IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) k // J z 1.0 I.I _y|8 |25 ■^ 1^ 12.2 "" 136 ii Its L25 iu I 2.0 1.6 V] <% ^. '> > '/ /A Riotographic Sciences Coiporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historicai IVIicroreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Nutes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ ie meilleur exempiaire qu'il lui a dt6 possible de se procurer. 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'■mm^^mmm^^^k^m «!*■' I i * k n 'fV <> J V.^ '*-^' 1^.; ;<.i \ i w •«- » J iO ■^ f-- O- '% ^ *»« ■-^ ^-.jfci, ..*«.■. .A>. ^.-rf it ■ * (f r^- T/ > T ' THE IMPORTANCE Of Settling and Fortifying Nova Scotia: > WITH A Particular Account O F T H E Climate, Soil, and Native Inha- bitants of the Country. By a Gentleman lately arrived from that COLONY. LONDON: Printed for J. Scott, in Exchange- Alley. 3751.^ ■ V -^ '^ [ Price One Shilling. ] : o '.--4* ( r>* K,> A aVx .1 ■ ■' '%' V '. » ■) ■•■: jf I 'V ,f^; •*•' ^^ i:. J' f-. t :'r;rii''i A o yif, ~ ^W . ■ - . ' . ' ^■■''' ' ^ «. J : i ' !■ li A T Vi ^.' -'■ ii /fT «" r .k «■•.;.♦■.. * '•■' . , \ ; ,.». A--. " '.Jet/ -1 A h •i. It-: THE >- - ~ ■■ "■ IMPORTANCE • /. - ^ 1. * i 'i'i I,' if'-J V Of SETtLiNG and Fortifying Nova Scotia. Tym 'E S the fettling of. Nova Scotia has been the fub- je6i: of a gteat deal of difcourfe fince the conclufion of the general peace, and confiderable fums of money have been granted by parliament for carrying ofi that fettlement, I doi^bt not but fbme account of B that •> ^that colony would be acceptable to the publick. T- r !•• And I fhall, for method-fake, proceed in my account of it in the following order : J- ' "^l* '! • 1>:'ii-i,'. ••. A .i: i'-»J Virjly Give (bme account of Its inhabitants; . xj ^'' x tv foil; \i. .^^Thirdlyy Of its growth and progrefs ; . ^^^ Fourthly y Shew of what great Importance it is to preferve it from falling into the hands oith^French^y And, :t. ■ s c » 1$ Secondly, Of its extent and > ^f [5] % ■ 4 ^4. And, Fifthly^ Shew fome of the advantages that will accrue to the Englijh from the fettling of that colony, n: J-^: ' • Firft*, then^ its inhabitants, — ■?■ ""■■,. ' . ... ' ■ ■ ■' •■ ,. • . ^f.-V * -1 ■ ■■■ - . It will be needlefs for me to trace back the feveral nations that have been matters of that country, but it fhall fufBce to fay, that the Scots were once matters of it, from whence it deriv'd its pre- fent name oi Nova Scotia ^ or IVew Scotland*^ that in the reign of King Charles the fecond it was ceded to the French^ who called it Accudie^ and remained in the -.! B z hands [6] hands of the French till the year 1 7 1 o , in the reign of Queen Anney when it was reduced to the Eng^ lijh by an army from New Eng^ land under the ;omn>and pf Ge- neral Nicolfon, Upon the capitulation of the garrifon oiPort Royaly fince calPd jl7tnapoli5 Royalj in honour to Queen ^Anncy the inhabitants ob4' tained leave to continue in the pofleffion of their eftates, and en- joyment of their religion, (which is that of the Roman catholick) only upon taking an oath of fide- lity to thfc Queen, and paying a fmall quit-rent, as an acknow-- ledgement to the crown j to be - ak ^ L7l allowed in time of war to (land neuter, neither to be obliged to take, up arms for the Engli/h^ nor allow'd to do it for the French ; and remain there upon thofe con-» ditions to this «^,ay. i So that, nofrwithftanding we had conquered the whole eoun-» try, it was ftill inhabited by the French^ eijcept the garriibn of Annapolis Royaly and a fmall fet- tlement on the ifland of Canfeauy for carrying on a fifhery. As the governn^ent was wholly military, the French inhabitants never brought any of their dif^ ferences amongft each ojther to be -!,'/.,.: > de- J. ,:, ( [8] decided by the Englijhy but al- ways fubmitted them to the de- cifion of the priefts, who were their fole temporal as well as fpi- ritual judges. '^ "■■/it ^ ■ ^ au:;n, ..:i:i o,'^ 1^ L However, they were obliged annually to choofe a deputy in each diftri£t to lend to Annapo- lis to receive the Governor's com^* mands, as an acknowledgment of their fubjeSion to the Eng- Itjh. ^ - ■': i A i ■ ^ . X - -« J .* w*" vcn>^-n/.> loi . Thus we were mafters of this extenfive country for forty years, without ten Englijh families, (ex- cept thofe of the garrilbn) in the whole country, fo little was this ' ■ valuable % I I J/i- [9]: vkluable colony attended to, till in the late war the French^ by their frequent attempts to reduce it, have fliewh us how highly they prizM it, and of what im- portance they knew the acquifition of it would be to them. How much then is it our intereft to pieferve ? But of that in its place, re li' .^•'^ ■■'Ji-- . I . ■■,.■!■ Nextj of its extent and foiL !'.. i: ^'Sm *:The extent oi Nova Scotia Is very great, it ftretches along the (ea-coaft, eaft and weft, for full an hundred leagues, and about forty leagues north and.fouth, fo that it contains many millions of acres of ground : it is the north- j^ ' eaftern- t Ml I j:^ ■ t"1 ; ;: e^emmoft of all his majeftyS colonies on the continent oi Ame^ rica\ it is bounded on the eaft by Cape Breton^ on the weft by New England^ and on the north by the creat river of St* Law'^^ .,^ i».--.^ :>-■■:- . ..u ■ - W •; ■': * n't**. rence. There is no part of North America where they can boaft of a more fertile foil, or any land that will produce grain with fc> little labour, even without the common labout of manuring of land.-^^, ^•"^- ---^ - .,,,:,-..:--.-.. ¥ 1 ' \ ■ ■ \ ^ The method by which the French inhabitants improve their lands is as follows : in the bay ' of ■ 14 £%*<:. 'i^.A I -M . :h fL-J [ II ] Sui of Fumy (where all our FrencS'' inhabitants are fettled) there is a very great flow of the tide, per- haps as great as in any part of the world; itrifesfull fix fathoms perpendicular, which overflows a vaft deal of their low lands, to prevent which they raife dikes oi^ dajns, comppfed of timber and clay, which effectually keeps out thefea j and upon thefe low lands it is that they fow their wheat, rice, oats, peas, and flax, graze their cattle, and mow their hay ; and thefe marches extend along the fliore, in feme places, for feven or eight miles in length, and a mile wide j fo that you have at '.. * e * / ' one lj~ . -'M li I' ( 1^ ] one view fields of many hundred acres of grain. /*^ «^ .{ 4 ^ When they find the land wants manure they open fbme of the dikes,and let in the fea ; the natural fait that is in the water, and the . lea-weeds that overflows the land, enriches it greatly j fb that it is fufficiently manur'd by opening the dikes once in three or four years, and that only for a few tides. ^" ' .. ^ » ». ^ ,. .. , ^ ..'. M~ » "J As thefe lands are very fertile, the inhabitants railed much more grain than they could confume; fb that they have exported "ery I 1 I con- [ 13 ] confiderable quantities to the other colonies, fbme times ten thou- fand bufhels in a year, and many thouiand yards of linnen- cloth, made from their flax, and (bme hundred head of cattle annually ; which Ihews what the country is capable of producing, had it been in any other hands but thofe of the indolent French^ who don't work fcarce above half the year, on account of their fuperftitious holidays, l ■ ■.*"■ ' 1 , . . ■; .... As they find it io much to their advantage to improve thefe low lands, they have not cleared a great deal of the up-land, only C a juftr »i i lii 'lii } ' [14] juft enough for their orchards and gardens for raifing their roots, which exceed any in America ^ both for largenefs and tafte ; and they have Ibme flourifliing or- ' chards, and begin to make fyder^, . and fa gar they make from the maple-jaice. ;-.*•■ ^oiq TO :>>"J - ,; *.> ^ In many parts of the country there aVe very good mafts for fliipping, and oak for the build-^ ing of ihips. In the bay of Fundy there are variety of coals^ fuffi- cient to fupply all America with l\iel 5 and .there is very good rea- Ion to believe there are fome va- luable mnies in the country, as there has been feme copper ore • found 'V& '■I ■'m 4 M t >^ [ >5] found already ; but whether there are mines in the land or not, we are fure of finding mines in the lea, which as the banks are fituatcd fb very near for the cod-fifhery, it is an inexhaufti^le Iburce of trealuve. ^^ • U ' IJ:, Next, Of its growth ana .pro^ ■ •- -■■ ■' grefs. - ■ ^ i i * In the year 1710, when 2Vova Scotia was reduced to the £;^^- lijh^ the number of its inhabit- ants was but very inconfiderable, the whole not exceeding three thoufand fouls, and its improve- ments but fmall ; fince which ^. they ti ^ n [i6] . . they have encreafed to fourteen thpufend, in about forty years, without the addition of any peo- ple froqi other parts of the world ; which is a proof that the climate is very healthy. 3 i As I obferved before, thefe were the only inhabitants we had in tb^ colony till the arrival of Governor Cornwallts^ in jfufUy 1749, with a fleet from England^ with about fifteen hundred inhabitants, to fettle ChebuEio^ (fince call'd Ha-^ lifax) which is one of the finelt harbours in America* The whole navy of England may ride in it with fafety: it is remarkable, ^ ; that 1I <.i 'Mi ' J :i if [17] that in their paffage from Eng- land they never buried one per- ion out of fifteen hundred, but carried in more than they brought out with them, as there was fe- veral births on the palTage. The year following there came over from 'Rngland^ Germany^ and our colonies, about three thonfand more, which make about eighteen thoufand inhabitants in the colo- nies, including the French^ and are daily encreafing, befides the troops, which confift of about two thouiand men* • r\tif . t J ' * '\ f >. ,',i ». The improvements that have been made in the colonies within , i thefe C) 1 w m 1? ) [ 18 } thefe laft two years are furprizing to every one that has feen it, which is entirely owing to the wi(3om and prudence of the go- vernor, who is endowed with every qualification requifite for a perfon in his important poft: but his zeal and indefatigable pains, in pro- moting every thing that might conduce to the good of thatcolony , is too confpicuous to the world to need my imperfeft encomiums, k » i«. .^ > «. *a . The town of Halifax is en- cloled in with palifadoes of ten feet high, and has five bafl:ions where there are cannon mounted, which not only flanks the palifa- does, .. . .♦ >■ V if it. 1» I [ 19 i %!oes, but commands a large tra£l of ground round the town. With- in the town there are about fix hundred houfes, and an hand- feme church ; and without the |{at63 they have about five hun- ||red houfes, and an hofpital and Wphan-houfe. '.,U: 'f- "V|I' 0, f Halifax is one of the moft re- gttlar built towns on that conti- i#nt ; it is fituated upon a fine ^^ afcent from the harbour ; the Hfe is fb very gradual, that from eiery houfe in the town they may have a fine profpeft of the har- bour. The houfes are laid but in D Iquares, [ao] {(juares, nnd the ftreets are fixty feet wide. \ . t . t ' On the caft fide of the har- bour, oppofite to Halifax^ is the town of Dartf?jouthj which con- tains about one hundred and fifty houfeSj and a fmall fort, for their defence againft the natives. The greateft part of the fifli is made upon the ifland, near the mouth of thp harbour, and upon Point Pleafa?2ty about three miles to the fouthward of Halifax ^ where the air proves very good for the dry- ing the fifh. ^fJ^Tbii:^! ua:i d^i: ,V!f:.r:pi ■,tr- ■ The ■"( I fixty ir. har- is the I con- [ai] i»<#««-»«««i - I The laft year there was abov/L forty fail of velTcls, from twenty to (c vent y tons, employed in the cod-fifhery, which caught about twenty-five thoufand quintals of fifli 5 and they have a profpe£l: of making much more this feafon, as they have many more veflels em- ployed in the filhcry. At the head of ChebuElo Bay^ about .ten miles above Halifax y is Fort Se^ ville^ where there is a iaw-mill ere(9:ed upon a frefti-water ri- ver, at Piziquid; about thirty miles farther in the country is Fort Edward y and at Minis ^ fif- teen miles farther, is another fort. D 2 - Th# f ■& n [22] The two laft are placed juft in the center of our Frenci {ottlcrwntSy which efFedually keeps the inha-^ bitants in awe. At the head of the bay of jFit^«^,bet ween that and thp . bay of Ferfj upon a narow ifth- musy of but a few miles acrofs, is the garrifbn oiCbeconeSioy where they have about eight hundred men in garrilbn. As this ifthmus is very narrow, which the Indi-* . s ans muft pafs to come at any of qur lottlenjents^ (which are all upon the p^niniiila) this fort de- ters them greatly from coming down upon our fettlements^ for -> »•■;• '■• v. < * ' . ^ ■1^ ">oijL T^^ in the lents, of the ^d the ifth- icrofs, ►vhere ndred hmus my of re all rt de- eming s^ for ^ fear fear of being intercepted in their retreat; fo that there has been fcarce an inftance of any Indians being feen on the peninfula fince that fort has been eredcd upon the ifthmus. ^ni ^ r All thefe forts have been built within thefe laft two years, be- fides a confiderable one upon an ifland near the mouth of the har- bour of Halifapcj and, if they are fuffkiently fupported front England f they will be able, in a fliort time, not only to defend themfelves againft a land-force^ but even an enemy by fea, the im^ portange^^ X 1:1 • t 1, M : 1 l' i^- I It li M ii [ Hi / portance of which I fhall next proceed to fliew* ,,.{,- 4 \.'*. •«.*■■■* A » .,,/-.>'.'. A 'X •^ nx: f>':3:>: t The French have upon all oc- cafions, during the late war, de- monftrated the great delire they had of being again mafters of Nova Scotia^ by their frequent attempts to reduce it. ^ • ' •-<' r 4. 1 !-J upon the firft declaration of the war they took Canfeau^ and burnt it, and then came imme-' diately and laid fiege to Anna- polis Royal ] and had it not been^ timely reinforced from New Eng^ land^ would certainly have taken itj as the garrilbn at that time \ «► was \ I n mmm was very weak, and the work very much out of repair. /, fiorrr ^, In the year 1745 they made another attempt, with an army from Canada j but upon their hearing that Cape Breton was be- fieged, they immediately march' d off towards their affiftance. iu; ,A.-'i i": The year following, the ftrong- eft fleet the French have had in America for many years, under* the Duke D^Anvilky arriv'd at ChebuElo^ and it feems their or- ders were firfl: to reduce Nova Scotia^ before they attempted either Louis bourg or * Bojion^ I ! fhm as li f f »6 3 as well knowing it to be the moft valuable acquifition^ and that it would greatly facilitate the redu6kion of the others. But their meeting with fiich contrary winds upon their paflage from Franct^ being upwards of aft htirt* dred days before they iarrived, rendered their m^i ib very fickly, that they were not in a condition to undertake any thing ; and after burying about fifteen hun- ,dred cf their men, amongft which number ^-as the two com- manding officers, they returnM home without efFe(9:ing any thfng at all '?i j*j f: ^i-^I'>U t ^'^■'^ T>> I- J + 'i^*' ■.« •*» I Was H t^7l ■m • Was the Fr^w/S to make therri- felves Mafters of iVwiz 4S'^^//>, ie would be not only the ruin of JVew England^ but of almoft all our colonies on the continent; our prefent neutral inhabitants^ whol have always fliewn their defire or being united to the French^ by always fuccouring the enemy in their feveral attempts againjft us# Thefe, I lay, we muft expe<9: wduld immediately declare for the French^ which would ftrengthea them greatly j by adding near four thoufand hardy rpbuft men to their number. • . K ' .0\<'i '■ V ' 1* • « ■J .s i 1 V ( !' !■ i ^8] The fituatlon of Canada is fuch, that it runs along upon the back of our fettlements, for fe* veral hundred miles upon the continent, where the French are known to be numerous, and have always the Indians at their com- mand J and had they Nova Sco- iia^ which without doubt they^ according to their known maxim, would fortify, and make lb ftrong, that it would . not be eafy to dit- poflefs them j and our colo- nies, in time of war, would be continually as it were between two fires, viz. Nova Scotia on the eaft, and Canada on the weft, "i that n»! — n I ^9] that it would be impoflible to carry on our new fettlements on the continent, and all the inhabitant's muft remove into the center of the country, or retire into garriibns, to the utter ruin of many thouland families j and ^ ,^ova Scotia is fituated fo near the fiftiing banks, they would be able to ruin all our fifliery in that part of the world | which is a very great and advan- tageous branch of trade to the Englijh. It lies {^ very near the courfe of all our fhipping going from ajod conaing to Europe^ they would be able in a great meafure to ruin th^t trade by their pi va- fto'lsutit ■ -c- 2. ^^ teers; I ( ^ ,' ^ » if, [30] * » " ' teers : here they would have a commodious place of rendezvous f6*^m^ke ujp their fleet, and re- fre(h their men, within fixty leagues o( JVew England y that we Ihould be in continual fear of iii- vaiions. In Ihort, it may very juft- ly be faid of Nova Scotia^ what the French faid of it when they had taken part of it in the late war, (viz. Canfeau) that it' is th^ k^y (yUXVNorth^merica. ^; '^ ^™^[^^ ^^ Thefe are fbme of the confe- quences we might reafbnably ex- pe£i:^was JVi?i;^ Scotia to fall into the hands of the French j '>vhich I believe every one that knows its ' # iituation liii I e a ous re- xty we 4 in- [31] fituation will agree with me m, How much then is it our intereft to preferve it, fince the preferva- tion of all our colonies depends fb much upon the fecurity of that one, which is a barrier to all the others ; & that if there was no other view in the fettlemcnt than the fafety of our other colonies, it would be a very fufEcient motive for the fettling and fortifying of lyova Scotia. But that fs not the only advantage we may expeiS: from that fettlement ; for there is no colony on that continent pro- mifing greater advantages to its mother-country; which I fliall |iQxt prpceed to fhevy, :!* « v^-^yr* I muft Jt* e) i^^~" I , i »i I c\ 1 t f It muft be allovv'd that our cc* Jpnies in general are a very great advantage to Great Britain^ by prouxoting its trade and nayiga- tion, as they are not only a recep- Cacle for our iuperfluous people from Great Britain and Ireland^ but for many thouiands of foreign- ers, who annually go oVer from Germany^ and other parts of Eu- rope, which makes a great ad- dition to th^ ftrength and trade of the nation. ■ ■ Vv, r>rs ^7nr^*r\'- r^.rt ' * Befides the advantage of bring- ing a great number of foreigners to fettle there, NavaScma will be* a !»v [i5 I great nurfcry for feamen, a t^ Ing fo neccflary in this nation. The 6(9: that has lately paifjd in that colony for the encouragement of the cod fifhery, whereby a bounty of fix-pence upon every quintal of fifh cur'd there^ and ten (hil- lings a ton for every veflel built in the colony, (is to be paid out of a fund raifed by a tax laid upon the fpirituous liquors dranlr. there) has been a means of augmenting their fiftiery to near double of what it was the laft year. Two great advantgjes will accrue from this a6i: ; the one of encouraging great numbers of people to en- gage in the fifhery, which will enable I* I [34]' enable us to underfell our rivals^ the Frencby at the foreign mar- kets, -ih that commodity; the 6ther is of employing a great num- ber of our feamen, who have been , obligM to go into the fervice of other nations, for want of employ, ment in their own. i ■A ... ' 1 i I I . V There is no branch of bufinefs that is , carried to greater advan- tage to Great Britain than the cod-filhery in Nova Scotia ; as it will employ a great number of vellels, it will add very much to the confumption of the manufac- ture of this kingdom, fuch as cordage, lail-cloth, I'nes, leads, t.U ♦ hoops, • j r- i_t'. [ 35 ]1 nodps, nets, @fr. and as it is ^ cold climate, they will confumc gpeat quantities ol our vVoolen inanufa(9:ufe. t > ^tij;g...i v i i In time of peace with the ///-i dians there may be a very advan^ tageous trade carried on with them for furs ; and as the coun- try abounids with timber, they j3aay build great numbers b( good Ihips ; a fpecimen of which has been already tried, of one of an hundred and thirty tons* i kS*->«.^ » A*4^ But besides the advantage of trade, we ftiall, by fettling Nova Scotia^ have all the advantages over p .^ 5lpf III .1 ! , Q J over the French colonies that they would have over ours was it ia their hands, as we Ihall be within fixty leagues of Cape Breton\ by keeping a few Ihips of war ftationed at Halifax y we ftiall be able to diftrefs their trade greatly, and ruin their fiftiery. Here we Ihall have a (afe harbour to make up our fleets, and refrefh our men, within two days fail of the French^ fhould we form any defigns of at- tacking any of their fettlements in that p^rt of the \i v>rid» n^ni^i^ > In fiiort, by fettling and forti- fying Nova Scotia^ and keeping a fauadm^ tljerp, we. may eafily [ 11 ] make ourfelves xnafters of all North America^ and engrofi all the cod-fifliery and fur-trade to ourfelves, as we have found by experience, in the late war, that Cape^Breton is not impregnable. ' A great deal more might be iaid of the importance of Nova Scotia^ but I believe the fore- going account (though imperfed) will be fufficient to give thofe that were not acquainted with that country feme idea of it ; and as I have been feveral years in the country, I am well knowing in every thing I have faid concerning F I N I^S. \ ^'J^. il ' ' r