112 The French in Prince Edward Island 
     
    
   
   
    
     distress caused by the devastation of the New Eng- 
     
     landers and by the dearth of supplies for which they 
     
     had hitherto looked to Ile Royale. 
     
    

    
     But if the inhabitants of Isle Saint Jean saw no 
     
     further display of force by the English during the 
     
     war their lot was not a happy one. Rumors of expul- 
     
     sion were rife and these caused a few of them to seek 
     
     shelter in Quebec, particularly the fisherfolk who had 
     
     their own means of transportation. But the majority 
     
     remained attached to their little holdings, sowing and 
     
     reaping in fear and trembling lest each crop should 
     
     be the last. 
     
    

    
     That these rumors were not without foundation is 
     
     now apparent from the official documents of the de- 
     
     liberations of the English at Louisburg, 1745-1746. 
     
     Early in the autumn of 1745 Rear Admiral Warren, 
     
     Governor of Louisburg, had written the Duke of 
     
     Newcastle, the Secretary of State, pointing out the 
     
     importance of the conquest of Louisburg in giving 
     
     an opportunity “to extirpate the French from North 
     
     America,” thus securing the trade in fish and fur 
     
     which would become infinitely more valuable when 
     
     the French could no longer stir up the Indians and 
     
     prevent them from procuring the valuable furs which 
     
     the Continent afforded.’ To this end he contemplated 
     
     transporting the entire French population to France. 
     
     But the lack of transports prevented the immediate 
     
     execution of this plan and accordingly on October 
     
     3, 1745, he again wrote the Duke of Newcastle: 
     
    
   
   
    
     1 October 8, 1745. A. & W.I., Vol. 65, p. 63,