Rebirth of the French Colony 125 
     
    
   
   
    
     so. He was to issue a proclamation ‘forbidding all 
     
     persons under a severe penalty to export out of said 
     
     province to any French settlement whatever, any 
     
     corn, cattle, or provisions of any kind, without leave 
     
     first obtained from him or the Commander-in-chief 
     
     for the time being.” Further, he was to exercise a 
     
     careful supervision over the French priests in the 
     
     province, to refuse his assent to the exercise of Epis- 
     
     copal jurisdiction by the Bishop of Quebec, and to 
     
     do all in his power by education and intermarriage 
     
     to encourage the Acadians to become British and 
     
     Protestant.’ 
     
    

    
     By a proclamation of July 14, 1749, Cornwallis 
     
     gave effect to his instructions in regard to trade and 
     
     the oath of allegiance; and, on receipt of a petition 
     
     from the Acadians asking the privilege of taking a 
     
     qualified oath, exempting them from bearing arms 
     
     against the French or the Indians, he, seeing in this 
     
     the hope of the Acadians to be both French and Brit- 
     
     ish subjects at the same time, issued a second procla- 
     
    
   
   
    
     mation on August 1, fixing the last date for receiv- 
     
     ing the oath on October 15-26.° 
     
     As will be seen later, the Acadians, relying upon a 
     
     continuance of the British policy of advance and 
     
     recede in the past, which had been due partly to 
     
     preluctance to adopt extreme measures and partly to 
     
     the weakness of their position, decided on a policy 
     
     of evasion directed by the French officials and mis- 
     
    
   
   
    
     ® Can. Arch. Report, 1905, Vol. II, App. C, pp. 50-51. 
     
     8 Tbid., p. 53.