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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. ly errata ed to int ne pelure, )9on d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 A SZSOiST REVIEW OF THE mm, mmwmi constitution, FISHERY AJVB AGRICULTURE, OF I » NEY/FOUNDLANB. ii h m u snitu of %mtvu ADDRESSED TO THE RIGHT HOSrOURABLB EARL GRE7y Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of Slate for the Colonies^ By PATRICK MORRIS, Esq. St. JOHN'S, Xewfoundlaud s ••^ J. WOODS, PRINTER, MDCCCXLVII. I l TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE EARL GREY, Her Blajesti/s Princijial Secretary/ of State for the Colonijs. My Lour, — I hope you will pardon the liberty I have taken, in ad- dressing to your Lordship the following observations on the state of Newfoundland. Your Lordship's extensive knowledge on every subject appertaining to the Maritime, Colonial, and Mercantile af- fairs of the great Empire in whose councils you have al- ready taken so distinguished a part — the deep interest you have felt at all times in promoting the best interests of the Colonies-— the broad, wise, and liberal system of Colonial policy you have advocated and carried out, but above all, the hereditary zeal you have displayed in ex- tending to them the greatest of all human blessings, Eng- lish Laws, and free British Institutions, emboldened me to express to your Lordship with freedom, and at the same time with the most profound espect, my views on the state of England's oldest, loyal, and most valuable Colony of Newfoundland. It has nd-iletibt escaped your recollection, that in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-eight, your distinguish- ed relative Sir George Grey, gave me a letter of intro- duction to your Lordship; my object at that time was to bring the subject of the waste lands of Newfoundland un- der your Lordship's consideration. The kind, conde- scending manner in which your Lordship heard my views then, is another reason that induces me on the present oc- casion to address you. I have the honour to be, My Lord, Your Lordship's humble And obedient servant, PATRICK MORRIS, 1^. f * 1 K ADVSHTISSMSSTT. It was theintoiition of the writer of the subjoined obser- vations on the Government, Fisheries, and xIgricul- TURE OF Newfoundland, to have added explanatory notes with an appendix, to have i;ontained a variety of orijinal documents having reference to the p' rseverlng exertions that v/ere made in obtaming a reform in the Jarisprudenco of the Colony, liberty to cuUIvate the soil, and a Local Re- presentative Government. lie further intended to have re- viewed in a fourth letter, the proceedings of the General As- sembly from ihe year of its establishment, 1S32, to the close of the session of the Amalgamated Legislature, and the retire- ment of His Excellency Sir John HARVEvfrom theGovern- ment in 1846. To carry out these views would require more time and attention than he could at present devote to the subject ; he must therefore defer to another, and he hopes not distant period, the completion of his original in- tention. His main object, in puttip^ forth his crude opi- nions to the public on subjects so la:; above his powers, at this time, is to endeavour to draw the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the anomalous position in which the British Fisheries ot Nev;foundIand are placed, by the competition of foreigners, and likewise to the unaccountable, and in his opinion unwise and impolitic neglect of the set- tlement and colonization, of the earliest, and what he firm- ly believes the most valuable transatlantic Colony belong- ing to the British Crown. \^ ■;■(, 1 ^1 : I IV. In his observations on the important rmostion oftlie Fiih- e^ies and ColonJzafioii, lie has altcmplcd lo provo two ov three main propositions. X^ii'sf. — Thnt the cause of having the I'i^Jicrics of Newfoundland so often recklessly huxtcred and bdrtcr- ed by snccesslvo Ministers, arose from the acts ol tho I3ritish Mereantilo Adventurers in preventing the settle- ment of the country at an early period- iNewfoiindlrnd ■was a dependency of England, her only Colony, a century before MassachaseUs, New York, or Virginia, emerged from barbarism. When the " untutored Indian," im- controuled by civJlized man, roamed through thaso now busy marts, redundant with wealth, population, and all Iho advantages of civilization, Newfoundland was resorted to by thousands of British, French, Spaniards, and Portu- guese, and countless millions were drawn from hev mines iar more valuable than ihose of Mexico and Peru. — • No one who reflects upon tho subject can entertain the slightest doubt, that if due encouragem^snt wcro given to settlement instead of prohibiting it, if the same privileges had been extended to Newioundland;, that were so freely given to the other Colonies, were tho first emigrants allowed and encouraged to settle and cultivate the soil, to manage their local affairs in their own way, a population would have grown up, the wealth and capital of the country would have increased, it would have attained an influence that would have prevented her just and ratural rights from being sacrillced to foreigners. It is therefore the monopolizing, selfish policy of the Ad- venturers, preveniing the settlement and occupation of the country by their own counirymenj ;ha1 has been the cause of the present unnatural state of things— the Fisheries transferred into the hands of the French and Americans, and their own long-chcrishsd monopoly anni- hilated. The second proposition attempted tc be proved is, thnt the bounty and other protection extended by the ^t'revjch i II and Amciicau Govoinuic.its to tlieir subjects chk-IkxI in to-'D tlio Ncvvfouiicllaad Fislicricsj operato iiidirecdy iigainst ilio interests of tho British, and fai> tho (oundLUiou of tlieir Fisheries, w^o it not for tho auxiliary support the Bri- tish were enabled to olt;.iin by tho cultivation of the soil, they must have been surrendered altogether to their protected rivals. The best proof of this i^, tho transfer of the Deep Sea Fishery on tho Oraud Hank', and the oilier Banks some distance from the shore. Thousands of sh.ips belonging to the French and Americans are engaged in the Deep Sea Fishery ; there is not one Uritish ship fitted out for the JJank Fishery ; in former times it gave employ- ment to near five hinidred sail of ships from one hundred to two hundred tons burihen, and iiom six to eight thou- sand seamen. The third proposition which has been attemptod to bo proved is, that to preserve that portion of the Fii,h?ri.3S left to the British, encouragement should be given to the general cultivation of tlio "oil ; tho union of fish- ing and farming has preserved the portion of the Fish- cry that remains in the hands of the British. Mr. McGre- gor, of the Board of Trade, with his usual depth and sa- gacity, fully bears out the truth of this statement when he says — " That were It not for the auxiliary support which the inhabi- tants of Newfoundland derived fioni ihe cultivation of the soil, they could not have subsisted by the productions cf the B'isheries alone. And as they otherwise would have to remove to tho neighbouring Colonies, or to the United States, the probable con- aequeiico would be, that the Americans and French would before this have enjoyed the benefit of expelling us altogether from sup- plying foreifjn mariiets with fish.'' — McGregor^s British America- The inshore Fishery prosecuted in small open boats, is tho only Fishery left to the British ; that Fishery must have GvenUtniiy passed likewise from their hands, were it not for the auxiliary support which the fishermen were enabled to obtai:i by the cultivation of the soil. It cannot be too of:eu reueated that the eiiect of French and Ame- VI. rican bounties to llielr Ncwroundlan'-l Fisheries is to undcr- mino the British Fisheries altogciher, had ihcy to rest upon their own bottom. Had the Briiish Fishery remained on its ancient fooling, left to support itself, it would long ago have ceased altogether as a mercantile remunerative em- ployment for British capital and enterprise, and have pass- ed altogether into the hands of tho French and Americans. To show tho working of the French system of bounties in their Newfoundland Fisheries, and to prove the hope- lessness of competition on the part of the British Merchant and Fisherman, it is only necessary to exhibit a statement of the outfit and returns of a French ship of three hun- dred tons on the Grand Bank of NcY>rfoundland, procured by a gentleman who recently arrived from St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the results of tho last season's voyage of 1810 :— Vessels of 150 tons from France arc obliged to bring out 30 men and boys, one boy under 15 years of nge to every ten men. Vessels over 150 tons are obliged to bring out 50 men and boys. The bounty on every man and boy is 50 francs, and on fish 10 francs. Boys receive as wages 50 francs for the season. Men receive a portion of the voyage and from 50 to 100 francs each. The voy- age is divided by three, two thirds to the owners, and one third totheciew. The master in ad(htIon to his wages, which vary from 70 to 100 francs per month, receives two men's share of fish; for example, one ship in 18JG landed 132,000 fish, equal to 5,280 quintals, with a crew of 18 men. 5/280 =1,7G0-:- 20=88 Quintals each man. Owner's share, two thirds of voyage, Boys' share, 15 Men's shaie, 88 quintals each, Master's share^ equal to 2 men's, 3,520 Qils. 264 3,784 1,3S0 176 1,496 Quintals 5,280 Qils. VII ; RETURN OF THE V0YAGI2 TO THE OWNER. Franca^ 3,79 I Quintalf* fwli at 10 francs 37,840 Hnunty on ditto at 10 francs U7,840 Houiuy oil inon and boy.-?, 50 francs each 900 Oil— 1 galluti to every 1 (jtU. lull, at '4 fiaiicd per gallon ^*^i2. 7~8jao Equal to Stg. JC3,iI80 According to this statement, the French Merchant ob- tains in the form of bounty, 10 francs, say 8s. 4d. sterUng, which, with the bounties for the men and boys, and tha drawbacks on the necessaries for the supply of tho voy- age, raises it to at least lOs. stg. per quintal. If he ob- tains 10s. for the fish at market it will realize 5^0s. per quintal. Let the case of the British Merchant, who fits out a ship for tlicGrand Bank, be placed in juxta-position; he has to sell his fish in the markets of the world, open alike to both, the price is regulated for him by the sale of the bounty fish of the French. He receives 10s., whilo the French Merchant realizes 20s. Such disparity puts an end to all competition, the British Merchant, as a matter of necessity, had to surrender the Fishery altogether into the hands of his protected rivals. In the year 1838, the wri- ter had the honour of an interview with Sir George Grey, at the Colonial Office. In bringing this subject under his consideration, he supposed an example of two cloth manu- facturers, having warehouses for the sale of their wares at Cheapside, one had a bounty of 5s. per yard for every yard of cloth he manufactured, the other no bounty ; the competition could not be maintained without a ruinous sa- crifice on the part of the latter. This is not an inapt si- mile to show the ruinous competition which the British in the Newfoundland Fisheries have to maintain with their foreign and more favoured rivals. The injurious consequences to the British Fisheries of French and American monopoly, do not end in sweeping away every British ship from the Grand Bank and Deep Sea Fishery} its effects are felt in the inshore fishery.— a vnr. The price of ihe million quintals of (isli — the annual pro- duce of the British Newfoundland Fishery — is reduced 5s. to 8s. per quintal, the certain consequences of the French and American bounties. The protected fish of the French and Americans is sold in tha same markets with the British, the supply is increased beyond the de- mand. There is a necessity arising from that cause, and that cause alone, of selling it below its mtrinsic value. It may appear an exaggerated statement, but It is no less true on that account, that there is a sacrifice of from two to three hundred thcurand pounds annually of Brnisih indus- try and capital in the sale of British produce of the Fisheries, arising from the effects of French and American bounties j this can be as clearly demonstrated as the simplest proposi- lion in Euclid. The principle contended for is, thatfish can- not be caught, and cured, and sold, leaving the usual rner-^ cantile profit, at a price less than from IGs. to 17s. The French can sell theirs at Ss. 6d., receiving a large amount of bouiity. The British fi.sh has to contend for sale in the same markets, the sellers are necessited to submit to the reduction in price at the immense sacrifice that has been stated. It is necessary to remark, that it is not so much the vast extent of coast that has been ceded to foreigners to the ex- clusion of British subjects that is so much complained ofj though for the people of a couiitry to be denied the right of catching fish on their own coast, and the better part of it, the more valuable given up to foreigners, v/ould in itself form the materials for grounding ahaiidsome grie- vance upoUj and no doubt in due time will be made use of for that purpose. The bounties operate in the most ruin- ous manner on the best interests of Newfoundland, and will continue to do so until they are withdrawn. The Newfoundland British fisheries, without protection or bounty, cannot contend with the foreign Newfoundland Fishery, bolstered up by every description of protection, and by enormous bounties. IX. The French and Americans having taken possession of fhe Grand Bank and all tlie other productive Banks, it may be said they have extended lin g of circumvalation and contravaiaiion round the Island, preventing the ingress or egress ot fish to and from the shore ; and according to the opinions of those best qualified to judge, greatly injuring the inshore fishery, the only fishery left to British subjects, and that only to a portion of the Island. The French have adopted a new mode of fishing on the Banks, their vessels anchor, which was not allowed in .brmer times, they have al?o adopted what is called the Bultow system, and which is clearly explained in a memorial pre- sented by Messrs Mudge & Co., to the late Governor of Newfoundland, Sir John HARVEi^. " That the Bultow system is earned on in the following man^ ner:— The vessel is provided witli two or three large boats, of a size fit to carry out, at considerable distances, large supplies of rope and iine, with moorings and anchois sufficient to ride at anchor on the open 13ank in rough weather. These boats carry out froiTi five to six thousand fathoms of rope to which are fas- tened leads, with baited hooks at certain distances from each other. Tliese are carried out from the veissel in different directions and let down and secured with suitable moorings, to prevent their be- ing carried away by the strong currents that usuaPy prevail on the Bank. They are then laid out at stated distances from each other, with several thousand hooks well baited, and frequently occupy several miles of ground. On the next day they are taken up and overhauled — the fish taken off— and, if the berth is ap- proved, the hooks fresh baited and let down again, and thus suc- cessively during the voyage. Butshould the berth in which they have anchored not prove a good one, they heave up and sail about to make another, in doing which, if they chance to see an English vessel catching fish freely with hook and line, they anchor near her and lay out their Bultows, which, spreading so large a quantity of bait, the fish are soon drawn liiereby from the few caplin presented by the English vessel, and the latter is there- fore obligeci to heave up and sail away from the good fishing ground, to find a berth elsewhere : so that not only does the Eng- lish vessel lose the good fishing in which she was engaged, but the most valuable part of the season is often lost in wandering about to find a new berth clear of the French ships ; for they 9 If X. ftrc ao nutnerous, and each covers wnli its Biihowa so large a spacej that it would be ditliculi to koep clear of them, and any place near thetn It is, for the reasons above etateii, useless to attempt occupying ; so that in effect iha French have monopolized to themselves all the best fishing ground. " Your Memorialists' vessel fyll in vvirh one of these Bultows, which had gone adrift, measuring 1,500 fa hoins." Messrs. Mudge & Co. brought under the consideratloti of His Excellency the right of tho French ships to anchor on the Banks. The ophiions expressed by tlio Messrs. Mudge & Co. on this head, are those generally entertained by those acquainted with the mode of fishing previous to the late war. They state in their memorial that — *'They would beg to remark, that neither during ih« two or three years succeeding the peace of 1813, nor during die former p nod, and the pruceeils of its enterprise in proportion, and diffused in every part of our country. Ihe voyage of those engaged in the Bperm fishery averr.^e throe and a half years. They search every sea, and often and often cruise three and four months with a m«n tit each mast-head on the look our, without the cheejing eight of a whale. The fleet is manned by 17,500 Americans, they are hardy, honest and patriotic, and will, as they did the Inst war, stand by their country when in danger ; they will man otn* ships and fight our battles on the ocean should we ever again have to resort to war to maintain our rights, they, with the other seamen of our country, will be the riglit arm of our defence." — Speech of the Hon. Mr. Gremvdl^ of Ncio Bedford, Massachusetts, House of Rci^ presenlatives, 1844. Estimating the number of men engaged in the Cod Fishery at 37,000, and adding ihem to thts number em- ployed in the Whale Fishery, gives an aggregate amount of 54,500 men employed in the American Fisheries, chief'-" ]y in the deep sea fishery, the best nursery for hardy and able seamen. VVliat a contrast it forms to the British Fisheries, greatly limited, and confined almost exclusively to an inshore fishery in small open boats not calculated to make seamen^ is it too much to say that the Newfoundland Fisheries instead of being a nursery for British, is the \ery best nursery for French and American seamen. Were it possible for Burke to appear again on the stage, would he not, in denouncing the policy that deprives England of the Fisheries, that powerful arm of her maritime strength, and trnnfers it to foreigners, use language that would surpass in eloquence and force that most brilliant passage in his speech of 1775 on the subject of the Fisheries. The un- disguised object of the Americans is to attain maritime strength, no matter at what cost or sacrifice of principle. It is difRcult to account for the apathy with which ^he Briii.^b Government looks on, while the American|B xr. and Prentih are making such a handle of the Fisheries to increase their marine. The Americans have aheady boasted that their mercantile marine equals that of Eng- land. In a debate in the United States Senate on the Oregon Question, it was said — " We have at this time a commerce of 2,417,000 tons of ship- ping, England has 2,430,000 tons, so that we are nearly, nay, it ia my opinion, we are completely on a par with her. 1 doubt, Sir, whether England has a greater commercial marine, or greater infcj rests to protect than we. If so, I would like to know in what it consists ; we have now 700 whule ships in the Pacific ocean ; we have an extensive Indian commerce, and a great and daily growing commerce with China." — Speech of Mr, Clmjlon^ oj Delaware, on the Oregon Queslion^ Senate Uniled States, Ftbij. 12th, 184G. Making due allowance for the exaggerations and gas- conade of American orators, it must be admitted that their marine has rapidly increased and is increasing; at the same time it may be said, their Fisheries are their main resource for their seamen, the other branches of trade are supplied mainly by foreign seamen, is it not, therefore, too bad that the Fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland, and in nearly all the British waters, should be surrendered into their hands 7 If there is one object of ambition more than another, that predominates in the American breast, it is the hope of disputing with England the dominion of the ocean. That time is, it is to be hoped, far distant; as it has been before said, '- the union in one of vast territo- rial and maritime power would be most dangerous to the welfare and liberties of the world." The policy that sanctions the total neglect of the Bri- tish Fisheries of Newlbundland, and gives the advantages of them to the French, and more particularly to the ambi- tious American Republic, cannot be condemned in lan- guage too strong. To the writer of these hasty remarks the policy appears inexplicable and unaccountable. He has already given a host of authorities to prove the value, in a national point of view, of the Fisheries of Newfound- laudj as a main support ol the navigation o£ the British XVI. Empire, and as a principal source of the maintenance of England's mariiime power. Every means that conduces to that object ought, in the eye of the British statesman, ;to command paramount importance, sucli was the opinion of one of England's greatest trade Ministers, the lamented HusKissoN, in his speech on Ihe navigation of the United Kingdom, in 1820, he said — ♦• Lastly, the necessities of pre^^erving our ascendnncy on the ocean, and thereby sii.stairiing the high station in the rank of nations, which that ascendancy more than any other circumstaaco Jias ^iven to this country. " Entertaining tiiese opinions, 1 am as ready as any man can possibly be, to say that it is our duty on all occasions to look to the peculiar nature of this state necessity, and that whenever (he interests of commerce and navigation cannot be reconciled, the policy which ought to be uppermost in our minds should be, (1, Sir, have no hesitation in stating it to be my feeling,) that tho interests of commerce in all such instances ought to give way, and those of navigation to have the preference." The French and Americans prosecute the Newloundland Fisheries at an immense outlay, not as a profitable com- mercial employment, but as a nursery for their marine, for the extension of their navigation, to enable them to compete, at some future day, with England for the domin- ion of the ocean. The Americans look forward to such a time — such an object is openly avowed by them — the sea- men nursed in their fislieries can alone enable them to make the attempt. To strengthen these observations, it is only necessary again to quote from the speech of the same illustrious man, on the slate of the navigation of the Uni- ted Kingdom : — " When I nrn s[»eaking of that nation in a British House of Commous, it is not improper to say, that iu matters of naviga- tion nnd naval power, there exisis towards us a spirit of rivalry in iho United S'atep, a spirit of which I do not complain, but (should incline every Englishman to doubt the wisdom of any measure tending to encourage the s>rovvth of the commercial ma- rine of America, by giving to it privileges greater than are pert mittod to the shipping of other states, less jealous ot our mari'i lime ascendancy iu time of war, and at all times confining their XVII. views upon the ocean to the Industrious employment of their seafarinpf people, without looking to the lUterior object of one day disputing M'ith us the dominion of the ocean," The ulterior object of America is, to dispute with Eng- land the dominion of the ocean. Such w ^ the opinion of jNIr. Huskisson, is it good policy to allow them and the Ii-ench to monopolize the Deep Sea Fishery of New- foundland, the first and best nursery for seamen in the world ? It is a strange fact, that since the report of the Com- mittee of the House of Commons, in 1816, which strongly recommended the exposed state of the fisheries to the con- sideration of the Government, the slightest notice has not been taken in Parliament of the important subject, since the Peace, except by the late member for Waterford, the patriotic and indefatigable Sir John Newport, I believe, in 1815, and at a later period by G.li. Eoijinsox, Esq., when member for Worcester. Mr. Robinson brought the subject repeatedly under the consideration of Parlia- ment ; he did not succeed in obtaining that attention from the Government which the subject demanded. 'I 'he peo- yAe of Newfoundland owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Ro- binson for the able and persevering manner in which he advocated their interests, on the subject of the fisheriesj; ^nd all other subjects. St. JoJtii's, Kev'fovndland , Sffdcmlcr, 184T. V m\ u of H our mor the nnd wor Lor vern I pos cov Ion firs for trai IS mc Ne iti ph ive lai po Hdlg t2|J© aia 2q J¥ei«Toundlaiid Trom 1497 to 1839. " Haifa century of Freedom, within the circuit of a few miles of Hock, brings to perfection more of ihe greuteat qualities of our nature, displays more fully the capacity of man, exhibits more examples of heroistn and magnanimity, and emits more of the divine light of Poetry and Philoiophy,than thousands of years, nnd millions of people, collected in the greatest empire of the world, can ever accomplish under the eclipse of despotism."— Lord John Russell's Essay on the History of the English Go' vernment and Constitution. My Lord, — Newfoundland is England's earliest transatlantic possession, its colonization cotemporaneous with the dis- covery of the Nev/ World, was the germ of her vast Co- lonial Empire, the source of her maritime greatness, the first nursery for the hardy and brave seamen who gained for England the dominion of the ocean, and with it tho trade of the world. (>S'ee Appendix -4.) Newfoundland with her fisheries, as it is the oldest, is likewise the most valuable, and it may be added the most neglected of England's Colonies. If the value of Newfoundland is to be estimated Ly the price put upon it by Legislatures, Ministers, Statesmen, and Philoso- phers, it surpasses all other Colonies in the world. If we are to judge by the policy hitherto adopted by Eng- land, it has been neglected in the inverse ratio of its im- portance. It will not be denied that the Newfoundland i NKWFOUNDLAND FROM 1197 TO 1832. Fislieries were a great nursery for seamen, a prufilablo source of iriide; it will not be (lueslionodtlmt they greatly contributed to tlie maritime power of England, " with her present vast dominion and unbounded resources." This trade, fishery, and nursery for seamen, is diminished to a mere speck in the horizon; yet it should not be forgottori that it was the first, and it is not too much to say, one of the principal sources from whence that mighty power lias flowed. The rivals of England, France and America, are mak- ing powerful efforts, und expending vast sums to strengthen their maritimo power, by the sanw means, the prosecution of the Newfoundland fisheries. If wo are to judge by the neglect and apathy of England on the subject, the New- foundland fisheries are to be surrendered altogether into their hands. Though such is not the intention, the result is inevitable — the fisheries of Newfoundland are now more nurseries for seamen for the French and Americans than for England. It is my intention to enter into a discussion with your Lordship on the subject of Newfoundland, her Gov- ernment, Fisheries, and Agriculture, to shew how the one has been neglected, how the others have been sacrifi- ced. There are involved in the subject, not only Colo- nial, but vast Imperial interests. It may be asked, if Newtoundlnnd is of such high valuo as to have contributed to England's power, and that other nations are so anxious to share in the advantaije of its trade and fisheries, why the Colony itself remains in a state of almost pristine barbarism, little more ad^ vanced in internal improvements than when discovered by Cabot in the reign of the 7th Henry? The answer is at hand, it is simply that Newfoundland has been ruled by a selfish, heartless, mercantile monoply for upwards of three centuries. Her vast energies were crushed be^ neath a ruthless despotism — the interests of England were sacrificed -- the interest of the Colony was sa- NEWFOUNDLAND FROM 1497 TO 1832. 5 nrifKcd— every otiicr interest but that of a lew mer- cantile adventurers, truly was it snid by Adam Smitli *• Tiio crudest of our rfivcnuo laws, I will venture to atlirin, are mild and gentel in comparison to somo of thoHG which the clamours of our merchants and manufacturers .'iive extorted from the Legislature, for tiie support of their own absurd and oppressive mono- polies, like ihe laws of Uai'^^o, these laws may be said to be written m hlood." The Newfound) md code wrs an elaborate refincmenl on the mercantile system portrayed by Adam Smith. The Rulers of Newfoundland imposed on, and deceiv- ed the Parent Government, wlio hud given up the Colony body and bones to their " baneful domination." Will it be believed at this time of day, that the mo.'5t enlightened Government of the world gave np her most valuable Colony — the subject of contention and negocia- tion with Foreign Powers, in all the great treaties of mo- dern times— to a few merchants residing in two or threo English ports, who managed for such a length of time to engross the British fisheries to themselves, deluding the Parent Government by the most false representations, making them believe that a limited transitory fishery, precisely tliat fishery carried on by themselves, was the only fishery calculated to promote the trade of England, and to form a nursery for seamen. Fully to carry out these views it was necessary farther to impose on the Government, by representing the soil and climate as raising an impassable barrier to the agri- cultural improvement of Newfoundland, and as if tlie eternal law of Nature was not able to right itself, they induced the Government to sanction enactments and rules to prohibit it. Residence ivithin the Colony was made a transportable ojfoice. The culilvatioTi of the soil a felony. [See Appeiidix B.) The history of despotism does not afford a parallel. A few ignorant men, for selfish purposes, permitted by the 6 NEWFOUNDLAND FROM 1497 TO 1832. Supreme Government to retard the developoment of the resources of a great country. The British fishcM-ies, the great nursery for seamen, the value of v/hich the mono- polists were continually ringing in the ears of the Home Government, as entirely dependent on this system, peri- odically sacrificed, bartered and sold to foreigners. In 1765, Sir Hugh Palliser said—*' Such is the effect of the Newfoundland fishery running into monopoly, that the rest of the merchants, if they cannot have a monopoly likewise, will let the New England men, or Frenchmen, or any body run away with it." — Report of Sir Hugh Palliser to Privy Council of Trade^ Dec. 18, 1765. This desolating system, so long continued, was the cause why Newloundland, an Island nearly as large as England, situate midway between the old and the new World, in a temperate latitude, containing a vast extent of cultivable land, capable of giving employment and sustenance to millions of inhabitants, surrounded on all sides by inexhaustible fishing grounds, is in its present unimproved state, the interior unknown and unexplored, and with some hundred thousand inhabitants, scattered on the margin of her shores. Newfoundland was placed alto- gether under the tender mercies of her mercantile rulers, and she has paid the penalty. But it is not only the Co- lonial, but likewise the Imperial interests have been sacrificed, the rules, ordinances and laws that were made for the government of Newfoundland, emanated altogether from the mercantile code. Concerning the Colonial trade observes Adam Smith, " the Merchants who carry it on, it must be observed, have been the principal advisers, we must not wonder therefore, if in the greater part of them, their interests have been more considered than either that of the Colonies or the Mother Country." In the year 1791, the Parent Government at length be- gan to think, that Newfoundland claimed some considera- tion as a colony. In that year the celebrated Mr. Reeves was sent thither on a mission, to report on the state of the NEWFOUNDLAND FROM 1497 TO 1832; 7 colony, local govornmerit, and laws. After having by great labour and industry, informed himself on the sjiot, of the working of the system, {See Appendix C.) he denounced it in the strongest terms, and recommended the establishment of a Supreme Judicature, based upon the principle of Eng- lish law. An Act passed the British Parliament founded upon his views. Mr. Reeves having been appoint- ed Chief Justice, presided for a short time over the Court to the universal joy of the resident inhabitants, but brought down upon himself the hatred and vengeance of the monopolists. For Chief Justice Reeves can be claimed the high honour of transplanting into the soil of Newfoundland the impartial spirit of British Jus- tice. Unfortunately the Judges who immediately succeeded Mr. Reeves, had not the ability, if they had the will, to carry out the principles he had established for the guid- ance of the Courts. Overawed by the power that so long prevailed, and possibly not feeling much repugnance lo the summary system, the olden despotism was engrafted on the new Stock, the rules, proclamations, and orders were by the Judges adopted as laws, through the ignorance, if not the corruption of the men in whose hands the administration was placed. The people, for some years, were deprived of the good intended for them by the parent government ; acts of great cruelty and in* justice were perpetrated. The people of Newfoundland for some years suffered under the worst of all despotisms, that which usurps the forms while it tramples upon the noblest principles of English Law. {See Appendix D.) In 1817, the late lamented Sir Francis Forbes was ap- pointed Chief Justice of Newfoundland ; he consummat- ed the system of English law introduced by Chief Justice Reeves. A quarter of a century elapsed from its intro- duction before its benefits were enjoyed. Sir Francii: Forbes possessed all the qualities of a Judge, great ac- quirements, talents of the highest order, a profound know- 8 NEWFOUNDLAND FROM 1-197 TO 1832. ledge and lox^e of English law, and a determination 4o dispense it with justice and impartiality. No sooner did he take his place upon the Bench of the Supreme Court, than the old despotic system, as if by ma- gic, vanished before him. When it was attempted to make the rules, orders, and proclamations, have the force of laws ; when tomes of them were heaped on the table of the Court, to the utter discomfiture of the advocates of the monopolists, he said he viewed ihem in no other light than as bundles of waste paper, which could not have the slightest authority with the Court. For the first time the people of Newfoundland discovered the whole system, under which they had so long been governed, to be a despotic usurpation of. power, equally opposed to law, as. to their inherent rights and privileges of British subjects. From this time, it may be said, the English code succeeded the mercantile code — the reign of the monopolist was no more. In the year 1820, the exercise of summary power by two Surrogates in Conception Bay, in ordering corporeal punishment for what they termed contempt, roused the in- dignation and alarm of the inhabitants. Proceedings were introduced into, the Supreme Court. This. year presented the novelty of Judges being arraigned, and damages claimed for £1500, for such acts as were perpetrated by their prer decessors for ages with impunity. The Chief Justice, Forbes, at the same time that he con- demned in the strongest terms the proceedings of the Judges, who he said, " had grievously mistaken the true object of the power with which they were invested, admitted that it was impossible not to feel that great injustice had been done, and it was not the less hard because it was without remedy by law." The ignorance of the Judges was their protection ; on this ground, Chief Justice Forbes directed the Jury to find a verdict for the defendants. In doing so they expressed *' their abhorrence of such an unmerciful and cruel punish- NEWFOUND!. AND FROM 1497 TO 18S2, » ment for so trifling an offence, as that which has been in- flicted ujDon the unfortunate plaintiflis in this action." The Judges in this case had greatly mistaken their powers, but they only did what was previously of every day occur- rence. Captain Buchan and the Rev. Mr. Lee, the Judges in question, could have no malicious intention ; the system, not the men, was to blame. Chief Justice Forbes adopted the proper course ; he exposed and condemned the system which placed ignorant and incompetent men as Judges to dispense the abstruse science of the law, while he recommended the acquital of the Judges, he adopted the very best course for the abrogation and condemnation of thte •anomalous system. (>S'ee Appendix E.) The proceedings in these cases roused the inhabitants, and showed the necessity of more security for their liberty, their persons, and their property. Meetings were held. Pe- titions were proposed and adopted to his Majesty and both Houses of Parliament. The summary powers exercised by the Surrogates in the cases of Butler and Landrigan, were depicted in strong and eloquent colours. {Sec Apj)endix P.) A more improved system of Judicature, and the establishment of a local Legislature, similar to those granted to the other North American Colonies, were most earnestly prayed for. The Petition to His Majesty was transmitted through His Excellency Sir C. Hamilton, the then Governor. It is only an act of justice to the tory Government of the day, the Colonial Department being presided over by Lord Bathurst and Mr. Goulburn, the former as Principal and the latter Under Secretary, to say, that a prompt and most gracious reply was given. The summary powers exercised by the Surrogates were instantly abrogated, and severely condemned. It was admitted in the reply that the altered circumstances of the country required a more improved judicature. It discouraged the claims for a Colonial Legislature. The Petition to the Lords was presented by the lamented Lord Holland, that to the Commons by Sir James 10 NEWFOUNDLAND FROM 1497 TO 1882. Macintosh. The just claims of Newfoundland were power- fully advocated by those great and good men, who were ably supported by Earl Darnley, Mr. Hume, Dr. LusHiNGTON, Sir John Newport, Mr. William Smith, and others. {See Appoidix G.) Earl Bathurst in the Lords, and Mr. Goulburn in the Commons, fully admitted the defects of the incongruous amphibious system of Judicature, promised a revision, strongly censured the infliction of corporeal punishment, but again discouraged all hopes of a representative local consti- tution. In 1824 Lord Bathurst introduced a Bill for the belter administration of Justice in Newfoundland ; it was drafted on a Bill, the outline of which had been prepared in Newfoundland, in which were contained many objectionable principles, and much of the olden despotic system. It was read a first and second time. At that lime there were two Delegates sent from New- foundland, authorized by the Colonists to watch over the progress of the measure^ and to guard as much as in them lay the interests of the Colony. Mr. WiLMOT HoRTON, who succeeded Mr. Goulburn as Under Secretary for the Colonies, called upon the Dele- gates for their opinion, and at a meeting called at the Colo- nial Office submitted the Bill for their observation. In a very long discussion, the Delegates strongly objected to the unconstitutional principles embodied in the Bill. A Gov- ernor and Council, with Legislative powers, the country deprived of trial by Jury, no professional qualification for Judges, and some other provisions equally unconstitutional and objectionable. Mr. Wilmot Horton kindly and patient- ly heard all the objections, fully explained and defended the objectionable points, but did not give lbs slightest intima- tion of the ulterior views of die Government. The Dele- gates left Downing Street in despair, not expecting that any remonstrance from individuals so humble and so powerless, could have the effect of changing the intention of the Gov- ernment. One of the Delegates wrote a letter to Mr. M:\VFOUiNDLANDFKOAI 1497T0 ISS'i. 11 Horiod repeating the objections previously made, and a Peliiloii was prepared to be prebented against the Bill, on its second reading in iheLoids. {See Appendix II.) On the nioruini^ of tlie day wliioh was set down for the second reading, the Delegates waited on l^oid Darn- ley by appointment, with the petition he had promised to ])respnt. On the admission of the Delegates to Loru^DARN- ^EYj they foinid him reading tiie printed copy of the Bill, which he had ju.>t received. His Lordship immediately said, that lie could not find in the Bill those objectionable points whicli were the subject of complaint. Having a ma- nuscript copy of the first draft, it was compared with the printed Bill, when it was found to their utter astonish- ment and delight, that all tlie objectionable parts were left out, and that every principle contended for by the Delegates was afllrmed. The benevolent and kind heart- ed Lord Darnley appeared as delighted as the Delegates themselves, and asked if there was any necessity for the presentation of tlie petition. They ofccnrse said not, but requested his Lordship to express to Lord Hathurst and the Government, their unbounded gratitude and thanks for the invaluable j)rivilegps they were about conferring on the long neglected people of Newfoundland I have, my Lord, entered rather too much into detail in reference to this measure, though personally mixed up with the transaction, and feeling no small degree of sa- tisfaction at the thought of contributing, in the slightest degree, to the attainment of so much good for the Colony of Newfoundland. My oljeci is not to claim credit for the delegates, but to exhibit in the strongest hght the con- duct of the most mighty Government in the world, influ- enced in their acts by the representations of two ob- scure, miknown individuals, who could have no other claim to consideration than the justice of the cause which they so feebly, though so sincerely advocated. It would iiave been well for the world, it would bo well for England herself, if many such examples could be found , B V} NEWFOUNDI.AND FROM 1497 TO 1832. The wise and just course adopted by the British Govern- ment on tliis occasion forms an exception, almost a solita- ry exception, to the rule that has influenced power in all ages and in all countries. The Judicature Act ot 1824, with the Charter found- ed upon it, was based upon the purest principles of English Law. It was, indeed, a mighty boon, it secured to the people of Newfoundland the concession of the greatest of human blessings, a pure administration of Justice, and Justice — according to the Laws of Eng- land. The invaluable boon of British justice and English law conferred on the people of Newfoundland in 1S24 by the Parent Goverement, was received by the people with the most lively gratitude, thenew system of judicature was put into operation and presided over by the able, learned, and benevolent Chief Justice Tucker, who framed rules and orders for the empannelling of Juries, and other regula- tions for the governmerit of the Courts, on the most en- lightened and liberal principles; all which were found admirably suited to the particular circumstances of the country. It was said, and said with truth, that in no part of His Majesty's dominions, could a poor rnan more readily obtain justice, and justice according toihe princi- ples of the matchless laws of England, than in his Ma- jesty's Courts of Newfoundland, formed under the Royal Charter granted by his Majesty George IV. in that year. In the year 1832, when Lord Goderich, and your Lord- ship, presided over the Colonial Department, his late Majesty William IV. was advised, and was graciously pleased to grant a constitution to Newfoundland, simi- lar to those granted to the other North American Colo- nies. It must be acknowledged that from the year 1821, when the inhabitants brought their grievances clearly un- der the consideration of the parent Governmr: ', down to the present time, one continued series of wist, just, and beneficent measures, has been conceded by the parent Go- NEWFOUNDLAND KIIOM 1497 TO 1832. 13 Vernmeiit — it would be difficult to point out an example ill the iiistory of any other country, of so radical a change u that bronght about within the hist twenty-five years — ii despotism of three hundred years? has boen changed for a system of perfect freedom. {See Appendix /.) There is not more ditferencc as respects ilin freedom of tlie people, between FiUgland and Turkey, than there is between Newfoundland of the present day, and Newfoundland a quarter of a century past. The internal resources of the country hn ve been developed, Agriculture, Roads. Bridges, Education, and Civilization, have been more advanced in that short period, tlian for three centu- ries that preceded; more lias been done than could pos- sibly take place in twice as many more centuries, if Newfoundland were left to pine and languish under the blasting and withering eclipse of despotism. The parent Government have acted, though late, gen- erously, wisely, and justly towards Newfoundland; it has conferred the greatest of boons on the people, the rights, privileges, and immunities of British subjects. It would be unjust to charge the Government oi the present day Avith the blunders and errors of the past. It is not how- ever too much to say that those Statesmen who, like your Lordship, hold in their hands the destinies of the Colonial dependencies of the Empire, are called upon to do every thing in their power to counteract former errors and mis- management. If the same advantages were conferred on New- foundland, as were so freely granted to the other Colonies, if they vvere allowed to manage their lo- cal affairs in their own way, if the parent Gov- ernment pursued towards them, tliat system of " v/ise and salutary neglect," under which Massachusetts, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other Colonies, rose and flourished, Newfoundland would this day be the most wealthy, the most populous, and the most powerful 14 NEWFOUNDLAND FROM 1197 TO 1331. Colony ill North America, and unlike them, would most certainly have rcaiained u litc.l to tho. parent state. It would be vain and us.^less to coudomti and speculate on the poUcy of the p ist, were it not to found on it argu- ments for improving the policy of the future. I have fully expressed my opinion on what Newfound- and might have been, had she extended to her tliose con- stitutional privileges whicii were invariably granted to the other Colonies, and whicli alone could draw forlii and de- velops lier Inexhaustible resources, and secure a due por- tion of her vast treasures, to be expended in her inter- nal improvement. I have the stroi2;ost faith in the doctrine of Sir James Macintosh, *' That Liberty is the parent of Commerce, the parent of Wealth, the parent of Knowledge, the parent of every Virtue." These opin- ions may be considered wild and visionary, yet I shall venture more, and say that iiotwitlistanding all the misride and mis'manigemeut of the past, New- foundland still remains in a national point of view, in reference to England's maritime and commercial power, her most valuable transatlantic possession. It is not my intention to oetract from the value of tlie Colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Canadas. These noble Colonies are rapidly advancing; their power and greatness will only benefit ihemselves,and according to the opinion of many, add to the territorial aggrandizement of that ambitious federal Republic, separated from them by an imaginary line. Newfoundland, insulated, surrounded by the sea, her coast indented with safe and numerous harbours, situated on the highway between the old and iiev/ world, must remain a dependency of England, as long as England maintains her naval supremacy. Sir RiCfjARn BoNNYCASTLE Called Newfoundland the Island fortress. He said " that it is the last part of America, over which the British flag will float, and that the period would arrive when the Island of Newfoundland would exercise the same influence over the continent of America; ■4i NKWFJUNIHAND FROM 1197X0 1832. 15 \v'.iich Eii;;I:iivi now exorcises over l^>jrop2." Tlie pos- sfsssiou of Nnvfjiiiidlatid, and Etic,'laiid's naval suprema- cy, must miv(3 on togotljjr. America, with her vast terri- torial posspssion'3, her lakes, the St. Liawrence, Newfound- land and the fisheries, would be a j)aweriul competitor with England (or the dominion of the ocean. I again repeat, Ihat Newfoundland with her fisheries, in a national point ol view, is England's most important and valuable Ct)lony. Fisheries have mainly contribut- ed to tKo greatness and power of the chief marJime na- tions, Venice, England, Holland. The Dutch raisud the superstructure of their national power on their fishery. The foundation of Amsterdam, they said, was laid on Herring' bones, '-the wealth which the Colonies have drawn from the sea,|by their fisheries," exclaimed Mr. Burke, " What in th^ world is equal (oit?" The French make the Newfoundland fisheries a na- tional question. The Americans make it a national ques- tion. Many hundred thousaid po-.mds are expended by these powers for their encouragement, not so much as a proiitable undertaking, but as a n2verftuiinj source of naval powerand naval strength. ^J'hat the Newloun Hand fishery is a snbj- ct more of Imperial than Ooloniil consideration, is a proposition clear* ly demonrtrated by the policy adopted by the I'rench :?nd Americans. My next letter shall be devoted to the co i- sideration of the immense value of the fisheries, with the hope that i( may Iiave the effect of draw i ig your Lord- ship's att/nti )n to this i nportant subject. 1 have the honcur tD be, AYith the highest rcspfct, Your Lordship's obedif^nt servant, PATRtCK MOItRIrJ. ' HdS^^isis nso Fisher ief(. " The trade to tlie Newfoundland bBing thus followed , ns It may well be. your Maiesties subjects may then have ihere yoKiely, aboue 400 saile of •^ood ships, ftom all your Maiesties other King^ domes which will be always in roadinesse to be called homo from thence, withoiu imbarmeiit of any forraine Prince, upon Jesse then foureteeiie days warning, if the witide serue, with aboue eight or ten thousand of lusty, sli ijg, and sernrceable sea- men in thetn, vpon any occasions of seruice, when some other ships and mariners that are then aliroad in voyages to the East or IVesl Indies, and diuerse other places, vvdl not be so ./ Ti'ada and FUiulutionSf 1718.) The An of lOt'i and lltli Willi AiM niid Marv, declares the Trade and Fisljeries of Newfoundland a beneficial irodo to tie Kingdom, in the employment of a great number of seauicn r.nd ships, to the increase of Her Majesty's revciiL.tf and iho encouragement of 'Trade and IVavigalion. The same Parliament came to a resoluiiop, '' That the Trade of iVcwfoundland doth very much promote naviga- tion, increase seamen, and is of great profit to ihe nation.'* The piiviiege of Fishing ceded to the Frencli by the Treaty of Utrecht, was loudly condemned ; it formed one of the principal grounds of imj)eachment against the Fail of Oxford. " That he, tlie said Kohert, Earl of Oxford, and Earl ]Mokitmer, in defiance of the express provisions of an Act of Parliament, as well as in contempt of the frcr qucnt and earnest representations of the Merchants of Great Britain, and of the Commissioners of Trade and Planta- tions, did advise His Mi'jesty finally to agree with France, that the subjects of France should have liberty of fishing, and drying fish, in New foundland." The Comniitiee of Secrecy. 1715, on the Treaty of Utrecht, reported, " What was really of most importance to England was the ?tlj Article, which relates to Hudson's Bay and Newfoundland ; but the Ministiy sufi'cied ihem? selves to he grossly im])csed upon in the article, that they directly gave to France all they wanted, wliich was the liberty of taking and drylrg fish in Newfoundland. And as the acceptance of this rirendment was to put an end to all the difi'erences, and at the same time give such ample ad^ vantages to Fiance, the French readily agreed to it, and did insert the ariicle verbathr) as it was sent in the Treaty of pcmmerce, which nakes the 9th article as it stands ; and is tl ti FLSiriUlIRS. If) tlio same that was lafjuesleiJ by t!ie last Purliainoiit. Tliis articia, whicli has siiicj been so universally and justly con- demned, appearj to bo the work of the Enj5lish Ministry, and the pricj for whiclj they sold to Franc j the Fishery of Newfoundland ! !'' — {licjtort of tlta ConiiniUac of Secrecy^ 17150 In 17();^, on the discussion in Parliamont on the Peace, Mr. Pitt, (Jiord Chatham), said, " The first important arif :le was the fishery, the terms in which this article was written, appeared to him to give to France a grant of tho whole fishery. There was an absolute unconditional sur- render of the islands of St. Pierre and ?liqueloii, which, if Fianco co!rinued to he attentive to her own interests, as we have hiilieito found her to be, would enable her to recoo ver her mniie. He considered this to be a most danger- ous ai't'.cle to the rna itime strength and future power of Great Britain. In the negotiation he had with Mr. Bus- SEY, he hi'd acquiesced in die cession of St. Pierre and Miqt'.elon, on'y after having, lie said, several times in vain contended for the v/hole exclusivG fishery, but he was over- ruled, he repealed he was overruled, not by the Foreign enemy, b^t by ano. her enemy." — {J\^peech of Mr. Pitt in the House of Commons, 1702.) In the previous negotiation, the Spanish Minister put forth a claim on the part of Spain to a participation in the fisheries, Mr. Secretary Pitt wrote to the British Ambas- sador, " Next, as to the stale and inadmissible pretensions of the Biscayans and Cluispuscoans to fish at Newfoundland, on which important point your Excellency is already so fully instructed, you will again on this occasion let Mr. Wall clearly understand, that this is a matter held sacred, and that no concession on the part of His Majesty so destruc- tive to the true and capital interest of Great Britain, will be yielded to Spain however abetted or supported." — Mr, Secretary Pitt to the Earl of Bristol, 1761. " The fishery," said the same illustrious man on the same occasion, " is a point we should not dare to yield, though 20 FISIIERIRS. they were masters of the tower of London." — Lord MaJion^s History of England. " Tlie Fishery granted to France, will prove a mine of wealth, put her commerce on a respectable footing, and in a short time, furnish them with the means for main- taining the war." — Mr. Legge's Speech, Prellmin'xry Treaty of Peace., 17C2. Succeeding events fully bore out the anticipations of Lord Chatham and Mr. Legge ; the Newfoundland fisher- ies at once became a powerful nursery of seamen for the French. In 1777, while Franklin was negotiating on the part of the revolted Colonies, and the French Minister was amusing the British Ambassador with the most false profes- sions of friendship and neutrality, an order was secretly despatched by M. De Sartine, Minister of the Marine de- partment, to recall the French fishermen from the banks of Newfoundland, preparatory to a declaration of war against England. The formidable efforts of the French navy during that unfortunate war, can be in a great degree accounted for by the great increase of seamen which for upwards of 15 years of peace were nursed in the French Newfoundland fisho eries. In 1774, acc^ording to the return of the British Admiral on the Newfoundland station, the French had 15,137 seamen engaged in their Newfoundland fisheries. By another ac- count, Vhich I believe to be nearer the truth, there were in that year upwards of 20,000. In 1792, owing to the confusion and ruin brought upon France by the events of the Revolution, the French New- foundland fisheries were in a great degree abandoned. Ac- cording to the same authority, (the British Admiral) the number of French fishermen that year dwindled to 3,397. With such disparity of seamen, is it not easy to account for the strength of the French navy on the one occasion, and their weakness on the other ? FISHERIES, St r- Tliiit the Freiicli fisheries on the banks and shores ot Psevvfounclland, have been the best nursery for seamen to man their navy, in all their maritime wars with England, is a proposition that can be proved by a reference to histo- rical facts equally palpable with those I have stated in refer- ence to the late American and French wars. That the French Navy was formidable and efficient in proportion to the length of time the nation was enabled to prosecute the Newfoundland asheries previous to the commencement of war, will not be disputed, except by those who have not given themselves the trouble of making inquiries on the sub- ject. The author of the considerations on the trade of Newfoundland, inserted in the second volume of Churchill's collection of voyages, observes, '' that In the reign of Queen Anne, the French by diis trade, had so far increased their riches and naval power, as to make all Europe stand in fear of them, which plainly shews that twenty years quiet possession of this trade is capable of making any Prince the most formidable by sea and land, by the yearly in- crease of men, ships, and bullion." A host of authorities could be adduced to prove the invaluable advantages in a maritime view, of the Newfoundland fisheries. My Lord, thsy far exceed in value all that has been said and writ- ten on the subject. The power that possesses them ap- pears to have placed the least value upon them: over and over again, they have been huxtered, and bartered, and sacrificed. Their value has been proclaimed and eulo- gised by British statesmen, for no other purpose than mi- serable, petty, party warfare ; no matter what they might have said, they were all ready to throw Newfoundland and her fisheries into the scale as a make-weight ; but &t no former period were they so recklessly partitioned as they were at the period to which I have now to call your Lordship's attention, when they were ceded not only to the French, but to much more dangerous rivals, the re- volted Americans, by the Treaty of 1783. Ignorance, it is said, is the highest crime in a minis- !; 2-2 FISIIEIUt'.S. ter, it is the only defence that can be made for the •negotiators of 1783. The Britisli Minister, Mr. Os- wald, displayed the mast profound ignorance. Frank- lin not only duped him, but out-mancEuvred and deceived the French Government, on the subject of Newfoundland. As the usual cession to France ot the fisheries, would be yielded as a matter of course, previously decided upon in former Treaties, France had a common interest with England in excluding the new American continental power just starting into existence. Franklin was well aware of this, he therefore took ad- vantage of the simplicity and ignorance of Mr. Os- wald, and induced him, without the knowledge of the French G ven mi ent, to sign the preliminary Treaty of Peace with England, though it was agreed between the two powers, France and America, that no Treaty should be entered into without the concurrence of both. This breach of a solemn agreement on the part of Franklin, V\rith a power to whose aid America was indebted, in a great degree, for her independence, can only be defended by the success of the manoeuvre, it secured for America what Franklin knew the value of beyond all other men, " Newfoundland and her fisheries." — {^Sec Appendix K.) Frankhn, not satisxled with claiming America for the Americans,modestly asked,and what is more extraordinary gained for her Newfoundland and her fisheries. There is nothing more clear than that, though he asked, he did not expect the concession. He said himself, " The British Mi- nisters truggled hard for two points, that the favors granted to the loyalists should be extended, and our fishery con- tracted. We silenced them on the first by threatening to produce an account of the mischief done by those people- and as to the second, when they told us they could not possibly agree to it as we required it, and must refer it to the Ministry in London, we produced a new article to be referred at the same time, with a note of facts in sup- port of it, which you have, No. 3. Apparently it seemed FISHERIES. 23 that to avoid tlio discussion of this, they suddenly chang- ed thoir minds, dropped the design of recurring to Lou- don, and agreed to allow the fishery as demanded." Well indeed might Franklin triumphantly exclaim, " Our independence is acknowledged, our boundaries as good and as extensive as we demanded, and our fisheries more so than the Congress expected." — Franklin^s Cor- respondence. Dr. Franklin was in such haste to conclude the Treaty with Mr. Oswald, after scaring him out of the fisheries, that he broke faith with the French Government. The cause why he acted in this clandestine manner was, the knowledge he possessed, that France would make com- mon cause with England on the subject of the fisheries. During the discussion in Parliament on the Peace of 1783, the cession of Newfoundland and her fisheries, as usual, was made the subject of much idle and eloquent declamation; there was no part of the treaty so loudly denounced, as those which ceded partly to the French, and secondly to the Americans, Newfoundland and her fisheries. Viscount Stormont adverted to the shameful ignorance that appeared in the negotiations and provisional articles between En.Jand and the United American States: " What reason for sending out such a man as Mr. Oswald to treat with the four American Commissioners, he was far over- matched by any one of them. " There was prefixed in the articles of peace between England and America a very pompous preamble, setting forth that these treaties were the best observed in which were reciprocal advantages, he was a long time at a loss to understand the meaning of these vvords * reciprocal ad- vantages,' but at last he discovered they meant only the advantage of America. "From this impolicy" his Lordship " turned to New- foundland, and there, he complained of Ministers giving to the French near seven degrees of latitiiaj for their own ex- D ^4 FISIIEIUKS, elusive fishery, and at the same tinie that \ve did that, we also gave the Americans a pariicipation in all onr fisheries in all our creeks and harbours, and never mode any stipulation for ours in theirs. ." He now considered the fishery as irretrievably gone, for there was not a syllable of reciprocity in the Treaty, and we yielded in full right ihe possession of St. Pierre and Miqiielnn, which they would instantly fortify, and secure to themselves an immense trade. The concessions made to America in ihU particular were also very mate- rial, the unsettled xioasts and bays of Nova Scotia were open to them. And we were to have no power to fish in their bays in return ; eternal jealousies would arise, and instead of securing a peace, we had in truth granted all this lor the sake of involving the nations in a new war." " The admission of the French," said Lord Viscount TowNSEND, " to a participation of the Newfoundland fisherieSj was a piece of the most dreadful policy and con- cession that ever disgraced a nation." Mr. Fox said, " It was evident that our Fisheries in Newfoundland, so much boasted of, were in a manner annihilated, not to mention the impolicy of ceding St. Pierre and Miquelon." — Speeches in Parliament ^ Preli* ininarij Articles of Peace., 1783. The leading men in both Houses of Parliament spoke on the subject of the Newfoundland fisheries, their value was admitted, and the concessions both to the French and Americans were feebly defended by Earl Shelburne and the supporters of the Ministry. "The extraordinary privileges granted to the Ameri- cans by the 3rd Article of the Treaty, to enjoy unmolested the right to take fish of every kind on the Grand Bank, and on all the other Banks of Newfoundland, also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea, where the inhabitants of both countries used at any time heretofore to fi?h, indeed was a wholesale concession. What FISIlF,KIfc:!5. 25 would Lord Chatham say to it ? He would not "conceda to the Spaniards a participation in the fisheries though the enemy were 'in possession of the Towerof London.' " Either the opinions expressed by public men, on this and former occasions, of the value of Newfoundland in a national and maritime point of view, must have been greatly exaggerated, or this fishery must have been made the stalking horse for the party purposes of the day, or the conduct of the ministers in ceding to the French, but more particularly, to the Americans, the Newfoundland fishe- ries, merited the strongest, the severest reprehension. If there were the shadow of ground for the impeach- ment of Earl Oxford, for the privileges granted to the French by the Treaty of Utrecht, how much more deserving of censure were the Ministry of 1783, who not only ceded them to the French, but to a more dangerous rival of England, one of her own progeny, the newly created Republic of North America, a competitor for maritime supremacy, more to be guarded against by England, than France, Spain, and all the other maritime powers of Europe put together. The concession made by England of the fisheries, in- stead of being a pledge of Peace, is an encourage- ment to war. Mr. Bliss, in his excellent work, has truly said, " Both France and the United States seem in these differences with Great Britain, to make these fisheries of no other account than the means of assailing the power by whose concessions they were obtained, and by whose hostility they are entirely lost. This undoubt- edly is owing to the facility with which, during so many years, the privilege has, as a matter of no moment, been restored by each successive Treaty of Peace, e\en when dictated in the enemy's capital. The time is coming, it is to be hoped, when these things will be better understood, and Great Britain, as by every right, natural and national, she ought to do, and as every other power actually does, w 11 reserve the fisheries on the coasts of her own domi- S6 FISHERFES. nions, for the enjoyment of her own subjects." — Mr. lUlss, Colonial System^ Fisheries. I have dwelt at some, lenglh upon the subject of the dis- astrous treaty of 1783. My object was to prove, by facts and opinions that would not be questioned, the vahie at- tached to the Newfoundland fisheries, by the able men of England, France, and America, at that period. The following ten years, from 1783 to 1793, the Ame- ricans made the most of their privileges. Owing to the confusion that every interest was thrown into in France by the Revolution, tlie bounties to their fisheries of New- foundland were discontinued, and their trade diminished, as it has been already stated, from the employment, in 1777, of 2l),00l) seamen to 3,397 in 1793. During the French war, wliich may be eaid to have continued from 1793, with the exception of the Truce of Amiens, to the Peace of 1814? the British fisheries greatly increased, and prospered : the pri:3p of fish in tha Foreign markets was raised considerably, the \ lueof the exports, the^ pro- duce of the fisheries, for one year, 1813 and 1814, was es5timated at the enormous amount of nearly three mil- lions sterling. Theeldorado of the Newfoundland fisheries was com- pletely dissipated by the Peace cf 1814, and the conse- quent participation in themol the French and Americans. The price of fish in Newfoundland fell from forty-five shillings per quintal, to from ten to twelve shillings, the consequence was almost universal ruin to the British Mer- chants trading, and to the fishermen engaged in the tradsj a great majority of the merchants were, without any fault ot their own, ruined. It was estimated that close upon a million in amount of Bills were returned protested, in the years ^31,5, 1816, and 1817, occasioned by the insolven- cies of houses engaged in the fisheries. Many of these Mer- chants having capital wound up their affairs and withdrew, and the proposition was made to Government to transfer a large portion of the inhabitants to the neighbouring Oolo- i s I li if FISUEIllES. 57 nies. The fisheries were handed over to the French and Americans — an exchislvc right of fishery was granted to them on the most productive fishing Banks, and along the shores of by far the best part of the Island. Stimulated and encouraged as the French and Americans were by enormous bounties, it is not difficult to account for the un- paralleled ruin that was brought down upon the British Merchants and Fishermen ; the only difficulty is to solve the problem, how, under such circumstances, the British were enabled to stand the competition, — ihat they did not resign the whole of the Newfound- land fisheries into the hands of their more favoured ri- vals, and withdraw from the Island altogether. The only alternative proposed by the merchants residing in Eng- land to the Government, was their giving countervailing bounties to the British Newfoundland fisheries to enable them to compete with the French and Americans. The views of the Merchants were sanctioned by a Report of a Select Committee of the British House of Commons in 1817. " It appears to your Committee that the Trade itself has experienced a serious and alarming depression. The cau- ses. from which this has arisen will require, in the opinion of your Committee, in the next session of Parliament, a much more detailed ^i.id accurate Investigation ; but enough has been shown by the testimony of respectable witness'- -, to prove before the House separates, that the fisheries will be most materially injured, the capital embarked in it by de- grees withdrawn, and the nursery for seamen, hitherto so justly valued, almost entirely lost." — Report of Commit- tee of British Fisheries^ House of Commons^ 1817. I have endeavoured to bring under your Lordship's consideration, the subject of the Newfoundland fisheries from the earliest period to the last notice taken of them by the Imperial Government, in the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1817. I shall have to shew to your Lordship, in a subsequent £ 38 FisriEriiES. part of tills address, under what circumstances llic fishery oariied on by British subjects has been upheld, notwith- ytandinijthc competition they had to contend with. I shall lirst give a summary of the present slate of the Newfoundland iishorics, French, American, and British. France attached the greatest importance to the fisheries. She considered no expense too great for their maintenance. The works on the small Island of Cape Breton, when the seat of her fisheries, cost upwards of a million sterling. — .'\I)bc Itaynal said, " The necessity of bringing stone from lOurope, and other materials proper for these great works, sometimes retarded ias tj<>en securtid and re R^i'/ed in the cultivation and improvement of its lands. A mer- chant, it has been said very, properly, is not, necessarily the ciii- zen of any particulaf country < ^ It is in a great measure indiffer- ent to hitn fi'om what place tie Carries on* '« trade ; and a very tfifling disgust will make him temsve his capital, and, together with it, all the industry Kvhich it supports, from onb conntiy to another. No part of it can be said to lelong to any particular counrry till it has been spread) as it were, pver the face. of that country, eithet' in.bni|i'' ^^ or the lasting improvement pf lands. " The ordinary rdvolutions of* war an(! govcrhment easily dry up the sources of that weal . which arises from commbrre only. — That which arises ''i' ui the more solid improvefiiient of a^ricul* ture is much more durable, and cannot be destroyed but by ti)ose more viole.ii convulsions occasioned by the depredations of hnn- tilean.1 harliaroiisniitionecontinued fur a centuiy or two to^ethftrt ntrch as tho»9 that happened for «nme time liiefore a:id HfteM|T« t 4» COLONIZATION OF NE\VFOUNDL/\i>iJ. fall of ilie Roman empire in the western provinces ol' fc'urope.''— Jdam Smith, vol. 2, page 202 ami 20a " Of nM ihe plans ihnt hive been umier oonsiileraiion, thnt which appears to ine to he most practicahle, is that of uiiUnpr ami assisiin^j public works in those; Provinces to which ernigr-a- tion is likely to bo directpd'." — Lord John Russell's Speech, Juru Islj on Lord Lincolnis molion on Colonization. Mv LuRi>, — If Newfoundland is ever dtestined to emerge ft cm that state of degradation and inferiority, to which she lias been reduced by that selfish barbarous policy which prevailed so long, and which attempted to arrest the order of pro- vidence that gave the earth for the maintenance and support of man; — if she is ever to assume that station amongst the rising countries in her neighbourhood, to which her boundless natural resources both in the sea and in the land fully entitle her; — if the tide of civilization and population is ever to ex- tend over her now solitary and.unprofitable wastes, the super- structure must be raised on the solid basis of Agriculture AuAM Smith, when he wrote his work on the Wealth of Na- tions, attributed the prosperity of the British Provinces, now the United States, to the facilities afforded the early settlers in the attainment of land, and the encourage;rjcnt given to its cultivation. He says, '' There are no colonies of whicli the progress has been more rapid than that of the Englisli in North America. " Plenty of good tand, and liberty to manage their own aiTairs in their own way, seems to be the great cause of the prosperity of all new Colonies'* — Wealth of MQ-iions, vol, Jl, paffe 407. In all the early English Colonies, with the exception of Newfoundland, to the productions of the soil, Jhe first set- ihirs mainly looked lor their maintenance. Agriculture therefore, with them, was their first great indispensable ob- i COLONiZATlON OF NliWFOUNDLAND. 49 ject, wealth, trade, power, and Colonization, followed in Us train. According to tlie high authority of Adam Smith, New- foundlzwd was deprived of the main springs of Colonial prosperity, the privilege of managing her local affairs, and the liberty of cultivating her &oil. The barbarous prohibition to Agriculture, was the cause why Newfoundland lagged so far behind the other colonies, in their rapid advancement in wealth and population. The labour of the first settlers was expended on the internal im- provement of these New Countries. The first object with the adventurers to Newfoundland was to accumulate wealth, to enable them to retire to other countries, which had all the advantages of their labour and capital. There is no proposition more easy of demonstration than that it was the wealth so readily acquired in the prosecution of the fishe- ries which enabled the first adventurers to realize large fortunes, and to retire to other countries to expend it, that presented the real obstacle to the internal improvement of Newfoundland. What, according to the course of ordinary principles, shoiild have been the means of rapid improve- ment to Newfoundland, was turned the other way by the baneful, jealous operation of monopoly, and made an obstacle to the advancement of the country. It was not the severity of the climate, the sterility of the soil; it was not the poverty, it was the vast inexhaustible wealth of her fisheries turned into monopoly, that raised for three centu- ries barriers to the settlement and internal improvement of Newfoundland. The doctrine which so long prevailed, un- til at length it became almost a settled point, even with those who ought to know better, that the soil of Newfound- land was incapable of agricultural improvement, was a monstrous fraud on the one hand, and a most lamentable delusion on the other ; fraud on the part of the monopo- lists, delusion on the part of the Parent Governmejt. The Government were first persuaded that a moveable, ttansilory fishery, carried on by a few merchants, who had 5a COLONIZATION OF NKVVFOONDLAN0. converted it into a monopoly, and who had ullowed the greater part of it to pass into the hands of foreigners, was the best nurspry for seamen, and a great t^ource of trade, and that it would be ruinous to British interests and to the fishery, if settlement was permitted. 'I'o cany out this principle, arbitrary laws were promulgated, which made i( penal for a British subject to reside in Newfoundland or to turn up a clod of earth. It may be said that this withering code was in full operation until the year 1792. The cli-* max of the fraud and absurdity was, that they succeeded in making it generally believed, that Newfoundland, situate in a temperate latitude, separated not more than ten days sail from England, with a soil and climate, not very dif- ferent, presented insurmountable obstacles to agriculture. It is not easy to believe how the most enlightened Govern- ment of the world could be made dupes of for centuries^ by a few ignorant interested men. It would scarce gain credence in the present day, but that reference to the baneful effects of the old monopolizing mercantile system Cionld be made; equally preposterous, cruel, and absurd. Something hke a parallel may be found in the proceed- ings of the Dutch, to secure the monopoly of the spice irade. They buf nt ' ail the spices over and above what they expected to sell in Europe at high pri. ces. *' By different acts of oppression they have reduced the population of several of the Moluccas, nearly to the number which is sufficient to supply with fresh provisions and other necessaries of life, their own insignihcani gar- risons, and such of their ships as occasionally came there for a cargo of spices." The Draconiafi code of Newfoundland, surpassed in folly and barbarity the Dutch administration of their Spice Islands. The native aboriginal inhabitants were hunted down like wild beasts, until the race became almost extirpated, and every means that human folly and tyranny could de- vHie was resorted to, to prevent the original inhabitant* COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 51 irom being replaced by settlers from Britain. For three cenuiries tliis desolating policy may be said to have been very successful ; tiie few inhabitants who, in despite of the system, resided in Newfoundland, were continually com- plaining of the conduct of the adventurers, and praying and beseeching the parent state for something in the form of lawful government, to protect them from the local tyran- ny of the adventurers. In 1667, petitions werp pt-esenied for the appointment of a Governor. The Mcrtl^nnts^ Ship-owners^ and Inha^ hitants of Tot,/iesSy Plymouth^ and Dartmouth, and pla^ CCS adjacent^ petitioned the Privy Council against such an appointment, stating it would be injurious to ihe fisheries. In 1674 and 1075, further applications were made for this purpose, and referred to the Lords of Trade and Planta- tions, who, after hearing the argum3nts for and against the settlement of theconntr*/, decided against the appointment of a Governor, and recommended that all plantations in Newfoundland should be discouraged, that the comman- ders of convoys should have commission to declare to the planters to come voluntarily away, or else the West- ern Charter should be from time to time put in execuiion, by which all planters were forbid to inhabit witiiin six miles of the shore from Cape Race to Bonavista. The Report of their Lordships was approved of by His Ma- jesty, and orders were given to carry into effectual execu- tion what these recommended ! ! ! In the same year, 1675, the cruelties exercised at this time on the planters were so great, that Sir John Berry, the commander of the convoy, {See Appendix P.) whose duty it was to carry the regulations into effect, represen- ted ihem in their true colours to Government, entirely disapproving of the system, and strongly recommending the policy of encouraging a Colony in Newfoundland. Sir John BerrY; on his return, attended the Committee, \vhen he repeated and confirmed what he had written, and assured their Lordships '* of the necessity of encourag- j 5ia> COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. ing a colony in Newfo\indland, if not, the French would take advantqigeof the intended removal, to make them- selves master? ^f all Ihe harbours and fishing places about the Island, or woyld otherwise entice the English planters to come and setiJe among them, to the great prejudice of the fishery." In I67G, John Downing, an inhabitant of Newfound- land, petitioned the King against the endeavours of the adventurers, to pull down the houses and burn the sta- ges of the planters, in order to drive them out of the country. This complaint was referred to the Lords of Trade. when counsel were heard in behalf of both the adventu- rers and planters. The committee having repeated their opinion thereon, the King signified his pleasure that the masters and seamen belonging to the fishing ships should not any way molest the planters, upon pretence of a clause in the Western Charter, whereby '" no person \Yas to inhabit within six miles of the shore." The unprotected state of Ihe.resident inhabitants may bp estimated by the faci that the outrage of destroy- ing their houses, and burning their property, had the ap- pearance of T^aw to sanction it; and that it was necessa- ry for them to appeal to His Majesty and Council, two thousand miles distant, and. to employ counsel to show that they had a right to live in. their own houses, and to enjoy their own property ! ? Considerable effons were made at this period, 1G76, by the few lesido^: inhabitants, for the obtaining of a local Government for their protection. It was most vio- lently opposed by the adventurers. A sample of their arguments against it may be given in their own words. '* That besides the charge of Forts and a Governor, which the fishery trade could not support, it was needless to have such defence against foreigners, the coast being defended in tjje winter by the ice, and in s^u/nmer by the resort of the King's subjects.' — Reeven's History, pa^c 19. COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 53 - The conflicting statements of the parties interested in Newfoundland, led to the passing, in 1G08, of the Acts X. and XI. William and Mary, entitled ^' An Act to en- courage the Trade of Newfoundland." It formed an era in its dark and melancholy history, This Act was extolled to ihe skies by the adventurers. It gave the ap- pearance of law to those proceedings against the rights and properties of the resident inhabitants, which had pre- viously been adopted without law, and in contravention of every right and privilege of British subjects. Previously to this period, the country was ruled by a set ol needy un- principled adventurers, who acted under the illegal autho- rity of thi? ^Siar Chamber orders in Council, and what was denominated rides a?id re sridaiiojis and new rules. The. state of the country was now taken under the considera- tion of the Parliament of William— the Parliament ot the Revolution, but instead of making amends to Newfound- land lor centuries of suffering and misrule, nearly the whole of the old system is embodied in their enactment.. It is founded altogether on the. barbarous policy that so long prevailed, that mode of Government which had neither law, justice, nor common sense to support it, is . now propped up by an Act of Parliament. Nothing could have more effectually ruined the hopes of the few . resident inhabitants, they had to submit to their hard fate. It completely egtahlished the ascendancy of the Adventurers. The persons invested with authority un- der iht? Act, bore the high sounding title of Admiral, Vice Admiral, and Rear Admiral. The skipper or mas- ter of the first fishing vessel that arrived from Kngland in each harbour was the Admiral, the second the Vice Ad- miral, and the third the Hear Admiral. To these solons were entrusted the administration .of justice under the new era. They had considerable advantages under the act, they were entitled to the best fishing stations, and the first act of their administration was to drive the inhabi- lanis from their houses, fishing rooms, and gardens, to > i 54 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. make room for themselves and their friends. A resident inhabiiantcoaid not commit a higher crime against thi^ laws of the fishery, than to cultivate the land. The fish- ing Admirals considered they had the right to level the houses if erected, and to take possession of them for their own use, or, as they said, for the use of the fishery. The character of the Newfoundland Judges, and ihe system under which it was governed at this period, is thus summed up by Mr. Cummins, in a representation to tho Home Government, in 1715. " The Admirals," he says, prove generally the greatest knaves, an. I do most preju- dice, being generally Judge and Party, in hearing suits for debt, and when they have served ihemsc-lves, then they will do justice to others. So it would be requisite to have a civil government, and persons appointed to administer justice in the most populous and frequented places, that they may be governed as Britons, and not live like a ban- ditti or forsaken people, without Law or Gospel, there being but one clergyman in all the country." Similar re/)resentatious were made by others. Mr. Reeves, in his history, says, in reference to these statements, that " While the King's officers, and persons employed and trusted by the Government, were making such uniform complaints of the abuses and disordc?r in the Government, the Merchants and Adventurers seem to have been wholly blind to these irregularities." — Reeves^ page 90. " It has been too often stated in the course of this historical inquiry, to need repetition, that the Admirals, ever the servants of the Merchants, that justice was not to be expected from them, and a poor planter or inhabitant, who was considered little better than a law breaker in being such, had but small chance of justice in opposition to any great west country merchant; that they have been in the habit of seeing that species of wickedness and anar- chy, ever since Newfoundland was frequented, from fa- ther to son. It was favourable to their old impressions COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 55 that Newfoundland was theirs, and that all the planters were to be spoiled and devoured at their pleasure." — The complaints against the misrule of the fishing Ad- mirals led to the appointment, in 1720, by the Parent Go- vernment, of a Governor, adverted to by Mr. Reeves in the following terms, — " The design for establishing some sort of Government in Newfoundland, ended in the ap- pointment, not of a person skilled in the law, but of Cap- tain Harvey Osborne, Commander of His Majesty's ship Sffuirreiy Thus commenced the Naval Government of Newfound- laud, by Captains and Admirals of the British Navy. — Settlement and colonization were little advanced by the change, it was an improvement on the system of the fish- ing Admirals. The prohibition to cultivation and settlement was rigidly enforced under the Act X. and XI. William and Mary. It formed part of their instructions. The Governors re- mained only a few months in the country, arriving general- ly in July or August, and departing the latter end of Ocio- ber in each year. To a transitory fishery was added a transilory Government, an anomaly from which li(tle be- nefit to the country could be derived. To show how steadfastly the olden policy was adhered to in respect to the clearance and cultivation of land, I have only to refer to the representation of Admiral Mill- bank to the Lords of the Privy Council for Trade, dated 3lsl December, 1789, sixty years after the appointment of a Naval Governor. *' It is astonishing to me how any Governor, after rend- ing this clause, (25th Section, X. and XI. William and Mary), should imagine himself vested with power to grant land to persons in Newfoundland. The Act itself, one would suppose, is the compleiest instruction that could be given for the preservation of the wood in the Island. K 56 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. But it has hitherto been so little understood, or ralher so totally disregarded, that several of the Governors have made* very large grants to persons who founded ilieir claims to such indulgence upon the most glaring violation of ihe Act, and iasteud of being prosecuted for a breach of the law, have been put into possession of large tracts of land, ex- pressly for the reason which ought to have subjected them to imprisonment or banishment from the country." The most graphic description of the transitory Naval system of Government adopted for Newfoundland will be found in the evidence of William Knox, Esq., given be- fore a Committee of the House of Commons, 1792, Mi- chael Angelo Taylor, Esq., in the chair. Mr. Knox represented himself as formerly under Secretary of State in the American Department, and thit he furnished much of the information upon which the Government of Lord North acted, he said — *' That the Island of Newfoundland had been consider- ed in all former times as a great English ship, moored near the Banks during the fishing season, for the convenience of the English fishermen. The Governor was considered as the ship's Captain, and all those concerned in the fishery business as his crew, and subject to naval discipline. "To prevent the increase of inhabitants on the Island, the most positive instructions were given to the Governor? not to make any grants of land, and to reduce the number of those who were already settled there, their vessels, as well as those belonging to the Colonies, were to be denied any priority of right, in occupying stations in the bays or harbours, for curing their fish, over the vessels from Eng- land, and he was intrusted to withhold from them whatever might serve to encourage them to remain on the Island. And as Lord North expressed it, ' Whatever they loved to have roasted he was to give to them raiL\ and whatever they wished to have rmv, he was to give it to them roast- n(V " — Evidence of William Knox^ Esq., Committee House Commons, April 24, 1793, COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 57 T\Injor Elford, Lieutenant Governor of St. John's, wliero lie resided seci -I years, in his evidence b. •< j tiib same Connnittec, would crown the system so strongly re- commended to the Ministers of the day by Mr. Under Secretary Knox, he would " Allow no woman to land in the Island, and that means should bo adopted to remove those that were tlieie." — Lieutenant Governor Elford's Evidence^ 1793. The Committee of the House of CoL^-^ions, 1793, were called upon by the Merchants engaged in the Newfoundland trade, to devise means to protect them from the effects of American and French competition, which they said had greatly reduced the British Fisheries. The question of Colonization, and Sctilements and Agriculture, as a means of em})loyment and support, for the then very limited re- sident population, would have been considered as a species (A' High Treason against the favored system of monopoly. There was, however, one person, Chief Justice Reeves, who saw things in their true light, and in despite of the monopolists, expressed opinions favourable to colonization. Whatever show of reason in confining Newfoundland to a mere fishery in early times, previous to the revolt and se- paration of the neighbouring Colonies, the moment the Flag of Independence was raised on the continent of America, the evident policy of England was to encourage the colo- nization of Newfoundland. Such was the advice given by that eminent man, Chief Justice Reeves, in 1793, in his evidence to the Committee of the Hous*: of Commons. '•' That Revolution,"' (^the American,) he said, "has made an alteration in the value and importance of Newfoundland, ■which seems to me never to hu;e been sufficiently consider- ed. It appears to me that since the peace of 1783, New- foundland has been more completely our own, that it has been a more genuine British fishery, and of more value to the mother country, than it was ever before. It is becomo a sort of Old de sac^ what does not stay there must come to Great Britain and Ireland. There is no longer the 5t COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. competition and interloping trade of tlic new Englandert) so much complained of lioretofore by the merchants. I cannot help thinking also that as Newfoundland is so severed from New England, some of the topics respecting ih«j po- pulation of ihe Island, and ilie (ears about colonization de- servo less regard." — ( tie/ Justice Rcevcs''s Ecidance, Committee of House of Commons, reported by M. A. Taylor^ Esq., June 17, 1793. The profound opinions of Chief Justice Reeves were passed by unheeded. Newfoundland was doomed to pass another period under the withering system of monopoly. The complaints of the merchants of the decline of the fisheries, so strenuously set forth before the Committee of 1793, were soon hushed into silence by the extraor- dinary prosperity of the fishery trade that followed the French war of that )rear. From that period to the peace of 1814, one continued stream of prosperity conti- nued to flow in upon the merchants and others engaged in the trade. They were first relieved from French and af- terwards from American competition. For a time, it may be said, they had the whole ot their own fisheries in their own hands. Princely fortunes were amassed in a few years, by persons who entered tl>e trade without a shil- ling. It was not unusual for houses to realize from the profits of one year, 20, 30, 40, and as much as £(30,000. The exports were increased in one year to the enormous amount of £2,900,000. It may be said that not one shilling of the vast accu- mulation of capital was expended in making permanent improvements in Newfoundland. As soon as the adven- turers accumulated a fortune of sufficient bulk, to ena- ble them to retire, they withdrew, bringing with them their capital to improve every other country but that in Avhich it was produced. The peace with France and America caused more than the usual revulsion in the trade. The British had again to contend with the unequal competition of the fo- COLON IZ A noN 01' NEWFOUNDLAND. ^ roign rivals to whom were siirrendercd ihc fislierios of NewfomullLiiitJ. To show the change, it is only necessa- ry to mention ihtu the price of tlio staple arliclc — fish — suddenly fell Irorn forty-five shillings per (|uintiil to t\vclv« shillings. Uuin and banlcruptcy was the consequence to a great portion of the merchant.s and planters. The few mercantile lionsea that preserved a j)ortioii of their capi- tal were altempting tu realize it, an;l to withdraw al- together from the country. A largo population liad risen up during the prosperous years — the fisherie.s afibrded the only means of employment, that source bein^ closed up, there appeared no alternative for them but to emigrate or starve. What greatly added to the local dis- tress, was the los^s sustained l>y the planter and fisherman, by the extoisive falUirc of the merchants. They held in their hands (heir savings dm-ing the prosperous years, and the greater part was lost. It \vas estimated in that way, that to that class the loss was little short of four hundred thousand pounds. Tlie depressed state of the fishery trade, again iiuiuced the merchants to look for aid from the Cfovernmcni ; through their mgcnt solicitations a Select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to enquire " into the stale of the trade of Newfoundland, and into the si- tuation of that settlement,*' June 19th, ]M[cn.\KL An- CELO Taylok, Esq., the same veteran and respected member that presided over the Committee of 179^*, ill the chair. The merchants proposed two' alter- natives, a bounty to the fishery to enable tiie British to compete on equal terms with the French and xVmeri- cans, or the transportatiou of the principal part of the in- habitants to the neighbouring Colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or the Canadas. It was very naturally enquired from the gentlemen examined before the Com- mittee, if there were not a possibility of finding en:ploy- ment and support for some portion of the inhabitants by the cultivation of the soil 7 This eiKiuiry was answeve('t CO CULOiNj/.A riON OI NhWl'OUNDLANI). m tlic negnlivo. The agriciiltiirnl improvcnieiit of Now- fouiidlaiid wasrepiesenied as ultcrly impracticable, by nil tlin principal wilnesscs; wilhtbooxccplioiiof .Iami:s1I. Ati- wooi),Es(i., agcnllomau who liad only very rccnuily got con- nected Willi Newfound land, and whose opiniuna may be considered torcprciient a ii'iw class ol Meichauls, then ri- sing into existence. The question was put to (.iI'Okoi; Kempt, ICsq., — *' Do you ihiak that a large portion ot these people may be supported in Ncwlonndland by tilling the ground, the (piC£.tion of course implies that Government will provide them with food, agricultural implenirnts, seed corn, po- tatoes, iVc, 6:c., irom the present lime till next Seplcnibet Iwclvemonth . Ansicvr. — As to the capability cT cultivation I bog to remark, that daring my stay in the Island, my attention was j)articularly directed to this sul)jet:t, and my opinion is, that there arc very few parts that will become suscepti- l)le of cultivation by the plough ; the Island is composed of a rock of granite and slate, with a vi ry small snriacc of soil, in many places none at all, and in very few above two or three inches; the only places whcr; there is any quantity of soil suilieient lor cultivation are the bosjs in the Island, but these bogs generally spe: mg, are inca- pable of drainage, because they are occi'sioned by large basins in die rock, through which it won'. I be necessary to cut in order to drain o(f the water. I have understood that in the River Exploits, there is some land comi)araiive- ly lertile, but 1 apprehend there is no other considerable portion of fertile land in the Island. I also beg leave to remark that as far as my knowledge goes, from personal observations and enquiry, tlicre is no limestone in tlie Is- land, and consequently one great source of maiun'e, the only one 1 am aware of, is cut off, except in places near the coast, where they may obtain sea-weed or the refuse of the fish. I beg therefore to suggest, how much more eligible it would be for Government to carry them to COI.ONIZATION or NIUVPOUNDLAiXn. 61 Now nninswiclc or Upper CatuiUii, wliunj a foiiilo couu- iry, llioiigli iiiicultivatoJ, scctns to solicit tlioir labour. " You are uiulcrstood to speak now from yomr own ob- sorvalions on the spot. " \ do, so far as I liave stated facts, I speak from my owu observation. *' Do you think thuttiio grant of 'and and promise of support in Newfoundland to the poor, would induce others tooiniy;raie thither from Ireland, who arc not ac- quainted with the xXewfonndland soil I " 1 do, and that to a serious extent. " What evil to the general trade of the Island do you anlicipale from (hetieltleinoiit of several liiousand of these p:aij)ers, as cuUivaiory of the land ! " 1 ynlicip.itc th>U as soon as ih*? support of Govern- ment is \vitUdrawn from them, they will immediately fall into distress, and that the same violence will be repeated that was cx])erienced last winter. " You h.ive sp'dcen of your knowledge of tlie want of fertility ol the soil of Newfoundland, have you been much over the Island? *' I have in my shooting excursions gone over a good deal of the neighbourhood of the coast, and have made par- ticuhir ciKpiiries from those who resided all then' lives in th" Island, and penetrated into die iuterior, respecting die character of it, and the result is as I have stated ! ! ! " You have not been into the iuterior I '' Yes, I have. " And the face of the comitry corresponds with your statements 1 " So »\r as I have seen it. Of course 1 have not seen the whole of it, for it is of very large extent. The coun- try is no where level for any considerable extent, but a succession of valleys and steep hills. There is little soil in the valleys, but scarcely any at all on the sides of the (>i COLONIZATION OF NllVVf OUNDLANU. hills, and freanently nono on the summits. Tlkit soil is never anything but decayed vei^etable mailer \ lliere is no loam, or calcareous matter in the Island, I believe. "Do not you think that a soil composed of decayed ve- getable matter, is hicely to be suliicienily lertile forall the purposes of agriculture'? *' If it could be suilicicntly drained, and could be found in suflicient extent, I have no doubt it might, but the bogs are generally occasioned by hollows in the rocks, where the water has accamulated, and which consc(iufntly arc not capable of draniagc without prodigious labour. There wire soni'j small spofs of a dill'erent description, hiu not (o any considerable extent, except, I behove, in the neighbour- hood of Exploits ; there, I believe, the laud is more fertile." James Henry Attwood, Esq., as a part of his evi- dence, laid a memorial before the Committee, Ironi the re- sident merchants of St. Jol.'n's, to Karl Bathuust, then Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, which expressed very dillerent opinions on the subject of cultiva- tion, and a much sounder doctrine than that maintained by the transitory west country merchant. It .'.aid, " But in order to prevent as much as possible such emigration and the consequent loss to His Majesty of so large a portion ot hardy seafaring people, we seriously recommend to your Lordship's consideration the propriety ol encouraging and promoting the cultivation of the sci!, a measure cal- culated to assist the laborious fisherman in the support of himself and family, and to :Ntimulate him to honest in- dustry, instead of spending in dissipation and idleness those periods wlien the fishery can ailbrd him no em- ployment." J. shall make one or two remarks, en pasant, on Mr. Kempt's facts, as respects the susceptibility of the cul- tivation of the soil of NewfoimJland by the " j)lougii" ; he says die soil is not more than two or three inchf^s in depth, diat there is a little in the valleys, but scarcely )VI- COLONlZATIONfOF NEWFOUNDLAND. 63 any at all on the sides of the hills, and that no limestone is to be found in the Island. Thousands of acres of land can bo found in difTcront parts of the Ishnd, where thc^ plough ean be used without much previous clearance ; afid the soil, instead of two or three inche j in deptli, is generally found to be from one foot to ilirec, " composed of decayed vegetable matter." Instead of iho valleys having the i^reatost depth of soil, it is found that the soil on high lands, and the declivities of hills, IS much deeper. Mr. Kemp's other facts, tliat there is no limestone, is equally baseless and unfomulc:!. Though there has never been anything like a proper cxplorc/iion, it is ascer- tained that liiniestoiio, Gypsum, Coal, Copper, and Iron, abound in diiTcrcnt parts of the Island. At the time I nm ■writing ihoro are several vessels employed in bringing, for the ]UU'p.)se of building St. John's, limestone from dif- ferent parts of the Island, and some of it of a very superior quality. A limestone quarry has been worked in a small harbour called Chapel's Cove, in Conception Bay, the lime of v.'liich, it was said, was used by the French in erect- ing r)rtirications, when they were in possession of St. John's. It has been froqu(;ntly used since. What makes Ml". Kemp's mistake more palpable is, that Chiipel'sCove, whore this quarry lias been v/oikcd, is not more than five or six miles distant from the h;ubour of Brigus, the seat of ono of Mr. Kemp's principal establish incf's, when he carried on business and where no doubt lie resided for a lime, and rested himself after his laboiious iambics to irakc hin^solf acquainted with the aG;ricultiiral capabiiiiies of NewromulUnd, with the researches of which he so much en!i2,htened the Select Committee of the House of Commons. The result of llieenrjuiry of the Com-Tjiltee of the Housa ofConimons was a report favourabie to the views of tha merchants. The Government, however, ciid not grant a houri'.y; the object mainly aimed at. ISewfoundiand and 64 COLONIZATION OF NliWFOUNDLAND. lier fisheries were ihrou'n on their own resources. Some of the large mercantile houses withdrew their capital from the trade. Others who continued the old system of fishery, were, as it was anticipated by liie wimesses examined be- fore the Conimitteo, vtry soon brought down to bankruptcy and ruin. The groat pnnacea proposed by the merchants; for tht5 relief of the fisheries when depressed, was the removal of the inhabitants. It was at all times their mo.st (avored fcheuie — it was their propositioii iii lSi7, — it was re- peat«'-dly proposed at earlier periods. \n 1670, "the merchanlii, owners, and maslers of sliips, aiid inhabitants of the Western pp.rts of the Kingdom, adventurers to Newfoundland, pelilioned the K\\)^ (^Ciiarles il.) that iho resident inhabitants and their families, then amounting to 3,171, slionld be lemoved to Jamaica, St. Christopher's, or somB other of His Majesty's plantatiouf;.'' This hifmane rrq^iest was refused by His Majesty. " But whtui the adventr.rer:, fo'iiid that the removal of lbs inlia'-'itanis from IVewfoundinnd cfai'd not be obtained, they seemed to be very indifferent about renewing the char- ter. So the Trade was left to tnlce its course." — Kepre" aenia'ion of the LorJ.i Co mm bi; toners of Trnda and Plantat'yjns to His j^ajcfn!/^ 17 IS. It is a melanc'toly tiuJi'i.^li a curtou- subject for reflec- tion, to o! .serve the perii.iaciiy and determination with which die adventurers in the Newfound !.'av;l lisheries oppo- sed its coloiiizntinn and sotileme.nt. Whenever any de- pression cr.nie on their trade, they p]a,'!ed iho cau^e to the encouragement given to the resident in!;abi:anis, no iratter whether the number of inhabitants was 3.171, as in 1670, or 70,000, as in 1S|7. Their removal v/as to be tb.e means of their relief. Blinded by their s^'Ulsh monopoly, they could not see that llis real cause of tha depression of ihrir Trade, did not aiise from the residi^.nt population, bul from ih« competition of the Fren'h and New Englanders, as I COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAN'U. 6j at the last period by iho Froncli, an 1 AniPiicans of (ha United Stales. Referring to ilio history of ili<; fiiiery, it will be found that the depression of tiie British trade, and the consequent complaints of tiie advetituers, took ])!ace during the interval of peace with Frr.nce, which brought the subjects of that power in competition with the British in the fuheries, are the poriodi when the Biitish fisi eriea declined, and wiien the adventurers will be fcund harrassin^ (he 'Joveninient wiih their heart less complaiiit-j and repre j./'tations, i-i refereuc:? to ihe resident iniiabilcr.its of Ncvfoundlard, iSo nuich did ihey fear to have the;; r.iop.opciy of the tishiTi »f interfered \vit!\ by thsir follow suhjccls r^sidcaLin IVevviouncilaiuI, that they did not obierve (hat it was the I'rench and New Et)<:;lLind'.T>.? ihey had cauce to h?. upprch'-n^'ivc cf. .\i [he same time that the adventurer:) va'.d pi-es?^".; t\'? Ci.^v". rnav^nt to transporr llie inhabitants from Newloaiidhmd, ttio locu! .m- thorilies of LMas5achunet(3 wore givir,;; a b:<. ;ty for eacii Ncwfoundianl tlshermau bi'ouglit ii:Ja i;io state. Mr. Larkin. in hi.:> slatemeiil ro (lit- Lords of tiio Council oi Trade, iu 1701, said, '" Tiic New Engi.ind v-js-^cLg wero said the last yc.ir \o have taken away five liu.idr.MJ jnen in ihio manner froui Conception Bay, many oi t!;i?s.^ wwv-.'- headed up in casks to piuvent discovery.'" -- Reevco, page 7. " The New iMiLdanuers, lilce ihc Dulci). owe their rise and prosperity to Ihc fi.-^lieries It was encouraojrd to iMich a degree that a rogiilation has t.lk^Ml place by which every fatnily wiio s^hall declare that it has lived upon salt fisii for two day? i-i the week for the who'c yi-.ar, shall be disburdened of part of their tax. Thus ccunnu-rcial view.s enjoin abstinence froni meat to tlie Protestants in the same manner that Religion prescribes to the Caino- lies." — jV>ho RdijHdL vol. 4^ paij^e^'li. " For iipv/;;i'ds of (or!y years past the New Engiandrrj, by the assistance of the Planiors of NewfonndJand, have carried av;ny cvevv year fioin thence as many of the Luj^- 66 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. lisli fishermen as they coiilti persuade or seduce to proceed with tliem, by ulilcli means they have csiabHslied a very considerable Navigation, and gained a fishory on llieir own coast, whicli at present is probably superior to that of NeuToundland.*' — Rvju'cscnlation of the Lords Com^ missioners for Trade and Plantations to His Majcstijy relating to the Newfoundland Trade and Fisheries, VJtU December. 1718. Well might Sir Hugh Palliser exclaim, in 1765, to the Committee of the Privy Council of Trade, — ■'Such is the effect of letting the Nev/foundland fisliery run into monopoly, that the icst of our merchants, if ihey cannot have a monopoly likewise, will let the New England men or French men, or anybody, run away with it." It was their own vicious policy that undermined the British fisheries of Ne^vfoundland, and transferred them to NewEng- landers, Aniericans, and Frenchmen. Instead of prohibiting settlement and pojiulation, they should have encouraged it by every means in their power. There cannot be a doubt but if Nnwfoundland was colonized at an early pe- riod, and a resident population allowed to grow up, and .some small portion of the vast wealth drawn from the Jjsherics expended in the internal improvement of the countiy, the Colony would have assumed such importance and station as would command attention, and prevent her fisheries from being huxtered, bartered and sacrificed, by ignorant, if not corrupt ministers and lugoliators, Lord Oxford and Mortimer, by the Treaty of Utrecht, Os- ^VALD in 1783, and Lord Castleueagh in 1814. As long as Newfoundland was considered only as a ship moored on the Banks, according to tJie wise policy of Lord North, she exercised no controlling power, her in- terests sacrificed. The representations of the adventurers, and the rights of the inhabitants, were alike treated with contempt and contuuieiy. COLONIZATION OF NKWFOUNDL.^ND. 07 It was the insane poli'^y pro'iihiiing the settlement of the couiilry, which prevailed so long, to that rilone is to bo nsciibe I I'w. pr?se:it state of NeA'loundLincl, her fislieiies transf'erieJ to foreigners, iicr hind mioccunird and unre- (luiiiied, onl/ citierj^ins IVoin a state of barbarism, com- jnencing naw whit ought to have coinmencL-d upwards of three ceutiiries ago, llie colonizjiion and iiiienial improve- ment of the cou:itry. I !iu'(\ I fear, dweU scr lone on tlie ancient nnti-co!opi- nation policy as to iieconic tiresome. INIy object in call- ing your Lordsliip's ait:.Miti.-)n so feebly to it, is to 5;]iow the groat diilicuiiics that stood in the way of lo-^al improve- ment in this Colony, that it did not arise Wnm naf-'.r il causes, iiciilicr the sterility of tha Koii,nor \h? sevpii y of tiled"' nate, but that; what can scarct-dy find a parallel in the history of any other cornury in the world, ih:* L'ivvs and Government of Newfoundland, instead of promotjiiG; iibsohiiely prohibited end pro.sorihrd the cnltivation ol the. f:oil, and the improvement of the country. It may be said in ih') word> of Burkc, in reference to another ill-govern- ed country, '• That a more elaborat^^ system, (or ihe de- gradation and barbarism of a country, war never before invented by the perverted ingenuity of man." It is full time to jmi an end to every vestige of the old- en system, and even at the "eleventh hour" to grant to Newfoundland the advantages of colonization, to liave extended to her by the Parent Ciovemmcnt, a child's share of that fostering care, which is so generously extended to her ancient Colonies, and which she continues so lavishly to bestow on her New Colonies. If Newfoundland pos- sesses all the elements necCsSsary for the promotion of a prosperous Colony, if her soil is capable of aftordingem- ploymeiuand subsistence to a iinmerons population, there is no other Colony in which England has so great an in- terest, or in which she will find a greater security for any putlav she mav make. 69 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Newfoundland, surrounded on all sides by interminable fishing banks, Ur exceeding all others in the world, capa- ble of atFording profitable euiploynieui lo her surplus p3- pnlation, tliercis no oihcr country belonging lo England that presents sucb :i field for a Iruly British Colony. Tbo proximity of Nowloundland to \ho parent statOj capable of deieucii on all sides by her fleetsS-, it does op- p'^.ar to nv'. ihu if some small ptrtiou of the woalili of Er.yl.ind waci ex'jpu ltd in the C^lonizitiiou of New found- liiid, tjnre would be more ct-rtai j socuriiy for ii than ior tlio millions ll'ct have br^Mi !>o l.ivi.shly expended I'pon n'-w and n.wre .^avoun d (^oloines. 'i be great barrier lo ih • ai.!icultura! iui;n'ovem.nit and se!t!cnient of Newfonnd- Inid was, \v!:at u:ider a diUVreut order of ihiiigs should have pr^^nioti'd ihcni, the gieat wealth so easily drawn from l.er fisheries. All the other early Colonics, and I may say d) ! modern "!,( s. were essentially agricultural; iho first and i I I sp"nsable wok of the adventurers to ihcm was t ' make wir (»n the wilderness, to carve out ne'V Ii)ine;. whieli were to be ih.Uiabitations of themselves a:i I ihi'ir ell Idren. They bad to biil an eternal adieu lo h- l.uidot ilieir fathers, they had to encounter unheard of lilliculiie^ thei:' subi'isteuce was to be entirely raised from ihii soil. Tha proi?ress of u'eahh in agricultural coun- tries, tb'iugh certain, is slow. The laboui' of atttiining H great ; the porm-Uieucy and security compensated for all tlu-ir labours and toil. It was en ibe massey base of Agriculture they laid the foundation of ihcir future pros- perity and independence. A widtdy different aspect is presenti d by the enly state of Newfouiulland. Agricul- ture was proscribed ; the advenlnrcrs found mines of wealdi in her fisherie?', the products of a few months liealthful labour enrsMed ihcm to retire to Europe, to pur- chase with its fruits that gold which the Spaniards wero diguing for in the mines of M^^xico and Peru, to attain wiiicn they were snrrificiug millions of the native inhabi- tants of these countries, enervating themselves, extendhig COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLANn. C9 l(Kxnry .ii\J iiidolcnnc, jind laying the seeds of that decay w/ilch led to the dnvrifali of that mighty li^rnpire — Spain and tlie Indies— on which it was hoastcd the sua never S'-U. Can it be queslioii(;d that Newfoundland was of more vahie to England, than Mexico and Peru t) Spain. It was not willioiit sufficient fonndalioii that Abbe Raynal and Buiike said, " Th;"5 lisli-M-ies of NewfoiinJ- J.ind are mines of wcalih, superior lo those of Mexico and Pern" It was this extraordiniry v/na!il>lhat raised the barriers to the earl\^ setilenient and iniprovoin'^nt of Ni?wfi>und- jand ; the adventnriMs wanted to make a monopoly of the fisheries, their profils were enormous; coniparativcdy speakin;:; tiic fisheries were confined lo a fnv persons — f-iiev made their selfish caleulatiinis that if Airriciiifure an 1 .'jctik^ment were ndnjitlcd or enconr;igO(i a whole people v/onld soon hecom3 their comi)elitors. their monopoly would l)e wrested from their hands. It was not the Msri- lity of the soil or the severity of the climate, but it was her vast inexhanstihle weahli, not her j)overty hut her rich'^s, that so lon^ prevented \\i?. sotllomeni cl i\nw- ionndland, and h:r consetpient agrioullin-al improve»nent. Monopily siill continues its baneful efiect, it is not that of the l'ingli^h a^lveniurcrs, the njonopoly has passed from tiseir hands, it is French and American monopoly, tlie evil cfToft ot v>'hich is not confined to I'le British Bank Fish- eries ; it is felt hy the Agricultural ; the progress of that gr'^ai interest is impedi'd by the incubus of lliis unnatural foreign monopoly which 1 have feebly cndcavoure.i to explain and point out in my letter on tlie Fisheries. The Fij>h2ry of Newfoundland is its main so.irce of trade, any cause that presses upon it, and deprives the in- habitants of its advantages, transferring it to strangers, operates injurioujily to every other int'nest. The great and only impediment to the extension of agricultural im- provement in Newfoundland — the Parent Governnienf, having wisely removed all obstruction^* - is fli^ dc'j)rev>«v(i 70 COLOMIZATrON OF NEWFOUNDLAND. state of thn fisheries. In the nalural, ordinary state of thliiss, capital would be raised from tliQ fishery wliicli woiil i soon be expanded in the iiuprov.^nicnt of the land, the progress of wo ildi and i;ii|>rovement in every coinilry. Agricniiine, Triule, rihhGri;'.s, Manofuturps, advance to- gether, the prosperity of ihi ony IjaJs to dio prosp(>iity o( tiic oilier, their iiitiM'csis do not. Th.) unv.'ise and uniKiUiral tiansfiu* ot iheNcwfonndhnd Fi>h'iries lo tlio French and Aniorieans, upheid as they are Willi prohiiiilions and boimtiof?, press nio.u nijurituhly on the niiiish Newfoundland Trade and Fishrries, and as a cerlaiu coiiseqnenee every other intunst i-infiers. — Agriculture and every other Internal imnrovenicnt is ini- ped'd. Th.^sc doctrines are most iniprrfectly set forth, bnt their truth is u'K|U3stion'ible. The principle of cnloniziUion has bi'cn ceded, great invaiitabje consiilutional privih j-s gene- rously *.rari;i.d, yet AewfouMdhuid laMi,Mii:-h'"s under tlie efTi'ct'Or the previ")ns systein. The gro^s, false character which was- given to the country, and which is continued lo bo di.s^eminated by every book' in whicli rclerence is made to Ncwfoinnllind, is not s'.iiiicienlly dissipated — th(? UN' St profennd ignorance |)rfvails as rcepecfs tlie re.il stale and eapabditics of the country. CclonizLition is recommended ni Canada, New Bnniswiclc, and Nova Scotia; vast sums are expended in colonizing new and distant Colonie.^. while Newfoundland, England's oldest •transatlnntic posses^ion is passed by, scarcely ever noti- ced as of value or consideration. The main argument arrainst the colonizntion of New- foundland, was founded on the deep-rooted prejudice that so long prevailed; and which to a great extent exist, the Opinion ih it ihe soil and clnnato present insurmounta- ble obstacles to the agricultural improvement of tho .country. The best reply that can bo made to diis statement is, that the country has been cultivated ; that iti no single i'l- COLONIZATION OF NCWl-^OUNDLAND. 71 stanco where common skill a:ul common industry havo beau exorcisoliii Uirj cloarancc and cultivation of tho soil, Iiavo tlioy failMl in am;)!y repay!:''; iha hib )ur cxpondod on it. That portion of tho po')LiIulij!i who have turned ilifiir attoiitioi to agi'icuilurc, havj .nathj themselves indepen- dent and comforiabij in l.'ieir ciL"j!im3tance^, whih t!ioso who aio cxcUiiivjIy engaged in iho fishorics have been subject in many caso.^ to great wini!; and privation. Nn- nuruui exampIe-J can be referred to of t;uccc3sful cuUiv;i- lion. Tiie dl3[)atod problem of tho agilcultural capabili- ties ofNevviouMdlind is most satisfaclorily solved. 1 shall refer to o:ie or f.r i particular case:i whieh will fully bear out ilie general statement. AI)out tlij 3")ar 1333 the late Dr. Willivm Causon iirrived in ra;v,':V;:;ndianr.; he at once sav/ the great injns- tifo i!i'it v:? ; cL;r.e, both to Ihi; country and tlie resident hi- liabiiMil.:-;. by il\o sonii-barbarons policy that prevailed which prohiui'ied i!ic cultivation of the coil. He raised jiis voice a.7.iii;'-;t i', wrot3 s/jui'J csccHent tracts on the t;u j] :ct, dc'.iouucc'I it in tlio stiongeyt terms, incurring no small rislv of l\ Ingltanj^portcd for his temerity lor arra'gn- in'j ilie venerable system that had jjrcvai'-cd forccnUndes. He beianie the nioi^t strciuion:; alvc.caio for the cultiva- tion of ih.e S'oil, wldcli ho repreocutcd a3 I'ully cqu il iu qualiiy to that of hh native country, Scodand ; he was opposed by ihe local authorities, by the merchants, and a great portion oi iho inhabitants; he was ridiculed as a visionary. Notv/idistanding-, in good rojiort and in evjl report ho persevered until he saw, fo; some time bclore his dcatli, his views and doctrines almost nnaiumously approved of by all parties. Dr. Carson maybe called tho Parent of the Agriculurro of JNfe^vroundland ; he not (/.dy e;icouraged it 'by precept, but likewiso by oxampie. tn the yea; ISIS or iSiO, he ubtained a large grant of waste laud from the then Governor Sir Charles IIamil-- TON. which he cleaned and cultivated at considerable labour N 72 COhOXIZ \TIO\ 01-^ \ n WFOUXDLAND . nnd cxp^nsG. TIi3 l:iin] cleart^d an 1 ciiltivatCil l)y J^r, Carson fornn ono of the in):it valii.iblc ii^rms in llic vi-i- nity of St. Jolin's. Thou2;h Dv. Carson, like niftsi such proi(!clors, men who devote tlicni:;clvos to tlii pi!) Hi seivico, may not liavo gained by his Agriciilturiil specuUition:^, however, IjIs cfibrts for the inijnoveniout of liie soil were einiiiciuly successful. In the year JS27 or l-i^JS. durinf; the Govcrnmctit of liii .Excellen(;y Si ■ TiioAiAS CociruA^R, one of the principnl Merchants of ,St. Juhn':^, H. I*. Tiio.mas, Es']., obluineJ a grant of 250 acres of waste land, distant some four miles from ihc t:)\vn uf St. Jolin's, whicli he cleared and culti- vated and occii})ied for .some yenrs. uniil lij wa.s repaid for the whole expense of the outlay ; he then let the ground on lease to an intelligent Scotch farm .r, (the .sa.nc i^ersjn who had the snpoi'inicndeiice of it from the beginiiing) at a rent of two hundred poundv^> sterling per aniuun, v.ho in a few years, .some twelve or fourteen, aficr psiyin^ his rent ]ins realized a aumcf not lesa than four thousand pounds. — Twenty years ago, this land was a wilJcrncss, not j)roda- cing one shilling per year, unapproachable even by a footpath. Since tliat time numerous farms have bee:} cl )ared, many mile-s beyond it. I may say with truth, that vvitliin a cir- cuit of v'AVo or three miles Irom this farm, there are now some thouaands t)f acres in ])iornable cultivation, and in the occupation of some hundrcJ.s ol indus'.riuus famliic?:. Within a mile of the town of Car])onear, in Coiicc'ption Biy, IvoBKHT PacXj ii'sq., principal in the r>/(/ and truly respectable mercantile house of Gosse, Pack Si, Fryer, obtained a i?:rriiii of waste lanl, wiiich ho brcug'it into the mo:st perfect state of cultivation, having rais- ed crops of Toiatoe:?, Hay, Oats, Barley, and other grain. His farm would benr a ccmpariaon with soino of the bcbt cultivated land in the mother country. — COLONiZ.VTION OF Nr.V.TOUNDLAND. 73 Ihil it I."? not so iiiucli bv tiio iJo'irniice of his owd fartu ihat Mr, Piiclc ikis rondored so iimr.hl)finclit t'> liio commu- nity ; it i:? by tlic e.\.'urij)lo of siu'ccssriil cuUivation whicli bo bus cxiiibiiud to ilio iudiisirioug people, thrown out of their iisuni oiiiploynicnt by ilio laihiro of the fishc- vies, and which lias bLCii extensively folioweil. Now sonio tliousnnds of the Indus' rioua peoplu of that sgHIo- rnoiit, raioi") from the soil a )i:ain portion of tlie'r s'ipporl. Cultivation is rapidly cxlmdiiii;. Keforo ilio expira- tion ot anotlr-r qiiiirt.n' of a conlury, tb.e margin of the magnificent Bay of Conception will bo occupied by alargou j)opulation than is now contained in the Island. The iianu^ of Parfc will bo treasured in il)i3 hcavtsof the people as a great public [)rnefactor, nui oidy as the patron of Agriculinio, but of every olhcu- object »?alciilaied to pro- mote the libin'ty, prospeiity, and Ldj)piiics.'S of the people of Newfoundland. Wore it necessary I cou'd glvo many further exatnj)le3 of sncccssful cultivation. Not only in the neiq;hbourhood of .St. Joiin's ar.d Conception Bay, but in all the other in- ])abitcd parts of the hlanil, in tho Bays of Trinity, Bonavlo- ta, and as far North as Capo Jo!ni, ilic Ci'.:!.:!; liniit?, a consideral)lo amount of lan:l has been chxircd and cultiva- ted. And 1 have beon inlV^mcd that the lands in th« occupation of liio French, between Cape Jolin and the Straits of Bcllo Isle, called the i-'rcncii hhorc, are in many places ot nn excellent quality, which can the mere readily be believed when it is stated tliat it abounds \\\\]\ lime&tone of the best quality, cargoes of which are nov/ daily im- ported into the town of St. John's for the pnrpose of rebuilding the town. No part of the land cleared and cul- tivated within the French limits, is included in the cen- sus returns. The lands to the soutliward and westward present mucli more favourable means for settlement and cultivation. A few derrrees of latitude make a considerable difference ia Su *> ^. sA; %. ^^5^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I u 114 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -* 6" - ► V] <^ /}. 7 o^ '/ -(^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 74 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. the cllmaie, the lands improve in qnaliiy as we approadi the western and southern pares of the ishmd. Even with- in a few miles of ?t. John's on the line of road opened in th: direction of Bay Culls, an evident improvement is observable in the land. Thousands, I may say miiiioiis of acres of good land, are to be found en the margin of the n3w lines of roads that have been op'^ned in the direction of Bay Bulls, Cape Broyle, Ferryland, Rene \ Fernieuse and Trcpassey, and tov/ards the Bays of St. Mary's, Placentia, and Fortune. The lend in St. George's Bay, and the Bay of Islands, again, within the French limits, from Cape Ray to the Straits of Celle Isle, are represent- ed to be of a quality equal, if not superior, to the kind in the neighbouring Colonies. Limestone, Blarblo, Gypsum, Coal, and the finest timber, are to be found in gieat abun- dance in that quarter. Mr. Dukes, in his very cr.rsory geclogical survey of part of the Island, asserts that the land in every part that he examined, is of a better description and more fitted lor agricultural purposes than the land in the immediate neigh- bourhood of St. John's, where far the greatest extent of cultivation has taken place, as will appear by the census returns of 1345. The amount of land in possession and cultivation in the whole Island, or rather that part occupied by the British settlers, is returned ^3,435;^ acres in posses- sion, and 29,656:j under cultivation; the portion of the whole for the disu'ict of St. John's is repiesented to be, 63,777 acres in possession, and 19,099 acres cleared and under cultivation, leaving (or tlie remaining parts of the Island, 19,668| in possession, and only 10,557J cleared and un- der cultivation. It appears from this statement, that in the quarter of the Island, according to the opinion of Mr. Dukes, where the land is i;^ost inferior, within the circuit of sotne ten miles, there is iicarly three times the quantity of land in posses.'^ion, and nearly double the land under cultivation, that is to be found over the remainder of tho COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 7» Colony. Au important and most satisfactory conclusion can be drawn from these clafa in reference to the capabi- lities of Iho wliole Island for agricaliural purposes. If agriculture has rapidly advanced in the worst and most sterile part of t!ie Island, and has been found most remu- nerative to those engaged in it, there can be no doubt of it succeeding in parts where the soil and climate are more fai'ourable. The question does not rest on specula- tion or problematical opinions. Some of the finest and most productive farms are in successful occupation and cultivation in the various remote districts of the Island. The best practical proof of the capabilities of the soil of Newfoundland for Agricultural purposes, is to be found ill the census returns of 1836 and 1845. There is no means of accurately ascertaining the ex- tent of land cultivated, and the annual produce before the year 1S36, in which year, under a local Act the following returns were made : — I:'! si ,,( H COLONIZATION OF NEWKOL^DLAND, RI^rURNS FOR 1836. '54,117 acres of land in possos^ion. ll,0G2i do in cultivation at i20/. per acre 1,550 Horses at 10/. 5.832 Neat Cattle at 5/. ^,943 Sheep at Ws. 3,155 Hogs at S0.9. Goafs not tai3riv q'ladrnplyl in vniiic diirint^ the eminently oucces-sful Government of Sir Joiin Ilnr- vey. Tlii^ most iinpoi'taiU mjiisuro ofSir John ll.irvey'ti Gov. rnmcnr, ii reference to the Agvlculinral improvement of Newfoundland, is the law for the sale and rcgnhtion of the down Lands, Her Majesty consented, and with a truly Royal boun- ty, to grant th.e whole of the land to Her loyal subjects resident in the Colony. Newfoundland is no longer to be hoarded as a " Royal wilderness." The people will ever entertain a grateful sense of Her Majesty's Royal beneficence. It is only those acquainted with the partial mode of disposin:^ of land which prevailed in Prince Kdward Island, and in most others of the modern North American Colonies, ihat can form a correct estimate of the vast boon tliat has been conferred. The main principles affirmed by the Land Act : 1st — That all lands should be sold at public auction, subject to a moderate upset price, 2d — That not more than 100 acres should be put up in •one lot. 3d — That public notice shall be given by the publica- tion in the newspapers of all land sales. 4th — That all persons in the occupation of land without grants from the Crown, should be confirmed in their titles and occupation. 5th — That the proceeds of all sales of land shall be paid into the public Treasury, to be appropriated for the internal improvement of the Colony. This great boon to Newfoundland may be traced to the proceedings of the House of Assembly in 1837, who noada ki. 14 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. |l report on the state of Agriculture, and the mode of dis- posing of wastelands. " Your Committee have cnqtiired into the present mode of disposing of the waste lands of the Colony by the local Government, and find that it is sold at a stipulated price J the same system has been adopted in the disposal C)f lands in the Island, which has been introduced re- cently into the neighbouring Colonies, at the same time that there is a \yidc differeneo in the present state of these countries. "It may be said that Newfoundland, as far as Agriculture is concerned, is in its infancy. 'J.'he land is generally considered inferior,, and rcquirc3 great labour to bring it into cultivation. The lowj: favoured Colonics of -Xova- Scotia, New-Brunswick, and the Canada^, were consider- ed from their first settlement purely Agricultural countries ; the lands are good, and thousandr^, and we may say mil- lions, of British money have been expended in improving them. Whatever improvement has taken place in the lands in Newfoundland, 1ms ari^ea altogether from the labour and industry of the people ; one shilling has not been expended by the Government for the encouragement of Agriculture, but, on the contrary, cuUivation was, down, to a late period, altogether proliibitedjjmd since a reluctant consent has been given to the people to clear the sterile soil, a rent in the first place, and now a price, has been put upon the land, in many instances ten times higher than the rent charged for better land in the neighbouring Colonies. " On the first settlement in nearly all the British Co- lonies, the settlers instead of being charged with rent foD the lands, were supported for a considerable time at the expense of the Government, and were even sujiplied with Agricultural implements to enable thcni to settle down upon the lands. The foundation of the present improvements in Newfoundland Avas laid by poor indus- trious people, who, in direct opposition to the wretched and umiatural policy of the Government, and in the face of the prohibition, ventured to clear small spots of ground in the neighbourhood of populous districts. It was their labour that made the lands valuable. It is the decided opinion of your Conynittee that instead of this industri- :ing COLONIZATION OF NKWFOUNDLAND. fti biis claims being charged a rent or price for the laud, they ouglit to obtain a bounty ibr improving it. , i *' Your Coninilt-tce, Btror.^^y impressed %vith the neces- sity and sound policy of giving further encouragement to the cultivation of tlic AV(vtc huuls of Newibundhmd, re- eomniund that an inuncdiate representation be made to Her lifajcsty'd (iovernmcnt on the subject, staUng parti- cularly tiiat it woidd be uiost coTiducive to the general in- terests of the (jolony, if small parcels of uaste land were given to industiioua persons desirous to clear them, frco of rent and all other charges." — Extract — Report of House of Assembly^ l8o7. A petition * der the severest restrictions and prohibitions ; this wither- ing and desolating policy "syas the cause why your Ma- jesty's Colony of Newfoundland did not improve in the same rapid progression with the other colonies in its neigh- bourhood. " Eepresentations have been made from the earliest period to the parent Government, that the extreme se- verity of the climate and the sterility of the soil of New- foundland formed insurmountable obstacles to cultivation. If these representations are correct, the House of As* sembly would humbly submit to your Majesty, that there can be no necessity for creating further obstacles beyond those raised by nature herself. (( But may it please your Majesty, these were false re- presentations made by persons, who, from corrupt or inte- rested motives of their own, attempted to arrest the or- der of Providence, and prevent the people of Newfound- land from receiving that support and sustenance from the soil which God and nature intended it to aflbrd. " The House of Assembly therefore have most humbly td bring the subject under your Majesty's benign conside- ration, with the certain hope that your Majesty will be graciously pleased to give every encouragement, and re- move every restriction to the cultivation of the soil of vour Majesty's ancient and loyal Colony of Newfound- If . it » ,1 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 87 A most gracious reply was promptly given to the Peti- tion of the House of Assembly, THE DESPATCH OF LORD GLENELG. 1.! *' No. 166. " Downing Street, '' 3rd January, 1838. '' Sir,— " I have received and have laid before the Queen the Address of the House of Assembly of Newf- andland, of the 23d October, enclosed in your Despatch of the 9th ult.. No. 67, and referred to in your previous Despatch, No, 64, praying the removal of restrictions to the culti- vation of the aoil of the Island. Her Majesty was pleas- ed to receive that Address very graciously, and to com- mand me to return the following answer, " In the result of a very extensive enquiry and much reflection, Her Majesty's GK)vernment have been led to the conclusion that the waste lands in all the British Co- lonies ought to be disposed of in no other manner than by public auction, to >he highest bidder, at a fixed up-set price. That price must of course vary in different Colo- nies, but should be fixed in each from time to time with a careful reference to the exchangeable value and ordinary price of wild land in that particular Colony. " This system is in force throughout British North Ame- rica, and in all the Australian settlements, " I enclose for your information copies of the Acts of Assembly, recently passed for this purpose in New Bruns- wick and in Upper Canada ; and I am to convey to you Her Majesty's authority to assent on her behalf to any Act which may be passed for a similar purpose by the Council and Assembly of Newfoundland, if framed upon the same principles, and contq,ining no clauses otherwise ob- jectionable. '* For your guidance in the meantime, I transmit a copy of the Land Regulations now in force in the Australian Settlements. " "With the assistance of the Council these regulations may readily be adapted to the local circumstances of New- foundland, and when so adapted you will take them as the rule for your Government in the alienation of the & m I] 88 CX)LONIZATION' OF NEWFOUNDLAND: lands of the Crown, until some Legislative provision shall have been made for that purpose. " I have, &c., " (Signe^d) " Glenelg." Captain Prescott, dtc., &.O., &c. A Bill v;as introduced into ihe House of Assembly in nccordance with the despatch of Lord Glenelg, in which was introduced all the leading principles of the present law. Sale by auction at an upset price — the appropria^ tion of the land fund — and anaiTirmalion of title to ail per- sons in occupation of land, at the passing of the Act. The Bill received great care and consideration in the House of Assembly. On its transmission to the Council, instead of attempting to improve its defects, it met the fate of most measures emanating frorA that body ; it was thrown aside with neglect, if not with contempt. After the rising of the Legislature, it appears the Go- vernor called upon the j!\ttoruey General to draft a Bill, which, with the Bill passed by the House of Assembly "tvas transmitted to the Secretary of State. The Bill of the Attorney General was strongly recommended and highly praised by Captain Prescott in his despatch No. 51, July 20th, 1840, who says — " The Bill of the Attorney General will doubtless re- ceive some modification when under discussion in the Le- gislature, but its principle seems tome unobjectionable, and it m.ust be considered beyond all comparison superior to the other"!!! It appears that both Bills were submitted for theccnsi- deration of the Commissioners of Colonial Lands and Emigration, who reported thereon. Their report, dated 30th October, 1840, was approved cf hy Lord John Rus- sell, who in his despatch transmitting the report was plea- sed to say — *' The general opinions expressed by these gentlemen meet with my concurrence. 1 shall, however, be ready to concede to the present occupiers of land in the Colony, re- Le- and )r to tX)L0NIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND 8» such advantages in the peculiar circumstances of New- foundland as may appear to you equitable to tliese persons, and beneficial to tiie community at large." Ill 1843, the first session of the Amalgamated Legisla- ture, the Attorney General introduced a Bill predicated upon bis previous draft, with some amendments of the Com- missioners of Land and Emigration. After much discus- sion this Bill had to be withdrawn, the House having almost unanimously preferred the principles contained hi tha Bill of the House of Assembly, in affirmation they passed a series of resolutions : — " That all ungranted land in the Colony should be dis- posed of by public auction. '• Tliat the casual and territorial revenue should be ap- propriated by the Legislature." These resolutions were embodied in an address to His Excellency Sir John Harvey, who no doubt recommended them to the favourable consideration of Lord Stanley, who then presided over the Colonies. His Lordship at once conceded the principles contended for. In the suc- ceeding session of the Iiegislature a Eill was introduced again by the Attorney General on the principles before sta- ted, which was enacted yvith tho approval and salisfaclion of all parties. It is only an act of justice to your Lordship's predeces- sor, Lord Stanley, to acknowledge the obligations which the country owe him for his readiness in conceding points, which if left unsettled, would cause much irritation, and remain a bone of contention between the local authorities, the Hons3 of Assembly, and the occupiers of land. It is, I may add, as far as I have an oppoitunity of judging, in perfect unison with all his Lordship's proceedings in res- pect to Newfoundland, which were marked with great consideration, sound judgment, and conciliation. The question of the disposal of the land fund maybe a matter of importancsto a few persons, into wl;ose pocfc- H f i ii m COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. ets it is sure to finj its way. The surplus will be easily disposed of. It is a matter of little consideration to tiid local Government, and of no consideration at all to lh3 parent Government. The main object must be that thei land be occupied, cleared, and cultivated ; if what may he realized from the sale was to be thrown into the sea, it would be of little consequence. The next difficulty arose in respect of those who had placed themselves down upon the land without ti- tle. The peculiar circumstances of the persons in New- foundland, who had set themselves down upon the land, for whom might be claimed in Iha words of Lord John Russell an "equitable consideration," to attempt exacting from ihem any sum, ever so small, would be attended with such difficulty that it would not pay the expense of collecting. It would give rise to discontent, distrust, and annoyance ; to every thing but revenue. To these peo- ple, squatters we may call them, is due the merit of the Agricultural improvement, in the great labour and priva- tions, without aid or encouragement from any quarter, with which they made war upon the wilderness. To their labour and cxenions is due the value which the lands have attained. To use the language of the profound and benevolent LordGlenelg, to a similar class in ano- ther Colony, they were indeed the pioneers of civilization. The Land Act secures them in their titles, they comprise nine tenths of the possessors of land in the Colony. — Lord Stanley, I again repeat, is entitled to the gratitude of the country for recommending this /neasure for the sanction of the Queen. It is neither more or less than a grant of the whole territory to her faithful and loyal subjects, a gift in every way worthy of our beloved and gracious Sovereign. It may be said that the passing of the Land Act was, in reference to the Agricultural improvement of the coun- try, the crowning measure of Sir John Harvey's Govern- V C0;.0XIZAT10x\ OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 91 V ^fn^nt. The absiu'il prejudices that so long prevailed against the soil and cliaiate were dissipated. The long disputed problem vvlasther Newfoundland was fitted for agricultural purpos3s was triumphantly solved. In support of the opinions and facts, I have in a most discursive manner presented for your Lordshi])'s conside- ration, to prove the advantages and facilities which New- foundland offers lor cultivation, settlement, and coloniza- tion, I shall add ihoie of His Excellency Sir John Har- vey in his speech to the Legislature in 18-13, and of Cap- tain Whitbourne, in a representation to His Majesty James I., 1622. Nearly two centuries and a half have rolled away since Captain Whitbourne, who hsld a commission, as he says himself, under ".the broad seal of the Admiral- ty," and presided over the first Court of Justice that was ever established in Newfoundland, strongly recommended the colonization, and highly eulogised .the soil. Though dis- tant the period, the opinions are identical, both strongly recommend the colonization and settlement of the country. *' Most dread Soueraigne: It is to be seene by the Co5- mographer^ s m3iYis, and well approued, that the Newfound' land is -an Island bordering vpon the continent of America^ from which it isdiuidedby the sea ; so lane distant as England is i'rom the neerest part of Prance^ and lieth betwene 46 and 53 degrees North latitude ; it is as spa- cious as Ireland, and lyes nesre that ships vsually hold \a their returne from the West Indies, and nesre halfe th3 \v^y heiwenQ Ji^eland and Vi}^ginia. *' I shall not much neede to commend the wholesome temperature of that countrey, seeing the greatest parte thereof lieth aboue foure degrees nearer to the south, than any part of England doih. *' And it hath beene well approued by some of our Na- tion, who haue lined there many yeeres, that in the winter season it is as pleasant and healthful as Eng- land is. *' And although the example of one summer be no cer- tains rule for other yeeres ; yet thus much also can 1 truly 'I •:i 'A h'^ 92 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. affirme, that in the yeere 1615, of the many lliousai'id of English, French, Portugals, and others, that were then vpon that coast (amongst whom I sailed to and fio more than one hundred and fifty loaguos,) I neither saw nor heard in all that travell of any man or boy of either of these Nations that dyed there during the whole voyage ; neither was there so much as any one of them side. " But I will not insist vpon further particulars of Har- bours in this plac3, seeing our men tliat yeerely trade to that coast, know them to be as good and commodious Harbours as any other whatsoeuer. " The soyle of this connliey in tlie valleys and sides of tliG mountaines h so fiuitlul, as that in d'lters places, there the summer naturally producoth out of the Iruiteful wombe of Ihe earth, without the labour of man's hands, great plenty of green ))ease and fitches, faire, round, full and wholesome as our fitches are in Eufrland ; of which 1 have there fed on many times : the iiaumes of them are good fodder for caitell and other beasts in the winter, with the heipe of hay; of which there may be made great store witli little labour in diuers places of the coimtrv. '* This being the naturEil fruitfulnesse of the earth, producing such varietie of things -fit for food without the labour of man ; I might in reason hence inferre, that if the same were manured and husbanded in some places, as our grounds are, it would be apt to bear come, and no less fertill than the ii/^i^ZfVi soyle. " But 1 neede not confine myself to probabilities; seeing our men that haue wintered there diners yeeres. did for a triall and experiment thereof, sowe some small quantities of corne, which I saw growing very faire ; and they found the increase to bee great, and the grain very good ; and it is well known to me, and diuers that trade there yeerely, how that cabbage, carrots, turneps, lettice, pars- ley, and such like, proue well there." — Whithourne's Re- jtresentation to James I., 1^22. Sir John Harvey,, in his speech to the Legislature, in 1843, says : — " Upon the subject of Roads, of Agriculture, and of Immigration generally, I know not that I can place my ideas more lorciWy before you, than by inviting your at- COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 93 full tention to some obsevvalions having reference to those deeply interesting objects,, wliicli were addressed by m9 to a public meeting held in this city in January last, lor the purpose of forming a Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, of which a copy will bo laid before you, and which you wdl perceive from the copy ot the despatch from the Right Hon. the Secretary of State, by which they will be accompanied, have obtained the approbation of Her Majesty's Government. 1 would at the same lima express my inmost conviction that the subject is one whicli more closely connects itself wiih the future prosperity, happiness, and independence of Her Majesty's loyal sub- jects of Newfoundland, than appears to be generally sup- posed. And here I will not deny myself the satisfaction of recording this public declaration of my conviction, de- rived from such obs^ervaiion and information as a resi~ dence in the Island for upwards of a year has enabled me to acquire, that both as respects climate and agricul- tural capabilities, Newfoundland in many respects need not shrink from a comparison with ihe most favoured Provinces of British America. Its summers though short enjoy an extraordinary degree of vegetative power, which only requires to be duly taken advantage of ; — its winters are neither unusually long or severe ; and its au- tumnal seasons are as open and fine as those of any of the surrounding Colonies; — and though the Island general- ly does not abound in timber, yet amply sufficient is found for every useful purpose ; and in point of rich natural grasses^ no part of British North America produces greater abundance. Newfoundland, in fact, appears to me to be calculated to become essentially a rich grazing country, and its varied agricnltural resovirces appear only to require roads and settlements to force them into highly remunerative developement. But in a country where those treasures and capabilities are only partially found, it is obviously expedient that the ordinary rules of im- provement should be departed from to suit its particular circumstances. Thus, in the original settlement of the timber growing Colonies, isdividual enterprise and im- provement have generally preceded roads^ which have been subsequently constructed for the purpose of connect- ing detached settlements with each other, or with naviga- ble waters; but circumstanced as in this Island, having >:i 94 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. few navigable streAins, interior settlement can owXy foUow explorations and surveys, and the constriiplion of practi- cable roads of communication with the common highway^ ' the sea.' "In connexion In sotne measure with the preceding re"-' marks, I would observe to you that Newfoundland ap- pears to stand alone among the Western Colonies of tho British Empire, in several -Very essential respects. 1st — That she is without practicable roads of communicatioii for connecting the various settlements of ihe Island with the provincial capital and themselves with each other. And 2dly — without a Mihtia force of any kind. So long as this unexampled state of things, more especially as respects the roads, is suffered to continue, this Colony must remain — what it would appear to have been designed to keep it — little beyond a fishing slatioii. Emigration to it, beyond th6 nimiber of labourers required for thd prosecution of that single pursuit, cannot be expected, no other encouragement being held ont. But by opening up its interior hj means of good roads £tnd communications, upon lines carefully surveyed and carried through lands, and it is known that such are to be found, capable of re- paying the labour of the settler, and therefore holding out inducement to that class of emigrants, you will, asl have elsewhere said, ' discover treasures which though they may not offer in the first instance rewards so tempting, and so immediately available as those of the surrounding deep, are nevertheless c^uite as essential to the prosperity of your Island home as are thd fisheries themselves.'" I hope 1 have adduced sufficient facts and arguments to prove the agricultural capabilities and resources of New^ fjundland. Its position on the map of the world ought to iafford to any reasoning mind sufficient evidence of its agri- cultural capabalities, and its historyshoWs hbw long a great country may be retarded in improvement by a combination of selfish ignorance, tyranny and corruption. In discussing Ihe important question of settlcmentand colonization, it may be asked, " Why, if Newfoundland possessed such material advantages, has it come to pass that it so long re- mained an unoccupied waste 7" The best reply thac can be made to the interrogatory is, first, that there was an Colonization ov NFiwFouNDLAND" q$ KbsoIiilG prohibition to settlement and cultivation ; and se- tondly, that when that prohibition yvas in some degree temoved, there was no adequate encotyagement given to these objects. It maybe laid down a- an indisputable pro- J).3siii )n, that not one of the English Colonies, old or now, has been settled or culiiv'ated without aid beinp^ afforded either by Government or private enterprise. On Marsa- chus'eltSj Virginia, Nova-Scotia, the Canadas, New South Wales, and New Zealand, vast sums have been expended in their settlement, and it is more than problematical, whe- ther any one of tliem would be settled by the first emi- grants, were it not for such aid. Newfoundland in this respect formed a striking excej)- tion to the other Colonies, old and new. The first emi- grants enriched themselves from her inexhaustible mines, carried everything away from the Colony, left it nothing, hot one shilling (except what has been expended by her much maligned Loca^ Legislature) has been contributed by the Parent Government, or by private parties, to- wards her setdement and colonization. The adventurers to Newfoundland amassed vast fortunes, with which, when i-ealized, they retii-ed from the country, leaving it even poorer and more wretched than they found it. The cause which operated against the settlement of Newfoundland is quite apparent, and may be demonstrated without dif- ficulty. '■' • Newfoundland was inhabited and resorted to ; — her fish- eries afforded employment to many hundred ships, and thousands of British, French, Portuguese, and Spanish seamen and fishermen, more than a century before any of the Brhish Colonies now forming the Federal Republic of America were settled. The fisheries of Newfoundland, soon after its discovery in 1497, became an object of great importance, and were extensively prosecuted. In 1608 the first setdement was inade in New England. It was weak and ill directed, did ■'VI ^U Ml m COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. not succeed, and for some lime after there were only a fevv* adventurers who came over at times in tlie suuiiijcr, built themselves temporary huts for the sake of trading wilh the savages, and like them disappeared again for the rest of the year. In 1021 forty-one lamilies, making in all one hundred and twenty persons, embarked for ti^e Colony. — • They landed ut tlie beginning of a very hard winter, and found a country entirely covered with wood, which af- forJed a very melancholy pro-spect to men already exhaust- ed with the fatigues of their voyage. Near one half perish- ed, either by cold, the scurvy, or distress. In 1G3(J, Bos- ton became the principal settlement. Virginia was first settled in 101)7. The emigraiiis, instead of at once turn- ing to the cultivation of the soil, as the only certain means of subsistence, lost their lime in a visionary pursuit of gold and silver, mistaking glittering sand which they found in a rivulet for silver, the first and only employment of the new Colonists was to collect it. As long as the infatuation lasted, the Colonists disdained to employ themselves in clearing the land, so that a dreadful famine was at last ths consequence of this foolish pride. S'ixty men only remained alive, out of five hundred that came from Europe. These few having only a fortnight's provisions left, were upon the 'point of embarking for Newfoundland^ when Lord Delaware arrived there, with three ships, a fresh Colony, and supplies of all kinds." — Jlhhe Raynal^ voU 4. ^ The difficulties which the first settlers in Virginia had to coutend with are summed up by another account : "The colo- nization was commenced at Jamestown, in May, 1607, by a conipany of one hundred persons. In a month the hun- dred dwindled to fifty, and soon after to thirty-eight. In 1609, the Colony had been increased by successive rein- forcements to five hundred souls ; six months after it dwin- dled to sixty. In 16 H the population had increased to two hundred. In 1622, when the number of settlers had be- COLONIZATION OF NRWFOUNDLAND. 97 come still greater, 317 men, women, and children, were desfroyed by the Indians. In 1024, to use the words of Judge Marshall, about £150,01)0 had been expended in planting iho Colony ; and more than 9,000 persons had been sent from Kurope to people it, and yet at the end of seventeen years the population was reduced to 1,800 persons." If the colonization of the other English colonics were not attended with the same difficulties and calamities as New England and Virginia, yet considerable expense had to be inc'-irred, most of which was advanced, not I believe by Government, but by private parties. The just and li- beral system of colonization adopted for Maryland and Pennsylvania was forwarded by the private means of the projectors, Lord Baltimore and Mr. Penn. The old Colonies received little aid from the Govern- ment; the settlers had to fly to the wilds of America for protection from the despotic tyranny of the Stuarts j and the no less intolerable fanatical tyranny of the Parliament and Cromwell. Men of high station,character,and substance, were amongst the emigrants. They carried with them considerable capital, which with their indomitable courage, perseverance, and industry, laid, the foundation of that Bepublican Empire, which is now rapidly increasing into such vast and unwieldy extent, and like other celebrated Republics, ambitious and rapacious. For a century before these countries, now forming the United States, wei'c settled, vast wealth was extracted from "Newfoundland. The adventurersto these Colonies brought with them Science,Labour, and Capital, for their improve- ment. The adventurers to Newfoundland extracted mil- lions from its resources, without expending one shilling in its internal improvement. I have already stated that if commonjustice were done to the country, it would be at this day the most populous and weathy portion of North America. If only a portion of the capital raised from the m^ Ot COLONIZATION OF NKWFOlJiNDLAND. fishery had at an early period been expended in the coIt tivation of the soil, and in the promotion of colonization, there cannot be a reasonable doubt, that every acre of cul- tivable land in the colony would be in useful occupation, and millions of inhabitants nprcad over the vast now unoc- cupied wastes of NtnvfoumUaud. Tiic ancient British Colonies were aided, if not by the Government, by the c ^)ital, skill, and industry of private parties, in their progress towards s(?ttlement and coloniza- tion. It was for the modern Coloni(;s that the munifi- cence, X may say the profusion of Government, was rer served. In 1748, the Parent Government commenced the colo- i;iization of Nova Scotia, advertised for settlers — large grants of land were ofi'ered — and also means for its cultiva- tion, and subsistence until the land made returns. For that purpose: 3T60 adventurers with their families were en- tered for embarkation according to the order of the Board of Trade. Application having been made to Parliament, £40,000 were voted to defray the expense of their re- moval, " the liberality of this grant enabling Government to make ample provision for their comfort and support. They pet sail in the beginning of May 1T49, under the command of the Honourable Edward CoKN\vALLis,whom the King had appointed their Governor, and towards the latter end of June arrived at Chibucto Harbour, (now Halifax) the place of their dostination. At that time the whole of the country bordering on Chibucto was covered by woods to the water's edge. The cold and sterile soil on both sides of the harbour was clothed with the beautiful verdure of the spruce and fir, whose umbrageous limbs concealed the rocks which were scattered in profusion on its surface, and which were doomed to disappoint the hopes,and defeat the labour of the inexperienced settlers. As they passed up the harbour they noticed several canoes filled with sa- vages, who approached within a convenient distance, to lul" COLOXIZATION OF NKWFOUNDLANf). yj observe the motions of the strangers ; and then fled with inconc(!ivablc rapidity. — Hu/iburtofi*s Jlistori/, vol. 1 paf/n 13ii. In 1750 and 1751, Government induced by great encou- ragement a n miber of German Protestants to emigrate to Nova Scotia. In (lieso years, near2,UUU pel sons embarked at Rotterdam, and weid ottled down at Lunenburgh, now a populou. ^^iiiviug stitflement. in seven years, from 1748 to 175."5, the sjiirn of £145,5^1 Us. Ud., was expended in the new settlement. Mr. Burke h,id some reason to ex- claim, in his speech in 1780, on economical reform : " The Province of Nova Scotia was liie youngest and the favou- rite child of the Hoard. Good God ! what sums the nurs- ing of that ill-thriven, hard-visaged, and ill-favoured brat has cost to this ivUiol nation. »Sir, this Colony has stood us in a sum not less than seven hundred thousand pounds. To this day it has made no repayment, it docs not even support those offices of expense which are miscalled its Government. The whole of that job still lies upon the patient, callous shoulders of the people of England." It cost England upwards of a million for the colonization of Nova-Scotia. The cost for the colonization, protection, and settle- ment of the Canadas, goes beyond couoiing. It may be stated by tens of millions, without reference to the vast expenditure at an earlier period. Some idea may be form- ed of the facilities for settlement and colonization in Cana- da, from the following summary of vast recent public im- provements in Canada, taken from a statement of Sir Francis Bond Head. " Magnificent harbours have been fortified, valuable fish- eries and timber trade established, and mines in operation. On Macadamised roads upwards of two hundred thousand pounds has already been expended, also an immense sum in plank roads. " On the Kidieu Canal upwards of one million ; en the Weiland Canal half a million ; on the St. Lawrence Ca- R TOO COLONIZATION OP NEWFOUNDLAND. nal more than three hundred thousand pounds. On the Lachine about one hundred thousand, besides large sums oa the Grand River Navigation, Tay Navigation, innu- merable mills of various descriptions have been constructed; lastly, and in addition to the above, a million and a half sterling, the late loan from the mother country, either has been expended or is at this moment expending on publixs works and improvements of various descriptions." — Sir F. B. Head^s Emigrant^ jjage 86. The direct cost to England, for the colonization of the Timber Colonies of the Canadas, Nova-Scotia, New- Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, is possibly not the largest item in the account. The cost in the form of discriminating protecting duties in the timber trade, must for thelast thirty years rise to anenormous amount. Accor- ding to a statement made by Mr. Huskisson, in his celebra- ted speech on the shipping interest in 1827, the duties paid on British North American timber for the year ending 5th January, 1827, was £241,045 12s. lOd. The amount of duty, which would have been received on the same arti- cles, if they had been charged with the rates of duty pay- able on similar articles imported from the Baltic £1,519,636 Is. Id.; showing a charge, the difference between the two amounts, of one million two hundred and seventy eight thousand and ninety pounds eight shillings and threepence, no small annual charge for the clearance of the wilds of the Canadas, New Brunswick, and the other North Ame- lican Timber Colonies. It was, 1 believe, the late Gover- nor General of Canada, Mr. Charles Poulet Thomp- son, when a member ot the House of Commons, that said, that if all the ships engaged in the North American timber trade were paid full freights for pleasure trips on the Atlan- tic!, England would gain by it, provided the duties on Bri- tish and North American were equalised with Foreign timber. . ; . It is no matter for surprise that Canada should be sur- feited by so ':iany streams, for the promotion of emigration COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 101 and colonization, and that she should reject the gigantic plan of Mr. Godly, or indeed any other, she has as much on her hands as she can well manage. Here 1 would draw your Lordship's attention to the singular contrast which England's oldest settlement pre- sents to these more favoured Colonies, and would ground upon it strong claims for con > deration, in forwarding het internal improvement. The produce of the one has to find sale in the markets of the world, open to all nations ; to contend with a competition raised by foreigners in the sale of fish, drawn from her own shores , suppoited by exorbitant bounties, while the produce of the others is se- cured in the English markets by protective duties which operate in the nature of a bounty, and which have cost the English people countless millions. In stating the account, the contrast will appear more striking. Since the reign of Henry VH., certainly from that of Elizabeth, the exports from Newfoundland averaged annually from four hundred thousand pounds to one million sterling, chiefly re- alized in the markets of foreign countries for specie, all of which was transmitted to England ; whilst British capi- tal was finding its way by one continuous stream for the improvement and colonization of the other Colonies, New- foundland capital was flowing for centuries for the benefit and improvement of England. The encouragement given to the Colonies of New South Wales and New Zealand, equals that given to the Tim- ber Colonies. It appears that passages were provided for emigrants, lands were granted, convict labour given to the settlers for their clearance, and afterwards payment made to them for maintenance of their own labourers. "In 1824, a notice from Sir Thomas Brisbane was published, stating that one hundred acres of land would be granted to a settler for every convict whom he might have maintained for twelve months, in addition to every convict he was required to employ for every hundred acres of his I i^ ii U -I 102 COLONIZATION OF NEVvrOUNDLAND. original grant, so that in fact the Governor provided the settler with servants to cultivate his land, and then paid him for keeping the servants. An emancipated convict was entitled to fifty acres, and to be supported until he put his land in a state of cultivation." \ Mr. E. G. Wakefield, in his evidence, when asked, *' Do you know on what condition the Australian Agricul- tural Company of London obtained a grant of one million of acres of land ?" ... Answer — " Chiefly on condition of employing a certain number of convicts, which condition was in fact a boon; not only do the Government bestow a million of acres upon theCompany, but they also bestow on them, under the name of a condition or burden, a boon of labour wherewith to cultivate the land." " Governor Burke gave a bounty of thirty pounds with a free grant of land, to every married man." — Evidence Committee House of Commons, lS36. The colonization of New Zealand has been forwarded by aid from Government, as well as by private enterprise and caphal. , ... The proposition which I have been endeavouring to de- monstrate, by referring to so many examples both of an- cient and modern British colonization, is, that in every case, the emigrants were aided by the Government or by private parties. Newfoundland, in that respect, forms an exception to all England's Colonies. It may be said that not one shilling has been expended either by the Govern- ment or by private parties in the colonization of Newfound- land, with the exception of the attempt made by Sir George Calvert,^ to whom the Province of Avalon, ex- tending over a considerable portion of the Southern and Western part of the Island, was granted by James I. He formed a settlement at Ferryland, which prospered for •3ir George Calvert was father to Lord Baltimore. COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 103 some years, niuil l\is successor, Lord Baltimore, who also was settled for somo lime at Ferryland, unfortunately lor Newfoundland, withdrew for the purpose of settling his new Colony of Maryhnd. Men of the first families in England, possessed of am- })le means, of iadotnitable enterprise, laid the toundation of the early English Colonies. The parent Government, wiih a most unGxampled lavish expenditure, laid the foundation of the later ones. - The emigrants were conveyed at the public expense to their places of destination, they were put in possession of the best lands, supplied wiili every means for the cul- tivation of the ground, supported at the public expense nnlil they could support themselves from the produce. Roads were made, and vast public vvorks were formed ; the parent country placed herself under the worst system of taxation to promote their trade. In short everything was done to promote their advancement ; it is therefore not at all a matter of surpri&e, that they should have made such progress in f^-eltlement and colonization. Newlound- iand. devo{ed, neglected, much injured Newfoundland; what a contrast she presents. Laws prohibiting cultiva- tion, one Governor denoimcing the cultivators of her soil, threatening to punish them as felons, another recommending the transportation oi every female from the Island^ and prohibiting any further arrivals. " The worUl wa3 a waste, the garden was a wild, And man, the hermit, sighed, till woman smiled." The emancipated convicts in New South Wales had lands assigned to them, and were supplied at the public expense. Governor Burke net only gave land, but a boun- ty of thirty pounds to every new married man— woman was banished from Newfoundland. It is not necessary for me to adduce furiher proof to show how the setde- ment of every other Colony was promoted, and how that of Newfoundland has been retarded. ^! t 104 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. I have, I fear, exhaustGd your Lordship's patience in the succession of repetitions to which I have resorted, lo show Ihs obstructions whicli have stood in the way of the colonization of Newfoundlarid, these have been mainly removed ; it is, however, evident, that much of the in- jurious effects remains. As an example, daring all the dis- cussions that have taken place in Parliament for the last twenty years on the subjects of emigration and coloniza- tion, la the schemes of Mr. Wilmot Horton, or Mr. Goodly' s; down to the interesting dsbate on Lord Lin- coln's motion on the 2d June, I do not recollect even the most distant allusion having been made toNewloundland, as a desirable or a suitable place for forming a British Co- lony. Amongst the various projects for colonization, extending to the Aniipodes, from the rising to the setting sun, in un- healthy climates, under a vertical sun, Newfoundland, si- tuate within a i^ew days sail from the British coast, a country as large as Ireland, the most healthy climate in the world, capable of employing millions oi inhabitants, appears either intentionally or ignorantly altogether passed over. " 'Tis distance gives enchantment to the view, And robes the mountain in its azure hue." I have endeavoured to show^to your Lordship that it presents every requisite as a field for successful co- lonization, and that it affords the very hest security for the investment of British capital, and what is more, that in the face of the greatest difficulties, unaided from any quar- ter, it has, within a few years, made considerable progress in settlement and agriculture. I do not expect that opinions put forth so imperfectly, coming from a person so humble and of so little conside- ration, can have much effect in removing that prejudice, but if I should be so fortunate as lo induce your Lordship to turn your enlightened mind to the consideration of the COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 105 praciicability and policy of colonizing Newfoundland, and forming in it one great British community, I have not the slightest shadow of doubt that it would not be again passed over in any future scheme of transatlantic coloni- zation. Having said so much on the subject, it may he expect- ed that 1 would be prepared with a plan for the purpose. Taking counsel from higher authority I shall not venture to propose a plan of my own ; 1 will, however, venture to throw out some suggestions for the consideration of your Lordship. It was the opinion of Mr. Burke, that Colo- nies should be left in a great degree to themselves, he con- demned much Governmental interference, he eulogised the ancient Colonial policy for its " wise and salutary neglect," he condemned the expenditure by the parent Government of large jsums of money. " That Colony," (Georgia,) Mr. Burke says, in his speech on economical reform, "has cost the nation very great sums of money, whereas the Colonies which have had the good fortune of not being god-fathered by the Board of Trade, never cost the nation a shilling, except what has been so properly spent in losing them." I shall not take npon myself to recommend any appli- cation to the parent Government for an advance of mo- ney for the colonization of Newfoundland. 1 am clearly of an opinion that the means, resources, and credit of the Colony, if only fostered by the parent Government, and judiciouly and economically administered and managed by the local Government, will be found quite adequate for all purposes, to promote a steady progressive system of settlement and colonization. The only plan, if it can be so denominated, that I have to propose for the colonization of Newfoundland is, raising on loan, about forty thou- sand pounds per year, for ten successive years, to be exp pended in public works, principally in opening and making main lines of roads throughout the Island. This loan to ^^ f ) ■pi S^'i' 106 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. be raised on the credit ot the Colony, and to be guaran' teed by tho parent Government, the Colony making ar- rangements for the payment of principal and interest, and securing it permanently on the Colonial Revenue. Sup- posing the loan to be raised at three per cent., to be paid off by annual instalments at six and a half percent., to pay principal and interest, the principal and interest could be paid off in less than twenty years from the time of receiv- ing each instahp»ent. As a further security for the loan, the proceeds of the sale of waste lands should be exclusively appropriated for tliat purpose, a fund which, if the loan is expended in (he way contemplated, will greatly add to ihesecurity. 1 1 \r i'l not be questioned that the value of land within half a mile on either side of a new road, is many limes greater than the expenae of making tiio road, even according to the limited extent of roads made in Nev^foundland. This statementcanbe satisfactorily proved. In less than twenty years, under a judicious system of expendilure of the four hundred thousand pounds^ (he land on the margin of the roads would bs worth many millions. I make tliis propo- sition under the expectation that the most stringent pre- cautions should be taken to prevent jobbing, and that the whole expenditure should take place in the making and construction of roads and bridges, and other necessa- ry works for the promotion of settlement and agri- culture. Young as Newfoundland is in road making, I regret to ^ay, that though the local law regulating the expenditure is probably the most perfect in force in any of the British North American Colonics, yet •in the teeth of that law, many instances of jobbing can be pointed out, in the expenditure of tho small amount appropriated by the I^egislaturc for roads, tliat -would rival many of the jobs celebrated n. the history of Irish Grand Jury appropriations, the main object wilh 'Commissioners appears to be, to defeat, instead of carry- COLONIZATION OP NEWFOUNDLAND. 107 ing out tlio law. In advising the loan for the purpose of promoting colonization by the opening and making of roads and bridges, it is with the understanding that it should be fairly, bona fide expended for that pur* pose, with the least possible deduction for contingent ex- penses. The whole of my suggestions for the colonization of Newfoundland are contained in the simple proposition of granting a loan to Newlbundland, for the opening and ma- king af roads, and the construction of bridges. The lo- cal liCgislature, with such aid would be enabled to make such arrangements for the encouragement of emigration, and the location of settlers, as they might think judicious and advisable. I fully and entirely agree in opinion with Lord John P..ussell, expressed on Lord Lincoln's motion, — " Of all the plans that have been under conisidaration, that which appears to me to be tha most practical is that of aiding and assisting public works in those Provinces to which emigration is like- ly to be directed. Biit T do not think that the adop- tion of such a plan does depend mainly upon general max- ims or upon abstract policy, upon the subject of emigra- tion. I am persuaded of it, not from any reasoning in my own mind on the subject, but because I understand it to be the unanimous testimony of all who are acquainted with the progress of our Colonies in North America. They say that if you send out able-bodied men, who can obtaiii wages, whether in farm labour or on roads or public works; and who by earning good wages, may come in time to be possessed of a little property, those men will do well, and they may finally become useful settlers and good sub- jects, and promote the colonization of the Coldly ; but if you send out men whose habits in the United Kingdom unfit them for such a life, to form small communities in thft backwoods of Canada, you will find your settlements wilt fail" 103 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. If Lord John Russell was giving an account of the set- tlement of Newfoundland, as far as it has gone, ho could not more clearly depict it. The principal cultivators are poor industrious persons, who without any other aid than that pbtained from their labour -in the fishery, farming, and latterly in the opening and making of roads', have succeed- ed, many of them having raised themselves to indepen- dence, some to afiluence. i The experience gained in a few years by employment in the various branches of industry, enabled the parties to judge for themselves — to turn their labour to proper ac- count — to select such places as they most approved of, to the clearance and cultivation of which they turned with cheerfulness and determination. Under such circumstan- ces there have been very few instances of failure. A main portion of the land under cultivation is located in the va- rious harbours close to the shore, and in the neighbour- hood of the fishing grounds. The planter has his farm on the one side, and his fishing room and flakes for making a i^ curing fish, on the other. By the joint employment in fishing and farming he is raised into comparative comfort and independence. The benefit that has accrued to many of the poor planters and fisher- men of Newfoundland by the transference of part of their labour to the cultivation of the soil, exceeds any de- scription that could be given of it. Fishermen, like sailors, are most improvident. That system ot improvidence has extended itse;f to a lamentable extent amongst the inha- bitants. If from the proceeds of a good fishing voyage they can secure their winter's provisions they are satisfied; in general they are in the habit of expending it with reck- less profusion. Generous and hospitable, they expend all, making no provision for the future. In the prosperous pe- riod of the fishery, this profusion was encouraged by the merchants; their stores were thrown open to them, they encouraged them to run in debt ; and, what will scarcely ^aiu credence, if a planter or fisherman became indepen- UOLONIZATlOiN OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 109 dent and paid his account with the merchant, he was dis- missed, no longer to be a dealer of his. The attempt of the poor fisherman to make himself independent, was, under the accursed system that prevailed, instead of be- ing rewarded as a virtue, was punished as a crime. It is only by turning the labour and attention of the people to agricultural pursuits, that they can be weaned from iheir. former habits, and taught to practice that economy which alone can secure their present and future comfort and in- dependence. It is impossible adequately to describe the great differ- ence that exists between those families that have mode the land an auxiliary, and those who depend altogether upon what they can earn in the fishery. The one enjoys comparative comfort and independence, the other is in debt and distress. If there is one object deserving of commiseration and pily more than another, it is a poor iiged fisherman, after spending his life at the fishery ; re- duced to poverty and past his ability to labour, if a naiive of the country, without ony provision made for his support in his old age ; if an Englishman or an Irishman, even more deplorable, shipped off to be thrown on the quays of Dartmouth or Waterford, to depend upon the chilly charity doled out in the workhouse, or left to perish on the roads or ditches of that native country which disowns him, after spending his youth and manhood in a foreign land. Hov/ difierent the situation of the fisherman who has cleared and cultivated a small patch of ground, with a warm homestead, with ahorse, cows, milk, butter, corn, and po- tatoes — every substantial requisite; surrounded by arising family, for whose future support he sees ample means in the extension of the cultivation of the land that surrounds his dwelling. IIow sincerely the old improvident fisher- man may exclaim — . . • . •' Oh, that for me some home like this would smile, Some hamlet shed to yield my sickly form i . Uealth in the breeze, and sUelter from the storm," 1 .. * no COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. • The successful cultivators are not confined to the fish- ermen and planters; the most laborious settlers, those who deserve most credit, having had in the onset the greatest difliculties to contend with, are those persons vho have ex- tended their clearances some miles into the interior. Many of these have made most valuable improvements. As the roads progress, new settlers move on in like progression. These parties have been unaided except by the advanta- ges they derived from the opening of the roads, many of them having been employed either as contractors or work- men upon ihem. The money received from their labour enabling them to buy a horse, cart, plough, and other agricultural implements, and stock for their farms. I would confidently refer to the example of Newfoundland colo- nization, limited as it is, to prove the soundness of the views of Lord John Russell, j The best system is tliat which leaves the s'l'ttler to act for himself, if he has capital, to choose his own location, to give an opportunity to those who have not capital to acquire it by their labour in making roads and other useful produc- tive public works. The experience and knowledge of the country gained by such employmei;t will be found of more value than the capital itself. The plan of placing settlers down upon land, supplying them with seeds and implements of husbandry, supporting them until they could raise suf- ficient from the soil for their own support, may be found practicable, provided an immense outlay is submitted to, similar to that expended in Nova Scotia and other places. Even then many failures will be found. It is questionable "whether, even with such outlay, colonization would pro- gress so securely as by the other mode. The example of Shelburne in Nova Scotiia, where an attempt was made without due consideration, prematurely to form an exten- sive settlement, will show the difficulties and danger of attempting colonization on a large scale, even though it may be supported by the largest outlay. At the conclu- sion of the American war, a nu/nber of loyalists were COLONlZVnaN OFNCWroUrDLANO. iji ■cticouraged 10 settle ihfiinsolves at Si nrne. In 1783, a fljot consisting of eighteen square rij. cd ^ 9sse!«, ani several sloops and schooners, protoctod '*y ;ivo ups 0/ war, " sailed from New Yoik," they vvl 'e atlenu id by a commissary, engineer, a number of carpenters, whu wcr** supplied witii all kinds of tools and implements nece^sar ' for the formation of a settlement on r large scale. .Ou their arrival, after carefully examining: the adjacent couft- try, and sounding the harbour, they made choice of the head of it as the most eligible situation. The vacancy be- tween the base line and the water was made out in lanes and small allotments, so that every person imght be accommoda- ted with a town and water lot. " Thus rose the town of Shelburne," states the learned and able historian ot Nova Scotia, from whom I have made these extracts, "the popula- tion of which amounted to twelve or fourteen thousand in- habitants. Its decline was almost as rapid as its growth ; remote from the other settlements of the Province, sur- rounded by the forests, without roads, situated loo far from the entrance of the harbour to reap the advantages of the fibbing grounds, and filled with people who were unacquainted with the mode of settling in the wilderness, it was impossible that such a town, so constituted, could long exist . Many of the inhabitants removed to th^ other parts of the Province, but the greater part returned to their native laud. The lamentations of the people, who at- tributed their misfortunes rather to the poverty of (he soil and the natiu'e of the country, than to their own impru- dence, in assembling together in a wilderness, without the means of support, have had a powerful eftect in rais- ing a prejudice against Nova Scotia, and the character of the Province is therefore as much njisundei stood in the United States, as it is in England. Shelburne is at pre^ sent in a most dilapidated state, and the very circumstance of-i's haying been once abandoned, has continued to keep it -Halihurlon^ s Htstory of Nova l^iotia^vol, 2, p. 1%, u n 50. m COLONIZATION OF NEWl OUNDLAND. Thcro is nothing appears easier in theory, hut vvhiclr will bo fouiul more diflicult in practice, than the formation sutldenly of a settlement or town, in a now country ; even in those blessed in siijicrior advantages of ijoil and climate, to the Hritisli North American Colonics. Com- munities must grow up to maturity, they cannot be crea- ted. To tiiinkof setting down two millions, or one mil- lion, or even one Imndred thousand, in any new country, in one or two years, and securing to them the means of maintenance, and the requisites of civilized life, is a pro- ject which I do not think it possible to accomplish. Tho present emigration to Canada and the United States, is no proof to the contrary. There, such as escape the perils of fever and sickness on tho voyage, are drafted by rail- roads and steamboats from the harbours of disembarka- tion, and arc absorbed in those vast countries in the back settlements of America, which are so rapidly extending themselves towards the Pacific, and to whoso rise tho present system of emigration from Great Britain aflbrds such advantages. Mr. Burke said, in 1775, in reference to these British Provinces, *' Your children grow faster from infancy to manhood, than they spread from families to communities, from villages to nations." What would he say at the present day, when England is spiriting away annually two hundred thousand of her people, for whom ample employment ought to have been found at home, to form new communities, new villages, and new nations, in that ambitious and overgrown Republic, insatiable in her desire for territory, dominion, and power. The emigra- tion to the Canadas and the United States, affords no proof in favour of a gigantic system of colonization. If the stream of emigration were forced into the unsettled parts of Canada, it would irost assuredly lorce itself back, and diverge towards the settled districts. I have to crave your Lordship's indulgence for branching off from my main subject— the settlement and colonization COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Ill of Newfoundland, into ilio more general question of colo- jiizatioii and emigration. While this question is now on- gngiag the attention of the Imperial Legislature, and of the iirst, most able, and J may add, the most benevolent men in the Empire, Newfoundland appears to be passed over In all their schemes. My opinion, and whicU I state without iho slightest hesitation, is, that Government, and othnrs anxioiis for British colonization, have committed a grc at error in passing this Colony by. 1 have already sta- ted that Nc'vfoundland alTords by hor insular situation, tiio very best security for a permanent British Colony. I could adiiiicG many arguments in support of the position. No man of reflection will be found to say that under any possible circumstances, it can be the interest of England to separate from Newfoundland. Many of your ablest statesmen and purest patriots, from Lord Camden to Lord AsHBURTON and Mr. Gladstone, have expressed -very diirercnt opinions in respect to the other Colonies, situated on the continent of North America, and only divided from the UniKjd States by an imaginary line. " I think," said Lord Ashburton, " it is evident the time must come, when self-government will be necessa- ry, and when separation from the mother country must take place." Lord Brougham — " Hear, hear." Lord Ashburton—*' The first difficulty is to ascertain the proper time for that separation, and the next to effect it on friendly terms, so as to ' shake hands at parting.' — These opinions I expressed on the subject of colonization generally, ten years ago, and I think the greatest possible mistake was, not earlier to have given to these Canadian Colonies to understand, that the moment the feeling of iheir population was ripe for separation they should have it." — Lord Ashhiirion^s /S^peech, Canada Gorermcnt, June 30, IS-iO. .( ■ 1'- 114 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. Mr. Gladstone said, "It appears to me that tha main- tenance of our commerce with tlio Colonies is to be regar- ded rather as a matter of duty than ono of advantage. — It will also be a great problem of statesmanship at a fu- ture period, when those growing societies will have attain- ed to such a degree of maturity as to be truly fit for self- government, to fix upon the period when the connexion with the parent shall be severed." — Mr. Gladstone's Speech, Canada Government^ May 29, 1840. Admitliog the truth of the opinions expressed by Lord AsHBURTON and Mr. Gladstone, and approved of by Lord Brougham, (who had, I believe, expressed similar opinions and in much stronger terms on previous occa j sions,) in reference to the American continental Colonies ©f England, would these eminent men take it upon them- selves to point out any slate of things, any contingency, when it would be the advantage of England to separate from Newfoundland, and surrender the Colony and the fisheries to America? I do not think that any British statesman would have the temerity to say, that under any possible circumstances, England could con- .sent to separate from Newfoundland, and surrender ail her fisheries. Should that period arise, it will bo a sign of the decline of her maritime supremacy, and of the transfer of it to that ambitious American Republic ready to grasp at it, than whi-ch no greater misfor- tune could befall the civilized world, effecting the union in one state, of vast territorial and great maritime power. Newfoundland. and her fisheries will be preserved by England, to make them more valuable it will be neces- sary for British statesmen to turn more of their attention to her vast importance and value, — to put them (o proper accoimt, and not allow ,ihe lide of emigration, capital, and trade, to pass her shores to strengthen and aggrandise a coimtry — jealous rivals in peace — dangerous enemies j.i war. th( trai is lies COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 115 III Newfoundland are to be found all the material of great maritime power ; her boundless Fishing Banks, magnificent Bays, her innumerable Harbours, her fa- vourable position, situate between the old and the new world, points her out as the emporium for the commerce of both — her staple produce, finding a market in all parts of the world — her extensive territory capable of maintaining many millions of inhabitants ; it is not too much to say that under the mighty shade of England's pro- tection, Newfoundland could be raised into a maritime power that would be found a powerful auxiliary to Eng- land in any future maritime war. If England would extend to Newfoundland the same aid that t-hc has ex- tended to Nova Scotia, or agree to spend a tithe of what has been expended in Canada, Newfoundland would soon be raised into a truly British Colony of wealth and popu- lation. Even without such aid, if simply htr natural rights Avere restored to her, by the expulsion of the French and Americans from hei shores, that alone would sufilce to ac- complish all that could be required, she would soon leavo all the other Colonies, in trade, commerce, wealth; and population, at an immeasurable distance behind. I do not expect that opinions coming from io insignifi- cant a source will influence the parent Government or otli(3r parties, to enter into any extensive plan of co- lonizauon in Newfoundland. At the same time, for the causes which I have stated, most particularly the transfer of her fisheries to Foreigners, and the loss that is suffered by having to contend against their boun- ties, there is no other Colony that can establish so strong a claim, on just principles, to consideration, and af- ford a better security for the outlay of British capital. I have perused with much interest the discussion on Lord Lincoln's motion on the subject of colonization, on the 1st June last, in the House of Commons, in which that noble lord so ably adverted to the various projects propo- sed for carrying it out. Every true-hearted irishman must Y 116 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. feel the deepest sense of gratitude towards Lord Lincoln, Sir Robert Peel, and the other English and Scotch mem- bers, for the sympathy manifested for their suffering coun- trymen. I was anxious to see how any of the plans, or which of then, could be made available for the settle- ment of Newfoundland. Mr. E. G. Wakefield's proposi- tion of making the funds raised from the sale of waste lands, available for this purpose, exacting a high price, and appropriating the proceeds for the importation of labour, will not be suitable to Newfoundland ; for the reason given by Lord Lincoln, the limited amount that could be raised, by an immediate sale of land, would be found ina- dequate ; the securing steady remunerative employment for the emigrant, on his arrival, should be the first and main object to secure a successful result in any general plan of colonization. Mr. Charles Buller's plan, for the resumption of the millions of acres that have been jobbed away in Canada, and which, like Cerberian Bogs, impeded the settlement of the country; the imposition of a Wild Land Tax, would no doubt greatly benefit Canada, and would facilitate the colonization and settlement of that country, except it may be advisable to put a small tax upon wild land, to prevent private speculation. The proposition of Mr. Buller is not applicable or necessary for Newfoundland. Mr. Godley's gigantic scheme ot transporting two millions in two or three years, and forming an Irish nation 'n Canada, is based upon a vast outlay; it exhibits great consideration, much benevolence, and an anxious desire to promote the Welfare and happiness of the exiles. His plan,profound and benevolent as it is, is theoretic, not practicable. Mr. God- ley "thinks itunadvisable to scatter Irish emigrants over nu- merous distant colonics ; it seems most expedient to choose some one country to which the main stream of emigration should be directed, and in which, accordingly, a peace- ful Irish nationality would at once take root." C0L0NlZAT10x\ OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 117 COLN, mem- coun- ns, or settle- oposi- vvaste price, ion of reason )uld be id ina- ent for d main plan of 1 of the Canada, ment of would ate the it may prevent Duller Mr. lions in Canada, e rat ion, note the )und and [r. GoD- over nu- choose migration 1 peace- Canada is the coiintryselected for the experiment of Mr. Godley's two millions of Irish emigrants. Not one fiftieth part of them would remain in the position in whichhe would place them, except he could surround his new Irish nation with Bishop Berkley's wall of brass, five thousand cubits high. The steamboats, canals, and railways, would afford them means of transit, and in less than three years five- sixths of " New Ireland" would be scattered amongst the interminable prairies of the /rtr ?»es^, giving their indus- try, their capifal, not to raise British, or Irish nationality, but to swell with greater rapidity, into more huge bulk, American nationality. Mr. GoDLEY proposes nine millions as the sum necessa- ry to be raised to carry out his plan, a large amount, but totally inadequate. The colonization of Nova Scotia, in 1749, for little more than three thousand persons, cost in a few years, seven hundred thousand pounds. What, there* fore, vvouldtvvo millions of settlers cost? If the plan were practicable, the outlay of one hundred millions would not be adequate, taking into account the capital that the emi- grants would bring out of their own, which would be in most instances not less than twenty pounds, and others some hundreds. To place no value on the science, labour, ar i industry, of the two millions of men, which I estimate at a far higher ratio, instead of abstract- ing one hundred millions of capital to be expended in raising a New Ireland in Canada, let the landlords employ the two millions of men and expend the hundred millions in improving "Old Ireland," it will be found far a more judicious plan for raising the condition of the Irish people, and improving the value of their own estates, than any project of emigration or colonization, however exten- sive, or however matured. Emigration may benefit the emigrant, it is a miserable resource for benefiting Ireland. No matter what may be said or written to the contrary, I never oan believe that Avbile there is so much land in Ireland, remaining unimpro< 118 COLONIZATION OP NEWFOUNDLAND. ved and unproductive, for want of cultivation, and so much labour wasting for want of employment, but that in- stead of transporting two millions, or o.ny number, to cul- tivate the wilds of Canada, or the back settlements in America, they should be employed in improving the half- cultivated land, in Ireland. The Irish landlords have the command of the cheapest labour m the world. Placed as they are now, by the repeal of the Corn Laws, in com- petition with the landlords of the world, they should avail themselves of the advantage, instead of getting nd of their people, and spending their money in France or Italy, in the gambling houses of London or Paris, let them spend it in improving their estates, and giving employment to the people. The value of the one will be immeasurably increased — the condition of the other will be immeasurably improved. Employing the people at home, instead of transporting them across the Atlantic, will be found the most effectual way to meet the present difficulties, and to guard against the recurrence of them in future. The present scale of emigration, amounting to nearly two hundred thousand annually, principal- ly from Ireland, is in itself very great, exceeding any- thing to be found in the history of ancient or modern transatlantic emigration. Instead of relieving the labour market, it in my opinion abstracts much valuable labour and capital which ought to be employed at home. — There are very few emigrants who do not bring with them sums of from twenty to fifty pounds, and some of them much larger amounts. With reference to the subject of the present system of emigration to the North American Colonies, I would most respectfully draw your Lordship's attention to the scan- ty manner in which the emigranto are maintained on the voyage under the present Passenger Law ; the ship is bound only to find one pound of bread, and a certain quantity of water per diem, for each passenger, who has to provide himself with all other necessaries for the voy- COLONlZiTIOX OP NEWFOUNDLAND. M« ago. The defect of the systann iscausedby the change that has been male in the law which obliged the master to provide the passenger with tha usual ship's allowance of seven pounds of bread, saven pounJs ot bc^ef or fiva pounds of pork par week, with flour, oatnioal, molasses, and a sufficiency of whoiesoine water, cook and cooking uten- sils. This was the fare under the old system, and I can state that' from an experience of twenty years, in general the emigrant landed stronger and in better health than when he embarked. Under the present law, the only food supplied by the ship is bread and water, and the pas- senger must provide himself with other necessaries. It must be taken info account, that in general the poor emi- grant is unacquainted with every thing connected with a sea voyage. Possibly never having seen a ship or salt water, before his arrival at the port of embarkation ; be is directed to provide certainnecessaries, which he purcha- ses at the retail prices.. These he has to stow away in his chestjjor to givethsmin charge to an oftieer of the ship or otiier person to take care of them. For the first few days of the -voyage hois laid up with sen -sickness, utterly inca- pable of providing any nourishment for himself. If the emigrant is a lemale, her state is even more helpless ; the little tea., coffee, sugar, and other necessaries provided for iho voyage are soon wasted or expended ; and before one half the voyage is passed, the emigrants are reduced to live upon one pound of bread, and often a scanty supply of unwholesome water. The natural consequences are, that before the conclusion of the voyage, they are reduced to mere skeletons, fever is engendered of the nature of gaol fever, of a most virulent character. Hundreds, I may say thousands, of these poor people, leave their homes in good health, to find untimely giavcs in the dorp' or in a foreign land. The sufferings of the pcoremigrauts intinnnt, as well as to to Quebec and other ports on the coni this port, are beyond any description I can give. The people embarked in good health, most of them with means w 130 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. adequate to their wants. Even in this port, this last spring, where emigrants did not exceed seven or eight hundred, ii has come to my knowledge, that poor creatures who died shortly after their landing, of fever, the effects of starva- tion on the voyage, had thirty, forty, and fifty sovereigns in their pockets. The present evil, of '' shovelling away " the poor people from Ireland in ships, without proper provision being made for their voyage, calls loudly for redress. It claims your Lordship's humane attention. The former mode, of obliging the ship to find all necessaries, ought to be resu- med. In addition to the humane views which call for its adoption, it will be found the most economical. The sum that is now expended by the emigrant to provide necessa- ries, added to the rate of passage, would enable the ship owner to provide the regular ship's allowance. Under a different treatment the emigrant will land stronger and in better health than he embarked ; instead of being conveyed to'a fever hospital he will b employed to turn his labour to profitable account as soon as he lands.^ *The number of emigrants landed in the harbour of St. John'iS this year, did not much exceed seven or eight hundred, and there was scarcely any mortality on the voyage. The vessels on their arrival were visited and examined by the medical offi- cers of the town, all of them, with scarcely an exception, repor- ted free from disease,— the passengers healthy, who were al- lowed to land. Though reported free from disease by the health officers, they appeared, particularly the passengers of one vessel, in the most emar'iated state ; brawny, stout men, looked like walking skeletons. No wonder, they had to exist for five or six weeks on little bread and bad water. The effects of this treatment soon appeared ; the sudden change of diet—from a scanty allowance of bread and bad water, to nourishing food — brought on fever of a most dangerous character; persons who admitted them into their houses took the infection— the whole town was threatened with great danger, when His Excellency the Governor, Sir J. G aspard Le Marcmant, with great prompti tude and humanity, directed an auxiliary hospital to be prepared, the old hospital not naving sufficient room, the patients were re- COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 121 ring, Qd, ii died irva- tiigns leople being ilaims de, of resu- for its e sum cessa- e ship ^ndera and in iveyed labour . John'a ed, and vessels cal offi- n,repor- were al- by the s of one 1, looked for five ts of this -from a q food — sons who le whole xcellency pronnpli prepared, I were re- As I have been commenting on Mr. Godley's plan of emigration, it is proper for me to say, in justice to that gentleman, that he proposes to take ample care of the peo- ple on the voyage, and that he cautiously avoids the evils of the present system of North American emigration, than which nothing can be more objectionable. Having digressed,! hope not to an unpardonable extent, on the general subject of emigration, and with reference to the unhappy state of Ireland, I return to my more imme- diate object, the application of the different plans of set- tlement and colonization to Newfoundland, adverted to in Lord Lincoln's able speech. Under some modifications, Mr. Sullivan's plan, " founded on original Government outlay, to be repaid by the sale of plots of ground reserv- ed in, and intermixed with, the locations of the Colonists, by which means he apprehends such a value will be given to the reserved lots as eventually to pay the expense of co- lonization," would be found most available. Making these reserves would be extending the base of the settlement, and the experience of every man in the Colonies must convince him how much land is increased in value by clearances and settlement running through it. In connexion with BIr. Sullivan's plan, or rather to form a principle in its extension to Newfoundland, would, by your Lordship's plan of establishing villages, w lich was also adverted to by Lord Lincoln, but whicV. x have not had the good fortune to have" met with, except in the reference made to it by Lord IjINcoln. The establish- moved to this hospital. At one time there was nearly one hun- dred and fifty persons down with fever, chiefly the newly arrived emigrants — nearly a fifth of the whole number. Owing to the great precautions that were taken, and the care taken of the patients, the deaths were not numerous. I have no hesitation in stating, that if the passengers had been properly treated on the voyage, and had given to them the proper usual allowance of pro* visions and good water, the paFsengers would continue in health after landing. To the starvation on the voyage, 1 charge the whole of the lamentable eflfccts that followed. m COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. ment of villages, or small settlemsiits, has been a deside- ratiiin vvitli the friends of improvement in Newfoundland, the great objection to your Lordship's proposition, of build- ing villages and supporting the settlers for a certain time, is the expense. Without incurring the great expense ne- cessary ior the building of the villages, and maintaining the settlers, I do think, that in connexion with Mr. Sul- livan's plan, the formation of small settlements or villa- ges is most practicable, and very necessary intheforward- itjg of colonization and settlement in Newfoundland, la the location decided upon for the formation of a village, a quantity of ground should be divided into alternate lots, one sett of which to bo given gratuitously to the first settlers, the remainder for sale in due time. Chapels, Churches, and School-houses, to be erected in convenierrt situations, and employment to be secured for the settlers, in opening and making roads and bridges, and other pub- lic works. These villages to branch off on the main roads leading from the capital, to which, for a market for the produce, the most easy access should at all times be kept open. As a general principle, which should never be lost sight of in any plan of extending colonization in countries like Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, ■ where communities are formed, settlements should branch off from the populous districts. '^TMie example of Shel- burne, in Nova Scotia, should be a warning against the formation of communities in remote districts, without lines of communication being first made to the populous and settled parts of the country. It was by the extension of the village system that Massachusetts was colonized, pos- sibly the most successful example of colonization that can be pointed out in any age or country. In reference to Massachusetts it was said — " The clearance of the land is not directed by chance as in the other Provinces. This matter from the first was subject to laws which are still religiously observed. No "^citizen whatever has the liberty of settling upon unoccupi- COLONIZATION OF NnVVFOUNDLAND. 123 sidc- and, iiild- time, e ne- ining SUL- villa- ward- I. In illage, ernato le first lapels, -^enient 3ttlers, ?r pub- ! main ket for mes be I never Ltion in ndland, branch f Shel- inst tho out lines Ills and ision of ed, pos- that can rence to liance as irst was ed. No noccnpi- vince ed land. Tlie Government, desirous of prererving all its members trom the inroads of tlia savages, and ol pla- cing them in a condition to share in the protection of a well regulated society, haih ordered that wliole villages should be formed at once, as soon as sixty families offer to build a church, maintain a clergyman, and pay a school-mas- ter, ihe General Assembly allot them a situation, and per- mit them to have two representatives in the Jjogislative body of the Colony. The district assigned them always borders upon the land already cleared, and generally con- tains six thousand square acres. Those new people clioso the situation most convenient for their h:ihiiations, whic.'i is usually of a square figure, the church is placed iu the centre, the Colonists divide the land amongst thorn, and each incloses his property with a hedge. Some woods were reserved for a common, ll is thus that Nev/ Eng- land is constantly enlarging its territory, though it still continues to make onecomplele-and well constituted Pro- -Abhc Raynal^ vol. 4, page 240. There is no way iti which a safe and judicious system of colonization could be more securely forwarded, than by the establishment of villages in convenient positions on^ ihe main lines of road that branch off from St. .lohn's, the capital, combining the plan of Mr. Sullivan v/iih the village system, would, 1 think, be most suitable to New- foundland, and I trust will not be lost sight of, when the subject, as no doubt it will, comes under the consideration of the Government and Local Legislature. There is a subject closely connected with the question, of colonization, which 1 shall venture to bring under the consideration of your Lordship; it is the question of S(eam Navigation across the Atlantic. The parent Govern- ment have, at a great cost, established a line of steamers to jily between England and tho North American conli- tinent in the summer months, every fortnight, which is soon to be changed to a weekly connnunication. These X IS {?: 124 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. shij)3 posswilliin sight of Newfonndlantl, often vvilliin siglit of fMie of tlie finest a!;d safest liarbou.3 in the world, tliaC of St. Joiin's, but avoid it as if it was a coral reef. Accor- ding to \ho present arrangern'^nt, letters and passengers for Newfoundland in the P. t OHice packets, have to ])ass ih'-'ir port of deslinniion, proceed upwards of six hundred miles to Halifax, retrace their steps, pass on a further six hundred iniles, subject to new sea risks in passing the Is- land of Sable, and a more dangerous coast than treble the distance on open sea of the Atlantic. Is it, I would most humbly submit to your Lordship, a wise, politic, or just arrangement, to deprive Newfoundland of the advantages of a direct communication with the parent country? It may be said that the great trade and great intercourse with America demand the preference, and that Newfoundland is not of sufficient importance to delay even for a few hours the transmission of the mails and passengers to the conti- nent of America, or I may say the United States, for it appears for their particular advantage that the steamers have been put on the Atlantic line. It is the opinion of eminent judges, that reducing the distance, or rather divi- ding it, by calling at intermediate ports, adds to the securi- ty and does not impede the speed of steam navigation.— Th3 shortest, if not the most direct line horn Liverpool, Cork, or Valentia, to New York, runs along the coast of Newfoundland; the steamers, both on their outward and homeward voyages, skim along the coast. In October, 1845, the Hihernia^ in her voyage from Halifax to Li- verpool, struck upon Cape Race. The fine bold shore enabled her to get off without damage. She had to put into St. John's, when in a few days she v/as enabled to refit and proceed upon her voyage. His FiXcellency, Sir John Harvev, on Iiis appointment to the Government of Newfoundland, had to proceed to England in one of the steamers, and passed in sight of Newfoundland. On his voyage out, he passed in sight of (I (1 ft SOUtJ cor.oNiz vnoN of ni':wfouxdland. iQr> St. John's, il)»> capital of liis Govnrnment, aiulaftnrboing convoy od six iuindred miles beyond it, iiad to eni!)aik on board a siiip of war at Halifax to convey him to the scat of lus Govornnient.* * In 1S33, when it was contemjilated to estflbiish direct steam conununication between England and America, Admiral Proscott fllroiigly recommended the Harbour of St. John'a as a convenient |»ort to touch at intlio passages out and home. He forwarded a memorial from tlia Chamber of Connnerce of St. John's on tlie same subjtfct, lu sliow thetacility with which the passage to New. foundiand was made, even by sailing vessels, in the depth of winter. Mis Excellency Governor Prescott, in a despatch under date of the i2fl February, 1839, said—" With reference to u)y despatches of the 12tli and 19th January, I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that a merchant brig arrived here troin Cork, on the 30th ult., after a passage of only 13 days, and had no ditiicnity in entering this port and sailing up to the ownur;i' wharf." Admiral Pre?cot;'s recommendation of St. John's as a port of call, w!is snbmiticd by the {Secretary of State for the Colonies to the Lords Cominissioners of the Treasury, who did not deem it t>xpedicnt to att<:nd to his recomtnendation. His ExcolliMicy, Sir John Harvey, in his speech to the Le;;ris- lalure it the opening of the Session iti 1846, points out the ad- vantiiges of making Newfoundland an intermediate port of call, and fully confirms the opinion given under the eanciionof the high prufessional character of Admiral Prescott. •• The impressions wliich have been produced on the minds of several distinguished individuals by whom this Island has been visited during the last summer, as lo the decided sujjerioriiy which this port of St. John's possesses over every other as an intermediate point in Steam Navigation between England and America, whether the terminus be the British Colonies or ihu United States. " 1st— From its geographical position. •' 2d — From tl)e depth of water and perftct securily of iis noble harbour, accessible at all sieasons, and at all hours of the vill re-con- sider this imi»ortant question, and fiiciliia'e an object which will have the eflect of binding Newfoundland to England, instead of n)aking her an appendage of the iNcw-Iiliiglaiidcrs, who have alre.dy quiie enougli of benefit from Newlbundland. or wa cil wl lej i\u Cf)r/)?^IZ \TION OF NKWFUUNDL.VNI). W tho present system of traiisatUntic steam communication with Aiiicrica, is to treat Ncwlbundlaiid as an insignificant uppcirluc;:) of llio continent. It is what tli? Americans thernsolvcs wibli for. The fishorics were co iccdtid by ilio duped and bliitidoring Oswald;* is it tho intention •h ni'iy 1)0 proper to ^ivo the (grounds on which I havo i.'X{)redS- ed tnysf'lf so H(;veroly of Richard OiwaUl, Esiq., Minister I'lcni- potomiiiry on ihi piitof Knijhind, wiio no;];oiiiited iho Proliini- imiy Treaty of Pe.'UX'wiih Auierica, in 178^, n\ul so readily ceded NowfDniulland and htn- Fisheries. IIo was the especial a[){»oirii» inonc and t'avouri'e of Tiord Shclburna ; in n letter from hidi Lordship to Mr. Frnnkhn, ho says: *• Your letter discoverinjjf tha same disposition lias niado m« send you Mr. Oswalil. 1 havq liad a lonfier acrpiaintaiico widi him, than ever I have liatl ths pleasure to liave with you. I believe him lo be an honest man, und, after cnnsuitiii;; sonio of our common friends, I havo thought him tho frtest for iho purjxiso. lid is n practical inun, and conver- sant in those negotiations which are most interestiiiij to mankind. This has made trie prefer him to any of our 8j)ecuIativo friends, or 10 any person of hijjh rank." — Lord Shdlurnc's Lttttr lo lit Franklin, Usq , Jlpril G, 1T82. It was that kind hearted, good natured man, that had to contend %viili the four American Commissioners, IJenjainin Franklin at their head. Well might Fiord Stormont exclaim, that " he was not a match for any one of them." The cession of Newfoundland und her Fisheries to the Americans, ap[)ears a most unaccount- able event. It can scarcely bo imagined how such a proposi- tion could bo at all entertained by I\lr. Oswakf, or bjnc- tioned by the ministry iu England. What could the Amo- licans reasonably ask but the ii^dopendenco of their own coun- try ; not satisiied with that, they must get Newfoundland and her Fisheries. "1 am at a loss to consider how we could grant, or they could claim it as a right, when they assumed an inde- pendency which separated them from our sovereignty."— Lorti Alnik's iSpccck ill Parliament, Trtaly of Peace, 1733. The claim of the American Commissioners to Newfoundland ■was based on no just or reasonable principles whntever. Jt for- cibly rem'nds one of the witty observation of Lord Chesterfield, Avhen Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, on the Provost of Trinity Col- lege, " that if ho gave him all Ireland for an estate, he would ask the Isle of Man for a cabbage garden.'' The French had to strengtheii their claim to the usual participation in the Newfound- 129 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLArsD. to fling the remaining part of i!iQ fishorios, and tho Island itself into the bargain? It is not, it nevor c.in be the policy of Eni^laiid. Newfoundlanil, in the case of steam navigation, as in every other, lias been treated with neglect. How long is this system to conti- land Fisheries occupancy for ceiituiies, sanctioned by various Treaties. The Now Englanders, when Britiish subjects, had no right to the Fishery ; the British Fishery of Newfoundland waa confined to ihe adventurers direct from Great Britain, or the resi- dent inhabitants, who were merely tolerated. The American Commissioners had no grounds whatever to demand a particiu pation of the Newfoundland Fisheries. No previous occupation to plead, they might have asked with equal right a portion of Scotland or Ireland ; they had not the slightest shadow of jus- tice to support their claim. What makes Mr. Oswald's conduct appear the more extraordinary is, that ihere was no necessity — he was not called upon to make the concession to tho Americans — he was aware that the French had a common interest with the Bri- tish to exclude the Americans from ihe Fisheries during Peace in the joint occupancy of the two nations. So great an extent of Fishery as the Americans asked for, could not be well granted with- out interfering with the usual privileges that wci o previously grant- ed to the French, and which they would require to be again grant- ed by the contemplated treaty. Mr. Oswald was fully aware that these were the views entertained by the French Government on the subject of the Fisheries; even if ho had not himself Buflicient penetration Ho see that France had a conmion interest with Eng- land on this matter, his eyes ought to have been opened by tho contents of an intercepted despatch from Monsieur De^Marbois, Se- cretary to the French embassy in America, and addressed from Philadelphia to the Frtnch Minister, Count deVergermes, in which he informs his Government of the immeasurable pretensions of the Americans to a participation of the Newfoundland Fisheries* JM.iDe Marbois says," The public prints hold foitli tha hni)ortanca of the Fisheries ; the reigning toast in the East is, 'May the Uni- ted Slates ever maintain their right to the Fisheries.' It has of on been repeated in the deliberatlun of the General Court— no Peaco without Fisheries." After exprc^sing his opinion of the difficulty of reasoning w:th the Americans on the subject, he goes on to express his surprise " that the Newfoundland Fisheries iiave been included in tho additional instructions, that the United States set l1 the Ui be caso been conti- rarious right 1(1 was 10 resi- nerican lariicij upatioi) "tion of of ju,-3- :onduct Dssity — ■icans — I he Dri- *eace in aent of edvviih- ly grant- n grant- /Hvc that inent on jufiicient th Eng- (1 by tho bois, Se- ied from in which isions of 'islieiies* jiortanca the Uni« has of en no Peaco difficulty oes on to ave been tates set COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 129 nu2? Is it (0 List for ever 7 My warning voice will not be heard, but I inost emphatically say to your Lordship, that ilio policy is not alom injurious to Newfoundland, it saps the foundation of England's maritims power. It gives strength to that of Anioiioa. As certain as I ani forth therein pretensions, vvithout paying any regaid to the King'a rights, and without considering iha impossibility ihey are under ot mailing conquests, and keeping what belongs to Groat Britain." "His Majesty (night at the same time cause a promise to be given to Congress of his assis'ance for procuring admission to the other Fisheries, declaring, howeve*', thai he would not be an- swerable for the success, an J that he is bound to nothing, as the treaty makes no mention of that article. This declaration being made before the Peace, the hopes of the people could not be supported, nor could it one day be said (hat we left them in the dark on this ])oint. It were even to be wished that this de- claration should be made whilst New ITork, Charleston, and Penobscot, are in the enemies hands. Our alhes will be less tractable than ever upon these points, whenever ihey recover these important por;s. " IJut it is best to be prepared for any ditconttnt, although it fshould be but temporary. It has been remarked by some that as England has o'het Fisheries besides Newfoundland, she may per- haps endeavour that the Americans should partake in that of Great Hritain, in order to conciliate their affection, or procure some compensation, or cieaie a subject of jealousy between them and us ; but it does not seem likely that she w:ll act so contrary to their true interests, and were she to do so, it will le far the beiier to have declared it at an early period lo the Americans that their pietensons are not founded, and that his Majesty does not mean to support h.'^— Extract from intercepted despatch to the Fiemh Government, dated //cm PhUadelphiot March 12, 1782. Mr. Oswald, instead of using the information, one would sup* pose in the only way it ought to be used, to strengthen him in bis resolve to resist the unwarrantable claim of the Americans to the Fisheries, places the intercepted despatch into the hands ol Frank- lin; who, seeing that his grand aim, the Fisheries of Newfoundland, was in danger of heiiij; defeated, agreed to sign e separate Treaty with England, in violation of a holemn agreement made with the French Guvernmeut, that no Treaty bur n juftt Treaty, incJinj? France and other powers then at war with England, would be entered into by anyone separate Pouer. To prevent tho interference of r ■» . I ISO COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND, inditing tliis humble communication to your Lordj^hij), NcwTounJlaridisdcstiiied on so/ne future d.iy, to act a iiigh- cr part in the great alFuirs of nations, than \\p.\- present des- pised, neglected 313^3, would warrant the behef. liCt New- foundland bo no longer neglected and despised. 1 ijere nr?, France on ttie eulijcct of'NevvroiuuliamJ, Fninkliri, however, on ilio fiigninD; of a t- pnrate Trenty, corij|)leteIy c.ijoled Rlr. Oswald out of tf;o Fislieriei-'. If was not without just reason lie triumpliandy ex- cluirneil, " Our iiKJopeodenco is acknowlttdged, our Ijoiindariea ns ^jood and ns extensive as we demanded, and our Fisiierics more liian the Conjirega expeoted." It is evident tiiat Mr. Ojwald wag utterly incompetent for tlie performnnce of the duties lie had to perform, or that he jdaced no value whatever on the coiicepsion of Newfoundland and tlie Fifli" eries ; possibly both ciiarges triny saffdy he made, the one followino; as tlie natinai cousequeiice of ilie oiher. No better proof could be adduced of the utter incompetency of any iiritisli Minister, than his eurrendering or granting to any foreign state any riglit or privilej^e wiiich miglit operate injuriouely to England's maritime, power. Mr, Ojwahl unnecessarily sacrilijed the interests of En"ply impressed with its injurious consequen- ces, in an Imperial and Colonial point of view, that I am prepared to run tha risk of your Lordship's "striking," if yon only at the same time '' hear "' me on the subject of J^ew found land. I have spoken with the more freedom on the course of proceedings on the part of the parent Government with refdie i:c to Newfoundland, impressed with the strongest opinions that the policy can be arraigned more on Impe- rial than Colonial grounds. In a former letter I have ac- ment of ilie intorest on the i'unds.^'— Franklin^s Correspondence ^ .vol. 4. Here is a jjood specimen of the profound political knowledge and sagacity of FiUgland's Plenipotentiary. Mr. Oswald had been, it ajipears, a merchant hirgely engaged in the American trade ; what is called a practical man ; he ought to have known that the credit of a great trading maritime nation like England should he j)reserved inviolate. It was the preservation of tliat credit that could alone enahle Euijland to contend against the formidable league that was united for her destruction. History would have told him that the very existence of a maritime trading nation depends on the preservation of her fiublic credit. In the sixteenth century, when the league of Cand)iay was formed for ihe destruction of the great maricime nation of that time, the Venetians raised money to enable them to carry on the war when all the powers of Europe, combined against them, ai five per cent., while one of her most powerful opponents, the King of France, had to pay fifteen per cent. To a man so profoundly ignorant was entrusted such important negotiations. It is not to be wondered at that he should be duped and over reached by the profound Franklin, and that Newfoundland and her fisheries, and the best interests of England, should bava been made the sacrifice. , ^ ISI COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. knowledgod toyourLorclsliip the continued succession of v;ist benefits conlorred on Newfonndlan.d by ilie parent Governmi-ni, Cor ihi; last twenty-five years. Tiie Judica- ture Act und Charter of Justice of 1821, throwing round ; l!ie poople the panoply of [British Laws. In 1&3.'2, the con- cession of the invakuildo piivilego of managing their own affiir-iii thinr ovn w .y, therel)y securing to them in the fullest extc'it ah the rigiils, privileges, and imrnunilies of British subjects. Her Majesty, with more tuan Royal boimty, relinquish- ing her territorial rights, and conterring on her loyal sub- jects th.i whole of the land, to be managed in the most beneficial way for their interest. It is nol, therefore, so much on local grounds as on principles of Imperial policy that I complain of the course adopted towards Newfoundland, in the vast expenditure of public money in the promotion of steam communica- tion with the continent of America, and ihe other items of expenditure in the promotion of their settlement and colo- nization. I mnsl again repeat the opinion, that though other Co- lonies in North America may be ot greater extent and more populous, their importance and advancement must be viewed more in reference to their own rising greatness, than to anv advantages or any future assistance that ulti- mately may be gained from iheni by England. The consum- mition ol iheir wealth, population, and power, according to the eminent opinions I have already quoted, and they only echoed authorities not less inferior, is to lead to their se- paration from the parent that fostered them under her wing and expended upon them more than a proportion of her ex- uberant wealth, and when the canals and railroads are com- pleted, to form independent states themselves, or be fused into the overgrown Federal Republic in their neighbour- hood. I arraign the wisdom of the Imperial policy in passing Newfoundland in her vast Colonial expenditure, chiefly COLONIZ VTION 01'' NEWFOUNDLAND. 133 on the grounds that Newfoundland and her fisheries aro of much greater vain? to England than any part of tiie coiitineiit, that it is not the encroachmfjnt on that side that is to be guarded against. It is not the Oregon, Texas, Mexico, not the territorial boundary settled by Lord Ash- burton's Treaty, that is of importance to England, it is the maritime boundary, the Banks and Shores of New- foundland ; tliat is the real boundary line lor the deep consideration of th3 British statesmen. These have been infringed upon, the best part of them almost exclu- sively occupied by rival powers, ambiiious above all things ot Naval Strength, if not of Naval Supremacy. — England looks on with apathyand indiffrirence, Newfound- land is neglected; while millions are expended on the con- tinental Colonies, one shilling is not expended on New- foundland. The British fisheries of Newfoundland are left to contend against an unequal foreign rivalry on her own shores. This policy I complain of more on Imperial than on Co- lonial grounds. Though I fear I have trespassed on your Lordship's pa.j tience, by introducing into this communication much mat- ter of which your Lordship is much better acquainted than myself, I have not exhausted the arguments that could be adduced, to prove the policy and advantage, , both in a National and Colonial point of view, of raising in Newfoundland a large British community, and encoura- ging its colonization to the greatest possible extent. In conclusion, I shall again advert to the simple propcsi- tion which I have made for the promotion of that object, the raising by loan, on the credit of th'^ Colony, repayment to be guaranteed by the Imperial (government, of forty thousand pounds each year, for ten ccnsecutive years, to be expended chiefly in the opening of main roads, and erecting bridges, opening out the interior for settlement and coloni- zation ; the money to be expended under a responsible governmental commission ; every possible precautioti to 154 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. be taken to preveat any abstraction. The loan to hd paid off In yearly instalments, of six and a half or sevea per cent., to include principal and interest, which would be accomplished in about twenty years ; the process of re- payment to commence immediately after the advance of the first year's loan. The repayment of the loan to be made a first charge on the Colonial revenue and the land fund, a security equal to any that could b3 offered by any other of Her Majesty's Colonies. In less than twenty years the judicious expenditure of the proposed four hun- dred thousand pounds in making roads and throwing open the land of the country for s(!ttlement and cultivation, would increase the capital of ihtj country many mil- lions. A corresponding advance may justly be calcula- ted upon in ihp. trade and annual revenue, in the increase of population, and the consumption of manufactured goods, and other dutiable articles. It is not too mncli to say, that in twenty years the present revenue could be greatly augmented. My views on this point in reference to the in- cr(?aseoflhe revenue by the cultivation oi the land are ex- pressed in the words of Adam Smith : " When the Cio^vnLanls hid become privata property they wo lid, in the course of a few years, hecome wtll im- proved and well cultivated. The increase of the produce would increase the population of the country, by augmen- tation of the revenue and consumption o( the pi;op!e ; but the revenue which the Crown derives from thi duties of Customs and Excise, would necessarily increase with the revenue and consumption of the people." I do must humbly and respectfully submit to your Lord- ship, that the fa^/oiu' cf alo.ui from the parant government to the amountstated, isnitunraasouable. VVh^nit is taken into consideration how, for t'le general benefit of the Em- pire, the particular Interests of Newfoundland have been sacrificed. On this ground alone an equitable claim for compensation could be clearly established to a much larger amount. COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 135 to hd seven would } of 10- ice of to be e land ed by wenty r liiui- ; opou valion, y mil- ; ale u la- ease of goods, P say, greatly" I die ill- are ex- rope rty yt 11 im- ^roduce iiiginen- i!e ; but uties of villi die r Lord- irtiment is taken he Em- ,'6 been liin for I much A sum of from sixty to one hundred thousand pounds is annually expended by the French Government in the form of bounties to their Newfoundland Fisheries, not to speak of the expense of a squadron of ships of war and stea- mers, which they keep upon the coast for its protection. The British in Newfoundland have to enter into competi- tion with their foreign rivals against such unequal odds. Is it too much, under such circumstances, to ask a loan of forty thousand pounds for a few years, to enable her Majesty's loyal subjecis in Newfoundland to sustain them- selves, and preserve a portion of this valuable trade and fishery, to prevent its falling entirely into the hands of the French and Americans. Your Lordship has already given so many practical proofs of your anxious desire to promote the interests of all the Colonies, and Newfoundland in particular, in giving, in 1S32, the greatest of all boons, Free British Institutions, and after their suspension, for a short time, again establishing them on a more permanent fooling in 1847. The slightest shadow of doubt cannot be entertained, no matter how the suggestions on ths present occasion iTiay be received, of your Lordship'0 anxious desire to promote the best interests of Newfound- land, in common with that of the other Colonies placed under your Lordship's superintendance. As your Lordship is an advocate for the promotion of Agriculture in your own great country, you will no doubt patronize it in the Colonies. It has, as I have endeavour- ed to shew your Lordship, been sadly neglected in New- foundland. It is the great misfortune of the Colony. It wants encouragement from the Government. Once fairly in motion, it will be found, as it was stated by Lord Stanley, at an Agricultural Meeting at Liverpool, in re- ference to the cultivation of the English soil, the same words may be used in reference to Newfoundland: " That there is no bank in the whole country, no commercial speculation, no investment so safe, so sure, so profitable, !l i) : 196 COLONIZATION OF NEWFOUNDLAND. • i .' f t f J as that in which even borrowed capital may be engaged, by investing under the ground of your own soil." The subject altogether is every way worthy the attcn* tion of the parent Government. It would be wise in re- ference to Newfoundland to follow the advice of the elo- quent and philosophical historian of the settlements iu the East and West Indies: *' But the wisdom of Legislation will chiefly appear in the distribution of properly. It is a general rule which obtains in all countries, that when ii Colony is founded, an extent of land be given to every person sufficient for the maintenance of a family ; more should be given to those who have abilities to make the necessary advances towards improvement, and some should be reserved lor posterity, or for additional settlerS; with which the Colony may in time be augmented. *' Everything, indeed, depends upon and arises from the cultivation of land. It forms the internal strength of states, and occasions riches to circulate into them from without. Every power which conies from any other source is artificial and precarious, either considered in a n&hiral or moral light. Industry and commerce, which do mt directly affect ihe agriculture of a country, are in the power of foreign nations, who may either dispute these advantages through emulation, or deprive the country of them through envy. This may be effected either by es- tablishing the same branch of industry among themselves, or by suppressing the exportation of their own unwrought materials, or the importation of those materials when ma- nufactured. But a country well cultivated occasions au increase of population, and riches are the natural conse- quence of that increase. This is not the teeth which the dragon sows, to bring forth soldiers to destroy each other. It is the milk of Juno which peoples the heavens with an innumerable multitude of stars." — Abbe Raynal, 1 have the honour to be, my Lord, With the highest respect, Your Lordship's humble And obedient servant, PA TRICK MORRIS, ■ jngaged, 3 atten* e ill re- the elo- s ill the T appear le which founded, cient for given to idvanccs ir^ed lor 3 Colony from tli« ;ngth of jm from ly other red in a ivhich do re in the ute these luntry of er by es- smselves, 1 wrought 1,^1 on ma- :)sions an il conse- vhich the ich other. J with an lORRIS.