The Ontario Archives: Scope of its Operations

In carrying out this plan the bureau aims at the collection of documents having, in the widest sense, a bearing upon the political or social history of Ontario, and upon its agricultural, industrial, commercial, and financial development; the collection of municipal, school, and church records; the collection and preservation of pamphlets, maps, charts, manuscripts, papers, regimental muster rolls, etc., bearing on its past or present history; the collection and preservation of facts illustrative of the early settlements, pioneer experience, customs, mode of living, prices, wages, boundaries, areas cultivated, homes, etc.; the collection and preservation of correspondence, letters from and to settlers, documents in private hands pertaining to public and social affairs, etc., reports of local events and historic incidents in the family or public life; the rescuing from oblivion of the memory of the pioneer settlers, the obtaining and preserving narratives of their early exploits, and of the part they took in opening up the country for occupation; and the bureau cooperates with the historical societies of Ontario and societies kindred to them, helping to consolidate and classify their work, and as far as practicable to direct local effort on given lines.

Within this scope the following plan of work has been adopted: To divide the history of Ontario until the confederation of the Provinces in 1867 into its political periods, arranging the material secured in chronological order, and giving each period a series of reports. Thus the work has been carried on in all the divisions simultaneously, and when sufficient material has accumulated in any one of them, it has been utilized by the publication of documents without undue delay. From confederation onward, the larger quantity of material to be dealt with, and the probable absence of sweeping constitutional changes to mark eras, suggested a chronological rather than a political basis of division. The periods are:

1. To the close of the French régime, or the period of French discovery, 1763.

2. To the organization of the Province of Upper Canada, 1791.

3. To the legislative union of Upper and Lower Canada, 1841.

4. To confederation, 1867.

5. To the end of the nineteenth century, 1900.

In each of these divisions there is much work to do. Each has its own distinctive features, and there is abundance of minor incident.

Material of special interest to Ontario bearing on the French régime is contained in the "Correspondence Générale," in the papers of the "Collection de Moreau St. Méry," which have been transcribed from the Paris archives for the Canadian archives, most of which has never been published in printed form. There is also valuable Ontario material in the "Haldimand Collection of papers," the "Bouquet Papers," and the Colonial Office records bearing on this period. It is intended to collect and publish these papers, accompanied by an adequate translation, when not written in English, and adding extracts in chronological order from the publications of Perrot, La Potherie, La Harpe, Charlevoix, De Kalm, the Jesuit Relations, papers by Margry, and a portion of the "Mémoire pour Messire François Bigot," which contains what seems to be an excellent summary of the commerce and condition of all the western trading posts at the time of the conquest. Other sources of material for publication have also been considered in connection with this early period.

Aboriginal or Indian history presents many interesting features to us, and some attention has been given to the subject, including an inquiry as to the original savage occupants of Ontario, their origin, migrations, traffic, and intercourse; their language, topographical nomenclature, folklore, and literature; the origin and development of their clan, tribal, and national organization; the history and results of European contact; their present condition, capabilities, and tendencies.

This period of Ontario history, that of the French régime, will be our heroic age, as "distance lends enchantment to the view." Here will be found the adventurous coureurs de bois, many of the great routes and trading posts, the headquarters of which in later times, was Fort William, on Thunder Bay. Here the Huron and Iroquois met in deadly conflict; here also the French missionaries of the Cross endured untold sufferings with ecstatic heroism, and receiving the martyr's crown left a record of Christian zeal and fortitude not surpassed, if at all equaled, in the history of the world. Events which stirred the imagination and fascinated the finely poised mind of a Parkman will yet furnish the material for Canada's great, unwritten epic poem.

The Ontario bureau of archives has made a beginning in this field by publishing a volume on the "Identification of the Huron Village Sites," where those missionaries labored and fell, prepared by the venerable and scholarly archivist of St. Mary's College, Montreal, the Rev. Father Jones, S. J., a contribution, I believe, of undoubted value. It may be taken as significant of our attitude that a work of such erudite research has been treated as a public document and issued free to the people at the expense of the Government. It will soon be followed by the writings of Father Potier, a work of far-reaching importance and interest, which is in process of preparation for the press. The three volumes of manuscript have been photographed page by page and a zincograph facsimile of the original will be placed before scholars, a work the casual announcement of which has already whetted the appetites of not a few antiquarians.