bolder spirits indulged in bloody raids on the English settlements . . . At the same time England—which then meant the thirteen colonies as well—was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with her greatest rival, France; and the Acadians were her enemies within her gate. They were warned, exhorted, threatened, but they obstinately and blindly closed their ears. So it came that this unhappy people were ground to powder between the upper and nether mill-stone. They were removed from their homes with such humanity as was possible under the piteous circumstances and were scattered abroad among the nations."
Against this we have the words of another Canadian: "Lawrence has the unenviable reputation of having caused the expatriation of the Acadians, and of having done it with great cruelty. These facts have come to light only within a few years, through the researches of French writers. . . . The Acadians had been threatened with various forms of punishment by almost all the governors, and had learned the lesson of humility and patience . . . In the light of later facts thrown upon their condition, it is almost beyond belief that a people should be so patient and quietly persevering in their effort to remain upon their lands under all the imposition practised upon them. . . . Unfortunately for them they were found too submissive. Their homes were their all, and they bore insult and indignity for forty years in a vain hope that a
