Letter from the governor and the intendant to the King, 9 October 1734.
Description of the fire of the month of April.
M. hocquart had the honour of notifying you on May 6 last by Way of Isle
Royale of the Fire that occurred in Montréal on The previous April 10, And
that at 7 in the evening, the fire having caught in the Roof of the House
of widow Francheville located at the river’s edge, it travelled so quickly
to the
neighbouring Houses in spite of the rescue Efforts, that within 3 hours,
46 of them were consumed including the hotel Dieu. Most of the Houses belonged
to prominent merchants; they lost essentially all of their furnishings Belongings
and Merchandise. S
r Lestage who was The richest merchant in the
Colony is said to have lost 200 M [thousand] #. The other Merchants or residential
owners suffered losses proportionately. They are widow francheville, S
rs
Béréy, Radisson, Deschaillons, Joncaire, Périgny, Gamelin, Guillory and others
included in the enclosed list.
The accident resulted from a vile act by
a negress Slave belonging to widow Francheville who out of some displeasure
against her Mistress deliberately set fire in the Attics of her house, which
was quickly in flames due to a Westerly wind that forced the fire to spread
at once to the whole neighbourhood, causing the whole of the Population to
dread a mass fire. All of the inhabitants were so taken with fear, that each
and every one rather than quickly help save the burning houses thought only
of saving their own houses and their belongings, even in the most Distant
city sectors. However, with proper orders given by M
rs de Beaucours,
Michel, and the court officers, And with The help of
the Troops the remainder of the [city] was saved. The negress was arrested
And her trial concluded. She was condemned to make honourable amends, to be
hanged And her dead body thrown into the fire; [This is?] what was executed
in Montreal The 21 of June. We enclose the judgment of her condemnation following
which is the report of the execution.
The Conseil superier. By the same ruling it was also ordained that the said
negress be subjected to torture in the ordinary And extraordinary ways, in
order to extort the names of her accomplices. The miserable negress declared
no one during her interrogation, and merely confessed her crime; consequently
it was on the Advice
of S
r hocquart that S
r Raimbault lieutenant general
postponed a new trial for Contumacy against The man named Thibault, until
some sufficient proof could be brought against this Individual. The King's
prosecutor for the jurisdiction has conducted to date merely futile searches;
there is but the escape of the said Thibault, And some elements of debauchery
with the negress that can be held against him.
You will kindly note, Monseigneur, that it is stated in the sentence of the
first judge, whose decision is in the judgment, that following the said negress
being put to the question, her interrogation would be transmitted to the king's
prosecutor
for his final judgment of contumacy; But as the Prosecutor could not draw
whatsoever from her, S
r hocquart did not believe it necessary to
impose other costs on the Domain. The fire in itself translated into some
expense for his Majesty.
We include the Statement of what was provided by the King's stores to some
Individuals and Soldiers In consideration of or replacement for their losses
in the fire. You will understand Monseigneur, by the addendum to This Statement
the reasons that prompted the replacements.
The hotel Dieu of Montréal did [require?] all of our attention given the
situation
it was put in as a result of the fire. M. hocquart had the honour of informing
you in the same Letter of May 6 last that all the Buildings of both the Sisters
and the paupers had been consumed by the fire. The sisters Salvaged nothing
except for a few Mattresses; very little clothing, and some drugs from their
apothecary. The Destitution in which they found themselves, and the necessity
of having a hospital in Montréal, where The largest number of Troops is posted,
prompted us for your great pleasure to lodge the Sisters in the house of S
r
De Montigny near the Chapelle de Notre Dame de bonsecours, And the patients
in the house next door where
they are cared for as they were previously at the hotel Dieu. Confident
of your approval as regards The Leasing of both Houses, we settled at 750
# for the lot, until the Hospital can be restored. That of the Charons Brothers
is in no State to receive the Sisters due to the repairs that would have been
required to the lodgings where they stayed after The first fire, and for which
expenses would have risen much higher than for leasing the two houses for
two to three years, besides the impracticality due to the distance and the
difficulty of transporting patients there during the harsh winter season,
when this [illegible word] hospital is often rather
We Examined the various means possible for restoring the hotel Dieu, And
having made note of the state of the current affairs of the community, and
of its expenses, We have the honour, Monseigneur, of providing you with an
account of these affairs including different Statements of the revenues and
debts of both the Community and the Hospital, And of what was burned or lost
in the fire. You will note, Monseigneur, from the Statements, that the revenues
of this house do not permit the Sisters to even attempt a recovery; We have
therefore relied on the generosity of the People of this colony
and principally of those in the Government of Montréal, who are particularly
close to this Community. In truth most of them have already contributed to
the cause. Residents in the countryside who are aware of our plight through
our notices to Curates and militia officers, provided them with a portion
of the carpentry wood needed for the roof of their Building. Moneys were also
forthcoming from persons more affluent [and] some wheat, and from some workers
in Montréal a few days labour at no expense. To date, the assistance provided
has risen to 3000 # or thereabouts, modest funds for the undertaking of the
work if we had not taken it upon ourselves to have advanced to them from the
Trésorier de la Marine the sum of 5000 #, which was put towards
boards, Rafters for the roof, days of labour, and the rebuilding of the
hospital; And trusting in your goodness, They undertook this summer to erect
a portion of the Walls, lay rafters, and roof a portion of the Building as
shelter against the Winter cold: And that is all They were able to accomplish
this year. They will be in no State to Undertake more, unless you are so kind,
Monseigneur, as to obtain for them from his Majesty adequate assistance. You
were agreeable to providing them with a sum of 18000 # following the fire
of 1721, which did not inflict on them, to any degree, as much Damage as this
last one. The first fire
occurred In full daylight, In the Summer, on the feast of corpus Christi
at which was present the whole of the population of the city and its Surroundings,
who helped Transport most items of hospital furniture, unlike for the latter
fire, where the circumstances were unfortunate. It occurred in the night during
The thaw season, when streets are impassable, with a fierce westerly wind
that fuelled the fire to such an extent, that we were unable to approach the
Building, which [was] consumed in less than one hour.
M. Hocquart once again found himself required to have the King's stores supply
various implements, and medication needed to alleviate the suffering of incapacitated
soldiers in the new hospital, and we are adjoining
the statement for these items, in the amount of 1060 # 19s.
He has the honour of providing you with an Account in a separate dispatch
of the situation in which Sr De Bérey clerk of the Trésorier de
la Marine in Montréal found himself concerning the coffers, and receipts for
expenses incurred under his management.
We had as of the month of March Expedited as is Customary the necessary orders
to the officers of the jurisdiction of Montréal, to establish with the city
deputies the tax Roll for the 5000 # tax to be imposed upon the individuals
And Communities of the city for the fortifications, And the Roll was on the
verge of being put into place when the fire
Took place. S
r Raimbault due to various representations made
to him called on us to issue new orders. As we had to make our way to Montreal
at the beginning of May, We could not ignore the Issue [of?] these representations.
We Examined how much the taxes of the Individuals who were victims of the
fire amounted to; we found that they came to 1000 #, of which they were dismissed,
for the pleasure of His Majesty, and until further orders; as a result the
Roll for this year was set in the amount of 4000 # Only, divided
amongst other individuals And Communities in the city. We trust, Monseigneur,
that you approve of our actions, inasmuch as following the fire of 1721, His
Majesty was more than willing to put off payment of the total amount of tax
for three years.
We also adjoin to this Letter the Ordinance that M. hocquart rendered in
concert with M. De Beauharnois in order to find, in the future, a more effective
remedy to fire incidents here in Montréal than has been the case to date.
It contains
specific clauses that were not included in The previous Regulations And
that Were needed. It has been recommended to Police judges that they have
a strong hand in the Execution of the aforementioned.
We have taken note that the inhabitants of the city of Québec display more
aptness And proficiency than the inhabitants of Montréal in [remedying] similar
mishaps, which so far have had no repercussions. For their part The stores
in [the?]
Chateau are well-stocked with implements. However S
r hocquart
had some delivered to the Bureau du Domaine And to another Individual in the
Lower town, for use when required; he must adopt such a Regulation for Quebec
as well, and within the same spirit as the one adopted for Montréal, and beyond
this you can expect, Monseigneur, that to our way of seeing things The Police
are better prepared here than anywhere else for such situations.
We remain most respectfully yours Monseigneur.
Your most humble and dutiful servitors
