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33
2Z
ACCOUNT
c>
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND,
IN TUB
aUlPII of St. lajvrence,
NORTH AMERICA.
CONTAININO
III Geograpli), a description of its different Diviiions, Soil, Ctiniate. Srav)!)*,
Natural Picduiiiona, Culiivation, Discurerjr, Conquest, Pro^rcsa aud
preteiit State of the Settlement, (juTernnieut, Coiutitutiou, Lawf,
aiid Jlelij^igu.
■tStO-^t
Q.
»7
\^
4*
1« ^uOiUam prodire lenui >i nan duhtr vttra.
Br JOHN STEWART. Ei«.
Hoxao.
a=s?
Honlion:
Printed hy W. Winchester and So>-, Sinai.
ISOG.
t
ii
tl
II
w
PREFACE.
I
HAVING resided many years in Prince Edward
Island, and being much interested in its prosperity,
I have ventured (though conscious of my want of
abilities to do justice to the subject) to print the fol-
lowing account of that Island, which I trust will be
found just and correct as far as it goes : the object is
to make the Colony better known among those who are
interested in its prosperity, or on whose judgment
and determinations its future orospetts depend, and I
flatter myself, that the acuj^nt which I hare given
of the progress and state of the settlement, will shew
that any disappointment which has been experienced
in regard to its colonization and settlement, is fairly to
be charged to the neglect of many of those into
whose hands, the property of the lands unfortunately
fell, and not to any defect in the climate or soil.
The accounts of the Island which were published soou
iv
P . ih« ,ho„ !„,. g^,„ „,.
•okeconveru-d i„.o val„al,l,. .„..„, . ., , "'"
and PY^rtU r «^si»ues, by the labour
ex.rl.on. of people, who thry exn.^.tcd « I. .
fp'opted to retnrf * ^ ^^P'-ctcfl would be
P w w retort to, and settle in the Island i •
^•^--nts, ».a„out any .v.^ncn "' '"'
p«rt. ^ ^ '" '"' *""«'^« o« their
1^1
J
-■f>
»CTllurcr« an<l .1.., " "' "'-
««« , ' '"^ """"■■'-'"iSraeins „, „,ei, „„„ ^^ .
"ca, Konid Mtarally ,o«,„ ,„ . ''"■'-
* " ** ""' '» <"«»"■ land, fr„™ Gov<.,„n,e„, i„
l«T«'"i(y, rather .han ,„ . , '"""•»^«<^ ">
' '^^' and .„ „hieh ^
P«.pl. ,rho rlttm«lv„ were .«aH„j „»,
y
Ii in TcghTd
lie coiuitry*
never snw
't wns to
T'lcnco «f
» on their
uids were
lie labour
Would be
» as their
on their
igfhboiir-
f' vvhic'i.
Crown,
of arl-
wn ex-*
n Amc-
h thej
ent in
•e the
Jrivate
tie ag
S n»,
'.5
■H
t
M
exertions for the benefit of the co«ntry» or coorri-
butiiw; in any respect to alleviate the dithcaltie* iitci*
dent to itD sttiMftion imd uireunMt«nce».
To this unfortunate inistuke in the conduct of the
proprietors, in to be attributed the slow progress tiie
colony made for many years ; but tlie priucipal diffi*
cultics of a new settlement being now surmounted.,
better prospects seem to open upo0 its future pro-
gress, mony of those, by \vhone eonnectiun with tiM
colony its settlement was so long iin[»ede<l, have re*
tired, and have been succeeded by others who have
more activity, and jiister views of their own interest^
and the value of the country j and should the mea-
sures which have been in contemplation for the be-
nefit of the colony, be carried into effect, there can
be no doubt but its future progress to coujplete cul-
tivation and settlement will be as rapid, as it hoti
hitherto been remarkably slow.
Since the following pages were written, I have seen
two recent publications, one entitled " Strictures and
" Remarks on the Earl of Selkirk's Observations, ^c
" by Robert Broun, Esq," the other, « Remarks on
" the Earl of Selkirk's Observatiom, Sfc. (anonymous/'
Ui-J-
vi
1 am no " trader in emigration" but in justice to my
feHow subjects in the British Colonies. I cannot avoid
taking notice of some things contained in these
publications.
If the state of the Highlands, and the prospects of
improvement under the judicious system of management
notr s<4d to be pursuing for that purpose, is such as these
writers represent it to be, I cannot conceive any
necessity for that vein of misrepresentation, tliat
runs through these books as to the state of the cor
lonies, and the prospects to be expected from settling
in them ; hey have their difficulties, that is certain,
and any man that emigrates, under an idea that he
is going to a country where he is to live without
labour is most grossly deceived : on the contrary
every man who expects to thrive in a new country
must work and be industrious, they are not calculated
for indolent dissipated people, such will find it) old coun-
triesmany substitutes of which they w ill here be entirely
destitute, and we think it sufficient to say, that the
natural and moral state of things in the colonies is
such, as promiscs'to every industrious man an ample
reward for his labour, with a certainty of leaving his
femily if not wealthy, still with such prospects as will
I
if
vii
istice to my
Einnot avoid
:d in these
jrospects of
lanagcinent
uch as these
iceive any
:ation, that
of the cor
om settling
t is certain,
idea that he
ive without
e contrary
lew country
t calculated
ii) old coun-
i be entirely
y, that the
colonies is
I an ampje
leaving his
lects as will
divest his mind of all anxiety on their account : I
do not mean to make any comparisons ; I am no way
desirous of holding out incentives to Highland emi-
gration, and I could appeal to very distinguished
Members of the Highland Society on that subject ;
but as a colonist I cannot help saying, that these gen-
tlemen have taken most unwarra-*9ble liberties with
their fellow subjects in asserting, chat, a system of
espionage is established in the colonies, to prevent
letters giving an unfavourable account of their affairs
from reaching this country ; and that letters purport-
ing to be written by emigrants to their friends in Scot-
land, giving a flattering account of the country, are
manufactured there, and transmitted for the purpose
of deceiving others : these are heavy charges, and
should not have been hazarded lightly ; I have been
five and thirty years acquainted with the colonies,
and will venture to assert, that no evidence to justify
such an infamous charge can be produced : any per-
son acquainted with the state of these countries
^v.il be satisfied that the first part of the charge
must be unfounded, as the greatest part of the letter,
.ent from thence to this country are by private hands,
and merchant ships, that load in the different ports •
thee cannot be all « traders in emigration;' or in-'
I
i
ttr«l«d m deluding Adr fellow ^Uec . a
Po«"m.i« of Ai. kind o«„r J, "'' '"^
ftom „cl. . vriet, of ri '^°™*'' *»*
POT p.„ple ,1, e.„„„, „.! "'"" "'
«".-.>-««„ed..„,.,..„„^j7 ;-'-
IWrpOM whew better «,.,„ ■ '^-Porary
■«' "*=«<«>uni which these nnhii .•
*^ »-^?e„t «^e of th. H 1 . " "'" °'
^-n..e.„,.e..,.„,„,;:::^;;7-;e^Hi.
ttec^ssarv • th^ . ' ^"' become
. '^ • ^'^^ account which f hav.^ N
^uuct ot the proprietors of FV;., i^^
^J-ncl, «5iIJ shew how lil f T • ' ^^"^'^^
^- -pp.«i„, ,,^. ,;j"^^ '^""'^-- ^^^ere can be
« ^uy or them connected with o., u
<-sf«,„,„s„„,,, J; ch>>--
concerned i„ oarrvin. « .i„„, "■*■" "«»
'-"d. and with res;ec;,„ , * '""'^™"' '■™"' ^^"'-
respec* to tl»e coaimoii «^tf]
•»a'>y of .be;a are s„ f„ ft„„ ? ■"""' " ?«-«
I
ect», and tp^
equentljr, and'
^ make such
criminal trick
the name of
themselves, 1
« is possible
»nd therefore
* temporary
hand, but 1
ispired tvitk
econd sight,"
"s give of
"ot better
- cobnists,
rJ verydif-
^'I become
^ given of
e £dward
-re can be
^ch prac-
hem was
om Scot-
' a great
icoui-aare
■i
I
etHilgr.aion to the Island, thiit they do every fhmg la
thuBtr poner to prevent it: every man that cornea to tfe«
colony is looked upon by fnany of the old settlers as a
roisf'urtune to liiem, as it lessens the chance of getting
the lands escheated for non-performance of the terms of
settltinent ; an object which they have long considered
as much more interesting to them than any benefit to
be expected by encouraging their ffieods in Scotland
to become their neighbours. I have more than once,
witnessed great chagrin and .disappointment among
them on any accession of inhabitants, particularly
among the Highlaaders, who being more addicted to
raising cattle than agriculture, require, according to
the custom of their country, large bounds; which
makes them often think thatatownihip is Utile enough
for thejn when it does not contain, perhaps, twenty
fomilies : these are facts well known jn the island, and
^ill account naturally enough for the dismal letter*
"which Mr. Brown states to have been received from
that country.
Charges of a criminal aiv^isgraceful nature against
a distant community of our fellow subjects, who are so
situated as to have no means of guarding against or re-
pelling such attacks, till after they have, probably, had
the full effect intended by tiieir accuiers, does not
i
tended. ' "' ""« Publiclioiw i„.
^ "'«»"« more authentic evident ,.
P«l>Iisb to .he world, that „. "' ""'° ""* "o
•""---".r,, dirlTed'"'"^ "'"«•- "•—
•'■opurions are held ou, ,o oar,! 7' ""' "'""^
™.Va.d...i„,„.,.,^:~'T„h„h.ve
•ccounl, of the ,.a,e „f ,,., , ' '"'' '» «''» »»ch
f'-e,„igra.i„„. S«ha„r "'""""^"^'"o*-
'"gge„e«, offence Id „ " ""'" ■"" «"' «--
«1"am.,d With the „,„«," '2"'""' '*™'' •""• »
-•• " ••.,„« i3 talke, of a„on. t "^' *"
"»' «.ch .„d such " w,„ ° '"»'"•<«*«, or
-^•Ha..he,w..,.:v;a::'::r'"''°''°'-
-" au,h„ri.^. do t,^ ^„,, « ' «»« ^", ju,. on
'-"""C to in,p„,e eouallv „ . P^'fo^ance.
"^ to a discus-
9ects the veiy
Wications in-
h«n can be
"Dan were to
%ed in the
' that come
•ich may he
very strong
■ who have
give such
eter others
t fail giv-
>n who is
Scotland
' say, that
rders, or
bad as-
jnst on
finances
to their
1
Id
^ great noise has been made about Highland emi-
gration, and the public mind has been agitatec^ on the
subject by various publicatiops, calculated to alarm the
nation as if there was an absolute danger of that dis-
trict of the kingdom being depopulated ; and under
the impression of this alarm. Parliament was induced
to pass an act, which under the appearance of pre-
venting emigrants going to America, from suffering
any hardship or inconvenience on the passage to that
country, enforces a number of regulations to be ob-
served on board ships carrying emigrants; which on
the whole, rather more than doubles the real expence
of a passage across the Atlantic ; this mode of making
emigration so expensive, that it must be out of the power
pf the very poorer class ; 1 take it for granted was
adopted in compliment to the constitution, by which
the power of going to, or settling in any country not in
an actual state of hostilities with our sovereign, has al-
ways been acknowledged ; but I very much doubt whe-
ther in ten years it will be found to have diminished
emigration, It will certainly have a considerable effect
towards preventing people going off in the way that
would be most comfortable to tJiem ; men, women and
children together, two or three hundred in a ship at a
moderate expence, that would leave them something
>yherewith to make a comfortable beginning; in their
*> our own col„„i„ ^J ' ""' ""^ »' g-"ff
'^-"4 will „ "' i""""' "" *"■' " "«' ".^ .oo„
•«■• ■»<• .l.e ™„,be, „f .hi 7""''°"' "'"" '""
fi"!- of Cfyde, and .h« . "" '^"' '" "*
^ ' and the north ©f Irolan/l « n •. .
P"fe«., e,„., .„ ,„^ ^„ ^__, ;'»-•"■« be f„„„d
«o»fide„.i„vi,uo„„.pp,., A ; r'"^'" '»"•'-
"" '0 .be ^„eric,„ S,„,e.. ,„. , "u """■
-■-on„„.,,,H,,,,::;:;^--*eU„.ed
Po-er and r«omce, of o-rh """'^ ""'
''-'■•«• I.iso.,r •"' ""' '»°« i»votera,e
-''eob„„u::'"''°'.'™'''''""- ''■'•''>». bee.
'"""""'«"'-'■ f"'»»ot™o pa., a.
L'r
XIU
ntitge o/« jfce
"* ^ compeljf d
'stt'ad of goinj
'f* to be their
0 which alone
1 the great in-
he wesf coast
' 'v^iJl be soon
-an be done
' of the late
POft* \n th*
f»n be found
as much so
J and, J am
'ate act has
'migration^
► our colo-
on for the
'2'WnA of
tageously
'6 United
J^ease the
ivcierate
las been
pasf, at
I
ftie same time that nota wordissaitlof theernigratiou
from this end of the island, which is of so much more
real consequence. Yet upon enquiry I am confident it
will be fourd, that fuil as manj people, and at least,one
hundred times as much property, has been carried to the
United States by emigrants from the ports of London,
Bristol, and Liverpool, within the last ten years as from
all the kingdom of Scotland in double that time. As «
coj nist I may be permitted to say, without offence to my
countrymen in the north, that we would have willingly
parted with our share of highland emigration, for a
\fity small proportion of the English capital and in-
dustry that has been carried to the United States in thU
feriod.
E
N
Co
CONTENTS.
1*
FAOi.
Situation and Divisions j
Bays, Harbours, Rivers, Headlands or Capes 4
Charlotte Town, George Town, Prince Town 9
Face of the Country f gj
Soil and natural Productions 37
Forrest Trees and other Vegetable Productions 36
Native Animals, Birds, Fishes, Reptiles and Insects. . 59
Climate and Seasons 03
Cultivation and Rural Affairs jgj
Discovery and Settlement 147
Administration of Lieutenant-Governor Fanning. . . .233
Constitution, Laws, and Religion 266
Fisheries g^^
I^age 9, Line 20, for d.fu^ road aghti,-fo„r
^^ge 12, Line 15. for/>v.zi«. read frai.in.
^age 22, Line 15, for i;«.A read Z>«.yl- "
i^age 25, Line 7, for /.a^5 road keep
^age60,Liue,c^foriV..*,,rea,^^,„,,^^
J*age6l,lastliue,3ead^vl^nitselJsa/ac
Page 71, Line 10, for «.^./,« read ;,^c/,« '
Page 103, Line 14, for ^chen roud uhere
Page 187, Line 2, fo,/i.W,-,y read //,W%.
'Si
ll
I*'/:
SITUATION AND DIVISIONS.
■if
P
J- RINCE Edward Island i, situated in the
Gulph of St. Lawrence, North America: Char-
lotte Town, the capital of the Island, is in lati-
tude 46- 12 north, and longitude 63 decree,
west of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich
AH the south side of the Island is in sight of
the Continent ; the distance between Cape
Traverse on the Island, and Cape Tourmentin
m New Brunswick, is only ten miles, and
between Carribou Point in Nova Scotia and
theoppositepartofthelsland, about twelve
•m es. From the east point, a very consider-
able part of the west coast of Cape Breton is
»een at from ten to twelve leagues distance.
f' i
Tlie Noi til Cape of the Island, is one hun-
died miles due south of Cape Rosier, at the en-
trance of the river St. Lawrence. The sea
between the Continent and the Island, is known
by the name of Northumberland Straits ; the
length of the Island, measured along shore from
the east point to the North Cape, is about one
hundred and forty miles ; the greatest breadth
being the division line between King's and
Queen's Counties, is little more than thirty-six
miles ; towards both extremities the Island de-
creases much in its breadth.
Prince Edward Island is divided into three
counties, and sub-divided into parishes and
townships, which last are distinguished by
their numbers. The divisions st*:. ! , . Hlows ;
King's County has St. George's, St. An-
drew's, St. Patrick's, and East parishes, sub-divid-
cd into twenty one townships, besides the pro-
^ 0 ;ed town and Royalty of George Town and
several Liands.
s
Queeifs County is divided into five parishes
named Cluiilotte, Grenville, Hillsburgli, St.
John's, and Bedford parislies, sub-divided into
twenty-three townships, and the town and
Royalty of Charlotte Town, uhich'is the capi-
tal of the Island, and three Islands, two in
Hillsburgh Bay, and one between Harris and
Harrington Bays.
P/ince Coupty is divided into North, Eg-
niont, Richmond, Halifax, and St. David\
parishes, and sub-divided into twenty-three
townships, and the proposed town and Royalty
of Prince Town, this county has also several
islands in its bays. The townships, of which
there are sixty-seven in all, generally contain
twenty thousand acres each, some contain one
or two thousand acres more, and lot 66 con-
tains only ten thousand acres ; the total con-
tents of the Island stand as follows ;
King's County 4, igooo acres
Queen's County 4,94000
Prince County 4,71000
Total.... 1,381000
A2
Besides the Islands scattered in the dif.
ferent Bays, which probably contain about ten
tliousand acres among them.
Says, Harhoun, Rhers. Headland,, or Capes.
This Island is much intersected by water as
may be seen by loolcing at the map, the prin-
cipal bays on tiie south side are Egmont
Halifax, Hillsburgh and Cardigan Bays, all of
great extent; on the same side we have also
H.Ilsburgh, York, Elliot, Cardigan, Montague,
and Brudnel rivers, all of which will admit
sh.ps of the line, where they will be completely
land-locked and sheltered from all winds •
Dnnk, Vernon, and Murray rivers also on the
south side, will accommodate vessels of three
hundred tons with safe and convenient har-
bours ; beside which the whole extent of the
coast from West Cape to the East Point, pre-
sent, a succession of smaller bays, coves and
creeks, many of them forming s.fe and conve-
nient harbours for trading vessels. On the
north side of the Island we have Holland.
r
Richmond, Grenville, Harris, Bedford, and St.
Peter's bays, all barred harbours, and not fit for
large vessels, except the first, which is safe and
convenient, its bar being much protected by
the land stretching to the northward towards
Cape Kildare, and having a sufficient depth of
water for ships of five hundred tons burthen
on its bar : Richmond, Harris and Grenville
Bays have occasionally been frequented by Ships
of from two to three hundred tons, and in a
Country where good Harbours were not so
common, would certainly not be thought bad
ones ; many Harbours in Europe, the receptacles
of an extensive commerce, are much inferior in
every respect.
These Harbours areseperated from the Gulph
by high sand Hills, narrow cuts through which
form the entrances into them ; they have all
much the same appearance, and resemble greatly
the entrance of Shields or Newcastle River in
the North of England, they are all of them ex-
tensive- branrliinf* rtMf I«4-^ i: • i
.TV, j„^ „„^ ..^^Q nucuiaisana creeks,
6
with from two to five fathom, water, ,„d aft„
carry,„g that depth for a considerable way,
-me of them approach so near the heads of
"vers and harbours on the south side of the
Island, that it is believed there is not a point
on the Island which is not within eight mi^ of
navgable water. Harrington Bay and S,vage
Harbour on the north side also, though bad h^-
bou., are extensive sheets of water, and admit
small schooners and shallops ; they afford many
fine situations round them, and enable the peo-
pesettledon their banks to enjoy the benefit
of fishing .„ the gulph. Bedford and St. Peter's
Bays will admit vessels of an hundred tons, but
he channel of the latter has been subject to al-
teration for some years past, and it is said not to
have so much water on its bar as formerly.
The principal Capes and Head-lands, on the
north side are North Cape, Cape Kilda,^. Cape
Alesbury, CapeTryon, CapeTurner, Shipwreck
Pomt. and East Point; on the south side are
^y^t Cape, Cape Egmont, Cape Traverse.
, and after
able way,
heads of
ide of the
t a point
t miles of
id Savage
I bad har-
nd admit
'rd many
the peo-
e benefit
. Peter's
ons, but
:t to al-
I not to
on the
. Cape
) wreck
de are
Lverse,
Point Prim, the Wood Islands, Bear Cape and
Boughton Island; the navigation roun<j the
Island is in general very safe ; vessels in Nor-
thumberland Straits should keep a good look-
out for the Indian Rocks, which lay about three
miles south west from the Wood Islands on the
Coast of Township N". 62, they are of consi-
derable extent and dry at low water: Vessels
drawing above nine feet of water should not
approach the coast between the Wood Islands
and Point Prim nearer than a mile and a half.
From Cape Traverse to St. Peter's Island there
is a shoal which is not accurately laid down in
any chart yet published ; large vessels should
not approach that part of the coast nearer than
two miles.
The North Coast of the Island forms a deep
bay, in which it is dangerous to be caught
near the the center of the coast, with a north
east wind ; if it blows hard, vessels will not be
able to clear the land either way, and if the
gale continue must be driven on shore; ships
in this situation. whe» they fi„d they cannot
clear the land nor Iceen nff ,1. ..
tempt one of the large barred harbours tho. ,.
the sea breaks on H.„ i. ' "Sh
probablv Tt ' "■"' '^'y """W ™ost
'w2e, IT ;^ -:• "- .% .m
. ateiy be in smooth water in whicl, th.
The nnf^r.1 • -^ "^'^ anchors.
casioned, rises the water so n, i
«f 1 ®° ^"ch on this narf
of the coast, that vessels will i • ^
^^^eia.dastoenah;^l^^^^^^^^^^^
-hver,htt,ensk;h;LT r^'"^
the coasf ; . ^''■^^^^'' P^^t of
coast .. a sandy beach and where the coast
rises into cliffs there is hnf .
"^ -an extent, T^^ "^ ^^ '''° "'""
-ydifiieuItyinJtinVo /"'"'"•
o„, I. , i " ^ °" ''""•« ■■ vessels of
eltrr/'^^^'^'^^-'^'^^^^viUbele.:
charlotte Town, George Town and Prince Town,
Of the three towns which have been named,
Charlotte To- ;n only has yet assumed the ap-
pearance of a town, it is regularly laid out on
the banks of the Hillsburgh River ; by looking
at the map it will be seen that the situation is
both centrical and convenient, having a safe
internal water communication with a very con-
siderable part of the Island, by means of the
Hillsburgh, York, and Elliot Rivers, which
meet in its harbour. The ground is well
adapted for the scite of a town, rising gradually
to a moderate height above the water, and is
generally sound dry land, the ascent from the
river is very easy, the streets are laid out at
right angles, those running from the river are
one hundred feet in breadth, the cross streets
were originally laid out at eighty feet, but
have since been reduced to forty feet in
breadth. The building lots are eighty feet in
front, by one hundred and sixty in depth, and
many of the inhabitants having several con-
tiguous lots, are thereby enabled to have larg«
gardens, by which means the place already
1
10
•ecupfe, a co„siderab,e surface, though it Joe,
"ot contain more than seventv hn
though many of them 1 "' ""''
vet th^ ,„ • ^"y '"different,
yet the town vie>red from the harbour or the
opposue shores has a very pleasing, ppej;;;;
THe only puMic huil.ing yet erected T la
aer::-,."'""'''^— o^o-ehunL
^^^r^::z.t '-''' "^ ''''' -^-
'7 ' , *" *' '*°^^"^' " ''-' of seven
thousand acres so callp,i ,. i,- ^
townandcommotAal ""''""'' ^'^
both on Hil, K I '" *"'""''*'« fro-t
"th on Hillsourgh and Yorlc Ri.ers. Many
of these pasture Int^ i., i ^
pastuie lots have been purchased from
the Grantees „y a fe. individuals on specu
lat...n, and some progress has been made"
:::n:rr —-'-.there b::^^.:
ve small farms within the Royalty The
'i^htfathoms^tr::::--^--.-'
---essthana^uarteror: Xr^
11
Vessels of two hundred tons go up the Hills-
burgh River fourteen miles above tlie town,
which itself is three miles from the harbour's
mouth ; the entrance is narrow and is suscep-
tible of being strongly fortified : after passing
the narrows the harbour opens into an exten-
sive bason, which receives the Elliot, York,
and Hillsburgh Rivers, each of which have a
sufficient depth of water for the largest ships
for several miles, where they will be completely
sheltered from all winds. The tides are so
strong as to enable ships to work out and in
against a contrary wind : at full and change
they rise about nine feet, neap tides rise be-
tween four and five feet, the bottom is either
soft mud or strong clay. The greatest in-
convenience of the harbour is, that, the flata
run ^ut a considerable distance from the
shore. Wharfs to receive ships where they
would always lay afloat must be run out to
the channel, which is near six hundred feet
opposite to the town ; there is no danger
however in allowing ships to ground upon
12
the flat, as they are all deep mud, and ti.e
.hores n..e either sand or soft flat stone, on
-h.chhght vessels or small craft can be laid
w.th perfect safety. The town is protected
« at the west end of the town is mounted
"' "'™" ''^'"'y g"ns, so disposed a, to
command everypartof.he harbour, the other
"paced on the bank of the river i„ front
of the town and mounts four guns. „hi,h,,,„
pomt to the harbour and the opposite side of
the nve., the entrance of the harbour is de.
ftmled by a block-house mounting four guns,
.nfrontofwhich is a stone battery mounting
fiveguns with a ditch and freezing, the whol!
well stockaded, where these works stand the
Narrows are scarcely half a musket shot across •
here ,s also a battery on the eastern side of
hena, "ot at present in repair : from
he block-house all vessels approaching the
harbour are seen at three leagues distance,
« crcumstance of much consequence to the
«^fety of the place which has immediate no-
13
^f and the
stones on
■an be laid
protected
batterieg,
mounted
sed as to
the other
in front
hich also
B side of
ur is de-
►ur guns,
lounting
le whole
and the
across ;
side of
•• from
"g the
stance,
to the
e no-
tice by signal from the block-house of every
vessel that appears either by day or night.
The whole of the works in their present state
are intended against shipping; should it
ever be adviseable to fortify the place the
situation is such as to admit of its being
done very effectually. The barracks are situ^
ated at the west end of the town, and con -
sist of two separate ranges of buildings, each
260 feet in length, which front- each other,
being divided by a spacious parade ; they are
calculated to accommodate upwards of three
hundred men with their officers, a handsome
colonade runs along the front of each range,
the whole are painted white, and though flat
roofed have a respectable appearance, and in
point of accommodation are not surpassed by
any barracks in North America; within the
same inclosure are an Hospital, a store for
provisions, and another for the ordnance, and
a wharf in front of the town 248 feet in length
is also a military erection. There is a reser-
vation of a trdct of land called the Fort Lot
14
on th. t ,,, „, ^^ ,^^^^^^^^
from the e..t,a„ce of the Narrow, ataost tl
the mouth of E,h„t Ri,er, on .hi. tract Fort
Amherst for.eri, stood o„ an elevated spo
three hundred yards fm™ fi.
yiTaa trom the water, it was
"ected immediately after .h»
Island conquest of th?
, "f' ""» '^ '^'S" ^q'-are redoubt with a
cannon, and contained handsome barracks-
by the Rench and their Indian .Mies, but
they faded rn both attempts. The sit ation
s commanded b, higher ground at a sma,
'"7; °: ""' — t the Fort was dis-
untied and destroyed by Governor Patterson
soon after his appointment to the govern:::
an here being near three hundred acres of
fertd clear land within the reservation, «-
tremely beautiful in point of situation, th; Go-
vernor was temptol to make a grant, of the
01 Kent then commanding Hit
15
extending
almost to
tract Fort
vated spot
5»*, it was
est of th?
►t with a
pieces of
barracks;
attacked
fies, but
situation
a small
*vas dis-
atterson
inment
sres of
•n, ex-
he Go»
of the
direction
ling Hi*
whole to a person who re-conveyed it to himself,
and on this place he built a handsome fann-house
and extensive oHices, and laid out large sums in its
improvement.
The amusements which Charlotte Town can
yet afford are only such as may be expected
in a young country thinly inhabited : in Spring,
Summer, and Autumn, shooting, fishing, riding,
and sailing; water parties are frequently made,
when each family taking their dish en pic wic
M.je.ty. force, in the Nova Scoti. district, «d the same w« «,.
aft« vacated, and the place was for wme time considered a. a^ll^j
ground, but iniaoOHia Grace the Duke of Portland, then Secretary
of State for the Coionie,. wa. pleased to direct Lieutenant-Gonem,
Fanning, Lieutenant-Governor of the Island to grant a lease thereof t«
the late Monsieur Calonne the French Minister. «ho the.» proposed to settle
on the Island with a number of French Royalists, reserving to the Crowu
.uch a rent as the Governor might think rea«,nable, which was fixed
•t «51. per annum. The building, «.d improvement, m«le bj
Governor Patterson had previously been suffered to go into dec.,,
having fallen into the hands of soma of his cred.tors. who not being
^guine a. to the solidity of their title did not think fit to be at any
expence about them. It i, a fine tract of land and the situation «,d
Mpect extremely pleasing.
16
. ".arquee i, pi.che.I at ,„.... of tl.e many
charn,.„g ,pot, „„ the bank, of the adjoini„!
"ver,, and many happy ,,ou„ ,re thul
peasantly .pent. X„ .;„.„ .„„^ ., J
.hoot-ng but it is often atte„.,e., With nTe
f-gu. than most people would think
'vorth, a, it i, generally „ecessarv to
~oe, whenever we go Off the UT
«'e forest. Driving carioles is a ft,„„i,,
.musement.t this season, they go with grea
P.<i.ty when the roads are well beaten:^:
he r.vers,„ fine weather when the snow is not
tl>. d.vers.on. There is an assembly once a
fortnight in winter »i„„i,
.h- r^ . "^ ^"""ences with
the Queen-s birth day, and the party i.
.h atncals were attempted for two winters,
but some of the party being only tempo,,,;
"' ents, that amusement has been given up
for the present. ^
If
George Town, situated in King's County on
a Peninsula between two navigable rivers or
arms of the sea, is yet as a Town but in embrio,
there being but a f^w lots granted, and only
three or four built upon; the situation is very
fine, and the Ilaibour one of the best in North
America ; like the Harbour of Charlotte Town
it has three large branches, v/ith depth of water
for the largest ships, besides two fine basons
completely land-locked ; in front of the whole
there is a capacious roadsted open only to the
south east, a wind which seldom blows hard on
this coast : An island on each side of the bay
makes it very remarkable, and the access is
perfectly safe, being quite free from rocks or
shoals ; in many parts of the harbour the water
is deep close to the land, there are several situ-
ations in the different branches where large
ships can lay within their own length of
high water mark, on the south west front of
the town in particular, large ships may lay close
to the shore perfectly protected from wind and
sea, and the situation large enough to acconx-
s . ,
18
modate an extensive commerce. It is generally
believed in the island that if the capital luid
been fixed licre, it would have been before this
tmie a large town, as the situation possesses
many advantages over Charlotte Town, it being
much nearer the ocean and of much easier access!
as any wind that will bring ships through
the Gut of Canso, will carry them into this
harbour with ease, whereas the westerly winds
which prevail so much on this coast, render
their getting to Charlotte Town more tedious,
particularly in the Autunm : its lying very
little out of the tract from Canada to Nova
Scotia and the United States, and its contiguity
to the fishing grounds would probably have
made it much frequented by shipping, if it
had been settled, and could afford them such
necessary assistance as ships usually want
coming from sea, as matters ^re, they will
find fresh provisions, vegetables, wood, and
water, with a safe harbour, that is of such
easy access, that they may enter it by their
^barts, without the aid of a pilot.
19
The lands round all the branches of this
extensive harbour are remarkably well tim-
bered, and as yet in a great degree untouched,
which with its other advantages, render it a most
eligible situation for ship building and the timber
trade. Building lots in George Town contain
about half an acre each, with which is granted
a pasture lot of ten acres in the Royalty an-
nexed to the town, and any person proposing
to settle there, on application to the Governor
in Council, will readily obtain a grant of a
town and pasture lot, the fees on which will
amount to about forty shillings. Besides the
Town and Royalty of George Town, seven
toM-nships of twenty thousand acres each,
abutt upon the waters of this harbour ; the
-oldest and most forward settlement, is situated
.on Township, No. 59, two-thirds of which
is the property of Sir James Montgomery,
His Majesty's Lord Advocate for Scotland,
whose father, the late venerable Lord Chief
Baron of Scotland, was one of the few pro-
prietors to whose exertions at the beginning of
B 2
20
■the settlement tbe colony is „„der any „Wi^
oons.de,ab.e „..„ber of people on To J 1
No. 53, one third of .,iel, is hb ,„Xt
property, and settlements are „„* Ju ^"
Jeothett.o.t„i.dsoft„attorshrr;"
Earl of Westmoreland, and thr H
°'- ^'*' ^^' "•«' 61, those on the twn i !
mentioned, a-e settled without .. ''*
ofth^;r, . """" "'e-nten-ention
of he,r,espect,ve proprietor, by „h„„.^
- t '™ '""'^'^ "^^'^«ed hitherto • Towl
: r. T- " ^^ ^^' -« -"^ -r
«mall, „, comparison of the extent of
'.arbour, the vacant front on which woufd
oommo<,,e five hundred families mo..::!
of-h-eh would bound on navigable-watr
any obK-
: settled a
rownship,
lordship's
aking ou
». by the
iiourable
ese por-
Jiderabk
ivnshipsy
wo last
vention
•m they
Town-
ninha-
indeed
;nt of
5f the
ivould
each
■ PjihccTown, situated on the north side of
the Island on a branch of Richmond Bay, is
yet like George Town little more than a name,
though there are perhaps as many people within
the Town and Royalty as at Charlotte T^wni
but thinking that agriculture should precede
town building, they have neglected the town
lots, and by accumulating a number of conti.
guous pasture lots each, have formed a number
of small farms, which are in a considerably for-
ward state of improvement.
Richmond Bay, though a barred harbour, is
the largest on the north side of the Island, and
has from twelve to fourteen feet water on its
bar: It has two principal entrances Jbesides
smaller ones ; it is very extensive and some
parts of it are much exposed in bad weather;
there are however several arms of it that are
well sheltered and perfectly secure in all weather'
that on which Prince Town is situated is a safi
harbour for trading vessels. Before the Ameri-
can War, Richmond Bay was the principal
Station used by the NnvEnglandpeopIe, for
carry,„g „„ the cod fishery in the Gulph of
St Wence, it contains six islands, three
of wh,ch, have above five hundred acre,
eacii.
llere are seven townships, containins
among them one hundred and forty thousand
acres, abutting upo Richmond Bay, it has
=^30 a .afe inland water communication with
Holland Bay, by Cavendish Channel, affording
great convenience in the transport of produce
from one harbour to the other; two roads,
neither of them much above two miles i„
fcngtb, connect it with the lands lying oa
Halifax Bay and D„rk River, situated on the
south aide of the Island. There are very co„-
».derable settlements on Richmond Bay, which
aremcreasmg ve,y fast in population, the land
bemgan general very good, and abounding
With fine timoer, ^ *
FACE OF THE COUNTRY.
This Island is in general level, having but
few hills, and none of them very high or
^teep, probably the highest spot on the Island
does not rise above five hundred feet above
the level of the sea, and the soil on the hills
is in general the best on the Island, being
moister, and less apt to be sandy than the
low grounds, the timber on them is in general
hard wood, and the tr^es are larger, and stand
at a greater distance, than on the low grounds,
a sure indication of their superior soil : the
highest land on the Island is on the road
between Charlotte Town and Prince Town,
stretching from the head of Harris Bay to
the head ^)f Grenville Bay, and is intersected
by several streams which run into these bays :
There is also a considerable hill towards th«
24
»-« of Em„.t Eiver, on the road f™„,
Cha io«e To.„ eo T.,o„ Settlement an^
abontirr?'"''^""-"-^'- ground
about the head of Hillsb„rgh Eiver, particu-
their h • , "P"' ^ "> P^"«t
he.r being cultivated with ease. Though
departs of the coast have alow flat look
the greatest part of the face of the countr;
" "-•" -aived and often rises into beautiful
-«s, and being .uch intersected ,^th a™,
of the sea. creeks, and rivulets, present, eve,y
''here . vast variety of fine situations for
•'"'Id.ng and improvements. The heads of the
"vers and the creeks, are all more or less bor-
^jed by «,t mashes, producing annually
-ge crops of strong nutritive grass. wi,ho„^
trouble or cultivation, which makes excellent
%. on which the greater part of the cattL
a^=supportcdduringthewinter.butitisnoe
the.e n^arshe, when dyked i„ f„m the sal
25
tjrater, make the most valuable laniis on tht
Island, this however is a work in which no
great progress has yet been made. Springs of
the clearest and purest water, abound all
over the Island, and which not only do not
freeze in the winter, but the runs from them into
the sea, keeps i channel open, though the ice on
both sides thereof will be a foot thick or more
on the salt-water. Fine water is also obtained
by digging wells at a moderate depth, it being
rarely necessary to exceed twenty-five feet, and
there is very seldom an instance of being dis-
appointed in getting water. There are not
many swamps of any extent in the Island, and
still fewer lakes or ponds of fresh water in com-
parison to the extent of the country. Travel*
Jing is not difficult through the woods, even
where there a'-e no roads, there being Very
little underwood to what is generally found
in most other countries covered with forest,
nor is it in the least incumbered with rocks,
like the neighbouring country of Nova Scotia.
The want ©f stone is perhaos the ereaiesA
26
nat„n.lwanti„thel.,a„d,itbe,„gi„gene..,
ofa ,0ft sandy nature, and i„ ,„„,e p,,,„
'^'^"'IX ''"""'""'''""■ ^-^"^
has yet been discovered in the Island, though
there are strong indications of iron in n,afy
P'aces. I« looking at the face of the country
every pe.on wiU he a. once struck with t,^
great difference in appearance between it and
the neighbouring continent, it having every
where „,uch the sa.e appearance, without
a y .mpednnent to tl,e cultivation of the
w ole, no rocks, no impenetrable swamps, no
extensive pi„e barrens to separate the settle-
-nessh,, there need not be a waste acre
n he I. land, a very uncommon circumstance,
-d which must finally enable it to maintain a
■""ch greater population than most other
countries of ,be same extent. Koad, are very
easily made, from the nature of the soil a„.I
chmate, and very considerable progress has
been already made in that respect, considering
the great extent of the Island, and the smaU
number of inhabitants, there being tolerable
roads between the capital and all the principal
settlements, wliich have been chiefly made by
the statute labour, all males from 16 to 60
years of age, according to their different cir-
cumstanced, being obliged to perform from
four to six days labour on the high roads
annually. The facility with which roads
can be made, is a circumstance of the most
interesting nature, and when viewed in connec-
tion with our many navigable rivers and creeks,
affording a safe water communication to a
great part of the Island, cannot fail to be
highly advantageous in every stage of our
progress and settlement. The laying out of
high roads, erecting of bridges, and appoint-
ing and regulating ferries is vested in the
Governor or Lieutenant-Governor for the time
being, and His Majesty's Council, and a re-
servation is made in the grant of every
township, of such parts thereof, as may
be wanted for high roads, so that there
can be no part of the Island in which
a just and reasonable claim to a road can be
28
refund. Tl,e Governor and Council are how-
ever reatricted from pul,i„g down house,, or
destroying orchards, gardens, n,i||,, or mill
da™,, ,n laying out road,, and doubtless it
mil also become just and necessary in the pro.
gres, of the settlement a, road, multiply, to
grant a reasonable compensation to the pro.
Pnetor, and occupier, of all inclosed and
culfvated land,, though which it may be
found nece,sary to lay out ne,. road, for the
PubLc accommodation, which compensation it
W.II frequently be proper to levy on the dis-
trict for tlie benefit of which the road i.
claimed, i„ order to prevent the wanton abuse
too common in new countries on the subject
1!"'
29
SOIL AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS.
The soil is in general alight red loam, in some
places approaching to a tolerable strong clay,
but in most districts more or less sandy; but
even where the soil may be called sandy, if it
incline to a dark color it is very fruitful, and
with tolerable cultivation yields good crops :
where white sand predominates the land is poor,
and wants frequent manuring. The quality
of the soil in its natural state, may always be
known by the kind of timber it produces ;
the best land growing together, large maple,
beech, black and yellow birch, mixed
with the different kinds of pine and fir, the
trees will stand at a distance, and the roots
do not appear to run along the surface, which
ill general will be found covered with the
dwarf yeiv, or as it is commonly called giound
I
30
spruce, ,vl„c), is always an i.ulicatiun of .ooj
1"<I. Tl.e next best kind i, .|,,t «,,,i^.,,
d»c« large l,a„l w„„d of the kind, above
™ent,„„ed, nnnnxed ,ri„. an, evergreens or
softwood, if .,,e,,,es stand at a g,.eatdis.
tance, and push their roots ,vcll „„t of si»hr
and the surface is covered with the d.^ar;
yfw, tins land is very li„|e inferior to the fir,t
mentioned ,ind. The next indication is, .hen
the land be.ng eovered with hard wood, and
the roots run much along the surface, and that
"WUhoutthedwarfyewo„it,thisla„dispoor
.nconrparison to the others, the upper stratum
of the sod wiU be found thin, and the sub-
«o.I cold and hard. The vvorst land i„ i,,
^atural state, is that which produces nothin.
but spruce, .„all white birch, and scrubb^
pmes, this land is generally very hght and
•^■iy, and requires too much manure, ,o be
profitably cultivated in the present state of the
Island.
Tbc lvalue of the swamps or low
wet grounil
31 .
is not yet nnich known by experience, few at-
tempts having yet been made to reclaim any
but such as by producing in their natural state
abundance of grass, promised an immediate pro-
fit with very little expence; the management of
these has been merely to drain them a little
where that was required, and to cut away the
trees and bushes with which they are more or
less encumbered, and then to throw some timo-
thy grass seed on the surface-; in this way
Avithout further cultivation large crops of that
grass have been obtaincu. Tiie low grounds
which produce strons; aliier bushes, large annual
weeds, particularly nettles, are also fine lands,
and will produce large crops of the same grass
without any other cultivation than grubbinj.
up the bushes, burning the surface, and then
bush harrowing the seed upon it.
. Of the swamps which produce nothing but
small black spruce trees, or those which having
ityv or no trees of any kind, are covered with a
80ft fog or moss, .in which a man wi^ink to
m
3:3
his knccsj nothihg is known of their value, nd
attempts having yet been made to improve
them ; under some of the swamps beds of strong
white clay have been discovered, the same ar-
ticle is also seen in some districts in walking
•long shore between high and low water mark,
it is said to be very fine, and is preferred at
Halifax, by the regiments in garrison, for
cleaning their accoutrements to wliat is
imported from England, which is the only use
it has ever yet been put ta
In some districts large tracts of the forest
were destroyed by fire near a century back,
the soil of these tracts is not esteemed so
valuable as that whereon the original gw>wth
of timber is still standing, many parts of them
are without useful timber of any kind, and a
great deal is overrun with strong ferns, dwarf,
laurel, and other shrubs ; the ferns are diffi-
cult to be got the better of, they grow in
some^es six and seven feet high, and push
thetr flps very deep into the earth. The burnt
33
e same ar-^
lands, as tlicse tracts are called, were long
thought of little or no value, from an idea
that the fire had in a great measure destroyed
their fertility. It is prohable, that in general
they never were so good as the other parts of
the Island, the very circumstance of their
original growth of timber having been destroyed
by fire, shews that the predominant species
upon them was such as indicates an inferiority
of soil, as we now know by many years ex-
perience, that though the fire will sometimes
in very dry years, in the months of May and
June, kill and partially burn the timber on
our best lands, it never acts so severely on
them as to injure their fertility, on the con-
trary, the finest crops are procured ly burning
all the timber upon them. From the appear-
ance of the burnt districts, and the number of
old pine trees and stumps still remaining upon
them, it is evident that these lands were covered
chiefly with pine and other resinous woods,
and therefore, the soil in its original stat^'
could not have been of the best. There is
^ BOW,
-.,.,,„-,J^i...,.
34
now, however, good reason to believe from a
variety of trials, that the greater part of the
burnt lands will pay very well for their culti-
vation; I have lately been surprised to see
parts of them which had been long considered
of little or no value, brought into culti-
vation at a much smaller expence certainly,
than it is possible to cultivate the forest lands
for : still it must; be confessed, that in general,
the lands on which the original gvowth of
timber remains, and is such as has been
noticed, as indicating the best soil, are much
more to be relied upon, though the process of
bringing them into cultivation is more expen-
sive, and the necessary time greater, than is re-
quired for the burnt lands. A settler in indigent
circumstances, who relies from the beginning for
the means of subsistence on the produce of his
labour, must not at first meddle with the
burnt lands, he should cut down and clear away
the forest, which will never disappoint him.
Let him but get rid of the timber, and scorch
the surface with fire, whatever seed he com-
35
tnits to the earth, will produce him a good
crop, though the stumps of the trees still
remain. A settler who is farther advanced,
has a stock of cattle, and a capital to com-
mand labour, may find it profitable to cultivate
the burnt lands, large tracts of which he will
be .ble to render tolerably productive, in much
less time > an is required to get rid of the
stumps oi iiie trees, in the lands which he clears
from the forests, a circumstance which forms
no trifling temptation to their cultivation ; at
the same time it is universally allowed, that
our forest lands are much easier cultivated, than
the forest lands on any part of the neighbouring
Continent, the surface being much easier k-
veiled, and almost totally unincumbered with
rocks and stones, so that when the stumps of
the trees are got the better of, all the diffi-
culties to complete cultivation are overcome.
c 2
-':shT^-'^"''J9?ng^fli
3«
FOREST TREES and other VEGETABLE
PROIXJCTrONS.
It >'i
I regret much, that my knowledge of this
part of my subject, does not enable me fo
treat it scientifically, but feeling, that in a
description of the Island, at least an attempt
to bring its natural productions into notice will
be expected, I must enter on it, though with
•diffidence, Sensible that my knowledge thereof
is very imperfect.
Beech (Fagus Sylmticd.) This tree grows
in great abundance, probably better than
one-half of the Island is covered with it, in
some districts it forms nine-tenths of the
forest, in others, it is more mixed with other
trees, its mast is produced in vast quantities
in some seasons, the cifects of which shall be
37
mentioned hereafter, it is a^ large handsome
forest tree, the timber is sometimes exported,
but the chief value of it at present, is for fire
wood, for which, no other wood exceeds it.
. 1 1'
Birch, of this we have four species, 1st..
(betula alba), of this, there are two varieties,,
one is the tree common in parks in Eng-
land, and in the Island is called grey birch,,
the other is a much handsomer tree, and of
quicker growth, has a glossy smooth white
bark, which divides into lamina as thin
as cambric paper, and answers well to
write on : in ihe forest this tree grows to a
large size, the Indians forming canoes of the
bark of a single tree, which will carry five, or
six people, the bark is also used for making,
various useful articles, such as buckets, bov/ls,.
and baskets, they are chiefly made by the
Indians, and are sewed when cut to the shape
intended, with small slips of the roots of
black spruce trees, they are made to hold water,
are light, and will last a long time : it is per-
38
haps the only bark which is less liable to decay
tilMi the ,.ood which it incloses, when the
trees fall ir. the woods, the bark will remaio
entire many years after the tree is completely
Totten ; it is very inflammable, emitting a strong
vmd iiame, and a very thick black smoke,
which might be easily condensed and collected
« the form of oil. Many fine white birch
trees grow in the old P,e„ch cleared lands
.n snch situations, it is often a very ornamental
tree, growing to a considerable size, and havin..
=« large spreading top with bright green leaves."
2d. Black Birch (heiula nigra.) This is the
largest of our deciduous trees, it is common
all over the Island, where the original growth
of t,mber has not been destroyed by fire; it is
much used in all the northern countries i„
America for ship building, it is nearly of the
colour of lightmahogany, and takes as good
''Pohsh: it makes handsome bedsteads and
Chairs, but does not answer so well for tables
being apt to cast in that article. Theexporta^
«.
tion of this timber, has long been common
from all the neighbouring countries, and a few
cargoes have recently been exported from this
Island, it is chiefly sent to Liverpool, and
other ports in the north of England, and
also to Scotland and Ireland, where it is much
approved of, several attempts have lately been
made to introduce if into the London market,
but the timber merchants appear to be against
it, and they Ivive too much the command of
the trade, to render it practicable to introduce
a new article without their concurrence.*
• A gentleman who Jately imported a cargo of timber from tlie
Island, consisting chiefly of this article, being informed that it was very
lit for stocking fire arms, had a few musicts and fowling pieces stocked
with it, by an eminent tradesman in that line in the City, who making a
fhvourable report of the timber, it was offered to Government, and these
articles weie sent to the Horse Guards, for the inspection of His
Royal Highness the Duke of York, who was pleased to refer the matter
to the Board of Ordnance, who sent tliera to the Tower; here the
butmess turned out vecy different from what was expected, none
of the customary means to secure a favourable reception had been
resorted to, and a report was made against the justice of which,
thousands can bear testimony, the timber being represented as inferior to
common beech, and too soft to hold the sgrcwR 5 at this time walnuf
v\
ii-w,^)t>> ^ T'Hfflw^.sapT^-
40
3d. YelW Birch rAe/«& fe«„.; t1„.^ ^^,^^
grows to a large tree, and i, also used in ship
b".ld.ng. It i, strong and elastic, which .a J
"much -ed for n,any domestic articles;
lands on wh,ch the original timber has been
destroyed by fire, frequently g.ow up with
ye. ow|,irch, these tracts afford a, rea'td:;;
of th,st™ber, of a si« fit for making hoops,
for wh,ch it is very proper, .berever it grows
m th.s manner, it indicates a better soil than
when the young growth consists of white birch •
yellow birch trees, growing single on old
Cleared lands are frequently very fine orna.
mental timber.
4th. Alder Cietula alnus.) This seldom
grows into a tree of any value : Us bark
»-e wood. .,,ch i3 co™„,o„]y „.ed fo. th« purpose, was not to h, . .
^ nearly equal thereto codd have been sun!,'.
'-Ieo.ortHat..e.e.w..e..eJ^:tar:r"^-'"''^^^
the Horse Gnard.. regained there thev ^"-^'"S P"- sent to
officer,. a„, ,,e stock, Je . "'"^ "" "''""*' "^"*^-<^
Winced. .h,the Jl .^""'"^^'"'^ ''" ^"''-^ ^ - -,
he bcgon hi, apphcation at the wrong end.
his often
in ship
h makes
irticles ;
as been
ip with
at deal
hoops,
grows
il than
birch ;
I old
orna.
bad at
evedto
(J the
ent to
eoce4
COM''
41
<lyes a good dark brown, it grows in low
rich lands, and along the sides of creeks and
rivulets.
Of the Maple we have three species, 1st.
The White Maple (acer negundo) it is firm
and smooth, and takes a fine polish, and is
fit for many common purposes, it also affords
sap for making sugar, but not so rich in quality
as the rock or curled maple.
2d. The Red Maple (acer rubrum.) Tliis
tree is small and of no value, and is generally
found growing in swamps.
3d, The rock or curled Maple (acer sacchari-
num.) This is frequently a large tree: the
butts of many of them for six or eight feet from
the ground, being finely curled, renders this
timber extremely beautiful in cabinet, work,
as it is very close grained, and susceptible of
a high polish: what is called the bird's eye
maple is a variety of this tree. The chief value
42
ofthe maple at present, arise, from the qua„,
trty ot sugar annually manufactured of if sap
the making of which generally commences
aboutthesith of March, and continues through
thefirstten day, i„ April; .he quantity made
vanes much in different years, and depends
greatly on the weather at this period : the more
«now there is on the ground, the trees run the
greater quantity of „p, dark or rainy weather
.s unfavourable; the sap i, produced in the
greatest quantities in bright sun shiny davs
after a frosty night: To procure the sap a gap
>s cut in the tree with a common feUing axe
th,s is from an inch and an half to three inched
deep, and from six to eight inches long, slantin..
>n the form of the letter V, and should face
the south west; the sap will run freely from
this gap, from the lower end of which it
» guided into a trough placed belovv, by a
chip driven into a slight cut just under the
gap; a full grown tree will sometimes run up-
ward, of two gallons a day; the person, em-
ployed m the bu,ines, visit the trees frequently
^.
419
to see that the sap runs fairly into the troughs^
and to collect it into barrels, which arc placed
conveniently for that purpose, in them it is
drawn on hand sledges to the boiling place, or
as it is called the sugar camp: the apparatus
for boiling generally consists of three kettles,
the largest double the size of the second, and
that rather more than in the same proportion
to the third, these are suspended over a large
fire made in a temporary hut in the forest; the
sap is first boiled in the large kettle, and re-
moved into the others in succession, as it is
reduced by boiling to the quantity each can
contain ; when removed into the second kettle
the first is again filled with fresh sap, and
boiling is continued in all the kettles which
are filled up from each other; the liquor requires
to be frequently skimmed ; to prevent its
rising suddenly over the kettle, a small bit of
tallow or butter is occasionally thrown in:
when the syrup in the smaller kettle appears of a
proper consistency, it is poured into wooden
moulds, the kettle is again filled up from the
u
second, vhich is replenished from the larger,
, and that is filial witJi fresh sap; a small quan-
tity of lime water is sometimes put into the
smaller kettle to promote its granulation. In
every stage of the work much attention is re-
quired to make good sugar : before boii.ng the
sap should be strained to clear it of chips and
other adventitious substances. The sugar thus
produced is by some rendered as white as the
finest Muscovado sugar, but that is by no
means generally the case, much of it being made
in a very slovenly manner, is very dark co-
loured, extremely hard from too much boilin«r
difficult to break, and takes a Jong time to dis-
solve the manufacture upon the whole is in a
very imperfect state in this Island, though it is
certainly improving. When well made this
sugar is an agreeable sweet, and answers all
the purposes of common sugar; very good
vinegar is also made by boiling three gallons
of sap into one, and then fermenting it with
veast.
45
The sugar thus obtained from the maple is
all clear gain, being made at a time when very
little other out of door work can be performed.
Three smart lads working tc^^cih^r, will often
make one hundred weight -ach in i;»e course of
a fortnight, and sometimes :u ;i fa- )rable year
more. The trees are found m more or less
plenty all over the Island, where the original
growth of forest remains ; the greatest part
of the inhabitants supply themselves with all
the sugar they consume in this manner, and
many have a good deal to dispose of.
The maple tree adds much to the beauty of
our forest scenery in the Autumn, as the leaves
of a tingle tree will assume every tint from
green to rich crimson and bright scarlet colour.
Elm (ulnus americana) of this tree, I think
Ave have only one species, and that not very
common, nor in great plenty, in any part of
the Island.
\.l
46
orB^nl""' ''''"' "^'y' (l«'rcu, rubra)
ce. on the neighbouring Continent, I L
Pect fro. the difeent appearance of it :
omedutnctsfron, other, that .e have .ore
than o„e variety of this specie,, the value of
Poplar or Aspen (poputu, trmula.) Uis
t-e.s,„ some districts of the Island i„g„at
P-y, it is not an indication of good's^
the wood when green, is soft and white, it is
»uch used for fencing, for .hieh, when spii
"to -is, u is .ore valuable than any otL
wood produced i„ t,, ,,,„,, ^^^^^
-redurabk;w.,eudry,itisextren,'yha,d
and hght, ,.d is very fit for so„,e kinds of
turner's work.
Swamf Willow (sali..) This is a ve.y use.
* rubra)
le Island,
J is said
ame spe-
» I sus-
of it in
ve more
^alue of
lite oak
Tliis
1 great
cl soil,
£} it is
1 split
other
much
hard
is of
use*
m
less tree, never grows to any size, nor are its
twigs of any value, being very brittle, it is
the first tree that blossoms in the spring, and
its white flowers are to be seen, when all the
other trees retain their winter appearance.
Ash of two species. 1st. White Ash, or
(fraxinus excelsior.) This is a valuable tree,
but in no great quantity on the Island, it grows
only in good land, is strait and tall, and
sometimes found of a large diameter.
2d. Black Ash, or (fraxinus Americana.)
Tills is a wood of very little value, the cL>ief
use to which it is put at present, is the makiwg
of baskets and brooms.
Pine, of this we have several species. 1st.
The White Pine (pinus strobus) which in
point of size, greatly exceeds all the other
productions of the forest, being fouad three,
four, and five feet diameter, and of a
great height, I have seen one made into ft
48
mi„ma.t for a 64 gun ship, without any ad-
ditions; but the number of large sticks fit for
the navy, i„ any one district, is not so great
«» to make them an object worth the attention
of government: the quantity of pi„e up„„
the Island is not abundant, it is no where to be
found in large groves unmixed »-ith other trees
as IS frequently ihe case on the Continent. '
2d. Yellow Pine 0>/»« ;»«.«; i, harder and
heavier than the white pine, but never grows
to the same size: the quantity of this wood
on the Island is not great, and is chieflv
confined to two or three districts of smaU
extent.
Sd. Pitch Pine (pinus tmda.) Of this we
have very httle. and of very inferior value, no
attempts to extract tar from it have ever been
made, that I am acquainted with, its knots
and roots being full of terebinthin oil, afford
a fine light when burning, and are sometimes
used instead of candles.
49
4th. Larch Cpinm larix.) This is the only
tree of the terebinthine kind which sheds its
leaves in autumn, its turpentine is said to have
powerful medicinal qualities: I have seen it
have very good effects in colds arid coughs.
The timber is valuable on account of its dura-
bility, making the best knees for ship buildfog,
and the best trunnels of any wood which grows
in this climate.
5th. Fir (pinus baisamia.) This tree yields
a fine balsam, contained in small blisters ttn
the outside of the bark, (commonly ktloWn
by the name of Canada balsam) it is uM both
internally ^nd externally. The timber of this
tree is coarse and brittle, and is seldom used
whete pine cah' be obtained, ^hcre* the
grain of a fir tree does not twist- ^o much as
to prevent its being split, it mak^s good rails
for fencing, for which it is much used, and
also for lath wood.
Sth. Spruce (pinus canadcmis.) Of this we
£
50
have three varieties, 1st. the black spruce,
which often grows into a large tree, fit for
masts and spars : of the tops of this tree, the
spruce beer, now so well known in England, is
made. 2d. White Spruce, this is a wood of very
little value, but being light, is sometimes used
for spars and rafters, where that quality re-
commends it. 3d. Red Spruce, this wood is
not oo valuable as black spruce, but much
superior to white spruce, it sometimes grows
on old cleared lands which have been long out
of cultivation, in which situation, it forms
very ornamental groves, its figure being regu-
larly conical, and feathered to the ground.
7th, Hemlock (pinus abiesj. This tree in
size is next to the white pine, to which, how-
ever, it is much inferior ; its chief value is for
making wharfs or buildings in the water, w
which situation it is more durable than "ny other
timber of this climate; the bark is excel-
„ lent for tanning leather, and the tops yield a
medicine, which has been found very powerful
.54
in scorhutic complaints ; some make a decoction
of them, boiling them in the same wanner as
the tops of the black spruce, for making spruce
beer, others bruise them and pour cold spring
water upon them, which is allowed to stand
twelve hours, and then poured off, when it will
be found thick and ropy : I have seen this
taken thres times a day with great effect ; a
jill before breakfast, the same quantity an hour
before dinner, and the like going to bed ; it
agrees well with the stomach and gives a power*
ful appetite.
Wild Cherry (prunus virginiana,) Of this
we have several varieties, which have not
yet been properly distinguished, but none of
them are of any value, the only use ever
made of them is to put them to spirits, for
which they are said to answer as well as the
best cherries, making good cherry rum and
cherry brandy, the trees grow in great num-
bers in land newly cleared, unless kept down
by its being cultivated, and are particularly
£ 2
52
fond of situations where the original timber
has been destroyed by fire, they are of very
<juick growth, but never grow to a size to
' ' ' i [ ^ ■ ■' ! ■'•!**■ , '. , . . ,
make tljejr timber of aty vaiue^ and do i.ot
J live oboye fifteen or twenty^ears, *^^^ '
}Vhu Cm-dr (ihuja pccidentalis.) Tliis ?ree
is common only in the north west corner of
the Island, where it occupies a coirslderabie
district,, it is a very different tree from the red
cedar of more southern climates.
''LI
.,.f, Having gone through the catalogue of forest
trees, I think it proper to obset ve, that the
_ .timber of the Island, is allowed to be much
better than the like species on the neighbour-
ing parts of the Continent, being of a finer,
and closer grain and texture, not so subject
to shakes and defects, the pines, black birch,
beech, and maple, are also larger th ,r. they
are generally found on the adjacent ^iu-s df
the ContJ ci.'t.
53
It is not in my poww to describe with
scientific accuracy, the indigenous shrubs and
vegetables of the Island ; many of them are
only known to me by trifling names which
can convey no information, I shall there-
fore only briefly take notice of the mOst com-
mon. . w ;
.> » 1* J ; t . *
The Black Curtant (riies nigtuih) is very
common in low rich moist land, and in its
native state, is very harsh and ' disagreeable;
whether it is susceptible of improvemeiit by
cultivation, I am not informed, no trials that
I am acquainted' with, havitig ever been made
to cultivate them. '
.'?'■)
Wild Goos'el)en*y (ribes grossularia) is klsO
very common 'in the borders of the forest, and
is often found in the old French cleared lands,
they improve very much by cultivation,
though they are far from disagreikbleih ttwr
liative state, and cbmin'g i^arly, we have thein
' " ■' ' ' ^ tUtH 'iUi r- ii'V
5i
for baking, for which they are very good,
before any other fruit.
The Whortle Berry, or Blue Berry ('vac-
cinium eorymbosum) grows in great abundance
in many districts, and is very good, a gallon
of spirits resembling gin in flavour, has been
distilled from a bushel of them, in some dis-
tricts they are in such plenty, as to furnish
the swine with their chief food for several
weeks.
The Cranberry (mccinium qjn^coccos) grows
on a small low creeping vine close to the ground,
in the edge of marshes adjoining 'the upland,
and in low, wet, poor, sandy land ; the berries
hang on very slender stalks, at first they arc
white but turn red as they ripen, and when full
grown, are nearly the size of a common cherry,
they remain without injury on the vines a|l
winter, though they lose somewhat of their acid ;
They are much sought for cxportaUon, as they
55
keep a long time ; as a sauce for the table they
are generally preferred to any other acid fruit.
There is another species of cranberry not so
large, nor so pleasant a fruit, but growing in
clusters on a very pretty looking shrub, it is
very ornamental, the fruit remaining on long
after the leaves are fallen, in large bunches of
a bright scarlet colour.
The Raspberry (rubut idaus) is found in tlicf
greatest plenty, M^herever the forest is destroyed
by fire, or the timber cut down, and the land
left uncultivated, the first thing it produces
is the raspberry, which soon covers the whole
surface of such places, the fruit is equal to
any I ever saw in England, though growino-
wild, I never saw the white species produced
but in one spot of small extent, at first I was
inclined to think they had been imported, but
upon enquiry, I was convinced they were like
the red, the indigenous production of the soil,
though they ai.^reired to be as fine flavoured,
and large as any I ever saw.
56
The running Brambleberry (rubus moluc-
emus) are sometimes fn,ir ' ' cold moist'
sftnations, but are not very common, nor
any where in great plenty.
The Strawberry (fragana vtica) is very
common in lands that have been long cleared,
without being cultivated, and are also found
in open spots in the fore' t, they are all of
the scarlet kind, and though small, are well
flavoured, and in some situations, grow large
and in great plenty ; it has been remarked,^
that wherever the strawberry grows before the
soil is cultivated, it after vards throws up
white clover gre.;. abunc.ance.
ThcHaJeNuc {cort/lus a. cflana.) is com.
mon in many parts of the Island
The Baybeiry (mj/rica er a) is a small
shrub, seldom lising above two feet and a haT,
it yields a strong aromatic perfume, and froni
the fruit which clings together in little green
57
clusters, a fine green wax is extracted by boil'
ing which makes excellent candles.
The Ginseng (panax trifolinum) is found in
great plenty in the forest, wh^'re the timber
IS large, and the soil good, no attempt that
I know of, has ever been made to ascerlaia
its value.
D -arf Flder (
mon in nch deep soil.
) is very com-
The Maic Hair (adianthus pedatuus) is
very common m the woods among evergreens.
The Sarsaparilla (af-alia) is found in great
abundance, and from the warm nature of the
soil is said to be much better than any to be
found on the Continent, within five degrees
of the same latitude.
Pigeon Berries ( ) grow
in ttle clusters on a sn.all plant, are of a
i-tj
58
bright «carl t. and in some districts are in
great plenty, they have a mawkish sweet taste,
and fatten common fowls very fast.
The Night Shade (s^lanum nigrum) is much
too common, and has the same poisonous ef-
fccts here as in England.
Besides tliese, there are several kinds of
wild fruit. n,any slirubs, and a variety of
plants that are not distinguished by any but
trifling names, some of which, arc mucli better
known to the Indians, who frequently cure their
disorders by means of herbs, without the
assistance of any medical person.
59
NATIVE ANIMALS, BIRDS, FISHES,
REPTILES AND INSECTS.
WE have no animals on this Island but what
are met with on the neighbouring continent,
and never having been accurately examined or
properly classed, neither a perfect catalogue nor
a complete description of such as we are enabled
to notice can be given ; some of the names, I
imagine, are adopted from the resemblance of
the animal to those of a different climate, and
are sometimes so erroneously applied, that it is
to be apprehended they may often mislead.
The following catalogue, arranged in the
order of Linnaeus, is intended to give an idea
of this branch of our natural history.
Seal (phoca vitulina). This animal .s very
60
common, and is to be seen in all our rivers and
harbours; it is hardly possible to cross either
without seeing them ; upon the setting in of the
winter, when by the general freezing of the
creeks and rivers, tliey are obliged to quit
them, they assemble in great numbers on par-
ticular parts of the coast, where they know by
experience that the surface will continue long
open; they often quit the water at this period,
and lay in great nunibers carelessly sleeping on
the ice : from this habit a curious circumstance
happened a few years ago : on the setting in of
the winter 1797, a great number of seals had
assembled in a part of Hiilsburgh Bay, where
the strength and rapidity of the tide had pre-
vented the surface from freezing, though all the
rest of the bay, the harbours and creeks which
run into it were completely frozen, and as
«^ial great number of them were laying on the
^ce, wlxen the severity of the frost increased so
rapidly, that the whole of this opening, on
which they depended for a communication with
tir -ea. was frozen up so strongly in a few hours^
61
tliatwhen they observed their situation they could
not penetrate the ice, and as there was no open
water in sight of them, instead of going seawawl
on the ice, they took to the land, and attempted
to cross the Island to get into the gulph at the
north side thereof, but this was an exertion
for Avhicli tliey were totally unquahfied, and
few of them got above two miles into the woods
before they were completely exhausted, in this
state they were discovered by some of the
neighbouring settlers, and several hundred of
them killed, proving a valuable booty, as many
of them were vfry large.
■ .-v. .
Besides the seals v/hich constantly frequent
the waters of the Island, there is a larger kind
brought on the coast annually in the month of
April by the floating ice from the northward,
which are often in great numbers, and the
taking them is constantly attended to, and is
frequently very productive to those who follow
the business, the oil is generally carried to Halifax
or Quebec, where it sells from twenty-five to
as
thirty-twa pounds per ton ; the method of
taking the seals is by following the ice with
schooners, tlie success depends on the quantity
of northern ice that may be brought by the
wind on the coast; sometimes vast quantities
come, other years Uttle or none, wlien the
fishermen meet with the ice they either fasten
their vessels to it, or if from appearance they
judge that to be unsafe, leaving part of their
crew on board to manage the vessel, the rest
go upon the ice, where they find the seals
asleep, frequently many hundreds together,
and being an unwieldy heavy animal, which
can only move very slowly out of the water,
they are easily killed, a great many are shot,
some are speared, others are killed by the stroke
of a heavy stick on their ijoses, in these ways
they frequently in two or three days get as many
seals as their vessels will carry ; sometimes the
number taken is very trifling, either from there
being little ice on the coast, or the weather
being so bad as not to permit the vessels going
among the ice ; it is a precarious business, and
6d
attended with a considetable risk of the livei
employed in it.
Red Fox (cams dlopex). We have also the
grey and the black fox ; the numbpr of foxes
taken on the Island is very considerable ; some
years ago before bear skins were so much used
in England they bore a much higher price, and
were more in demand than at present ; foxes do
no farther injury than killing a few fowls,
they never attack sheep ; they are commonly
taken in steel traps, sometimes they are in-
veigled to a particular spot in the night by a
bait placed for them, here a person is con-
cealed with a gun, at such a distance as to
make sure of them ; in this way five or six
have been killed by one person in the course of
a few hours.
Wild Cat (feliv lynx) called by the French
Loup Cerrier, this is a large animal standing
about two feet and a half higii, the head and
body of a full grown one, will be about three
m
hjl
w . ^ \
I '*(I "I
■j" ' t I
I
(
t'r
.6^
feet in length, the head is the only part of it
that resembles a cat, the tail is only about an
inch and a half in length; the colour a light
grey, the feet are very large, spreading much
to enable it to run on the snow, it is armed
with strong claws and looks more formidable
than it really is; it lives upon hares and par-
tridges which it takes by surprize; they are some-
times seen crossing the rivers on the ice in
winter ; when punned in that situation by
dogs it sits down quietly, until the dogs
come up, when it seejns much surprised at their
hostility, and in return generally knocks the
first dog down with a stroke of its fore paw
and then runs off, if it has above half a mile to
run before it reaches the woods, the dogs will ge-
nerally come up with it, when it is easily
Jellied even by a single dog, if it escapes the
dogs until it gets into the woods, it immediately
runs up a tree, when it is a certain mark with a
gun, very few of them have been known to
attack sheep or Iambs ; they are chiefly caught
m the winter in snares and steel traps ; tlie
skin is sold at from ten to fifteen shillings ; the
flesh is as white as veal, and has been frequently
eaten by epicures and much relished.
Otter Cmustek h'Jra.) These have been
very plenty in the Island, and are still caught
in considerable numbers, some of the skins sell
as high 35 six dollars.
Martin (mustela.) This is a very shy little
animal and is seldom seen in the woods, though
some years in great abundance, it is taken In
the winter by means of a small log-trap baited ;
its fur has been out of fashion for mutfs and
. tippets for some years, which has rendered k"
less valuable than formerly.
"^^^^tl (mustela martes.) This little animal
is common, and often destructive among
poultry,.
Ermine (mustela ermhue.) This beautiful
iittle animal is red like a fox in summer and
14;
•f
'■ •'} i
66
white in winter; it is distinguished fom^the
common weasel by the tip of its tail which is
always black ; it is not common but is some-
times seen in making roads, when it is necessary
to cut and remove many fallen trees, in the bodies
of which it makes its nest.
Bear (ursus arctos.) The Bear known here
is the black species, though they arc distin-
guished by their muzzles, some having them
red, others white, the latter are said not to
do any mischief, living upon berries, ants,
small fish which they catch in the creeks, and a
large insect, which they obtain by tearing the
old wind-fallen trees to pieces ; the former are
sometimes very destructive among the cattle,
and will attack the largest ox or cow : the
quantity of black cattle, sheep, and hogs,
destroyed by them annually on the Island is
very considerable, but like other evils which
settlements in new countries ^'•c subject to, it
will lessen rapidly, and in less than half a
century, I have no doubt but the bears will be
67
entirely extirpated. When we coinpare the
fiiischief done by them, to the ravages of the
^volf, in the new settlements on the Conti-
nent, it is trifling indeed. The bear, unless
surprised and closely attacked, almost always
runs away from a man, and except it be the
she bear with her young cubs, is very seldom
dangerous; in upwards of twenty years re-
sidence on the Island, I do not know a single
instance of any persons losing their lives by a
bear.
Ground Mouse (sore^v murinus.) This is the
lUtle animal whose ravages have been so much
spoken of and exaggerated to almost every
person who has ever heard any thing of the
Island, being often represented by those ^hb
are disposed from interest or otherwise, to de-
preciate the value of it, as attacking us pe-
riodically; and destroying every kind of ve-
getable production, than which nothing can
be more groundless, or unfounded. In thirty
years I have been acquainted with the Island
F 12
Kii
'Am
'"■ ».l
?8
and upwards of twenty years actual residence
there, I have never known mice do any injury
to the crops, two or three years only excepted
and then partially, and by no means general
through the Island. Yet I am sensible it is
often mentioned in Nova Scotia, as what
frequently happens, although it might be ex»
pected, that the quantity of grain which we
send them annually, ought long ago to have
induced them to desist from a representation,
so palpably erroneous and unjust.
The same species of mice are frequently
to be met with on the adjacent parts of the
Continent, where they occasionally do con-
siderable mischief, in those particular districts
which happen to be in the neighbourhood of
tracts of beech-wood forest. Though the mice
may sometimes partially injure the crops, yet
there are many years successively in which
none are to be seen on the Island, and no
person who is well acquainted with it, is under
any serious apprehension of injury from them
69
and as the beach-wood forests are dimi-
nished, so will the number of the mice de*
crease. It being well kno^n their increase is
owing to the great crops of beech mast, pro-
duced occasionally in certain districts, as a
proofof which it is observable, that in those
parts that are remote from any quantity of that
wood, no injury to the crops has ever been
known to happen.
Hare (lepus timidus.) Hares are in great
plenty all over the Island, they are chiefly
taken in winter, by means of long fences or
hedges made of brush wood, cut down and
piled so closely, that they cannot easily get
through, and in every fifteen or twenty yards
of this fence a small opening is left, in which
» snare is placed.
The Musquash (castor zibethkus) Guilds a
cabin of mud and sticks in fresh water ponds'
he is not very shy, being frequently seen
swimming about the ponds.
U\'t
■wm
70
The Mink ( j is an amphiboq*
animal, and burrows in the earth by the side
pf rivers. Its fuf is more valuable than the
musquash, it is a mischievous little animal,
making its way into out-houses, and destroying
poultry and cggf.
Of squirrels, we have three species. The
red squirrels (sciuru% Jlavus.) The striped
squirrel (sciurus strUtus.) Theilying squirrel
(sciurui 'loir^m) this is a beautiful lively little
animal, it:, fur is extremely delicate and fine,
but it is nt . jo common as the two first species,
squirrels increase vastly in number like the
mice, after an abundant crop of beech mast,
particularly the striped squirrel.
The only mamillary biped which we have is
the Bat (vespertillie murims) they are to be
seen in great plenty on summer evenings in
the neighbourhood of houses and at the edge
of the woods.
71
*rhe following catalogue of birds, though
tiot complete, is the fullest I believe that has
yet been collected,
I'i,'-
Bald Eagle
Brown Eagle
Large brown Hawk
Hen Hawk
Pigeon Hawk
White Owl
Speckled Owl
Barn Owl
Bird Hawk
Crow
Blue Jay
Crow Black Bird
Falco kucocephalus.
Falco fulvus, not often
seen.
Falco hudsonius,
Falco sparverius.
Falco columbarius.
Strix myctea^
Strix aluco.
Strix pasaerina.
Lanius canadensis*
Corvus corax
Cforvus cristatus.
Gracula quiscula.
Great red crested Wood
Picus piUatus
Picut erythrocephalus
Pecker
Red-headed Wood
Pecker
White-back Wood
Pecker Pkus auratus
Speckled Wood Pecker Pirns macutosus
King's Fisher Alcedo altyon.
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Humming Bird
White-head Coot
Black Durk
Brant Goose
Wild or Black Goose
72
Trochilus lolubrls.
ylms spectabili3
Anas nigra
yluas bernicla.
Anas canadensis.
The last is the largest bird of the goose kind,
it is a bird of passage, and gregarious by the
mixture of this with the common goose a mon-
grel is produced, which is a much finer bird on
the table than either of the parents, but will not
breed again. Vast flocks of geese arrive from
the southward towards the end of March and be-
ginning of April, they stay but a few weeks,
passing on to the northward as the season ad-
vances ; a few of them, however, breed in un-
frequented places on the Island, and are some-
times caught, both old and young, in the month
ofJuly, when neither can fly, they sometimes
chuse to lay their eggs in the old deserted nest
of the bald eagle, on the top of a dead Pine tree,
eighty or ninety feet from the ground, to which
they bring their young when hatched ; when
73
they build on the ground, if they find their nest
has been discovered and their eggs handled,
they will immediately remove them one by one,
flying, with the egg grasped between their bill
and neck.
The geese begin to return from the northward
about the 1st of September. In October and
November they are in great numbers in all
the harbours, creeks and rivers on the Island ;
when they return they are at first very poor,
but in a few weeks become very fat and fine by
feeding on the roots of the salt grass, which
every where grows along the shores, and which
they dig up out of the sand and mud ; they are
never strong nor fishy like the European Wild
Goose. The Brant is a still finer bird, and are
also in great numbers, they do not leave us so
soon in the beginning of the Summer as the
geese, staying generally till about the tenth
of June, when they collect in prodigious large
flocks, and go all away in two days, the noise
they make for some days before they go off,
74
when the flocks are collecting, may be heard
for many miles; they return about the same
lime the geese do, and stay till about the end
of November, when they go off to the south-
ward, but not with the formality they observe
in their migration northward, they never breed
on the Island, nor any where round thcGulph,
but are known to breed in great numbers on the
lakes on the Coast of Labradore, and on Sagany
River, which runsjnto the River St. Laurence.
Sea Duck
Dipper
Widgeon
Sea Pigeon
Blue-winged Teal
Grey Duck
Red-bellied Sheldrake
Pyed Sheldrake
Penguin
Shag
Gannet
Loon
Anas moUisiima^
Anas albeola
Anas penelope.
Anas histriomca»
Anas discort.
Anas sponsa,
Mergus serrator*
Mergus castor.
Alea impennis.
FeUcanus graculus.
Pelecanus eassanus.
Colymhus immer.
75
White Gull Larus canuL
Grey Gull Laritsfu^cut.
Mackerel GuH Larus ridibundus.
Tee- Ait, or fishing Gull Sierna minuta.
Crane Ardea canadensis.
Wood Snipe Scolopax ftdoa,
Grty Curlew Scolopa:» tetanus.
Luge-speckled Cu'lew Scolopax lapponica.
Beach Bird
Black-bre£L3ted Plover
Kildee
Pyed Plover
Partridge
Tringa arenaria.
Charadrius hiatkula*
Charadrius ^ocifcrus.
Charadrius apricarius,
Tetrao marilandicus.
The partridge is very common in our woods,
and like the mice and squirrels, become very
plentiful, the year after a great crop of beech
mast; they are considerably larger than the
English partridge; the flesh la as white as
that of a pheasant, which it resembles more on
the table than a partridge, when disturbed the
whole covey fly upon the nearest tree, where
they often sit quietly till they are all successively
m
7(J
ihot ; in the months of April and May th6y
are easily found in the woods, from the mult
bird making a loud noise, by beatinjg with his
wings on an old log, which is heard at a great
distance. It has been found necessary to pro*
hibit the kiUing of partridges between the first
ofApril and the first of September, by an act
of the legislature; any person convicted before
a magistrate of trespassing against this law,
forfeits the sum of ten shillings for every par^'
tridge so killed, one half to the informer or
prosecutor, the other half to the treasury of
the Island: with this exception, every person
IS allowed to shoot when and where they please,
which with the liberty claimed of fishing in
ponds and rivers, measured into the different
townships, and for which the proprietors pay
quit renr to the crown, is complained of as a
hardship: restraining people in both cases to
lands owned and occupied by themsehes, or
to those totally unsettled and neglected would
certainly be more equitable.
77
Wild Pigeon {columbn migratoria.) Wild
Pigeons come in the spring from the southward
in great plenty, and breed in the woods during
the summer months : some years they are in
much greater number than others, when the
com is cut and in shocks, they come out of the
woods in greater numbers than could be wished,
and are particularly troublesome in fields near
the wi'ods.
I'M
tit'.
p\
b:
It'
Hi!
Robin {turdus migratorius). This bird cornea
from the southward in April, they are in great
numbers, and are about the 8i2e of an English
black -bird ; they stay till November.
Snow Bird (jsmheriza hyemalis). The snow
bird is about the size of a sparrow, .has a beau-
tifully variegated plumage; they are to be seen
about the houses aod barn yards in winter, ia
small flocks; they are very delicate, and said
to be equal in flavour to the European ortalon.
Boblincoln
Yellow Bird
Winter Sparrow
Spring Bird
Cat Bird
Yellow Crown
Blue Bird
Common Wren
Blue Titmouse
Tomteet
Bank Swallow
Whip Poor Will
Night Hawk
78
Emberiza oryzivors.
Fringilla tristU.
Fringilla gris€a
Ftingilla.
Muscicapa carolinenm.
Musckapaflava,
Motacilla sialis.
Motacilla Irochillus,
Parus americanus.
Parus virginianus.
Hirundo riparia.
Caprimulgus europans.
Caprimulgus amerieanui
There are many other birds whose name. I
am not sufficiently acquainted with to enable
me to include them in this catalogue.
Toad
Pond Froff
Green Frog
Bull Froff
Crown Lizard
REPTILES.
Rana hufo,
Rana occellata.
Rana arboria.
Rana Boons.
Lacirta punctata.
79
Brown Snake
Green Snake
Striped Snake
SERPENTS.
Coluber sipedon^
Coluber saurita,
Anguis eryx.
None of these Snakes are dangerous, or their
bite in the least poisonous. That there is no
dangerous reptile in the Island, must be con-
sidered as a very pleasant circumstance, as
people can traverse the forest every where, and
sleep there without being under any apprehen-.
sion of injury,
AMPHIBIOUS FISHES.
Dog Fish Squalus catulus.
Shark Squalus carefuirius.
Sturgeon Acipenser sturio.
Sharks are not often seen, however, they
are to be met with on the Coast of the Island,
but have veiy seldom been known to come
into the harbours. Sturgeons axe very com-
V '
I
80
nion in the summer montlis in all the harbours,
the Indians are the only people who catch
them, some of them are six and seven feet in
Jength.
FISHES.
Eel (murana anguilla). Eels are in great
plenty here, and in no other country finer,
they go into the mud in the winter, many feet
under the surface ; they are found in greatest
plenty in the harbours on the north side of the
Island, where they bed in the muddy flats,
they are also knoWn to get under the salt
marshes in some places, and are particularly
fond of situations where there are springs of
fresh water issuing out of the earth, they are
taken in vinter by cutting holes in the ice,
and driving a spear into tht mud, these spears
have five prongs, the extremities of which are
all turned up inwards, ending in a sharp point,
when they happen to strike an eel in the mud, it
is held between the prongs which being elastic,
open by the pressure, and when pulled up, the
sharp turned-up prongs prevent the eels escaping
•1
till they are shook off the spear upon the ice,
it is very laborious work taking them, but
they are well worth the trouble, being ex-
tremely rich and fine, a barrel of eels is
reckoned of as much value to a labouring
family as one of salted meat, they are also
taken on the flats in summer nights by torch
light; the calm nights which so frequently
happen in the months of June and July afford
many opportunities for this kind of fishing,
which is not an unpleasant amusement, various
other fish such as skate, flounders, trout, tom- .
cod, bass, and plenty of lobsters are taken at
tlie same time, the whole is done by spearing,
except the lobsters, which are taken by put-
ting a cleft pole over their backs, and pressing
it down, until it takes sufficient hold of them,
when they are lifted into the boat, by this
means the shell is not in the least injured.
The fish seem infatuated by the light, and^keep
swimming round the boat ; the torches used,
are made of the white birch bark tycd up in
a small bundle, this easily takes fire, burns
G
82
with great brilliancy, and lasts a considerable
time, the only apparatus is a cleft 9tick of
seven or eight feet in length, which is stuck
up in the bow of the boat or canoe, in the
top or cleft the torches are stuck, and when
nearly burned out, are replaced by a fresh
one. The Indians are the most expert hands
at this fishery, and their light bark canoes,
which they manage with wonderful dexterity,
give them a great , advantage over a person in
a common canoe or skiff.
Haddock
Cod
Gadus ccglesinus.
Gadus morhua.
Cod are perhaps no where m greater plenty
than on the coast of the Island, all the principal
fishing ground in the Gulph of St. Laurence, is
in sight of our shores, the Afnericans at present,
reap the greatest advantage of the cod fishery
Iierc.
Tom- Cod or Frost Fish (Gadus luscus.)
89
r
This fish is in great abundance in all our
harbours, in flavour it much resembles the
whiting of the British seas, they come into
the creelcs and rivulets to spawn in vast num-
bers in the month of December, wlien they
are easily taken.
Hake
Sculpion
Flounder
Halibut
Gadus molva
Coitus quadricornis.
Pleuronectesjleisus*
Pleuronectes Hippoglossm,
This is a very large fish, and though often
eat is very coarse, the fins only are very
palatable, they are sometimes got of 300lb.
weight.
White Perch Perca lucioperca.
Sea Perch Perca undulata,
^^^8 Perca ocelata.
Perch are very fine here, and are found ia
all our rivers and ponds that have a com-
munication with the sea. Bass are in great
numbers in all our harbours, they are frequently
o 2
84
got at the narrow entrance of the north -side
harbours on moon-light nights, with a liook
and line ; the line and hook baited with the
tail of a lobster is coiled up and thrown
into deep water, and drawn on shore quickly,
in this way many arc taken, they are also
speared on the fiats in the bays and harbours of
the south side, where they are in great plenty.
Chub H Perca philadelphka.
Bream Perca chrysoptera
Mackerel Scomber scomber.
Mackerel are in great plenty on this coast, and
come into all our harbours, in which they are
caught from July to November.
Salmon (salmo salar.) Though salmon are
found in ail our rivers, they are not in such
abundance, as in the great fresh-water rivers
in our neighbourhood on the Continent, in
some of which, are perhaps the greatest sal-
mon fisheries in the world, on the north side
«f the Island, in all the harbours they may be
u
seen leaping out of the water frequently in
the months of June and July, particularly at
St. Peter's Bay, where, aud in the Rive*"
Morell, which runs into it a great many arc
taken : they do not come into the Hills-
burgh River, and the other rivers on the
south side of the Island, until the latter end
of September, and the beginning of October,
when they are on the point of spawning, and
are not good. The old French people on the
Island say, that salmon were formerly in much
greater plenty than they have been for many
years past, as a proof of which, they relate that
two brigs of considerable burthen, used to
load annually with salmon, caught in the
harbour of St. Peters, for Rochelle in France.
Trout (salmo fario) are found in all our
rivers, harbours, and ponds, and having access
to the sea, are extremely fine, and often very
large. Trout fishing in the bays on the north
side in the latter end of May and beginning of
June, affordr fine amusement to such as are
86
fond of it, the method is to anchor a boat near
the edge of the channel, where there is a con-
siderable ripple occasioned by the tide, here an
angler is not incommoded with any thing, and
he has room to display his skill to the utmost,
and is sure of abundant sport. In July the
trout go into the fresh water, and in some
places are taken in great numbers.
Smelt (salmo epcrianus.) Smelts are in great
abundance, they are finest in winter, and
are easily taken by cutting a hole in the ice,
on the salt water close to the shore, where the
water is not more than eighteen inches deep,
they bite readily at a little bit of white meat.
In April they go into the fresh- water brooks
and springs, in such numbers that they may
be taken up by a scoop nett in bushels, they
are much larger, and finer flavoured than any
I ever saw in Engiand*
Herring (clupea harengus.) This fish fre-
quents the coasts, bays, and harbours of this
»7
Island, in immense shoals ; in the latter end
of April and beginning of May, they may
literally be said to fill them, particularly the
north-side harbours, and the harbour of
George Town ; there is no difficulty in taking
them in any quantity in which they can pos-
sibly be wanted.
Alewife or Gasperaux (clupea serrata,)
This species, though not so plentiful as the
common herring, are found in great numbers
in many parts of the Island, they go into the
fresh water to spawn. In the beginning of
June, great shoals of them go up the Hills -
burgh River, towards the head of which a good
many are taken annually. •
Skate
Thornback
Raid hatis.
Rata ciavata.
There are many other fishes not known to
me by such names, as will enable me to arrange
mem.
88
Crabs, Lobsters, and Shrimps.- (Cancer),
Lobsters are in the greatest plenty in all our
harbours and on the coast, they are seldom
sold for more than sixpence a dozen, and are
often very ne. The crabs are of no value.
Shrimps are found on all the flats in our har-
bours in summer and are large and fine.
VERMES.
Sea Clam
Squid
Hog Clam
Razor Shell Fish
Long Shell Clam
Hohthuriaphantapkus.
Sepia media.
My a arenaria,
Solen etisis,
Soliti radiatit.
Oyster (ostrea). Oysters are in great plenty
in all the^ harbours on the Island, in some
places beds of them of several acres extent
may be found, most of the lime hitherto used
in the Island has been burnt from their shells,
and it is commonly the practice to burn the
live oysters for that purpose, putting many
hundred barrels of them in a kiln toffecner.
- o
89
They are preferred to any other American
oysters by all Europeans who have eaten thein.
Muscle (mytilits edulis). Large beds of
muscles are found in most of our harbours,
which are never used for any other purpose thaa
making lime of their shells.
Horned Beetle
Lady Fly
Fire Fly
INSECTS.
Scarabcsus simson
Coccinella^ several spe*
cies.
Lampyris lucida.
Grasshopper (grillus). Several species which
are often injurious to our grass lands and pas-
tures in dry summers.
Bug
Butter Fly
Dragon Fly
Adder Fir
Wasp
Hornet
Cinex. several species.
Papilio numerous species
^Lihellulaf several species
}
VespOf several species.
90
Bumble Bee
Wild Bee
Ant
Black Fly
Brown Fly
Horse Fly
Mosquito
}
(Apis) several species
(Formica) many species
> Numerous
species
(Tabanusj6e\txBX species
(^ulex Pipiens)
Mosquitos and the small black or Sand
Fly are very troublesome in summer, but
they decrease much as the country is cleared ;
they are worst in the neighbourhood of salt
marshes or wet ground ; in open clear lands
that face the south west they are not much
felt, except in calm moist weather.
Upon looking over this account of our na-
tive animals, I found that the sea-cow, formerly
so plenty, had escaped my attention, as many
people think they will again become so, and as
tliey still exist, though greatly reduced in num-
ber, it is hoped the following short account of
them may be satisfactory.
Sea-cow {trichccus viatuitiw). This large am-
phibious animal was found in great numbers on
the north coast of this Island thirty years ago,
but they have now become very scarce, and are
seldom seen on shore. From I770 to 1775,
they were annually caught in considerable num-
bers near the north point of the Island, at that
time Governor Patterson assumed the right of
granting the sea-cow fishery as it was called,
(though the whole business was carried on on
dry land^ by an annual licence, upon which a
considerable fee was paid, and sometimes it was
very profitable, as great numbers were then
taken.
These animals were accustomed to resort to
one or two particular spots near the north cape,
and several hundreds would sometimes go on
shore at once ; they were left undisturbed un-
til the wind blew oif the land, when the people
got between them and the sea, and probed
those that were next to them with sticks, whose
points were brought nearly to the same degree
pt
b \
V'T
m
9t
of sharpness as the large tusks of these animals,
this set them in motion towards the woods, and
they probed on those that were beibrc them,
and the whole flock, said sometimes to exceed
three hundred, were soon in motion and pro-
ceeded into the woods, where they were easily
killed with long spears. It sometimes happened
that without any apparent reason they would
turn back towards the sea, before they had
got so far from it as to render the attempt to
begin the slaughter safe, and if still in sight of
the sea, on their return they kept in a body to
which nothing could be opposed with any
effect; but when gota considerable way into the
woods they appeared to loose their sagacity, and
scattered in different directions, seeming at the
same time insensible of danger, though the
slaughter of their fellows was going on close to
them. I have been informed that some of them
would weigh four thousand pounds ; their oil
is said to be the purest of all animal oil, and the
French inhabitants of the island eat it very
readily ; some parts of the skins are an inch aid
98
a half in thickness, and prodigiously strong and
valuable for making many useful articles, which,
if kept dry, are very durable, even without tan-
ning or dressing of any kind : the large tusks
fyroduce a species of Ivory closer grained than the
common Ivory. These teeth are evidently given
them by nature to enable them to dig the shell fish
out of the bottom of the sea, on which they appear
to live, no other substance being ever found in
their stomachs. They are not found on any other
part of the eastern coast of America, to the
southward of Hudson's Bay, than in the Gulph
of St. Laurence, all the southern part of which,
is of a moderate depth of v/ater, seldom exceed-
ing 2i fathoms, and the bottom generally san-
dy, and producing vast quantities of shell fish.
V
5
(■
1
'm
The coast both to the northward and south*
ward of the gulph, for a great distance is every
where rocky ground with deep water, which is
supposed to be the reason that these animals,
who require only a moderate depth of water,
and a sandy bottom for producing shell fish,
94.
are not found on this coast, but in the gulph ;
beside* what were taken annually on this
Island in the manner above mentioned, great
numbers were taken on and about the Mag-
dalen Islands in the summer months, where
they resorted much at that season of the year
with their young, of which they are so fond,
that they will run any risk for their preservation ;
and though they were supposed to have de-
creased much, they were still found in con-
siderable numbers, till after the American war,
when 80 many New England fishermen poured
into the gulph, and attacked them about the
Magdalen Islands in summer, that in two or
three years the species were nearly destroyed,
few having been seen for several years after,
however the breed still exists, and they are
now known to be increasing fast, and if the
killing them was but under proper regulations,
they might again become so numerous as to
be an object of great consequence, but this
never can be the case while the New England
fiishermen are allowed to come into the gulph
and destroy thcrn.
9o
CLIMATE AND SEASONS.
5> ' .'
The climate of this Island partakes in an
eminent degree of the well-known healthful-
ness of the neighbouring countries of Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick and Canada, to all of
which it is in some respects superior, being
in ti rely free froni the fogs by which the two
first are so much infested, and unincumbered
with lakes of fresh water which so often gene-
rate sickly seasons in the latter, producing in-
termittent and other fevers, happily unknown
here, to which we may add that the cold is not
by many degrees so great in winter ; for which
our insular situation, and distance from any
high land will naturally account ; it is a common
expression with Canadians who occasionally
visit the Island, when they see the houses of our
96
new settlers, " Jf we were not to use other pre-
caution* against the winter, we should be all
frozen in our beds :" Canadian houses must be
all warmed by stoves, here stoves are by no
means common, houses tolerably finished are as
completely warmed by a common fire-place as
in England, not that we can compare the tem-
perature of the two climates as by any means
Mmilar, but our fires have only a dry elastic
cold to get the better of. English cold is a
raw damp obstinate intruder. In Cuuada the
severity of the winter otherwise healthyj often
produces the pleuresy, which frequently carries
off the young and healthy, here the complaint
id almost unknown.
The seasons here have been variously de-
gcribed, often as has suited the humour or views
of the relator, and accordingly falsehood has not
been spared either in exaggeration or deprecia-
tion : if we ]ia had sanguine individuals, who
overlooking th^;- f ».t>va;..ages of a winter, of
97
above four months continuance, and all the
dilficuitics incident to a new country in such a
climate, have injuied themselves and deceived
others, the Island has equally suffered from
disappointed unprincipled adventurers, some
of them speculators in land, others on the pub-
lic offices of the colony, the one wild and
eytravagant in their expectations, the others
turbulent and flagitious in their schemes. The
former disappointed bj their own folly, the
latter by the good sense and spirit of the
colony, have in revenge equally contributed,
and often united their utmost endeavours to
misrepresent and depreciate the Island, bcch in
respect to its natural qualities, and the admini-
stration of its public affairs: hence the various
r'coirnts in circulation of the climate, soil,
<• '• circumstances of the country, than
M'hich, nothing can be more contradic-
tory.
The winter of this climate, is the season
which has created the the greatest controversy
H
98
among those who pretend to describe it, I shalt
therefore begin with that season, and as
far as my experience will enable me, en-
deavour to give my readers a clear idea of
its nature and duration. In the first place,
I must state, that the changes of temperature
in our winters, are much greater, and more
rapid, than any thing of the kind ever ex-
perienced in Great Britain, without however
producing any ill effects, that I have ever ob-
served, on the general health of the inhabitants.
The commencement and duration of the
winter varies much in one year from another,
the Hillsburgh river opposite Charlotte Town,
has been crossed on the ice, as early as the
first week in December, and on other years has
been open as late as the 20th of January, and
on several years successively, as late as the 8th
or 10th of that month, and in tlie spring w&
have the same harbour, sometimes not clear of
ice before the 20th of April, and on other years,
open at the same time in March ; these are
99
varieties of such an extent as to furnish the
means of deception either way, to those who
are not very scrupulous, and accordingly
accounts are to be met with, which state
our winters to be of six months continu-
ance, whfle others will allow us to have
little more than three ; but, it is to be ob-
served, that with respect to the temperature
and character of this season, nothing can be
concluded from the circumstance of its com^
mencing early, as experience teaches us, that a
winter which is early in its commencement, is
often mild throughout, and on the other hand,
winters late of setting in, are commonly severe
in proportion ; our hardest winters however,
have a great deal of mild weather, even during
that part of the season, when the most severe
cold might be looked for. The following cir-
cumstances, I think will be readily admitted
by all who know the country, as pretty ac-
curately describing our winter. The last half
of November and the first half of December,
— Q-jsii wiUvti wCaincj, someiiuics raming
H 2
100
sometimes freezing, sometimes snowing with
gales of wind, not often however so hard as is
common in Europe at this season, but this
period like the whole of our winters, varies
much in one year from another ; sometimes a
great part of it is real winter weather,, in other
years, the whole is quite mild, the ther-
mometer often rising higher than it ever does
in England at this season, sometimes the first
part of this period is a little winter, and the
last mild autumnal weather; on other years,
the weather continues uninterruptedly mild,
till the middle of December, and then the
winter sets in steadily at once ; from the mid-
dle to the latter end of this month, we gene-
rally have the winter set in in earnest, but
in other years it is quite mild, till after tlic
commencement of the new year ; for two
years successively I have ploughed all the
last week of December ; this, however, is the
natural time to look for our winter, and in
which it will be both beneficial and agree-
able, , there cannot be a pleasanter contrast
101
in regard to winter weather, than between ou^
dry clear bracing cold, and the raw moist un-
steady v/eather which sometimes precedes it,
and which is so common for a great part o#
the winter in many countries. I may here
observe th^t from our latitude, we of course
have the sun considerably longer above the
horizon than inEngland at this season, which
added to the general clear state of our at-
mosphere gives us at least two hours more
day light than in any part of Great Britain at
this period of the year.
^ In January and February we look for a great
deal of steady cold weather, yet it often hap-
pens, that after fifteen or twenty days severe
frost, the weather changes, and it becomes
mild for as long a time, the mercury falling
only a few degrees below the freezing point,
and sometimes by the winds coming to the
S. W. for several days together, the weather
becomes so wai-m as to form a very extra-
ordinary contrast to the surface of the earth
>
rtiiis'
Um
■Hi
Ib^
^^BKa^-^wBB
M
■Kl
1
102
and the vaters all covered with ice ; and
though we generally have the deepest snows in
these months, yet in some years we have much
bare ground at this time, which is by no
means desirable, as it interferes with our win-
ter employments, by preventing the use of
sledges on the roads from the want of snow
for them to run on, whereby the getting of
timber and fire wood out of the wpods, and
hay from the marshes is much impeded ; the
want of snow at this period is also injurious
to our grass lands, by exposing them too much
to the severity of the frost when it happens
that after a thaw or a tract of mild weather
the cold again becomes severe before any snow
falls to cover and protect the surface.
Though the weather is never so severe in
March as frequently happens in the two pre-
ceding months, a great part of it is some-
times boisterous and cold, and that most fre-
quently happens when the preceding part of
the winter has been rem.arkably mild, but in
what is called a natural winter this month>
produces very pleasant weather, the days are
now long, the sky in general very clear, and
in the middle of the day the heat of the sun
very considerable, dissolving the snow and ice
rapidly ; it is generally in this month that
most of our timber is brought out of the
forest, and also a stock of fire wood laid
in for the remainder of the year. About
the middle of the month the sap begins
to rise in the trees, and towards the latter end
of it the business of making maple sugar com-
mences. The mouths of the harbour's, channels
when the tides are rapid, the heads of the
livers and creeks which have been frozen
during the preceding months now open ; and
aquatic birds begin to return from the south-
ward.
In this and the two preceding months, a
freezing rain, or as it is commonly called, a
silver thaw, sometimes happens on these oc-
casions, the trees are frequently so incrusted
104
with ice, tliat many of tlie smaller branches
break with its weight, as the smallest twig
will retimes have an inch of ice round it,
this state of the weather generally takes
place in the night, and continues but a few
hours. If the sun happens to shine while the
trees are in this state, nothing can exceed
the splendor of the forest, every branch seems
enclosed in diamonds, and reflects the rays
of the sun with the utmost brilliancy ; it is
impossible to describe the effects of the scene
that this state of tiie weather occasionally
exhibits.
The month ofAprilis often more varip.ble
and unsteady than its predecessors, frequently
exhibiting summer and winter alternately in
the course of a week ; when the wind is to the
soutliward or S. W. we have always genuine
mild spring, sometimes indeed very warm for
many days together, exhibiting a most tanta-
lizing contrast to the surrounding objects, and
when lye are expecting that a few days iijofe
105
will secure us against the return of winter,
perhaps the wind suddenly chops round to the
northward, and it becomes as unnaturally
cold, with considerable falls of snow, but
which seldom lays on the ground above a day
or two ; sometimes there is much easterly wind
in this month, which on this coast is always
damp and disagreeable, and often attended
with rain : in other years, the first part of the
month will be cold, aiid all the rest fine steady
spring weather, the snow disappearing rapidly,
and the ground getting dry very soon, plough-
ing often commences about the middle of the
month, and in warm sheltered situations,
there is a considerable degree of vegetation
towards the latter part of it. In some years
the spring is so forward as to enable the far-
mers to commit a good deal of seed to the
ground before the end of the month.
The month of May is subject to easterly
winds, which are always damp,* chilly,
and disagreeable, and we have still occasion-
11-:^
ml
iiii-
106
ally Might f.osts after a N. W. wind, but
Mhen the wind is to the S. W. the weatlier is
very fine, and vegetation advances rapidly;
hy the 20th the fields will generally be green,
and towards the latter end of the month
the trees commonly get into leaf : from the
middle of the month, the weather sets in
dry, little rain falling from this time, till
towards the end of July : rains, with a wind
from the eastward in this month, are cold and
injurious to vegetation; when they happen
with the wind from the westward, they are
highly beneficial.
In June the face of the country, assumes
ihe most vivid appearance, and the air is
Jijost delightfully perfumed by the blossoms of
the trees, and the flowers of various aromatic
.^lirubs and herbs, the atmosphere is so loaded
with the farina of the trees, that great quan-
tities of it which fall on the water is driven
asliore by the winds, and collects at high
•-'U-.i nuiK, In liie rorm or a Deautitul yellow
107
powder : from tlie middle of the month, the
S. W. wind sets in steadily, and the weather
then becomes nearly as warm as in the two
succeeding months : it generally blows a fresh
breeze during the day, but at sun-set the
wind dyes away, and the nights continue calm.
In a forward season, a few of our wild
strawberries will be found ripe on a southern
aspect about the end of the month ; and I
have more than once seen gieej;i pease at the
same time.
In July the weather is very fine and steadily
warm, the thermometer standing generally be-
tween seventy and eighty, sometimes it rises as
high as eighty-six, the wind blows almost con-
stantly at south-west a fresh breeze, and coming
immediately off -the water serves to temper the
heat ; when the wind fails in the evening and
the night continues calm, the heat is at this
time more disagreeable during the night than
in the day, the weather often continues dry
tiiFougb the greater part of the month, but we
108
are generally relieved from any drought by
heavy showers, though of very short duration,
which accompany thunderstorms ; these storms
very seldom do any mischief, they are always
over in two or three hours, and the weather
immediately becomes clear and steady. From
the middle of this month most of the vegetables
common in England at this season will be
found in great abundance in our gardens.
About the 20th hay-harvest generally com-
mences, and by the end of the month early
3own barleys will often be fit to cut.
In August the heat generally continues the
same as last month, but commonly more rain
falls; heavy dews are frequent when the
weather is dry, which are very beneficial ; by
the middle of the month the harvest is pretty
general over the Island,
The first part of the month of September the
weather in general is nearly as warm as in
August, but about the equinox the winds be^
109
come more variable, being sometimes to the
northward of weat, which soon cools the air
and also veering to the eastward with rain, high
winds are common for some days after the
eqi/mox, and after the middle of the month
frosts are frequent about the heads of creeki^
rivulets, and low springy lands: upon the
whole the weather is now more like the weather
in England at the same season than any other
part of the year.
October though sometimes wet is often the
pleasantest month in the year ; the heats are
gone and the weather generally fine ; the gales
of wind which happen about the equinox, and
the frosty evenings and mornings which arc
common, seem to purify the atmosphei^ and
the air is remarkably pure, elastic, and exhi-
larating. The same kind of weather often con-
tinues through the first fortnight of November;
sometimes it is so mild that the native straw-
berries come into blossom on southern aspects,
as Uixuriantly as in the month of Mav: on
''I,;..
m
m
I
i
i-lr '
110
other years it is wet and variable, witli frost
and showers of snow, but which does not yet
lie on the ground more than a few hours. The
leaves fall off the trees during the last part of
October and the beginning of November.
I have aheady observed that we are in a great
degree free of fogs, which will appear the more
surprising as we are in the vicinity of countries
known to be extremely subject to them, so
near indeed, that many people may be inclined
to doubt the possibility of our being so per-
fectly free from them as I have asserted, to
such I can with great truth aver that I have seen
two years successively pass without producing
one foggy hour, and I am confident I have seen
more fog in one month of November in London,
than I witnessed in all the time I have passed
in this Island ; I have heard many attempts to
account for an exemption so singular, but none
of them perfectly satisfactory. Some account
for it from the high land of the Island of Cape
Breton lying between us and the Banks of
111
Newfoundland and tliose on the eastern coast
of Nova Scotia, which are tlie great scene* of
fog, and from which it spreads over all the sea
coast of that country, New Brunswick an(J
the coast of New England, particularly the
first, where it prevails much in all the summer
months; if the intervention of the Island of
Cape Breton between us and the Banks is the
only reason of our enjoying a clear sky and
dry armosphere while the contrary prevails so
near, it seems difficult to account for a circum-
stance that is constantly observed. By looking
at the cliart of this coast it will be observed
that the Gut of Canso divides the Island of
Cape Breton from the peninsula of Nova Scotia,
the eastern end of this strait terminates in
Chedabuctou Bay on the coast of Nova Scotia,
it is often observed in the montlis of June and
July that this Bay and all the land around it is
frequently enveloped in fog for eight and ten
days together, and that the fog seldom comes
entirely through the Gut, which is only twenty
one miles in length, for several days together
'1 'f
112
it will not come above two or three miles into
it, and sometimes not at all, when it does
come through the Gut it seldom lasts above
a few hours. It is also observed that the mouth
of the River St. Laurence, and the coast from
Cape Rosier to the Bay of Chaleur, though
not so much subject to fogs as the coast of
Nova Scotia, has a good deal of foggy weather
in the spring and the first part of the summer,
yet the wind blowing directly from thence
over the Gulph, does not bring the fog to this
Island. It has been often said that we are to
attribute our freedom from fogs to the nature
of our soil, which is warm and dry. and also
to the small depth of water in all the southern
part of the Gulph, which seldom exceeds
twenty five fathoms. It is probable that an
attentive consideration an4 comparison of the
circumstances by which we are favoured with
so fortunate an exemption may hereafter enable
Naturalists to account in a more satisfactoiy
manner than has yet been done, for tiicse fogs
which are so injurious to some of the neigh-
115
boudng countries : intailing on them ttie utt
pleasant prospect of continuing for ever, sub-
ject to the necessity of relying on the im-
portation of bread-corn for their daily con-
sumption.
The north east winds are always attended
with rain from May till the middle of No-
vember, after that they generally bring snow,
all our heaviest falls of snow come with them.
After a fall of snow if it comes to blow fresh
before the surface hardens, the snow drifts
much on the cleared lands, and on the ice,
which makes travelling difficult till the wind
subsides, it also fills up the roads, which must
be beat again ; in a populous neighbourhood
that is soon accomplished, by every person
turning out with their sleighs and teams for
that purpose. In the forest the snow never
drifts, which makes travelling thete more com-
fortable at this season.
the light frosts which have been mentioned
I
CO
114
commence after the micUlIe of September, do,
not affect the high open lands for many weeks,
after that period, being chiefly confined to the
heads of creek^, the neighbourhood of springs,
and low wet land« :. near the sak water in.
places open to the W. and S. W. it will often be
the latter cad of October before the potatoe
tops are affected by it. It is not till after
the middle of September, that afire, evening
and morning, becomes a desfrable companion,
atid it does not come into constant use till
November. In April it is not steadily attended
to, in May it is often allowed to go. out, and
early in June is generally given up, excepfe
during a north-east wind. Cattle are seldom
regularly housed till the beginning of Deiem^her,
and hy many not till the latter end of that
month, and some remain out in the forest a
great part of the winter, which season they
frequently survive when strayed, living lik«
deer by brouzing upon the young wood.
In the summer a white mist rises in the
115
night, upon the creeks and runs of fresh water,
which is always an indication of fine weather
for the ensuing day ; when these mists do not
rise on the creeks at this season, rain may be
expected in the course of the ensuing day :
they do not spread above a few yards be-
yond the water from which they originate,
and are always dissipated before the sun is half
an hour above the horizon.
The Aurora Borealis is observed at all sea-
sons of the year, and is commonly the fore-
runner of a southerly wind and rain : this lumi-
nous appearance is sometimes extremely beau-
tiful, and in our pure atmosphere is seen to
great advantage, it generally begins in the
north, runs up to the Zenith, and sometimes
overspreads the whole concave with streams
of light, variegated with blue, red, and yellow
of various tints; in a calm night, the sound
caused by its flashings, may often be distinctly
heard.
I 3
UMm
116
Many people will be apt to conclude that
the great and rapid changes to which our
climate is subject, must have a bad effect on
the health of mankind, yet I think I may
venture to assert that it will be very difficult
to mention another spot on the face of the
earth, where the inhabitants enjoy more un-
intevrupted health. The fevers and other
diseases of the United States are entirely un-
known here, no person ever saw an intermit-
tent fevT produced on the Island, nor will that
complaint when brought here, everstandabovea
few days against the influence of the climate
I have seen thirty Hessian soldiers who brought
this complaint from the southward, and who
were so much reduced thereby, as to be carried
mi shore in blankels, all recover in a very short
time ; few of them had any return or fit of the
complaint, after the first forty-eight hours
from their landing on thclsland. Pulmonary
consumptions which are so common, and so
very destructive, in the northern and cen-
tral States of America, are not often met
117
with here ; probably ten cases of this com-
plaint have not occurred since the commence-
ment of the settlement. Colds and rheu-
matisms are the most common complaints,
the first generally affects the head more than
the breast, and the last seldom proves mortal.
A very large proportion of people live to old
age, and then die of no acute disease, but by
the gradual decay of nature. Deaths between
twenty and fifty years of age, are few, when
compared with most other countiies ; and I
trust I do not exaggerate the fact, when I
state, that not one person in an hundred (all
accidents included ) dies in a year.
It follows from what has been said, that
mankind must increase very fast in such a
climate, accordingly, large families arc almost
universal, six or seven children in as many
years, seems to be the common rule, and few
leave off without doubling that number. We sel-
dom find a pair without a family where they have
come together under such circumstances as to
118
give them a reasonable ground of hope on that
subject, and instances have sometimes occur-
red when •'^ople who had given up every idea
of the kind, by removing to this Island
have had large families. Many people here
grow to a large size, perhaps in no other
country will the proportion of men of six
feet high be found greater j the countenances
as well as stature of the young people, whose
families came from the highlands of Scotland,
often exhibit a remarkable contrast to the
hard features, and low stature of their parents ;
plenty of wholesome food, as well as salubrity of
air, no doubt contributes to this difference.
Industry will alM'ays secure a comfortable
existence, which encourages early marriages,
the women are grandmothers at forty, and the
mother and daughter may frequently be seen
with each a child at the breast at the same
time.
. People determined upon going to America,
^yili do well to compare this, wilh the lepre-
119
/<
«
^ntation given by that celebrated writer and
traveller, Volney: Speaking of the climate
t)f the United States, under his third general
head, he says : " Autumnal intermittent fe-
" rers, or qaotidian agues, tertian, quartan,
" &c, constitute another class of diseases,
that prevail in the United States to a de-
gree, of which no idea could be conceived,
^* They are particularly endemic in places re-
** cently cleared, in valleys on the border of
^' waters, either running or stagnant, near
*' ponds, lakes, mill dams, marshes, &c. In
** the autumn of 17^, in a journey of more
" than seven hundred miles, I will venture to
" say, I <lid not find twenty houses perfectly
*' free from them : the whole course of the
** Ohio, a great part of Kentucky, all the
^' environs of Lake Erie, and particularly the
" Genesee and its five or six lakes, the course
** of the Mohawk, &c. are annually visited
by them. Setting off from Fort Cincinnati
on the 8th of September, with the coiivoy
<4
4t
r^
*' Hi the Pay-nuisicr ucndcii or inc Army,
120
a
<(
it
tt
tt
it
*i
tt
tt
tt
tt
tt
tt
tt
tt
tt
tt
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t<
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tt
Major Swan, to go to Fort Detroit, about
two hundred and fifty miles distant, we
did not encamp a single night without at
least, one of the twenty-five of us in com-
pany, being seized with an intenijttent
fever. At Grenville, the magazine and
head quarters of the army that had
just conquered the country, of three hun-
dred and seventy, persons, or thereabout,
three hundred had the fever; when we
arrived at Detroit, there were but three of
our company in health, and the day follow-
ing, both Major Swan and I were taken
dangerously ill with a malignant fever. The
malignantfevcr annually visits the garrison of
Fort Miami, where it has already more than
once assumed the character of the yellow
fever. These autumnal fevers are not directly
fatal, but they gradually undermine the
constitution, and very sensibly shorten life.
Other travellers have observed before me,
that in South Carolina for instance, a per-
son is as old ^t fifty, ^s in Europe at sijj;ty.
it
<(
<•
<(
(t
((
(C
tt
ti
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121
five or seventy ; and 1 have heard all the
Englislnnen with whom I was acquainted
in the United States, say, that their friends
who had been settled a few years in the
southern or central States, appeared to them
to have grown as old again as they would
have done in England or Scotland. If these
fevers once fix on a person at the end of
October, they will not quit him the whole
winter, but reduce him to a state of de-
plorable weakness and langour." Lower
Canada and the cold countries adjacent,
are scarcely af- all subject to them. They
are common in the temperate and flat coun-
tries ; and particularly on the sea shores
more than oh the mountains, if
W"^^
m
m
J View of the climate and soU of the United State* of America, tran-
slated from the French pf C. F. .Vohey. London, priiited for J. Johnson,
9U P{kul'« Chofch Yard, 1804. Page S85.
122
CULTIVATION and RURAL AFFAIRS.
Agiicultare and raising cattle, are the ge-
neral pursuits of the inhabitants of this
Island, before the commencement of the
last war a few were engaged in the fishery ;
at the first settlement of the colony, therl
was unfortunately too great a propensity to
engage in the cod fishery, to the neglect
pf cultivation and improvements. At that
time all the necessaries of life consumed by
those engaged in the fishery, [were necessarily
imported from other countries, at an ex-
pence the profits could not bear, and ac-
cordingly most of the adventurers in that
line failed. In the first seven years after
the commencement of the settlement, ten
times as much money was thrown away on
fishing projects, as was expended on the cul-
123
tivation and i nprovcment of the lands ; the
American war during its continuance, com-
pletely stopped these schemes, and so far at
least was of some benefit to the Island, as
after the people were accustomed to agricul>
turc, few of them had any desire to abandon
it for the fishery : before any country can
supply itself with the necessaries of life, to hold
out incentives to its inhabitants, that must
in their nature operate against, the cultivation
and improTcment of the country, must surely
be the highest folly.
Wheat, barley, oats, rye, and pease, are cul-
tivated, and produce good crops, the wheat
is however mostly summer wheat, but winter
grain is also raised, and by many preferred to
the summer wheat, and will probably become
more general : both kinds are heavy, weigh-
ing from sixty to sixty-four pounds per bushel ;
the produce is various, depending much on
the industry, skill, and management of the
farmer, I will not say, that we get as many
: ;^»
i^^i
ill
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; Uiilffi
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124
buabel, per acre as i„ E.g^nd, b„t j fi,„,,
Mirve, ,l,at «-ere tl.c cultivation equal th,
average pro.luce per acre, mouI.I „„t fall much
short of that. .Barley and oat, both yield
fine crop,,, and are readily bought up on the
Continent, at from sixpence to . »hillin?
per bushel more than their own produce, I
will venture to assert, that no person ac
quainted with this Island will contra.lict me
wh.n I say, that it i, the first country i„
North America for both : I have seen the best
oats sent from Mark Lane for seed, compared
with the produce of what had been sown two
years on the Island, which upon being weighed
turned out to be full a, heavy as the English
oats : people who have seen American oats
upon the Continent, can say how contemptible
in comparison to this they are generally met
With, nor do I think either barlev or oat,
under proper care and management liable to
depreciate by time, though no doubt here, a«
every where el.e, a judicious change of seed
will be found beneBcial.
125
Kye produces good crops, and is a very
weighty grain, particularly the winter rye ; it
is a very sure crop, and l,ardly ever suhject
to any accident.
Pease tl.rive very welF though they are not
so much cultivated as might l,e expected •
beans, except the kinds for the tabic, are not
cultivated, though it is knou-n they do very
well.
Hops grow remarkably well, and as f.u
I can judge, do not seem liable to fail so fre-
quently as in England, though as vet they
are only cultivated by a few who a.'e beginl
ning to brew malt liquor for domestic use.
Potatoes are raised in great abundance, and
>n no other country better. I have had, three
Imndred bushels an acre with cultivation, very
short of what is generally given them in
England, they grow very well in the forests
lands, when first cleared, and though not so
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126
large a crop, they are in such situations, more
delicate, and much £ner flavoured than any
I ever saw elsewhere. Land that has been
manured for a crop of potatoes, is next year
sown with spring wheat, sometimes red clover
is sown with the wheat, which will keep the
ground two or three years ; though no grass
seed is sown, if any thing like common jus-
tice has been done to the land, it will throw
up an abundant crop of natural white clover
of itself the year after the wheat, an advan-
tage that makes people less solicitous about
red clover, which, though more productive,
is not so much esteemed for hay.
Turnips are universally raised as winter food
for cattle and sheep, though not to such an
extent as might be expected ; the seed is sown
from the twentieth of July to the tenth of
August, and by the latter end of Octobei,
they are a fine crop though never hoed ; this
circumstance alone will shew how little the
agriculture of the Island is calculated to do
127
jnstice to the soil : as the manure made in the
winter (un^er our present defective system of
management) is expended in the spring, the prac-
tice is to cow-pen and fold sheep upon the laad*
intended for turnips ; the effects of even a slight
dressing of this kind are very great, tolerably
done it communicates a fertility, that is very
evident for several years, under what in Eng-
land would justly be thought the most abomi-
nable management, as three crops of grain,
each with a single ploughing, are often takca
without rest. The turnips are taken up m
November, and are housed or laid in heap*
in the fields, and covered over with such a
quantity of earth, as to exclude the frost*
of winter, and afterwards removed into the
house as they are wanted, taking a mild day
for that purpose. The Swedish turnips are
found to answer very well, even when sowed
as late as the common turnip, and in situa-
tions where they are. covered all winter with ,
snow, stand out that season with very little
loss, and, under a^more perfect system of
"^'Ji
■•"li
***
1^8
*
management, I have no doubt will be found
to afford a most valuable supjify of food for
sheep in the spring, when it is of most con-
sequence. ' '
Many people yaise some Indian com or
maize, which generally grows very well ; it
is of the short or Canadian kind, and though
not so productlv.e perhaps as in the United
States, it is of a much richer nature than tlic
southern corn, which is .flinty and harsh in
comparison ; it is certainly a valuable grain,
and the cultivation of it for domestic use,
may be very proper, but it can never come
into competition with wheat, for which the
climate and soil of the Island are much better
suited in every respect.
' All kinds of garden vegetables that are com-
mon in England, grow here with very slight
cultivation, but from the length of the winter,
are of course later in their season : asparagus
from the middle of May to the middle of
129
June according to the age of the beds, green
pease are not in plenty until the middle of July,
cabbages and savoys about the middle of
August, and new potatoes about the same
time.
English gooseberries, blacV. red, and white
currants, grow remarkabh veil, are large and
well flavoured, and the bushes produce in
greater abundance than I ever saw any whert
else.
I
A,a
Apples, cherries, and plumbs also grow weU,
it is probable that the winter i, too severe for
the finer kinds of stone fruit, but as yet no
trials have been made, on which a judgment
can be formed, A great many old apple trees
left by the French, are still alive and bearing
and though it might be seen by them, whal
the chmate was capable of producing, it was
long after the commencement of the settle-
ment, before any attention was paid to this
branch of husbandry : it i, chiefly to our late
130
worthy Lieutenant-Governor General Fanning,
that wc are indebted for spreading, by his
example, a taste for fruit trees, which, though
not so general as could be wished, is increasing,
and enough has been done to thew, that per-
fect reliance can be placed upon our climate,
for producing abundance of valuable fruit,
when I state that some of our fruit, the natural
produce of ungrafted trees is superior to the
produce of any trees we have yet imported j
fruit gardners will be able to judge what may
be expected from our climate, under a wdl'
directed system of management. J
Horses, black cattle, sheep, and swine, are
in great abundance considering our long win-^
ters, which render the procuring so much dry
food necessary : the horses, are in general
small, but strong, active, and hardy, and
being seldom subject to any complaints, live
to a great age ; it is a common thing to take
them off the grass, and ride them thirty or
t Mr. Beers of Cherry Vallty, is said to have alrcadj five huudred
)b«aring trees,
131
forty miles, dming v I.ich they have to swim
three or four times perhaps, across broad
creeks or arms of the sea, and after perform-
ing such a journey with great spirit without
being once fed on the way they are turned out
to grass at the end of it, and probably per-
form such another journey the next day equally
well, and without appearing to be hurt by
such hard usage : before the commencement of
the late war, they were commonly sold for
eight and ten guineas a head, but during His
Royal Highness the Duke of Kent's residence
at Halifax in Nova Scotia, he purchased se-
veral of them, and was pleased to approve so
much of them, that they are now in request in
that country, which has raised the price of
them to twelve and sixteen guineas : but un.
less some other market is found out, they must
soon fall again as the increase is much greater
than the demand for them. In some parts of
the island they are allowed to run out all win-
ter, when they are not used, and maintain
themselves by scraping away the snow with
their hoofs till they come to the grass, on
1S2
which they live, and keep in tolerable order
till spring.
Many of the farmers have large stocks of
rattle, and, indeed, it is too common to see
them keeping more than they can winter well,
it must be acknowledged, however, that the
want of an adequate market is often the oc-
casion of this apparent bad ^lanagemcnt ;
oxen are used in agriculture and for drawing
timber out of the woods more than horses,
and when the mode of working them in har-
ness is introduced, they will be found still
more beneficial ; though the cattle are in ge-
neral small in comparison with English cattle ;
oxen have been known to rise to one thousand
weight, seven and eight hundred weight, in-
dependent of the hide and tallow is common
enough. Our cattle will no doubt improve in
size, when the farmers are more generally
enabled to keep their stock in proper inclo-
sures as owing to the necessity they are now
under of letting them run at large, the heifers
133
commonly produce calves at two years old,
a circumstance which must evidently hurt the
size of the cattle. The quantity of butter
and cheese made in the Island bears but a
small proportion to the number of cattle, from
this practice of permitting them to run in the
woods, by which means, it often happens
that a great part of the milk is lost, as they
cannot always be found to be regularly milked,
this is an evil which time will gradually over-
come, hy enabling the settlers lo get enough
of cleared lands within their fences, to main-
tain their cattle, without being under the ne-
cessity of allowing them to roam at large, as
is too much the case at present. 7he but-
ter is in general very good, but there is very
little good cheese made in the Island, not from
any natural defect in the climate or soil, but
truly because there are very few in the Island,
that know how to make a cheese properly, the
greatest part of the inhabitants having ori-
ginally come from countries where the art of
making cheese is not understood.
Wi'i
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P|||;||jg:
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134
' The mutton and lamb are allowed to be very
well flavoured, the sheep very commonly pro-
duce two lambs and are never subject to the
rot nor to any other disorder; they are in gene-
ral small seldom rising above sixteen pounds a
quarter, yet there are people who by care and a
superior mode of management raise them to a
much larger size. I have seen the four quarters
and kidney fat of a weather not quite two years
old, weigh one hundred and seventeen pounds, and
the four quarters and tallow of a lamb six months
old weigh sixty-seven pounds, and these were
the common breed of the Island : that so many
of them are small will not surprise any body
when it is known that the ewe lambs are al-
lowed to run with the flock, and that they
generally become mothers by the time they
are a year old : The n-ool is soft and fine but
short, the fleeces weigh from three to six
pounds ; stockings made of our native wool are
universally preferred to any imported, and the
coarse cloths the produce of our domestic ma-
nufacture in point of warmth and durability,
135
ekceed any thing of the same appearance I
ever saw, though they are not properly dressed
or even dyed of a good colour. The proper
management of sheep has hitherto been little
understood, the general practice has been to
house them in the winter which not only hurts
the quality of the wool, but renders the animal
delicate and less healthy: feeding them in
sheltered places out of doors has been lately in-
troduced and is found to answer much better :
Though nothing like the large flocks of sheep
kept ill England will be found here, the num-
ber of sheep on the Island is very considerable,
I believe greater in proportion than will be
found in any other part of America, many
farmers have ten times the number that Mr.
Parkinson states General Washington's flock
at, upon his celebrated farm at Mount Vernon.
Swine are in great plenty on the Island and
thrive well, particularly the Chinese .breed
which has been lately introduced j they run at
mm
I. L
136
large in summer feeding on grass and fern roots,
in the autumn they go into tlie woods where
they feed on the beech mast, which in some
years is so plentiful as to make them completely
fat without any other aid, but pork thus fed
is not reckoned good, being soft and oily; the
beech mait is however of great use in bringing
forward the store pigs that are to be kept over
the winter, as it makes them grow very fast
and they are easily wintered after a good run
in the woods. Pigs are seldom kept more than
two winters and many kill them at a year and
a half old, and where the winters are so long,
it is perhaps the most profitable practice : when
put up to fatten they are first fed with boiled
potatoes and finished with broken barley, oats,
and pease : for many years past pork has been
sold at, from three-pence to four-pence per
lb. being about the general price of beef and
mutton.
Domestic Poultry of all kinds is raised in
great plenty and perfection, and sold at a rca,
sonable rate.
137
Cutting down the woods and putting the
land into cultivation is differently performed,
some cut down all the wood, pile and burn it,
others prefer grubbing up the smaller trees and
bushes, and kill all the large trees by girdling
them in the beginning of the summer, which
prevents their vegetating the following year,
this last is the easiest method but as far as my
experience goes I prefer the first, as the labour
of removing the branches and trunks of the
dead trees as they fall is more tedious and ex-
pensive in the end than getting rid of all the
timber at once. A good axe man will cut
down an acre in eight days, pile all the brush,
and cut the trunks into ten feet lengths : these
must afterwards be rolled together and such of
them as are not taken away for other purposes
burnt; when the timber is heavy this part of
the business will be but glowly performed by
one man alone. The months of June and July
is the best time for clearing land in this way as
the leaves are full grown and the stumps of
trees cut at this season decay soon and are not
him
1 f'm
#1
133
so apt to throw out suckers as those cut at
other peuods : tlie leaves will not drop from the
timber cut down now hut remain on all wiii-
terj and greatly assist in burning the timber
the following year, which is generally done in
May : if there has been a considerable propor-
tion of evergreens mixed with the other timber
their tops and branches will now be in such a
state as to insure the burning of the whole, the
larger the piles the better chance there is for
getting what is called a good burn ; where there
has been few or no evergreens mixed with the
timber about to be burned, greater attention
will be required in heaping the piles of brush
close and rolling the logs together. If the wea-
ther has been dry for some time before this ope-
ration, care must be taken to prevent the fires
running into the forest among the crowino-
wood which it will often do at this time of
year, and kill the timber for many miles ; many
people will be apt to suppose that this may be
an advantage and aid in clearing the country,
but that is by no means the case, as in general
139
it only scorches the trees or burns tliem s6
little that by far the greatest part of them is
left standing, and become so hard as to make it
more difficult and laborious to cut them down
than if they M'ere still growing ; and if the h\id
is good and not brought into cultivation j, jon,
a growth of young timber will spring up u: a
few years among the dead trees that will soou
render such land more difficult to clear, than that
whereon the original growth is still intire : the
first year after fire has run over a piece of
land and killed the timber, if it is not cultivated,
a very large annual weed called fire weed,
springs up spontaneously; this plant has a
large succulent stalk, and long jagged leaves,
it grows the height of four, five, and six feet
according to the strength of the soil, it bears
a white stinking flower and disappears after the
second year which is very lucky,, as it is a
great exhauster and injures land much. Besides
increasing the difficulties of clearing and bring-
ing the land into cultivation, these fires often
destroy a great deal of valuable timber which,
**
||;i
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140
if left growing would soon come into demand
for exportation, and the want of which even
for domestic purposes may become a serious
loss, for though the trees will stand many years
aft«r they are killed, all except the pines soon
become unfit for use, upon the whole I am per-
suadcd that no man who understands the pro-
per management of wood lands will ever wish
to see the timber on them killed by fire until he
has a prospect, of being able to bring them
into cultivation.
Aftir the operation of burning a piece of new
land is completed, expert cultivators manage
to plough among the stumps, this is done with
a short one-handled plough, with the share and
coulter strongly locked together, and drawn by
a pair of stout oxen ; they dont pretend to make
a straight furrow, the object is to stir as much
of the surface as possible, they are often stop,
pcd by the roots, some of which the plough
will break, others they are obliged to cut
with an axe, which mu.f always be at hand on
these occasions ; an expert workman will cdn^
141
trive, in this way, to turn up more ground
than could be believed by tlitse unacquainted
with the business ; in some lands this method
of ploughing at first is impracticable, from the
roots of the trees running so much along *he
surface : such land must be stirred with hoes,
first sowing the seed on the burnt sur-
face; in other places after what is called a
good burn, the surface will sometimes be-
come so soft and mellow, that the seed may
be covered by means of triangular harrows
with wooden tines, taking care to stir such places
as the harrow does not touch with hand rakes.
If potatoes are to be planted in new land, round
holes are made in the surface ten or twelve
inches in diameter, and t^ree inches deep, the
holes should be two feet apart, three or four
sets are planted in each hole, and the
surface mould returned upon them, they re^
quire being twice well hoed in the course of
the season, and will produce a fine crop, and
leave the land in good order for a crop of
wheat the ensuing year.
klit "
o^
It '
if>
H
l&<
'id
142
People unacqu^n ted with clearing woodlands,
are apt to be frightened with the apparent
difficulty, and an idea has been propagatecf,
that Europeans who are mostly unused to the
axe in their native country, seldom make good
axe-men, and no doubt but some continue
long aukward, and so they would at any other
employment to which they were not early ac-
customed ; but so far from that being gene-
rally the case, that I have seen many young
men from Scotland on this Island, who would
lay wagers before the end of the first winter
with the most expert axe-men in their neigh-
bourhood, and before they were two years
on the Island, would earn as much money
at clearing woodland, as any American in
the country. It is this terror of encounter-
ing with the supposed difficulties of clear-
ing woodland that induces so many people
from Great Britain and Ireland, to prefer the
American States to our own colonies in Ame-
rica, expecting from the more advanced state
of improvement and settlement in the former
that they will be able to get into lands already
143
cleared and cultivated : but for such lands they
will pay very high, and will often find them
worn out, and not worth the occupying; so
perfectly is this understood among them, that
it is generally accounted more profitable for a
young farmer settling in life to go upon new,
than to remain upon old cultivated lands, and
this change they are frequently enabled to
make to great advantage, by the avidity of
Europeans for old cultivated in preference to
forest lands ; Volney in his view of the states
which has been already quoted, puts this traf.
fie in a very clear light.
Very little use is made of any manure except
stable and cow dung, penning cattle and folding
sheep : on the north side of the Island most of
the inhabitants are so situated as to have a
great abundance of sea ware in their power,
which is driven ashore in great bodies all along
the coast in the autumn, and considerable use
is made of it with great advantage; but not a
20lh part of what comes on shore is ever used,
indeed the settlements along the coast are too far
apart for that. Dung is seldom juffcred to re-
''I m
sMi
m
W'i'&i
i:-:t&
144
tnain in a heap over the summer to ferment and
destroy the seeds of weeds, but is taken every
spring from the cow-liouses and stables, and
either spread on the ground and ploughed in,
or put into the drills for potatoes, the conse-
quence of such v/retched management is an
abundance of couch grass in a few years,
Avhich few have the resolution to attempt
getting rid of in any other way than letting
the land out to pa:sture, which in five or
six years will destroy this powerful obstacle
to cultivation. Compost heaps are seldom
formed, though many districts abound in valu-
able materials for that purpose. Besides the im-
mence beds of shell fish that many of our bar-
Lours contain presenting a most valuable manure
lo the adjoining lands, the flats in all our rivers
are composed of a deep black stinking mud,
consisting of decayed animal and vegetable
substances, which have been accumulating for
ages, the quantity of it is inexhaustible and
easily obtained, and though very little use
has yet been made of it, enough is known
to ascertain that it makes a valuable manure.
l; ' f
145
Flax and hemp, particularly the former
thrive well, and every farmer raises a patch
of it yearly, which is manufactured into lineu
for domestic use ; hemp is also raised in small
quantities, tlie inhabitants in general cloath
themselves in their ord inary and working cloaths,
most families »naking between woollen and liue^
from two to three hundred yards of cloth a year.
It is much to be regretted, that so few of the
inhabitants came from countries wh^r^ agri-
culture is understood, an intelligent cultivator
will at every step have occasion tp remark how
much more might have been done by the
same number of people had they been ac
quainted with husbandry 39 it is practiced m
England ; when I state that not one farmer in
twenty, ev^r thinks of cither raising or pur.
chasing grass seed of any kind, my readern
wiU be able to conceive, bow little our soil if
indebted to our system of management ; at
present I firmly believe that the simple alter*,
tion of every farmer in the Island seeding
:iMiiil
146
properly such land as he lets out for grass,
would have the effect in a very few years of
doubling the quantity of agricultural produce of
every kind. Indeed the conduct of our rural affaini
inmost respects is ex j-remely defective, there are
few cultivators an :»xig is who theorize, and
still fewer who read ; ver agriculture is, and
must long continue to It the chief pursuit of
the inhabitants of this Island, if they attend
to their true interest : every tree which is cut
down in the forest opens to the sun a new spot
of earth, which, with cultivation, will pro-
duce food for man and beast : as the country
becomes more and more clear, pasture for cat-
tle will increase, and the manure of our stocks
will enable us to enrich our lands, and extend
our cultivation. It is impossible to conceive
what quantities may be produced of beef, pork,
mutton, butter, poultry, wheat, barley, oats,
and pease, articles which, from our maritime
situation and the wants of our neighbours, will
always find a ready and p'-o^table market,
DI
fe
This]
Naviga
circumi
the absi
Naval C
first Ian
land, ii
entered
have sec
cape of
leagues (
land. I
of the di
the Eng
the esta
147
I■,.,.^^l
1^
DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT.
This Island was first discovered by the English
Navigator, Cabot, in 1497, June 24, from which
circumstance it took the name of St. John; from
the abstract of his voyage published in Lediard's
Naval Chronicle, it appears to have been the
first land he met with after leaving Newfound-
land, it was probably foggy weather when he
entered the Gulphof St. Lawrence, or he must
have seen the Island of Cape Breton, the north
cape of which is high land, and only eighteen
leagues distant from Cape Ray in Newfound-
land. No claim to the Island in consequence
of the discovery seems to have been made by
.he Enghsh Government of that day ; upon
the establishment of the French in Canada,
i ' '
,ir "
' , 1"!
r. ik'i
ft'^fll'^
I I
148
it was claimed by them as within the hmits of
New France. In 1663 it appears to have been
granted in fee by the Company of New France,
together with the Magdalen, Bird, and Brion
Islands to the Sieur Doublet, a captain in the
French Navy, to be held in vassalage of the
Company of Miscou. The Sicur's associates
were two companies of fishing adventurers from
the towns of Granville and St. Maloes, and
nevermadeany permanent settlement on tha
Island, or any improvements beyond the ne-
cessary establishments for their fishing posts,
which were very trifling, and confined to two
or three harbours. From the best infor-
mation it does not appear that any settlements
with a viet«r to cultivation, were made by tht
French on the Island, till after the peace of
Utrecht ; and it is said their government never
encouraged the settlement, and refused after
the Sicur Doublet's patent was vacated, to
give grants in perpetuity, to the people who
had settled upon the Island, with a view to
force the settlement of Cape Breton, and ta
draws
the dif
Con tin
It is
people
from tl;
improvi
could h
of them
tinent o
in Novi
to the I
fiiey CO!
English
Hiatthe
part of
besides a
the Fren
for colle(
bourgh,
liver «t ^
pleased t
149
draw as many people as they could round the
the diflFerent fortified posts they held on the
Continent
It is said that there were near ten thousand
people on the Island in 1758, but it is evident
from the appearance of the remains of their
improvements, that the greater part of them
could have been but a few years settled, many
of them were probably driven from the Con-
tinent on the loss of the French fortified post!
in Nova Scotia in 1755, and 1756, and retired
to the Island as a place of security, from which
?^iey could fit out privateers to cruize upon the
English commerce. At this time it appears
Ihat the gairison of Louisbourgh drew a great
part of their subsistence from this Island,
besides an officer who was called the Governor,
the French had two commissaries on the Island
for collecting cattle and vegetables for LouU-
bourgh, which the people were obliged tode-
liver at whatever price tliese g?- ticmen were
pleased to fix, eight and ten dollars was the
ifiiiyf
150
value generally allowcti for a fat ox. The
French had never erected any fortifications on
the Island, and had only a few guns ;uounted
in an open battery at the mouth of the harbour
of Charlotte Ic^rn, which by them was called
Port le Jflie, i'wm its safety and beautiful ap-*
pearance ; thty had also a trifling breast-work
on the north side of the Hill&burgh River, nine
miles above Charlotte Town, where the cinnnel
of the river is much contracted by an Island ;
this situation commanded the access by water to
iheir principal settlements, which lay round the
head of this river ; and at St. Peter's eight
miles distant on the north side of the Island ;
there being at that time ^^o road from the
harbow better than an Indian path, which led
along the south side of the Hi^^s' urgh thro- gh
the forest. The French seulements round
Hillsb*rgh Bay on what now forms the town-
ships, N". 45, 50, 57, and 58, were a,, > .«r^
8idera,ble and exte ded from the mouth of lue
harbour Point Prim, both sides of which
being a very fine piece of land, and also part
r ■<
vr
151
of lot 60 appear to have been occupied ; th«
quantity of cleared land in this district was very
considerable, though a great part of it is now
again grown up '.vith wood ; from the remains
of their improvements it must have been a
beautiful settlement, and the people are s^id
to have been in good circumstances, and had a
great many vessels ; from the number of
creeks and small harbours in the district, al-
most every settler would be enabled to have
one at his own u ir. The other principal
settlements were in ' district which now
comprehends Towl hips * », 26, 17, and
28, between the two fti^t h>s the fine
harbour of Bedeque or Dunk River, on the
two last tiierc are considerabe tracts of marsh
land along several beautiful creeks that run into
Iheir fronts ; the lands in all theseTownships ace
remarkably good and well timbered. Townships
13 and 14 had also on their fronts a large tract
of cleared and cultivated land, which was the
only considerable settlement to the westward of
Richmond Bay. 1 e north fronts of Towi ships
34 and 35 seem to have been well settled, par-
• *
'a V ' '
r ^ I
r
ii'
nu
If/'
■h.
1^
Miml
fit
152
ticuUrly near the entrance of Bedford Bay,
where there was a handsome aettlemcnt, the
•oil and situation being both very good. In
general the oktas. and most considerable of
the French settlements nrlM be found in the
neighbourhood of extensive tracts of marsh
grounds, where they could easily procure
food for their cattle; the fine harbour of George
Town, seems to have been overlooked by them
from the circumstance of there being very little
marsh ground in its vicinity : their only settle-
went on it was on the point between Brudnell
and Montague Rivers, which is said to have
been made at the expence of their government,
upon some scheme which was afterwards aban-
doned, the situation a fine peninsula of sound
land lying between two navigable rivers, with
deep water in both, and the ground very com-
manding, on this there seems to have been
about 200 acres of cleared fend.
In 1758 tlie Island was surrendered to Great
Britain by the capitulation of Lwiisbourgh, and
153
a detachment under the command of Lieute-
nant-Colonel Lord Rollo, wai sent by General
Amherst to take possewion thereof, on which
occasion, it is said, that a considerable number
ofEngUsh scalps were found hung up in the
French Governor's house; the Island having
been for two preceding years, the head-quar-
ters of the Meekmak Indians, and it is not
denied by the old Accadian French stili re-
sident on the Island, that they were very par-
tial to this savage practice of their Indian
neighbours, with whom indeed they were very
much assimilated in manners and customs.
It having been found after fifty years expe-
rience, that no dependance could be placed in
the Accadians ever becoming good subjects
to Great-Britain; they were by order of Go-
vernment, removed from this Island, and also
from Nova Scotia; some were permitted to go
to Canada, part were sent to the southern Co-
lonies, and a good many were sent to France^
where they were very ill received, and much
blamed for their obstinate hostility to theBritish
..M,'
J' ■ ',
IfMf
154
Government This measure was not executed
so strictly as was intended, and a good many
families by concealing themselves in the
forest escaped this transportation, and were
afterwards allowed to remain undisturbed in
the Country, in confidence that their di-
rainished numbers would oblige them to desist
from all future hostility, and the conquest of
Canada soon after removed all apprehension on
the subject. '
At the conclusion of the Peace in 1763, upon
the arrangement of the conquests made ftom
France, this Island and Cape Breton were an*
nexed to the Government of Nova Scotia, but
no plan for the settlement of either was im-
mediately adopted ; In I764 a general survey
of the British Empire in North America was
begun by order of Government, and an annual
estimate to defray the expence thereof was
granted by Parliament, which was continued
until the commencement of the American War
•topped the further progress thereof. The
immense
vey was
sary to
Northern
Cape Bn
gland, P
Pensylvai
the Surv<
sistants.
Summer c
tions by (
of this Isl
In the me
for the cu
among o
first Lord
it on a
Paramour
divided in
held of hi]
or Castle,
and with
and servii
155
immense extent of Country, which this sur-
vey was intended to embrace, made it neces-
sary to divide it into two districts, the
Northern including Canada, Nova Scotia,
Cape Breton, Island, St. John, the New En-
gland, Provinces, New York, the Jerseys, and
Pcnsylvania, were allotted to Captain Holland,
the Surveyor General of Canada, and his As-
sistants, who arriving in America early in the
Summer of this Year, commenced their opera-
tions by order of Government, with the survey
of this Island, which w^as compleated in 1766.
In the mean time various schemes were proposed
for the cultivation and settlement of the Island,
among others the late Earl of Egmont, then
first Lord of the Admiralty, proposed settling
it on a feudal plan, his Lordship to be Lord
Paramount of the Island, which was to be
divided into a certain number of Baronies to be
held of him, every Baron to erect a strong Hold
or Castle, to maintain so many Men in arms,
and with their under-tenants to perform suit
and servictt, according to the custom of the
356
ancient feudal tenants in Europe ; it seems
hardly necessary to say that his Lordship»s plan
could not have answered his expectations ; the
time for reviving feudal estabUshments was'even
then gone by, and whoever will advert to the
state of the neighbouring continent at the time,
will ftnd in it circumstances that must have
rendered success in such a plan almost impos-
sible; and it appears to me a very fortunate
thing for his Lordship's family, that he did
not obtain a grant to have enabled him to try
the experiment, which could not fail being
attended with an enormous expence, unless his
Lordship should, like the greater part of
those to whom it was finally granted, forget
after he got his patent, that it was necessary
to perform the terms and conditions on which
it was to be held.
Upon the rejection of Lord Egmont^s scheme,
it was determined to grant the Island to indi-
viduals upon a plan recommended by the
Board of Trade and Plantations, and there
157
being a great many appHeations, it wag thought,
proper that the different Townships should be
dmwn for by vr»y of Lottery, which took
place before that Board; some obtained a whole
township, to others half a township was given,
and in some instances a Township was alloted
among three, but the whole, with two excep-
tions, were drawn for by way of lattery ; f
many of the grantees were officers of the
army and navy who had served in the pre-
ceding war.
Tli€ terms and conditions of settlement
under which the lands were to be held, are
expressed ia the following resolutions of the
Board of Trade and Plantations, which have
been introduced into the respective patents by
which the different Townships were granted.
" Resolyed, that a quit-rent of six shillings
t The two Townships not drawn for. were 40 and 69. wUich were
then partly occpied bj a «l,hi„g company, who had sat down «p«n
»I«!»*> with the consent of Gorewnieflt.
i'l I'M
.11
i
'ndi.'
158
*' per hundred acres be reserved to His Majesty
" his Heirs and Successors, on townships
" Nos. 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25,
*' 26, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 39, 40, 54, 55, 56,
'* 57,58, 59, 63, and 64.
" That a quit-rent of four shillings per hun-
" dred acres be reserved on townships 6, 8,
" 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 31,
*' 36, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48,
'■' 49, 50, 53, 61, 62, and 65.
" That a quit-rent of two shillings per
*' hundred acres be reserved on townships
*• Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7. 30, 30, 51, 52, 60,
" and 67. ,
*' That the several foregoing quit rents be
•* payable on the feast of St. Michael or within
" fifteen days after in every year, to commence
" and become payable upon one half the lands
" on the said feast of St. Michael, which shall
*' first happen after the expiration of five years
*' from
*' able (
" or wit
** quant
" hke qi
" Tha
" his He
" each t
** been si
** necessj
" tificati(
" yards,
** venien<
*' of the ]
'' That
'' part of
** for the
" a Minis
" for a scl
'' That ;
159
« from the date of the grant, and to be pay-
" able on every ensuing feast of St. Michael,
" or within fourteen days after, and the whole
*' quantity to be subject in liko manner to tlie
« like quit-rent at the expiration of ten years.
" That there be a reservation to His Majesty
" his Heirs, and Successors, of all such parts of
" each township respectively as have already
" been set apart, or shall hereaftsr be thought
" necessary to be set apart, for erecting for-
" tifications, building wharfs, inclosing naval
*' yards, or laying out highways for the con-
*' venience of communication from one part
** of the Island to another.
fi:
'* That there be also a reservation in a proper
*^ part of each township of one hundred acres
*' for the scite of a church, and as a glebe for
" a Minister of the Gospel; and thiviy a. res
" for a school-master.
** That in order to promote and encourasre
((
It
ts
M
tt
it
U
«t
tt
u
160
the Fishery for which many parts are con-
veniently situated there be a clause in the
grant of each township that abuts upon
the sea-shoifc, containing a reservation of
liberty to all His Majesty's subjects in genera!
of carrying on a free Fishery on the coasts
Ihe said township, and of erecting stages and
othcf necessary buildings for the said fishery
within the distance of SOO feet from high-
water mark. »
♦* That there be a reservation to **is Ma-
"jesty, His Heirs, and Successors, of all
♦* mines of gold, silver, and coals.
" That the Grantees of each Township do
" settle the same within ten years fron> the
" date of the Grant, in the proportion of one
" person for every two hundred acres.
"That if one-third of the land Is not set-
" tied in the above-mentioned proportion,
* within four years from the date of the grant.
*' the
" His
" be I
" as ar
" or SI
(<
Majc
years
The .
the Proi
each tov
signet w
the same
to the gc
ing him
ships to 1
above- re(
nianclami
Thus M
small resei
161
<t
the whole to be forfeited to His Majesty,
His Heirs, .ind Successors,
" Tiiat the settlers so to be introduced,
" be Protestants from such parts of Europe
" as are not within His Majesty's dominions,
" or such persons as have resided in His
" Majesty's dominions in America for two
" years antecedent to the date of the Grant."
The Island being at this time annexed to
the Province of Nova Scotia, a mandamus for
each township under His Majesty's manual and
signet was issued to the individuals by whom
the same had been drawn, which were directed
to the governor of that province, command-
ing him to pass grants of the respective town-
ships to them, their heirs, and assigns, on the
above-recited terms and conditions. These
niandamus's generally bear date August ]767.
Thus was the whole Island, excepting the
small reservations for the three intended county
rfJ'iM«
165
towns given away in one day, and great ex-
pectations were formed of the effect of this
plan for its settlement, the reports of the
Surveyor General, Captain Holland, concurring
with all the previous information given by the
Military and Naval Officers who had been on
service there, respecting its natural advan-
tages, little less than the immediate and com-
plete settlement of the Island to the great
benefit ot the adventurers was looked for. It
soon appeared however, that nothing was
farther from the intention of many of those
from whom the necessary exertions for that
purpose were expected, than to venture either
thi^ir time or their money on the subject,
some had not the means, and very few of
them any inclination to embark in such an
undertaking, they had made use of their in-
terest to obtain what was expected to be a
saleable commodity, and accordingly we find,
that in a very short time many of the man-
damus's were sold, without even taking out the
grants which were necessary to secure a com-
pleat title to the property, which was the »ub-
ject o:
towns]
but so
they s(
the gr«
intoth(
have pi
intentic
of settle
to the
on that
very rig
colonies,
prietors
ing thai
separate
proposin
of the ^
commenc
rent from
terms of
payable c
from the (
163
ject of the transaction ; at first some of the
townships sold fur a thousand pounds a piece,
but so many of them came into the market that
they soon fell to less than half that amount,
the greatest number of those that were sold, fell
into the hands of a few individuals who appear to
have purchased them on speculation, without any
intention of fulfilling the terms and conditions
of settlement on which they were held, trusting
to the general forbearance of government
on that subject, there being no instance of any
very rigid enforcement of such in any of the
colonies. In 1 768 a great majority of the Pro-
prietors presented a Petition to the King, pray-
ing that the Island might be erected into a
separate Government from Nova Scotia, and
proposing that in order to defray the expence
of the establishment they were desirous to
commence paying the one-half of their quit
rent from the 1st of May 1769, wliich by the
terms of settlement, were only to hecome
payable on Michaelmas next, after five years
from the date of their respective Grants, and as
M 2
¥
164
to the other half it was proposed to postpone
the payment thereof for twenty years.
This proposal of the proprietors appearing
to Government to be weil calculated to ac-
celerate the settltment of tlic Island, was ac-
cepted, and tlie prayer of their petition in
every respect complied with ; the oiVices on
the new establishment were soon after filled
up. and accepted on t'^e faith of having their
salaries regularly pasfi out of the quit rents,
according to the propcs-ai and undertaking of
the proprietors, at whose instance the estab-
lishment had been created. In 1770 the go-
yernor and the other officers arrived on the
Island, at which time there were not above
150 families thereon, and only five pro-^
prietors, and it soon appeared, that having
succeeded in procuring the establishment of
the separate government many of the pro-
prietors relied on the operation of that mea-
sure for the settlement of the colony, as few
of them made any attempt to comply with the
terms
lield ;
as htti
arrival
of the
more t
the es
concei'
tress a
*;he set
Wha
of the
ments
were th
favour <
sell ther
usual in
to the
hold tl
propriet
in the I
more va]
165
teiuis of settlement on which tlieir lands were
held; and the payment of the quit rents was
as little thouglit of, for in five years after the
arrival of the otTKcers on the Island, the receipts
of the Receiver General amounted to little
more than would discharge two years salary to
the estabUshnient, which as may be easily
conceived brought the officers into great dis-
tress and materially retarded the progress of
*:he settlt incnt.
What were the reasons that induced so many
of the proprietors to abandon their engage-
ments it is not easy to determine, unless it
were that having received their lands from the
favour of the Crown, their plan was either to
sell them as soon as possible, or relying on the
usual indulgence of Government with respect
to the terms of settlement they expected to
hold them tintil the exertions of the few
proprietors and others who had or might settle
in the Island, should render the country of
more value of which they would benefit with-
r^fi
^,
^Y.^ %^
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166
out expence, risk, or exertion ; be this as it
may, it is certain that a great majority of
them have never made any attempt to com-
ply with tlie terms of settlement, in the mean
time many of the townships in a totally un-
settled state have been repeatedly sold, and have
passed through various hands, most of whom
have equally neglected the terms on which
they are held, and the same system of specu-
lating on the exertions, and future prospects
of the colony has been too generally continued.
By looking back at the terms of settlement it
will be seen that the lands were to be settled
in the proportion of one person to two hun-
dred acres within ten years from the <late of
the Grant, and that if one-third of them v/as
not settled in that proportion within four years
from the date of the Grant, the whole was to
become forfeited to His Majesty, His Heirs,
and Successors. The following statement will
shew what was done by the proprietors from
1769 to 1779 in compliance with the terms of
settlement : I take the townships numerica ly.
167
Lot 1 Nothing
2 ditto
3 ditto
4 ditto
5 ditto
6 ditto
7 ditto
8 ditto
9 ditto
10 ditto
11 ditto
la ditto
13 ditto
14 ditto
15... ditto
16 ditto
On No. 17, Governor Patterson as agent for
the proprietors, settled a number of Accadian
French who were before living on an adjoining
township, and were part of the inhabitants
who were on the Island at the conquest ; how
far this was complying with the terms of set-
tlement, I shall not pretend t9 say.
'-Urn.
-hi
> I. . .i i
T;| "
;,'p:
1()8
No. 18, twoof tlie proprietors of this town-
ship came t ) the hhnu\ in 1770, and another in
that and the fb!lo\\ing- year sent near three
hundred people from Scotland to the Island.
Lot 19, on this township the proprietor set-
tled a number of French Accadian Families in
^773, Avho had before been settled on a dif-
ferent part of the Island.
Lot 20, nothing done.
Lot CI, on this township a handsome settle-
ment was begun in 1773, and carried on for
several years at a considerable expence.
Lot 22, nothing done.
Lot 23, the settlement of this township was
begun in 177.*J.
Lots 24, 25, 2(), and 27, nothing done.
Lots
ment v
diatcly
Lots ;
Lot ;
families
Lots ;
Lot 3(
ment wa
number (
proprictc
Lot 3^
Lot 36
1772, ah
by the p
Lot 37,
this iot, J
169
Lot 28, on this township a handsome settle-
ment was begun by the proprietor, iinmei
<liatcly after the same was granted.
Lots 29 and 30, nothing done.
Lot 31, on this township eight or ten
families were settled by the proprietor ia 1773.
Lots 32 and 33, nothing done.
•^. . ^^l<J
Lot 34, on this township a handsome settle-
ment was begun in 1/70, and a considerable
number of people sent out from Scotland by the
proprietor.
Lot 35, on this township nothing done.
Lot 36, on this township between I770 and
1772, about three hundred people were settled
by the proprietor.
Lot 37, two families only were settled on
tins iot, by the proprietor in this period
ml
170
Lots 38 and 39, these townships belonged
to the same person at this period, they were
both considerably improved by the French,
tud at the first settlement of the island, offered
several advantages over most others, the pro-
prietor early settled on the last, and acquired
a number of settlers from other parts of the
Island, particularly from among those brought
to the Island by the proprietors of Townships
Nos. 18 and 36.
lot 40, this township like the two pre-
ceding, having been much improved by the
French, the settlement of it was early begun
but very few people was ever brought to the
Island by its proprietors.
Lots 41 and 42, nothing done.
Lot 43, on this township a number of Ac-
cadian French were settled before the date of
the Grant, and were permicted by the pro-
prietor to remain, but nothing else towards
its settkujent was done during this period.
Lots
nothing
Lot 6
sent out
s'-ttlers i
nately cc
to a perse
or so I
broke up
the color
Lots 5:
Lots 6
townships
in I775y
to the t
proprietoi
nagement
such an i
obliged t<
171
Lots 44, 45, 4,6, 47, 48, 49, SO, and 51,
nothing done.
Lot 52, the proprietors of this townsliip
sent out a considerable number of valuable
settlers from Scotland in 1775, but unfortu-
nately confided the management of their affairs
to a person by whom they were either neglected,
or so badly managed, that the settlement
broke up in a year, and most of the people left
the colony.
f: :■ '
Lots 53, 54, 55, and 56, nothing done.
Lots 57 and 58, the proprietors of these
townships sent nearly as many people to them
in 1775, as would have settled them according
to the terms of settlement, but like the
proprietors of Lot 52, they confided the ma-
nagement to a person totally unqualified for
such an undertaking, and the people were
obliged to abandon the settlement ; part of
w.
■,;f' ! '*» J -If ;
178
them left tlic Islunrl. and the rest settled on
other lauds.
lot 59, two-thirds of this townsliip, tlie
property of the late Sir James Montgomery,
Lord Chief Baron of tlie Court of Exchequer
in Scotland, was early settled, ami large sum*
of money advanced for that purj)ose.
Lots 60, 61, 62, 63, 6i, 65, 66, and 67,
nothing done.
Thus it appears that in the first ten years after
the commencement of the settlement only
nineteen of the 67 Townships were attempted
to be settled, and of these only the proprietors
of lots 18, 21, 28, 31, 34, 36, 52, 67, 5S, and,
59, ever brought any considerable number of
people to the Island.
' The people settled on Townships No. 17, 19,
24, and 43, were French Accadians previously
on the Island.
The 1
bi(vigiii
Oiic o;
f.tuiiLcs
did any
icilicd t
Island b
Cfthi
duri.:ja:
prieljrs,
orcupii'c
by the p
It ni?)^
the prop
injiiriou!
couragir
setticmei
just prof
fact, th
fercrs, t
173
The propri.K.u u 23, 38, 30, and 40,
bioaoiit biiL very fewneople to tlie Island.
Cue of the pioprictos of lot 37 brought two
tiiun! cs Mom New Knthmd, tlie other never
dj.: any ihinjr; the ^reatu part of the people
5.( Uicd on tins townsltip vere broight to the
Uland by the: proprietor orro\vii>.hip No. 36.
Ct" the 48 townships whi-h were neglected
duri;ig th.s j)eriod by thtr respective pro-
priei; rs, the Lots 13, 14, an' 35, were partly
oc-cuj>it^d by the people broijhi to the Island
by the propiietors of Lots 18 ud 36.
'i' 4
1 1
It may easily be conceived, iiat so many of
the proptitrtors neglecting their mds was very
injurious to the Island, and extremely dis-
couraging to the few who had conmenced the
settlement on the laith of the wholttaking their
just proportion of the burthen therof, and, in
fact, the active proprietors were al great suf-
ferers, though at this day, I belief; there is
Its'!'
't- Sla
(»!Hf :J :
174
no person acquainted wtli the Island, but
what will readily admit, that if the whole of
the proprietors had beei equally active, all
must have been great gainers by the colony,
which by this time would have been a
populous, well-settle* country : it has been
alledged in excuse for this general failure on
the part of the prc()rietors in performing their
terms of settlement that they were prevented
by the American var, from engaging in the
settlement of th' Island ; on which I have
to observe, thatby these terms one-third of
of the requiredpopulation wasto be settled
in five years froi the date of the Grants, the
mandamus for which, were issued in 1767
and all the Crants were or might have been
taken out irthat and the following year, it
will not thei be unreasonable to say, that ac-
tive exertJns might have been expected
from all tfc proprietors immediately after they
had procued the Island to be erected into a
separate ^vemment, at all events the Ameri-
can war did not commence till April 1775,
.jfi
173
and it surely was not more difficult for the
whole to make a beginninij before that period,
than for the few who actually commenced the
settleuient, and who were by no means, with
one or two exceptions, of tiie wealthiest class
of the proprietors, at tlie same time a great
majority of those who failed in peiforming
their terms of settlctneut, were people cf large
fortune who were well able, had they bfen in-
clined to disburse the necessaiy sums reiuired
for that purpose.
This very extensive defalcation on the
part of so many of the proprietors in )er.
forming tlie terms of settlement, was vry
distressing and severely felt by nw.L of
those who had engaged therein, they hadto
begin mostly on new lands, and to impor a
great part of their daily subsistence fom
other countries, they were scattered in srall
iettlements at a great distance from ech
other, in a country totaUy without roads, nd
»'
f ''i\,
t '
17«
many of the first settlers cither from their own
ignorance, or that ot' those hy wliom tliey
were sent to the Island, were lautled without
provisions or any means of supporf, and umiy
on that account were obh'ged to ab^ndoji ihc
settlenieit, which hrouglit much unjust ocUum
on the colony, for as too often happens, men
were viUing to attribute their failure to any
tiling hut their own misconduct or imprudence.
Thou;h a good many people were thus lost to
the Hand, industry and perseverance enabled
thos; who remained gradually to surmount
ther difficulties, and as they acquired expe-
rieice of the climate and soil, they becam#
nwre firmly attached to the country.
iis Majesty having been graciously pleased
b> His Royal Commission to the Governor,
iiiier the Great Seal of Great- Britain, to grant
a omplete Constitution to the Colony, and
th« Royal Inptructions having directed the
Gi'crnor to put the same in operation, by
caang a General Assembly as soon as he should
177
judge llie Island to be in such a state of set-
tlement as to admit thereof; His Majesty's
gracious intentions were caniel into effect in
1773, by the met ting of the first legislature
of the Island, since uliicii it lias met re«ni-
larly as in tiie olhcr colonies. Various laws
suited to the situation and circumstances of the
colony have been passed, and a foundation laid
for raising a permanent revenue for the support
of Government. One of the iirst objects wliicli
engaged tlie attenti<m of tiie legislature was
the failure of the proprietors in paying their
quit rents for the support of the officers on the
civil establisliment, to remedy which, an act
was passed to regulate and enforce the future
payment of the quit rents, which soon after
received His Majesty's Royal Assent: but
the Governor unwilling at that time to
disoblige tlie proprietors, many of whom were
people of high rank and consequence, did
not venture for some time to execute this law;
and soon after returning to England himself,
meetings of the proprietors were held in Lon-
N
t it
178
don, at which it was determined to apjJy to
Government to place the civil establishment
of the Island on the same footing as the other
new colonies. Accordingly in 1 776, at a time
v'hen moat of them had failed in paying their
quit rents, and the officers were suffering much
for want of their salaries, the proprietors pre-
sented a memorial to Lord George Germain,
then Secretary of State for the Colonies, sta-
ting therein, that they had paid their quit
rents, but that some of the proprietors had
failed in such payment, whereby the distress
of the officers had happened, and proposing
that in future the civil establishment of the
Island should be put on the same footing as
the other colonies, and provided for by an
annual grant of parliament, and what seems
very extraordinary, the said memorial teas
signed itidiscriminateli/^ as well by those who
had not, as those who had paid their quit
rents. It having become evident^ that the
establishment could not be supported on so
precarious ? fund as that arising from the quit
179
rents, Government was pleased to approve of
this proposal, and the establishment of the
Island has ever since been provided for by
parliament upon an annual estimate. At tliis
time, however, large arrears of salary were
due to the officers on the establishment who
had been reduced to such distress, that f'
Governor was obliged to make use of the
sum of three thousand pounds granted by
Parliament in 1772 for the erection of public
buildings in the Colony, for the support of him-
self, and the other officers : that this sum might
be replaced, and applied to the purposes for
which it was granted, and provision made for
paying off the arrears due to the officers on the
civil establishment. The Lords Commissioners
of His Majesty's Treasury were pleased to
direct by a minute dated August 7th, 177^,
" That the arrears of the quit rent now due,
•* and the growing quit rents until the first
" of May 1779, to which term His Majesty has
*' relinquished the same for the benefit of the
'' Island, should be applied in the first place,
N 3
■(',:■ ^
.Va! ■■*.-'■
180
",/o the payment of the Officers of the Civil
" Establishment of the Island up to the first of
" January «rr/,J and if after discharging the
" same, there shall be any surplus, their Lord-
*' ships »rder the same to be applied to the
" making of roads, and other public works
" within the Island, aiid My Lords direct the
" former, as well as the present Receiver-
" General of the Island, to apply all such
" sums of money as shall he in their hands to
'• the above purposes, and to take all proper
" means to enforce the payment of themTcars, and
" the accruing quit rents, and recover the same.
" And My Lords direct, that stick of the Civil
" OJieers as shall have received any money out
" of the sum of three thousand pounds, granted
" by Parliament for the benefit of the Island,
^' after receipt of their arrears do refund the
" same, in >>rder that the whole of that money
" may be applied to the purposes for which the
'* same was granted - A copy of this minute
t Qv wbich day the estimate voted fcy Parliament sommfiie^d.
181
was delivered to the Governor for his infor-
mation and guidance, but iiaving so recently
succeeded in getting the establishment pro-
vided for in the manner mentioned, chiefly
througji the interest of some of the proprie-
tors, he did not think proper immediately to
enforce the measures directed by this minute,
nor was there any receiver of the quit rents
then on the Island to carry the directions
thereof into effect, so that nothing was at-
tempted to be dbne under the authority of this
minute till four years afterwards; of the
transactions which then took place, an ac-
count shall be given in its proper place.
Upon Governor Patterson's return to En-
gland in 1775, the government of the Island
devolved upon the late Mr. Attorney General
Callbeck as Senior Member of His Majesty's
Council, the Lieutenant-Governor being aisc,
absent. Towards the close of the year^ two
occurrences happened, which were at the
time very distressing to individuals, and ir..
:»" '^
Mi
182
jurious to the progress of the settlement. In
the beginning of November a ship valuably
loaded from London, with a number of settlers
on board, suffered shipwreck on the north side
of the loland ; the people were saved, but their
effects and the cargo were almost totally lost ;
the small part that was recovered, having
been long under water, turned out of very
little value, the effects of this disaster were for
a long time severely felt. Soon after two Ameri-
can armed vessels which had been sent by Con-
gress to cruize in the Gulph of St. Lawrence
for the purpose of intercepting some ordnance
store ships then supposed to be on their
voyage for Quebec, having failed in that ob-
ject, thought fit to visit Charlotte Town the
Capital of the Island, which was at this time
totally unprotected; they landed before the
hostile nature of th^ir visit was known or even
suspected, and immediately made prisoners of
Mr. Callbeck, the President, and the other
officers of Government, and proceeded to
plunder the place, taking every linng that was
;■ . M
183
of any value, they also carried off Mr. Call-
beck and Mr. Wright a Member of the Coun-
cil, and Surveyor-General of the Island : upon
the arrival of these gentlemen at the head-
quarters of the American army then at Cam-
bridge in New England, it appeared that the
rebel officers had acted in this manner totally
without any orders from their superiors ; they
were immediately dismissed from their com-
mands, and told by General Washington, in
their own style, " That they had done those
" things which they ought not to have done,
" and left undone those things which it was
" their duty to have done;" their prisoners
were immediately discharged with many
polite expressions of regret for their suffer-
ings, and the plundered property was all
honourably restored.
'^ir- f: i
From this descent, and our lying so near
the tract to Quebec, it became evident, that
without protection, the colony would become
liable to many such visits, to guard U9 against
184
•vvliich tlie [uln)iral comnianding in America wa»
directed by government early in the cnsuino-
year, to station an armed vessel at Charlotte
Town, for the protection of the Island, and in
jMay the Diligent armed ' -'";, commanded by
Lieutenant, now Athuirul Duud, arrived for that
purpose. In the month of November Mr. Dodd
was relieved by the Hunter sloop of war, Cap-
tain Boyle, who wintered with us, and re-
mained on tlie station till November I777.
This ship arrived at a very critical period for
our protection, as our neighbours in the county
of Cumberland in Nova Scotia, encouraged by
the arrival among them of about thirty rebels
in two whale boats, from Machaias in Massa-
chussets, broke out into open rebellion and laid
siege to Fort Cumberland, then garrisoned by a
newly-raised provincial corps under the com-
mand of Colonel, afterwards Major-General
Goreham, at that time in a very incomplete
state. By these rascals a second plundering
expedition to Charlotte Town was intended,
but having no craft to carry off a number of
dismou
of Fort
jects, t
Pictou
the inh;
sion of
loading
knowin
Island 1
of Verti
tiates,
Cumbei
tills per;
to Char]
bad bee
was imr
and senl
Lieuten
comjng
Verte, f(
the rebe
leinforci
up to th
183
dismounted cannon then lying about the ruins
of Fort Amherst, wliich was one of tlieir ob- '
jects, they first paid a visit to tlie Harbour of
Pictou in our neigh bourliood, where several of
the inhabitants joining them they got posses-
sion of a valuable armed merchant ship, then' '
loading at that port for Scotland, but not
knowing exactly in what state of defence the
Island might be in, they stood up into the Bay
ofVerte, in order to receive from their asso-
ciates, then engaged in the siege of Fort
Cumberland, a reinforcement of men ; just at
tliis period the Hunter arrived, and in her way
to Charlotte Town having retaken a sloop wliich
had become one of their prizes at Pictou, she
was immediately fitted out by Captain Boyle,
and sent after the ship under the command of
Lieutenant, now Admiral George Keppel, who
coming up with the ship next day in the Bay of
Verte, found that in consequence of the defeat of
the rebels at Fort Cumberland by the arrival of
reinforcements from Halifax, she had been given
up to the Male ; the rebels making their escape
i
'Mm t
• u . '
HiJ
■ .il
186
on shore. She was then brought into Char-
lotte Town by Mr. Keppel, and given up to her
commander, who not thinking it safe in the
then state of that part of Nova Scotia to return
to Pictou, she remained the winter with us.
In 1777 besides the protection afforded us
by the Hunter sloop of war, Mr. Callbeck, the
president, was directed by Lord George Ger-
niaine, then Secretary of State for the Colonies,
to raise an independant company for the defence
of the Island, but most of those who were
inclined to become soldiers, had previously,
enlisted with different recruiting officers who
Jiad come to the Island to raise men for the
two new regiments commanded by Colonels
Maclean and Goreham, from which circum-
stance and the small number of people then in
the colony, this company, which was always
weak never was compleated : this deficiency was,
however, amply made up to the Island in the en-
suing year by the care and attention of govern-
ment; four |;rovincial companies being sent
187
from New York under the command of Major
HieiHky, an old officer; and at the same time
the commanding engineer in Nova Scotia was
directed to erect barracks for their accommo-
dation, and also such necessary works of de-
fence as were suitable to the situation and cir-
cumstances of the Island. From this period,
excepting now and then a few sheep taken at
distant parts of the Island, by the enemy's
privateers men, and the robbery of some
valuable property from the Harbour of George
Town, the Island remained perfectly undis-
turbed during the remainder of the war; the
frigates which annually brought out the Quebec
convoys, generally spent part of the summer
with us, by them and other cruizing ships
which were occasionally sent into the Gulph,
several of the enemy's armed ships captured in
our neighbourhood were brought into Char-
lotte Town and their crews landed, and after-
wards sent over to Nova Scotia, and marched
through the woods to Halifax, under the
escort of detachments from our small garrison.
f'!.i
itf^-i}t:
L" »
.•'11
t
ml
m
i
188
III the latter end of October 1 779, part of the
Hessian regiment of Knyphausen, on their way
from New York to Quebec under convoy of
the Camilla twenty gun ship, commanded by
Captain, afterwards Sir John Collins, meeting
with very hard gales of wind, in the River St.
Laurence, were obliged to give up the attempt
to get to Quebec, and came into the harbour
of Charlotte Town, where the troops were
landed, as being the nearest spot to their place
of destination in which they could be accom-
modated ; there was no barracks for them, but
being a veteran corps, commanded by Colonel
De Borck, an experienced officer, they soon
hutted themselves in a most comfortable man-
ner, many of them when landed were ill with
intermittent fevers, and I have already had
occasion to notice the rapid effect our climate
had in restoring them to health.
So great an accession to our numbers not
having been foreseen at head-quarters, our
commissaries' stores were of course not pro-
189
Tided for tliem, but the deficiency was
amply made up from the produce of
the Island, whici) was purcliased by Govern-
ment for tlieir supply, a circumstance which
considering the infant state of the colony,
and our small numbers may be mentioned to the
credit of our agriculture in that early period of
the settlement. The Hessians staid with us till
the month of June following : both officers and
men were mucli pleased with the Island, and
some of the latter found their way back to it
many years afterwards, from the heart of
Germany,
In 1780 Governor Patterson returned to the
Island fromEngland ; and there being no receiver
of the quit rents on the Island, he appointed Mr.
Nisbet, his brother-in-law, then Clerk of the
Council, to the office of Receiver of the
Quit Rents, and under colour of the Trea-
sury Minute, dated the 7th of August, 1776,
which has been already given, he directed
him early in 1781, to commence proceedings
'if0
iH' [
19()
ill the Stpreme Court of the Island, a«rainst all
the townships enumerated in the act of 1773,
which were tiien in arrcar of qait rents, and
in Novemher following brought nine whole, and
five half townships to the hammer ; these sales
were soon after complained of to governmenf.
and upon some enquiry into the transaction a bill
for regulating the future proceedings in the re-
covery of the quit rents was prepared in 1783,
and sent to the Island, and the Governor was
directed to lay the same before the legislature
to be enacted into a colonial law; in this bill
a clause was inserted, making the sales of 178I
voidable, and allowing the original proprietors to
re-enter into possession of the lands then sold
under the Qult-Rent Act of 1773, upon the
repayment of the purchase money, interest,
and charges incurred by the purchasers and a
fair allowance for such improvements as might
have been made on the lands since the sale
thereof : the purchasers on their parts ac-
counti.ni. :•«: the original proprietors for the
receipts, .s,..^s, ^nd promts. In the recital
191
which which led to this enacting clause, tU
circumstances attending the sales in 1781
were stated diflereuLly from what really took
place. Taking advantage of this mistatc*
mcnt, ihc Governor instead of obeying tha
order, and laying the bill before the Assembly,
submitted the business to the consideration of
the Council, who were equally implicated with
himself by this recital, and it ^ras finally re-
solved to transmit to the Secretary of State,
a representation of all the circumstances at'
tending the sales in 1781, and to rely on that
representation as a justification for not obey-
ing the order to lay the bill before the
Assembly,
This representation wlicn taken into consi-
deratio' hv the Committee of the Privy Coun-
cil for Trade and Foreign Plantations, did not
appear to justify in the opinion of the Board,
the conduct of the Governor in aith-holding
the bill from the Assembly, but no order was
for some time niade therion.
,n •••
i^:fe
192
•*In the mean time the Governor who was
resolved to make every exertion to retain the
lands, determined to be provided with an
House of Representatives if possible, such as
he. could rely upon for supporting his views,
in case he should be again ordered to propose
to the Legislature an act for making the sales
voidable; accordingly early in 1784 he dissolved
the Assembly by proclamation, and in March
following a general election took place, and
the Legislature soon after met, when it soon
appeared, that the Governor had not succeeded
in his object, for the House of Representatives
entered into enquiries respecting different acts of
his administration, and seemed particularly dis^
posed to condemn the management at the sale
of the lands sold in 1781, although neither
they, nor any other perion in the Island, were
then acquainted with the proceedings that had
taken place in England on the subject, which
had only been communicated by the Governor
to the Council under their oath of secrecy ;
after various sharp messages and replies be*
tween
Govcri
a conq:
in prep
by Pro
The
in takii
at the
House
more fa
the obj(
he had
ing bin
for mak
now to
which t
last Hoi
office in
would h
cessors
site light
and a
193
tween the House of Representatives, and the
Governor, that body resolved upon presenting
a complaint to the King, and were employed
m preparing the same when they were dissolved
by Proclamation.
The Governor spent the remainder of 1784,
in taking more effectual measures for securing
at the next general election the return of a
House of Representatives which should be
more favourable to him than the last, besides
the object of being prepared for an order which
he had reason to expect from England direct-
ing him to lay before the Assembly the bill
for making the sales of 1781 voidable ; he had
now to provide for taking off any impression
which the charges made against him by the
last House of Representatives, might make at
office in this country ; this he naturally thought
would be most effectually done by their suc-
cessors putting his conduct in an oppo-
site light in their addresses and proceedings,
and a variety of circumstances concurred
i-^ii *
w
m4
wliioh -were favourabJe 'to his Tiews -and in-
terest: in consequence of the evacuation of
Ne.w York the preceding autumn a number
of the loyalists .and disbanded troops came to
seek a settlement on the Island, who were
chiefly dependent on him in respect to the
di«iribution of the donations allowed by the
l?ounty of Government to enable them to com-
mence their new settlements with advantage,
he had also the direction of locating them on
the lands on which they were to be placed, no
inconsiderable part of which, consisted of the
lands sold in 1781. From these circumstances,
hy far the greatest part of these new settlers be-
came interested in his support, he also found
means to divide his opponents, and to buy some
of them off, and in March 1785, be again ven-
tured to try the success of a general election,
on wiiich occasion he succeeded in securin'>-
the return of a House of Representatives
which was perfectly to his mind, and ready
to support all his measures, this was not ac-
complished however without a severe struggle,
195
Tnuch illegal conduct, and an enormous ex-
pence, considering our small numbers and the
infant state of the colony f.
s • ■ •
The Legislature met in a few days after the
election, but no farther directions respecting
the lanv'. sold in 1781 having been yet re!
ceived from England, the subject was not
mentioned during the session, which was
chiefly spent in adopting such measures as
were deemed necessary to do away any im-
pression the proceedings of the last Housp of
Representatives might make against the Go-
vernor, who was represented in their addresses,
and proceedings as the best of men, while all
that opposed him M-ere stigmatized as factious
and unj)rincipled. At the next session which
commenced in March 1786, the Governor being
still without any orders from England relative
to the sales of 1781, and being now secure of
t It wUl no doubt lurprise mj English reat^ento be teW thtt this
ejection cost the GoTernor and bi> frieuds near t«o tl,oui
•lerling.
pouad«
I' '
I'll !'*■' « (J
p.
WM'
m
■ If'
li
I :
!
the unaiiimous support of the Legislature,
determined on a measure which he expected
Would secure against all future attempts, the
purchasers at these sales ; for this purpose a
1?ill was brought into the Lower House and
soon after passed into a law, entitled, ** An
" Act to render good and valid in law, 'all and
V everif of the Proceedings in the years one
** thousand seven hundred and eighty, and one
" thousand seven hundred and eighty -one,
** which in any respect related to, or concerned
" the suing, seizing, condemning, or selling of
" the Lots or Tozvnships herein-after mentioned,
" or any part thereof." This audacious at-
tempt immediately decided Government with
respect to Mr. Patterson, who was soon after
superceded ; His Majesty's disallowance of
the act being at the same time signified, and the
bill for making the sales voidable also returned,
with directions to lay it before the Assembly.
Before the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor Fan-
ning, who was appointed to succeed Mr.
Patterson, the latter met the Assembly, and
1.97'
laid the bill before them which they- imme--
tliately rejected ; it was not indeed to be
expected, that the ^aine men who had only
six mouths before pared an act tp confirm
these sales should .so soon adopt a directly
contrary measure which would have deprived
them of all pretence to propriety or con-
sistency of conduct. It appears however, that
Mr. Patterson was at Jast seriously alarmed,
and determined to make an effort to satisfy
the proprietors of the sold lands, and if
possible to conciliate government, for wliich
purpose a private bill was brought forward, stated
to be at the request of the purchasers in 178I,
and passed into a law for restoring the lands
then sold, to their original proprietors : but
this mode of proceeding was entirely dis-
approved of, and the act disallowed ; besides
the objections to the manner in which the
measure was brought forward, the provisions
of this act left it much in the power of the
purchasers at the sales in 1 781, to load the
property to be restored with such an accu-
' I I i.' i
;;tii . :
ii',: c"
198
4
mulation of expence as might perhaps equal
its full value : and it also confirmed all aliena-
tions of any parts of the lands while in the
hnuds o^ the purchasers, whether the same had
.icen made for a valuable consideration or
otherwise.
11
Thus disappointed the proprietors preferred
a criminating complaint to His Majesty against
Lieutenant Governor Patterson and others
therein named, being members of His Majesty's
council ill the Island, in respect to their con-
duct with' regard to these sales and their re-
sistance to the measures directed by Govern,
mfent for the relief^'of tlie complainants, and in
1:^89 an investigation of the said complaint took
place before the Right Hon. Committee of the
Pfivy Council fo/ trade, plantations, "when it
wis determined ty the committee,' that the
reasons'ariedged in behalf of the respondents,
dill not justify their conduct in the transactions
complained of : in consequence of this decision
the members of the Colonial Council implicated '
''•.11
199
in the complaiiit were dismissed from their-
seats at that hoard, and the Attorney General
of the Island from his office ; Mr. Patterson
having been previously dismissed, and the ob-
ject Of the coniplaint 'in regard to him ob-
tained, no farther notice was tai«en of his con-
duct. It was' expected that this proceeding
would have been followed by a final determina-
tion respecting the fate of the lands which wdre •
the object of so much controversy, yet neither
on this occasion nor at any time since, has any >
directions been given by Government on the •
subject, and the proprietors on thfeir parts ^
have been equally silent thereon.-.
Butin 1792, when tlieCommitteeof the Privy r
Council for Trade and Plantations, were en-
gaged in investigating certain other complaints '
from the Island which I shall have occasion to
notice hereafter, an attempt was made to charge
the then Colonial Government, with beino*
confederated ^vith their predecessors in opt
position to the restoration of the lands sold
m
m\
til!
li
'•I'-i
W
i)?;i
m
I
I
5;
I
200
ih 1791, and it required some exertion to
repel the charge, though the same was per-
fectly groundless. It appearing on this oc-
casion to be still the opinion of that fioard,
that these lands should be restored to the
original proprietors or their representatives : at
the next meeting of the Colonial Legislature,
an act was passed for rescinding, annulling, and
making void the sales in 1781, and permitting the
original proprietors or their representatives to re-
enter into possession ; but as this measure was
adopted without any directions from office on
the subject, merely in consequence of what pas-
sed on the above occasion, it was thought
necessary to annex to the act a clause sus-
pending its operation in every respect, until
His Majesty's Royal Assent thereto should be
signified, in the usual form.
When this proceeding was known in this coun-
try, a petition was presented on the part of sonns
of the purchasers under the sales in 1781, praying
to be heard by their counsel against the pas-
8mg of
being
Commi
Privy
tions, .
Commi
Burke,
under 1
opinion
to be It
from wj
has beer
the Isia
royal as
nor has
the subj
or the o
which ^
ever sin<
possessic
1781 ; £
rious hai
ber of
■I t
20t
smgof this 'law, which petition with the act
being refenad to the consideration of the
Committee of Mis Majesty's most honorable
Privy Council for trade and foreign planta-
tions, Doctor Laxorcnce was heard before the
Committee on behalf of the late Mr. Richard
Burke, junior, who had become a purchaser
under the sales in 1781, on this occasion the
opinion of the Right Hon. Committee seemed
to be much changed with respect to these sales
from what it had formerly been, and the>result
has been that the act passed by the legislature of
the Island in 1792 never received His Majesty's
royal assent, and has been entirely laid aside ;
nor has any other proceedings been adopted on
the subject either on the part of Government
or the original proprietors, of course the lands
which were the object of this measure have
ever since remained in the quiet and peaceable
possession of those claiming under the sales iu
17s I ; some of them have passed through va-
rious hands and are parcelled out amonff a num-
ber of purchasers, and they have in some
>i'
^i
H
502
\
instances become securities for ilebts, and in
outers the objects of testamentary and family
settlements, in perfect confidence that the.
claims of the original proprietors, whatever may
l)e their grounds, cannot now after the lapse of
so. many years, be again brought forward >vith
any effect |.
t It ippcars by the different proceediugi before the Privy CouncUte
have been olways the iotention of Government, that in the event of these
lands being re.tored to the original proprietors by any legislative pro-
ceedingiiftbel»land. that they or their represenUtivei should on g,uh
mtorati(jn pay to tho purchasers under the eales in 1781, the amount for
which these lauds were (hen sold, anieaiure which qecessarily grew out of
the ciicumitance of their havingbeeB sold for the arrears of quit then due
on them. This many of the original proprietors or those acting for them, do
»iot s«f ra at any time w^iijing to have conjplied jvith, and it would appear that
since the rejection pf the act passed in 179$ for their rehef, they have,
given up all ideas of any farther proceedings on the subject, not thinking
the property worth their acceptanc. on the proposed terras. Of the lands
sold in 1781. the half Tow.ship. ^o. 18. was confirnwd to U.e purchaser
»t these sales for a valuable consideration. The half Township,
No. 26. has been restored to the representative of the original proprietor
on the terras of the bill sent out in 1783, for malting the i.les voidable.
'1 he Tpwnship, No. 3a has been restored to the representative of the ori, -
jjinal grantee, by a compromise with the person into whose hands it fell
since the sale of 1781. The Township, No. 35, has also bean restored to
»i.e orfginal proprietor by a private agreement. The half Township, No. 48.
203,
As these sales, with the different proceedings
to which they have given rise agitated tho^
colony for some years, and were much talked
of in this country among those connected with,
the Island, and having also hecome an object,
of inquiry before the Privy Council, I thought
that this account of the proceedings to wliich
they have given rise, would be acceptable to
people interested in the colony.
Having already stated what was done to;
wards complying with .the terms of settlement
from the commencement thereof, until 1779
inclusive, I shall now proceed to state what
attempts were made durin^r the next twenty
years, for complying with these terms as th^
not having been improved by the purcha«r, the orfgina! proprietor finding
.10 perwn in possewion re-entered without oppowtion. The Tomwh'ip,
No. 49 was recovered by tie original proprietor by a suit at law. Tha
half Township, Ko. 65. has been coutirmed to the possesior under th«
sale in 1781 by a private agreement with the representative of the original
grantee. And the half Townships. Nos. 17 and 25. and the Townships
^^o. 24, 31, 33, 57, and No. 67 remain in the baad* of propriatoM
*!riving tlieir rities ^ii^cr the sales of t?a*,
* i ii
it
\m.
204
•urcst criterion on which a judomcnt can be
formed how far the progress of the settlement
has answered the exertions that have been
lAade ; Cfiis seems to me the more neccssiry, as
oh one hand the proprietor* are said to have
done nothing towards settling the colony,
and on the other some of them have claimed
much credit for expenditure and exertions,
of which nothing has ever been known in
the Island, but which have been clamorously
stated to Government as a ground of farther
indulgence with respect to the payment of
their quit rents.
It has been already shewn, that of the sixiy^
seven Townships into which the Island is di-
vided, th^jt on ten only, were the terms of set-
tlement in respect to population complied with
in the first ten years from the commencement
of the settlement, and that forty-eight Town-
ships were totally neglected during this period
by their respective proprietors. During the
period now under consideration, I may be per-
205
mitted to say without offence, tliat the excrtiorii
of the proprietors were feeble in proportion to
their obhgationj, and the length of time the
period embraces, and the opportunities it af.
forded as tl^p following summary will shew.
Townships Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, nothing done. .
1'
Township No. 5. The proprietor of thi»-
township, in 1783, resigned one fourth thereof
for the accommodation of such American loy-
alists and disbanded troops as might claim the
same; in consequence of which a few people
under that description, had lands laid out to
them thereon, but it being at that time at a
great distance from any inhabitants they never
settled upon them. In 1 78(5 a fishery was esta-
blishcd on this Township, and in the course
of a few years several vessels were built, a saw-
mill was erected and a considerable quantity of
timber exported, but little or nothing was done
towards peopling or cultivating the soil, whicli
should certainly have had precedence of every
ikT.
206
other consideration if compliance with the
terms oq, which it is granted was intended.
Township No. 6. This township has been
claimed by the same proprietor as the pre-
ceding for many years past, but only three
families were settled on it during this period.
No9. 7, 8, o, 10, 11, and 12, nothin
done.
No. 13, On this lot it has beeii already ob-
served that a few people brought to the Island
by other proprietors settled early, but nothing
was done during this period by the proprie-
tor^ in compliance with the terms of set-
tlement.
No. 14, On this lot like the preceding
nothing was done by the proprietor during
this period, but some people settled on it of
their own accord.
No.
No.
1783,
accomi
disban(
thereon
took u|
and the
parts of
prietor (
No. ]
townshi]
French j
on it hsLi
of popul
Lot 1
having ei
dred pec
improver
dual advj
507
No. is, Nothing done.
No. 15, The proprietor of this township fa
1783, resigned one fourth part thereof for the
accommodation of such American loyaHsts and
disbanded troops as might chuse to settle
thereon, and some people of that description
took up part of these resigned lands, but that
and the acquisition of a few settlers from other
parts of the Island, has been all that the pro-
prietor ever did for its cultivation. •
No. 17, Some loyalists were settled on this
township in 1785, which, together with the
French people we before-mentioned as settled
on it has fully compleated the required amount
of population.
Lot IS, The proprietors of this township
having early in the settlement sent three hun-
dred people to the Island, its cultivation and
improvement has ever since been making gra-
dual advances, in which respect however it'has '
i 1 ih'
,} t«
208
"teen much injured by the temptation which
the neglected state of the neighbouring town-
ships have offered to its settlers, many of whom
have removed and settled on such lands, with
the hope of acquiring a right to their pos-
sessions "by time, or the default of thp pro-
•pri^tors in performing their terms of settlement.
Lot 19, In 1783 one- fourth of this town-
ship was resigned for the benefit of the loyalists
and disbanded troops, several of whom took up
grants thereon.
. Lot 20, On this township a considerable
number of people were settled during this pe-
riod, but they were such as came to the colony
of themselves without any encouragement from,
or connection with, the proprietors.
Lot 21, The settlement of this township was
commenced early in our first period as we
have already seen, and though from a con-
currence of unfortunate circumstances it has
J09
not advanced in proportion latterly, it is gtiK
going on.
Lot 22, Nothing done.
Lot 23, Though the settlement of this
township began early it has yet made no great
progress in comparison with many others.
.>y\
Lot 2^4, This township is one of those which
were sold for non-payment of quit-rents itt
1 7S 1 . and though the uncertainty with respect to
the ultimate fate of these sales, for some time
operated as a discouragement to those into
whose hands it fell ; considerable exertions
have been made for its settlement and it is
now one of the most populous on the Island.
Lot 25, The settlement of this township
wa^ begun in 1785, and it has since been
making gradual advances. Its improvement
has been much retarded by a dispute relative to
:;.
210
the .property of one half of the township which
is not yet settled.
Lot 26, On this township a settlement was
begun in 1785, and one of the proprietors || has
advanced large sums tbr its improvement, the
settlers on it have rendered themselves conspicu-
ous by raising more wheat in proportion to their
nimibers than any other people on the Island.
They are chiefly composed of American loyalists
and their success proves, what might have been
expected from that description of people, had
any considerable numbers of them been brought
to the Island, instead of being encouraged, and
in some measure compelled, by the over-
bearing influence of a few individuals, to settle
themselves on the barren foggy shores of the
southern coast of Nova Scotia.
Lot 27, This township was long neglected
by its proprietors ; but in 1790 a settlement on
one half of it was begun, and it has now pro-
H Robtrt Gordon, Eiq. of th« LIsnd of St. Viaceit.
211
bably the required amount of population on it •
the otlier moiety has been entirely neglected,
Lot as. The settlement of this township early*
begun as has already been mentioned, has been
making a steady progress in improvement and
population.
Lot 99, On this township nothing dom
during this period.
Lot 30, On this township a settlement wa^
begun in 1785. but has made very hltle pro-
gress, a circumstance chiefly to be attributed td
its local situation, and the neglected state of
the adjoining townships; its proprietor thtf
late Lord Chief Baron of Scotland, having
made great cflbrts for the settlement of his pro-
perty in the Island, and advanced his money
liberally for that purpose.
Lots 31 and 32,^ On the first of theis (owijr
:k,'
•;.:
212
ships, it has been seen that a settlement was
early commenced, and it soon after spread to
the other, but as they were both included in
the -rles of 1781, the uncertainty in which the
property stood pending the proceedings con-
sequent to that transaction, the improvement of
them during this period was much retarded.
Lot 33, On this township nothing was done
during this period more than permitting some
families from the adjoining township. No. 34,
to settle thereon.
Lot 34, The settlement of this township
early begun at a considerable expence, has been
steadily advancing ever since.
Lots 35 and ^6, The first of these townships
was one of those sold in 17«1, and in 179-1
restored to its original proprietor in consequence
of a private agreement between the parties, it was
early occupied as has been already mentioned
by people brought to the Island by the pro-
213
prietor of Lot 36, whose property it now is,
both townships are considerably improved.
Lot 37, This township has been many years
in an advancing state of improvement, though
neitlier of its original proprietors ever con-
tributed any thing irther to its population
than the two families which one of them
brought to the Island in an early stage of the
settlement as I have already noticed.
Lots 38 and 39, These townships with one
third of the adjacent Lot, No. 40, were at the
commencement of the settlement the property
of the same person (the late Captain George
Burns) the most fortunate adventurer that has
hitherto speculated m lands on tlie Island, for
owing to the circumstance of a great part of
the front of these townships having been clear-
ed by the French previous to the conquest of
the Island, they soon became in request, and
for many years have been gradually selling off
Wt\
in small tracts for which large prices hav6
|)een given.
lot 40, This like the two preceding having
fceea early settled, has been gradually ad-
vancing in improvement.
lots 41 and 43, The settlement of these
townships did not commence till 1/93. butthev
Jiave since been advancing rapidly in popula-
tion,
Lot 43, This Township as has been men-
tioned in the summary of the first ten years
having been occupied early by the original
French inhabitants, is now in a considerably
advanced state of improvement and papulation.
Jot 44, The settlement of this Township
onty c<?mmenced in I797.
t6t, 45 and 45, Nothing done on these
townships during this period.
215
Lot 47, The settlement of this town^liip
"was begun in 1784, and for many years it made
little progress, but has since advanced rapidly.
Lot 43, The settlement of this township
commenced in 1784 and has been gradually
advancing.
Lot 49, The settlement of this Township com-
menced only in 1792, but having been sold off
in small lots, it has made a very rapid progress.
Lot 50, The settlement of this township com-
menced in 1784, and is now in a very forward
state.
Lot 51, On this township nothing done. .
Lot 52, Since the ill-managed attempt that
has been already noticed to settle this town-
ship, nothing has been done. '
\ri
Lot 53, Nothing done on this township
during this period.
J 16
Lot 54, The settlement of this township
oemmenced in 1788.
Lot 55, Nothing U'as ever done by the pro-
JiHetor toward the settlement of this township ;
but in 1793, a considerable number of people
sat down on it of their own accord without any
agreement with the proprieior.
l6t 56, The settlement of this township
commenced in 1784 by the proprietor giving
up a fourth thereof to the American Loyalists
tod disbanded troops, some of whom obtained
lands thisreon.
Lot 57 and 58, The unsuccessful attempt to
3ettl^ these townships in our first period has
been already noticed, during thi^ period they
i^mailifed entirely unoccupied.
)-ot 59, The early settlement of this town-
ship and the exertions made were noticed in our
ftrstpi?riodj in ITMvery considerable farther
S17
iiiclvanc?s were made by the proprietor for t!iat
purpose.
Lot 60, Nothing done.
Lot 6l, On this Township a few families were
«ettled during this period, but these were peo-
pie previously on the Island, and cost the pro-
prietor nothing.
Lot 6ii, Nothing done.
Lot 63 and 64, The settlement of these
townships commenced in 1788, since which
very considerable sums have been laid out in
their improvement.
«
Lot 65, The settlement of this township
commtnced in 1784.
Lot 66, Nothing done.
Lot 67* Nothing done.
ml
:Sl8
Such was tlip state of the diAerent town-
*hips into wliich the Island is divided in rc^
{»ard to population at tlie end of the year ]7<)()
thirty years after the commencement of the
settlement, and when I add that by far the
greater part of those who settled in the last
twenty years, came to the Island without any
Cxpence or exertion on the part of the pro-
prietors, some judgment may be formed of
what might have been done in the improve-
ment and cultivation of the country, had they
been generally disposed to make any thing like
reasonable ejcertions for that purpose ; that their
failure in this respect was generally and severely
felt by every intelligent man in the colony may
easily be conceived, they had seen in this
period, thousands of their fellow-subjects from
Great Britain and Ireland emigrate to the
United States of Ameiica, either to perish by
the effects of an unhealthy climate, or to aug-
ment the numbers and strength oi' the enemies
of their country, and were sensible that a very
little exertion on the part of the proprietors
Would h
land, wl
have l)e(
where i
tlieir h.n
happines
netted \
pcwer, a
a return
should b<
In I7i
which I 1
state of t
plications
for some i
fveii on the I'rui
tlit'.V liave to I
«ppe»r to nrisp f
dCiivctlicir oiigi
society is rapidly
fiiiwlly ut no very
'"■t of j:o!1i:- hoM
» resjjiie (<. om thi
CIO
IvouUl have sent a -reat many of them to this Is.
land, where their industry and prosperity would
have been highly valuuhic to tlicir country; and
where In a niaiitime situation con<reniaI to
their habits, they uouhi have presen-ed the
happiness of hc-ing still British subjects con-
neetcd uiih ,hoir country, protected by its-
pmver, and governed (,y its laws, and to which
a return would he coniparatively easy ^f they
should be so disposed.*
In 1797 two years sliort of the period to
V'hich I have brought up this summary of tlic
state of the hinds in point of settlement, ap-
phcations were made to the assembly praving
for some proceeding on tl: ir part which shmdd
:,''i^- [
ianHW|Mjj|
A.lv.mn,,.s ,1. ;o« .f V 1 .ch I an. c.nrulcnt ore poorly con.pcnsa.ed
even on the ,>„«<,! ha„K„., .ho 0,..o. coupled .ith ol, tl« monificn.ion,
tl'.7 Imve .0 submit ,<.. 3n.u„g „ people whose principal c„jn;,ment,
appear ,o nri.- f:„,„ insul.i,,, an., abusing ,hat country from which they
de..vetheir o,i,l„ • rf,, ^hcre a «enera, deterioration of the morals cf
...cetyi, rapidly l„,„.,.h. f„u,.„«,i„,„ „f ,.ew revolntions which „,„«
/l..Hlly a. n<. very di.t.-.at jeri.d lay their tu, bul«t republican LLer.y at the
ie., of son. hold ,civen,u: er .h„se power and ,ucce« may prcu.e aocc-y
• respite fiom the miserie* ol a.iarchy and civil war.
220
bring the subject under the consideration of
His Majesty's ministers, tl>at body having
taken the matter up, after a strict enquiry
and mature deliberation, came to the following
resolutions with the hope of putting the
subject in as clear and forcible a light as
possible.
1st, Resolved that it appears to this house
after having fully investigated with the strictest
attention the state of the lands in this Island,
That Lots or Townships, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9,
10, 12, 15, 22, 29, 44, 45, 46, 51, 52, 53, 57,
58, 60, 62, 66, and 67 containing in the whole
458,580 acres, have not one settler resident
thereon.
2d, Resolved that Lots or To\vns]r:ips, Nos.
4, 5, 6, 11, 23, 30, 31, 55, 6l, 63, 64, and 6,5
containing together 243,000 have only hc-
twcen them, thirty-six families, which upon an
average of six persons to a family, amount to two
han<lred and sixteen persons residing thereon,
and that these lots, together ^vith those above
enumerated comprehend upwards of one half ofi
this Island.
3dly, Resolved, That Lots or Township, Nos.
13, 14, 1^0, 25, 27, and 42 comprehending one
hundred and twenty thousand acres, are settled
respectively as follows, viz. No. 13, nine fa-
milies. No. 14, eight families, No. 20, nine
families, No. 25, nine families, No. 27, seven
families, and No. 42, eight families calculated
at the foregoing average, to consist of three
hundred persons.
4th, Resolved, That the following townships
are settled agreeable to the terms of the grants,
viz. Nos. II 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 24, 2(5, 28, 32,
II A Township is uiideititoud (o be settled according to tlie temii oi'ttie
grant, wlitu its populatloit amounts to uiie hundred souls, tcv«ral of those
«uuiuerated iu tlii* resolution contninsti at this i>«riod two At three huAdied
souls each ; though lonieof them, I am coniidfur, were short, of the required
number5, ami it is also to be observed that the state of each townsliip iu re-
tpect to population, is put down without regard to the ciicuuistauce, thattlie
«aiuc was obtained bj the vuluntarv resort of people in some iiistauci'i to
*>"
i' I.
522
33, 34, 3S, 36, 37. 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 47, 48,
49^ 50, 54, 56, and 59.
^th. Resolved, That it appears to this house,
that although the Townships No. 7, half
No. 12, No. 30, and No. 51, are not settled
according to the terms and conditions of the
grants, the proprietor, the Rigiit Hon. James
Montgomery, Lord Chief Baron of His Ma-
jesty's Court of Exchequer in Scotland, has
been ever active in his exertions, and has ex-
pended large sums of money in the settlement
of other lands in this Island. Also that the
following persons, Mr. Edward Lewis, and Mr.
John Hill, proprietors of township, No. 5, and
the late partnership of John Cambridge and
company, proprietors of Townships, Nos. 6S,
and 64, have made different attempts to settle
them, beside expending considerable sums of
money thereon.
diffe(ent towu.hip8. without the interference or ever the knowledge of the
proprietors, from which it will evidently appear that there was no intcntiou
ou the part of tl,e J.ouse to exaggerate the e»J complained of.
323
6th, Resolved, That it appears to this house,
that the failure of so many of the proprietors
in performing the terms and conditions of their
grants has been highly injurious to thp growth
and prosperity of this Island, ruinous to its in.
habitants, and destructiv.e of the just expec-
tations and views of Governu.ent in its colonic
zatiop and settlement.
7tb, Resolved, Tha.a- h the opinion of this
house-, that the various indulgencies and Jong
forbearar?ce of GoverAiment towards the pro-
prietors \iho have failed in performing the
terms and conditions of their grants, have had
no other eifect than enabling them to retail
their lands without exertion or expence, spe-
culating on the industry of the colony, and
the .disbursements of a few active proprietory
in forwarding the settlement thereof.
8tb, .Resolved, That it appears to this Jiouse,
^nd seems universally admitted that this Islanfil
was it fully settled, is adequate to the imilu-
M
'■> I ■ f
n
224
tenance of upwards of half a million of infia-
liitants ; and in which case it would be of
great importance to the mother country, not
only in the consumption of its manufactures,
but as a nursery for seamen from a very ex-
tensive fishery which might be carried on
around its coasts independent of the commerce
which from its other productions would na-
turally arise.
9th, Resolved, That it appears to this house
that the progress which has been made in the
neighbouring colonies, and their flourishing
state and rapid increase in population since the
close of the American war, is chiefly to be
attributed to the general escheat and forfeiture
which has taken place of all the unsettled
grants, and the regranting of such lands in
small tracts to actual settlers.
10th, Resolved, That it appears to this house
that the greatest part of the population and
improvements in the neighbouring provinces.
225
are situated upon l^ncjs escheated ^s abprp-men \
tioned, and which had been originally grj^nted
nearly at ihe same time, and on similar terms
and conditions with the land of this Islantj.
■ *
file facts set forth in these resoliitions yy^iQ
stated to Government in the form -of a peti-
tion from the Assembly, concluding with 4
prayer, that such measures might be tai:eR
as were necessary to compel all the Proprietors
to fulfil the terrn^ ancj conditions on which
their lands were granted, or tha^ the same
should be escheated, and regranted in ^iflal|
tracts to actual settlers, on such terms and con-
ditions as His Majesty might be grapionsly
pleased to direct. And the Lieutenant-Governor
was requested to forward the said repreien-
tation and petition to England, an4 at the
same time to represent that the Asseinbly
had no other views than bringing the facts
stated in the resolutions fairly before Hii
Majesty's ministers, confident that all His
Majesty's subjects in the Island would che^r-
ml
2^6
fiilly and dutifully conform themielres to whati
ever determination might be made thereon.
This representation, which was addressed to
his Grace the Duke of Portland, in whose de-
partment as Secretary of State, the manage-
ment of colonial affairs then rested, was well
received, and his Grace was pleased soon after
to inform the Lieutenant-Governor had been
taken into consideration by Hia Majesf's
confidential servants, and that as soon as the
state of public affairs admitted thereof, such
a determination on the subject should be made
as would not fail to remedy 'the evil com-
plained of.
Though this proceeding was very agreeable
to a great majority of the Island, and became
to a certain extent a duty upon the Assembly,
judging from what they had seen done in the
neighbouring colonies ; yet it must be confess-
ed, that the cases were not perfectly similar,
and that however faulty or ipadequate the
227
plan adopted for the settleijientpf the co-
lony had hitherto proved, it had certainly
made too great a progress to be materially
changed without greatly injuring the proprie-
tors who had hitherto carried on the settle-
ment, who on their parts were decidedly against
the proposed change wliile any other adequate
means remained In the power of Government
to compel all the proprietors to comply with
the terms on which their lands were held.
. This state of things placed the colonial
government for many years in a very disagree-
able and difficult predicament, it was im^s-
sible not to feel severely the extensive injury
arising from the neglect of so many of the
proprietors in leaving their lands in a waste
and uncultivated state, whereby the colony was
subjected to all the evils and inconveniences
of a feeble and unnecessarily protracted state
of infancy, at the same time any proceeding
whereby such lands should generally become
'£1
!■ i;
228
"forfeited for non-performance of the terms
of settlement, was liable to many weighty
^objections which could not be easily over-
.iooked. What was to become of the in-
terest of the proprietors who had hitherto car-
lied on the settlement of the colony in the
event of such a proceeding taking place,
many of them had invested their all in its suc-
cess, and it was principally by their perseve-
rance and exertions, that it was enabled to
overcome all the early difficulties incident to
such undertakings, difficulties of which it is
not now easy to form an adequate idea, and
which nothing could have enabled them to
surmount but the most enthusiastic attachment
to the country, and the hopes that a steady
perseverance in their object would finall} be
crowned with success, whereby they would
be enabled to leave handsome properties lo
their families ; yet it is evident that they would
be the first and principal suffisrers by any
proceeding whereby the lands on which the
229
terms of settlement have not been fulElIed
should become forfeited ; though the greatest
part of such lands it is true were the property
of non-residents many of them unknown ia
the colony, and who on their part had generally
a» little intercourse or connection with the
Island as with Japan or Formosa, and who
would lose little more by having their lands
escheated, than the uncertain prospect of being
permitted to hold them without expence or
exertion until they might perchance become
of value : at the same time the forfeiture,
and regrantingof such lands in small tracts, to
actual settlers as was aimed at by the Assembly,
would have been immediately and severely
felt by the proprietors whose lands were ia
a course of settlement, who must not only
expect to lose a great part of the people
they had already settled, and thereby the
fruit of much expence and exertion, but
tliey must also submit to the prospect of
being unable either to sell or let their lands
If i;
t : I
n
I i 'iJ
230
in rdtjre,* until agrent part of what was likely
t6 C6me into the hands of Government by this
ppoceeding should be regranted and occupied,
ai^d when it is considered, and that the lands
liable to this process comprehended very lately
one-half of the Island ; their fears with respedt
to the effect of such a measure will appear"
very reasonable, and their opposition thereto
pbfectly justifiable.
Such a contrariety of interest and views it
may easily be believed would occasionally agitate
the colony, and afford the means to factious
• Because every man will naturally prefer taking up a grant of lands
/rom the Crown« either to purchaiiog or renting from bis fellow subjects;
it t^as beca said, indeed, that this objection might iu part be got the
better of by confining the grants of nuch lands entirely to such settlers
ea should cotne to the Island subsequent to the period iu which these
ImAdi may cotne into the handsel Govemrocnt, but this I think would be
found a most inviiiiious distinction, as it would have the appearance of
putting those on whom much of the first diiculties of the settlement fell,
on a worse footing than any other class of people who tnight now chuse
fo Mute in tbe colony.
231
and unprincipled individuals some cf whom
are every where to be found to propagate dis-
content and divisions in the colony : poorly
as it may seem our public offices are likely
to remunerate any man of common talents they
hafve been as eagerly coveted as if each pro-
duced ten times its actual income, and most of
those who have held them iiavc been attacked
by every means that the common routine of
colonial affairs affords to the outs against the
ins, and in no dependency of the British
empire perhaps li we such things been carried
to a greater or more unjustifiable length, yet it
is but doing justice to the colony to state that
such conduct has been confined to a few ambi-
tious turbulent individuals, and that by far tho
greatest part of our population have firmly and
decidedly supported those to whom the ad-
ministration of the public affairs of the colony
has been entrusted for the last twenty years, and
notwithstanding the noise that a few factious
discontented individuals have occasionally made,
I believe I may venture to say, that for the
u<yh I
W
282
Itest part of thd period as mucli good will,
harmony, and unanimity, has prevailed in the
colony as is generally to be met with or can
be expected where the most perfect enjoyment
of British liberty enables men either to indulge
their caprice or prosecute their views of personal
interest according to their own inclinationg,
ind with as little restraint as is consistent with
the existence of society. And where from the
circumstances of the colony, the government
thereof was deprived bf almost every means by
^hkh such practices are usually met and re-
strained in other coantries.
Having thus broiight up my reUtion of the
different proceedings cdnnected with settle-
ment of the lands from the conlmencemeDt of
the government till the end of the year 1799,
I shall now proceed to notice such other cir-
cumstances at may throw any Mght on the pro-
gress and present state of the Islands
. i^2(H , ,,
> 1
■J ^
233
ADMINISTRATION OF LIEUTENANT
GOVERNOR FANNING.
M
ri*#
During the last years of Governor Pu't rsoli'/c
administration his great object was to ^.. the
sale of the lands sold in 1781, for non-payment
of quit rent confirmed to the purchaseiu In
was always very sanguine in his expectations of
the rapid settlement of the Island, and ap-
peared to think that if he could secure him-
self in the lands acquired at these sales, the
influence arising from such an extensive and
valuable property would give him more conse-
quence in the colony than any Governor could
acquire with the small salary and patronage an-
nexed to the office, and that he would in effect
continue to direct the affairs of the Island,
though the government thereof should be no-
minally transferred to another. He had, as we
have already seen, procured the return of a
House of Representatives that were compleatly
1'! ; :'-(• «
;..'i^
i: !
m.
^34,
rferoted to his inferests, and he soon after con-
trived to get rid of such of the members of the
council as were not equally so. In this situation
upon the arrival of Lieutenant Governor Fan-
ning from Nova Scotia, with the Kings com-
mission in the usual form appointing him
Lieutenant Governor of the Island, in the room
of Mr. Patterson, the latter affected to think
tbat his immediate removal from the adminis-
tration of the government was not intended,
that the appointment of Lieutenant Governor
Fanning was only a temporary measure to pro-
vide for carrying on the public service during
his absence in England, to which he was
directed to repair, that he might personally
satisfy His Majesty's Ministers with respect to
bis conduct relative to the lands sold in 1781 ;
this he affected to consider as an object which
he was certain of accomplisliing, and that in the
mean time he had a right to retain the com-
mand until it was convenient for him to set off
on his voyage to England which, owing to the
advanced state uf the winter, could not take
!235
place till the next spring. On these pretences,;
to the surprise of every thinking man in the
Island, Mr. Patterson refused to give np the
government, and the council (then composed
of members, all of whom had been nominated
by himself) thougli they saw the madness of
such conduct, and individually did every thing
in their power to persuade him to desist theie-
from, yet as a body they had the weakness to
countenance this criminal insult upon the
authority of their sovereign, by meeting him
m council, and acting with him in all respects
as if he had been still His Majesty's legal
representative. Under these circumstances
Lieutenant Governor Fanning remained for
some months as a private person, con-
fident that this audacious conduct as soon as
known, must produce such orders as would
leave Mr. Patterson without the shadow of aa
excuse, and that in the mean time the peace
of the colony would be preserved, and all ap-
pearance of farther disobedience avoided. Mr.
Patterson had met the Assembly a few days
p i;-
'•■ 1 ,
(' ■ ;' !?■
236
befoFd the arrival of Lieutenant Governor
Fanning, and they were then sitting, he had
kid the Bill before them for making the sales of
tiie lands sold in 1781 voidable, agreeable to
the orders of government, which they imme-
diately rejected : the private Bill stated to be at
the request of the purchasers was then brought
forward and passed as we before mentioned ; it
was expected that this measure, which had
the appearance of being nearly the same in effect
with the Bill sent from England, would satisfy
government, Mr. Patterson's friends in this
country had also found means to divide the
proprietors in opinion respecting his conduct,
and some of them had even come forward with
a strong representation in his favour; these
measures were now followed up by equally
strong addresses and representations in his
fkvour from the Council and Assembly, and
upon the whole he and his friends had the
strongest hopes that he would be continued in
the command of the Island. On the other
band representations were sent from the. Island,
237
by which it appeared that the proceedings of
these bodies by no means spoke the general
sense of the colony, the management with
respect to the lands sold in 1781 was clearly
pointed out, and other acts of official mis*
conduct brought forward, and above all the
dangerous example of disrespect to the Royal
authority in presuming to retain the adminis-
tration after the arrival of Lieutenant Governor
Fanning.
K
During the winter addresses from various
parts of the Island were presented to Lieutenant
Governor Fanning, requesting him to assume
the command of tke Island according to His
Majesty's Commission, and eiarly in April before
the arrival of any intelligence from England,
he published his proclamation notifying his ap-
pointment and calling upon the inhabitants to
obey him as the King's representative ; in this
measure he was chearfully and readily obeyed
by a great majority of the Island. Mr. Pat-
terson however next day, thought proper to
I
238
publish a counter proclamation asserting his
light to the administration, calling Lieutenant
Governor Fanning an usurper, and commanding
the inhabitants to obey himself as the Kino-'s
legal representative; no tumult or disorder
however happened in consequence of this ex-
traordinary state of things, every one saw that
it could last only for a few weeks at most,
perhaps only for a few days.
In a short time the spring Letters from
England arrived, when it appeared that the
conduct of Mr, Patterson in not surrendering
up the Government to Lieutenant Governor
Fanning upon his arrival, was highly disap-
proved of by Hi, Majesty's ministers, and he
wa.s commanded without farther delay to give
up the Great Seal, and all the public documents
and official papers in his possession to his suc-
cessor whose appointment in the Governmeuc
ivas confirmed. This change was extremely
agreeable to the Island in general, and would
have been much more beneficial could the latp
239
Lieutenant Governor and his friends liavc
given up all idea of his restoration to the Go-
vernment, hut that was an event for which
they were yet determined to struggle; and after
an absence of a few months at Quebec, Mr.
Patterson returned to the Island, and set up 4
systematical opposition to the adminisiralioa
of his successor ; having been long in the
Government, many of the first people in the
Island had been under obligations to him, and
he of course had a considerable influence, every
effort that was possible in the infant state of
the Colony was tried to render the administra-
tion of Government in the hands of Lieu*
tenant Governor Fanning impracticable ;
a prudent and steadily moderate conduci;
however, enabled the latter to overcome every
difficulty, and Mr. Patterson after a fruitless
struggle of nearly two years left the Island
and came to England, where he expects
ed to resume his old influence among the
proprietors of the Island by whose interest
Jip }M originally got the government, but
N'M
■!m^
240
lif re too he was disappoiakd, the hcATSng .';f
the criminal complaints preferred against imy
hy the proprietors of the lanl'n sold m )7a^^v
lUFiicd out so Hiuch against him, that he lost
all influence among that body, aad with thai
ev€iy hope o^ z yestoralion to the Govern* •
mtm of the lAjarui ^o whiclt he never after^
wards returned .• i^r-l having fallen intodistressy-
hh extensive apd valuable possessions were
soon after sacrificed for not a fifth of their
leal value, under the operation of colonial
laws passed during his administration. These
laws it has since been found necessary to re*
peal, indeed they ought never to have existed,
and what is very remarkable by a concurrence
of fortunate circumstances very different front
the views with which they were enacted, it so
happened that while they were in operatiort
very little other injury resulted from them
than what fell on Mr. Patterson's property*. "
* Bj these lawi a creditor wu* enabled to attach his debtor** pr^ -
ferfyatthetiaichelookftut hi. fi, ■ . -qpess against him without -waitiii^i ,
fee ittlgiBPnt; and lands might be sc : : . v execution in six months withov.>
•w'v ft^uify of ted«mption.
ihe
241
Itn%ht have been expected after the de-
cision of the Privy Council on the coniplainb
against Governor Patterson and his adherents
in 1789, that all farther attempts to disturb
U^e colonial government, would have heen
abandoned, but an unfortunate misunder-
sUnding between the officers of the customas,
and the merchants of the Island in I791, gave
that party a« opportunity of making a last effort
to regain their influence in the colony ; by their
management a complaint was preferred to
government against the Lieutenant Governor,
the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, and
the Collector of the Customs, which these
officers were obliged to answer, and the matter
was lieard before the Right Honourable the
Committee of the Privy Council for Trade and
Plantations, when after an expensive investigar
tip? they were all honourably acquitted; as
this business is now so long past and many of
those concerned therein have seen their error
and the parties have in general been long recon-
ciled to each other, I shall not now enter into
R
il
S
N
l:f
IJb..
242
-the circumstanws : some things have since
come tb light by which it has appeared that the
'real complainants were not entirely without
'bause of complaint, though by no means such
% to justify the extent to which the charges
"wttr^ carried ; it was one of those party stnig-
^leS t6 which every society of freemen is liable
at times, and in which all the factions, the
discontented, and those who have any thing to
expect in the scramble, eagerly join ; but which
'bn this occasion it is- now well known, never
would have been brought to the length it was,
'but for the Jesuitical management of one, who
%as equally the enemy of the accused and the
accusers, and who not being entitled to inter-
fere in the public affairs of the colony, has for
'many years past, employed the whole of his
time in endeavouring to render them impracti-
'Cable in the hands of those to whom the ma-
nagement of them has been intrusted. *
■• ft* As I am certain that every child of ten yean old in the Uand,. and
e»ery penon in England, in the least acquainted with or concerned it> the
aiTairs of the colony can at once name the man, I think it unnecessary t«
do it here.
■ ' '
243
' Our fislieries which had been gradually re-
viving since 1784, promised to become agaiji
considerable, and afforded the meana of iecom-
ineneing a trade with the West India Islands,
by which we were abundantly suppHed w^h
their produce upon very moderate teims ;- 5e^£ej:al
cargoes of fish were also annually shipped ipv
the European market, for which British i|>a4Mi-
facturcs, salt and wine were brought in tetyrn ;
besides the cod fishery, the herring fishery was
begun and promised well, and our merchants
had found means to obtain^ considerable share
in the produce of the great salmon fisheries
carried on in our neighbourhood on the con-
tinent, and upon the whole there was every
appearance of extensive and valuable fisheries
being established to the great benefit of the
Island when the late war commencjed ; since
which the fisheries have been almost given up ;
and our articles of export now consist of wheat,
barley, oats, salt pork, butter, furs, seal oil, and
•oysters, to^Nova Scotia, wiih live cattle and some
timber to Newfoundland, and occasionally a few
R 2
^rm
ii
-lit i\
U4,
ctiigoci Df «quaT( u timber <o Great Britain; a
feV-'people are also engaged in sjiip building
•whwh. arc generally sold in Nf ...uunaiaudj
Ihia ISA, bu«in CM which will probably be car-
f«d on.- $uft« great extent, should the New-
^QfUand iisheriei revive on the restoration of
peac«» a'^ifte great plenty of timber in levcrj 1 dis^
tifwtj,^n4 the reasonable rate at which the neces*
Mu of life are obtained, will enable u^ to build
•ft* much cheaper rate, than they can do in
Newfoundland, where the timber is now geac;.
v$l\y at such a distance from the harbours as to
make it very expensive. Since 1792 the impor-
tation of any kind of provi jions has totally
ceased, and the export of these ; /tides hm
gradually increased.
. In 1794 two provincial companies were raised
Cor the protection of the Island, and U. Royal
Highness the Duke of Kent, wl. co' manded
fi>r several yr irs at Halilaxin No i Scotia, was
f»le&«^ to pay the most marked and liberal at-
tetvcion to the protection and security of theco.
245
lony, mucii more so indeed than afty other gene*
ral officer who had ever commanded in the dij-
frict ; by His Royal Highness'scommand o\irb»f
racks weu rebuilt on a more extensive scale, «nd
new works constructed for the defence of th<
town and harbour of Charlotte Town ; «ad hl4
circumstances permitted His Royal Highness t9
have visited the Island in person, there i» every
reason to believe that the colony* wouM
have reaped still higher advantages from hi<
patronage ai. protection; the general feelhi^
on the subject, fter His Royal Highness qaitw
ted the command in at country, was maftfa
fested in a circumstai.ce which I shall aro<m
have occasion to mention.
During the whole war we remained per-*
fectly unmolested by the enemy ; besides thd
two companies already mentioned, and it
small detachment of the royal artillery ; thred
troops of volunteer horse, and a light in-
fantry company, were formed among the in*
habitants, ho were handsomely doathed
and mounted at their own expence ; the armtf
:M
m
\':U
" I
246
and accoutrements were given by government',
besides these every man in the Island from six-
teen to sixty years of age are mustered in, and
lubjcrt to the militia laws; and when the natural
difficulties of the country are adverted to, the
colony may be considered as having been per-
fectly safe against any predatory attack, which
in the then and present state of the British
naval power is all that we had to dread.
It having been found from the first settlement
of the colony, that great inconveniencies re-
sulted from the name of the Island beino: the
same with many other places at no great dis-
tance, to which letters and other things intend-
ed for the Island were frequently sent by mis-
take often to the great loss of individuals and
the general injury of the colony ; it had in con-
sequence been frequently in contemplation to
change the name of the Island, and the subject
being recommended by the Lieutenant Gover-
nor to the attention of the legislature in 1799,
and the measure finally determined ou ; an
act was accordinjrly passed for rhanfrinor ,e
247:
name of the Island, from St. John, to Prince
Edward Island ; which was chosen by the
legislature as a mark of respect, and gratitude,
for the attention His Royal Highness had shewn
to the protection and security of the colony,
and the interest he appeared on every occasion
to take in the welfare and prosperity of its in-
habitants. This act soon after received His
Majesty's Royal Assent, and appears to answer
the purpose for which it was resorted to ;
though it will yet be many years probably
before the use of the old name is entirely dis-
continued, in the mean time proper pro-
vision is made in the act to prevent any per-
sons being injured from ignorantly making
use of the former name in any deed, or writing,
concerning property in the Island ; a mistake
which may often be expected to happen in
conveyances made in this country, by people
unacquainted with the change of name which
has taken place.*
»#!
I
* la 1800 much nitxhief was done to the colony through a A{f.
Went worth, v|rho wu sent to the Island in the office of Attorney General :
whoever lepommvuded him has much to answer for : whatever his Dro<
feisional abllitieii might have been, cither from habitual drinking or tl)n
m. i ..
348
Iii*180l the Assembly having instructed the
colony's agent in this country, to make such
effects of disease, he ■ppfttred to be insane the greatest part of the few
iiiontfa»]ie spedi on the Island ; on the first day ke made Lis appearance in
the Supreme Coiwt, be 8ddre*«l himself to the audience, and informed
them that he had been pitched upon by their Sovereign as • person of
distinguished abiljtifes, to come to the Island to reguUte their affairs, and
sfee justice done, and in » short thne he told them rtjat every thing ww
wrong, and that b« wo»ild unjfcrtake to clear the greatest part of them from
paying rent, or fulfilling any contract made with he proprietors, most
of whom he said had ao right to their lands ; the Court iind even tha
Governor he treated with the greatest insolence, no body seemed to know
what to do with him, at the same time it was erident that his conduct if not
checked, would be productive of very serious evils; so fascinating wa» Ins
aoctrine with the ignorant, that in the short space of two months he rrceived,
according to his own account, four hundred retaining fees, all this however
did notsatiify him, wherever he heard of any differences existing, he con-
trived to set a lawsuit on foot ; never perhaps was there a more complete in- '
stance of popular delusion than this man excited fot some wueks ; but hap- .
pily for the colony, when the madness was at its height, letters arrived ftonr
tJie Secretary of State, announcing to the Governor Mr. Wentirorth's beinj
superseded J this he was by no means willing to submit to, and hit behaviour
on the occasion was so extrt^agant, that his greatest admirers could no ten-
ger shut their eyes upon his real character, and he soon after left the Island,
when his numerous clients lost their money. Fortunately for the peace of tli«
colony ,Tc has Been succeeded by a gcntltman as remarkable fdrdiscouraging
litigation a* Mr. Wcntwbrrfi was anxious by every means to promote it; Ae '
situation into which h6 threw tile colony for some Months, is a strong itl
staijue of how much mischief may be done in a new country, even by oae
'■J
249
farther representations to Government, as mi'^-lit
be necessary to obtain a decision on the sub-
ject of their petition m 1797. The si^ninsr of
the preliminary articles of peace soon after ga.'vi'
an opportunity of bringing the subject forward;
and early 'in 1802 the affairs of the Island were
referred to the Committee of His Majesty's most
honourable Privy Council for Trade and Foreio-u
riantations, by vdiich Board a measure was re-
commended, and soon after carried into effect,
which has already had a very powerful in-
fluence on the progress of. the colony. At this
time the arrears of quit rent due to the
Crown on the lands, was £59,160:. I7s. and
on many of the townships amounted to more
than it was supposed they would sell for, if then
put up to sale by public auction, a circumstance
which naturally operated as a discouragement
to thdr respective proprietors in coming for-
i*^i
0
ill
■r- <
imprudent appoiutment. He waa superseded before his conduct in the Island
was known in this country; to whom the colony was obliged o i the subject,
I never kMvr, but the obligatioa is such as will be long felt and remcm.
bcred.
iiiiili
ill
li||
250
ward to fulfil their terms of settlement : for tlu>
heavy arrear of quit rent government determined
to accept of a moderate composition, and as
an encouragement and reward to the pro-
prietors who had exerted themselves in the
settlement of the colony, this composition was
made lighter ta them in proportion to the ex-
ertions they appeared to have made ; with this
view the different townships were thrown into
five classes ; the first comprehended all those
lots which appeared to liave the full number of
people required by the terms of settlement upon
them ; from these the amount of four years quit
rent only was demanded, in lieu of the full quit
rent from 1769 to 1801.
In the second class were put u'l the town-
ships which appeared to have one-half the re-
quired population upon them ; these were
charged with five years quit rent iu lieu of all
arrears to May 1801.
• In the third class were put all the townships
which had between one-fourth, and one-halt the
251
stipulated population on them ; these were re-
quired to pay nine years quit rent in lieu of all
arrears up to May, 1801.
In the fourth class were all the townships
which did not appear to possess one-fourth of
the required population ; these were charged the
amount of twelve years quit rent in lieu of
all arrears up to May, 1801.
And in the fifth class were placed the town-
ships which appeared to be totaHy waste and
tiJi inhabited, these were charged with the
iimount of fifteen years quit rem in lieu of aJl
arrears up to May, 1 80 1. *
This measure by disburthening the lands
of a heavy arrear of quit rent had an ira-
1 I
i:, M
I ]
t In this arrangement, no dislinction was raade between those townships
which had been settled by the exertions of their respective proprietors and
those which were settled by the voluntary resort of people to tl,eni : the
■umber of people on each was Jhe wle criterion by which the townsW,..,
were classed, a cirtuawtauce which must appear highly liberal on the part
<d gorarnmeut when ■
--•adact uf laaay of the propileioss is consid:
red.
f5%
fn^dhtt effifct on the pr6gress of tife kttlemetit i
for in the short period that has since elapsed
nearly one-third of the lands § in the Island
have been sold, and transferred ; most of them
from the hands of people who Avere no way
disposed to ttiak<^ exertions f6r their settlement.
to people who are actively engaged therein,
and in this short period full one third has been
added to our former number of inhabitants, with
a prospect of a farther rapid increase ; and it may
be mentioned to the credit of the country
that this sudden influx 6f people made no
change in the price of the necessaries of life,
and that it was found easy to supply all the
new settlers with provisions, until they were
enabled to raise them by their own indus-
try, an object which they have in general
accomplished in a shorter period I believe thari
ever Avas done before in any new country •♦
$ Townships' Numbers, l, 10, {IJ, 17, 23, 24, 31, 32, S3, ^37,
38, 39, |40. 41. 42, 43. |4r, t-M of 53. 54. S7, 58. l-3ii of 59, 60,'
*ad 62, beside* & great ma i^ sinalier trausl'ers,
* This is a, cireJiSBStaaet rciyiawh to '^^'(n•oi♦l^gm}jt j it-jmi^a**
253
much pf this 19 no doubt to be attributed ty
the Earl of Selkirk, by whom tbe principal
body of them was brought to the Island, aud
by whose care and attention all their wants
were foreseen and provided for; hi« lordship'*
setters had also the further advantage of being
set down in what is naturally the finest district
of the Island, and which having been totally
neglected by its former proprietors had been
lett waste and uncultivated, but which now
promises under his lordship's management to
become in a few years a populous and
valuable settlement ; and truth requires nie to
say, that I am confident these people will soon
arrive at a degree of independence, and pros-
perity, of whjch they could have had no pros-
pect in their native country ; and that thcv
will in a ftw years contribute more to the
general prosperity of the British empire in their
observed in the Islaua that the new settlers from tuc ■ . //.l.nds aro mucl.
jnoreludustrious and enlightened than the orig; .;,.: .h.ghland colony ^ ho
$nt settled in the l,lHnd. they have beside* got rid of more of their
»ncient prejudice! and customs, and appear to think hiore like the rerf
«>i.theijJtHo«' subjects than those who em'si-,vted thirty 5 y,. y-arsago.
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254
new situation than there was any prospect of
their ever doing in their former. *
-♦ It may stiit the tIpws of particular pmple to represent the connection
tnd depeudence of the remaining British colonies m America on the
niulher country as looae and precarious, such is not by any means the light
in which liio subject is seen in these colonies, where I may presume to say
it isas well understood as it generaUy is in this country ; neither are the moraf
nbr the institutions of their republican neighbours tiewed by them in the same
__ favourable aspect, in which they ere too commonly represented in this
coantry; and as lo any probability of a rupture between the two countric
whereby the iccurity of the British possessions in America may be endan-
t«red, I txust that is an event at a great distance. Mos people well
•cauainted with the situation of the United States ate convinced that not-
vuhstanding appearances to the contrary, their government has no serious
idea of a war with this country ; in the present state of their party and po-
litical distractions, such a measure could not fail having the mon fatal effects
on their internal slate ; and far from being in a situation to think ol conquests,
they woidd probably find it very difficult to defend their own sea o. sts :
but at all events, I consider tlie maritime colonies as perfectly safe in the
prestnt stirte of the British naval power, and whenefer their real value be-
comes well understood in this country (a circumstance I trust at no, great
distance) such measures I am confident will be adopted by government as
will rapidly raise them into a state of population, which in a few years wil*.
leave them nothing to fear from their republican neighbours.
And when their valuable natural resources are geuerally known, and
the immense extent to which their fisheries may be carried is felt, whereby
n great body of hardy seamen will be forn.ed for the national defence^ I
tliink I may venture to predict that their affairs will be put on suth a
^55
In conseqiiem-e of this great accession of
inhabitants, tl>e Town9hif>s Nos. *29, 44, 45,
53, 57, 58, 60, and 62, on which, a few years
ago, there was not a human being, have in a
short time become well settled, and many other
townships have acquired a great addition la
their population, the only lots that now re-
main totally unoccupied, I believe, are those
numbered?, 8, 9, 10, 15, 5\, ^nd 52, on the
greater part of which, it is probable settlements
will be conmienctd in the course of tliis year.
The very liberal terms on which the compo-
sition for the arrears of quit rent up to May,
1801 was placed by government, having been
disregarded by some of the proprietors, either
/boting as will 8t no very distant day render them the most powerful
foreign dependency of the Britibh empire, that uihich wiU yet be mat
cherished, and last parted with. Though they produce neither gold ot
silver, nor any othe; delusive wealth, they enjoy a climate and soil, how-
ever diversified, which wili enable tbem to support in a ni<iritiine situation
an extensive population, nhose industry and lesource* may be rendered
«f the highest conieciu«;ace 1:0 the pareut state.
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256
in hopes that it would not be enforced, or that
better terms might be obtained, it became ne-
cessary to proceed at law against their property
in the Island, these proceedings were com-
menced in 1803, under an act which had been
passed in the pre ceding year, and in 1804, judg-
ments were obtained by the Receiver General
of the quit rents, against ten townships, five
half townships, and one third of a township,
for arrears of quit rent due to the crown, and
it is now in the power of government, either to
re-annex these lands to the crown, and re-grant
them in small tracts to actual settlers, or in
order not to interfere with the other proprietors,
they may be divided into tracts of a thousand
acres, and sold, subject to the same rate of quit
rents to which they were originally liable, by
which means they will not interfere with the
plan of the colony, or in any respect injure the
other proprietors ; this is a subject on which
people will differ, and I am aware that some
will say, why not instead of enforcing the pay-*
ment of the quit rents as the means of com- ,
257
pelling the. proprietors to attend. to the settle^
ment of their lands, proceed against them foe
noB-perforraance of the otiier conditions on
which they were -granted, as has been done m
Nava Scotia; : to. which I answer, that such a
proceeding would not in any thing Hke an equal
degree answer the purpose, the only condition
in-theitocma of settlement which. could be en?
forced with that view, is that which requires
q^.«umber of people, equal to, one person for
every two, hundred acres contained in. each
grant, that is one; hundred souls on. a tract of
twenty thousand acres, or 6700 inhabitants for
the sixty- seven townships into which the Island is
divided, a population much inferior to what it lia»
already attained under ail its disadvantages, but
which in such a country is a mere trifle, and
less than probably each of the Townships will
contain in half a century.* Let us look at what
■A Xfc« Bermuda Island* do not contaio as much cultivatable tuvface
m one of our townsliips, and yet are said to have 80,000 iohabitanU
«h« dlioate aud situation it may be alledged are very different, but acr«
for aere we eai> raise more of the .nece«aries of life than they ^an, aud
■i«jr thcrefo:- look forirarJ to as high a state of ponnlatipn
If
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1 1 1
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258
had happened in Nova Scotia where no quit-rent
ha« yet been exacted, butM'here the terms of set-
tlement have been enforced, and many hundred
thousand acres on which these had not been
f\ilfilled, have been escheated, and regranted,
often without much public benefit resulting
therefrom; mostoftlie landa which have been
eschesited were the property of non-residents,
and justly ♦ escheated perhaps, because entirely
neglected, so far the ihing \Fas very ri^t,
but it has unf4:i\U«t^;itely happened, that these
knd» were *of>i^^\ ^eg^anted in large tracts
to piBOple, wha being upon the spot, were
cnabied by a little, personal exertion, and
by sacrificing a fourth or a fifth part of wliat
tjieythus acquired, to place tomethiog. like the
appearande of the; scan typopulatbn Te«|uired by
Jihe terms of settlement upon them, and when
that has been once done, no farther quesCions
■ • •> I ha«« heard of some very ImtA cases howsvei which made th« i^re
Doisr, tint it soon appeared that little more was effected by the proceeding
than placing the lands in the hands of a resident proprietor, instead of a
person living in Great-Britain or Ireland. •
yujmiUU ..mi*
259
are asked, by these means many bundrcil tbo\i-
sand acres of the finest lands in the province
are locked up in the hands of a few indi-
viduals, to the great obstFuction and in-
jury of the settlement, but had the quit rents
trifling as they are, been exacted and regularly
laid out in public works through the Coun-
try, such speculations would never have be^n
thorght of, and 1 am covinced the population
and improvements of the Colony would long
ere this have far exceeded any thing it can now
boast of. I believe I shall run no risk of mis-
statement, when I say that not one twentieth
of the lands which have been granted in
this Province thirty years ago are yet cleared
or cultivated, and the evil would have gone
to a much greater length, had it not been for
the general instruction issued in 1790, pro-
hibiting further grants without His Majesty's
permission, That I am well founded in this
assertion will be believed, when it is known
that notwithstanding the difficulties which
this instruction opposed to such practices,
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260
there is one man in the Province (If I 'diix
Well informed) who has contrived to procure
grants to thd extent of one hundred thou-
sand acres, during the administration of Sir
John Wentworth, without being possessed
of a capital which couM have enabled him
to bring one thousand acres into cultiva-
tion.*
It seems at first difficult to comprehend
how taking money out of the pockets of the
proprietors of a waste and uncultivated coun-
try, can contribute to the benefit of that
country, as it has the appearance of di-
minishing the fund from which its improve-
ments are to he carried on,- that is ttife"
iifst view of the matter which will naturally
present itself, and those unacquainted with
<■ ^*■^l^^^'r
* I am MiisiUe that what I have said on this subject, will not be ploaiitfg
to the gieat kudholders in that couutry, nor to those -^ho have large
grsau in *iew, hIwu the restraining instruction of 1790 is r^callf^, Jl|e
eiaction of the qmt rf„t, would be a serious cut upoa their prospects ; fp,*
roan »|io },o]d, frc h^-n<y to fortj thou.atod acres, and up^rards, on sp!}. ,
•^M
261
the- subject may be inclined to require expla*
nation before they can give credit to the con-
trary. The thing is easily explained, the lands
M-ere originally granted on terms of being
settled and improved, whereby alone ihey car^
become of any real value either to the proprie-
tors or the public. It now appears after upwards
of thirty years trial, that a great majority of
those to whom the Island was granted, have
never mdde any exertions towards improving the
country, and that notwithstanding such failure
they have been enabled to retain their lands,
and to speculate on the future prospects of
culation. (which in tbe mean-tioe yields nothing) aud many luch there are.
• quit rent of eveu a farihing an acre regularly exacted, becomea an
object; but to the man who hold, only from five hundred to a thousand
WK*. and who has a hundred acres in cultivMiou, such a quit rent is a
n)cr* trifle which wonid be readily i>.id when it was felt that the con-
•pquence would be. effectually to cut up the large grant,, ,vhich more than
any other circumstanc. have injured and prevented the settlement and
OMtira-ion of the country. If it i, expected that the colowcs in North
Amertc. are ever to enable the West India Island, to beconae indrpondent
of the United States in the very necessary article, of provision^' fish and"
lumber ; that can only b. accomplished by an attention to tlri^ affairs vcr^
^iStttat'rtorn " Ijat they have hitherto met «'itj».
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g62
the colony without either expeftw, 6r exertion,
in consequence of the indulgence of Govern*
ment in not exacting the regular payment of
the quit rent ; whereas it may easily be con*
ceived, that if the quit rents had been regit*
larly exacted, that the proprietors in general,
would either have made such exertions as w^te
necessary to put the la^ds in a way of exonera-
ting them from this yearly expence, or that
they would have gradually sold them off, either
in small tracts to actual settlers, ©r in large
tracts on speculation to men of fortune, Who
might be inclined to adventure their money
in the settlemt what has happened since the
composition for *he arrears of quit rent up
to May iSOl was adopted, is a complete
proof of this, and I am convinced had that
measure been adopted in 1792, when it was
firs; proposed, that the consequeace would
have been, that we should before this, have had
fifty thousand people in the Island, and that
every acre in the colony would now have been
worth at least five guineas, that is, provide^
thcgroyringquit rent liadbcen regularly exact-
ed in the mean-time, and faithfully laid out
on the improvement of the country,
. In April 1805, several of the principal pro-
prietors resident in this country, presented a
representatiop to Lord Camden, then Secretary
of State for the colonial department, stating
such matters as appeared to them to require
the attention an', interposition of Government ;
this representation has not yet been taken into
consideration, but tliere is every reason to
expect that when more important affairs will
permit the great statesman now at the head of
that department, to enter upon the affairs o^
the Island, such a determination M'ill be made
thereon, as cannot fail being highly beneficial,
and thereby place the future progress and pros*
pects. of the colony on a certain and per-
manent foptin^j,
.-.^vjo tlie beginning of July, Lieutenant-Ge-
nial Fanning who had been near nineteen
.U
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Pil
254
years Lieutenant-Govdrnbr of the I«l«na, * Wat-
supersededby Lieutenant-Crovernor Defebarreai
who has the advantage of commencing
his administration with the colony in pcr-
ftct p«ace and harmony, and in a rapid
state of improvement , far from mcethig
with opposition of atiy kind, he has be^A
received with all the attention and respect dif*
to his office ; and I am confident will meet
with the most liberal support from his prede-
cessor and his numerous friends, in every mea-
sure calculated to promote the general pros-
perity of the colony. Upon giving up the
government, General Fanning received every
mark of respect and attention that could be
shewn him by the people, whose interests had
so lon^ been committed to his care ; all were
sensible of his good intentions, and the diffi-
culties he had to struggle with as governor,
where from the circumstances of the country,
and the property thereof being locked up in
the hands of noh-residents, he was deprived
of all the means by which governors are usually
•uabled to Contribute to the prosperity and pro-
gress of a new colony. ,y
Vfi
.Jv>
His conduct during the time he adniiuist«^rcd
the government, hud met with ilic uniform
approbation of His Majesty s Ministers, ami .a
provision equal to the amount of liis salary was
nmk t'ox him on his being auj erccded.
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CONSTITUTION, LAWS and RELIGION
1.,
ftiii
:''yi\>
This Island, as a part of the dominions of th6
crown of Great-Britain, is independent of any
jurisdiction in America,* the government and
• Bjr Hit M^t;'( royal procIamaUonin 1763, regultting the division and
boundaries of the different countries conquered irom France in the preceding
war, the Island was annexed to the province of Nova Scotia; this eircum.
stance has never been forgotten, nor has the subsequent separation ever been
foigiven bj a certain set of people in that province, in cons«iueuce of
which, I am sorry to say, that the Uand has been subjected to much ob,
loquy and misrepresentation, the object of which appears to be to prevent
the settlement thereof as a separate colony, that it may be again reunited
to Nova Scotia, whereby the Urge unsettled grants wonld be brought undei
the operation of their escheat laws, and would speedily change hands, that is.
instead of being owned in Great Britain and Ireland, they would pau into
the hands of people of influencf in and abput the cupilal of that province.
This project has been constandy in view ever since the settlement of tht
Island commenced, to which it has opposed very considerable obstrnctigps
in various ways, nnd is now more openly pursued Ihap ever, the attornej
general of that province being at present, I am infoimed, in England.
i
legislature thereof being vested in a Governor
or Lieutenant Governor and Council, appointed
by the King, and a house of representative!
elected by the people, who meet in general
assembly, being called together, prorogued, and
dissolved by the governor's proclamation. The
commission or patent under the great seal of
Great-Britain granted to our first governor.
mvowedJy for the purpose of bringing it about ; wtietliei tuch a measure will
be attempted witliout the consent of the Waai), after its having for so many
years enjoyed a complete constitution, remains fobe lecn ; in the mean-
lime, I will yenture to say that hardly any thing short of the conqaeat and
•ttbjogation of the colony by a foreign power oould be more generally dis*
agreeable to its inhabitants. It will be said by the advocates for this mea.
lure, that I misrepresent their views, which t. , Till say aie directed by
tery different motives than what I attribute them to, and it wiU be pre-
tended that far from having any wish to have the lands regranted in the
manner I have alkdged. that ti.eir object is to put the Lland in a way of
being speedily settled and cultivated, and therety becoming of that conse-
1«ence and value to the public which its many natural advantages in point
of soil and situation enable it to attain, and tliat the speculation I have at.
trikuted their views to, may be prevented by an instruction limiting future
|f«iiti oflaad in the Island to one or two hundred acres ; in that case the
following table of fees taken in Nova Scotia will do someihmg towards set-
piBg the very disinterested views of these people in a clear fc^ht.
f 1
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268
wlwn the Island was erected into a separate go-
vernment, forms the constitution of the Island;
a»d the instructions received therewith, are ex.
pJanatory of the patent and regulate the gover-
lior's" conduct in almost all the common routine
of ;public business incident to his situation.
The instructions are pretty voluminous, they
are changeable at the king's pleasure, and ad-
Thecxpenceorfeesofacourt ofeicLc.ti and forfeiture on an in^neit
of oftce are ai followi, <i
The tecrefary of the (^° Conmimontt of Eicheats and * * '
Province, who is Cora- 1 Forfeiturej • • S iO '6
luiMioner. hai theie jRegater i « *
threcFee.. f ^ , . . . -13 4
»»Xwo Inquisitions •-.... SOO
The Aftorncf General . . - - 3 lo o
The Solicitor General t 6 Q
TheJary. lj«tJs.6d. each ... j jo 0
^'>«'«'^k ,,, ,
ThcSherifT 13 4
'^^S'"''ev»rOener»IofLaiid. -.134
TheCryeroftheCoart - ... 0 5 «
Advertisements in the Newspapers, ") »
giving Botice of the proceedings, V«o 0 0
Mi** «o cost generaJJjr about .1
Q69
cJitional instructions are sent, as circumstances
may require. The council, when full, consists
of nine members appointed by the king's man-
^amus, or more frequently by the governor dr
lieutenant governor for the time being, subject
to His Majesty's approbation : all their privileges
and powers are defined in the instructions; they
are a privy council to the governor, lieutenant-
governor, or commander in chief in the admi-
nistration of government, and he is bound by
the royal instructions to ask their advice on
almost every act of public concern, the stile of
all proclamations and acts of government being
1
These Fee* are to be paid b, any per.o,. wli, procecdito cchc.i a graut
of land whereou the term, and conditions of .ettl«„,cat have not been fuN
filled. V ..« that he a>nj get the whole, or a part thereof regranted to hiu,-
•elf. g.p|,o.ing one of our townships e.cheatcd by thi, proceeding. .„d
th* itii tobe r«gr.nted .n tr«:t,of one hundred «:re.; the fee, oiofli.ein
Nova Scotia on a grant of a hundred acre,, are about eighteen pouad, cor-
reney. b«ide.the expence of surveying, «, that the regran-.ug a ,ingl«
tomuhip in that manner, would produce to the ofllcor, of government in
that provine. n» len -. .u™ ,,«„ tkre. rte«i«rf rf, hundred pound,.
U.vi..g .oa^ kn«wJcdge of. tfce .tAj^cf. I prcum. to ,ay. that it w,ll not
be difficult to briuB hdflh.Und. in the Idand wl,hm the gripe of the
Ctmrt of Escheat,, if it i, reunited to Nova Scoiia. and fron, what ha,
been saiu, ...y reader, niU ,ee that th« ,peculat.oa i, worlh^om. e.crti.n.
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»70
** Bjf and with the advice and consent- of Bis
** Mqjestys Council." Tlic> are conventU by
the governor, who is always present when they
♦it as a privy council, or upon writs of error,
or appeals from the supreme court : a coun-
sellor's title is The Honourable, and ihey serve
without any salaries. Upon the death or ab-
sence of the governor or lieutenant-governor
for the time being, the senior member of the
board succeds to the government of the Island,
which he is entitled to administer, with the
title of President of the Council, and Comman,-
der in chie^j until His M^j^^ty shall have prp-
vidcd otherwise.
When the legislatare meets in general assem-
bly, the council forms the upper house, repre-
. seating the lords in parliament, they then meet
without the governor, the chief justice for the
time being is ex officio president or speaker ;
they cannot vote by proxy, but enter their
dissent, and their reasons therefore at large
on the minutes; the council never publish
^'*
fin
their legislative minutes, but tlic house of' re-
presentatives always print their own journals;
both are transmitted to the office of the secre-'
tary of state for the colonies, with authenticated
copies of such laws as pass during the session
of the colonial legislature.
The house of representatives consists of eigh-
teen members, elected by the people under "he
authority of a writ issued by the governor,
lieuteuant-govemor or commander in chief for
the time being; four members for each of the
counties, andtwo for each of the towns :* They
meet in general assembly, are prorogued and
dissolved by the governor's proclamation ; they
chuse their speaker, subject to the governor's ap.
probation, which is generally a matter of course :
No personal privilege oradvantage is claimed
• All hou.ekcep«r^ U^„ of J.n- In po«c.«o„. «.d propue.or. of
l«d. bemg Pro,e.t.nt.. .„ q..,ified to ..,c for lb. ««„b«r. of .hci,
*e.p*ca,e co.ntie. , M.d (o, the .own. .11 housekeep,™ .«, p,opri.n,r. of
f town or putur, lot w«hi„ .he ,ow« and ro,.l,,. be.u, P,oH».t,n.,, «,•
,ent.Ued.o.,o.c; and an, per«.n qual.fi.d .o be an eiec.or, «a^ ^
<;on.e a ckndidate without ftftWrquafificition. • " '
'I'
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27t
by the members, nor do tliey at present redeivd
any allowance for tlicir attendance. In all
Iheir proceedings when met in general assembly,
they take the British house of commons for
their model, the rules and regulations of which
they have adopted as far as the. same are yet
applicable to the circumstances in which they
are placed.
The colonics are understood to take the
common law, and all the Statute Law of Ens-
land antecedent to their establishment,* which
may be applicable to their situation and cir^
cumstances, but this must be understood with
many, and very considerable restrictions, many
of the artificial refinements and distinctions in-
troduced into the laws of this country cannot
be applicable to them : the laws pf police, and
Teveiuje, the mode of maintaining the estab-
lishtci clergy, tiie poor laws, and the juris-
diction of the spiritual courts, and a multitude
of other provisions are neither necessary nor
■•/eH-
t BJsck, CoTTi, inr.
^/l^
convenient for them nor are they in force; what
is admissible, knd what shall be rejected, has
hitherto been left to the discretion of their
respective courts, and on this Head it may
easily be believed opinions will differ much ;
it is therefore to be wished, that a more cer-
tain iiiode of determining the length to which
it is to b arried may be devised.
The legislature of the Island are invested
with full power and authority • to make, con-
stitute, and ordain laws, statutes, and ordj-
nances, for tlie public peace, welfare, and
good government ^thereof, such laws, statutes,
and ordinances, are not to be repugnant to,
but as nearly as may be, agreeable to the laws
of Great-Britain, and the governor is directeti
by the royal instructions, not to assent to the
passing of any law of a new or extraordinary
nature, without the same has a clause suspend-
rngthe operation thereof, until His Majesty's
pleasure therein is known.
• Hy n.» huj.,y, n,„^i p,^j„.f^ ^,jj^^ 1,^;, ^,
ptfut SeiiVof Oreat Brifaift.
■
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4,
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>• II
ili, 1 --(i !l
274
The innovations which have hitherto been
made on the English laws are not many, though
some of them are important ; I shall endeavour
to give an idea of them, taking the subjects up
as they stand on our statute book.
By an act of the IS'* of George the 3*, Cap,
V. the damages on protested foreign bills of
exchange are fixed at ten per cent, and the in-
terest at six per cent over and above all charges
of protest, &c,
By the SO*"" of George the 3*. Cap. VIII.
For the prevention of clandestine and uncertain
sales of houses, lands, and tenements, within the
Island, and to the intent that it may be better
known what right or title persons really and
truly have in or to such estates as they offer for
tale. It is enacted that all deeds, conveyances
or mortgages of houses, lands, or tenements
within the Island, shall be recorded at full
length in the register's office within forty days
next after their respective dates, if executed on
275
the Island between the first day of May, and
the first day of November; and within eighty
days if there executed between the first day of
November and the first day of May : and if
executed in Great Britain or Ireland, then the
said original deeds, or duly attested copies
thereof, shall or may be recorded as aforesaid,
within the space of two years from their respec
tiv^e dates. After the expiration of the said
forty days, eighty days, or two years : all such
deeds, &c. if not recorded as above directed,
shall be of no force against any bona fide purr
chaser who shall comply with this act, or against
any other person whatsoever except the grants
or, or grantors, his or their heirs.
By the 25th George 3-. Cap. I. the operation
of this act is extended to all leases being of a
longer duration than twenty years, and the term
of two years allowed for the registering of deeds
executed in Great Britain or Ireland is extended
to all deeds, *c. executed in all other of H,>
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276
Majesty'* dominions distant from the Island.
Proof of the execution of all deeds, &c is re-
quired before they can be recorded. By this
act an option is given to the parties concerned,
either to register all deeds, &c. at full length,
or by a memorial thereof; and for want of such
registering, all such deeds of sale, conveyances,
mortgages, deeds of settlement^ or conveyances
of what nal^ure or kind soever, deeds- poll, leases,
or agreements of longer duration than ten years,
of or concerning any lands, tenements, or he-
reditaments in this Island shall be adjudged
fraudulent, and of no force or effect. This act
not to bar the title of minors femmt couvert, or
persons non compos mentu, imprisoned, or ab-
sent from the Island, who are respectively en-
titled to sue and recover within two years after
such impediment shall have been removed.
By an act of the 20,^ of George the 3*. Cap.
IX. Creditors are enabled to attach the effects
and estates of absent or absconding debtors,
wnich are thereby rendered liable in law to the
277
judgment to be recovered on such proccw, and
subject to be taken in execution for satisfaction
thereof, in whoever's hands the same may be:
absent dt'btors against whom such judgments
are recovered, are entitled to a re-hearing at
any time within three years, and the plaintPfFin
such actibns before any execution shall issue
on such judgments, to give security to the
satisfaction of the court, for the repayment of
all monies levied by the said execution, in case
the said judgment be reversed on such re-hear-
ing. By an act of the 25th of George 3*. Cap.
ir. the operation of the above act is^o far al^
tered as to restrict creditors from proceeding
against debtors who have never been resident
on the Island, and security in double the amount
is required before any execution is awarded
against an absent debtor, conditioned to make
restitution, incase the said judgment shall be
reversed on a re-hearing; but the time allowed
to absent debtors to appear either by themselves
or attorney, and move to have the judgment by
default taken off, is curtailed and limited to a
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278
year and a day from the time of entering judgi
ment against such absent debtor.
By the SP* of Gedrge 3*. Cap. II. the estates
of intestates, after paying all just debts and fu-
neral expenses, are directed to be distributed by
the judge of probates, one-third of the personal
estate to the widow of the intestate, besides her
dower in the houses and lands during her life ;
and out of all the riesidue of such real and per-
sonal estate, two shares, or a double portion to
the eldest son or his representatives, and the
remainder of such residue, to and among the
other children of the intestate, or their repre-
sentatives ; widows' dower to be divided in like
manner after her death.
By the 3I«t of George the 3". Cap. III. landi
and tehements are made liable to the payment
of debts in case no personal effects can be found
to satisfy the same ; this act allowed an equity
of redemption within two years after levying
^uch execution, but was repealed by the act of
279
the S&^ George the 3-. Cap. IX. which hiadc
lands and tenements liable to be sold in six
Jnonths after they were taken in execution, with-
out any equity of redemption ; the operation of
tliis last act was found to be so severe, that an
act was passed in the 35* of GeorgcS^ Cap.
VIII. by which it is enacted that no lands or
tenements hereaftf^r to be taken in execution,
shall U sold in less than two years after they
shall have been so taken.
By the 21", of George the 3". Cap. XVII. It
is enacted, that all actions or suits, either in
Jaw or equity, to be sued or brought, of or for
any lands, tenements, m hereditaments within
tJie Island, shall be sued and taken within
twenty years, next after the title or cause of
action first descended, and at no other time
after the said twenty years ; and that no entry
shall be made upon lands, &c. but within
twenty years next after such title shall have ac-
crued, after which such persons not entering,
are utterly excluded ; with the usual saving
280
clause to infants, fmme eoutert, persons mm
compos mentis, imprisoned, or bet/umi seas. The
great and general neglect of so many of the
proprietors having involved many people iu
great uncertainty with respect to the titles of
lands, whereon very considerable exertions and
expence had been laid out, the legislature were
induced in 1795 to passalaw 35'" Geo. 3" Cap. 11.
intituled an act for confirming titles and quiet-
ing possessions, by which it is enacted, that all
purchasers or lessees of land, who have been in
the quiet and peaceable possession of such lands
for the space of seven years, and all persons
claiming by, from, or under them, are confirmed
in such possession according to the right, title
or interest intended to be conveyed in and by
such leases or conveyances. And all deeds of
sale made by the Sheriff, Coroner, &c. under
writs of execution are confirmed, any want of
legal form in such deeds notwithstanding.
The lands sold in 178J, for non-payment of
quit rent, are excepted from the operation of
281
this act, and it is also provided that no error
which may have taken place in setiling the
township boundaries shall be thereby confirmed;
By the fi^'" of George 3". Cap. VJ. It ii^
enacted, that no greater interest than six ^
cent per annum shall be taken.
The severity of the criminal laws of Great
Britain being unnecessary in a new country
where few crimes are committed, by the 33< of
George the 3" Cap. [. a new criminal code more
suitable to the situation and circumstances of
the country is established. By the 36*^ of
George the 3" Cap. Iir. [t is enacted that all
grants, deeds, and conveyances heretofore made
and executed by any married woman jointly
with lier husband, of any lands, houses and te-
nement within this Island, whereof such married
woman is dowable, shall be as good and valid
III law, as if the same had been made byafemme
■sole, or as if such woman had joined in levjying
a fine, according to the law and practice of
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282
England in that case made and provided ; and
it is further enacted^ that all grants and con*
veyances which shall hereafter be made by any
married woman jointly with her husband, of
lands, houses, and tenements whereof she is dow-
ablc by law, or in or to which she may have any
present or future interest, either in her own right,
or in or by any other ways or means whatsoever,
shall be as good and valid in law, and of the
same force and effect, as if the same had been
made hy z.femme sole, or as if such married wo-
man had joined in levying a fine in manner
herein-before mentioned ; provided such deed
or deeds, &c. shall be acknowledged by such
married woman in the presence of a judge of
the supreme court of the Island, or any justice
of the peace thereof, by such married woman,
as her free and voluntary act and deed, and to
have been executed for the purposes in the
said deed or deeds mentioned, and that the same
was done without any force or compulsion from
her husband and a certificate of such acknow-
ledgment, the form whereof is engrossed in the
\
283
act, is directed to be underwritten or indorsed
on every such grant, deed, or conveyance.
The revenue laws hitherto adopted, are but
two, a licence duty on retailers of wines, and
spiritous liquors; and an impost or excise duty
of ten pence per gallon, payable on the im-
portation of all wines and spirits ; and two
pence pdr gallon on the importation of all
porter, ale, or strong beer; these are the
<4nly taxes yet payable in the Island, and the
produce df them has cohstituted the sole rt-
venuc by which the contingent expences of
government, and the high roads and bridges
have been carried on. Taxes are a subject on
which the House of Representatives have hi-
therto been particularly tenacious, and they
have yet to learn, that it is possible to err on
the popular side of the question ; called to the
«luty of legislating for their fellow subjects,
without much experience or knowledge of
public business, they have not observed that
Ky giving way foo much to the prejudices
284
common on the subject, a considerable re-
venue, which might have been raised and ap-
plied to the public service, greatly to tlie ad-
vantage of the Island, has been suffered to go mto
the pockets of a few individuals, w.io have hi-
therto had the trade of tlie Island in their
hands: This is an error naturally to be ex-
pected in a new country, but experience will
teach us better, and all will soon be con-
vinced, that a respectable revenue adequate to
tlie wants of the public service, is absolutely
necessary to the prosperity of the Island.
The only common law court yet established
in the Island, is the Supreme Court of Judi-
cature, which is a Court of King's Bench,
Common Pleas, and Exchequer ; the Chief Jus-
tice is appointed hy - - vnt under HU Majesty's
manual and signer, under the authority of which,
letters patent are made out in the Island^
t^ted by tlie governor or commander in
chief for the time being, and under the Great
Seal of the Colony, and a salary of five hundred
^^
285
pounds a year is now annexed to tlie office : there
are two assistant justices, who aie appointed by
the governor, and who at present serve without
any salary. The departments of counsel and attor-
ney are still united, and the number of practioncjfs
isyet only foui : the proceedings in civil acUoos
are conducted as near as circm stances will per-
mit, agreeable to the practice m the Court of
Common Pleas in Westminster Hall. An appeal
in the nature of a writ of error is allowed from
the supreme court to the governor or com-
mander in chief in council, when the debt ox
value appealed for exceeds the su '.p of three
hundred pounds sterling ; and an appeal from
the judgment or sentence of the g< vernor or
commander in chief in council, to Hjs Majesty
in Council, is allowed when the debt or value,
so appealed for, exceeds the sum of i ve hun-
dred pounds sterling.
The church of England is the religion of the
Island, estabhshed by law, but the free ex ercise
of every religion is allowed : and all dissenters
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286
of whatsoever denomination they are, have
free liberty of conscience ; and may erect
meeting houses for public worship ,• and may
chuse and elect ministers or pastors according
to their several opinions. And all contracts
made between such dissenting ministers and
tbeir congregations are declared valid, and
shall have their full force and effect ; and all
dissenters are exempted, and excused from
the payment of any rates or taxes to be made
or levied, for the support of the Church of
England in the colony.
There is yet only one clergyman of the
Church of England on the Island, who was
appointed by the King, Rector of the Parish
of Charlotte on the first formation of the
government, and has a salary of seventy pounds
a year on the annual estimate, voted by parlia-
ment for the civil establishment of the colony,
for whicb he does duty for the whole Island,
making occasional tours to the different set-
tlements to perform divine service, and bapti^re
287
the children : several applications have been
jpade to the incorporated society for propagating
the gospel in foreign parts, on behalf of the
Island, praying for the appointment of mis,
sionaries, on the same footing as they are grant-
cd to all the other colonies in North America,
and though it is understood that these appli-
cations were recommended to the consideration
of the society by the Bishop of Nova Scotm in the
first place, and subsequently by the Earl of Buck,
inghamshire^when secretary of state for the colo-
nial department, it has not thought proper to
grant the favour requested ; if I am well inform-
ed, the reasons on which the refusal was ground-
ed, are, that a numbijr of individuals of fortune in
this country, who are proprietors of land in the
Island, pontribute nothing lo the funds of the
society, and that government allow the salary
of military chaplain on the garrison staff of the
Island, to be held as a sinecure by a person
who never was in the colony, instead of con-
%ring it on a resident clergyman; after what
has b^en said in the preceding pages of the
Ml
.ill
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xoa
neglect of the proprietors in other matters, it
appears hard that the conduct imputed to them
on this subject, should also be injurious to the
colony. The people of the Island liave not
been able to discover in these reasons, much
concern for their spiritual welfare, or any great
consistency with the professed o^vects of that
reverend and very respectable society, and they*
have to lament, that without any fault on their'
part, they are excluded from participating in»
the important beaefits of an institution, thaV
has been liberally extended to tlie wighJ
bouring colonies of Nova Scotia and ^seyy'
Brunswick, and to all their felloxv subjects iu
similar circumstances : the disappointment is
the more to be regretted, that, as on the one^
handi the Island is yet free of the contag ion of'
thitwisdom which affects to reject Christianity, so^
on the other, has it escaped the visitation of t/iat'
wild fanaticism which has overrun many parts
of the continent, greatly to the injury and dis-
credit of true religion, morality, and industry.
And the minds of the protesfant part of the in- '
289
>iabitants in general are in that state wherein a
Jittle aid and exertion on tlie sniyect, would go
a great way towards uniting the greatest pm
of them in the comnuuiion of tlie church of
iingland. Most of the Highlanders who set-
tlfcl in tlie Island previous to 1803, and the Ac-
cadian French, are Roman Catholics, and have
two or tinee priests of that religion, whose re-
puted zeal for making proselytes has occasi-
onally created some differences; I believe how-
ever their success in that respect has not been
great, though the want of Protestant clergymen
has given them advantages over weak minds.
The greatest part of the Highlanders who
have recently settled in the Island, are of the
church of Scotland, but have yet no chr^.vman
of their own persuasion, thou^i^h there i, reason
to hope that the same disinicrestrd ca.e and
attention which induced so manv of tluir opu-
lent countrymen to join in bringing to.ward
the late act for regulating emigration, will in- '
duce them also to afford some aid on this more
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290
important subject, and they are the more san-
guine in their cx|)ectations, because it is known
that the funds at the disposal of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland applicable
to such purposes, are in a vtry flourishing state,
and it cannot be believed, that any little jea-
lousy with respect to em -ration wi.l he allow-
ed to interfere against them. 1 he sum wanted
In addition to what; they can do themselves,
inrill be but trifling, nor will it be long wanted,
h. few yeais will enable them amply to provide
for a Clergyman, and also to establish a senii'^'
nary of education, in the mean time, however,
^ome assistance on both subjects would be vt ry
desirable.
291
FISHERIES.
Having several times in the preceding page,
mentioned the Fisheries of the Island, I ,haU
r.ovv attempt to give my readers some idea of
their nature, and the extent to which they may
be carried. ,
The herring fishery is the first that commen-
ces in the spring; the bays and harbours, par-
ticularly on the north side of the Island, are no
sooner clear of ice. than they are filled with
immense shoals of these fish, which may be
taken in any quantity ; though they appear to
be more plentiful some years than others, they
never fail coming in great abundance. They
are not so fat, though generally much larger
than the herrings takaa on the west coast of
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292
Scotland, and on the coust of Ireland ; they are
more like the Srwedish herring, and properly
cured, answer very well for the West India
market ; they are taken at much less expence
than on the coast of Scotland or Ireland, as the
whole business is carried on in the harbours,
and no craft above the size of common boats is
necessary; such a train of nets as is commonly
used in a herring buss of 70 or 80 tons on the
coast of Scotland, would with ease take ten
thousand barrels in a week or ten days; in ge-
neral, however, large seins for dragging them
oh shore, will be found a better kind of net.
They come into the harbours generally as socn
as the ice is gone, the first shoals are always
*he best, and the whole business does not last
above a fortnight, and if shipped off imme-
diately for the West Indies, from the shoi .aess
of the voyage, and the nature of the fish, being
a large full fish without oil, they will arrive
there in a better state for that market, than any
other herrings that can be carried to that cli-
mate. Besides what may be exported salt,
293
great quantities might be smoaked, or cured
red, for M-hich there is a great demand in the
United States ; the wood necessary for smoak-
ing herrings will cost little more than the trou-
ble of cutting it down and carrying it to the
curing houses, in this country it constitutes th»
greatest part of the expence of the business.
In tlie months of October and November,
large shoals of herrings of a much superior cha-
racter, such as would be fit for the European
market, come upon the coast, but do not come
into the harbours in such large bodies as in the
spring, but they might be as easily taken by
buss fishing as they are on the coast of Scot-
land.
t
Ale Wives, or Gasperaus {Clupeaserrata) are
taken in many parts of the Island, and in the
adjacent harbours on the continent, in very
considerable numbers, and though not so plen-
tiful as the common herring, there is no doubt
but many thousand barrels of them might be
exported from the Gulph every year, thev
%\
294
generally sell at a doHar a barrel higher in the
West Indies than the common hemng, which
is a considerable object ; they are taken in the
months of May and June, in rivers and brooks
where very short nets on ly are requi red.
Eels of a very superior kind have long been
known to be taken on the Island, they are too
valuable for the West India market, but have
occasionally been sent to the Itahun market,
where they are sold by the barrel for double the
pitce of salmon, and the demand tor them is
much greater than can be supplied ; soiu judo-.
ment of the value of them may be formed from
the circumstance of their selling, in so plentiful
a country as Canada, at sixteen dollars a bar-
rel ; the onJy method at present in use for taking
Itom, is by spearing for them in the muddy
flats in our harbours, and even in that way very
eonwderable quantities are taken ; there arc
many situations in the Island in which the
method of taking them by placing eel pots in
the rivers may be practised, and the only at-
295
tempt that has hitherto been made iu that way
was very successful.
Mackerel are in great abundance on the
coast and in the harbours, from the middle of
June till November; taking them with net*
has never yet been much practised in our owa
harbours ; the gut of Canso which divides the
Island of Cape Breton from Nova Scotia, and
the adjacent harbours, are the places where thi3
fishery has been chiefly carried on, the distance
being only from twelve to twenty leagues front
the Island ; the quantity taken at these haN
hours is some years very great ; it has been
known that at the harbour of Port Hood, Ott
the coast of Cape Breton, after thirty vessels
had been loaded in a week, a heap of fish, sup*
posed to contain at least a thousand barrels,
have been left on the beach to rot, for want of
salt to cure them. Many American vessels
from the New England states load annually in
these harbours with mackerel.
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Cod are caught in great plenty in almost
every part of the Gulph of St. Lawrence, but
more particularly on the coast of the Island,
the 1% of C: aleur, and the Straits of Belleislc;
our pricipal fishing ground extends all along
the north coast of the Island, from the east
point to the Orphan Bank, which stretches con^
siderably to the northward of the North Cape,
and the fishing vessels have seldom to go above .
three or four leagues from the shore, whera
there is only :V .™ ten to fifteen fathoms water ;
from several parts of the Island an advanta-
geous boat fishery may be carried on part of
the season, as great abundance offish may often
be had at little more than a mile from the
shore, and sometimes at a less distance; two
men will at times load a boat twice in a day.
The fishery carried on from the American
Sta^es in the Gulph of St. Lawrence for some
years pa.st is very extensive, and is known to
be one of the greatest sources of the wealth
of the eastern states, from which about tzi^
297'
thousand stliooTitis of from seventy to one
liundieil tons, are annually sent into tli» V,n\pU :
of these about fourteen hundred make ihe^r"
fish in the Straits of Relteisle, and on tlie Ll-
trador shore, from whence, what is intended fur
the European market, is shipped off, without"
heing sent to iheir own ports; aboi t six hun-
dred American schooners make their fares on
the north side of th<? Island, and often make
two trips in a season, returning to tlicir own
ports with full cargoes, where their fi>h are
dried ; the number of men employed in this
fishery is estimated at between fiOeen and
twenty thousand, and the profits on it are
known to be very great. To see such a source
of wealth ami naval power on our own coast.,
and in our very harbours, abandoned to the
Americans, is much to be rcgrette«l and wouli
be distressing wcvq it not that the means of re-
occupying the wh3le with such advantages as
must soon preclude all competition, is afforded
in the cultivation and settlement oj Prince Ed- •
ward Inland.
I
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The principal advaiitaije the Ainerican.s hnve
hilhnti* had ovn the British fi.iheries on this
C oasr, ari.Ms from tiie cheapness of the neces-
saiiesof life anionic ihem, whereby they are
ei ablid to huiltl, fit out and provision thcii fish-
ing craft at a small expence in comparison to
what can be clone from the ports of Great
Britain and Ireland, which enables them to
undersell us in every market ; I believe there is
no person acquainted with the soil and climate
of Prince Edward Island, but will admit that it
is as fit for producing provisions of all kinds
in abundance, as tiie eastern states, and haa
even some advantages over them in that re-
•f ect, as it is well known that from the nature
of their climate, they do not produce wheat
enough to supply ll.tmselves with bread corn,
which ihey arc obliged to import from their sou-
thern ncijihbouis. Net only Prince Edward
Island, but a great part of the country round
theGulph of St. Lawrence will produce wheat,
and every necessary of life in great abundance,
and from their extent, situation, and natural
'299
TMOurce^, are calculated to support ai niiinef»
oils, and as poweiful a population ai the Nim
KiiLyland States ; into whose hands in the natu-
ral course of things this fishery 0>nu^r ou
their coasts and harbours) must fill, to the?
excUision I trust at no vQry distant ihy of
our republican neighbours ; and to the "-reat
benefit of the trade and naval resources of
Great- Britain and Ireland.
Btsides the fisheries which have been men-
tioned, oreat quantities of salmon arc taken
in different rivers which run into the Gulph,
particularly the Restigush which runs into tiie
head of the Bay of Chaleur, and the River
Miramichee in the Province of New Brunswick,
from the former, four thousand tierces of xhvte
hundred pounds each, has often been exported in
d year|| ; the salmon fisheries in the rivers on the
Coast of Labrador and the Straits of Btllidle,
II I think I may venture to say ihat ten ihousand fi-rcei have I'reqututl'r
keen exported irbrfi the Oulph in a jear.
'I I
soo
are at present chiefly in the hands of the Ame-
ricans, as is also a considerahlc share of the
Indian trade on that coast, both without any
oliitr right than suifc ranee.
If the Americans at such a distance, find
the fishery on this coast so profitable, what
must it be if carried on from Prince Edward
Island, so much nearer, and where every thing
necessary can be produced in as great pcrfec-
as in New England ; there is nothing in the
American system of management if superior to
our own, of which tlie knowledge is not easily
obtainedjtand situated as we are, with so many
fine harbours close to the fishing ground, and
ivith a country in which the population, and
almost every thing necessary for the business
can be produced and suj)ported, it must be
manifest that the greatest part of the fisheries
in the Gulph and Straits of Bellisle, must fall
to the people of the Island as soon as their
t And thoiuandt of th«ir fi»<f«riiien if it should be thought prop«r to ea-
ceurnfie tliem.
301
numbers, and the cultivation of the country,
will enable them to attend to the business, and
to reap the benefit of their local situation and
circumstances.
The principal fishing posts in Lower Canada
are at Gaspe, Percee, and Bonaventure Island,
and labour under the disadvantage of bein^-
situated in a part of the country incapable of
producing the necessaries of life they consume,
and in which, after the fishing season is over,
there is no employment for the people, who are
mostly obliged inconsequence to go to Quebec,
in the autumn ; there they scatter over the
country to seek for employment till the re-
turn of the next fishing season ; they are
then to be collected and sent a distance of
four hunflred miles down the River St. Lawrence,
and from the prevalence of the easterly winds in
the spring, tliey are often three weeks and a
month on wages and provisions before they ever
wet a line for their employers, and sometimes
lose the first part of the season entirely, which
' ij
k always the best : the Nova Scotia Fisheries are
also tinder the same disadvantage of depending
on the importation of previsions for their daily
eonsumption, these are cKiefly brought from
the United States, at an expence which has
become much too heavy latterly, in conse^
qwence of which tiie fisheries on this coast are
now become very inconsiderable to what they
have been ; and the greatest part of their pro-
duce, instead of being directly exported to
the market wliere it is consumed, is sent to the
American States to pay for provisions , from
thence it is exported to the West Indies.
These are circumstances of an unchanged
ftble nature ; which point out Prince Edward
Island, the adjacent coasts of the Continent,
and the west coast of Cape Breton, both
in point of situation, and all the necessary
natural advantages, as furnishing the only
means by wliich the entire occupancy of
the f.slievit's in the Gulph and the Straits of
)>eiii.slc, can be restored to Great- Britain. |
+ '1 !ic M!!„.:!ak-3i Jsl.-.iuls in point of -iluiUoii, UicsWeilrujiciy viiuabli,'
303
I have been informed that if the southern
whale fishery was attemj)ted from tlie harbour
of George Town or Three Rivers on an exten-
sive scale, that a great many people from Nan-
tucket and other ports in New England, accus-
tomed to that business, if encouraged, would
readily settle there, to which, it is .aid, they
would be induced, fi<m the consideiation liiat
they would be enibled to eniploy the working
part of their families that do n.t go to sea. in
the cultivation of small farms, to have cattle
and gardens, whereby they could maintain their
families at a much less expence than when
settled in a situation where every thing neces-
sary ix)r their consumption is to be purchased.
It is said that the want of the benefits of such
a situation was the chief reason which induced
the people who had been settled at Halifax hi
Kova Scotia, in the southern whale fishery, to
abandon that place, where there was no means
of employing their families, and where every
thing they consumed was to be p'!rch:is d.
I (io .lot t„on- whetUer .hcjr w.il produce whc.i. but lUvy wm mu,ul«ii» a
great many cattlr, ar.d Usve iu other re.pcas gt^M uil.i^u^ei.
504
If the Information whkh the author has ham-
1)Iy attcmptetl to bring forward in the preceding
pages, has the eflett of attracting the attention
of those to the affairs of the Island, on m hose
judgment its future progress depends, his ob-
ject will be completely attained : and sh6u!d
the prospects of advantage to he derived from
settling the country, which he has pointed at,
l>c so far attended to, as to induce some per-
son whose abilities are more equal to the subject,
to enter ti^ercon, and to put it in that light which
its importance to the public requires, he will
not doubt of seeing in a short time a consider-
able portion of that capital, and still more va-
Juable spirit and industry, which is now at-
tracted by the United States, directed to the
improvement of a British possession whose set-
tlement and cultivation, he is confident "^will
not only amply reward ihose who may adventure
therein but materially contribute to increase the
Naval power and resources of the British
Empire.
THE END.
Fimtcd ^> W. Winchciter and Soh, fii, flt»nd.
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