first religious body in Hatley was a small group of
Freewill Baptists. A house of worship at Massawippi was occupied
alternately by the Freewill Baptists and the Adventists. A leading
figure in the Freewill Baptist Church was Deacon Taylor Little, son of
Bond Little who settled in Hatley Township in 1798, another was Ephraim

Wadleigh. Christopher Flanders was instrumental in a movement to try

—-

.-

' n
u"; «932”..28 a .
n- v.3-“

The 2---

‘ . c ‘ '
zeta: tsgezze-

‘ '—
ifii DUE L75: .5:

As ear”.

35:71:25 'u'E‘.’ e T.

. . _ .
“‘ 'Y“Q.A N"
H '03¢.:c .1:

.
n .H ‘
‘. 'V‘1 5.. Syc

" 1'31? a :
Present 3:. 33

3!
3‘.
. e
"S\ea. “ :
fi“-‘s
.
It. .
t:19 ax...
.‘
‘8"
«'U‘;:i:aq‘
IL?
a
i:fefie‘
\‘lo

 

60

and organize a Freewill Baptist Church.

The first Baptist Church was formed when a group of settlers
banded together in 1799. Adventists were very popular in the Stanstead
area but lost many of their followers to the Freewill Baptists when the
"final consumation of all things" failed to take place in April 1843.

As early as 1821 a Methodist Society was organized in Hatley and
services were held in some of the cabins or outdoors in summer. Hatley
was visited by American Methodist preachers at a very early period; but
in 1821 the Societies were transferred to the charge of Wesleyan
missionaries from the New England Conference, and for years it was
included with other townships in a circuit. No church organization was
formed until a little before the year 1836 when a church was built.
Around 1817 a mission of the Church of England was established in Hatley
mainly through the efforts of the Reverand Dr. Steward. In 1818 he saw
to the construction of the Old North Church in Hatley and in 1829 the

present St. James Anglican Church was built in the village.

Summary

In this chapter we have examined the way in which particular
policies regarding the colonization and land tenure affected the develop-
‘ment of the Township of Hatley. It has been shown that because of the
colonial policies governing land issuance, the Township lacked the legal
mechanisms for incorporation it would have enjoyed in the New England
system. This weakness was further compounded by their virtual isolation
from the administrative centers of Lower Canada of which they were
politically a part. This isolation left them without representation or

effective integration into the larger political system. The reaponse,

——

siezczstrazed in :
:zrpcrated volume
grirarily from the
elective 3 tion 3:
m as the to '2 '3;
:72: intensify d;:;
|
The develq:
|
33.5.31 01’ ecsnx.
been French 333'
|
Siie‘leuries of
CifiliCCS were 5e.

"1‘90

“'3' In the se

 

“"5125 occurring

 

61

as demonstrated in the case of Hatley Township, was the formation of
incorporated voluntary associations, organized by local leaders, drawn
primarily from the small comercial village centers, to mobilize
collective action within specific domains. This pattern will continue
even as the townships are given municipal power through the 18603 and
even intensify during the 19303.

The development of Hatley Township occured in geographic but not
political or economic isolation from the hostilities and competition
between French and English occurring in the Assembly and in the
seigneuries of the traditional French settlements. The effects of these
conflicts were felt indirectly as in the lack of roads or circuit
courts. In the second half of the 19th century however, changes
occuring in the French Canadian society would result in a major
"invasion" of the townships. The coming of the railroad and an influx
of British investment capital will initiate growth and modify the
social system, changing the culture of the American Townships. The
events occurring during this period provide an excellent example of the
relation of economic pressure and of competition between groups with

opposing ideological positions for control of institutions.

 

Despite
:eSL Lawrence
sezzlaeats was.
lanaiian societj
Eel: for over a
Zaszern Townshi
and political i
i: this period
FIEZCh-Qamdia:

The ri.

"gql V
wqg‘eag: Hg
. 3c
‘ 4
t.

CHAPTER III
THE INVASION AND THE "DOMINANT THOUGHT"

Despite their geographic isolation from the French majority in
the St. Lawrence lowlands the course of development of the American
settlements was, as we have seen, considerably influenced by the French-
Canadian society. The events of the mid-19th century had repercussions
felt for over a century in French-Canadian society and opened the
Eastern Townships to French-Canadian settlement ending their cultural
and political isolation. The Catholic ideology which emerged triumphant
in this period was to determine the criteria for membership in the
French-Canadian society.

The rise of the Catholic Church can be attributed to the conr
vergence of three trends which occurred during the mid-19th century.
First was the defeat of the Liberal professionals in 1838 who had been
challenging both British authority and the authority of the Catholic
Church in their attempt to gain political control within Lower Canada.
Second was the gradual displacement of the seigneural-based administra-
tive units by parishes which became legally constituted units with
civil power, capable of being established anywhere. Third was the in-
creasing demographic pressure to establish new settlements along with
the availability of foreign capital to develop them. In this case there
was both the need to colonize remote regions north of the St. Lawrence

in response to the lumber trade, establishing permanent bases for supply

62

 

1 ,.
__‘1;'~-' 311:1 1::

‘ v
1],. nag

' .5 «Ina
.55..»gu .335 vaf:
a q .1. P . I ‘ “
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are “15“.

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63

and labor,1 and in the Eastern Townships, the need for the British
American Land Company to settle the lands which were being left vacant
for lack of colonists.

The conjunction of these trends had a profound effect on the
ideological formation of Quebec and it is this dimension which we will
consider first. The dynamics of the struggle between the Liberals and
the clergy in the early 19th century and the subsequent events provide a
basis for a macrolevel analysis of the thesis being examined in this
dissertation at the local level: the transmission of ideology through
the control of institutions. Following the defeat of the Liberals in
1838, the Church began to exercise control over a range of institutions
which had been formerly contested by the Liberals. It also extended its
control over other institutions and even created new ones. This process
was to continue until well into the 20th century when the
confessionalité--the definition of an institution based on religious
principle--of various institutions would again be challenged effectively,

a feature which we will examine in more detail in chapter 7.

The Liberal Challenge

As the Catholic Church had become allied with the seigneurs and
the colonial administration, its position within Quebec society was
being challenged by the Liberals. Disciples of Rousseau and 19th
century libertarianism, these liberal bourgeoisie combined new ideas to
attain conservative political ends. Libertarian thought had divorced
politics from.its theological tradition, stressing human liberty over
Divine Right, thereby eliminating the elite privileges which they per-

ceived stood in the way of their advancement (Ouellet 1973:.39).

tttaigte and Ross
seigtexal system
zititgs of Blacks
is seig: tries '3'.
it Laity who r ;:
::"es:s threate:
messed their p<
hie: the Assembly.

I . C n
4163056 1:56 .2

raters since L111:

“‘9 ac"Iantage .35
T1 .
.Ur more

'23:;de the :

I::‘

 

.,_ no ' . ‘7 -
'9'“ Czttze:
hxsen '

1:1 Prefer

 

 

64

Finding justification in the writing of Blackstone, Locke, Voltaire,
Montaigne and Rosseau, they saw the flagrant contradiction between the
seigneural system and the modern concept of property. Armed with the
writings of Blackstone, they undertook a reformist movement to abolish
the seigneuries but faced the combined opposition of clergy, seigneurs
and laity who represented a considerable force and who saw their
interests threatened (Ouellet 1971:467). One way in which the Liberals
expressed their position or attempted to gain within the system came
when the Assembly, heavily under the control of the Liberals, sought to
interpose itself in seigneural affairs. The Assembly took on the
traditional role of the Intendent of the French Regime and sought to
impose limits on the division of land, to arbitrate between Lords and
renters since under the new economic conditions, the seigneurs sought to

take advantage of the censitaires (Ouellet 1971:281):

 

For more than a century, doctors, lawyers and notaries alone
constituted the only lay elite of French Canadian society. The most
respected citizens of their respective localities, they were habitually
chosen in preference for public office (Tremblay 1973:83). They were
tied to the financial fortunes of this group since they had been
excluded from commercial linkages. These Liberal professionals aspired
to political power and between 1800 and 1820 outnumbered the clergy.
This new elite challenged the leadership of the clergy in a number of
areas, with particularly disquieting political reforms such as placing
schools outside of Church control (Savard 1971:70). The challenge to
clerical power was launched not only in the Assembly but at the parish
level as well. Chabot states that we ought not underestimate the

power of the notary, doctor and small merchant in the early 19th century.

 

. '- >3
I O. ' 5"... fl .
2.3. Ensues .

a ' .
:51: 3: :12 met;

:easants 3y acce;
35:1:ng .38" Y

:e :getgy 3116 53

v ‘ ‘ .
a In I §'
5“ auCoso

Lizerals under

..._.'.ete the sepa
'::-sectariaa) a
irate and Prene
:tcfessicnals as

1191. to a dying f
L‘gtain or in

~ ~39ita1 devel:

““534 Vith re:

he“. 7
.§.uu'.:ure, .!

.118

 

 

 

65

Better educated than most, they took an active role in challenging the
power of the clergy: informing peasants of their rights in the fabrigue
(parish council); enduring the suffering of poor harvests with the
peasants by accepting forfeiture of loans or being poorly paid;
questioning pew rents and the placement of churches; and, criticizing
the clergy and gaining popular support (Chabot 1975:83).

In addition to the separation of the Church from education, the
Liberals under the leadership of Louis Joseph Papineau sought to
complete the separation of Church and State, the State was to be neutre
(nonrsectarian) and the guardian of individual rights (Ouellet 1971:476).
Bourque and Frenette interpret the economic situation of these Liberal
professionals as a matter of class interest in that they were either
tied to a dying fur trade or excluded from the development of commerce
in grain or lumber. Such a view would explain why they were antagonistic .
to capital development, as in their obstructionist policies in the .
Assembly with regard to developing roads, canals, even at the expense of
agriculture, their only economic base.

As Dumont and Rocher point out, the image of religious unity in
Quebec is a fairly recent phenomenon. The intellectual bourgeoisie
developed Liberal and anti-clerical ideas and reproached the clergy for
its obstructionism, its authoritarianism, its monarchist tendencies and
its loyalty to England. For its part, the Church, under Mgsr. Plessis,
fought the "spirit of independence" with the observation that parlia-
mentary government was ill-adapted to the people. This period was
marked by a growing sense of national consciousness within the
bourgeoisie. It was during this "romantic period" that the legislative

assembly fell out with the Church. In 1834 Papineau accused the Church

 

_ L_..__.._.

\ I
s .y‘
. flu”; 7‘1”,
3' :Mbe‘W‘a
. a

1"Jf 1714. It Vii

 

:e :c be seen as

'ait‘ the‘;
treat ended 21:
fieslsgy. Before
:15 fundazental
undertaking a
:f the seigneur:
If the Insure:
55% 3f French
{3311: a Change
haédition, :L:
15931 doc tri:
15:3? who bene
Fatigue, 3 CCU
3“ in flationa;

e
\ k ‘
‘s

I .f‘
““tba

l .
‘1 agrzc

 

66

of complicity with the English for seeking to gain through the Quebec
Act of 1774. It was during this period that the educated professionals

came to be seen as a threat by the clergy.

The Rise of the Theocratic State

With their defeat in the Insurrection of 1837-1838, the Liberal's
threat ended and brought about a major change in French Canadian
ideology. Before 1837, French-Canadian nationalism had sought to attain
its fundamental goals through the control of the political structures,
an undertaking which, if successful, would have permitted the extension
of the seigneural system throughout all of Lower Canada. The failure
of the Insurrection and the establishment of the Union put an end to the
hope of French Canadian control of the political structures and brought
about a change in attitude regarding the English and seigneural tenures.
In addition, the failure of the Insurrection separated nationalism from
Liberal doctrine and democratic ideas and in this sense it was the
clergy who benefited most from the Patriots' setback. It was Mgsr.
Lartigue, a cousin of Papineau and the first "nationalist" Bishop, who
saw in nationalism.the eventual mechanism for the formation of a
clerical, agricultural and theocratic society. Around 1840 the clergy
was ready to take control of a nationalism free from all its Liberal
ties and even the most anti-clerical of the patriots came to recognize
the Church as a "national institution" (Ouellet 1971:476-477).

Thus, in 1840, the Catholic counter-reformation was launched,
transforming the Liberal bourgeoisie through the careful control of
media and education. The Church offered the people "compensation" in
the hereafter and a "mission" to evangelize and civilize the continent

(Rioux 1968:97). It is not mere coincidence that the Societe St. Jean

 

Batiste, 511th its
:zze to be the 5'52:
Jezeéian-to stand
Etttesutt, Etvglis'

{tie and saw :1:

1:..ege, par; 3 a:

"hie. ." o ‘
t P‘y‘
the a a.

(A.
i

.. ”led. (

67

Baptiste, with its motto: "Aides-toi et le ciel t'aide", was formed and
came to be the symbolic social statement of the mission of the French
Canadians-to stand as the voice crying out for the Catholic faith in a
Protestant, English wilderness. The Church became the temporal and moral
guide and saw the primary need to control education in the school,
college, parish and family (Ouellet 1973:54). This fusion of nationalism
and religious ideology has been termed "double messianisme" by Dumont and
Rocher (1961) and combined with the myth of the agricultural vocation
came to dominate the society.

If the Conquest had transformed a merchant society into a feudal
one, the Insurrection had changed a feudal society into an agricultural
one. The parish became the social pivot; the priest, along with the
local merchants and professionals, linked the parishioners with the out-
side world. The parish became the focus for political life and its
power accrued. Clerics used their moral leadership to gain material to
build churches as emblems of power and village pride. The professional
class was needed and the clergy recruited and trained it in the Colleges
Classiques. The Church provided the main channel for upward mobility
within the French society (Guidon: 167). Meanwhile, the counter refor-
mation continued weeding out vestiges of anti-clericalism wherever it
could be found. Through this process, the Liberalism of the early 19th
century was effectively isolated from the Catholicism of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries. During this same period changes were also

occurring within the seigneural system which would lead to its decline.

Decline of the Seigneuries

 

The seigneural system played a key role in the strategy for

collective survival in the period following the Conquest. Seigneural

 

 

L. t
(“a
A at
n'e-
:33?“
' ‘ 1'
..., (Gear
5231:"

q ‘5'" t aura .-.‘
:nfi‘. L‘
.«E‘.

 

asisilate la:
Sltttture. De
‘4 escape thi‘
“'1' irrevocab
iET-a

68

tenure, ce bouclier de la nation canadienne, (Ouellet and Hamelin: 36),
appeared at that time as a factor in economic, social and even moral
stability (Ouellet 1971:207). This notion was confirmed in 1791 when
English tenure was introduced to the Townships, attracting Americans
who, as 1e Canadien observed in 1807, had already infested these new
holdings. The conversion of seigneuries to townships then posed a
mortal threat to the rural papulation. Additionally, the demonstrated
unwillingness of British and American immigrants to settle lands under
seigneural tenure suggested the conversion of ungranted lands to
seigneural tenure would assure the availability of land for future
French expansion (Ouellet 1971:208). Under the Act of 1791, it was
understood that the integrity of the seigneural system would be main?
tained in Lower Canada but the conjunction of several social and
economic forces in the following decades challenged and eventually
undermined the viability of the system.

Historically, the seigneury had been designed to protect the
censitaires. As part of a pre-capitalist society, in which capital was
invested in trade and not land, the seigneur ideally was a simple agent
of colonization immune to the call of material interests. Following
the Conquest, as English commercial interests came to dominate the
economy of Lower Canada, the seigneural system was subjected to the test
of the new realities. The growth of capitalism, which tends to
assimilate landed property to its laws, challenged this traditional
structure. Despite all precautions, the seigneural system was unable
to escape this economic conjunction. Impelled by capital penetration,
the irrevocable tendency to view the seigneury as a capital investment

developed among the seigneurs, compromising the seigneuries as any type

 

..' meal she: fie!

'o ... wde

l I Q
o
OQF." 'M‘ T"
I' .4”... Chan“ A‘

There was a

bfi

“a
9

syste: legal

1
.\

7.: 3y seeing are"

HI
1;

Isfltqfi way I
«abate. 5.9 u

. I I I
«‘«Q‘. A ‘ ~ A
'FVGVhH am IC—IF» i:

u s .. ."- .
.:S: :. .... Vie:
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we. e'edtgq.‘7 :3:
o

Saree: seigneur a‘

Q
o.‘
i...

:."V
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“Les wh;

Rim 4 .
sftgans or 18-

§

 

e3: ' ..
b "’ests
3am "- .
\ nuabec "’1‘.
L“:
s“

 

.u
.i‘ '5 -
5:313 A
JQCat
LINN?»
a . 5.
L516
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V. a...
«A .
C1
“5»Q Sul

69

of cultural shelter (Ouellet and Hamelin: 50). A brief consideration of
the factors which led to this transition will illustrate the point.
There was a problem interpreting the sanctioning of the seig-

neural system legally. "The English courts sought to discover the law
but by seeing analogies to English law, English judges were too often
led to misinterpret the most ancient law of the land" (Munro: 205).
Economic and demmgraphic changes were putting new pressures on the land
base at a time when the lack of clearly understood legal precedent and
tort eventually caused the Assembly to attempt its own intervention

between seigneur and censitaire. The English tried to eliminate

 

seigneural tenure and in so doing, its defense became an issue in the
struggle against the English and capitalism (Ouellet and Hamelin: 50),
and attempts to legislate its dissolution would be viewed as attempts to
assimilate or "Yankeeize" the habitants.

The stress on the seigneural system began with the series of
crop failures which started in Lower Canada around 1823. With the
exceptions of 1824 and 1830 when slight surpluses were produced,
deficit harvests became the rule. Thus began what Ouellet and Hamelin
have dubbed "the golden age of pea soup" (42-43). When wheat rusts and
the Hessian fly began to ravage crops in the 18305, Lower Canada became
an importer of wheat (Harris and Warkentin: 83), reducing the daily
consumption of wheat from 2 to 3 pounds to 1 pound (Ouellet and Hamelin:
43). This happened just as there was a growing demand for grain in
England. The combination of poor harvests in Quebec and the low prices
for grain because Western competition deflated the grain market (Ouellet
1971:446). The agricultural practices used earlier in the century had

not changed substantially. The French Canadians gave little attention

 

:; their cultivat
ialover Canada :

’. Q-
538:9 'uc‘.’

-n v ' ‘
‘3‘ $2 tile 12::

Q t -
33.23‘ one 1:“;
w ..
.a»....en. .:e rs

“SWECEd'bevo:
‘i‘°ecause the

‘Q

De: I Yes

\
ALIRng
:eiv 1
A. e 1
ga, PC:
"(5“

Kites
ksatars

QI
lit-E ? ‘
~ug -
‘ ‘lSn‘
‘h
\ “q
V‘s ‘
“C: ’V‘
-us
\..
,w
‘~ e

70

to their cultivated lands and the low quality wheat and flour produced
in Lower Canada could not compete.

There were several causes for this poor production in wheat.
Even if the practice of fertilization had been widely adapted, there was
a shortage of cattle to supply the fertilizer. In addition, the
Province was running out of agricultural land and the subdivision of
farms in the inheritance pattern, employing farms which would barely
support one family to become the basis of several, further compound the
problem. The rate of land being cleared, which had kept pace with
population growth prior to 1800, now fell painfully behind. The soil
was pushed beyond its ability to recuperate and the seed-yield ratios
fell because there was less fresh-cleared land (Harris and Warkentin:
83). Debt was inevitable and many habitants feared the confiscation of
their land (Harris and Warkentin: 91).

Although the number of confiscations never reached the level of
their legal potential, there was a brisk business in the sale of land as
local merchants, professionals, and even the occasional parish priest
would buy land nearby (Harris and Warkentin: 83). On a larger scale,
the English had been buying seigneuries since the Conquest. Wealthy
immigrants and merchants from Montreal and Quebec, even clerks and
administrators working for the Hudson's Bay Company, found the purchase
of a seigneury a useful investment and a means of profit (Munro: 233).
English ownership of the seigneuries increased steadily during the 19th
century and Waddell estimates that some 40 percent of the seigneuries
were English-owned by the middle of the century (Waddell M.S.: n.p.).
It was not just the increased English ownership that caused problems,

but economic forces which opened new possibilities for the

 

 

mleitaticn of

‘ Q Q
.....q n? I 1
"1....“qu O D by

. .
-... by. q ’ O b
"u... ..‘8.& a w 5

we" ‘ ...“
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0
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. “56:
'fIJ‘a:

71

exploitation of the seigneury and habitant to French and English
seigneurs alike.

One conjunction of particular interest came with Napolean's
continental blockade of Eur0pe which forced British logging concerns to
turn their attention from the Baltic to the British North American
colonies (Harris and Warkentin: 90). Under their influence, the
system of colonial preference gave the Canadian forestry industry the
lead in the timber trade with Great Britain. This growth in the lumber
industry increased the value of the timber on the ungranted land within
the seigneury and the seigneur began to police the timber against
illegal cutting. Both the French and English seigneurs built mills and
employed as many as 80 men in cutting timber with again as many in the
mills themselves (Harris and warkentin: 86). Cutting wood, placing
mills and timber production, all came under the control of the seigneurs
(Ouellet and Hamelin: 51), adding a further economic device in the
exploitation of the seigneury as a source of wealth.

Given the seigneury as the principle means of support, the
return from the seigneury was to be kept fairly high and, treated as a
Speculative sideline, seigneuries were expected to yield about 5 percent
per year (Harris and Warkentin: 71). Seigneurs compounded their role as
creditors, selling the wheat and flour obtained from the percentage
owned in the grinding cost at the banal grist mill (Harris and Warkentin:
83). Even in 1817, when the overall prices of agricultural products
began to fall, the seigneural rates either remained high or, in some
cases, were increased further. Ouelett and Hamelin remark with a
certain wonderment that these abuses did not result in rural rebellion.

Popular aggression was channeled instead toward the English by the

 

I ' I

"Hoe-"“5 Lax"
"....503“ ’ '
,

5;), But as One".
:er an the back

,I t V
~9-«t'nfi W "‘a~. ...
' (a. 5‘5 .2

relity in 2311‘! e

The seig:
;r::ec:i'.'e screen
1535. The syste:

:Lazges in at“‘"

OOhH

“'_’V n - . .-
v-C..et 191,1:‘fij

t‘Lage) OI 5V 2

"~33 ’Jas C31?"
5..
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tUststants (VL'

   

Quald o‘

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.

.
.\

he

"‘ 0f the SQ:

72

politicians, many of whom were themselves seigneurs (Ouellet and Hamelin:
51). But as Ouellet notes, although the projection of collective pro-
blems on the back of the English was an old habit, its efficacy was
eroding particularly as dependence on Western agriculture became a
reality in many eyes and forced a rethinking of attitudes concerning

the canals and St. Lawrence transportation (Ouellet 1971:445).

The seigneural system began to appear less and less like the
protective screen par excellence of the nation in the popular conscious-
ness. The system increasingly came to be judged on its own merits and
changes in attitudes eventually forced the acquiescence of the elites
(Ouellet 1971:445). 0f the fine manor houses built in the 19th century,
many of the finest were built by English-speaking seigneurs as a number
of seigneuries had passed into English hands as payment for debts, by
marriage, or by purchase (Harris and Warkentin: 71). The Catholic
Church was caught in the contradictory position of possessing many
seigneural holdings itself, but vexed by the fact that increasingly
seigneuries were in the hands of English Protestants who therefore did
not pay a tithe to the Church and who tended to grant land to other
Protestants (Munro: 234). By the same token, a system designed to
shield the nation from the ravages of the capitalists, when over 40 per-
cent of the seigneuries were in their possession, suggests a highly
comprised mechanism. But the rural people were slow to change and in
1843 the report on seigneuries indicates that the rural people still
preferred the seigneuries, thus delaying their dissolution until 1845.

Under the Act of 1845 the censitaire could not commute his dues

and thus obtain free title to this land unless the seigneur had pre-

viously commuted his with the Crown. The process was finally completed

 

 

 

 

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73

under the Act for the Abolution of Feudal Rights and Duties in Lower

Canada in 1854. Under this Act, lands were to be held en franc alieu

 

roturier, roughly analogous to a grant in free and common soccage, a
"freehold exempt from all burdens and subject to no seigneural rights or
duties" (Munro: 53). The mass support was still underlying the
seigneural system, and the Act of 1854 resulted in the reform but not
the abolution of the seigneury. Thus, as the initial mechanisms of
survival steadily unraveled under the pressure of 19th century
capitalism, a new strategy for social survival was starting to evolve.
The Catholic Church was beginning to make the transition from dependence

on the seigneuries to a more solid footing for its parishes.

The Parochial Municipality

Having suffered some loss of property following the Conquest,
Church holdings were reinstated when, under the fear of the American
invasion, the Crown granted the Church the right, under the Quebec Act
of 1774, to "hold, receive, and enjoy, their accustomed dues and rights,
with respect to only such persons as shall profess the said religion"
(Abbé de l'Isle Dieu 1776). This clause of the Quebec Act applied,
however, only to those districts where the Catholic Church was already
installed, that is, in the parishes with lands seigneurally held. The
problem.came to a head during the Rebellion when the BishOp struck a
bargain with the Governor who recommended that civil power be given to
canonical parishes. By an ordonnance of 1839, the Church was allowed to
assess Catholics for the establishment of new parishes. This gave the
parish a legal and civil status (i.e., the act allowed for the erection

of parishes, the building of churches and parsonages, and church yards).

 

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age in Quebec.
:eli a new legit
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74

The Conquest had launched the Catholic Church into its golden
age in Quebec. Despite its rivalry with the Liberal professionals, it
held a new legitimacy and power in relation to the British administra-
tion that it had not enjoyed under the French Regime, which had care-
fully controlled any attempts at expansion (Riddell: 187). Despite the
lflnitations of seigneural tenure and a fixed land base, the parish
began to emerge as the important social unit. Under the leadership of
the clergy, the parish simultaneously filled religious, scholastic, and
with the Acts of 1845 and 1855, municipal functions (Tremblay 1971:79).
Under the guidance of the EEEE’ the Inspector of Roads and Bridges, and
of the Poor and several Fence and Ditch Viewers were elected in the
parish. A small land tax was levied for the maintenance of local
schools with land assessors, a tax collector and clerk elected to
administer it (Harris and Wartenkin: 78). As the French Canadians took
pOssession of the land in the 60 years following the Conquest, there
was a proliferation of communities of the faithful. The faithful were
isolated in the bosom of the rural parishes where Church authority and
influence were sovereign and the Church could work freely to shape a
people in the images of its pure and austere vision of the Christian

life (Tremblay: 79).

The Myth of the Agricultural Vocation

 

This austere vision of society was summarized in the "myth of

' a theory begun in the golden era. This

the agricultural vocation,’
agrarian myth, when wedded to a depoliticized nationalism, formed the
foundation for an ideological definition of a French-Canadian identity

framed in religious terms integrating the Church into the rural power

base. This transformation put the rural areas under tight Church

 

 

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75

control, a control which was not to be effectively challenged until the
19603, with the move away from decentralization which was geared in
effect to break the rural power base of the Church.

The Church provided linkages with the outside world. The
alliances forged between the local clergy and the local elites under
this system were striking and are well illustrated in the study of St.
Pascal (Gold 1975), that analyzes the role of the seigneurs and clergy,
particularly the powerful convent of Notre Dame in Montreal, in pro-
viding needed educational facilities and in the development of the
comunity even to the building of needed bridges.

Agriculture, despite its image, did not constitute a full-time
or year-round occupation since the habitants made significant use of
the forests, cutting wood for lumber and fuel, and tapping for maple
sugar. Agriculture as a speciality only arose in the late 19th century
as it became a more steady and homogenous process (Breton 1979:309).

Agriculture was not a full-fledged vocation, but it was being
integrated into the customary and institutional practices of the
culture. The Catholic Church stressed it: French-Canadian society drew
its definition from an idealized precapitalist period, "nourished by
images drawn from an earlier rural society-a society without classes,
'poor, French and Catholic'" (Dumont: 2). The Christian Church
enveloped the temporal society and divided the universe as Catholic and
pagan. As late of 1902, Msgr. Paquet wrote in a "Brevary of the French-
Canadian Patriot" that (French) Canada had, by Provincial design, an
agricultural vocation; it was to leave to others the concerns of the
economy and the industrial, "materialist" life. The tools of its

design were to be the cross and the plow (Falarderau 1960).

to

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76

It was this linkage with the agricultural vocation that made the
clergy so interested in land policy and colonization, but colonization
had an even stronger impetus. There was a profound disequilibrium
within Quebec between the rapid population growth and the jobs available
in commerce and industry. This natural population growth, which was
rapidly outstripping the pace of capital accumulation, disturbed neither
government nor ecclesiastical authorities. The only possible solution
was to encourage agriculture and colonization since there was no other
outlet for labor. Even if this expansion in the agricultural sector
had not coincided with the teaching of a traditional philosophy of the
rural life, there would still have been only one outcome, there was
nothing else to do (Faucher and Lamontagne: 32).

Mgsr. Lartique, the first nationalist Bishop, had seen in
agriculture the eventual mechanism of a clerical, agricultural and
theocratic society. Around 1840 the clergy were ready to take control
of a colonization free from.its liberal ties and attachments. The
elites and the masses were ready to follow this course (Ouellet 1971:
477). From this point on, the townships no longer represented an
impenetrable barrier to colonization and to expansion at the ideological

level or in the psychology of the elites (Ouellet 1971:477).

The Origin of Decentralized Government
The 18408 were marked by a series of Municipal Acts that finally
granted civil authority to villages and parishes. The American Town-
ships benefitted greatly from this transformation since it meant that
laws were finally providing municipalities the formal authority for
taxation, centralization and corporate action required for colonization

and community develOpment. Prior to 1840, there were no municipal

 

rights and this
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77

rights and this lack of municipal government had forced a number of
local adaptations on the part of the settlers of Hatley Township.

Now, with the development of municipal government, they were rapidly
able to take advantage of these new municipal structures which were
compatible with their overall social tradition while the French society
would be forced to slowly adjust.

Such a difference can be seen in the varying responses to the
Education Act of 1841. This Act established a tax rate of one shilling
three pence per child per month for the establishment of schools and for
the French in the seigneuries this posed a problem. The response among
the English, Scots and New Englanders of the Townships--who were
literate themselves, relatively prosperous, competitive and possessed
of a strong civic sense-was quite different. They strongly supported
the schools and tended to fill the most important civic offices created
by municipal laws in the 18403 and 18503. But the transition to
municipal government, greeted heartily in the Townships, was not as
readily accepted in the French society, which was only slowly making
this transition since developing a municipal system was largely a
question of abolishing feudal tenure and the process was not easy
(Martel: 290-294).

Except for the laws establishing the Grand Voyer and some
:mechanisms for the construction and maintenance of roads, there was
litttle local municipal government in Quebec prior to 1840. Instead,
U18 administrative system was highly centralized and limited in its
ability to perform effectively away from the urban areas. The establish-
ment of local government was one of the goals highly recommended by

Durham in his Report of 1841. In 1840, the first municipal law

78

appeared, but the ordonnance put too much power in the hands of the
Governor and, given the mood of hostility and distrust which surrounded
the suspension of the Assembly following the Rebellion, the law was
viewed as a machine a taxer and met with such popular resistance that it
remained a dead-letter law. This law was followed by a series of bills
until 1871, when the modifications were completed and the municipal law
was codified into the Civil and Procedural Codes. The laws, still in
effect today, provide for the creation in each electoral district of two
municipal bodies, one having charge of the general interest of the
county and the other looking to the local affairs of each parish or
township. The local body is composed of seven elected councillors;
these chose their president who is called the mayor. The presidents of
these various parish organizations meet to form the county council, the
chairman of which is chosen from.their ranks by the council and is
called the warden or préfet (DeCelles: 290-294).

Local municipal councils have the control of roads and bridges,
and decide where boundary ditches are to be made. They have the
power to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors or to limit the
number of tavern licenses, and to establish pounds for the keeping
of stray animals. It is also in their province to pass by-laws
to protect the morals of the community. They have the power to
tax personal prOperty and real estate for municipal purposes, to
contract loans for public works, to issue debentures, etc. The
by-laws authorizing these things must be submitted to the
electors for their approval and then referred to the lieutenant-
governor for his approval.

It is within the power of the higher council (county) to impose
taxes for county purposes, and to prohibit the sale of intoxicating
liquor in every parish under its jurisdiction, with the sanction of
the majority of the mayors duly authorized to that effect by their
respective councils. It is also empowered to look after roadways
and bridges between the different parishes. Power of appeal, also,
lies from local townships decisions to the cOunty council
(DeCelles: 294-295).

These are the powers which the municipalities have retained even to the

Present and which have supported the "heavily decentralized system of

 

 

 

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79

administration" described by Gold(1976:160-163), which he says is
clearly a part of the British and American tradition.

This decentralized system did afford the Townships the option
of maintaining English power in localized areas and, more importantly,
afforded the local municipalities the option of creative corporate
action in utilizing the tax base to develop commercial interests in the
Townships. The Law of 1840, although it remained a dead-letter,
benefitted the people of Hatley Township who were generally in accord
and identified with the British policy and who found this change to
their advantage. They made use of this law and with the Act of 1845
began holding county council meetings. Hatley Township as a legal
entity was created in July 1855 under the Municipalities and Roads Act
.of that year and purusal of their Minutes indicates that they immedi-
ately began to employ the civil and legal powers entrusted to them.
This discussion will be continued in the following chapters since, as
was the case in the settlement, it was the events in the French community
that shaped and detenmined the options for the Townships. We will now
examine the growth of British investment and its effects on the

settlement of the Townships.

Growth of British Investments
The most interesting mechanism in the colonization, apart from
time colonization societies themselves, involved the formation of the
B:itish.American Land Company. Chartered on May 22, 1834 for the pur-
Ixhse of purchasing, improving, settling and disposing of the wastelands
0f the Crown (MacDonald: 295), the Company was an attempt to counteract
thersorry state of affairs that conditions had come to as a result of

the Speculative abuse of the land system. Its formation was perceived

Ona-

 

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3-
'§.

80

1:37 the Assembly as a massive land grab, which netted the Company nearly
()Ile million acres, including detached lots of 200 acres in the counties
of Shefford, Stanstead, and Sherbrooke, which being close to mills,
s3110ps, schools, and churches, made them exceedingly eligible for
:‘umediate settlement. The unreserved balance, amounting to 596,325
zaczres, was situated between the upper waters of the St. Francis River
eatid.Lake Megantic and the county of Sherbrooke.

The actions of the Company have been sharply criticized by many
IijLstorians. Blanchard illustrates these abuses by the British American
Land Company with the following examples. The British American Land
Company began its program in 1835 with the most profitable part of its
<>1>eration, cutting wood, and then selling the land to intending
<:<>lonists at Victoriaville in 1836 and renounced half of its concession
1111.184], but only after having clearcut the region of Stoke. The
(zcmmpany lands were abandoned by its first Anglo-Sacon clearers
(gefricheurs) which paralyzed the British colonization in Compton and
s(Duchern Frontenac. The Company further retarded the growth of the
iCradustrial sector in Sherbrooke and clung to choice industrial sites
for a long time in Magog. The roads which were to have been opened for
t21ble colonists were miserably maintained until 1850 (Blanchard: 337).

Oscar Skelton in The Life and Times of Sir Alexander Tilloch
Egijfitlt presents quite a different picture. The Company, according to
SI~telton, began operation in 1835 but the results were not encouraging.
]: 1t: had proceeded to open roads and warehouses, etc., but the Rebellion
D13 1837 scared off the better class of English immigrants and many
LIDElmigrants failed to meet their obligations. By 1838 the Company was

kn financial trouble and had to ask for a suspension of interest on

81

their loan. By 1840, sales had practically ceased, and the bulk of the
settlers had been "brought up under the English poor laws" and had little
veracity or adaptability. The expenditure of a great amount of capital
on making roads, bridges, mills, and in introducing and supporting these
pauper immigrants, had brought about a hectic prOSperity, followed by a
sweeping reaction. Roads, made with vast outlays of capital, were
falling into ruin and some actually became impassible. In Could, the
storehouses were falling into ruin, there were only four families
including the agent's, the grist mills were in bad order and the pearl
ashery was in ruins. Immigrants bypassed Lower Canada in 1841, only

400 of the 28,000 immigrants who landed in Quebec could be diverted to
the Eastern Townships. The newly formed Municipal Council of the County
01‘- Sherbrooke compounded matters by threatening to impose a penny per
acre tax on wild lands, a tax more than double current receipts.

When Alexander Galt took control of the Company's interests in

1842 he managed to refinance the operation and then got the County
Council to withhold its tax. When, in 1845, the County Councils were
dissolved and there was no longer a power to tax the reprieve was
Complete. Galt had hoped to attract American and British settlers.
Lwel‘ Canada was perceived as French and its climate reputed to be
Severe and communication more backward than Upper Canada. The Ohio
Valley and Illinois were beckoning the Vermonter, and the railroad

Blade westward travel easy. It was clear that the Company was to look
elseWhere for settlers. The Company found its efforts to attract
FrenCh--speaking settlers met more than half way.

A special impetus was added in 1848 when the new "Association

for the Establishment of French Canadians in the Eastern Townships"

 

 

in

t."

82

agreed to settle French Canadian settlers in the Township of Roxton and
later in Ely, Stukely and Oxford, and, with the assistance of the BishOp
of Montreal, to build a church and school and provide a mission priest.
The Company agreed to provide long terms, to build roads and mills, "in
short, to provide all that has hitherto been the duty of the seigneur

without exacting the obnoxious conditions which apply to lands in the

(French) Canadian parishes" (Skelton: 78). The Commissioner of the Land

Company offered to the French settlers a settlement where all the
advantages of his native parish, his language, his clergy, and his

social habits could be found without any of the restrictions which

curbed his industry and enterprise. Little thought was given to the

fact that before the end of the century, the Eastern Townships would be

overwhelmingly French-Speaking-

Experimental terms of sale were introduced. Settlers were

allowed to make payments in stock and grain, and young cattle were

preferred. Galt remarked that he operated the most extensive system of

barter known in the Western world.

The British American Land Company not only aided in the
establishment of French-speakers in the American Townships, but their
control of the land and capital permitted them to acquire almost all
the available water power sites and some 1,500 acres of adjacent lands
in Sherbrooke. This land became the most valuable part of their
ho 1‘1 ings although it generated no revenue at that time. Galt seized on
the idea of developing water power sites and making advances to manu-
facthrers, who could either lease or later purchase the mill sites using
the

profits from land sales. Thus, he may have inhibited the develop-

ent of some of the water power Sites. It is therefore not surpr131ng

 

 

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83

that Galt was active in the encouragement of the develOpment of rail

tranSportation into the area.

Railroads

During the same period, Galt and the Company became involved in

the development of railroads. In 1850 the Company bought 1,000 shares

in the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad. The building of railroads

was expected to parallel the successes enjoyed in the United States and
the anticipated effects included the increase in property values, the

develOpment of agriculture, mines, forests, and factories. The Eastern

Townships were able to effectively influence decisions in their favor

since the British American Land Company, whose directors directly were
involved politically, had made the Townships their fiefdom. Their
efforts resulted in a rail line from Montreal through Sherbrooke,

crossing the English part of the Province, ending in Portland, Maine

(Faucher: 53). Shipping had been a long standing problem in the

Townships and it was not profitable for the farmer to send'grain or
other bulky products to the Montreal markets, a condition which had put

a PT: exnium on the local small transformation industries (Ouellet 1971:361).

As a result, the Townships were alive with small-scale industrial
activity distributed among small sawmills, asheries, gristmills,
Caz-:1. iage shops, tanneries, foundaries, etc. They were almost all water
Power ed and frequently formed the focus of the village or hamlet. Most
Produced for a single county or part of the county, while only a few
pr oduced for even a regional market. A major consequence of the coming
of the railroad was the closer connection of the Townships with outside

Lnufacturing centers making bulk shipping possible and rendering the

sma
11 mills obsolete (Harris and Warketin: 96-97).

84

Thus, we can see that the period of British capital expansion

had fundamental repercussions in the development of the region. The

most profound effect would come in the latter half of the century when

rail transport and the steady develOpment of the manufacturing base in
Magog and Sherbrooke would provide the basis for a new class structure
within the English community. This structure would include the
indigenous English-speaking population, mainly of American descent,
primarily and the representatives of British commercial interests who

would own, manage and direct the operation of the large scale manu-

fac tuting activities .

French Emigration
The emigration of French Canadians to the United States, which

had been affected in part by the lack of seigneural land, was furthered
by a recession in the industrial sector (Ouellet 1971:469). The
elui~82t'ation of French Canadians to the United States was not recognized
as eliceptionally serious until 1850 and provoked a change in attitude
t:CI'V'WEII‘d the settlement of the Townships and towards the regime of free
and common soccage. Colonization societies were formed to channel
su‘rp lus population into the area (Ouellet 1971:445). Those emigrating
bemeen 1840 and 1850 were not politically motivated. The motivation
was economic and migration on a scale hitherto unseen. When the
seiS‘tzeurs in the Beauce held to their demands for rents and taxes, the
Bea‘lcerons moved to Maine (Ouellet 1971:473). Ouellet estimates that
the rate of emigration was about 5,000 per year. Although exact figures
are lacking for the period of 1860 and estimated for 1870, Yolande

L . . . .
avg 1e gives us the basic figures. Ouellet gives the emigration

Table 3 .1 Emigration,

Years

1840-
1850 -
1860 -
1870 -
1880 -
1890 -

1850 (1)
1860 (1)
1870 (2)
1880
1890
1900

85

1840-1900
Net Emigration in
Thousands Level Z
35,0 5,4
70,0 7,8
120,0 10,1
150,0 11,3
140,0 9.6

(I ) Gross estimate based mainly on government figures derived from the
government surveys of 1849 and 1857.

(2) No figures available, but estimated close to 100,000.

(Based on Table 7, Emigration nette vers les Etats-Unis nombre
mroximateLCanada et Quebec, 1840-1940, p. 45).

figures at about 5,000 per year between 1840 and.1845, and at about

10 , 000 per year between 1845 and 1850 (Ouellet 1971:473).

Conditions of Settlement

The obstacles to colonization in the Eastern Townships were so

set ious that colonists newly arrived from the St. Lawrence seigneuries

did not hold on long and the Eastern Townships became a springboard into

the United States for the French as they had been for the British

migrants two decades earlier (Martel: 214). Economic pressure and the

apl)e«al of wage labor made the emigration to the United States highly

Q11> ting but the colonizing societies stood ready to aid the colonists.

Among the problems reported by the special committee inquiring

i . . . .
“to the causes hindering the settlement of the Eastern Townships in

l
850 was: the lack of roads and the poor condition of those which did

is1;.

Other observations included complaints about speculators,

onr‘bitant prices and, in particular, the ability of the large land-

11 . . .
01clers, who are themselves members of the muniCipal counCils charged

 

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86

with the maintenance of the roads, to exempt themselves from sharing in

the cost of maintenance (Martel: 214-218).

The colonization societies did not have an easy task. Faced with

an area which was scarcely populated, there were any number of additional

problems. The acquired rights on much of the land were held variously by

government, large landholders, and the British American Land Company

charged with the sale of the Clergy Reserves. The price of land in

general was too high but price was not the only problem.

There was also
the

need to simplify purchase procedures and communication, to reduce the

cost: of transportation, and to create a context favorable for investment.

The Law of 1844 had remanded the control over the maintenance of roads

to the municipalities but the law did not benefit most of the territory.

As we have seen, the law was quite beneficial in the American Townships

where there was a sufficient population density. During the period of

l84>C) to 1850, even as the population of the Townships increased 76
Percent, the conditions of settlement remained pitiful (Ouellet 1971:479).

There was a considerable difference in the degree and quality of

8e‘3tlement in the Townships. ProSperity and progress reigned in certain

a . . .
I:.ea-s and varied according to the location, access to markets, and even
Vi th

the ethnic composition of the population. Ouellet points out that

it is instructive to compare the differences occurring within the

F . . . . .
re'QQh-Canadian innigrant population depending on where they were

1 . . . . . .
ocated, distinguishing between the townships where the French Canadians

a. . .
re groups and those where they are scattered among the British and

let- icans. 0n the whole, the townships settled solely by French
C
atlaclians had a tendency to reconstitute the seigneural parish with all

t
hat implies from an agricultural point of view (Ouellet 1971:360-361).

87

Abbé Bedard, writing in Le Canadien in 1848, writes:

The American Townships are on the way to real prosperity; the
Canadians are in a miserable state. One loaf of rye or corn or
orge, seldom wheat, dipped in water or milk when one has that
much, forms most of the diet for a large part of the year; and a
large number of families spend weeks, months, living without even
that subsisting on grasses and wild tubers. Then clothing and
furnishings are on par with their food (Ouellet 1971: 480).

All.though Bedard might be credited with exaggeration, a picture even half
as gloomy would ad credence to the belief that there was a severe
economic and social reason for the massive emigration to the United

S ta tea from the Eastern Townships.

The French Canadians who were settled in and among Americans and
lizrzi;tish seen to have adjusted and shared the prosperity of the Townships
and became more progressive. Influenced by their more dynamic sur-
roundings (Ouellet 1971:360), it was commonly observed as Abbé Ferland

no tea that:

If all the colonists do not succeed equally it is not the fault of
the land. Thus French Canadian farmers find an advantage in
settling in townships already partly settled by foreigners
(American and British) and learn a better system of agriculture
from them, especially for the highlands, where the usual system in
everyday use in this country does not work. It has been observed
that in areas settled only by French Canadians that the colonists
have not progressed, while in others (such as Halifax, Summerset,
Stanford, Arthabaska, Chester, and Warwick) Canadians settled there
do very well, because they have adapted the style of agriculture
used by their foreign neighbors. They have a kind of model farm
before their eyes, and they know how to make use of its lessons

(Ouellet 1971:481).

The implicit conservatism of a mythical agricultural vocation
among the French Canadians did not preclude the desire to see agri-
Q‘11tmral performance improved (Ouellet 1971:477). The Church came to
recognize that the modernization of farming was an essential component
of Ftrench Canadian survival and by the end of the century, there would

‘3‘: r‘agricultural priests" whose mission would be to work in the develop-

ment of farming and improvement of farming techniques (Ryan: 247-252).

88
But there was a more serious danger to be confronted in these "mixed"
townships: the moral and spiritual threat presented by the English.
Unlike Protestantism, Catholicism does not view material successes as
the sign of God's favor and there was the real danger that along with

the agricultural skills offered by the Americans might come their

beliefs and attitudes as well.

The American lifestyle was not without its attraction and posed

a. threat to the society, particularly one conceived in terms of
"agriculturalism" which, as Michel Brunet defines it, "is above all a

general way of thinking, a philosophy of life which idealizes the past,

condemns the present and despises the modern social order a

rej ection of the contemporary industrial age . . according to them the

golden age of mankind was that during which most of mankind was
concerned with tending the soil" (Brunet quoted in Ryan: 247). The
fundamental contradiction between economic reality and philosophical
id- eal was real and presented a particular problem for the Church as the

FretlchuCanadian immigrants began to enter into these portions of the

Townships settled by Americans.

Culture Contact
Here the colonist met the American on somewhat new terms and
there was undoubtedly friction between the two groups, born of insecur-
ity among the Americans threatened by the French influx and among the
French by old prejudice. The term "Bostonnais," used to describe the
Y'Eltlliees living in the Townships whom the French-Canadian immigrants
enQ<>untered, has a particularly loaded imagery of its own. In his
famous mandement, "To Rebellious Subjects during the American War,"

BIS110p Briand warns of the danger of collusion with the rebels for they

89
are Bostonians:

For no other sect has persecuted the Romans like that of the
Bostonians, no other has outraged the priests, profaned the
Churches, and the relics of the saints as it has, no other has
attacked the confidence of Catholics in the protection of the
Saints and of the Holy Mother of God with more horrible blas-
phemies as it has done . . . You would soon have been heard
chanting canticles of thanksgiving for having been delivered from
the alleged superstitions of poverty and for having finally
discovered the beautiful truth (Riddel 1916:158-159).

Given this image it is not hard to understand the types of prejudice
‘cJaeat would have colored the encounters from the French perspective and
from the lingering New England memories of the bitter wars of the pre-
vious century. But, as a threat to spiritual values, the English-
speaking Townships posed a clear threat:
The Yankee loves in his clothing a certain style and modest reserve
not commonly seen in rural Canada, which gives him.the appearance
of comfort even in poverty. He does not fear debt, and doesn't
fear borrowing beyond his assets; his universal religion causes
him no scruples. He lives more at ease and his well-being is often
on borrowed money but he revels in it and it satisfies him. He
must be credited for more knowledge of agriculture and more
perserverance however. He has little education but knows how to
read his Bible, to sign his name properly, multiply and subtract
money; he thinks himself wise. Wherever he is he has the jump on
the Canadian. Our peOple, timid without education, mistake the
serious silence and overbearing pride of the Yankee for greatness
of spirit . . . the Yankee feel extreme contempt for the Canadian
and he has an aversion for him (Ouellet 1971:360).
Income, as well as culture, divided the French and English.
Fr eInch Canadians, possessing no capital, tended to occupy the poorer
:Lailahdl and even if aware of the value of good breeding stock or new
EIEEJTIi.cultural technology could not afford it. A farm, even if successful,
Won 1d usually be divided among the offspring, repeating the destructive
$1"“h‘tlivision of land found in the old seigneural area. Wage labor
(:<>t11:inued to play a major role in the economic adaptation and the men

frii(quentlyworked in the lumber mills on either side of the border while

the women and children would operate the farm. Lack of capital and the

—_——___._‘

p
&

 

9O

relatively high cost of land in the developed American Townships, tended
to inhibit French immigration. Thus the American Townships would be

among the last to feel the full brunt of the French Invasion, as it has

b een termed .

The French Invasion
The French Invasion of the Eastern Townships has been discussed

by several authors. A work of particular interest is that of Jean I.
Hunter, The French Invasion of the Eastern Townships: A Regional Study
( l 939; unpublished Master's thesis, McGill University). Hunter describes
the population shifts, township by township, and may be consulted by the
r eader wishing more detailed information. Hunter identifies two major
factors in the transition from English to French majority in the region.
The first is that the French migration into the area was triggered by
overpopulation in the St. Lawrence Valley. The development of railroads
and large scale industry in the Eastern Townships created the demand for
“nakilled and semi-skilled labor that aided the immigration. Secondly,
the attraction of educational and occupational opportunities for the
E“D-glish in urban centers; the trend toward smaller families and the

English migration West at the end of the 19th century opened the area

for French colonization (Hunter: xvi).

The record of the transition can best be seen in Table 1.1,
which shows the English-speaking population of the "historic" Eastern
Townships and the dates at which the first French-speaking majority was

recorded. The French moved quickly in the sparsely settled north-
eastern and meridinal piedmont and was slowed only slightly in most of
the southeastern sections of the Townships, where there was a more

established British and American population. As can be seen from the

 

91

chart, the transition to a French majority was accomplished rapidly in
most areas with the exception of the American Townships where well
established farms with accessible markets were not readily abandoned.
Even there, the County of Shefford presented a French majority in 1861
and in Brome, Stanstead, and southern Compton, "the 'habitant' no
longer hesitated to buy or clear a farm, assured by the presence of

compatriots in the neighborhood, the presence of the missionary and

soon the parish priest" (Blanchard: 348). In 1840, the first French

Canadian appeared in Magog and in Stanstead four French names appear on

baptismal roles. Their reception in the American Townships, Blanchard

suggests, was less than warm and "The poor Catholics in this place are

exposed daily to the insults and sarcasm of the American Protestants"

complained a missionary in Ditton in 1889. It was not unusual,

continues Blanchard, for isolated French Canadians to avoid persecution
by denying their faith and abandoning their race, by marrying Irish— or
P‘L‘C>testants and changing their names (Blanchard: 343).

With the growth of industry in the latter half of the 19th

CeIltury, the French invasion gained momentum. With the growing reali-

2aJiion that industry Opened up districts previously immune to French
0QClipation, certain rural communities obstinately refused to permit the
introduction of any industry in their community. Thus the colonization
Proceeded and Blanchard comments in a phrase which might be as striking
to some today as it was to him in 1939: "as of 1871 the French have the
maflority in the Townships colonized by the English (sic)" (Blanchard:
348).
Thus any discussion of the condition of the English in the

Eastern Townships must take into account that from 1871 on they were a

 

92

minority group in the area. At the same time the indigenous English-

speaking population was losing control of the economic system to British

industrialists who were developing the area, undermining the local small

scale industrial base and closing off opportunities for advancement into

upper social levels for the local English-speaking pOpulation.

Summary

In this chapter we have examined the events occurring primarily

in the context of the Francophone society during the 19th century which
had little direct effect on the English comnunities in the American

Townships, but had many long term implications. We have seen that the

development of the decentralized administrative system in Quebec was not
the direct result of the implantation of the British and American
sys tems but rather developed gradually through a series of social trans-

formations within the French society resulting in the emergence of the

Parish as a civil unit capable of secular as well as religious adminis-

tr‘adzive action. This blurred the distinction between sacred and pro-

Earle, making religious ideology a salient dimension of almost all the

1‘18 titutions which structured French-Canadian society and placed the
clel‘gy in a position of power firmly entrenched at the local level, a

Position they would retain well into the mid-20th century. Decentrali-

2a~tti.on had imediate and positive consequences for the English-speaking
1’°I>t.llation in the American Townships since it finally provided them
with the mechanism for local initiatives and a tax base on which to

atltzourage and stimulate development, a process we will examine in the

next chapter .

 

CHAPTER IV
THE EVOLVING MUNICIPAL TOWNSHIP

In this chapter we will explore the changes occurring in Hatley
Township from its incorporation as a municipality in 1855 until its
15:i.1:st subdivision in 1897 with the establishment of the Village of North
Hatley. During this period several major changes occurred as the
minicipal council became the primary "mechanism for growth," duly
incorporated and vested with a range of responsibilities and powers. As
‘HVCE: have seen, these councils were charged with a variety of civic
responsibilities and had the power to tax. The councils, however,
exercised power beyond their basic charter as local entrepreneurs took
c3—<>‘I::.t:|:‘ol of the council and began to channel municipal services into the
e"I-“amision of the commercial infrastructure allocating funds for the
development of rail service and banking. With the advent of rail
8e3":‘rzice the smaller crossroads settlements began to give way to more

8‘Pecialized commercial villages, putting these emerging centers in
Q(”ml-petition with each other. This process was most pronounced in the
“OT: thern section of the township, resulting in the eventual emergence
of North Hatley as the lead community in the township and the center of
counnercial activity.
This was a period of growth and optimism and even as the first
Ftench-Canadian colonists arrived and began to concentrate in certain

sections of the township, few felt any threat of assimilation. The land

93

 

94

:ii:. the northwestern section of the township was mostly undevelOped,

isolated from the rest of the township by Lake Massawippi and the
Massawippi Hills, and was largely in the hands of the British American
Land Company. This section was rapidly settled by French Canadian
c:<:CLonists who displaced most of the original settlers in the area called
Katevale, and its development is typical of colonizing parishes in the
contact zone. With their arrival in Katevale, the French found them-
selves within the framework of an English-dominated municipality. An
accommodation was reached and persisted until the early 19003 when the
eec::<:lesiastical corporationr-parish--of Ste. Catherine de Hatley became
a separate municipality.

Census data has been used to reconstruct the development of the
agricultural base, to survey the rate of transferral to cultivated
lands and levels of production and to determine the size of the rural
ifiallcmn population. Census maps, and tax roles, provide basic data on the
e"titanic composition and distribution of the farms in the area. The
tyPes of services provided by the rural service centers are examined
‘al3L<>11g with the first phase of their consolidation into the present day
villages of North Hatley, Ayer's Cliff and Waterville, especially in

Irelation to the centralization of dairy processing. The consequences
0f rail service will be examined, particularly in the case of North
HaJiley, a settlement which, according to one writer in 1856, "could

haJ'Idly be called a village." The consequences of railroad development
Vete peculiar to the village. The old ties between the Lennoxville area
and the Confederacy, combined with the resort craze of the late 19th
Cantury, resulted in the "colonization" of the village by Americans from

the southern seabord cities. This unique development gave North Hatley

 

 

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95

an unusual character and a schizophrenic personality, splitting its
resources and functions between those of a rural service center and
those of a village villeature (resort community), a role and dichotomy
which would divide the community for the next hundred years. This
would also have profound effects on the emergent social structure of the
coununity and on development by discouraging industry, thus undermining
not only the local economy but the industrial basis for the French
imigration as well. The French community did start to emerge in the

village in the early 19003, and this develOpment will be examined in the

f o llowing chapter.

The Massawpi Valley Railroad
The coming of the railroad had profound consequences for the
development of the communities of Hatley Township. The lack of roads
and navigable rivers had limited growth in the region and rail transpor-
ta tion was the only hope for industrialization (Blanchard 1947:279).
This need was recognized by Alexander Galt who in the 18608 mounted a
campaign in Quebec City for the development of rail service in the
Bag tern Townships. Galt was influential in the construction of the St.
Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, part of an ongoing process to give
MC3tJ-t1'eal a place in the Atlantic shipping trade during the winter when
its own port was closed by ice (Blanchard: 280). Since the British
American Land Company stood to benefit greatly by the availability of
tail transportation, it is not surprising that this policy was
aggressively pursued (Skelton 1920:42). Many of the expectations for
growth were fulfilled but the effects of the railroad were varied, not

all of which were anticipated when the construction began.

96

Rail transport resulted in the anticipated industrial development

but with the unanticipated result that the jobs created were filled by
French Canadians while the managerial posts were filled by immigrants
from the British Isles at the expense of local industry and individuals.

The railroad furthered the development of an intensive dairy industry

and opened new markets for maple products. Rail service aided the

development of mining in the neighboring Ascot Township creating jobs

for local people, and Opened new possibilities such as tourism in the

Massawippi Valley. We will consider each of these developments in

detail, but we will begin with the construction and financing of the

biassawippi Valley Railroad itself.
In 1852, the Grand Trunk Railroad reached Sherbrooke (formerly

S t - Lawrence and Atlantic), proceeding on to Portland, Maine, and

p lacing Sherbrooke directly on the Montreal to Atlantic route. The line

was soon joined by rail service from Quebec City and additional lines
began to fill out the network (Blanchard: 280). The Connecticut and
P"=1Ssumpic Rivers Railroad, one of the many small lines created in New
E‘n~81and during this period, extended from the Massachusetts border with

Vermont, following the Passumpic and Connecticut Rivers north, ending

just south of Beebe Junction in 1863 (Brent 1961:88-90). In Stanstead

county an investment society was formed with influential local men
granting concessions to the new lines, financed in part by county and

umnicipal bonds (Blanchard: 280).

In Stanstead, a charter was obtained for a railroad company in

‘862 by Mr. Albert Knight, a Stanstead resident and member of the

Provincial Parliament. The charter allowed for the construction of the

Massawippi Valley Railroad which was to connect with the Connecticut

a...

 

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1‘

 

‘11.

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,-

1

97

and Passumpic Rivers Railroad at the border and the Grand Trunk Railroad

at Lennoxville. Work was started at the Provincial line and local

communities and individuals began to raise funds for its construction.

In May 1867, the Hatley Township Council met to discuss raising funds to

aid in the construction of the Massawippi Valley Railroad. A motion

was made by F.E. Wadleigh that it was their duty to aid in its
construction by contributing to the stock thereof the sum of $25,000.
In typical fashion, the meeting then dissolved after which the local

Council met in special (closed) session to take into consideration the

s tock purchase. The motion was carried and it was stipulated that all

ra tepayers who had heretofore subscribed to the Massawippi Valley

Railroad Company would be discharged of their debt from the stock books

wi ch all subsumed in the municipality. As is often the case with the

Municipal Records, discordant or vexing issues were considered in
Special session in which no minutes were kept so that the extent of dis-

agreement which may have accompanied this decision is lost.

In the case of the Massawippi Valley Railroad, the purchase

pro‘red a particularly good investment, even though it was never operated

as a. functioning railroad. In 1870, with the line nearing completion,

the Directors met and negotiated a lease with the Connecticut and
Pa~Ssumpic Rivers Railroad to operate their trains on the line. The
Connecticut and Passumpic Railroad took imediate use of the line and
when the Boston and Maine Railroad took over the Connecticut and
Paasumpic Rivers Railroad, the lease continued until 1926 when the

Canadian Pacific leased the line under its subsidiary, the Quebec

Central Railroad. The involvement of the Boston and Maine would have

particular effects on the development of North Hatley since many of its

98

future summer residents would be employees of the Boston and Maine

Rai lroad.

Industrialization and the British
Managerial Class

Although no major industries developed in Hatley Township itself,
the net effect of industrialization was felt throughout the area.

Factories grew rapidly in Sherbrooke, which doubled in pepulation

between 1851 and 1861, increasing by 3,000. Magog, an ideal industrial

8 ite which had stagnated prior to the railroad, began to grow rapidly.

Mgog had a population of only 200 in 1855. The railroad reached Magog

in 1882, the same.year Dominion Textile established a plant in Magog
which was the largest cotton mill in Canada (Blanchard: 284, 305). The
population of Magog grew to 2,100 by 1891. The development of the
textile industry gave rise to a number of secondary industries supplying
needed items such as bobbins and spindles (Blanchard: 294). The jobs
for unskilled labor this provided and the type of capital investment
t113.8 development represented had profound effects on the indigenous
English-speaking population in the Townships.

Most of the railroad and capital-intensive development occurred
in the southern part of the Townships, attributable to the driving spirit
of enterprise and most significantly to the access to British capital

(Blanchard: 281). British investors were looking for new areas to
i-n‘u7est in following the Napoleanic Wars and Canada provided an ideal
investment opportunity just as it would later when changes in the tariff
1'~‘='ltes would force the growth of American branch plants for companies

Seeking to do business in Canada. The result is that part of the firms

are in American hands, with the great majority English or

 

99

English-Canadian owned, and with the labor 90 percent French-Canadian.
The predominance of English-speaking owners and managers contributed
greatly to the fundamental confusion of ethnicity and class as an under-
lying social and political issue. The position of the working-class,

English-speaking population of the Eastern Townships becomes ambiguous
in this division. Although linked linguistically and ethnically with
the English and American managerial and capitalist elites, their actual
situation was not too different from that of the French Canadian.
Everett C. Hughes observed in 1938 that the managers and p
technical staff of the plants in Drummondville were imigrants to the
town. A majority of them were not Canadian and none of them were French
Canadian. In addition, a large number of English-speaking foreman,
skilled Operators and clerks were imported as well. Labor was largely
natiVe and managuent was alien to the native culture (Hughes: 348-349).
In her 1943 analysis of the cultural affects of the population changes
in the Eastern Townships, Aileen Ross notes that very seldom did the
E(”Inner English-Canadian residents of the Eastern Townships become
P"rc‘ulinent or absorbed in these large industrial undertakings (A. Ross:
453) . Because these incoming industries tended to bring in their own
t0p management, and recruited local people only for the less skilled,
less interesting and less remunerative jobs, they discouraged the work
0f local English youths who would move on to seek employment in urban
areas (A. Ross 1954b: 283). Thus English Canadians welcomed industry
as their salvation but the opposite effect proved to be true.
Prior to 1850 the lack of roads contributed to the limitation in
industrial development and a village industry was set up primarily to

meet the needs of the local community, usually with one owner and one

 

 

100

or two workers but never more than ten (Blanchard: 278). With the coming

of the railroad, increased competition for these smaller industries

tended to either drive them out of business or have them bought by
English companies, thereby further reducing opportunities for local,
indigenous English-speaking youths. Once again, managerial positions
were not usually occupied by local English-speaking people but passed
to people brought in from the outside. The coming of industry did not
strengthen English communities but rather fueled the invasion of the
French by supplying them with more job opportunities than the former

agricultural economy (A. Ross 1954b:284). The marginality experienced

by the French workers in relation to English-dominated industry was
Shared by working-class English as well. As one young woman put it:
"The French complain that they are not given opportunities for advance-
ment in deference to the English, but my father worked all his life in
Dominion Textile and he was passed over the same as any Frenchman when
the new foreman was brought in from Scotland." Symptomatic of this
proCess is the first agent of the Massawippi Valley Railroad in North
Hatley, Joe Goodwin, a Welshman newly arrived and formerly in the

emp 10y of Judge Murray of Montreal (Brent 1961:93).

As a result of increased employment the French had become the
maj ority in the Eastern Townships by 1871 and the process of population
Shift would continue with the English steadily being reduced to a rural
min-<>J':i1:y, persisting as isolated, localized majorities (Blanchard 1947:

3A8) ,

 

101
Mining
A key factor in the financial success of the Massawippi Valley
Railroad was the mining in the Eustis and Capleton areas. The railroad
never hauled much merchandise except in the winter when the road were
inapassible and closed tO truck traffic (Blanchard: 283). The production
of ore and the steady flow of dairy products to the United States
assured a continuing base for rail operation.
lThe production of copper ore in the Ascot Township began during
the Civil War. The Capleton (1863) and Albert Mines were worked during
the early 19th century and when exhausted were replaced by the Eustis
Mine in 1865. As late as 1930 there were 40,000 tons of ore being
shipped to New York annually. The mining Operation involved hundreds of
men who lived in villages near the mines. The miners in the Capleton
mines lived in North Hatley and a number of local residents worked in
the Eustis Mine. Most lived along the Capleton Road and were an
etruminally mixed group with numerous Eastern Europeans. Their presence
earned that section the title of "Hooligan's Alley." Mine personnel
Vere involved with the North Hatley community and Dr. C.J. Edgar, the

111an doctor, became one Of the leading citizens.

Agricultural Production
The railroad directly integrated the farming community into the
Nor th American economic system‘ and put farmers in the Townships in
di~1‘evzzt competition with cheap grain produced in the western prairies.
This resulted in a concentration on cattle breeding, dairy, pork and
beef production. It also Opened new markets for dairy and maple sugar
Products in the United States. With the abandonment of cereal extensive

production, some of the land in the area was returned to pasture (Bailey:

 

102

1 956:40). The grains produced were for local consumption and needs,

wheat and buckwheat were still raised for food and oats for the horses.

Potatoes, which did not grow well in most of the Townships, did well in

this area and were extensively cultivated.

The surplus grain was converted to whiskey as were the potatoes,
much to the dismay Of some residents (Mrs. Day 1869:184). Distilling
was an active trade and the village of Massawippi listed three

dis tilleries in 1870. In addition, farmers themselves converted their
grain and potatoes into whiskeys. Hops were regularly grown on the

farms to aid in the distilling process and apple orchards, a distinctive

feature Of the Eastern Townships, were the source both of cash crOps and

apple jack. This production was secondary to the dairy and maple pro-

d"~1<=t::ion markets which the railroad created.
Rail transport provided farmers a market for their milk, raw or

Pas thrized, in the United States. This market grew as the Hood Dairy

Com13a.ny of Boston Opened plants in Hatley, North Hatley, and other parts

of the Township to receive milk produced locally. Milk was pasturized

shipped in refrigerated cars to its plants in the United States.

and.
The need for refrigeration created a thriving winter business, the

c:‘u‘tting of ice on Lake Massawippi. The dairy trade continued until the

mlPosition of "draconian" American tariffs between 1926 and 1929.

W1 th the closing of the border, the plants were converted to Canadian

ownairship and processing and marketing shifted to Sherbrooke.

Prior to the plants, the local farmers depended on local

3eParating stations, scattered throughout the area, to separate or skim

their raw milk. Butter was the basic product (Blanchard: 254) although

Canadian butter did not fair well on the market of the United Kingdom

 

103

against Danish butter, (Finestone 1943:106). An examination of the

agricultural production figures for the period indicates that cheese

was not produced in measurable quantities until 1911. Census figures

on butter production for Hatley Township are incomplete since County
to tals are given for each Of the census years with three exceptions.
The small separating stations were often the hub of small crossroads

service centers and persisted until the coming of the farm separator

around 1900. During this period dairying was a seasonal activity,

winter months required cash income provided by labor in lumbering or

mining and spring brought maple production.

The production which showed the largest direct effect of the

c"Inning Of the railroad was maple production. The census data is uneven

in this area. The United States provided the major market, buying

l:1‘1II.<11‘;'eds of pounds of maple sugar and thickened syrup to use in

flaNIoring Kentucky tobaccos and, as some locals contend, to be sold as

Vermont maple syrup.

Statistics are available for the period giving the number of

farm occupiers/proprietors, tenants and employees as shown in Table 4.1,

co‘rexing Hatley Township. This indicates that while there were few

laborers, there was a fair number of tenants, 12 percent Of the total.
The availability of farms and employment would present French-Canadian
1‘u'llrl’.grants opportunities for employment, but it would seem that there

was a preference for the use of British immigrants who exchanged a

Del‘iod of service for their transportation.

104

Table 4.1. Hatley Township farm occupiers (1871-1891)

1871 1881 1891

occupiers (Total) 435 425 492

Owners 316 364 432

Tenants 15 60 60

Laborers 14 l 0
Tourism

The last effect of the railroad was the access it afforded out-.
siders to this scenic lake and mountain region of Stanstead County.
Almost every community near Lake Massawippi records non-resident land
Writers by the late 19th century. Ayer's Flats, whose name was sub-
sequently changes to Ayer's Cliff at the instigation of a summer
resident-or so the story goes-had numerous visitors as did Massawippi
wi th Montreal notables in residence. The Village of North Hatley
e3‘13erienced the most extensive interaction with smer visitors. We
will discuss this development in more detail in our examination of the

development of North HatleY-

The Growth and Decline of Villages
The coming of the railroad Opened new possibilities for some
Co‘I-Itunities and sealed the fate of others. The railroad itself,
because of the generally poor roads in the surrounding countryside,
te“sited to effect only a limited geographic area. Roughly the impact of
the railroad would be immediately felt only along a narrow axis,
“Shally less than five miles wide, and selected nodal centers developing,

leaving the large intersitial areas virtually unchanged (G. Ross 1969:19).

105

Ayer's Flats
Following the route of the Massawippi Valley Railroad through

Ha tley Township we find the first beneficiary of the construction in the

town of Ayer's Flats. According to local residents, when first
approached about the purchase of right-of-way for the new railroad, Old
Man Ayers, who is said to have owned property on the proposed right-of-
way land east of town, informed the Directors of the Massawippi Valley
Railroad that should they expect to go east of the settlement they would
pay a high price for the land whereas if they went through the settle-
ment they could have the land free. True or not, the railroad did go
through Ayer's Flats and contributed to the growth of the community.
Located near the center of Stanstead County, Ayer's Flats now houses
cOllnty buildings and the County Council holds its sessions here. The
S tanstead County Agricultural Society has a fairgrounds and holds an
a'n-Illlal fair which has continued to the present. The next towns were not

as fortunate as Ayer's Flats.

Massawippi
Massawippi was located on the old Sherbrooke to Stanstead stage
tolite and possessed a stream adequate for water power but unsuitable for
witlter transportation (G. Ross 1967:“). Located about a mile east of
the lake, the first saw and grist mills in the township were built
there. These were later purchased by another of the early settlers who
built a distillery. The village in 1874 contained one church, two
ta“ferns, twa stores, one tannery, a grist mill, a saw mill, and
miscellaneous shops, and numbered about 175 inhabitants (Hubbard 1874:

49-50). The rail station was built about a mile from the village,

106

nearer the lake and had the same name. Massawippi during this period

was the seat of government for the Township and meetings were held there

r egular 1y.

East Hatley (Charleston)

The lack of water power proved a definite liability to Hatley
and the early milling attempted in the area on the small stream soon
was discontinued. During the War of 1812-1815, it had risen to some
importance as a place of business and in the trade of salts, lye, pot
and pearl ashes. The trade had continued for some 20 years but the
merchants either migrated to Sherbrooke or invested their monies in
Property. Much of the business which had formerly been done in
Charleston had, by 1874, been transferred to Compton, Massawippi or
North Hatley (Hubbard: 49). Situated in the midst of some very fine
farm country and a most pleasant village, East Hatley took advantage of
its position and developed into a social if not commercial center. The
village consisted of an Episcopal Church, a Methodist Church, an
EI‘S’iscopal parsonage, a Wesleyan parsonage, an academy, one tavern, two

stOI—‘es, a post office, a blacksmith shop, a tin shop, and about 30
ho11823 in 1874 (Hubbard: 49).
In 1908 the Morrison Brothers bought Ed Parker's store and made
a QIreamery, which was taken over in 1908 by a joint stock company, the
Hatley Dairy Light and Power Company. The company was begun by a former
ca~1:'Lfornia architect and he installed a huge gas engine and attempted to
“3% it to power the creamery on the north side and a feed mill on the
Smith building. The motor was to generate electricity to light homes

and streets as well but it never worked. The mill burnt and the

107

bnisiness collapsed. The creamery was bought by the H.B. Hood Company of
13c>ston, Massachusetts and due to the tariff law was sold to the Rexford
(:zreamery of Ayer's Cliff (Pellerin 1967:34-35).

Although East Hatley did not deve10p commercially, this lack of
development preserved it as an English village. As essential community
services became concentrated in larger centers, East Hatley no longer
provided the goods and services to the surrounding agricultural
coulnmnity and increasingly took on a residential function. As such, it
'vraass more resistant to French penetration. First as a small village it
c>ififeered few employment possibilities, and secondly, it was composed of
a Small, close-knit social and cultural network which was resistent to
‘111¢3 lentry of other ethnic and linguistic groups. In addition, the lack
of jobs has made East Hatley as area with considerable out-migration
anemia the youth but a popular retirement location. PeOple who have
cUri-Snidered buying houses in East Hatley commented that, on being inter-
viewed, they were not sure if they were buying a house or seeking
nle‘nbership in a country club with so many communal events from church
3°C ials to cross-country skiing as part of the social calendar. The
village appears dormant if not dead to the casual observer as most
3(”Q-ial activity happens within the confines of the various church halls

and homes .

Katevale, A Colonization Parish

The transition of the community of Katevale into Ste. Catherine

‘13 Hatley highlights the changes brought about by the French invasion
<1mt‘ing the 19th century. Located on the northwestern side of Lake

Massawippi, the region was sparsely settled and the first settlers were

English-speaking.

gaié _-.‘__v__._..'—-— -

108

Reference to early French-speaking colonists is inferential but
the area was listed as a mission as early as 1845 (Magnan 1925:272).

. . . 1 . . .
Census data from this period is scarce and does not distinguish

districts within the Township of Hatley. Katevale, as it was first

called, is not mentioned in the writings of either Mrs. Day or Hubbard,
but early references to Katevale indicate that it had been a solidly
Eng lish-speaking village and possessed a Church of England that was
still attended by residents of North Hatley in the 18603 (Brent 1961:
SO) - At its incorporation the Municipality of Ste. Catherine de Hatley

counted most of the French-speakers residing within the Hatley Township

in its territory (Table 4.2).

Population figures for Hatley Township (1871-1941)

 

 

 

 

 

Table 4.2.
TOVnship 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941
Lnétley Townshigg
Total Population 2318 2485 n/a 2769 2994 3132 2972 2976
2 French 312 302 n/a 392 402 422 422 462
French 33°19‘11“ - - - - 142 212 232 262
Ste. Catherine
~S&Catherine de Hatley
Total Population - - - - 885 979 848 902
2 French - - - - 822 872 872 902
\N01‘ th Hatley
Total Population - -- - 261 498 430 404 472
2 French - - - 342 342 402 372 372

Figures after 1901 represent total population figures for those

I~‘esiding within the boundaries of the historical Hatley Township.

109

The preceding table indicates a gradual but steady increase in the total

French-speaking population and the formation of Ste. Catherine de Hatley

radically realigned the population of the Township. It should be noted

that with the exception of Ste. Catherine, North Hatley has the highest

percentage of French-speaking population.

Little is known of the origin of the French families in Ste.

Catherine except that several residents have suggested that their

ancestors came to the area via Magog. It is most likely that the

settlers in Katevale came from the west through Bagot, Shefford and

His sisquoi Counties (Hunter: 37).. The French moved rapidly to the

unsettled portions of the Townships, as was the case in Ste. Catherine,
but: on the whole, during the period of 1861 to 1931, the population

stowth was largely determined by the degree of urban development in each

Township.
Urbanization was making itself felt on the English-speaking

Population. The trend toward urban settlement had affected the English

Population and drained many of the English farms and villages of their

yOllnger population. Outmigration combined with the declining birthrate,

the cessation of British and American immigration into the area,

contributed to the increasing availability of farms and cleared lands

CA° Ross 1943:453). Although growing urban centers provided employment

for the majority of the French Canadian immigrants, agriculture received

the active assistance of the clergy.

The Church was very involved with the colonization movement and
1% clergy assisted in the formation of numerous colonization societies.
3 tudy of French Canadian migrants in neighboring Compton County

d . . . .
‘1}: ing this period indicates the parish could be quite an effective

110

institution even where French-Canadian farmers were scattered among the

English-speaking Protestants. Although a moderate population with

stability in employment formed an adequate basis to assure the parish's

survival (Little 1978:141), the clergy tended to overemphasize the need

for a sizeable, concentrated French population. This belief created

pressure to establish a parish with sufficient homogeneity to permit it

to develop all the social functions within its perview. The thrust for

homogeneity posed a threat to the established English population. In
the 18603 Robert Seller of the Huntington Gleaner began his long
crusade against the civil status of ecclesiastical taxes on the grounds
that it encouraged the Catholic Church to promote the purchase of
Protestant farms by French Canadians (Little: 139).

Let us first consider the Specifics of the colonization in the

area by the French. The Bishop of Sherbrooke did not encourage

migration into mixed areas of the Townships be’yond publishing lists of

a-"a:i.lable properties. Chartier, who was the agent for imigration and

coIonization in Coaticook, listed counties of Stanstead, Compton,
w(DJ-fie, and Beauce as the most desirable locations (Little: 45). His
m°8t interesting comment concerns the British American Land Company,
the agency which handled the land in Ste. Catherine de Hatley, one which
tenIIJers Blanchard's coments noted earlier.

Chartier states that the Land Company was a partnership of
EInglish capitalists who had acquired an immense number of lots in the
different townships which they sold for profit. The price was generally
Izlnlglaer than that of Crown land, selling from one to even three dollars
an acre. There was no fixed price with lots closer to railroads or

1 .
a‘31‘8e centers naturally costing more than those further away. The terms

‘

111

of payment, conditions of clearing, tenancy, etc., were very nearly like
those for the Government lands and when the conditions were met, the
Company awarded the colonist a Patent conferring the same property
rights as those of Government Patent. Apart from the high price of its
land, the Company showed itself quite liberal in regard to the

colonist, and while always looking for a profit, it made efforts to
further the process of settlement. The payments were divided into five,
an initial payment and four later payments at six percent interest. The
colonist was advised to make a case by case decision as to whether to
pay 60 cents per acre for Crown land or the higher price for Company
land (Little: 46).

Early documents tell us little of the settlement, the Grey Map
of 1863 shows French and English families interspersed in the area.
Valuation rolls list only one craftsman in the village in 1856, J.B.
Levian as blacksmith. Among the families listed in Katevale are that
of Titus LaDouceur, the Menards, the Fleuries, and the St. Jacques.

The rolls also indicate a number of "dissenters." They were to be

found among the French in this section of the Township and fit the

legal definition provided by Percival:
persons professing a faith different from that of the majority.
Dissidents in a community might notify the school commissioners of
their intention to withdraw from their control and set up a school
board with one to three trustees who should have the same power as
the school commissioners but would operate school of the minority
in the district (1946:19).

Since "dissent" required the creation of an alternative administrative

structure it would seem to imply that such a board had been formed

although only about half of the French Canadians on the 1861 rolls

listed their taxes under "dissenter."

112

The parish was the primary social and political unit and it
served needed social and political functions. As a mission under the
Sherbrooke Diocese from 1845 to 1861, colonists were provided the
services of a priest. A church was built before 1863 but Ste.
Catherine remained an unincorporated parish and as such it could
administer only the ordinary revenues and not the actual property of
the Church before canonical incorporation (Little 1978:139). Mission
status was a boon for the settlers since it mitigated much of the
Operating cost and left them freer from the watchful eye of the
resident EEEE‘ In 1881 the parish received its first resident EEEE’
receiving its canonical incorporation in August 1890 and its civil
incorporation in 1891.

The need for representation on the council was felt early and
while the Township was not overly anxious to incorporate the use of the
French language into its proceedings, minutes indicate French-Canadian
residents from Ste. Catherine on the Township Council beginning in
1860. The Township did not anticipate any significant French-speaking
population and when incorporated ruled that:

publication of by-laws to be made under the provisions of this Act

to be made in the English language only, without detriment to any

of the individuals of said Municipality.
There was a clear sense that French—Canadian migrants would be assimi-
lated into the English society. The formula passed without protest--
such would not be the case fifty years later when North Hatley on its
incorporation pressed the same Article only to have it soundly disallowed
under protest.

In March 1901, the municipality of Ste. Catherine de Hatley was

incorporated on the petition of the residents, all French, requesting

 

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a distinct and separate indentity for all municipal purposes under the
name of Ste. Catherine de Hatley. It was duly noted that there was
already an incorporated parish under the same name comprising roughly
the same area as the new municipality, with the exception of one small
section that was predominately English and incorporated to be merged

with the Municipality of Hatley.

North Hatley and Its Environs

 

We will now consider the development of North Hatley as a rail-
way, commercial and tourist center. Settlement was not begun until
1820 (Day 1869:450) and Hubbard comments that "this settlement can
hardly be called a village ” but as "a railway station it is probably
destined to become a place of some importance" (1874:50). In 1874
North.Hatley could claim only a few neat farm houses in the neighborhood
and some new dwelling-houses were being erected. The coming of the rail-
road had fulfilled Hubbard's prophesy, for within 25 years North Hatley
would become the first settlement in the Township to become an incor-
porated village.

The present North Hatley grew out of the consolidation of
several crossroad settlements whose function it diSplaced, centralizing
services and supplies. A brief examination of these settlements will
aid in the understanding of the process which was occurring during_this
period in the formation of the village. The relationship of these
settlements to North Hatley were different from those of Massawippi and
Hatley or Ayer's Cliff as previously discussed. Individuals from these
settlements were drawn to North.Hatley and the commerce which they

directed would eventually move with them. The rural populations from

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these settlements would eventually fill the schools and churches of
North Hatley.

The first settlement to be considered is that of Minton or
Maple Hill as the settlement was called in the late 19th century when
a Post Office was built there in 1886. In 1842 a school was built on
land deeded from the British American Land Company and a church was
built in 1849, the Minton Methodist Mission. In 1882 a second school
was built and the building was used by itinerant and lay preachers.
Leonard Fish ran the skimming station in 1893. Local farmers brought
in their whole milk and got back skim milk if the product was to be
butter and whey if cheese. As the separators became more prevalent the
creamery bought only cream after 1905. By 1910 the skimming station
had been converted to a blacksmith shop that burnt the same year.
Minton was located on top of the hill overlooking the Village of North
Hatley.

The second settlement which was significant was that of
Reedsville or Reed's Crossing, named in honor of Wilder Reed, the
proprietor of some 400 or 500 acres on Massawippi River about two miles
below the outlet, where he constructed first a grist mill and later a
sawmill around 1895. T.V. Reed operated this mill and was involved in
the lumbering of the area and had sawmills at Sawyerville and Megantic
as well. T.V. Reed's lumber camp was further down on Lake Massawippi
on Black Point, moving the logs with barge during the summer and
hauling them.during the winter by truck on the ice. The mills
incorporated a shingle mill, a planer, a tongue and grooving machine
and a dry kiln attached. Manufacturing a large amount of rough and

finished lumber for the local market, this mill would be the main

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supplier as building in North Hatley began (Stanstead Journal July 7,
1889). In addition, there was a grist mill for grinding coarse grain,
a feed and grain store, a creamery and blacksmith shop, and a general
store. Reedsville never incorporated into North Hatley but remained
within the Hatley Municipality, but the boundaries between the two
communities blurred with time. The Reed family would be influential
leaders in North Hatley.

The third settlement which was involved in North Hatley was
that of Hatley Center located on the Stanstead Highway between North
Hatley and Massawippi. The McKay family was prominent in this settle-
ment. Jim McKay operated creameries in Hatley Center, Lennoxville and
East Hatley. Smith McKay was a butcher and operated a saw mill, as
well as owning a farm, In 1897 Harry Kesar of North Hatley built the
Pleasant View Hotel in North Hatley and later traded it with Simon
McKay for the sawmill and slaughterhouse. This swap introduced the
McKay family to the hotel trade they would predominate through the
next 50 years in North Hatley. There was also a one-roOm schoolhouse
but it was soon outgrown and after 1920 the children would either walk
the two miles to North Hatley or be taken there by wagon.

In addition to these settlements, there was Bressette's Corner
where by 1860 the Bressette family and a number of other French

Canadians settled among the English-speaking farmers.

North Hatley

 

Little is known of the earliest settlement in North Hatley
except that Taylor Wedleigh had made public his support for Papineau
during the Rebellion of 1838 and was duly arrested and imprisoned in

Montreal until the Rebellion was over. The LeBaron family figured

stack.

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116

predominately in the development of North Hatley but were of New England
stock.

Chauncey LeBaron owned a farm on the west side of the lake
beyond the Wadleigh property and halfway up the mountain. He had seven
sons, five of whom would remain in the community. Willie, the
youngest, remained on the family farm. Benjamin, the eldest, would be
the mayor, town clerk, postmaster, first store owner and would
establish the North Hatley Water Works. Hiram Nelson LeBaron took in
boarders and farmed, but his son Jean B. LeBaron was mayor for 29 years
and the linchpin maintaining good relations between the local residents
and the summer tourists. Plumley LeBaron was a blacksmith and operated
a livery, his son Addison lived down the river and built several summer
houses. But it was George Albert LeBaron who was the entrepreneur par
excellence. On his initiative, the west side of the lake pr0perty was
develOped in an area suitable for summer dwellings and the growth of
the summer homes has given North Hatley its most distinctive
characteristic.

It is nearly impossible to discuss North Hatley without
reference to the Americans since the rapid growth of the village
coincided with their arrival. Left alone, North Hatley would have
probably evolved into a picturesque service center and tourist
location, but never in the way it did. Dr. Powhatan Clark, a Roman
Catholic from Baltimore, is said to have "discovered" the lake in
1886.. Dr. Clark and family returned to North Hatley the following
summer and stayed with Mr. Charles Jackson on his farm "down the
river." The main settlement in North Hatley was below the outlet of

the lake at that time. Commerce and development attracted by the rail

 

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station and the boat docks was only starting to shift to the east side
of the lake.

The description of this initial summer colony belies the
popular image of the wealthy summer peOple. The first visitors came in
the period of post-Civil War depression and had only limited resources.
This early colony was all Confederate but over time came to include
northern friends and relatives and the markedly southern accent
declined. By 1895 the summer community had come to include about two
dozen families from Eastern seaboard cities. These cities sweltered in
the summer and northern resorts had become the fashion among the
wealthy in the United States. Cleveland Amory described this trend in

The Last Resorts, for during this period Martha'a Vineyard, Bar Harbor

 

and Palm Springs were beginning to draw crowds as were a number of
resorts in the White Mountains. This resort craze had its effects on
North Hatley.

Resident families made housing available to the Americans and
their presence provided a source of income for the community. Rates
were low and Charles Jackson shocked his guests in the 18905 by
raising his rates from $3.50 for adults per week and $2.50 for
children to $4.00 per week. Advertisements in the Sherbrooke Daily
Record in 1899 advertised rooms for $4.00 to $5.00 per week in the
village. Plumley LeBaron was Operating his blacksmith shop and the
upstairs of it served as the occasional church meeting room and dance
floor. He operated a livery service and in 1895 built the Valley House,
a commercial hotel, managed by Mr. Bowen, which was geared for trans-
ients and salesmen and having little to do with the summer trade. Bert

Blossom was the postmaster and Operated a barber shOp over Charlie

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118

Ramsdell's butcher shop. The village was growing and the tourist
potential of the community was starting to be more fully exploited.

The Pleasant View Hotel had 50 rooms and opened at the weekly
rate of $5.00, beyond the modest means of the first American visitors.
About this same time, the Putney's opened the first Glen Villa (1893),
a hotel located down the west side of the lake which they operated in
conjunction with their mill. The hotel served about 60 guests and was
serviced by a steamer. The hotel business boomed and in 1897 the
Victoria Apartments were built which in 1899 advertised "rooms to let
as suites only for the season, $25, furnished and cared for. Excellent
board nearby for $3.50 per week." Most of the guests at the Victoria
Apartments had their own servants. The Victoria burnt in 1900 but not
before the village had gained a solid reputation as a summer retreat in
many parts of the United States.

It was George Albert LeBaron who capitalized most effectively
on these trends. George Albert made his money selling and repairing
sewing machines, operating a music store, and around 1895, he bought
the old Wadleigh farm which was then an open field. He tiered the
steep hillside, planted 200 trees and commenced to sell lots on the
west side of the lake to individuals, mostly summer people, on the
condition that they agree not to keep pigs. Ben and G.A. LeBaron along
with Mr. McNeil and other investors installed the water system on the
crest of the west hill to bring water to the properties and put roads
on the tiered hillsides. About this time it was rumoured that the
Canadian Pacific was planning a line to cross the Magog River west of
the lake and proceed on to Newport, Vermont. It never did, but in

anticipation of this Opportunity G.A. LeBaron built the second "Glen

bathhouse
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119

Villa," a resort to rival those in the White Mountains.
Built in 1902, the Glen Villa had 365 rooms, "one for every day

of the year,”

with a casino built over a trout stream, containing
bowling alleys, billiards and pool rooms, golf and tennis courts, a
bathhouse with 66 dressing rooms, and a riding stable. Henry Turcott's
band from North Hatley played for the dances and Mrs. T.V. Reed Operated
a stage coach daily from the village. The Glen Villa was built under
the direction of Louis Seguin who also built a number of westside
cottages. The hotel "boomed with success much against the wishes of
our simple community" says Hallie Brent (1961:97). This theme of
"quiet cottagers" in contrast to the tourists and residents would be,
and remains, a source of friction in the village. The Glen Villa
burnt in 1909 and G.A. LeBaron retired to Sherbrooke, giving Dreamland
Park to the village as his gift.

The lots purchased by the Americans, who had now come to repre-
sent a more diversified and wealthier group than many of the first
summer visitors, were soon the site of major construction projects.
Large summer homes were constructed with lofty ceilings and thin walls
which disregarded the reality of the Canadian winter but which gave
comfort for the summer. The houses were huge and reflect popular
American styles of the period. The major stylistic categories are
either Victorian Gothic stick style (clapboard sided) or in the
Richardson Romanesque, shingle style popular around 1900 (Rifkin 1980:
75, 85, 87). These styles were incorporated in.many of the local
residents' homes as well and local carpenters did a thriving business
in the building and maintenance of these summer homes. To contemporary

visitors the large homes on the west side are North Hatley and are its

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120

most distinctive feature.

The enphasis on tourism even in this early period tends to
obscure other dimensions of the community. While it is important to
recognize the role played by the summer visitors in the local economy,
the service sector must not be overlooked. North Hatley was continuing
to consolidate its position in the region and made maximum use of its
potential for transportation. In addition to rail service, steamboats
plied the lake from 1870 to 1912 providing almost continuous water
transport from.North Hatley to Ayer's Cliff and stops along the shore.
The primary function of the steamers was to service the logging camps
further down the lake and the resorts such as the Glen Villa. The

Pride of the Valley, built in 1870, made daily trips down the lake to

 

the logging camps at Black and Blue Points. When the boat went out of
service in 1885, loggers had to once again depend on rowboats and
floating logs down the lake to the outlet to Reed's sawmill. Plumley

LeBaron, blacksmith and hosteler, built the Mayflower which was lost

 

off Saint's Rest. The Massawippi followed in 1897 and made six trips

 

daily to the Glen Villa. In 1900, in need of repairs, the Massawippi

 

was burnt in a patriotic gesture on Dominion Day. The last steamer was

the Pocahantas, a 74-foot woodburner captained by Joe Sampson which

 

made daily runs down the lake, continued to serve the camps and provided
moonlight excursions until replaced by inboard motorboats operating as
"taxis" around 1912.

Having examined commercial and demographic basics of Hatley
Township, let us examine two other elements which gave formal legal,
institutional frameworks to the Operation of Hatley Township: the

School Commission and the Township Council.

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Education in the Township

 

The schools formed an essential social focus for the English
pOpulation, which was divided by religion and to some extent by
national origin. The local school board was financially independent
and therefore outside the control of the Protestant Committee which
tried unsuccessfully to gain some control over the local boards.

Under the Act of 1846, school commissioners were to be elected
locally and operate independently of the Municipal Councils. They were
charged with hiring teachers, regulating the course of study to be used
in each school, levying school taxes, organizing and attending the
annual public examination, and generally managing school operations.
Little external constraint was placed on the school commissioners and
a survey in 1858 indicated the following general problems. The
commissioners were more frequently elected for their ability to save
money rather than for their qualifications.' There were too many schools
with too small an enrollment, necessitating low pay for teachers. The
Provincial Board of Examiners was certifying too many unqualified
teachers. Finally, there was too great a range in tuition schedules
for many elementary schools without centralizing financial levies.
Reform was difficult if not impossible.

Under the Act of 1875 the reorganization of the school boards
took place in deference to the concerns of the Catholic BishOps, who
resisted any state interference in education. The Ministry of Education,
which had jurisdicition over all the schools in Quebec, was established
by Confederation and was replaced by a Superintendent of Education.
Jurisdiction over everything with respect to the schools and public

instruction affecting Roman Catholics was placed under the control of

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the Catholic Committee; while everything regarding Protestant schools
and instruction was under the Protestant Committee. This Act "removed
education from.the political sphere" and gave Quebec education the
form.it has since retained (Percival 1946:24). The Act also left the
right of dissent in place which, in the case of Hatley, allowed the
French-speaking minority to Operate its own schools.

The Protestant Committee was powerless to correct the problems
which were evident in 1858. They did not control any economic lever by
which to coerce conformity since "in the administration of elementary
schools . . . all grants to them were almost automatic, being based on
population. It had no effective means of enforcing its decisions
concerning these schools" (Percival: 25). Unconstrained by the
Protestant boards, local school commissioners made their decisions
hiring teachers cheaply wherever possible and with minimum.investment
in books or supplies. The Protestant Committee recognized that its
control over local boards was limited to the level of control it had
over grants and this would be a basic mechanism in the consolidation of
the educational structures in the next century.

Dr. Parmalee, of the Protestant School Committee, visited the
Eastern Townships in 1899 and noted that in Stanstead 15 schools could
easily accommodate the pupils now in 30 schools. During the late 19th
century, seven small schools were in operation in the North Hatley
vicinity. The pressure for consolidation had begun and North Hatley
was to be the center of this consolidation. Nevertheless, these schools
would not be drawn into North Hatley until the Consolidation Program of
1920. Prior to consolidation, the taxes for these seven schools were

collected centrally by the Municipal Council acting on behalf of the

the 1008'. 1

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school commissioners and Mrs. Day notes that there were 14 school dis-
tricts Operating in Hatley Township in 1866. The Municipal Council was
charged with providing a wide range of services, and largely limited to
the local resource base to finance them, while trying to satisfy the

needs of the various sections within itself.

The Municipal Council

 

Hatley Township became a municipal operation under the Act of
1855 and took full advantage of the potential this incorporation pro-
vided through the action of its elected council. The original council
was drawn primarily from the densely settled east section of the
Township, but over time it began to draw representatives from various
parts of the Township. Still insulated from.the French immigration,
the Township formed a fairly homogeneous area and councillors seem to
have accepted a;common goal of commercial development and the role the
municipality was to play in accomplishing it. As in most townships,
divergent local interests and the pressures of growing ethnic diversity
tended to compromise the effectiveness of the township, leading to its
eventual subdivision into villages and municipalities. Only a few,
such as Potton, ever retained the township system.in operation to the
present. These smaller municipalities continue to be integrated under
the County Council which provides a system for arbitration in diSputes
between.municipalities--a favorite pasttime--and in coordinating needed
actions at the County level. The County Council is composed of the
majors of the member municipalities and is unable to impose its
decisions on the member municipalities without their consent.

The Township Council in 1855 faced a series of problems which

would continue to occupy the deliberations of the Councils, both

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Township and Municipal, up to the present. These problems include: the
construction and maintenance of roads; the care of the infirm and
indigent; the regulation of houses of public entertainment and liquor
licenses; prOperty assessment and the collection of taxes; and judicious
investment of tax revenue to develOp commercial and social resources.
Faced with limited funding and a diverse constituency, Council decisions
were and are frequently challenged. A brief consideration of the
questions faced by the early Council should provide insight into the
nature of the social problens and the limited resources the Councils
possessed.

As discussed earlier, roads posed a crucial problem and the
Township Council provided a local mechanism to deal with the problem
directly. The first meeting in August 1855 was devoted entirely to the
problem.and the following meeting dealt again with roads as boundary
adjustments were requested by a number of residents. The Township was
divided into three administrative units for tax assessment and road
supervision. These were subdivided into 26 sections, each with its own
road inspector with the section supervisor making quarterly reports to
the council on conditions and progress. Right-of-way was a frequent
topic as were requests for road leveling and new roads. Apart from the
roads, the care and housing Of the infirm and indigent was the next
most frequent item of business on the Council's agenda.

In 1861 a motion was presented to the Council asking that money
be contributed toward the purchase of a poor farm.by the Township. It
was deemed as the most efficient and economical measure for the support
of indigents and infirm. Passage required the County Council to adopt

a plan for the purchase of a farm in some part of the County and the

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appointment of suitable officers to run it. However, subsequent events
indicate that it probably was not passed at the County level.

Generally the care of the infirm and indigents was undertaken
by individuals in the area who in turn would petition the Council for
money to cover costs incurred in their support. Normally, the Council,
given time to act on the request, would apprOpriate a fixed sum to be
given to the provender, who agreed to take then in, feed them for the
fixed annual sum. Funeral and medical expenses were separate items and
in 1864 Dr. Shurliff received $27.50 for the care of one boy and an
additional $14.00 for nursing services. Some of these services were
carried on account "until the town has the money to apply to the poor
fund."

Care of indigents may have been something of a cottage industry
with a growing list of individuals providing care. ShOpkeepers were
reimbursed for provisioning poor families as was the case with
Benjamin LeBaron for provisions for a family in 1876. The usual
reasons for these welfare cases were illnesses, old age, or death of
one or both parents and care was a local issue and the grant was subject
to considerable discussion and evaluation before passage.

The municipalities were charged with the governance of the sale
of spirituous liquors and the prejudices about the evils of drinking
were strong. In January 1856 the Township went dry until the provision
was modified in November of that same year, in which the selling of
liquor was prohibited in places other than in houses of public enter-
tainment. In February 1857 a public house was licensed in Massawippi,
operated by Councilman Hitchcock, P. WOodward and J. Woodward. In 1867

a similar petition was received on behalf of a third party for keeping

local :1

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126

a place or house of public entertainment and for the selling of spirit-
uous liquors. This request was referred to Council and those concerned
local citizens with final approval contingent on the approval of the
County Council, one of the few cases in which this upper level sanction
was sought.

Tax assessments were done by assessors appointed for each of
the three sections and in 1866 the assessed valuation of Hatley Township
was $456,234 with a base of 432 voters. The taxes were divided between
a municipal assessment or general fund of $599 and a separate poor fund
of $320. The school assessment was collected with the municipal and
poor taxes but was disbursed separately (Mrs. Day 1869:449). Short and
long term loans were commonly made by individuals to the Municipality
for either Special projects or to tide the Municipality over until tax
revenues could be collected.

Over time the representation from various parts of the Township
became more balanced shifting from.the eastern section to include
individuals from.the north and southwestern sections. The French began
to gain representation in the northwest section in 1866 with the
election of Peter St. Jacques. The French population maintained its
representation in the Council but as the settlement of North Hatley
became a more Specialized village with its own needs it withdrew from
the Township and was incorporated on the 25th of October 1897. Subse-
quent incorporations led to the formation of Ste. Catherine de Hatley
in 1901, Hatley Village (formerly East Hatley or Charleston) in 1912,

Ayers Cliff prior to 1911, West Hatley and Hatley prior to 1921.

127

Summary

In this chapter we have examined the growth of Hatley Township,
its development of transportation and the effect of these changes on
the development of settlements within the Township. Although not
directly affected by industrial deveIOpment, the settlements in Hatley
began to receive the first French-Canadian immigrants during this
period. The coming of the railroad opened a new series of possibilities
for the communities and North Hatley particularly grew as a result of
this. The railroad, however, brought with it other changes such as
industry which would open the area for industrial development which in
turn would lay the groundwork for an increase in French migration
eventually swamping the English-speaking pOpulation. By the end of the
19th century the English had begun to form.small local majorities and
retained control of most of the political mechanisms in the local
council where they were a majority and even in some minority situations.
For the most part however, they were becoming increasingly isolated in
the rising French tide and they began to make adjustments in their
institutional framework. They maintained, where they could, control of
the municipal political mechanisms and local school boards which
increasingly became the focus of their cultural and social activity.
They also formed numerous associations and social networks which would
provide a linkage for them in their isolation.

During this period Hatley Township experienced two types of
internal differentiation. One occurred in relation to the growing
French community at Katevale, the other occurred as the result of
changing production patterns. The evolution of Katevale into Ste.

Catherine de Hatley is typical of the dual incorporation that marked

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128

colonization parishes functioning as part of a parish and as part of the
township. The presence of French Canadians did lead to some direct
modification of the Township Council, the growth of the villages stem-
ming from the incursion of the railroad further altered council
operations. As services became more centralized and specialized in
villages, the needs of the Specific villages began to differentiate
them from the rural sections of the Township. These differences were
not easily reconciled within the framework of a single municipal town-
ship and resulted in its subdivision into municipalities beginning with
North Hatley in 1897. Chapter 5 examines the growth of North Hatley,
the effects of the railroad on the deveIOpment of the local infra-
structure, and the relation of individual control over resources to

group and institutional formation.

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CHAPTER V
LA MAJORITE-MINORITAIRE

This chapter examines the development of North Hatley in the
context of the demographic trends discussed in the previous chapter,
leading to its position as the social and cultural focus of an increas-
ingly isolated rural AnglOphone minority. The shift to a French
majority occurring in most of the surrounding communities did not occur
in North Hatley primarily due to weaknesses in the economic infra-
structure. Lacking a developed industrial base, North Hatley could
only offer marginal employment to French-speaking migrants and those
first French settlers found English the established language of busi-
ness. The shortage of good agricultural land further inhibited the
French invasion Of the community since there was no available land base
to develop a rural French-speaking population to patronize exclusively
French Canadian merchants. Our discussion begins with an examination
of the commercial and economic infrastructure of North Hatley and
introduces the individuals who would play major roles in the develop-
ment of the social and cultural life Of the community.

The development of the commercial base in North Hatley empha-
sized a number of resources. As we have seen, the advent of rail
service had expanded North Hatley's role as a rural service center pro-
viding goods and services for the surrounding farms. Creameries, grain

mills, lumber mills, groceries and tradesmen handled the needs of the

129

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130

surrounding farms while local doctors, dentists, churches and associa-
tions provided the needed social and cultural services to the farm
population. Under increasing pressure from the French population,
associations took on a new significance and there was a rapid develop-
ment of various clubs and societies linking the isolated farm families
with the villagers. Through this network of associations even the most
isolated English family was provided a network assuring access to
cultural and social activities. To the extent that the rural population
was dependent on North Hatley for its cultural and social survival,
North Hatley was in turn dependent on the farmers for broad-based
popular support and the membership to keep its institutions functioning.
Participation in these associations legitimated and confirmed the
dominance of the local commercial elite. Local leaders were deeply
entangled in all sorts of associational linkages which afforded them
personal power while establishing a series of social linkages which
allowed for some control over their actions as well.

When viewed from the perspective of the individual actor the
potential for class domination is largely constrained by limitations in
in the local resource base. The need to translate resource control in-
to social control introduces two interesting problems concerning the
relation of ideology to institutions. The first problem concerns
social power derived from individual control over resources as mediated
through institutions. The second concerns ideology as a component in
defining the social identity of an individual actor. The first example,
that of John.McKay owner of the Pleasant View Hotel, is that of an
individual who controlled considerable resources but who in turn was

socially controlled by the associational linkages he maintained to

exercise d
titted hi:

to social,

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131

exercise that power. His networks, mediated through institutions, per-
mitted him considerable freedom of action but also made him vulnerable
to social, if not economic, sanction. The second case, that of Lucien
Dumont, focuses on the question of social categories and ideology in
relation to the individual. Analysis suggests that the relationship
between ideology and individual identity may be determined through the
mediation of other social categories, besides ethnicity, which are
deemed socially meaningful on the basis of the ideological definition
of the institution or social context in which they occur.

The chapter begins with an assessment of the formation of the
local productive infrastructure to determine the degree of closure
which might be said to be operating for the village during the period.
Because there are always outside forces operating, no village can be
said to be a "closed" system in any absolute sense. Viewed from.within,
however, the relative degree of closure can vary significantly as
individuals within the village are limited, more or less, to the
immediate resource base. .

A second element of the local economy was tourism. Tourism in
North Hatley had two distinct components: one, the hotel and boarding
house trade; the other, a type of summer colony based on privately
owned cottages. The roots of this trade were examined in the pre-
ceeding chapter and we will consider the manner in which these trends
were elaborated. As a distinct social class within the village, the
cottage residents evolved social mechanisms to express their collective
interests to the community and municipal council. The networks and
associations which the summer "visitors" established were alien to the

community but came to involve local leaders and were the mechanism for

 

petition :

   

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132

compromise and change within the community.

As a local majority, the English-speaking population of North
Hatley retained control of the municipal council in addition to the
Protestant School Board. Despite the contradictions and internal com—
petition created by the presence of an outside, special interest group
represented by the "summer residents," the added income and inflated
land values their presence created further strengthened the local
English-speaking population in its control of the municipal council.
However, the ability to direct the institutional framework which
controlled the distribution of goods and services at the local level
derived ultimately from the underlying English control over the local
resource base. In this light the formation of the local infrastructure
is examined to determine the relationship between resource control and
the social control it established, legitimated through control of formal
and informal social institutions, a process we will explore in chapter

6.

The Setting

The Provincial highway 148 heads south from Lennoxville towards
North Hatley. The road gradually leaves the wide St. Francis River
valley and follows the narrow strip of flat land that forms the flood
plain of the Massawippi River. The road hugs the west bank of the
river past the massive red slag heaps, testimonials to what was once the
deepest underground mine in North America, that now paint the river
below a dark ocre. The road continues through Ascot Township past the
nearly abandoned mining towns of Eustis and Capleton from whence it

derives its name. On the right are the Bunker and Massawippi Hills with

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133

their high pastures and rocky soil, once despoiled by copper mines and
sulfur smelting their scars now partially concealed by pOplar and
birch.

Past Eustis (c.f. Figure 5.1) the Capleton Road is joined by
other roads coming off the steep hills, enters the rural municipality
of Hatley which encapsulates the village of North Hatley on three sides
and slowly begins its descent into the Massawippi Valley. Here
Capleton Road passes the Catholic and Protestant cemeteries on a small
knoll overlooking the valley opposite the former funeral chapel, now
the Masonic Lodge. The road passes through Reedsville between the row
of houses that change imperceptably into North Hatley past the Curling
Club and Catholic Church. The Capleton Road ends at the lake's edge
opposite Dreamland Park. Provincial 148 continues to the right
becoming Magog Road following the west bank of the lake, to the left
is Main Street.

Magog Road is flanked by the lake and boathouses on the left
and on the steep hillside to the right stand the large summer homes.
Known as the "Lonely Road" in earlier times the Magog Road continues
for half a mile past the cottages then forks. The lower branch follows
the lake past the largest and most exclusive of the summer estates.
The other branch climbs Willie LeBaron's hill, known pOpularly as
"Lover's Lane", past the Virgin Farm and on to Minton.

East from Dreamland Park, Main Street winds around the north
end of the lake crossing the railroad tracks and the bridge over the
"Outlet" which gave the village its original name. One of the two
commercial sections in the village is set back from the road between

the railroad track and the river. Chez Jacquiline et Vitale, Earl's

134

 

 

 

 

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Store and the North Hatley Hardware abut the Main Street, behind them
this section housed the feedmill, blacksmith shops, a marina and boat
works, a garage and storage sheds.

Crossing the bridge, Main Street joins two other streets, River
and Sherbrooke, a juncture marked by the tiny triangular "Christmas
Tree Park." From the park Main Street swings south a bit back from the
lake with Ride's Marina, the HobNob Restaurant and a group of buildings
known as the Dick Block on the right ending in the neat Memorial Park
with its impressive cenotaph. On the left is the Connaught Inn and
J.B. LeBaron's store. On the hill above the store is the site of the
old Town Hall, below it the Post Office on the site of the old Victoria
Hotel. Main Street continues past the North Hatley Club, the library
and the old train station and becomes Massawippi Street branching up a
steep hill past the site of the former Pleasant View Hotel and the
golf course, past the Hatley Acres develOpment and on across the broad
rolling farmland toward Hatley Center. The lower branch, Lake Street,
follows the shore flanked by modest cottages and some permanent
residences.

Sherbrooke Street begins at the Christmas Tree Park and climbs
up the steep hill to the east past the Rose de Vent, the Flying Shuttle
and the Anglican Church. It leaves the village and continues for a mile
until it joins the old Stanstead Highway--Provincial 5--at Bressette's
Corner. River Street runs north from the park between modest homes
and the river. River Street was the site of the first settlement and
the earliest hotels and boarding houses were built along it with
additional homes built on the hills above it on the site of the

original Jackson Farm.

 

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The street ends at the boundary with the Municipality of Hatley
and here-the northwestern section of the municipality--the land is
steep and rocky. The only land in the municipality with real potential
for agricultural development with the exception of a small section near
Minton lay to the east and south of North Hatley. It was the section
that would provide the bulk of the rural farm population that centered
its activity around North Hatley although others would try with varying
degrees of success to eke a living out of the less hospitable sections
of the municipality. The fate of these farms had far reaching impli-
cations for the future development of North Hatley and thus we will

begin with a discussion of agriculture and dairy production.

Agriculture and Dairy Processing
The railroad had made North Hatley the commercial center of

Hatley Township, and farming and dairy production in particular con-
firmed this role. The cities in the United States provided a ready
market for most of the milk products produced in the border counties.
But the United States market was not without its costs to local develop-
ment as the Annual Report of the Eastern Townships Bank of 1910
indicates:

The dairy industry continues to be in a very satisfactory condi-

tion. Cheese and milk are being shipped to large U.S. cities and

it is hOped that the impending changes in the U.S. tariff may lead

to the return to the condition previously prevailing of the manu-

facture of butter and cheese within our own Townships (484).
Tariff changes were slow in coming and between 1910 and 1930 when the
Smout-Hatley Tariff terminated the sale of milk to the United States,

American dairy companies continued to control the local creameries and

dominate the local market.

 

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The earliest recorded dairy in North Hatley was the Hood Dairy
which bought cream that had been separated on the farms and shipped it
to Boston. The Hood operation was taken over by the Plymouth Creamery,
also American, sometime before 1925 and Wesley Reed, who had the
separator franchise, bought cream which was made into butter and
shipped to Boston with some of it sold locally or in Montreal through
brokers. The Plymouth Creamery also took over the operation of the
second creamery in North Hatley, the Turner Center Creamery, adding
trucks to their operation as road conditions improved.

The 1930 tariff quickly changed the base of ownership. The
Plymouth Dairy Company sold its North Hatley creameries the following
year. T.V. Reed bought the Hood Dairy and converted the two story
building into a barn. Savoie bought the Turner Center Dairy and
continued to operate it as a creamery until it was purchased by St.
Laurent in 1947, who continued to produce butter which was sold locally.
Sherbrooke took over an increasing share of the local dairy market and
in 1949 the Carnation Company built a plant in Sherbrooke that now
dominates the area. The effect of this tariff change was not felt as
directly by the local farmers as it might have been because of World
war II.

The Canadian Census does not provide any breakdown of milk pro-
duction at the municipal level nor does it list the number of milk cows
below the county level until 1931. The impact of the tariff change was
clearly felt however. Milk production in Stanstead which had been
growing from 1911 to 1921, fell off sharply in 1931, as did the number
of cows, immediately rebounding in 1941 to surpass the 1921 levels,

only to suffer its sharpest decline in the post-war period in 1951

 

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(Table 5.1). Thus dairy production, which had been the backbone of the
farming industry in Stanstead, underwent two periods of marked decline
within a period of 40 years, suffering an absolute decline of nearly
46,000 pounds of milk produced with the imposition of the American
tariff and an even larger decline of nearly 64,000 pounds of annual
production in the depression that followed World War II. The
Municipality of Hatley reflected these trends in both production and in
population structure, changes which would have direct consequences on

North Hatley.

Table 5.1 Milk produced in Stanstead County: 1921-1961

 

 

 

Milk Produced Absolute Change Percent
Year (1000 x lbs.) (1000 x lbs.) Change
1911 57,686
1921 71,006 + 13,320 + 123%
1931 25,173 - 45,833 - 64%
1941 74,316 - + 49,143 + 295%
1951 10,676 - 63,640 - 86%
1961 10,448 - 228 - 2%

Since production figures are not available, these trends can be
judged on the basis of milk cows--the only statistic available for
determining dairy production at the municipal 1evel--and the number and
size of farms. Of the three rural municipalities in the former Hatley
Township, Hatley Municipality has undergone the most severe decline in
all categories, primarily due to its rugged terrain and the displace-
ment of farm population with increasing numbers of rural residents
working in nearby Sherbrooke, a develOpment we will examine in the
following chapter. The changes in dairy production in the Municipality

of Hatley can be seen in Table 5.2, with an absolute decline occurring

in all areas. The only increase occurred in 1976 with a doubling of

139

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140

the number of cows per farm reflecting the positive effects of the
Federal milk quota system assuring a fixed market for a fixed amount of
milk produced.

The effects of this downward trend were not immediately felt.
Certain observers have noted a growing number of abandoned farms in
the Municipality of Hatley in the 19303 (Bender 1939:80), but for the
most part the rows of stands which held the 80# cream cans along the
road remained in place in the eastern sections of the municipality
until the 19503. These farmers were the backbone of the community
institutions in North Hatley. They patronized local merchants although
many reflect a feeling that North Hatley did not return the hospitality.
"North Hatley would pave its streets but not fix up the roads for the
farmers to get into town" (those roads were mainly the responsibility
of the Municipality of Hatley, not the village). Or they felt a sense
of discrimination regarding credit: "The shopkeepers were glad to see
you, the farmer paid in cash, the villagers bought on credit." The
Reedsville store provided most of the needs of the farmers and those
in the north only came into North Hatley to buy what they could not

get in Reedsville--hardware supplies.

Rural Estates and Farm Labor
A shortage of labor posed a problem to some farmers, particular-
ly those operating large farms. Local residents were often hired to
run farms for nonresident owners or for those occupied with other
interests. Charlie Jackson operated the farm.on the River Road with
hired help, as did Wesley Reed on his farm near the mill dam. The
Davidsons of Sherbrooke owned several farms in the North Hatley area.

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firehorses on one of his farms. These horses had been purchased from
his brother, W.S. Davidson, who was noted throughout the area for his
fine herd of purebreed Jerseys (Price and Pellerin 1929:27) and who
also served as a Member of Parliament for the region in Ottawa. The
Davidsons' sister married Jim McCrea, who was a boat builder and the
local fire chief. Dick Allen Operated one of W.S. Davidsons' farms.
Orin Gardiner worked another and the remaining two were supervised by
Charlie Thomas with several laborers under‘him. The census figures
do not indicate a high level of wage labor on the farms but interviews
suggest that few large farms operated without them. Because the English
population was being depleted with the movement of the young people to
urban areas and large scale mechanization had not yet begun, immigrant
labor was sought.

The farm labor shortage was partially offset by the work in
1913 of the Eastern Townships Settlement Society in Sherbrooke. The
Society was to be equally interested in recruiting French and English
settlers but the Board of Directors heavily favored the English-speaking
pOpulation with 11 of the 17 Directors being English (Blanchard 1947:
394). They operated a London office which recruited families and war
orphans for resettlement in Canada. The latter group, called the "Home
Boys," were young boys and some girls between 14 and 18 years of age.
Some 50 Home Boys came from St. Barnaby's School in London. Of the 20
who came by train to Sherbrooke, most were taken on by small farmers
and, by some accounts, had a rough time. There are four Home Boys still
residing in North Hatley. From 1933 to 1935 the Settlement Society
placed 662 Protestants and 355 Catholics (Blanchard: 349) and its

operations continued into the 19503 but they never made a significant

 

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contribution to the overall population figures. British families
interested in emigration to Canada were recruited at meetings held in
factory shops or mining halls and offered passage to Canada for the sum
of 20 pounds and a contract to work for a sponsoring Canadian family
for one year. Local farmers often put in a request for an English
family which was not filled for years. Very often the farmers had
neither the housing nor the funds to shelter and feed their immigrant
help during the first year. This influx of English—speakers did little
to offset the declining farm population which found it increasingly
difficult to operate their small dairy farms in a fluctuating and
declining market.

Many of those still farming attribute the failure of their
neighbors to their supposed inability to efficiently manage and improve
their operations. Another cause, nearer the core of some ethnic resent-
ment, is the French behavior during the Second World War. Although many
French Canadians served in the Canadian Army, many others openly opposed
conscription and some, it is alleged, sought deferments by taking up
agriculture, replacing the English boys who had joined the army as
volunteers. While these assertions can neither be proved nor disproved,
there is the belief among many that when the English went into the
service, the French took their farms. The decline in the English farm
pOpulation is more certainly a function of the collapse of the farm
market and prices following the war than of French displacement, but
the military service of Townshippers, as we will examine later, is a
central theme in their emergent cultural identity.

Farming provided the economic basis for much of the English

population which declined steadily throughout the period and which had

203?. t0 ‘
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ievelope

 

 

C)
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143

come to depend on North Hatley for needed social and cultural services.
In addition to farming, there were a number of local industries which
developed on a limited scale providing employment not only for local
residents but some wage labor for the surrounding farm population as

well.

The Tourist Trade

 

It was the hotel trade, more than the "summer people" as the
cottagers were called, that provided the bulk of the seasonal employ-
ment for the local population. These tourists filled the streets of
North Hatley until all hours of the night during the summer, overflow-
ing the hotels and into the homes of local residents. But their pre-
sence was transitory. They did not become involved with the affairs of
the community nor did they construct massive testimonials to their
presence as did the summer people. The needs and interests of the
tourist trade were represented by locals directly involved in the trade
who in turn hired hundreds of other local residents in the course of
providing needed services. Blanchard reinforces the image of North
Hatley as exclusively a resort area when he writes that "Tourism is a
major industry and North Hatley has 250 villas (summer homes) and six
hotels. 2,000 people come there in the summer and the village popula-
tion seasonally caters to the tourist service" (1947:323). While such
a view distorts the role of North Hatley as a service center, the role
of tourism was clearly its most salient feature and its most lucrative
business. It is interesting to note that the importance of tourism to
the local economy is generally ignored by those discussing the tourist

industry in North Hatley. In his 1966 study of North Hatley as a

 

sention

or tezpe
Kmicipe
lis:ing

to V'-

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144

summer resort (un village de villégiature), Jean Raveneau does not
mention a single hotel in his historical reconstruction of the village.

The municipal council was charged with the licensing of hotels,
or temperance houses as they were first called. The Minutes of the
Municipal Council provides a rough inventory of some of the hotels
listing the licensing of temperance houses to Mr. Addison LeBaron and
to Mr. Elroy Johnson in 1899. Charles Ramsdell was licensed in 1909
and A.M. Bowen in 1910. In 1938 a County Hotel License was issued to
the Connaught Inn. Control over the liquor license was a matter of
local discretion as well and was used effectively, as in 1958 when the
recommendation to renew the liquor license for the River View House was
defeated in a four to two vote. The River View was known to local
minors as a place to buy liquor and when it burned shortly thereafter
even the parish priest marked its passing with a sigh of relief in his
diary, thanking God that a source of temptation had been removed from
his parishioners. There were marked differences between the hotels
themselves and a change in clientele over time.

There were several exclusive hotels, discussed in the previous
chapter: the Victoria built by Dr. Edgar in 1897 and torn down in 1900
and the Glen Villa built by G.A. LeBaron, constructed in 1902 and burnt
in 1909. These more exclusive hotels were outside the range of most of
the original summer people but served to introduce wealthier families
to the area, adding to the growing cottage community on the west side
of the lake. The Misses Moy rented in the Wedgemere and the Overlook
on the west side of the lake. The LeDuc family ran a boarding house
nearby and served the noon meal to a large number of the summer people

and guests. Other hotels were less oriented toward the summer colony,

 

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145

catering instead to a family market, presenting North Hatley as a
pleasant place for the family to take their "two weeks" in the country.
Their efforts were strongly supported by the municipal council which
organized the North Hatley Board of Trade and published promotional
brochures advertising North Hatley.

To the family seeking a retreat for their vacation, North
Hatley offered a beautiful valley which could only be described as
"restful." Drives in the countryside were an attraction and early
business cards from the local liveries listing rental rates were later
replaced by similar pamphlets showing routes and mileage as the auto-
mobile became more commonplace. The lake was annually restocked with
fish by the government; boats, dingies and canoes were available for
renting; weekly dances were played by Henri Turcott's Orchestra and the
village boasted a nine hole golf course offering seasonal and weekend
rates. Accommodations varied from hotels to cottages with electric
lights, bath and every housekeeping comfort. A brochure prepared by
the advertising bureau of the Boston and Maine Railroad around 1930
lists the accommodations shown in Table 5.3. The list is not exhaustive
but it serves to indicate the volume of business which the local hotels

represented.

Table 5.3 Accommodations in North Hatley around 1930

_ , Daily Weekly
Hotel Operator Rooms' Rate Rate

Connaught Inn Miss Louise Knowles 80 $3 - $4 $10 - $25
Ingleside Miss Addie LeBaron 40 $1.50 $ 8 - $10
Pleasant View House Mr. S.A. McKay 75 $2.00 $10 - $12
The New valley Mr. A.M. Bowen 50 $2.00 $12 - $15

House
Wedgemere and The Misses Moy 35 $2 - $3 $ 9 - $12

Cottages

 

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146

J.R. McKay and the Pleasant View

To appreciate the impact a hotel had on the community, let us
consider the Pleasant View Hotel run by S.A. McKay. The Pleasant View
was built by Harry Kesar, who traded it with Smith McKay for the
creamery and butcher shop he operated in Hatley Center. Smith McKay was

the first operator of the Pleasant View and was mayor of North Hatley
for four terms. He was originally from Sherrington, Quebec as were Dr.
and Mrs. Charles Edgar. Dr. Edgar owned the Victoria but tore it down
in 1900 and built the Connaught Inn as his own home. Dr. Edgar’s
daughter would marry John R. McKay, Smith MCKay's eldest son, who took
over operation of the Connaught Inn which had been converted from.Dr.
Edgar's residence. John eventually took over the operation of the
Pleasant View from.his father while his brothers Bruce and Lee McKay
took control of the Connaught Inn.

John McKay was a powerful man. The Pleasant View provided
employment for nearly 100 people and hotel guests assured work for
merchants. John MbKay was typical of the active community leader in
the village. He was a member of the Municipal Council; the Rector's
sidesman in the Anglican Church for years; and a member of the Library
Society, the Village Improvement Society and the Masonic Lodge. The
function of these Specific associations is examined in chapter 6 and it
is their function from an individual perspective that concerns us now;
In order to exercise social power, John McKay had to channel it through
these institutions and while he was influential within them, he was in
turn constrained by his involvement. "To manipulate others, a man must
himself be ready to be manipulated by them" (Cohen 1976:42). To be part

of these groups a man must participate in them and accept their values,

 

10115, 3
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later as
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the Hump
1943 Jo
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147

norms, and obligations. By tempering his use of power to the group's
norms, he merited their trust and support, a tolerance not extended to
later owners. It is the absence of critical institutional linkages that
is sorely felt when members of the other ethnic groups gain control of
the Municipal Council.

The Pleasant View was constantly expanding its operation. By
1943 John MbKay owned half the hill on the east side of the lake on
which the Pleasant View was located. In addition to the Pleasant View
itself, he also had the Grove cottages, the Annex, and the White House.
People in the neighborhood were accustomed to receiving overflow guests
in their own homes and several houses had enlarged garage units which
served as temporary summer dwellings for their owners who rented their
houses to the overflow crowd. The Pleasant View operated its own beach
on Lake Massawippi below the hotel with a large bathhouse complete with
a restaurant and dance hall. The beach was open to guests, employees
and local people. The dining room.seated 500 people and the bar an
additional 500. The staff numbered 100 and women from the surrounding
farms found work at the Pleasant View from its opening in late June
until it closed after Labor Day. Sleeping quarters were provided for
resident staff and a car made the rounds of the farms to pick.up staff
on a daily basis. During "the season" the streets were so crowded with
guests that you could not walk on them.

MbKay was genuinely liked and integrated into the community. It
appears that he did on occasion use his position on the Council-~as did
some others--to work to his advantage as in getting the jump on tax
defaults and forfeitures and in putting in substandard housing units.

John, it is said, loved to watch men work and the story is told of

 

user 0115

then 51.

as did c

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stopped

 

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148

numerous times he would hire men to dig a hole only to watch and have
them fill it in again. John provided "make work" during the Depression,
as did others, and was admired for his ability to control any situation.

The change in clientele did eventually hurt the Pleasant View
and in the late 19503 the tone of the Pleasant View changed. Families
stopped coming to spend their vacations and instead secretaries from
Montreal came in groups joined by groups of young men from Montreal and
Vermont. The condition of the Pleasant View continued to deteriorate
and finally John sold the hotel to a management company. No one else
could run the Pleasant View and toward the and neither could John. In
1969 he was involved with complaints from the Council concerning a
parking lot he bulldozed in violation of Municipal Ordonnance. In 1971,
following the sale of the Pleasant View, letters and even delegations of
eastside residents began to approach the Council requesting same form of
noise control. The village policeman was unable to supervise the crowd
and Mayor Coleman assured the delegations that the management would
attempt to change its clientele but that the process would take time.
Deprived of the extensive social linkages of its former owner, the
Pleasant View faltered. The final stage came in 1971 when the Municipal
Council refused to renew its liquor license.

The Pleasant View was torn down and the Massawippi Apartments
were built by an unknown holding company in violation of numous build-
ing codes, initiating another round of futile protests. The Beach House
was purchased by the Village as a community beach. The large scale
tourist industry in North Hatley had ended leaving a bad taste in the
mouths of many residents as "restful" again came to describe the village.

Two hotels remain in operation in the village: the Hovey Manor, formerly

 

the Ark:
2321,32

the Vilf

 

touris

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were F

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149

the Atkinson estate, catering to a very elite clientele; and the Hatley
Inn, a more modest hotel but still geared to an upper class clientele.
The Village no longer actively supports its hotel and tourist business
although the Municipal Council, at the urging of the Hovey Manor's
owners, made the unprecedented commitment of joining the new program
sponsored by the Provincial government to promote tourism in the
Eastern Townships in 1979.

The physical featuers which made North Hatley attractive to
tourists did not favor the development of any significant industrial
base and the local industries which did emerge tended to capitalize on

the tourist base.

Local Manufacturing and Commerce

 

Due to its location in a steep river valley, North Hatley pre-
sents few sites suitable for the development of any sizable industrial
operations within its boundaries. The one large section of the town
north of the lake is on the flood plain of the Massawippi River and the
ground is swampy. The only suitable location for development is further
down the river at Reed's Crossing where the valley widens. There, in
1855, Wilder Reed constructed a dam.to power his sawmill and later a
grist mill run by his son J. Bert Reed, who later moved the mill opera-
tion into North Hatley. His eldest son, Wesley, married Lydia Hawse
whose famdly ran the ice house. Wesley started a mill in Megantic and
later returned to operate a store with his brother-in-law, Jay Turner,
and finally managed a creamery. Thomas V. Reed took over the operation
of the saw mill, operating logging camps on Lake Massawippi. Thomas
also owned a store and several buildings in North Hatley and served as

Postmaster. Cheney Reed managed the family farm. Three of J. Bert

 

Reed' 3
years
brothe

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bought

and has

 

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150

Reed's sons remained in the village. Clifford Reed was mayor for 13
years and operated the hardware store in North Hatley. His younger
brother, Ronald, eventually took over the feed mill operation while
Stewart, the youngest brother, worked in the hardware and eventually
bought it from his brother. Their sister Eula married Mr. Phil Scowen
and has retired to the village. Their son Reed Scowen is the present
Member of National Assembly from Notre Dame de Grace in Montreal.
J. Bert Reed spent 14 years on the Municipal Council, Clifford 7 years,
and Ronald was on the Council 27 years excluding his years as mayor.
Stewart, once he had retired from the hardware business, was informed
by his brothers that it had become his turn and he has been on the
Council since 1976.

The only manufacturing attempted in North Hatley was by Jay
Turner who operated an overall factory under the brand name of Snag
Proof. Built in the early 19003, the local plant was a sewing unit,
assembling pieces cut at his main plant in Beebe. The plant employed
mainly women with the work force estimated at between 25 and 30 with
about five men in the operation. The girls who worked in the plant
came from the surrounding countryside, boarding in various houses in
town and returning home on the weekends. The plant burnt in 1929 and
no further attempts were made to develop any industry in the community.
The Turner Overall Factory employed French.as well as English girls and
introduced many of them to the community. The other major industry in
the community, boat building, was not amenable to unskilled labor but

brought notariety to North Hatley.

 

I
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F

 

151

The roar of motorboats on Lake Massawippi in 1912 sounded the

death knell for the steamboat, Pochontas, as inboard motored "taxis"

 

began moving people and goods across the lake. The growing number of
summer residents and tourists created a market for boats and the
Whodard family soon came to dominate the market. Frank Woodard learned
the trade while working for L.H. Taylor, North Hatley's first boat
builder. In 1920, Frank started the Woodard Boat WOrks, Inc. with

his three sons: Guy, Clint, and Cliff. During this period the WOodards,
who were all accomplished musicians, became involved with Jim McCrae of
Lennoxville, who operated the first radio station in the Townships in
1925 and 1926. Operating on 5 watts, transmitting from.two 75—foot
towers, Jim McCrae would broadcast live music. James McCrae was
married to Florence Davidson whose brother was Postmaster General of
Canada. His father, F.N. McCrae who had made his fortune in the timber
trade, was the Liberal Member of Parliament from Sherbrooke and a
director of the Sherbrooke Trust from 1923 to 1926, as well as a
trustee of the Eastern Townships bank along with W.E. LeBaron of North
Hatley.

In 1929 James.McCrae bought into the Woodard Boat WOrks which
was building a pair of custom patrol boats, the Tenacity and the
Stalwart, at the time for patrolling the Mintaine and Chicoutimi Rivers
during Prohibition. The WOodard boys were playing and touring with
local orchestras and eventually Frank woodard got out of the business.
MtCrae—Wbodard became MtCrae Hatley Crafts.

The boat works hired many local craftsmen including Thomas
Carrol, Milton Sharman and Bill Ride. Besides producing canoes and row-

boats, the boat works manufactured racing boats. Jim McCrae built and

 

as Ohio
race he
diverge

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152

raced 155cc Dominion Class inboard motorboats in Canada and as far away
as Ohio. Boat racing was a craze during the mid-19303 and it was a boat
race held on Lake Massawippi in the late 19303 which highlighted the
divergence of interests over the use of local resources and tourism, as
we shall shortly see. During the Second World war, Hatley Crafts worked
under government contract manufacturing lifeboats and aircraft tenders.
Craftsmen were brought in from Nova Scotia to aid in manufacturing but
there was little need for unskilled labor. Following the war, Jim's
brother, Ned McCrae took control of the operation and began to design
outboard motorboats under the Playtime and Skytime brands. The high
point in the designing of boats was in the 19503 when the National
Research Council contracted Jim McCrae to construct a prototype for a
hydrofoil which he did under tight security. The photo of the hydro-

foil, the KCB Massawippi, running on Lake Massawippi, taken by a local

 

photographer made the cover of E$£E°

The Reed lumber mill continued to Operate until it burnt in
1947, supplying lumber for local construction and for Baldwin's Toy
Factory in Coaticook. The feed mill continued to employ a few men as
did the hardware, but most of the jobs available in North Hatley were
marginal except for those who operated their own businesses. North
Hatley had a full assortment of tradesmen and craftsmen as well as
merchants but as the population dwindled in the surrounding area and
businesses shifted, their numbers diminished.

Starting at the turn of the century, the LeBaron family was the
core of the commercial elites in the village, but with the exception of
Roger LeBaron, the son of J.B. LeBaron, none of the following generation

remained in the village. Some of J.B.'s daughters had married local

 

Sorth l-.
5; ecial
Hotel;
tackle .

33110 ES

 

 

153

men, one daughter married the local dentist Hugh McCrae, but no young
men replaced them. J.B. was active in civic affairs, a tradition
carried on by his daughter Miss Emily LeBaron, but with his passing the
Reed family became predominant in local affairs.

The commercial operations listed in the General Directory for
NOrth Hatley about 1920 were J.B. LeBaron, Ltd., general dealer and
specializing in jaeger goods and main supplier to the Pleasant View
Hotel; T.V. Reed Lumber Dealer; A.H. Ham, General Hardward, fishing
tackle, gas, oil and Canadian homespuns; F.H. Woodard and Sons, rowboats,
canoes, agent for gas engines; and the Lakeside Garage, Ltd. There were
also a series of grocery and general stores such as Lucien Dumont's
which was later run by Mrs. Camille LaDouceur and then by Bonneville
who converted it into a restaurant. Examination of the Municipal Records
lists several other garages, stores or storefront operations which came
and went. There were also several boat storage and rental services,
one operated by Capt. Sampson, and the boat works as they terminated
manufacturing picked up the business of renting and repairing boats.
Aside from.the core of stores, LeBarons General Store, the hardware and
the Hob Nob Restaurant, few of these operations had any continuity over
time.

This review of the major productive systems in the village sug-
gests that few employment opportunities were socially neutral, that is,
jobs in which the criteria for hiring were neutral or non-prejudicial.
Hiring was at the discretion of the employer and family background,

"his father's character," played an inordinate role in the final
determination. It was not that long ago that the staff at Manpower

Canada in Magog would receive requests for laborers for the mills and

 

 

 

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154

upon recommendation of an individual would be asked about his father and
the father's work record. Local employment was a matter of establishing
and maintaining linkages with local job brokers. An individual with a
good reputation could, if starting with little capital, find local
backers and with their references establish a small trade or shop with
credit extended from wholesalers. Alliances were important for
individuals as was maintaining a delicate social balance in the midst
of political and religious divisions which structured the community as
the following case illustrates.

Social Classification: Religious,

Political or Ethnic

Early in my research I consistently framed questions of group
competition or interaction in ethnic terms only to have informants deny
the.importance of the ethnic component. To them other contrastive
elements, usually religion, political affiliation and occasionally,
kinship, were of more importance in a given situation, even those
involving French and English.speakers. Until now ethnicity has been the
only social category considered in relation to identity and ideology.
The following case indicates a need to refine that approach.

Lucien Dumont was born in Cookshire to a poor family. He moved
to North Hatley and opened a store during the 19303. Raised in a strict
Catholic family which had always depended on the clergy for advice in
personal and family matters, Lucien was a maverick and wanted his
children to attend school through grade 11. The French school was very
small with.anly six grades and only one to three children in each grade
with a total enrollment of 12. Lucien thought this was not a good

arrangement and since the French.school was located on Capleton Road

wv'

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155

some distance from the downtown and the English school was just on the
hill above his home, he decided to send his daughters to the English
school. He did this without consulting the parish priest. Although
excommunicated for this, he continued to send his daughters to Catholic
Sunday School until more fighting ensued and the girls were withdrawn
and sent to the Unitarian or Baptist Sunday Schools. The priest told
the parish that the Dumonts were not nice people and advised them not
to visit or shop at his store. He became a pariah to his own family and
neither his parents nor his brothers or sisters would have anything to
do with him. Going to Protestant school was a sin and to do so without
the permission of the priest made it unforgiveable. The family became
outcasts from the parish and their own family. The loss was not
irreparable since excommunication did not affect his dealings with the
English community, but political alignments conspired to hurt him there.
In Quebec political allegiance is a family matter with families
being Blue Conservative or Red Liberal and these formed operative
categories within both.the English and French communities, which trans-
cended the ethnic dividing line. Lucien was a Conservative and was out-
spoken in his political views. One day Roger LeBaron, son of J.B.
LeBaron, came to his store and asked him to do something for the Liberal
Party in town. This sort of politicing was fundamental in Quebec and
each candidate had his people working the village for him. A core group
of three or four individuals would recruit and get out the vote for
their candidate. There were few surprises in the elections at the local
level since everyone knew well in advance the political leanings of
individual citizens. Lucien threw Roger out with Roger vowing he would

show him how to run a shop. At that time Lucien had started a small

 

“a

55,6

"1

Was

 

 

 

156

restaurant on the front porch of his shop, selling refreshments and
snacks to the tourists. Roger built the Hob Nob Restaurant across the
street from Dumont's store and move Stan Cuthbert, who had been operat-
ing the first Hob Nob in the T.V. Reed building, into it.

The construction of the Hob Nob did not of itself end Dumont's
business but his open disagreement with the local Liberal organizer
further compromised his position with another sector of the community.
His wife, at this point, advised him they might as well move out since
he had lost half the English who were Liberals. The French would not
come to their store because of the priest and now the Liberals would
avoid it as well. The store burnt the following Christmas night while
the family was in Sherbrooke-~leading to a spate of rumors which per-
sist about revenge but that is discounted by anyone involved in the
case. After the fire the Dumonts moved into a house on the site of
the present Earl's Store and they rented half of it to Joe Seguin who
was the new Postmaster. Joe had been another Liberal organizer working
for R.G. Davidson, who had just won his seat in Ottawa. As a perque,
Davidson awarded the position of Postmaster to Joe, replacing T.V. Reed,
a staunce Conservative, who had had the Post Office in his store
managed by Stan Cuthbert's wife, the former Priscilla Jackson-sister
of Ashley Jackson, the mayor. T.V. Reed had refused space to Seguin in
the store and even refused to sell the cubby-hole rack for sorting mail.
Davidson shortly thereafter secured a new Post Office building for the
village in 1937 with the thanks of the Council. Dumont did finally
give up his business and moved to Sherbrooke where he took.a job with

Ingersoll-Rand.

 

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157

The preceeding discussion illustrates a number of features of
the dynamics of the community during this period. The centrality of
the Catholic Church in defining the social life of the French community;
the range of social options available to a French-speaker who wished to
"jump the fence" and still avoid the full impacts of the social
ostracism of excommunication a Catholic parish would present. The con-
frontation based on political affiliation illustrates another cross-
cutting category and unlike religion did compromise Dumont's position
with the English community. Interestingly enough, party politics were
systematically excluded from.Municipal proceedings as was any discussion
of the effect of higher municipal valuations on Church taxes.

This discussion suggests that a key dimension in the expression
of control of a given social context is the ability to determine what
social categories (whether religious, kinship, locality, etc.) are to
be deemed appropriate and permitted. This aspect of social context is
considered in more detail in chapter 6. Seasonal labor patterns led to

the formulation of another type of group identification.

Seasonal Employment in North Hatley

There were then only a few jobs which drew employees at random
(that is, you had to be connected to survive). One was working for
Southern Canada Power as an "electrician" doing the backbreaking work
of putting in poles and lines by hand. Another was working in the
copper mines, dangerous and difficult work which did attract some local
men. Apart from the tradesmen, the two areas of employment which
involved the summer people to a large extent were cleaning and

carpentry. In both instances, contracting was an important feature of

of the
keeper
house's
contra
Some 0
had se

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158

of the work pattern. Women, both English and French, worked as house-
keepers, femmes de menage, and as laundry women. Those who worked as
housekeepers did so as employees or worked for individual women who had
contracts with specific families to clean a number of houses or cottages.
Some of the large estates down the lake, such as the Atkinson estate,
had several buildings and cottages and employed full-time resident
caretakers as did some non-resident farms. For the most part,
individual entrepreneurs would make contractual arrangements, recruit
their cleaning crew and then supervise their operation. If the summer
community did not rank or differentiate its members as they claim, the
same cannot be said for their employees. It was considered to be more
prestigious to work for the wealthier families than for those of more
modest means. This pseudo-class system seems to have emerged among the
ranks of the cleaning ladies providing a cognitive model to define and
mark these egoecentered labor networks. These identifications further
served to maintain the bonding of the cleaning crew through the winter,
a feature of mutual benefit to both contractors and workers since it
assured both.jobs and an acceptable labor force.

North Hatley has a long tradition of these cleaning ladies.
May Kesar used to subcontract cleaning to Mrs. Letourneau and Mrs.
Fortier. Mrs. Sarah Bennett used to hire eight to ten women, both
English and French, and a Mrs. Hart had similar contracts for doing
about 25 cottages. The entrepreneurship was formalized when Mrs. Bliss
Welton began to Operate a contracting service in conjunction with Bruce
ZMcKay, the operator of the Connaught Inn, taking a commission for the
supervising of the cleaning arrangements. WOrk as cleaning ladies is a

long standing tradition in this community and its prevalence makes the

 

a
a

 

 

159

expression of some wonderment by a professor of the Universite de
Sherbrooke that one of the faculty members had a new cleaning lady,
"and she's English!" all the more remarkable.

The second occupation which involved a good deal of contracting
and entrepreneurship involved carpenter work. There were once five to
seven contractors constantly working in the community. Arthur Mbnard
was a contractor who owned property in Katevale and built cottages on
Little Lake Magog, so did little directly in the village. There was an
apprentice program of sorts which introduced various individuals to the
trade. Among the early contractors was the older Gaston Richard, who
employed Carl Kesar; Sid Taylor, a paint contractor, mixed his own
paints and employed Jed Kesar; and Wilfred Kesar who employed and
trained Aubry Greer, who then started out on his own. Milton Sherman
worked for Wilfred and then in the boat factory. His son, Wesley, began
working for Aubry Greer and eventually struck off on his own and
employed Ozzie Gauthier and his own son, Allen Sharman, taking on
additional men as he needed them. Gerald "Bud" Taylor did more painting
than contracting and prior to his untimely death in 1980, had started
his two sons into the trade. Recent changes in Quebec law regarding
private contractors have made things more difficult for these local
contractors.

WOrking as an individual under the new Quebec law, the individ-
ual is classified as an "artisan" and must report his hours and pay on
the 15th of each month. By law he may not subcontract any work or pay
an employee or partner directly for any work done. The owner contract-
ing the work must pay each man individually. The hourly minimum wage

is set by law and is designed to protect the worker. It does cause

 

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160

problems, however, limiting the discretion of the artisan who would like

to do a service for a widow on a fixed income. He can lower his rates
but only by fudging the government reports. Anyone wishing to hire and
pay employees must have a contractor's license and this limits

artisans' competitive edge with companies in the surrounding area and
has contributed to the decline in the number of carpenters available and
increased the number of those coming in from Magog and Sherbrooke.

The problem of marginal employment was made worse by the
seasonal nature of much of the work that was available. One attempted
response to this came through the initiative of some summer people and
local residents resulting in the Flying Shuttle (discussed below with
the summer trade), which was begun in 1934. This off-season work drew
a number of local craftsmen: Gaston Richard, the carpenter, did cabinet
and furniture work; Ferland Bachon did iron work; Thomas Carroll, boat-
builder, did woodworking as did Mr. Bean; and Ray Bowen, plumber, made
tin. and cOpper pieces. The winter's work was displayed through six
weeks the first summer and sold completely out. Some pieces were bought
outright and sold at a fixed 20 percent markrup; other pieces were sold
on consignment. The Flying Shuttle later added the craft production of
local women mainly in pottery and weaving. In finally closed when the
Second World War caused a scarcity of raw materials and necessitated a
shift to antiques.

Thus, even for the self-employed, there was considerable
dependence on a limited local market and the growth of the Sherbrooke
subregion has had a telling effect. In addition to the professionals,
NOrth Hatley had a number of tradesmen, a shoemaker, tinsmith, black-

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161

provided locally needed services Operating taxis, or selling products
door-to-door. We examine the adaptation developed in the village in
response to the Sherbrooke threat in chapter 7, but during the period
under consideration, the range of optional, self-employed trade or craft
opportunities had already begun to diminish.

For the laboring classes, North Hatley was not a pastoral idyll
of gentility and good taste but a very marginal, stony land where one
could eke Out a living only with pain and with little hope of advance-
ment. To make money you had to leave, for everyone knew "that no one
ever got rich in North Hatley." The lack of local employment or more
precisely the failure to develop the local manufacturing which might
have provided steady employment to the local population had further
repercussions which we will examine in detail in the following chapter.
With improvements in transportation, local laborers began to seek jobs
in the Sherbrooke-Lennoxville area while maintaining homes in North
Hatley, thus turning it into a residential suburb. The failure to
develop industry was directly attributed to those summer residents who
had wished to preserve the village as a quiet retreat with a scenic
natural environment at the expense of the working class residents, and
it is that relationship between the villagers and their summer "guests"

we examine next.

The Summer Cottages

 

With the construction of cottages on the west side of the lake
several major changes occurred in the relationship between the local
residents and the growing summer community. The first phase of the
summer visitor cycle had begun with American "guests" boarding with

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this period between guests and locals were close and many common experi-
ences and activities were shared, giving this first wave of Americans a
respect and attachment not only for the place but for the people as
well. One older resident fondly recounted the visit of an Old friend
several years before his death. The visitor had been the presiding
judge in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial, the resident, the village
policeman; two men worlds apart except for the common bond of a boarding
house on the river half a century earlier. Although this pattern would
continue among these people to some extent by 1910, a distinct summer
community began to emerge.

The development of summer homes on the west side of the lake led
to a social segregation not experienced by the first residents of the
community. The thriving hotel business, which had developed along with
the modest cottage industry, had brought even larger numbers of visitors
to the community. Many of these visitors bought lots and joined the
growing summer colony. This group differed from the first visitors in
their relative wealth and resources. The first visitors, while con-
siderably wealthier than their local hosts, were not particularly
wealthy in comparison to the new arrivals. It was this new group which.
gave North.Hatley some of its notable points of discussion: the private
rail cars of the Atkinson family, founders of the Coca-Cola Company;
the arrival of the coloured servants weeks ahead of the families to
prepare the houses; and, the grand touring cars.

Isolated in their cottages, the new summer people began to with-
draw into their own environment as a distinctive set of social contexts
began to emerge which excluded most of the local residents. William E.

Fisher, in an undated manuscript on the Eastern Townships, writes "this

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163

colony was very exclusive, and no person would think of entering the
confines of these southern ladies and gentlemen unless formally invited"
(4). Over time the coloured servants were replaced as local residents
increasingly took on the role of domestics and maintenance staff. The
class distinctions became more pronounced and formally marked. The
similarity in role and status of local employees in relation to the
summer residents to that of the coloured servants, whose members had
graced the local Baptist Church every summer, was a point not missed by
many residents. Special and even familial relationships developed
between some of the local residents who worked as domestics and their
employers. The class distinctions have faded over time but the barriers
have remained sharp to the local residents, softened only by the bonds
of affection which some truly share with their employers. In a
situation observed several times in the course of my research, local
people who freely express opinions and attitudes in the privacy of their'
own homes are reticent in the presence of their employers even if
conjoled by their employers to speak. One keeps one's peace and one's
job in the presence of a superior.

The summer community was increasingly isolated from the village
spatially and socially and found it necessary to develOp social
mechanisms which provided for the formulation of collective interest
with regard to the local environment to articulate concerns and
interests and to accomplish collective goals, directly or indirectly.
To accomplish this, the summer community evolved social and cultural
distinctions which.permitted them to gloss over differences in wealth,
adapting to their own unique social composition--primarily matriarchial

centered around mothers with.children and young adult males and females

 

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--and capable of incorporating local elites who could define common
business and social interests. Before examining these linking mechan-
isms, let us consider the internal composition and seasonal cycle of
the summer colony itself.

Eloise Bender in her history of Stanstead County makes the
telling observation that "the snobbery of the English was more apparent
to his own racial conferees than to his French-Canadian brethren" (1939:
94). Whether she intended this comment to hold for the relation between
summer and local people I cannot discern but in my research I did have
occasion to be the recipient of a snub delivered by one of the American
summer people. I was approached, addressed and when in response
indicated I was not who I had been presumed to be, the individual turned
her back and walked off, leaving me as someone of absolutely no con-
sequence. Later, when my proper status was explained to her by a third
party, I was cordially and warmly received--but impact of this sort of
slight has left an indelible impression of the powerful manipulation of
cultural behavior in maintaining status in the summer and local commun-
ity. As stated by a local woman who as a young girl had worked for one
old aristocratic Southern lady, "She knew how to make you feel

inferior."

Rail Travel
Both the summer and tourist industry in North Hatley were de-
pendent on the railroad. The Boston and Maine published their time—
tables and brochures advertising the resort accommodations on Lakes
Memphramagog and Massawippi. The night train from New York's Grand
Central Station arrived in North Hatley at 7:30 a.m., "in time for

breakfast." North.Hatley was a major stop on the Boston and Maine line

3:
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165

and the morning trains in the early and late summer would consist of
five or six sleeping cars to accommodate the early summer arrivals and
fall departures. Those with servants would have sent them on ahead to
open the cottages while those without servants would have contracted
with local residents to open the cottages, cleaning them and repairing
any damage, before their arrival and to close them in the fall, winter-
izing and doing any repairs or improvements deemed necessary for the
coming year. Many families traveled on rail.passes since the household
head was frequently a railroad executive or lawyer and entitled to free
transport. Wives with their children made up the bulk of the contingent
and would be greeted by one of several local livery drivers who would

take them and their luggage to their residence.

The Social Activities

Husbands would come and visit their families for a period of a
week or two during the summer. They were by and large businessmen and
stockbrokers imbued with the Protestant Ethic which did not permit
summer vacations. Young men were plentiful and made up the bulk of
the baseball team which.included some exceptional local players along
with lettermen from Princeton, Yale and Harvard with the occasional
faculty member added for good measure. The presence of these young men
led to the formation of the main social club of the summer community--
the North Hatley Canoe Club, known to the residents simply as the
"American Club" as it in fact was. This community was exclusively
American with the sole exception of the Meagher family. The Meaghers
were Canadians from MOntreal, Catholics and related to the Bishop of
Montreal. This pattern continued for the young men until the

Depression and into WOrld War II when it became unfashionable for a

166

young college man to be without work for the summer, thereby making the
population even more heavily female.

Husbands, when visiting, relaxed and did not participate in the
social activities which occupied their wives. The Protestant women were
active in the Anglican Church.which was virtually abandoned by the
permanent residents during the summer thus making way for their "guests."
The Catholics were active in the Ste. Elizabeth parish as well and both
churches received substantial contributions over time from the

Americans, most especially the Anglican Church.

Village Organizations

In addition to informal visiting, the women also enjoyed trips
into the countryside while the youngsters went canoeing, visiting and
picnicing at the various 'camps' located on Baltimore Bay between Blue
and Black Points further down the lake. The North Hatley Library
Society was formed in conjunction with local women as was the Village
Improvement Society, which, as its title suggests, directed its efforts
to the planning and financing of needed repairs and projects to enhance
the community. While the Library Society provided for some direct
contact between local and summer people, the Village Improvement Society
provided a direct mechanism for the formulation and expression of the
collective interests of the summer community in relation to the
Municipal Council under the aegis of a charitable and benevolent society.
We will consider the political dimension of the Society later, but the
charitable action is seen in the Annual Rummage Sale which still
continues, raising money for improvement projects and making clothing

available to poor families at a reasonable cost. Now less paternal-

istic than at its inception, the Village Improvement Society also

 

167

controlled pieces of key real estate and utilized this control to main-
tain spaces undeveloped or as parks or to sell pieces to individuals for
approved projects. Other social involvement included the formation of
the Arts and Crafts Fair which developed into the Flying Shuttle.

In addition to providing an outlet for the sale of local craft
goods, the Flying Shuttle started in 1934 the first of a series of craft
training schools. It was operated under the direction of Miss Emily
LeBaron, daughter of Mayor J.B. LeBaron and a graduate in physical
education from McGill,-who had been trained in weaving at the Canadian
Handicraft Guild. Miss LeBaron was sponsored at the Guild by Col. Bog,
a summer resident. The Flying Shuttle taught weaving and pottery and
marketed local productions involving both French and English artisans.
The Flying Shuttle further provided a cultural opportunity to the summer
visitors by allowing young ladies to serve tea in the afternoons and
keep any money they made to use for spending money at school in the
fall. The Flying Shuttle was thus a social as well as a cultural and
economic institution. The Flying Shuttle consolidated a theme which
would become predominant in the perception of North Hatley, contributing
to or resulting from the growth of an intensive local artistic community.

Composition of the Pre-World War II
Summer Colony

Interviews with older members associated with the summer people
indicated a mixed review of the composition of the "types" of people who
summered in North Hatley. It would appear that two distinct groups were
involved on the basis of occupation. One set of interviewees tended to
stress that the men were primarily businessmen while another set

indicated a clear bias toward the artistic bent of its summer residents.

168

The artistic bias is more evident in the present population but it
appears this may be due to a convergence of factors stemming from the
need to integrate the summer society itself with the influx of artistic
types who would arrive later in the development sequence.

As mentioned earlier, the summer society was composed mainly of
women of unequal economic and social status who, if not for any other
reason, had joined to form a consensus group which was capable of
formulating and expressing a collective interest vis-a-vis the community
and thus the need to gloss over the class distinctions within the
community. Interviewees were adament about the homogeneity of the
summer colony. Two criteria that distinguished summer residents were
"good taste" and exclusive, "private" access to recreactional facilities.
The cultural mechanism devised was one based on an assessment of "good
taste." Good taste is a recurrent theme in interviews with established
American summer families and echoed by the Canadian residents as well.

A typical description is provided by one such American who described a
friend and socially acceptable individual as possessing a house that is
"beautiful, not expensively built (the husband is only a dentist), but
tastefully done." This basis for evaluation would be repeated over and
over in the respondent's comments of various individuals, not much money

"see

but possessing good taste defined as the innate capacity to
instantly the balance and harmony of a piece." It was the quest to
establish aesthetic harmony which ostensibly motivated much of the

action of the Village Improvement Society.

169

The American Club

The North Hatley Canoe Club slowly transformed into the American
Club as the initial small frame structure was enlarged. This was the
exclusive pervue of the Americans and as one lifelong summer person put
it, she did not know when the sophistication began, but the "Club"
steadily became the hub of summer social life. Membership was
exclusive and was only Offered on the recommendation of two members,
payment of a joining fee and annual dues. In exchange, the Club offered
weekly dances and the right to participate in the annual regatta on the
lake and in the annual tennis tournament. Recreational facilities were
largely private during this period. The first golf club, owned by
Hurry and Atkinson on the lower west side of the lake, was very exclu-
sive. The list of charter members includes neither local residents nor
many of the summer peOple. The present club was begun in 1924 by M.
Clement Houghton and General Bradley Mitchell--both summer residents--
with funds raised by subscription and special events sponsored by local
and summer residents (Brent 1961:98-100). The present club is on the
east side offering general membership. The beach.and tennis courts

' and was a

were the exclusive domain of the members, the "Americans,'
constant reminder to the local residents of their inferior status. Even
today there are those who speak bitterly of "the Club" and although the
membership is by and large Canadian, the sense of exclusiveness persists.
There was also resentment of the idle youth who enjoyed the recreational
facilities in the midst Of a working community where the lack Of public
recreational facilties was strongly felt. Much of the action taken by

the American community, whatever its intent, was perceived as an effort

to retain exclusive control of sections of the community and the comment

170

was commonly made that they never really did anything for the town.

Post World War II Changes

There was a change in the composition of the summer residents
with the beginning of the Second WOrld War. Canadians in increasing
number had begun to filter into the summer community. The houses were
being built further down the west side of the lake, extending out of
NOrth Hatley and into the surrounding Hatley Municipality. Examination
of the map showing the relative age of houses (Figure 5.2) graphically
indicates the sequence of construction of summer hOuses moving steadily
further from the business district to further down the lake. Some of
the local residents had built homes on the west side. Capt. Sampson,
who ran the steamboat, built his home in the center of the American side
as did Simon Kesar who ran the grocery in Reedsville. Kesar built a
small housing unit in back of his year-round residence in which he and
his family lived during the summer while renting the main house to
summer visitors. Real estate was handled by various individuals and
some was handled by the North Hatley Board of Trade. A Miss Jones,
herself a member of the summer community, handled rentals of the summer
places assuring owners that only the right types would rent or buy.
There is a widespread belief that French Canadians were not allowed to
purchase property in North Hatley. This, as the census information
indicates, was patently false, however in the eyes of many including the
residents themselves, these large summer houses a£g_NOrth Hatley and the
exclusion of the French from this area is fact but on financial not
racial grounds as was the blatant discrimination against Jewish buyers

during the same period.

171

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Canadians had begun to filter into the area prior to World War
II and among them were several notable scholars and jurists, including
the novelist Hugh MacLennan and Frank Scott, the dean of the McGill
Law School. They found kindred spirits among the established residents
and the artistic colony blossomed. The Americans were slow to accept
Canadians, but as one put it he was relieved to discover the "Canadians
not as frightfully other" as he had anticipated. The Canadian presence
intensified in the early 19403 when rail service from the United States
ended. The long lines of Pullman cars had been steadily reduced until
the service was completely discontinued in 1941. The village council
made its appeals for continuation of rail service as a regular stop on
the line but North Hatley was downgraded to a whistle stop and freight
station. The car which had made personal transportation possible ended
the rail service and attempting to drive to North Hatley over the
primitive roads of the period was not comparable to the ease and comfort
of the rail trip. In addition, the coming of the automobile in large
numbers led to a new type of mobility which worked against the old ideal
of spending one's two weeks in a single spot.

The Americans, with their access to the village cut off, faced
further difficulties. war Measures prevented the easy movement of money
across the border which, coupled with gasoline rationing, further reduced
American access to the area while cutting off Canadians, MOntrealers,
from their traditional haunts on the coast of Maine. The Canadians
turned their attention to properties within the Eastern Townships. By
1960 NOrth Hatley could list four of the top ten families listed in IE5
Canadian Establishment as part- or full-time residents. Thus by 1941

the summer community was undergoing considerable transformation.

173

During the war the houses which were no longer accessible were
rented in the post-Depression market and brought about $50.00 per week.
Following the war there were other changes in the American community.
The younger children were no longer interested in the summer spot and
many sold their properties outright or to their siblings. Marriages
increased the strain as spouses found they did not feel comfortable in
the social environment the village created. The houses were becoming
"white elephants." With the rising minimum wage they were costing more
to maintain than they had cost to build and the tax drain was consider—
able. The summer residents, who as property owners voted in local
elections, were commonly known for their support of councillors who
supported low tax rates and the consequent minimum services. This
position put them at odds with many residents and this opposition has
continued as the west side population has come to include more retirees.
Their alleged ability to influence policy and swing votes was reiterated
in several elections during the course of field work. The housing
market was depressed during this post-war period and large homes were
sold for as little as $5,000. The availability of quality, lowhcost
housing in North Hatley attracted another wave of outsiders who would
become permanent residents, university professors from the Universite
de Sherbrooke and artisans.

Some Americans did return after the war and the American Club
was reestablished retaining its exclusive identification but this time
open to Canadian residents. The Americans did find ground to criticize
their successors with Observations about the nouveau riche attitudes of
the kids on the lake with their motorboats and even to the point of

some juvenile deliquency attributed to the children of these new

174

families. In general, the sense expressed is that this generation of
summer people did not have the same feeling for the place as did their
American predecessors who enjoyed it for its rustic simplicity, camps
down the lake and its naturalness.

There are only eight American families maintaining property in
North Hatley in 1979 and only four of them present during the period of
field work. The rental market has made the property valuable again
bringing over $1,000 per month on a minimum but they require furnishing
and upkeep. Some Americans have taken to doing their own repairs, a
practice frowned upon by their neighbors and several have abandoned
their larger homes for smaller, winterized cabins. The annual tax on
the larger buildings runs about $800 annually with most of it going to

schools taxes.

Divergence and Integration
The need for the Village Improvement Society and the dynamics of
the interaction between the summer visitors and the local population is
uniquely summarized in the eulogy given J.B. LeBaron by Margaret
Armstrong for the Village Improvement Society:

He took an active part in the deliberation of this society (and)
as mayor . . . was able to influence the Town Council to carry
these deliberations to practical effect. Without his hearty
cooperation the special progress which has marked the development
of North Hatley over the past twenty years would have been impos-
sible. His position in this community was peculiar and difficult.
In his boyhood, it was a hamlet of farmers . . . well content with
the improvements they had been able to effect, simple as they were.
The gradual influx of summer residents . . . who erected modern
houses and demanded more sanitary conditions, created a critical
situation just as Mr. LeBaron reached young manhood. The old
settlers wanted few changes. The newcomer demanded many. . . .
had not this problem been handled with both tact and wisdom, these
two distinct elements could easily have been led in hostile array.
John B. LeBaron proved to be the right man for the right time for
the right place . . . his natural sympathies were with.his parents

175

and with his relatives, who were the chief residents of the commun-
ity. But the new business career upon which he had recently
entered, depended largely upon the patronage of the summer visitors
for success. It was just at this time that the Village Improvement
Society was organized. To it the mayor and some of the village
council gave their loyal adherence . . . with remarkable harmony
the town council under the leadership of Mr. LeBaron and the Village
Improvement Society have worked together . . . to make North Hatley
a place of beauty of which we are genuinely proud and where we are
proud to have our homes, whether permanent or transient (Minutes,
June 1932, Villate Improvement Society).

It was the First World War that formed a curious bond between
the American summer community and North Hatley. The war was their
common cultural heritage and Dominion Day 1925 was the ceremonial unveil-
ing of the memorial in honour of the men Of North Hatley, American and
Canadian, who had served in the war. The Memorial Park was a gift of
the Atkinson family to the village. The program began at the townhall
with a singing of "O Canada!", speeches, procession to the park, the
"Star Spangled Banner" followed by "God Save the King."

Since that time North Hatley annually commemorates its long
record of service to the Crown and Canada. Of dubious "Loyalist"
pedigree, the community has shown its loyalty to Canada, paying a high
toll in World War II. The cenotaph bears silent witness to that service
and the annual memorial service, now held in November on Remembrance

Day, serves to publicly renew the community's tie with Canada, a

ceremony that has increased in poignancy in recent years.

Summagy
This chapter has explored the commercial and economic develop-
ment of North Hatley as an "isolated" society. This isolation
exerbated class differences and increased the need for social linking

mechanisms providing individuals access to employment, credit and other

176

resources. Those in control of resources were in a position to force
ostensible conformity, and did so in regard to language use, in the
public arenas. They too were part of the social system and had to con-
form to group norms to enjoy full membership in the community as well.
This integration of the English community occurred through a variety of
institutional structures which provided individuals needed social
linkages. The Masonic Lodge was typical of these associations and pro-
vided social linkages along with a normative code which directed the
civic involvement of its members, as in the case of John McKay.

Some associations provided a base on which to effect the control
of local resources by the formation of a structurally appropriate level
of organization capable of effecting relations with other institutions
having direct control over the resources or by gaining direct control
themselves. Such was the case with the "summer people" who present an
unusual counterpoint in the typical local competition for control of
resources. The Village Improvement Society and its relation with the
Municipal Council presents an interesting case of this type. The con-
flict between these two English-speaking groups, local and summer
residents, was mediated in the person of Jean B. LeBaron who bad link—
ages through various associations with both groups and was subject to
the normative pressures of both. Such was not the case with French-
English relations since they tended to be integrated into two separate
social systems and as such were unable to bring effective normative
pressure to bear on members of the other group.

This inability to use social sanction is exemplified in the case
of Lucien Dumont who was able to avoid sanctions directed at him by the

French.community through.his linkages within the English community.

177

The Dumont case points up a further dimension of the relation of ideology
and institutional control of the environment. The case clearly points
up the problem of viewing ideology as a single, coherent set of beliefs
and values latent in any social context. The Dumont case shows
ethnicity as part of a shifting set of social categories employed in
a variety of social contexts suggesting that the range of social contexts
can not be reduced to a single "ideological" component such as ethnicity.
The choice of role or social personae is not made by the
individual's subjective choice but one determined by the groups operat-
ing within a given social context. Control of a social context confers
the power to determine which social categories are to form the basis of
interaction in that context and how the context is to be marked.
Through effective control of a social context a group can
institutionalize or channel ideological expression by making their's
the basis of selecting the operative category. The acceptance Of a
group's right to do so reflects a shared understanding about the nature
of the global political process and legitimates the group's claim to
control. The social markers employed may vary from nuances of "good
taste" and "proper manners" in dealings between local and summer
residents, to the language used in a shop between French and English.

The dynamics of this competition are treated in chapter 6.

CHAPTER VI
ETHNIC DIVISION AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL

The period of 1900 to 1960 saw local autonomy at its peak in
Quebec and local boards were charged with administering a wide range of
services, most of which had to be paid from the local tax base. This
chapter examines the types of services provided by the municipal council
and looks at the range of independent action which this decentralized
system afforded the community. The local Protestant School Board was an
essential institution which, unlike the municipal council, remained
exclusively under English control. The Protestant School Board was
attempting to utilize financial levers to gain influence over the local
school boards and their initiatives during this period set the stage for
the develOpment of the regional school boards in the 19603.

North Hatley was evolving its own set of internal structures,
elaborating on the structural, legal and formal Options for organization
available to it by the highly decentralized Quebec government. These
structures increased the autonomy and local control of the Council,
providing a further channel for local leaders to expand and elaborate
their networks and power within the community.

The limited economic base and the lack of industry inhibited the
size of the French-speaking population and the English domination of the
local infrastructure assured the English clear control over both the
formal and informal domains within the village as long as the village

itself remained relatively isolated. These conditions for clear English

178

179

domination of the local environment would dissipate with the economic,
demographic and political changes which would begin after the Second

World War, culminating in the Quiet Revolution of the 19603.

Micro-Ethnicity and Domains

Gerry Gold in his analysis of ethnicity among Cajuns in
Louisianna uses the term micro-ethnicity to describe "those private,
non-institutionalized, and situational contexts within which and around
which ethnic boundaries are constructed by groups or quasi-groups"

(Gold 1980:l). To bring the concept closer to the power model employed
in the present discussion, I would designate these "private, non-
institutionalized, and situational contexts" as informal domains (as
opposed to public, institutionalized and chartered institutions which
could be formal domains such as the school board or the municipal
council). Informal domains may be marked as being controlled by either
group. Control is a function of both ownership and the right to exer-
cise sanction in the situational context the domain presents.

Change in the control of informal domains may be a precursor to
later changes within formal or institutional domains. Thus, through the
purchase of land the French not only deplete the tax base of the
Protestant schools, they also gain power to take over the municipal
council (A. Ross l954b:286). On the informal level, this transfer comes
with the influx of new French customers who will, when their numbers
warrant it, demand service in French either through French merchants or
through bilingual clerks working for English merchants (Ibid.: 283).
This micro-ethnic competition for the cultural, if not economic, control
of essential services constitutes an important dimension of ethnic

competition.

180

Because employment depended heavily on the patronage of the local
English-speaking elites the use of English was assured in both formal and
informal public domains as well as in the private ethnic interaction.
There was the unspoken threat of sanction against the use of French in
these domains. While these sanctions against the use of French usually
amounted to only a mild rebuff or the occasional fight between youths in
the Hob Nob or in the hockey rink, the predominance of English was
clearly felt. As one newly arrived French-speaking professor put it, the
local French were "écrasés" (crushed) being dependent on the English for
jobs they had to conform socially and linguistically. The ability to
employ these sanctions in any public context has been severely curtailed
under the provisions of Bill 101, the charter of the French language.
This bill gave the French an effective weapon and redefined power by
imposing changes at a higher structural level, a process we will explore
in more detail in chapter 9.

We will now trace the development of the French community in
North Hatley, who were the minority within the village yet part of the
majority in the region, thus making them a minorité-majoritaire. Be-
cause of their small size in this community, the French residents did
not develop many of the institutions which distinguish French society
in Quebec, relying instead on the services provided through the
municipal council, mediated through the parish, and on the supporting

communities for cultural and recreational support.

Le Minorité-Majoritaire
The first French to enter the village came mainly from Katevale
seeking employment in the village around 1898. Most of them found work

as gardeners on the summer estates. Many of the summer residents were

181

Catholic themselves and attended Sunday Mass at Ste. Catherine de
Hatley. North Hatley was made a mission in 1899, served by Fr. Louis
Caron, the pastor of Ste. Catherine, who said the first Mass in July
1899 in one of the classrooms of the Old village hall. There were 60
people in attendance and Mass was served by John Meagher, a law student
at McGill whose family had been summering in North Hatley since 1892.

In October 1908 Catholics on the west side of Lake Massawippi
from the Glen Villa to the village itself were directed to begin attend-
ing services in North Hatley. They immediately requested the establish-
ment of a parish in North Hatley, and in November the parish was erected
under the patronage of Ste. Elizabeth de Hongarie. There were 37
Catholic families of which 15 farmed, 13 owned property in town, and
another 9 rented. The same year a request for permiSsion to build a
° church was submitted but the early attempts at constructing a suitable
church failed due to a lack of financing and structural problems.

The first body of church wardens (marggillers) was elected in
December 1907. The first pastor, M. Joseph Wilfred Beaudry, was born in
Montreal and ordained in Los Angeles, California in 1904. He came to
North Hatley in 1908 and returned to the United States in 1910. His
arrival coincided with the first and only direct threat to the fledgling

French community in North Hatley.

Attempt at Assimilation
In September 1908 the municipal council introduced a by-law
similar to that passed by the Hatley Township Council in 1855, that a
resolution be passed:

authorizing the Municipal Council to publish all public notices,
by-laws, resolutions, orders of the municipality except such as are

182

required to be in the official Gazette of the Province, in one
language only, to wit, the English language.

The motion carried and public notice was given. No record exists of the
reaction which insued but at the October council meeting, councillors
gave the by-law a second reading and the motion passed. At the same
meeting, Councillor Taylor made a motion to have his original by-law
concerning notices in English only rescinded. Still in October, another
notice of motion on the same resolution was made to be voted on in
November and this notice was duly posted in both French and English on
the English church and in English only on the post office. The November
meeting produced only a resolution that a petition be sent to the
Governor regarding this motion. This is the last mention made in any of
the council minutes to this resolution, but some of the dynamics of the
process can be discovered from the correspondence of Fr. Beaudry during
the same period..

The parish records indicate that a letter to the Governor dated
December 1908--after the public debate ended--was sent stating that
there were only 11 French families in the village, of which only four
could read and write both French and English, and that there were two
who could read only French. In any local voting, the total assessed
valuation represented by those voting is calculated and noted. The
issue of property valuation was introduced in the letter stating that
the French represented a combined valuation of $6,700 out of a total
valuation of $318,285. The challenge was taken up by Mgr. Larocque,
the Bishop of Sherbrooke, in a letter to the Provincial Secretary
protesting the action of the "angliciseurs."

The response must have favored the French population for the

Municipal Council then sent a delegation to Quebec, generating further

 

 

 

183

correspondence. The most interesting letter was a memorandum prepared
by Fr. Beaudry in February 1909 reinforcing the valuation and rights
argument and providing an insight into the social and economic structure
of the village in that period:
The Americans who are here only in the summer account for 5/6 of
the total valuation, such that if we take away the two hotels,
Glen Villa owned by G.A. LeBaron, Protestant, valuated at $40,000
and the Valley House, Dr. Edgar's hospital, and the mill, there is
not much more left for the individual English. Furthermore, the

value of the chapel, $2,500 and the holdings of Dr. J.O. Brosseau,
$2,000, were not taken into the valuation.

"These events,"

notes Fr. Beaudry, "begin with the arrival of the first
permanent Catholic priest and bear out the old adage 'When the enemy is
near, you have to bar the gates.'" The exact amount of rancour this
attempt caused cannot be directly judged but the government's stance
was firm, there would be no change,

Notices must be published in both languages, even if there were

only two French Canadians, as which, in other cases, would also

have to be done for two English.
The crisis had ended and Fr. Beaudry left the parish and returned to the
United States the following year. He was replaced by M. Edouard-Arthur
N031, born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, trained at the Seminar St.
Charles in Sherbrooke and the former pastor of Coaticook. At the time
of his arrival, the new church was being built on the high bank of the
west side of the lake. It was incomplete and architectural flaws had

led to its abandonment. The parish sold the land and built the present

church on the Capleton Road, dedicating it in July 1913.

The Property Base
The parish survey shows a healthy, growing parish in 1911 list-
ing a total of 263; with 43 resident families of which 36 owned property

in the parish and 11 rented. The property base was as important as the

184

population itself since it was the basis for determining not only voting
rights in the village but was the basis for the support of parish insti-
tutions as well. M. Noél remarks that he was looking into the value Of
property and the amount of money paid in school taxes to the Protestant
school in hopes it could be better used to support a Catholic school
(1959:17). The school was built the following year and money was an
immediate concern. Linking of municipal valuation with the assessment of
parish dues, the digg, was a common practice and as late as the 19503,
Edouard Voisard complained to the Municipal Council that since his
municipal valuation had been raised again it would greatly increase the
amount he had to pay the parish. Councillor Camille LaDouceur informed
him that was strictly a matter between himself and the Church and none
of the council's affair.

The control of the local property and the tax base was crucial
in the transition of a community from English to French, and property
was an issue in North Hatley as well. In his comments to the parish
recorded in the Parish Register, the Bishop remarked on the fine progress
made by parishioners in buying farms and property but noted that there
was still a long way to go. The English-speaking residents of North
Hatley were quite aware of the threat inherent in the transformations
occurring around them and the merchants knew the dangers and inevitable
consequences that French merchants and a large French population would
have on their future. But the threat was never realized. Lacking the
industrial base to support a large wage earning population and without
adequate agricultural land to support a dense farm population, the

French population in North Hatley remained proportionately low.

185

Boundary Maintenance

Mass was said in Latin so there was no issue concerning the
language of the liturgy and it was announced in advance that the sermon
would be in English for a given mass if there were any English speakers
in attendance, otherwise, the Thursday Mass regularly had an English
sermon.

The pressure to remain free of Protestant influence was great
and in 1915 the pastor warned the congregation of the danger inherent in
both the Boy Scouts and the YMCA. "These Protestant Associations are
absolutely dangerous to the faith of Catholics who enroll in them and
the Bishops keep repeatedly telling us to keep ourselves as far from
these organizations as possible" (Gravel: 97). The danger of Protes-
tantism was constant and this religious difference constituted the major
barrier between French and English in the community. French Canadians
could do business in English and still remain part of the French-
Canadian community, provided they remained faithful to the Church and
submitted to the power of the gggé.

The French tended to settle on the northwest side of the lake,
along Capleton Road, leading to Reedsville. The houses were spread out
since it was common as late as the 19303 to have large gardens and to
keep a few animals which could not be done on the smaller village-size
lots closer to the main section of the town. With the imposition of
stricter health ordonnances, this practice virtually stopped but not
without incurring a sense of discrimination on the part of the few who
had tried to keep chickens as late as 1965. The French employment
pattern paralleled that of the English of the same class. Many of the

women worked as cleaning ladies, men worked as contractors, most notably

186

Louis Seguin who built several houses on Little Lake Magog. Camille
LaDouceur was a carpenter, as was Gaston Richard. Camille's wife ran a
grocery which was taken over by the Bonnevilles and his brother ran a
taxi service, as did Papous Raymond. There were several craftsmen in-
cluding Augustus Bourque, blacksmith; Brousseau was a tinsmith and
plumber as was Levers. The St. Laurent and Savoie families owned the
creamery and Lucien Dumont, a store. The proximity of Sherbrooke with
its schools, hospitals, large shopping centers and predominantly French-
speaking population lessened the need to develop strictly Francophone
institutions in the village. In this small parish, the pastor had little
to do other than run the school and direct parents and children to the
right places for needed services. The social life of the French commun-
ity focused on the Church and participation in the Church was the key
theme in its membership. On Sunday, following the Mass, people would
visit on their porches and share meals'with their neighbors. Thus
Catholicism defined membership in the French community in North Hatley,
a definition which permitted individuals to function freely in an
English milieu while retaining their identity as French and Catholic,
criteria which would change in the 19603, creating a new identity crisis
for the French population.

The role of those French Canadians who operated as brokers
between the English and French communities is especially interesting.
Although religion, not language, was the primary definitional category,
language as an issue lurked not far below the surface. Speaking with a
life-long friend, a French-Canadian woman asked her friend why she had
never bothered to learn French. Her friend replied, after a moment of

stunned silence, that the notion had never occurred to her. If there

187

was not an insensitivity to the French concern for language, there was a
definite unawareness of it. As one person said regarding French life
in North Hatley, "We got along as long as we went along."

The Council eventually set aside a seat for a representative
from the French community and in 1930, the first French-speaking member
joined the Council. With the exception of six years, there has always
been at least one member of the community on the Council. Among the
French who first entered an area, many had come to take on positions
comparable to the English in the same class and lacking schools theme
selves had their children educated in English schools. But as more
French immigrated into the area, it became necessary for those early
settlers to adjust their relations for the Anglicized French were
marginal people.

NO Frenchman who mixes too freely with the English, sends his

children to Protestant schools, talks English too well or too

much in public, or in other ways identifies himself too closely

with the English, is completely accepted by the French (A. Ross

1954a:274).
If they are distrusted by the French, they are sought by the English and
become mediators between the groups, becoming themselves marginal people.
The effects of this enforced marginality will be noted in several cases
and will appear again in a different context as English-speaking
individuals who are bilingual and bicultural become important in
mediating in communities in the post-1960 period and the same suspicions
will be repeated, this time within the English community.

There are several people who succeeded in balancing this bi-
lingual, bicultural burden and others who failed. Edouard Voisard is

typical of one who was able to maintain his ties with the English

community and his cultural and religious background. Voisard was the

188

local barber and as such at the hub of much of the social interaction of
the village. He served on the Municipal Council from 1930 to 1932 but
also acted as marguiller for the parish and on the Catholic School Board.
His children all attended the Catholic elementary school through grade
six and finishing there attended the North Hatley Consolidated School,
but with the consent of the priest.

The English had been frightened by the burgeoning French popula-
tion in their midst and had reacted forcefully to control it. Their
failure in this was one of the first tests of local power and control in
relation to Provincial policy which clearly circumscribed their local

control.

The Municipal Council

The English in North Hatley retained effective control of the
Municipal Council throughout the period and continue to do so. Involve-
ment in the Municipal Council usually required an involvement or interest
in the commercial life of the community such that most councillors were
themselves either businessmen or working for local businesses. Since in
Quebec the Municipal vote is restricted to landowners, only through the
acquisition of land could the French take control of the Municipal
Council. It was in the realm of municipal politics that the English
mounted the strongest resistence, playing on the demographic and capital
weaknesses of the French, Since most of the incoming population was
young and most families lacked the money to buy property, their ability
to gain electoral control was slowed, which in part explains why the

English retained control of the Council even when they became a minority.

189

Functions of the Municipal Council

In most cases, compromise was achieved as in North Hatley when
the blatant move to dispense with the use of French in public notices
was suppressed by Provincial decree, and French residents were permitted
some representation on the council. While many authors express con-
siderable interest in ghg_controlled the Councils (Hunter; A. Ross),
little attention is given to just £335 control of the Council actually
meant in terms of what the Council was and was.not impowered to do. As
one long-time Council member stated, anyone with an interest or business
in the community was welcome to serve on the Council. On the whole, the
Council had a service function and while there was the occasional
opportunity to use one's position on the Council for personal gain or
privilege, the overriding concerns of the Council offered little
opportunity for this. The Council's role was to mediate problems and
disputes within the community. Council membership was not determined
along political lines and its function was to act as an impartial body
to resolve problems. Based on an examination of the Minutes of the
Council from 1898 to present, the functions of the Council can be grouped
under several headings.

A review of these functions and specific examples of each illus-
trate the range of responsibilities and limited resources of the
Council. The Municipal Council has a series of standing committees to
deal with problems of charity and welfare, law, road claims, sewage and
sanitation, regulating commerce and promoting local business enterprises.
Since the municipality is legally responsible for the condition of roads
within its territory, road maintenance occupied much more of the time of

the Municipal Council of Hatley than North Hatley and required

190

considerable expertise on the part of the councillors to deal with and
supervise road projects. During the Depression, the village obtained a
$2,000 grant to widen "Lover's Lane" as a public works project. Roads
are classified according to construction type, and the municipality bears
a graduated responsibility for its upkeep and damage caused by poor
repair. Thus, a chemin de terre, a narrow dirt road, is considered
adequate for horses but not for cars. The owner of a horse injured on
such a road may find the municipality liable for damages but not the
owner of an automobile.

The Council served to regulate the interaction of residents and
deal with potential sources of conflict. In 1911, the Council wrote a
letter--which is the archtypical expression of this functions-to Mssrs.
Call and L.E. Bean informing them that if they should continue speeding
in town they would be punished to the full extent of the law. For local
infractions, the Council was the first recourse and the final arbitrator
unless the parties involved refused the Council's decision or flaunted
its authority at which point formal judicial action would be taken.
Many of these cases were arbitrated with the Council meeting in camera,
a meeting in which no minutes were kept and all discussion was kept
private. The Council had been called on to deal with a variety of com-
plaints from zoning violations and junked cars to mean dogs and
delinquent youth. Halloween is a continuing source of aggravation in
the communities. On that night, young men in the village have tradi-
tionally played tricks, sometimes costly to the victims, on those who
they felt had merited their attention. In cases where the culprits were
known, the Council sent letters to the parents or directly to the parties
involved in the case of adults. Either restitution or repairs were to

be made or legal procedures would be initiated by the Council.

191

Halloween is a curious institution in this section of the Town-
ships. The pranksters are not children but young men and frequently the
instigators are themselves respected adults in the community. The
extent of the potential risk justifies the addition of extra policemen
for the night. The Police Committee routinely handled most of these
complaints and engaged the local policeman. There were a number of
individuals who served as the local policeman. These men were without
professional training and their role was to maintain public order and
their authority was limited and dependent on the Quebec Provincial
Police for backup. The judicial process was shortened by the Council,
as in the case of some juveniles who were caught starting a fire on the
porch of the North Hatley Club. They were brought before the Mayor, who
chastized the boys, contacted their parents, and handled the whole affair
without involving the police or the courts.

Situations concerning the general welfare of the community were
handled under the direction of the Health and Welfare committee. Local
churches provided shoes and clothing, the other needs of indigents and
the ill were the charge of the local municipality. As had been the case
with Hatley Township, the Council saw to the care and feeding of the
poor or disabled. Once an individual or family in need had been identi-
fied by the Council, a member of the Welfare committee would visit the
family and ask if they would accept town aid. If they did, money would
be appropriated and local merchants would sell food and needed dry
goods on account, to be reimbursed by the Council. Cases of abuse would
be dealt with, as in 1936 when one individual was allowing an indigent
family to live in substandard housing in his commercial building. The

Council insisted that the proper sanitation facilities be installed.

192

The merchant replied that he was having trouble collecting the rent and
was not inclined to spend the money. He finally did so under coercion
by the Council, which in turn began to pay the rent of the family for
the following year.

Keeping people "on the dole" was a burden of the community and
the record shows both French and English residents received financial
and medical assistance. The determination of responsibility in welfare
cases ranked with road maintenance as central factors in intermunicipal
fights. Municipalities were defensive about any possible abuses by
neighboring municipalities. In 1939, for example, the North Hatley
Council informed the Ste. Catherine Council in a letter that a lifetime
resident of Ste. Catherine, now residing in North Hatley in her old age,
remained the responsibility of Ste. Catherine. Welfare considerations
in the 19503 determined the new.boundaries of part of an area annexed
from the Municipality of Hatley. The new line carefully circumvented
the property of a known welfare recipient while adding several former
Hatley ratepayers.

Catholics in the village were dependent on the Municipal Council
with the priest acting as a referral service. As additional welfare
funding became available under the Quebec Public Charities Act of 1921,
the pattern changed and French Catholics went to the priest and English
Protestants went to the Council. Welfare was hard to get and the priest
or Council provided preliminary screening in welfare requests which, if
approved, would lead to monthly welfare checks administered by the
Council or by the parish priest or his designate, who was usually a
member of the Council. Aid would be provided with in the parish with
clothing and offers of employment, but in more serious cases the Council

was called on to intervene.

193

The Council handled the regulation of local commerce in the
licensing of public houses, in issuing permits for the local barber to
operate a pool table in his shop, in requiring peddlers to obtain a
municipal license, or in enforcing conformity with County and Provincial
by-laws concerning the placement of gasoline storage facilities.

The participation of local business leaders as council members
raised occasional questions of conflict of interest. Such was the case
in 1902 when the Council gave permission to a group of local business-
men who formed the North Hatley Water Company to lay down water pipes
in the village. With one exception, all 11 petitioners were or had been
Council members. In March 1909 the same company approached the Council
offering to sell the water works to the village. The Council approved
the appointment of one of its members to negotiate the purchase. The
member selected was also a shareholder in the North Hatley Water Company.
Such transactions were not uncommon but vested interests did raise some
questions.

The village, like the Township, was committed to support the
development of needed regional institutions and service facilities.
Around 1900 the village regularly dispensed funds to buy its quota of
Eastern Townships Bank stock. The municipality took a series of short-
and long-term loans to finance projects or, more commonly, borrowed
money from local citizens. The Minutes regularly include statements of
loans and interest paid to individuals or to their estates on notes held
by them. And there were the short-term notes in which an individual
would advance the town $500 until the tax money came in. Financing was a
continuous problem since the tax base was clearly limited to immediate

local resources. North Hatley, however, had the distinct advantage of

194

having a sizeable summer population which paid considerable amounts of
taxes and which, although not using the municipal services year-round,
made full use of their economic position to press their demands.

This type of interaction was made apparent in the summer of 1937
when the summer residents, usually subtle about their economic leverage,
were uncharacteristically blatant. The delegation was from the Village
Improvement Society of North Hatley, a group chartered in 1919 to:

Improve and ornament the streets and public grounds of North Hatley,
to promote the health of the residents thereof, to foster pride in
the beauty and attractiveness of the village and take such steps as
may be necessary to assist the town council in the protection of
property.
The Village Improvement Society formed a common ground for the interaction
of summer residents and local leaders and a number of municipal council-
lors were also members of the society. Minutes deal with mundane inter-
actions concerning the adequacy of fire-fighting equipment and hydrants,
and the care and maintenance of parks and the dump which was regularly
underwritten by the Society. In 1937, however, an issue required the
formal appearance of a delegation headed by three young ladies, two
summer residents and one local resident. They visited the meeting and
reported to the Council that the sewer system.was not adequate to meet
the increased summer flow (sic). One reported seeing sewage twice by
her boathouse as well as at other boathouses. They asked the Council
to have an expert survey the whole system as soon as possible as they
considered the present system dangerous to healthful swimming in the
lake and "a possible menace to the summer visitor's patronage of the
village"‘(North Hatley Minutes, September 7, 1939). The Council acted

promptly on this request. The sewer system continues to plague the

village which, unlike many of its neighbors who did not have sewer

195

systems until they were made available by government grants in the 19503
and 19603, suffers from a gerryrigged system of odd sized pipes and
ill-placed pumps.

The Town Council responded to the needs of the tourist trade as
we have seen by forming the North Hatley Board of Trade. The Board was
formed by Wilford E. LeBaron in 1913 along with AJM. Bowen (Pierce 1917:
114, 197), who also was a member of the Lake Massawippi Fish and Game
Protestion Society. The village had supported a band from its inception
under the direction of Turcott and later directed by the former mayor,
A.J. Jackson. The town maintained a bandstand at the northwest edge of
the lake where concerts were played on Sunday nights, drawing crowds
from the surrounding area. This tradition was maintained through the
summer even after the local band had ceased to function by hiring out-
side bands to play to maintain the business. The glowing enthusiasm for
special events to draw tourists was dampened in 1939 with what has come
to be regarded as a singular fiasco, the Great North Hatley Boat Race.

In August 1939 the Massawippi Power Boating Club, comprised of
Jim.McCrae, J.R. McKay and E. Weir, approached the Council for permis-
sion and the exclusive right to sponsor an annual powerboat race on the
lake. They would be able to put up "no-parking" signs and to assure
costs. The race was held in late August and in the September meeting,
the Council faced with a large number of angry ratepayers, reneged on
its financial commitment. There was a petition circulated stipulating
no more regattas would be held. The race had been an unqualified
diaster to all but businessmen who did a land office business. The race
was subsequently moved to Valleyfield, near Montreal, where it is still

held and attracts several million spectators annually.

196

The Council struggled to maintain the rail service which had been
so important to the growth and prosperity of the village. Through
letters and meetings with representatives of the Quebec Central Railroad,
the Council attempted to demonstrate that the volume of traffic had
remained the same or actually increased over the previous period, but to
no avail. The service was downgraded to freight in 1939 and finally the
station was by-passed in 1941.

The composition of the Council was quite mixed and there is no
single criteria by which to characterize its members. There have been
wealthy and influential individuals on the Council with connections to
the regional society and Sherbrooke, as well as those who were tradesmen
and craftsmen in the village. Some were employers of a large number of
individuals, others employees, and alliances between members undoubtedly
existed. The one characteristic of all the Council members, one which
holds true for some of the present members as well, is that they were
all linked into a variety of associational networks, a feature
characteristic of the social life of the Townships in the period and

central to understanding the power of the Council.

The Associational Life of the Villagg

Aileen Ross notes major change was occurring in the social life
of the English-speaking community around 1940. The influence of their
religious institutions was waning but the associational life of the
English population was not only growing, but it seemed to indicate
extreme over-specialization (1943:457). According to Ross, this was
either an attempt to hold together the full array of English institutions
without the population to support them; an attempt to hold together their

community life in the fact of the French invasion; or, due to a

197

restlessness shared with urban opportunities where new organizations are
constantly organized. Ross opts for the latter theory but does not
substantiate it beyond noting that to her new organizations indicated
urban values. It is more plausible the new organizations represent
attempts to develop functional and viable social networks in the face of
increasing isolation.

There were several organizational structures which served to
meet local needs and provided degrees of integration for the community.
Service organizations did not penetrate the village and it had been only
very recently that individuals from the village became involved in Rotary
or Kiwanis. The Masonic Lodge, however, did provide a key focal point
for men in the community. The Lodge was founded in 1905 and brought
together a cross-section of the community: farmers, businessmen,
laborers, were all represented within the Lodge. Nine of North Hatley's
fifteen mayors were Masons, five were Grand Masters. Thirty-four of the
98 councillors were Masons as well. The Lodge functioned quietly and its
members would undertake charitable actions out of their Masonic convic-
tions, providing jobs for the unemployed without making their motivation
public. The Lodge served as a social focus and it was customary to
initiate one's son on his 213t birthday into the Lodge. The Lodge pro-
vided many social services and a common social focus for its members.
Even though it did not in itself form the basis for the formation of
public policy, the networks it reinforced facilitated the process.

Another group which deserves attention is the Women's Institute,
which was formed in response to the problem of rural life in Quebec in
1919 with the expressed goal of bringing housewives in rural areas out

of their shell. Women isolated on farms rarely had the opportunity to

198

travel. A few would get to Church but few had any outside interests.
The Women's Institute provided meetings and a forum for interaction and
information on nutrition for children, health and educational informa-
tion. As an adult education project for rural women, it was moved to
MacDonald College, the English Language Agricultural College in Quebec,
with a Provincial superintendent provided by McGill University. When
McGill ran out of funds for support of the Institute, it was taken over
by the Department of Agriculture and Operated along with the Cercle des
Fermiers, which is a confessional organization. The Women's Institute
remained non-sectarian and, as with other organizations, has become more
isolated. It was this consolidation through the development of institu-
tions with the potential for linking diverse and scattered groups which
would be key to the cultural survival of the English-speaking population

in the Townships.

Religion

Religion was the first of the associational systems which served
to bind groups within the early settlements, but because the English-
speaking population was divided among numerous denominations, religion
did not constitute an effective basis for broader community life. North
Hatley seems somewhat an exception to this during its earliest period.
An examination of religious denominations in North Hatley from 1901 to
1951 (Table 6.1) would indicate the approximate degree of religious
diversity within the community, but does not include those members of a
given church living outside of the village and represents only 80 percent
of the population of the village. Fortunately the Census data does
include a category for Universalists and it was the Universalist Church

which was the major church in the early village.

199

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and

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on

em
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on

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mm

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mm cofiumaaaom UHHozumUIcoz
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mma mufim banana
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m mamaumuhnmmum
cm mumaucm>v<
q mumauamm
Nwa mwmucmoumm
mm umzuo
ma mumaconumz
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ma cognac woman:
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mm mamowawc<
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:uuoz umcoaumcfiaoamv maowwfiamm H.o magma

200

An Historical Sketch of the North Hatley Universalist Church,
written by Rev. R.L. Weis in 1940, notes many of the settlers in Hatley
Township were Unitarians. The Universalist Church was dedicated in
November 1895, and its members included the Jacksons, Reeds, Hoveys,
Wadleighs, and LeBarons. Universalists played a prominent role in the
village, and with the exception of Dr. C.J. Edgar, every mayor through
1940 was a Unitarian as were most of the Secretary/Treasurers, and with
few exceptions, the Postmaster. The congregation maintained a full-time
minister until 1953 when a lack of members almost forced the closing of
the church.

The Anglican Church was the next largest and counted 11 members
of the Municipal Council among its members, including John McKay who was
an active Church Warden most of his life. The United Church was formed
in 1920 by the merger of Congregationalists, Methodists and Presbyterians.
The United Church has a small congregation in town and is very active in
Hatley Village. The Baptists have continued in the village and share
their building with the United Church congregation.

It should be noted that by 1940 instead of being a binding force
within the English community, the various churches had become a source
of internal friction as the various congregations tried to maintain their
membership in the face of dwindling English population (A. Ross 1943:
456). This was not the case in all villages, however, and many
communities overcame this division and adopted the policy of supporting
whichever Church held a picnic or asked for contributions. By means of
this sense of civic responsibility which overcame religious divisions,
those remaining churches can persist even with small congregations. One

former resident of Bury told a man raising funds for repairs on the

201

Catholic Church as he pulled out his checkbook: "When we were asked to
support a church, we never asked whose." But even as potential bases for
division were being overcome, one vexing problem remained: the churches
themselves did not provide an institutional framework capable of pro-
viding a "rallying-center" for the community, that could only be pro-
vided by the schools.

School consolidation confirmed North Hatley's role as the
"receiving town" for the immediate region and percipitated the inevit-
able decline of those surrounding communities for which the loss of a
school increased the difficulty of attracting new English settlers. We
will now examine the process of consolidation in the context of the local
school board, the last English institution to remain firmly under English

control and a true "social center."

Education: The Protestant School Board

In April 1888 the Province of Quebec defined "Protestant" as
"all persons not professing the Roman Catholic faith." This definition
reflects the religious, rather than linguistic, basis for the division
within the educational system. Under this division, French-speaking
Protestants and Jews found themselves under the Protestant board, while
English-speaking Catholics, mostly Irish, were included under the
Catholic school board. This arrangement assured control over French
Canadian education to the Catholic Bishops of Quebec, guaranteeing the
religious or "confessional" character of education in Quebec. The
inclusion of many Irish Catholics into the French-speaking Catholic
school system contributed to the high degree of assimilation of Irish

into French-Canadian society.

202

Religious affiliation was the basis for determining school
taxes. Since the tax base was directly proportional to the size of the
population, isolated minorities could not develop nor support large or
often adequate schools. In North Hatley, where the French population
was small and fairly poor, the school committee was strapped for funds.
Control of property became an essential feature in assuring the
maintenance of adequateeducation for either ethnic group and the
transition to a French majority in many portions of the Townships meant
the inevitable failure of the local English school. Thus control of
land was an important dimension in the transition from English to French
and as the French-speaking population came to dominate an area, the
Protestant schools became less viable. In Shefford "one sees a dusting
of English everywhere" but their mitaines (churches) are closed and
their schools shut up. Such was not the case in North Hatley which was
emerging as "one of those knots of English resistance" (Blanchard 1947:
351). But, as the English became more isolated, the need for consolida-

tion at the subregional level began to assert itself.

Consolidation

The press for consolidation of schools under the Protestant
School Board began in the late 19th century when a survey indicated that
of 235 rural Protestant schools, one quarter of all the Protestant
schools in Quebec, averaged 10 pupils or less, and were only open four
or five months per year with few qualified teachers. Dr. G.W. Parmalee
toured the Eastern Townships in 1899 and found that fully one-half of
the schools could be closed and recommended they do so. The Protestant

School Board lacked the financial leverage to enforce its decision but

203

waged an education campaign to convert the local boards to its position.
A report was issued in 1904 recommending the closing of 160 schools and
in 1908 the Education Examiner listed the benefits of consolidation as:
cost efficiency, better instruction and supervision, better health and
morals, and greater potential for hiring qualified teachers. Further-
more, the consolidated school would also provide a community center.
This litany of benefits would be refined and repeated by the upper
levels of the educational establishment with each subsequent push for
greater centralization, but in this phase it was somewhat ineffective.

People objected to consolidation on the grounds that they would
have to pay the cost of new buildings and transportation for the educa-
tion of rural children. The Protestant Board, aware that its ability to
influence the local boards depended on its financial control, argued
successfully that it should have more control over government grants to
schools. Grants were no longer made on a strictly per capita basis but
instead were made subject to the discretion of the Protestant School
Board, thus bringing elementary schools under its power. The financial
leverage was expanded in 1914 when the government made transportation
grants available to local school boards to offset transportation costs.
The consolidation process was further accelerated in 1925 when the
government approved monies for the construction of new schools in
addition to transportation costs. Between 1905 and 1946, 204 rural
elementary schools were closed. North Hatley consolidated in 1927 and
we will now examine that process in light of the preceding discussion
of the overall process (Percival 1946:74-80).

Prior to consolidation, the small elementary schools.in the
North Hatley area maintained a joint school board consisting of repre-

sentatives from the seven small schools operating apart from the North

204

Hatley Village Academy. No records from the academy survive but the
operation of the joint school board is known. Each rural school had an
enrollment of between 15 and 30 pupils. Teachers were paid about $450
for 10 months around 1900 and the pay had increased to $75 per month by
the 19203. The rising cost of teachers caused concern over financing.
The joint school board of five members, a president and secretary-
treasurer, was elected with the secretary-treasurer the only paid
administrative position. The joint school board was operated by the
secretary—treasurer, A.C. Greer, who collected taxes, hired and
supervised teachers and janitors.

The North Hatley Academy was separate from the joint school
board and had its own board with the same constitution. The building
had four rooms on the ground floor with three or four teachers for
grades 1 through 11. The upstairs was used as a community dance hall,
and later, a theater, while the basement served as a dirt-floored play
area during the winter. Discipline was harsh and homework doled out
more as punishment than duty and failure to produce was harshly
punished.

When consolidation was finally begun, the Old Church School on
the North Road was consolidated with Hatley Village; Lord's School and
Massawippi School consolidated with Ayer's Cliff; and, in the same
period, Reedsville, followed by Watts, Abbott and Minton joined the
North Hatley Academy in 1928. Government money was made available for
the construction of a new school since the old Academy building was too
small for the enlarged school system. In the first year following
consolidation, each school board was retained while accommodations were

worked out and general consent was gained. Once everything was in

205

place, the original school board was split up and a consolidated board
put in its place. The transportation of students was contracted with
some of those from.Minton walking into town and boarding during the week
in the winter.

The next phase in the consolidation of the school system occurred
in 1937 when a bill to create 18 central school boards off the island of
Montreal was introduced. This bill finally passed in 1944 and was a
logical extension of the consolidation movement. It was well suited to
those remaining, thickly settled areas, such as Stanstead County. The
goals of this move echoed the themes of the previous bill. The establish-
ment of Central School Boards would: assure superior teachers, provide
more adequate transportation, better schools, better health education,

a wider curriculum, in all, give rural children the advantages city
children then possessed (Percival 1946:83). The Central School Board,
under the operation of the County Supervisor, would be a major integra-
tive mechanism for the local board but still possessing little direct
control. The only control over local school boards to maintain the
quality of education was provided by the Board of Examiners of the
Protestant School Board who administered the system of exams to deter-
mine the scholastic qualifications of a high school graduate and his or
her eligibility to enter McGill or other universities. The importance
of preparing students to pass this examination provided the effecfive
counterpoint to pressures from within the comunity to conserve funds
wherever possible.

Under the Stanstead County Central School Board, which included
Stanstead, Ayer's Cliff, Beebe, Magog and North Hatley, the local

school boards were provided some of the advantages of central

206

administration. The Central School Board hired teachers, provided trans-
portation, and controlled finances. The local school boards retained the
right to collect local school taxes, handle daily business affairs and
act as the liaison to handle community questions and problems. Each of
the areas under the Central Board sent one representative to the Central
School Board. The local school board was charged with fixing the local
school tax rate and local taxation provided a basic problem for the
educational systems. Fixing the tax rate posed two problems for the
school boards. First, there was the problem of an unequal and shrinking
population base. Secondly, there was the need to balance millage rates
in relation to the relative valuation scales of the villages within the

school districts.

School Taxes

The system of collection, allocation and distribution of tax
funds was completely contained within the local district. The local
board set the millage rate and the evaluation of property within each
school district to cover expenses and "money stayed within the
district." Decline in the size of the school-age population and aging
buildings put more tax pressures on one side of the county (Stanstead)
than the other. The sale of property to Catholics further shifted the
tax resource base toward the Catholic Board. Individuals who owned
cottages as non-residential units were entitled to pay taxes to which-
ever Board they preferred and the less scrupulous would opt for which-
ever Board that had the lower rate. Despite this option, most of the
summer people who were English-speaking opted for the Protestant Board.
This imbalance in the Protestant tax base would be corrected in the

mid-19608 under Operation 55 which centralized tax collection, a

207

process we will examine in more detail in chapter 7.

The second problem, the variation in valuation proved a much more
natty problem and the source of considerable friction within the con-
solidated school systems. Since North Hatley Consolidated School served
a number of different municipalities and villages, it must be borne in
mind that each village had its own valuation system. Villages did not
necessarily evaluate property within their jurisdiction on the same scale
of real market value as others, varying from 30 to 100 percent of market
value. Thus a mechanism had to be found to make sure that all the
villages were paying the same rate. Hypothetically, if an individual
owned a house worth $2,000 in Reedsville, which operated on a 50 percent
valuation, his valuation would be based on $1,000; thus with a 5 mill
rate he would pay a tax of $5.00. If Ste. Catherine, on the other hand,
used a valuation scale based on 100 percent, the owners of a $1,000
house would have his valuation based on $1,000 and would have to pay
$5.00 in taxes as well, or effectively twice as much as in Reedsville.
The government does not permit boards to reduce valuation so it would not
be possible to adjust taxes in Ste. Catherine by reducing the valuation
by 50 percent for school tax purposes, thereby adjusting it to the 5
mill rate and reducing the tax in the hypothetical case to the proper
level of $2.50. Instead, the adjustment must be made upwards by raising
the Reedsville valuation to 100 percent, making the valuation $2,000 and
lowering the mill rate to 2.5 mills. Thus the property owners in Ste.
Catherine would pay $2.50 and the one in Reedsville, $5.00.

To accomplish this adjustment, the school boards would use spot
valuations to determine the percentage by which a given town was above

or below the real rate the town was using to find a common scale. In

208

some cases, villages would end up paying twice as much as another
village, as happened for a couple of years between Reedsville and North
Hatley. The spot valuation itself could be challenged as not being
representative which would initiate a whole new series of problems.

An example of the valuation adjustment process and the problems
it entailed can be seen in the Minutes of the 1958 meetings of the North
Hatley Consolidated School Board. In March, comparisons of percentage
of real value assessments in the communities served between 1947 and
1957 showed the following shifts: North Hatley up 68 percent, Compton
up 201 percent, Hatley up 25 percent, Ste. Catherine up 33 percent. The
problem was referred to Mr. Sarault, the Department of Municipal Affairs.
The survey had been done at random and he informed them that this was a
common complaint. He advised the Board that they should use spot
valuations and adjust valuations rather than change the millage rate.

In August the Board requested copies of the municipal valuation rolls
for tax purposes. In September the valuations were in and North Hatley
at 101.3 percent was stable; Compton West (Swedeville) was 33.6 percent,
down 50 percent; West Hatley was at 84 percent, down 57 percent; and
Ste. Catherine was 116.3 percent, up 5 percent. They set the mill rate
at 26.1 mills plus 1.5 mills special. In October their budget was
refused by the Department of Municipal Affairs, who questioned how they
arrived at it. Another set of valuations went in: North Hatley at 100
percent, West Hatley at 178 percent, Compton West at 78 percent, Ste.
Catherine at 247 percent, and Hatley Township at 215 percent. The new
rate was set at 13 mills with 1/2 mill for special activities. The
problems of financing was one of the major issues which contributed to

the massive education reforms which began to appear in the 19603 and we

209
will consider this in detail in the following chapter.

In addition to trying to deal with the financing, the local
board also dealt with problems of discipline, the supervision of
construction and the sale of bonds and arrangement for loans with the
help of the local Liberal Member of National Assembly.

One final point to consider was that of the quality of French
language education available in English schools. The religious
segregation of schools extended beyond taxation and enrollments. It was
also forbidden for Protestant School Boards to engage Catholic teachers-
as it was for Catholic Boards to hire Protestant teachers. As a
result, it was not possible to engage native French-Canadian teachers.
Instead, the schools had to rely on native English-speakers who, for the
most part, had had formal training in Parisian French but little
exposure to Quebecois. The observation was made that during the con-
struction of the high school addition, the French teachers in the
consolidated school had been called upon to communicate with the French-
speaking workmen but were unable to do so. Training in French was
clearly hampered and many adults express regret that their training in
French had proven so inadequate. The enforced segregation of French and
English speaking children on the basis of confessionality, which persists
today, tends to only further isolate the English-speaking students into
a closed society. As we will see, the parents in North Hatley recognized
this problem and in the mid-19608 took forceful and innovative steps to
improve the quality of French education at the elementary 1eve1--an

option then open to them within the framework of the County Board system.

210

Summary

In this chapter we have explored the develOpment of localized
institutional systems which integrate and reflect the structural
characteristics of the social and economic infrastructure of the
community. Focused on the local community, these institutions provided
networks and linkages into the surrounding communities servicing the
needs of the rural English-speaking population. Thus at the local level,
village associations served to integrate the politically isolated
Anglophone population in the surrounding municipalities into a locally
integrated institutional framework. The viability of their response
was, in the final analysis, determined by the persistance of a highly
decentralized system which promoted local autonomy and made local level
integration the most appropriate response since economic, social and
political mechanisms all articulated at this same local level.

In chapter 7 we will examine the next stage in this development
as the local system underwent modifications in response to the massive
social and political changes occurring within the French society during
the period of 1960 to 1980. These changes and their impact on the local
community illustrate the political and economic mechanisms by which
smaller, inferior structures can be integrated and rendered on larger,

more powerful structures.

CHAPTER VII
REGIONALISM AND RESPONSE

In this chapter we will deal with economic dimensions of
regionalization which occurred within both the public and private
sectors during the period of 1960 to 1980. In the case of the private
sector, discussion will focus on the growth of the Sherbrooke subregion.
We will examine North Batley in light of the changes in production,
marketing and transportation systems as well as the demographic shifts
this growth made possible. In the public sector, the trend toward
regionalization took several different forms. Municipal government
became more constrained exercising less control over local affairs as
the provincial government took over the financing of the social services
and public works projects. In the case of the Protestant School Board,
which constituted a public yet exclusively English domain, the process
is best exemplified by the consolidation of the local school boards
into the larger regional and district school systems. The process
clearly illustrates the use of taxation and redistribution as a primary
mechanism.in forcing the conformity of lower levels of structural inte-
gration. Local resistance to provincial initiatives to establish a
regional school board highlights the relative weaknesses of the rural
Englishsspeaking population and characterizes their communities, which
we will consider in detail.

Although the new regional structures created a new set of

problems for the rural English, they also created a new set of common

211

212

concerns and provided the basis for new organizational forms derived
from the new political structures and realigned social relationships
created by the regional school system. In addition, the efforts of the
provincial government to reduce local autonomy, as part of its attempt
to consolidate power both within the province and within Canada, led to
the formation of an elaborate regional committee system. The new
regional school system.and the types of public and private responses

it had engendered, brought together individuals from.diverse communities
united in a common cause. This imposed regionalism led to the formation
of a variety of political and cultural groupings capable of articulating
with the regional administrative units emerging within various pro-
vincial agencies, culminating in the formation of the Englishrspeaking
Townshipper's Association.

Changes occurring in provincial-municipal relations had pre-
dominately ethnic overtones, stemming in large part from.a power
struggle within the emergent Quebecois society itself, as an burgeoning
'middle class manipulated traditional symbols in consolidating popular
support. The changes at the provincial level opened new options for
ethnic, and particularly linguistic, confrontations at the local level
‘which bypassed the traditional need to control the local infrastructure
in.determining control of local institutions. To understand these
rehanges we must begin with.a consideration of the types of changes

<3ccurring within FrenchrCanadian society itself.

Background: The "Quiet Revolution"
The "Quiet Revolution" which combined a need for social reform
Witth intense nationalism began under the Lesage government in the 19608,

alld forms the essential context for understanding the types of changes

213

which ensued. The transition from rural to urban population had been a
determining factor in forcing change on Quebec society. The specific
form that change was to take however derived from a number of historic
and social factors which must be understood first in the context of the
French-speaking majority in order to interpret these events and their
effect on the rural English-speaking population.

There are a number of theories on the sources and meaning of the
new nationalism (Kwavnick, Dumont) but the best review is provided by
Kenneth McRoberts and Dale Postgate (1980) in a revised edition of
Quebec: Social Changg_and Political Crisis. In their discussion of the
ideological sources of the Quiet Revolution (94-111), the authors focus
on the role of the bureaucratic middle class in the formation of an
ideology noting that the belief in development and an intense Quebecois
nationalism was widespread among this class in the 19603. Their argu-
ment draws substantially from.two important articles written during the
mid-19603: one by Albert Breton (1964), the other by Charles Taylor
(1965). Breton maintains that the economic nationalist programs, such
as Hydro Quebec, SIDBEC, etc., constituted little more than public works
projects for the middle class. Other classes in Quebec received little
economic benefit from the nationalization of Hydro Quebec and in fact
lost money having had to finance the purchase. Breton suggests that
only through the manipulation of nationalist feeling could the middle
class obtain sufficient support for such a self serving project. Thus,
for Breton, "Nationalism is a tool used by the new middle class to
accede to wealth.and power" (1964:381). Two points in this discussion
require clarification: first is the identity of the "new" middle class;

and secondly, the materialist limitations on nationalism itself with.

214

regard to middle class mobilization--Breton says it happens but does not
say how.

This dimension, as McRoberts and Postgate point out, can be
found in an article by Charles Taylor who found the roots of the new
nationalism in the problems of "identity" in the middle class "caught
between the values of social and economic development which it has
adopted for itself and the negative image which, in terms of these
values, it must ascribe to its own group-~French Canada" (McRoberts and
Postgate: 101). The older institutions had occupied a narrow range of
functions: basically the professional classes of doctor, lawyer,
notaries and clergy. Upward mobility was Open to the lower classes
only through the Church for those children with a vocation, while the
lay professions were harder to enter and required money. Now, with
broadening education, a wider spectrum of classes are entering the
middle class (Taylor: 155). Taylor does not discount the class

interest in nationalism, many . . . have discovered that nationalist
agitation in itself increases bargaining power" (159), but concludes
that there is a need to avoid too utilitarian a model noting that middle
class people share an old inferiority complex and "identify themselves
more readily with the achievement or lack of it of the cultural group
and feel themselves more easily exhaulted or diminished by it" (163).
Events since the writing of these articles bear our the essential
validity of their positions and another model, which I will introduce
briefly, should serve to integrate them more effectively.

There can be little doubt that the emerging bureaucratic middle

class is well served by the new nationalism. The new middle class seeks

to modernize French society so that while it may use the images of a

215

traditional, pre—capitalist society, it is not the defender of the
traditional way of life. In its pure form, writes Taylor, practically
the only value the new nationalism shares with the old is the French
language itself. Postgate and McRoberts, among others, discuss at
length the linguistic implications of the new nationalism, especially
with regard to the workplace and in the assimilation of immigrants
(1980:128-131). In addition the relationship of the emerging middle
class to the Church has also had profound implications for the social
life in North Hatley and the Englishespeaking population in the
Townships. Modern nationalists are anti-clerical, if not unbelievers,
and the traditional conception of Catholicism.in this society is
anathema to them (Taylor: 152). The subsequent shift from religion to
language as the essential cultural marker had profound effects on
French/English relations in North Hatley, where traditionally religion
and not language formed the fundamental social boundary. Status in the
emerging Quebecois society was no longer a matter of religion as it had
been in French-Canadian society, but a matter of language, and language
use in public arenas became a point of intensive competition in the
village during this period.

In the discussion of the conflict between Church and the rising
middle class, Postgate and McRoberts turn to the work of Hubert Guidon
(1974), first published in 1960. Guidon characterizes the Church at
the end of the 19503 as an episcopal corporation of which the parishes
constituted branch offices and the gurg, a salaried employee. Guidon
points out that in the process of transition from a rural to an urban
industrial society, the power of the Church did not diminish.as the axis

of power progressively shifted from landed owners in the countryside to

216

the urban population, but rather it grew (1980:164). Some sociologists
marvel at the ability of the clergy to adapt to change "occupying suc-
cessfully all the strategic posts of the society" (Vigod: 179). The
Church knew the dangers of secularization and loss of control over
Catholic institutions from events in Europe and began to modify its
mechanisms for control of all the principle institutional spheres where
it exercised a veritable monopoly. The clergy became bureaucratic
overloards.. Using its financial and real estate resources, the Church
consolidated and enlarged its bureaucratic mechanisms, allowing the
clergy to continue in all the roles it had accrued through time. This
adaptation to the urban milieu, successful in the short run, required
specialization and the administrative revolution required the collabora-
tion of new groups of very diversified professionals recruited among the
"white collar" workers.

Guidon reminds us that in traditional Quebec rural politics
under the Prime Minister Duplessis were based on a system of patronage
and understanding between politicians and clergy. Monies for extra-
ordinary projects were made available to the clergy as were loans to
various rural businesses, gradually enriching local commercial elites
who, with the clergy, clearly understood the rules of the political
game. With the succession of Sauvé to leadership on the death of
Duplessis, a new reorientation began within the party that had been
based on rural policy. Having had the problem set up for us by Guidon
(1974:166-169), let us consider the progression in the emergence of this
nemeiddle class as outlined by McRoberts.

The new middle class was caught up in a struggle with the clergy

and the struggle for power, as it had in Europe, centered on usurping

217

the social function of the Church (Vigod 1978:175). Although the Church
had provided the first avenue for this class to advance within its
various institutions, the Church still retained ultimate control over
these institutions using skilled bureaucrats to run the increasingly
large clerical bureaucracy. Over the short term the strategy worked,
but as the institutions became increasingly bureaucratized and led by
lay personnel, the spiritual role of the Church could only decline.
Secondly, there was the Quebec government itself which was ultimately
responsible for health, education and welfare. The resources of the
Church were vast but not adequate for the plans which the new bureau-
cratic management had in mind, and as programs developed, the Church-
run institutions became increasingly dependent on public funding pro-
vided through the government. Since the Quebec government held nominal
control over the Church institutions, it seemed the appropriate level at
which to take command of Church resources. As bureaucrats within the
provincial government, the new middle class could use the authority of
the new Quebec government to displace the clergy and bring these
institutions directly under its control. "These actions could be pre-
sented as a process of 'democratization' in which 'privately held'
institutions would be made responsible to the people through their
elected representative in government" (McRoberts and Postgate 1980:99-
100).

The significance of these changes within the emerging Quebecois
middle class would have a number of direct and highly significant effects
on the English-speaking population of the Townships at a number of
different levels. First was the emergence of a highly specialized

bureaucratic elite, developed within an urban context and exhibiting

218

features of structural integration and complexity unknown in rural areas.
As this bureaucracy expanded its control over various domains such as
education, it would not only force the incorporation of local level
institutions but would force their restructuring, rendering them
structurally compatible by increasing their size and organizational
complexity. Secondly, Quebec had allowed private institutions-pri-
marily those of the Church--to retain a much greater degree of power

and authority than was the case in other provinces. Through a series of
reforms directed initially at the Church, democratization would serve to
forceably integrate all_private institutions, including English ones,
into the emerging provincial system.

In 1961, the provincial government instituted a system of pro-
vincial hospitalization and in turn forced hospitals to conform to
provincial norms and regulations regarding personnel qualifications,
administrative procedures, etc. Private welfare agencies came increas-
ingly under pressure of government norms as the government began to
expand its own programs and services (McRoberts and Postgate 1980:104-
105). This was the first welfare reform since 1921 when the Quebec
Public Charities Act had triggered a decade of vehement reaction from
the clergy who saw in the Act an avenue for state interference in the
affairs of religious communities (Vigot 1978:168, 171). The government
also expanded beyond its traditional role in education of merely pro-
viding facilities and began to involve itself in all levels of the
educational system. As we will see shortly, educational reform consti-
tuted a frontal assault (albeit masked) on Church authority and met stiff
resistance (Dion 1971). Resistance proved futile, the mechanism for this
change was financial. Under Operation 55 which will occupy a consider-

able portion of the following discussion, the influence of the clergy

219

was limited to only those aspects of education dealing with confession-
ality. The liberal administration under Lesage sought in its words to
"reduce the role that local elite3--through the school commission--" had
played in the provision of school facilities (105).

Before delving into the specific changes which occurred as a
result of Operation 55 and the regionalization of education in North
Hatley, let us take time to examine the changes which have occurred in
the infrastructure of the community in the period of 1960 to 1976 and

their implications for the ensuing events.

North Hatley: 1960 - 1976

The period of decline which began in the 19603 was not unique to
North Hatley nor was it merely a function of the political and social
changes occurring within Quebec society. The changes occurring in North
Hatley were part of a general process felt throughout most of rural
North America. In the case of North Hatley, the dominant force of change
was the growing metropolitan center of Sherbrooke located some 15 miles
away. As in many areas of the United States and Canada, there was a
.steady decline in the number of people employed in agriculture and a
large scale migration from rural communities (Finestone 1943:94). The
central role of the textile industry in the Townships had not favored
extensive growth in Sherbrooke since by the mid-19303 textile manufac-
turers had fully adapted a pattern whereby they would locate plants in
smaller rural communities and as such form the nucleus of a small town,
avoiding population centers and the competition for labor from.other
factories which might have inflated wages (Finestone: 127). During the
period of WOrld War I, the industrial base in Sherbrooke began to

diversify into production of metals, rubber and food processing as well

220
as textiles. The growth of the metropolitan regions had been intense
during the war, rising 43.3 percent from 1911 to 1921, slowing during
the post-war depression with only a 23 percent increase over the next
two decades. With the Second WOrld war Sherbrooke experienced another
boom, especially in the area of metal work but following the war the
economic competition with other regions again stymied its growth.
Following the war, Sherbrooke entered what Cazalis has identified as a
new developmental phase: that of branch plant operations using the
readily available cheap labor in the region, and in the growth of a
secondary service industry, providing marketing and customer goods
(Cazalis 1964:169-171). It was the entry of Sherbrooke into the
service and retailing fields that brought it into direct competition
with the struggling local merchants of North Hatley.

Despite the competition, North Hatley also benefited from
Sherbrooke's growth. In his study of Sherbrooke subregion, Cazalis
identifies North Hatley as one of the villages whose growth is linked
by multiple activities to Sherbrooke (1964:170). During the period of
1960 to present North Hatley has become in effect a suburb of Sherbrooke,
a feature which has in some ways assured its survival as an English-
Speaking community while simultaneously undermining much of the local
commerce and services. In 1963, the February Manpower totals show that
of the 400 workers living between 5 and 15 miles from.Sherbrooke, 76
came from North Hatley while waterville, equally distant from.Sherbrooke
but possessing its own industry, had only 25 (Cazalis: 174). With the
closing of the Catholic School in North Hatley, increasing numbers of
local children, English and French, attend school in Sherbrooke so that

of the 250 students attending school in Sherbrooke, many of them list

221

North Hatley and Ste. Catherine de Hatley as home (Cazalis: 183).

The rural sociologist Whyte, writing in 1968 on rural Canada in
transition, identifies three factors in the decline of rural communities.
These three factors are quite evident in North Hatley and we will
consider each of them in our discussion of the changes in the village
infrastructure: emigration itself leading to a reduction in the tax
base; the outmigration of youth lessening the viability of local
institutions; and‘finally, the insertion of the village into an
extensive and intricate network of linkages with extensive controls
(1968:95). He sees in these factors a reduction in the cohesiveness of
community ties and increased alienation of rural people from local
organizations. Quite apart from the specific bureaucratic restructur-
ing occurring in Quebec, Whyte feels that there is an essential differ-
ence between the needs of rural and urban populations, differences that
compound problems for the rural population in urban contact.

. . . In these regions not only has the cohesiveness of traditional
structures been diminished but linkages with larger centers and
administrative units have not developed sufficiently for alternative
organizations to assume fully the functions now ineffectively
executed by local organizations (Whyte 1968:95).
In the case of North Hatley, a rural and English-speaking community, the
types of transitions and problems described by Whyte are occurring but
they are compounded by ethnic and linguistic changes not found elsewhere
in Canada. In the case of North Hatley problems stem not only from the
changes caused by its increasing insertion into the Sherbrooke subregion
and the institutional incompatibility caused by the increasing penetra-
tion of urban and external political structures, but both types of

changes in the local institutions are further highlighted by ethnic

competition.

222

Despite these cultural dimensions, the basic problem of urban
penetration persists and must be weighed along with the cultural
specifics. Whyte defines "institution" as the configuration of norms,
rules and regulations which evolved over time to fulfill the needed
social functions related to functional requirements, the functional
requirements of rural life and urban life have traditionally differed
and hence the difference in institutions (Whyte: 48). People who
express the notion that "religion has little influence over their lives
do not necessarily stop going to church or supporting church activities
or organizations . . . the adaption of political mechanisms to the needs
of the people reduced their inclinations to generate new religious
groups" (Whyte: 84, 88). It is this changing definition of social

institutions that now draws our attention.

Demographic Changes

In general, North Hatley represents the overall types of demo-
graphic shifts occurring throughout the Eastern Townships during the
19603 and 19703, differing only in specific details. The Report of the
Eastern Townships social action group in 1975 reports that the English
population was: 1) declining in absolute numbers; 2) relatively older
than the corresponding French group; 3) experiencing a low rate of
natural increase but with a negative net emigration rate; 4) has a
slightly higher fertility rate; and 5) a smaller percentage of the
English-speaking population is employed in manual occupations, especially
in semi— and un-skilled categories (86). While these provide overview
of an English population, we will see that NOrth Hatley differs in

regard to several specifics.

223

The change which profoundly affected both the social and
economic life of North Hatley occurred in the surrounding municipality
of Hatley. Besides the decline in number of farms (see Figure 5.2),
another equally significant change has been in the ratio of rural
non-farm population to rural farm population. Although the number of
farms in the municipality of Hatley has undergone an absolute decrease
of 327 farms since 1921, the total rural population has remained fairly
constant and increased slightly. This indicates that the majority of
the population living in the municipality of Hatley no longer lives on
farms and this nonrfarm, rural population in the surrounding area has
several different characteristics. First, their interests and needs are
different from the farm population and they have been making increasing
demands in regard to road improvements. Secondly, this population seems
to be more French-speaking than the population it has displaced. No
figures are available on this, but a 1960 report by Gary Caldwell
indicates a higher density of French in this area. This French increase
has been offset partially by an exclusive housing development, Hatley
Acres, which consists of some high cost homes, with mainly a professional
and managerial, Englishrspeaking resident population. In total, the
increasing shift of the rural areas to residential use has tended to put
a new set of demands on the Hatley municipal council.

Table 8.1 Percentage of population living on farms in the municipality
of Hatley, 1931-1976

1931 1941 1951 1956 1961 1966 1971 1976
Total Population 522 543 549 609 555 530 575 550

P°Pulati°n liVing 460 410 338 363 163 281 112 64
on farms

Z °f t°tal P°P“‘ 88% 76% 71% 60% 30% 42% 19% 12%
lation

224

Local Commerce

The local commercial base was heavily affected by the develop-
ment of the Sherbrooke marketing region. In the area of farm support
services, this was markedly felt when the local feed mill finally went
out of business due to increased competition and changes in farm pro-
duction patterns. The construction of cooperative grain elevators in
Lennoxville and Sherbrooke, and the trend among farmers to buy premixed
grain and sell their own grain directly to the mill eliminated the need
for the services of a middle man. In addition, the steady decline in
farm population as described in chapter 4 has continued and by 1960
there were scarcely enough farms in Hatley Township to support a mill
even without the outside competition.

The situation of the local merchants was much the same and the
manner in which they adapted is a particularly interesting one. By 1970
the local merchants had evolved a de facto monopoly system.which per-
mitted each merchant to make maximum use of available capital by
specializing in the types of products carried. In addition, overhead
was compensated by making maximum utilization of the space available in
the buildings being used. J.B. LeBaron Store remained the only full
range grocery store in town with a meat counter and speciality items.
Earl's Store, a small speciality store, is known as a "mom and pop" store
since the principle source of labor is domestic.

Open seven days a week and located across from Dreamland Park,
Earl's sells a variety of beer and wine, frozen and convenience foods,
and, like LeBaron's, sells to regular customers on credit. Earl's now
carries a variety of novelty goods, comic books, English language

magazines, and greeting cards. However, you will not find padlocks,

225
sewing needles or threat in other than black and white in this store.
This was to protect the business of Mrs. Browning who ran a small dry
goods shop in the east side of the Hardware store which is located next
to Earl's. Mrs. Browning was one of several individuals who rented
space from Stewart Reed, and sold cloth, buttons, notions and some craft
goods. She knew her customers well and several remarked that they would
meet her on the street and she would suggest they come by her shop
because she had some fabric she knew they would like. She was, by all
accounts, usually right. This special knowledge of customers' preference
not only gave shopping a personal tough but again permitted Mrs. Browning
to make best use of her inventory cash.

Even more specialized was the North Hatley Hardware itself. The
plumbing department handled the parts for every old toilet in the town
and homeowners seeking a necessary part could call the Hardware and ask
if it was in stock and often were informed that it was not what they
needed since their bathroom had a different brand of toilet. The
Hardware stocked plumbing, electrical, carpentry supplies and paint as
well as fuel oil. The space was used to a maximum. The upstairs was
rented to the Masonic Lodge while the basement housed at various times
a television and small appliance repair shop and an upholstery shop.

The hardware and the service station behind were careful not to handle
oil and additives that might be used in motorboats since those items

were handled by the Hatley Marina. The various merchants were respectful
of each other's perogatives and strongly resented new operators who would
not honor the convention. One fairly recent entrepreneur gleefully
reported to one of the former owners of Earl's that he had just purchased

an ice machine. The former owner became quite irate with him, asking him

226
why he did it; the reply was "to make a buck" at which point he was
informed--to no avail-—that the present owner of Earl's had the ice
concession and that the new ice machine was introducing a new and
unwanted element of competition thereby damaging another merchant's
margin for survival for no good reason.

The Texaco Station in town had gone out of business but the B.P.
Station continues doing body work in addition to repairs. The Hatley
Marina rents storage space as well as boats to fishermen and Ride's
Marina rents boats as well. Georgie Bourassa operates LaRose de Vente
in the old butcher shop, selling some antiques and speciality items as
does the Lampshade ShOp. At the time fieldwork was begun, this consti—
tuted the inventory of all the shops operating in the village. During
the course of the research, the hardware, the B.P. Station, the Hatley
Marina were purchased by an Arab investor, Mr. Saad Gabr, as part of a
planned development project. While these continue in operation, the
Rose de Vente and Ride's Marina, among other properties, were purchased
by the same developer and eventually closed. We will consider the
implications of these purchases and the community responses to the
planned development in chapter 9, but these purchases have further
reduced the vitality of the small remaining commercial sector.

The village also had, at the start of field work, three
restaurants: the Hob Nob, Chez Jacqueline et Vitale, and the Cafe du
Mbulin. The Hob Nob was purchased by Mr. Gabr and eventually was closed.
It had been the focus for English social interaction as the local coffee
shop for breaks (10:00 and 14:00). This role was shifted to the Cafe du
Moulin which is run by Michael Dier. The Cafe du Moulin has the only

liquor license other than the two hotels in the village. Chez

227

Jacqueline et Vitale is also a artisnale bakery. It was the site of
weekly debates during the Referendum campaign and serves as a cultural
focus for Quebecois activists throughout the Sherbrooke region and is
seldom patronized by the local English population.

As noted in the introduction, there has been a considerable
shift in the labor patterns of the village. Out of a resident popula-
tion of nearly 800, no more than 35 individuals work within the central
village itself, including municipal and bank employees, and less than
100 are dependent on local employment. Although no figures are available
for the earlier period, the shift is substantial and this independence
from local economic constraints has opened up new possibilities and
Options in behavior within the community. North Hatley has variously
been described as "a mosiac of opinion" or "a microcosm of a city" since
no one here can tell anyone else what to do, power such as it is is too
diffuse to be focused through any local economic levers. There has been
a subsequent decline in social control as fewer individuals are willing
or compelled to submit to local authority structures.

But with the increase in autonomy there has been an increase in
competition for the use of municipal resources or to control the tax
rate and the levels of municipal services. Individuals form new quasi-
groups around real or perceived common interests, resulting in the
description of the village by one frustrated individual trying to hammer.
out a new and universally acceptable by-law proposal as "a community of
communities." Beginning in 1960 some new social actors entered the
village and we will now introduce this new group before proceeding to

our discussion of the regionalization of schools.

228

Population Shifts

The rapid growth of the Université de Sherbrooke which began in
the early 19603, caused many of the newly added faculty to discover North
Hatley as a unique residential opportunity. Many of the summer homes,
as well as permanent homes on the west side of the lake were up for sale
and large six bedroom homes including lakefront were available for as
little as $15,000 in 1959. Located only 15 minutes from the university,
these rambling homes required winterization and improvements but were an
unusual opportunity and through collegial networks, numerous faculty
members, both French and English-speaking, entered the community.
Besides the faculty of the Université de Sherbrooke, faculty members of
Bishop's University and the Champlain Region CEGEP located in Lennoxville
joined the community as well. In addition, with the building of the
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, a major teaching hospital in
Sherbrooke, a number of doctors also moved into the community.

Around this nucleus still others took up residence including
lawyers from the Sherbrooke area who had been long acquainted with the
village. The literary set was well represented with three recipients
of the Canadian Governor General's Award for literature counted among a
variety of nationally recognized poets and literary critics. The
changing face of the summer population further enhanced the change with
the historian Mason Wade, the sociologist Marcel Rioux counted among the
social set. It was as if this new influx of residents was to confirm
Nbrth Hatley's reputation as a cultural center, a claim given greater
saliency by the growth of artisanal crafts.

In early 1960, Gaetin Beaudin, a nationally recognized potter

from Rimouski, was looking for a facility in which to begin a pottery

229

school and was directed to the old LeDuc boarding house on the west side
of the lake. Gaetin was carefully screened by an ad hoc committee of
his neighbors and satisfied with his intention-the previous owner was
rumored to have attempted to run a house of ill repute-they gave their
approval to the owner and it was sold to Gaetin. He and his wife,
Mildred, were accepted into the summer society on the west side and
received regular invitations to cocktails and dinners until their
failure to reciprocate indicated they did not wish to be involved in the
summer cocktail circuit and the invitations tapered off although cordial
relations remained in tact. Gaetin being one of the first newcomers and
the first French Canadian on the west side of the lake, took an active
role in programs for the children and was very active in organizing
recreational activities and in efforts to improve summer swimming
lessons, which were provided at Dreamland Park. He was recognized in
1960 by the Municipal Council for his leadership in civic and recrea-
tional activities (Minutes, May 1960).

Gaetin and his wife operated a summer pottery school attracting
many visitors to the community and Gaetin was later joined by another
recognized Canadian potter, Dean Mulavy who continues to work out of
the pottery along with his pupil, the son of a local resident, Allan
Gerrish, who is also gaining national recognition. During the 19603
the North Hatley pottery circle was further widened by yet another '
nationally known potter, Michel Denis, who had his own studio. In
addition, the Naeve family, originally from the United States, had
established another pottery and arts school on their farm outside of
North.Hatley and produced excellent but as yet lesser known pottery.

Besides the pottery, a number of weavers have begun operation in the

230

village and another pottery has been added by Jean Marc Lambert. The
presence of these potteries along with the strong literary presence have
given North Hatley the widespread reputation it still retains as an
artists' colony at the expense of recognizing the more pedantic
dimensions of its functional existence.

The social life among this group was quite unique and the
members of the community were generally bilingual--especially the
Englishr-and many bicultural. For the English-speaking population,
North Hatley provided a comfortable English language milieu and the
opportunity for English education for their children in the local
community. Their involvement with the local residents was mdnimal
although several became involved in the school board and were active
in developing curriculum and in resisting regionalization, but generally
did not mix socially with the older, established residents. The newly
arrived French residents were similarly varied and found little in
common with the local French residents, opting instead for those with
similar educational and cultural background whether French or English.
A few found common ground in the Catholic Church but many were part of
the anti-clericalism that was prevalent during that period.

The French and English professionals constituted a reasonably
homogeneous group during the early 19603 and were generally lumped
together by the local residents. During the late 19603, as Quebec
nationalism.became an increasingly heated topic, the occasional con—
frontations between French and English became more frequent. By the
late 19603, several members of the new French community had decided to
challenge some of the traditional English dominated domains in the

village, creating considerable hostility and earning for the

231

undifferentiated mass of Université de Sherbrooke faculty the label of
"separatists" among many of the locals. The friction between the two
groups increased during the FLQ crisis surrounding the kidnapping of
Pierre Laport. Relations were strained further by a bitter debate which
followed the offer of the Protestant School Board to provide space for
French students in the NOrth Hatley Consolidated School building--a
topic we will examine shortly. Local reaction to the agitation by this
group reached the point that on Halloween 1970 signs were posted on the
barbershOp informing children they were not to trick or treat west of
the railroad tracks, avoiding the "separatist" sector. The popular
association of Université de Sherbrooke faculty with separatism would
persist up until the referendum. The rifts within the intellectual
community never did heal completely but many colleagues have reached
amicable compromises by mutually avoiding the question of Quebec
independence.

The summer houses as was pointed out in chapter 6, have been
largely taken over by people from MOntreal and Sherbrooke. These part-
time residents have taken on a position similar to that occupied by the
Americans in their desire to preserve the scenic features of the
community. Their desire in this regard parallels that of the growing
number of retirees to the village who, while demanding services from
the village, generally Oppose any program.which might increase their
taxes. This coalition is described in the Report of the Eastern
Townships Social Action Group (1975):

Summer people, together with wealthy retired residents, want the
village kept quiet with no tourists, and discouraged any trade
that once existed, as well as any attempt to create new attractions.

The towns people of course complain for lack of business and
possible employment (1975:51).

232

Although their conclusion that the "permanent resident population of

North Hatley has lost control of its own resources" may be a bit over-
stated in regard to the summer resident population (75), the coalition
of summer residents and retirees has effectively inhibited the actions
of the municipal council and has been able to control local resources.

In the case of Dreamland Park, the property had been given to
the village by G.A. LeBaron when he moved to Sherbrooke around 1910, and
in the 19603 became a bone of contention between the summer residents
and the permanent residents. Although it is situated on a lake, all
the shoreline is privately owned apart from the Pleasant View beach,
and thus the then sandy beach at Dreamland Park was the only public
access to the lake. Relatives of G.A. LeBaron, who owned an adjoining
section of beach and a house across the road from the beach area, had
complained to both the Village Improvement Society and the municipal
council as early as 1932 about the increasing use of the beach. They
stated that the park should be pleasant and ornamental and, while the
wharf was fine for the children, the raft was attracting a lot of
out-of—towners. The Village Improvement Society concurred, accommoda-
tion was reached and the use of the beach was continued on a restricted
basis.

The other function of the park was provided by the bandstand from
which the North Hatley Band and later other bands made paid appearances,
serenading the public on Sunday events. The crowds would sit in the
park or in canoes floating off shore. In all, it provided a very
pleasant evening and was a boon to local merchants who sold pop, ice
cream and snacks to the concert goers. This also added to the number of

people swimming at the beach. The debate over the use of the park

233

reached a climax in the early 19603 when it was noted that if the
swimming lessons for the children were to continue, some bathing
facilities would be very nice. Neighbors approached the Council come
plaining about indecent exposure with bathers changing clothing in cars
and relieving themselves in the shrubs and bushes. The Bandstand was
in need of repair and proponents of the bath house suggested it be
rebuilt adding changing rooms and toilet facilities at the base.

In July 1960 the Village Improvement Society wrote a letter
protesting the construction of any bathing facilities in or around
Dreamland Park, and the Council decided further, due to unexpected and
adament opposition, not to repair the bandstand but to have it removed
for material. The following year the Council decided to build dressing
rooms and toilets in July and in August dropped the toilets. The
issue stood until 1965 when complaints about the deteriorating condition
of the retaining wall that had been built in 1958 and about the crowding
in the park led to the decision to purchase new beach facilties else-
where. Because of the new beach, there would be no lifeguards at
Dreamland Park and the Council passed an ordonnance forbidding swimming
at the park. This decision resulted in a protest movement by some of
the men who Operated businesses in the village, notably three who
operated stores near the park. They entered the lake at the railroad
spaulding and walked in the lake to a point off the park where they
couls swim in dubious compliance of the new by-law and expressing their
clear disdain for the new restrictions.

Such events typlified the sorts of resentment felt by permanent
residents toward the summer colony who, more Often than not, were

attributed with the ability to undermine any local initiative. As one

234

resident put it: "The west side people were capable of anything and they
could lean on the Council to get their way. The town was always

divided between the west side and the rest of the community and pro-
jects were left undone even when the rest of the town supported it."
Summer residents are seen as something Of a burden to the town, making
demands but contributing little, especially as some make use of
Sherbrooke and even MOntreal tradesmen or buy groceries elsewhere. As
one old timer summarized it: "The Americans came here to spend money,
the MOntrealers come here to save it."

The position of profesionals living in the village and working
in Sherbrooke in some ways paralleled that of the summer residents in
their desire to maintain a quiet neighborhood. It was this presumed
opposition to any attempt which might serve to develop the community
which lies as a source of friction in any dealings which involved the
summer residents and permanent residents. In the course of my field
work I Observed two major incidents which were interestingly enough
mediated by some of the professors from.the Université de Sherbrooke.
It was also this group of professors who were involved in working with
local school board leaders in helping to formulate the resistance

mounted in North Hatley against the regionalization of schools.

The Regionalization of Education

 

The process Of regionalization and the profound impact it was
to have on the English-speaking minority Of the Eastern Townships had
its roots not in the English but in the French society. As has been
demonstrated repeatedly in the course of this discussion, the Catholic
Church effectively constituted a state within a state and used its

influence to monopolize the institutional control of social functions

235

at the expense of the provincial government. Quebec of the late 19th
and early 20th century has been described as "priest-ridden." The
clergy had insinuated itself into a very major social position in
French-Canadian society. The Catholic Church in Quebec supervised
directly, or indirectly, the political life, union activities, all
voluntary associations, charitable works, and to a large extent, the
press, but of all these, the key to its influence was in education
(Moreux: 39, reviewed by Ryan; Ryan 1966).

The Catholic Church had guarded its perogatives over education
jealously and resisted any attempt to regulate education. The 1848
law establishing parish schools remained virtually unchanged into the
mid-20th century (Moreux: 39) and attempts at compulsory education were
resisted because of the threat of forcing French-Catholic children to
attend English schools where French.schools were unavailable (Bender
1939:53). The shortcomings of the system were clear and.in 1961 only
50 percent of the 15 to 19 age group were attending school. Since that
was the rate for the whole province, the French percentage would have
been even lower, and a full 86 percent of Quebec farm workers had less
than nine years education (McRoberts and Postgate 1980:54). The
Catholic Bishops even resisted the implementation of the 1944 act which
established a Protestant Central Committee, leaving no Roman Catholic
equivalent.

French education was falling painfully behind, leaving the
French Canadian largely disadvantaged and in face of growing industriali-
zation the education system was, in the words of Philip Garigue,
"inappropriate for the kind of society that, by 1950, Quebec was

becoming. It was an outstanding example of institutional failure"

236

(McRoberts and Postgate 1980:55). In the spring of 1963, the Royal
Commission of Inquiry on Education in the Province of Quebec was
established by the Liberal party under the leadership of Mgr. Parent,
the former rector of Laval University.

The Parent Report triggered a series of continuous fights and
in 1964 the reforms began with the creation of a Minister of Education
within the Cabinet, a post Opposed by the Church, as it had in the 19th
century when a similar position was dissolved and separate Protestant
and Catholic committees had been set in place. These committees were
not replaced by the Minister and reform of the school boards was set in
motion (McRoberts and Postgate: 56). The Parent Report made an impor-
tant shift which affected English and French Boards alike: it shifted
the locus of authority and responsibility from the parents, where the
Church contended it should reside, to the State. The Commission
recognized that much of the inequality of education was the result of
the uneven distribution of the tax resource base and total dependence
on local resources doomed some areas to poor education while wealthier
areas enjoyed better quality. To counteract this, they saw the State
as central in responsibility and authority, making the local school
commissioners ultimately responsible not to the parents but to the
State itself. "In attributing part of its powers to school commissions,
the state invested them with part of its own responsibility" (Report
1966:149, 249).

The Catholic Church did not quietly acquiesce to these changes
and mounted a strong Offensive, particularly in regard to the passage
of Bill 60 establishing the Minister of Education which was introduced

in 1961. The bill finally passed in 1964 but during the campaign the

237

Church pulled out all the stops in its efforts to modify the bill (Dion
1971). Claude Ryan writes in 1966 with regard to educational reform:
"We can only say we are witnessing a lay revolt against the Church"
(108). In addition, the Commission found that it was the confessional
character of Quebec education which was markedly contributing to the
inequality of education, noting that:
much of the inequality between schools . . . will continue if
school commissions, even regional commissions, should continue to
be divided on a basis of religious convictions or language.
Indeed, in a given region, individuals of a specific religious or
linguistic group merely by virtue of belonging to that group,
might not benefit from an education of the same quality" (Report
1966:149, 249).
If confessionality itself could not be eliminated, then at least a
neutral board overseeing the Catholic and Protestant systems should be
set in place. This provision met with the Opposition not only of the
Catholic clergy but with that of Anglophone educational and business
elites as well in the name of cultural survival (Fournier 1976:126), as
the established educational bureaucracies sought to define their
established interests. The idea was never implemented. The mechanisms
for a powerful central educational bureaucracy were put in place
following the establishment of a Minister of Education.
The phases that introduced the elimination of confessionality
also introduced the regionalization of schools:
the present local school commissions should be induced to hand over
their administrative, educative and financial powers to larger
administrative units; it also assumes that a single school commis-
sion covering a territory at least as extensive as that of a
regional commission, should be responsible for all education,
whether it be Roman Catholic, Protestant or non-confessional
French or English (Report 1966 V 147; I 247).

Educational reform was needed and rather than attempt to per-

suade each individual school board to make the needed reforms, the

238

Minister of Education, by shifting the burden of taxation and primary
allocation to himself, gained an effective mechanism with which to
effect such change. Centralization became the tool by which the
Minister of Education was able to assert his power (Moreux 1969:83).
The transfer of power this initiated was not easily accepted and Gagnon
and Gousse report, on the regionalization process in the Gaspé, that:
the Opposition to regionalization here stems essentially from the
Bishop and most of the clergy: it is above all a matter of
ideology; based on the primacy of the parish that ought (doite) to
integrate the life of every individual from cradle to grave (314).
Viewed in this context, the process of regionalization begun in the mid-
19603 did not represent the outcome of needs specific to the rural
English-speaking population but rather stemmed from problems and needs
within the larger Francophone society. The rationales for regionali-
zation were bureaucratic and financial and the educational benefits
culture specific, but the dangers inherent in regionalization were
recognized by many in the Townships, namely a loss of local control
over the educational system. The North Hatley School Commission was
particularly adamant in their resistance to regionalization, both
secondary and elementary, a conflict we will now examine.

Educational reform came rapidly to Quebec when under the new
Ministry of Education Operation 55 was begun. Operation 55, described
by one former school board member as the "device designed to destroy
English education" was begun with little reference to the English popu-
lation, as even its name suggests. Its goal was to create 55 Roman
Catholic and 10 Protestant School Boards to administer secondary
education in the Province. A planning committee was set up by the

Regional Board to study the educational needs of the area and to submit

239

a report on their findings in the spring of 1965. The result of the
plan was for the construction of two consolidated or polyvalent schools,
one at Richmond with 1,000 students and the other at Lennoxville
serving 2,700 students. The schools, completed in 1968 and 1969
respectively, would Offer a diversified program and educational
Opportunities unavailable elsewhere and, if the planning committee
succeeded in its task, "would be an important factor in helping hold
the English-speaking population" (Report of the Director General 1965).
The attempt to create this regional school system met with Opposition
as various briefs were filed by interested groups. This was especially
true in late 1966 when the report of the St. Francis Valley Regional
School Board was made public.

As early as 1964, individuals were expressing concern about
"Operation 55" and its implications. On the Quebec Farm Radio Forum in
December 1964, the respondents expressed the Opinion that the advantage
of the regional school would be in the wider range of vocational and
academic subjects that could be taught while roughly equal number
expressed concern over the increased travel distance and to the higher
costs and subsequently higher taxes. A decline in community life and
in the children's identification with their communities and the loss of
community representation on the school board were also mentioned. But,
it was the petition to the Eastern Townships Regional School Board
formulated by the North Hatley School Commissioners on behalf of the
Central School Board and the local boards of Stanstead County which
most systematically critiqued the proposed regionalization. In their
letter of January 16, 1967, the local school commissioners sharply

criticized the preliminary investigations done by the Planning

240

Committee as "largely unscientific, often uninformed, and in some cases
patently valueless" such that "to proceed with construction Of a
regional school on the basis of the present Planning Committee Report
would be a betrayal of the trust placed in those responsible for
education in the three counties." To proceed would lead to unprecedented
chaos in school facilities, financing of education and the very social
structure of the communities concerned. The model for the polyvalent
schools, it was noted, was based on densely settled urban areas in the
United States and they suggested comparisons with sprawling rural areas
in the United States such as Colorado instead. NO professional demog-
rapher had been employed and the projections for the future English
population were short term and based on the "highly dubious principle
of static population." The report "slavishly adheres to a somewhat
questionable notion of 'minimum.size' but takes no account of the proven
danger of 'over size'." The Planning Committee also assumes the
continuing viability of elementary schools in certain areas without
regard for the capacity of "areas on the fringe of the proposed school
system to hold and attract new residents." Another copy of the letter
in French was sent to the Honorable Jean-Jacques Bertrand, the Minister
of Education, in Quebec. The letter is signed by five North Hatley
residents: one university professor, one shopkeeper, two carpenters,
and one construction operator. In the ensuing debates, the point was
raised that this protest had been instigated by the university
professor. In point of fact, the English experience with consolidation
was more than adequate to make them suspicious Of the dangers inherent

in losing the local schools.

241

In her research on the English in the Eastern Townships, Aileen
Ross prepared a listing of the social impact caused by the school con-
solidations beginning in 1905. These losses were perceptable and have
already been considered in part in chapter 6, but Ross lists the fol-
lowing which were well known to the residents: 1) loss of pOpulation--
whenever a school closed the children had to be transported further and
parents tend to leave "educationally remote" farms for farms or towns
where education is more accessible; 2) loss of social focus--without a
central church and no longer in control of the municipal system, the
closing Of local schools means the loss of a "rallying point" and as
the local schools are downgraded from.high to intermediate and inter-
mediate to elementary there is a concommitent loss of prestige, again
making it harder to attract new residents; 3) loss of positions and re-
presentation on the school board--also eliminated a source of prestige
for board members, who, however ineffective, unprogressive or uneducated
they might be, possessed a sense of controlling the educational destiny
of the community; and 4) loss of youth--the consolidated school it was
felt already constributed to the outmigration of youth because the
location of the new schools brought them into a more urban milieu and
the improved training in that milieu prepared them for it (A. Ross
l954b:290-291).

A letter from the School Commissioner of North Hatley to the
Assistant Coordinator of Interregional Bureaus in April 1967 reiterated
these same old concerns and indicated that the mayors in the fringe
areas such as Beebe and Rock Island were expressing increasing concern
over not only the fact of the high school but of the ensuing loss of

the elementary schools as well. There was a growing public dissidence

242

regarding the regional school but the regional board broached no debate
on the topics. Other boards, it should be noted, were submitting fairly
compliant reports but North Hatley and the Stanstead Central Board
continued to pose vexing questions. While the committee expressed its
agreement with the overall objective of the Minister of Education, its
questions went unanswered and many of its fears were confirmed but
Alexander Galt Regional High School opened on schedule in 1968. The
warning that the student population of 3,000 would decline to 1,000
within 10 years was not fulfilled but the enrollment of Galt has been
steadily declining since it reached its peak in 1970-71 at just over
3,000 and is presently at 2,000 and the projection provided by the
Director-General of the School Board shows a possibility of only 1,500
by 1984/85 (The Record, 11/17/79). Plans are already being made to
adapt to the use of small and more fuel efficient busses to handle the
decreased lOad. Although regionalization had removed control over the
high school from the community, it retained control over the elementary
school in conjunction with the Stanstead County Board.

Another dimension of the shift to the polyvalent school is that
for the French communities with their dense population, which in many
cases is able to support the large consolidated school in a semi-local
context, the shift has been very beneficial. The Report of the
Eastern Townships Social Action Group of 1975 on the community of Lac
Megantic provides a good comparison for the relative effect Of the
regionalization program.

The French Canadians have an active social life with a new poly-
valent school and sports arena in the town. The few English
children go to school sixty-five miles away (Alexander Galt) and
usually stay in Lennoxville for the week. Unilinguals live

extremely isolated lives, while bilingual English-speakers are well
accepted (1973:47).

243

For the English students, the clubs which meet in the polyvalent school
offer many new opportunities for activities but since most are bussed
and the catchment areas are so large, some children spend two hours
travelling each way per day. This additional travel time reduces the
Opportunities to participate in after school activities and even for
residents in communities as close as North Hatley, parents are con-
stantly called on to chauffeur their children to and from these after-
school activities.
Even more seriously, these schools isolate the English-speaking
children in their own small community, unexposed to French-speaking
children during the day and arriving at home communities too late to
establish relationships with French children after school. As one
critical parent stated, "the new schools are preparing the children for
export." Language education and the need to keep schools in the
community are topics which dominate the ongoing concerns of those
participants in the continuous array of meetings to discuss the future
of the English in Quebec. In a meeting held on March 21, 1981, the
Townshipper's Association meeting on education recommended improvement
in French language instruction and in saving the local schools. The
keynote address was given by Gary Caldwell, Director of Anglophone
Quebec en Mutation, who remarked that:
common schools would assure better second language instruction for
both French and English students, more efficient use of transport
and other facilities and the development of a sense of awareness
of the other milieu (The Record, 3/23/81).

Catholic and Protestant schools could share administration and

facilities where possible to save on costs and could be resolved by a

parents, teachers, and students in "a spirit of reasonableness." But

244

"moral arguments are impotent with school boards" who have dragged their
feet on immersion programs although Lennoxville did push one through.
The problem, in Caldwell's view, is the administrative structure of the
educational system, defending its own vested interests. The solution,
states Caldwell, is in the common school, which legally defined over-
comes the problems of confessionality "but it would take an exceptional
board to gamble on it" (The Record, 3/23/81). Interestingly, North
Hatley attempted to create a common school for the very reasons
Caldwell listed in 1969 and the results of that attempt serve to point
up problems inherent in the common school movement-name1y resistance
from the French-speaking pOpulation.

In 1969 the small Catholic School in North Hatley anticipated
closing under new directives from the Ministry of Education which would
no longer support schools with enrollments of less than 200 students
(it is believed by some of the newly arrived French in the village that
the English forced the closing of the school). At the same time, the
North Hatley Protestant School Board faced a similar problem. As the
high school students were being transferred to Galt, it was apparent
that the enrollment would fall below the established norms. Although
under the supervision of their respective county boards, both school
committees were duly constituted, legal bodies and in possession of
their buildings and resources. On the initiative of two Université de
Sherbrooke professors, one on the Catholic Board and the other on the
Protestant Board, negotiations were begun on the possibility of forming
a common school. The savings were first in order and stated. The
French stood to save money since sending the children to Sherbrooke or

Waterville would certainly raise their school taxes not to mention

245

increased transportation costs. The two schools could make use of come
bined transportation and reduce administrative costs saving several
thousand dollars. Along with combined kindergartens and teacher
exchanges, the two groups would have separate use of classrooms and
facilities, with the principal drawn from the majority language group
and the vice-principal drawn from the minority group-—anticipating the
time when the English would be the minority in the school. Both school
boards would pay on'a pro-rata basis. Parents of English students were
informed that classes would be in French in the morning and in English
in the afternoon.

The process of winning support was not an easy one and the debate
continued for nearly two years with compromises being attained from both
sides using the flexibility which their relative independence made
possible. Finally the terms had been reached and a questionnaire was
prepared for distribution on May 6, 1971. The vote never occurred. On
the morning of May 3rd the headlines of the Devoir read "The Bosses in
North Hatley Forcing French Children to English School." In his angry
letter to the editor of the Devoir, Dr. Richard Joly stated that "before
the unsubstantiated distortion presented in your paper, the debate over
the school had been lively (impassioned-fixif), but it had been Open and
intellectually honest." The individual, unidentified, who had fabri-
cated the story had done so in the name of nationalism because the
language Bill 63 "obliges us to publically manifest our linguistic
choices." The danger inherentin sharing a school with English children
was perceived by those Opposed-most drawn from the ranks of the
Université de Sherbrooke faculty--and the attempt at a common school

ended with that letter. The common school as a threat to French

246

survival is itself a fairly common theme. A bid to share a school was
repeated in November of 1979 in the town of Mount Royal and led to a
heated debate and the Devoir recently presented a summation and
commentary on a recent study by the Counseil de la Language Francaise
confirming the danger (Le Devoir, 3/1/81 and 3/3/81). Despite the
rejection by the French community, the school commission of North
Hatley was not deterred in its efforts to improve the quality of French
education in the village.

Of the 79 families surveyed on the common school question, the
results show that 61 responded and of them most favored integrated
teachings half days in French. Because North Hatley and Ayer's Cliff
had by this time come to have an institutional principal who supervised
both schools, the Primary French Project was implemented in both schools
in September, 1971. The programs were designed by Graham Cantini, a.
Université de Sherbrooke professor and North Hatley resident, and Roger
Tremblay, a linguist and also of the Université de Sherbrooke. The
goal was to find a viable way of teaching French on a 50-50 basis,
thereby avoiding the total immersion approaches and psychological
methods being tested at that time in St. Lambert and elsewhere in Quebec.
The program they developed was actively oriented using French to dis-
cuss necessary mathematical concepts following the mathematics training
developed by Zolton Dienes and in courses such as art and physical
education. Due to its action orientation, children were found to even
use French in non-academic orientations.

The course was a limited success in Ayer's Cliff where it lacked
the moral if not the outright support of the school board and was never

able to overcome parent distrust and skepticism of a program forced on

247

them by North Hatley. A survey conducted in 1972 indicated that 55 of
57 parents favored continuation of the program in North Hatley and 46
of 52 favored it in Ayer's Cliff. To finance and continue the program,
the communities voted to increase their school taxes to cover the
additional cost of $16,000 which continuing the program over the next
five years would entail. With its consolidation into the Lennoxville
District School Board in 1972, the program was allowed to continue but
declined in effectiveness as new directives and guidelines as well as
programs being developed by the new District School Administration-
began to filter down into the school. The report of the Eastern
Townships Social Action Group noted that French instruction is still
little more than another language course at the regional school but many
small elementary schools have a bilingual curriculum, "Progress in the
area of French instruction on the local community level is bypassing
the regional system" (73). As noted by Caldwell, the administration of
the Lennoxville District School Board had developed with great effort

a pilot French immersion program of which it is justifiably proud

(The Record, 2/7/80). But this new program with the support of the
Lennoxville District School Board Director-General now runs competition
with the indigenous North Hatley program. The person charged with
French as a Second Language for the Lennoxville District School Board
met with parents in North Hatley to explain the advantages of the new
program but it was the feeling of the parents that the existing program,
now regeared to 40 percent French/60 percent English, gives their
children an even better chance to master the French language. The
President of the Townshippers Association himself wrote a letter to the

principal of the North Hatley School expressing the support of the

248

English-Speakers Townshipper's Association for the existing bilingual
program in North Hatley (The Record, 4/17/80). We will take up the
development of the Townshipper's Association shortly, but first let us
briefly consider the process by which the North Hatley School Board was
finally forced to dissolve.

Bill 27 was enacted in 1970 to complete the process of education
reform which had begun with bill 60. Under the provisions of the bill,
provincial councils were to be established by October 15, 1971 to
inventory existing boards, develop plans for integrating staff, to
develop a budget for the new board to be established on July 1, 1972
to administer elementary education. Each such school board was to have
one set of administrators except in those cases where a board may cede
its rights to the regional board. The importance of local consultation
was stressed in order to defend to the fullest the remaining perogative
of minority education in the Townships. In its brief on bill 27, the
North Hatley Board strongly opposed any further moves toward region-
alism:

experience has already shown that regionalization puts a consider-

ably heavier burden On the tax payer who has increasingly less

representation as the structure gets bigger (December, 1971).
In addition, they felt that elementary education would be best served
if it remained under the perview of an administration geared for it
only, leaving secondary education to the regional board. They along
with other boards in the western section of the Eastern Townships
Regional School Board refused to cede their rights to the regional
board and the Lennoxville District School Board was created.

The final act in the creation of the board was finally to force

the North Hatley Board to dissolve itself so that all of its assets

249

could be transferred over to the new district school system. The board
balked at doing this and the government sent representatives, as they
had done during the regionalization resistance. At that time the
visiting civil servant had made the mistake of insinuating that all the
problems being caused by North Hatley were being instigated by those
college professors. The local board did not need that sort of paternal-
ism and informed the ministry representatives that they knew perfectly
well what they were doing and that no professor or bureaucrat could
tell them what they were to do if it was not in their own perceived
best interest. The university professor confirms this, expressing
admiration for the tough and fairminded manner of his board colleagues.
Finally, the North Hatley Consolidated Board did dissolve itself but
under duress since they were informed that if they did not conform, the
grants which supported the school would be withdrawn.

In this discussion, we have seen the process by which the last
unit of effective institutional control had been removed fromthe small
communities. Not only did these small boards and schools-whatever
their faults in curriculumr-know their people, they knew the roads and
the buildings and operated on "human proportions." Now, in the words
of one former chairman, "it's now all run by remote control from Quebec."
This presentation has focused on the negative aspects of the regional
system and the system has its proponents now as it did then.
Regionalization was the inevitable response to a burgeoning bureaucracy
and to the increasing isolation of the English population. The process
by which the regional school was formed and through the actions of other
committees, isolated English-speakers were drawn together in efforts to

define common concerns and seek solutions.

250

As the administrative system in Quebec has shifted increasingly
toward a regionally based system of allocation of funding for the arts
and education and social services, the development of a parallel
structure within the English-speaking community which is able to
identify and articulate the concerns of the population at large was
needed and resulted in the creation of a newspaper focused on the
Townships and their history, the Townships Sun, and a social action
group, the Townshippers Incorporated.

The English-Speakipg;Townshippers
Association

In the period immediately following the election of the Parti
Quebecois in 1976, the English community in the Townships was in
particular disarray. Uncertain about its future under a government
dedicated to the independence of Quebec, faced with increasingly
repressive language legislation, and loosing ground in the growing
complexity of regional services ranging from arts to health care, the
English community lacked leadership. The process which had led to the
formation of the regional schools had formed a basic mechanism to
provide for a collective response. Some organizations had come forward
such as the Eastern Townships Social Action Group, but it was too
intellectual and its leadership tended toward the Parti Quebecois.

There were a number of local and regional historical societies
already in operation, but they were either extremely local in focus or
not possessed of an orientation which would permit them to adapt to the
changing social conditions. The Quebec Farmers Association represents
an uniquely effective organization during this time. The Quebec

Farmers Association was formed in response to a series of agricultural

251

bills passed during the early 19703. Farmers from throughout the
Townships would gather in various communities and discuss, critique,
and read in painstaking detail the entire text of proposed legislation,
formulate their questions and recommendations to the Minister of
Agriculture through the Union des Producteurs Agricoles--Quebec's
official farm union. The Quebec Farmers Association was so successful
in their operation that the government even tried to establish its own
parallel institution for French-speaking farmers but with no success.
The types of networks based on local cells joined by area tables
formed a prototype for the development of the Townshippers Association.

In June 1979, Dr. Camille Laurin, the Minister of State for
Cultural Development, and the architect of Law 101 which was the Object
of much of the anger and frustration of the English-speaking population,
invited about 200 English-speaking "townshippers" to dialogue with him
and other government representatives at Alexander Galt Regional High
School. A steering committee was set up to plan the event under the
leadership of Dr. James Ross, director of the Sherbrooke Hospital, and
who had been active in developing the Regional School Board system.
There was a bit of confusion in the paper over the selection of
delegates and eventually 800 English-speaking townshippers attended the
day-long proceedings. The day included a variety of workshops dealing
with problems in health services, employment, English-language
education, senior citizens' problems, the place of English-speakers in
Quebec and the survival of English cultural institutions (Communication
Quebec: 42-43).

True to form, the government made promises to look into the

recommendations Of the sesion but made no commitments. One result of

252

of the day not suggested by the government was the suggestion that the
community needed a voice, a body to act in its interests, to speak up
for it, to help find the answers to its questions. About 25 individuals
had been involved in planning the initial meeting and they met again
this time over several sessions attempting to formulate goals for their
group to pursue. They met again in October 1979 in a public meeting,
this time without government assistance, and it was attended by several
hundred individuals. The people in attendance went through another day
of workshops, but they ended the day by electing a Board of Directors,
endorsing the proposed goals and activities set out in the workshops
and seeking ways for generating active English involvement in the
community and government.

The strength of the Association is that it is a grass roots
movement. The Board set up a series of operating committees dealing
with finance and membership, organizing the association around a

series of "regional tables,’ each holding its own meetings and setting
its own priorities. These regional tables keep the level of decision
making and discussion localized while providing representatives to the
board which then can speak for the larger group. The Association is

not "reactionary" to quote one board member, it does not act to block

or Oppose provincial policy, but rather it seeks ways to make use of the
government services present. The Board is then able to represent English
interests before various regional boards and committees by recruiting
bilingual and bicultural individuals who may Operate effectively in

this domain.

Thus far, the Board has been able to affect the manner in which

funds for the establishment of a regional arts program would be

253

allocated. The regional center was to have been operated exclusively
out of the Université de Sherbrooke, in effect reducing English access,
input and the funding decisions heavily in Francophone control. During
the summer of 1980, the Townshippers Board received funds from the
Federal Government as part of a minority support program and used the
funds to research the location of services which are available, provide
information on them in English, and convey to the appropriate agencies
information on the types of problems faced by English-speakers in trying
to deal with their departments.

In addition, there has been the formation of several newspapers.
The Townships Sun was the first formally introducing the term
"townshippers" in 1975. The major shift came with the redefinition of
the Sherbrooke Record, which had been owned by Conrad Black whose
enterprises include Massey-Ferguson and Domtar. In 1977, George
MacLaren, a 44 year-old Montreal lawyer who had been born in Bonville,
decided that the Sherbrooke Record needed local ownership to better
serve the community. He bought the paper from Black and hired James
Duff as editor (The Montreal Gazette, 11/6/79). The Sherbrooke Record
gained readership when the Montreal §£§£_went out of circulation in
March 1979 but the feature which makes the Record unique among Quebec's
English language papers is that it is the only one owned and Operated.
by native Quebeckers. Its editorial policy reflects local needs and
concerns and both MacLaren and his wife are active with the Townshippers
Association. In November 1979 the Sherbrooke Record underwent a name
change, back to simply the Record (Record, 11/21/79). Emphasizing
issues and stories reflecting the history and social life of the

English-speaking population, its circulation campaign was entitled

254

"Its About Us" helped to establish it as the paper for the English
Townshippers and it was the Record that broke the news of the "Arab
takeover" in North Hatley, a topic which we will examine in the next

chapter.

Summary

In this chapter we have considered the changes in the infra-
structure Of North Hatley which moved the effective resource base out
of the community, thereby weakening local control. We have also looked
at the changes which occurred in French society stemming from the rise
of an educated bureaucratic middle class and their efforts to displace
the firmly entrenched Catholic Church. The acceptance of industriali-
zation and a desire for modernizatiOn led to the reevaluation of the
educational system and launched a series of reforms which effectively
terminated local control over education. We have also seen that this
local control, while it lacked financial resources, showed itself to
be quite flexible in adapting to locally perceived needs. In the
following chapter we will examine some of the specific events surround-
ing the latest attempt at development in the village and the dimensions
of class and ethnic confrontation it has brought out. We will also
consider the way in which the local community has adapted its
institutions to provide the necessary social and cultural support and
the use it has made of the remaining institutions to preserve its
sense of control. The increasing availability of outside power vested
in the provincial government in the form of language laws and historic
presentation acts also become new elements in the ongoing dynamics of

ethnic interaction and these will be examined as well.

CHAPTER VIII
NORTH BAILEY: REACTION TO RECENT CHANGES

In this chapter we will explore the way in which the functioning
of a local institution, the municipal council, is determined by those
larger structures which form its environment and act to limit its range
of options or make demands of it. The new political mechanisms which
are being introduced by the provincial government have radically changed
the rules of the game for the municipal council and other institutions
in NOrth Hatley. Where they had once been independent units with
minimal linkages to external agencies (not integrated into larger
structures) the council and local institutions now find themselves
increasingly constrained by these external agencies. This tranformation
has limited some of the old ways of doing things, complicating processes,
while at the same time opening new possibilities: power is increasingly
becoming a function of the ability to manipulate these external
potentials. Access to this power requires knowledge of French and of
how these systems work, a change which is putting increasing value on
bilingual, educated individuals who are able to bridge these gaps. Thus
NOrth.Hatley not only has to interact with the increasingly complex
Francophone bureaucracy but also recruit leaders who can deal with it
as the expense of those, the traditional leaders, who had used the
council as a mechanism for prestige. These traditional leaders had

Often been unilingual.

255

256

The provincial government in the past ten years has radically
modified the laws governing municipal affairs and the government itself
has shifted its approach from one of essential passivity, waiting for
municipalities to make requests for services, to an active role,
forcing changes in municipal taxation, zoning, land use and administra-
tion.

The single most interesting feature of the shift in the case of
North Hatley is that it has not only been penetrated-by provincial
government changes but by a multi-national corporation, again not
uncommon for Quebec except that this one is owned by Arab interests.
North Hatley is faced with trying to maintain control over its resources
in the face of a private corporation owned and directed by one man with
resources much vaster than the village's. This requires equally power-
ful political and legal actions to maintain a semblance of control over

him.

Class Structure - Social Structure

Although encapsulated within the burgeoning regional and
national economic systems increasingly dominated by foreign, British and
American, capital, North Hatley before 1960 constituted a relatively
closed economic and social environment. Thus it is legitimate to speak
of a class structure in the village during that period provided it is
viewed in relation to the local infrastructure.

The local bourgeoisie did exercise control over certain,
strategic resources and employment in the village but their ability to
exercise that power could only be effectively translated into social

control through their participation in local associations and

257

institutions. This "upper class" was preponderantly English-speaking.

Their collective "English" domination of the associational and economic
life of the village heightened ethnic divisions between the French and

English residents.

Working class English-speakers were aware of the class differ-
ences within their community, differences which were mediated by common
social networks such as the Masonic Lodge, the curling club, and the
Canadian Legion, which they shared with the local upper class. The
local bourgeoisie dominated the municipal council and lower class
English-speakers perceived this domination in class terms. The French-
speaking residents shared their alienation but isolated economically and
culturally from the associational life of the village perceived it in
ethnic rather than class terms. This inability to differentiate class
differences within the English community or to recognize the class
dynamics of their own situation is not unique to North Hatley but marks
French-English relations at many levels of Quebec society.

After 1960 the penetration of the local infrastructure by
national and regional structures moved the locus of power out of the
village and into wider economic and political arenas. This shift
diminished the importance of class dynamics in determining local events.
In its place a sharp division emerged between those whose economic
interests are tightly aligned with the village and those employed out-
side the village for whom it has a predominately residential character.

However marked the class distinctions between the local working
and upper class English they both shared a common interest in the
development of the local infrastructure. This concern distinguishes

them from the American summer colony, the retirees, and a new class of

258

professionals now residing in North Hatley. The recent history of the
village is marked by confrontations over develOpment between those who
view the village in residential and suburban terms--cottagers, profes-
sionals, retirees--and those who define it in functional and utilitarian
terms-local merchants, businessmen, workers. Better educated and with
social networks extending away from the village, the new professionals
have eschewed membership in the traditional institutions and
associations. Having placed themselves outside the pale of the tradi-
tional networks and social controls, the professionals must address
their concerns directly to the council or through their own specialized
associations thereby heightening the social divisions within the
community.

These differences were clearly manifest in the controversy sur-
rounding the proposal made by an Arab developer who sought to purchase
and renovate the entire commercial district of the village. The pro-
posed development, opposed by the professionals and welcomed by the
traditional leaders, triggered a series of confrontations we will
examine in this chapter. Before proceeding to this discussion we must
first consider the effect political restructuring has had on the

composition and operation of the municipal council.

The Municipal Council and Change
The fact that the English-speaking population of North Hatley
has been able to retain control of the municipal council makes it
unique among the villages in the Eastern Townships. The control of the
municipal council is treated most often as some sort of bone of

contention between French and English (groups are constantly devising

259

strategies for taking over control of the council), but the control it-
self is more a symbolic act since there is no political plum to be
gained. Municipal councils by and large are burdened with the most
mundane of problems (sewers, roads, lights, water treatment, and
maintenance of essential services such as snow plowing and repairing
broken water pumps and lines). Far from being the ultimate seat of
local power which would permit one ethnic group to dominate the other,
the control is a task generally eschewed by both French and English
alike. The position of Councilman is a thankless task. Unpaid
volunteers, councillors donate their time, services and expertise--there
have been more counsillors who have been contractors and tradesmen than
merchants and shopkeepers-to oversee the maintenance of those essential
village services.

The task of the local councilman has become increasingly diffi—
cult over the past 20 years as the composition of the rural villages,
the demands for services, and provincial policies have all changed.

The council is a source of some personal prestige but most of the
council members were already participants in dense personal networks
through a variety of clubs and service organizations, a feature which in
effect qualified them for the position of Councilman. All the council
members interviewed stressed one point--the role of the council is to
serve the entire community and to mediate arguments. The notion of
special interest representation would, in their Opinion, serve only to
obstruct the successful operation of the council. Council members make
full use of their wide ranging social contacts to mediate disputes and
to obtain essential services. This system of personal networks is

breaking down under the demands of new residents who do not participate

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in the traditional village networks and who tend to treat and react to
the council as though they were the bureaucratic functionaries found in
the urban areas from which most of these newcomers came. Problems
which were once quickly and effectively settled locally, now become an
item for judicial appeal. "It used to be that if your water pipe broke
your neighbor would help you fix it, now if it breaks he tells you to
fix it or he'll sue you for damages." This recourse to external legal
system structures poses a problem for the council and mars the pro-
ceedings of the council.

During the course of my research I observed with increasing
frequency the following sort of exchange in council meetings. "Mr. X
owes us $300 for the new sewer line we put into his house, but says we
tore up his driveway in putting it in and won't pay until we repair it.
If we press it, he will take us to court." "Why try, even if we do
win we'll lose it all in court costs." "Enough negative thinking, I'm
sick and tired of your negative thinking." As in the case of the local
school boards, local control often meant deflated budgets due to the
desire of councillors under peer pressure to maintain a low tax level
and village services were not always as modern as some would have
liked, but when functioning the municipal council was a reasonably
effective mechanism for maintaining the essential community services
and the social order through the enactment of by-laws dealing with local
problems and through personal intervention.

The control of the council as an ethnic issue is a specious
argument in several respects. In North Hatley, beginning in the 19303,
the French population was represented by at least one councillor although

because of personal or business interests, he would have shared common

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concerns with his fellow council members which were not shared by the
French community at large. The situation in North Hatley was further
complicated, as we have seen, by the summer resident population which,
while it paid large sums in taxes, made comparable demands for increased
services. If there were no sidewalks in the "French section" up
Capleton Road, neither were there sidewalks in the working class
"English section" along River Street. Decisions affecting the alloca-
tion of local tax revenues were made by local businessmen and merchants
serving on the council and generally with an eye to improving business
and commerce.- Self serving as this may appear to some Observers, during
the period prior to 1960 when the community was dependent on the local
resource base for employment their group interests coincided. In fact,
the council has been frequently criticized for having failed to develop
the commercial potential further. At the level of essential services,
the interests of the French and English residents tended to be much the
same, although the ethnic tensions of their identification tended to

put all decisions in a "them" versus "us" category as if there were
actually differences in the respective social and material needs of the
two groups.

The essential feature of the council, mentioned earlier (Waddell
1974:40) was that participation in the council meant that the English who
had retained control of the council could feel that they had a mechanism
with which to deal with problems on their own terms and it is at the
level of determining on just whose terms decisions would be made and in
whose language that the ethnic conflict in the council centered, a
cultural not a functional issue. Council activity, or inactivity, is

still treated in ethnic terms, particularly among the newly arrived

262

Quebecois ("No one was there to turn the lights on at the outdoor ice
rink for us to play balon-baliene. They [the "English"] must not want
us [the "French"] to use the facility.) The council regularly paid its
third of the cost for hospitalization for residents both French and
English under the Quebec Public Charities Act of 1920, worked with the
parish priest to obtain seed grain and fertilizer for French farmers
during the Depression and provided for welfare cases, but underlying the
conflict is the matter of prestige, which as the defining characteristic
of the ethnic groups shifted from religion to language in the 19703 and
became all the more acute.

The growing French Canadian nationalism became more pronounced
in the late 19603 and with the influx of French-speaking nationalists
mainly from the Université.de Sherbrooke, this new Quebec nationalism
began to make itself felt in the village, much to the distress of the
English-speaking residents.' It was the potter Michel Denis who launched
the first direct threat on the council as an English domain, triggering
a round of microethnic confrontation. M. Denis received his annual tax
statement from the village prepared by their English-speaking town
clerk, it was not in French. During a period in which Quebec national-
ists were challenging the Canadian Pacific Railroad over language rights
when asked by conductors for their "Tickets, pleasel," M. Denis took up
the cause in North Hatley. He refused to pay his taxes until he
received a cOpy of the billing in French and made several appearances
before the council refusing to speak English. His heated challenge
evoked the anger of several unknown individuals and he began to receive
threatening phone calls. During the peak of the crisis, distressed by

the threat of violence, local English-speaking leaders began to stay with

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him until the situation cooled. M. Denis shortly left the village and
moved to another village, his departure was an embarrassing reminder to
the village.

During the same period, a French woman, Madame D., decided to
challenge the use of English in the local stores. Encountering clerks
who did not speak French, she would begin shouting at them in a loud
voice, attracting attention and creating an embarrassing scene. This
direct challenge to the unquestioned use of English in an informal
public domain caused a good deal of ill will and the growing feeling
among the English population that at last the "damned Separatists" had
invaded the community. Madame D. pressed her offensive by running for
a seat on the council in the fall election. Besides her public French
activism, she was also the first woman ever to run for a council seat
and in a campaign that elicited considerable fury was overwhelmingly
defeated. In the next year's election, a woman was finally elected to
the council, bilingual and English, she had been approached by repre-
sentatives of several local community service organizations and asked to
run for the seat with their support.

The sense of peril was heightened during the late 19603 when
the Quebec Liberation Front (FLQ) was planting bombs in Montreal and
Quebec and was especially tense during 1970 when FLQ cells kidnapped
British Trade Envoy James Cross and former Minister Pierre LaPorte.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which like the FBI has jurisdiction
in federal crimes, suspected that the kidnappers might be hiding in
the Lake Massawippi area and the "Mounties on the Mountain" became a
common point of discussion. Their presence in some ways relieved the

tension when it was observed that there were "fisherman" with polished

264

shoes and crewcuts, fishing on the lake carrying binoculars in their
tackle boxes, and "Mountie watching" became something of a popular local
diversion. As the heat of the War Measures Act dissipated and the
degree of national over-reaction was more clearly assessed, the commun-
ity began its steady shift to accepting an active French presence and

in 1972, Madame D. found herself on a committee composed of the very
local woman who had so vehemently opposed her campaign. This committee
was working to obtain federal money for a Local Initiatives Program,
which we will now discuss.

North Hatley's traditional strategy for autonomy had been one of
Opting-out. By not participating in federal or provincial funded pro-
grams, the council had been able to maintain a degree of independence
and freedom of action not possible with outside monies which brought
their own set of guidelines. A frequently heard complaint is that there
is no summer recreational program in the community but rather a local
youth is paid as a lifeguard. Outside monies might be available but in
order to obtain them, a set of guidelines would invariably be imposed.
This fear,of change and loss of local control caused by such programs
was realized in 1972 when, through a Local Initiatives Program, a
Community Center was attempted.

The program was initiated by several members of both the French
and English communities and involved Mde. D.as well as some of her
major opponents. Through funds available from a federal grant, money
would be provided to hire a full-time bookkeeper and part-time staff to
Operate the proposed Community Center which was to be housed in the
former French Catholic school. Due to the forceful character of Mde. D,

who was teaching at a Sherbrooke CEGEP, the summer staff was quickly

265

filled with French—Canadian students, leaving only a few Openings for
those locals who were unemployed at the time. These young people were
separatism incarnate to the villagers in the summer Of 1972 and their
manner and lifestyle shocked the residents. A backlash was growing and
when programming in the winter failed-more due to lack of trained
leadership for such a program than to ineptitude or ill will--the
program was eventually abandoned when the town council, which owned the
lease on the school building, withdrew the lease.

The experience from the Community Center was not all bad for
while it did serve to confirm the worst fears of the local residents
that the introduction Of outside programs would inevitably result in a
further loss of control over local resources, it did serve to bring
issues into the open. The village has changed markedly in its
attitudes since 1972 and the former director of the project, himself a
lifelong resident of the community, remarked that today the presence of
13 French-Canadian youths in the village would scarcely be noticed much
less be the source of discord that they were eight years ago.

It was the coming of the language legislation in the form of
Bill 22 and subsequently Bill 101 that had profound effects. The .
educational measures of Bill 101 limited access to English school with
the exception of only those children already in school or with siblings
in English school at the time of the bill's enactment, to only the
children of parents who had themselves Eggh been educated in English
school in Quebec. This bill threatens the future of the North Hatley
Elementary School, although another law enacted about the same time by
the Parti Quebecois called the Derniére Ecole d'un Village on Quartier

protects the last school in a village from closing. The Bill 101 did,

266

however, introduce a new element into the operation of municipal govern-
ment by making the use of French manditory and provided an enforcement
body in the Office de Langue Francaise, an agency which has made its
presence felt in the local communities and by its actions increased the
paranoia of much of the rural English-speaking population.

In the 19th century a visiting French cleric remarked that the
French-Canadian pOpulation must be half Indian and illustrated it by
pointing out the widespread use of Indian words as place names in
Quebec. In reaction to this comment, a series of name changes began
and the names of Quebec villages constitutes a longer recitation of
Saints' names than does the Rogation Day liturgy. The issue of place
names was addressed by the Office de la Langue Fraincaise during the

period of research and the issue of typonomie was the subject of some

 

very hardline texts by radical nationalists who perceive the use of
English anywhere in Quebec as a sign of the colonial yoke which has or
had (depending on one's point of view) subjugated the Quebecois. Mixed
in the growing flood of bureaucratic paperwork filling the offices of
the rural municipalities of Quebec was a request from the Office de la
Langue Francaise for a listing of all the street names in the community.
In the extremely well integrated community of Mansonville, the town
secretary, Edouard "Eddie" Lessard, complied only to receive an inquiry
from the Office demanding to know why there were so many English street
names. Lessard, in less than good albeit candid humor, replied that it
was because those were the names of the streets. The Office sent a
field team.into the community and began to change street names:
descriptive names like River Street were changed to Rue de Riviére,

while those with personal names such as Sargeant's Hill Road were

267

changed to Rue de collin Sargeant, instead of the proper translation of
Rue Sargent's Hill which bore witness to the historic role of the
Sargeant family in settling the entire hillside. Such changes, petty
though they may appear, are of major symbolic importance to both sides:
the French marking their "reconquest" and the English seeing their
history obliterated before their eyes. The Townshippers Association
has taken steps to mediate the policy of the Office de la Langue
Fraincaise in this regard, but language in municipal affairs extends
even deeper, as a tool to manipulate the council.

In the municipality of Hatley, the population shift discussed in
the preceeding chapter has meant that the population has become pre-
dominately French and that there has been a proportionate increase in
the number of French councillors. Several years ago, following the
election of an English farmer as mayor, some factionalism.arose on the
council generated by a French-speaking council member. It seems he had
promised a spot zoning change to a friend which was technically outside
the permitted range of zoning in that section. When the new mayor
balked at the proposed change, the council member challenged him and the
municipal council backed the new mayor and a fight began. The council
was divided and hamstrung over a series of issues and the council member
threatened his resignation if not accommodated. Finally he sought to
discredit the council using the lever provided by Bill 101. The
councillor brought a reporter from La Tribune, the French language
daily in Sherbrooke, to show how the regulation on the use of French in
public meetings was being flaunted. Forwarned, the mayor had prepared
for the meeting to the extent of even having the opening prayer trans-

lated into French and conducted the entire meeting in that language.

268

Frustrated, the councillor turned in his resignation, as he frequently
did, but this time, the new mayor appraised of the proper procedures
established in the Municipal Code, handed the resignation to the
Secretary/Treasurer making the resignation Official and final. Besides
serving as a tool in dealing within the council, the threat of noncomr
pliance and the need to conduct business in French--despite the
linguistic composition of the population--has put some very marked
constraints on the selection of councillors.

In the municipality of Hatley there is a subdivision known as
Hatley Acres. Although started as an exclusive development, the
developers found they had increasingly to call upon the municipality to
provide services, something resented by some in the municipality despite
the high tax revenues the area generates. The subdivision, once
exclusively English, was until last summer represented by the daughter
Of Lucien Dumont, now married to an English businessman. When her
husband transferred toOntario, she left and the Hatley Acres residents
had been unable to find a replacement for her. They have a variety of
highly competent individuals who could serve the municipal council well
but who lack the necessary skills in French to do so. In addition, as
municipalities become increasingly involved with external agencies,
such as the county council or with regional development boards, the
need for French-speaking council members to represent the village on
these boards has increased. In North Hatley, of six board members
only two are fluently bilingual and they, along with the mayor, are
called on to represent the village in a steadily increasing number of
extra-village contexts. This has meant that language skills have come

to play an increasingly important role in the selection of councillors

269

and several of those whose families have long records and tradition of
community service find themselves unable to represent the community in
those areas where increasingly the important decisions affecting the
village are being made. They express frustration at this change of
events.

In the fall election, the ethnic dimension was manifest in two
separate contexts. In the mayoral election, the young unilingual owner
of a local restaurant-was running against the incumbent, bilingual
French mayor. A committee was formed to support the mayor's reelection,
which had taken on added significance because of a hotly contested by-
law referendum over new zoning regulations which had proceeded the
election. In the by-law referendum, the French vote was very much in
question since many of the French saw the issue of development as "an
English problem," but in examining the voter roles for people to
contact whose votes might be swayed for the incumbent mayor, the mayor
simply informed the committee that the French votes "were in his hip
pocket." At the level of municipal elections there was no question of
the overriding solidarity of the ethnic vote.

In the same election, another local busine33man was running
against an incumbent councilman who, although a Franco-Ontarian by birth
and very active in the English-speaking community, represented the only
French seat on the council. Late in the campaign, which was running in
favor of the challenger who was English, a prominent citizen and friend
of the challenger realized that if he were to win, the mayor would be
the only French representative on the council. Feeling that the English
in the village had better recognize the French presence or "pay the

consequences" for ostracizing the French from power down the road, he

270

called the candidate and informed him that despite their friendship he
was withdrawing his support and would recommend his friends do the same.
Asked by the candidate if he thought he should withdraw, he offered no
opinion but the problem would be withdrawing after having such solid
support from a large segment of the community without having formally
stated his reasons, which might have proven a source of embarrassment

to himself and others. Instead, voters on the morning of the election
were greeted with the strange rumor that the night before this front
running candidate had appeared at the Canadian Legion quite inebriated
and proceeded to make a scene, insulting patrons and bending fenders

in the parking lot. He did not appear at the polls to greet voters as
did the incumbent nor did he make any effort to dispell or explain the
reports of his erratic behavior. The message was received by the voters
that for some reason he did not want the election and he was subsequently
defeated in the election. This event serves to illustrate the manner

in which political changes occurring outside the village increasingly
affect the dynamics of ethnic interaction. The penetration of local
municipal structures goes beyond language however as the Quebec govern-
ment, particularly under the leadership of the Parti Quebecois, has
acted forcefully to bring about improvements in the quality of municipal

services both directly and indirectly.

Police Protection
One such example of indirect penetration came as a result of a
change in the provincial law governing police officers. The Quebec
government recognized the need to improve the quality of police service

and attain uniformity in training and qualifications. Under a police

271

reform act in 1976, municipalities would thereafter be required to hire
only those individuals who had been trained in the Nicolet Police
Academy. The Academy did not provide a direct placement service but did
work through Manpower Canada in placing its graduates.

Prior to the law, North Hatley, as we have seen, had employed
local residents who served as village constables. Stan Meigs was the
last of these officers and working with Charlie Kidd maintained speed
traps and controlled local disturbances. Local offenses were dealt with
locally wherever possible as in the 1964 case when a local youth
"sufficiently alarmed the public" by an act of indecent exposure at a
Labor Day gathering "to require grave action" (North Hatley Minutes,
9/14/64). There was talk of reporting the incident to the Attorney
General but formal legal channels were bypassed when the parents of the
youth accompanied by their lawyer appeared before the council in camera
on October 5, 1964. NO minutes were taken of the meeting but agreement
was reached and the youth pleaded inebriation and proper redress was
determined. Acting in this fashion, the local council was able to
maintain order without engaging the Offending party in formal legal
procedures yet able to effect local binding sanctions. This was the way
most offenses were handled unless the gravity was such as to require the
assistance of the Quebec Provincial Police.

As constable, Stan Meigs was not always in agreement with the
council and occasionally an insinuation of favoratism on either side
coloured the interaction. Stan had "resigned" numerous times over
various disputes but in 1976 the mayor took him up on his resignation
and replaced him with his assistant, Charlie Kidd. Since the law

allowed those who were presently serving to continue, Kidd was not

272

required to attend Nicolet but when he quit in April 1977 a trained
replacement was required. The responsibility of finding a replacement
fell to the Police Committee of the municipal council and under pressure
of residents for police service-locals because of the speeding on the
Katevale Road and summer residents for fear of winter break-ins, the
committee interviewed a number of candidates before selecting a recent
graduate of Nicolet. Opinions over the new policeman's performance
vary from individual to individual. To some he was ideal, putting on
first aid and safety demonstrations for the children at the elementary
school with the help of local fire and ambulance squads. To others,

he was a "maniac" who enforced local speed ordonnances too strictly and
was "out to get the English." Underlying the case was a matter of
economics. The cost of police services using a qualified professional
increased from a few thousand dollars paid former constables to nearly
$25,000 for police services, retirement, and the benefit package
required by law. Some residents felt that there was a need for pro-
tection of property while Others with less to protect felt that the
policeman was an unnecessary burden serving only to protect the wealthy
residents. The local "red necks" objected to his handling of speeding
violations while others countered their objections with the observation
that maybe speed laws were only for visitors. The fight ended in the
spring of 1980 when a referendum was passed for the non-renewal of
funds for police services and the selling of the police car. The
Quebec Provincial Police now patrol the town working out of the
Coaticook Post and passing through the village once a day and twice at

night.

273

Municipal Reform

The direct impact of the government is felt at the local level
through a series of bills designed to reform rural and municipal
operations. In the past government services had been basically
passive, if a service was needed the community could contact the local
Member of National Assembly who would then obtain the needed service--
speed in delivery was a function of the village's voting record in the
previous election. The municipal reform acts have created an active
bureaucracy no longer content to wait for requests but dedicated to
change and actively promoting it, developing provincial level guidelines
for every phase of municipal services. Using provincial funding or
provincial cosignorship as a lever for conformity, funds are not avail-
able to communities unless their development plans conform to provincial
policies and directives. North Hatley needs a new water system and one
member of the council familiar with the possible systems based on a
lifetime of Operation of such a system feels that they could construct
a gravity feed system. A reservoir built up on Massawippi Mountain
would assure a steady flow of water to all of the village even those
newer homes built high on the east side hill where several subpumping
stations are now required to deliver water and where service in some
parts now ends about 9:30 p.m; due to a quirk in the pump system. A
reservoir 10' x 10' x 8' could be built by a local contractor high on
the west side hill and would supply water to the village for a modest
cost. To get the money, however, would require conformity to existing
provincial and federal guidelines and cost the village an estimated
$100,000. Because of the cost of repairs and construction to comply

with the guidelines, the town has to borrow money to do anything.

274

The dangers of non-compliance are not idle speculation. Gary
Caldwell in his address to the Townshippers reported a recent incident
in a town of 600 near Cowansville where they too were faced with a
similar water problem. The town council devised a plan which would
supply water for $13,000 and the mayor took the plan to Quebec City to
obtain funds. The plan was vetoed by authorities on the grounds that
it did not meet norms and they proposed instead a $43,000 project.

"The municipality quietly did it the $13,000 way, piping water from a
local spring to their reservior via a gravity feed. The secretary/
treasurer was so proud of local initiative that he bragged about it to
someone in his store who happened to be an Environmental Ministry
official. The ensuing uproar was not over whether the water was safe
to drink [it was] but over the municipality's flouting the law" QThg
Record, 3/23/81). As the preceeding case illustrates, the problem of
dealing with the provincial government is not unique to North Hatley as
an English village although it can, as we have seen, have some distinct
ethnic ramifications.

In a report prepared by Sarah Scott on the resignation of South
Stukey's fourth municipal secretary in less than a year, the essential
problems of municipal-provincial relations are covered (The Record,
4/24/81). The new municipal laws were designed to bring a semblance of
order to what was perceived as-a chaotic state of affairs at the
municipal level especially in regard to the administration of lands.
The goal in the municipal reforms was to bring more control to the local
level, that is, more democracy. But as Michael Poirier, a North Hatley
resident and Université de Sherbrooke law professor specializing in

urban and environmental affairs, points out, "The Quebec government wants

275

municipalities to be more democratic but the result is less democracy

at the local level because local people don't understand the law so they
have less power." When the Quebec government reformed the municipalities
law it failed to take into account the fact that 1,000 of the province's
1,500 municipalities have fewer than 3,000 residents. These small
governments are overburdened with their responsibilities and cannot
handle all their tasks (The Record, 4/24/81). Secretaries are unable to
keep abreast of changes occurring and in the combined Hatley-North Hatley
Municipal Office, where the two municipalities share the services of one
and a half secretaries, are unopened government booklets explaining
policy and financial reform programs. Few councillors and fewer

secretaries have the time to even read the monthly Municipalities

 

published by the Quebec Municipal Affairs Ministry which provides
monthly summaries of major programs and policy changes. Although the
financing of programs at the local level was removed in an attempt to
permit better services, many councils are simply unable to cope with the
vast new responsibilities bestowed on them as when the provincial
government imposed four new laws on them reforming municipal affairs.
The first of these provincial laws, Bill 90, protects agri-
cultural land by setting up green zones--intended for agricultural use--
and white zones in all municipalities in the province. Bill 125, an
even more complex law, revises zoning changes and requires zoning in
municipalities like Hatley, which until 1979 did not have any. Both
bills require provincial approval and in the case of Bill 125, rezoning
that formerly could be changed Overnight by passing a resolution now
requires three months and then only changes conforming to the regional

zoning plan may be approved. Bill 105 changed the rules for municipal

276

elections. Bill 57 completely changed the tax laws and the way in which
municipalities evaluate houses and property. A reduction in the regular
provincial grants which make up the bulk of spending money in some

small municipalities from 25 percent to 10 percent would be Offset by
having more taxes collected locally. The councillors would be made more
locally accountable by deriving much of their operating revenue directly
from the local tax base, but at a possible net reduction in tax

revenues (The Record, 12/21/79). The formulas involved in this process
are extremely complicated and require electronic processing. For a
municipality like Hatley where tax rolls are computed by hand, this is

a growing burden.

In addition to changing the manner of local financing, Bill 57
has serious ramifications for school boards as well. The bill drastic-
ally curtailed the rights of school commissions to levy and collect
taxes. Although most of the operating funds for the Lennoxville
District School Board come from provincial grants, Bill 57 removes what
remains of the school board's autonomy (The Record, 12/29/79) in taxing
locally to provide programs classified as "admissables" (permitted by
the Ministry of Education but not eligible for government subsidy) such
as the French-as-a-Second-Language program and surplus teachers. The
sections of Bill 57 dealing with school financing were opposed not only
by the Quebec Association of Protestant School Boards but by the
Catholic Association as well (The Record, 2/9/80, 2/13/80). The courts
did not repeal the contested clauses in the Municipal Reform Act, Bill
57, which limits a school board's tax intake to a 6 percent ceiling of
their overall budget or 25¢ per $100 valuation depending on whichever

is hit first. "Because our population is so sparse and the territory

277

we cover is so large, our expenses are larger than other boards in
Quebec. Therefore it is necessary for us to have a surcharge to keep
the standard of education people want for their children" (Garth

Fields, Lennoxville District School Board Finance Director, The Record,

 

4/18/80).

The two municipalities of Hatley and North Hatley are finding
increasing need to share resources and councillors in both groups
speculate that under the growing burden of provincial regulation and
procedures, it may again become necessary to consolidate smaller
municipalities into larger units, "moving city hall farther from the
people" and creating the need for a new group of professional adminis-
trators at the local level to effectively manage local affairs.

It was in the areas of zoning reform and cooperative legal
action that the municipalities of Hatley and North Hatley are starting
to unite. Much of this impetus is, as we have°seen, brought about by
the increasing complexity of municipal administrative requirements, but
in the Hatley-North Hatley area this conjuncture is furthered by the
need to react constructively in the face of a major development on the
part of a new Arab resident whose Operation promises unprecedented

growth to the area but also an unprecedented loss of local control.

The Arab Invasion
In March 1979, the Sherbrooke Record reported the story that an
Arab investor and entrepreneur, a Mr. Saad Gabr, who had been residing
in the Hatley Acres development for several years, was proposing a
multi-million dollar development project to be centered in North Hatley.
The project involved the purchase of the business core of the community,

the redevelopment of local commerce to serve an international clientele,

278

and the establishment of a high technology electronics and manufacturing
and marketing center which would also serve to train Arab and Muslim
world personnel in the areas of research, manufacturing and marketing
(The Record, 3/15/79). The word of this plan broke unexpected on the
community. Little was known of Mr. Gabr except that he lived in Hatley
Acres for five years and held several patents on sound reproduction
equipment manufactured in part by Leigh Industries of Montreal. A
conspiracy theory rapidly developed as it was learned that working
through agents: Leslie Howard, the developer of Hatley Acres and a
Lennoxville building supply dealer; Paul Van Vlack, an Ottawa investment
counselor; and Alec Baptist, the former Sherbrooke Industrial
Commissioner (The Montreal Star, 2/28/79), Mr. Gabr had purchased a
large portion of the commercial real estate in North Hatley without
anyone being aware it had happened. With this discovery, the extent

and levels at which development of North Hatley had been targeted and
discussed without the knowledge of the residents began to surface.

Mr. Gabr was introduced to the area as a result of inquiries he
had made at Quebec House in London to assess the licensing viability of
certain patents for Canadian exploitation in 1972. In January 1973 Mr.
Gabr presented his rough plans for develOpment to the Ministry of
Industry, Trade and Commerce. He was brought to the Sherbrooke region
to work on an industrial development program being carried out through
the Université de Sherbrooke and during this time met Mr. Baptist and
came to know the North Hatley area. During the intervening five years,
little is known of his activities, but in September 1978 he hosted a
large delegation of representatives from several Arab countries,

including Prince Mohammad e1 Faisal of Saudi Arabia, for a five-day

279

visit. Protesting the excitement generated by the press, he remarked
that his friends had only come to visit but in a more candid comment

to the Record noted that his studies were completed and they were ready
to review and implement his plans (Record, 9/13/78), but no specific
mention was made of North Hatley and attention was focused on the new
Sherbrooke industrial park.

In early 1979 several politicians, both federal and provincial,
were apparently contacted by Mr. Gabr but seemed to stay at a distance
from the project. It would appear that the portfolio for the proposed
develOpment had already passed through the regional development office
and on to the provincial and federal ministers of industry, trade and
commerce. Without any local knowledge, plans were continuing space and
Sherbrooke's industrial commissioner reported three other unheralded
visits by Arab representatives arriving by seaplane at North Hatley
(Montreal Star, 2/28/79). The word of the purchases was finally leaked
to the press through a local real estate agent who became suspicious
when none of the sellers knew that their neighbors had sold. Once the
story broke in the Record, the Montreal press scrambled to cover the
"Arab deal" and with the §£§£ and Gazette fighting for their survival,
the sensationalism with which the reporting was done served to further
aggravate the situation when banner headlines proclaimed "North Hatley
Girds for War."

Little is known of the exact plans for develOpment and no one
locally has been consulted. The expertise in the planning is unclear
and the Quebec Minister of Labor spent a month over the summer of 1979
in North Hatley, ostensibly vacationing, but meeting with the developers

trying to establish the actual plans and financial backing of the

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the development before commiting the promised provincial funds. At the
end of a year and a half, the developers still had not met the guidelines
for planning to provincial satisfaction.
On March 15, 1979 the Sherbrooke Record gave the most authori-
tative overview of the planned development, reporting on the structure
of the Gabrephone Canadian Operation, listing six legal entities geared
to handle marketing, promotion and financing of the project including
the development of North Hatley. Under the management-Of Massawippi
Holdings Limited, North Hatley management and Operational control
services would operate for the orderly and planned development of North
Hatley and under a similar set of six corporations would be "Modern
Technology and Engineering Limited," based in North Hatley and handling
project design, development and training. New Radio Era Limited would
manufacture electronic products in North Hatley. In addition, Technology
Promotion and Training Centers Limited would produce educational
materials and tests with its headquarters and multimedia center to be
in North Hatley. And finally, North Hatley Promotion Center Limited
which would organize and operate international exhibitions in North
Hatley, Operate a conference center meeting the needs of an international
clientele and dignitaries, students and Gabrephone employees. No mention
was made to the public about their role in this apart from occasional
vague references to employment.
Paul Von Vlack told the Record in an interview that North Hatley

had been selected for development over existing industrial parks because:

North Hatley will be able to create the environment conductive to

high technology industry. We have to cater to buyers and scientists

coming to North Hatley to see our products and training programs.

And this requires a relaxed atmosphere to foster good business
relationships. We want a captive audience in pleasant surroundings.

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North Hatley can become a place to which a buyer from Germany or

the Middle East would want to return and be able to bring his wife

and children (3/15/79).
The next invasion of North Hatley had begun and the population had
already lost control over a large amount of the limited resources they
precariously possessed even before they knew a change had occurred.
North Hatley was being colonized by an outside group with money and
connections extending beyond the local resources with intentions to
remake the community to its wishes. While some of the local citizens
welcomed the promise of development, particularly those who depended on
the community for their livelihood, many others feared the implications
that such uncontrolled development might have on the quality of life in
their community.

After a frenzied council meeting in North Hatley in March at
which the small municipal office building was crowded to overflowing by
residents, visitors and media including two Montreal film crews,
several concerned citizens' groups began to coalesce. The adequacy of
the zoning by-law to prevent some types of construction had been brought
into question when the Massawippi Apartments were built, obliterating
the view of the lake for the homeowners on the hill above the apartment
building, which was in approximate but dubious conformity to the build-
ing code. The feeling was expressed that "someone needs to ride herd on
the developors" and proponents of that position were quickly equated with
the west side residents, many of whom did avow that position. Other
residents felt that these individuals were obstructionists and preventing
the development of a badly needed income generating base in the
community. One English-speaking professor from.the Université de

Sherbrooke was most vocal in his Opposition to the develOpment and

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reaction to his intervention, observed at one village council meeting,
illustrated a basic mechanism in the traditional village decision
process.

During the course of a debate on the possibility of adopting new
zoning and construction by—laws to control, if not stop development,
this professor would consistently attempt to argue points with the pre-
ceeding speaker. The speaker who followed him would then begin on a
totally different track if not completely different idea and seemed
intent on ignoring any previous positions. Dr. G. tried to engage
these individuals, forcing them to respond to his points. To do this,
he would introduce motions for a vote thereby trying to force the
assembly to take a clear-cut position. For his efforts, he became the
object of considerable criticism among many Of the local residents and
was even threatened physically by a group of local contractors if he did
not keep his mouth shut at the next meeting. During an interview a
former village restaurant owner remarked that Dr. G. was rude and had
made him so mad he could punch him. The proper manner for handling a
decisive issue in the community in a public forum is to have everyone
speak his piece in any order with no particular reference to what had
been said before. Decisions were to be reached by consensus not debate,
explaining the comment made to Dr. G. by the contractors that he was
"just like a damn school teacher, asking you all sorts of questions,
getting you confused and then telling you you're wrong." The council
should be allowed to hear all points, try and find common ground for a
proposal and if none could be found, table any motion for the time
being allowing the councillors and parties involved to work out a

compromise away from the public forum until such time as an agreement

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could be reached. Dr. G.'s insistence on presenting his ideas as motions
served to only further compound the problem by forcing the discussion
into a formal situation that no one wanted. This basic misunderstanding
over the fundamental working assumptions of the two groups, the locals
and the professionals, made the process of drafting a zoning by-law

difficult and arduous.

By-Laws, Zoning and Construction

In February 1979 the question of how the construction by-laws
might be modified to control development was made by a local lawyer (S.
Monty). Around him coalesced a group of five other professionals who
began to press for by-law revisions. An ad hoc committee was set in
place when the municipal council passed a "notice of motion" informing
the community that by-law changes were forthcoming and automatically
initiating a freeze on all building permits for 90 days until the new
by-laws could be formulated and approved. The notice of motion was
itself illegal at the time since by-law the proposed by-laws had to be
submitted when the notice of motion was made. Instead, the new by—laws
had not yet been drafted but there was a confusion on the part of
several council members at this point who believed that the "notice of
motion" enacted the building freeze rather than initiated procedures to
pass a new zoning and construction by-law. The complexity of the law
governing the by-laws had befuddled several council members. When the
"building freeze", as the notice had come to be called, was lifted for
ten minutes in May, it was done ostensibly to permit a local nursing
home to begin renovations which if not started would have meant

forfeiture of a needed government grant. However, when the "notice of

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motion" was made following that break, it was accompanied by the newly
formulated by-laws, making it legal for the first time. But the nuance
of this action was lost on all but a few observers who were in
consultation with lawyers. The notice of motion was perceived as a
"building freeze" when in fact, construction permits could have been
issued at any time provided the planned construction was within the
guidelines of both the existing and proposed by-law. At one point,
under criticism for dropping and then reinstating the notice of motion
back, the council dropped the motion completely for 10 days in June
only to reinstate it and finally have it passed but only after other
impasses had been breached.

When the original motion was made in March, it was made on be-
half of a small group of professionals who were basically opposed to any
type of development which Mr. Gabr might wish to do. This group even
attempted organizing a consortium of investors from the local community
and surrounding area to raise $5 million which would be enough to
renovate the downtown area but doing it under some sort of local control,
offering this development to the community as an alternative to
Gabrephone Inc. The effort failed because none of the potential
investors felt young and ambitious enough to oversee such a project.
This same group stepped forward in March, offering to draft a new
zoning and construction by-law. The question of representation was
raised by Dr. Richard Joly, who asked the council how it planned to
deal "with the three or four North Hatley's which exist in terms of
professional and socioeconomic distinctions." Compromise was attained
with the appointment of several members from the committee formed by

the professionals along with two council members and several other

285

members of the community. The resulting mixture did not meld and the
committee was quickly deadlocked in a series of singularly unproductive
meetings. It was then that Dr. Joly was brought in and appointed chair-
man of the committee. Using wit and tact he started the committee
moving. The initial committee, if successful, could have been a very
effective tool by which small groups of individuals might have blocked
development, but the addition of other members, less sympathetic to the
goals Of the original committee prevented the ideas of the professional
group from holding Sway. When the committee report was finally sub-
mitted to the council, it was subjected to even further modifications and
when presented to the public, created a new stir since several clauses
in it dealing with the issue of set-backs and building height were
deemed unreasonable by many of the downtown merchants who under the
provisions of the new by-law, would have been unable to rebuild their
shops in any shape but in their present form should they be destroyed by
fire. This impasse was mediated by two professors from the Université
de Sherbrooke who met with local merchants and tradesmen at a downtown
restaurant and got them to state their objections. They drafted these
objections and added them to the by-law, making final passage possible.
Gabr welcomed the new by-laws, publicly stating that he too was concerned
for the scenic beauty of the village. Some of his employees were less
then sensitive in their remarks to the public. When one of Mr. Gabr's
managers remarked to a local woman that their plan included building a
new grocery store, the woman replied that that would drive LeBaron's

out of business, to which he replied, "Yes, we'd like that." Statements
like this only fueled the distrust and suspicion among many residents

who, having failed to block Gabr in the by-law turned to another avenue

286
of resistance, this time engaging other outside resources.

North Hatley Regional Heritage Society

In July 1979 a Montreal lawyer who owned a summer home in North
Hatley, along with several other residents, formed the North Hatley
Regional Heritage Society. The goal of this association was to control
development by making use of Canadian laws governing the preservation
of historic sites. This new organization attracted a unique crowd,
mainly professionals, summer residents, and a "better class" of local
people long associated with the Village Improvement Society. Their
organization was opposed by some in town and one young merchant, who
had been ingratiating himself with the Arabs, made himself particularly
obnoxious at a meeting of the society. He played on the old and well
established theme that the summer people looked down their noses at the
"townies" and that the local people were sick and tired of being told
what to do by "their betters." This group incorporated, elected and
empowered a board of directors and charged the directors with the duty
of identifying local resources for preservation.

The first thing saved by the society was the road up Virgin's
Hill, formerly known as "Lover's Lane," with its magnificant oak trees
.lining the steep dirt road. The people on the hill above had been
trying to have it repaired for years. They then began contacts with_
Heritage Canada, bringing in a representative from the Agency to learn
what procedures needed to be followed in obtaining the designation of a
historic site. Under the Heritage Act, the designation of a historic
site preserves not only the building in question but also blocks any

other development or new construction within a BOO-foot radius of the

287

building. A committee which included several members of the French
community, which had by and large ignored the entire Arab issue, then
sought to have the site of the Flying Shuttle designated as a historical
site. Heritage Canada refused to, stating that this site did not meet
their criteria. Had it been so designated, this would have effectively
blocked all of the proposed development in the downtown area. Undetered
the committee reapproached Heritage Canada and after considerable effort
did get an allowance for an appeal. On this attempt, the owner of the
Flying Shuttle building hesitated when M. Joly raised the question that
this constituted a very non-democratic process since it would effectively
block the development of the downtown without common consent. Swayed by
this argument, the owner of the house refused to press the case and the
Heritage Canada move was dropped.

In the fall of 1980, the field researcher was contacted at
Michigan State University by Dr. Yvan Breton of the Université Laval,
who was working for the Ministére des Affaires Culturelles: Heritage
Division charged with la mise en valeurs - regions. Dr. Breton aware
of the research I had done in North Hatley requested some baseline data
on the community to prepare a preliminary response to the request to the
Heritage Division that a building or buildings in North Hatley be
designated historical sites under the Quebec Provincial Historic Sites
Preservation law. Thus, the effort to try and deal with Mr. Gabr
involved mobilization of local, provincial and even federal mechanisms.
It is the scale of the development that is most frightening to many
residents.

As one former employee remarked, "Mr. Gabr pays bills from Bell

Canada and Hydro Quebec, they are big enough to get him and therefore

288

have his respect, anything less in size and power he treats at his
leisure." Neither the municipal council of North Hatley, where Mr.
Gabr owns considerable property and is in the process of extensive
renovations, nor the municipality of Hatley, in which he has his home
and proposed site for his electronics training school, have sufficient
power to restrain him or make him conform to their by-laws and
regulations. In the case of his personal dwelling, it now contains

an undisclosed number of bedrooms, and the plans were being modified

on a daily basis without consulting or informing the municipal building
inspector. The same has been true in North Hatley with the ‘renovation
of the old post office and Ride's Marina into Offices. Mr. Gabr has
systematically refused to pay for building permits or to pay taxes on
several of his buildings. Behavior which has passed Off as eccentric
at the beginning is now being taken as a sign of malfeasance on his
part. The municipalities have already taken Gabrephone to court
several times but the decisions during the first year of litigation were
consistently in his favor, the court ruling that the councils were not
giving him adequate time to comply. The municipality of Hatley, in
conjunction with North Hatley, have now retained a Montreal law firm

to represent them in dealings with Mr. Gabr before the courts, but
equipped with vastly greater resources and in control of much of the
local resource base, there is little that can be done to control his

planning and movements.

Summary

North Hatley is caught in a system of double constraints. The

village finds itself structurally integrated into a burgeoning political

289

system governing municipal affairs at the provincial level while being
colonized from within by the presence of a massive development corpora-
tion it cannot control. Thus the observation made in 1973 that the
population of North Hatley no longer controls its own resources is
being realized. The degree of structural disarticulation is most pro-
nounced at this point, with the village possessing few mechanisms
capable of dealing effectively with either of these larger institutions.
Attempts to deal with them require further modification of the internal
structure and the dynamics of ethnic interactions as well.

We have examined the way in which larger, external institutions
come to dominate smaller local level institutions and by their control
over the resource base available at the local level can affect change
without the local institutions. We will now conclude our discussion
by focusing on the external forces of the consciousness and identifica-
tion of individuals with particular institutions as change renders
these institutions either dysfunctional or makes their continuation

impossible.

CHAPTER IX
INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL LIFE: CONCLUSIONS

Introduction

In the preceeding chapter we have examined the way in which
regionalization affected the operation and control of the municipal
council. The growth of provincial involvement in a everdwidening array
of social services also had an effect on other areas of the society as
well. The growth in social services meant the entry of the provincial
government into areas which, particularly in the English community, had
been the domain of numerous voluntary associations.

Although many of these voluntary associations were defined in
terms of the services they provided, their social function extended
beyond their immediate stated goals. These institutions gave structure
to the groups which operated through them.and gave a social meaning to
the networks of individuals that composed the groups. In their retreat
before the new provincial institutions' incursion into their domains,
some groups have disappeared as their public function was displaced.
Others, however, continue to function but now more purely in terms of
the group's expression of identity.

For some groups, the loss of public function has made recruitment
nearly impossible, as in the case of the Anglican Church Women whose
aging membership represents the distaff side of the leadership core of an

earlier period. Other organizations such as the Masons continue to

290

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perform public service but on a regional scale, raising funds for the
local hospital. Even the Masonic Lodge, which was the focal point of
North Hatley in an earlier period no longer initiates sons on their
let birthday, either because the boy has already left the area or can-
not identify with the goals of the Order. The Lodge is able to recruit
new members from among those who move into the expanding area it serves
because of the personal and regional affiliations it offers.

Confronted with the declining need for local services, some
groups have turned more intensively to supporting national or regional
campaigns such as the Red Cross, thereby maintaining the basis for
collective activity within a defined and meaningful context. Other
voluntary associations direct their activity within the framework of
existing village or regional institutions, some of which, like the North
Hatley Library and Sherbrooke Hospital, are undergoing stress from
governmental initiatives. Other local institutions exist outside the
pale of government intervention. Except for liquor licensing, organi-
zations such as the Curling Club and the Canadian Legion function out-
side government jurisdiction and reflect similar organizational patterns.
The Canadian Legion Post performs a most important ceremonial function,
the public expression of collective identity and although outside
governmental control, this too shows the effect of political change and
ideological stress.

The discussion concludes with a consideration of the contra-
diction that "Canadian" as an identity referent poses for the local
community. A contradiction generated again by political restructuring
of federal-provincial relations. Prior to the 19603, the English in

Quebec enjoyed direct access to the federal government which could, and

292

occasionally did, intervene on their behalf. Just as Quebec moved to
wrest control of institutions from the Catholic Church within the
province through centralization, it was simultaneously challenging the
right of the federal government to provide those services within its
territory as well. Quebec increasingly "opted-out" of federal programs,
operating the programs itself. In so doing, it curtailed the ability of
Ottawa to affect policy within Quebec and with it Ottawa's ability to
protect and safeguard the rights of the English minority with Ottawa
increasingly incapable of assisting them, and with Quebec nationalism
taking a distinct ethnic overtone, the English have found themselves
unsure of being either "Canadian" or "Quebecois." It is from its
position on the margins of two societies--French Quebec and English
Canada--that the English pOpulation of the Eastern Townships looks to
its past and its present needs to find the appropriate images and

institutions with which to adjust to the new reality of Quebec.

Fund Raising--Sherbrooke Hospital

For most of the English-Speaking population of the Eastern
Townships, increasing provincial involvement in municipal affairs was
of little consequence. They had long before ceded control over the
municipal government to the local French-speaking majority. Provincial
initiatives into the control of financing and administration of private
institutions was not felt directly since these too were in the pervue
of professional administrators and their board of directors. It was
only in cases where governmental initiatives threatened the existence
of an institution, as happened in 1978 when a regional administrative
board proposed the closing of the Sherbrooke Hospital, that the

population became involved politically.

293

The Sherbrooke Hospital is the smallest of three hospitals under
the supervision of the Comité Regional de la Santé et des Services
Sociaux (CRSSS). The Centre Hospitalier H6tel Dieu, formerly under
religious administration, operates 423 beds with a 79 percent occupancy
rate. The Centre Hospitalier Universitaire is a teaching hospital,
offering complete services in English, associated with the Université
de Sherbrooke with specialized medical care and operating at 82 percent
occupancy with 423 beds.‘ The Sherbrooke Hospital is a traditional
English institution built in 1951 and operating with 171 beds at an 85
percent annual occupancy rate. It has cultivated a reputation for
caring attention to its patients, a policy facilitated by a large number
of local volunteers, and it is a community supported facility.

The government pays for much of the operating cost of the
hospital under direct grants and through the administration of the
provincial health insurance program. Beyond the monies allocated in
conformity to government guidelines, the hospital is left to its own
resources and relies as it always has on an annual subscription
campaign carried out by volunteer committees within each community. In
the 1979 campaign, the goal was to raise $125,000 to begin rennovations
on the cafeteria and food service areas-~expenses not covered by
provincial guidelines. The campaign raised $179,000 and North Hatley,
under the leadership of Mme. Maurice Biron, raised over $7,600 for the
hospital. Other associations and groups make contributions to the
hospital as well, and the Masonic Foundation of Quebec, Sherbrooke
Region, including North Hatley, makes frequent contributions of needed,

"inadmissible" equipment.

294

The 1978 attempt by the CRSSS to close the Sherbrooke Hospital
illustrates the need for the English community to develop regionally-
based political mechanisms, such as the Townshippers Association, which
can deal effectively with regional administrative committees. The
problem began when the CRSSS, which is charged with administering health
care services in the region, proposed what it perceived as the perfect
solution to the need for a long-term.psychiatric hospital. Converting
the 171-bed Sherbrooke Hospital to this use would meet a pressing need
and permit maximum use of the other hospital facilities in Sherbrooke.
This decision by a committee without representation from.the English-
speaking community was seen as a direct attack on the English population
and resulted in a petition drive which garnered over 60,000 signatures
in "what must have been the best organized effort of the English
since the Plains of Abraham" (The Townships Sun, November 1979: 8).
Lacking any regional organization, the petition drive followed the
funding campaign pattern and the petition was submitted to the Minister
of Social Affairs. The Minister stated he would never approve a change
in the status of the Sherbrooke Hospital and with that, the furor
subsided but another piece was added to that begun by the school
regionalization process in the formation of a regional association
within the English-speaking community. It is worth noting that the
hospital Chief of Staff was also one of the leaders in the school
reform.movement and in the planning meetings with the Minister of
Cultural Affairs, and is now the president of the English-Speaking
Townshippers Association.

Fund raising, such as that involved with the support of the

Sherbrooke Hospital, is an ongoing function of the local community and

295

there were certain things that peeple contributed to on an annual basis.
Most considered the Sherbrooke Hospital Drive an annual event, along
with other national drives--the Red Cross, Cancer Society, Cerebral
Palsey. These drives are initiated when a local organizer recruits
volunteers who then conduct door-to-door campaigns following basically
the same pattern for all the national campaigns. In the Red Cross
campaign, for example, the organizer receives a set of cards from the
Sherbrooke office, one for every past contributer, and supporting
literature. She then gets together with five friends and they select
streets they are most familiar with and go door-to—door. The five
would do most of the active canvassing and then return the cards and
money to the organizer. She checks to see that they were filled out
completely, verifies the amount of money enclosed, and sends it on to
Sherbrooke. They then either celebrate or berate depending on how the
drive went.

Whatever the subjective assessment of the success or failure of
the campaign in the eyes of the workers, the social objectives had been
accomplished. A group of individuals, formed on the basis of friendship,
had come together on the basis of a person and acted in concert to
accomplish a socially valid and necessary goal. This sort of patterning
persists mainly in terms of national campaigns which have not been
affected by changes in the administration of social services. Other
recurrent group functions have been affected and in some cases curtailed
or rendered meaningless, and some have become detrimental to those the

group sought to help.

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Public Service--Social Service

 

Such is the case with the Shoes and Boots Program conducted by
the Sherbrooke Rotary Club. The Sherbrooke Rotary conducted an annual
campaign which involved the donation of shoes and boots at cost by the
owner of Bon Marché, a discount and seconds store in Sherbrooke. The
Rotarians organized activities to raise money and would then contact
welfare families to have them fitted for a new pair of boots and shoes.
The Rotarians would then pay for the new footwear, assuring the children
good footwear through the winter months. This practice was discontinued
when the Department of Social Services began to review its client list,
noting families where children had received shoes and boots valued at
roughly $25. That amount would be automatically deducted from the
family's next support check. Rather than helping the family, the pro-
gram.was,.in effect, depriving the family its option on how to dispurse
the monthly welfare income. In this way, the Department of Social
Services prevented another group from operating in a domain in which it
was not directly involved.

Now when the organization distributes food or clothing, it must
do so surreptitiously so as not to jeopardize the income of the welfare
recipient. Even in doing so, the Club in effect acknowledges--both to
its members and to the welfare families--the right and power of a state
institution to define behavior in a domain peripheral to its chartered
function. The intrusion of the state into the ability of service
organizations to perform public services has two effects. First, it
denies the organization control of context through which to mobilize
the efforts of its membership for meaningful collective actions and
thereby reinforce group solidarity. Secondly, it depersonalizes the

service itself.

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The Rotary Club became involved in a local problem when a
Rotarian who lived in Hatley Acres brought the plight of a family
living in North Hatley to the attention of the Club. The daughter had
cerebral palsy and the father, then unskilled and out of work, was
faced with staggering medical bills and stubbornly refused aid. The
Rotary Club became involved and provided funds for the mother to take
the child to Montreal twice weekly for treatments. The financial
problems resolved themselves and the Rotary aid was discontinued but
the sense of personal debt and gratitude remained. Uncomfortable with
joining the Rotary himself, the father now repays his debt to the Club
by contacting his friends and obtaining boats for the Rotary's annual
boating day in Ayer's Cliff. These sorts of collective actions and
interactions with individuals form the cement of the social relations
in the community and they too are being affected by the penetration of

government into the local levels.

North Hatley Library Society

This is especially true of institutions such as the North Hatley
Library which existed long before the provincial library system was
started. It now finds its objectives and options determined by the new
library system. The Library Society grew out of a handful of books
carried door-to-door by ladies during the summer. The books were housed
somewhat unsatisfactorily over LeBaron's store. There was a need for a
library and following the established format, a meeting was called under
the leadership of the Rev. Arthur Chilton Powell of Baltimore in August
1901. By-laws were drafted and a board of directors was elected. The

board of directors then prepared a circular to be distributed to the

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the public to fund a library society. A New York architect, Mr. Eidlitz,
prepared a design for a building to cost $1,000, the land was donated
by Benjamin LeBaron, and construction began in 1904. The Library was
operated under the direction of the Board of Lady Managers who handled
the day-to-day affairs of the association while the men oversaw the
funding and ledgers. On the death of A.C. Powell in 1944, Miss Anna
Bond was nominated to fill the position. After a discussion on the
propriety of having a woman on the board of directors, Miss Bond
consented to serve provided that her successor as president of the
Board of Lady Managers would succeed her to the board of directors as
well.

Books were purchased in the United States and Toronto with
funds raised through membership fees and an annual art fair which began
in 1966 as the joint effort of the Library Society and the Village
Improvement Society. The art fair, which grew in importance over time,
developed the nucleus of a network through which artists throughout the
region were contacted and offered the opportunity of displaying their
work with a 20 percent commission going to the Library Society. New
books were added annually to keep the collection up to date, but the key
asset for the system had been the MacLennan Travelling Library from
McGill University. Prior to 1978, the library could rent 100 books from
the MacLennan Travelling Library and although the titles were not always
new, they were different with each renewal.

In 1978, the Quebec government took over the MacLennan Travelling
Library and made it "public," moving the books to the new Regional
Library in Sherbrooke. The new library legislation was badly needed in

Quebec, and provincial libraries were in short supply. Quebec has 136

299

libraries and possesses .9 books per resident available in libraries in
comparison to Ontario with 1,023 libraries and 2.43 books per resident
--another result of refusing to participate in federal programs

(The Record, 1/24/80). Under Bill 51, municipalities are given the

 

opportunity to establish libraries for a minimal fee of 50¢ per
resident but may not charge subscription fees under the system. The
books in the MacLennan Travelling Library have been made "public" and
the North Hatley Library, because it is "private"-thatlis, charges a
subscription fee with which to maintain the building and to purchase
books-—has been denied access to these books. Curtailed in its efforts
to buy new books because of the rising costs and unable to obtain books
through the travelling library, the North Hatley Library has been
forced to seek a new adaptive strategy, but this poses a distinct
problem.

In order to borrow books from the Bibliothéque de l'Estrie and
to obtain money for new titles--to be purchased in proportion to the
percentage French and English in the population-the Library Society
must dissolve itself and turn its operation over to the municipal
council. The town council is hesitant about paying even the 50¢ per
person fee which would cost the village about an addition $450 per year
but might do so if not for the fact that it would also be responsible
for the building. The new library in Ayer's Cliff is funded by three
municipalities and use of the library is limited to residents of those
municipalities. The library is being established in vacant classrooms
of one of the local schools so the maintenance costs are minimal.
Having no library to begin with, they are able to take a share of $13

million set aside for libraries in 1980. The municipal council in

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North Hatley adamantly refused to take responsibility for building
maintenance which runs about $2,000 per year and since participation in
the program would mean conformity to government norms, the North Hatley
Library Society would not be able to underwrite the cost of building
operation and maintenance with a membership fee.

The library too requires the volunteer service of both French
and English residents in its operation. Under the provincial guidelines,
the need for local volunteer support would be eliminated since the
grants provide money to pay for librarians--in place of member volunteers
-determining their qualifications and working arrangements. Fund
raising would cease to be a function of the society and participation
in the provincial program would eliminate another area for cooperative
action.

Volunteers also Operate a summer theatre, the Piggery, located
outside the village. Its funds are raised through ticket sales and an
annual auction. The process of obtaining items for the auction follows
a pattern similar to the other fund raising activities in the community
and it is a part of the annual campaign cycle too. North Hatley's
ability to maintain a very active system of voluntary associations is
well known and the village is reputed to be able to react to any crisis
by those outside of the village. As one professor at Bishop's University
commented to my remark regarding the plight of the library, "I don't
feel a bit sorry for North Hatley, if they have a problem and wanted to

do something about it, they would!"

Recreational Associations
The operation of recreational and social organizations also

serves to maintain a-basis for cooperative action within the village and

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outside governmental regulation. The North Hatley Curling Club was
started in 1957 and members curled on the sheet built at the Hatley
Inn, but it was privately owned and poorly maintained. The following
year they bought the old Catholic School building as a clubhouse and
added two sheets on the back. To finance the project they sold 15 $100
bonds and then sold subscriptions for $50 after that. Some people
bought up to $1,000 worth, others just one, and they raised $8,000 in
all. Most of the labor was provided by the membership with bees under
the direction of local carpenters who were members as well. The
operating funds for the club are derived from periodic potluck dinners
and a volunteer-run snack and wet bar open during curling hours. This
pattern of social gatherings is shared with other similar associations
composed mainly of life-long, English-speaking residents, and forms the
basis for the integration of individuals into a rich social network.
The Curling Club attracts teams from throughout the Townships and even
Vermont to their annual bonspeil and return the visits throughout the
season.

Another organization which parallels the Curling Club in its
linkages outside the village and intensive social activities within
the community is the Canadian Legion. The Canadian Legion is typical
of village organizations with only about 10 percent of its active
membership willing to become administratively involved. This unwilling-
ness to assume leadership or administrative responsibility plagues most
organizations and any newcomer willing to serve can quickly find him or
herself at the hub of a social network as the secretary or otherwise
involved in some community organization. At the center of these

institutions there is a dedicated core of community leaders who, like

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their predecessors, are overcommitted, inveterate joiners who provide
leadership wherever they see the need. In the Canadian Legion Post,
for example, of the officers on the Council of Seven who operate the
post, five also serve on the municipal council; four of these five are
on the Curling Club as well; and three out of the four are active in
the Masonic Lodge.

The Legion is central in the community for social as well as
patriotic reasons. In a village without a single bar, the Legion
provides liter bottles of beer for $1.50, dart tournaments during the
winter, golf tournaments in the spring and fall, and fields a softball
team during the summer. It is open every evening and is the hub of
social life among the local residents—-although generally shunned along
with the Curling Club, by the newly arrived professionals. If leader-
ship is a problem, membership is also but for the opposite reason. The
Legion is floundering because Canada has not had a recent war. Only
veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces may become regular
members. Sons of regular members are permitted to join as associate
members and others are allowed to join as fraternal affiliates and under
the Legion Charter their number is fixed at 10 percent of the total.
This rule of thumb is being bent and abused currently, mainly to keep
the Posts alive. The regular members are getting too old to be as
active as they once were, and some Posts would not exist today if not
for the fraternal affiliates. In the same way, the Women's Auxillary
is made up of the wives and daughters of regular members and is coming
to include girl friends. Like the other clubs, the Legion provides its
members a rich social life with dinners and visiting and competition

between Posts. But beyond its social function, the Legions also perform

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an important ceremonial function in the community and in the expression
of the collective identity of the community as being "Canadian." This
role is especially important to the present analysis because this
confusion of categories, Canadian and Quebecois, is at the heart of a

collective identity crisis in these communities.

"Opting Out": Quebec-Ottawa

The problem with a Canadian identity is that it is simultaneously
affirmed and contradicted by everyday experience of those English-
speaking residents of the Townships.” The English do not feel themselves
to be a 'natural' minority. Although fragmented, there is no sense of
isolation or of minority status except to the extent it is conferred on
them by the "artificial" boundary marking Quebec from Canada. They live
on the margins of Anglo-America and their minority status is seen as the
result of being a politically captive population (Waddell 1972:27). To
deny this boundary one need only to assert the claim of one's Canadian
heritage and express communion with Anglophonie across the continent.
But the political restructuring in Quebec has made the boundaries
increasingly real while ethnic nationalism has created a sense of
alienation from within. In order to understand the dynamics of this
process, we must look again at events within the French society but this
time in relation of Quebec to the federal government.

Prior to the Quiet Revolution, the boundary between Quebec and
the rest of Canada was, from the perspective of the English-speaking
residents of the Townships, arbitrary and artificial. In villages like
North Hatley there were linkages with the wider Canadian society.
Children moved and settled in other provinces and many individuals who

held posts in the federal government hailed from the Townships. If

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there was any sense of threat from the French majority, it was easily
countered by the pressure that could be brought to bear by the federal
government. The English lived in their own institutional framework,
free from any intrusions from the state, and even where a minority in a
region were buoyed by the realization that they were part of a wider
society only a short distance away that would support them in times of
need. A change in relations between Quebec and the federal government
drastically changed the condition of the English.

Thus far, we have focused on the changes occurring within
Quebec but to a large extent, it was changes in Quebec-Ottawa relations
which had made those changes possible. The transformation which brought
this about can be characterized by three different strategies: mutual
avoidance; "opting out;" and, the confrontation over federal and
provincial jurisdiction. I

The first strategy was implemented under the leadership of
Maurice Duplessis. Quebec pursued a defensive strategy with Ottawa,
blocking federal initiatives it perceived as invasions of provincial
jurisdiction, but constrained from.within by the Church and English
elites--not fully exploiting these jurisdictions itself. Federally
initiated spending programs normally depended on provincial approval
before they could be implemented and usually Quebec (and Quebec alone),
would refuse to approve the program. The cost was high and in 1959-1960
alone, Quebec lost approximately $82 million in federal funds in the
name of provincial autonomy. This was too high a price for any govern-
ment seeking to modernize its society and under Lesage in the 19603, the
policy shifted to one of "opting out." (McRoberts and Postgate 1980:

87).

305

As the Quebec government began to pursue a policy of moderniza-
tion, the need for the federal money became apparent but, as Quebec
developed new programs, it found in many cases they conflicted with
existing federal programs. Quebec needed federal funds and demanded to
receive them without federal conditions or sponsorship, claiming the
funds belonged to Quebec by right. This approach was first tested under
the University Financing Agreement in 1959 and demonstrated that a
province could refuse to participate in a federal program.without
incurring loss of funds. Quebec increasingly opted out of existing
federal programs touching on the areas it felt were within provincial
authority: health, education and social welfare. Thus, the emerging
bureaucratic leadership of Quebec confronted not only the Catholic Church
within Quebec but the federal government as well and the issue contested
was the same-control over funding and the ability to determine policy
in its application. In cases where Quebec knew a federal program was
being planned, it went ahead and established its own program first
claiming compensation when the federal program was finally initiated.

The opting-out formula was applied to federal-provincial cost-shared
programs and to even those administered exclusively by the federal
government (McRoberts and Postgate: 111-113).

This process has continued under the leadership of the Parti
Quebecois which is even more sensitive about interference from Ottawa
in provincial affairs. Ottawa's relation with municipal governments is
one major point of contention between Quebec and Ottawa. The provincial
government released a dossier noir in 1977 to support its contention that
Ottawa was intruding into the provincial jurisdiction over municipalities.

Early in 1978, Quebec objected to a federal program designed to support a

306

range of municipal services on the grounds it constituted a federal
invasion into provincial affairs. But in June 1978 Quebec agreed to
serve as an intermediary in the distribution of federal funds to
municipalities, and even to indicate that the money had come from the
federal government (McRoberts and Postgate: 224).

The confrontations between Quebec and the federal government are
well documented in McRoberts and Postgate (1980) and spilled over into
the areas of pension funds, the collection of income tax--Quebec claims
ing the right to collect its share itself. The general pattern is clear.
Quebec was systematically eliminating the channels of financial control
the federal government had to the province and especially any channel that
might bypass the provincial government permitting the federal government
to deal directly with municipalities on the local level. The direct
effect of this on the English community is hard to determine but the net
effect is clear. The federal government is no longer able to exercise
the power or influence it once did over provincial affairs or in specific
areas within the province. The reality of this was driven home with the

passage of Bill 101, the Charter of the French Language.

Bill 101

The bill was challenged as unconstitutional since it downgraded
the status of English, a status guaranteed by the British North American
Act. Quebec joined Manitoba, which had passed a similar law a century
ago curtailing the use of French, in contesting the challenge. The
growing awareness of the inability of the federal government to help in
such matters was most disturbing and the sense of abandonment was become
ing profound. A professor at Bishop's University, dispairing over new

provincial guidelines and declining enrollments, remarked bitterly that:

 

307

"They (other Canadians) don't give a damn what happens to us." Although
the identification with Canada has remained strong, the practical merits

of adhering to that identity were being severely tested.

Form and Social Drama

One response to this sense of abandonment and loss of control
can be seen in some of the changes which have taken place within the
Anglican congregation. The need for a sense of security and control is
expressed in the church services, where, in the view of the pastor, the
congregation is an ethnic minority and "starting to feel the squeeze."
They are, in his eyes, a remnant flock. When he came to the parish be
revised the liturgy and threw out the "new services and the new style
created by 'stunt men'" and went back to the oldest liturgical ritual he
could find. The Anglican priest in the village keeps tradition--he still
wears his cassock, the Catholic priest does not. "People," he feels,
"want to keep all the formal markers and stay loyal to this bit of
history. Many don't attend the church but would riot if it were sold."
The services in the Anglican Church meet this need for symbolic expres-
sion and the congregation has grown steadily in the past 20 years and
has attracted a large number of professionals into its membership along
with a majority of those who are active in local leadership roles. It
is fitting that the community should gravitate to the Anglican Church to
hold the major social drama of the year: Remembrance Day services.

In the week preceeding Remembrance Day, the white crosses with
their red flowers are sold by the Legion to various groups and
individuals who will place them at the centotaph on Remembrance Day. On

Remembrance Day itself, Memorial Park bustles with individuals placing

308

the wreathes along the street to be put in place later during the
ceremony. Inside the church, the officers of the Canadian Legion Post
and the Women's Auxillary troop the flags into the sanctuary, posting
them to the sides of the altar during the service. Following the
service, the procession led by the flags and members of the Legion is
marched out of the church along the street above the Memorial Park,
ending at the park. There, the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides stand to one
side, the Legionnaires to the other, as individuals are escorted forward
by Legion officers to place the crosses or wreathes before the cenotaph.
Youngsters stand at attention and the crowd stands silent for a full
20-minutes as the crosses are placed. Finally, the Last Post is sounded,
the Legionnaires form ranks, salute and the crowd disperses. Abner
Cohen calls such events politico-symbolic dramas which, he says, "effects
a transformation in the psyches of the participants, conditioning their
attitude and sentiments, repetitively renewing beliefs, values, and
norms and thereby creating and recruiting the basic categorial impera-
tives on which the group depends for its existence" (1976:132). He is
undoubtedly right about this, but this description cannot convey the
poignancy of that small group of people silently saluting the marker of
that bit of history of which they are part.

The analysis and the events it describes have brought us to the
Memorial Park on a gray, November morning as a community ponders its
fate as "Canadians" and seeks its identity within a new political
context. Let us now unravel the web of events that led to this moment

by returning to the initial question of this study.

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Summary

The Province of Quebec provides an ideal location to test this
problem of competition for control of institutions because the competi-
tion has occurred historically in two isolated, if not separate,
contexts, one French and the other English. The initial phase of
competition between the two groups was economic and was resolved in
favor of the English, leaving them free to pursue economic and commercial
pursuits. While within the French society there developed a marked
division between the Catholic clergy and a growing class of professionals
who had espoused a Libertarian philosophy and challenged the Church's
control over the central institutions of French-Canadian society:
education, health care and welfare.

The agitation of these professionals had consequences in both the
French and English society of the Townships. Central to the position
taken in this analysis is that at no point in their development were the
Eastern Townships immune to the events occurring in the larger French-
Canadian society and that an understanding of the existing social
structure requires an understanding of these larger processes. Even in
the early phases of settlement the consequences of the confrontations
occurring between the French and English were felt. It was the English
desire to have the territory of the Eastern Townships opened to the
system of English tenure and the recalitrance of the French to permit
it that left the area open for the incursion of Yankee settlers.

The confrontation between the Liberals and the Clergy came to a
head in the Rebellion of 1837 and their defeat left the Catholic Church
in uncontested control of the institutions of French-Canadian society.

The Church set about to consolidate its control of French-Canadian

310

society. It completely dominated education and, fearful of the State,
the Church used its considerable influence to prevent any attempt on the
part of the State to initiate programs or establish ministries that might
in any way challenge its control of the institutions it had claimed.
Economic pressures resulted in the decline of the seigneuries as a
defense against the penetration of English capitalism. With the defeat
of the Liberals, the Church was able to don the mantle of nationalism
left by the defeated Liberals. The establishment of municipal govern-
ment allowed the Church to lead a colonization movement of faithful from
the overpopulated St. Lawrence Valley into the Eastern Townships, aided
in this effort by British industrialists who needed the large reserves
of unskilled labor and farmers that such a move would provide.

Following these events French society remained stable well into
the 20th century with the State effectively excluded from providing
social services and these and other social functions reverted to
clerical or municipal control. As a result few outside institutions
penetrated the local English-speaking community and group competition
for the control of institutions at the local level was minimal. These
early institutions themselves were limited in sc0pe and usually depended
on the good will and willingness of their members to make any policy
decision binding. This laxity was countered to an extent by the use of
incorporation. Groups, such as the Society for the Suppression of
Felonies, were formed. By drawing up by-laws and establishing a basis
for equitable taxation, the groups were institutionalized and as such
were better able to compell their members to conformity.

Education was a central concern of the settlers and again the

same system of institutionalization was used in its development. The

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townshippers were invenerate organizers and would incorporate any group
to accomplish any task. The local education was handled in this manner
until the Education Act of 1848 which provided a formal mechanism
through the township council for collecting school taxes. The
Protestant School Committee was formed in an attempt to standardize and
improve the quality of education. Although it operated at the
provincial level, this committee was without any real power. The
Catholic Church had opposed the creation of a Minister of Education as
established under the provisions of the British North American Act
because an agency with ministerial power might be able to infringe on
Church control of education. The weakness of the Protestant School
Commission was that it did not have any discretionary powers over the
issuance of funds. After a time it did gain increased control over
funding and used it to force a degree of conformity among the hundreds
of small rural school boards operating within the province. The
Protestant School Board and the Protestant School Committee are examples
of two institutions operating within the same domain but in this case,
the structurally dominant institution lacked the financial levers to
impose its wishes and goals on the inferior institution.

The municipal councils, in contrast, were quite independent and
were accountable only to the county council which was unable to impose
its will on the municipalities without their consent. As the villages
began to emerge, a large French population immigrated into the Township
and settled in the northwest section. As the villages within the
Township became more specialized in their respective roles, they
required a fuller use of municipal powers and, beginning with North

Hatley, withdrew from the Township forming their own corporations

312

accountable to the county council as the Township had been.

It is within the village that the first series of clear confron-
tations for control over the institutional structures occurred. It
stemmed from the arrival in the 1880s of Americans from the southern
coastal cities who established a summer colony in North Hatley. As this
colony grew its interests began to diverge from the resident population
which was not in agreement with the types of community improvements

demanded by their "guests.' The summer people responded by forming
their own incorporated body, the Village Improvement Society, which
included local leaders as well as summer residents. Through this
institution the summer colony controlled a structure compatible with the
municipal council, capable of representing their collective interests.
During this period North Hatley represented a "closed" community.
While it is apparent that the village was never isolated it may be
stated that from 1900 to World War II employment and social networks
focused on the community with little outside influence. The discussion
of the situation of a local merchant, Lucien Dumont, illustrates an
interesting point regarding the control of institutions: how does a
group manifest its control over an institution within the domain in which
the institution operates? It would appear from the Dumont case that the
group manifests its institutional control over a given domain by
determining-according to its ideological orientation--what social
categories are to be deemed appropriate in that context and which not.
In the Dumont case his interaction with the Eggg involved his Catholic
identity, but his confrontation with a local organizer for the
Conservative party activated his political affiliation. The control of

a social context is not limited only to institutional control and the

313

discussion of micro-ethnicity in chapter 6 introduced the dynamics of
control and competition over informal, non-institutitionalized domains.

The first local case in which ethnicity plays a primary role in
marking the dynamics of group competition occurred in 1908 with the
arrival of the first pastor to the French community and illustrates the
degree to which the village integrated with wider society and a
recourse beyond the local power base. The council decided to enact a
by-law stating that all public notices would be published in English
only. After a series of protests the provincial government responded
to a letter from the Bishop of Sherbrooke declaring the by-law illegal.
This attempt, although unsuccessful, serves as an example of the way in
which a group holding institutional control over a social domain is
able to mark their dominance by defining the behaviors which are to be
proper and acceptable within it and in so doing modify the behavior of
those who must operate within that domain.

In 1927, North Hatley consolidated the several small schools in
the surrounding area, replacing the joint board that had managed them.
The consolidated school movement gained impetus from a government grant
providing for transportation costs to bring rural children into the
school and then a consolidation grant to build a larger building. The
Protestant School Board of Quebec was firmly behind this development in
its push for consolidation but still lacked the effective financial
measures to enforce conformity to its norms. By the late 19503 the
situation had changed only slightly. In response to the declining
English population and a need to balance the tax base throughout the
county, the Stanstead Board was created and took over the supervision of

local boards, who retained the power to collect taxes and operate schools.

314

The initiatives on the part of the Protestant School Board were
among the few aimed at consolidation of institutions in the local
municipalities. Quebec maintained the same type of high decentralized
administration it had established in 1848 with each local council
exercising considerable autonomy.

In the early 19608 the provincial government commissioned a
series of studies to assess the situation of Quebec and the French
population within Quebec. The results of the study pointed to the weak-
nesses inherent in the decentralized system of municipal government.

A new middle class elite took charge of the provincial government whose
power had atrophied from disuse and began to transform the government of
Quebec into the moteur principal de rattrapage. The reforms initiated
by the Liberal government went directly to the seat of clerical power;
educational, health, welfare and social services. The Church, which had
become dependent on the provincial government for the funds to operate
its hospitals and schools, was unable to mount any effective resistance.
The movement of reform Quebec society took the form of an intense
nationalism in which language which mobilizes ethnic support while
glossing over class distinctions and not religion which represents the
old social order, was the defining character of the new nationalism in
Quebec. .

The effects of this reform are still being felt by the community
of North Hatley, but there are several areas which illustrate the basic
transformation best. In the field of education it was determined that
education reform in Quebec could best be accomplished by the creation
of a regional high school system. In North Hatley, this meant the loss

of the high school and the loss of control over education to the

315

professional administrators who would manage the new school system. In
the early 19705 a similar proposal was made regarding elementary
education. This time the resistance was successful only that in the
village school is administered by a smaller district school board and
not under the massive regional system. To accomplish this last change,
the local school board had to dissolve itself, a move which meant the
loss of any residential control over taxation and the disbursement of
funds. Under pressure from the Minister of Education, they were forced
to dissolve or lose the provincial grants which underwrote their school
program.

Another way in which the village is being affected is the result
of language legislation which strictly limits the use of English. The
implementation of this policy is one example of the way in which
institutional control can coerce those operating within coordinate and
subordinate institutions to conform to, if not accept, the policy of the
controlling group. The passage of the Charter of the French Language
has opened the way for provincial intervention into all aspects of the
public and even into the collective private lives of the citizens. The
required use of French in council meetings has limited the access of
unilingual English-speakers to public service. Under a recent interpre-
tation, the law would even require municipal employees driving village
dump trucks to hold certification of competency in French just as it
does of persons seeking professional licenses in Quebec.

An interesting dynamic of institutional competition is seen in
the way in which agencies exercise control and patronage over contexts
which are peripheral to their domains. Through the use of penalities

the Department of Social Service is able to restrict the operations of

316

public service clubs such as the Rotary Club from providing "private"
charity. In its drive to centralize control, the Quebec government has
systematically set programs in place to meet needs previously unmet in
the French community. These often conflict with institutions already
operating in the English community which were developed because the
state had not previously provided them. There is a marked distaste
among bureaucrats for the "private" English institutions but viewed in
their historic context, these institutions are 'private' not in the
sense of exclusive, but private only because the public sector had not
responded to a perceived need. With their institutions succumbing to
provincial guidelines or facing oblivian, the English are confronted
with the new political realities of Quebec and those in the Eastern
Townships are attempting to develop an appropriate mode of response
through the creation of new regional organizations such as Townshippers,
Inc. and the Quebec Farmers Association.

The identification with Canada remains strong since the marked
ethnic component in the new Quebec nationalism all but excludes English
residents from an identification as Quebecois. Through the regionaliza-
tion process the English community has been linked by the schools and
developed a sense of community which is being manifest in the
Townshippers' Incorporated. It is an organization which is capable of
representing the widely scattered English population throughout the
region before committees governing the region under the Quebec system
of decentralized boards. The implications for the present study are
clear. It has been shown that groups truly do compete for control of
institutions and by that control are able to determine and effect the

behavior of those who must operate within those institutional domains.

317

To the extent that they are forced to conform to policies and practices
foreign to their beliefs about society and yet do so, it may be judged
that to a limited extent they have accepted, if not internalized, the

values and beliefs motivating the dominant group.

Conclusion

The present study has examined the hypothesis that if ideology
is transmitted through institutional interaction and if ideological
dominance is a goal in group competition, then this competition should
manifest itself in a struggle for the control of institutions. The
results indicate that ideologically and ethnically opposed groups do
compete for the control of institutions and suggests several interesting
dimensions to both the dynamics of institutional competition in complex
society and to the process of ideological transfer.

In a complex society the autonomy of a given institution and
therefore of the group controlling it is a function of the degree to
which the institution can operate independent of outside funding. When
an institution is penetrated by a larger institution working in the same
domain, the penetration is accomplished primarily through financial
mechanisms. The dominant institution may then limit the ability of the
local unit to collect and allocate funds or may otherwise make the unit
dependent on the dominant unit for funding. Thus, through the control
of funding, a dominant institution is able to direct the operation of
the local institution, or to negatively determine the options at the
local level.

The development of North Hatley would indicate that the initial
control over institutions derives from a group's ability to control the

local resource base, translating that control into broader social power

318

and legitimacy through the control of local institutions. The group
controlling the dominant institution, through the encapsulation of these
local institutions, is able to modify and effect the behavior of those
operating within the local institution to conform with their goals and
objectives. This modification of behavior, while it may not represent
acceptance of the ideology of the institutionally dominant group does
call the ideas and values of the subordinate group into question as their
shared beliefs become increasingly dysfunctional in the new institutional
context. To the extent that the beliefs of the subordinate group about
the nature and goals of society, as well as their own sense of group
identity, are called into question and modified through this institution-
alized interaction it may be argued that ideological transfer has
occurred.

In the case of the English in the Eastern Townships this ideo-
logical transfer had had two noticable results: the traditional English
identity referents have come into question as has their belief in the
instrumental role of society. First, English identification with the
federal government appears to have remained strong but the practical
merits of this Canadian identity has come into question as regional
identity markers, mainly that of Townshippers, demonstrate more adaptive
potential. The decline in their collective ability to control local
events or to participate effectively in political processes has raised
questions about the power of their linguistic group to represent their
interests. Secondly, the efforts of the provincial government to provide
a full array of social services has compromised the role of voluntary
associations in dealing with social needs. Throughout their history

Townshippers have demonstrated a "Yankee" belief in individualism,

319

maintaining an instrumental laissez—faire view of government. Society is
organized towards specific ends, as in the Society for the Suppression
of Felonies, but is not viewed as the expression of the collective will
as it is by the Quebecois nationalists. Although the English have not
accepted the Quebecois definition of society as collectivity, government
initiatives and interventions at the local level have undermined the
functions of the traditional voluntary associations, putting in their

stead professional animateurs and government-sponsored programs which

 

eliminate the need for local leadership and ongoing associational
networks.

The changes which have occurred in Quebec have been examined in
terms of their effects on the English community. The focus on the
confrontational asPects of the process stems from the goal of the
research to demonstrate the process of ideological transfer through
institutional control. To assert that some changes have a negative
effect on the English-speaking community is not to say that the changes
in and of themselves have been bad or deliberately harmful. Rather the
changes that have occurred, occurred in response to the perceived needs
of Quebec society. Political reforms to improve education and the
quality of municipal services were necessary as was the need to central-
ize power within Quebec to accomplish those social goals. The information
presented in this study documents the impact of these policies on a
predominately English-speaking village in the Eastern Townships. The
study did not examine the positive dimension of the process in the value
reinforcement that accompanied this institutional shift for those at the
local level who identify with the goals and objectives of the dominant

group. An interesting sequel to this study would be the examination of

 

 

320

the effects of the increasing centralization of municipal affairs dis—
cussed in chapter 7 in the context of a predominately French village
in order to determine how this process works when the ideological

differences are manifest in political, not ethnic, terms.

 

FOOTNOTES

 

FOOTNOTES

Chapter I

1.

The most complete survey of writings on the question of ideologies
in Quebec is presented in the introduction to Les Ideologies
Québecoises au l9e Siécle by Jean-Paul Bernard (1973). The interest
in ideology in Quebec or the history of ideology is fairly recent in
Quebec, beginning with "Orientations de la pensée sociale" by
Tremblay (1953); "Idéologie et le crise de conscience du Canada
francaise" by Rioux (1955); and the classic, "Trois dominantes de la
pensée canadienne-francaise" by Michel Brunet (1957) which focused
on the social definition of French Canadian society imposed by the
Catholic Church: the agrarian myth, distrust of the state and the
mission to preserve the Catholic faith in North America. The theme
of Catholic ideology in the formation of the French-Canadian identity
is elaborated by Jean Charles Falardeau (1960) in "Les Canadiens
frangais et leur idéologie."

 

Two discussions which heavily influence the present study are one
by Marcel Rioux (1968), "Sur l'évolution des ideologies au Québec,"
which highlights the confrontation between the Catholic clergy and
the Libertarians in the 19th century and traces the conflict into the
present century. The other discussion is provided by Herbert Guidon
(1971) in "Un réexamen de l'évolution sociale du Quebec," in which he
directly addresses the problems of the transformation occurring within
the Catholic Church in the face of growing urbanization and the rise
of a bureaucratic elite. And finally, the study by Gilles Bourque
and Nicole Frennette (1970), "Classes Sociales et Idéologies
Nationalistes au Québec, 1760-1970," which highlights the sequence of
events in Quebec in terms of class confrontation and provides clear
criteria on which to identify groups sharing class interests and class
antagonisms and while they tend to reject the ideology as group
consciousness which marks the writing of the other authors, their
emphasis on the development of nationalist ideologies in relation to
economic and political factors provided many useful insights in the
preparation of the present work.

Richard Adams offers a structural model for the analysis of power
in Crucifixion by Power (1970) and in Energy and Structure (1975).
Adams was influenced by Fried and Service from whom he derives
"levels of integration," but diverges from their models stressing
"types of exercises of power . . . and a recogntion that the
evolution of society has followed unchanging basic principles
throughout its course" (1975:208). These principles are identity,
coordination and centralization and may be identified in industrial
as well as primitive society (1975:211). Differences aside he shares

 

321

322

their neo-evolutionist orientation in his treatment of values.

I share Adams' contention that values "do not mystically appear,
but arise out of larger ranking processes" (1975:174). The present
research is an attempt to avoid the tendency in anthropology "to
siphon off values and study them as if they were in some manner
independent of the energy forms and processes . . . which produced
them" (1975:174). His treatment of values, however, reflects a
behavioralist bias underlying a game-theory approach to their
analysis. Values represent a "sort of mentalistic structural
formulations," representing some ranking priorities shared by members
of every formal and informal operating unit (1975:176). These
"mentalistic formulations" confront the real problems of survival
and readaptation and thus are subject to reevaluation as social and
ecological facts change (1975:178).

Adams provides a concise statement of the process through which the
social environment can effect change in ideology providing a basic
model for the present research. Adams makes the distinction between
reality potential (the actual potential for some unit to operate in
a specific way in the real environment given its composition, history
and physical environment) and cultural potential (what people believe
is the potential of the unit, the rules, prescriptions, proscriptions,
and special values they attach to it)(l970:48).

The effect of the reality potential on the cultural potential of the
unit is fundamentally a test of reality. Individuals believe
certain things are possible and act on those beliefs. The conse-
quences have reasonable (and crucial) congruence with experience,
they are rewarded. If their beliefs do not work, then over a period
of time, variations are conceived of and tried . . . All belief
systems carry a great amount of non-testable, non-verifiable con-
tent, and so most meanings do not change drastically merely due to
their failure in the external world. There are points, however,
where some individuals loose faith and try new meanings. Where

they seem to be more satisfactory they may be taken over by others
and the complex of meanings begins gradually to change and
differentiate itself (1970:50).

This formulation provides a basic model for ideological competition
used in the present research but does not allow for the analysis of
the symbolic and cognitive dimensions of the process. The present
work represents a preliminary attempt to utilize the symbolic and
political models of ideology presented by Geertz and Cohen, grounding
them as Adams suggests in the social and environmental processes
which underlie them.

Chapter III

1. The production of lumber in the Outaouis River Valley began in 1805
during the period of lumber expansion discussed above. The early
workers were English from the Outaouis and the Gatineau and the

 

323

market for the lumber was assured in the shipyards of Quebec. The
lumbering expanded up the river valleys of the Gatineau, La Liévre
and La Rought. By 1850, the area of Mt. Laurier was reached. Pro-
visioning the chantiers had become increasingly difficult and the
three large lumbering companies had purchased and developed several
large farms to provision the camps located in the fertile sections
of the river valleys. Salaried employees were charged with the soil
preparation, planting and raising crops and with the maintenance of
buildings. The colonization inspired by the land shortages in the
St. Lawrence Valley led to the spectacularly fast settlement of the
region. Between 1880 and 1900, six of the seven villages in the
area were settled. This rapid growth expanded the demographic base
while the insurmountable forces of natural limitation in productivity
quickly showed that the agricultural production would be limited to
just enough to support the work force. The lumber camps became the
natural outlet for the workers profited from the expanded productive
potential without having to increase its own investments. Thus the
conjunction of a colonization movement in this instance served the
interests of the British investors. It was in the case of the British
American Land Company that the conjunction was best seen (Durand
1975:3-6).

 

Chapter IV

 

l. The 1825 census for Hatley Township does not give indication of
ethnic origin, while that of 1832 lists 29 Catholics out of a
population of l,600-possibly Irish. The Census of 1842 and 1851 do
not give returns from Hatley while that of 1861 provides more detail
but divides the Township into regions which do not correspond to
present boundaries.

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