Desenclave, curé at Port Royal, carefully reported to the English Governor all he could learn as to the movements of the French, and exhorted his parishioners to be faithful to the King of England, the Sieur Chevreux, another curé, threatened to excommunicate those of his parishioners who took up arms in favour of the French, and the Sieur Miniac, Vicar-General, though acting with greater secrecy, did even more to frustrate the enterprise. His Majesty would have taken care to have these last three missionaries return to France, if circumstances had permitted his doing so ; but he shall give orders that they are no longer to participate in the grant he makes towards the support of the priests in Acadia. » [Archives des Colonies, B. 81 : from the copy in the Canadian Archives.]
Desenclaves took the same stand in 1745 and in 1747, at the time of the expeditions of Marin and of De Ramesay against Annapolis Royal.
During the visit of the Abbé Le Loutre to France in 1753 he persuaded his friend, the Abbé Daudin, to give up a parish in the Diocese of Sens and come to Nova Scotia as a missionary priest to the Acadians. On his arrival Daudin took up his residence at Pisiquid [Windsor], Some extracts are here given from letters written by him to the Abbé Le Loutre, then at Au Lac, near Fort Beauséjour. The first letter is dated at Port Royal, August 10, 1754 — four months after Desenclaves had left that parish :
« As regards Mr. Desenclaves I have no news to send you, except that he is very much regretted by our Gentlemen [the English], and with good reason : no other priest did them such good service. They were better acquainted with him than M. l’abbé de l’Isle Dieu, I have no doubt you will see to his withdrawal. I am sending you a reply from the commandant of the fort which will give you information. I have returned to M. Chauvreux the Bishop’s letters which I found complete, lying in some houses at the Cape where the English are continually. We have written to him in very severe terms. For my part I close my letter — after having reproached him with his trickeries, which he cannot deny — by saying that if I were his superior I would interdict him. It was high time for my mission in this country on behalf of faith and morals. I had never seen anything worse, and I do not wonder that the English are asking to have him back again… I fear that M. Desenclaves may have written against me. It is a matter you should see to. He is a dangerous man, and might be able to tie my hands : you understand what I mean. »
The other letter is dated September 26, 1754, and reads thus :
« …M. Desenclaves is having himself sought after by the English. He thinks it may be a means of getting back again, but the people [the French] are far from asking for him. He was strongly against the King of France in the dispute. He did not conceal that it would be better to deal with the English than with the French. You can judge of the rest ! I have written him a letter in which I do not spare him. He tells me he has sent it to His Lordship. That is his business. The people take my side. » [The Pichon Papers. Canadien Archives, M. 653].
