FISHERIES OF THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC 43 



settle in the colony, it was not desirable to burden the under- 

 taking at the beginning, as had been done at Plaisance, with 

 families of young children, some of the latter having been 

 infants at the breast ("mesme charges d'enfants Encor a 

 la mammelle"). 1 Denys estimated that with the loan of a 

 ship from the king the sum of twenty thousand livres would 

 suffice for the first establishment of the fishery; being ten 

 thousand for the equipment of the ship and fishing apparatus 

 and ten thousand for the advances to the young men and 

 women engaged, and for the cost of their passage from 

 France. It was then hoped that about three years would see 

 a colony of a hundred families at the establishment. It was 

 urged that the king should give the free right of entry into 

 France of the fish caught in the colony, not only to aid the 

 Perce establishment, but also to encourage others to establish 

 similar enterprises, since there were more than fifty suitable 

 localities for them in Newfoundland, Cape Breton and Acadia. 



The hope was expressed that the first fish of the season, 

 which usually commanded the best prices, could be sent to 

 the Levant, and that a ship might go annually to the West 

 India Islands with a cargo of green cod, dried herring, sal- 

 mon and mackerel, lumber for building purposes, oil and 

 coal. The balance of the fish was to be sent to France. The 

 soil of Perce was said to be able to furnish grain and vege- 

 tables for the subsistence of the colony, equal to those pro- 

 duced at Quebec, as well as fodder for the necessary cattle, 

 while for drinking purposes it was assumed that beer could 

 be made. The memoir further pointed out the opportunities 

 for fortifying the establishment, indicating the importance 

 of the site, which commanded the approach to Quebec by 

 the river, and which was so located that it could not possibly 

 .be surprised, and that two thousand fishermen could be em- 

 ployed in the fisheries within sight of the fort. 



Still another memoir 2 in the same collection of docu- 

 ments, speaking of the advantages to the Canadians of a 



1 The original spelling is retained. 



2 Collection Clairambault, Vol. 1016, folio 308. 



