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8 On The Eve oj the Conquest correspond with each other, and this correspondence included the Enumeration ifall the Canadian posts.9 DESCRIPTION OF RAYMOND'S ENUMERATION OF ALL THE CANADIAN POSTS Raymond's Enumeration if all the Canadian posts, sent to Surlaville in 1754, a crucial moment in North American colonial history, provides a remarkably candid and detailed report on and recommendations for New France on the eve of the Seven Years' War. From the report it is evident that Raymond hoped Surlaville would present it to the new minister of Marine, Jean-Baptiste Machault d'Arnouville, in hopes of advancing Raymond's career. Raymond's treatise, for despite the fact that he called it an enumeration it is much more than that, deals extensively with the French posts in the pays d'en haut (upper country). His sweeping analysis, however, extends from the post at Michilimackinac on the strait between Lakes Michigan and Huron to as far east as the commerce, ports, and defenses of Acadia on the Atlantic coast. Raymond's stated purpose in writing to his friend, whom he addressed in his first sentence as "My dear Surlaville," was "to satisfY" him by providing him with a frank, detailed "enumeration" or, more accurately, assessment of the current system of administration of the French posts. He included the posts throughout the Great Lakes Basin, what is now upper New York State, the Ohio River Valley, and the disputed colony ofAcadia. Raymond's report does not simply consist of lists; it goes far beyond a mere enumeration of posts. It is actually a critique of the then-current organization and administration of the posts, supported by specific figures on costs and by his own detailed observations on abuses of the system. He makes recommendations for the reform of the system, then riddled with favoritism and corrupt officers and civil authorities; offers strategic observations regarding the English colonies and their implications for the French posts; proposes a river-and-Iake transportation system; reports on the underpayment of officers and its disastrous consequences; and moves beyond military and administrative concerns to discuss social issues as well, commenting on colonial French men and women and their mores. Raymond provides observations on Indian customs and suggestions for improving relations between the French and their Native American allies, and makes recommendations on the inconsistent practices of both church Introduction 9 and government regarding the brandy trade. He criticizes certain missionaries and missions and makes specific suggestions for reducing large-scale smuggling and fraud. Raymond's reforms for the officer corps and the military include assigning only worthy senior officers (captains) to command the posts; discontinuing the practice of appointing junior officers as commandants through favoritism; discontinuing the award of certain posts' trade to the commandants, replacing that practice with standardized levels of supplementary pay for all post commanders and subordinate officers; and increasing the strength of certain garrisons and decreasing that ofothers. Raymond's recommendations for trade and finance involve putting all the posts on the conge (trade license) system, with the price ofconges (purchased by merchants) restored from 600 to 1,000 livres; having the king pay all officers and employees at the posts from the proceeds of the sale of conges, rather than having the commandant-proprietors pay them; establishing certain new posts and closing others; opening the brandy trade to all, both officers and merchants; shifting to the merchants the costs of transporting goods and supplies to all the posts; and instituting measures to eliminate fraudulent practices at the posts. His suggestions for the colony's trade include merging the Acadian fur trade with that of Canada, and leasing out Acadian seal-hunting rights rather than awarding them free to private parties. Raymond estimates the king's annual savings from his proposed reforms to be over 183,000 livres. Raymond's central theme is that instituting his reforms will produce vast savings for the king, but throughout the report a hidden agenda becomes increasingly clear. This does not become obvious until more than 50 pages into the report, when he sets forth various proposals for his own elevation in rank and for assignment to command one of the most lucrative posts.lO Nevertheless his case for reform was sufficiently persuasive for Surlaville to submit over his own name a modified version of the report to the minister. Raymond's treatise, as indicated above, provides a profusion of details on many aspects of French commercial and military life on the frontier...

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