Nova Scotia Archives

Acadian Heartland

Records of the Deportation and Le Grand Dérangement, 1714-1768

112

NOVA SCOTIA DOCUMENTS.

prived of his goods than to incur damnation as he believes by not receiv'g absolution from the Priest. Consider Monsieur how this tends to render all civil judicature useless, & how easy it will be for the Missionarys to render themselves the only distributors of Justice amongst people bred up in ignorance; and of what consequence it is for the maintaining his Maj'tys authority to restrain that Power which the Priests are but too apt to assume upon the foresaid Proposition which can at most extend no further than to exhort ye partys to Compose amicably their differences or to have recourse to the way of Justice as it is established in the Government they live under, & to abide by what decisions they give according as the Rules & Laws by which they are to be try'd prescribe. I would enlarge upon this head much more but will not detain the bearer at present; I shall only tell you that this is one of the blocks on which I have often forewarn’d you not to stumble.

I am with Esteem

Monsr.

29 June 1741

Mons. des Enclaves.

Govr. Mascarene to Monsieur Des Enclaves.

(Letter Book.)

MONSIEUR, —

I received your letter of the 21st July N.S. and am glad to see tbat from what I wrote to you, you are sensible of the ill consequences that will follow from connecting the Temporal with the Spiritual. I have no desire to Enter on the subject of Controversy, if I have done so before it was a kind of necessity which Obliged me to it when one of your Brethren who was full of the Prejudices he had been bred up to gave me (to speak in our terms) a kind of challenge. I do not believe he has any just reason to Glory in the event of that kind of Conflict, my only aim is in the Station I am in to keep the Missionarys who reside in this Governmt. within the bounds of their Duty & to hinder them from Establishing imperium in imperio which the Laws of Great Britain will not suffer, as for Religion I am of that temper as not to wish ill to any person whose Persuasion differs with mine, provided that Persuasion is not contrary to the rules of Society & Government.