BANISHMENT OF THE JESUITS, JULY 9, 1768    60
Louisiane, apres la perte de leurs biens pourraient encore souffrir en silence 1'atteinte donnee par cet arret a. leur reputation. Mais il y a des temps ou le silence est un aveu, et il n'est pas permis d'avouer le mal impute, quand il doit en resulter un scandale. Or, quel scan-dale que des missionnaires envoyes en Amerique pour l'instruction des Francais et des sauvages; des missionnaires y subsistant des bienfaits du Roi et que la voix de leur conscience forcerait a. convenir, au moins tacitement, qu'Us n'ont eu aucun soin de leurs missions; qu'ils n'ont eu soin que de leurs habitations, et de plus qu'Us sont usur-pateurs du vicariat ginlral d'un totcht? Mais non, la conscience n'obligera point les Jesuites de la Louisiane a convenir de ce qu'on leur impute! elle les oblige au contraire a parler, et dans ce qu'ils ont a dire pour leur justification, ils ne craignent point d'etre dementis; au moins ne craignent-ils point qu-on leur oppose rien de vrai, ni de solide. II n'est guere aujourd'hui de provinces en France ou l'on ne voie quelque personne de consideration qui ait vecu a la Louisiane: de ces personnes il n'y en a aucune qui n'y ait connu des Jesuites; la plupart meme ont pu les examiner d'assez pres.   Or, les Jesuites attendant
[Translation]
Louisiana, after the loss of their property, could still have borne in silence the attack upon their reputation made by this decree. But there are times when silence is an admission, and it is not permitted to admit the wrong imputed when a scandal would result therefrom. Now, what a scandal, if missionaries sent to America for the instruction of the French and the savages, missionaries subsisting there upon the benefactions of the king — if such men should be forced by the voice of conscience to acknowledge, at least tacitly, that they took no care of their missions; that they gave their attention only to their estates; and, besides, that they were usurpers of the vicariate-general of a bishopric! But no, conscience will not oblige the Jesuits of Louisiana to acknowledge what is imputed to them! It obliges them, on the contrary, to speak, and, in what they have to say for their justification, they do not fear to be convicted of falsehood; at least, they do not fear that anything true or substantial will be opposed to them.
There is today hardly any province in France where there is not some prominent person who has lived in Louisiana; of these persons, there is not one who has not known Jesuits there, and most of them