The French and the Micmacs 227 
     
    
   
   
    
     church and a residence for a priest, but without suc- 
     
     cess. Likewise he failed to get a missionary for Mal- 
     
     peque, both Desenclaves and de Vauquelin who came 
     
     out from France in 1739 declined the honor, the 
     
     former on the plea of ill health, the latter because of 
     
     the difficulty of learning the language at his ad- 
     
     vanced age.*” 
     
    

    
     In the meantime the Indians of Acadia were being 
     
     served by the Abbés Maillard and Le Loutre, both 
     
     from the Seminary of the Holy Spirit, of Paris. 
     
     They resided, when not on the move, at Ninganiche 
     
     and Shubenacadie, respectively. The plan at this 
     
     time (1739) was to have the missionary at Nin- 
     
     ganiche serve the Indians of Antigonish, that of 
     
     Malpeque serve those of Pictou, Tatamagouche, 
     
     Beaubassin, Shediac, and Richibuctou, while the mis- 
     
     sionary of Shubenacadie should serve Port Royal, 
     
     La Have, and Cape Sable. But when Father Vincent 
     
     went to France and no successor was found, Le Lou- 
     
     tre’s activities embraced practically all of English 
     
     Acadia and Isle Saint Jean, though he rarely visited 
     
     the latter. After the founding of Halifax he made his 
     
     headquarters at Beaubassin until the fall of Beausé- 
     
     jour when he went to Quebec and ultimately to 
     
     France, though not before experiencing prison life 
     
     in the hands of the English. Maillard was sent to 
     
     France by the English in 1746, but returned to Aca- 
     
     dia in 1750. 
     
    

    
     The general policy of the French Government was 
     
     to utilize the missionaries as political agents. It was 
     
    
   
   
    
     12 C11 B, Vol. 21, p. 81.