The main concern of his instructions regarded the fur trade. Indeed, while French officials recognized that the fur trade was still the linchpin of Canadian commerce, they were concerned about its negative impact on the non-fur economy which they were convinced would be the colony's mainstay in the future. Rightly so, because in a matter of only 7 years, trade income rapidly decreased. On March 22, 1729, Hocquart wrote to king Louis XV to inform him that "the trade done last year at the Forts Frontenac and Niagara have increased of two-thirds over preceding years," and accounted this augmentation to the better, recent administration. However, on October 12, 1736, Hocquart was faced with an entirely different situation: in his own words, the "trade done at Fort Frontenac and Niagara was becoming from year to year a smaller business." It was becoming increasingly clear that New France needed a new economic venture.